Unity

Chapter 26

I found myself sitting in an uncomfortable chair surrounded by countless strangers. Apparently, Queen Shaniir and I had different definitions of the word small. I looked around the crowded room at those present to witness the signing of the provisional treaty between the Terrans and the Tuleeriri. I recalled my conversation with Shaniir the previous day and she wanted a small, formal gathering to witness and celebrate the signing of the treaty. Had I realized that her plan was to keep me confined in an uncomfortable chain for several hours, then I would have sent a representative in my place. Commander Edgar Brun has been rather annoying lately, perhaps I should have sent him. A small smile crept across my lips as I pictured him suffering through this incredibly boring meeting.

I was anxious to return to the Unity. Dr. Thompson claimed he would have everything ready to put the Unity's new paint job on, and I couldn't wait to test out the new upgrade to the armor. All of that had to wait until I signed the treaty. I was confused at why so much fuss was being made over it, because it was, after all, just temporary until the Council on Earth could put something more permanent in place. I had a feeling they would have objected to the current treaty, but that was a battle to fight another day. There would be too many battles before that would even be possible to lose sleep on whether the council was happy or not.

Finally, the time had come for me to sign the document. I was surprised to see that it was written on paper, and it had the appearance of being handwritten too. I hadn't written anything by hand since I was in school. Even then it was an outdated way of communicating, but some teachers had insisted that it was an important life skill. If only I had known then what my future would bring, I might have paid more attention to the teacher, and less attention to the girls in my class. I made myself focus as I walked up to the table. It was a small, relatively plain table, but was tall enough that I could sign my name without stooping over. On the other side of the table Queen Shaniir stood, looking very regal. A copy of the treaty had been sent over just after we had completed our testing of Dr. Thompson's device. My commanders and I had already spent time pouring over the details, so I didn't feel required to read the official document.

Shaniir signed it after I finished, and once she set the pen down there was a thunderous roar of applause. It was like somebody had flipped a switch bringing the room from dead silent to incredibly loud. It took another hour before I was able to escape the well-wishers, brown nosers, and sycophants and return to my shuttle. I was probably being unjust in my assessment of the upper class Tuleeririan socialites, but one could never be too careful in those situations. One benefit of this little trip was that I had a chance to see Narrisal from up close. The treaty signing was in the royal palace, and I felt a pang of homesickness as I walked through a garden. Nothing looked or smelled the same as Earth, but setting foot on solid ground made me realize how much I missed my home. Despite the differences in the flora, Narrisal was surprisingly a lot like Earth. I watched several small clouds lazily hang in the sky as I walked up to the shuttle.

The ground disappeared as the shuttle leapt into the sky. The royal city bordered a massive desert, but on the other side of the city there was a lush jungle. There was much less water on Narrisal than on Earth, so much of the planet was covered in desert. There were huge cities with massive skyscrapers that rose higher than I ever could have imagined. Most of the planet's land mass that wasn't desert was used for agriculture. I sighed as I turned away and looked toward the Unity. Floating a hundred meters in front of the ship was a massive silver cube. I walked up to the pilots and pulled a spare headset out and put it on.

"Unity, this is Captain Ryan," I said, after pushing the transmit button.

"Go ahead Captain," I heard Lt. Sanchez's distinct accent.

"Unity, what exactly is in front of the ship?" I asked.

"I'm told that's our construction crew," Lt. Sanchez answered.