HADRON Axiom

by Stephen Arseneault

  Liam said, “I believe I could convince the chaps back home that we could make use of this alliance. There will be many who are not sold at first. However, I believe they would come around.”

  Coran sat forward in his chair. “With our own government missing in action, the people here would join the alliance. Most would rally behind it.”

  Mace looked at Liam. “Are the royals still around?”

  Liam nodded. “And they have assumed temporary control over the holdouts. Very loose and tenuous control, but as Coran suggests, they could be rallied.”

  All eyes turned to Humphrey Mallot. “We’ll do our part. You get a consensus, we’ll fully commit.”

  Mace looked around the room. “Gentlemen, it’s set then. Each of us go back and try to convince our people that this alliance is in our best interest. You know, if anything, it should put us in a better defensive position. At the moment, the best we could do would to be disruption at those community centers. We can’t attack without putting the lives of our own people at risk.”

  Liam held up a hand. “Our chancellor spoke of an attack on one of your centers. He said several innocents were killed, including Mawga. What level of coordination do you have among your people?”

  Mace sat back in his chair. “They took out six Mawga and brought production at the D.C. Center to a temporary halt. Of course, none of the zombies cared, they just kept working.”

  Coran asked, “Zombies?”

  Johnny smiled. “That’s what we call our people who’ve been drugged. Oh, by the way, we have one that we captured. We’re working to wean her off the drug. So far it looks promising. We believe alcohol is an inhibitor. We’ve seen town drunks who eat the food and yet don’t seem affected by the drug.”

  Liam laughed. “Can the same be said for beer? I know my countrymen would join if they were told beer was an effective blocker of the drug.”

  Coran nodded. “That would be equally so for my people.”

  Humphrey smiled. “As it would be with mine.”

  Johnny frowned. “We do love our beer, but I can’t say if it’s effective. We’ve been brewing our own moonshine. Potent stuff. It seems to be what’s doing the trick.”

  The discussion continued for several hours before the Brits, Canadians, and Americans walked back to the shuttle. A stop was made in London, followed by Toronto, before the shuttle came to its final destination, landing in the field by the cave. David Yancy was sitting outside with a smile.

  As the shuttle lifted, the three American representatives of the Humans stepped up onto the porch.

  David asked, “How was it? What happened?”

  Mace held up his hand. “We’ll fill in everyone at once. How are the others doing? Anything new with the girl?”

  David shook his head. “I don’t get much info. Jeff comes by on his way over and back, says hi and that’s about it. Jane has been kind, asking a bit more and dropping a few details, but not a lot. I really like your setup here, with the power and running water. I guess I just thought there might be a bit more Human interaction.”

  Mace smiled. “Well, I can’t say if that will pick up or not. We have a lot on our plates coming up. Things could get crazy busy. I’ll see if I can get you partnered up with Jeff or something. As scientists, the two of you should be able to talk shop.”

  David chuckled as he shook his head.

  Johnny asked, “What’s so funny?”

  David said, “I’m the scientist, the astronomer, and yet everyone else on this porch has been into space. Please, you have to give me a few details!”

  Mace patted David Yancy on the back. “Tell you what, my next time up with the chancellor, I’ll insist that you come along. It may not be space, but I’m sure you’ll enjoy the ride on the big ship.”

  David nodded. “I’d like that.”

  Mace looked toward the road. “In the meantime, I think we go get Jeff, Jane, and Nancy and bring them here. No need to sneak around or hide anymore. They know we know about the drug.”

  David stood. “Jane’s here at the house sleeping. She came in about five hours ago from her shift with Miss Nancy. I got to sit and talk with her, Nancy, for a few hours. She’s a hoot. Very entertaining. And friendly.”

  Mace asked, “Did she try to get you to feed her some of the alien food?”

  David held up a finger. “She did, but I think it was more of a ploy to get a shot of the moonshine. She didn’t show any actual signs of craving anything.”

  Johnny said, “What’d you do?”

