by Martin Durst
The Counselor’s ship had forwarded the chemical composition of a popular Tular beverage. The ship’s medical officer was able to synthesize it. It had been poured into two large goblets that sat on the conference table. It appeared green in color and bubbled slightly.
‘What is in that,’ McConnel asked officer beside him.
‘I’m not sure I want to know, but it doesn’t smell too bad.’
It wasn’t much longer when the doors slid open and one of the Admiral’s aides stepped in.
‘Sir, may I present Counselor Rejanx and General Fjorn; representatives of the Tular Empire.’
Admiral Cook and all attending officers rose to receive their guests. They each entered wearing small respirator assisters. Both were garbed in more fanciful clothing, but still modest by human standards.
‘Welcome. Again, I’m Admiral Cook. What is the proper greeting in your culture?’
‘A slight bow shows respect,’ the General replied. His voice was deeply baritone. ‘And yours?’
‘A simple shaking of hands like so.’ The Admiral extended his hand and the General gripped it. ‘It’s a pleasure to meet face to face. Shall we sit down?’
Commander McConnel was able to get a better look as the General and the Counselor moved towards their seats. Not only was their skin as grey as it appeared on his comm screen, it had a shiny reflective hue to it; almost silver in nature. Their feet were slightly wider than a human’s, but not overly long. Their fingers were the most interesting. Instead of five, they had two. It gave their hands a claw-like appearance.
‘I trust our atmosphere is not too uncomfortable for you?’ the Admiral asked.
‘Our breathers will be sufficient,’ the Counselor replied. ‘Your air is a little rich in oxygen for us, but we’re compensating.’
‘We’ve also taken the liberty to prepare you a beverage. I hope it’s adequate. My medical officer was worked hard to synthesize it.’
General Fjorn pulled a tool from his tunic and scanned the Goblet. ‘Forgive us, Admiral. We must be careful. It appears to be sufficient, however. Thank you.’ He raised his glass and took a long draw of the fluid. ‘Frankly, it’s a pretty good. –Almost a perfect duplicate of real Hulgrat.’
‘So,’ Counselor Rejanx began, ‘I’m sure you have questions, but let me suggest that we start with the issue at hand. –The creatures we call the Scourge.’
‘Yes, we call them the Hive.’
‘They have been a curse to our race for a millennia,’ the Counselor continued. ‘Long ago they came to our planet in search for a food source. –As I’m sure they came to yours. We’ve resisted and warred with them since beyond memory. It is the only way. Twice they have nearly defeated us, but both times we persevered. Though our numbers are fewer, our advances in technology have helped dramatically.’
‘Just how many are there,’ Commander McConnel asked.
General Fjorn looked at Counselor Rejanx as if unsure as to how to respond. He finally spoke with hesitation. ‘Their race number in the trillions, though many are mutated from other species. Hundreds of civilizations have been consumed. It is their only goal.’
Every human in the room felt as if they’d just gotten the wind knocked out of them. Even one of the Admiral’s aides, a young ensign who’d been assigned to manage the refreshments, gasped and started to sob quietly. It seemed hopeless.
General Fjorn, who seemed to notice the sudden despair, tried to give a little hope. ‘All is not lost. My kind has resisted. Your race can do the same.’
Admiral Cook knew better than to allow his Commander’s to think defeat. Battles were lost even before they were fought because of hopelessness. ‘It doesn’t matter how many of them there are. We will fight them to the bitter end! We may not be victorious, but by God we’ll put a dent in them!’
‘I admire your spirit, Admiral. You have the heart of a warrior. –A much admired trait among the Tular. But you cannot win. Not with the number of ships you have. I hope that you have more.’
Admiral Cook was painfully aware of the number of ships Earth Fleet had, but he wasn’t about to disclose that to a species he’d just met. He decided to change the subject. ‘Why were you here fighting them? I assume that you are far from your home world?’
‘That we are,’ the Counselor said wearily. ‘But we are trying to prevent their encroachment to this part of the Galaxy. Our strike was preemptive, but it may not be enough to discourage them.’
‘What do you mean?’
‘Millions are migrating this way. They will be here soon.’
Commander McConnel thought the news was bad enough when they said there were trillions of them. Now a large portion of those had Earth in the crosshairs. If one queen could do this, what could they do against many of them? ‘We believe that they live in a matriarchal society with a queen in control. Have you seen any evidence of this?’
‘Your assumptions are correct,’ the General replied. ‘One queen typically grows a brood that numbers in the thousands; some in the millions depending on how old they are. But she exercises control over them mentally. They are all telepathic. Any civilization that is absorbed has its technology assimilated by the queen.’
Admiral Cook sat quietly while his Commanders asked questions. Earth was in big trouble. Extinction was a real possibility. Now was the time to seek alternative avenues or Humanity would become a statistic. He had an idea, but had no way of communicating to Earth Fleet for guidance. He’d have to apologize later. ‘Why don’t we create an alliance?’
‘I’m afraid I do not have the authority,’ she said regretfully. ‘Other species have petitioned our government to form an alliance, and some we have accepted. Others we did not. In both cases, the process was lengthy and involved several diplomatic meetings. I’m afraid your race doesn’t have enough time.’
Admiral Cook was frustrated. It seemed that for every step forward, he had to take two steps back. There had to be a way to convince the Tular to come to their aid. ‘Counselor, my race faces a serious threat. Is there no way to convince your government to come to our aid during the interim? Surely our two worlds will have more in common than in contrast. This will surely lead to an alliance eventually.’
‘I am sorry, Admiral. Our laws are quite strict. No exceptions will be made.’
Admiral Cook could see the Counselors sincerity. She was being truthful. There was nothing she could do. ‘Well, Counselor, we thank you for taking the time to meet us. But, I have to ask, why go through the trouble?’
‘Though my government limits my authority, it doesn’t necessarily mean that I always agree with its decisions. We came here to convince you, not only of our sincerity about the Scourge, but to give you as much indirect assistance as possible. If you can arrange a data transfer, we’ll share with you all the intelligence we have about the Scourge. We hope that this small courtesy will be of some assistance to you. We now know that you are an honorable race. In that data stream will be the coordinates of our home world. If you survive this war, we will accept your petition for an alliance.’
She rose signaling her desire to leave. General Fjorn moved to shake the Admiral’s hand. ‘It has been a privilege to meet you Admiral. I’ll prepare the data transfer for you as soon as I return.’
‘Thank you. It’s been a privilege as well.’
‘Well, Sir,’ Commander McConnel said after the Tular delegation had left, ‘that’s definitely not what I expected.’
Admiral Cook didn’t reply. For the first time in his career, he wished someone else was in command.
Two hours later, the Tular were gone and his comms officer had completed the data transfer. He ordered it stored for later analysis. More than anything, he wanted to return to Alpha Centauri to search for survivors, but their primary mission was no longer valid, and the Hiver’s were still a formidable threat to his remaining ships. Billions of people on Earth had no idea that an unbelievable swarm was about to hit them. He had to return. The entire crew of the S
targazer had to be considered KIA. Among those were the only two Shu’kan officers in Earth Fleet. This would not sit well with Leader Bro’na.
He gave the order to his navigation officer for all ships to prepare to jump to FTL. He expected an argument from at least one of his Commander’s, but to their credit none of them protested. They understood the necessity of his actions. He only hoped he could live with them. He sighed in resignation. If he had nightmares, then he’d deal with them. It was the least he could do for the crew of the Stargazer. His vision blurred momentarily as the Carthaginian Jumped to FTL. Earth needed him, and he was duty-bound to answer the call.