A pair of senators were overheard saying, “Screw all that. If they have the Flem technology for building class One AIs either defend them or conquer them ourselves." That evening a diplomatic ship departed for Earth using a FTL drive.
Libra General Assembly, Planet Libra
26 September 2128
“Then it is agreed we will suspend all offensive actions until we avenge the murder of Beloved Crown Prince Tuk. As retribution for their heinous attack, the humans will be charged with the cost of having to send a fleet to punish them. Then the humans shall be required to show atonement by providing soldiers as required until our wars are over. Once the fleet is assembled along with fast transport ships they will depart using their FTL drives for the entire trip. Punishment cannot come fast enough and we need the ships back here as soon as possible to complete the unification of our systems planets into our one central government. The Libra Alliance shall last Ten Thousand years!” The speaker left the podium as the audience cheered madly. On the sides of the hall agents of state security were monitoring to see who did not show appropriate enthusiasm. Numerous small groups congregated and debated whether they would risk sending their own high speed transports in order to capitalize on the attack on Earth.
Others in the room even more quietly talked about the fact that the humans had now destroyed or captured four main ships and were running around Libra Space with impunity. How would they fight when their backs were to the wall?
Arizona Space Ship Beater Near Earth Space
29 September 2128
As Beater dropped into normal space, the crew was surprised to see they were surrounded by a squadron of four ships. The Nike and Bia were on one side and on the other side the Cornucopia and the Phoenix were stationed.
Commander Johnson viewed the scenario and hailed the Arizona Space Ship Nike.
“Nike, Beater, we are willing to discuss terms for surrender but have a priority cargo for Earth and a diplomat from a friendly planet.”
“Welcome home Beater, proceed on with your mission. You just happened to drop in at the wrong place at the wrong time. Nike out.”
The Beater proceeded to the space port where they received instructions for immediate landing. Dozens of vehicles quickly surrounded the ship. Maintenance vehicles were filled with eager maintainers wanting to finally get a chance to work on the Beater. The first person to approach the ship was a customs agent. His first request for passports resulted in widespread snickering. His follow up questions about fruits and produce had the crew laughing out right. His final question of if there were any aliens onboard was answered when Short Blade entered the cabin.
“Mr. Customs agent, there is one alien onboard the ship that I know of,” Short Blade proceeded to say as the agent quickly stepped away from him. Short Blade proceeded to close the gap as he spoke. “The alien is from Dixie, but he is the diplomatic representative of the planet. Do you have the necessary forms to welcome him and accept his credentials? I would hate to see an interstellar incident be caused by your failure at protocol.”
The agent quickly retreated from the ship as the entire crew cheered on Short Blade for taking care of the self-important little official. The agent had no luck trying to convince any superior to take the hot potato from his hand until he reached a career bureaucrat. His instructions were simple and effective. He was to deputize the senior ranking Gray Panther in the vicinity and explain that it was their responsibility to monitor all intergalactic travels. Customs would only track international trips. Five minutes later he was pointed to the senior Gray Panther, who happened to be Dan Daniels, waiting to greet the returning crew. Dan avoided the opportunity to mess with the agent whose only wish in life at the moment was obviously to disappear. Dan simply accepted responsibility and let him disappear as he so wanted.
Walking up to the hatch, Dan was in an outstanding mood. The raw materials would last for years even at max building. The prospect of the Republic being an ally had advantages he was still trying to figure out. The bonus of finding humans that were even more technologically advanced than Earth left him with mixed feelings. Dan stepped aboard the Arizona Space Ship Beater for the first time as Commander Johnson and Captain Young waited just inside the passage way. Both men came to attention as Dan neared them.
“At ease, gentlemen. Outstanding job from what I gather. You successfully retrieved enough material for years worth of production. The potential with the Republic is mind staggering, there's so much potential there. To top it all off you found a colony of humans. I should send you out every week. Damn good job!”
Young felt uncomfortable with the praise and finally was able to speak, “Sir, we were just fortunate that everything came together as smoothly as it did. The Republic seems to have plans of their own for us and I have mixed feelings on that. I believe they betrayed us to the enemy when we were on Zia.”
“That seemed to work out ok though didn’t it. I think we should send you back and start making life uncomfortable for them until they start seeing the boogeyman behind every moon. What do you think of that idea Commander?” Dan inquired.
“Sir we should not risk a single ship like the Beater. We should go in strong and make them really decide to pull back forces to protect their areas. We should hit key areas of industry, ship building, munitions factories. Anything that provides support for war against us should be taken out,” Commander Johnson proposed.
“Sir, we do have one more thing for you if you can follow us,” Young said walking down the passageway. “Sir inside this berth is Dr. Grant Townsend ambassador from Dixie. We figured it would be easier to leave him in stasis then try to answer any difficult questions he may have for us. Should I open the hatch now?” Young asked.
