Incursion Vector

031

[▲] INS Robert A. Heinlein, Caminha Waypoint

Flanked by ten of the Tiaha fleet's elite marines, whose unit name Michael would never be able to pronounce but when translated rather poorly by his computer was 'wind curved knife desert,' the five designated emissaries of the migrant fleet walked off their shuttle to greet him. Each person was dressed in identical loose black robes that brushed the deck beneath which they wore utilitarian but helmetless exosuits, making the differences between the soldiers and the people they were escorting less than remarkable. Having once met the emissary of the fleet on Hubble Station he had been expecting them to wear long white overshirts and checkered scarves like the one Ibrahim wore as part of his uniform, but these people seemed significantly less... ceremonial than the ambassador, and a great deal more practical.

Practical, and not at all thrilled with the situation they had all found themselves in.

It was simple enough to pick out Sarah Ibrahim among them. She was flanked by her middle son, Zizka, who shared her blue-green eyes and dusty brown hair. The way she stared down the Navy compliment greeting them was eerily similar to the expression her eldest son had when Redloader introduced Methuselah to the pilots of Flight Errant: dispassionate and calculatingly skeptical. The other members of the delegation were keeping their eyes on his escort, but she knew who was the one giving their orders and immediately locked gazes with him.

"Welcome to the Heinlein. I am Captain Davis Michael."

"I am Zizka ibn Yusuf al Avicenna," said the boy at Sarah's side. He nodded towards the woman. "This is my mother, Umm Leopold Sarah al Ardd, acting Commander of Defense, and cousin to my father," he motioned to the taller woman on Sarah's left with sharp hazel green eyes, "Umm Ali Rahil bint Nasim al Oran, Commander of Shepherds."

The man on Zizka's right inclined his head slightly towards the captain. Michael guessed he wasn't much older than his own son. "Rashid ibn Nuh al Tasnim, emissary for clans Ammar, Farhi, Himsi and Barad."

"Zahira Rouhani, Qussad of Caliph Momani of Badr," said the third woman in very precisely annunciated Standard. "As the eyes, ears and hands of the Caliphate I have been instructed to oversee the exchange of information for your spies."

Michael did his best not to look surprised that Rouhani had basically just admitted she was a spy herself. "I am not familiar with the Caliph Momani."

Rouhani's dune-colored eyes narrowed. "You will not become so through me."

"Of course." Michael motioned with an open hand towards the officers accompanying him. "My Marine Commander and acting Executive Officer, Colonel Taryus Redloader. The Executive Officer of Agamemnon, Commander Dhomnaill Waldau. The leader of the marine wing which commandeered the ship in question, Captain Keiji Yutani, and the officer currently in charge of the information we retrieved from it, First Lieutenant Calliope Halpern."

Mention of the name seemed to surprise Rouhani, who immediately fixed Yutani in a curious stare. "Are you kin to Ichiro Yutani?"

"Ichiro Yutani is my father," replied the pilot after a brief pause and inquiring glance at Redloader. "We are not on good terms."

The Qussad made a barely discernible nod of her head. "Understood."

After surveying everyone had gathered Rashid said, "Why is the captain of the Agamemnon not present for this herself?"

"Captain Lyall MacNamara is the elder sister of one of my crewmen," answered Michael. "Given our current state of alert, our regulations cannot not permit them to be on the same vessel."