“It was what you would call a constitutional monarchy,” answered Councilor Bliss. “Each world had a governor, elected by the people. Each world also elected a representative to attend government meetings on Golan Four in the House of Worlds. The representatives would make our laws, which the King would then carry out. The King did have considerable authority, but any order he gave could be rescinded by a meeting of the planetary representatives.”
“If we agree to this, what’s in it for us?” asked the Western European representative.
Imperial Admiral Bract stood and smiled. “We will provide you with a sublight space drive capable of reaching Mars in less than a day. We can terraform Mars to make it fully habitable in less than twenty years. We can do the same thing for Venus, though it won’t be quite as hospitable as Earth or Mars. We also have considerable advancements in medical treatments that will cure many of your diseases. We can also add a few decades to the average Human lifespan. There are other things as well, but those will have to be worked out in more detail later. Of prime importance now is creating a computer virus to give us control of the Druin interdiction system before it attacks and kills off much of Earth’s population.”
“Why would they attack us?” asked the Chinese representative. “We’ve done nothing to them.”
“It doesn’t matter,” answered Councilor Bliss. “Once you develop an FTL drive or your civilization reaches a certain point in technological development, the Druins will consider your world a threat to the Confederation. When that happens, they will either send their attack drones in to reduce your population or will send in one of their battlefleets to subdue your world. This is what they have done for tens of thousands of years. There is no negotiating with the Confederation. Look at what they did to the Endeavor, and it wasn’t even armed.”
“What do you recommend we do?” asked General Brier, who was the military representative from the North American Union.
Admiral Bract took a deep breath and then replied. “We need to delay the Druins from attacking Earth for as long as possible. In order to do that, we need to take control of their interdiction system by implanting a virus that will allow us to control it. We can send fake reports to the Druins for years, without them realizing what has happened. Eventually they will send a ship for a routine check of the system and to scan Earth. Once that happens, they will discover what we’ve done. That’s how long we have to prepare. We estimate we’re looking at between sixty to one hundred years before a Druin ships shows up.”
“So, what are our options?”
Admiral Bract looked directly at General Brier. “We advance Earth as rapidly as possible to current Human Empire standards. We put up a massive defensive grid around Earth, the Moon, Mars, and possibly Venus. We train crews to operate our warships and to prepare for eventual war with the Confederation.”
There was silence in the room as the representatives looked at one another. Then the silence was broken as all of them spoke at once.
“What you’re asking is impossible,” said the European Representative. You can’t believe that Earth alone can take on the Confederation, which you say controls much of the galaxy. It would be suicide.”
“If you do nothing, they will still come,” pointed out Admiral Bract.
-
For the next several hours there was a heated debate. Finally a consensus was reached.
“We will agree to the following,” said Vice President Hicks. “All of our space programs will be combined into one under a joint civilian and military command. We will work at creating a virus to allow the takeover of the Druin interdiction system. We will also furnish some military personnel to crew a limited number of your warships. For now, that’s all we can offer, until we discuss this in far more detail with our governments. As far as a future war with the Confederation, that will have to be decided later as well.”
Councilor Bliss nodded. “It is more than we had hoped for. We would like to assign some of our people to this station to help in its further development, and we would like to establish an embassy somewhere on Earth. It will be needed if we are to share some of our advanced technology.”
This resulted in more debate, with each of the government representatives wanting the embassy in their region.
Finally Brett Newcomb interrupted. “May I make a suggestion? There is nowhere on Earth where everyone will agree to place an embassy. I suggest we place it instead on the Moon. The Moon is a neutral site, and Luna City is growing rapidly. It will have everything needed for the embassy.”
After more discussion everyone agreed to Brett’s suggestion.
“We have made a tentative agreement today,” said Admiral Bract. “I suggest everyone contact their governments and confirm what we’ve decided. Then, in another day or two, we can meet and sign a formal agreement.”
“What about going on a trip to Mars?” asked Colonel Gleeson. “It would help to prove everything you’ve told us.”
Admiral Bract smiled. “I can arrange that. It won’t take the Destiny more that a few hours to reach Mars and then a few hours to return. If you would like, I can set up the trip for early tomorrow.”
Everyone nodded in agreement. None of the government representatives had ever been to Mars, and they were excited about the prospect. It would also give them an opportunity to see some of the Imperials’ technology.
-
Several hours later, after everyone had eaten and retired to their quarters, Brett, Major Henderson, Mallory Stark, Andrew, and Admiral Bract were in a private meeting.
Admiral Bract had been given permission to reveal to the Earth’s Imperial Council the location of Sanctuary.
“We were concerned the base might no longer exist,” admitted Brett. “It’s one of the reasons Andrew was placed on the Endeavor. We knew there was a chance the interdiction system, if it existed, might react violently to an Earth spacecraft venturing so far into the Kuiper Belt.”
“We watched the Endeavor constantly from the time it was launched,” said Admiral Bract. “We weren’t sure ourselves how the interdiction system would respond.”
