Caretaker

by Josi Russell

  Seeing his expression, Kaia was suddenly at his side. “What does it mean, Ethan?”

  He answered in a trembling voice. “It means ‘those who were taken in conquest.’” He looked up. “Slaves.”

  “What?”

  “On this list, the people on this ship are all designated by the term ‘Slave’ and then their number. This line lists Aria as ‘Slave three nine nine nine,’ and then lists her species, gender, age, and the fact that she’s pregnant. It’s like a bill of sale.”

  Kaia was shaking her head. “But, Ethan, that makes no sense.”

  He was switching the levers on the data box. With trembling fingers, he opened the “Treaty Documents” folder on the screen in front of him. He entered the first folder. As the equations appeared, he reached for his writing instruments and began to chart the symbols.

  The Treaty of Peace

  between

  the Human Race

  of

  Earth, the Milky Way Galaxy,

  and

  Colonies Established Thereby

  and

  the Aloran Race

  of Beta Alora, Sardon Major,

  and

  Colonies Established Thereby

  respecting

  the Colonization and Occupation

  of

  the Planet Minea

  and the

  Cessation of Aggressive Actions Thereon

  signed at Theta Tersica: Universal Date Q3165

  Beta Aloran Date Sansquit 13

  Earth Date December 16, 2206

  In an effort to establish peace and tranquility among the Human and Aloran Races, and by the authority of the leaders of the same, the Human and Aloran Races agree to the following terms:

  The Aloran Race, recognizing the sovereignty of the Human Race on the surface of the Planet Minea, and on its moons, satellites, suns, and planets of its system, consents to allow the aforementioned Human Race to dwell there in peace and security, with no threats of aggression nor acts of aggression toward said Race until the natural end of the aforementioned system or until such time as said Human Race deems to leave the Planet Minea.

  The Human Race, recognizing the superior military and technological forces of the Aloran Race, consents, in exchange for sovereignty on the surface of the Planet Minea, and on its moons, satellites, suns, and planets of its system, and in exchange for dwelling on said planet with no threats of aggression nor acts of aggression from said Aloran Race until the natural end of the aforementioned system or until such time as said Human Race deems to leave the Planet Minea, to provide said Aloran Race with 4,000 healthy humans, detailed in the appendix at the end of this document.

  In light of the vastly superior military and technological forces of the Aloran Race, and in an effort to promote peace in the Universe, in the case that the Aloran Race violates in any regard the provisions of this treaty, it shall be recognized that said Aloran Race has committed an act of hostility disruptive to the security of the civilizations of the Universe and is subject to reprisal from the Universal Council of Peace in the form of planetary annihilation.

  In light of the still-developing Human Race, its attempts at leaving its home planet and finding its way into the Universe, and in an effort to nurture said attempts by this and all newly-colonizing civilizations, in the case that the Human Race violates in any regard the provisions of this treaty, it shall be recognized that said Human Race has failed to uphold honorably its treatises and is subject to reprisal from the Universal Council of Peace in the form of disallowing further colonization or interstellar trade for the space of three Universal Spaces of Time.

  Ethan was trembling violently when he finished writing out the translation. Kaia was silent, her gray eyes wide.

  “We’re on . . .” Ethan’s voice cracked. “ . . . a slave ship.”

  Chapter 18

  Ethan manipulated the switches and buttons on the data recorder. The silence hung heavily as he maneuvered the screen back to the “Treaty Documents” menu. Once there, he feverishly jotted down the equations and painstakingly charted and translated their symbols. The resulting menu read:

  “Treaty”

  “History of Human/Aloran Treaty”

  “Negotiation of Treaty Terms”

  “Official Apologies”

  “Future of Minean Civilization”

  Ethan switched to “History of Human/Aloran Treaty.” Instead of the usual stream of equations, a video screen appeared, showing images of the stark white interior of the first colonization ship sent to Minea.

