The Invasion Begins

by Thomas DePrima

  “They had. But now we have several members demanding outrageous concessions for their planets in exchange for their agreement to the annexation.”

  “Isn’t survival enough?”

  “You’d think it would be, but some are never satisfied unless they’re getting a better deal than everyone else in the Gilesset.”

  “That’s unfortunate. But now you’ll have the privilege of telling them that their reluctance to sign the annexation petition when they had the chance means that the Space Command taskforce has returned to G.A. space. And with us goes your protection umbrella. I’m very sorry, sir. I really wish it could be otherwise, but we have to obey orders.”

  “Can’t you delay it somehow?”

  “Well— I might be able to convince Captain Gavin to delay our departure briefly if you were to offer something.”

  “What would it take?”

  “If you were to turn over the Denubbewa supervisor you promised us, I think I could buy you a couple of days. But no more than a couple.”

  “Land your ship and we’ll bring the Denubbewa to you.”

  “Has it been damaged?”

  “No, it’s intact. I gave strict orders it was not to be touched.”

  “Very well, Prime Minister. I’ll have the ship’s captain land while I begin planning what I’m going to say to delay the Ares’ departure for a couple of days.”

  “You feel confident you can convince the captain to wait two more days?”

  “I’m the ship’s Executive Officer. I’m sure there’s a mechanical issue or two that must be checked thoroughly before we depart. That would let him off the hook with Space Command but could put me on it if the real reason ever became known. However, receiving the Denubbewa prisoner makes me willing to risk it. It’ll buy you two more full days. Can you convince the Gilesset to approve the annexation by then?”

  “I’ll get them to agree even if I have to refuse to suspend the current Gilesset session indefinitely. Members can’t leave the floor and must sleep at their desks in the rotunda until the session is suspended. After two days of that, they’ll be ready to give me anything I demand. I reserve that action for only the most critical issues.”

  “The annexation petition has to be voluntary, and every member of the Gilesset has to agree, without reservation, on the vid. We won’t accept it if anyone shows the slightest doubt about the annexation.”

  “I understand, Commander. I’ve been putting up with their nonsense for weeks now. It’s time to roll the carpet.”

  “Excuse me? Roll the carpet?”

  “It’s just an expression we have. You don’t roll up the carpet until your business is concluded.”

  “I see.”

  “I’ll arrange for the prisoner transfer. It’ll be at the landing site within thirty minutes.”

  “We’ll be waiting. And the Ares will be waiting to hear from you regarding the annexation petition documentation.”

  ~

  Twenty-eight minutes and twelve seconds later, a vehicle transporting the Denubbewa prisoner arrived. The cyborg, strapped to an oh-gee table, continued to scream, struggle against its bindings, and threaten everyone involved in the transfer as it was taken aboard the CPS-16.

  As the head guard held out an electronic tablet to record Eliza’s palm print as proof of her acceptance of the prisoner, he said, “I’m glad to be rid of that awful thing. Good luck.”

  Eliza smiled and said, “Thanks. We’ll take good care of it.”

  “I don’t care if you fire a laser through its brain. It’s been screaming at us for weeks and demanding that we release it immediately or it was going to kill every one of us. You have no idea how hard it was to restrain ourselves from damaging it. But the Prime Minister ordered us to make sure it remained intact.”

  “After it’s served its purpose and we’ve learned everything it knows, we’ll erase its memories. I promise it’ll never even remember it was here.”

  “That’s good. We don’t want the Denubbewa to know about these underground caverns.”

  “They’ll never learn from us or this cyborg. You have my word.”

  “Good luck, Terran.”

  ~ ~ ~

  “P.M. Pemillisa handed over the Denubbewa supervisor, sir,” Eliza said to Gavin after entering his bridge office.

  “He did? Did you have to make any commitments?”

  “I promised that we’d remain in orbit for at least two more days.”

  “That’s not a problem since we haven’t been ordered to leave yet.”

