[Commander, the Hunters have agreed to use their mothership to help you eliminate the Klem while I work on a trade agreement with the local government down here.
We have identified the bunker they are hiding in, and the Narsian threat in the region is entirely under control, with the expectation that they will be forced to retreat from the planet within the next few hours.
Do I have your permission to pursue a standard trade agreement with this planet, including a provision for the Hunters to visit regularly as a staging point for their forays into the Narsian and Klem territories for sport?] Nico asked formally over the Mecha's data link.
[Go ahead, work out the deal that seems to be the best for everyone, and find out if there are other human-held planets in the area. We might be way outside of what is considered human territory, but if there are more isolated settlements out here, we should see if they want to join in the fold.] Max replied.
With his permission secured, Nico proceeded to the bunker, where her data feed showed all of the government messages originating from. They were doing a pretty good job of hiding themselves, and she didn't think that the Narsians had found their lair inside an abandoned mine, but hiding signals from Nico, especially while she was in Shattered Pride with its sensor suite of advanced communication technology was nearly impossible.
[Good morning, residents of whatever you call this planet in the middle of nowhere trapped between the Klem and the Narsians. I am Tarith Rage of the Terminus Trading Company, here on behalf of the Reavers.
The Hunters, also known as the huge aliens with gold masks, told us that you could use some assistance, and I have brought my Mecha Regiment to your aid. We want to work out a trade agreement between our force and your planet if you would be willing, and we have a number of advanced technologies to offer.]
The communications channel that the local government was using went silent for a while before a terse message was sent back.
[How do we know your demonic Mecha isn't an alien assassin? There are no other humans in this region of space. If you were really human, how would you even know where we were?]
Nico sighed and climbed out of her Mecha, moving to stand on a shoulder with her helmet off and stored in her flat space.
[I am outside my Mecha, look at external camera C28, and you can clearly see me. I can clean the dust off it if you prefer.]
The channel went silent again for a while, and then a message was sent back with a different authorization code, relayed from a secondary bunker only a few kilometers away.
[Remain where you are, and we will send an Emissary. Our history books tell stories of the Reavers and their widespread influence among the lawless lands. If you are who you say you are, we will negotiate.]
After ten long minutes of sitting on the Mecha's shoulder, waiting for something to happen, a transport vehicle accompanied by two dozen light Mecha came up out of the mine shaft and surrounded Shattered Pride.
"Ah, welcome, welcome. It is so good of you to speak with us on such short notice. As I'm sure you're aware, the Narsians on the planet have nearly been dealt with. But as you might not know, the Hunters will be departing after that since the only reason they came here at all was to fight the giants. Neither they nor the Reavers intend to stay here long, but we have a rapid transport technology that will allow us to return here regularly with supplies, should you need them." Nico greeted the armored vehicles.
Nothing was broadcast out of the vehicles. They simply sat there for a while, while Nico scanned the interior to make sure they weren't drones.
There was a special forces squad in the armored vehicle, and the Mecha were all piloted, but she didn't see a negotiator at first.
The soldiers rushed from the vehicle and spread out, weapons trained on Nico, and were followed by their leader, who she assumed to be the negotiator sent by the government. While they formed up their ranks, she waited, not saying anything, and gave them the opportunity to make the next move.
"Are the Reavers so confident in themselves that they would send a single Mecha to deal with an unknown government force?" The leader of the soldiers asked.
"A single Super Heavy Mecha, with the weapons capacity to collapse the entire mine shaft that we are standing over and turn the ferrocrete bunker below it to rubble with a single shot." Nico clarified.
"And yet you exited the Mecha."
Nico smiled and shrugged. "That doesn't change its effectiveness. I am the negotiator for the Reavers and Second in Command of the Terminus Trading Company. By protocol, it is my duty to negotiate on our behalf while the Commander is busy dealing with the Klem fleet in the space above the planet."
"If that is the case, please wait while we prepare a meeting spot for today's conversation."
It was only a few more minutes, and they had a large pavilion set up, and a shield raised over the area in case of outside interference or Narsian sneak attacks, so Nico climbed down and set Shattered Pride to implement the automated defense protocols that she had programmed into it.
If she were attacked and actually injured, it would kill everyone. If the shield were breached by force, it would kill all the attackers using the automated movements and combat skills that she had programmed.
If that was too much to ask, she could control it manually from this distance and return in an instant with the gravity control of the Archangel Exoskeleton that she had attached to her Augmentic Armor for today's festivities, replacing the usual Tech Adept Harness, which was sitting on the bed in her Mecha.
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