Junkyard Dogs series Omnibus

by Phillip Nolte

  Salaam obeyed without hesitation. They were ushered down a short hallway and into the interrogation room. The soldier left them alone with the Sheik's interrogator and two burly guards. The interrogator was sitting behind a desk and did not look up as they came in. He was an outwardly unassuming man with the dark hair and skin characteristic of most of the Sheik's followers, no more than average in height and perhaps a little overweight.

  The interrogator perused some of this notes before looking up at his next...what? ...client?...victim? Salaam wasn't quite sure what category his neighbor fell into. As Salaam got a good look at the interrogator's face, he could see by the man's eyes that he was anything but common. His dark eyes looked into Salaam's and never wavered. Salaam did not look away.

  "I am Rahman Halabi, the chief interrogator for the Sheik of Barsoom. If you answer my questions, things will go better for you. It says here that this man, Gamal Kattan, openly defied Sergeant Hajjar and Corporal Malak. Is this true?"

  The shopkeeper had been beaten badly enough that he was barely hanging on. Salaam spoke for him.

  "It was a misunderstanding, Sir."

  "I see. A simple misunderstanding and yet you are here."

  Salaam decided that he and his neighbor had nothing to lose and that he would give the interrogator the unvarnished truth.

  "It is said that you are a man who seeks the truth. If that is indeed the case, I am willing to help you find it."

  "This is something new," said the interrogator, "a man who would teach me how to discover truth!"

  Despite the hint of mockery in his tone, Halabi, who was a superb judge of character, sensed that the man addressing him was not some ordinary criminal. For a moment he struggled to put his finger on what it was that impressed him before it came to him: this man, this Salaam Alwadhi, wasn't afraid of the Sheik's interrogator. Halabi hadn't dealt with anyone like that for a long time. After all of the mundane interrogations he had performed during this day and in the days before he suddenly had an urge to deal frankly with someone. This man seemed different, a cut above the norm.

  "Guards? Leave us!" The two guards looked at one another in response to the somewhat unusual request but immediately left the chamber and closed the door behind them.

  When they were alone, Halabi looked at Salaam and sighed. "Hajjar and Malak," he said, "I am having no end of trouble on account of those two. Please, Mr. Alwadhi, tell me what happened. The simple truth will suffice."

  Salaam wasn't sure just what had transpired but he took the opportunity to give the interrogator the story exactly as he remembered it.

  "This man is my neighbor. Those two soldiers came into his shop, terrorized him and then they accosted his wife. He defied them to defend her honor, Mr. Halabi. First they dragged him out into the corridor and beat him and then, for a moment, I thought that Hajjar was going to shoot him. After that they demanded that I get him on his feet and help him come down here for this interrogation."

  Salaam didn't press his luck by telling the interrogator that the Sheik's thugs had also robbed him before they had gone next door and harassed his neighbor.

  Halabi the interrogator, one of the Sheik's most dreaded henchmen, then did something else that he didn't do very often.

  "It has been a long day already," he said as he looked levelly at Salaam, "I am letting your neighbor go...this time. I warn you both that if either of you wind up back down here again, I will have no choice but to dole out some kind of punishment. As to what that might be, I will think of something. Believe me, none of them are pleasant. A word of advice. Do not defy those two men again!" To Kattan he added, "And I suggest that you have your wife leave the premises the next time they show up!"

  The two relieved shopkeepers made their weary way back up to the first ring of the station and eventually back to their shops. Salaam entered his shop feeling relieved, angered and appalled. The Sheik's henchmen were not professional soldiers, they were nothing but common criminals, thugs for hire! And this so-called Sheik, this new leader, this new hope, had turned them loose on the populace of the Santana Nexus station like so many wolves on a flock of sheep! The Sheik's own interrogator was ashamed enough to have let him and his neighbor go free!

  Salaam Alwadhi, man of peace, purveyor of fine objects, former officer in the Jasmine Republic Special Forces, vowed that this criminal behavior was going to stop. He would be a sheep no longer! He was now in official opposition to the Sheik of Barsoom and all of his hooligans! Salaam was going to find the people who opposed this malicious, brutal oppression and join with them. Yes, Salaam would join the Resistance and drive this pestilence off from the Nexus Station!

  If he was unable to contact the Resistance, he decided that he was angry enough to organize one himself!

  Chapter 36.

  UTFN Reclamation Center, onboard Federation Auxiliary ship Greyhound, January 9, 2599.

  Commander Oskar Kresge was taking the opportunity during a rare lull in his usual full slate of daily activities to do some face to face instruction with Amanda Steuben and Faiza Saladin, his two "apprentice cadets."

  "We are going to be examining some of the political forces that were involved in creating the situation that escalated into the Succession War. Faiza? Would you start reading today's lesson out loud for us?"

  "Absolutely, Sir."

  Faiza began reading out loud:

  "...It is a great pity that mankind has never quite been able to grasp the lessons that countless previous "Big Wars" or "World Wars" or "Interplanetary Wars" or whatever you want to call them, have to teach. What we will be discussing today is a chillingly familiar story that bears repeating because it describes one of the basic engines that has driven some of Mankind's largest and most destructive conflicts.

