Gallono was taken aback by the statement, “What do you mean by questionable orders? The Captain always acted with the best interest of our mission to, at some point, return to Novus with the Nexus.”
“Captain Hastelloy’s earlier objection established the criteria to determine illegal use of the Nexus. Section 1.4 states the Nexus technology shall not be shared with or used for another species,” the magistrate instructed. “By your testimony, the Captain used the Nexus to regenerate the life forces of six humans. Did I misinterpret your testimony?”
Gallono shook his head and let out a frustrated sigh at having his meaning so misinterpreted. “This is what I was talking about: you weren’t there to understand the circumstances. Those humans were regenerated for a very specific reason that was vital to accomplishing our mission.”
“What reason was that?” the magistrate asked with genuine curiosity. “It appears to me that they were friends of the captain and he used the Nexus to save them.”
“I’ll admit that the captain and I had genuine feelings of friendship for most of those humans who were regenerated,” Gallono said. “However, that affection was not a first for any of us. We lived with the humans for thousands of years and had to watch countless close friends grow old and pass out of existence. Never once were any of us tempted to use the Nexus on them. I personally had a wife and child during one of my lifetimes on Earth, and I let them pass from existence out of respect for our laws.”
“The captain was also married once,” Gallono went on. “Eventually he had to watch his spouse fade into nothing while holding her in his arms. If he were going to use the Nexus to regenerate human friends, don’t you think it would have been done for her and not just some random individuals we encountered during our last few weeks spent on Earth?”
“Why then? Why was the law violated?” the magistrate insisted.
Gallono opened his arms out wide and stated what he considered to be the obvious. “Captain Hastelloy did it to gain much needed leverage over the primary leader on that planet. Holding that evidence over the American president guaranteed the safety of the Nexus by bringing the one entity that could have destroyed the chamber under his control. It also secured the cooperation of all but a handful of that world’s leaders since most of them took their cues directly from the American president.”
“It was the last and most vital step in preparing for the Novi’s arrival to take us home without incident rather than having that planet fight us tooth and nail due to a perfectly rational fear of the unknown,” Gallono concluded.
“Thank you commander, you raise a compelling argument to justify Captain Hastelloy’s actions regarding section 1.4 of the law. I will take it under advisement,” the magistrate commented, but then went on to ask, “while on planet Earth, what did you look like?”
The abrupt change of topic took Gallono by surprise so he bought himself some time by asking, “What do you mean?”
“Did you exist among the humans in this Novi body, or were you regenerated through the Nexus into an alien form similar to the one we see Captain Hastelloy occupying right now?”
“We were not alone when we crash landed on Earth,” Gallono explained. “An Alpha ship also landed safely on the planet’s surface. We needed to act, and the captain was forced to choose a course of action that would result in the least amount of cultural contamination to the local species. We could have fought the Alpha as Novi, or changed form to look like the humans. Captain Hastelloy chose to engage them in human forms, and I believe it was the correct decision. It was the lesser of two evils.”
“This was a decision the entire crew came to?” the magistrate asked.
“No. The captain opted to spare the rest of us from potential prosecution by making a unilateral decision. The Nexus was reconfigured and he terminated the four crewmen and brought us out of the regeneration chamber in human forms.”
“How noble of him,” the Chancellor commented from the magistrate’s right side. “I would like to point out that Captain Hastelloy’s actions imply that he knew ahead of time that he was violating the law. I would further like to ask the witness how the captain came to be in this human form. Did he die of old age as a Novi? Did one of the crew execute him for violating the law?”
“Neither,” Gallono said into his chest. He knew this testimony would eventually have to come out, but that knowledge did little to stem the shame he felt at betraying his captain, his friend. “Again, to spare the crew from potential prosecution, Captain Hastelloy took his own life and regenerated as a human.”
Gallono swore he felt a strong breeze accompany the collective gasp from the audience upon hearing the admission. It was the first verified case of suicide in Novi society for many thousands of years. The scandal landed on the courtroom like a fusion bomb.
A sickening smile spread across the Chancellor’s thin lips as the magistrate worked to regain control of the chamber. Gallono’s testimony all but doomed Captain Hastelloy, and the Chancellor basked in the glorious moment of it all.
“That is a whole other violation of the Nexus Code of Conduct laws.” the Chancellor declared, which gave Gallono hope that the man would overplay his winning hand. “There can be no favorable interpretation of that action. The question now, Commander Gallono, is why you as the second in command did not execute the captain when you learned of his suicide. It was your duty to enforce the law.”
“My primary duty at the time was to fight for and protect the twenty million life forces housed in the Nexus,” Gallono fired back. “The Alpha were an extremely potent threat to that mission. Without the captain, the rest of the crew and I would not have been able to defeat them. Victory on Earth required the most brilliant strategic mind this Republic has ever produced. For better or worse, that mind belongs to Captain Hastelloy.”
