The Tanith Gambit

by Dietmar Wehr

  “You MUST help us! You must send ships to disarm…” the rest of the sentence was cut off when Harkaman leaned forward and said in a loud, no nonsense voice.

  “The word ‘must’ is NOT used when speaking with Planetary Monarchs. Remember who you’re talking to!” The color drained from Dragg’s face as he realized his mistake.

  “I…apologize for my choice of words, Prince Lucas. I’ll endeavor to remember to whom I’m talking with. What I should have said, is that if you were to send your Navy to Amaterasu and demand that General Ector surrender control of the three battleships, then I’m sure his mad plan would be dismantled.”

  “Have you brought your concerns and evidence to the Planetary Government? They control those ships after all.” asked Trask.

  “No we have not done that, Prince Lucas, because our information is that General Ector has agents within the Office of the Planetary Chancellor and he apparently has already made contingency plans to launch his plan immediately if he gets word that the Planetary Chancellor intends to either relieve the captains of their command or ask for outside assistance.” General Ector’s thought of everything, thought Trask. After a moment of careful thought, he said,

  “So if we understand you correctly, you want us to send our ships, to either capture or destroy Amaterasu’s planetary defense squadron, is that correct?”

  “That’s correct.”

  “Are you aware, sir, that an action like that, would amount to an Act of War by Tanith against Amaterasu? We consider Amaterasu an Ally, not an Enemy! As much as we deplore General Ector’s plan, this is an internal matter for the people of Amaterasu to deal with. We will not interfere with your planet’s internal affairs nor will we violate the spirit, if not the actual terms, of our Mutual Defense Treaty with Amaterasu.”Dragg’s reaction surprised Lucas. He didn’t bat an eye. Lucas expected him to plead or react with indignation but there was no visible reaction at all, only a look of cold calculation. After a surprisingly short hesitation, Dragg said,

  “I understand your position, Prince Lucas. We considered that you might feel that way and we therefore have an alternative proposal. The Government of New Ostia, with the full support of the Legislature, is prepared to acknowledge you as our Head of State, with full authority over certain functions, such as defense. This would not be merely a ceremonial title. In addition to the authority, that I’ve already mentioned, you would also be granted considerable land as well as mineral rights. I have a draft of the Declaration, that would come into force the moment you sign it. All of the conditions, rights and particulars are spelled out in the document. May I present you with the Declaration document for your consideration?” Trask had to use all his willpower not to smile. By declaring that he would not interfere with Amaterasu’s internal affairs, he had boxed himself in to a corner. If he accepted the offer of becoming New Ostia’s Head of State, then the threat posed by General Ector to New Ostia, would then become his problem and he’d be forced to act. If, on the other hand, he declined the offer, what possible reason could he give for not accepting an offer that had such obvious advantages? If he could transplant his superior Sword Worlds technology to New Ostia, the combination of New Ostia’s population and industrial base with the resources of Tanith’s moon, would go a long way towards securing Tanith’s future. The possibility of being able to evacuate Tanith’s people to New Ostia in the event that they could not fight off Viktor’s fleet, didn’t escape his notice either. Dragg was waiting for an answer. Trask gave him one.

  “You may present the document in question to Admiral Harkaman. We will confer with the Admiral and give you our answer presently.” Even as he said the words, one of Dragg’s entourage handed Dragg an impressive looking document which Dragg quickly handed to Harkaman. As he did so, Dragg said,

  “I’m grateful to you for considering our offer and I would only point out that we believe that General Ector will initiate his plan within a matter of a few days and therefore my Government and the Legislature respectfully request a quick decision from Your Highness.” Lucas took note of the fact that Dragg finally used the appropriate honorific.

  “We understand the urgency of the situation and you’ll have our answer within 24 hours. I believe that this concludes our business for now. You have our permission to withdraw now.” Dragg seemed a little confused at first but quickly realized that he and his delegation were being dismissed. He actually did give a bow, a small one to be sure but it was a bow and left with his people. With the delegation gone, Harkaman signaled the not entirely ceremonial guard detail that they could leave too, which left only Trask, Princess Valerie and Harkaman in the room. Trask waited patiently while Harkaman read the document. When he was finished, Trask said,

  “Well, Otto, should I agree to become Prince of New Ostia?”

  “Yes.”

  “Okay, why?”

