The V'Dan (35 page)

He snuck a peek at his mother. (
Her aura is still almost as astounded and amazed as everyone else’s, though she has mastered her external expressions—I do think I saw her gaping by the time it all ended. Certainly, she
was
on her feet
within seconds, applauding with the rest . . . Now that she is reseated, she’ll go back to being Empress again.
)

“Ambassador, we have pingback from Earth,”
a voice murmured in her left ear. It was one of the technicians assigned to the robotic projection towers.
“Three-second delay, going live in three . . . two . . . one . . .”

“I am afraid that, after a performance like
that
, my own appearance may seem a bit anticlimactic,” a new, male voice stated in V’Dan.

Imperfect V’Dan, with a lingering bit of Terran accent, but it was intelligible. The words were projected from the twin towers the Terrans had brought, accompanying an image of a face, unmarked and only mildly age-lined, on each of those rectangular, tri-part screens.

“Nonetheless, I am Augustus Callan, Premiere of the Terran United Planets, leader of the many peoples of Earth, Mars, and beyond,” he stated, introducing himself. “Commander-in-Chief of the Terran United Planets Joint Armed Forces of the civilian Peacekeepers and the military Space Force, former Councilor of the Prefecture of Porto, descendant of the ancient kings and queens of Portugal and Europe . . . and I greet you, Eternal Empress Hanaaka of the V’Dan Empire, you and your people, in the name of the Terran United Planets, and with spirit of
aloha
.”

Jackie winced internally. The longer-emphasized European
aa
was not the same thing as the emphasized-with-glottal-stop
a’
of Imperial High V’Dan. She had given Premiere Callan their language herself, but mental knowledge of pronunciation—however accurate—did not always translate into exact physical replication.

(
It’s okay; the Solaricans and Tlassians have some trouble with our glottals,
) Li’eth reassured her. (
The Gatsugi, Choya, and K’Katta like them, however. It is still the easiest language for everyone to pronounce though I suspect Terranglo may soon supplant that.
)

(
Easier in pronunciation, perhaps, but it is at times an insane language, requiring a great deal of memorization,
) she warned him. Around them, the visual pickups on the cameras, both hovering and stationary, had shifted to project Premiere Callan’s image in greater detail. The giant screens also
alternated with images of Empress Hana’ka, who was addressing the Premiere.

“I greet you in kind, Premiere Callan.
Aloha
, as you say. It is incredible to think we are conversing with someone on a world hundreds of light-years away,” she added, before falling silent.

Six seconds passed, just long enough for people to begin getting restless. In the last three of those, Callan nodded, nodded again, then spoke. “Yes, almost as incredible as finding long-lost cousins hundreds of light-years from home just as we have begun to explore our nearest stars.” He smiled. “And found you living on a world with a very similar year-length, at that. Now, allow me the pleasure of introducing the rest of our government to your people . . .”

This was the boring part for Jackie. She knew who many of the other Councilors were—she had worked alongside them for the last five years—and so she was free to let her mind wander while Callan introduced his Secondaire. Except it only wandered to the burgundy-striped man at her side. (
Do you think you should return to your seat now?
)

Her reluctance made him squeeze the hand he was still holding. (
I think I’d rather stand here while I can. The more our people
see
the two of us together, the more natural it will seem. Let’s not push the thought of separating us into anyone’s mind until they think of it. Or rather, the Empress thinks of it. She did, after all, loan me to you for an indefinite length of time.
)

Jackie quirked her brow briefly, glancing at him, then reviewed his mother’s words. (
. . . Yes, she did, didn’t she? No specifying that it was just for this moment only. I think I shall have to find a subtle way to thank her.
)

(
It was as much your own wording as hers,
) Li’eth pointed out. (
Now, I understand that some of the embassy members will be going on a tour of V’Dan and the insystem settlements, much as the others and I did of your Sol System. But Rosa told me
she
will be going on that tour, not you.
)

(
That is correct,
) Jackie agreed. (
I’ll be eyebrow deep in second-stage preliminary agreements, prioritizing a few more things, smoothing out the roughest edges, sending information packets back and forth, consulting with our economists
and yours to establish value rates for basic necessities . . . and trying to figure out how to not only pay back the Empress for her generous hospitality but how to start pulling our weight financially. I don’t suppose your people know what a souvenir is?
)

He blinked twice and gave her a sidelong look. (
You and your people are planning on selling
souvenirs
to the Empire?
)

(
Why not? A little something from the Motherworld—something that can be sterilized, of course, and nothing that could cause harm to either ecology, but something that says, “I have a little something from the Motherworld.” A touchstone, an anchor, a connection to long-lost history—I can tell you for sure that my people are anticipating yours will produce things that are similar.
)

(
We
are
familiar with the concept of souvenirs, woman,
) Li’eth stated wryly. (
I was just thinking . . . well . . . the long-lost Motherworld would end up being a lot more mystical and hallowed, and not so . . . so . . .
)

(
Normal, for a planet infested with Humans?
) she quipped, and got a mental dirty look.

