Xenophobia - Chapter 20

    The room sat in extended silence. A number of the other ambassadors exchanged confused and concerned glances. The old judge seemed oblivious, or at the very least as if he was ignoring the obvious surprise his comment had rendered.
    "I don't understand." Ugul finally said slowly. "Why would we be worried about the Guillae?"
    "Why wouldn't we be?" retorted the old judge as if he were educating a child; just a hint of condescension. "It's good to know and understand any rogue element within the stars."
    "This council is meant to monitor and review information on the humans." Darrian said shortly.
    "You're not wrong." the old judge agreed.
    "Then, to reiterate Ugul's point." said A'alan't 32. "Why would we be concerned about the Guillae?"
    "The Guillae are a rogue element." the old judge responded in that same condescending tone. "We need to understand them in the rare instance that we ever have to encounter them again."
    "But this is about-" started Ugul again before being cut off by the old judge.
    "The humans. I know." the old judge snapped.
    Ugul looked shocked having been cut off by the old judge, as did a few others. He wasn't some child. He was an ambassador of the Jigger species. He wasn't the smartest or most outspoken of the council, but he was hardly out of line to question the old judge on this apparently unspoken motivation.
    "Then why aren't we more concerned about the humans?" demanded Ferris.
    "The humans are dead." the old judge stated with a level of cold detachment Darrian could only imagine was possible for a robot. "We need to use the time we have to learn what we can."
    "They're not dead-!" Ugul started to bellow.
    "They're dead. The Tulgucks have already entered the galaxy. The Gorderians haven't even mobilized yet and there's nothing the humans have in their arsenal that will stop them."
    "There has to be something." muttered Ugul in distress.
    "They DO have nuclear capabilities." offered Ferris.
    "Capabilities pointed at each other and low in yield." he retorted flatly before adding, "It doesn't matter."
    "Then why are we bothering?" demanded Darrian. "Why are we sitting here discussing politics about a species that you've already decided is dead before they even take the hit?"
    "Because, again, we can learn more about the Guillae and how they interact with an oxygen-based, high water life form."
    Darrian could feel the questions swimming, but didn't voice them. Why? Why do we care? Why does it matter? What good does it do?
    "It's clear that we cannot progress any further today." the old judge said with cold sternness. "We can reconvene at a later time. You're all dismissed."
    Darrian looked around the table but none of the judges moved. Even Cagool, who had finally stopped shaking from his exchange with Jin'thun earlier, sat in silence.
    The old judge glowered at them.
    "Ambassadors." he said with a mechanical sigh. "If this really bothers you all so deeply, I'll explain further."
    "Please do." responded A'alan't 32 matching his own low, stern tone.
    "Fine. I'm going to offer a guess: when I first mentioned the Guillae some cycles back, what was the first thing you after the initial meeting? I presume you went and tried to investigate them, did you not?"
    There were a few assorted nods and muttered agreements.
    "And what did you find?"
    There was silence. Darrian knew that he personally hadn't found anything in the Consortium databases, but that A'alan't 32 and the Bivvie databases had been chock full of information on the Guillae. They locked eyes, but it wasn't A'alan't 32 who spoke up.
    "Nothing." offered Cagool.
    "I didn't find anything either." said Ferris.
    "Me either." agreed Ugul.
    "We don't know anything about the Guillae." said the old judge flatly. "In the short time the Consortium and the Guillae interacted, we never had a peaceful interaction short of the strained meetings that led to the Guillae and Consortium agreeing to stay out of each others' way."
    "We need to learn as much as we can so we can add it to the limited cache we know about them. They've always seemed to be an extremely hostile species that is simply bent on taking over any water based planet that they can land a spore on. It's almost as if they're driven by a hunger that we don't rightly understand."
    Darrian looked across the table to A'alan't 32 for confirmation of what she'd told him before and stared in shock. The Bivvie, who's transparent, seemingly holographic body always flickered between so many emotions and ages, seemed almost stable. The differences were minor at best. Almost solid. And all of them showed a glare of anger at the old judge.
    For just a brief moment, A'alan't 32 glanced in Darrian's direction, perhaps sensing that he had been staring at her for too long. Without a word, she simply shaked her head.
    "Now. That is all." the old judge said finally. "Take the rest of the cycle off. I will see you on the next."
    The other ambassadors got up with little murmurs and mutters, but no one said anything against the old judge. Darrian didn't know what to feel. He trusted A'alan't 32's information and the data gathered by the Bivvie, but he couldn't understand what was happening. Did the Consortium really not have access to any of the information on the Guillae, leading them to believe this was some conquering race? Or were they intentionally misleading the species of the Consortium?
    As Darrian sat there trying to understand his own thoughts, he watched A'alan't 32 storm out of the conference room. For the first time ever, her shape appeared to be almost solid.

