Starborn Odyssey (The Starborn Odyssey Trilogy Book 1)

by Haines Sigurdsson

  As the crowd gathered for the meeting, it was noted that certain people were not present. Among those were Patrick Marshal and Harold Turley, Wade’s half brother; they were held to be the heads of the Human League. There were several hundred people missing that really needed to be there; in fact, I saw very little point to the meeting at all if those people weren’t going to be there.

  I was right. Although the Mayor resignedly pushed forward with the meeting, those whose consensus we sought, who had a problem with our new residents, were absent. Everything that was proposed was quickly voted into the laws of our colony by the rest of us, and the meeting was adjourned. The only good thing was that those who weren’t really aware of what had happened became aware and would now report anything out of the ordinary to the Security forces of which I was a member anyway. Many had been stunned at the violence of burning down an occupied house; most swore to do all in their power to put a stop to these activities. So perhaps it wasn’t totally a waste of time.

  I was happy to see the number of people who apologized directly to Meeza and me for the cruel and unjust act that had been perpetrated against us. Many offered to help us out in any way they could, for which we thanked them sincerely and told them that there wasn’t much that we needed, since our temporary apartment had a small synthesizer in it. It was true that I could have new clothing and food; what more did we need. The apartment had a minimal amount of furniture; we were set for now.

  Still, we knew there was to be serious trouble ahead; we didn’t have to wait long. It was early next morning when the explosion rocked the village. One of the electric cars was rigged with explosives and parked next to rear of the Reeshian building. Six Reeshians were injured as one section of the building collapsed. Ian and Mogi were among those injured; also Mogi’s brother. They were lucky to have survived, even though a couple of those injured were in serious condition. The Captain and Mayor Jordan called for anyone having any information as to whom was responsible to come forth with that info. He called for the organization calling itself the Human League to submit to questioning with a lie detector. Patrick Marshal was nowhere to be found. A squad of Militia men was sent to find him and Harry Turley as well, but came back empty handed. What could these guys possibly be thinking in a community this size trying to get away with something of this nature? After all, if it wasn’t them directly, they surely knew who had done it or they’d have had no reason to hide. The few suspected members that we did see claimed to have no idea who’d done it and I was convinced they were telling the truth. It had to be the most extreme members of the inner circle to have committed the act; but how could they think they could get away with it? Where did they think they could hide? It was baffling.

  The patrols that were on duty that morning saw very few people out and about that early. Of the few they had seen, none had been driving one of the little cars around; so it must have been hours before and done with a timer. I really didn’t think there were many people in our community that would know how to set it up. Captain Pierce checked to see who’d had a timer made by one of the synthesizers; since they operate through the central computer because it’s the only system that would have a file on that type of item. There were two of that type of timers ordered in the past week; one being Dan Glick; his was in use in his home and the other was two days ago by Pat Marshal himself; it left little doubt.

  The only immediate action we could take was to double the guards and start monitoring what was being ordered through the central computer. I had to start carrying my pistol round the clock, since we had no idea how or when they’d strike again.

  With the Captains authorization I started training some of the Reeshians to join our Militia so we could arm them and they could patrol their own compound. Until they were done training, we would keep at least four guards around their building at all times. The worst thing for me was that I was for the first time in my life genuinely ashamed of my own people. We’d betrayed our new friends and it didn’t feel very good. I secretly hoped I’d find Patrick myself; I had a score to settle with him personally.

  Roger Turley was on watch outside the Reeshian building while the repair work was getting under way. I stopped to see what he thought of the whole business; he being Harry’s nephew.

  “Harry’s always been a dark horse; it’s no surprise to me that the SOB’s involved in racial hatred and distortion of truth. He and my father never saw eye to eye on anything. Dad might have gone a little off in the deep end, but he’d never have done a cowardly thing like burn or blow up someone’s home while they were sleeping. Harry’s a self righteous fanatic and his involvement with Pat Marshal is proof enough for me,” he said, when I asked him if he’d heard anything about those guys. “Believe me; if I see or hear anything, you’ll be the first to know. And give my apologies to Meeza; she seems like a sweet kid; even Nettie thinks so, and she’s a good judge of character.”