  Captain Arthur Flynn, the first man on Minea, appeared on the screen. “Base Twelve, Base Twelve, do you read me?” he said to the screen.

  A disembodied voice answered. “Base Twelve here. Report, Flynn.”

  “Colonization efforts on schedule. Agriculture is fully established. Engineering is complete. We are ready for the shipments of builders due to arrive over the next few weeks.”

  “We will prepare the manufacturing ships. They will be en route within the year,” said the voice of Base Twelve.

  “Thank you, sir.”

  “Thank you for the report. Please return to your duties.”

  “Yes, Sir.” Flynn hesitated and then added in a rush, “Sir, there is one more thing.”

  “A problem, Flynn?” The voice of Base Twelve was impatient and annoyed.

  “Not yet, Sir.” Flynn waited. He shifted his gaze nervously.

  “Well, Flynn, get on with it! What is it?”

  “Sir, unidentifiable ships have been observing the surface of the planet.”

  “What? What ships?”

  “As I said, they match none we have on record.”

  “Flynn! You’re wasting my time. Find out who they are, get me that information, and I will get the diplomatic team on the task of drawing up a treaty with them. This is standard procedure, man.”

  Flynn’s eyes flared, “Sir, with all due respect, this is not standard. The ships have abducted nearly twenty of my men.”

  “Abducted?” The voice scoffed. “Impossible. There are strict interstellar laws about removing other species without consent of their home planet. No civilization within a hundred light-years would dare 'abduct' your men. It’s a big planet, Flynn. I’m sure they’re around somewhere.”

  “Sir, the men were dissolved, vaporized. A lot of people saw it.”

  “Probably gas vents in the planet’s surface. I’m telling you, no species would dare. Find me the name of your aliens, and I’ll get the ships out of your atmosphere. Will you feel better then?”

  Flynn was angry. “Yes, Sir.” The transmission cut out. The screen went black. A second passed, then a much more haggard Flynn appeared again. The date on the bottom showed that three years had passed since the earlier transmission.

  “Base Twelve, do you read?”

  “Go ahead, Flynn. What is the situation with the alien race?”

  “We’ve learned who they are. They are from Beta Alora. It’s a long way from here. They’re kind of a pirating race, going around collecting what they want from various new colonies. They’re a Class 15 civilization, so they have incredibly advanced weaponry and technology. I don’t see any way to beat them, Sir.”

  “What is recommended by the Universal Alliance?”

  “We met with them this morning. They have advised us to meet with the Alorans and work out a peace treaty. Apparently, this has been successful in the past. The Alorans are interested in seeming reputable, so they will get what they want through peaceful means if necessary.”

  “And what do they want, Flynn?”

  “I don’t know, Sir. Could be the planet, could be resources, I don’t know.”

  “How do we meet with them?” the voice asked.

  “The Universal Alliance will arrange the meeting if we are willing. They recommended designating a cabinet to work through the terms of the treaty.”

  “Tell them to set it up. I’ll get the cabinet together. We need to get this
taken care of ASAP. We have Passenger Ships en route.”

  “Yes, Sir.”

  “Base Twelve out.” The screen went blank again.

  As the next clip came up, Ethan glanced over. Kaia was curled in a tight ball on the end of the couch. He knew she must be exhausted. Neither of them had slept since long before their trip to the weapons hold, and that must have been at least a day ago.

  He looked back at the screen. A title screen reading ”Treaty Cabinet Meeting” was just fading. Next, the screen was filled with the image of six people, five men and one woman, around a table. Ethan immediately recognized the broad face of Phillip Reagan.

  Kaia drew in a sharp breath and sat up, leaning forward on the couch, eyes trained on her father. The rest of the cabinet was identifiable only by their uniforms. Three military members, including Reagan, the President of the Earth Alliance, and two, including the woman, from the Department of Alien Relations.

  The voice of Base Twelve from the earlier transmissions belonged to Syd Allexis, a general in the Earth Defense Force. He was obviously the head of the cabinet as he began the first meeting by introducing the members and explaining the situation.

