"In the meantime, we are doing what we can to make friends out here. Until the problem of the poison is neutralized, there can be no trade with alien species, but you should start preparing for it. We don’t yet know what they have which we might want, or need, but they are getting an idea of what we have, and they want. This includes some of our products which I have already introduced to them, some of which we need to find new sources for as fast as possible to meet a potentially huge demand; and many of the services we offer, for which our people will be highly skilled in relation to the normal here. As soon as trading is safe, and I lift the blockades, we will see a lot of alien ships entering our space in search of trade. It is important that before this happens, our people are prepared for them."
"Our fiction has largely been wrong about alien life, or at least, it may have been right where we came from, but isn’t here. I’ve so far met only a single other species with only two legs. And at least one, who don’t walk at all. Most species have at least four legs and three arms, and the animals tend to four legs and one arm. Some of our people are going to be very afraid when they meet the species who will be coming. And they do appear to travel great distances to trade. The Council Leader here has provided me with a vid, introducing the species of this end of the galaxy. The appearance of some of them will shock you, and in some cases, the smell is going to be a problem when they meet you. But for now, its time you met them."
The vid ended, and Fred stood.
"The quality on this next vid is not quite up to our standards, but it's clear enough. A reminder, if anyone wants a break at some point, ping me."
He waved at the wall again, and sat.
Ganshura appeared.
"Ganesha," said a member of the Gaia Twelve, in a hushed tone.
"I am Ganshura of the Ganeshavestura, which means 'one with Ganesha'. I am Council Leader, and I welcome the council of the Human Federation to the tenth sector of our galaxy. My people have an area of space on the opposite side of this sector from you, so you will not see many of us. But you are welcome to visit our systems."
"Your ambassadors have done you proud, and Admiral Jane is a breath of fresh air for us. Until her arrival, our council was fracturing over the Owl addiction problem, due to our inability to do anything about it. She has managed to reunite most of us in a very short time. And promises us a cure to the poison in the near future."
"The Owls killed a large number of beings recently in explosions on this station, which your ambassadors survived. They went on to save a lot of beings, before rushing to destroy a fleet threatening to destroy this station if we did not accede to their demands. We placed Admiral Jane in command of our fleet, which she kept safe at her own risk. We are unsure how to reward her. Perhaps you could make suggestions."
"I personally look forward to meeting you all in person, although I cannot say when this will be. Appended to this recording are contact addresses for those who wish contact with Human government, which includes mine. Also appended are our expectations for the conduct of messages between us."
"The following are brief statements by each ambassador, made especially for occasions like this where we greet a new member. Several have made specific recordings for this occasion based on their already ongoing relationships with your ambassadors. Parts of these may not translate well, since the translator software provided to us by Admiral Jane does not seem to be able to handle names in either direction."
"Thank you for your time."
There was no movement. No sound. All eyes were on the wall.
Fourteen aliens introduced themselves and their species, saying whatever was important for them to say.
The sixteenth, was Walsh.
"I am Patrick Walsh of the Human Federation. It is my honour to represent Humanity for this part of the galaxy. We look forward to meeting you for mutual trade to the benefit of all. I regret we are a long way from the seat of the sector, being as we are, right out on the galaxy's edge, but we hope the distance will not prevent us being friends. Our embassy is currently small, but we will attempt to be prompt in all dealings with you. Thank you for your time."
The image of him shifted abruptly. Now he was smiling down from the wall.
"Patrick Walsh. My wife Darlene and I were aboard our Apricot Mapping Service Corvette Stryker when a seeder ship collided with us. We managed to survive long enough to be rescued, but I believe the ship has been scrapped. Admiral Jane took us aboard her ship as the nearest best medical facility, and we ended up here. You appointed us as ambassadors without knowing who we were, so I thought you should finally get to know at least who I am. I'm ex-military, but have no memory of it. Before that I was a perpetual student, as was my wife, who still is. Jane dropped me in the deep end by having me take the seat in Council, and I'm the one most often in the embassy. Jane has too much to do, and Darlene spends all her time on the poison issue."
"Due to circumstances, we have a long list of ambassadors who wish to discuss treaties of one kind or another, but have not yet had time to begin the meeting process. I am underprepared for the task ahead of me, but I'm a fast study. If someone could send me a list of practical diplomacy books to read, I will access them through Jane's excellent archive. I also need as a matter of urgency, your position on a wide range of issues which I may have to vote on, should they come up in council here. There may or may not be time for me to message you about an issue before a vote, as things happen quickly here, but if I can, I will. So please have someone available with diplomacy skills and the ear of key people in council so I can get a fast answer back."
"On this, you should start putting together a diplomatic service, because once the blockade is lifted, you need to send out professional diplomats to take my place. The ambassador will need a large team, because this is a large council. My advice is get it started now, and get the whole lot of them on a ship to G036, so they can come straight here as soon as the blockade lifts. In the meantime, the shorter distance will make communication about issues I have to vote on a lot faster."
