“You should verify both my and Lieutenant Carlisle’s identities,” she said, when the security officers continued to hesitate. “I also believe the Councilor and his escort require visitor’s passes.”

  Maneuvering Mika and his bodyguards through the bureaucracy of entering a secure facility, Felix was glad of Carlisle’s assistance. Between the two of them, they were able to usher their guests into the elevator to the conference room as the first reporter started rapping on the glass.

  The Commanders were waiting, and the conference screens showed that almost every planetary power had linked in. Felix counted the heads of several corporations recognized as sovereignties, as well as members of the conglomerate councils of the three current world powers. She also recognized the oldest face on the lizardine ruling council amidst his cohorts, and several of the powers on the Intergalactic Authority representative panel.

  Humanity was in it, but deep.

  Felix resisted the urge to entwine her fingers in Mika’s hand, as they stepped into the room, pausing instead to announce his arrival.

  “Good, then we are now in session,” stated the Intergalactic Authority speaker.

  Felix kept the grimace from her face. Di Peachy was not her favorite sentient. Humanoid in shape, but having the eye rows and extra limbs to show her arachnid ancestry, Di made most humans uneasy. One of the lizardine councilors licked his lips as though seeing the arachnid reminded him of lunch. It was a gesture Di ignored as she indicated the lizardine council should speak.

  “We are broadcasting this on every station in your civilization.” As an opening statement, it was a showstopper, leaving the current Earth High Minister gaping. The lizardine councilor gave him no time to intervene.

  “This is legal, when the decisions being made in court affect every member of a particular race. We of the planet you have called Aquapearl, order every member of humanity to surrender. As you represent them, that decision is yours.”

  Outside, Felix knew, people were shouting.

  “We do so with the weight of the Intergalactic Authority behind us, for humanity has transgressed the most basic of its rules—”

  Felix noticed one of the Conglomerate Heads stabbing at his console, as though trying to turn it off. The lizardine councilor noticed it as well.

  “None of you will be allowed to leave this meeting until it has been resolved to our satisfaction and the resolution has been approved by the Authority.”

  The Conglomerate Head stood up and stalked away from the screen, moving deliberately to the door of his chambers. Everyone was horrified when lizardine warriors de-blended and dropped from the walls to march him back to his place.

  Silence fell.

  Felix watched the faces of her Command bosses, noted the looks of horrified understanding starting to dawn on the faces of the planetary leaders, and waited.

  “We are evenly matched,” the Earth High Minister said, smoothing the croak of uncertainty from his voice. “The war could destroy Aquapearl before it is resolved.”

  The entire lizardine council opened their mouths in understated lizardine smiles, and their screen split into two. The councilor began narrating.

  “Humanity will surrender,” he said, “or it will be destroyed.”

  Mouths opened to argue, to denounce his claim as impossible, but no words disrupted the air.

  On the other side of the screen, an Earth troop ship was shown boosting out of orbit, no doubt taking reinforcements to Aquapearl. They were all surprised when vision shifted to inside the ship.

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  The soldiers on-board were fresh out of training, clean-scrubbed, starch-pressed and eager for battle. They were ‘gonna kick some reptiloid butthole’, and no sooner had that been spoken than every occupant of the ship doubled over as though savaged by severe stomach cramps, hands moved as one for chuck bags, as lesions appeared on bare skin. One of the soldiers looked at the man next to him and screamed.

  Felix recognized the symptoms—Aquapearl Fever. There had been an increasing number of cases in recently returned troops. It was highly contagious and fatal—so far—always horribly fatal.

  The troop ship streaked forward, passing the jump point as though its pilots had been too otherwise occupied to take it through. Their lack of attention took the troop carrier into the path of an incoming passenger ship. Collision warnings sounded, Shouts of alarm broke to nothing as light flared and the troop ship skip jumped out of the way.

  “Distance teleport,” the lizardine councilor explained. “We know how busy your space lanes are. We wanted no innocent blood on our hands.”

  “But they’ve never been off-world. They’ve never been in contact with someone infected.” High Command’s voice was faint with shock. The enormity of an entire troop ship coming down with Fever had overridden the more spectacular teleportation.

  “How did they get sick?”

  Mika’s words echoed in Felix’s head. We use them in war.

  “Nanites,” she breathed, and the lizardine council members looked toward her. Not a single one of them smiled. If they felt any emotion, they had hidden it well, for they now turned expressionless faces toward humanity’s leaders.

  “The nanites are programmed to infect all available hosts,” the lizardine spokesman said.

  “But that’s against Intergalactic law,” Earth High protested. “You’re in breach yourselves.”

  The Intergalactic spokesperson shook her head.

  “It is not against the law to bring peace in the speediest manner possible,” she said. “In this case, the lizardine are able to deactivate the nanites and bring about a cure for most of the infected. Those that cannot be saved will be numbered among the casualties of war. How many die is up to Earth Council. No cessation of hostilities or cure can be offered until the Earth Council surrenders.”

  Felix noted how every member on the Command had turned an odd shade of grey, how more than one set of eyes turned, stricken, in her direction. She felt sick to her stomach herself. Nanites, and she was one of those who had served on Aquapearl longest. She felt a hand grip her arm—Carlisle, reminding her to keep it together just a little longer.

  The lizardine councilor looked at each of the gathered members, before turning to humanity’s appointed leader.

  “Earth High Minister, you have one chance to call off your war, or your race is forfeit.”

  The screen stopped showing the troop ship, now in the custody of a lizardine cruiser.

  And how did that get into our space undetected? Felix wondered.

  Instead of answering her question, the screen showed a rapid set of scenes: an international base where every soldier hit the floor, vomiting violently as one, a shopping mall not far from Casey’s where customers doubled over with no warning, a school on a distant moon, a block of flats, a government office, a corporate administration center on another world.

  “No one will be spared.”

  The screen went dark, resizing to show only the lizardine council. In the stunned silence that followed, the lizardine spokesman confronted Earth High.

  “Do you surrender?” he asked.

  Earth High gaped, closed his mouth, wet his lips, opened his mouth as though to protest that there were protocols, procedures, consultations that needed to take place.

  Again, the screen flashed a series of pictures, the casualties getting worse, sirens wailing as emergency services started to arrive, victims moaning in pain.

  “There is no more time,” the spokesman pressed. “Do you surrender?”

  This time, he left the second screen running, letting it settle into separate windows so every fever-struck place could be seen. Earth High glanced around the room of world leaders, caught their slow nods of assent, and gave the only answer human worlds would accept.

  “Earth, humanity, surrenders to the lizardine of Aquapearl.”

  “So witnessed by the Intergalactic Authority,” said that spokesman. “Negotiations may now begin.”

  This time the lizardine councilor turned to Mika.

  “Did she return it willingly?” he asked.

  Councilor Mikalesket’k’Tvor inclined his head, drawing the blade and raising it so all could see. No-one in the room protested—they were too busy watching in stunned silence, their attention too taken by the scenes of lizardine rescue unfolding on the screens for them to protest the drawing of what they had assumed was a ceremonial blade.

  They could not ignore the spokesman when he turned to Earth High and the Command seated in front of him.

  “Before you return her to us, know this: Captain Felicity Jones has given you one chance to negotiate. Without her mercy, and this proof that at least one human warrior knows how to keep their word, this surrender would be unconditional.”

  He raised a hand and gestured toward Mika. “My emissary stands before you. Treat him well.”