by Tobias Roote
“What? When did they arrive? Security, kill those alarms and put us on standby,” the Captain shouted at the Security Officer.
“That’s the thing, Sir, they were already in position, they just uncloaked,” the XO explained as the alarms suddenly ceased.
“They are extremely well armed, Sir, and pointing their arsenal directly at us,” he added.
RIGA spoke up confidently raising her voice so that it would carry across the room. “Captain, you know you couldn’t bring yourself to accept that a small female like myself could represent a large trading block like the Galactic Empirum? Well, these small ships here, are my official credentials.” She smiled as his face went ashen. He sat down at his station and looked at the fleet of warships that had revealed themselves.
The looks from the bridge stations showed concerned at the new turn of events. The SCN ships were themselves on the extreme edge of their territory, the Space Station being their furthest outpost. The ships, while posing an immediate threat, were not invading, but they knew that their proximity and active weaponry could only imply one thing. RIGA looked at them sensing the mood of the all male crew as potentially aggressive. Nobody, she thought, likes being pushed against a bulkhead.
“Comms, would someone put me in vocal and visual with the lead ship ‘GEN Vasta’ before they decide to take a more physical approach to get your attention?” RIGA requested, in the most commanding voice she could muster, which actually, she thought, didn’t sound too bad. The bridge acoustics were excellent.
The comms officer looked at the Captain questioningly, Jennings nodded. He looked decidedly unhappy, realising he had seriously misjudged events.
The vidscreen burst into life and the bridge crews got a good look at each other. “Finally! RIGA - Ambassador Rigel, we received your message, but you had jumped before we could respond. Good to see you have already made contact with your friends. What do you need from us?” the Captain of the Vasta asked smiling, fully aware of the problems she was current experiencing, having been fully briefed by Gossie.
“Captain Xandarl, I am pleased to see you and your patrol. I trust all is well. You could perhaps reassure Captain Jennings here of my credentials. He seems to feel that I may not be up to taking on the responsibility of investigating the illicit trade between our two Empires.”
Captain Jennings looked decidedly annoyed and didn’t even try to hide it. RIGA felt sorry for him, but it was his own fault and she had a job to do and needed to act now.
Xandarl was happy to oblige. “Captain Jennings, I can assure you that Ambassador Rigel is one of our most skilled Ambassadors. She is a keen investigator and a shrewd trade negotiator. As such she has the complete support of the central governing bodies of the Galactic Empirum. You would be well advised to stay on her good side as she is also our most skilled ‘hand to hand’ combat veteran. The Ambassador is extremely popular back home. We are indeed honoured to have her representing our interests here today.” He smiled. RIGA knew he had only to say the word and the two Terran ships would immediately be disabled.
“Will that be all, RIGA?” he asked pointedly.
“Actually, you can do one other small thing for me, please Captain, if you will. There is the matter of pursuit of the unknown vessels sitting outside the perimeter and jurisdiction of the Space Station. They may well be from our sector and should be identified and warned that this area is off limits, and not open to Empirum trade until I say it is,” RIGA said, smiling meaningfully at the Captain sat by her side
“It will be as you ordered, Ambassador,” Captain Xandarl said respectfully. “Vasta Out.”
The vidscreen blanked.
RIGA turned towards the Captain who was now decidedly fuming at being upstaged.
“Captain Jennings, perhaps I could now have my meeting with Osachi?” She kept her voice as even as she could make it.
The XO next to him also looked at the Captain, who nodded. The XO then gestured to the soldier who had accompanied them to the bridge from the Ready Room. “Take Ambassador Rigel to the VIP wing and ensure she is given a stateroom to use while she is with us. Arrange for her to have anything she requires during her stay. Get Mr Osachi to meet the Ambassador there. Report back to me if there are any problems. I don’t anticipate there to be any,” he insisted firmly fixing the soldier with a glaring eye.
The soldier was more than happy to guide RIGA off the bridge, and escort her to the VIP area. The whole bridge crew breathed a collective sigh of relief as the doors closed behind her. She had certainly made an impression, she decided. She had made an enemy in the Captain though, but that had been inevitable after he decided to treat her with insignificance. Not the best way to manage a visiting dignatory from a formidable trade pact with fourteen worlds behind them. No, she would have to watch him.
“You have made an enemy of the Captain and the P.O., RIGA, don’t turn your back on them,” Osachi informed her seriously, as they sat in her new lounge. “He has a lot of friends back home who might sabotage you when you are least expecting it,” he added quickly, then moved on. “So, why have you come back so soon? - have you managed to secure trading relations already?”
They were sitting in a vast area that seemed to be completely at odds with a battleship. Osachi had explained that the ship was used to transport dignatories across the Terran Empire. They never felt at ease in purely civilian liners, while there was still vivid memories of the wars preceding the formation of the Terran Empire.
RIGA was honest with him. “The truth is much along the lines I mentioned in the debriefing Osachi - there is something serious going on which our two governments need to resolve quickly. It is plain that the Captain has hidden issues in regard to this, I cannot place his reaction to me, yet,” RIGA responded.
