Firebrand

"When a crime is committed, we must determine three factors," Moralez replied as he held up three polymer fingers. "Those are means, motive, and opportunity. You were present during the meeting, ergo you had the opportunity to transmit a signal outside of the room, and you certainly had the means to do so. As for the motive, I can speculate. As secretive as your people are, we know that you founded the Coalition several centuries before the United Nations became a signatory, and that you were waging your own war against the Betelgeusians for that period of time. You have been fighting for as long as we have been a spacefaring species. That goes beyond a simple conflict, it's more of a blood feud."

"An anthropocentric interpretation of affairs," the alien replied. Was that a hint of irritation in its voice? "The Brokers do not take such things into consideration. We judge our actions in terms of what will bring us prosperity, and what will not. There is no profit in souring our relationship with our allies, or in failing to take advantage of new technologies. That the Jarilans are of Betelgeusian descent is irrelevant to the value that they represent."

"And what exactly do they represent to you?" Moralez asked, gesturing to the floating vessel. "It seems to me like you guys have the technology side of things covered."

"The Jarilans are in possession of unique Betelgeusian biotechnology that represents perhaps tens, or even hundreds of thousands of years of development. Possession of these technologies will allow us to reverse-engineer them for our own purposes, and probe them for weaknesses that would give us an advantage in future encounters. The Jarilans also represent a significant industrial and military force, which will benefit us greatly during the trials that await us. This opportunity for cooperation may never present itself again, the circumstances of their surrender are unique. As such, the death of the Jarilan ambassador would be an unacceptable loss."

It was impossible to tell whether the alien was sincere or not, it had no facial expressions to read, and very few inflections in its tinny voice. Boyd and Lorza were of no help, and he had to wonder if they knew more about the Brokers and their relationship with the UNN's brass than they were letting on. Either way, it wasn't looking like this interview was going anywhere. There was no basis for assuming that the creature was lying, and it certainly seemed to be making a good case for itself. There wasn't anything to be gained by pressing the issue further.

"One more thing," he added. "A thought occurs to me. If someone were to plant a listening device on your...person...without your knowledge, you wouldn't be able to detect the signals that it emits due to the interference that you described, and it would not be found due to the lack of security screening. Do you think it's possible that someone could get close enough to you to accomplish that?"

"Perhaps," the Broker admitted, "but such a device would be easily detected once I had returned to my vessel. The interior is shielded from the ambient pollution that your communications systems produce. I have found no such device."

"Thank you for your time, Ambassador," Moralez said with an obvious finality. "Your cooperation is appreciated. We'll leave you to your business now."

The Broker did not respond, it merely turned its back on them, marching up the ramp and returning to the darkness of its strange vessel. The ramp receded behind it, melding back into the featureless hull as though it had never been there at all. The orifice that served as the ship's airlock sealed up, knitting together like a healing wound until there was nothing left but flush, silvery metal.

"Satisfied?" Boyd asked.

"For now," Moralez replied, turning back in the direction of the hangar door. "You guys know things about the Brokers that you're not telling me, don't you?"

Boyd and Lorza exchanged a glance as they followed behind him.

"Our security clearance is far higher than yours," Lorza explained, "it is only natural that we should know things that you do not."

"And I don't suppose you can you share any of it?" he asked, already knowing the answer.

"No can do, Sheriff," Boyd replied. "This one's out of your jurisdiction."

"If you knew something that pertained to the investigation, something important, would you tell me?"

Boyd hesitated, considering carefully before giving his reply.

"It's not up to us, Chief. We're Naval Intelligence, keeping secrets is part of our job description. We can't tell you anything that's above your clearance level, not without ironclad need-to-know, and you don't need to know."

"Alright," he grumbled, knowing that he couldn't strongarm the agents. "At least tell me one thing. Have the Brokers ever done anything along these lines before? Staged an attack of some kind in order to achieve a larger goal?"

"In our line of work we call that a false flag," Boyd said, his tone becoming ominous. "I can't say if they've ever done anything like that, but I will say that they've been known to step back and let events take their natural course if it results in some kind of gain for them."

