E.D.F chronicles - The Krenaran massacre.

by Ian. J. Smethurst

  They looked upon the huge Grand Sargrond theatre house, where an open air play was being performed; and the Elgrath stadium where Stallos is played.

  “What is Stallos?” Michael asked.

  “It is a popular sport here on Solaria, there are nine players to each team; they have to hit the ball with the forearm. If the ball drops to the ground the opposing team scores a point; there is a net in between the two teams, and they move around the field of play on small anti gravity boards,” Kerulithar pointed out to them.

  “Kind of like volleyball, but with hoverboards,” Vargev filled in.

  They continued walking along another of the giant archways, “do you show lots of plays on Solaria?” Michael asked.

  “Oh yes; it is one of our primary forms of entertainment. We once had television like you do, however it fell out of favour on our world. Now we go to the theatre instead. There are still some small T.V. networks that do exist, but as a rule most Solarians don’t watch them,” Kerulithar checked a small pocket watch that he pulled out of a pocket in his robes. “It’s getting close to the time we must be getting back to the council building now.”

  As they began to make their way back to the council building, Vargev pointed out the large black birds flitting from tower to tower.

  “What kind of birds are those?” he asked watching them.

  Kerulithar looked up and said, “they are the Logethi birds; they represent freedom and peace amongst my people, it is an offence on my planet to kill one.”

  “They look really nice,” Vargev said.

  After a short walk they made it to the entrance of the Solarian council building once again; walking up the marble steps for a second time. A large crowd had gathered for this momentous day.

  “Obviously our story had generated some interest,” Michael whispered to the others.

  Hundreds of Solarians had gathered on either side of the steps leading up to the building. They were being held back by barriers and the local Solarian planetary police, the crowd looked eager to catch a glimpse of the first two terrans to set foot on Solaria.

  The mass of people cheered when they caught sight of Michael and Vargev, which made them both proud and uncomfortable in equal measure.

  This time the same official stood and greeted them formally, “the council is expecting you, and is arrayed to review your case, you may go straight through.”

  “Thank you,” Kerulithar said.

  They walked through the ornate council doors and into the huge oval council chambers once again. This time the entire council was arrayed; fully 125 delegates from planets across Solarian space.

  There was a hand picked public adjudication panel made up of some of the most noted theologians, scientists, philosophers, and lesser dignitaries on Solaria.

  Kerulithar also noted that Saltovos; the head of Solarian military forces was also present. This is huge, he thought, the biggest case of my ambassadorial career.

  The three of them once again stood on the raised stand in the centre of the room; lights gradually dimmed, and the handrail circling the room lit up once more. The lights in the ceiling suddenly turned on and once again bathed the ambassador in a bright white light.

  The powerful and deep council voice boomed over the speakers once again. “Ambassador Kerulithar of Kendris III, do you still represent the Terrans presented before this council.”

  “I do.”

  “Thank you ambassador, you may now step down,” the voice boomed again. “This council is now in session.”

  Kerulithar bowed respectfully and stepped down, taking his place behind the two humans.

  “Terrans!” the voice spoke again, “please explain to this council how you got here; one more time.”

  Vargev and Michael took to the stand and told their stories once again. The council sat quiet listening to the details intently.

  After a short pause to take in these details, a delegate finally arose, “Ambassador Kerulithar.” The aged delegate said, “do you seriously think that this council would go to war with another alien race on the request of two low ranking Terran officers; without a single shred of evidence?”

  Kerulithar took to the stand again. “There is significant evidence; I have it in my possession. And I would wish the council to look upon it.”

  “Present your evidence,” the voice replied.

  Kerulithar reached into his pocket and retrieved a small disc, passed it to the nearest administrator who took it and inserted the disc into a small reader; automatically a holographic screen shimmered into life above the centre of the council, casting the dark oval room in an emerald glow.

  “It contains Commander Ralavas of the Omicron repair facilities’ testimony; the damage sustained by our captured Krenaran vessel. As well as sensor data from every action the ship has taken part in since its construction. It has also been translated for our benefit,” Kerulithar announced.

  The delegates watched the footage aghast; a wave of whispers floated around the room, some of the delegates were clearly outraged by what they were seeing.

  “How did you get that disc?” Michael whispered to the ambassador.

  “I had Ralavas prepare it for me before we left Omicron. It arrived this morning while you were sleeping,” Kerulithar answered.

  “I think I owe him a drink,” Michael said.

  The disc was played in chronological order. It showed the vessel going on reconnaissance sorties deep into E.O.C.A territory long before the war actually started.

  Data was displayed containing the relative strengths and weaknesses of E.D.F ships and facilities; it showed footage of the first attacks upon the civilian mining vessels. The disc was then paused.

  “Terrans, can you identify for the benefit of this council the vessels that are under attack in this picture?” The council voice asked.

  Michael spoke up, “yes; they are civilian mining vessels.”

  There were some serious hushed whispers around the chamber at hearing this news, civilian targets were being attacked.

  “Please continue,” the voice spoke aloud once again.

  The disc continued playing; showing more attacks upon the mining vessels, and then the attack upon the Montfort; the disc was paused for a second time as the attack began.

