A Line in the Sand

by Ryk Brown

  “In all honesty, we rejected their offer before they attacked Haven,” the prime minister admitted. “Since then, we have been scrambling to reactivate what little hardware we had left from the time when the Takarans were our allies. Unfortunately, it is woefully inadequate, as you have already seen.”

  “A formal charter is being developed,” Nathan promised. “Meanwhile, we will set up a comm-relay station in your system. This will allow you to maintain communications with our alliance and to call for help if the Dusahn should return.”

  “And how quickly can you respond, should we be under attack?” the prime minister wondered.

  “A few minutes at the most,” Nathan assured him. “But if the Dusahn return, do not wait for them to attack before calling for help.”

  The prime minister smiled. “I most certainly shall not.”

  * * *

  Marcus stood waiting at the top of the ramp as Nathan and Jessica climbed out of the shuttle and headed toward the Voss.

  “That didn’t take long,” Josh commented as he came up behind Marcus and spotted them.

  “‘No’ don’t take long,” Marcus grumbled.

  “Then why are they smiling?” Josh wondered.

  “We thought you’d be gone longer,” Marcus said as Nathan and Jessica headed up the ramp toward them.

  “It took about three minutes for Torman to say yes,” Nathan replied.

  “If the rest of them are this easy, we’ll have the entire sector signed up in a few days,” Jessica stated.

  “Except for Haven,” Marcus reminded her.

  “Screw Haven,” Jessica replied.

  “Finally, something we agree on,” Marcus chuckled.

  “Where to, Cap’n?” Josh asked.

  “No reason to let grass grow under our feet,” Nathan said. “Let’s see if Paradar will be as amicable.”

  Josh laughed. “I’ll add that one to my guidebook,” he decided, turning to head for the flight deck.

  Marcus noticed two men unloading some crates from the shuttle to bring to the Voss. “What’s that?” he asked Nathan.

  “Dollag steaks,” Nathan replied. “The prime minister’s idea of a thank-you gift.”

  “Perhaps I was wrong about this world,” Marcus decided.

  “Wrong about what?” Jessica asked.

  “Marcus thought Palee was a shithole,” Nathan explained.

  “Marcus thinks every world’s a shithole,” Jessica commented, patting the old man on the shoulder as she passed.

  “She’s right,” Marcus admitted. “I do.”

  * * *

  “Then you fight against the Earth?” Udo asked Loki, as he fed him another spoonful of food.

  “I fight for the Earth,” Loki corrected. “I fight for all people.”

  “How can you fight for all, if you fight any one group?”

  “It’s complicated,” Loki told him, leaning back against the wall.

  “Would you like more?”

  “Not now, thank you.”

  Udo set the bowl down, picking up the bottle of water. “Water?”

  “Later, perhaps.”

  After thinking a moment, Udo continued. “These Dusahn you speak of, they were once Jung?”

  “Yes, long ago. They were exiled from the Jung. I don’t know all the details, but apparently they wandered the galaxy for centuries, looking for worlds to conquer that would provide what they needed to build their own empire.”

  Udo sighed, looking down.

  “Did I say something wrong?” Loki wondered.

  “Men who seek more than they need often find themselves with more than they desire.”

  Loki looked confused. “I must have taken a blow to the head, because I don’t understand that.”

  “It is an old adage among my people. It speaks to the evils of want. My people believe that happiness is a state of mind and not a state of possession. True happiness only comes when one stops searching for it.”

  “Okay.”

  Udo smiled. “I realize our ways are probably different than yours.”

  “Not as different as you might think,” Loki assured him.

  “You are from a place further than I can even comprehend,” Udo said. “How can we not be different?”

  “Do you have a family?” Loki asked.

  “I do. A wife and two daughters.”

  “I have a daughter as well,” Loki told him.

  “Then why are you here, instead of caring for your daughter?” Udo wondered.

  “Others care for her, so that I may fight for her, and for them,” Loki explained. “And for you.”

  “By others, you mean your wife?”

  “My wife was killed by the Dusahn,” Loki told him.

  “I am sorry.” Udo thought for a moment. “Then that is why you fight?”

  “Yes and no. I fight because it is the right thing to do. I fight because if we do not, people like the Dusahn, or the Jung, or the Ta’Akar, or even your Admiral Galiardi, will oppress those who cannot fight.”

  “But do not all such people believe they are doing what’s best for their people?”

  “Believing you are doing what’s best for all does not automatically make it so,” Loki explained.

  “But someone must decide what’s best for us. We are of too many differing beliefs and opinions to coexist without some sort of rule,” Udo insisted.

  “I’m not saying that we don’t need leaders, but those leaders should not be thrust upon us against our will.”

  “Then you fight against tyranny,” Udo concluded.

  “I fight to preserve freedom.”

  “There are many levels of freedom,” Udo insisted. “Some more important than others.”

  Loki closed his eyes, a slight smile on his face. “You and my leader should talk.”

  “Then you do follow someone.”

  “Yes.”

  “Who do you follow?”

