Prelude to War (Athena Lee Chronicles Book 9)

by T S Paul

  Asylum? What? “Grandmother…”

  “Hush, child. I will deal with them.” Amalie turned back toward the window. “Why?”

  “Why would we ask for asylum? Is that what you are asking? The answer is both long and short. The short version is you have shown yourselves to be powerful. That is something that we can respect. Earth is… For now let’s just say that we would not be allowed to live or would be reduced in class. Failure is not an option. None of us are soldiers. We don’t have the mentality to kill ourselves in a pointless display of idiocy. If you have captured any of that class that is what will happen. Go out in a blaze of glory is how they put it in training.”

  Amalie stared at the men in thought for a moment. “If you are not soldiers, what are you then?”

  “That is an excellent question!” The three men all nodded and smiled. “We three are Gamma’s. Our function in the collective is as the technical experts. We fix and built things. All of our training revolves around intellect and technology. The two behind us are Epsilon’s. They fly the ships we build. Some of their line are both soldiers and pilots. To become a fighter pilot the individual in question must achieve a certain level of education. They all become pilots. Only a select few fight.”

  “What are the other clone lines and their function?”

  “Another good question. Delta’s are the Military of the collective. They serve as ground forces and Marines on board ships. If a task requires someone who will obey all orders unflinchingly, a Delta will be selected for it. They are stronger, faster, and more agile than all other lines save one. Beta’s would be next in order of importance. We would be very surprised to discover you captured one of them. They function as the navigators and the are in charge of Intelligence operations. They are of medium build with bulbous bald heads. Much of a ship's navigation is done inside their heads. They are trained from birth to not depend upon the ship’s computers. You have met two of the leadership line. The Alphas control the ships, they act as captains. Back on Earth they are the territorial governors. They are very arrogant and refuse to believe that they could be wrong. Their word is final. All bow before them or die.”

  I jumped in and asked another question. “Gamma 15699, my name is Athena Lee. I am the Hong Kong Ambassador. Are there other clone lines? I ask because we have seen others that do not match your descriptions.”

  “Yes, there are two. We almost never mention the Theta’s. They never leave Earth. Their function is to run the creche and raise the next generation. They teach and care. We have never seen one raise its hand in anger. The last group are horrifying to your eyes. They are both a lesson of the past and the punishments of the future. They are the Zeta’s.”

  “Why would they be a lesson?” These clones fascinated me.

  “They were the first clones created by The Program, what we call the collective now. One of the early program Gen-Mods was selected for it’s physical prowess. It was cloned. A genetic anomaly appeared, and the clones became twisted and genetically damaged. Psychotic tendencies cropped up during the training sessions. The line was almost eliminated. There was a need for punishments and interrogation. They took over that role. The gene samples were destroyed along with all information surrounding their creation. They have extended lifespans, a gift from the original sample. Unlike us, they will live on to terrorize more innocents.”

  “This term you use, Gen-Mods. What does it mean?”

  “The Program was the name of the organization that originated the idea of genetically enhanced humans. Human embryo’s were grown from sperm and ova obtained by The Program from both willing and unwilling participants. The goal was to build an army of willing slaves that would fight the Program’s wars. There were both male and female enhanced creations. Something in the process degraded the cellular structure of the female nervous system. Only one in five survived the process. Originally the females were to be the controllers and the males the servants. With less than a hundred surviving females that part of the Program was changed. Most of the female Gen-mods became instructors and teachers. Very few ever left Earth, or at least that is what we were taught. The Gen-Mod Johann mentioned females to the Alphas during his interrogation. The Alphas were surprised by that information. They, unlike us, were unaware of their existence. We know because half of our teachers are female Gen-mods. In answer to your question the term means genetically modified. That breed has become rare on Earth. Our training facility is on Luna and we have over a dozen female trainers. Sometime in the past The Program felt that it could no longer trust the Gen-mods for some reason. We clones were brought into existence then. The Gen-mods were our trainers and eventually our servants. The Alpha’s and Zeta’s used them up. Gen-Mods age slowly, have more stamina, advanced healing, and are more cunning than we clones. The Alpha’s used them for practice, killing many in the process. Alpha 364 was excited to learn of the existence of several dozen within the ranks of the Cabal. We did not have any on board the ship.”

  “Regular humans. What of them?”

  “Sapes? Who cares about them? We are the future.” We could tell that he knew he said the wrong thing when his two companions both hit him.

  I grabbed my grandmother's arm just as she was about to ask another question. “Grandmother, don’t be too harsh on them. It is how they are trained. They don’t know any better.”

  Amalie nodded and asked the question again. “What of the regular humans?”

  Gamma 15699 visibly sighed. “They are the true slaves of the collective. Victims all, they toil for endless hours in the fields. They are the forced labor that keeps Earth’s forges and fires burning. I would be surprised it half a billion still lived. The number grows smaller every year. They get used up.”

