Chapter 3 -- Meeting
--Ecazian Lighter--
Admiral Brian, now the official head of House Ecaz, sat in one of the seats of his own personal lighter. Two weeks had passed since their first contact with a group called the UNSC. After exchanging dictionaries, both sides made preparations for the first meeting. In between all the internal military and council meetings the Duke had to learn English. Thankfully, he thought, the extensive education he received in languages as a child paid off, and now he had a basic command of the English language. Glancing around the cramped interior, Brian saw his second-in-command, Michael Young conversing with two of the Diplomatic Corp. Looking out of the armored viewport, Brian could see the Fryberg hanging in orbit of a blue planet. The voice of the pilot came through the speakers.
"Fryberg control, this is the lighter Ecaz Prime requesting permission to dock."
"Affirmative Ecaz Prime, follow the Longsword escorts to docking bay five." Replied the traffic controller.
"Affirmative Fryberg control."
Two small blocky ships formed up in front of the lighter and guided it to docking bay 5. The pilot lined the lighter up and proceeded into the air lock per the instructions that had been transmitted to the fleet. As the lighter cleared the outer doors, the pilot lowered the lighter onto the deck and shut down the engines but kept the reactor warm just in case.
Everyone in the lighter stood up and headed towards the small airlock in the lighter. The Duke remained at the back of the line while the honor guard prepared. A small green light flashed indicating that the pressure had been equalized. Both airlock doors were opened and a set boarding stairs unfolded from their storage cavity. The honor guard quietly marched down the stairs with their ceremonial swords bared and shields activated. Following the honor guard, the two members of the Diplomatic Corp and Michael walked onto the station. Finally, the Duke slowly walked down the stairs and waited to be welcomed by the UNSC representatives.
--UNSC Fryberg--
Commander Johann stood in the cavernous docking bay 5 on the Fryberg. All around him were Longswords, Pelicans, and numerous other spaceships. But the corner of the bay he was at was spotless. Two Longswords flanked the area where the Duke's shuttle would be stopped. All the personal were dressed in their best dress uniforms. Those that were on duty had been issued a new uniform. Everything was running as smooth as could be hoped. Walking down the red carpet that had been brought with the Diplomats, Samuel decided thought over what he had been told to do a few hours ago. The head Ambassador had told him and his staff that since they had the most experience with these aliens, they would be heading up the first meeting. Sam was a bit annoyed, he wasn't a diplomat but at least the Ambassador said he would be there just in case.
Johann's comlink beeped. Grabbing it it opened up a channel and listened.
"Sir, the Ecazian shuttle is entering the airlock right now." Said the ops officer.
"Acknowledged" replied Johann as he heard a dull thunk signifying the outer airlock doors had sealed. Raising his voice above the hissing noise Johann said, "Alright everyone, they're coming through right now. Everyone get to your positions."
Everyone started jogging to their spots as the inner airlock doors hummed open. Looking at the Ecazian shuttle Johann saw several obvious weapons protruding from the front and back. He noticed that the pilot was very skilled because the shuttle was already slowly heading towards the landing area and there were only minute puffs coming from the aliens control surfaces. Quickly their gear come down and the Ecazian shuttle landed softly in the exact area that had been agreed upon.
A few minutes later the airlock on the shuttle opened and several soldiers marched out. Johann saw that the air around them shimmered. He made a mental not to ask Joan about it later. Then four other people exited the shuttle with, if the pictures were true, the leader of House Ecaz following behind.
Standing at attention, Johann reviewed in his head the final data he had received that morning, it contained the list of those attending and the photos of each delegate as well. Johann waited until the The Duke had stepped out of the shuttle and then headed towards him. Coming to a stop ten paces in front of the Duke, Johann saluted him and said, "On behalf of the UNSC, I, Commander Johann, formally welcome you to the UNSC station Fryberg."
Returning the salute the Duke replied, "And on behalf of House Ecaz, I greet you.
