The Alliance in Peril

by Peter Lewis Atkinson

  Alenna gulped and replied, “What do you mean Lara, I will not like what?”

  Lara gritted her teeth and said, “You have to go to Tazanter!”

  Alenna panicked and said, “No they wouldn’t send us there. It will take us almost five weeks to reach Tazanter and add time spent there along with the return trip, we are looking at around three months being away. I have contracts to fulfil. I can’t go.” Alenna started to cry and murmured, “Why would they choose to send us there?”

  Lara replied, “It is because of one main reason. The government of Tazanter are so intrigued about human males being dominant that they have decided to meet one in person. I am afraid that Jake was the only possible candidate for this encounter.”

  I butted in saying, “Typical, you try and keep the family together by acquiring a larger cargo freighter and again we will have to split the family up between the two ships. I know this is going to happen as it is the only way we can fulfil contacts.”

  Alenna sighed and said, “Jake sorry, you are of course right. I don’t like it any more than you do. I’d rather not go but we must not bring shame upon our house, I have already said I was willing to do the second assignment. Why did I not insist on asking further about the consignments before agreeing to do them?”

  I replied, “It was because you were willing to do anything to please the alliance council at the time.”

  Turning to Lara, I said, “You’d better give Alenna all the details”

  Lara turned to Alenna and explained, “You will need to leave within three weeks and also the alliance are assigning an interpreter for the duration of the assignment. This is going to be a surprise, I will accompany you as the alliance official on this trip. It also won’t be a wasted trip. You have been given a contract to take a cargo of electronic equipment to Tazanter. The payment for this is very generous.”

  I butted in and said, “This interpreter, is she married?”

  Lara replied, “No!”

  I was not happy and said, “It can’t get any worse, I now have to be chaperoned for three months. I must say I am not looking forward to that prospect.”

  Alenna shook her head at me before saying, “Jake you should know better, what’s it to be, a chaperone or another wife?”

  I let out a groan before replying, “A chaperone, of course, I definitely don’t want to have any more wives.”

  Now, we were leaving in under three weeks, which did not give us much time. I needed to go to Relnor or Dregg to collect the ore that was used for star-drive construction. It looked like we would have to split the family up straight away. I had not unloaded the terinium into our warehouse as yet, so that would save a job. I planned that we should go to Relnor or Dregg, collect the stronilium ore and then proceed straight to Earth. We just had enough time to do this if we did not dawdle. It was up to Alenna who would be assigned to each ship. Alenna would give some consideration to their choice. Unfortunately Minty, Emily and Lumi wouldn’t be given the slightest chance to choose. They would have to go with our old ship to complete the contracts. Minty was now used to being in charge, due to her previous experience. That evening each member was assigned to their cargo ship. Those coming with me to Tazanter would be, Alenna, Jenna, Perri, Lara and River. As for children, only those of Alenna, Jenna and Perri plus Minty’s eldest Jessica. The reason for Jessica coming with us was down to the fact Ellie would turn sixteen before the end of the trip. Jessica would not wish to miss her special party. Although Jessica would also turn sixteen shortly after, we would expect to be back at Alkarr by the time she did. Lara and River had no children of their own at this time. It was a pity all the others would miss Ellie’s party, but we hoped we could make it up to them with Jessica’s party later.

  The next day I had to do my usual run to the moon. In the meantime, Alenna would organise the stocking of provisions for each of the ships. Hopefully, this work would be completed before Perri and I returned. Lidier had some items suitable for sale to Earth. It was not much but did consist of half a dozen hover lifts and two portable fusion generators. I could not take them at this time.

  I said to Lidier, “Do you mind holding on to them for a few months as we have to go to Tazanter. I guess you heard how long the journey there and back takes?”

  Lidier replied, “No problem, you never know, I might have something else of use by then. Why are you going to Tazanter?”

  I said, “For some strange reason the Tazsak wish to meet a human male. Apparently, they are more than intrigued to how a human male is so dominant, unlike their males. They just better not prod and poke me.”

