Vi’le:

  Prime Minister Vi’le drummed his fingers against the armrest of his chair. Well, the image of his fingers. He was only there using [Communication] which sent a magical projection of himself all the way to Mi’ga for the meeting with the other Prime Ministers.

  “Surely you would not shut this project down already. Give us another chance,” Arev pleaded with the room.

  “You have yet to find another suitable candidate. And if it is so difficult to find even one more candidate, what makes you think we’ll ever be able to find enough to see the Diplomacy Initiative reach its full potential?” the [Dwarf] Prime Minister demanded.

  Vi’le stood up. “It will be different once we are successful with one candidate. That candidate can then be the spokesperson for the other Humans, drawing others in. I assure you that this is the only way to lasting peace on the planet.”

  “Peace? The last Human you allowed into Bren’it’p got it blown up,” the [Sylph] Prime Minister pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

  “That was not his doing. He was a victim of the attack,” Vi’le argued.

  Losing Fletcher Anders in that terrorist attack was more unfortunate than most would ever know. It was looking like Fletcher might truly be unique among Humans, which was bad news for his personal project, the project he was sure would save the world from annihilating itself. But the others didn’t understand. Their memories were too short to recall what nuclear warfare produced, and they were too cocky and sure of the Unhuman strength. No matter how many rules they levied against the Humans in their colonies, Vi’le was certain that it would never be enough. The technology discrepancy was too great, even with all the [Skills] in the world. And with the [Demanlics] resigned from the affairs of the world, it was up to the likes of him to see that the planet remained habitable for generations to come.

  “The terrorists attacked because of his involvement,” the [Dwarf] argued.

  “There is no proof of that!” Vi’le was yelling now, sick of dealing with the same stupid arguments from his small-minded colleagues.

  She’ki’ia—the [Elf]—rose from her chair. “That is enough. There is no point in discussing the Diplomacy Initiative until there is something worth discussing. We will table this topic until Vi’le and Arev provide us a list of suitable names for a new candidate.”

  Vi’le muttered complaints as he returned to his seat next to the [Tengu] Prime Minister, but he did not argue with She’ki’ia. Her point was too well made.

  Even after months of searching neither Beam nor any of the others assigned to the task had found even one person they considered to be as well suited to the project as Fletcher Anders. But Vi’le refused to give up hope. They would find someone. They had to.

  Ninvo, the [Werewolf] moved to stand before the rest of the Prime Ministers, his yellow eyes scanning the room. “I have a new proposal to bring before the Ministers. One that I believe we all see the need for.”

  Vi’le narrowed his eyes, staring at the [Werewolf]. Surely he was not so foolhardy as to suggest open warfare against the Humans. Things were not so dire. Not yet, and not ever if he could prove the validity of the Initiative. But of course Ninvo would suggest something with fighting. The [Werewolf] was part of the committee which oversaw the Unhuman military.

  “It is time to take the fight to our enemies,” Ninvo continued.

  A chorus of both positive and negative exclamations rose from the other nearly two dozen officials. Vi’le shook his head. What a fool.

  “The Second Treaty still stands,” She’ki’ia stated flatly. “We will not attack the Humans when they abide by the rules we’ve laid out.”

  “The Humans are not our enemies,” Ninvo replied with a sly grin.

  Vi’le’s eyebrow went up.

  “The terrorists. Those Hexed jemlk’wp have bothered us too long. And for what reason?” Ninvo asked the room.

  “They hide in their holes. They are mere nuisances. What is to be gained from fighting such an insignificant force?” the [Vanara] Prime Minister asked.

  “A show of power. To end the constant annoyance. The time to make our move is now. If we had handled the Hexed terrorists properly only two years ago, Vi’le’s perfect candidate would still be alive, and we might have that peaceful end to all conflict as he and Arev have been parading around for years,” Ninvo answered. The [Werewolf] gestured to the room. “Surely you all see the utility of eliminating this foe.”

  “You forget that we do not know where to find them. They hide themselves deep in the underground, and their technological superiority makes it impossible to track them down through our usual methods,” the [Diawata] Prime Minister said.

  Ninvo smiled. “I have a secret weapon against that.”

  The room paused, waiting for his grand reveal.

  “A spy. Someone who has given us the locations of some of their more vulnerable bases. Commander Kirred awaits our approval to launch the first attack. We will wipe them out, one base at a time until we are free of the nuisance entirely,” the [Werewolf] said.

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  Vi’le bit his lip, thinking about the proposal. It wasn’t entirely terrible. Perhaps it was the frustration of the roadblock in the Diplomacy Initiative that caused him to raise his hand in agreement, but whatever the case, Vi’le did join the majority of the room in support Ninvo’s plan. It was time to take the fight directly to the Hexed terrorists, if only for payback for what they inadvertently took away from him. The Hexed Humans were going to pay for that mistake, one way or another.

  Taki:

  “General Taki, how is our newest recruit panning out?” Secretary Walen asked, swirling the wine in his glass.

  Taki glanced at the politician. “Just as we expected. Of course, it takes a great deal of gymnastics to keep him entirely in the dark about things. I think it’s detrimental to the entire project to have him on the team without telling him everything.”

