All That Glitters Ch. 46

"What that means for us is that any vessels moving between here and Liramor Prime are expected to provide a flight plan with Central Control prior to their departure. There will be no exceptions. I would like to further this and set a discipline for our vessels, dictating that all naval and commercial ships provide a flight plan for any destination departing from here, with the exception of Navy vessels on patrol, who will provide a patrol pattern plan to Navy Control before departure. We will set this as protocol in forty-eight hours from now. I already have the orders drawn up; they will be sent out later today.

"Where you go on your patrol is up to you, though anytime that you approach the station, you will advise the station ahead of time. This station is going to be very busy and deconfliction of arrival and departure times will become a necessary requirement in the near future."

Fiona got nods from all of her captains and then asked for an update on their ships and requirements. Once that was finished she dismissed the group.

"Fayad, what are we cooking tonight?" Fiona asked.

"I think Hanalei said something about couscous being the main course tonight," Fayad said. "I will ask the ladies to add a couple of more plates for you and Henadi. I am sure they will be pleased to have our daughter's namesake at our dinner table."

That got a smile and a nod from Henadi.

Maha-Oran, The Maha-Rrin System, 112 Light Years from Terra

The massive ship popped into existence well outside of the planet's gravity well and slowly made its way down to the space station that contained Planetary Control.

"Maha-Oran Control, this is NS Dewfall, Capt. Henadi Noor commanding, requesting a parking orbit near your space station, over."

"We acknowledge your presence, Dewfall. We are sending a track that we expect you to follow."

"Dewfall, roger, we have the track. Are the guests already on station or do we need to descend to the planet to pick them up? Over."

"The guests are currently not on the station; they are not expected to be here for some hours." There was a short pause before Planetary Control came back. "How long would it take you to pick them up, Dewfall?"

"Dewfall, once we are in a parking orbit, we can descend to the planet and pick up the guests inside of twenty Murt. We just need the numbers to transport in order to decide how many shuttles to send down, over."

"We understand. We will have the numbers for you before you arrive in the parking orbit."

"Dewfall, roger, out."

"Their comms protocols leave something to desire," the Comms O said to no one in particular.

"If I remember correctly, the Pod-Drran too had issues with comms protocols. We had to teach them ours. We will likely have to do the same with the Maha-Rrin," Capt. Noor commented.

"Control to the Dewfall. We ask that you provide enough transportation for sixty-two delegates."

"Dewfall, roger. We will be sending down twelve shuttles for the pick-up. Our shuttles are VIP Shuttles that can provide twelve passengers very comfortable rides, over."

"We shall inform those waiting. Stand-by."

The ship slipped into its parking orbit, dwarfed by the size of the space station. As had happened at Pod-Saar, the now inoperative ancient vessels of the Maha-Rrin had become de facto space stations in geosynchronous orbit. The ship could easily take The Dewfall onboard, however, Noor chose to remain in their parking orbit.

"Control, Dewfall, we are ready to send down the shuttles, do you have a preferred track to follow, over."

"We are sending the track now, Dewfall."

"Dewfall, roger, we have it now. We are sending out the shuttles. Expect them to land in approximately twenty Murt, over."

"Understood. Your instructions have been forwarded to the landing sight."

The small fleet of shuttles made its way down to the planet and landed at the designated site. The first people out of the shuttles were the three Pod-Drran, dressed in PSS.

"Why the pressure suits?" a minister asked.

"Our people have origins on the same planet, but we have been separated for many millennia. We do not know if we have pathogens that are lethal to each other. This is a sensible precaution," Nar-Tre advised.

"The humans will conduct a thorough medical scan on their ship, using Pod-Drran medical standards as a base. They will tell us if either of us have anything to fear," she finished, getting a nod from the Pemipinae.

"The humans are not in pressure suits," the same minister remarked.

"Human DNA is distinctive enough from our DNA that they, and we, have nothing to fear from diseases they could transmit or receive," Mind-Ur informed the minister. "The same is true of other member races of the Greater Community.

Once again, the Pemipinae nodded and the group was broken up and placed on their respective shuttles with the Pemipinae and several of her senior aids embarking with the Pod-Drran on the first shuttle. The shuttles lifted and leapt back into orbit. It wasn't long before they approached the odd looking ship.

They slipped through the Gara-Hinn shield and entered the ship, setting down on the deck before a ramp.

