The Diplomatic Approach

Getting to their destination took several days, time enough for the crew of the Solar Ascent to go over every possible scrap of intel they had on their hopefully soon-to-be hosts. In general, they’d all agreed that having a clear picture based on the state of affairs pre-collapse of the council would at least let them understand where the locals were coming from when they finally got to meet them.

Dropping out of the weave far above the world, Dustin glanced over at where Naera was running Meli’s usual seat, the timing of their arrival having unfortunately lined up with his sons needing lunch. “Anything?”

The Caenii tapped the console a few times, swapping across the range of Sola’s scanners before she replied. “Nothing. Looks like the only vessels in the system are either non-weave capable, match designs for the colony ships the locals were building before the collapse, or are traders. Nothing with any weapons larger than point defense as far as we can tell… although the automated gun batteries mounted on the outer planet’s moon are new. They’re powered down for now, so we should be clear to head in.”

Yril’k ran a chitin-clad digit across her own display. “I can’k confirm. Additionally, if they were’k to be powered, I am confident’k that Sola’s secondary’k weapons could handle’k them, while’k in return they’k could not break our shields.”

With a nod of thanks to the two women, Dustin gestured forward. “Alright then. In that case, Sammie, take us in. Jaisyl, can you send that message you and Emely workshopped while we’re in transit? I assume they don’t have any kind of space-traffic control?”

The Tho’unn jumped slightly in her seat at the communications console before nodding. “No incoming hails. I’ll transmit the message now and let you know if they reply.”

Sola skimmed past a gas giant while the screen zoomed in on the sole inhabited world ahead of them. Tylaxis was a planet of halves - a single massive landmass almost completely ringed by mountains occupied a sizable chunk of the surface, while the rest of the world was comprised of an endless archipelago of tiny islands interconnected by a wide but shallow ocean.

“Kinda looks like a paradise planet,” Dustin observed, grinning. “I could see them getting a massive tourist industry if they wanted with land like that.”

Jaisyl glanced up from her console. “They were talking about the possibility of that prior to the collapse, I think? I’m sure I read something along those lines when I was looking through some of the information we have on them from back then. They’d just passed their ambassadorial charter to join the council, and were looking to start moving some of their people offworld in order to free up some of the land to support it.”

“That’d be a really good reason for them to have sided with the Durathisians, then. If the council supported you founding your own colonies, imploded, and then an existing council species stands up and says they’re the continuity government, it’s easier not to rock the boat,” Dustin mused as they drifted further into the system. “Still no answer to your request for an audience?”

The Tho’unn woman shook her head. “Nothing. Not even an acknowledgment that they got the message. It’s kind of rude, to be honest - although I wonder if their communications are being monitored. If that’s the case…”

Dustin winced. “If that’s the case, then we’ll be getting uninvited guests sooner than we’d planned. Yril’k, do me a favour and keep Sola on alert while I’m planetside. If something happens, get the ship out of the system; the landing party will figure our own way out and will contact you for pickup once the heat has died down.”

The warrior frowned at him, but nodded in recognition of the order. Yril’k might not like it, but it did make sense. Four people could escape a system of billions far easier than an entire starship could, especially if they had the covert backing of the local government. With that all planned in case of emergencies, there was nothing to do but wait.

They were perhaps five minutes out from the planet when Jaisyl leaned forward in her chair before turning to face Dustin. “We’ve gotten a reply and an apology - apparently they’ve been having technical difficulties with their long range communications for a while now due to a shortage of parts. We’ve got a landing path and clearance to set down at a starport up near the mountains on the main continent.”

“Hmm…” Dustin set down his tablet and tapped his communicator, relaying the information to Rye who’d been tinkering in engineering the last he saw of her. “What do you think, love? Are they likely to be telling the truth about the breakdown, or are we walking into a trap?”

Down in the engineering bay, Rye set her tools down and slid out from under the mobile weave-arm assembly she’d been working on, wiping her hands on her overalls and mostly succeeding in moving grease around rather than any great amount of cleaning. “From what ya tell me, Dusty, it could go either way. Have we picked up any other chatter since we’ve been in the system? If not, it’s probably alright to assume they’re telling the truth. Kinda seems like a pointless lie for them to make if they’re being sneaky, why not just act normal and then pounce once they get ya planetside?”

Dustin had to admit the Rabyth had a point. “Alright, let’s be optimistic. Sammie - follow the path they’ve given us, let’s go and say hello.”

With the decision taken, Sola curved to one side, banking down through the clear sky. Below them, snow glittered a dull orange in the light - or possibly not just the light; apparently the mountains had massive iron deposits that in some places made the waters run red, a feature Dustin idly noted as having the potential to either really put people off holidaying there… or make it a desired resort for the novelty value alone.

The starport itself was obvious, and also far busier than Dustin had expected. Admittedly, most of the craft sitting on the massive runway were small compared to Sola - system hoppers, seemingly designed to transport raw material from mining outposts back to the homeworld - but there were rather a lot of them, and he was glad of Sammie’s skill as the bulk of the human vessel came to rest in a comparatively small area of free space.

As soon as the engines began to power down, the crew were all business. Sammie and Yril’k shifted from casual confidence to fully attentive, Sola’s sensors sweeping the system regularly in the hopes of detecting any incoming ambushers before they could pose a threat, while Dustin made his way briskly to where the rest of the away party were waiting for him by the turbolift.

“So what’s the play?” Yaerwen asked as they descended, the glass of the lift giving them a wonderful view of the range of bland buildings you’d expect at a major transport hub - all beige brickwork and sheet glass formed into large boxes to house people waiting for their flights.

Dustin shrugged. “Not entirely sure. We set them up to expect a meeting with Jaisyl, and hinted that it was in reply to their request for communications with Earth, so we’ll see what kind of a welcome party they’ve put on for a Tho’unn princess and go from there. Hopefully you’ll be able to get a handle on what’s normal pomp and ceremony versus what’s them trying to give us hints as to their intent, your highness”

Jaisyl winced at the honorific. “Husband, please. I know I was… difficult, when I first came on to your ship, there’s no need to tease me about it when we’re going into an already tense situation.”

Grinning, Dustin leaned in and kissed her on the cheek, causing the Tho’unn to blush. “I know. But you’re cute when you’re flustered, and you were looking nervous before ‘cos you know this whole plan revolves around them treating you like royalty, so you’ve been thinking if you screw something up it’ll make you look bad. Am I wrong?”

As the princess rather abashedly shook her head, Bleu sighed and kicked off the wall she’d been leaning against. “Jaisyl, with the utmost respect, you are an idiot if you think that any kind of screw up would be a big issue. You’ve been on the ship long enough to know that we handle things if they go wrong. So relax, have fun doing the whole smile-and-wave routine, and recognize that we’ve got your back.”

Having the largely anarchistic medic be the one offering words of support seemed to do the trick. Jaisyl smiled, her blush fading as the elevator reached the ground, and she’d straightened up into a regal posture before the doors slid open. “Very well. In that case, husband, you may escort me to meet our hosts.”