They waited for them in the big throne room, the screens already on. Whatever happened seemed so important that greetings were reduced to friendly nods and smiles. Neri and Mera had both changed from their usual dresses to something more formal in typical shimmering green and blue. Jason took his place right beside Neri. Rugeaux and some senators, Shalamorn's council and the other Councilors looked down on them from their blue-framed triangle screens. Obviously, someone had provided Rugeaux with oceanic communication devices.
"Our analysts found traces of a substance in the ruins of the hotel which is unlikely origin to Earth", de Souza started unceremoniously. Rugeaux who obviously had prepared some welcoming words closed her mouth and smirked.
"The molecular structure is unknown and we couldn't find anything even close on our periodic table." De Souza typed in something and a chart appeared in a small window on the biggest screen. "Because it isn't", said Councilor Pietre after a quick look. "In tiny dosages, it is used as a trigger for our weapons and it is also the main ingredient for the spaceship fuel." He turned to De Souza. "I'm surprised you found it. This material is compressed energy at the highest level and usually burns up completely."
"If it was used properly, then yes, that would be the case", Councilor Chianba interjected. "But if someone used it without knowing exactly how to handle this substance …"
"Oceanic materials but human executors…" Rugeaux murmured. "This is highly disturbing."
"We know humans were part of it but maybe they didn't pull the strings," De Souza said slowly and the look she gave Zheri spoke volumes. "It is entirely possible that the bombs were intended to be dirty, to mask oceanic involvement."
"The same could be said the other way round," Pietre replied in his usual calm matter but Jason could tell, he was losing patience as well.
De Souza grinded her jaw. "I for my part am very interested in where they got the material? You don't happen to have some lying around, do you?"
"The councilors were not involved in the attack," Shalamorn protested immediately and sharply.
"If we had known about this, you think we would have attended the conference?" Zheri shot back. "And because Queen Shalamorn wouldn't have neither is the only reason why we are still willing to talk. But that doesn't mean we trust you or your human government."
"This is not the moment for accusations", said Rugeaux calmly but firmly. "This news is troubling enough as it is. It means both sides are involved somehow but I seriously doubt that anyone here is responsible for it."
Shalamorn nodded and gave each person a look while she spoke. "Someone in the shadows is uniting people from both sides against our cause of peace and retribution. Their motivations are yet not clear but their goals are: to feed the suspicions, to feed the hostilities among us."
"Someone is trying really hard to prevent Earth and Ocean people ever getting along properly but why?" Brett asked. "Why do they want war so badly?"
"We have been living in peace for a long time and your generation has known nothing else", Diane explained. "But war profiteers come in all colors and shapes. It's not just about ideology but the business is highly profitable as well."
"This means, yet again", sighed Shalamorn, "we have no clue who is behind it. We don't even know where to start looking for them."
"Could you send us a sample of the substance?" Diric asked politely after a moment of silence. "We have more advanced technology to analyze materials and maybe, we are able to extract some additional information. The composition of the fuel is unique in its processing. If we are able to designate it to a specific processing plant and/or storage, we can at least narrow down the circle of people who had access to it."
"Good idea", Shalamorn agreed. "Maybe we can then also trace it back to the ships using that brand of fuel."
"That's a start," De Souza said with a dark expression, "but that will take time. What about the space traffic? Is it monitored? Did ships land on places on Earth where they were not supposed to?"
"Not that we know of," Shalamorn replied. "Even for us, space travel is an expensive undertaking which requires a lot of resources. Travels require authorization by council members or me and we haven't had any reports about stolen vessels. And before you ask –," she looked at De Souza, "we don't possess any kind of camouflage shields. I know you monitor space around the Earth tightly yourself. So, you would've have picked up any objects entering the Earth's atmosphere."
"Alright, you know what to do on your end," De Souza said, "but we have to keep things moving on ours."
"What about Akio Tenjou?" Jason wanted to know. "And the people you arrested?"
"Akio is a dead end," De Souza responded grimly. "Literally. The reason he didn't left his apartment during the attack was that he was dead already. It looked like a suicide which under normal circumstances could be interpreted as confession. But somehow, I think he was just a puppet in the game. Someone fed him information for his conspiracy website and used him as a window dummy. We lost the trace there. As for the few people we caught…." She sighed heavily. "They're not very talkative. We tried everything."
