by Chris Burton
“I agree that you have been useful and it would be counterproductive to end our discussions prematurely. However, your brain functions have been compromised. There is no guarantee that even your basic functions will return. Nonetheless, there is a precedent with other species. Convince me!”
Samos, could barely comprehend the Kronan’s dysfunctional dialect at the best of times but now, he was having trouble keeping his eyes open, let alone, make a speech, which could stop the Kryl from killing him. He concentrated hard.
“About Alpha, about Earth, about us...it must be of use!”
“I could capture any human, even a higher ranking one and obtain better, more concise, more accurate information than you can provide. I said convince me!”
Samos sighed and pulled his hands away from his face.
“But you know and understand me. I am at death’s door. I will tell you anything, everything!”
The Kronan smiled.
“You may be of some use still. I will allow you to recover and we will talk again in a few days. By then, we will have arrived at the wormhole and we can welcome my fleet together.”
* * * *
Samos was led back to his cell, where he collapsed onto his bed exhausted.
When he awoke, he felt more alert. A medication droid was monitoring him and he was hooked up to a spinal drip. He could not move but realized the Kronan was good to his word. The Kryl were bringing him back from death. He was suddenly overjoyed. This was not much; at least he was alive—for how long, he did not know, but he was still alive.
Chapter Ten
Lugano
Humidity was a problem at this time of year. The warmth of the spring sunshine, trapped by the mountains of southern Switzerland, hovering over the water of the great glacial lakes of the region. Lake Lugano was a picture of beauty, with the gently sloping tree covered mountains of the Canton of Ticino dipping their feet into the depths of the lake. This was a region of natural splendor and was a perfect setting for President Roslyn’s lake side retreat.
His villa stood at the edge of the lake, at the foot of Monte Bre, one of two small mountains, which protected the city from which the lake took its name. Lugano was a small cosmopolitan city, whose borders lay within the country of Switzerland, but whose culture, language and pace of life, was more akin, to its near neighbor Italy, where the lake also extended.
Roslyn had proposed some weeks ago, that their next meeting should be held at his Swiss residence. They had met here some months before as the crisis of the blue wormhole had begun to unfold and it looked as if the same topic of conversation would once again grace the patio and dining tables of the Presidents private residence.
“The view is spectacular. I don’t think I had the chance to comment on it, when I last visited.”
“That’s because our last meeting was an emergency. This one is scheduled and hopefully more relaxed. Although, it looks as if the circumstances are actually very similar. I am glad you like the view. This place is my best-kept secret. Here I can, should I choose, leave everything else behind. It also makes a good place for an informal discussion, albeit a high level one.”
“Yes I agree. Shall we get started then? What did you want to discuss in particular. I presume there is no prospect of a security leak—some of the content of our conversations is highly sensitive.”
“I have sent my entire human staff home. Only the Warrior droids remain and they periodically carry out a sensor sweep for spy drones, detection vehicles, and other activity of that nature. We are alone and quite safe—the droids are state of the art.”
“Well, they would be. They were supplied by Alpha!”
“Quite. Okay, yes down to business. We need to discuss the wormhole. There is no dispute now. I presume that the wormhole is re-opening.”
“Unfortunately, yes. Despite our best efforts, the wormhole has opened to its second stage—that is somewhere between ten to a hundred meters wide. The process is slower than before, as it is not being artificially stimulated. It may take many weeks before it reaches its maximum circumference and from our point of view, that makes it relatively easy to defend at present. Only one or two smaller Kryl vessels could come through at a time.”
“And what of your efforts to close it? Will it be for good this time?
“Not as yet. My team is working on it and in the meantime, we have Admiral Shenke and a hundred strong fleet positioned in front of the wormhole. I am concerned about what happens if a large Kryl fleet does manage to get through our defenses and then head for Earth. Neither Strategic Earth Defense or the shield system are working as they should be.”
Roslyn was not expecting Koenig’s diversionary tactic so early in their discussions.
“These are surely not relevant as your fleet will defeat them as they did previously, assuming that you have not closed the wormhole before they start to come through. I need hardly remind you that it was your incompetence which orchestrated the opening of the wormhole in the first place!”
“We were wrong. We are doing everything possible to ensure the episode is not repeated. However, our resources are stretched. I am not talking about funding, not in the short term anyway. Our fleet is substantially weakened by the first battle, not to mention the Sentinel War. We may not be able to mount as effective an opposition as we did the first time and we will probably be on our own this time as well, unless ECG has improved its diplomatic relations with the Sentinels or the Betanica Sect.”
Roslyn laughed. “Our relations with the Sentinels and the Sect are intact, as they are with the APF. It was your methods that created discourse and it is Alpha’s diplomats who need to be on top of this. Your discussions should be at a battlefield level.”
“Okay. I accept that. Our negotiators have drawn a blank on the prospect of support from either the Sentinels or the Sect. They both seem to have given up their fundamental cause. Any assistance the ECG could provide would be appreciated.”
