“It was our pleasure,” replied Captain Griffin. “We’re always happy to kill the lizards. Our dealings with them have been...unsatisfactory, at best. They fired on us without warning and destroyed many of our fighters.”
“We were certainly happy to help, but I’ve got a question, Captain Yerrow,” said Calvin. “When we came aboard your ship, we were met with rifles. If you weren’t sure whether we were a friend or an enemy, why did you have us come onboard your ship in the first place?”
“Honestly, it was a no-lose proposition at the time,” answered Captain Yerrow. “We were going to die without aid. Either we would be overwhelmed by the lizards or we would have burned up in the star. We didn’t know you, and you were in their company.” He nodded at Steropes. “If you provided the assistance that you said you would, then we were saved. If you weren’t a friend to us, by having your group come over, we at least had the opportunity to take you hostage and hopefully win some concessions from your commanding officer. Either way, we didn’t have any other choice. We were either going to be killed by the lizards or drawn into the star.”
Captain Yerrow paused. “I am sorry for the deception, but as I indicated, you were unknown to us and showed up in a ship not of your own making. You have shown your honor and saved my daughter from the clutches of the lizards, and you have my personal thanks. If there is ever anything I can do for you, you have my word that I will do so. Unlike some, I know who my friends are, and I honor my obligations.”
“As do we,” said the ambassador, seeing her opening. “We help our friends and honor our obligations. As I’m sure you know, we are relative newcomers on the galactic stage. We would like to go forward naming you as friends of Terra. Although we are still in our infancy as players upon this stage, we would take our place alongside you as a force for good, shielding those less powerful from the forces of chaos and anarchy.
“And well met you are,” replied Captain Yerrow. “The ‘forces for good’ as you name them are hard pressed on all sides. It will be good to add your navy to ours. How many ships do you bring?”
“I’m afraid that you’re looking at it,” replied Captain Griffin. “We are gearing up the industries of the two planets that we currently have in our republic, but do not yet have a replicator that is capable of building anything bigger than the fighters attached to this cruiser.”
“Oh,” said Captain Yerrow, who had obviously been hoping for something more than a single 3,000 year old cruiser. “Well, it is better than nothing,” he said, recovering from his initial surprise and disappointment. “Besides, I like your spirit, and I may have an opportunity for you to increase the size of your fleet.”
“We will do whatever we can to help,” replied Captain Griffin. “As long as it doesn’t take too long. Our home world is expecting a Drakul invasion soon, and we need to return to it soon to help in its defense.”
Captain Yerrow showed his teeth in what Captain Griffin fervently hoped was a smile. There were an awful lot of them, and they looked very sharp. “This shouldn’t take long, but may be very dangerous. If we are successful, we may both gain from it. If we are not, then it won’t matter much to us.”
“Captain Griffin, Bridge,” said the operations officer, who was on duty on the bridge. “We have an unknown ship that just entered the system from one of the unknown stargates. It appears to be heading toward the other unknown stargate.” The system had four stargates, the one that led to Earth, the one that led to where they had fought the lizards, and two other stargates that hadn’t been explored.
“How big is the ship? Are we able to intercept it?” asked Captain Griffin.
“Arges says that the ship is a courier ship,” said the operations officer. “We do not have anything in a position to intercept it before it can transit out of the system.”
“Send it to the screen in here,” said Captain Griffin.
The screen in the conference room came alive. It split in half, with one side showing a schematic of a small ship, and the other showing a graphic of the star system.
“That is not good,” said Captain Yerrow. “That is a lizard courier ship. It is going from a pocket system that we own toward a system that connects to both a lizard system and one of ours. Their system up that chain has a big fleet in it. If you can’t stop that craft, they will probably send the rest of their fleet. We will be destroyed.”
“I’m sorry,” said Captain Griffin, “but there’s no way we can catch the ship before it reaches the gate.”
