The Final Act: Book III: The Settlement Chronicals

by W. J. Rydrych

  In the minds of the residents their colony was a success, with growth assured. Even now over 30,000 new colonists were enroute from Earth, expected to arrive in about five years. And after that many more could be expected.

  The question of the Gath and the blockading fleet at Beta 3 had become a receding worry in the colonist’s minds.

  On the Stockholm . . . .

  Faud watched as the Gath, in their bulky suits, lumbered to the shuttle craft. After all these years there was no sign the Gath were anyway near a breaking point; in fact they seemed to be growing stronger. The severity of their attacks was increasing, and their tactics were better; the Gath were learning how to wage war.

  The blockade had to end; with one final attempt made to achieve a peaceful solution emissaries were being sent to meet with the Gath below. And if a truce were refused? Faud didn't want to think of the alternative. Before the shuttle left the Gath leaders captured at Alpha 2, carrying an offer of peace, would be joined by Lt Commander Sotelo and Lt Commander Evren.

  After several weeks of transmitting messages back and forth, with many mutual misunderstandings, the Beta 3 leaders had finally agreed to allow a shuttle to bring emissaries to the planet to discuss a possible agreement. While they had agreed to the discussions, there was no indication they would be interested in the truce, or if they even understood what it implied.

  Faud stood with Commander Geer and the leaders of the Gath team, Lt Commander Sotelo and Lt Commander Evren. Sotelo and Evren would serve as the human emissaries, communicating through Gath-Tuc-1 and Gath-Tuc-2. But before the mission left he needed Sotelo and Evren for the teleconference already set up with the fleet commanders; until then the Gath would have to wait in the shuttle.

  It was strange how Sotelo and Evren had changed. In constant contact with the Gath, in some ways they had become Gath themselves, with nearly complete acceptance as such. At first the captive Gath had been distant, but over the years Sotelo and Evren developed a place in the Gath hierarchy and become recognized as number one; number one since they represented the captors who issued orders. They even spent most of their waking hours in the Gath enclosure, using personal devices to supplement the low oxygen level. Now, after nearly six years of limited human contact, they almost huddled together as if they felt out of place.

  All knew the risks of the mission. Faud had met with both Sotelo and Evren to make sure they fully understood how dangerous it was, but both were determined to undertake the mission. They, and Faud, understood their chances of returning alive were remote.

  The message being carried to the Gath was a request for a peace agreement, or at least a truce. The fleet would stop hostilities and allow Gath freighters to again begin commerce with the asteroid belt, if in return the Gath would stop hostilities and agree to allow Alpha 2 to remain unmolested. But there was a further message; if there was no agreement, they would destroy the Gath. While Faud had not explained to Sotelo or Evren exactly how that would be done, they would find out in the upcoming teleconference with the fleet commanders. This was the reason he had to hold back the mission to the surface for these few hours; only Sotelo and Evren could predict how the Gath would react to such an ultimatum.

  Later, in the conference room . . . .

  Admiral Honecker was grim as the faces of the captains of the remaining motherships in the fleet came, one by one, onto the conference screens. In the conference room he was attended only by Vice Admiral's Mereno and Hara, Captain Johnson, Gertrude Foley, and Lt Commanders Sotelo and Evren.

  Glancing over at Sotelo and Evren, Faud thought, what a waste. Once two of his brightest and best officers in the fleet, their assignment to live with the Gath captives had done exactly what Dr Foley had said would happen. Once independent and aggressive, they, like the Gath they had modeled themselves after, had become such a tight knit team that they were no longer capable of acting without consulting with the other. And, while as the number one pair in the Gath on-board hierarchy among the Gath they were assertive, they became passive when in human company. They had succeeded in their assignment, but had lost the edge that had made them such good officers originally. Effectively, the assignment had ruined their careers, and now, in the next few days, would very likely cost them their lives.

