Humanity, a threat? Pt. 3

Humanity, a threat? Pt. 3

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"The veil of kindness was lifted, and what I saw was the abyss; what I saw was horror; what I saw was the end of all things." - General La' Enthal Gal in Memoirs of Terra

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General La' Enthal Gal rolled out of bed and put on his dress uniform. He always found it a cumbersome task so early in the morning, but decades of habit completed the process. First, the dress tunic of a pitch-black base with bright gold trimming went on, then dress pants that were colored the same went on. Then, the decorative sash that denoted rank and battle honors went on. Finally, the boots were pulled high, and General Gal was ready for the day's excursion.

He emerged and met his staff in the stateroom on the High Hope. They looked just as worn out as he did, but they finally had received orders from the Alliance on what their task would be after the foundation of the embassy. This had given a new drive to Gal's staff after the knowledge of the danger humanity could pose if they were to turn their warlike behavior on the Alliance. The threat assessment was still not well defined for General Gal because he had still so much to learn of these dangerous but well-meaning people that he had met.

He noticed, with no small amount of amusement, that the entire staff was drinking the new human stimulant, coffee. It was quickly becoming the drink of choice for most beyond water. Gal quite enjoyed it himself, particularly enjoying the thing called cream in his coffee.

Gal sat down, and the low chatter that had been just a moment ago ceased. Mithril stood up and looked around the table and began the morning briefing. "Today, the humans have given us the opportunity to visit the embassy location site in...Switzerland. We will all go down to visit, and I am told that the leaders of a large portion of the human nation-states will be attending our visit to discuss diplomacy."

Everyone had an idea what this trip was gonna be like. After learning more of the histories, it was understood that human nations enjoyed having allies for political capital. It was the goal of the Alliance to not side with one particular nation-state or group of nation-states because the point was to assemble an embassy for Earth as a whole.

Mithril continued, "we will probably have many leaders that ask us for our technology since only a few human nations have FTL. I shouldn't have to say this, but do not accept any offers to exchange technology unless it is with the direct permission and supervision of the general, understood?" He had finished his sentence while eyeing the newest and greenest member of the diplomatic staff.

The group chorused an "understood".

Finally, General Gal had to ask. "Young lady, what is your name? Since it seems that we are on Earth to stay, I might as well know you."

It was not common to ask a newcomer to the diplomatic corp their name because any minute they could be kicked out, sent across the galaxy, or even arrested for a diplomatic blunder.

The young diplomat quickly stood up and anxiously said. "My name is Ramiel el' Shi, sir!"

Gal nodded approval at the presentation and motioned her to sit down. He then stood himself and said. "We know that the humans have FTL, but we do not know how many ships they have, how many warships they have. So it is our objective to find that out today, understood?"

There was another chorused "understood".

--Switzerland--

After landing, the entire general staff disembarked to a large contingent of armed humans. At first, it seemed like they were about to be arrested but a group of seven greeted them. General Gal quickly surmised that these were the members of the council that ruled this Switzerland.

One of the councilors took the lead and said. "General Gal, I presume?" This human extended his hand in the strange way that humans greeted each other.

Gal took the offered hand and said with slight hesitation, betraying his attempt at complete comfort and confidence. "Yes...you are the president of this nation, I presume?"

The question was quickly answered with an enthusiastic nod and grin, once again reminding the staff of a Florian in its mating season. Some coughed to stifle their laughs, but most just kept it in.

"If you would follow me, then I would gladly show you to the building that will become the embassy for the Alliance." The president said with calm.

Before Gal could feel comfortable getting into the vehicle that the Swiss president was motioning to, he had to ask. "Why do you have so many armed guards to meet us, were you expecting us to be trouble?'

The reaction of horror on the councilors' faces told Gal that was not the case (he had become much better at reading human body language). The president quickly responded. "No! Not at all. We wanted to make sure that you would be safe from extreme elements of our species. You will be treated with the highest honor, and we are sorry if there was any offense caused."

