by Ivan Kal
Bethany Jones Fleet Commander of the Home Fleet walked in followed by Force Leader Nair Hakeem of the Salahuddin. Seeing Beth in person threatened to bring the hurt back up, but Adrian was now ready for it and whatever Sora did held. Bethany let her hair grow even longer, and it was now tied in a bun at the back of her head.
“Force Leader Hakeem and Fleet Commander Jones reporting as ordered.” Bethany said in a neutral tone, saluting with her fist to the chest. In practice Olympus Fleet personnel rarely displayed such conduct, which told Adrian a lot about what Bethany thought concerning her being promoted and then ordered to follow his orders.
“At ease Fleet Commander, Force Leader. Take your seats and we can begin.” Adrian said, he kept his face blank and his tone commanding. He switched into what Iris called his battle persona. Cold, calculated, and ruthless. He hated that description for it.
Bethany and Nair took their seats beside Paul, and Adrian turned on the holo on the conference table. Immediately a star-map sprung into existence. It showed the Sanctuary system as a green dot at the center, with the area around it, Nuva was a blue dot some short distance away. A bit to the side of Nuva was Nelus, a black dot, And then a series of systems represented by red dots with their surroundings shaded in a lighter red.
“This is the representation of the Sanctuary’s neighborhood. As you can see the only things between us and the Sowir territory are Nuva and Nelus system. The red signifies Sowir Dominion, the former territory of the Consortium. The truth is that we don’t know for sure if that is the extent of their territory. As we all know they have been sighted outside of this area.” Adrian said, pointing to the red shaded portion of the map. And they all knew what happened to the Voyager, it was destroyed in a system at least twenty light years away from what they considered Sowir Territory.
“With the failure at getting an alliance with Nelus, we are left with only one option. Deal with Sowir by ourselves.” Adrian looked around the room, he saw a few nod gravely while others seemed apprehensive. He continued, “We can’t fight them on equal footing, at least not in the near future. They have far too much resources and people to throw at us. And once they realize that we have only one system with not even ten million people, all they have to do is overwhelm us with numbers.”
“How are we going to deal with them then?” Nair Hakeem asked.
“We, ladies and gentlemen are going to bluff.” Adrian said.
“What do you mean bluff?” Bethany asked.
Adrian smiled, “Our orders are to take this combined fleet to Sowir Dominion.” Adrian said and accessed the holo’s controls over his imp, he highlighted a red system just inside Sowir territory. “This is the Tarsas system. It holds a water world that was once a Pouute shipbuilding world. Its purpose was to construct merchant vessels but has been repurposed by the Sowir. This system is our destination.”
“We are attacking the system?” Krylov asked.
“No.” Adrian said immediately, “As I said we are going to bluff. We are there to threaten the Sowir.” Adrian paused, looking around the room, “The reasons for this are simple. First, since the battle of Nuva our ships have been exploring the trans-lanes around Sanctuary and Nuva. And a route has been discovered that leads to Tarsas. The ship that explored that trans-lane managed to leave the system unnoticed, but not before they got a detailed look at the system. The Sowir military presence is small,a few cruiser class ships. Second, is because their ship that escaped the battle for Nuva went there. That means that they already know what happened at Nuva. Their society is united, every system they own is ruled by an Overseer, and each is the voice of the Dominion. Meaning that each system can negotiate on the behalf of the whole.”
“Well, that seems unrealistic…” Altsoba said.
“Even while a part of the Consortium, Sowir were mysterious. Most attributed it to them being so different. The other races of the Consortium were different true, but they at least had things in common. The Sowir don’t communicate vocally, they have no sight and their society was a complete enigma. They are truly alien.”
“I can understand that at least.” Altsoba said, “So, we are going to go and threaten them into what? If they are as alien as you say will threatening even work?”
“Our analysts have been going over everything we have on Sowir, all the information dating back to before the forming of the Consortium. They believe that it could work. It is still a gamble, but we might not have another choice. Our plan is to get an agreement of non-aggression between us.” Adrian said.
“And you think that threatening is the way to get that?” Bethany asked.
“Sowir don’t understand negotiations, they understand force. When they first met the Consortium, they immediately attacked, any attempt at communicating with them was met with silence, much like our own experiences with them. But as soon as the Consortium showed force, they folded, they stopped their attacks and started a course that would give them the advantage. Most of our analysts agree, they will do the same thing with us. If we show them force, give them even one reason to believe that we will willingly go to war with them, they will pull back.” Adrian said.
“You believe that they would let us be?” Paul asked.
Adrian shook his head, “Of course not. They will do everything in their power to learn more about us, while amassing the force big enough to take us.”
“What is the purpose then? If they won’t honor the agreement.” Bethany asked.
“Because we need time to grow. The time they spend trying to find out more things about us, is the time we can spend building ships and growing our population. Remember, they might have all but won the war against the Consortium, but there are still pockets that they haven’t conquered, Nelus for one. And since Nelus is still standing, we can conclude that Sowir are busy elsewhere. They must be smart enough to realize that starting a war with another race – one they know nothing about except that they defeated their task force – is a bad idea.” Adrian said and studied the room. They were silent, looking at the star map hologram.
