by Scott Rhine
“Nivaar can be conquered with enough cold-blooded sleeper ships. Xerxes faced three problems: replacing the financial institutions during a war, gathering enough ships without someone noticing, and paying the mercenaries. The financial institutions would be reinforced through organized-crime families throughout the Union. He estimated the infrastructure would take 120 years to deploy, about the same amount of time it would take to construct a slow fleet and fly without detection to Nivaar.”
“You’re serious.”
“Payment came in installments. First, Xerxes paid his co-conspirators in Goat ships stolen by ‘pirates,’ but we don’t have that many. Many cargo vessels from Goat scrapyards were refitted as single-use troop ships. Next, he gave the Blue Claw coordinates of asteroid belts near Banker territory, which could be used to manufacture more ships while starving the enemy of future resources. Finally, Xerxes co-opted the giant Human colony ship The Mayflower on its way back from its maiden voyage.”
“Loaded with radioactives.”
“To be used for the initial nuclear bombardment of the Banker population.”
Judge Jeeconus held her midriff. Is that a sign of a Turtle heart attack or disgust? “How did he plan to pay?”
“Xerxes hatched a scheme to borrow the credits needed for the conquest from the Bankers themselves. The Goats are so inept at managing money that no one would be surprised if they mysteriously squandered the money in a few decades. Everyone involved in the plan promised to split the untold treasures stored in Nivaar equally.” Reuben wiped sweat from his forehead. “After the secret navy set sail toward the rendezvous known as Glory Point, the sleeping crews couldn’t be recalled. Xerxes realized the mission would continue whether he paid or not. So he spent the rest of his money preparing the Goats for the coming war.”
“The Phibs will not tolerate a man who does not honor his debts,” the judge said.
“Xerxes made the whole escalation look like prejudice on the part of the Phibs. He played them like a virtuoso, and the cold-bloods didn’t dare tell anyone the real reason for the hostility. We started calling their people the Wogs, short for pollywogs. Then we blocked their star-lane access like an old lady driving half the speed limit in the fast lane. When the Phibs were worked up into berserker rage, we gave our closest asset, New Hawaii, to the Humans to secure their protection.”
“Xerxes may have goaded them into war, but they chose to eat my children.”
“Agreed. But do you see how history takes on a different villain when you change your point of view?”
“Yes,” the Turtle said.
Reuben said, “The Phibs take their humiliations with a smile, knowing the Glory Point fleet can still avenge them, snatching victory from the ashes. After the banks are seized, the fleet will turn on the Magi. Lunar Intelligence is already planning concessions and the peace treaty.”
“Why do you choose now to tell me this horror story of deception and betrayal?”
“Our loan is almost due. The attack will happen within the next two years, before the final payment is required.”
“That’s why some of the delegates agreed readily to your improved ansible-infrastructure proposal but negotiated for a delay before we grant the Bankers any new planets.”
Reuben nodded. “I think my crew can reach the Glory Point fleet in time to stop them. We’re the only ones who can. Solemnity can travel ten times the speed of a normal ship, and we aren’t bound to the traditional jump points.”
The massive Turtle blinked in disbelief. “Once again, you turn the universe upside down with a few words.”
“You’re not going to kill me?” Reuben sounded vaguely disappointed.
“Is that what this is about?” asked the hulking Turtle. “You’re feeling sorry for yourself? Your lot in life? Let me tell you about my life. I spent fifty years reaching the pinnacle of my career so I could earn the right to reproduce. My species lives so long and has so many recessive genes that licenses to produce a single clutch of eggs are exceedingly rare. I managed eight perfect offspring, my entire allotment, and waited for the culmination of my life’s work to hatch. Then the Phibs ate all but one. The survivor is injured and fragile. She will never earn the right to breed. You mourn the loss of a few freedoms. I grieve for the end of my lineage and the slow decline of my species.”
Reuben removed his right glove. “Blythe told me that when I’m depressed, I should help others. Allow me to assist you.” When she cocked her head in confusion, he told her the next secret. “I can increase the IQ of women close to me for up to a day if you’ll turn on your music again and permit me to touch your skin.”
“Ahh, that explains several anomalies.” She paused for a moment for the ramifications to sink in. “You are asking to merge auras in an intimate fashion?”
“I need to know about you in order to share part of myself. The touch can be anywhere, although the forehead works best. The boost should be enough for you to find a way around the laws confining you.”
The judge curled into a more defensible position, expanding more of her segmented armor. “You are offering a Black Ram solution to my dilemma to avoid prosecution for your misdeeds?”
“I’m offering to ease the pain of another being, hoping the universe will ease mine in return.”
The Turtle turned her music back on. “I will ponder your words until I must leave for my speech.” She extended her hands in the shape of an egg.
Uncertain, Reuben placed his own hands in the same gesture.
Jeeconus covered his egg shape with her own larger hands. “We are one.”
The sheen on her black-and-red natural armor had a depth and complexity resembling the well-polished paint job of a high-end racing motorcycle—a symbol combining beauty and power.
Reuben opened his mind to the judge’s. Initially the contact was as tough and protected as a cactus. After ten minute of meditation and sending his support to the alien, she moved his second hand onto her lower back. Did she have a second brain like a stegosaurus, or was she just kinky? He felt like he was wearing thick, slick mittens, carrying a bowling ball that kept getting heavier. He changed the image in his mind to an egg. He was bending over her egg, her ovipositor. Closing his eyes, he focused on her desire for perfect offspring. He groped in the mental darkness for that chord.
When he fumbled across a primal instinct, she backed against him, shoving him into the wall.
That’s going to bruise. Still he held on, pretending he had one last night of merging with Blythe. Sweating, he tingled in the pit of his stomach. He pushed against the softest part of her psyche until it opened like a flower, and he concentrated on giving.
Jeeconus staggered free, embarrassed and excited. Her jewel-like eyes had dilated, and her voice filled with wonder. “In some cases, actions that are technically illegal won’t be prosecuted when they are committed for reasons people approve of or the perpetrator is dead. I have a few options to continue my line that I failed to consider before. You have removed the scales from my eyes.” She took a deep breath, pulling her robes around her to conceal her arms. “Go. Gather your crew. For all our sakes, you must stop this fleet. We will give you any incentive you require.”
Like not telling anyone what just happened? Turning on his recording device, Reuben said, “All I require is your forgiveness, ma’am, and to make sure the Bankers don’t retaliate against my people.”
“Done. What about for your crew?”
“You should guard Max’s child to make sure the Trout doesn’t use him as a weapon against us. You may need to pressure the Magi to allow us to borrow the prototype a bit longer. We’ll have to ask Kesh what would induce him to thwart the schemes of his own government. I do have one suggestion.” He sketched a plan involving a rule change in the Yellow Slash guards.
The judge issued a decree with the authority of the Convocation, the last for the next seven years. She handed him a copy in a tube, sealed with her electronic signet ring. “All shall be done to clear yo
ur way.” She ended the interview with the traditional, “Blessings on the servant of the people.” For the first time, he accepted the appellation for the Black Ram, knowing he would need every scrap of good karma he could find in the months to come. Already his head ached from the effort, but his conscience was light.
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The Gigaparsec adventure will continue in book four, Glory Point.
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