1y7m3w4d BV
Father Busani’s office, Whitecrest Clan Enclave, Wi Kao, Gao
Whitecrest Father Busani
There was a scratch at the door. Busani set down his datapad. “Come in.”
Officer Hiron entered. “You wanted to see me, Father?”
“Ah, Hiron. Yes, do have a seat.” He waited for Hiron to sit before continuing. “I trust that your mission on the Desolate Oasis was a success?”
Hiron shrugged. “There wasn’t much to go wrong, Father.”
Busani sat back in his chair. “In my experience, the uneventful missions are only so due to the diligence of the operative involved.”
Hiron twisted his ears uncertainly, before ducking his head. “…Thank you, Father.”
“Now, that is not why I’ve asked you to come here today. I’ve discovered a small problem with your records.” Seeing the operative fidget nervously, Busani changed his tone. “There is nothing to be worried about, Brother. These errors happen from time to time.” He handed a datapad across the desk. “Please review and confirm this document. It should be identical to the copy that you signed the first time.”
Hiron scanned the document, his ears dancing around as he read through it. Finally, they settled on a look of confusion as he reached the end. “Are you sure this is correct, Father? I’m not sure that the stated rank is accurate.”
Busani flattened his ears. “Now, I do understand the frustrations involved with the unexpected loss of earned rank, and I am willing to compensate your troubles to some degree, I will not be bullied into pushing you further than your actions merit. Completing the second ring trials at your age is quite the achievement as it is. You have a long way to go before you are ready for your next ring.”
Hiron shook his head. “That’s not what I meant Father. I…” He ducked his head, whiskers twitching in disappointment. “I suffered a cranial injury recently. There are a number of events that I simply have no recollection of. The second ring trials, for instance. I can’t say for certain that I did not complete them, but I remember nothing from them.”
Busani stopped for a moment. The trials were a rather elaborate and extensive endeavor. Busani couldn’t imagine anyone forgetting the experience. His own second ring trial had nearly broken him but, like any true Whitecrest, he had persevered. What sort of injury would erase something as life-changing as that, without also destroying the very character of a Brother in the process? “Where did you have the injury treated?”
Hiron fidgeted nervously. “I didn’t, really.”
“This is a dangerous situation, Hiron. If your amnesia is as severe as you claim, it could greatly hamper your ability to continue your duties to the clan.”
Hiron whimpered. “That is why I have kept it to myself. Father, I refuse to be useless.”
Busani twitched an ear slightly as he considered the situation. Such extensive amnesia was rare. Even more rare was the ability of a Brother with that level of amnesia to do anything. The other possibility, that Hiron had not completed the trials, seemed much more reasonable.
So, what evidence was there that the trails have been completed? There was no documented evidence. Even the supposed participant had no recollection of the event. That left only… With a sigh, Busani dropped his head to the desk. “Ronovin.”
Hiron perked an ear. “Ronovin? What about him?” He thought a moment before collapsing to the table, whiskers twitching in resignation. “You’re going to ask me to seek his aid.”
Interesting. Ronovin appears to have left a bad impression on the ‘Officer’. “Perhaps, but that can come later. First, we need to confirm your current status.”
Hiron lifted his head. “That sounds reasonable, Father.”
“Explain to me where you currently are in your training process.”
“I’ve just completed the off-world espionage portion of my training. Due to unexpected circumstances, my instructor, Officer Thalias, also gave me credit for the practical combat portion of the training.”
“Ah yes, off-world can be rather dangerous. What did you fight?”
“Hunters. Several dozen of them.”
Busani stiffened. “…That was you…”
Hiron sat up, looking at Busani with concern. “Is everything alright, Father?”
Busani shook his head. “Give me a moment, Brother.” Somehow he had failed to make this connection. In his mind lay two separate ‘Hiron’ operatives; The Associate that had first served on the Desolate Oasis, and the Officer that had ‘taken his place’ after delivering the human to Gao. He took a moment to piece the two personas together. With all that he knew about Hiron now fresh in his mind, the rank of ‘Officer’ would hardly be diminished with this Brother added to its ranks. “Associate Hiron, how far are you from your trials?”
