Chapter 4
Charles wasn’t ready for this. It had been three days since the aliens- Representatives of the Intergalactic Federation- had accepted the surrender of mankind. Today their leader was scheduled for a return visit and meeting with Charles.
The government wanted to upgrade his security detail and of course he’d agreed to the level of support any American or British ambassador would have. He had put his foot down when it came to changing his handlers. Moira’s team had gotten him this far, he saw no need to fix what wasn’t broken. Besides, he genuinely liked working with them. Under different circumstance he would have already considered them friends. As it was, they were dear co workers and he was happy to know they had his back.
“Alright, Charles, remember what we discussed?” Moira fussed with his tie for a moment before stepping back to look him over with a critical eye.
She was looking as good as he’d ever seen her. The could be because she'd actually left the compound and slept in her own bed. a few hours away had done wonders for her appearance and temperament.
One unanticipated result of his refusal for a new team was that her team had been given a promotion. On that was well deserved in Charles’ eyes since she was the only one who’d thought to bring him on and he was the one who had somehow managed to charm their new overlord.
“Charles?” She snapped, giving him another concerned once over. “Are you alright? You look peaked. Sean!” she snapped over her shoulder and then the young man was there handing Charles a chilled bottle of water.
Charles smiled his thanks to the young man who had been making a real effort to make up for his actions the day of the surrender.
“Thank you, Sean. I’m fine, Moira. Really. I remember everything we went over and I’m pretty good at making small talk. Everything is going to be fine.” Maybe if he said it often enough it would come true.
Moira gave him a skeptical look that had him hiding behind a deep drink of water. Sometimes he could swear she could read his mind, and right now that would be a very bad thing.
“Okay, Charles. If you say so. Just remember we’ll be in your ear the whole time and if you’re in any trouble we’ll be there in 15 seconds tops.” She said with a stern look.
Charles was touched. There was no hope of any of them actually being able to rescue him if the meeting went badly, but he was sure they’d lay down their lives to protect him if it came to it.
“Thank you,” he said with a sincere smile. He only hoped she could forgive him for what he was about to do. But she’d brought him on for his expertise and he liked to think that a part of that was his ability to put people at ease. Fingers crossed that he didn’t get them all killed.
Armando stepped into the room with a light knock, “looking good, Charles. All set?” he and Moira shared a quick glance that concerned Charles, but he didn’t have time to decipher it.
“Please lead the way,” he glanced back at Sean who was cradling a lightly drugged Albert in his arms. Charles had wanted to leave him at Moira’s-where he was staying until further accommodations could be found. But Sean had made the valid argument that perhaps it was Albert who had charmed the admiral, and if he asked after the animal it would be better to be able to retrieve him in a few minutes rather than nearly an hour.
It was a solid argument, but that didn’t mean Charles had to like it. He stepped out into the hall and made his way down to the room where he’s be meeting with admiral for his first official day as Earth’s ambassador.
~~
Erik sat perfectly still and unblinking, waiting for the humans to bring Charles into the room. His security detail was waiting outside and was more for show than anything. He was sure he could handle this nation’s entire army on his own, but he always liked to put on a slight show of force, especially when dealing with more primitive and violent cultures.
A soft knock on the door drew his attention much to the relief of the man in black who had been sitting with him up until this point. Erik had been half listening to his simple chatter, but had given the impression that he wasn’t paying any attention at all.
“Sir,” came a slender man with brown skin and dark eyes, he was young and trim. Erik remembered him from the other day as well. He was one of Charles’ associates of he wasn’t mistaken. “I’m sorry to interrupt but Dr. Xavier has arrived.” He said smoothly.
Erik was impressed with the young man’s poise. Charles had been in the building since long before Erik had arrived, but there was no need to let them know they were being watched so closely.
Then Charles stepped in, looking nervous but less than he had when they’d first met. The black of his suit offset his pale skin and dark hair nicely, while the bright blue stripes on his tie perfectly matched his eyes. Erik rose from his seat and clasped his hands behind his back. He towered over the other man, a fact made clear when Charles had glanced back at his friend nervously when Erik stood.
“Hello, Admiral. It’s lovely to see you again,” he said with a warm smile.
Erik returned it with one of his own, but realized that may have been a mistake when Charles paled and took a half step back. The man in black, who had risen when Erik had, crossed himself and edged towards the door. Erik frowned.
“Well, we’ll leave you to it then,” the man in black said grasping Charles’ friend by the arm and hustling him out the door. The young man had gestured to his ear just before the door clicked shut behind him, leaving them alone for the first time. Well, alone but for the agents listening in.
Erik turned back to his new ambassador with a close lipped smile and gestured to one of the seats. “Please have a seat, doctor.”
Charles did so, turning to face him with a speculative look in his eyes, “Thank you, Admiral.”
