Liam Hobbs asked, “Do you often fight ship to ship?”
The admiral turned back. “Goodness, no. We don’t have the means to do that. If you are that close to another warship you are likely to take major damage. Mr. Hobbs, no one wants to die in space. During a typical battle, if a ship takes more than a handful of plasma strikes, they withdraw. Etiquette says you shall not attack an enemy who has withdrawn from battle. It is the rare occasion that we actually lose a ship. It’s understood that the territory has been won or lost. And the territory is what the fight is about, is it not?”
One of the Canadians scratched his head. Kind of sounds like the battles of old. Line everyone up, shoot at each other until one side retreats. Not really the business of modern warfare.”
The admiral stopped at the next bulkhead. “Gentlemen, this is where my service ends. Commander Ladook will be taking you from here as I will be greeting delegations from Northern Europe.”
Jasper nodded. “You have fun with that, Fatso.”
The admiral smiled. “I believe I will, Mr. Collins. Thank you.”
The admiral walked away.
Chapter 21
*
Commander Ladook was tall for a Mawga, stretching up to nearly four feet in height. “Ah, welcome, welcome. Let me begin by saying I am delighted to be with you today. I’ve been studying your people for several years now, but this is the first opportunity I’ve had to meet a Human in person. So… welcome.”
The commander turned and began to walk. “Gentlemen. Let’s see… oof.”
Ladook struck his head on the top of the bulkhead doorframe. “I was hoping to have at least one of your warrior women in this group.”
Jasper said, “Nice going, Stretch.”
Johnny asked, “Stretch?”
Jasper shrugged. “To the Mawga, he’s a Stretch.”
The commander continued, “Yes, well, we are coming into the power section of the ship. The Delisant has four fusion reactors. Most cruiser class ships only have three. Anyway, the reactors provide all our internal power needs, provide the energy for our holistic gravity drives, and the plasma charges for our cannons.”
Coran held up a hand. “Hold up please. Holistic drives?”
The commander nodded. “Yes. The large nozzles you see on the back of the ship, those are the focusers for the gravity waves that propel us. There are many systems that first create the waves. The nozzles provide a means for them to push us forward or pull us back. The Delisant can theoretically reach half the speed of light, although the drives have never been pushed that far to my knowledge. It seems that even open space is a dangerous place. Damage to the hull can be severe at those speeds if we strike debris.
“I have often fantasized about creating a sort of gravity shield in front of the ship to protect us, although I’m sure there must be reasons it hasn’t been done. There are too many species flying about for someone not to have stumbled across that one. Anyway, where were we… oh, yes, the reactors. Power from the reactors can be stored in a charge well. When sufficient charge has been accumulated, it can be directed out through any of the cannon ports.”
Liam Hobbs asked, “How many cannons on this ship?”
Ladook grinned. “Six heavies. At least three can be fired in every direction.”
Liam nodded. “And how long does it take the charge well to fill?”
Ladook held up a finger. “With our four-reactor setup, we can fire ten bursts in a minute’s time. Gentlemen, for a cruiser, this is a formidable ship.”
One of the Canadians, Humphrey Mallot, posed his question: “So, why not build a gunship with fifty reactors, come out blasting?”
Ladook slowly shook his head. “I am sorry, Mr. Mallot. That is not allowed under the rules of the Galactic Union. Cruiser class ships are limited to three reactors typical. A command ship may have four, as we have here on the Delisant.”
Humphrey half scowled. “What kind of wars do you have where everyone has the same armaments? Does everyone have the same plasma cannons?”
Ladook turned with a confused look. “Why of course. It’s the most powerful weapon in the galaxy. Anything else would be less, leaving you at a disadvantage.”
Mace asked, “Are there any ships larger than a cruiser?”
Ladook took a deep breath. “Yes. The seven founding members of the Union have dreadnoughts. They are about three times our size, with sixteen reactors. I’ll be the first to say that they are a big deterrent when it comes to messing with any of those seven empires.”
Mace replied, “So the GU makes the rules and the rules are that no one else can be as powerful. Nice.”
Johnny said, “Sounds like we need to ally with one of the seven.”
Ladook shook his head. “Please, Mr. Tretcher. I ask that you not makes jokes about the Galactic Union. They have spies, even among our people. Irreverent talk of the seven will only bring trouble for my people and yourselves.”
Johnny asked, “How would our statements bring trouble for you?”
Ladook took a deep breath. “We were the first to this territory. To the Galactic Union, you are our wards until such time as you apply for membership on your own. There is always a risk when being the perceived masters of a new species. Not that we view ourselves as your masters. I’m speaking of the Union of course.”
As the tour continued the warehouses were passed, followed by the brigade of Mawga Marines. Commander Ladook then turned down a long hall that passed through several bulkheads before dead-ending into a cannon turret.
“Gentlemen, meet Diaga. She is the beloved port cannon that inflicted five direct hits on Kaachi cruisers during the battle of Ommis Dre. At that time, I had yet to join her crew. They each now wear a pin signifying the assault and the victory. That was a fine day for the Delisant. I only wish I had been there.”
