Jackson Kez - Space Diplomat Ch. 03

Jackson's chest tightened, and he felt the pangs of sorrow and terror. They were making progress, at least. Vera hid it well, but she was terrified. A deep fear, ever-present in the background even when it wasn't felt acutely. Extremely common on worlds wracked by conflict. Jackson made a mental note that if Vera was representative of Sela as a whole, they were very susceptible to war-weariness. Especially given the small scale of the war. Unless Stellar Alliance intelligence was off the mark and the situation was worse than he'd been told. Too much to think about, he chided himself, focus on Vera.

"Do you think that's where this is going?"

Vera looked like she was going to roll over, away from him, but she stopped short and just lay there on her back, looking for answers the ceiling couldn't provide. Jackson thought that was a good sign, she wasn't totally disengaging. He hadn't pushed back, hadn't taken any of the bait, Jackson hoped that made her feel safe to keep exploring this.

"I don't know, Jackson," she said, so quiet he could scarcely hear. But the fear in her voice came across loud and clear. "Maybe."

He took another deep breath and tried to calm himself. It was getting to him. He cared about her, how could he not? She was so scared, and worse, she was halfway to hopeless. That was really bad. Jackson knew firsthand that when people lose hope for peace, it's game over. He didn't know Vera well enough to call on a time from her life that might resonate now, so he thought back to their conversation over dinner. Use what you have, his instructors told him. Find anything you can grab and hold on for dear life.

"Remember what you told me yesterday?" The question was rhetorical and they both knew it, but Vera turned to look at him, rolling over onto her side again. Golden tears had left sparkling trails down her blue face, it looked like the Earth's sky at dusk. Jackson kept talking, "You told me you know human history, so you know we were on the brink of self-annihilation more than once. And you know that the way we turned it around wasn't through elected officials, it was grassroots movements. Individuals making the change happen, no matter what. All we can do is try to be better every day."

Using her own words seemed to get through to her, if for no other reason than she felt touched that he'd been paying that much attention. It was a cheap trick for a diplomat, but a reliable one. She stared at him, her eyes wide and glimmering. She seemed to slump over, the edges of her form not quite so rigid as they had been. Vera liquefied, partially, the edges of her humanoid body blurring as she sank a few inches into the mattress. In Jackson's mind, he saw moments like this as the turning point. The fire had been extinguished, now he had to make sure she didn't collapse.

"It sounds like you're actually scared that peace is a lost cause, and this isn't really about having sex with some random human."

Vera nodded slowly.

"It sounds like you need hope, and even the best sex can't give you that."

She nodded again, reaching up to wipe fresh tears from her eyes.

"It's okay to be scared, Vera. You can be as scared as you need to be. But you can't give up. I need your help."

Vera shook her head, slowly. "Why?" she asked, "Anyone else would do a better job."

"That's not true. You want peace so badly you're moved to tears. You'll do anything to get it. Even if it means changing yourself, your culture, or long-standing institutions. I don't know what it was, but something you learned or something you went through told you in no uncertain terms that war is unacceptable. That realization changed everything for you. You can't think of war as just or necessary, no matter the reason. I need to find that moment, Vera, and I need your help to do it, because it might be the only way to convince the Sela council to do what's necessary for lasting peace."

The silence after Jackson's pep talk was deafening. He fought the urge to say more, to defend his position, or to even move. This was it. He stared into Vera's eyes, hoping he was right about her.

She swallowed. Then she spoke, her voice frail and soft. "Okay." Then she half-laughed, half-sobbed. A short and desperate sound. The tension had nowhere else to go.

Jackson scooted forward and reached out. She didn't push him away. He pulled her in close against his chest and let her cry. He knew she'd be okay, at least for now. As the saying went, it took a long time to tie all those knots in the rope, and they weren't going to get them all out right now. But it was something. He stroked her back slowly with one hand, feeling her body quivering. She needed this, and he knew he did too. The parts of her that had softened were firming up again, and Jackson took that as a sign Vera was feeling better.

"Jackson," Vera said, her voice muffled as she talked into his chest.

"Yeah, Vera?"

"I think you're pretty good at your job," she said.

Jackson laughed, his eyes watering. Everything felt so raw and real with Vera. "Thanks. You are too."

