Naruko steps to the door and two samurai push it open for her and her guard as they walk through, leaving Captain Hazama giving a deep bow though if one were to look upon his face, they would see a man who feels even more pride and self-content than when his own Daimyo gave him a similar compliment. There was just this aura around Naruko that made him feel as if he was before Kami herself.
Stepping into the room, Naruko honestly didn't know what to expect but she expected that. She's met numerous empires and worlds of humans who have developed in different galaxies and times and she has come to understand that one can always expect the unexpected from them. Perhaps it was why the Precursors chose them to inherit the Mantle since even if the course of one race of humans could be predicted, you would always have to expect the results that were not predicted. It made them a true wild card and the Precursors sought to take advantage of this when they chose them (humans) to inherit the 'Mantle of Responsibility.' Grow enough different types of Humanities in different settings and simply wait for the inevitability of that one special group to finally meet their expectations and you couldn't go wrong. While many would fail, they only needed that one success.
It was after learning this that Naruko knew to not know what to expect how her meeting with these humans would go. Each experience was always different in some minor or major way. She could have been met with applause, with suspicion, with scorn, with fear, with devotion… honestly, everytime they met a new humanity and had a first contact meeting with them, a bet would go around the mothership of how they would react.
When her arrival was noted, there was obvious surprise from those who hadn't met her people, like the Daimyo, and yet there was still some surprise from the Kage when they saw her.
Was she beautiful? The most beautiful they had ever seen!
Did she have the real aura of a leader, one who's led armies of thousands through peace and war? Yes, and it made them feel like they were in the academy again and meeting the ruling kage for the first time!
Of course, these were swiftly followed by the fact that she was TALL! She dwarfed the ones that they met at their respective shuttles. A had to restrain himself from clothes-lining his son who subtly nudged him in the back with a snicker.
The room they were in was a large hall with ornately decorated columns lined alongside a red carpet that went from the door down several dozen meters to the center of the room. In front of a large table of polished wood sat a circle of seven tables with one table missing its occupants (hers) while the other sat a kage and the last seating the Fire Daimyo. The Fire Daimyo himself was a tall, very handsome man with crimson hair, bluish-green eyes, a soft but sharp face with a perpetually kind smile. He wore an ornate set of red-themed clothes with shoulder guards that were black with gold lining that altogether hid a powerfully built body.
Beside him was a woman with similar features to him, including the same hair and eyes though to Naruko's eyes this woman was obviously older and she was about two heads shorter. She wore a form fitting kimono with various designs and embroidery on it that hugged a figure that was quite similar to a Spectra's when they were nursing a child. This comparison was justified when she quickly noticed a large baby in her arms that was probably a five months old with a similar shade of thin, crimson hair.
As one, or as one as five rivals could act while in the same room, stood and gave their own form of attention while the guards stood back against the wall while the Daimyo moved from behind his table to meet Naruko which she raised an eyebrow at.
Certainly a first...in a long while if I remember correctly. He doesn't have any postures hinting towards harmful intent, nor does he seem like he's going to fall to my feet and praise me. In fact, he seems to be genuinely excited and happy. What an interesting character to be surrounded by assassins. Her thoughts are ended when they meet and despite the near hilarious sight of this man only coming up to her upper-chest, that still made him quite tall for the general average height among this land's population. She would put him somewhere around 6'4.
As the man gets within a few meters, Alicia and Beth feel that he is close enough and move to stand more in front of their leader. Though the meaning wasn't lost among the warriors in there, it helped that the twins' hands didn't reach up to the hilts of two of the largest swords any of the shinobi have seen, outdone only by Samehada—said wielder was currently eyeing the two guards and their swords with a hungry look fit for a shark. With a simple thought sent out, Naruko ordered the twins to simply observe. They did as told, nodding in unison, and stepped to the side to continue observing the rest of the room.
The precision and unison of the two's movements didn't fail to garner some subtle attention from the Go-kage (the five kages) and their guards.
Naruko stepped forward, adjusting Menma to better hold him with one hand before giving a curtsy—a small bow of her head which was less than what she would actually give as it allowed her to keep her eyes trained on everyone still while showing respect. While she knew for sure that none in this room could poss a true threat to her, her child was another case. The reason she even brought him along being that her maternal instincts to stay with her child would prove to be a distracting force for her had she left him in KOS-MOS and Satsuki's care back on the ship. Thus, the real reason she brought extra guards.