Several of the Mrowry hissed in dismay. Captain Yerrow glared at his officers, and they fell silent. “Then we are all dead men,” he said. “There is no way that we will be able to get through their fleet with just our ship.”
“Why do you have to get through their fleet?” asked Calvin. “Won’t the Mrowry send a force to come rescue you?”
“It is unlikely that they will send anyone,” replied Captain Yerrow. “We were outnumbered, and they will likely believe we were lost. Besides, we are beset on all sides by enemies; sending a fleet to rescue us will just open them up to attack from another direction.”
“Why can’t you come back with us, then?” asked Calvin.
“We would be happy to give you asylum,” said the ambassador. “If you return to Earth, we can help you fix up your ship. Perhaps your civilization will send a rescue mission at some point in the future, and you can rejoin them then. We are also working on building up a fleet, although slowly. When we are able, I’m sure we would conduct a mission to get you home.”
“That is probably our best choice,” said Captain Yerrow, looking at his officers. Several of them nodded. He looked back to Captain Griffin. “We may be able to help you with your fleet. I mentioned a potentially dangerous option earlier. In the system that the courier came from, we have a Class 6 replicator that is just finishing up a new battleship. If you had that ship, you would be a much more capable force.”
“You’re going to just give it to us?” asked Captain Griffin. “A battleship has got to be worth...I don’t know how much it’s worth, but it’s got to be an awful lot.” Wow, that sounded lame, she thought. “Are you authorized to do that?”
Captain Yerrow showed his teeth again, as did most of his officers. Several of them made noises like steam hissing. Calvin’s implant translated the noise as
“First of all, I am not giving you the battleship,” said Yerrow. “I am giving you the battleship and the Class 6 replicator. I don’t see any way that we can get it home. That means I would have to destroy a brand new battleship, which seems like a tremendous waste, or risk losing it to the lizards and end up having to destroy it later while it is shooting at me. Neither of those is a viable option. If you don’t take it, I will do my duty and destroy it.”
He paused, looking at Steropes. “As far as having the authority to do so, I guess that this one hasn’t told you who I am,” said Captain Yerrow. “I am the first son of Emperor Yazhak the Third, and I am the first in line for the throne. I speak with my father’s roar in all matters when he is absent. If I say it is yours, it is yours!”
“Got it,” said Captain Griffin quietly. “No, they did not tell us that you were the crown prince, an oversight that I’m afraid happens quite frequently. We will take your gracious offer and use both of them to help defend our nations. Thank you very much.”
“There might be one small problem in getting it, however,” warned Captain Yerrow. “The battle that you saw between my ship and the ship of the lizards was just the end of a far larger battle. The lizard fleet attacked us by surprise in the system next to this. By the time we could disengage from them, we had lost several of our capital ships.”
“Capital ships?” asked the ambassador. “What are capital ships?”
“Capital ships are ships that are battlecruiser size or larger,” replied Captain Yerrow. “Battlecruisers, battleships, dreadnoughts and super dreadnoughts.”
“Thank you for the clarification,” said th
e ambassador.
“In any event,” said Captain Yerrow, “our fleets started out at an even strength, but they destroyed several of our battleships and battlecruisers in the initial attack. We withdrew to this system, hoping that the battleship in the replicator would be finished and would turn the battle in our favor. Arriving in this system, though, we got word that the battleship was not ready and would not be ready for a few more days. We fought several delaying actions in this system, trying to give them more time to finish the battleship.”
“They finally caught on to the fact that we were delaying them,” continued Yerrow’s executive officer, “and attacked us in force. They must have thought that we were expecting reinforcements and wanted to finish us off before they came. We were able to get our spacecraft carrier, several battlecruisers and a couple of cruisers free and to the stargate, but we lost our last two battleships, and our cruiser was wrecked beyond continuing. The remainder of the lizard force chased them into the next system.”
“What did the lizards still have operational?” asked Captain Griffin.
