by Dean, Warren
The modern theory was that, whenever a councillor died, he was replaced in secret to preserve the notion that the Ancient Council was an immortal, eternal force serenely controlling the fate of the five planets. The new appointee would be given enough time to arrange his affairs, and to prepare a credible explanation for his sudden disappearance. With the help of the Ancient Council itself, it was not difficult for an appointee to arrange a permanent posting to one of the remote floating islands on Ellipse, or a berth on a deep space exploration ship, or to simply fake his own death.
No such false disappearance had ever been uncovered, however, so the theory remained unproven and the superstition intact.
A pity Qara couldn't be given the task of investigating it, Vi smiled wryly to herself; the little reporter would soon get to the bottom of the mystery.
Without preamble, the ambassador began speaking; launching into a detailed report of the expedition sent to evacuate six million human beings from planet Earth. There were no words of welcome from the council, no introductory ceremony of any kind, and the first time Vi heard any of the councillors speak was when one of them asked a question during the ambassador's narrative. The councillor who spoke did so in a thin, reedy voice; its timbre nevertheless conveying a sense of great age and wisdom.
The ambassador dealt with the question and then continued with his report. From time to time, other councillors interrupted with questions, all of which were dealt with by the ambassador in the same fashion. From the nature of the questions, she got the impression that the council already knew most of what he was telling them and were merely clarifying details.
The most interesting question came when the ambassador was almost finished. "Is there a leader among them who is suited to our purpose?" asked one of the councillors.
"There is, Ancient One," replied the ambassador without hesitation. "He is, or was, the president of Mongolia, the nation which sheltered us when we first arrived on the planet. He has demonstrated that he is calm, inventive, and resourceful, even in adversity. He also inspires loyalty amongst those who follow him."
After that, the ambassador quickly wound up his report.
The councillor who had spoken first then addressed Physician Ti. "What of our other project?" he demanded imperiously.
The physician drew himself up, straightening his back with an audible crackle before he spoke. "It remains dormant, Ancient One," he said. "Our efforts to revive it continue, but have as yet been unsuccessful. It will be of no assistance in the coming conflict with the Drel."
The councillor shifted his attention back to the ambassador. "What of the diplomatic efforts? Is there any hope of a negotiated solution?"
The ambassador's aura exuded regret. "I am afraid not, Ancient One. Dialogue has not been abandoned, but the Drel are unyielding in their demands."
"So, our path is chosen for us," mused the councillor, and fell silent.
The councillor sitting immediately to the speaker's left, who had not interjected at all up to that point, did so for the first time. "Why is she here?" he asked abruptly.
"You know very well why she is here," the ambassador retorted, his tone betraying a trace of annoyance for the first time. "She has played a crucial role in our interaction with the humans and we need her to continue to do so. She is entitled to know of our purpose and of what has brought us to it."
"She is entitled to nothing," the councillor snapped. "She is young and untested; how can we be sure of her reaction should we give her this knowledge?"
"She has acquitted herself efficiently and prudently on both expeditions, despite her inexperience," replied the ambassador.
The councillor did not relent. "She has repeatedly shown an affinity with the humans. How do we know we can count on her loyalty?"
Vi cringed at the exchange, wishing that the ambassador would concede the point. But he did not back down. He seemed to have less regard for this particular councillor than the others. "She has sacrificed much at our behest and her loyalty is not in question," he growled. "As for her affinity with the humans, that is the very quality we need in her."
The reedy voiced councillor raised a hand, stopping the argument in its tracks. He looked around the circle of his peers, as if judging their opinion at a glance. "It is the decree of the council that she be fully informed," he declared mildly.
At that, the spotlights illuminating all but one of the councillors winked out and, with a resumption of the hollow, grating sound which had accompanied their ascension into the arena, the twelve darkened councillors descended back to wherever they had come from. Only the councillor who had argued with the ambassador remained behind. Vi turned to face him, determined to appear relaxed and confident despite the fact that her knees had begun to shake from the strain of the whole experience.
"It is decreed that you are to be fully informed," the councillor grumbled moodily. "Well, so be it." Reaching upwards, he slowly folded back his white hood.
The last thing Vi expected was to recognise the face which was revealed, but she did. It was a face she knew well; the face of Analyst Ko. It took a little while for her mind to accept the evidence of her eyes. She had travelled to Earth and back with a member of the Ancient Council. Twice. She tried desperately not to ponder the disrespectful things she had said and thought about him in that time. His aura might be shielded in the hearing chamber, but hers wasn't.
