Worth Fighting For (Little Blue Book 1) Page 6

  “The day we first detected the humans, Errim made a comment about how we better hope these people don’t have anything worth fighting over because we’re still recovering from that last war. Yeb, not only do they have something worth fighting for, those females are now going to be more highly sought after than even the highest of commodities.” Tasid quickly brought up his hand, silencing Yebiri, who had opened his mouth and was undoubtedly going to argue with him about his choice of words. “I know they aren’t some item to be placed for sale, but for those races that can’t mate with them, they will still want these females to hold over our heads, knowing we need them. My father told me the Zori are on a course to extinction, very shortly, if nothing can be changed.”

  Yebiri’s voice was much more subdued. “And we just found something to bring about that change. Tasid, I heard rumors, but I wasn’t sure how much to believe. I’m so very sorry to hear that.”

  “It’s very true. Between the war and the plague, our numbers are bad. My father said he received the figures, and that they indicate we would be extinct within two generations.”

  Yebiri’s face was one of horror, which then morphed into one of hope. “Then I’m glad we found the people of Little Blue. My race was affected too, as you know. Not as badly as yours, but close to it. I’m afraid we are in a terrible decline as well, but I’m not privy to any of the official numbers.”

  “Several races are in a bad way. The war was brutal on both sides, then to top it off with the plague that didn’t discriminate between factions—it’s the whole reason why we were able to treaty a peace with the CROWN.” Tasid had a fleeting thought. “Are any of the races from the other alliances compatible?”

  A beeping sounded, bringing up another screen. “Ah, perfect timing.” Yebiri opened it up. “The scans counting the compatible races have completed.” Yebiri’s finger swiped up on the screen, and he quickly examined the readings. “It’s confirmed there are fifty races in our alliance, seven with the neutrals, twenty-nine species compatible in the CROWN. Three in the Triangulum Torch, and…” Yebiri stopped scrolling. “Oh no. Tasid, they are compatible with two races in the Oblivion Pull Coalition.”

  “Fuck! That’s a war we aren’t ready to have. Keep this quiet until we can get this planet properly guarded. Gather all of the information you have, and send it to me. I’ll make a copy, and send it on to my father.” Tasid turned on his heel and marched quickly out of the medical bay. Before entering his room, he opened Errim’s door and shouted for him.

  “Errim!”

  The body in the bed jolted, falling over the other side, with a loud thump and grunt.

  “Meet me in my quarters now!”

  He briefly heard a muffled “Yes, sir!” as the door slid closed behind him. Entering his room, he sent a hail to his father. His father answered the same time Errim arrived. Tasid could see his father was about to scold him, until seeing the look Tasid undoubtedly had on his face.

  “Tasid, what happened?” Jurresh asked carefully.

  Errim sat down on the edge of the bed, but Tasid was too amped up to sit. The screen was large enough to allow his father to watch him as he paced. “I just had a meeting with my head physician, Yebiri. He found something alarming in the results from the humans he tested yesterday. As you know, they are a remarkably adaptable species.” His father nodded but remained silent. “Father, they’re mate-compatible with ninety-one species.”

  Tasid waited a moment to let that information sink in. Errim commented first. “Mate compatible? With us?”

  Tasid nodded sharply in response.

  “That’s exciting news!” Jurresh exclaimed happily.

  “Yes, but not just with us.” Tasid sat down heavily on the bed.

  “Tasid, what other races are they compatible with? What has you this upset?” Jurresh asked.

  Tasid sighed and stood up, looking directly at his father. “Only fifty are in our alliance. There are some in the neutral races, and The Torch, nearly thirty are in the CROWN, but two, two, are in Oblivion.”

  Both his father and Errim cursed. His father was the first to speak. “This information will find a way to leak out, but try to keep it quiet until we can get them under our alliance so we can lay our claim on them.”

  Errim stood up. “If you do that, you will start the war all over again. I hate to say this, Ambassador, but Little Blue should be neutral.”

