MILDRATAWA

by Nigel Clayton

  They came now, escorted, dozen after dozen as the streets were cleared without a single shot being fired, flags of truce appearing from every corner. General Good wasn’t going to be pleased with the numbers of personnel still alive, but he wouldn’t let anyone know his thoughts. His next worry was what to do with such a large number of civilians and prisoners of war.

  16:55 PM.

  El Pasadora’s once secure premises were taken and a search conducted to no avail. Men on interrogation gave information to suggest that he’d fled shortly after the downing of the sphere, that he’d taken to the stars. He had eluded the Mildratawa.

  17:15 PM.

  Doug and his remaining men came out of hiding and Brother Anthony picked up. Doug now made arrangements for the monk to be returned to Ulugh Muz Tagh. 151 men from his force of 200 had lost their lives.

  18:30 PM.

  Night routine was taken into hand and the prisoners just kept on coming. A message had been transmitted to the first and second enemy lines of defence for their unconditional surrender. They agreed, and that night, as the stars came out, large flickering fires could be seen to dance in the distance, as enemy forces threw their weapons down and enjoyed their last night together as Nicaraguans. All were unaware as to the thick clouds of radiation presently shrouding the front line of defence.

  Compos Mentis received the news of El Pasadora’s escape and all knew that the fight for peace was nowhere near its end. Basbi Triad was the next concern of many.

  PLANET IRSHSTUP.

  PLANET SURFACE.

  Irshstup now stood under the verdict of all Verton law and due to the state of affairs evolving all circumstances of a political and propaganda outlook, it was decree that all of planet Irshstup’s beings would be permitted to go about their business unrestrained in any way. Although the curfew still remained the talon of law and any Irshstuptian who was found to disobey the long-founded law, would be immediately punished, other more potent laws were quickly formed. To be caught out within a hundred metres of any military installation, or to be seen to take up arms against the Verton legions, officers, or equipment, would bring about it the immediate execution of one hundred Irshstuptians. But taking into consideration that life had not changed in its ways for many years, no one in particular seemed to consider this an act of imprisonment or infliction on his or her rights as people. Their only wish was to live under a blanket of reasonable safety, for they had always lived under a strong arm of law, an evil so strong that it was considered each day. With the robots, if any violations of a criminal nature exceeded a particular point, the robot police were certainly capable of rendering the planet lifeless. Only the knowledge that the police could be brought to their knees by the push of a button permitted their society in maintaining the robots.

  One of Warlord Newtwon’s first thoughts was that small forces of rebels were preparing plans of some strategic importance for the very taking back of their planet. He didn’t understand their love for life and strong hatred for all evil. He only knew of their past wars, both interquadrant and civil. These Beings had now turned so placid that it made him sick; so it was natural for him to believe that they were hiding something from him.

  A new program was inserted into the banks of the computers that ran the logical thought process of all robot police and within the two days of the Verton reign all had been re-activated to obey explicit Verton orders. Due to the decimation of the metallic species during the assault upon the planet, their numbers had dwindled to a low 1,000. It wasn’t until the clearance of all storage facilities under the direction of Warlord Newtwon that a surprise was stumbled across. The discovery of a further 2,000 – an older model that had been de-activated due to its operational circuitry, namely, no logical thought patterns being present – had been uncovered. This older model worked on the process of social wavelength patterns that were emitted by the brain and the behavioural levels that radiated from a living body. A good comparison was an aura, or the corona of a sun or moon during eclipse – an invisible entity only registered by a specific sensor, the sensor on which this model was based.

  Although this system appeared to be just as reliable, and the distance of such a working method considered to span that of infinity, only one problem posed a restriction in regards to the emitted wavelengths. The distance of infinity was only a condition so long as an atmosphere existed within the region and a line of sight could be drawn to the target. This would suggest no operational capability in outer space. There did exist another downfall with the model. If the sensors of such a robot were hit by laser and made ineffective, the robot could turn on anyone and anything, which included robots of its own kind, to bring fire to bear down on these. This side effect was known by the Vertons and was the main reason that the beings of Irshstup had placed them into long-term storage.

