'It is their duty to be courageous, Lieutenant. That is why they serve,' she said. 'But that is not the question you wish to ask, is it?'

  'No, Captain.'

  'Then, ask it.'

  'I'm wondering why you chose not to pursue the Goth ship once it had retreated.'

  'Why do you think?' she said.

  'Could it be,' I said, 'because the enemy ship is more maneuverable and faster than your own ship, like one of our Earth frigates compared to a much larger carrier ship?'

  'Well-observed, Lieutenant Burns,' said Drusilla. 'We can't catch them in our cruise ship nor this shuttle,' she said. 'Not if they are determined to evade us. Their tactics are guerrilla in nature. They ambush and they retreat, evading pursuit and any pursuing laser beams. They never attack in force from their main ship. That would expose them too much.'

  'You've fought them before?'

  'For centuries, Lieutenant. We know their tactics. They are always the same. Sneak, attack, retreat.'

  'If you don't mind me asking another question, Captain,' I said, 'why did you decide to board the Goth ship instead of firing on it from a distance?'

  'I think Captain Drusilla has more to worry about than your questions,' said Le Seaux who had been standing nearby, rainbow wrapped package under her arm, her focus still on the mission.

  I kept quiet and rubbed a sore rib, thinking about the battle.

  One of the Marines lumbered up to Drusilla and saluted. Like all the rest of his comrades, he continued to wear his helmet closed, concealing his face. He spoke a strange growling language.

  'Excuse me,' Drusilla said. 'I will return in a moment. Then we will leave.' She glided away.

  'What now?' said Chen. 'When are they going to hear what we have to say?' he said. 'So that we can get out of here.'

  'I guess we'll find out at the testimonies,' I said, 'whatever they are.'

  'Yes, but our mission is still the highest priority,' said Le Seaux. 'The sooner we explain the Accord values to our galactic friends, the better,' said Le Seaux. 'I will also request to communicate with the Accord back on Earth.'

  'Seems like they have more important things on their minds,' said Chen. 'Fighting these bear-wolf creatures, for one. Why come to visit another part of the galaxy when you bring your own enemy along?'

  'Maybe they couldn't avoid it,' I said. 'Seems like they're always fighting them.'

  'Who the hell are the Goths, anyway? All of this makes less sense than it did on Earth,' said Chen.

  'Maybe this was a display,' I said. 'To show us how effective their troops are.'

  'These big freaks were unstoppable,' Chen said. 'I don't know much about the military, but wouldn't they make mincemeat of our fighting forces?'

  'Stop,' said Le Seaux. 'We are not here to speculate on our friends' military strengths. Nor on the strengths of their enemies. Our galactic friends have their own reasons for their militarism. We in the Accord are fortunate enough to live in peace.'

  'Sure,' said Chen. 'You're right. The Accord knows best.'

  So we were always told, but I couldn't help but wonder if beings on other planets would all think the same way.

  Drusilla returned with an escort of four Marines. 'We must walk a short distance to our transport,' she said. 'We will travel far across the ship.'

  'Yes, Captain,' said Le Seaux. 'We're ready.'

  'How are your ribs, Lieutenant Burns?'

  'I'll live, Captain,' I said.

  'Then, please follow me.'

  We walked back out into the passageway, leaving behind the troops and the pile of slain Goths. My ribs complained with each step, but I didn't care. I was thinking that we were at last going to see inside the rest of this enormous spaceship, and the technology it contained--the navigation systems, the engines, and the weapons.

  We followed Drusilla to a large door that rolled upward revealing the entrance point to what looked like a train station platform. A single rail rolled away under lights along a dark passage whose end we could not see.

  'Put these on, please,' said Drusilla.

  The soldiers handed helmets to Le Seaux and Chen. Le Seaux was about to protest.

  'Please,' said Drusilla. 'We will be passing through an area in which the ship's atmosphere is no longer breathable.'

  'How about you, Captain?' said Chen.

  Drusilla only smiled.

  In the distance, a small train carriage came gliding into view and stopped in front of us. Doors rolled back.

  We stepped inside along with Drusilla and the escort. The doors closed and the carriage began to move into the tunnel, traveling smoothly and silently.

