“Peter?” Jim called into his pen phone.
“The High Command and the Surgeon General will take care of it,” Peter replied.
“So, you’ll surrender to the Commonwealth?”
“No,” Schroeder said firmly. “Not while the swine who put us down and are the creators of our misery are still in it. I officially surrender to Casia and to you personally. I heard your speech about disrespect in the council. Of all the planets in the Commonwealth, Casia is the only one that knows respect.”
“Jim,” Peter said from the pen phone. “I have been waiting until you had a minute to give you more news. The Board of Generals of the Arab League have staged a military coup. They have overthrown President Shadid and arrested him as well as the panel of Moslem clerics pressing for holy war on the universe. They are now offering Casia an alliance.”
“Uh…” Jim said. “Why us?”
“Remember our meeting with Colonel Nazari?”
Schroeder laughed. “It looks like the future of the human race is now on your shoulders, and I don’t envy you,” he said. “Are you hungry? Have you eaten?”
“Uh…” Jim said. “I didn’t eat breakfast and I missed lunch.”
“Try some of this sauerbraten,” Schroeder said. “It is excellent.”
Chapter 30
Chris walked across the room and sat heavily in a plush leather armchair in the office of the Chancellor as Jim paced back and forth.
“The download of the Bund government computers is almost complete,” Chris said. “The techs thought they’d have a problem getting in. There were so many open terminals with the operators still logged on.”
“How’s that?” Sam said. “They couldn’t tell them computers to log off with thair voice?”
“No,” Chris said. “The operators were probably working and had to go to the bathroom or something. With the onset of blindness they couldn’t find their way back.”
“Is Peter’s group getting it all?” Jim said.
“Hundreds of analysts are currently dissecting every megabyte. Now that our secrets are no longer secrets he can haul in as many people as he wants.”
“We still have secrets,” Jim said. “I hope they stay that way until the right time. I don’t want them to know how we got three thousand troops here with just one corvette. I want to tell them myself.”
The door slowly opened and Matt walked into the room.
“Did you see Dan?” Jim said.
“He died,” Matt said. “Internal injuries were so bad that even modern medicine couldn’t help.”
“Damn,” Chris said. “I’ll miss that Aussi.”
“I’ll break the news to his wife,” Jim said.
“No,” Sam said. “Ah’m Commander in Chief of the armed forces. That’s ma job.”
“Well,” Jim said. “I guess that outranks the Commander in Chief of the heroes of the revolution drinking team.”
Jim jumped as the lights came on. “Power’s back,” he said. “I was hoping they couldn’t do it. Now they’ll probably get the 3V conference room back online. That means I’ll have to go in there and face the billions of people who’re waiting to hear what I’ll say.”
“You have to do it,” Chris said.
“Who said?” Jim snapped. “Who made me the keeper of the human race?”
“I can’t do it,” Chris said. “Who else, Sam, Matt, Peter?”
“The people like the way you talk,” Matt said. “Even in the stiff, official format of the council you talk as if you’re just casually chatting with them person to person.”
“Mr. Prime Minister,” came a voice through the building’s computer system. “The 3V conference room is active. It’ll now connect with the council chambers on Pellan. Your voice print has been added to the security system.”
Jim raised his head. “Tell the council I’ll be appearing in a few minutes to make a statement.”
“The council is currently in an emergency session. They’re waiting for you. So are the governing bodies of all the unions and planets.”
“Now I have to find the conference 3V room,” Jim said.
“Simple,” Matt said. “That door over there marked ‘Konferenz 3V’. I’ve learned a bit of German since the ‘Cafeteria’.”
“What on earth am I going to say?” Jim said.
“Just talk,” Peter said from the pen phone. “Authorize me as a guest speaker and I’ll be there too.”
“What will you say?”
“I will notify a lot of members that they’re going to spend jail time. Remember the files we have on government corruption? We found that even our esteemed Secretary of the Treasury has been channeling funds somewhere.”
Jim turned and walked slowly to the conference room. He opened the door and stepped inside. It was a standard conference room with an armchair at its center. He took a seat.
“George,” Jim said. “Are you online?”
“I’m here Jim,” George said. “The Secretary of Defense says go straight to your seat, she’s waiting.”
“Computer,” Jim said. “Put me through to Pellan.”
The room expanded and changed. Once again he found himself in the second row of the right hand side of the room. He looked around. Only half the seats were occupied.
Several in the room started to applaud and more joined in. The applause built up as all rose to their feet.
Jim heard the gavel of the chairman bang and looked to see Patty Tinney, Secretary of Defense in the chairman’s seat. “This emergency session of the Commonwealth Council will now come to order,” she said.
The applause abated and the members took their seats.
“Patty,” Jim said. “What’re you doing there?”
“Representative Young,” Patty said. “Just to catch you up on what has transpired in the last couple of hours, the chairman, vice chairman, Secretary of State and Secretary of the Treasury have all tended their resignations. As Secretary of Defense and next in line, I am assuming the duties of the chairman. With the thousands of resignations within the governments of the Commonwealth I have declared temporary martial law until we sort things out.”
