War of the Innocents

by Michelle Breon

  They headed out, transporting to a spot near a back entrance where Joel was waiting for them. “The Parrhesians arrived a few minutes ago,” Joel informed them as he secured the door behind them.

  Joel led them to the Secretary’s office. Promptly at four, the door opened and the Secretary and President entered the briefing room, followed by a military contingent and Gillian. Two colonels approached Joel with datapads and he waved them away.

  The President settled into her chair at the head of the table smiling at all, as everyone settled into their chosen seat. “Now that everyone is here, we can start. “Let us start with Parrhesia. Military status?”

  Colonel Zachary White stepped forward. “We confirmed that Parrhesia is an agricultural planet with no weapons, no capability to make weapons, and no defense capability. How they have not been conquered before now can only be attributed to the fact that they live in a very quiet, remote sector of space.”

  “Medical status?”

  “DNA samples were taken from the delegates here and on the planet. The samples were confirmed as human by computer and hand comparison by Dr. Zui.” The delegates nodded. “The people are not afflicted with the Sleeping Sickness at this time.” He stepped back.

  “Political status?”

  Phil settled his reading glasses on the bridge of his nose. “The Chancellor is their confirmed leader. They have peace treaties with many of their neighbors and many trade agreements for agricultural products. Scans of the planet show that the crust is rich in nickel, copper, zinc, trillium, and iron ore. Sentient life forms include only humans. Animal and plant life exist, but nothing rare or remarkable.” He paused, “And as of eleven pm local time, five am Earth time, the Drotz declared war on Parrhesia and asked for unconditional surrender. They allowed thirty six hours for a reply.”

  The President held up a hand to silence the Parrhesian delegation before commotion could erupt. “Military status of the Drotz?”

  Colonel White picked up another datapad. “A militaristic people with alliances with several of Earth’s enemies, multiple munitions plants, including a trillium processing plant and fission reactors. Several known fleets of warships and many smaller raiders, several of which were orbiting the planet or stationed nearby. Scans show a dearth of elements in the crust and massive amounts of strip mining. Sentient life includes the Drotz and multiple other races. Animal and plant life almost non-existent.”

  “The weapon?”

  “The weapon is still enabled and pointed at Parrhesia.”

  “Military status of Llanelyn?”

  Colonel White shifted to a third datapad. “An agricultural people with no weapons, no capability to make weapons, but with a defense grid strong enough to deter most invaders as it has ten munition cannons.”

  “Medical status?”

  “Also confirmed human by Dr. Zui from samples taken both here and on the planet.”

  “Political status?”

  Phil scanned down his datapad. “A new Cerato was recently confirmed as their leader, replacing the previous leader. They have peace treaties and trade agreements with most of their neighbors. They are in a quiet sector of space. Scans of the planet also show that the crust is rich in nickel, copper, zinc, trillium, and iron ore. Sentient life forms include only humans. Animal and plant life exist, but nothing rare or remarkable.”

  “The books?”

  Colonel White spoke again. “Dr. Troilo met with the current translator, Mr. Doug Ghant a student of the University of Chicago, and verified the contents as well as the approximate age of the material. He believes them to be authentic, most written on the planet with at least two started on Earth before the ship left.”

  The President nodded and turned to the Secretary. “Phil, your analysis? What do the Drotz want with Parrhesia?”

  “I sent a warship by Drotz to Parrhesia to get the scans and allow a message to be intercepted. The message indicated a mercy mission to Parrhesia to buy us some time. The ship detected many warships orbiting the planet, along with empty personnel carriers and cargo ships. Indications are that the Drotz want to take Parrhesia, mostly for the trillium and other elements, as the trillium plant on Drotz showed recent new construction efforts. But I think they also want to take the people alive as slaves to work the mines. Trillium must be mined by hand, as it is too volatile to mine by machine or energy based methods. The cargo would be the trillium, while the personnel carriers are most likely to remove the children, to encourage the Parrhesians to mine the trillium quickly. As you know, Earth and her allies banned trillium mining and weapons about six years ago due to the environmental impact.”

  “If we do nothing?”

  “Most likely the Drotz will invade and conquer Parrhesia, successfully mine and process the trillium into warheads that may or may not be shared with their allies or sold to the highest bidder.”

  “And if we support the Parrhesians?”

  “Most likely we would have unsuccessful peace talks. They would pull their allies together as would we. War would probably occur, but be short lived as we have a greater strength at this time than they and their allies. We would also prevent an aggressive people from obtaining the raw materials to make warheads that could be used later against us or our allies.”

  “Other options?”

  “Declare Parrhesia a protectorate colony,” offered Colonel Albert Williams.

  Eight simultaneous “No’s” echoed throughout the room.

  The Chancellor’s voice shook with righteous anger. “We will seek support elsewhere before I submit to Earth rule.”

  “Gentlemen, please. Phil, the treaty?”

  “Here it is. We copied the Llanelyn treaty and changed it to Parrhesia.” He handed her a datapad.

  “May I see it?” Joel asked.

  The President passed it down and Joel scanned the treaty. “Yes, it appears to be a copy of the one my grandfather had drawn up for Llanelyn.”

