The Syndicate for Sentient Aid gathered, prepared to hear Iruedim’s problem. The Syndicate, or SSA as Camellia dubbed it, occupied one floor of an imposing building on populous Rasamal.

The interior possessed pale blue walls and a floor of marbled blue. The soothing colors welcomed the companions, and gold accents peppered the interior. Camellia recognized blue and gold as the Finial’s colors. The SSA, it seemed, was not as separate an entity as they had hoped.

Now, they waited in a small green room. Camellia paced the length of the floor. Meladee sat in one of the chairs, and Eva stood nearby.

“Wow. Don’t wet yourself,” Meladee warned.

“I haven’t drunk anything in two hours,” Camellia said. “And, I went to the bathroom about twenty minutes ago.” She looked at her speech and reread the lines.

Eva tapped her foot. “Do you hear that?”

All three listened. They jumped when Benham entered the door.

“Sorry,” he said.

Alim followed.

“What is that noise?” Meladee asked, finally able to hear through the open door.

Alim glanced back and closed the door. “Those are the Syndicate members conversing before they take their seats.”

“That roar is our audience?” Camellia frowned. “How many people are out there?”

Alim bowed his head. “About seventy-five, including Commander Rooks. She spread some information about you three and a few extra syndicate members joined the meeting.”

Camellia’s mouth fell open. “She got twenty-five extra people to come see us?” Camellia shook her head. “I like the Commander, but I think I might have words with her after this.”

“What is this feeling?” Eva asked. “Like a jittering in my limbs and uneven operation of my internals?”

“You’re nervous too.” Meladee curled in her seat. “Hell, I’m nervous. I don’t even have to say anything.”

“I’m a bit nervous as well.” Alim shuffled his feet. “Just remember – we have to appear here to get aid for Iruedim. You can do this. We practiced, and I’m confident you’ll do well.” Alim looked between Eva and Camellia.

Eva nodded.

Camellia didn’t bother. She felt no better. At least, she would speak last.

“How did we get here?” Meladee spread her hands. “One minute I’m swimming on an alien cruise ship. Next, I’m here, saving our secret planet.”

Benham shrugged. “I’m starting to wonder the same. I finally talked to Fotis and Amantius. They’re pissed that I just disappeared, also really surprised.”

“Oh? Still friends?” Meladee asked.

“Yeah. I think so.” Benham stared at the wall. He didn’t seem at all confident.

Camellia took a deep breath. “What if Iruedim doesn’t want help?” She paused and glanced around the room. “What if we’re doing a wrong thing. What if…?”

With a look, Eva silenced Camellia. “The people of Iruedim need help whether they want it or not.”

Camellia beheld Eva’s confidence. She took another deep breath. “Yes.”

Iruedim needed help. Camellia just didn’t feel the hero who should get it.

Benham opened the door and peeked out. “They say they’re ready.” He waved them over.

Camellia approached the door, second to last. Only Meladee hid behind her. As Camellia reached the open portal, she heard a soft murmur. The hall seemed a lot quieter.

They followed a member of the Syndicate into the audience room.

Camellia’s eyes widened at the size of the gathering. Even Eva faltered, but she regained her composure and walked to the center podium. Everyone else, Camellia included, sat behind the podium.

Camellia’s heart pounded, and she started to sweat. She looked over the podium and over Eva’s head. Stadium seats rose steeply, keeping the entire audience close to the speaker. Stairs on either side allowed people to file in and out.

A Gelean woman joined Eva at the podium and introduced her.

Camellia wondered how terrified Eva felt, or maybe, Eva collected her courage. Camellia hoped she could do the same when it was her turn.

Eva began, “Our planet, Iruedim, is home to many peoples. The austere Groazans,” here Eva nodded at Camellia.

“The tenacious Tagtrum.” Now, Eva gestured to Meladee.

“And, several more, including my people, the imaginative Lurren. While I represent Lurren, I’m not Lurrien in the sense you might think. I am a synthetic. The organic Lurriens are all dead. They came to Iruedim to escape a plague of ever-growing creatures but unwittingly brought one with them.”

