already held too much power over her activities.
Then she remembered that she would need the alien's help getting her message to Soo. Despite her hesitation to ask him for advice, she could not avoid asking him for the use of his race's superior technology. The faster-than-light communication his people owned was like magic, and it was a magic that could help Treel.
Rala stomped a booted foot and reluctantly opened up a channel to her Zrthn counterpart.
Once the human issue was resolved, her next challenge would be to capture or steal the alien communication technology. There was no reason why she should have to go through an intermediary when communicating with her allies.
* * *
When the Minith trade minister finally contacted him, Oiloo already knew about the failed human attack. Thanks to the device she planted, he heard the updates from Truk's generals at the same time as the Minith governor himself received them. Still, he acted surprised and grateful when Rala gave him the news.
He was relieved that the crisis with the humans was resolved without Zrthn intervention. It made dealing with the Circle of Administrators much more palatable when he did not have to explain his actions or debate his positions. Although it irritated him that they had been correct—their involvement had not been needed—he was relieved that the conflict in his section was being resolved quickly. The sooner he could get the agsel flowing, the better.
The Minith female surprised him when she asked for another space-link to her general's ship. He had not expected that she would need to provide further instructions to the male regarding his duties. Apparently, she had no more faith in General Soo's abilities than he did.
Despite his surprise over the request, it made sense and furthered his goals, so he quickly agreed.
He was not surprised that she withheld the information regarding the human she was holding captive inside her home. He doubted she wanted anyone to know about that.
CHAPTER 13
Grant struggled to sit up. Then he laughed.
Despite the pain in his body—despite the anguish in heart—he laughed. If the people from his time could see this, they would be struck dumb.
The Waa were little green aliens.
As in, the stereotypical description of little green aliens.
Grant felt like he knew the thin, four-foot-tall, pale-green figure standing next to his bed. The large, slanted, saucer-shaped black orbs that were the alien's eyes merely stared at him, unblinking. The Waa seemed to understand why he found the introduction humorous and, to his credit, calmly waited for the human to pull himself together.
"You're a little green alien," was all Grant could manage, along with an accusatory finger-point. The Waa offered a single, short nod in acknowledgement.
"General, you're starting to worry me," Sergeant Conway stated from her post next to the door. She had made that position hers over the last twelve hours. Apparently, she had appointed herself as Grant's bodyguard sometime during that period. He was strangely okay with that.
Patahbay and Titan were also in the room. Titan had asked Grant if he was well enough to meet one of their hosts, and minutes later, entered with the Telgoran and the little green man.
"You don't understand, Conway," Grant said. "Six hundred years ago, we—we, as in humans—used to have ongoing debates over extraterrestrials. Did they really exist? What did they look like? Did they visit Earth? That kind of thing. We had whackos—crazy people—running around shouting about alien abductions and anal probes."
"Okay. So?"
"So? So, one of the most common ideas about what these aliens looked like is standing here now. Alive and kicking. Hell, there were toys, movie characters—even skateboard logos—that looked almost exactly like this guy here."
Then she remembered that she would need the alien's help getting her message to Soo. Despite her hesitation to ask him for advice, she could not avoid asking him for the use of his race's superior technology. The faster-than-light communication his people owned was like magic, and it was a magic that could help Treel.
Rala stomped a booted foot and reluctantly opened up a channel to her Zrthn counterpart.
Once the human issue was resolved, her next challenge would be to capture or steal the alien communication technology. There was no reason why she should have to go through an intermediary when communicating with her allies.
* * *
When the Minith trade minister finally contacted him, Oiloo already knew about the failed human attack. Thanks to the device she planted, he heard the updates from Truk's generals at the same time as the Minith governor himself received them. Still, he acted surprised and grateful when Rala gave him the news.
He was relieved that the crisis with the humans was resolved without Zrthn intervention. It made dealing with the Circle of Administrators much more palatable when he did not have to explain his actions or debate his positions. Although it irritated him that they had been correct—their involvement had not been needed—he was relieved that the conflict in his section was being resolved quickly. The sooner he could get the agsel flowing, the better.
The Minith female surprised him when she asked for another space-link to her general's ship. He had not expected that she would need to provide further instructions to the male regarding his duties. Apparently, she had no more faith in General Soo's abilities than he did.
Despite his surprise over the request, it made sense and furthered his goals, so he quickly agreed.
He was not surprised that she withheld the information regarding the human she was holding captive inside her home. He doubted she wanted anyone to know about that.
CHAPTER 13
Grant struggled to sit up. Then he laughed.
Despite the pain in his body—despite the anguish in heart—he laughed. If the people from his time could see this, they would be struck dumb.
The Waa were little green aliens.
As in, the stereotypical description of little green aliens.
Grant felt like he knew the thin, four-foot-tall, pale-green figure standing next to his bed. The large, slanted, saucer-shaped black orbs that were the alien's eyes merely stared at him, unblinking. The Waa seemed to understand why he found the introduction humorous and, to his credit, calmly waited for the human to pull himself together.
"You're a little green alien," was all Grant could manage, along with an accusatory finger-point. The Waa offered a single, short nod in acknowledgement.
"General, you're starting to worry me," Sergeant Conway stated from her post next to the door. She had made that position hers over the last twelve hours. Apparently, she had appointed herself as Grant's bodyguard sometime during that period. He was strangely okay with that.
Patahbay and Titan were also in the room. Titan had asked Grant if he was well enough to meet one of their hosts, and minutes later, entered with the Telgoran and the little green man.
"You don't understand, Conway," Grant said. "Six hundred years ago, we—we, as in humans—used to have ongoing debates over extraterrestrials. Did they really exist? What did they look like? Did they visit Earth? That kind of thing. We had whackos—crazy people—running around shouting about alien abductions and anal probes."
"Okay. So?"
"So? So, one of the most common ideas about what these aliens looked like is standing here now. Alive and kicking. Hell, there were toys, movie characters—even skateboard logos—that looked almost exactly like this guy here."
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