The Earth Conundrum: Book 1 of the Alliance Conflict (39 page)

Solear nodded in agreement and said, “We can’t let anyone find out how good they humans actually are.” He paused for a moment, and then added, “If the Hiriculans discover these scores, they will invade Earth.”

Arean replied, “And the Alliance will have no choice but to stop them.”

“It will be the catalyst that starts the war,” Solear stated.

Arean asked, “And if we don’t tell the Alliance how good the humans are?”

Solear thought for a moment. He then answered, “If we conceal their performance then the Alliance will fail to take advantage of the best fighter pilots in the galaxy. Humans could be the one tool we need to defeat the Hiriculans.”

Arean nodded in agreement and said, “Funny to think that we will go to war to protect a species that doesn’t even know we exist; and if they did, would probably try to kill us.”

Solear summarized, “Well, the Earth is certainly a conundrum.”

Chapter 18

Victor walked out onto the top floor balcony of the Ovontaki Hotel and greeted the morning. The hotel is one of the taller buildings in this section of the city, standing just over 100 stories tall. Victor could, if he was so inclined, run in any direction and jump to another skyscraper. He had never seen so many big buildings so close together. Solaria’s main business district seemed tiny by comparison.

The hotel is located in the heart of the entertainment and shopping district in Advranki Prime’s main city Avunk. Avunk was also the capital of the planet. The city was named after the famous Advranki explorer who had discovered Altian.

The hotel and corresponding shopping district was located about ½ kilometer from the primary spaceport where their mini-freighter, the
Vista,
was parked. Victor stretched his hands over his head as high as he could, folded his fingers into each other, and proceeded to yawn.

Crista was still in bed asleep, but Victor was on the roof because this was his favorite part of the day. The sunrise was exquisite and Victor had gotten up early each day to see it.

Victor watched as the sunbeams hit one, then the next building. When the light hit the side of the building, it caused a starburst of colors to refract off of it. The metal in the building caused one hue, the semi-permeable glass another color, and the sea-moss growing on the side several others.

Someone had tried to explain the chemical and photo aspects of how and why the moss gave off color when it first hit the sunlight, but he hadn’t really paid attention. The sight was beautiful; he didn’t really need to understand why.

Victor noted that there was already a crew out on a nearby skyscraper harvesting the sea-moss. The moss was a staple in the Advranki diet, and they grew it everywhere it seemed. He was currently standing in a patch of it on the roof in fact. He had been told that there were huge, multi-layered moss beds in the countryside, but they had yet to go and see it. What was the point he thought, of seeing a large amount of moss when one could see it right where he stood?

There was a similar form of the moss that they used for relaxation bathing. Victor remembered last week when the hotel’s concierge had finally convinced Crista and him to try a bath in the stuff. The salesperson had claimed that the bath was the most relaxing and refreshing thing in the universe.

The traditions and associated rituals had been fun, though they had been a little shy about undressing and bathing in public. The bath-master had scolded Crista and demanded that she remove her necklace before entering. That had caused just a bit of a scene. He chuckled as he recalled Crista rolling up a big ball of moss and throwing it at the man. They had finally compromised by wrapping the collar in a large leaf.

He hadn’t cared much for the bath. It felt like sitting in seaweed, but Crista really seemed to have enjoyed it. Afterward, they had returned to the room for a quick shower, and well, their first time. And there had been several after that. Victor was happy, happier than he could recall in quite a while. Crista had finally accepted him as her husband and they had even talked about starting a family someday.

They had planned to only stay on Advranki Prime for 5 days before returning to Solaria. However, the five days had turned into a week and the week had somehow turned into two. They had easily rationalized it because the hotel rate was cheaper by the week.

The sun was now hitting the building directly beside him. He watched as the brilliant colors reflected off that building. He sighed since this was going to be his last sunrise for a long time. They were planning to leave this afternoon to return to Solaria.

