***
CHAPTER ONE.
Four weeks earlier.
Tah had trouble holding onto his temper. He’d been summoned to the Kings ship. His Rama. Highly respected by all. The voice of his people for many many years. You could cut the atmosphere with a knife. Tah had not expected this. It was beyond his understanding. Several elders had already left the conference room at the confrontation.
“You will do this boy because I ask it of you”. An angry Tah confronted his King.
“I’m no diplomat, this is a job for one of the elders, not a warrior. I don’t know what I’m doing. What if I say or do the wrong thing and we end up in a war”.
His King rose from his seat. “You know only too well how important this is to us, you will go, I demand this of you”. Tah barely held on to his temper. Near far from the surface. He stalked out murmuring, “I’m a warrior not a dam diplomat”. He was used to fighting not talking. He wasn’t known for his finesse. He was known for killing their enemies.
His men waited on him. He would not talk to them on this matter and kept on walking. He would be no fit company tonight. What the hell was his King thinking? This had disaster written all over it! He’d fought tooth and nail since his youngling days to stay alive and keep his comrade’s safe with him. This mission, he spat out, he would have to do alone.
***
“It is done”. The King turned to face his advisor Kar’ti. “Are you sure of the visions Kar, he is right, I have tried but he is no diplomat and we have much ridding on this”. Kar’ti nodded solemnly,
“I am as sure as this new planet, Tah, needs to be first”. Acknowledging his wise friend, his King nodded.
“So be it”.
***
Now…..
“Hay Alex, who said a morning by the sea was a bad idea? Cos I gotta tell ya girl, I’m loving it”. Alex turned and laughed at the antics of Bromwyn. Her team senior and subordinate, dancing on the sands like it was the Bahamas and not Southend on Sea on a semi shinny day, with the tinkering of gaming machines, smells of popcorn and fish and chips in the air.
“Err Brom, you do realise that this is a busman’s holiday right, we work here remember, by the sea.” Bromwyn stopped and turned her nose up,
“o please, your spoiling the mood girl, don’t remind me, if I squint and think those lights are palm trees and that water is crystal clear with the sounds of the Caribbean playing instead of slot machines, I’m soooooo there”!
Alex burst out laughing. “Ok, you go girl, when you find that cabana let me know, I’m on board!”
It was hard to not keep smiling Alex thought. It was a lovely day. The sun was shining between the clouds, with a soft breeze coming from the water and the beach not in holiday season, not too crowded. Cool drinks and ice cream was exactly what the team needed for a couple of team building hours away from the office and work reality. Down time for a couple of hours, a reminder of life outside of work and then back to the desks. Not perfect but hopefully good enough.
She felt content. The sounds of the sea lapping the shore were soothing. The holiday atmosphere surrounding them of slot machines, music, laughter, joy, the smells of fish and chips and donuts, where a strong reminder of life and fun and her own childhood. She stared out to what was considered the sea, although really just part of the coastal river and reflected. She would be the first to acknowledge that her life was far from perfect. In reality, far too many long work hours and not enough work life balance but who had perfect anyway, right?
No one she knew. Sighing she dug her toes into the sand. The job, too much knowledge and understanding of lives and what makes us tick was not always a good thing. Knowing all too well, what people are capable of doing to each other and others, had left her empty when it came to relationships. She snorted, a relationship. What the hell was that anyway? In her experience, it was painful. It was unrewarding. And, it still made her sick when she thought of being gutted yet again. No. As a species, she knew, we sucked at relationships and it was no different for her.
Part of her clenched at that thought. Was reality so negative? This can’t be it she thought to herself. Her grandparents had loved each other dearly. As a people, we had to do better than this surely? she asked herself looking around her. “I’m not sure that’s even possible,” slipped past her lips as she took in the world around her and watched the world go by.
***
Since Tah had arrived at his destination, he’d been grateful time and again for the translation device embedded within his cortex as he listened to the latest information the computer displayed. Tah was pissed. That’s all he seemed to be over the last few weeks. Angry. Displaced. Not sure what he was doing. What was he doing here? He asked himself yet again. This was not a job for a warrior. Give him an enemy to cut down and he would do it, no questions asked.
Tah’s ship swiftly moved from one continent to another on its planned path, downloading valuable local information on tribes and traditions and their social media allowing his computer network to learn as much as possible, then moving on. The trouble was, this wasn’t going as expected. He became more and more concerned at what he’d found. This planet was full of contradictions and adversary. He was not equipped to deal with this ‘crap’ he told himself and it unnerved him. He was a warrior who knew his place. His destiny mapped out for him.
His ship continued on, unobserved and unseen. Tah smiled at the beauty of his ship. This, is what he knew. Steel, hard work, sweat and blood. It was the best ship they had and undetectable to Earth. Made in their space ports along with all their equipment since being space travellers for over 300 years. It held the latest of their technology and the fastest engines. The cloaking technology alone was a masterpiece in speed and camouflage. Tah smiled, he was grateful that a similar camouflage device was used on each warrior for their personal protection. Tah had first-hand experience on how important this was to them, it saved countless lives.
