Szczesny, at his signal, began the briefing.
"My Lord, I have conducted a thorough sweep of all the decks. The Fourth Regiment is cleaning up remote areas in squad units."
"Our total casualties stand at 184 soldiers in this battle. Fifty died in boarding accidents, and 134 died in combat."
Nareth was not surprised. The Fra'al possessed formidable combat strength. Had they not scattered and fled, the casualties would have been even greater.
A trapped beast fights the hardest, but without a commander, they lack coordination and organization.
"King Nareth, Magos Kivior-9 has replied. The xeno cannon holds immense research value. He will come after the battle concludes."
"Wojciech and I inspected the xeno ship. While we couldn't decipher all the controls, we confirmed that the vessel is still operational."
After hearing the report, Nareth issued his orders:
"Send messages to the ships of the Fender and Kournikova families, include encrypted identifiers. Order them to find a way to control Boleslaws and capture Robert."
"If they need support, you will lead a team to assist them."
Before the fleet set sail, he had acquired the encryption runes from Howard and Yelena. Once received by the family members, they would act according to his orders.
After everyone left, Nareth went to the Fra'al governor's quarters.
He had previously noticed that the governor's bed was 3.5 meters long, made of purple alloy, barely enough for him to curl up and sleep.
After a nap and spiritual recovery, the communicator rang.
"King Nareth, Magos Kivior-9 has arrived. Please proceed to the bridge to discuss negotiation details."
"Understood."
Nareth strode back to the bridge and saw Kivior-9 in a crimson robe.
Like all members of the Cult Mechanicum, the Magos couldn't suppress his curiosity about Nareth's body. But through logical computation, he quickly realized he lacked the capacity to analyze the giant's mysteries.
"The xeno cannon is worth developing. On behalf of the Martian Mechanicum, I've come to discuss joint research."
"State your terms."
"In addition to collaborative development and shared results, I want star maps of all the altars in the Vostroyan System."
Navigating the vast universe without such maps is like swimming blind. While the warp and other factors make star maps imperfect, having a reference is still far better than none.
"Your request is denied. The Vostroya star charts represent millennia of accumulated knowledge, gathered by the faithful servants of the Omnissiah," the Magos said.
"In accordance with the principle of equivalent exchange, you may only receive data for the two adjacent systems."
"No," Nareth denied without hesitation. "That deal is not equal. The xeno cannon holds far greater value."
"It can fire a pulse-energy beam, whose aetheric field in the beam can bypass void shields and directly erode hulls. A secondary effect overloads the target's shield systems."
"Even the entire Cult Mechanicum doesn't possess such advanced cannon tech. By studying it, Omnissiah's servants will gain a breakthrough in theoretical understanding."
Nareth was confident. He remembered that in the future, Tech-Priest Hieronomus Tezla had once boldly analyzed a crashed Fra'al vessel in the Tamar Sector, leading to his highly acclaimed Aether-Plasma Theory.
And that had been a mere wreck. The battlecruiser he now possessed was over 95% intact, its aether cannon completely unharmed.
Kivior-9 was silent for nine seconds before responding:
"This unit insists on inspecting the cannon first to ascertain its precise transactional value."
"Be my guest," Nareth said casually. The Fra'al's greatest advantage over other species was their mastery of aetheric technology. It could bypass not only human void shields but also Aeldari holofields.
Engaging the Fra'al in naval combat was unswise. He remembered how, during the coming Great Crusade, Konrad Curze's Night Lords captain, Kheron Ophion, had bravely, or foolishly, chosen to face the Fra'al fleet in open battle during a retreat.
In the end, his ship, The Killing Whisper, was destroyed. His captain reforged the wreckage into a combat shield called The Bloody Aegis, covered in vicious barbs of serrated ceramite.
The Bloody Aegis became a mark of Ophion's brave defiance, a cruel joke, and great shame.
The deeper Kivior-9 studied, the more he would realize the cannon's value.
"Wojciech, draft the transaction contract as I described."
"Four copies, two for each party, in Low Gothic of Vostroya and Lingua Technis."
"As you command, my king."
Wojciech got to work immediately. Rosicky frowned.
To his knowledge, Nareth hadn't even inspected the wings of the ship yet. And yet, he was so sure the Magos would agree to the deal.
This was even more inexplicable than his pre-battle predictions, at least those had been backed by data.
An hour later, Nareth received the contract from Wojciech. Using his "Lawyer" ability to dissect clauses, he found three loopholes and flagged one for major revision:
"The transaction item is only the aether cannon, not the whole ship."
Rosicky and Wojciech were stunned, then they realized what he was doing.
"My king, the Magos won't fall for that. What do you think?"
"It's fine. Just do as I say."
Wojciech was a technical expert, not skilled in negotiation.
If you list all your conditions upfront, the deal may collapse. But once the other party realizes the value and becomes determined, they're willing to pay more.
The revised agreement was ready in ten minutes, and just then, Kivior-9 returned with his retinue.
"I accept your terms. Let's talk details."
"I have prepared the agreement. You may review it, and if satisfactory, we shall sign immediately."
At Nareth's signal, Wojciech handed over the data slate.
Kivior-9 used a mechadendrite to grab it and quickly browsed through.
"This clause requires amendment. The transactional subject should be the entire xenos vessel."
No weapon system existed in isolation, especially not the ether-cannon, which was tied to an intricate network. The ship's other modules also held research value.
Once Kivior-9 and the Mechanicum recognized the full worth, they became determined to obtain the entire vessel.
Rosický and Wojciech exchanged glances. Of course, a Logis would not miss such an obvious oversight.
"You can have the whole vessel, if you meet my demand."
"What do you want?"
"I trade one battlecruiser for another. A fair exchange, is it not?"
Rosicky and Wojciech both thought at the same time: 'One for one is fair, sure, and the Mechanicum even profits. But Nareth is also asking for star maps.'
Nareth saw Kivior-9 hesitate and smiled.
"Star charts can be copied. The servants of the Omnissiah lose nothing. Trading a replicable vessel for new tech is a worthy exchange."
Nareth's exceptional rhetoric drew the Magos into a new logical framework.
After three seconds of silence, Kivior-9 spoke.
"I agree to your terms, but I have one condition as well."
"Within ten solar days, you must eliminate the remaining xeno raiders abandoned near the Symphony of the Sea.
"I accept."