Lord Banshee- Fugitive

by Russell O Redman

  “It is true, though, that I could have sent the filter to you without your knowledge. I expect you are wondering if it is really there, because we have been using the comm in a restricted mode since Thieu and Haliru first set up our system. Check and you will see I have been using the unfiltered channel. I have been littering your comm with emojis that just get stripped out.”

  I checked my internal logs, and it was true; he had been firing a steady stream of emojis at me through our token channel without doing anything to my mind.

  “The military is not supposed to accept potentially dangerous software from other services without extensive testing, and I had a long, difficult discussion with Agent San Diego on the subject. I am going to get myself into some serious legal trouble, but I am ordering every TDF officer in Earth orbit to install this patch if they have the affected comm units.

  “If we can do the same thing within the Admiralty, it would make Com Thieu’s efforts with ACC and Agent Ashura’s work with AHQ much easier and far less dangerous for the people on the spot.

  He went back to speaking out loud.

  “And there is one further disciplinary issue that you need to be aware of, although there is nothing that you can do about it. It seems that the entire crew have been having increasingly vocal discussions about which of you is – how shall I put this? – the most magnificent, the most beautiful, the most wonderful, it goes on and on.

  “Do not worry too much about anonymity because they are busily devising nicknames for the lot of you. There is the Angel of Love, whom I assume you will recognize immediately, the Angel of Freedom, sometimes abbreviated to Lady Liberty, the Angel of Deliverance who restores our hope when all seems lost and is a particular favourite for most beautiful, the Angel of Mercy or Healing – they have not decided which yet – who opened all the hospitals with a single word. Doctor Marin is going to love that. I was monitoring the comm stream after she put out that appeal; she used far more than a single word, and some of what I heard when she encountered a selfish corporate health service I would not repeat at a mess dinner, much less a family gathering. On the male side, there is the King of the Banshees, sometimes the Fairy King, or the Lord of the Dance – I expect you recognize that reference. There is the Lord of Courage, who will seek out the helpless in the darkest places, and the Lord of Compassion who met the survivors of the Manila Bay in the transports.

  “The hardest arguments concern the Lord Banshee of the Eldritch Forest, the Old Man, or the Ancient Warrior, depending on who you ask, who is too badly injured to venture into battle himself, but who marshals the troops in the silent darkness before sending them into combat against evil. Some of the arguments about him are quite angry and I have heard the Rape of the Banshees mentioned more than once.

  “I am not yet sure whether you or Lady Liberty is going to cause the most trouble. The marines who accompanied her are almost fanatical in their devotion. If she announced that she intended to jump ship on the Moon, I might lose the whole squad.

  “Do you think Com Thieu actually wants to join that pantheon? I am willing to let her appointment be permanent if you think you can use her. She has needed a promotion for the last two years, but there were so few capital ships and she was hemming and hawing about entering ACC. That has changed for the worse in the last few days. The demand for competent captains is abruptly much greater than the supply. I do not know if I can let her go, but Mahatma and Anastasia insist your team also needs support and their plans are now in tatters. Either way, it is a daunting choice filled with uncertainty, so we had best wait a few weeks before pressing her for a final decision.”

  My mouth was sagging open again. I had thought our Banshee costumes would add a little mystery on the Deng, as would our fake disappearance, but this was even more ridiculous than putting the Council logo on the Banshee pajamas. I was stunned and could not think of a sensible word to say.

  “Anyways,” he finished off, “could you ask Com Thieu to see me when she is done with ACC?”

  I nodded without saying a word and returned to the MI office, clamping my mouth shut as I left the bridge office. I was halfway back to the MI office when I realized that we were back in zero-G, evidently back on station near the Deng. I worried what the marines were going to say to their counterparts on the Deng about Banshees and Angels, and what they would hear in response.

  2357-03-06 09:00

  Forethought

  When I arrived back at the MI office, I asked Raul to step outside for a moment. There were marines guarding the door, of course, so we ducked into the nearest washroom. I asked him if he had mentioned the emoji attack in the MI office that morning, and in particular the near-kiss that we had so narrowly averted. He said no on both counts, having restricted his discussion of the emoji attack to the discovery that he had been distracted by the emojis arriving on a private comm channel, which he disabled as soon as he became aware of it. He said he had taken full responsibility for the decision to rearrange the bed arrangements, although he realized that Begum could never relinquish her own responsibility while she remained in service.

  Almost as an afterthought, he added that he and Begum had already asked to have their stims and suppressors adjusted to prevent a recurrence, following my instructions.

  We returned to the office and I told Begum that Cap Wang wanted to see her when her work with ACC permitted, adding that a new filter for our comm units was available and seemed to work as far as I could tell.

  She replied through the comm, “I know. I got the Cap’s orders a few minutes ago and have installed it already. I am suggesting that ACC do the same, although they quite sensibly want to examine the token before they do. At least they have experienced token programmers amongst the sane members of staff. Give me a few more minutes.

