"We were lied to and tricked into coming here to fight for our galaxies, believing this was one of them, and that it was under attack by an outside entity. I believe Mr. Beutcher informed you of the Saltons' true purpose here? As it turns out, Harden Salton lied, his diplomats and officers lied, and now we have the aftermath of those lies. We sit across from you today interested only in peace."
The Kergan glanced around at his officers and then back at the Council of nine Gruntas sitting before him. "Please allow me a few minutes to converse with my leadership."
The Council bowed their heads as the Kergan commander stood.
Garrett was the first to speak. "I don't like this. I don't know the Kergans, but I know when an expression looks less than honest."
I sighed. "I would have to agree with you. Have Jack put the grunts at the ready. And Joni, see if you can listen in on their conversation. I want to know what they are planning."
Joni walked casually behind a transport before blinking out, settling into the middle of the Kergan officers. She opened a video feed to our comms.
The Kergan commander said. "We are dealing with fools. General Holion predicts victory above within the day. We only need keep them at the negotiating table and their advantage will be lost."
One of his officers replied, "They seem to have two factions on this planet. Those who attacked our transports and the ones who are of the Council. Both fight with ferocity, yet only the yellow ones appear to be adaptable to change. And the stealth one. We believe it was she who was responsible for destroying our transport guns, allowing the attack. We should make effort to capture or kill her."
The commander nodded. "Yes, she poses a problem. If the signal is given, she must be taken out at the same moment as the Council."
The commander huffed. "They send their women to do men's work."
The Kergan officer shook his head. "I have seen their women in combat, Commander. They have fight and strength, easily matching two to three of our best warriors at once. We should not underestimate them."
The Kergan commander smiled. "As I have seen with this Council, they are arrogant where they should be confident. Confidence comes with prudence, where arrogance comes with pride. They negotiate here, believing they have the stronger hand, and therefore lack the fear that would keep most alive. I look forward to the call from General Holion."
I walked up to the lead councilwoman as they discussed their position in a closed circle. "We need to talk."
The councilwoman stood in anger, grasping my right shoulder with a strong finger jammed up under my arm. "You will not interrupt this council again, Knog Beutcher. Your insolence will no longer be tolerated."
I winced in pain as I replied, "They plot against—"
Extreme pressure was applied, bringing me to my knees as the nerve bundle under my arm took command of my body. As the councilwoman released my shoulder, I was shoved backwards. Garrett, with the assistance of two of my Talisan officers, was quick to assist me to my feet. I was walked to the side, still in a daze.
Joni blinked in, coming around the transport to where we stood. "Orders have been sent out for their troops to quietly prepare for an assault. They believe if they can cut the head off the serpent, the rest of the body will writhe around, uncontrolled, until it dies. The order is expected from their general at any time."
Garrett turned to the Talisan officers. "Have all your people move to defensible positions. Be prepared to fight back."
I stumbled over to the nearest Grunta officer. "Colonel, they are planning an attack."
The officer held up her hand. "The order just came out that we are not to converse with you, Mr. Beutcher. Please step away or I will have to have you arrested."
I stepped back in disbelief over the stubbornness and stupidity in judgment the Council was displaying.
I opened a comm to Jack as I stumbled back toward Joni and Garrett. "Bring the grunts in close. If this goes bad, I want the Council protected."
I attempted to open a comm to Getta but was denied.
I placed my hand on Joni's shoulder. "You will want to disappear now. Stay blinked out until any fighting is over. And do your best to protect the Council if at all possible."
Joni turned, walking around the corner of a transport as a hundred Kergan eyes followed her. Once out of sight, her suit was activated and her existence in our dimension diminished.
I turned to Garrett. "We should move to protect ourselves. You get back in the Jess and prepare to assist the Council where you can. I'll rejoin my troops."
Joni came over the comm. "I'm standing in the middle of the Kergans. They have asked that their attack time be moved up. Jack, do the Kergans have any ships moving this way?"
Jack replied, "Not yet, but they are separating a force from the fight. If they are coming this way, it looks like they may bring as many as a thousand ships this time."
"Joni," I said, "find my wife and fill her in on what's going down. If the Council is attacked, someone needs to lead the Gruntas back to the safety of the bunkers. Oh, and Garrett, get someone on the ground at the inhibitor, we will want to turn that back on."
Garrett replied, "On it. I'll pick up one of your officers. Give me three minutes and they will be in position."
As both sides quietly prepared for conflict, I decided to move a large contingency of my Talisan fighters closer to the Council. The move was met by immediate protest from the Kergans. A glance over at the Council was met with a look of anger and disdain. Knog Beutcher had never been the subject of such hatred.
The comm came in from Jack. "Their ships are moving this way, fast. It looks like they are bringing a quarter of their fleet. The other ships seems to have enacted some kind of ceasefire."
I took a deep breath before giving an order I knew would bring the wrath of the Council. It was needed for their protection.
I opened a comm channel to my commanders. "The Kergan ships are on the move. Bring all troops in the vicinity of the Council out into the clearing. We must protect them!"
