A Savage War Of Peace (Ark Royal Book 5) (17 page)

There was a brief argument between several ambassadors.  Joelle listened, understanding their concerns.  No one would be particularly happy to allow any of the other powers to search their ships, not when no one really
owned
Vesy.  But, on the other hand, they all agreed that the last thing they needed was independent groups and NGOs adding
more
weapons to the arms race.  By the time they hammered out a rough agreement, Joelle felt tired, headachy and desperately in need of a bed.

“The President may disagree,” Schultz said.  “There are several groups that believe we should just give the Vesy everything, in hopes of putting them on the same level as ourselves.  If that happens, the agreement will have to be cancelled.”

“And corporations will be complaining loudly to their representatives, the ones they bribed,” the Chinese Ambassador sniped.  “You might find yourself pushed into doing something actively harmful to American interests.”

Joelle sighed, inwardly.  The Chinese Government was a bizarre mix of fascism, communism and capitalism that made no sense to anyone outside China.  In some ways, China was the most repressive state amongst the Great Powers ... while, at the same time, it was also the freest.  What could one make of a nation that alternatively crushed protest ruthlessly and encouraged its population to take part in government?  But then, it was hard to argue that
Britain
didn't have its own issues too.  None of the states that survived the Age of Unrest were quite what they’d been before all hell broke loose.

“It hardly matters, I suppose,” Schultz sniped back, “when the corporations and the government are practically the same thing.”

“The NGOs can continue to work through Fort Knight, for the moment,” Joelle said.  “It will be our pleasure to allow them to use the facilities.”

“That raises a different issue,” Barouche said.  “Who is in charge of security at Fort Knight?”

“Us, for the moment,” Joelle said.  It wasn't a point she could budge on, not really.  “Should you wish to land troops of your own, we can consider sharing command.  Until then, we will remain in control of the outer layers of security.”

The Frenchman nodded, but didn't argue further.  Joelle suspected that his government was planning to set up its own base as quickly as possible, even though they hadn’t sent more than a warship and a freighter to Vesy.  They’d be more interested in laying the groundwork for crafting long-term influence on the planet than securing Fort Knight. 

But we may have to make concessions later
, she thought. 
Not all NGOs will want to operate through Fort Knight when other nations have their own bases
.

“This leads to yet another issue,” Schultz said.  “Who takes action when our people come under threat?”

“The Indian Government has authorised General Patel to take whatever steps he deems necessary to handle any threats to Indian property or personnel,” Rani said, quickly.  “It will be our pleasure to extend that protection to other nationalities as well, should they wish it.”

“And what,” Schultz asked, “will you want in exchange?”

Joelle cursed under her breath.  “3 Para will attempt to rescue anyone who gets into trouble,” she said, after a moment to gather herself.  “However, our forces are very limited.”

“I believe my government is reluctant to assign ground forces,” Barouche said.  “But the marines on our ships will be happy to assist, if necessary.”

Problematic
, Joelle thought. Mortimer had pointed out that it might take far too long to get forces from orbit down to the ground, leaving them dependent on 3 Para. 
What happens if we wind up dealing with multiple threats at the same time
?

Rani cleared her throat.  “I believe we should not allow the Vesy to get the impression they can hurt humans at will,” she said.  “If humans come under attack and we can respond, we will.  There will be no price for this service.”

And if you believe that
, Joelle added silently,
I have a lovely palace in the centre of London to sell you
.

She scowled as the argument raged backwards and forwards.  The Indians might not demand a price, up front, for saving people at risk, but there would definitely be a cost.  Perhaps they’d demand political support, later on, or perhaps ... she shrugged.  There were too many possibilities, none of them good.  She would need to talk privately to some of the other ambassadors and plan out a response. 

“We have at least a working framework,” she said, when the argument finally died away.  “It will need to be tested, of course, when the next wave of NGOs appear, but we can work on it.”

“Of course,” Schultz said.  “But again, it will need to be confirmed by my government.”

Joelle nodded, then watched as the other ambassadors rose to their feet and headed out the door.  Some of them would take shuttles back to orbit, others would stay at Fort Knight and continue their attempts to make contact with various alien factions.  Judging by some of the shuttle flights they’d tracked from orbit, all of the nations were making their own bids for influence.

And how long will it be
, she asked herself silently,
before they start landing all over the planet?

She sighed, then rose herself.  A shower, even a weak one, seemed an excellent idea, after which she could write up a report for the Prime Minister and then climb into bed.  And then ...

See what tomorrow brings
, she thought. 
It’s a whole new world out here
.

Chapter Sixteen

“Do we really have to walk to the city?”

“I think we do,” Penny said, ruthlessly pushing down the impulse to slap Grace Scott as hard as she could.  “There aren't any roads or railways out here.”

She glowered at the older woman, then kept walking down the muddy path towards the alien city.  Sweat trickled down her back, leaving her feeling hot and sticky; her limbs ached, despite all the marching she’d done when she’d been pushed into joining the Combined Cadet Corps.  But then, she hadn't really done much work since the refugee camp, even as a young reporter.  And there was nowhere in Britain as hot as Vesy.

