by Ben Winston
The Alliance Council representatives were shocked and stunned at the news of the attacks and kidnappings. They had been kept informed of what was going on down on the planet, so they knew that the actions of the Cabal had Greg and the military worried. However, they never expected something like this to happen, and it upset them.
"Commander, what can we do to recover the kidnapped scientists and protect the ones that are still free?" the Councilor asked. This time, it was Councilor I't'ch'kar of Greynus.
"It's hard to say Madam Councilor. The problem is that we have no idea who they are going to go after next and we don't have the numbers to protect everyone. As you know, our current military strength is only at about ten thousand, half of which are crew members for ships and pilots for fighter craft.
"As for recovering the kidnapped people, we do have a pretty good idea where they have been taken, but that area is being guarded by Cabal troops with advanced armor and weapons. We could still attack them, but I can pretty much promise such an attack will be violent and very bloody. People will die on both sides of the conflict," Greg explained. "Potentially, a lot of people."
"Speaking of the people, Commander, have you a public opinion on this subject from your website?" Prince Edward asked.
"Not as yet, your Highness," Carl answered for Greg. "The information on the attacks and kidnappings is still too new to get an accurate poll. What we do know is that this situation has created a great deal of anger and outrage. Unfortunately, it has also created a lot of confusion in the population. The average citizen knows we are the only folks that have the advanced weapons used in these attacks. Since the Cabal still controls the mainstream media down there, and the reports of the attacks are pointing directly at us, almost any hostile action on our part at this point will serve to confirm those reports for a lot of people. Especially since we have always said we would never attack our own people," Carl finished.
"Actually, what we said was we would not attack unless we were left no other options," Greg replied. "But, I would have to agree with the Governor, people believe we will not attack humans under any circumstances. This is turning into a real mess. I just wish we could figure out how they got their hands on advanced technology."
"Excuse me, Commander, but I believe we might have found at least part of the answer to that," Abraxis replied.
"Please proceed Abraxis," Greg said.
"In our spare moments, the AI have been analyzing video surveillance of multiple locations in the United States. We found a few anomalies," he paused while he projected a hologram for the group, and sent the images to the people on Video Conference.
"The first part of this was taken from a Chinese satellite over the eastern coast of the United States roughly about the time Fighter Jarad began arresting Cabal members." The image showed what looked like a cargo shuttle landing on the large pad at the main complex in Virginia. Abraxis let the video advance until a human exited the shuttle and 'surrendered' to the men encircling it. He paused the video there.
"The ship is a Drellian designed, heavily-modified, medium cargo shuttle. We believe the human occupant to be a Drellian Ranger Fighter. Observation of the shuttle shows the engines at least, but probably all the systems on the ship, have been modified to avoid detection. However, the ship itself has no weapons and only standard shield emitters mounted on it. An hour and a half later, Three high-ranking Cabal members and several guards boarded this ship, with the pilot, and lifted off. Shortly after leaving, the rest of the Cabal leadership was seen to depart the facility, board several small executive aircraft, and also depart."
Abraxis changed the video and holographic images to Nevada. "This information is taken from two other satellites; a 'weather satellite' owned by the Russian federation, and a targeting spy satellite owned by North Korea. The Drellian ship landed and was admitted into a large hidden hanger in Area Twelve in the Nevada Desert. The jets later landed at Area Fifty-one and the occupants boarded buses and headed into the mountains where they also entered a hidden tunnel," Abraxis explained. He altered the image to two views of the Drellian shuttle.
"We believe that the Drellians have successfully made contact with the leaders of the Cabal and forged some type of technology sharing agreement. Energy and heat signatures from the area indicate that large-scale manufacturing is taking place underground.
"By the end of that day, the military complement of three bases received orders to report to Nellis Air Force Base, as soon as they could get on the planes." Abraxis finished.
"Pardon me Abraxis; we know of Forts Bragg and Benning, but what is the other Base?" General Grayson asked.
"Twentynine Palms Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center has also been evacuated, General," Abraxis replied.
Grayson shook his head. "Elite Marine units, Commander. This is not good."
"If we can prove Drellian interference then we are justified in our actions," Greg replied. "The problem is going to be proving it to the satisfaction of the people."
"Perhaps my brother and I can assist with that, Commander," Prince Edward replied. "We will make a public address informing the population of these events and the truth of the situation."
"We can also help, Commander," General Adams of Fort Carson in Colorado said. "We can also speak to our people and our communities about this. If we can get the word out to enough people, perhaps we can correct the damage this has done to your reputation with the public."
"You'll have to be careful, General," Jarad said. "We know the commanders of Space Command and Schriever Air Force Base are with the Cabal. We are unsure of the Commander of Peterson Air Force Base and the Air Force Academy."
"I'd bank on ol' Everson being part of it; Schriever is more of a part of DARPA than anything else," General Adams said referring to the commander of the Air Forces research base east of the city of Colorado Springs. "General Benton at the Academy is a good man, but very conservative. He might not be a member of the Cabal, but he does tend to follow orders. General Pratt at Peterson is a rogue; he could go either way, but he does tend to do what's right for his people and the United States. I'll try to talk to them and feel them out on this situation. We have a golf date up at the Academy tomorrow."
