Defiance

by Sean Liebling

  "Commander Jack, are you busy?" The words over his earpiece now were obviously from Captain Henricus Ketchum, startling Jack, but he answered quickly.

  "No, not at all. Just seeing to some administrative duties that could easily be handled by someone else. Taking a city is dull boring work during the aftermath," he replied.

  "Did you get the swords and new earpieces we dropped off?"

  "Yes, and they are greatly appreciated. How many more can we expect?"

  "We'll discus that later. Could you see your way to handing those duties off to, say Griff for instance, or one of the other Commanders?"

  "Of course, but why?"

  "Because, I would like to show you my ship and honestly, the Federation Council wishes to speak with you. Are you available now?"

  "You told me that you are on the other side of the solar system, how long will I be gone? Weeks, months?" Now was not the time to interrupt him in his world conquest quest. He fumed silently, because although he was very interested, he could not afford to take an extended period of absence from this quest.

  "We can have you back by tomorrow morning, afternoon or evening, The trip itself will only take a short time, maybe one hour. However, we have many things to discuss and show you and as I stated, the council wishes to speak with you. They are concerned about your...slaves. What they consider to be human rights violations concerning owning other humans as property."

  "Hell, sure why not. Give me fifteen minutes. How do I come to you?"

  "Simply go to an upper terrace when you are finished and a courier drone will be standing by. It will be invisible to you at first. So simply lay flat on the stones and it will scoop you up."

  "Alright, but tell me, am I going to regret this?"

  "I don't think so. We'll talk more later."

  *****

  Carthius smiled without mirth, as he planned the conquering of this continent. While Jack was beyond peer in the tactics of taking a city, Carthius was par excellence in logistics and long-term goal strategies. He and the ambassadors had just decided on the next wave of cities to overcome, in two waves of six. Their planning had been assisted by an unknown voice in their ears, ears equipped with these new instruments of communication which Jack had given them. Carthius found them a marvel of ingenuity as did all the others and each city, along with its normally hidden means of entry were charted.

  They also had accurate counts of all combatants and exactly how many, were where. This was essential in dividing their attacking forces and all had found that presented with an overwhelming force when they were unprepared, usually meant an enemy surrendered with few blows. This was essential as they needed the full might of the new cities if they were to go against Turnin, although what Jacks slave was doing with the Amazons was simply amazing. To think they might have an additional twenty-five thousand warriors on their side was unbelievable.

  "I still think the head of this new Federation should be a lifetime appointment," remarked one of the Ambassadors, this one from Raizor.

  "I disagree. We should share the duties among potentates. Heaven knows, can you imagine the complexity of overseeing and administering to an entire planet?" demanded Carthius. "After a decade, you'll be wore out and ready to retire to wine, women and luxurious baths while begging for your replacement to take over."

  "Alright, good point," remarked the Ambassador with a smile.

  "We can help. If it's any consolation, our Federation does not have one supreme ruler. What it has is a council of fifteen, one for each sector of planets we govern. They are voted upon yearly, although it is fair to state that in reality the appointments are for life as few are ever voted out. Still, Jack did concur, that a sectors people could replace their councilor with a two-thirds majority vote." The unseen voice spoke in their ears and all present were becoming used to this method of communication. The mysterious allies owned or controlled a vast Federation of planets and flew through space as the doves flew through the air on Paradise. Carthius knew this particular voice to belong to someone named Andros, as he recognized it instantly.

  "We may or may not take you up on that Andros, we shall see," he said, as he continued to stare at the maps.

  "Sir, while you may quibble on the time frame of each ruler to reside over the planet, it is important to keep Jack in his role as Supreme Warrior," continued the voice.

  "Why," demanded the Ambassador from Glendale. They were an ornery bunch, often prone to insults, but in the end, more than honorable.

  "Because we have what are called quantum probability computers. four of them in fact, aboard this vessel. You would consider them soothsayers, or oracles. They all agree that only Jack has the potential to unite the entire planet. Each of your champions, your warriors past deeds have been taken into account, after all, we have been on station for over a thousand of your years and have access to information on everyone. But only Jack has that potential, bear that in mind as you make your plans."

  "This Andros brings up a good point. We are trusting your Commander with the lives of our men because we know and respect him. He is good, very good and I don't think any of us have ever seen him make a bad decision twice. We have just in the last half day, planned out the successful conquering of the next twelve closest cities. I realize Turnin is close, somewhat, but we need all our strength for that. However, Commander Jack as permanent Warlord? What are everyone's thoughts? I realize what the voice said, but is it right?" continued the Ambassador with a hint of concern in his voice.

  Carthius spoke quickly before any others could and thanked the Gods that he was sober and undrugged as his wits were about him.

  "When you and your Commanders swore your swords to his leadership. Was there any hesitation? No! You know he's the best we have. I say we stick with what works, until proven otherwise. Remember something. This gains me no additional privileges. I will still take a rotation of head of council if you elect me, and if you don't, then I won't."

  The others pondered his words at length, and finally agreed. Together they pulled out maps of even more cities and began planning.

