26.
“Captain Moon, come in. This is Sergeant Diego Cruz, hailing the Seeker of New Discoveries in order to speak with my commanding officer, Captain Ji-eun Moon. Come in Captain Moon.”
The radio signal was crystal clear, jarring her out of focusing on the latest recordings to review before Project Radio Tower was set to begin. Half of the crew was still working on editing or recording their segment, but half of the recordings were awaiting command approval to begin broadcasting.
She switched her headset over to Diego’s assigned frequency. “Hello Sergeant, this is Captain Moon. How are you doing? Another report to file?”
“I’m afraid it’s more than that this time, Captain. I will not be going back to Earth with you and the Seeker. I’m afraid I now have social and diplomatic obligations which will require me to spend the rest of my life on planet Totola. I believe that it is in the interest of the peoples of Earth, and the Peoples of the Yonohoah, and the peoples of the Topoka, that I observe these duties which the universe has heard me swear to,” the captain said in a formal tone that was clearly rehearsed.
Captain Moon considered the implications of the words for several moments.
“Was my transmission received? Please confirm,” Sergeant Cruz said after a moment.
“What the hell, Sergeant? Are you okay? Do I need to find you an aardvark?”
“There’s no ants here, Captain,” Diego said. “I am not under duress. I admit that I have taken part in a sacred ceremony without understanding the full implications of the responsibilities which would fall onto me if I completed it successfully. I was not expected to pass.”
“What sort of ceremony? Are you married now, Sergeant?” Captain Moon inquired.
“That is not very far from the truth, Captain. Eolai and I are sworn brothers. He has sworn to protect my family, and I have sworn to protect his. Um, Captain, the Yonohoan people take this oath really really seriously. I have an out because I didn’t know what I was doing, but if I break my word then I have disgraced myself and can never show my face in Yonohoan space again without bringing shame to my brother and his ancestors.”
Captain Moon groaned, making certain first that her mic wasn’t hot. “Message received,” she said, taking a moment to think things through. “What are your options exactly?”
“The best option is that I stay on Totola, the fourth planet of this star system, Captain, and Eolai returns with the rest of you to Earth, where he will stay until my living family members have passed on,” Diego explained. “During that time, both he and what we believe to be the defense fleet of Totala will defend the planet Earth and all of its peoples with their lives. They will stand vigilant against anyone who would threaten us, even should the swarms return.”
“Okay. We’ll call that plan A.”
“Plan B is that I leave while Eolai’s children are still on planet Totala,” Diego said. “And if I do, then I have disgraced myself. Which is actually totally fine as far as the consequences for me go. But Eolai shares my disgrace, which means that he loses his position as the first among peers of the Topokan fleet. I have been informed in no uncertain terms that this is a very upsetting thing for the people of Yonohoah, and will likely negatively impact the relations between the peoples of Earth and the Yonohoah for many generations.”
“How badly will relations be impacted?” Captain Moon asked.
“They will send us no gifts, they will not come to our aid, and they will not send their allies to come to our aid either. Captain, they have a lot of allies. We want them on our side,” Diego said.
“Understood. Is there a plan C?”
“Plan C is that we take Eolai’s children back to Earth with us. Eolai still comes with us, but I don’t have to remain behind. The logistics on that task aren’t very good, Captain. Eolai has a lot of children, and he’s probably going to have a lot more after the ritual that we did last night,” Diego explained. “Plan D would be to pack my family up and ship them to Totola, which is a no-go if I know my family at all.”
“Understood. Is there any additional plans to add to the table?”
“Not that I have been presented as viable alternatives, nor that I have thought of on my own,” Diego answered.
“Does this oath you have sworn affect the negotiations regarding to the Toormonda ships that we were offered?” Captain Moon asked.
“Eolai says that all promises that have been previously made will be fulfilled regardless of whether you allow me to remain, which is my voluntary wish, or if you request that the Yonohoan government force me to return to your ship so that you may return me to Earth. The Yonohoan would be honor bound to obey your lawful commands as my commanding officer. Let’s call that plan F for fuck no, captain, don’t do that! It takes the onus off of me and puts it on our governments.”
“Understood.” Captain Moon inhaled deeply as she considered her options. “Sergeant Diego, it is largely my fault that you are in this predicament.”
The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.
“I volunteered to be the guinea pig slash cultural exchange ambassador,” Diego argued.
“And I gave you that opportunity when I should not have,” Captain Moon argued. “Be quiet and let me finish, that’s an order soldier.”
“Yes Ma’am.”
“It is my fault that you are in this predicament. You are not caught between the duty to your people and the Yonohoans, but rather your duty to both the people of Earth and the Yonohoans and the responsibilities that you took upon yourself when you became part of this crew.” She paused to consider her words. “As of this moment, I am, upon my authority as a captain in the Earth Space Force, relieving you of duty due to non-medical but honorable reasons, Soldier. You are no longer sergeant of the Earth Space Force but an American Civilian who is presently in Yonohoan custody. I ask you, Diego Cruz of America, are you in distress?”
