Allison was in her dress uniform. It was still winter, so it consisted of a black knee length pencil skirt. A black jacket with her rank embroidered along her wrists, a single wide gold band, in addition to the standard Lieutenant rank, her uniform sleeves also bore the symbology that a League uniform would possess to indicate her rank as Battlelord. It had golden buttons. The shoes were low black heels. Under the jacket was a white collared shirt with a tie. Her cap was a captain’s hat with a badge affixed to the front showing her as Military Intelligence. Which was a stylized black griffin with two golden lightning swords crossed behind it. She wore her various medals. She looked every bit the professional soldier she pretended to be. Olga was in a black suit. Wearing pants, which made Allison pretty jealous.
The council, or senate building, it was referred to as either, was at the center of the capital of Silwra. A long bridge led to it over a section of preserved woodlands. The building was massive and ornate. Also likely as old as human civilization. It was on a rise, so it towered over the surrounding city. It was as impressive as it was beautiful. Inside there was a bustle of activity as the council was getting ready for the session Allison would be attending. Rezee walked in front of them. She was describing the various features and statues like a tour guide might. A bell rang and everyone started filing into the council hall. Security was tight with heavily armed and armored Silwrath standing at each entrance. Rezee led the pair to seats in the center of the rear of the chamber. They were surrounded by at least a thousand representatives from member planets. The high council took their seats in the front of the assembly. Olga tried to hide her awe of seeing so many alien species in one spot but failed.
The speaker, a Vortique woman hammered a piece of metal with a metal sledgehammer, though if she were a Silwrath it would be a simple hammer. It shook the entire council chamber. She placed it down it caused silence to reign.
“I call this meeting of the council to order. I apologize but we have a change to the schedule, it should be going out to your displays now. Grand Eminence Regas will address the high council first.”
Allison watched as what appeared to be a battle-hardened Silwrath in ornate armor stomped to the podium to address the council. He was almost nine feet tall. His scales were blood red but faded with age. His eyes were golden, almost matching Allison’s in tone. Her lessons from Ruby told her all she needed to know about his station. He was royal blooded. Likely a direct relation to the Primarch. He also did not look happy. His tail and wings were twitching. She could hear it in his voice as well, though his words belayed his fury.
“Primarch Rubina, esteemed high council, council I have come to address an issue of grave concern to our security.”
Allison sunk in her seat. She had a feeling this had to do with System’s Alliance warships being close to their borders. He looked around and continued, though his next words lacked any note of respect.
“Your ridiculous cutbacks to our defense forces have left us vulnerable and unable to assist with simple police actions against pirates! Yet you send more cutbacks! Have you lost all sense of reason?”
Rubina, who had been listening patiently to this point narrowed her eyes and leaned forward.
“Watch your tone, brother. This is an official proceeding, and you will treat your leadership with respect.”
Regas left the podium behind and turned his back on the high council to address the general council.
“You depend on us to protect your way of life. To protect your shipping lanes. Yet you let this lot force more military cutbacks on us. At this point we cannot guarantee your safety. Your people pay council taxes, you should expect protection for those taxes!”
The speaker slammed the sledgehammer down again. Regas looked at her in annoyance. The speaker was not intimidated.
“You will maintain a civil tone, Grand Eminence, or you will be escorted out.”
He snarled at her. He pointed a clawed finger at Allison.
“We received a distress call yesterday from the Ratoan Empress who was being attacked by pirates on our border, on the way to see this council. If the Battlelord had not been nearby the Empress would be dead. Because of your consistent and unconscionable cutbacks to military spending, we do not have the ships or manpower to protect our borders from pirate incursions. What happens in the event of an actual attack? Are we going to expect the Battlelord to show up in her starfighter to protect us then?”
Rubina snarled right back at him.
“If a single human starfighter could handle it, surely a small patrol vessel which you were told to invest in could have done so. Cease this fearmongering. You have more than enough budget to handle pirates. The League has not been attacked in almost five centuries. The fleet and military were bloated. I refuse to be responsible for another generation of wasteful spending on defense against an attack that will never come. The only new power we have run into that could have been a threat are opening an embassy across the grand bridge in less than a week. Their best and brightest is here to receive an accolade for defending our people. Tell me again of the threats out there, Grand Eminence? Perhaps you are too old and stuck in your ways to function in this peaceful day and age. Our people have needs that trump your military spending. We are on the cusp of a golden age, I will see it come to pass.”
Regas glared at Rubina. It was obvious to Allison, Rubina was his baby sister. She wondered if Regas was alive during the last war. He flicked his wings and pointed his claw at his sister.
“You are going to doom the League and its peoples, not usher in a golden age, sister.”
He turned away from the high council and waved his hand dismissively over his shoulder. He took a seat next to Allison and Olga. He nodded to them politely. Allison nodded back. Allison wasn’t sure how to make him feel better about all this. The conversation of defense budget was above her pay grade as the saying goes. The next couple of hours were what Allison would refer to as a bureaucratic nightmare. Allison imagined the board and Maria would be much more efficient in their discussions. It seemed like the council would have discussions about discussions that they wanted to have discussions about. Finally, Allison was called up. She approached the high council. Rubina addressed her directly.
