mirevolver

Been doing some work on this book. Another excript.

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“Mr. President.”

“Don’t refer to me as, ‘Mr. President’ anymore. My term has ended.” Deltain replied.

Just two hours ago, he had handed the reigns of the Elaten presidency over to his successor. It was the first peaceful transition of power for the Elatens since before their first war with the Humans, but not only that, it was the first democratically elected transition for the Elatens in over two centuries. Now that it had been accomplished, Deltain was relieved and was looking forward to his retirement.

“I’m sorry sir. Old habit.” The government aide said. He looked familiar to Deltain, but his name seemed just beyond reach for Deltain’s memory.

After an extended pause, Deltain spoke, “Well, is there something you came to tell me? Or are you just going to stand in my doorway with that look on your face?”

The aide’s mind snapped back into gear, “Sorry sir.”

“Stop apologizing and get on with it.”

The aide was caught off guard and took a moment to respond. “I came here because a Poloni heavy cruiser has appeared in our solar system and taken orbit around Eltair.”

“Why are you coming to me with this? I told you I’m not the president anymore.”

“We realize that, and we have told that to the Poloni, but they are being very insistent.”

“Insistent on what?” Deltain questioned, hoping the answer wasn’t what he had already suspected.

“They want you to come up to their ship.”

Damn, Deltain thought. For such an advanced race, they are annoyingly predictable. “Have they said anything more?” He asked.

“No.”

“Well, tell the Poloni that if they want to see me, then they will have to come to me personally. I am a private citizen now.”

“Yes sir,” the aide said just before spinning around on one heel and leaving Deltain’s doorstep.

Deltain closed the door and went to his kitchen to make himself some lunch. Just as he paused to decide what he was going to eat, he had a sudden tingling sensation throughout his body and the room faded to white. When the white faded, and the tingling sensation stopped, he found himself standing in a red-orange room which seemed to illuminate itself. The room was bare and had no door. The walls of the room had a very peculiar look to them, almost as if the walls were made of skin. Just as Deltain realized where he was, a flap of the skin lined walls parted open and in walked two Poloni.

“Hello, Deltain,” the first one said.

“Return me to my house immediately. Kidnapping is a felony in the Elaten Federation.”

“Do not worry, Deltain,” the other Poloni said, “we only want to talk to you. Offer you a choice. If you choose not to go with us, we will return you to your home.”

“How do I know you haven’t already left orbit?” Deltain accused.

“We have not.” The first Poloni replied.

“I have only your word for that.”

“When have you had reason not to trust the Poloni?” The second Poloni asked.

Deltain spoke with a dry tone. “Do you want me to list them off?”

“Yes.” The first Poloni replied, not catching Deltain’s tone of voice.

Deltain opened his mouth to speak, then closed it. After a moment of letting the frustration build up in him, he shook his head and then pointed a finger at the Poloni. “You kidnapped me!” He sneered.

“We only brought you aboard to give you a choice.” The first Poloni replied, maintaining the same calm, contented tone the Poloni always use.

“What choice is that?” Deltain shot back, still sneering.

“The choice to go with us, or to stay here.” The second Poloni answered.

Deltain calmed down some before he spoke again. “I need to sit down.”

As if his rhetorical comment were a command to the ship, the floor behind him rose up and molded itself into a chair. The first Poloni gestured to the chair, “You may sit.”

The former Elaten president whirled around and saw the chair. He sat down in it, unsurprised by its sudden appearance as this was not his first time on a Poloni ship. Even though he sat down willingly, he loathed sitting in it. He knew from his past experience on a Poloni vessel that the chair was part of the ship, and the ship was a living entity specifically bred to conform to the will of its passengers. In his mind, it was akin to slavery, though the Poloni would argue otherwise.

But despite his loathing for the chair, it was the most comfortable chair he had ever sat in. It had conformed itself to perfectly fit his body and he could feel the ship’s pulse go through the chair which worked to massage his body.

After relaxing in the chair for a while, he realized that there were still two Poloni standing in front of him and the only way he could get rid of them would be to address the reason they brought him here. “You have already told me that you will return me to my home if I choose to stay here. So now I want to know what is in store for me if I select my other option. What will happen if I go with you?”

“You will help an adversary who became your friend.” The lead Poloni spoke.

“You are going to have to be more specific than that.” Deltain replied, “I know several people who would meet that criterion.”

“Marc Revolver.” The second Poloni said.

Deltain would have stood up had the chair he was in not been so damned comfortable. “The last time I heard anything about Marc Revolver, he had become the United Worlds Ambassador to the Poloni. So he should be with you, which begs the question, why are you coming to me about him?”

“He is with us.” The first Poloni answered.

“But he is leaving us.” The second Poloni continued.

“Leaving you?” Deltain asked, stunned. “What do you mean he’s leaving you? He isn’t dying, is he?”

“No.” Both Poloni answered.

“He is going on a quest,” The first Poloni continued, “to learn of an ancient threat that once plagued the galaxy.”

“It is a quest that will be made easier with your assistance.” The second Poloni added.

Deltain leaned his head back into the chair, closed his eyes and let out a sigh. Presently, he leveled his eyes back on the two Poloni. “If you had mentioned any other name, I would have told you to return me to my home. But Ambassador Revolver is solely responsible for allowing the Elatens a chance to reestablish themselves as an honorable civilization in the galaxy.”

“Then you are going?” The second Poloni asked.

“I will need to get my affairs in order first. But yes, I will go with you.”

“We will give you one Elaten day.”

Deltain suddenly felt the tingling sensation in the pit of his stomach and the room around him faded to white. When the white faded away, he was back in his kitchen and still in the sitting position from the chair on the Poloni ship. Without a chair to support him, he instantly fell to the floor.

“They could have at least given me a warning before doing that.” Deltain muttered to himself as he got up.

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Aside from my great plans to become the future dictator of the moon, I have little interest in political discussions.