Chapter 718: 712: Dependence Continued

Chapter 718: Chapter 712: Dependence Continued

“Yes, Your Highness.” This was the first time Jasmine Davis addressed Finn Lewis as “Your Highness”.

“Can you tell me about these people?” Finn asked after some thought.

“Yes, most of them are interstellar refugees. Many are homeless and have no choice but to stick with us for survival. They are just ordinary refugees, not pirates. Some of them have no other option but to follow me for sustenance. Even though I’m an interstellar pirate, I have never targeted ordinary civilians,” Jasmine answered earnestly.

“Hmm, I see.” Finn nodded, thought for a moment, then asked, “Alright, where are your people located? The previous location of the pirates?”

“Yes, I won’t lie to you. If it wasn’t for you this time, we wouldn’t have been able to hold on for much longer. I was already prepared to take a big risk,” Jasmine replied after a pause, looking serious.

“OK, no problem. I can take them in, but I can’t do it for free. First, once you enter my territory, you have to follow my rules. There’s no room for negotiation,” Finn said firmly, ignoring the expressions of those behind Jasmine.

“No problem.” Jasmine agreed succinctly. Even without Finn saying it, she knew it was necessary. No one would take in a ticking time bomb. Once in someone else’s territory, understanding and following their rules was a matter of course. Jasmine was prepared for this.

“Secondly, your men are not allowed to discriminate against any of the residents in my territory. You should know, due to the technological disparity, the inhabitants here are regarded as indigenous by those in the Galactic Federation,” Finn stated calmly. He didn’t want any future conflicts arising from this issue.

“No reason. We won’t cause any trouble for you. No one among these people is wanted anywhere. They are all average people and won’t create any problems. As for people like us, many are on wanted lists. If we continue to associate with them, it’ll lead to trouble for you. Your territory has changed from being in space; now, you have to ensure your territory’s safety,” Jasmine explained solemnly.

“You’re overthinking. You don’t need to worry about these matters. Aren’t these people your men’s families? They can visit anytime they want, as long as they follow the rules. As for other matters, those are my concerns, not yours,” Finn dismissed with a wave of his hand. If he couldn’t handle even this, he shouldn’t even contemplate other issues.

“What...” Jasmine hadn’t expected Finn to say this. How many respectable people would willingly associate themselves with interstellar pirates?

“No what. That’s decided. If you have business to attend to, you may leave now,” Finn said firmly.

“Alright, Your Highness, let me thank you on behalf of everyone,” Jasmine paused, a serious expression settling on her face. She stood and saluted as did all the oddly dressed interstellar pirates behind her.

Their salute, resembling a chest salute from the west, was quite different from Earth’s military salute. They raised their right hand to their chest, palm up, then flatly turned it inwards, then turned it to palm-down, thumb in, and thumped their chest just above their heart three times. Since they were video chatting, Finn could clearly see that everyone on the ship was perfectly in sync during the salute.

What was most surprising was that these usually carefree pirates now seemed more like soldiers than pirates. Finn paused, then returned their salute with one from Earth. He had been doing the Flame Nation salute quite often recently, so he simply did that same salute for them.

“Salute ended,” Jasmine announced loudly. At her command, everyone reverted to their relaxed poses. “Thank you for taking us in, Your Highness. We will take our leave now. It will probably take us over half a year to return,” she continued.

“Hmm, I understand. Relax about the other matters. A few hundred thousand people aren’t a big issue. Worst comes to worst, they could live on Earth,” Finn replied thoughtfully.

Jasmine, being decisive, didn’t hesitate and initiated the jump to warp as soon as the conversation was over.