The Invasion Begins

by Thomas DePrima

  “So far— I think the number shipped is in the neighborhood of three thousand. I don’t know how many have actually been placed at this time, if any. We’re concentrating first on the solar systems in the most remote areas of Regions Two and Three because that’s where the need is most acute.”

  “And how many will we have in place when the system is complete?”

  “Phase one calls for placing fourteen thousand satellites. Phase two will see a total of forty-two thousand satellites in place. Phase three will complete the placement and we’ll have two hundred six thousand satellites in place. That will cover all of Regions One, Two, Three, and Four to a distance of one thousand light-years above and below the Milky Way median line.”

  “Why so many, Loretta?” Admiral Burke asked. “I thought this was a wormhole system rather than an S-Band system.”

  “It is, Raymond. Anyone using the system first communicates with the nearest satellite via an S-Band signal, which then sends the message to a master satellite, which creates an artificial wormhole in subspace to a master satellite nearest the destination, which then completes the routing to the target via S-Band signal. If the target is a ship, the sending satellite may have to send multiple signals until it locates the target, but once identified, Space Command ships and Space Command stations in space exchange messages directly with the sending master satellite. Planetary systems will require numerous satellites to reduce the S-Band time to a minimum and cover the anticipated load so wait time is reduced to near zero. Earth, for example, will have a minimum of six satellites around the planet initially, and a total of twenty-four in phase three.”

  “That’s wonderful, Loretta. We’re not trying to pressure you. We’re simply anxious to have our own system so the Denubbewa can’t possibly cut our new communication lines if they learn how we’ve been tapping into theirs.”

  “No one here is more anxious than me,” Admiral Plimley said with a grin. “I knew there was a danger when we created the temporary system, and I’ve been pushing my people relentlessly to get our own system operational ever since.”

  “Loretta,” Admiral Bradlee said, “how difficult will it be to switch over to the new system when it’s available?”

  “The conversion of the operating system will take about thirty seconds. And, should there be problems with the new system, a ship or base will be able to switch back to the Denubbewa system in that same time of half a minute. Naturally, we hope everything will go smoothly, but we’ve prepared for initial problems by having the fallback position.”

  “Loretta, when do you think we can begin to use the new system?” Jenetta asked.

  “Before the end of this calendar year, but that can only happen in areas where satellites have been sufficiently deployed. When they are, we’ll advise the bases and ships in the areas where the new services are available to change their communication operating systems and that we’re lifting the restrictions on communications. Our people will then be able to use it for personal communications, subject to normal time limitations per individual per day.”

  “I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again. Loretta, you and your people are incredible, and you’ve done a fantastic job. Thank you.”

  “It’s always nice to be appreciated, but my greatest thrill comes from seeing the fruits of our labor make a difference in the lives of our people in Space Command and on the numerous worlds in the G.A.”

  ~ ~ ~

  “I’ve received official word from the G.A. that the full Senate has voted on our petition for annexation,” Prime Minister Pemillisa announced to the Gilesset. “I’m genuinely delighted and relieved to say our request has been accepted. We are now, officially, part of the Galactic Alliance. The annexation is permanent and can never be revoked. The territory formerly known as the Ruwalchu Confederacy has been designated as Region Four by Space Command for the allocation of military resources.

  “I’ve also been informed that in the coming months, at least one new, special satellite will be placed in orbit around every world in Region Four having a population density of at least one million inhabitants. Eventually, every world with a population density of at least ten thousand inhabitants will have more such satellites in orbit around their planet. The satellites will initially enable every planetary government in Region Four to communicate with every other planetary government in the region almost instantaneously, regardless of distance from the other planet. I’ve mentioned this capability before, having personally witnessed the system in use aboard the Space Command battleship Ares when they contacted Quesann. But now, we’ll be getting our own systems. Once the new system has been fully implemented and additional satellites have been placed into orbit around the planets, commercial operations and even private individuals will have full access to the system, although non- governmental users must open an account and pay a fee for each minute of use.

  “All aligned planets will also have a manned observation platform in orbit around their planet to watch for the approach of Denubbewa ships. Should any be spotted, Space Command will be alerted immediately, and then the spotters will notify the planet inhabitants to seek shelter. There will be no other involvement in planetary matters by the G.A. as long as no one violates the basic laws regarding counterfeiting of G.A. credits, distribution of narcotics outside the planet’s sensible atmosphere, slavery of sentient beings, etc., etc. We discussed those laws ad nauseam before we signed the petition for annexation. They are not intended to stifle honest trade, only to control illegal actions.

  “As an inducement to accept us into the G.A., we have promised to provide all funding necessary to build the ships that will protect Region Four. The agreement is that all ships will be built in Region Four, using citizens and resources from our region wherever possible, and that Region Four will remain that ship’s home port in the decades ahead. In addition to getting the best protection possible to replace our Space Fleet, working with the experts from Space Command will help us acquire firsthand knowledge of the most advanced technologies, metallurgy, and weapons development in the galaxy. Space Command has defeated the Denubbewa at every single encounter since the Denubbewa fired on two of their warships without warning annuals ago.