  I felt good after my chat with him; it’s funny how much people can change. I guess it’s called growing up; but who’d have thought we’d grow up to be friends at all? I felt like he was one person I could trust, and I expected the years would prove me correct.

  Meeza and I returned home to our temporary apartment and relaxed for a few hours; having had very short sleep during the last couple of nights. I had to order clothes for both of us through the central computer since our synthesizer wasn’t stocked with enough matter to convert. It doesn’t make something from nothing; it simply takes any matter and reconstructs the molecules. I would have our order delivered to our door by the time we awoke and before the day was over there’d be a small chunk of rock loaded into our synth machine; then life would return to normal, after a fashion.

  I awoke to a message coming in from Captain Pierce. Patrick Marshal and about two dozen of his people had been in contact with him and with the Mayor. Their demands were simple; a ship of their own and a promise that they’d not be pursued when they left to start their own puritan style colony. The alternative was open warfare; a battle they couldn’t possibly win.

  “Wouldn’t it be best to just give it to them and let them be gone from our colony?” I asked. “I mean, get them out of the way and let them survive or starve on their own.”

  “We can’t afford to let people commit acts of violence, and then dictate terms to us; it sets a bad precedent. Not to mention that if they colonize anywhere in this system they’re bound to cause trouble again at some future time. Mayor Jordan wants to take a task force to the little cabin and stockade they’ve built for themselves, which was unknown to us until now, and take them into custody before making any decision at all,” he informed me.

  I could see his point but . . . “Captain; you know that will lead to another battle between colonists and colonists; I was in the last one and that was a disaster.” I reminded him. “I’d hate to see an all out gun battle between any of our people.”

  “I know, I know; I’ve been thinking the same thing. We’re trying to get an open dialog with them; but so far they refuse to discuss anything other than what they’ve specifically demanded.” He paused while someone said something to him that I couldn’t hear. I saw him nod an affirmative to the other party. “It seems they’ve fired a warning shot at the troop I’ve already sent there. I don’t want to send you there or any of the others who have close relationships with the Reeshians; I think that would trigger violence. We’re just going to stay back and wait them out for now,” he finished. “What else can we do that won’t get somebody killed?” He looked strained.

  His point was well taken. “I guess you’ve got the right of it for the moment.” I agreed. With that we signed off and I went and got our new clothing from our doorstep.

  After we dressed we went to the cafeteria to eat, since we had no food in the house yet and the synth was still not stocked. After we ate we took a walk to the western edge of town. We could see where the troops were massed waiting to see what would happen. Meeza said we should ask “She who makes all go
od things” to intercede in the behalf of good. Her people had believed in a godlike being who aided those in the right; it was quaint but not really relevant or helpful. I could see the Captain and the Mayor riding out to the site in one of the little open cars. I wanted to go with him in the worst way but knew I was under orders to stay away from it all. Instead I stayed where I was and watched and worried.

  After about fifteen minutes the Captain and the Mayor came back; it was obvious that they had reached no agreement. We went toward my mother’s home and visited there for a while; she had our news net on, to keep up with events as they were happening. Gabby Blain was the announcer; I’d gone to school with her; her real name was in fact, Gabriel, odd she should get that kind of a job; it really did fit. In school she’d been an announcer on our little radio station; mostly talk shows and some music; now she was the pro.

  “To think, we traveled more than four light years to arrive here and behave like barbarians,” Gabby was saying. “Think people; more than half of the reason most of our ancestors came on this voyage was to find out if we were alone. Well folks, we’re not. Get used to it!” She was in fine, energetic form, and I could see she’d have a following of fans soon. “Captain Pierce says the Anti-Alien terrorists are well armed and say they’ll take what they want by force if necessary. What they want is a ship; one of the newer ones, and they want it equipped for setting up their own colony. Captain, I say give it to them and good riddance; they’re an embarrassment to all the decent people in our colony.” She went on with more, but Mom turned it way down so as to be able to have a conversation.

