All That Glitters

Life goes on, even in the Alliance.

Preparations are made for new contacts. A surprise from the Asocans. The new Alliance finally makes it's presence felt.

© bigtddybr February 2022. This story 'All That Glitters - Ch 43' or the series 'All That Glitters' cannot be transferred to any other site besides Literotica.com in whole or in part without the prior authorizations in writing from the author and bigtddybr must be credited for this work.

Due to the number of abbreviations, ship listings, and list of characters, in this story, I include a glossary that is now in a stand-alone chapter called

'All That Glitters: Notes'

. Any and all information that you want or need to know about the series is included in Notes. It will be updated frequently simply by re-issuing the chapter to Literotica.

There is little attempt to explain the back story, so it is necessary to read previous chapters to fully understand where we are.

As before, I claim sole responsibility for the story line. This story is a fantasy, with no basis in reality. Any similarity that you may perceive to current events, people, or situations real or imaginary is completely unintended. Look no further than the story line for its intent and purpose.

A big shout out to SaddleRider and my other editors, who wish to remain anonymous, for all their help.. With their guidance, I'm making fewer and fewer errors. If you find any errors still left in this chapter, they are mine, as I have ignored sage advice to make a silly point.

Please rate and comment. But keep your comments respectful. If you rant and rave or are disrespectful in your commentary, it will be deleted.

'Nuff said...enjoy.

Conference Room One, Delta Deck, Liramor-23 Mining Platform, 109 Piscium System, 106 Light Years from Terra

The morning brief had just finished but Fiona asked those in attendance to remain as Dr. Sylvia Hitron had requested a briefing from the Piscium Scientific Investigation Team. Sylvia had only called for such briefs on a handful of occasions and had never disappointed the staff when she did so.

Sylvia filed in with a few of her people, along with Mind-Ur and Caye-Ur. She quickly set herself up and was ready to brief.

"Good morning all. I would like to announce that we now have a functional translator for the Maha-Rrin language, which means we can now formally contact the Piscium-B Society," Sylvia laid it open for all.

"I would like to personally thank the efforts that Mind-Ur and Caye-Ur provided to our team in assisting the translation. While the language was significantly different from Pod-Drran, without their assistance, we would likely still be working things out." Sylvia smiled and nodded to Mind and Caye, who nodded back in turn. They were pleased with the recognition.

"I hope that thanks was not the only compensation provided them?" Fiona asked.

"No, ma'am, they were paid for their efforts. I just thought their contributions should be acknowledged." Sylvia replied.

"Very well. What is happening with the Djinaëte Station, Dr. Hitron?" Fiona asked.

"The Djinaëte are starting to take it apart, ma'am, which means that in less than three months, my team will be redundant. The Djinaëte have agreed to allow us to retain a number of the bodies from the station for scientific investigation," Sylvia stated.

"That is rather callous isn't it?" Dianne Ancien asked.

"The Djinaëte do not revere their dead, Dianne," Fiona explained. "To them, the bodies are a resource. This attitude is what brought them into contention with the Pod-Drran when they raided one of the Pod-Drran cemeteries, which resulted in the destruction of their mining station and the death of so many of their people when the Pod-Drran returned to this system the previous time.

"Are there any plans to retain any members of the team in system, Sylvia?" Fiona asked.

"That is still being determined. It is certain that we will lose the NS Wimple as a dedicated support vessel. It will become part of the Piscium Defence Force under your command. That means that any of us who are retained here will have to request transport when we are needed. We should know more at the end of this month, when Sector Forty-Two HQ sends out our new orders," Sylvia told them.

"I hope they retain a few of you," Fiona stated. "However, you are a Navy resource and are subject to the needs of the Navy.

"Very well, I have a meeting with the Liramor Embassy Association immediately after I finish here," Fiona stated.

She turned to Mind-Ur. "Is Nar-Tre Sai-Rai aware that the translation is completed?"

"She is aware that we were close, however, Dr. Hitron only declared herself satisfied this morning," Mind replied.

"We shall go first to the Pod-Drran Embassy and speak to Nar-Tre, then I shall attend the bi-weekly Liramor Embassy Association meeting," Fiona said, dismissing her own group.

