Dinner, with Ayana as the main course!

[Fred]

ON: Bard Cluster

Several hours after the proposal in the senate passed to talk to Melisson, Ayana found herself and a very small crew of nekos on a Yui 5 heading for Mishhu space where Taiie used to be. The Senator was terrified that this wouldn't work out and she'd end up as Melisson's dinner as they came within 5 Light years of Tsuyosa.

Seeing the approach wasn't stealthy, Ayana soon found the nekovalkyrja handling sensors registering several dozen FTL contacts closing in on them. Readings indicated most where Xianthrafruglu-type gunships - the faster vessels the SMX used for interceptions.

Ayana gulped as she sent out a hail, "I am Senator Tange-Katsura Ayana. I'm trying to locate Melisson to beg her to join a diplomatic summit." She was trying her hardest to stay calm. She was absolutely terrified.

Most of the gunships actually slowed down save two whom were closing in fast. One of the gunships disengaged its continuum distorsion drive once it was 32 light-seconds away and made a swooping turn toward the Yui 5, weapons hot.

Ayana's eyes widened but she continued, "Please, hear me out first! Melisson tried to talk to Nepleslia and we WANT to hear what it is that YOU want for once!" She didn't try to order the nekos piloting the ship on how to do their thing. She just let them activate their shields and start preparing to run if they still could.

The mishhuvurthyar gunship answered the hail. A volumetric display opened up, showing the wedged front of a Mishhu's green-pink carapace which ended in swept back cartilaginous ears. Twin-eyes glares sinisterly down at Ayana. "I am Gursbaff. You have foolishly invaded our territory. Surrender yourselves and your vessel, and you may live on as my thralls."

The other gunship slowed down, but instead of having its nose pointed the Yui 5's way, it was pointed toward the other gunship.

"No," another window showing another Mishhuvurthyar commander opened. "My menagerie has been dwindling lately. I will be the one to get them, not you!"

"Where is Melisson? I need to speak to her." Ayana inwardly cursed as her grip tightened on the arms of her chair. Deep down she knew this was a gigantic mistake but she had to keep trying. "Please, I am a diplomatic emissary seeking to establish contact with Melission for the Yamataian Star Empire on behalf of Empress Motoyoshi and the Senate."

"You are bold to try and cross me and claim my prey, Gwabfurp!" Gursbaff screeched, totally ignoring Ayana. "You will not enjoy them if I pluck your tentacles off!"

"As much as I'd like to see you try, this isn't the point. Perhaps we should share the spoils?" Gwabfurp turned a malevolent look Ayana's way. "Since the Eyfrlurpjakar is reining us in, we've been having slim pickings. These imperialists are trying to fool us with diplomacy while the rest of them are attacking our people. I say we should both make them pay for their hypocrisy!"

"Good idea," Gursbaff gave Ayana a baleful look. Both SMX vessels turned on her destroyer.

"You are more intelligent to be fooled by a lone Yui that might be dumb enough to come out here alone. This was a new development that was just decided over 2 hours ago in the Senate. If you feel I am lying, have Melission or another telepath determine I am lying. We know the truth now that you are the same as Nekos just given a different form. We want to make things right to try to end the war! Nepleslia passed onto us Melission's wisdom and we want to hear what she has to say!" Ayana continued, feeling her voice come back after a few moments. She wanted to live damn it but the notion of peace talks was too important to turn away from.

Gwabfurp hissed "Phhsshhh! You can't even say the Eyfrlurpjakar's name right! You are too stupid to allow to live at all!"

Gursbaff gurgled in glee. "One stupid ship is not a ruse, but easy prey! We shall enjoy parting your dermal covering until we see the yellow layer of fat tissues beneath. After we strip it, we shall dine on your muscle bundles, which we will slowly pry off your bones to see how much tension your tendons can bear. We can tell which are more succulent by how hard you will scream as we pull them out!"

"Yes! We shall show the Eyfrlurpjakar the folly of making truces with the humans and show her recordings of your feeble agnonized trashing to remind her of-"

Melisson's smiling face appeared in a third window. "Remind me of what?" The two mishhuvurthyar suddenly jolted, their twitching ears betraying their sudden panic.

Ayana had never thought she'd be so grateful to see Melisson's face in her entire life. "Melisson-sama," she said quickly not realising she had attached an honorific to the woman's name. "I.. I am Senator Tange-Katsura Ayana. I was sent to find you."

