But the aliens, it seemed, didn’t understand the idea behind classifying or otherwise restricting data.
“I think they’re coming to a break,” Polly observed. “They’re leaving the compartment.”
Ted nodded. The human observers were leaving through one set of hatches, the aliens were leaving through the other, which lead to a compartment specifically designed for their comfort. It had taken a considerable amount of engineering to make it possible, but it had been done. The aliens hadn’t complained once, although they hadn’t thanked the humans either. Ted suspected, from reading Prince Henry’s report, that they didn’t have social graces in the same way the humans had them. Maybe politeness, too, was a foreign concept.
He turned as Ambassador Melbourne strode into the compartment, already removing his sweaty jacket. Ted concealed his amusement with an effort. The aliens wouldn’t notice if the human negotiators turned up wearing nothing, but their birthday suits. On the other hand, he did understand their problem. Recordings of the first talks between humans and aliens were likely to be studied for countless years… and no one would want to see them stark naked when they reviewed the data. But they could easily have worn swimsuits.
“Ambassador,” he said. “I trust that talks were productive?”
“I believe so,” Melbourne said. He jerked a head towards the hatch leading into a private compartment. “It took quite some time before we managed to smooth out communications, though. We haven’t done anything quite like this since Cortes encountered the Aztecs.”
“And this would be worse,” Ted said, as he led the way into the private compartment. Inside, there was nothing more than a pair of chairs and an empty desk. “Cortes would have been able to understand the Aztecs being human…”
“Cortes also had a handful of people who spoke both tongues,” Melbourne interrupted. He sat down, rubbing his white shirt. The sweat had stained it badly. “We have computers that may not be translating properly and some very different ideas about how the universe works.”
He shrugged. “Every so often, they have to check with their fellows on their ship,” he added, dryly. “I think we’re actually dealing with three separate alien factions, not one. Luckily, it allows us a chance to chat with our advisors too.”
“Good,” Ted said, impatiently. “What have they said to us?”
“First, they’d like to escort us to one of their worlds,” Melbourne said. “From what we think we’ve drawn from them, this will be a chance to talk to several other factions and hopefully convince them to support peace terms. There will also be an opportunity to get to know them better, I believe. Young Henry believes there is little point in hosting a cultural exchange, but I beg to differ.”
Ted rather suspected Henry had a point. The aliens were alien. They wouldn’t understand the great classics of human society, not when there were disparate human groups that didn’t understand one another either. And they shared the same biology as the rest of the human race. The aliens were nothing like humanity.
“Second, we have discussed potential peace terms,” Melbourne continued. “The aliens themselves weren’t agreed on what they wanted from us. I believe that one faction wishes to return to the pre-war situation, while the other two wanted to end the war, but keep the worlds and systems they took from us.”
“That won’t please the Russians,” Ted said. He scowled, inwardly. The Marines were overstretched keeping an eye on both the Russians and the alien diplomats. “Do they have a reason for that?”
“I believe they think it will serve as a bribe to convince several other factions to throw their weight behind peace,” Melbourne said. “But it’s difficult to be sure, Admiral.”
“So it would seem,” Ted said.
He thought he understood. The alien factions, like most of humanity, probably hadn’t seen much wrong with a short victorious war. Wars only tended to become massively unpopular when countless soldiers were dying and the war seemed unwinnable. If Ark Royal had been scrapped, the aliens would probably be occupying Earth and congratulating themselves on the success of their strategy by now. Instead, they’d been forced to sit back and think carefully about their future.
And they’ll want to see something for all the blood and treasure they spilled, he thought, morbidly. Even if it is just a handful of worlds along the border.
The Ambassador shrugged. “But we haven’t agreed on anything definite yet,” he warned. “I think they’ve extended a safe conduct to us, but I don’t know if we can count on it.”
“I’ll discuss it with my officers,” Ted assured him. “Where do they want us to go?”
“They gave us a starchart,” Melbourne said. “It’s not too far from where we believed Faction Two to be based.”
“How lucky for us,” Ted said, dryly. He turned to the hatch. “I’ll discuss it with my officers, Ambassador, then get back to you.”
He paused. “Do they want you to visit their ship?”
“It’s a possibility,” Melbourne said. “Do you want to visit?”
“Maybe in peacetime,” Ted said.
It was tempting, but he knew better. Fitzwilliam would sit on him if he tried to visit the alien ship during wartime. He wondered briefly if he could come up with an excuse to send the CAG there — it would give him a semi-legitimate excuse to avoid his blackmailers — but he knew it wouldn’t pass muster. The Commander Air Group was no ambassador. Sending him to the alien ship made about as much sense as sending the Captain down to an unexplored planet.
“Keep talking to them,” he said, as he stepped back into the main compartment. “But don’t give away too much too soon.”
Behind him, he heard Melbourne snort.
“Are we sure,” James asked, “that these coordinates are correct?”
“We checked them against the tramlines, sir,” Lieutenant Commander Daniel Lightbridge said. The helmsman looked nervous, yet eager. “There’s no doubt about where we’re heading.”
James frowned. He understood, as much as anyone else, why it was important to make peace with the aliens. But, at the same time, he disliked the idea of heading further into unexplored space at alien behest. It would be easy for the aliens — or one of their factions — to set an ambush that would cripple or destroy Ark Royal.
“I don’t see that we have any choice,” the Admiral said. “This will put us very near one of the alien worlds.”
The bioweapon, James thought. It wouldn’t take long, according to the techs, to prep a deployment system. The aliens would regret stabbing a knife in the Old Lady’s back, he knew, if they ever realised the connection. Their sensor networks weren’t good enough to pick up a stealth missile penetrating their defences. If we have to use it, we’ll be in an excellent place to deploy it for best effect.
“But it will also risk the flotilla,” he pointed out. It was his job to play Cassandra. “Even if this faction means well, Admiral, others are outright hostile. We could be flying right into a trap.”
“That would always be a risk,” the Admiral countered. “They tried to ambush us last time we were here, Captain.”
James nodded. “But this time it will be easier for them to set a trap,” he said. “If they knew we were coming…”
He scowled. If the aliens had detected them while they were trying to sneak through the backdoor to Target One, they might have planned a trap — or even a holding mission to keep the Old Lady where she was while the aliens gathered the forces to destroy her. Or was he just being paranoid? It was clear the aliens had treated the human captives relatively well, certainly by human standards, and — unknowingly — they’d returned Prince Henry to his people. James had to admire the Prince for how well he’d handled his situation. He’d done very well.