“Any more questions?” Adrian asked. A series of negative responses followed. “Good. We leave in one month by trans-lane.”
The commanders rose up to leave the room. As they moved towards the doors Adrian called out,
“Fleet Commander Jones, stay for a moment.”
Bethany turned to look at him and then returned to her seat, the rest slowly left the room. After the last one exited and the doors closed, Adrian turned his gaze to Bethany. She was just as beautiful as the last time he saw her. He took time to examine his emotions, he felt the hurt but it was not overwhelming like it was after he watched her message. They sat there in the silence for a few minutes, studying each other.
“Beth.” Adrian started, and saw her face twitch for an instant, “I wanted to talk to you alone. I want to apologize.”
“Apologize? For what?” Beth asked, confused.
“For the way I acted the last time we met.” Adrian said, “I had no right to act the way I did, nor should I have stopped all communication between us. You have always been a good friend to me. And I shouldn’t have blamed you for finding happiness.”
Bethany looked stunned. For a few moments she remained silent and then she spoke softly, “I should apologize too. After you said that you lov- After you said what you said, I reacted badly. I shouldn’t have said the things I said to you. It was cruel.”
Adrian acknowledged her words with a small nod. “I hope that we can put this behind us. I know that we can’t go back to the way the things were before. But perhaps in time we could be friends again.” Adrian said.
Beth took a big breath, “Yes, I hope so too.”
Chapter Seventeen
Earth
Anissa Novak sat in the Command Information Center of the submarine the Lord. Probably the greatest war technology of the Coalition. At least it was supposed to be. Her submarine was a prototype, the first of its kind to be created, all the others were destro
yed without even firing a single shot in the war. And with them, all the ammunition for the Lord. After the war, when the Ra’a’zani came, the Lord allowed her people to hide and survive. But the lack of weapons meant that they couldn’t use it against their oppressors. With the Olympus fabricating technology that changed. The fabricators given to her people by Jacob Kelly allowed them to rearm the Lord. The long range stealth missiles that the Coalition developed to win the Great War will finally be put to use, not against other humans as their creators originally intended, but against an alien race.
The plans for the Olympus arrival have been mostly finished, at least on the Earth side. They placed their people in almost all Ra’a’zani bases on the planet. It wasn’t too hard, the Ra’a’zani rarely managed to tell the difference between one human the other. Their greatest obstacle was how to avoid human death. They did have a few people that would warn those living close to the bases shortly before the attack. But they feared that it wouldn’t be enough. They will destroy most of the bases from afar, using the Lord and the Colorado, which meant a lot of collateral damage to the surroundings of the bases. And most of them were in the cities. The Colorado had been modified to fire last gen missiles, the same that the Lord would be using. But even with them they wouldn’t be able to destroy all the bases. Some few will need to be taken from the ground, with bombs or soldiers.
But that was not Anissa’s job, her people were responsible for the bombings, the others would take the bases that her ships couldn’t. She turned to her second in command, “How are we doing?” She asked.
“Everything is operating at full capacity, sub is probably in the best shape it has been since it was built.” Her second in command said.
“What about the Colorado?” She asked.
“They are having some problems with the upgrades to their firing systems, but nothing serious, it should be easily fixed when we return to Sedna.”
Anissa nodded, “Good. Let’s finish up our last series of test and get back to Sedna.”
The time to strike would come soon. And Anissa dreamed of the day she would finally see Earth free.
***
Aileen entered the Overlords quarters, finding Vit’r’an in his pool. She approached the edge and waited for him to notice him. Vit’r’an kept his eyes closed, enjoying his bath. After about ten minutes he submerged for a about a minute and then got up. He exited the pool and walked to the small chamber adjacent to the pool room, stepping in the mist that was inside. A few moments later he stepped out now dry. He walked by Aileen, motioning her to follow. They walked out of his quarters and towards the base’s main room. There they found a few other Ra’a’zani working on various stations. Vit’r’an went to his usual place in the middle of the room, locked his legs in a sitting position and watched his people work. Aileen assumed her usual place behind him. She didn’t realize how much she hated when Vit’r’an made her stand like that until she wasn’t doing it every day. For the entire duration of the Tig’r’an’s visit she was left mostly to herself. She had… more freedom. And she missed that. She wasn’t able to leave the base and go to the slums in weeks. She didn’t know why, but it bothered her that she wasn’t able to take supplies to the Father. Even though she knew that she had no obligations to him, she didn’t even know why she did it in the first place. But still she felt like she was somehow betraying the Father and the people there.
Vit’r’an snapped her out of her thoughts by turning to her, “Tell me what has the atmosphere been like amongst the slaves lately?”
“Dakar?” Aileen asked, confused.
“There have been a few strange occurrences lately. Slaves going missing, equipment malfunctions. You wouldn’t know anything about it?” Vit’r’an asked.
Aileen felt a chill go through her body, “I don’t socialize with the other slaves Dakar.”
