by Ben Winston
“My friend and I are here to speak to you and possibly invite the Rangers to come back with us. We have a lot of information that will help you in your investigation. However, we are in a precarious position ourselves. You see, we are not vassals of any lord. We are natives of this planet and we can prove it,” Deirdre said.
Warmake snorted. “Over half the humans on the planet can claim that they are native since they were born here!”
“Every human in the galaxy can claim they are native to this planet and they would be correct, Task Commander. This is our home world. Humans left the planet after a war against the Sal'andori and the Lizards made the surface uninhabitable,” Deirdre explained.
“Pardon me, but there has been no war on this planet in thousands of years,” Jance pointed out.
Deirdre nodded. “That is correct, Commander. The war I speak of took place thousands of years ago. Our records go back to before the fall of Earth. Which is the real name for this planet. As I said before, we can back all of this up, but the information is stored elsewhere.”
“If you are affiliated with those we have come here to catch, you have little to offer us that would have much of a bearing on the case. Any information you could offer would be tainted and at best be considered circumstantial,” Warmake replied.
“Task Commander, we are not associated with the group you call the pirates, although we do know who and what they really are. We are taking a very large risk contacting you like this, but we feel this insanity has to stop. We are offering you a look under the surface, so you can see the true architect behind these atrocities. If you do not wish to avail yourselves of our information, then we will simply part ways and find another way to place our claim to this planet with the Empire,” Deirdre said getting tired of the man's seeming intransigence.
“I could simply detain you as escaped slaves and get the information out of you in another way,” Warmake said. “You are failing to convince me that you are who you say you are.””
“That isn't unexpected. Addson Dee told us you wouldn't believe us until you had proof. She suggested that you run an ident scan on the both of us. You will find that neither one of us is in your or the Imperial database,” Deirdre said.
“Addson Dee is a deceased prospector. That proves nothing," Warmake replied, getting more frustrated with the situation.
Gail grinned. “We rescued her escape pod during a hurricane. She would have died waiting for rescue in that storm. Since then she has been helping us to understand this new world and how to get ourselves ready to become a part of it. She is still very much alive.” She paused. ““We also know that she was a new transfer from Great Falls Aerie and that she was no longer working as a prospector. She had been reassigned to the anti-piracy group and was on her first mission.
“The group you know as the pirates had been told where she would be and ordered to kill her. They retarded the warhead yield and also set the weapon to optical search mode so she would have the best chance of surviving. The 'pirates' were greatly relieved when they found out she had actually survived.”
Jance put her hand on Warmake's arm, to keep him from continuing. “How did you get that information?”
“As I said,” Gail replied. “We recovered her and her escape pod, all of its data is still intact.”
Warmake looked down at Jance. “This could still be a trap, Commander.”
Jance was about to reply, but Deirdre interrupted her. “Excuse me, Commanders, but in the interest of fairness, you should know that the pirates have been ordered to kill the entire Ranger team, except for you Commander. You were to be taken alive if at all possible.”
“You're not making this decision any easier, you know,” Jance said grinning at Deirdre.
“Better to let you know now, then after you agreed. Besides, I can honestly tell you that no harm will come to you or your team at the hands of either the pirates, or my own group.” Deirdre said, trying to reassure both commanders. ““We will also do our best not to put you in a situation, or give you information that will compromise your duty. All we would need is your word of honor before we can take you along, Commander.”
“Will my team be allowed to accompany me?” Jance asked.
“Of course, although I would recommend that you leave two behind to keep track of you. You will also need a friend off planet that you can report to in the case something unforeseen happens. There is a lot here to learn and understand. I would feel better if I knew there was someone that was already in orbit ready to blast out of here if we get caught.””
“Caught by whom?” Warmake asked.
“The Duke of Cassius,” Gail said. “This goes far deeper than just pirates. We can prove it, but we need the chance to do so. Just giving you all of our data simply won't be enough. Not for this.”
Deirdre looked Jance in the eyes. “Although we do not claim the Duke of Cassius as our lord, we would like to claim membership in the Empire, as such, we are requesting the assistance of the HRO in this matter.”
Jance nodded. “You have been coached on exactly what to say.” She turned to Warmake. “Task Commander, please take these two,”” she indicated the two least human members of her team. “Back to our ship so they can depart immediately. Tell your crew that we are in conference and will be departing as soon as we get back to the star port. The four of us will accompany Miss Bedouin and learn what needs to be learned. Keep your head down, and I'll try to keep you in the loop on this. In the meantime, I'd continue your investigation just as you would as if this never happened.”
Warmake nodded. “I'll report that your investigation was inconclusive and make sure to allow for your return if needed. I doubt anyone will look at this too closely.”
Jance nodded agreement and called her troops in to issue orders. Very shortly, the big ship left with Gail and Deirdre standing on the beach with Jance and three of her troopers.
“So, what next?” Jance asked.
Gail grinned. “We need to call in our guards so we can load up and head out. I just didn't want to freak you, or the Task Commander out.”
