All That Glitters Ch. 27

Fiona took some time to let reflect on that. "Other issues?"

"There are things inside that seem to be food stores, however, they are in bad state of decomposition," another of the scientists remarked. "There is enough left to see that it has nucleobases that are uncommon to human A, C, T, G, nucleobases. This also has D, H, and R nucleobases."

"Wait, are you sure of that?" Heyya asked.

"Quite. Does that mean anything to you," the scientist asked.

"Those are common nucleobases on Hollander's World," Heyya told them. "I bet this thing could probably ingest many of the planet's flora and fauna."

"Right, we will need to get one of the fast ships out to Hollander's World immediately and bring in some supplies for this Insectoid," Fiona said. "Otherwise it will starve. That will help us with keeping it alive, but we need to start understanding it.

"Can you help with that," Fiona asked of the empaths.

"We can probably tell you if it agrees with us, or other basic feelings," Heyya extrapolated. "Fear was certainly very similar to our fear so I suspect its other emotions will be as well."

"So we can figure out some basic patterns then, that's a start," the linguist stated. "As soon as it wakes up, we need to start working on a translation matrix for it. We will need an empath here whenever we are working on this matrix."

"Heyya?" Fiona asked. "I know there are only five of you and this will take you and your staff from the hospital, but can you lend a hand?"

"Six. Don't forget Junelliea," Heyya reminded her. "She is still basically untrained, but she has no duties on the platform other than being a wife," she said with a smile to Junelliea.

"You do now, Junelliea," Fiona told her. "If you want the job, that is. It will come with a good paycheck which you can make use of for your Trine."

Junelliea looked to Hanalei and Fayad, who both smiled at her and nodded.

"Yes, please," she told Fiona. "I don't care about the pay; this has been an amazing experience for me and I want to be part of it."

"Oh, Junelliea!" Hanalei exclaimed, shocked. "Allow your Trine to negotiate your pay for you, dear."

That brought laughter from everyone.

"First priority is to get some food for this poor creature. With its food stocks depleted, it will quickly starve if we do not act," Dr. Hitron advised.

"Are you planning on sending the Valour to Hollander's World, Fiona?" asked Heyya.

"Yes, I'm sure that we can get one of these bright scientists to conduct a survey for the necessary food stocks with the scientists on Hollander's World," Fiona told her.

"Can you have them check with the Council of Empaths on when they plan to conduct the next Grand Congress of Empaths, please," Heyya asked. "We will need to introduce Junelliea to the Council of Empaths and to all those who might be in attendance."

"I will," Fiona assured them. "Didn't you say that her Trine needed to be with her when she conducted experiments in these Congresses?" Fiona asked.

"Yes, they will have to be, as will we as her host Congress," Heyya explained.

"That is a considerable number of hospital staff to be shy," Fiona stated.

"I apologize, Fiona. However, it is apparent to me that Junelliea is going to need a stronger empath than we have available on Liramor-23 to help in her training. We will need to hire someone to come back with us to do this. I can only go so far with her training. We are quickly going to reach a point beyond which I can no longer help her," Heyya explained.

"OK, we'll talk about this later, then," Fiona ending that discussion, for the moment.

"So, we will need food stocks of different sorts for it to test, linguists to start the translation matrix, an empath on site at all times to help with the linguists, anything else to add to that?" Fiona asked.

"Once we get the translation matrix up and running, we can ask it many of the questions we need to about its people and where they might be," Hitron stated. "So the matrix is the grand strategy for now."

Fiona nodded.

They had a plan.

PV Marie Saitent, Fleet Shem, Interstellar Space

Raymond sat on the bridge of the little ship as it appeared above the Fleet Shem. He knew that the fleet would see the ship and identify it as something new. Their sensors were very good.

He had the Comms O open a channel to the fleet. A moment later, he saw himself as part of the Command Council, the Jurte Pair at one end of the circle.

"Good day to you, Kur-Han Kai-Ro, and Sha-Ret Sai-Rai. It is good to meet you via this coms link," Raymond stated.

"What are you in, Raymond?" Sha-Ret asked.

"We refer to this a fast ship, Sha-Ret. That is because it can jump further than most ships, allowing us to quickly move across the length of the Union," Raymond informed her.