"Do you think they did that on the hub?" Moralez asked.

Boyd didn't reply, he merely gave him a shrug.

***

"Are you sure you want to go through with this?" Harry asked, Holly cleaning her antennae nervously as she stood before the wall-mounted monitor. "You only needed one more vote for a majority, and it sounded to me like the Araxie ambassador was pretty convinced."

"I must explore every possible avenue," she replied. "I can leave nothing to chance, not when the fate of my people is at stake."

"Alright," he mumbled, "it's just that they seemed pretty pissed when you showed up in the conference room. I'm still surprised they agreed to see you at all, at least that means they're willin' to listen if nothin' else."

"You are making me nervous," she said half-jokingly.

"Got it, got it..."

Harry backed up, Holly steeling herself as they waited for the call. After a couple of minutes, the standby symbol changed, a video feed coming through. Four alien faces stared back at her, the strange, flexible sheaths of muscle that hung from their heads like pigtails opening to reveal layered feathers. The colorful plumes flashed in shades of yellow and purple, four pairs of striking, violet eyes fixing on Holly. They had long snouts that made them look like lizards to Harry, or maybe dinosaurs, their skin made up of a mosaic of fine scales that came in varying tones of green.

The four Valbarans remained silent, watching the Bug suspiciously, waiting for her to make the first move.

"Honorable Ambassadors," she began, taking the formal approach. "I thank you for granting me this opportunity to speak with you. Our first introduction was cut short, I had hoped that I might rectify that."

"My name is Netza'cui'atl," one of them replied, her odd name slipping through Harry's fingers almost immediately. Her tinny voice was so strange, distinctly female, but with an accent that almost seemed to vary from word to word. It was like she was imitating the mannerisms of half a dozen people, his brain able to pick each one out instinctively. "You may refer to me and my flockmates as Ensi."

"As you wish, Ensi," Holly replied with a demure bow.

"We realize that we may have reacted emotionally during our first meeting," another of their number added, "but the Val'ba'ra'nay do not see passion as something that should be curtailed or repressed. We believe our feelings to be valid, but we will grant you your request for an audience. If we are to integrate into this Coalition, then we must be malleable, willing to change our perspectives."

"You are wise, Ensi," Holly replied. "I will try to be worthy of your consideration."

"Please proceed," another of them said, Holly nodding her head in response.

"During my short stay on this station, I have realized that my attempts to distance my people from our Betelgeusian heritage have been fruitless. As much as I would like for you and the other species of the Coalition to see the Jarilans as a separate and unique entity, we share too many traits with our belligerent cousins."

She began to pace back and forth before the monitor, keeping her lower pair of hands clasped in front of her while gesturing with the upper pair to add a little more animation to her presentation.

"I was raised and educated by a human, a former Marine turned naturalist. One of the values that he instilled in me can best be summarized by the idiom; never judge a book by its cover. It means that a person's motives and values cannot be ascertained through judging them outwardly. What I neglected to understand until recently, however, is that actions are how a person is best judged. Despite that realization, I find myself unable to act. I have traveled light-years from my home for the sole purpose of speaking before you, yet what I want to achieve cannot be accomplished through that alone. It is a quandary that I have mulled over a great deal during my confinement in this suite."

She paused before the monitor again, addressing each of the Valbarans in turn.

"I must ask your trust, although I have not earned it. I must ask your sympathy, although I do not deserve it. I cannot back up my promises with actions, not yet, all I can do is assure you that I have the authority to make agreements on behalf of my Queen. She will honor them."

The four aliens paused to convene, speaking in a language of rapid chirps and squeaks that sounded to Harry like a soundbite being played back at ten times normal speed. Their hurried conversation was punctuated with flurries of colorful feathers, conveying inflection, and emotion. When they were done, all four of them turned back to scrutinize Holly in unison.

