“And that is why your civilization is darkside.”
“It is our way.”
“Yet you survive mostly because of our way, enhanced by your knowledge and counsel,” Meerkan added in fairness.
“I see no endgame that is certain for our advantage. Am I missing some aspect?”
“We cannot use the intergalactic network. But the Neofan can, and if I understand you correctly there are many within Utovi that could flee it by other routes but are choosing not to because they have nowhere to go. What if we arranged for them to come here independent of your agreement with us?”
“To what advantage would that be for you? These other Houses are not as inclined as House Atriark is to abide by your rules. They would be more trouble than they are worth when you are poised to launch an impossible invasion. You must devote all your resources to this rather than concerning yourself with the plight of those in another galaxy.”
“We like to help those in need, and my empire began from a group of exiles with a death mark on them. So you could say we have a certain sympathy with those who have been abandoned.”
“You seek to rescue those who are far superior to you. You cannot annex them as you have others. We have a mutually beneficial alliance, neither are subservient to the other. This is the only way we can interact without you being part of the Bond of Resistance. What arrangement do you think you could strike with outcasts and renegades?”
“The question is what arrangement could you strike with them for your benefit, and how could we be of help so it is also in our and their benefit?”
“You see an opportunity concurrent with your altruism?”
“We can multitask,” the Bsidd said pithily.
“And that is why I have some respect for you. You are practical despite your inclinations,” the Reignor said, looking skyward as he thought. “The only path that I see that would be beneficial is if we intentionally abandon the ruling House and those loyal to it and attempt to restart the Neofan here under our leadership. That was a possibility if House Mutavi failed to secure Yenoiv, but now that they have that path would be suicide. Once they established themselves, they would hunt us down and wage war against our new dominion. I would rather die than fight a civil war. And exiles know their roll…which is to disappear and cause no disruption to our civilization. In turn we ignore them. This is unspoken but tradition.”
“Cannot those who are ignored still be rescued?”
“Not by us.”
“And what of your servants? Or perhaps other races in your galaxy that did not serve you?”
“There were none that did not. We fully dominated our galaxy, unlike yours.”
“Are there no independents?”
“Why would we allow that?”
“Was it worth it to you to conquer them all? Resource wise?”
“In other galaxies, no. In our home galaxy, it is absolutely necessary. We cannot share such a dominion.”
“Is that going to be a problem here?”
“If we were responsible for this galaxy’s defense it would be necessary, but since you are providing the defense for us, it would be illogical for us to challenge your possession of the galaxy. For possession and dominance are not always the same thing.”
“Do you not desire a galaxy of your own?”
“We desire Yenoiv and the leadership of our own people.”
“And what if it was not leadership, but inclusion as the other Houses are?”
“We also desire this, but not at the cost of the majority of our House.”
“So there is some concern for your own people hidden amidst your general apathy?”
“Everyone must have some loyalty in some form, else a civilization will degrade into anarchy and self-destruction. I will admit that your loyalty is far superior to ours. In that you are superior. The question is whether or not that is an asset. Though it may be hard for a hive mind-based race such as yours to be anything but loyal, for you are programmed to be as such.”
“To be a Star Force Monarch requires that we surpass such default programming and make our bodies and minds our own. My mind is free to consider many possibilities, but all are inferior to the path of the lightside.”
“If you succeed in driving the Hadarak out of this galaxy I promise to devote my time to learning your philosophy so I may assimilate what usefulness is in it.”
“You still do not think we will be able to push them back?”
“Pushing them back is easy. Assaulting their fortifications in the Deep Core is hard. Taking and holding the Gateways is impossible for your empire. Though I do hope you will do so regardless. I sometimes tire of our Houses’ constant clandestine warfare against one another. I wish there was a better path, but so far I have not seen one, and I have studied the social structure of your empire intensely. I do not see it there. What I see is optimistic naivety.”
“Effective naivety then.”
“To date, yes,” the Reignor admitted. “Many have come here to study you, for you are a curiosity, but they do not find methods that they can replicate.”
“That’s because the lightside is not something that you can turn on and off. It’s all or nothing.”
“Is it? I was not aware of this.”
“Can one be loyal if they occasionally betray you?”
“If they betray you you should kill them immediately.”
“Forced loyalty is not true loyalty. True loyalty is choosing to be loyal when no one is monitoring you and there will be no consequences for betrayal.”
“If there are no consequences what is the reasoning behind