I glanced over in time to see the Kergan commander look up from his comm with a sly smile.
Two unarmed Kergan runners, carrying packs, left his side, heading for the Council. I fired a gravity beam from my GPR. The beam hit the ground just to the left of the running Kergans, knocking one off balance. He stumbled and fell.
As the second Kergan neared the leaders of my species, now too close for me to target, I yelled, "Bomber!"
A torrent of particle beams and ion bolts went out in every direction as the bomber detonated his load. A fireball forty meters in diameter consumed all those inside. My Talisan troops quickly surrounded me as the once-peaceful clearing erupted in death and destruction. I fired several gravity beams at a retreating Kergan commander as he slipped back in among his transports. Heavy particle beams from above began to rain down on the camped Grunta troops as the once beaten Kergan warriors again pressed for an advantage.
Garrett came over the comm. "Inhibitor will be up in a minute if it survives. Stay low and I'll see if I can give you some cover fire. The grunts are coming in but they will be taking a beating from those incoming ships any second!"
Jack said, "I've knocked the shields off a dozen ships! But they are still coming in! If we don't recall those grunts now they will be all but destroyed in the next couple minutes!"
I shook my head as I ran for a berm. "Give them another fifteen seconds before sending out the recall signal!"
Jack replied, "Got it! We will likely still lose half!"
I again attempted to raise Getta on the comm and was again refused.
Garrett said, "I can't believe how quickly that fell apart. If it hadn't been for Joni and that suit we would have just gotten hammered."
I backed away toward a rock-covered hill with fifty Talisans beside me.
As I knelt behind a half meter high granite stone, a battalion of Kergan warriors emerged from between the two nearest transports. Orange particle beams filled the air
around us as I dove for the cover of the granite. My Talisan fighters didn't fare so well as they attempted to protect their emperor.
I reached around the edge of the rock, firing several gravity beams from my GPR into the onrushing horde. Bodies flew, limbs were severed, screams of both pain and rage resounded. My hideaway burst into hot shards of melted silicon as the Kergan particle beams impacted the ground around me. The Grotus suit I wore began taking heavy damage.
Joni yelled out. "I got 'em!"
In the same moment, Garrett fired on the battalion from the safety of the Jess. I stood and fired as the few surviving troops of Garrett's wrath turned and fled.
Joni said, "Getta and the others are heading for the bunkers, but they need twenty minutes! The field is coming online now! It won't offer the coverage we need if those ships continue to come! Which they are!"
Garrett set the Jess down next to my position with the ramp lowered. I ran, jumping onto the ramp as he lifted off.
I gave an order for my Talisan troops. "Make your way back into the inhibitor field and back to the bunkers! We will give what cover we can!"
Garrett turned his sights toward the sky. "At this point, all I can do is slow them down. We will have to back out of here, starting any second. If they camp just above that inhibitor field, they can still put an end to that transport fleet. From close in, those particle beams will go right through the light armor on those ships."
I replied as I sat in the copilot's chair. "Just keep them away from our people as long as you can. Ships can be replaced."
Joni said, "You two don't take any unnecessary chances. I'll be sticking it out down here with the Talisans, trying to get them inside the field."
Garrett yelled, "We have incoming beams!"
Jack replied, "We're moving back toward the northeast. Unless something breaks our way, I think our people will be stuck on this rock for a while. They are bringing in some of their big ships this time. Check your targeting displays and hit the ones that still have their shields! Slowing them down is all we've got!"
I stood and walked toward the back of the cabin. "We still have two of the Odenta parachutes. Can you get in over the valley for a drop?"
Garrett shook his head. "No can do. We won't be going near that place anytime soon. Once we set our distance we can push those ships back one at a time, but that's about our limit. Jack and I could both do close in damage with our ion cannons, but we would get cut to shreds by those particle beams. As of now, all we can do is to sit back and be a nuisance."
Joni said, "OK, the Talisans are under the dome. But they're in the open. If anyone decides to camp just above, they won't last long."
I replied, "From outside the field the Kergans should only have visual sensors. Have the Talisans hide wherever they can until after dark. They can move toward the bunkers then."
As we watched over her video feed, Joni powered away from the ground. "The first ship is coming! I'll see what damage I can do to it from within! Maybe if I can drop a few ships they will back off!"
Garrett shouted into the comm. "Don't take any unnecessary chances!"
Jack let out a yell. "We have incoming! I count another five thousand Alliance ships just breaking onto the sensors!"
Garrett turned the Jess back toward the field.
I said, "What are you doing?"
Garrett gestured toward his nav screen. "If Joni takes out a couple of those ships, the Kergans will run, given that new fleet coming in. I don't want to miss out on adding to the chaos when it starts."
The video feed from Joni showed her closing on and then entering in through the forward section of a Kergan cruiser. "I think I have the particle accelerator in front of me. I'll shut it down and then look for the power generators."
The cruiser exploded with a bright orange flash.