  'Linear induction?' said Chen to Drusilla. His voice came through the speaker in my helmet.

  'I don't know what that is, Mr Chen.'

  'Magnets,' said Chen. 'It runs on magnets, right?'

  'You know technical things, Mr Chen.'

  'Just curious,' he said. 'We had them on Earth,' he said. 'Long ago.'

  We rode in silence as the carriage glided deep into the ship. I calculated that there must be at least fifty of the enormous shuttles joined together to make the one enormous ship. That was fifty Accord aircraft carriers, at least, each of which carried five thousand troops. This was not counting other vessels we couldn't see, such as the smaller teardrop shaped ones that had attacked AONS Harmony two days before.

  The carriage came to a stop, rotated ninety degrees and then glided down a new passage. I guessed it had reached a central spine of the ship, and was now moving along its length, probably towards the bow.

  Le Seaux clutched the package in its rainbow colored wrapping. 'We're looking forward to explaining our values to Admiral Octavia and yourself,' said Le Seaux.

  Drusilla's face remained expressionless. 'You have said this several times, Captain Le Seaux.'

  Le Seaux was undaunted. 'Yes,' she said. 'But we believe an understanding of our values is important for any interaction with the people of the Accord of Nations.'

  Drusilla smiled a very small smile.

  The small carriage began slowing down and stopped at another station. The doors slid open. The escort stepped out and stood in pairs either side of the door.

  'Through there,' said Drusilla, pointing at a doorway leading from the platform to another passageway. The escort peeled off and marched away. We followed them.

  At the door, Drusilla stopped and turned around. She pressed a button and then looked back at us, smiling.

  'You may now remove your helmets.'

  Which we did. Le Seaux leaned over to me.

  'We're going to meet them formally now. You are not to speak without my say so.'

  Drusilla signaled to the escorts. Two of the soldiers stepped forward and into the passageway, leading. The other two remained behind.

  'Please,' said Drusilla, motioning us to move on.

  The passageway opened out onto a vast, high-ceilinged cabin, although it might properly have been called a state room. The inevitable black material lined one side, but the other offered a view that was startling: a cinema-screen sized view of space.

  It was like nothing I'd seen. The blackness was crystal clear, the stars in the distance glittered whiter than they did on Earth. But most striking of all was the view of the moon, gray and huge, and in the distance, the blue and white of planet Earth, Hyacinth as we'd seen the Romans call it.

  In its centre of the room were gathered around forty crew members. Most were dressed in a dark blue uniforms, all human sized, not soldier sized. Not Goth monsters. And all were female--or at least female in form. The twelve at the front were dressed in the same white robes as Drusilla. The rest were dressed in navy blue military uniforms.

  In front of them, stood the most startling view of all.

  Admiral Octavia Caesar.

  26

  THE ESCORT PEELED off and stood either side, like a gauntlet. We followed Drusilla through, walking towards Admiral Octavia. When we reached within twelve feet, Le Seaux called out, 'Attention!' The three of us stopped. Le Seaux and I snapped our heels together and saluted. Chen stood with his hands by his sides and made a small bow.

  Octavia did not salute back. She stood wearing a white, Roman robe, the same as Drusilla's. But there was a difference between the two of them. Octavia was more striking. Much more striking. She wore her strawberry blonde hair swept upward into a bun, also like one of the women in Beauties From The Biggest Sitcoms Of The 1960s. She wore makeup too, also like the women in the book. Her eyelashes were extended, her skin tone even and glowing, her lips a pale flesh color. Her eyes almost cerulean blue, the color of the laser beams.

  The effect was unnerving. I could barely stop myself from opening my mouth and gawping at her. She was a fantasy woman, unlike anything I had ever seen on Earth, as if she had been created by a computer--created to look exactly how Accord men daydreamed women could look--something they never saw in reality.

  As if waiting for Chen and I to pick up our jaws, Octavia nodded slightly. Her neck was so slender.

  'Salvete,' she said. 'Tibi grata sint omnia.'

  There was the pre-Accord accent again, the same as Drusilla's, but even more refined. It sounded like something from an Accord instructional video about pre-Accord decadence. It was confident, polished. It didn't sound like any of the accents from AONT USA that I'd heard.

