First of the First

by Andrew Maclure

  Mark and Sally blinked to their quarters, where Sally slumped into the nearest armchair, leaned forward and rubbed her eyes with the heels of her hands. She looked up at Mark and said, “Would you get me a coffee please?”

  Mark fetched her a coffee and a tea for himself then sat facing her. “I am concerned about you.” he said.

  Sally sipped her coffee contemplatively, then said. “Why?”

  “Because one moment you’re barking orders at everyone like usual, the next moment you’re quiet and look troubled. What’s wrong?”

  “Oh, you know. Just, stuff.”

  “No, I don’t know. You weren’t like this on Earth, but I put that down to struggling not to kick the shit out of some of the people you were working with during the day, then going on covert exercises nearly every night. You weren’t like this when we were fighting, and you weren’t like this when Tk’ng Dach Rm was dead and you’d handed the problem of the remnants of his army over to the Tolen. So, what’s wrong?”

  Sally looked straight into his eyes. “A lot has changed. I need to adjust to it. I’ve got it covered.” She smiled at him. “I’m OK.”

  “Good. Because we need you to lead us into resolving the Herassan Federation problem.”

  “Right. I need you to tell me what support you are allowed to give. Check with Alan and get back to me.”

  “I’ve already spoken to him. Full logistical support from the Swift, and if we need any additional logistical support, I will have someone with another People’s ship standing by. But I can only use the Swift’s weaponry in self-defense. I can use any of my implanted technology in any way I wish and I plan to speak to the Tolen in case we need their backup. We probably won’t, but it would be good to know they are there if we need them, and I don’t think they’ll hold back on using ship mounted weapons.”

  “That’s a good start. I don’t think we’ll need the Tolen either, but it would be prudent to check if they would be there if we need them.”

  “Alan said a couple of other things. He said that we should use the threat of violence as a last resort and try negotiation and diplomacy first.”

  “He’s right. We’re not dealing with outcasts. The Herassan army are volunteers and joined to protect their Empire and its people. I don’t want to hurt any of them. I’ll try and get Ti’rrk here, she’s diplomatic, and Orange is as good a negotiator as any. We still need to be prepared for a military response, so I want soldiers on board. You said there were a couple of things. What was the other one?”

  “Alan said you don’t have a client or sponsor for this action, so the People will sponsor you. He will consult his peers, as he calls them, to agree suitable recompense for the army. He thinks that upgrading your infrastructure to help support the increased size of your army would be a good idea.”

  “That’s thoughtful of him.”

  “Sorry, what did you say?”

  “I said that’s thoughtful of him. Is there something wrong with your hearing?”

  “I expected you to say he could stick it where the sun doesn’t shine! What’s come over you?”

  “As I said, a lot has changed. I’m re-thinking my relationship with Alan. I don’t want to talk about it.”

  “Now I’m really worried about you.”

  “Drop it Mark. I’ve got a lot to work through, and I’ve got some help. Find Mike and curb her enthusiasm for outlandish ideas for a meeting area. Before she starts anything, get agreement from Orange and Simon to make sure they can tolerate whatever she comes up with, and get input from Touren and Bekkreshan. They may not be the most fun people to be with, but they make up for that with common sense.” She smiled at Mark. “What are you waiting for?”

  Mark smiled back, fantasized briefly about stabbing her, stood up and blinked out.

  Chapter Ten

  Intervention

  Mark found Mike in the dining room, looking around at the drapes on the walls. He opened his mouth to speak to her, when his AI spoke to him. “Mark, there is activity in the Herassan fleet. They are moving from their position behind the moon.”

  “Tell the main AI to take us there now and hold station five hundred kilometers in front of them. Send Sally a message to meet us in the command center.” Mark ordered. To Mike, he said: “Command center, now.”

  They blinked to the command center together.

  “What’s the rush for?” Mike asked.

  “Keep an eye on the front screen.” Mark told her.

  A few seconds later, the Herassan fleet came into sight.

  “Are you going to make them all disappear with your People’s weapons?” Mike asked.

  “No, I can use People’s technology to give support, but won’t directly attack them, unless it is in self-defense.”

  “So what are you going to do? Sneak up on them and go - boo!”

  Sally blinked in before he had time to respond to Mike’s remark. She looked at the Herassan ships in the view screen. “Shit. We’re nowhere near ready to bring in any of our ships. Can you take them on Mark?”

  “Only as a last resort. Do you want to talk to them, or shall I?”

  “Swift, hail Major Bryd Sa Dett. Tell him I want to talk to him, but don’t show him Mark or Mike.” Sally ordered.

  The front screen changed to show the Herassan task force commander standing in front of an armed guard. “I am Major Bryd Sa Dett, Commander of the Herassan Army task force. I am honored to be addressed by the great Colonel Sally. I did not expect to find you here.”

  “Cut the crap Major. And your information is out of date. Address me as General. What are you doing here?”

