The Alliance in Peril

by Peter Lewis Atkinson

  It was all higgledy-piggledy, made up of odd bits of metal with no purpose to their position within the sculpture. In the centre was this very slightly opaque ball containing metal shavings. Zitter replied “I call this piece, ‘The Mind of a Male.’ What do you think?”

  Horrified, I said, “I can’t have that shown on Earth. It is so sexist, I find it offensive. What if it was called ‘Mind of a Female’ instead? I tell you what would happen, my reputation would be shot and there may be calls from some quarters that I should be lynched. No, unless you can come up with a name that will not offend, then I will have to leave it with you.”

  Zitter was upset that she had offended me, she had named the sculpture with Dregg males in mind, which perhaps in some ways is true, as they do tend to be a little scatterbrained. Zitter said, “Please rename the sculpture for me, Jake?”

  I replied, “Ok, how about something along the same line, what about… ‘Mind of a Silka?’ That won’t offend anybody, except possibly a Silka. Their feelings are irrelevant, so who cares what a Silka would think, after all, you can’t ask one”

  My attention turned towards the other sculpture. The sculpture depicts two different aliens embracing in a friendly way. Zitter said, “This one is simply called, ‘Friendship.’ As you can see I have purposely not included anything to distinguish any race from another. If your race has two arms, two legs and one head, then possibly one of those depicted could be your race.”

  I smiled and replied, “Friendship, I like that name. I am sure this sculpture will be satisfyingly accepted without any problems.”

  Both sculptures were loaded onto a four-wheeled cart. The cart was pulled from the yard by two of Zitter’s work crew. Down the rough track, they went, towards our cargo freighter. Zitter, Alenna, Jenna and I followed close behind. Alenna called ahead for the cargo bay doors to be opened ready to receive the Sculptures. Now, you don’t have to be eagle-eyed to miss that gunship stored in our hold.

  Zitter at once said, “A gunship, how did you manage to get hold of a new gunship, is it for Earth?”

  I replied, “No, it’s not for Earth. Just an ordinary business contract, we have to ferry it to the planet Molk.”

  Zitter said in a quiet voice, “Have you heard, the Silka have taken the frontier planet of Elderring? I hear they are gathering in numbers poised ready to take Kelder next. There are rumours abounding that the alliance is not going to put up any opposition to the Silka. Instead, they are evacuating the planet. If you are delivering a gunship to Molk then I suspect the alliance are worried indeed. Molk is deep within Alliance territory.”

  I asked Zitter, “Have you heard anything regarding the possibility that the Silka might possess more advanced star-drives than they previously had?”

  Zitter replied, “I have heard rumours to that effect, I think the alliance is worried at the same time trying to keep their concerns under rap. Something is bound to break soon.”

  After departing Dregg we headed for Molk. We always spent a day or two there so Jasper could visit his mother and family. On arriving at the planet we were shocked to find a battlecruiser in orbit. It did not attempt to challenge us, but it must have noted our arrival. I guess they would only challenge a ship design that was not recognised. We tried not to worry. After unloading the gunship we went to the beach for the day while Jasper took Ellie, Jessica and young Rachael to see his family. The thought of that battlecruiser in orbit did not go away, it was still there when we left the planet. Next, going back home to Alkarr. I found the biggest shock of all awaiting us. Circling planet were another two battlecruisers. Now I was very worried indeed. They would not be able to keep a lid on what was happening, Alkarrens would ask, why are these battlecruisers in orbit? I just hoped it did not result in panic when they did find out. Our next cargo run would take us close to Grimda. We needed to arrange another ore consignment, hopefully on the same terms as our last deal. Again to add to our worries, on arrival at the moon known as Grimda we were confronted by yet another battlecruiser. Something was definitely up. Regarding the deal with the Grocka, Alenna tried to get more ore, though that would have been wishful thinking on her part. In the end, we came away with an identical deal as last time. Going to our next destination was a planet I didn’t look forward to. It was Brackarr, the heavy gravity world. It was the first time Jasper had been there. He always looked forward to going to a world he had not yet visited, but on this occasion, he was truly disappointed. Using the robot skeleton suit took some practice and as yet Ellie had not bothered to instruct him on its operation. I would take that task on, but not now, as we didn’t have time. I would get time during our return trip to Alkarr. For this, I would go to the cargo bay with Jasper. We would climb into the skeleton suits. Next, this was the part my family would have to put up with, they would all need to lay or sit down for some time. I needed to increase gravity within the ship. I would then instruct Jasper how to operate the suit, we would then move some items about in the cargo hold for practice. As my family would not appreciate being almost incapacitated, though not completely, for too long. I would need to teach him over several sessions of around half an hour each time until he was confident enough to try it for himself when we next visited Brackarr. And by the way, there was a gunship along with a frigate patrolling the planet Brackarr.

