Yuumi stepped back into the conference room, heart heavier than it was at the end of the second session. Vishta was gone, off to soothe issues with her homeworld.
Yuumi had promised support for her and the government in the form of defensive materiel and had sent Vishta off in her personal yacht. The ship, Premier One, was among the fastest in the galaxy. Yuumi knew it would see Vishta safely home. It had been rude to interrupt the Abwehran and Iroma delegates to help Vishta, but she believed they understood.
The Gartagen princess' absence, however, left the conference short a medium-sized player, one who had as much topical interest, if not more, as anyone did:
Territory. And how to claim it.
Yuumi knew she had to be careful now that she lacked the Gartagens' representation. It was not the ally she wanted, though; she needed opposing viewpoints, ones she was not going to come up with on her own.
Either play it risky, Yuumi thought, or play it safe.
There was little middle ground. Yuumi could press ahead to have an agreement on how to claim territory and leave the Gartagens with whatever came of it, or she could ask that the conference be continued without touching that subject.
The third option — calling off the whole conference — also was available, but was drastic. Yuumi worried about being seen as too willing to protect her Gartagen allies instead of fostering an intergalactic community.
She sat down in her assigned seat anyway, and mulled her options as she waited for the others to return.
Yuumi had promised support for her and the government in the form of defensive materiel and had sent Vishta off in her personal yacht. The ship, Premier One, was among the fastest in the galaxy. Yuumi knew it would see Vishta safely home. It had been rude to interrupt the Abwehran and Iroma delegates to help Vishta, but she believed they understood.
The Gartagen princess' absence, however, left the conference short a medium-sized player, one who had as much topical interest, if not more, as anyone did:
Territory. And how to claim it.
Yuumi knew she had to be careful now that she lacked the Gartagens' representation. It was not the ally she wanted, though; she needed opposing viewpoints, ones she was not going to come up with on her own.
Either play it risky, Yuumi thought, or play it safe.
There was little middle ground. Yuumi could press ahead to have an agreement on how to claim territory and leave the Gartagens with whatever came of it, or she could ask that the conference be continued without touching that subject.
The third option — calling off the whole conference — also was available, but was drastic. Yuumi worried about being seen as too willing to protect her Gartagen allies instead of fostering an intergalactic community.
She sat down in her assigned seat anyway, and mulled her options as she waited for the others to return.