Andrew took a drink of the tea in the glass he held. “It was frightening being on the Endeavor and knowing a Druin attack drone was on its way. Which brings up another question. What if we have problems inserting the virus in the Druin computer system on their primary interdiction stations? Is there a chance the stations might launch their drones if they realize what we’re doing? These are AIs we’re talking about.”
Admiral Bract slowly nodded his head. “There’s a chance there might be a response. For that reason I’ll have part of our fleet crewed and ready to deploy if we see any sign of drones launching.”
“Can you destroy them?” asked Brett.
Admiral Bract smiled. “Yes, we’ve had one thousand years to advance our weapons technology. We now have fusion energy beams and much more powerful energy shields. We can take out the drones.”
“Let’s hope so,” said Major Henderson. “We can’t afford to have Earth hit by the drones. Too much is at stake.”
-
Later both Kala and Rachael stopped by Andrew’s quarters.
“We’re going home the day after tomorrow,” said Kala, smiling. “I can’t wait to see my father.”
“Remember, there’s not a lot you can tell him about what happened,” cautioned Andrew.
“I know. I’ve already been debriefed by Major Henderson. “He’s quite thorough.”
Andrew looked at Rachael. “What about you?”
“I’ll visit my mom and dad and spend a few weeks taking it easy. I’ve already spoken to Councilor Bliss about returning to Pallas. I want to study so much there.”
“I’m sure they’ll be glad to have you. I also suspect quite a few other scientists from Earth will be headed toward Pallas, as well as some military personnel.”
Kala reached over and took Andrew’s hand. “What about you? What will you do now?”
Andrew shook h
is head. “I’m not sure. I found Sanctuary, and now they’re in contact with my people, as well as some of Earth’s governments. I’ve thought about returning to Pallas and going into cryo. I would like to see what our actions today bring about in the future. I would also like to see our former homeworlds.”
Kala pulled back her hand with a strange look on her face. “You would consider going into cryo for nearly one hundred years? Everyone you know would be dead!”
“I know. It’s something I need to discuss with my parents. You could come with me.”
“No, I don’t think so. My life is here on Earth. I might go to Pallas for a while to do research, but I can’t leave my parents or the rest of my family. I’m sorry, but going into cryo is something I can’t do.”
Andrew nodded in understanding. “I accept that. If I do decide to go into cryo, it won’t be for another year or two.”
-
Kala bit her lip. She was shaken by Andrew’s admission about going into cryo. She had hoped they could build a life together, once they were safely back on Earth. “I guess this is it then. I’m looking for a long-term relationship. I was hoping you might feel the same.”
Andrew smiled. “I do like you Kala, and in other circumstances what you’re suggesting would sound really good. But for me, there is much more at stake since we found Sanctuary. I have to see how all of this ends.”
Kala let out a deep breath. She had been falling in love with Andrew, and now all those dreams had just come crashing down. “If you change your mind, let me know.” With that Kala stood and left Andrew’s quarters, never looking back.
-
“I’m sorry, Andrew,” said Rachael. “I think Kala wants a big family and has no interest in flying around the galaxy in an interstellar war. In many ways I can’t blame her.”
“Neither do I. Kala has a lot going for her, and I’m sure she’ll find someone who will make her happy. I’m just not that person, it appears.”
Rachael stood. “I better go check on her. She’s probably not thinking very straight right now. Maybe I’ll see you on Pallas.”
Andrew nodded. “Maybe. I’ll definitely be returning there as soon as I take care of some things down on Earth.”
Andrew watched as Rachael left his quarters. With a deep sigh, he knew that this part of his life was over, and he was preparing to set out on a new one. He wondered what awaited him in the future.
-
The next morning Admiral Bract led the Earth government representatives and some others on board the Destiny. Captain Masters met them at the main airlock and took them on a brief tour of the light cruiser. The Imperial scientists on board had gone over to the space station for some meetings.
“This is amazing,” said Colonel Gleeson, as he stared at the ship’s sublight drive in Engineering. “That’s far smaller than anything we’ve developed. How fast can it move this ship?”
Captain Masters smiled. “If we push it, we can get up to a speed of around one-quarter the speed of light. We could go faster, but we would need a better power source. Currently we use a very advanced fusion power core for our energy.”
“Is this ship armed?” asked General Brier.
Captain Masters looked at Admiral Bract.
“Yes, it is,” answered Bract. “It’s been updated to our current Imperial standards. The ship is equipped with both fusion and antimatter missiles as well as fusion energy beam turrets. It also has a very powerful energy shield to use, if needed.”
“And this is one of your smaller ships?”
Admiral Bract nodded. “Yes, our battlecruisers and dreadnoughts are far larger and capable of very long voyages, if necessary.”
-
They continued through the ship with Captain Masters and Admiral Bract answering questions as they went through the different departments. Finally they arrived in the Command Center, where some seats had been added to accommodate the extra people.
“If everyone will take a seat, we’ll be leaving the space station shortly,” Derrick informed them. “The trip to Mars will take two hours and fourteen minutes.”
A few minutes later Derrick gave the order to disconnect from the space station and to prepare to embark on their journey.
