Imprint of Blood

by Phil Huddleston

  They had finished unloading and mucking out the Yorkshire; it was now powered down, in a nice stable orbit over the planet, geosynchronous to their location. This allowed them to monitor QE transmissions from Earth; but nothing could go outbound. Pete had made sure of that; after sending the initial codes, Pete had the transmitting equipment dismantled and placed in a drone, which he sent off into a solar orbit known only to three people – himself, Amy, and Neil Douglas, head of Security for the colony. Without the knowledge of where it was, it would be extremely difficult to find and make use of it for anyone else. In a dire emergency, though, they could retrieve it and communicate back to the RDF.

  The G1V star, which they had named Kirsten’s Star, was hot on the back of Pete’s neck. He wiped his bandana across and pushed it back into his pocket. “Step Up!” he cried, and slowly the oxen started moving again.

  Later, Pete and Amy sat by the stream, feet in the water, washing the dirt off after a hard day in the fields. Nearby, the oxen grazed in their paddock. Overhead, a glancing reflection of light from the setting sun brought Pete’s attention to the sky, as the Yorkshire sat overhead, in her permanent position over the colony.

  “She’s still there, just like Old Faithful,” he said to Amy, pointing.

  “I should hope so,” said Amy. “Orbital mechanics being what they are.”

  “Well, you know what I mean,” said Pete. “A touch of home. Gives me some comfort to see her.”

  “I know.” Amy held Pete’s hand, enjoying the moment of peace they managed to find at the end of the long workday.

  “By the way, Gerri is talking up a storm. Today she asked where ‘dada’ was.”

  Pete smiled. “She is so wonderful. Are you ready to have another?”

  Amy squeezed his hand. “I’d like to wait until we’re a little better established, I think.”

  Far away, a bonfire burned as some of the other farmers cleared land for their next sowing. After fourteen months on Faraway, they had brought in meagre crops, but just enough to survive for another year. They would get better at it; they had to. The herds of cattle, horses and pigs were surviving, although births were lower than expected. The colonists had experienced one round of illness; it had not been nailed down precisely, but they thought it was a mutation of chicken pox, not a pathogen from the new planet. Only two people had died. They had created a cemetery on a hill not far from town. They laid it out with plenty of room; hope was fine, but reality suggested it would grow.

  6 Saints

  The tiger does not have to boast that he is a tiger.

  - Nigerian Proverb

  Sol System – MarsBase

  7 December 2135 - 14 Years after Pandora

  Teresa looked across the table at Jake, as did Gunner and the rest of Jake’s staff. Teresa repeated his words, just to make sure she understood.

  “You want us to help set up a RimFed government.”

  “Yes,” Jake responded. “I think it’s time. Think about it. It will take them years, decades probably, to get up and running. We might as well let them get started. We’ll retain veto power over their decisions for many years, just to keep them from doing something stupid. But it’s kind of like having children – there comes a time when you have to put them on the bike and let them try to ride it.”

  Sara Watkins demurred. “Don’t we have enough political troubles with Earth? Wouldn’t that double our problems?”

  “Maybe. But sooner or later, the RDF will have to cede control to a civilian government. Personally, I think it’ll take 80 to 90 years before they’ll be ready. Still, we should allow them to start making mistakes on their own, learning how to ride the bike. That will lead to a better government, decades down the road, when we finally have to put ourselves under their authority.”

  Gunner nodded. Sara chimed in. “When do you think that might happen, Jake?”

  Jake shook his head. “I don’t know, Sara. After we fight the Bats. I wouldn’t trust them to manage us before that.”

  “When do you want to have these elections?” asked Gunner.

  Jake leaned forward and put his arms on the table. “Let’s consult with Earth and the Colonies. Try to get some consensus on how they want to go about this. I would think they’d want to create a more-or-less constitutional convention, to put together the basics, set up elections, and so forth. As long as they don’t propose anything crazy or outside the Basic Rules, I think we can leave it in their hands.”