Eva paused. Her gaze seemed to sweep the room. “This being is hard to kill. It communicates telepathically and can control and infect organic people, sometimes even synthetics. While the Lurriens trapped the creature on a cold continent to slow its growth, the other Iruedians dealt with the creature’s offspring and destroyed all but one.”

Eva folded her hands on the podium. She rarely spoke with gestures. “It has been three thousand years, and we still have to deal with the original creature as well as one child. We have no way to eradicate either of them as both are too mature to kill. Both are trapped, but we expect that to change. The offspring has a cult following, and the parent holds hundreds more synthetics hostage. We ask you to consider the research regarding these creatures carefully.” Here Eva stopped and stepped back from the podium. She relinquished the space to Alim.

A Syndicate member introduced him.

Alim detailed the research. Camellia marveled at his speech’s length. She realized just how much of the heavy lifting he performed for their cause. Her respect grew as she listened. Quickly, he entered territory that Camellia did not quite understand. Nonetheless, she listened.

Camellia’s intrigue at Alim’s genetic science dulled her anxiety. Unlike Eva, Alim had visual aids: snippets of the creature’s genes and images of the flesh sample. Much to her embarrassment, he even showed drawings she and Eva had made of Ah’nee’thit and Ul’thetos. Much to her amazement, he outlined a possible life cycle, explaining how the creature likely hatched, grew, and became necrotic. This portion of his speech interested Camellia deeply, and she absorbed every detail, from his explanation of an egg’s structure to a labeled diagram of the monster’s anatomy. He detailed the creature’s known weaknesses and abilities, lingering on the telepathy. Finally, Alim closed with an approximate size estimate for each creature on Iruedim. They would leave the Syndicate no surprises.

Before Alim stepped down from the podium, he introduced Camellia and her telepathic abilities.

Camellia rose. She felt hot. She worried her vision might go black. Actually, she hoped her vision might go black. Unfortunately, it didn’t.

Meladee and Eva gave her an encouraging look, and Alim squeezed her hand as she passed. A syndicate member gestured for her to take her place. She stood at the podium, looked at her speech, and suddenly wanted to rewrite the beginning.

This is insane. If I flub my lines, I won’t have anything to fall back on. But, I can’t say this. I can’t pretend I think the creatures are monsters. Here goes...Camellia took a deep breath.

“Everyone on Iruedim is a colonist, including these creatures. We came as explorers and refugees, and in that respect, I can’t say the creature is any different. It wants some place to live and spread out. The problem comes from how it destroys the land and affects every culture it touches.”

Camellia looked at her paper. She couldn’t connect back to her rehearsed words yet. So, she forged on. “Iruedim used to be a space faring planet, with advanced technology. Three thousand years ago that creature came to Iruedim, and still, we have not regained half the technology we lost. I don’t think the creature is a monster or that it’s evil. It’s just a different form of life, but it’s one that can’t live with us.”

Camellia pushed her paper aside. “Iruedim received colonists for five thousand years, and although our relations aren’t perfect, we live a peaceful existence. There are many peoples living on Iruedim; some probably from a few of your worlds, and some from worlds very distant.”

Camellia paused. She saw so many different faces in the crowd and smiled a little. “That is part of what makes anthropology so exciting on Iruedim. I can travel a short distance and find people that make genuine magic or build technological wonders or have superhumanoid abilities. The two creatures that came to Iruedim, while the most alien thing I have ever encountered, will destroy a world that took thousands of years to build.”

Camellia paused, looked at her speech. Some of the sentiments were the same, but the words largely were not. Well, I’m done, and I got through that, even though I did an incredibly stupid thing. Camellia turned from the podium and sighed with relief.

A Syndicate member closed the meeting, and the group adjourned. After a short break, they would discuss Iruedim’s problem among themselves.

“That was not what you wrote,” Alim said, with a smile. “But, you did well.”

“I knew you were sympathetic to that thing,” Meladee teased. “I’m not even mad though.” She put an arm around Camellia.

“I think they might help us,” Eva added.

Benham merely released his long-held breath, and they all exited the chamber.

Camellia hoped the SSA would help. She hoped they would realize just how much was at stake thanks to Ah’nee’thit and Ul’thetos.