Annihilation: The Power of a Queen

by Andrew, Saxon;Chiodo, Derek

  Stein looked at the scientist and asked, “Are you sure this will work?”

  “I’m sure it will drain energy from their screen. We analyzed the makeup of the screen from the Warlords recordings and designed the machine accordingly.”

  “So you need 100 dreadnaughts to build to your specifications?”

  “That’s right’”

  “Well I want you to equip 800 ships with your device. Will that drain their screen faster?”

  “Eight times faster,” the stunned scientist said.

  “How long will it take you to have them ready?”

  “Between 25 and 30 rotations to complete the refit, State Leader.”

  “We’ll plan our invasion for 30 rotations from tomorrow. Let’s end this Human problem once and for all.”

  Kosiev looked at Tag and said there are four major controls you need to be familiar with; formation control which gives choices of five different ones, speed control for the fleet, weapons activation which turns on the sensors that control the firing systems, and the escape button which will cause all ships to spread out, run, then Jump back to Earth when clear. The ships will fight themselves, however they just can’t be programmed to run in and out of each other’s screens. That type of programming is too complicated for remote control systems. This should accomplish the end result you want to achieve; their screens will eventually overload and the ship will explode. This small screen keeps track of how many ships are still fighting. It will start with 640 and reduce by one each time they destroy one of our ships. Over 40% of these ships have sustained damage in battle but have been refurbished. The Alliance should see the blast burns on their skins and figure that we’re down to our last inventory. Do you have any questions?”

  “No, I just need the diagram of what the five markings on the formation dial line up with.”

  “Ok, I’ll get that to you. One of our clan brothers commercial ships have dropped one of our passive sensor buoys in the main Alliance Governments system. It’s been sending a feed of all ship traffic around the planet and so far there has been no real significant buildup of ships.

  “I’m hoping that that they will form up outside the jump limit this time,” Tag said. “I think that after all the commercial ships that were made to wait for six days last time will make them reconsider blocking their planetary approaches. If they stay inside the star drive limit, then this plan won’t work. We need to be able to jump into the middle of their fleet to cause enough confusion to make it worthwhile. If we’re going to basically throw away 600 ships we need to extract a good price for them.”

  “You’re right. Couple that with the weapons systems being tied to sensors and we have to be close. I understand that our engineers have set up every ship to fire their full complement of needles upon emergence so we for those to be effective we have to be close,” Kosiev said.

  “Do you think they will move away from our breakout points?” Tag asked.

  “Everyone has seen what happens when two ships occupy the same place at the same time and no one wants to be the victim of that; there wouldn’t even be atoms left after that explosion. They are going to have so many ships coming in that I’m hoping they just think some idiot didn’t get the right coordinates. They should just move a short distance away.”

  “What pattern are we jumping them in on?”

  “We’ve decided to jump them in the shape of a hollow sphere and have them fly toward the command ship, which would be you, in the center of that sphere and form up on you. That should give you some space to operate and move your formation to the most target rich area. Mr. Gardner, is your wife still going with you?”

  Tag looked at Kosiev and shrugged his shoulders. “Sung Lea insists that it is absolutely necessary in order for us to survive as a species. I don’t like it and I don’t understand it but I will comply with it.”

  Kosiev looked at Tag for several moments and Tag said, “You’re wondering how I’m going to get us out of this situation once the groad hits the reactor, right?”

  “Right, I know you must think you can or there’s no way you’d allow her to go. You just wouldn’t use this plan if you thought she would be in danger.”

  “Obviously, you saw what happened on Ross. I’m going to use the same technique in Alliance Central. I believe we will survive. I am going to ask you to do one thing for me.”

  “What’s that?”

  “I want you to have a ship waiting at these coordinates. I want only you and enough people to fly the ship on board; wait for us to arrive there. Make sure that you trust the people you bring with you and don’t give up if we’re running a little behind schedule.”

  Kosiev took the coordinates and entered it into his com. “I’ll be there; make sure you are.” Then he offered his hand and Tag shook it.

  Chapter 8

  Tgon-Gee looked at the Humans across the table from him as they were greeted by the Fifteen Clan leaders of the Cainth. He saw that there was joy at seeing each other and he found this unsettling because he knew all the efforts the Cainth had made to destroy the Humans in the past. How can they forget so easily? He was a great judge of people’s expressions and he could tell that these were sincere. If the Alliance knew this relationship existed, they would destroy the Cainth down to the last child. No one would be allowed to live. How could they run this kind of risk? It’s just been plain luck that the Alliance had not sent a representative to check out what was happening in this system. Who do I side with? Do they have a chance against the 820 races of the Alliance? Well, that’s why I’m here.

  Terl looked around the room and told everyone to take their places and then introduced everyone and gave a brief description of their duties. He then looked at Tgon-Gee and said, “I’m sure you have some questions you want to have answered. Why don’t you begin, Excellency?”