Now, he wondered if they should delay the trip another week. Heck, he thought, maybe they should just settle down, sell the mini-freighter, and get an apartment here. He could become a moss salesman. If one could sell moss to an Advranki, one could sell anything he supposed.

The sun was now overhead and the brilliant colors shining off of every nearby building brought him out of his deep thought. He turned in a circle to fully see everything. The sun was fully up now and the spectacle concluded for the day, so Victor headed back down to his room on the 72
^nd
floor.

Victor entered the room and saw that Crista was up and was packing their luggage. They had visited all of the tourist attractions and had bought a variety of souvenirs, but overall they hadn’t gone overboard. Despite being in the shopping district for the last two weeks, they had purchased relatively few new items.

When they had completed packing, Victor did a quick count. Not bad he thought - only four full suitcases and two overnight bags. Victor asked, “Are you ready to go?”

Crista replied, “Yes. It will be good to get home again.” She waited for a moment and then said, “Let’s take the sky bridge.”

Victor replied, “Okay, just let me checkout and make arrangements for our bags.”

Victor used his com pad to complete the hotel’s checkout process and arranged for their luggage to be taken to the spaceport.

Victor took Crista’s hand and said, “Let’s go.”

They took the electro lift down the 50
^th
floor and began walking. They walked through the hotel, then through a walkway connecting it to the next building, then through that building, then another walkway and so on. Each building’s 50
^th
floor was connected to another via a sky-bridge. They were able to chart a path that took them all the way back to the spaceport.

The shopping and entertainment district gave way to a housing district, then a business district, and finally a warehouse and shipping district. The buildings were spaced farther apart and were much shorter in this part of the city. The skywalks were getting longer and lower to the ground. They now went along the roofs instead of through the buildings.

They arrived at the spaceport and walked to their landing platform. Waiting there for them was a hauler version of a hoverbot with their luggage. Standing beside the hoverbot was a well-dressed Hiriculan.

Victor said, “Hello mister. To what do I owe the honor of your visit?”

The Hiriculan said, “Hello. I am ambassador Bline. I need a ride to Solaria as soon as possible. I reviewed all of the ships departing there today and I found that your ship was headed that way. The registry says that the ship belongs to Victor and Crista Bullpeep. I assume that is the two of you?”

Victor said, “Yes. I am Victor and this is my wife Crista.”

Crista said, “Don’t you have some sort of ambassadorial corvette or something?”

Bline said, “Yes, I do. However, I loaned it to someone else to use. I had no intention of leaving Advranki Prime until it returned, but I received a message from the ambassador stationed at Solaria requesting that I go there immediately.”

Victor said, “Can I ask what this pressing business is?”

Bline said, “Well, it is official business, but I guess it isn’t a secret. Solaria is taking final bids for a new construction project and my government has asked me to be there to participate in the final selection process.”

Crista said, “It seems odd to send an ambassador for something so small.”

Bline responded, “Well, the construction project is sponsored by the Solarian government. The new building will be huge by Solarian standards and would look right at home on either Altian or Advranki.”

Victor said, “And you need to go for a bid because?”

Bline said, “Because my government felt it would be good to have a high-ranking government official present to talk to the Solarian government. Politics and all. I am sure you can understand that.”

Crista gave him a look that implied that perhaps she didn’t completely understand. She was about to speak when Bline stopped her with a hand wave.

“Please,” he said. “I really need to go now to get there on time. I will pay you for your trouble.” He offered them a figure that was about 100 times the typical fare on a cruise ship.

Victor said, “You could almost buy a new ship for that amount.”

Bline laughed and said, “Yes, but I wouldn’t have anyone to fly it.”

Victor said, “Okay. I suppose you can come with us. By the way, you are the first Hiriculan I have ever met. Do you have any special dietary, sleeping, or breathing needs?”

The ambassador replied, “No, I can sleep anywhere and eat anything, even Advranki sea-moss.”

Victor finally said, “Okay. You are welcome to join us.”

Bline said, “Great, when do we leave?”

