by PP Corcoran
“Shuttle has reached midpoint, Admiral,” called the officer at tactical.
And now we wait.
Five minutes passed. Ten minutes passed with no movement from the ships around SurvFlot One. As fifteen minutes approached the tactical officer’s board lit up.
“Vampire! Vampire! Missile launch from the heavy ship at the center of Bogey One…”
Shit! I knew I shouldn’t have let him go. Christos mentally kicked himself. Time to get the hell out of dodge before the shooting really starts. Nicholas knew I wouldn’t have time to recover the shuttle without taking casualties.
“Communications. Send to the flotilla fire plan Charlie on my command…”
The shout from tactical stopped Christos in mid-sentence.
“Standby! Computer is now calling it four small craft, not missiles… Wow, look at their acceleration and maneuverability.”
“Communications. Belay that order. The flotilla is to remain at weapons tight… and for God’s sake get confirmation from every ship, we don’t need to start a war unintentionally.”
In his holo cube repeater Christos brought up the tactical display and watched the acceleration rates of those four small craft. One look at the speed of them and he understood how the computer was initially fooled into thinking it was a missile launch. Boy, those things could move! Their pilots were performing an intricate weaving maneuver that would give any fire control computer a headache if it tried to lock onto them. Odd that a battleship would carry small craft with that kind of performance capacity. Sure the marines had their Reapers, but they were primarily a close support type, designed for use within atmosphere but only carried on the specially modified marine assault ships of the Excalibur class. Yes, they could operate in space but those fast little ships would put them to shame; if they engaged them in space Christos, unfortunately, knew who he’d put his money on in a fight, and it wasn’t the Reapers.
The small craft zipped toward the ambassador’s shuttle then streaked past before deftly reversing course and settling into a box formation with the shuttle at its center. The small craft to the right and above the shuttles cockpit began blinking what on a TDF ship would be navigation lights and its pilot edged the little ship forward slowly.
Christos punched a control on his armrest and Nicholas’ completely nonplussed face appeared in the now split holo cube.
“Well you wanted a reply Nicholas and it looks like you got one. Now what?”
“It would appear they wish us to join them aboard that rather impressive vessel.”
“It’s your call, Nicholas, just remember, Kayla would never forgive me if anything happened to her favorite aristocrat.”
“If, for whatever reason, I fail to return, you can inform your dear wife that I have bequeathed my entire fine wine collection to her on the stipulation that you are never to gargle with it ever again.”
Christos chuckled at the thought of the look on his wife’s face if she was ever released into Nicholas’ wine cellar. She would set up house in there, given the opportunity. “Good luck, Nicholas.”
#
Terminating the link to Christos, Nicholas released a small sigh after ensuring, of course, that his aide, a twenty-something waif of a girl who had volunteered to accompany him, undoubtedly out of some innate sense of adventure on what he was sure the majority of the diplomatic staff thought was a fool’s errand, if not tantamount to suicide, couldn’t hear. Well, thought Nicholas, nothing was ever achieved by those who were not willing to make sacrifices. The fact that the sacrifice in this case may very well be his own life, his aide’s life and that of the pilot and copilot was something that Nicholas never let enter his mind. Nicholas activated his link to the pilot.
“If you would be so good as to follow the lead of our escort, please.”
Even through the bulkhead separating the passenger area from the flight deck, Nicholas was sure he could hear the pilot cursing. No matter, the shuttle edged forward and with that the small craft that had blinked its lights dropped into position directly in front of the shuttle while the remaining three small craft reoriented themselves into a triangular formation. The leading small craft accelerated gently until they were amongst the larger vessels facing the Commonwealth flotilla. Nicholas could only admire the various ships’ sleek design as an architect would appreciate a fine building. Each ship was the same gun-metal gray color edged in midnight blue.
