Post by Lorpius Prime on Jul 17, 2009 3:18:37 GMT -5
"All right, say the name for me just one more time," Eduard Molinas said, fiddling with his tie.
Beside him, Bernardo Durante gave an exasperated sigh. "Arreyuxgoyeharg," the Foreign Councilor said, as if it had been part of his vocabulary since childhood.
Eduard took a deep breath, "Ah-ray-yux-go-yuh-harg."
"Close enough for government work," Durante told him. Eduard chortled.
"I just wish he could have waited another day or two. Congress is losing patience with me. You know the PRD actually tried to revoke my exit permission?"
"Well why didn't you let them? Think how easy it would be to take back the District Assembly if we relocated the OES offices to Mexico City."
"Oh God," Eduard raised a hand to his face, "and what's losing all my support in the OES General Assembly compared to a majority in the federal district?"
"You know, I'm sure they'd be more than happy to let you just resign. Cardenas would love to appoint himself as your Substitute."
"I've thought about it," Eduard nodded.
Durante looked horrified, "Wait, you're not serious, are you? Ed if you think the Assembly's unhappy with you now… Jahnavi will walk all over you if you give up the Presidency."
Eduard shook his head. The Foreign Councilor opened his mouth to say something else, but shut it again when Eduard raised a hand. Omar Khatib, the Deputy Foreign Councilor for the Bats, was walking across the tarmac towards his bosses.
"Sorry about that," Khatib said, folding a cell phone into his pocket.
"Everything all right?" Eduard asked.
"Yeah. My son's got the flu. Meryce is picking him up from school."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear it," Eduard said. "Make sure you go home early today so that you can catch it yourself."
"Thanks, Chief," the Deputy Councilor looked over his shoulder and squinted at the small plane taxiing across the tarmac of Maiquetia airport. He turned back to the Chief Executive, "Have you gotten the name down yet?"
"Uh," Eduard screwed up his eyes, "Ah-ray…yoh…ger… no, no I haven't."
Khatib sighed, "Okay, look, just call him 'Ambassador' for now, all right? It shouldn't be a problem."
Eduard put a hand on his chin, "Hey, you think I can use that strategy with my girlfriends, too?"
"I call my wife Madame Secretary sometimes," Durante said, wearing something of a distant expression.
Eduard met Khatib's eyes. They both seemed to think it better not to ask.
"Anyway," the Foreign Councilor said, suddenly cheerful, "I think we'd better go meet him."
The plane had stopped and a staircase was being wheeled up to the side, complete with red carpet. EPS guards in their shiny black combat suits were forming up in two lines at the bottom of the steps. Original OES protocol had the honor guard as a mixture of Earth Fleet and EPS personnel, but the Fleet had been unhappy with the visual comparison between EPS' heavy weapons and armor and their own dress uniforms and side arms. Instead, the Fleet had greeted this delegation aboard Quito station, and left the ground ceremony to the OES' own mercenary guards.
Eduard and his two Foreign Councilors walked forward to stand in a row at the end of the honor guard. A workman at the top of the staircase tapped on the plane's cabin hatch, which swung open. The first person to step out was another EPS guard, wearing only light armor and sunglasses. He glanced around the airport for a moment, then gestured back into the hatch and moved to one side.
A few moments later, the guard was followed out the hatch by a Bat. The alien had to duck to fit through the doorway, and Eduard wondered not for the first time if they shouldn't look into buying planes with specially enlarged hatches for this purpose. With their wings folded, Bats' bodies had roughly the same proportions as Humans', but their average height seemed to be just a little over two meters. Human architecture could be somewhat cramped for them.
The Bat paused for only a moment at the top of the staircase before starting down. The stairs they used had been specially built with wider steps to make it easier for Bats to use. This one seemed to have no trouble, however. Two more Bats followed the first one out of the plane and were themselves followed by the aircraft's stewards and flight crew.
Only the Bats came down the stairs to pass through the EPS honor guard at the bottom. The lead Bat was the shortest of the group, but no less impressive for it. The two behind him wore the simple blue berets marking them as soldiers, and each one also carried a black briefcase, the first time Eduard had seen any Bat carry such a thing.
The Chief Executive didn't spend long wondering about this; however, because he was too busy gawking at their companion. This Bat was the new Ambassador to Earth now that Hyarahek had been recalled, and he wore the same gold-checked green beret representing his combined diplomatic status and political authority. That was not the end of his decoration, however.
Bats had fur which ranged in color from pale brown to black, and which seemed to lose its pigment with age, much like human hair. The new Ambassador's own fur seemed to be a rich walnut brown. Or it had been originally. The Ambassador seemed to have dyed his fur so that the surface was a bright emerald that shimmered as he moved and the undercoat showed through. He also had four gold rings hanging from the outside edge of each of his long ears, the first example of jewelry Eduard had ever seen on a Bat.
