Part 6: Contact       Sterling's new quarters was a tad larger than his old one. One could say it was the only good thing that had happened to him in the past day or so. For Sterling, the extra room meant nothing. All he could think about was Nara. Lost in thought sitting on the end of his bed, his head in his hands, he barely noticed a knock at the door. Sterling mumbled something close to "Come in." and the door opened. Sue Worthington and Stan Remes walked into the room. "Hey big guy, we were in the neighborhood and decided to drop by." said Remes. Sterling looked up at them and forced a weak smile onto his face, "Please, sit down. How have you been?" "The same as always, trying to get by." said Sue. She let out a breath as she took a seat next to Sterling. "How are you doing?" "I have been better." said Sterling. "You look solid to me." noted Stan with a playful hit to the arm. "Physically I am fine." replied Sterling. "Can't get her out of your head, huh?" Sue shot Stan a scornful look. Stan shrugged his shoulders, "What?" Sterling smiled, for real. "It's okay. Stan is right, I can't stop thinking about what happened." "Maybe you should talk about it." suggested Sue. "I don't see how that will help, I know what happened, and in retrospect there was noting I could do about it." answered Sterling. "If you don't mind my asking," started Stan, "Since when do these guys cloak?" "I've given that some thought and examined the device Shanita's assailant had on her. It seems they adapted the pirate cloaking technology, but the have yet to make it as effective as the holofield. It draws too much power, therefore they can only stay cloaked for a limited amount of time." answered Sterling. "Is there anyway to detect them?" asked Sue. Sterling rubbed his hands together, "Not directly. However, this new cloaking system seems to be an addition to the holoprojection unit. We can detect that, and since they can't run the shield for that long..." "The rest of the time they will have to use the holounits and that's when we nail them." completed Stan. "Exactly" said Sterling. "Poor Shanita," mused Sue, "all she did was try to help us and look what happened to her. At least they left her alive." "There was a reason for that." stated Sterling. "And that was?" asked Remes. "She was to tell me they have Nara, he assumed that a message delivered from a beaten friend would cause me to take leave of my senses and go after him." explained Sterling. "Well that didn't work." said Stan. "It almost did." said Sterling dryly. "What stopped you?" asked Sue. "The mission, I have to put the billions of lives in this system first and that means we go to the meeting." Sterling got to his feet, "Let's go." * * *       "Does this hurt?" asked Dr. Martin. "A little." replied Shanita. Dr. Martin nodded his head, examined a few X-rays, and wrote on Shanita's chart. "Well, the good news is that you're in pretty good shape. Everything seems to be healing nicely and you should make a full recovery." "How long?" asked Shanita. "Your face is healed up except for a faint bruise, and your ribs are fine, its your arm and shoulder that's going to take awhile. Four of your right wrist bones were broken and there was a hole clean through the right shoulder. It will take several months for that to heal. If its any consolation, you will be discharged tomorrow. Though you will have to keep your right arm in a sling, you should have full mobility with your legs and left arm." explained Dr. Martin. "Thank you, Doctor." said Shanita. "No problem, now due try to get some rest." Dr. Martin patted her lightly on the left hand and left to continue his rounds. Shanita looked at the ceiling, she was bored. All she did for a day was lay around in a hospital bed, her forearm in a cast, dressed in nothing but a surgical gown. There wasn't even anyone to talk to. As if someone read her thoughts, another bed was wheeled into her room, by a couple of nurses. They fussed over its occupant for a few moments, and satisfied all was well, left the room. Shanita lifted her head up to see her new roommate. "Hallas? What are you still doing here?" she asked. "Good to see you too." replied Hallas. He was without his exoskeleton and therefore incapable of raising his own head. "Sorry, I just thought they had already let you go." said Shanita. "They did, but I requested treatment for something else, so here I am again." Shanita smiled, "They treated you for dark matter syndrome. Good for you, feel any different?" Hallas laughed lightly, "No. It is only