The Ascendant Stars - Michael Cobley [139]
‘Gentlemen, thank you for coming,’ he said. ‘I am Lieutenant Commander Neville, adjutant and chief of staff to the vice-admiral. Which of you is Greg Cameron?’
Smiling, Greg raised a hand. Neville nodded then turned to Berg.
‘So you must be the Ezgara officer,’ he said. ‘There have been wild theories for some time that the Ezgara commandos were actually a Human splinter group of some kind. Now we’re hearing a remarkable rumour that they are actually descended from one of the three lost colonies. Is this so?’
Berg had maintained a neutral expression thus far, to the point where Greg suspected some degree of dislike beneath the surface.
‘With respect, sir,’ he said, ‘I am under specific orders not to discuss these matters.’
The adjutant gazed at Berg for a motionless second before nodding.
‘Of course. Understandable.’ He turned his attention back to Greg. ‘Now that you are here, we can go through.’
Neville crossed to a second door, opened it and ushered them in.
The conference room had soft carpeting, elaborate uplighting and a substantial oval table surface in pale, polished wood. Four triangular windows with rounded corners were spaced along the outer bulkhead, affording a view of the stars and the wisps and veils of the deepzone. A lanky, brown-skinned man in a formal steel-blue uniform was standing at one of them, drinking from a glass. He looked round as they entered, introductions were made, hands were shaken.
‘It is a pleasure to finally meet someone from Darien,’ said Vice-Admiral Ngassa as he gestured them to sit. ‘The newspipes have been full of stories and docudramas about your world but very little is of use in a situation like this.’
‘Well, Vice-Admiral, if there’s anything you need to know about Darien, especially anything archaeologically based, I’m definitely your man,’ Greg said. ‘Mind you, I have a few questions, myself.’
‘That’s fair, Mr Cameron,’ Ngassa said. ‘Firstly, please understand what we are here for. My orders require me to place my forces in near-Darien space for the purposes of protection and security. The president has invoked the “duty of legacy” principle, which essentially means that Earthsphere can assume responsibility for the external political relationships and negotiations of a Human community or colony if its civilian authority is unable to carry them out for itself.’
‘Aye, well I guess that would be a fair description of the state of things the now,’ Greg said.
‘And in the light of my orders, we are faced with the problem of the various warships currently in orbit around Darien. Can you tell me why they’re here?’
Greg nodded. ‘Oh, yes, I can. Ye see, they’re not the problem – but they are here because of the problem or rather the threat posed by the imminent arrival of a large Hegemony fleet. And when I say large, I mean gigantic, going by what I’ve heard. So basically, they have come together in an informal alliance for the purpose of defending Darien.’
Ngassa nodded calmly, taking it all in.
‘I can see that, Mr Cameron, and accepting such aid is understandable in the circumstances. However, the real problem, I’m afraid, could be the Imisil.’
‘The Imisil … are the real problem?’
The vice-admiral gave a slightly pained nod.
‘The Hegemony and the Imisil have had … some unfortunate clashes in the past. If they were to leave the system within the next two hours it would make for more relaxed negotiations when the Hegemony fleet arrives.’
‘Well, ye know, it’s funny but our relationship with the Imisil seems to be just fine,’ Greg said. ‘But I’ll certainly pass that on to the joint command, although you should realise that they’ll be looking for some guarantees in return, no planetary bombardment, no atmospheric destabilisation, no attempt at ground invasion, that sorta thing. That would be a great starting point, I think.’ He leaned