From our starting choices:
We are old, old as in we were among the earliest days when the Combine was only visiting a few Dimensions.
They don't need Diplomacy nowadays given their size, just invade from multiple dimensions at once until locals submit, set up a few of them to take charge with perks in exchange for them to get the rest suborned and integrated, using their local knowledge on how to best do it, but if anyone has any memory of how to Diplomacy with peer powers in the Combine, it's us.
We are the only Combine leader here. What we do in this galaxy is up to us. We could even rebel and take it all for ourself if that was our inclination. Start our own Combine.
But if you're wondering about issues when we get in touch with the rest of the Combine.. we have samples of FTL technology available to us. The rest of the Combine does not.
They can travel from one dimensional to another. But they can't travel in-dimension via their method, that was the big payoff Earth had coming. And our GM has decided that the Combine in this game do not have in-dimension FTL travel, it's all sublight travel.
We bring that back home, just that alone, forget the rest, we are a hero, whatever we did, however we did it, does not matter. We might gain some grumbling but we are poster boy of the Combine, what to do when you accidentally get tossed somewhere by dimensional stuff, rewarded however Combine rewards it's Advisors as it can.
And besides, whatever agreements or trading we did, doesn't matter once the might of the Combine turns this way. What happens then, is what is best for the Combine, to all this dimension.
Yeah, it'd be best to find some PR staff to do Diplomacy matters for us. Locals tend to divide psionics between 'Jedi' and 'Sith' mentally. We uh, don't scream 'Jedi'.
Well I'm sold then, I'm up for diplomacy if we need it (and we probably will if the Hutts, the Republic or the CIS show up asking where the planet went, why the Jedi keep having nightmares about grubs and whatever the CIS would want with us.
We might gain some grumbling but we are poster boy of the Combine, what to do when you accidentally get tossed somewhere by dimensional stuff, rewarded however Combine rewards it's Advisors as it can.
If I'm remembering an earlier entry right, one of our copies/clones/predecessors had performed well, but not well enough to "Overwrite our base template", so it could be that if we remain loyal and effective, our template overwrites the previous "base" version, and it would stand to reason that copies of us would be produced more for when a problem doesn't have a gun-shaped solution.
Basically, effective grubs get cloned more if my reading comprehension is still working right.
And yeah, bringing the Combine working ftl tech would definitely merit (or further cement) our reputation as "Unorthodox, but ultimately effective, competent and loyal", to say nothing of the myriad of other stuff we could bring provided we know whatever the Combine's got a hankering for (Ftl being the biggest)
Plus, ironically our actions might actually prove Breen right with having humans as a member species of the Combine, and if we lean into that "Unorthodox but effective" reputation, then the humans could also be viewed as something similar (provided they stand out enough/more than they already will by being present in two different dimensions), or maybe endorsed/recommended by Adjunct-3A/our Advisor, who knows.
Whatever our reward is, it surely has to be worth a lot considering how THIRSTY the Combine got over the Borealis in Half-Life, yo say nothing of an actual working ftl drive.
Yeah, it'd be best to find some PR staff to do Diplomacy matters for us. Locals tend to divide psionics between 'Jedi' and 'Sith' mentally. We uh, don't scream 'Jedi'.
Do we currently have any ideas for an Administrator we can use as the face of the Combine / scapegoat to direct the local's hate towards? Iirc we were talking about the Hutt on this planet, but I'm hoping we can fish for someone more...
"Loyal to the Cause", because a criminal element like a Hutt is bound to have unnecessary corruption and differing beliefs from us the moment we take our eyes off them.
We could do with a Breen, someone who would be easier to control and sympathise with...
Hmm.
An idea springs to mind, we could find a 'Freedom-Fighter' or revolutionary to act as our patsy, or better-yet, MAKE one to get the locals on our side, or if worst comes to worse we just find someone who would genuinely want to serve the Combine (can't be THAT hard, we just need a prettier face than ours to stand in front of a camera after all).
