4
King Ben
The Ildiran military leader continued to observe the formalities with polite conversation, but as evening fell King Ben could tell the Adar was growing uneasy. Bali’nh shared fascinating stories about his service in the Solar Navy and described exotic planets across the Ildiran Empire, but he could not hide the sidelong glances he cast through the great windows of the Throne Hall to the darkening sky outside. When the chandeliers were lit and illumination glowed throughout the Whisper Palace, however, Bali’nh appeared to relax. King Ben couldn’t imagine living on a world that never experienced night.
At the appropriate time, servants summoned them to the banquet, where a long buffet table displayed an immense array of Earthly delights, samples of many different cuisines, from meats and fish to fruits, puddings, grains and breads, pastries, and less pleasant items like salted seaweed and tart jellies. Although their biochemistry was supposedly similar to Terran, no one knew what might satisfy Ildiran tastes. Human protocol officers had wisely decided to offer everything imaginable and let the Solar Navy commander choose.
King Ben accompanied the Adar down the length of the buffet table and suggested some of his favorite dishes among the numerous samplings.
OX walked like a windup soldier behind them. “I spent much time with the Ildirans, Majesty. As far as I can tell, humans and Ildirans can share food without any concerns, except for possible indigestion.”
Hearing this, King Ben chuckled. “Our food sometimes gives me indigestion, too.” The others in the group laughed politely at the joke. So far, despite his initial trepidation, Ben thought this mission was going very well.
By now, the King felt much more relaxed to be in the company of his strange visitors. He decided he liked these Ildirans: they were alien enough to be interesting, but human enough that people could relate to them. Adar Bali’nh was certainly a gentleman, and the Ildirans had already done so much for the lost generation ships, not to mention offering the Hansa their star-drive technology, which would give humanity a practical means to expand outside of the solar system. He didn’t know why Chair-man Stannis would have any doubts about their motives, especially after today. The aliens were clearly friends of humanity.
The Chairman joined the many dignitaries for the banquet but remained at the edge of the crowd, calling no attention to himself. Nevertheless, Ben could feel the man’s sharp, dark eyes upon him, measuring him, warning him, although he didn’t think he had slipped up in any way. At least so far.…
A string quartet played a selection of classical masterpieces.
The historian compy split his time between Adar Bali’nh and King Ben. Although OX wasn’t specifically programmed to be a storyteller, he did manage to present the facts of the Peary’s journey and their interactions with the Ildirans in a highly interesting way. Ben felt like a young man again, before he’d been assigned this acting role; he was delighted to hear the tales of Earth’s lost stepchildren.
After the meal, the compy asked the King’s permission to make a brief presentation. “By all means.” Ben sat back in his chair and pushed the empty plate away.
Adar Bali’nh signaled to his burly guards, who reached into hidden compartments of their armor, pulled out compressed datapaks, and placed them into OX’s outstretched arms.
“Majesty, these logs were recovered from the ten rescued generation ships. They chronicle in detail the journeys of those vessels. As the only compy to return home, I have been charged with delivering them to you, so that human scholars can learn from all that we experienced during our many, many decades of travel.”
King Ben accepted them with delight. “These will be fascinating, and enough to keep our historians busy for years! Thank you, OX.”
Halfway down the main banquet table, Chairman Stannis picked up a glass of wine, sipped from it, then spoke in a loud, musing tone, as if no one else were in the hall. “I’m impressed with the Solar Navy’s search, Adar Bali’nh. It is quite remarkable that you have found all but one of the original eleven generation ships. The Burton is lost.” He gave a quick shrug. “But, considering the dangers of uncharted space, I had assumed most of the generation ships would be lost by now.”
Before the mood could turn sour, King Ben spoke quickly, smiling at Adar Bali’nh. “Chairman Stannis means no criticism of your abilities. We are most grateful for all the help that Ildirans have provided us.”
The Solar Navy commander gave a curt bow. “We have searched for five years, King Ben, but we have not yet given up. Space is vast. The Solar Navy will continue to search for the final ship.” He lowered his voice. “Although realistically, we do not expect to find the Burton after all this time. We must assume it is not recoverable.”