A pink-skinned, four-eyed Sirthon, came striding towards them without pause or any sign of fear. However, this one was not adorned in plasteel armour, or carrying any weapons. On the contrary, this Sirthon was dressed in a plain, multi-layered set of clean white and grey clothing, with a translator clipped to his chest.

Ferro's apathetic expression suddenly hardened, his eyes ablaze with shock and anger. Jennifer was taken aback, her mouth hanging open for a millisecond before she quickly closed it and smiled.

But it was Ambassador Vidal's reaction that was the most surprising. Rising from his seat, the Earther approached the Sirthon without fear and opened his arms in a welcoming manner.

"Haraq!" he exclaimed.

"Louis!" the Sirthon replied, baring his mandibles into a facsimile of a smile.

Marcus watched as the ambassador embraced the alien, as if embracing a brother or a family member. Then, with a bright smile, Vidal turned to the Orbital Commandos. "Major, Captain, allow me to introduce my assistant, Haraq."

Glancing around for a moment, Marcus saw Jennifer and Ferro's reactions. Hoping to set a precedent, he stood up and nodded to the Sirthon, a blank look upon his face. "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Striding forward, Haraq took Marcus' armoured gauntlet in both his hands and shook it eagerly. "Major Winter, I'm so glad to see you at last." The alien's mandibles moved and twisted, while the automatic translator clipped to his chest transformed the hissing Sirthon language into human words. "And, on behalf of the Sirthon, I thank you for aiding in these negotiations."

"I'm just doing my job, Haraq," Marcus said modestly. "So, what's your role in the meeting?" he asked.

Haraq replied quickly. "I'm here as Ambassador Vidal's assistant, but I'm also here to aid in the discussions over the liberation of all Sirthon within the Empire." He explained his standpoint clearly and honestly. "As I'm sure you know, my kind are enslaved by the Xan-Klar, who treat us as little more than animals."

Marcus nodded. "I am aware of that, Haraq..." he said sympathetically. "... and I'll do whatever I can to help you win your people's freedom."

Haraq's mandibles curved up again. "I hoped you would, Major, and I'm ecstatic to hear you say such things."

Across the room, Ferro's hand was balling up into a fist, his eyes burning with enough venom to kill a Kropen. And when Vidal scanned the room, Marcus' instincts told him that the ambassador noticed this as well.

"Anyways, I'll leave you three to prepare for the meeting." The Earther said with a smile. "Haraq and I have other work to do. Carry on, Major." He lifted two fingers to his forehead and picked up his briefcase before turning and leaving the room, with Haraq following close behind.

As soon as the door slid shut behind them, Ferro spat on the floor.

"Cunts."

Jennifer spun around to look at him. "Ferro..." she said warningly.

"He's not in the room now, Jenn," L.J snapped at her. "I can say what I please about that pompous windbag and his little pink bootlicker."

"Ferro..." Marcus said, looking at the Tartarusan. "... he's a member of the diplomatic staff."

"I'm aware of that, Horus boy." Ferro snapped back. "But what you two don't seem to be aware of is that he's a fucking Sirthon!"

Jennifer glared angrily at her stocky comrade. "Ferro, the Sirthon aren't our enemy anymore!"

"So we're not here to protect Ambassador Dickslurp from the Hand of Reclamation?" Ferro retorted. "Forgive me, but I was under the impression that keeping Sirthon away from that moustached cocksucker was part of our mission!"

Jennifer opened her mouth to respond, but Marcus cut her off.

"Ferro, there's a difference between the Hand of Reclamation and the whole Sirthon race. A rather obvious one."

The Tartarusan nonchalantly shrugged. "If you say so, Major. Just be the first to call me when one of them blows your brains out."

Jennifer shot up from her seat and glared down at him. "So what happened to 'Might as well do some good while I'm stuck here?'" she asked, quoting what he had said earlier.

Ferro glared back up at her. "Helping the thing that tried to wipe out humanity isn't an act of good," he snarled. "And besides, we liberate them from slavery under the Empire, and they'll just end up being slaves in all but name under the Union. Far as I see it, the four-eyed fucks are screwed either way."

Jennifer's face turned red. Marcus frowned and locked gazes with the short man.

"Master Sergeant Ferro." He said in a stern voice, his eyes hard as iron. "If you're not going to be helpful here, then I suggest you go back to the hangar and make yourself useful there."

Ferro replied to Marcus by looking at him with a sneer, then rising to his feet and mockingly standing to attention. "Whatever you want... sir."

And with that, the Tartarusan left. As he walked away, Jennifer shook her head and grimaced.
"Bastard." She muttered under her breath.

Marcus didn't reply. Instead, he continued to look over the files before him, thinking about how he would go about the duty that Vidal had shunted onto him. Opening negotiations with a species he had only met once was hard enough. And the time they did meet was when the city of Kenostros was a warzone.

Jennifer sat down opposite Marcus, where Vidal had been just a moment ago. Looking at her commanding officer, she asked. "Still feeling the pressure?"

Marcus nodded back at her. "Yeah. The ambassador wants me to open the negotiations with the Xan-Klar, and the presence of a Sirthon will likely make things worse."

Jennifer grimaced slightly as she heard that, her fingers fidgeting slightly. However, she then looked at Marcus and smiled again. "Well, let's hope the best comes to pass, eh?"

Marcus replied immediately. "Let's hope," he said, trying to smile himself. His attention then returned to the paper sheets that Ambassador Vidal had given him. "Anyway, our ETA is 10 minutes. "Head down to the others. Once I've compiled a plan of action, I'll give you all a briefing."

Jennifer nodded, recognising her orders, before she stood up and turned to leave. As she did so, Marcus's mind set to work once again as he sorted out the details of how he would protect the meeting.

As he thought through his options, he gazed out the window one last time, thinking about the Xan-Klar, who his men were about to meet face-to-face once again...