  “Terrans, can you identify the large vessel shown in the picture?” The voice asked again.

  “It is an E.D.F Naval carrier, called the E.D.F.S Montfort, it was sent to investigate the attacks,” Michael answered.

  The disc was played again; depicting the fiery destruction of the Montfort. Then the attacks upon the Agemman colony itself, plumes of thick black smoke rose high into the night sky, as torpedoes blasted apart building upon building.

  Tracer fire from hastily erected artillery and anti-aircraft pieces from the 22ndE.D.F artillery company, the black panthers, could be seen lighting up the night sky as they desperately searched the sky for the attacking Krenaran vessels. Flames and explosions lit up the colony in bright flashes as torpedoes found their targets. Smoke filled the night sky; everywhere buildings were burning and bloodied bodies lay strewn across cratered streets.

  Kerulithar said, “please pause the disc.”

  The administrator did so.

  “Notice how the Krenaran ships are leaving all the water sources untouched, we will come back to that later, please resume.”

  The disc was played once again; the council studied Vargev as the disc showed more scenes of the wholesale slaughter at the Agemman colony.

  At length one of the delegates stood and said, “you look like you recognise this atrocity.”

  “I am one of the survivors from the attack on that colony; I was there the night it happened.” Vargev said, even his trained emotions seemed heavy with grief as he remembered the utter desolation of that small outlying colony.

  Everywhere voices erupted across the chambers; here was an actual survivor; an eye witness to the events.

  The disc continued playing. Now it portrayed th
e Krenaran ship in orbit, veering toward the E.D.F fleet, as the Krenaran ships silently massed for the attack on the battle group led by the Ulysses. Suddenly and almost simultaneously the Krenaran ships opened fire; huge explosions lit up the space immediately surrounding the battle. Rail-cannons thundered in response, and the lethal bright green particle beams of the Krenaran attackers tore open the hulls of the E.D.F ships, opening great rents of fire and twisted blackened metal.

  Michael bowed his head low, this was the first time he had seen what transpired in the battle itself. He thought of Dylan and all the other 1640 souls on the Ulysses, whose lives ended that day, incinerated by five minutes of brutal fire fight.

  “You seem in shock,” the speakers boomed again.

  “Wouldn’t you be? I served aboard the flagship of that fleet; it’s called the E.D.F.S Ulysses,” Michael responded grief stricken.

  They continued watching but it was a slaughter, finally Michael turned away; he could watch no more.

  “The largest ship in that fleet; is that the flagship?” The council voice boomed.

  “Yes, it’s called a Danitza class battleship, one of the largest and most advanced ships we produce, 1640 men died on that ship alone,” Michael announced.

  “If you will, how many died in the battle in total,” the council asked.

  Michael had to think hard, there were 7 ships involved in total. Two Ghandhi class destroyers, one Mandela class light cruiser, two Alexander class medium cruisers, the carrier Furious, and the Ulysses. That makes 3,290 men dead; the realisation of the scale of the slaughter struck him like a thunderbolt. That many dead, he could scarcely believe it. What with the attacks on the Agemman and Aurelias colonies, never in the history of the E.D.F or E.O.C.A have there been such losses.

  “In total 3,290 Naval personnel died in that battle,” Michael replied trying to keep composed and to keep some form of professional detachment. The sheer scale of the slaughter made him waver though. Voices around the chambers also began to denounce the level of bloodshed.

  The disc shown that once the battle was over; the ship landed on the planet.

  Human slave trains could be seen shambling towards it. Beaten, bruised, and dressed barely in rags, every single one of them looked totally crushed; like their morale and spirit had been cruelly stripped away. The sheer amount of damage the devastated colony had taken was evident to all. It resembled a dusty, windswept, smoking ruin, almost devoid of life.

  “They are using slaves; it’s a blatant violation of galactic laws!” One delegate shouted.

  “We cannot get involved, it’s not our war!” Another exclaimed aloud.

  Then suddenly like a tinderbox, the whole chamber was engulfed in furious debate, both for and against aiding the Terrans. The arguments were fierce; should the Solarians actually aid these Terrans? Or should they stay out of their war, it simply did not involve them?

  After numerous shouts for order, the arguing gradually died down.

  “We have definitely started something now,” Kerulithar said as he smiled at Vargev and Michael.

  “This council will come to order!” The voice boomed even louder over the speakers.

  There was a barely contained hush, one delegate stood up and asked, “is the disk genuine?”

  Kerulithar passed the disc to an administrator who took it and handed it to a scientist on the adjudication panel who passed a small scanning device over the disc, scrutinising it carefully for several minutes.

  “In my opinion, the disc is indeed genuine. I can find no evidence of tampering.”

  Once again fierce debate erupted in the council chambers.

  “This council will come to order!” The voice boomed again.

  At length another delegate arose from across the room and said, “I know very well the history of the Terrans, you are an aggressive warmongering people, you have had two massive world wars, and very nearly a third. You kill your own people as easily as anyone else, and now you wish to bring your warmongering ways to the stars. I say we should not help these Terrans, they have brought this upon themselves, and they should deal with the consequences of it.”

