Treaty Agreement

The two shuttles landed gently in the wide shuttle bay; the crew had cleared their own vehicles out, moving them down to bays three and four to allow their guests to enter the ship via the main bay. Dustin straightened up smartly as the craft came to rest - graceful nautilus shaped vessels that put him in mind of fossil sea creatures he’d seen in a museum once. Once landed, the doorways to the two craft opened and he got his first look at the clan representatives. The Jhork as a species were rugged individuals, about two thirds his height that put him in mind of some kind of dwarven centaur; they certainly all appeared to have the stocky shoulders and long beards of the fantasy smiths, albeit with four legs ending in hooved feet that protruded from their formal attire.

“Ambassador Dustin of Earth” he said, stepping forward from the line and raising his hands in what Meli and Emely had drilled into him over the past few days as the traditional Jhorkite greeting. The two leading figures bowed their heads in response, before returning the gesture. “Clan-heir Aksun” one said, while the other introduced himself as “clan-aide Morlah” before turning to the crew hovering by the doorway to his shuttle. “You will wait here; this matter is not something to run roughshod over.” Aksun, too swiftly distanced himself from his hangers-on and Dustin led the pair up and through the ship to his ready room.

As they walked, Dustin made idle small-talk with the two representatives, pointing out some of the more human touches that had been added to Sola’s construction by the shipyards of Sol after she’d been delivered by the Rabyth. “The secondary lighting strips are from the initial build, but you see that band of white on the wall below them? Fluorescent paint. It stores some of the light it receives and radiates it back out over time; if we had total power failure to the lighting we’d still get about five minutes of usable light to get to somewhere with a torch.” He concluded just as they arrived at their destination.

The small group entered, and Dustin gestured for his two guests to be seated on the benches he’d had Sola bring in specifically for their more equine-like bodies. Trea’k had a chair of similar design; she’d used a backless chair prior to her evolution but afterward had scoured the on-board furniture to find something that could be re-purposed to be more comfortable for her new form. Dustin sank into his own seat, while Emely retrieved fresh water from the automat for the assembled group.

“As you know, ambassador” Aksun began “we are here due to a conflict of interest over the Z’tzak mine.” Dustin nodded, then turned to Morlah. “If you wouldn’t mind outlining your understanding of the matter, clan-aide?” he asked, at which the man gave a half-bow. “Indeed, ambassador. Both of our clans have a descent from clan Z’tzak by blood - following the lines back to a pair of sons who married into the main branch. As such, we have equal claim to the mine. Conflict is not something we wish to engage in, but neither can we discount ownership of our inheritance now that clan Z’tzak has left this world.”

Trea’k leaned forward at that point. “As I understood it, when a clan leaves a colony it is traditional for them to state how any possessions should be divided amongst their connected clans. Was this not done by Z’tzak?” Aksun scratched the back of his head at the Vex’ess woman’s remark. “Indeed, they did; it’s just the mine had lain fallow for around eighty years and as such it was thought there was nothing of any worth there so it was overlooked, treated as fallow land. We commissioned a joint survey of that continent recently in search of new deposits and discovered that with modern techniques the mine was more viable than it had been previously believed.”

Dustin glanced over at Emely. “Thoughts, communications officer?” The Feliax smiled over at their guests. “Your request was for us to mediate - that is, our purpose here is to allow the pair of you to have an equal and fair discussion of the options, ensuring that no prejudice or bias can interfere in your reaching a positive accommodation with each other. With that in mind, after discussion with the ambassador we propose that myself and our ship’s counsellor act as monitors for each of you individually, while the ambassador monitors the proceedings as a whole.” Falling silent, she turned to Dustin who straightened up in his seat and nodded. “If that is acceptable, I would ask that you both take a moment to check you have a clear proposal - feel free to discuss it with my crew - and then we will begin with you each outlining the major points of your suggestion to the other party.”

What followed was a lengthy set of discussions; Dustin had thought after the initial proposals (that the clans would develop the mine together, with rotating responsibility for supplying workers and a mutual split of the proceeds) went well that the negotiations would be concluded swiftly. How wrong he was; while the two Jhork men agreed immediately in principle on the bulk of the matter, the minutiae ground on for hours. Everything from transporting the ore to a reprocessing facility to who was supplying **** to the worker’s bar for when the miners were off duty had to be cross-checked and talked through in detail.

By the time lunch rolled around, he was just about ready to snap his tablet at the words “and on to our next matter” - it wasn’t even that their guests were argumentative! It was just the sheer amount of things they needed to discuss that was driving him insane. In any case, all discussions were halted for their meal; as part of their thanks for the assistance the Jhork had sent crates of freshly frozen fruit and vegetables with their negotiation teams. Eating something that looked like a pear but tasted vaguely of cherries in between snacking on the assorted meats and cheeses he had ordered from the automat, Dustin reviewed the list of remaining matters that Emely had sent across to his tablet. Judging by the time they had taken thus far, it would be early evening or later before he finished with their task for the day; he suppressed a sigh and turned back to where the others were chatting about mundane matters.

His estimation on the timing as it turned out was spot on; it was several hours after the evening meal that the two negotiators finally shook hands and bowed deeply to him before boarding their shuttles. “You have our thanks, ambassador. Our government will naturally sign your charter for your honourable assistance; please also pass on to your government that our clans would be delighted to hire human negotiators in the future, and will be drafting a joint formal missive to that effect before years end.” Aksun said, which Dustin took to mean that his not falling asleep during the discussion on who would handle what parts of sanitation and waste disposal had been appreciated. As the last shuttle departed, he turned, stretched and yawned before heading back up to his suite.

Neither of the other women had joined him in escorting their guests to the shuttle bay, and that coupled with Rye, Meli and Yril’k staying away during dinner had him in a odd mood as he reached the door into his ready room. It was highly unusual to not see his fiancé all day, and even when they were busy on individual projects he was still used to at least seeing Rye and Yril’k over an evening meal. Sharing food and talking about their days brought them close, and he’d already discussed trying to ensure that the senior staff shared at least one meal regularly together even when that team expanded to include more than one person he wasn’t actually dating.

With those thoughts in his head, he opened the door to his room and stepped in, not really seeing anything until a soft cough got his attention. Trea’k was stood by the wall that would at a command part to reveal the ambassadorial chambers. “Dustin, I hope I am not intruding.” She said softly; he shook his head quickly. “Not at all Trea’k. I was getting lost in my own head a little there. Is there anything you need?” The Vex’ess woman blushed before turning and running one hand down the wall. “It’s odd how well this hides the grand bedroom beyond. Truth be told, I am not here entirely on my own remit; Meli instructed me to visit you and state my feelings.” Dustin blinked at that, crossing the distance to stand beside the insect woman and taking her hand in his. “Of course - is there something that is making you unhappy?”

Trea’k hesitated for a moment then reached out to take his other hand, inhaling deeply before she spoke again. “I understand you wish to progress our courtship slowly, however Meli said that this might now be just for my sake. If that is the case, I… that is to say, I would like…” for once the former queen’s elegance and calm seemed to desert her as she struggled for words before at last staring at Dustin, all four of her eyes like deep pools. “I would like us to be intimate, if that is not moving things too quickly. Do you…” Whatever she was going to ask, she never quite managed as Dustin freed one of his hands before reaching out to pull her in for a kiss.