[OC] Things Long Hidden (PRVerse B2 C8.2)
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I get to meet a Pinigra who – I expect – will not only be civil, but very willing to talk! Julia worked to keep her expression smooth, but her fingers still twitched a bit. She caught similar subtle signs of excitement from her boss, and from her subordinate.
They made their way to the designated elevator, hit the button for the top floor, and let the doors cycle shut. Thankfully, no one else who got on wanted to ride that far up, and by the time the doors closed behind the last person to get off Katja had already started the override process.
Some things are universal, it seems. She thought as she looked around the elevator. I have heard of very few real variations on elevators between the species, other than a tendency for amphibians to make ‘water ladders’ that they can swim up and down. The elevator’s light for the lowest basement level lit up, it dinged, and then her stomach flipped as the elevator suddenly did an impression of your average roller-coaster.
Katja seemed prepared for the event, and dropped a coin which seemed to float towards the floor much slower than it should have. Kessler, however, looked a bit distressed. About the time Julia noticed this and managed to give what she hoped was a re-assuring smile gravity came back with interest, and Katja’s coin fell the last few inches to hit the floor with audible force, despite the elevator’s thick carpet.
I guess I shouldn’t have worried, really, about getting the Pinigra onto the Council world. I mean, I had my cousin the spy, Aunt Yoro the spymaster, and Jake to assist. I’m just glad Aunt Yoro managed to catch me before I mentioned anything to Uncle Kaz. Plausible deniability and all that. Of course, after Uncle Kaz finishes settling His Royal Eminence, King of the Pinigra and we tell him what we've done he is gonna be pissed for a while... but even he isn’t good enough at obscuring his micro-tells to go up against a bevy of Pinigra.
The doors opened onto a level of the Coucnil Compound which wasn’t supposed to exist, though its existence hardly surprised anyone who did, in fact learn about it. One of the best kept secret of the Xaltan Prime Ministers… which they only kept secret because they hid it from their own government, and often even their own Ambassadors.
The door opened onto a short, narrow landing with a singular opening to a small pod within a large, opaque tube. They piled into the car – which had no attendant, just a small console with a single button – and the door shut.
The acceleration was smooth as the car whisked them away and Kessler said. “Well, these little cars are comfortable enough, I suppose, if a bit Spartan. I am a little surprised that the tube goes to a public elevator and not something within the Prime Minister’s domain, though.”
Julia beat her boss to the answer. “Too obvious, and too likely to be detected. For all that everyone feared the Xaltans so much, they also watched their every move and were constantly probing. No doubt the presence of a secret elevator shaft extending down from the Prime Minister’s quarters or offices would have been noticed, eventually, and caused irritation for them.
“Hiding it in a nearby public elevator with a false floor, however? I mean, who would even have thought to check? And, even if someone who wasn’t supposed to found it…”
Katja cut in. “The Prime Minister could disavow any knowledge of it, claiming it to be the creation of any number of other groups, including some sort of rouge citizens of their own.”
They continued the discussion for a few more moments as the tube-car sped to its destination. When they climbed out they found themselves in a bare, concrete, bunker-like landing with holes which Julia expected had been meant for very nasty weapons when the thing had been built.
Julia shook her head as they proceeded to the hopelessly ornate door, made all the more ostentatious by the bare surroundings. “I think this is the one secret that Killintar managed to keep from my Father and the Confederation spies.
Katja answered. “It is a wonder he didn’t use it to get away at some point after Jalat took his power away. I know she hadn’t found out about it either. A pity that we didn’t find it back then, we might have been able to turn him.”
Julia sighed. “Just as well we didn’t. Our spies couldn’t figure out how the man was sneaking out, but they knew he did and where to look for him. Saved the entire race from Leadership having to enact a ‘final safety’ at least once, from what I understand.”
Kessler stopped in his tracks and – for once – that odd smile seemed to have been wiped off his face. “Final safety? What do you mean? Wait, no, they wouldn’t…”
Julia gave him a wry grin and nodded. “Oh, they would, and without reservation. Phoenix wasn’t the only failsafe that was being held in reserve. There was a planet-buster sitting outside the Homeworld of the Xaltan. If it looked like Humanity was about to get wiped out on all of our worlds, it would have activated and tried to wipe out their home.”
Kessler stammered. “It… it never would have succeeded. The Old Machines…”
Katja cut in as the golden door opened to admit them. “Would probably have stopped it. It would have succeeded in its real mission regardless, however, which was to bring the ‘Ultimate Sanction’ of the Old Machines down on Humanity: Thus protecting us from whatever fate the Xaltans – or some puppet of theirs – had planned.”
Kessler looked a little pale, but Julia didn’t have time to comfort him. The darkest-plumed Pinigra she’d ever seen cut into the conversation. “Yes, I understand that you Humans had prepared for the eventuality by having people with impossibly perfect recall memorize as much information as they could.
