The Allied coordination of the Second Wave War was defined by three major conferences: the Taishon Tar Conference, the Jupiter Conference, and — after the war — the Burrow Declaration.
One meeting often overlooked is what we now call the Void Charter: the first official encounter between human and Psstips officials, held in the emptiness between the stars.
Many of the most influential events leading to the formal formation of the Aligned Systems can be traced back to this seemingly insignificant meeting.
Today, it stands as one of the most frequently cited examples in discussions of the Linchpin Theory.
— Excerpt from Linchpins in the Independence War*, ca. 246 P.I.*
The bridge of his ship always impressed Mekari. All the power of the ship, controlled by one single tiny spot, just like the Republic was controlled by the Emperor.
And just as with the Republic, the ship's fate was decided by how the bridge crew acted.
That was why he had broken with Republican traditions. None of the officers on his small fleet, nor on the much larger forces his House crewed for the Republican Navy, was a noble.
Well, that was not accurate. Some were, but none were an officer because he was a noble. Instead, Mekari had chosen an almost alien and foreign concept, at least in the Republic.
His officers were chosen by merit.
This was not an issue in his personal fleet, but it curled some whiskers in the Republican Navy. So he had invented the additional role of Shiphead. A purely ceremonial role with absolutely no command power. But it made the officers of the other ships in the Navy happy to see a noble on board.
The great black hole may swallow these short-jumping, idiotic traditionalists. If it were up to them, we would still fight from the backs of Nicru birds.
While other great powers developed and advanced, the Great Nekoorian Republic moved on momentum alone. No inner push other than to grow fat.
A beeping alarm pulled the Ambassador back to the here and now, out of the visions of Psstips warriors fighting high above the ground on the backs of the enormous birds.
The captain, son of a farmer and fiercely loyal, turned to Mekari.
"Ambassador, we have reached the approximate coordinates for the meeting. Shall we drop out of FTL?"
"Yes, my dear Captain, we do not want the humans to think we are not trustworthy now, do we?"
The captain turned and shouted commands to navigation and communications.
Then the cursed feeling of leaving FTL flowed through Mekari's body. As if the universe actively tried to push him away.
He swore, just for a moment, to smell and hear colors.
By the First Ones… there are truly people who willingly call this their vocation.
The world around him turned back to normal. The large holographic display in the center of the bridge showed… nothing.
Of course. They were truly in the empty.
"Ambassador, the fleet reports successful jump out of FTL. The ships are minimally dispersed. Returning to formation will take less than two hours."
The Captain's report made Mekari smile. The meeting was in three hours, and then the human fleet would be dispersed and forced to form up while his ships were already in formation.
Not that he expected a fight. On the contrary. But a tiny tactical advantage was always appreciated.
"Riig? How are the preparations going? We would like to impress our guests appropriately."
His assistant, and apprentice in some way, had just entered the bridge.
"Very good, Ambassador. I have chosen a human festivity of life and joy as the theme. They call it Easter. And if I interpret their fairly boring calendar system correctly, we had only missed it by a few weeks, so the human crew might appreciate it."
"Easter, you say? Is it the one with the fat, confused burglar that breaks into homes but leaves stuff instead of stealing it?"
Humans truly had funny festivities.
"No, that one's called Thanks for giving me, I think. Easter is the one with the mammalian abomination that lays cooked eggs."
"Ahh, yes, that one. Very good, Riig. Now, I will leave to read up a bit more on human diplomacy. You will inform me when our guests arrive, yes?"
"Yes, Ambassador."
Mekari left the bridge for his rooms. He did not tell Riig or the others of his newly instated inner circle, but reading through human history made him nervous.
They were aggressive, domineering, and frighteningly adaptable.
And this species would soon clash with his own.
And Psstips were aggressive, domineering, and frightfully unadaptive.
He was not a clairvoyant, but he already knew the future.
The humans would help beat back the new threat, and instead of thanking them, the Imperial Court would soon antagonize them or even go to war with them. Maybe about colonial rights, or any other stupid reason.
