The newly refurbished ships arrived not long after, filled to the brim with Reavers spoiling for a fight. It was common knowledge that Terminus was the face of the Reavers for international negotiations, and being sent to them meant that they, too, would be representing the Reavers as a whole on a day when someone had launched a full-scale assault to attempt to take control of five mineral and technology-rich planets.

The attacks hadn't been random. The planets were all very well-developed ones, with state-of-the-art development facilities on them, as well as access to the very best of human technologies.

If the Volga even managed to raid the mainframes of a few facilities on the planet, they could gain a huge amount of data about human industry, but it seemed that their production abilities were lacking, so they needed the entire planets so that they could use the human factories to reproduce the goods for their own use.

It had been a long time since a new threat had arrived to claim human worlds, and in the minds of the Reavers, the Volga were on par with the Klem or the Narsians, unreasonable savages who could only be dealt with through the proper application of brute force.

[Commander, your new vessels have arrived, awaiting your subordinate to begin our mission to defend the Reaver worlds.] The navigator in charge of the Destroyer, aptly named Coup de Grace, informed Max the moment that the portal closed behind them.

"What does that ship's name mean?" The Valkia asked as they didn't have the language in their records.

"Literally, Stroke of Mercy. Figuratively, it is the final blow given to put a wounded foe out of their misery, ending their life with mercy instead of suffering." Max explained.

"Human ship names are always so morbid. I have learned that even Terminus means the end, giving it an odd double meaning, like it is either the final resting place of its occupants or that meeting it would signal the final day for its foes." The Innu replied, slowly regaining her senses as the overdose of Caffeine cleared out of her system.

pαпdα`noν?1`сoМ

"I am afraid that it is time for me to leave you all to your own devices unless you wish to accompany me for a few more minutes before it is time for me to take action.

My Second in Command will be staying behind to take command of Terminus in my absence, and I am absolutely certain that she will be overjoyed with the news when she returns to the ship."

The Huntress burst into laughter at his words and made a symbol toward Max that seemed to be a form of warding off bad luck.

"How does that system work? I am not fully versed in human mentality, but it seems like she would murder you in your sleep for leaving her behind when there is a battle to be fought on this scale." The big woman laughed.

"You would think so, but she secretly likes me. I let her hunt down the first ship, so she can wait aboard Terminus to see if there are any more threats while I accompany the others to our designated target within the Volga worlds.

I will be heading for their Capital city in order to negotiate a cessation of hostilities, so if you would like to send an observation vessel through the portal behind me, I am certain that the Hunters will learn many new things about human negotiation tactics." Max told her with a wink.

"I think that could be entertaining. I will go with the Alliance delegation since I am certain that they won't allow the situation to pass unsupervised. What sort of show should we expect?" The Huntress asked.

"Give me a few minutes, and another update should be here with the final decision, as well as troop deployments," Max told her while he waited impatiently.

[Terminus Trading Company is requested to send fifty percent of their military forces for the compliance of the Volga Capital. Mary Tarith and the Tarith Reavers will be in charge of the negotiation of official surrender terms, while the Terminus Trading Company will be assigned to the Captial City, with the Cygnus 401st, 402nd, and 418th Compliance Fleets, as well as the Black Dog Mercenary Company deploying to the planet to remove hostile forces.]

"It looks like they are about to have a very bad day. A Cygnus Compliance Fleet is ten Cruisers and a Destroyer. Three such fleets are going to the Volga Capital planet, as well as a Mercenary force of unknown strength, as I was not privy to how much of their strength will be deployed alongside us." Max informed the Envoys.

The Giant did a bit of calculation in his mind and frowned.

"Isn't that a bit excessive?"

"There is no such thing. The ultimate goal of defensive action is to end hostilities without losing anyone on your side. Just watch, and you will see how humans convince the universe not to test our patience." Max told him with a casual shrug.

The shuttles with the former Battalion Commanders, now Ship Captains, were already on their way to their new homes, so Max sent the deployment orders, having the two Holy Truth built cathedral style Cruisers remain there with Terminus to ensure the safety of their guests and the planet, while he got ready to mount up Cleansing Light and join the attack force on its way to the portal.

He definitely wasn't running away before Nico made it back to the ship and found out that she was going to be staying behind.historical

[All units, prepare to open portals to the Volga home system. Destination, one-half light-year from the star, in anticipation of defensive countermeasures. Cleansing Light will lead the charge. Coup de Grace, you are to deploy drones at the first sign of defensive fortifications. All other units prepare for planetary landing.] Max ordered as soon as he was inside his Mecha.

The bootup of the targeting screens as his System came to life was comforting to Max, like he had been away from home for too long, but finally, it was time to stretch his legs again and show the universe that humanity deserved respect.