“That is a curious strategy, and may have been both more and less effective than you would have anticipated. I...”
The man cut off his words, and Julia felt a great curiosity about what he'd stopped himself from saying. She then smiled as Uncle Kaz walked up behind the Pinigra and spoke. “Duke Everimal Chaskal, might I introduce the Confederate World’s first Ambassador: Katja Soong, their second Ambassador, Julia Archer-Pensar, and their third Ambassador, Dr. Kessler.”
The Pinigra took a small step back, then cocked his head to look at them out of first one eye, then the other. Julia watched with curiosity. Convergent evolution, indeed. I have seen that behavior in videos of birds… including ostriches if I remember right.
Finally the man extended a hand to Katja. “Pleased and honored to make your acquaintance, Goodwoman.”
Katja visibly bristled and refused to raise her hand. Julia felt a moment of concern at the reaction as her boss spoke. “My title is Ambassador, earned by right, your Grace. Our societies count merit based on a person’s own accomplishments, not the accomplishments of the dead who proceeded them.”
The Pinigra’s head jerked back slightly on his overly-long neck, and his face turned down a little. Chagrin, or at least mild embarrassment. I’m glad I reviewed Pinigra micro-tells. Then he answered with what their translators equated to a conciliatory tone. “Of course, Ambassador, forgive me. Few of my kind are more than passingly aware that any other species even exist – because the crown wants it that way, not of our own choice – and even fewer know anything at all about other species, much less your cultures. So, I am afraid that such social errors may be far too common for me and my people for a while.”
The bird-like man put his hand out again. “Ambassador Soong, I – and my fellow scientists and their families – are grateful for the assistance of your Confederation… which I understand you and this radiant young woman had a hand in?”
This time Katja smiled and took the man’s hand with a broad smile. “I understand, Your Grace… and I hope my translators managed to convert that statement to the correct form of address?” The man made an affirmative gesture. “Good, and I apologize if my reaction was a bit strong; call it a personal weakness for now, and we can discuss it at length another time if you are interested in comparative cultural studies.”
Evirmal made that odd circling affirmative gesture with his head. “Thank you, Goo… er… Ambassador. I must confess I have little interest in social issues, one of the reasons my Uncle, the King, allowed me to flit off into ‘such a vacuous vocation’ as science, and gave me the dispensation to not only try to progress the state of our knowledge, but recruit a few others to do so.
“That said, I do have a sociologist on my team who will likely pester you with questions until your genetics try to bring back molting!” Evirmal gave a small laugh, then looked around confused for a moment. “Oh, sorry. I always tried to think of myself as a man of the universe, but here in a few minutes I find I’m far more deeply entrenched in my own culture than I’d ever have thought.
“That said, I am a physicist and an engineer, or so I have tried to train myself to be. That training, for the last sixty years or so, has been difficult, I will tell you…”
He then turned to Julia and cocked his head slightly. Here it comes. Is it too late to run? “But, we can go into all of that later. First, I believe you are the one to whom I owe the greatest debt of gratitude, both for making sure that your military did not destroy me on sight as my Uncle apparently ‘requested,’ and for arranging for me to be brought to this secure place?”
He extended a hand, an Julia took it as she responded. “I can’t say that I’m the one you should thank the most, honestly. I received some reports and acted on them. The First Ambassador did a great deal of work on your behalf. And, of course, this little underground domain is the purview of the Prime Minister…”
Kaz’s bass voice cut in. “And, that Prime Minister feels we have spent quite enough time nattering about in the door way and should actually enter said underground domain.”
Her Uncle’s wide smile and sweeping gesture of invitation made jest of his wording, and Julia finally got a good look at the old Prime Minister’s best-kept secret.
A few rapid sweeps with her practiced eyes told her much. This place was built to be a bolt-hole and a pleasure den, all in one. There are still hints of the glit, velvet, and other decadent accents around, even though most were removed. I suspect either Kaz or Yoro ordered this space re-done in a more practical-but-comfortable style… and Golna made sure that some of the old bits remained as a cautionary tale.
As much as she wanted to ask more questions about the sanctuary, other matters had precedence at the moment. The first room they came in to was relatively large, and seemed to have been made into an area for both greeting people and general congregation. Uncle Kaz led them down a few steps into an area with nice, comfortable couches and chairs arranged into a rough circle and invited everyone to sit, then showed them how to order drinks.
Once everyone looked up from the small screens on their chosen seats, he took his drink from a service bot and spoke. “This place was a hopeless den of decadence and debauchery when we found it, of course. It has both living and working spaces in it, and some areas that hadn’t been used in generations. It…”
Uncle Kaz waved a hand as if to ward away his thoughts. “Is a good place to hide a bunch of rogue scientists who want access to information, a place to work, and to hide.”