"Oh, stop." Vera moved her head back far enough to look up at him. Her face was still blue-tinted, but it was pink-ing up again, slowly. "You're just saying that because I'm a mess and you're tired of me crying." Despite the accusation, Jackson knew she was feeling better from her tone. Much closer to her lighthearted teasing from the day before.

"I'm saying it," Jackson said, squeezing Vera against him in a tight hug, "because I've never felt this welcome in a new place."

"Okay, now I think you want me to cry again."

"You can cry as much as you need to."

Vera smiled despite her tears and a flush of pink came back to her cheeks. She leaned forward, her forehead against Jackson's chest. Her arms slid around him and she gave him a long, strong hug. "Mmm," she said, mumbling into his bare skin. "Humans are so warm all the time."

They lay together for a while, Jackson wasn't sure how long. Despite both of them being naked, it wasn't sexual. It was a moment of connection and safety that Vera needed, a sanctuary of certainty in a tumultuous time. And for Jackson, it only reinforced the urgency of his mission. His time with Vera had been incredible. If he weren't here as a diplomat, he'd be fixated entirely on when he could see her again, trying to figure out what to do for their second date on a planet he'd seen nothing of. This thing, whatever it was between them, it was fire. Hot, for sure. But dangerous. And with the future of Genoria at stake, Jackson couldn't afford to play with fire.

Vera couldn't read his mind, but she must have picked up on what he was thinking through some subtle change in his body language. She looked up at him. A bittersweet smile and a new color in her face. Turquoise, maybe? Jackson couldn't quite place it, and it faded quickly.

"I know," she said. "I know, and it's awful." She let go of him and scooted back, just enough that their bodies weren't touching. "We can't keep doing this if we're going to work together."

Jackson nodded. "Yeah," he said. His eyes got misty, and he didn't fight it. It was his turn to cry. "I need your help to save the world, and that means no sex." Tears welled up, and Jackson let them fall. He lay there with Vera, with his sadness, and with his joy at having met her. Intense connections like this didn't happen every day, Jackson wanted to remember every second.

"Well," Vera said, her voice still quiet. "Every good thing takes sacrifices."

"It still sucks," Jackson said. He longed to kiss her. To hold her. They'd only just met and he was already tempted to run away with her, the Stellar Alliance be damned. But a temptation is all it was. He knew it wouldn't bring either of them what they really wanted.

"It really does," Vera said. She gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "Are you okay? I mean about earlier," she added, "I took a few jabs at you, I was just totally overwhelmed—" Vera stopped herself. "What I'm trying to ask is, do you need a turn to talk?"

Jackson shook his head. "It was intense, you're right. But if this is the last time we're going to be together like this, I want to treasure it. I just need you to hold me."

Vera smiled, bittersweet. She wiggled in closer, tight against his chest, but not hiding her face. They lay together, staring into each other's eyes as time passed. A moment of sanctuary and peace, perhaps the last one they'd get for a long time. Tears welled up in Jackson's eyes again and Vera said, "You can cry as much as you need to."

He nodded, letting the tears come. Jackson saw another hint of that strange turquoise color in her cheeks, but it passed.

His tablet beeped, a reminder of the upcoming meeting. Jackson spoke first. "Are you ready?"

Vera nodded. "I need to grab a few materials from my office, and maybe freshen up a little." She still hesitated before she let go of him, but finally she released her grip on him and scooted toward the other nightstand. She reached out with one hand, and unerringly grabbed the jewelry tablet data device thing that Jackson still hadn't learned the name of. She put her palm down on it and the whole thing slipped into her hand with a slurping noise. It traveled along her arm and then popped out of her neck, neatly latching its clasp on the way out. The device draped elegantly around her collarbone, or what would be a collarbone on a human, and stayed perfectly centered. Beneath the blankets, Vera's body shifted. When she climbed out of the sheets and stood up, she was once again in her professional attire.

Jackson couldn't stop himself from making a slight sigh of dissatisfaction at her lack of nudity, and she shot him a look of mock annoyance. He grinned and shrugged, drawing a smile from Vera. She shook her head. If this was going to be their last moment of romance together, Jackson thought he might as well flirt a little.

