“Vanessa is expecting triplets. Is that going to be common? And how are all these children to be cared for?”
Bontu smiled. “By their parents as is Human custom. And as to the triplet revelation, if an egg is deemed healthy, it is given multiple fertilizations before going through a division stimulus. If the resulting embryos check out as healthy, they are implanted.”
“Wait. Mawga doctors are screening for healthy embryos?”
Bontu nodded. “We believe our methodology to be superior, thereby preventing the passage of damaged genes that may lead to birth defects. This first group of Human offspring should be remarkably healthy as compared to your prior birth record. All Mawga are born in birthing centers now, virtually eliminating many of the causes of disease and any developmental issues. We fully understand that our customs are not Human customs, and for that reason the embryos were implanted rather than traditionally grown. Traditionally as in terms of how the Mawga do it.”
Jane frowned. “So once a Mawga embryo is valid, it’s not placed back in the womb?”
Bontu smiled. “No, it is placed in a living, pseudo-uterus, where all aspects of its development can be easily monitored. The result is a population of citizens without disease or abnormalities. All Mawga are healthy, whether they be the next Emperor or a private in our military. We all have the same healthy start and therefore an equal ability to achieve our goals. As a consequence, when tested for intelligence, the overwhelming majority of Mawga citizens fall within 10 percent of each other.”
Jane shook her head. “Wow. How does being grown externally affect the family unit? I mean, carrying a child to term is a big bonding period for Human females and their children.”
“The family unit in Mawga society, as with most species in the Galactic Union, is very loosely defined. In our eyes we are all family. We all treat each other with respect and we all endeavor for the common good, under the leadership of the Emperor.”
Johnny asked, “Where do your loyalties fall in that scenario?”
Bontu offered a confused look. “To the Emperor of course.”
Johnny raised an eyebrow. “You have any brothers or sisters?”
Bontu nodded. “Many.”
Jane added. “And you don’t feel any special bond or loyalty to them?”
Bontu shrugged. “Should I? How is a sibling of any more value to society than one who is not? We are all equal at birth, are we not? We may have different stations in life, but in Mawga culture one is of no more importance than another.”
Johnny laughed. “So you’re basically just clones of each other. Nothing to really make you unique or different. We Humans like to celebrate our differences. Makes us more interesting.”
Bontu slowly nodded. “I will admit to enjoying my time here among your people. Perhaps that differentiation you speak of does offer value, even if only for entertainment and curiosity purposes.”
Johnny turned and scratched his head. “Not really sure how to take that one.”
Bontu smiled. “Take it as it was intended, Mr. Tretcher. Nothing more than an honest reply.”
The comm channel was closed.
Jasper walked into the room. “What’d I miss?”
Johnny replied, “The Mawga have been breeding Humans. Vanessa is pregnant with triplets.”
Jasper cringed. “From the Mawga?”
Johnny laughed. “No, you idiot. From Tres. The Mawga made it happen though.”
Jasper looked at Tres. “Well, congratulations, young man. Triplets. Nice going!”
Johnny began to speak, to which Jane covered his mouth, and said, “We’ll be seeing an avalanche of Human births in about six months. Apparently the Mawga were running fertility treatments on the women of child-bearing age who had a mate. Which, in the centers, is apparently most of them.”
Liam Hobbs said, “More Humans. I would have to believe that to be a good thing. Guesstimates place us at around a billion people. Quite the cut from what we had.”
Mace half frowned. “I have to agree with Jane on this one. Is now the best time to start repopulation? When we aren’t in control of our own destinies? We’re still dependent on the Mawga for almost everything. I see this as only making us more so. We can’t feed ourselves. How are we going to feed two to three times as many of us?”
Liam replied, “The Mawga claim to be turning their focus to food production. Groups in the centers are being educated about agriculture. Farms should be coming online this year and next. Within three years, we will once again be self supporting.”
