Ravens of Eternity

102 Early Negotiations

After they had completed their official surrender, Retholis and his retinue escorted the four to their new lodgings. Of course, they had also made preparations for the rest of the thousands of people on Tartarus Base to come down and live planet-side as well.

Where they were all to be relocated during their temporary “visit” was in a large compound that sat along the edge of the dome. It certainly wasn’t anything fancy, especially when compared to the splendor of the buildings closest to the center, but it wasn’t anything to sneeze at either.

Since they were up on the edge, they had a perfect view out into the vast ocean. And far out in the distance were a number of other domes, each in multiple different directions.

The compound itself was relatively cosy, with a number of apartment buildings littered all over. Each was more than spacious enough to house hundreds at a time, and there were a dozen scattered here and there. In between were recreational and activity-laden spaces.

Interestingly, the officers and other people of note were given apartments in a central building. Though the building was smaller, each apartment was also slightly larger.

Retholis explained that they were separated from the others simply to quickly and easily distinguish leadership.

“If any trouble arises,” he said. “We know where to go first.”

In front of the officer’s quarters was a delightful cobblestone square, which acted as the nexus point for all the paths between every building and location. So navigation could never be an issue.

All in all, their compound was rather beautiful and scenic. The Admiral was thankful for that, especially if they were going to be confined here for a lengthy amount of time. She and Retholis guessed it would probably take a month or two before all things were settled and they would all be able to go back home.

.....

But nothing also stopped this place from becoming their permanent home, either. If the Federation refused to negotiate, it was possible they were going to be here the rest of their lives. However long or short that ended up being.

And though things were indeed rather beautiful, the entire compound was surrounded by high walls that periodically had guard posts all along it. Each one had a handful of highly armed and armored guards that kept an eye out.

Eva eyeballed the wall and spotted a few paths she could take to jump over it, should she ever need to. But jumping it without getting seen was another matter altogether.

On top of the guards on the towers, there were a number of patrols in and out of the compound. Although they weren’t numerous or were showing a great amount of force, there was definitely enough of a presence to discourage any sort of lawbreaking.

The only other large military presence was the barracks, which housed the guards assigned to the compound itself. Next to it was the base’s command post, comms tower, power generator, and other ancillary facilities.

Though the walls, guard towers, and military buildings held the same intricate and beautiful design as the rest of the city, there was no mistaking their military purpose. They were clearly armored, and were colored the same as the regiment’s dress colors – grey, black, and white.

Most telling were the handful of gated security checkpoints that were operated by more Drogar military. There was no other way between the compound and the rest of the city without passing through them.

They noted that the curbs and portions of the main streets along the inside of the compound were painted yellow, while the ones outside in the city proper were painted green.

Eva walked up to Retholis and pointed out the difference.

“So is that what you meant by Yellow Zone?”

He glanced at what she was referring to, then nodded in confirmation.

“Yellow and Orange Zones are highly restricted. Standard civilians are unable to freely enter or exit them. This rule also applies to guests and captives such as yourselves. The only way across those lines is to have the proper access, or to be escorted by those who have proper access. And in your case, you all must be guarded at all times, too. For the safety of civilized Drogar. Your safety as well, to a certain degree.”

He turned around and looked at the city beyond.

“Out there are the civilian zones,” he continued. “Every recognized Drogar enjoys unrestricted freedom in Blue and Green Zones. Guests and captives don’t have such freedoms, of course. Red Zones exist, and are forbidden to all but a few.”

“Reason why I ask is because,” said Eva. “Well, Raijin and I wanna document our experience here. We’ve got an OmniCast, and we think a number of people wanna see what it’s like on Taloren Prime – the center of the Drogar Empire!”

The Admiral stroked his spines as he thought about what she had said. There was a great deal of animosity between their two species. Their earliest meeting led to bloody and brutal wars that lasted generations, and only in the last few centuries did they wane to some degree.

Exposing more of their culture could lessen animosity. Or it could generate more hatred. Likely, more of both. He believed that the downsides weighed too heavily to approve of such a documentary.

