Trevor frowned. “You mean, you don’t know?”
“I mean I cannot tell you anything about it.”
Trevor sat open-mouthed for three very long seconds. “Damn it, Uncle Richard, you are going to tell me where my own father’s body is, and why it’s there, or so help me, I’ll-”
“Trev. Please. I can’t tell you about how your father’s body was ultimately handled because I don’t know.”
Trevor, who was half out of his seat, stopped. “You don’t-?”
Downing looked away. “It was all arranged after his death. It wasn’t his-or my-idea.”
“Then whose idea was it?”
Might as well tell him. “The Dornaani.”
“The-?” Trevor fell back in his seat. “What the-what the fuck do they want with Dad’s body? And why the hell did you give it to them?”
“Trevor, I don’t know what they want. But they-well, they seem to revere your father. And he wanted to be buried among the stars. And they made it clear that they would both see to that request, and also be-indebted-to us if we granted them the honor of doing so.”
“So you traded away Dad’s body for some alien goodwill? What are you, Richard, a fucking monster? He was your friend-your closest friend!”
Downing felt his eyes start to burn. “Yes, he was, Trevor. And this is what he’d have wanted. And you know it.” Trevor’s stare had gone from cold to arctic, and was dropping toward absolute zero. “Trev, please understand: I wanted to tell you about your father, but the President ordered it kept quiet.”
Trevor’s eyes did not change. His voice was emotionless. “Is there more on the day’s agenda, sir, or are we done? Caine and I are due to report for our own debrief and then training.”
Downing sighed. “Yes, we’re done.”
Trevor rose quickly; Caine took a moment longer. Downing made his way to the door, shook hands with Caine-who seemed, if not sympathetic, at least accepting-and then extended the same hand tentatively to Trevor. Who took it, but with even less warmth than Caine had.
“I’ll miss you, Trev,” Downing said lamely.
“Have a safe trip, sir.”
Downing turned and tried to put Trevor’s stony expression out of his mind.
And kept trying all the way to his ship.
Unsuccessfully.
ODYSSEUS
Caine and Trevor did not follow Downing back up into the subterranean hangar, but they had to pass through it on the way to their own debriefing. As they navigated the black-and-yellow-dashed safeways, they saw a familiar object amidst all the esoteric military hardware: a secure canister from the module they had inhabited during their time at the Convocation Station.
“What the hell is that doing here?” Trevor wondered aloud.
Caine considered its size, hermetic seals, and profuse marking labels: it was the container for the biological samples they had gathered at the party. It was also just large enough to be- “Maybe Alnduul is using it as his own personal Trojan Horse?”
Trevor turned to stare at the gray shipping module as it was loaded onto the same shuttle that Downing would soon board. “You mean, you think Alnduul’s breaking the rules and going to Earth anyhow?”
“Somehow, I wouldn’t be surprised.”
As they watched the secure canister disappear into the shuttle’s hold, Downing’s spare, slump-shouldered silhouette appeared, moving steadily through the pre-boarding checkpoints.
Trevor became very quiet. “I guess I was pretty hard on Uncle Richard.”
Caine knew to tread carefully. “Well, if you were, it’s understandable. He dropped some pretty big family bombs back there.”
“Yeah. Dropped a few on you, too.”
Caine shrugged. “It’s been a busy day.”
Trevor’s answering smile was a bit quizzical. “You know, Richard and I thought you’d make a fuss.”
“About what?”
“About being impressed into service. He said you haven’t exactly been an eager foot soldier for IRIS.”
Caine shrugged. “When I’m hijacked or hoodwinked into service, I tend not to be happy about it. And it wasn’t always clear that Richard’s missions were, in fact, service to my country. More often, it seemed like they were serving his agenda. And although your uncle may have noble intentions, I don’t equate his agenda with my country’s needs.”
“Fair enough. And I’m not sure I do, anymore, either.” Trevor sighed. “But I have to hand it to him: he and Dad were right about the threats to us. God knows we got a nasty surprise at the Convocation.”
Caine nodded. “Worse than nasty. After what happened there-well, now we’re just living from one pivotal moment to the next.”
“What do you mean?”
“I mean that we are on the crest of one of history’s waves. Whatever happens next, it will change our lives-and our species-forever.”
Trevor stared at him. “Huh. Sounds like you were already thinking about volunteering.”
Caine nodded. “At a time like this, events trump individual wants, even needs. We just do what we have to do to protect those who depend on us.”
Trevor nodded. “I remember reading about the Allies in World War Two; a lot of their soldiers felt that way, too.”
“I think-I fear-there may be more than a few parallels, Trevor.”
Who smiled down from his 6'2" height at his slightly shorter companion. “So, wordsmith, what’s your advice for the times in which we live?”
“‘Hope for peace, prepare for war.’”
“Whoa; now you’re sounding like a career officer.”
“Not my intent, I assure you. ‘Going career’ is a life choice. I’m just stepping forward to do my part.”
“Well, career or not, you sure are starting to sound like a soldier.” Trevor looked him up and down. “Now we just have to determine if you have what it takes to be a soldier.”
Caine smiled. “Let’s find out.”
Appendix A:
The Accords
The Accords
1. The Accord is a democratic council comprised of politically equal member states. Membership is conferred through a process of mutual assessment and determination. Attendance at all Convocations of the Accord is mandatory; absences are treated as abstention and warrant the censure of the Accord. Accord policy and arbitration outcomes are determined by simple majority votes. However, changes in the accords themselves (additions, deletions, emendations) require unanimous approval (abstentions are construed as rejections). Issues addressed by the Accord include:
accord policies and actions toward non-Accord powers, races, objects, or phenomena;
interpretation and application of the accords;
proper procedures for administering the Accord, including first contact, meeting, and communication protocols;
reassessment and periodic alteration of the current pathways of allowed expansion for Accord member states.
2. A member state’s membership in the Accord requires, and remains contingent upon, truthful self-representation in all disclosures of data or statements of intention: lies of omission or commission are expressly forbidden. If it is found that a member state misrepresented itself upon application for membership in the Accord, its membership is annulled.
3. One member state of the Accord is designated as the Custodian of the accords. The Custodians are charged with ensuring that all member states comply with the accords, that lack of compliance is corrected, and that disputes are resolved by arbitration commissions.
4. The Accord and its individual member states are expressly and absolutely forbidden from interfering in the internal affairs of any member state. The only exception to this is articulated in the Twenty-first Accord.
5. All entry into another member state’s space must comply with territorial transit agreements negotiated between the member states in question. If no such agreements exist, a member state may declare any intrusion into its territory as illegal and may require the Accord to convene an arbitration commission to seek redress. The race designated as Custodians are excluded from these constraints when acting in their capacity as Custodians. However, they are expected and enjoined to use all possible restraint and to secure prior permission wherever and whenever possible.