now after the treatment, that I realize how foolish I was not to get it sooner." "Sometimes all one needs is the proper encouragement." Shanita pointed out. "I'm living proof of that." Shanita turned her head to see Kaz Takagi standing in the door way. "Hope I'm not interrupting, but I come bearing gifts." Kaz held some clothing under one arm and a pair of red boots in his right hand. He walked over to Shanita's bed and placed the clothes and boots under it. "I got you another uniform, try to make it last this time." Kaz said mockingly. "I will do my best." said Shanita with another smile. Kaz walked over to Hallas' bed, "So how are they treating you?" "The food is horrible, I didn't think they had food worse than R-rations on this ship. How's Able Squad?" asked Hallas. "We're doing okay. We still haven't gotten used to Lt.Burns being gone but we're dealing the best we can. I'm just trying to put it all out of my head. We got a mission coming up, a big one." answered Kaz. "When does this mission leave?" asked Hallas. "Oh," Kaz glanced around the room for a clock, "Five minutes!?!" Kaz jumped back from the bed and raced out the door yelling "I'mlateIgottagoseeyaguyslater!!!"       Kaz arrived in the hanger just as Torres was calling for a line up. Kaz quickly slipped into line next to Sterling. Sargent Torres walked the line and stopped in front of Kaz, "Cutting it a little close aren't you, Lt. Takagi?" "Sorry Sargent, I was visiting a sick friend." explained Kaz. "Just don't let it happen again." said Torres. She finished inspection and and reported to Commander Marsh. "Able Squad prepped and accounted for sir!" "Very Good Sargent." said J.T. "Alright people, you know the drill. We're on a mission of peace here, so no one fires unless fired upon. Sterling is our point man and negotiator, he's not in command but you'd better listen to him anyway as this is his turf. Any questions?" The hanger was silent. "Good, then lets frame up!" Able Squad got into their E-frames and lined up in a "V" formation in the hanger with Sterling's modified field Sargent E-frame at the apex. He took a moment to stare at Nara's E-frame as the hanger doors opened. J.T.'s voice came over the comm line, "It's time to save the solar system, Sterling. Lets go." Sterling took one last look at Nara's frame, "Sure, why not." * * *       Nara snapped back into consciousness and bolted upright in bed. She looked around her. She was in a room with no doors, the bed she was in only vaguely resembled one. It was circular, with no sheets or covers, or even pillows. It was an amorphous mass that seemed to conform to the person in it. It was very comfortable, but difficult to get out of, until Nara actually thought about getting out of it. As if in response to her thoughts, the 'bed' hardened into a disk allowing Nara to easily get off it. She noticed her uniform had been removed and replaced with long flowing robes of white. She wore white, sleek boots that remained mostly hidden by the robes. There was a white belt fastened about her waist and she was wearing white gloves. Her hair had been tied into an elaborate braid that she felt hanging down her back. "I feel like I'm getting married." said Nara to no one. To her left, a section of the wall shifted and began to open like the iris of an eye. An older eltorian stepped through the opening followed by two very large ones. She recognized one from the Resolute . "Ah, it seems you have finally awakened. I trust Darzurb and Rodar were not too rough with you." the older one spoke with a calm, warm voice. "Who are you?" asked Nara. "You do not remember. It must be that doctor's doing. I am Eliodon, your father." Nara shook her head, "My father was, was..." Nara stopped in mid-sentence. She had known what she wanted to say, but then it had slipped away from her. Eliodon walked to her and placed his hands gently on her shoulders, "I am your father. You volunteered to go to earth, to survey it. But then you crashed, I was very worried. A doctor on earth, a very evil being, preformed some experiments on you. He tried to make you forget who you are. But don't worry, we are undoing the damage." Nara rubbed her temple with her right hand, "No, that's not right. I'm Nara, Nara..." once again she stopped in mid-sentence, whatever that other word was, she had forgotten it. Eliodon gave her shoulders a comforting squeeze, "That is who they wanted you to think you were. Your real name is Jamia." Nara thought it over, it seemed to make perfect sense to her. There was just this