Alerted to another completed download. Tah moved across the console and checked the latest information flooding the computers. The ship had recently arrived at a coastal town from mainland Europe following the flight paths of Earth. He had already gathered much information on the different populations of this world. And Tah had already dismissed parts of it as too difficult or unknowledgeable to be useful in the early days. Shockingly, some cultures were almost ancient in their knowledge and mysticism and ‘magic’.
Tah shook his head in disbelief. Faith was one thing but that, something else. Others were so entrenched in war, animalistic behaviour and domination that it reminded him or his own peoples ancient history, and would be hard to see how they could be reasoned with and be allies and bridge worlds. Tah seethed. What was he meant to do with this? It was also likely that the military of this world who were multiple aggressors, were going to be the biggest challenge to overcome. They had expected that. Re-calling what he had observed from their own history, it was clear their natural sense of protection made them cautious and tended towards instigators of aggression. Strike first, ask questions later.
Tah smiled, he knew all about that, his own history was littered with such actions. His people having advanced passed their animalistic early development to a more reasoned people. Although Earth’s fire power was nowhere close to the Bataarian’s and the use of it he reasoned. Antiquated in methods and materials, it still packed a punch and some, were so barbaric, that they would end worlds if used. Tah shook his head again. It was clear from the electronic information, that Humans were a determined people, a force to be reckoned with and it was imperative that his mission of co-operation and exchange was accepted. The Bataarian’s had much to offer Earth as did Earth, to the Bataari. Tah wondered again, how the ‘batac’ he was going to do this?
“How had this world developed and fractured so differently?” He pondered aloud, not used to seeing such huge differences in cultures and behaviours in peoples. He knew it had shocked him. The Bataarian’s all held the same beliefs
and social systems. Tah thought back to his learning days. In Liandara their home world, all were equal and added to its culture and welfare. The historic records on board the Bilaara, the Kings ship, were open for all and were used in education of the young. Tah did not know if he’s people were prepared for this. It seemed a backward step to him in so many ways. Yet, it held all their futures.
It would take time, maybe more time than he had and Tah thought, only the learned elders would really understand how different things were on this new world compared with their own. Most of their own people barely remembered the home world or what it was like. That didn’t help their cause that it had been so long since they last stood on their home world. Many had placed it so high on a pedestal that nowhere was likely to mirror it. This situation was going to take a lot more planning than any of them had anticipated he realised. Yes, they had considered a world not as advanced as them or even a world that surpassed them but this, such diversity and division within each other, so much anger and hostility, so little evolved in many ways and the level of self-destruction, they had not expected.
Tah frowned and rubbed his forehead, this was not even the most concerning issue. The females of Earth. Tah’s frown deepened, frustration and concern etched his face. He had done his research. They were not the care givers of his home world. In many of the cultures in this new world he had witnessed and studied, females did not defer to males in the main. Tah huffed. If at all. Many were leaders as well as having off spring. Many were warriors in many different guises and many choosing not to pair but to be alone.
This had shocked him to his core. To be so lucky to meet your compatible mate, weather male or female was treasured in his culture. To want to be alone, was such a strange concept for Bataarians, they longed for such unions. The males and females did not leave their couplings. They were cherished and wanted. The bond strong the connection unbreakable. It was rare, unusual for it not to be. Many of the females on Earth were alone as their males or the females left them or even more strangely, the women chose to leave their partner. Preferring to be alone. Tah had so many questions. Were the females that unhappy? Why would a partner, a mate allow that to happen?
This was unfathomable to Tah. Something that was indeed alien to him. In his culture, if you were blessed with a paring, it was for life. No male of worth would give up his female. No female would walk away from a pairing of worth. Neither would want it. Their desire and craving for each other never diminishing. Tah realised that the fact that many Earth cultures allowed for changing partnerships would also be very shocking and confusing to many of his race. Why does this happen? Tah thought. Did that not cause distress and unrest to family units? How was the paring not binding? Did that not affect the young? Tah realised he had many many questions and very little in the way of answers.
His feelings of inadequacy in this mission, of being able to correctly advise his people, only rose. It was all very disturbing and would present situations his warriors were unprepared for. Other Worlds had had their differences too and the Bataari had honoured them and moved on. But this, was different. They were here to stay. It would lead to mistakes and dangerous situations. Situations he knew he was not prepared for and that was not acceptable. Tah realised with some urgency that he needed those answers and quickly. Without those, he and his people were blind.
“Computer, list all known knowledge on the fracturing of family units and social elements of children. Then all family support systems that work with children and adults in relationships that have broken down, within this location of the planet known here as Earth”.