Percy must be having a hard time
, she thought, as she looked at the marines.  It was impossible to separate Percy from the other soldiers, not when they were all wearing the same armour, helmets and jungle camouflage.  They had to be sweating even worse than herself, she was sure, but none of them complained. 
Listening to her is quite bad enough.

She gritted her teeth as a swarm of chattering insects passed over the small group, then faded away into the undergrowth as the path opened up, revealing the alien city gleaming in the sunlight, dead ahead of them.  Penny stopped in awe, hastily checking her recorder to make sure she was filming everything.  The city looked old and new at the same time, human and inhuman ... and the walls were lined with hundreds of aliens, staring at the humans as if they’d never seen such strange creatures before.  Penny heard Grace let out an expression of admiration, then mutter a curse as they started walking again.  The city was surrounded by a handful of fields, each one worked by a small army of aliens.  None of them raised their heads to watch as the humans went by.

They’re shackled
, Penny thought, as she saw the chains attached to metal cuffs around their ankles.  She couldn't help remembering her visit to Dartmoor, where some of the worst criminals in Britain had been held before they were marched up to the gallows and hung in front of a jeering crowd. 
They’re slaves
.

Grace coughed.  “Why are they shackled?”

“They’re slaves,” Penny answered, dryly.  Percy had told her that the Vesy still had chattel slavery, but she hadn’t really believed it.  Chattel slavery was so inefficient, at least when compared to technology, that humanity had abandoned it long ago.  But the Vesy still faced the same problems daunting humanity’s ancestors.  “I think it’s to keep them from running away.”

“That’s ... that’s so uncivilised,” Grace burst out.  “We don’t keep slaves.”

“We do keep sex slaves,” Penny pointed out, snidely.  She'd heard stories of sex slave rings sweeping up young and pretty refugees, or bringing in women from the Middle East to Britain and forcing them to work as prostitutes.  “As long as someone can make a profit from selling the labour of someone else, there will be slavery.”

Grace gave her a nasty look, then turned her gaze away from the slaves.  Penny recorded them for a long moment, her recorder catching several minutes of footage of a Vesy who was clearly an overseer, as she followed the marines down to the city.  Up close, it was even more impressive; the walls appeared to be made of solid stone, instead of brick or something else that might have been put together piece by piece.  Indeed, if it had been made by humans, she would have unerringly suggested the wall was made of concrete.  It might well have been, she told herself.  She had no idea how concrete was actually produced, but she didn't think it required advanced technology.

“Remember the rules,” Percy said quietly, as the small column came to a halt outside the gates.  “Don’t go wandering off, don’t discuss certain matters with the aliens and don’t go where you’re not welcome.”

Penny nodded in understanding as the gates slowly opened to reveal a small band of aliens, all wearing gold cloaks.  Gold seemed to be a status symbol amongst the Vesy, she’d gleaned from the files, for much the same reason as it had been among humans.  Some of the Vesy wore fancy masks that were practically works of art, in their own way; others were completely naked, save for loincloths.  She took a long breath and winced as she realised the city smelt appallingly bad.  Even the Reclamation Zone near Cornwall, where hundreds of thousands had died when the tidal waves hit, didn't smell so bad.

“They don’t have a proper sewage system,” Professor Nordstrom said, quietly.   He seemed to have coped with the walk fairly well, although his shirt was stained badly from sweat.  “I think they probably don’t even have cesspits to get rid of their waste, even though they now have a reason to use it - gunpowder.  New York had a similar problem with animal dung once upon a time.”

He was right, Penny saw, as they walked through the gates and into the city.  A handful of animals that looked rather like scaly horses were pulling carts through the streets or being ridden by aliens who were clearly
very
high in status.  The streets looked to have been paved with stone, but it was hard to tell; they were covered in mud and animal wastes.  Combined with the frequent rainfalls - it had rained several times on Vesy since her arrival at Fort Knight - she had a feeling the roads, stone or not, rapidly turned to sludge.  It wouldn't be easy for them to clean the roads regularly, no matter what they did.

“This place must be a breeding ground for disease,” Grace gasped.  “Is it safe?”

Penny shrugged.  Percy had told her that cross-species infection was unlikely ... and, just to be sure, they’d all been given extensive booster shots.  It might be quite some time before the first Vesy was allowed to set foot on Earth - the medics were still trying to unravel the mysteries of the alien genome - but they should be safe.  Or so she hoped.  There was no shortage of movies that started with some idiot bringing an infectious disease home from another world.

“The odds of a disease jumping from the Vesy to you are lower than the odds of you managing to have children with a cow,” Professor Nordstrom said.  “Not that we shouldn't take precautions, just in case.”

“They have to learn to keep their streets clean,” Grace protested.  “Can’t we warn them?”

“Perhaps they’ve learned there isn't any point in trying,” Professor Nordstrom said.  “Or they may find it comfortable.  There’s no way to know.”