“That’s the problem, of course,” replied Captain Yerrow. “We can’t be entirely sure. Our cruiser’s systems were barely operational at that point, but we think that the lizards still had at least two battleships, a couple of battlecruisers and four cruisers. There is no telling what is left of both fleets. It is possible, although unlikely, that our fleet won. It is more likely that they lost, or are losing. Regardless, if we can get to the battleship and it’s functional, it is yours.”
CO’s Conference Room, TSS Vella Gulf, Ross 248 System, August 24, 2020
“What do you think, XO?” asked Captain Griffin. The Mrowry had gone back to their vessel to continue its repairs while the Terrans decided what they were going to do.
“The battleship represents a great opportunity,” replied Captain Barishov. “It also represents a great opportunity to get ourselves killed and lose the only warship that Terra has.”
“That is true,” agreed Captain Griffin. “Ambassador, any thoughts?”
Ambassador Ricketts-Smith shook her head. “I don’t know anything about military operations,” she said, “but it sounds like there are a lot more of ‘them’ than there are of ‘us.’ I can guess what a big upgrade to our fleet it would be to get the battleship and the replicator, but I can also guess how bad it would be to lose this ship, which is the only stargate-capable ship that we have.” She paused. “I am also weighing the potential diplomatic gains that we would get for continuing to help the Mrowry.” Captain Yerrow had told them that he was going into the next system once his ship was fixed, regardless of whether the Terrans came or not. “The crown prince is already in our debt. If we go with them to the end, he will be our friend forever.”
“The problem, of course,” said Captain Griffin, “is the ‘to the end’ part. If it is a successful end, things are great. We get a battleship and a replicator. If it is the final end for us, we have just lost Terra’s only warship. Not that it would matter to us; we’d be dead. Calvin, what do you think?”
“I think that this discussion could go round and round for days with no solution,” replied the squadron commander. “The only way we’ll know if we made the right decision is to go through the stargate, guns blazing. We could slink off back home, leaving our new allies the Mrowry to fight the lizards by themselves. We’d be safe...at least for a while, until the Drakuls show up at Earth. Maybe the lizards will get there first, who knows? Either way, at that time, the Vella Gulf will be overwhelmed, as will our fighters, no matter how many of them we build in the meantime.”
He took a deep breath. “The other option is to continue aiding the Mrowry and go with them into the next system,” he continued. “If we do that, we might be destroyed. Like I said, we could argue this all day, because we don’t know what’s on the other side of the stargate. We do, however, know what is on this side of the stargate. Our new allies. Our mission was to find allies that could help defend Earth from the Drakuls. We found one here, the Mrowry. Are we going to let them take their busted up ship into the next system by themselves, or are we going to accompany our new allies into that system, greatly increasing their capabilities with a second cruiser and a full squadron of space fighters? Ma’am, we may go into that next system and get killed, but there is only one choice that fulfills our mission, and only one choice that makes me proud to be a Terran as we emerge onto the galactic stage. We fight. We go with our new allies into the next system and kick the living shit out of whatever fucking lizards are there. We keep killing them until they are all dead. Then we take our allies, our new battleship and our incredibly capable new Class 6 replicator and go home to Terra as heroes. Maybe someone even buys us a beer for our troubles.”
“If there is one thing I know for sure,” Calvin concluded, “it’s that I don’t want to be seen as the nation that ran when its friends needed help. Mothers in ancient Sparta had a saying, ‘Come back with your shield - or on it;’ we can either do something that we will be proud of forever, or we go and hang our heads in shame, always wondering what might have happened if we’d done the right thing. In case you haven’t guessed, I vote for staying and kicking lizard ass. Ma’am.” He sat back and crossed his arms over his chest.
Captain Griffin smiled. “When you look at it that way,” she said, “I guess we really don’t have a choice, do we? There’s the right choice, help your ally, and then all the other choices.” She nodded. “We stay and fight.”
