Battleship Destroyer 2 (Battleship Destoryer)

by Larry Roberts

  “Now that is a fact we will have to just agree to disagree with but then it looks like most of Earth is in my boat. The Democratic liberal Communist State is the only one killing people who disagree with them. So what are you going to do Admiral? Commit suicide because your liberal dogma says you must to protect the Democrat Communist Party from something I am too dumb to understand?”

  “Don’t be stupid boy. You are going to surrender to me to save your own life. You low class morons are much too selfish to risk your lives for anything without a gun pointed to the back of your heads. You are no better than our crews.”

  Jack smiled at the Admiral as he finished tapping on the screen and a large icon appeared and started flashing. “No I don’t think so. So you may as well as push that button. Or we can just sit here and look at each other for the rest of our lives.”

  “No need for that boy. With your fleet gone to safety you have no help and my hand picked security forces will soon have my ship secured from your stupid attempt to take my ship.”

  “Well at least I am not throwing a tantrum like a little baby and threatening to blow up the ship just because things are not going my way at the moment. That’s the Cowards way out bringing shame to your whole family.” Jack watched the Admiral carefully to see how he reacted to the taunt about his family.

  The Admiral started pounding the arm of his chair with his fist next to the big red open and active self-destruct button. “You Colonists have no concept of Democrat Communist Family Party loyalty and sacrificing one’s self for the Good of the State. You Colonists think nothing of others or the Shame you bring to your families. Forcing the State to liquidate entire Families to remove your contamination. My family will live on in Luxurious Splendor and Privilege. My sons and daughters will go to the best schools and colleges and become kings on their own planets while your family will be lucky if the State allows them to have an old rusty cargo container to live in at our Concentration Production facilities in Earths Antarctic or our outer system factories.” Chuckling. “Of course you have to approve. Just like the colonies, you will have no Union and work days are 16 yours long and the workers using worn out equipment have so many accidents that they rarely last longer than a year as they advance medical sciences as genie pigs and test equipment no human should even be in.” Smiling from ear to ear. “No I will gladly sacrifice myself for the Honor of my Family boy which is why we will win against back planet hicks like you. But luckily I do not need to. You just wait for my security to get here.”

  Jack felt that strange feeling again and realized that the Admiral would punch that button because the State had ordered him to no matter how much he wanted to live. But all he could do right now was keep him talking. It worked back on the Turner Joy to keep his older brother from pounding the shit out of him when he was mad enough to kill, sometimes. But he had to find something to talk about that was not as upsetting. Another round of armchair pounding and they all could go up in one big ball of fusion fire.

  “Oh really.” Jack spotted a pantry not far from the hatch he had come in and smiled. “You won’t mind if I get myself a small snack while we wait would you?” Jack grabbed the screen and walked over and started rummaging through it and came back with a soda, some fruit and a sandwich. Sitting back down. “Now I have not seen food like this in months.” He said trying not to drool all over it.

  Admiral Chinn rolled his eyes and started to turn his chair looking around the bridge. He was just about far enough around to see the ship’s console with only one Fusion Core still going when Jack spoke up. “Thanks moron for the food.” Jack said through a mouth full of sandwich.

  The Admiral whipped around. “Who you calling a Moron? I will have you know I have 3 political Science degrees and a Doctorate. That means I can vote where it counts, for the Senate that advises the President King and runs the World Government. I can also become a member of the World Senate and possibly even the Republic’s President someday. Who can you vote for? Some president that is good at acting, who murdered his opponent in the news with reporters that twist facts regularly and political ads that spew lies.”

  Taking a deep breath. “Well isn’t that interesting now. My home ship was registered out of Aries 9 where only job holders that are not on any kind of Government subsidies can vote and no candidate can ever run for the same office twice in a row. Though they can hold the office as many times as they can get reelected every second term. You don’t have to worry about incumbents having unfair advantages or the ability to lie about the opponent. The easiest way to overturn an election is to prove the winner or any of his backers lied in any of their ads. Where the only law against free speech is one that allows anyone to stop someone from printing or saying anything anywhere that is untrue about themselves or anyone else and send someone to jail if found guilty and not just fines. The Colonies take lying very seriously even for Salesmen.”

  Jack had the Admiral’s attention so he continued. “We also have fines and jail time for malicious suits and prosecutions. Just suing someone to sue and break them is not profitable unless you really have a case. Otherwise you and the lawyer go to jail for very long times. It prevents hordes of Lawyers from taking over whole planets by smothering their legal systems in frivolous single person minority lawsuits over anything and every minor phantasy. Where people cannot sue and hold others responsible for their own stupidity or clumsiness including spilling hot coffee in their lap at a drive threw. Lawyers cannot sue and loose then walk away as if nothing has happened leaving their victim ruined financially and mentally broke. No, the losing plaintiff and his lawyer go to jail, paying heavy fines commiserate with what they tried to get out of their victims. Amazing how even that little tidbit reduces the cost of lawsuits that are legitimate. Layers also cannot simply sue politicians with no recourse, forcing them to do the lawyers bidding or face legal or political ruin as so many governments in earth’s history have fallen from in the past. They wind up in Jail. Nor can people close down whole industries putting millions out of work simply because one person takes offence at something no one else cares about or thinks an insect is more important than a human life.

