This is Space Cats Peace Turtles, the unofficial podcast for Fantasy Flights Twilight Imperium.

Episode 219.

This Imperium Life, 6.

Music by Ben Prunty, featuring Matt Martins and Hunter Donaldson. Good afternoon, captains. I hope you enjoy this story from my days in service. There's a great deal of

pressure on the races of the galaxy to negotiate trade routes. I've always

welcomed trade and tourism to the wonderfully beautiful planet of joy. As such, I make an open

offer to the galaxy. Should anyone visit our majestic planet? I will split with them the energy

we siphon from their journey. How am I rewarded for the offer of mutual prosperity?

Those pesky Nalu who think they know everything, even the future, they immediately boast out.

Don't trust those fish. The proposal of prosperity is a ruse. They seek only to counter-stroke your tourism and lash out at the galaxy.

I plead that I simply aim for all of us to negotiate

trade routes, but ever so smugly they ignore my assurances, confident they have outweeded

me. They have already negotiated all the trade routes they need and don't want the rest

of the galaxy to catch up. I recoil to my office to peruse the proposed bills my people wish to bring to the

Galactic Council. I can't help but smile as I notice one of the bills on my desk, an economic

initiative. I patiently wait a while until the Nalu are about to cease operations for this

galactic cycle, so as to not be too obvious.

Fine, you slimy snake, you figured me out. I submit, if you visit my home, I'll give you all the energy I siphon.

A smile betrays how satisfied that pesky Nalo is with himself. He visits my system in exchange for four trillion credits. His smile

turns to confusion as I do not respond. A short while later his confusion turns to anger

as I reveal my economic initiative bill to the council. His credits are washed away as his

logistic officers are tied up to her in my home, unable to aid him next round.

...