New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

---

“Captain, how did you know the Hev would bow before your threat?” Decinus asked.  “Surely you can understand that that was entirely against diplomatic protocol.”

The ship would take some time to gather enough power to make the next jump into zerospace.  Much of the time in space, there was nothing to do but wait.

The Ambassador’s words sparked a question in Brooks’s mind, and before he answered he scanned the bridge for a sign of Kell.  But that ambassador was not present.

His eyes went back to the man.  “I was a junior shipman on a smuggling ship on its way into the Dekkar system-“

“A smuggling ship?” Decinus asked, his voice quite disapproving.

“Yes,” Brooks replied, without hesitation.

“What were you smuggling?”

“Data and constructors,” Brooks replied.  “To allow the mining colony in the asteroid belt to produce high-end equipment on-site.  It helped get them out from under the thumb of the colonial government.”

“I see,” Decinus said, his disapproval flickering to uncertainty.

“That’s not important,” Brooks said.  “The Hev also had a colony in the system – it was a sticky situation that still hasn’t been resolved, but at that time we were avoiding the colonial authorities by traveling through Hev-controlled space.  The Captain has worked out a deal with them, but when we were going through, we encountered a picket that threatened us.”

“Were they P’G’Maig?” Decinus asked.

“No, they were another Red Hev clan called the Y’K’Mog.  When they threatened us, I was on the conn, and I had never encountered Hev before, so I was concerned.  But the Captain did as I did here, and then told me about how these challenges were just that – tests.  Sometimes by the Hev hierarchy, sometimes by the individual captain who thinks he can pull off a theft and get away with it.  The only way to react to it when you’re in the right and they know it is by holding your ground and threatening back.”

“I see,” Decinus said.  “This is nothing at all like what I am familiar with from reading on the Blue and Yellow Hev clans.”

“Different cultures,” Brooks said with a shrug.  “I can’t say it wasn’t a risk here, but I had a strong feeling that it would work.”

Decinus considered that, and Brooks looked back around, wondering just where Kell had gone.  He often seemed to enjoy being in the command center, especially when things were occurring.

“Captain,” Cenz said suddenly, his face screen showing alarm.  “I am detecting a new ship – I believe they are Fesha.”

“Fesha?” Brooks repeated.  “What on Earth is a Fesha ship doing here?”

Decinus leaned forward.  “Is it a long-range bulk carrier?”

“We are still resolving the image – they are almost two light hours distant, orbiting the seventh planet, and just came into view.”

“So they wouldn’t have seen us yet,” Brooks said.  “At their current orbital rate, do we still have line of sight?”

“Yes, sir, we-“

“Captain!” Shomari Eboh said.  “We are receiving an FTL transmission.  It is the Fesha ship.”

Brooks scowled.

“The Hev must have told them that we arrived,” Urle said.

“Or our operational security was sloppy,” Brooks noted.  “But I think your thought is more likely to be true.  Any thoughts on why they’re here?”

“I can offer a theory for that, Captain,” Decinus said.  “I was instructed not to speak on this unless it became relevant, but we have reason to believe that the Fesha are conducting some sort of trade with the P’G’Maig.”

“If they’re trading with the Fesha, then it really means the Aeena,” Urle said with distaste.

And it was true.  The Fesha were a client species to the xenophobic and isolationist Aeena.  No human had ever even met one of the shadowy puppet masters in the flesh, as far as was known, with the Fesha handling all external contact so as to keep their masters ‘untainted’ by outsiders.

“Shall we accept their message, Captain?” Eboh asked.

“Yes,” Brooks decided.  “Put them on broad-view.”

An image appeared, projected for all in the seeming midst of space.

The being that was looking at them could not be further from a Hev in looks; while Hev were furred and hunched, with small eyes and snout-like faces, the Fesha looked like something from a fairy tale.

The Captain stood at the fore, but behind him stood others of his kind on the bridge of his vessel.

The lithe species appeared to be carved from crystal, their bodies almost entirely clear, save for when scintillating lights crossed the surface, created by small internal organs, and the glow spread by their silica skin.

