by Saxon Andrew
“What are you going to do with the ones that executed the prisoners?” one of the soldiers asked.
“If one of our commanders ordered that, he would be summarily shot. However, you come from a different culture that places no value on any race but your own. We understand that orders given you are inviolate. You carry them out or you’re killed. Our anger is directed to the leaders that gave the order. Not the ones that carried it out. We do not kill our captives nor do we cause them unnecessary discomfort. Settle in, gentlemen. We’ll have you at your new home shortly.”
General Dorg didn’t want to like these humans, but he could not help but respect them. “This race is not a danger to us,” he thought. “We’re the danger to them.” He knew that this conflict between his race and the humans was stupid. His brother was paranoid about these humans and he had bought into his fears until this defeat. “We would have killed all the survivors instead of treating them fairly,” he realized. The wounded would have been killed first, but the humans actually were treating them in their medical ships and sending the severely wounded to Earth to receive more extensive treatment. “How could we have gotten so paranoid that we don’t even look to see if a danger really exists?” he wondered. He had a lot to think about, and it looked like he was going to have all the time he needed. He looked at his troops surrounding him in the freighter’s hold and saw the anger they felt over the self-destruction of the dreadnought. He shared the same feelings and felt their fear of possibly never seeing their world or families again. Well. “Maybe we can hope this madness ends peacefully,” he thought. In his heart he knew that the only way it could would be for the humans to win the conflict. “They may have a lot more prisoners to join us before this is over,” he decided. He stood up to talk with his men. “It’s time I take responsibility,” he thought.
Kosiev spoke into his com and asked, “Has all the wreckage been destroyed?”
“Yes, sir,” Captain Mikado answered. “The bigger derelicts were pulled and sent into the sun. All the others were hit with beams and disintegrated.”
“What about the Alliance transports on the ground? “
“They are basically unharmed, sir. We left them there.”
“Okay, have all our ships form-up on Washington and set coordinates to jump back to Earth. We’ll be joining you shortly from the surface. Have the Cleveland jump in system and relieve the Saratoga. I want to see what happens when the main Alliance fleet arrives, and I also want to see the number and type of ships in their fleet. Prepare to have the fleet execute the jump upon our arrival back on board, Lieutenant Kelley.” Thirty minutes later the Earth fleet moved toward the jump limit and six hours later disappeared from the Ross system, leaving only the evidence of a failed Alliance attack on the planet below.
“Admiral Dorg. We have been unable to contact the fleet at the human colony planet. They are not answering our communications.”
Admiral Dorg felt a sick feeling and suddenly felt fear for his brother. He said, “How long until we can jump?”
“All of our ships have just now arrived from the extermination and have to rearm their stores.”
“How long, I said?”
“Two rotations, minimum, sir.”
“Get on it. Send a dreadnought and escorts from Cainth to go look and see what’s happening at the human colony. Have them report to me when they find out. My brother was the leader of the ground forces and I want to know how he is. If there’s trouble when they enter the system, have them record what they can and jump out.”
“Yes sir.”
Admiral Dorg was worried. There were too many unknowns. It could be that the comet disrupted communications and everything was fine. Somehow, he really didn’t think so.
Tag sat in his quarters aboard the Washington facing his view screen, where five men and two women were sitting in a comfortable room back on Earth. The Special Forces team had commed him right after Danielle. Thank the creator he was able to get off the com with her. Even she understood the importance of their call. Her last words were, “Don’t think this is over!”
“Good day, gentlemen. How may I be of service?” Tag asked.
“Mr. Gardner, the Director has sent us some video footage of your run in with an Alliance ground force. We thought we would ask how you were able to accomplish what you did. No shield small enough for a single human would have been able to handle the weapons fired at you. Further, analysis of the weapon you used has come up empty. We as a group think that what you used was of Alfont origin. Nothing else would explain what we saw.”
Tag thought, “Atlas, are you there?”
“Yes, I am,” Atlas replied.
“Do I tell them about you?”
“What are your thoughts?”
“I don’t want anyone to know about you, but these men can be trusted.”
“Then try to avoid answering first and then use your best judgment.”
“By the way, I didn’t know if the screen you gave me would hold up under attack like it did, but thanks for giving it to me.”
“Tag, no one has a weapon that will penetrate your screen. They’re waiting for an answer.”
“Gentlemen, I can’t answer your questions concerning those two issues,” Tag said out loud.
The leader of the group stood up and said, “Why? Do you think we can’t be trusted?”
“Sir, please do one thing before we go any further. Discuss among yourselves what would happen if we had access to Alfont war technology. Primarily look at what it would do to us, not other races. I’ll stand by for your call.”
The seven Special Forces team members looked at each other and the video screen went blank.
“What do you think is going to happen?” Atlas asked.
“I don’t know, but those people are the brightest and smartest on the planet. I hope they see things as I do.”
