An hour after he had stepped out to grab Sitter, Carl entered the gate-room.
"Hey Carl, I think my skill might be glitching, it has a second gate-room that has zero data input. Sorry, I'll need to calibrate something before we go anywhere." Blanc made the declaration as soon as he saw Carl.
"No need to worry, you will, but that's because I studied my skill as intended. We now have a second gate-room specifically for this kind of mission, complete with infirmary and quarentine facilities that put SATS to shame. Anyway, more importantly this little guy is called Sitter. Sitter, the stupid looking one is your partner."
"Nice to meet you everyone, Carl told me about you all and I look forward to getting to know everybody." Sitter was able to speak out loud thanks to Carl retaining the dryads ability to speak, though it did struggle with certain sounds so it had a bit of a lisp.
"Aww, he's so cute!" Alysse shouted, instantly infatuated with him.
"He has a high intelligence and compound analysis skills, you won't need to bring back anything solid or liquid. That said, he is putting himself in danger, any signs something has a bad reaction, return immediately."
"Relax, we won't let your new baby get hu-"
"He isn't my baby Gillian, this one is yours, you need to learn responsibility and I need you all to understand how I feel about the "pets" so you will all get one and they will be yours to look after and care for."
"Carl, what's going on, did something happen?"
"Lillim reminded me that this isn't just dangerous for us, at some point one of you may even need to take Squide, Levi, or Kitsunoko with you somewhere. I can't afford to let the go with anyone who doesn't really understand how I feel about them."
The other three initially thought he was overreacting, but then they realised that that initial thought was exactly what he was talking about.
"Okay man, Sitter, I guess I'm we're in this together buddy. Please don't be afraid to tell me I'm being an idiot or stop me by force if I'm being reckless. Also, just let me know if you get hungry or thirsty and what you eat, but we can get to that when we get to it." Gillian laughed, he had the most reason to accept this new arrangement, he had judged Carl many times for being so attached to Squidge and now he had a chance to experience it first hand.
Carl then opened the door to the quarantine. "Congratulations! With that you're free. Now let me give you the new tour, then lunch, then you can get going." Carl had all-but doubled the underground facility space, so the tour was quite extensive and gave him plenty of time to also relay what he had seen in the footage
"Did you say aliens?"
"Seems like it..."
"But the gods only made humans, every planetary population has always been either human or one of the known races."
"I know that Gillian, or did, turns out we were all wrong. Lillim and Kyubi confirmed it and they were not happy. Gillian, you have your first job as chief-diplomat."
"I mean yeah, sure, but we won't be able to rely on th-... No, it's fine, I will do my job to the best of my ability." He gave a mock salute, but strangely enough he seemed to do it simply because it felt right as opposed to his usual levity.
The three of them took some time to properly introduce themselves to Sitter, then began the pre-dispatch checklist that had been put together, then Blanc set up the new gate room and they set off.
"Alysse, I know I said you lead from now on, but as a diplomat I suggest that we make contact before interacting with anything. A completely alien culture could hold anything sacred, have aversions we wouldn't consider, that said if they attack I recommend a visual display of power followed by a quick retreat to study footage."
"Sounds solid, let's move out. Blanc, you take the middle and scan for anything that might be a system of some kind. Gillian you take the rear and have your mana ready to summon everything at once, the sudden numbers might be enough to halt an attack long enough for peaceful withdrawal, I'll take the front and get ready to assemble a protective wall to cover us."
"What about me?" Sitter asked with an eagerness to be involved.
"Sitter, can you move underground and create a sensory network at the same time?" Gillian asked, trying to follow Carl's lead and not neglect the skills he had at his disposal.
"Not sure, I was only born yesterday, but I will try. Even if I can't do it properly, I can at least see if it is something that I can learn to do later." Everyone laughed at the surprising lack of sarcasm in the statement.
"Good job buddy, try and play around with them a bit, you might discover skill combinations you wouldn't have put together yourself."
With one final check that all the gear was in good order and properly equipped, they stepped through the gate once more.
The planet felt different this time, scarier, like they were now seeing danger where they didn't before.
"Carl said they appeared from that direction, then left in that one. The fact they didn't attack the camera could be good or bad, but let's assume it's neither and not let assumptions get ingrained." Alysse made the decision with a level head and necessary caution, unaware that she had earned back some lost respect with Lillim and Kyubi who were monitoring them back at HQ.
"I would suggest stopping here, Sitter, can you take a nibble and analyse the ground first to make sure nothing in the soil will poison you. We need your sensory abilities, but I don't want you being in soil that could affect you, so being part gluttonous-shifter should nullify ingested poisons." Gillian also managed to earn back a bit of respect, but also lost points for forgetting his own "Don't touch anything" speech which Sitter reminded him of.