As the others looked over the gun controls and Ladook answered their questions, Mace pulled Johnny aside. “I’m not getting a strong feeling from these people that they have much of a backbone. And these rules? How are you supposed to defend yourself? I’m thinking we take their offer, just on the off chance we’re able to take over one of these ships.”
Johnny nodded. “I was having some of the same thoughts. This all seems whacked. Give me one of my ARs and I could take this ship myself.”
Jasper poked in his head. “Couldn’t do it, you’d be slamming your head on every bulkhead as you chased the gray rats around.”
Mace shook his head. “OK, maybe it would be better if we waited to discuss these things when we���re back.”
Ladook turned. “Mr. Tretcher, I believe you asked about firing one of the cannons? The admiral has given his approval. They are preparing to launch a drone from the docking bays momentarily. I would be honored if your team took the control chair.”
Mace nodded. “OK. Which one is it?”
Ladook pointed to a small chair in the back corner of the turret. Over here, sir. When the large button flashes green, depress it.”
Mace laughed. “That’s it? What are all these stations with monitors for?”
Ladook gestured. “This one is for target tracking. This for identification. And this one to monitor the charge well.”
Jasper pointed to a fifth station that appeared to bring all the other stations together. “What about this one?”
Ladook smiled. “That one is for dignitaries of course.”
Jasper scowled. “Wait, couldn’t the cannon be prepped and fired from this one station?”
Ladook offered a confused look. “I suppose, but if there is a hit, with damage, who will report it to the empire?”
Jasper shook his head. “Forget I asked.”
Ladook again smiled. “Very well.”
The drone target was released. Twenty minutes later it was deemed at a safe distance. The single large green button on Mace’s console flashed repeatedly. Mace hesitated to push it.
Ladook began to sweat. “Please, Mr. Hardy, the target is within range
. I will have to report our results to the admiral!”
Mace pressed the button. The control room lights flashed out a crazy light show before a short plasma burst left the cannon barrel of the Mawga gun named Diaga. An instant later the target lit up and was gone with little more than a flicker.
Ladook screamed out in jubilation. “Direct hit! Excellent marksmanship, Mr. Hardy! The admiral will be pleased!”
Liam asked, “Are you saying that even with all this equipment, and with that close a target, it can be missed?”
Ladook nodded. “The plasma charge can interact with eddies of charged particles, pulling it from its intended path. With distance, the slightest pull can mean a miss. Now, everyone, please follow me to the main bridge. This is where everything happens.”
An excited Ladook led the group as the others made faces at each other. The tour, and the Mawga, were turning out to be less impressive than at first thought. As they walked onto the bridge, Mace stopped to look around.
“Hey, Commander, what are these monitors over here?”
Ladook turned back. “Ah, those are showing the number of Humans who have joined the communities and begun the regimen of health treatments our facilities have to offer.”
Ladook looked closely at Mace. “Mr. Hardy, you have very nice facial skin for a Human. I’m not sure our machines would be of much benefit to you in that regard.”
Mace half smiled. “Already had the deep dermis ablation or whatever you call it. Had that on my tour of one of those centers.”
Ladook grinned. “Ah! Everyone gather round. Get a good look at the tone and smoothness of Mr. Hardy’s facial skin. He’s had one of the treatments we offer. Your skin cancer will soon be a thing of the distant past!”
One of the Brits leaned in. “Is that a wart?”
Coran followed. “No, I’d say it was a pimple.”
Liam chided. “My word, I think it’s alive!”
Mace nodded. “OK, no more gawking at the medical freak.”
Mace turned to another monitor. “What about this one? What’s it showing?”
The monitor suddenly went blank.
Ladook gave a confused look. “Hmm. Sorry, didn’t have a chance to see it.”
Another image came up. “Ah, wait, that is the number of Humans who are currently making use of the educational simulators in the entertainment areas. Hmm. It doesn’t look as though many are taking advantage of it. They are all off playing in interactive sims. Strange how a culture with so much intelligence has little interest in continued education.”
Mace asked, “Your people constantly hitting the books?”
Ladook thought for a moment. “Oh. Yes. We thrive on education. How else is a species to move forward in life without constant study?”
The Canadian, Humphrey, pulled Ladook away for another question.
Coran leaned in. “Anyone else starting to think these Mawga are kind of dense? They seem just a bit stunted on their uptake.”
Mace replied, “I’ve never been the sharpest tool in the shed, but other than the chancellor of our district, I’ve yet to be impressed by many of them myself. And I don’t know if you saw the display I was asking about. It had some numbers on it about fertility. Egg counts or something. Someone sure took it down in a hurry when I called attention to it.”
Coran smiled. “Have you noticed the displays are all in English? And it seems you American blokes trust them about as much as we do.”
Mace nodded. “I saw that. And please tell me you’re people are aware of the drugged food?”
Coran scowled. “Sickening display of their deceit. We discovered that early on, but not soon enough to stop its dispersion to most of our population.”
Mace said, “We have about thirty thousand in our district who held out. Our chancellor puts the holdout number across the globe at close to fifty million.”
Coran pulled back. “I find that number hard to believe. Sounds very inflated to me.”