Pod-Drran Embassy, Interspecies Embassy, Liramor-23, The Piscium System

Fiona entered the Pod-Drran Embassy with Dr. Hitron, a few of her Linguists, Mind-Ur, and Caye-Ur in tow.

"We would like to speak to the Ambassador, please," Fiona stated to the Pod-Drran secretary.

"Yes, Director." The receptionist used the silencing mode of her comp to hide her conversation with the Ambassador. She loved the wrist comp that she had purchased and was still making herself familiar with all of its capabilities.

A few moments later, she smiled at Fiona and pointed toward the Embassy's conference room, which Fiona and company immediately entered. Nar-Tre was not long behind them.

"Director Marsh, to what do we owe the pleasure of your company, especially with such a distinguished group of people?" Nar-Tre asked on entering.

"Dr. Hitron told us in the morning brief that the Maha-Rrin language codex is ready," Fiona explained.

"Yes, I knew they were close but I did not know that they had completed it yet," Nar-Tre nodded.

"I declared it ready this morning, Nar-Tre. Mind and Caye from House Ur were instrumental in assisting us with the translation. We are certain that it is nearing 95% accuracy without a native speaker to assist us," Sylvia told them.

"Very well. I assume that you want us to be part of the initial contact process with the Maha-Rrin?" Nar-Tre asked.

"Yes, I thought it might be better that something familiar be part of the introduction. I can use Mind-Ur and Caye-Ur for the introduction. However, since your two peoples will need to come together, according to prophecy, I think an official of your government should be in on the initial meetings," Fiona gave her thought processes to Nar-Tre.

"I shall send a missive to The Kumar-Pair on Pod-Saar and inform them of the situation. They will look forward to the meeting with our cousins," Nar-Tre gave a formal bow that Fiona returned.

Fiona thanked and dismissed Dr. Hitron's group and then she and Nar-Tre headed for the main embassy conference room for the bi-weekly Embassy Association meeting.

************

Fiona entered the main embassy conference room for the bi-weekly meeting with Nar-Tre by her side. All of the Ambassadors stood and bowed to her. It was the first time that they had done this and it surprised Fiona.

"Ambassadors," she greeted them with a bow of her own before she took her place at the table. "I have a few pieces of news you should be aware of:

"First, the codex for the Maha-Rrin language, the cousins of the Pod-Drran, is now complete, or as complete as we can make it without a native speaker assisting us. That means we shall soon begin to contact the other half of the former Piscium people, who refer to themselves as 'The Wise Ones'.

"We will have to coordinate this contact with the Pod-Drran as there are consequences of prophecy at issue, which some of you are aware of. As this is considered an internal matter for the Pod-Drran and the Maha-Rrin, we can give all the support they request but must leave it more-or-less to them to work things out between them.

"Second, some of you may be aware of this, but for those who are not, Pallanders Shipyard is constructing a new somewhat larger shipyard in orbit around Liramor Prime. They have named this vessel Pallanders Six. The vessel is being constructed with Jump-grid technology, which means it will be moved to its new location after its construction. That new location will be here in the Piscium System.

"Pallanders has offered to allow technicians from all of the Interspecies Community to work on the construction of Pallanders Six as the techniques are the same for many of the large ships we will be building. This will give your techs the knowledge of working on the outer shell of our large ship designs.

"And finally, we may have a breakthrough with our grievances with the Alliance, the other human faction. The Harradi have sent a Harla to verify the situation. Ambassador Clend will also be going to the Alliance to work out a deal between the Alliance and the Harradi.

"Now that the Greater Community gets involved with providing support to the Alliance, the Alliance will be requested to end their dependence on slavery and their support of piracy.

"The Union Navy recently captured a pirate fleet of thirty vessels nearly intact. That is a major blow to the Sagittarius Pirate Syndicate. As far as we are aware, there are three fleets in that syndicate. We have taken one of them, the largest of their fleets, out completely.

"That is three pirate fleets that have been destroyed in the space of one of our years. One was destroyed here in the Piscium system when they attacked this platform. One was destroyed during the recent Union raid on the Alliance, in which we successfully freed many of our citizens. The third has just been taken almost intact.

"All three fleets were from different pirate syndicates, meaning that we have punched a hole in the pirate formations that they will now be very hard pressed to fill, considering that the Alliance is being pressured from all sides to end their support of piracy.

