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Rane’s brow lowered. “Olickies use their ability to provide positive outcomes.”

“You like to think you do.” Councillor Agrave laughed and shook his head. “You consider yourself so superior, using those sounds and that frill around your neck to bend others to your will. It might have escaped your notice, but not everybody is happy about that.”

Rane scowled. This wasn’t going the way it should. Councillor Agrave should be compliant and happy. When Rane pulled back his ability, Councillor Agrave should continue to believe this was the right course of action. That was how it always worked.

He focused and tried again. “These are difficult times. You must—”

“Must! I do not take orders from you. You are merely my assistant. You do what I tell you to do.”

Rane took a step back. “Do you want to be here?”

“I am in the right place for my work to continue. I warned my superior not to involve Olickie and that you use underhanded tactics. He told me to use any means necessary to make sure we did not walk away from these negotiations as the weaker party. I guaranteed him that would not happen.”

“Nobody will see you as weak if these negotiations are successful and peace continues. Nobody wants to see the war exacerbate.”

“Some do.” Councillor Agrave stood and moved around the desk, closing the gap between them. “I have always despised Olickie and their tricks. You are manipulative, sly, and not to be trusted.”

Rane stopped humming. It was having no impact on Councillor Agrave, and his head felt like it was about to split in two. “You entered these negotiations knowing why we are here. We manipulate no one.”

“You just tried to manipulate me.”

“For the good of the negotiations. You stall on every point. You make every issue enormous, so no real progress is made. There is one more week of these talks, and you will have achieved nothing by the time you leave.”

“We will have achieved the satisfaction of knowing that we cannot work with the others. These uncooperative idealists cannot be dealt with. Well, they can be dealt with in one way. That is to take them to war and obliterate them.”

Rane noted the dangerous glint in Councillor Agrave’s eyes. “Has this whole thing been a charade? Why come here and waste everybody’s time if you have no desire for a positive outcome?”

“This has not been a waste of time. Far from it. We have achieved everything we set out to do.”

Rane’s jaw clenched. “What are your intentions?”

Councillor Agrave smirked. “To spend time on Prodigy and ensure it is a suitable place for our next move.”

“You want to take over this space station?”

“It is ideally situated for our needs. There are many unexplored areas in this galaxy, areas we think hold a profit. We do not need others swooping in and taking resources that are to be ours. Prodigy will serve as an excellent landing site for troops while we assert our claim.”

“This galaxy is owned by the humans.”

“Humans have no claim.” Councillor Agrave snorted in derision. “They’re a stupid, backward race that has only one asset. If they weren’t such effective breeders, we would have dispensed with them a long time ago.”

“The Council of Representatives won’t stand for this.”

“As if they can move fast enough to make a difference. They’ll be too busy having meetings and deciding who needs to be in charge. By the time they’ve made any decision, we will be established in this galaxy. They won’t want another fight on their hands. They will concede one small galaxy in return for peace.”

Rane redoubled his focus on Councillor Agrave and fully extended his neck frill. He hated taking away someone’s free will but made an exception for this asshole.

He ignored the growing ache behind his eyes. “Cease all activities immediately. Withdraw your interest in the station and return to your home planet. You no longer want to use Prodigy as a base.”

“I no longer want to use Prodigy as a base,” Councillor Agrave mimicked. “You Olickie are all the same. You think you have the upper hand in every situation. Not everyone can be as easily manipulated as you think.”

Rane gritted his teeth. Why wasn’t his ability working? This had never happened before. Exhaustion beat down on his shoulders as his neck frill deflated.

“You will not succeed.” Rane forced every ounce of energy into his words. “You will leave the station immediately.” His hand went to his nose, and he saw blood on his fingers.

“You have failed. These negotiations have failed.” Councillor Agrave lifted his hand and activated his wrist comm. “Commander Ustiv, you have permission to bring your fleet through the wormhole.”

“No!” Rane raced toward Councillor Agrave.