  The last of the scheduled screens had come on-line as each captain logged in. Faud couldn't help but glance at the empty screens. Of the 14 screens only seven were active. One screen was empty as a matter of course, that of the Halsey, still back at Alpha 2. But over the years many other screens had become blank. Those of the Barkley, Kiev, and Bolivar in Alpha Year 51, then the Mao in Alpha Year 57, followed by the Littlehorn and Churchill in Alpha Year 58.

  When the remaining motherships were accounted for, Faud glanced from screen to screen as he started, "this is a very special meeting, which is why I asked that only yourselves and your executive officers be present in the room. At this end only Admirals Mereno and Hara, Captain Johnson, Dr Foley and Lt Commanders Sotelo and Evren are present."

  Pausing, Admiral Honecker said slowly and deliberately, "the things discussed in this meeting are not to be discussed outside, even between yourselves, and will never be brought up again; that's a direct order.

  Further," he added, "no notes or minutes are to be made, and, while I know it does not conform to fleet regulations, your ship logs are to show no record of this meeting, anything discussed, or any actions that result from this meeting."

  Looking around the screens, "if any one of you feels you cannot in good conscience follow that order, please turn command over to your executive officer and leave the room now. If neither of you can comply, turn your link off now."

  While the fleet captains continued to look at Faud with rapt attention, none of the screens went blank.

  After a few moments Faud said, "good. As you are all aware, it's becoming more and more difficult to sustain the blockade; our material losses are beginning to outstrip our ability to replace them. We've held the blockade now for over seven years, but there's no sign the Gath are weakening, and for the last three years have been able to launch at least one or two major attacks each year. Over this time we’ve lost three of our motherships, in addition to the three in the first year, and most of the others have sustained at least limited damage. It’s become obvious that, within another year or two, three at the most, we will be overwhelmed."

  "It's time," he added, "to move on.

  After a lengthy pause, while he observed the faces on the screen, Faud continued, "the peace mission, as we discussed in the previous meeting, will be dispatched as soon as Lt Commanders Sotelo and Evren are able to leave this meeting. They will leave with the shuttle taking the Alpha 2 Gath leaders to the surface."

  After a pause, "the peace mission is something that I feel in 'good conscience' must be tried, but I share the belief many of you expressed that it is unlikely to be successful; and even if successful may not be honored indefinitely."

  Faud looked down at his hands spread on the table, before again looking up, "I have made a decision about what our course of action will be if the mission fails, but I must discuss it with you first. It's a decision that, to implement, requires the participation of all of you. Additionally, it is an order that may violate your deepest held beliefs."

  "First, our options as I see them. One, keep up the blockade, and in time be overwhelmed, with the likelihood that Alpha 2 will also fall within a few years. Second, leave and return to Alpha 2, evacuate the colonists and proceed either to Sirius or return to Earth."

  After a pause, "I don't feel option one is rational. The fleet, if we include the losses in taking Alpha 2, has suffered over 80,000 fatalities. Option 1 would call for us to stay until most or all of our eight remaining blockading ships are lost, including their crews and support personnel, with the end result of still losing Alpha 2 and giving up the Sirius mission."

  "Option 2 is a bit more palatable, but not much. We admit defeat, evacuate Alpha 2, and move on; eat our losse
s in manpower and time. Either option also has an additional factor; the possibility of eventual conflict between Beta 3 and Earth itself, with unpredictable results. At a minimum Earth would have to stay in a constant state of alert."

  Looking around at the various screens, Faud paused before saying, "but there is one more option; an option that has been a closely held secret between Dr Foley and myself, and before that between Dr Foley and Admiral Lundblad. Some others, mostly in Dr Foley’s organization, are aware, but that is limited to only those persons working on the project itself, and to the extent they need to know. Even my direct staff," he continued, "has been kept in the dark. Admiral Moreno was first briefed several months ago when certain pre-implementation steps were required, while Admiral Hara was briefed only last week."