nagging feeling in the back of her mind which suggested otherwise. "I guess, I mean...Jamia is my name?" Eliodon smiled broadly, "You see, you do remember. Here, look at yourself." Eliodon led her over to a reflective surface and Jamia saw her face for the first time. Her skin was purple, the entire surface of her eyes a deep black, and her hair was white. She stared with fascination at her image, it seemed familiar and normal to her and yet... Suddenly the image seemed to distort, her features became alien, her hair turned yellow. Jamia turned away from the 'mirror', rattled by the experience. "What is it my child?" asked Eliodon. Jamia stared at him a moment before answering, "I don't know. I think I saw something in the mirror that was not there, father." Eliodon smiled when heard the last word. "I'm sure all it means is that you need more rest. We will leave and allow you to relax." "Thank you, father." said Jamia. The others left the room and Jamia got back into bed. As she drifted off to sleep, she had the odd sensation that she had forgotten something but could not remember what. * * *       "Okay, these are the coordinates. So where is the welcome wagon?" asked J.T. "Contacts, a dozen or so coming our way." reported DeLeon calmly. "I see them" said Remes, activating his weapons systems as a squad of Elt-frames came into view. "Power down your weapons systems, everyone." ordered Sterling. "Are you sure Sterling?" asked J.T. "That's our welcome wagon. They will escort us to where we need to go." Sterling rocketed out in front of the squad. A moment later the rest of the squad fell into formation behind him. The 25 elt-frames broke formation and formed a line on either side of the squad. A voice same over the comm line, "Terran embassidor, we were assigned by your host to escort you to your meeting. Please follow us." They lead Able Squad to a small group of capital ships like those seen at Chaos and Mars. One had the same design as the others but was significantly larger. The escort lead them to this ship. A small opening in the side of the ship, towards the aft section, was where they landed. The escort squad lined up to either side of a doorway, they disengaged and retracted their armor and stood in silence. Sterling got out of his frame, the rest of Able Squad followed his lead. Sterling walked boldly toward the doorway. As he approached, it opened. Standing in the passageway beyond was an older Eltorian. He wore elaborate white robes and had long white hair. He also had a well trimmed, white beard. Sterling stopped in front of him, "I am Taqueza." He held out a gold ring between his fingers, "You have sent for me?" "Yes, I did." The older Eltorian reached out and took the ring from him. He put it on the ring finger of his right hand, "Greetings Taqueza, I am High Counselor Zairum and I bring you an offer of peace." * * *       Hallas steadied himself as he used his own arms to lift his body out of his wheel chair. He held himself upright between two parallel, horizontal bars. His feet touched the ground, he tried to make them work but could not. Exhausted by the effort, he slumped back into his wheel chair. Shanita watched from a short distance. She had positioned herself far enough away to be out of arms reach of Hallas, yet no too far if he needed assistance. She was wearing her new uniform, which was the same as the old, minus the blood stains and holes. Her right arm was in a sling. "Very good. It is amazing how far you have come in such a short time." commented Shanita. "I suspect Lt. Burns had something to do with that." replied Hallas. "You should still try once more." suggested Shanita. "I find myself lacking motivation for that." answered Hallas. "I could help you." offered Shanita. "I could think of a number of things you could help me with, but walking is not one of them." said Hallas with lopsided grin. Shanita walked toward him, "Sorry, the doctor said no stressful activity outside your therapy." Hallas raised an eyebrow, "It would be stressful then?" Shanita rested her hand on his, "Very stressful." Hallas quickly hoisted himself up for another try, "Now that, is motivation!" * * *       "If you bring peace then why attack us?" asked Sterling. "A wise question." said Zairum. "It has a complicated answer though." "You are here to negotiate a peace though, right?" asked J.T. Zairum looked at J.T., "Who is this being which addresses me?" "He is Commander J.T. Marsh, he means no offense. He did not know that the negotiations are to be conducted between the