  “People, you don’t know why you’re here, but I thank you for coming. The very fate of the human race may hang on the decisions we make here today. First, let me introduce you to each other. We’ll start with General Phillip Reagan, with whom I’ve worked many years in the Earth Defense Force. Next to him is Himura Akio, of the Earth Offensive Force.” He nodded toward each as he said their names. “We all know President Khouri, and these two are Hoxna Kelty and McKendra Thrush, joining us from the Department of Alien Relations.”

  Allexis sat still and upright in his chair, his hands folded on the table in front of him, his holographic rank insignia flashing light back toward the camera. “There is no easy way to start this,” he said authoritatively. “We have a serious situation on Minea. A very serious situation. The colony is well-established. Everything is on track. We have farmers, scientists, builders, manufacturers, military leaders, there. Our passenger ships are set to leave very soon. In fact, Phillip here is set to be on one of those ships.” Reagan nodded. “But a conflict has arisen on the surface of the planet. An alien race called the Alorans have occupied many of our cities. They have come in and are threatening to take possession of the entire planet, including the 80,000 people we have there already.”

  Every eye in the room was trained on Allexis. “We have been able to secure diplomatic assistance in dealing with these marauders. That is why we’ve brought you all here, taking the risks of rapid space travel, to reach an agreement with the Alorans.”

  The President of the Earth Alliance spoke up. “And just where, Allexis, is ‘here’? We’ve been shuttled around in windowless transports for two weeks. We have no idea where we are.”

  “I’m sorry about that, Mr. President. Unfortunately, we couldn’t take the risk of anyone knowing who was involved in these negotiations. You may be glad of that before this is all over.” His voice was flinty and impatient. “You are, now, on the planet Theta Tersica. It is about halfway between Minea and Earth. It is about 600,000 lightyears from Beta Alora. Theta Tersica is a neutral planet, used often for these kinds of negotiations.”

  “How long will we be here?” Kelty asked.

  “I don’t know. Our hope is that we can reach an agreement with the Alorans before our passenger ships leave next month.”

  Reagan spoke up. “Why wasn’t this taken care of during the initial purchase of Minea? Eighty other treaties were signed before we even set foot on the planet. Why didn’t we deal with these Alorans then?”

  Allexis spoke again. “Beta Alora is galaxies away from Minea. It has no claim on the planet, nor on the system. Our original negotiating team would not have even seen them, much less found it necessary to approach them about rights to the planet.”

  “Then why are we even dealing with them? If we own the planet, where is the Universal Alliance? This should be their problem.”

  “The Universal Alliance assists in negotiations, and they enforce interstellar law to a certain extent, but I’ve not yet briefed you on a significant detail: the Alorans are a Class 15 civilization.”

  The indignant group around the table stilled momentarily.

  Allexis went on, “There are only maybe forty civilizations in all of known space that would have any chance at all of winning a conflict with them. Most of the Alliance wouldn’t be able to enforce sanctions even if they wanted to get involved. The Alorans have historically been a peaceful, advanced civilization. Only in the last 1,000 years have they become aggressive towards younger civilizations like ours. They seem to be taking advantage of the colonizing civilizations, raiding colonies and threatening to annihilate them, but they are easily pacified through negotiations. Once what they want is discovered, they take it and leave, never actually doing any serious damage.”

  “So you think they’re bluffing?”

  “Oh, no, they’re not bluffing. They’re just using their obvious advantages to ‘encourage’ civilizations to give up things that they otherwise wouldn’t. Things that the Alorans can’t get any other way.”

  “What kinds of things?” Reagan asked guardedly.

  At this, Allexis shifted almost imperceptibly. “Well, they’ve taken cultural artifacts: books, folk art, music. And they’ve negotiated for minerals and animals from the colonies’ home planets. They wanted things that were unique, that the Alorans, with all their advanced technology and weaponry, couldn’t manufacture for themselves.”

