When they reached McKay, he handed the admiral a comm device. When the admiral reached out his hand to take it. Straus noticed that he had five fingers, however instead of a little finger, he had another opposable thumb. The ambassador spoke into his comm device and said, 'Welcome to Earth. I'm Ambassador McKay of Corvus Prime. I've been selected to speak for our people.'
The translation started to come through the admirals device, and he held it up to listen. They all heard McKay's voice speaking in Corvan. The admiral bowed slightly and spoke back into the device, and then the translation was heard on the ambassador's device.
'Thank you Ambassador. I'm Admiral Barloot representing the Corvan people.'
At that moment the Orions proceeded down the loading ramp. Straus recognized Tichtickree. The only thing he was wearing was a dark maroon sash over one shoulder that was decorated with various symbols, patches, and medals. Around his waist was another wide sash with no markings. It gave the impression that he was wearing a miniskirt. The others in his party were similarly dressed. They all stood about five feet tall. Their exoskeletons were all unique with different color patterns ranging from red and black to dark-red and black.
McKay handed a device to Tichtickree as he approached. When the Orion reached out to take the device they could see that his hand looked like a small crab, with three legs, or fingers, with a fourth opposable finger. McKay then repeated his greeting for the Orions.
The translation came out sounding like McKay humming while clicking his teeth together. The Orions listened, then bowed and Tichtickree responded. A humming sound proceeded out of his mouth and his moving mouth parts produced a clicking sound. He used his free hand to produce additional clicking sounds. When he was finished they listened to the translation.
'You honor us with your words Ambassador. It is a pleasure to be here.'
'Before we begin the meeting, we thought that you might enjoy a brief tour of the station. We've made a number of changes since the Corvans dropped it off with us.'
After the translations came through and it looked as if they were in agreement. McKay led them on a tour, with Tómas, Straus, Darla and Bernie following behind.
The tour started with Flight Ops and Bernie explained that they were now juggling eight full squadrons, ten transports, and two carriers, with most of them involved in making runs out to their two mining outposts. The tour continued to Station Ops where Tómas explained the station expansion and that their population was now over three thousand, spread out between Corvus Prime and Corvus Bravo and two mining outposts. When the tour reached Tech Research, Darla explained the development of the quantum torpedo, EM plasma device, and how they improved the Corvan quantum transceiver.
The last stop of the tour took them past the cafeteria and down to the domed park. Both races were very impressed by the achievement and admired the transplanted natural beauty.
The group proceeded to the C&C conference room and were shown their seats. At one end of the table sat McKay and the members from the U.N. Security council. On they other end sat the group from Corvus Prime, The Corvans sat across from the Orions in the middle of the table. Over each group was an acrylic directional sound dome, that would provide each group with the appropriate translations.
Once everyone was seated, McKay stood and said, 'Again, I'd like to welcome you and thank you for coming. This is a truly historic moment for humanity and you honor us with your presence. Just to be clear we are meeting here today to establish formal diplomatic ties, specifically mutual aid. While we are here however we can also explore the possibility of trade of goods and technology.'
'We are prepared to formalize that agreement without reservation,' said Barloot.
'As are we. We are especially anxious to trade technology. We must have that weapon,' said Tichtickree.
The ambassador got a confused looked and Straus jumped in and said, 'Group Commander Tichtickree has expressed some interest in our railgun technology.'
'Yes,' said the Orion.
'Ah, I see. I'm sure that won't be a problem.'
The meeting proceeded for the next six hours. In that time it was decided that each race would station a delegation at Corvus in order to more easily learn about each others cultures.
As a part of the technology exchange, it was decided that the Orions would leave a full squadron of Trident fighters along with pilots and support personnel.
'Well, we covered a lot of ground. The last item of business that I have on my list is to select a name for our new threesome. Any suggestions?' asked Ambassador McKay.
They all sat there for a moment quietly discussing ideas amongst themselves. Finally Bernie cleared his throat.
'Colonel Bernal?' asked McKay.
'I've always been partial to The United Federation of ...'
Straus cut him off saying, 'This isn't science fiction anymore Bernie. People won't take us seriously if we use that.'
Once the room quieted back down, Tómas spoke up and said, 'How about the Coalition of Planets. CoP for short.'
The humans laughed and Straus explained to their guests that “cop” was a colloquial term for a peace officer. The Corvans smiled and nodded but the Orions just sat there.
'How about the Earth-Corvan-Orion Alliance. ECO Alliance for short,' said McKay.
Straus said, 'Alliance is good. How about we just call it The Alliance. That way if we get new members we don't have to rename it.'
'I like that,' said the admiral.
