He asked, “Who comes before the Governing Council of the Federation seeking our aid?”
In a loud clear voice, Anne replied, “Colin Gordon of Earth my Lord.”
The Chair then asked, “What does this human ask of us?”
Anne replied, “He begs to become a citizen of the Federation my Lord.”
The Chair asked, “And why should we grant this human the rights of a citizen of the Federation of Sentient Peoples?”
Anne then proceeded to recite a highly condensed version of my exploits on FNS Destiny and after I arrived at Cotoni Station. She played up the injuries I’d already received in defence of the Federation as well. After she finished her recitation, there was once again silence for a few moments while the Chair allowed the truth of my achievements to sink into everyone’s mind.
Finally, the Chair once again spoke when he asked everybody in the entire chamber, “Is there anybody who would dispute this human’s right to become a citizen of the Federation of Sentient Peoples?”
Once again, he waited while the silence dragged on but nobody spoke up.
Finally, he turned to me and asked, “Colin Gordon, do you truly wish to become a citizen of the Federation of Sentient Peoples?”
I bowed my head in respect and replied, “I do my Lord, and I also wish to serve this Federation in whatever capacity it wishes.”
As it turned out, by agreeing to their terms, I made things much easier for the Federation Council and now they started working to make things much easier for me. After I’d given the Council Chair the reply he needed, I recited the oath of allegiance before the entire Federation. When I finished reciting the oath before the entire assembly, the entire row of nine Principal Councilors stood, placed their hands over their hearts and bowed deeply towards me in respect and to welcome me to the Federation. This completed, everyone in the chamber rose to their feet and began clapping and stamping their feet in appreciation of what’d just happened as I was quietly led from the chamber for a private meeting with the Chair.
I don’t know how he did it, but even though I left the chamber before him and we seemed to take a fairly direct route to his office, the Council Chair managed to beat me there. I immediately made a mental note to never underestimate him, he was clearly a formidable person. Of course, I should have expected nothing different, he was the leader of a multi species, multi planet, star fairing nation, you don’t achieve that level of power without a considerable amount of ability. When I entered his office and saw him already there waiting I came to an immediate halt before catching myself and bowing towards him with my hand over my heart to show him the respect he deserved. By the time the formalities were completed, I realised I was alone in the room with this Tangesha, someone who was arguably the most powerful person in the Federation. I found the moment entirely surreal, it was like a dream. He motioned me towards a comfortable seat and joined me, sitting across from me so we could have an informal chat.
He said, “I would like to thank you, for rescuing my daughter.”
Of course, what reply could I make but to assure him I saw it as a duty when the need arose.
I said, “Sir, think nothing of it. When I sent the Troopers to the ship, I didn’t know who was there, just that whoever it was probably needed rescuing. Besides, the Troopers actually performed the rescue, I just sat back on FNS Destiny waiting and hoping for everyone to return to us safely.”
He just smiled before replying, “I know you don’t see the rescue as a major achievement, I have seen the reports from your interrogation and those of the crew and others who you bought back when you returned our ship to us. You should trust me when I tell you the implications, both political, and from a security aspect go far beyond anything you could imagine. Suffice it to say, you may very well have saved the Federation from imploding in the short term with your decisions and subsequent actions.”
This was something I hadn’t heard before and found myself feeling, well in all honesty I’m not sure what I was feeling, numb, dumbstruck perhaps?
I decided I needed to change the subject because the current one was a little uncomfortable so I asked, “How is Lady Conti sir, is she recovered from her ordeal yet?”
It was clear he knew precisely what I was trying to do because he smiled broadly and told me I should ask her myself at the reception we were to attend after our meeting and the inevitable, not to mention unavoidable press conference I still had to suffer my way through. I wondered how long the adulation would last and if things would turn nasty when it finally ended. I thought at the time perhaps I could just try to fade back into obscurity. We spoke for nearly half an hour before he led me to the press conference. Of course I found the press conference to be quite the ordeal. I told the news hounds how pleased and honoured I was to be a citizen of the Federation, and I played the humble man to the hilt. Eventually the press conference came to an end and we made our way to the reception. The reception was the same as so many similar events I’ve been required to attend since coming to the Federation. While I have been the centre of attention in more than my fair share of these events, for most, someone else was the guest of honour, thankfully. The reception ran on for what seemed to be many hours. Soon after arriving, Anne attached herself to me as my minder, which I was thankful of because this was her forte, she knew precisely how to act and what to do and say for every situation we found ourselves in. On a few occasions she jumped in and answered a question for more or deflected an inappropriate comment before I could embarrass myself.
Eventually, I met Conti at the reception and she looked very different to the malnourished, skinny bedraggled refugee we’d rescued from the pirate ship. Here she looked like a princess, dressed in a long, flowing dress that glittered as it moved and reflected the lighting. She also had something in her hair that made it glitter and sparkle in much the same way as her dress. When she saw me, her face split into a huge smile as she told me how glad she was to see me safe and well. Other than when she’d appeared as a defence witness during my trial, I hadn’t seen her since the meeting with Admiral Hanadon just before I was bashed senseless by the prison officer. We chatted for a while then I moved on to the next person after she made me promise to visit her soon.
As I made my way around the gathering, I eventually came across Captain Carlon. He greeted me warmly before thanking me again for the effort I’d put into helping the crew bring FNS Destiny safely back to the Federation. He told me the intelligence we returned with confirmed a number of concerns the Federation intelligence services had about the pirates. They were most worried about the pirates becoming more organised and an apparent ability to develop new technologies. This was all now confirmed though there had been some vague hints in the past. Apparently the two mines we returned with had the scientists buzzing with excitement.