The shuttle passed through the ranks of the gray ships, Nicholas noted the snouts of protruding weapon points and rows of what he guessed to be missile tubes. These ships may be pleasing to the eye but the weapons emplacements showed that they also had a more deadly purpose. A sharp intake of breath from his aide dragged Nicholas’ eyes from the passing warships and back to his seat display, which showed the view from the pick up on the nose of the shuttle. They were approaching the mother ship, for the small craft and its bulk blocked out the starlight as the shuttle slipped between the twin pylons, which stretched out from the main bulk of the behemoth. The shuttle slowed its pace in line with the lead escort, and as he watched, the skin of the vessel appeared to split and a bright shaft of light bathed the shuttle.
The largest set of bulkhead doors Nicholas had ever seen slowly opened like the jaws of a predatory beast to reveal a cavernous hanger, lined on either side by double rows of small craft identical to the ones escorting the Commonwealth shuttle. There had to be at least 100 of the nimble craft. Each had what Nicholas supposed was ground crew working on or around them, they didn’t appear to be wearing any form of vacuum suit to protect them. How was that possible? A slight jolt answered his question moments later as the shuttle passed through some form of invisible barrier that must protect the hanger bay from the ravages of space. Now that’s interesting and I bet very useful.
The pilot brought the shuttle to a hover above a set of blinking lights on the deck and with a deft touch of the controls, brought the shuttle slowly down, settling it on the deck plates without even a noticeable jolt. He must be out to impress our hosts, as must you Nicholas.
Nicholas released his restraints and stood, smoothing the imaginary creases from his jacket as he did so. He turned to his aide who was still seated and gawking out of the shuttle window.
“Excuse me, Miss?”
His question startled the young woman, who tried to stand without releasing her seat restraints, managing only to rise a few millimeters before the locking mechanism kicked in and held her fast to the seat. Realizing her mistake, she tapped the release and stood, her face reddening in embarrassment.
“Eh. Kelly sir. Kelly Johanson.”
Nicholas looked her up and down, inspecting her with the eye of a drill sergeant.
“It would appear that we have arrived at our destination, Miss Johanson. I would remind you that initial contact with these people will leave an impression that will set the tone for all future negotiations, so I will ask you again. Are you prepared for whatever awaits us? Or do you wish to remain aboard the shuttle?”
Something seemed to change within the young woman as Kelly stood, just that little bit straighter, lifting her chin while her eyes fixed on Nicholas’. “Let’s do this.”
Nicholas regarded her a moment longer before turning without another word to the shuttle’s personnel door and keying in the open sequence. The door slid to one side with a slight hiss of hydraulics, and Nicholas and Kelly were bathed in the harsh light of the hanger. The small ramp extended and without hesitation Nicholas walked down onto the hangar floor, Kelly following closely on his heels. At the base of the ramp, Nicholas halted and waited. They didn’t have long to wait.
A bulkhead at the side of the hangar, nearest the shuttle, split open and a pair of what Nicholas assumed to be crew member approached them. From a distance they looked remarkably human-like; two arms, two legs, one head. But then it struck Nicholas that these aliens were thinner and taller than humans. Out of the corner of his eye, he noted that Kelly was managing to control her features�
�� or she was totally petrified and going into shock. How embarrassing if she faints.
#
Kelly was indeed petrified but there was no way in hell she was going to show it to that stuffy martinet beside her. Kelly had never worked directly with Ambassador Schamu, but the horror stories made her think twice about volunteering to be his aide on what her coworkers had called a suicide mission. The flight on the shuttle had only served to reinforce her impression of Schamu. She had no doubt that when he actually spoke to these aliens he already had some forms for them to fill out. In triplicate, undoubtedly.
Kelly’s undivided attention was re-focused on the two aliens as, with precision that a marine would envy, they came to a halt only a couple of meters in front of her. Both dressed in identical stylized uniforms. The same gun-metal gray as their ship with trims of midnight blue running down each arm. Kelly was forced to crane her neck slightly to maintain eye contact with the two aliens. She wondered if Schamu had noticed how human-like they looked. Their two eyes were closer together than a human’s, separated by what was unmistakably a nose and a mouth located below it. Kelly had to suppress a laugh as she realized that both aliens’ pale blonde hair was styled in what could only be described as bob haircuts. Each could’ve passed for a stretched human – if it wasn’t for the pattern of dark spots, about the size of a freckle. They ran from the top of their skulls down to their eyes, completely encircling them before continuing down either side of their jaws where they joined.