  “What the Colonies have realized is that the millions of little pin prick minority lawsuits to terrorize and force the vast majorities to kowtow to the wishes of small groups or even one person with the help of Judges that legislated from the bench, twisting the words of their written Constitution and simple bill of rights or even ignoring them when they did not agree with it, was the main reason Earth turned into a Democratic Communist State of false Freedoms for the People run by only a few (self-proclaimed) Enlightened, Academic’s (that never had to live in the real world outside protected hallowed halls) Democrat Communist Lawyer Dictators. Not for the good of the Masses of people but of the greed of a few Elites.”

  The Admiral was sitting in his seat catatonic as Jack spoke. Which was good.

  Jack leaned closer to the Admiral. “A famous old world country called America was settled by people seeking freedom from Religious persecution. The Colony planets were settled by people seeking freedom from DemocratCommunist Legal persecution and confiscating taxes. They are not about to let Earth force them to kneel in front of your hordes of Layers and Communist Academics in the name of and for (the good of the people (elites) and false equality (slavery)), again.”

  The Admiral’s mouth started opening and closing without saying anything.

  “No. All the colonies know, lying is the Lawyer’s, Politician’s, Salesmen and Newscasters trade. Where public speakers such as news anchors are fired if they are found by a board or the courts for lying or being biased. Say, calling or using words depicting one candidate a saint, smart, honest and the other a devil, stupid, dishonest even clownish, including doctoring photo’s. That goes for reporting third party statements that can be proven as false or biased such as using words depicting a person as either a saint or devil again. Just because someone else said something, does not mean the news caster or
reporters have to or can report it as fact.”

  Jack smiled. “Fact checking in the age of Computers is easy and quick so there is no excuse. Something that is easy to forget if the newsmen are lazy or in love with a candidate. That also includes reporting bad news as well as good news evenly. Such things as reporting one official’s minor speeding ticket a hundred times a day for weeks while completely ignoring or only mentioning in passing once as not important another official’s possible Felony. Like bankers have a responsibility not to steel and police have the responsibility to protect and enforce laws evenly and politicians not take bribes. News anchors have a responsibility to tell the unbiased, unslanted, untwisted, whole truth and nothing but the truth. Especially since 80% of the population get their news from only one source over only a few minutes a day where they form their opinions of world events and political candidates.”

  Jack took another bite of the sandwich and washed it down. “Blowing up minor faults of one candidate and ignoring major faults of another can have a tremendous influence on an election. As can searching and interviewing thousands of people and statements to find the one radical opinion or statement that shows a political person or cause in a bad light and then stating or insinuating by way of staging video’s or excluding other contrary statements, that person or statement as typical of a whole group. Or taking a cheery picked Academic’s statement as an expert even if he has no credentials in the subject and their statement as proven fact, has only one reason and that is to influence with lies.”

  Jack took another bite and then washed it down again as the Admiral continued to stare blank faced. It was obvious that no one had ever talked to him like this before. Which was good for wasting time. “Another way for a reporter to lose their job as well as huge fines for a political party and the loss of the election, is to be caught using or giving reporters a political parties (word for word) talking points or subjects. I read a news story one time that not only did a winner of a Planet’s close Presidential race get kicked out of office but a hundred news casters were blackballed and their stations fined hundreds of millions of credits for using a political party’s biased talking points repeatedly during an election. Slipping single malicious words into stories about the opposing candidate at seemingly random inconsequential places and times but with the same derogatory words adding up over hundreds and even thousands of uses across an entire planets broadcasting system resulting in the repeat rates of the targeted derogatory words of hundreds of thousands of times resulting in low grade brain manipulation across the planet against the opponent.” Picking up the banana he had taken with the sandwich he broke the end off to start peeling it.

  “Something that was easy to find and correlate with any computer monitoring the news casts after one memo was leaked with only a few of the talking point words and traced to most all the networks. When hundreds of news stories from many supposedly unrelated organizations and news casters keep repeating the same words and phrases over and over in only minutes across the planet and then never heard again, it is easy to prove biased Party influence.” Jack continued peeling the banana. Savoring the smell and texture of the peel. He could not believe how much he missed even a simple thing as a banana.

  “News casters and stations are not supposed to be political or belong to Political Parties. It is impossible to report the political news fairly if you are a member of a Political Party no matter how much you profess your fairness. Though from what I have seen on Earth broadcasts, most on earth don’t even try and in fact brag about their card carrying party affiliations with the Democratic Communist Workers Party. No. Lying is not allowed in most Colony System Constitutions for newsmen and even for Politicians. Free speech does not have to include the ability to lie at will. People not having the right to yell fire in a crowded theater is just one ancient maxim.” Jack took a bight of the banana and closed his eyes as he chewed and swallowed.