“I was told that, with the conclusion of my mission on the Desolate Oasis, I have completed all required prerequisite training.”
“And if I were to ask your instructor?”
“I believe that he would say the same.”
“I will follow up on that. Now, do you feel that you are ready for the trials?”
Hiron fidgeted nervously. “I do, Father.”
Busani growled in amusement. “Then I have an assignment for you. If you complete this task for me, I will personally approve your entrance to the trials. Assuming, of course, that Thalias does not object.”
Hiron’s ears perked eagerly. “What will you have me do, Father?”
“Special Operative Ronovin has taken interest in a certain human. You will study his data trail and determine why.”
Hiron sighed happily. He took a deep breath, seeming to savor the moment.
“Associate?”
“The human you refer to is Chuck Byse, correct?”
“Yes…”
“Ronovin seeks to study and to enlist him. He wants to study his strengths and weaknesses in an effort to prepare our defenses as needed for future engagements with hostile humans. In addition, he intends to enlist Chuck as an ambassador of sorts to negotiate with other potential human factions.”
Busani blinked and lowered his ears back into a less startled position.
“Do you require further elaboration, Father?”
“No, I do believe that will suffice.” He stared at Hiron briefly. The cub sat eager and proud. Busani could hardly blame him. “As agreed, I will arrange for your trials.”
Hiron yelped happily before reigning himself back in. “Sorry Father…”
Busani gave Hiron a reassuring flick of an ear. “It is quite alright, Hiron. Now, I do have one more task for you, if you are willing.”
Hiron ducked in respect. “Of course, Father.”
1y7m3w4d BV
Outside Ronovin’s office, Whitecrest Clan Enclave, Wi Kao, Gao
Whitecrest Associate Hiron
Hiron set the bowl down and scratched on the door. “Do you have a few minutes, Ronovin?”
“Ah, Hiron, come in.”
Hiron carefully pushed opened the door with a hindlimb as he carried the bowl into the room. He set the bowl aside as Ronovin turned to greet him.
Ronovin glanced at the bowl. “What have you-” Ronvin flattened his ears and snarled at Hiron after recognizing its contents. “Chuck told me that no one would hear of this.”
Hiron stepped back, surprised at the sudden savagery. “I didn’t talk to Chuck about anything.” He grabbed the bowl and held it in front of him.
“Oh? Who then?”
Hiron flicked an ear nervously. “I cannot say.”
Ronovin glared at him a moment longer, then sighed. “There’s only one Gaoian…” He shook his head. “Busani never does his own dirty work.” He flattened his ears. “So, Hiron, what have you come to do?”
Hiron thought a moment. “I’ve come to voice my displeasure.”
“Oh? This is personal? I thought that we have moved past that.”
Hiron took a step back, giving himself some space. “You kept Chuck to yourself. You deserve this!” He began to pull the bowl back preparing a throw.
Ronovin threw up his forelimbs in a futile attempt to deflect what was coming. “Hold up cub, wait a minute.”
Shocked at the brute’s attempt to parley, Hiron halted as ordered.
“What’s wrong, cub? Plenty of Brothers have good reason to come after me, but I don’t see any reason for you to be among them.”
This… was wrong. It didn’t make sense. Where was Ronovin’s aggression? Why wasn’t he attacking? …He must be trying to trick him! Hiron hissed angrily. “Problem? You kept him from me!”
“Who? Chuck? You spent over a week alone with him.”
That… wasn’t wrong. “But you…” He dropped his paws, setting the bowl on the ground as he tried to think. “You told me to fight him… and then-.” He tapped a hindpaw in concentration. “This is all your fault!” With that, he pounced, knocking the elder Gaoian to the floor. The two of them rolled around for a few minute, neither quite getting the upper hand.