  “Each planet in Region Four will have to decide for themselves if they wish to be aligned or non-aligned. Aligned planets receive the full benefits of G.A. involvement and protection. Non-aligned planets will have no role in G.A. political activity but will still have far better protection than our own Space Fleet was capable of providing, bless their departed souls. Aligned planets and non-aligned planets cannot trade with one another, so I recommend that everyone choose aligned status.

  “In the days ahead, we shall have to decide on the role this body will play in the overall management of our planets, if any. Our government is now the Galactic Alliance, so, by the former authority vested in me, I declare the Ruwalchu Confederacy officially dissolved. Each planet is on its own; however, the G.A. allows a group of planets to establish themselves as a political sub-division. The PSD can send just one senator to represent the entire group in the senate, or one from each planet. The subdivision gets one vote for each planet having a population density of over ten thousand and a separate credit based on the total permanent population size as per the most recent census. There are a number of such sub-divisions, such as the Nordakia/Obotymot PSD in Region One and the Milor PSD in Region Two where the home world is the main planet, and planets first colonized by citizens from the home world are part of the PSD. The Tsgardi and the Uthlaro have not made any progress in establishing a PSD because they have made no effort to cooperate with the G.A.

  “Whatever we decide regarding a PSD, I feel very confident that our decision to annex our territory to the G.A. was the correct one.

  “One last comment before I close this final session of the Gilesset. Although all representatives of the Gilesset had unanimously voted to seek annexation with the G.A., some representatives wavered when it came time to submit our
formal annexation petition. The G.A. would not accept it unless it was unanimous, and these representatives knew that. They held up the process and could have ruined our opportunity to become a member before the Denubbewa returned. Their reason was simple. They wanted special considerations that would benefit them personally, both with increased power and influence, as well as the possibility of improved personal finances. In order to get their consent, I agreed on behalf of the Ruwalchu Confederacy to accede to all of their demands. As such, I get much satisfaction in saying here and now that those agreements made in the name of the Ruwalchu Confederacy are now officially null and void since the Confederacy no longer exists. We are not obligated to honor any of those recent agreements.”

  ~ ~ ~

  “Good morning, Jen,” the image of Admiral Holt said from the enormous wall monitor facing Jenetta’s desk.

  “Good morning, Brian.”

  “Have you seen the morning news on the big networks?”

  “No, I’ve been too busy to tune in. Anything important?”

  “They’re broadcasting the story about Husteus. I guess the Senate Council issued a lengthy press release. Naturally, several of the networks are blaming us for allowing thirteen and a half million people to be killed by cyborgs.”

  “That’s par for the course. They want to stir up the people in order to sell more subscriptions to their services without any regard for the truth.”

  “I’ve been asked to comment so my staff is preparing a response. When they’re done, I’ll schedule a press conference. It’s important that the people of the G.A. have all the facts.”

  “No matter what you say, Brian, some news people are going to blame us.”

  “Why should this news story be any different? But we can’t just ignore it. And it might be a good opportunity to announce that we’re hoping to increase the size of the Marine GFI.”

  “The Senate Council hasn’t yet approved the new appropriation request.”

  “So let’s light a fire under them, Jen. It takes time to train Marines and Space Command personnel. We can’t wait until the next planet gets attacked. For all we know, the Denubbewa are already culling the population of a non-aligned planet somewhere in G.A. space. Or maybe even a dozen non-aligned planets.”

  “It’s possible. Since we don’t have a presence on any of those planets, we won’t hear about it until the Denubbewa are actively decimating the population and someone notices they haven’t been able to contact anyone on the surface, as was the situation on Husteus. The G.A. is just too big for us to be everywhere at once. And now it’s gotten substantially larger. At least no one can blame me this time. I didn’t conquer the Ruwalchu Confederacy and demand the surrender of their territory.”

  Admiral Holt chuckled before saying, “But you wanted us to respond to their plea for help, so someone, somewhere, will blame you.”

  “I guess it goes with the job. No good deed ever goes unpunished.”

  “You’re not upset with the Senate vote to accept the annexation request from the Ruwalchu, are you?”

  “No, Brian, of course not. I believe annexation of the Ruwalchu territory will greatly enhance the G.A., although we’ll suffer from growing pains for a while. The Ruwalchu people are industrious and have good moral values. They’re a valuable addition to the G.A. Naturally, there’s a criminal element, just as there is in every society, but the Ruwalchu have kept them under control. The main problem, as I see it, is that it will take a decade to build the ships we need to patrol that new territory properly. In the meantime, we’ll be struggling to guard the new territory from the Denubbewa and maintain law and order. I’m sure the criminal element is hard at work developing plans to expand their crime syndicates now that the Ruwalchu Confederacy Space Fleet is history.”

  “Yes, criminals will always be working behind our backs to take advantage of any opportunity.”

  “One of my reasons— my numerous reasons— for taking this job was to free all the slaves in the pleasure resorts. The cyborgs have kept us so busy that we haven’t had time to address that issue.”

  “And with the new territory requiring me to assign ship assets for patrols until their new ships are built, it isn’t likely we’ll be able to do anything in that regard for some time.”

