King Uscfrea grunted and leapt to the side. Several fused light beams struck his position, with several more single beams catching him on the move. He jumped and rolled across the ground, only for another fused beam to strike right in front of him.
This was not going well.
The Dobhar’s mind raced as he tried to dodge the beams as best he could.
He thrust his hand out and tried to make a magic circle. He was never particularly good at magic, but he didn't have many other options to fight at this range.
But his foe just raised her hand and fired a rainbow beam across his magic circle, shattering it before he could even activate the spell.
And then the beams continued raining upon him.
He could try to jump into the sky…but he would never reach his foe without his axe. He would have nothing to block the beams and nothing to attack her with even if he came within range.
He could try to grab another weapon…but that might get other Dobhar involved in the fight. And grabbing a stray rock was not going to change the situation.
He could try to take back his axe…but his foe erased any mana chains he formed with that rainbow beam. And he obviously wasn’t going to reach it with his hands in this scenario.
The Dobhar king was very focused in his tactics and his boons…which meant he was at a loss now that he had lost his weapon and his foe proved capable of piercing his defenses.
He even considered foul play. Some of the Imperials and Selkies were still close by…he could try to take a hostage or use them as a shield. He didn’t like to resort to such measures but the fate of his race was at stake here.
Unfortunately, the fate of his race was the very reason he couldn’t utilize such tactics. If he broke the one rule of this duel…his opponent might respond in kind. And she could do much more damage to his people than he could do to hers.
And he didn’t have his axe to break her terrifying spells, should she decide to rain destruction upon his people.
He was out of options.
And he was running out of time.
His HP reserves and magic resistant fur were impressive…but that didn’t matter if he couldn’t bring his foe down from the sky.
No matter which way he looked at it…he was going to lose.
A beam caught him from the side, sending him sprawling to the ground.
At that moment, he caught sight of his people.
The Dobhar were staring in shock…and despair. Some even had tears in their eyes already. Estrith was gripping her spear, trembling and leaning forward, clearly holding herself back.
King Uscfrea closed his eyes for a moment.
He imagined his people’s future.
What they would do when he was gone.
Estrith would not forgive the Empire for his death. She would continue this fight until she fell as well.
And by the time she did, many of the Dobhar would too.
Maybe even most, given the foe they now faced.
The survivors would be scattered and broken, trapped far from their lands, helpless before an army of angry Imperials and Selkies.
It would be the death of his people.
The Dobhar King whispered to himself.
“The strong do what they can…and the weak endure what they must.”
He slowly rose back to his feet, gritting his teeth as another beam struck him.
He turned around to face his foe.
And then…King Uscfrea broke his oath. He did the one thing he swore he would never do.
He bowed his head to the Empire.
“I yield.”
NSLICE-00P paused her barrage for a moment.
“Requesting Clarification: Hostile is offering for all Dobhar to surrender and cease hostility with entity ‘Empire’?”
King Uscfrea grit his teeth and looked back at his people. Estrith’s head hung low as she trembled. The Dobhar’s eyes widened as they realized what was happening.
King Uscfrea looked to the ground, unable to make eye contact.
But this was the only way for his people to survive.
He turned back to his opponent.
“Yes…if you promise to spare my people.”A case of theft: this story is not rightfully on Amazon; if you spot it, report the violation.
“Acknowledged. Statement: This unit is under mercenary contract and not authorized to make diplomatic treaties. Please prepare to initiate diplomacy protocols with relevant authorities.”
As King Uscfrea blinked and tried to parse her statement, NSLICE-00P turned and dropped from the sky, landing in front of the gathered Imperials and Selkies.
“Request: Hostile entity ‘Dobhar’ have indicated a desire for diplomatic negotiations. This unit requests the presence of a military or political leader from entity ‘Empire’ authorized to make diplomatic agreements.”
“Seero!”
NSLICE-00P turned to see Ateia and Taog approaching her, along with Miallói and an older man with slightly-pointed ears.
“I’m Canus Sittius Dio, Dux Limitanei per Turannia. Are you NSLICE-00P?”
“Affirmative. Greeting: This unit is designated NSLICE-00P. It is nice to meet you.”
Dux Canus smiled.
“You have no idea. Thank you for coming to our aid, your help is greatly appreciated. Now, NSLICE-00P, could you explain the situation?”
“Affirmative. Explanation: This unit’s opponent has indicated a desire to surrender, and claimed authority to negotiate on behalf of entity ‘Dobhar’. As this unit is under mercenary contract, she is not authorized to conduct diplomatic negotiations on entity Empire's behalf. Request: Dobhar request for negotiations should be relayed to an authority capable of diplomatic negotiations.”
Dux Canus kept smiling as he nodded.
“That would be me…though we should have the Governor involved as well. I’ll call her down. Could you keep an eye on the Dobhar until we return?”
“Affirmative. Request: This unit requests protection for friendlies Ateia and Taog until hostilities are confirmed concluded.”
“Thank you, and that’s not a problem. Exploratore cadet Ateia, Exploratore cadet Taog, you two with me.”
With that, Dux Canus and the rest made their way back to the Imperial forces, and began speaking into the communication artifact. Meanwhile NSLICE-00P returned to King Uscfrea. The Imperials, Selkies, and Dobhar continued to eye each other across the field, but they all kept their distance from one another.
