Stricklen glanced at the tactical display and smiled. He would have expected the Chroniech Captain to have hidden his ship in the nearby star system among the vast number of asteroids that existed there. It would have made it nearly impossible to find his ship among the debris. Stricklen was impressed that Captain Zatch had chosen a completely unexpected location to hide his ship – out in open space. As Ken thought about it, he realized that Zatch had parked his ship in such a location that he could instantly engage his stardrive and leave if Ken had not kept to the agreement.
“Maintain alert status,” Stricklen ordered. “Weapon systems are to remain at standby. Commander, what can you tell me about his ship?”
“Limited information at this distance,” the tactical officer replied. “It doesn’t appear to be very large, not much bigger than an interceptor. I am detecting nothing to indicate he has his weapons charged. ETA 23 minutes.”
Outwardly displaying calm, Stricklen was nervous. While they waited he reviewed everything he had learned from Arukt Chaktekt. The other ship dropped out of stardrive and maneuvered to within 1,000 kilometers of the
Dragon.
The two Captains spent a few minutes sizing each other up.
“His ship is very lightly armed,” Wittie reported. “None of his weapon systems are active and his shield is down. It could be a scout or some type of fast transport.”
“Drop our shield,” Stricklen ordered. “Open a channel using the same frequency he used the last time.”
As soon as the green indicator above com channel one lit up indicating that Captain Zatch was ready to receive Stricklen activated it and said, “Captain Zatch, how would you like to proceed?”
“Your ship assisted a disabled Chroniech passenger liner, is this true?”
“It is,” Stricklen replied somewhat surprised. This was not exactly how he had imagined this first exchange to begin.
“I need to speak to whoever was responsible for that rescue in person. Is that person still aboard your ship?”
“I was not in command at the time, but I am responsible for saving those people. May I ask why you need to speak to me concerning this matter?
“I would prefer to discuss this with you and you alone in person,” came the instant response.
“Very well,” Stricklen replied coming to a decision. “If you wish, I am prepared to shuttle over to your ship.”
Stricklen wasn’t surprised by the looks he got from his bridge crew. This was something he had not discussed with them and it was obvious they did not agree with this recommendation. Stricklen muted his microphone and said, “I have it on good authority that his promise concerning my safety is about as solid as any we can ever get from a Chroniech. I will be safe.”
“Can you pilot the shuttle yourself?” Captain Zatch asked.
Unmuting the microphone Stricklen replied, “It has been a long time, but I think I can manage.”
“I accept your offer,” came the reply. “I will open my outer airlock door so you can easily locate it. You are to be the only individual in the shuttle.”
As the communications link closed there was a loud chorus of disagreement. Stricklen silenced them all with a wave of his hand. “I will be fine. The decision has been made. Commander Tobunga will be in command in my absence.”
Getting up from his seat he walked over to where the Commander was standing. “You are in command while I’m gone. Do absolutely nothing unless that ship tries to leave. Is that understood?”
“Perfectly sir,” the XO replied. “Take care of yourself.”
“I will leave my wristcom open. You should be able to monitor what is said while I’m over there.”
Stricklen made his way to the hanger bay and quickly powered up one of the small shuttles. When it was ready, he called the bridge and had them open the hanger door. It took less than five minutes to maneuver the ship into position near the Chroniech ship's open hatch. A flexible docking ring was extended and sealed itself against the other ship’s hull. After verifying the seals were holding, Stricklen took a deep breath to calm his nerves then cycled through his own airlock and entered the other ship.
Once inside, Ken watched as the outer lock closed. He turned around and faced the inner door. The door shifted inward slightly then raised itself into the ceiling. Standing in front of him, his hand on the airlock controls, was Captain Zatch.
The two Captains looked each other over without moving. The Chroniech Captain was physically large and dwarfed Stricklen in both height and muscle mass. A medallion, possibly a translator, hung from his neck. He was dressed in a leathery, loose fitting, blueish uniform that covered most of his massive body. Stricklen looked for, but did not find, any visible weapons. The Captain appeared to be unarmed.
