Earth Interstellar_Proxy War

by Scott Olen Reid

  The UEG governing body was established in the second year after first contact with the Vrene; the United States, having won the right in a competition between the major powers of the time to be the governing country for all intergalactic relations, dominated the ruling body. The Americans could have maintained a monopoly on that power with the backing of the Vrene but saw the writing on the wall a third world war would likely be the result if they did not share power with the other world powers. Fortunately for everyone involved, they avoided the mistakes made in the now-defunct United Nations and kept the membership limited to the most powerful permanent members of the UN Security Council.

  Members of the governing body, called Senators, were from the United States, holding the chairman’s seat and seven other seats of the governing body. Britain, Japan, Germany, France, Russia, China, India, and Brazil each held single seats. The US gave up just enough power to prevent a world war while making it difficult for the other members to overturn its decisions. Members were elected or appointed at their government’s discretion and could be recalled at any time. It was an effective way to limit the ambitions of the serving members and keep the masses from electing the highly corrupt and incompetent politicians that always seemed to win their support during the 21st Century. The greatest failure of democracy had proven to be in the gullibility of The People to charismatic politicians followed closely by the corruption of the Press by taking sides when they were supposed to be the watchdogs.

  It was snowing as it tended to do in the District of Columbia in January and a deep blanket covered the grounds of the UEG. This was ordinarily just cause for shutting down the government and having a snow day. Even with all the technology available, little attention was given to eliminating the handful of extra “holidays” given to the governments of the US and UEG. Despite all the complaining, people genuinely liked taking the day off when it snowed. Unfortunately for the governing body of the UEG, taking the day off today was not an option. Not when the Vrene Representative issued a demand to address the governing body and included with it the demand for data indicating the Exploration Service’s encoded location of an intelligent alien race.

  “Good morning,” began Assistant to the Ambassador, Rom Vuul, being well versed in human public speaking, “One day ago, the Exploration Service’s forward operating base, Black Rock Three, received a message from a drone sent by the Exploration Service Ship, Cousteau. You were all provided the complete contents of that message in accompaniment of the summons issued to each of you by me.”

  Several members of the governing body began to squirm in their seats, offended at the idea they were “summoned” like a common servant. To the credit of several senators, that slight took a distant second to the revelation the Rool were capable of instantaneous interstellar communications and the contents of the data from the Cousteau.

  Speculation of instantaneous communications existed was common in the scientific community, but never revealed as the Rool and Vrene operated as if courier ships were necessary to communicate with their superiors. This led to another revelation: our alien protectors were willing to go to great lengths to hide their true capabilities.

  “I see many of you are beginning to comprehend the Protectorate has withheld a great deal from you and I will say only this: You are correct, much has been withheld, and much will continue to be withheld. An axiom of the Vrene may provide some explanation, ‘Unearned knowledge is unwise knowledge.’ Three hundred years ago it was made clear to your predecessors that you will not be given access to technologies for which you have no need and are not ready to use responsibly. That was true then, and it is true now. With the discovery of this new species and because of where it is located it has been decided that it is time to evolve the protectorate’s level of sharing of information and, when unavoidable, exposure to new technologies.” Pausing to give the humans a moment to digest the information they were provided, Rom Vuul scanned the faces of the leaders of humanity. Without exception, they were all extremely capable by human standards. A characteristic that was not always the case over the last three hundred years, but which seemed to have been rectified in the last forty as humans embraced a more meritocratic society and rejected the elitist ruling classes that were responsible for so many failures in leadership by humans in the past.

  Rom Vuul made demands for three things required of the UEG governing body: first, System 48269 must be identified using the Map Coordinate and Naming System provided to the humans on May 6, 2241; second, the disclosure of all interstellar capable and extrasolar assets currently possessed by humans, with an emphasis on military capabilities; and third, a comprehensive plan for making first contact with the new species found in System 48269 to be submitted to the Vrene’s representatives who had the authority to deny or modify the human’s right and manner of making first contact.

  All of the previous squirming came to a stop. Even the aides to the members, who would normally never give an indication of hearing anything said in the chambers, stopped and stared at the Rool. Only eight people in the room were staring at the blue alien. Those members not looking, all Americans, were instead looking at each other. It appears the cat’s out of the bag, thought Rom Vuul.

  “I see. It would seem that the members of this body are in need of a private meeting. We will reconvene in one hour. Be prepared to provide full information on the first and second requirements upon my return.” With that, Rom Vuul stepped back from the podium and exited the room through a side door.

  Over the next hour the UE governing body was a storm of shouting and incriminations that was followed by two votes. In both cases the vote count was eight votes for, six against, and two abstained. Indeed, the cat was out of the bag and the Americans made exactly three statements with regard to withholding all knowledge of a human interstellar military capability. Summarized, they amounted to, “If we had told you it would have gotten back to the Vrene and you all know it.” The second being, “Yes, it was with the approval of the US Congress and the President. But, the government officials who gave permission are all retired or deceased and no members of the current government are aware of the program.” And, third, “As passed by the first and second votes, all UEG military assets shall henceforth fall under the jurisdiction of the full governing body.”

