The press discovered their mobiles were no longer blocked, and seized the moment.

  War Declared on Earth!

  Spider People Declare War!

  “You are going to explain this,” the head Earth councilman said, and it was not a question.

  Earth Council Confused.

  “Shortly,” the starman said, and moved to another console.

  Starman Withholds Information!

  The main communications screen split into two, and then one of those halves split into two again. He glanced back at the Earth representatives.

  “You have done well,” he said.

  He manipulated the controls once more and a third panel appeared. Each of the new panels showed a fleet of dots closing in on Earth. The third panel flickered, and another member of the starman’s species appeared.

  Starman No Longer Alone!

  The ships on the two side panels, blipped out and then back in, closer to Earth than before.

  “Micro-jumps,” the starman said, and even he sounded impressed.

  He glanced at the third panel.

  “Trogarian arach, elemar, and hualesh,” he said.

  The lizard man on the screen wrinkled his nose. The arach rattled its mandibles, but no translation was forthcoming. The Earth Council representatives stared—and then the lead councilor threw the switch, and the screens went dark. He turned to the starman.

  “Explain,” he said.

  The starman glanced at the press, and the councilman curled his lip.

  The narrative has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.

  “They were your idea,” he said, “But I think I’ll keep them around for a while.”

  Earth Council has Nothing to Hide, the news sites reported.

  “It has taken millennia for us to rebuild our forces,” the starman said. “Millennia during which the arach have suppressed our people, and used them as cattle.”

  There was a collective gasp from the press gallery.

  Cannibals Attack Earth.

  The starman ignored them.

  “We needed a base of operations.”

  “You were going to annex our world.” The Earth representative did not mince words, and he did not sound impressed.

  Lizardman Take-Over Attempt Foiled

  “You would not have survived the arach.”

  “We would not have needed to, if you had not come to our moon.”

  “You were living in caves and running after mammoth with sticks when I arrived.”

  “That’s not the point.”

  “No. The point is that I have given you the means to survive.”

  Starman Claims Earth Owes Him Its Survival!

  “And you think we should hand over our world to you and your people in exchange?”

  “That depends on how badly you want to live.”

  Starman: Come with me, If You Want to Live, quipped one reporter, quoting an ancient movie.

  “Is that a threat?”

  “It’s a fact.”

  The Earth Council leader waved a hand to where the other two fleets had been displayed.

  “And what about them? They have come at our request.”

  Aliens Come to Earth’s Aid, one news site claimed.

  “You don’t even know who they are.”

  “They can’t be any worse than our current options.”

  “They might.”

  “And why would we believe you?”

  “Because I hold the key to your survival.”

  The Earth Councilman looked the starman up and down.

  “Not anymore,” he said, and he turned to the security personnel who had been in the room for the transmission. “Escort Prince Barevarn out of here.”

  Starman Kicked Out of Conference.

  “You can’t do that!”

  Starman Resists Arrest.

  The Earth Councilman did not dignify that with a response. He waited until the starman had been taken from the room, and then opened up communications to the incoming elemar and hualesh ships.

  No one had ever thought first contact was going to be easy. First contact with the whole world’s survival on the line? That was going to be a challenge.

  And because the Earth Council did not know how to make their communications private, negotiations were done in the open, as the ships approached, with each of the interested parties staking their claim. Even when they were excluded from the communications centre, the press found other ways to follow what was happening—amateur space nuts who could hack the signal, became celebrities overnight, and the resulting headlines gave humans the world over, a vague idea of what was going on.

  Lizardmen of Trogar Owed Compensation.

  Trogarian Spider People Leave Empty-Handed.

  Spider People Vow Revenge

  Earth Alliance with Elemar and Hualesh Established.

  The reporters fed on the negotiations for months…even after the council was taught new security measures. Hackers became megastars, overnight.