Chapter Forty Nine
Contact With The Separatists
As they moved along the broad curving street towards the separatist’s headquarters, Sah Lee’s AI spoke to her “Before we go any further, how much assistance would you like me to give in a conflict situation?”
“There’s not going to be any conflict. We are an experienced military unit. Well, the others are. We’re fully armed and we’re here to protect them. It would not be rational for them to want any conflict with us.”
“When you were on Aarn you were inexperienced, untrained and armed only with a knife, but you twice attacked fully armed and experienced aliens. At the time you believed that they were demons. Was that rational?”
“You have a point. You’ve always been helpful so far, maximum assistance please. Something else, why do they keep using a slang word for copulation when they are speaking?”
“It is commonly used as an expletive by virtually every species in every civilization, especially among the military. It adds emphasis to what they are saying.”
“But why use that word?”
“I don’t know. It’s an organic intelligence thing. We artificial intelligences don’t find it necessary.”
“OK. Is there anything I need to know before we go out there?”
“As you have requested maximum assistance, If I tell you to do something, do it immediately without question. I will only advise if it is necessary.”
Sah Lee stepped out of the shelter of the buildings alongside Si’ir Monn and Ren Deel. The street they were in joined a wider road with a one hundred meters wide strip of parkland running along either side of it. They walked out and crossed the road, stopping half way across the parkland, about fifty meters between themselves and the separatists building. There was no traffic and no sounds of voices or industry. It seemed the area was deserted.
Si’ir Monn cleared his throat and called out “I am Sergeant Si’ir Monnen Dak of the Galactic Savior Army. We are here as a peacekeeping force at the request of your government. I have come to talk to you to agree how we can best achieve that.”
There was a moments silence, then a single shot rang out, hitting Si’ir Monn squarely in the middle of his chest. “Good shot.” he said quietly. He called out again. “I assume that was an accident. Please indicate your assent for us to enter your building.”
There was another pause, then a fusillade of KE gunfire erupted from the building, hitting all three of them.
“Ren, Sah Lee, walk backwards slowly. My AI’s analysis of the gunfire is that there are two older style military weapons firing on us, but the rest are small caliber sporting weapons with low energy projectiles. Sah Lee, that means your energy field armor will easily deflect their fire without collapsing, so we are quite safe.”
“I concur.” Sah Lee’s AI added.
They carefully walked backwards until they were in the cover of the buildings. Si’ir Monn grinned, “This looks promising. It might turn out to be an interesting mission.” He connected to the unit comm link. “You all heard that. Hold your positions until we get further orders.”
Si’ir Monn paused for a couple of minutes while he briefed Major Erret San Mer on the situation.
“We can relax now. The Major will consult with the Colonel who will recommend a plan of action to the Generals who will talk to the government of the Krexel Alliance who will have a think about it… and then it will go back down the chain and finally arrive with us. We could be here for days sitting on our ass’s, doing nothing. The Major should get back to us in an hour or two to let us know what’s happening. Sah Lee, get some sleep. I’ll wake you as soon as I hear anything.”
“Sleep? I don’t want to sleep. Why would I want to sleep? I’ve only been up a few hours.”
“Time for another lesson on the realities of soldiering Sah Lee. A lot of time on a mission is spent sitting around, waiting for orders or for something to happen. When something does happen, you can find yourself needing to stay awake for days at a time. You’ve got sleep suppressors in your backpack to keep you awake when you need them, your AI will tell you when and how to use them, but you need to get natural sleep too. You need to learn to get some sleep at every opportunity you can.”
“Right. But I don’t want to sleep right now.”
“Ren, do you want to get some sleep now?”
“No thanks Sergeant. You get your head down.”
“No problem. My AI will wake me.” Si’ir Monn stretched out on the ground with his KE weapon in his hand and shut his eyes. His breathing soon became heavy, which turned into a light wheezing, which in turn gradually developed into a deafening snore.
“Is he all right?” Sah Lee asked Ren Deel.
“Yeah. He always makes that noise when he sleeps. I’m glad I don’t share quarters with him. Let’s move away where it’s quiet enough to talk.”
“Will he be alright there, asleep, by himself?”
“Nothing will go near him making that noise. I wouldn’t. He’ll be fine.”
Sah Lee and Ren Deel moved away and sat down. They realized the snoring was still quite loud, it echoed down the empty streets, so they got up and moved further away.
“Are you sure he’s OK there?”
Ren Deel tilted his head in a very birdlike way but didn’t answer. “What’s your story Sah Lee? What made you want to join the army?” he asked.
“Haven’t you read my file?”
“No, it’s closed. I don’t know anything about you, apart from what everybody knows, that you’re only here because Ker Din Ser Forn asked if we would take you.”
Remembering what Colonel B’erren Tek had said, she replied “Something bad happened to my world, my people. I don’t want to talk about it.”
They sat in silence for a few minutes. “So, what do you want to achieve now you’ve joined the army?” he asked her.
“That’s simple. I want to kill as many outcasts as possible.”
