* * * *
The Battle of Slithin had been a major wakeup call for both sides. The Raknii had certainly suffered the worst of it, by a large margin. Their losses had been staggering. The infrastructure of half the planet had been lost, along with the massive Slithin Station, when the Confederates detonated that 20-megaton nuclear device. Just over 15,000 old-style Raknii warships had been destroyed or disabled by that same nuclear blast, and the ensuing EM pulse that destroyed the power grid and most control electronics on that side of the planet.
In the ensuing battle, after the Raknii discovered that those three mysterious asteroids coming inbound towards the planet were in fact, gigantic human weapons platforms, Tzal’s fleet of 10,000 new warships suffered the loss of 1,114 out of 1,500 heavy-cruisers, 1,437 out of 2,500 cruisers, 2,789 out of 5,000 destroyers and 692 out of 1,000 carriers, along with the loss of 29,543 out of 50,000 fighters and 6,748 more of their old-style warships that had been chewed up by human fighter-launched anti-ship missiles.
All totaled, they suffered well over a million Raknii dead, including the startling and spectacular immolation of Region-Master Blug, himself. Add in the fact that the Raknii fleet had been forced to withdraw from the system, leaving the devastated planet Slithin to the tender mercies of the human invaders… May 17, 3868 had definitely not been a particularly good day for the Raknii Empire.
From a numerical point of view, the Confederate 2nd Fleet had suffered a great deal less. Rear Admiral Irwin’s flagship CSS Behemoth survived, but she would need several years’ worth of extensive overhaul in a major orbital shipyard before she’d ever be battle-worthy again. Four light cruisers, a heavy-cruiser and a mere 14 fighters had been lost, but CSS Defiant and her attendant cruisers had all been severely damaged, so 2nd Fleet’s losses seemed much greater than they were. Their greatest losses, however, were psychological.
Gone were the wondrous days when a single fleet could be confidently depended upon to brush Rak warships aside with impunity and take Raknii planets at will. Just five years earlier, the aliens hadn’t known that carriers, fighters, missiles, battlecruisers and battleships even existed. To run into so many of them all (except for battleships) here at Slithin after so short a time implied a staggering engineering effort and a totally inconceivable manufacturing capacity.
If the Battle of Slithin was any indication, mankind desperately needed to find another way to end this war damned soon, before the aliens began turning out battleships by the hundreds of thousands.
* * * *
Chapter-20
Man had always assumed that he was more intelligent than dolphins because he had achieved so much… the wheel, New York, wars and so on, whilst all the dolphins had ever done was muck about in the water having a good time. But conversely, the dolphins had always believed that they were far more intelligent than man… for precisely the same reasons. — Douglas Adams
June, 3868
The video showing the death of Supreme-Master Xior and the ascension of new Supreme-Master Drix and both of their messages to the Raknii people was slowly making its way out to every corner of the empire, and it was causing great alarm and trepidation wherever it was shown.
Surrender themselves without a fight, if attacked by humans? Could the new Supreme-Master truly be serious? Was he seriously contemplating surrendering their entire empire by baring his own throat in submission to these aliens?
Order was breaking down on many Rak worlds, as the most rabid of secular modernists rejected the new supreme-master’s message and this new Book of Revelations that he was sending out to be reproduced locally on every Raknii world. They were rioting in the streets to make their displeasure known. Thousands had reportedly been killed, as planet-masters in every region called Raknaa assault troops out of their barracks to restore order.
Prides and even families were being torn asunder, from the intensity of the debate over the radical ideas found within the new supreme-master’s book. On a few planets where the modern secularism was the strongest, civil wars had literally broken out. The planet-masters of over 120 worlds were in open rebellion to the throne.
Colonization of those 60 new virgin worlds surrendered by the Trakaan was all but suspended, as Region-7 was a war-zone and Region-6 had suddenly grown ominously silent. Region-5 just didn’t have enough virgin planets left to meet the empire-wide demand, so discontent rising from population pressures was adding even more fuel to the flaming schism that was beginning to tear Raknii society apart.