Having accepted the judgment of the council with his customary bad grace, Ko wasn't about to do the explaining itself. That much was clear from the sour expression on his face. Realising this, the ambassador stepped smoothly into the breach. "There was an overriding purpose to our expedition to Earth which you were not privy to," he began, "one which justified the presence of a member of the Ancient Council itself."
Vi found her voice for the first time since they had walked into the arena. "Do you mean that what we told the humans is a lie?"
The ambassador shook his head, a mannerism he must have picked up on Earth. "No, translator, everything we told the humans is true. Our genetic crisis you are painfully aware of. And our interest in human reproductive patterns is genuine; one of the reasons for bringing their colony here is so that we can continue with our studies of this phenomenon."
"And the humans destroyed their planet themselves," sneered Ko. "We gave them advanced knowledge and technology, and look what they did with it."
The ambassador shot Ko a sharp look. "The Ancient One is correct," he said, "but the prior extrapolations of our analysts suggested that this was the most likely outcome of our actions."
She looked at him, aghast. "So we knew that our intervention would lead to the destruction of an entire world?"
"No, no," snapped Ko. "The downfall of planet Earth was inevitable; we just hastened the process. But this was not done without reason. Tell her the rest, ambassador, and be quick about it. We are wasting time here."
Instead of expressing annoyance at the councillor's tactless outburst, the ambassador's aura exuded sadness. "We are, as the humans would say, between a rock and a hard place. The rock is the Drel invasion fleet; why they are here is a discussion which can wait for another time. They have made it clear that, unless we accede to their demands, which we cannot, they will destroy us. They are an extremely aggressive and warlike race and there is no doubt that they have the ability to carry out their threat. We have been stalling them with negotiations, but those are almost exhausted and will break down any time now. The hard place, well, that is what we have had to do on planet Earth. Conflict with the Drel is unavoidable and the humans represent the only hope we have of resisting them."
Vi was by no means a military tactician, but even she could see that what the ambassador seemed to be suggesting would not work. "How is that possible?" she asked. "Many of the evacuees are women, children, and elders, and most of the men are not soldiers. Even if the fighters among them are prepared to help us, what impact would such a small force have? And why is this necessary at all? Surely ou
r military forces are superior to those of the Drel? They are a race even younger and less developed than the humans, or is that a lie too?"
"No, that much is not a lie. We made a mistake when we selected the Drel for contact. They were not ready for it. Their instinct was to repel us as invaders, an instinct they unleashed with such ferocity they took us by surprise. They captured some of our star ships and coerced the crews into helping them engineer their own fleet. It has taken them some time to master the art of wormhole travel and follow us, but that fleet is now here. As for our military capability, we have maintained morale on the five planets with repeated assurances that, if all else fails, our forces will be equal to the task of defeating the invaders."
"And they are not," said Vi, beginning to understand.
"Ever since the ancient migration, we have striven for peaceful interaction with all civilisations we have encountered. In the vast majority of cases, we have had no difficulties, and on the few occasions our advances have elicited a violent response, we have simply used the star drive to disengage. This is the first time that a warlike race has had the means to pursue us to the borders of our system. The legacy of all of those peaceful aeons is that it has not been necessary to maintain more than a token military force."
"But surely in the time the Drel have taken to build their own fleet, we have had the opportunity to strengthen our forces?"
The ambassador inclined his head in assent. "Indeed we have, and they have been significantly boosted with both hardware and personnel. But we have encountered an unexpected problem. Our forces have not fought a war for so long, it was necessary to put them through stringent training exercises in simulated battle conditions. Almost all of those exercises ended in failure. We have discovered that our soldiers do not have the ability to fight effectively. They are physically capable of it, and well drilled in the use of their weaponry, but they are psychologically unable to defeat an enemy in battle. They seem to lack the spark of aggression needed to prevail, even when their own lives are at stake."
Vi looked at Physician Ti, who had been listening intently. "Do we know why?" she asked.
"We have found that the cause is genetic," said Ti. "We have traced the anomaly back to the racial modification which gave us telekinetic ability. The chemical which facilitates our telekinesis is related to our sense of fear. In boosting our production of the chemical, we have unwittingly enhanced our sense of fear. It was believed at the time that the effect of this by-product would be minimal, and this is true in ordinary circumstances. But imminent peril causes the chemical to assert itself in such a way that…"
"Our soldiers are afraid to fight," she finished for him.