With the pleasantries over, both men approached each other and shook hands in the UNSC fashion while a photographer took pictures, to be published when the new aliens were revealed to the public. After the photo-op, both delegations headed towards the main conference room on board the Fryberg.
Entering the room, the Duke looked around and noticed that the wood paneling and fixtures were done by hand, and the windows overlooked the beautiful world below. Waiting until everyone had seated themselves, the head ambassador of the UNSC delegation, Ambassador Georgette Binchy, nodded at Commander Johann to say his set piece. Slowly standing up, Johann inwardly cursed the fates that chose him to say this. But he went on anyway. "Duke Ecaz, it is my pleasure to welcome you to our space, but there is one piece of business that my superiors have told me to get out of the way. For the past several years we have been at war with an alien race that has completely outclassed us, we are losing and if we cannot stop them soon we will be hunted into extinction. Therefore, by the orders of the UNSC government, I have been told to ask you to ally with us and destroy this threat to our race." Feeling dirty, Johann slumped back down.
Thinking it over quickly the Duke knew that he could not enter a conflict with an unknown enemy without a good reason. He replied, "Until we know more about this alien race, I cannot commit the forces of House Ecaz to a conflict of interstellar proportions. I apologize and hope this will not affect our talks too much."
The holographic projector in the center of the table came to life, and an image of a young girl in armor plating with logic symbols racing up and down her shield appeared. She faced the Duke and almost shouted. "Duke Ecaz, from my initial scans, each of your ships is an even match for any Covenant vessel of comparable size. Your flagship has power readings beyond anything I have seen before. The human race is on the brink of extinction, we need your help and you could save us."
Looking at the hologram the Duke wondered about the girl and why there were moving symbols all over her image. Responding to the outburst he asked, "Commander Johann, who is this and why does she think we can enter a fight without knowing the sides first.
Inwardly fuming at Joan for her outburst he replied to the Duke's inquiry. "This is the Fryberg's AI, Her name is Joan and I apologize for her outburst. She will be reprimanded after our meeting."
All of the Ecazian delegation except for the Duke and Micheal leaped up and backed away from the hologram. They suddenly started screaming curses and prepared to attack the hologram. The Duke spun around, fell into battle language and shouted at them, "STAND DOWN, THESE PEOPLE ARE NOT FROM OUR TIME AND PLACE. SO, YOU WILL STAND DOWN, OR I WILL MAKE YOU STAND DOWN!"
Staring at their leader, one of the diplomats replied, "They enslaved our people many millenia ago. We learnt our lesson then and we cannot let it live."
The Duke laughed, "You think that these people will just allow you into their computer core to destroy something that they live with every day? You've had the best education House Ecaz could provide and you do this? Pathetic. You are all dismissed, return to the Ecaz as soon as this meeting is finished. You will also be quiet until we leave. If any of you speak out again I will remove your ability to speak up. Now sit down!" Looking back at the UNSC delegation who were now flanked by guards the Duke spoke. "I sincerely apologize for my diplomat's actions. If you wish to punish him I will turn him over to your custody." Sitting back down he continued, "Over 10,000 years ago, our ancestors fought an enemy they had created. Thinking machines. Trillions died over a hundred years. Ever since then we have never let an artificial intelligence live. We had grown soft thinking we were the best, we had robots to serve on us hand and foot, and Artificial Intelligence's to watch over the daily running of everything. Over time though, they enslaved us, we had been conquered by our own creation. It took hundreds of years to throw this yoke of enslavement off of our shoulders. But we succeeded, and vowed never to create machines in the likeness of a human mind again." Recently though, we have created machines that skirt those prohibitions."
The others that had stood up stared at the Duke for several seconds, and, as their sense returned to them, they sat themselves back down. The Duke made a subtle hand gesture to the honor guard that had just rushed in at he sound of the shouting. Seeing the order, they resumed their posts outside the conference room doors. Commander Johann waited several seconds then ordered his security troops to resume their posts.