(
Yes, if you want to put it that way. I am sorry you won’t be able to go on that tour with the others,
) he added, returning to the original topic. (
But selfishly glad you’ll be nearby.
)

(
Oh, I’ll go on a tour of V’Dan. It’ll just be one held at a later date.
)

(
Considering you forgot to list coordinating the insertion of Terran military assistance into the war and all that your technology might be able to do, “a later date” might be a
very
long way off,
) he reminded her.

(
So we’ll do it on our honeymoon. You V’Dan do have a concept similar to that one, right?
) she asked, sending him suggestive images.

(
We also share the habit of spanking those who are naughty until they learn better,
) Li’eth retorted. A faint hint of a blush crept across his cheeks even as he said that. (
No teasing me during something that’ll be all over the info-matrices for the next ten thousand years. Some of my reactions will be more visible than yours.
)

(
Fine. Let’s think about the reception coming next. You’ve
had two days to start assessing Imperial Court politics. Any advice?
) Jackie asked.

(
I’m still behind on
all
the gossip, but you’ll want to be extra-polite to the following people.
) Li’eth murmured their names in her mind, attaching faces and even spotting them in the crowd for her, subtly drawing her attention with little glances right and left. Most were V’Dan, but some were true aliens.

The introductions and explanations came to an end, with Premiere Callan saying, “. . . Now that your people understand a little more about ours, and how very different we are, I am told our broadcast technicians are ready to pass along the presentations your people have prepared for our embassy staff. Part parade, and part performance art, yes?”

“That is correct,” Hana’ka stated. She rose from her seat and lifted her hands. “Let the very stones of our world welcome our honored guests, providing them with comfort as we provide them with our entertainments.”

With the faintest of rasps and a hint of a hum, two rows of flagstones rose on either side of the First Tier Plaza, just in front of the ones serving as risers for the patiently watching nobles, officers, and bureaucrats of the highest ranks. They rotated as well, spinning a quarter turn backwards to reveal low-backed sofa-like structures, cushioned surfaces that would be easier to sit on for any length of time than an actual hunk of stone would be.

“Grand High Ambassador Maq’en-zi, Assistant High Ambassador M’Crari, we welcome you to the Imperial Tier for the length of this celebration in your people’s honor, as direct representatives of your people and your leader, Premiere Callan,” the Empress stated. She gestured to the chairs that had been discreetly brought up to either side of her throne, placed between it and the chairs of her husband and eldest daughter.

While her fellow Terrans rose and split to either side, Jackie carefully shielded her mind and offered her left hand to Rosa; her right hand still clasped Li’eth’s left. The older woman accepted graciously, and the three of them walked toward the steps of the Imperial Tier. Even with her shields clamped tight, Jackie could sense some of Rosa’s thoughts. They weren’t disruptive, though; the older stateswoman radiated satisfaction
with how things were going, and a touch impressed by the sheer scope of Jackie’s projections.

Empress Hana’ka was already on her feet, but as the trio approached, the Imperial Consort rose as well. Rose, and met his son’s gaze. Te-los stepped to the side, gesturing at his vacated chair, then turned and bowed to his mate, backed up a step, and settled in his son’s empty seat.

(
That’s . . . an interesting choice,
) Li’eth murmured. (
And an encouraging one.
)

All three of them bowed before the Empress. Hana’ka pulled her gaze from her husband and flicked her hands. Obediently, Jackie and Rosa parted company, with the older woman moving to the Empress’ right, Jackie and Li’eth to his mother’s left. They had to part hands as well, just so they could turn to face the ever-broadening courtyards stretching into the distance.

A second subtle gesture, and the four of them seated themselves. The chairs were close enough that it was easy to give in to instinct and drape her left elbow on the armrest, while Li’eth draped his right, allowing their hands to clasp and twine. A couple of the projection screens picked up the image of the Grand High Ambassador and Imperial Prince holding hands, but not for long; those images were quickly supplanted by Master of Ceremonies. He stepped back up onto his podium, lifted his hands, and commanded, “Let the festivities begin!”