While Stricklen’s heart was racing and his instincts were telling him to run, Captain Zatch was fighting an entirely different desire. Standing before him was a member of a culture that had just recently killed millions of his people with a single weapon. He represented a threat to all Chroniech and Zatch wanted nothing more than to reach out and kill the weak, fur-less, claw-less, individual standing in front of him.
It took a monumental effort for Zatch not to react and in bringing his own emotions under control he came to see Stricklen in a different light. The Alliance, he realized, was reacting exactly as his own people would to an invading force – they fought back. When thought of in that light, the Human was not so different than any Chroniech. And, Zatch remembered, this particular Human had saved his entire family making him special.
Ken had been well coached by Arukt Chaktekt on how to act during the first few critical moments of the initial meeting. Standing as tall and as erect as possible Ken locked eyes with the other Captain and extended his arms out in such a manner that his forearms were exposed. He uttered a single Chroniech word that was difficult for a Human to correctly pronounce.
That single word dated back to the earliest recorded time of the Chroniech and had not changed in thousands of years. Chaktekt had explained that its exact meaning had been lost but it could very roughly be translated as ‘I trust you with my life’. The upturned forearms indicated that Ken felt no fear from Batack and he was purposely exposing himself to attack to prove it. Batack could have killed him quite easily by raking his sharp claws across the exposed veins.
Captain Zatch was momentarily stunned into inactivity. This Human had greeted him with a perfectly executed ritual which was normally reserved for the greeting of an honored guest. The Human had actually managed to pronounce the greeting in an acceptable form. In Chroniech culture the greeting demanded a particular response. But this was not a Chroniech standing in front of him and Batack was momentarily at a loss concerning how to respond.
Stricklen waited, heart pounding and sweat forming on his brow. After a long pause Stricklen was about to lower his arms when Zatch reached out and gently placed his hands on Ken’s forearms. Stricklen’s stomach knotted up and, despite all his efforts to remain calm, flinched slightly at the contact.
Batack noticed the flinch and the sweat.
This Human
, he thought, i
s terrified. I admire his courage.
He slid his hands, claws carefully retracted, along the Human’s vulnerable, soft, pink skin until they dropped off the ends of his fingers. As he did so, he spoke the ancient ritualistic reply. Its meaning had survived the passage of time - ‘A life I shall honor’.
Captain Zatch looked at Stricklen and cocked his head to one side. “You have met one of my kind before.” This came from the translator hanging around his neck. It was not a question but a statement of fact.
“I have,” Stricklen replied lowering his arms with great relief. “But before we discuss that, I would really like to know why you, a Captain in your space force, a sworn enemy to my people, wants to talk to me.”
Captain Zatch’s mind was racing. He would never have thought that his first meeting with the enemy would have started off like this. He needed some time to think. “Follow me,” he said. “The control room is just down the passage. We can sit and talk.”
Stricklen carefully looked around as he followed the Captain. The passageways were larger than those of Human ships, but then again, the Chroniech were a larger race. The lighting was normal and the temperature felt a bit cool but not uncomfortably so. The gravity was a bit stronger indicating that the Chroniech came from a more massive planet. The ship’s construction appeared to be very similar to something the Alliance would have built.
The control room was located at the end of the short passageway. The Captain keyed it opened and waited for the door to slide to the left. Captain Zatch indicated one of the three chairs and then sat down in another. It was apparent from the layout of the control room that the ship was designed to be operated by anywhere between one and three individuals.
As he settled into his chair, Captain Zatch asked, “Are you the same person who captained your ship when it entered our space several years ago?”
“I am,” Stricklen replied. Thinking he should explain he continued, “I retired from the space force after our first war. I was asked to return to active duty following the discovery of your attempts to breach the Kyrra barrier. I assumed command of the
Dragon
again after the Captain was killed by one of your cloaked hunter-killers.”
Zatch nodded his head in understanding then went to the heart of what mattered most, “Why did you stop to help one of our passenger liners?”
