The Apex Warriors

by Marc Stevens

  Surprise flashed across his face. I guess he didn’t think he would hear something like that come out of my mouth. He stuttered and then cleared his throat. He frowned and his eyes narrowed slightly.

  “I have been told that a crew member that serves under you, bragged that you have killed millions of other aliens. Is that true?”

  Tria squeezed my hand hard. She was getting pissed. She gave my father a dose of his own medicine.

  “Patriarch Myers, the AI of this starship spent several months on Earth. In that time he carefully studied the history of your country. He has informed me that hundreds of years ago, the land that you claim as your own, was the home of the indigenous people who lived there. When your ancestors learned to navigate the oceans, they made their way to what you now call “your” country. Your history not only documents the seizure of land rightfully belonging to the natives, but also the slaughter of the indigenous people. They rose up against the invaders and fought to protect what was once their homes only to be butchered with superior technology. Over the centuries, millions of innocent people have died needlessly at the hands of the dominant nations. You are extremely fortunate the same has not happened to your homeworld. As of right now, Nathan and his allies will be the only forces standing between you and annihilation if Earth is discovered by a hostile race. You cannot begin to know how lucky you are that Nathan’s allies, met him first and not one of your bureaucrats. Some, if not all, might consider your past history as a good reason to let predatory races send you all to your maker to be judged.”

  My Father’s jaw went slack and his mouth fell open in surprise. He turned and walked out of view.

  Tria wasn’t expecting that and looked me in the eyes. She was trying to see if I was hurt by her words. “I am sorry I have angered your Patriarch. He should not let the opinion of others be the foundation for his dialog with you. He is being manipulated by others in his chain of command.”

  I kissed Tria and she smiled. “I knew this was going to be hard. You told my Father what he needed to hear. If he doesn’t wish to speak with me again, then so be it. We will stay our course until brighter minds understand what is coming. Let’s go get something to eat and get some rest. We have got a lot of questions that need to be answered by the Throggs in the brig. I have a feeling it will be a long drawn-out process.”

  Tria nodded and we turned away from the viewscreen. “Commander,” Justice called. “The link to your homeworld is still active and the Vice President of the United States is requesting your presence.”

  I started to tug Tria along with me, but she let go of my hand. “I have heard enough nonsense for one day. Anything I might say to the leaders of your country will only make them more irrational than they already are.”

  Tria was correct. If the discussion went as well as the one we had with my Father, it was going to put a damper on an otherwise productive day.

  I faced the viewscreen and took a deep breath and blew it out slowly. “Put him on Justice.”

  The Vice President’s face filled the screen. “Yes, Mr. Vice President?”

  He seemed a little out of sorts and then tried to gather himself with small talk. “Do you prefer Mr. Myers, or do I call you Commander Myers?”

  “Sir, please get to the point. I just came from a combat mission and I would like to take a shower and get something to eat.”

  Lawrence Redman’s jaw tensed and his mouth became a thin flat line. He wasn’t used to someone talking to him like that. He cleared his throat and continued. “As you predicted Commander Myers, the President has resigned and I will be officially taking over the office of the President tomorrow.”

  “That’s good to hear Mr. President. It is good to know that an honest politician will be taking the reins of power.”

  My statement eased the tension in the air, but Redman’s posture was anything but relaxed. “Commander Myers. I will have my work cut out for me with the world teetering on the edge of madness. Several small countries have revealed that aliens do exist and that they have come to Earth. Some are spreading rumors and news of ill tidings from outer space. There are a lot of nutcases running amok saying the world is ending, and a variety of other less than stable people causing all kinds of mayhem in the belief there will be an alien invasion. The militaries of the world are prepping for war and the leadership of several of the major players are nowhere to be seen.”

  “Mr. President, with a few exceptions, that was the case when I left Earth several years ago. If I remember correctly the situation was called, “SNAFU”

  My comment rubbed the newly minted President the wrong way. “Commander Myers, there is nothing normal about this situation and I don’t appreciate your attempt at humor.”

  “Mr. President, It is obvious to me that you are skirting the real reason you called me. If you find my commentary annoying, then please get to the point.”

  “Commander, the United Nations has called an emergency meeting. As far as my intelligence sources know, all the current leaders of their respective countries will be present. The topic will be what you have been asking for, a world government. Needless to say, there are going to be a lot of conflicts of interest. I fully expect it to be a waste of time and nothing more than a forum for argumentive and combative theatrics.”

  “So, you are telling me that the meeting is going to be business as usual. What does that have to do with me?”

  “You are going to be there to tell them why they need to put aside their differences.”

  I was pretty sure the President of the United States just gave me a direct order. The look on his face said he fully expected me to follow it. While I contemplated my answer and my options, the President made a compelling case for my attendance.

  “Commander, the data cubes you presented to the world set the wheels turning. The evidence you presented was persuasive, but it is going to take a lot more than that to convince these people this is the right course of action. I want them to see you with their own eyes, and I want you to tell them what you have told me. I want you to reassure them that they will have the same access to the technology that the superpowers will have. Your actions so far have sent the world into chaos. I fully expect you to help me deescalate the current tensions you have caused, and stabilize the situation until a leadership consensus can be reached.”

