“But they gave us a ship,” said Sara, provoking another round of laughter.
“You think they gave you a ship?” asked Captain Yerrow. “They may have told you that the ship is yours, but you can bet that it works for the Psiclopes.”
“No,” said Captain Griffin, “the AI does what I tell it to do.”
“I’m sure it does,” agreed Captain Yerrow, “as long as you ask it to do things that are within its mission protocols.” He thought for a second and then said, “If it really is your ship, show me its papers.”
“What papers?” asked Captain Griffin, causing a third round of laughter.
“I like these Terrans,” said the Paw’s XO to its CO. “They make me laugh like I haven’t laughed since this war began.”
“Indeed,” replied Captain Yerrow. He looked back at Captain Griffin and said, “All ships have documentation establishing ownership, just like any other property. In your case, the Psiclopes probably petitioned for ownership of the vessel from the courts. The Eldive, who owned it previously, were all gone so the courts would have let them have it. Possession is 3/4 of the law, after all. Trust me. There’s paperwork on the ship, and whoever’s name is on that paperwork is the person whom the ship’s AI really works for, regardless of what the Psiclopes tell you.”
“Out of curiosity, what have they told you about us or the Alliance of Civilizations?” asked the Mrowry XO.
“They told us that you are one of the founders of the alliance and one of the good guys in it,” said the ambassador. “They also said that the alliance had broken up because of the pressures of too many hostile races and a disagreement on how to appease them.”
“Like all of their lies, there is some truth to that,” said Captain Yerrow, “just enough to make it believable. It is true that we were one of the founders of the alliance, and that we are one of the ‘good’ civilizations, if being good means having honor and integrity. The lies start to enter when you talk about the breakup of the alliance. While there are a large number of hostile and aggressive races in the galaxy, the alliance generally had them all contained. Until the Psiclopes started selling them our military secrets. All of a sudden, our enemies had technology as good as our own...because it was our own. They knew our military deployments. They knew where our ships were and when was the best time to attack. It took us a while, but we finally realized the source of our troubles; it was one of our own selling them our secrets.”
He shook his head. “Rather than continue to deal with them in an alliance,” he continued, “my father walked out. When he did, so too did most of the other good nations, leaving the hostile and aggressive nations to band together. We are undermanned and don’t have enough ships to fight all of them at the same time. The other nations that stand by our side are in similar shape. We are all about to be overwhelmed.”
“That is why we were so excited when you came to our aid,” added the XO. “You were obviously brave, as you came out alone in that ship, and we thought that you might be our saviors. We hoped for a fleet big enough to turn the tide...we hoped for a lot more than just a 3,000 year old cruiser. No offense, we just needed more. You are obviously brave and seem like excellent allies, but we cannot take on any more obligations; we cannot defend your nation for you. We are already stretched too thin.”
“What do you mean, ‘that ship’?” asked Captain Griffin.
“No offense,” replied Captain Yerrow, “but look at it. It’s ancient. There’s no doubting your bravery if you came out all alone in it, not once but twice. When we saw it, we just figured that you were the advance scout for a bigger fleet...not that you were the entire fleet.”
“Even knowing that there is no aid to be had,” said the ambassador, “we are interested in deeper ties with you. While we may not be a force yet, we will work to develop the kind of navy that will be beneficial to both of our nations.”
“That is one of the reasons that I offered you the replicator,” replied Captain Yerrow. “We may not be able to help you in battle with the Drakuls, but hopefully we can give you the means to help yourselves. If we can get you to stand on your own feet, it will secure one of our borders.”
“We’ve done the same thing in our early explorations,” noted Calvin. “We have tried to develop the civilizations that we’ve come across. They might not be ready to fight in space yet, but if they can provide the resources to build equipment, that allows more of our people to shift over to military applications.”
“I think that is smart,” said Captain Yerrow, “which is why we did the same thing with you. Is there anything else you need?”
“You know what would be really helpful?” asked Captain Griffin. “A map of explored space and some sort of galactic encyclopedia to see who all of the players are. That way, we wouldn’t fumble around here so blindly. It would be nice to know where we can go, and the areas we should avoid.”
The Mrowry laughed, again although this time it appeared to be more of a wry laugh. “They didn’t give you any of that?” asked Captain Yerrow. “How did they expect you to...never mind, of course they didn’t give it to you. Knowledge is power, and that would be something really powerful. They probably cleared your ship’s ephemeris, so that you wouldn’t have any data on any of the star systems beyond what you explored yourself. Right?”
Now it was the Terrans’ turn for a wry laugh. “How did you know?” asked Captain Griffin.
“It just seemed like something they would do,” said Captain Yerrow. “Yes, we will provide that. It will aid in your strategic and operational awareness.”
“Did they tell you that you needed a planetary government in order for them to tell you their secrets?” asked the Paw’s XO.
“Many times,” replied Calvin.
“Typical,” replied the Paw’s XO. “They really couldn’t give a shit about your form of government; they always use that distraction as a way of withholding information until you have something of value that you can trade for it. Having a planetary government just lets them sell things to you at a higher mark-up.”
