The Solarian Celebration: Book 3 of the Alliance Conflict

by Jeff Sims

  Solear said, “We sent 5 marines to the station. They killed the Hiriculans guarding the station and rescued the prisoners. Unfortunately, we do not have any video of that battle.”

  Even if he did, he wouldn’t show it. That battle was a little too gory. Correction, it was far beyond little. Everyone was still silent, so Solear asked, “Are there any questions?”

  Figur said, “Once again, the fighter battle seemed very one-sided. What was the final result?”

  Solear: “The human pilots were outnumbered 6 to 1. Despite the odds, they killed 237 enemy fighters and lost only 4. We believe that the first 160 enemy fighters were Netos.”

  Frank asked, “I didn’t know that fighters could fly through hyperspace.” He said it as a statement with an implied question.

  Solear responded, “Technically, they can’t fly through hyperspace. The Sunflower opened up a hyperspace window and the fighters flew through it. The system’s gravity returned them to normal space.”

  Korno: “What if they missed? You basically would have sent them to their deaths. How did you give that order?”

  Solear: “It was their idea and they volunteered. It was the only way that we could launch 40 fighters from a ship designed to launch 20.”

  Senator Amanda had been silently stewing. Finally, she said, “You, you destroyed everything in your path. No communication, no warning, no chance for the enemy to surrender. I don’t know what to say.”

  Frank was thrilled to have the fleet back, but he certainly emphasized with Amanda. The simulation had been horrific. Frank asked, “Why?” He paused and then asked, “Why did you take such a drastic measure? We were going to negotiate the prisoners’ release. There was no reason for this level of bloodshed.”

  Solear thought the question was probably rhetorical, but answered anyway. He said, “This Senate voted to include Humans in the military on a trial basis. You then asked me to evaluate them.”

  He pointed to the monitor and said, “There is my evaluation. This battle is an accurate representation of how Humans think and act. They fight no matter the odds or circumstances, even when it seems hopeless. If they have to kill the enemy and destroy everything in their path to attain their goals, then they do so without hesitation. To them, the end result justifies the means.”

  Amanda stood and said, “Which is exactly why we have been keeping them out of the Alliance for the last 3 centuries.”

  Frank said, “Captain, congratulations on your rescue mission. Your crew fought bravely. In the final analysis, you saved the Alliance a tremendous amount of resources; both in the cost of the equipment and the chore of replacing the personnel.”

  Everyone in the room remained quiet and waited for the however.

  Frank let the silence linger for a moment and continued, “However, the Alliance Senate cannot condone that type of warfare.”

  Senator Amanda summarized, “Well, at a minimum I hope we can all agree that the Human experiment is over.”

  Frank didn’t want the human evaluation to end just yet. He felt that he could still achieve some political goals by using them. However, he knew that he needed to act quickly if he was going to save the program. He could tell that if the Senate voted on the subject now, the human experiment would be over.

  Frank stalled by asking, “What do you propose we do with them?”

  Amanda replied, “I think the obvious choice would be to send them back to Earth.”

  Several other senators nodded in acknowledgement. Frank responded, “I think it is premature to end the experiment. We have seen that they can pilot fighters much better than every other race in the galaxy and they appear to be enthusiastic crew members.”

  Amanda: “You have a better option?”

  Frank: “Yes. We recently voted to put a military base in Waylon. Let’s send all of the Humans to Waylon with the orders to guard it. The Humans will be out of the way, but we will still be able to use them if necessary. Then, we can reevaluate the entire program after a year and then make a final decision.”

  Frank smiled. He loved solving two problems at once.

  Korno replied, “Actually, that is an excellent idea. Waylon will be secure and we won’t have to divert any real Alliance forces to do so. As an added bonus we will have a much better location to monitor the Humans than going all the way to Earth.”

  Solear said, “They need to be reinforced. You can’t ask 64 humans to run an entire space station. Plus, they will need at least one warship. More importantly, they will need some military officers and engineers to properly train them.”

  Frank smiled again. He just solved four problems at once. Frank replied, “Captain, your service to the Alliance Navy the past five plus decades has been phenomenal. I believe that you are the perfect candidate for teaching the Humans how to be proper Alliance military members. Further, we can permanently station the Sunflower in Waylon. That will easier than scrapping it.”

  Korno replied, “Perfect. The station was fully provisioned by the Altian government before it was shipped to Waylon. Please review the provisions and submit a list of all required equipment before you leave the system.”

  Frank said, “Oh, Admiral Solear, one last item.” Frank waited a moment for the words to be understood. The Senate technically didn’t have the authority to promote someone to admiral, but he was certain that Admiral Dolen would accommodate his request.

  Frank continued, “Please list the critical human personnel you need as well.” He motioned to the other senators and said, “I think we can replace the six dead ones and increase the number of humans by another 10; giving us an even 80.”

  The other senators nodded in agreement, signaling that the topic was closed and that Frank’s argument had won the day. It was clear to Frank that the Senate’s distaste of manning the Waylon station outweighed their distaste for adding a few more humans to the Navy.

