Negotiation I

The Team rested for the night and the next day, Evan took the other 4 people on the same spaceship they arrived with and set off with Ethan who had boarded with the 1st Mixed Fleet.

"Commander, how are you going to contact the Vortans for this mission?" Chen Xue asked as they sat in their respective positions on the bridge of 'Breaking Dawn'.

It is true that the mission this time, there is more to it than meets the eye. After all, there is no connection between the Federation and the Vortans whose standpoints are hostile.

If the Fleet just goes directly to Gaia, the Vortans will give them no chance to speak and just attack.

(A/N: Gaia is a semi-habitable planet that the offensive force of the Vortans use as their base).

Therefore, how to contact them is the key to this mission.

"We don't need to go to Gaia, let the Fleet move to Area B-568".

"Area B-568?" Adjutant Chen asked, opening the star map of the Küiper asteroid belt and checking Area 568, which is about 5 AU from the Odeus Base and is located between Planet Odeus and Gaia.

But Area B-568 is not a good place. It is where the Ninety-Fifth Fleet of the Federation often exchanges fire with the Vortans' main Fleets. To make it worse, it's even closer to the area they wiped out the Vortans Fleet a few days back.

This is like the borderline between the two sides.

"Yes, go there, because it is an area with frequent small-scale battles. If we go there, we can find opponent Fleets more easily" Ethan explained.

Chen Xue was a little confused. That area is the battlefield, and there was no communication between the two sides at all; just fighting.

"I know what you are thinking, so I'll ask you this. If you fight with someone and the other person was angry. How can you make the other person calm down and listen to you?" Ethan asked.

"Subdue him or show absolute strength so that he can understand that fighting with me will not lead to any good results" Chen Xue responded.

"Hmm, now do you finally understand?" Ethan nodded while playing with a pen.

"Area B-568 is a bit similar to Area B-562 where we fought before. The terrain is complex and it is not suitable for large Fleets to pass. It's easy to defend, harder to attack. Don't you think that this is very suitable for our Fleet? "

"Perhaps!" Chen Xue replied.

"Right, now there is still 5 AU of distance from here to there. At our speed, it will take nearly 20 hours to arrive without warping".

After he said this, Ethan got up and walked outside the bridge, leaving Chen Xue in a daze.

"Where are you going? Commander!" Adjutant Chen asked.

"I will go to the captain's room and sleep for a while. I will leave things here to you!" he replied without stopping.

"Commander, as soon as you set sail, you leave?"

"It's precisely because we just set sail. At least in the first 2.5 AU of the journey is safe. After the second half, I wouldn't have time to rest, so it's necessary to have enough energy" After saying that, he's nowhere to be seen. Just his voice lingering in the air.

.....

Not far away from the 1st mixed fleet, an inconspicuous spaceship was tailing them.

On the bridge of the spaceship, a shadowy figure was standing with hands behind his back.

His gaze was sharp and pierced at the vastness and ever-silent space in front of him. He was a master of deception and manipulation, his sharp intellect and unwavering determination serving The Order's agenda.

He knew that disrupting the negotiations would not only plunge the Federation plan into disarray but also serve as a means to further The Order's ultimate goal: control and domination.

The first step was to exploit the team's vulnerabilities. They meticulously researched each member, uncovering their weaknesses and fears. With this knowledge, he dispatched several operatives to carry out a series of carefully orchestrated distractions and personal attacks.

"What's the recent development of the negotiation team?" the shadowy figure asked.

"Nothing for now" a hooded agent replied.

"Keep tabs on their movement and report to me"

"Yes, Mastermind!".

....

On the bridge of 1st Mixed Fleet.

Ethan returned to the bridge and came to Chen Xue who was sitting in the captain's seat concentrating on something, but what did he see?

Ethan stared at the scene in front of him with his eyes widened open, with his jaw-dropping to the floor.

Chen Xue had a virtual panel open and was painting something, and while she was painting she was smiling!

Her smile was so amazing that it reminded Ethan of a passage in a poem he read back at middle high; 'smile like the sun in procession!'

He then followed Chen Xue's gaze and saw what she was painting.

Black lines formed on Ethan's forehead when he saw what it was.

She was still sitting in the captain's seat and did not notice that Ethan was already standing next to her. She was still painting.

Ethan's face was dark.

What is he seeing? Did she paint him?

Wait, no… painting himself is not important, what's important is that she drew him with his clothes tattered and he was tied into a pillar.

Not to mention that he was crying and was shouting 'Have mercy Queen!'

Moreover, she also painted herself. She was in front of the pillar and was whipping him!

(A/N: Are you thinking what I'm thinking? She's a dominatrix?🤯).

Her painting skills are very good, but this is not the time to talk about painting skills, is it?

This girl is too much, she was even smiling while painting.

"Good painting skills!"

"Well, my earliest dream was to be a painter, since I was a kid… uh!"

Chen Xue who had just reacted immediately turned her head and saw Ethan who was looking at her with a dark expression!

The atmosphere on the bridge became extremely embarrassing and awkward at this moment.

"Your painting skills are really good, but the content of the painting is a problem!"

She immediately recovered her iconic ice cube face, stood up, and said.

"Sorry, Commander!"

"Okay, stop with the apology, go and rest for a while. Report back to the bridge after 5 hours."

Sighing, Ethan waved his hand. He doesn't know how to fix her…