"We appreciate the difficulty of your situation," the one who had called herself Netza began, "but we cannot give you the benefit of the doubt. Regardless of what you claim, you share the same genealogy as those who reduced our colony world to cinders, who invaded our homeworld in an attempt to exterminate us. Those instinctual drives are still locked within you, you haven't fundamentally changed, you have merely been forced to adapt to a new situation. Without the current constraints that curtail that behavior, would you not revert to your genocidal ways?"

"Why must everyone bring up hypotheticals?" Holly replied, her frustration getting the better of her momentarily. "What we might do, what we could do, what-ifs. What about what we are doing right now? Does that count for nothing? Does sending me here, having me stand before you and offer you our submission, have less meaning than imagined threats?"

Harry had never seen her lose her composure before. For a moment, he wondered whether all of the pressure was getting to her, but then he remembered what the Ensi had said earlier. The Val'ba'ra'nay do not see passion as something that should be curtailed or repressed. Holly was not losing her temper, she was playing to the crowd. Would her bold strategy pay off?

The aliens engaged in another rapid-fire discussion, then turned back to the ambassador.

"We see your point," one of them said, a flash of sympathy in her violet eyes. "Perhaps our speculation is unfair, but you must understand our perspective. Millions have perished at the hands of the insect fleets, we were utterly defeated at Ker'gue'la, and we would have lost of the battle of Val'ba'ra was it not for the Coalition fleet that came to our aid. Our civilization, our species...it was almost extinguished. Now you ask us to bring you into our flock, to trust you, to forgive your transgressions."

"We realize that yours is not the same hive that attacked Ker'gue'la and Val'ba'ra," another added hastily, "but the comparisons are unavoidable."

"You speak of promises," a third said, her feathery headdress flashing in shades of yellow and orange. "What exactly do you offer?"

Holly straightened herself, her demeanor changing, her four hands clasping behind her back to give the air of a general who was about to command her troops.

"I believe that we can offer you something of value, something that will not only benefit your people but potentially begin to make amends for the actions of our cousins."

That got their attention, the Valbarans appearing to huddle closer to their camera as they waited for her to elaborate.

"Would it be inaccurate," Holly continued, "to say that taking back the planet Ker'gue'la is your people's greatest aspiration at this time? Righting that wrong, avenging your dead?"

The four aliens communed again, chattering for a moment before giving their reply.

"After rebuilding our defenses on Val'ba'ra, that is our most immediate goal, yes. We had hoped to enlist the aid of the Coalition in the endeavor."

"The Jarilo colony pledges their support. We are prepared to provide you with an invasion fleet once we have replenished our numbers sufficiently. Betelgeusians are evolved to fight one another, we can develop castes tailored to countering their forces on the ground, and in greater numbers than the other Coalition members can muster. We are also prepared to provide technology and logistical support that will help even the odds. We can intercept their pheromone signals just as a conventional soldier might intercept enemy troop orders over radio, we know their battle doctrine, we understand the layouts of their tunnels instinctively. Imagine if every Coalition unit was provided with a Jarilan Drone who could warn of impending attacks and track enemy movements. You will know their secrets, their weaknesses, they will be robbed of their strengths."

The Valbarans began to talk hurriedly again, Holly not missing a beat as she continued her proposal.

"And when the battle is won, and the enemy presence has been excised from the planet, legions of our Workers will help you rebuild. They can work longer and harder than any vertebrate, they are tireless, driven. Your fallen cities could be repaired, and new infrastructure could be built in mere months rather than years. With our help, Ker'gue'la will be cleaned of its infestation and made habitable again with the fewest possible Valbaran casualties, and in the smallest possible window of time."

The aliens became even more animated, pausing to glance at her occasionally as they debated in their strange tongue. They seemed to want to come to some kind of consensus before they gave her a reply. Two of them were apparently arguing, their feathers flashing in shades of red. When they were done, they turned their reptilian snouts back to Holly.

