“I thank Your Majesty for giving me your time. It is the highest of honors.” Teen bowed his head.
“Yes. Time is limited, is it not, Mr. Ambassador?” She waved her hand wearily. “While We do not hesitate to spend time observing the proper etiquette, We do not intend to give you more time than what was allotted.”
“Hearing those words makes me all the more delighted, Your Majesty.”
“Climb on,” said Lamagh, inviting him onto the personal transporter.
A chamberlain guard was already aboard, serving as both driver and armed escort. Teen looked at the guard with nervous eyes.
“Worry not, Mr. Ambassador,” said Lamagh. “A chamberlain guard’s most important skill is to forget. No matter what you say, it shall never leak from this guard’s mouth. If you do not believe Our assurances, then we shall spend our time on useless ceremony.”
“Heaven forfend, Your Majesty.” Teen got on the transporter. “Now then, if Your Majesty could allow me to get to the main issue.”
Lamagh nodded and signaled the guard. The transporter got moving.
“I think the Chancellor might have already reported to Your Majesty about the matter of business I wish to discuss.”
“Quite.” So that is what this is about, thought Lamagh. “If this is about the alliance, then you must have heard Our reply through the Chancellor. And you must know that We shall tell you the same thing.”
“So, Your Majesty is also of a negatory opinion?” Teen hung his head.
“An alliance is unthinkable, Mr. Ambassador,” said Lamagh. “We know We must crush the enemy, but what about an ally?”
“I suggest we share an eternal bond of friendship.”
At this, Lamagh smiled. “That is impossible, Mr. Ambassador.”
“Does Your Majesty not believe in lasting friendships?” Teen’s eyes were pleading.
“Lasting friendships between individuals, We can believe in. They need only last for a person’s lifetime, after all. A nation, however, does not vanish in such a short blink — especially Our Empire.”
“I hope my nation also lasts forever.”
“Naturally.”
“However, that seems a rather unfeasible dream.”
“And what makes you say that?”
“No matter which side wins this war, my nation will inch closer to the brink of destruction.”
“There is no guarantee that will happen,” she replied half-heartedly. She had no interest in the fate of the Hania Federation, nor did she care to conceal that fact. Refraining from stating it outright was about the extent of the courtesy she was willing to show him.
“It is all but certain, Your Majesty. Though I hesitate to say it aloud... it’s...”
“There is nothing to fear, Mr. Ambassador.” Lamagh had picked up on what Teen was struggling to get out. “It’s only natural for your nation to be thinking about what should happen if Our Empire were to fall. Thankfully, you needn’t worry your head about a future where the Empire has perished.”
“I stand obliged.” Teen bowed his head. “Forgive me, but if that were to happen, then the Three Nations would not let my nation go unpunished. They will attack under some pretext or other.”
“And that is when Hania’s mettle will be tested.”
“There are those who believe we can prevail. Just as Your Majesty implied, my country has held firm by cleverly navigating the waters between the great powers. For us, military strength is simply there to support diplomatic endeavors, and we take pride in that. Those among us who can’t jettison that pride claim that there’s no way the Three Nations maintain friendly relations with one another after the war is over. And if that holds true, then there will be plenty of room for diplomacy. However, we feel that is a naive read on the situation.”
“‘We’?”
“We, as in those of us who think that in the course of the war, your enemies will be rolled into the United Humankind.”
“In other words, you mean to say the other two countries will get annexed?”
This was not a surprising new take. The possibility had been discussed within the Empire. The UH was a nation born through the union of multiple different interstellar powers, and it had only continued to swallow up other nations as it expanded. In that respect, the Empire and the UH were rather similar, though the UH did differ greatly in that it lacked a “central race” like the Abh. As the Abh were wont to shoulder the management of the Empire, that fundamental nature of the Empire had never changed. The UH, on the other hand, had changed over the ages quite freely and flexibly. Nevertheless, there remained a stubborn and unchanging quintessence at the core of the UH all throughout. If the UH were to absorb the PSSU and Greater Alkont, the nation would definitely undergo yet another slight transformation, but the UH would persist without the meanest impediment.
If the newly reborn UH were to then take in the territory of the Empire, it was eminently logical to suppose they would not leave the Hania Federation be.
“Is it safe to assume your nation wishes for the Empire to emerge victorious?”
“That’s correct. That is, with regard to this war.”
“And you claim that an alliance would secure the Empire’s victory, We take it?” As a courtesy, Lamagh kept her emotions from creeping into her tone. Otherwise, she would have sneered at him. “Regrettably, Mr. Ambassador, we do not know how to fight alongside someone else. When fighting alone, if one should lose, they die in solitude, mourned by no one. This is the way of the Empire, or more accurately, of the Abh.”
And she meant what she said. In all honesty, an alliance with the Hania Federation was unlikely to serve the war effort. Hania’s army was reasonably big, but they had outdated equipment and problems with their command structure. According to the Information Bureau, it would not even be able to defend itself in the event of an all-out war. As such, all an alliance with Hania would do was demand needed forces to be stationed in the federation’s defense.
“In any case, you needn’t be anxious,” said Lamagh, intending to end the conversation here. “It will take a long time for the war to reach its end. When it does, We hope it’s just your nation and the Empire, but I will likely no longer hold the emperorship.”
“I see. So it won’t end during my lifetime. But from the nation’s point of view, it has precious little time left.”
“Listen,” said Lamagh. She had a feeling his dignity had been wounded. “Should the Empire win, then your nation will be one of the two powers ruling over all of humanity. Has the Federation the resolve to hold their own against the Empire? The resolve to share eternity alongside the Empire? Or have you the confidence to defeat the Empire?”
“In that scenario, you could hardly call Hania a ‘power,’ Your Majesty,” he smiled bitterly. “If one saw a cage with an elephant and a mouse, no one would think they were living together. Needless to say, we the mouse have no confidence fighting against you the elephant.”
“Then do you intend to share the rest of time with us?”
“In a way.”
“In a way?” At last, Lamagh’s interest was piqued (albeit only faintly).
The transporter was past the halfway mark. Lamagh ordered the chamberlain to go slower, though it was already only at around the pace of a quick march. Going from a jog to a walking pace wasn’t that appreciable a change.