[ WP ] A peaceful alien race is besieged by another race in the same galaxy . As their last planets fall and their home-world comes under threat they do the unthinkable . They ask for aid from the only known creatures more brutal than their foes in exchange for FTL technology . Humans accept the deal .

War... war never changes... until you invite the Terrans. 
 
 At first, I was reticent. Even though I had used my position on the high directorate to'guide' the high command's opinion. It did n't take much, a simple nudge here, a whispered word there; soon enough, my subordinates had garnered the support of the majority of both the high directorate and high command's staff. With a heavy heart, both the directorate and command agreed that we would attempt to wrangle the humans into assisting us in our war. 
 
 It all began simple enough, we bumped into them nearly by accident - while both surveying the worlds surrounding H-9957-B6, what the humans call Alpha Centauri A. The first contact went as awkwardly as one might expect. The captain of the Dau'Nithai'Ien being awakened by his first lieutenant and told that they were receiving a communique. 
 
 By all reports, it took the ship's AI over six hours to translate all five of the languages in which it was sent. All five languages seemed gutteral and harsh to us. The emphasis seemed to be place on the first transmission, however, a language known as English. Our engineers and geneticist immediately began working on instantaneous translation solutions. Of course, as usual, the engineers won out with something they called the'babelfish'. Apparently, the name had been stolen from a text made available on a crude repository computer made available by the Terran. At this point, with my personal babelfish fit into my neural receptacle, I was sent aboard the fastest ship in our fleet. By now, it was no small secret that I had suggested this plan. As such, I was eventually ordered by the head of the directorate to reach an understanding. Boy, if only he had understood exactly what that would entail... 
 
 Upon my arrival to Alpha Centauri A, the very nervous and perturbed captain of the Dau'Nithai'Ien practically cried with joy. After a little prodding, he began to explain that his entire crew were four weeks deep into a binge session on what the Terrans called'TV'. He continued explaining that, his crew had begun using vernacular picked up in TV. Pretend'gun fights' broke out during time meant to be reserved for quiet contemplation. Crewman and under officer alike were reciting lines from films such as'Dirty Harry','The Good, The Bad and The Ugly','The Godfather' and by the captains words, an `` utterly deplorable'' film called'Clueless'. According to his lieutenant, the Captain was `` like, totally over this whole humanity thing''. 
 
 I remember remarking to myself, `` Just what have we found?''. 
 
 Boarding the small escape craft, I recall telling my son, who had accompanied me, `` If I do n't come back, let your mother know I love her''. The flight over to their craft was the longest 10 minutes of my 763 year long life. Through my semicent as a child, to my bicent - two hundred human years served in the military, to my 513 years as high ambassador to the trade coalition, I have never been more terrified in my entire life. The fate of our race, nay, the galaxy lie in the yet unknown goodwill of a race we had met little more than five weeks ago. 
 
 As we pulled to the ship, the pilot began playing clips from American TV shows to communicate. It started with, `` why howdy partner'', followed by, `` we come in peace''. Finally, after receiving what I now know is a human laugh, their ship's captain replied, `` welcome aboard''. Just then, the cargo doors to their ship swung open and our ship was pulled in via a crude system of'lead lines' - attached to our ship via magnets. 
 
 After testing to confirm their air was hospitable, the captain popped the hatch and wished me luck. With a hopeful heart and a dreadful sigh, I stepped out into the dimly lit flight deck. With sweet smelling air, and a bitter chill, the humans seemed very similar to our race. It took me a moment to reach the floor and then it hit me - the Terran were giants! With hindsight, our average height would measure to be roughly 3 human feet. Their average was nearly double! 
 
 Summoning my courage, I called out, `` Greetings, I am Ambassador Xallar of the Dau. I have come to speak with Captain Smith''. That is when the shortest among them, with weak features and a thin frame stepped forward, `` Greetings, Xallar of the Dau. I am Veronica Smith of the planet Earth. On behalf of humanity, I salute you''. She snapped a firm salute and relaxed, a small smile spreading across her face. `` Wo n't you accompany me to the conference room, Ambassador Xallar? ``, she asked politely. 
 
 After more pleasantries and small talk, we arrived at the crux of the discussion. With a resigned sigh, I broached the subject. 
 
 `` Captain Smith, with all sincerity and respect I have a monumental request of you. Our people are currently besieged and flagging against a mighty foe, the Valgar. They would most be likened to what I understand you know as an ant. However, they are roughly so tall -'', raising my hand to about four human feet, I continued, `` We are of course in dire need. Thus, I have been authorized to offer you access to one of the most coveted technologies of any space faring race''. She leaned forward intently, jaw working as if speaking. I took a long swallow of what the humans called'tea', savoring the flavor... `` We are prepared to offer you specifications and completed models of our faster than light travel mechanism - FTL''. 
 
 `` Yes sir, I understand. One moment, please''. She swiped at the air in a circular motion and swung her arm toward the wall. A projection of a much older, stately male with a darker complexion than Captain Smith appeared. `` Let me get this straight, Ambassador. You are offering us the holy grail of space travel for our assistance in an inter-galactic war? ``, the man blew out a large cloud of smoke and extinguished his cigar. 
 
 Motioning for an aide, two small counters appeared at the bottom of the screen. The word'yay' written in green next to one, and the word'nay' in red, next to the other. As humans would say, it felt like watching paint dry. Apparently, somewhere on earth, a debate was being had between the UEC - or, United Earth Congress. The man who I had just spoken to was its reigning president, Arnold Bellamy. All of this in itself was a small mircale, given the fact that, the last democratic planet was wiped out nearly one full millennium ago due to indecisiveness about this very same subject: war. But, these humans were different - they practiced something called `` Republican Democracy''; they elected representatives instead of voting on issues directly. 
 
 After three hours, during which time I was fed and given a'datapad' to browse Earth media, The President reappeared on the screen. Suddenly, the counters flickered to life and the votes were there on the screen: 1,396 yay - 204 nay. My breathing quickened as I glanced up at the President. He glanced down at me, the edges of his mouth drawn up in a small smile. `` Ambassador Xallar, on behalf of Earth, we accept your call and it is our hope that not only will we be victorious... but, that this will be the first step toward a long and sustained friendship''. 
 
 ( ( -- End Part One -- ) ) 
 
 I have to think of where I want to go with this, if there's enough interest I will write more. Thanks for reading. 
 