  My respect for the President just went up in leaps and bounds. What the man had to say made a lot of sense. The deciding factor and what ultimately made up my mind was I thought his words came from his heart and not some overpaid dogmatic advisor.

  “When is the meeting?”

  “The day after tomorrow at nine A.M.” He quickly answered.

  “I am currently more than forty thousand light-years from Earth, but will see what I can do.”

  The President gave me a deer in the headlights look and I had Justice kill the connection.

  21

  As I walked out of the ready room I found Tria in the corridor. She didn’t go far and was leaning against the wall with her arms crossed. “It sounds like there is progress after all.”

  ​“Yes, things seem to be moving along much faster than I thought they would. You interested in making a trip back to my homeworld so you can observe how backward thinking primitives behave under duress?”

  ​Tria smiled and took me by the hand. “If it will make you happy, then yes.”

  ​“Justice, please inform the members of our clan we had a change of plans. When the matrix is charged, jump us back to my homeworld’s solar system.”

  ​“Affirmative Commander. Message sent. DEHD Core operations will be available in thirty-nine minutes.”

  ​I thought about our prisoners. Carting them around the galaxy and bringing them anywhere near my homeworld was not what I had in mind for them.

  ​“Justice, land at Alpha Base long enough to offload the vermin that is residing in the brig. They will be right at home with the rest of the scat we have collected.”

  ​“Making our a
pproach now Commander.”

  ​My next order of business was a call to Sushi and Pasta. I had told them they would accompany me on any raids that took place if we found the Constellation class freighters that the Omega Syndicate was operating off of. I had no idea that one of the freighters would find us first. It was going to be the second time I disappointed some of my closest allies. Given the circumstances, I hoped they would understand. When I was done asking the Throggs the questions I wanted answers to, I would turn them over to the Sig. What happens to them after that, would not be my concern.

  “Justice, open an IST channel to Tam Lin.”

  “Channel open Commander.”

  Tam Lin came on seconds later. “Hello Nathan, How can I help you?”

  I gave her a quick rundown of what was going on. She was very interested in the news from Earth and mentioned she would like to make the trip back home in the future. She, like I, wished to clear up the mystery of her disappearance. She did me a huge favor by insisting to explain to Sushi and Pasta what went down with the freighter. She assured me they would understand once they saw the data. I signed off feeling a little better about it.

  Coonts, Klutch, and Sael took it upon themselves to transfer the prisoners. They first had to remove their pressure suits and armor so they could be scanned for weapons. Justice adjusted the breathable atmosphere in their cells to accommodate their unique requirements. Most complied without an issue, but Glock and Harlan made the mistake of not fully cooperating. They made the trip down to the escape tunnel holding cells still breathing, but unconscious.

  Our stopover at Alpha Base took longer than I thought it would. Several of the combat drones sustained battle damage. Jaran had the engineering staff switched them out from our growing inventory. We also had another four hundred and twenty for the defense of Earth. My clan saw to it they were loaded into the Legacy’s cargo bay for our return trip. Tria and I took inventory of our expendable munitions. When they were replenished, we were finally set to go. After more than a six-hour delay, we said our usual goodbyes to our clan. Justice launched the Legacy and made a high-speed transit of our local star system. He made a DEHD Core jump that put us at the edge of the Oort Cloud. Justice went full stealth and made the thirty-minute passage to the inner solar system. We took up station on Mars in the seven-kilometers deep, Valles Marineris. I had plans to store the surplus freighters from Tam Lin in the crevasse. It was close to Earth and a convenient storage location. We could hide a large number of spacecraft in various places all along the bottom of the trench.

  The crew and I finally got some much-needed rest. We gathered in the galley after an eight-hour sleep period. We went over some of our past mission data as well as what I planned when I addressed the officials at the United Nations meeting. Justice assured me it would be a simple matter to take control of the computers that managed the interpretations. Everyone would have no problem understanding what I had to say. I was going to go alone and in a smart cloth uniform. Sael convinced me to make an entrance that would project power and authority. Klutch agreed, and told me if I wanted them to keep their mouths shut and listen, I needed to instill a certain amount of fear in them. That’s not what I really wanted to do, but I had a feeling he was probably right. He was, after all a Troop Master, and knew all about handling a large number of unruly recruits. We kicked around a few ideas and settled on one as Justice moved the Legacy from Mars to Earth. We came to a hover one-hundred thousand feet above the new United Nations building. It was a geodesic dome design that symbolized Earth. The outside of the dome had representations of the world’s continents in raised relief. It had a nice visual appeal and gave the casual observer an impression of world unity. I was hoping to come away from the meeting with the same perception.

