Fractured Alliance

by Robert Stadnik

  “It will cost a significant amount of credits,” Mu warned.

  “I have the credits. All I ask is that you explain each dish to me as I consume it.”

  “I would be grateful to do so,” Mu said as he motioned one of his waiters over. “Please have Carey take over host duties. I will be here with our guest during his time with us.”

  “Sure thing,” the waiter replied.

  “And bring a bottle of chardonnay to the table,” Mu added. He was looking forward to introducing Vun to the world of food and drink. His visit had reinvigorated Mu’s enthusiasm.

  CHAPTER THREE

  John was behind his desk when the office door chime rang. “Come in.” The door opened and in entered Ben Ravarius. This was the first time the captain was meeting with the ship’s legal liaison. The situation with the Cresorians had necessitated moving their meeting up.

  The attorney was short in stature and appeared to be part Asian-Indian descent. He was carrying several DATs and paper notebooks. John couldn’t remember the last time he saw someone use paper. Everyone used DATs on PHOENIX to avoid having to manufacture and store paper on the ship.

  John stood up and moved from behind his desk to greet Ben. “Good morning.” He didn’t bother extending his hand, as the attorney was barely able to hold his cache of DATs and papers. The captain found the whole scene amusing.

  “Captain, I appreciate you wanting to move our meeting up, but it didn’t give me much time to prepare,” Ben started. “There’s so much we need to cover...”

  John interrupted what he recognized what was about to be a long rant. “How about you drop your stuff and we start with hello.”

  Ben was caught off-guard by the captain’s bluntness. “Oh yes, sorry.” He put his things on the couch. He tried to be organized about it, but it all dropped into a messy heap. He was nervous meeting Captain Roberts. He heard so many things about him in the media. This was the man who defeated the Screen and gave humanity the freedom to explore space. Every story about him was remarkable.

  “I’m sorry, captain,” as Ben extended his hand. “Not everyone gets the chance to meet John Roberts.”

  John rolled his eyes as they shook hands. “Contrary to what some people say, I can’t walk across water and heal the broken wing of a swan and magically bring light into darkness.”

  Ben was confused by his statement. “Huh?”

  “It was a joke,” John clarified.

  “Oh, yes. Got it.” Ben didn’t expect the captain to have a sense of humor. Military types always seemed to lack personality. “It’s just that you’re quite the celebrity.”

  “I’m just a military officer, and it wasn’t just me who defeated the Screen. It was the crew of this ship and the combined efforts of the alliance.”

  “But it’s you who was brave enough to face the Screen,” Ben said.

  John realized they could be going around in circles and decided to switch subjects. “I moved our meeting up to discuss the ongoing problems we’re having with the Cresorians living here.”

  Ben was confused. “Cresorians?”

  John sat back behind his desk. “Dark furry aliens who look like cats and whose clothes look like overalls.”

  “Oh yes! I’ve seen a few of them,” Ben realized. He found them to be scary looking, even more than the freakishly tall Quix, unusually short Senfo, and reptilian Onixins.

  “We’ve had several public disturbances involving them,” John continued. “It seems they’re having a hard time living with others. We need to determine how we’re going to apply the rule of law to them. They’ve lived isolated from each other for hundreds of years and don’t have a set of laws themselves.”

  Ben sat down opposite of John. “There must be some confusion here. My specialty of law is patents and intellectual property. What you’re talking about would be in the realm of criminal law. That’s not my field.”

  “Did you not look at your job responsibilities when you came on board?” John asked.

  “I’ve been in my same position for the past twenty-three years,” Ben explained. “I took this position to apply my expertise to the new alien technologies we’re bound to encounter. There’s a lot of corporations back home anxious to see what the ship finds.”

  John smiled. “You probably should have read the updates I made to your job description.” He grabbed a DAT, pulled up Ben’s job profile and handed it to the attorney. The captain reclined in his seat and waited patiently as Ben read it.