“What is my fault?” Ronovin called over the melee. “That Chuck prefers me to you? That Chuck is too afraid of breaking you to have a proper scuffle? Or maybe it’s because, outside of official duties, I was the only one that bothered to do anything with him?” Ronovin finally managed to pin Hiron. “What’s gotten into you?”
Hiron was panting heavily. “I… you.” He flopped down onto the floor.
“This is Busani’s fault, isn’t it? He turned you against me.” Ronovin let his pin slip, crawling up to his paws. “Talk to me, Brother.”
“No… I remember…” Hiron pulled himself to his paws, carefully nudging the bowl slightly with a hindpaw as he stood. He pounced again, before immediately feinting away.
Ronovin gave chase, his hindpaw landing in the bowl of pudding with a satisfying squish. Hiron’s pursuer stopped and looked at his muck-covered paw, before flattening his ears and charging after him once again.
Hiron stopped and glanced thoughtfully at the floor. Ronovin slowed and followed his gaze, giving Hiron just enough time to leap close and run a claw along the same nerve that Chuck had used earlier. It worked. Ronovin’s hindlimb involuntarily twitched, launching him off balance. Unfortunately, Hiron’s the follow-up tackle was countered, and the two Gaoians twisted and grappled once again.
Hiron, however, struggled to focus on the fight. Something was wrong. Instead of attacking him immediately, Ronovin seemed to suggest that there was no reason for animosity between the two Gaoians. There must be something missing from his memory.
Ronovin had wronged him, that was something that he simply knew… though he couldn’t recall how. The only possible explanation was that he had forgotten the original transgressions… but his only memories of the animosity were from the immediate aftermath of the concussion. Either those memories, too, were lost… or, much like the second ring trials, had never happened in the first place. A few seconds later, he realized that he was pinned.
Ronovin held him down with one paw, clutching the bowl in his other.
Hiron flattened his ear in panic. “Ronovin! I was mistaken!”
“You sure were, pup.” He began to slowly tilt the bowl.
Hiron yanked a paw free and, with one smooth motion, drew his stun gun and jabbed it into Ronovin.
Time immediately slowed to a halt. Ronovin flopped towards the ground, leaving the bowl hanging in midair, slowly rotating. Hiron’s ears perked in concern as the creamy calamity orbited slowly above him. Ronovin had given the bowl a slightly upwards velocity from his final twitch, so there was plenty of time to duck out of the way. But, with Ronovin unable to dodge… That would not end well for him. So instead Hiron dove on top of Ronovin, twisting himself to his back. Then he waited. He watched the bowl slowly spin as it descended towards him. He threw out his paws and caught it!
He sighed with relief for a quarter of a heartbeat before realizing that he had caught the bowl directly overhead… upside-down. He sat still, in shock, as his mind slowly recalled the events leading up to this mess.
In what felt like seconds, but probably was minutes, Ronovin pulled himself out from under Hiron, small amounts of splattered dessert stuck to his coat. Hiron snapped back to the present and glanced down to see himself completely covered.
Ronovin chittered. “You’re lucky that you did not try this a few days ago, pup. I would not have been so forgiving.” He leaned in close. “Tell me, cub, what have you learned today?”
Hiron glanced down at his chest, then turned to look at Ronovin, speaking in complete deadpan. “Don’t sacrifice yourself for those that would not appreciate the gesture.”
Ronovin growled slightly, amused. “I’ll give you that one, Brother. Now what’s this about Chuck?”
Hiron glanced down at the mess. “I think I should probably deal with this first.”
“No. We settle first.” Ronovin plopped down next to where Hiron still lay splayed out on the floor.
Hiron sighed. “Me and Chuck, we wrestled. He won.”
Ronovin chittered, flicking some of the larger globs off of Hiron’s coat. “That does not surprise me.”
“No, it was worse than that. I hit him with my head.”
“That doesn’t seem wise.”
“It wasn’t. I had amnesia afterwards. I was convinced that everything was your fault.”
Ronovin purred softly, lost in thought. “Interesting that you choose to share that, Brother.”