  “I sort of— implied— we had received orders to leave Ruwalchu space. If he relates that to the Gilesset, it might prompt them to finalize the petition.”

  “Or cancel it.”

  “That’s a possibility, sir. But even if they do, we have the supervisor cyborg. And we never really promised them we would annex their territory to the G.A.”

  “Actually, we have far more territory than we can handle right now.”

  “The instantaneous communications will help substantially.”

  “Have you heard from Lieutenant Ryerson?”

  “Not yet. But we were out of CT range, being below the surface of the planet. Give me a moment.”

  Eliza touched her ring and said Ryerson’s name. A second later, the lieutenant responded.

  “The component in engineering is almost installed, Commander. Give us another five minutes to tie it into the new communications console on the bridge.”

  “Keep me posted. Carver out.” Looking at Gavin, she said, “Almost ready, sir. Ryerson said five more minutes.”

  “We’re supposed to send an acknowledgement to Quesann as soon the new system is operational.”

  “Yes, sir. The com chief on duty is ready with the prepared message.”

  ~

  “We have a reply message from Quesann, sir,” Eliza said as she entered Gavin’s office a short time later.

  “Voice or vid?”

  “Vid, sir. It’s been forwarded to your queue.”

  Gavin shook his head and smiled widely. “This is going to take some getting used to. It’s been what, two minutes since we sent our message?”

  “About that, Captain.”

  Gavin leaned in towards the scanner so it could confirm his identity with a retinal scan. The Priority-One message from Admiral Carver began playing immediately once his identity had been confirmed.

  “Larry, congratulations on a highly successful eradication operation of the Denubbewa invaders in Ruwalchu space. It’s interesting that the ships weren’t sheathed in Dakinium. It raises the question as to whether they were there before the armada entered G.A. space since we’ve been assuming that all Denubbewa vessels we see in the future will be Dakinium sheathed.

  “And we were stunned to hear that the Ruwalchu Confederacy was interested in becoming part of the G.A. I haven’t yet presented the matter to the G.A. Senate Council. We must have firm confirmation of their intent before I do that. It’s been weeks since you sent your message, so I’d like an update on that issue. I’m not expecting to hear that they’ve already presented a formal application for annexation. Politicians have a predilection for dragging even the simplest and most critical matters out to unimaginable lengths. You’ll probably have to hold their feet to the fire to get an actual commitment from them. I’ll support you in whatever actions you choose to take.

  “And if they decide not to proceed with the annexation or they simply can’t reach a consensus, you should return to Region Three and begin patrolling for any signs of Denubbewa. As each day passes with no reports of cyborgs in G.A. space, we get more worried. We’re sure they’re not gone and doubly sure it will only be a matter of time before they strike again. Not knowing where and when they intend to strike next is keeping us all awake at night. Keep up the good work, Larry.

  “Jenetta Alicia Carver, Admiral of the Fleet, Quesann. End of message.”

  “There you have it, Eliza. We have orders to return to Region Three and resume p
atrols, but we also have permission to take whatever actions we decide are best, so what we tell the Prime Minister regarding our departure is up to us. We’re covered either way.”

  “Yes, sir. So how do we play this if the P.M. asks for more time?”

  “Use your judgment. I trust you completely. You know how important this is and what we can afford to give. I’ve had enough experience to know that politicians don’t always do what’s best for their constituents. Too often it comes down to what will give them an easier road to re-election or what will put the most credits into their own pockets. Perhaps they need a little more encouragement, so I should order all ships farther inside their territory than we currently are to head back and wait for the rest of the taskforce an hour inside G.A. space. You promised the P.M. that the Ares wouldn’t leave, but you probably never said anything about the rest of the taskforce.”

  “No, I didn’t. Will the Ruwalchu Gilesset even know about the withdrawal? The P.M. said their entire Space Fleet was destroyed.”