He shrugged, the niceties always bored him and he was eager to move on to more interesting things. “So, you’ve had a few days to process what’s happened. How have your people taken the news?”
Erik knew of course, but he wanted to hear it from Charles’ point of view.
“Not well, but it could have been worse. It was wise of you to remove our firepower before announcing your presence. You rather have us over a barrel.”
“We don’t allow senseless killing in the federation. Life is rare in this universe, sentient life even moreso. It is sacred to us,” he said as simply as he could. Apparently he’d said the right thing because Charles was giving him a look he couldn’t decipher.
“That’s beautiful, I’ve always thought that, but, well. I’m one of the few humans who seems to feel the way. Of course there are some religions that strictly prohibit harming others’ and further sects in other religions that do the same. As I said, I see us as growing less warlike as each generation passes.”
Erik thought that seemed a bit optimistic, “At the rate you all were heading you’d have wiped this planet clean of all life within the next two centuries.” He said flatly. He’d seen it happen before and the desolation made him sick.
Charles seemed irritated again, “Well what would you have done if we had refused to surrender? Forced us? Killed us?”
Erik sighed, “As unfair and illogical as it seems, anytime we’ve left a race such as yours unchecked, you’ve either wiped yourselves out in the manner I’ve described and/or brought war upon the federation with grand ideas of conquest, usually within a generation or two after we announce our presence. We have a policy of containment that has saved billions of lives by our count.”
Charles did something distracting with his mouth that threw Erik for a moment. He made a note to look it up in the files on human facial expressions when he returned to the ship. He probably needed to work on his own since his attempt at a smile had horrified his hosts.
“Well, that said, humans aren’t all bad. In fact you’ll rarely find a human who is purely bad. Generally when humans kill we do it for a reason,” Charles explained.
“Yes, we had noticed. If you all had been the raw savages you appeared to be at first glance we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now.” He said smoothly.
Charles swallowed thickly and glanced at the door before leaning in slightly, “I don’t know what your plans are for us, or how we’ll play into the future of the Federation, but I don’t see how it could be a positive role when you have such a…negative view of human nature and of life on earth.” He said earnestly. Erik was intrigued by where this was heading. And nodded for the smaller man to go on.
Charles sighed in what appeared to be relief. “I’d like to be your ambassador in truth. May I say you look very human and I think with a few modifications, you could pass very easily. I’d like to show you life on Earth and have you make up your own mind about us before making any permanent plans for our future.” He’d learned in further and seemed very sincere in his offer.
Erik was taken aback by the suggestion; usually they began assimilating a population within a few days of their surrender. If he was going to see Earth as it was before they were occupied…it would be like living in one of the many reels they’d collected of the planet.
He was surprised to find that he was genuinely interested in what Charles wanted to show him. He wanted to see what drove the other man to love this little blue planet in spite of the horrors it offered. He wanted to know what lit that passion in his heart for the lives of his fellow Earthlings.
Besides, he was overdue for a vacation and here was as good a place as any. He could practically hear his mother’s voice telling him to live a little.
“Alright, I’ll agree to you offer, Dr. Xavier.”
Charles looked stunned, “Really?”
“Yes, really. That is, if you were serious.” Erik tilted his head watchfully.
“Yes, Yes I was. Thank you! I promise you won’t regret it,” Charles leaned in with a wide smile and clasped one of Erik’s hands in both of his.
Erik raised his eyebrows and curled his fingers around Charles’ smaller digits for a moment before allowing Charles to pull away when a light knock on the door caught his attention. He looked chagrinned. Erik quirked an eyebrow, it seemed as though his ambassador had taken the initiative in a way his superiors hadn’t approved of. Erik respected that, and liked it more than he should.
The redhead from the other day stepped in with a frown after Charles called for her to enter. “Charles, we need you.” She gave Erik a respectful nod, “Admiral.”
He returned it and stood when Charles did, turning to face the smaller man, “I hope to see you again tomorrow, Dr. Xavier. I’m interested to see what you have planned.”
“Same time, same place. I’ll be happy to see you then,” he said with a nervous glance at the woman.
Erik turned to her as well, “Thank you for your assistance as well. I expect Dr. Xavier to be provided everything he needs for this endeavor. It trust that won’t be an issue,” it wasn't a question. He smiled.
She paled and placed her hand at her hip, where he supposed her gun would have rested had he not made it defunct days ago. “Of course, Admiral. You have my word and the full backing of the United States government.” She said with a firm voice, though she was clearly terrified of him.
Erik was impressed in spite of himself. Humans were rapidly becoming one of his favorite species. “Until tomorrow, then.” He stepped out to take his leave. Happy that an Earth day was only 24 hours long. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d looked forwards to anything other than conquering planets and brief visits to see his parents.
This was something special. This was something new. He thought back to Charles grasping his hand in his cool grip for those brief moments before they were interrupted. This was all shaping up very nicely.