The Fire Daimyo responded with a gracious bow at the hips and even going so far as to let his eyes stray to the floor and off of her. It was a bold show of trust. Seeing as she liked the man possible sincerity, she decided to perform a bold move herself. When he moved to straighten up, in a flash of magenta, her white scythe was in her extended hand with the edge of the magenta-colored blade nestling the neck of the Daimyo from behind.
The action undoubtedly startled everyone and it was with some minor praise on her part that the samurai and shinobi reacted instantaneously, all drawing their weapons or going through hand-signs for specific jutsu. She secretly relished the startled look on the lord's face as she softly pulled the scythe towards her, drawing him near as the twins had their blades drawn and held in defensive stances. Despite not knowing of her plan, they reacted instantly and maintained their composure in the face of the strongest ninja on this continent, perhaps the whole world.
The only one who didn't seem calm was the woman who was either this man's wife, daughter, or sister. Her face was panicked and as a mother with no husband herself, Naruko couldn't quite understand her on a personal level but through the Nebladed victims, she could tell well enough that the woman was scared for her questionable partner, for herself, and for her child if her clutching the small female infant was any indication.
The silence in the room was deafening for a moment before Naruko broke the tension with a giggle. With an apologetic smile, she dismissed her scythe and surprisingly enough, despite being afraid, the fire lord remained standing within feet of a woman who could have beheaded him faster than any of his guards or the shinobi could have reacted to. Seeing his confused face, Naruko felt little pity for the man.
"One bold move reciprocates another, Fire Daimyo."
"What's the meaning of this 'bold move', Naruko?" This was surprisingly asked first by the woman whose face showed relief and anger at the scare tactic.
"Hmph… what I mean, woman, is that while what the Fire Daimyo did was a show of trust, taking his eyes off of an alien who could have been hiding their true motives this entire time was a show of 'blind trust', which is more than foolish. I will impart with you all some wisdom to use for future contacts with species that come from the stars. In my long life, I can tell you that there are species out there who are not friendly. The first species we met when we traveled the stars was an up and coming empire that enslaved species as laborers and soldiers, turning their home worlds into colonies to grow food, provide boosts to the economy, and supply foot soldiers, not only taking away their livelihoods but their species' names as well. Of course, we fought them into a stalemate when the tides turned as we learned more from them and adapted to their technologies and tactics."
That brought a grimace from those present and some like the shinobi finally understood what Naruko was doing with that act of hers. She was making an example. Had she come here truly with the intention of harming them, she could have just neutered the Land of Fire's leadership with a simple pull of a scythe.
"While they are no longer a threat to any species since they became extinct around 50,000 years ago, there are still species out there that would offer spear at throat instead of hand in peace. One such species, if they were to discover this world by some astronomically impossible chance at this time, would bombard your planet from orbit before sending in their armies to kill your warriors and infants, draft your young men into their slave military branches or labor forces, and take your women to be sold as house and/or sex slaves. Each and every one would be fitted with a slave collar that would emit electrical shocks throughout the slave's body and if need be, explode for the more rowdy and disobedient ones."
The rather detailed explanation of what they could have had first contact with made many pale, the Fire Daimyo being no different as seen by the clinching of his fists. "Do you understand now, Lord of the Land of Fire (subtle shout-out to said author on this site )? I am not encouraging schizophrenia, but a hefty dose of caution is needed to survive in this universe. It would only be so much easier for a species such as the Batarians to conquer this planet while your greatest military powers are divided by old wounds and war. Let you all learn the lesson from this and put it behind us for now as we move to the reason I asked for the leaders of the five major shinobi villages to meet with me."
The groups were only too eager to change subjects yet none missed the jab she threw at them all. Naruko held out her hand for the Daimyo and he hesitantly took it after finally getting his nerves under control.
"I do not apologize for what I did, but I do apologize to your family for scaring them," she gestured to the woman who made her way to her larger, male look-a-like. She gave him a brief kiss on the cheek and sent a glare at Naruko though it lacked any of the malice from earlier.
"While I understand your intent, Naruko-dono, it doesn't make it any less of a scarring matter." Naruko nodded and gestured to her child.
