Nec Tede looked shocked. “Two of your people are missing?” he echoed.
“That is correct. One of them is my chief science officer, Cenz – the alien in my entourage when we met.” Brooks studied the man’s face, but he appeared genuinely surprised.
“And the other?” the Governor asked.
“Lieutenant Pirra, a Dessei,” Brooks replied.
“Another xeno, huh? They do seem to stick together, don’t they?”
Brooks scowled. “Surely you can find them with your colony’s sensory system.”
The man laughed. “Oh, Captain, I’m afraid out here we don’t have the kinds of resources you have in the Sapient Union. We can’t afford a full internal sensor system – at least, not yet.”
Brooks crossed his arms. “Their disappearance seems remarkably suspicious, Governor. I expect them to return unharmed.”
“I promise you that my people would never harm them,” the man replied. “But I will dispatch some teams to find them, just in case.”
“Thank you. Tell me Governor, do you think anyone else in the colony might be a danger to them?”
“I trust my people, Captain, but I can’t make guarantees. Don’t forget that I have enemies in this system, and there are traders from both colonies here. We can’t rule out such . . . outside interference trying to damage relationships between us by targeting your people.”
“You never mentioned this danger,” Brooks noted. “I should have been informed if you thought this was a serious risk.”
“I didn’t think it was serious – only that we can’t rule it out. I do have to add, though, Captain, that if your people have caused trouble then they will have to face justice.”
“Justice like what you wish to do to Apollonia Nor?” Brooks asked.
“Captain, that is an internal matter, and I advise you to stay out of it,” the Governor replied. “We are not members of your Union yet.”
Brooks leaned closer to the screen. “If you wish for membership, there are standards of behaviour expected of you. Not to mention standards if you wish to remain in friendly trade relations.”
The Governor did not seem phased by that. “I hope your people return soon, Captain.”
The call was ended.
Brooks turned to see that Urle was waiting.
“I sent your message, Captain,” he said.
“Was there any response?”
“Yes,” Urle replied. “3,627 new civilians have transferred aboard the Craton, as of twenty-two minutes ago.”
Logus looked between the two men in confusion. He felt certain that that number was not correct; he could not recall the precise number, but he did know that they were facing a net loss of civilian population; after the events with the Leviathan, over two thousand were leaving.
Brooks turned to him. “What do you make of the Governor, Doctor?”
“I firmly believe he’s lying,” Logus replied. Concern furrowed his brow and he shook his head. “He’s playing some kind of game, I fear. Something foolish.”
“The man’s been playing these insane colonial politics so long that he can’t think outside of them,” Urle noted. “If he hurts our people, does he think there will be no repercussions?”
Brooks frowned and considered a moment. “The man is either completely insane, or there’s something important we’re missing.”
“I vote that he is suffering from a severe psychosis from his unhealthy environment. The state of his colony is abysmal; this place is dying,” Logus replied. “No one one could be ignorant of that, and yet he deludes himself.”
“He’s legitimately desperate,” Urle said. “If things get much worse here, then there’s a real chance that one of the other two colonies might step in – and his people might welcome it.”
Brooks was silent again, his gaze distant.
“We need time,” he noted. “Time to find our people, and time to convince the Governor to let Nor leave with us. Time to find out what’s going on.”
“Time gives him more chance to enact more plots,” Urle said sourly.
“Yes – if he feels pressured,” Brooks replied. “Which means that we need to make him think he’s going to get what he wants.”
“We just can’t lie,” Logus replied with a frown. “If we make promises, we’re obliged to keep them.”
“I wouldn’t lie,” Brooks said. “But time ultimately will play to our side.”
Urle nodded, and Logus frowned. “Is that the significance of your question and the answer, Captain?”
A smile crossed Brooks’s face. “Commander Urle sent the message to a specific transmitter on the Craton that we use as a way to signal there’s trouble. Her response is not about people, but how many hours and minutes until she can arrive.”
Logus let out a laugh. “So the Governor gets excited thinking you might be willing to play his game and you call for the cavalry.”
“Yes. But she’s 36 hours out, which is a long time for our people and Apollonia Nor.”
“Too long,” Urle noted. “Captain, permission to send out our drones in a search-and-rescue mode.”
“Granted,” Brooks said.
“Aren’t they part of the ship’s security system?” Logus asked.
Concern creased Brooks’s face. “Yes. We’ll be more vulnerable until they return. But our people are out there and we want them back.”
Urle sat up suddenly, alarm clear on what was visible of his face. “Sir, did you give Ambassador Kell permission to leave the ship?”
Brooks snapped his gaze to Urle, his face tightening. “I certainly did not. He shouldn’t even be able to get out the doors.”
“I just ran a scan, Captain, and he’s not on the ship.”
Other Terrestrial 