by Ben Winston
“Sounds complicated. I’m sure I will enjoy the story,” Ian said as she sat the device on his brow.
“I think you will Sir. You will be finished in forty-five minutes. I will awaken you then,” Star said.
“Okay, let’s do this,” Ian said and Star activated the device. She noted that he dropped off to sleep rather quickly. He was far more tired than he had been showing.
Once the Talosian star went nova, it disrupted hyperspace, causing the remaining ships that were answering the distress call to overshoot the system. Three Heavy Cruisers that had been involved in a battle far from home had run from the Caldarian battleships they were fighting to aid the homeworld. When they returned to normal space, they found that they had overshot the system by almost ten light months.
While they had been trying to figure out what had happened, and reset their computers, they received the final message from Talosian High Command showing the destruction of the system. Through the vagaries of speed of light propagation, they had learned what ships had been in system when the nova occurred. The three ships then began the work of locating and contacting as many Talosian ships as they could find.
They set up a meeting place hidden from the Caldarians and well away from the expanding plasma wave. They searched for surviving ships for a month after the event. Feeling that staying any longer in the place they were in was dangerous, they instructed all ships to abandon their old subspace communications channels and jump out to one of the other race’s territory.
The news they carried with them, as well as the message they had received as well of the destruction of the Talosian system at the hands of the Caldarians, was the motivation the rest of the races needed to set aside their petty differences and combine their forces to put an end to the Caldarian threat once and for all.
The last four Talosian Cruisers tried to join the new fleet, but they were respectfully told to stand down. There simply were not enough Talosians remaining alive to risk losing more in combat. So while the Talosians were getting their ships repaired and scouting new planets to colonize, the new Alliance of Races began a campaign against the Caldarians that the larger race simply could not stand against.
Several hundred thousand Talosian slaves were freed from Caldarian ships and sent back to join the rest of the refugees. The Talosians had just found a planet and had begun to settle it, when the Alliance forces brought an end to the Caldarian war.
Unknown to the Alliance forces, the Caldarian scientists had developed a device called a core tap that used the energy of the planet to provide power to the heavily over-populated surface. The Alliance forces, detecting the energy signature of the power plant, mistook it for a weapons facility and destroyed it.
The resulting chain reaction set up a destabilizing harmonic in the containment matrix controlling the equipment holding the hot core of the planet at bay. Within minutes, the planet became unstable. The Alliance barely had time to get their ships away from the planet when it exploded, instantly killing sixty-five billion Caldarian civilians and three hundred million slaves of various races.
Of the remaining Caldarian forces, those that didn’t suicide, surrendered. It was thought that all of the remaining Caldarian forces had been accounted for. The appearance of the Super Nova at Earth had proved that belief incorrect.
The Talosian people, less than five hundred thousand men and women, restarted their race on a planet they named New Talos. Although slightly colder than their original homeworld, it was almost identical in every other way.
Now, thousands of cycles later, the Talosian Alliance consisted of a total of thirteen worlds, and a total population of almost twenty billion souls. The original practice of multiple partner bondings for the purpose of repopulating had become accepted as the norm, and still continued to this day. A council of ‘elders’ was composed of the heads of all the houses that had been reformed from the ashes of the originals. A Grand Council was held every six lunar cycles at the Palace of Government on New Talos, while the Ruling Council of twenty-one elected elders handled the day to day business of the Alliance. The Talosian Defense Force had been reformed, and the Talosian High Command was, once again, the military arm of the Talosian people and served as part of the military of the Alliance of Races that still existed to this day.
After the Caldarian issue had been resolved, exploration had again been undertaken by the races. While the remaining parts of the galaxy was being explored, a team was sent across the void, to the closest galaxy to see what was there.
What they found was a very militaristic Empire that had been preparing to send an expedition to the Milky Way Galaxy. With the arrival of the exploration ship, they took it as a sign and immediately captured the ship, its occupants, and the AI that had journeyed with them.
Before it destroyed the ship, the AI did manage to send back a message about what they found and what happened to them. In that message was a warning. The Empire had been amassing an invasion fleet for an expedition into the Milky Way Galaxy. The arrival of the exploration ship only confirmed for them what they had hoped to find.
In their first attack, the Empire had taken six alliance worlds, two of them in Talosian territory. Since that time, the Empire has been make slow but steady progress. As it stood now, the Empire had taken almost twenty worlds, six of them belonging to the Talosian Alliance. A good portion of the existing mining and ship manufacturing facilities had also either fallen to the Empire or had been destroyed completely, and had not as yet been rebuilt. The Alliance of Races was losing the war, and they had also lost the capacity to build new ships. They did still have smaller repair docks, but without the raw materials to manufacture needed parts, even repairs were getting difficult.
Talosian replicators needed raw material to replicate most objects. The Humans had not had to worry about this aspect of that technology, since raw materials had been close at hand. But if they started building ships in a dry dock facility, they would also need to begin mining to supply the replicators with the needed raw materials to make the parts.
As Ian awoke, he thought about what he had learned. The Talosians had survived the Caldarians, but now they were losing to a new race of beings from another galaxy.
