The Landfall Campaign (The Nameless War) (26 page)

“
Have they approached the Aèllr?
”
Chris asked the Embassy intelligence officer.

“
As far as we know they haven
’
t,
”
she replied,
“
not yet anyway.
”

“
Guess they know that would be scraping the bottom of the barrel,
”
someone else muttered.

In theory both humanity and the Aèllr were guarantors of Mhar security. A necessity since the Mhar were the least technologically developed of the five spacefaring races and at least two of the Tample star nations openly coveted the one Mhar colony. The Aèllr certainly did have the military strength but there was an unspoken understanding that the guarantee from the casualty-adverse Aèllr extended no further than the Mhar homeworld. That had meant that although nominally neutral, the Mhar were closer to humanity than the Aèllr. Refusal to assist was going to deliver a body blow to that special relationship.

“
So the bottom line is that we
’
re going to have to tell them no, then try to do damage limitation,
”
Chris said heavily. He
’
d hoped for something to happen during his tenure, but this wasn
’
t it.

“
No! That
’
s not acceptable!
”
said Joseph Adams, the Deputy Ambassador and a man whose sharp manners didn
’
t do him any favours. It was the reason why, despite being the newcomer, Chris had been dropped in as his senior, which certainly hadn
’
t done anything to endear him to Adams.

“
Ambassador, you do not seem to grasp that military support for the Mhar has been one of the cornerstones of our policy towards them. If we refuse, the good will we have built up will evaporate. This embassy cannot throw aside more than a decade of effort because of temporary problems elsewhere!
”

“
Temporary!
”
Latawski exclaimed. The Commodore rocked back into his chair. For a moment Chris thought he had nothing more to add but then he lunged forward and roared across the table at Adams,
“
Read the files properly you fool! There is a war of survival being fought out there!
”
the entire room went completely silent.

Adams wasn
’
t easily cowed.

“
How dare you!
”
he shouted back before turning to Chris,
“
I will not be spoken to in that fash
…”

“
Then get spoken to like this!
”
Latawski cut him off.
“
There, are, no, ships! Not now. Not next month, not next year.
”
The Commodore slumped back into his chair.
“
Like us, the Mhar are on their own.
”

Chris shouted before Adams could take the argument further.

“
Commodore, that language is not acceptable in this room!
”
He glared at both of them for a moment before adding,
“
I would ask that you issue an apology.
”

“
My apology is given Mister Adams,
”
Latawski said heavily.
“
I stand however by my position that no military aid can be given.
”

Adams started to reply but Chris cut him off.

“
Thank you Commodore. Mister Adams, to be the voice of dissent you must offer a real alternative. I have the advantage of having been more recently on Earth than any of you. I can tell you that the military situation is beyond serious. Direct strikes against Earth are a real fear for both the fleet and society at large. Obviously I do not know exact military deployments, but I do know that our forces around Dryad have been cut to the extent that a Tample incursion into our
own
territory is becoming likely. Battle Fleet’s military leadership will not send a ship or ships out here and the council will not overrule them.
”

“
Could we
…
stall them perhaps?
”
someone asked.

“
We could simply tell them we
’
ll send their request by courier,
”
Adams said, this time giving Latawski a cautious look.
“
That will give us legitimate reason to delay answering.
”

“
That might work,
”
one of the Embassy
’
s intelligence officers replied.
“
They might be politically unable to wait for a reply, particularly if Earth sits on it for a week or two. By the time we have to reply, they
’
ll have had to made their move and either won or lost without us.
”

“
No,
”
Latawski said.
“
I don
’
t believe they will move without us. I don
’
t believe they
can
move without us.
”

“
And the longer they wait the greater I suspect, the expectation of Battle Fleet ships arriving in orbit,
”
Chris added, half to himself.
“
When our courier comes back with an officially sanctioned flat out
‘
no
’
, it will be all the more a slap in the face.
”

“
What do you want us to do Ambassador?
”
Adams asked. Everyone looked up the table at him. 