two of us alone, in accordance with Eltorian law." explained Sterling. "Very well, I will allow it this one time. In answer to your friend's question, I am here to offer peace. I offer an end to all hostilities, free trade between our peoples, and the opportunity to become allies with Eltoria." "At what price?" asked Sterling. Zairum nodded at Sterling and smiled, "Very good, you know the art of negotiation. However, I hate to disappoint you. There are no conditions save one, you must defeat the force which attacked you." explained Zairum. "How large is this force?" asked Sterling. "It consists of 45 ships and the accompanying number of troops." answered Zairum. "I need you to tell me why it must be this way." requested Sterling. "Fair enough. When the terrans discovered our relay station on Mars, the High Council was divided in how to deal with it. The memory of our last war weighed heavily upon us. We suffered many casualties, which you I am sure remember." Zairum patted Sterling on the shoulder, "Yes I remember that war well." "You should, it made your military career. But to return to my point, we eventually decided that we were content not to bother with this system and would let its inhabitants contact us in their own time. But one Counselor would not let the matter rest, he persuaded enough members of the Council that we needed to investigate this system. He was personally in charge of everything that has transpired by way of military action here. His name is Eliodon." explained Zairum. "Do you have any idea why he is doing this?" asked Sterling. "Of course," said Zairum, "and if my sources are at all correct, it is something relative to your recent past." "Jamia." blurted Kaz from behind Sterling. "I should be offended by your lack of respect for these proceedings, but I suppose I am just pleased that my sources were accurate." He looked at Kaz, "You are quite correct, Jamia was Eliodon's daughter. He was obsessed with finding her and that is the reason for the Eltorian Incursion into your system. He has become very unstable since she disappeared." "Unstable enough to think that Lt. Burns was his daughter?" asked Sterling. "Given his present state, he is capable of anything." answered Zairum. Kaz let a broad smile creep onto his face, he looked at J.T. and Rita expectantly. Rita and J.T. looked at each and shrugged their shoulders. "Who knew?" they said in unison. "So why must we defeat Eliodon, if you know he is mad, then stop him." pointed out Sterling. "It is not that simple, he holds great influence in the Council. The only way to be rid of him is to make him look the fool." explained Zairum. "And there is no better way to look foolish than be defeated by terrans?" offered Sterling. "While I would not have put it so crudely, you are none the less correct. Eliodon has painted the terrans as a hapless bunch that are not worthy of our allegiance. If you defeat his forces, you will prove him wrong." stated Zairum. "But we still have to defeat the whole fleet." said J.T., this time to Sterling. Zairum seemed pleased that he was conforming to the rules of the proceedings. "Not necessarily, we need only defeat Eliodon himself. That means we hold off the rest of his fleet until we find a way to destroy him and his flagship." Zairum nodded in approval at Sterling's suggestion. "An excellent plan, I will monitor the battle from a safe distance. Once Eliodon has been eliminated, I will assume control of his fleet and order a retreat. That should provide the leverage I need to convince the High Council to open peaceful negotiations with the terrans. I take it then out negotiations are concluded." Zairum held his forearm out in front of him, the back of his hand facing Sterling. Sterling did the same and brought the back of his hand against Zairum's. The eltorian equivalent of a handshake. Zairum placed a hand on Sterling's shoulder, "I wish to talk to you, in private." Sterling nodded, told J.T. what was happening, and followed Zairum out of the room. * * *       Jamia stared at her reflection in the mirror. She had spent the last few kiplins (1 kiplin = 1.5 hours) trying to remember how to speak eltorian. Frustrated, she gave up and sat staring at her reflection. Behind her was Darzurb, he had been watching over her the whole time. '(Darzurb, is not the flower good in deep space?)' Darzurb did his best not to laugh. "That was very bad, wasn't it?" asked Jamia. "Yes, it was. But if you continue to try to remember, it will come to you." answered Darzurb. "It is just so hard