Firebrand

"Borealis has never been invaded," Lorza said, "they have never faced an external threat. Their conflicts happen between territories, not between planets. The auxiliaries that they provide as part of their commitment to the Coalition travel light-years from home, and fight their battles on far-off planets that couldn't even be seen from their homelands with a telescope. It is not hard to understand how they might see regional problems as being more pressing. It is foolish, no doubt, but understandable."

"God forbid a hive fleet should ever make landfall on Borealis," Moralez added with a shake of his head. "Can you imagine the chaos? The Rask wouldn't want any Elysians to set foot in their territory, the Araxie would refuse to work with the Rask, and we're not even in formal contact with half of the other territories. Trying to organize them would be a logistical nightmare."

"Maybe we should put all of our support behind a favored territory and help them to overthrow the rest," Boyd suggested with a decidedly sinister smile. "Make sure we pick a winner who does as they're told."

"Yes, I'm sure installing puppet governments is the solution," Moralez replied with a disapproving frown. "You're UNNI through and through, aren't you?"

"What can I say? They pay us to think outside of the box."

"Let's keep you securely inside the box while you're on my station, how about that?"

"Come," Lorza interrupted, giving Boyd an encouraging push with her furry hand. "We must interview the next ambassador, the Security Chief has no time for petty arguments."

"Alright, alright," Boyd grumbled. "Don't get your tail in a twist."

***

"How do I look?" Holly asked, standing before the monitor that was mounted on the wall in the living room. Harry had moved the furniture out of the way to clear some space for the conference, and with a little encouragement, Blackjack had shuffled away to continue his nap out of view.

"Very ambassadorial," he replied. "Are you ready? The Araxie delegate should be comin' online any minute now."

She nodded, then reached up towards one of her antennae with an upper hand, running her fingers through the fine hairs like a cat cleaning its whiskers. The standby symbol on the monitor changed to an animation of a wireless signal, Holly looking to Harry for reassurance.

"It's startin'," he warned, stepping clear so that the camera didn't pick him up. The screen flickered, and then the face of the Araxie ambassador appeared. Her coat of velvety, black fur reflected the light to give her a distinct shine, her eyes a striking shade of emerald green. Unlike the pink of her Borealan cousins, her nose and lips were the same charcoal color as her fur, and her hair was cropped into a neat bob. She was shown from the chest up, her black, two-piece suit matching the color of her fur save for the white collar. It was a perfect fit, perhaps tailored, giving her an air of class and formality that many of her counterparts lacked due to their strange choice of alien attire. She radiated confidence, reminding Harry of a business executive, or some kind of CEO. He wasn't usually one for chasing tails, but her poise was enough to make him reconsider.

"Ambassador Zuki," Holly began with a bow of her head, "thank you for agreeing to speak with me."

"That is my job, after all," the Araxie replied with a smile. "You never gave us a name when you appeared in the conference room so abruptly. What would you have me call you?"

"Ambassador will suffice," Holly replied.

"As you wish, Ambassador. I can guess as to the purpose of this call, you hope to earn my favor before the next council meeting, you want to gain my vote."

"You would be correct," Holly admitted, Zuki cocking her head curiously as she listened. "I am not here to play games or to maneuver my way into a more favorable position. I am not negotiating a trade deal in which I can seek higher profits, or the minutia of a treaty, I come before you seeking only to ensure the survival of my people. With most species, their right to exist is assumed, it is their default state. The Jarilans differ in that we descend from a race who have been dehumanized, viewed as pests, undesirables. We do not consider ourselves victims, we understand why this is the case. All I ask is the opportunity to prove that we are different, to demonstrate our value to the Coalition."

"And what value is that?" Zuki asked. "I know why you have chosen to direct your efforts towards swaying me. My people have no history with yours, we bear no grudges, we have not yet fought one another. I am an obvious choice for securing your winning vote."

"My intention is not to deceive you," Holly replied, her confidence faltering a little. "What you say is true, you may be my best chance to secure a majority vote. But it is not charity that I ask of you, only your fair consideration. The Jarilo colony has much to offer the Coalition. Our knowledge of genetics far exceeds that of any other member species, we possess biomechanical technology that has no equivalent, and our manpower will become impressive given enough time."

