"Men'taria, may I ask who these Bolusions are and why you are so on guard against them?" Alicia asked.
"Ahh yes… Come we will go to a more comfortable area and I will explain. You can also taste our Solfaina race's delicacies." Men'taria said with a smile as she led the way.
They came to a large room with many large windows allowing everyone to see the outside world. There was a table that could sit around ten people in the center of the room and on that table were many unique dishes that Alicia and the rest had never seen before.
Everyone sat around the table and Alicia sat next to Men'taria. Men'taria pulled one of the dishes close to Alicia and said: "Try this dish. It is the most famous of all my people's dishes."
Alicia nodded her head and picked up what looked to be meat wrapped in a leaf and took a bite. To her surprise the dish tasted very good, it was hard for her to explain what the taste actually was since it was a first for her but it was very delicate on the tongue and practically melted in her mouth. "This is very good."
"This dish is called frilgozi, it takes a dabfirtol leaf and wraps it around the meat of a godbi with some special seasonings." Men'taria explained.
"I have never heard of such names but this is truly very tasty." Alicia even reached out for another one. She couldn't help it, the dish was very addicting. Everyone else helped themselves as well and each dish that they tried gained many praises.
"To answer your question about the Bolusions, it's like this." Men'taria went on to explain who the Bolusions were.
They were a race of insectoids the same as the Solfaina race. But they took on more of the insectoid look than the Solfainas. The biggest thing about the Bolusions was their ability to make illusions real allowing them to change their appearance at will to different races and making it very hard to detect by other species.
The Bolusions had a deep hatred against the Solfainas due to the fact that the Solfainas were able to have a more human like appearance. This jealousy ran deep for generations and finally caused a conflict between the races. With their planets revolving around one of the gas giants in the solar system they were basically only kilometers apart making travel between the two worlds easy and quick.
"Even though we know the Bolusions after so many thousands of years would not come looking for us we still keep up our guard. We actually do not even know if the Bolusions are still around or not." Men'taria explained.
"To be honest I would have done the same. No matter how many thousands of years had passed by I would still defend from a threat that could wipe out my people." Alicia said. She would never risk the lives of her people by letting a known threat find its way to them without them knowing just because she did not take every precaution to ensure her people's safety.
"To be honest we even thought of genetic manipulation where we got rid of our insect qualities but the thought of losing our own heritage was..." Men'taria looked at her other limbs and gently rubbed them.
"No one should have to worry about heritage. Whether your skin is a different color or you have many limbs, your background is not something you should worry about. Stay firm in your ways in protecting your people this is the way to go." Alicia said, trying to comfort Men'taria.
"You are right! Such things as genetic manipulation should only be done if one wants it to be done. No need to take away our entire heritage. Your words have inspired me, Princess Alicia." Men'taria looked gratefully at Alicia.
"I am glad I could be of some assistance. May I ask a favor of you?" Alicia suddenly asked.
"And what kind of favor would that be?" Men'taria tilted her head to the side and looked at Alicia in confusion.
"I wonder if you would allow my techs to look at your Bolusion scanning device. This may seem out of the blue but as you can see..." Alicia suddenly took her arm off and placed it in front of Men'taria: "We are not lacking in technology. But if there is a race out there that can hide from our sensors I wish to set up a defense against them just in case."
Men'taria eyes went wide looking at the arm on the table and then looked at Alicia who was smiling away. She had never seen such technology before. She then watched as Alicia reattached the arm as if nothing had happened. "I…. I do not mind but they would all need to be scanned first… Of course, I will also need to pass this through my father as well..."
***
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