He was such an unusual sight that Eduard hadn't even realized he'd reached the end of the red carpet until Omar Khatib stepped forward and offered his hand. Eduard blinked and set his shoulders, grateful that the Deputy Councilor had recognized his momentary lapse and been willing to break protocol to save him.
"Greetings, Ambassador Arreyuxgoyeharg," Khatib said in a magnanimous voice. "I am Omar Khatib, Deputy Foreign Councilor for the OES."
The Ambassador didn't hesitate before shaking the offered hand, nor did Khatib flinch, which was impressive when your hand was seized by someone with sharp, centimeter-long claws at the end of each finger. They released each other and Khatib turned around to gesture at the other OES officials.
"I'm pleased to introduce Eduard Molinas, Chief Executive of the OES, and Bernardo Durante, the Foreign Councilor."
Eduard put on his best smile, made sure to look the Bat straight in the eye, then stepped forward with his own hand extended. "It's an honor to meet you, Ambassador."
"The honor is, of course, mine," the Bat said, and returned Eduard's smile with his own toothy grin. His English was at least as good as Hyarahek's had been. Eduard survived his handshake with no injuries and took a half step back so that the Ambassador could finish the ritual with Durante.
"I am afraid you have probably been misled about my name, however," the Bat said once all three Humans were standing directly in front of him again. "I am not sure if you are familiar with the tradition, but I actually have two separate names, Arreyux and Goyeharg. I encourage you to refer to me as Ambassador Goyeharg, as even I get tired of all the syllables." He grinned again.
Eduard couldn't help himself, he raised an eyebrow. He tried to hide this by inclining his head slightly in a bow, "Of course, we'll call you by whichever name you prefer, Ambassador Goyeharg. Our own names usually operate in the same manner."
"So I understand, Chief Molinas, a fascinating coincidence, and only one of many remarkable characteristics your species."
"Flattery will get you everywhere, Ambassador," Eduard chuckled. "But first, please, on behalf of the Organization of Earth States and Humanity, allow me to welcome you to our planet and to the city of Caracas."
"And on behalf of the Republic and Governor Shyankyang, I thank you for your welcome. I look forward to advancing the treasured friendship which exists between our two peoples."
If he hadn't known how ridiculous the notion was, Eduard could have sworn that Goyeharg winked after saying this.
"Furthermore," the Bat said, "as a demonstration of this friendship, I have two gifts to present to you."
Eduard's expression of surprise was only partly feigned. Governor Shyankyang's message had mentioned a gift, but the Chief Executive hadn't expected to receive anything in person. The last gift from the Bats, the volumetric display known as the Orrery, had required a military cargo plane specially chartered to transport it from Quito to Caracas.
Whatever presents the Bats were giving Earth now, however, were apparently much smaller. Ambassador Goyeharg turned slightly and murmured something to one of his blue-bereted companions. The soldier on the left stepped forward smartly, raised the briefcase he was carrying up in both arms, and opened it right under Eduard's nose.
For just a moment, Eduard felt like he was inside of an American gangster movie, and Goyeharg was a furry fellow kingpin offering him a bribe. There were three objects resting in molded black cushions inside the briefcase. One was far larger than the other two, and at first glance seemed to be a solid gold brick. This was not the case, however, as Eduard quickly realized. It was wide and flat and had a hole cut out of one end to form a curved handle, with three raised studs inside for fingers or claws to grip. The object was also not quite pure gold in color, as Eduard looked it over, light sparkled off of symbols engraved and inlaid with a green material on the non-handle end.
Eduard wasn't sure how long he spent admiring the… whatever it was, before he blinked and glanced at the companion items. One of them appeared to be an ordinary pair of plastic protective eyeglasses that one might find in a machine shop or laboratory. The other was a small strip of gold ending in a ring, like an electronic key meant to be inserted into a slot and pulled out with a finger. Actually, as Eduard noticed a small notch in the handle of the gold brick, he decided that that was probably exactly what the tiny object was.
"When I learned that I would be assigned to the embassy here, I had this custom made by the best craftsman I know on our colony," Goyeharg said as Eduard continued admiring the golden presents. Khatib and Durante had both edged in close to examine the objects as well. "He had to put several other orders on hold to finish in time, but it was well worth the expense, and I'm pleased by his performance. I hope that you will accept this as my personal gift to you."
Eduard glanced up, "Well I'm truly honored by your generosity, Ambassador. But I hope you will forgive my ignorance long enough for me to ask what this—ah—actually is."
"It's a pistol," Goyeharg said easily. Eduard hoped the Ambassador hadn't thought that was obvious, but he couldn't be sure by the Bat's tone. "Specially designed for you, Chief Executive, I instructed the craftsman to use public images of your hands to shape the grip. Please feel free to pick it up, it's uncharged at the moment, perfectly safe."
His snout bobbed in an eager nod, and Eduard tried to show an enthusiastic smile as he gingerly reached forward and picked up the weapon with both hands. It was much lighter than he expected, and came away easily from the molded cushion. Either it was not made of gold at all, or had only a very thin layer on the surface.