  *****

  Chapter 19:

  Having passed off the newly forming administration to Argon, the Commander of Bristol and also that of Raizor, Jack proceeded to the highest battlement of the castle and finding a sufficiently large clear area with no witnesses, he lay down and waited. It was only seconds before he heard a soft hum above, although he could see nothing, not even a waver in the sky. With a small crackling sound, a white light outlined above him and a compartment appeared out of thin air.

  The space was mutely lit although the outline of the doorway was in moderately bright light and he watched as it drew closer and settled over him while hearing the words. "Have no fear, this will not hurt. It is only gathering you up in order to transport you."

  Jack felt no sense of motion, only a slight increase in the sound of the hum that emanated from the ship in which he was riding. Shortly soft strands of music filled the compartment and they were actually quite pleasing. Similar to his own world's music with plenty of stringed instruments and he settled back to relax and enjoy the sound and soft twinkling lights within the space he now occupied. A period of time passed that Jack estimated to be approximately an hour when the voice spoke again.

  "Would you like to see my ship, Jack? You are almost here, but I can make a quick pass for you, we have time." Henricus was speaking now, this time over the ships tiny speakers.

  "Absolutely! I would like that, as I'm unsure how large twenty kilometers is, anyways. I assume it's similar to a mile?"

  "Similar, it's actually six tenths of a mile but still close enough as you shall see." With those words the front canopy of the drone turned crystal clear and Jack was greeted to a wondrous sight. An object flowing in space greeted his eyes, an object brightly lit from untold thousands of multi colored lights and row after row of brightly lit rectangles that Jack guessed to be windows seeing out into space. The sheer size was impressive and easil
y as large as the biggest city Jack had ever encountered. It was long, wide and thick, shaped similar to a brick but with smooth lines and large wings to either side. Dark grey in color, it was still eerily god-like in its immensity. As Jack continued to stare in awe, he saw that hundreds of tiny pinpricks of light were circling the massive ship, or going from one location to the next. He wondered what those were and assumed they were drone ships like the one he was riding.

  "Wow, just wow. It's huge. I assumed it was large, but on the order of maybe a hundred times the size of one of our sea ships, but this is over a thousand times larger. What propels it?"

  "It is powered by what is called a slip trans-dimensional drive, the same drive which powers the interior and weapons systems. Basically, we take raw energy from other dimensions and use it for our needs. Jack, you do not need to know the exact details. Not that we are not willing to share them with you, but because you would not understand the technology involved."

  "And you call this a Battleship, so it is made for battle?"

  "It is indeed. We are heavily armed, but again, you would understand none of the references to such weaponry. Shall we simply say, the Odyssey is not only well protected, but able to dish out prodigious amounts of punishment."

  "Sure."

  "Now, I am ending our communications as you are about to dock. I will meet you in the landing bay." The voice went silent as jack watched them approach the immense ship. The top of the device remained clear and by craning his head and neck, he was able to see them approach the side, appearing to follow lines of blinking lights that directed them to a cavernous opening. They flew through the blackness of space faster than he would have imagined possible and instinctively he had to quell a rising sense of motion sickness, but was still unable to close his eyes. He wanted to see it all as this might be his only opportunity.

  As they glided in under intensely bright lights, the drone Jack was riding in came to a gentle stop next to three uniformed individuals dressed in a medium to dark blue cloth apparel. The tallest among them was a male approximately forty years of age, rugged looking with a mustache and goatee combination of facial hair. The dark brown hair on his head was cropped close, like what those of Paradise cut for their male slaves. His chest was adorned with a great many medals from their design and silver stripes adorned his shoulders, three in total. Jack guessed this was the Captain Henricus, Henricus Ketchup. The man next to him was shorter, sandy haired and perhaps Jacks own height and his chest also contained medals with only two silver stripes adorning the shoulder pads. Jack guessed this to be his second in command, the man Andros. Beside them was a female of great beauty, also in a blue uniform and from what he could see, large breasted. He smiled at her as he began to rise in what appeared to be great lightness, only to stop at the upraised hand of the first.

  "Rise slowly, move in baby steps please. You are a heavy worlder and if you rise normally, you will bounce off the ceiling. The ensign here will fit you with gravity boots and armbands, this will normalize the gravity for you. Without them, you will have a very hard time adjusting, walking, running and even simple movements. Please remain still and allow Ensign Caitlin to fasten them on you. This is the first step and yes, I am Captain Henricus Ketchum. We will shake hands after you have the gravity restraints on, as I don't particularly care for my hand to be crushed in yours." The other man smiled, causing Jack to smile back and relax in place. He noted again how light he felt, almost as if he were able to float.

  The blonde haired girl with bright green eyes smiled at him and bending down, removed his own leather footware and in their place, slipped on two white and green glowing boots, then placed two armbands upon his arms, fastening them in place with soft clicks. Jack was very glad he had taken the time to bathe this morning and as she leaned close, he pulled her into the compartment, kissing her soundly, a kiss she returned after a moment's hesitation and to his surprise.