He had also learned where everyone was located in the galaxy. Earth was distant from the rest of the Alliance, as most of the Alliance worlds were on the far side of the galaxy. The original Talosian system was nearly a thousand light years away to the galactic east and slightly north. After the destruction of the homeworld, they had moved closer to the other races in order to be better protected. If Ian looked down on the galaxy from the top and divided it up like a pie, the Alliance of Races, as well as the New Talosians, would occupy just under half of the opposite side from Earth. A hyperspace trip to the new Talosian homeworld would take nearly four months. Commander Serena and the ship with her, had been called to investigate the Sol system while they had been heading back to a hidden repair base in Kimbrean space.
Chapter 23
F.S.S. Star Dancer
Geo-sync orbit over Talos, New Mexico
Earth, Sol System
He sat up to see Star standing there looking at him with concern. “Are you alright, Sir?”
Ian nodded and scrubbed his face. The ‘nap’ had left him tired. “Yeah, there’s just a lot to absorb. Please make sure that the senior staff gets that history lesson tonight when they’re asleep. Everyone will need to know what’s been going on with the Talosians since you crashed here.”
“I will see to it, Sir,” Star replied.
“What’s the status of the remaining Caldarian presence in the system?” Ian asked.
“They have all been destroyed. The remaining fighters near Earth self-destructed when the last Carrier was destroyed. Admiral Hawkins called for you, and would like to speak to you at your earliest convenience. He wished to express congratulations and his gratitude to all of us for defending the planet. I believe he also has a request for you to contact the President o
f the United States.”
Ian nodded. “How long until the Commanders arrive?”
“They will be pulling up beside us in twenty minutes. Colonel Williams ordered that Admiral Hawkins be advised of their arrival so he wouldn’t panic,” Star replied.
“Good idea. I knew I made her the XO for a reason. What’s going on down at Talos?” Ian asked.
“Not much has changed, I’m afraid. There are several government agents demanding entry into the compound, and they have provided warrants to search the premises. So far, Colonel Anders has simply ignored them.
Communications from the forces outside the compound on Earth indicate that the Marines that helped us are to be taken by aircraft to the Papoose Lake facility in Nevada for further testing. That is not normal procedure for the Marines, Sir,” Star reported.
“No, it isn’t. Get me Ty on the screen please,” Ian asked.
It took a moment, but Ty’s haggard looking face appeared on the monitor. “What’s up boss?”
“Ty, our Marine friends are going to be taken to Area 51 for ‘testing’. I want you to have your fighters and two recovery drones intercept it and drag it into our hanger there. Be sure to jam their communications. The President of the US wants to talk to me, so maybe I can see what’s going on with them.”
“Those fuckers. I knew they’d try to pull some shit like that. Okay, we’ll grab them. What do you want me to do with them after that?” Ty asked.
Give them rooms in the base until we figure out something else for them. Have the flight crew checked out and see if they can be recruited or if they are die-hard intel people. We might have to go recover some families, so be sure to have the shuttles on standby as well.”
“Most of the shuttles are already on standby. Most of them are busy transporting wounded up to the ship or the moon base,” Ty reported. “But, we’ll figure something out, Sir.”
“Okay, I’ll leave it up to you. If you need anything from us, just ask. I have a few minutes before the Talosian Commanders arrive, so I suppose I should go call the President,” Ian said tiredly.
“Lucky you. Have you decided what to tell her yet?” Ty asked.
“No, but I thought I’d try the truth. It’s been working so far,” Ian replied. “I’ll call the Admiral first, and see if he can give me any suggestions.”
“Good plan,” Ty said. “Take care up there.”
“I’m not as worried about us, as I am you. I’m surprised they haven’t started shooting at you yet,” Ian said.
“Give them time, they’ll try that before nightfall, then they’ll try simply sneaking past the guards, then they threaten an all-out attack. They might actually do it too, since we’re so close to White Sands. I’m not worried about it. Nothing they have will get through the shield. Even if they did get through the shield, I have three battalions of armored Marines down here, we’re safe.” Ty said grinning. “We have tried to warn them about shooting at the shield though. I don’t think they believe us.”
Ian nodded. “Talk to you later.”
Ty smiled and nodded before ending the transmission. While he’d been talking to Ty, Ian got a cup of cappuccino and sat at his desk. “Star, can you connect me with Admiral Hawkins at Cheyanne Mountain please?”
“Certainly Sir,” she replied. “I’ve got the video link.”
Admiral Hawkins appeared on Ian’s terminal monitor and he smiled at Ian. “I see you did survive the attack after all. Good work son.”
“Thank you Admiral. We took some losses in the Marines, yours and mine, but the wounded will be returned to you as soon as they’re able. I wanted to ask you if you knew that the unit that helped us was being taken to Papoose Lake for ‘testing’,” Ian asked.
“Fucking Spooks!” the Admiral swore. “When did they leave?”
“They actually haven’t yet, Sir. I’ve ordered my people to intercept them and bring the plane back to our underground base there. They fought well and did their duty to the best of their ability. I won’t let them be taken someplace and tortured like that. Not after everything they’ve done,” Ian replied.