"That is putting it simply, but yes."
"If the problem is genetic, surely it can be corrected with further modifications?"
"It can, but not in the time available. We cannot afford to make a similar mistake and must be careful to develop a modification which will not itself have unintended consequences."
"This doesn't explain how the human colonists can help. They do not have the numbers to resist the Drel. They will be wiped out if they try. Is that what they have been brought here for, to be sacrificed as cannon fodder?"
"That is not the intention," replied Ti. "We need the colonists to help us defeat the Drel, but we need to ensure their survival too. Our studies so far have indicated that a solution to our own genetic crisis may lie within their DNA. We just need sufficient time to experiment with it. The trial you are undergoing is the first step in this process. It is therefore imperative that we do everything in our power to preserve the colony on Azura."
"There is one thing I still don't understand," said Vi. "Why should the colonists join us in the war against the Drel? They have just escaped from a planet consumed by war in order to save their species. Why would they willingly risk its survival for our sake?"
A sharp hiss of irritation from deep in the back of Ko's throat signalled an end to his patience. "You really are a child in these matters," he snarled. "Do you know where the Drel fleet is poised to strike first? Ah, I see that you do; it masses beyond the orbit of Azura. The humans have no choice but to fight. If they do not, their fledgling colony will be destroyed."
The ambassador broke in more gently. "Azura is not densely populated and the Drel have surmised that it will not be heavily defended. In that, they are correct; our strategists plan to withhold a significant proportion of our forces in reserve for the defence of Primefall. This means that the Drel will encounter little resistance when invading our other planets. They will have no difficulty taking Ellipse and Secondfall after their conquest of your home planet. Rim is of no military significance. They will then be at liberty to concentrate the full might of their war fleet on our primary planet.
"The colonists will be requested to assign their military tacticians to us. Despite calls to the contrary from peaceable factions among the evacuees, we did not turn away the generals, captains, and warlords who wished to leave Earth. They will be placed in positions of command throughout our fleet and given the task of outwitting the Drel star ships. None of our commanders have any experience of battle and lack the abilities which the humans have in abundance. We have to hope that their strategies will prove superior to those of the Drel.
"At the same time, President Ganzorig will be given the task of raising and commanding an army of humans to spearhead the defence of Azura against Drel ground forces. He will also be given command of our own forces on the planet to deploy as he sees fit. Human expertise will hopefully make up for their shortcomings in battle. It is hoped that Ganzorig will be able to inflict at least an initial defeat on the Drel, reducing their strength and sapping their morale."
"And if he can't?" asked Vi incredulously. "If he fails and the human colony is destroyed, what becomes of our plan to use human DNA to resolve our genetic defect? What becomes of Azura?"
The ambassador offered no response to her questions and it was Ko who addressed them. "We have contingency plans in place. Should the colony be faced with destruction, we shall extract a sufficient number of humans to preserve their DNA pool. And Ganzorig's army is expendable; it is just our first line of defence. If the Drel take Azura, our star fleet, fortified by its human commanders, will remain. It will defend Ellipse and Secondfall, weakening the Drel forces all the time. By the time they attack Primefall, we expect to be in a position to prevail.
"But none of these are your concerns, translator. It is not for you to question decisions which have been made after considered deliberation. You are required to diligently perform your duties as liaison to the colony. You are at liberty to do all in your power to assist the colonists in their endeavours, but you are strictly forbidden from disclosing any of the knowledge you have gained here today. Now, you have been fully informed and this hearing is concluded."
The spotlight illuminating Ko winked out and his pedestal descended through the floor of the arena.
After he had gone, the three supplicants remained still for a moment. Vi glanced at the face of the ambassador, who was deep in thought once more. She could see from his aura that he was already composing the speech he would have to give the colonists when he got back to Azura.
The remaining spotlights went out, leaving them in semi-darkness.
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Look out for the further adventures of David Herald, Qara-Chinua, Katya Kasparova, Translator Vi, and their friends and enemies in Warren Dean's forthcoming novel THE DREL WARS.
MORE BY WARREN DEAN
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Turn the page to read the first two chapters of this exciting novella.
Available now in the Kindle Store:
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FORTHCOMING ATTRACTIONS
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ABOUT THE AUTHOR
I am a book lover. I have been an avid reader since I first discovered the world of books at a young age. If I had to give up all forms of entertainment, save one, I would choose reading; particularly science fiction and fantasy books.
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