2163 AD
૨૧૨૫ MA

Lennox McClure was wondering what the hell he had gotten himself into.

He could have been a fiction writer. Stayed home, made up stories for a living. His dad had done that, and done very well for himself. But no, he had to go into journalism. He had to seek out the truth. And now, he was about to be seeking the truth at God-knows-how-many-times the speed of light, in an enormously tiny shuttlecraft bound for a place where legally, he would be regarded as a pet.

And the worst part, the absolute, unquestionable worst part, was that he knew that he had no choice. Not because he was being taken against his will, but because if he turned down this opportunity, he could never, never, never look himself in the mirror again. This was no longer just about the story – though that was the main thing, of course. But still – what kind of seeker of truth turns down the chance to see another world?

And so when Ambassador Bass had asked him to go along with her to Azatlia, he saw no alternative but to say yes – though he was not so smitten with the idea that he did not take some precautions first.

“Just so you’re aware, I’ve transmitted all the interviews I’ve done today to a deadfile – it will send them to several colleagues if I don’t return within a week,” he said. That drew a laugh from the Ambassador.

“I think that might be overkill, but sure, go ahead,” she said, as she carefully carried him to the launchpad. “Also, you should know that your leaving has been cleared through Ottawa; your government knows where we’re taking you and when we expect to return.”

“Not sure my government loves me that much.”

“Don’t be so sure. Prime Minister Reboulet wouldn’t be Prime Minister without your story on Singh’s corruption.”

“Yes, well, true. Still, don’t expect he wants me to write the corruption story about his cabinet.”

“Is there one?”

“No,” said McClure with a grin. “Reboulet is clean as a whistle. Some politicians actually are, you know.”

“I know,” Eyrn said. “And he strikes me as one of them, but good to hear it.”

They’d boarded the Emperor’s Chartered Shuttle Priyontæ, and McClure had been rather surprised to find he was not the only human aboard. Ted Martínez had joined his wife in the cockpit, and the gentleman who’d met them at reception was with them, wearing a flight suit; he was his genial self, though he was 24³ times larger than he’d been when last they met.

The person that drew his attention, however, did so not because she loomed over him, but because she didn’t. He knew exactly who she was; her office had shot down five attempts to interview her over the past two years.

“Ambassador Dourit, I am surprised you’d allow yourself to be in the same room as me,” McClure said, as Ambassador Bass placed him on the table.

“It’s a big room,” Jema Dourit said, evenly. “I’m sure you understand why I have been avoiding you, Mr. McClure. It is not personal.”

“I never thought it was,” McClure said, settling into one of the chairs that had been provided for them. “Unless Avalon has something against BuzzFeed.” Then, sotto voce, he added, “How do you get used to…this?”

“Space travel?” Dourit said, with a sly grin. “Not a big deal, really. Or do you mean…them?”

McClure shook his head. “Them.”

“How does anyone get used to anything? After several decades of meeting Titans and having them not kill you, you start to figure they won’t kill you.”

“Ambassador Bass, can I have a moment?” someone said; the voice of a Titan was enough to cause an interruption, and both Dourit and McClure looked up at the pilot, who’d come aft.

“Of course, Decurion. Are we ready?”

“Capt. Martínez is finishing flight check. It’s just…Ambassador…this is the first time he’s been into the civilized part of the Empire. I….”

Tig looked down, then looked back up. “I can’t bring him there unless I have assurance that he’s going to be safe. Same with Ambassador Dourit and Mr. McClure. I can’t be a party to this if it puts them at risk.”

“I think you know me well enough,” Eyrn began, but Tig shook her head.

“I trust you, Ambassador. But…well…I don’t trust us.”

Eyrn nodded, and gave a slight smile. “Tig, I understand. This is a diplomatic mission, and all three of them are under my protection. As an Ambassador, I stand as the Emperor’s messenger. Anyone interfering with them is interfering with me, and anyone interfering with me is interfering with the Emperor. I can guarantee this much – the law is on my side, and Azatlia is as safe as anywhere in the Empire, and if there’s the barest hint that anyone on this shuttle is in danger, I won’t hesitate call my husband to invade, and he will.”

Tig nodded. “Yes, ma’am. I’m sorry, I’m just….”

“Overprotective!” came a distant shout. “Decurion, I need you back for final check.”

