Free Into Tolari Space (Tales of Tolari Space) by Christie Meierz

First Contact
     
     
    And now, the Tolari were calling. The Tolari never called. How could they?
    Smithton searched for his shoes. His wife appeared in the doorway, a vision in pink, her loose blouse matching her floor-length skirt. Soft brown eyes twinkled in a flawless face. He didn’t think the blond hair was natural, but he didn’t ask. His first wife taught him that. It had been a painful lesson.
    “I’m coming,” he grunted, his bass voice like gravel. He sat on the edge of the bed and shoved his feet into his shoes, using his fingers as shoehorns.
    Addie flashed a bright smile and wiggled as she returned to their sitting room. He paused to admire her retreating bottom in spite of his hurry. Damn but she was sexy. She was sixteen years younger than he was, and she had to have married him for his family’s old money. He didn’t care if she had, as long as she stayed in his bed and out of anyone else’s. She’d been faithful. So far.
    With his shoes on his feet, he examined his solid, stocky frame in the full-length mirror on the closet door and shook his head. There wasn’t much extra weight on him, but his build made him look heavy. Most people tho ught him portly on first sight.
    He dragged his thoughts back to the task at hand and followed his wife, adjusting his collar as he walked. “All right, Addie,” he said. “Let’s go.”
    “The signal is coming in on a Terosha frequency.” She put on her ambassadorial aide face as they left their cabin and headed for the bridge. “It’s originating in a large building in a province near the equator. Looks like they kept whatever communication device the Terosha left.”
    He nodded, preoccupied with reviewing Tolari protocols, but there was no more time for reflection. The door slid open. A Tolari face graced the bridge monitor as he walked in with Addie on his arm like an ornament.
    The Tolari, he already knew, were humanoid. They were so humanoid, in fact, it would be possible to dress them in human clothing and drop them into the middle of New York City, and no one would look twice. Parallel evolution! It had been all over the interplanetary news networks. Central Command responded by putting the system off-limits to private and commercial vessels. Only Earth Fleet ships like the Bellerophon were allowed within two light years of Tolar’s star, Beta Hydri. The media whined as much as it dared, and a few entrepreneurs disappeared under mysterious circumstances, but the interdict stuck.
    The face on the display belonged to a man wearing a very pale shade of lavender. White embroidery covered his garment, or what could be seen of it, since the image cut off just below the shoulders. The Admiral was speaking to him. Smithton wondered how in damnation John had managed to transition from sound sleep to impeccable Earth Fleet admiral in less time than it took Smithton to shave.
    He blinked. Damn Tolari calling in the middle of the damn night.
    Addie derailed his line of thought. “He’s not showing anything ,” she murmured.
    She was right. The face on the monitor was unreadable. The Admiral turned at the sound of her voice and beckoned to Smithton.
    “High one, I present to you Smithton Adler Russell, Earth’s Ambassador to Tolar,” the Admiral said in halting Tolari as Smithton stepped up beside him.
    High one ? Smithton swallowed and remained silent. This was clear in his memory from the Terosha drills on protocol. Never, ever, speak first to a Tolari high one. Wait, as long as it takes. Smithton waited.
    The face relaxed into an expression of pleased surprise. “I am the Monral. I rule Monralar.”
    “You hon or me, high one,” Smithton said. “How may I serve you?”
    “I offer an invitation. Visit my stronghold. Stay a few days. We have much to discuss.”
    Smithton broke into a friendly smile. “Earth is honored by the opportunity to make your acquaintance. When may we arrive?”
    “I am at your disposal when it is night in my province,” he