"It was a pleasure getting to explore the public areas of Terminus, Commander Keres. I will return to the meetings and inform them about the viewpoint of The Alliance, as so many of them have attempted to gain an audience in the past.
Perhaps some might have a change of mind about their future path, knowing that there is such a large group of peaceful species out there, just waiting for us to be ready to join them." General Kirkland told Max.
Max nodded and gave the General a conspiratorial wink. "I suspect they might have to wait just a little bit longer, but please do record their reactions. I might not be able to attend, but I don't want to miss out on that spectacle."
"Of course. The Imperial Family has made the same request as well." General Kirkland chuckled, then tipped his hat and entered his shuttle, making ready to launch back to the station for the meetings.
As soon as he was clear of Terminus, Admiral Drake sent a message to the assembled fleet, letting them know that Terminus needed to meet some incoming vessels and that they would return as soon as possible to continue their meetings.
That didn't seem to ruffle any feathers. Many delegations had switched their representative in the past weeks, so the Reavers doing the same wasn't an issue. They were far from a decision anyhow, even though they didn't know about the bombshell that General Kirkland was about to drop on them.
[Hunter fleet, this is the Human vessel Terminus, on an approach path to your current course. Please respond.] Nico broadcast to their unexpected guests using the frequency and pattern that the Illithid had provided to them.
[Human woman, this is Huntress Khan. Are you prepared for a duel?] The fleet responded curtly.
[In Mechanized armor of the twenty-meter class, or would you prefer an unarmed duel between champions, so your technology doesn't matter?] Nico asked in a polite tone but with a hint of underlying insult.
[We will duel in Hunter Suits first to see if your species is even worthy of being called a challenge. Send your strongest female to the Arena ship at these coordinates.] The Hunters replied, then cut the link.
"Well, that went better than expected. But maybe you should have introduced yourself directly instead of the ship. Nothing we can do about that now. Admiral, can you make for those coordinates now that their fleet has dropped out of warp?" Max requested.
"On it. We will arrive in ten minutes at warp 5." The Admiral replied grimly.
"Relax a little. I asked the Innu about these duels, and they're not to the death. I have confidence that I can put up enough of a fight that they will at least be impressed by their first taste of humanity. After that, they should be willing to work with us to find hunting grounds since they don't usually hunt sentient species unless they are also up for the challenge." Nico told the Admiral, looking unconcerned behind the non-Newtonian metallic mask that was her face.
No matter how realistic she had made it look, Max couldn't quite bring himself to forget that it was still a state-of-the-art piece of armor and that much more than a gentle caress would turn it solid.
Nico and a small team of volunteers went to the First Battalion's cutter, the smallest vessel that they had which could hold Shattered Pride, her new custom Mecha.
The team was all female, as the Hunters were said to view their females as the warriors of society, while the males were the builders and engineers. It seemed like a good balance to Nico, but Max was more on the side of gender equality. The best person for the job and other such sentiments.
The barrier of the Arena ship lowered, and a video link was sent to Terminus so that everyone could watch Nico and her team arrive and the path that they would take to the Arena.
The distance stopped Max from knowing their thoughts, and they were blocking the Illithid, so Max could only guess at their intentions, but it seemed that they were interested in having everyone know that the duel was conducted with some sort of honor or other protocol.
It had been a long time since either the Illithid or the Innu had been involved in such a thing, so they couldn't say for certain if the protocol had changed, but they hadn't heard of any radical departures from tradition among the hunters.
The Cutter settled gently into the bay, its hull temperature normalized instantly on entry, and the bay doors dropped open.
[On the side of the Humans, their champion Tarith Rage, in the Hunter Suit Shattered Pride.] Max heard over the intercom from the stadium.
Hundreds of thousands of hunters had gathered, all wearing the same golden masks over their faces, with simple togas over sand-colored skin that looked like it might be scaled. The cameras weren't focused on them, so the detail was lacking, and Max had forgotten to ask the Illithid about it earlier.
"Most is just tough hide, but they do have some spikes and protective scales over strategic areas of their bodies." The Illithid closest to him replied to Max's thoughts, then brought up a small hologram in front of him.
They certainly looked vicious, even in a simple toga, standing roughly 250 cm tall, with heavy muscle and those creepy golden masks over their faces. According to the Illithid, the males were much smaller, close to 160 cm, and slender but were much more intelligent. That was why they had split their society into specialist segments.
The four-armed, demonic visage of Shattered Pride stepped clear of the doorway of the Cutter, and Max could hear the entire crowd begin to roar in appreciation of Nico's chosen Mecha. It was larger than their standard hunter suits, suitable for a Champion, in their estimation, and looked very imposing, with its armor designed to mimic a demonic form and horned mask.
[On the side of the Hunters, their champion, and our Commander, Huntress Khan, in the Hunter Suit Dominus.] The announcer declared, and a twenty-meter-tall mecha entered the ring, externally mimicking the biological form of the Hunters, right down to the muscles rippling as it walked.
The two war machines stood on opposite sides of the arena, facing each other in silence as they waited for the announcer to finish the rituals that would begin the fight, and the occupants of Terminus waited to see if they stood a chance of being taken seriously.
Max sighed to himself, annoyed that he missed yet another chance to fight, but the Illithid decided to take this chance to console him.
[If she manages to impress them, there will be plenty of chances to fight. They love bringing those who impress them hunting, and alone, even your mighty Cleansing Light is no match for some of the things that they will team up to fight.]
Max wasn't sure that was actually reassuring, but it did mean that he wouldn't be stuck as a glorified figurehead for much longer, even if the Rebels got smart and picked the peaceful way out.