Tig grinned, and sighed. “Yes, sir. Ambassador…thanks. I just….”

“At least you’re smart enough to worry, Decurion. I almost got Darren killed by not grasping the magnitude of this; trust me, I will not make the same mistake twice.”

Tig nodded, and said, quietly, “Thanks, Eyrn.”

“It’s the least our friends are owed. Now, your husband is undoubtedly getting annoyed, and don’t let him be; he’s only in command because you’re choosing to defer to him. You don’t have to stand as junior officer, this is our ship.”

“He outranks me,” Tig said, with a grin. “And he flies out of Titan, and we operate jointly. And he’s cute when he’s annoyed. All right, sir,” she said, turning and heading back to the cockpit. Though it was distant, Lennox was surprised to see that Martínez was sitting at a human-sized control panel atop the Titan one.

“Hello from the flight deck,” Ted called, a few moments later. “We have been cleared for launch, stand by for departure.”

And with barely a shudder, the ship was in motion, pushing with full gravitics through the Terran atmosphere, reaching orbit just four minutes later. Within the hour, they were departing the system.

A few hours later, they were entering an entirely different star system, something that Lennox found nearly impossible to believe.

The conversation with the Avalonian Ambassador had been interesting, though he found himself struggling to juggle his questions, his train of thought, and the five new questions each answer engendered.

He was rather amazed at Dourit’s feelings on the mythology that the world had been taught. Not because she had forgiven it – but because she hadn’t. She’d been blunt in saying that it was a patronizing, infantilizing method of controlling the populace, and that the Tarsuss family should be ashamed of it. According to her, the only reason she could accept the current Tarsuss scion, Pryvani, was that she’d had the decency to tell the truth and the decency to be ashamed.

“She ended the masquerade, and she has apologized publicly…oh, dozens of times, at least. It doesn’t undo it, of course,” Dourit had said, “but it allows us to move forward. And to be fair to them…when she did tell us the truth, we descended into a civil war that was still not entirely over by the time I was born. It wasn’t foolish, to worry what we’d do if we knew.”

It was a lot to take in, frankly. Until she had said that, he had been increasingly convinced that whatever the Titans said, whatever their allies on Earth said, he needed to run the story. But that had reminded him of the danger of doing so. Earth was far from united, and a revelation like this…well, it wouldn’t take much to throw South Asia into chaos, or Japan-Korea, or Africa…and it wasn’t like North America lacked dead-enders who viewed the current NAU as an affront to their particular nation’s pride. They all stuck together because it was better than war, and the future held a lot of hope. But if that hope turned out to be false…or even if some thought it might be….

“All right, everyone, we have been cleared to land in Josania, the capital of Azatlia,” Ted intoned, as the ship began to turn. “All of Josania is on Tuaut Standard Time, the current time is 63 hours, 42 minutes. Though Josania is in bright sunlight right now, it’s actually early evening there by local reckoning; that probably doesn’t affect us much, but it’s always nice to know. Decurion Belfsec, take us in, Mr. Ansol, keep an eye on comms.”

The Priyontæ cut through Azatlia’s atmosphere as quickly as it had cut through Earth’s, and but a few minutes after Ted announced their arrival, they were on the ground.

“You want to change quick?” Tig asked her husband.

“Probably a good idea,” Ted said, stepping into her hand and allowing her to set him on her console. She set her hands around him in a quick makeshift changing room, and he quickly got out of his flight suit and into dress blue.

Tig watched the tiny man between her hands, and sighed. She worried, still, despite Ambassador Bass’s reassurance. She had refused to own him, and right now, that scared the hell out of her. When she carried him out that door, even if he was there as a guest of the Ambassador…he was still legally a pet. And not just a pet, but one unregistered to anyone in the Empire.

She only went along with this because she knew that Eyrn was not the only friendly Titan she had to rely on. There were others, here, and they would be as quick to fight as Tig. That counted for something.

He paused as he straightened his rank insignia, and smiled up at her. “Do I look okay?”

Tig thought about mentioning that he’d looked better when he was undressed, but Joram Ansol didn’t need to hear that. Besides, it wasn’t entirely true – he looked good either way. “You look amazing,” she said, quietly.

“Well, I have to keep up with you,” he replied, then raised his voice. “All right, Mr. Ansol, are we clear to depart?”