  Tgon-Gee looked at his Fleet Admiral and then said, “I’m at a loss to understand why you Humans did not destroy the Cainth Empire when you had the opportunity especially after they killed your colonists. They have also tried to destroy your species for more than 200 cycles. How could you even start to trust them?”

  Everyone looked up as Danielle entered the room late and she saw everyone looking at her, so she looked at the huge Glod Ruler and said, “Actually, if they had fired one shot at our fleet as it entered their system, we would have destroyed their ability to wage war. We would not have wiped out their species because it would remove from the universe a race that may prove vital in the future. We have learned our lesson from making war on ourselves; you only lose when you are the aggressor. If there are any survivors, they will make it their ultimate goal to have vengeance. The issue between our races was one of fear; we represented a danger to the Cainth because their history had shown how stronger races conquered weaker ones. We also discovered in our initial discussions that it was perfectly fine for the Cainth to outright lie about any agreement they made.”

  Dorg noticed that Tgon-Gee looked startled when he saw Danielle. He had not taken his eyes off the Glod ruler when everyone else was looking at Danielle. “What has him upset?” Dorg wondered. It only lasted for a moment and Tgon-Gee regained his composure.

  “Then that’s all the more reason to attack, isn’t it?” Tgon-Gee asked. “I’m struggling with how you can possibly trust them.”

  “We had to find a place where both of our races could co-exist and know that the other was not an enemy but ally and friend. We found that place where no Cainth would ever lie or deceive. It was located in their Clan laws. It is perfectly acceptable to deceive anyone except another Clan Brother. The worse possible sin a Cainth can commit is to lie or agree to things that they know are false to another Clan. There are rituals designed to instill this in every Cainth from the time they are first able to communicate to when they die. Their Clans cling to the belief and trust that their brothers will always be honest and will protect them if needed.”

  Terl then stood up and said, “Tgon-Gee, we did not tell them this
about us. This Human female could see it just by watching our interactions with them and each other.”

  Dorg noticed Tgon-Gee’s distress. He probably wouldn’t have noticed it if it weren’t for the earlier reaction.

  She suggested that the Humans had to become our 16th Clan,” Terl continued. “After much discussion and questioning of the Humans, we voted to include them into our Family of Clans. We also had to agree that in order for us to learn from our encounter, that we would no longer be an aggressor to any other race that isn’t directly attacking us. After what happened and the mistake we made with them, this was an agreement that we had no difficulty passing and incorporating into our Clan Governing Codes.

  Danielle continued, “After we were voted into their Clan structure, it was important that we provide protection from the Alliance so we began the process of modernizing their defenses. We’re continuing that as we speak.”

  Tgon-Gee looked at Danielle and said, “You have no absolute proof that once you arm your former enemy that he won’t turn on you.” Terl stood up and everyone in the room could see his anger.

  Danielle said, “Just a minute Terl. He’s right. There’s nothing preventing you from attacking us again except the violation of your most sacred codes.” Then she looked at the Glod Crown Prince and said, “Just as there is nothing preventing any of your warriors from killing you and taking your place.”

  Tong-Gee jumped up and slammed his hand down on the table and said, “No Glod Warrior would ever think of doing that, it would violate the Vermeal Succession. He and all of his descendents would be destroyed for such an act.”

  Danielle looked at Terl and asked, “What would happen if one of your clans attacked another?”

  Terl said, “They would be killed to the last living member.”

  “What would happen if one of your clans failed to come to the defense of another clan?”

  “They would be censured and lose their voting rights and will pay a debt to the clan they ignored.”

  Danielle looked again at Tong-Gee and said while looking him directly in the eye, “We Humans have a saying; it is worse to suspect a friend of wrong than to have them actually do it. If one has to live their life in constant distrust of everyone they encounter then everyone will distrust them. Now I ask you Excellency, can your race be trusted?”

  Tgon-Gee looked Danielle in the eye and said, “No.”

  Danielle smiled and said, “You’ve just taken the first step toward being trustworthy. I know what that answer cost you. You came here to see which direction you were going to go; with us or the Alliance. You’re trying to find which one is the better choice to help your race. If you report this relationship to the Alliance, it might help your standing in their government. If you find a way to defeat our technology, your race would be a rising star.”

  “If you know this, why did you agree to meet with me?”

  “Because you don’t like what you see in your race. You want at some level to be able to be an ally. You look at how close the Cainth came to total destruction and you see your own ultimate destruction by one of the races you’ve treated unfairly. You look at us and you don’t know what we’re capable of doing. You don’t see any way we can defeat the Alliance, but we could defeat you to the point of destruction. All we need do is to weaken your military and there will be a line forming to finish the job. That’s why you’re here.”