"Want me to activate the cameras launch? It may be better to just take some footage we can use to put a satellite view together, then I can write a program to spot potential signs of settlement. We will lose today, but that would only be the once, in future I'll be able to run it through the program remotely and if we take the equipment back with us it might make amends if we insulted or scared them." Blanc also gained and lost, though he too lost some because he had forgotten the implied urgency.
"Do it, but we don't leave until we have explored, we can't waste an entire day because of nerves. We have to give it a good go, however, if you would prefer, we can redirect our efforts to one of the other worlds. Lets vote..."
In the end they voted to continue exploring this world, they stuck to normal speeds and left as small a trail as they could, but then Blanc stopped. "Guys! We have company coming, Realm gate incursion!"
Almost the instant he shouted it a gate appeared behind them and Carl stepped out. "I, Carl Bashe-Reaga claim this land as my own." He then took out five vials of blood and poured them onto the ground before they all received a message.
[ SYSTEM NOTICE : FACTION LED BY CARL BASHE-REAGA HAS OFFICIALLY CLAIMED AN UNNAMED WORLD. THE CLAIM HAS BEEN RECOGNISED BY NERGAL, LOKI, GAIA, LILLIM, KYUBI AND FAYLORNA. FIVE+ RECOGNITIONS MAKES THE CLAIM UNDISPUTABLE. ]
"Sorry for stepping on your toes guys, Lillim and Kyubi were watching and told me. I needed to make a decision. I'm going to go claim the others, it was stupid to wait until surveying was finished. Alysse can I borrow the suit, it will be the safest option."
Alysse handed the suit over and then Carl said a quick goodbye before jumping back through to HQ.
[ MESSAGE RECEIVED - LILLIM :PREPARE YOURSELVES, WHATEVER COMES OUT WILL BE YOUR FIRST TRUE DIPLOMATIC MISSION, IF THEY ATTACK IT IS A DECLARATION OF WAR, KILL THEM ALL. ]
The others clenched with tension, they were at a severe disadvantage. "Gillian, you call the shots for this, you are better with combat strategy."
"Don't jump the gun, but put up some cover. Sitter, whether they like it or not, Carl made his choice and this world is his. Burrow and at the slightest sign of hostile intention use your vines and "Heamomancy" skill to entangle and drain."
"Okay Boss!" As he disappeared beneath the surface, Gillian told Alysse to remodel the ground to cover his tracks and just as she finished the realm-gate opened.
"Blanc you focus on communications with HQ, I can't get distracted so just let me know if we get any intel or instruction."
As he finished, the first trespasser stepped through. "Who the hell is Carl Bashe-Reaga!? How the hell did he get all that muscle backing him?"
The figure was definitely a dwarf, unfortunately it was one of the darker-kin also known as a "Chasm-Dwarf". They took the "Children Of Stone" title to the extreme, the outermost layer covered in a malleable layer of an obsidian-like substance.
"Carl Bashe-Reaga is our leader, most of those names recognised him on his wedding night, Lillim is his adoptive grandmother and Kyubi is... I don't know what, she tried to jump his bones, he said no, then they had a kid anyway, but the kid also has another mum which is the woman he married..."
"You certainly have an interesting story... We Chasmers don't want any trouble with those behind him, but he isn't known to us, why don't we arrange a meeting?"
[ SYSTEM NOTICE : FACTION LED BY CARL BASHE-REAGA HAS OFFICIALLY CLAIMED AN UNNAMED WORLD. THE CLAIM HAS BEEN RECOGNISED BY NERGAL, LOKI, GAIA, LILLIM, KYUBI AND FAYLORNA. FIVE+ RECOGNITIONS MAKES THE CLAIM UNDISPUTABLE. ]
"Sounds good... It won't be for a while though, he has laid claim to a few unclaimed worlds lately, not to mention the two that were given to him by Lillim and Kyubi."
[ SYSTEM NOTICE : FACTION LED BY CARL BASHE-REAGA HAS OFFICIALLY CLAIMED AN UNNAMED WORLD. THE CLAIM HAS BEEN RECOGNISED BY NERGAL, LOKI, GAIA, LILLIM, KYUBI AND FAYLORNA. FIVE+ RECOGNITIONS MAKES THE CLAIM UNDISPUTABLE. ]
"Aye? How many in total?"
"I'm not too sure about the exact number... Ten maybe? He worked quickly, he needs lots of space and resources."
"Why's that then? Not planning a wee get together I take it."