  The scenario starts off simply and reasonably enough: In order to maintain the security of their borders, various governments, nations and/or planets have, throughout history, aligned themselves with the governments of like thinkers and formalized these alignments by signed treaties that all too often include mutual protection agreements. According to these protection agreements, if an enemy attacks one of the members of the Pact, it will then face the combined wrath of all of the members. Naturally, nations not included in these Pacts then seek to form their own alliances to protect their own individual interests with the ultimate goal of achieving some sort of parity to balance the opposing block..."

  Kresge stopped her there. "Opposing alliances with roughly similar capabilities keeping each other in check. It all sounds so reasonable doesn't it? That, of course, is part of the problem and I think it's really important that you see how innocently and naively a government can get involved in something that takes on a life of its own. Amanda? Would you continue please?"

  Amanda picked up where Faiza had left off:

  "...These conglomerations of Governments have quite often wound up equal enough in their strength that the existence of the opposing factions actually works to keep peace as each block believes itself powerful enough to render any kind of conflict unthinkable. And so it goes. These arrangements often work rather well for a while but it seems there are always some nagging, unresolved, rogue currents that seethe beneath the surface of an otherwise calm appearing sea.

  All is well and good until one of these rogue currents comes boiling to the surface. A conflict develops between two nations, governments, or planets who are members of opposing factions. Such an event often acts as a catalyst that rapidly precipitates an escalation into a much larger conflict. Soon all the players from the two opposing Pacts are engulfed in a war that few of them wanted but none of them can gracefully pull back from.

  In the past, these catalytic events themselves have often involved relatively minor players, each of whom had some obscure, centuries-old axe to grind. Emboldened by the strong allies they are aligned with, they clash with the offending member of the other block and, almost without warning, a minor, insignificant and often incomprehensible dispute explodes into a
huge conflagration that throws much of mankind into a state of war. World War I on Old Earth and the more recent "Succession War" resulted from exactly this type of aptly named "entangling alliances" scenario..."

  Kresge interrupted again. "'Entangling alliances' is a particularly appropriate way to describe this important mechanism. Just so you know, the term was coined by Thomas Jefferson of the old United States of America over seven hundred years ago." The two girls nodded their understanding. "Okay, Faiza, your turn again."

  Faiza picked up the thread again:

  "...Back on Old Earth, the first of these huge conflicts, World War I, was started when an old, decaying nation called Austria-Hungary, the citizens of which harbored an ages-old hatred of the neighboring Serbians, found a reason to declare war on their sworn enemies. In reality, both the Serbians and the Austrians had been spoiling for a fight for as long as either of them could remember. A small group of Serbian radicals kicked the whole thing off by assassinating the Austrian crown prince and his wife. Over the course of the next few months, nation after nation, honoring the terms of the mutual protection treaties, came to the aid of their allies and almost in the blink of an eye, all of the major powers on planet Earth were at war with one another. Millions died..."

  Kresge stopped the reading to make another point. "This is a perfect example of what appears to be a more or less insignificant event triggering a major catastrophe. Part of the problem was that during this time frame much of mankind was still under the rule of a Monarchy of one kind or another and the inevitable ruling classes that go along with this form of government. The leaders had the power to more or less do pretty much what they wanted. Pride and anger combined with a strong sense of self-righteousness among those who control armies is a recipe for disaster. Most of the people who fought and died in that war were never asked for their opinion. Any questions to this point?"

  Neither of the two girls had any questions.

  Amanda continued the reading of the lesson:

  "...The Succession War was precipitated in much the same way though the initial triggering events were considerably different. The conflict started out innocently enough but soon snowballed out of control. Though many of the details are still disputed, it is generally agreed that the beginnings of the conflict center around events that began on Meridian. Kahlid Abdallah, the Emperor of Meridian at that time, was a visionary and fervently believed that the way forward for Meridian, and indeed the Islamic Alliance, was to phase out the Monarchies and establish democratic governments. His reforms were very progressive and his beliefs dictated equality and voting rights for all members of society of all classes, including women.

  Taking a page from the model provided by an old Earth empire called the 'United Kingdom,' his idea was to retain the royals more or less as figureheads or as advisors but to leave the actual governing to elected representatives. He believed in his vision so strongly that he abdicated the Meridian throne and the machinery to create a democratic republic was set in motion. The transition was surprisingly peaceful on Meridian. Experts believe this occurred because the Emperor was well respected and the population was well educated. The reaction in the rest of the Santana Quadrant was totally unexpected. Meridian was still in the process of sorting out how their new government was going to work when a fervor for similar reforms stormed outward to engulf many of the other Islamic worlds.

  ...The results were mixed, with a great deal of unrest and uncertainty surrounding the reforms. Some of the most intense opposition to the "democratization" of the Islamic worlds occurred on Jasmine and here the attempt at making a similar transition to democratic rule was to prove catastrophic..."

  "So the Succession War actually began on Jasmine?" asked Faiza.

  "That's what the current consensus is," replied Kresge, "Though the framework for a problem was spread throughout the quadrant. Let's read on."

