Things Fall Apart: Chapter 72

Upwell shuttle, Tau Ceti, 16.16.775

21.8 megaseconds since the catastrophe

Whatever other abilities TNS Lilio might have had, it seemed to have a pretty pedestrian normal-space drive. Either that, or Josefilo had decided not to show all his cards. Or maybe Karenski, whom Singer suspected was not above meddling, had let it be known that despite the unique nature and assumed urgency of their meeting, it would be fine if Josefilo took his time matching orbits with Robinson and Zephyr.

Regardless, Singer found herself returning upwell with plenty of time to spare. She and Karenski had spent her trip upwell discussing via video the logistics of this meeting and decided that Zephyr was a better host site than Robinson Station. A ship was simply easier to secure. To no one's surprise, the Thessalians had asked for certain arrangements to help minimize contact. Easiest then for them to send a boat aboard Zephyr, and then for the discussions to move immediately to meeting room off the boat bay.

Singer had sent off a note to Alexander about the arrangements while the shuttle was still en route and immediately got the video call she expected. Her XO looked unhappy, possibly even vexed.

"Did we really agree to deactivate all visual recording devices in the boat bay, the corridor leading to the meeting room, and the meeting room itself?!"

"We really did," Singer said calmly, and left it there without elaboration. She didn't like being at odds with Alexander about…well, anything…but this was a decision that had already been made before anyone even knew there was a decision to be had. Thessaly was coming to parley. They got whatever they needed to make them feel comfortable doing so.

Alexander blew out an exasperated sigh ze knew ze could get away with in "private" with Singer, and said, "So, audio recording only."

"Correct."

"I thought we were paranoid." Singer somehow knew the "we" here referred to the Revi'ini, not Zephyr.

"If it tells you anything, when I was aboard their ship with the engineers from Vespa, we weren't allowed to even bring aboard our usual comms, because of course, they all have cameras. We were allowed suit-cams for safety reasons, but they could not be connected to any kind of permanent record. That's actually part of a treaty somewhere. And no, I can't tell you why, nor what you'll see when they come aboard. I'm still under non-disclosure. I'm not sure what happens to that once we have this meeting, but right now, we stick to protocol."

Alexander was not mollified, and shook zir head to show it. Ze looked away from the camera, gathering zir thoughts, then finally looked back and said, "And you trust their emissary?"

"As much as I can trust anyone I met briefly, for a few days. When we parted, he said he owed me one. Is that trust? With such a gulf between us and Thessaly, any rope is a bridge."

Finally, Alexander relented, saying, "If that's what it is, that's what it is. The arrangements will be done by the time you dock." As if anticipating Singer telling zir that ze had more time than that, ze continued. "Delaying it won't make me like it more. Might as well get it done."

Singer nodded. "Good. Thank you, Exec. What else?"

"Official? Nothing much. Ship's been at Condition Two since Lilio broke jump. Since we seem to be considering this a diplomatic visit, I'm going to back that off to Condition Three. We need to be watchful, but we can probably go back to regular rotation." A pause, then, "How was your visit?"

"Too short, but good. My mom wants to meet your mom, by the way."

Alexander smiled, and said, "You should drop a note and tell Robina that. No idea if it can be arranged, but it will make her smile."

"I'll do that! If there's nothing else, I'm going to catch a dozen winks or so before we dock. See you in a bit. Clear on your final."

"See you soon, Captain. Zephyr clear."

Zephyr, Tau Ceti, 16.17.775 CW

21.9 megaseconds since the catastrophe

Aside from matters dictated by Thessalian paranoia, Singer and Karenski had decided between them to keep the rest of protocol "normal". Normal was relative, of course. There had been few such delegations, just enough to have a treaty about things like video recording. All of them, however, mentioned having given a slimmed down version of ordinary diplomatic honors, piping the delegate aboard, and so on.