  “Because they’ve thought of everything. This isn’t something they threw together in a hurry. This is a very carefully thought out document. I’m not saying that General Ector isn’t up to what they say he is. He’s certainly capable of using atomic weapons on the rest of the planet. But either they’ve known about his plans for quite some time or they’ve been working on this idea long before they learned about Ector and he’s just the convenient excuse.The reason I think it’s a good idea for you to accept this offer is what they’re offering in return. First of all, you’ll be getting title to a LOT of land. That will come in handing if you want to transfer the Base and the manufacturing equipment to Amaterasu but there’s more. As Head of State, you’ll be the Commander-in-Chief of all of their military forces. You’ll have complete discretion about declaring war and complete authority over the military budget. You’ll also be the Arbiter of last resort in any internal legal disputes. You’ll have the right to veto any treaty with any other nation or planet and here’s the thing that tells me they thought this out very carefully. As Head of State, you also would have the right to merge New Ostia with any other nation on Amaterasu, that is willing to accept you as their Head of State as well. Now that is one Niffheim of a sunstone that they’re dangling in front of you. The Planetary Government, which as you know is a council composed of the Heads of State of all the nations and which you would automatically become a member if you accept this offer, is barely functioning and everyone on Amaterasu knows it. If we discount Stolgoland and Egonsby, which would not be thrilled to have you involved in planetary affairs for different reasons, the rest of Amaterasu is very likely to think that your participation on the Council and maybe even your assumption of the Chancellor’s position, would be a good thing. Once they see how New Ostia will benefit economically and otherwise from the introduction of Sword Worlds technology, I wouldn’t be surprised if they offer to make you their Head of State too. If that happens, you can merge the nations under your Sovereignty into one supernation and become the de facto planetary monarch of Amaterasu as well as Tanith. Egonsby and Stolgoland will then become the minority. And if Ector is overthrown and an elected government takes his place, Egonsby may just decide to join as well. Stolgoland is more problematical. We did, after all, use atomics on their ports during our raid. I suspect a lot of Stolgoland citizens still harbor hard feelings about that and I don’t blame them but perhaps in time, they’ll see that you’re not the same person who ordered those attacks and join too. You’ll then have complete Sovereignty over Amaterasu and Tanith which together will make a powerful combination that people will talk about in the same breath as Marduk, Odin and Aton.”Trask looked at Valerie and saw that she liked what Harkaman had said. He did too. He harbored no empire building ambitions but in this war against Space Vikings, he needed all the help he could get and having a planet of half a billion people behind him would make a huge difference.

  “Alright. Suppose I accept the offer. What’s my next step?”Harkaman, as usual, already had that figured out.

  “You’d have to go to Amaterasu right away with a minimum of five ships. As soon as we arr
ive in system, you broadcast a message to the entire planet notifying them that you’re now the Head of State for New Ostia and that you’ll be assuming your position in the Planetary Council. You then contact the Chancellor and ask him to call a meeting of the Council, which you’re entitled to do and when the Council meets, you can then tell General Ector to his face that in order to protect your new subjects in New Ostia, you will use whatever force is necessary to neutralize any ship that is deemed to be a threat to any nation on Amaterasu. You then urge the Chancellor to relieve the captains of their ships of their commands. While all this is going on, I’ll make sure your ships are strategically placed to intervene if Ector orders his ships to attack. Even if he tries to roll the dice, we’ll be able to stop him. I actually hope he will try something because that would give you the excuse to land our troops on Egonsby’s Capital and arrest him. You can then appoint a Caretaker Interim Government to oversee new elections.”

  “Yes, that all makes excellent sense. Otto, call the guards back in here and tell them to bring the New Ostia delegation back as well. I’ll sign the document right now. After that, I want you to arrange for five of our ships to be ready to leave in 12 hours time. The sooner we get to Amaterasu and neutralize General Ector, the sooner we’ll be back. You’ll be coming with me so we’ll leave Boake in command of Tanith’s defense. He’ll enjoy being a temporary admiral again.”

  “Very good, Your Highness.” After Harkaman left the room, Valerie came over to stand in front of Lucas and said,

  “May I come with you to Amaterasu?”

  “Not this time. If this was a state visit, then yes, but this time it’s serious business, which I will endeavour to finish as quickly as possible. If you came along, you’d be spending a lot of time alone in our quarters, wondering what’s happening. It’s better if you stay here.” Valerie nodded. It was the answer she expected to hear but it was worth a try.

  “As you wish, Lucas. I’ll stay here and wonder what’s happening. Will we eventually have to move to New Ostia, do you think?” Lucas thought about that, then said,

  “I’m sure that we’ll have to spend some time there when a suitable place has been made ready. My new subjects have a right to see their Sovereign live among them at least some of the time but as for living there permanently, I’m not thrilled about doing that. I’ve become attached to this city and this planet. In my heart, this city will always be my home.” Valerie smiled. She was glad that they wouldn’t abandon Rivington as their place of residence. It was starting to grow on her too.

  Chapter XII

  As soon as the five Tanith ships emerged from hyperspace near Amaterasu and before Trask had a chance to broadcast his message declaring that New Ostia had a new Head of State, the communications equipment aboard the Nemesis picked up a repeating broadcast on both video and radio frequencies from satellites orbiting Amaterasu. General Ector, having decided that the Planetary Council and its Chairman, Chancellor Maximillian, were negligent in their duties to defend the citizens of Amaterasu, has convinced the officers and crews of the three battleships to switch their loyalties to him and has declared himself to be the Protector of Amaterasu. In support of his mission to give Amaterasu the best possible defense against external threats, General Ector has ordered elite units of the Egonsby military, to secure all stockpiles of atomic weapons, held by the Planetary Council and to secure the gandolinium mines against attack or sabotage. All governments on Amaterasu will be free to continue to pursue their own internal agendas as long as they do not interfere in planetary defense.