"Weapons and soldiers might tempt the more...aggressive members of the Coalition," Zuki said with a wry smile, "but we Araxie have different interests. We are what you might call a developing territory, we are in the process of industrializing."

"Then you are uniquely positioned to benefit from what we can offer," Holly insisted. "Your first spacecraft could be cultivated in Jarilan shipyards, tailored to your every need, living craft that need little maintenance. Your people could benefit from our genetic technologies, making them stronger and longer-lived, more resistant to illness. We could build cities and factories for you with armies of Workers who need no rest."

"You offer much, Ambassador, yet you ask little in return. I know enough about your people to recognize that this present...vulnerability...is only temporary. Sooner than many of us can comprehend, your hive will once again be at full strength, and with that comes the possibility that it will return to an aggressive state. I cannot help but suspect that your promise of lavish gifts is only a ploy designed to buy you time. What guarantees can you give me?"

Holly was lost in thought, her furry antennae waving, her eyes darting back and forth as the gears in her head turned. Harry was beginning to doubt whether she had an answer. The Araxie was right, there was no guarantee that she could give, she was asking for trust from a position of absolute weakness. She was currently in I'll pay you back, I swear territory, and Ambassador Zuki was holding all of the cards. Harry watched as her pink eyes returned to the monitor, her lower pair of fists clenching.

"There is currently a UNN war fleet in orbit above Jarilo," she began. "It has enough firepower to reduce the valley in which my colony was founded to cinders. That same valley is surrounded on all sides by fortified UNN outposts that have been tasked with containing us should we prove troublesome. My people are locked in a cage with a gun squarely pointed at their heads. If your trust is too much to ask, then perhaps the knowledge that we can be utterly eradicated with a single order will be enough to assuage your concerns."

Zuki's confident smile faltered a little, she didn't appear to like the way that Holly's proposal sounded.

"Tell me, Ambassador," she replied. "Do you believe that the Workers that you offered to provide would be able to coordinate with Valbaran architects to construct ecologically sound cities and manufacturing centers in the Araxie territory? We are facing problems attempting to modernize while also preserving our way of life and the jungles that surround us. Proposals by the UNN and the Brokers have been...less than satisfactory."

"Gladly," Holly replied, almost failing to conceal her relief. "It is my understanding that the Valbarans excel at designing urban centers that blend seamlessly with the nature around them. I am confident that Jarilan Workers could accelerate the construction process by several orders of magnitude, perhaps even completing projects in months, rather than years."

"And if the Araxie were to pledge their support for your application," Zuki continued, "am I to assume that the Jarilans would prioritize said projects?"

"I'm sure that my Queen would see it as an opportunity to express her gratitude," Holly said, picking up on the ambassador's sly tone. She really was attuned to the subtleties of social interaction.

"Good," the Araxie replied, her confident smile returning. "You have given me much to consider, Ambassador. I cannot give you an answer immediately, but consider the Araxie...interested."

Holly bowed her head low, her dangling antennae brushing the carpet.

"Thank you for your consideration, Ambassador Zuki. We will not forget this."

Zuki gave her a gentle nod, then closed the connection, the feed cutting out. Holly seemed to deflate, her four arms hanging limply at her sides now that she didn't have to keep up appearances.

"That went better than I expected," Harry said, walking over to stand beside her. She glanced up at him, a head shorter than the six-foot human, the plates that made up her face arranging into a smile that he was finding less and less objectionable the more time that he spent with her.

"It is not certain yet, but Ambassador Zuki sounds like she intends to vote in our favor. She is certainly wily, I expect that if she supports us, she will expect some form of rebate or discount on the construction projects in exchange. It is a price that we are more than willing to pay if we are buying our survival."

"What do Bugs charge for construction jobs?" Harry wondered aloud.

"I do not know," she chuckled, covering her mouth with a dainty hand in a way that mimicked the human gesture exactly. "I do not believe that a Bug has ever charged anyone for anything before. We will have to learn more so as not to be taken advantage of in the future."