“Status Report: Imperial diplomacy units are en-route. Please do not resume hostilities until diplomatic negotiations have concluded.”
King Uscfrea turned to face her and raised an eyebrow.
“Um…you mean they’re coming to talk?”
“Affirmative.”
King Uscfrea heaved a sigh. He found a large rock to sit on, slumping his shoulders as he did. He looked up at NSLICE-00P and shook his head.
“If you don’t mind me asking…who are you? I haven't heard of anyone like you in this province.”
“Greeting Response: This unit is designated NSLICE-00P. It is nice to meet you.”
King Uscfrea blinked at that. Nice to meet him? In this situation? But he shook his head.
It was the right of the strong and the victor to act how they pleased.
“...I’m King Uscfrea. Nice to meet you.”
“Acknowledged.”
He looked her over for a moment.
“You don’t seem like any Imperial I’ve ever met…where are you from, NSLICE-00P?”
“Clarification: This unit is not from the Empire or aligned with it. This unit currently lacks a home base, prior home bases have been destroyed or else had the designation wiped.”
King Uscfrea blinked a bit.
“So you’re saying…you’re a wandering mercenary? Not from the Empire?”
“Acknowledgement: That statement is reasonably accurate.”
King Uscfrea shook his head and sighed.
“If only we had found you first then. How much did the Empire even pay for you?”
Unfortunately for the Empire, they did not include a confidentiality clause in the mercenary contract, so NSLICE-00P had no reason not to answer. Mercenaries in general might have known it was bad form to discuss ongoing contract details with third parties, not to mention hostiles, but NSLICE-00P was never intended to act as a mercenary by her original creators, and so had no protocols relating to mercenary policy.
Likewise, NSLICE-00P may have had protocols restricting contact with active hostiles, but this situation was an anomaly. Her original programming never assumed a scenario involving 'temporary' hostiles she would intend to interact with after a battle, so she had to design the designation on her own. Her analysis indicated that since she intended to interact with the Dobhar as neutral parties that might have important intel after the battle, that she should not apply 'non-contact with hostiles' protocols in this case. Therefore, she should interact with the Dobhar as if they were neutral in all cases not involving classified intel related to the current conflict.
And, again, since she was never intended to conduct negotiations or form contracts on her own, she did not have any protocols or experiences indicating that contract compensation should be classified intel. And since it was just common sense for a mercenary not to tell the employer's enemies what they're getting paid, the Empire never even considered that they might need to say that explicitly to NSLICE-00P.
So she just answered the question honestly.
“Response: Rather than monetary compensation, this unit is being granted a title designated ‘Amicitia Populi Elteni’, which will obligate entity ‘Empire’ to assist with this unit’s primary directive.”
King Uscfrea blinked again.
“Wait…so you’re being declared an Amicitia Populi Elteni for this? As in…allied to the Empire…but not actually a part of it? Like…you specifically didn’t want to join them officially? And…you have some kind of mission you want them to help with?”
“Affirmative.”
King Uscfrea rubbed his chin.
“Are you part of some knight order…maybe one of the independent ones?”
“Negative.”
“What groups are you a part of?”
“Response: As of this moment, this unit is operating independently.”
King Uscfrea stared into the air for a moment longer.
And then…
He started to grin.
“You know…NSLICE-00P…technically I surrendered to you, not the Empire.”
“Objection: This unit is currently under mercenary contract with entity ‘Empire’, and so can be considered a temporary tactical asset until the contract is concluded.”
“True but…you are not officially part of the Empire yourself, even during the contract, correct?”
“Affirmative.”
King Uscfrea nodded.
“So…if I made an agreement with you personally to end this battle…that would fulfill your contract, right?”
“Analyzing…”
King Uscfrea’s eyes widened as NSLICE-00P’s eyes flickered underneath her helmet. He didn’t know many races that did something like that…
Meanwhile NSLICE-00P analyzed the mercenary contract and her own protocols. It turned out…the mercenary contract didn’t specify exactly how the battle should conclude, or any obligations regarding diplomatic negotiations. NSLICE-00P was hired to assist in the battle, defeat the Dobhar if possible, and do her utmost to ensure the survival of Imperial forces and citizens, that was all. Likewise she herself had only one protocol regarding diplomacy, which was to refer it up to a relevant authority. Which she had already done. But again, her original programmers had never intended for NSLICE-00P to be acting as a third-party mercenary. So her protocols had nothing to say on this particular situation, where the relevant authorities were technically not aligned with her and did not have authority over her beyond in-combat tactical command.
And under the assumption of independent action, there was no reason she couldn’t negotiate on her own behalf. No…in fact she had already done so several times with Imperial entities. So long as the agreement was compatible with the terms of the mercenary contract and beneficial to her primary directive…NSLICE-00P had no particular reason to object.
“Analysis complete. Reporting Results: Hypothetically an agreement with this unit that includes an end to current hostilities between entities ‘Empire’ and ‘Dobhar’ is an acceptable outcome.”
King Uscfrea grinned. If he did this quickly…the Dobhar might not have to bow to the Empire after all.
“Miss NSLICE-00P, I have an offer for you. Or rather…let me tell you about how the Dobhar determine leadership…”