by D. J. Holmes
“Stand aside,” one of them called when they were within earshot. “Stand aside,” he repeated. “These Humans are guests of the Gramrian delegation. Stand aside or there will be an official complaint.”
To Emilie’s surprise, the two Gramrians actually moved close enough to the Folians to push them aside. The Folians didn’t make it easy for them, though neither did they resist. As soon as a path was cleared, both Gramrians turned to Emilie. The tallest one, whose scales were a beautiful intricate green, brown and orange camouflage pattern held out an arm, palm up towards Emilie. “Greetings Human, I am War Chief Xamon. I am the Gramrian speaker at the conclave. You are now under my protection.”
“Thank you for allowing us to come to speak to you,” Emilie replied as she slowly moved her hand forward. Twisting her arm so her palm was down, she went to place her hand on top of the Gramrian’s when the Gramrian reached forward and grasped her forearm. Mimicking the gesture, Emilie grasped Xamon’s forearm. Though she had been trying to hide her aversion, she couldn’t help but jump when Xamon’s claw spun around her forearm locking their arms tightly together.
Xamon opened her mouth to show her teeth, “Do not fear Captain, it is a sign of trust within my species. To bear one’s wrist to another’s claw is a sign of courage. It also shows we mean each other no harm.”
Emilie forced herself to relax as much as she could. “My world shows such intent like this,” she said as she released Xamon and held her hand towards the alien as if they were going to shake. Xamon looked at Emilie’s hand for a couple of seconds and then mimicked the gesture. When she did Emilie slid her hand into Xamon’s and shook it up and down. “It shows that neither of us is carrying a weapon.”
“I see,” Xamon replied. She then looked over Emilie’s shoulder towards Shaw’s marines. “The same cannot be said for your companions.”
“No,” Emilie agreed. “They will wait here with the shuttle. I did not know what kind of greeting we would receive. The Folians on Betasaad were very welcoming, but after several weeks we realized they were stalling.”
“I’m not surprised,” Xamon said. “They and the Trac-kians have been the biggest proponents of accepting the Karacknid’s demands. They would not want anything that may tip the balance of the Conclave against them to interfere.”
“Then I am glad Commodore Shraw was able to escort my ship into orbit,” Emilie responded. “Do I have you to thank for that?”
“You do,” Xamon replied as she swished her tail. “Though I would reserve your thanks for now. I have allowed you here to speak to the Conclave. There we will decide the merits of what you have to say. After that I may not be able to protect you. Nor may I wish to do so.”
“Then I will have to make my case as best I can,” Emilie replied as she squared her shoulders. “Shall we proceed?”
“By all means,” Xamon said as she waved a clawed hand towards the Folian government building. “I am eager to hear what you have to say. As we walk, there are a number of things I should fill you in on regarding this Conclave.”
“I’m sure anything you can share with me will be helpful,” Emilie replied as she moved forward. She did her best to move quickly but it was obvious from the way Xamon was moving that the alien was going as slow as possible. I never want to face a Gramrian in hand-to-hand combat, Emilie thought as Xamon filled her in on the Conclave’s etiquette. Even if she tried to run, a Gramrian would likely catch her in seconds.
*
“Members of the Conclave, it is a deep honor you all bestow on me by allowing me to address this assembly,” Emilie began as she stood in front of the gathered representatives. “I recognize that each of your species faces the gravest choice in your history. You saw the strength of the Karacknid war fleet first hand when they conquered your neighbor the Nanee. I do not come here today to try to dissuade you about the threat that each of you faces. If the Karacknids wanted to, they could assemble their entire war fleet and they would be able to conquer all of your systems within weeks. There would be nothing that any of you could do to prevent this, whether you stick together or alone.
“However, I believe the fear the strength of the Karacknid fleet rightly causes us to feel, must be examined against the horrible future that giving in to such strength would bring. The Karacknids offer of vassalage to each of your species is a lie. They are warmongers and conquerors. Their species has no interest in gaining allies, friends or equals. Ask yourself this; in the war fleet that invaded Nanee space, were there any other species fighting alongside the Karacknids? The Karacknids have conquered hundreds of other species. Yet their people are nowhere to be seen. Do you know why? Because they are locked up on their own worlds or their colonies. They are not allowed to leave their planets, nor pursue their own interests, research, business or trade. They are slaves to the Karacknid war machine. You may ask how do I know this? In part because I was part of a fleet that fought the Karacknids in an attempt to stop them invading one of our neighbors. Sadly, we failed in that attempt. As we were driven out of our neighbor’s home system, we saw what the Karacknids do to those who they conquer. Their entire world, though it had already been conquered, was destroyed by hundreds of nuclear missiles.