Hiron perked an ear in confusion.
“Delirium has a tendency of bringing hidden thoughts to the surface. Most Brothers prefer that their hidden thoughts stay that way.”
Hiron thought a moment… “Chuck…” He immediately lost his train of thought and began purring happily as Ronovin began massaging his shoulders. “Chuck told me you taught him this.”
“I did. Chuck seems to enjoy… petting.” He shrugged. “Physical contact is simply a benign currency I leverage to purchase goodwill. I figured I’d show him how to do it properly and get a free massage out of it.”
Hiron stared blankly at the wall. “I wish you had told me he could do that.”
Ronovin pant-grinned. “You never asked. Me or him.”
“…I forgot why I was angry at you.”
Ronovin chittered grimly. “In your addled state, you likely made incorrect associations. You probably never were.”
Hiorn glanced back at Ronovin. That was not entirely accurate. He had been angry about something… but it had probably been nothing important. Certainly, he had little to lose by simply letting it go. “I apologize for my earlier confusion, Brother.”
Ronovin chittered again. “I see no reason to let an injury derived misunderstanding stand between us.” He pant-grinned mischievously. “Besides, it’s fun working this pudding deep into your fur. Helps me relax, takes my mind off what you tried to do.”
Hiron growled slightly in mild irritation, as he glanced at his shoulders. But he soon collapsed back in Ronovin’s paws with a satisfied purr. “Worth it.”
“We’ll see if you still say that when you are trying to clean it out later.”
Eventually Ronovin stopped and pulled himself to his hindlimbs. “There is one thing I want you to do for me, cub. Come.”
Just outside Father Busani’s office, Whitecrest Clan Enclave, Wi Kao, Gao
Hiron
Hiron scratched at the door. “Who’s there?” called a rather panicked Father.
“Brother Hiron.”
“Come in, Associate. How did it…” He stopped short as Hiron entered the room, shaking some loose pudding from his fur. “Ah… I’m sorry, Brother, I-” Busani immediately shifted from a look of embarrassment to one of horror as Ronovin’s head and forelimbs emerged from under a camouflage cloak, holding a bowl over the Father’s head. “Ronovin… I don’t suppose we can just put this misunderstanding behind us.”
Ronovin snorted and deftly inverted the bowl, spilling confetti over the Father. He shook his head. “It seems that you have forgotten how to handle your own projects. I thought I’d do you a favor and demonstrate the proper methods.” He twisted his ears, mockingly. “You must be tired, Father. You should get some rest. The Busani I know is much better than this at planning for future contingencies. We’ll talk later, after you’ve had a chance to regain your composure.” He turned and walked past Hiron out of the office.
Hiron ducked his head. “I’m sorry, Father, he gave me no choice.”
Busani simply nodded and dismissed him with a wave of his paw.
Quickly exiting the office, Hiron hurried to catch back up with Ronovin. “I understand not retaliating with more pudding, but I still think you should have at least used glitter.”
Ronovin shook his head. “Glitter? I was trying to make a point, not start a war. Besides, aren’t you trying to earn a big favor from him?”
“I… yes.” He glanced down at his ruined coat. “But this is his fault.”
“No, you did that to yourself.”
Hiron bowed his head meekly.
Ronovin merely pant-grinned in response, ruffling Hiron’s crest and scattering pudding around the hall. He didn’t even seem to notice the small blobs that hit his own fur. “Come with me, I’ve found a few secrets that will clean this right up.”
1y7m3w4d BV
Outer Intrastellar Enforcement Center, Capula system
Investigator Hrrrk’rttk’lrtk
“So, Grrttlk’klk, you say that you were attacked by pirates?” Hrrrk’rttk’lrtk sat back in his chair. The Vzk’tk before him owned a small establishment in the outer edges of this star system. “That seems unlikely, as you still live.”
“Well…” Grrttlk’klk spoke nervously. “I didn’t know that they were pirates until a few hours after they left.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“It’s true! They sold me a ship. As I was looking through its databanks I noticed that this ship was one that had been stolen from me five years ago!”
