3.32.

Laura took the frumonas from the waitress for herself and handed her husband a red wine, knowing that he would turn down the alien beverage if she offered him one. Instead he took the offered drink and took a sip, glancing around at the room of the Triumverant’s new embassy. One of them, at least. The buildings were perfectly equal in size and ostentatiousness.

And completely different in every other capacity. Color, shapes, and patterns decorating the architecture seemed to scream for attention, but each of the three embassies were unique in what colors, shapes, and patterns were used.

They were in Dos’s embassy at the moment, although they planned to make the circuit to the other two ambassador’s parties as well before the night was out. Being very careful to spend no more than five minutes longer or shorter at any one party, of course.

Mike decided that he needed something stronger to deal with the pressure of making the proper impression on the Triumverants, so he quaffed the wine and requested a cocktail from the waiter.

Not a frumonas. Or worse, a frumonas with a vodka kicker, as was becoming popular at less upscale celebrations.

“Don’t drink too much,” his wife chastised him. “Our bed is full enough as it is.”

He scoffed at her joke. “I don’t see you complaining too much with the way things have turned out.”

“I like Tonom. I’m happy to share you with him,” she said. “But I’m also content to cut him out, or let him drift away into the arms of other lovers. I’m fairly certain that his time in our lives will be temporary and I intend to enjoy it while it lasts.”

Mike nodded, then glanced around to make certain nobody was paying too much attention to their conversation. “You’re not thinking about replacing him one he gets distracted from us, are you?”

Neither of them seriously considered Tonom a long term part of their relationship.

“We’ll see how things go,” she said. “Perhaps one of your interns could be convinced to warm our bed.”

Mike groaned. “That’s the last thing we need! Tonom is one thing, but an intern? That would be a career ender if anyone found out!”

“I was just teasing you,” she said, swatting his arm. “Perhaps my fitness coach? Have you met him?”

“Let’s not have this discussion here,” he said. He glanced at his watch. “We have forty-five minutes before we need to switch parties. Let’s split up and work the room.”

She nodded, giving him a swift kiss before wandering off to speak with some of the other women of the party.

He walked up to one group and spent a few minutes participating in the small talk before one of the Triumverant’s aides grasped him by the elbow.

“Dos wishes to speak with you,” she informed him.

“Lead the way,” Mike said, and he followed the alien out of the ballroom and into the dining room, where Dos was sitting at a table with a set of hors d'oeuvre in front of her. She wasn’t eating, but rather examining the party favors closely, going so far as to sniff them individually.

“Greetings, Senator Mike Fuller,” she said, her voice a baritone which surprised him, coming from her dainty body. Without looking she noticed his surprise. “Yes, that is a common response to hearing me speak if one is unfamiliar with me previously. It is most amusing. And useful politically, you understand. It is my natural voice, but this is not my natural body.”

“Oh,” Mike said. “I don’t wish to press for any personal details. It’s none of my business.”

“It is not a private matter that I was born a male,” she admitted. “It is well known, in fact. The decision to keep my voice is one of personal amusement and not a necessity for the process of becoming what I have become, in case you are wondering.”

“It’s truly none of my business,” he assured her. “But my office has always been an ally of the LGBT community.”

“Yes. That is amusing to us,” Dos said. “How are you adjusting to the new realities after finding out that the universe is a much smaller and larger place than you once believed?”

Mike considered the question. “I am troubled sometimes and reassured at others. It is a complex matter, and I fear that we likely do not have time to discuss the nuances of my position in the time that we have available. I am assuming that I am not the only one you wish to pull aside from the party tonight.”

“You are correct. You have been coached by Tonom Genisi, so I know that you will be spending precisely one hour at my party, as that would be the Acklatic tactic,” Dos explained. “Which is why I placed you close to the top of those I wish to speak with.”

This book's true home is on another platform. Check it out there for the real experience.

“I am honored,” he assured her.

“I wish to discuss the war, and the Triumverant’s place in it.”

“I understand. We would welcome any assistance that the Triumverant is willing to provide. We greatly appreciate your part, individually and collectively, in the defense of the Mars Station.”

