The ship landed on the tarmac and from the hatch door came out three people. Shi Lang noticed that one of these people was a Terran, and another person was Minerva. The third person who walked in lead was wearing clothing unknown to the young general. It looked like a multilayered gown.
However, the face of the young general did not change. Shi Lang stood calmly, waiting for the people to come over. The Terran envoy smiled at Shi Lang and shook his hand upon meeting and said, “General Lang, I am Shashi. Glad to meet you.”
Shi Lang nodded and said, “Glad to meet you too, Envoy Shashi.”
Shashi was a slightly dusky-looking man in his early forties. He seemed to be quite jolly. He said, “Allow me to make some introductions. This is senior Adjudicator, Raxa Joru. He will be overseeing the wartime negotiations with Zergs. And ofcourse, Lady Minerva, she visited you here earlier.”
Shi Lang nodded and said, “Welcome to the Frontier, Adjudicator Joru.” he nodded to Minerva but did not say a word.
Shashi did not force him either, after all, what they did with Deputy Sikar had caused them to be strongly scolded by the Galactic Council. So, Minerva was sent over to apologize and show goodwill. Adjudicator Joru said in a hoarse voice, “General Lang, shall we chase to the business?”
Shi Lang nodded and said, “I will be grateful if you did so, Adjudicator Joru.”
The man had his face covered with a mask, but Shi Lang could see that behind this mask was not something that looked like a human. The hands were also covered with gloves, but they only had four fingers. Shashi said, “Adjudicator Joru, why do we not have a meeting among us when we reach the base?”
The adjudicator nodded and then the four people got into the vehicle. Shi Lang personally drove the vehicle and took the people to the base at the fastest speed. He did not do this to show courtesy, but to prevent any tricks these people might have and also prevent them from looking at the things in the surroundings.
He did not want the details of the fleet to be known by many. The Galactic Council was like a court of different civilizations similar to the Terrans. They watched over things like war procession and other issues that are not solvable without foreign intervention to maintain balance. Yes, they did like to gain power in the shadows, but nothing too big.
Shi Lang took the four people directly to the conference room and sat down in the host chair. He asked, “You can begin now, Adjudicator Joru.”
Adjudicator Joru liked to deal with things fast. He nodded and said, “Before coming here, a counterpart of mine visited the Zergs, and their conditions have been heard. The task of an Adjudicator is to ensure that the war is played on fair terms. So, if you have any conditions, you can mention them.”
Shi Lang smiled and said, “To be honest with you, this is the first time I have heard that the war must be fought on fair ground. If that was the case then both the parties will end up mutually destroyed. However, let us not discuss the morality of it.
The Zergs have been treating my kind as an article of consumption. They eat my kinsmen alive. I have one request only, total annihilation. I will not stop until every single Zerg is dealt with even if it is the eggs. You can feel free to call it a genocide, I do not have any opinions.”
The words were sharp and they made the Adjudicator feel surprised, Shi Lang did not ask about the rules and things, but a direct point of destruction was stated to him. However, the Adjudicator could tell that Shi Lang was serious. He thought for a bit and said, “This is up to you, after all, every Zerg accounted for is going to participate against you in the battle.”
Shi Lang knew it. The Zergs had developed technology, but it was all done by their scientists. However, they were a civilization driven by greed for food. They would eat everything they could find. Even their dead comrades. That was why Shi Lang was disgusted by these creatures.
Shi Lang nodded and asked, “What are there conditions?”
Adjudicator Joru said, “They have limited ships, and they wish for your fleet members to engage in ground battles. The place will be the uninhabited asteroids. Do you agree?”
Shi Lang thought about it and said, “They wish to battle in open space, fine with me, but the space should be Federal Territory. We can also fight on an uninhabited, barren planet in Zerg Territory.”
Adjudicator Joru said, “The war is limited to two stages, one is the ground battle, and the other is the fleet battle. After the Zerg forces are reduced to a certain number, the fleet battle will commence. Do you agree?”
Shi Lang nodded and showed his agreement. The two people continued discussing and Adjudicator Joru contacted his counterpart in the Zerg territory to discuss the matter. In the end, it was finalized that the Terran Military will post a number of soldiers on the barren planet in the Zerg Space. The galactic council asked the people to now use any planetary weapons.
Shi Lang on the other hand did this because he had the asteroids loaded and prepared as weapons for the fleet war. He did not want to mess up the plans. The ground war just added another level to it.
Adjudicator asked, “Given the number of forces Zergs have, how much confidence you have in facing them?”
Shi Lang asked, “Is this question of relevance?”
Joru nodded and said, “Your fleet is half the size, even if we include the reserves, you still fall short of two hundred thousand Zergs. We do not wish to send your people to death, if you need then we can work up some treaty.”
Shi Lang shook his head and said, “We are confident.”
Adjudicator Joru said, “General Shi Lang, I understand that you are a strong man and do not want to compromise with the enemy but please think for a moment.”
He did not believe that Shi Lang and his men could face off against the Zergs. Shi Lang gazed at the Adjudicator and asked, “Adjudicator Joru, if I showed you the secret behind my confidence, then what is the guarantee that you will not report it to people outside? Even the ministry is kept in the dark let alone any outsider to know about this. I am telling you that we can deal with it, which means we can deal with it. I care about the lives of my men, more than people on the sideline.”
He once again displayed his strong side to the Adjudicator. He also stated that he has a hidden card up his sleeve. This was to show his capital by disclosing it. The Adjudicator thought for a bit and said, “Fine then. You have permission to engage. I wish you the best.”
Shi Lang nodded and stood up. Joru stood up and shook hands with Shi Lang. Shashi said, “The adjudicators will be watching the war proceedings from the sidelines, while I will stay by your side to make sure that you do not violate the rules.”
Shi Lang nodded and asked, “If I had made preparations early on, will they count as a violation?”
The Adjudicator shook his head and said, “It is fine, we all prepare for the tough times.”
Shi Lang nodded and said, “Thank you then. I have a few things to arrange, I will have my deputy drop you at the spaceport?”
The adjudicator nodded and walked out with Lady Minerva in tow. Shi Lang really was not joking he was going to prepare the army for the battle and also hold a war meeting with his deputies to make sure they all understand the rules and other things like the two-staged war. He asked Shashi, “Does the war has a limited period of time?”
Shashi nodded and said, “One week. If you take more than that, Zergs will hide away. They have done this in the past as well.”
Shi Lang nodded and said, “I will not give them a week.”
He made his way to the technical department and found doctor Stephan. The status over there made him smile with delight. Shi Lang had the technical department make war puppets and they have, in the past, three days, made two hundred thousand puppets. These were going to be the infantry for the Federal forces.
All the things were decided and Deputy Sikar returned after sending back the two galactic council envoys. He now needed to address the forces and instill a spark inside their hearts. Thinking about this he came to the command center and found Hayley, who was standing in for him while the negotiations went on.
She asked, “How did it go?”
Shi Lang replied, “It went okay. Call for a wartime meeting and inform the Parliament. We are going to war with those reptiles.”
The command center echoed, “Hoorah!”