[ SYSTEM NOTICE : FACTION LED BY CARL BASHE-REAGA HAS OFFICIALLY CLAIMED AN UNNAMED WORLD. THE CLAIM HAS BEEN RECOGNISED BY NERGAL, LOKI, GAIA, LILLIM, KYUBI AND FAYLORNA. FIVE+ RECOGNITIONS MAKES THE CLAIM UNDISPUTABLE. ]
"No, he isn't. He might have strong backing, but as you're proving right now, others might start weighing risk and reward. He wants them to know that he doesn't rely on other people's power, that he can achieve his goals with his own."
"And what are these goals of his?"
[ SYSTEM NOTICE : FACTION LED BY CARL BASHE-REAGA HAS OFFICIALLY CLAIMED AN UNNAMED WORLD. THE CLAIM HAS BEEN RECOGNISED BY NERGAL, LOKI, GAIA, LILLIM, KYUBI AND FAYLORNA. FIVE+ RECOGNITIONS MAKES THE CLAIM UNDISPUTABLE. ]
"His goal is simple... He earned the title "Symbol Of Unity" for a reason. He wants t-"
"Sorry Lillim says to introduce yourself, that until your kind does that you have a blade at hand for when we turn our backs..."
"My word... Where are my manners? My name is Bedrock Black-glimmer. I'm an excavator not a worrier lad and now I know you have her voice in your ear I'll make sure the others don't forget theirs around you lot. Can we exchange coordinates? I'd rather leave we didn't get the higher-ups involved personally if we can avoid it."
"How about I give me the greeting slate we made, it has all the information we're willing to share with strangers. I already screwed up once just yesterday, not gonna make that mistake again, I'll pass your preference onto Carl and you he will decide our stance and send his decision to this..."
Gillian used the new Faction spell Carl created, otherwise known as "Safe-Exchange" to levitate the slate over.
[ SYSTEM NOTICE : FACTION LED BY CARL BASHE-REAGA HAS OFFICIALLY CLAIMED AN UNNAMED WORLD. THE CLAIM HAS BEEN RECOGNISED BY NERGAL, LOKI, GAIA, LILLIM, KYUBI AND FAYLORNA. FIVE+ RECOGNITIONS MAKES THE CLAIM UNDISPUTABLE. ]
"Aye sounds fair and reasonable... Can only imagine what that womans grandson is like, adopted or not."
"Haha! You'll really like the stuff on that slate."
"Lillim says "time to go" she is counting down from ten." Blanc's demeanour and the way he gulped as he passed on the message was all the authentication Bedrock needed.
"In that case farewell for now." He waved and threw a small hammer into the dirt, which earned the trio a "Good, well handled" from Lillim and then he disappeared and the gate was sealed off as a sign he had no intention of crossing back.
They collected the hammer in a sample bag in case it had been contaminated by anything, then let out a collective sigh of relief as the notifications kept coming.
[ SYSTEM NOTICE : FACTION LED BY CARL BASHE-REAGA HAS OFFICIALLY CLAIMED AN UNNAMED WORLD. THE CLAIM HAS BEEN RECOGNISED BY NERGAL, LOKI, GAIA, LILLIM, KYUBI AND FAYLORNA. FIVE+ RECOGNITIONS MAKES THE CLAIM UNDISPUTABLE. ]
"Geez, Carl is on a role..."
[ SYSTEM NOTICE : FACTION LED BY CARL BASHE-REAGA HAS OFFICIALLY CLAIMED AN ENTIRE SYSTEM OF UNNAMED WORLDS. THE CLAIM HAS BEEN RECOGNISED BY NERGAL, LOKI, GAIA, LILLIM, KYUBI AND FAYLORNA. FIVE+ RECOGNITIONS MAKES THE CLAIM UNDISPUTABLE. ]
"Wait, did that one say what I think it did?"
"Yeah, it said he claimed an entire system."
[ MESSAGE RECEIVED - CARL : OKAY GUYS, MY DIV IS SPENT AND I MEAN ALL OF IT, SO EITHER I NEED A WAY TO RECHARGE IT FASTER OR I NEED A LEVEL-UP. ]
"Did he say he's spent?"
"He did and I think he means all the doses too."
"How many worlds were in that system?"
The three of them chuckled for a moment, then chose to return. They were no longer guests, whether the natives liked it or not, it was Carl's world now...
[ MESSAGE RECEIVED - LILLIM : GOOD WORK. HEAD BACK FOR NOW, WE NEED TO GET THINGS IN ORDER, LEAVE THE CAMERA AND A SLATE IN CASE THE LOCALS RETURN THERE. ]