“They were unarmed civilians,” Stricklen answered matter of factly as if it was common knowledge.
“They were Chroniech,” Zatch replied. “If the ship had been yours I would have left them to die. Why keep them alive only to have them fight you later? It would not matter if they were civilian or not. No Chroniech would have helped them.”
Stricklen felt hatred and anger starting to rear its ugly head. He took a deep breath to calm himself. “That point was brought up when we encountered the ship,” he admitted. “Some of us would have done that, but most people, including myself, distinguish between combatants and noncombatants in time of war. Civilian ships may be disabled and captured, but the killing of civilians, especially children, during any war is done only as a last resort. We will even spare the lives of military personnel if they lay down their weapons and agree to be captured.”
Zatch was thunderstruck. “You would spare the lives of your enemy? Why?”
“Because we believe that life itself is sacred. Even the lives of our enemies. All wars eventually end and enemies eventually reconcile their differences and learn to live together in peace.”
“A preposterous assumption. Which race of your Alliance is the master race? Is it the Kyrra?”
Ken had to think about that for a moment. “We have no master race. All races are equal.”
“You are not ruled by the Kyrra?”
“The Kyrra are our allies. We are friends. Is this why you wanted to speak to me? To ask me questions concerning the Alliance? I find it hard to believe that you would want to talk to me just because I saved the lives of a few civilians.”
Zatch took a deep breath. He was amazed he found it easy to speak to this enemy of his people. But what he was about to say was not easy for him. “My three wives and eight children were aboard that ship. You saved their lives. Among Chroniech such an act cannot go unrecognized. I am honor bound to recognize what you did for my family and to ask if there is anything I can do for you.”
The above was a rough translation of the ancient ritualistic acknowledgment of an honor debt spoken by the one owing the debt to the one to whom the debt was owed. The normal response was to decline to request anything and since this type of exchange had been going on for thousands of years the standard reply had been condensed into a single word. It was a word Stricklen had no knowledge of.
Stricklen did not answer immediately. He could see by the Captain's body language that what he had just done had been incredibly difficult for him. Knowing what he did in the short time he had spoken to Arukt Chaktekt, Stricklen came to realize that he could literally ask for almost anything and Captain Zatch would be honor bound to do his best to give it to him. Honor, Stricklen had learned, played a huge part in Chroniech society. Stricklen saw an opportunity and his brain was running at warp speed trying to figure out a way to make the best of this opportunity.
Captain Zatch, trying to put himself at ease, broke the momentary silence. A question had been burning in his mind since he had first met Stricklen. “It is obvious that you have met a Chroniech before. How is this possible?”
Despite the warning Arukt Chaktekt had given him several times Stricklen smiled. Ken had always had a huge smile and what he was about to share with Zatch was, to him, quite funny. To a Chroniech, the display of teeth was a sign of aggression and a thousand years of reflex kicked in.
* * * * *
Admiral Brin waited until the very last moment. He even retransmitted his original message hoping against all hope that the Chroniech would not push him into doing something that would haunt him for the rest of his life. But, the Chroniech fleet continued to advance toward Almaranus.
For a moment, rage clouded the Admiral's thoughts.
“How could they be so stupid?”
he thought. Without thinking, his finger smashed down on a key opening the communications channel he had been using in a vain attempt to warn off the Chroniech fleet. The light had barely come on indicating an open circuit when the Admiral practically yelled out, “Idiots! You have just signed the death warrant of billions of your people!”
The outburst drained him of emotion. Closing the open channel the Admiral turned to his keyboard. Feeling his heart sink and fighting the nausea that had started, the Admiral leaned forward and typed a command into the computer. Far out in space, a Mishpa class interceptor received the order and vanished from Alliance space. It reappeared thousands of light years away deep in Chroniech space.
As it had been with Bantrich, the ship paused in its attack to gather the information it needed to calculate the location of its next jump. Twelve minutes, later the jump drive activated and the ship popped into space 341,884 kilometers from the planet. Six point one seconds later it entered the target’s atmosphere.