Xenophobia - Chapter 27

    The others glanced around at each other, not sure what to say. Illiquina watched them with an excited look that quickly dwindled.
    A moment of silence later, she buried her face back in her datapad and started pounding away.
    "I'm not sure I understand." Darrian said thoughtfully, the first one to speak again."So whoever it was that changed the info in the archives...they forgot to remove the information on the old judge's brothers?"
    "In essence." Illiquina responded with a mischievous smile, still typing furiously.
    "Wow." Ferris said stupidly.
    "Yep!" she said gleefully.
    "That seems like a huge oversight." Ferris continued.
    "Yes and no." Illiquina remarked.
    Ferris and Darrian traded confused glances.
    "What do you mean by that?" Darrian asked.
    Illiquina didn't respond.
    The silence grew louder, intensified by the incessant tapping.
    "Illiquina?" A'alan't 32 finally interjected.
    "Mmm?"
    "What do you mean?" A'alan't 32 repeated.
    "Well..." she said looking up. "whoever came through and changed the information on the judge did alter the information on the judge's brothers."
    Ferris let out a sharp, annoyed groan.
    "Then how is it any better than the judge's entry?" Ferris demanded.
    "Because they only deleted the info." she responded with a joyous grin.
    Again, they found themselves just staring at the little Cadrax.
    "How is that any different?" Ferris asked. "Or useful?"
    Illiquina's face darkened.
    "Actually, it's very useful." She quickly spat. "The judge's article was deleted and altered. His brothers only had specific segments removed and nothing else."
    "Or redacted, if you will." she added as an after thought.
    "How is that-" Ferris began.
    "Oh for the love of-! You really don't understand how your archive servers store information, do you?" she spat.
    "Illiquina." A'alan't 32 interjected once more with a warning in her tone.
    "Oh fine!"
    "Treat us as if we know nothing." Ferris quipped.
    "Like that would be hard." she snapped.
    Illiquina straightened herself up and took a deep breath, setting the datapad to the side for a moment.
    "Look: the archives are meant to store information." Illiquina started. "Meaning that, unless it has a good reason to, it doesn't simply purge information."
    "Information like 'old records', perhaps?" A'alan't 32 offered.
    "Precisely."
    "So you're saying that deleting something isn't a good enough reason to purge it from the archives?" Darrian asked, sounding utterly confused.
    "No! With multi-thread archiving, deleting something is just the beginning!" she said more excited than annoyed now. "If anything it's really just a hindrance."
    "I don't get it." Darrian said.
    "Me either." added Ferris.
    Illiquina stared at them with a look of complete derision.
    "Like I said: me know nothing." Ferris quickly shot out.
    Illiquina groaned under her breath.
    "Deleting is just the first level of the multi-thread purge in these systems. It removes the information from being readily displayed but it doesn't actually get rid of it. Unless the actual articles were altered...changed to reflect new information...none of the information in the stored backups is going to change."
    "In short," she continued. "If I can dig into the backup servers, I can pull out all of the information about our judge's dear old brothers."
    Darrian stared at the little Cadrax in awe. She was small and unassuming but she very well might be the most impressive one of the group.
    "Tha-that's incredible." stammered Darrian.
    "Damn straight."
    "What do you need from us?" asked A'alan't 32.
    "Absolutely nothing." she retorted. "Unless you know how to manually bypass 768 bit encryption or know how to plant a worm that will bypass security and draw out their database backups without triggering something?"
    "Do what now?"
    "That's what I thought." she said, scooping up her datapad.
    "How long should it take?" asked Darrian.
    "A while." Illiquina offered. "It might be worth heading home at this point. I'm going to keep working and let you know when I've made some headway. Very well might be a cycle."
    "Good luck." Ferris offered.
    Illiquina snorted and disappeared out into the hall.
        And with nothing better to do, the group said their goodbyes and made their way to their respective homes. That night, for the first time in a while, Darrian wasn't thinking of the humans or what was going on in their Sol system. His thoughts were racing with the possibilities with what Illiquina might find.