  I was going to be punctual, but Coonts told me it would be better to show up strategically late. He reasoned that everyone should have arrived by then and a lot of the initial arguing would be over with. I thought he was on to something and agreed. As for our entrance, it was going to be something all the attendees would remember. We armored up as we would for any combat mission. We cloaked and Justice opened the hangar door wide enough for us to jump. We went out the door in our combat formation. We freefell a thousand feet and then Klutch kicked in his gravity drives. We accelerated hard and broke the sound barrier. I hoped the shockwaves didn’t shatter any windows. The UN building seemed like it leaped up to meet us, and we kicked our feet down to retro brake. We rapidly slowed and came to a stop a few feet above the middle of the dome.

  “Make a hole Troop Master.”

  Klutch gave me a thumbs up and activated the portal device. We got a good hole and dropped down into the building. The place was going nuts and the volume of the shouting and confusion assaulted our audio pickups. A lot of people were pretty stirred up over the sonic boom, but it was the shimmering gray swirling portal that had everyone's attention. They were yelling and pointing at it in fear. We dropped down to about twenty feet over the raised speaking lectern that dominated the center of the large open room. We formed up in a circle back to back and uncloaked. You could have heard a pin hit the floor after that. The current speaker at the lectern abandoned it like his ass was on fire. The security guards standing around it wasted no time following him. We now had a captive audience. We set down and my crew faced outwards and surrounded me. We retracted our helmets and the crowd volume went up to a dull roar.

  I looked around and found the President of the United States. He was in the front row that surrounded the speakers stand. His Secret Service detail was pushed in tight around him. He was staring up at me. It was hard to get a read on what he was thinking. Another face just behind him caught my eye. It was my father and General McNeal was next to him. They were gawking as well.

  I held my hands up and the crowd noise diminished to whispers. “I came back to my homeworld to warn you that the galaxy is a dangerous place. Those of you that thought we were alone in the universe can now see with your own eyes that we are not. The truth is, we never were. In our galaxy alone there are thousands of other races. Thousands more have yet to be discovered. As you can see, some are similar to us and others are not. Some are more advanced, and others, primitive, just like we once were. They all have something in common with us. They are just as vulnerable to predatory races as Earth is. I came back here to help change that. I came back to make our world a better, safer place for your children and your children's, children. The only way I can do that is if you come together and stand as a world undivided. I know that it will be incredibly hard to set aside your differences, but if you do, I can help you take a technological leap that will make all of your lives better. I am talking about technology that is hundreds of years more advanced than anything on this planet today. Earth will be much safer and better prepared if there is an attack from an advanced predatory race. By joining together all of your lives will improve drastically. All of you that have access to the data cubes have seen what awaits you. They have also shown you advanced technology that will impact every single creature on this planet. Clean energy, advanced medical treatments, and a way for you all to reach the stars. Take the steps I have laid out for you and I will see to it that everyone will have a chance to safely visit the other planets in our solar system. If the measures I have laid out for you are embraced quickly enough, there is no reason you cannot be mining on the moon within a year. I have made contingencies to provide spacecraft to the nations that show they are ready to take the next step. Will those steps be easy, no, but the rewards for doing so will far outweigh the difficulties you will endure to get there. I cannot give you goodwill towards your fellow humans, nor can I make your differences go away. That is going to be up to you all. Come together for the good of all, and I will give you hope for a better future and a helping hand to get there. The artificial intelligence that helped me get where I am today is also here to help you. The data cubes have the means to contact him. He will help you if it is possible. Thank you for list
ening, it is now up to you all to take the next steps.

  To my surprise, the people started rising to their feet and clapping. Soon, they were all standing and clapping, yelling, and whistling. I closed my helmet and looked down at the President of the United States. The man was smiling and clapping. To my surprise, so was my Father. General McNeal’s face was neutral, but he did give me a single nod. I figured after the way we met, it was as close to a smile as I would ever get from him.

  We lifted off and cloaked about forty feet off the floor. When we reached the roof of the dome, Klutch activated a portal. The audience went quiet again. I looked back over my shoulder before I went through. They were all pointing upward and whispering. We went through and Klutch shut the portal down. My crew and I started a rapid climb accelerating to supersonic speed. The rumble of the shockwave washed over the buildings below. Justice dropped the Legacy down to meet us and snatched us out of the sky with the tow beam. He set us down in the hangar and increased velocity until the Earth and moon fell away behind us. I retracted my helmet and walked to the ready room.

  I looked at my crewmates and smiled. “They won’t forget that any time soon.”

  My crew chuckled and nodded. Tria took my hand. “You have done well Nathan. Your homeworld is on the path to enlightenment. Once they are out of the shadows of their past they will only go forward.”

  I hoped Tria was right. I had to admit that things did seem to take a one-eighty from the downhill slide Earth was on. Maybe everyone finally realized the planet was teetering on the brink of destruction. What I was offering may have been seen as a way to stand down without anyone losing face. It made me think that what Tria told me all those years ago when I first met her was true. Humans might just be the cure for what ails the galaxy after all. We still had a lot of small steps to take, but we were on our way.