  “You don’t understand how badly we need them!” Jurresh bit out, angrily.

  “Father, he’s right,” Tasid said pensively. “You’re making it sound like they are livestock to be claimed. These are an intelligent and adventurous people, eager to learn and explore.”

  Jurresh’s head jerked back as if he was slapped. “I said no such thing!”

  Tasid ignored his father’s denial. He had another more important point he wanted to make. “They deserve the right to choose. But I also believe if we keep them from the other alliances, then the CROWN will retaliate and start the war back up. We’ve been needing something in common to bring our alliances closer together peacefully, and perhaps these people can do that. We aren’t the only side of the battle that suffered significant losses. If the humans are interested, then this could more strongly solidify the peace between alliances. And with their new level of importance, we are going to need all the allies we can get, to properly protect them from the Oblivions.”

  Tasid heard his father’s growl, and his look of annoyance wasn’t lost on him. His mother’s voice interrupted them.

  “Tasid, is it true?” Adonna’s hopeful face appeared next to his father. “Are they really mate-compatible?”

  Looking at his father, and after receiving a small nod from him, Tasid answered his mother. “Yes, it is true.”

  Adonna’s face lit up, and she clasped all four of her hands together. “That is blessed news. Perhaps both of you will be given the right to claim a mate amongst them, since you were the ones to find them.”

  Tasid wasn’t surprised when Adonna included Errim. They had always been close, and since Errim’s parents’ deaths, Adonna treated Errim as one of her own. He chuckled and looked at his second.

  “That means I’m not the only one she’ll harass on making grandchildren.”

  Errim smirked at Tasid before turning back to the screen. “Adonna, I will emphatically enjoy providing you with grandchildren to adore, should I ever be given the honor to mate.”

  Before Adonna could respond, Jurresh spoke up. “My dear, I need to finish this conversation. You can heckle them for grandchildren later.” His voice was gentle, so Tasid’s mother wasn’t offended.

  “Oh, right, I’m sorry. Don’t be too long.”

  Jurresh looked lovingly after Adonna as she left the room, but then he focused back on Tasid and Errim, becoming serious. “I’ll speak to the other representatives.” Jurresh’s look turned sour. “I hate to admit it, but you may be right. We need to offer to share this race with the CROWN. If the humans are compatible with two races from Oblivion Pull Coalition, with our dwindled numbers, we will most definitely need their help to properly protect the humans.”

  Tasid quickly remembered another bit of information relevant to this discussion. “There is more, Father.”

  Jurresh paused before letting out a heavy breath and nodded for him to continue.

  “The females here are dying from illnesses they have yet to develop cures for. Most are caused by the poisons they are polluting their planet with. I have learned many are hurt by their mates, and they willingly put their females in battle alongside the males. I do not believe they view their females as precious as we do ours.”

  Tasid felt a cold chill run through his body at the angered look on his father’s face. He rarely saw this level of rage from his father.

  “Get me all the information you can gather on their females, and if what you say is true, I will personally see to changing their priorities. With this new information, I know I can get whatever authorization from UPALE I need
, to do whatever is necessary to protect those females.”

  The screen disappeared as his father disconnected, and both Tasid and Errim blew out a relieved breath.

  “Great stars! There’s intimidating, and then there’s terrifying. I hope I’m never on his bad side. I don’t think I have ever seen him that angry.”

  Tasid grunted. “I have. I might have to hide behind my mother when I tell him how many humans, including females, were killed during the recent riots caused by our arrival.”

  “But that wasn’t your fault.”

  Tasid gave him a grim look. “I’m not certain he’ll see it that way.”

  “We better make sure nothing else happens to them.”

  ****

  Several days later, Tasid sat with the crew eating the first meal of the day when a high-pitched alarm blared through the ship. Everyone leaped into action. He and the others assigned for the bridge ran along the corridors together, passing other crew members who were rushing towards their own destinations. Explosions could be heard thundering outside of the ship, the vibrations causing sparks from various places on the walls and ceiling. As soon as the doors to the bridge opened, he shouted at the crew as he made his way to his chair.