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Xenophobia - Chapter 19

    "I just received the subspace message not a few moments after I got off the line with you." Harris explained, looking panicked.
    "Take a breath, Captain." the old judge said with surprising evenness in his voice.
    If anything Harris looked even more scared after that. But, after a few seconds of glancing nervously around the conference room, he very carefully drew in a long breath and seemed to steady himself.
    He finally gave a little nod.
    "Yes, sir."
    "Better." the old judge chided. "Now. They just arrived in the system. Do you have an estimate as to when the Tulgucks will get to Mars?"
    "The calculations are coming through now. It'll be just a moment."
    The old judge waited quietly. On the far end of the table however, Darrian heard someone quickly standing up. It was Jin'thun and there was a fury in his eyes.
    "Jin'thun?" Darrian asked softly.
    The heavy set Gorderian shook his head. It was a simple warning. It said "Don't talk to me right now." Darrian didn't risk trying his anger in that moment of anxiety.
    "Here we are." Harris said aloud, regaining the room's attention.
    "According to this, three ships have arrived off the edge of Pluto and are en route towards Mars as we speak. It seems that they either fired short are didn't want to risk exiting folded space within the gravitational pull of the solar system."
    "Three ships?" asked A'alan't 32. "An advanced force of some kind?"
    "It's possible." agreed the old judge.
    "They might have underestimated what they need to deal with the humans." offered Darrian.
    "Do we really want to bank on that idea?" asked A'alan't 32.
    "How long?" demanded Jin'thun, ignoring the others.
    Harris looked nervously at the old judge and then back towards Jin'thun.
    "Well...they're running on ion thrusters. Slow in the scope of things but they'll reach us soon enough."
    "How. Long." Jin'thun growled.
    "Five cycles? Maybe six if we're lucky?"
    "I need your EXACT coordinates and your estimated coordinates in five cycles."
    "It's hard to calculate." Harris said, sounding more unsure than Darrian had ever heard the analyst. "The planetary cycles are so rapid around this sun-"
    "Can you or can you not give my your coordinates?" snapped Jin'thun.
    "Well..."
    "CAN YOU OR CAN YOU NOT?"
    Harris looked visibly shaken under the fear of the Tulgucks and Jin'thun's unapologetic abuse. Darrian wondered if he should step in but didn't want to risk getting caught in the crossfire.
    "Captain." interjected the old judge. "I believe what our ambassador has failed to tell you is that that the Gorderains have offered aid in defending the humans from the Tulguck assault."
    Harris's eyes lit up, looking from the old judge back to Jin'thun.
    "Oh...right." Jin'thun said almost bashfully.
    "Now. Do you not have a small troop of analysts in your stead? Can you reliably calculate the geospatial location that Jin'thun needs?"
    "I can. It will just take me a short while." he said thoughtfully before turning back to Jin'thun. "I'll send it to you the moment we're done calculating."
    That was enough for Jin'thun.
    "Send it to my datapad. I need to alert my embassy." he said as he immediately made his way towards the conference room door.
    He stopped before he walked out, turning back towards the hologram.
    "Harris." he continued. "Is there any reason we SHOULDN'T open folded space within the solar system?"
    "Not- Not that I know of."
    "Let's hope not."
    With that, Jin'thun disappeared into the hallway and was gone before anything else could be said.
    Darrian shuddered. If someone had told him a rotation ago that two races in the Consortium might be going to war, he'd have called that person mad. Now, it was quickly becoming a disturbing reality.
    "Captain." the old judge said sternly towards the shaken Harris. "As soon as you're done with the calculations, I expect you to regain the contact with the human lab."
    "But, si-"
    "You will find out what's going on in the United States lab, Captain."
    "Sir."
    Nothing more was said. Harris gave a little nod, looking somewhere between scared and annoyed. He terminated the call and the room once again fell silent.
    "Do we really care what's going on in the lab?" Ferris finally asked.
    "I do." said the old judge. "And I need Harris to, as well."
    "Why?" questioned Darrian.
    "He needs to be distracted right now." offered A'alan't 32.
    "He's scared." agreed Ugul.
    The old judge nodded.
    "We have five to six cycles before the Tulgucks arrive. We need to gather all the information we can between now and then. Anything we learn about how the Guillae interact with the humans could prove crucial in the future."
    "What's it matter if the humans are dead?"
    "Because the Guillae won't be."
    The council exchanged confused and worried glances. No one said anything. It was starting to become abundantly clear that the old judge might have ulterior motives. No one knew how to react to it.

