Bill sat at a round table inside the secret room on the fifth floor of the ITF offices. The room had been used primarily for meetings with his underground operatives. It was a late Saturday evening, and this meeting type was a first.
Around the table sat Seven, Stephen, Laura, Jenny, Greyson and Isobel. While Stephen did not speak for all ten districts, he had been put forward as an agreed representative. Emile and Marie had been ousted since news of their deception had spread, and new leadership put in place. Apparently, helping Harvey, whose goal had been to ethnically cleanse their race, had been enough to push general favour towards Bill’s idea of collaboration.
It was time. This planet, its people—all with human roots—deserved a new start.
On the table was a one-page document that Jenny, Greyson and Isobel had pulled together. It mirrored a similar agreement they’d put in place back on Earth. Bill clutched the pen in his hand and stared at the line meant for his signature. There was a separate line for Stephen and Seven’s names, too, as reps for their charges. The document wasn’t necessary—the real one was in digital form and safe—but Jenny had insisted on this ceremony. She’d said the signing of an actual document would allow all sides to mark change with a signature, to see what had been done and to imagine what could be achieved.
Bill scrawled his signature. It was a mess; he hadn’t used a pen in so long. Isla had been the expert letter writer. He slid the document and the pen to Seven, who added his signature.
Stephen was last. He put the pen down after signing. ‘Is that it?’
Jenny shook her head. ‘It’s the first step to initiate change.’
‘But we still haven’t agreed to everything.’
‘And you won’t, but signing this begins that dialogue. First the discussions will happen, then the workshops.’ She looked around the table. ‘What’s been lacking for so long is trust. The fact that you’ve all agreed to an interspecies council is a start. This document develops on from that concept. First you show a united front, then you publicly announce the start of your interspecies council meetings and hash out the finer details there. Taking this step will show everyone that you are willing to work together.’
‘When we prove to everyone that all sides can work together,’ added Bill, ‘we can work towards finding common ground.’ He stood. ‘That’s it for today. We will begin planning at the next meeting. See you back here on Tuesday at 11am?’
Seven nodded and disappeared through the door. The stairwell there would take him underground.
Laura said to Bill, ‘I’ll take the others up and out shortly.’
Bill nodded, expecting Stephen to leave next. But when his friend lingered by the table, Bill asked, ‘Is everything okay?’
‘Can I have a word?’ The Indigene cocked his head towards the noisy server room.
Bill led Stephen inside the unoccupied room. Jeff was on an unofficial break and wouldn’t be returning until Bill gave him the nod to return. The hum of the machines filled his ears instantly; inside the meeting room, it had been just a dull roar. He led Stephen over to a darkened corner, away from the worst of the noise.
Stephen’s gaze was too wide, and that worried Bill.
‘What’s wrong?’ he asked.
‘What if this doesn’t work?’
‘It will.’ He hoped it would.
‘How do you know that?’
He had no guarantees, but this was the first time all sides had agreed to sign anything official.
‘You want to know what I think?’
Stephen nodded, his lips thin.
‘Jenny, Greyson and Isobel are right. If we remove the fear of what you and Seven are, it will be harder for anyone to argue against real change.’
‘And if we wish to keep to ourselves? I know many of my charges will not wish to interact with humans.’
‘So we do it on a phased basis. I can’t see the Conditioned swapping their plans for solitude to become extra involved in society, can you?’
Stephen smiled and shook his head.
‘But this way we stop the witch hunt plaguing both your species.’
Stephen released a hard breath. ‘That’s what I want too. Do you really think it will work?’
Bill clapped his friend on the shoulder. ‘We became friends, didn’t we? That day we first met in that underground tunnel, I wouldn’t have put money on it ever happening.’
Stephen chuckled. ‘I suppose if we can see past our differences, anything’s possible.’
Ever since the virus in District Three had raged and been subsequently quelled, the fire in his friend’s eyes had dulled. Bill had never seen Stephen so lacking in confidence.
‘What else is bothering you? Is it your skills?’
Stephen nodded. ‘I have been trying to live without them, but I don’t know how.’
‘What about Serena? Have you spoken to her about this? Or Anton?’
‘I don’t want to seem less in my mate’s eyes. And Anton—he is taking to his new life like a duck to water.’ He chuckled. ‘Even though I’ve never seen a duck take to water.’
‘Laura could help you to adjust more. She’s been both species—still is. I can speak to her if you’d like?’
Stephen smiled. ‘Thanks, friend, but this is something I have to figure out on my own.’
They walked back to the room where Laura, Jenny, Greyson and Isobel waited.
Stephen nodded his farewells and hugged Jenny, promising to call her more often. Then he entered the stairwell and was gone.
‘It’s time we head back to Earth,’ said Jenny. ‘We’ll head out in a couple of hours. We hope we’ve helped here.’
‘You have.’ Bill flicked his gaze to Laura. ‘I’m not sure we could have gotten here without you.’
Jenny smiled. ‘You would have, eventually.’
Laura hugged Jenny and Greyson, even Isobel, who looked stiff and awkward receiving it.
Isobel pulled out of the hug first, and said to Jenny, ‘I would like to say goodbye to Ben.’
‘I thought you might,’ Jenny said with a nod. ‘I arranged for Eleanor to meet us at the docking station.’
‘Thank you.’
Bill had known of her connection to Ben but not how deep it ran.
‘When did you two get so close?’ he asked her.
She gave him a withering stare, but answered in a soft tone. ‘The second he treated me like I was someone and not a thing.’
‘Do you think the new agreement can work? Here, I mean,’ asked Laura.
‘It will, if all parties keep an open mind,’ said Jenny.
‘Great,’ muttered Bill. ‘We have plenty of open minds around here.’