Jackson Kez - Space Diplomat Ch. 03

Jackson immersed his head in the hot water pouring down. He closed his eyes as the shampoo washed out. "Do you think Councilor Tinoqa resigned to get the Stellar Alliance involved?"

"Unclear, but it's a safe bet."

With the suds washed out of his hair, Jackson felt truly clean. Planetside showers were always better, and true to the shampoo's word, there weren't any strange smells lingering. He grabbed a bottle of conditioner. This one just said 'Don't Skip This' and Jackson wondered if Vera had chosen these products specifically to tease him. "Okay," he said, squirting a blob of conditioner into his hand, "tell me more about this acting president. First, am I safe? It's been a long time since a Stellar Alliance diplomat got assassinated, I know, but it does happen."

"I calculate a 95% probability of your survival, Captain. But..."

"But?" The conditioner had a slight cooling effect, it felt nice contrasted with the hot water pouring over him. Jackson rubbed his scalp, pushing the conditioner through his hair for a while.

"That probability diminishes as time passes. If you die soon after arriving, it will arouse suspicion. The longer you are on Genoria, the more opportunities will arise to make your untimely demise look accidental."

"Wonderful. Ugh, okay. I'll watch my back, I guess. Why am I not meeting the president today?"

"From Vera's information it seems that President Luminalia is currently visiting Sela forces near the front lines of the conflict to boost morale. However, Vera has a note that says that's only the official reason, and Vera suspects President Luminalia is actually overseeing development of the new weapon."

Jackson dipped his head into the water as Ace spoke and rinsed the conditioner out. His hair felt pretty nice, he had to admit. For a species without any hair of their own, the Sela knew what they were doing with this stuff. He briefly wondered if they had bathrooms or not, and what they might look like. Not important right now, Jackson could figure that out later.

He grabbed a bodywash next, expecting another slightly passive aggressive label, but this one just said 'For Your Body'. They can't all be winners. Jackson started lathering himself up, stepping slightly out of the main stream of water.

"Hey, Ace?" Jackson called out, bending over to work on his legs. "Question for you. Have the Rhorak ever attacked the Sela?"

"Only once. An entire city near Rhorak territory collapsed into the ground, every building totally destroyed. The Rhorak said they laid claim to the area..." Ace actually stopped mid-sentence as she verified the data. "Sorry, had to confirm. They say they claimed the area 19,000 years ago."

Jackson let out a long, slow breath. "Okay, weird. And not encouraging. That suggests this is a belief based conflict, perhaps the Rhorak believe in some kind of manifest destiny? Or a promised land situation?"

"Information on the Rhorak is woefully incomplete. I evaluate this as a significant concern. There is only one reason the Sela would have such a distinct lack of information on a culture with which they co-habit their homeworld."

"Censorship," Jackson said.

"Precisely, Captain."

That was the worst news yet. Information suppression efforts had been a reliable tool in manufacturing violent conflict for all of human history, and when humanity joined the galactic community at large, they learned they didn't invent that particular trick. Everything Jackson learned painted a bleaker picture of the situation, and he was beginning to understand why Vera had lost so much hope.

"Okay, okay," Jackson said, "One thing at a time. Tell me about the two councilors I'm meeting today." By now Jackson had been rubbing bodywash on himself for over a minute, and he was probably over-lathered. He stepped back into the water, closing his eyes and enjoying the heat.

"You will be meeting councilors Amasa and Yucce."

Jackson repeated the names to himself a couple of times, cementing them in his memory and practicing the pronunciation. "Tell me about Amasa."

"Amasa is your most likely ally, according to Vera's notes. She is pragmatic, and a long-term thinker. Vera says your greatest challenge will be convincing her of the merit of the Stellar Alliance's radical approach to negotiation. Amasa will also doubt that the Rhorak will accept a peace deal after so much war. She believes they are immutable and inflexible."

With the last of the bodywash rinsed off, Jackson turned off the water and scowled. The Stellar Alliance plan could be a hard sell sometimes, but as long as Amasa trusted data and evidence, the figures would speak for themselves. The tougher challenge would be if Amasa was really fixated on the Rhorak as the problem. Jackson would need to figure out where her prejudice came from, and that meant some vulnerability and genuine connection. Not impossible, but tricky. And worse, she might be right about the Rhorak. Jackson hoped she wasn't, but he knew so little about them.