“We played no part in the third battle for Earth,” Dos argued. “All we did was our duty in informing the combatants of our location to prevent all sides from having an unfortunate diplomatic incident.”

“In very loud and deliberate terms while refusing to move,” Mike said. “I am quite certain that if it were not for your obstinance, those cowards Unos and Tres would have abandoned their position and the solar system itself.”

“Hah!” she exclaimed. “What a perfect insult!”

He grinned, rather proud of the way he had phrased it himself. It was a minor compliment to Dos and a minor insult to each of the ambassadors individually. By the Triumverant way of thinking, it was perfect indeed.

“So the Triumverant wishes to remain neutral in the conflict? Your aid in the third battle was merely opportunistic?” he questioned.

“I did not say that,” Dos said. She adjusted her hair, then took one of the hors d'oeuvres by its toothpick. “What is this called?’

“They’re all hors d’oeuvres,” he said. “Beyond that you’d have to ask the chef who prepared them to see if it has a name unique to itself. It might, but I’m not an expert on the subject.”

“Yes. That is a good response,” she agreed. “You admit general knowledge to the subject without claiming to be the expert, and simultaneously point me to where the answer could be found.”

Mike shrugged. “I find that admitting the limits of my knowledge does not diminish me. Claiming to be an expert in matters which are beyond my ken is a sure way to find myself humiliated at the hands of the true experts.”

“Ah, I wish that I could adopt such a stance,” Dos said. She sighed. “I must confess, being around your people has been terrible for me. I am so tempted to let my guard down, but the spies of Unos and Tres remain ever vigilant.”

“I sympathize,” Mike said.

“We have spies everywhere, you see,” Dos continued. “Except Earth, although we are working on correcting the matter. I hope you understand that it is not a measure of hostility when I say that.”

Mike nodded. “Every state requires independent sources of information, behind the scenes and off the books. Back channels, we call them sometimes.”

Dos smiled. “Yes. That is one of the few measures of true competition among the Triumverant. If you have truly been coached by Tonom Genisi, then you would know that much of our displays are merely that, displays. Back channels, however, are a true measure through which the Primaries might exert their power without the approval of the other two, and are therefor an exercise of true power.”

Mike swallowed, understanding the seriousness of the conversation. “Yes, I believe I understand what you’re saying.”

“We wish to enter the war in earnest, Mike Fuller. On our own terms, of course. For our own goals. We would have Earth and the Yonohoans as our allies, but we wish to discuss the spoils for which our efforts will be rewarded. Off the books. Behind the channels. You understand?”

“Yes, perfectly,” he agreed.

“Good. I have taken up enough of your time, Mike. I will reach out in the future.”

“I’ll be waiting to hear from you. Off the books or on the books, whichever is most convenient for you.”

“Thank you. I believe we will have a most fruitful relationship, Mister Fuller.”

He nodded, then paused as he was turning to leave. “You know, we should go to a wine or cheese tasting together,” he suggested.

“Oh?” she said, looking up at him. “Why is that?”

“Because if you’re going to compete with Unos and Tres over your mastery of Earth high society, then you’ll need to learn how to properly identify and judge wines and cheeses,” he explained. “Asking them to pick out a particular hors d’oeurvres and hoping that they get it wrong is a good start. Why don’t you watch some of our videos of a wine taster or cheese connoisseur in action, and you’ll appreciate my suggestion.”

Dos considered her words, then nodded. “I believe we can do great things together, Senator Mike. I look forward to our relationship.”

“Have a pleasant evening,” he said, and he rejoined his wife in the ballroom. They mingled for the remainder of the hour, then moved on to Tres’s ballroom.

Where Mike was promptly invited to join Tres in a private setting, where he had virtually the same conversation which he had just had with Dos. The subtle hints at establishing a back channel were even less subtle, and more earnest. Mike remained agreeable to the proposition, and suggested that they play golf.

He did not even reach Unos’s ballroom before he was pulled aside. To Unos, he suggested poker.

He went home that night and showed Tonom Genisi just how much he valued the advice that the diplomat had given him.

‎