  "Later," she whispered, her voice speaking his tongue but with a strange accent, then patted him on the chest and rose while extending her hand. Jack accepted the proffered appendage but kissed its back instead, rising on his own and holding his arm out to Henricus as the ensign blushed beside him. Now he felt normal and as the Captain made to grab his hand, Jack shifted his to grasp the other by the forearm in a true handshake. They stood staring at each other for long moments and then slowly released their grips, as the Captain began speaking.

  "You can step out of the drone now, Jack. This is Andros my second in command and you've obviously become acquainted with Caitlin already. I must warn you that the women aboard this ship have rights, and as such should not be...manhandled in the manner you just displayed. I say this only to keep you on the best possible terms with our council," murmured Henricus, as he stepped back to allow Andros an opportunity to clasp forearms with Jack. The grip of Andros was firm and sure, as he gave it one firm shake before releasing Jack.

  "Well met, all three of you and your entire crew. I meant no disrespect to Ensign Caitlin, it is simply our way when we sense an advantage."

  "None taken and I voiced no complaints, Captain," replied the woman, as she smiled and stood beside him.

  "I understand, Ensign. I simply wished to lay out ground rules for our guest."

  "Captain, I have a thousand questions and you say we do not have much time. When do we get started? I have a ground campaign to wage on Paradise. Specifically, why do you want us of Paradise. How can we help you and you help us?" asked Jack, as he waited somewhat patiently.'

  "Come and all will be explained. Simply step onto this dais and the four of us will be transported to the conference chamber. There you will learn why your people are important." Henricus indicated a small round platform only a few inches above the ground and as Jack stepped upon it, he was immediately transported to another room, another dais and one with a long table and many chairs. Like all the chambers, he had seen so far, this one was also painted white and softly glowed. Jack wondered why they did not ask him to disarm and assumed it was a gesture to keep him at ease with his new surroundings.

  "You have a fondness for white, it appears," Jack remarked as he took a seat in a chair indicated by Andros. Caitlin sat next to him and across the table sat both ships officers.

  "Well yes, we prefer our ships to be brightly lit," said Andros with a smile.

  "But cannot the enemy see you? This ship glowed like the sun itself upon my arrival."

  "No, we are in what is called a pocket dimension. They cannot see, nor sense us. If we were in battle there would be no outside illumination."

  "Okay, whatever that pocket dimension thing is. Now explain how we benefit each other," demanded Jack, as he adjusted his seat and let his left hand brush along Caitlin's thigh, a move he felt her body shiver over causing him to grin."

  "Gladly, you are what we call a heavy worlder. That means your planets gravity is heavier than Earth normal and that of ninety-nine percent of the other worlds out there. Yours is approximately two and a half times heavier than ours, thus your musculature and bone structure are quite a bit denser than the average humans. Before you ask, this is a good thing, there are only three populated heavy worlds that we know of. Because of that, quite frankly the Gentes need you."

  "Why?"

  Because of this. Look." now the walls disappeared and before them at the head of the table a star map appeared, one containing thousands upon thousands of stars. Jack was rapt with attention. They were colored white, red and yellow, colors he had no idea of the meaning.

  "What are the colors?"

  "The white are those worlds controlled by the Malum. Almost all or maybe all are artificial like yours. Still a planet, but Malum created. The red stars are worlds we control that are peaceful and help with the greater good of all the people. They provide foodstuffs, metals, ships, you name it. The yellow are worlds in contention, as in we've taken them in, but they are still fighting civil wars amongst themselves. As you can see. we control less than five percent of this
galaxy and we haven't even gone to other galaxy's yet. You can also see that over a third or approximately one hundred and thirty three of the worlds under our control are in contention. We wish that eliminated, but most of our acquisitions are as children, they are still fighting amongst themselves, which is where you and your people come in." Henricus paused to allow Jack to absorb the information. A nod was given and the Captain continued.

  "The people, the warriors of Paradise would make ideal troops, instilling order amidst the chaos of these contentious planets. You are an order of magnitude stronger than we are and if in cyber suits, you will be almost unkillable and definitively unstoppable. We need these civil wars crushed, order restored and vibrant economies instilled. They need to contribute as currently, such as your world soon, will be gaining all the benefits, yet undertaking none of the responsibility for this expansion and elimination of the Malum."

  "Alright, I can see that, you need us as warriors and basically, we will kick their ass into obeying."

  "Not exactly but close. We need you to kick their ass, but only to get them to obey the agreements upon which they entered the Federation. Each of those yellow dots was supposed to conform to our laws within a period of ten years. That did not happen with any of them, unfortunately. They obviously need peace enforced and differences settled. We spend a great amount on resources and manpower protecting them and as I stated. They act like children." Jack pondered the words of Henricus for a moment and had a thought.

  "I will make a few assumptions, bear with me. Turning slightly, he slid his left arm around Caitlin then grasped her hips in both of his large hands and lifting her gently, placed her in his lap. Her face turned bright red, but she purred, as she settled against him. Watching the two ships officers, he saw them roll their eyes, yet remain silent. "I think better with a beautiful woman in my lap." Jack smirked, as he kissed the nape of her neck just above the collar of her uniform. She wiggled and spoke first, just as Jack began to speak again.