  “Oh that’s very shrewd of the General.” said Harkaman, standing beside Trask as they listened to the broadcasted message.

  “How so, Otto?”

  “He’s managed to take de facto control of the planet with his monopoly on spaceships and atomic weapons, without actually having to impose his will on everyone directly. Egonsby can now pretty much do what he wants it to do and no other nation will dare resist due to the implied threat of retaliation from his ships, for ‘interfering in planetary defense’. Taking control of the gandolinium mines, means he can build more ships, manned by crews loyal to him, and at some point, when he has enough ships, I’d expect him to just order every other nation to surrender outright under the threat of atomic bombardment.”

  “Well, he’s not going to be able to push New Ostia around and if I offer mutual defense treaties with the other nations, he won’t be able to intimidate them either.” said Trask.

  “Yes, that’s right, Your Highness, however…perhaps it would be prudent to contact the government of New Ostia just to confirm that the offer of Soveignty is legitimate AND still valid.” Trask was surprised to hear that.

  “You think it might not be valid any longer?” Harkaman shrugged.

  “I don’t know but it’s a possibility. We can still approach the planet while your status is confirmed. Shall I order Communications to try to contact the New Ostia government?”

  “Yes, go ahead, Otto.” As the ship tried to contact the President of New Ostia, Foreign Minister Dragg wanted to talk with Trask but was told that the Prince was too busy to speak with him at the moment. It wasn’t long before the image of President Vadroya was on the screen.

  “Greetings, Prince Lucas. We weren’t expecting your arrival so quickly.” With the 1.5 second delay each way due to the distance, Lucas waited until he was sure that Vadroya was finished speaking before replying.

  “Greetings to you too, President Vadroya. We’ve just heard the broadcast about General Ector’s new, self-proclaimed status. We were about to broadcast our own message formally notifying the planet, that We’ve accepted the offer from the Legislature of New Ostia , to be the new Head of State but before We do that, We wanted to confirm with you that nothing has changed in that regard. Is that the case, President Vadroya?” Again the delay. Vadroya’s expression changed from one of apprehension to one of barely concealed satisfaction.

  “As a matter of fact, the situation has changed. Enough of the members of our Legislature had a change of heart, after hearing General Ector’s guarantee of our independence, that they’ve voted to rescind the offer made to you. We no longer need or want you as our Head of State, Prince Lucas, so you can turn around and go back home. Oh and by the way, you can tell Dragg that he’s fired as Foreign Minister. This offer was all his idea. I was against it from the beginning and I don’t want him in my Cabinet any longer. Good day to you, sir!” The image disappeared before Trask could reply. Trask folded his arms across his chest as he walked away from the Communications Station. Harkaman followed but said nothing. Trask paced the back of the Flag Bridge for almost a minute and then motioned Harkaman to come closer.

  “Any thoughts or suggestions, Otto?” Harkaman sighed.

  “I was afraid something like this would happen. It’s no surprise that Vadroya wasn’t eager to see a lot of his authority be transferred to you. I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that he bribed members of the Legislature to change their minds and maybe got Ector to sweeten the bribe too. As to what you should do now, your options are limited. Since you’re no longer a Head of State of any nation on Amaterasu, you no longer have a good excuse to interfere with Ector’s plans. He’s been very careful not to make any overt moves of conquest although taking control of the gandolinium mines located outside his borders could be interpreted as a technical act of war but not against Tanith. You’re essentially back in the same position you were in before Dragg offered the document.” Trask nodded and looked around the Flag Bridge. The background chatter was quite low. He saw some of the crew looking at him. They’re wondering what I’m going to do now, he thought to himself. He wondered what the effect on morale would be if he ordered the ships to turn around and head back to Tanith. Fortunately he had an idea that might make such a retreat unnecessary. It was worth exploring.

  “Otto, remind me again of where the gandolinium mines are on Amaterasu.”

  “I’m not sure if I remember correctly so please
bare with me while I confirm the data, Your Highness.”

  “Certainly, Otto. Go ahead.” It didn’t take long for a map of Amaterasu to appear on the main screen. Two flashing red dots appeared.

  “Ah…one’s near the planet’s south pole and the other is at…”

  “Stolgoland, Your Highness.” Harkaman saw Trask smile and wondered what his Liege Lord was thinking.

  “Yes, Stolgoland. I thought so but I wanted to be sure. Now tell me, Otto. Do you think the Stolgoland government is going to be happy about having Egonsby troops on their territory?” Harkaman snorted.