  At the end of the hour the body reconvened with Ambassador Rom Vuul. This time they occupied a large working conference room with a twenty foot round table occupying most of the space. Above the table hung a 3D holovid of space with Earth clearly marked and extending out several light years beyond the location of the Waypoint System; home to Black Rock Three base. Most of the stars shown in the hologram were white, with ten shown in blue, representing the frontier exploration service bases. Black Rock Three base was one of these. Another four represented older frontier bases that were then well within the confines of human explored space. Additionally, there were fourteen green star systems representing space-based human outposts in systems where life-bearing planets were found. None of the planets were colonized as the local flora and fauna were incompatible with human life, although they did maintain scientific research stations. Rom Vuul recognized each and every one of the systems as his artificial mind maintained perfect knowledge of all of the star systems.

  “I am familiar with the installations shown here. None of these contain a military presence,” Rom Vuul observed.

  “That is correct, Ambassador. Please bide a moment,” acknowledged the Chairman of the UEG, Michael Watkins. “Additional information will be loaded momentarily.” The Chairman turned to one of his aides standing along the back wall, “Lt. Elon, please upload profile Alpha-17. Authorization Gamma-Four-Six.”

  Lt. Elon stepped forward but did not move to the control panel of the holo-imager. Instead, she looked to three of the other members in sequence as select members of the American delegation gave their own authorization codes. Only after all four codes were given did Lt. Elon approach the holo-imager and insert a small cryst
al memory cube after extracting it from a briefcase chained to her wrist.

  Immediately, the holographic image re-loaded, adding in several previously unlisted star systems in yellow as well as turning ten of the previously white star systems red. All ten of the red star systems were located within a few light years of Exploration Service bases. None of the non-American members were able to identify either the yellow or red systems by sight; the map was just too grand in scale for a human to be able to retain the names of so many stars. Rom Vuul, however, knew exactly where each of the systems was located. Mentally congratulating the humans on their choice of locations for the red systems, which were obviously military sites by their placement, and in their ability to sniff out dark star and protostar systems that give off little light.

  “Ambassador Rom Vuul and member body,” the Chairman began, “What you see here is representative of all fixed assets of human origin.” Using a long pointer, the Chairman dipped the tip into the hologram and began pointing to the different colored star systems, one by one, “The yellow star systems are dark star systems that are kept in reserve as future potential operating bases. They are all either in development or have small operating bases,” he said, continuing to point at each system. “The red systems,” he switched to pointing to each of the red star systems closest to where he was standing, “are locations of military bases and manufacturing facilities under the control of the United Earth Armed Forces.”

  The Senator from Russia, Piotr Vasnetsov, let out a string of expletives best not translated from his native Russian before he asked, “Mr. Chairman, exactly how long has this secret been kept?” He was glaring at the American.

  Chairman Watkins, in a voice devoid of shame, guilt, or a willingness to back down, replied, “Piotr, the UEAF was formed seventy years ago. I am not ashamed to say it has been the most closely and successfully guarded secret in the history of humanity.” Looking at the ambassador, the chairman stated, “The UEAF operates four hundred combat ships and another one hundred eighty support ships of various types and sizes.”

  “How can we afford to support this fleet?” burst out one of the other senators, who happened to be on the finance committee.

  “The UEAF is completely self-sustaining and self-financed. It operates largely independently and with very limited contact with the UEG.” The pride in the chairman’s voice could not be contained. This was his baby, his ultimate scepter of power. Holding his head up and staring the Rool down in defiance, he told them, “The UEAF was funded with a two trillion dollar grant of supplies and materials diverted from the tribute to the Vrene.” Unrepentant, but also not suicidal, he added, “Not to worry, Ambassador, we overcharged the governments of Earth, not under delivered to the Vrene.” That earned the chairman a scowl from all eight of the non-American members.

  “Thank you for providing this information, Mr. Chairman. Know that this is a serious breach of the Vrene’s trust, the consequences of which have yet to be determined. Please provide the specifications of your combat ships and weapon systems, preferably with sets of full schematics.”

  Surprised the ambassador did not make summary executions or any mention of specific consequences, the chairman replied, “Yes, Mr. Ambassador. As the cat is out of the bag, as you said, there is no reason to not to show its spots.” The chairman was well aware of the Rool’s propensity and seeming enjoyment in the use of human idioms, although his mashing of the two together would have been embarrassing if he had known.

  Ignoring the comment, the ambassador said, “Mr. Chairman, I believe it is time to disclose the location of System 48269.”

  “Of course, Mr. Ambassador.” Humans resisting their “protectors” was limited to keeping the existence of secrets secret, not refusing to give them up once their existence was known.