  “The reports from our taskforce ships mention seeing freighters along established trade routes now that the Denubbewa threat appears to be over. If there was no reason to suspect they might be Denubbewa, our ships ignored them. And we should be able to take for granted that the Confederacy has automated observation systems on moons and manned observation posts on uninhabited planets throughout their space, just as Space Command does. However, our ships are invisible while cocooned in a double envelope, and if we were to drop the double envelope, the Ruwalchu would most likely understand that we intentionally wanted to be seen. I’m open to any suggestions.”

  “Well, we could have any ship that passes a freighter circle back to a point beyond DeTect range, drop their double envelope and build a single, then pass the freighter slow enough and close enough to be clearly identified as Space Command heading for the border. Once beyond DeTect range again, they could drop the single and build a double envelope before continuing their journey.”

  “The Ruwalchu could question why the ship was traveling so slowly.”

  “We could say it had slowed to identify a DeTected ship so as to ensure it wasn’t Denubbewa. The Ruwalchu don’t know how our propulsion system operates or that they can’t see us when we’re in double-envelope travel.”

  * * *

  Chapter Sixteen

  ~ August 13th, 2292 ~

  “The new com system is amazing,” Jenetta said to the admirals relaxing in her office during a closed meeting of the Admiralty Board. “It’s worked to perfection so far. Loretta and her people deserve a month off. Unfortunately, we need them here so desperately that we can’t afford to let them take any time off for a while. We must get the new com system installed in every warship, every Quartermaster ship, every ship transporter, and on every Space Command base. And we must get our new satellite system in place and then install the CJ Gates.” Jenetta stopped to take a breath and a sip from her coffee mug. “Oh, and one last minor task. We still have to build the thousands of com system consoles, satellites, and gates before they can be put into service.”

  “Is that all, Jenetta?” Admiral Holt said with a wry grin.

  Jenetta smiled and said, “Well, I didn’t want to put too much pressure on the Board, but there are a few dozen other things we need to do immediately.”

  “Seriously?” Admiral Ressler asked with a shocked expression on her face.

  Jenetta chuckled and said, “No, Shana. I’m joking.”

  “Whew, you had me going for a few seconds.”

  “Gee, what are you going to be doing with all your spare time, Loretta?” Admiral Hillaire asked with a grin.

  “We all know the importance of the tasks I mentioned,” Jenetta said. “We can’t leave the full weight of this effort on Loretta, so we’ll all have to pitch in anywhere we can to get the work done. We all know it will be worth the effort.”

  “We’ll naturally help in any way we can, Loretta,” Admiral Woo said. “Just tell us what you need.”

  “Thanks, Lon,” Admiral Plimley said.

  “Did Larry send an update regarding the Ruwalchu interest in annexation, Jen?” Admiral Holt asked.

  “Yes, he did, Brian. He says the Gilesset is deadlocked at present because of several members. A few have been holding out for special— considerations.”

  “From the G.A.?”

  “I imagine it’s some concession they want from the Ruwalchu Confederacy. Since they haven’t even filed an official annexation petition yet, they can’t be asking us for anything.”

  “We can’t take this matter to the Council until we have the formal petition,” Admiral Yuthkotl said. “How long can we keep an entire taskforce idle in their territory?”

  “The Gilesset know that as long as we’re there, they’re safe from the Denubbewa,” Jenetta said. “I’m not saying that’s the reason for the delay, but it’s understandable if it is. I consulted Brian before I sent the Priority-One message to Larry in which I told Larry that if the Gilesset should decide not to proceed with the annexation petition or simply cannot agree on a course of action, he should return to Region Three and resume the search for any sign of Denubbewa.

  “There’s something I haven’t mentioned yet. The Ruwalchu have turned a cyborg over to us. According to Larry, it’s a supervisor cyborg with three blue dots.”

  “Wonderful,” Admiral Bradlee said. “I, uh, trust it’s still intact?”

  “As soon as Larry learned the Ruwalchu had it, he asked that it not be damaged in any way. Larry says that it curses anyone who comes close and immediately threatens to kill them.”

  “Wonderful,” Admiral Bradlee said.

