by Ben Winston
"Ladies and Gentlemen, what you just witnessed was a tactical simulation based on our current strength and what we believe the enemy will be bringing." Ian took a sip of water. "I said it was based on our current strength. Several months ago I asked all of you for your help. I will admit, you have helped, but it is no where near the level we actually need. As it is right now, we are short on ship's crew, Marines and fighter pilots. One of the reasons for this is that our recruiters are being hampered by the very liaison officers that are supposed to be assisting us. I have seen dozens of reports of groups of potential recruits being scared off by these liaison officers. We no longer have the option of playing around like this. As of right now, your liaison officers will no longer be included in recruiting missions. We need the people to defend our planet; we do not have the time to fuck around like this!
"As I asked for before, I need a full division of soldiers from each of you, I also need the same again in fighter pilots and navy personnel. If we do not get them, then we will find them among the general population. We no longer have the time to play politics, and worry about who is the biggest kid on the block anymore. We need those people or we are all going to die, it's that simple!" Ian said and closed his eyes to get his anger back under control.
"People, I apologize for speaking so rudely to all of you, but these games your playing have to stop now. We have one more video prepared for you, this one shows the probable outcomes of this battle. The first is the ideal outcome, we defeat the enemy before they arrive at the planet. The second, is the most probable outcome provided we can get the help we asked for, and the last… well, the last is what's going to happen if we continue to play these stupid games." Ian nodded to Alex and she played the videos.
The three scenes all played out, in the first one, the only people that died, died in space and were the crews of the ships and fighter pilots that gave their lives stopping the enemy advance. Ian thought it was a very conservative as far as damage, with the enemy making several mistakes in judgment and the Alliance forces exploiting all of them.
The second scene was far more realistic, showing the damage the planet would take from orbital bombardment and the cities destroyed when their shields failed. However, there were still survivors and other cities had not been destroyed. There was still green areas were crops could be grown and people could rebuild their lives.
The final scene however was one of total horror. Alliance ships burned in space as the remains of their atmosphere bled out of them. Below on Earth, heavy bombardment from meteors and nuclear missiles were systematically turning the entire surface black and brown. The enemy ships puled back, past the now destroyed moon, as the planet that had been a beautiful blue-green home to billions, exploded. On Mars, huge craters now marked where human settlements had been. Looking into space, the camera focused on the point of light that had been the Centauri system. Zooming in as if jumping there, the point of view stopped to show the expanding plasma field of a nova. The Humans of Earth were now completely extinct.
Leaving the view of the nova up on their screens, Ian spoke again. "If you keep insisting on playing your games, this is what we are facing. The deliberate and systematic murder of fifteen billion humans, and two entire star systems."
"Admiral Williams, no one is playing games. The simple fact of the matter is that we cannot find an entire division that is willing to join you," the Ambassador from the Russian Federation replied. "Perhaps an agreement could be reached in which we can loan you the troops, but they don't want to leave the planet."
"They would have to leave the planet Ambassador, our training facilities are off-world. I agree, they are undoubtedly very well trained already, but not in the use of our equipment," Luke replied. "There is also the small fact that ever since learning of our existence all of you have done everything you thought you could get away with to capture some of our technology. Even now, in the face of total destruction, you are still trying to capture our technology by attempting to remove it from the emergency shelters we've built. That stops now, since we don't have the time or the people to replace the equipment destroyed in your attempts. As of right now, the shelters will be sealed after the final inspection. They will be unsealed, by us, just before the attack.
"As for the troops and other personnel we need to defend you, If you continue to insist on your current path, we will authorize the Admiral and our recruiters for open an unrestricted operations on the planet. In an effort to aid them in getting the people we need, we are going to make a public, world-wide announcement of the threat and ask for the public's assistance."
"Councilor Belden, you agreed not to make this information public yet. Every country on the planet could suffer economic collapse, riots, and increased crime if the public were to be made aware of this!" The American Ambassador replied.
"Yes, we did agree to that. You also agreed to assist us with the preparations for defending this planet, yet you are not honoring that agreement fully. Yes, we have a lot of advanced technology, there is a lot we can do along the lines of automated weapons and defenses, but at the end of the day, we still need people. Technology is a tool, not a solution.
"As for letting the people know; it's time. They have to have time to prepare for the coming fight. They have to learn where the shelters are, stock up on supplies and clean water; make sure loved ones are home or close by. Folks, even if you do start helping us fully, as you have agreed, the time has come for the rest of the planet to know what's going to happen to them," Luke replied.
"They are not ready for that information yet. Our police agencies will be overwhelmed, and economies will crash," the American Ambassador replied. "We won't need aliens to destroy the planet, we'll do it ourselves!"
"You're not planning on telling them at all!" Ian replied. "Ladies and Gentlemen, they have to know! They deserve to know, so they can prepare! There isn't a sole on this planet that will not be effected by what's coming! The people have to be told; the have the right to know!"