Gal contemplated his next words because now he was nervous and confused. Finally, he said. "There has been no offense taken, but now I would like to know about these extreme elements you speak of. Are they radioactive?"

Laughter ensued from the humans, but they quickly realized it was not a joke. The president responded with precision and caution. "You have received, as you call it, our histories. There are examples of people doing things throughout human history to disrupt, cause fear, or even just cause death. It is very senseless, so we must protect ourselves and our friends from being harmed by these elements within our society. But no, they are not radioactive." A few humans still chuckled at that last part.

Mithril spoke for the first time since landing. "So you are protecting us from 'terrorists', as you would call them?"

"Yes." the president agreed solemnly.

This caused a stir among the general staff that was even an internal dread for some. Terrorists existed in the wider galaxy but never had Alliance diplomats been targeted in a world that was in the first contact phase. The thought of that threat became extremely unnerving, and it was even shown on General Gal.

The silence that had ensued was finally broken when General Gal ordered his staff forward, and they finally followed the councilors.

The ride to the embassy site had been short, but Gal could already tell that the very idea of a terrorist attack was itching at everyone's nerves except, seemingly, the humans. Gal surmised that they must have great confidence in their security forces to have such confidence, but part of him was nagging at the thought that maybe it's false confidence.

The embassy site was beautiful to the staff who saw it as a peak in classical architecture, but the Swiss president went on about how modern the building was. Gal thought there is that technological curve that apparently extends to architecture as well. The group walked inside to see a massive dining area where it looked like delegates from across the world had gathered to meet them.

"There are so many," Ramiel whispered. She knew of the number of human nations, but it still amazed her that such a wide variety of peoples and cultures existed on one planet. It was still even more shocking that a lot of the delegates attending were from nations that were openly hostile with each other.

Mithril quickly whispered in her ear for silence because the diplomatic strategy was still to keep the humans ignorant of their tribalistic culture compared to the rest of the galaxy. He couldn't help himself from thinking how green she was. It was almost nostalgic. That's how he was before he met General Gal.

Quickly after the arrival of the general staff, music started playing from human instruments that were so very beautiful. They waxed and waned, ebbed, and flowed with volume, notes, and style. It felt like a whirlwind of emotion for the general staff who were now just being introduced to human music. General Gal began saying something to a human diplomat he had struck up a conversation with when there was a loud boom outside.

The entire embassy building froze as all the happy human faces turned grim with understanding in their eyes. Quicky, gathered his staff together when loud pops started coming from outside. Guards rushed to get VIPs, some screams were heard from outside. Some of the staff started to become shaky, understanding coming to their senses.

Ramiel screamed at General Gal to get his attention then she asked. "What in the name of the Holy Star is going on!?"

Gal looked at her with certainty and sympathy in his eyes and said with a grim tone. "Terrorists."

The staff was escorted out of the building as the pops and bangs grew louder. They were rushed by human guards to run and run until they reached an emergency vehicle. They saw rubble from explosives, dead humans, and their guards were filled with expressions of wrath and sorrow as they passed the dead. General Gal felt great sympathy and even a bit of responsibility for what had occurred. Finally, they sped away past the destruction in the streets.

Mithril looked at the group then went pale. "Where's Ramiel?"

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This has been an action-packed episode. Sorry to leave it on a cliffhanger, but I hope you enjoyed reading it. Thank you as always, and I am open to suggestions and critiques.## TLDR Summary:

The embassy site was beautiful to the staff who saw it as a peak in classical architecture, but the Swiss president went on about how modern the building was. Quickly after the arrival of the general staff, music started playing from human instruments that were so very beautiful. It felt like a whirlwind of emotion for the general staff who were now just being introduced to human music. He noticed, with no small amount of amusement, that the entire staff was drinking the new human stimulant, coffee. --Switzerland--

After landing, the entire general staff disembarked to a large contingent of armed humans. Mithril continued, "we will probably have many leaders that ask us for our technology since only a few human nations have FTL. The entire embassy building froze as all the happy human faces turned grim with understanding in their eyes.