by Chris Hechtl
“Your terms are …”
The Alpha bull kept talking, cutting her off. “I was the one who ordered the strikes. It is my responsibility. If you spare the world below and our other worlds, my defenders and I will surrender.”
When he stopped Jan nodded once. “I'll consider your terms.”
“I speak not just for myself but for the herd. All herds,” the Alpha bull stated. There was a small gasp on the bridge. He ignored it. “I am senior herd leader left in this star system.”
“And if the herd leaders below do not agree?” Jan asked.
“I will reason with them. They will listen as will the home herd world leaders. This war must end.”
Jan nodded slowly. “Agreed.” She turned to Willard. “Order all forces to stand down. ROE is fire only if threatened or fired upon.”
“Understood, ma'am,” her chief of staff replied.
“I am passing on the same orders as well,” the Alpha bull stated. “I believe we have much to talk about.”
“Yes, we do. At least you are finally willing to listen,” Jan said. She noted that the bull winced. It was an interesting social behavior they had in common she realized. As was the reluctant nod he gave off as well.
“Thank you.”
Chapter 46
Marines were dispatched as boarding parties with navy prize crews to take control of the enemy ships. Jan allowed Willard and her staff to handle the post battle chores. They coordinated with the Taurens in the search and rescue efforts, delaying the formal surrender for a day or so. While they delayed Jan caught several hours of shut eye, and the Alpha bull transmitted the surrender to the herd leaders and negotiated with them.
(@)()(@)
Dreamer heard about the surrender when it was transmitted to the ship he was on. “So, what now?” the ship's Alpha bull asked, clearly confused. “Do we sit here and wait?”
“Yes. Wait and watch. If they break the peace and bomb the planet, we will flee and tell the home herd worlds to do the same,” Dreamer said.
The ship's Alpha bull looked at him and then nodded once.
(@)()(@)
Jan met with the Alpha bull once he was shown onboard. He seemed confused by the protocol but did his best to roll with it as she met him in her dress whites.
“I formally surrender and submit myself and my forces to you,” he said, exposing his throat during the ceremony.
“As leader of the Terran Confederation forces, I accept your surrender and submission,” she replied as rehearsed, felling a bit awkward but trying not to show it for the cameras that were recording the event.
She mentally shook her head as she considered the last stages of the battle not quite two days in the past. Her battle line had been gutted, most of it air bleeding wrecks but the Taurens had thrown in the towel anyway. Her pilots had finally proven themselves she knew.
It was a pity some people weren't around to enjoy that she thought as she turned to the Alpha bull.
Once the ceremony was concluded, she offered refreshments to the Alpha bull. He accepted graciously. He was amused and surprised to meet a few of his own kind on the ship.
“You … did not kill them,” he said as he turned away from the Taurens.
“No. No we didn't.”
“Why? You could have destroyed us, you still can, but you choose not to? Why?” the Alpha bull asked curiously. Was Dreamer right?
“Which people? The captives? We do not kill captives. I understand you took captives as well. You didn't deliberately harm them either.”
“Not intentionally. Usually captivity kills my kind. But I meant my people. The planet we left behind,” he said.
“They exist,” the Tauren captive rumbled.
“The people on the planet?” Jan asked.
The Alpha bull nodded. “Yes. Why spare them when we didn't?”
“They are innocent. They played no part in this for the most part—the calves I mean.” She shook her head. “I know you don't fully understand my species, but one thing we share in common is an urge to protect and nurture our young,” she said.
“Yet, killing the young of a competitor is natural. It means less competition in the future, and it hampers their growth,” the herd leader said.
Jan heard the translation. She cocked her head as she considered how best to answer that. Finally, she shrugged. “We are above nature. We are a part of it ,yes, but we are sapient beings. We can rise above our primitive selves. Be more, strive to be better.”
“That is … true. Yet strange to hear another species say that.”
“Be glad. We learned long ago not to let ourselves get taken by vengeance. Not to punish the children for the sins of the parents,” Jan said, leveling a gaze on him. His eyes fell. “It just breeds hate in the survivors. That can fester over time.”
“I know.”
“And I know you do. I know you have the concepts of mercy down. Your species would never have survived to this point if you hadn't figured it out.”
“We submit to the victor.”
“Well, perhaps you should have extended your concepts of mercy and tolerance to other species. You have been at odds with others yet you respect their boundaries. The bugs for instance,” Jan said. “You should have tried to talk first. That would have avoided a lot of bloodshed.”
“Your words shame me. You are right,” the Alpha bull said.
Jan studied him for a long moment. “Good.” She knew some people learned best when they spoke with their fists. They had earned a grudging respect for one another in the conflict. She wasn't certain where it would go from here.
“You have a lot to be ashamed of, a lot to reconsider, things to change. But I've come to know your people; you are flexible to some degree. You obviously did a good job in engineering since you kept up with us!” she shook her head ruefully.
The Alpha bull looked up in surprise. He grunted. It wasn't quite a sign of amusement but close. “You as well. You have given us a lot to think about. Me, a lot to think about.”
“Good,” Jan said once more.