  David shrugged. “I did as I was told. I gave her a drink.”

  Mace said, “Well, I think it’s time we brought her here. We can put her up in the house until we feel she’s off the drug. Johnny, you can go roust Jane. Jasper, come with me. We’ll get Jeff and Nancy.”

  David raised his hand. “What about me?”

  Mace laughed. “You stay here with your new assignment. Dog watcher. Der and Molly need company.”

  David looked down at the two dogs curled up to either side of his chair. “You sure you trust me with them?”

  As Johnny walked toward the edge of the porch, he stopped. “What do you mean by that?”

  David shrugged. “I just mean that over the last year I’ve probably eaten a half dozen cats and dogs. I had to survive, and hunger has a way of making you do the unthinkable sometimes. The first one was the hardest. Foxy. That was our miniature dachshund at the lab. Sweet little pup.”

  Johnny stepped up to David’s chair. “All I can say is if I come back here and you’re snacking on my dog, I’ll���”

  Jasper laughed. “Relax, ape-man. The boy is just funning with you. He ain’t hungry, so your pooch ain’t in no danger. Now move along.”

  Johnny turned with a scowl still on his face. Half an hour later Mace pulled up in the Jeep. Jasper carried Nancy to a chair on the porch, where she was cuffed in place.

  Nancy looked around. “Nice to finally see daylight again.”

  Mace replied, “We spend a lot of time out here. Thought it might do you some good to get some fresh air and sunshine.”

  Nancy half smiled. “To tell you the truth, those cravings aren’t happening anymore. Well, at least not much. I do get a little twinge every once in a while, but it’s at a level where I can control myself now. More of an urge than a craving.”

  Mace glanced up as Johnny and Jane came down from the house, stepping up onto the porch. “Good. Now that we’re all here, we have two new operations to put in place. First, I want to arrange to get Tres and Vanessa back. We’ll put them through the same cycle as we have for Nancy here. Hopefully, in a couple weeks��� time, they’ll be fully back with us.

  “Now the kicker ��� the Mawga want us to ally with them in a fight against a potential enemy. They’ll give us suits, weapons, training, even crews and ships. They fear another species might be coming this way, a species they are at war with. If they attack, the Human population could potentially be enslaved or even just butchered. This may be our best opportunity to defend ourselves. And if things work out, we might even be able to kick the Mawga out of here when we’re done.

  “What I need at the moment is complete agreement among us all that this is the best path forward. If you have any reservations, now is a good time to bring them up. Once we start down this path, I don’t know if we’ll be able to turn back from it. It essentially requires that we enlist the other holdouts to join us.

  “So here it is: as I said, the Mawga will outfit and train us in the use of their systems. That means their guns and their ships. And they have a long list of rules they go by in warfare. We’ll have to learn those, and figure out the best ways to skirt them without bringing the wrath of the real rulers of the galaxy down on us.

  “There’s an alliance called the Galactic Union that has the most powerful empires running it. Everyone else kowtows to them. Until we have a full understanding of who they are and what they can do, we’ll be playing by their rules. Now, who has questions?
”

  Jane asked, “Will we be given untainted food?”

  Mace nodded. “Yes. It seems those on the drug do not make good fighters. It’s one of the reasons the Mawga claim to have put so many of us on it. They maintain that this is all being done for our benefit. When the community centers are complete, the zombies will be used to set up farming and factories. When those are complete, the drugs can be removed and we’ll be left with a rebuilt, sustainable civilization. That’s where they envision the trade partnership coming in.

  “This ally stance is totally new for them. I think they’re intimidated by us. According to Bontu, we are much bigger and stronger than most of the other species in the galaxy. Most, according to him, are about the size of the Mawga. Having Humans as allies might be what they’re really wanting from us. Big Humans to fight their wars, or at least alongside them.”

  Jasper said, “The way I see it, we can continue to lurk in the shadows, or we can let them arm us. I prefer the latter.”

