Chapter 22: Hengemai System

That evening, we met for dinner in the main dining lounge.

We were eating when Saria spoke.

“Ship informed me that the next destination is the Hengemai system,” she said with excitement.

“Are you familiar with that system?” asked Jem.

“Oh yes! I learned about them in my military training. They’re a space-faring race, known for their martial arts skills. They hold fighting tournaments all the time,” replied Saria.

“That sounds interesting,” said Jem.

“Ship, do the Baglogi have any diplomatic ties with the Hengemai?” I asked.

“Negative, Captain. There are no records of contact with the Hengemai,” replied Ship.

“This will be a first contact situation. Saria, does Quard have a relationship with the Hengemai,” I asked.

“I’m not a diplomat, so I don’t know the status of their relationship. I believe they trade with Quard,” she replied.

“We can start with that,” I said.

Jem smiled.

“Captain, I’ll leave the diplomacy in your hands,” said Jem.

“Yes, Commodore,” I said.

After dinner, we sat together to watch a movie.

A few days later, our hyper drive went offline as we arrived at the edge of the Hengemai system.

“We are now at the Hengemai system,” said Ship.

“Ship, deploy cloaked defensive probes and keep them near us. Then activate transponder and advance into the system,” I said.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship. On the tactical display, several blue dots emerged from Ship and surrounded our vessel.

“Attention, we are being hailed,” said Ship.

Jem looked at me and shrugged.

“Put the call through,” I said.

A face appeared on the tactical display. She resembled Ori, which is like human except taller and more slender.

“Welcome to the Hengemai system. This Hengemai system control. Please identify your vessel, and the purpose of your visit,” she said.

“You speak Ori?” I asked.

“Your vessel listed it as a language you are familiar with,” replied the voice.

I sighed. Ship was making life easier for us. I’d have to thank him later.

“We are a Baglogi vessel. Our intentions are peaceful. This being our first visit, I am Captain Brian, and I’d like to meet with your diplomats to establish friendly ties between Baglogi and Hengemai,” I replied.

“For a peaceful envoy, you arrive in a large vessel, Captain,” she said with a hint of a grin.

“Speak softly and carry a big stick,” I replied. “We found that when we travelled in a smaller vessel, less-honourable beings did not respect us. It is a dangerous galaxy out there.”

“There is wisdom in your words. However, you will not need your sticks here. I am sending you course information that will bring you into orbit around Hengemai Prime. Our escort vessels will meet you as a formality,” she said.

“Acknowledged. We are changing course now,” I said. I closed the communications channel.

I looked to Jem, and she smiled.

“Ship, take us in on the course provided,” I said.

“Confirmed,” replied Ship.

“She has a point. Our vessel looks a bit intimidating,” said Mina.

“You’re right. Perhaps next time, we can configure a redshirt probe to appear as a smaller vessel. This vessel will remain cloaked,” I said.

Jem nodded.

“I think Mina has a point, look at the escort vessels they sent to meet us,” said Jem.

On the tactical display, three large Hengemai warships approached our position.

“They’re not taking any chances,” I said.

We continued on our assigned course. The escort vessels turned and followed us in to their home planet.

We arrived at a high orbit around Hengemai Prime. Our escort vessels parked a short distance away. It seemed a familiar pattern to me. Until they saw us as allies, they were cautious.

“Attention, we are being hailed,” said Ship.

“Put the call through,” I said.

The familiar face appeared on the display. “Captain Brian, you may bring a small delegation with you,” she said.

“Thank you. I will bring one other officer with me,” I replied.

“Sending you the landing coordinates,” she said, before the channel closed.

I turned to Jem.

“I’d like to take Saria with me for this trip,” I said. Saria smiled.

“Good luck, Captain,” replied Jem.

“Saria, let’s get ready,” I said.

I left the main bridge, followed by Saria. We changed into away team uniforms and made our way to the shuttle bay.

After the usual pre-flight checks, our shuttle exited the shuttle bay and left for the planet.

“Saria, what else do you know about the Hengemai?” I asked.

“I’ve never met them in person. Martial arts and fighting are a key part of their culture,” she replied.

“We don’t want our first contact to end in a fight, especially with a culture known for their fighting prowess,” I said with a grin.

Saria nodded.

“In that case, we should be careful not to make any aggressive moves,” said Saria.

Our flight took us down towards their main spaceport on a northern continent.

“See how yellow the terrain is,” said Saria as she pointed ahead of us.

“Much of that is desert. We should expect a warm dry climate,” I replied.

Saria looked at the display.

“The atmosphere on the planet is breathable for us. Their gravity is just above normal. It shouldn’t be a problem,” she said.

I nodded.

The rest of the journey was uneventful, and we touched down at the spaceport.

We exited the shuttle via the airlock to face four Hengemai in uniforms. One elderly male and three females. The male stepped toward me.

As he did so, the three females watched me carefully. My instincts told me they were bodyguards, ready to respond if needed. I best avoid any aggressive moves.

“Welcome to Hengemai Prime. I am ambassador D’Duck,” he said in fluent Ori. He didn’t introduce the others.