"Admiral Williams, Councilor Belden, perhaps I may offer a suggestion?" Admiral H'joles spoke for the first time. Many of the Ambassadors appeared to be surprised at seeing an alien among them.
Ian nodded to him. "Ladies and Gentlemen of the United Nations, may I present Fleet Admiral H'joles, Chief of Operations for the Alliance of Races Military. He has already begun assigning forces to our sector to assist us in our defense. He is the also the senior military commander of our allies.' Ian turned to H'joles again. "Please Admiral, if you have an idea we would like to hear it."
"Thank you. The concerns of the Ambassadors are not unfounded. However, they are also not insurmountable. The issues brought up can be addressed and dealt with in an amicable fashion. Let us address the issue of public security first. I agree that the scale of this event would be far more than any planetary constabulary could deal with. In the Alliance, it is not unheard of for the civil authority to appeal to the military for assistance in times of need. The crisis facing us certainly qualifies.
"Just before this meeting began, I ordered the immediate dispatch of three more infantry, two more armored and one more artillery divisions to the Sol sector. Those troops should arrive within two to two and a half weeks. I just received word that Admiral Goya of New Talos will be sending crews for some of the completed warships as well. I know these additions will not make up all of your shortages, but perhaps it can relieve some of it.
"As for the planet, I can understand your reluctance to devote troops to this effort. You are still having difficulty in believing this attack is coming based on the method in which this information was given to us. You do not have your own proof of the existence of these abilities. Then I will offer this in addition to our warnings; for the last two stand months, we have seen a marked and massive increase in Imperial forces near the two forward most bases closest to you. At present, Imperial forces are six hundred percent higher than we have ever seen them in a single theater and more ships are arriving daily.
"Even without the warnings given us by the Benesians, you are the only viable target in that quadrant. In the eleven hundred years this war has been fought, we have never seen a military build up of this magnitude before. We are sending every ship and ground unit we can spare, however, if you do not do what is being asked of you, the defense of your sector will fail.
"To this end I propose the immediate and unilateral equipping of all Earth forces with advanced military weapons and armor. The equipment can be made to self destruct if it is tampered with, much like you have done with the bunkers. There is also the fact that the advanced equipment can be shut down remotely if the need arises. Once equipped, the military would fall under the control of Admiral Williams until the emergency is over and the equipment is returned. At that time, the soldiers can also be returned to their nation.
"With stun equipped civil defense aided by the planetary military, civil unrest can be controlled in as non-violent a way as possible. The economic concerns mentioned earlier are also valid, but I am not an economist. However, I do know there are ways a governing body can control and protect such a structure in times of emergency. Ambassadors, this is very much one of those times. You are going to be attacked, every instinct I have, as well as my three hundred years of military experience is telling me that. Evben with your cooperation the outcome of this fight is very uncertain. I do know that if you chose to not do everything you can to prepare, your entire race will become a sad memory held by those of us that survive you.
"I know that none of you are familiar with me or the Alliance Council, Earth itself is not a formal member of the Alliance. The Terran defenses led by Admiral Williams and governed by the Terran Council are members, however, are. As they have sworn to protect and defend you, we, as their allies must also assume that role. As the military leader of all Alliance military forces, I have offered my advice and opinions as mandated by my position. I thank you for giving me your time."
"On behalf of the United Nations," The Secretary General began but paused. "No, on behalf of all the Nations of Earth, we thank you for your advice Fleet Admiral. Admiral Williams, is there anything else you would ask of us before we begin deliberations?"
Ian nodded. "There is. I am in need of two positions to be filled on my command staff, at least for this battle. After careful review of their records, I would ask that General Feng Dou Shan of People's Republic of China Army, as well as General Gabriel Lefeet of France be temporarily assigned to me. Both men have unique skills that would be of great help in the coming fight. I would ask that any aides be limited to one per man and that we have the final say on their inclusion.
"I understand the need for you to talk this over and make decisions. However, keep in mind that time is very short. If we are to accomplish all that needs to be done in the time remaining to us, we have to act now; immediately. I will issue orders to begin the production of the equipment we will need to arm your military. As it is, I'm afraid there will not be time to produce the heavier weapons, but we will do what we can. I only ask that you please make your decisions as quickly as possible."
"You will do as the Fleet Admiral said then, you will arm our troops?" the American Ambassador replied.
Ian nodded. "I will, we are a member of the Alliance, and Admiral H'joles is my superior officer in that regard. Also, I agree with him that we can prevent the misuse of that equipment if we need to. Also, even if you could begin reverse engineering the equipment, you simply will not have the time to do so." He grinned like a shark. "If we do survive this, and you refuse to surrender the equipment loaned to you, we can track it. We'll simply recover it as we would anything else stolen from us.