Johnny laughed. “You sound like the Mawga spokesman. You really have faith they will follow through with that pledge?”
Liam nodded. “I do. And please do not take my statements as being an approval of their methods. I still believe they are responsible for this mess to begin with. That hasn’t changed.”
Johnny half smiled. “Was starting to get a little worried about you, Liam.”
Johnny turned to face the others. “OK, everyone, look, what’s done is done. The question is, where do we go from here? What’s our plan? And how do we put that plan into action?”
Mace stood. “Tomorrow the Mawga will be opening a communications portal. We send a message through and hope the Kaachi are listening. If they are, we move to the designated location and wait for a response. Depending on what that response is, we begin our planning from there.”
Hans Mueller walked into the room. “We have a message ready for review. I believe it conveys the ideas that were put forth by everyone. I would have no concern with sending it as it currently reads.”
The message to the Kaachi was displayed on a holo-wall in the conference room. After several hours of tweaks, a final version emerged.
“Kaachi Command, we are sending this message with the hope of arranging a contact with you. We are a Human force that is currently in opposition to the seeming Mawga occupation of our planet. We are interested in establishing a relationship with you in an effort to curtail the Mawga influence that we believe is corrupting our people and threatening our freedom. We will be at the following location in precisely twenty-eight of your time units from the time this message is sent. We are the force that defeated your admiral in battle and took possession of his flagship. Comms over the normal Kaachi channels will be accepted. In addition, we have rescued one of your crewmen from the wreckage of the battle. His name is Gnaga Klept. He is in good health and will be cared for until such time as he can be repatriated to the Kaachi people. We look forward to a response, and hopefully to the establishment of friendly relations with the Humans of Earth.”
The following day, the Rogers lifted from her location at Organ Cave. After a two hour flight, she pulled alongside the flagship of the Mawga fleet.
A comm was opened. “Mr. Hardy, I cannot say that I have a comfortable feeling whenever I see you approaching in a Kaachi cruiser.”
Mace laughed. “My apologies, Mr. Geerok. We felt this was the better of the two ships we have. Has there been any word on our request for more? The Australians are eager to train crews and man ships, should our defensive needs call for it.”
Fatso Geerok smiled. “The request has been submitted, Mr. Hardy. We await guidance from Command for direction. I’m certain that is not your reason for a visit today. What else may I help you with?”
Mace replied, “I was wondering about the repair facilities. Have they come online yet? And if so, has any progress been made toward the construction of a new facility for us?”
Fatso slowly shook his head. “As you have been told, the timeline for a delivery of such a facility has been pushed back. Our first priority is the repair of our ships that were damaged in the fight with the Kaachi. Two of those have been designated as new ships for King Stark. I know that news may be frustrating to you, Mr. Hardy, but these things are decided at command level and above. I am merely carrying out orders.”
Mace crossed his arms. “I thought we had agreements for all this, Fatso. The repair dock, and the e
xtra ships, those were supposed to be done sooner rather than later. What good is an alliance if we keep getting pushed to the back of the line?”
The admiral turned up his chin. “Do you want out of this agreement, Mr. Hardy?”
Mace shook his head. “If that time comes, I’ll let you know, Admiral.”
The admiral nodded. “I thank you for the visit, Mr. Hardy. However, as you know, it is time for our weekly comm to Command. If they pass down any decision of consequence concerning your team, I will let you know.”
Mace rubbed the beard on his chin. “We’ll hang out here for a few minutes if that’s OK.”
The admiral signaled to close the comm. “As you wish.”
The display over Mace’s arm pad closed.
Gnaga said, “Once the Mawga broadcast has begun, we should send through the message.”
Coran Daughtry brought a display up on the main wall. “We have portal detection. And comms being sent and received.”
Mace nodded. “Send the message, Mr. Daughtry.”
“Message away… and we have a hail from the admiral.”
Mace smiled. “Pass the comm through, but don’t connect us yet. I want to see the admiral’s face.”