  Warlord Newtwon gave explicit instructions to re-activate these. If the robot could be delivered into a field of battle – without the accompaniment of Vertons – then it mattered not if the robot was to malfunction.

  Muriphure’s reinforcements of 40,000 Legion Millennium had arrived and at present, a small percentage of these, sat in fortifications around the planet’s surface with the pilots of attack craft resting at a condition of 20 percent stand-to; acting as the ready reaction force to confront any opposed threat. The remainder of his force could be found amongst the battle cruisers on the outer edges of the Irshstup atmosphere.

  Warlord Benai had no authority on planet Irshstup, but did have a word in the activation of the recently found robots, and justifiably so, for they were to accompany him on the assault against Basbi. He gave his full approval with only one disputation; that the 2,000 be sent into the far reaches of the Brightside and that the 1,000 logical thought robots should remain to man the borders of the Twilight and deploy as ordered, by himself, when required.

  This was agreed upon and preparation for the move in the morning was undertaken.

  PLANET BASBI TRIAD.

  ZANE DESERT.

  Jools entered the tent where Muutampai sat. To his front rest a large table with maps of the Brightside and Twilight taped firmly in place. A few of his consultants were in deep thought and conversation, explaining how the fight at this stage was going against the Darkside.

  6,000 men had stormed and taken back the area known as Sector Three, the weakest defended area on the Twilight. The defences that had been ionised from space had not yet been rebuilt substantially enough, which was the contributing factor towards the battle victory with a loss of only 1,000 Brightside warriors. A further 4,000 were at present moving to the area to reinforce the worn troops. Equipment for the establishment of heavy guns would be in place and operational by nightfall.

  Muutampai looked up at the disgruntled Jools as the flaps to the tent were flung aside. “I have a gift for you. One that I’m sure you’ll be happy and sad with. For myself, I personally find that it brings a mixture of displeasure and relief. You’ve been precarious in the friends you trust.”

  Before a further word could be spoken, Jools stepped aside and Muamsimpa was thrust in at the hands of the two guards. They held on tight to their captive. Muutampai stood abruptly and questioned: “What’s the meaning of this?”

  Muamsimpa was gagged. “Let me tell you sir,” began Jools. “This bucket of filth has betrayed all of us, transmitting important information to the Darkside of Basbi regarding the assault upon the sphere, where, to no surprise, El Pasadora was not. Information on the assault was also sent to a ship known as the Ziggurat in reference to Alza Ningh’s move into Quadrant Three, which to the Mildratawa’s disappointment, was also picked up by the Vertons.”

  Muutampai looked to Muamsimpa. “Is this true? Guards, untie and remove the gag, immediately. Is it true Muamsimpa? Speak!”

  “You’re nothing more than a dog in—” a guard lashed out with a punch to his already bleeding face and broken nose. His eyes welled under the pain; tears appearing through puffed up eyelids and bruised skin.<
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  “Cease that! Talk to me, Muamsimpa; why?”

  “You have managed to drain blood from a stone; you have taken all dignity from the population of the Darkside and left them with nothing. You double and then triple the taxes and cry that you are just. You take away the spirit and freedom for space travel. You are the cause to all of this trouble, you and your so-called House of Suudeem.” He spat blood onto the battle map and the gag was unceremoniously slapped forcibly back into place.

  Muutampai couldn’t believe his ears. How could a friend of so long, be so full with untrue words? ‘I must be hard on him and prove my worth. He must be disciplined.’ “Take the scum to Wuarra and make him talk. If he does not… tie the animal to a stake and leave him to die. Go!” The guards took heed and departed. “Guard!” The door guard entered.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Go with them. Regardless of whether he speaks or not— tie him to a stake. Be gone,” this second order given in order to prevent Muamsimpa from knowing his true fate to come.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “How much truth does he speak, Muutampai?”