  Johnny sighed. “Not sure how this transformation happened, but I actually agree with the old man. At least if we’re armed and on their ships, we can be somewhat assured they won’t be attacking us here on the ground or continuing to zombify us. I say we join, but we want full access to everything, including all their intel on the Kaachi and the Galactic Union.”

  Jane said, “I would rather fight than leave our defense to them. If these Kaachi are coming, we can’t just let them take over. I want to live, but not as some alien’s slave.”

  Mace glanced at Jeff. “Hey, I’m up for whatever this group decides. You’ve all shown me you can be trusted to do the right thing. So count my vote with the majority.”

  Mace turned to David. “What say you, Mr. Yancy? Y’in, y’out?”

  David nodded. “I’m in. I have no desire to ever eat cat again.”

  Mace looked around at the others. “So we move forward with this. David, you’ll come with me. We’ll be making the rounds trying to convince the other holdouts this is the right thing to do. Johnny, you, Jane, and Jasper make up a plan for getting Tres and Vanessa back. Jeff, you keep Nancy on her recovery track.”

  Jane said, “When you next talk to Bontu, see if he can just order Tres and Vanessa to come back here. I know he’ll say he can’t order them, but we both know he can. Push that and maybe we can get that issue resolved without struggle.”

  Mace clasped his hands together. “Sounds like we have a plan. Now, one final order of business, how are we doing with our food stocks? What about the still?”

  Jane replied, “We have about two weeks��� supply on food. We could stretch that a bit if needed. That’s about the lowest we’ve been since we first got here. There’s no more trading with the townies, although we could just go through houses and take what we need. They’re not using it. The garden’s putting out some veggies, but not enough to support us fully.”

  Jeff said, “I think we’re down to our last month’s supply of grain for the still. I’ve dialed back production because our demand has really fallen off, but we’ll need more grain, certainly more for this winter.”

  Mace rubbed his forehead. “Johnny, you, Jane, and Jasper, if I manage to get Tres and Vanessa released to us, your mission will be to build up our stockpile of food. If you can find grain, bring it back for Jeff. We can do without the shine if we absolutely have to. And, Jeff, you’ll be weaning Tres and Vanessa off the drug. Do whatever it takes, the rest of us will support you.”

  Mace picked up his arm pad, strapping it on his forearm. “Bontu, this is Mace.”

  Only seconds passed before a voice returned. “Mr. Hardy, I hope you have good news.”

  Mace nodded. “I do. I have a couple things first. I want you to direct our friends, Tres Dowda and Vanessa Potter to return here. We’re going to get them off the food drug. And I’ll be taking my colleague David with me to talk to all the holdouts. I’d like to start in Bedford with Jordan Crawford.”

  Bontu smiled. “Excellent! And as for your friends, you needn’t worry about the aid applied to the food. We have a method to remove its effects within an hour. Your friends will be returned shortly.”

  A shuttle was on the ground in fifteen minutes.

  Mace patted David on the back. “Prepare to be wowed by advanced technology. Although I wouldn’t be wowed by the Mawga. Other than Bontu and a few of his scientists, most of them seem a bit slow.”

  Chapter 23

  *

  David leaned over the rail of the catwalk as the chancellor’s ship slipped over the Appalachian Mountain tops. “This is incredible.”

  Mace pointed up. “You should see Earth from space while standing out here. You want something that will drop your jaw, that view will do it.”

  David looked up. “Please tell me we’re going up there at some point. That would far outstrip the discovery of my first supernova.”

  Mace said, “You know, the Mawga claim a supernova was the cause of the interference. A star that supposedly exploded ten thousand years ago.”

  David tilted his head in thought. “I suppose it’s possible. But I’d have to say doubtful. I would expect perhaps a strong gamma ray burst. I would have been able to tell you conclusively, but our gear was overwhelmed by the strength of the signal.”

  Mace crossed his arms. “Interesting. And yet we were able to make use of it when we found you.”

  David slowly nodded. “That thought hadn’t struck me, Mr. Hardy. Had the interference continued, we would not have been able to filter out the Mawga signals. The telescope would have continued to be useless.”

