by Dale Musser
“I would rather die than be part of any group that does the things they do,” Lunnie said emphatically.
Reide remained silent during this entire exchange, until he turned abruptly and rushed to his room. Kala gave me a questioning look and I shrugged my shoulders. Lunnie’s eyes followed Reide for a few moments as he marched away and then she ran after him.
“Do you think he’s alright?” Kala asked.
“I think the revelation of what this war is really like was a lot harder on him than he thought it would be. Like many people, Reide mostly believed that all of it has been about ships and planets. From a position of relative comfort and safety, people forget or don’t want to think about the war in terms of people and what happens to them. The graphic nature of the oppression on Alimar-4 and what the people have suffered and will continue to suffer – the dead bodies piled up in pits, the malnourished sex slaves and enchained farm workers housed in cages – was traumatic for Reide in a different way than it was for Lunnie, as it probably wasn’t something he’d thought about seriously. I’m sure part of what he feels is guilt and shame for the jokes he made before the trip. I was worried whether taking them on this visit was a bad idea, but I think they’ll be fine. If nothing else, I think we can expect to see Lunnie and Reide express a greater respect for Jenira and her intense instinct to protect the innocent.”
“Tib, did you expect to find Senator Yungman’s sister when you went to that house?” she asked.
“Yungman? Was that his name? I guess I was so steeped in the misery of the experience myself – not to mention worried about Lunnie and Reide – that I never thought to ask.”
“Yes, Yungman. He represents the planet Nevel Ordax.”
“Well, we had no idea what we would find inside the home. Commander Stiggnon thought there was a possibility that an enemy combatant might still be in the house or that it might be booby-trapped, but I don’t know if anyone expected to find the senator’s sister alive. I got word from the commander shortly before we left that eight other women were found inside neighboring houses in pretty much the same condition. Apparently the Brotherhood sees the women as spoils of war and their senior officers take any woman they wish to serve them as a sex slave. We were lucky that the officer who occupied her house had kept her here. She could just as easily have been given to another officer elsewhere or even shipped off planet.
“I wonder how the rest of the Federation is taking all of this news.”
“It’s only been a few hours; but from what I have seen on the vid, most of the reactions are pretty strong and the people are outraged at what they saw. A lot of people had relatives on Alamar-4 or had visited the planet in the past. Seeing the devastation on this formerly idyllic planet, especially after all these years, is a huge shock.”
“I suppose the military is going to catch the brunt of the blame for not doing something sooner,” I said with a sigh.
“I don’t think so. Not this time,” Kala replied. “The news seems to be pointing out that it’s the Senate that has held back the military from trying to reclaim many of these worlds. The few interviews I saw with people on the street were indicating public outrage against the Senate, not the military.”
“What about reactions to Wingutt’s assassination? Is there any indication how the public feels about that?” I asked.
“The news coverage of it has been pretty vague. They report there are many mysteries about his death. They have been posting vid clips of the last people seen with him and asking anyone who may have seen them to contact the FOI and report their whereabouts. The strange part is that no one has called in. It’s like the men just vanished. The last report I saw on the news focused on investigations into Wingutt’s life. They seem to be more absorbed in the mysteries surrounding his sudden appearance on Lissalon Prime and how none of the survivors from his hometown never heard of him before the town was destroyed by the volcano. The news team even suggested that Wingutt’s DNA be tested to at least determine whether he might have been related to someone from Lissalon Prime.”
“So no one is suggesting that I had anything to do with his death?” I asked.
“Not that I know of,” Kala answered.
“I’m worried about the twins,” she said after a long pause. She stared down the hall toward their rooms. “Do you think we made a mistake by letting them go on this trip? They both seem to be in a state of shock.”
“I don’t know. They haven’t had a normal life by any means. They’ve been through some tough situations and have done alright. Their time on Desolation… getting lost in the maintenance tunnels here on the NEW ORLEANS… the attack on the estate eight years ago…they managed all of that relatively well. I think they just need time to assimilate what they saw today.”
“Yes… but Tib, they’ve never witnessed the depravity of the Brotherhood on this scale before. I saw the vids of your visit to the open pit graves and the bodies of children. It was bad enough on the vid screen. I can only imagine how much more horrific it was in person. There was one moment where Reide was shown standing next to you. He looked so pale and ill that I was frightened. It made me cry, Tib.”
“I think that was one of the times he got sick,” I said. “The stench was pretty bad. Nearly everyone was throwing up.”
The following morning, as I expected, Admiral Regeny requested that I meet with him at the Capitol Station.
“Tibby, you did an outstanding job with the senators yesterday. We couldn’t have asked for a better showing than that. Having your kids with you was brilliant, I might add. The looks on their faces told the real story and, by the stars, man, that rescue of Senator Yungman’s sister… that was perfect. You didn’t set that up, did you?”
