Commanding Government: Science Fiction

We became the government of the united towns of Firthland because we had the commanding location. That is what they said when they came down and refused to speak to anybody but us. We were clearly the superiors, and all these attempts by more apparently powerful communities and governments to speak to them were only a ruse, a negotiating ploy that they were smart enough to see through. We figured out pretty quick what it was about the aliens that made them think that way, and we made damn sure that their accommodations and seating arrangements never hinted even the slightest bit of superiority. Heard later that one of their scout ships had crash-landed in France, where they'd been given preferential seating. The next French revolution--

Inspiration: "commanding," as in a commanding location
Story Potential: High.
Notes: Neat. I find this quite an interesting idea. The whole alien hierarchy interacting with humans and all the entirely bizarre ramifications thereof. Oh, yeah, and these guys are in a commanding position because they're paranoid individualists, sorta. Rather Heinleinian in feel.