The group left the shuttles and gathered around the Pod-Drran behind a yellow line. "Welcome to The Dewfall," Mind-Ur told them. "This ship is the Flagship of Vice Admiral Fiona Marsh who is also the Director of Operations for Liramor-23.

"We will move up this ramp and be into a reception area where the Admiral will greet you. There are military personnel here. They mean you no harm. Do not react to whatever they do. It is part of their protocol for meeting important people.

"As soon as the meeting ceremony is completed, this ship can depart for Liramor-23, or you can have a tour of the ship before we leave local space. That choice will be left to you," Mind-Ur bowed to the Pemipinae.

"However, before we move up the ramp, we need to pass through the medical screening," Nar-Tree advised, pointing out the people in white outfits.

"This will not hurt," one of those people in white spoke, holding an instrument in front of one of the ministers who jumped when it made a sound. The person waved the instrument up and down in front of the minister and read what they saw.

"No pathogens dangerous to the Pod-Drran have been noted," the person spoke, you may step to the other side of the line, please," he pointed to the area just in front of the ramp.

The minister hesitantly moved forward as more of the people stepped up to the people in white. "Please form lines in front of the medical staff," Caye-Ur told the group. The Maha-Rrin swiftly formed into lines and were quickly passed through the screening, no pathogens noted.

Nodding, the Pod-Drran turned off the PSS, the electronic helmets disappearing with a pop. The three smiled and nodded to the group.

"Welcome to the NS Dewfall, cousins," Nar-Tre spoke. "Please follow me," she turned and led the way up the ramp into the reception area. On either side of a red carpet, there stood rows of people in uniform. At the end of the carpet, a person stepped out in front of the waiting reception committee and barked an order. The people on either side reacted to the order, momentarily arresting the progress of the Maha-Rrin.

Caye-Ur turned her head to those in the lead and gave a short shake of her head, silently reminding them to not react to the greeting ceremony. The Pemipinae nodded and stepped forward until they came to a stop in front of the person who had given the orders. The male, then snapped another order, to which the uniformed people responded. The Officer then gave a salute with an unusual sword and stepped to the side, while another officer that the Pemipinae recognized stepped forward.

"Well met Pemipinae, I am Vice Admiral Fiona Marsh, commanding Sector Fifty-Nine, and Director of Operations for Liramor-23," Fiona said, giving a low bow to the Pemipinae.

"Am I to assume that our planet falls into your area of control, Vice Admiral?" the Pemipinae asked.

"Sector Fifty-Nine is responsible for all of the Greater Community, Pemipinae. We support, protect, do patrols and customs, under the authority of the various governments of the Greater Community," Fiona explained.

"So you have ultimate command in the Greater Community?" one of the ministers asked.

"If you wish to look at it like that, then yes, I do," Fiona acknowledged. "However, what we are doing is a stop-gap measure for the greater community while they establish their own navies."

"Why do they not already have their own navies?" someone else asked.

"They do have their own navies," Fiona explained. "However, they do not have FTL ships of the type that we have. They have recently purchased our ship designs from us and are in the process of building up to their requirements. We, at Sector Fifty-Nine, are a stop-gap measure until that happens."

"This sounds like it could be a lengthy explanation," the Pemipinae said, stopping further debate on the issue and getting a nod of appreciation from Fiona.

Fiona introduced the senior members of the crew of the Dewfall to the Pemipinae, who introduced her ministers in turn. When asked about a tour of the ship, she asked to postpone that until the return journey.

Caye-Ur provided the delegates with their own wrist comps and showed them how to use it, while Captain Noor opened her own comp and ordered to move the ship out of orbit and jump.

A few minutes later, the notice of jump was given and they were promptly informed that they were now only a few minutes from Liramor-23 in the Piscium System. That surprised the Maha-Rrin, who looked at the monitors to see a very strange looking station in front of them.

The guests were shuttled over to the station, where they met the Ambassadors of the Interspecies Community in VIP reception. The stunned Maha-Rrin met, for the very first time, the very strange looking member species of the Greater Community.

As they moved out of reception, into the station proper, the translators on their comps translated the message 'Arriving, the Pemipinae, supreme ruler of the Maha-Rrin and Senior Ministers'.