“I appreciate that, son. I’ll do what I can for them from this end, but if that plane takes off, I probably won’t be able to stop them after that because they’ll disappear,” Admiral Hawkins said. He was typing on his terminal as he spoke to Ian. “Sorry, I’m sending a note to my aide to get started on this.”
“Not a problem, Admiral. I’d be doing the same,” Ian replied.
“You look beat, son. I’ll try not to take up too much of your time.” He paused. “What’s this about the two other ships entering orbit being friendly?”
“They’re Talosian, sir. I have only spoken briefly with one of their Commanders. I’ve since learned their back story, but have no idea why they’re here now or what that’ll mean in the long run. I’m supposed to meet with them soon. I should know more after that meeting,” Ian said. “For now, I’d consider them friendly, but not allied.”
“Talosian... isn’t that the race you said built your ship?” Hawkins asked.
Ian nodded. “Yeah, but we thought they had all died in the battle for their homeworld. It turns out we were wrong. However, since I don’t know anything about them or how they are now, I’m treating them like visiting dignitaries from another race.”
Hawkins nodded agreement. “Son, I know you aren’t under my command, but could you try to keep me in the loop? I’m sure I don’t have to tell you that all of this has certainly puckered a lot of assholes in Washington D.C. I’ve even been asked by the President herself, no less, that if I were to make contact with you, to pass along a request for you to contact her.”
“Major Dancer said something like that. I suppose I should call her. I don’t think she’s going to be very happy with me though. I won’t let her tell me what to do, nor will I give her any information other than what I’ve already told you,” Ian said.
Hawkins nodded. “You’re most likely correct on that. The last I heard, she had her cabinet and all the chiefs of staff sequestered in the war room.”
“Considering what was being thrown at the planet, I can’t really blame her for that,” Ian replied. “You might also warn the two teams that have ‘secured’ the ‘crashed alien craft’ that we can track them, and we will be taking them.”
“You really are serious about keeping advanced tech out of our hands aren’t you?” Hawkins asked. “They’ll shoot at you.”
Ian shrugged. “They can shoot all they want. They can’t hurt anything but themselves. In most cases, all they’ll be shooting at is an unmanned drone. However, they will have fighter support, but I doubt they’ll be needed. The drones are shielded against missiles.”
“I’ll try to warn them. But again, I doubt they’ll listen,” Hawkins replied. “Do you need the number to contact the President?”
Ian glanced at Star who just smiled.
“No, that won’t be necessary. Thank you for the offer,” Ian replied. “We will be returning the bodies of the fallen Marines as well as any of your pilots that we recover. We will have them delivered to Peterson Air Force Base. I’ll call you ahead of time so you can make the appropriate arrangements.”
“That would be perfect, son, thank you,” the Admiral replied. “Why don’t you call the President, and see if you can get a nap before your meeting? You look beat.”
Ian smiled. “The reason I look beat is because I just took a nap, Admiral. It has to do with how we learn complex things. I needed to learn the history of what happened with the Talosian people since Star Dancer crashed here, so I took a nap so it could be downloaded into my brain.”
Ian saw Hawkins shudder visibly. “That sounds creepy as hell.”
Ian chuckled. “It’s actually not so bad. Anyway, I’m running out of time, so I should let you go.”
“Okay, good luck with the President, as well as the meeting. I hope to hear from you again soon,” Hawkins replied.
“You will Admiral. We’re still g
oing to try to get you to recommend foreign officers we can approach, but it’ll be a while. We’ve got a mess to clean up and government investigators demanding entrance to the community,” Ian replied. “We might just pack up and leave those investigators wondering what the hell just happened.”
Hawkins snorted. “That would really piss them off! Talk to you later, Commander.”
Ian nodded, and disconnected the call.
“Would you like to eat before you call the President? I can schedule the meeting with the Commanders for an hour from now,” Star asked.
“Actually, I was thinking that inviting the Commanders here for a meal would be good, if the schedules match. I’m more worried about the meeting with the Commanders than I am the President. I’m worried they’ll want their ship back,” Ian replied. “Would you ask Jenny if she would like to have dinner with us when the time comes?”
“I asked, she said she would love to, and will be ready when the time comes. I’ll make an inquiry as to the timing for the other commanders. Sir, they can’t take the ship unless you and the crew agree to it. The oath you swore predates the existing Alliance, therefore it cannot be used to force you to follow their orders. Legally, you are independent from their command. Additionally, the entire crew swore an oath to protect this sector, which means that we cannot leave here until enough defenses are built to allow this ship to leave for an extended period of time. That is the law,” Star informed him.
“I thought as much, but the reality of the situation could be very different. The Alliance is at war. They are losing, and need every ship they can get. I am certain they would want this ship back and would be willing to try to take it by force if necessary. I hope it doesn’t come to that, but it could,” Ian replied. “That’s why I’m worried about the meeting. Could you please connect me to the President? I might as well get this over with, so I can get back to worrying about the Commanders.”
“I am announcing you as the Commander of the Terran Defense Force, since we now know that the Talosian Defense Force is a viable entity and we are not actually a part of it,” Star replied.