“Thank you, ambassador. I am Captain Brian, and this being is Lieutenant Saria,” I said.

One of the female Hengemai approached us with a hand scanner. Saria and I instinctively held out our right arms for them to scan our ID. It was standard among space-faring races to scan new arrivals.

The female Hengemai examined the scan results and then showed them to the ambassador.

He turned back to me.

“Captain, your ID says you received a title from Dentra?” asked the ambassador.

Crap! Not that again...

“I performed a service for Her Royal Highness. The title was to express her appreciation,” I replied.

“We have diplomatic ties with Dentra. You’re the first entitled being from Dentra to visit our planet,” he said.

“They didn’t publicly announce it. I assume you are aware of the return of Her Royal Highness?” I asked.

“Yes. She was missing for a long time, then returned,” he replied.

“We found her in cryogenic stasis on another world. We revived her and returned her to her home planet,” I said.

The ambassador’s eyes opened wide. He tapped on the scanner device and returned it to his staff.

“I’d love to hear more about it. Let’s go somewhere comfortable to talk,” he said.

We left the spaceport and took a ground transport.

The ground transport stopped, and our hosts escorted us inside a building. The inside featured marble floors and high ceilings, designed to impress us.

Our escort guided us to a meeting room, with an oval table surrounded by chairs. As we took our seats, they provided refreshments.

“Based on your ID, these should be safe to consume,” said ambassador D’Duck.

“Thank you,” I replied. Saria picked up a cup and sipped at a beverage.

“So, I understand you wish to establish friendly ties between Baglogi and Hengemai. Before we can become friends, we need to get to know each other better, don’t you agree?” he asked.

“Absolutely, Mr. Ambassador,” I replied.

“Perhaps you would like to go first and introduce yourselves?” he asked.

“I’m sure your scanner has already told you I’m not Baglogi, nor is my Lieutenant,” I said.

He nodded.

“The Baglogi are an ancient race. They recruit talent from other races. I was born on Tian Prime, and my Lieutenant here is from Quard. We have alliances with the Ori Confederation, Quard, Dentra and the Asan.

“The primary mission of our vessel is peace keeping. We also performed several rescue missions, and we have a lot of experience dealing with pirates,” I said.

“The Hengemai only associate with peaceful races,” said the ambassador.

“We are inherently peaceful, limiting ourselves to self-defence and the defence of others,” I said.

The ambassador smiled and nodded.

“I saw your Lieutenant has a military background?” he asked.

I turned to Saria.

“I served two terms in the Quard special forces, Sir!” said Saria.

He nodded.

“And you are now serving aboard a Baglogi vessel. How is that working out?” he asked.

Saria turned briefly to me before turning back to the ambassador.

“Well, Sir!” she replied crisply.

He nodded. Then he turned back to me.

“Captain, the Hengemai have done a little exploring and we trade with friendly neighbours. We trade with Quard and Dentra. Apart from that, we keep to our own system,” he said.

I nodded.

“Dentra has a small embassy here. I already asked their ambassador about you,” he said.

“Did you get a response?” I asked.

The ambassador turned to one of his female staff and she passed him a tablet.

“He confirmed your ID. He says you helped Dentra on multiple occasions. He also said that if you lack Hengemai credits, Dentra would be happy to cover your expenses,” he replied.

I smiled. As long as they didn’t marry me off to an empress...

He gave the tablet back to his staff, then turned to me.

“You come with excellent references, perhaps the best I have seen. What do you expect from an alliance with us?” he asked.

“I’d start with a mutual non-aggression pact. Then mutual support against enemies or when one is in distress. Finally, a chance to visit your system and trade,” I replied.

“We can agree to all of that, Captain,” he said. We both smiled. This is better than I hoped.

“Fantastic!” I said.

“I’ll get my staff to prepare an agreement document. Meanwhile, you shall be my guests to a tournament,” he said.

Saria looked excited.

“Do you mean one of your famous martial arts tournaments?” asked Saria.

“Yes, Lieutenant. The preliminary bouts are going on already. Please come with me,” he said.

We stood and left the meeting room.

The ambassador took us outside and across the street to a stadium. We followed him through a VIP entrance and eventually arrived at the front row of seats.

In front of us was the combat arena. Two females were sparring in unarmed combat. Around the edges sat more females, all wearing similar clothing to the ones sparring.

Outside the combat arena, I estimated there were about a thousand spectators, including ourselves.

We took our seats, with the ambassador sitting next to me.

“These are the preliminary bouts,” he said.

I nodded.

“You honour us with your attendance. You’re the first entitled being to attend a tournament,” he said.

“I really don’t use my title. I’d much rather you forget it,” I said.

The conversation paused at that point. We watched the action in front of us for a while. One competitor defeated her opponent with a submission hold. We waited for the next bout to begin.

“You’re familiar with our tournaments?” asked the ambassador.

“Only what my Lieutenant told me. It seems their fame has reached Quard,” I replied.

He nodded. Two more competitors lined up to compete.