Greg nodded. "Thank you, General, the more commanders we can have to work with us the better off we'll be."
"Commander, I know you're still getting set up to train soldiers, but how far along are you? If you can handle them, we can start sending you people," General Grayson asked.
Greg turned to another man sitting at the table. "Commandant Faraday, how is the training command coming along?"
"We're actually in pretty good shape. We still have a few more facilities to build, and our instructors are almost done with their own training. We should be ready for the first thousand or so recruits by the end of the week. Fighter training will take just a bit longer since we only have a couple of the new fighters built and those are still in their trial phase. We will need one of the Rangers to assist us for a couple of days to get a baseline for a fighter on hyper sled performance. We know the fighters will be outclassed, but it would be good to know just how badly outclassed they will be," the older gentleman explained.
"We will have to expand the training department in order to train more troops. Once we get any problems worked out here, we can begin to assist the other races in training their people as well. We still have a lot to do, but I think we can pull this off. My question is, what does the arrival of a Drellian on Earth mean for the expected attack on the sector?"
"I think that is one of the more troubling aspects of this whole situation, Commandant," Ambassador Kaacarn of the Frayan Grand Aerie said in his quiet way.
"I agree," Prince Edward said. "Unfortunately, we can only deal with the current situation at this point. Commander, not all the National leaders were part of the Cabal. Perhaps we should seek them out and see if we can get them to work with us on educating their people, or at least keep them informed of the situation as it develops. Some of the
major spiritual leaders are also at least sympathetic to our cause but they will oppose any action that will cost lives."
"I hate to say this, but we're going to need someone to handle all of that. There are simply too many different nations and factions down there for us to work with directly," Greg said, thoughtfully.
"This is very true. Soon efficiency in decisions will begin to suffer because of this," Councilor I't'ch'kar said. "As I see it, we will need at least two representatives for this purpose; one for the civilian and another for the military. Prince Edward, as you have experience dealing with us, would you consider becoming the temporary civilian liaison? With the permission of your brother of course."
"I would be honored, Councilor. I will discuss this with him as soon as possible and let you know," Edward replied.
Greg nodded. "We should do the same with the military, as the Councilor suggests. Generals and Admirals, can any of you suggest the best person for this job?"
"I'd put forth either General Benton of the Air Force Academy or Vice Admiral Cobb from the Annapolis Naval Academy," Admiral Hastings suggested. "I think they are the two most senior of us, and they are certainly among the most respected."
The other commanders nodded agreement with his statement. "That's true, they would do the best for us; I'll let you folks know about Benton tomorrow evening. Do we have anyone that can speak with Admiral Cobb?"
"I can," Carl said. "When I discovered my son wanted to attend college there, I met with him to work out the transfer of the scholarship I'd set up at the Air Force Academy. We struck up a sort of friendship back then, though we've hardly spoken since."
"If you'd like, I can join you, Governor. In my capacity as a Fleet Admiral, I'd usually attend the Graduation Ceremonies when my duties would allow it," Admiral Hastings asked.
"I'll take all the help I can get, Admiral," Carl replied.
"Great, now, back to the main issue at hand; what to do about the kidnappings and whatever else the Cabal is up too," Greg said. "If they have made an alliance with the Drellians, we could be in for a rough time. Especially if they can muster a lot of supporters."
"Excuse me, Commander, but I think we might be able to do something about that," Joyce said. "We helped the people make the right decisions about the Cabal by showing them the true of the situation. Now, the cabal is staging events to turn public opinion against us. We need to counter that with a public relations campaign of our own. If we can keep the people on our side in this, it should not only limit the number of Cabal supporters but remain a thorn in their sides as well.
"We three fighters need to go down to the military bases and speak directly to the troops. Give them the choice whether to join us or not. We should also consider bolstering each base's defenses, and support structures. If the people can see us actually helping them, it should go a long way to countering the false accusations the Cabal are putting out about us."
Carl nodded his agreement. "That is a very good idea. So far, our initial reports show that public opinion was affected slightly by the initial reports on mainstream media. However, we are seeing a rebound on that now, with an increase in mistrust for those news sources. A suggestion was put forth on our website that is gaining support as well; they would like us to create a broadcast television channel for news and events.
"We have been considering creating it and letting our resident news folks handle the reporting. To begin with, it would be more like CNN or one of the other news only channels, but we could add more content later," Carl explained. "Broadcasting the military base visits could be some of the first stuff we show on it."
Most everyone agreed with the idea, Prince Edward spoke next. "There are a lot of other, non-American military bases we could visit as well. Of course, you have our support, but I was thinking more of Canada, Australia, the African and European bases. Some of them have command structures that support the Cabal, but I can't see all the troops being part of it. I feel we are going to see a lot of desertions soon."