  Angie came in with Ira and we sat and chatted; mostly idle chatter about how and what everyone was doing these days. The biggest news was that Angie and Ira were getting married in two months; no big surprise there.

  “I’ll still have a few more months of school but what will that matter?” She was saying. “We’re together all of the time anyway. How about you and Meeza? Have you any plans yet?” She asked with a devilish twinkle in her eyes.

  “We haven’t really discussed it,” I said evasively; having just gone through one ordeal concerning marriage. “We’re together; that’s good enough for right now.” Meeza was blushing and I could have smacked Angie for her lack of tact.

  Mom saw what had happened and changed the subject immediately. “Are they building your new home where your last new home was?” She asked with just the right touch of humor.

  “I think so.” I answered. “It was the perfect location and Blurg was right there for Sasha.”

  “I regret that we didn’t get the opportunity to see it but Marshal didn’t waste any time destroying it. I think his ancestors must be rolling over in their graves over his behavior. He’s made almost all of us ashamed to be human,” she said passionately.

  “We had a small group on our planet that were behaving almost as badly.” Meeza interjected. “Geeb Alori and a small group started an anti Earth people campaign and what made it so ridiculous was that he was using your technology to print his anti Earth signs,” she told them with a little bit of a laugh. “People with small minds tend to behave the same way.”

  I was glad she’d brought that up; it was better coming from her than from me. After a short while Mom did her Mom thing and instantly produced a feast that would have been the envy of the pilgrims back in the old days on Earth.

  After we’d eaten all we could we went back to our own place and checked up on the news. So far all was quiet; the troops were still standing guard. At least they couldn’t do any real harm from where they were; well, unless they still had a few allies that hadn’t gone in with them. I guessed we’d still have to sleep with one eye open that night.

  That night passed peacefully and in the morning Captain Pierce came by to hash over the situation. Meeza gave him a cup of coffee and I told him I thought we should give Pat’s people a ship on the grounds that they leave and start their colony elsewhere. It was, as far as I could see, the only way to avoid another scene like the one with Wade Turley such a short time ago. The Captain still thought it was a bad idea to give in to that sort of pressure, but in the end had to agree that it was probably the simplest solution. Personally; I just didn’t want any more bloodshed.

  This time I was allowed to accompany Capt. Pierce to the negotiations, since they were going to get largely what they wanted, with a couple of modifications. Meeza came along, but I refused to let her come into plain site of them because I feared it would incite a bad response. Firstly: they were to be given one of the smaller shuttles, which could be spared, along with all of their necessary supplies; and secondly: they were to be deported from our colony for at least a full generation. The exceptions to this rule were that those with relatives living in the colony; which was pretty much everyone; could have communications with family, and friends. Friends would not be stopped from visiting them if it was so requested by either side; which I felt was a good thing. That was written up and delivered to them as a formal proposal to which no serious objection was expected, since it was nearly everything they asked for.

  Their reply came within minutes of it reception; there was some commotion in their camp and somebody yelled fire. They opened fire on us and Capt. Pierce was nearly cut in half by so many having chosen him as their first target. As I dove to the ground, I felt a burning sensation in my abdomen and my left shoulder simultaneously. I succeeded in drawing my pistol and unloading a couple of shots, before Mike opened fire with the cannon and nearly burnt the small stockade to the ground. It was over in less than a minute and surprisingly I found myself still alive when the fight was over.

  I looked over at the Captain, who was on the ground beside me, and to my horror saw there was no life left in his open eyes. I wept bitter tears for the man who had helped me from the time my father had died; and now I would have to bid him farewell also. Both had died so unnecessarily and abruptly.