  Ravarius reviewed the updated job profile, and his eyes widened as he read the contents. “You can’t be serious!? I’m not qualified to lead the ship’s legal department.”

  “Oh, I think you are,” John countered.

  “My specialty is patents.”

  The captain realized he was going to have to do some convincing. “You may specialize in patents, but I took the time to read your job history. The papers you authored show an ability to think outside the box. You also spent four months in general litigation while your co-worker was out on leave. Your performance in that area was nothing less than remarkable.”

  “That was seven years ago. That’s a lifetime in the legal world,” Ben said. “I just held the fort down until she got back.”

  John shook his head. “We’re our own worst enemies and the last to acknowledge our own accomplishments. You may not realize it, but you have all the traits to make a great legal expert. We’re going to encounter new races with laws foreign to us. Someone needs to take the lead on how we deal with those laws in first contact scenarios. For now, we need to deal with how to apply the rule of law to the Cresorians.”

  “They have to have some set of laws,” Ben assumed.

  “If they did, it wasn’t included in their database when they evacuated their world,” John said. “None of the Cresorians alive today have lived with a common set of laws. They didn’t have to as they lived isolated in space. No one on board is more qualified to handle these issues than you.”

  “My experiences have been dealing with human issues. I’m still trying to get used to all the aliens here.”

  “Your qualifications speak for themselves,” John insisted. “Your position was the only civilian post I evaluated candidates for because I knew of its importance if we’re all going to live and work together here. But if you’re not up to the challenge, you can resign your position. I can make arrangements to have an alliance ship come here to take you back to Earth.”

  The simplicity of the captain’s response surprised Ben. He was looking forward to using his legal expertise to assist human corporations lay claim to new technologies that would be discovered. Now he was finding out that the captain had other ideas for him. The attorney never expected such an important role. Now this military ship commander, one who carried considerable influence, was telling him he was to lead the entire PHOENIX legal team into uncharted waters? It was impossible to believe.

  Ben was too committed to being here to say no. He didn’t want to go back to Earth. “I’m willing to take on this challenge. I can’t promise you…”

  John interrupted him. “You just need to do your best. Now that you’ve agreed to stay, let’s talk about the Cresorians.”

  Captains Roberts wasn’t one to fool around. Ben quickly browsed through his DATs and papers. “So, uh...you want to discuss how to handle their disruptive behavior?”

  John nodded. “I’ve given them a wide latitude, but it doesn’t seem to be working. We need to come up with a code of conduct for them to abide by if they’re to remain here. Nothing elaborate, basic stuff that anyone on board would be expected to follow.”

  “What about applying their code of laws?” Ben asked.

  “As I already said, they don’t have any.”

  “Right, sorry.”

  “They’ve been nomads for hundreds of years,” John continued. “Interactions between them were brief. Any meet up was usually just for procreation. So what laws can we apply towards them?”

  Ben did
n’t hesitate in his response. “With no Cresorian laws to refer to as precedent, it’d be reasonable to assume they abide by the laws of the home country they’re residing in.”

  John could see the attorney had put his legal thinking cap on. “Treat them as foreign visitors?”

  “Correct. They want to live on PHOENIX? Then they would have to abide by our laws. It’s a concept all alien races should be able to grasp from what I’ve read up about them. Is there anything unique about the Cresorians that you think would prevent them from obeying laws?”

  John smiled. This is the reason why he chose Ben. Start talking legal concepts and the attorney dove right in to postulate opinions. “Beyond their years of isolation, there’s nothing preventing them from following rules. We had a Cresorian live with us during the Screen mission, and we never had a problem with his behavior.”

  Ben had more to say. “I’m still not sure I’m the man to figure all this out.”

  “So far you’ve impressed me with what you’ve said. Don’t start doubting yourself.”

  “I’ll do my best, captain,” Ben promised.