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Xenophobia - Chapter 18 (Rewrite!)

    The council sat in eerie silence, watching the image on the hologram. Before them was an operating table with the body of a Guillae sprawled out atop it. Its torso had been opened up and tools were scattered all around it.
    Despite being mid autopsy, no one could be seen attending to the body.
    "What do you think is happening?" asked Ferris quietly.
    Darrian glanced over at him, shook his head, and gave a non-committal shrug before returning his attention to the nearly still image. If it weren't for the blinking lights of a nearby computer console, he'd have thought that the holographic imager had frozen.
    When the Guillae had been taken to the laboratory, the analytics team had acted with surprising fervor. Through some skillful infiltration of the humans' technology, the team had managed to gain control of a camera on one of the personal computers within the lab. All before the first incision had been made.
    It had been very risky, but none of the humans had noticed. They were too preoccupied with the discovery of life outside of their own.
    At first, the lab had been a hive of activity. At least four humans in full protective gear were seen working on the body at any given time. Another dozen could be seen behind the protective interference of a viewfinder that overlooked the operating table. For hours, the council watched and waited.
    The human scientists worked diligently. They slowly began to dissect the long dead Guillae which, to Darrian's surprise, was incredibly well preserved. His guess was that it probably related to the atmosphere of Mars.
    Piece by piece, they would make an incision and investigate what they found. Countless samples were removed. Notes were taken vocally to the computer system as well as by two other humans, one inside and one outside of the lab. They had catalogued at least a hundred or so samples when they found what the council had been waiting for.
    Darrian knew it was a learned behavior, but it didn't make it anymore shocked when he heard the old judge gasp.
    The main scientist slowly and smoothly drew out a long, podlike object from the body of the dead Guillae. It was about a meter long and a half meter wide and reminded him of the samples of "Soy Beans" that the analytics team had sent them from Earth. One of the humans made the same observation but qualified it as being "fuckin' huge". Some of the humans laughed while others chastised him.
    Slowly, carefully, one of the scientists took the pod away somewhere off camera. Darrian could hear a door open and close. A moment later, there was a shout from that same direction and all of the humans looked up. Some of them looked confused, others scared at what they saw. Very quickly, all of them disappeared off screen. All of them running towards where the pod had been taken.
    That had been at least an hour ago.
    The council waited patiently for something to change. They had heard nothing except a clatter of metal about twenty minutes before. Except for that and the blinking lights, the image was seemingly static.
    It would seem that Harris felt the same way.
    As if on cue, the image of the laboratory and the dead Guillae dissolved. It was replaced by Harris' form. To everyone's surprise, he was lounging with the face plate to his robotic exosuit wide open. He looked utterly exhausted.
