CHAPTER SEVEN

The captain, Lieutenant Brandus, and security officer Greg Davers were standing side by side in the hangar bay. They watched as a sleek silver Mirimiss shuttle entered and touch down inside PHOENIX.

“Acknowledged,” said Davers, who was receiving details about the shuttle from the security office through his pip. “Captain, security reports that the shuttle isn’t armed and no weapons are detected inside of it. They also verified five Volux are on board.”

“At least they agreed to the meeting parameters,” said Alex’sis. “Four delegates and the pilot.”

John looked at Davers. “Once we’ve escorted the Mirimiss delegation from the hangar, have a security team posted by the shuttle.” After going back and forth with the Cruo leadership, they finally agreed to meet tomorrow, a day after the Mirimiss meeting. It was tough convincing the Cruo to wait. Volux culture held significant importance on time and both nations required meeting new individuals quickly as a sign of respect.

“What if the pilot protests?” asked Davers as the shuttle powered down.

“The pilot shouldn’t argue,” said John. “The Mirimiss was told its part of our security protocol.”

“Understood,” said Davers as the shuttle door opened. “Hangar deck to security, verify video surveillance.”

“Video confirmed,” replied the security office. “We’ve got a perfect view of the hangar deck.”

“Here we go,” said John as the Mirimiss delegates emerged. Three Volux stepped out. They were all dressed in long multicolored robes. Each wore a hat that reminded John of fezzes. What was odd was they wore their hats on their faceless cranial structures. Through the monitoring of the Volux homeworld they learned the faceless head contained the Volux brain while the other head contained all their sensory components: ears, eyes, nose, and mouth. John thought it would make more sense to wear the hats on the head that had a face. It was yet another example of not assuming anything when it came to meeting new alien races.

The last Volux to step out was Ministruel Nurof. The delegation looked around their new surroundings. John gave them a few moments to get acquainted with the environment before approaching them. Alex’sis and Davers followed right behind him.

“Ministruel Nurof, welcome to PHOENIX,” said John. The three Volux looked at the captain. He found it a bit unnerving that the expressions on their faces did not change. No smiles or frowns, just neutral looks.

“Captain Roberts,” as Nurof stepped forward. “On behalf of the peaceful Mirimiss Federated, welcome to our world. As a token of our hope for a successful exchange, may I present this gift to you.”

One of the Volux stepped forward and offered the captain a black hexagonal rock. As John took it, colors glimmered from it and a soft tone could be heard.

“It is a gorun crystal,” said Noruf. “Legend says it can reflect the soul of an individual.”

“Sensors indicate the crystal contains nothing harmful,” assured security through Daver’s pip. He nodded to verify he heard their message.

“Thank you for the gift,” said John. They had agreed that no gift offerings would be done in the first meeting so he didn’t feel bad he had nothing to offer Noruf. “May I introduce my senior operations officer, Lieutenant Alex’sis Brandus and security officer Greg Davers.”

“Lieutenant Brandus, Officer Davers,” as Noruf nodded to them. “These are my assistants. Their names are not important. They are merely here to assist in our negotiations.”

John nodded to Noruf’s assistants. They made no acknowledgement to John. “If you come this way, we’ll head to our board room to begin the meeting.”

“Will we not conduct a tour of your ship first?” asked Nurof.

“We have strict quarantine protocols that must be followed,” explained Alex’sis. “Until our medical staff has determined that any microbes you are carrying aren’t harmful to humans, we must remain in the quarantine zone established between the hangar and board room.”

“Is it customary for your subordinates to speak out of turn?” asked Nurof. Alex’sis took his comment as an insult and she had to bite her lip from blurting something offensive at him.

“Although I’m the designated leader of the ship, I must follow the rules established on our ship,” said John. “Lieutenant Brandus is correct. We have medical protocols that must be adhered to, for your protection as well as ours. Once our doctors have given clearance, I’d be happy to give you a tour of the ship.” John wasn’t inclined to show the Mirimiss the ship at all. Chief Sandoval reported there had been continuous attempts by both the Mirimiss and Cruo to probe the ship’s weapons systems. Luckily, the chief had been successful in thwarting their efforts.