An image appeared on the main wall.
Johnny laughed. “He does not look happy.”
Mace said, “Connect us, Mr. Daughtry.”
An image of Mace Hardy showed in the lower left corner of the display. “Admiral? You have word?”
Fatso Geerok shook his head. “What was the meaning of that broadcast, Mr. Hardy? Was that intended for the Kaachi?”
Mace offered his best concerned look. “The Kaachi? Have they come back?”
The admiral waved a hand. “No they haven’t, but your ship just broadcast a message over their channels. A message that passed through the wormhole portal and was possibly received by Kaachi spy ships near the rift.”
“One moment, Admiral.”
The comm link was frozen. “We’ll give him a minute to stew.”
Johnny said, “He looks nervous. Kinda like Jasper getting caught in a crosswalk.”
Jasper replied, “Why did the ape-man cross the road?”
Mace held up a hand. “Fatso, I must apologize. My crew was messing with the comm system. It seems a message came through to us. They were attempting to accept it when the wrong button was pressed.”
The admiral replied, “We did not intercept any messages coming to you.”
Mace was silent for several seconds. “Again, my apologies, Admiral. I think that was all part of the confusion. The comm console detected your outgoing message. The crewman at that station is still learning the Kaachi instruments. The message that was sent was a rebroadcast of the Kaachi admiral’s surrender. If you’d like, we can send it again over your channels.”
The Mawga admiral scowled. “I’ve seen that broadcast enough. Please see to it that your crews know what they are doing before pressing unknown buttons, Mr. Hardy. We cannot afford mishaps this far from the Empire. We don’t have the medical facilities to deal with the casualties that result from poorly managed crews.”
Mace slowly bowed his head. “Understood, Admiral. I’ll see to it personally that it doesn’t happen again.”
The comm was closed. The order was given to return to the hovering position above the cave.
Coran Daughtry placed his hand on Mace’s shoulder as he sat in the captain’s chair on the bridge. “I’ve talked with our mates back home. They’ve been screening volunteers and have solid candidates for another six crews. The crew of the Lousy has begun a training course and expects to have them ready for ships within a month or two.”
“Unless the Kaachi come through with those ships, I don’t see us having hardware for them to play with anytime soon. I’m actually surprised the Mawga are allowing the continued use of their simulators. If we get Kaachi ships, that support will get pulled. How are we set for supplies, Mr. Daughtry?”
Coran pushed an image up to the holo-wall. “Our storage rooms are full. All systems are fully functional. According to specs provided by Gnaga, with our light crew and normal consumption, we could go five months without resupply. For the Kaachi, most deployments only last two to three months.
“If planned for, those supplies can be pushed out significantly. He said the admiral and the other Kaachi ships have a four year journey back to the rift. They’ll receive one supply drop through a wormhole during that run, but they will be in hardship the whole way. I can’t imagine being forced to sleep for most of four years.”
Mace asked, “Sleep?”
Coran nodded. “The troops and most of the crew, except nav and the maintenance workers, get a heavy dose of sleeping aid for the ride back. Temperatures in the quarters are lowered, effectively slowing their metabolic rates for most of the journey. It’s about as close as the Kaachi have come to developing stasis.”
“Doesn’t sound like a pleasant experience.”
Coran shrugged. “Actually, he says most don’t remember much. It’s just like you fall asleep and wake up, only older.”
Mace looked around at the bridge. “Still. Can you imagine being trapped on this ship for four years? I’d have to be drugged. Let’s hope it’s not something we ever have to do.”
With thoughts of such a long journey firmly implanted in his head, Mace ordered all but a skeleton crew back down to the cave. All were told to enjoy the sunshine, the outdoors, and their freedom, as one day they might no longer be available. Vanessa and Tres were the first onto the shuttle.
Chapter 8
*
Moments before departure for the proposed meeting with the Kaachi, a comm came in from Fatso Geerok. “Mr. Hardy, we are conducting war games with the Stark crews. I would like your two teams to join us.”
