Max and his unit were not alone in their advance through the city. However, they were the fastest moving. The Volga defence forces were utterly terrified of the Titan Class Mecha and had begun to flee before Max could fully engage their defences on that side of the fortress.

He was already coming up on the front steps of the Captial Building, with the Cygnus wings of the force only ten blocks away, and expected to arrive within a few minutes unless the Volga decided to mount a last-ditch defence.

"Volga Government Forces. Surrender now and present yourselves for trial in the case of unprovoked war crimes against the Reaver Trade Group." Max demanded over the loudspeaker.

"Why would we do that? The Volga are not subject to any alien court." Someone shouted back from one of the upper-floor windows.

"You have two options. Either you get out here now, or I will use an Orbital Lance inside the city and turn your Capital Building to rubble, even with the pathetic shields that it has erected," Max replied, then waited to see what their response would be.

The sounds of fighting and gunfire came out of the various open windows of the Captial Building for the next few minutes as the Cygnus forces surrounded the building, then finally fell silent, leaving everyone in suspense.

[You wouldn't really use an Orbital Lance inside a fortress, would you? Those things are meant to level dozens of kilometres at a time. The city would collapse if you did.] One of the Cygnus Commanders asked.

[How fast can you run? I can give your forces a head start if it comes to that.] Max replied, channelling his inner Nico.

When it came to negotiations, her method was significantly faster than the standard methods were, and they were deeply satisfying on a level that accepting a surrender document never could be.

Eventually, the sound of organized footsteps, most likely troops marching, sounded inside the building, and the front doors were pushed open. Two hundred Volga soldiers escorted twenty manacled and battered politicians out of the building and roughly pushed them to their knees in the front courtyard.

"Do you have anything to say for yourselves before we bring you back for trial?" Max asked.

"I will never accept this indignity. You have no right to try us. Kill me if you dare, cowards. I will be avenged." The leader of the politicians yelled back up at Cleansing Light.

"Someone provide this man a weapon," Max ordered, making the Reavers chuckle over the radio while one of the Corvette Class Pilots from Max's escort stepped forward and exited his cockpit.

He took a few steps through the confused Volga forces and placed a pistol in the politician's hand.

"It is a human tradition. If you don't wish to be taken alive for trial, you can take the coward's way out and kill yourself." The Pilot informed him, then stood and waited for his decision.

The Volga soldiers looked horrified at the option. What sort of enemy were they facing that would gladly let their enemies die before the evidence against them could be proven in court? Or did they already have a high-ranking scapegoat, and the lives of these ones didn't matter?

If the lives of the Politicians didn't matter to these Humans, what chance did the mere soldiers have of surviving? They had no idea what human laws were like, but they had learned in the last few minutes that the human forces had made an agreement with the Alliance, so maybe the soldiers could appeal to the authority of the Alliance for leniency since they hadn't committed any war crimes, they had only defended their home city.

Max listened to everyone's thoughts until a flash of light brightened the courtyard, and the lead politician chose not to go to trial.

"Anyone else? No, not the soldiers. You are not on trial, so this doesn't apply to you." Max clarified since he could hear their panicked thoughts.

None of the politicians took up the offer, so Max called for a transport to come to pick up the prisoners and escort them back to the staging area, where they could be transferred to a Lander or Cutter and be taken back up to one of the ships in orbit for trial.

It was a tense few minutes before the shuttle came gliding down the main street, and even more so while the Politicians were being loaded, but after they were inside and the shuttle left, all eyes went to Cleansing Light.

"The battle is over. Put down your weapons and report to the officers on the west side of the courtyard. They will maintain order while the last of the resistance in the city is sorted out, and then the planet will remain under martial law until such time as a surrender document is signed and verified." Max informed them.

"Sir Cleansing Light, are we to take it that the Capital was the last city on the planet not under human occupation?" A soldier with a half dozen stripes on his sleeve asked.

"That is correct. As the only city on the planet with a significant political presence, it was the last to be pacified. The others surrendered as soon as their defence forces were routed." Max agreed.

The soldier looked a bit ashamed but determined when he asked his next question.

"What is likely to happen to us next? Will the Humans do like the Volga and eliminate the natives of planets that they capture?"

Max considered that for a moment. That would be a real pain to actually do and hard on their public image. Most likely, they would demand reparations and take over the Volga planets.

"That is very unlikely. Most likely, the treaty will see the Volga give up their right to self-govern and pay reparations for their attack on the human planets. If they agree to that, the burden on the average Volga will amount to nothing more than a tax increase. If they disagree, I can't say what the final decision will be.

I won't be part of the negotiations since I am here with you all. The lead negotiator for the humans is a good friend of mine, and their oldest child is my second in command, so I can say for sure that the deal is in experienced hands." Max assured the Volga soldier.

The man wouldn't be nearly as relieved if he had ever met either of the people Max was talking about. But for the moment, he was holding onto any hope he could.