by Shawn Jones
“Slow down, Doc,” Cort said as he took the bent man’s hand and shook it. “Let’s do this by the numbers for the benefit of the others and their translators, okay?”
Black turned and looked around the room before replying, “Of course. I’m sorry. It is just very exciting.”
Cort began with saying, “Everyone settle in, please. We have a new problem. In regards to the crystallization of inhabited planets, we have a solution. We can prevent planets from being crystallized, and we can destroy planets that have been already. However, we now have more information. I ask that you all hold any questions or discussion until the end of our presentation. Then I will offer my input. After that, we will open it up for everyone to weigh in. On my orders, Captain Jones took the Remington down the galactic arm to the source of the crystal infection.” In reality, Jones had made that decision on her own, but Cort wasn’t about to give Verne any reason to question her ability, command of the Remington, or her future. In this case, the captain had made a good call, but even if it had ended in disaster, Cort would have protected her.
Captain Jones understood exactly what General Addison had just done, as did every member of her bridge crew who was with her. Most of them had to fight the same impulse to look at the prime minister and judge his reaction. The urge passed as General Addison pointed at a star map projected into the middle of the group of tables. It was zoomed in to a star system orbiting the singularity at the center of the galaxy. “I don’t know what the Collaboration designates this system, but the Ares Federation designates it as S-102. 102-b, its second planet, is believed to be the first planet infected by the crystal. Rather than give you second hand information, I’m going to turn it over to Captain Jones and Doctor Black now.”
As Cort sat down, Jones and Black stood and walked to the display, where the view changed when JJ nodded to an ensign near her previous seat. “This is an image of S-102-b taken one day ago,” she said.
The screen showed a 3D image blue-green planet, nearly identical in general appearance to Earth. There were three large continents, vast oceans, weather systems and even artificial light on its ‘dark side’. Zooming in, the image showed clear signs of activity. After a dramatic pause to let the implications sink in, JJ continued, “This planet is confirmed to have been fully crystallized one thousand human years ago. It was still crystal five hundred years ago. This means that in the course of five hundred years, it has been completely planet-formed and occupied. We deployed several satellites and did a complete scan of the planet. Other than a slightly higher concentration of carbon than would be expected, the planet is completely normal except in one respect. When it was first crystallized, the planet was a gas giant. It is now the only habitable planet in System S-102. The other three planets in the system have reverted to their original states. A portion of the discarded mass has formed a crystal cloud around the planet. We suspect it is some sort of defensive field. More study is needed however. The remaining mass of 102-b appears to have been moved outward of its planetary plane into a protoplanetary disk. Ultimately we believe the larger bodies will form an asteroid belt outward of 102-b.”
“After retrieving or destroying our sensors, I made the decision to investigate several other systems. The planet forming has taken place up to this point.” The image changed and Jones indicated another system one third of the way along the galactic arm toward the Ares Federation. “In every system, regardless of previous occupation or makeup, one planet has been converted to what we are calling ‘Earth normal’, that is similar in size, atmosphere, and makeup to Earth or Solitude. All other planets in the systems have reverted back to their original states. Currently, the planet-forming is just beginning in these systems,” Jones said, indicating three systems further along the galactic arm. “Based on Doctor Black’s work, we believe the forming takes about five Earth years. We do not know much more than that at this point. Frankly, that will be up to Doctor Black and the science people. I am here to destroy the enemy, not study rocks. Doctor Black?”
“Thank you, Captain. We have a lot of questions still. I suspect the higher carbon content of the formed planets is related to whatever method is being used to reconstruct them. It is possible that it is bacterial, but given the rate of conversion, I believe it is some kind of nanite that ‘de-crystallizes’ the planets. I do not know how the extra mass is ejected from the planet, either.” Black turned suddenly toward Captain Jones. “Captain, you failed to mention the incident with the hull.” He turned back to Addison and said, “When we were…” before Jones interrupted him.
Curtly she said, “Doctor, that is a military matter. I will discuss it with General Addison after this meeting. Please continue with your presentation.”
“Uh, er, yes. A military matter, of course. As I was saying, We do not know more than we do know. There are biotics to consider, such as soil microbes and the like, but the overall appearance is that we are dealing with a species that sterilizes planets by crystallization, then planet-forms according to their own specifications. Until we get more information about this species, I am limited to the amount of information I can provide. While technically this is information that belongs to the Ares Federation, I should be able to make it available to the Collaborative Government’s scientists immediately.”
Prime Minister Verne spoke for the first time since arriving on Solitude, “That is not your decision to make, Doctor. Do not make promises you cannot follow through with.” Both Coke and Zandra reacted to his tone and immediately stood and moved next to their alphas.
General Addison stood up as well. As he joined his ship captain and Doctor Black, he stared at Verne and said, “You are right, Prime Minister, that is not Doctor Black’s decision. It is mine, because it was gathered by my ships.” Then he once again lied to cover those who followed him. “I have previously and repeatedly directed Doctor Black to cooperate with Collaborative Government scientists and share any information we have with them. This information is important to the survival of every species here, and every species represented by the Collaborative. Such information gathered or developed by my military will be made available to all allied peoples at all times.”
