by Ben Winston
"Admiral, may I have a word with you?" the man asked.
"Certainly, Mister Secretary, what can I do for you?" Ian replied.
"I know you have come to us with many things that none of us believed in. Even after your first address to us, there were some that refused to believe the truth. They felt it was some plot by the United States to deceive them. However, since that time, you have proven many times that you were telling the truth, and the aliens you spoke of were real. But I have to admit, this time even I am having a hard time believing you. Is there any way you can prove this to us?"
Ian shook his head. "I don't know how I could in such a way as to allow the delegates to believe me."
Unseen by Ian, Shannon had approached him and the Secretary General. "Admiral, perhaps I can be of assistance?"
Ian sighed. He thought Shannon might come forward, but Ian hadn't wanted the delegates to know that some humans also had measurable abilities.
"I know you didn't want it known, but Admiral, this is important. These men and women need to believe us," the girl replied.
Ian sighed. "Mister Secretary, this is Officer Shannon. She is a member of the special operations team assign as my guards. She is a registered telepath."
Before he could speak his reply, she answered him. "Yes Sir, I am. No Sir, I am actually twenty-two years old." She paused and blushed slightly. "Thank you, Sir. No, please do not be embarrassed, I am used to such thoughts being directed at me. I take no offense at them. No Sir, in addition to being able to read thoughts, I can send my thoughts to others as well. I am not precognitive only telepathic. I do have a set of ethics that prohibit me from reading anything deeper than what's in your 'public' mind; that is, what you are thinking at this very moment. Unless it is an emergency or I have your permission I will not invade your privacy."
"Mister Secretary, Officer Shannon is not the only telepath we have, nor is that the only ability we have found our people to have. There are enough of them that they police themselves in the set of ethics they have set for themselves. Officer Shannon is volunteering to demonstrate her ability in order to convince the Ambassadors we are telling the truth," Ian replied. "Although we've never lied to any of them, we are still always met with disbelief and distrust. We may not tell all of the information we have, but we have never purposefully lied."
The Secretary General nodded his head. "That is true, you have never lied to us. I think it is more that what you tell us is so fantastic, it is hard for us to believe. I'm afraid that even with Officer Shannon's demonstration, many will still not believe you. May I ask who the person is you will be asking to testify?"
"The Alliance Chief of Staff and head of Alliance military operations, Admiral H'joles. He is Grellian; not human or even human-like in appearance. He cannot testify in his capacity as the head of the Alliance Military, but he asked if he could assist me in speaking to you today. Honestly, I don't know what he wants to tell all of you, but he did wish to speak," Ian explained.
"The head of… Is not the Alliance the largest galactic organization?" the SecGen asked.
Ian nodded. "Admiral H'joles commands fifty-seven fleets of warships and twenty or so divisions of ground troops. He can call for about a hundred more fleets and seventy or so divisions if they are needed or there is an emergency. He is also a non-voting member of the Alliance Council."
"Do you think it is wise to expose a non-human to us? Especially one as important as this one is?" the SecGen asked. "Some of the Ambassadors are still having trouble with this aspect of what you have spoken to us about."
"What the Ambassadors and leaders have problems with is discovering we are not alone, but they can't have the advanced technology so they can kill each other easier," Shannon said quietly then blushed. "I'm sorry Mister Secretary, that's only my opinion."
He smiled at the girl. "It may well be you are correct, young woman, and we are all entitled to our opinions." He turned to Ian. "As tempting as it is, I don't believe Officer Shannon should give a demonstration. If we do manage to convince the Ambassadors, then they would become paranoid that she read their minds and stole all their secrets. No, I feel we should simply proceed as you had originally planned, Admiral. I will try to assist you as much as possible. Now, I think we should probably get back to work."
Ian nodded his agreement and dismissed Shannon. She bowed to the SecGen before returning to her post near the door of the chamber. The SecGen returned to his place and recalled the meeting to order.
"Follow delegates, please retake your seats so we can continue our discussions. Before I yield the floor back to Admiral Williams, I would like to tell all of you that I spoke to him during the break. I believe my thoughts and opinions on the issues of extraterrestrials, UFO's, mental abilities, and the like have been well documented and are well known. Without solid evidence to substantiate such a claim, I find such things to be very difficult to accept. There have been too many scams and other shenanigans in the past using these issues to believe otherwise.
"Before the break, I felt the same way as many of you; that we could not credit the visions of our doom offered by an alien race. To me, it sounded like an idea for one of the movies created for entertainment. As I said, I spoke to the Admiral during the break. Because of security, I cannot tell you what he offered to me as proof, but I can tell you that I have no doubt he is telling us the absolute truth in regards to this matter. No doubt at all. I urge all of you to set aside your personal feeling on the method this information was gleaned and instead focus on what we can do about it.
"Admiral Williams, please continue," the Secretary General finished.
Ian bowed to him. "Thank you, Sir." He faced the still suspicious faces of the Ambassadors and began to introduce Admiral H'joles. "First of all, I would like to thank those leaders that did join us. I am aware of how all of this sounds to you. I assure you I have never knowingly lied to any of you and I'm not about to start now; none of us can afford it.
