A Starship Called Starsong

Chapter 56

Just why am I here again? My patient expression didn't give away my growing irritation and exasperation.

Starsong chose to respond to my internal muttering. "Because we are helping to establish peace."

I eyed up the two groups of people who were not entirely happy to be in the same room with each other. We had decided the fastest and most efficient way to reach a peace negotiation was for three key representatives from each planet to meet in a neutral location. That location was in one of Starsong's meeting rooms as he floated in space at the halfway point between the two planets.

I was here as a mediator and to keep things from getting out of hand more than anything else. In theory, they were supposed to be working it out mostly by themselves while I supervised. I was about ready to go locate a piñata stick and knock some sense into them at this rate.

"Those are not exactly peaceful thoughts." Starsong's voice was amused.

'Well, their discussion is starting to stray away from peaceful...' The group was arguing over boundaries, which had apparently been the original cause of the war.

"We may have to intervene in this one and give them several options to work from." He proceeded to give me details on various suggestions. The discussion hadn't managed to proceed any further by the time Starsong gave me several points to touch on. He would give prompts as I spoke if I forgot, but at least I had an idea of what I was going to be saying. Only this group wouldn't know that I had assistance...

My voice interrupted their mild argument. "This debate is clearly going nowhere, so let's back up and take a look at general policy in other star systems."

They all fell silent as they looked at me, as if unsure how to respond. I had not spoken since they had started, so my intervention had likely taken them by surprise. I took their silence as acceptance and continued before they could talk.

"In every star system bordering this one, if more than one planet in a solar system was inhabitable, they had equal amounts of territory around their planet, regardless of the size of their planet."

My gaze lingered on the Folkar representative who had been claiming that a larger planet deserved more territory. He didn't squirm under my scrutiny, but he looked like he wanted to, now that he was aware of my opinion.

I continued, "Most planets set the boundary at the halfway point to prevent pirates from sneaking through, while a few groups opted for a smaller area to control and maintain. This solar system has no valuable resources in outer space, other than some heavy metals in a few passing asteroids, so it isn't as if we are deciding resource rights."

I paused, but other than a couple of them jotting down notes, they seemed content to listen without interruptions. I did know that people like these would wait until the mediator had finished before asking questions or objecting to something.

I slightly raised my eyebrow as I mildly commented, "I will also remind all of you that attacking spaceships without provocation is against the Intergalactic Space Commission's decree. They may fine you heavily for your first offence, but there are quite a few trading ships that belong to one of the five Companies. If you attack one of those ships, the Companies are known to take matters into their own hands, and they have fighting ships scattered all over their range. Your defenses will not hold against them."

A couple of the people paled as they realized the implications. Starsong told me such ships very rarely came this way since they tended to avoid any conflict, but if one did decide to take a risk and ended up damaged, the Company it belonged to could very well take offense. The Companies' fighting ships usually took out pirates, but there had been a few occasions where they had leveled a docking station that had had intentionally or mistakenly attacked one of their trading ships.

The six people realized that I was done and the two groups whispered among their own representatives as they tried to decide on a way to incorporate my suggestions into their existing plans. I waited patiently, once more the supervising mediator.

The two groups started discussing their options once more, and both seemed to have abandoned the idea that more territory was better. I wasn't sure why they had wanted so much territory. If a planet controlled it, then Space Enforcement generally left problems to the Planetary Defenses unless they were losing a fight with pirates.

Sometimes there were valuable resources in asteroids or on the moons, but not in this case. Borders in space didn't mean anything to trade ships or passenger shuttles unless they approached the planet's atmosphere. Perhaps it was a pride thing...

       It took them most of the day, but they managed to come up with an agreement that benefited both planets. I had to give a few suggestions as well as flatten a few of their proposals; nonetheless, they had done most of it themselves.

The cook had decided that good food was a great way to bring people together. The meals and appetizers that kept showing up had certainly distracted the representatives with their first bite. I wasn't sure how much time the cook had spent making those little pastel balls that he had once given me, but this group had polished off a considerable number of the rare and coveted treats. I was going to have to stop by later and thank him for his efforts.

All we needed was for the rest of the main government leaders to sign the agreement. They were already on their way in several small space shuttles. A large meeting room near the Cargo Bay loading doors had quickly been set up to accommodate the approaching group.

The Cargo Bay Overseer was waiting for the ships to enter the three loading bays. The exterior doors were open to outer space while the other doors were sealed. Once all of the small shuttle ships were inside, we could close the exterior doors and re-pressurize the rooms so they could exit without the use of a spacesuit.

"The first shuttle has arrived. The other five are close. I am not pleased with the past ethical decisions of several that are coming, but I will tolerate them for this short time."

'They will be gone within a few hours at most. If we are lucky, they will just sign it without any debate.'

"These groups have been clashing for decades. The worst of the troublemakers were in the previous Jarco government, so they are no longer a worry. You may need to use your charm on a few of the others though."

I fought to keep from scoffing at the absurdity of his choice of words. 'Charm? Me? When I am being polite, I pretend that I have some polish and manners. My version of charm is telling them to sit down, shut up, and play nice.'

"Precisely. We may need your charm along with your polish to seal this deal."

I seriously hoped it wouldn't come to that point, but if Starsong had mentioned it, chances were that something had tipped him off about the possibility of someone being troublesome.

The group of representatives organized all of their papers and computers as they packed up to move to the larger room. Once they were ready, I escorted them down the corridors to where the leaders would be gathering.

It wouldn't be long before we had all of the leaders in one room. That could either be a good thing, and they would agree to the peace negotiation, or it could be a bad thing if they chose to use this opportunity to stir up trouble.