"The Alliance has requested a prisoner exchange with our people and the pirates we recently captured. The TGA is seriously considering this option.

"It is not an end to the situation with the Alliance; however, it is a very good start. Any questions?" Fiona asked. There were none on these issues.

The ambassadors made several formal requests of Fiona and Liramor Holdings, which owned the platform. They included additional space for specific functions for the needs of each of their people.

Fiona assured them that extra space would be available soon as Liramor Holdings was in the process of building Liramor-31, which would be brought to this system to take over the mining functions of Liramor-23, thus allowing Liramor Holdings to dedicate Liramor-23 to the functions of the Greater Community Embassy.

The ambassadors were pleased. Waiting was a game they knew well. In their terms, waiting meant decades. In human terms, waiting meant one or two years. The ambassadors could wait such short times.

That was when Dragon Ambassador Alvoie rose. "I would like to inform the members of the Interspecies Embassy, that Asoc >Catal Mutt Herrtt, the Supreme Ruler of the Asocan People, would like to see her new embassy on Liramor-23. She wishes to attend in ten days."

The Ambassador let them know that Asoc >Catal would bring most of her senior ministers, all of them War Dragons, with her including the Minister for Interspecies Affairs. This would be a prime opportunity to conduct business at an Interspecies level.

The other embassies took note, as did Fiona and Ambs. Michelle Halten.

Asocan Embassy, Interspecies Embassy, Liramor-23, The Piscium System

Dragon Ambassador Alvoie came back into his office after the Embassy Association meeting to see a shiny violet box on his desk.

"Utan>, what is this?" Alvoie demanded loudly of his secretary.

"Settle down, Alvoie, those who hear you will think you are a small male," Utan> barked (a degenerate term for Asocan's. It has the same implication as an effeminate male would in human terms).

"Save me your platitudes," Alvoie snarled. "Why is this box on my desk?"

"It came from Terra on the latest supply ship and is addressed to War Dragon Kloä>, Minister of Interspecies Affairs. The tag says it is a gift from his son, Guro<, and was sent to us to see that it is forwarded to the Minister.

The tag was written in Asocan; however, it was poorly written, likely from a translation program. There was an oddly designed sigil on the right side of the box's top, where it was only visible if one looked for it.

"The box has been through detection, there are no poisons, nor explosive materials. It does have a weapon in it," Utan> said.

Alvoie snarled. Fortunately, he had Guro<'s comm number from his visit to Denders Resort. He opened up a link to the home planet (the perks of being an Ambassador) and put in a call for a vid conference with Guro<. An hour later Guro< responded.

"Good day Dragon Ambassador Alvoie, why do you drag me from my studies?" Guro< demanded.

"I have received a box with a potential weapon in it," Alvoie responded, pointing to the offending object on his desk.

Guro< immediately perked up. "It has arrived!!" he exclaimed, surprising Alvoie and his secretary, whom he had asked to be in his office during the call (it was always safer to have a witness when dealing with the family members of senior ministers).

"Break the seals, let us take a look at it!" Guro< demanded excitedly.

Alvoie looked at Utan>, who just shrugged her shoulders.

Alvoie broke the seals and opened the beautiful box. Inside was a beautifully constructed >Curlat, a traditional Asocan battle weapon, now mostly used as presentation blades. It had the same sigil on it near the hilt that was one the box.

"Please, pick it up by your thumbs, and flick the blade with your talon," Guro< husked.

The Asocan had two fingers and two thumbs on each hand, 'picking things up with your thumbs' was an admonition to pick something up delicately.

Alvoie picked up the weapon. It was beautifully balanced and had enough weight to act as a weapon without having the traditional heft of a >Curlat made on Asocan. He flicked the blade and the metal sang. The sound was magnificent.

Alvoie and Utan> looked at each other with awe on their faces. Alvoie flicked the blade again, this time in a different location. The sound was just as beautifully.

The Ambassador hefted the blade. Its balance was exquisite. He made a swipe of the blade from left to right across his body. The whisper it made as it moved told Alvoie that the blade was literally cutting through the air.

