Chapter 63:
The Andorians took seriously the offer of hospitality on Earth. They sent an embassy of 30, and they actively sought out information and contact with the people of Earth. Starfleet assigned them a combination security detail and tour guide to keep them out of trouble.
One night the Andorians treated their detail to Andorian Ale. One of them said, "That blue stuff is good, but I'll still stick with Guinness Stout. If you want something stronger, Jameson Irish Whiskey might be for you."
An Andorian, Shraren said, "I've heard about Irish pubs. Let us go to one and sample these wares you speak of." The next afternoon it was arranged. They sat at long tables, and ordered food after asking about ingredients. Their handlers asked the pub to send over Guinness and Jameson and keep them coming.
There was a big videoscreen, showing Platformball. This was a version of the Starfleet Marines platforms that do not require the operators to have any magic. They were enchanted to respond to simple controls. Overall the game was a three dimensional version of football, called soccer in the US, which also had some elements of Quidditch.
Some other pub goers came over and talked to the Andorians and explained the game they were watching. Shraren said, "I want to buy ten thousand of those platforms."
Their handler replied "Might be arranged, but needs export permission first. Take it up with Starfleet Command."
A pub goer, Ethan O'Keily said, in a slightly slurred voice, "Do you know why they don't trust you blue guys?"
Shraren asked, "Why would that be?"
Ethan pulled out a mobile phone. The security team almost stunned him, but determined no hostile intent and let him proceed. Ethan said, "This is supposed to be secret, but its all over the internet."
He then showed the video of Luna's vision of an Andorian raid on Hogwarts.
Shraren said, "But that never happened!"
Ethan said, "Of course not. It was from a seer, someone who can see the future. That was over 20 years ago."
Shraren poured Ethan a glass of Jameson and said, "Tell me about it."
Ethan said, "They started Starfleet after seeing this. They were determined to be able to defend the planet before contacting aliens. They even held back experiments on warp engines to not attract alien attention until we were ready."
Shraren asked, "And now you are ready?"
Ethan answered, "Absolutely!"
Another pub goer, Niall O'Brien said, "My fist is ready" and walked up to Shraren.
The security team walked over to intercept Niall, but Shraren said, "Let him proceed" and put down his glass.
They then had a fistfight, until Niall's friends pulled him back, and another Andorian pulled Shraren back.
Somehow there was a video of the event, and there were headlines showing an enraged Shraren being pulled back while trying to punch Niall.
Later Shraren had a case of Andorian Ale sent to Niall, along with an invitation to visit Andoria, and sent the same to Ethan.
In the spring of 2018 we were arranging a grand conference. We explained to the Andorians that we were considering an exchange of technology with them, but not as a plot against the Vulcans. That we would precede any such agreement with a conference that included the Vulcans and Tellarites, where we would discuss the future of our region of space.
The Vulcans agreed to the conference, not because they thought it would accomplish anything but because it would be illogical not to talk with the Andorians and Humans together. We invited them to Starbase 1, partially to show off how much we advanced in the last few years.
On June 2nd 2018 the conference started. Warp speed ships pulled into docking areas. Some preferred sending over shuttles, but most docked the starship. Tubes connected to their access doors, and people and cargo were smoothly transported to the isolation ward. From there, scans, both technological and magical happened in a few minutes. Meanwhile refreshments were served. Then people went through an airlock to the entrance area of the station, while cargo was sent along to cargo bays. At the entrance area, diplomatic personnel were scanned and noted, unobtrusively. Starfleet personnel had their badge automatically scanned. Civilians had badges also. Diplomatic personnel were given badges that said diplomat in large letters.
The conference attendees were directed to a large conference room with many videoscreens. The full sphere view was not used there. It was decided it would be better to have certain places on the Starbase with those views, but not the conference rooms. The conference rooms displays that could be interfaced to various alien technologies, and live translations of anything said by the speaker or a questioner, without the distraction of exterior views. Automated beverage and snack dispensers were located at the edges of the room.
Starfleet Chief Quahog began, "On Earth, there were active conflicts as recently as 25 of our years ago. Starfleet ended them by first imposing a simple concept, which was freezing territory in place, and stopping all attacks. It didn't matter if one side seized territory a year ago, in contravention of recognized borders that held for 50 years. The first priority was ending fighting and that was best accomplished by freezing in place. Later we engaged in mediation and suggested conflict resolutions, in the context that fighting was no longer an option.
We would suggest a voluntary freezing of conflicts that might exist between any of us, but which exist now only between the Andorians and Vulcans. For example, if P'Jem hypothetically has a listening station, that station remains unattacked. If with a hypothetical listening station, Vulcan hypothetically learned of a treaty violation by Andoria, that former treaty violation is now frozen in place and accepted as the new status quo.
The freezing of former conflicts is only a tactic. The goals must be agreed to, by all parties. To address the goals that could lead to a combined alliance, I suggest that we each apply full frankness and avoid diplomatic niceties. Statements of intentions are not going to convince as much as a logical analysis of the situation.
Here is how I see the present situation from the perspective of the Vulcans. They are neighbors to two rising powers, each expanding in both territory and technology, but now weaker than Vulcan. Both appear to be warlike under certain circumstances. Earth appears to be expansionistic in a manner that suggests being based on emotion instead of logic. Andoria will attack based on emotion in response to perceived dangers or perhaps to be being challenged.
