Page 64 of Dax: Gratefully Bonded

Something deep inside me settled at Goroz’s praise, and a cold, dark ball of anger I’d carried around with me for months finally began to ease. Because when we’d come back from Ixralia, the Alliance Military had been as dismissive of our reports as they could legally manage to be. I’d faced dozens of insinuations that we were exaggerating our descriptions of the monsters we’d faced, that our injuries had been less severe than we’d claimed, that we’d performed some sort of dereliction of duty by leaving the rest of our crew behind, when I’d already been having nightmares from the guilt of abandoning them.

But here, now, some of the biggest badasses in the galaxy were saying that, according to their own soldiers, I’d done what none of them had believed could be done.

Suck on that, motherfuckers, I thought, mentally hurling the insult at Alliance brass.Maybe you’ll believe the stories now.Was it too conniving to think I might be able to do something with that? Maybe get the Ranzors to share their own experiences from Ixralia, and to have Alliance Command reassess their response to their own soldiers? Would it be worth the effort? Maybe. But that was a question that could wait for another day.

“Thank you for giving my master such a great honour,” Dax spoke up suddenly, and I realised I’d been silent for too long, lost in thought and overwhelmed with emotion. “I’ll be sure to inform his commanding officer of your regard for him. Perhaps he will be given a promotion.”

I couldn’t help but smile at that. I didn’t give a shit one way or the other whether I got a promotion out of this, but it was the exact right thing to say to the Ranzors. Their entire culture was based on the honour that came from military achievement, and it struck exactly the right tone for the Ranzors to be pleased with the response.

But it seemed that Goroz wasn’t quite finished. “There have been rumours of a treaty between the Ranzors and the Alliance,” he said. “Talk of gifts exchanged and the desire for peace – after we have finished destroying the Nwandu, of course. We will prove our worth first, and only then accept your gifts. But on behalf of the Ranzor conglomerate, I must place one condition on any such negotiations. You, Captain Rhodes, must lead the discussions. This will stop any of our less worthy agitators claiming that the Alliance is too weak to be a partner of the Ranzors. You have proved your species worthy. We will not negotiate unless you are there.”

They fucking what? What the hell was I supposed to say to that? I was barely holding myself together babysitting two hundred Halagals while they argued over cans of tinned stew, and now Goroz wanted me at the helm of a highly delicate interspecies negotiation?

But Ru, god bless the woman, was only too eager to lock horns with Goroz, as fearless as she’d ever been. “Negotiations between two conglomerates must necessarily include a large number of people,” she announced loudly, stepping forward. Meanwhile, Dax eased closer to me and took my hand, a timely and calming reassurance. “We would need to make sure that we have representation from a variety of different perspectives,” Ru went on, thinking faster and clearer about the whole topic than I would have managed to. “I’m sure Captain Rhodes would be delighted to be included in the discussion, but there will have to be other planets represented and there will be organisationsbeyond the military who must be included. There are six species in our Alliance and all of them must be given a voice.

“But before we can even consider who would be conducting the negotiations on our side, I have to ask whether you have the authority to be making decisions on your side. Do you represent your entire species? Are you certain enough of their opinions to begin making deals all by yourself?”

Holy shit. Okay, so the Ranzors were a very direct species, but I honestly wasn’t sure whether Ru had overstepped her bounds with that one.

Goroz made that low, rumbling noise that I’d learned meant he was laughing. “You are a delightful creature,” he said to Ru. “And the second one of the Captain’s team to display such a keen desire to protect him. It is now clear why he generates such loyalty in his followers.

“But in answer to your question, after I was injured, I was re-assigned to a role as a diplomat. My superiors believed my very moderate temperament would be an asset in dealing with other species. I have already negotiated a treaty between the Ranzors and the Dologals, and have been asked to study Alliance culture, in preparation for the end of this war.”

I blinked, as the shocks just kept coming. Well, that certainly explained a lot, both about Goroz’s disinclination to lose his temper, and his willingness to pay attention to Alliance social norms. He wasn’t just a retired soldier. He was a high ranking interspecies diplomat!

“This is only a temporary assignment,” Goroz went on, gesturing to the camp around us. “But your concerns are valid. I have been learning a great deal about Alliance culture since coming here, and it is true that we are currently working through a number of misunderstandings. I have the authority to arrange for diplomatic processes to begin, though as you say, more of our people would be involved in the negotiations.

“But what do you say to my request?” he asked, turning back to me. “Do you believe peace between our peoples to be a priority?”