And then the humans would wipe us away like an annoying bug.
Not because we were weaker, by the First Ones, no. By any measurement, our Navy is three times the human. No, they would win because they still had energy, spank…
He reached his quarters. Contrary to his initial intentions, he did not feel like reading. A nice bath, maybe…
———
The bathing girls had just finished licking him dry — one of the few noble traditions he was not willing to give up just yet — when Riig informed him that the human fleet had just signaled they were about to 'transit'.
Mekari had to think for a second, then remembered that this was the human term for an FTL jump.
Transit… it flows a bit smoother.
He rushed the servants to clothe him. He wanted to be on the bridge, to see the human fleet firsthand.
Ships that even impressed the Nuk must be a sight to behold.
As he reached the bridge, the last servant had just managed to put on his left glove. The girl rushed out of the bridge back to her chamber.
I need to stop this. If I want to build a better future, I need to be a shining example.
The bridge was silent. Just a tiny electric hum from the Holo Display.
Everyone was staring anxiously at it. Any moment now, the humans would reach them.
Mekari leaned on a station where he could see clearly to the screen.
Before he had the chance to get bored, the typical blue flashes appeared, signaling a ship leaving FTL — or transiting, as the humans said.
"Captain, the human fleet has left FTL just 244 million tails away."
244 million tails is 186,411.3 human imperial miles. Mekari frowned his whiskers. No, that is not correct. The Humans use something called the metric system now.
He calculated quickly. It was 300,000 kilometers.
That number was far too exact to be by chance. The leader of the fleet had chosen this distance intentionally, and the fleet had hit the point exactly.
The Captain turned to Mekari, nose white with shock.
"Ambassador, the humans jumped from FTL in formation. That… that is impossible."
Mekari understood immediately. It had been yesterday when the captain had explained FTL drift.
Since ships could not see each other in FTL, they were in danger of ramming each other when jumping in formation.
Due to this, they jumped staggered. This caused slight variations in their course — fractions of a tail, but enough over long distances for the fleet to scatter.
It was a staple in warfare that the fleet that arrived first and was in formation had an advantage over the jumping enemy.
Humans had just negated thousands of years of space warfare. And they were probably not even aware of it.
That was it. If Mekari had any reservations about what he was about to do, they were gone now.
His mind was still not able to call it by its name.
Leave the Republic. Betray the Emperor. Seek asylum with his House somewhere in human space.
Focusing on the here and now, he turned to the Captain.
"Let us take a closer look at their ships, Captain."
The Captain stood up and walked to the holo display. With a routined hand gesture, he grabbed into the picture and enlarged the section of the human fleet.
"Reading multi-layered steel alloy and carbon nanotube armor. Some fluid circulating between them. Outer shell is coated with adjustable nanodiamonds." The sensor technician's report sounded cold.
To Mekari's eyes, the ships simply glimmered. Even with no natural light around.
One crewman — Mekari remembered it was an engineer — gaped. "Nanodiamonds. The Republican engineering court had decided this technology is not worth pursuing. Why do humans use it?"
The sensor technician shrugged. "To deflect laser-based weapons?"
"And carbon nanotubes? That is typical Shraphen armor." The Captain joined the discussion.
Mekari ignored the background discussions. He fixated on the ships floating in the empty.
Long, almost formed like knife blades. With large hangars on each side.
The ships were not as uniform as Republican ships, but shared a simple, unifying design language.
Function over form. But still beautiful in their blocky design.
All ships had a primary spinal gun. Most had large turret towers also bristling with guns.
"Weapons?"
Mekari had to ask. What weapon types would such a species use?
Lasers? Plasma? Ionized particle accelerators? Or even more fringe weapons?
"Preliminary scans show… projectile weaponry, Ambassador. Other ships are clearly torpedo barrages."
Riig began to laugh.
"Projectile weapons… that is primitive."
Mekari remembered the reports.
"And with those primitive weapons they defeated Batract fleets twenty times their size, and frightened the Nuk into desertion."
