As they stepped off the ship, the two girls’ thoughts were very different. Sava felt her heart pounding and wondered if she had made the right choices. If the details of her vacation became public, she would surely be brought before a commission of inquiry. For her part, the little Zcarbb arrived illegally on the planet Urus with the fascination of a child in a toy store. Wrapped in the invisible stealth coating, connected by a wire to Domeria’s bracelet, her silhouette and her sounds were cut off from the outside, but she saw everything. For her, it had to be the most “alien” world she had ever seen in her entire life.

It was the only way to bring the little girl with her without the protection systems scattered around the planet alerting the authorities to the presence of a Zcarbb. Sure, she could probably manage to talk her way out of trouble, but many would not approve of bringing the princess back to her people. They might even hand her over to the administrative inspectors for a thorough investigation, to find out if she was in the pay of the Zcarbbs…

“That’s funny, there are drops of water on your skin!”

The little girl’s voice echoed in the miniature earphone hanging in her ear. With annoyance, Sava wiped the sweat from her brow and progressed through the streets.

Like most cities in the Administration, this one had no real personality. The architecture was similar to everywhere else, with the exception of a few vaguely exotic buildings, more likely proving the presence of a foreign cultural community than a local particularism. People walked dressed in roughly similar clothes, depending on whether they followed the latest universal fashion or were a few behind. In the air, the vehicles on autopilot followed the multiple invisible air roads in an apparent chaos, but in reality, perfectly organized by the road AIs.

Despite this world that seemed most banal to Sava, the princess was enchanted. She cried out in wonder every time a vehicle passed overhead, spotted the differences between people's clothes, was amused by the outpourings of color coming from the advertising screens...

“Hey! Sava-Domeria? What are these screens with lots of lights for? I don't understand what they're talking about?”

“It's advertising for new products. This one is praising... an insurance company, it seems. This one is offering a sophisticated electronic chip to boost the local memory of your Z.I.A. and this other one offers a more efficient application for navigating the Encyclopedia Universalis.”

“Oh? I didn't know you sold products. I thought you synthesized everything with machines like the food machine... I heard that when you wanted clothes, the machines made them directly from elementary particles, without going through a craftsman.”

“There is still a certain craze for craft products, with protected labels. There is also equipment that is too complex or copyrighted that cannot be printed.”

“Like these... insurance companies?”

Sava turned her head to her shoulder. Although she felt the little Zcarbb clinging to it, she couldn't see anything, but her movement had been natural in the face of the absurdity of the question. In hindsight, she told herself that it was normal for the Zcarbbs not to know what insurance was: in their society everything was owned by the hive and distributed according to the supposed needs of each person.

“Yes... like insurance companies.”

“It's good that not everything is done by machines: otherwise, your workers would be bored with nothing to do.”

Yes... They would mostly be unemployed... In fact, unemployment was a growing problem throughout the universe. Sava preferred not to reveal the weaknesses of the Administration to the enemy, although she strongly doubted that the Zcarbbs could arouse popular enthusiasm by claiming that they would give work to everyone: no one would have too much confidence in the working conditions offered.

Suddenly, sirens sounded in the streets as streetlights came on, in broad daylight but with an eerie red glow. Public speakers and billboards began to repeat the same announcement:

“RED ALERT! RED ALERT! The planet is under attack. Please remain calm and head to the bunkers or your citizen defense unit. RED ALERT! EVERYONE TO SHELTER!”

As the announcement repeated itself over and over, far from remaining calm, the citizens began to scream and run in all directions, jostling to reach the destinations of their choice. Better organized because they could not be controlled manually, the vehicles descended along emergency routes to reach the parking lots of the bunkers.

Already, explosions were ringing out and warships appeared in the sky, fighting fiercely against each other. The invaders had strange, pointed, jagged shapes, seemingly made from some sort of amber... the Zcarbbs!

The little princess let out a squeal of delight at the thought of seeing a battle up close, completely oblivious to the dangers involved. Sava fumed.