So he shook his head solemnly.

“I don’t believe your Federation is ready for such enlightenment,” he said. “Your intelligence organizations would pore over every second of your ‘Cast to pry out whatever little they could. At the same time, xenophobic organizations would form and strengthen.”

“I believe it could be very beneficial for you as well,” said Miko.

She had flanked him on his other side, so that he was sandwiched between the two of them. It was almost as though she had swooped in to assist her wingmate.

He was slightly startled by her sudden appearance, as though she had made a surprise attack.

Additionally, he was rather curious why she was even part of the Admiral’s retinue to begin with. She simply looked far too young... But perhaps that was a necessity in times like these? Human customs were just too strange to him.

And for some reason, he felt as though he was being pincered in a dogfight. He shook off the feeling, and instead listened intently to her words.

“Many of the people who watch our OmniCast are Federation pilots and engineers,” Miko continued. “If they learn more about you through us, they will eventually become more sympathetic. That amount of influence is no doubt more valuable than the average Federation resident, correct?”

Now Retholis was piqued. It was a different thing altogether if regular Federation military watched. Although they would get both positive and negative influence, having sympathetic voices in places of power was indeed valuable.

“True,” he replied. “Perhaps your documentary would be a wise investment that’ll one day pay itself back tenfold. Assuming I’m alright with this – what’s your purpose for doing this? Presumably you want something from me? Payment, perhaps?”

“Money?” said Eva. “Nah, we’d be the only people, or at least among the few people, who would have this kind of video of your people. We’d get hundreds of millions of views. All we want is to be able to walk around, that’s all.”

“That, I can’t just give. No matter how juicy the carrot you’ve dangled in front of me. As I said, you can’t even cross the lines without an escort.”

“Alright, just assign us some sorta protector. Someone you and everyone trusts absolutely, if someone like that even exists among the Drogar.”

He turned to look at her sourly, offended by her implication. Of course the Drogar had their paragons! Was she implying they were morally vacuous? Before he could scold Eva, Miko chimed in.

“Do not say such things, Freya,” she said. “We have one such Drogar right next to us. Since there is one, then there is certainly more.”

“Ah, you’re right. Sorry ’bout that, Retholis. Didn’t mean to offend. Still figuring out the Drogar. First time we’ve ever seen any of you, so...”

Retholis was visibly flustered by their teasing. He sighed as he realized he was being played a little by the two women, and realized why they were on the Admiral’s personal detail.

Both were clever and determined and more than a little crafty. Beyond that, they seemed to be completely unafraid of him. Come to think of it, neither seemed particularly pressed by Savoth either.

Maybe they were just the thing he needed...

“Very well,” he said. “I can agree to this – tentatively! And on certain conditions.”

“Name ’em.”

“For now, only Green Zones. Stay out of all the other ones. And you don’t get one guard – you get one guard each. And if I find they can’t handle you, I reserve the right to increase that detail or rescind the whole thing. Last but not least, I’ve got the final say on all of the footage you create.”

“Nothing published without your green light,” said Eva. “Two guards, Green Zones only. Got it.”

She and Miko leaned back, nodded at each other, then leaned back forward to resume negotiations with Retholis.

“We agree,” said Miko. “We will not be able to publish them until we return to Federation space in any case.”

“We’ll do fine print on the paperwork later,” said Retholis. “But I hope this bears fruit for the both of us.”

“Hey, I’ve got another question for you,” said Eva. “So there’s Blue, Green, Yellow, Orange, and Red Zones. Are there any Purple Zones?”

Retholis scowled and his facial spines shifted with agitation.

“Don’t even ask about Purple Zones.”

“Hmm, I see. So would I be executed for asking a second time? Or was the first time enough for that?”

His scowl softened and quickly turned into a grin. He was never very good at sarcasm, and wasn’t surprised when she saw through it so easily. Even despite the species and cultural divide.

“No, there aren’t any Purple Zones. Though I imagine if they existed absolutely no-one would be allowed on it. On penalty of death, of course.”