Dax squeezed my hand, and I gripped him tightly, leaning my shoulder against him slightly, just to feel his solid form beside me. “Yes,” I said firmly, my gaze steady, even as my heart beat a rapid tempo in my chest. “I believe we both have a great deal to gain from a treaty between us. As Ru said, there will inevitably be plenty of other people involved. But I would be honoured to attend the negotiations.”

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Zeke

Three Months Later

Itugged at the collar of my military dress uniform, reminding myself that being forced to wear starched fabric for a couple of hours was a small price to pay for the privilege of being involved in this meeting. And a privilege it was. The talks that would follow were going to have a profound impact on the Alliance, and on the rest of the galaxy, for centuries to come.

Dax was right beside me as I crossed the room and took a seat in one of the long benches in the auditorium. Henderson was on one side of me, Dax on the other, and on Dax’s other side was Associate Nors, one of the members of the Rendol Parliament who had been selected to participate in these sessions. She was a Solof woman, with vibrant purple skin. She was young for a member of parliament, but very popular, particularly with the younger generation. Around the rest of our side of the room were representatives from eight other Alliance planets, half a dozen military personnel from Alliance Headquarters in the Drazig system, representatives of each of the six longstandingAlliance species, and eight members of the Alliance Parliament. Alliance space consisted of forty colonised planets, and these politicians had the formidable job of overseeing the entire collective.

And at the far end of our row there were also a cluster of Culrads. As it turned out, Henderson had been right, and the war with the Nwandu had hastened the political cogs between us and them, so that just four weeks ago, the Alliance had officially welcomed the Culrads into our collective. But since they were still so new to the Alliance, they’d requested to bring their own contingent to these negotiations – a request that both the Parliament and the Ranzors had accepted.

On the other side of the room, close to thirty Ranzors were making themselves comfortable on thick mats – their preferred seating arrangement, since typical Alliance chairs were not made to accommodate their shorter legs, or their bulky tails. I spotted Goroz, about a third of the way along the row, and sent him a smile and a nod. He saw me watching, and performed a little shake of his head that I now knew was a gesture of greeting for the Ranzors.

Once everyone was seated, Grand Associate Pol stood up from her seat and strode up to the microphone at the front of the room. She was a Wasop, her skin yellow with vivid black stripes, and I quickly realised that someone must have given her a step to stand on, discretely hidden behind the black fabric draped over the podium. Wasops were naturally quite short, but she was standing as tall as any of the Ranzors would be, when it was their turn to speak.

“It is with great pleasure that I welcome you all here today,” she began, her gaze travelling slowly around the room. “First and foremost, I would like to thank you all for coming for the beginning of these highly auspicious negotiations, and I would like to extend a special thanks to the Ranzors for yourcommendable efforts in defeating the Nwandu. That victory did not come without significant losses, but our combined achievements have been monumental. The Nwandu are now contained back in their own home system, and a collaboration of Culrad scientists and Ranzor reconnaissance teams have been able to set up a monitoring network to alert us to any ships entering or leaving the Ginra sector. And so we have cautious but optimistic hopes that the Nwandu will no longer be able to continue their destructive ways.

“Most of the Halagals have now been returned to their home planet, and are making slow but steady progress in their efforts to rebuild. The Alliance is continuing to provide medical support and raw materials for their technological requirements, and will continue monitoring their progress over the next six months, at a minimum.

“Throughout the war, we saw time and again that the Ranzors are a most worthy species, displaying admirable courage and exceptional skill in their battle against the Nwandu. In demonstration of our gratitude for your assistance, the Alliance Parliament has awarded eighteen Ranzor soldiers the acclaimed Star of Valour, one of the highest honours the Alliance Military has to offer.”

I felt both proud and apprehensive as Pol continued with her prepared speech. This part of it, in particular, was making me nervous, since I’d been instrumental in helping to write it. After eight weeks of running the refugee camp in the park, with Goroz looking over my shoulder the entire time, I’d somehow become Rendol’s foremost expert on Ranzor culture. And I’d explained to the Alliance Parliament how important it would be to acknowledge their prowess in battle – the defining characteristic for Ranzor culture. But the next part of the speech was going to be a little trickier, and I paid close attention to the Ranzors to see how they would react.

“The Ranzors also displayed a marked compassion for the refugees and a willingness to cooperate with Alliance and Culrad forces. These qualities are significant to Alliance culture, and on this basis, we are optimistic that we will be able to pave a future for our two collectives, built on mutual respect and shared goals. I look forward to participating in the coming discussions with you, and on behalf of the Alliance as a whole, I thank you for your profound efforts in helping to defeat the Nwandu.”

Pol bowed to the Ranzor contingent, then returned to her seat, amid applause from the Alliance, and a chorus of clicks from the Ranzors.