  It was Faiza's turn to read again:

  "...The Emperor of Jasmine's grand plan to abdicate and initiate the formation of a republic was, predictably, opposed by factions within his own household. The emperor's brother-in-law, rallying a group of powerful traditionalists around the emperor's only son, Merrikh, attempted to install the boy on the throne of Jasmine and retain the Monarchy. Civil war erupted on Jasmine and several of the planetary governments which had resolutely remained monarchies came into the conflict on the side of the Uncle and the Prince. Other planetary governments came to the aid of the revisionists and the familiar arrangement of entangling alliances wound up drawing almost all of Humanity in on one side or the other of what became known as the Succession War..."

  Faiza stopped here and said, "Some of the planets that were involved are still Monarchies, Commander."

  "That's correct, Faiza, a number of them remain rigid monarchies. The political forces we've been studying in today's lesson are still very much alive and well. Do either of you see the implications for the situation we are currently experiencing here in the Santana Quadrant?"

  "This is why my father wanted all of those diplomats to meet face to face," said Faiza.

  "That is certainly one of the reasons," replied Kresge.

  Amanda finished up the chapter:

  You could argue that it all happened because a handful of selfish and non-progressive people were unwilling to step aside in the name of progress and were unwilling to give up their influence. This author won't argue about that issue. The point is that the age old habit of forming these entangling alliances provided a mechanism for a chain reaction event that rapidly took on a life of its own. Millions died as a result.

  The Uncle was killed in the final Naval battle of the War out near New Ceylon. We have proof of this because his remains were actually found and identified. What happened to Prince Merrikh remains unknown with certainty but he is believed to have been killed during the same final battle when the ship he and his Uncle were on was attacked with overwhelming force and destroyed. Many of the nearly five hundred personal who died on that ship were never recovered due to a series of catastrophic explosions that made any recovery effort of human remains nearly impossible. Death in one of these explosions is now accepted by most authorities to have been the fate of the Prince...*"

  *Hartwell Wrist Comp reference entry highlighted for further review by Amanda Steuben and Faiza Saladin. One of several selected readings assigned by Oskar Kresge as part of a special education program. Excerpt is from "How to Start a Really Big War: a Discussion of the Forces That Place Governments in Conflict." By Thomas Patton.

  "I need to get back up to the bridge," said Kresge, "I want both of you to think about the profound importance of what we've just gone over. We'll talk more about it as we get further into the material. Good job, both of you!"

  Kresge left for the bridge.

  Chapter 37.

  Catskill-Soroyan System, on board armed freighter Aladdin, near the Piedmont Mining Station, January 9, 2599.

  Captain Ferrikan Rashad of the freighter Aladdin, was aware that he and his men were becoming frightfully bored but he wasn't quite sure what he could do about it. The Aladdin had been dispatched to this remote system with orders to keep the miners bottled up on the station to ensure they didn't become a nuisance in this system or somewhere else. Rashad and his crew had been assured that their assignment was "very important" to the Sheik of Barsoom's Glorious Revolution. The miners had taken refuge within the partially hollowed out asteroid beneath the mining station. Neither Rashad nor any of his men had seen any of them for more than a week now.

  Originally designed to be a freighter that could also serve as an armed escort for freight convoys, the Aladdin was armed with a top-side turret that contained a single, one hundred gigajoule pulse cannon. While she was no match for a mainline destroyer or even a gunboat, she still presented a formidable enemy when opposing unarmed ships. Or unshielded installations like the Piedmont Station. Her pulse beam weapon was more than powerful enough to penetrate the exposed walls of the semi-permanent
mining station.

  Rashad's orders had been to secure the system and keep the miners from organizing and becoming a threat. When the Aladdin had first arrived, the station had been almost fully occupied. Captain Rashad had demanded that the miners surrender and open up their station to occupation by the small force of soldiers on the armed freighter.

  The miners had refused. Lacking enough men to force the issue, Rashad had come up with another solution. He had ordered that the above-ground portions of the station be evacuated and had punctuated his demand by turning the Aladdin's pulse cannon loose on random areas of the mining station. The evacuation had proceeded very quickly, if not very smoothly, after several warning shots from the Aladdin's small but formidable cannon had left a series of sizeable holes in the station.

  Since that event, which had occurred some two weeks earlier, there had been little for Rashad and his crew to do. They simply kept an eye out for any activity on the station. If a light went on somewhere they would issue a warning followed by a short waiting period and then follow up by firing a pulse bolt into the offending area of the station. At the present time, the station had a number of non-spec openings in it but the Captain and crew of the Aladdin hadn't been called upon to create any new ones for nearly a week now.

  Captain Rashad was making the rounds on his freighter. He stopped and spoke with the two men currently on duty manning the cannon. They weren't sitting at the ready in the cramped turret, instead they were in the compartment beneath playing cards while they waited for a call to action from someone on the bridge. Rashad left them to their game. This "siege duty" that he and his small force had been tasked with might be considered important by someone higher up, but Rashad was finding it to be grindingly boring. Back on the bridge, he initiated another scan of the mining facility, to see if anyone had been foolish enough to poke their nose above ground.