“Why did they do that?” Jim said. “Just a second. Patty would you zap me over to the dais? If I try to walk there I’ll run into the wall of the 3V room.”
Jim stood and within seconds found himself standing next to the desks on the dais. “Ladies and gentlemen of the council. Please excuse my appearance,” he said, looking down at his filthy ranger suit. “I’ve been crawling around in the dirt.”
The council broke into another round of applause.
“Hold it, hold it,” Jim said. “I don’t know why you’re applauding me. When the story comes out, you’ll find that for the most part I was just along for the ride. Three thousand Casian soldiers did a lot more than I did.
“For now I wish to request that the chair recognize Mr. Peter Harvey of the Commonwealth Secret Service as a guest speaker.”
“The chair recognizes Mr. Harvey,” Patty said.
Peter suddenly appeared next to Jim with a data pad in his hand.
“Ladies and gentlemen of the council,” Peter said. “It is my duty under Commonwealth law to inform you that the Secret Service has requested and got criminal indictments on twenty eight members of this council.
“These members are listed, along with charges laid, on the Secret Service database accessible through the data net. The members in question still retain voting rights on this council unless they tender their resignation, have a notice of recall from their constituency or are convicted of the crimes for which they are under indictment.”
“Peter,” Jim said. “You’re finally talking like a straight guy.”
“Jim,” Peter said. “Would you be serious for a change.”
“Ok,” Jim said. “Let me see the list.” He looked at the data pad Peter presented him and then around the room. “Well, well, well, all empty seats.”
“Representative Haugen is requestin
g a public debate,” George said.
“Haugen wants to debate?” Jim said. “He’s number one on the list.”
“He still has full rights in the council,” Patty said.
“Ok, ok,” Jim said. “Let him speak.”
Haugen instantly appeared. “Young, what are you doing?” he said. “Making separate alliances with enemy states. Accepting the surrender of an enemy state without consulting the Commonwealth. Are you trying to take over the council? Are you trying to become the dictator of the galaxy?”
“No,” Jim said.
Haugen paused, waiting for Jim to continue, but he remained silent.
“Uh..” Haugen said after a few seconds. “I uh… firmly believe you are collecting your little private military made up of your new allies and what’s left of the German fleet. Your big plan is to declare war on and conquer the rest of the galaxy.”
“Representative Haugen,” Jim said. “To start with, the Commonwealth is NOT the galaxy. It’s only a minute fraction of one percent of it. It’s human arrogance to claim that we rule all.
“Secondly, if I was to declare war on the Commonwealth I have a head start. I already have about two hundred thousand Commonwealth troops prisoner.”
“What?” Haugen said. “You have prison camps on Casia?”
“Nope,” Jim said. “I’ve got them at my house. There’s about fifty thousand of them in my bedroom closet.”
“What?” Haugen said. “Are you mad? You have fifty thousand soldiers in your bedroom closet?”
“It’s a big closet.”
“That is insane.”
“I agree,” Jim said. “My wife wanted me to move them to a spare room but I guess I forgot.”
“They’re no longer there,” Peter said. “They’re on your freighter. We’ll use them to distribute medications on Germania once they’ve been protected.”
“Good idea,” Jim said. “I was wondering what we could use them for. They weren’t doing any good in my bedroom closet.”
“Uh…” Haugen said. “What are you babbling about?”
“By the way, Representative Haugen,” Peter said. “You’ll soon hear a noise outside your 3V room door. It’s the military police. In the Bund government databases we found your name mentioned in quite a number of interesting places.”
Haugen turned and disappeared.
“Representative Hidaka has requested to ask a question,” George said.
“Yes Takumi,” Jim said. “What do you want to ask?”
A man in the second row stood. “Representative Young,” he said. “The Diet of the planet Nagoya is currently receiving information on the situation from the Secret Service, Casian military and other agencies. It appears that, as of now, the planet Casia is the most powerful member of the Commonwealth. We are hearing of a new weapon that instantly transports troops, equipment and ships anywhere. We are asking what is your intent.”
“My intent is the will of the people,” Jim said. “We’ll publish the facts and recommendations and let the people decide.”
“Can you give us an example of the recommendations,” Hidaka said.
“The governments are a mess, we have to rebuild them from the ground up. Everything, constitutions, laws, organization, regulations and especially the bureaucracy. Anything else you want to know?”
“We agree, it is a mess,” Hidaka said. “The position of chairman of the Commonwealth Council is currently vacant. If Nagoya was to nominate you as chairman, would you accept the nomination?”
“Takumi, one of the recommendations is to abolish the Commonwealth. We have too many layers of government. If agreed to by the people, all of the separate language based federations, unions and leagues would be gone. Instead of a Commonwealth of groups, it would be a single federation of individual planets.”
“Would you accept nomination as chairman of this new federation?”
“The title would be President, and it would be a popular vote,” Jim said. “I’m tired, very tired. I’d do it until the people got someone better. But before anything happens, I’d like to go home and have a shower.”