  Gunner nodded.

  “That’s all I have, folks,” said Jake. The group rose and departed.

  ***

  Six weeks later, the rough concept of a proposed RimFed constitutional convention was hammered out and presented to the news media, where the idea was picked apart by those who just knew they were smarter than everybody else. In spite of the trolls, the Constitutional Convention was scheduled. Representatives were nominated and elected in the face of a growing excitement as humanity realized their first interstellar government was being formed. Finally, on 21 February 2136 at Mitsukeli Colony – a more-or-less neutral location – the delegates came together and started work on creating a new government encompassing the entire Rim. It was not an easy or a pretty task. It took two months of infighting, name-calling, insults, compromises, backroom deals and threats of veto from Jake.

  When it was over, a baby government called the Rim Federation – RimFed – was born. The newborn was birthed by means of an election to create a Parliament – formed from representatives from each colony in the Rim – and on 5 August 2136, the RimFed Parliament met for the first time.

  Taking a cue from the RDF, which had struggled so mightily to maintain independence and neutrality from Earth governments, the new Parliament conducted their first meeting on the planet Liberty, to avoid undue influence from Earth. For their first sessions, nothing of great importance was either proposed or resolved; as Jake had noted, they were learning to ride a bike. They did manage to elect a Prime Minister; they created a number of ministries, laid the foundations of a civil service, and toward the end, resolved to find a more permanent location, one as neutral as possible from the established colonies – and Earth.

  Shortly after this, Teresa came into Jake’s office.

  “Jake, I’d like to take a scoutship out to Kamilaroi. I think I have an idea about how to set up the new RimFed capital.”

  Jake looked puzzled. “What do you mean? That one’s almost all water – it has only two small landmasses, really just two little volcanic islands like Iceland.”

  Teresa agreed. “I know. But I want to take a quick look at it. Humor me on this, will ya? I’ll be there and back in two weeks. Just give me the Sirius and a small crew, couple of planetary scientists.”

  Jake shrugged. “It’s all yours. Go for it. But please try to be back on time. And keep us updated with QE squirts.”

  Teresa got up and kissed him on the cheek. “Thanks, husband.”

  Jake looked at her askance. “Now, I didn’t do that as your husband. I did that as your Commanding Officer.”

  Teresa leaned over and wiped the kiss off. “In that case, I take it back.”

  With a bounce, she was gone. Jake sighed. Keeping a balance between his duties as CNO and his marriage to Teresa was always a balancing act. Many people outside of the RDF – those who didn’t know him – complained he practiced nepotism, favoritism, and a host of other sins. But those who knew him well, knew better. Jake worked strictly on merit, regardless of his marriage to Teresa. When people told him of the complaints others raised, he just laughed. “We’ll see where the whiners go to hide when the Bats come.”

  36 Ophiuchi C – Planet Kamilaroi

  At Kamilaroi – once known as 36 Ophiuchi C-d - Teresa put the Sirius in orbit over the planet. It was nearly all ocean – there were only two small landmasses, situated on opposite sides of the planet, one in the northern hemisphere and one in the southern. Both were in a temperate climate and about the size of Hawaii, semi-dormant volcanic ho
tspots on an otherwise water world. Other than the lack of land, the planet was not bad. No one had ever bothered to colonize it, given the adequate numbers of other planets that were more suitable for large-scale colonization.

  Recently, Teresa had been entertaining an idea. Living on MarsBase was difficult, nearly impossible for families. Children could not go outside. Their entire lives were spent in an artificial, cocooned environment. Although they operated a nursery for new mothers and a small kindergarten there, once children graduated from kindergarten they were required to go to Geneva for elementary school. This created many logistical nightmares, including the high level of security required to protect their dependents from hostile interests on Earth.