    "I don't think there's much more to see." he said to the old judge.
    "I agree. Update us when you have more, Captain."
    Harris gave a nod but said nothing else. They could seem him enter a sequence on his control panel before the holographic image disappeared entirely.
    The table sat in silence for another several minutes, digesting what they had seen and what might be happening. No one knew what to say. While they hadn't seen anything "bad" per say, the last images they'd seen of the humans left an uneasy feeling in their guts. Darrian's discussion with A'alan't 32 and the old judge still rang fresh in his mind.
    This could be an exciting learning opportunity. he remembered again for the thousandth time.
    "Well..." said the old judge with a mechanical sigh. "I don't believe there is anything else that we can cover today. If you would, I would like to reconvene-"
    The door of the meeting room slid open as the old judge tried to wrap up the meeting. Many of them didn't bother looking up. They were frankly too tired. It wasn't until the old judge stopped what he was staying and stared at the person who had walked in that Darrian glanced over.
    Jin'thun.
    The heavy set, furry Gorderian made his way towards his spot at the council table. The exhaustion and fear in the room quickly gave way to shock and awe as everyone turned their attention to the long-missing ambassador.
    For a moment, no one said anything. And then, everyone started speaking at once.
    "What did they say?" demanded Ferris.
    "They s-"
    "Where have you been?!" asked Ugul.
    "If you-"
    "What took you so long?" chided A'alan't 32.
    "It was-"
    "Are they going to-" Darrian begin to ask when the old judge bellowed over all of them.
    "ENOUGH!"
    The table fell silent as Jin'thun, looking quite ruffled and annoyed, straightened himself out. The old judge smiled softly.
    "I see you've returned." the old judge said quietly. "It's good to have you back."
    "Thank y-"
    "Yea. Took you long enough." grumbled Cagool.
    Jin'thun jumped from his place and let out a bellowing, threatening roar right in Cagool's face. The slimy little Yool squeaked and looked as if he was attempting to crawl inside himself to get away from the Gorderian's ferocity. He was still quivering when Jin'thun settled back down.
    "Thank you, judge." he finally said, giving everyone a threatening look as he did; as if daring them to try his patience further.
    "Now," he continued, "I come with the results of your plea to my government."
    "And what have the Gorderians decided, Jin'thun?" asked the old judge.
    Jin'thun threw Cagool one more threatening glance, however the Yool was still shaking from his last misstep.
    "The Gorderians will be sending aid to the humans."
    The room let out a collective sigh and Darrian could even hear Ferris let out a quiet "Yes!" under his breath. Everyone looked relieved.
    "That's wonderful, Jin'thun. Your government has our sincerest gratitude."
    "Yes, of c-"
    A loud beeping filled the room as the old judge's datapad began to flash. A priority one message.
    Quickly, he tapped the message and the holographic imager once more glew with life. Harris could be seen once again but this time he looked a great deal more frazzled then before.
    "Harris?" the old judge asked. "What is it?"
    "The Tulgucks." Harris said with barely contained panic. "The Tulgucks are here! They've entered the solar system!"