  Loki’s smile broadened. “You wouldn’t believe me if I told you.”

  * * *

  “What the hell?” Marcus exclaimed, spotting Nathan and Jessica walking across the tarmac of the Paradar spaceport. “You haven’t even been gone an hour.”

  “I guess it’s easy to sell something everyone needs,” Jessica bragged.

  “I expect we’ll get similar responses from all the worlds closest to Takara,” Nathan explained.

  “Where to next?” Marcus wondered.

  “We’re heading back to the Aurora for now,” Nathan replied. “We’ll visit Ursoot and Volon the day after tomorrow, once we return from SilTek.”

  “Why not just knock them off the list today?” Marcus questioned.

  “Other responsibilities,” Nathan told him as he passed. “Button her up.”

  “You got it.”

  “If it’s going to be this easy, maybe you should send someone else to sign up these worlds,” Jessica suggested as they exited the Voss’s utility bay.

  “At this stage, the Aurora and my face are what sell this alliance.”

  “No modesty at all, huh?” Jessica commented.

  “Isn’t that why you recruited me?” Nathan challenged.

  “Nah, I just missed giving you a hard time,” Jessica teased.

  “You had Telles.”

  “Nowhere near as much fun, trust me,” Jessica told him. “What other responsibilities?”

  “Meetings, captain stuff, oh and don’t forget the hand-to-hand combat training,” Nathan replied.

  “You’re not still thinking about fighting Griogair, are you?”

  “Not if I don’t have to,” Nathan admitted. “However, it would be best if I was prepared.”

  “And you think a few hours of training a couple times a week is going to do it?” she teased. “So n
aive.”

  Nathan paused, watching her pass into the common room before her. “Do you ever tire of insulting me?”

  “Never!” she called back to him.

  * * *

  Loki woke to the sound of someone coming up the stairs but was surprised when it was not Udo who appeared once the door opened.

  The man said nothing, crossing the room and setting a bowl of food on the table next to Loki’s bed before going to the far side of the room and taking a seat near the window.

  “Where is Udo?” Loki asked, sliding himself back to sit up against the wall.

  “Eat,” the man instructed.

  Loki picked up the bowl. “You must be Kado,” he stated. “Your brother has spoken of you.” Loki took a scoop of food and put it in his mouth. “My name is Loki.”

  “I do not care what your name is,” Kado snapped. “You will stop telling lies to my brother.”

  “Okay,” Loki replied, perplexed.

  The man rose and left the room without another word, locking the door from the outside.

  Suddenly, Loki felt far from safe.

  * * *

  Nathan and Jessica descended the Voss’s ramp, followed by Dylan, Josh, and Marcus.

  “Welcome back, Captain,” Del greeted.

  “What do you have for us?” Nathan asked, shaking Del’s hand.

  “Two new P-Seventy-Twos, complete with swarm tech loads. Not only that, but the AIs have been upgraded as promised.”

  “Outstanding,” Nathan congratulated. “What about the vehicle we asked for?”

  “Over there,” Del replied, pointing to a six-wheeled, open-cockpit vehicle parked nearby.

  “You’re kidding,” Marcus grumbled.

  “That thing’s ancient!” Dylan exclaimed. “Does it even run?”

  “We had to do a few upgrades and repairs, but she works fine. I know she’s not much to look at, but you said you wanted a wheeled vehicle. I’m afraid we didn’t have much to choose from on SilTek.”

  “Why can’t we have a flying car?” Josh wondered.

  “Better to keep it simple,” Nathan insisted. “Besides, I wanted something that wouldn’t attract attention.”

  “Oh, we’re gonna get attention,” Marcus insisted. “We’re gonna get laughed at.”

  “I don’t know,” Nathan disagreed, moving to take a closer look. “A coat of paint, some new trim, maybe a roof. It might work out just fine.”

  “She’s got her own mini-fusion reactor and a battery backup, so you can roll out while the reactor is still spinning up. Because of that reactor, she’s got pretty much unlimited range.”

  “Nice,” Jessica agreed. “Maybe it will work.”

  “That thing is uglier than the Seiiki’s rover,” Josh commented.

  “You’ll need this,” Del said, tossing a small object to Nathan.

  “What is it?”

  “A remote. Press that button, and the vehicle will come to you.”

  “What’s the red button for?”

  “Shields,” Del replied, smiling.

  “You put shields on a rover?” Marcus said in disbelief. “I might like this thing after all.”

  “This is the frosting on top,” Nathan told Del, holding up the remote. “Well done.”

  “Thank you, sir.”

  Nathan looked out at the row of four XKs. “Those ours?”

  “Yes, sir,” Del replied. “We’ve managed to set up a bit of a production line. The next XK should be ready in about a week. The third one about a week after that.”

  “How the heck did you manage to get things moving so quickly?” Nathan wondered.

  “Word got out,” Del explained. “People just started showing up.”

  Nathan looked concerned. “How much is this going to cost us?”

  “Uh, they’re volunteers,” Del explained. “Most of them aren’t even old enough to have a job.”