  Chen exhaled beside me. Or was it a whistle. I couldn't tell if he was impressed that she had greeted us in Latin, thereby keeping up the Roman persona that fascinated him, or the way her mouth formed the word omnia.

  After a few moments, Le Seaux cleared her throat. 'Admiral Octavia,' she said, 'in the spirit of tolerance, equality and diversity, and on behalf of the Commissioners of the Accord Of Nations, I would like to thank you for welcoming us aboard the...' she was about to mention the name of the ship, but we hadn't heard one, '...your mighty vessel,' she said, 'which on Earth we are calling The Friend Ship.' She said looked around for smiles. There were none.

  'Lieutenant Burns,' said the Admiral, ignoring Le Seaux. 'How are you feeling?'

  'Much better, Admiral,' I said

  'You showed quite a lot of bravery in the face of danger.'

  'You are kind, ma'am,' I said. The words slipped out, as if I were someone from the pre-Accord era greeting a queen. 'Your soldiers...your Marines were far more courageous. They faced the greater danger, and suffered greater losses.'

  'It is their duty,' she said, echoing Drusilla's comment from the shuttle. 'Surely you understand, Lieutenant.'

  'Yes, Admiral. I understand. On Earth, we also value duty,' I said, but of course, I was not referring to the duty to act bravely in battle. In the Accord, duty meant always seeking an equality of outcome.

  Octavia smiled and nodded slowly. 'Did Captain Drusilla inform you we repaired your ribs while you were unconscious?'

  'No ma'am,' she did not. 'Thank you.'

  The Admiral then turned her gaze upon Chen, who was already flushing pink.

  'Mr Chen,' said Octavia. 'You are interested in the technology on the ship, are you not?'

  'Yes, Admiral,' he said. 'The ship's construction, materials and workings are fascinating.'

  The Admiral nodded approvingly. Then, she turned to Le Seaux. 'Captain Le Seaux, you wish to say something.'

  'Yes, Admiral. Firstly, the Accord Of Nations Commission would like to present you with this welcoming gift.' She held out the package in its rainbow colored wrapping. One of uniformed officers stepped forward, accepted the gift with a deep bow, and walked back to her place in the ranks. The gift remained unwrapped.

  'Thank you, Captain,' said Octavia.

  'With your permission,' said Le Seaux. 'I would like to read a message from the Accord of Nations Commission. But first I would like to make sure I am using the correct pronouns for yourself and your officers.'

  'Before you begin, Captain, I would like to name my officers,' said Octavia. She turned to the twelve women either side of her.

  'These are Captains Aurelia, Liviana, Domitia, Fausta, Flavia, Decima, Cassia, Aquila, Vistillia, Fabia, Horatia, and Aelia. They are each a captain of one of the many vessels that make up our main ship.'

  'We salute you,' said Le Seaux, and we did.

  The Captains bowed in return.

  'May I ask your pronouns, now, Admiral? Or at last read the Accord's message?' said Le Seaux. She was almost smiling for the first time in the mission. 'Our commanding officers and the Accord Commissioners are eager to know that we have done so. If it is possible, Admiral, we would also like to arrange a broadcast to the Commission, or at least for the reading of the message to be recorded for transmission later.'

  'No,' said Admiral Octavia. 'Your message must wait.' Le Seaux's smile faded. 'First we will hear the testimonies.'

  Le Seaux blinked several times, unwilling to let go. 'Naturally, we respect your culture, Admiral,' but the message is most important to the Commission. It contains our values of...'

  'No, Captain. The testimonies.'

  'The testimonies?' echoed Le Seaux, her voice a mixture of respect and disbelief.

  Octavia looked to her left at the officer named Fausta, who turned and growled a command. Almost instantly, a large door slid open in the bulkhead to their right, and in came four uniformed women, each pushing a hovering cart on which a glass case was mounted.

  'What next?' whispered Chen.

  Three of the cases contained ancient weapons from the PEA: a chipped and rusty broadsword, a rusted battle axe, and a knotted wooden club. The fourth case contained something very strange.

  'Is that a cannon ball?' whispered Chen.

