After the Blood Flowed Like Rivers, Part 2

Synopsis: Dr. Terra McClare of Earth has been chosen by Earth President Beth Levi to act as Empathic Mediator for the Earth-Minbari peace talks. The time is only a few months after the end of the Earth-Minbari war. Dr. McClare is a MD with a specialty in zenobiochemistry. She is also Earth’s highest rated empath, but because she has a low telepathic rating (barely above P-1), and for other reasons, she managed to stay out of the clutches of Psi Corps. If you want to find out how that happened, see ABFLR Part 1. Now Dr. McClare is waiting in the Earth Dome space port for a shuttle to take her to the Minbari cruiser the FarSeer. There she will undergo interviews and tests by the Minbari negotiating team to determine if she will be acceptable by them for the mediator position in the peace talks.

Terra looked out the space port window as the Minbari shuttle gracefully landed on the tarmac. A big lump of fear settled in the pit of her stomach. Oh God, Oh no, they were going to take her away, she didn’t want to go, what if they wanted to take her hostage…….OH NO!

She ordered her inner child to shut up, gently of course, and started a series of calming exercises to soothe her nerves. Her face in the reflected glass never lost its appearance of calm gentleness, and a smile quirked her lips as she remembered her first lessons in political mediation, and her first instructor.

Master Topple, who looked like Humpty-Dumpty, pursed his cupid lips and said in his high-pitched voice, "Now child, don’t let it show on your face! Deep breath, strong breath, clear head, clear heart. Never forget that!"

"Yes, Toppie." The vid of the massacres on New Jerusalem flashed before her. She watched, trying to keep her face impassive to the litter of dead men, women, and children. The camera focused on the torn body of a young girl, her face scarred by Cling-Scorch, her hand reaching towards Terra as if in supplication. The girl was about her own age, ten years old.

Deep breath, strong breath, clear head, clear heart. The old mantra did its job once again as she looked at the sleek alien outlines of the shuttle outside the shaded window. She heard and sensed the now familiar person of Jon Hastur as he entered the room,

"It’s time, Terra. They’ve arrived and are waiting for you down on the tarmac."

She turned, and looked at his kindly hound dog face.

"How do you feel?" He asked.

"Absolutely terrified. How do I look?"

"Like a calm madonna statue. Oh, but a very beautiful one, of course." He took the hand that wasn’t holding her suitcase and squeezed it. "You’ll be safe with them, you know that. They will keep their word to us. One thing the bonehe…..uh, the Minbari do well is keep their promises."

She wanted to giggle at his slip. He was trying so hard to stop using the common nickname for the Minbari, but it always seemed to slip out.

He tucked her hand under his elbow, turned, and escorted her out to the shuttle. At the open doorway, two people stood waiting. One was female, fairly young, Terra thought, and dressed in the robes of the religious caste. From her exuded an emotional stew of annoyance, curiosity, concern, assessment, - a real mixture. The other one was different. He was about medium height, for a human that is, about 5 foot 9 or so. While the female’s head bone was very symmetrical and resembled a delicate sea shell, the male’s stood up in defiant peaks and points which matched the angry emotions that shouted from him. He wore the rather intimidating armor of the warrior caste with the maroon rank crests of an Alyt, or a second-in-command rank, draped across his chest. She sensed shame, anger, a little fear, and some curiosity as well. 

The both of them were studying her intently. She did a quick mental inventory of what she was wearing. A blue suit to bring out the blue in her eyes, low black shoes, a coral blouse of silk, and her auburn hair pulled back in a mature bun. This was her own idea, because she thought that a people without scalp hair would be more comfortable with her waist-long locks put up and out of the way.

Jon walked her to within two feet of the two Minbari, stopped and said to the female, "Satai Delenn, this is our proposed empathic mediator, Dr. Terra McClare." He turned to Terra. "Terra, this is Satai Delenn of the religious caste. She is a member of the Minbari negotiating team."

Satai Delenn bowed to her in what Terra recognized as a bow that was from a superior to a subordinate in the religious caste. Almost sighing her relief, she returned the bow with one from a different caste to a superior ranking religious caste. At least it was the bow she had practiced most.

