Gabatrix: The First Peace

Chapter 8: A Return to the Negotiation Table

"I like it," Ifra commented to Kane as the history documentary closed down. He would close up his hand as the projection faded.

"Yeah, I need to thank Javier for that one," Kane replied. "I admit I had a chance to learn something too."

Ifra took her claws and tapped the table. "Perhaps we should do this more often."

"What do you mean?"

She looked down at the table. There was a faint smile on her face. "It......it is.....so many negotiations end up as a failure. At times, I feel like I fail my own people. People die, and then I blame myself for those actions. Could I have done anything differently? I look at what has happened and what is going on, and I realize that I might have been working with the wrong people."

"I don't think it's your fault if everyone flat-out hates each other. It is very hard to reverse that."

"This is....." she paused as she made a series of clicks in her voice. "This has been one of the more successful peace talks that I have ever made."

"Even with my Captain threatening to nuke the both of us?"

Ifra began to make a series of rapid clicks followed by a quick breathing response. Kane could tell that she was laughing. "I should be happy that your captain made a threat. I have been threatened so many times by the other clan members that I am used to it. What your captain did, I might as well hug him. If anything, I like him for a human."

"Heh.....I guess I'm not well-liked...."

He was reminded of what he had said just now as Ifra took her clawed hand and held his even tighter.

"I.....really......like you," she barely replied.

"What?" he asked. "I didn't hear that."

She decided not to repeat it. Kane thought he heard her say something, but it wasn't enough to fully register in his mind. Instead, he looked at her hand that was grasping his. He had been treating this as a professional meeting. If she wanted to hold his hand, then let her. A part of his mind, however, was starting to really wonder about what was happening. The images that he saw, the discussion about Eutera and its colonists, and even the sex picture he saw with Kelren and the Itrean woman were on his mind. Here was another woman of that same type that was next to him.

He had a fleeting moment of her beauty. She wasn't human at all, but she started to look pretty regardless. The Itrean had a distinct look of innocence to her, and her personality felt like a match to his. Even if she was an alien, it just felt natural. However, A part of him still felt afraid to say anything about it. This was a peace talk between two alien races. The human race was depending on him. Propositioning the ambassador might disrupt or even destroy the peace talks. To him, it was dangerous waters that he was treading on, and he would have to keep his emotions in check.

"So.....you were talking to me about history....." Kane asked her, trying to break the silence. "What else do you know of your history?"

"There is much history, Kane. Would it be easier for you to tell me what it is that you are looking for?"

"I mean......what is your oldest history?"

"Nnnnn......that depends. Our history is believed to come into existence 200,000 years ago, but others believe that it is over millions of years ago."

"How do you know that it goes that far?" He asked her.

"I.....don't know if it is true or not," she said. "There is a claim that we have an artifact of the origin of our species millions of years ago. In your language, we call it 'The Itrean Pamphlet,' and it has an etching of our original homeworld.....or at least the ones claim it to be."