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(Hello Lovelies. I do hope that you enjoyed the re-write of Chapter 18. As I mentioned before, I have no intent of making this a regular habit (with the exception of when I do my official editing for the book release) but I felt Chapter 18 was a special exception. I hope you are all doing well and enjoyed the slight alteration compared to the first time it came out.)

Xenophobia - Chapter 18

    "What do you think is happening?" asked Ferris.
    Darrian looked over at him and shrugged before returning his gaze to the hologram over the conference table. Before him floated the image of the long dead Guillae that lay quietly on a cold metal operating table.
    Through some skillful infiltration of the humans' technology, the analytics' team had managed to gain control of a camera on one of the personal computers within the laboratory environment. It had been risky, but none of the humans had noticed. They were too preoccupied with their discovery.
    At first, the laboratory the humans brought the Guillae to had been a hive of activity. At least a dozen humans could be seen milling about at any given time while four others operated carefully on the body. For hours, the council watched as the human scientists dissected, examined, and catalogued the specimen carefully.
    Finally, the main scientist extracted a long slender object from the Guillae that Darrian felt positive was a seed pod based on its appearance. The scientist had fled in excitement somewhere off camera. He was just as quickly followed by everyone else in the surgical theater.
    That had been over an hour ago.
    The council waited patiently. Watching. They listened for any sounds or watched for any movement, but nothing came.
    As time passed, Darrian felt more uneasy. What was happening behind closed doors? While the analytics team had been good, there were inherent risks to infiltrating the human systems and it was even more dangerous to try and hop around until they found anything. They simply couldn't risk looking around further.
    It would seem that Harris felt the same.
    As if on cue, the image of the laboratory blanked out in favor of Harris' form. He was lounging with the face plate of his robotic exosuit wide open and looked exhausted.
    "Update us when you have more, Captain." said the old judge placidly.
    "Of course." groaned Harris, who entered a sequence on his control panel before the image disappeared completely.
    It was hardly proper protocol, but Darrian didn't feel like he could blame Harris. He looked like Darrian felt at this point.
    The table sat in silence for several minutes. No one knew what to say. While they certainly hadn't seen anything bad, they had all been left with an uneasy feeling about what was happening on Mars. It didn't help that they'd been in the meeting far longer than intended.
    "Well..." said the old judge with a mechanical sigh. "I don't believe there is anything else we can cover today-"
    The door of the meeting room slid open, grabbing the attention of some of the over-tired councilors. They looked over with dreary interest until they saw who it was.
    Jin'thun.
    Darrian sat straight up and many of the councilors looked at him agape with awe.
    "I see you've returned." said the old judge, nonplussed.
    A wave of annoyance passed over the Gorderian ambassador's features, but he quickly made his way towards his place at the table. All at once, the table exploded in a buzz of questions and excitement.
    "I have-" started Jin'thun.
    "What did they say?" demanded Ferris.
    "If you-"
    "Where have you been?!" asked Ugul.
    "Look-"
    "Enough!" snapped the old judge, bellowing over the noise.
    The table fell silent except for Jin'thun who sat there, his eyes closed and a deep guttural growl emanating from his throat.
    "Thank y-"
    "Took you long enough." grumbled Cagool incredulous.
    Jin'thun let forth a bellowing roar in Cagool's face and jumped from his seat. Many of the other councilors recoiled and Darrian felt surprised that the Gorderian hadn't taken a swing at the Yool right there.
    "Now." growled Jin'thun, looking around the table as if daring someone else to interrupt him. "I come with the results of your plea."
    "And what has the Gorderian government decided upon, Jin'thun?"
    The ambassador eyed Cagool menacingly but the Yool simply shuddered where he sat.
    "We will be sending aid to the humans."

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Xenophobia - Chapter 14

    After the last meeting, Darrian noticed that the cycles began to pass at a sluggish pace. At first, he couldn't wait to get to the meeting room. That was, until he noticed that Jin'thun was missing. Unlike before with Juag-e, the old Judge said nothing about the Gorderian's absence.
    That meeting dragged on like nothing else.
    The next meeting wasn't any better. No Jin'thun. No word of whether they had rallied support or the Gorderians had gone to the Tulgucks aid.
    It was like this for a dozen cycles.
    During this time, the humans were already making immense progress with their colonization of Mars. The colony ships from both China and the United States had arrived safe and sound and had quickly begun the process of creating life-support habitats for the colonists. Once they finished their construction, the humans immediately sank their time into agricultural and scientific endeavors.
    One thing that struck the council as odd was the fact that the humans from the two ships remained separated and seemed to make no attempt to actively interact with each other. Despite their only difference being geographical location on Earth, their groups remained separated aside for occasionally checking that the other was alive and well.
    Darrian thought he'd never understand how humans disregarded their own species so much.
    The humans' presence on Mars created a number of unique problems for the analytics team as well. Unlike on Earth with it's rather massive population, a lone individual or group of individuals stuck out compared to the general populace of Mars. It wasn't a matter of simply slapping on a holographic imager and walking into the crowd. Every human knew every other human and they couldn't simply walk into a mess hall as an unknown.
    But Harris's team was talented.
    Utilizing a combination of technological infiltration and carefully hidden listening and viewing devices, a small group of the analytics team was able to monitor the humans as they progressed into their colonization. It proved challenging keeping their craft hidden, sometimes in orbit and sometimes on the surface, and it was not nearly as informative but they made it work.