An hour later, Tag’s screen came on and the Special Forces team appeared back in their cozy room. “We’ve discussed what would happen, and our conclusion is that humans must never come into contact with that kind of technology. They also must never know of its existence. It would ultimately destroy our culture and way of life. There is a better-than-even chance that our society would revert to what it once was during the world wars. We would become the rulers of the galaxies simply by force of arms. That temptation is too high to place in front of us. We are directing all video of your ground encounter be destroyed immediately and all witnesses to it sworn to secrecy. Further, we withdraw our questions and trust you will be more discrete in the future in the use of your psychic skills. That will be our answer for anyone looking to explain what happened. Technology, anyone can use. Psychic skills, only the one born with them may use them. Our choice of you has once again proven to be wise. Contact us if you need us.”
Atlas asked, “What was that all about?”
“Atlas, look in my memories at human history and see what happens when one nation or group of nations became more powerful than their neighbors. We have the capacity in us to become conquerors and destroyers. You represent the ultimate weapon, and we would use your technology to become dominant over all other races. We will lose ourselves if we allow ourselves to depend on knowledge that we don’t earn. I’m not suggesting that you would make your technology available to us, but I am telling you that at our current level of social development that no race could handle being invulnerable, least of all humans.”
“I’ve wondered why you didn’t ask for my help in the previous conflict.”
“Would you have given it?”
“No. I’m still working on issues over my master’s disappearance from the universe. If they could cease to exist with all their advanced technology, I’ll not take action until I have a better understanding of where my actions might lead.”
“Do you want to remove the tools you gave me?” Tag asked.
“No. Our link gives me direct access to the events shaping the future. I wish to protect that link. What did they m
ean ‘psychic skills?’”
“There were too many witnesses to what I did during the ground battle with the Alliance. Most people know I have a psychic gift, and if what happened can be chalked up to my mental abilities, it would remove the temptation to look for a technological answer. In other words, the ability dies with me.”
“I understand,” Atlas said. He then told Tag he was going to take a look at human history. “I wonder what this human would say if he knew when I put the shield in him that I changed his lifespan too,” Atlas thought as he started looking around at Tag’s memories. “I have begun to understand what friendship is, and I don’t intend to lose my only friend for a long time.” Then Atlas noticed in Tag’s memory that humans often lost the will to live with the loss of their mate. “I’ll have to do something about that soon, perhaps next time he sees her.”
The Cainth dreadnought Sharp Claws and its escort ships emerged from star drive and entered the Ross system. They parked just outside the star drive limit with their drives on ready and sent two cruisers in to investigate the planet. Their sensors were set as sensitive as possible and the two ships’ crews were nervous; however, nothing showed up on their scans and they continued to proceed in system until they were parked in orbit above Ross. The planet rotated below them and looked absolutely normal. If a comet had struck here, it had left no evidence. The eerie thing was that there was no sign of intelligent life remaining on the planet’s surface, nor was there any sign of the two hundred Cainth warships that had taken possession of the planet or the twelve thousand ground troops. On the surface they found the grounded Cainth troop transports and the shuttles sent groundside were sending back recordings of the battle sites from around the planet. “Sir, there was fierce combat here. We’ve counted more than nine hundred burned out floaters and weapon platforms near the main captive camp alone, and most of them are still smoking.”
Ship leader Haronk looked at his visual screen and saw the extensive wreckage of both Alliance and human military hardware. “The last report from the fleet before we lost contact was that a comet was on collision course with the planet, and the admiral was ordered to evacuate his ground forces.” Haronk looked at his console and continued, “Up to that point the civilian population had not resisted our forces. According to ground command, there were no weapons on the planet for them to use in a resistance.”
“Something happened to change things, then,” one of the crusier commanders said. “Sir, there is human military hardware here and a lot of it that was destroyed. The battle here must have been extraordinarily fierce. My scouts also report the same thing from the other sites around the planet. We see nothing anywhere on the planet that would suggest it was hit by a comet.”
“Keep me informed it you find anything else, captain.”
Haronk continued to stare at the beautiful blue-green world on his screen. Try as he might, he just couldn’t come up with what had possibly happened to all those ships and men. “We were in total control,” he thought. “Now what?”
He turned and ordered, “Communications, open a channel to Central Clan Leader Terl.” Haronk had been ordered to report his findings to the clan central chamber. He was not sure what he was going to report. He also wasn’t sure what action he was expected to take. He hoped that they would pull his task force from this system. Nothing remained here but ghosts of a battle and unanswered questions. Until an answer was found, he worried about his men and ships.
Aboard the Cleveland, Captain Patel recorded the movements of the Cainth task force. It appeared that they were nervous about entering the system. The flagship and five escorts remained just outside the star drive limit, and sensors showed that their star drives remained charged and ready to make an instant jump. The two cruisers had come in cautiously with screens and weapons ready, and over the last four hours they had landed shuttles on the planet while they remained in orbit and received information from their scouts. All the shuttles returned to the cruisers and they headed back out of the system. The dreadnought and its seven escorts jumped into star drive as soon as the cruisers arrived back to their position and disappeared from the Cleveland’s sensors. “Send the sensor records to Earth command and a copy to the Washington,” Captain Patel ordered as he thought about what the Cainth must be thinking. “They have to be nervous, or those ships would have stayed,” he thought. “Ah well. It shouldn’t be too long before the main Alliance fleet will arrive. Things should get interesting then.”