“It will take time for word to get to the other worlds and ships,” the Alpha bull warned. “Time for them to consider what has happened and concede to the inevitable.”
“That's fine. I know there are some who are concerned on my side that your people will take the truce as an opportunity to rebuild. But as long as we are talking, we are not shooting at each other. I am okay with that,” Jan replied with a nod.
“As am I.”
(@)()(@)
Roger Daringer felt his head. He'd always had a spacer's haircut but was less amused by his new hairless status. They said it was just temporary, but he had his doubts since he was constantly sick to his stomach and feeling incredibly weak. They said when they'd taken him off the ship the Geiger counters had gone crazy. It wasn't something that he liked to think about.
The hospital ship was overloaded with wounded. Fortunately, one of the Marine transports had been unloaded and his people were stuck in her sickbay.
When he found out that Galahad had been written off, he was furious when he heard the news. “The hell you say! That's my ship!”
“It was your ship. Well, sort of, I understand you weren't formally given her; you were the XO and acting captain. Well, news flash, it's not up to you, Commander. And you are going into stasis,” the doctor replied in a no-nonsense tone of voice as she poked a stiff finger into his chest to push him back down onto the bed. He felt a bit dizzy by the attempt to get up. When his eyes flashed in rebellion she shook her head. “Don't give me any shit. You've been hit with radiation, and we need to put you in stasis until we can get you to a medical facility that can offer you better treatment than we can here. Your entire crew and many other survivors are all going into stasis. Just be glad the Marines are freeing up the room for you to do so! Now quit being a pain in the ass!”
“If I wasn't a pain in the ass to the nurses and medical staff, what fun would that be?” he grumbled. That ea
rned an amused smile from the doctor as she patted his shoulder. She turned and began to issue orders to the nurses and SBA to finish the prep work. Before he could ask to use the rest room one more time, they had given him something in his IV. His eyelids grew heavy. He yawned and then nodded off.
(@)()(@)
Once the ceremony was concluded and her guests were tucked away in their own quarters, Jan checked on her staff and their work on the post battle chores. She had already downloaded her log as well as a copy of the logs off of every ship and had sent it off to a dispatch ship in the fleet train. She followed that up with a copy of the formal surrender and a SITREP of the fleet before she turned the ship loose to head back home. It would be months before the ship returned to Pyrax and another twenty months or so before word got back to Sol, but at least the process had begun.
Thousands of sailors on both sides had been lost. Thousands were maimed. Half of her battle line had been destroyed. Only Defiance and Spirit of the Confederation were technically ready for renewed action should it come to that. Hopefully not, though the ships in TF2.1 were untouched. The carrier wings were a different story.
She checked on General Falcon and nodded once. It seems the Marines had the planetary landing well in hand, and the occupation was underway without any major hitches. Squads and platoons were busy seizing and holding administrative centers, spaceports, and power plants. Some of the Marines were busy working on bases in defensible locations. Unfortunately, the expected naval engineering help was nonexistent; all of her engineers were busy trying to patch her ships up for the time being.
The Marines might grumble a bit, but they had it good for the moment. The Tauren population were quiet to the point of being morose. There were no protests, just worried looks.
As a part of the negotiations, some of the Tauren dispatch ships had been sent out with the surrender while one of the ships remained at the jump point to watch over the star system in case of a double cross. Not that she intended to do any such thing.
The remaining support ships had reluctantly returned to orbit and had begun offloading their personnel to the planet. There were a few exceptions however. The Tauren named Dreamer had been identified and sequestered by ONI pending interviews. Commander Bently definitely wanted to take that engineering mind out of play no matter how things went down in the future. She agreed with him.
(@)()(@)
Dreamer wasn't certain of his future. He looked at the Marine guards. They were stern and uncommunicative, but they weren't hostile either. There had been some light hostility from some Terrans, but others had ordered the individuals to back off. That was a good sign.
When they got to where they were going, he was escorted through the ship, most likely a carrier judging from the boat bay he had seen, to temporary quarters. From the smells, he could detect the scent of other Taurens. One was familiar, most likely the Alpha bull.
“Are you the Tauren known as Dreamer? Course you are,” a voice said behind him as he entered his quarters. He turned in surprise to see a Terran there.
The Terran smiled tiredly. “Captain Kirby Beaudry. I'm an engineer like you. They asked me to check in on you. I just got onboard too. Why they chose me I don't know,” he said as he came in with a big dark being. “This is Commander Bently. He's with fleet intelligence,” the pale being said.
Dreamer nodded once to each of them.
“Your people have some good things to say about you. You are quite the thinker and tinker,” the captain said. “Do you mind?” he asked, indicating a chair.
The Tauren turned to the seat. He shrugged.
“Thanks. I'm about dead on my feet. I caught a catnap on the way over but …,” the captain suppressed a yawn as he got comfortable in the chair.
“Your people are putting together a delegation to go to Pyrax and eventually Earth to negotiate the final terms. We want you, but we're curious about some of the things you've done,” the dark being said.
“You speak our language well. The inflections are off, but the computers are doing a good job,” Dreamer said hesitantly.