"Such a small ship is capable of going much faster than the larger ships?" Sha-Ret asked.

"Yes," Raymond told her.

"Your ship seems to have a weapon on it," Kur-Han stated, almost laughing at the idea of such a small gun being a weapon.

"Yes, it could not harm the hull of your great ships but can cause significant damage to any moving part of your hull, including your plasma weapons, your shuttle bay doors, and your engines. We could render your ship helpless with a few passes. The weapon may appear small but we do know how to make use of its capabilities," Raymond told Kur-Han, abruptly changing the look on the Ro's face.

"Such a small ship can do that?" Sha-Ret asked pointedly.

"Please note, that the weapon is turned to the rear," Raymond declared, not directly answering the question. "This means that we do not currently intend to use it. If the weapon points anywhere else but directly behind us, we intend to make use of it."

"So noted, Raymond," Sha-Ret replied. "We are surprised at the size of the vessel and the claim that it is so dangerous. However, after your last demonstration of power, we will not dispute any claims of capabilities you make."

"Thank-you, that is an encouraging change on your part," Raymond acknowledged.

"We have come here for three reasons, Sha-Ret," Raymond told them. "First, to confirm that we will transport a delegation of ten of your Emperor's team to this fleet in order to conduct talks with us.

"Second, we have images of some of the planets in our Union to show you, in order for you to understand that we did not embellish the size of our Union.

"Third, it is time that we met in this manner, in preparation for the more direct meetings to come.

"We told you that the Union consisted of forty-eight full member planets. These planets each have a minimum of three billion inhabitants. There are also seven planets that are not yet full member planets, one with a population of just under one billion and six with populations less than one hundred million inhabitants."

As Raymond ended his mini-lecture, images of different planets started coming across for the Command Council to view. Each planet was distinct, and almost all of them had at least one orbital station. They also saw ships, both with and without weapons. The ships with weapons tended to be in the flat black colour, while the other ships tended to be of almost every colour that could be imagined.

The images ended and Raymond returned.

"Do you have any questions?" he asked.

"We will be hosting you on this ship soon," Sha-Ret said. "Will we need to provide you with a special atmosphere, or do you wish to join us while in suits for space?"

"Thank-you for asking," Raymond nodded. "We refer to these suits as Extra Vehicular Activity suits or EVA suits. But we have analyzed the atmosphere of your home world and found it compatible with our needs. It may smell odd to us, as some of the chemical components are different but we will be able to breathe it as you will be able to breathe our atmosphere."

"That will make things much easier," Sha-Ret acknowledged.

"We have seen all of these images you have shown us," Kur-Han said. "But they are just images. You claim you can move throughout your entire Union in a single day, does that include your ability to visit each planet in your Union? If so, can we ask that you take at least one of our people on board your ship, and actually show that delegate the true size of your Union?"

"That is possible to do," Raymond told him. "However, I will not invite a member of the Warrior Class on our ship. We do not know your capabilities as fighters and will not provide temptation to you by bringing a Warrior on board. We will accept one of your scientists that we know by name, Mind-Hur Tae."

The Jurte Pair heard a gasp and looked over at Mind-Hur. Who had a very surprised look on her face.

"Why Mind-Hur?" asked Kur-Han.

"We have seen your fleet's daily news brief. We know that she is a dedicated and newly promoted senior scientist. We also know that she was the Tae that received and returned our mutual messages. She also was the scientist that explained our weapons capabilities to the fleet in those news briefs. Her face is distinctive and known to us, now. We would accept her as a delegate.

"As a scientist, she will be able to determine that we have moved between planets. She will also be able to determine that the planets are real, and distinctive. She will be able to inform you of what she sees and can confirm all that you ask of us and her after her voyage," Raymond informed them.

"Very well," Sha-Ret stated after a brief conversation with her mate. "We will allow Mind-Hur Tae to be the delegate that proves that your Union is real. However, we would ask that you take one other of our brethren with you, someone that will acknowledge all that occurs on your ship, one of our Speakers."

"Very well, Sha-Ret, we will take aboard one of your Speakers," Raymond stated.

"That is good," Sha-Ret replied. "When do you wish to do this?"

"If you open your shuttle bay, we can land this ship within it and take Mind-Hur and the Speaker aboard now," Raymond stated. "I would suggest they bring enough food for two full days with them.