Mace frowned. “Rumor has it the Russians, Chinese, and Iranians have been fighting the Mawga. Could be most of them are there.”
Coran let out a deep sigh. “Oh, great, just the people we need to be fighting alongside.”
Mace nodded. “I think we’re in agreement. And I think they may be putting us English speakers together for that very reason. There won’t be much infighting between us. And have you noticed everyone on this ship appears to be speaking English? That can’t be coincidence as to why they sent us to this ship.”
Ladook stood in front of the group holding out his hands. “Gentlemen, this room is the control center for this fleet. We have live video and data feeds from each of the ships in orbit around your planet. Orders for all battles go out from here. Progress in all battles is monitored from here.
“This is the brain of our operations. To the left you will find a console for monitoring each ship. To the right, the fleet directive stations. Here we monitor the battle as a whole, including damage to enemy ships. If one of ours takes damage to the level where it is pulled back, the next in line moves forward.”
Liam Hobbs held up his hand. “Wait, are you saying that during a battle your ships only engage one at a time?”
Ladook nodded. “Why, yes, how else would we closely monitor the fight? If all ships engaged at once, why that would be utter chaos. That is the rule of engagement from the Galactic Union. Only one set of ships may engage each other at a time. And to continue our tour, this set of monitors over here is manned by Galactic Union journalists. It is their job to monitor and record all interactions between vessels, commanders and crews. These recordings are then delivered to the Union for compliance reasons.”
Liam half laughed. “Are you saying the battle is sent up to the Union so they can determine, after the fact, that you followed all the rules? What happens if there’s a violation?”
Ladook returned a serious gaze. “Why, the battle is forfeited and all territories turned over to the other side. If it was the loser who was in violation, the Union selects another of their territories for confiscation. And if by some strange circumstance, both sides skirted the rules, both must withdraw from the territory of the fight, and forfeit another territorial holding as determined by the Union. Those territories go to the Union itself for dissemination to its founding members through a lottery system. And as a final note, if there is any contention with the ruling from either side, the territory in question once again is forfeited to the Union itself.”
Liam nodded. “I see. So, over time, the founders can grow their territories without ever getting in a fight. Genius.”
Ladook tilted his head. “I suppose one from the outside could look at it in that way. For us, it is justice. We all know the rules, we merely have to follow them.”
The tour continued for several hours. When the group was satisfied with what they had seen, a ship was called up to take them home. Commander Doni Ladook was ordered to accompany the group to the surface, in a last effort to answer any questions they might have.
As they approached the first stop in Australia, Mace put in a request. “Mr. Ladook, I should like to stop here in Australia for a short time to have a private word with my colleagues. Their insights will be helpful when it comes time for me to make a decision.”
Ladook bowed. “Please take as much time as you like, Mr. Hardy. Our goal here is to have you amenable to the idea of joining us in the defense of your world.”
Chapter 22
*
The ship stopped a kilometer above what had formerly been the bustling city of Sydney. The area covering Centennial Park, Moore Park, and up through the Cricket and Sports Ground stadium was now one giant community center. The shuttle set down in the Royal Botanical Gardens.
A short walk had the representatives of the four countries sitting in a meeting room inside St. Mary’s Cathedral.
Liam Hobbs was the first to speak. “This is rubbish. Why would we put our lives at risk alongside those imbeciles?”
Humphrey M
allot replied, “From the sound of it, we will be defending this planet as well. While I can’t agree with the methods the Mawga have used, they don’t seem so bad if we consider the alternatives. Another species could easily have us all digging in mines or plowing fields to grow them food.”
Coran shook his head. “Or have us going off to fight their wars. At the moment I’m leaning with Liam.”
Johnny said, “How about this, we get the Mawga to leave us enough food, untainted food, for three months. They leave, and we then defend our own planet? Who’s to say this isn’t just one big attempt to bring all of the holdouts out at once?”
Jasper stood, jumping up on the table the others were seated around. “I have an idea. How about we agree to their terms, take their equipment and training, kick the crap out the crotchi or whatever they’re called, and then take possession of the Mawga fleet? After seeing how they operate, doesn’t seem like it would be so hard to do.”
Mace gestured. “Come down off the table. No need to be so dramatic.”
Jasper scowled. “Taking all the fun out of it, as always.”
Liam said, “Actually, I kind of like the geezer’s plan. And if what we saw is reality, I believe we could accomplish what he said.”
Mace stood as Jasper hopped off the table. “That might be a good long-term plan. What we need to do is evaluate where we are, and if it’s in our best interest to ally with the Mawga against this potential threat. I still believe they’re up to something. All this talk of trade makes no sense when they could have just let us go and took it all for themselves.”
Coran stood. “All these insane rules, are any of us willing to live by them? It sounds as though that’s a requirement.”
Humphrey replied, “We could accept the terms for now. We are Humans. We can always change our minds?”
Mace asked, “What chances would you put behind the other holdouts in your countries falling in line for this? I know it will be a tough sell back home. We’ve been liaisons with these invaders, so we have a good sense of what’s going on with them. Others would not be so trusting or open to the possibility of an alliance. Where do you think the holdouts of your countries would stand?”
HADRON Axiom Page 20
