A bubble of hope appeared deep within Eyuy's chest. If Ppnlak was telling the truth, and at this point, Eyuy had no reason to believe that he wasn’t, what he found would change Eyuy's fate. An automaton meant that the species was more advanced than Eyuy could have hoped, the building blocks of a report the ICC would die for. 

An automaton meant one of two things. All the buildings were similarly protected, or Ppnlak stumbled upon a building of importance. Eyuy was hoping for the latter, but he would take anything. Eyuy asked, "Can you describe the automaton to me?"

I didn't get a good look before I ran away, but it was double my height and this wide. Ppnlak stretched his tentacles to their full width, which wasn’t something to scoff at.

"Why was the machine so wide?"

The entrance was that wide as well. It became the building's door, blocking me from entering further.

"Did you see any weapons?"

If there were any, they were hidden. 

Eyuy nodded his head, "Having autonomous weapons does seem like it could be a hazard. The ICC monitors theirs vigilantly."

Ppnlak tilted his head toward Eyuy, making him feel as if Ppnlak was giving him a sidelong glance. They are not as vigilant as you like to think.

Eyuy frowned, "What do you mean by that?"

The stolen weapons the Architeuthis has on their ship tells me that the ICC might not be as good at monitoring their property as you think they are. Perhaps you shouldn’t believe every memo your coalition sends.

"Says the alien that can't read."

Ppnlak bristled, his glow deepening to a dark red. So? Am I brainless because your words look like scribbles?

"The ICC would never let that slide. To have their equipment fall into the hands of pirates threatens the safety of the species they protect," Eyuy argued.

Do you think I’m telling lies? I saw what I saw. I’m sorry if it doesn’t align with what you think of the ICC. They aren’t as kind as you would like to believe.

“The ICC has a duty to protect their people! They are not evil!”

I never said that! Evil was never part of the conversation.

"You implied it!"

I implied nothing. You may look down on me because I was part of the Architeuthis, and I won't deny that pirates are no heroes. But I've seen what your coalition hides, and it makes me wonder if they are any better.

"To compare the ICC to pirates is revolting."

Ppnlak sighed, Do you want to talk about this, or do you want to see what I discovered?

Although Eyuy was angered by Ppnlak’s insults, he was interested in what Ppnlak had found. Hearing Ppnlak out wouldn’t help him generate a report on the possibly extinct space-faring species. "I want to see what you discovered."

Do you need anything from your ship?

"Yes, follow me." Eyuy led Ppnlak back to where his ship was parked. When they arrived, Eyuy had conflicting thoughts about whether to let the alien inside. One, the ship was small, and Ppnlak would take up more space than was comfortable. Two, Ppnlak wasn’t officially allowed on the ship as he wasn’t authorized.

Article 31; section 1: No unauthorized personnel may board or pilot an ICC spacecraft without express permission from a supervising officer. Even with express permission, an informational report must be filed with the Administrative Sector. Failure to file will result in a strike on the officer's personnel record.

Eyuy must have been projecting his worries because Ppnlak said, I don't need to be in the ship. Get what you need, and then we'll leave.

"Understood." It was still awkward for Eyuy when he went inside the spaceship alone, leaving Ppnlak to wait.

As he walked into the control area of the ship, LOIUY greeted, [WELCOME BACK, EXPLORER AUEM-YINH.]

A small smile curled Eyuy's lips. "It's good to be back, LOIUY."

[BASE PARTNER ANGELIKA MÜLLER LEFT YOU A MESSAGE. WOULD YOU LIKE ME TO READ IT?]

"Please."

LOIUY's voice morphed into Angelika's, [EYUY-YINH, SUPERVISOR SBLANNU HAS SENT OUT A MEMO TO THE SECTOR. THE DIPLOMAT SECTOR HAS FINISHED NEGOTIATIONS WITH THE SIJEX FEDERATION. I’VE SENT THE MEMO TO YOUR DASHBOARD. READ IT!]

The Sijex Federation, situated in the Sijex Galaxy, was a name known by all within the ICC, whether that be personnel or species in its codex. The Bierva, the founders of the federation, had declared war on the ICC and every species allied with them. Eyuy’s home solar system was on the opposite side of the Sijex Federation, so he hadn’t experienced any of the warfare. However, the horror stories were known far and wide. The atrocities committed by the Sijex were still felt by the affected.

Eyuy had joined the ICC right before the war ended, so he was able to bear witness to the changes its end brought. While the ICC had a Military Sector, its main purpose was to maintain peace within the systems it handled. The Sijex War, as it was named, showed everyone how underprepared the ICC was to maintain the peace it upheld. The ICC went through a massive policy overhaul and siphoned funding into the Military Sector. Where they got that money, Eyuy didn’t know.

Even though the war ended a little bit after Eyuy joined the ICC, and negotiations started as soon as it was over, the ICC and the Sijex Federation butted heads over the tiniest of details, leading it to not be finished until now. Eyuy hadn’t followed negotiations as well as he should have, so he honestly didn’t know what the memo was about. However, he didn’t have time to read it. He needed to grab his scanner and met up with Ppnlak to explore the building he discovered. Daylight was approaching its apex, and Eyuy wanted the whole day to see what the structure had to offer.

Eyuy opened the drawer next to his desk, grabbing the scanner that laid inside. Eyuy said, "LOIUY, can you connect to my holowatch?"

[YES, EXLPORER AEUM-YINH. WILL YOU BE TAKING ME WITH YOU?]

"Yes, I want you to take anything I've scanned and upload it to the ship."

[I UNDERSTAND. I WILL TRANSFER AN ABRIDGED VERSION OF MYSELF ONTO YOUR HOLOWATCH. TRANSFERRING IN 3…2…1…]

Eyuy's watch vibrated against his wrist. He tapped on the screen, opening the display. A text box said, [TRANSFER IS COMPLETE.]

Eyuy minimized the screen and turned off the watch. He took the scanner and walked out of the ship, running into Ppnlak, who was standing right outside the door. Ppnlak said, Sorry. I got tired of waiting. I was about to knock.

"It's fine. Are you ready to show me what you found?"

Of course.