  “Horo, report!”

  The crewmember on duty hastily leaped up out of the captain’s chair. “Oblivion ships detected. They’re attacking the planet. I’ve already sent orders for the flyers to prep the talons for launch.”

  Tasid glanced over the floating holo-screens as he took his seat. Horo stood on one side as Errim took his own seat on the other.

  “Sharrow, target the main ship. Don’t hold anything back, and launch the talons.”

  Sharrow didn’t hesitate following his orders. Tasid continued to bark out orders, and even though he knew some of them were a shock to his crew, he was proud not one hesitated. More explosions battled against their force-shield causing power-surges, shaking them in their seats. At one point, Tasid’s holo-screens flickered. He held his breath for a moment, ready to make the call to go manual, but the screens stabilized.

  On the main screen, Tasid watched the enemy’s leading ship explode. The concussion and debris took out two of its own smaller ships, and streaks of fire and smoke rained down onto the planet.

  The Sunderic Stardust’s fighter ships flew through the floating wreckage, chasing and firing at the remaining Oblivion fighters.

  “I don’t want any Oblivion survivors,” Tasid ordered to his flyers. The final enemy fighters exploded as the talons targeted them. The space above the planet was quiet once again, but Tasid knew the fallout from this was going to make for a very long day.

  Tasid’s fingers flew over the holo-screen, sending orders and bringing up reports from around the ship. He called out to his communications officer. “Burren, contact my father.” Tasid saw Burren’s feathered brows rise, but he remained silent, not questioning Tasid on his use of words. He realized he had been calling his father, well, “Father”, more and more instead of by his title, but since the discovery of Little Blue, he and his father had become more civil to each other. It had been quite refreshing. “After we connect, contact someone on the planet and explain to them about the attack, and inform them we have neutralized it.”

  Tasid turned to face Horo. “What happened?”

  “I’ve been scanning all atmosphere anomalies. All of us can see how vulnerable Little Blue is to attack, even from themselves. Most things detected are the planet’s aircraft and weather disturbances, but I picked up a slight anomaly in the atmosphere, so I didn’t hesitate to scan it like I have the dozens of others, but the information indicated a veiled ship. I sent a warning shot just in case it was something the humans had but were keeping secret. The veil dropped, and once I saw it was an Oblivion ship, I took action.”

  Burren slightly turned. “Sir, Ambassador Jurresh is answering.”

  “Thank you, Burren. Excellent job, Horo,” Tasid said as he brought up a holo-screen, “I’ll note your exceptional diligence in your file.” He quickly dismissed the male and hit the button to connect the call. His father’s grim face filled the screen.

  “Tasid, what news do you have?”

  “We have just battled with Oblivion ships.”

  Jurresh let out a string of curses. “Did any escape?”

  “As far as we can tell, all of the Oblivion ships, and their fighters, have been destroyed.” Tasid paused briefly, not proud of his next admission. “I also had the main destroyed.”

  Jurresh solemnly acknowledged the admission. “I know we don’t usually destroy their main ships on account they may have innocent slaves on board, but the protection of the humans has to be our priority. You did the right thing. I am not entirely surprised by this attack. Word has leaked out about their compatibility. This will send a warning to all of our enemies just how serious we are about protecting the humans. I’m going to order over half of our military escort to break off and head directly to Earth. They can move much faster than our diplomatic vessel. They should be there before the end of the day. Do everything you can to keep the humans safe until they arrive. How are the humans? Did they take any damage?”

  Tasid looked over at his second, who was busy looking over information on his screen. It was no surprise that Errim answered the question without prompting, or looking up.

  “The information isn’t complete, as there is debris still falling into the planet’s atmosphere. So far what has fallen looks to be on a trajectory towards their oceans, which should make casualties minimal. I’ve sent crews to try to salvage what we can to keep any more from further endangering the humans.”

