by D. J. Holmes
“Even when that species threatens us?” James asked with a hint of frustration. He wanted to get on with his plan.
“Yes,” Ferguson answered firmly. “We have no orders from the Admiralty regarding how to handle a first contact situation, but if we did I’m sure they would forbid getting involved with rogue organizations within a week of making contact. It is simply not our place. We need to leave these kinds of decisions to our government. If we do any more we may face legal charges. If not from our government then from the UN.”
“So what do you propose instead?” James said.
“We can reply and ask for the information they have, that’s it. I don’t think we can make them any kind of promise of help or aid,” Ferguson answered.
“Unacceptable,” James said. “I am the commanding officer here in Vestar and I believe we need to do everything in our power to make sure there isn’t another attack on human space. Even if that means interfering with the god-king who likely ordered the attack. I don’t know how our government will take us contacting this Resistance, but I know I will sleep soundly with my decision.
“Besides,” James said more lightly, “I only want to talk with them. It’s not like we’re about to give them weapons or anything like that. We can just hear them out and then see where things take us.”
“I see,” Ferguson said diplomatically. It was obvious to everyone in the meeting that he wasn’t convinced. “Well in that case at least you must agree that you going isn’t very wise. We don’t know the politics of this planet. This Resistance could just as easily kill you or take you captive if they thought you were worth trading with the Overlord. The Overlord may have prisoners that they could exchange you for. It’s just too risky for you to go. You are needed here.”
“He’s right Captain,” Johnston said. “It’s not the Captain’s place to be sneaking around an alien planet. You are needed here in case the Overlord tries to contact you. Agent Bell has more than enough experience to command this mission and I can be on standby with two shuttles of marines in combat armor to back her up if need be.”
“Lieutenant Scott, what do you think?” James asked, to draw her into the conversation.
“I think the message is genuine Sir,” she said. “Everything we know about the Overlord suggests that he wouldn’t entertain the idea of admitting the existence of a resistance to us. Even if it was just a fake one to lure us in. I think we need to take the risk. We came here for information after all. That said, Johnston and Ferguson are right, it makes no sense to risk your life when we have so little information to go on.”
“You can’t argue with that logic,” Bell said grinning. “I guess it’s just you and me Scott.”
“Are you happy to be going in with so little support?” James said conceding their point.
“I’ve been in far worse situations with far less support,” Bell answered. “This will be fun, we may actually get to see more of the planet than just the Overlord’s palace.”
“Very well. I’ll send a reply to the message, Bell and Scott, I want both of you to get ready for a landing mission. Take whatever you need. Major, assign six of your best marines to accompany them to the surface. Dismissed everyone.”
*
As Bell stepped off the shuttle she was amazed by the sight that greeted her. In the distance the two suns of Vestar were both setting and as their light filtered through the forest in front of her the rays were reflected off the foliage in a number of dazzling colors.
“Beautiful,” Scott whispered from behind her.
“Thank you for coming,” a voice said from the edge of the forest and was quickly followed by its owner as a Vestarian made its way to the shuttle. Bell guessed it was a male, probably past his middle age based on other Vestarians she had met at the palace and watched through Endeavour’s optical sensors. The age was largely a guess though, for they still hadn’t figured out exactly how long the Vestarians lived. It seemed that once they reached adulthood they continued to grow albeit at a slower rate. From what they could tell the older Vestarians were taller than their younger counterparts but usually did not have the muscle mass they once did.
“My name is Tak’ar,” the alien said. “I lead the Resistance in this part of our world. If you don’t mind, could you order your shuttle to take off right away? The longer it waits here the more chance that we will be discovered.”
Turning her back to Tak’ar momentarily Bell opened her COM unit. “Ok Sheils, we have our feet on the ground. You can take off now. Just be ready to come back and get us if we need you.”
“Yes Mam, I’ll be here when you call, have a safe trip,” the pilot called back.
As Bell turned back to Tak’ar she was surprised to see he had extended his hand to her. “Welcome to our planet, I believe this is how your people greet each other?”
“Indeed it is,” Bell said with a smile as she shook his hand.
“I see you have been informed about our meeting at the palace,” she concluded.
“Yes, we managed to steal some details about your meeting. But follow me, this is not the place to talk. There could be a military patrol craft overhead at any minute,” Tak’ar said and turned to lead them further into the forest.
For the next twenty minutes they trudged through the thick Vestarian forest. Tak’ar, with his four legs and arms was clearly far better adapted to his environment as he seemed to glide through the forest effortlessly. Bell, Scott and the marines were all panting hard by the time Tak’ar stopped.
