Chapter 4

Discussions in the Draco cavern had taken up most of the morning. Mamao'lani had gone over the formal written agreement between United Earth and the Redscale clan regarding the temporary sharing of the planet, with the possibility of it becoming a permanent arrangement - although the Draco did not really understand the need to transcribe such things - and Caeldon had given further descriptions of Draco culture and history.

The long-lived Draco seemed to take everything slowly, and Caeldon had revealed small portions of their background with each meeting. Clans were based on the colour of scales, although inter-mingling was known to happen, with the eldest female automatically becoming leader. This leader could be challenged by anyone, but if killed or banished, the next oldest female would replace her, regardless of suitability.

Females tended to fill functions such as leadership, keeping track of their clan's history, and raising the young. Males took care of guarding their caverns and gathering food. Despite their sharp teeth and predatory appearance, the Draco rarely ate meat, and preferred to consume the lush vegetation of Berengaria VII.

Caeldon's recounting of Redscale history had so far taken them back about a hundred years, and, as she herself had warned, did not provide much variety. Although it was difficult to be precise, as the Draco had no calendar beyond observation of passing days and hibernation cycles.

Given how low the temperature on the planet would dip during its "winter" - which lasted for decades - it was no surprise that a cold-blooded reptilian species would need to take shelter during this period. Human scientists had speculated that the Draco must conserve a lot of hydrogen in their bladder-like organs, in order to maintain body heat during this period. Due to the unusual orbit provided by the binary stars, the hibernation only needed to last about twenty Earth years, so the Draco were awake for the remaining sixty-odd Earth years around the suns.

They would awake from this cycle to feast on preserved food stored away beforehand, then stretch their legs and wings outside. Then their usual business of gathering food and telling old stories would begin, and repeat until the next hibernation.

The only deviation to this pattern that Caeldon had reported was that clan rivalries were dying down. Apparently, there had previously been ferocious battles between different groups of Draco, and the Redscales had been hit particularly hard by this, with their numbers dwindling.

Now though, seeing other clans was rare, and Caeldon speculated that they had all been similarly affected, with very few Draco left overall. Attacks were still occasional, and brief but brutal, likely driven by desperation. Some clans had even been known to wait out hibernation, risking the extreme cold to strike at others while they slept deep in their caverns, or sometimes just to steal their food.

Mamao'lani shook his head as Caeldon related this detail to him, showing his disgust at such indecency. He attempted to steer the conversation back onto a more pleasant topic.

"May I say, Clan Mother, you seem to be healing well."

Caeldon bowed her head in gratitude, rearing up enough to display her chest. The light from the hole in the roof of the cavern showed that the only trace of the severe burn she had received over two weeks ago was a patch of scales in a lighter shade of red from the rest of her large body. She had only brought two of her fellow Draco elders with her today, and they both marvelled at the sight as well.

"Thank you, Ambassador Daniel Mamao'lani," she said. Mamao'lani had tried to explain to her that she need not use his full name and title every time she addressed him, but it was another difficult concept to get across. "Your healers are skilled. Such a wound would have killed me before we knew your clan."

At the back of the cavern with Mamao'lani's attaché and the MACO escorts, Grum cleared his throat loudly. The supervisor had been waiting patiently all morning for the long deliberations and history lessons to conclude so that he could discuss his business, and the ambassador was grateful that Grum had managed to keep himself in check so far.

Better let him talk now, thought Mamao'lani. Before he bursts.

"I ask you to bear that in mind, Clan Mother, as a… friend of mine presents you with a request," Mamao'lani said. He stepped aside and gestured to the Tellarite. "Allow me to introduce Supervisor Lar bim Grum."

Grum stepped forward, dwarfed by Caeldon looming over him, and bowed his head. "Clan Mother. I speak on behalf of my 'clan' - the United Planets of Tellar."

Caeldon dipped her long neck so that her head, larger than Grum's entire body, hovered just above the small supervisor. She regarded him curiously, sniffing the air.

"You are one of those that Gamus captured and brought here before," she said.

Mamao'lani cringed. He had hoped that Caeldon would either not remember or not recognise Grum from when he had been held hostage by the Draco during their first encounter with the species, and he had also strongly advised Grum not to bring it up.

To his credit, Grum merely said, "Yes," albeit in his usual gruff manner.

Caeldon curled her neck upwards, moving her head back to be level in front of Grum. "Then we owe you a great deal also. What is your request?"

"My people wish to establish a mining operation in your mountains," Grum said bluntly.

Caeldon cocked her head. "More strange words."

Mamao'lani looked at Grum. "If I may interpret?" At Grum's nod, he looked up at Caeldon. "There is a type of rock deep in your mountains that is important to us, Clan Mother. Supervisor Grum's clan has the ability to remove these rocks so that we can use them to build more dwellings on other worlds and in the stars." He had crudely explained space travel to her previously. "First he would seek your permission though."

Caeldon narrowed her eyes. "You would remove rock from the mountains?"

"It wouldn't harm the mountains," said Grum. "And we would keep away from your caverns."

Caeldon was silent for a moment. "I am unsure..."

"What is there to be unsure about?" Grum said, raising his voice. "You lose nothing, and you yourself said that you owe us!"

Caeldon reared up again, and the other elders did the same. Mamao'lani quickly interjected, stepping in front of Grum and holding up his hands passively.

"Perhaps we should have a break," he said. "It has been a long morning and we all need some time to gather our thoughts. We can return after midday."

He gave Grum a strong glare over his shoulder.

Once they were back out in the fresh, cool air of the mountainside, the Human ambassador was predictably upset with Grum's outburst in the cavern. He was also predictably restrained in how he addressed it.

"Supervisor, I believe you were instructed to follow my guidance, were you not?" Mamao'lani said as they made their way back to the shuttlepod on the plateau.

Grum waved his hand. "Bah! Your methods were taking forever. Us Tellarites don't live as long as Humans, you know!"

"Nevertheless, I would ask you to take a more delicate approach. Remember, you are on Earth territory, and we have an agreement with the Draco. The rodinium is important to us too, but not so much that we'd risk endangering our relationship with the indigenous species."

Grum grumbled. "It's a mystery how you Humans progressed so rapidly when all you do is talk."

Mamao'lani smiled infuriatingly. "Did you consider, Supervisor, that all that talk is why we have progressed so quickly?"

Grum snorted. He could not deny that it had been Humans who had helped to end the conflicts between his people, the Andorians and the Vulcans that had raged for decades. This had then led to the formation of the vaunted Coalition of Planets that his government held in such high regard.

However, Humans, like most other species, were often quick to violence when their polite discussions failed, as opposed to settling differences with an extensive, structured argument. Regardless, his superiors in the Tellar Space Administration had ordered him to obey Earth laws and customs in deference to their alliance.

"Very well, Ambassador. We will try things your way. For now."