The Vehicle was a slow, lumbering monolith as it crossed the room. Myriad niq attendants walked alongside it, each one dominated by the will of the alien within. The Vehicle had windows, but they were shut to the outside by heavy, sliding metal doors. No one could see inside, though there was never any doubt that the being inside could see everything happening around it.
Thirty-four meters long from the curved front to the boxy rear end, another ten wide and seven in height, it towered over all those present, not just the small, scampering niqs which accompanied such Vehicles everywhere. It was a dark grey, almost black, with a steel finish to the meter-tall bands at the top and bottom that ran the vehicle’s length. It was a thing of mystery.
Present were the surviving leaders of the local government: a colonial force that had risen to exercise far more control over the native populace of the planet than this particular Hegemon had appreciated. There were some soldiers, as well, and they remained armed since the Hegemon didn't care about their weapons inside the vehicle. They were a threat only to the niqs, which likewise had no mental response. They were, after all, simply extensions of their Hegemon mentally.
When the vehicle finally ground to a halt, it sagged a little as it eased down onto the tile floor. There was an audible sound of the tiles below buckling under the mass.
The presiding member of the government gave a wince. It had been spotless, ancient tile. They had negotiated a surrender in part to prevent any damage to the temple at which they chosen to meet.
Silence followed.
Eventually, it was broken by one of the attendant niqs; the voice was high pitched, not at all intimidating and entirely unexpected by those present.
“We have come to a decision, President Wei?” It had an attempt at a powerful tone, knowing full well that it was in charge, but the biology of the niq didn’t quite allow that. Instead, the forceful tone mixed with the high pitch produced something almost comical.
Wei, responded. “We will not abandon our claim on this planet. We were here first.”
A few of the niqs moved forward, some hunched and peering upward with an odd twist to their necks. They sniffed around, grabbing as much sensory data as possible. Several of them at once said, “We disagree. The natives were here first, and we are here now. To us, this is all that matters. You are the middleman, and you can be excised.”
Like a tumor, is what the Hegemon meant. It was careful to not allow this thought to be uttered through any of its dominated niqs.
“We have agreed to the majority of your terms, but you allowed no negotiation. Our people need this colony! Without it, our economy could collapse! I can’t be the president that caused the worst depression in our history.”
There was a murmur of agreement from the other officials around.
One of the niqs replied loudly enough for them to hear, though a couple of others mumbled the same, “You can be that president, or your successor can be. We will leave you with that choice.”
The soldiers raised their weapons, knowing that to be a threat. The president paled at the thought of both what the niq said, and what could happen if the men with him opened fire. The Hegemon could feel it, a spare mental tendril playing with his thoughts and reading his emotions. He was too willful to control outright for any real length of time, too exhausting of a subject, but the Hegemon could understand his processes.
“Either way, you will be the one who lost here and now,” the Hegemon continued speaking through the niqs. “Rest assured that if you kill the attendants, you won’t be able to reach us.” In the worst case scenario, it kept to itself for now, it had a nuclear device. Once it was sure there was no way it would survive, it would make sure no one else did, either.
The hegemon reached out to some of the soldiers with a tendril, feeling around their emotions, delving a little more deeply into the weaker ones. Their loyalties were tenuous at best. They knew their jobs, and were professionals, but when push really came to shove, there was doubt here.
The president didn’t quite get the drift, however, and didn’t know that his men were anything less than dedicated. “You’re all unarmed. Surely the cost--”
“Attendants are replaceable.” The voice… that high pitch. It was so hard for these people to take seriously. But the multitude of background echos was just so unnerving. “Don’t worry about the costs to the Hegemony, worry about the costs of remaining here. We trust wisdom will inform your final decision.”
The Vehicle churned and whirred, and began backing out of the room, effortlessly crushing through one of the steps that led down into it, before the hovering thrusters allowed the rest to clear the entranceway.
The president winced but did little else.
“One more thing, President Wei,” the lead niq said, as the others followed the Vehicle out. “The attendants could have torn out the throats of everyone in the room. Consider it a gesture of goodwill that they did not. Go home, and take your people. Bombardment of your city will recommence in two full rotations.”
And arming of the native populace, including training them on operation, would begin momentarily, though there was no reason to tell Wei that. He would never need to know. In two days, he would be gone: dead, or going home. If the hegemon was one to gamble, the bet would be on dead.
In orbit, the hegemon’s ship, a grand monolith that loomed in the sky, was surrounded by the wreckage of the colony’s self-defense force. Every so often, a laser broom swept through space, disintegrating sufficiently large pieces that were vaguely threatening to either it or the planet below. To highlight the seriousness of the hegemon’s demand, a visible targeting beam was kept on the main colonial city below; a ray of light from the heavens that promised imminent destruction. The city center was bathed in a column of orange.
The clock was ticking.