The "pistol" was not shaped like anything Eduard would have described that way. But he could still divine what the Bats had probably meant, it was light enough to be held in one hand, although the balance was distributed away from what Eduard assumed was the handle. On the whole, it looked tremendously awkward compared to the guns he was used to seeing.
He brought it close enough to his face to examine the green symbols near what he now presumed was the muzzle end. Eduard saw that the top row was composed of the scratchy-looking script the Bats used to write their language, and which Eduard could recognize but not read. Below that, in printed Roman letters were the words: "To His Excellency, Eduard Simón Molinas, Chief Executive of the Organization of Earth States".
"Very nice," Eduard said. He nodded slowly and hoped the choking sensation he felt in the back of his throat wasn't showing on his face. The media were going to have a field day.
"It will penetrate both sides of a Charterling's exoskeleton from a kilometer distance in this atmosphere," Goyeharg said proudly. Then, "Although it is really just a target weapon. My military advisors would be horrified to think I suggested you take on a Charterling using anything less than a plasma projector."
"I'll keep that in mind. So what does this thing shoot?" Eduard put the weapon back into the case just as carefully as he'd extracted it.
"Iron darts. It has about a thousand in the magazine. Tell me if you ever need more, they're quite easy to make."
"I'm glad to hear it," Eduard said, although he was not at all sure if that was true. "My thanks, again, Ambassador. You'll have to show me how to use it properly sometime."
Goyeharg nodded, "I would be delighted, Chief Molinas." The Bat holding the gun case shut it again, and offered the entire package to Eduard. The Chief Executive took it from the soldier and glanced around awkwardly for a moment until an EPS guard trotted up to take it off his hands and then shrink back away.
The Bat who had been carrying the briefcase stepped back behind the Ambassador as well, and for a moment, both Humans and Bats stood in silence, recomposing themselves. Goyeharg was the first to speak again.
"And now, Chief Molinas," the Bat said, turning to his right and gesturing the soldier carrying the remaining case forward, "it is my honor to present a gift to Humanity from Governor Shyankyang of the Sol Colony on behalf of President Yooreyogux and the Republic."
His voice had become noticeably deeper, and he was speaking more slowly now, perhaps savoring the dramatic effect. Even more sharply than his companion, the Bat soldier behind Goyeharg walked forward, lifted his briefcase, and snapped it open.
Inside was a device constructed of a fine, silvery metal. It reminded Eduard of scientific instruments from the pre-electronic era that he'd seen in museum. It looked like some sort of odd cross between a gyroscope and several tuning forks. The outer surface was a spherical wire cage that looked like it moved, although Eduard could not have said exactly how just by looking at it.
"This," Ambassador Goyeharg said, "is a gravity generator. It is an educational model, a technology demonstrator of the sort of devices my people use in our equipment. I do believe that your species will find it quite useful."
Ordinary Command Operative Yenga Goying of the Republican Intelligence Service was not enjoying her new responsibilities as acting head of intelligence for the Republic's embassy on Earth. She'd grown used to the somewhat informal style of her boss, Hyong Yaheek. Serving as his deputy, Yenga had been allowed—indeed, encouraged—to pursue unconventional theories and methods as she studied the Humans. The freedom to ignore many of the drab formalities of her usually bureaucratic profession had even made the job fun.
She had no such freedom now. That would have been the case even if acting Ambassador Horexker had were not a much stricter boss than. Responsibility for the embassy's entire intelligence department simply required a different approach. And unfortunately, a duller one. Her reports to the Ambassador and the other departments had to reflect an analysis of what was most probable, not most interesting, and Yenga was now fully accountable for the suggestions she made based on those assessments. These factors made the job both more boring and more stressful than her previous one.
At the moment, Yenga was poring over computer-generated transcripts of intercepted conversations from the Human military. The Humans' encryption protocols were laughably easy to break with even the third-rate computers produced at the colony. Yenga supposed the codes were effective against the sort of systems available to the Humans themselves, but neither she nor Hyong had ever been able to determine whether the Humans knew the Republic could read their mail.
Personally, Yenga had never quite been able to dismiss the suspicion that they did. Even with the totally transparent encryption, it was often difficult to figure out just what they were doing. Yenga had begun this investigation to see if she could find any more information concerning the increased military traffic between Earth and its Moon. The Humans were transferring a lot of personnel between their bases in both locations, but without any concurrent build up of units or construction of facilities. The reports Yenga was reading all talked as if there'd been an outbreak of some infectious disease called influenza among the staff of the Moon base. That wasn't entirely implausible, even the Republic still had occasional problems with contagions. But as far as Yenga could tell from the historical data, it was the first time any such thing had happened to the Humans, so she wasn't ready to jump to conclusions just yet.