From out of side tunnels between rows of stone risers, the performers emerged, starting with marching bands playing various instruments. Some were familiar—there were only so many different ways to make a drum after all, along with flutes and pan pipes, and of course horn-style instruments were as old as conch shells, plus plucked string instruments—but others were downright strange. The way the notes were arranged were also a bit strange, somewhere between the pentatonic and the octave. They were matched in harmonic frequencies, and lovely in their exoticness, but they weren’t the widespread scales and keys of common Terran tunes, either.

(
Father wants you to know something,
) Li’eth stated as she tried to focus on the music.

(
I heard him,
) Jackie demurred. (
He didn’t mean to project, and I didn’t mean to overhear, but his shields and focus are, well . . . V’Dan. Please inform him I thank him deeply for the
courtesy of allowing us to sit together and that I appreciate his faith in our holy bond.
)

Nodding slightly, he passed along her comment. The musicians marched and danced, then swung around to the right side, heading down toward Second Tier, while those from the Second Tier Plaza closed ranks and moved up along the left. (
. . . He’s willing to make an appointment for lessons.
)

(
Please apologize to your father. I cannot in good conscience allow such lessons—from myself or anyone else in our delegation—until I have the Empress’ permission. He’s too close to her, and I will have no accusations of undue influence over someone in such a close position of trust.
)

(
. . . Father says he hoped you’d say that, but he still wishes to learn, once you both have permission.
)

It was her turn to nod subtly. She was somewhat distracted by the next incoming performance; the stones of the stairs had been realigned, turned into more gradually sloped ramps, and the group following the musicians were literally rolling up the ramp. (
It’s on my to-do list . . .
Ooh
, ring dancers! And synchronized at that! I’ve only seen them a couple times back home, but these ones—wow!—they are
vastly
better than ours.
)

(
It’s an ancient art form,
) Li’eth explained, filling her in on the background. (
Just under eight thousand years ago, the first giant bronze hoops were forged. Originally crafted for wine barrels, they were incorporated into performance art by the peoples of the region of Cas-Remath when . . .
)

MAY 19, 2287 C.E.

JANVA 13, 9508 V.D.S.

It was a good thing Grand Captain Tes’rin came early to escort Jackie and a few of her fellow Terrans to their first official
meeting the next day. Everyone was exhausted from the reception, still a bit groggy, and trying to orient themselves on the maps of the Winter Palace over breakfast. Even with an extra hour and a half for sleep, it had been a long day. Jackie certainly was thinking of asserting a midday mandatory siesta policy so that people could nap and relax halfway through the longer V’Dan day rather than attempt to stay up an extra hour before trying to sleep it off in just half an hour’s extra rest. At the very least,
she
might end up needing a siesta.

Local supplies still had to be arranged, furniture selected, and hundreds of little meetings set up in order to get familiar with various V’Dan departments to determine which were similar to Terran ones and which were a bit too different to categorize easily. Tes’rin patiently explained how to get from point A to point B, point A to point D, from C to G and W while Jackie hurried through the last of her breakfast and scurried off to change into her waiting uniform.

The very first meeting, out of necessity, was going to be a military one. The V’Dan didn’t fully grasp the capabilities and incapabilities of the Terran
Embassy
fleet, or even the fact that it
was
a military fleet as well as a diplomatic one. The Terrans did not want to, as the ancient phrase went, cut in on anybody’s dance without asking, in case that turned it into a charlie foxtrot. But they were both occupying the same system, and had a common foe, and that meant they would have to coordinate defense efforts from the start.

As Admiral-General Kurtz had lectured Jackie before leaving Earth, they were not
officially
at war with the Salik, but it was highly probable that the Salik
would
consider Terrans and V’Dan to be one and the same thing—tasty targets—and somewhat likely the aliens would come looking for the Terrans in specific, thanks to her choices and actions on board that enemy warship. Only somewhat, because only the Terrans had interstellar communications, which meant word of what she had done would spread relatively slowly through the Salik fleet. Nor were they officially allied with the V’Dan and the Alliance, though that, too, was merely a matter of time.

So when Tes’rin guided her and her clutch of combined military and embassy personnel down to the service tunnels under the Winter Palace grounds and into a tram that sped
them north toward the government wings, she went in her Dress Blacks, her medals pinned to her chest and her silver eagles to her lapels, shoulder boards, and the center of her cap.

With her were Captain al-Fulan, Lieutenant Second Class Paea, the leader of the Second Platoon—Lieutenant Buraq had been left behind to remain in charge of the ground troops at the Embassy—Commander Graves, Lieutenant First Class Colvers—she didn’t get along with him personally, but he was well versed in orbital and insystem combat—and her two Space Force translators, Lieutenant First Class Darian Johnston and Lieutenant Junior Grade Min Wang-Kurakawa, plus the historian, Adelle Mariposa, who was there to record the meeting for translating and sending back to Earth. Mariposa did not have a military uniform, of course, but by either conscious or unconscious choice, she had selected a black pantsuit to wear, and so blended in with the small, soberly dressed crowd.