Hrrrk’rttk’lrtk stared at the Vzk’tk disappointedly. “You didn’t notice this earlier?”
“Well, the ship had been completely rebuilt.” He stopped and fidgeted nervously. “Even after paying for it twice, I’ll probably still make a profit off it.”
“Do you remember who had stolen the ship from you in the first place?”
Grrttlk’klk nodded.
“Were these the same individuals?”
“No.”
“Did they use the same equipment? Did they share anything in common at all with the original thieves?”
“Well, one of them was a Gaoian.”
Hrrrk’rttk’lrtk snorted. “That’s not a very strong connection.” He sat back, closing his eyes. “The other being, the non-Gaoian, what was it?”
“I… I don’t know. She was similar in size, hairless, bulky, wore clothing.”
“It wasn’t a human, was it?”
Grrttlk’klk gestured noncommittally, indicating his ignorance.
Hrrrk’rttk’lrtk snorted in frustration. “Outlook on Forever, a few years ago. One of them showed up and killed multiple hunters.”
“I am not familiar with any such event.”
Hrrrk’rttk’lrtk stopped a minute to let his rising frustrations subside, taking a deep breath and sitting back in his chair. Just because he worked security and made it his business to know about all type of threats, doesn’t mean that everyone else did too. He pulled out a datapad and brought up a picture of the infamous Kevin Jenkins. “This is a male human.”
Grrttlk’klk studied the picture. “She looked similar. Different color fur on her head but… she did look similar.”
Hrrrk’rttk’lrtk hummed as he thought. “I’ll upload a report of this incident, but I wouldn’t expect much to come of it. Your ‘pirates’ do not seem to be as such. I’ll let you know if we discover anything else that concerns you.” He dismissed the Vzk’tk from his office and began compiling the report.
1y7m3w3d BV
Outside training range, Whitecrest Clan Enclave, Wi Kao, Gao
Sennar
There was something different about Milt. Something about the way he walked, the way he stood, even his mere presence. He had been spending nearly all of his available time with one of the more secretive Whitecrest divisions. No one seemed to know quite what he did with that group, or why he was doing it, but regardless, Milt seemed to benefit from his association with it. The constant paranoia that always seemed to surround his Brother had weakened somewhat, replaced by a more subdued vigilance. Anyone who hadn’t known him for years would probably still call him a paranoid coward, but Sennar knew him better than that. That was simply Milt’s character, simply the Gaoian he was.
Milt’s change had started at almost the exact same time as the human’s arrival. He had sought the human’s aid and, somehow, his absurdly robust new friend helped him to shed many of his unnatural concerns; The brokenness caused by his great failure had begun to heal.
That human’s gift was something truly precious, something that Sennar hadn’t even thought was possible. By the void, even if the human never did anything else, he was just happy that it had given his Brother a new life, a new joy. One day he would find a way to repay the human for the return of his Brother, somehow.
Milt was now a happier Gaoian, more willing to play. He had even initiated first pounce one evening, after the two of them had resolved a particularly difficult technical issue. Sennar had been shocked to find himself humiliated in that bout. He hadn’t seen Milt fight anyone since the incident; When in Fyu’s name did he learn to wrestle like this? Milt offered a few hints, but never openly admitted anything.
Even with his understanding of the new Milt, Sennar was still puzzled by his Brother’s actions a few days prior. Milt had handed him a set of Ta-Shan tokens, asking Sennar to pick one, look at it and set it back in its case, all without him seeing. Curious, Sennar did as asked. Then, Milt gambled; yet another activity that Milt have never previously shown interest in.
If Milt could correctly draw the same token out of his pouch, he would win the bet, otherwise the victory was Sennar’s. The prize? Loser has to perform the next cleaning of all of the facilities, excluding the training range. The winner need only clear that one room.
Suspiciously, Milt did not seem all that upset when he produced the incorrect token. He gracefully admitted defeat and immediately adjusted the schedule on his datapad.