Gallono redirected his gaze from the Chancellor to the captain as he proceeded with his testimony. “Captain Hastelloy violated the law not to serve his own selfish means, but to serve a greater good that ultimately returned the lives of twenty million soldiers to the Republic. I have never known of a more noble and selfless action taken by anyone, ever. This is a man who provided great and distinguished service to his men and the Republic we all serve. That is all I have to say on the matter.”
Gallono watched Hastelloy absorb the commendation with an appreciative nod as the rest of the chamber held its breath. He doubted his final words were enough to exonerate the captain, but they needed saying. All too quickly, the appreciative moment between them was broken by the magistrate.
“Thank you for your testimony, Commander. You have provided everything I need to consider regarding the charge of illegal use of the Nexus device by Captain Hastelloy. You are dismissed from the witness stand.”
Gallono wanted to remain in the chair all day to sing Hastelloy’s praises, but his moment was up. A subtle smile and nod from the captain drew a tear from the corner of Gallono’s eye. He wiped it away as he rose to his feet and exited the courtroom.
Chapter 12: Contamination
“To address the second charge of violating the council’s directive of non-interference with an alien culture, I shall hear testimony from Chief Science Officer, Lieutenant Tonwen,” the magistrate announced.
Once again, Hastelloy’s eyes searched the audience expecting to see Tonwen’s familiar face, but instead watched a complete stranger stride forward to the witness chair. In true stoic Tonwen fashion, the science officer took his seat and folded his hands neatly on the table between himself and the magistrate. He did not say a word or reveal any sort of emotion at being the center of attention. He just waited with a blank expression for a question to be asked of him, which the magistrate was all too happy to oblige.
“Lieutenant Tonwen, you are honor bound to give truthful and unbiased testimony before this court. Will you fulfill this duty?”
“Yes I will,” came Tonwen’s monotone reply.
“Did you serve under Captain Hastelloy’s command
while stranded on planet Earth up until your recent return to Novus, some four thousand years after your crash landing on that planet?
“The total time spent on that planet before our rescue was four thousand six hundred and fifty three years,” Tonwen corrected. “During that time Captain Hastelloy was my one and only commanding officer.”
If the magistrate had any hair, Hastelloy was quite certain it would have stood on end with the brief moment of anger he flashed at Tonwen’s condescending response. He recovered admirably to continue in a pleasant tone. “During your four thousand six hundred and fifty three years spent on that planet under Captain Hastelloy’s command, did you ever witness any instances of interference with the culture of the local inhabitants, these humans?”
“Yes I did,” Tonwen answered and said no more, which only served to antagonize the magistrate further.
“Would you please elaborate?”
“Approximately two thousand three hundred years after first landing on the planet,” Tonwen began, but the Chancellor interrupted him looking to score subtle points with the magistrate who was still fuming after Tonwen’s earlier antics.
“Excuse me. Approximately? You strike me as a man who focuses on specifics,” the Chancellor challenged.
The interruption failed to phase Tonwen in the least. He did not miss a beat as he backtracked once again to the beginning. “Very well. Two thousand three-hundred and twenty eight years after we landed on Earth, I got caught up in an excited moment debating philosophy with the keen mind of a man named Plato. He used my arguments as the foundation for his theory of a democratic society which he detailed in a published work entitled The Republic.”
“What was the extent of cultural fallout from this incident?” the magistrate prompted.
For the first time Tonwen looked uncomfortable with giving testimony as he shifted a bit in his seat, “I am afraid it was quite substantial. Plato’s students used his principles to implement a democratic society of elected officials representing the will of the people rather than a monarch. Introduction of this concept was thousands of years ahead of schedule per their Neo Scale development timeline.”
“This caused a collection of city states to coalesce into a united Greek Republic. This stood for several hundred years before the nearby Roman Republic drew inspiration from the Greeks and eventually overshadowed them. The Romans ruled most of the civilized world at that time for more than a thousand years. Both civilizations provided a quantum leap forward in social and technological development for the humans.”
“What did your commanding officer do about this?” the magistrate asked.
“Captain Hastelloy concluded correctly that the idea was too far ahead of its time. Quite simply, at that time the humans were not ready for that type of governing body. Elected officials in a democracy must represent out of duty and dedication to the state and the greater good of the people.”
“The Greek and Roman republics eventually devolved into a gathering of selfish individuals making greedy grabs for power and riches at the expense of society. In the end, corruption would have torn those prospering civilizations apart. Rather than allow that to happen, the captain chose the most prominent leader and made him a monarch to restore the proper Neo Scale order to the timeline.”
“I object,” the Chancellor bellowed. “What does this testimony have to do with the charge of Captain Hastelloy engaging in cultural contamination?”
“The purpose of my testimony is twofold. First, it serves as an example of how simple and unintentional it can be to affect a civilization’s developmental path. In my case, an unassuming conversation led to the eventual formation of two great empires that shaped the very fabric of human civilization.”
“My second purpose is to show that Captain Hastelloy’s act of cultural contamination was to correct my mistake and set things right, which despite significant meddling by the Alpha, it did,” Tonwen concluded.