“
There
’
s no happy solution to this one,
”
Chris said before looking up.
“
Commodore, I want the crew sent up to our station courier. I want all sections ready to upload to the courier all pertinent information within the next
…
three hours. We
’
ll inform Earth, we have to do that, but in the meantime I
’
ll need an appointment with the Mhar government. So I can tell them that their request for aid is going to be declined.
”

___________________

Chris stared out at the tundra, lost in thought as he sat alone in monorail carriage to the Embassy, wrapped in half-a-dozen blankets. The meeting, with the entire Forum of Ministers, had been the single most uncomfortable experience of his professional life, facing a roomful of three-metre tall aliens, all of them wearing expressions of betrayal. They just kept asking the same question, as if they couldn
’
t believe the answer, as if they thought their translators were faulty. While he sat there and kept telling them that they understood him correctly.

“
What a bloody day,
”
he muttered to himself.

There was no doubt that the day
’
s work was going to be felt for years to come. It had been a day for shattering illusions. Certainly the Mhar were never going to look at humanity in the same way again. A year ago, it would have been different. The mere threat of Battle Fleet would then have been enough to force the Tample, whether as separate nations or combined, to back down. Now it was beyond the fleet
’
s strength to face down even one. It definitely felt like an end-of-empire moment.

From beneath him came a clunk as the carriage shifted onto the Embassy spur line. After a few more minutes the carriage slid to halt. Much to his surprise someone was waiting for him on the platform. People generally didn
’
t stand outside unless they had a really good reason. It was Adams, heavily bundled up.

“
What is it?
”
he asked as they both hurried towards the warmth of the building.

“
You sent everyone back ahead and turned your phone off.
”

“
Yes, once the meeting was done I tried to make some personal contact to mend a few bridges,
”
Chris replied.

“
Well something else has just come up!
”
The wind was starting to increase, making further conversation impossible.

“
Now what?
”
Chris asked as they entered the lobby and pulled down their hoods.

“
We
’
ve got visitors.
”

“
But I
’
ve only just been speaking to the government.
”

“
It
’
s not a Mhar. It
’
s an Aèllr official, with an escort.
”

“
What
!
”
Chris exclaimed as he stopped dead in his tracks.
“
Are you kidding?
”

“
No, she arrived an hour ago. She wants to talk to the Ambassador but won
’
t say what about.
”

“
Is there an intermediary coming?
”

Adams shook his head,

“
She says no.
”

“
But the Aèllr don
’
t talk to us directly. They
’
ve never set foot in this building before. It
’
s always been on neutral ground with an intermediary in the room. Hasn
’
t it?
”

“
That
’
s always been the way Ambassador for as long as I
’
ve been here. They don
’
t simply turn up either. There have always been at least a few days of preliminary discussions just to agree the location.
”

“
But this time they have.
”

“
Yes,
”
Adams replied grimly.
“
This might be the point when they start making demands.
”

Flustered as he was feeling, that didn
’
t sound too likely to Chris. If an ultimatum was being delivered you wouldn
’
t rush it. You
’
d deliver it at a time of your own choosing.

“
What has she said?
”
he asked.

“
She says it
’
s a matter of great importance. That what she is here to tell us needs to get back to Earth as soon as possible.
”

“
Oh no! Our courier is already on its way to Earth,
”
Chris groaned as the two of them passed through the main door and into the welcome warmth of the Embassy.

“
The Commodore managed to reach it in time,
”
Adams replied with a shake of his head.
“
They
’
re holding at the edge of the mass shadow. I kinda got the impression that seeing our courier head off triggered them into rushing over here. But like I said, that
’
s just an impression.
”

“
Okay,
”
Chris started to struggle out of his arctic suit,
“
let me get into something more appropriate, then we
’
ll find out what they
’
re here for.
”

The three Aèllr looked up from their position sitting close to the room
’
s heater as Chris, Adams and Latawski walked in. Chris paused, trying to work out who was important and who were the spear-carriers. The rearmost Aèllr rose gracefully to her feet.

“
Ambassador Byrne?
”
she asked without the aid of a translator.

“
Yes,
”
Chris replied,
“
I apologise for the delay. I was not in the Embassy at the time of your arrival.
”

“
We are aware of that fact. No offence has been taken.
”

“
May I ask your name and your purpose here?
”

“
I am Delegate Irpal, I have been charged by Prime Speaker Unqin with the task of communicating with you.
”
The Aèllr had an oddly musical voice, not unpleasant to listen to but still indefinably alien. She glanced at her two associates,
“
Please, leave us.
”