  “I am sure that you know my mission already. I have come to accompany Hess An Sur, First Born of the First Family of the Herassan Federation Of The Five Planets, back to the bosom of her family. Now, if you would tell whoever is the owner of that People’s ship to just move out of our way, I will continue to Gnn’Ath to complete my mission.”

  “Hess An Sur is on board this ship and doesn’t want to go with you, so turn your task force round and leave.”

  “Congratulations on promoting yourself, General. My information is up to date enough that I know you have left your army and are traveling with just two companions. You have confirmed one is Hess An Sur, I presume the other is one of the People as you are on a People’s ship. You don’t have your army with you, the People won’t interfere, so stand down and hand Hess An Sur over to me.”

  “Naturally, I decline to do that Major. You are correct, I don’t have any of my army or my ships here, but Hess An Sur and I are on a People’s ship, which is invulnerable to any weapons that you might have. You could say we are in a stalemate. We can either sit here, staring at each other, or you can go back to the Herassan Empire and tell them you did your best, but you were unable to complete your mission.”

  “I am not here to play games General. I will give you one galactic standard hour to send Hess An Sur on a lander to us. If you fail to do so, I will initiate an orbital bombing of Gnn’Ath.”

  “That would be foolish of you Major. Let me introduce the owner of this ship.”

  “Thanks for the warning.” Mark muttered to Sally. He stepped forward and said, “Major Bryd Sa Dett. I am Mark, Friend of the People. This is my craft. Hess An Sur is under my personal protection. She does not wish to return to the Federation, and I will not allow her to be taken against her will. As representative of the People I cannot allow you to attack a pre-emergent civilization. To threaten to do so is in breach of the People’s protocols. You are mistaken in thinking that I, as a Friend of the People, will stand by while you conduct an unprovoked act of war against Gnn’Ath. I have no wish to cause you or your task force any harm, but if an aggressive move is made toward Gnn’Ath, I will disable or destroy your entire task force.”

  Major Bryd Sa Dett burst into a fit of the chirping sound that his race made when they laughed. “You are bluffing. I have heard of you. You are that primitive pre-emergent mammal that Ker Din Ser Forn b
rought back from that joke of a holiday planet, Earth. I know about so-called Friends of the People. They do not get their own ships. You take me for a fool, Sally. And I have no fear of your army. You may be able to defeat the disorganized rabble of outcasts that you come up against, but you are no match for a professional army like the Herassan Federation Combined Armed Forces. You have one hour. The clock is counting down.” The connection broke.

  “That went well.” Mark said.

  “I thought you handled it brilliantly.” Mike said. “What was it Sally said about you once? I remember, she said she wouldn’t trust you to negotiate with a piece of cheese. I think she overestimated your negotiating skills.”

  Mark’s AI spoke to him. “Mark, he has sent a drone back the Federation army headquarters with a situation report. It is heavily encrypted, but I had no problem decoding it. The message is a summary of the conversation with a recommendation that an attack is launched on Sally’s army bases. Do you want me to intercept and destroy the drone?”

  “Can you modify the message?” he asked.

  “Yes, with ease.”

  Mark quickly gave his AI instructions, then told Sally and Mike about the message drone.

  Mike said, “Sorry Sally, I don’t want to cause you this problem. I’ll surrender myself to the Major and the problem will go away.”

  “No!” Sally and Mark said in unison.

  “I have told my AI to modify the message. It may not stop the Herassan army completely, but I’m sure it will delay things. How do you feel about taking them on Sally?”

  “If my army goes nose to nose with the Federation army, the Major will get a nasty shock. I’ll tell De’Nesh to prepare for war. What did you change the message to?”

  “The summary of the interchange between us is the same, the message from the Major now says, ‘I put a brave face on it, but I and my entire task force are so frightened that we have all soiled ourselves. Please send fresh clothing urgently.”

  “By the flying, blood sucking, mutant offspring of a diseased dran, can’t you two grow up!” Sally snapped at them.

  Marks AI said to him, “Before you ask, that’s not a real thing. I think she just made it up.”

  “Mark turned to Mike. “What about it Mike, do you think you can grow up?”

  “Let me think.” Mike paused. “No, not yet anyway. How about you?”

  “No, I don’t think so.” He turned to Sally. “Doesn’t look like it.”

  Sally glared at them.

  “While you give Mike a good telling off, I’ve got to talk to the Tolen. I’m going to a private room for a virtual meeting.” Mark said and blinked out.

  Chapter Eleven

  Bob

  In the private room Mark used for virtual meetings with Alan, he asked his AI to check the availability of Crkh Thun Rekh Mohr, the leader of the Tolen. Mark couldn’t even think of the name without his throat hurting, so he had assigned him the alias Bob. Bob accepted the request for a virtual meeting and Mark’s AI fed the image direct into his visual cortex. Bob was sitting on a comfortable looking chair, dressed in a long lilac robe.