He saw the bridge crew's faces staring at him, their tails swinging slightly — a sign that they were unsure about the situation.
He gathered his thoughts. His father and his ancestors would not accept a Mekari who did not dominate the room, or was unsure of himself.
Analyze the situation. Think about it clearly and calmly. Then make a decision and act with confidence. And above all else, never expect to be the strongest or the smartest. Always be prepared that someone, somewhere, might be able to beat you.
His father's lessons in his head, he managed to smile, honestly.
He clapped his hands.
"Very well, Riig, let us meet our guests then. Captain, exchange the required pleasantries, and then guide our guests to the main hangar, yes?"
"As you wish, Ambassador." The Captain lowered his head. To Mekari's satisfaction, the bridge crew calmed down.
No more tails swung upright.
How freely the commoners could show their emotions. Nobles were drilled to hide them. His father punished him for every telling tail movement.
Do humans show emotions freely?
But how? They lost their tails, after all.
They took one of the high-speed elevators to reach the hangars faster. While in the elevator, Riig still typed nervously on his dataslate.
"Riig, what are you doing? You make me anxious, and you do not want me to be anxious. I killed my last assistant because I was anxious about the idea he was an assassin."
"But he was an assassin, Ambassador. He was sent by House—"
Mekari cut Riig off. He did not even want to hear the name anymore.
"Yes, Riig, yes. Now. What is it that makes you so riled up, hmm?"
Riig stared at the Ambassador.
"No, it's the humans. They are odd. According to our spy, they have integrated the Shraphen into their ranks. But they do not see them as vassals. How does this work?"
Mekari watched the doors open. They had arrived. Stepping out of the cabin, he turned to Riig.
"I do not know. Maybe they remind them of pets, with their big eyes and constant panting."
The honor guard was already present. Riig, next to the Ambassador, touched his ear. He had obviously gotten a call.
"Ambassador, the human Admiral is on her way."
"A female Admiral. I still find it curious."
Riig shook his whiskers in disgust.
"I still find it disgusting, risking females on the frontline. Do humans not value the lives of mothers?"
Mekari saw that Riig had a lot to learn, even after months of education by him.
"Never see other species through your cultural lens, Riig."
He pulled his assistant aside, so the honor guard would not hear them.
"We value females as companions, as birthgivers, and as philosophers. Our females are especially fragile creatures. That does not mean humans are the same. And do not forget — the Empire employs many females as spies and assassins."
Riig seemed to think about Mekari's words. Before he could answer, however, the hangar door opened, and a bulky, dangerous-looking black transporter slowly glided into the ship.
As soon as the transporter had landed, a group of armored soldiers exited the broad back ramp. Half of them were Shraphen.
Mekari thought about this fact for an instant. Was it a statement, or did human–Shraphen integration go so deep they forgot that the other was a different species?
No, not after such a short time.
Maybe the humans did not have enough personnel. They had only settled their own system, after all.
Making a mental remark to get human population statistics, Mekari stepped forward to meet the young blonde and, to his surprise, attractive female.
"Ahh, you must be Admiral Sanders. My name is Larkon Mekari, Ambassador of the Great Nekoorian Republic. Welcome."
He mustered the female. She wore a dark blue uniform with a five-pronged golden star on her left chest. Golden insignias on her shoulder — probably ranks. Same uniform as the other female in the group, or was it a male? The other person — Mekari chose to use the neutral term — had no discernible breasts.
Height was also no indicator. Psstips females were much shorter than typical males, but Sanders was only about a head shorter than he was. And the other humans in the group had the same height.
To Mekari, all humans looked female. That could become a problem if they got offended by it.
"Yes, I am Admiral Sanders." The human pointed to the other uniformed human. "This is Lieutenant Commander Mitchel, my advisor."
Mekari used the traditional human greeting, the shaking of the hands.
A wonderful gesture. It allows one to shake out hidden poisons or daggers from the opponent's arms.