Yenga was just moving on to the next document, another conversation between a shuttle crew and traffic control on the Moon, when the door to her office opened. She glanced up from her computer; it was probably one of her subordinates, Horexker always sent a message ahead of him when he wanted a meeting.
It was not one of her subordinates. Nor was it Horexker. The male at the door stepped into the office as comfortably as if it was his own. Yenga almost choked when she saw the green tint of his fur shimmer under the lights.
She knocked her chair roughly backwards in her hurry to stand up.
"Secretary Goye—I mean, Ambassador!" she stuttered as he approached her desk.
"Hello Yenga," Goyeharg said easily. He grasped one of the chairs across her desk with one hand.
"I wasn't aware that you had arrived, sir."
"So I gathered when you weren't at the staff meeting," he said. He took a seat and waved Yenga back into her own. She sat down warily. "I'm afraid that's my fault, however. I copied the memo to the heads of department, having forgotten that you are merely filling in for Operative Yaheek during his present assignment."
That was a lie. Yenga was receiving all of Hyong's mail, and Goyeharg had sent no such message to either of them. He probably even realized she'd know that, or could at least find out quickly, which made his excuse a polite formality that he shouldn't have bothered with. But Arreyux Goyeharg had always had something of a taste for the dramatic. He'd wanted to meet Yenga first privately, and it hardly mattered now what he'd done to arrange things that way.
"What can I do for you, Ambassador?"
Goyeharg scratched his chin, "You can call me Arreyux, I hope we're still on familiar enough terms."
"You're my superior now, sir."
"Then I command you to call me Arreyux," he waved a single claw at her. "I don't care to work in a stifling environment if I can help it, and since I'm in charge here, I can. I also know you're too much of a professional to let a little relaxation prevent you from doing an excellent job. Especially now that you've spent six years working under Yaheek."
"I am what I choose to be. Hyong would be disgusted to know you're still making an idol out of him."
"Well he can tell me all about it when he returns from his current assignment. But he's already larger than life, if he thinks I can do anything about that, he'll be disappointed."
Yenga didn't respond to that immediately. She wanted to protest but once again, it seemed pointless. Both of them knew perfectly well how Goyeharg had spent his time since the colony was established. Yenga didn't really see the use of pretending otherwise. But then, she didn't see the use of most of Goyeharg's little games. She sighed to herself.
"What can I do for you, then?"
Goyeharg chuckled, "Well since you missed the staff meeting, I'd like you to file a status review for your department by the end of the day so I can read it in the morning."
"I can have that done in an hour."
"Excellent." Goyeharg gazed over Yenga's shoulder for a moment. He reached up and hooked one claw through the rings on his right ear, tugging on them absently. "Before you do that, however, I'd like to know your opinion of the Humans."
"Do you want a general assessment, or are you concerned with something specific?"
He met her eyes again, "They handled our recent confrontation very well, don't you think? Horexker's already told me how you and Yaheek, ah, intervened to their benefit. I don't think you were wrong," he added before Yenga could defend herself, "Hyarahek could hardly have picked a worse opportunity for his final demonstration of incompetence, and I'm not the only one grateful that you were able to abort it."
He paused for a moment as Yenga collected herself again.
"However, it is troubling that the Humans were willing to push Hyarahek as far as they did even before the two of you came to their rescue. I'm not sure that Shyankyang has fully thought through the implications—he's still furious that Hyarahek was so completely outwitted. But I know Gyergroch has, at least. He seemed quite unsettled at our last meeting."
"Unsettled by the Humans?" Yenga asked. Senior High Command Operative Gyergroch was Governor Shyankyang's intelligence advisor and the director of Republican Intelligence for the entire star system.
"Yes. It doesn't worry you that they were ready to risk a battle against a force that should have completely outmatched their defenses?"
"They still don't fully understand the difference in our capabilities."
"Perhaps. The Governor is certainly happy to have avoided a war for now. But this has put us in a position of making a rather hefty concession to the Humans without gaining much in return."
"I thought Shyankyang supported the plan of cultivating a friendship?"
"He does, but can you really be sure that we have a friendship after they've defied us in this manner?"
"If they were completely docile, the Charterlings would notice. We can't afford to look like too much of a nuisance out here."
"I agree with you. As I've said, for the moment the Governor is still on your side. But he and his advisors have their doubts—as do I. If the Humans are just going to end up in the Charterlings' sphere regardless, it may be wise to quash them now."
"I don't think that's going to happen. The Charterlings have had… perception difficulties here. The Humans aren't inclined to sympathize with them."
"Very well then, Yenga. That is what I wondered about. I only hope you're as confident once the Humans have finished their trade with the Kekregka." He stood up from his chair. "I'll let you return to your work then, goodbye."
"I'll have the report to you in an hour. Goodbye, Amba—" she cut herself off when he pointed a claw at her, "—Arreyux," she finished in a strained voice.
"I look forward to reading it," he said happily, and swept back out her door.
Yenga kept a pleasant expression until he was gone. Then she went searching through her desk for a piece of dried jerky that she could imagine was Goyeharg's flesh as she sank her teeth into it.