  He liked Javier. The kid was a hard worker, and he was a wealth of information given he’d spent so much of his life being close friends with a genuine freak-lover. That made him the perfect hound to sniff out others just like Fletcher, others who were potential traitors.

  “Come now, Taki. Do you think Javier would still be as efficient if we told him the truth? I can’t imagine he’d like our hypothesis about his former friend,” Walen said.

  “Ortega is a smart man. I think he knows how to put reason before feelings,” Taki countered.

  “We’re talking about someone who was like a brother to him. If I were to tell you that I believed your sister was a traitor living among the Unhumans, would you really simply accept it as a fact and move on?”

  “If you were to mention my sister’s name, I’d break your jaw,” Taki said plainly. He hated politicians. Hated them. But the part of being a general that no one talked about was dealing with idiots like Walen, so unfortunately he was not at liberty to bust the guy’s nose and then do as he pleased. Especially when Walen held the key to the Contingency Protocol.

  The Contingency Protocol, something he hoped they could avoid forever, but given the extra movement among the Unhuman forces, it was seeming less and less likely by the day. It didn’t help that they suspected one of their own homegrown Humans, Fletcher Anders, had deserted to join the Unhumans entirely. A terrorist attack which supposedly killed him without providing a body was too convenient of a scenario for Taki to believe, especially when he considered Fletcher’s resistance to doing anything to further the cause of his own people.

  Fletcher Anders, a traitor. It also explained why his father mysteriously disappeared afterwards as well. The Unhumans were covering their tracks well. But Taki recognized their plan, and he was going to ensure it went no further, which is why they recruited Javier to the intelligence division. He could help them find the traitors or those who were at risk of becoming traitors.

  “Well, the point still stands,” Walen continued, taking a sip of his wine. “Are you sure I can’t offer you something to drink?”

  “No, thank you.” Taki stared at the wall, grinding his teeth. Walen was an expert at getting on his nerves, but the Secretary of Security represented a necessary evil in his life. As long as Walen remained convinced Taki could protect the Humans through his use of spies and intelligence within the colonies, the Contingency Protocol would remain inactive. That’s all that mattered. Taki couldn’t live with himself if his own failings led to it becoming active.

  But everyone knew the stakes, even Jaiver Ortega now. They didn’t tell their new recruit the truth about what they really believed happened to Fletcher Anders, but they told him everything else. Ortega was one of them now, in a position to help them defend against the looming Unhuman threat. There were so many moving pieces, Taki sometimes thought his head might explode trying to keep track of them all. But somehow he did it. And he would continue to do it. Whatever it took to keep the peace and to keep the world whole, if only for a little while longer.

  Simpson:

  Simpson stared at the paper in his hands and then looked back at General Hazel Anders. “General, is this really the plan you’re going with?”

  Anders smiled at him. “Of course it is, Major.”

  “It’s brilliant,” Captain Naeku said from the chair next to him.

  Brilliantly stupid, Simpson thought, tossing the paper on the desk. “General, that’s too big of a risk. We have to come up with something else.”

  “There’s risk associated with anything worth doing,” Anders countered. She pulled the paper to her. “I understand your concerns, Simpson, but this is our best shot.”

  “We got all that information from the USB from W’al’iw, and this is the best plan?” He didn’t believe that. That USB held all sorts of secrets that gave them a huge leg up on the Unhumans. How was a near suicide mission the best way to use it?

  General Anders shook her head. “We will never be able to stand against the might of the Unhumans with our fewer numbers. In an all out war, we lose in every scenario. Secrecy and surgical strikes have always been our methods. What else would you have us do?”

  “Well, for starters we could use someone a little less important for the bait,” Simpson said, thinking partly of his own hide.

  “The whole point of this mission is to take out one of the top Unhuman generals. How will we ever lure him from safety if we don’t offer a satisfying enough sacrifice?” Anders raised her eyebrows.

  “We don’t even know where they’re going to strike. We have a list of possibilities and nothing more. It’s a long list,” Simpson continued with his grievances. That was why he was on General Anders’ personal team. He was really good at poking holes in plans, especially ones as terrible as the one before him.

  “A list that we can eliminate options from. They’re going to hit us some place that matters so we can take Gran’it Outpost, Vesi Station, and Camp Dakar off the list.”

  “That’s still a long list, General,” Simpson said.

  Anders nodded. “I know. It’s far from ideal, but this is our best plan.”

  “Letting them attack us?” Simpson confirmed. That seemed like the furthest thing from a good plan, let alone the “best” one.

  “We have to let them make their move, and let them believe that their move counts. Give them a false sense of safety. And then, once we lured them out of that safety, we make our move.”

  Simpson ducked his head. “Very well, General.” He still didn’t like the plan, but he had to admit, it made sense the way she discussed it. He supposed it was time they really made a big move against the Unhumans, but he was worried that things wouldn’t work out the way she planned. But then again, she probably planned for that too. Hazel Anders was a genius, and Simpson would do everything he could to support her. Whatever it took.