"Crap!" Joni yelled. "I almost bought it! They fired that weapon at the same time I pumped a tungsten pellet into it! Everything got bright orange and my suit skin jumped up to 92 percent on the absorption scale! I think I'll stick to hitting generators!"
A second Kergan ship fell from the sky as Joni destroyed its power system, taking its gravity generators offline. As Garrett predicted, the other Kergan ships reversed course and began to climb for high orbit.
Garrett smiled as he gave the last of the ships a boost with his gravity beam. "That was fourteen hundred ships we just knocked the forward shields off of. If the Salton ships engage, that fight will go decidedly their way."
Garrett held up a fist. "Yes! I just got my wish! The new ships are heading this way!"
Jack replied, "I wouldn't get so excited. I don't know that we want those New Alliance ships in control either."
Garrett snarked, "Well, at least they won't be looking to kill our people on the ground."
Jack said, "Looks like the space battle is picking up again."
Garrett smiled. "Good! I hope they kick the crap out of each other. I have a visual of the transports. Looks like they might have only taken minimal damage."
Joni turned back toward the field. "I'll shut off that inhibitor so the bots can get back to work. Knog, you might want to see your people. They just lost their leadership."
I replied, "Grunta Command will elect a new Council. They have contingencies to help keep our government in place. But yes, I should get down there."
As the inhibitor field faded, Garrett swooped into the valley, setting the Jess down just outside the bunker that housed Grunta Command. Nominations for the Council were already underway. A vote would be taken within the hour.
Jack came over the comm. "We have more news! The Alliance ships have rolled over on the remaining Grumar and Grotus ships and are fighting alongside the Kergans. Just when you start thinking there's hope, they go and change the game on you."
I ran down the ramp-way and into the bunker. The first set of guards held me just inside the door until General Abila ordered my release. I was escorted into Grunta Command where a list of nominees was being bandied about.
General Abila said, "We appreciate all you have tried to do for us. For that reason, we would like your input on the nominees. I know this is highly unusual for a male, but your insights would carry weight."
I opened a comm to Getta. "Are you OK? Everyone else?"
Getta replied, "We were fortunate to not be in the first wave this time. There were many losses."
I turned to the general. "Would I be given the honor of making a nomination?"
General Abila thought for a moment, then nodded. "I believe I could submit that for you."
I pursed my lips. "I would like to nominate my wife, Getta Beutcher."
The general's eyes grew wide. "Have you discussed this with her? She may not be amenable to being nominated by her husband."
I smiled. "That's why I would like for you to do her the honor. She will serve with as much passion and respect for our culture as any other Grunta. The consolation for me would be having a member of the Council who doesn't despise my every move."
General Abila returned a smile. "I will put forth her name. Her record on the battlefield will be difficult to argue against. Just keep in mind, as with every Council, there are those who will stop at almost nothing to have their candidate selected. It is a most powerful position."
Garrett came over the comm. "Jack says the Grumar and Grotus fleet will be finished within the hour. If your people want to have a voice with the Alliance, you better get that in place quick. If they see you're without a Council, they'll make nominations of their own. I'm sure they have a few spies within your ranks."
I looked at the general. "Time's wasting, Miss Abila."
The general let out a sigh. "I will push for a rapid vote. With this nomination going into the mix, I would suggest that it would be better if you were not here."
I replied, "Thank you, General. I don't think you'll regret this."
The six generals that made up Grunta Command, along with the thirteen surviving regional governors, voted on a ne
w Council of Nine. Getta Beutcher was among the names that came out of the vote.
I returned to the bunker that held my family. Getta looked upset. A bag containing clothing was being packed.
I asked, "What's wrong?"
Getta stopped and looked up. "I've been elected to serve on the new Council. This is a disaster!"
I replied, "Why? You are certainly capable. You are a reasoned individual, intelligent, and your recent combat experience speaks for itself."
Getta's jaw dropped open slightly. "You? You put them up to this?"
I held up my hand. "OK, maybe I did, but why is that such a bad thing?"
Getta scowled. "Did you stop to think about the impact on our children? Who is going to be out there leading them in battle? Do you trust that job to anyone else?"
I stood silent for several seconds. "I guess I didn't stop to think about that aspect of it. This all happened very quick. There was no time to debate."
Getta stuffed another piece of clothing into her duffel. "I've been asked to move to the command bunker. The new Council will be meeting within the hour. This is a disaster."
I shook my head. "No. This is an opportunity. We will finally have a voice in the Council. There are no more deals with Saltons that have to be paid for in blood. Had the Council taken my counsel we might not even be at war."
Getta again stopped. "Well, we're at war now. What would you propose we do?"
I gestured toward the bunker door. "I would suggest we put every effort into getting those transports running and to getting out of here. There has to be a planet in this sector we can make into our temporary home while we figure this all out. If we stay here, we are at the mercy of whatever fleet controls this space. I would rather we be in control of our own lives."
Getta slung the duffel over her shoulder. "I have to leave our children in the care of their grandmother, as their father is out running around trying to save the AMP."
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