“General Addison, you are out of line. I lead this government, not you. I will make the decisions regarding our technology.” Turning to Black, Verne said, “Doctor, you will disseminate none of the data until our people have the chance to look over it. Am I clear?”
Black was nervous and looked at Cort. The rest of the room was silent. Both wolves had moved between their alphas and Verne. Coke growled softly. Captain Jones tapped a command into her flexpad as Cort stepped toward the Prime Minister. “Mister Verne, I am growing weary of you. We as a government entered into an agreement that requires complete transparency regarding mutual threats. I will honor that agreement regardless of whether or not you do. Doctor Black will share all of his data with the Collaboration because it’s the right thing to do. Furthermore, Captain Jones will share all of her sensor data with the Collaboration. You have no say in the matter.”
Jones looked back down at her flexpad. Acknowledgement from Jeff Pence flashed momentarily. Looking up, she saw three FALCON clad Marines enter the room. They stood at the door waiting for her orders. Verne spoke again, “General you are relieved of all duties regarding the Ares Federation.” Turning to Jones he said, “Captain, you are to assume command of our military, effective immediately.”
Jones nodded to the Marines who stepped forward. She looked from Verne to Addison and said, “I’m sorry, sir.” The Marines took Prime Minister Verne by the arms as Jones continued, “We are obligated by honor and treaty to work with the Collaborative Government for the betterment of all our species.”
Verne was furious. “You black whore! I should have known. You are no different than Point. Nothing but Addison’s little whores! I should have mated with that slut when everyone else took their turns with her.”
Cort moved so quickly that not even his Marines could respond in
time. He stepped over Zandra and delivered a FALCON-enhanced blow to Verne’s chest that was so powerful the others in the room heard the audible crunch of the much thinner man’s sternum and ribs. Only Bazal heard the human’s aorta rupture and the foamy blood rush from his pulverized lungs through his trachea, but everyone present saw the viscous liquid escape his lips.
“Remove Prime Minister Verne’s body from the room please. General Addison, you should look at this,” Captain Jones said as she handed Cort her flexpad.
Taking it, Cort turned to Kim and said, “Do we need to break for a while?”
“Not at all. This is more important.” The look she saw in Cort’s eyes said, “Not to me”, and for now that was enough. There would be tears later, but knowing that he was willing to put her first, ahead of an entire galaxy, was enough to get her through this meeting.
Cort nodded at her and quickly read the flexpad. It was a text communication between Jones and Jeff Pence on Mars.
me(loc:Solitude): MARS RISING NOW. VERNE IS ABOUT TO MAKE HIS PLAY
Jeff Pence(loc:Mars): MARS RISING NOW. CONFIRMED.
Jeff Pence(loc:Mars): TEAMS IN PLACE.
me(loc:Solitude): VERNE DEAD. ARES KILLED HIM. JUSTIFIED. STAND BY.
Jeff Pence(loc:Mars): FUCKER HAD IT COMING. SECURING VERNE’S QUARTERS.
Jeff Pence(loc:Mars): VERNE’S QUARTERS SECURE. YOU AREN’T GOING TO
Jeff Pence(loc:Mars): BELIEVE THIS. VERNE HAS HOTS FOR POINT. JEALOUS OF
Jeff Pence(loc:Mars): GENERAL. HAS HUNDREDS OF IMAGES OF HER FROM
Jeff Pence(loc:Mars): AFTER ASSAULT. NUDES. SICK SHIT. HE KILLED HIS WOLF.
Cort tapped on the pad before handing it back to Jones. She read what had been added to the conversation.
me(loc:Solitiude): ADDISON HERE. NO ONE IN THAT ROOM BUT ME. SAY
me(loc:Solitude): NOTHING TO ANYONE. NOT EVEN FAMILY. US THREE ONLY.
Jeff Pence(loc:Mars): UNDERSTOOD.
“I’m sorry for that, everyone,” Cort looked around the room. The only alien visibly disturbed by what had happened was Speral. Cort suspected the other pacifists were just as shocked by his actions as Speral was, but she was the only one he knew well enough to pick up on her visual cues. “I assure you that the Ares Federation is fully committed to working with you. It appears that Prime Minister Verne had a personal grudge against me that clouded his judgement.”
Bazal said, “General, I believe I speak for the entire Collaboration. Our intention was to enter into this treaty with you, not your federation. Ignorant of your customs and laws, we accepted that you personally took responsibility for your people’s participation. You have demonstrated that commitment to the treaty, which is what was expected of you. We are sorry that you found it necessary to kill one of your kind, and we certainly did not wish to witness your actions, but we cannot be critical of your choice because you acted so to honor your agreement with us. Our customs and laws dictate that your actions were honorable. Therefore we consider the matter closed.”
“Thank you, Bazal.” No, I killed him because he hurt someone I love, Bazal. It had nothing to do with our agreement. But we would have honored it regardless.
“Of course, Cortland. Now if you will please give us your assessment of the new developments.”