"She liiiies!" Gursbaff thrashed its tentacles angrily. "She was sent to try to kill you. That's all they ever try to do, even their 'virtuous' princesses! I say-"

"Thanks for telling me how to think Gursbaff." Melisson glared at the other's volumetric image. "But I think you're going to be too busy to say anything else. You see, your second-in-command is about to kill you."

"What? But-" An electric sizzle suddenly washed over the Mishhuvurthyar; it gurgled a death cry and fell out of sight. That volumetric window closed.

Melisson looked to Gwabfurp. "Gwabfurp, get out of my sight."

"Yes, Eyfrlurpjakar. The other mishhu dipped its nose and that window closed too.

Ayana watched in a mix of awe and further panic. Into the fire... She waited for the woman to address before tempting her temper further.

Both SMX gunships made themselves scarce as Melisson's entire fleet command battlegroup dropped to sublight speed.

Melisson returned her attention to Ayana. "Well, okay. Most of them are competent... but I do have a few bad apples. I'm sure your army has its share of bad apples too." The pink-skinned Mishhuvurthyar woman shrugged. "That said, I don't even know what an apple is. I just keep hearing the expression."

PAUSE

 

[Kim]

"Of course, we're not perfect. Apples are a small round fruit with a hard white flesh, Melisson," Ayana added helpfully. She had a few moments to breathe again and recompose herself. The Devil had appeared in front of her and she had to stay calm. She couldn't make any promises or sign any contracts, and she had to remember that so she would not unintentionally lie to her.

"Miss Melisson, I apologize for the intrusion into your territory but I was sent to find you and invite you to represent the Mishhuvurthyar at an international diplomatic supplement. Yamatai wants to try for a peaceful end to this war."

 

[Fred]

Melisson's wine-red eyes bored into Ayana's. "You mean you want me to go in your space with only a small retinue of starships?" The alien woman shook her hair, long wavy crimson hair swaying. "Why not just have your leaders come and visit me?"

 

[Kim]

"Everyone is being asked to only bring a handful of starships, even we are holding to those numbers. We chose Pisces station because it was a little more central to Elysia and Nepleslia...and Vordachibea.

We are unwilling to bring the leaders of our nations into your territory because there is assumed to a policy to 'shoot first and ask questions later. We were going under the assumption that you might be willing to talk this out with us to help show us the folly of or ways... especially since you went to the Nepleslians directly and peacefully.

We want to show you and the other nations that same courtesy in the pursuit of peace. We lay down our arms and call a temporary cease fire of the war to try to talk it once," Ayana said very carefully and as calmly as she could. She met Melisson's red wine eyes with her own dark purple ones that betrayed her fear of the woman. Melisson's gaze chilled her to the bone and she tried to stop her hands from shaking.

 

[Fred]

"If the leaders aren't willing to come visit me, even though I have established a very good track record in caring for my invited guests, why should I come?" The Mishhuvurthyar interpreter frowned. "Your empire has an history of underhanded dealings with others in order to insure it stays on top. Why should I go and risk myself when your people went and attacked Nepleslia Prime just to frame my overtures to the Nepleslians as insincere?"

 

[Kim]

"It's more a matter of us trying to make a gesture of openness and good..." Ayana suddenly looked truly puzzled. "Wait, we did what?" she frowned but she honestly looked clueless. "When did that happen? We just replaced Uesu as Emperor to try for a fresh start to right some of the grievances and atrocities that have occurred in the past."

 

[Fred]

"Nepleslia Prime was attacked by nearly two battlegroups of Mishhuvurthyar vessels, whom then mostly got wiped out," Melisson smiled faintly. "It was while I was making my overtures to the Democratic Imperium of Nepleslia, so, I suppose that it was before Uesu stepped down. Odds are at least one of your fleet admirals would be aware of this."

Melisson chuckled, apparently amused. "I would not make such a weak attack on Nepleslia and stupidly waste ships - it makes no sense. If I wanted to harm Nepleslia, I'd send sufficient armed forces to completely crush them as well as insure that I would have minimal losses."

"I am the sole remaining elder of the Mishhuvurthyar, no one on my side would dare oppose me - no one with the power to send a force as large as nearly two battlegroups. Not to mention that most of the assets in the four battlefleets still active in this region of space check out as okay. On the other hand, the Battle of Jun resulted in a major fiasco on our side which allowed the capture of many of our vessels - just before this attack, as a matter of fact."