“The city of Zekath is just a few kilometers ahead of us,” Tak’ar said pointing through a gap in the thick foliage where some of the city’s large spires could be seen. “That is the city I was born in and the city where both my parents were executed.”
Before Bell could commiserate with Tak’ar he turned back to the cliff they had stopped beside. With two of his arms he pulled back a number of thick vines growing up the cliff and with his other two he knocked out a specific pattern. “Over a hundred years ago the Overlord at the time built a number of military bases adjacent to the main cities to house his troops. This base was never finished so the Resistance has taken it over.”
As he spoke, a crack appeared on the cliff that rapidly widened until it was just large enough for a Vestarian to fit through. Tak’ar led the way as Bell and the rest of her team followed him in. For another ten minutes the group followed Tak’ar deeper and deeper into the abandoned military base. Here and there they saw other Vestarians lounging about but for the most part the base seemed empty.
Bell had been trying to remember all the twists and turns they had taken but by the time Tak’ar stopped again she was completely lost. “Now we can talk,” Tak’ar said. “I have had refreshments prepared for us in here, I hope they will be suitable for you” he added gesturing through a door into a room with what looked like a Vestarian table in the center.
Bell wasn’t so sure but she was confident Scott would be able to determine if the food was safe. As she walked in to the room two Vestarians reclining at the table stood and came over to meet her. “This is my wife, Mul’li’la,” Tak’ar said as the older looking Vestarian held out her hand. “She runs this Resistance base.”
“And this is one of our best infiltrators, Jil’lal,” Tak’ar said as Bell shook the second alien’s hand.
“A pleasure to meet both of you,” Bell said. “You truly have my respect for trying to stand up to your Overlord. We have seen his palace and some of his military units. It’s can’t be easy taking on an opponent who wields such overwhelming force.”
“No,” Mul’li’la said with what looked surprisingly like a human expression of sadness. “We have lost many good friends over the years. But they all died willingly. None of us are prepared to rest until we see the Overlord’s rule ended and freedom restored to our people.”
“Maybe you could tell us something about the history of your people,” Scott asked. “It would help us understand who you are and allow us to follow each
other better. We would be happy to share some of our history with you.”
“Yes,” Tak’ar said. “That would be a good place to start. “Please make yourself comfortable,” he added as he gestured to the table.
Once all the humans had found a way to sit somewhat comfortably at the Vestarian table he began. “We count our years as one revolution of our planet around the two suns of our system,” Tak’ar explained.
“As do we,” Scott said smiling.
“Well,” Tak’ar continued, “just over five hundred years ago our planet was divided between many small and large nations.”
Bell mentally did the calculation and worked out that Tak’ar was talking about three hundred Earth years ago.
“There was an almost constant state of war between several of the larger nations over territory but for the most part the people lived in peace. The wars largely consisted of border skirmishes.
“There was great celebration when one of the dominant nations launched its first satellite into space but within days an alien ship showed up. They called themselves the Kulreans and they came offering us technology to help us better ourselves. They had one condition though. We had to form one planetary government and put an end to all our wars. A small military force was allowed to keep the peace but we were to abandon every other form of military technology.
“To show the authenticity of their offer, they gave each of the nations a number of agricultural and energy production technologies that were vastly superior to anything we had ever seen. The introduction of these technologies quickly began to change our culture and there was a large movement among the population to form one government and gain access all that the Kulreans had to offer. After a series of democratic votes our nations unified. The Kulreans then built the large satellite you have no doubt seen and slowly began to feed us new technologies that improved our healthcare, our food production and the quality of life of all Vestarians.
“Just over three hundred years ago an omen came, a great fireball that passed through our sky and impacted in the mountainous region of Kal’dar near our capital Amack. Our people have always been a superstitious people and it was thought the fireball from the sky was a warning against the gifts the Kulreans had been giving us.
“A year after the fireball, the leader of the military forces of our unified government announced that he had found the place where the fireball had struck our planet and that he had been given a vision. He said the Kulreans were really our enemies and were trying to enslave us. His forces quickly overtook our capital Amack and he proclaimed himself the Supreme Overlord of our people. When some of the older nations tried to rise up against his rule his armies swooped in against them. They were armed with weapons and air vehicles that were far more advanced than anything the other nations possessed and they quickly defeated the uprising.
“Since then a succession of Supreme Overlords has ruled our planet through fear and military force. Anyone who opposes their rule is imprisoned or executed and if any group tries to stand against them, the military bombs them and their towns or cities out of existence.”