  “You, Mr De Cane, are a worthy guest, don’t overstep your mark. He talks little truth, and if you were as quick with the learning of our past history as you are with your insubordination, then you may just discover what you seek. I strongly suggest that you go and lay down for a while, to cool off a bit. It grows hot.”

  “That’s a good idea.” Jools departed hurriedly without a further word. A personality clash wasn’t a good idea.

  PLANET EQUATIA.

  SPACE.

  The Ziggurat decloaked and the message was transmitted; it cloaked again to protect from being fired upon as an intruder. The computers of the battle cruiser soon punched out the message and it in turn was handed to the commander. “A message General Nort. Received from a— a ship, sir. It appeared on our screens for only a second— and disappeared again.”

  “Let me see.” Nort read the report to himself, the outline of the request. A few seconds lapsed as he looked up into thin air and then to the communications officer. “I want broadcast with Warlord Vetty on the surface. Quickly damn you!”

  Muriphure Vetty approached the tele-visual monitor and sat in place for the link-up with the battle cruiser in Quadrant Three. He wasn’t accustomed to strong suggestions. The two-way link was connected. General Nort was now to tempt the rage of his supreme commander. The message from the alien vessel was at present, vague. A person-to-person link up with the Ziggurat was strongly suggested. If the link-up wasn’t received within ten minutes then the Ziggurat had made a promise to ionise one of the battle cruisers.

  Deep down Muriphure Vetty saw likeness in the contempt of this leader, a leader of such a vessel that had been picked up on the scanners as very small in comparison to his own cruiser. He liked the way that this intruder had made his presence clear. He’d certainly never heard of such a small vessel having the power to ionise a complete battle cruiser.

  The ten minutes had passed when the Ziggurat decloaked, ready to fire its ion cannon if the battle cruiser so much as looked as though it was going to prepare for firing. Seconds ticked by and then the screen came alive with Warlord Vetty in focus.

  “I greet you good day, Warlord Vetty. May I present myself?”

  “By all means. You seem to know me by appearance.”

  “I am known as Pasnadinko; Pasha to Emperor El Pasadora.”

  “I don’t believe I’ve ever heard of an Emperor El Pasadora. Which planet does he rule?”

  “He rules planets Earth and Basbi Triad, although I must admit, both contain a bit of trouble at the present.”

  “So he is the ruler of Basbi is he? And what would you say if I should be so bold as to suggest that Basbi belongs to no one else except the Imperial War Lady and Empress Sualimani Natashafuna Dimala the Fourth?”

  “I would say to you that Emperor El Pasadora holds the Darkside in his power and has a strong hold on the vermin of the Brightside, that my emperor seeks nothing more than to offer this as a gift to you and your Empress. He seeks control of the galaxy but only in unison with you. We disagree on many things as you do. The Mildratawa is nothing more than an extinguished flame. I can also offer you the sound knowledge of the truth that I speak; it comes in reference to the information you gained on the assault against Quadrant Three by the Alza Ningh.”

  “So it was a kind gesture on your emperor’s part. I thought that we had intercepted the message on behalf of my true genius.”

  “You are at that, but the information does come to you by way of our profound generosity.”

  “I see that we both have the same interests at mind, Pasnadinko. The Mildratawa is indeed dead to the cause. Suppose we did join forces, what guarantee do I have that you won’t turn against me?”

  “What guarantee do I have that you will not proceed to do the same?”

  “This all sounds very well, Pasnadinko, how would you suggest we proceed?”

  “Caution of course. I can offer you safe passage to planet Basbi Triad. Maybe you would like to speak with the Emperor face to face, as much as he would enjoy an audience with your Empress.”

  “I don’t believe that an audience would be granted. Although assassination attempts are far from our minds, we still take precautions.”

  “What suggestions do you hold, Muriphure, if any? Please disclose. I’m sure you have something in mind.”