Osachi nodded knowingly. “He has been getting a lot of pressure from the Space Council over his lack of results on recovering the stolen equipment, not to mention the fact it was his patrol where the losses mostly occurred. I don’t remember him being quite so irrationally arrogant before. You must have seriously upset him,” Osachi said, a mischievous grin spread across his face to show he meant it in jest.
“Well, it’s no matter. I have been authorised to negotiate with you for your entry into the Empirum. The MAC’s aside for the moment, we need to compile a list of technology you are prepared to share. Before I do, however, I have to thank you for the gift of this neck band. The shield that was hidden within it saved my life. It is an extremely valuable item, and we will be happy to trade with you just to obtain these,” RIGA said, placing her hand on his arm.
Osachi smiled, pleased at the contact. He had taken a big risk at the time when he gifted it to her, he had no knowledge of whether they would reverse engineer it, or not. The MAC’s had been a safe bargaining chip for entry into the Empirum, and the financial benefits of having such a wide market for the Terran technology would outweigh any risks he had taken with giving prohibited tech to RIGA.
“I’m glad it was of use, I have an upgrade I can install before you leave, it won’t take very long and it will increase its resistance to prolonged blaster fire,” Osachi said, looking admiringly at her, “It looks good on you.”
RIGA smiled, aware she was getting out of her depth here.
For the next few hours they discussed the potential areas for mutual trade, and then, when they had done as much as they could in preparation for involving the essential bureaucrats, RIGA moved the discussion to what she really needed to do, uncover the conspiracy that had brought her here.
“Osachi, I need to find out where this unknown fleet is operating, so I need your help.” As she said that she sensed someone nearby, they must have come in one of the entrances to her right, whoever it was, began to approach them.
“How can I do that, RIGA? I’m involved in trade and commerce, the military and security forces wouldn’t let me anywhere near anything like this. You need to gain some support in the military sector, which is going to be difficult now yo
u have had a run in with Jennings, he wields a big stick back home,” Osachi said.
“Perhaps I can help?” the new arrival said. It was Lieutenant Wright, the PO from the bridge. He smiled reassuringly, but his eyes remained cold. “I have good hearing and arrived it seems, at just the right moment.” He smiled again at them both, indicating he would like to sit with them.
RIGA nodded. She hadn’t detected him until he was very close, which disturbed her. She scanned the room, realising why. There were dampening qualities to the inner structure reducing the chance of electronic eavesdropping. She remembered this was the VIP lounge, many confidential discussions probably occurred within this room. It was passively installed into walls and ceiling, which was why she hadn’t picked up on it.
The Officer sat down and leaned forward his elbows on his knees, as he considered the two of them.
“RIGA, you certainly made an impression on the bridge,” he acknowledged. “I don't know what went on between you and the Captain, but the result is he is sending a report back to Terra, suggesting that your Empirum represents a potential threat to the sovereignty of the Empire. He is citing your accompanying battleships off our beam as evidence of your aggression. I’m here to try and head off a potential confrontation, and, no, the Captain is not aware that I am here in this capacity,” he added.
“Lieutenant, I will be more than happy to provide a full video and audio recording of the meeting between myself, and your Captain where he was having me arrested, and placed in your ‘Brig’? because he thought I wasn’t a threat to him,” RIGA responded coldly.
“Really, how can you do that? Those rooms are sealed from all recording and eavesdropping.” The Lieutenant seemed shocked at her revelation. He shook his head. “You’ve probably broken some military regulations in doing that, so I don’t even want to know how you did it.” He sniggered a little. “That’s going to upset some people back home,” he muttered, looking a little distant for a moment while he probably considered how to use the information for his own gain.
“Anyway, I believe you have given yourself a bargaining chip to clip their wings a little, but don’t think that on its own is going to keep you safe from SCN interference while you are in our territory,” he admonished RIGA.
“I’m sure that the political representatives are not so keen on a war between our two systems, Lieutenant. So, I gather you have a means of averting this outcome, or you wouldn’t be here,” RIGA said ignoring his comment.
“Yes, I do believe I can do you, your government, and my government a big service and in the process pull the military’s teeth.” He smiled and RIGA got a glimpse of the true nature of his involvement on board the Tesperadus. This man was a political mandarin and used to pulling strings. She sensed that he could be a useful ally so long as he didn’t also get to stab her in the back. He reminded her of Talbeck of the Empirum Council, another human with highly suspect motives. Feeling inclined not to deal with this man, she nonetheless would allow him to make his play.
“What do you propose?” Osachi intervened, feeling somehow that the PO wasn’t going to suggest something nice for his friend.
The PO looked at Osachi, then at RIGA.
“OK. Firstly, I am empowered to offer you a naval commission to root out and expose the participants of piracy and black racketeering in our systems.” Noticing RIGA’s non-voiced objection to becoming a recruit of the Terran Empire, he quickly clarified the offer. “It’s simply a formality that would allow you some movement in our space.”
He licked his lip before continuing. “We agree with you, there is growing evidence pointing at some form of terrorism to force our two Empires against each other. There are ramifications which I don’t intend to go into here, but it is important that our two sides are seen to work together on this,” he asserted.