The alien on the right raised its arms and in its hand was a small electronic device, which began to emit a high-pitched whine. The alien stepped forward and waved the device firstly across Kelly and then Nicholas before pulling another, larger device from a pouch on its belt and touching the two together. After a few seconds the larger device beeped and a small display flickered to life and Nicholas could see undecipherable symbols scrolling across the small screen. The alien holding the device gave what Nicholas would’ve described, if it’d been a human being, an incredulous look before stepping forward and repeating the procedure. Again the larger device scrolled the undecipherable symbols but this time when the scrolling symbols came to a halt the alien turned the screen to the second alien who, throughout the whole procedure, stood unmoving. Its inscrutable gaze fixed on the two human diplomats.
It appeared to Nicholas that it was this alien who was in charge, Nicholas prepared to address it, when without warning it swapped places so it was now standing in front of Kelly. The unexpected move surprised Nicholas, but not as much as Kelly, she managed not to let the surprise show on her face only by squeezing her balled fists tightly while keeping them locked at her sides.
As unexpected as this move had been, what happened next completely blindsided Kelly. In unison, the aliens bowed deeply at the waist and raised their outstretched arms to shoulder level. The alien in charge spoke, Nicholas’ and Kelly’s ear bugs translating instantly.
“Welcome, daughter of the Progenitors. We of the Benii have long awaited your arrival and are ready to pledge our allegiance in the struggle against the destroyers of worlds.” The words were formulated in perfect Saiph.
Nicholas Schamu had not gotten to the dizzy heights of ambassador within the Diplomatic Corps without the ability to think on his feet; the change of position after the device had examined them. The use of the word “daughter.” Nicholas was willing to bet that this was a matriarchy. A quick glance at Kelly told him that she was still trying to comprehend these words. The aliens remained in their posture, heads down, arms extended, obviously awaiting a reply. With as minimal movement as possible Nicholas nudged Kelly’s elbow. That seemed to be all she needed to recover from the shock.
Kelly mimicked, as best she was able, the posture of the aliens and Nicholas followed suit. Seemingly satisfied, the two aliens once again stood erect.
“I am High Commander Botac, commander of the Combined Forces of the Benii Federation. This is Admiral Yula, and you stand aboard the Benii carrier Koslla. Flagship of our naval forces.”
Kelly’s stomach was doing somersaults. Ambassador Schamu was the one meant to be negotiating, she was only here to take notes, damn it! But no. Schamu was just standing there… silently. Kelly could have screamed at him. Relax, Kelly, take a breath… you can do this.
“I am Kelly Johanson. I am a diplomat with the Commonwealth Union of Planets and I come to you in the hope that we may establish a peaceful relationship with the Benii.” Kelly hoped that the translation program in her PAD did its job properly and hadn’t just told her hosts something like she thought they had ugly haircuts.
“Do you have news of the war?”
Kelly hesitated and her eyes widened in surprise. How could the Benii know of the Commonwealth’s war against the Others? Kelly decided to play coy.
“The war, Commander?”
Now it was Botac’s turn to hesitate.
“Once we of the Benii discovered the crashed ship of the Progenitors, it took our archaeologists nearly a generation to decipher its writings. But once we did, we learned the Progenitors were at war with an implacable foe, who it seems, if they discovered any world visited by the Progenitors, would destroy it and all life on it, with no hesitation. Our scientists redoubled their efforts to discover the secrets of the Progenitors’ technology, but much of it was simply beyond us, so we developed our own less-advanced weapons and drives. I see from your own arrival here that you have conquered the problem of interstellar travel. We were forced to rely on generation ships to establish ourselves on other worlds…”
“You have spread to other planets outside your own star system?” interrupted Nicholas.