Rumors were whispered about that ships and spaceliners destined for Klista, the capital world of Region-6, were mysteriously disappearing and never seen or heard from again. Shipments and spaceliner traffic destined for Klista were being suspended, until the mystery was solved.
Fear of the unknown was spreading throughout the Rak Empire like a wildfire. For the first time in generations, the Priestesses of Dol, better known as the Dolrak, were expanding their order to keep up with the new demands for their services. Also for the first time in generations, temples to Dol were undergoing expansion and the construction of many new ones were beginning.
Towards the end of the subcycle, news began seeping out of Yegraia, a frontier world in Region-4, near their border with Region-5, with more horrifying news. The ultimate predators, those demonic human aliens, had somehow found, attacked and taken Slithin, the capital world of Region-4 — a region considered far behind the lines and so removed from the war-zone, that it had been considered perfectly safe, lying so deep within the empire.
If the humans could find and take Slithin, where else might they attack next?Was there anywhere in Raknii space that was truly safe from these demons?
To make matters worse, it was reported that, before his death, Supreme-Master Xior had dispatched their great fleet of 10,000 powerful new warships, designed to fight against the humans on more even terms and overwhelm their small fleets with sheer numbers — and they’d somehow been decimated at Slithin.
* * * *
The Trakaan Planet Troxia
June, 3868
Negotiations between Fleet Admiral Kalis and Region-Master Raan evolved into a rather informal affair, with Admiral Thorn, Planet-Master Mraz and Fraznal, the Trakaan mediator, joining them —sitting in chairs appropriate to their specific physiology. These were arranged in a loose semi-circle beneath the shade of a gigantic old tree, in the park just outside the planetary administrative building in Troxia’s capital city. All had cold drinks at hand.
Mraz also introduced Raan to the human drink called beer, which he liked very much, and Raan had introduced Eileen Thorn to a Raknii version of sparkling wine that she was enjoying thoroughly. Tables of human, Raknii and Trakaan delicacies were laid out on separate low tables just outside their circle. With a pleasant breeze blowing and ideal temperatures, the warm sunny day almost felt much like a family picnic.
Raan had been astounded by all that Planet-Master Mraz told him, of what all he’d learned about humans during his three years in submission to them. For all their incredible ferocity in battle, they were obviously an honorable and respectful race, who claimed that they preferred peace and understanding to conquest and warfare.
It had taken Raan some time to finally come to accepting the validity of Mraz’s shocking admission, that he thought the Raknii’s penchant for attacking other races without attempting to talk to them first, was most unfortunate… in that he’d come to actually like many of the humans, once he’d gotten to know them. That evolved into a new and alien experience for Raan as well, as he was surprised to discover himself agreeing with Mraz on that point too. It really was a great shame that such two noble races had gotten off to such a bad start and were currently so dedicated to tearing each other’s throats out.
* * * *
The Planet Slithin
June, 3868
Ben Stillman’s Confederate 2nd Fleet was currently in orbit around Slithin. Transports waiting in the fringes of the solar system had been called in after Sta
cy Irwin’s three lumbering asteroid-battleships finally arrived. Using the new TBG manufactured English/Raknii translators, Ben had called down for the planet’s surrender under the same terms that Fleet Admiral Kalis had demanded at Kitty Litter, three years earlier.
Planet-Master Paeb recently received word of the changes in supreme-mastery from an incoming spaceliner, diverted to the planetary capital and arriving from Raku while the battle still raged beyond the asteroid belt. Now, with an alien fleet and those three monstrous asteroid-warships orbiting overhead, Paeb had been only too happy to comply with the new supreme-master’s edict to surrender if attacked by humans. Strangely, these unknowable humans demanded only several relatively small plots of wilderness upon which they planned to construct fighter bases, amazingly enough, without using Raknii slave labor.
