Shanna

by Bill Nolan

  Leida’s team, without Jane, but with Chofma replacing her, had been on the ground since shortly after dark. They had infiltrated the base without incident, and Leida had scanned the hanger where the meeting was to be held. She had alerted Robert about the concealed riflemen, and she told him when they had left.

  The sheet had instructed that an upward pointing strobe flashing exactly every four seconds be placed to mark a landing site. At precisely 10 o’clock, Miko brought the skipper down to the mark. Seeing the skipper, a ship about 50’ in diameter, settle and hover a couple of feet above the ground in absolute silence did more to impress the waiting officials than anything else up to this point.

  Robert had brought Jane, Jonu, Kysandra, and Podara to the meeting. Miko remained in the skipper. When they walked down the ramp, Thom O’Brian met them. He said, “Welcome to Earth. Please come inside. The President is waiting.” They walked into the hanger, and the President met Robert as he entered the partitioned area.

  President Fuller extended his hand, and Robert shook it. Thom then introduced the others in the Earth group. Podara handled introductions for the To’Ach’an. Once that was out of the way, coffee was offered and refused, and everyone took seats around the large, round table.

  President Fuller started. “Thank you for coming. I don’t really know the protocol for this, since we have never, to my knowledge, had a meeting with people from other planets. I’m not sure I know where to begin.”

  Podara answered, which surprised the US contingent, since the President had addressed his remarks to Robert, and Podara looked, to the Earthmen, like a child. “Thank you for your welcome, Mr. President. Please accept my apologies for any language mistakes, as I have just recently learned English. As to where to begin, let me try to make a start, and some suggestions. We have you at a disadvantage, since we know much about your people and culture, while you know nothing of ours. I suggest that after our initial statements, a break be taken so that your group may discuss what they have learned.”

  The President considered for a moment, and then replied, “thank you for your consideration. I don’t really have an opening statement to make, other than to welcome you to Earth. As I said, this is a new experience for us.”

  “Of course,” Podara answered. “Let me begin. We are representatives of a trading company, here to sell our goods on Earth. To help you understand, please let me tell you a bit about the areas beyond your solar system. People much like you and me populate most of the inhabited planets in the Galaxy, and an Empire governs almost all of these. The current Empress is named Shotana. There are many thousands of inhabited planets.”

  “Our people, called the To’Ach’an, are not part of the Empire, and we do not accept their governance. We make our living by trading. Many goods are cheap on one planet, but expensive on another. We buy in one place, transport, and sell in another place for a profit. We are opening Earth to trade with the rest of the Galaxy. Since we have made your existence known to the Empire, they will also be sending a delegation to establish relationships with your various peoples, and that delegation will arrive in about two weeks.”

  “Knowing that your people have had no contact with other worlds, we have prepared a document which gives a brief history and a general overview of the current situation in the Galaxy. We are not always on good terms with the Empire, but we have tried to keep the document unbiased. If you would like, we could take a break for a time, so you could look it over.” Podara took five copies of a booklet out of her bag and passed them across the table. They were about 50 pages long.

  Thom O’Brian took them and passed them around, and the Earth delegation immediately began skimming through them. After a few moments, the President looked up and said, “If it won’t inconvenience you too much, perhaps we should take 15 minutes to look over this material. It will probably save time. By the way, I want to apologize for the confusion over my security people. They were intended to provide security for all of us. We didn’t intend to threaten you, and they have been removed from the area.”

  Kysandra answered, again surprising them. “We took no offense from it. I’m sure your guards are very nervous about this meeting. Let me assure you that we will not initiate any hostile actions, although we are always prepared to respond if attacked.”

  “If I may ask,” General Smithson said, “Is your ship outside armed? I am merely curious, since I see nothing I recognize as a weapon.”

  Kysandra smiled. “Curiosity is an admirable trait, General. The vehicle outside is not our ship. It’s a skipper, normally used to ferry things around a solar system sized area. Our ship is very much larger. Dr. Hanaway has spoken to our ship, Shanna, on the phone. I don’t want to give the impression that I’m being evasive, because I don’t mean to be. The skipper outside is armed, as is our ship. Our people are always armed. If you don’t mind, we’ll take a short walk and be back in 15 minutes.”

  The base commander was brought in, and he escorted the To’Ach’an outside for a brief tour. As soon as they left, the President said, “Well, what are your first impressions?”

  Dr. Hanaway spoke up. “I am fascinated to learn that I have been talking to a computer of some kind. Their technology is more advanced than I had imagined.”

  Thom O’Brian went next. “I think we need to establish who we’re talking to. I have no idea who’s in charge of the delegation. They keep switching off. We don’t know what rank any of these people holds in their organization.”

  The Commerce Secretary, Janet Anderson, expressed concern about trade treaties. “We need to broach the subject, so that we can each set up committees to negotiate some sort of trading relationship.”