Nurof looked at his assistants but nothing was said between them. John got the distinct impression they were not pleased having their request denied.

“We are ready to go to your board room,” said the ministruel in a flat tone.

“Right this way,” as John took the lead out of the hangar. Alex’sis was the last one of the group to leave. She did it on purpose so none of them saw her when she gave the Mirimiss the finger.

The group chatted a little bit on the way but the conversation was nothing of real importance. Nurof provided some information about his people. What he said was already known by the crew through their surveillance of the planet. John tried to get the aliens to keep talking about their world, asking questions that he already knew the answers. This was so they wouldn’t have a chance to ask too many probing questions about the ship.

Once they arrived at the board room, John took his seat at the head of the table as the Mirimiss delegation sat on one side and Alex’sis sat on the other side. Davers removed himself from the others, taking his place outside the board room to ensure no one disturbed the meeting.

John offered the Mirimiss a selection of fruit juices to drink. The Volux’s diet was heavily based on the consumption of fruits native to their planet. John hoped they would find something appealing in what he could offer, and he was right. All four seemed to enjoy sampling the different beverages.

“You are a generous race, with hospitality not known to other species we have dealt with,” complimented Nurof.

“We’re out here to explore the galaxy and learn about other races,” said John. “We believe that through cooperation and fostering a spirit of friendship both sides can benefit from what each has to offer.” Not bad. John thought he threw out a pretty good statement there. Maybe this diplomacy stuff wasn’t so hard.

“It is difficult to accept the claim you have only begun space exploration,” as Nurof finished his glass of mango juice.

“Perhaps I can expand on the captain’s initial statement,” said Alex’sis. “Humans have traveled through space for over a century. This ship was the result of an ambitious project our people undertook. Currently, PHOENIX is the only human starship to have traveled so far from our star system.” Alex’sis wasn’t lying outright. Humans had traveled through space for over a century. It was just that the space travel was limited to inside the solar system.

“It is apparent your race has invested much time to build this remarkable vessel,” said Nurof. “I can only assume it has been equipped with sufficient armaments to defend it as it travels through unknown space.”

John was reluctant to discuss anything regarding PHOENIX’s weapons. “It has offensive and defensive capabilities. It’s no different than any other vessel we’ve encountered so far.”

“Your weapons may still be able to assist my people,” insisted Nurof.

“What do you want?” asked Alex’sis. She made no effort to hide the disdain in her voice. If all they wanted was to get a hold of PHOENIX’s weapons, they’d be walking away empty-handed.

“Your arrival could not have come at a better time,” explained Nurof. “The Cruo have always been hostile, but in recent uvox that hostility has increased. They attack our cities without provocation, detain our citizens without cause. We cannot even send ships into orbit without the Cruo shooting them down. It has become an untenable situation.

“We are a peaceful people who avoid conflict. The Cruo are only interested in conquest. This is difficult to admit but they have surpassed us in military technology with their heavy research investment. Unless we can demonstrate we can withstand an attack, it is only a matter of time before they overrun us.”

The PHOENIX had been monitoring civilian and government transmissions. John and Alex’sis knew some of what Nurof said was true. The Cruo was aggressive but the Mirimiss was just as hostile towards their enemy. Both countries had committed atrocities against one another. What’s more, they knew both governments had mandated that acquiring weapons technology from PHOENIX was their top priority. Each side believed it was the answer to ending the conflict.

“I sympathize with your situation,” expressed John. His only goal was to learn about any information the Volux might have on the Screen and he was intent on accomplishing that mission. “However, you have to understand my position. You’re asking me to trade our weapons, technology that could have dire consequences on your planet. We have no dispute with either you or the Cruo. We don’t want to do anything that gives one side an advantage over the other.”