The chamber they were escorted to was not far from the tram system. The actual structure, barrel-vaulted with elegant Gothic ribs and lined with monitor screens, looked not too dissimilar from a Terran tactical-command chamber. The central table also looked somewhat like the Terran version for such things; its surface held a giant workstation screen, with some areas dark and others lit with lists, schedules, spreadsheets, star charts, and other graphics. The lettering was different, the layout of the home system certainly not the same, and the uniforms on the bodies already in the room were brightly different from the sober colors worn by the Terrans, but beyond that, it wasn’t too alien.

Empress Hana’ka was already there. Since the protocols for this sort of situation—military and somewhat urgent—had already been discussed, Jackie and company merely bowed when they were about halfway to the table before finishing their approach. As she straightened, Jackie spotted not only Li’eth near one end of the table, but a familiar dark-blond-and-hot-pink figure as well, Leftenant Superior V’kol Kos’q.

“You’re here on time. Good. Thank you, Grand Captain Tes’rin; that will be all for now. Take your seats, everyone,” the Empress directed, while the embassy liaison thumped his fist to his chest and departed. Her outfit today was comparatively austere in its decorations and frills to yesterday’s public
appearance, but her military-cut coat was still cloth of gold. She smoothed it as she sat down. The Terrans eyed each other, eyed the seats settled along the broad, oval table, and seated themselves, with Jackie taking the seat directly across from the Empress, al-Fulan to her left and Paea to her right, with the others sorting themselves out.

Settling into the surprisingly comfortable padding of her rolling chair, Jackie set down her portfolio case and extracted several stacks of clipped-together papers and a datapad. She did so hoping this meeting would go better—or at least more respectfully—than last night’s reception, postparade. It had been limited to just the Imperial Family and the members of the First Tier who had cared to attend. At first, everyone had been polite and welcoming, but as the afternoon had rolled into local evening, the attitudes of the
jungen
-marked members of the reception toward the markless Terrans had started surfacing in subtle ways.

None of it had been blatant. The most overt of the remarks were ones about the ignorance of the Terrans, but mentioned in a sort of condescending way. Other, slightly less obvious comments were somewhat arrogant “gentle corrections” of what the Terrans knew versus what their V’Dan hosts knew . . . or thought they knew.

There had also been the irksome habit of gravitating toward Dr. Du, asking her opinion more often than anyone else, and glancing her way subtly and not so subtly to see if she was going to confirm what other Terrans were saying. Jackie had taken pity on her, dismissing the pathologist back to the embassy when Li’eth noticed Jai’s aura flaring like a facial tic, for all the woman had done her best externally to seem calm and unbothered.

Li’eth and his crew had long since sketched out the insignia for the various rankings in the V’Dan military A check of the metal shapes pinned on the red-and-gold uniforms of the men and women seating themselves around the table showed that most were generals and admirals of various ranks. Officers of the First Tier, in other words, with only Li’eth and V’kol for Second Tier officers who had leave to sit with them.

Or rather, the pair held the right merely to stand behind two of those brown swivel chairs, until the Empress stated, “At this
time, I elevate Imperial Prince Kah’raman V’Daania, Captain of the Imperial Army, to the rank of Grand Captain. I do so in order to make him a peer in rank to
Cur-nel
Ja’qi Maq’en-zi.”

One of the generals slid a box down the table. V’kol intercepted it neatly. Opening the lid, he set that on the table and started removing Li’eth’s solid steel triangles from his uniform for him. Hana’ka continued while V’kol replaced those triangles with large, solid brass squares.

“I hereby appoint Grand Captain Kah’raman V’Daania as our military liaison to the Terran embassy. Leftenant Superior V’kol Kos’q is here as his attaché. They are both given leave to be seated at this table in that role,” Hana’ka stated. A gesture of her hand allowed her newly elevated son and his companion to take their seats. “Having gifted you Terrans with this liaison and attaché, I
request
that your military leadership seek their counsel and heed their advice while guests within any V’Dan- or Alliance-held system,” she continued. Her gray-eyed gaze met Jackie’s. “Will you comply?”

“Whenever there is the time and grace to consult with Grand Captain V’Daania, that will be the preferential action of my people, yes. But we shall not hold our breath that such will always be the case,” Jackie stated formally, using yesterday’s catchphrase. “However, with good, flexible planning, we should be able to set up a system of cooperative checklists and preemptive orders today that will ensure cooperative compliance across a wide variety of situations—and before any of you might say, ‘the two of you can share intel and orders as quick as a thought’ because of our holy pairing
Gestalt
, please understand that it depends on both of us being aware of a situation that may be happening beyond our actual knowledge. Such as if I am occupied by something else and am not available to handle it, or if Grand Captain V’Daania has not been informed of a particular piece of information.”