Thessaly had shown similar streamlined protocol for Singer and her—well, Vespa's—engineers. Singer later learned from Josefilo that Thessaly's normal protocol for its own dignitaries was very different, but was so entwined with their strict, hierarchical culture that it made no real sense to apply to fremduloj.

So it was that Singer stood flanked by Karenski and Alexander, with Kasel further to Alexander's right with his pipe. The younger Espinoza, the midshipman, was acting as boat bay officer from the dome above, having been thoroughly briefed on the longstanding treaty. Singer had visited him briefly in the dome before coming down to the boat bay deck, and could tell he was deeply nervous.

In fact, coming down to the deck, she realized she was the only really calm one here. Oh, she was curious, certainly. She recognized only something of great import could have caused the Plejaltulo, the Most High, to send an emissary of any kind. And despite having had no communication with him since their ships parted hundreds of megaseconds ago, she considered Josefilo a friend and looked forward to seeing him.

She was not, however, nervous. She'd already trod on this ground in the other direction, boarding their ship at their invitation without knowing anything significant about them.

In a nod to security, the side party was actually waiting closer to the hatch that would lead to the conference room than they usually would. Nobody expected trouble here, but Singer's officers had been adamant on this point. They'd actually wanted her and the side party to wait on the far side of the hatch—in fact, on the far side of the entire airlock, and for all that it was rarely depressurized, it was an airlock. Singer had refused, and Karenski had backed her with simple logic. "If they mean us harm, there are a dozen ways they could harm us without even the pretense of setting foot on Zephyr's deck."

Singer agreed, but it didn't calm anyone else's nerves in the slightest.

Finally, however, Lilio's boat arrived, touching down neatly as any ship Singer had seen. Perhaps three hundred seconds passed, and then a ramp came down, and three figures descended in single file. Even through his suit's visor, Singer recognized Josefilo, the middle of the three.

The suits were light-weight affairs. There was no need for pressure suits, per se, here, just something durable to keep their air separate from Zephyr's. The basic design of the suits and their equipment would have been recognizable to the earliest Spacers, with one key difference: the helmets flared at the bottom around the neck, as if needing more room. The flared sections, like the faceplates, were transparent. Singer had wondered if they would be, or if they'd have darkened them for this visit. She felt Karenski, Alexander, and Kasel all tense a little as they realized what they were seeing through that part of the helmet.

Gills. Unmistakable gills.

She felt rather than saw Kasel shake himself, raise his pipe to his lips, and pipe the dignitaries aboard as they came down the ramp.

Once on the deck, the three Thesslians took up mirroring positions, Josefilo centered as Singer was, as he said in accented but perfectly understandable Spacer Modern, "Permission to come aboard, Captain Singer?"

She could read pleasure and pride as he said her name, which was fair. She was glad to see him, too. "Koncedite, kolonelo Josefilo. Bonvenon al Zefiro."

He beamed at her. His flanking officers straightened just a little, hearing their own language and taking it, she hoped, for a message. You're on our ground, but we respect you.

"Here," she said, continuing the ritual, "is Admiral Karenski, acting Fleet Admiral." All three saluted in their fashion, and Karenski returned it, saying, "This is an historic moment. I could wish for better circumstances, but I'm pleased to welcome you all."

It was, maybe, just a little political for the old Admiral, but it seemed to go over well, and Josefilo replied, "I agree entirely, Admiral." He seemed on the verge of saying a bit more, but stopped himself, and instead looked toward Alexander in anticipation of Singer's next move.

"My executive officer, Lieutenant Commander Robin Alexander."

Alexander, perhaps having done homework as to relative ranks and the importance of hierarchy to the Thessalians, saluted first. "Colonel, welcome."

He returned the salute with a smile. "Commander, thank you. My aides, Lieutenant Colonel Abernato, and Lieutenant Verdo."

Each of these worthies saluted again, and Singer returned it. "Friends, please accompany me. We have a secure meeting room just off the bay where we can discuss the urgencies that bring you to us."

...and also with you...