The Huralon Incident

by E A Wicklund

  McCray felt his shoulders droop. He’d had his fill of war battling the Thalligari. He’d hoped not to see another. “Are the Madkhalis leaning towards war?”

  “Walk with me, you two.” Gaatz turned and strode down the gently curving passageway. The station’s construction was a relief from the stark utilitarianism of a warship. The colorful panels of the bulkheads, reflective of the Elysian penchant for vivid decoration, hosted a variety of holographic art. Their footfalls fell silently upon the padded flooring.

  “The Democratic Peoples wasted no time separating themselves from Senator Mallouk. They’re backpedaling fast and even doing some uncharacteristic groveling. Frankly, they’re bending over backwards to avoid war.”

  “Well, that’s good then,” said McCray, hiding a sigh of relief.

  “It’s Elysium that’s leaning towards war.”

  “What? We just got done with one.” He’d had his heart set on anti-piracy patrols at worst. Not a full-blown war. “Haven’t we had enough?”

  Gaatz shrugged. “People like you and I have. Someone, may the Mind find an appropriate hell for him, got Parliament on a war-minded tack. Add to it, the think tanks, whose members never held a dying comrade in their arms, see an opportunity.”

  McCray nodded. Since the Egalitarian Stars had banished career politicians centuries before, they relied heavily on the think tanks. Citizen members of Parliament, randomly selected from the populace, depended upon them to inform the governing body about a variety of issues. Though members of think tanks were supposed to be apolitical, McCray knew all too well that humanity wasn’t perfect. Even without political parties to create counterproductive, us versus them mentalities, every view in the political spectrum from ultra-right conservative to ultra-left liberal still existed. Political cabals formed, but such members were not allowed to participate in government. He sighed. It all was a work in progress. Sanitizing government from heavily biased people helped, but so far hadn’t eradicated the problem.

  McCray stared up at the overhead, hands on hips, feeling suddenly exhausted as if from a sprint. So many checks and balances to keep stupidity out of government, yet the leaders of nations still managed to reflect the worst of humanity. “The Madkhali Navy is three times the size of ours.”

  “And technologically backward compared to ours,” added Gaatz. “But what the think tanks are really looking at is the continuous pain Madkhal has been in our side. No one has forgotten they ‘encouraged’ the war with the Thallighari, and now this, the Huralon Incident, rankles. Hawkish individuals say it’s time to remove the Madkhali thorn from our side once and for all.”

  “They have so many hulls. Quantity has a quality all its own.”

  Gaatz nodded. “Joseph Stalin. Well done, Citizen Historian.”

  “We can build hulls, and better ones, faster than they can,” noted Aja. “Madkhal’s economics depend on fiat money, and it’s human nature to horde it. That just led to a minority wealthy elite with a downtrodden and overtaxed majority in the DPM. Everything Madkhalis do costs money, but with the upper one percent hoarding all of it, there’s less free-flowing money available to finance naval growth. War would cost them money they don’t want to let go of.”

  “Oh, you’re an economics expert, too?” said McCray, only half with sarcasm. “Won’t a naval buildup cost us?”

  “Not nearly as much,” said Aja, ignoring McCray’s look. “We’re a barter system with no money to horde. Our game is strictly dependant on resources. With ninety-two colonized stars and three-hundred-seven resource-rich stars, The ESE controls far more resources than it uses. Add to it, we’re a nanotech civilization where most of the work is performed by machine, a naval buildup is nearly effortless for us.”

  “Bravo Zulu, Ms. Coopersmith,” said Gaatz, offering the traditional naval congratulations. “That’s what the think tanks are saying.”

  McCray ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. “But it’s the human cost that matters!”

  Gaatz nodded. “That’s why it took so long for me to get here. I’ve been making the rounds to point that out. To most of the think tank’s members, casualty counts are just numbers in a report, little different than an accounting of stock performance. I expect none of them held a shipmate dying in their arms. They don’t understand the true face of war.” He stopped at the hatch leading to the entertainment mall. “I’ll do what I can to set their heads straight. In the meantime… Prepare yourselves for war.”

  The Admiral walked through the hatch and Aja followed, leaving McCray behind with his thoughts. He had lived his life with only one weapon in hand, the skill of commanding a warship. That laser focus made him an unequaled master of the art. At the start of the day he stood on the cusp of a major change in his life. A transition from fighting military vessels and the constant battle against death, to a celebration of life on Aja’s ranch.

  It seemed fate had different plans for him. So be it. An Elysian warrior would not abandon the people in their time of need. He knew how to fight, he knew how to win, and by the Mind he would help bring any war to a swift conclusion.

  He walked through the open hatch, strides long and sure, mind and body filled with conviction.

  Beware the man with only one weapon.