“No, sir. That was quite by chance,” I said, trying to hide my disgust over Regeny’s political reveling in the face of all the horror and tragedy. But that was Regeny. He always seemed to overlook the human element in his assessment of such situations. It wasn’t that he was a bad person or that lacked compassion; he just didn’t think things through before speaking.
“I expect that we’ll soon see huge support from the Senate as a result of this visit and after the Wingutt debacle. They may even allow us to finally move beyond Federation borders to fight this war.”
“If only one good thing can come from the Senate over these matters, that one would be the best, sir,” I said.
There was an interruption as Regeny’s com beeped. “Admiral,” the voice of Regeny’s aide came over the com. “Admiral Wabussie is here. He wishes to speak with you and Admiral Tibby.”
“Send him in,” Regeny responded.
“I’m glad you’re both here,” said Wabussie, once the usual greetings were finished and foccee was served. “I have some new information to share regarding the data we’ve been gathering from the computers and other records collected at Alamar-4. We anticipate that we’ll be able to locate the Brotherhood’s headquarters and Ming’s hideout. We haven’t found the exact whereabouts yet, but we believe we can extrapolate the location or locations from the available data. The second bit of news is that Ming has been quite ill for some time. There are conflicting reports as to whether he’s recovering. We’re not sure as to the nature of his illness, but it doesn’t appear so far to be anything that’s fatal, unfortunately. In addition, I’m pleased to report that we’ve identified two locations where the Brotherhood has been building the asteroid-ships. The bad news is that both of these sites are situated outside of Federation territories.”
Regeny frowned and tugged at the loose skin under his chin. It was a habit he had when deep in thought or when he was disturbed about something.
I decided to speak. “Admiral, we need to cross our boundary. We have to find Ming and destroy the headquarters and these shipyard sites. You know that.”
“Yes. Yes, I know. However, Senate approval must come first,” he said with irritation. “And we just can’t run off on a wild chase outside our territory without one hundred perc
ent certainly that these locations are correct and that Ming is actually still there.”
“Respectfully, sir, we can’t wait that long,” I said. “Now that we’ve reclaimed Alamar-4, Ming certainly recognizes that his hideout and headquarter sites are compromised. He may already be preparing to relocate elsewhere. The same holds true for his asteroid-ship production. There are countless asteroid fields at his disposal. We need to strike before he has a chance to get away.”
“I know, I know,” Regeny blurted. “But we don’t need to be waylaid by another hearing before the Senate. We have a saying here in the Federation, Tibby. Make two goals in a row playing Rokatt and you will most certainly miss the third. If you get charged again for treason or for violating Senate rules, you’ll without a doubt look guilty of it and you won’t be exonerated again.”
I’d heard the saying before. It always reminded me of the three strikes and you’re out expression from Earth.”
“So you’re saying we should just sit idly, knowing that if Ming evades us again, his retaliation will be worse than ever before, and that billions of other Federation citizens will die or be captured and forced to live in slavery like at Alamar-4?” I retorted. “That is totally unacceptable and morally wrong and you know it.”
“That may be, but that’s the way it is. And until we get permission from the Senate, we’re going to stay here,” said Regeny stiff-jawed.
I could see by the look on his face that he felt the discussion was over and he expected me to comply. I also knew it was futile to argue with him. I would need to find a way to circumvent him and the Senate, if I was going to get Ming before he escaped. I found myself wondering why Regeny was so elated earlier by the outcome of the Alamar-4 visit and why he expected the growing public outcry would influence the Senate to sanction military pursuit of the enemy beyond our borders. Now he was suddenly fighting the idea, showing no sign of even initiating a dialogue with the Senate to expedite the approval. It didn’t make sense.
Admiral Wabussie provided me with all the information uncovered by the FSO and was kind enough not to ask what I intended to do with it. I think in the back of his mind he had some idea, but he didn’t ask any questions or comment other than to say, “I hope you find this information useful.”
Regeny was still hyped up about the recapturing of Alamar-4 and wanted to immediately move on to liberate another of the Federation planets under Brotherhood control. He’d even gone so far as to pick one out – a medium-sized planet called Glomar Rosa. Glomar Rosa was a mineral-rich world that also hosted numerous processing plants and refineries for metals and petroleum. When I first learned about the various applications for mineral commodities in the Federation, I was a bit surprised to find that, while combustion engines had long since become a thing of the past, petroleum was still a major product needed for the production of plastics and other chemicals. So the loss of access just to Glomar Rosa’s petroleum would have a tremendous impact on the Brotherhood’s wartime production.
Glomar Rosa had been under Brotherhood domination for nearly seven years. Shortly after it was invaded, the Senate allowed the military to make some limited attempts to regain the world, but the full scale attacked needed to liberate the planet was not authorized. This invasion occurred shortly after the multiple simultaneous attacks by the Brotherhood – attacks in which the Federation fared poorly. Tremendous loss of life and resources resulted from those battles, including the death of Admiral Stonbersa. After suffering this large-scale damage, it was the opinion of the Senate that such large-scale attacks in one location left other sectors vulnerable to invasion, so they restricted the authorized size of fleet operations for defensive purposes. These constraints severely hindered our ability to assemble sufficient forces for retaking planets that had fallen under Brotherhood control.