  I ignored him. I had an uneasy feeling about what would happen next. If the battle with the Goths had been strange, this procession of relics from pre-Accord was going to be stranger still.

  Three of the Captains left their ranks behind Octavia and walked to the glass cases. Octavia pointed to the fair haired woman standing beside the first case, which contained the sword.

  'Captain Le Seaux,' she said. 'This is Captain Aurelia, as you know.' Le Seaux and Captain Aurelia bowed slightly to each other. 'In 1805 in your so-called pre-Accord years,' said Octavia, 'Captain Aurelia was a mere midshipman in our fleet. She met your ancestor who was a soldier in the army of your famous general, Napoleon, in the land now known as AONT France, Eurabia. Your ancestor used this sword to slice her neck, causing intense pain, physical damage and requiring her to abandon her mission and return to our ship before it was complete.'

  Le Seaux's mouth slowly opened.

  Octavia now pointed to the next officer, standing by the axe. 'Mr Chen, this is Captain Vistillia.' Chen followed Le Seaux's lead and made a slight bow, but a far more uncertain one. Captain Vistillia responded with a small bow of her own, her face expressionless.

  Octavia spoke again.

  'In 1825, an ancestor of yours, Chen Lai Min, was a soldier in the palace guard at the Imperial Palace in present day AONT China, sub-territory Beijing. On duty one night outside the palace walls, he used this axe to cripple Captain Vistillia, who was then a lieutenant, by hitting her sideways on her knee, breaking it and causing her leg to bend at a forty-five degree angle. He then clubbed her on the back of the head, knocking her to the ground.' She raised her eyebrows. 'Very hostile, Mr Chen. Very violent. Captain Vistillia had to report back to the ship before her mission was complete.'

  Octavia then turned to the third officer. 'This is Captain Liviana. Mr Okwanko, who regrettably is not here, had an ancestor who made an attack on her with a club in AONT Africa, sub-territory Nigeria. Since he is no longer here, we will speak no further of this incident.'

  I watched all this with amazement. The injuries were horrible, sure. I'd never seen anything like them on Earth, not even in the simulator, which kept the detail of slain soldiers to a straightforward fall to the ground. But surely these injuries Octavia described were understandable in the case of war--or invasion.

  What was it all leading up to? Revenge? Would we have to suffer the same injuries? And how could we believe these same captains had been alive for so many years?

  Octavia moved to the picture and looked at me. I guessed what was coming. My ancestor, my great grandfather, twenty-eight generations ago. Captain Alexander Burns had used his ship to fire on the Romans. Yet, no captain came forward to stand in front of the glass case and the rusty object within.

  'Why are you looking that way, Lieutenant Burns?' said Octavia. 'Shaking your head in that way?'

  'Whatever my ancestor did,' I said, 'whatever any of our ancestors did is surely not a crime committed by any of us here.'

  'No,' said Octavia, a hint of a smile on her impossibly beautiful face. 'None of you actually committed the crimes. That is true. But, Lieutenant Burns, is it not the case that in your Accord, entire groups of people living today are penalized for the actions of their people centuries before?' She turned to Le Seaux. 'Am I correct, Captain Le Seaux? Some of you are said to unfairly benefit from the privileges of your ancestors' actions and also to bear the shame of them. Everyone who is descended from pre-Accord Europe is required to bare this shame. It is your education. Am I wrong in this perception?'

  'No, Admiral,' said Le Seaux. 'That is what we believe in the Accord. It is also what we try to redress constantly. I am willing to accept the punishment for the actions of my ancestor.'

  'Are you, even though you yourself have done nothing wrong, nor benefit in any way from this action? '

  'Yes,' said Le Seaux.

  'You too, Mr Chen?'

  'I, well, it does seem... it...'

  'We will all accept responsibility for what out ancestors did,' said Le Seaux.

  'And you, Lieutenant Burns?' said the admiral. 'Do you also accept responsibility for the actions of your ancestor?'

  I felt Le Seaux's hot gaze on my cheek. I knew what she and the Accord would want me to say.

  'That depends on what did my ancestor did.' I said. 'And to whom he did it?'

  Le Seaux interrupted me. 'Lieutenant Burns will also accept responsibility for the actions of his ancestors,' she said.

 

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