  When the To’Ach’an came back into the meeting, Thom made the first statement. “Your book was most interesting, and I’m sure we’ll learn more when we have time to study it thoroughly. For now, we have a couple of questions. First, we are unsure what positions each of you holds in your government, and we don’t know who is leading your delegation. Second, we are interested in how you think any currency problems can be handled. Third, we need some information as to what types of products you expect to sell here, and fourth, we will need to set up groups to negotiate a trade agreement.”

  Jonu had been quiet until now. “Let me address some of your questions. Among our people, we don’t have rank in the same way that you understand it. We are all equals, but we have different specialties. Who is leader will vary depending upon the situation. In each case, the person answering your questions has been the one most qualified. For example, Podara is skilled at interpersonal relationships, while Kysandra will probably field most security related questions.”

  “As to currency, once the Empire gets here, they will set up an exchange for valuing against the standard Galactic currency. Naturally, your planet will need to plan a shift to this currency, called zarigs, which is used pretty much universally. In the meantime, barter will suffice.”

  “As to products, we will be selling three different items at first, but will add more later on. The first is a device similar to what you call a smart phone, but considerably more advanced. With it, you can talk to any similar device within about ½ light year. A big advantage of our phone is that there is no recurring charge after the purchase. There is also no transmission delay, regardless of the distance.”

  “The second item is a power supply. We can set it to supply either AC or DC, at any reasonable desired voltage, and the AC can be set to any reasonable cyclic rate, and to either single or three phase. It requires no fuel, and will easily power even an extremely large house. We know your people often express concern about clean energy sources. That problem is at an end. For the price of a few months of electric bills, any family can become energy independent.

  Our third item is a small aircar, similar in concept to the skipper in which we arrived, but only about 25’ across. We will be selling just the one size initially, but will add additional, larger models fairly soon, including some specialized mo
dels. This vehicle can easily and quickly travel anywhere in your solar system, and, like the power supply, it requires no fuel or maintenance.”

  “As to your last question, there will be no need for groups to negotiate treaties. We never negotiate, and we do not make treaties with any government. We are not subject to any laws but our own. We will set up our operations and sell or barter our goods. These will be transactions between us and the private individuals who choose to trade with us. It is not the concern of any government.”

  Janet Anderson responded quickly. “Of course a treaty will be needed. We have laws regarding imports and exports. There are also tariffs and other taxes.”

  Jonu looked at her directly. “As I just said, we are not subject to any laws but our own. Among other things, this means we will neither pay nor collect taxes.”

  Janet’s face colored. “Don’t be ridiculous, you can’t just ignore our laws. You’d be arrested…”

  She stopped when she saw how Kysandra was looking at her. When Ky spoke, it was in a low voice, almost a growl. “Go ahead, Madam Secretary, arrest me. If you like, I will tell your heirs you fought bravely.”

  Secretary O’Brien interrupted. “Please, let me interject here. What exactly do you mean when you say you are only subject to your own laws? Are you talking about diplomatic immunity?”

  “I don’t know,” Jonu replied. “I hope not, though. Among our people, the worst insult is to call someone a coward, but the second worst would be to call him a diplomat, since it is a point of honor with us that we never negotiate. What I meant was what I said. To’Ach’an people are subject only to To’Ach’an law. We trade on thousands of worlds. Our businesses could not function if any government could hold us up by passing some kind of law.”

  “Robert has explained the local concept of a ‘speed trap’ to me. Various governments used to try similar tactics to prevent us from doing business on their worlds. A very long time ago, we decided that we weren’t going to jump through those hoops. Our law is our law, and we are a law-abiding people. Should a government try to enforce their local laws on any of our people, we will go to war to prevent it. We have done so many times in the past.”

  The entire Earth contingent started to speak at the same time, but President Fuller waved them to silence. “Please excuse us for a few moments. We need to discuss this among ourselves.” He got up and led his group out into the main hanger.

  Robert said quietly, “Be ready, Leida. This is where it could get interesting.”

  In a few minutes the President brought his people back inside. After they sat down, he spoke to Jonu. “Sir, your concerns are, I’m sure, quite real. I’m sorry if, in the past, your people have been badly treated by various governments. However, for you to lump us together with them is unfair. We welcome your presence, and we welcome your trade, but we must insist that you comply with our laws. If you do not, we cannot give you permission to trade here.”

  Robert signed for Jane to answer. He wanted to keep the other side off balance, and this constant shifting of who they were talking to seemed to bother them.

  Jane said, “I too am sorry, Mr. President. We are warriors and traders, and this sort of discussion is not a strength of ours. Somehow we have given you the wrong impression, and I apologize most sincerely for that. We didn’t come to this meeting to seek the permission of your government. It is more of a courtesy call. We are going to be selling our products in your area, and we thought we should let you know. However, as Jonu said, we are not subject to your laws, and so we don’t need your permission to trade here.”

  All of the To’Ach’an could hear Leida reporting that a group of armed men was gathering just inside the hanger, but outside their walled off area. Robert signed everyone to sit tight.

  The President shook his head. “Well then, I’m afraid I will have to detain you until we have spoken to your top leaders and settled this issue.” He raised his voice. “General, please arrange to detain these people.” The base commander entered the room with 10 MPs.