Victor said, “We can leave in as little as an hour. I have to perform a pre-flight checklist on the hyperdrive and ion drive. The ship hasn’t flown in a couple of weeks, so I will probably have to refill the deuterium tank and check the polonium level. Will that give you enough time to grab your belongings?”

Bline pretended to look at his watch and said, “Yes. That is more than enough time. Actually, my luggage is already in route. I will board in 30 minutes if that is okay with you?”

Victor said, “Yes. Not a problem.”

Victor thought that it probably was a problem. He pulled up a number on his com pad and had the computer place a maximum security call to it. The number’s owner had said to call if he ever needed advice. Well, he thought, this certainly qualified.

Victor was shocked to see that only a moment later the connection was established and he saw Alliance Senator Frank’s smiling face. Victor already felt better. Victor said, “Sorry to bother you, but you said to call if there was an issue.”

Frank gave his ‘you must be in trouble, but don’t worry I can help’ smile and said, “What is the problem?”

Victor responded, “The Hiriculan Ambassador Bline stopped by our freighter. He wants us to take him to Solaria. It seems suspicious to me that he chose our ship for the voyage. Should we allow him to go with us?”

Frank said, “Do not underestimate the Ambassador. I am sure he will hack your computer system. If he does, he will find the secret coordinates for the last two jumps in the navigation system.

Victor had completely forgotten about the story Lorano told when they were in Frank’s office. He responded, “They are physically on the ship, but they are well hidden. He won’t find them.”

Frank said, “Then it should be fine. I suppose it is better to let the Hiriculan look then to deny him access. Just hide everything and then act like you have nothing to hide. Also, ensure that he can’t find any trace of the human habitation.”

Victor said, “The only thing remaining is the separate power source, bathroom, and dining area. Everything else has been removed; including the sleeping area.”

Frank said, “Then set up two beds and say that Lorano wanted a separate living area for him and Carank. Oh, and wipe anything important from your ship’s memory.”

Victor thanked Frank and broke the connection. He said, “Crista, make a sweep through the three forward holds. Make sure there is nothing humanish or humany or whatever up there. Then set up the two beds like Frank suggested.”

Victor checked his messages. He saw that he a new message from Amy Weisman and one from Lorano. He quickly read Lorano’s message and responded with a simple – okay. Lorano had modified the story of their official trip to Earth somewhat. He thought it was called serendipity, when one obtains a piece of information just before it is needed. He deleted the message.

He then downloaded all of the messages to and from Amy Weisman onto his personal com pad and then deleted them from the ship’s computer as well. He saw that Amy had sent him a new email. He would read it later. He then made a quick sweep through the back half of the freighter just in case he had missed something.

Victor was completing the pre-flight checklist when Ambassador Bline walked up the entryway and into the ship. He was followed by a hauler hoverbot carrying an impressive amount of luggage. Victor counted 6 large suitcases and one small handbag.

Victor greeted him with a simple, “Hello Ambassador. Welcome aboard.”

Victor said, “I am still getting ready to leave. Crista will give you are tour of the ship and show you to the guest quarters.”

Ambassador Bline smiled and said, “Thank you. First though, I have a burning question that I must ask.”

Victor said, “Yes.”

Ambassador Bline said, “Why are you white? I thought that all Solarians were blue.”

Crista answered, “We are white because we had our skin bleached white.”

Bline wasn’t sure about how to interpret the answer. It certainly was an answer to the question asked, but really didn’t address the fundamental purpose behind the question. He said, “Let me try again. Why did you bleach your skin white?”

Crista answered again. She said, “Because white is the easiest color. It is very difficult to die it black or brown.”

Victor said, “Let me answer. We dyed our skin white because we were members of the recent mission that went to Earth for the semi-century review. The Alliance instituted a new protocol for all future visits. Solarians are the only race allowed to land on the planet. We bleached our skin white so that we could leave the ship and interact with actual humans if required. Human colored tones are generally white, black, brown, and yellow. There are no blues.”