“There is also the possibility of negotiating some kind of truce,” the speaker said. “Does anyone know what exactly they want with us?”
“They want to rule us.” Everyone looked at Rogalia expecting her to have that answer, but it wasn't here that spoke. It was Myra. “They have a very hierarchical society. It is in their blood to rule over others, so to speak.” Myra smiled. She was enjoying the look of surprise on everyone's face a bit too much.
Jennifer voiced the question on everyone's mind, “How do you know?”
She considered the question for a moment, as if she didn't know exactly what she was going to say. It was pretense, Jennifer could tell. She has certainly learned the art of public speaking quickly, as in overnight. “There are more forces at work here than just the Biaz,” she said.
She stood up so everyone could see her clearly. “There are two old and powerful races out there. One we would consider good, and the other evil. For convenience lets call them the Ancients and...I don't know...”
“How about the Ori?” John interjected.
“I think we will run into copyright issues with that,” Myra replied.
“Oh right,” John said. “How about the shadows?”
Myra considered it for a second. “Hmmm, well I guess that is generic enough,” she replied. “OK the ancients and shadows it is then.”
She turned her attention back to the larger room, who were already getting annoyed at the interruption. “These two races are stuck in a kind of cold war. Their very nature seems to keep them from interacting directly, or communicating with each other. So they combat each other through us less advanced races, i.e. us. The shadows are the cause of all of this. They are manipulating the Biaz leader into invading all of our worlds.”
“So all we need to do is take out these shadow people?” General Mac asked.
“Let me repeat myself,” Myra said. “Old and powerful. We would have a much greater chance of taking on all the other races combined, and I'm talking just us two.”
“But these ancient guys, they are on our side right? Can they help us?” the president asked.
“They already have,” John said.
Everyone looked at him, but it was Myra that spoke, “Yes, they have. They are the ones that took us and manipulated our DNA. That is why we just appeared on the ship, without the Biaz knowing anything about it. They specifically chose us four, and gave us the tools needed to lead a defense against the invasion.”
“Why us?” Jennifer asked.
“I don't know,” Myra replied. “They saw something that was in each of us that they think is needed for what is to come.”
“How do you know all of this?” the president asked.
“It is what they did to me,” she said. “They implanted the knowledge of the languages and cultures of all four races – Biaz, Velarian, Kult, and Human. Let me tell you, its a little weird being baffled by Spanish all through high school and now being able to speak it fluently.”
“Oh,” she continued. “I almost forgot. They also gave me a warning. The shadows have their own allies. Unlike the shadows, these allies can harm us directly. Regardless if the Biaz invasion succeeds or fails, these allies of theirs will be coming. The ancients feel strongly we have no chance of standing up to them if all of our races don't stand united. They feel each race has something that is needed in the hardships to come.”
“If you ask me, the other races can kiss my ass,” Michael said. “We are better off facing what's to up on our own.”
“Lets leave that conversation for another time,” Jennifer said. “If we survive the invasion, then we can worry about these other shadow allied people things.”
The conversation quickly devolved into a shouting match, that Jennifer was barely able to keep from breaking into a fist fight. They asked a continues stream of questions to Myra, most of which she had no answer for. She answered all the questions as best as she could, even when the question had not so subtle suggestions of her being a spy for either the Biaz or these shadow people. Soon the questions started to repeat.
Jennifer mostly stayed out of the arguments. She had no desire to get involved any further than she had to. She just hoped she could talk Myra out of getting any more involved. She told them what they needed to know. It was now time to stay out of the way and let them handle it.
As the conversation devolved, it was clear General Mac and her husband did not believe Myra. Duke, specifically seemed to refuse to believe the person before him had any part of his daughter in her anymore. He would have imprisoned and tortured her again if he had his way. Michael tended to side with them more often than not, but clearly was not concerned with the threat of the shadows. Jennifer thought he just considered it God's problem.
Finally Jennifer had to end the meeting. Not even the president could stop it from turning into a fighting match if it went on further. She waited for a moment of silence to fall between the shouts from General Mac and the speaker of the house. Jennifer was proud to see a women holding her own against a General in a shouting match, but had no hope for her if Mac decided to start using his superior physical strength.
Finally the two fell silent. They were clearly too angry to speak any longer. “I'm sorry everyone,” Jennifer said as she stood up. “I”m afraid i'll have to be going. The Daily Show will be starting soon.” She smiled. “Myra shall we go?”
Myra smiled and follower her mother out the door. Jennifer was considering the odds of everyone being alive in the morning, but she honestly didn't care that much so she gave up.
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