“I am not in distress Captain Ji-eun Moon,” Diego answered.
“Do you wish to be returned to my custody?”
“I do not wish to leave the custody of the Yonohoan people.”
“What are your desires for the future?”
“I wish to emigrate to the world of Totola to protect the children of my sworn brother, Eolai, and to serve as a bridge between our two peoples for the remainder of my life,” Diego said over the radio.
“Your messages have been recorded, Sergeant.”
“I understand. Until you leave this star system I would be honored to continue to be your cultural liaison between the ship of The Seeker of New Discoveries and the people of the Yonohoah,” Diego said.
“I need to have another staff meeting to discuss these events. We will discuss how things will progress now that you have new responsibilities at a later time, Sergeant.”
“I understand, Ma’am. Thank you. I am sorry for the headache I no doubt caused you,” Diego said. “Diego out.”
“Captain Moon out.” She frowned, then took a moment to collect her thoughts. She looked around the bridge, and she realized that her conversation had been overheard to the point where several members of her crew were watching her to see how she handled this situation.
“The Sergeant provided no codewords that he was under duress,” She pointed out for the sake of the crew. “When provided with a challenge codeword he responded with the countersign immediately. Radio, get me Renosa. I want details on the ceremony that Diego took part in. It sounds like a significant cultural practice and we need to understand both the ceremony and the impact that it has upon our mission in more detail.”
“I am hailing Renosa’s ship now,” Antoine said, typing at his computer. “Renosa, come in Renosa. Captain Moon wishes to speak with you at your earliest convenience. Renosa, this is radio, come in Renosa …”
It took a few seconds for Renosa to respond. Captain Moon was already on the channel when she did, so she heard the Yonohoan woman’s greeting.
“I greet thee, captain of the Brother of the Last Son of Eodar. I am pleased to report that Sergeant Diego Cruz has not disgraced himself in the eyes of the Yonohoan people since the last time that we have spoken. Has Eolai disgraced himself since we have last spoken in the eyes of your people?” she asked formally.
Captain Moon frowned at the stiff and formal sounding words. Was this another part of the ceremony? “I do not believe that Eolai has disgraced himself in the eyes of our people, no. However, we are of a very different culture and we are struggling to understand the significance of this ceremony which has taken place between Eolai and Sergeant Diego Cruz.”
“The man whose rank, while he was in the military, was Sergeant, personal name Diego, with a family name of Cruz, of the American Peoples of Earth, has sworn brotherhood to the first among the peers of the last living son of Eodar,” Renosa explained. “To the people of the Yonohoah, this means that Eodar, a hero of great significance to our history and culture, has gained another son. This is a cause for much celebration and joy. The same for the Topokans, the clan of the species which you Earthlings are calling Xenosapiens sulivans, which share history with the Yonohoans going back a hundred thousand years. I would share with you images and sound of the celebrations which are occurring on throughout Yonhoan space.”
“So the Yonohoan people believe that this is a joyous occasion. Why were we not informed in advance that it was taking place?” Captain Moon inquired.
“The ceremony of brotherhood which Diego and Eolai took part in is an ancient tradition dating back to the earliest histories of the Yonhoan people, during the bloodiest fighting of the Wars of Liberation in which our peoples attempted to serve as a beacon of light to the universe that was going dark around us,” Renosa explained. “Your former Sergeant Diego Cruz’s ignorance of the importance of his role in the ceremony is an important factor to consider, but rather than lesson the sanctity of his words, they have increased it a thousand fold over a rehearsed performance that was calculated to have this sort of result. I assure you, Captain Moon, I was as surprised as you are now when Sergeant Diego ‘checked all of the boxes on the list’ to become the sacred brother of the son of the last son of Eodar.”
“We were unaware that Eolai had an important bloodline,” Captain Moon said. She sighed. “I would appreciate if you would send us as much data as you are willing to share with outsiders about the ritual which Diego took part in and the cultural significance that it has to the Yonohoan people. I also request more details about what sort of expectations this places upon the sergeant and how it affects the diplomatic waters between the peoples of Earth and the Yonohoan people. As well as how it affects the diplomacy of the Peoples of Earth and the Sulivans.”
“As you wish. I must inform you that your data request will take some time, as much of the data remains in the format of our oral traditions and so we must encode it into your computer format the hard way,” Renosa said.
“That is acceptable,” Captain Moon agreed. “I need to meet with my staff to discuss the impact that this bond of brotherhood has upon our mission.”
“Of course. And Captain? The Yonohoan people thank you for releasing the brother of the last son of Eodar from his duties to your people in order to fulfill his sworn and sacred oaths to mine,” Renosa said.
“Your people are welcome. I must inform you that your treatment of Sergeant Diego Cruz will have significant symbolic weight to the people of Earth, however. It seems that he has become our ambassador to your people, and we take the treatment of our diplomats very seriously,” Captain Moon said.
“As do my people, Captain Moon,” Renosa said. “As do we all.”