    "I just don't get why they don't really interact with each other." grumbled Ugul.
    "Hmm. Do you think it could be the whole 'language barrier' thing that Harris had mentioned before?" said Cagool snidely.
    Darrian couldn't help but feel that the Yool had become absolutely insufferable as of late. While he had actively denied any interaction or affiliation with the Tulgucks or Gorderians, his mood swing seemed too conveniently timed. Ever since Jin'thun's disappearance, he couldn't seem to keep his condescension to himself. Maybe he just liked being the contrarian.
    "Many of the colonists speak each others regional linguistics, Cagool." groaned A'alan't 32.
    "Well, maybe this is a new batch. Who knows? With how short lived they are, maybe they had to reproduce on the ship before the original batch died of old age. Did we think to check?"
    "Would you just shut up?" snapped Ferris in an unusually bad mood.
    Maybe he was just used to being the sarcastic one or maybe Cagool was just getting under his skin. Either way, Ferris had more venom then normal.
    "I feel like you haven't had anything useful to add to these meetings in a while." Ferris added quickly.
    "What's there to add?" asked Cagool. "We're basically just watching a virus grow in a petri dish while we wait for the doctor to come and destroy it."
    "Cagool." warned the old judge.
    "What?" he said as he looked around the table. "You might not like it, but facts are facts. The Tulgucks are on their way right now to wipe them off the map."
    The old judge glowered at him and a few of the other councilors looked uncomfortable.
    "Even if the Gorderians decide to try and stop them, which they probably won't, the Tulgucks have good headway. I'd give it another few cycles before for the first warships show up and then we can start doing something better with our time."
    "Cagool. Are you suggesting that this is a waste of time and that we should be supporting the Tulgucks in their vicious slaughter of a young species?" demanded the old judge.
    "Hey. I didn't say it. You did."
    Darrian could feel his throat tightening and was about to say something when the light on the holographic imager started flashing.
    The old judge reached down and hit a button on his datapad and Harris, not in his human disguise but instead his proper Merrenian form, appeared above the table.
    "Harris?" asked the old judge. "Is something wrong? You have this labeled as a priority one message."
    "I bet the warships just showed up." muttered Cagool quietly.
    "Would you just..." growled Ferris.
    "Shut it!" snapped the old judge. "Harris?"
    Harris adjusted himself and cleared his throat.
    "Yes. Well... I'm not sure how to put this. As you are aware, the humans begin their scientific research on the surface of Mars. Some of that research includes extensive digging. Archaeologic searches and the like..." his tone was hollow and he looked nervous.
    The room fell quiet. Even Cagool didn't have something snide to add.
    "What did they find, Captain?" asked the old judge with hesitation in his voice.
    Harris seemed to look around the room as if he was considering what or how to say whatever it was needed saying. After a moment, he sighed heavily and looked back to the old judge with a stern expression.
    "The humans have found a Guillae, sir."