  “They have brought in a few more officers and staff, most of whom are sane enough to work. I am hoping things will settle down soon.”

  Evgenia, however, looked quite worried and was franticly busy. She whispered, “The Admiral remains insane after his comm unit was disabled.” She turned back to her work, so I wafted away. When she was ready to make a report, she would.

  Looking around, I noticed that Molongo had left. Raul explained that he had gone for a late dinner – or was it breakfast? – which we all should do shortly.

  Morris and Singh were having an animated discussion about how to respond to the Imperium and whether it was even possible to avert an open war. They called me over and asked my opinion whether it was better to fight, even if it was just a token resistance, or to surrender immediately. I replied neither, but Singh silenced me and demanded what compromise I imagined existed between yes and no, between honourable defeat and cowardly surrender.

  Morris overruled her and demanded to hear what I had to say.

  I knew what I wanted to say but wanted to avoid the automatic rejection that I knew they would both make. I was glad that neither Wang nor Molongo were present because this idea was so outrageous.

  “We do not want to give Shi Hongdi the choice of either option. He has had the element of surprise, and the shock of the initial attack makes him seem more powerful than he is. We do not know how large his military might be, but my experience tells me they are mercenary opportunists, who will turn on him at the first sign of weakness. His reliable, loyal forces will be tiny compared to the forces the Earth can muster.

  “Their primary strength comes, if anywhere, from the long years they have had available to prepare and from the fact that we still do not know what they intend. I would remind you that the Belt provides almost unlimited amounts of uranium, and with processing, plutonium. His fleet will be heavily armed with nuclear weapons, which may not be under effective control. The Incursion killed two hundred million, and I believe they launched that effort prematurely. If they choose to, they can inflict billions of casualties or even sterilize the Earth.

  “Shi Hongdi needs the Earth, so I do not believe he would be so foolish as to use that power. Almost
all his wealth ultimately comes from the Earth. The minerals mined in the Belt are almost all sold to the Earth. Without that market he will be much weaker, far less secure. He knows this and needs a place where he can be safe, but I cannot guess how the factional commanders will behave. If we provoke a war, even with a token resistance, we might not be able to stop it.

  “As a tyrant, Shi Hongdi is a Johnny-come-lately, without even family inheritance to justify his rule. We can bet that he has prepared for both combat and for surrender, which are concepts familiar to every Martian. If we fight him on his chosen fields of battle, and are forced to accept his terms, he will win and we will lose. However, he is inexperienced with supreme power and may not be aware of traps that are outside the Martian tradition.

  “May I give some historical analogies that suggest an alternative approach? You know that both China and India were invaded many times by their neighbours. Both civilizations were strong enough to absorb their invaders, ultimately making them part of their own culture. The Earth is easily strong enough to absorb Mars, if only we can avoid a real war. It would be better to invite them to come as merchants, students, artists and tourists.

  “There alternatives to fighting. I can give you some examples.

  “In the year 800 AD, Pope Leo III crowned the Frankish king Charles the Great, Charlemagne in most histories, as emperor of the Holy Roman Empire, the true successor to the original Roman emperors. Charles was flattered and believed he had accepted a partnership of equals between the worldly power of the state and the spiritual power of the Church. Only later did his successors discover that he had conceded supremacy to the Pope who had placed the crown on his head. For the next thousand years, that precedent gave the Popes authority over the crowned heads of Europe. The Council can offer an uncontested coronation to the Emperor with a magnificence that Mars cannot afford, and he might take the bait in exchange for personal security.

  “Consider also James VI of Scotland. When Elizabeth I of England died without an heir, James was her nearest surviving relative. He moved to England and was crowned James I of England. Scotland was independent, proud and poor, while England was cosmopolitan, confident and rich. When James set foot on English soil, his allegiance automatically changed from the country of his birth to the country that made him wealthy and powerful. It did not matter that the English did not like him. It sufficed that they supplied him with money and power. We can do that for the Emperor.

  “Consider the different ways that World Wars One and Two ended in the twentieth century. In 1919 the agreements that ended World War One punished Germany severely, which led to decades of resentment that culminated in World War Two. In the same way, the punitive governments that we have imposed on Mars since the Incursion have led to hatred and the current war.

  “After World War Two, western Europe was provided with extensive aid through the Marshall Plan, and Japanese society was rebuilt with a new government, a new constitution, and a new economy that was soon flourishing. Germany and Japan never again waged aggressive wars and became founding members of the Terrestrial Council after the Final War. Surely, this is how we want the current conflict to end?

  “My advice is that we pre-empt any ultimatums by acclaiming Shi Hongdi as the rightful Emperor of all humankind, that we immediately invite him to come to the Earth where he will receive the allegiance of his loyal Council. Subsequently, we can supply him with all the trappings of power but without its substance. Give him estates, money and honour, keep him busy opening council meetings, reviewing parades, throwing baseballs in Japan, kicking footballs in Europe and Soam, attending balls and pageants. Let him be the social and cultural inspiration for all human space. Encourage him to leave the very complicated chore of managing the Earth to those of his citizens who understand how it works.