  We had again returned to Earth. We now had quite considerable funds in our bank account on Earth. We wanted to spend some of it. I wanted us to spend a little more time on Earth, so after persuading Alenna, it was time to go looking for a property in the countryside, one with some land around it. As we would not be there that often, probably just six weeks in a year, we needed to employ someone to take care of it. We had purposely gone to Earth a week earlier than was necessary. Apart from picking up the ore bins and collecting the payment method required by the Grocka, the locusts. We had a week to go looking for a suitable property. We wanted somewhere in the south and we soon found that we were not short of potential properties. First, though, I needed to arrange yet another visit from the very eccentric Lord Gilbert Pemberton-Smythe. So this was done. At the end of his visit, I could swear he was rubbing his hands together with glee, as he took his seat in the van. Two more alien sculptures meant more potential visitors to his gallery. We had whittled down the number of properties to just those that would be the most suitable for our needs. So we spent the next few days visiting them. It was on our third day we found what we were looking for. A large modern farmhouse with an annexe that had two bedrooms. The main house had eight bedrooms, though none of the bedrooms were big enough as they stood. We required a bedroom to take all my wives and me. It should not be that difficult to knock two rooms into one. The property also had around thirty acres of land, with a number of outbuildings along with a stable block. Included in the sale was a tractor. It was sitting in the barn along with a selection of various farming implements, for example, those required for cutting, turning, and baling hay. It was perfect; we fell in love with the place, so we bought it! There was not enough time to interview a potential employee so we just advertised locally. We did not let on that they would be working for us, the House of Albion. We just gave details of what the position entailed, though we had not given any indication of a wage. We had stated the position also included accommodation in the form of our two bedroom annexe. We would do the important interviews on our next visit to Earth, which would happen when we delivered the ore. We planned to spend two whole weeks at our new property next time we visited Earth, or our residence, which we now liked to call it. Alas, we had run out of time. So after loading those cages full of locusts, along with all those ore containers, we left Earth. Our destination would be Grimda. Not stopping at Alkarr as usual meant we would have more time after our delivery of the locusts and collection of the ore. Alenna had allowed a week on Alkarr after going to Grimda. This was to become the norm. In fact, we did not nee
d to do any cargo shipments really. After all, our house was very wealthy. We still had the proceeds of the sale of the gunship we had auctioned. That transaction alone had given us more than enough alliance credits to last many years. The wives and I would become bored not doing anything, so we would continue with our cargo runs, perhaps being a little choosy and also having a little more recreational time to ourselves.

  “It’s that time again,” Alenna said. “Can I have your attention? I would like volunteers to help on Grimda, don’t all rush at once.”

  I at once replied, “I will assist you as usual.”

  Jasper jumped in without conferring with Ellie, “I would like to volunteer and assist as well.”

  Ellie hated Grimda and was not at all pleased with Jasper, but before she could say anything more, Jessica shouted out, “Add me to that list also.”

  River then surprised me, by saying, “Yes Alenna, I will join you too.”

