by Don Koch
### March 13 – C Day 195 ###
Hank decided that it was time for a visit with Dranz. Dranz and his five companions were housed in a small lodge not far from the lodge in which Hank and Sam were married. Dranz and his companions were allowed free movement within 3 miles of their quarters and were returned to the rear deck of the lodge by Barana whenever they went one step beyond that perimeter. Hank transported to that deck and Barana announced his presence and desire for a discussion. Shortly the six Gar and Hank were seated around a table on the deck. Hank started the conversation, "Lord Dranz, do you find these quarters comfortable? We were not sure what kind of leisure pursuits were desirable so we had to guess to some extent. I hope these are suitable."
"These are considerably more comfortable than what any of us would have expected. I am not clear about why you are treating us thus. We would have confined you to a small cell in heavy restraints."
"Many of my people would have done the same, but it is not necessary. Where can you go? I may look small and puny to you but I can assure that no one of you could defeat me. That is also true of our Marines in hand-to-hand combat. But what does that prove? I am faster than any of you and stronger. If you think I am stretching the truth, I would be happy to demonstrate here and now."
One of Dranz's officers growled and said that he would like to do just that to silence the bragging human. Dranz said that surely they had sufficient experience with the human abilities to accept that there are things they did not lie about. But the officer persisted. Much to the officer's surprise, Hank agreed to some tests saying, "What would you like to try first, a race, a trial of strength, accuracy of a throw, name your choice."
The officer suggested a race to a tree about ¾ miles away and back. The race started and Hank ran to the tree and back to his seat before the officer reached the tree. While the officer was still running, Hank again ran to the tree and returned across the finish line before the officer. The others were staring in disbelief. Hank then went over to a large boulder and picked it up and then carried it a few yards with his shoes sinking deeply into the turf. On putting it down, he offered the event to the officer who could not budge the rock. Finally, Hank went to the officer with a small bucket full of golf balls and suggested that they throw five of the balls into a target basket about 100 yards distant that was six inches in diameter. The officer said this would be easy, and proceeded to throw the balls. He waited for each ball to reach the target before throwing the next. He managed to throw two into the target. Hank then took his turn firing one ball after the other without waiting for the last ball to reach the target. The fifth was fired as the first hit the target. All five went into the target.
The officer did a short curt bow before Hank and said, "You have taught me a valuable lesson. Appearances can be deceiving and I should not let my mouth refute the evidence my brain has processed. Please accept my apology for my rudeness," and returned quietly to his seat.
"Apology gladly accepted. The reason I agreed to this demonstration was that I knew that you do not believe humans are capable of what was just seen. In many cases that is true, however our military people can do what you just saw and more. This was not meant to brag but if you cannot get past your misconceptions, you will achieve little but grief."
"I would like to discuss with you these invasions your people have instituted. They have caused substantial disruptions in this section of the galaxy. The Gar has decimated the populations of Cler and the Fullus, have seriously impacted the Glarin and the Linan. The genocidal efforts of the Gar have been a part of the history of this section for more than 500 years. This is not acceptable and we are in the process of stopping it now. The two fleets sent towards my planet are now gone. All Gar presence around Antor 1, Cler and Fullus has been removed and before tomorrow is done, the same will be true of the Linan System. Your present High Ruler and his immediate family and advisors must go, we have no choice given the genocidal and disruptive path he is on but to depose him. This will happen. The question at this point is how. There is another question that concerns us greatly and that is who will take his place. A power vacuum at this point could limit the choice to destruction of Gar. As you may have determined by now, I abhor genocide for expediency. I will not partake of it. However I do have within my power the ability to return the Gar to the Stone Age. I can eliminate your technology and prevent your development. I can bar you from space. I have some difficult choices to make so I want to understand what drives your people to do what has been done. Are you willing to talk to me candidly about this subject?"
Dranz replied, "You are telling me that the Gar has been pushed back as far as Linan?"
"Yes and after tomorrow there will be nothing left of Gar from Glarin to my planet. We have managed to do this without killing a single Gar. All captured ships will be either scrapped or rebuilt as commercial trade ships. We have several missions underway in addition, but all with the focus of removing the Gar from the space ways. Beyond Gar, there is an 800 ship fleet on its way to a colony located about 1,050 light years from here that will be encountered in about another 2 days. In addition you have an invasion fleet en route to a human occupied planet about 1,180 light years distant. That operation also starts in 2 days. In about 6 days all of this will culminate when we appear at Gar."
"This is even more comprehensive than I had imagined. You are speaking of the Gar colony, Saram and the human world, Arber. Only a few of us know of the existence of those planets. I should cease being surprised at what you know and what you can do. It is enough to know that such as you exist in this part of the universe and does so without a malignant demeanor. The officers you have allowed to accompany me are of like mind concerning the things of which I will speak. Our race has earned the dismal reputation that we now endure. I am amazed to think that you would wish to hear of our viewpoint on anything, nevertheless, I am happy to relate what I can in hopes that it will enable you to treat us less harshly than we have done for others."
