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“Which so far, you are failing to do.”
Rane kept his composure. He would not lose his cool with this Tolong, no matter how much of an asshole he was. “You have an incredible opportunity. The star system is at your mercy. If you negotiate a successful deal with the others, you will go down in history as a great maker of peace. You will be looked up to by billions.”
“I already am.”
Rane kept a smile on his face. He had to ignore this moron’s over-inflated opinion of himself. “That is true. But imagine the additional fans you will gain when you make this happen.”
“It will happen if everything is to my liking. You are simply here as my advisor. I do not seek to negotiate with you.”
Rane took a deep breath. He was overstepping his role in these negotiations. “These talks can be salvaged. You can make this into a success.”
“How do you propose I do that?”
“Give a little on the smaller details. You know what you hold most valuable. At one meeting, you spent five hours negotiating a half-mile neutral zone, even though you know that won’t make any difference if long-range weapons are used.”
“I considered it an important point.” He tapped his stubby knuckles on the table.
“There are other issues that are more important. I encourage you to think about those. If you win those, everything else is incidental.”
Councillor Agrave squinted. “Do you really think I would be admired across the star system if I allow these talks to be a success?”
This guy was so full of his own shit. There was a room full of diplomats to consider, a room full of peace makers or war mongers, depending on the outcome of these talks. “I do. Who knows, you might even get a seat on the Council of Representatives for your contribution to star system stability.”
Councillor Agrave grinned, showing his short, blunt teeth. “That is not without its appeal.”
“You will focus on getting the negotiations back on track?”
He shook his head. “I cannot work with such irascible company. My opponents will not listen to reason. And General Dakat is a deceitful criminal. You consider me the difficult one; you should be having this conversation with him.”
“I will if I need to,” Rane said. “If neither of you is prepared to move on these negotiations, then they cannot be effective.”
“I am prepared for that.”
Rane could see Councillor Agrave was digging in his heels. Until then, Rane had only used the resonance of his voice to keep the situation calm. It was time to pull out the big guns and make this fool see sense. He extended his neck frill and hummed.
“Our star system has seen too much violence. You will be the one to end this growing confrontation.”
Councillor Agrave tilted his head. “I will?”
“You want to be remembered as a legendary peacekeeper, someone who was a leader in the star system, bringing together peace and justice for all.”
“I... could do that.”
Rane nodded. It was working. “Above all, you value this desire for peace more than anything else. You will agree on the smaller points of this negotiation. It is important to make progress and show willingness.”
Councillor Agrave’s eyes looked glazed. “That is true.”
“You will make this a success. You will not stall over minor points and work hard to ensure you see your opponents’ position.”
Councillor Agrave nodded.
Rane felt a headache bloom behind his eyes. He normally never had problems maintaining his focus and influencing somebody. He sensed then just how unfocused he’d been. Rane hadn’t been recharging his ability, exhausting himself by focusing on Nell and making sure she was happy.
It didn’t matter. Rane was certain he had enough juice left in the tank to deal with this idiot. As soon as he was done here, he’d get back to his quarters and have some seriously focused down time.
“Do you understand your role in these negotiations?” Rane asked as he slowly dropped the resonance of his hum to push home his final suggestions.
Councillor Agrave stared at him. “I understand. I understand that Olickies like to manipulate others.”