“That is a remarkably prudent viewpoint, Grand High Ambassador,” one of the other women at the table observed. She had an X-shaped set of insignia, but only in outline. That made her a high general, or perhaps a high admiral, depending whether she was with the ground troops of the Army or the starships of the Fleet. “I’ll admit that last night I didn’t think you’d have much in the way of military genius among your—”

“—Okay,
that
?” Jackie interrupted firmly, pointing at the woman. “That right there? Stow it, web it, lock it, and
ignore
it, High General.”

“High Admiral,” Li’eth clarified when she paused for breath. “The knotwork is different on the coat plastron braiding. I apologize for not having clarified that, earlier.”

“Thank you, Liaison,” Jackie allowed smoothly. “I shall endeavor to study and memorize the difference. High Admirals and Generals, Grand Admirals and Generals, please take this
warning
to heart at this time.
We are not V’Dan.
We are most definitely, especially, certifiably
not
juveniles. And we are
not
, as a group, inexperienced in military matters.

“There is only one person at this table among the Terran delegation who has
not
faced combat, and that is our historian, Meioa Mariposa, who is here to personally record this meeting. She will then hand-carry that data to our hyperrelay systems for direct uploading to the Terran United Planets Space Force without running the risk of a lightwave broadcast between here and the relays on our ships being picked up by the enemy in space, to ensure strict security protocols are maintained at all times.

“Even Lieutenant Junior Grade Wang-Kurakawa, the juniormost member of our military forces seated at this table, and who graduated from her Special Forces Academy just over five months ago, has faced off against an enemy so technologically advanced, you would
shova v’shakk
yourself at the thought of having to face them. And by the grace of Terran holy gifts, which is our only weapon against them, she scared
them
off, preventing them from kidnapping and experimenting upon Terran subjects,” Jackie continued sternly while the majority of the V’Dan around them looked offended at her vulgar words. “Carve this message on your brains.
We. Are not. Children.
We are
not
inexperienced soldiers.

“So kindly get that arrogance and condescension out of your tone, your vocabulary, your approach to my people, and apply a Winter Palace–sized load of
respect
to the Terrans at this and all future meetings. Those assumptions of your supposed chronological superiority are not only
wrong
, they will do the
opposite
of what this meeting is about. Which is to
secure not only our cooperation with your preferred military procedures, but our
interest
in helping save your hides.

“Condescension and arrogant attitudes do
not
build friendships, meioas,” she told the red-and-gold-clad officers around her. “They most
certainly
do not belong at a meeting of potential allies. Is that
clear
?”

The high admiral, just as taken aback as the rest of her peers, blinked, opened and shut her mouth a few times while Jackie lectured her, then finally shifted her gaze to her liege in the silence that followed. She stared in a way that silently asked if the Empress of V’Dan was going to allow such bold chastising to go unpunished, or at the very least unanswered.

“High Admiral Z’bennif, I believe you owe the Grand High Ambassador an answer,” Empress Hana’ka stated calmly. “I suggest you start with an apology.”

“Eternity—”

“—Maq’en-zi is correct,” Hana’ka stated. She didn’t have to raise her voice or emphasize any words to hold her officers’ attentions. “We are the same species, and have the same general tonal emphases and expressions for things like arrogance, condescencion, and contempt. These Terrans are our potential allies . . . and by prophecy, we will act to keep them as our allies. It is expected that they in turn shall be equally polite, attentive, and respectful toward us.”

Catching sight of the Marine captain glancing her way, Jackie gave him a subtle nod, allowing him to speak in her place.

“One of our people, Eternity, a gentleman by the name of Ziad Abdelnour a few centuries back, gave us a now-famous quote,” Captain al-Fulan stated. “He said, ‘Trust is earned, respect is given, and loyalty is demonstrated. Betrayal of any one of those is to lose all three.’ We will give you the respect you are due, but you must give it in return to earn our trust, as we shall earn yours. With a double foundation of those two things between our people, there will be ample opportunity on both sides for loyalty to be demonstrated in the war that lies ahead.

“For myself, I would say that we should take great care here and now to place our weapons on embankments of solid stone rather than shifting sand, lest we find the dune toppling
our cannons to the valley floor, and our munitions
accidentally
striking at friendly targets instead. That requires a solid foundation of trust and respect,” he finished.