Nar-Tre led them to the Interspecies Embassy and to a set of offices that were currently unoccupied. A sign, in Maha-Rrin script, said: Embassy of the Maha-Rrin. Below that line, were eleven other scripts that the Pemipinae did not recognize but was sure were the languages of the other members of the Interspecies Embassy.

The Pemipinae entered the offices and looked around, she noted that the Pod-Drran and the humans had remained outside and gave them a questioning look.

"Pemipinae, this is your embassy, we are not permitted to enter without your consent," Mind-Ur informed her, surprising the Pemipinae.

"Please enter," she told them. They smiled and entered the embassy, bowing to the Pemipinae.

"Perhaps you would like to see an operating Embassy to see how it functions?" Fiona asked.

"Yes, please, Dir. Marsh, I would like that," the Pemipinae replied.

"They moved to the human embassage where Nar-Tre knocked on the door. A person came to the door and bowed.

"The Pemipinae, the supreme ruler of the Maha-Rrin, requests permission to enter the Embassy of the Union," Nar-Tre said formally.

"I will inform the Ambassador," the male stated, moving inside, but leaving the door ajar. Nar-Tre remained outside, waiting patiently.

A female, that the Pemipinae remembered as Ambassador Michelle Halten came to the door and invited the Pemipinae and her entourage into the embassy.

"Welcome to the Union Embassy, Pemipinae," Michelle greeted her.

"We are pleased at your greeting, Ambassador. Tell me, is it normal to be so formal?" the Pemipinae asked.

"Once we know each other, we will not be so formal, however, this is to show that each of the embassies is distinct and considered to be the home soil of the respective species. We enter only on invitation, though normally that is done in advance so that the respective representative is greeted on arrival," Michelle informed them.

"The layout of each embassy is roughly the same, though some are larger than others to take into account the larger size of the race involved," Michelle explained.

"The offices are keyed to the comps of those who work in the embassy and will only open to others in an emergency, such as a fire. There is a reception area and five offices inside each embassy and one meeting/conference room. If more space is needed, the embassy can request time in the larger Main Conference Room of the Interspecies Embassy.

"The front office/receptions area is where most business is taken care of. It is where the curious and those who are requesting aid of the embassy make arrangements for assistance from the embassy. The front office also controls the meeting/conference room of each embassy.

Behind the front office are the Ambassador's office and his/her secretary/aid and an office for the Assistant Ambassador and his/her aid, should there be an Assistant Ambassador. The fifth office is used at the discretion of the Ambassador. There are smaller offices that are used by the support personnel for each embassy, however, they are not dedicated to each embassy and can be allocated as required. This gives the embassy some flexibility in its use.

"It is the best design that can be arranged considering the limited space on this station," Michelle explained.

The Pemipinae noted a sign on the office wall and scanned it with her comp. It promptly told her that the sign indicated this was the Official Embassy of the Terran Union to the Interspecies Embassy on Liramor-23. The Pemipinae noted that her people had followed her lead and were also scanning signs on the walls.

When one of the ministers went to scan a document, she was stopped by the secretary. "It is considered impolite to scan documents inside another embassy, Pemipinae," Michelle explained. "It is considered the same as industrial espionage."

The Pemipinae apologized for her minister explaining that they had no such thing as embassies on Maha-Oran, though they did know the concept of an Ambassador.

The group was led down to the large Main Conference Room, which was large enough to hold over one hundred people, in front of the main doors on Lima Deck. They were escorted out into the large area in front of the main doors, where they saw all the little shrines, including a shrine to the Goddess as depicted by the Pod-Drran.

"In this location, most of the member races of the Greater Community have placed small shrines to their principal deities. Included is the shrine to the Goddess Poda-La of the Pod-Drran, which you might remember from the recent dedication ceremony," Nar-Tre let them know.

"You will be permitted to place a shrine here." Nar-Tre indicated. She turned to a hatch that whisked open that showed a room with several long benches in it.

"This is the unofficial chapel of Liramor-23. It is a multi-denominational chapel and may be used by any one of the religions depicted here on this floor. Whatever you bring to this room, you are asked to remove for the next group that might use it. So far, we have not had an instance of double booking with this room, as we can make allowances for timings, shifting things between the morning, afternoon, or evening as required to allow for as much practical use as we can."

They returned to the Main Conference Room where the other Ambassadors and Dir. Marsh were waiting for them with people they all recognized.