to concentrate, it is like I am unable to focus." mused Jamia. "With all due respect, you have been through considerable trauma. You can not expect to regain all that you have lost in so short a time." explained Darzurb. Jamia signed and tugged at a strand of her hair. She studied her face, "Am I attractive for an Eltorian?" Darzurb was not quite sure what to say at first, "I, well, yes, I believe that you are quite attractive." Jamia smiled at Darzurb and went over to a console. She began to press a few buttons, "I cannot remember exactly how to work this, could you show me?" Darzurb bowed slightly, "It would be my pleasure." * * *       "What do you want of me." asked Sterling. "Nothing more than to meet you, really." said Zairum, "You go by your mother's name, Sterling?" "Yes, I do." answered Sterling. "Why have you taken such an interest in me?" asked Sterling. "Because of who you are, what you are." answered Zairum. "And what am I?" asked Sterling. "Living proof that terrans and eltorians can accomplish more together than apart. You are part of our future, and it will be glorious, provided that both races work to achieve it." Zairum's eyes were wide with the possibilities he saw. "You are a dreamer." stated Sterling. "And why not be, everything starts as one." Zairum's eyes narrowed slightly, "I've always kept a close eye on you, Sterling. It was just something about you that told me you were bound for greatness." "I just do what I have to." commented Sterling. "That you do. Tell me, this Lt. Burns. Is she important to you?" asked Zairum. "Yes, why?" asked Sterling. "Curiosity, have you told her your other name?" asked Zairum. "She knows of my eltorian name." answered Sterling. Zairum waved him off, "No, no, your other human name." "No, I have had no reason to." said Sterling. "I see, you do not 'have to' yet." offered Zairum. "What are you trying to say?" asked Sterling. "I am saying you always do what you have to, the situation dictates how you act but never the reverse. You need to start showing some more initiative." stated Zairum. "I have handled myself with initiative in the past." said Sterling slightly offended. "I am not talking about your military record. I am talking about your power." explained Zairum. "I have mastered my power." said Sterling. "Have you? Tell me something, when Rodar was beating you to death in your own home with the terrans, what was your one thought?" asked Zairum. "To survive." said Sterling. Zairum rushed forward and stood face to face with Sterling, "You are lying. Think back, you were beaten, lying at his feet, what were you thinking?" Zairum demanded. "How do you know of this?" asked Sterling. "I have spies within Eliodon's fleet, now answer the question!" Zairum was growing more hostile. "I was, I thought..." muttered Sterling. "Say it!" screamed Zairum. "I was afraid to use my power!" yelled Sterling. Zairum quieted down and smiled, "I knew it. That is your flaw, Sterling. You are afraid of what you are. Whether it be because you could hurt those around you or fear of hurting yourself, you are afraid of what you are. That is why you have not lived up to your potential. You are capable of much more, Sterling, and you will need to develop that potential to survive the coming conflict. Do not fear what you are, embrace it." Zairum walked from the room and Sterling followed. They said nothing as they returned to the hanger. Sterling got into his E-frame and left the ship with Able Squad. They had much to tell ExoFleet when they returned. But the only thing on Sterling's mind was Zairum's words. They haunted him all the way back to the Resolute. * * *       "What is Able Squad's status?" asked Winfield. "They just landed. I'll have Sterling and Marsh report for immediate debriefing." answered Jamison. The bridge of the Resolute was relatively quiet. As the last of Able Squad came in for an landing, a number of alarms sounded. Winfield turned to Jamison, "What's happening?" "Long range sensors have picked something up. We are receiving conformation from the fleet and Chaos of the emergence of over 30 eltorian capital ships from deep space. They are headed right for us." reported Jamison. "How long till the reach us?" asked Winfield. "Four of five hours at the most." answered Jamison. "Bring the fleet to alert status. Keep an eye on things and alert me if anything changes." ordered Winfield as he started to leave the bridge. "As ordered sir, but where are you going Admiral?" asked Jamison. "To find out what we're up against." On to Part 7