  “What is your true reason for wanting to join us?”

  “The truth? We don’t wish to die. We ignored the return call when Colossus was destroyed. The Cruiser that we were based upon attempted to recall us. As far as we know they returned to Earth. They had orders to do that.”

  “What were the orders?”

  “In the event of trouble the fleet was to divide and follow the secondary instructions.”

  “And those were?”

  “Half would jump home to Earth and inform the Collective. The rest were to link up with the Cabal.”

  “What will the collective do? Do you know?”

  “We don’t. However, the plan of galactic domination is decades old so we doubt they will just give up. The information that the Cabal provided will force them to act. They will send more of the fleet. Colossus was only a small percentage of the total fleet. It was the newest and biggest that Earth has, but the rest are just as formidable.”

  Chapter 8

  My great-grandmother grilled the Earth clones for several hours. Her face grew grimmer by the moment. The Earth that she knew was gone. It was replaced by this totalitarian version filled with clones and death. Humans were an endangered species on their homeworld. They were barely educated, worked to death, and subjected to horrors beyond description. Their lives didn’t matter. They could be killed on a whim with no consequences. The Gen-Mods, grandmother’s friends and family, were almost gone too. The Program had used them up. If Earth was that bad what did they have in mind for the colonies?

  “I know you are tired. One last question before I allow you to eat and sleep. Who rules Earth?”

  The five clones all looked at each other. The three Gammas conferred a moment and replied. “The Alphas rule, but that is not your question is it? We really don’t know who is ultimately in charge. We have debated that point before and were told as a line to not discuss it. That is a question that we are not to think about. Interesting that you would ask it.”

  Amalie turned toward me and Dar. “Should I tell them what we know?”

  I checked with my internal passenger. “Wilson says they don’t know the true nature of the Program. I say go ahead and tell them. It might shake them up a bit.”

  Amalie turned back t
oward the window. “We believe you should know something. The true nature of The Program. That is what it truly is, a program. A computer program that has become self-aware. You were created by an AI.”

  The Gammas had a moment of shock, but then began to nod. “That almost makes sense to us. It is logical that an AI would eliminate the competition and seek to advance its objectives. The Gen-Mods must have either caught on or became too independent.”

  “You are mostly right. The human secret society that created The Program sought to circumvent it. They are the ones that created the Cabal and sent them out here to us. They wished to rule the galaxy, not the AI. However, on Earth the humans were losing their internal conflict and were unable to leave the planet. The Earth shield was the computer's solution to stopping their plans. It was what touched off the rebellion of the Gen-Mods that killed the human conspirators. Your people were created to serve the computer.”

  “How is it you know our history and we do not?”

  “During the recent battle our hackers broke through the ship’s protections and copied your database. Much of the information has been deciphered. An abbreviated history was found there.”

  “So the Alphas know that we are the servants of an AI? That surprises me. Those that we have had contact with bow to know one. Interesting.”

  I asked them a final question. “What will your Fleet do now that the Colossus has been destroyed?”

  “That is not something that we know. We can tell you that one of the goals of this failed expedition was to obtain new technology. We were instructed to acquire anything we did not recognize. Earth can build great things, but out technical base is very limited. Much of our tech base is gone. For some reason we clones are not as inventive as humans.”

  “It that is so, why eliminate them?”

  “We don’t have an answer to that question. You would have to ask an Alpha and that would be impossible. He would attack you before the first word left your mouth. Everyone but Alphas are lessers to them.”

  “Thank you. You have given us much to think about. We will talk some more later. In just a moment a door will open behind you. The short hallway leads to a sleeping area. There is food provided.”

  Amalie turned back toward us. “What now? We have demonstrated our technology to them. They will come back and try to take it from us.”

  “How prepared are we for another attack?”

  “Our forces are ready. The mass driver was a one shot wonder, it won’t work a second time. Deimos has other defenses though.”

  “I worry about the Hong Kong fleet. We only have the one heavy cruiser. The new shipyard is working to restore some of the captured Imperial ships, but the last report I had was not good. If Earth returns we might be in trouble.”

  “Contact your father, Athena. Inform him and your sister what we know and prepare them for the worst. We are allies now and Mars will do what it can to help.”