  Lidier laughed before saying, “Prod and poke you, that’s so funny. I will tell the rest of my family later, what you just said.”

  I replied, “You would not think it so funny if that happened to you. I have not yet met a citizen from Tazanter and very few from the alliance have. They may have some strange customs that we may be forced through diplomacy to accept. I have mixed emotions about going there. If they treat me with respect then I will have no problem in meeting them.”

  So soon it was time to return to Alkarr. Alenna had organised everything. The rest of the family, who were going along on Minty’s ship, had a week to spare before going on a cargo run. In the meantime, as our next cargo run was to go to Relnor, it settled the decision over whether we would be going to Relnor or Dregg to collect the ore. At the last minute, it was decided that Yarkeli would also be assigned to our ship. Lara, in the meantime, would remain on Alkarr until it was time to pick up the interpreter. Lara still had to organise the arrival of that consignment of electronic goods. The goods should arrive within the next week and would then be stored in our warehouse until we returned from Earth. We had to say goodbye to those who were not coming with us on our ship, but we would hopefully see them once again before we embarked on the long journey to Tazanter. The delivery for Relnor had been loaded aboard and time was now of the essence. We soon were on our way to our destination point on Relnor. Due to the lack of hands, some of the cleaning jobs were left undone or would only get done less frequently. The delivery was the simple part. The purchase of the ore was not as straightforward as we hoped. As we did not have our own containers for the ore, this meant we had to hire them. Normally this would be straightforward. When we went to hire twenty, we found that they only had four, we needed another sixteen. All was not in vain; the supplier was expecting a number to be returned at any moment, but this could be later today or even tomorrow. We had no choice, but to wait, and wait we did. No containers arrived by the time the business period had ended that day. Again the next day we waited. Alenna was getting impatient.

  Ellie, Jessica and Rachael were on the bridge as look-outs. We had a call from Ellie, “Dad you might like to know, a ship landed a few minutes ago and by the looks of it, they are unloading some containers.”

  Alenna and I went to the bridge to see and sure enough, they were unloading containers. Just then another ship landed. I said to Alenna, “We need to hurry to reception, in case they are here to hire containers.”

  We collected Jenna and started to make a hasty beeline towards reception when something made us stop and look. The second ship also started to unload containers, Alenna said, “Isn’t that typical, we wasted almost a day awaiting the arrival of at least one shipment of containers and then two turn up at the same time.”

  We could now hire the twenty containers. Once loaded aboard we made our way towards the quarry loading area. At least this part went without a hitch, but we were now a day behind. Time was tight enough, now it was touch and go whether we could return to Alkarr on time. We left Relnor as soon as the ore had been loaded. The next part of the journey had a fixed time. We knew within minutes how long the journey took to Earth.

  Stopping on Earth longer
than planned was not an option. We would land, unload and leave straight away. There would be no time to waste, even to go shopping in duty-free.

  Soon, as we came out of star-drive, I contacted the Prime Minister, I said, “Hi its Jake, I have both types of ore on-board. Sorry, I have to leave as soon as I have unloaded the containers into the warehouse. I will leave the keys with security. Please, can you return the green coloured containers when empty, as they are hired. I will collect them next time I visit Earth.”

  The Prime Minister replied, “Oh, we need to have a decontamination squad on hand just in case any containers are breached. Please wait until they arrive before unloading.”

  Not another hold up, I thought. I asked him, “How long will it take to arrive? I can’t delay my departure, and I will start unloading the non-sealed containers and the empty crates first. Please have this decontamination squad arrive before I am ready to unload the sealed containers.”

  The Prime Minister said, “I will contact them straight away. It should not take them too long. They will arrive by helicopter. Another thing, I am in the middle of an election campaign and I must inform you that I may not be the Prime Minister of the country next time you come to Earth. The opinion polls have my party somewhat behind.”

  I had a good relationship with this Prime Minister and I didn’t want to have to start all over again with a new one, so I said, “I do hope you win!”

