<em>Ama, we have already LOST. All I can do is try to find some consolation prize to walk away with.<br/><br/>Option 1: <strong>Do nothing.</strong> I refuse, by the way. He wipes out a non-human empire, effectively wipes us out of the political game. We lose almost everything, ESPECIALLY when he reveals I have a troop transport in orbit, with troops, ready to deploy. He gets the elves, and likely a lot more, on his side, by showing me as inactive and indecisive.<br/><br/>Option 2: <strong>Turn the first army back, drive the other armies out.</strong> He gets information on my combat units, we gain nothing in return except temporary gratitude from the elves, and permanent hate from the human empire, further driving them into Barid's corner. He also gets information on what happens when my drop pods and transports try to penetrate the planetary barriers.<br/><br/>Option 3: <strong>Let the armies push in a bit, or a lot.</strong> He shows the elves we delayed, he gets info on my units and the shield again. Second worst option, also refusing.<br/><br/>Option 4: <strong>Deal with the threat permanent.</strong> He gets info on my units, the shield, and gets to call me a vicious human hater who butchers humans for fun. We get the human territory to start improving and building on. Which I do eventually need, by the way.<br/><br/>Option 5: <strong>Permanent threat elimination, plus standard alliance with the elves.</strong> Barid gets the same as four, and has more room to fuck with me. I get the human empire, and an alliance with the elves, who just got nearly fucked by one with the same people except they got saved from the last by the new power. Which means his agents in the elf court get to stir up hysteria against us on the elf side.<br/><br/>Option 6: <strong>Permanent threat elimination, plus full marriage alliance with elves.</strong> Barid same as four, again, (seeing a pattern?), while I get the humans, and the elves join my side in a more permanent fashion.<br/><br/>So, which version of losing do you prefer, love? <br/><br/>We lost the second you entered his Court, and didn't respect the fact he is literally at least a million years old, and has likely seen more quantities of and more vicious political intrigue than you. He is a political monster, and a past master at it. Any encounter we try with him in politics is going to likely go badly, which is why I wanted to keep this nice and simple and on the battlefield. The only weakness I have ever seen in him is that he doesn't plan for full and utter defeats, and those tend to confuse and paralyze him for a moment.</em>