“Yes, sir,” Joram said.

“Very good. Stay with the ship, she’s yours until we return. Grab some rack time if you want.”

“Yes, sir. And I don’t need it, but I appreciate the offer.”

“Up to you. Decurion, would you be so kind?”

Tig flattened her hand, and let her husband walk into it, and carefully lifted him. She noted that Eyrn was carrying the Avalonian ambassador and the reporter in the same fashion.

“Want us on point, Ambassador?” Eyrn asked.

“Yes, please, Decurion.”

Joram opened the starboard hatch, and Tig and Ted led the small delegation onto the Tarmac. There were four Titans waiting there, two civilians, two military.

“Ambassador Bass, Capt. Martínez, Mr. McClure, Ms. Doumit, Decanus Befsec,” the man said. “Welcome to Azatlia.”

“Thank you for arranging to see us on such short notice, Mr. President,” Eyrn said. “Mr. McClure, Ms. Doumit, Captain, Decanus, I’d like to introduce the President of the Azatlian Territorial Council, Jocar Lin.”

“A pleasure to meet you all,” Lin said.

“Nice to meet you,” Lennox said; he was still struggling to wrap his head around everything. A different sun shone in the sky, which was just slightly the wrong shade of blue. That alone would be enough to throw him. The giants standing before him just made the tableau that much more surreal.

“I’d like to introduce a colleague of mine, who’s been working on getting your people the rights they deserve. A couple of you know her, of course; this is Minister Simene Belfsec.”

“Honored to meet you, Mr. McClure and Ms. Doumit,” she said, greeting the humans first. “And good to see you again, Ambassador Bass.”

“Likewise. Not going to say hello to your family?”

“She’ll make us wait. Older siblings are annoying,” Tig said.

“Simene is fine,” Ted said. “Miguel, on the other hand…..”

“Mike is a saint,” Simene said, with a grin strikingly similar to her sister’s. “He and I both had to put up with pesky younger siblings. It’s tough work.” She walked over, and careful not to crush her brother-in-law, gave Tig a quick hug. “Emperor’s whiskers, it’s good to see you both,” she said.

“Now, we understand you’re on a schedule, and you probably want to move this along,” Lin said. “I regret that I’m not able to render you the level of protocol you deserve. And Ms. Dourit…I regret that protocol does not allow me to use your proper title. Yet.”

“I am grateful you acknowledge it, Mr. President,” she said. “And yes, is he here?”

“He’s in the terminal. Quite interested in meeting with you, Mr. McClure. Minister Belfsec, I assume you intend to entertain your sister and her husband?”

“I appreciate the opportunity, Mr. President. If you need me….”

“I would like you back in five hours, if possible. I know you are scheduled to depart in seven,” he said.

“Thank you, Mr. President,” Simene said. The group entered the terminal proper, with Simene, Tig, and Ted turning left while the others continued on forward.

“I didn’t know that Decanus Belfsec’s sister was a politician,” Lennox said.

“She’s a teacher, she’s just a politician in her spare time,” Lin said. “Only 750,000 of us on Azatlia, we don’t require a full-time council. Though that number will be larger very soon.”

“You think it will pass?” Eyrn asked.

“Overwhelmingly. What happens then…well, we’ll find out what the judicators think. But I believe we’re on firm ground on the most important pieces.”

“I’m sorry…what?” Lennox asked.

“Ah, of course,” said Lin, guiding them down the hall. “Azatlia is about to declare humans to be Class One Sentients. Within two weeks, if all goes to plan. Of course, we’re a small part of one province, so it’s hardly the end, but hopefully, it’s at least the start.”

Lennox blinked. “I…so, humans here wouldn’t be pets?”

“Not after that, at least assuming the law survives an expected legal challenge. We feel very confident in the main point – owning humans as pets will be outlawed. Of course, we know it’s not that simple. But Azatlia has a long tradition of being welcoming and tolerant, and we know that the damage done by the Titans, Dunnermac, Ler and Avartle here will take effort on our part to undo.”

Lennox smiled, slightly. “I think I see why I was brought here. But as you yourself noted, this isn’t the Empire. Just a corner.”

“Too true,” Lin said, pausing outside a doorway. “And I will not pretend that the rest of the Empire agrees. And there are parts of the Empire that…well, I imagine on Earth, you have places that are more forward-thinking, and those that are not.”