  I landed at the port and at once started to unload the stronilium ore containers. After that, those battered insect cages. The decontamination crew had not yet arrived, if they didn’t hurry and arrive soon I would start unloading the sealed ones without them.

  Alenna said, “Delay after delay. If they don’t arrive soon Jake, just get on with it without them. Those containers are very solid looking, I really can’t see the containment being breached and any insect they may hold being let out.”

  I wanted to do it right so I replied, “We have to give them a little longer, but if they are not here in the hour I will unload the ore without them.”

  Fifty minutes later the helicopter arrived and the contamination squad wearing bio suits and breathing apparatus exited the helicopter. They were holding what looked like flamethrowers or something similar.

  The officer in charge who was not in a bio-suit but a military uniform said, “Right, this is how we will proceed. You will move the containers one at a time in a slow careful manner. My four men will surround you and contain a breach if that happens.”

  I just did what he asked, though I was a little concerned. They had those flamethrowers pointed my way. I had them walking next to me with each and every one of the containers I moved. It was a complete waste of time. All went to plan.

  I was going to lock the warehouse but the officer insisted that they would guard the containers until they were collected later. I just gave him the keys and said, “When you are finished please leave the keys with port security. I am leaving now.”

  By this time we had stayed on Earth longer than planned, two hours longer than planned. Two hours can make a difference. I tried to make up some time by making orbit faster than usual, but in the end, I only gained five minutes. With haste we left orbit to travel directly back to Alkarr, finally arriving just a few hours before we were due to depart for Tazanter. There was no time for me to take Perri, Honey and Isabell to the moon. Perri had to make do with communicating by pid. We were hoping to see the others before we embarked on our long journey. Lara had informed us that they waited as long as they possibly could, but due to a delivery of a perishable load, could not wait any longer. They left just twelve hours ago. If we had not been held up on Relnor we would have made it back to see them before they left. Not seeing them for three weeks was too long, but not seeing them again for another three months, would seem an eternity. The translator had arrived during the morning and had been waiting with Lara at our residence. It was a mad rush to prepare for the long journey. Provisions for three months needed to be loaded, then the consignment of electrical goods that had been stored in our warehouse, also had to be loaded. Filling the water tanks, emptying the sewage and ensuring we had enough filters, all had to be done before we could leave. I even downloaded into our ship’s mainframe the software to translate Alkarren into Tazantian, during our journey I would upload this to our pid’s. Eventually, we were ready to leave, three hours later than planned, although that would make no difference now. As for chaperones, yes Alenna assigned Perri to do the first part of a rota. After her turn it would be Jenna’s, then so on, each wife on board would then take her turn before returning to Perri again. The hologram room did get a lot of use. Again I did that same hike on Mazar that ended up at that waterfall, only this time I had seven others with me, including the translator whose name was Mieka and the three eldest daughters. The five-week journey was such a drag, if it was not for the hologram room we would have all probably gone potty.

  I had only been given basic information of what to expect on my arrival. The sun was just slightly smaller than ours, but like ours, it was a yellow dwarf. The planet Tazanter was smaller than the Earth by about twenty-one percent. Its gravity was lower than that of Alkarr or Earth. Tazanter, like our planet, orbited in the most favourable part of the habitual zone of its star. It was not all good news though. There was no moon, so the tilt of the planet could vary widely over a millennium and its magnetic field was weaker but still gave the planet protection from solar winds. Plate tectonics had just about ceased which pointed to a cooling of the interior of the planet. The planet might only have a few million years before its magnetic field faded, but for now, it was much like Earth with oceans and continents.

  The governing of the planet was divided up into seven regions, each region had a senator that administered control. All regions had the same laws and regulations. I would describe it as a socialist society in that everybody was cared for from cradle to grave. Family life was not the same as on Alkarr. The females lived in large communes with just a few males shared out between them. It was not unheard of for females to change communes if they were not happy with the one they were in.

  We had been given contact details. Mieka spoke with them. We were to wait in orbit until they were ready to receive our special delegation.

