[I need all Command staff in the meeting room in one hour for a briefing.] Max ordered as he made plans for their next destination.

There was a human world isolated in the depths of Klem Territory that he wanted to intervene with.

They had sent out a request for assistance or evacuation, but nobody had been willing to take it on so far. Over the course of the past decade, the Klem had taken every system around them, leaving them an isolated pod of humanity in the middle of Klem territory. It was strongly suspected that they were being used as bait so that the Klem could attack the ships that came to rescue them or trace them back to their homeworlds in search of more biomass.

So, he would take Terminus toward the empty space of the Galactic Core, and they would travel in from that direction, leaving no definite evidence of which inhabited area that they had come from.

The location might not be a trap, but it wouldn't be the first time that the Klem had done something surprisingly sneaky when it was near their core worlds and they had communication with their central network of Queens.

They might only work together when none of them stood to benefit personally. Still, when they did, they could be incredibly cunning, far beyond what they were normally considered capable of.

Max waited for the others to arrive at the meeting while he prepared coffee and notes for them all to go over, showing the intended route, the inhabitants of the planet, and the exact content of the evacuation or aid request.

Max was certain that none of them would have an issue with it, though there was a significant risk of injury or death, but perhaps one of them could see something that he had missed or a flaw in his plan.

One by one, they filed in, taking seats around the table with the holographic map in the middle where everyone could see what the presenter was talking about. Last up was Nico, who arrived with snacks to go with the coffee, as well as one of the Illithid.

"The Innu are leaving tomorrow, but the Illithid wish to leave an advisor with us when they go. They're not hiding that they intend to report back to the Alliance about our activities, and they can read minds, so I don't see a good reason not to include them in the planning meeting at this point." Nico informed the group.

"You might as well take a seat. It's less creepy than having people think you're spying on them from another room." Colonel Klinger agreed, making the Illithid laugh.

"It is common practice for all ships in the Alliance to have an Illithid aboard for prevention of deception and mutiny. Now, your ship has Commander Keres for that purpose since it is very hard to lie to him, but I hope that my insight can prove my worth as an advisor." The Illithid introduced himself.

They didn't give themselves individual names, so Max really couldn't call him anything else, except maybe Advisor Illithid, which was both amusing and ironic at the same time.

"Let's get this started. We have received a request for aid. This planet is surrounded by Klem-held worlds and is requesting preventative evacuation. I think it will be the perfect place to pass some time doing good work while things settle down.

The plan for the attack we can discuss in a moment, but the real reason that I have called you here is that I have a plan for the future of Terminus, both as a ship and as a Trading Company.

I want to push humanity toward the standard for galactic acceptance. Now, the standards of the Alliance might be a bit high for an immediate goal, but at the very least, a unified Human Alliance, with sufficient technology tying it together not to be considered archaic by intergalactic standards, would be my preference.

I also have the plan to do it.

What I want to do is wait for the Chaos of the fall of the Kepler Empire to subside and for the new nations to establish basic peace treaties among their planets. While they work that out, we will work with the other Reavers to spread technology to the Mercenaries that they have been cut off from for Centuries.

They have already completed all of the negotiations to ally with the Reavers, and trade between the groups has been authorized, with the exception of a few blacklisted groups. Between the two groups, we have the manpower to completely dominate international trade. The Reavers can take over every single major trade route once they have the new ship technology to break warp 10.historical

With that, they can spread the basic design of the replicators and the new materials printers to every planet that is interested, with the caveat that they will be wiped out of existence if they use them for war against other nations that share the technology.

It feeds into their feelings of importance, and with so many nations set to fall and others to greatly expand, the timing is perfect to renegotiate treaties.

At the very least, Cygnus, The Reavers, The Death Wind Territory, and the Kepler Free Region, who has already begun working with the Reavers, are in.

I don't know how many small nations will survive this next year or two, so we can't calculate that yet, but that covers over half the inhabited planets in this region of the Galaxy."

Max stopped for a moment to show the regions that were likely to say yes immediately, as well as list out the basic technologies that would be distributed as bribes to sign onto the agreement and improve human living standards even more than they already were.

Nico perked up as she looked over the map. "Hey, that gives me a really good idea. The Replicator technology can use pretty much any form of biomass to create food you see. We have a Klem infestation on the border and a freshly developed technology that can turn them into delicious, nutritious ration packs for our forces and workers."

Everyone stared at her for a moment before the Illithid began to laugh. "I suspect that convincing the population to eat food made of recombined giant insects might meet with more resistance than you have suspected, Miss Nico. Even if it is a perfectly normal ration pack, the innate mental resistance to eating bugs is strong among almost every species, including everyone else in the room, myself included."

Nico frowned but nodded. "Noted. No telling the forces on the ground that we plan to feed them recombined Klem to save on resources, and no giving them out as humanitarian aid packages."

The Illithid looked to Max for assistance. "Her mind doesn't work the same as Humans. Is she always this stubbornly inventive?"

That got everyone in the room in on the laughter. "You have no idea. But the short answer is yes. If there is a creative answer needed, we make sure to ask her. Though the answer often involves a genocide of convenience, her plan always includes elements that will work to solve the problem."