"The Gar has a single monarch. Once enthroned, that monarch serves for life. Often a monarch comes to the throne in very early adulthood and endures a very long reign. Our lifespan is generally about 1,400 to 1,500 years so this can be for a long time. Any ruling by the monarch is law to be obeyed without question, even if there is question. Unfortunately this severe adherence to the dictates, whims and pronouncements of our monarch has led us to our present condition. None of us is proud of the dishonor this monarch has brought to our race but we are essentially powerless to change it since the mere suggestion of change is sufficient to result in our execution as well as that of our families. As you might imagine, few have elected that path. The monarch is rarely seen and is sequestered to the point of hiding. Many believe that the lifespan of the monarch would be much shorter if he were seen more frequently. I am inclined to think that is probably true. From what I have learned, advisors execute day-to-day decisions on governance, a distinct power behind the throne. The lifespan of this group is shorter that the average Gar due to infighting and falling out of favor that is usually terminal. The lifestyle of the monarch and his family, usually 10 to 20 individuals is lavish and to my mind, decadent. The common Gar is expected to provide the population for the many invasion efforts that have been our way of life for too long. Most have little in the way of amenities."
Hank interrupted, "Excuse me Lord Dranz, but would you mind if my wife joined us."
"I do not mind, but you have your family here on a ship of war, this is another surprise."
"Come ahead Sam," as she appeared and after introductions, Hank continued, "This is a primarily a habitation that can fight when needed. We grow our own food, in some cases we have more creature comforts than we do on our home planet. On this Station we have 20,000 warships, 2,500 large commercial type ships, 20,000 small commercial type ships and more than 165,000 shuttles of varying sizes. This ship is capable of housing 438 million persons indefinitely. Presently we have about 150 million people on board includ
ing people from Earth, Antor and Glarin. The station is self-sustaining. I have a question for you. Does your monarch rule under a charter or constitution that establishes the parameters of rule?"
"We have heard of such documents but do not ourselves have such. Why do you ask this?"
"My home world has nearly 200 political units. Each self-ruling. The forms of governance range from democracy, to monarchy to dictatorships with lots of variety in between. It is almost a laboratory. It strikes me that one of those units might serve as a model for your people to try to get back on track. I was wondering if your people would be able to consider a different model than the rather severe one you currently experience. For instance, we currently have on board a young man who lives on the planet Frote. Frote is a Constitutional Monarchy. This means that the powers of the ruler are restricted to those granted and defined in a constitution. The people through an elected legislature have created the laws governing the people. This would be an advisable alternative to a strict monarchy such as you now have."
"Lord Dranz, I am going to be quite candid with you but first I have a question that I want to ask your companions. I wonder if they would walk with me for a minute and if you might continue here in a conversation with my wife, Sam."
"Certainly, but I will admit to being curious."
Hank responded while rising, "Thank you and I will tell you what we discussed shortly." With that he motioned for the Gar officers to join him. After walking about a hundred yards, out of hearing distance, Hank turned to face the officers and said, "I know that the experience of recent days has to be very trying for you, and I am trying to find a solution that will avoid bloodshed. I know that Lord Dranz is a man of honor that was faced with a considerable dilemma when I asked him to surrender. I intend to keep my promise to him and to you. I know that he is also of royal blood. My question for you, is what would be your reaction if I asked him to be the next monarch of Gar, using a constitutional monarchy form of government to avoid some of the mistakes of the past."
They were stunned. The officer that had contested with Hank said, " I am called Trilx, you are serious?"
Hank said, "Yes I am, but would he be accepted? Would you accept him as your monarch?"
At that the officers started jumping up and down in place and whooping while saying yes, yes, yes. On the lodge deck, Sam was alerted to the activity and Dranz commented, "Apparently your husband has said something to them that they like very much. I have not seen this much of an expression of joy in many years. Now I am really curious about what he has said to them."
In the meantime, Hank started back to the deck. On arrival, he retook his seat with a small grin and said, "Well, that was rather more of a reaction than expected. Lord Dranz, I asked them if they and your people would accept you as their new monarch. I felt that this would work but I had to have their reaction without your influence. It looks like I got what I was asking for, but the question now is, will you accept?"
Dranz was shocked, "Why me? I do not know how to rule."
Hank smiled and said, "Now you are lying to yourself. Of course you know how to rule. You have been in command of a Gar Fleet for at least the last 148 years. You handled my haunting of your ship and your fleet better than anyone might expect. You have consistently held your command together in spite of the tricks we played on you. The ships that deserted you were not your fault, that was the result of frightened officers on other ships and you handled that well in spite of impaired communications. You will have to adjust your peoples thinking about insults and what to do about it and how to respond to it. You will be sharing the governance with your people. You might be a bit surprised to hear how they would address some things. After all they have to live there. You will have to weed out this invasion mentality, but from where I sit, you can do this."