  Angry debate once again arose throughout the chambers, the voice boomed repeatedly calling for order, finally the delegates quietened down.

  “And now I come to my final point,” Kerulithar said.

  His hands were clasped together giving a sense of calm contemplation, he waited a few seconds; Michael suspected it was partly a diplomatic trick to get everyone’s attention on him, and partly to gauge the reaction of the council, which fell suddenly silent. He put a finger into the air as if pointing out something.

  “Why do you think the Krenarans have left all the water sources undamaged?”

  He gave another little pause as if to emphasize the point. “We all know that Terra has abundant amounts of water in its oceans, lakes and rivers, as does the other Terran colonies, Sicarius IV, Gamma Aurigulon, and Brianus.”

  Again Kerulithar gave a little pause to let the council take this in. “They are leaving the water sources undamaged because there are untold billions of credits worth to trade. The Krenarans will undoubtedly use some of it for themselves; the vast majority however will be sold on to the highest bidder. With the massive influx of revenue gained from the water, their military will go into overdrive.”

  He looked over the council members, noting several of them nodding in agreement.

  “Advanced technology will be developed at a far faster rate than previously thought; as they will now have the capital to fund it, and new, even more powerful ships will be built much more quickly. For water remains one of the most expensive natural resources anywhere in the known galaxy. We all know that the Krenaran race is an aggressive, hostile, and expansionistic race.”

  Once again he paused for emphasis.

  “Do you really think they will stop with the Terrans when they have access to that kind of power? The Krenarans could pose a threat to every major race in the known galaxy.”

  He paused to let the seriousness of the situation sink in. “Can we really afford not to get involved?” He said finally.

  The chambers were deathly silent, as the realisation of the seriousness of the situation had finally hit home.

  The Krenarans were not invading to eradicate the human race, far from it, but to enslave them, and to strip them of a resource that until now was regarded as plentiful and rather inexpensive by human standards.

  Michael and Vargev also realised this and were stunned by the news. The reason why so many people were dying was water, just plain old H2O.

  Every delegate in the council mulled over the prospect that in the years to come the so called mighty Solarian Confederacy, could indeed feel the impact of this war themselves; and very possibly be defeated by it. In the years to come it could be Solarians in those slave chains.

  Finally after a long pause; Karalis, the Solarian President stood and addressed the council.

  “All those in favour of aiding the Terrans in their war with the Krenarans, please vote on your terminals; all against the motion please also register your vote.”

  Each delegate pressed a button on a keypad mounted on their desks. Very quickly a set of numbers flashed up on a computer screen at the administrators’ position.

  “All votes are in,” she said.

  “What say you?” Karalis replied.

  “122 votes for; and 3 against,” the administrator replied.

  “Confirmed the count is accurate,” spoke another.

  “We have done it!” Kerulithar punched the air in jubilation.

  “Adjudication panel, what say you?” Karalis addressed the panel.

  “In light of all the evidence presented here, we unanimously vote to aid the Terrans in their war with the Krenaran Empire.”

  “Let the Solarian warhost be gathered; I want all ships prepared and battle worthy. When is the minimum amount of time this can be achieved, Primar Saltovos.”

  “Six weeks to gat
her the warhost, Mr President.”

  “Six weeks it is then; I want a full battle plan formed and presented to me before then.”

  “It will be done,” Saltovos replied.

  Karalis turned his attention to the two Terrans, “what would you want us to do with the ship which you arrived in; the captured Krenaran vessel.”

  “The Liberty,” Michael corrected. “I would like to keep her under our command if I may Mr. President.”

  “As you wish; however we would advise some Solarian upgrades to the vessel. It is currently docked at the Omicron shipyard; which is one of the best equipped for this type of work in Solarian space,” Karalis pointed out.

  “Excellent; I have seen how powerful your ships are first hand, you would get no argument from me Mr President,” Michael replied.

  “Call me Karalis,” The president smiled and nodded respectfully at the two Terrans.

  “We are in agreement then; the Liberty will be ready in six weeks time before the warhost sets off into Terran space. This is the first agreement between our two peoples, and I hope the first of many. The small Terran empire may yet rule the fates of all; for what its worth you have made a friend in the Solarian people today Michael Alexander.”

  “As have you in the Earth and Outer Colonies Alliance, Mr……erm……Karalis, sir,” Michael stammered.

  Karalis laughed, “in six weeks.”

  They exited the council jubilant, and to a cheering crowd who had just heard the news. This was a historic day and news of this would spread right across Solarian space.

  Both Michael and Vargev were greatly heartened by what they had just accomplished, it was by no means easy but now they had a chance to fight back; finally someone was on their side. But they were also worried at the same time.

  “Six weeks,” Michael said to Vargev. “That’s a hell of a long time; I hope there is an E.D.F left to save.”

  “So do I comrade, so do I,” Vargev replied.

  Michael, Vargev and Kerulithar continued their stroll back towards Kerulithars apartment.

  “Well that’s it; the Solarians are coming to……what do you call it……kick the Krenarans ass,” the ambassador pointed out.