  Teresa had the survey team map the planet carefully, testing all key parameters, and was thrilled when they reported it was eminently habitable. Although there would be hurricanes near the equator, the two large islands were far enough into the temperate zone that weather would be reasonable. The center of the volcanic hotspots that had formed the original islands were now moving offshore, forming new islands under the sea. Volcanic cones on both islands were still active – as Kilauea on Hawaii – but not overtly dangerous. This was the news Teresa had been hoping for.

  Returning to MarsBase, she reported to Jake.

  “Jake, my dear,” she said (they were in quarters, so off duty). “You know you’ve directed us to work with the RimFed people to put together a plan for a RimFed capital. What could be better than this planet? There’s adequate land on Kamilaroi for both the new RimFed government and our RDF headquarters. We can remain isolated from all other interests, since there’s not enough land for further colonization. We’d have the planet to ourselves, and it would be easily defended.”

  Jake grunted, not too sure about it. “Aren’t there plenty of other planets out there we could use for a capital?”

  “Sure,” said Teresa. “But every one of them would eventually grow to have a huge population, and then that population would unduly influence the RimFed government. On this planet, that could never happen. RimFed would always be sufficiently isolated from the rest of the Rim to ensure at least some independence. It would be easier for them to maintain independence and objectivity. Think about it.”

  “I’m not sure I accept your argument,” said Jake, “but go ahead and present it to the PM’s office, see what they say. It’s ultimately their decision.”

  ***

  A month later, Teresa was gratified when she heard that the budding new government of RimFed had conducted their own feasibility study of Kamilaroi and concurred with her idea. They proposed the construction of a capital city for the Rim Federation on Kamilaroi, a city which would be named New Geneva. However, she didn’t get much traction from Jake and his staff about moving RDF headquarters to Kamilaroi as well. This was mostly due to their preoccupation with the Aeolian Empire.

  Jake and his staff were deep in projects related to the Aeolians, mostly all centered around how to form an alliance with them while preventing their Empress from taking over Earth as a colony planet. As large as the RDF was now – dozens of warships, more than a dozen colony planets – it was not nearly strong enough to take on the Aeolians. Jake continued to maintain a policy of no overt contact, only infiltration and intelligence gathering.

  Teresa and her staff had made several studies of the military capabilities of the Aeolians, and she was both impressed and terrified. Their space navy was undoubtedly an order of magnitude more competent and dangerous than the current state of the RDF. Despite all their efforts, creating a Navy to compete with several hundred years of Aeolian experience in space left them sorely lacking, both in numbers and proficiency.

  Teresa fully understood Jake’s hesitancy in dealing with the Aeolians. One small miss-step could bring a hundred warships to Earth’s door. And given the Aeolian Empire’s history, the results would not be good for Earth.

  Yet, it would be impossible to face the Bat threat without the help of the Aeolians. Every study showed that the Bats would inevitably discover them by the early 2220’s, with estimates ranging from 2215 to 2225, possibly sooner if bad luck prevailed. They had about 80 years left to prepare for the onslaught. But those same studies showed that the RDF alone would never have the weight of warships and resources to win the war. Only via an alliance with the Aeolians could they possibly survive. But that alliance seemed as distant now as it did when Pandora came to Earth.

  Jake had several contingency plans available if discovered by the Bats, or in imminent danger of discovery. One of the contingency plans was to enter the Aeolian system in force, with a couple of dozen warships, and hold a static position at 5 AU from the home planet. He thought the Aeolians would open a dialogue and talk to them. Once communication was established, they could describe the threat of the Bats and press the Aeolians to join them against a common enemy. It was not much, but as a last-ditch effort, there was little else he could do.

  Teresa advocated a variation of this plan, which she thought would have a better chance of success. Entering the Aeolian system in force and waiting at the 5 AU point from the home planet, she would try to lure the Aeolians into a stern chase back to the Bat invasion force, initiating an instant battle. But Jake didn’t really think this would work. He thought the Aeolians would see the trap, back off and watch as the RDF was destroyed.