  “Well, just make sure they don’t fall behind on their homework,” Nathan joked.

  “Homework?” Del wondered.

  “Another one for the guide,” Josh decided.

  Del looked at Dylan, confused.

  “Long story,” Dylan told him.

  Del shook it off, turning back to Nathan. “I don’t suppose you’ve picked out names for the other XKs yet, have you?”

  “Not all of them,” Nathan admitted. “But I know what we’re going to call the next one.”

  * * *

  Nathan sat quietly as he studied the document on his data pad. Despite his objections during their previous meeting, the second draft seemed even longer and more complex than the first. “I thought you were going to simplify this document?”

  “I did,” Caitrin insisted.

  “I’m not seeing it.”

  “Well, for starters, I rewrote much of it so that it’s more a statement of the basic tenants of this alliance, rather than the actual rules that will govern it.”

  “I thought you were the one insisting that we need rules,” Nathan questioned.

  “We do, and there will be,” she insisted as she poured herself another glass of juice. “You sure you don’t want to try this?”

  “I’m good,” Nathan replied, continuing his examination of the document with a scowl on his face.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Nathan sighed. “It’s not that there’s anything wrong with the document. I mean, I agree with the tenants, but it just feels like we’re trying to push our own beliefs onto others.”

  “You’re misinterpreting the words,” Caitrin insisted. “The document clearly states that we will not interfere with the rights of member states to self-govern.”

  “Provided certain conditions are adhered to,” Nathan countered.

  “If we can’t agree on basic things like human rights, equality, fair trade, freedom of speech, rights of ownership, due process for the peaceful resolution of disputes…how are we going to operate? What common ground are we going to build upon?”

  Nathan paused, collecting his thoughts a moment. “I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately, and the only thing I can come up with that is universally accepted is freedom. But I’m not talking about individual freedoms as much as I’m talking about collective freedoms. You see, throughout history, humans have not been free to move into whatever community best fits their beliefs. Distance, finances, national boundaries; all of these made relocation difficult, often impossible. We have been forced to live among those of differing beliefs, even if we didn’t wish to, thus requiring a myriad of compromises for the good of the community. This is why utopia is unachievable for the whole but possible for the few. Unfortunately, this too requires at least one compromise. In order to be free, we must allow others to be free as well, even if we find their ways unacceptable.”

  “Yet you are still setting forth some rules,” Caitrin said.

  “Yes, but only for the sake of working together for a common purpose, that purpose being the security of all member states.”

  “States being?”

  “Any organized collective seeking to join our alliance. A nation, a world, a system, a collection of systems, or any combination thereof.”

  “And if there is more than one collective on the same world?”

  “Those who want to join can do so,” Nathan replied. “Those who do not, will not.”

  “How do you provide protection to one nation on a world but not others?”

  “It is problematic, I admit. However, I doubt that particular situation will be very common. Most of the worlds I have visited have small populations, usually located in the same general area. Those who are global generally have either a global government or at least a structure to provide diplomatic relations between nation-states. But again, these are matters that can be debated later by the members and added to the
charter in the form of amendments.”

  “Wouldn’t it be better to be prepared for as many eventualities as possible from the start?” Caitrin suggested.

  “The more rules we have, the more reasons prospective members will have to fear joining. Haven has already rejected the idea, without even knowing what the rules would be, and they were just recently attacked by the Dusahn. If we’re going to grow this alliance quickly, we need to make it as simple and uncomplicated as possible. Plus, the more that the members are involved in the evolution of the governing document, the happier they will all be. Ideally, we would love to invite representatives from every inhabited world to provide input, member or not, but that isn’t feasible.”

  Caitrin shook her head in dismay. “What you are proposing is going to be very complicated.”

  “We’re talking about connecting all the lost colonies of Earth, Caitrin,” Nathan replied. “Complicated is the only thing it can be. That’s why we have to start with as few rules as possible and create the other rules as they become necessary.”

  Caitrin sighed. “Well, we’re going to at least need a document that binds the founding members until a formal charter can be developed. This will need to include funding to get us through to ratification.”

  “Agreed.”

  “So again, you want us to stick to the rule of fives,” she surmised.

  “Five rights, five rules, five requirements, and five protections…for both the members and the alliance,” Nathan confirmed. “That’s all we need to get started.”

  Caitrin sighed again, picking up her glass of juice. “I may need a raise before long.”

  * * *

  Nathan made his way through the Aurora’s main lower deck, on his way to the Ghatazhak’s makeshift training room.

  “Nathan!” Vladimir called from behind, jogging to catch up. “When did you get back?”

  “A couple of hours ago,” Nathan replied as they continued down the corridor together.

  “Is the Voss completed?”

  “Fully,” Nathan replied. “Three more turrets added, and two new P-Seventy-Twos with swarm-tech.”

  “Very nice. What about her range?”

  “Sol in two jumps with a single four-hour layover,” Nathan replied. “And get this; they’ve set up a sort of production line. They should be able to put out an upgraded XK every week; ten days max.”