"I understand but it would have been a much worse matter had I taken his head off and had my guards lay waste to this palace. Know that I would destroy Heaven and Hell to protect my two day old son, and as a fellow mother, you would no doubt feel the same. I believe having experienced a near-genuine assassination attempt by an actual alien is better than being surprised by a real assassination from an enemy. Drastic? Yes. Effective? I hope so."
The woman's glare slowly fell apart under Naruko's logic that would be a tear to a certain Decepticon's mono-eye.
"Now, I believe we should properly introduce ourselves and begin the itinerary of the evening. Would you show me to my spot?"
Both nodded and the man led Naruko to the empty table as he took his place by the woman on the opposite end. To her left were the Mizukage and Tsuchikage and to her right were the Kazekage, Hokage, and Raikage.
"For this meeting, I will be speaking in your tongue that I have learned as I have before, but when it comes to our names, I will do my best since our native tongue uses no actual words you humans can pronounce so I will make them sound as translatable as I can. I am Lunaru Fenris, Queen of the Spectra people. But you may refer to me simply as 'Naruko'. In my arms is my son, Menma Fenris. My guards are the Black Twins, Alicia and Beth. The two behind me are guards specifically for Menma. The blue haired one is his nurse and caretaker, KOS-MOS, and the other is his guard, T-ELOS."
Starting from her right, the kages began introducing themselves.
"I'm the Fourth Kazekage of Sunagakure, Rasa," a red haired man with a pale skin complexion dressed in green robes said.
Following his example, an old man with a red kimono topped with a white haori cleared his throat before speaking. "I'm the Third Hokage of Konohagakure, Sarutobi Hiruzen as a representative. A pleasure to meet you, Naruko-dono." Questions were blooming in the heads of the other shinobi representatives about the absence of Namikaze Minato. For him to miss such an occasion was mind boggling.
Looking him over, she noted this was a man whom Kushina had several happy memories with. He was a grandfatherly figure in her life that was always a source of wisdom for almost any situation, though having gone through those memories, there were several things she wanted to know for personal curiosity's sake.
The next man was a massively muscular, dark skinned man with a massive head of blondish-white hair, large beard, dark green eyes with no pupils, and most noticeably a large scar on the right peck. He stood about as tall as an average Spectra-Minor. "I'm the Third Raikage of Kumogakure, A." Yes, Naruko knew from Kushina's memories that this man was perhaps the most dangerous. In the Third Shinobi World War, he single-handedly faced 10,000 Iwa shinobi and held them off for three whole days and nights so his comrades could escape. He was now—with the death of Minato—the second fastest man in the world after his own son, and he's been known to face the Eight-Tails Hachibi in one-on-one combat whenever it breaks out of its prison.
The next man was a tiny midget of a man that Naruko almost mistook for a wrinkly-skinned child with facial hair. "I'm Ohnoki, the Third Tsuchikage of Iwagakure." He was known to switch sides in a war at any given moment whenever he saw an opportunity to come out on top.
The final kage to announce himself really did seem like a young teenager to Naruko. "I'm the Fourth Mizukage of Kirigakure, Yagura. An honor to meet you so soon, Naruko-dono." Well he seemed well-mannered.
The last to finally introduce themselves was the Fire Daimyo. "I didn't get the chance earlier but I'm Oda Nobuhiro and you've met my mother Oda Tsuchida, and her child is my little sister, Oda Nobuna."
Naruko raised an eye at how well the woman looked given her supposed age. "Now, since we are all gathered here on this historic day at the request of Naruko-dono, I feel she should lead this meeting. I ask that you all be respectful as much as you can be. I will not tolerate chaos within my home." Nobuhiro's tone was strong and imposing, a necessary characteristic that set him apart from the other lords. Seeing no one argue his rules, he nodded at the queen. "Naruko-dono. You may begin when ready."
She nods back and stands as the rest have taken their seats while the guards remained standing behind their respective leaders. "I have called this meeting with the intent to take responsibility for an act that I would normally have dissuaded against. Under normal circumstances, I do not encourage the direct intervention in the affairs of species who have yet to even develop a space-faring program. This would prevent us from influencing the growth and individualism of a species so they can move at their own pace. At most, we would normally watch and document any new planet-bound species for purely scientific and academic reasons.