“This should be interesting. Please open the hatch and let the ambassador out.” Grant was instantly alert after the stasis field was disengaged and he was conscious.
“Ambassador Townsend, welcome home to Earth. I am Dan Daniels of the Gray Panthers. If you would like to take your belongings, I will take you to a more appropriate location where we can talk.”
“Thank you, Mr. Daniels. Which government do you represent here on Earth?” Grant asked.
“Ambassador, you could say I represent the State of Arizona, but that would not be entirely true. That is part of what we need to talk about. You will see things are quite complicated here on Earth. I will take you back to our guest quarters and get you situated then we can get down to business. Please call me Dan; you will see I am not a very formal type of person.”
“That will work for me, Dan. Please call me, Grant. Excuse me please I just feel a little off and weak. Shall we go? I’m excited to see Earth and get out of this closet. No offense, Commander Johnson,” Grant explained.
“Ambassador, you may feel that way for a few days. Earth has a heavier gravity than Dixie. Since we landed the Beater has been open and we are breathing fresh air again. There might be contaminants in the air you are allergic to. I do agree with you it is nice to leave the Beater for more open spaces. Duty permitting I will be fishing by tomorrow on a big open ocean. Good day sir.” Commander Johnson disappeared down the passageway as Dan escorted Grant off the Beater.
Walking into the apartment Dan pointed out the amenities. “So Grant can I offer you a drink?” Dan asked as he opened a cabinet of mixed bottles.
“One of the few Earth crops we have is corn, we make a liquor from that we call Bourbon…”
“Say no more, Grant, we have the same thing, even the same name. How do you like it? Straight up, mixed with a little water, with ice, or soda?”
“I’ll take two fingers neat please, Dan.”
“Now that I have a drink in your hand let me give you a reason to drink. I’ll give you an abbreviated history lesson for the last three hundred years. Later you can access our computer systems and ask anything you want. After your people were kidnapped the south lost the war. Not long after America went through a few wars as a whole nation including two w
orld wars. It still took a few hundred years for wounds to heal for some. Thirty some years ago one of our enemies used a nuclear weapon that destroyed our seat of power in Washington DC. The government that rose from the ashes did our enemies, work for them. Our federal government was almost totally rebuilt and refused to acknowledge the rights of the people. Our constitution was abandoned as the government protected the people by disarming the populace. After that, it was easy to stop freedom of speech and assembly. The government went amok trying to run everything and failing in all it did.
"Two years ago, the people once again rose up and took back their country with its freedoms and liberties. While the people rose; a Flem space ship was found. It has been kept secret and has been the reason for the recovery of America. Our economy and national defense has prospered. The person who found the ship refused to give it over to the government since he doesn’t trust any politician with that type of power. We learned that an alien race was coming to use humans for its cannon fodder in its wars. That’s when the Gray Panthers were created to coordinate the defense of Earth. So far we have captured two ships and destroyed two with only minor losses to ourselves. You ready for another drink?”
“Am I to assume you are the one who is playing God? You know what’s best to defend the world? Yes, I need another drink.”
“Grant, if any country becomes too strong they end up setting the way for war. I have been building fleets of space ships and no one is rattling their sabers to have another war here on Earth among ourselves. My worst nightmare is to save the world only to destroy it with another world war. I will help you get in touch with the president of the United States and the United Nations if you wish. Please use the computers to learn all you can. I have to leave you now, Ambassador. If you need anything at all just go ahead and ask Grub and he will get it for you. Good night.”
As Dan closed the door behind him Grant muttered, “What the hell is a Grub?”
Grub immediately replied to the question. “Ambassador Townsend, I am an artificial intelligence that has been tasked to provide any information or material you request."
“Oh lord, I do need a drink. I do not need anything from you at the moment, Grub, thank you.”
"If you need me just say 'Grub' and I will make myself available to you." Grub offered as he faded away.
Dan reviewed the reports from Captain Young and Commander Johnson and saw that Young had extended an invitation to the Republic and had given them a channel to communicate with Earth when their ship was in range. Dan asked Grub to distribute the information immediately to all ships and AIs. His last thought as he turned off his light was, “Are we opening ourselves up to another potential enemy?”
Grant initially found himself disgusted and fascinated as he watched the television while reviewing the last couple hundred years of Earth’s history; war, crime, injustice, poverty, famine, illness. Then he began to see that as it continued it was being fought. For all the evil there was good. Where a village was burned down, there were those trying to rebuild it. Where there were those who seemed to kill for pleasure, there were those willing to die to protect strangers. There were those who still dreamed, and others willing to make the dream a reality. Grant realized that Dan Daniels was not a power hungry tyrant but instead a man who was in reality walking a dangerous road.