  “Hello Mark. It is a pleasure to meet you again. What can I do for you?”

  “Hello Bob. I have a bit of a - situation. I’d like to talk it through with you and see if you will support me if I need it.”

  “That sounds serious Mark. Why don’t you blink to me?”

  “I’ve only blinked myself outside my craft once, that was when I came with Alan to meet you.”

  “There is nothing to fear Mark, blinking from one side of the universe to the other is no different to blinking from one side of a room to the other. It is more complicated for your AI, but still a trivial use of its computing power.”

  “OK, I’ll give it a go.” He spoke to his AI, “Kate, would you…” He didn’t finish his sentence before he found himself standing in front of Bob. He looked around and saw he was in the same doorless room he had met Bob in before.”

  “Thank you for coming Mark. Whenever possible I prefer real face to face meetings. Come and sit with me. May I offer you refreshment?" Bob led the way to one side of the circular room where padded chairs were arranged around a low rectangular block about one meter wide and two meters long. One of the chairs was the correct dimensions for Mark. A section of the tabletop slid open and a silver flask and a mug of tea rose up on a small platform.

  Mark quickly briefed Bob on the events that led up to his verbal confrontation with the Herassan Major, including his conversation with Alan, and Sally preparing her army for war with the Herassan Federation.

  “You changed the message in the drone sent back to the Federation. What did you change the message to?”

  Mark had hoped he wouldn’t have to tell Bob that. Slightly embarrassed, Mark told him. Bob paused, then repeated it back to Mark. “You changed it to that?” he asked.

  Now even more embarrassed, Mark answered “Yes.”

  Bob’s head started nodding, then he started clicking, finally, he started to slap his legs. This was the People’s equivalent to laughing. When he finally stopped, he said “Mark, this is why it is so good for the People to make aliens Friends of the People. One of the People would never have thought to change the message to that!” He started nodding and clicking again.

  “It was rather childish.” Mark said.

  Bob stopped nodding and clicking and said solemnly “Yes, it was.” He paused for a moment, then started nodding and clicking again, saying, “But it was very funny!”

  After a couple of moments, he stopped nodding and clicking again and took a drink from his flask. Mark sipped his tea. They sat without speaking while Mark became increasingly uncomfortable with the silence, expecting Bob to comment on the situation. Finally, he decided to break the silence. “I was wondering, if I needed some support, some military back up, would the Tolen be prepared to come to our aid?”

  “Of course, Mark. That should go without saying. I have just told my AI to arrange for a Tolen task force to be on standby with suitable weaponry and manning level to be able to contain the Herassan Federation army. I have full information about their size, make up and capability. The task force will be at your disposal should you need them.”

  “Thank you, Bob, that is very considerate of you. How many Tolen are in the task force?”

  “Six.”

  “Six! Is that all!” Mark exclaimed. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to shout, but six? That’s just a token force.”

  “Not at all Mark. They have the skills and all the weaponry they would need to annihilate the Federation army in space or on the ground, although to be fair, you already have that capability yourself. How many were you expecting?”

  “A lot more than six. Maybe a thousand?”

  Bob took a drink from his flask, then put it on the table in front of them. “How many Tolen do you think there are.”

  “I don’t know. Alan told me that there are trillions of People spread throughout the universe, so, a few billion perhaps?”

  “Not quite that many. There are exactly eight hundred and forty seven of us.”

  “Here, in orbit around this planet, but how many in the whole universe?”

  “That is precisely how many in the whole of the known universe. It is adequate, but I would prefer to have more. It is very difficult to recruit more volunteers from the People when they fear and shun us.”

  “If you’re working up to asking me to join you, Alan has warned me against it. He said if I were to join you, I would never be able to leave.”

  Bob nodded, the equivalent of a smile. “You have nothing to fear from us, and Alan’s fears would not be true for one of the People. Any of the Tolen are free to leave at any time they wish and go back to their normal life. But you are a Friend of the People, you are not ‘Of the People.’ You could stand with us, but you could not become one of the Tolen. We would be honored to have you fight alongside us, if ever the circumstances arose where it became necessary.”

  Oh,
right. So I couldn’t join you if I wanted to?”

  “No. We are the conscience of the People, made flesh. Only the People can become one of the Tolen. We don’t do much more than many of the People. Consider Alan’s actions.”

  Bob paused to take a drink from his flask. “You have seen Alan in action twice. Once, when he destroyed Tk’ng Dach Rm’s entire fleet, when they were on their way to Gnn’Ath, with about one million living beings. Again, when he rescued you from Tk’ng Dach Rm’s fortress where he was armed, and killed soldiers. Those actions won’t be forgotten, the People never forget anything, but it will never be spoken of. It will be as if it never happened. If that seems paradoxical to you, it is because your mind is different from ours. Many of the People who interact with other races have taken such actions. The difference between the Tolen and those individuals is that we are organized, and we are open about it.”