Various dignitaries kept watch over the gathering to make sure things went peacefully, a think tank of two different species' first meeting. Several translators were nearby to ensure multiple interpretations were available at any time to limit misunderstanding, a brilliant idea from one of the human interns, as difficult as it is to find humans fluent in all seven Faytrang languages.

The scientists were discussing the different approach to discovering the secrets of the universe they'd both taken, a gaggle of military leaders puffed up their chests in front of each other to show how tough they were (funny how that of all things was one of the first similarities between our cultures), and a few representatives of a couple religious orders were hovering around the two buffet spreads, sampling what cuisine they safely could while recounting the stories and beliefs of their people. One of the Faytrang priests must've gotten bored, because a shout of terrified outrage blew up from near where the engineers had flocked.

"YOU DID WHAT TO CROSS THE GAP OF SPACE?!" was the closest human translators could say had been shouted, sounding like a mix of a kookaburra and thunder. The next one was much easier: "THEY HAVE ENSLAVED FIRE!"

What nobody at the conference had realized before this point was that "fire" had one definition for humans, but Faytrang had several, and besides the shared one they were all of religious significance equivalent to God. It was quickly apparent that something wasn't translating properly, and the dignitaries were struggling to keep everyone calm while things were explained.

"Fire is the creator! The Carer, the Warmer, the Father and Mother, the Beacon!" The priest who said this looked torn between throwing himself out the window and strangling the humans nearest his six clawed hands. "Fire is NOT A TOOL! Fire is... it's sacred!"

One of the engineers was quoted after the meeting as saying, "It was like we told them we'd knocked out God and chained him to a hamster wheel to power our ships because it was easier than bending space, which we kinda did, I guess."

The conference was saved from devolving into a fistfight (which would have been lost badly by the humans) by one of the human priests teaming up with a historian to explain how important fire was to humans in a slightly different way, and being extra careful to exclude the word "tool" or mention of anything close to it from the entire speech.

"Fire was the reason humans became what we are today," the historian began. "You call fire the Carer, the Beacon, the Warmer. For us, fire began as a danger on our world, spreading through forests and plains of grass as unstoppable death. Light striking down from the sky was a source of fire, and our ancestors likely attributed it to the wrath of a god they couldn't comprehend. When the fire passed, however, the things that burned nourished the soil and gave life back to the devastated areas."

The next part was tricky to word, because the Faytrang had only made mention of starting fires for warmth and worship. An archaeologist stepped in with a nervous gulp. "So much as we can tell, because in this time writing did not exist, ancient humans treated fire similarly to the Faytrang, as a powerful entity which gave light and heat. They had learned fear first, and so were wary of being near fire. But they knew that the animals around them feared it more, and tried to learn how they could gain the favor of fire, how to survive with fire.

"They learned that animals burned in the fire were easier to eat and did not give parasites," he continued. "They learned how to burn the plains regularly to lure in their prey with fresh grass. They learned how fire could help them become more than a somewhat intelligent animal. We were less reverential of fire, perhaps, but we respect it just as much for what it has done for us."

"To make no mention of the stories where fire has helped man, or been a way to speak with God," a priest interjected. "I can only speak on the religion I myself have studied and believe, but fire universally appears in every culture that is at least somewhat divine and ancient. Our legends tell how fire has helped man slay monsters, protected us while escaping from grave danger, and taken sacrifices of animals and grain to our gods. Fire is not as revered to us, but do not mistake that we mean disrespect to it."

Just when things were beginning to calm down and conversation was picking back up, one of the Faytrang priests spotted a security guard using a lighter for his cigarette and lost his shit, quickly followed by the rest of the delegation. This is how the war started.