"Captain Geh!aoa.

"I am Lieutenant Harak Drivvoh, Goldaskian Marines, commanding the exiles from the Kalash-Quovo. Congratulations on your victory. You bested my Captain, and my superiors. I acknowledge your prowess in combat.

"I thank you for the mercy shown to us. The supplies are appreciated, as is the opportunity for four of my people. Allowing us to establish an embassy gives my people hope for eventual rescue. On that beep, I formally request that notice be sent to the Goldaskian Empire of our status at your earliest convenience, in accordance with galactic law.

"I have selected Bellisk Gohl to serve as Ambassador to the Arrurrans. Sergeant Tallon Workav is in charge of the security for the team. Awa Sallin is our only surviving female Marine, and Gillam Corrick is to serve as an assistant to Mr. Gohl.

"I ask that future requests for personnel not take more of our women. There are 98 of us left, and only fifteen are women. This is causing tension already, and I would prefer not to beep the ratio any further if possible.

"Two of our people have taken sick with some local disease. We are keeping them isolated for now, but we would appreciate Dr. Vickall's help in dealing with the potential danger. We are sending blood samples on ice with the ambassadorial team.

"As for resources, I request that the entertainment data be sent down, along with a few video players and gaming beep with the next supply shipment. Boredom is the chief complaint around here. I would also request what drones and sensors you can spare, to help us map the area.

"A large minority of my people are willing to swear service to you, in order to be allowed back aboard the Kalash-Quovo.I can provide you with a list of names and ratings if desired. Please let us know your requirements. The smaller the detachment that remains, the longer our supplies will last and the less stress there will be on our support systems here.

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"I await your response. Thank you."

* *

Doctor Vickall reported that the sickness among the exiles would not normally be fatal in a healthy Goldaskian. She had produced a cure as a precaution, and wanted to send a hundred doses down with the next shipment. Geh!aoa had not intended to send a shuttle any time soon, but she was willing to arrange another trip. The question was what to do with the offer from Lieutenant Drivvoh.

"We can't trust them," Foh!una opined when Geh!aoa presented the issue.

"More to the point, they will be the competent ones aboard around a bunch of 'primitives' who are supposed to be in charge. Even if they don't outright mutiny—which they probably would—they will still tend to insist on doing things their way, and even more troublesome is that they will often be right," Geh!kin added. "So how do we know when they are doing things differently because they are genuinely doing it better, or if a given move is helping to set themselves up for a takeover?"

"Why do we know they'll mutiny?" Nik!eh asked.

"They said they respect Geh!aoa for performing a hostile takeover, Nik!eh. Obviously, they think such a move is fair game." After dealing with multiple beeps of language difficulties, the hoonan nodded.

"That makes sense. Thank you."

Geh!aoa took a brief moment to appreciate Nik!eh's willingness to both speak his mind and stop to learn things. Plenty of people smarter than him ended up acting dumber because they were too rigid in their thinking. She could think of a few individuals who could stand to benefit from following his example.

Doctor Vickall said only, "You're right to be cautious. I want to vouch for more people to join the crew, but I won't make promises I can't keep, and I could easily misjudge someone."

A few more people put in their opinions, and then Geh!aoa gave her decision.

"We can't risk it at present. Eventually, I'm sure the Arrurrans will be interested in hosting more of the Goldaskians who they can interview for hints to better technology. When they are ready to take more of the exiles, I'm willing to ship them in small numbers, over many trips. But I'm not letting a lot more Goldaskians aboard all at the same time."

Nik!eh looked upset at that, but held his peace for the moment. Geh!aoa guessed that it was the "many trips" part which was bothering him. The hoonan had been bringing up the trip to Earth more often, lately.

Sorry, Nik!eh. There's just too much to do.

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