  “As a model, consider the British Commonwealth after the end of the British Empire. The English monarch was recognized as the legitimate head of state for many countries comprising a substantial fraction of the Earth’s economy and remained extremely wealthy until the Final War ruined everything. They had almost no role in the daily operation of those governments but prevented any other claimants from receiving legitimacy in the same role. This allowed the role of Prime Minister to assume the power and authority needed to govern the country without the dangerous temptations of being head of state speaking for the whole people.”

  Morris and Singh stared at me. “You have spent a bit of time thinking about this,” he said.

  “Every day for fifteen years,” I replied.

  Singh shook her head. “Audacious, but it will not work. Nothing is ever that easy.”

  I nodded, “I know. There are many loose details. Us, for example. Everyone in your meeting and all the Banshees will be classed as Ghost Followers and condemned to summary execution. Everyone who has ever served any of the governors on Mars. Everyone who worked for ExA or swindled a Martian merchant.

  “Do not over-interpret that summary. Mostly, they do not know who you are and ultimately will not care about you.

  “Ultimately, I believe the people of Mars want vengeance for a hundred years of oppression and especially for the Counterstrike. The Emperor himself must know that the Counterstrike was a direct answer to the Incursion, but most Martian citizens do not. When I was there, they believed that the Incursion was just propaganda from Governor Ngomo to justify his escalating atrocities. From all I have heard, they still believe that the Counterstrike was a premeditated act of genocide in revenge for their victory in the war for liberation. Shi Hongdi will use the hatred generated by the Counterstrike for his political purposes on Mars, but also knows that the lie will be exposed as soon as his people arrive at the Earth. Once the truth is recognized, the Earth can be forgiven.

  “The people of the Earth also believe lies about the motivations behind the Martian rebellions. Even you do. Ministers, from the brief time I have known you, I would judge that neither of you has been aware of the depth and virulence of the rot. Most of the policies that ExA has enforced on Mars are based on lies that were used to cover up the corruption, fraud and profiteering that were the main reason most people volunteered for positions in the Governor’s Compound.

  “That cover-up was organized by Extraterrestrial Affairs, so the Martians will take revenge against ExA. The ‘expert cryptographers’ who should have told you about the hidden messages are just the first traitors you have recognized. There must be far more, and far worse, hidden somewhere in the bureaucracy.

  “Mars will try to execute everyone, on the principle that ten dead innocents for each real criminal are a small price to pay for revenge against the tyrants who oppressed them for so long. The real traitors probably know about the attack in progress and have prepared for it. They will be in hiding already. After the current troubles subside, the criminals will re-emerge as part of the new government to continue the oppression with different victims.

  “Some of the ExA staff deserve that hate, most do not, and it will be terribly difficult to recognize who does. The deep irony is that the Imperium will need the expertise of the innocent staff members if it is to succeed in finding and stopping the traitors. Their murders will be just additional atrocities to be avenged, as always happens on Mars.

  “Reconciliation is going to be terribly difficult. I know some of what needs to be done, but the effort will take years of patience and honesty. Minister Morris, you handled some of the negotiations that ended the Westoz rebellion, so you know better than I do how hard that path will be, yet also how necessary.”

  I paused and sighed.

  “I hope that the Imperium will leave the Moon unmolested, since they pose no threat and provide valuable services to every Martian freighter. If I can ask for one personal favour, if it is at all possible, when the Imperium arrests me, can it be arranged that I be tried under the jurisdiction of the Moon, which might be considered a neutral jurisdiction and has high standards for justice.

  “I ask this because I am
a special case. I am one of the traitors, one of the enemies who deserves their vengeance. You only know some of what I did on Mars. On top of all my other offenses, almost everyone on Mars believes that I supplied the targeting coordinates for the Counterstrike. They cannot forgive that crime. I cannot forgive myself, because that rumour is true.”

  Morris shook all over. “Whoa! Do not get ahead of yourself. If the Earth survives and the Council retains power, we can protect you. Where is this despair coming from? I thought this was a plan to save us all?”

  “No, Sirs, not all. They will hunt me until they find me and then I will be executed. It will be a kidnapping followed by an assassination if they cannot do it legally. That has been crystal clear to me all along. If we had used the last decade to provide Mars with an honest government and a compassionate system of justice, I would not have to make this request, but we failed.

  “Now, they are coming, and this time they will bring enough power to enforce their will. Anyone who tries to protect me will be executed. You must keep a discreet distance and always maintain deniability. You must save the Earth. If I can help you achieve that, I will be content. For myself, I can only hope for justice.

  “Do you remember my question about where the Earth is most vulnerable?”

  Singh blinked, but answered, “Are you feeling well? My head is still reeling from your first suggestion. Where are you going with this?”