“That is a reasonable ambition. It’s a bit more focused than most people’s objectives.”
“Why did you join, Corp? What do you want to achieve?”
“Like most soldiers, I joined for two reasons. I was bored, and I wanted to do something positive. The galaxy is peaceful and civilized, but as you know, with millions of civilizations, there are nearly always conflicts of some kind. I want to do my bit to protect the good and peaceful citizens of the galaxy.”
“And why did you join this army?”
“All the independent armies are pretty good. I joined the Galactic Saviors first time because I’d heard they’d had a successful mission eliminating a group of outcasts who had been attacking isolated peaceful colonies. It was the right time for me, they were recruiting so I joined up.”
“You said you joined them for the first time? Is this your second time?”
“Yes, it’s not the first time I’ve got bored.”
“If it’s not rude to ask, how old are you?”
“No, it’s not rude to my civilization. I hatched one hundred and seventy two thousand, two hundred and ninety four galactic standard years ago. Is it rude to your civilization to ask how old you are Sah Lee.”
“I Don’t think it is. I’m sixteen.”
Ren Deel sat up. “Sixteen? Sixteen of your years, how many galactic standard years is that?”
“My AI has just told me that in galactic standard years I am seventeen.”
“Seventeen years? Did that translate correctly? You can’t be seventeen years old!”
“That’s correct, I’m sixteen in Aarn years, seventeen in galactic standard years.”
“You’re just a child! What are you doing in an army!”
Sah Lee scowled at him. “I am not a child. I am an experienced hunter and have spent two years at university. If you doubt my abilities, take your armor off and I’ll show you what I am!” She bared her teeth and extended her claws.
“I’m sorry Sah Lee, I didn’t mean to offend you, but you are very young. It
does explain your naivete. In my civilization, our young aren’t considered to be full adults until they are sixty four years old. It explains why your record is closed to me. I normally have access to everyone’s full military record up to the rank of sergeant, and a biography of everyone above that rank. Yours is just closed. That puts things in a different perspective. Don’t tell anyone else how old you are. Does the Sergeant know?”
“I don’t know if he knows. I might seem young to you, but to my people, I am a young adult. When I left my village at fourteen, the only hunter more skilled than me was Tef Dor, the hunt leader.”
“Where are your from, Sah Lee?”
“My world was Aarn.”
“I see. That explains everything. You’re going to need friends, Sah Lee. You need them to look out for you until you get used to the life in the post emergent galaxy. I don’t think you’ll have a problem making them. You seem to have made a friend in Si’ir Monn. His race has been post-emergent for hundreds of thousands of years, but he is a lost soul. He has a knack of pissing people off and doesn’t have that many friends, but those he has are fiercely loyal to him. I count myself as one of them. If you’ll allow me, Sah Lee, I will be your friend.”
Sah Lee didn’t know why, but she felt like she had a lump in her throat. She never had any male friends on Aarn. She didn’t know the village males. As a child she had always been kept away from them. She had seen some of the city males while at university but hadn’t got to know any of them. The only one she had ever spoken to was the one that attacked her, and she had killed him. Yet the only three people who had offered her friendship since she joined the army had all been males - Sergeant Si’ir Monnen Dak, the Krendor, Kar Fen and now Corporal Ren Deel. She wasn’t sure about Colonel B’Erren Tek. She seemed a bit friendly, but that might just be because she was People liaison and had to report back to Ker Din Ser Forn.
They sat in silence, Sah Lee lost in thought. Si’ir Monn’s voice came over the unit comm link. “Ren, Sah Lee, get back here now!”
Chapter Fifty
Ren Deel
Ren Deel and Sah Lee jumped to their feet and ran back to where they had left Si’ir Monn. He was standing leaning against a wall with a look of concentration on his face. They stood watching him for a while and eventually he looked up at them.
“What’s the emergency?” Ren Deel asked.
“No emergency. Thanks for leaving me unguarded while I slept.”
“There’s nothing round here to guard you from. Anyway, you’re snoring would frighten an army away. Did you need us for anything?” Ren Deel asked.
“I thought you’d like an update.” Si’ir Monn said. “The initial response was quicker than I expected. The Krexel Alliance have declared the separatist’s traitors and said they are committing treason. They have told the Council of Generals to send us in to capture them using lethal force if necessary.”
“What! We don’t do that. At least, I’m not doing it, they are civilians!” Ren Deel said.
“The Generals surprised me by saying the same.” Si’ir Monn replied. “They are trying to negotiate something else and until they do, our orders are to stay in position awaiting further orders. That’s what I’ve just broadcast to the rest of my unit. Major Erret San Mer is going to join us here, Sergeant Dorsh Ab Morg is bringing most of his unit to reinforce us. Apparently, the loyalists are quite peaceful and cooperative. We could be here for a while, make yourselves comfortable. I’m going to walk around the unit and talk to everyone.” He walked up the street, back the way that Sah Lee and Ren Deel had come.
“Well Sah Lee, remember what Si’ir Monn said about soldiering being about sitting around a lot, waiting for something to happen? That’s what we’re going to do now.”