  Mace replied, “As to your trip to space, we’ll see if we can work that in at some point.”

  David pulled himself close to the rail and then pushed back. “I think the best part of this ride is that it hasn’t felt like we’re even moving.”

  Mace nodded. “They have some sort of inertial dampeners running. I’ve been told they are only effective up to a certain speed. So, for instance, if you’re moving along at a quarter light speed, you can’t simply change directions. Any turning at those speeds or above has to be done slowly. They only use those speeds for direct travel over long distances.”

  Bontu stepped out onto the catwalk. “Gentlemen, if you would follow me please, it is time to board.”

  The shuttle touched down in Bedford, Virginia. Mace stepped out onto the grass and was greeted by a curious Jordan Crawford.

  “Mr. Hardy, what brings you by? We aren’t in need of any supplies. We have plenty of food stocks and comm devices. In fact, we probably have excess of both.”

  Mace shook his hand. “I’m here for something a little different today, something I would like your opinion on. It may take a while, so we should find somewhere comfortable to sit.”

  Jordan glanced up, shading his eyes. “Yeah, that sun has been beating down this past week. Can’t wait for the first cool front to come through.”

  Mace replied as they walked, “I think this winter will be very different from the last.”

  Jordan nodded. “Let’s hope so.”

  “Mr. Crawford, this is a new friend of ours, David Yancy. He previously worked at the Green Bank Observatory.”

  Jordan smiled. “Oh yeah, the big dish place?”

  David returned a single nod. “That would be the one.”

  The trio walked into a building and took seats around a table.

  Jordan gestured toward the door. “Anyone need anything to drink? Eat?”

  Mace glanced at David. “I think we’re all set, Mr. Crawford.”

  Jordan sat back in his chair. “What’s the big news? It is big isn’t it? I’d expect nothing less from an unannounced visit.”

  Mace replied, “It’s big. The Mawga informed us yesterday that they believe another species might be on their way here. They could arrive in an hour, or in six months. At the moment they just don’t know, but they do believe this other species, one of their enemies, is coming.”

  Jordan frowned. “That’s
not the big news I was hoping for.”

  Mace half smiled. “It gets better. I think the Mawga are in fear of this other race overrunning them here. If so, they think we’ll either be enslaved of wiped out as a result.”

  Jordan took a deep breath. “OK ��� I don’t really see that as a positive.”

  Mace held up his hand. “It gets better still. The Mawga are scared, and they are proposing we become their allies.”

  Jordan crossed his arms. “What the… how are we supposed to be their allies when most of the remains of our populations are walking around like zombies?”

  Mace replied, “What they want is for all of us food holdouts to represent everyone. Those who are under the influence will remain there for the short term. They will stay in the centers and continue to work the original Mawga plan, which they say is for our own benefit. The way they laid it out, it might possibly be true. Anyway, the rest of us would be outfitted, trained, armed, and put on ships along with the Mawga for the fight.”

  “How many ships do they have?”

  David said, “Fourteen. They’re bigger and better armed than the ones we’ve seen.”

  Mace added, “I was on one yesterday. It could easily take on a thousand ships like the one the chancellor flies around on out there.”

  Jordan again frowned. “Fourteen ships? They have more coming?”

  Mace shook his head. “It doesn’t sound like it. They have limited resources. Could be the enemy is in the same boat. And they have all sorts of crazy rules of engagement that defy all common sense. It seems there’s a governing entity out there called the Galactic Union. Seven extremely powerful species make the rules. Everyone else has to follow them or they get crushed. The Galactic Union allows individual species to fight with each other over territory, but only using certain rules. Violators are dealt with harshly.

  “Get this, when the ships go into battle, they have to line up one after another. Only one set of ships fight each other at a time. And if you decide you’re taking too much damage, you just have to withdraw, the opposition can’t pursue you. When the final ships engage and one pulls away, the other is declared the victor and claims the territory. The loser just takes their beaten ships and goes home.”