“What guards? We did a full scan, there are only the two of you,” Jance said.
Gail's grin got deeper. “Okay everyone, mount up! We're heading out!”
From the edge of the forest, up and down the shoreline, a dozen heavily camouflaged troops stepped out and began trotting toward the shuttle in a relaxed manner.
“Where the...” Jance said as she watched them appear. “Never mind, I'm not sure I want to know.”
“Chameleon tech developed during the wars. We had to be able to hide from the lizards as well as infected humans and other things. This was the answer. I'm just really surprised this stuff still works after so many years,” Gail replied.
“Somehow, I don't think this is going to be the last surprise you have for us during our stay with you,” Jance said.
Gail nodded. “When we get to where we're going. I'd like to ask you to check your heavy weapons. You can keep your side arms, but no one else except guards will be carrying weapons and those don't ever leave the base.”
“How is it that you can breathe this atmosphere?” Jance asked.
“You can too actually, but there is an adjustment period. This is our natural atmosphere, not what you’re used to breathing. If any records from the ships that departed had remained, you would have known that humans nominally breathe a higher concentration of oxygen... uh, ohto is what you call it.
“Our medical people are concerned that humans might have already begun genetically adapting to what you're breathing right now. If that's happened, then this atmosphere might be lethal to them. We'll make sure your quarters have the correct atmosphere so you won't have to go through adjustment unless you want to.” Deirdre explained. “The one concern I have is that our medical people have no experience with nonhuman races. However, we do have access to the medical AI on Addson Dee's skipper, so there is probably some information there.”
They were boarding the shuttle so the conversation lapsed while everyone stowed weapons and found a seat. Gail climbed into the flight area and began her preflight checklists while everyone else settled.
“I think you are far more than a simple messenger, Deirdre Bedouin,” Jance said.
“Well, I am, but I can't tell you what, or even what that means, yet,” Deirdre replied. “I hope you can understand that.””
Jance nodded. “I can accept that for now. You mentioned claiming this planet as the human home world. Can you tell me about that yet?”
“Well, what do you know of the history of this world, or of our race?” Deirdre asked.
“Other than it belonging to the Duke of Cassius and it being one of the more important ohto producing worlds in the empire, I don't know much about it. As for our history, no one really knows for certain. There are too many differing accounts for any of them to be creditable,” Jance replied.
“I can tell you the story, but I don't have any of the proof with me. As a race, we originated here, on this world. A few thousand years ago, we were attacked by a race we called the Sal'andori. At the time, we were poorly equipped to counter an attack from space, since we had yet to develop our own form of space travel.
“We still did all we could to oppose them. Through captured ships and certain breakthroughs in our own technology, we finally did manage to push them back off our world; or so we thought.
“Unknown to us, another race had arrived and attacked the Sal'andori while we were fighting them on planet. This other race was the real reason we defeated the invaders. We had learned a lot about fighting from the Sal'andori and even more from watching the new race wipe out the remaining invaders.
“It's a good thing that we did too, because once they had finished with the invasion ships in orbit, the second race came down to the planet. At first, we thought that we might be able to make friends and possibly begin searching for a new home. The war had devastated this planet, and it was rapidly becoming unlivable.
“We had already begun the evacuation during the fighting with the Sal'andori, since we knew the planet was lost. However, once those ships left, we never heard from them again. It has been surmised that those ships were intercepted by the second race, which is how they discovered the Sal'andori were here. Apparently, they also discovered that we were edible.
“The second race was the Lizarrus; Duke Tammerain's people. Once this was discovered, the exit vectors for the refugee ships was altered and several of them made it past the Lizarrus and into Hyclarion space. There, they were promptly arrested as spies and incarcerated. You see, at that time, the Lizarrus and the Hyclarion were at war,”” Deirdre said.
Jance and a couple of the others nodded. Jance was the one to speak, however. “We remember the war. But I'm unfamiliar with the human role in it.”
One of the other Rangers answered his commander. “Commander, there was no 'role'. Just as Deirdre Bedouin has said, they were arrested and promptly sequestered. Due process had been suspended for the duration of the crisis, other than the arrival of more humans and their immediate arrest, the whole event was immediately forgotten by the Consortium leadership. The war continued for approximately ten more years, by the universal scale. When hostilities finally ceased, these forgotten humans got their chance to speak.
“The surviving members of the original crews presented their case to the appointed magistrate, however, the ships they arrived in had been recycled for use in other warships. The data that confirmed the story told by the humans had been destroyed.
“During these proceedings, the newly appointed Lizarrus ambassadorial mission was claiming the humans as a vassal race since they had first been discovered as originating in their space. The Lizarrus, however, claimed to have no idea where they had actually originated from. They implied it had been an unexplored fringe world on the far side of their former Empire.
“So it was determined that the humans, as a race, be returned to the Lizarrus as vassals, with the addendum that they not be used as a food source. However, since the Lizarrus would incur the cost of relocation and consolidation of the race, they would be allowed to indenture the adults, for a term of no longer than ten standard years.