“How long will we be here?”
“I have no idea, it could be minutes, hours, days.”
“You think it could be decided in minutes?”
“More likely to be days. Many days. Hopefully less than a year.”
“A year! I can’t stay here doing nothing for a year!”
“Don’t worry, it won’t be that long. Probably.”
“What do we while we are waiting?”
“There’ll be singing, dancing, drinking, games, sports competitions. All sorts of fun things to do.”
“Really? That doesn’t sound so bad.”
“No not really Sah Lee. There will be nothing to do and after a while we’ll all go mad and kill each other.”
“You are joking, aren’t you?”
“Yeah.”
She sighed. “So, what do we really do?”
“There really will be nothing to do. Si’ir Monn will come back here and when Sergeant Dorsh Ab Morg’s troops arrive we’ll probably get a couple join us, so there will be people to talk to and it wouldn’t surprise me if one of them doesn’t have a game of some kind with them.”
“I don’t want to spend all my time playing games. Can’t we do some training?”
“There’s nothing stopping you getting your AI to do virtual reality training with you, in practical or academic subjects. You can usually find someone to practice close combat and unarmed combat with. We’ll probably find enough for you to do to stop you getting too bored but bear in mind that we may get called into action at any time.”
“When we’ve got armor and these powerful weapons, why is skill in close combat and unarmed combat so important? It’s fun doing it, but why do we do it?”
“No one’s explained that? I thought Si’ir Monn was training you?”
“He has been, and I’ve been using a golem, but I don’t know why it is so important.” Sah Lee looked down and scuffed the ground with her left foot. “We didn’t exactly hit it off when we first met, so perhaps he just forgot to explain why we do it.”
“He’s a miserable bastard when he’s not in action, but in what way didn’t you get on? Was he just being a bit grumpier than usual?”
“No, I sort of attacked him and he crushed half my skull.”
Ren Deel tilted his head back and made a series of high pitched croaks.
“Laughing.” Sah Lee’s AI informed her.
“How did he crush your skull?”
“I don’t remember. I recall getting ready to spring, then the next thing I remember was waking up in the medical room. Ker Din Ser Forn came to take me to his ship, or craft as he calls it, to heal me. I was put back onto the headquarters habitat to recover in an induced coma.”
“Ker Din Ser Forn, of the People? I knew you were accepted as a trainee at his request, but I didn’t realize you were that close to him. You are privileged to have such a powerful friend.”
“He’s no friend of mine, he’s no better than the outcasts who invaded my world. To me, he is Satan, king of the demons.”
“King of the demons? That’s a bit fanciful? How did you come up with that?”
“You know about Aarn? We are pre-emergent. We live, or lived, a peaceful, simple life. We knew nothing of other life in the universe. We believed in the four Makers, who made everything and in demons who were banished to the innermost planet of our solar system, where it is so hot that the rocks melt. They are ruled by Satan, king of the demons. When I saw the outcasts and their landers, with their weapons that seemed like magic, I thought they were demons. Ker Din Ser Forn is their king!”
“I think when Si’ir Monn crushed your skull he caused some brain damage. Ker Din Ser Forn brought the Ant army to your planet to destroy the outcasts and save your race. He’s rescued the survivors and the remaining eco system, found a planet which he is modifying for your race and is raising your technology to post emergent levels. If anything, you should be worshipping him as a god!”
“He could have come in himself and stopped the attack almost immediately! Then there would be no need to rescue the pitiful remains of my people. My world would still be whole, with all the birds and animals still alive on the plains. The seas would still be sparkling and full of life. My family, my friends,
would all still be alive. But he didn’t. He shares the blame for what happened to my world, my people, my life, with the outcasts who attacked us. He could have stopped all of this from happening but chose not to.”
“The people are very different from most of us Sah Lee. They are well meaning and an immense power for good in the galaxy, but they don’t think like most of us - not that I understand them, I don’t think anyone does. They are peaceful, but have frighteningly powerful weapons. They have a strict policy of no interference - but then ferry the Ants around the galaxy, and quite often they’ll get one of the independent armies involved in a conflict. And look at what they are doing for the Aarnth. If any other civilization were doing that, the People would turn up and suggest that they stopped. And you don’t ignore a ‘suggestion’ from the People if you want to carry on breathing. No one knows where they came from, they just seem to have always been here. Hardly any civilizations last for more than a few tens of millions of years, none that I know of have ever lasted a billion years, but the People admit they have been around for many billions of years. There are other things that are strange about them. No one has ever seen a young one. No one knows which gender the individuals are. They are aloof and don’t mix with any other races, but some of them use those damn great ships of theirs to act like tourist buses and take people to visit planets that don’t have local wormhole gates set up near them. And there are so many of them. You never see more than one at a time, they always travel by themselves, but they have planet sized artificial habitats which have tens of billions living in them. There are solar systems that have several of these in them, between them they must hold trillions.”
Hunter, Warrior, Commander Page 20