  Although I had no idea of the true body count; there were very few near me who showed any signs of life. I looked for Meeza but didn’t see her at first and began to panic. Then she was there and I let go and slipped into sweet oblivion.

  When I returned to consciousness, Meeza was there looking worried. I looked up and gave her a smile; or tried to. I really didn’t feel very good, but I wasn’t going to show it if I could help it; which incidentally I couldn’t.

  “I thought you were gone from me,” she said, looking terrified. “You can’t leave me alone; I won’t let you.”

  “Is the Captain really dead?” I asked; it didn’t seem like a real memory.

  She nodded sadly. “And about forty others if you count both sides,” she said. “How could this have happened?” She sobbed. She laid her head on my hand and cried for a long time. I was helpless to do anything about it at the time.

  How could this have happened? I asked myself; a question I would ask myself over and over again for years to come. What could possibly have possessed Pat to commit such a suicidal act? He had to know that they were out gunned and outnumbered by six to one. Perhaps they had underestimated the fire power of the cannon or maybe they thought that some people would turn on us when it came to a showdown. Whatever it was; they would be a problem no more.

  But hadn’t we done everything we could to avoid it?

  I drifted away again and dreamed fitfully of the barbarian Vortlepeg Garn, laughing at us cruelly. When I awoke again I was in a hospital room. I looked around and saw that I was far from alone. That one room had ten beds, all filled with people who looked worse off than me. I was bandaged all over the place; I’d been hit several times and I now felt them all. Meeza was sleeping in a chair next to my bed, with her head on my hand; that explained why I couldn’t move it. When I tried I woke her; she’d been crying and her eyes were all red and puffy. It broke my heart that I was the cause of her sorrow.

  It was nearly dark and I started to speak, but she shushed me and told me that Dr. Hebron had said that I wasn’t to talk or attempt to get up until
she returned in the morning. “I had to beg to get her to let me stay so I promised her I’d keep you down and quiet,” she whispered. “How do you feel?”

  “I’ve felt better.” I told her attempting humor. I remembered being hit in the stomach and immediately felt to see if it was still there and surprisingly it was. I tried to remember who else had been near when all hell had broken loose. “Are Olga and Josh ok?” I asked as I started to remember.

  “Josh is going to make it; though he took a bad hit just like you; Tima’s with him.” I struggled to remember Tima; a Reeshian girl I’d only met once. Mostly I was relieved that Nettie wouldn’t be losing her brother. Meeza was quiet for a long time, to the point that I got worried.

  “What is it?” I asked, thinking of my crew, who could be hurt. Mike? Brad? Ira?

  Mezza said in a quivery voice, “Olga is dead; she got shot in the head. From one of the survivors in the rebel camp we’ve learned that the person who yelled fire was warning of the building having caught fire; no one knows how. Everyone inside was so jumpy and had their weapons drawn; they thought it was an order to open fire.”

  I was shocked; after all we gone through together! I couldn’t imagine the Militia without Olga. We had schooled together, played tag as kids and trained together; she had always been a fixed point and now I knew she was dead, the Captain was dead, the entire awful tragedy—was all over a mistake. I remembered reading about someone saying that if you play dangerous games you run the risk of getting hurt or killed, but who’d have believed it would go that far?

  I knew I would miss Olga forever; but after a few tears I tried to pull myself together to comfort Meeza. She said that her sorrow was for me. “I know that you were close to her and the Captain, and I want to be strong for you.” The strange thing is; that seeing her so hurt took some of the focus out of my sorrow for my own loses and that did in fact help; though differently than she’d intended. There were only three survivors of the Human League, one of whom had supplied the information about what had happened in the end. They were confused and stunned at what had happened. They’d had no idea that Patrick was going to put them in the position forcing someone to pull the trigger and get them all killed; they repented all of their actions. I had no doubts about their sincerity; they had been victims of a lunatic mind as surely as the rest of us.