"If the soldiers are given a choice in it," Greg replied. "They may be basically abducted much like the scientists were." He sighed in bit his lower lip. "My concern is; do we have the people we're going to need to provide this level of support?"
"Commander, the Alliance stands ready to assist; you will have the personnel you will need, one must only ask." Councilor I't'ch'kar replied. "None of us are alone any longer."
"Councilor, while that offer is appreciated more than I can express and I truly mean no offense, but I am afraid there remains a great deal of xenophobia among our people. I would be fearful of your people being harmed out of fear of the unknown before our people could be made to understand you are only trying to assist, and would never harm us," General Gordon said. "This would be most dangerous for the Greynus due to an ingrained fear of insect species on our world. The Harclen and perhaps a couple of the more human-like races might be safer, though."
The large Councilor bobbed her torso up and down in assent. "We have researched this on your world and understand it. Our smaller cousins that live in your world can be very dangerous. Especially your mantis species, of which we resemble the most. While we would be very willing to assist if asked, my suggestion was for the more acceptable races."
"Thank you for that understanding Councilor. Individually, our people can be reasonable and rational when confronted with new and unknown circumstances. However, in groups, they tend to become more reactionary and unthinking. Even our soldiers, who are trained to accept this would have problems," the General replied.
Greg nodded. "Okay, so the Rangers will visit each of the bases and speak to the soldiers and pilots. Additional assistance will be requested from the Alliance to build the support structure the bases will need if they accept our help. The last issue I have is security. If this works out the way we are hoping it will, we will be giving advanced weapons and equipment to the people of Earth without the oversight of, or membership in, the Alliance. By our current laws, this would be an illegal action.
"I know we can request an exemption from the Alliance Council and they would most likely grant it. However, I would like to stress that this is a situation that could quickly go out of control." Greg paused a moment. "When I originally spoke to Director Whiteshield about this, and our plans to form an Alliance with the other races in our sector and our reasons for it, he had a problem with it. He asked me what was wrong with our forming our own empire to fight the Drellian threat.
"I am worried that we will find more people that believe like he did, that human rule is what would be best. I would also be worried about the theft of advanced weapons after they are issued. The last thing we need is a bunch of white supremacists with laser rifles."
"Or, in this case, human supremacists," General Grayson added.
"Every piece of equipment we build has a locator and index code. Since all of it has a computer of some kind built into it, it is necessary to have the index code in order to service it," Mandi explained. She had been included in this meeting as a technical adviser. "If anything is stolen, or a force is formed that would use our equipment against us, we can shut it off. I'll admit, the system is not designed for it, but we should be able to adjust it for that use if you think we might need it. As long as we don't issue out anything that has a hyperdrive on it, it should work as a deterrent. Besides, every weapon we have has an IFF interlock that prevents it from being used against an allied unit. Although, the Rangers can override that, no one else would have the authority."
"I think we have the solution to that issue," Jarad replied grinning at his daughter. "Generals," he said turning to Grayson and Gordon. "When would you us to come down?"
United States Naval Academy
Annapolis, Michigan
United States
Earth, Sol System
The extra Greynus hive that had been assisting with the shipyard construction returned to Grimaldi Ridge to build more residence units. The Council made an official request to the Ha
rclen and Onarian Races to provide assistance with the projects on the planet.
The Harclen readily agreed, but the Onarians were a little more guarded, which was understandable as they would need to wear suits while on the planet. Earth had an incompatible atmosphere for the Onarian race. One of the other races that were human like also agreed to send specialists to help.
Carl had the computer department add a new channel to the private cable networks on the planet. Something that they were not happy about since they couldn't block it without shutting down their entire system. In the areas that did not have cable service, a satellite was used to broadcast a standard television signal. It wasn't ideal but it did get the news out to more people. The news program was anchored by Alicia Givins as well as the other human reporters, but they insisted that some of the non-human reporters take a turn at the desk as well, just to give the people of Earth more exposure to other races.
The Trials for the captured Cabal members was broadcast on the news channel as well as on the website. Greg wanted to allow the people of Earth to have a say in the guilt or innocence of the accused, but Jarad convinced him that if the people of Earth were given a say, none of the accused would have a fair and impartial hearing. They would be found guilty simply because they had been arrested by TDI.
There had been enough lawyers among the accused for them to be allowed to defend their fellows after giving them time to update themselves on the laws and investigative methods used in gathering the evidence. By their own request, they asked for Onarian Magistrates. They believed that they could use logic to prove that the Alliance had no jurisdiction.
What they got was something akin to a Grand Jury with representatives of Earth's World Court, a representative magistrate of the area the person was from, as well as the major races of the Alliance. However, an Onarian magistrate was presiding.
The tactic did not work as they had hoped. The crimes they had been charged with would have mandated the death penalty on Earth. However, the Alliance Court, with the support of the World Court, offered the guilty a choice between suicide (illogical to the Onarians and irrational to the Greynus), or a lifetime sentence of lava mining on the Jovian moon, Io.