  Tgon-Gee looked down at the table and then looked at Terl and Admiral Dorg and said, “Everything she has said is true. My race doesn’t have the clan structure you have. The only real commonality we have is Loyalty to the Crown.”

  “What is the Crowns responsibility to its subjects?” Danielle asked.

  “To ensure that the people are protected and cared for and to make sure that justice is done in major disputes between our various nations. The crown also sanctions disputes and rules on the outcome of two zones warriors fighting to resolve their issues.”

  “Excellency, if Humans and Cainths were your subjects; what would be your responsibility to them?”

  “I would be responsible for their protection.”

  “And if you agreed to become a subject of the Cainth, what would happen then?”

  “I would still be responsible for their protection.”

  “I think we have a way to make agreements,” Danielle said.

  Tgon-Gee looked for a long time at Danielle and said, “I would never agree to become a subject of the Cainth.”

  “Why not,” Terl asked?

  “Because I’ve seen too much of your history and what you have been in the past. I just wouldn’t be able to place my people’s safety in your hands.” Then he looked at Danielle and said, “I would however agree to my people and me to become subjects of this Human Female.”

  Danielle’s mouth fell open. She was speechless. Terl looked at the other Clan Leaders and they were nodding at him. Terl turned and said, “The Cainth Empire will also become subjects of Mrs. Danielle and swear to protect any of her subjects as if they were our Clan Brothers.”

  The Director stood and said, “Mrs. Danielle Gardner is already the leader of our Race. We would also accept her as our sovereign ruler over any interspecies affairs and accept any of her subjects as our allies.”

  “Wait, wait, wait,” Danielle stammered. “I don’t know anything about ruling. All I know is when I see the truth, that’s all I can do. I have no idea of being any kind of ruler.”

  Tgon-Gee said, “Seeing the truth is often a rare thing. I’ve seen how you see me and my people for who and what we are and you still want to establish a peaceful, productive relationship with us. The price of Royalty is heavy and the responsibility is high, believe me I know. I will agree to work out a relationship with the two of you, Cainth and Human, but only if she is our ruler and I mean our queen. I suspect that each of our worlds will want to run the everyday affairs of our societies, but when it comes to issues between our races, our Queen has the final word. She will not be an honorary queen but one that truly rules. This is the only structure my people will accept. She will be what binds us.”

  Director Nicole looked at the SFT and they were nodding at the suggestion. She then turned and said, “We have royalty in our past and it worked. That is always true when you have a good ruler. I think we can all agree here that we have chosen the best. But we need to hammer out succession to the satisfaction of all of us. Tgon-Gee, can you accept her as your ruler and your people give her the loyalty you have from them?”

  Tgon-Gee bowed to one knee and said, “I place the future of my people in her hands and pledge my loyalty to her.” The glod Fleet Admiral bent down on his knee and said, “I also pledge my life and family to you, my queen.”

  At once, everyone in the room bowed and swore their allegiance to Danielle. Even Tag was on his knee and when she saw him smiling at her she mouthed at him, “Help.”

  Tag stood up and said, “I also agree with you. My wife has amazed me with her skills at seeing the truth of any situation. It’s her gift. I know she is humble and does not wish this to be thrust on her, but sometimes history finds the right person at the right time. We have chosen well. I would recommend that we meet again three rotations from now and hammer out the details of this. We also need to move some orbital fortresses to the Glod Home World to insure their protection. We currently have eight that are being charged next to our sun that we were going to add to our own fortresses, however, it’s just a matter of time until the Alliance gets wind of our relationships. Tgon-Gee, you also need to send 500 of your warships to one of our facilities to convert then to power cell technology.”

  Dorg was watching Tgon-Gee closely. When Tag spoke Tgon-Gee stood to see him. Now Dorg had no doubt; Tgon-Gee was stunned when he looked at Tag. He seemed to be actually showing fear. What’s going on here?” Dorg thought. “What is he seeing that I don’t?”

  Tgon-Gee looked away from Tag and collected himself then looked at Terl and said, “I know you’re short on ships, we�
�ll be glad to send you some for defense.”

  Terl smiled at him and said, “Tgon-Gee, we already have 1,400 of our ships converted and are building an additional 600 in our facilities. Let me show you one of them, Excellency.”

  The screen on the wall came on and there in the middle of it was a dreadnaught that looked like nothing he had ever seen. It was parked close to a small asteroid that was about one seg wide. The dreadnaught suddenly fired a beam that blew a hole 1,200 degs wide thru the middle of the asteroid and exploded it. Admiral Dorg said, “Excellency, we have 700 of those ships.”

  Tgon-Gee looked at the awesome ship and knew that the Humans had totally defeated more than 4,000 ships with only 600 of their small ships. Then he looked at the Human Female and asked, “My Queen, how many ships does your race possess to defend your realm?”