Alvoie placed the blade back in its box and opened the box holding his blade of office. He flicked it at different places along the blade, bringing a different sound each time. The sound was dull in comparison to the new weapon.

He swung his weapon through the air in the first offensive pattern. Placing his own blade down, he picked up the new blade and made the same pattern. The difference was remarkable.

The new blade fit his hand like it was made for it. It seemed to want to be used as a weapon, asking to be moved through the pattern with all the speed and strength that Alvoie possessed.

He put the weapon down and motioned to Utan> to pick up his own blade. Utan swung the blade through several offensive patterns. Then picked up the new blade and repeated them. The look on her face when she put the new weapon down was one of pure awe.

"Your assessment?" Alvoie asked. Utan> was a seasoned warrior who had used many different weapons throughout her life.

"Your personal weapon is one of the best made on the Home World," Utan> began. "However, comparing it to this new weapon, it appears almost crude. The new weapon literally slices through the air. It is just the right weight, just the right length, just the right width. It is as if the Holt Mottan made this weapon herself." (Holt Mottan is the Asocan equivalent of the Greek God Hephaestus but, where human males are the stronger of our species, Asocan females are the stronger of theirs, so the God of the forge and weapons of the Asocan is a Goddess, see the notes chapter v 11.)

Alvoie nodded once to her, agreeing completely with her assessment.

"This human, Ha jim eh?" Alvoie attempted the name. "He can make more of these?"

"I would have to ask him; however, his creations are worth a small fortune," Guro< explained.

"How then did you afford one of his creations?" Utan> demanded.

"I asked nicely," Guro< said with an Asocan smile. (Like the Pod-Drran, an open mouthed smile is seen as an aggressive action for Asocans). "The master smith wanted to try his hand at making one of our weapons. I sent him a crude >Curlat I picked up in the market. I think Hajime may have made himself a legend."

"How do I ask him nicely?" Utan> asked Guro<, who laughed. "You may ask Kim the next time she is on Liramor-23. She is familiar with the human. Her swords are his creation. There should be a sheath for the weapon."

Alvoie closed the upper lid of the box and turned it over. There was another lid there. He opened it to find a beautifully, violet coloured sheath made of material he had never seen before. It too had the sigil he had seen on the box and on the >Curlat.

Alvoie opened his comp and asked the computer if Kim was on the station...

Landstradt HQ, Adenomere City, Planet Adenomere, The Adenomere System, 182 Light Years from Terra

As soon as the Chair had called the Landstradt to order, Richard Bailay stood.

"The Chair recognizes Master Bailay of Planet Vuelta."

"Thank-you, Chair. Yesterday, as the Landstradt was finishing its afternoon session, we were presented with some rather unfortunate news, that one of the Sagittarius Pirate Fleets was captured nearly intact.

"This morning, I received a list of people who were in that fleet, including my eldest son, who is a captain on one of the warships, and three of my nephews, all officers in the fleet, one of which is also a captain of a ship.

"I would like to ask the Landstradt's indulgence and ask that we arrange a prisoner exchange with those who we currently hold and the bodies of the Union crew that we currently hold..."

"NOOO!!! I want revenge!!" Kevin Lindelle, patriarch of House Lindelle shouted.

The Chair gavelled him down. "Master Lindelle, you do not have the floor!" the Chair shouted. "You will be given a chance to respond,

WHEN

, Master Bailay has finished speaking. Now sit down and remain in your seat until you are called upon!"

"Master Bailay, please continue," the Chair indicated.

"Thank-you, Chair. The Union captured twelve warships, which, on average, hold 200 crew and eighteen supply ships, which, on average, hold 150 crew. That is a total of approximately 5,100 crew in that fleet.

"We have the bodies of 385 of the Union Navy crew, plus the six prisoners. I would ask that the Landstradt consider a prisoner exchange to see if we can get some of the members of Fleet Sagittarius back. Many of the elder Houses of the Landstradt have family as crew in that fleet, including House Lindelle." Richard Bailay then sat down, his head bowed.

Lindelle was up without being acknowledged. "The crews of our fleet are aware of the risks they take when they ship out! That includes the possibility of capture, injury, and even death.

"The Union Navy attacked the Alliance and severely damaged our economy through its actions! We should not allow a prisoner exchange!" Lindelle shouted.