“Thanks,” another voice replied. A being swirling into place beside the other two Terrans.
“Ah, this is Ensign Lex; he is the ship's A.I. He's interpreting for us and will offer his two cents,” the pale being said, indicating the holographic avatar.
“I took the liberty of having your quarters rigged for sight, sound, and of course emitters so I can appear as needed,” the A.I. replied.
“My quarters?” Dreamer asked.
“For the time being.”
“You are a construct?” the Tauren asked, addressing the A.I. “Your kind were banned by the Forerunners.”
“It's something we want to ask about. One of a hundred million questions,” the pale being said with a roll of his eyes.
Dreamer frowned slightly. The roll didn't mean what he thought it did he reminded himself. He cocked his head.
“These Forerunners, they exist?” the dark one asked.
“Yes. They will be unhappy that you have created constructs. And I learned you created tiny robots.” the Tauren shuddered.
“Also banned. For good reason,” the dark one rumbled.
“Say's you,” the pale one said.
“I too believe they should be banned. They can … consume worlds,” the Tauren said slowly.
“Speaking from experience?” the A.I. asked.
“Experience?”
“Maybe, maybe rumor to him,” Captain Beaudry offered.
“Let him answer,” the Neogorilla said with a nod to the Tauren.
“I do not know what you mean, experience. I have never experienced them, nor do I wish to do so. The thought of being torn apart, eaten …”
“Ah. The fear of being eaten. Something we apparently also have in common. That and,” the commander turned as the door behind him opened and a steward came in with a cart laden with chilled beer. “Beer,” he offered.
The Tauren's ears perked up. “Grain fermented beverage?”
“Close enough,” the captain said as he reached for a stein. The steward handed him one and then put another on the table in front of the Tauren. The handle was too small for the Taurens hands so he wrapped his hand around the entire clear container and picked it up.
“To peace. Long may it reign between our peoples,” the captain said as a way of a toast.
“Agreed,” the Tauren murmured as he took a tentative sip.
Chapter 47
It took time for the Tauren surrender to percolate through their home herd worlds. Some panicked, terrified of the consequences. They settled down when word spread that the invaders weren't destroying their worlds. Still, some fled into the void, too terrified to listen.
“You honestly think this will work, ma'am? We're essentially telling them we're coming,” Willard said.
“Yes, I know. We're a juggernaut that can't be stopped. Smaller, but dangerous. Think of it as cracking their morale,” Jan replied with a shake of her head.
“You've got a strange way of thinking of things.”
“I know. Put it this way. We went from no navy to a navy that kicked their ass in how long? Imagine where we'll be in another decade or so?” the vice admiral asked.
“Ha! If the peaceniks and idiots don't cut us like they did the Marines!” Alton retorted. “Wanna bet we'll all be booted out as soon as they get the chance?”
“My, cynical a bit?” Jan asked, lips quivering slightly. He shrugged.
Willard cocked his head and then shook it slowly. “Something tells me enough people now see the galaxy as a dangerous place that they'll want the protection. Oh, they'll want a chance at the taxpayer trough, but they will learn to rein in their greed,” he said.
“That'll be the day,” Alton growled.
As the message was passed from planet to planet, the Tauren leadership was shaken. Many worried what the Terrans could do since they took out half of their naval ships. A consensus was reached when they realiz
ed that the Terrans were merciful. They decided to give peace a chance.
(@)()(@)
A dispatch ship arrived in Rolling Meadows six months after the end of the battle with news of the bug ship arrival. The new race, the Veraxin, had apparently opened up negotiations with the Terrans. Governor Lagroose had sent for negotiators to handle it formally by the Confederation, at least starting the process with the Confederation State Department.
Dreamer and the Tauren negotiating team were sent back to Pyrax along with the injured survivors of the Terran fleet.
(@)()(@)
While the fleet had been away, Eden in the form of Jeeves and the bug scientists on their scout ship had managed to break the language barrier. The bugs, known as Veraxins, were centaur beings with four eyestalks on top of their long necks. Their head had a long bulbous proboscis in front. Their brains were actually decentralized with the largest neural cluster in the chest. They had an exoskeleton and eight limbs—four of them dedicated to locomotion while an upper set ended in lobster claws and the middle set was used for fine manipulation.
The bugs spoke in high and medium audio frequencies, plus used body language in various levels of degree. It apparently made up for their lack of an ability to express themselves in other forms.
They couldn't be any more alien than any of the Terran species or Tauren, yet they were willing to not only get along with Terrans but also open up trade and exchange information.
When the Tauren delegation arrived on Eden, they were introduced to the bugs. They were surprised and taken aback by the alien species and the alien's willingness to trade and negotiate. It took time for many of the Taurens to get over their squeamishness at the sight of the other species.
They quickly learned they had something in common in their mutual respect and healthy fear of Terran ingenuity and scientific endeavor. Humanity and later the Neo species had rushed hell pelt into many things over the centuries before and after spaceflight. Terrans had only recently slowed down, but what they had accomplished in that time was frightening to some—especially when they learned that Terrans had a ground military but at the time of contact with the Taurens had no naval warships.