Chapter 19 #3
Scarlet didn't have stage fright, that had been trained out of her at a young age, but even she had to admit that it was incredibly intimidating knowing that they were going to be walking out onto a stage visible to the entire universe.
The Coalition meeting was streamed over the subnet live.
Anyone and everyone could see them through subspace magic/science, and, she knew, the humans were such a popular subject that everyone was going to tune into this particular topic.
There were probably notifications going off on combots across all the known Coalition worlds right now, alerting people that the humans were about to start talking.
Nerve. Wracking.
But Scarlet let out a long breath and she stood straight and tall.
“Don’t be afraid,” Havali said, his fingers dancing over her shoulder. “I will be with you. There’s nothing to be concerned about.”
She gave him a grateful smile, even as Atem sent a distrustful glower his way.
But there was no time for her alien brother to go all domini on him. The box had reached the floor and Atem had to lead the way out. Immediately, his face was being projected in the center of the dome, but she knew that all eyes would be on the three humans.
From down here, the distant holo displays in the dim boxes looked like stars in the sky. She took in a deep breath and shared a look with Alanna who was grinning, clearly enjoying herself.
“Thank you, High Imperium,” Atem said, his voice coming from beside her and all around her at the same time.
“The issue I bring before the Coalition today is in regards to a non-Coalition species for whom I wish to offer protectorate status and volunteer my people, the domini, to be their sponsor. I have the support of the ratchi. Representative Elder Haviss has volunteered his people to be co-sponsor with priority given to my people when it comes to decision making and representation.”
“Very well,” came the emotionless, robotic reply. “You understand and accept that, as sponsor, you would be fully responsible for the protectorate species and that any harm that comes to it would be seen as a failing on your part and could result in punitive action?”
“I understand,” Atem said immediately, his voice strong and unwavering.
“Then, present your case.”
Atem saluted them before addressing the hundreds of other representatives. From down here, Scarlet felt like a thousand eyes were on them. She stood with her shoulders back, her head held tall, and looked at Havali when she thought she might waver.
He smiled at her encouragingly as Atem spoke.
“It was public knowledge, and my shame when, last year, I was betrayed by one of my council and given as a maturity prize to a rogue ratchi clavas,” First Domini said, speaking in that hypnotic way of his that always told such a great story.
“While I was in their custody, their attempt to return to their home planet was foiled by their own lack of skill with navigation.
Instead, by chance, they landed in a solar system not yet discovered by the Coalition, even just by distance recording.
There, they found a planet the natives call Earth. And on this planet, they found humans.
“Humans are the dominant species of their planet, and the only sapient species.
They have achieved space travel and successfully piloted to their own moon.
However, they have only sent machines to their nearest neighboring planet.
By Coalition law, this means that the humans can only claim territory to their moon and, since they have not breached their solar system, they have not earned the right to join the Coalition as a full member.
“They had no protection against the ratchi ship that stumbled upon them.
They likely did not even know they were visited.
The ratchi chose five human females, at random, who were alone and unprotected and stole them away in the night before fleeing.
Like myself, they were going to be maturity prizes to be brought back to their clavas.
“However, despite not being as technologically advanced, and despite being outnumbered, overpowered, and imprisoned, these clever females were able to regain their freedom and rescue me in the process. For this, I gave them an honorable name on my planet. Vora Vakara. In my tongue, it means, ‘warrior in deed if not in name’. For clearly, these females are no warriors.”
He gestured back at them, and Scarlet held her head high.
She couldn’t exactly be offended by someone calling her delicate and weak when every species she had met thus far was stacked and tall and powerful in ways humans definitely were not.
Still, it kind of stung to know that the basis of their argument for Earth’s joining was that they were too weak to protect themselves.
“Not warriors, but they performed a warrior’s deed,” Atem said proudly. “I adopted them as my sisters. And one of them I took as my mate. I knew on sight, in the way of my people, that she was mine. I joined with her, fully expecting our union to be a barren one, as they all are between species.
“No one was more surprised, or incredulous, than I when my mate began to show signs of whelping.
And no one was more amazed or proud or joyous when it was revealed that the offspring she carried was indeed my own.
I have included in the reports sent to you all the basic genetic breakdown of myself, my mate, and our offspring, given to you as proof that what I say is true.
“She is not the only one. A sister of mine who did not accompany me on this trip also took a domini mate. She is also whelping. Both offspring appear to be growing well and while we do not know what will happen when they are born, by everything current testing can determine, they will not only be fully functional, compatible with life, and healthy, but they will themselves be reproductively capable with, at the very least, other domini.”
Atem turned and put a hand on Scarlet’s shoulder. She was not surprised when her face was now the one being projected onto the dome.
“This is my sister, Vora Vakara Healer Scarlet. She is a trained healer on her planet and, when she came to mine, she trained as a healer there as well. She has passed the competency exam set forth by my people that is in accordance with Coalition Standard, meaning she is able to practice her medicine anywhere within Coalition space. She is heading up the research with First Healer on my son and unborn niece to watch how they grow and develop and to learn more about how humans can procreate with my species. And if they can procreate with others.”
His words were spoken slowly and deliberately, looking at all the boxes with nothing short of a threat in his gaze.
“I know there are those among us who have trouble reproducing.
I know there are those who would give anything for a female who can birth so many young successfully.
And since Earth is not part of the Coalition, either as a member or a protectorate, it would not be illegal for any of us to somehow find ourselves with females from Earth in an attempt to reproduce with them.
Furthermore, Earth is at risk of attack from non-Coalition species that do not abide by our non-interference laws and would have no problem acquiring those females for the unscrupulous and the wicked.
“My sisters cannot return to their planet. In adopting them, I made them domini by law and, as such, they cannot even warn their people of what might come. Furthermore, I cannot offer protection to their planet without permission, and I believe that the threat to the humans, because of their ability to reproduce with at least my own people, possibly more, should be enough of a danger to grant me the right to offer this protection.”
Atem finished speaking and looked up at the High Imperium’s box.
Theirs was the only one that was lit up from the inside with more than just a holo display.
The person was alone inside their box, sitting on a large seat, fully hidden inside their robes.
They hadn’t moved once in all the marks they had been in this room.
Even now, when their combot spoke for them, they remained still.
“I hear your case, Representative Atem. For a case such as this, the floor is open to all who wish to speak for or against the proposal. You will be allowed to refute them, but they will be allowed to speak. I will open the floor now.”
Scarlet looked around. No one jumped up to speak, and she got kind of concerned. It was a good thing if no one opposed them, of course, and she didn't think that everyone would approve of them, but surely someone wanted to say something. The silence was rather unnerving.
“They’re registering to speak.” Havali’s voice right at her ear startled her a bit. He chuckled, putting a hand to her shoulder, calming her down. “Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you.”
She turned her head, smiling at him. “No, I’m okay. They’re registering?”
He nodded once. “Everyone who wants to can’t all talk at once. It would be bedlam.”
“That’s true,” she conceded, looking around at the boxes again. “So, they’re like getting in a virtual queue for their turn to talk? Will it go in order again?”
“The list will be evenly split. Those who want to ask questions but not speak for or against will go at the top. Then, those opposed and those agreeable will be allowed to take turns talking. Order from there is determined by who registered first.”
“What if there’s more of one than the other?”
He frowned. “Then, we hope that the list isn’t too long, otherwise we will have to stand here listening to them talking without end.”
Scarlet resisted the urge to sigh. She just nodded, ready to accept her fate.