Beside him, Bernardo Durante gave an exasperated sigh. "Arreyuxgoyeharg," the Foreign Councilor said, as if it had been part of his vocabulary since childhood.
Eduard took a deep breath, "Ah-ray-yux-go-yuh-harg."
"Close enough for government work," Durante told him. Eduard chortled.
"I just wish he could have waited another day or two. Congress is losing patience with me. You know the PRD actually tried to revoke my exit permission?"
"Well why didn't you let them? Think how easy it would be to take back the District Assembly if we relocated the OES offices to Mexico City."
"Oh God," Eduard raised a hand to his face, "and what's losing all my support in the OES General Assembly compared to a majority in the federal district?"
"You know, I'm sure they'd be more than happy to let you just resign. Cardenas would love to appoint himself as your Substitute."
"I've thought about it," Eduard nodded.
Durante looked horrified, "Wait, you're not serious, are you? Ed if you think the Assembly's unhappy with you now… Jahnavi will walk all over you if you give up the Presidency."
Eduard shook his head. The Foreign Councilor opened his mouth to say something else, but shut it again when Eduard raised a hand. Omar Khatib, the Deputy Foreign Councilor for the Bats, was walking across the tarmac towards his bosses.
"Sorry about that," Khatib said, folding a cell phone into his pocket.
"Everything all right?" Eduard asked.
"Yeah. My son's got the flu. Meryce is picking him up from school."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear it," Eduard said. "Make sure you go home early today so that you can catch it yourself."
"Thanks, Chief," the Deputy Councilor looked over his shoulder and squinted at the small plane taxiing across the tarmac of Maiquetia airport. He turned back to the Chief Executive, "Have you gotten the name down yet?"
"Uh," Eduard screwed up his eyes, "Ah-ray…yoh…ger… no, no I haven't."
Khatib sighed, "Okay, look, just call him 'Ambassador' for now, all right? It shouldn't be a problem."
Eduard put a hand on his chin, "Hey, you think I can use that strategy with my girlfriends, too?"
"I call my wife Madame Secretary sometimes," Durante said, wearing something of a distant expression.
Eduard met Khatib's eyes. They both seemed to think it better not to ask.
"Anyway," the Foreign Councilor said, suddenly cheerful, "I think we'd better go meet him."
The plane had stopped and a staircase was being wheeled up to the side, complete with red carpet. EPS guards in their shiny black combat suits were forming up in two lines at the bottom of the steps. Original OES protocol had the honor guard as a mixture of Earth Fleet and EPS personnel, but the Fleet had been unhappy with the visual comparison between EPS' heavy weapons and armor and their own dress uniforms and side arms. Instead, the Fleet had greeted this delegation aboard Quito station, and left the ground ceremony to the OES' own mercenary guards.
Eduard and his two Foreign Councilors walked forward to stand in a row at the end of the honor guard. A workman at the top of the staircase tapped on the plane's cabin hatch, which swung open. The first person to step out was another EPS guard, wearing only light armor and sunglasses. He glanced around the airport for a moment, then gestured back into the hatch and moved to one side.
A few moments later, the guard was followed out the hatch by a Bat. The alien had to duck to fit through the doorway, and Eduard wondered not for the first time if they shouldn't look into buying planes with specially enlarged hatches for this purpose. With their wings folded, Bats' bodies had roughly the same proportions as Humans', but their average height seemed to be just a little over two meters. Human architecture could be somewhat cramped for them.
The Bat paused for only a moment at the top of the staircase before starting down. The stairs they used had been specially built with wider steps to make it easier for Bats to use. This one seemed to have no trouble, however. Two more Bats followed the first one out of the plane and were themselves followed by the aircraft's stewards and flight crew.
Only the Bats came down the stairs to pass through the EPS honor guard at the bottom. The lead Bat was the shortest of the group, but no less impressive for it. The two behind him wore the simple blue berets marking them as soldiers, and each one also carried a black briefcase, the first time Eduard had seen any Bat carry such a thing.
The Chief Executive didn't spend long wondering about this; however, because he was too busy gawking at their companion. This Bat was the new Ambassador to Earth now that Hyarahek had been recalled, and he wore the same gold-checked green beret representing his combined diplomatic status and political authority. That was not the end of his decoration, however.
Bats had fur which ranged in color from pale brown to black, and which seemed to lose its pigment with age, much like human hair. The new Ambassador's own fur seemed to be a rich walnut brown. Or it had been originally. The Ambassador seemed to have dyed his fur so that the surface was a bright emerald that shimmered as he moved and the undercoat showed through. He also had four gold rings hanging from the outside edge of each of his long ears, the first example of jewelry Eduard had ever seen on a Bat.
He was such an unusual sight that Eduard hadn't even realized he'd reached the end of the red carpet until Omar Khatib stepped forward and offered his hand. Eduard blinked and set his shoulders, grateful that the Deputy Councilor had recognized his momentary lapse and been willing to break protocol to save him.