“Compiling, reading information on the breakdown of family units completed. Known departments that work with children and families in Southend on Sea Essex England. Completed. There are seventeen organisations that are known as aiding with family difficulties and working with children and adults. Out of those seventeen, twelve are local agencies responding to the social issues of their time. Four are designed to support adults with addicted personalities, two of those are combined with their legal systems, three are services to lone mothers and or fathers with children and within that, two are government led official departments. One for children with disabilities and one for Children and Families.”
Tah considered the information. This was going to take some time. “Computer, list one at a time, each of these seventeen organisations and high light their function, capacity, staffing, revenue and outcomes, I wish to know, who pays for these services, who is who in them and what is their role within each organisation, I will take the government organisations last”.
“Compiling, listing in Earth alphabetical order”. Tah settled himself in, it was going to be a long night.
***
Alex listened to the case presentation being given in the conference room on the 7th floor. The tower block of offices was a mixture of local government offices and information port for the public on the ground floor. It was open plan encased in glass. Each floor held a different department. All joined by the central lift system. The 7th was the Department of Children and Families. Her department. Her team. Alex looked around at the 8 members making up this case conference along with her staff member and one of her admin. She knew all of them. They worked in different organisations with the family of this case. Each, had brought something to the table. There was no doubt this was a challenging case.
Alex smiled. The social worker, one of her best and a former student of hers, was extremely experienced and competent. The more Alex heard, the clearer the picture became. Jo was a logical thinker. Her summing up argument clear and concise. She had outlined the problems, had presented her plan of action and how on each step, it had failed. She had back tracked and re-engaged the parents and tried a different approach, the parents had agreed to it, only for it to fail again. You could sense her disappointment. Her willingness to make it work and yet, for all the work everyone around the table had put in, it still failed. At the point where it was clear that the parents were now dis-engaging from her support and children were at risk, Jo had rightly, arranged this presentation. More serious decision needed to be made.
Alex leaned forward and addressed the meeting. “Thank you Jo. It is clear that you have tried to achieve an effective plan and it’s been blocked by the parent’s unwillingness to understand or make change. So, moving forward what do you think you need ……”
***
Tah woke up slumped over his desk in his rooms. A nasty case of drool down the side of his chin reminded him he’d slept there. Wiping his face Tah felt exhausted and unsettled. Had he slept much at all? He certainly didn’t think so. His mind continued to go around and around on the information he had gathered on the families and adults of Earth. Yet again, he felt frustrated and unprepared for this mission. These inhabitants were cruel. It appeared to be part of their DNA. And when they embraced it, it did terrible things to each other.
This was not unknown to Tah, his own people’s history had those that had broken laws and rules. Most of which were now long dead. Those unbalanced enough to hurt their own or others, that could not control the Battle Blood, were moved to uncivilised areas where they could no longer hurt others. They had been given choices. So had their families. They never hurt anyone again. These were a complex people with a myriad of differences. Yet, he had seen glimmers of hope, they were also possible of creating some amazing things too.
Exasperated at his King placing him in this position Tah shook his head and started to pace. His personal space was a mess. There were information displays all over the place and he hated it. His head was banging. He’d done so much reading he felt like his head would explode if he saw another piece of text, his eyes so sore, he was sure they were blood shot. He was not researcher this job required.
He liked things neat, tidy and predictable. Organised. Nothing was neat, tidy or predictable about this job. He realised he needed to get down there and mix with these people. Information only got him so far. He needed to find
out what makes them tick. Tah knew he couldn’t do that from his ship, factual information was one thing, actually seeing it first hand and being involved in it something else. Subtle differences in beings in body language and speech, could mean different things and written information, was from the prospective of the writer.
Frustrated. Tah leaned in the doorway holding onto the top of the doorframe with his hands, an easy task for him being tall even for his kind. He worried. What would be the cost of his actions? What if he was discovered before the armada arrived, what if he gave something away by walking the Earth. Tah slammed his hand on the doorframe.
“I can’t be discovered and that’s all there is to it”. He had his wits and skills and his camouflage but even so, physically, the Bataari did look much like Earth males. Earth cultures were already very diverse in looks and Tah was just taller, bigger, with longer than average male hair. He understood his look would not be ‘fashionable’ and he had stronger features than most.
His colouring would fit in. His hair was long, thick and black, hanging down passed his shoulders. His eyes a violet blue, which could be passed off as Earth contacts in his eyes and his skin colour was considered tanned by Earth standards. He was larger than the general male population. Not just in muscle but in size. He was just…. Big. Tah reasoned he could pass for what he is, just a much larger Earth warrior if need be. He would have to hide his weapons but that wouldn’t be too difficult, he was after all, a warrior. He could go down and interact with the indigenous people. Look around a bit. See how things worked. How they ticked. Just enough to get a feel for how life was lived on this Planet.
Redx Page 12