Behemoth, Defiant, all three surviving battlecruisers, the two heavy cruisers and four light cruisers which comprised most of the heavy elements of 2nd Fleet were all in desperate need of overhaul, after the mauling they’d taken from 800 heavy-missile laden Rak fighters during the battle. Raknii space tugs were bringing in the hulks of the four light cruisers and the one heavy-cruiser that had been destroyed, where they’d be cannibalized for repair parts. It was hoped that 2nd Fleet’s heavies could be tacked back together enough to reach hyperspace again, so they could limp back to human space where they could finally get the yard time they so richly deserved.
In the meantime, a squadron of Raptors was heading back across those vast life-voids, en route back to Kitty Litter. They’d need a hell of a lot of refueling stops along the way, and those pilots would definitely be sporting a few new hemorrhoids after so many uninterrupted days of sitting in the cockpit of a Raptor, but it was absolutely vital that Fleet Admiral Kalis be apprised of all the nasty surprises the cats had waiting for them, when 2nd Fleet arrived at Slithin.
* * * *
The Trakaan Planet Troxia
July, 3868
An unexpected, unscheduled spaceliner arrived at Troxia from Klista carrying a diplomatic pouch for Region-Master Raan. Diplomatic pouches were another human invention, supposedly inviolate property or information under international law and treaty… whatever “international” really meant. From his prior agreements with Fraznal, which had brought peace, limited trade and an exchange of planetary property between the Raknii and the Trakaan, Raan had a decent grasp of what a treaty was. But he was still having trouble gasping the concept of a non-united humanity existing at least semi-peacefully with one another, while divided into separate political entities known as “nation-states.”
He and Admiral Kalis had spent days discussing this strange concept, one which Fraznal could offer no help in understanding, as the Trakaan were also a united race. Trakaan records, from monitoring humanity’s progress over thousands of cycles, were filled with examples of mankind’s almost continuous wars between these various “nations,” and they, too, had difficulty understanding exactly why it was that humans hadn’t abandoned this unworkable arrangement millennia ago.
“Unlike the Trakaan, who are primarily of a single race, or the Raknii who are generally made up from two, with the Raknaa as a subject subspecies, humanity is composed of many different races,” explained Kalis.
This was another area where both Raan and Fraznal failed to grasp the distinctions that Kalis was trying to make. Both understood the obvious racial, cultural and political differences between the Raknii and the Trakaan.
They were totally different kinds of beings, so how could it be otherwise?
Even Raknii subjugation of the Trakaan during earlier times hadn’t changed that. Trakaan were Trakaan and could never be Raknii, no matter how one might endeavor to emulate the other. Raan and Fraznal also easily understood the racial, physical, intellectual and cultural differences between Raknii and Raknaa. While the two species were obviously remotely related in the far distant past, they were now very different creatures, retaining only passing similarities in outward appearance. It was an established, scientific fact that, in general, Raknaa possessed intelligence levels less than half that of the Raknii, which explained how it was that the smaller, weaker physical race had come to dominate the larger and physically stronger one. In creating their race, Dol had given the Raknaa the brawn, while he gave the Raknii the brains. Both were necessary for survival, and the Raknii ruling the Raknaa was as natural as the brain directing the movements of the body.
But from what Raan and Fraznal could see, the racial distinctions which differentiated humans were primarily just variations in skin color. Yes, admittedly there were other minor differences, such as the shape of the nose, the thickness of lips, the tilt of the eyes and even the amount and distribution of muscle mass and body fur, unique to humans of a particular skin tone, but neither could understand why humans placed such divisive emphasis on these mere trivialities.
“Our differences between our various races is deeper than merely skin color or physical attributes,” continued Kalis. “Each possesses their own unique cultural, religious and philosophical differences as well.”
“If wars have been so common throughout human history, as seems to be the case,” opined Raan. “How is it that these kinds differences between you remained after dominance combat had been resolved? Did not the victor then impose his own culture, religion and philosophies upon the vanquished?”