Grant became less sanctimonious when he thought of his own world's history. Since the establishment of a government there was always the resolution to return to Earth and fight the aliens that had kidnapped them. Initially, the argument was there were too few to fight. Later it was assumed Earth must have already been conquered and not to risk disclosing their world to the aliens. The entire time there was a world wide draft in place so that Dixie could be defended and her 300,000 citizens. The Flem AI that had been left with the initial colony had no restrictions on either manufacturing or providing information. The first hundred years saw the assimilation of technology in every aspect of society. One of the biggest fears was that the AI would eventually fail. Everyone of every sex and color were required to learn a technology. Necessity eliminated ancient taboos and bigotry as individual achievement was celebrated and encouraged. Deep under their world there was also a mighty force. Hundreds of spaceships that could quickly be readied for war. The ships had been designed from the vast stores of information the AI had available on war ships that were in use by other species.
Republic Ship Mut, Near Earth Space
5 Oct 2128
The crew of the Republic ship Mut was nervous. They had been using the FTL for almost ten days and everyone was sick to some degree. Now they were entering space that was at war and they had to make themselves known without being accidentally attacked. While confident they were superior to the humans as both warriors and technologically there was always something that could go wrong. Captain Kriss launched a drone towards Earth transmitting the message that the ship was from the Republic and was on a diplomatic mission. The emissaries for the first contact were going to be the Kust, an insectoid species. The creatures were inoffensive but seemed to get on the nerves of the crew as they were continuously argumentative over anything that came up. His crew; like himself were Rotes their lineage was from lizards and were easy to provoke.
The Arizona Space Ship Nike was the first ship to detect the probe. Admiral Butch Bad relayed the information to Dan straight away. Dan's instructions were to meet the ship with as many ships as he thought needed and escort it to orbit the moon until a delegation could be assembled to welcome them.
Butch signaled the Mut to establish an orbit around the moon with minimal view of Earth. Captain Kriss accepted the directions then replied with his dire warning from the Republic.
“Arizona Space Ship Nike, I have an emergency message to be passed on to your government. The fleet that had been en route to your planet has turned around and is heading back to their own space. There is instead a battle fleet being assembled that will reach Earth no less than two months. The battle fleets orders are to punish the humans for their audacious attitude in attacking and destroying two Libra ships that included one with a member of the royal family aboard. My own estimate is that it will consist of ten major war ships. The Libras are stretched thin in defending and controlling their newly conquered space. They also do not think of Earth as a serious threat. The Republic has informed the Libras that we may observe the war to ensure that the Libras still follow the rules of war set by the League of Planets that they are still officially members. Under the League of Planets laws, they may not attack major population centers that are undefended. First strike with weapons of mass destruction is also a crime. Offering to surrender then attacking is a crime. Attacking during an established ceasefire is a crime.”
“Mut, we have received the message and will pass it along to leadership as soon as possible. What are the chances of the Libra breaking the rules set by the League of Planets? What is the punishment they would receive for breaking the rules?” Butch asked.
“I would be surprised if they did not send long range weapons to destroy the planet before they even got there. They desperately need foot soldiers for their wars so probably thirty percent of the population will be destroyed before they really get busy. Even if they are convicted of war crimes, the Libra have enough seats on the League of Planets to exonerate them. Our being here in neutral space observing their operations will be a serious detractor as they would not want any witnesses.”
“So the Republic will come to our aide if they break the rules of war?” Butch asked.
“We must remain neutral in this war. Simply observers.”
“What if you were to conquer the planet before they got here and declared us property of the Republic?” Butch asked.
The insinuation went over the ship's Captain's head as he replied, “We wish to be friends and establish relations with your world, and we could never do that to you.”
“Thank you, Mut, Arizona Space Ship Nike closing communications for now.”
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br /> Later the Captain of the Mut briefed the delegates who were equally confused that Earth would fight the Libras but capitulate to the Republic. Humans were going to be a strange species to understand.
Gray Panther Head Quarters, Arizona
6 Oct 2128
Dan glanced around his office as the staff came in and took their seats at the conference table. For the umpteenth time he thought about how nice it would be to just be back mining in the desert. The conference table was now fully occupied with the additional seats surrounding the table also full. Dan sighed audibly as he rose from his desk to sit at the front of the table. Dan sat wearily down at the table and gave one last look around it. “I’m going to assume everyone here is up to date on the new status for the Libra fleet. We have four ships to take on a fleet of possibly twenty war ships. How soon can we get anything from any of our ship building allies?”
Wolfgang Bauer, the only civilian at the table rose. “The four original ships in Korea and Japan could possibly be ready in just under three months. With our experience it now takes an average of six months to modify ships for space use. All other projects are still at the first level of stripping down the ships. The earliest I expect any of those will be in February. I will see what we can do to expedite construction, whatever it takes.”
Abbey listened to Wolfgang complete his assessment. He rose as the speaker sat. Taking only a moment to check his numbers he was ready. “We will have four hundred thousand shuttles by the end of next month. Half of those are in use by civilians. We have extended facilities ready to modify those shuttles. We should get them ready as soon as possible.”
Gray Panthers: Earths Revenge Page 25