Star Trek(14)

But you’d never know it from listening to Zehron; the supposedly gentler endomale had been closed-minded and confrontational from the start. “What are the chances of our admission when so many voices in the Federation protest the very idea?” he hectored. “We have had our own interstellar community for longer than you humans have known how to split an atom. Why should we seek entry into your upstart organization when we are not even welcome there?”

“Many people in the Federation do want you to join,” Archer said. “The Federation is built on interstellar partnership and plurality. If the majority of voters on our founding worlds agreed that it was a good idea to partner with each other for the greater good . . . well, then they recognize the value of partnership with other worlds, too.” The admiral chose his words circumspectly, not wanting to overreach with his promises. “Yes, there are some who feel differently. But like Rigel itself, the Federation is dedicated to freedom of belief and expression. Those voices of protest are there because we respect their right to be heard.”

“Noble words, Admiral.” This time the speaker was Director Nop Tenott, a male Xarantine who represented the Rigel Colonies, as the various alien communities that had settled in the Rigel system over the past two centuries, mostly on the moons of Rigel V and VI, were known. He tilted his high-crowned, hairless yellow head, a skeptical expression on his noseless face. “But if you have such a commitment to plurality of thought, why do you insist that we compromise our traditions of cultural freedom and tolerance by adopting the Federation’s uniform strictures on commerce and business?”

Archer tried not to read an ulterior motive into the director’s words. He’d had a bad experience with a Xarantine emissary during the Vertian crisis last year, but he reminded himself that, whatever his species, Tenott was a Rigelian by birth and citizenship. Then again, that was hardly a guarantee of ethical business practices, which was the root of the problem.

Soval replied before Archer could. “The policy changes necessary for Federation membership would only be in certain areas. The outlawing of slave trading, the halting of piracy, the restriction of business practices that would endanger sentient lives or planetary ecologies, the guarantee of basic rights for all workers, and so forth.”

The final director, Sedra Hemnask of Rigel V, now spoke. “I appreciate the principle,” said Hemnask, a relatively young female belonging to the Zami species, with long, wavy cinnamon-brown hair and a fair complexion. She was humanlike enough that Archer found her very attractive, and the subtle points of her ears did nothing to detract from that. “Certainly there is good reason to wish for the effective control of unethical practices and threats to life and limb. The First Families and their ongoing depredations are a continual thorn in the Commission’s side.” Hemnask spoke with restrained passion, and Archer wondered if, despite her birth and upbringing within Rigel V’s large Zami community, her genetic kinship with the natives of Rigel IV inclined her to take the piratical behavior of its ruling families personally.

“But our peoples have learned over the centuries that there can be danger in taking such intervention too far,” Hemnask continued. “Well-intentioned meddling in other cultures can become heavy-handed and invasive, a threat to their rights and independence.”

“Absolutely,” Sajithen declared in her gravelly Chelon tones, punctuating it with a series of sharp clicks from her rigid beak. “Four centuries ago, the Jelna’s overzealous attempts to ‘modernize’ my ancestors led to a rebellion that flamed for generations, until we finally forced the Commission to give us equal representation.”

Zehron yawned. “And listening to you, one would think the rebellion was still going on.”

“My people have long memories, Director. And that was not the final time we were exploited by outsiders. We consider it prudent to remain alert to the risk.”

“Believe me, Directors,” Archer said to Sajithen and Hemnask, “I understand your position on this matter. For centuries, the Vulcans have practiced a similar philosophy toward contact with other races. It helps guide my own beliefs about the Federation’s responsibilities in interspecies contact.” Soval gave him an appreciative nod—though not without a trace of irony, given all the times through the years when he had found Archer’s embrace of the non-interference policy to be insufficiently rigorous.

“But we believe that’s for dealing with those outside your own community. Don’t get me wrong—we value the diversity of customs and beliefs among our own members. But there are some principles that need to be agreed on by every member of a society for it to function. Some basic standards of ethics and individual rights. Like laws against murder and slavery, violent assault and theft. Laws that protect people’s fundamental right to exist and to live free from violence, coercion, or oppression.”