“You’ve already been exonerated of cultural contamination charges in exchange for your testimony, Lieutenant,” the magistrate said with annoyance in his voice. “I will hear evidence of the captain’s conduct, not yours. In the action reports you mentioned Captain Hastelloy ordered you to foster a new religion for the humans?”
“That is correct. The Alpha, in their relic form, established themselves as gods with the humans and effectively took control of the Roman Republic using their polytheistic faith. To keep the religious pan of the Neo Scale from tipping over, Captain Hastelloy ordered me to create a competing, monotheistic religion to wrest spiritual control of the humans away from the Alpha. Once again, it worked despite the Alpha’s best efforts to derail the captain’s plans.”
“We all know religion is a false belief in a deity that rustic civilizations desperately cling to in order to explain the world around them,” the Chancellor challenged. “Your testimony is that the captain willfully introduced another of these superstitious beliefs to hold these humans back from true enlightenment that the laws of science and nature provide.”
“You may include me as one of those rustics then, Chancellor,” Tonwen responded with indignation amplifying his phrasing. “During my work on that assignment I witnessed events science cannot explain. Our technology provided many miracles to impress the humans, but I saw miracles no technology can explain to me. Perhaps a being or beings more advanced than us were at work, or some deity does exist and used the captain and me as instruments of his will.”
“Either way, I have faith in a higher power, be it a god or an understanding of nature that we do not yet comprehend,” Tonwen declared. “That is beside the point however; per the Neo Scale development path the humans at this stage in their development should still have pockets of religious belief. The humans are exactly where they should be and that is a credit to Captain Hastelloy’s orders and my actions.”
“Moving on,” the magistrate declared before the Chancellor could offer a retort that would further derail the proceedings. “Still addressing the issue of cultural contamination, did you ever witness Captain Hastelloy share advanced technology with the humans? We already have testimony from commander Gallono that they saw some of our technology in action, but was any of it actually turned over to the humans by the captain?”
Tonwen looked in Hastelloy’s direction and the science officer’s eyes said it all. I tried my best, but they asked the right question.
“Answering that question will take some time and explanation,” Tonwen said with his eyes moving back to the magistrate.
“Take all the time you need.”
Chapter 13: New Arrival
After passing through the second layer of fencing and checkpoints, Tonwen felt confident he was past all of the security. That notion lasted until his motorcade approached a third ring of fencing anchored by a set of stone gatehouses that resembled parapets from a European castle. Camp David was certainly living up to its reputation as the most secure facility on Earth.
This was no small feat considering the American presidential retreat consisted of 180 acres of wooded terrain. The grounds featured over fifty structures all built to resemble semi-rustic bungalows, yet they still managed to provide all the luxuries demanded by any modern head of state.
Even when the President was not in residence, the facility was guarded by one hundred and fifty of the navy’s finest marines. When the commander in chief was present, that number increased substantially to provide an impenetrable fortress of solitude. Despite all the security measures, Tonwen felt an unexpected sense of isolation and intimacy as his car approached the primary residence.
Around the President’s Aspen lodge, cottages and walking paths were interwoven among the diverse assortment of oak, poplar, ash, hickory and maple trees. It all provided a close proximity of living quarters that engendered an atmosphere conducive to easing tension and encouraging informality.
It was little wonder how some of the world’s most groundbreaking accords between nations had their roots set amid t
hese wooded acres. Now it seemed the trees would host another turning point in history as mankind came face to face with beings from another planet for the first time.
“You could not have picked a more ideal setting for this,” Tonwen commended his captain as Hastelloy and Gallono greeted him outside the Aspen lodge.
“Yes. It’s secluded, peaceful, and yet totally secure from the prying eyes of the outside world,” Gallono agreed. “It’s very accommodating of the President to let us use it.”
“It’s all about how you ask,” Hastelloy laughed as he led the three of them to a back patio featuring a large, figure-eight shaped pool. Beyond the waters sat a vibrant golf practice hole complete with a well-manicured green and a sand trap on either side of the front edge.
“It’s also about having enough incriminating evidence against the President to make him do whatever you need,” Gallono added. “At this point I think he’d dress up in a tutu and be your lovely assistant in a magic act if you asked him.”
Gallono’s statement drew a rare laugh from Tonwen as they approached two men dressed in dark blue suits looking out over the practice green. The only strings attached to the use of Camp David for this meeting were that the President and his science advisor were to be present.
“Mr. President, I would like you to meet my science officer, Lieutenant Tonwen,” Hastelloy said as they approached. In response, the President turned to face them and looked as if he were nervous enough to pass out. “Relax, you’ve already met three beings from another world.”
“Somehow that fact hasn’t registered with me yet; you look just like us after all. The beings I am about to meet though,” the President sighed while shaking his head in disbelief. “Their bodies, their path of physical evolution was shaped by the environment of an alien world. They could be ten feet tall with enormous strength.”
Origins: A Greater Good Page 7