Inside a solemn and elegant conference room at the Starfleet Fleet Headquarters, Osiris' massive dark-red mechanical body stood in stark contrast to the soft, human-style architecture surrounding him.
On the other side of the long table sat several high-ranking officials and senior scientists representing the Federation Council, with Kirk and Carol accompanying them.
At the start of the meeting, the Federation Council's representative, an older woman with a calm demeanor and wise eyes, was the first to state the official position: "Explorer Magos Osiris, on behalf of the Starfleet Council, I extend a warm welcome to you and your team.
Cross-dimensional contact is an unprecedented experience for us, and we cherish this opportunity for exchange between different civilizations. We hope this meeting will serve as a cornerstone for building understanding and trust between both parties."
Her words were precise and friendly, maintaining the Federation' dignity while expressing a willingness to be open.
Osiris nodded slightly, responding in a steady, etiquette-appropriate tone: "Thank you for the Federation' acceptance and goodwill. Exploring the unknown and seeking knowledge are the core driving forces of my existence.
The technological achievements and societal structure displayed by your civilization have deeply impressed me."
He cut directly to the chase, not hiding his objective: "I hope to engage in in-depth technological exchange with the Federation, with the aim of mutual learning and jointly expanding the boundaries of knowledge.
Among these, I have a very high research interest in your warp drive technology.
It represents a safe, reliable, and efficient path to faster-than-light travel, and its value is immeasurable."
He had not come empty-handed and understood the principle of equivalent exchange.
"Of course, I do not intend to take without giving," Osiris continued, his crimson optical lens sweeping over every council member and scientist present. "I, and the Mechanicus identity I represent, also possess technologies that may benefit the Federation.
For example, we have unique insights and mature application solutions in high-density energy storage, specialized material synthesis, deep bio-mechanical integration, and even the temporal domain.
I am willing to use these as a basis for equal and mutually beneficial technology sharing with the Federation."
He proposed a framework for cooperation, not a unilateral demand.
A brief period of discussion and contemplation fell over the conference room.
The council members and scientists exchanged quiet opinions, evaluating the value and risks of Osiris' proposal.
Kirk remained silent, but his very presence, to some extent, vouched for Osiris' 'controllability.'
Dr. Carol, meanwhile, timely added, explaining from a scientific perspective the potential breakthroughs in fundamental physics and life sciences that could result from communication with Osiris.
Finally, after careful deliberation, the elder female representative spoke again, her voice clear and affirmative: "Osiris, the Federation Council has discussed and, in principle, agrees to your proposal. We recognize the idea that knowledge flourishes more vigorously through exchange.
Based on the principles of mutual benefit and trust, the Federation is willing to engage in technological exchange with you, and this can include the basic theory and engineering principles of the warp drive."
Her tone carried the Federation' characteristic Normative and caution: "The specific scope, depth of exchange, and levels of technological secrecy will need to be further defined in detail by expert teams from both sides.
Furthermore, as you said, this will be based on a strict equivalent exchange.
The value of the technology you provide will directly determine the level and content of the Federation technology you can acquire."
This was not an unconditional opening but a controlled, managed technology-sharing model, consistent with the style of a mature interstellar civilization.
"Acceptable," Osiris' synthesized voice showed no fluctuation; this outcome was within his calculations.
He didn't need to obtain all the blueprints immediately; as long as this door was opened and a channel for communication established, it was only a matter of time before he gradually acquired the core details of warp technology, relying on the equally attractive technological chips he held.
He had even begun planning within his logical core which relatively 'safe' non-taboo technologies from the Warhammer Universe or Cyberpunk World, potentially of interest to the Federation, could serve as the first batch of exchange chips.
A cross-dimensional technological trade was thus initially agreed upon in this conference room, amidst an atmosphere that appeared peaceful and friendly but was, in reality, driven by precise calculations from both sides.
For Osiris, the grand objective of acquiring warp drive technology had finally taken its first, crucial, substantive step.
—
After the agreement was reached, Osiris was respectfully led by Federation staff to a hotel specifically used for hosting alien envoys and important visitors.
The design here was extremely inclusive, with environmental control systems capable of simulating various atmospheric compositions and gravitational conditions.
Public areas were spacious and bright, and the decor blended human art with aesthetic elements from numerous alien civilizations. Alien visitors of various forms could be seen friendly interacting everywhere.
Faced with this scene, Osiris' massive mechanical body stood still at the entrance of the hall, his crimson optical lenses calmly sweeping over the strangely shaped alien lifeforms.
There were blue-skinned, exquisitely coiffed Andorians, short-statured, benevolent-faced Betasoids, and several races he couldn't immediately identify, conversing with complex tentacle gestures.
This scene was not entirely unfamiliar to him.
In the glorious era when the Emperor launched the Great Crusade, did not the Imperium of Man's expeditionary fleets encounter countless xenos civilizations in the process of reclaiming lost territories and expanding their dominion?
The strangeness and sheer number of those civilizations far exceeded what was seen in the hotel at this moment.
However, the Imperium's policy towards xenos was simple and extreme: either unconditionally submit to the Imperium of Man, accept a nearly enslaved subordinate status, and pass an extremely stringent 'sub-human' screening, or... face complete purification.
Countless xenos races, along with their homeworlds and cultures, were reduced to statistical figures in the galactic dust under the light of the Imperial expeditionary forces' bolters, flames, and destructive weapons.
As a low-ranking Priest accompanying the military expeditions, Osiris had personally witnessed more than one xenos civilization with unique technology or biological characteristics being annihilated by the Emperor's Angels of Death simply for refusing to submit or merely because they were 'not of our kind.'
The scene of relatively equal and peaceful coexistence between different races in the Federation hotel before him formed an incredibly sharp contrast with the tragic fate of xenos under the Imperium's iron heel in his memory.
"...In a sense," Osiris couldn't help but sigh, "the primary responsibility for humanity and the Imperium ultimately transforming into that desperate and twisted future, with the desiccated corpse on the Golden Throne sustaining the crumbling Imperium yet also imprisoning the entire future of humanity... indeed rests with him."
It was the Emperor's unquestionable 'human purity' ideology, his attempt to unify everything with absolute power and reject all outsiders, that ultimately dragged humanity into an endless abyss of darkness.
And the prosperity and inclusivity of this Federation Earth before him seemed like a silent negation of the Emperor's path.
This realization did not cause a violent emotional fluctuation in him; it was more like a cold fact being recalibrated.
He quickly put this 'sentiment' behind him, his attention returning to the present.
He observed these alien visitors, no longer with the exterminationist gaze of the Imperium, but from the perspective of an Explorer Magos, assessing their physiological structures, potential technological paths, and... whether they possessed knowledge worth trading or researching.
After all, in this universe, he did not need to follow the Imperium's tenets.
Acquiring knowledge and improving himself was his only principle at this moment.
And these 'xenos' of various forms, in his eyes, had already become potential, mobile 'knowledge repositories.'
The communication platform established by the Federation might bring him some unexpected gains.