"Greetings, Ambassador Arreyuxgoyeharg," Khatib said in a magnanimous voice. "I am Omar Khatib, Deputy Foreign Councilor for the OES."
The Ambassador didn't hesitate before shaking the offered hand, nor did Khatib flinch, which was impressive when your hand was seized by someone with sharp, centimeter-long claws at the end of each finger. They released each other and Khatib turned around to gesture at the other OES officials.
"I'm pleased to introduce Eduard Molinas, Chief Executive of the OES, and Bernardo Durante, the Foreign Councilor."
Eduard put on his best smile, made sure to look the Bat straight in the eye, then stepped forward with his own hand extended. "It's an honor to meet you, Ambassador."
"The honor is, of course, mine," the Bat said, and returned Eduard's smile with his own toothy grin. His English was at least as good as Hyarahek's had been. Eduard survived his handshake with no injuries and took a half step back so that the Ambassador could finish the ritual with Durante.
"I am afraid you have probably been misled about my name, however," the Bat said once all three Humans were standing directly in front of him again. "I am not sure if you are familiar with the tradition, but I actually have two separate names, Arreyux and Goyeharg. I encourage you to refer to me as Ambassador Goyeharg, as even I get tired of all the syllables." He grinned again.
Eduard couldn't help himself, he raised an eyebrow. He tried to hide this by inclining his head slightly in a bow, "Of course, we'll call you by whichever name you prefer, Ambassador Goyeharg. Our own names usually operate in the same manner."
"So I understand, Chief Molinas, a fascinating coincidence, and only one of many remarkable characteristics your species."
"Flattery will get you everywhere, Ambassador," Eduard chuckled. "But first, please, on behalf of the Organization of Earth States and Humanity, allow me to welcome you to our planet and to the city of Caracas."
"And on behalf of the Republic and Governor Shyankyang, I thank you for your welcome. I look forward to advancing the treasured friendship which exists between our two peoples."
If he hadn't known how ridiculous the notion was, Eduard could have sworn that Goyeharg winked after saying this.
"Furthermore," the Bat said, "as a demonstration of this friendship, I have two gifts to present to you."
Eduard's expression of surprise was only partly feigned. Governor Shyankyang's message had mentioned a gift, but the Chief Executive hadn't expected to receive anything in person. The last gift from the Bats, the volumetric display known as the Orrery, had required a military cargo plane specially chartered to transport it from Quito to Caracas.
Whatever presents the Bats were giving Earth now, however, were apparently much smaller. Ambassador Goyeharg turned slightly and murmured something to one of his blue-bereted companions. The soldier on the left stepped forward smartly, raised the briefcase he was carrying up in both arms, and opened it right under Eduard's nose.
For just a moment, Eduard felt like he was inside of an American gangster movie, and Goyeharg was a furry fellow kingpin offering him a bribe. There were three objects resting in molded black cushions inside the briefcase. One was far larger than the other two, and at first glance seemed to be a solid gold brick. This was not the case, however, as Eduard quickly realized. It was wide and flat and had a hole cut out of one end to form a curved handle, with three raised studs inside for fingers or claws to grip. The object was also not quite pure gold in color, as Eduard looked it over, light sparkled off of symbols engraved and inlaid with a green material on the non-handle end.
Eduard wasn't sure how long he spent admiring the… whatever it was, before he blinked and glanced at the companion items. One of them appeared to be an ordinary pair of plastic protective eyeglasses that one might find in a machine shop or laboratory. The other was a small strip of gold ending in a ring, like an electronic key meant to be inserted into a slot and pulled out with a finger. Actually, as Eduard noticed a small notch in the handle of the gold brick, he decided that that was probably exactly what the tiny object was.
"When I learned that I would be assigned to the embassy here, I had this custom made by the best craftsman I know on our colony," Goyeharg said as Eduard continued admiring the golden presents. Khatib and Durante had both edged in close to examine the objects as well. "He had to put several other orders on hold to finish in time, but it was well worth the expense, and I'm pleased by his performance. I hope that you will accept this as my personal gift to you."
Eduard glanced up, "Well I'm truly honored by your generosity, Ambassador. But I hope you will forgive my ignorance long enough for me to ask what this—ah—actually is."
"It's a pistol," Goyeharg said easily. Eduard hoped the Ambassador hadn't thought that was obvious, but he couldn't be sure by the Bat's tone. "Specially designed for you, Chief Executive, I instructed the craftsman to use public images of your hands to shape the grip. Please feel free to pick it up, it's uncharged at the moment, perfectly safe."
His snout bobbed in an eager nod, and Eduard tried to show an enthusiastic smile as he gingerly reached forward and picked up the weapon with both hands. It was much lighter than he expected, and came away easily from the molded cushion. Either it was not made of gold at all, or had only a very thin layer on the surface.
