The Wages of War

by Saxon Andrew

  “Do you have a recommendation on how you want it done? We don’t want to kill the crew.”

  “We accept full responsibility for that, should it happen. I would recommend that you first see if you can break through our defenses. My vessel will not fire on your warships while you’re doing that.”

  A single large warship moved out of formation and stopped five miles from the bronze warship. A single blaster beam leapt out from the giant and struck the small warship with no affect. Two blaster beams were fired and again, to no affect. The huge warship fired three beams and then started adding more. Finally, hundreds of blaster beams were hitting the bronze ship and it still hung in space unharmed. Four more warships joined the attack and finally, all ten warships were firing every blaster at the bronze ship. After fifteen minutes, the blasters ceased firing.

  “It appears our weapons are not capable of breaking through your defenses.”

  “Is that satisfactory and you’ll take my word about my warships being superior.”

  “No, we cannot. You need to demonstrate your weapons can penetrate our defenses.”

  “I will agree to demonstrate our weapons but not on a ship with living entities on it.”

  “You allowed us to fire on your ship without moving the crew.”

  “Yes, but I knew you wouldn’t harm my vessel. If you insist on this demonstration, you will remove the crew from the ship before we fire on it. Leave your defenses operational but the crew must be removed.” The Consciousness was silent, and the Speaker added, “We do not believe in needless killing.”

  A few minutes passed and then shuttles began leaving one of the giant warships. After another ten minutes, the Consciousness said, “All of the crew are now on my other ships.”

  “Move your other warships away from that ship.”

  The Consciousness thought this being was being ridiculous but the other nine ships moved away from the targeted ship. Suddenly, a blaster swiveled up out of the hull of the bronze warship, traversed around in an instant, and then a brilliant purple-colored blaster beam erupted from it. The beam spread out and hit the giant Farmer warship dead center blowing completely through the ship and out the other side. A two-mile wide hole was blown through the giant warship and nothing remained inside the ship where the beam hit. Everything had been disintegrated; there wasn’t even a vapor cloud.

  “We aimed at an area on your vessel where there wouldn’t be an uncontrollable explosion,” the Speaker stated.

  The Consciousness was stunned by the demonstration and remained silent for more than an hour as it considered its options. Finally, it said, “You have proven your point. We have agreed for you to keep your warships and we wish you peace and prosperity.”

  “What made you decide to do this?” the Speaker asked.

  “The fact you had us remove our crew says more about you than anything you’ve said. We believe you do not represent a threat to us, and we thank you for your gift of coming to our defense if needed.”

  “Thank you for your patience and understanding.”

  “We will also come to your defense, but we don’t believe you’ll ever need it.” One of the giant warships locked the damaged ship in a tractor beam and pulled it away as the other eight flew away at high speed.

  • • •

  Robert and Cami watched the ten giant warships moving away and suddenly heard the computer say, “That bronze ship is moving toward us at high speed!”

  They jerked their heads around and saw the bronze ship was picking up speed and was headed directly toward them at high speed. Robert pushed the covering off the missile controls and Cami yelled, “YOU WILL NOT FIRE ON THAT SHIP!!” Robert looked at the ship bearing down on them and knew there was no possible way for it to stop before hitting them. He put his finger on the missile button and Cami rushed over and grabbed his face, “I PROMISED I WOULD NOT MANIPULATE YOU BUT I WILL IF YOU DON’T FOLLOW MY DIRECT ORDER!! YOU WILL NOT FIRE ON THAT SHIP!!”

  Robert pulled his hand from his panel and looked out of the viewport as the bronze ship rushed in at high speed and then…stopped ten feet from the Heartbreaker’s hull. Robert collapsed back in his chair and they heard, “You’ve surprised me. Most of us fully expected you to fire on our ship.”

  Cami blew out a breath and went to her chair. She blew out another breath and took off her combat helmet, “You intended to make us do it.”

  “That’s true. But you not doing it is interesting.”

  Robert looked at Cami, “How did you know they would stop?”

  Cami thought, “Would you like to answer that question?”

  “I’d rather see if you know why,” the speaker remarked.

  Cami turned to Robert, “They said that there are two civilizations that could defeat the Farmers.” Robert nodded. “They are one of them and we are the other.”

  Robert’s eyes narrowed and the Speaker said, “Very good!”

  Cami shook her head and continued, “They have just agreed to defend the Farmers from us and in order to do that, one of two things needed to happen. First, the Farmers had to be allowed to detect us using our weapons to stop their ship from hitting us. Those warships that just left would turn around and return to investigate if we fired a missile and we would be forced to defend ourselves against them. That would allow the beings on the planet to use the bronze warship to destroy us; they have agreed to defend the Farmers from attack.”

  “But what if we just turned and ran?” Robert asked.

  “That’s the second thing. I’m reasonably certain they would not allow us to leave.” Cami looked up, “Isn’t that right?”

  “Leaving so soon wouldn’t be polite, would it?”

  “But why didn’t they just ram us and be done with it?”

  “Robert, they told you why when talking with the Farmers. They stated they only used their warships to defend themselves from attack; we’ve not attacked them. So they had to set it up so that we would make a mistake. As long as we didn’t fire on their ship, they could not use it to harm us.”