  “I’d also like you to take the opportunity to review the laws of all the races living here. Come up with a set of guidelines that they all would be expected to follow. Again, basic stuff, like not harming one another, not stealing from one another. Those sorts of things.”

  “It’ll take some time,” Ben admitted. “I’ll need to make sure that there’s nothing unusual in their cultures that would prevent them from following universal laws.”

  “Get on it immediately,” John urged. “In the meantime, I’ll have to make a judgment on any legal issue that comes up. I suspect we’ll have more disturbances with the Cresorians before you’re done. Be prepared to be called upon to help me deal with them.”

  “Whatever I can do to help you, captain.” Although he was nervous about tackling all of this, it was too good of a challenge to pass up.

  John smiled as he stood up. “Then welcome aboard the PHOENIX, Ben.”

  CHAPTER FOUR

  John and Julie were having dinner at Stardust Café. Despite the popularity of Homeworld Decadence and several new restaurants opening, the two captains still preferred dining at Stardust Café. It was the one place they went to regularly during the Screen mission and dining there was a habit neither was willing to change. Mu handed off the management of the café to an assistant so that he could focus on the new restaurant.

  “Once Ben starts diving into the whole law issue I’ll think he’ll do fine,” John said as he took a bite of his shrimp platter dish. “He’s understandably nervous, but he has the ability.”

  Julie nodded in agreement. “He does have some remarkable credentials given his area of expertise is patent law. It’ll be nice if he and the legal group can come up with something soon.”

  John agreed. “I did press upon him that time was a factor. I’d like to have something in place before we have another incident with the Cresorians.”

  “You don’t think they’ll behave?”

  “I’m glad Drix isn’t here to hear me say this, but no,” John admitted. “Hopefully, they’ll prove me wrong.”

  As he said that, Julie spotted four Cresorians enter Homeworld Decadence. A lump developed in her throat. John didn’t notice them as his back was to the restaurant, and Julie elected not to say anything. She hoped that they wouldn’t be getting a call from security.

  It was time to change the subject. “I spoke to Chris Anne this morning,” Julie revealed. “He sends his regards.”

  John smiled. Chris was a celebrity singer. He spent many years on PHOENIX as its resident performer, as well as its morale officer. He left the ship to help the Senfo rebuild their homeworld. The concept of music was foreign to their culture, and Chris’s music had rallied the race together to rebuild what the Screen had destroyed.

  “I heard they’ve already erected a statue of him in the main capital,” John smiled.

  “He said the statue’s butt is too big, and he feels fat every time he looks at it,” Julie joked. “He’s very busy but couldn’t be happier. His music has had an enormous effect motivating the Senfo. He insisted that when we come back to this part of space that we stop at Flutori.”

  “I think we can manage that,” John said. Chris was one of the original senior staff of PHOENIX. After the Screen were defeated and PHOENIX was welcomed back into TERRA, several of the senior officers chose to leave the ship to pursue new opportunities. There wasn’t a day that went by that John didn’t think about Chris, Thresha, Doctor Myers, and Kevin Jacobson. He wished all of them well with their lives, but he missed them. In some respects, he wished they were still doing the Screen mission, so they could all be here.

  After chit-chatting about some other things, John and Julie paid the bill and parted ways. John decided to take a stroll around Central. He had an apartment down here and was in no rush to get home. Walking around gave him a chance to meet some of the crew. With almost 20,000 on board, it was impossible to meet and get to know everyone, but he could certainly try.

  A few people stopped to chat with the captain. John took as much time as needed to converse with each of them. Everyone was eager to get out into deep space and see what was out there.

  John stopped at a corner and looked around. Central was certainly a busy place now with so many new crewmembers. During the Screen mission, only 5,000 lived on PHOENIX. The ship could hold over 50,000 individuals, so Central seemed like a ghost town most of the time during the first mission.