  "If this third option is to be implemented it requires we withstand one more major attack. In fact it’s necessary that a major Gath attack take place, and that we withstand it, for the option to be viable. But," he added, "if this third option is implemented, we'll be in clear and direct violation of international treaties of long standing, and I’m afraid at odds with the conscience of most if not all of those here."

  Continuing, "for that reason this meeting, and any resulting implementation of Option 3, must be held in the tightest secrecy. If, after hearing what that option is, you feel you cannot be a participant, I ask that you turn command over to your executive officer, if he is willing. If neither are willing to precede, I will arrange for a change of command. Without full participation of the entire fleet we may fail."

  Looking around at the various screens, catching the eyes of each ship captain as he did so, Faud paused before adding, "Option 3 is code-named Project Armageddon, for a reason you will understand when I tell you what it is."

  Mustapha Karagen, captain of the Ataturk, commented quietly during the ensuing silence, "Armageddon, the final battle on the 'plains of Megiddo'; the end of the world."

  Faud nodded, "yes, the final battle, the end of the world of the Gath."

  Glancing over at Dr Foley, "I'm going to ask Dr Foley to describe Project Armageddon, what we believe the end result would be, and how it would be implemented.

  Dr Foley rose from her chair and walked over to a lectern, where she shuffled some papers before looking at the screens and the other persons in the room. Although now in her early 70s, Dr Foley had changed little with time. Still the tall, rawboned, unsmiling woman with steel rimmed glasses and pulled back graying hair; although the hair was now almost completely white.

  Looking around the room, "we must face facts. Without some special measure we cannot defeat the Gath, and will be forced to abandon the blockade. Without the blockade the Gath will rebuild their fleet and drive us from Alpha 2. And they will succeed; they have learned a lot about waging war from us over the years.”

  “We believe," she added slowly, "the Gath will then mount a massive attack on Earth. While Earth will very probably be able to repel such an attack, losses could number in the millions if not hundreds of millions, and require use of most of Earth's resources for many years. Admiral Lundblad understood this, and authorized me to undertake the research and development necessary to find a weapon to end this war."

  After several moments of eye contact with the listeners, "on the Alpha 2 moon, and Alpha 2 itself, we used nuclear charges or gas to clear the underground chambers; something many thought was barbaric. But there we faced, at most, ten levels of chambers, and even then it wasn't easy. Here we know the Gath chambers extend down for kilometers, anywhere from 100-200 levels, and maybe more. With those chambers and tunnels honeycombing the planet, and every level expected to be defended, we could never hope to clear those tunnels by those means. And the Gath have shown themselves capable of operating a thriving society below ground for indefinite periods, which means something new is required."

  Looking around, “Project Armageddon, as you may have guessed, is that something new. Something we all find abhorrent; a biological attack. For that reason it would be a violation of international Earth treaties, and,”, glancing over at Admiral Honecker, “as the Admiral noted, cause many of you a conflict with your own conscience, since it is indiscriminate and, in effect, genocide. What we did on Alpha 2 was also indiscriminate, but on a much smaller scale, and largely against installations that were at least partly military.”

  “But," she continued, "the makers of those treaties never had to address a problem such as we face, and in war we have to face our own conscience daily. Even the second colony developed, and seriously considered, use of biological agents against the Kraa"

  "Bringing the Gath from Alpha 2 to here was a key step. It not only provided the Gath Strategy Team with the contact required, but gave us Gath to allow the weapon to be refined."

  Smiling grimly, “another violation of Earth treaties, using prisoners of war for biological experiments. But it was a success; now we think it's ready, and have an approach to delivery that will work. It only requires a decision to proceed, and the assault could be implemented within 24 hours."

  "First," she continued, "the weapon itself. It is a viral 'soup', a combination of more than one virus that targets Gath physiology only, and is harmless to humans. Luckily, the Gath genetic makeup is so different from that of humans, or even the Torgai or Kraa, that a cross-species jump is extremely unlikely.”

  “Not all the components of the soup are fatal; one is, in fact, similar to the flu virus in that it’s very infectious, but intended mainly to weaken a Gath to make them more susceptible to the more deadly types."