  Jasper had seen the video that I had made of the feeding frenzy and I believe he was keen to see it for himself. River volunteering, on the other hand, was very odd indeed; she hated bugs. The transaction proceeded very much like last time. Viewing the whole spectacle again was something I had to endure. Jasper showed little emotion other than cringing at the sound of bugs being crunched. River though was having the time of her life. She could not stop laughing. It was a sort of game show to her, who can eat the most bugs in the shortest time. She seemed a little disappointed when all the Grocka had finished gorging themselves and had fallen asleep. I thought to myself. River, you can be so bizarrely unpredictable occasionally. We had the ore so we could now leave the planet. Back to Alkarr, we had a break of a week at our home. Next trip, a journey back to Earth, where we planned to have two weeks stay at our new residence. I would have preferred to spend a little longer, but we still had contracts to conclude. After all, it did take almost two weeks to travel to Earth and back. A lot could happen in a month, as we were to find out later. The time spent on Alkarr seemed to drag, I had done my usual bit and taken Perri to the moon, only this time we were to stay for two whole days. Perri’s mother had Isabell and Honey stay with her overnight at their residence. While Perri and I, on the other hand, had to make do with the small bunk room within our shuttle. During the week I did get to go to a concert on Alkarr along with Minty and Emily, which was quite enjoyable. The rest of the time was spent either in the garden or in my man cave.

  Items that we would need to take with us to earth. As I had no intention of paying for expensive electricity or gas on Earth. I would use those two portable fusion reactor generators that I had acquired from Lidier. I would install them at our new property. That would provide us with all our energy requirements. Why they were consigned to scrap baffled me. They were in full working order. As the property was empty and had nothing within it to sleep on, we would need to take beds with us. The reason for this is that on Earth I don’t know how long it would take from when they are ordered until we received same. In fact, we would be taking most of the items we required for everyday living along with us.

  During the journey to Earth, we packed the shuttle with the first load. We would need to do several trips to our new residence with what we had brought with us. It would have been easier to take the cargo freighter directly there, but we were not permitted to. This restriction did not apply to the shuttle. A number of the family would travel with the shuttle each time. Flying the shuttle would be Lumi’s job. On arriving at Earth I could not detect the battlecruiser; it should have been in orbit.

  I phoned the Prime Minister and said, “We have arrived with the ore, and by the way, where is the Horizon? It’s not in orbit.”

  He replied, “It’s like this, it has gone to Barnard’s star. We needed to see how the ship performed. I can’t say anything more at this time. I will organise collection of the ore from you. Please leave it in your cargo bay until you are contacted.”

  Thinking to myself, gone to Barnard’s star, well I don’t have time to go looking for them if they get lost. I along with Luka had to wait for the ore to be collected, we couldn’t even unload it from the cargo bay, as again we had to wait for that decontamination team to arrive. By the time it had been dealt with, Lumi had completed her task in ferrying everybody and everything that we required to our residence. Lumi was then left waiting for Luka and me. It was late afternoon by the time I had arrived at the residence. My first job was to connect up the fusion power generators so we would not be in darkness. The property had been empty for quite some time and was practically bare. I hoped to arrange for a complete redecoration of the place before our next stay. But first, we needed to employ someone to look after the place while we were away.

  Alenna had already checked to see what replies we had received for this position. She said, “Guess what? We have been contacted by no fewer than ten applicants. Most I have discounted already as they have no experience in agriculture. As you are aware we need someone who knows how to run a smallholding. There are only three applicants who fit this description, all live locally. I have sent a message to each and have arranged an appointment to see each of them in person. Jake and Rachael, you will both conduct the interview, I will sit in and observe, I may make the odd comments, but I will leave it largely with you two.”

  I replied, “Do you have a cv from each of the three applicants?”

  Alenna nodded and said, “Yes, almost all the applicants have sent a cv.” Alenna then passed me the correspondence that she had received.