  As Gaston led us out, I thought about our home fleet. We just didn’t have enough firepower to fight off a large fleet. Even a poorly armed one.

  ~~~

  Personally Minerva thought a press conference was a really bad idea. There were Cabal agents everywhere and her teams were just starting to make progress in hunting them down. The list Wilson provided was golden. Some of the most powerful families on the planet were involved with Earth. Some of them were neck deep in the whole mess. The new Special Operations group conducted several lightning raids on deeply entrenched family estates. Each group was accompanied by a trio of CATTs. They sought out hidden rooms, surveillance equipment, and other vital information. Multiple arrests were made. Many of the secretive first families were running for cover and screaming at the Governor to stop the raids. Politics was now in the way of justice. She tried to reason with her father. Any detail that they revealed could hurt her teams. He refused to listen and pulled rank on her seizing her operational order and arrest details.

  She stood standing on the top step of the Capitol building looking down at the circus below. Her father and Governor Stoner were standing about halfway down the steps. Just enough not to tower over the press, but enough to be seen by all. The vid reporters were circling like a ThereBear hunting its prey. They were asking questions already. The security team for both men was already overwhelmed by the multitude of camera drones and weaving reporters. Those suspected of aiding the Cabal were already screaming at their pet politicians and members of the press. Min could only grit her teeth in disgust as she watched them give her entire case away.

  “Governor! Governor! Can you answer a question?” That was the main rallying cry of the reporters. Alexander Lee was in his new element. Being a Militia Colonel was nothing in comparison to being a politician! The parties were much better. Alex was no wallflower but his position on the Assembly had been an eye opener to say the least. Power was very seductive, and he definitely was being seduced. He was constantly bombarded by minor petitions from landowners, farmers, industrialists, and shop owners. Everyone wanted something. In many cases it was minor things. He was wined and dined by those he respected and those he did not. Women seemed to throw themselves at him frequently. He floated on a sea of backroom deals and bargains. Alex now understood why his friend Roy had stayed as Governor for so long. This position was very lucrative. It was a shame that his son was not here to share it with him. Feeling guilty, Alex looked over his shoulder at his daughter. She was still angry with him for pulling rank on her. The sort of information that she had… She just didn’t get it. He had to be the one to break the story. It would help the family to look better in the eyes of the world. At least he got Athena out of the way. Heroes are great for building support, but they need to leave after the show is over. She was stealing his thunder. He checked his tablet, it was almost time to get started.

  Alex tapped Governor Stoner on the shoulder and muttered that it was time. Both men stepped up to the podium. “Can I have your attention please?” Alex forcefully used his parade ground voice to get their attention.

  “We have a statement to make concerning the arrests and raids conducted over the past few nights.” He looked over to the Governor. Roy was way past his prime. Governor Lee had a nice ring to it. Something to begin his planning about for the future.

  “Elements of the Planetary Militia along with the New Special forces teams acting on intelligence gathered by our allies, conducted raids on suspected Cabal supporters and financial backers. Several of the great families that founded our colony were implicated in the raids. A search of their holdings revealed that they, like the Kent family they were financially involved with the Cabal. On one estate a complete Cabal base was discovered with weapons and supplies intact. Major Minerva Lee has this administration's complete authorization to conduct these raids. Are there any questions?”

  It was all Minerva could not do cry. He was giving it all away! Warning the enemy of the attack. She really could kick herself for not listening to Athena. He really was an idiot.

  “Senator is it true that the intelligence came from Mars?” The sexy young reporter winked at Alex catching his attention.

  “Yes, it is. They are our allies now.”

  “Senator what about the accusations that your daughter is only targeting families that are opposed to your views in the Senate?”

  “What! No. Minerva is an excellent officer and would not do something like that. There are more raids already planned for this afternoon. None are families involved are in politics at all. As a people we must take a stand against outside influences such as the Cabal. If they infiltrate our industry, we must stamp them out. TQB industries is one of our largest private spacecraft industries. We will see that they are protected from these threats to their security and reputation!”

  Minerva staggered away from the steps in shock. He just gave it away to prove a point. Damn him! She activated her communicator. “Order the TQB strike force to stand down! They were just blown!”

  “Ma’am, we can’t! They just went silen
t not five minutes ago. They are committed. We have no way to contact them until they enter the compound.”

  “Screw procedure! Scramble the Silver Valkyrie's, I want them to do a flyby. If the ground force is in trouble, they are to support them. Weapons free! Understand?”

  “Yes, Ma’am. Weapons free.”

  “Good. I won’t lose the best team we have because of an idiot politician. Send my shuttle down, it’s time for me to leave.” She walked over to the steps again. The news conference was still in full swing. Making a decision Minerva started to descend the stairs. Her father need a talking to.

  Minerva had almost reached the podium area. She was behind her father when she heard the shots. Laser weapons make a very distinctive sound as they fire. The zip zip sound of the laser pistols made her hit the deck! Looking downward she witnessed one of the reporters firing a pair of pistols at the podium. Governor Stoner ducked down and was hiding behind the reinforced podium. Her father was lying on the edge of the steps groaning in pain. The protection unit had sprung into action but the shooter had taken a hostage and was using a reporter as a human shield.