Lennox smiled. “Sometimes within the same city.”

“Well, exactly. We cannot fix the Empire, but we can fix this corner of it, and we will.”

“That’s good,” Lennox said. “Honestly, it is. But what of the humans living in the rest of the Empire? I suspect, given your earlier conversation, that you brought us here because it was safer than your homeworld, is that correct, Ambassador Bass?”

“Yes,” Eyrn said. “It is.”

“While I do not want to be seen as a pet,” Lennox said, swallowing hard, “I need to be able to talk to some of those who are. To see what they believe. The oppressor can’t speak for the oppressed…and when they insist on doing so, well, nothing good comes after that.”

“Quite right, and well said,” Lin said, with a smile. “Ambassador Bass would not have brought you to the Empire without the opportunity to do just that,” he added, pressing a buzzer. Presently, a woman answered.

“Hello, Mr. President. Hi, Eyrn,” she said, with a smile.

“Hello, Gae. Thanks for finding time…I know you’re busy, but….”

“He is happy to make time. Hi, Ambassador Dourit. And you must be Mr. McClure,” she said, reaching out a finger for Lennox to shake. It took him a moment to realize what the action meant – it had taken a good deal of willpower not to jump back as the finger approached – but he took the digit in both hands, and looked up at the pretty middle-aged woman.

“I am,” he said.

“Gaeta Neutha,” Gae said. “I’m vice president of the Aenur Foundation, which probably means very little to you.”

“The Aenur Foundation is the leading advocacy group for human rights,” Eyrn said. “They’ve been doing great work for two decades.”

“You say that like you aren’t a part of it, Eyrn. Ambassador Bass sat on our board for fifteen years. Only left when she took the Ambassadorship. At any rate, I’m glad you’re here,” Gae said, leading them into the small room. “The president of the foundation is very interested in talking to a reporter from Earth. You’ll be the first one.”

“The president is her husband, Yamanu,” Lin said.

“So I’m interviewing a Titan who supports humans?”

“Of course not,” a voice said from the table. Eyrn brought Dourit and McClure to the table, and set them down.

The sharply-dressed man sat at the head of a table sitting atop the table; he rose as McClure approached. He looked too old to be the husband of the woman who’d greeted him, and decidedly too small. More than that, he looked exhausted – though his eyes were bright and sharp.

“Yamanu Neutha,” the man said, shaking McClure’s hand.

“Lennox McClure,” Lennox said.

“And you must be Ambassador Dourit,” Yamau said. “I’m sorry our paths haven’t crossed sooner – Dia says you’re sharp as a tack.”

“It’s an honor to meet you, sir,” she said, “and President Velos is too kind.”

“Now, now, none of that ‘sir’ crap,” Yamanu said, breaking into a wry grin. “You’re talking to a pet, you know.”

“And I can’t call a pet ‘sir?’ If anyone has earned it, it’s you, Dr. Neutha.”

“Hmpf. I’m just one of hundreds and hundreds of good men and women, but you’re not here to have me list them all. You’re here and I’m here and my friend Thurfrit – that’s Thurfrit Maris, our director of communications – to talk this young man into not calling out the Empire on their abysmal treatment of humans.”

“Indeed,” Lennox said. “And are you going to?”

Yamanu grinned. “Gae, my love, would you be willing to go talk with President Lin and Eyrn in another room for a bit?”

“I was planning to. Call if you need me,” she said, pausing to stroke his back for just a moment.

“Always do,” Yamma said, quietly. “Always do. Come and sit down, Mr. McClure. Ambassador Dourit.”

The Titans quickly left the room, and Lennox couldn’t help but watch them go; he turned back to Dr. Neutha, who was following his gaze.

“Worried that they’ll come back? That they’ll just leave you here?” Yamanu said.

“Not really,” Lennox replied.

“Trust them that easily?”

“No,” McClure said. “Just a lot of trouble to take me here to meet with you, when they could have just crushed me to death.”

Yamanu grinned. “Good man. Come, sit down. Please.”

Lennox sat down, and found to his surprise he was momentarily out of questions to ask. Yamma helpfully prompted him.

“So there’s quite a bit to tell you about the movement, of course, but the most important question on your mind is simple: should you do what they tell you to do? Keep this quiet, not get everyone all riled up? Or should you go ahead and report, and let Earth in on the secret?”