In light Minbari, the language of the religious caste, she greeted the Satai. "I am honored at this meeting, Satai Delenn, and am grateful that you have considered me for this very important role."

From the Satai she felt surprise and, was it pleasure, upon hearing the highly accented greeting.

In English she responded; "You honor us by speaking our language. I wasn’t aware that you knew it."

In the same language Terra responded, "Only very superficially, and after a fashion. The language tapes you so generously provided us have been helpful. Satai, I apologize, but I do not believe that I know your companion. I do not recall seeing any identivids of him on the negotiating team for your peoples."

In a very deep, surprisingly melodious voice, the warrior said in English, his hot brown eyes flashing. "Is it considered polite in your obviously limited culture to address someone as though he is not present?" 

Terra felt Jon stiffen beside her, his outrage like an orange heat on her cheek. She touched his arm in warning without taking her eyes off the warrior. She felt that Delenn was waiting for a response, and realized that she had just been given her first test as a mediator. Should she apologize and set a precedent of possible weakness, or should she stand fast? Her empathy told her that his pride at not being recognized had been genuinely pricked.

She put her hands into the salute that meant a subordinate from another caste greeting a higher ranking individual of the warrior caste. In dark Minbari, the language of the warrior caste, she responded to him, "I did not wish to insult you, Shi-Alyt, by waiting to be introduced to you as though you did not exist until then. I responded the way my people would respond to meeting a high-ranking member of another race." She knew damn well he was no Shi-Alyt, but hell, increasing their rank always worked to flatter the male warriors of the other races she’d dealt with, human included. 

The fire flash in his eyes changed to amusement, and she sensed that the pricked pride could now be soothed by him correcting her mistake. "I am not the Shi-Alyt, Dr. McClare, but his aide and second in command Alyt Neroon. I will be assisting the Shi-Alyt during the negotiations, but am not officially on the negotiating team, which is why you weren’t provided with my identivid."

Delenn spoke up then, taking control of the conversation in a decisive manner. "Perhaps we were in error by not providing you with information on all of the Minbari who will be involved in the negotiations, including the aides and seconds."

"If you could do that, Satai Delenn, it would be a great help for me to most efficiently perform my duties as mediator. If your people approve me for this role, my job as I see it is to help both sides to a greater understanding of each other."

"Hmph. Yes. Well we shall see what we shall see. Are you ready to go with us, Doctor?" 

Was it approval she sensed coming from the Satai? She turned to Jon and smiled at him. "Jon, please tell the President that I will contact her daily, as she requested." Then she turned back to Satai Delenn. "I am prepared to go with you as both our governments had planned, Satai Delenn." No way am I going to let an irascible warrior intimidate me out of doing this, she thought, and followed the two Minbari up the ramp and into the ship.

 

"You should have seen her, Beth! That damn warrior caste deliberately tried to provoke her, and her response not only soothed his pride, but forced Satai Delenn to take responsibility for the misunderstanding by not providing her with materials to do the job right. It was great!"

Jon sat there, almost paternal pride glowing on his face.

"So it looks like we made the correct choice by choosing Terra then, Jon?"

"Hell yes, Beth, she is going to give the boneheads a run for their money, that’s for sure."

"From what she told me, I think she’ll be giving all of us a run, Jon, not just the Minbari. Which is really what a mediator should do, I think. Now, we’ve chosen David Sheridan and Chang – sai Tuan to co-lead the earth negotiating team, but do you think that will upset Ravi Vajaran?"

"Probably. But who cares? Sheridan needs to co-lead. He’s our symbol that we did deal our own blows to the Minbari when his son took out the Black Star. After all, Ravi is a risk for the team anyway. He lost four sons and a daughter to the Minbari. He says he doesn’t hate them, but how could he not?"

"I don’t hate them, even though they took Selena from me. It made me more determined to make a lasting peace. I think Ravi feels the same as I do."

"Let’s try not to second guess ourselves, then, Beth. Our team members are the best diplomats and negotiators that Earth has. And Terra will be the wild spice that will make this odd soup into a delicacy, if I’m not mistaken."

"Why, you’re a poet, Jon!"

"No I’m not. Let’s get back to work."