“Then we will do what we can to assist you. I understand you have a catastrophe policy in place to cover the eventuality of your main fleet being defeated. Have you placed a contingency fleet somewhere distant?”
“We have a reserve fleet of over one hundred ships.”
Koenig did not want to discuss this. He moved on quickly.
“Surely, this brings us back to the readiness of Strategic Earth Defense and Earth’s Shield Systems. There is at least the prospect of invasion and SED is in a shameful state. The shield systems are below their critical limits. I think you need to consider handing over the control of both SED and the shields to Alpha, while this crisis continues.”
“Do you believe that Alpha can mount a successful defense against a similarly sized Kryl Fleet or not? If you don’t, this explains the significant resourcing to your catastrophe fleet and your persistence with SED and the shields. I am aware of some issues within SED, but they will remain under my control. As for the shields, my understanding is that they are within the eighty-five percent tolerance level.”
“We can mount a good defense against the Kryl fleet. But I am concerned their fleet could be larger, perhaps much larger and then yes, reliance would be placed on our reserve forces, not a catastrophe fleet, as a means to perpetuate the human race post apocalyptically; i.e. beyond total loss. As for SED, they would assume a huge role in the defense of Earth, as would the equivalent defense forces for the other planets in our domain.
If you insist that they remain under your control, they must be ready. As for the shields system, my sources advise that the infrastructure is compromised and far from being within tolerance levels, some shield areas are below thirty-five percent. This is a disaster waiting to happen. It is under resourced, badly managed, and only Alpha have the knowledge, technical capability and qualified resources to turn this around quickly...and it may need to be very quickly!”
“If that proves to be the case, I will jump on the matter quickly and we may well turn to you to assist us in bringing the shields u
p to strength, but I reiterate, my information would appear to contradict yours. As for SED, I am aware of Alpha’s historical desire to harness planetary defenses under its realm and I repeat the assertion that both my immediate predecessors have made; SED will remain under ECG’s control.”
Roslyn enjoyed their spat, but now he was concerned. The shield system was Earth’s critical protection mechanism. Without it, they stood open to invasion and to the sun’s harmful rays, which could cause permanent damage to Earth’s already delicate ecosphere. He needed to check Koenig’s figures straight away.
The discussion was interrupted by a cruise ship, which closed to within one hundred meters of the edge of the lake. The operators would be aware that the president was in residence and were obliged to be discrete when passing on this side of the lake. The warrior droid’s protection equipment would keep the content of the two leader’s conversation safe. The cruise ship passed. Roslyn and Koenig continued their conversation—both aware of the potential security risk and the seriousness of the conversation they were having.
“It is clear we both have much to do on the critical issues and I suggest we move on to discuss other matters. Have there been any further sign of the rogue Kryl ship?”
“No further sightings. We dispatched a battle cruiser to search for them and I have just ordered their Commander to give up their search and head to the Tri-star System. His knowledge of the Kryl will be useful and as it is possible the Kryl commander knows that the blue wormhole is opening, they may well be on their way too.”
“Those with experience of the Kryl will be brought to the fore, I presume?”
“Yes. Nine hundred personnel were redrafted to assist. We are also bringing Academy officer candidates and NCO’s through faster. We are at stage two battle deployments. If we reach three I will request that ECG play a day to day part.”
“Fine, I will alert my cabinet. I agree, we should be looking to get the final year academy personnel graduated and into active service as soon as possible—with the obvious caveat that they will not be deployed in full combat, unless absolutely necessary. We are going to have to brace ourselves for huge losses aren’t we?”
“Yes, potentially. If we take our level of deployment to stage three, then we may need to request additional funding resources.”
“I would expect that and we have a contingency. How is the Fleet Construction Wing? Are they still bogged down with repairs or back into full production?”
“About ten percent of the fleet is still in dock, either undergoing or pending repairs. Fleet construction is now up to fifty percent and within a couple of weeks should be at seventy-five percent capacity. Rapier and Sabre construction is at maximum. We need the Jump Ships turned around very quickly.”
The two leaders continued their discussions as the sun dipped behind the mountains. Undetected the Warrior droid transmitted a transcript of the discussions through its communication portal. The content of their discussions would soon go global.
Chapter Eleven
Invasion Imminent
The ‘infected’ warrior’s communication reached the editor of the World Observer news company seconds later. He expected it and the content was gold dust!
Security protocol and legislation would normally prevent his or any media organization from broadcasting copy of this nature, but this was too important, too incredible not to release. The Editors conscience and his personal liberty were irrelevant—this was something the public needed to know. He would release this personally in his editorial.
Within an hour of receiving the droid transmission, the editorial was live. The impact was instantaneous. Within two hours, the ECG Cabinet was called for an urgent meeting and the Admiralty Bench met in emergency session.
“How on Earth did the President’s security protocols breach?”
“We don’t know. It’s possible the droid protection systems malfunctioned, or a passing cruise ship listened in. Roslyn is obviously reviewing his security protocols. The important point here is to prevent widespread panic and to ensure that Alpha’s integrity is not compromised. I am sure Admiral Koenig will consider it a priority to address this bench.”