Chapter 30
Admiral Dorg looked at his conference screen, and Head Clansman Terl was asking him questions that he could not answer. He was scared and he was trying his best to hide it. Terl continued his barrage: “Are you aware that we have lost two hundred warships and twelve thousand ground troops and there’s no trace of what happened to them?”
“Yes, I am, Clan Leader. I have not been to the scene yet, and I won’t arrive there until tomorrow.”
“Please explain why you felt it was necessary to attack that human colony with only two hundred ships instead of your entire fleet.”
“I felt that the humans needed to see that our occupation was coming and that we would not tolerate any resistance. This colony was taken easily and all appeared to be going as planned.”
Terl looked at the admiral and said, “Of course it went easily; they surrendered as soon as the first ship showed up and welcomed you to their planet. You showed them your appreciation for that warm welcome by executing 25 percent of their population. Now we are missing 10 percent of our naval forces and a division of our infantry. Didn’t you tell me that you didn’t know what the humans’ capabilities were?”
“Yes, I did.”
“So you thought you could send two hundred ships and twelve thousand troops and they would be perfectly safe against an enemy that you said represented a grave threat to our race?”
Dorg felt the chill run up his spine. His life was in the balance here. His face was damp and his heart was almost out of control. “Sir, I covered your assigned officer with my plans to make sure the clans approved them. I was told they were approved.”
“That’s the only thing saving you from execution. You are supposed to be the human expert. You are supposed to make the right decisions about them. You more than anyone should not under estimate them, but you obviously did. It’s that inefficiency that has the clan leaders angry. Do you have enough ships to handle the job?”
“I believe so. After what has happened, I’m hesitant to be sure of anything.”
“Will the Alliance send more if we request them?”
“State Leader Sten is furious about the executions and the early start of our occupation. I suspect that we would be publicly embarrassed and forced to request help from the general assembly, where our actions would be censured,” Dorg replied. “It’s also hard to justify more ships when we don’t know how many ships the humans have.”
Terl stared at the admiral and said, “If you had simply waited and took your entire fleet to the home world of these humans and occupied their planet, then you could have taken your time finding out just what capabilities they have, and we’d still have our ships and men. Your hatred of the humans led you to make mistakes, and now there is no way you’ll occupy their planet without a fight, which, incidentally, I think was your intention from the start. What makes this problematic is that you still have no knowledge of their capability. I agree with you that the remaining 1,200 ships should be enough, but I’m not going to take a chance; when will you arrive at the colony world?”
“Tomorrow, Clan Leader.”
“I have spoken with the Glod ambassador and he has agreed to send an additional four hundred ships, and we will also send another four hundred ships. You will take your fleet to the colony world and wait for those ships to arrive. Keep the majority of your fleet outside the star drive limit prepared to jump. While you’re waiting, investigate in detail and see if you can determine what happened to our ships and men. When the additional ships arriv
e, take enough time to organize them into your fleet, and then go after the human home world. Do you have any questions, Admiral?”
“No, Clan Leader.”
“Win this time, Admiral, or don’t bother to come back,” Terl said and then cut the connection.
Admiral Dorg sat looking at the blank screen for a long time. He not only lost the ships and men, but he also lost his brother. These humans had played him every time he tried to get the better of them. “Where did they go? Where did they go?” he wondered.
Richard Wiseman opened his eyes and saw Maggie sitting in a chair next to his bed with her head resting beside his hand. He looked around and saw all the medical machines that had his leg and arm inside them. He felt terrible. He felt like ten miles of bad highway. His whole body was just one big pain, but he found enough strength to raise his hand and place it on Maggie’s head. Maggie felt the touch and raised her head and looked at him and saw his eyes were open. She screamed and jumped up out of her chair and started kissing him on the forehead, cheeks, and finally, tenderly on his lips. “Oh, Richard, I’ve been so worried about you. I was so afraid of losing you. I’ve been praying that you would wake up and come back to me.”
He looked at her and softly raised his hand and touched her cheek. He tried to talk but his voice wouldn’t work, so he mouthed, “I love you, Maggs.”
She started crying and couldn’t stop the tears. “Welcome home, darling. We’ve missed you so much.” Richard squeezed her hand and then went back to sleep. Maggie could tell that her husband was back. She knew in her heart he was going to be fine. The two marines standing guard outside his room had heard Maggie scream her joy and knew that Colonel Wiseman was conscious, and they stood even straighter. The survivors of his battalion had taken turns on their spare time to stand watch outside his door. Even the wounded had argued for their turn. The guards sent word out over the com that he was back, and slowly but surely his men began coming to stand outside the hospital where he slept, finally at peace. There they waited for him.