“Say Sava-Domeria: what does ‘omega-pioutrerie’ mean? I never learned that word. Is it Homic?”

“Um... yeah, it doesn't mean anything important, just don't repeat it, okay?”

What to do? Finally, she had found the Zcarbbs, but these weren't exactly ideal circumstances. Many fighter jets were fighting each other in the air and the enemy's seemed to be deliberately targeting all the infrastructure. This was nothing like the classic Zcarbb attacks she had seen on video: there was no desire to keep the buildings intact here, but the opposite.

“We're lost!” someone shouted nearby. “We'll never make it to the bunkers in time...”

“Because you think they'll be able to protect us?” another one retorted in a fit of desperate rage. “I have access to an encrypted Network that still works... well, I had it just before my colleagues told me that their bunker was exploding everywhere...”

“It's the end of the world!” someone else yelled, running around like a madman, waving his four arms in the air.

This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

The sky was dotted with the explosions of ships, eliminated by ground defenses or by other ships. Slowly, gigantic machines descended from the sky, like large metal disks with an enormous central circle that seemed hollow but plunged into darkness. Suddenly, these circles lit up to project wide rays that devastated entire blocks of skyscrapers.

“Strategic bombers! The Zcarbbs don't build them... Their appearance is not Zcarbb by the way: they must have captured a military shipyard intact... How did they manage without causing it to self-destruct?”

This was bad: if one of these monstrous death machines arrived above them and fired, there was no chance of survival. Even a bunker with the best shields would have little chance...

Something had to be done. All hesitation left the young woman and she activated the holographic screen of her identification bracelet. Using her alpha priority, she asked to be put in contact with the local military command center by indicating an emergency.

The three-dimensional holographic screen floating in front of her revealed a human of about fifty years old, in the uniform of a general of the Republic of Urus, his information written in the air to confirm his identity. He was in a large room where reigned an indescribable chaos of voices, weapons stacked and checked and haphazard movements of military officers.

“Yeah, what do you want?”

The man’s tone was anything but formal. No classic administrative formula: he seemed desperate but still determined to continue his work until its imminent end, but without bothering to follow the procedure.

“Administrative agent Sava Domeria, alpha level. After investigation, I believe I have found what the Zcarbbs are looking for and think I can conduct a negotiation to stop their attack. I need you to make sure the Zcarbbs locate my position and think to observe me before shooting me. Can you do that?”

The general looked surprised, a vague glimmer of hope appearing there before disappearing for fear that it would turn out to be a disappointment. He gave an amused, or nervous, grin.

“You… you think you can stop this? Ah! Ah! Ah! Yeah… Most of our republic territory is under attack right now and we’ve lost contact with the outside of the galaxy… And with everyone, now that the Zcarbbs have deployed their jammers. We’re about to fight our last battle here: our shields will force the enemies to opt for a ground attack and we’re going to fight here. We’re checking our weapons and more than half of my guys are praying… To think that this morning the majority were atheists… And you, there, little alpha-level administrative agent, you arrive and, oh, miracle, a solution! Ah! Ah! Ah! The Zcarbbs have already refused our surrender and you are going to negotiate… Ah! Ah! Ah!”

The general was totally having a nervous breakdown. You couldn’t blame him too much given the circumstances, but every second that passed could well be the last. The earth was already shaking from the explosions produced by the bombers a few kilometers away. The fact that they had tried to negotiate their surrender, despite the laws prohibiting negotiation with the Zcarbbs, and that they had refused, contrary to their habit, completely justified the man's skepticism about the young agent's chances.

Barely holding back a scream, Sava tried to shake his interlocutor a little:

“So, are you going to help me save us all or not?”

“Yeah, yeah. I'm going to give your computer total and priority access to the defense alert. You should appear and be heard on all screens and all frequencies: these scumbags should have no problem locating you within a second.”

“How long? It's urgent now!”