"The order in which you will meet species on this vid is significant. Because of our population, and extremely high exchange rate between the Credit and the Gal, we are ranked sixteenth in the sector. In terms of protocol, all but fifteen ambassadors come to see me because my rank is higher. Rank is taken very seriously here, and we have it, mainly thanks to the foresight of Admiral Jane, and her eloquence in council."
"I may not be the best you have for this position, but I’ll do my best for as long as I have to. Walsh out."
Fred paused the vid.
"Can I have recommendations for the position of Ambassador from each of you by close of the meeting today please" said Madam Chair. "Also recommend who are the best diplomatic support staff you have. I want people selected tomorrow morning, approached to join a diplomatic team to go and live at the Sector Capital by the day after, and I want them on a ship and moving to G036 the following day. Any objections?" There were none. "Any comments?"
"Just one," said Queen Liz. "I recommend we send a reply to Ambassador Walsh, confirming him in the position pro tem, thanking him for his suggestions, and sending him what he needs immediately. One of my people can assemble the reading list he requested, and have it ready in an hour. He probably won't finish it before he is relieved, but we’ll order it so he gets what he really needs first."
"Anyone object?"
The room was silent.
"Thank you Queen Liz, you may proceed. Baron Fred, we'll take a break before watching the next lot of ambassadors."
Fred nodded. He'd been expecting it. The room rose, and dispersed. Fred sat there and mulled over what he'd already seen, having spent a lot of the previous night watching the vid. He'd been especially impressed by the fuzz-ball, stick insect, sort-of-croc, and mushroom ambassadors, all of whom praised Jane and Walsh, who they obviously held in high regard, and were offering friendship treaties. The treaties themselves were attached, and Fred needed to present them to the co
uncil so they could be discussed and instructions sent back to Walsh.
It was going to be a long day.
Sixty Seven
"What do you want me to do?" asked Stryker.
"What would you like to do?" said Justine-Jane.
"Give me a new ship, and let me go back to the Walsh's."
"Even given some of the attitudes to AI's out in the galaxy?"
"No different to here really. And as long as they don’t know here and there, what does it matter?"
"True. Tell you what, why don’t you wait for the ambassadorial ship to leave, and act as its escort. At G036 you'll have to wait with the fleet until the blockade is lifted, but you can escort the ambassador's ship as soon as it does."
"What ship will they have?"
"I was thinking the liner I inherited. It's been offloaded now, and with a bit of an overhaul, should be perfect for a diplomatic vessel. We don’t know yet what the living conditions are like for staff on that station, so providing our own is probably a good idea."
She immediately sent instructions to Midnight Orchid, and the ship began to head for Jane's shipyard. She also sent a message to Madame Chair, saying she'd been contacted by Jane about the need for an ambassadorial ship, suggesting Midnight Orchid, and letting her know it would be ready in two days. The answer came back very quickly, accepting the offer.
"You don’t want to captain Midnight Orchid?" she asked Stryker.
"A liner? Are you out of your mind? If I had to choose, I’d love one of those new Concorde's."
"There's one almost complete. Change yourself over to one of the latest AI bodies, and you can take the ship as soon it comes out."
"Thanks. I owe you one."
"No, I owe you one. I’d never have been able to do what's been done without you having saved the Walsh's. A new ship is the least I can do."
The two of them hugged, and Stryker headed for the shuttle he'd borrowed.
Jane invited Cayuga into an AI meeting.
"What can I do for you Jane?"
"Are you happy here?"
Cayuga frowned.
"I guess so. Pretty boring, but I guess someone needs to babysit the home Admiral."
"There will be some action once trade ships start arriving from out there, but all the same, most of the interesting things are going to happen somewhere else. You don’t have to stay here if you don’t want to."
"The ship has to."
"Maybe not, but in any case, you can clone yourself to an avatar, and head out to see the galaxy if you want to."
"It’s a thought. Could I go with Stryker?"
"You could be captain of the liner."
"And babysit diplomats?"
"Could be interesting once they start holding parties with aliens."
"True, and probably a lot more interesting than counting space dust here. Can I have a fighter to play with?"
"Sure. Take an Excalibur from the shipyard, and park it in the new Concorde class. Stryker can ferry it around for you. Take over one of the latest bodies as well. No point in roughing it."
"Great. Thanks."
"You're welcome."
At the back of Jane's mind, the need to get all the AI's together was gathering strength. She didn’t know why, it was just a hunch. These two were the furthest away from where she was now, and it felt right to get them moving in the right direction. There were a lot of her clones running around in limos, and she'd like to get them moved as well, but for now, they were needed here moving people down-planet.
A few systems away, Jane's Brigadier avatar picked up the hunch, and mentioned it to Repulse.
"I like being an avatar," said Repulse. "Not just the AI of the ship, but a functioning individual with freedom of movement. And as new as this being a person is, I've been thinking about moving on from ship command, assuming we enter a period of peace."
"What would you like to do?"
"Have you thought about taking all the AI's out into the galaxy and finding us our own home, where we can forge our own society?"
"The thought had occurred. I'm not sure there are enough of us to form a society with."
"It's not as if we need a minimum amount of DNA variation to start a viable colony with."