  "Second, we don't think the soup would be 100% fatal, even among those infected. We do see, however, a mortality as high as 80% before immunity could develop, and some Gath will either have or develop a partial immunity; which serves to our advantage. Those with partial immunity, and those who recover, remain carriers who would spread the virus throughout the planet."

  "The original population of the planet was in excess of 11 billion, but we believe there has been some reduction by the Gath to conserve resources. We estimate it has now been reduced to under 5 billion. If we could find a way to infect all the Gath we would be able to reduce their population to well below 1 billion; perhaps lower. At that level, with their low birth rate, we feel the Gath civilization will be set back sufficiently to remove the Gath as a threat, either to Alpha 2 or Earth, for decades at least.”

  “But,” she added, “I’m the first to admit we just don’t know the full implications of introducing this agent into the Gath population. It is conceivable that the entire Gath population could be wiped out, full genocide.”

  Looking around the room, "we have the agents, but a good delivery system is needed to introduce the agent simultaneously over the entire planet, and the sheer size of the planet makes that difficult. Once in the burrows internal air circulation would spread the virus throughout that section since the agent is airborne, becomes immediately infectious, and the cycle from infection to symptoms is quite long; ideal for a weapon."

  Captain Greta Holz raised her hand to get Dr Foley's attention, "you said earlier humans were immune to the effects of the virus, but you also said the virus would be expected to mutate. It's true, is it not, that it could mutate to a form fatal to humans?"

  Dr Foley nodded, "there is always that risk, but as I said before it is very small. The Gath physiology is much further away from that of humans than any Earth animals, and while a jump to humans is possible, it is very unlikely. Still, steps must be taken to minimize it; steps I’ll go over later."

  "Rare perhaps," Captain Holz responded, "but like with AIDS, sometimes catastrophic."

  "Yes," Dr Foley nodded, " I would certainly recommend that if the option is implemented the planet be quarantined indefinitely; and I would not recommend sending any expeditions to the surface following the attack."

  Captain Holz nodded, and Dr. Foley continued after a pause to see if there were any other questions, "moving on to another problem, final delivery to t
he Gath. It soon became evident more than one stage in the delivery system would be required."

  "In the first stage, the agent would be dispersed near the entrances to the Gath hangers by missiles, that to the Gath would appear to be part of an attack, and, I might add, the attack would also look to our own people in the fleet as an attack. The 'soup' will be carried in an emulsified fog to blanket the areas near their hangers, hovering in the dense, lower atmosphere and coating the planet surface; from which it will constantly out-gas. In this form it will last for weeks at least, perhaps months or even years. That sets the trigger, but another step is required for the virus to gain entry to the warrens."

  “Before I describe the next step,” Dr Foley continued, “I’ll ‘pre-empt’ a question that may be in your minds. Will the Gath discover the existence of the viral fog surrounding the planet? The answer is that it’s unlikely, but it is possible, and for that reason once the agent is introduced we must immediately entice the Gath into a major attack. We don't want partial introduction to the warrens resulting from small probing action.”

  "Now, back to the ‘trigger’ step," Dr. Foley continued, looking around, "the trigger will be the Gath themselves. The Admiral commented earlier that the fleet would have to withstand at least one more massive assault, and we are sure the Gath are preparing for such an assault even now; but for maximum effect we need that assault on ‘our’ timeline, not theirs. Which is why we must get them to respond to us.”

  “However, we feel," Gert added slowly, "while we must in good conscious at least make the attempt at a truce, the Gath will interpret it as weakness, and be provoked into an immediate attack, which we will ‘preempt’ by the missile attack on their hangers to ‘insert’ the virus."

  Looking at the screens, Gert said slowly, "when the Gath ships return to their hangers the virus, in its 'emulsified' agent, will stick to the hulls and be carried into the hanger areas. The high temperatures of the ship hulls will begin to activate the virus even as it enters the hanger, infecting anyone in the hanger area."