"And what about Yucce?" Jackson stepped out of the shower and grabbed his towel. There were more efficient methods of drying oneself available, but he liked the old fashioned way. There was something meditative about the process.

"Yucce," Ace began, "is fiery and passionate. She cares only for the well-being of the Sela. She is short-term oriented and focuses on what will bring the most immediate benefit to her people."

As Ace spoke, he toweled off. Face-first, top to bottom, left arm then right, then the waist, lots of extra effort on the crotch and butt, and finally the legs. He'd been through this pattern so many times it didn't take any conscious thought, and Jackson mulled over the information on the two councilors. Vera was a good ambassador, but he thought she might have her analysis backward. Politicians like Yucce were easy to manipulate and re-position, all Jackson had to do was convince Yucce that peace would make a better short-term buy than war. If the cost of peace was less than the cost of continuing to fight, Yucce should get on board without hesitation. Resources, territory, or belief, he repeated to himself. It was always those three things.

"Any other relevant info?" Jackson grabbed his pants and started to get dressed. About 15 minutes to get to the meeting, he hoped that was enough time. "Wait," he added before Ace could answer his question, "can you ping the food synthesizer here and get me a dense nutrient bar?"

"Synthesizing now, Captain. Should get you through the day." Jackson heard a whirring sound from the dining area as the food synth started up.

"Thanks, I appreciate it. Any other relevant info?" He pulled his shirt on, buttoning it up and tucking it into his pants.

"Vera's information suggests we have about two weeks before the Sela deploy their geothermic weapon."

Jackson sighed. "That's not the worst timeframe I've been on."

"Furthermore," Ace said, "Vera suggests you meet with former Councilor Tinoqa. There's contact info attached, looks like you'll have to schedule your own meeting, Captain."

By now Jackson was fully dressed and entering the dining area. He hadn't taken a good look at it last night, and he took stock of it as he crunched on the dense nutrient bar. The cottage had four rooms in total, unless there were secret doors he didn't know about. The frontmost room contained a living room with two couches, a small coffee table, and a fireplace. A concession to human nostalgia, he supposed, given that he also saw a control panel for a modern climate control system. The area had been decorated in calming, cool greens and blues, like so many other places here it reminded Jackson of the foamy sea. Across from the couches the kitchen occupied the other half of the front room, with a food synthesizer, temperature regulated storage and re-heater, and a table with four chairs for small gatherings. The overhead lights were all recessed, giving the ceiling the illusion of being higher than it really was.

Meanwhile, in contrast to the beautiful surroundings, the nutrient bar had the fine flavor and appealing texture of a cardboard box. The slow-release calories in it would keep him satiated for about 10 hours. Though Jackson knew if he didn't drink enough water he'd be regretting it tomorrow and spending a lot of time in the bathroom. He keyed in a request for three hydration tablets and waited as the food synthesizer spun up again.

"Thinking again, Jackson?" Ace asked. Jackson glanced down at his tablet.

"Yeah, just putting the pieces in order. I do some of my best work waiting for food to be ready."

"You've got this."

The directness of Ace's encouragement surprised him. "That was almost a compliment."

"Almost," Ace said. "Can I give you some advice, Jackson?"

The food synthesizer dinged, finished with the tablets. He grabbed them, pocketing two. "Sure, why not?"

"Don't prepare too much. You do your best work off the cuff."

Jackson placed the third hydration tablet in his mouth and began dissolving immediately, washing over his tongue and cheeks with rapidly expanding compressed water. He swallowed a few times as the tablet finished its work, the last bit always had a slight fizz to it and a sour aftertaste. Jackson had taken enough of them that he'd grown to like it, it reminded him of hard-won treaties and negotiations that ran late into the night.

Jackson swallowed what was left of the tablet before replying. "Weren't you just telling me how I needed to pay attention to my briefings?"

No response from Ace.

Jackson looked down at his tablet. She'd ended the connection. He just got hung up on by his ship's AI. Probably for the best, he needed some time to clear his head before the meeting. Jackson flipped through the tablet to his messages and found the directions from Vera. He had just under 12 minutes to get there and when he plugged the location into his navigation app it told him it'd take 13. Time to hustle.