To create a timeline beneficial to all of us, we need to see the true long term interests, and to use the concept of dynamic tension to help safeguard those interests. War between us would leave even the victor in a weaker position against larger scale threats, than cooperation between us. Suppose Vulcan preemptively destroyed both the Andorians and Starfleet? How much damage would be incurred by them during that war? How quickly would other powers see an opportunity to attack a weakened victor. How much more motivated would neighbors be to fight an aggressive empire? How effective would Vulcan alone be in creating new capabilities and increasing their resources?
Suppose Starfleet and Andoria together successfully attacked Vulcan? They would have additional threats. How quickly would that alliance break down, as each would have reason to be afraid of the other? If the two didn't start fighting each other, perhaps an outside power would help one against the other, using a divide and conquer strategy that would require a fraction of the resources available to the two sides combined, in order to eventually conquer both.
There is no logic in any of us fighting against each other. The best way for all of us to live long and prosper would be to work together towards mutual defense and building up of our strength.
We would also rely on a mutual set of pledges. None of us attack each other, all of us prevent any such conflict. This would be an alliance that would also require each of us to prevent their allies from fighting each other. This handles the greatest Andorian fear of being attacked by Vulcan. It also handles any fear by Vulcan of being attacked by either Starfleet or Andoria. They would need to rely on Andoria and Starfleet fearing each other to dissuade an alliance between the two.
Next I'm going to turn over the floor to a family of seers. Their ability to see the future is not unlimited. They mainly see timelines, which have already been changed, but those alternative timelines can give many insights into what could happen. They occasionally see possible futures of our own timeline, and sometimes get extensive information about civilizations not yet contacted. They generally do not have control over what they see."
I said, "The timeline that I myself have seen diverged at a crossroads of Earth history. Our interventions changed the timeline, bringing it to our present one. I saw first a war between magicals, which we ended. Then I saw a further large scale war on Earth. We carefully found facts to support our visions and convinced our world to choose a new path.
In the original timeline Earth would not have had warp travel until our year 2063. That would have been 10 years after a very destructive war. At that time the Vulcans would have advised us, while keeping the rate of our technological development slow.
Our first Warp 5 capable ship would have been launched in 2151, at which time we would have started exploring our region of space. We would have been allies with the Tellarites. Initially the Andorians would have been hostile to us, considered us allies of the Vulcans. The Andorians and the Vulcans would have fought a small scale war. Within a few years, Earth would have helped resolve the war and convinced all four of us to become allies. We together, in those early years of cooperation, would have faced many challenges from the Romulans and the Orions, as well as other forces that we will not see in our current timeline. We would have built a Federation of worlds, which would grow to part of the galaxy, and would as expected faced many and severe challenges from other forces in the galaxy."
Luna said, "I had another vision in July 1998. It was based on the timeline we would have been in if we initiated contact with the Vulcans early. It showed an Andorian raid trying to capture hundreds of magicals from Earth, by threatening bombardment of cities on Earth if we did not voluntarily get on shuttles.
This vision led to a consensus in Starfleet to use our planet's unique capabilities to put together an effective defense capability before experimenting with warp field generators, which we knew would lead to contact. We also ignored a Vulcan flyby in 2002, and again in 2010, while being ready for any hostile encounter."
Cora Picard, who just finished her third year of Starfleet Junior Academy said, "I acquired extensive knowledge of the past, present, and possible futures, of an extremely advanced people called the Organians. They started out much like the magicals of Earth, and evolved into being energy beings, while still maintaining the appearance of a stagnant agricultural society on their home planet.
Their example shows us that there are paths forward that do not involve empire, although they do require surviving until reaching their level of development. Many believe that control over space and resources and development of technologies are necessary to survive until that level can be reached."
Saark of Vulcan said, "There is much logic in your presentation. While, I cannot say I have evidence to support a belief in seeing the future or in any form of time travel, you have proven verified knowledge that cannot have been acquired in any conventional way. We can address your analysis, which again is logical, on its own.
To clarify one matter, a founding principle of Vulcan logic is to avoid warfare, which nearly drove the Vulcan people to extinction before our reformation. We do not wish for warfare in space. Another of our founding principles is infinite diversity in infinite combinations. What that means practically for the cultures represented at this conference, is that each combination of these different cultures provides a benefit.
Despite us having no desire for war, we do find agreeable an alliance that would also internally remove the basis for war."
Rahlis of Andoria said, "The Starfleet plan makes sense to us. We would need to see more detail and agree to more detail as to how a freezing of disputes in place would work, and how future directions for expansion would be handled. There are many issues that would need to be resolved. We are not opposed to further negotiation."
Quahog of Earth said, "We are very pleased that we have a framework for further negotiation. One further aspect from my own planet's history of warfare must be included. There were wars on Earth that were ended with a cease fire in place, In the days that those cease fires were being negotiated, there was often heavy fighting to establish positions that would then soon be frozen. To avoid repeating this situation, we propose that yesterday, 12:00 hours Earth time, be the moment at which any conflict is frozen, and the freezing of conflicts be initiated immediately while the details of negotiation begin."
During a break in the conference, Starfleet and Andorians met to discuss technology trade. We agreed to significant trade, including selling them magical devices that can be used on Starships. We negotiated so we each equally benefited and each were able to further catch up to the Vulcans. The Tellarites were included in the trade agreement.