Dranz thought for a bit and then said, "You continue to surprise me with the unexpected and I am generally reasonably perceptive. Very well General Stone, I will do this. You are an extraordinarily persuasive being and I am amazed at the steps you take to avoid unnecessary bloodshed. Still, I must admit that I am very nervous about this."
"Lord Dranz, I want you to succeed at this so I will not be leaving you without resources. You have a core of advisors already that are enthusiastic about you. They certainly have known you long enough. To me that is an excellent indication. Avoid getting too formal with them and my impression is that they will do their best to give you good advice. Talk to young Kar from Frote, he may surprise you with his insights. There will be a station in orbit around Gar for some years to come. I will provide you with the means to communicate with them anytime you need and that can also reach me even if I am thousands of light years away. You will need to clean house of all the individuals who are there merely to be near power. Some of your other officers will be prime candidates to replace them. Our role will be to keep the peace in space so that commerce and exploration can occur amongst the spacefaring races. I am hopeful that the Gar can rejoin us in space in a short time. The animosity the Gar have engendered will take time to overcome so the first step is to get your people ready for peaceful coexistence."
Chapter 35: Linan and Beyond
Station 1 in the Linan System –
March 17 – C Day 199.
Hank ordered the arrest of the Royal family with advisors. After incapacitating the defenses in orbit and on the planet, two wings of warships were launched and uncloaked. All ships in space were captured with crews transported to the planet. All symbiote information and manufacturing locations were destroyed. Destruction codes for symbiotes were sent. All traces were removed so that reverse engineering of the process could not be applied. The High Ruler was officially deposed and held under arrest until a new High Ruler was declared. His location was undisclosed. The Imperial Guards were dismissed. The servants who remained were given the choice to remain until the new Monarch was declared the following week or to leave. If they stayed, they would be expected to maintain the Imperial Palace as though it were fully occupied. The palace grounds were shielded so that no one could enter.
Meanwhile, with all of the potential hostages removed from Linan, the clean up of the Linan System was almost a routine exercise. The Commander of the system was identified and again Hank and his T Raptor team went into action. All stations and warships uncloaked. Hank appeared before the commander and explained their situation. He asked for surrender and again offered retention of Taju. That clearly startled the Commander. Hank explained the process as he did with Fleet 2. He explained that everyone would be returned to Gar where the current Monarch had been deposed. The Commander complied with the request for surrender and the equipment and personnel were gathered as in previous exercises.
After all Gar were in stasis and the ships were stored in Station 172, the Linan were returned to where they were found or to a location that they designated. Division 16 remained in orbit to provide humanitarian aid. Divisions 3, 6, 8 and 9 went to Gar. Division 1 continued on to Glarin. There was a small population of Glarin still present on the planet, about 5 million. After removal of the Gar vessels there and their personnel, and decontamination and elimination of the symbiotes, the Glarin were transported to the stations to be reunited with their fellow Glarin. Since the system would soon be uninhabitable the Glarin all agreed to stay on station. Personal effects were gathered and considerable amounts of items of historic interest were secured along with all of the Glarin databases. Medical treatment was provided to Glarin exposed to the increasingly dangerous emanations from their sun.
The Gar Fleet 4 proved to be the easiest capture of all. Using the Fleet 2 capture as a model, the operation was complete in less than a day, The same held true for the Gar living on Saram. The facility there was left untouched except for the destruction of symbiote data and copying of all records. The facility was sealed for possible future use by the Gar. The facility was designed to house 250,000 but had only 50,000 persons. After securing the facility, the ships and personnel, all
ships set out to Gar.
Gar Fleet 5 was no exception to the general approach used for each fleet. It too succumbed in short order. Fortunately no missiles had been released. Division 13 returned to Gar with prisoners and Gar ships while Division 10 proceeded on to make contact with people on the planet Arber.
They entered the system cloaked and at about 50,000 miles from the planet uncloaked only station 10. The remaining stations remained cloaked and proceeded to gather information via scans. They were immediately hailed but in a language not understood. Commander of the Division, General Carlos Montoya responded to the hail in English that of course not understood. He then tried Antoran and was understood. He then said, "This is General Carlos Montoya, commanding Division 10 of the Antoran Fleet. I personally am from the planet Earth, some 4,460 light years from here. We have just captured a Gar Fleet about 100 light years from here and are returning them to their planet where they will be quarantined until they learn better manners. We have likewise captured all of their other fleets and are returning them to their home planet. Their High Ruler who has been the motivation for their various activities against others has been deposed and will be replaced by a constitutional monarchy shortly. We wanted to let you know that they are no longer a threat to your planet. It does look like you are preparing for them and we see indications that you are able to put up a reasonable defense. I hope that we have been able to save you some effort in that regard. We can leave you recordings of what has transpired if you wish. This is primarily a courtesy call to let you know what has transpired and hopefully open up a line of communications with you."
Meanwhile, several of the T Raptor teams had reported that something was not quite right with the planet below and advised against having any of the residents on the planet invited aboard.