  The next six hours of the meeting were a debate on how to properly exploit the opportunity presented by the discovery of the Rheas, whose name was still known only to the crew of the XSS Cousteau. Ambassador Rom Vuul expanded his list of potential actions the humans could take in light of their now revealed military capabilities. The location of the aliens would be as close, or closer, to Chzek space than it was to Earth, he realized. It could make an effective forward operating base if they had time for it to develop.

  A day ago the ambassador never would have considered the possibility of Humans making a claim to be the new race’s protectors. But now he thought, if it turned out humans had the military strength, they could fight their proxy war for the Vrene far from Earth. It could add decades to the time they could resist Chzek expansion, which was more than the Vrene ever expected. It made the Rool hopeful for their future. For a hundred years Rom Vool had been assigned as the assistant to Ambassador Dek and learned respect for the abilities of humans to build capable ships. The only question now was in the weapon and defensive systems on their warships and their producible numbers as compared to the subservient race the Chzek’s used in this region to fight their wars.

  Chapter 7: XSS Cousteau, Rheas System 48269

  “Good morning, Captain.”

  “Good morning, XO. What is the status of our data mining operation of the Rheas?”

  Lt. Milton Fox attested to the monumental amount of data gathered by the crew, “Sir, we’ve compiled over forty million hours of video, double that of audio communications, and have accessed enough written materials to fill several major libraries. We have more information about the Rheas right now than we do about Earth.”

  “How much more do you think we can get that will make a difference in the analyses?” asked the captain.

  The XO looked thoughtful, “I think we have more information than we will ever be able to analyze. At least without help from the Rool.”

  “That’s what I think, too,” she indicated before announcing her intentions, “XO, I believe it is time we back out of here and give ourselves some distance before we are detected. I’m beginning to get an itch between my shoulder blades and I can’t say I like the feeling.”

  “Yes, Captain. The teams can wrap up their current projects within the next twelve hours. Shall I give the order?”

  “Absolutely. Plan on getting underway at 04:40. Lt. Trent has identified a large asteroid at two million miles that is in a trailing orbit that will give us visibility of the planet indefinately while they wait for a response from Black Rock Three.” Catching herself, she amended, “Although, they better hurry up and get here.”

  Happy to hear the constant strain on the crew was about to be relieved, not in small part due to the risk of discovery, the XO replied, “Yes, Sir! I’ll inform the crew.”

  Changing her mind, the captain countermanded her own order, “No, XO. I’ll inform the crew. You’ll make it happen. Carry on.” With all the unappreciated orders the captain gave the crew during their mission, it would be good for their perception of her to give them orders they actually wanted to hear. She was determined not to miss the opportunity.

  It took the Cousteau two weeks to creep into their new location and take up position in a large divot in the side of the asteroid trailing the planet. Their hiding place was cast in shadow while still providing an excellent view of the Rheas’ Homeworld and surrounding space. Remote sensors were placed on other parts of the asteroid to give a full 360-degree view to monitor the rest of the solar system.

  Life on the Cousteau returned to a more leisurely pace while focusing on monitoring any activity in the system and analyzing the massive amounts of data gathered on the Rheas to extrapolate usable profiles of all aspects of Rheas civilization.

  “Contact!” shouted Roberta Gold, the sensors tech on watch.

  “Run a plot and bring up navigation to Holo-1,” ordered the captain, stepping on the OOD’s toes as she did not currently have the bridge. Realizing her breach in etiquette, the captain made amends, “My apologies, Mr. Hent. Captain has the bridge!”

  “Aye, Captain. Captain has the bridge!”

  “Tech Gold, I’ll have that plot
now, if you please.”

  “Aye, Captain. Coming up now.”

  A large cone appeared on the screen with the Rheas’ Homeworld near the center. No speed or track line was visible as the ship’s quantum computer processed the limited data provided by the ship’s passive broad spectrum photon detectors used to detect ships at extreme range. The detectors were capable of detecting everything from long-wave radio to gamma radiation photons. Even without a definitive course, the captain could see the ship was coming from the wrong direction to be their relief. Black Rock Three Base was one hundred sixty degrees in the other direction near the solar system’s ecliptic. This ship was coming from unexplored space in the direction of System 48271, or beyond.

  The captain looked at the bridge crew and they were all facing the main screen. Had the captain’s emotional status not been filtered, the crew would have seen it spike into the red. The crew had obviously not put it together yet as they all showed a moderately excited blue aura with tinges of yellow. The captain continued to observe the avatars of the crew. She took her time thinking through her realization. Nothing in space happens quickly, until it does, she told herself, I have time. Travel in a solar system can take days or even weeks. An exploration ship operating at orbital speeds in a system has one effective play and one play only to avoid an attack when confronted with an inbound hostile ship moving at relativistic speeds. Hide. Be a hole in space, and don’t make a peep. Fortunately, the ship was already in EMCON Alpha with zero detectable emissions. They were also not visible visually except as an innocuous asteroid. It was the best possible starting position they could have next to making a rapid exit from the system, which was not an option considering their current position and relative speed to the inbound ship. We don’t know who they are or even if they’re hostile, she thought, Relax.