"We'll add the production facilities to the fighter bases and other larger installations because that would be the fastest and the easiest to do. I'll also come up with a solution for the police as well. In the past, there have been many reports of police abuse and brutality. That will no longer be the case; while equipped with advanced gear, every moment an officer is wearing that gear will be recorded. Defendants will no longer be able to claim police brutality or mishandling of evidence as everything will be recorded.
"I honestly don't know how quickly we'll be able to make it happen, but we'll do what we can. You need to prepare your people, your nations, for the arrival of allied, non-human troops. I will be dispatching them to the planet to assist in this effort." He paused. "You will notice I did not say 'friendly' non-human troops. Keep in mind these being will be seasoned Alliance Marines; I doubt they will have a very high bull-shit tolerance."
"Admiral, who will have command of these Alliance forces?" The French Ambassador asked.
" I will need to have ultimate command of all military forces Alliance as well as Earth military, for the battle. However, while they are assisting civilian authorities, that authority will have local command within reason. For example, no Alliance Marine will be authorized the use of deadly force against civilians. They won't need it. You could literally run down one of these guys with a semi tractor and all you would do is wreck the truck and piss off the Marine. Once we get them the gear, the civilian authorities will be the same way.
"After the local authority, will be the national government, then the UN and then me. Keep in mind, these are nothing more than peace-keepers; they will not fight a war for you against another country. In fact, they will have orders to prevent that from happening. They will have the authority to use deadly force for that.
"Make no mistake here, Ambassadors, their orders will not be open for interpretation or any political double-talk. The spirit of those orders is as important as the words. If I order them to prevent all hostilities, that means that they will do exactly that; nothing more and nothing less," Ian finished.
"Admiral, what of the non-aligned nations that are not part of this body?" the South Korean Ambassador asked.
Ian put a firm look on his face. "Nationalist agendas will not be tolerated by anyone for the duration of this emergency. That will be… explained to our more reticent brothers. I'd really like to see the North Korean leadership accuse a Cronian Marine of being an American spy!"
As an image of a Croaning Marine took form beside a current image of the North Korean leader, several of the Ambassadors chuckled. Ian continued. "People, we're still not interested in taking over, although for the time being it may seem like it. We just need to get through this, we'll back off and you can return to your daily routines. I swear this to you."
The Secretary General nodded. "I think that is the one fact everyone here can easily agree on Admiral. However, based on the videos you showed us, there is a good chance that we are going to take considerable damage. So much so that we may not be able to recover, what will happen then?"
"Mister Secretary, we are not so heartless we would fight this war and leave you laying in the mess after it. We will be here to assist all of you as much as you request. We will help as much as we possibly can for as long as you will need it. It goes without saying that emergencies will be handled without request on a case by case basis."
The UN excused themselves then to deliberate and to contact their leaders. Luke and the Terran Council approved Ian's proposed actions before they too excused themselves to get back to work on their own civilian preparations. Leaving Ian and Admiral H'joles.
"I'm sorry to have dropped that on you like I did, Ian. But at this point, I don't think anything they could do with the advanced technology they could steal will matter. You know as well as I do what the probably outcome of this is going to be. We may win the fight, but Earth is going to lose people and more likely than not, it's governments. Even if they somehow manage to
survive this, they will never be able to return to what they are now, you know that," H'joles said.
"Yes, I do. This fight is going to change them on a very fundamental level. Sir, I am going to issue orders to my remaining Raptor teams to disable or destroy the Nuclear, Chemical and Biological weapons they have hidden down there. I know that one of them will try to use those weapons in this battle and we can't allow that to happen. I'm not going to ask for permission, I am simply going to do it. I'm telling you in the event I will have to answer for my actions," Ian said.
H'joles nodded his understanding. "Ian, such an action is actually expected of you as an officer in the Alliance. The chemical and biological weapons are banned in the Alliance and the nuclear weapons have no business in the hands of civilians anyway. Removing them is part of your duty as the protector of your people.
"I also understand that you will catch hell from Earth for doing it. The choice is yours, but I do support the action. Will you inform the planetary leadership of your actions?"
"Only after the fact, Sir," Ian replied. " It'll damage what trust exists between us, but it has to be done. The use of those weapons can only hurt this planet more in the coming battle. I don't think it'll matter at all after the battle."
"I understand there are quite a few fission reactors on the planet providing power to the population. What will you do about those?" H'joles asked.
"I will be ordering them shut down and replaced with temporary fusion rectors of our design. Ours have safeguards in them to prevent detonation due to the fighting. It's already been planned for as part of the defense installations taking place on the planet. If I'm not mistaken, several of them have already been replaced and the dangerous material disposed of," Ian explained.
"You are doing everything you can for your people, Ian. Call me is you think of something else we may be able to assist with," H'joles replied.