“It’s not a simple decision,” McClure agreed. “Obviously, they expect you to tell me to keep it secret.”

“I doubt that very much,” Yamanu said. “Eyrn knows me well enough to know that I’m not likely to go along just for the sake of going along. I’ll be respectful and polite, but agreeable? You don’t fight for your freedom for 22 years if you’re the type to do as you’re told.”

“You were a pet at one point?”

“Officially, legally, I still am,” Yamanu said. “Gae owns me. Hate it all we want – and we do – but it is the reality of the situation.”

“Was it your idea, this fight? Or hers?”

Yamanu smiled. “It was his, obviously,” said Thurfrit, who had been quiet up until now.

“He means no disrespect, Thurfrit.”

“I’m sorry,” Thurfrit said, softening a bit. “We’ve received that question from Titans many times – the implication is always that Yamanu is a figurehead, too stupid to run things on his own.”

“Ah. No, no, that’s not what I mean,” Lennox said, though he had to admit, the thought had crossed his mind. “I just mean…well, I’m curious how a pet figures out that he needs to be liberated.”

“A fair question. Let me put it this way: Gae understood the need for human emancipation intellectually before I did, but when I met her, I was well aware that I wanted to be free, even if I could only begin to articulate what that meant. She has challenged me, but always with the goal of helping me stand on my own two feet. And she has supported me, and helped me learn not just to argue for our people’s freedom, but to fight for it.”

McClure nodded. “And her support, from a pragmatic sense, is probably requisite; I expect that it would be impossible to set up an organization without Titan involvement.”

“Soon, perhaps, we will be able to here, in Josania. But yes, in the wider Empire, I am a pet, I can’t buy groceries, much less legally found a non-profit. And that is not due to change for another year or two, at best.”

Lennox leaned back. “I want to know everything about your organization, or at least, everything you can tell me in the short time we have, but first…if you were me, and you knew what I now know…what would you do?”

Yamanu smiled. “Do you think that humans are pets, irrational and flighty, unable to deal with bad news, or do you think we are people, capable of understanding situations that are difficult and complex?”

“People, obviously.”

“Well then,” Yamma said. “What do you think you should do?”

* * *

“I wish you guys were here for more than a minute-and-a-half,” Simene said, as she, her husband, Tig and Ted waited for a table at a Josania café.

“Me too. If your bill passes…we’ll be here more.”

“It’ll pass,” Simene’s husband, Haemo, said. “Nobody in the Empire more persuasive than my wife. At least…well, she can pretty much convince me of anything.”

“Belfec girls are tough to argue with,” Ted agreed. “You try, and they become all adorable and sweet and disarmingly agreeable….”

Haemo grinned. “Exactly! ‘Oh, well, I mean…I love you, so if that’s how you feel….’”

“’Whatever you think, of course, you’re wrong and all, but still….’”

“’…It just…it would make me happy….’”

“You are lucky, Haemo, that you’re not Ted’s size, or I might well make you sleep in my shoe tonight.”

“I can,” Tig said. “But of course, I won’t, because I love him.”

“I know,” Simene said with a wry smile. “I mean, we just want what’s best for our families….”

Ted looked from his perch on Tig’s shoulder over to Haemo, and grinned; the Belfsec sisters weren’t identical, but there were some similarities that both their husbands had gotten very used to.

“As if we’re not going to let you win,” Haemo said, planting a kiss on Simene’s cheek.

“Honesly, we don’t stand a chance,” Ted agreed.

“All right, table for three?” the host said, coming up to the group.

“Four, actually,” Tig said.

“Is your fourth person here? I don’t – oh!” the host said, as Tig gestured with the hand that held Ted. “Sorry, sir, I didn’t see you! This way, please. I’ll have a human-sized setting out to you in a moment, do you need a menu of your own?”

“No, that’s fine,” Ted said. “Pretty easy to read them when they’re the size of a building.”

“I suppose. Again,” the host said, leading them to a table, “I’m sorry. We’re trying…I know it isn’t the law yet, but….”

“Not a problem,” Ted said, as Tig set him on the table, “it’s fine. I am short. At least when I’m not on Earth. It was an honest mistake.”

The man nodded. “Well, thank you for your understanding. Enjoy your meal, Soza will be with you in a….”