Vera tapped her necklace, checking the time. She frowned. "We're running late, entirely my fault, but I think we can still get to the council meeting on time. I was going to give you a briefing first, hm..." she shifted her weight and tapped one foot on the floor repeatedly, thinking. "Oh, I know. I'll send the files to your ship's AI, it should be able to analyze them and synthesize a summary for you. Have it read it to you while you're getting ready and meet me at the council chambers," her necklace device displayed a few holographic screens in quick succession as she manipulated the portions that were embedded in herself. "I just sent you directions. Meeting starts in 30 minutes."

Jackson nodded. "She, by the way." He'd made his way to the edge of the bed and put his feet on the floor, the thick quilt still over his waist as he sat, not quite ready to stand up. "Ace, my ship's AI," he added, "goes by she."

Vera smirked at him. "I knew you were a ladies' man." Then she walked to him, all power and poise, back in full professional mode. With him sitting and her standing he had to look up to meet her eyes. Vera reached out with one hand, index finger extended, and placed it gently right in the middle of his chest. "I'm putting a lot of trust in you, Mr. Kez." She prodded him, just a little harder. "A lot," she repeated, emphasizing each word with a poke of her finger. Then she leaned in and kissed him on the forehead. "Don't break my heart."

Without giving him a chance to reply she turned on her heel and left, stopping only to put on her shoes before she left the cottage.

Jackson bent over, digging into the pocket of his discarded pants. After some wiggling, he extracted his tablet. He hit the comms button and signaled his ship, then stood up, still totally naked. It took a few moments for the tablet to connect and for Ace to verify the connection was secure, and Jackson took that time to check in with himself. He'd been through a lot with Vera in a tremendously short time, and he knew the full impact hadn't landed yet. Mind-blowing sex and what felt like a breakup, and a lot of raw emotion in less than a single day. He set a reminder in his tablet to find a gym or a place to go running after the meeting. Anything to burn off some steam.

He'd learned a lot about the Sela from her, and his brain was already working on a few possible approaches for how to convince the council to do... what, exactly? He sighed. His understanding of the conflict had so many gaps. Hopefully Vera's information would fill in enough of them to give him a starting point. He hadn't even met the Rhorak yet. Typically he'd meet delegates from both groups on neutral ground, but the Rhorak had refused and insisted the diplomat from the Stellar Alliance come to them alone, only after seeing the cruel depravity of the Sela. Their words, not his.

His tablet pinged, indicating the connection had been established. Ace's voice came through.

"Connection established, AI companion very bored. What can I do for you, Captain?"

It surprised Jackson how much hearing Ace's voice reassured him. It was probably designed to do that, he mused. "Hey Ace," he said, setting the tablet on the nightstand as he looked down at his wrinkled clothes, sprawled across the floor.

"Your belongings were delivered directly to your lodgings, in case you're wondering what to wear." Ace's signature mix of helpful and teasing.

"How could you possibly have known that's what I was thinking about?"

"Your camera is on and I'm getting a great view, Captain."

Jackson turned bright red and covered himself with one hand. "Oops!" he yelped. He had no logical reason to be embarrassed about the ship's AI seeing him naked, but nonetheless he felt a pressing need to cover himself. Jackson leapt for his tablet, scrambling for the video feed toggle, only to see it wasn't even on. Ace was messing with him. Were companion AIs supposed to do that?

Ace laughed, a real prankster's laugh. "Only joking, Captain. Just noticed you were running late and made an intuitive guess you slept in and needed to pick an outfit."

"Well you're not wrong, but you are the worst. Also, what's with the 'Captain' thing?"

"Just trying it on for size." Ace was so quick, she certainly kept Jackson on his toes.

"Okay, well you should have gotten some files from Vera. Why don't you do something helpful and try synthesizing an intel report instead of messing with me."

"Yes, sir," Ace said, adding a touch of sultry heat to her voice. "I like it when you give me orders."

Jackson shook his head. "Not in the mood, Ace. Rough morning." Her banter did make him feel better, but he couldn't muster the energy to flirt right now.

"I'll ease off." Even coming over his tablet's small speaker, he heard the concern in her artificial voice. "You can tell me about it later."