"As I mentioned before the break, there is a being that has been standing by to speak to you on this issue. Before I have him connected, I would warn all of you that he is not human. To many of you, I would imagine he will put you in mind of the reports of Big Foot or the Yeti. He is neither of these; he is a member of the Grellian race. They occupy a sector of space over two hundred light years away. While this being has asked that I do not introduce him by title, as he wishes to speak to you only as a knowledgeable citizen of the Alliance, I can tell you that he is a being of importance within the Alliance. I do not know what he wishes to say, I am simply honoring his request." He nodded to Lissa who would make the connection with H'joles.
As H'joles image took form before the podium, Ian introduced him. "Ambassadors, and world leaders, I give you H'joles of the Grellian Patronomy, and citizen of the Alliance."
"Ambassadors, on my own behalf, I would thank you for allowing me to speak to you this day. There is much I would speak to you of, and in this way, perhaps help you in gaining knowledge for the coming days." H'joles said while he bowed to the assembly. He spoke in standard, which Lissa was translating while he spoke.
"I would begin by speaking to you of what you are now facing," H'joles began and laid out exactly what he knew of the total strength and capabilities of the Empire and their military. "Very soon, that war machine, in its entirety, will focus on this one sector of our galaxy for reasons we do not yet understand. In order to save you and your people, Admiral Williams will have to do something that the entire Alliance has been unable to do in a thousand years of war; he will have to defeat the Empire. He will have the assistance of the Alliance, but even with that, the odds do not favor a victory. News of this event has just now reached the High Council of the Alliance and discussions have only just begun, but I believe that if there is anyone in our universe that can salvage this situation, it is the man standing behind me. To that end I would urge you to listen to what he says and aide him in his efforts; he is trying to save not only your lives, but t
he lives of your entire race. I would imagine you have questions, yes?"
The Ambassador from the Russian Federation was first. "Citizen H'joles, we have no proof of the existence not to mention the reliability of the visions of supposed precognitives. How is it that an organization such as yours could be taken in by such a gimmick?"
The translation took a moment and H'joles nodded when it finished. "I was told you may not accept the visions as proof of this event. The Benesian Hegemony have been members of the Alliance for seven hundred years. In that time, very detailed investigations have been conducted by all the races into the viability and reliability of their abilities. Still, if this vision had been seen by only one member of that race, it may not have been taken as seriously as this is. However, every Benesian seer with a strong enough ability has had the exact same vision. In addition, the two other races that have demonstrated and documented abilities such as this have confirmed it. This report is being treated just as any advanced warning from a spy would be; that is to say, very seriously. I would also mention, in cases where the events foretold have not been averted prior to their arrival, they have always occurred. As unsettling as it sounds, the seers have been remarkably accurate. The visions are not seen as 'gimmicks' as you called it. The persons involved gained nothing from the visions and in many cases, such as this one, have experienced a great deal of trauma as a result of it."
The French Ambassador was next. It appeared that the American Ambassador was still speaking to the President quietly.
"Citizen H'joles, are we to understand that you are recommending that we allow the Admiral to place weapons and troops in our countries that we do not have control of?"
H'joles nodded. "I am. Ambassador, the placement of weapons, shields, and other equipment is how the Admiral will defend your people. I find it hard to understand why you would not want him to do so. If the control of those weapons is what you are concerned about, how are his people supposed to use them effectively if they do not have control of them?"
"Each Nation should be able to control the weapons inside its own borders. I am sure we can use them just as effectively as Admiral Williams can," the Ambassador replied.
"Truly?" H'joles asked seriously. "My information must be incorrect. I was unaware that Earth had experience with phased pulse lasers, mass drivers, surface to space missile systems, particle weapons, advanced trans-atmospheric fighter craft, or shield technology. My apologies for this oversight. Then if that is the case, why are you not already assisting the Admiral?"
The Ambassador got a smug look on his face. "We do not currently have such technology, but we could have been familiar with it if the Admiral would have shared this knowledge with us earlier."
"I see," H'joles replied. "So it is because you resent the Admiral's position that you are protesting. His actions in this regard are not without precedent. None of the Alliance races share their military technology with civilians; there is no need. It is the duty of the military to protect and defend civilians, why would civilians need this technology?"
"We are not civilians, Citizen H'joles, we are national leaders," the Ambassador replied.
H'joles nodded to him. "I understand that, Ambassador. The equivalent in my own race would be a clan or tribal leader. As with other races, only select members of the racial leadership have access to or knowledge of military technology. It prevents the tribes and clans from fighting among themselves, which they would do if they had the means to do so. As it is, this forces the clans to seek arbitration rather than resorting to costly war that does far more harm than good. Our citizens are far more comfortable with this arrangement, there is far less damage to commercial facilities, and far less cost in repairing damage. Please do not misunderstand, we do still have inter-tribal disputes that cost lives and do damage. However, a hunting rifle is not a phased pulse laser rifle, and a petrochemical explosive is not an antimatter warhead. If our tribal leaders had access to military grade weapons, my race would have gone extinct centuries ago. My people and yours may look very different, but in reality, we are not so different. It is the duty of the military to restrict its technology as part of its duty to protect civilian lives. Admiral Williams is acting accordingly and responsibly."
