New Kids on the Block
The Raumeni Civil War stretched on into 266AU, without an end in sight. The casualties of the conflict now numbered in the millions. Broken hulls littered the space near contested worlds, which played host to hundreds of ongoing landside campaigns. The Raumeni made for bitter enemies, especially unto themselves. Codexianity, for its part, was growing impatient with the undeclared war being waged in the Raumen territories by the Codexian Navy. All the government had to show for the ongoing support it provided to the Three-Toner Alliance was a growing mound of toe-tagged body bags and extravagant extra-budgetary spending. Luckily, the news that another force was actively involved in the conflict remained a private reserve. Codexia was determined to discover exactly who the Hin’in were, and what they wanted. To that end, they employed every information gathering technique available to them, from SENINT (sentient intelligence) to ELINT (electronic intelligence) to active reconnaissance.
After a long period of frustrating failure, they finally discovered an ‘in’ through a largely neutral minor clan that had avoided taking part in the war directly. Human intelligence operatives and their Raumeni counterparts managed to follow a long arms dealing paper trail back to its source, which turned out to be a Raumeni front for a Hin’in sponsored operation. Establishing contact with the Hin’in through such dubious links required a delicate diplomatic touch and deft timing. To Codexianity’s credit, both were in evidence when contact was successfully initiated on 18 June 266AU, in a landmark covert action. A number of clandestine meetings followed, in which the Hin’in – confirmed to be short, robe-wearing, four-eyed humanoids – met with their human equivalents on neutral ground. There, they began hashing out their differences and looking for common ground. Before long, the Hin’in were more or less confirmed to possess telepathic powers, at the very least. They could communicate amongst themselves without any verbal address.
On the diplomatic side of the exchange, the Hin’in position was very clearly defined; they desired control over their ‘side’ of the Raumeni domain. Their client faction had already relinquished control over strategic systems to the Hin’in Empire, which was slowly making ready to assume control in force. There was very little ambiguity or wordplay involved, the Hin’in did not mince their words or utilize double-speak. The Codexians sitting opposite them were often taken aback by their oft-brutal honesty. The bottom line they presented was that the Confederacy was finished, as a state construct. The future of the Raumeni was vassalage. Codexianity was offered a simple deal, several months into the negotiations: a 50/50 divide of the Raumeni territories, and the opportunity for lucrative trade and development deals down the road. The alternative given was struggle. ‘Uncompromising’ is a term that came to characterize the Hin’in rather accurately, during this time.
Do you... refuse to let the idea of the Raumen Confederacy die? These aliens are clearly tyrannous monsters, and must be stopped. Furthermore, the Raumeni themselves might have something to say about vassalage.
OR
Do you... choose to accept the Hin’in deal? It means money and territory on a platter. It means more power. Perhaps it is the start of a beautiful friendship.
OR
Do you court disaster by inviting all the warring clans to witness evidence that clearly shows the Hin'in are acting to subjugate large swathes of Raumeni territory?