Leaving the cottage behind, Jackson put earbuds in and turned on some light music. Instrumental and classical, it was just loud enough to block out the background noise and discourage conversation. He kept replaying details in his mind, looking for connections and opportunities for leverage. He wished he could skip ahead to the Camp David part where both sides yelled at each other until they got tired, but every new piece of information told him he needed to put in a lot of work upfront to get them that far.

He passed once again through the facsimile of an Earth city's downtown, waving at the friendly faces all around. He wondered how many of the Sela here were as frightened as Vera, how many of them were on the edge of despair? Jackson consciously decided to cut around main street before he passed Olla's restaurant. Just a potential distraction to avoid right now, he couldn't spend any more time thinking about last night.

Coming from the side, Jackson could see more clearly the flimsiness of the transit hub facade that concealed the elevator out of this building. He hit the call button and waited, glancing upward. It looked like a summer day on Earth, perfectly blue sky with only a few wispy clouds in sight. The fake sky and, in fact, the sheer size of this place seemed so unnecessary until he realized that while Genoria had a sufficiently human-friendly atmosphere and solar profile for him to wander freely, for other species visiting it would make a lot of sense to have artificial environments readily available. Especially given how much the Sela wanted to encourage tourism.

The elevator arrived and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw it was empty. He stepped aboard, and no one from this area joined him, so he had the ride to himself. He glanced at the array of buttons, wishing he could discern something about what might be on the other levels of this towering structure, but they offered no clues. Just numbers. Human district was level four. He didn't want to forget that. He turned and looked out the other side of the elevator, the one facing toward the city. The clear wall offered a terrific view of the capital's many oddly shaped structures and Jackson appreciated how colorful they all were. The sunlight reflected off an entire panoply of beautiful sights and he smiled, feeling like a tourist while he had the chance.

After a few more moments, the elevator reached ground level and the clear wall split, sliding open. Before stepping out, Jackson checked his tablet, confirming his next steps. It wasn't far. He set out for the council chambers. Jackson was on track to get there right on time, and hoped he wasn't actually expected to be early. Vera would have said something if he was, right? The capital bustled with activity during Genoria's daylight cycle, sluices and chutes popping, whizzing, and slurping as Sela traveled to and fro. He noted that several of the chutes were omnidirectional, with the sluices coordinated by either a very attentive controller or some sophisticated programming. He wondered if Sela ever collided in those tubes, crashing into each other and getting stuck together.

While most of the activity was in the cacophony beneath the street, occasionally an access hatch sprung open, disgorging a Sela in one shape or another. Jackson tried to name all the species he saw but quickly gave up, there were too many to count. He saw hybrid forms, massive creatures, and minuscule bodies. He even saw one that looked like an amalgamation of multiple Sela, judging by the different color hues co-existing. Colors, that was a surprise. Most of the Sela he'd seen while walking with Vera were shades of pink, and while that was the most common color, he spotted every color of the rainbow. Their eyes differed significantly too, not just color but shape and style. Vera's golden eyes weren't the norm, and based on her comment about them being just for show, Jackson guessed that for the Sela, eyes were an affectation for personal preference. Some even had pupils and irises, while others had no visible eyes whatsoever.

When Jackson realized he was almost to the council chambers, he felt a pang of disappointment. He wanted to learn everything he could about the Sela, to spend the day just wandering the streets of the capital. But he had a job to do. The council building wasn't ostentatious or especially large, it looked like only a single story, unless it had underground floors. The building had a matte white exterior with periodic windows, all of them in circular frames, and a large entryway flanked by strange geometric carvings. They were made from some kind of metal, glinting in the morning light. It reminded Jackson of abstract art from Earth, but as he stared he saw the statues were slowly moving. They shifted into different shapes, changing despite appearing to be made of rigid material.