  “Good. Have you talked with their governments yet?” Jurresh asked.

  Tasid shook his head. “Burren is communicating with them as we speak. How did the information get leaked?”

  “I was going to tell you about it later this morning. It happened shortly after you informed me of their compatibility. I had reported to UPALE about the discovery. I asked for, and was granted, permission to contact representatives in the CROWN and Torch alliances, to start a treaty, but the information had leaked as we were convening. I had to convince them that we were planning to share the information but that the leak had preceded our deliberations.” Jurresh’s voice grew angry. “The leak nearly caused us another war. I’ve been trying to find the one or ones responsible, but it could just as easily have been from any of the staff of the other ambassadors as from mine.”

  Tasid rubbed his face and sighed. “All right, I need to finish cleaning this mess up here. Hopefully I’ll see you when you arrive tomorrow.”

  “Hold on, Tasid. Like I said, I was going to contact you this morning. There is something else I needed to tell you.” Tasid looked expectantly at his father, and listened to him continue. “UPALE, the CROWN, and the Torch recognize your role in not only finding these people, but also the trust you have already established with the humans. You have never had a problem speaking your mind, even to me, and the CROWN and Torch appreciate you for standing up for their rights to the humans. With the humans being kept neutral, they will need someone to guide them in making the choices that will be best for them, until they better understand the diplomacies and politics of our galaxy, so all three alliances have voted that you will be Earth’s advocate.”

  The entire bridge went still. Tasid blinked as he attempted to comprehend what his father had just told him. What will this mean for my future?

  “I do not think I fully understand what that means. Am I being removed as captain of this ship? For how long? Where will I be living?”

  “Your ship will be a consulate, and you will remain stationed in their orbit. A requisition to give you your own personal ship is being processed. Also, your crew will be given the option to either stay on with you, or stay in service to UPALE and get reassigned.”

  “Wait, advocate? Is that like an ambassador?”

  Jurresh smiled with pride. It unsettled Tasid to see it directed at him as he didn’t o
ften see a smile on his father’s face, unless it was directed at his mother.

  “More like an emissary. An ambassador has the power to rule and govern the people that they represent. An emissary represents their people in a foreign place. But an advocate is someone who represents someone that is not their kind. You will be representing Earth, and will be in charge with certain delegations in their solar system, but you will not be ruling the people as a whole. You will have influence in their culture, but not direct ruling.

  “Once our diplomatic fleet arrives, we will hold a kind of coronation so you and your position will be recognized throughout the galaxy. After that, you will officially be their advocate. A lot will be happening fast, starting with the diplomatic negotiations. You will need to prepare the humans as best you can. I’ve been urged to ask permission from them to set up an additional station on their moon. Representatives from the CROWN and Torch are being dispatched. The neutral worlds compatible with the humans are also making arrangements to, at the very least, make a visit, and I can’t even tell you the number of people from all worlds wanting to come and see the novelty of a new culture. The space station we are equipped with won’t be able to handle those kinds of numbers, so it was suggested that we keep the space station for military only, and put a visitor station on their moon that will house diplomats, vendors, and such. And that is only one of thousands of decisions that need to be made in an extremely short amount of time.”

  Tasid’s head started to ache with all the thoughts now crowding it. Something must have shown on his face.

  “We’ll talk more later. Notify me immediately if there are any more attacks, or if you have any questions.”

  The screen closed, leaving Tasid staring at his crew, who were all looking intently back at him.

  Errim broke the silence. “If they’re giving us the option, then I choose to stay on with you.”

  Around the room, he heard everyone agree. Though he felt honored, and even relieved that they chose to stay with him, Tasid felt the weight of reality start to sink in as his mind struggled to process what was happening. Errim must have sensed it because he placed a hand on one of Tasid’s shoulders. “Go take a break. I’ll notify you if there is anything we need you for.”