However, the situation we found your planet in was dire enough for us to intervene and reveal the existence of extraterrestrial life to your people. Admittedly, that is a small price to pay when preventing global extinction. As I mentioned earlier, your sun was dying. This isn't some biblical sign of the apocalypse or divine judgement. These events are as natural as you all breathing the air around you. In the past thousand years, we have personally studied up close the death of several hundreds of suns, or as they are more commonly referred to, as 'stars.' The stars you see in the night sky are distant suns, each usually marking a territory in which they dominate known as a 'solar system.' There are billions of these solar systems in each galaxy. Some have sentient life. Others do not.
There are several dying suns the sensors on our ship detect yet we ignore so our happening upon your system was purely by chance. It was certainly good luck on your parts. Without the radiation and heat emitted by your sun, your planet would have frozen over within days, making life impossible. The longest your species would have lasted with proper preparation given your level of technology would have been weeks."
The group shivered at this reveal. When Naruko put it like that, it made them realize that their system wasn't anything special and if they were to all die off then the universe wouldn't even notice.
"In any other case, this meeting would be the level of extent of our interaction with you on a personal level until you advance enough to meet us in space but certain unforeseen variables have popped up, increasing our interests in this planet." The ninja felt a foreboding feeling. There were several mundane reasons this advanced race could be interested in their planet.
Naruko mentally prepared for the backlash of her next words but it would solidify a legitimate reason for their presence on this planet so she could both fulfill her promise to Kushina and Kyuubi, as well as study this chakra and these shinobi up close in their own environment.
"Around twelve thousand years ago, we sent a surveyor ship towards the quadrant your planet was originally located in. We lost contact with their ship many years later and the coordinates of their signal was overlooked in our archives as at the time we were preoccupied with a war. It's only by coincidence that while we were in your system, our computers brought up an old report concerning the lost surveying crew after your system's location matched that with which the ship disappeared.
While we were dropping the anchors across your planet, we set up a base of operations on a nearby island just off the mainland of Hi no Kuni so we could closely monitor the condition of the planet's ecosystems during the transition through the wormhole. This island contained the ruins of a city surrounded by hills and was obviously the result of an act of war as there were skeletons of hundreds of bodies."
Remember that bad feeling the Raikage had earlier? Yeah, it was coming back with a vengeance now and it brought friends.
"Seeing no harm in it, some of our xenobiologists—those are scientists who specialize in studying the various lifeforms of the universe ranging from bacteria to full sentient sapiens like humans—took samples of the skeletons since their skeletal structures were similar... yet different from those of other human civilizations we've met before. Imagine our surprise when the genetic samples taken from their bone marrow showed very diluted similarities to us Spectras.
It is their belief that the surveying ship crash landed on your planet several thousand years ago and slowly integrated with the native species, you humans. The Spectras would have stayed together as much as possible so we theorize they in this community, their descendants eventually formed the Uzumaki clan, the name we discovered among some of the ruins."
Three certain kage were currently sweating while one had his jaw hanging open and the Hokage looked to be having a heart attack. The most surprised though was Tsuchida and Nobuhiro for a certain reason.
"Now, there are several physical traits we Spectras have that would certainly not be natural for your species since your planet's welcoming and diverse ecosystems would allow you to adapt in small increments to survive while our's forced us to evolve drastically. Since the skeletons had none of these distinctive traits, it is reason to believe that since this planet was very fertile and hospitable, any children the Spectra survivors had with you humans wouldn't need some of their original traits and since we can alter our bodies on certain levels, those traits became extinct within the Uzumaki clan.
Not only that, but I'm sure there were several characteristics the Uzumaki possessed that made them unique, no? The lowest average lifespan for Spectras around that time period was about 900 years. We also have a regenerative health factor to help us survive normally fatal wounds. We also put a very high emphasis on maintaining family bonds. Did the Uzumaki you know of exhibit any of these traits?"
She knew the answer but she was secretly enjoying this bit of revenge for Kushina's sake. Watching the kages of Kiri, Iwa, and Kumo sweat under her questioning while Sarutobi looked to be shaking to his bones. She did have some confirmation of her suspicions concerning the origins of Tsuchida. She had 'red hair', was quite beautiful as a woman like the Uzumaki women were known to be, and she actually looked younger than her own adult son. Plus, it helped that said woman looked to be breathing rapidly enough to force Nobuhiro's attention away. She could feel similar waves of disbelief from the surrounding samurai and shinobi guards.