  As he did some people-watching, John spotted an unusual sight in the distance. At the other street corner stood an elderly man. John estimated him to be in his seventies. There weren’t too many seniors living on the ship. The man was holding a piece of paper and looking around. He appeared to be lost. There was something about him that the captain found endearing. This man was on TERRA’s most advanced starship and could easily be guided by Vish. Apparently, he seemed to be trying to get around with whatever was written on that piece of paper.

  After watching him for a couple of minutes, John decided to approach him. “Excuse me. You seem lost.”

  The man looked at the captain in confusion. “I wrote directions down to the store but still can’t find it. I think the elevator dropped me off in the wrong place. I didn’t realize how big this ship is.”

  “May I?” John looked at the piece of paper. It looked like the man wrote step-by-step directions on how to get to Central. “You could have asked the computer for verbal directions, or have it outlined on your DAT.”

  The man looked embarrassed. “I don’t have a DAT. I’ve never had much luck with electronics.”

  How hard could asking Vish for directions be? John was about to ask that but realized he could hurt the man’s pride. He simply smiled. “Computers are complex, especially on this ship. Which store do you want to go to? I’ll walk you there.”

  “I don’t want to be a bother.”

  “Nonsense. I finished dinner and was doing my evening walk. It’s no bother at all,” John insisted.

  The man seemed relieved for the offer of help. “It’s the Phoenix General Store.”

  “Oh yes, PGS. I know exactly where it is. Come on.” John started to walk but realized he would have to go slow. The man walked with a noticeable limp. John extended his arm. “If it makes it easier…” The man leaned on the captain’s arm and together they walked down the street. “I’m John, by the way.”

  “Andre,” the elderly man replied. “Thank you for helping me. I thought I could get around on my own. Everyone says this Central is no different than cities on Earth.”

  “They did a pretty good job approximating a city here,” John said with pride.

  “What sort of work do you do?” Andre asked.

  John chuckled. It seemed Andre didn’t recognize him. “I’m the commander of this ship.”

  Andre stopped and looked at the captain with a shocked expression. “You’re Captain John Roberts? I�
��m so sorry; I didn’t even recognize you.”

  “It’s okay,” John assured. “It’s nice not being recognized all the time.”

  “You have more important things to do than help an old man,” Andre started. “You can’t be bothered with helping someone like me. You’re too important.”

  “A member of my crew needs help, and I’m also off duty. This gives me another excuse not to go home.” The captain motioned for Andre to continue walking.

  Andre was grateful. “You’re very kind.” They resumed their stroll along the sidewalk. “I took standard crew quarters when I came here. I probably should have taken an apartment in the city.”

  “We can always get you reassigned. There’s plenty of room on this ship,” John said. He was about to ask Andre what he did for work but quickly deduced that he was retired. John made an allowance to have a few people who may not have possessed skills needed on a starship the opportunity to live on PHOENIX. He concluded Andre was probably one of those people. The selection was made through a lottery system, so the captain had no idea who was chosen.

  “With so many people here, I’m lucky enough to meet the captain,” Andre commented as they approached the general store. “You made this old man happy.”

  John couldn’t help but smile from the compliment. “I make it a personal goal to meet as many crewmembers as possible and learn about them. If you’ll permit me, I’d like to help you shop for whatever you need.”

  Andre was about to reply no. He couldn’t allow the captain of this ship to waste his time helping an old man. On the other hand, it was sheer luck they ran into each other. When would he have another opportunity to meet with Captain Roberts?

  “I’d appreciate the company,” Andre replied. “If it’s not too much trouble.”

  “Not at all,” John replied as the pair entered the store.

  ********

  Although The Lounge was busy, Max left the operation to his capable staff so that he could attend to an important matter. Bret had approached him earlier with a personal request from the captain. The bartender felt honored to be asked to represent Captain Roberts, and he wasn’t going to sit on the request. He headed over to Selection, which wasn’t too far from The Lounge. When Max learned who was running the place, he felt that fate was giving him this opportunity to represent Captain Roberts.