He trailed off, and looked back to Ted. “Wait…Earth?”

Ted paused, and looked up at host, who was staring down at him. “Well…yes. Earth. I’m just here for a quick visit – my wife….”

He looked up at Tig, saw the name on her flight suit, and gasped again. “Dear Emperor…you’re Tigoni Belfsec! That means you must be…wait here, just a second,” the host said, suddenly darting off.

“This place has excellent food,” Simene said. “Service is a bit strange, though.”

“I’m sorry,” the host said, returning a few moments later. “I just…there was someone who I had to…look, we won’t make a big deal out of…but, I mean…you’re heroes! And Lacre….”

Ted saw for the first time that the host was carrying someone in his hand. A human – obviously – woman, who looked somewhat sleepy and annoyed.

“So why did you wake me up, Sonith?” the woman said, as the host gently lowered his hand to the table. “I…Aresa megatal. You…you’re….”

The woman stared for a good long moment at Ted’s namebadge (per regs, he was wearing one with Archavian script), before looking back at him. “Captain Martínez…I never imagined I’d get to meet you.”

Ted cocked his head, just a bit; it wasn’t that he wasn’t used to being recognized, he was – you command a faster-than-light ship and follow it up by marrying a mountain, your face will become well-known – but he wasn’t expecting to receive this treatment here. If anything, he was still surprised he was being treated as a person, not a pet.

Still, as noted, Ted was used to this. And so, despite everything, he took a step forward, and reached out his hand. “Well, the pleasure is mine. Ted Martínez. Your name is….”

“Lacre,” the woman said, grasping Ted’s wrist in the Imperial style. “Soon to be Lacre Bolisichus, once the law changes. This is my fiancé, Sonith Bolisichus. You…you saved Earth.”

“I did nothing. A lot of us worked to keep things together. I’m glad to have been able to do my part. And if not for my wife, no chance I could have done that.”

Lacre looked up, and gasped. “Of course. Decanus – no, Decurion? Decurion Belfsec. And then…Minister Belfsec! Sonith, we…these people…they’re….”

“You’re making it possible for us to be together,” the host said, though he didn’t deviate his gaze from his fiancée. “We…we loved each other even before First Contact, but after…that was when they started really talking about giving Lacre the rights she deserved. Letting us be together legally and officially, not just…not just someone thinking she was my pet.”

“Legally, I am, and I’ve told you many times, I know what you think of me. I don’t care what the law says.”

“Still,” Sonith said. “I’m sorry, Minister Belfsec, I was so distracted….”

“My sister and brother-in-law have earned it,” Simene said.

“So have you, Sim,” Ted said, evenly. “And both of you…I feel comfortable speaking for Tig, too – if everything we had to do did nothing more than allow you to be together, as equals…it’s worth it to us.”

“Emperor knows that’s true,” Tig agreed. “It’s good to meet you both.”

“It’s good to meet you all,” Sonith said.

“All right, we’ll let you eat in peace,” Lacre said. “I’ll get back to sleep – but in your front pocket, Sonno. Not in the checkstand.”

“Good call,” Ted said, with a grin. “Best part of being with a Titan.”

“It is, isn’t it?” Lacre said with a matching expression. “Half the reason I tag along with him to work. It’s…it’s an honor to meet you, Captain.”

“It’s an honor to meet you both,” Ted replied, with utter sincerity, as the host plucked his human partner from the table.

“Now,” Sonith said, “we’ll get you a human place setting, and we’ll make sure you’re left alone through dinner.”

“Thank you,” Simene said.

Tig looked over at her sister. “It’s…Azatlia’s come a long way.”

“We have,” Simene said, quietly. “Wish I could say the same for the rest of the Empire, but…at least we can say it here.”

* * *

“I think you probably need to rest, Dr. Neutha,” Lennox found himself saying. It wasn’t his style to worry about his interviewees, especially when he had precious little time to interview them. But somewhere in the four hours of war stories, Lennox McClure had found himself realizing the scope of the battle this man had taken on. Not by himself – Thurfrit, his aide-de-camp, had his own stories, including a fight with what sounded like the equivalent of a feral cat, but to Titan scale, and a kidnapping by Titans who purported to be on their side – but Yamanu had traveled the length and breadth of the Empire, trying to assert his personhood to a populace that was far from receptive to his plea. He had been picked up by the Human Owners Society dozens of times – fortunately, the head of that organization was apparently, while unsympathetic, at least aware that seizing him and putting him up for adoption would be a terrible idea from an optics standpoint. But many of his compatriots had faced that fate and worse, and while the organization was close to some major victories, they had suffered many setbacks along the way, many losses.