  “Wonderful?” Admiral Woo said. “Roger, it’s certainly not going to be cooperative.”

  “It doesn’t have to cooperate, Lon. If Larry can get it back here— intact— my people will be able to learn most of its secrets. Even the ones it doesn’t want to tell us. This might be an opportunity to learn where the Denubbewa race originated.”

  “That alone would justify whatever we have to do to bring it back here,” Jenetta said.

  “I agree, Jen,” Admiral Burke said. “Larry should load the cyborg aboard one of his CPS vessels and get it on its way to us as soon as possible.”

  “I agree also,” Jenetta said. “Let’s see a show of hands. All in favor of having Captain Gavin send the cyborg back here immediately?”

  “The proposal carries unanimously,” Jenetta said. “Brian, will you see that Larry is notified that we’d like to have the cyborg sent back as soon as possible, regardless of any action by the Ruwalchu on an annexation petition?”

  “I will.”

  “Thank you.”

  “Jen,” Admiral Burke said, “we’ve discussed the possibility of the Ruwalchu annexation briefly, but we’ve never discussed how we feel individually. Do you favor the annexation of such a large area of space?”

  Prefacing it with a smile, Jenetta said, “Since I was largely responsible for adding Regions Two and Three to the G.A., I’d be a bit of a hypocrite if I opposed it.”

  “That was different,” Admiral Ahmed said. “We were looking for avenues to prevent further war. Absorbing Regions Two and Three following the surrender of the Milori and the Uthlaro was almost an imperative. But here we have a situation where we’re just expanding the area we have to cover. I’m having difficulties supplying the three regions we already have, and our fleet is stretched to breaking limits.”

  Jenetta thought for a few moments in silence and chose her words carefully. “It’s very true that this is a totally different situation, so let’s examine the facts. Absorbing the Ruwalchu Confederacy will place significant additional burdens on Space Command. Their territory is slightly larger than the Milori Empire was, and they shared a long, common border, so it’s not surprising that Maxxiloth had designs on annexing it. He never attacked it simply because the Ruwalchu military forces were equally matched, but he would have gotten around to it once he felt he had built hi
s forces to a point where he could crush them quickly. Unfortunately for him, he believed he could crush us much more easily so he chose us as an intermediate target.

  “Perhaps we should be looking at this from a different perspective. To wit, what if we were to refuse to absorb the Ruwalchu Confederacy? We know the people there can’t defend themselves against the Denubbewa. They don’t have even the slightest chance now that their Space Fleet has been destroyed. So we appear to have three options. One, we take on the responsibility of protecting their people and their territory with no support funds to help keep our military strong. Two, we allow them to be destroyed by the Denubbewa. Or three, we append them as part of the G.A. If their territory became part of the G.A., the people there would be protected and we’d have an expanded territory that offered new resources and opportunities for G.A. citizens to establish mining and food-production operations. Even so, they wouldn’t be able to trade with or interact with any inhabited, non-aligned planet in the present Ruwalchu territory, and non-aligned planets wouldn’t be allowed to interact with our aligned planets. Once the Ruwalchu realize it’s more beneficial to be a full member of the G.A., with Senate voting rights and trading capabilities with other G.A. planets and citizens, they’ll most likely want those benefits for their own citizens.”

  “But what if they want to remain apart and are simply applying for annexation for protection?” Admiral Burke asked.

  “It’s been our experience, based on the situation in Regions Two and Three, that planets eventually come to realize they're far better off as a full member of the G.A. than remaining apart. Yes, as members they must help support Space Command and the G.A. government, but it dramatically improves the protection they receive, and they’ll reap a lot of other benefits in the long run. And the Ruwalchu have already been supporting their Space Fleet, so they understand that military protection isn’t free.”

  “I support their being appended to the G.A. territory, even if they don’t wish to become a full member with senate voting privileges,” Admiral Yuthkotl said. “It may not be that different from the relationship the G.A. has with Nordakia and Obotymot. Both became full members of the G.A. after a time.”