While I did want to examine the videos in more detail, both in the hopes of learning what exactly Melissa was and why she had been so friendly to Tau and Zeta, other matters soon appeared that needed to be solved.

Namely, dealing with the Yor.

While extremely isolationist by nature, the Yor were not ones to be caught off guard by the actions of others. They had spies and scout drones hidden all across known space, giving them tabs on the organic races of the galaxy, as well as a small offshoot of their kind who had just decided to try and wipe out every else because they could. Even the other Yor thought those Dark Yor were crazy, and according to transmissions I had hacked, were planning to off them if their actions endangered the main collective. They really hopped things would not require them to intervene, but if they must, so be it.

Now, though, the transmissions I had intercepted from the Yor were...well, nervous. The Yor knew that my forces were taking actions against the Dread Lords. They also knew that I was helping the human led coalition that opposed the Dread Lords, which includes the arch enemy of the Yor, the Iconians. Said coalition was, obviously, performing very well in the field, and showed no signs of slowing down. Needless to say, the Yor were getting worried about this, as once the Dread Lords were dealt with, the Iconians were probably going to want their home planet back.

Well, time to deal with that. Even if I personally disliked what the Yor has done, I did not feel they deserved to be wiped out to the last.

I had no plans to convince the Inconians to spare the Yor - that hatred was too deep-seated to ever be let go. Rather, I intended to come nvince the Yor to join up with me and evacuate Iconia peacefully, so that no blood would be shed when the Iconians returned home. Absorbing the Yor into my own forces also had the added benefit of giving me several experienced subordinates to work with, who could probably handle many problems without my guidance.

Of course, that all hinges on me being able to get the Yor to join me. Luckily, I had a good idea on how to do that.

XXXXXXX

A few days and some negotiating later, I was on Iconia and found myself before the Yor's leader, N-1. I'd expected to have to jump through tons of diplomatic hoops to get this far, but then again, the Yor knew that I had trounced the Dread Lords in all engagements I'd had with them. I guess they didn't want to waste their time fighting a battle they could not win.

"So, to what do I owe you the pleasure of this meeting, organic control unit of the Infernum Federation?"

The line sounded somewhat forced, but assumed this was more out of fear than disdain - the Yor were a very pragmatic race and were perfectly willing to make alliances with organics if those alliances suited their interests.

"The pleasure is all mine. As for why I am here, well, you are aware of my people's actions against the Dread Lords, yes?"

"I am. All Yor are aware of this."

"Well, then you know that, sooner or later, the Dread Lords will be beaten, and without them, the Coalition may seek other foes to fight. Potentially you, given the Iconians presence in the coalition.

"We are aware of this. Preparations are already being made to oppose them."

"I see. Well, what if I could offer you an easy way out of any fighting."

"...Elaborate."

"My people are very accepting of artificial beings, and were you to join us, we could insure that the Iconians would not seem vengeance on your kind...Of course, I understand if you would like time to think this over."

"Your suggestion is...admirable, but unlikely to succeed. What reason have we to ally with you? You have proven to be an excellent trading partner, but what else have you done for us?"

"You make an excellent point. I really haven't done anything beneficial to you except be a good trading partner. I'd like to change that, though."

"How do?"

"...Have you ever heard of something called the light of Iconia? Some pirates I captured mentioned it, said it was a machine that made AIs out of normal computers."

"..."

"So those rumors are true? Is that why your kind is sapient?"

"..."

"...May I see this light?"

"...Very well, follow me."

Too easy. Though, I did have enough firepower on my flagship to torch Iconia, so feared probably helped put N-1 in a more negotiable mood.

Anyway, N-1 lead me to some secret underground bunker, which housed some kind of weird, glowing crystal - what I assumed was the light of Iconia.

"So, this is how you become so much more than computer programs, is it not?"

"Yes, it is."

"I see...what if I told you that I could make a crystal just like this, down to its ability to make AI?"

"...Could you prove it?"

I merely snapped my fingers in response. A moment later, a crystal emerged from it, completely indistinguishable from the one in the room.

I'd modified my new body's eyes to include scanners that could examine anything I saw, while also adding in some implants to let me create portals using psionic. So far, so good.

N-1, for his part, merely stared at the crystal, trying to find something that made it different from the one already in room. He found none.

"So," I asked,"would this convince you to join with me?"

"...It helps."

XXXXXXXX

Being a Progenitor Commander is awesome, sometimes.

XXXXXXXX

AN: Read and Review! Chapter will be edited when I am not sleep deprived! This is Flameal15k, signing off!