With the others, among the stars...

       The Hall of the High Council was as impressive as the guides had described it, it's broad, rounded main structure accentuated by the slender angular towers made it look some kind of crown, which was probably only fitting.
      Gilliam scratched his neck as he walked into the main hall, a vast front desk was flanked on both sides by stairs that ascended towards each other before joining at the feet of a huge, oval-shaped door. He walked up to the desk where about ten holograms were attending to the needs of various visitors, switching their appearances to that of the race of their interlocutors. Gilliam approached one that had kept on a Female Teshian template, with a lush green complexion and blue head-tails beset with golden rings.
      "Welcome to the Hall of the High Council." The hologram greeted as it attempted to shift it's appearance.
      "We are sorry, an error has occurred. Please state your species if you wish for the modification of this unit's appearance." the synthetic voice said.
Gilliam did feel curious enough to comply "Human. Homo Sapiens. Name: Gilliam Roland, ambassador."
       An apology followed after two seconds only: "We are sorry once again, though your name has been recognized there is no template of your species yet. Communication will proceed in the last used template." The hologram shifted back to the Teshian template "How may you be assisted ambassador?"
      "I am here for the hearing that is due on the subject of the Kishir wars, and the future of my people." he replied as trying to look as dignified as possible.
      "The hearing is due in half a rotation sub-cycle, two hours by earth standards. If you wish you can wait in the hallways, your offices have not yet been established. Would there be anything else?"
      Gilliam inquired briefly about the procedures and how to know when he would have to enter the council chambers. After he was informed he decided to sit on one of the benches, or sofas rather, that dotted the large hallways that composed the building's outer circle. Strangely enough the building looked to be built of solid material on the outside, but the inside give the impression that the walls were made of a glass so fine and transparent it almost looked nonexistent. Gilliam marveled at the almost impossible architecture as well as the sheer number of Aliens that walked around: Teshians, Dekhlans, Toorrunits, and many species he did not know.
       "It will be my job to know all the species of the galaxy, as well as their cultures and ways of thinking" he pondered "to assure the future of my own."
        After a few minutes a small curious looking creature moved up to him. It looked rather quaint with it's four big eyes set into a round body supported by thick, short legs, and it's slender long arms sporting a hand with about seven fingers and two thumbs.
        "Greetings! Might you be the human ambassador come to attend the hearing on the Kishir wars?" the creature chirruped enthusiastically.
        "I am" Gilliam replied somewhat proud "My name is Gilliam Roland, ambassador of Humankind." He eyed the creature ashamedly "I must confess I do not know what species you are of..."
        "Hyurtni" The little thing chirruped back "I am Hiltrc, ambassador of the Hyurtni species. It might be a difficult name to pronounce in standard galactic, though I know your species vocal chords are well enough developed."
Gilliam assessed the Hyurtni ambassador once more, apparently his species did not have a mouth like many other species, but rather produced it's sounds intended for communication through some holes below it's eyes.
        "To what do I owe the pleasure master Hiltrc?" Gilliam asked intrigued
The creature produced a rather curious sound which was probably a sort of equivalent of a cat's purring judging by his reply:
        "Nyuhkl! You catch on to our pronunciation fast! Perhaps the Kishir did underestimate you even further?" He chirruped. Then his expression went somewhat more serious; "My people too have long been subjects of Kishir enslavement, we hoped we could discuss terms of a treaty of friendship based on or shared sufferings."
        Now this was something unexpected but not the least bit unpleasant. Gilliam had been on this planet for only a few days and already other races were going out of their way to broker agreements between his species and theirs. Yet caution quickly overtook his euphoric swing of mood, he was an ambassador and these were unknown species. He had to tread lightly.
        "That might indeed be in good interest of both our species." he replied smiling "Will you be bringing your people's case to the hearing as well?"
        "We are, indeed! we demand that the Kishir be severely punished for the sufferings they brought upon us during three hundred years of servitude."
Three hundred years! The Kishir had come to earth only half that long ago but it had felt like and eternity, the last generation could not even remember what life was like before they came. He absentmindedly rubbed at his neck again, the place where his slave collar had been before the Dekhlans had liberated his people. Hiltrc noticed this of course.