Mace winced. “Sorry, Admiral. We already have an exercise planned. And the Lousy is training another crew.”
The admiral pulled back. “Mr. Hardy, this is extremely important to the defense of your planet. Your previously scheduled tasks must wait.”
Mace shrugged. “Sorry, Admiral. We’re tied up. I tell you what. I’ll send the Lousy. They can report back anything of importance. After all, there’s no immediate threat to Earth, is there?”
The admiral sighed. “You put me in a difficult position, Mr. Hardy. I pleaded on your behalf to the king. He is quite determined you know. He had no interest in you or your crews being present. He distrusts you, just as I know you do him. I thought this would be an opportunity for us all to work together for the defense of your world.”
Mace half frowned as he shook his head. “Should have filled us in on that sooner, Admiral. Unfortunately, we’ve been planning this for some time, and I wouldn’t feel comfortable putting it off. If you can wait a day or two, we can see about joining in at that time.”
The admiral scowled. “You Humans are a stubborn lot, Mr. Hardy. You would benefit from all falling under a single ruler where decisions can be made and then followed.”
“We’ll keep our freedom if it’s all the same to you, Admiral. I’ll send the Lousy your way.”
Johnny offered his own scowl as the comm closed. “That’s the first time I’ve seen him be pushy like that. Usually it’s all about cooperation.”
“I think he’s still miffed we sent out that transmission. If so, too bad for him. Mr. Hobbs, take us to the rendezvous point along the path we decided upon. And once we’re on our way, I’d like to use that fifth reactor. Might help to shake off anybody the admiral designates to follow us.”
Liam smiled. “Tapping into the reactor now, sir. Should have additional boost in about three minutes.”
“Why so slow on the ramp-up?”
Liam replied, “Just being cautious, sir. Mr. Klept just finished a new round of integration that should allow full use. We were only claiming 80 percent before.”
Jane opened a comm. “Monitors are all in the green. Gnaga is here with me. And we’ve been talking. Apparently, there are upgrades
that can be done to increase the power of the reactors, and the engines, and the weapons. All three are held at the level they are due to Galactic Union rules. He suspects the founders are all exploiting these enhancements, although to say so is punishable by death. I convinced him that he was a prisoner of the Earth Alliance, and that anything he said wouldn’t leave this ship.”
Jasper cut in. “I like the sound of more power. When can we have it?”
Jane laughed. “Sorry, Mr. Collins. We’ll have to do some research first. I’ve asked Jeff and David to join us in any future discussions. I think Jeff’s getting a good understanding of how the reactors work. And, Mace, I have some bad news. It looks like Nancy has taken a shine to Jeff.”
Mace shook his head. “For future reference, how about saving those revelations for private discussion. Not a topic for the whole crew to listen in on. Besides, wouldn’t have worked anyway. Bartenders don’t mix well with each other. And if either of them are worried about my feelings, they needn’t be. I don’t have any investment in that relationship other than being friendly.”
Jane replied, “Sorry, didn’t realize you had the comm open to more than you, Johnny, and Jasper.”
Liam said, “We’ve left the atmosphere. And we have a follower. Fifth reactor will be fully online any moment.”
Johnny turned from the sensor station. “I have a suggestion. How about we cut close to the Moon and use it as a slingshot. We could claim the extra speed was due to its gravity. If we leave them in the dust without explanation, Fatso will want to know why.”
Mace turned toward the nav station. “Mr. Hobbs. Can you work that into our waypoints?”
“Setting them now. We should be on the opposite side from the Mawga ship when we get there. We could claim we took the ship down to a hundred meters or so to get maximum gravitational effect.”
Mace nodded. “Sounds like a plan.”
The bridge was mostly quiet as they approached the Moon. An image was pushed up to the main wall holo-display. Liam Hobbs fine-tuned his waypoints as they closed.
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