Vit’r’an blew air through his nostrils, and turned back. “Be sure to report if you see or hear anything. I don’t need to remind you what could happen if this turns out to be something more than a coincidence.”
“Of course Dakar.” Aileen said, and fought hard to remain calm. She had just lied to the Dakar. She had never done that before. Why did I lie? There was no reason for her to lie. She had seen strange things occurring in the base. The slaves whispering, exchanging things, and being in places where they weren’t supposed to be. She knew that something was going on. And while Ra’a’zani did not consider humans a threat, should they find evidence that there was something going on, there would be hell to pay. And Aileen knew first hand, that the only ones that would pay would be the innocent.
Chapter Eighteen
Nelus
Jusan marched into his office enraged. His Cevar – steward of his household – followed close behind.
“I assume that the council meeting went poorly Sestar.” Cevar Nisse said.
“Those fools!” Jusan yelled out, “How can they not see that this course can only lead to our destruction!”
Nisse remained silent letting Jusan went.
“Do you know what they are planning now?” Jusan turned and asked Nisse, “They want to drive the humans out of Nuva! With force! The fools have abandoned it, and then all but forgotten about it. And now when they know that the colony survived they want it back! As if they will ever spare a force big enough to protect it.”
“Didn’t you say that they wanted a trade agreement with the humans? And that they gave humans time to consult with their leadership about leaving Nuva?”
“They did. But since the humans left, “experts” of house Nor Ral came with new information, saying that there is little we can gain from even a trade agreement with the humans. Idiots! And everyone on the council believed him, even when I and my experts clearly stated otherwise. But what do I know, I just ran a successful trading fleet between dozens of worlds for thirty cycles!” Jusan threw his hands in the air. He stomped to his comfortable chair and sat down, careful to place his tail in the opening at the back of the chair. Jusan grew quiet, staring at the painting of his great ancestor that was placed on the side wall.
Finally he turned to Nisse, “Are there any news from our little venture?” Jusan asked.
Cevar Nisse brought his hand upwards in a gesture of defeat, “No Sestar. The people affiliated with house Dai Ven are more acceptable to the proposition. But then most have been in the employ of your house for a long time, generations even. The others are much less inclined.”
“You asked them?” Jusan asked, alarmed.
Nisse immediately gestured his hands in signs of reassurance, “Of course not Sestar. We did not reveal who or what it is we want. A few cleverly worded questions were asked to see their responses.”
Jusan relaxed, “And there was no one?” He asked, he thought that at least some would have been open to the idea.
“No Sestar. Those of the great families are too set in their ways, even the branch families. Their wealth and influence comes from the current state of things. And the lower class is too afraid to act.” Nisse paused, he looked uncomfortable. Hesitantly he continued, “Sestar… What you are asking, it goes against everything we have been taught since childhood. One Nel does not turn on the other, we do not use force to change things. It is too close to the stories of the-” Nisse stopped abruptly.
Jusan looked at him, “You can say it.”
Nisse swallowed hard, and whispered, “Too close to the stories about the Order.”
Jusan closed his eyes, “If only you knew the truth.” He whispered.
“Sestar?” Nisse asked.
“Nothing Nisse.” Jusan responded, “If we can’t do this, then we are doomed.” He paused, glancing back at the portrait of his ancestor, “Every head of this house has always protected the people that were the part of the Dai Ven household. And I will not be the one house head that fails at that charge.” He turned his sight back to Nisse. “If people of Nelus don’t want to be saved, then they are on their own. I will look after my own people.”
“Sestar?”
“Arrange a household meeting, I want everyone here at the main house.” Jusan said in a dismissive tone. For a moment Nisse didn’t move, and then he bowed, “Of course Sestar.” Nisse turned and exited the room.
Jusan reached into his pocket, feeling the surface of the sphere. He had been carrying it with him since he meet with the humans on their ship. He still regretted not showing it to them, but after their talk he was sure that the humans didn’t know about their shared origins. And the hologram of Axull Darr, the one who created their people said that they could have only found the sphere if they had heard its beacon. Jusan’s people found it by accident, and they were not ready for the knowledge within it. He assumed that Axull Darr placed a sphere on the worlds of the two other races he created, and if humans didn’t know anything about their origin, then they were not yet at the level where they could find the sphere. And Jusan hesitated in showing it to them. A part of it was fear of what it could do to them, he knew very little of their culture and beliefs. And a part was habit, he has kept the sphere a secret for so long, as his ancestors did before him. He was afraid of showing it to anyone.
Perhaps that was a mistake? Jusan thought. I should have shown it to them. But what would have that accomplished? It wouldn’t have changed the council’s position on the humans offer. Jusan closed his eyes feeling a great burden threatening to crush him. Now he had to put everything on the line to try and save his household, even if that meant weakening Nelus. The only choice he had was to escape Nelus, with all those that trusted him. His household wasn’t as large as some other families. Most were serving in his merchant fleet. They were his family and their safety was his most important responsibility. He needed to work against the council, trick them into letting them go. Jusan opened his eyes and accessed his terminal, looking for the manifest of all the cargo his family had, a plan slowly forming in his mind.
