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Chapter 2
The Advocate
The next day after the official visit went
by without event, other than the usual
routine of training and study. Near the
end of the day Nathan made his way
back to his quarters to get changed and
go for his final workout. But when he
rounded the last corner he saw men
stationed outside his room on either side
of the door.
Two of the men were Krenth, but unlike
those of the previous day, these appeared
to be soldiers. Their uniforms included
components of gray metal, and black
helmets which hugged their heads and
obscured the top portions of their faces
with black visors. These Krenth also had
more muscle than the others. The other
two men were humans, and appeared to
be secret servicemen.
As Nathan drew closer, he noticed the
door to his room was slightly ajar.
“What is this?” he asked.
“The Advocate will speak with you
inside,” one of the Krenth said.
Nathan raised an eyebrow at the
Martian, but then he shrugged and
cautiously entered his quarters,
wondering what sort of being he would
find inside.
He found a thin Martian dressed in
a long black robe of a slightly more
elaborate design with his back to the
door. There was a wide silver and grey
belt encompassing the waist, and an
elaborate silver design embroidered in
the base of the robe near the feet. The
Martian’s long black hair hung down
nearly to the knees, and was penned
with a silver clasp which covered the
back of the head.
As Nathan paused to stare the Martian
straightened up and turned to face him.
It was a woman, the first female Martian
he had ever seen. Her lips were a dark
gray, close to black, and her eyes were a
medium gray, the same color as Nathan’s.
She wore what appeared to be black
eyeliner which ran beyond her eyes so
that it reminded Nathan of some of the
eye paintings he had seen in ancient
Egyptian artwork.
“You are Captain Nathan Benson?”
she asked.
“I am,” Nathan replied.
“Greetings, I am Advocate Kor-
NeevSemth. You may call me Advocate
or Kor-Neev, depending on your
personal comfort level, when we are in
private. In official conversations you will
refer to me as Advocate.”
“OK…”
She approached him until she came to
stand within two feet of him. Their eyes
were at the same level, but she came up
to be a little taller due to her head being
taller. She spoke with an English accent,
unlike the other Martians who still
sounded like aliens when they spoke.
“Your General has already been briefed
about the purpose of my presence here,
and what he must do to accommodate
me,” she said. “But since you are the
captain of the expedition I will also
be coordinating with you, and in
light of that I thought it prudent to
approach you directly. I prefer to avoid
superfluous ritual when important
matters require attendance, regardless
of whether the ritual is a matter of
formality or colloquial etiquette. Do you
understand?”
“I think I understand you,” Nathan said.
“Please confirm.”
“You want to get right down to business,
no small talk, and no unnecessary
functions for the sake of formality.”
“It seems that we understand
one another.”
“So what is your function here?”
“I am your Advocate. I am to work with
your people to present a case for alliance
to the Sovereign of Krentholkan. It
is my job to defend your side, and to
undermine the arguments of the other
side. Another official will be working
with those you call the Axis.”
“I see… so it’s like a court case.”
“Essentially. One of my duties is to
thoroughly understand what you have to
offer, so that I can help you present the
best possible case to the Sovereign.”
“Alright.”
“I will be working closely with you
as you train, and with those who are
constructing and designing both your
ships and equipment. In addition, I
would like to study your libraries for
information about the resources of your
country, the GDP, and the utilization
curve of said resources.”
“I’m not authorized to grant you
access to restricted areas and restricted
information.”
“Nothing pertaining to this project is to
be restricted. Your President Roosevelt
has granted me full access. I have already
produced the necessary documentation
to your general. I will show you
my papers.”
Kor-Neev snapped her fingers, and
Nathan noticed that her long nails were
painted black. A moment later, one of
the Martian guards approached and
produced a small case, opened it, and
presented it to Nathan.
“You may inspect the documents
to verify that everything is in
order,” she said.
Nathan scanned through the documents
and found that she was correct.
“I trust everything meets with your
approval?” Kor-Neev asked.
“It does,” Nathan said.
“Good, then let us delay no further.
What is the next activity you
have planned?”
“I was planning on working out. We
engage in strength and endurance
training on a daily basis.”
“Very well, I shall accompany you and
observe this activity.”
“Alright, but… I need to get
changed first.”
“Of course. I shall await you outside. Try
to be swift with your preparations.”
Before Nathan could respond the
Martian woman walked passed him and
closed the door to his quarters. He let
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