"We are aware that your people would like to capture one of our ships, and this ship would be ideal for you to take," Raymond mused. "There are currently several of our warships around you. Would the Claridge become visible so the Fleet Shem can see her?"

As he spoke those words, one of the stranger's ships became visible to the sensors of the fleet. That ship was well within what was considered the danger zone for an enemy vessel acting against the fleet. The scientists of the fleet were in shock. They had no idea the vessel was there.

"That is one ship," Raymond stated. "I guarantee you that if our ship fails to remain in contact with the other ships out here, your fleet will be attacked.

"I would advise against doing anything that would warrant such an attack," Raymond finished, as the Marie Saitent moved toward the slowly opening dock on the Koh-Tan.

A few minutes later, the Marie Saitent lowered itself onto its landing struts within the dock. Two figures made their way toward the ship. Raymond recognized Mind-Hur Tae. She was carrying a small bag in her right hand. The other figure held the Staff of Office of a Speaker. He too was carrying a bag.

The pair were dressed in a Ga-Den, typical for their species. The Ga-Den is a long, draping, wrap-around gown that is knotted at and hung from the left shoulder, leaving the right shoulder bare. The Ga-Den is worn by both sexes, showing no distinctive difference between them, other than the obvious presence of four breasts on the females. The gowns ended above their ankles, leaving their deck boots exposed. From Mind-Hur's left waist a flat leather pouch hung, known as a Pol-Mar, which contained the tools of her office, scientific scanners, an electronic note pad, and such. Her outfit was a bright yellow colour with green accents. The colours of the Techs.

The Speaker, too, was wearing a gown in the colours of the Piscium A Society, in greens and gold. However, his Ga-Den had a sliver border to distinguish the speaker. He too had a pouch at his waist. It held an electronic 'records' device, similar to an old fashioned electronic reader, that contained the recorded history of his people. He also held the staff of the Speaker in his left hand. It was a long slender rod as tall as he, with two short, perpendicular branches near his shoulders. These branches held rings that rang out creating a distinctive sound when the staff was struck against the deck.

The main hatch opened and two Marines in EVA suits exited the ship. One of them asked to look at the bags that they carrying. He swiftly checked to ensure there were no weapons or anything that might be used as a weapon, other than the Speaker's staff of office. The other quickly scanned the pair for concealed weapons. None were found.

Once they were sure of this, they requested the pair to enter the ship. Humans ran the gamut of height from 1.62m to 2m. The Piscium A Society ranged from 1.8m to 2.2m. At 1.92m, Mind Hur was on the small side by the standards of her people, however, she was still within the standards of sizes for humans so would have no issues while onboard the small ship. The speaker was a little smaller at 1.85m.

Raymond met them at the hatch. He showed them his left wrist, where a gold coloured bracelet of sorts was seen. He produced two such bracelets and placed them on the left wrists of his guests and provided them with discreet earpieces that he showed them how to place in their ears, their ears being similar in size to human ears.

"Welcome aboard the Marie Saitent," he greeted them with a smile, as the bracelet devices instantly translated what was being said into their own language. "It is a pleasure to finally have one of your people in a face-to-face meeting with humans."

"I am pleased to be the first of my kind to greet your people," the scientist replied, a happy smile on her face as the device instantly translated what she was saying into the language of the Strangers. While the smile of her species was different from that of humans, being closed mouth, it was still recognizable as a smile.

The speaker slammed the butt of his staff on the deck. Raymond understood the meaning of this ritual. He stood tall and bowed to the speaker, surprising the Ro.

"I am the Speaker," he intoned. "I speak for all of my kind, for the Jurte Pair Kur-Han Kai-Ro and Sha-Ret Sai-Rai, for the Warrior Class and the Tech Class, for the Medical Class, the Caretakers, and the Kirlen.

"My purpose here is to observe and confirm what Mind-Hur sees and reports," he finished.

"Does the Jurte Pair not trust Mind-Hur to provide a proper report?" Raymond asked the Speaker. "Why then send one to watch her?

"You are welcome aboard our ship, Speaker, but if you are just an observer, then I expect that you will do that and not comment on things as we progress. Do we understand each other, Speaker?" Raymond demanded.

