The room was heavy with silence. Danielle could tell that these two Cainth were sincere. Then she got up and walked over to Admiral Dorg, knelt down beside his chair, and put her hand on his shoulder. Dorg raised his head and looked Danielle in the eyes. Danielle said, There are moments in our life where we see ourselves clearly for the first time and find that we are not who we think we are. You can see yourself now, perhaps for the first time, as you truly are and the pain and horror of what your decisions have caused. From this day forward it will be your decision each day to choose what your path will be because of your new insight. Danielle stood and then turned and looked at Tag and Kosiev. Tag nodded at her and she turned to Terl and said, Clan leader, how many clans make up your leadership council? Danielle asked.
There are fifteen of us that represent all the Clans. Why do you ask?
Your next decision will determine the future of both our races, Clan Leader, Danielle said while looking at Tag. You will call all the Clan Leaders to this ship immediately and you will turn the screens off your fleet until our meeting with them is over. You will ask your clan leaders to make us the sixteenth clan with a representative on your Council, then any agreements we make today will be binding on all.
Everyone in the room was struck dumb by the suggestion. Dorg looked up and said in a soft voice, The Military and I will totally support this decision if the Clan Leaders so will it.
Terl looked at Dorg and saw sorrow, determination, and shame in his eyes along with something else that was different; his entire demeanor was different. This was the first hope Terl had felt since the battle and this was a remarkable suggestion. Then he said, Who can speak for your government? How long will it take them to arrive?
Admiral Kosiev said, Clan Leader, these two civilians are the leaders of our entire race. They have been given the authority to speak for all of us. Not only will the Military support their decision but every member of our species will follow them.
Terl looked around the room and felt excitement; a new Clan, a strong Clan, and one that he felt could be trusted to keep their promises. This was a new clan that had demonstrated to his people how their aggressive traits could lead to their possible extinction. He lifted his com and said, Notify the fourteen Clan leaders to jump back into the system and join me on the Earth ship waiting for them at the jump limit. Tell them I order it. Then he said to Danielle, Would you be kind enough to move your ship to the jump limit, I dont want to waste time on them having to move in system.
Dorg raised his com and said, All war ships will shut down their screens and weapon systems immediately; half of the fleet will then return home and assist in controlling the riots. Tresk, take the other half to the colonies and assist in bringing order. All screens will remain off while in our home system.
Admiral, Danielle said looking at Kosiev.
Captain Mikado, make it happen. Mikado left the room and Kosiev turned to Dorg and said, One other thing, Clan Leader and Admiral Dorg; we have transports waiting to jump in to return the troops and sailors we captured at our Colony world.
Dorg looked shaken and said, I should be executed for what happened there. Im the one who ordered the deaths of your colonists. I will submit to whatever justice you deem appropriate.
Tag looked at Dorg walked over and took one of his hands shaking it and said, Fear, anger, and hate makes one do things that would never normally be done. I have a best friend that has proven to me that good people can do terrible things. Those colonists lost their lives but if we can make this work, then their deaths would not be in vain and well never see that happen to each other again. Admiral, we forgive you and perhaps youll work hard to make this agreement work so that you have a chance to redeem yourself. Incidentally, one of our prisoners is a General Dorg. Are you related?
Hes my brother, Dorg said with relief in his voice. He knew for certain now that these humans were going to be his clan brothers. He would defend them to the death even if he had to take on the entire fleet of the Alliance. His brother was alive. Thank the creator; his brother was alive. His hatred for the humans was gone and now he was looking forward to what the future held for his race, but his soul felt the weight of the human colonists he had ordered executed. He knew that this was a weight he was going to carry for a long time.
Tag and Danielle looked out the viewport of the Washington at the planet below. They could see smoke plumes rising from some of the cities and knew that order was being restored while the Cainth leaders met with the clans to inform them of the new member. He was stroking her hair as he looked at the planet below. Now I see why Sung Lea wanted you here. You did things in that meeting that amazed me. We have made a bond here that if we can survive the Alliances response will make us stronger over the years. I would have never considered even opening a dialogue.
They are motivated to right all the wrongs from the past. Danielle answered. Then she looked at Tag, Tag, are we going to be able to defend them and ourselves? You know the Alliance will not take this lightly.
Terl has agreed to a subterfuge. Hes moving all his ships out of the system and having them take station a short jump away. Hes going to tell the Alliance that we destroyed his fleet and threatened to return and destroy his planet. Hes requesting Alliance protection which they will probably decline to provide. If we have enough time, well place the asteroid shield around their planet. They have convinced me that they can now be trusted. They have also sent their fleet to their colonies to protect them. We will hide some ships in the outer system here to insure that their home world is not attacked. He paused for a moment, Do you feel that we can safely give them Coronado technology, Danielle? Am I misreading them?
Danielle played back all she had seen during the Clan meeting and said, No, sharing our technology with them is what will cement the union; they will know we can truly be trusted and that our destinies lie together. It also helps that they have agreed to talk first in their future encounters with other races. To withhold it would be a red flag that we dont see them as equals.
Ive just finished talking with the Director and she supports all of our decisions. The SFT also say were doing the right thing. Im going to have Admiral Dorg start sending his ships to our facilities and start converting his hulls to Coronado screens.
Those ships are huge, Tag. Can we armor one that big?
Size is not the issue. If we can cover an asteroid, we can cover a ship. We just saw no reason to make a ship that big. Can you imagine a dreadnaught covered with power cells? It would be a beast.
Danielle smiled, Would you make that call later, Darling? I have something else in mind for you right now if you dont mind. Tag turned his com off and reached for her.
Chapter 3
State Leader Sten was back in his office listening to his staff scream at each other again. I guess the more things change, the louder they get, he thought while gazing out his window at a wintry city. The cold season always puts everyone on edge, He then sighed, Well, lets see if we can make some sense out of this rabble. He sounded the tone on his desk and watched as everyone slowly became quiet until there was not a sound in the room. After a pause for everyone to become uncomfortable he said, Headman Dgzh. What is the latest news on the Human/Cainth conflict?