“I think Doctor Black has covered it very well. We are dealing with an enemy that exterminates planets before reforming them to suit their own colonization goals. The downside to this is that we are dealing with an enemy that has the ability to kill planets. We have that ability as well, but clearly they are more advanced than any of us are. The upside is that I suspect the enemy is more conventional than I could have hoped. Logic dictates the enemy is similar in nature to humans. Fortunately for all of us, I am very adept at killing humans, so I suspect I will be equally adept at killing our new enemy. If we can capture some of their technology, we may well be able to reverse the damage they have done to our planets and reintroduce the displaced species to their homeworlds.”
“To that end, We are changing our strategy somewhat. We will not be destroying any more crystallized planets. For the time being, I am directing our forces to deploy the prophylactic resonators to all planets in the path of the crystal infection. This should actively contain the crystallization until we know more about the enemy. I am also going to send some scout teams to the planets which have been re-occupied. Their goal will be to study the enemy.”
The insect Lap said, “Thank you for adjusting your goals to try and restore affected planets, General.”
“We are in this together, Lap. Are there any questions?”
Three
Fifteen minutes later, the meeting broke up and Kim took the visiting dignitaries on a tour of the compound. Cort went to their quarters and commed Jeff Pence. “Give me the short version, Jeff. What do I need to know?”
From across the galactic arm, Jeff Pence took the comm and related what he had found. “General, it is bad. Verne was seriously disturbed. He had vids, stills, and holos of Miss Point.” Pence had decided to keep it as formal as possible in an attempt to mitigate his leader’s anger. “He also had a cam in her quarters at Oxia Palus. I do not think he knew her before the rape, but he was clearly fascinated with her from then on. He had a diary. I hope it is okay that I decrypted it, but I suspected we would be having this conversation, sir. He did not find out about your involvement with Miss Point until an argument you and she had about how to retrieve crystal samples. After that he became more and more angry with you. When she moved to your quarters, he wrote that he should have let you die after the attack here at Oxia Palus.”
“It’s okay. You were right to read the diary. What happened to his wolf?” Addison asked.
“It appears he dissected it, sir. I do not know how the wolf died though. I can find out if you need me to.”
“No, Jeff. I want you to scrub his quarters and office. Get rid of everything related to Kim or me or the wolf. Don’t save it for me, because I don’t want it. Destroy it all.” Cort thought for a moment and added, “Except for the diaries. Before you destroy them, I want you to go through them thoroughly. If there is anything I need to be aware of, tell me. In fact, anything you deem relevant at all, let me know about. Once you, you personally Jeff, have gone through it and pulled any information we need from it, I want it destroyed like everything else. Does anyone else know what you found?”
“Just you and Captain Jones, sir. I posted the two men I had with me as sentries outside Verne’s quarters when I went in. Once I saw what was inside, I locked it down and notified the captain.”
“Okay. Thank you, Jeff. Carry out my orders. I will have Jones assign someone else to take your spot in this little coup. And we are going to have to talk about that as well. But it can wait for now. For the time being, your only job is to protect Kim. Do you understand?”
“Yes, sir. I will comm you when I am done. Pence out.”
--
When Cort rejoined the group, Kim was showing the dignitaries how the gravity plates would be used to modify the gravity in various areas to make them more hospitable to flora and fauna from planets with greater mass. Tapping Jade Jones on the shoulder, the pair fell behind the main group. While they waited for the others to get far enough ahead to ensure privacy, they talked about the stockade construction. Finally Cort said, “Captain, please erase all items from your flexpad related to what Pence found in the Prime Minister’s quarters.”
“Yes, sir.” After following his instructions, she asked him about what Pence had found.
“I don’t know exactly, Captain. And I don’t want to know. I asked Jeff to destroy everything. The only thing he won’t destroy immediately is Verne’s diary. He’s going to go over it and see if he can find anything else out. I would appreciate it if you would keep this matter to yourself. It’s private, unrelated to the other issues we are facing, and the public knowledge would only serve to hurt Kim. I don’t even want her to find out about it, okay?”
“Of cou
rse, sir. About those other issues. Doctor Black alluded to one of them earlier. The Remington was attacked by the crystal in three systems. It was not serious, thanks to the onboard resonators, but we did have to replace some graphene plates and vaporize the affected ones. I think it was overkill but I was not about to risk the ship to save a little graphene.”
“Well done. Make sure the other species get those onboard resonators too.”
“Theirs will have to be modified. Ours use the coilgun magnetics to generate the resonance. They do not have them, but I am sure our people can come up with something.”
“Tell me about this coup you had planned, JJ," Cort didn’t mince words. “Tell me about Mars Rising.”
“That is more complicated, sir. Mike Rage contacted me and told me about a conversation he had with Rand Sike. I am not sure what led to that chat, but they were clearly concerned enough that they started maneuvering people strategically. The intention was never to overthrow the government, sir. I promise you that. We just wanted to make sure the government didn’t stop Dar Sike. Our intention was to protect the pack. To protect the Addisons, sir.” JJ wasn’t sure how Cort would take the last sentence. She wasn’t an Addison after all, by blood or marriage.