“The human claim to a planet had been completely ignored because the Lizarrus had already claimed this world as part of a commercial house. Since the world was in ecological ruin at the time, very little weight was given to the human claim, and it was dismissed,” the Ranger finished.
“Did anyone wonder why the world was in the condition it was in, since none of the fighting had actually taken place here?” Deirdre asked.
“No, Miss Bedouin. The Lizarrus are not known for treating worlds very gently. The destruction evident on this planet at the time would have fit in very well with how the merchant worlds were used. I do know that the survey taken of this planet at the time was very brief and not very extensive. The evidence of fighting could have been easily overlooked,”” the Ranger replied.
Deirdre nodded. “Now, here is where the story takes a turn. Before the war, there was a very wealthy man that believed we needed to be prepared for an extinction level event. That is to say, an event that would end all life on the surface of the planet. He used his vast wealth to create thousands of large, deeply buried, underground habitats capable of sustaining life indefinitely.
“Most of those life pods, for a lack of a better term, had been completed before the original attack by the Sal'andori. One of the features of these pods were very experimental hibernation chambers. If the war were to go very badly for the human race, the inhabitants of the pods would go into these chambers and sleep away the centuries until it was deemed safe for them to reawaken.
“The original plan had been for a twelve hundred year sleep. However, due to a computer malfunction, the chambers did not reawaken the occupants until a little under a month ago. Since that time, they have been gathering information on their new world and the world they left behind.
“They are still not ready to announce themselves to the rest of the galaxy, but certain circumstances have occurred that have forced their hand. So, after gathering all the information they could, they decided to make contact with a visiting representative of the Empire they now found themselves a part of,” Deirdre finished.
“Thousands of these pods? You are taking a very large risk then,” Jance commented.
“Duke Tammerain is corrupt, evil and plotting against the Empire. We cannot sit quietly hidden while he carries out his plan to attack and overthrow the Hyclarion Consortium. We know if that were to happen, we would very quickly become an endangered species. We wish to appeal to the Consortium in order to claim this planet and hopefully gain at least a small say in how we are to live,”” Deirdre finished.
“Are those accusations your personal opinions, or do you have proof? I should warn you, that should such an accusation become public knowledge and you cannot prove it, you can be executed for it,” Jance replied.
Deirdre nodded. “You will notice we have not been broadcasting it on the vid links. However, we do believe that if what we know is not proof enough by itself, it will certainly raise questions that cannot be ignored.”
“Ladies and gentlemen, we are arriving at the base. Please prepare to disembark,” Gail said over the intercom.
Chapter Seven
Terran Marine Base Alpha
25 Apr. 10266 CE (AD)
Sector 34871 - Great Inland Sea
Earth, Sol system
As Gail opened the passenger hatch, she went through first, turned and stood beside the hatch. Deirdre let her guests precede her out of the shuttle through the front passenger hatch. At the rear of the craft, the guard team had opened the troop ramp and disembarked that way.
It wasn't lost on Jance that Gail offered Deirdre her hand as if she were some kind of V.I.P. For all Jance knew, she could have been the leader of these people. As she looked around, she began to wonder just how many people and how much powe
r they actually had.
The bay they had landed in was pretty large, and there were several other craft of various sizes and designs parked neatly along the bulkheads. But the very large bay doors on those bulk heads were clearly visible. Obviously there was much more to this base than was currently visible, but Deirdre and her people wanted to keep that hidden for now.
Considering the risk they were taking by simply inviting the Ranger team here, Jance could understand Deirdre's reluctance. But she had to know that Jance was duty-bound to report on everything she witnessed. But, so far, she hadn't seen anything that could be used to threaten the Empire, or even the Duchy of Cassius. She snorted mentally – if these people were anything like Deirdre, the Duke was probably in considerable danger no matter what strength lay hidden behind those large doors.
“Miss Bedouin, you asked that we check our weapons, where can we do that?” Jance asked.
Deirdre raised her hand to show Jance and the Rangers which way to go. “Just outside the pilot's briefing room. We took the liberty of setting aside a few lockers for your use. Once you place your gear inside, close the lid and remove the key, they will remain secured until that same key is inserted by the being that pulled it out. No one else will be able to open it –– including us, so please don't lose your key,” Deirdre explained as they walked. “The boxes themselves will remain there, under guard until you return to empty them.”
“Thank you, that will certainly go a long way to helping us relax about leaving our weapons behind,” Jance replied.
“No weapons capable of killing are generally allowed outside of this facility. However, we do have a constabulary that carries stun batons. That being said, to date, none of them has ever been used. In fact, the only emergencies our police have needed to respond to are lost children and to help get one person to the medical section; the woman in question was having a baby,”” Deirdre explained.
“You have no crime?” Jance asked. Somehow that thought seemed to bother her more than anything else she had so far witnessed.
