“That won’t be necessary, Commander. I am a soldier, not a negotiator. My orders are to establish whether or not you are interested and send for a negotiator if you accept the offer.”
“Allow me to discuss the issue with the President. I’ll contact you shortly.”
“I look forward to it.”
The commlink was then cut. “D, put me through to Colonial One.”
“Yes, sir. You’re connected.”
----------------------------------------------------
Aboard Colonial One, President Laura Roslin had been getting nervous. She was getting reports of the panic that was forming on other ships. It was understandable – these ships looked more than capable of making mincemeat of the entire fleet. As if the Cylons weren’t a big enough problem.
She was more than relieved when Commander Adama finally contacted her, “Commander, what is going on? We have people panicking and I don’t know what to tell anyone.”
“You can tell them to relax for now.” The Commander responded on the other end of the connection, “For now, at least, we have nothing to worry about.”
“You’ve talked to them already?”
“Yes. It seems they’re interested in our FTL drive. They want to enter negotiations to obtain them.”
“What are they offering in return?”
“I don’t know yet. They’re waiting for our final response.”
Laura sighed, “We have no choice. If we don’t they could just take us down. Even if we do escape, we’d then have two enemies to worry about. If we talk to them, we could gain an ally.”
“I’ll let them know.”
----------------------------------------------------
“D, reestablish contact with the Northwind Highlander.” D quickly made the connection, “Captain, we’d like to take you up on that offer. How soon can the negotiator be here?”
“I made arrangements while you were off, just in case. The ambassador will be here in a few hours.”
“I see. Thank you, Captain.”
----------------------------------------------------
It was a very tense few hours. Though the announcement throughout the fleet of the Salusian’s intentions largely calmed the panic, some still raised suspicions about them, citing it may be a Cylon trap. To ease the worries of the dissidents, Commander Adama had ordered the Viper squadrons to remain on standby until the Salusian negotiator arrived.
As time passed, discussion moved from the intentions of the Salusians to debate on what they actually looked like. Though Commander Adama had spoken with one of them, nobody had actually seen one. Galactica wasn’t equipped with a visual-assisted communications system. They weren’t on some science fiction show, after all.
Speaking of science fiction, some had even wondered how the Commander had been able to deal with things so calmly, this being the human race’s first contact with aliens. Though most didn’t know Adama had encountered an alien being once before – during his days as a Viper pilot long before the Galactica’s refit.
Discussion ceased when the arrival a fourth Salusian warship was confirmed. Adama and Kell had already been informed that the negotiator wanted to meet the humans on board the Galactica, feeling it would make the humans feel more at ease.
Colonial One had docked an hour before and President Roslin and Vice President Baltar were present when the shuttlecraft containing the Salusian Ambassador landed on the port landing bay. With Colonial One already there, and the starboard hangar bay still non-functional, it was a tight fit, but they managed it.
Below deck, many of the Viper pilots, including Apollo and Starbuck, had gathered to welcome the Ambassador. The shuttle was lowered into the pressurized working bay below the landing deck.
The hatch opened and the figure that exited was not like anything anybody had expected. Undoubtedly female, the blonde-haired ambassador had white and black skunk-patterned fur over her entire body and a large bushy skunk tail protruding through the red split-cape she wore on her uniform. Though the limited contact with the Salusians made it difficult to judge, it was noted by most that she appeared to be no more than 16 years old.
“I am Princess Asrial Salusia. I have been assigned as ambassador to your fleet.”
See other episodes by Gowcaizer
(Posted Thu, 28 Apr 2005 07:38)
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