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Xenophobia - Chapter 13

    The awkward silence drew out for several long moments. The majority of the Consortium stared at Jin'thun and the other two Gorderian representatives as if they might spontaneously combust. They stared right back.
    "What?" Jin'thun finally growled, his expression unable to hide his annoyance at being the sudden center of attention.
    "W-w-well... It's just..." stuttered Cherryl.
    Jin'thun locked eyes with her. Despite the fact Darrian didn't think he was actually trying to be intimidating, Cherryl let out a little squeak and stopped talking.
    "It's just...with the way things are happening..." Illiquina tried to continue for her.
    "Where do your allegiances lie, Jin'thun?" asked the old judge, clearly growing annoyed with the Consortium's attempt at tact.
    The Gorderian glowered at the robot and Darrian felt his throat tightening with fear that they had been right. But, as they watched, Jin'thun's expression softened and he sighed heavily.
    "What do you mean by that?" inquired Jin'thun with the softest tone Darrian had ever heard from the ambassador.
    "Will you, and by extent the Gorderians, be joining the Tulgucks in the slaughter of the human species?"
    The room grew incredibly still as everyone waited on bated breath for his response. At the same time, Jin'thun seemed to return the glances, silently weighing his options.
    "I don't know." he finally stated.
    "Well, that's better than a yes..." whispered Ferris.
    "Is it?" asked Jin'thun. "I simply recognize that it's not my place to make a decision that would slaughter an entire species. Or condemn my own to exile from Consortium."
    "Unlike some." grumbled A'alan't 32.
    "You're not wrong." agreed Jin'thun begrudgingly.
    "So you're considering it then?" asked Darrian.
    "I'm considering all of my options, Merrenian."
    "The humans are monstrous. Terrifying." stated Ugul. "But you can't just kill them all."
    "Again." Jin'thun said with just a hint of anger. "It's not my place to decide. After this meeting, I will contact my homeworld and we will discuss the implications of all possible actions."
    "As it is, I can't deny the possible threat that the humans present." he continued. "But, it's hard to deny that the more we have watched them, the more promise I've seen from the oxygen breathers."
    "May I suggest something then?" asked the old judge.
    Jin'thun looked at the robot expectantly.
    "You say you would like to discuss all possible options?" the old judge continued.
    "Yes..." Jin'thun responded with a questioning look.
    "What might those options be?"
    Baffled whispers could be heard around the table. Many of the ambassadors looked just as surprised and confused by the question as Darrian was.
    "Is this some kind of a trick?" asked Jin'thun with a threatening growl.
    "No trick." said the old judge. "I simply want to know what you consider as options."
    Jin'thun watched the old judge carefully, seemingly still not sure what the robot was getting at. Finally he answered.
    "We will discuss whether we should join the Tulgucks in their attack on the human population, and thereby lose our standing with the Consortium, or if we shall remain neutral."
    "May I suggest a third option then?" asked the old judge.
    "You may..."
    "It's well known that the Gorderians and the Tulgucks are the only two species within the Consortium that maintain a regular Armada force. You're both young, new to the Consortium, and clinging to your old ways."
    Darrian noticed several of the ambassadors quietly agreeing.
    "As a general policy, the Consortium maintains a regular species-based security force to help maintain order within respective planets. But, as you likely know, those forces are little to nothing compared to the might of either the Tulguck or the Gorderian armadas."
    "While this might be considered an oversight, it is quite rare that we ever need such a force. It's even more rare that such an event might come from one of our own."
    "Where are you going with this?" asked Jin'thun thoughtfully.
    "Jin'thun. Your species is the only other member of the Consortium with a military force that might be able to stop the Tulgucks from committing a horrible atrocity. Will you ask your homeworld to about utilizing your armada in aid of the humans?"
    The Gorderians looked just as surprised as the rest of the ambassadors. None of them would have ever considered suggesting Consortium races wage war on each other. Or, if the thought crossed their minds, it would have been gone just as quickly and certainly never said out loud.
    "Are you serious?" asked Jin'thun quietly.
    "As serious as an impending genocide." the old judge answered back, seemingly nonplussed.
    "Defend the humans?" Jin'thun growled and then repeated. "Defend the humans...?"
    "Yes." the old judge agreed.
    The Gorderian furrowed and glared at the robot. His fur bristled and claws dug deeply into the table. Darrian felt himself tensing as he waited for the impending explosion.
    But it never came.
    Instead, once more, Jin'thun let out a heavy sigh and stood.
    "Will you consider this third option?" asked the old judge again.
    "I will." agreed Jin'thun to the Consortium's surprise. "I make no promises. But I will present the proposition to my homeworld."
    "We will have a great deal to talk about." he said as he made his way towards the meeting room door.
    The room was silent as he went. Just as he reached the door, the old judge spoke once more.
    "Thank you." he said softly.
    "Don't thank me yet, robot." Jin'thun said. "And judge?"
    "Yes?"
    "You do know that, even if we were to respond, the Tulguck Armada has already mobilized. The humans may already be dead by the time we could even reach their solar system."
    "Then I hope the Gorderians will be willing to take such a risk."
    Jin'thun stared quietly at the old judge for a long time before finally closing the door behind him.