"Very few Spectras are also capable of manipulating an innate pool of energy within their bodies to create physical manifestations of objects, such as weapons, tools, or even body parts. Such as this for example."
Bringing up the DNA of Kushina and cranking up the assimilation and reproduction of it, she forced the creation of a chakra network through her arm within the seconds she took to slowly lift her arm to make the timing look natural to the shinobi. When she raised her hand to the ceiling, a magenta-colored chain of chakra, barbed like razor wire and clinking around like a prisoner chain gang, manifested from her palm and steadily flew around her body before snaking its way around the room.
The look of recognition on all of their faces was quite amusing and she would save it later. Kyuubi inside Menma's seal figured out what Naruko was doing and it was taking great amounts of pleasure in seeing the shinobi on the verge of heart failure.
"Alongside that, us Spectras have a strong hunger for soft foods… I believe something similar in your land… given how similar your culture is to another Humanity we met far away and a long time ago… would be a broth or noodle dish?" She finished the statement with a faked questioning tone. Add a tilt of the head in false recollection and nobody could tell she was lying.
All of the shinobi and samurai who have ever met Kushina or her clan couldn't deny it any longer. They all shouted in horror in their minds. 'RAMEN!' It certainly explained the Uzumaki's obsession with the unhealthy food. It also explained, given their ancestry, that such a sodium-heavy food didn't ever kill them after large ingestion of said food.
"I take it by your reactions that 'Yes' is the answer to both questions. Would anyone care to enlighten me as to why their village was destroyed?"
None of the kage would ever admit it later on but they felt like children being interrogated by their mother after doing something bad. None answered for a minute, they being too afraid of igniting a bomb but having been the Hokage and ally with Uzushiogakure at the time, Sarutobi spoke up.
"It was about twenty years ago during the Second Shinobi World War. Uzushiogakure was allied with Konoha as the Uzumaki clan and one of Konoha's founding clans—the Senju—were cousin clans. Our first Hokage married one of the daughters of the head of the Uzumaki clan. Also, the princess of the Uzumaki clan, Uzumaki Kushina, left Uzushio to come to Konoha at the request of Mito, the Shodaime Hokage's wife. It was just after that that a joint coalition force of Kiri, Iwa, and Kumo shinobi invaded Uzushio. We never received word of the attack until a few survivors trickled into our village. When we sent a battle group to Uzu, the village was destroyed. Evidence given by the mind readers of the Yamanaka clan showed that the Uzu military fought tooth and nail until the last man and woman and those that were about to be captured took their own lives."
When Sarutobi finished, his solemn tone reflected the pain he felt at his uselessness during the war. The calm but strong voice of the Raikage spoke up next. "It was a victory with too great a cost. Naruko-dono, you would be proud to know that while the Uzumaki clan only numbered in a few hundred, they took what we threw at them and gave it back ten fold. Kumo alone lost 80% of the forces we spared for the invasion. That's over 3,000 seasoned warriors lost in three days. I'm not sure of the exact numbers the other two lost, but it drained our manpower enough to basically seal our defeat in the war."
A grunt came from Ohnoki. "As much as I hate to admit it but the Uzumaki clan was a terrifying opponent to face by oneself. Their Uzumaki bodies, kekkei genkai, and fuuinjutsu made them a powerhouse. It's the reason we dedicated so much manpower in that invasion."
"I can not speak for the decisions of the Third Mizukage as I was just an infant at the time. He would probably still be here to answer for himself had he not been killed several years ago," Yagura lamented, an apologetic expression on his face.
The room remained quiet as they waited to hear Naruko's response. She had her eyes closed and appeared to be in deep thought. While Kushina knew her village had been destroyed by three shinobi villages, she hadn't been aware of the intricate details. It did fill her with pride that the 'descendants' of her people, despite having such a diluted bloodline, managed to 'whoop so much ass' as Kushina would put it. Of course, that would be if the relation had ever existed and so far, that only existed within her and Menma.
"While I am not pleased with their destruction, I will not hold a grudge. They were in a war and even though they were defeated, they took more than their pound of flesh out of your three villages. One can say that the coalition forces have suffered more than anybody else given the staggering amount of losses you three sustained. They made you pay for that victory with your overall defeat and your pride. I believe that is reparations enough for our people," she declared with finality on the issue.
The tension suddenly evaporated as everyone simply wanted to stand up just to collapse into their chairs.