It wasn’t until right about now, as he drew close to the range, that Sennar began to wrap his ears around it. Something smelled wrong near the stairwell, and he was pretty sure that he saw a few little flecks of green debris scattered around.
Then he saw the stairs. Dozens of imprinted footprints; That would take a while to buff out. Now he was getting worried. This was still manageable, of course, but he was beginning to wonder if he had truly won the wager. After hearing rumors about Milt and his cohorts from a few days earlier… He gasped as the range’s lights turned on.
…Fyu’s balls.
The walls, the floors, the ceiling, all of it covered. He looked down. There wasn’t even a clear area to stand. Realizing that there was no way to avoid cleaning his paws today, he took a lap of the room, studying the task ahead of him. What a mess.
It may have only been a small consolation, but at least that Keeda-damned tail biter had dutifully handled the rest of the cleaning. Fyu knows that Milt could have easily convinced Sennar to entrap himself further.
Continuing to curse quietly, he picked up a shovel and began cleaning. There would be a lot of scraping to do before the drones could handle the rest.
1y7m3w2d BV
Thalias’ office, Whitecrest Clan Enclave, Wi Kao, Gao
Officer Thalias, Head of Whitecrest’s Human Investigation Division
“So, did you have a chance to review the notes I sent yesterday?”
Thalias duck-nodded. “I did, Father. I had a brief discussion with a certain Ironclaw Father as well.” He still resented being all but forced to authorize a transfer of intelligence to Ironclaw. The rival clan had sent a team of technicians to thoroughly inspect and document Whitecrest’s Hunter vessel, in return for keeping knowledge of their alien visitor a controlled secret.
“So what did he say?”
“He claimed that the Carpe Aeternum has returned to its home facility for minor repairs.”
Father Busani paced back and forth. “What have you uncovered?”
Thalias had sent one of his younger associates, fresh out of the first ring trials, to recon the facility. Unfortunately, the young Brother had not been able to accomplish much more than to verify the craft’s presence in the facility. It seems that the Ironclaw technician responsible for the craft had become rather paranoid about security of late. Fortunately, one of Thalias’ other contacts within Ironclaw had uncovered more detailed intelligence.
“The human has been kept rather busy. He’s been spotted in several meetings with several different Ironclaw Officers and Fathers over the past few days.”
Busani perked an ear, intrigued. “Do we have enough to claim they violated their confidentiality pledge?”
“I don’t believe so. All of the Gaoians that Chuck has been seen with were already aware of his presence.”
“What is the human doing?”
“From what I’ve heard, the human is a major contributor to some sort of industrial reorganization. There is talk of new manufacturing processes being planned.”
“Hmm. See what else you can learn.”
“Of course, Father.”
“What about the ship?”
“All we know for sure is that whatever is being done to that ship is being kept highly compartmentalized. Ironclaw is not trying to hide the fact that they are most definitely hiding something. Beyond that, only speculation.”
Busani duck-nodded and waved him on.
“In the past month, Chuck has spent significant time studying weapon systems, hydroponics, biofields, and cloaking devices through Whitenet.”
Busani pondered a moment. “So his ship is likely being retrofitted.”
“It seems that way. Yet he didn’t see fit to inform us.”
“Thalias, think. One of my Brothers believes that Chuck is Fyu-damned clever, and I have little reason to disagree with that particular assessment. Even then, it doesn’t take a Highmountain to understand that Whitenet is under surveillance. He did inform you of his planned upgrades to his ship.”
“Why didn’t he contact us directly?”
Busani perked an ear at him. “What would you have done if he requested ship upgrades from you?”
“… I’d have sent him to Ironclaw.”
“It seems that he came to the same conclusion and bypassed the intermediary broker.”
Thalias sat back a moment and pondered. “So, what do we do?”
Busani took a seat. “First, we compare notes. It seems that I have made a mistake by not remaining informed of your division’s advances. Tell me, how complete is your knowledge bank on humanity’s technological progress?”