  Frank had initially endorsed the humans purely as a political ploy. If the humans succeeded, he planned to take all of the credit. If they failed, he planned to place the blame squarely on Senator Korno.

  The humans had proven to be better than average pilots, so Frank had maneuvered the senate to expand the program and have humans crew an entire ship. Those results were mixed – the humans were competent crew members, but they were extremely violent. The results simply weren’t decisive enough. Frank needed them to succeed brilliantly or fail dramatically.

  Korno said, “Admiral Solear.” He waited until he had the other beings attention and said, “Please arrange for the Humans to attend diversity training as soon as possible.”

  Solear responded, “I will. However, 80 Humans aren’t nearly enough to crew a ship and a station. The ship requires 50 and the station requires a minimum of 500. A more realistic number would be 1,000.”

  Amanda said, “You’re asking for 400 additional humans. That is insane.”

  The number was technically 436 or possibly 936, but Frank didn’t see the need to correct her. Instead he said, “Admiral, leave the Sunflower docked at space station. You should be able to run the station with a crew of skeletons.”

  Solear realized that he had lost the argument. They weren’t going to approve any additional resources. He thanked the senate and turned to leave.

  Admiral Dolen said, “Wait, Olova and I will accompany you.”

  As they were walking back to the main hangar, Admiral Dolen said, “This assignment should only last 6 months, a year at the most. After that I think it would be good if you took some time away from the military and pursued other interests.”

  Dolen paused for a breath and continued, “And you are promoted to admiral, effective immediately.”

  Solear said, “So, basically the promotion is a way to ease me into retirement. You are benching me.”

  Dolen replied, “It will be good for you to have a break. You have been in the military for what, 60 years?”

  Solear responded, “Fifty-eight.”

  Dolen continued, “We will round up
and give you the full 60 when you retire in a few months. Besides, you will still be in the naval reserve, should we need you.”

  Solear already knew the answer, but he asked “Why” anyway.

  Chief Olova: “You probably already know, but these battles seem to have changed you. On one appendage you are a decorated war hero, but on the other you are viewed as a ruthless killer. After you were hit by an ion cannon, you should have surrendered. The carnage that ensued is indefensible.”

  Solear wanted to respond ‘You don’t understand’, but the problem was that they did understand. During the 2nd battle of Influenla, Admiral Dolen had chosen to surrender in order to save the lives of all beings – Alliance and Hiriculan. Further, he did it with the full understanding that he would become a prisoner of war and that his (and everyone serving below him) military career was effectively over.

  Solear responded, “Admiral, the Hiriculans knew our operational details. That information was only known by the Alliance Senate and your staff. Someone close to you leaked the information. You must find the source.”

  Olova said, “Perhaps the release of information was inadvertent. Maybe the Hiriculans have our headquarters or computer systems bugged. We will need to do a thorough review and check everyone and everything.”

  Admiral Dolen said, “Solear, I am sorry that it turned out this way. If you hadn’t rescued us, Olova and I would be forced to retire and you would probably be the one leading the Navy. I know the situation seems rather ironic.”

  Solear responded, “I understand. I will send you the equipment and personnel list very soon.” He turned and continued back to his transport shuttle.

  ……………………

  Ella docked the Jackal to the Sunflower. She told Jack to stay on the ship because she was only going to be gone for a few minutes. Ella extended the tube transfer and verified it was connected to both ships. She then swam across and disappeared from Jack’s view.

  Paul was waiting and caught her when she landed. She noted that the entire caribou corridor was filled with humans. They were standing along both walls. Paul set her upright and everyone began clapping. Ella hugged several of the people beside her and thanked everyone for the warm welcome.

  Ella then proceeded to the bridge. The reunion on the bridge was brief, but very emotional. Clowy immediately started crying when she saw Ella. Lexxi approached and Ella insisted on hugging both of them at the same time. She even gave Putat a small hug.

  Ella asked, “Where is Captain Solear?”

  Lexxi responded, “Captain Solear took a transport to the flagship. I assume that he has to give a report about the battle.”

  Ella sighed and said, “I have seen too much death and destruction. I am ready to retire. Please excuse me while I pack.”

  She started walking toward the electro lift and stopped. Her bags were already packed and sitting beside the electro lift. Her picture viewer was sitting on top of them. There was another set of bags to the left of hers and two sets on the right.

  Ella asked, “What is this?”

  Clowy said, “What is what?”

  Ella responded, “The bags. Thank you for packing my bags. Why are all of your bags packed as well?”

  Putat responded first, “I have been reassigned to the Conron Naval Supply Depot. My shuttle is arriving in a few minutes.”

  Clowy responded next, “Both Lexxi and I retired the moment that we reached Conron. We were hoping that you would give us a ride to Solaria?”

  “Why?” Ella asked.

  Lexxi twirled and said, “Because apparently the entire planet is throwing a gigantic party and Clowy and I are the guests of honor.”

  It was Ella’s turn to say “What?”

  Lexxi continued, “We received official invitations to the celebration from the Solarian government.” Lexxi opened the invitation on her communication pad and showed it to Ella.