  Robert spoke for the first time since landing. “Mr. President, don’t kill your men for no reason. You don’t have the force to overcome us, and if you try, violence will result. Should any of those men point a weapon in the direction of our people, death will follow more quickly than you can imagine. We are very aware of your weapons and forces, while you have no information about ours. I remind you that we are a warrior people. There is no person or group of people on this planet capable of harming us in any way. We are here to trade, but if you want war instead, we will accommodate you, and I mean right here and right now.”

  “Don’t threaten me, son,” the President replied. “I was a recon Marine about the time you were born.”

  “You’re mistaken, Mr. President,” Robert said quietly. “In fact, I’m older than you. Also, you won’t find any among our people who outrank us. For us, there is no issue to discuss. We have our laws, and we follow them. We have done so for thousands of years. It’s already settled. We will trade here, whether your government likes it or not. As for your men over there, they are no threat to us. Watch and learn.”

  Leida had already informed Robert that she would handle it by herself. She flashed into the room like a beam of light. Jane had been working hard on her combat skills, but it still amazed her that any person could be that fast, even with the assist from the combat suit. The MPs were caught looking the wrong way, watching the group by the table, but it wouldn’t have made a difference. It was over before most in the room were fully aware it had started. Leida seemed to flicker from place to place, like she was dancing with multiple dance partners. In less than two seconds, the MPs were all disarmed and down, with their weapons broken and scattered.

  Only one MP, the base martial arts champion, managed to offer any fight at all. He had started moving to a guard position, and Leida put him down hard. Even across the large room, Jane could hear the bones snap. Jane looked at the President and saw his jaw drop, but he recovered quickly.

  The President had been surprised at the suddenness of the attack, but he immediately saw that plans would have to be changed. He had always been the complete politician, and he had no trouble changing direction now. Besides, he had been a soldier for a long time, and he recognized troops superior to his own.

  “You see what I mean, Mr. President,” Robert continued. “Our people are much faster than yours. We will not be threatened. My friend, Leida, was careful not to kill any of your men this time, but they could all just as easily be dead. Next time they will be.”

  “It would seem unlikely that anything further will be accomplished today. You have the phone. Call us when you want to meet again. Perhaps we should meet in our ship next time. Just let us know where to pick up your people. I should think they would find a tour of Shanna to be very interesting. In fact, perhaps Dr. Hanaway would like to come back with us now. I will guarantee his safety, and we will be glad to drop him back wherever he likes tomorrow.”

  “In the meantime, we will expect you to tell your people what’s going on. If we don’t start seeing coverage on the news shows, I’m afraid we will have to tell your people we’re here ourselves. I’m sure the networks have some news people who would love to spend a few days in our ship, and we plan to invite somebody up real soon. As for this little incident, don’t be concerned that we are angry about it. You tried force and it failed. We didn’t have to kill anyone, so no real harm was done.”

  The President was surprised that the To’Ach’an didn’t seem more upset about the arrest attempt, but after a short discussion, it was decided that Dr. Hanaway would go to Shanna with the To’Ach’an and would return to Washington the next day.

  The President’s staff announced the next morning that the President would deliver an address to the nation that evening during prime time. The press was told that it was a matter of incredible international importance, and so the time was demanded, not requested. The White House privately told the networks to be ready to c
over the biggest story of their careers. In what the President considered a minor miracle, no leaks occurred, and, of course, the White House distributed no prior copy of the President’s speech. In their comments before the broadcast, the news people didn’t really know what to say, since they knew of nothing unusual happening in the world. This time they were more right than they thought.

  Dr. Hanaway had a marvelous time in Shanna. He was a scientist, and didn’t really care about the trade issues. He was interested in the ship, the Galaxy, propulsion, travel, and myriad other topics. He was so animated, and asked so many questions, that the To’Ach’an found him a bit tiring, and spent time with him in shifts. He slept only about four hours, and only then because Podara insisted. She practically had to tuck him in. She thought his enthusiasm was cute, and if he hadn’t been married she would have done more than that.

  The gardens, filled with non-Earth plants, fascinated him, but the big event came when he asked about the vessels that were going to be sold. Jonu took him to see one. This first batch of vessels was of a pretty standard design. They were an oblate spheroid, or flattened ball, and measured 25’ across by 18’ high. The outside color was controllable, and could be changed at the whim of the owner. A piece of the side opened downward, and could form either a ramp or a stairway into the vessel.

  Inside were two decks. The lower deck was about 18’ in diameter and a bit over 7’ high. It was wider at the top than at the bottom, and so had wedge shaped cabinets all the way around, except where the entrance was located. The upper deck was about 23’ in diameter, and just over 8’ high in the center, curving down on the sides. The result was a little over 650 sq. ft. of total deck space, not counting storage. The upper deck had a walled off bath (the tiny room was also the shower) and a galley area next to it. On the other side of the bath was the control console, mounted into a desk with a large screen above it. The screen was so clear as to look like a window, could show a view in any direction, and could magnify it if desired. Other than that, the interior was empty.