population to deal with, and I won’t have them exterminated as one of their leaders once tried with us. Jafar shows there is a way we can live together.”
Taylor couldn’t believe he was saying it but realised it is what they needed.
Irala seemed wholly unconvinced, but he moved past the issue.
“You say you want to go back to your Earth and fight Erdogan there, but your ships look far from ready.”
Taylor smiled in response.
“If we were on our world, at our shipyards with our resources and workers, we might get these ships up and running and ready to go. But we’re not. We’re on a foreign world, with no shipyards, and nothing more than what we brought with us. We could sure do with the help of the locals.”
Irala was still silent.
“What’ll it be?” Taylor asked, ”We’re allies now. Will you help us be the best we can be so that together we stand a chance?”
“What you are asking us is to share our technology with you?”
Taylor nodded.
“We do not yet know whether you present a threat to us or not.”
“And yet you fight with us?”
“We have a shared enemy, that does not mean we present no threat to each other.”
Taylor sighed. “We have a chance together, but not if we stand as allies of convenience. We have to be more than that, or we don’t stand a chance at all. The fight we had with Erdogan, we fought to a stalemate with everything we had. If we are gonna take him on at Earth, well… that’s his home soil now. He’s got everything going for him. We couldn’t beat him when we had the world's armies at our disposal, so how can we have any hope of success now?”
“You wanted this,” replied Irala.
“Yes, I wanted to fight back the best way we can. With a little help from you, we could be stronger fighters. We could have better weapons, better ships. We could stand a real chance. Why will you not help us?”
“You ask a lot of us.”
“Yes I do, and I offer a lot more if we succeed together. You’ve seen our world. Tell me it isn’t an improvement over this piece of shit desert? Tell me it isn’t what your people deserve?”
“I will discuss it with my people. I will meet you here at noon tomorrow.”
“On whose clock?”
“According to what your watch is set to.”
Taylor looked at his watch and nodded in agreement. He looked back and opened his mouth to ask another question, but Irala was gone.
“Why does he always have to do that?”
He looked around to Jafar but got no response.
“He doesn’t like you, you realise that right?” Taylor asked him.
“Neither did you when we first met. You tried to kill me, too.”
“Fair point.”
The time until their meeting seemed to pass quickly as he watched Parker and the other NCOs continue training new recruits from the civilians who had volunteered. As noon approached on that second day, he waited aboard the roof of the Diderot with Admiral Huang and five other high-ranking officers. It was a bizarre location to have such an official and unprecedented gathering, but Taylor rather appreciated it. They could see for miles all around, and yet had relative privacy from those below. Jafar stood a few metres behind them, too, Captain King with him, as well as several marines working as a protection detail for Admiral Huang.
Taylor still wasn’t sure what he thought of the Chinaman, but at least he appeared a strong and decisive leader, and that meant a lot.
“Where are they, Colonel?” Huang asked.
Taylor looked down at his watch. It was one minute to noon, and he was counting the seconds down. He looked up as they hit the hour, and three of the aliens appeared before him.
“I am Admiral Huang of the human fleet.”
“Irala, of the Aranui.”
Taylor was surprised.
At last, now we know what to call them.
Huang was shocked at the sight of the Aranui and wasn’t sure how to proceed. Taylor stepped in and opened the conversation even though he knew it was far above his station.
“We’re here to
Taylor couldn’t believe he was saying it but realised it is what they needed.
Irala seemed wholly unconvinced, but he moved past the issue.
“You say you want to go back to your Earth and fight Erdogan there, but your ships look far from ready.”
Taylor smiled in response.
“If we were on our world, at our shipyards with our resources and workers, we might get these ships up and running and ready to go. But we’re not. We’re on a foreign world, with no shipyards, and nothing more than what we brought with us. We could sure do with the help of the locals.”
Irala was still silent.
“What’ll it be?” Taylor asked, ”We’re allies now. Will you help us be the best we can be so that together we stand a chance?”
“What you are asking us is to share our technology with you?”
Taylor nodded.
“We do not yet know whether you present a threat to us or not.”
“And yet you fight with us?”
“We have a shared enemy, that does not mean we present no threat to each other.”
Taylor sighed. “We have a chance together, but not if we stand as allies of convenience. We have to be more than that, or we don’t stand a chance at all. The fight we had with Erdogan, we fought to a stalemate with everything we had. If we are gonna take him on at Earth, well… that’s his home soil now. He’s got everything going for him. We couldn’t beat him when we had the world's armies at our disposal, so how can we have any hope of success now?”
“You wanted this,” replied Irala.
“Yes, I wanted to fight back the best way we can. With a little help from you, we could be stronger fighters. We could have better weapons, better ships. We could stand a real chance. Why will you not help us?”
“You ask a lot of us.”
“Yes I do, and I offer a lot more if we succeed together. You’ve seen our world. Tell me it isn’t an improvement over this piece of shit desert? Tell me it isn’t what your people deserve?”
“I will discuss it with my people. I will meet you here at noon tomorrow.”
“On whose clock?”
“According to what your watch is set to.”
Taylor looked at his watch and nodded in agreement. He looked back and opened his mouth to ask another question, but Irala was gone.
“Why does he always have to do that?”
He looked around to Jafar but got no response.
“He doesn’t like you, you realise that right?” Taylor asked him.
“Neither did you when we first met. You tried to kill me, too.”
“Fair point.”
The time until their meeting seemed to pass quickly as he watched Parker and the other NCOs continue training new recruits from the civilians who had volunteered. As noon approached on that second day, he waited aboard the roof of the Diderot with Admiral Huang and five other high-ranking officers. It was a bizarre location to have such an official and unprecedented gathering, but Taylor rather appreciated it. They could see for miles all around, and yet had relative privacy from those below. Jafar stood a few metres behind them, too, Captain King with him, as well as several marines working as a protection detail for Admiral Huang.
Taylor still wasn’t sure what he thought of the Chinaman, but at least he appeared a strong and decisive leader, and that meant a lot.
“Where are they, Colonel?” Huang asked.
Taylor looked down at his watch. It was one minute to noon, and he was counting the seconds down. He looked up as they hit the hour, and three of the aliens appeared before him.
“I am Admiral Huang of the human fleet.”
“Irala, of the Aranui.”
Taylor was surprised.
At last, now we know what to call them.
Huang was shocked at the sight of the Aranui and wasn’t sure how to proceed. Taylor stepped in and opened the conversation even though he knew it was far above his station.
“We’re here to
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