Penny nodded, then watched as the marines and the aliens spoke briefly, exchanging short choppy sentences in English and Russian.  Percy looked at ease, speaking to the aliens, even though he was no diplomat.  But then, from what she’d heard, a classically-trained diplomat would be useless on Vesy.  Behind him, the line of visitors - unfortunately
not
including the ambassadors - shifted uncomfortably in the heat, waiting for permission to walk into the city and explore.  Thankfully, it only took ten minutes before the aliens motioned for the humans to enter.

“Stay together,” Percy warned them, yet again.  “Do
not
go wandering off.”

Yes, brother
, Penny thought, as she started to film the interior of the city. 
We hear and obey.

She pushed the thought aside as she studied the city.  It looked strange to her eyes, a confusing mixture of a dozen styles, as if her brain was having problems trying to interpret what it was seeing.  Parts of it reminded her of videos of cities from the ancient world, while other parts looked suspiciously like Victorian London, complete with aliens hurling the contents of chamber pots out into the streets.  Beside her, Professor Nordstrom chatted enthusiastically about social pressures and just what they did to the aliens, while Grace maintained an undignified silence until a pair of alien children ran into the road and stared at the humans. 

“They’re sweet,” Grace said.

“Better not go any closer,” Professor Nordstrom said, as Penny filmed them.  “You don’t know how the aliens will react.”

Her legs started to ache as they were shown building blocks, larger than she would have believed possible without technology, and temples to a dozen different gods.  She filmed the temples with particular interest, admiring the statues of the gods and wondering precisely how they’d been made.  They looked far too perfect to have been made with stone-age technology.  One of them was definitely made of gold, or at least covered in gold; oddly, it looked the least like the Vesy themselves, even though the other gods resembled giant aliens.

Grace frowned as they were moved on, yet again.  “I don’t see any women ...”

“You probably have,” Professor Nordstrom said.  “The only real difference between the males and females is that women have wider hips, I believe.  Both sexes have retractable genitals.”

“If that’s true,” Grace said, “how do they tell each other apart?”

“By scent,” Penny reminded her.  That had been covered during one of the innumerable briefings.  Clearly, Grace hadn't been paying attention.  “And when a female enters her season, all hell breaks loose.”

A dull gong ran through the city as they reached a large open park.  In the centre, there was a giant cooking fire, with aliens turning meat on spits as they prepared to greet their guests.  A handful of chairs, clearly designed for humans, were placed nearby, really too close to the fire for comfort.  It took Penny a moment to work out that the aliens were trying to be hospitable, as they preferred to stand.  They’d still produced chairs for their human guests.

“Now that is interesting,” Professor Nordstrom said.  “Is that a way to welcome us or a subtle insult?”

“It is kind of them to provide chairs, surely,” Grace said.  “My legs are sore after walking for so long.”

“Maybe,” Professor Nordstrom said.  “But, at the same time, sitting down may be a sign of submission in their culture, given that they clearly prefer to stand.  They may see it as us going down on our knees in front of them.”

Penny frowned.  “Do you think we should stand?”

“I don’t know,” Professor Nordstrom said.  “If we have problems untangling social cues in other human societies, and we do, what sort of problems will we have dealing with aliens?”

Percy came back to greet them before Penny could formulate a response.  “The meat they have cooked for us is edible,” he said, flatly.  “However, there is no guarantee you will actually
like
it.  If you don’t, leave it on your plate.  We have ration bars for those who genuinely can't stomach the alien meat.”

He sounds as though he doesn't know me
, Penny thought.  Was he trying to pretend that they weren't actually related ... or was he trying to help Penny’s career by denying any connection between them? 
I’d have to take him out of the recording in any case
.

She watched the aliens as they were served meat by the cooks and then tore into it with teeth and hands.  They didn't seem to have heard of the concept of cutlery either, she noted; they just ate with their hands, regardless of the temperature.  The marines were served after the alien dignitaries, although not all of them touched the food.  It seemed rude until she realised that the aliens might have poisoned the food, even though it would be suicidal.  The thought made her want to decline the plate that was finally offered to her, containing a handful of pieces of meat that looked to have been thoroughly overcooked.  She’d had redder pieces of meat at steak houses when she’d ordered
well done
.

“Take it,” Professor Nordstrom urged.  “It might be rude
not
to take it.”

Penny sighed, then took the plate and tried a piece of meat.  It felt hot to the touch, but tasted surprisingly good.  She nibbled it thoughtfully, then found herself wolfing down the next two pieces without demur.  It was definitely something that could be sold on Earth, she told herself, and perhaps something that would win credit for the Vesy.  There was always a demand for new styles of cooking in London ... or there had been, before the war.  It would be a long time before Londoners started eating out so often again.

After the dinner was finished, the Vesy put on a show.  Penny watched and recorded a set of strange dances, all of which were greeted with a hooting sound that was probably their version of applause.  Some of the dances involved weapons, the aliens waving swords around in a manner she
hoped
was choreographed, others seemed to be completely unplanned, the aliens jumping up and down at random.  It reminded her of some of the stranger dances she’d seen on Earth as people tried to amuse themselves at the refugee camps, but she had a feeling there was a pattern, she just couldn’t see it.  Finally, a line of aliens wearing masks appeared and performed what seemed to be a play.  It would probably have made more sense, she told herself, if she’d been able to understand the words.