Thalais perked his ears, shocked. A Clanfather had finally taken interest in the activities of the Human Investigation Division! Luckily, he had prepared for these conversations, even though he had never been invited into these discussions in the past. Trying to avoid an unprofessional silence, he quickly began one of his pre-rehearsed statements as he tried to determine what to say next.
“Most of their advances are openly shared. We have cataloged almost all of their published works and most of the objective content of their Global Computer Network. From what we have ascertained, there are likely several advances that exist outside of public knowledge as well. For those secrets, we can only use speculative extrapolation via publicly accessible funding and employment records.”
Busani nodded. “Good. So, Brother, in the best case scenario, if all of their nava are in one bush, how long do we have until they achieve FTL travel?”
Thalias twisted his ears outwards, pondering. “Well… That is a difficult question to answer.” He sat back and closed his eyes. “Let me start here. Humans went from ‘knowing’ that heavier than air flight was impossible to supersonic travel in just over half a century, from developing their first combustion engine, to landing one of their own on Luna in barely a century. Those advances, however, were politically motivated.
“We do not have a clear grasp on their current political situation, nor the true extent of their current technological progress. However, even excluding their secret advances, humanity’s public knowledge base is only two, maybe three major discoveries away from quantum field manipulation. From there…” Thalias scratched his muzzle as he tilted his head. “It may be as little as a decade. But I’d put my best guess at forty years. No… no… twenty five. Humanity has a history of making absurd progress as they approach a major advancement.”
“So, perhaps in my lifetime then.” The Father sighed. “As much as I hate to admit it, Ronovin is right. Tell me this, Thalias. If there were to be a conflict between Gao and Earth, could we win?”
Thalias thought a moment. “In a war of annihilation, we win. They can’t travel here but we have access to Earth. Eventually they falter. If you mean occupation and subjugation… we can’t win that fight. Control of human land is impossible, completely impossible. On the other hand, the only difficulty that humans would have with occupying Gao is getting here. Once they arrive…”
“So open conflict leads to extinction.”
“If we are to win, yes.”
Busani sighed. “We’ll want peaceful contact then.” He stood again, pacing the room. “What is your current status with the human?”
“Well… not as ideal as I had believed. I’ve exchanged numerous reports with a field operative close to him.”
“Hiron.” Busani duck-nodded. “Now, what exactly do you mean by ‘not ideal’?”
Thalias twisted ear ears back, embarrassed. There had been years to plan for his first contact with a human. Then, when the first opportunity for contact arrived, he failed to approach the task with the careful attention it deserved. He had one opportunity to make a good first impression and he… well, there was really only one way to properly express his regret. “Father, I… ‘fucked up’.”
Busani stopped and perked an ear. “Oh?”
“I was too aggressive with my recruiting efforts. I overplayed my pile and was discovered. Chuck knew he was being tested, yet pretended he did not. If it weren’t for the diligence of Brother Hiron, I wouldn’t know even that.”
Busani thought for a moment. “We may have suffered a great setback due to your recklessness. For now, play to your strengths. Manage him. Find assignments that are well suited to his capabilities, and make sure that he is well compensated for his efforts. Of course, Whitecrest will have to disavow your earlier actions and lay the fault for any misgivings on your back. The human will have to be made aware that Whitecrest will not deceive him again in that manner.
“You will likely find it difficult to regain his trust. So don’t waste effort trying… yet. Offer honest, verifiable information and keep your muzzle shut otherwise. Until further notice, you merely act as a broker for our human. Leave the playing to the human’s more favored cubs.”
The Father walked around the desk and laid a paw on Thalias’ shoulder. “Just between us, though, I’m not convinced that I would have handled the situation any better. I’m sure, in time, this issue will be forgotten. Any questions?”
“…No Father.”
“Perhaps start small. Find an assignment that is simple and will provide him with an obvious benefit.”
Thalias duck-nodded. “Yes Father.”
Busani stood and left the office.