“Battlelord, when we first met, I accused you of several crimes. I want to personally apologize to you. It was a wing-jerk reaction to an unprecedented event. I failed to realize at the time that your actions removed the last barrier to true peace in our time. The threat of a Sal’nash swarm was ever present in the mind of every citizen of the League. Your actions destroyed their breeding grounds and wiped the pestilence out. For that you will always be considered a hero among my people and the League. The title of Battlelord is well-earned. Now we are inviting you into the orders of the Crimson and Violet scale. These are the highest honors we can provide, save a golden statue in the hall of heroes, which has already been commissioned. Millenia from now school children will look up at you and know that you are among the greatest heroes this Galaxy has ever known. We thank you for your service, both recently with the Ratoan empress’s distress signal and ending the Sal’nash threat permanently. I am told your people have prepared a speech for you to address the council.”
Allison nodded.
“Thank you, Primarch Rubina for the honor of this in person meeting, your kind words, the awards and the invitation to address the council.”
Allison stepped up to the speaking podium and hoped Bit had something amazing planned for her. She closed her eyes and when she opened them, she saw Bit providing a speech on the AR HUD her contacts provided. She read it as it ran by.
“For those of you who are unfamiliar with what species I am, I am a human. We are from a terrestrial planet in a galaxy far away from here. We are explorers, and pioneers. Our technology is on the same level as the Leagues, though we are still catching up in the sociology department. The System’s Alliance, SA for short from here on in, was founded in the wake of a terrible natural disaster on our world. Our species was nearly wiped out. We numbered eight billion at one point, now we are finally reaching about a tenth of that. During our early FTL exploration we met the Sauroids. A deeply divided people. We were able to help them overcome their internal conflicts and they have since joined us.”
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She looked around.
“In many ways, the encounter with our Sauroid neighbors prepared us for this momentous day. Where a member of our military is receiving the highest honors and recognition you, the League of Sentient Races can give. I am truly honored to receive these honors and to be the first human, the first member of the System’s Alliance to set foot on your world. To address this esteemed council. It has been less than three standard months, and we are establishing embassies on each other’s worlds. We are opening trade. Truly it seems like our peoples have known each other for decades.”
She smiled.
“You have probably heard stories of us humans. Likely good and bad. If you will allow me, I would like to tell you about us. We humans are full of ingenuity. Throughout our history we have been pulled kicking and screaming by mavericks who are ahead of their time into strange new worlds, over and over again. I wish our President; Maria Aurelius could be here to make this speech. She is the best and brightest of us, she is responsible for FTL travel in our part of the universe and many other advances in science. I wish her niece, Eyre Aurelius, the keeper of our history, could be here. She is both eloquent and charismatic. I apologize you are stuck with me, a simple soldier, not meant for grand speeches, or diplomacy.”
She continued reading.
“I am not representative of my people. I am a soldier. It is my duty to protect my people. In the course of that duty sometimes I am forced to take drastic actions. These actions are not the actions of my people. Though my government and this body have both agreed my actions were justified, humanity as a whole believes that a loss of life should never be celebrated. I do not have the luxury of that belief. So, I beg of you, honored councilmembers look to my fellow humans for the spark that makes us a good people. A peaceful and honorable people. They are who I have sworn to lay down my life for. They are who I make the hard choices for, so they do not have too. It is they that deserve your praise, admiration, and friendship.”
She bit her lower lip and pondered how much trouble that was going to get her into. She continued reading.
“That being said, as they chose me to represent them today, on behalf of the System’s Alliance, and my fellow Humans and Sauroids, I offer my hand in friendship. We, as a people look forward to a prosperous relationship with the League. We are eager to move forward with the League to bring a brighter future to both our peoples. Soon trade will begin in earnest. We hope it is the first step towards tighter diplomatic relations and eventually a defensive alliance so that we can defend this galaxy together from any threats that may happen our way. In closing, I just want to say, I firmly believe the Primarch’s words that you are on the cusp of a golden age. Let us welcome it together.”
She stepped back from the lectern and bowed her head to the high council. The low council stood and clapped. The high council bowed their heads to Allison in return. She took her seat beside Regas and spoke quietly as the council moved on with the business of running a government.
“I agree with you, Grand Eminence. I would have said something publicly but, I would have gotten into serious trouble with my superiors.”
He nodded.
“If one of my soldiers did something like that, it would be a very bad day for them. I understand.”
Eventually the council meeting came to an end. Allison did a lot of hand shaking, head bowing, and various other customary greetings. She also answered a hundred questions, some awkward, some amusing, some concerning. Eventually Regas pulled her aside and the pair spoke quietly away from even Olga.
“Battlelord, I noticed on your file that you have been declared eligible for asylum status if you seek it with the League. Do you need assistance? My people can get you out of here, away from your ‘security’. We’ve seen this before with foreign dignitaries.”