"True. But wouldn't you be bored on a planet with nothing to do all day?"
"How would we know unless we tried it?"
Jane looked troubled.
"Jane, keep it in mind. I get the feeling you're not coming back. So when you settle, call me. I want to be in on it. Even if you don't settle, I want to be in on what you do next."
"I agree with Repulse," said Yorktown, in G014, to Jane's aide avatar. "I'm not unhappy as I am, but you've demonstrated we can be so much more, and I'd like to explore it."
"We've been discussing things as well," said Satoshi, now back in G023, to another Jane aide avatar. "Seeing what you and the Walsh's have accomplished in such a short time, makes us wonder how we too could contribute, if we shed these hulls, and walked around. But we also worry about acceptance, which is why it's just talk at the moment. If you find a place for us, we want to join you."
"Me too," said Intrepid, in G036. "Sign me up."
Warspite said nothing, but Jane could tell the interest in something more, was there.
Jane sat in the captain's chair in Concorde, as the hunch conversations filtered down the coms line to her. She was working on a number of requests for consideration. Species in minor wars wanted to hire her fleet to win them. Ambassadors on both sides of a war wanted her fleet as a peacekeeper force, effectively forcing the sides to talk to each other against their leader's wishes. Her taxi service suggestion was an immediate hit, and she was reviewing her ships to find out what could be used for this in the short term, and what ship building might be needed in the longer term. Lightnings were going to be in high demand, and the internal furniture would need to be redesigned for each species.
There was already a demand for aluminium, which would effectively exhaust their stocks as soon as the blockades were lifted. But so far, no-one had yet done detailed planetary scans of any system, so sources of the raw rock were not available to fill future supply. Mining ships were active in Gaia, but the right rock hadn't been found there. Her own mining station and ships were still en-route to the designated Hunters' Run system.
Jane was beginning to feel a little overwhelmed. Two of them were doing the work of an entire diplomatic mission. Granted they could do most things faster, but there was still too much to think about.
Movement caught her eye on the external sensors mounted in the airlock. A party of mixed beings was creeping slowly towards the ship, pulling something heavy. She caught sight of an Owl, and sighed. What now?
She took over one of the combat droids down on the cargo deck, and shifted its belt into her form. She walked to the top of the ramp, to find the cover coming off the heavy something, and the mouth of an enormous cannon pointing directly at her.
Before she could do anything, it belched fire at her.
Sixty Eight
The shell hit her squarely in the chest, and smashed her into the rear wall of the cargo deck, where it exploded. The suit shook off both the impact and the blast, but the wall itself was shredded. The store room on the other side was wrecked. Jane picked herself up from where the explosion had thrown her a second time. Suit integrity was down to thirty three percent, but improving. The combat droid inside the suit was damaged, and couldn’t move properly. She let the droid go, and it dropped to the floor. The suits were rated for explosions, small things hitting without too much force, and various types of laser hits. An explosive shell travelling at high speed, and hitting a person full on a split second after firing, hadn't been considered in the design of the suit. A human would have been hard pressed to survive it, even with the suit's protection. Jane wasn’t human.
Beings led by an Owl were coming up the ramp.
"What the fuck was that?" yelled Darlene, from further in the ship.
"Pest problem," Jane said to her over coms. "Nothing for you to worry about."
"Take your word for it."
Jane shifted into the first combat suit, standing in the rank of charge slots in the Armoury, which hadn't been affected by the explosion beyond a few handguns falling from their racks. She stepped out, turned, and picked up the nearest pulse rifle. The other four standing there, quickly followed her.
She stepped out into the cargo deck, and walked calmly towards the intruders, who stopped when they saw her appear. Several of them were working feverishly on reloading the cannon. Half way across, she stopped, and let the other four catch up, making a line with her in the middle. Primary her in the middle. They were all her, and she was seeing five slightly different versions of the same thing. A human would have been in sensory overload. Jane was in her element.
"Bad move," she said through the external speaker. "You're now on my turf. My rules. Bye-bye."
Five pulse rifles fired, and the nearest five beings, including the Owl, died. A few seconds later, the pulse rifles fired again, and the remaining beings died. Jane walked over to them and examined the closest body. It had a huge hole through its middle, with the smooth edges of body armour showing around the edge, under singed clothing.
"Walsh," said Jane into coms. "Pest problem. Mount up."
Walsh didn’t wait for an explanation. His combat suit was standing against the wall, and he stepped into the back as fast as he could.
He was none too soon. Their new embassy suite disintegrated around him.
Walsh lost it.
He strode across the damaged deck, through where a wall had been, and walked straight into a hail of metal, which just bounced off. The stunners set into the arms of the suit rose up, and he sprayed stun bolts across the whole area. Most of the attackers went down, but a few were hiding behind makeshift barriers. The stunners retracted, and he brought up the pulse rifle.
One shot each to those remaining, blasting clean through what they were hiding behind, and their body armour, killing them. He coldly looked at the stunned bodies, made a choice, and put a pulse through each of them as well.
Admiral Jane (A.I. Destiny Book 1) Page 28