Jackson made his way to a dresser and looked out of the bedroom's tall windows. Good thing this place is so isolated, anyone walking nearby wouldn't have to leave anything to their imagination about what went on in this house. He slid open a few drawers, locating everything he needed for a professional negotiation outfit. Sela liked pastel tones, but they were also deeply immersed in other cultures. Plus, he was going up against authority figures that would probably respond better to a professional rival than a friend. He went with the official Stellar Alliance colors: white, green, and blue. A perfectly tailored diplomat's jacket went on over his collared shirt and he grabbed his formal pants with the self-pleating folds.

Another ping from his tablet indicated Ace had finished creating the report. "Ready to learn, Jackson?"

"I thought it was Captain now," Jackson said, grabbing his tablet as he went into the bathroom. He was already grateful for the Sela's familiarity with human needs before, but seeing the amenities before him drove the point home. White walls with green trim, a white tile floor, and a lengthy counter with a wide sink. The counter and cabinets were dark gray in color, and a lengthy, perfectly clean mirror dominated the far wall.

He saw a fancy toilet with bidet and a tall, wide shower with twin showerheads. Vera had definitely read his file when picking this place, most humans preferred the modern convenience of scrubbers but Jackson found the hot water helped him relax, and he always got good ideas in the shower. Jackson attributed it to something he'd read about called the mammalian diving reflex. He wasn't sure if that was true, but having a fancy name for it made him feel better about his anachronistic choice.

Switches on the walls were labeled for heating conduits and extra ventilation, and the shelves and cabinets held all the haircare and hygiene products he could ever want plus more. The personal collection he brought with him had been placed by the sink, looking pathetic in comparison to the veritable arsenal of bottles arrayed around the room and in the shower. No bathtub, which didn't bother him, he only noticed because otherwise this place had everything.

"I'll take your long silence as a signal to start," Ace said, and began her report. Jackson stepped into the shower set the temperature dial before twisting the handle, the water coming out instantly at the perfect temperature. He did his best to pay attention as the heat washed over him and sank into him like a warm massage.

"Vera's data primarily concerns the two Sela councilors you'll be dealing with. It also indicates that the officially stated inciting incident of the current conflict was the disappearance of the former Sela president."

"Officially stated? Does Vera disagree?"

"No further data available, sorry Captain."

"Can you give me a Stellar Alliance analogue for the councilors?" Jackson said, leaning his head out of the direct path of the water, "How much power do they have and what are the hold-ups to major change?"

"Processing." It took Ace about three seconds to finish. "Processing complete! Okay, Captain," she emphasized the title and Jackson knew she was flirting again, but didn't say anything. She couldn't help herself, and he enjoyed it. "It looks like the councilors here normally serve to check and question the president's decisions. They're more akin to advisers than a vice president. If all three councilors disagree with the president, they have veto power over pretty much any decision. Without unanimous dissent, the president's word is law."

"Hang on, I thought you said I was meeting two councilors. There are three?" Jackson's brain had started working, finally.

"The third councilor resigned recently, which put the Sela over the instability threshold for Stellar Alliance intervention. That's why you're here."

Jackson grabbed one of the shampoo bottles and looked it over. The label read 'Unscented: For the man who just wants to be clean'. He shrugged, good enough. "Did the third councilor give a reason for her resignation? I'm guessing it was a disagreement with the other councilors."

"Good guess. What follows is only rumor, but the acting president has allegedly been pushing for development of a geothermic weapon. Vera's notes suggest she believes this to be true. The third councilor, her name is Tinoqa, she resigned because the other two councilors refused to join her in a veto. The item at issue was not specified."

"Geothermic? Elaborate," Jackson lathered up the shampoo in his hair as they talked.

"Details in Vera's information are scarce, etymology assessment indicates it would be designed to heat the planet. Or cool the planet. Thermic can go either way, even if humans typically use it to mean hot, it just means related to heat."

"Like how a thermos keeps hot drinks hot and cold drinks stay cold."

"An astute observation, Captain." Jackson didn't know Ace could reach a new level of sarcasm, but there it was. "In any event, if such technology were weaponized it would be capable of causing all manner of ecological disasters from earthquakes to volcanic events. Given the Rhorak's silicate biology, it is possible it would be lethal to them as well, depending on their stress tolerances."