Free Talosian Chronicles 3: Talosian Alliance by Ben Winston

like to meet or perhaps enter into trade agreements with some of these other races? Will you ‘protect' us from them as well?”
    “I never said you didn’t have control over our military, Madam Ambassador. I said you didn’t rule us. That is what we are trying to accomplish here today. We are asking for permission to station an Ambassador here to keep you informed of our actions, as well as bring some decisions to you so you have some say in the decisions made in regards to the defense of this planet. Other matters not directly affecting this planet will be handled by our own ruling council.
    “So you are reserving the right to enter into your own treaties and agreements without our input?” The woman from France replied.
    “For now, yes, that is exactly what I’m saying. Because, quite frankly, you have no idea what’s out there or how those politics work. I'm not saying we are experts in that area, but we do have more of an idea of what’s really going on out there than you do,” Luke explained. “We are currently considering treaties and agreements with two separate intergalactic ruling bodies to improve our defenses here.” Luke looked at Star who nodded to him. “I’ve taken the liberty to send each of you a report on the political structure of the galaxy as we currently know it. In a few days, delegates from one of those governments will be arriving to discuss those very issues.
    “Before you get too nervous, they will not be coming to the planet. Instead, they are coming here to tour our facilities and discuss entering into a treaty assisting us in our defenses in exchange for servicing and upgrading their warships. There is also an issue they wish to discuss that claims ownership of Star Dancer, Terra’s only functional warship.” Luke held up his hand to prevent several of the Ambassadors from speaking out. “Rest assured they will have no better luck with that than you did. Even by their own laws and traditions, they have no legal claim.”
    “What can you tell us of this race that is coming here, Councilor?” the Secretary General asked.
    “All of the information is in the documents I sent to you, Mr. Secretary. However, the race that is coming here are human. They are called Talosians, and are the descendants of the survivors from the destruction of the Talos system Commander Williams spoke of earlier,” Luke replied.
    “From what Commander Williams told us, are we not all descendants of the Talosians?” The Nigerian Ambassador asked.
    “Not all of us, no, but a good share of us are. The surviving crew members escaped to our planet and added their genetic legacy to our own. However, there simply were not that many of them to influence the whole population.”
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    Centurion T.A.S Borderlands
    Low Geosynchronous Interdiction Orbit
    India, near Pakastani border
    Earth, Sol System
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    “S tar-Con, this is Borderlands. Both the Pakistani’s and the Indians have armies massed near their borders. We are detecting nuclear signatures, and have pinpointed them. There are also several hundred fighters and bombers down there. This is a hell of a mess, control.”
    “Understood Borderlands. That’s why the Council wanted us there,” the controller replied.
    “Yeah, I understand that, control, but I don’t think one wing is going to be enough to stop everything. We’re looking at cruise missiles and a very short range. I would like to request the rest of the squadron join us out here. I just can’t help but think no matter how good our technology is, we’re still only going to get one shot at this,” Fireball asked. His real name was Captain Grant Frie, and he was a seasoned veteran of aerial combat.
    Chloe had been listening and monitoring the data feeds from the ships on patrol there. She agreed with Fireball, and approved the deployment. “Borderlands, this is Gamemaster, scrambling the rest of your squadron. Maintain stealth profile and