"Could I try?" Neri asked. "I can feel their thoughts."
"If anyone can make them talk, it's Neri," Brett agreed.
De Souza and Rugeaux exchanged glances. "We understand what you're trying to do but it imposes a great risk," Rugeaux said slowly. "Right now, we have no idea what they actually know or what they have been fed. They seem to be almost fanatical about the righteousness of their actions. Letting them see an actual Alien might make things worse."
"It's not like they look very alien," Brett argued. "How would they know they don't talk to a human? Neri could impose as a psychologist or something."
"They could have been shown pictures of us," Jason thought out loud. "It would prove their suspicions right."
"Yeah, but we could still learn something from their reactions."
"They are held in a high-security prison," De Souza explained. "Getting unregistered people in their requires a lot of effort, especially while we're trying to keep things secret."
This damn secrecy. Jason felt a surge of anger. The resources poured into hiding all their operations kept hampering their progress. He felt Neri looking at him and met her eyes. Anger, fear and confusion. Her eyes lit up, recognizing their conversation in his mind. She nodded slightly. She was with him on this.
"Then screw it," he said firmly. "Secrecy seemed like a good idea in the beginning but now, we are drowning in red tape. We are restricted in everything we do. Whoever they are, can tell people whatever they want about us and give them just enough information to back their facts while we have no options to set the record straight as long as we officially don't exist. And they know it. They are using our secrecy against us."
"Are you really suggesting what I think you're suggesting?" De Souza gave him a look as though he had made a very bad joke. "Throw everything to hell and go public?!"
Jason almost laughed at the startled and shocked faces around him. It seemed crazy and hearing himself suggesting such a radical turnaround from their previous course of action sounded weird even to his own ears. But maybe this was exactly the reason, why it felt right.
"To keep us secret was a decision which was supposed to protect us," Neri said. "But now people are dead. Because we were afraid of their anger when we should have trusted that they can be kind and compassionate if we open up to them."
De Souza snorted. "That's naïve. Didn't we already agree on that?"
Neri nodded. "Yes, it is. But anger and kindness are not mutually exclusive," – she shot Jason a quick smile before addressing the senators again. "You think of me as shy and kind and naïve but I am just as capable of being angry as anyone else. And right now, I'm angry because I feel helpless. The people of Earth are angry because they feel helpless. Their beloved ones died and no one knows why or if or when it will happen again or who is to blame. They don't know how to protect their families and friends. They have the right to know why their beloved ones are dead."
Jason suppressed the urge to stare at her in awe. It wasn't the first time Neri dominated the room with her presence but there was a new confidence in her voice that made him almost burst with pride. The change in her ability to speak had been subtle. Not long ago she had struggled with finding the right tenses or even words. She still used simple expressions but her sincerity made up for it.
"You want to throw yourself at the mercy of the people?" De Souza looked at Jason and Neri back and forth, still unbelieving or probably hoping that they were joking. "Make yourself a target?"
Neri shook her head. "We have to take back control of the situation. As Jason said, our secrecy is their weapon. We have to take that away from them."
"I know what you're saying," Rugeaux said after a moment of thoughtful silence, "but there's no guarantee you'll drive them out if you expose yourself to the public. If we have to weigh the odds against the risks …."
"What's the alternative?" Jason responded without waiting for her to finish the sentence. "Sit around and wait for their next move? If they have access to oceanic materials, they probably also have access to oceanic technology and weapons. Yes, our exposure is risky, especially since we made to many mistakes to set the framework for the narrative, but we might still have a chance to change it to our benefit if we act now."
De Souza's jaw ground. "For us to take such an unpredicted step could throw our enemies off-balance. It's definitely easier to control the battle if we set up the area." She still sounded unconvinced but not opposed to the idea.
The room was silent for another minute. Jason saw doubt and confusion, open objection but also slight approval.
Shalamorn seemed to come to the same conclusion. "We can't decide that right now. It's not just about the royal family but about all our people. Exposing the existence of the planet of the oceans is risky and not everybody might agree. I'm willing to take that risk but I am not the only representative of our people anymore." She gave Zheri and the separatist councilors a friendly smile. "We have to be a united front."