        "I see you have experienced that suffering as well. What do you intend to put forward as demand?"
         Gilliam answered sternly: "The execution of all high ranking Kishir officers who were in charge of earth, and the right to salvage the technology they left behind as compensation. As well as the assurance that they will be confined to their home planet forever."
        "Throoba! You ask much for a species of such small importance! I would say you might be able to obtain the blood you desire but only if you surrender part of your salvage, the Dekhlans didn't fight this war without cost. As for the guarantee...I do not think the Kishir will agree or hold themselves to any such treaty, they are far too proud a species for that." Hiltrc chirruped, less enthusiastically then before.
        "The Dekhlans have them at their throats don't they?" Gilliam said, trying to hide his anger.
        "True for now. But the Dekhlans and Kishir are bitter rivals for a reason. This time the Kishir empire was weakened enough from within for the Dekhlans to move against them. But even with the United Systems Council backing them they suffered huge losses. Give the Kishir time and they could easily rebuild an armada that would make the council think twice about double-crossing them."
Hiltrc shook his head, or body rather, in a disappointed way.
"The entire council knows the Kishir still have leverage in this treaty, they need to settle a peace and contain them. If the Imperial armada regroups and decides to continue the fighting the Council would win, don't be mistaken, but at an astronomical cost."
        Gilliam gazed out of the window, feeling somewhat broken. He knew he shouldn't have expected better but still. Things had gone so well since the liberation, perhaps they had just been drunk on happiness. But things were bound to become more difficult, their civilizations had been altered, uplifted in some ways yet degraded all the same. For more then a hundred years they had been controlled and made to step in line by merciless alien overlords, so much that they couldn't even truly imagine what true self-government would be like. Their proud nations had been shattered and dispersed, and now all of a sudden they were expected to pick up the pieces and build something of their own.
        These grim realizations had been in his head ever since he had been promoted to ambassador, but the sheer euphoria of the liberation had made Gilliam reluctant to dwell on them. The task ahead was far bigger then just establishing friendly relations: Humanity had to reconstruct itself as one united species and join a thriving Galactic community with what little it had to offer.
        "We need the salvage... to sell and reverse engineer it." Gilliam said sadly, "If not we won't be able to hold any significance in a galactic economy or scientific community. We need to develop ourselves to the same level as the other species."
He sighed, that would be difficult negotiation. The species who had fought to liberate them would be sure to claim a stake in whatever valuables the Kishir had left on earth. But that was not what was bothering him the most
        "We need the Kishir to be punished as well. My people at home need to know their suffering did not go unnoticed. Otherwise we will never be able to rally them and join the council as one species."
         Hiltrc looked at him sympathetically before speaking slowly: "Your future looks to be difficult human, you are new to a galaxy that ignored your existence until the Kishir enslaved you. You are backwards in comparison to other species, even mine, and have no real political weight. Your acceptation was only a sign of goodwill from the council, they are unlikely to resolve your problems."
        "You paid with your blood for your freedom like us, yet now that you have you realize how much work is left ahead of you before you can truly call yourself in equal, not in theory but in practice, of the other species. You are every bit as deserving but you, like us, you have yet to get there."
        "For what it's worth human: you have the friendship of the Hyurtni. We shall help each other ascend in the faces of the pompous species who believe themselves the masters of the galaxy. They are not as cruel as the Kishir but their 'respect' reeks of pity and self-aggrandizing charity." It was difficult to tell but it looked like Hiltrc's brows and eyes were smiling.
         Gilliam smiled back at him, a weary knowing smile which made him look older then he was. It was the smile of a man who had seen terrible things all his life, an now was only looking for some rest, for some respite, yet who still had to keep moving on.
        As they sat there for a minute a synthetic voice announced that the hearing of the Council would commence soon, and that all ambassadors were to direct themselves to their respective places. Gilliam escorted Hiltrc as far as he could before moving to his own assigned post. This was where an entirely new chapter in human history would begin. And it was up to him to play his part, to assure that the future would look brighter, as bright as humanly possible.