“That was attempted at various times throughout our history,” said Admiral Eileen Thorn. “But it never worked. The victors found that attempting to impose foreign culture, religion and philosophy by force was like stomping on a flaming liquid, in the attempt to extinguish it.”
Raan snorted. “That only splashes the flaming liquid everywhere, causing the fire to spread even farther.”
“Exactly,” said Thorn. “Attempts to eradicate cultures, religion or philosophies using external force only compressed those beliefs, causing pressures to build within the vanquished society. As you know, compression generates heat and sufficient amounts of pressure can cause spontaneous combustion, producing violent explosions. So it is amongst humans.”
“But obviously, life experiences over time offered proof that some ideas are inherently superior to others, in that they worked better in practical application,” said Fraznal. “How is it that humans did not then adopt the superior ideas and discard the inferior ones? That’s a question about human behavior that has baffled our scientists for millennia.”
“Within humanity, the definitions of ‘better, superior and inferior’ can be very subjective,” answered Kalis. “What one culture might define as ‘good and right,’ another might define as ‘appalling or evil.’”
“No, I’m not talking about purely theoretical philosophy,” said Fraznal. “I meant the adoption of ideas that have been demonstrated and proven through physical application as resulting in consistently superior results.”
“Again, who is defining what constitutes ‘superior?’” asked Kalis.
Fraznal was frustrated. “Is it not obvious when a certain result is desired and a specific procedure consistently produces a higher yield of that desired result, it should be then defined by all as ‘superior?’”
“What if one of the primary steps in that procedure violates a major cultural taboo?” asked Kalis. “For example, what if the only known source for a rare chemical compound that was a vital, primary ingredient in the manufacture of a miracle drug capable of alleviating suffering and saving millions of lives through the eradication of disease, was found only in the mashed brains of your innocent children?”
“You present a paradox, where great good can only be accomplished by the commission of even greater evil,” hissed Fraznal. “It is obvious that the purposeful killing of children to save the lives of adults could not possibly be considered ‘superior’ under any circumstances.”
“What if they only used the mashed brains of children that died of natural causes, or were stillborn?”
“On the surface that might appear permissi
ble,” Fraznal said. “But that would make those chemicals a rarity and therefore highly valuable. There are mental defectives found within any civilization, who comprise a criminal element, which, with sufficient monetary incentive, would not hesitate to commit murder to acquire resources of such value. No, a civilized society could not allow for such an incentive for such extreme evil to exist among them. The manufacture of such a wonder drug must, of necessity, be outlawed.”
“Then by your definition, much of humanity is not civilized,” replied Thorn. “We’ve learned that once discovered, something cannot be ‘un-invented’ or knowledge ‘unlearned.’ If something can be done, then it will be done, regardless of governmental efforts to prevent it. It’s stomping on flaming liquid again.”
“You actually make drugs from the mashed brains of your children?” asked Fraznal, shocked.
Kalis laughed. “No, that was just an extreme exaggeration to make a point, but there are things common in some human cultures that you might consider nearly as bad. That was my whole point —cultural and religious differences between various portions of humanity are often so extreme, they produce totally incompatible points of view. That, in itself, prevents us from ever achieving the kind of unity found within your two cultures. I’m afraid that mankind will always be doomed to remain divided into separate nation-states.”
“Then you are doomed to always be fighting endless wars amongst yourselves,” noted Raan.
“Exactly,” said Kalis. “That’s how we became so infernally good at it. We’ve had a lot of practice.”
* * * *
The Planet Slithin
July, 3868
After eight weeks of exhaustive repair work, none of 2nd Fleet’s damaged warships were anything approaching battle-ready, but at least they were finally all functional enough to reach hyperspace again. All would be limping back to Kitty Litter, and then probably onward to Norf Fleet Shipyard at Ginia for desperately needed structural repairs.
Wrath of an Angry God: A Military Space Opera Page 23