“I believe we have covered enough for now,” Patty said. “I hereby adjourn this session of the Commonwealth Council.”
Jim turned to Peter. “What the hell is it with all the resignations?”
“The minor criminals in the governments,” Peter said. “The ones that would get probation or a light sentence. The Secret Service told them ‘resign or be indicted’. It looks like the way is open for Emperor James the first.”
“You can shove the Emperor crap.”
“All right. President of the Federation of Planets is close enough.”
“So, when’re you going to bring your wife and kids over to my place for dinner? I’ll pay for the tickets on the space liner.”
“When I revive her,” Peter replied. “She’s going to have a fit when she finds out what I’ve been doing for the past nine years.”
Chapter 31
Jim looked up and thought of the hundreds of spacecrafts from luxury liners to passenger carrying freighters and personal yachts in various orbits around the planet. He then looked at the hills surrounding a small valley with tens of thousands of humans occupying every square meter.
Rainy season in Pinoy on the planet Uniseya had ended weeks before and the hot months were still to come. The valley was cleared of the tropical vegetation to accommodate the current event as well as for future planting of papaya and durian. Demand for the fruit in the federation had skyrocketed in recent years.
“I think the organizers are going to kick me and the boys out of here soon,” Carol said.
“You’ll get a pretty good view from the stands,” Jim said and turned to Matt and Sam. “Where are you sitting?”
“We’s ‘bout four rows back on the left,” Sam said.
“They assigned seats at random,” Matt said. “Takumi and Prime Minister Kimura aren’t too pleased. The computerized role of the dice stuck the Nagoya delegation at the back. Our families in the stands either side will get a better view of the meeting than they will.”
“Where’s Levin?” Jim said to Redmond.
“He and David Doherty are still playing with the alien’s communication system,” Redmond said. “Since the Nosurshins sent it Levin has spoken no more than three words to humans.”
Jim turned to see Peter and Chris pushing their way through the crowd of newsmen and technicians.
“I had to call Peter to get me through security,” Chris said.
“The dog ate his pass,” Peter chuckled.
“Hey Chris,” Jim said. “We’ve come a long way since we met in the hold of a space liner.”
“And mankind has come even further in the last six years,” Redmond said. “I ate raspberries for breakfast. To quote an entry in the encyclopedia: ‘You made the trains run on time’.”
“Wasn’t that Benito Mussolini?” Jim chuckled.
“But you did it without being a tyrant,” Redmond said.
“I think it’s time for you all to go to the stands,” Peter said.
Carol gave Jim a long hug and a kiss. “You deserve this darling.”
“I wish you could have stayed here for the meeting,” Jim said and shook hands with his sons.
“Dad,” Michael said. “Just don’t invite the aliens to join you and the heroes of the revolution drinking team. You might start an inter-species war.”
“You never know,” Colin said. “They may get off on bullshit.”
Jim laughed and watched his family and friends walk toward the stands to the right of the rows of seats set up for the heads of state of all the inhabited planets.
He then turned to see the 3V cameramen finish setting up their equipment. He saw his old newsman friend walk in front of the cameras and stop.
“This is Carl Nagel for the Compton network,” Nagel said. “We’re here at this historic site on Uniseya for the first official meeting between humans and members of an alien species.
Here with me is the very person who organized and arranged this meeting, Mr. Halbert Tolliver.”
The 3V cameras swung slightly to include Halbert in the scene.
Nagel continued. “Mr. Tolliver, I know we’ve covered this a number of times in the past couple of weeks, but I’ll ask again, how did the members of the alien species, you call the Nosurshins, contact you?”
“Well,” Halbert replied. “I was at my farm on Hebram, it was a particularly boring evening and they just knocked at my door.”
“Was that before or after you assisted the Federation President, Jim Young, in faking his death to avoid a gang of religious assassins?”
“That day. I got home from his farm and was just kicking back with a beer when they arrived.”
“You said they knocked at your door. Is that their custom?”
“No, they told me they were imitating what they saw in a human 3V broadcast.”
“And they gave you their name as the Nosurshins?”
“No, I invented it. The name they gave me was a sort of buzzing sound, so I needed a name I could pronounce. At the time they knocked on the door I was thinking of my parent’s house in Corisster on Batalavia. I was thinking of the garden full of Nasturtiums.”
“But the flower isn’t spelled Nosurshin.”
“I was quite drunk at the time. When I wrote it down I misspelled it.”
“Why would they pick you as the first human contact?”
Halbert shook his head. “No idea.”
“I understand you have a famous ancestor, Barry Tolliver, first President of Batalavia, is that correct?”
“Yes, he was the first Tolliver in space.”
“Absolutely nothing is known about the man other than his name and that he was the first President. Does your family have any oral history about him?”
“Yes, we have much, but who’d believe us.”
“Could your famous ancestor be the reason why the Nosurshins contacted you first?”
Halbert shook his head. “No idea.”
“Why now?” Nagel asked. “You said they’ve been observing us for centuries. Why did they wait until now to contact us?”
Victim of Circumstance (The Time Stone Trilogy Book 3) Page 32