Darkworld: Earth

2.47.

“You’re saying that they have come to Earth for their protection, not ours?” one of the many generals in the room asked. They sat in the same briefing room where they’d had many discussions both with and about Eolai. Many of them were acutely aware of the fact that the man was now physically present in one of those meetings rather than attending via PHDA.

“That is their personal motivation, yes. They see a ‘storm on the horizon,’ and they believe that Earth will be ‘safe harbor.’ I do enjoy your nautical allusions,” Eolai explained.

“They believe that we can protect them even after the beating that we took?” the general pressed.

“I cannot say for certain what they believe, know, or predict. The species you call Sulivans or Sullies have complex motivations which do not translate themselves easily into human terms, and the Yukopan are not the Topoka, so I do not know your new friends as well as you might think,” Eolai explained. “Much of the Topoka nature is suppressed by their interaction with us as children. It is their young who follow us Yonohoans around for a lifetime, learning our way and trying to emulate our thought processes. In Topokan society, only those who have reached the age of two hundred and spent most of the time observing human behaviors are eligible to become a leader of their species.”

“Are you saying that the Yukopan are feral Sullies?” Turnball asked.

“If by feral you mean more like the natural state for their species, then yes. If you mean are they savage beasts, then no. The ‘Sullies’ are an ancient race who reportedly joined the interstellar community of their own power millions of years ago. They are not ‘uplifts’ as many critics of humanity have called us,” Eolai explained.

“Much of the superiority of Yonohoan technology comes from our close association with our Topokan allies. We take what they have given us and improve it. They learn from us and improve our improvements in their own way. Then we take that and improve it even further. It is a self-sustaining cycle in which neither of us will accept that a state of perfection has been achieved.”

“If they’re so great, why do they need us?” an aide inquired.

“Because as intelligent as they are, they trust the human mind over their own,” Eolai explained. “While they have significant technical abilities, the human mind makes leaps of logic which do not come naturally to our allies. Additionally, they believe that humanity has set the ‘gold standard’ in matters of ethics, morality, and especially diplomacy. I do not know how they came to these conclusions, only that they have.

“Additionally, it’s well established that they have a form of racial memory. They recall the fear of the early days of the Liberation Wars like it was yesterday. They believe that only humans can protect their species from the wrath of other humans. Their choice to break with the Rosantean Empire and embrace Earth is a decision which I do not understand, but utilizing ruses and false-surrender is not a tactic which comes natural to the Sullies. It has taken the Yonohoans much effort and many generations to teach the Topokans to be tricky.”

“So you believe that we should accept their help?” Turnball asked.

“Yes, General Turnball. I make this recommendation with as much emphasis as I can possibly make. If you do not, then I fear that the Yukopan will flee this galaxy altogether for fear of the upcoming war, and I do not know what will become of them after that,” Eolai explained. “But their desire for an alliance, and that is what the offer of unconditional surrender truly is, is genuine.”

Turnball sighed and turned to the others in the room. “Well, let’s open the matter up for discussion. If we accept their surrender, how do we proceed from there?”

“Shouldn’t we get the leaders of the Yukopan in on the discussion?” Mary pointed out.

“At some point, yes. For now let’s keep the discussion private,” Turnball said. “Except for Eolai, of course. His experience in dealing with the Topoka is invaluable for helping us understand the Yukopan.”

“I am pleased to be of service to Earth,” Eolai said, and he sounded very pleased indeed.

~~~~~~

The connection request came from Earth, and Captain Anders immediately apologized to the Yukopan general, or admiral, or alpha before ending the conversation with the leader of the fleet. He wasn’t certain. Twice he had been passed along to another representative who had continued the discussion as though there had been no interruption. When he had inquired as to the change in representation, the Yukopan he was speaking with had simply said “I am alpha now.”

It was chaotic and made no sense to him, but he tried to move the discussion along.

The problem was that the Yukopan would agree to almost anything that he had asked. They would hand over their fleet in a heartbeat. They would return to whence they came with a pledge to never take up arms against Earth. They would live in the Outback of Australia or even Antarctica if that was the location that was designated for them.

“Hello General Turnball,” he said. The holographic man in uniform appeared in A Good Question ’s command area.

“Hello, Captain. How go the negotiations?” he asked.

“When they said unconditional, they really meant it,” Captain Anders answered. “They only restriction they’ve attempted to place on the discussion is one that we never suggested; they are insistent that we do not kill them. That’s it. Every other suggestion or hypothetical situation I give them is promptly agreed to without question.”

“Even the joke about Antarctica?”

“The fleet alpha simply requested the data on the environment and said ‘yes we can survive there.’ That was it, no further objection.” Anders explained.

“We have come to a conclusion. We are making refugee camps for their civilians on the surface of Earth. We will keep them under quarantine until we can determine for certain that they possess no microbes which will infect our populace, or vice versa that we will not cause plagues among them. They will train our soldiers and pilots in the use of their technology. If they wish to be integrated into the ESF, we will welcome them, but we will be treading carefully with any new recruits,” Turnball explained.

“Yes sir, they’ll accept those terms,” he said. “What does Eolai say about their combat effectiveness? They look big and tough, but they seem pretty skittish to me.”

“When we ask about whether they can handle combat mentally, he simply laughs,” Turnball answered. “We managed to get an answer out of him on the matter though. ‘It was not only because they surrendered that the Liberation Swarms hesitated to do battle against the Sulivans. Before the arrival of humans, they were one of the greatest warrior races in the universe.’”

“And yet they ‘surrender’ to us,” Anders pointed out.

“Eolai says that it may not mean the same thing to us that it does to them. That they’re proposing an alliance in which we are the dominant member, and thus they are surrendering to us. That it’s some sort of dominance thing which helps them understand our relationship,” Turnball explained.

“I see,” Anders said. “Do you wish to be part of the conversation with the Yukopan leader when we present the terms under which we will accept their surrender, Sir?”

“Of course. Connect us at your leisure,” Turnball said.

Anders hailed the Yukopan flagship and waited. This was the culmination of almost a week of diplomacy efforts, and he was glad to finally have an answer to give the Yukopan fleet.

The hologram connected and displayed that the leadership had changed again aboard the Yukopan fleet. However, when two humans connected to the call instead of only one, the alien Alpha made a squeak of surprise and suddenly was replaced by another representative.”

“To the Alpha of the Yukopan fleet. We have discussed the offer of your unconditional surrender and found the terms to be acceptable. You are to comply with all lawful orders as your people are processed. Your civilians will be transferred to refugee camps upon the surface of Earth, and your military forces integrated into the Earth Space Force, provided they are willing to swear loyalty to the planet Earth and serve in her defense. Are these conditions upon your surrender acceptable?” Anders asked formally.

“Yes. We surrender,” the Alpha agreed. “Thank you. We await further instructions.”

The hologram cut off.

Anders turned to Turnball’s hologram. “He seems nice.”

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