  2 December 2136 - Geneva

  Teresa was exhausted. Dealing with the new RimFed government had to be the most tiring thing she had ever experienced. How, she wondered, could people talk so long over so little?

  RimFed had requested an RDF representative in their meeting to plan the new capital on Kamilaroi. Since Teresa had performed the planetary survey, she volunteered to go. She loved coming to Geneva, because it gave her a chance to see the children at boarding school, but at the same time, she hated it. The endless yakking of the RimFed delegates, the stupid arguments over arcane details, were so alien to her military mind. For the third time in the day, her head tilted forward as she almost went to sleep, jerking it back upright at the last minute and looking around guiltily to see if anyone noticed.

  Luckily, the meeting was almost over. It was six p.m. and she had a date with the children to have dinner and watch a movie together. Finally, against all odds, the chairman hammered his gavel and the meeting was adjourned. Teresa left the room, where her security detail met her, enclosing her in a protective wrap as she went up the private elevator to her old apartment. The children were already waiting.

  “Mom!” yelled Granada, as she entered, and Teresa stooped down as all four of the children ran to her and give her a big group hug. Skip started crying, as he often did when he saw Teresa after an absence. She cradled him in her arms, moving to the couch to sit with all of them, holding them one by one, until everybody had calmed.

  “Now, what do you guys want for dinner?” she asked.

  ***

  When the security alarm went off, Teresa raised her head by reflex, glanced at the clock and saw it was 2:45 AM. She thought to call down to the security office but before she could trigger her wrist comm, gunshots thundered outside the apartment door. She heard the splintering of wood and metal. She got up, grabbed uniform pants, and got them pulled halfway up her legs when someone burst through the bedroom door and wrapped a cloth around her face, smothering her in some chemical. She sank down into a long, dark tunnel. Far away, she thought she heard Kirsten’s voice, calling her.

  ***

  She woke up in a dark room. Her head hurt like hell. Her hands were tied behind, her feet tied to a chair. She saw the red pinpoint glow of an LED to one side and could just barely make out a security camera. She was disoriented, unable to think. She missed Jake and wondered where he was. “Why doesn’t he come get me?” she thought. Then she passed out again.

  ***

  It was later. She woke again. Someone was splashing water in her face. She opened one eye, fuzzily, made out a woman, standing next to her, splashing her from
a water basin. With some effort, she opened the other eye.

  “You can stop now,” said Teresa. “I’m awake.”

  “About time,” the woman said. The woman set the basin down on a table and left the room. In a few seconds, she came back with a man. The two of them sat down across a small desk from Teresa, staring at her. The woman was dressed all in black, a severe frown on her narrow face, glaring at Teresa out of faded blue eyes. The man was sloppily dressed in a wrinkled brown suit, bearded, his hair barely combed. They sat, as if they were waiting for Teresa to say something. She didn’t give them the satisfaction.

  Finally, the man sighed, smiled a bit at Teresa, and spoke.

  “You are a prisoner of war of the Covenant of God,” he said. “You will be offered in exchange to Jake Hammett in return for his agreement to hand over control of the RDF to the United States.”

  Teresa laughed. She laughed loud and long. She was still laughing when the woman got up, came over and knocked her unconscious again.

  MarsBase

  Jake had a glint in his eye that scared the hell out of everybody around him. His staff had backed off down the conference table a good 18 inches, leaving empty chairs between Jake and themselves. He wasn’t yelling; he wasn’t raising his voice. But there was something fearful in Jake Hammett today.

  Quietly, almost whispering, he asked: “Any ideas at all about where they are holding her?”

  Lois Vetton spoke up. “No, sir. We have nothing. I promise you, we’re working on it, but they got a good jump on us.”

  Jake nodded, his face working. “They cut out the tracer?”

  Lois nodded. “First thing we checked. We found it on the floor of an empty warehouse in Geneva this morning. Still bloody.”

  “I will kill these bastards,” said Jake softly. “I will track them down and I will kill them. Slowly.”