  “It’s distressing, but we must prioritize the use of our assets to address the issues that present the greatest danger, and that means the Denubbewa at this time.”

  “Unfortunate but true, Jen. Okay, I have to go get ready for my press conference. I’ll talk to you later.”

  “Break a leg, Bry.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Senator Prime Curlekurt Emmeticus, addressing the Gondusan planetary senate, said, “You’ve now seen the evidence with your own eyes. We had suspected that the Denubbewa were behind the attacks on the freighters because the attacks perpetrated here were identical to the way they reportedly attacked freighters in G.A. space. Now we have proof they’re responsible. The freighter was peppered with holes from those small missiles they reportedly use to breach the hull. A small nuclear charge then floods the ship with radiation while evacuating the atmosphere. The destroyed Denubbewa warship was nearby.”

  “But how did the freighter destroy the Denubbewa warship?” Senator Neodeet Literamus asked.

  “Don’t be a fool, Neodeet. The freighter never destroyed the warship. The freighter was totally unarmed.”

  “Then who did destroy it?”

  “Obviously, it was Space Command.”

  “Space Command? No one’s reported seeing any Space Command ships in our territory.”

  “And no one’s reported seeing any Denubbewa ships in our territory either, but you have the evidence in front of your eyes that they’re here.”

  “You can’t possibly know that Space Command destroyed that Denubbewa warship.”

  “Who else, if not Space Command? We know from very sad experience that they have the most powerful space fleet in the galaxy. We severely underestimated them in the past, and we should never do it again. We know they’re the only ones who’ve ever defeated the Denubbewa.”

  “They’ve reportedly destroyed a few Denubbewa ships, but they certainly haven’t defeated the Denubbewa. One of these days the Denubbewa are going to decide to stop playing around with Space Command and finish them off. They’ll invade G.A. space with a million warships.”

  “And what happens to us when that occurs?”

  “I don’t know.”

  “I do. After they finish off Space Command, they’ll finish off everyone else in this part of the galaxy. I think we should make contact with Space Command, apologize for our past crimes against them, and form an alliance.”

  “Because some Denubbewa ship blew up in our space?”

  Pointing to the vid screen that still showed the image of the destroyed Denubbewa ship, Emmeticus said, “Look at that image. That’s exactly how ships look after they’ve fought Space Command. The G.A. has some kind of a weapon that makes enemy ships explode from the inside. We have intelligence images taken at their scrap yards around Lorense-Four to prove it. They were purchased from someone working there, and our intelligence people have confirmed they’re genuine and un- doctored. And we’re not talking about a few Denubbewa ships. The recycle piles around Lorense-Four contain the remains of thousands of Denubbewa ships. Our intelligence section has confirmed that. It’s not contestable.”

  “There has to be another explanation for those scrap heaps. And what would Space Command be doing in our territory anyway? As far as we know, they’ve never entered our space.”

  “Yes— as far as we know. But our intelligence service has heard rumors from very dependable sources that they have some sort of cloaking ability. Their ships can appear and disappear at will, and they never show up on DeTect screens. As far as why they’re here in our space? Perhaps they’ve always been here. We have no way of knowing. They might have been watching us since before we signed the pact with the Uthlaro. Or perhaps they simply heard about
our freighters being attacked and came to find the Denubbewa ships doing it.”

  “Why would they come all this way to see a Denubbewa warship?”

  “Not to see it. To destroy it. We know they don’t fear us or our military might. We have no idea how long they’ve been here or how many ships they have here. For all we know, there could be an entire fleet encircling this planet right now. Thankfully, the G.A. has a solid reputation for not attacking its neighbors as long as its neighbors don’t attack them. We have verified information that Admiral Jenetta Carver, in a Space Command battleship, suddenly just appeared in orbit around Ruwalch years ago. They went there to talk to the leadership about a Ruwalchu warship that had been cruising around in their territory and that had refused to leave. They didn’t destroy the Ruwalchu warship and no one saw the Space Command battleship enter Ruwalchu space or approach the planet. The planetary defenses were never able to identify where the ship was while it was in orbit around the planet, but they knew for certain it was out there. And no one ever saw them leave. They just appear and disappear.”

  “Impossible! Where did you hear about this ridiculous cloaking ability?”

  “It’s all our military intelligence people are talking about. They’ve been in awe of Space Command since Admiral Carver simultaneously fought four powerful nations— and won. I doubt we could even convince our Space Force to take action against Space Command. They know it would be like putting a laser pistol against your head and pulling the trigger. And now neighbors of the G.A. are petitioning them to join the G.A.”

  “Since when?”

  “You were here for the intelligence briefing about the Ruwalchu Confederacy, weren’t you?”

  “Yes. The Denubbewa have destroyed their entire Space Fleet and many of their freighters.”

  “And the Ruwalchu then petitioned the G.A. to annex their territory after Space Command came at their request and destroyed all of the Denubbewa ships in Ruwalchu space.”

  “The annexation petition is just an unconfirmed rumor. We haven’t been able to confirm that.”