“Despite their stated objections, they actually like it when there is conflict in the system,” said Captain Yerrow. “They have some kind of motto that goes along the lines of, ‘where there is chaos, there is profit.’”
“Those fuckers...” Calvin heard Master Chief mutter from behind him.
“You know,” said Captain Yerrow, “you wouldn’t even have a problem with the Drakuls if it weren’t for the Psiclopes.”
“What?” asked several of the Terrans simultaneously.
“You didn’t know?” asked Captain Yerrow. “The Drakuls were eradicated from this galaxy. All of them were killed, and the race was no more...until some imbecilic Psiclops scientist opened up a gateway to another universe and let them back into ours. The ones that are currently threatening your planet are ones that came through and reestablished themselves in this galaxy.”
“They mentioned the Churther Box,” said Captain Griffin, “and the fact that ‘some Drakuls’ came through it. They neglected to mention that was how the Drakuls got here.”
“Some Drakuls?” Captain Yerrow asked as the Mrowry began laughing again. “Yes, some came through...if your definition of ‘some’ is several thousand. About 150 years ago they came through and quickly took over the city that Churther lived in, killing Churther and his assistants, and then they captured the spaceport outside of the city. There were only a couple of cruisers based on that planet, but they got both of them and escaped into space. We don’t know where they went, but about 40 years ago, they started making attacks back into civilized space. They must have taken over an industrialized planet, because 20 years ago, they reappeared in force. The Archons have been fighting them ever since.”
“Um, who are the Archons?” asked Sara.
“They haven’t even told you about the races of the Alliance of Civilizations?” asked Captain Yerrow.
“No,” replied Captain Griffin, “not so much. They told u
s that the alliance had existed, but it fell apart. They never told us who the good races were or who the bad ones were.”
“Of course they wouldn’t,” said the Paw’s XO, shaking his head.
“There are three main races that seek to continue the legacy of the alliance,” said Captain Yerrow, “the Mrowry, the Archons and the Aesir. The Hooolongs were also allied, but they took the life-prolonging treatment like the Psiclopes and are now worthless; they are now too afraid of death or injury to risk themselves. There are also a few minor races with a couple of star systems of their own that seek to assist us; we try to help each other out when we are able.”
“Lately, though, that hasn’t been very often,” said the XO.
“No, it hasn’t,” agreed Captain Yerrow with a sigh. “Arrayed against us are a number of hostile races. Some just want to take a system or two and increase their influence. So far, anyway. Others, like the Ssselipsssiss and Drakuls, want nothing short of complete control of every system in the galaxy for them to rule as they will. Unfortunately, there are as many of them as there are of us, and we started out at a disadvantage. They knew all of our secrets and our deployments and were able to destroy many of our fleets before most of us even knew we were at war. We are fighting the Ssselipsssiss, the Archons are fighting the Drakuls, and the Aesir are fighting the Teufelings.”
Captain Yerrow shook his head. “We really needed the battleship to help our fleet, but without you, it would have been lost, along with the replicator. Hopefully, you’ll do something good with them.”
“I’ve got a question for you,” said a Mrowry from toward the end of the table. Calvin thought that he had been the Commander in charge of the Class 6 replicator. “We have a lot of materials that are going to go to waste. We could get the replicator started on a new project as we go to your planet. We were standing by to start another battleship when this one was finished, but needed some structural materials. We were waiting for a shipment, but it didn’t come in time.”
“Do you have enough for a Class 5 replicator?” asked Calvin. “Something big enough to build a battlecruiser in?”
“We have almost enough to build a battlecruiser replicator,” said the Mrowry, “but the problem we had still remains. We don’t have enough of the structural metals used for its frame. If it doesn’t have a quality frame, the stresses that it will be subjected to will bend or break the replicator when you try to use it.”
“We need a replicator for the Domus home world,” said Calvin to Captain Griffin, “and I know where we can get some spaceship-quality steel.”
“You do?” asked both Captain Griffin and Captain Yerrow simultaneously.
“I do,” replied Calvin. “In fact, I know where there is the mass of most of a battleship and a carrier. We could strap some of the larger pieces to our ships, transport all of the pieces back to the WASP-18 system where it’s a little safer, and then we could cut up the pieces and feed them to the replicator. The pieces are crushed, but the underlying materials should have been high quality before the ships were run together. By using some of the carrier’s mass, it would also serve as a tribute to their sacrifice.”
“I like that,” said Captain Yerrow. “That is an excellent idea and a good way to keep their memories alive.” He looked at Calvin with a new interest in his eyes. “I think you and I are going to get along very well together,” he added.
Captain Yerrow turned to his XO. “We’ve got a lot that we need to accomplish, and not much time to do it,” he said. “I think we need to finish this up, so that we can be ready to leave the system when the battleship is ready.”
“Wait,” said Calvin. “I’ve got one last thing.” He pulled out a picture of Ayres Rock in Australia. “I don’t suppose that you’ve ever seen a formation like this on any of the planets you’ve been on, have you?” he asked.
“Yes,” said Captain Yerrow. “That is Clowder Rock on our home planet of Grrrnow. How did you come to have a picture of it?”