The separatist councilors exchanged glances and communicated silently. "We will discuss it among ourselves," Zheri finally said with a sour expression, nodded and ended the call.
"As you might remember," Chianba said clearly opposed to the idea, "not all of us agreed with your plan to establish contact with humans twenty years ago. They were not ready for First-Contact then and they are not ready now."
"Not all of them," Diric interjected and nodded. "But some have been proven valuable additions to our society," – he gave Jason a quick look. "Like it or not, we are in contact now even though with just their representatives. The path is clear: it's forward. I agree with Councilor Jason."
Jason blinked. The title of councilor and Diric agreeing with him? This day got weirder and weirder every minute and it wasn't even midday yet. Diane gave him a questioning look. He hinted a shrug. Brett's frown also had gone deeper. Rugeaux had also picked it up but seemed to decide to ignore it for the moment. By the look De Souza gave him, he knew she would question him as soon as possible.
Shalamorn and Mera seemed the only ones who didn't blink an eye. "It's not a decision we can make lightly or even today," the Queen said diplomatically. "We shall continue this discussion at another time."
The senators bowed to them in more or less respectful matter and the triangle screen disappeared, leaving only Rugeaux's channel open.
"Going public also means exposing our involvement," she said slowly, "we had secrets from the public for a while. There are issues to think over at our side as well."
"Of course," Shalamorn replied. "We'll meet again if a decision can be made."
"I will meet you in person tomorrow," De Souza told Rugeaux.
Rugeaux and the other senators nodded. "Your Majesties. Dr Bates. Mr Bates." Last one was addressed to Brett while the first one seemed to have included Jason. "Katherina, I see you tomorrow."
"Well, that was more productive than expected," De Souza remarked after Rugeaux had closed the channel.
"Yes," Diane agreed. "That's the first time in weeks that it seems that things move forward. Although," she looked at Jason, "I really don't understand what's going on here?"
De Souza crossed her arms. "Councilor Jason. When did that happen? And I'm still curious why the oceanic soldiers responded to your commands."
Brett turned around to Shalamorn. "What does An'Goleda mean?"
Shalamorn smiled and exhaled. "Well, I had hoped they'd waited a bit longer." Affectionately, she put a hand on his arm. "You were in such a rush to escape that there wasn't any time to explain. An'Goleda is a title that is closest to what you would call a king, or a prince. In our society, An'Goleda refers to the highest-ranking male among our people. My late husband was An'Goleda. That title makes you part of the council automatically."
"Has this something to do with Neri and Jason being married now?" Brett blurted out.
Diane blinked and opened her mouth in surprise.
"That plays a role," Shalamorn replied and took her hand back. "Being part of the royal family is not a requirement although it is usually the case. Therefore, it is not hereditary but an honorary title. An'Goleda does not get named by the royal family but by the people and mainly, by those who An'Goleda is supposed to lead. An'Goleda is the head of our army."
Jason exhaled, grateful for Neri's supporting presence. Strangely, he wasn't surprised. Having new tasks and responsibilities as Neri's spouse seemed natural. The council's acceptance was unexpected though. And the official title wore heavy.
"That's the first time I hear that you guys have, in fact, an army," De Souza remarked. "Security, yes. Obviously. But the way you always talked about your people … Don't you think I should have known about it?"
"What we call army or military are not the same thing as it is on Earth," Mera explained. "Our soldiers are not trained to fight other soldiers. They are much more like a police force or like Earth's search and rescue or firefighters. They are emergency responders and hunters. They protect our fishing grounds from predators from the deep seas and petrol the safe areas where our children swim. The weapons they carry, they were just ever intended to be tools for cutting wood from fallen trees after a storm and scare the wild animals away from our gardens and farms. The role they take on now as bodyguards is a fairly new necessity."
De Souza sighed. "Another nasty habit picked up from us? Well, that does make sense. But why now?"
"I can only guess," Shalamorn replied, "but I think it's because almost losing Jason showed us how much we need you and how much you mean to us and our people. We had come to think of you as the bridge between our people and we felt incomplete without your ability to see doors where other only see blank walls. When the news came, a wave of relief went through all of us. It sparked hope again. So, with your return, the people simply gave our name to the role you already took on a long time ago."
Jason could tell by Mera's expression that this wasn't the whole truth. He suspected the real reason was meant for a private conversation.