“If that is not evidence enough, allies of my species called the Varanni have sent scout ships into Karacknid territories. They have made contact with other species that have been conquered. I have brought such information with me,” Emilie paused as she pulled out a datachip from her pocket. “I happily make it available to all of you to analyze. In here are scouting reports, battle overviews and anything else I can share with you about the Karacknids that is not sensitive. I hope this data will back up what I am saying today.”
Emilie took a breath as she gathered her thoughts. “In light of this I urge you all to carefully consider the decision this Conclave will make. If you give in to the Karacknids I believe your species will regret such a decision for generations to come. If you choose to fight it may be that you are defeated and conquered, that is true… But, will you be any better off than if you did not fight? And if you do fight, there may be a chance! The Karacknids are not omnipotent. They can be beaten. My species has defeated them on more than one occasion. And we will do so again.
“I bring you this offer on behalf of my people. If this conclave decides to resist the Karacknids we will do everything we can to aid you. We will share military technologies, we will share resources, including weapons and ships, and we will send our own warriors to fight alongside you. The Karacknids are our common foe. We should stand against them together.”
Emilie looked around at the Conclave members. She was hoping for some kind of response to her words. None seemed forthcoming. Only Xamon acknowledged her gaze, the Gramrian bared her teeth at Emilie but said nothing. Emilie closed her eyes and summoned more strength. A non-response didn’t necessarily mean anything. But given the passion she had put into her words, she had hoped for something. “I will happily answer any of your questions now,” she said as she sat down.
“Then let me begin,” the Folian speaker said. That it didn’t give its name was a sure sign that the Folian was not happy. “You say you bring data that proves your claims about the Karacknids. Yet that can be fabricated. You admit you are at war with this species. How can we trust you any more than we do they?”
“You cannot,” Emilie answered honestly. “Except by interpreting our actions. I have come here peacefully and willingly put my ship and myself under your control. The Karacknids have only come to you in force. They have conquered the Nanee. My species has done no such thing. I confess, I am here out of self-interest. I do not wish to see my homeworld bombarded again, nor my species enslaved. If you decided to fight the Karacknids then it would be to my species’ benefit. That is true. However, my species is not heartless. We do not desire to see any species enslaved. If we can help your species remain free, then we will happily do so.”
“Everything you say may be a lie. We do not know where your home
world is, nor the size of your species’ territory. We do not know the strength of your fleet nor whether or not you are truly at war with the Karacknids,” the Folian countered. “Your entire story could be a falsehood. For all we know, you could be here simply because you would take pleasure in seeing our civilizations destroyed by war. You ask us to judge you by your actions. Well, where were you months ago when the Nanee were invaded? You say you have been at war with the Karacknids so clearly you have known of their empire for some time. Your ship is here now in our homeworld, so you are our neighbor, even if not as close as those gathered around this table with us. Why not warn us about the Karacknids before now? Why not help the Nanee? If we are to judge you by your actions, we might conclude that you have come now simply to cause havoc and sow dissension within this Conclave.”
“That is not true,” Emilie insisted. “My species knew nothing of yours until several weeks ago. As I explained to Elder Habalan, we happened upon a damaged Nanee freighter by chance. From its course we discovered the coordinates of your colony. You can send a ship to check, the damaged freighter is there. I am here now because this is as soon as I could bring the warnings I have shared. Though I would have been here earlier if Habalan had not intentionally waylaid me and kept me from this Conclave,” Emilie couldn’t help but add as she stared daggers at the Folian. It was one thing for the Conclave members to doubt her testimony and wish to examine her, but the Folian was actively trying to shoot down what she had said without giving it a fair hearing. Does it want its species to become slaves? Emilie shook her head, that can’t be it, it is just scared. Scared or not though, the Folian was dooming its own people.
“All we have is your word,” the Folian replied without changing its tone. It didn’t understand the look on Emilie’s face, or chose to ignore it. “The rest of the Conclave members may question this Human, but there’s nothing more the Folian people can learn from her.”
“I for one have many more questions,” Xamon said in a formal manner that ignored the Folian’s words. “To begin with, you have mentioned fighting the Karacknids several times. I would like to hear how you have fought them and how you have won. Up to this point our discussions within this Conclave have assumed that they cannot be beaten.”
Emilie shot Xamon a grateful look, though she was doubtful the alien could interpret it as such. Then she answered. Starting with the Mindus’ request for help, she detailed how her uncle had led a Human fleet to fight alongside the Varanni and their allies in Mindus space. She talked through the Karacknid invasion of her own species’ territory and the cataclysmic Battle of Earth. When she was done, Xamon and several other speakers questioned many of the things she had shared. To her surprise, more than one of them asked very insightful questions. They are not unfamiliar with interstellar war, she concluded. Some of the questions would have been far better answered by her uncle or Vice Admiral Gupta, but she answered as best she could.
