Fire with Fire(122)
Caine shook his head, kept his eyes on Richard. “No. These are different. Not from Dee Pee Three. They’re what you and I grew up calling ‘aliens.’”
Opal gaped, then grinned—still not believing, he guessed: “Oh, you mean little green men. ‘Take me to your leader’ and all the rest?”
Downing shook his head. “They’re rather more a gray olive-drab, according to the single image they relayed. And they do not wish to be taken to our leaders. Nor do they expect our senior leaders to be taken to them. They are calling for a delegation to attend a meeting that is part induction ceremony and part summit.”
Opal’s grin became open-mouthed disbelief. “You’re serious.”
“I’m afraid so, yes.”
Caine noted that Elena was the first to recover, pick up the earlier threads. “And these—Dornaani—asked for me to attend this . . . meeting?”
Downing shrugged. “Not by name; they simply asked for an adult child of Nolan Corcoran.”
Now it was Elena’s turn to be flustered. She looked around the table, as if their eyes were accusing her of something. “Well—send Trevor. He’s part of your organization now, anyway. And he’s military, so he’ll be of interest to them—and of use to you. Good grief, I’m just a semiotic anthropologist—”
Downing smiled. “I seem to recall that your appointment to the State Department is as one of the section heads of the xenoculture analysis task force.”
Trevor leaned back. “So, I’m off the hook?”
“No. We can’t know which of you they will consider Nolan’s best representative, so I need both of you. And, Trevor, you will also be the delegation’s unofficial expert in military technology. And we will definitely need a pair of eyes and ears that are dedicated to immediate security. So that’s your other job. And since we need at least two people watching our backs, we’ll be taking Major Patrone, as well.”
“Whoa, wait a minute. You’re taking me to meet ET? I don’t think so.”
“Major, I think so, and I say so.”
“And what is my essential expertise for this mission?”
“That you can help keep us out of trouble and can follow orders.” Downing’s head was suddenly very stiff and erect upon his neck. “You all seem to think that this assignment is voluntary. With the exception of Caine and Elena, you are active duty members of the United States Armed Forces and these are your new orders. End of discussion.” Caine could tell from the pause that Downing had saved him for last. No reason to wait for it.
“So let me guess; I’m coming along, too.”
“Of course.”
“What happened to my new life of freedom, Richard?”
“I’m afraid you’ll have to take that up with the President, Caine.”
Oh, shit. “What do you mean?”
“I mean that President Liu is formally asking you to serve your country, the Commonwealth, and your planet by accepting the position of Senior Negotiator of the Deputation.”
Caine sighed, then nodded. “Okay. But—fair warning—I’m no politician.”
“And no one is asking you to be one. You will not make policy; that is for other members of the delegation. Your role is as liaison; you are the conduit for contact and exchange.”
“So I get to make the introductions at the cocktail parties?”
“No: you get to decide how and when to communicate with the other species at the meeting.”
“Other species? As in, many species?”
“There are five, counting the Dornaani.”
Caine felt the urge to throw up. “Richard, I don’t have the training for this sort of thing.”
“Neither does anyone else. And you are the only human who has ever handled a first-contact situation. And successfully, I might add. There are no other meaningful credentials for such a role—an assertion which was made by the Confederation task force that determined the complement of the delegation three weeks ago. Indeed, you were the only nominee for Senior Negotiator.”
Great. “Lucky me.”
“Actually, I think you’d be rather honored, given some of the people who nominated you.”
Caine wanted not to ask, but he couldn’t resist. “Who?”
“Ching. Sukhinin. Visser. MacGregor. And even Gaspard.”
“What? Did they reconvene Parthenon just to decide how to staff the delegation?”
“More or less. The delegation had to have representation from each bloc, and staffed by people who had sufficiently high clearance. And two had to be senior enough politicos to make diplomatic decisions, on the spot, if need be.”