'Yes,' agreed Tichtickree.
'Very well. All in favor of The Alliance, raise your hand,' said McKay.
Tómas, Barloot, Tichtickree, and McKay all raised their hands, and McKay said, 'Its unanimous. We are now The Alliance.'
'Now that we have that settled, are there any other races out there that we should consider asking to join?' asked Straus.
'Well, there is a race from a planet within the constellation you call Ursa Major. They call themselves the Vog,' said Barloot.
Tichtickree started clicking his hands and exchanged words with the others in his group. Finally he said, 'No. Not them. They are a hostile and unreasonable race.'
'But perhaps they have technology or...' started Straus.
'No,' said the Orion flatly.
'The only other race that we are aware of, is another young race in the area of space you call Pyxis,' said Barloot.
'They are no more,' said Tichtickree.
'The Drones?' asked the admiral.
'Yes,' said the Orion.
'Pity. They had such beautiful art,' said the admiral lowering his head.
'We know of two other races some distance from us. They are also fighting the Drones. We have encountered their ships, but have not yet made formal contact with them. In time our three races could approach them,' said Tichtickree.
'Perhaps,' said McKay. 'I think we have accomplished what we set out to do. It is getting late, so I suggest we adjourn for today.'
The meeting was called to an end and the group headed back to the transport landing bay. After saying their good-byes, the three delegations boarded the transport and in a few moments it eased out of the bay and out of sight, leaving the four Corvus Prime delegates standing there alone.
'That seemed to go well,' said Bernie.
'Just more work for me. I'll have the engineering group get started on plans for the non-human diplomatic wing,' said Tómas.
'Once we get the specs for that Orion armor plating, I'd like to start production on a new class of ship.'
'A starship?' asked Bernie with an almost excited tone.
'Something like that.'
'Cool. All we need now is transporter technology,' said Bernie.
'Bernie! For crying out loud. This isn't science fiction. Get that out of your head already.'
'Hey, there's nothing wrong with science fiction. Look at our comm devices, graviton beams, and blaster pistols. It wasn't that long ago, that was just science fiction. On top of that, now we have faster-than-li
ght capability.'
'Well... true.'
'Do you know the name of the first Space Shuttle?'
'As I recall, the Columbia was the first into space.'
'Yes, but the Enterprise was the first to fly in drop tests... and it was named after the Starship Enterprise from the TV show. People loved it.'
'He's right. The people did love it,' said Darla.
'Alright, alright. I'm not saying no. How about we build it first and then decide on a name,' said Straus.
That night the Straussers had dinner with Dr. Ames in the main mess hall. Joining them were Joe and Mandy Emerson from Weapons Research and their infant son, Michael Thomas Emerson.
'I've been studying the sensor data from the torus blasts. I don't think it's the opposite of a dimensional collapse. I think it's something else, so I had Joe and Mandy take a look,' said Ames.
'We think it's more likely that it's some sort of DEP fusion explosion,' said Joe.
'Is it something we could produce... without a Death Blossom?' asked Straus.
'Perhaps,' said Mandy.
Straus nodded approvingly and said, 'Awesome.'
'Our working theory is that the Death Blossom was able to concentrate DEP into a pre-fusion state, in order to provide the high-density power for it's primary weapon. We think the sparkle-effect represents a sort of safety-valve to keep the DEP from going critical. When hit with our hyper-velocity projectile, the shockwave was enough to induce fusion,' said Ames.
'The problem is that we don't know how to concentrate DEP,' said Mandy. 'What we really need is to get a close look at the Death Blossom and see how they did it.'
'Hmmm. Well I just happen to know where to find a few,' said Straus. 'Most of them were blasted to pieces, however there is one or two mostly intact DB's in orbit around X. We can run out there tomorrow and take a look.'
'All of us?' asked Mandy.
'Sure. We can leave after breakfast and be home in time for dinner.'
The next day they warped back out to Planet X. It didn't take long to track down the drifting Death Blossoms. Engineering teams were able to cut out various sections of two somewhat intact DB's and bring the sections into the launch bay.
Once the pieces were secured they warped back to the station and began reverse-engineering the Drone technology. Though they made no promises, Darla, Dr. Ames, and the Emersons were hopeful that they had what they needed.
_ _ _
In the following six months they were able to get a lot accomplished. The new non-human diplomatic wing construction was well enough along that the Corvans and the Orions both had delegations aboard. In addition a Corvan and Orion cruiser was stationed at Corvus, along with an Orion fighter squadron.
The Adamant and Suzaku were both being used to place beacons out beyond the orbit of Planet X in order to establish an early warning sensor web. It was expected to take another six months to complete.