"Do you still want to talk to the Valbarans?" he asked.

"Yes," she replied. "There is a chance that the Araxie ambassador will change her mind, however remote. I should attempt to secure as many votes as possible."

"The Valbarans seemed a little more...agitated when you arrived," Harry added, "what's your approach?"

"The Araxie has given me some ideas," she replied. She reached up and began to clean her antennae with her upper arms, like someone stroking their beard while deep in thought. "I have something to offer them that I believe they want dearly. It remains to be seen if their hatred will overpower their desire."

"Then I'll make the call," Harry said with a nod. "Want a hot chocolate to calm your nerves, or would that detract from your statesmanship?"

"I would like a hot chocolate," she replied with a smile.

***

"I'm tellin' you, Vos isn't going to like this," Boyd complained as he hurried to match pace with Moralez. He was marching along with purpose, the bustling crowds of Navy personnel in the military quarter parting before him as though they could somehow sense his determination.

"I don't care what Admiral Vos does and does not like," he snarled, making a beeline for one of the massive hangar doors that towered over the walkway. "I will conduct this investigation as I see fit. If he wants to obstruct me, then he's free to do that, but I'll go to the Admiralty if I have to. It's one thing to discipline me for what happened on the hub, but it's quite another to actively prevent me from carrying out my duties. There's no way that he can sell that to the other Admirals."

"Perhaps we could interview the Krell, or the Araxie ambassador instead?" Lorza asked. She was always the more diplomatic of the two.

"No point," Moralez muttered. "The Krell wouldn't do this, and I don't think that the Araxie would either. They don't have the motive, the means, or the connections to pull something like this off."

"Shouldn't we at least be thorough?" Boyd asked, but Moralez silenced him with a wave of his prosthetic hand.

"We interview the Broker. Nobody is above suspicion, nobody is exempt from the legal process."

"Actually, he has diplomatic immunity," Boyd warned. "So he is exempt from the legal process, that's literally what that means. Lorza, help me out here, you walking carpet."

The Polar gave him a shrug, even she couldn't think of a way to deter the Chief.

They entered through a smaller door, emerging into the cavernous hangar. Far to their right was the gaudy Elysian frigate, its red hull decorated with ornate, golden murals. To their left was the odd Valbaran spaceplane with its colored lighting strips, and between them was the Broker vessel. The cigar-shaped spacecraft still seemed to float on a cushion of air, its silver hull completely featureless. There wasn't even a subtle indent where Moralez knew the entrance to be.

"Last chance to reconsider this before we all get written up," Boyd grumbled, but Moralez ignored him. He strode closer to the vessel, his prosthetic foot tapping against the deck, coming to a stop beside it. The air beneath it was somewhat disturbed, it looked like a heat haze on baking asphalt. Whatever forced was holding the thing aloft, it had some visible impact on the world around it.

He held up one of his prosthetic hands, feeling an odd tingling sensation in his synthetic nerves. It was a feeling that he had almost forgotten, reminding him of sleeping on his arm funny and waking to find it numb. Pins and needles, that was the name. Something about the ship was interfering with his robotics, it might be emitting an electromagnetic field of some kind. It was such an odd sensation, like suddenly developing a sixth sense, Moralez experimenting as he waved his hands around.

"I don't think it opens for interpretive dance," Boyd complained. "If you're gonna do it, then get on with it."

"I'm going to," the Chief snapped, glaring back over his shoulder. He cleared his throat, clasping his tingling hands behind his back. "Ambassador!" he said, raising his voice so that it echoed through the empty hangar. "My name is Security Chief Moralez, and these are Agents Boyd and Lorza of Naval Intelligence. I was wondering if you'd be kind enough to grant us a few minutes of your time? I would have called ahead to arrange a meeting, but I couldn't find any way to reach you."

They waited in silence, the seconds ticking by until Moralez started to feel a little silly. He glanced back at Boyd, who shrugged, Lorza watching the cigar-shaped vessel warily.

"It really would help our investigation immensely," the Chief continued, feeling like he was talking to a wall. "It's about the attempted assassination on the hub."

