Tag and Kosiev both looked at each other then back at her. “Why is that?” Tag asked.
“Because I sense the Admiral here hates us with all his being.” She looked at Terl and said, “He would never accept anything that would force peace between us which leads me to believe that the promise you made in the form you just used, Clan Leader, is meaningless; I suspect that only promises made from one clan to another are binding and all other promises carry no legal weight unless all clans approve it in the form of a treaty.”
Terl was amazed. “How could you possibly know that?”
Danielle shrugged and said, “It’s obvious if you just look at your Admiral’s reactions. Admiral, why do you hate us?”
Dorg sat and said nothing. Terl looked at him and ordered, “Answer them.”
Dorg snarled, “You killed my Grandfather.” Terl sat back in his chair and looked at Dorg like he had never known him. The hatred was obvious in his face, the stiffness of his body, and the tight fists on all four hands.
“When and how did we do that, Admiral,” Danielle asked in a soft voice. Tag and Kosiev remained silent, looked at each other and leaned back deciding to let her lead the conversation.
Dorg looked at Danielle and said, “He was killed when your ship destroyed the two destroyers and damaged one of our cruisers ninety cycles ago. He was the commander of the cruiser.”
“And you blame us for his death,” Danielle said continuing to speak softly.
“Yes, he would have been our Clan Leader and you ended his life.”
“Admiral, does any race other than your own have any standing in your point of view?” Danielle asked?
“No.”
“What makes your race stand above all others?”
“Because we are the strongest of all races,” Dorg yelled! “None compare to us.”
Still speaking a soft voice Danielle said, “So you are saying that the strongest are the only ones that should have any standing.”
“Absolutely.”
“What about the present situation, Admiral? Are you still the strongest now or have you lost your standing to my race,” Danielle asked?
Dorg could only sit there and struggle with a response.
“Let me put it another way, Admiral. If I walked into a room with 10 other humans and we started firing hand weapons at you; are you entitled to fire back in self defense?”
“Yes, of course.”
“What if during that confrontation you shot one of the ten and killed him. Are you to blame for his death?”
“He shouldn’t have started shooting at me first.”
“What if he didn’t; it was another that started the firing?”
“Then it’s the one who started firing that caused the death.”
Danielle stared at Dorg for few moments then said, “Ninety of our years ago one of your Admirals came to Earth with the intention of destroying our planet when one of your visiting nobles died while visiting. A Spejk doctor on our world determined that the noble died of natural causes. Were you aware of that?”
“Yes, so what?”
“Well, your Admiral found out that he had no cause to blame us for that death and he was furious that he could not use his fleet to destroy us. He took his fleet and left our system but on his way out to the jump limit he encountered one of our ships returning home and attacked it. Admiral, what cause did he have for that attack? What did we do to justify it?”
Dorg just sat silent.
“He had all two hundred ships in his fleet fire on that Earth Cruiser. All the Earth ship did was to try to defend itself and escape. Should the Earth Ship have just allowed itself to be destroyed?”
Dorg sat silent.
“Your Grandfather died as a result of your Admiral’s decision to kill the Earth Ship and crew. Just like the person who was shot when you would defend yourself if you were attacked by ten of us.”
“One last question, Admiral; would your Grandfather have died if your Admiral had not ordered his fleet to attack an innocent ship? Like you said earlier, the one who started the shooting is the one responsible for the death.”
Dorg was in obvious turmoil. He tried desperately not to hear her but he knew she was right; try as he might he couldn’t get around her logic. He knew at some level all along that the attack wasn’t justified; it was the fault of the Admiral. His grandfather’s death was the result of the Admirals anger over not being able to use his fleet for personal glory. All his life he had hated and blamed the wrong one. With that realization, he suddenly remembered the Human Colonists he had ordered executed and it hit him like a stunner. He hung his head and remained silent for a long moment, then said in a shaking voice, “I’m sorry. You’re right. I’m so sorry. I’ve been wrong about you all along. It was not your fault.”
“One more question Admiral.” Dorg looked up and Danielle said in a voice that he could barely hear, “When have we ever given your race a reason to attack us?”
Dorg hung his head and it was obvious that he was shaken by what Danielle had said to him. Terl looked at his Admiral sitting with his head down and suddenly he understood these humans. They had done nothing but defend themselves. His race had been the aggressor from the beginning and had not even taken the time to look and see if there was any threat to the Empire. This was all a huge mistake. Terl looked at Danielle and said, “I am also sorry. I’m ashamed of how we have treated you and how we have misjudged you over the cycles.” Then he looked at Tag and Kosiev, “Whatever you choose to do, we deserve. You never represented a threat to us; we were the threat to you.”
The room was heavy with silence. Danielle could tell that these two Cainth were sincere. Then she got up and walked over to Admiral Dorg, knelt down beside his chair, and put her hand on his shoulder. Dorg raised his head and looked Danielle in the eyes. Danielle said, “There are moments in our life where we see ourselves clearly for the first time and find that we are not who we think we are. You can see yourself now, perhaps for the first time, as you truly are and the pain and horror of what your decisions have caused. From this day forward it will be your decision each day to choose what your path will be because of your new insight.” Danielle stood and then turned and looked at Tag and Kosiev. Tag nodded at her and she turned to Terl and said, “Clan leader, how many clans make up your leadership council?” Danielle asked.
“There are fifteen of us that represent all the Clans. Why do you ask?”
“Your next decision will determine the future of both our races, Clan Leader,” Danielle said while looking at Tag. “You will call all the Clan Leaders to this ship immediately and you will turn the screens off your fleet until our meeting with them is over. You will ask your clan leaders to make us the sixteenth clan with a representative on your Council, then any agreements we make today will be binding on all.”
Everyone in the room was struck dumb by the suggestion. Dorg looked up and said in a soft voice, “The Military and I will totally support this decision if the Clan Leaders so will it.”
Terl looked at Dorg and saw sorrow, determination, and shame in his eyes along with something else that was different; his entire demeanor was different. This was the first hope Terl had felt since the battle and this was a remarkable suggestion. Then he said, “Who can speak for your government? How long will it take them to arrive?”
Admiral Kosiev said, “Clan Leader, these two civilians are the leaders of our entire race. They have been given the authority to speak for all of us. Not only will the Military support their decision but every member of our species will follow them.”
Terl looked around the room and felt excitement; a new Clan, a strong Clan, and one that he felt could be trusted to keep their promises. This was a new clan that had demonstrated to his people how their aggressive traits could lead to their possible extinction. He lifted his com and said, “Notify the fourteen Clan leaders to jump back into the system and join me on the Earth ship waiting for them at the jump limit. Tell them I order it.” Then he said to Danielle, “Would you be kind enough to move your ship to the jump limit, I don’t want to waste time on them having to move in system.”
Dorg raised his com and said, “All war ships will shut down their screens and weapon systems immediately; half of the fleet will then return home and assist in controlling the riots. Tresk, take the other half to the colonies and assist in bringing order. All screens will remain off while in our home system.”