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Xenophobia - Chapter 11

    The next ten cycles were a maelstrom of activity. The council met at least once a cycle, if not two or three. Darrian was even required to attend several Consortium meetings over that same time period. Everything was concerning the humans' attempt to colonize Mars.
    While the news of their upcoming attempt definitely made ripples, the main reason for the constant deliberation had more to do with the speed that humans seemed to operate at. Every cycle brought several new challenges. Something new to review and discuss.
    Recruiting for the colonization begun. Political arguments rallied regarding planetary ownership. A competition among geographic "nations" broke out regarding who would be the first to reach the planet. Tensions rose between those nations and even threatened war. Several interplanetary vessels were destroyed by what was believed to be sabotage.
    Despite all the setbacks and changes, the colony ships launched at the very end of the tenth cycle. There were two ships; both from different geographic "nations". One from a location known as "China". The other from the "United States".
    Juag-e never showed up to a single meeting during that time.

    "Where is he?" the old judge demanded of Jin'thun at the beginning of the second cycle.
    Jin'thun gave the old judge a withering glare before responding.
    "Do I look like a Tulguck?"
    "You two are always together." interjected Darrian before the old judge could respond.
    "Politically." agreed Jin'thun with a threatening growl. "The same can be said of him and Yool, yet I don't see you turning a sharpened tongue towards him."
    "Hey. Don't drag me into this." retorted Yool.
    "The fact remains," continued the judge, "We just went through an entire cycle without so much as a notification as to his whereabouts. Juag-e needs to take this council seriously."
    "Who could?" snapped Jin'thun. "Particularly when you can't seem to tell me apart from an entirely different species."
    "It's jus..." began Cherryl.
    "It's just what?!" demanded Jin'thun. "I am not an ambassador from Tulguck. I'm a Gorderian and you'll be wise to remember that."
    "Calm yourself, Jin'thun. They meant no disrespect." said A'alan't 32.
    "Of course they did. Because we dare have a different opinion from their own." he said, turning his rage on the little Bivvie. "It's the same reason Ferris likes to call Juag-e, Yool, and I the Trifecta."
    "That's right." he snarled, turning towards Ferris. "You're not as quiet or as funny as you think you are Merrenian. But what can you expect from a rodent in a robot?"
    "Jin'thun!" yelled the old judge.
    "What?" he responded in a low, threatening tone.
    "This is a council meeting. If you can't control you're temper and follow the rules of etiquette you will be removed from this council."
    "Would those be the same rules of etiquette that dictate interspecies relations, specifically on the matter of respect, tolerance, and mutual agreement? Or perhaps you're referring to the subsection that dictates what a council lead is to do in the absence of a species ambassador?"
    The judge had no response and no other counselor dared the Gorderian's fury.
    "Before you yell at me about my breach in etiquette, consider your own. I am not Juag-e's keeper and I will not be put on the spot for his absence." growled Jin'thun. "If you want to know where he is, contact his embassy. That's yours and his problem. Not. Mine."
    Despite the fact that Jin'thun was clearly still fuming, he settled back into his place at the table. The room was silent for several moments as no one knew what to say. Finally, the old judge stepped up.
    "I apologize for my inconsideration, ambassador." said the old judge in a soft tone.
    "Damn right, you are. Now, we've got a job to do. Let's get to it."
    And they did.

    Despite the fact that Darrian was sure the old judge would have contacted the Tulguck embassy immediately after the debacle with Jin'thun, no one heard anything regarding Juag-e for a good while. He didn't return nor was a replacement Tulguck arranged to take his spot. His place at the table remained empty.
    It stayed that way until the evening of the twelfth cycle.
    "Just when I thought we were done with meetings for a while." grumbled Ferris.
    "I thought so too." agreed Darrian as they settled into place.
    "There can't possibly be something else going on." Ferris complained towards the old judge. "The human ships aren't supposed to arrive on Mars for another six or seven cycles."
    "Did something happen?" asked Illiquina with a hint of concern. "Was there an accident? More sabotage?"
    "No accident." confirmed the old judge. "But, to be frank, we have a problem."
    "And what is that?"
    "The Tulguck Armada has been mobilized and they have declared hostile intent against the humans."

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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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