Jackson also noticed for the first time that buildings designed for Sela use had very tall, very wide doorways and no doors. Even before he got inside he could see most of the interior, the front doorway had to be at least fifteen feet tall, maybe more. The main entry led into a circular chamber, though passageways branched off to either side. This was likely a place for public audiences, with an open floor for guests to make their case and a large, raised platform at the back, presumably for the council. It looked deserted, and Jackson wondered if that meant he would be meeting the council in a more private venue. He hoped so, that would frame them as equals rather than him as a petitioner.

As he approached the building, he suddenly remembered he'd be seeing Vera here. His stomach dropped a bit, his pulse quickened, and he felt a little bit nauseous. There she was. Bright pink with perfect posture and an even more dignified outfit than when he'd met her yesterday. She stood outside the main doorway, manipulating her jewelry smart device thing and looking intensely at the holographic display. Her hips were canted to one side and her foot tapped repetitively on the ground.

Jackson removed his earbuds as he walked up. "Vera!" he called out to her. She looked up and smiled, ever the professional.

"Good morning Diplomat Kez, please follow me." She turned and walked into the building. Vera kept talking, not giving Jackson an opening to reply. "I hope my information was of help, Mr. Kez. It is arranged for you to meet with councilors Amasa and Yucce in the private conference space. This way, please." She led Jackson down the left passageway, taking him through another massive doorway.

The interior ceilings were so tall here, Jackson felt as though he'd climbed the beanstalk and gone to the land of giants. He suddenly realized that the councilors he was meeting might have massive, imposing forms or be incredibly small, and he should be prepared to treat them respect in either extreme. He mentally rehearsed a few greeting gestures that would be appropriate, and felt a surge of gratitude that the Stellar Alliance trained its diplomats to work with all kinds of species.

Jackson was too lost in thought to spend much time looking through the various side rooms along the passageway, but one room caught his eye with a most conspicuous irregularity. It had a door. It looked more like an airlock than a typical interior door, more at home on a starship than in a public building.

"This is your destination, Mr. Kez," Vera said, stopping in front of the sealed room. "I will be joining you for this meeting to serve as cultural liaison and backup interpretor in the event that idioms or colloquialisms cause confusion." She stepped a little closer to him and added quietly, "But don't look to me for advice or input, you need to present a strong front."

Jackson nodded. "Thank you for your assistance, Ambassador Vera. I'm ready to begin."

Vera stepped back and reached out, pressing her hand flat against a small scanner embedded in the wall. Jackson saw a needle extend into her palm and he winced. Vera didn't react at all, and Jackson didn't know if that was because it didn't hurt, or because she wasn't letting it show. The needle must have sampled something that confirmed her identity, because the scanner lit up, the needle retracted, and the heavy door slid open. It split horizontally, retracting into the floor and ceiling. Jackson could see as it opened the thickness of the material, clearly the Sela took privacy seriously when they decided to care about it.

The private conference space lived up to its name. Perfectly circular, with no windows, lit by a circular light embedded in the tall ceiling, it was almost completely bare save for accommodations made for both his human anatomy and Stellar Alliance technology, Jackson saw three comfortable looking chairs and a tablet dock connected to a holographic display system in case he had documents to show. More interesting, of course, were the two councilors standing across from the doorway. Jackson suddenly realized he didn't know which was which, and anger flashed up in him as he wondered why Ace had omitted physical descriptions from her report.

Then Vera spoke and pulled Jackson out of the fire. "Councilors, I present Diplomat Jackson Kez of the Stellar Alliance. He is here to discuss the situation and seek a peaceful resolution that will serve the interests of all parties." She turned to Jackson and made introductions. "Councilor Amasa," Vera said, indicating the Sela on his left.

Amasa's form resembled a reptilian body, long and serpentine. Her gelatinous flesh had an amber hue, and was nearly opaque with the density of the scale-like texture her exterior had taken on. Most of her length was coiled under her in a tight spiral, but Jackson guessed if she were fully extended, she'd be almost twenty feet long. Maybe longer. Her head resembled a dragon from Earth mythology more than a snake, with rough, spiky ridges and frighteningly sharp fangs protruding over her jaw. She had no apparent limbs, but had adorned herself with jewelry of all kinds, from dangling gemstones on shimmering chains to embedded circlets carved in ornate patterns. Amasa wore an elaborate tiara atop her draconic visage. Jackson assumed most, if not all of it served a functional purpose.