In honor of the Orions, Planet X was now officially named Crios after the Greek god embodied as a giant crab that protected Poseidon's sea-nymph daughters. To those on the station, however, it's nickname continued to be X. There was now a dozen mining operations in place. They were all controlled by a single manned outpost that staffed fifty people. Some of those were guest scientists from other countries there to study the planet and conduct experiments in the outer reaches of the solar system.
Duncun Cooper produced a three-part series of National Geographic specials covering what he called the First Intergalactic War. Not only did it cover the elimination of the Drone threat from our solar system, but it introduced the Corvans and Orions to humanity. He accepted the position of Interplanetary Science Adviser to the President of the United States, under the proviso that it didn't interfere with his film work.
Out in spacedock the finishing touches were being made to their new Explorer class capital ship. It was twice the size of their assault carriers and would be outfitted with two squadrons and two transports. One would be a standard squadron and the other would be comprised of their new Trident fighters.
After a particularly long day, Straus and Darla met the Harrisons for dinner in the officers mess. Straus set his tray down and plopped into his chair like a bag of wet cement.
'Oh... it feels good to sit down. I've been running around all day,' said Straus.
'How's she coming?' asked Tómas.
'Think we'll be able to start space trials in a couple of days.'
'So what's the plan? Still going after the Drones?'
'Yep. Once we make sure all the bolts are tight, we'll be back-tracking the route that the Corvan wagon train took to get here. We'll go system by system, searching for any signs of Drones, but also exploring and doing that science stuff.'
'And if you find any?'
'What we always do; gather intel, form a strategy, and kick butt.'
Tómas smiled and nodded, then raise his coffee cup in a salute. Straus returned the jester producing a distinct clink sound when their mugs met.
'So Vicks, how you settling in to Flight Ops?' asked Straus.
'Good, good. Bernie is a good teacher. I'm going to miss him.'
'I think we all will,' said Darla.
'Its going to be hard getting used to calling him Ambassador Bernal,' said Straus.
'I think that's the only reason he volunteered for duty on the Corvan homeworld... the title,' said Tómas.
They all laughed and agreed, and Tómas continued, 'By the way I got a call from McKay and he told me that he heard that the Bastico boys ran into some trouble.'
'Oh?' asked Straus with heightened interest.
'They were on leave from the Italian Air Force Academy in Pozzuoli and went bar hopping in Naples. Apparently they got in a fight with some Russian mobsters. They're out of the hospital now, but Angelo will have a limp for the rest of his life, and Dante won't be able to have children of his own.'
'Can't say that I'm sorry to hear that. Did you tell Jean and Frenchy?' asked Straus.
'I did. They both said it wasn't enough... but it helped.'
Darla turned to Vicks and asked, 'How are you feeling?'
'Good, good... I'm pretty much over the morning sickness.'
'Now she's making me sick with some of her odd cravings... chopped pickles and sour cream?' said Tómas.
'Hey... it's good.'
Straus and Tómas both pretended that they were turning green and gagging. Then they both started laughing.
'Men,' said Darla shaking her head.
'I guess your cravings are twice as bad as normal, since you're having twins,' said Straus.
'Ha. Ha. Not funny. You be careful mister, or I won't name one after you.'
'Ok, ok.... I'll behave.'
'That'll be a first,' said Darla under her breath.
'Hey!' said Straus with a mock indignant look on his face.
They all laughed and the playful banter continued throughout the meal. With dinner finished the couples wished each other a good night and went their separate ways.
After the morning pilot briefings, Straus headed for the C&C conference room. Waiting there already were Tómas, Dr. Ames, Chief Tech Sergeant Abernathy, and the Nat Geo team. Straus looked around and took his seat.
'Good morning everyone,' said Straus setting his coffee down.
'Darla and our guests are on their way,' said Tómas.
'Ok, we can get some of the other business out of the way, while were waiting. Alan, will the DEP fusion prototype be ready?'
'We're putting the finishing touches on it now. We have it installed in a modified transport. Just making sure that the cloak works.'
'Ok, good. Once you're through get it over to the ship. And you have all the stuff you need to monitor the blast?'
'Already onboard.'
'Good. Chief, you get the kinks worked out of the weapons systems?'
'Yes Sir. The Orion's sent over Chief Engineer Chipclipcreak. He found that the oscillation was due to a harmonic in one of the power feeds.
It's been corrected.'
'Excellent.'
At that moment Darla entered the room, and following behind her were five others, only one of which Straus recognized. After they took their seats Darla began the introductions.
'You remember Dr. Hamilton from NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab.'
Corvus Prime: Escalation Page 22