<That makes sense. Common ones galactically include - well, what Yeerks do, which Andalites could of course also do with morphing technology but wouldn't, torturing captives - under Andalite law you cannot deny a captive a means of suicide, though that is fairly particular to us and other places just set minimum standards for how to treat them - targeting civilian populations - we do that but one should expect it's career-ending and regarded as dishonorable and will mean living out your days in exile while your superiors deny giving the order, which is hypocritical and silly but at least means it is never done lightly.>

"Oh, we also don't torture people, although that's forbidden more generally than as a war crime. We're allowed to target civilians, although it's usually not wise and definitely escalates - the opponent assumes you're clearing the space out to move in and won't stop for lesser concessions."

<I can see how on a crowded planet that would become a norm. No one considers any Yeerks relevantly civilians, or any Yeerk hosts.>

"That seems practical. Oh, and the deliberate use of reds to actively spread pollution is forbidden but would be - awkward to translate to interstellar warfare."

< - sounds it, yes. No one else would really care. Most species have taboos around contagion that are restricted to the actual contagious materials and which seem to mostly fade out with modern medical knowledge. I think it's because you had a caste for it that the disgust reaction generalized in your case. Some peoples might try to make things disgusting-to-Amentans if they thought it would deter you from advancing, I suppose.>

"We've drifted into Kalana's area of expertise from mine."

Tail-nod. <Kalana was tremendously helpful but could not really comment on potential political barriers to cooperation or places to expect an agreement to be fragile.>

"A drawback of democracy is that if there's ever a sufficient upset then our successors can change course, although there are reasons to obey longstanding commitments."

<Our elections are timed such that turnover is slow enough that there'd be a few years before a shift in sentiments was reflected in a shift in policy. Are the seats all up simultaneously, here?>

"Yes, though normally incumbents have a considerable advantage."

<How common is it for a change of course like that to occur?>

"Not, but an unpopular war is certainly one of the things that can do it."

<If we get you a planet early - pick off a less-defended Yeerk colony world first or something - will that help with public enthusiasm for the war or feed the sentiment that you got yours and may as well stop now?>

"It will help enormously. Everyone knows that no finite number of planets is indefinitely suitable, even if one additional planet could allow us a good long spell of breathing room."

<Then we can probably arrange that. - a frustrating amount of this depends who gets assigned on our end, but if you're prepared to emphatically make the recommendation to them it does not particularly trade off against military goals of ours and I wouldn't expect it to be hard to keep an arrangement to get you a planet close to up-front in exchange.>

"That's very useful."

<If some Amentans get Yeerked and the Yeerks controlling them turn on us, we'll kill them. Ideally there'd be plenty of documentation that this was the case; in war often there isn't.>

"I understand. That's not an unreasonable policy if you don't have the luxury to capture and - empty."

<It is fiendishly difficult to capture a starship. Even a craft that's near wholly disabled can usually blow a hole in your side if you're close enough to board them.>

Nod.

<Those are the concerns that come to mind on our end; how about yours?>

"Do the Andalites have any other allies whose PR and strategy we will need to manage?"

<We are working with several of the species who the Yeerks have attempted to conquer, but I don't anticipate major concerns of PR or competition for resources - Leerans, for example, are amphibious and would not be competing with you for space. They are also all telepathic, which obviates lots of PR concerns; there are diplomatic teams specialized for relations with them. Hork Bajir are all very stupid. Humans are presently ignorant of us. - countries that are still murdering or effectively enslaving their red populations might find themselves unpopular intergalactically, but I take it Anitam's found an alternative to that.>

"We have, we're very proud of it."

<It is very commendable. This is not an alliance I would feel confident in offering some countries who've shown less wisdom.>