“Lieutenant Viktor, disconnect from the station and set a course for the planet Mars. We’ll be traveling at one-fourth power, so our guests can experience what it’s like to travel through space. I’m sure they will have a number of questions about how our Command Center functions.”
The lieutenant quickly guided the Destiny away from the space station, as displayed on the main viewscreen. Then the station appeared to shrink and quickly vanish as the Destiny accelerated away.
“Remarkable,” said Vice President Hicks. “I can’t even tell we’re moving. Is there any chance of the ship being struck by an asteroid?”
Derrick shook his head. “No, our sensors would detect it, and we have the energy shield up at low strength. It would either destroy or deflect such an object.”
-
The rest of the trip to Mars was full of questions, with Captain Masters and Admiral Bract attempting to answer most of them. When the two hours were up, Mars appeared on the viewscreen.
“Take us into orbit,” ordered Derrick. “We’ll let our visitors get a good view of the planet.”
-
For thirty minutes the Destiny slowly orbited Mars, before Derrick gave the order to return to Earth. He could tell the Earth representatives were impressed.
“I think this demonstration seals the deal,” said General Brier. “If we can take over the Druin interdiction system, then I see great things ahead for Earth. We can colonize the Solar System and build up our own fleet.”
The others nodded. They could all see the wisdom of accepting the current deal with the Imperials.
Admiral Bract had to smile to himself. This had gone far better than expected. Now if they could develop the virus to allow them to take control of the Druin interdiction system then Earth, along with the Imperials of both Earth and Pallas, would be ready to take their place as a galactic power. One that someday would fight to free the Human Empire. However, first they had to take everything one step at a time, and the interdiction system would be up first.
Chapter Thirteen
The Themis approached the Ridge Star Cluster, notorious for being the home to pirates and numerous other illegal activities. Most civilized races stayed far away from the cluster, as it was very dangerous to approach.
“Why here?” asked Captain Fulmar, gazing at the viewscreen showing the star cluster. He had heard many stories about the cluster. None of them were good. Too many ships had vanished in this region, most falling victim to pirates.
“Supplies,” replied Admiral Cleemorl. “The trip to Earth is a long one, and we don’t have its exact coordinates. I only know its general location.” He did have some old maps in his quarters which he needed to go over. He was hoping the location might be on one of them.
-
The small fleet finally dropped out of hyperspace in a system filled with small and large asteroids. On several of the larger asteroids were huge domed cities, housing the races deemed refuse from Human space as well as thousands from other worlds. The asteroids were heavily armed with small patrol ships, scanning all the approaches. A massive black market operated in this system. If one had the credits, it was possible to buy anything one could imagine.
-
“Order the Rhys to remain here with our escorts. We’ll take the Themis in and see if we can dock to take on supplies.”
Captain Fulmar shook his head. “I don’t like this. We’re talking about pirates, who won’t hesitate to betray us. What do we do if the Druins come here? They’re bound to be looking for us.”
“That’s why we’re not staying long,” replied Cleemorl. “I have the names of a few contacts who might help us. While we’re gone, the rest of the fleet will remain hidden behind one of the larger uninhabited asteroids.”
&n
bsp; Captain Fulmar watched on the tactical display, as the Themis separated from the fleet and moved toward the largest inhabited asteroid. The rest of the fleet moved behind another asteroid that should shield it from detection.
-
As the Themis approached the inhabited asteroid, Admiral Cleemorl stepped near the communications console. “When we get closer, we’ll probably be contacted. Inform them we’re here to do business with Cheryl Bannon.”
“Cheryl Bannon!” exclaimed Captain Fulmar, his eyes opening wide in concern. “She’s rumored to be one of the most dangerous pirates out here.”
Admiral Cleemorl laughed. “I met this dangerous pirate a number of years back. I can promise you that she’s nothing like you imagine.”
“We’re being contacted,” reported the communications officer. “I told them we’re here to see Cheryl Bannon. They want to know who we are.”
“Tell them, Dylan Cleemorl. Don’t mention my military rank.”
The communications officer continued to speak over his comm and then turned toward the admiral. “We’re to dock at bay fourteen. We’ll be charged a fee of 15,000 credits per day for each day we’re docked to Highland Station.”
“Highland Station,” mused Captain Fulmar. “Interesting name for a pirate base.”
“You’ll be surprised,” replied Cleemorl. “Take us in to dock. I don’t want any of the crew leaving the ship. You and I will make all the necessary arrangements for supplies.”
“You’ve been here before,” said Fulmar in realization. “When?”
“It was years ago, right after I finished my time at the academy. Even then Highland Station was a dangerous place to come to. I came out with some friends to party and to celebrate our graduation and to see somebody.” A sad look came over the admiral’s face. “Seven of us spent nearly a week drinking, partying, and chasing after women. At the end there was a fight, and two of my friends were killed. I’ve never been back since then.”
“Sorry,” replied Fulmar. “I assume we go armed?”
Cleemorl nodded. “Yes, you’ll find that nearly everyone has a weapon, even the women.”
The Forgotten Empire: Banishment: Book One Page 17