"Your offer is an intriguing one, Ambassador," the leftmost Valbaran began. "You have clearly studied our history, learned what offers we might find most tempting. We question your sincerity in wanting to right wrongs after having argued so passionately to distance your people from the Betelgeusians, or your cousins, as you refer to them. But we do not doubt your ability to follow through with your promises, we are all too familiar with the capabilities of a hive fleet."

"The question that we must now ask ourselves," another of the bird-like aliens added, "is whether the potential benefits outweigh the potential dangers. We do not doubt that you could raise a powerful fleet in time, but who would its might be directed against? That is harder to determine."

"We have your assurances," the rightmost of their number said, "but you yourself have explained why that may not be enough. Yet we also concede that you must be given the opportunity to prove yourselves. If there is a chance of peaceful cooperation, however remote, then we must consider it."

"Then...you will support our application?" Holly asked, the antennae on her head standing erect and seeming to flutter in an invisible breeze. She sounded almost afraid to say it out loud, as though acknowledging the possibility might somehow cause it to escape her grasp.

"There will be another council meeting in the coming days, where your status will be decided," Netza replied. "The Coalition has been very fair in allowing us a vote on the matter despite our membership not being fully formalized yet, and we intend to make use of it. I will discuss the issue further with my flockmates, and we will present our decision on that day."

"Thank you for your consideration, Ensi," Holly replied with a respectful bow of her head. "I am sure that you will vote wisely, whatever the outcome."

The four Valbarans replied with a subtle nod of their heads, the feed shutting off a moment later. Harry watched as Holly left her place in front of the monitor, making her way over to the couch. She turned and flopped down onto the cushions, lounging in a decidedly un-ambassadorial fashion, one of her four arms draped over the armrest.

"Congratulations," Harry said with a grin, waltzing over to join her. He sat down on the opposite end of the couch, glancing over at Holly, whose eyes were closed as she leaned back against the headrest. "You've changed a few minds today."

"I was designed to perform ambassadorial duties," she replied, the plates on her face arranging into a smile as she loosed a low chuckle. "So why do I feel like I'm barely pulling through?"

"Maybe you're just ambassador-ing harder than anyone intended," he suggested with a wink. "You should take a break, you know, wind down a little. If you keep up this pace for too long, then you're gonna get burned out."

"Burned out?" she asked, opening her eyes and cocking her head at him inquisitively.

"Yeah, exhausted, drained. If you don't take time to recuperate, then your work will suffer, you can't keep going indefinitely."

"My people do not require breaks," she replied dismissively, closing her eyes again.

"Well you sure look like you do," he said, her antennae flicking with annoyance. "Come on, don't you think that this is cause enough to celebrate? It's not in the bag yet, but if just one of the delegations decides to vote in your favor, your mission is complete. They both sounded pretty sympathetic to me, even the Valbarans."

"Are you rooting for me now, Sergeant Hayes?" she asked, opening one eye to peer at him.

"I don't know about all that," he grumbled, crossing his arms defensively. "I did say that I didn't want to get involved in the politics of it all, and I haven't changed my mind, but...I guess I'm starting to warm up to you a little. I can like you without having to get behind the Jarilans, right? Hell, I have some good Martian friends, but that doesn't mean I have to support their cricket team."

"Cricket?" she asked. "You are losing me, Sergeant."

"Trust me, there are some things you don't want to know about humans," he replied.

"Oh, you are making a joke. Very humorous."

"But you're not laughin'," he said, maintaining eye contact with her until her resolve cracked. She began to chuckle, covering her painted mouth with her hand in a futile attempt to stifle it.

"Very well," she finally conceded, "we may celebrate. In any case, I have nothing more to do while I wait for the next council meeting. I fear that the Borealans would not be so easy to convince."

"The cats are stubborn, that's for sure. They might be persuaded in time, but they'll never admit that they're wrong unless you back 'em into a corner. I'm going to teach you a new human skill."

"And what is that?" she asked.

"How to relax," he replied. He pointed over his shoulder at Blackjack, who was resting in his usual place on the wood floor, his barrel chest slowly rising and falling as he snored quietly. "Where did you think BJ learned how to do that? I'm an expert on the subject."