Flight (15 page)

“There has been a most unfortunate
incident.” He looked up, sincerity in his eyes. “I am most
sorry.”

“Does this have to do with why we
haven’t been able to contact Earth?” Irina asked.

The Lord Admiral nodded. His face
looked strained.

“We caused your world a grievous
harm. We still don’t know what we did. Some diplomatic or
ambassadorial offense. We don’t know. Our ambassador, the Admiral
Commander, was attacked. Then our fleet was attacked.”

He paused, as if reliving a
terrible memory.

“Incomprehensibly, several of your
continents began launching missiles at each other. We were
horrified to learn that they were atomic missiles.”

“Nuclear?” Irina cried. Stanley
felt shock.

“Among my people, even the
consideration of developing atomic weapons is considered a heinous
crime.”

The Lord Admiral paused. His words
sank into Stanley. There had been a nuclear war? The man must be
mistaken. How could that have happened? Weren’t there safeguards?
Wasn’t there common sense? How bad could it have been? Not total
annihilation, surely?

“My people became innocent
bystanders caught up in your world’s conflict,” the Lord Admiral
continued. “Perhaps that is what led to the initial attacks. We are
still investigating.”

“When did we, I mean, when did the
Earth attack you?” Stanley asked. How could they have done it? The
stupidity! Aliens come through interstellar space and all we can do
is attack them?

“After the attack on each other,
they turned their atomic weapons towards space and tried to destroy
us.”

He looked at them like a parent
about ready to scold his children.

“The forces in orbit didn’t take
the attacks lightly, I am afraid to say,” the Lord Admiral said. “I
was not here. The main part of the fleet was still traveling in the
outer ring of planets. But our ambassador, the Admiral Commander,
took upon himself the defense of our ships and our honor. He
prosecuted the war with your world to its fullest extent. I’m
afraid, for your sakes, that he did an excellent job. The war did
not end until I arrived and stopped it.”

Stanley didn’t know what to say.
He wanted to ask a million questions and he wanted to curl up into
a hole and die. He couldn’t believe that the Earth had attacked the
Hrwang. Why? Why would they do that? What was going on? He looked
at Commander Samovitch, but Irina seemed just as stunned and
helpless as he did. She stared at the Hrwang leader.

“Our military doctrine in the
scenario of total war calls for the destruction of all leadership
and communication. That is why you have been unable to communicate
with your people.”

“How?” Stanley managed to
ask.

“The enormity of this catastrophe
that your people brought upon themselves precludes a discussion of
how the war was fought at the moment. But there is another matter
which we must discuss that affects you personally,
Captain.”

Stanley stared into the man’s
eyes. The sincerity, the pain, was real. What had happened? His
wife? His family? Had they, too, been caught as innocent bystanders
in the war, just like the Hrwang?

Stanley took a deep breath,
squared his shoulders, and looked at the ceiling.

“I’m ready, Lord Admiral,” he
said.

“With the destruction of your
world’s leadership due to the application of our long honored
military doctrine of total war, we now have no one to negotiate
with. We believe you are the highest ranking officer of your people
left. You were also stationed at a different planet than the one
which engaged us in war, which means you are not guilty of the war
crimes committed by the leadership of your world. It is my
sincerest desire, Captain, that you accept the position as the
ambassador and leader of your people to my people. I will give you
some time to consider this.”

The Lord Admiral stood.

“Captain and Commander, I have one
request, which is only temporary. Just as you were inoculated
against our diseases, we must be inoculated against yours. Not all
of my crew have been inoculated yet, so you both must remain in
this room until that has happened. The Lieutenant Grenadier will
see to your needs. We shall meet together again when we dine.
Again, please accept my apologies for this entire, unfortunate
affair. I wish we had met under better circumstances.”

He turned to leave.

“Lord Admiral,” Irina said,
awkwardly trying to rise from the bench she sat on. “I have a
request.”

He turned back to her and cocked
his head slightly.

She continued. “You said there are
investigations into what happened that caused this war?”

He nodded. “Yes, there be
investigations.” He shook his head. “There is a investigations.” He
smiled partially at the correction.

“I want to be part of them,
sir.”

“Why? And please, address me as
Lord Admiral. I am not in your command.”

“You have mentioned military
doctrine, Lord Admiral. We, too, have military doctrine. One of
them is that the first casualty of war is the truth. I need to be
on that investigation. To learn the truth for myself.”

The Lord Admiral considered her
for a moment, then replied, “I must think on this. I will decide.
Later. Farewell until we dine together. Please remember to stay in
this room.” He turned and the hatch cycled open. He went through it
and it closed.

“I need to stand up,” Irina said,
pushing her way awkwardly past Stanley. He stood to allow her out
from behind the table. She immediately went to the other side of
the room and punched the wall, letting out a stream of invective
that reminded Stanley she was a sailor.

She finally returned to the table
where Stanley sat and slammed her hands on it. Stanley
flinched.

“Sir, you don’t believe a word he
said, do you?” Her eyes challenged him.

Stanley didn’t know how to reply.
He did believe the Lord Admiral. Why wouldn’t he?

“I don’t know,” he finally
said.

She stared at him, hard, then
growled and returned to punching the wall on the other side of the
room.

Stanley watched her tantrum, but
only had one thought on his mind. He, Stanley Russell, was going to
be the ambassador and leader of the Earth.

1804, in quiet orbit around the
fourth planet, received an innocuous ping from the Hrwang command
vessel, indiscernible by any other listening ship. But it knew what
the ping meant. It was time for the next phase of its
mission.