The Admiral’s chamber was chaotic—the usual restrained order replaced by interruption and shouting from both sides of the bench and the usual calls for the replacement of Admiral Koenig who was clearly now “the president’s drone”.
Admiral Clarke waited patiently for the chair to restore calm before standing once again.
“Everyone at this bench is aware that the wormhole is reopened. The Intel on the SED and the shield systems have been available for some weeks. Admiral Koenig has had a frank discussion with Roslyn but there is no new content for the bench to review. We need to have a debate on this issue, of course, and Admiral Koenig is ready to brief you. We must avoid overstating the problem.”
“Overstating the problem. Our own CIC has pretty much told the whole planet that he thinks Alpha, SED and the shields will fail. Even if that is not the case, this is a disastrous PR situation. There is widespread panic. The public are craving for Roslyn to assume control. This is a disaster, Koenig has to go!”
As the back bench admiral gave way, Admiral Torrance stood up.
“I propose a no-confidence motion in our CIC. We need a leader who protects the integrity of Alpha, as well as lead us into battle. Koenig is a military man, not a politician. He should be out there leading the fleet, not politicking with the President.”
The general uproar continued, with two other Admiral’s standing in support of Admiral Torrance’s no-confidence motion. The Chair then stood and granted the motion.
“A motion of no-confidence in the CIC has been called and this will be arranged urgently. Admiral Clarke, do you know when Admiral Koenig will next be available to address the bench?”
Clarke stood in disbelief. Koenig had asked him to pacify the bench and to try to take the pressure away from him. It seemed the opposite had happened and gloomily he advised that Admiral Koenig proposed to address the bench later that day.
The motion was confirmed. Admiral Clarke left the bench and headed for his office. He had to tell Koenig that his CIC post was very much in jeopardy.
* * * *
“You are seeking to replace me and yet you cannot, between you find a suitable candidate to support.” Koenig was in full swing. He took the news of the no-confidence motion badly, but he was not going to let the president’s security screw up stand in the way of his continuing in office.
“There are some who say, that I should be commanding the fleet. Why? Admiral’s Haines and Shenke are both coveted and experienced fleet commanders. They do not need me. My experience is needed here to ensure the fleet capabilities are enhanced to the best possible effect. Now is not the time to replace your CIC. We need continuity and one voice in this chamber and we must stop this uncertainty. Yes, we are in trouble, but it is likely we will soon have control of both Earth’s shield systems and SED. Then we will be in a much better position to control matters.
I have spoken to the president this morning and given the security breach, he is considering handing control of both the shields and SED to Alpha. Let us take stock, re-engage, and take advantage of this situation.”
The emergency motion ended shortly after Koenig sat down. For now, Koenig had pacified the bench with the prospect of control of the SED. This was a political chalice and one that may yet save his faltering leadership.
Chapter Twelve
The TG Finals
Jake Carter was on route to Titus 3 and he was alone. Not physically alone—over fifty other TG contestants surrounded him but he was the sole representative from the South Downs Alpha Academy.
He spent the last three hours trying to rationalize whether this was a good thing or not. He kept coming back to the eerie conclusion: Steve was not there because of him. Steve Costello was forced to sit out the finals, despite having won the South Downs competition. His bar room bust up, his drinking, h
is temper and his inability to make any impact on his study catch-up, had grounded him, confined to the Academy until graduation. This left Jake on his own, as runner up in the South Downs TG competition, here on merit, but Steve’s absence was all down to him and Carla. Jake stole his best friend’s girlfriend. Neither Jake nor Carla told him but Steve guessed. He allowed this and his defunct hero status to take him to a bad place. Steve had gone from hero to villain.
The journey to Titus 3 was tediously slow at sub SD3. It would be a very long three days if he spent the entire journey in silence, restricted to his own company. He tried to make conversation with his fellow contestants, but after introductions and small talk, the other contestants drifted back to their own academy companions. However, Jake was not here to make friends. He was here to win the competition. His Resume would read much better as the 2213 TG winner.
“Hi, the names Tom Duke.”
Jake’s thought process was interrupted by a bald American contestant who plumped himself down in the seat next to him.
“I guess you must be Jake Carter and you are the sole South Downs contestant, what with Costello, having pulled out. That makes you and me amongst the favorites.”
Jake had heard about Tom Duke. He was reputed to be the hottest TG prospect from the American continent. He was good, confident and he knew it.
“Yes. I’m Jake Carter. Good to meet you. Unfortunately as you say, Enson Costello was unable to attend the TG competition.”
“Must be kinda difficult for a guy to contend with being the villain of the peace, now that the wormhole has reopened. His failure could mean the loss of a lot of TG pilots.”
Jake was annoyed, by the Americans brashness. He was obviously trying to provoke a response.
“Steve just had a lot on. Like all of us, graduation is just round the corner.”
“Heard he beat up on a civilian in a bar and he’s been kicked out of Alpha.”