  “May I?” Mischka asked. Joel handed him the pad. Mischka scrolled to the bottom. “Yes, it contains the non-interference clause.”

  At the President’s questioning look, Joel explained. “Earth cannot interfere in the affairs, government, people, or extra-planetary matters of Llanelyn. The Cerato at that time insisted on that clause.”

  She nodded and held out her hand for the pad. “As that has worked for thirty years with Llanelyn, I see no reason to alter that for Parrhesia. A protectorate colony is not an option.” She looked at the Chancellor who nodded his thanks. “Other options?”

  “Attack the Drotz first?”

  Phil shook his head. “We have no quarrel with them at this time. That would bring their allies down on us and make us look like the bad guy.”

  The President scanned the silent room. “Right then.” She offered the Chancellor the datapad. “I extend this treaty to you and your people on behalf of the Earth Federation. There will need to be a formal signing at some point, but for now consider the treaty as our offer of support.”

  His hand shook as he accepted the datapad. “Thank you Madame President.”

  “As to the upcoming press conference, I want us to focus on the finding of two of The Seven Lost Colonies. Dr. DeWitt can present the medical evidence. I will discuss the political impacts. We will not bring up the current situation with the Drotz. We have a thirty-minute block. Dr. DeWitt, can you fill fifteen to twenty minutes?”

  “Yes, ma’am.”

  “Good. If I take ten to fifteen minutes, that should leave very little time for questions. General Peterson, for now, I do not want the military in the room.”

  “As you wish.”

  “Does anyone else want to address the press?” All the delegates shook their head. “Very well.” She stood and offered her hand to the Chancellor. “Welcome to the Federation.”

  He stood and they shook hands. “Thank you.”

  She turned to Angel who rose with her hands tucked inside her sleeves. “It was a pleasure to meet you,” the President said
as she extended her hand.

  Gillian rose and said quietly, “No one outside her immediate family may touch the Cerato. But I am no longer constrained by that law.” The President nodded and shook her hand instead.

  “It was a pleasure to meet you as well,” Angel said.

  “That is an interesting law. I would be interested in hearing all about it at dinner tonight.” She turned to Joel. “General, please ensure our guests are comfortable and make it to the press conference.”

  “Yes ma’am.”

  “I will meet you all there.” The President and her entourage left the briefing room.

  “Congratulations, I think,” Gillian said to the Chancellor.

  “I hope this is the right thing for my people.”

  “Based on what I just heard, it is,” Joel said. “The next step will be to plan and build a defense shield like Llanelyn has. I’ll bring that up to the President. With the Secretary’s help I’m sure that we can get her backing.” He looked at his watch. “The press conference is still over an hour away and the press room is a short walk to the other end of the building. Is anyone hungry or thirsty?”

  “I’m thirsty, but I need to get my notes in order for the press. The fewer gaps I leave, the fewer holes they will question.” Jason sat down and began organizing the information on his datapad.

  Joel left with the Chancellor’s attaché and Nik to get snacks and drinks for everyone. Gillian and Mischka began explaining all the changes they made over the thirty years to protect Llanelyn. Left to herself, Angel curled up in a chair and rested. Though she was curious about the tech that had allowed them to discover so much information in so short a time, she suspected more meetings such as this were in her future.

  Nik and the attaché returned with snacks and drinks. Pieter joined the Chancellor, Gillian, and Mischka. Nik settled in beside Angel.

  “Twill all be over soon.”

  “No, it won’t. There are still the peace talks and other diplomatic meetings. This was not what I envisioned my life being just a few months ago.” Angel sighed. “I simply wanted to work on the computers. Tech fascinates me. I’d much rather have grandmadret take this job back.”

  “But the Gods said you are the best person for this struggle.” Nik kept his voice low. “What might happen if you did not do this?”

  Angel shivered as she vividly recalled the images from her dreams. “Tis why I will do this. I do not want any harm to come to our people.”

  Fully understanding her reasons, Nik changed the subject to what she thought of Earth. He preferred to be at home in the fields, but he refused to let her endure this alone.

  After helping Nik and Pieter find the snack bar, Joel headed for Phil’s office again, entering when Phil acknowledge his knock.

  “Joel, did you know about the trillium?” Miranda asked.

  “No, but Phil’s analysis fits with everything we know about the Drotz. Trillium warheads are extremely dangerous. We cannot let the Drotz get their hands on a source of trillium. If they win, the next war may see our ships facing trillium warheads.”

  “You don’t know that for sure. They may just sell them on the black market to other warring parties who have no quarrel with us.” Phil poured them all a glass of water.

  “You want to bet your life on that? And the lives of our military? Due to the volatile nature of trillium, a single warhead can destroy our largest warships no matter where on the hull it impacts.”

  “But what if the analysis is wrong? What if the Drotz are after something else? Perhaps just slaves for their factories or a planet that they can expand onto for their people.”

  “Miranda, if you really believe that, why did you offer the treaty?”

  “I did not say I believed it. What if we are wrong? You know that I never look at only one theory. So what other theories are there?”