“What do you think I'm doing here? While I was talking to you, I've already done what was necessary. I'm not one of those hidden generals who owe their position to their career as a civil servant: it's through real experiences on the front that I got my position! There, I've just given you the order... May you tell the truth... Good luck.”

As the access authorization and broadcast program arrived at the wrist-computer, the man's face disappeared.

Without wasting a moment, Sava tore off the stealthy protective film that surrounded the princess, making her visible. Taking her in both hands, she raised her towards the enemy ships that increasingly covered the sky. Noticing out of the corner of her eye the advertising screens on which her image was broadcast, she couldn't help but think of a certain film where a baby was thus raised in the air to be presented to the crowd... She burst into nervous laughter: it was incredible all the nonsense that could go through your head even when you were on the verge of death.

Her voice, repeated by the loudspeakers, rang out:

“Zcarbbs! I am Sava Domeria, an agent of the Administration at alpha level! I have found what you are looking for and I ask you to negotiate with me the immediate cessation of your attacks!”

Her heart was beating faster than ever. Even though the little princess wasn’t heavy and the muscular assistance of her suit spared her arms the fatigue induced by maintaining their tense position, her stress caused a certain exhaustion that made her tremble slightly. Would she succeed? From what she knew of Zcarbb psychology, they wouldn’t shoot where a princess was, but could she even negotiate? It was on a different level than settling a conflict between two neighboring nations or resolving a hostage situation…

Panting, she noticed that the explosions were gradually ceasing. The ships remained in the air, threatening, while their fighters withdrew under the protection of their shields, ready to fall on the city again as soon as they were given the order.

A large two-dimensional holographic screen suddenly appeared in the air, nearly a hundred meters away from her. A strange insectoid with humanoid features, a Zcarbb prince clad in amber armor seemed to be looking in her direction with an implacable gaze. In fact, he certainly saw her. The little Zcarbb immediately recognized him as “General Raez-Golu, who belongs to another hive but coordinates the armies of the defense alliance” and waved at him, totally delighted to see someone she recognized.

“You, there, release the princess and die!”

Once his order was issued, the prince fell silent and waited. He frowned a sort of chitinous eyebrow in a very human expression, probably consulted a screen nearby, then turned back to his camera to repeat his request:

“You, Sava Domeria, Administration Agent, can you please release the princess and then die, please?”

Huh? Confused, Sava looked back at the Zcarbb Army General. Did he seriously think she would comply with such an idiotic request? And did he think “please” was really a magic word that would make her cooperate?

“Please, release the princess and die, thank you?”

Yes, he really seemed to believe that this could work. So, she decided to explain her position to him:

“Sorry, but I have no more desire to die than the rest of the inhabitants of this planet. I demand an audience with your queen… well, rather the one of the Ikomoro hive. I will not release the princess without having been able to explain the situation to the queen and obtain a definitive cessation of this attack!”

The general seemed displeased and turned in another direction. No sound came through, either because he had cut his microphone or because he had communicated by pheromone: this method comprising half of the Zcarbbs' linguistic practice. Finally, he turned back to the agent, looking even less happy:

“Zocco-tar-Julo, queen of the Ikomoro hive, has agreed to receive you. A transport ship is arriving at your position: ask your defense not to shoot it down. We are suspending our assault until the end of the negotiations, but we will respond blow by blow to any attempt at attack.”

The screen disappeared. A small shuttle resembling a large amber block descended shortly after and landed on the deserted road, not far from Sava. There were still many people nearby, trembling with fear and looking in astonishment at the screens broadcasting the image of the agent holding a small Zcarbb at arm's length. Some realized that they were close to the event and pointed their fingers in her direction, but no one dared to approach her or the shuttle.

Hugging the delighted little Zcarbb, the Ham advanced towards the transport ship and entered through a wide-open door. Two Zcarbb soldiers, without the slightest humanoid feature, looked at her hatefully with their insect eyes, but did not harm her. Without causing the slightest imbalance to its passengers, thanks to its internal artificial gravity, the transport spaceship rose into the air and headed towards one of the most imposing warships…