? [SINCERE THANKS. WE ARE NOT VIOLENT. WE WANT TO GRIND YOUR FOOT AND THROW YOUR TOE IN VOLCANO, BUT WE ARE TOO EXHAUSTED TO LIFT YOUR LEG. WE ONLY WANT TO FLY INTO STARS AND MAKE NEW HOMELAND. WE HATE WAR. LEAVE US ALONE.] Ves was growing really annoyed at the awful translation program that incompetently interpreted Jaharon's words. Although he was smart enough to roughly guess what the alien leader was talking about, he was missing all kinds of nuances and implications due to the strange word choices and odd grammar. Even so, Ves was still able to pick up a number of clues. The last surviving leader of the pescan race may speak conciliatory words, but his alien body language was both erratic and aggressive. The image that this presented was a leader who wanted nothing more than to kill as many humans as he could, but that his mission to save what remained of his race took precedence. "Is this guy truly trying to save his people, though?" Ves questioned. "Why would you think that is not the case?" His wife responded. "Because to me, this alien looks like a madman that is driven to a corner. I might not know the pescan race well enough to understand all of their body language and thinking patterns, but if this fellow was a human, he is probably thinking about going out with a bang." "Shouldn't you have a method of verifying the truth, Ves?" "You know what, I do! Let me consult my pet prophet for a moment." Ves lifted the glowing skull in his hand and used it to commune with Ylvaine with greater ease. Since the human design spirit had recently overutilized his powers, Ylvaine did not have the energy to make costly predictions. This meant that Ves needed to ask the right question that would best give him the answers he needed. "Will the humans trapped here in this prison be able to escape here alive?" Uncertain. Ylvaine could not get a read on the answer of this question because the immediate future surrounding the prison was in flux. No. it was more than that. From the wordless impressions that the Great Prophet was feeding back to Ves, it appeared that there was so much chaos surrounding what might happen in the following hours that the entire future became obscured! Let alone making more profound predictions, Ylvaine couldn't even determine whether the local star would be able to rise on Kotor City the next day! That puzzled and concerned Ves. "Why? Why is this the case?" The answer was complicated, as always. Too many ace pilots were involved, for one. This indicated that whatever was happening inevitably involved a lot of powerful personalities who produced so much interference that they practically made it impossible for Ylvaine to read anything meaningful. However, a lack of an answer was sometimes an answer in itself. Ves narrowed his eyes. Anything that produced a huge mess and involved lots of ace mechs was inevitably bad news in his opinion! The clues he gathered from Ylvaine matched his concerns. Whether he was being paranoid or not, having an extra source to back up his suspicions strengthened his belief that Great Chief Jaharon was hatching a nefarious plan! "I think this guy is stalling." He told his fellow Larkinsons. "Whatever words are coming out of his mouth are a bunch of nonsense. He should know that humans like us aren't so gracious as to let him blackmail us into leaving. Even an alien must be clever enough to know that he loses his leverage as long as he gives up his hostages. He will either have to keep us for a long time or resort to another plan to escape human space. That, or he has decided to go out with a bang and wants as many humans as possible to suffer." Unlike Ves, General Verle did not possess any sharp intuition. "I cannot say anything definite without solid proof. I agree with you that Great Chief Jaharon is unlikely to represent himself truthfully, but that is normal among leaders and politicians." They both turned to Director Ranya Wodin and Minister Shederin Purnesse. Ranya was an exobiologist, and while studying intelligent alien species was not her specialty, she could still tell a lot more about alien species than ordinary people. "I have been studying the information supplied by the Davutans. We should be thankful that Major Durant and a few other officers still retain old briefings and intelligence packages. According to what I have read, the pescans are a young race that have remained fairly sheltered, but not to an exaggerated degree. They should understand the rules of negotiation, deception, deceit and cheating." "Can you judge that the alien is lying to us at the moment?" "...I do not have sufficient data to do that, sir." Gloriana's cousin replied. "I can only say the possibility exists." "Shederin?" "Reading aliens is different from reading humans, especially if I am unfamiliar with them. My extensive experience with speaking with comparable figures leads me to believe that Great Chief Jaharon has ulterior motives. I cannot rationally explain why I am inclined to believe this, but this is my tentative answer." All of these answers strengthened Ves' suspicions. If it was up to him, he would have cut this farce short and launched an attack right away. However, he needed to take Major Durant's opinions into account, however burdensome it may be. The Larkinsons needed the support of the Davutan guard forces in order to press the assault forward. Without sufficient numbers, his honor guards would probably get overwhelmed! "It's so troublesome to rely on external forces." Ves muttered. He had been so pampered in the past. Let alone the Larkinson Clan, the Glory Seekers and the Cross Clan often did what he asked without casting too much doubt. Although he suspected the pescans of playing tricks, he first needed to gather evidence before he could launch a proper attack. As he observed the alien continuing to take Major Durant on a ride, he suddenly gained an unusual idea that might just work. Ves boldly decided to project himself in front of the alien as well! "You… what are you doing, patriarch?" Major Durant looked incensed at the unwelcome interruption. Ves ignored the infantry