  Vetty was silent for a second or two: “I will disclose to you a plan. We were ready to pounce on Basbi and take it for ourselves, just as you have done. As you already have some control over it and tend to hand it over to us, we can refrain from taking it by force.” He held up a hand to prevent interruption, and a thought came to mind: ‘Such a plan is known by the Mildratawa in any case, so I won’t be disclosing anything new, even on the off chance that Pasnadinko is actually a Mildratawa spy of some description.’ He continued. “I will embark on Basbi tomorrow, but not personally. My forces will arrive and discuss plans for a conflict of combined effort against the Mildratawa. If, or when I am satisfied, I will grant your emperor his audience. I will inform my warlords on Irshstup of these arrangements and they in turn will inform you of their arrival. Do you suggest or request anything further?”

  “Although our word as conquerors cannot be kept I suggest we give it anyway.”

  “You have it, Pasnadinko.”

  “Very well. Until tomorrow; I extend to you my best wishes.”

  “And to you mine.”

  Static fell over the screen as the Ziggurat cloaked and turned to prepare for its journey back to Basbi.

  PLANET EARTH.

  AMERICA STATE.

  The beautifully figured secretary stood to the front of General Good with computer notebook in hand, taking shorthand as he spoke. Letters of thanks were going out to all nations of the earth, to those that had contributed materials used during the assault upon the sphere, these would be accompanied by a computer printout of all the lives lost.

  “I want you to use that draft for the Russians, Arab nations, and China; oh, and don’t forget to attach a sheet of the security plan and frequencies for all stations, including those of the monitoring space labs.”

  “Will that be all, sir?”

  “Send, Mr McIlwraith in as soon as he arrives, along with a large pot of black coffee.”

  “Yes sir.” She departed promptly and returned with the steaming black mixture in a decanter of dark crystal. “Mr McIlwraith is on his way up now, sir. He just arrived in the lobby and should be no more than a few minutes.”

  “Ah; good. Thank you.”

  He continued to sort through the papers strewn over his desk. Transporters of all sizes and description. Most of the powering nations of the world had at this stage refused to loan any outer space travelling vessels to the Mildratawa as their sole concern fell upon the evacuation of their own people, each seemingly disgusted with the Mildratawa list of priorities. All Compos Mentis reports seemed to
suggest that only those with a high IQ, and capabilities to perform tasks such as a science officer, computer operator, atmosphere engineer, and so on and so forth, should receive a boarding pass at this early stage. His main concern at present was the African countries. These insisted on evacuating all of the people possible, including those from a wide and varied religious background, groups, and organisations (to which no quadrant would be happy to receive), and whose material worth of contribution towards colonisation stood at zero. None had any skill whatsoever that could be used as a benefit in any given situation. The general just hated to see an arsenal of space vessels being wasted on those who had no real intention of striving to better mankind.

  Although it was in cruel taste to turn these nations back, the Mildratawa had no real choice. Certain rules applied to certain quadrants and planet systems; some weren’t going to permit a landing of earth people unless the Mildratawa had passed them as all clear on the checklist for hygiene, being free from infectious diseases, and being of sound mind. After all, wasn’t it the African races that embarked upon Quadrant Three and turned to their mercenary activities during QEM migration, to be later known as the macebearer? It was no wonder that the Russian government had intervened and placed descendants of royalty – with bodyguards to suite – upon Equatia, before Parsec Mutation took hold and QEM-force was placed in control of all corridors of flight between the quadrants. Russia had seen its chance to colonise a poorly inhabited planet and had forged ahead in its quest.

  And those that did defy the Mildratawa would spend an eternity drifting in space trying to find a home: in much similarity to the Jews in prelude to World War Two, and their voyage of the damned. Many would never find another planet to house them, and would more than likely turn to space piracy. Governments just wouldn’t listen; so all QEM-gates would have to be monitored for illegal movement. Needless to say, the gates of Quadrant Two and Quadrant Three would be left unguarded by such laws, until such a time as the present situation with Verton, Basbi Triad, and Equatia, could be taken under some type of lawful control.