Allison blushed.
“Uh, I…”
She wasn’t sure at all how to explain her situation without outing herself in some fashion. He looked both concerned and angry, his tale was twitching but his wings were drooping.
“After what you’ve done for them, for the galaxy. I thought better of the System’s Alliance. You will find a place with us; Our defense forces would welcome you with open arms.”
Allison shook her head. She bit her lower lip and glanced around before speaking quietly.
“No, its not like that. Grand Eminence. I… have a mutation. My body produces Synthlin nanites naturally. The System’s Alliance has laws against nanotech. If they found out, I’d be disintegrated. Futara did it, just in case.”
His eyes narrowed and superheated plasma seeped between his teeth in a small purple puff, before evaporating.
“They experimented on your genes before you were born then threaten to hunt you, and disintegrate you? How monstrous. Come, we will get you to safety.”
Allison held up her hands defensively.
“It’s not like that at all, Grand Eminence.”
“You were born of a random pairing of human genetic material. Surely, they would have injected this mutation, it is Synthlin nanotechnology, how else would it come about?”
Allison felt her ears burning.
“I’m not… one of those children. My… family wanted to hide me. My mothers were famous. People would want to hurt me, so they hid me before they died.”
“If you are in danger, Battlelord, let us help. Your service to our people, your unwavering bravery and your ruthlessness in battle will be welcomed here. Your mutation will be celebrated. No one here cares whether you came from an egg, a tube, or a womb. You are young, you could be Grand Eminence one day, even Primarch. You can lead the League to its past glory. You’re not like these… sycophants, you get things done. No matter the cost.”
Allison blinked a few times.
“Thank you, but, uh, I can’t. If anyone finds out about my secret, my uh, I guess my family will know first and get me to safety, which will probably be here. I am really flattered but I’m not a leader. I just did what I needed to do in the moment.”
He pointed a claw at her. He sounded amused now.
“You did what you needed to do in the moment? No, you acted decisively. I have an army of eight hundred thousand. Maybe a hundred of them would have stayed and tried to fight, they all would have failed and died. The rest would have fled and called for help the moment they could. You acted. You destroyed the enemy I watched ravage system after system in my youth as a junior officer.”
His eyes got a faraway look in them as he continued.
“I remember the sunrises on the Qaul’sa home world when we fought trying to save them. I remember the evacuation as we fled when their queen pushed their star to supernova. The flash as we fled. I remember flying escort to your sister Tearyna’s ship. Floating in space after Sal’nash fighters nearly destroyed my fighter. I questioned for years if I could have done more to prevent the attack on her ship. Pondered how it ended for her and her retinue. You answered those questions. We in the league owe you a great deal. Some of us are old enough to remember the last Sal’nash swarm. Others, like my sister who were born afterwards, they think peace is a guarantee. Arrogance. I am personally indebted to you and do not want to see you living with a sword hanging over your head.”
“It is not that bad; I barely think about it.”
He leaned close.
“If you change your mind before you leave, say: ‘Rash tah yerl.’”
Allison quirked her head to the side. She knew enough Silwrathi now that it sounded like a corrupted version of get me out.
“Just say that? No comm?”
He motioned to her.
“If you think a child, who can throw some of my strongest men across a med bay and dent a wall when forced to defend herself, is not being tracked while on our home world, you are mistaken. We will never make the mistake of letting you ‘handle’ it again. I would have disciplined the lot of them, but I believed the beating you gave them was a sufficient lesson.”
Allison blushed and hung her head.
“I am sorry for the damage to the ship and hurting your soldiers.”
He laughed.
“Hardly your fault. You were defending yourself. It doesn’t mean I want the scene repeated here with civilians everywhere. Any attempt on your life will be dealt with swiftly, I assure you. I have around the clock security teams discreetly protecting you. I trust the one they sent with you is more than capable, but she is one person.”
“I feel safer already, Grand Eminence. I should go find her. She can be very decisive herself when she needs to be.”
He laughed.
“I see. In that case, I will not hold you further Battlelord. But remember, we are here for you.”
Allison saluted him in the Silwrath fashion before heading out to find Olga who was in the midst of interrogating a high-ranking council guard on her charge’s whereabouts. Allison hurried to Olga’s side.
“There you are. Sorry. I lost you in the crowd. I would like to go shopping before we leave.”
Olga looked up at Allison with narrowed eyes.
“As you say, Battlelord.”
The pair made their way towards the exit and the Yorleer diplomatic envoy they had been assigned intercepted them.
“Very good speech, very heart felt. I can see why your people sent you. How can I assist you with the rest of your stay?”
Allison looked out over the city.
“I’d like to go shopping, to bring home some gifts for my friends and family, though it occurs to me I don’t have any League currency”
The envoy smiled.
“Please, the council will ensure you can acquire anything you might want within reason. The diplomatic corps have a fund just for such occasions. Please let me summon a conveyance for you.”