Subtle Influence
At the same time, in the administrative center of Tekav City, the capital of Cerea.
"Thank you very much for your help, Governor... I offer you my highest respect." Dor-Fermi-Bangmi, Grand Elder of Cerea, bowed and scraped before Tang Xiao's holographic projection.
"As long as you follow my plan, Cerea will naturally remain safe," Tang Xiao said calmly.
Dor-Fermi-Bangmi hurriedly replied, "I have been strictly carrying out your plan, but there has still been no news from Coruscant. And... as you can see, although I am the Grand Elder, many people still refuse to acknowledge my rule."
"The Cerean Jedi Master, Ki-Adi-Mundi. That is the reason, and I have told you so many times," Tang Xiao said. "Therefore, our plan can only begin with him."
"I understand." Dor-Fermi-Bangmi nodded. "I will continue pushing it forward."
Tang Xiao nodded. "Military strength and industry are not the only components of a healthy civilization. You need not feel anxious, Elder Dor. Cerea lacks an industrial foundation, so naturally I will not force the issue. Just do your own work well."
"Yes..."
Tang Xiao waved a hand, and the communication ended.
Dor-Fermi-Bangmi's expression shifted uncertainly. He looked up at the sky, toward the location of Cerea's spaceport, where the Salarian fleet was currently stationed.
More than a decade ago, when Cerea had just emerged from civil war, he had remained neither servile nor overbearing whether facing Tang Xiao or the Archangel of Death, displaying the bearing of a planet's Grand Elder. But now, faced with the rapidly expanding Fourth Civilization, he could only abase himself as completely as possible to eke out his existence before Tang Xiao.
More than a decade ago, the weapons the Fourth Civilization could provide Cerea to support its civil war had merely been some backward projectile weapons.