The Speaker knew he had been outplayed. This Terran was sharp. It would be wise to remember that.

"I apologize to you, Mind-Hur and to you, Raymond Clark," the Speaker said quietly. "It was not my intent to place restrictions on this meeting. Yes, I will be an observer, though I do hope you will answer my questions as well?"

"If your apology is freely given, Speaker, then I freely accept it on behalf of my people," Raymond stated. "I will endeavour to answer all your questions but will reserve which questions I will answer. I will answer no questions about our FTL drive, nor about our weapons."

"FTL drive?" Mind-Hur asked.

"Faster Than Light Drive," Raymond replied. "It is how we refer to our jump drive, Mind-Hur. We are capable of faster than light speed in this ship but traversing the great distances of space at light speed would be tediously long. FTL drive shortens that somewhat.

"Please follow me to our conference room where we will watch all that is happening on the bridge," Raymond ended, guiding them toward the VIP conference room on the second level.

The chairs were surprising comfortable for the pair, despite their being used to backless models. Raymond showed them how to adjust the chairs as the ship left the docking bay and slipped into space. The Claridge moved up alongside the Marie Saitent and they jumped in unison to Liramor-23. Several ships came into common space with the pair. Mind-Hur looked to the Speaker.

"He spoke truly about having more of his ships around the fleet," Mind-Hur told the Ro. The pair watched as the ship approached the station that they had only seen images of before.

Terran Embassy, Liramor-23, Piscium System

"Welcome to The Home Star, what we call the Piscium system," Raymond said as his little ship moved to the VIP Shuttle Bay. The ship moved inside and landed. The pair watched as a gantry slid down and closed on the side of the ship. Raymond led them to the hatch and stepped into the passenger gantry leading the pair into the platform.

"This is the Liramor-23 Mining Platform, the twenty-third mining platform owned by the Liramor Mining Company, hence the name. It is also the de facto embassy between our peoples," Raymond explained as he took them to the lifts. "We are moving up to where the new embassy will be, where you will be formally greeted by the representatives of the people of the Terran Union, our ambassadors."

Mind-Hur was fascinated by what she saw around her. The rooms they moved through were all shiny and bright, the gravity steady everywhere she went. The people stopped to stare but did not interfere or approach them, and there were a lot of people, some in the EVA suits that Raymond had spoken of, two of which followed them everywhere they went, likely Warriors, she surmised.

"Are these behind us Warriors, Raymond?" Mind-Hur asked.

"Yes, Mind-Hur, they are," Raymond admitted. "Had it just been you, we would not have them with us, however, a Speaker gives up his name, his family, his class, in order to become a Speaker. I am positive that this Speaker was once a member of the Warrior Class."

Mind-Hur looked at the speaker and caught the look of surprise on his face. Yes, Raymond was astute, it was obviously the case for this Speaker.

"A Speaker speaks for all of those in his presence, is that not so?" Mind-Hur asked the Speaker.

"That is so," the Speaker confirmed.

"And are these people of the Terran Union not in your presence, Speaker?" she asked.

Raymond burst into laughter.

"You need not answer her, Speaker," Raymond told him. "Just be aware that we know what we know and are ready to respond to anything that you should try. This day, you should simply be the Speaker, and observe."

They arrived at the lifts and swiftly rose up several levels. Mind-Hur noted the smoothness of the operation. The lift came to a stop and the doors opened onto a large open area with glass looking out into space.

Mind-Hur was fascinated. It was the first time that she had looked out into space without using a video device. She moved towards the window to look out at open space before her. The great destroyer not far away.

Mind-Hur shuddered at the thought of the people of her planet seeing the great monster arriving near them and the planet breaking up around them.

"Marat-Zami, The Great Destroyer," Mind-Hur stated, signing herself to ward off evil.

"Mind-Hur?" Raymond asked, disturbed.

"I apologize, Raymond," Mind-Hur replied. "This is the monster that destroyed The Home World. The history says that the people watched as it came. Can you imagine looking up and seeing this approach your home world, knowing there was nothing you could do about it.

"There was a lottery. One in ten million people were saved. The rest perished in the destruction of The Home World. Those that 'won' the lottery left The Home World and fled to the known planets that could keep life. Our new home world and that of the others."