  “Why would you want to kill us?” Robert asked.

  “Because your species is the most dangerous one in this part of the universe,” the Speaker answered.

  “That’s not true! We are not an aggressive civilization!” The speaker laughed out loud in his thoughts. “We’re not!” Robert said more forcefully. He turned to Cami, “Tell them!” Cami lowered her eyes and shook her head.

  “She at least understands who and what you are,” the Speaker remarked.

  “If you’re so smart, tell me what makes you think we’re an aggressive civilization!”

  “The Speaker mused, “Oh where to start? Ummm…let’s start with recent history. Do I have to go back to your ancient history to show how your species is aggressive?”

  “No, we were once very aggressive as a species, but we’ve outgrown that over time and live in peace,” Robert answered.”

  “And you really believe that?” the Speaker asked incongruously.

  “Show me where I’m wrong!”

  “Well, lets start with your most recent act of aggression. You attacked two warships without cause and killed many of the crew onboard them.”

  “We had to determine if they represented a threat to us.”

  “Were either of those ships planning to attack you?”

  “Well…no.”

  “The only threat was you to them. And it might interest you to know that the planet they were watching was subsequently attacked by the species that had the two ships there. The Farmers arrived to save most of the planet but fifty more warships of the Mosari were destroyed before they could escape. So, for you to determine if two warships that were not going to attack you were a threat, more than ten million inhabitants on the planet and more than three thousand crewmen on the Mosari warships were killed. Was the knowledge you gained worth the loss of life you caused by your actions?”

  “But the Mosari sent twelve warships out to attack one of our ships.”<
br />
  “And you know that because?”

  “Why else would they have sent them?” Robert asked.

  “Perhaps to open a conversation or just say hello. You really don’t know what they intended because you ran before finding out. You assumed the worse and decided they were a threat to you. The Mosari will never leave this galaxy so they are no threat to your species.”

  “How do you know that?”

  “Because they couldn’t move their population in time before another crop shipment was due! And they wouldn’t allow any of their other planets to go and leave them behind. They are effectively trapped here. Millions died and you have no remorse for their deaths.” Robert lowered his head and the Speaker continued, “Oh, that’s not all you’ve done as a species. Even now you’re holding off destroying two civilizations close to the core of your galaxy until you believe it’s safe to do it.”

  “But those civilizations took part in attacking and destroying two of our most important planets!”

  “Was anyone killed during their attacks?” Robert was silent and the Speaker said, “You couldn’t stop their attack but soon you developed your technology to the point where you could easily destroy them. If you can easily kill them, they no longer represent a threat to you. You intend to do it for no other reason than revenge.”

  “But they are a danger to any one they encounter.”

  “They are not a danger to you. Are you planning to kill them because they are a danger to anyone else or are you planning to do it for revenge?” Robert was silent and the Speaker added, “Let’s not forget that species in the small galaxy where you set up and attacked one of their fleets convincing them that another one of your enemies did it. That led to a long war where thousands of their warships were destroyed with massive loss of life. Was that species in the small galaxy a threat to you?”

  “They were planning to invade our galaxy,” Robert remarked.

  “And you intend to attack them and prevent that happening. You know their warships are no match for yours.”

  “How do you know this?” Cami asked.

  “We’ve been watching you since you entered our galaxy. We’ve examined your computer’s databanks and learned all we need to know about you. You are aware that the civilization in the small galaxy had conquered all the planets there and have forced them to live in peace. What happens if you attack them? The planets living in peace will start building weapons of war and an intergalactic war will break out leading to the deaths of trillions. You know this but are still planning to attack them. And that’s not the worst thing you’ve done.”

  “What is that?” Robert asked softly.

  “There was a huge civilization that lived close to the core of your galaxy. You attacked them and killed every living being on more than three thousand planets. The number of deaths you caused were incalculable.”

  “But the Core Aliens attacked and destroyed one of our planets and was coming to attack our home world. They were totally aggressive.”

  “And once again, you developed your technology where you could defeat them. You stopped their attack on your home world and then went directly to the core and killed every one of them.” Robert was silent and the Speaker asked, “Were the females, children and infants on their planets a threat to you?”

  “What would you have done?” Robert demanded.

  “Take a lesson from that civilization in the small galaxy and disarmed every one of their planets and kept them disarmed until they learned to live peacefully with other civilizations. You could have done it, but you took the easy way out and destroyed them simply because you could and because you wanted revenge for what they did.”

  Cami was silent and Robert turned to her, “Do you agree with this?”

  “It’s hard to argue against the truth. We pretty much attack anything we see as a threat.”

  “But we’re attacked most of the time.”

  “I know. But if we can ultimately disarm the attacker without wiping out their civilization and don’t do it, we’re being aggressive. An aggressive civilization is not just one that openly attacks others. It’s also a civilization that willingly causes death through its actions or inactions. Right now, we don’t trust that allowing our enemies to live will one day allow them to mature and learn that killing others is the wrong way to live. We’re too young as a species to have learned that lesson.”