"Are you saying we should disband our own militaries and rely solely on Admiral Williams?" the Israeli Ambassador asked.
"Is not your defense his sworn duty? Each of you has the right to waste your credits on whatever you wish, but let me ask you this; have any of you been able to wage war on each other since he made his presence known?" H'joles asked. "Why would you need a military if you can't use it? Could not those beings be better used to aide your citizens in emergencies? Perhaps they would be of assistance in hunting down and eliminating some of the more difficult members of the criminal element?"
Ian interrupted him. "Just to clarify, H'joles, we have only been able to keep them from using weapons of mass destruction. We have not had the personnel until recently to keep them from fighting each other. I was planning on informing them of this prior to the news of the invasion."
H'joles nodded to Ian. "I am corrected. I tend to forget just how small a force yours is when compared to others."
"Citizen H'joles, can we know why you do not want us to know of your position within the Alliance?" the American Ambassador asked. For once, he wasn't being snide or hateful.
"There are two reasons for this. Firstly, it is a matter of tradition and prudence for a person in my position to not directly address a single national leadership in an official capacity. As such, I did not want address you officially using my title. Secondly, I chose to do this out of friendship to your Admiral and to your race, and not as an official of the Alliance. I am doing this of my own volition and not as a representative of the Alliance. My title and position are not by any means secret, it was only that I wished to separate this action from my office," H'joles replied.
The Ambassador nodded his understanding. "Thank you for telling us that. Can we then know what your duties are within the Alliance? Based on your knowledge and your testimony you are in the military, correct?"
H'joles sighed. "I am Fleet Admiral H'joles of the Alliance of Races Command also known as ARC. I hold the highest office within the Alliance military organization and am the over-all commander of all Alliance forces."
CHAPTER NINETEEN
Admiral H'joles' address to the UN Security Council must have had an effect on the leaders that had attended. Whether it was out of respect for his position or they were beginning to believe the warning, Ian wasn't sure. After H'joles closed the comm, Ian took a moment before speaking which gave the Secretary General the chance to ask him a question.
"Admiral Williams, why did you ask Fleet Admiral H'joles to speak to us today?"
Ian could see the sparkle in his eye from across the room. "I didn't ask him, Mister Secretary; he asked me if he could speak here today."
"Why would he ask to speak to us?" the American Ambassador asked. "We're not part of the Alliance."
"When he asked me to speak, he said he wanted to return the favor; I'd spoken to the High Council of the Alliance on his behalf when the Empire began a series of terroristic attacks on civilians." Ian replied. "Admiral H'joles has a reputation for being a tough commander and a hard ass. If you want to know if he has an agenda he does; it’s a simple one. Every action he makes is for the protection and well-being of the citizens of the Alliance. Just for the record, he does consider Earth to be a part of that whether you are officially a member or not. We, that are known as 'Terrans', have sworn to protect you, and we are members of the Alliance. In his mind and to his way of thinking that means it is also his duty to protect you.
"The High Council is really not so different from all of you; they argue and bicker but eventually work out their issues. However, at the heart of all of it, the Alliance is about the protection of the people. The races that make it up are just like you folks; they all have different national agendas, they worship diffe
rent deities, and at any given time not all of them get along. But at the foundation of the Alliance, you will find that every member, regardless of their beliefs or political agenda, share one solid idea; and that is that none of them would still be free if they had tried to stand alone against the Empire," Ian finished. It was clear he wasn't preaching to them, but rather only explaining what the Alliance was.
"So, as I understand it, each of the separate races still retain a military?" the American Ambassador asked. "Do they fight each other?"
Ian nodded and looked down. "Yes, each nation of the Alliance still retains their own military. They are used for the defense of planets and other important facilities and are usually comprised of mostly new recruits and older, outdated equipment. They are the Alliance reserve fleets. As for fighting other nations in the Alliance, no they don't.
"Seven hundred years ago, in the early days of the Alliance the Grellian and the Croanian races had a major disagreement over the mining resources of a certain star system. It escalated into war. Both races recalled battle fleets from the front lines with the Empire to settle the matter. The Empire, aware of the discord between them, followed with a hidden fleet three times the combined strength of the two races. The disputed system as well as two other inhabited systems were lost in the fighting. Four hundred thousand military personnel and both fleets; a total of roughly two hundred war ships, were destroyed, and the Empire captured three inhabited worlds and the resources of the disputed systems. Two of those inhabited worlds belonged to a race that had been uninvolved in the dispute.
"In the aftermath of that horrific event, the Alliance agreed to suspend all 'internal' hostilities until the threat of the Empire has been dealt with. Currently any disputes like that are brought to the High Council for mediation. I will admit, there have been times that mediation failed, and the two sides began moving their forces once again. They were met by an Alliance battle fleet and basically forced to negotiate. Since that event, hostilities between nations have never progressed to the point of armed conflict."