Both Botac and her companion reacted as if Nicholas had slapped them across the face.
Nicholas scrambled to recover the situation. “My apologies, Commander…”
Botac cut him off with a chopping motion as she addressed Kelly. “I see that your Commonwealth has the same problem as we Benii. Men who do not know their place. More and more men think they can speak without permission in the presence of their betters.”
Kelly turned to Nicholas with a mischievous grin. She was beginning to enjoy this. “Please forgive him, Commander. I shall ensure that I have a conversation with him later reminding him of his position in society.” Turning back to Botac, she continued. “Tell me of these worlds, if you will?”
“May I suggest we retire to more comfortable surroundings to continue our conversation?”
“Of course, Commander. If I may, I would like to bring my secretary to take notes?”
Botac eyed Nicholas like a misbehaving puppy. “As you wish, Kelly Johanson. If you would like to accompany me?”
Botac gestured to the entrance through which she and Yula had entered the hanger bay and Nicholas ensured he kept a respectful distance behind the small group of females.
#
The return journey on the shuttle was excruciating for Kelly. Following the initial meeting in the hanger bay with Botac and Yula, where Ambassador Schamu had been forced to take a back seat, he hadn’t uttered another word. Whenever Kelly tried to make eye contact with him he had pointedly ignored her. When they returned to the shuttle he sat in his seat and when Kelly tried to explain her actions he simply held up a hand to stop her. The twenty-minute flight to the Cutlass was the longest twenty minutes of her life. Schamu busily tapped away on his PAD, probably arranging for my removal from the mission, Kelly thought glumly.
The shuttle shuddered lightly as it landed on the Cutlass and Schamu stood to leave. Kelly remained in her seat, close to tears at the thought of being sent home in disgrace.
As he reached the personnel hatch, Schamu paused and turned to face the still-seated Kelly.
“Miss Johanson. I must say that your performance today was…” Nicholas looked down at his immaculate suit and brushed an imaginary piece of lint from his sleeve, “remarkable.”
Kelly’s brain could hardly process Schamu’s words and he was still talking.
&nbs
p; “You coped excellently with the rather radical turn of events, thrusting you into the position of assuming leadership of our negotiations with the Benii. As such, from this point you will be our primary negotiator. Before each meeting, I will give you a list of points that I wish covered but how you do so will be entirely up to you. I’ve taken the liberty of forwarding to your PAD a list of suitable candidates for your new staff. At this juncture, I believe it would be wise to keep all staff who are likely to have contact with the Benii restricted to females, but I would like you to introduce Garundan and Persai females at the earliest possible moment, to show the Benii that we are truly a pan-species alliance. Any questions?”
Kelly was in a state of shock. Not trusting her voice to reply, she simply nodded.
“Good. I will personally brief Admiral Papadomas but I expect he’ll want you to brief a joint naval and diplomatic meeting as soon as possible. I suggest you be ready in…” Schamu referred to the archaic gold pocket watch he always carried. The sound of its cover snapping shut brought Kelly’s head up, straight into the smiling face of Nicholas Schamu. She recognized that mischievous smile. It was the same one she had given him back in the hanger bay. God she hated karma.
“Two hours.” And with that, Schamu exited the shuttle and was gone, leaving Kelly muttering words that would have made the best marine gunnery sergeant turn red.
#
Christos looked over the top of his battered mug at the dapper ambassador sipping his Longjing tea. Christos lowered his mug and rested it on the armrest of his equally battered leather chair.
“A race that has colonized two other star systems, equipped with carriers and star fighters all powered by black holes. If I hadn’t seen it with my own eyes I wouldn’t have believed it.” Christos allowed himself a soft chuckle. “The tech weenies are going to wet themselves.”
“Indeed, Christos. From the discovery of a wrecked Saiph starship they have, in a mere 400 years, gone from pre-industrialization to interstellar travel. A prodigious achievement.”