As is normal with these events, the day wore on and eventually the reception began to wind down. By then, I was beginning to feel very fatigued. Anne noticed this and suggested this might be a good time for us to make an exit. Of course I readily agreed and she steered me away from the remaining guests and towards the waiting ground car. Once we were inside, the driver guided the vehicle out of the courtyard and back towards the hospital where I was currently being quartered. At least now, I’d done the first of the two things I promised to make the piracy charges go away so I thought I was mostly safe from that threat. Of course, I still had to sign on to the Navy but this required the Navy to approach me with the necessary paperwork and they hadn’t done that yet. I thought, perhaps they will come tomorrow, perhaps they were waiting for me to become a citizen.
Over the following weeks, my application to join the Navy was submitted and a number of Naval officers came to visit me, discussing options for me to serve once I was inducted. At this point, I really didn’t know how I would serve, or what I would be doing. One officer wanted me in training command, another wanted me to command a ship. I don’t think the Navy even knew what they wanted to do with me. It almos
t seemed to me as if I was a problem they didn’t want but were stuck with anyway.
EPILOGUE
When I finished telling my family the story I looked up. I’d been talking non-stop for nearly the entire day and well into the night. When I looked around, my wife Katherine was sitting there with tears in her eyes and both hands covering her mouth, a look of stark shock. Stephanie was also crying; In hindsight, I think the brutality of what I’d been through on Cotoni Station was too shocking for them. They knew I was fine now, but finding out what'd happened to me in the past, at a time when they thought I’d just run off and left them was a shock. Now they knew that while I had left them, I didn’t do it willingly and I would’ve come back if it’d been possible at the time.
I apologized to them, saying, “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have been quite so graphic with the events on Cotoni Station. I can promise you though, this is the worst I have ever suffered in the Federation and frankly, it was mostly my fault.”
Katherine shifted a little closer to me and hugged me for a few minutes, still sobbing a little but slowly bringing herself under control.
Stephanie asked me, “How did you ever survive that?”
My reply shocked them a little more, “I almost didn’t,” I told them, “if I'd sustained those injuries here on Earth, I would probably be a vegetable at best. I ended up with two broken arms, several fractured ribs, and severe fracturing of the skull along with a small amount of brain damage. On top of those more serious injuries, there was quite extensive tissue damage in my hands and wrists from the restraints. Out there in the Federation though, I had medical support like you would not believe, or perhaps you would but you probably need to see what we are capable of to fully understand. I think I would like to show you soon but we will need to go to my Flagship for that.
Both Katherine and Stephanie simultaneously said, “Flagship?”
I just smiled, then replied, “I left Earth five and a half years ago, not intentionally, not by choice. A lot's happened to me since then, I've come a long way, I command the task force here in this solar system. Now I'm back and would like to do anything I can, anything you will let me do, to help you. There are no strings at all, but I think you need to understand some more about me, about who I am now and what I've become before you make any final decisions about the future. As much as I want to rebuild our relationships, it is even more important to me that you want to as well. I think if you let me show you where I am now, you'll understand.”
They looked at me in silence for a few moments before Katherine asked, “How can we visit your Flagship? I don’t know how to arrange it or who I should ask for help.”
I could see she wasn't processing who I was to the Federation yet so I replied, “I'll give you a little breathing space, some time to think and talk amongst yourselves. I'll also give you a phone number. It's Anne’s direct line, she'll receive the call no matter where we are in the solar system. If you want to talk to me she'll put you in contact with me immediately. I don't have a direct line myself otherwise I'd give you the number. Call Anne if you need anything at all, or even if you only want to see me or talk to me. Or if you prefer, you can tell me now what your wishes are if you've already decided. I will accept your choice whether I like it or not.”
Katherine asked, “Are you going to leave me again, now when I’ve only just seen you again for the first time in far too long?”
I was a little surprised, so I asked, “You want me to stay?”
I noticed a slightly concerned look on Anne’s face. I knew we needed time to secure this property before my security organization would permit me to stay.
She replied, “I don’t want to be separated from you again, not so soon. You can stay here if you want, or I could come with you if you'll let me.”
There was almost a sound of desperation in her voice.
Anne answered for me, “Mrs Gordon,” she said, “the Admiral can't stay here tonight for security reasons but you can come with us if you wish. Actually, if you did, I believe he would be a very happy man.”
Katherine replied, "Please Anne, call me Kath, or Katherine. Why can't he stay here, this is our home?"
Anne explained, " Mrs..., Katherine, there are security implications. We need to secure the house before we could allow him to stay here. He is too important to the success of our mission, and to the survival of the Federation to risk him being assassinated or kidnapped. We can secure the property but it will take a day or two."
Katherine nodded at Anne's explanation and looked a little confused about what she should do.
Stephanie looked at her mother then jumped from her seat and said, “ Come on mom, I’ll help you pack. Dad how long will she be gone for? What clothes will she need?”
I said, “Nothing too fancy but we'll be eating out a few times. If anything comes up, she can go out and buy whatever she needs but I don’t think this will be necessary in the next few days though.”
Katherine and Stephanie rushed off to pack. Anne sidled over to me and asked how much they would be likely to pack. I just smiled before telling her she'd be surprised at how little. I told her that unless she'd changed since I left, Kath would come out with one smallish suitcase and a carryall. Anne looked quite surprised at my comment. I continued to request Anne to arrange for some unobtrusive security for Stephanie and her family as well. After this short conversation, we sat back to wait.
End
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Star Man 1: Star Bourne Page 47