  “Sounds like your Areas 9 needs Earth to bring our true liberal freedom to you after all Son. Free speech can never be restricted no matter how many lies are told to influence the masses. Lying is natural and necessary to assassinate the politically incorrect candidate and force the masses to vote for the politically correct party.”

  Jack tried his best not to chock on the banana. “Let me see. The last time I was on Earth, my friend and I were arrested by a plainclothes police officer at a restaurant for saying something politically incorrect in public about a political commercial on the screen stating what I knew to be lies in it. We were only talking between ourselves but we were almost sent to a Reeducation Camp until the judge found out we were from a Trampship and then fined and taken back to the ship with an entire squad of police and told not to leave the space port again.”

  “Pointing out the lies of a political commercial was against the law and to make it worse, we had actually said something politically incorrect while pointing that fact out to each other. We were given a large book in the police station of words or statements that could get you sent to a reeducation camp for saying but it was so ridiculous I remember little of it even if it was great fun reading it. But you think Aries 9 has to be put in its place because the only thing you can’t do is lie in print or on the public airwaves or repeat false statements on a soap box.”

  Chuckling as he smiled at the Admiral sitting staring at him. “I know it is not perfect and some elections are not official for months and the news stations shuffle and drop news anchors like Wizards Game cards. While our jails are half full of Politicians and News Casters that lied to influence the public and Lawyers that tried to make a quick credit or legally destroy someone. They do not have a fraction of the murderers, rapists and thieves Earth has simply because it is hard to get away with killing, raping or stealing when everyone is armed or someone nearby is (even if it is a stun gun), when a criminal tries to commit a physical crime.

  But the fact you can trust what most people tell you and that people are responsible for themselves and not the government, is a big benefit on most of the Colony worlds. While just being told you are from Earth makes you an instant liar and everything you do suspect until time and you prove you are a Colonist and worthy the respect.”

  “How barbaric. The sooner we put the Colonies in their liberal enlightened place under Democratic Communist Rule the better. I may even wind up as your Planetary King Boy. It will be a shame when we have to execute your entire planet’s Academia in spite of their Doctorates. I have met a few and even they are barbaric and unenlightened. They simply were not educated in the proper schools for us to allow them to vote and help run the Planet. Don’t worry we will ship in tens of thousands of Elites to run your Government, Universities and Schools properly and provide the needed liberal moral education your masses and children require. By the time we educate your children they will turn in even their wrongly thinking parents and in a generation we will have your planets cleansed of such backward thinking. It is a shame you are not going to be around to see it though. You are starting to bore me with your politically incorrect talk. Hell you are probably giving my Flag crew ideas that will force me to have them all sent to camps or executed.”

  That suddenly got a lot of looks from crewmen all around the Flag Bridge.

  Jack looked at the Ship’s console and the single remaining Power Core still shining bright. “Damn what is taking so long?”

  “Yes Boy. I was wondering that myself. My security division should have gotten here by now. I trained them myself.”

  Jack suddenly saw a bright Flash from below. For a split second he thought it was the core going up but the flash would not have stopped and he was still alive. But it had to be something big to reach his eyes through all the layers of armor around the Flag Bridge. Damn that meant that the Lieutenant had run into problems she could not handle. Jack looked at the big red icon he had on the screen next to him. Only thing was, he wasn’t sure the turret could deploy fast enough to take the damn ass hole out, stunning him before he hit the button. N
o. Even if it succeeded, Chinn could easily fall face forward onto the damn button once he was stunned since he was not wearing the chairs damn safety battle harness. Stunning him could accomplish the same fricking thing. Detonating the damn core. Shaking his head, he was going to have to try another attack, a much more destructive attack.

  “Admiral Chinn, Captain Broderick on the ship’s bridge. We have strange looking Republic Marines scattered all through the ship. They just blew their way into the Power Core deck though somehow they managed to get a few inside and Scrammed 3 of our Fusion Cores before we knew they were there. I was able to get reinforcements to the last operational Core before they reached it and had the last of them boxed in until these monsters showed up. Our weapons are just bouncing off of their armor. We can’t hold the core or the ship much longer. Hell, half the ship was taken already before we even knew they were aboard. What are your orders Admiral?”

  The Admiral turned his chair to the side to look at the Ship’s operations console showing only one Fusion Core still hot. Hitting several icons on the screen to one side of his chair, the Flag Bridge’s main screen changed to show a Damage Control line mockup of the Command ship and the areas under Republic Marine control. Shaking his head in disgust. “Prepare to die Captain. Your failure has forced my hand.” The Admiral looked at Jack with sudden hate.

  The Shocked Captain on the screen yelled. “No Admiral, you can’t. These are Republic forces not Spiders. The Self-Destruct is only to prevent capture by Spiders.”

  “You are a coward and a fool Captain. I will not fail my family. But rejoice we are taking the famous Captain Turner with us to our ancestors.” The Admiral’s hand started down toward the big red button as he looked over his shoulder at Jack. His chair just starting to turn back toward Jack.