  Alenna said to Mieka, “How long do they expect us to wait?”

  Mieka replied, “They are calling all the senators to the capital city. This may take a day or even two. Their transport is by airship and thus takes time. They will let us know as soon as they are ready.” After two days waiting we were finally given permission to land near the capital city. The coordinates given were where their airships take off, so hopefully, there would be ample space for our cargo freighter. We had no idea of what reception we would receive on arrival. I thought we had a grand reception when we landed on Earth for first contact, but this sight was unbelievable. We had reached the airship port which lay in a basin with fields of gentle slopes surrounding it. As I hovered just above, I found the view from the bridge was one of disbelief. All around as far as the eye could see were Tazsak packed tightly together, I could not see a single empty space other than where we were to land. There must have been millions of Tazsak waiting there.

  I said to Alenna, “Are they all here to see me. If so, you wait until they see Yarkeli.”

  Alenna replied, “Oh, I forgot that the Tazsak were also surprised when they first heard of other races.” Alenna turned to Yarkeli and said, “It’s up to you, Yarkeli. You can stay on-board the ship if you prefer, but if you wish to meet the Tazsak be prepared for their reaction to you.”

  Yarkeli was eager to go outside after being holed up in the ship for weeks, she just said, “I will meet them.”

  I lowered the ship down to make a landing. No sooner had we shut down systems than the ship was now quickly surrounded by Tazs
ak. We were ready to go outside, though we thought it prudent at this time to keep the younger children inside with Perri. I opened the door and stood back for Alenna, Lara and Mieka to exit first. A small area was almost devoid of Tazsak, apart from seven in splendid looking costumes, these were the senators. To one side there was a pair of television cameras, trained on us, watching our every move. Alenna, Lara and Mieka went towards the senators to meet with them. They were very welcoming as if Alenna, Lara and Mieka were long lost relatives. Mieka was a good linguist and could converse with the Tazsak with ease. The crowd around were getting quite excited and noisy to boot. I poked my head around the corner. I was spotted by a number of Tazsak who at once announced my presence to others in an alarming way. In just a few moments it was eerily quiet; you could have heard a pin drop. At that moment I exited the ship with Jenna, River and the elder three daughters. The Tazsak had fixed their stare upon me, which was until Yarkeli walked out behind us. I was not expecting the shock she caused to the crowd. Some screamed and they all sort of moved back, but that was difficult, as there was no room for them to do so. Mieka at once tried to calm the situation, but it did not help that much. One of the senators fearing the crowd might panic moved towards Yarkeli. She then embraced her. The crowds upon seeing her actions at once calmed down and started to cheer. Very quickly their concerns about Yarkeli had been put aside. Now it was my turn. The senators did not know how to greet me, so I took the lead. I stood in front of them, turned my palms up and bowed towards them. Not only them, I also waved at the crowds. They then went silent again. I stood there looking at them, staring at me. I did not know what I should do next. I felt like saying, ‘boo’ to them, but refrained from doing so. One thing was obvious by their absence, I could not see even a single male. The appearance of the Tazsak resembled humans more than they do Alkarrens. Their eye and hair colour varied as ours, their hands and feet were not webbed, as far as a tail goes, I had no idea whether they had a tail or not, but suspected they did not. We were invited to walk with the senators to the edge of the port where a tram was waiting. As we walked the crowds parted to allow us through. I looked behind us and could see the crowds close up again; some were trying to follow. I found it difficult to see over the crowds and I suspected those behind the ones fortunate to be in the front could not see us. As the gravity was lower I guess I could easily jump up to five feet in the air, so I tried. I could see way back and they could now see me. The Tazsak responded by laughing as if I was playing a game or doing something a child would do. I needed to find out more about males on this world, to see how they were treated. We arrived at the tram and were invited to board. The Tazsak were proud of the transport system, so much that Alenna was invited to sit in the driver’s seat, where she was then given the chance to drive the tram under the instruction of the tram driver. She only went a short distance. Alenna was not used to driving anything and soon gave up.