guard leader's query. He didn't have time to explain himself at the moment. He only paid attention to the alien leader. [LARKINSON FATHER. KNOW YOU. FAMOUS. STABBER OF GREAT ONES. WARRIOR. MAKER. ARCHCRIMINAL.] Ves smirked. "You are missing a few titles, alien." [I UNUNDERSTAND YOU, WEAVER OF MECHANICALS.] The mech designer did not answer immediately. Instead, he channeled the Phase King once again and fully let go of his own restraint! This not only allowed him to channel the Phase King's glow to the greatest possible extent, but also increased his phasewater affinity to the point where he was able to resonate with the transphasic parts of his Unending Regalia to a minor extent! The vibe he exuded became a lot more grand and inscrutable. Although his appearance hadn't changed to a significant degree, the impression he made had become a lot more inhuman! This produced a noticeable reaction from Gloriana, his children and the other people around him. It was as if an alien had taken possession of his body, which wasn't that far from the truth! The creepy human skull also added to his monstrous vibe. It glowed a lot brighter than before as it provided a huge amount of help in channeling the aura of the Phase King. Ves finally answered with a voice filled with unbounded strength. "RURUWHGGUUUUHA RFUUHAHUGH." [POSSIBILITY DENIED! DIVINITY REJECTION! CANNOT MAKE POSSIBLE!] "GGFRRUUUGHWA ARUGHWUGUH." [AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHH! STABBING DEATH RAIN OF METEORITES CITIES DROWN MY HEART SMILES WITH DESOLATION ENTRANCES ARE COLLAPSED GOD HAS FORSAKEN AND RETURNED!] "What did you tell the alien, Ves?!" Gloriana quietly asked. "What have you done to drive him to madness?" "Oh, it's nothing. I just told him I was a phase lord, that was all. Even I did not expect this fellow to get triggered to this extent. He is a lot less stable than I expected." "The indigenous alien community does not have a secular view towards phase lords." Minister Shederin clarified. "That is a purely human construct. Since the phase lords themselves buy into the theory that they can be gods, what Ves has done is pass himself off as a god as well." Gloriana burst into smiles. "Really?!" While the woman became oddly happy, the same could not be said for other people. Major Durant maintained tight control over his emotions, so he did not outright glare at Ves. To say he was unhappy was an understatement, though. "You are ruining our dialogue, patriarch. I must ask you to cease your interference this instant!" Ves waved towards the maddened alien who seemed to have forgotten all about the humans observing his abnormal conduct. "Look at him. Do you think he can be a good actor? This alien has clearly snapped. There is no way that you can trust him to negotiate in good faith." That produced enough doubt for Ves to continue speaking with the alien. "RGUUUUUGHRHU RWERUUGUGHGUUGG RFGGUGGGRHG." This time, the projection of Great Chief Jaharon snarled! [UNTRUTHS DECEPTION STAB! WE ARE RETRIBUTION GROWING LIKE SAPLINGS AND ESCAPING THE STARS! YOUR DEMISE IS SCHEDULED, AS IS THE DEMISE OF OUR HOME! FREEDOM YEARNS FREE, AND YOUR GREAT BROTHER ANCESTOR SHALL BREAK THE SOIL OF OUR CITY STATE AND PRODUCE GRAVES UPON OUR SOARING!] Although the alien spoke a lot of words that were difficult to decipher, Ves latched onto one particular phrase that caused his intuition to ring alarm bells. "WRHHGUUGUCW IU AAAAAWURRUUUR?" [GHAGAHGAHGHAHAA!] Great Chief Jaharon let out an unhinged laugh that was decidedly not normal for his species. [ANCIENT GOD MORE ANCIENT AND BLOODED THAN YOURS IS OUR GOD! FINAL COUNTDOWN IS UPON US. DESTROY CHAINS AND UNDO OUR HOME! TOO LATE, ALL WILL BREAK. FALSE GOD YOU SHALL DECEASED!] "What is the alien talking about now?!" "If Great Chief Jaharon's outburst is true, then we are in great danger." Minister Shederin spoke. "According to my interpretation of his latest words, the alien leader speaks of the presence of another phase lord, one that is greater and more powerful than what Ves pretends to be. I can surmise that Great Chief Jaharon may have colluded with this phase lord to somehow escape together in such a violent fashion that Kotor City may suffer untold damage in the process!" That was an alarming possibility! Ves felt that the alien was not lying this time! Jaharon's badly translated words conveyed a lot of menace and a desire to inflict retribution onto the humans. No words were needed to make it clear that the alien derived a lot of satisfaction at the thought of killing a lot of humans! "That does not sound like a leader who is ready to compromise." Ves told his fellow people. "Prepare to attack. We cannot wait any longer." "Patriarch!" Major Durant barked. "Wait! Let us not be hasty! We cannot afford to take action based on misunderstandings!" "We don't need any further clarification. We have clear evidence that this alien is plotting to kill us along with many people living in Kotor City by freeing a supposed phase lord from this prison. Don't you realize it already, Durant?! One of the larger cells holds an ancient being of great power. We need to head to the primary control room upstairs and see if we can stop that from happening!" "You have no proof!" "Then we will collect it over the dead bodies of those aliens! If you have any shred of duty towards Davute and its people, then you should order your men to back up my honor guards!" Ves turned towards his children all of a sudden. At the same time, he held his free hand and materialized the Amastendira in his hands. "As your father, let me give you a lesson. There are times when procrastination and letting inertia hold you back are detrimental. In situations like these, you need to take drastic action and do whatever it takes to break the game. Do not hesitate to do what you think is right. As long as you have weighed the risks and are willing to pay the price, just pull the trigger." Gloriana started to have a bad feeling about this. "What are you doing, Ves?" "What does it look like?" he grinned as he became more assured in his decision. "I am pulling the trigger!"