It’s not hard to kill someone if you don’t think they’re a person.

Lennox had been initially dismissive when he found out that Yamanu and Thurfrit were married to Titans – it made it easier for them. But he realized that there was literally no way the humans could have gotten this far without relying on sympathetic Titans. The dolphins were sentient, after all – but they were dismissed as not as smart as humans, not as technologically advanced. They didn’t have the vote. And who among the humans was listening to the dolphins to make sure they were right?

If the dolphins complained, nobody would listen or care. But maybe, if the humans were wrong, if the dolphins were smarter than they thought, maybe then the dolphins would find a human who’d take up their cause. Who’d help them get their message out.

Lennox wondered if he’d be one of them. If Ronnie came home one day and showed him a story about dolphin cognition, if he’d be sympathetic or if he’d dismiss it as blinkbait.

He was pretty sure he knew what his reaction would be. And it would be the same as the billions of Titans who dismissed Yamanu not with anger, but with a shrug.

No, it had taken sympathetic Titans, and for the humans living in the Empire, it had taken something more.

“I’m not that tired. I don’t get a chance to talk to someone from Earth very often. Well…I do, but not someone who still calls it home,” Yamanu said, with a yawn. “Without the people from your planet, without their example…well, people started to listen to me because Dr. Freeman noticed my weblog. They listened to him because he was obviously as bright as any Titan around. They listened because a human from Earth was able to win one of their most prestigious combat strategy competitions. Because Ambassador Bass had grown up on Earth and was as capable as any Titan raised in the Empire. If not for the humans from your world…I don’t know how many more generations it would have been.”

“You’re all humans from our world,” Lennox said. “Eventually, anyhow. I’m glad we were able to help. I hope we will find a way to help more.”

“Selfishly, I would love for you to go back to Earth and beg for assistance,” Yamanu said. “Force the people to march in the streets. Demand the Empire change things now – though I will confess, I’m not sure what effect that would have on the Empire’s thinking. But the support would be nice. Still, while I disagree with the decision of your governments…I understand it.”

“I do too,” Lennox said. “Understand it, I mean.”

“Do you agree with it?”

Lennox looked down at the table. “I hope you will not think less of me if I admit I am not sure.”

Yamanu smiled. “Mr. McClure, I have advocated for many years that those who wish to take senior roles in my organization should look at a wide variety of approaches, consider them carefully. You have taken in a great deal in a very short time. Considering it is understandable.”

“What I don’t understand,” Lennox said, “is why they brought me to see you. As you’ve said, it’s not like you’re going to go along.”

“Eyrn Bass was one of the first Titans other than Gae to truly see me as a person, and she was the one who encouraged me to fight for my people’s freedom myself, not just help Gae fight for us. I disagree with her on this matter, and she knows that for a fact; I have told her as much. If I know Eyrn, she brought you to see me because she wants you to know the truth, and to be able to make an informed decision. And that part of that means that you need to speak to humans, even if we advise you differently than she would.”

“Even if it causes me to decide against her?”

Yamanu nodded. “She will make her case. But she will not trick you into supporting her. She will not hide the truth. If you decide to write this story, she will not interfere. I’m not saying she’ll be happy. But of everyone I know, including my wife, she is the one who most clearly sees humans as people, which is why she brought you to see me – if this story gets told, she wants it to be told in full, and she wants human voices to be a part of the telling.”

There was a buzz at the door. “More than a few people have said that,” Lennox admitted, rising. “It is truly an honor to have met you, sir,” he added, reaching out his palm. Yamanu took it, and nodded.

The door opened, and the mountains swept into the room again. For a while, he’d been almost able to forget their dreadful scale – it had been the four humans, and nobody else. But now the Ambassador was back, along with Tig and Ted and Simene and Lin.

“So, back to Earth?” Lennox said, turning toward them; odd, he was almost not afraid of them. Almost.

“One quick stop on the way back,” Eyrn said. “And then yes, back home.”