Little was known about their evolutionary origins, but the lights were a part of their communication system, with the slack taken up by the hair-like blades atop their heads.

This was where their true mouth was hiding; the hair-like structures waved above their heads at all times, scratching and rubbing together to create their verbal language.  Unlike the rest of their bodies, those blades were red, appearing dark and dull until they caught the light and turned bright.

It was those sounds that greeted Brooks, along with a spreading bluish glow across its face that his system speculated was a sign of cordiality.

“This is most unexpected.  You are the Ian Brooks, I understand,” the Fesha said.

Its eyes were pale white orbs, embedded fully in its skull, able to rotate to see almost any direction even through its own body.

“Fesha ship, what is your purpose in this system?” Brooks asked.

“The same might be asked from where I stand,” the Fesha replied.  “This one is Tii Keh Sheh.”

“Captain Tii Keh Sheh, this is an active warzone,” Brooks said.  “I ask again what you are doing here.  For your own safety, you should leave.”

A ripple of a color that seemed to wane between orange and violet now spread across his face in several splotches.  Brooks’s system could not identify the meaning.

“This one feels in no danger.  But are you, Ian Brooks?”

“Your presence may jeopardize attempts at creating a peace between the warring factions,” Brooks said, ignoring it.

“We, too, attempt to bring peace,” Tii Keh Sheh replied.  “How do you propose to do such?  If we speak together, perhaps our voices will pierce the veil of violence.”

“I am afraid that is not possible,” Brooks said curtly.  “But if you are seeking to prevent the extermination of the T’H’Tul, then we are of a like mind and I wish you success.”

The being was quiet for a long moment.  A chill blue spread down from its face.

“Perhaps,” it replied cryptically.

The communication ended.

Brooks sat back down.

“That was less fruitful than could be hoped,” Decinus said.  “Have we identified the ship?  Does it have any weapons?”

“Its IFF says it’s the Klejket, but that name is not in any of our databases,” Urle said.

“I find myself skeptical of his claim about wanting to bring peace,” Brooks said sourly.

“I do not enjoy being pessimistic – but I agree,” Decinus said.

Urle took a breath, considering.  “On the one hand, Fesha getting involved isn’t usually a good thing for us.  But they don’t frequently take on direct encounters, so I’m not too concerned about them attacking.  The question is just why they’re here – what would they benefit from peace here?  Or anything here, for that matter?”

“We cannot assume they are here for selfish purposes,” Decinus said thoughtfully.  “We are right to be cautious in our dealings with them, but we cannot let our judgments be clouded until we know more.”

“It is true,” Brooks agreed, “That there are Fesha factions not under the control of the Aeena – at least not directly.  But given the situation we cannot let our guard down.  If they can communicate with us faster-than-light, then they can speak to someone else outside the system and call in reinforcements.”

“Given that this is a mission of humanity,” Decinus said, “And there is a Sepht ship here, it becomes our responsibility to ensure their safety first.  They, after all, rejected the T’H’Tul call for help.  If they were to be harmed while aiding us it would be a diplomatic disaster at a very inopportune moment, and would make us appear weak and ineffectual.”

“As well as leave Sepht dead,” Urle said.

“Of course,” Decinus replied.  “But we must keep the larger picture in mind.  I recommend, Captain, that we have the Bright Flower stay close – or request them to leave.”

“Commodore Siilon sent me the specifics of their mission – they will not leave,” Brooks said.

“Really?  I was not informed of these details,” Decinus said, frowning.

“Need to know basis.  It’s a naval matter,” Brooks said, not wishing to go down this path right now.

He rose.  “Yaepanaya, you have the bridge.  Urle, with me.”

Decinus looked surprised.  “Shall I come?”

“No,” Brooks said.  “Ship matters.”

The Ambassador clearly knew he was being excluded from something, but accepted it without comment.  “I have preparations of my own to make.”

---

< Ep 6 Part 11 | Ep 6 Part 13 >