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Xenophobia - Chapter 8

    “What can we do?” asked Ugul with a look of some distress.

    Before the judge had a chance to answer, Darrian cut in.

    “More to the point, should we do anything about it at all?” he inquired, looking from face to face at the table.

    “What do you mean by that?” shot back Juag-e.

    “Well, the Consortium voted on quarantine. Unless I misunderstood the meaning of the word, doesn’t that mean we shouldn’t be interacting with them ever?”

    “He’s right.” Added Ferris quickly. “I thought that’s the whole reason for the analytics team. To keep an eye on them but not interfere.”

    Juag-e was actively bristling but didn’t say anything in response. However he didn’t need to. Jin’thun, the Gorderian at his side who had been silent for the entire meeting, snapped back at Ferris.

    “We were keeping an eye on them because we don’t know what those oxygen-breathers will do if they achieve deep space flight.” Growled Jin’thun.

    “You’re completely correct.” agreed the old judge with a small nod. “But to Ferris’s point, that does not necessarily require our intervention.”

    “How can you say that?!” barked Juag-e. “How can you really expect we should just sit here and do nothing?!”

    There was no response. Not right away. Darrian was conflicted. On the one hand, quarantine meant letting them be and if they presented an active threat to the galactic community revisiting the topic with the Consortium. On the other, he couldn’t argue that the idea of the humans achieving interplanetary travel was disconcerting.

    Still…

    “This isn’t a war-room.” A’alan’t 32 stated with a quiet fierceness.

    Juag-e and Jin’thun both looked like they were going to explode at their fellow counselor when the old judge snapped.

    “ENOUGH!” he bellowed.

    “When I asked what we were going to do about them,” he stated in a low tone, “I clearly need to define what the purpose of these analytics review meetings will entail.”

    “As has been made abundantly clear, this species is quarantined. That means there will be no interaction with them from any Consortium species,” he continued, throwing a threateningly glance towards Juag-e and Jin’thun. “With the exception of the analytics team. Instead, your purpose will be to review any priority message to determine whether it readily presents a danger to the galactic community.”

    “If it does, we need to gather the information and present it to the Consortium. If it does not, than we will not interfere. Or have you forgotten the briefing you were given when you were granted this position?”

    For a few moments, no one dared do anything more than glance at each other. Most of the counselors looked surprised and maybe even a little embarrassed. Darrian certainly felt ashamed to have had the old judge snap so harshly. Cagool, Juag-e, and Jin’thun, however, all wore similar expressions of annoyance and distaste.

    “Fine.” Growled Jin’thun finally. “Then what do you want from us?”

    “I want you to do your jobs.” Responded the old judge with a cold tone. “You will review all of the analytics data that has been forwarded to us from team on Earth and determine if this mission to Mars is any potential threat to the galactic community.”

    A moment later, a number of files appeared on Darrian’s datapad.

    “Review. Discuss. Decide.” Said the old judge. “And unless they are threat, maintain the quarantine.”

   Darrian and a few of the other counselors started opening their respective files and queuing up data. Illiquina was already in the process of throwing up a recording of the human’s reusable rocket tests for the Mars excursions.

    “It’s not like we’d have time to do anything anyway.” Grumbled Cagool a little too loudly. “Three to six cycles…”

    “Good thing that’s not your problem.” Responded Ferris snidely.

    A few dirty glances were exchanged, but luckily it ended there. The next while was spent pouring over the data that the analytics team had sent them. Everything from technologic assets and likelihood of success to obvious motivations for the Mars missions and what humans might do while they were there.

    In the end, despite three counselors arguing vehemently against it, it was concluded that the humans’ trip to their neighboring planet was no threat.

    By the next cycle, warnings were sent through deep space channels to warn away any and all crafts or individuals that might be in the vicinity of Mars or in the path from Mars to Earth. By the time the Mars missions were gone, even exploratory science teams were light-rotations away.

    The council could rest easy that the humans would not encounter anyone in their travels.

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