  Lexxi: “Remember, we were part of the team that shot gravity tracking missiles through hyperspace and found Old Solaria. The team included Lorano, Carank, Clowy, Solear, and myself. Solear and I traveled to the actual system and got some pictures and long range scans, but were unable to land on the planet due to the high radiation.

  Clowy said, “Hopefully, Jack has room for two more.”

  Ella responded, “Oh, I am sure he won’t mind having you as guests. Solaria is only a two day journey from here.”

  ……………………

  Jack watched Ella swim through the passageway onto the Sunflower. He could see several humans standing there waiting for her. He knew that his evidence of humans in the Alliance was good, but he wanted unquestionable proof of their existence.

  Jack waited until most of the humans had cleared and decided to swim across. He was just about to enter when he realized that his skin was white. Although the white skin was perfect for trying to fit in as a human on Earth, he knew he couldn’t fool a tightknit group of humans.

  Jack painted his face blue and then put on a pair of gloves. He attached a hidden camera to his vest. He realized that he didn’t have much time; the visit to the ship would have to be quick. Jack swam across the connector tube and landed feet first on the Sunflower.

  There were two humans still standing the corridor. They turned and faced Jack immediately as he landed. Jack said, “Hello, I am Jack Dogbarks. I am Ella’s friend. I was docked at the Spindle Station when it was attacked.”

  Jack wanted to say that he had given Ella a ride from the station to here, but he realized that the statement was obvious. Instead, Jack said, “Pardon the interruption, Ella told me that her father painted the hallway and I wanted to see it for myself.”

  One of the Humans said, “Hello, I am Jim Donovan and this is Paul Smith.”

  Jack reached out and shook the hands of both men. Jim said, “I am impressed, few people seem to know that custom.”

  Jack laughed and replied, “Thank you. I have watched many Human movies.”

  Jack walked a few paces down the hallway and the same number back. The caribou painted on the walls dutifully leaped beside him. Jack was amazed. The painting was really something to behold.

  Jack turned so that he was looking directly at the humans. He wanted to ensure that he got a great picture of them. He said, “Ella was right. This corridor is a true masterpiece.”

  Jack reached the connector tube and swam back to the Jackal. He saw that there was a message blinking on his com pad. Jack said, “Computer, play message.”

  …The message is from Ella Birdsong. Jack, I have some good news. My two friends and fellow bridge officers also just retired from the Navy and are going to join us on our flight to Solaria. We will be there in a couple of minutes. Oh, please paint your face blue, I don’t want to confuse them…

  Jack wondered if he could detach the transfer tube and leave before they arrived. He turned back around and saw that Ella was already swimming through. He caught her and set her on her feet.

  Ella whispered, “That was quick.”

  Jack realized that she was referring to his blue face. He held up his hands to reveal his gloves and whispered back, “I only had time to do half of the job.”

  Ella introduced Clowy and Lexxi as Jack caught them. Jack then showed them the two spare cabins. After they placed their belongings in their respective rooms, Jack said, “Please ladies, let me give you a tour of the mini-freighter.”

  Clowy responded, “What freighter?”

  Jack showed them the main hold and discussed that he was carrying detailed components for the new office building on Solaria. Jack downplayed that the cargo was from Hiricula. He guessed that they may still be upset about losing a few humans during the rescue operation. However, he now knew that they were apparently fairly easy to replace.

  Finally, Jack led them into the entertainment room. He showed them the workstation and helped Ella hang her picture viewer on one wall. Jack then showed them his extensive collection of human movies. He asked Lexxi, “Well, what do you think?”
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  Lexxi looked around disdainfully and said, “That suicide is an option.”

  Jack was about to comment further when the three females started an in depth conversation about the spas available on Solaria. Apparently their first priority upon landing was a complete hair and nail make-over.

  It was going to be a long three days – even if the 10 to 1 time dilation meant that he technically only had to spend 15 hours with them. It was his ship and if he wanted to exaggerate time for effect, he was certainly allowed.

  Jack looked longingly at the two cryostasis tubes. Those two were the lucky ones, he thought. Perhaps he should unfreeze them and get in one of the tubes himself.

  Chapter 4

  “Anything?” Lorano asked for probably the 10th time that day.

  Carank was in hearing range, but didn’t bother to respond. He hadn’t responded the last 6 times either.

  Lorano stood up and walked around the control room, looking at the various tracking devices. They were in the Waylon system, stationed on a hyperspace charting platform.

  The Waylon system consisted of an average star with five planets. The system was unusual in that all five planets were clustered very close together and were very high in raw materials such as iron ore and polonium. It appeared that at one time the five planets were probably one giant asteroid that was struck by a meteoroid and splintered.

  Carank and Lorano had arrived in the Waylon system approximately three months ago. Their assignment was to use the hyperspace gravity missiles that Lorano had invented to try to find the missing home-world of the Solarians, affectionately called Old Solaria.

  They were initially accompanied by the Sunflower, but it left on a high priority mission a few weeks ago. The two scientists had been alone on the station since.

  They were currently sitting in the control room of their hyperspace charting platform. The fancily named hyperspace charting platform was in reality simply a drilling platform and its corresponding control sphere and living quarters.