“Is it not in your mandate to help your allies?” said Nurof.

“We only arrived at your system a day ago,” Alex’sis pointed out. “We have no formal military agreement requiring us to supply you with anything.”

“Then I propose we discuss cementing a permanent relationship between our peoples,” offered Nurof.

Nurof may have been an alien but John looked at him no differently than politicians back home. The captain was hoping to forge alliances with other races but not like this. An alliance with the Mirimiss would mean making an enemy with the Cruo. It could drag PHOENIX into a prolong conflict.

“You’re willing to enter an alliance with a race you barely know?” asked John. “Is the situation on your world that desperate?”

Nurof leaned towards the captain. “The conflict will not end unless either the Mirimiss or Cruo have been subdued. For the good of my people, I am willing to take that risk.”

John didn’t need any time to think it over. “I’m sorry but the conflict between the Volux nations is something we can’t involve ourselves in. Any trade between us will have to be limited to consumer goods.”

“And if all we desire from you are your military goods?” asked Nurof.

“Then we have nothing further to discuss,” replied John. “And you wasted your time coming here.”

Nurof leaned towards his advisors and they whispered amongst each other. Neither John nor Alex’sis could make out what they were saying. The captain knew he was taking a risk not getting any Screen information but the ministruel’s insistence forced his hand. He had to outline the limits of what they would be willing to trade. He hoped the Mirimiss might still share information on the Screen, if they had any to share.

Nurof looked at John and smiled. “I commend your negotiating skills, captain. Let us engage in talks on those itmes you would be willing to part with.”

John was relieved. They just got past the first hurdle. For the next few hours they engaged in what turned out to be pleasant negotiations. By the end of the meeting both sides had agreed to an exchange. Nurof would return to his capital and make the arrangements for a shipment to be made to PHOENIX in the next few days. The captain decided to hold off asking the Mirimiss about the Screen until after they returned with the trade shipment. With how things turned out, there was no rush in asking them about the Screen.

Unfortunately, once the meeting was done Nurof again asked for a tour of the ship. Luckily, Alex’sis had sent a message to Doctor Myers requesting him to come up with a medical reason why the Mirimiss delegation could not explore PHOENIX. So when John contacted him for medical clearance the doctor informed him that the computer had flagged a bacterial strain in the Volux as potentially harmful to humans. Until he came up with a counteragent to the strain the Volux could not leave the quarantine zone. Nurof, although not pleased with the news, accepted it.

After the Mirimiss delegation left PHOENIX, John and Alex’sis went to medical. Each was exhausted from their anxiousness during the entire meeting.

********

Julie arrived at security to check in with the chief.

“The Mirimiss shuttle is heading back to the planet,” as she entered his office. The chief looked completely engrossed by the data displayed on his desk monitors.

“I’m tracking them now,” said Sandoval, who didn’t bother to look up at Julie. “I’ll give the Mirimiss credit. They have pretty sophisticated stealth technology to be able to fly past all the Cruo satellites and not get picked up.”

“The Cruo will probably have just as easy of a time flying past the Mirimiss satellites when they come here tomorrow. How’s their attempts to probe PHOENIX been going?”

Sandoval switched one of his monitor displays over to a new screen. “Both sides have gotten more aggressive. I’ve been able to block their probe attempts. Neither side think we have anything to do with it. In fact, they suspect each other as somehow being responsible for their lack of success.”

Julie shook her head. “I can’t imagine living on such a paranoid world.”

“Probably wasn’t any different when Earth was full of warring nations,” remarked Sandoval.

“You really think our ancestors behaved like the Volux?”

“Probably.”

The chief’s one-word answer did nothing to convince Julie that humans used to act like the Volux. These aliens saw conspiracies everywhere. It amazed her that they could get anything done.

“The Mirimiss shuttle has safely arrived at their capital city,” Sandoval said as he checked his monitors.

Julie breathed a sigh of relief. “So far, so good. Now we just have to deal with Cruo.”