  “We could guess for hours and still not come up with the real reason. The best way to know that is to ask the Drotz, but anything they tell us could be a lie.” Joel set his glass down. “But here are a few theories, based on what we know.” He briefly outlined the possible scenarios that he could think of.

  Phil drained his glass. “I’ll get my people on this and see if they come up with anything. That will take a few days and we have just over one day.”

  “Right. So we stick to the truth about the Lost Seven for now. If the press brings up the Sleeping Sickness, we let Dr. DeWitt handle those questions as the medical info will bore the press.” Miranda sipped her water, thinking through the various questions the press might ask. “We should also downplay that they are defenseless. I noted that they did not have a defense shield.”

  “I was going to talk to you about that. I think we need to help them construct one similar to Llanelyn’s.”

  “But that takes time. Time we need to buy them. The question is how.”

  The trio discussed the press and various scenarios, ensuring that they looked at every angle they could. They were so deep into the discussion that they missed a soft knock on the door.

  Phil’s assistant opened the door, surprising them. “Sorry to interrupt, but there is news you need to know.” He briefly told the latest news, then left.

  Joel swore softly. “This changes everything.”

  Ryan Jute arrived at the press conference facility well ahead of time. A young lieutenant in a freshly pressed dress uniform stopped him at the door. Ryan handed over his press identification badge.

  “Please follow Lt Sanders here,” the young man said as he handed back the badge.

  Ryan followed the second person in a freshly pressed dress uniform to a seat in the middle of the front row. “By orders of General Peterson?” he asked quietly. He was used to the military at press conferences, but generally not a personal escort to his seat.

  “Yes, sir,” the young woman said as she picked up the Reserved card from the chair and handed it to him. She turned smartly on her low dress heals and walked off.

  Ryan flipped the card over and chuckled as he read the questions fed to him by Jason. Obviously the first was for the President, while the rest were to be addressed to Jason. None gave away the inside information that Jason had already discussed with Ryan for the exclusive story they were working on.

  Twenty minutes before the press conference, the Secretary’s assistant came into the briefing room. “It is time to go.” Everyone followed him out of the room and the outer office, through a maze of corridors to a large room filled with people. Joel, the Secretary of Defense and the President met them there.

  “Bad news.” Phil said. “The Drotz have upped their timetable to twenty four hours, leaving us just ten hours at this time.”

  “General Peterson, please join us on the platform. I did not want to bring this up, but the move by the Drotz has made me rethink our original plan. We will need to start gaining popular support now. I will have to tell that part as well.”

  “I understand,” the Chancellor said.

  “In a way, that might be a blessing in disguise,” Gillian commented. When everyone gaped at her, she smiled and said. “Few people want to live or vacation in a war zone. This might just buy us time to get safeguards in place on Parrhesia like I implemented on Llanelyn.”

  The President nodded thoughtfully. “I will imply that war could break out at any moment, to help buy you that time. We can discuss these safeguards more in the coming days.” She turned back to the Chancellor. “I have already dispatched three warships to protect Parrhesia until the peace talks can be scheduled. With your assistance, I will contact the Drotz Ambassador tomorrow morning to discuss the peace talks.”

  Chancellor Berenbaum nodded. “Thank you Madame President.”

  Her assistant signaled that it was time. “Chancellor, Cerato, Dr. DeWitt, General Peterson, and Phil will join me on the platform. My staff knows where to sit. The rest will stand off to the side with my security personnel. Is everyone ready?”

  After a few terse nods, she led the way into the la
rge briefing room. Flashes of light and shouts of “Madame President” were heard throughout the room.

  Chapter 8

  Not Important

  The Earth Federation President came out onto the raised platform first, followed by General Joel Peterson who was flanked by several other military brass, some government civilians, and some obviously foreign dignitaries, judging by their odd clothes. Once the last of the dignitaries had filed into the chairs near the podium, surrounded by the military brass, the security staff filed into the room, watching both the media crowd and the speakers. Several men and a woman wearing clothes similar to the dignitaries also entered, taking their places with the security staff.

  The man in the chair swore softly when he recognized two of the oddly dressed guards. While the President made opening remarks, he rose from the chair, crossed back to the file cabinet, and removed the file he had just put under Tourist. He pulled out the photo of Mischka and Nik, holding the picture up to the screen and swore again when the faces in the photo matched the figures. He had expected better of his operative.

  Dropping the picture back into the folder, he pulled out the keyboard for the computer and began taking notes and pulling images from the broadcast. His eyes narrowed thoughtfully at the young red haired girl introduced as the leader of Llanelyn. “Fresh and innocent,” he thought. The older man introduced as the leader of Parrhesia appeared as wise as he was old. As the words of the President sank in, he rested back thoughtfully in his chair. So they have found two of the Lost Seven. And of course one needed protection, surprisingly not the young girl’s planet. As Dr. DeWitt stepped forward to present the overwhelming mass of scientific evidence, the man realized why his operative had failed.

  When the conference was over, he spent hours reviewing the recording he had originally scheduled in case he had missed the broadcast. He pulled up maps and charts on his computer screen, matching up his notes with known areas of interest, filing the relevant information into separate folders for each planet. Both planets were in very quiet sectors of space, which explained why they had been overlooked. Until now.