Captain McCallister sat at the head of the table in the conference room, facing the imposing figure of Hirogen Alpha. It had been some time since their last meeting, and McCallister could sense the tension in the air. They weren’t alone. Counsellor Oron sat to McCallister’s left while Lieutenant Lonar was present with an entire security team, who were fully armed. Glad they were there to keep the Hirogen leader in line, McCallister cleared his throat and spoke up.

“I owe you an apology. You were right about the Sikarians. My crew has found several crashed alien ships, all of them pulled across the quadrant to the Sikarian colony.”

The Alpha nodded, his expression grim. “As I said. The Sikarians have been lying to you all along. They promised you a way home, but they’ve been manipulating you instead.”

McCallister leaned forward because he had been in the wrong to initially trust the people responsible for his ship being replaced. “That’s why I propose we work together. We both have a score to settle with Magistrate Mala and her people. We need to confront them and demand answers.”

The Alpha looked sceptical. 

Oron stepped up, and McCallister appreciated the support. “It’s in the best interests of both our people if we pool our resources together to get out of this situation. Together united, we are stronger.”

“And what makes you think they’ll listen to us?” The Alpha inquired. 

It was a fair question and one that even McCallister had asked himself. He shrugged at the Alpha. “We have evidence that they’ve been lying to us now. We can use that to our advantage.”

“That is not a strong answer,” The Alpha remarked.

“Perhaps, but if we take a diplomatic approach, we may gain further insight into how they did this to us.” McCallister got out of his seat and stepped forward towards the Hirogen. “If we go in full force straight away, then we may lose more than we deal with. With your ship stranded on their shores and mine still heavily damaged, we must plan this carefully.”

The Alpha considered his proposal for a moment before nodding. A sense of relief washed over McCallister as the Hirogen accepted his idea. “Very well. But we must be careful. The Sikarians are cunning and resourceful. We can’t underestimate them.”

McCallister nodded in agreement. “Agreed. We’ll need to proceed with caution. But we can’t let them get away with this any longer. It’s time for them to answer for their actions, and we must prevent them from doing this to anyone else.”

“I do not care about others. All I wish to do is return myself and my party back to the nearest training grounds,” The Alpha said.

“If we can gain access to the spatial trajector, with or without the Sikarian help, then I am sure we can find the nearest training base to send you back,” McCallister assured the Alpha.

“And if we fail?” The Alpha questioned.

McCallister was prepared for that response. He took in a deep breath. “If you and your people are prepared to behave and abide by our rules, we will happily bring you on board as our guests. We will take you back to your people ourselves.” McCallister knew that was a big gamble. 

The Hirogen looked down at McCallister. “Maybe you’ll make for good prey.”

“I’d prefer not to be,” McCallister replied. “The alternative is we leave you here to either try and take the Sikarians out or they eventually kill you.”

“Then let us hope our temporary truce and alliance is beneficial,” The Alpha said.

“Agreed,” McCallister said with a nod. “I will have my counsellor and security chief escort you back to our transporter room and send you back to your people. I will contact with our plan.”

“Very good,” The Alpha said.

With that, the Hirogen parted ways, and McCallister felt a sense of relief that they might be on their way to getting out of this hell hole and a sense of determination to see justice done. 

After the Hirogen Alpha had left, Thaustin walked in. “You all okay, sir?”

McCallister smiled and nodded. “I think we have an alliance with the Hirogen.”

“A step in the right direction,” Thaustin said, pleased for the captain.

“Let’s hope so, now assemble the troops. We need to make a plan that will work!” McCallister commanded as he returned to his chair to begin work on how they would deal with the Sikarians.