“That is awful,” Bell said, “in our history we too have faced men and women who have tried to rule through fear and death. Often it came at great cost but we have always managed to defeat them and restore freedom to our people. We can certainly understand why you fight this enemy.
“May I ask,” she went on. “How did the Kulreans respond to this military coup?”
“Not well,” Mul’li’la interjected. “They demanded that the Overlord immediately relinquish his rule or they would withhold any further technologies from us. The Overlord simply ignored them and continued to cement his power base.
“Since then we have had five Overlords. Each one has further entrenched themselves in Amack so that now the entire city is a fortress. As far as we were able to tell, they have been too scared to attack the Kulrean satellite directly. At least, that is what we have always thought. Information Jil’lal recently acquired has brought many of our assumptions into question.”
“What kind of information?” Bell asked.
“Information that implicates the Overlord in the attack on your planet and details about the Overlord’s remaining battle fleet. Jil’lal managed to infiltrate the Ministry of Cohesion in Amack and steal a lot of data off one of their central computers,” Tak’ar said with obvious pride.
“But before we divulge this data we need to know more about you and your history,” Tak’ar continued.
Bell and Scott had anticipated this so Scott proceeded to inform the Vestarians about Earth’s history and the recent colonial race between the major space faring powers. She left out details of any of the actual wars but implied that there had been fighting on a number of occasions.
“So your people are a people of war,” Tak’ar said.
“I wouldn’t say we are a people of war,” Bell replied. “At least not all of us. But like your Overlord, there has always been some humans who have sought to use power to force their will on others. Throughout our history there have also been those willing to risk their lives to resist such evil.”
“Nevertheless, your people know how to fight. That is good. We can use friends like you,” Tak’ar said. “May I ask, is your ship a warship? I presume it has some weapons if it was involved in defeating the Overlord’s fleet that attacked your planet.”
“Our ship is an exploration ship,” Scott said. “I am a science officer, my job is to look for new discoveries in the galaxy. However, Endeavour was designed to be able to protect herself and hide if need be.”
“That is good,” Tak’ar said, “I already know the Overlord is very angry because he cannot locate your ship. If your weapons technologies are as good as your stealth technologies then you will prove to be a useful ally for the Resistance.”
“If your information proves that your Overlord attacked our planet then we would be willing to discuss your situation,” Bell said carefully. “However, we would need to verify the accuracy of your information and even then you need to know that we will be limited in what we can give you. My Captain only has so much authority. We cannot give you new weapon technologies without permission from our government back on Earth.”
“We understand,” Tak’ar said. “But there are many things you can do for us without giving us access to your technology and I believe that when you see our information you will be highly motivated to help us. If you can help us restore democracy to our people then in the future humans and Vestarians may become close friends and allies.”
“We would like that very much,” Bell replied.
“Good,” Tak’ar said with a smile. “Then we will share our information with you. We believe your ship will be able to confirm its accuracy. After you have done that then we hope you will lend us what aid you can in our fight against the Overlord. Jil’lal, can you show them what you found please.”
As Jil’lal stood she pushed a button on the table they were sitting around and a section of the table parted to reveal a holo projector. Scott studied it closely to compare it to human designed ones and decided they were very similar.
“The data I recovered contained some technical details on a secret construction yard the Overlord has been building for the last fifty years. It is located within a large asteroid in our outer system,” Jil’lal said as the holo display showed an image of the Vestar system with a red flashing dot in one of the outer asteroid fields. “The data also indicated that the Overlord has secretly been building a fleet of warships using technology neither the Kulreans nor the resistance knew he had. We believe that the main objective of this fleet is an attack on the Kulrean homeworld. However, our information also included details about a human world called Haven. Supposedly our Overlord made contact with your planet a number of months ago and sought to acquire more weapons technology to ensure his attack on the Kulreans would be successful. When your people would not agree he sent a fifth of his fleet to subdue your world and acquire its techno
logy. The information we have suggests that the Overlord and his analysts believed Haven to be the only world humans lived on. They did not factor in other warships coming to Haven’s aid.”
“A fifth of his fleet?” Bell asked in concern. “You mean the Overlord still has over two hundred warships under his command?”
“Yes, the data suggests that there are two hundred and twelve ships in the Overlord’s fleet apart from those that survived the attack on Haven.”
“They must be well hidden,” Scott said, “our sensors would eventually be able to detect any other ships in a system unless they were completely powered down. We have been here for over a week and haven’t caught a whiff of any other warships.”
“Our data indicates that after construction the warships were transferred to other hollowed out asteroids so as to conceal them from the Kulrean satellite. The Overlord wants his attack to come as a surprise,” Jil’lal informed her.