RIGA nodded agreeing with what she had heard so far.
“These are the rules of engagement while in Terran space,” he began.
“One,” he ticked off his finger, ”we will make available all of the data you need to search for these smugglers.”
“Two,” he ticked a second. “If you eliminate, or deal with these criminals on our territory, we will provide immunity from reprisals, so long as you keep it clean, and there are no civilian casualties.”
“Three.” He held three fingers. “We will retain full control of public disclosure. Frankly, an ‘alien’ on our news telling us they are policing our solar system is not going to happen. There would be riots in the streets and heads on stakes, mine and my colleagues, included.”
“Four.” He had given up on his fingers. “We will not allow your battleships, or military into our local space. If you need assistance you will have to call in our own Space Council Navy.”
“Five. You will copy and include me in all communications with your government, and I will oversee all activities that are carried out in our sovereign space.”
He sat back waiting for RIGA’s reaction. She could tell that he believed he had been entirely fair and could see he wanted to be in control of both her, and the news stream. Plenty for him to gain politically here, she decided.
However, it might compromise her efforts to protect the Empirum’s interests. She could work alone, without their knowledge and probably would, anyway. Still, she must be seen to play their political game. She was noticing it was vastly different to Empirum politics.
While she framed her response, she watched his body language. He didn’t look comfortable under her intense gaze. She could also tell they would not honour any deal, regardless of what this man said.
“I cannot operate in my vessel in enemy territory without substantial backup. My ship’s defensive capabilities are not able to withstand the armament these ships are already throwing at me.
I need to have units operating in more than one place to both track and deal with the smugglers, or whatever they are. There is no way you can provide the necessary support for me in the time I have available.” RIGA paused to let that sink in, before continuing. Her best was yet to come.
“Additionally, I believe that my investigation is going to result in some exposure on your worlds at political and military levels, because my data-mining so far, has uncovered anomalies that could only occur with the tacit approval, or direct involvement of people in your military and government at a high level,” RIGA said.
Wright’s face was stony as he responded vehemently. “We cannot allow you the freedom to run around in our system unsupervised, and with your own fleet of battleships. It will look like an invasion is happening, it would be totally unacceptable to our own Navy.”
RIGA realised they just didn’t understand that her mission wasn’t subject to their control, or supervision. The Terrans wanted her to report to them. She had no intention of being answerable to anyone, her status allowed, even required, her to work autonomously.
“I don’t need your approval, Lieutenant. I can leave at any time and proceed with my enquiries with, or without, your support. The Empirum’s Navy would be able to hold their own against your fleet if you make it necessary. A war between us will be futile, but if you do not allow me to do my job, that might be the end result. Your fleet will not intervene unless you order them. Is that not so?”
Lieutenant Wright was red-faced with anger. He was about to withdraw all options on the table, when Osachi intervened. “Lieutenant, I have a proposal to make to the two of you.” He paused while Wright regained some control over his anger. He looked at Osachi and nodded brusquely, unprepared to say anything at this point, his teeth clenched tight.
“If I arrange for RIGA’s craft to be outfitted with our ship shields and jump technology, this can both demonstrate to RIGA and her people our technology in action, as well as provide her ship with the means of defence and escape from enemy fire.”
The Officer looked as if he would deny them, RIGA could see his mind working - he was considering the angles, and then she realised he might agree. The addition of their s
hield technology for her ship would be worth something to her. He continued to look concerned as he pondered the political ramifications of outfitting an alien ship with Terran protected technology.
After a few moments he seemed to come to some sort of decision, and his anger faded, replaced with reasonable calm.
“I will approve this, but commercial units only.” He looked sternly at Osachi who managed to look back at him, with an innocent air. Wright had the power of the Council behind him, but Osachi’s family held the purse strings. RIGA would have the best.
Turning to RIGA, Wright continued, “These units are the best we have commercially available, they are not to military spec, so will not protect you from our own Navy. However, it should be sufficient protection against any threat that is out there. I hope you will accept this compromise as evidence of our goodwill, RIGA.” He put on his most disarming smile.
Osachi sighed with evident relief. He discreetly winked at RIGA where Wright couldn’t see, and smiled reassuringly. “Great, I will get onto my people and organise it. They can fit it out at the Space Station. We can do it today,” he informed her.
RIGA looked at them both as if they had decided the whole subject as settled between them. Then realised that it didn’t matter, she would proceed as planned anyway, but now with their technology it would make things easier. Sometimes it was hard understanding the over complications that humans put in the way of reaching solutions, she needed to spend more time with these people to better understand how their society worked. The outpourings from their world broadcasts didn’t go deep enough, she decided.
“How will you deal with the military situation, Lieutenant?” RIGA asked in an effort to switch the attention away from her previous threat.
“Ah, that’s a little tricky because of what occurred on the bridge, but if you were to let me have a copy of your record of the events, I think I can do some arm twisting that will clip the captain’s claws and give you some support while you are in-system.” He smiled, his political charm had resurfaced and he was back in command of his strategy.