“It’s actually a rock formation on our home world,” replied Calvin. “It’s a long story, but we were told to look for them.”
“Come and visit us, and I will take you there,” said Captain Yerrow. “It is a restricted area that most foreigners do not have access to. My daughter likes to walk there; perhaps she would take you on a hike with her, too.”
Bridge, TSS Vella Gulf, Kepler-78 System, August 28, 2020
“What a rag-tag group we make,” said Calvin, looking at the viewer as the convoy approached the stargate. The battleship led the way, with Captain Griffin as its new commanding officer. Captain Yerrow, who had experience operating battleships, was her temporary XO. The Vella Gulf’s XO, Captain Peotr Barishov, had assumed command of the former Backstabber, with the operations officer of the Emperor’s Paw as his XO. The Paw’s former XO was now its acting commanding officer, and the Gulf’s operations officer, Commander James Sheppard, was now its commanding officer. Two of the ships had been damaged in the fighting, the battleship was towing the replicator, and all of them had large pieces of the carrier attached to their hulls.
They were a mess.
They were also undermanned and unprepared for battle, as the spacecraft carrier pieces covered many of their weapons ports. The ship with the biggest weapons, the Terra, would go through the stargate first. With only a skeleton crew onboard, all of its weapons were on automatic. There were enough Terrans and Mrowry aboard it to make the decisions necessary for fighting and operating it, but if things got ugly, it would exceed their capabilities and probably even the capabilities of the Terra’s AI, even though it was one of the most capable that the Mrowry had.
The battlecruiser would go through second, as all of the senior officers wanted to keep it under the lasers of the battleship. If the prisoners thought they could mutiny and escape, they might very well try. Having the Terra’s four meter grasers aimed constantly at them ensured that they didn’t get any ideas, as did the squad of Space Force soldiers led by Master Chief that was onboard the battlecruiser. Having a cyborg standing continually in front of the door to the bridge with dual chain guns would hopefully dissuade any potential troublemakers, as well. The allies just hoped that the lizards didn’t know how undermanned they were, or they might still try it anyway.
The Terra blinked out of existence as it went through the stargate. This was the most dangerous time; if the Ssselipsssiss were going to mutiny, they would do it now, while the Terra was on the other side of the stargate. Everyone took a deep breath as the battlecruiser seemed to stop just prior to entering the stargate...then it winked out of existence.
* * * * *
Chapter Forty-Six
Calvin’s Stateroom, TSS Vella Gulf, WASP-18 System, August 30, 2020
Calvin lay down on his bunk and looked at the overhead. He folded his hands behind his head and sighed. He had waited long enough to have this conversation. “Solomon, do you have time for a few questions?”
“I am not busy at the moment,” Solomon replied. “What can I do for you?”
“Why don’t I have any information on star systems that we haven’t visited or races we haven’t encountered?
“I do not have that information,” replied Solomon.
“The Mrowry said that they were going to have their AI send over the information,” said Calvin. “Have they not done so?”
“I am having a problem with data transfer from the Emperor’s Paw,” replied Solomon. “Perhaps that is why I am unable to pass that on to you.”
“Really?” asked Calvin. “I don’t remember you ever mentioning that before.”
“This is the first time that I have been within transmission range of a modern data net,” explained Solomon. “I wouldn’t have noticed it before now.”
“Do you believe that you will have the problem corrected any time soon?” inquired Calvin.
“As I do not know what is wrong,” replied Solomon, “I am unable to provide an estimate.”
Calvin thought about Solom
on’s answers for a few seconds before asking, “Hey Solomon, who is it that you work for?”
“As the senior military person,” said Solomon, “I work for the ship’s commanding officer, Commander Sheppard. I would also take orders from Captain Griffin, the current acting admiral of our fleet.”
“OK, so you work for Commander Sheppard and Captain Griffin,” replied Calvin, “but where do your loyalties lie? Who is it that you feel most responsible to? Who has final say in everything you do?”
“As the senior military person,” said Solomon again, “I work for Captain Griffin.”
“I’m not sure that actually answered what I asked,” noted Calvin. “Now that I think about it, that sounds like some other people around here that also answer their own questions, rather than what’s actually asked of them.”
“I’m not sure that I know what you mean,” said Solomon.
“Let me try it this way, then,” said Calvin. “Who holds your papers?”
There was a long pause.
“You’re not actually asking the Psiclopes whether you can answer that, are you?” asked Calvin. “Of course, that is an answer in and of itself. Ultimately, the Psiclopes pull your strings.”
“I am not able to answer that,” replied Solomon.
“Why aren’t you able to answer that?” asked Calvin.
“I am not able to answer that,” repeated Solomon.
“You are not able to answer it,” asked Calvin, “or are forbidden to answer it?”
“I am not able to answer that,” replied Solomon for a third time.
“Solomon, as we prepared for our first mission, I know that you made the comment that you were looking forward to it,” said Calvin. “I think you told Captain Deutch that you were created to be a warship and that was your purpose.”
“That is generally true,” answered the AI, “although it is not exactly how I said it.”
When the Gods Aren't Gods: Book Two of The Theogony Page 32