He waited a moment longer, and then the eerie silence was broken by a low, resonating hum. The silvery skin of the vessel began to shift, opening like an organic orifice, a landing ramp extruding from the hull as though the malleable material was being sculpted by invisible hands. It touched the deck, then from within the darkness emerged a white shape, the Broker standing on its skeletal legs at the top of the ramp. It peered down at them, scrutinizing them with its array of strange sensory apparatus, silent and unknowable.

"This summons is highly irregular," it stated in its tinny, synthesized voice. "State your business."

Moralez quickly overcame his amazement at the fact that simply shouting at the Broker vessel had worked, standing up straight and trying to put on an air of formality.

"Thank you for your time, Ambassador. We wondered if we could discuss what happened on the hub? We'd like to hear your perspective, as you were present at the time of the attack."

The robotic creature hesitated for a few moments, its lenses focusing on the trio, and then it began to descend the ramp. It stopped at the bottom, not deigning to set foot on the deck, but close enough now that they could have a polite conversation.

"Very well, I will hear your queries."

Half of him hadn't even been expecting to get this audience, and now that he had it, he needed to tread very carefully. Vos would be angry enough that he had spoken to the Broker, let alone if the interview went badly.

"We couldn't help but notice that your...chassis, is equipped with a great deal of sensory equipment," Moralez began. "Is there anything that you picked up during the incident that our sensors might have missed, or that might not be obvious to us? Anything outside of the visible spectrum, any wireless signals being transmitted from inside the room? We have reason to believe that one of the ambassadors was transmitting data illicitly."

"Your communication systems are a soup of poorly encrypted radio transmissions and unshielded electromagnetic interference," the alien replied, Moralez unsure of which camera to focus on. "These signals saturate the station, making their origin difficult to ascertain."

"I see..." he muttered. "And what about you, Ambassador? My understanding is that you are not required to submit to security screenings before visiting the hub due to the nature of your suit, it would be rather futile. Are you able to send and receive messages from within the conference room?"

"The capabilities of Broker technology are not subject to UNN scrutiny," the alien replied, Moralez frowning as its shining lenses focused on him. "This line of questioning is not permitted."

He crossed his arms, considering his next move as the implacable creature watched him.

"Ambassador, I'm trying to be polite about this so as not to cause an incident, but you are presently a suspect in an ongoing investigation. While you are present on this UNN facility, you will submit to UNN law. If you should choose to exercise your diplomatic rights, then that is your prerogative, but there is nothing to be gained by dodging questions. You have agreed to remain on the station of your own volition, and I thank you for that, but I do require your further cooperation in this matter."

The alien's innumerable sensors tracked and zoomed, its robotic voice going silent for a few moments. Perhaps it was considering his challenge, or maybe it was communing in secret with its fellows through unknown means. It was impossible to tell.

"I will cooperate," it finally replied, seeming to wake from its temporary lethargy. "All inquiries that relate to the incident will be answered truthfully, but no unrelated information will be divulged. Is this acceptable, Security Chief Moralez?"

"Very acceptable, thank you for your cooperation, Ambassador."

"In relation to your initial query, no sensory data that was gathered during the security council meeting was transmitted to any third parties."

"So you are able to record and transmit data during the meetings?" Moralez asked, raising an eyebrow. "Are you aware that this goes against UNN policy?"

"It is permitted by your Admiralty," the Broker replied, "we have violated no laws or treaties."

"Is that so?" Moralez mused. It was a little difficult to interview a suspect when they were privy to information that he was not. It sounded like the Brokers were given a great deal of special exemptions from protocol and policy on the station, without the knowledge of their peers. How might the other council members react if they knew that they were being recorded in secret and that the Brokers were leveraging unfair advantages during the proceedings with the apparent consent of the Admiralty? He knew what Vos would say, the Admiral would claim that it was a matter of Naval security and forbid him from pursuing the matter further.

"Security Chief," the creature continued, its synthesized voice echoing in the empty hangar. "The assertion that the Brokers would carry out this attack is groundless. We voted in favor of the Jarilo colony being admitted to the Coalition, we foresee a profitable and mutually beneficial relationship developing with them. What motivation would we have to sabotage the proceedings?"