“When I got back to the MAXETTE, there were a number of messages waiting for me. Many of them were feedback from senators who had attended the trip to Alamar-4, in which they expressed their appreciation for my direct participation in the visit and pledged greater support for our military programs. They related that, after seeing an example of life under Brotherhood domination, they were in full support of broader military action. All of them indicated they would be pushing for the rest of the Senate to authorize use of military force beyond Federation territory to pursue and stop the enemy. However, all of this was going to take time. It would be months before such a resolution would be brought to a vote. In the meantime, the legal restrictions that held us back remained in place.
Senator Yungman also left a personal message to again express his gratitude for rescuing his sister. He explained that, after she was examined and treated thoroughly by the medics, she was allowed to pass through the Cantolla Gates and was now resting in his home under the personal care of his own medical staff. She held hope that some of her family might still be found alive, but so far there was no trace of them.
There were also messages from other senators, who stated they were willing to look into the issue of normalizing relationships with the androids, though they anticipated a great deal of resistance from those within the Senate who were still opposed to the idea. I was pleased to see that Wingutt’s plan to malign my actions had totally rebounded and that some good was going to come out of the hearing. Unfortunately, though, any hope of achieving concrete results was again going to happen only after the typical drawn-out senatorial processes.
Regeny must have really been fired up by the successes of the past two days, because I received word from him later that afternoon that he was setting up a meeting with all the Sector Admirals and with Admiral’s Slater and Wabussie to discuss plans to reclaim Glomar Rosa. It was obvious that his intentions were to replicate the victory at Alamar-4, in hopes of bolstering support from the Senate and the populace for a shift from the largely defensive military model in favor of more offensive strategies.
I made a brief trip back to my suite on the NEW ORLEANS to have lunch before heading to the meeting. Kala and Lunnie were out. I found Reide sitting alone and silent in the darkness, still looking sullen.
“Are you still upset over the things you saw yesterday?” I asked.
“Aren’t you? Reide said sharply. “How can anyone do that to other people? Something needs to be done!”
“I’m trying, son. However, it’s not as easy as saying STOP IT and expecting the Brotherhood to obey. Their organization is a large and powerful force to contend with and military actions against them are heavily regulated by the Senate.”
“It’s not right! The enemy doesn’t have to play by any rules and they can do what they want, but you have to play by rules that prevent you from stopping them. I think the Senate must be working for the Brotherhood.”
I almost laughed. “Son, there are lots of times I think that way myself, but it’s not true. The problem is that people don’t want to live in fear, so they try to make their fear go away by telling themselves that things aren’t really as bad as everyone says. Rather than facing the truth, they choose to believe a lie.”
“You mean like when they think it’s alright to let the Brotherhood capture a planet and enslave the people like on Alamar-4 and do nothing about it?”
“Yes, that’s one example.”
“Then they need to be forced to see it for themselves. Make them all go to Alamar-4 and see it,” he fumed.
“It would be nice if it were that easy. But even at million people per day, you would never get all the people in the Federation to see Alamar-4 in a thousand years. The Federation is too big and the average citizen simply won’t recognize the scope and reality of what’s happening beyond their own sectors of space.”
“Dad, I want to join the Junior Auxiliary Corp,” Reide blurted out, catching me totally off guard.
The Junior Auxiliary Corp, or JAC, was like a synthesis of a military academy and ROTC programs that were offered on Earth. The JAC was available to students who wanted to add a military preparatory curriculum to their n
ormal syllabus. Since education in general was largely accelerated by the learning headbands, students were able to spend more time focusing on application of their knowledge in apprenticeships and alignment of their desired career fields with their individual talents. Hence, the JAC was easily integrated into a student’s existing workload. Like on Earth, the standard age for a person to join the ranks of the military was 18, but one could join the JAC at age 16 to receive early training and gain valuable military skills. As with any other field of study, the JAC served as a type of apprentice program, as the participants would serve and learn on military bases with actual troopers and would train for operation of military equipment using high-tech simulators.
The JAC students also learned military discipline while serving in a reduced capacity to help the military. They tended the mess halls and laundries, repaired and maintained basic equipment and performed a number of lower level administrative duties. Until they reached the age of 18, however, they were restricted from combat and combat areas. By then many of them gained enough training and performed well enough to begin their military service as a junior officer. I recalled a discussion with Captain Mareoparen where he related that his own career had started as a JAC.
“Reide, are you sure about this? If you sign up, you just can’t get tired of it and quit. You’ll have to commit to the program for at least two years.”
“I know, dad, and yes I want to do it!”
