The Proposal

It was only a matter of time before the embassies of Khar-Hurrians approached the two superpowers of this world, Havvacor and the Banigoth Horde. Since the newcomers’ only other interaction to date (with Alliance of Seven Satellites) had been of a commercial nature, the Banigoth High Command was cautiously hopeful that they could turn a potential trade relationship into a future alliance against their archenemy, Havvacor. For their part The Directory was sufficiently alarmed by the Khar-Hurrians’ proximity to their dominions and much preferred to see them gone altogether.

But the actual proposal left everyone uneasy and scrambling for a solution. The Khar-Hurrians not only asked for trade rights, but also requested access to at least one spaceport on each of the planets. On the surface, the request was reasonable. The strangers technology was not dissimilar nor markedly more advanced then what either of the planets had. Therefore they would need spaceports if they were to be able to dock and conduct business. It made sense from the trading standpoint, however there was no mistaking that spaceport access would be a vital link for resupply and reinforcements in case of a possible invasion.

To acquiesce to the demand would leave the host planet much more vulnerable to a potential attack if the Khar-Hurrians had warlike intentions after all. On the other hand an outright refusal could be considered a hostile act, and bring about a war with an entire civilization in motion. Without a home world of their own to mine for resources, the strangers clearly depended on trade for their continued survival, and a hard stance might well end up forcing their hand.