A few moments had passed, but once the xeno Officer had made it clear that it would stand there, the Royal Band began to play the Stoinian National Anthem. The trumpets and basses blasted through the hangar bay. With all Royal Guardsmen putting their right hand on the left part of their chest.

"I for one expected them to show a little more respect, Sir. Blasting this manner into our hangars, they should be thankful we didn't shoot them." Admiral Garibaldi grunted. Although he still was excited like a small child to finally meet a new species.

"We gave them the vectors, Admiral. Besides, it's probably a statement. We are in their territory with five of our ships after all. But I believe once we give them the gift, they will show their true nature."

The anthem had finished and the noise could still be heard thanks the reverberation.

"Hail Stoinia! Hail to the King! Ura!" Shouted the Guardsmen in unison as was their tradition.

As soon as the shouting had stopped, the Admiral moved forward.

"Attention!" He shouted and the two lines of Royal Guardsmen moved in unison and stood in a prideful manner. Chest forward, chin high. The Stoinians hoped that all this would impress the xenos.

"Present, swords!" Again in unison the Guardsmen unsheathed their swords and presented their swords in front of them.

The King and the Admiral walked slowly towards the xeno Officer, followed by Lieutenant Hoshi who held the gift. As soon as the King passed the Guardsmen, they dropped their sword to just a few inches above the ground. Once they arrived in front of the xeno Officer, the King presented himself.

"I am King Andrei III Stoian of the Stoinian Star Kingdom." He pointed his hand towards the Admiral and Lieutenant Hoshi. "This is Admiral Graciano Marino Garibaldi and Lieutenant Shani Hoshi. They were the first who detected the signal of your buoy. I see that you could have easily translated our messages. I can only hope that our linguists did a fine job as well. Nonetheless, I present you a gift in the name of the Stoinian people."

The Admiral quickly took the cover from the gift.

"This is the skull of a Mardakii. A brutish nomadic xeno who once invaded our planet, but through perseverance we have overcome them. We now have special reservations in which we hunt them. Only the most skilful hunters may hunt these animals, once a year. Such a hunt is what we call a Great hunt. This skull was retrieved during this year's Great Hunt. To receive such a skull is considered one of the greatest gifts amongst my people. Hopefully you and your kind can appreciate the gesture." He said calmly, not sure how they would react to a smiling face.

Lieutenant Hoshi went further and presented the skull, which was four times the size of hers. She was proud to present it. Chest forward, a high chin and looking straight forward, but not quite at the xeno Officer. Waiting for it to take the gift.

"Now I understand that this is the Treecuu Star Empire's backyard, but we never got your name. If you would be so kind to present yourself, Officer. After all, it isn't much of a dialogue if I don't know who I am talking to."