Joan was thinking like crazy, she had to find a way out or an alliance would have no hope of existing. Suddenly she crossed an idea. Turning back towards the Duke she asked, "Duke Ecaz, were these AI's created by humans or from humans?"
Looking at the hologram quizzically the Duke replied, "From the Oral History, we understand that they were made by humans. Why do you ask?"
Wondering if such a thing as luck existed for a second, Joan said, "All AI's in our society are created from humans. Before a person dies, they are allowed to decide if they want to serve the human race even after they leave this place. If they meet certain criteria, they are placed on a list that is watched constantly. When they die, their brain is surgically removed and the organ has electricity pulsed through it. The paths that the neurons have made are copied into a crystal matrix and then we help our human brethren from beyond the grave so to speak. So, in reality, we are a natural intelligence in an artificial medium. To add to this, no smart AI is given control of important systems without a mechanical override present."
As Joan finished, a wave of cold relief passed through the Duke, if these people had created AI's then he would have had to jump away or face a mutiny from the entire fleet. His people needed all the information they could get if they were to survive in a now apparently hostile place. Glancing at his own delegation, Brian said in battle language, "You have all heard what the AI said, they are not AI's but humans serving their own kind from beyond death. If I hear any rumors of a Jihad, you will all pay with your life." Turning back towards the UNSC delegation he said in English, "I hope this incident will be understood as a simple cultural misunderstanding. As a suggestion to stop this from happening again, I propose an exchange of information on our histories."
Looking at the Duke squarely in the eyes, Ambassador Binchy replied, "That would be an excellent idea Duke Ecaz." He then nodded at an aide who walked off to have the information prepared.
The Duke also nodded leaned over to Micheal and told him to contact the fleet and send an abridged version of our history over with two historian mentats to help the UNSC understand them.
Ambassador Binchy waited for the Duke to finish and then said, "Why don't we return to business. My first question is how did you get here?"
The Duke glanced and Micheal and seeing a slight nod decided to tell them the truth. "Ambassador, my House was fleeing an enemy that would surely destroy us when they arrived. We had headed towards the reaches of known space and decided to head through a portion of space known for it's unknown properties, when we jumped, we were thrown into this universe. In realty therefore, we are from a parallel universe to yours, and there is no known way to us to return."
The Ambassador stared at the Duke for several seconds before replying, "Duke Ecaz, that is an impressive story for us to believe in one meeting. With this new information, I believe we will have to call this meeting short so I can refer to our scientists and my superiors on how to proceed."
Before the Duke could reply, Commander Johann who had been watching the proceedings carefully asked, "Duke Ecaz, when you said you jumped, what did you mean?"
Looking at the Commander, the Duke saw eyes that had seen to much death, hoping for something to save him, deciding to reply truthfully he said, "Jumping or folding is our method of faster than light travel. When we engage our projectors, space is folded around the ship and it provides extremely quick travel between even galaxies."
The UNSC delegation was stunned into silence for a few seconds until the Ambassador decided to speak.
"In light of this new information, I would like to call this first meeting to a close. Duke Ecaz, it would be our pleasure if you would stay on the station but you are under no obligation too and due to the incident you may want to deal with it your own way on your own ship."
Weighing all the options, the Duke replied, "I am afraid I cannot accept your offer of hospitality but my second-in-command, Vice Admiral Micheal Young" gesturing to Micheal "will stay behind so you have a representative present at all times. Is this satisfactory?"
"Very much so Duke Ecaz. I hope your trip back to your ship is uneventful."
The Ambassador and his aides quickly walked out of the door to prepare for the next meeting.
Turning to Micheal, Brian said, "You know what to do. Be diplomatic but gather what information you can through observation. I will want daily reports. I'll send some equipment with the histories. If they ask be truthful, I feel we can trust these people for the most part. Any thoughts?"
"The senior officers and personnel are extremely stressed. I suggest that we find out as much as we can about this Covenant as soon as possible"
"Agreed. Do what you can. Good luck my friend."
"And you to M'Lord."
The two friends departed, one following the station Commander to quarters while the other headed back to the Ecaz.