  Rachael and I spent part of our evening discussing each applicant. We both agreed to deselect one more applicant, although we would still interview him. The reason was quite overwhelming; he had been employed by no fewer than twelve different employers over a ten-year span. He, I feel would not stick with us for long, I did wonder why he left each job. His interview would be the first.

  My suspicions were confirmed at his interview. He did not ask enough about the job and his answers were vague as to why he had left each of his jobs. The second applicant was much better but came across as a know it all.

  The third applicant, John Roberts, had been in the same job for twenty years, it was the only job he had ever had. I asked him, “What made you leave John?”

  He sighed then replied, “I had no choice. The elderly farmer I worked for passed away. The farm was sold to a large farming co-operative and my services were no longer required. My wife was also employed by the farmer as his housekeeper. So we both lost our jobs and to add further to our woes we are to be evicted from our tied cottage.”

  I felt sad for him. He apparently also has two teenage daughters who were allowed to keep their pony on the farm for free, sadly they would have to part with it. I can’t imagine how they were feeling. I said, to him, “Thank you for attending, I need to consider the other applicants and I will let you know one-way or the other within twenty-four hours.”

  I wanted to make a few enquires to confirm what had been said, so I went to the local shop with Rachael and Jenna. We introduced ourselves as new residents and got into a conversation with the elderly lady behind the counter, whose name was Doris. I made out I knew John by saying, “Shame about the luck that has befallen John Roberts.” Being a small village I was sure she would know him.

  I was correct in my assumption and Doris opened up, “Oh, John and Susan are such nice people, I knew their parents you know. I can remember Susan from when she was a small child, she was such a shy girl. Susan was only speaking to me the other day, telling me about how upset her daughters were. So sad, they are such a nice family.”

  One more point of call, the local pub. I must confess I have never drank alcohol in a pub as I was still under seventeen when I left Earth. I ordered a round of drinks. Both Jenna and Rachael had a fruit drink which was expected, but I went for a pint of cider.


  I asked the landlord, “Do you know John Roberts and if you do, does he ever frequent your establishment?”

  He replied, “John, I know John well, he was always a regular, especially after a hard day’s work in the fields. He also came in every Sunday with his misses, they always ordered the ploughman’s lunch. But sadly since he has become unemployed, John has not been in.”

  I decided that I had heard enough, John was a family man and due to his experience would be the best suitable applicant. We contacted John asking him to bring his family over. At this point, we did not inform him that he had been selected as the winning candidate for the job. On arrival, Alenna, Jenna and I showed them into the annexe. The Annexe I would describe as cosy. It had a kitchen with an area for dining, a sitting room with French doors that opened out onto a small enclosed garden. The two bedrooms were of a reasonable size and of course, the final room was a bathroom.

  I think they could guess that John was successful in getting the job and I think I must have confirmed it by saying, “I hope your daughters don’t mind having to share a bedroom?”

  Susan replied in a very happy and positive way, “They have always shared a room, so that is no problem at all.”

  I passed a piece of paper with the salary written down on it and at the same time commenting, “You will not have to pay any rent and as a bonus, you get to use as much electricity as you want for free.” Turning to Susan I said, “We have taken into account the possibility that you would be willing to dust and vacuum our residence every couple of weeks while we are away. Speaking to both John and Susan I said, “If you are satisfied with the salary then the jobs are yours for the taking.”

  John showed Susan the piece of paper and her face lit up. She then nodded to John. He replied, “Thank you, I will be most glad to work for you.”

  I turned to the two daughters and smiled before saying, “I have a surprise for you two. We have a stable block so you can keep your pony in one of the stalls, I will ask two of my daughters to show you.” Tears of joy run down the girl’s faces. I called up Misty and Jett on my pid and they soon arrived. The four girls swiftly left us. I then left Alenna with Susan as Jenna and I needed to show John around the property. The grass in the meadows was long, so cutting and turning it into hay before baling it was a priority job. But first the Roberts family needed to move into the annexe, so we gave them time to do that.