The "pistol" was not shaped like anything Eduard would have described that way. But he could still divine what the Bats had probably meant, it was light enough to be held in one hand, although the balance was distributed away from what Eduard assumed was the handle. On the whole, it looked tremendously awkward compared to the guns he was used to seeing.
He brought it close enough to his face to examine the green symbols near what he now presumed was the muzzle end. Eduard saw that the top row was composed of the scratchy-looking script the Bats used to write their language, and which Eduard could recognize but not read. Below that, in printed Roman letters were the words: "To His Excellency, Eduard Simón Molinas, Chief Executive of the Organization of Earth States".
"Very nice," Eduard said. He nodded slowly and hoped the choking sensation he felt in the back of his throat wasn't showing on his face. The media were going to have a field day.
"It will penetrate both sides of a Charterling's exoskeleton from a kilometer distance in this atmosphere," Goyeharg said proudly. Then, "Although it is really just a target weapon. My military advisors would be horrified to think I suggested you take on a Charterling using anything less than a plasma projector."
"I'll keep that in mind. So what does this thing shoot?" Eduard put the weapon back into the case just as carefully as he'd extracted it.
"Iron darts. It has about a thousand in the magazine. Tell me if you ever need more, they're quite easy to make."
"I'm glad to hear it," Eduard said, although he was not at all sure if that was true. "My thanks, again, Ambassador. You'll have to show me how to use it properly sometime."
Goyeharg nodded, "I would be delighted, Chief Molinas." The Bat holding the gun case shut it again, and offered the entire package to Eduard. The Chief Executive took it from the soldier and glanced around awkwardly for a moment until an EPS guard trotted up to take it off his hands and then shrink back away.
The Bat who had been carrying the briefcase stepped back behind the Ambassador as well, and for a moment, both Humans and Bats stood in silence, recomposing themselves. Goyeharg was the first to speak again.
"And now, Chief Molinas," the Bat said, turning to his right and gesturing the soldier carrying the remaining case forward, "it is my honor to present a gift to Humanity from Governor Shyankyang of the Sol Colony on behalf of President Yooreyogux and the Republic."
His voice had become noticeably deeper, and he was speaking more slowly now, perhaps savoring the dramatic effect. Even more sharply than his companion, the Bat soldier behind Goyeharg walked forward, lifted his briefcase, and snapped it open.
Inside was a device constructed of a fine, silvery metal. It reminded Eduard of scientific instruments from the pre-electronic era that he'd seen in museum. It looked like some sort of odd cross between a gyroscope and several tuning forks. The outer surface was a spherical wire cage that looked like it moved, although Eduard could not have said exactly how just by looking at it.
"This," Ambassador Goyeharg said, "is a gravity generator. It is an educational model, a technology demonstrator of the sort of devices my people use in our equipment. I do believe that your species will find it quite useful."
* * *
Ordinary Command Operative Yenga Goying of the Republican Intelligence Service was not enjoying her new responsibilities as acting head of intelligence for the Republic's embassy on Earth. She'd grown used to the somewhat informal style of her boss, Hyong Yaheek. Serving as his deputy, Yenga had been allowed—indeed, encouraged—to pursue unconventional theories and methods as she studied the Humans. The freedom to ignore many of the drab formalities of her usually bureaucratic profession had even made the job fun.
She had no such freedom now. That would have been the case even if acting Ambassador Horexker had were not a much stricter boss than. Responsibility for the embassy's entire intelligence department simply required a different approach. And unfortunately, a duller one. Her reports to the Ambassador and the other departments had to reflect an analysis of what was most probable, not most interesting, and Yenga was now fully accountable for the suggestions she made based on those assessments. These factors made the job both more boring and more stressful than her previous one.
At the moment, Yenga was poring over computer-generated transcripts of intercepted conversations from the Human military. The Humans' encryption protocols were laughably easy to break with even the third-rate computers produced at the colony. Yenga supposed the codes were effective against the sort of systems available to the Humans themselves, but neither she nor Hyong had ever been able to determine whether the Humans knew the Republic could read their mail.
Personally, Yenga had never quite been able to dismiss the suspicion that they did. Even with the totally transparent encryption, it was often difficult to figure out just what they were doing. Yenga had begun this investigation to see if she could find any more information concerning the increased military traffic between Earth and its Moon. The Humans were transferring a lot of personnel between their bases in both locations, but without any concurrent build up of units or construction of facilities. The reports Yenga was reading all talked as if there'd been an outbreak of some infectious disease called influenza among the staff of the Moon base. That wasn't entirely implausible, even the Republic still had occasional problems with contagions. But as far as Yenga could tell from the historical data, it was the first time any such thing had happened to the Humans, so she wasn't ready to jump to conclusions just yet.
Yenga was just moving on to the next document, another conversation between a shuttle crew and traffic control on the Moon, when the door to her office opened. She glanced up from her computer; it was probably one of her subordinates, Horexker always sent a message ahead of him when he wanted a meeting.