Humans were smart, even with their greetings.
Mirroring the unusual action of the Admiral to introduce an assistant, he pointed towards Riig.
"This is Riig, my assistant. He will look to your needs while you are aboard. Now, we have prepared a small dinner as a — how do humans say — meet and greed?"
"I think it is greet, Ambassador," Riig interjected helpfully.
Mekari noticed the Admiral's mouth twitch. It was reminiscent of a Psstips female suppressing a smile or laugh.
If this was correct, Psstips females and humans had similar facial expressions.
He extended his hand towards the elevator. "If you would follow us?"
The Admiral nodded to her assistant and her soldiers. "Of course, Ambassador. I hope this invitation includes some of my guard."
Oh, she is a smart one. How delightful.
"Of course, Admiral. Trust too soon is grave too soon, as my father always said. If we were old friends, there would be no need to meet here in the dark. Now would there?"
"Indeed, Ambassador. Indeed."
Her security split up. The two Shraphen and two humans followed them. Mekari had noticed there were no words shared. Impressive.
While they walked to the elevator, Sanders cleared her throat.
"Ambassador, I am no diplomat, so forgive me if I'm crude, blunt, or offensive — but do all Psstips look like you?"
"The Ambassador is a very proud Psstips, and his appearance is seen as very attractive in the Republic, I assure you."
Riig interjected almost defensively.
"No, Riig, I do not think the Admiral was talking about me personally. But thank you for defending my honor."
Mekari gestured to the open elevator. Luckily, the cabin was large enough to carry heavy cargo, so the group could enter without standing on each other's tails.
"Admiral, I assume you speak of the glaring physical differences between Mikkra and me?"
The Admiral nodded before she caught herself and answered. "Yes. She is a bit smaller than me, and her face, her nose, everything is…"
"More human? Yes, Admiral. Psstips have a much greater sexual dimorphism than many other species. Males are larger and have much more distinct noses and whiskers. Our fur is not as transparent as females' fur."
"Oh, I see. Fascinating. It's the first time we encounter something like this — well, except in animal life on Earth."
"Am I correct if I assume males and females in your species are not very distinct in appearance?"
Sanders shook her head.
Nodding means yes, shaking means no, same as with us. Good to know.
"No, probably not from your point of view."
Mekari was about to ask how humans differ when the elevator opened in the festive hall. The heart of all festive activities on the ship.
Riig had outdone himself. To Mekari's eye, he had tastefully joined the Psstips festival of life with the human festival of life and rebirth.
Fifty bare-breasted female dancers wearing long rabbit ears danced to the rhythmic classical music.
A waitress jumped like an Earth rabbit over to them, traditionally also without any shirt. Like all of the service staff, she wore cartoonishly long rabbit ears.
"Ambassador, valued guests, your feast is prepared."
When Mekari looked back to the Admiral and her staff, Admiral Sanders could barely hide her laughter, but the other humans of the group had red faces.
"Admiral, do we offend your cultural sense? We thought we would honor you with this merger of our festival of life and the human… Easter."
The Admiral managed to gather herself. "No, we're not offended. I just hope my male companions don't die of heart failure."
So the others were male.
"Riig, please cancel the traditional bathing and massage sessions. We do not want to overstress our guests."
The Admiral's assistant began to breathe heavily. "Bathing and massage?"
Sanders grabbed his shoulder. "Maybe next time, Mitchel."
The rest of the dinner was marked by human males trying not to stare at the dancers, the Shraphen maintaining the extremely observant watchfulness their species was known for, and Sanders explaining the specifics of human religious traditions.
They seemed rather prude and boring to Mekari. And a glance at the human males told him they would love to join more Psstips festivals. Especially the life-affirming ones.
Riig had his paws full keeping the bathing and massage girls away from the humans. Obviously, the interest was mutual.
As the feast came to a close, the small talk ebbed down, and Mekari knew the real diplomatic talks were about to begin.
Sanders turned in her seat. "So, Ambassador. About the fleet you have with you."