“You have told us how your war went human,” the Lalibroke speaker said. “I’m curious as to how do you think ours would go? We have over eighty colonies between us to protect. Once we thought our warship numbers were impressive, but now we know they are not. You have spoken one truth, if the Karacknids concentrated their forces against us, our worlds would be quickly conquered. Even with your help, I do not see how this would not be so.”
Emilie kept her face impassive. The question was a good one. “I do not know enough about your military technologies or tactics to answer such a question with any detail,” she answered. “Even so, combined, I’m sure your forces are enough to fend off the Karacknids. However, if you go to war with them, you will not be fighting alone. As I have said, my species and ten others are currently fighting together against them. The Karacknids will not be able to focus their full strength against you. Moreover, we believe there are other wars the Karacknids are involved in as well. It is possible a war with them may end quickly for you. On the other hand, even the greatest of beasts can be taken down by many small strikes. Together we may be able to achieve that. You all must decide if the risk is worth taking.”
More questions quickly followed. Suddenly Emilie found herself carefully explaining the strategies and tactics Humanity had employed against the Karacknids, then she was speaking about engine technologies, then missile ECM. All the while she had to be careful not to give away any secrets. Talking up the impressive parts of Human, Varanni and Mindus technologies without actually giving them away was tough.
“So you expect us to make a decision without being able to see any of these promised technologies or ships in action?” the Trac-kian speaker asked. “It is all well and good you telling us about them, but we have only your word to go upon. We could be embarking upon a war completely reliant on aid that may not materialize or may not even exist.”
“Worse,” the Folian speaker said, re-joining the conversation for the first time since it had spoken. “From what you have told us, the Karacknids were at war with you when they conquered the Nanee. We know they have been hunting the Kalassai as well. That means they have been able to fight on three fronts simultaneously and, by all accounts, are winning on two out of the three, if not all three. I do not see how our species joining such a fight would make any difference.”
“I know I am asking a great deal of you all,” Emilie responded as she tried to hide her excitement at the mention of the Kalassai, whoever they were. “You each hold the fate of your species in your hands. This is not a decision I imagine you are taking likely. Nor, as I know, is it one you are seeking to make today. I hope to back up everything I have shared with you today with data and examples. Certainly, my ship Intrepid will be able to demonstrate all of her capabilities to you. We could organize some battle simulations and weapons tests in the coming days.”
“One ship will not prove very much to us,” the Folian said in a tone that Emilie could only take as dismissive. It looked away, not saying anything more. Grinding her teeth together Emilie turned to the next speaker that had a question.
“There is another point you have made upon which I am unsure,” Hura of the Lomalns began. “You have claimed on several occasions that the Karacknids have no allies nor friends nor even vassals, only slaves. Yet from what you have shared, your species is only familiar with other species who have resisted them. Species like our neighbors the Nanee. They were given the opportunity to surrender peacefully and chose to resist. The Karacknids have made a very different offer to us.”
“As I explained earlier, Varanni scouts made contact with a resistance group on a planet that was conquered by the Karacknids more than fifty years ago. They had data on their planet and several nearby worlds. All of them had been brought into the Karacknid Empire and all of them were treated the same,” Emilie answered.
“That proves nothing,” Hura replied. “They may all be species who fought against the Karacknids. Nothing you have said today may bear any weight on the situation we face.”
“You speak with great wisdom Hura,” the Folian speaker said. “Now perhaps the delegates understand why Elder Habalan chose to delay the Humans at Betasaad. Captain Kansas spoke true when she said that we hold the fate of our species in our hands. That means it is we who are responsible. Not her, nor her species. I therefore move to have everything she has spoken and shared with us struck from the official records of this Conclave. There is simply no way to verify the claims she has made. We have but a month to make our decision. We cannot waste more time discussing these things, not when they cannot be verified in the timeframe we are faced with. Without being able to determine the veracity of what this Human Captain has shared, our decision should not be swayed by her words. I call an immediate vote on this topic.”
Emilie couldn’t help but stare at the Folian. She had thought she would have had days to discuss, explain and layout in more detail the kinds of aid and technologies her species could help the members of the Conclave with. At the very least she thought she would have had time to answer more question
s and let everyone think over what she had shared. Instead the Folian speaker was trying to shut her up and get rid of her. Glancing at the datapad she had brought with her, Emilie was surprised to see that only two hours had passed since she had begun to speak to the conclave.
“Let us vote,” the Folian speaker said as it looked around at the other Conclave members. Emilie, still on her feet, wanted to scream at the Folian. Though it was difficult, she forced herself to remain silent. Then slowly, she sat. Xamon had explained that anything else would be folly. When an official vote was called, it had to be taken immediately. It was one of the fundamental rights each species had at the Conclave. To disrupt it would turn all of them against her. I just have to trust in what I have shared, she said to herself to keep calm. Surely, they will want to hear more.