Bridge, TSS Vella Gulf, Ross 248 System, August 24, 2020
“I’m sorry that we took the time to discuss it,” said Captain Griffin. “There really is only one choice when an ally goes into battle. You stay and help them.”
Whatever she was going to say next was cut off as Captain Yerrow roared in satisfaction. “It is good to have new allies such as you. I wish we had met under other circumstances, but it is only in adversity that you find out who your friends are!” He might have looked at Steropes as he said the last, but Captain Griffin couldn’t be sure.
“What can we do to assist you?” asked Captain Griffin.
“The personnel and spare parts you sent have been very helpful,” replied Captain Yerrow. “We will be ready to go into the next system before too much longer. I would ask to keep an officer and about 10 of your enlisted to help man some of our critical systems. We had some critical fatalities during the fight with the lizards and are a little shorthanded.” The Mrowry had provided the specifications for needed parts, and the Terran replicator had been running non-stop ever since.
“That is fine,” said Captain Griffin. “Just let me know what you need, and we’ll make sure you have it.”
“Thank you,” replied Captain Yerrow. “I am sending over some of my tactical officers to discuss strategy with you. If you would not mind allowing my pilots to fly a few of your fighters, I would like to borrow three of them for the upcoming battle.”
Captain Griffin looked over her shoulder to Calvin. He nodded. “We’d be happy to have their experience,” he said. “They are welcome to fly three of our fighters.”
“I heard his response,” said Captain Yerrow, “and I would have expected nothing less from such a warrior. It is a foolish soldier that refuses aid or advice from a more experienced warrior. I am sending you three of my best.”
“Thank you,” replied Calvin.
Platoon Briefing Room, TSS Vella Gulf, Ross 248 System, August 24, 2020
“Lieutenant Train, might I have a word with you?” asked Havildar Rajesh ‘Mouse’ Patel.
“Sure, Mouse,” replied Night. “What’s up?”
“Are you familiar with the Bhagavad Gita, sir?” asked the Indian soldier.
“No,” replied Night, “I’m not. What is the Bhagavad Gita?”
“It was what you quoted when we went into battle with the lizards on the Emperor’s Paw. You said, ‘Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.’ That is chapter 11, verse 32 from the Bhagavad Gita, a 700-ver
se scripture that is part of the Hindu epic Mahabharata. It is an allegory for the ethical and moral struggles of human life.”
“Sorry,” said Night, “never heard of it.”
“Interesting,” remarked Mouse. “Jawaharlal Nehru, our first prime minister, said that the Bhagavad Gita deals with the spiritual foundation of human existence. He found it to be a call of action to meet the obligations and duties of life, while keeping in view the spiritual nature and grander purpose of the universe. It struck me that the way you used the verse was exactly as he intended it. Perhaps you should read it some time.”
“That’s what the quote is from?” asked Night. “I didn’t know that. It was what Robert Oppenheimer said after watching the first nuclear bomb explosion in New Mexico. The Gita sounds interesting...I will have to check it out.” He walked out with a thoughtful expression on his face.
As Mouse turned to leave, he almost ran over Brontes, who had appeared behind him.
“Did he really call himself ‘Death’?” asked Brontes.
“Yes, he did,” replied Mouse. “As we were going into battle with the lizards on the Emperor’s Paw, he quoted the Bhagavad Gita. He said, ‘Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds.’”
“You’re right,” said Brontes. “That is interesting.”
* * * * *
Chapter Forty
Bridge, Mrowry Ship Honor, Kepler-78 System, August 26, 2020
It was over, thought Commander Brower. If they had only had another battleship or a couple more battlecruisers, or hadn’t let the lizards surprise them so badly. But they didn’t, and they had, and now the lizards were going to finish them off. Commander Brower was proud of the way his squadron had fought; hell, he was proud of the way the entire battle group had fought. But it was over.
When the Gods Aren't Gods: Book Two of The Theogony Page 28