  “What, do they have a huge museum they put all of this in?”

  “No one knows what they do with it. Their home planet is so spectacularly shielded that no one goes in or comes out without several levels of security clearance. It’s unscannable, even by the most sophisticated of equipment.”

  “Why don’t the other Class 15 civilizations do something about them?” asked Himura, speaking up for the first time.

  Kelty caught Allexis’ eye.

  “Let’s let our DAR folks field that question,” Allexis said.

  “Class 15 civilizations are incredibly complex,” Kelty said, almost excitedly. “They have a very hands-off approach. They have evolved so far beyond the realm of other civilizations that they could very easily destroy all of organic life indefinitely. They see themselves as observers of other civilizations. They refuse to interfere with conflicts because if they joined forces with nearly anyone, they would make it impossible to beat that civilization. The Alorans are something of an anomaly. The other Class 15s view them sort of like a misbehaving younger sibling. They are disapproving, but indulgent. They will not interfere, as the ramifications of causing conflict between the Class 15 civilizations themselves are beyond imagination.”

  “What happens if they go back on the terms of the treaty?”

  “First of all, history leads us to believe that they won’t. Once they’ve ‘collected’ their treasure from a civilization, they’ve never seemed to pay them any more attention. None of the other civilizations on record have ever been reapproached.”

  “Well, it seems a straightforward enough decision,” the president said decisively. “Let’s give them what they want and get back home. I’ve got a planet to run.”

  Allexis stiffened. His jaw tightened. “Mr. President, this decision is anything but straightforward. Please, with all due respect, wait until you’ve heard the proposal before you agree to it.” There was a bitter edge in his voice.

  The president, obviously offended, snapped back, “Well, then, quit playing games, Allexis. Give us all the information. What do the bugs want?” His publicity team would have been horrified by his use of the crude term for Aliens.

  Ethan sat tensed on the edge of the couch, his fingernails digging into his palms. He wanted to turn it off, to erase the drive, to go back to not knowing what was coming next. But he kept watching because part of him wanted to hear them actually say it.


  Allexis, for the first time, looked at the table. His voice was quiet, unsure. “They want people.”

  The next few seconds of footage seemed to be in slow motion. Himura and Thrush looked confused, Reagan swore explosively, and Kelty nodded sagely, as if it were no surprise to him.

  There was no change in the president’s expression. “How many?” he asked in a low voice.

  Reagan was on his feet. “How many? What kind of a question is that? What does that matter? Absolutely not!” He circled the table.

  “Settle down, Phillip,” Allexis growled under his breath.

  “Settle down? Are you really considering this? Did you really bring us here to discuss selling people? If that’s what you want, you’ve picked the wrong delegate, Syd. I won’t go for it.”

  Thrush spoke up. “I don’t know, but it seems he might be right. There has to be another way.”

  Kelty was shaking his bespectacled head. “No, no, no,” he mumbled, “you don’t know the Alorans. I’ve studied some of their history. They want what they want. Of course they want people. Of all the species they’ve encountered so far, they’ve never seen anything like our little Class 3 civilization. I’m sure they find us quite cute and quite amusing. But we’re relatively intelligent and hardy in comparison with many others. They may have a collector’s interest in us, or they may have work that needs doing that humans are particularly suited for. They love what they don’t have. It’s perfectly understandable that they would want some human specimens. Perfectly understandable.” He looked around the table, nodding.

  The president spoke again. “Allexis. I asked you how many?”

  Allexis’ voice was flat when he spoke again. “They started out at 50,000. We’ve talked them down to 4,000.”

  “4,000?” Himura’s voice was doubtful. “Why were they satisfied with so few?”

  “We were surprised, too.” Allexis’s voice lowered and he choked out the next few words. “After negotiations, they settled on a suitable number for a breeding colony.” Avoiding their eyes and the curses from Reagan, he said, “if you’ll look at the screens in the table in front of you, you’ll see the document they’ve sent us with their demands. It has been translated for your convenience.”