Nar-Tre made introductions: "Pemipinae, may I introduce you to the Phrat-Mahdi of the House of Piscium, Hanalei Anar, her child, Ikekia Fatima Tema Se-Lam Poda-Rai-Dosri Piscium, known as Ikekia Se-Lam Poda-Rai-Dosri to the Pod-Drran, the Atohan, Junelliya Atohan Herlan, her child, Zarrenia Henadi Se-Lam Poda-Rai-Latti Piscium, known as Zarrenia Se-Lam Poda-Rai-Latti to the Pod-Drran, the mate of the two females, Fayad Piscium Sai-Ro, and their friends the Chlaerge, Juneya, Hanaya, and Fayea."

The Cats, riding the heads of their respective family member, all rose up into dominance pose and sounded out their dominance call at the Maha-Rrin, while Zarrenia reached out to her sister, the two children and the Atohan manifested their power, glowing before the Maha-Rrin. The Pod-Drran knelt, as did every Maha-Rrin except the Pemipinae. Some of the Maha-Rrin hid their faces from the Cats.

*Please rise, we not gods,* a calm voice said in fractured Maha-Rrin, a sense of calm sweeping over the group. When the ministers looked up, the three were no longer manifesting their power and looked like ordinary humans again. The Chlaerge had slid down onto the shoulders of their Pod mates, chittering to them and rubbing their heads against their cheeks.

*Would like meet Chlaerge, Pemipinae?* asked the Atohan, again in fractured Maha-Rrin.

The Pemipinae's eyes suddenly widened at the prospect of being greeted by the Chlaerge.

*Is this possible?* she asked the strange female.

"Juneya, would you like to introduce yourself to the Pemipinae?" she asked her friend in Standard, the Pemipinae's comp instantly translating the words.

The Chlaerge gave out a chittering sound and then suddenly jumped from the Atohan's shoulder and FLEW THROUGH THE AIR!! The Pemipinae was so shocked that she held perfectly still as the Chlaerge landed on her shoulder.

The little creature chittered in her ear and then rubbed her head against her cheek. The Pemipinae felt the oddest sensation in her mind as she looked into the tiny eyes of the Chlaerge. Somehow, she understood that the Chlaerge was looking into her soul and judging if she was fit.

The sensation suddenly stopped, and the little creature made the strangest rumbling sound in her ear, surprising the Pemipinae yet again.

"Juneya like." a tiny voice said and the Pemipinae looked over at the two children who were clapping their tiny hands as the Chlaerge began to sing out at all the excitement.

*Chlaerge say you good,* the Atohan pronounced.

*Sorry for words. Only study little time,* Junelliya said. The Pemipinae then realized that the Atohan had to learn the Maha-Rrin language.

*How long,* a curious Pemipinae asked.

*When you decide come,* the Atohan said.

If she had interpreted this correctly, that meant that the Atohan had only been studying the Maha-Rrin language since they had made the decision to come to the station, a little over two weeks ago.

"The Atohan was taught the ancient language of Ruhm-Oran by the Goddess herself, has learnt the Pod-Drran language and is now learning the Maha-Rrin language. Her children are just as amazing as they are learning all of the languages of the Greater Community," Nar-Tre pronounced with obvious pride in the family, her friends.

"Juneya, allow the others to say hello," the Atohan said to her friend in Standard. Juneya made a sound in the Pemipinae's ear and leapt up to fly over to the Atohan while the other two Chlaerge flew over and landed on either shoulder of her shoulders. They rubbed their tiny heads against her cheek, chittered and then rumbled in her ear in stereo, sending chills up the Pemipinae's spine.

Just as quickly as they had come, the Chlaerge jumped back to their Pod mates and settled quietly on their shoulders, leaving the Pemipinae a little disappointed but still pleased by what had happened.

"I felt the first Chlaerge look into my mind," she exclaimed to the Atohan.

"The Chlaerge can do that. They helped find the evil ones of the Pod-Drran during the recent crisis," Nar-Tre attested. "It is a unique feeling to have the Chlaerge look into your mind and soul."

The Pemipinae nodded her head in agreement.

"Did you bring the flag of the Maha-Rrin, Pemipinae," Dir. Marsh asked.

"We did," she stated, turning to her entourage. Someone passed her the flag and she handed it to the Director.