"However, I do have a few stipulations. It's nothing drastic, I promise. I want any Uzumaki returned to us, but only if they are willing. Though our blood in them has been diluted by hundreds of generations, in most cases they are still family. The last couple of stipulations is contained within a non-aggression treaty between the future Spectra colony and the major ninja villages. We have not come here for conquest and war so we will not revive the military alliance between the former Uzumaki clan and Konoha. Our colony will delve in four areas: science across all fields of study, shelter for refugees of war as well as homes and schools for orphans, and given your people's chakra abilities and our superior technology, we will have a quarantined section of the island as a prison for any criminals either you send our way or we take from any who attack us. Finally, we will begin equal trade between all nations who contract us, focusing only on consumer items and raw materials if requested. As we have easy access to nearby frozen comets and the local asteroid belt, we can mine and purify minerals, metals, and harvest large amounts of water for any nation in need of it.
Are these conditions satisfactory?"
The kage and Daimyo were reeling from the several requests and some wanted to argue but then they thought about each one some more. The first was a given considering the Uzumaki clan was apparently descended from a stranded group of Spectras. The thought of the Uzumaki clan repopulating and getting revenge on either Kiri, Iwa, or Kumo was considered but given the circumstances, Naruko would technically be the indisputable clan head and if she made a non-aggression pact with the villages, then the Uzumaki would not be a threat. Plus, if there were Uzumaki living in any of the villages and said villages didn't want the Uzumaki to leave, then there wasn't anything against persuading them to stay in the village. Naruko did say to return them to her if they were willing to come back.
The second condition was a cleverly worded one. With it being a non-aggression treaty where one village wouldn't attack the other, it wasn't an alliance either that would draw the Spectras into a war not directly concerning them. This would make peace between their colony and the signets of the treaty without strings attaching them to any form of obligation. Naruko obviously knew what she was doing.
The third condition was what set red flags up for the shinobi. Why would she want to build a prison to house the most dangerous and unwanted convicted felons on the planet on the same island as schools, labs, and orphanages? She did hint that with their superior technology, they would want to do this so this means they have means of physically containing chakra empowered shinobi, much more chakra restricted shinobi.
The final condition was merely a more detailed plan for the colony. It was basically set to be completely neutral territory within the Elemental Nations, sort of like the samurai's Land of Iron. The emphasis on "all fields" of science was a topic open to discussion though if it were things like the study of chakra, biology, anatomy, etc. then as long as some limits were defined, they would be alright with it. Next, making the colony a sanctuary for both orphans and war refugees was a morally ambitious task with questionable notions. While it sounded like Heaven for those who fit the bill, the long term effects of providing sanctuary for so many generations would give them an unknown amount of influence and power within the other nations.
The equal trade with all nations who sign the non-aggression pact was a double-edged sword for the shinobi villages. Depending on what is traded, one pact member attacking another would not yield anything to them that they don't already get from the Spectras themselves, save for whatever resources are native to the defeated nation. Plus, it's very likely Naruko would cut their trade routes off should they attack another nation they were trading with. In a way… if one was to look at it from a far away distance, it would seem like Naruko would control the fluctuation of aggression between any nations within the pact.
With the five largest shinobi villages having equal trade with the Spectras, they couldn't attack each other without possibly cutting themselves off from that trade agreement and if what the Spectras traded them were goods of high quality, such as the needed resources like water for Kaze no Kuni, crops for Tsuchi no Kuni, and metals for all nations, then there would really be no reason for the villages to attack each other unless it was to spite!
This would make the Spectra colony the most important trading hub in the world and if they could maintain such a position and provide the desired goods for each village and eventually envelope the minor countries, then this treaty could very well bring a form of world wide peace not seen in millennium!
The five kages and Daimyo reached this conclusion in various times but couldn't help but remark upon how brilliantly played this maneuver was. Of course, other alien governments would not have seen this far into a simple trade and non-aggression pact but they were ninja trained to 'look underneath the underneath' and if this wasn't a power play to make relations and stop wars, than they'd resign from their positions of authority.
Final question was why would Naruko invest so much into a concept such as peace? All wondered that but none wanted to be the one to bring it up. Honestly, how does a woman with a baby in her arms come off as so intimidating?
"Now, while I have said what I have come to say, I am willing to answer some questions you all may have. Not just the leaders. If your guards have any questions, I will answer to the best of my ability."