  “We were once like you long ago and we attacked any perceived threat,” the thoughts from the planet stated. “It took many centuries before we changed. To your way of thinking, we now represent a threat to you.”

  “No you don’t!” Cami replied.

  “Do you say that because you know we aren’t or is it because you know to attack us would be suicide?”

  “A little of both.”

  “Then preventing aggression is more advisable than stopping it, wouldn’t you say?”

  “I think I understand what you’re saying.”

  “Keep that in mind when having to deal with your false allies in the future. You are free to go. However, keep in mind that we will keep our commitment to the Farmers to defend them.”

  “We are not a threat to them.”

  “What if the Farmers enter our galaxy? Will you defend them there?” Robert asked.

  “No, we will not. It is only this hive that we will defend. The other eight in this galaxy are not covered by our agreement.”

  “Thank you for talking with us,” Cami said softly.

  The Speaker chuckled, “You stopped us from killing you; the only thing left was to talk about it.”

  Cami smiled, “That’s called preventing it instead of stopping it.”

  The Speaker’s thoughts disappeared with a laugh.

  “It’s time to go home.” Robert nodded and turned the Heartbreaker. The Computer announced, “Captain Pitrazzi is attempting to contact you.”

  “Tell her we’ve finished our mission and will be heading back to Britannia. We’ll contact her on the way back.”

  “Message sent.”

  “Why don’t you want to speak to her now?”

  “Robert, I’m trying to deal with my shame and need some time.”

  “That alien didn’t paint a pretty picture of humanity.”

  Cami sighed, “No he certainly didn’t and what makes it really hurt is he was right. I’m headed to my quarters; call me if you need me.” Robert nodded as Cami walked off the bridge.

  Robert set course for the Milky Way and felt ashamed. His first response to the bronze warship was to attack it. He didn’t think things through and thank God Cami did. He realized that even in that pressure packed moment, she didn’t use her talent to manipulate him. He felt ashamed about his feelings on that issue. He stared out of the viewport and thought about what had happened.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Sharon looked at Linda and scowled, “Well this was a huge waste of time, energy, and effort. I busted my backside learning how to operate this ship and they tell me to turn around and go home. What a massive screwup!” Sharon looked at Linda and saw her smiling, “You don’t find this appalling?”

  “I am disappointed that we didn’t get the opportunity to use our ship, but we got a lot out of this.”

  “Exactly what did we get out of this?”

  “Well, for starters, we got this ship. It’s the most powerful ship in Britannia’s Navy and it belongs to us now. They aren’t going to take it from us; it would be a waste of the time spent training us on how to use it. Since we’re the only ones trained on how to fly it, other than the scout Cami is on, we’ll be called on to lead the training efforts of the new ships as they are constructed. I think we came out of this smelling like a rose. And we didn’t have to confront a dangerous civilization in Andromeda to boot.”

  Sharon stared at Linda and then smiled, “You make a good point.”

  “We’ll get our chance to use this ship. Just be patient.”

  “Patience is my middle name.” Linda snorted and Sharon
smiled, “Well, it could be.”

  • • •

  Cami walked on the bridge and started pressing buttons on her console. Robert asked, “What are you doing?”

  “I’m sending all of our recordings directly to my parents.”

  “You don’t want to land on the Griffin and send them from there?”

  “No.”

  “Why not?”

  “The crew on the Griffin are from the Colonies. If my father wants to share it with them he will. You know there is an issue with the Colonies and I’m not giving them anything without approval.”

  Robert nodded and lifted his communicator, “I’m telling Admiral Tyers we’re headed directly back to Britannia and thank her for being out here to support us.”

  Cami nodded, “That’s a good idea. If she asks why we’re going directly to Britannia, tell her we have important information that we need to deliver in person to Grady.”

  Robert nodded and contacted the Griffin.

  • • •

  Grady and Taffy contacted the other members of the Senior Staff and sent them the recording’s Cami and Robert had made in Andromeda. “Cami is due back in two days, and I want to discuss what they found the day before they arrive. Start viewing the recordings and plan to meet me here in my conference room tomorrow afternoon at four pm.”

  Taffy was watching the recordings and she shook her head at the size of the giant warships in Andromeda, “Those are frightening.”

  “Let’s watch all of the recordings before we start panicking, ok?” Taffy nodded and Grady joined her staring at the huge monitor in their living room.

  • • •

  The next afternoon, the Senior Leaders assembled in Grady’s conference room. Britt and Linda Kay along with Sweets and Charlie sat across the table from Grady, Taffy, RJ and Candy. Joshua and Noel sat at the end of the table along with Justin, Charlotte, and Graylin. The room was silent unlike other get-togethers and Grady saw most of them had a somber expression. “The reason I’ve called this meeting now is because the Griffin will arrive right behind the Heartbreaker and if I exclude Admiral Tyers from the meeting, it will cause high suspicions among the sailors from the Colonies. We are going to give an edited version of the recordings to Admiral Tyers to take back to the Colonies along with any of their personnel that choose to leave Britannia. We will offer citizenship to any that choose to remain and require them to swear their loyalty to Britannia. I have no idea how many, or if any, of them will choose to remain here.”