Melisson narrowed her eyes. "Seems like more than coincidence to me. SAINT doing that sort of thing, especially seeing how I saw Black Spiral work in the past and the information I gained through them, also sounds very credible. Yamatai has every reason to wish to poison relations between the Nepleslians and myself. Your empire's actions remains that of a greedy child intent on retaining its superiority even through craven means - your quick reaction to my visit to Nepleslia and yet not immediately pouncing in to fight the 'misshu attackers' at Nepleslia Prime looks even more out of character."

 

[Kim]

"You're correct, it doesn't sound right. But now things have changed, we want to end the war peacefully. We want to know what is really fueling the war besides the sinister motivations of one man. We want to make things right, but you're correct in not trusting us.

I apologize for wasting your time then. If you are against coming to us and the other nations for the summit, we'll have to both continue seeking diplomatic relations more inefficiently by doing it individually. But we will continue to try to resolve things between us if you'll permit me to intrude again to talk to you. It was my intention originally to just come here to talk to you directly without the threat of us stabbing you in the back but the Crown Prince suggested an International Peace Summit instead.

It was my hope that you might consider joining us and present to us and the civilized nations we know of your points directly and take away the veil of mystery that allows anyone to question the true motivations of the Mishhuvurthyar and allows such underhanded things to occur without retribution since the truth will simply remain hidden away.

I could make claims to the truth of your hospitality and your probably truthful accusations about us sending captured ships to harm Nepleslia but I have no proof. I have your word, which has been truthful in the past but unless it comes from you directly, it will always be hearsay and lessen the impact of the strength and power of your words," Ayana spoke as elequantly as she could. She had calmed down a great deal as Melisson presented her with more information about her methods. She wasn't sure if she had enough information about any of the Star Army tactics to really try to deny her accusations nor really contest her words.

She had her doubt but Melisson had been truthful in the information that Sky Marshall Davis had presented to the leadership of the Fifth Expeditionary Fleet about the plague and about the genetic link between the nekos and the Mishhu. She was disappointed that she had nothing but words to appease Melisson's concerns. She couldn't make promises about what the military would do- Katsuko's proposal took that away, but she could promise to talk to them, what little good it might do her.. she was out of her league.

 

[Fred]

Melisson considered Ayana silently for a few heartbeats before saying: "I'm willing to give you the chance to demonstrate your good faith. I have two conditions, however."

"The first is that you have Irim and her fleet remain home. There can be no talking while we are shooting at each other. My mishhuvurthyar certainly have not done anything but respond to attack lately."

Melisson half-closed her eyes, as if tempted to add something else on the subject and then deciding against it. She returned her attention to Ayana.

"The second is to go talk to your Empress and have her apologize to the Nepleslian government for framing the attack of Nepleslia Prime on the Mishhuvurthyar. I want them to admit that at the time, they commited a mistake. I suspect the truth will be hidden in the muck the Ketsurui clan enjoys surrounding itself with." The redhead shook her head. "I do not really care if you decide to blame it on Uesu or SAINT or whatever if you wish to save face; I'm only interested in making sure that it is known that it is not the doing of my charges or myself. Not being too proud to make the apology before the Nepleslians find out for themselves could also have its benefits for you."

"Return to me having done these things, and I will consent to attending this summit," Melisson finished soberly. "Failing that, I can maintain dialogue with you. I've no intention of allowing my subordinates to fire on any single ships claiming to come for discourse."

 

[Kim]

Ayana watched Melisson's face carefully for a few moments before she nodded. To request that Irim get called off seemed responsible enough and she had enough of a relationship with Katsuko to talk to her. They owed the Nepleslian government a great deal already and... admitting to them this was better than peace happening with this skeleton rattling in the closet.

"I will try my hardest to make these things happen. Relations are strained enough without continuing the fighting or continuing the lies. Thank you for the consideration and the chance, Melission-sama." The lilac haired neko bowed politely to the red haired interpreter on her screen. "I will not trouble you again unless I can get these things to happen."

 

[Fred]

The Mishhuvurthyar fleet commander nodded. "You are welcome to return and request to be my guest. You may now leave as you came."

The transmission came to a close and the window closed shut.

 

[Kim]

Ayana and the rest of the crew let out a large sigh of relief. "Right ladies, please get us the Hell out of here."

She peeled herself from her chair and made her way to the ship's showers. She had to make an attempt to look presentable if she wanted to approach the Empress immediately on these matters.

The Yui 5 hurried on its way home via the fastest means it could. The reassurances of the SMX Elder not having soothed the nerves of the neko crew.