It was not one of her subordinates. Nor was it Horexker. The male at the door stepped into the office as comfortably as if it was his own. Yenga almost choked when she saw the green tint of his fur shimmer under the lights.
She knocked her chair roughly backwards in her hurry to stand up.
"Secretary Goye—I mean, Ambassador!" she stuttered as he approached her desk.
"Hello Yenga," Goyeharg said easily. He grasped one of the chairs across her desk with one hand.
"I wasn't aware that you had arrived, sir."
"So I gathered when you weren't at the staff meeting," he said. He took a seat and waved Yenga back into her own. She sat down warily. "I'm afraid that's my fault, however. I copied the memo to the heads of department, having forgotten that you are merely filling in for Operative Yaheek during his present assignment."
That was a lie. Yenga was receiving all of Hyong's mail, and Goyeharg had sent no such message to either of them. He probably even realized she'd know that, or could at least find out quickly, which made his excuse a polite formality that he shouldn't have bothered with. But Arreyux Goyeharg had always had something of a taste for the dramatic. He'd wanted to meet Yenga first privately, and it hardly mattered now what he'd done to arrange things that way.
"What can I do for you, Ambassador?"
Goyeharg scratched his chin, "You can call me Arreyux, I hope we're still on familiar enough terms."
"You're my superior now, sir."
"Then I command you to call me Arreyux," he waved a single claw at her. "I don't care to work in a stifling environment if I can help it, and since I'm in charge here, I can. I also know you're too much of a professional to let a little relaxation prevent you from doing an excellent job. Especially now that you've spent six years working under Yaheek."
"I am what I choose to be. Hyong would be disgusted to know you're still making an idol out of him."
"Well he can tell me all about it when he returns from his current assignment. But he's already larger than life, if he thinks I can do anything about that, he'll be disappointed."
Yenga didn't respond to that immediately. She wanted to protest but once again, it seemed pointless. Both of them knew perfectly well how Goyeharg had spent his time since the colony was established. Yenga didn't really see the use of pretending otherwise. But then, she didn't see the use of most of Goyeharg's little games. She sighed to herself.
"What can I do for you, then?"
Goyeharg chuckled, "Well since you missed the staff meeting, I'd like you to file a status review for your department by the end of the day so I can read it in the morning."
"I can have that done in an hour."
"Excellent." Goyeharg gazed over Yenga's shoulder for a moment. He reached up and hooked one claw through the rings on his right ear, tugging on them absently. "Before you do that, however, I'd like to know your opinion of the Humans."
"Do you want a general assessment, or are you concerned with something specific?"
He met her eyes again, "They handled our recent confrontation very well, don't you think? Horexker's already told me how you and Yaheek, ah, intervened to their benefit. I don't think you were wrong," he added before Yenga could defend herself, "Hyarahek could hardly have picked a worse opportunity for his final demonstration of incompetence, and I'm not the only one grateful that you were able to abort it."
He paused for a moment as Yenga collected herself again.
"However, it is troubling that the Humans were willing to push Hyarahek as far as they did even before the two of you came to their rescue. I'm not sure that Shyankyang has fully thought through the implications—he's still furious that Hyarahek was so completely outwitted. But I know Gyergroch has, at least. He seemed quite unsettled at our last meeting."
"Unsettled by the Humans?" Yenga asked. Senior High Command Operative Gyergroch was Governor Shyankyang's intelligence advisor and the director of Republican Intelligence for the entire star system.
"Yes. It doesn't worry you that they were ready to risk a battle against a force that should have completely outmatched their defenses?"
"They still don't fully understand the difference in our capabilities."
"Perhaps. The Governor is certainly happy to have avoided a war for now. But this has put us in a position of making a rather hefty concession to the Humans without gaining much in return."
"I thought Shyankyang supported the plan of cultivating a friendship?"
"He does, but can you really be sure that we have a friendship after they've defied us in this manner?"
"If they were completely docile, the Charterlings would notice. We can't afford to look like too much of a nuisance out here."
"I agree with you. As I've said, for the moment the Governor is still on your side. But he and his advisors have their doubts—as do I. If the Humans are just going to end up in the Charterlings' sphere regardless, it may be wise to quash them now."
"I don't think that's going to happen. The Charterlings have had… perception difficulties here. The Humans aren't inclined to sympathize with them."
"Very well then, Yenga. That is what I wondered about. I only hope you're as confident once the Humans have finished their trade with the Kekregka." He stood up from his chair. "I'll let you return to your work then, goodbye."
"I'll have the report to you in an hour. Goodbye, Amba—" she cut herself off when he pointed a claw at her, "—Arreyux," she finished in a strained voice.
"I look forward to reading it," he said happily, and swept back out her door.
Yenga kept a pleasant expression until he was gone. Then she went searching through her desk for a piece of dried jerky that she could imagine was Goyeharg's flesh as she sank her teeth into it.