They seem to harbor no animosity towards Humans or anyone else. They are still gathered where they were stopped, trying to determine what they will do next. From everything I have been able to determine, they are a docile species. I started a discussion with them of possibly making a journey back to their original home. It would be a tremendously long journey, but I offered to provide the star charts needed for their return.
I don���t know if you will receive this message or if you are even still alive. But it looks like the war with the Milgari is over Sir. They are no longer a threat to the Grid or to our existence. We have won the war Sir, we have won!
The aide then looked up, “That���s all Sir. Does this mean what I think it means?” I looked around the table at the Admiral and the Colonel, they were both smiling. As I walked around the table to beside them we all locked hands and raised them over our heads. The great battle had ended the war!
I told the aide to get on the comm to the Dakar and the Prassi, to let them know that the Milgari were not coming. The Dakar could now peacefully reclaim their planet and the Prassi fleet could return home. As the Colonel and Admiral slapped each other on the back and hugged we made our way to the bridge.
I again got on the comm to our fleet, “Everyone. I need complete attention for this message��� The Milgari fleet is no longer a threat. The Milgari wars are over!” The bridge erupted in cheer. The celebrations from only a few days before were pale in comparison to those which came. As I looked around at all the happy faces I was wishing that my friend Frig was there to enjoy the moment. It was a moment that we would probably never see again in our lifetimes.
A thousand years of war had come to an abrupt end. Our enemy was no more. As a species we could now find a home, a place where we could put down our roots, build our history and spread the Human name across the galaxy in peace. I had a vision of Jarhead becoming a hub for the Human race. It would be that shining beacon in the galaxy for all to see.
A Marine then pushed his way through the doorway onto the bridge, “They have alcohol in the mess hall! The cooks have been brewing it since Tuesday! Anyone who wants a drink should head that way!”
The cheering and excitement all moved quickly from the bridge. I stood looking out the viewport down at Torrus below. It would soon reclaim its original name of Dakamus. The Dakar had their home-world, the Prassi had theirs and Humans would possibly soon have ours. It was truly a time to celebrate.
The aide who had originally delivered the message stuck his head through the doorway of the bridge, “Are you coming Sir? They are hitting the booze pretty hard in there. I don���t know how much they have, but if you want any you might want to get in there!” I nodded as I replied, “Thanks Ensign, I���ll be in there in a moment.”
As I walked towards the mess hall I could hear music playing over the intercom. It was a song that I had not heard since I was a kid. When I entered the room a cheer rose up from those near the door. Only seconds passed before that cheer spread to the rest of the room. Everyone was looking my way and applauding. The emotions were strong and I wondered if I was going to tear up.
A young blonde corporal from the Admirals team then stepped up with a cup of booze, “Drink it down Sir. We have a thousand years of celebrating to do!” After turning up her own cup she looked down and spit a black wad of Omega juice on my pant leg. I could do nothing but smile.
After taking my first swig of the swill the cooks had concocted I raised my cup in the air. All went silent as the attention was turned my way. I spoke, “I���ll keep this short. This is a day that we will all remember. The day the Milgari wars ended. It is a day that you will be able to tell your children and your grandchildren about. They will in turn pass that story down the line as part of each of your family histories.”
“I would like to take a moment here, a moment of silence. It will be a silence for all those who have fought for our existence down through the ages, all those who have stood in our defense. Raise your cups to those who have gone before us. In their names we claim this victory!”
I held my cup high over my head as did the rest of the mess hall. When I lowered the cup again to my lips and took a swig the others followed in kind. For another moment there was again a brief lull before many of the 426 attendees of the celebration turned and spat a wad of Omega root juice on the pant leg of whoever was closest to them. It was a disgusting display of respect.
The celebrations lasted well into the next day. There would be many headaches from overindulgence, but they would be headaches that all were happy to have. I woke up in my bunk on the Swift and rolled out of bed. I staggered over to the sink and turned on the faucet, splashing cold water on my face. My head was pounding, but it was a pounding that I didn���t mind.
I was waking up to a new day, a day without the threat of war, a day that would mark the beginning of a new era for Man. I wiped my face with a towel, slapped on some deodorant and reached for my combat suit. As I pulled it from my small closet I hesitated, looking it up and down. I then hung it back where it had been.
Instead I moved over to a box I had stashed in the corner of the room. It held civilian clothes. I kept them handy for when I was visiting on a planet where I did not want to be known as military. It consisted of sandals, knee length shorts and a colorful shirt. It had a festive appearance for a festive day. I smiled as I looked in the mirror before exiting the Swift.
Out on the deck the usually bustling space was quiet. Only those few who had stopped their partying early were up and about. I made my way towards the mess hall, smiling and nodding to everyone I encountered on the way. It was a good day.
There was only on cook in the kitchen that morning and the orders were beginning to back up, but no one was complaining. It was a ship of happy faces, living in a galaxy of peace. I ordered my usual, cereal, dry toast and coffee and sat down at a table. The conversation by those who were awake was light.
When complete I made my way to the bridge to a Colonel that was sitting in his command chair, gently rubbing his temples, “Grange. Think I had a little too much of the goose last night. I don���t know what the cooks brewed up back there, but it was toxic.”
The Colonel then looked at my attire, “Hmm. Looks like casual day. I could go for a little bit of that myself.” The Admiral soon joined us. He was his usual self, “Gentlemen, it is a good and glorious day is it not?” The Admiral stretched out his arms and pulled a big breath into his chest. He then exhaled in a satisfying sigh.
I looked at the two men before me, they were warriors for Man. I spoke, “I���m guessing it might be time for a couple retirement parties here soon. What are you two going to do with your time?” The Admiral leaned in, placing his forearm on an adjacent console, “I���ll probably spend my days trying to revamp the Grid���s fleet. I���ve had space dust coursing through my veins for too long to just give this stuff up.”
The Colonel replied, “Aggh. I just might go out and see if I can find another war. There are always minor skirmishes that will be looking to hire an old war horse. I���m sure I wouldn���t have any problem taking a few thousand of my fellow retirees with me. We would make one nasty mercenary force!” The Colonel got his usual evil grin.
I thought for a moment and responded, “I think I will spend some time hitting on a special lady on the Grid, if she would have me. I am an incredibly wealthy man you know, I own my own planet and fleet of ships.” The Admiral smiled and replied, “She would be so lucky.”
As the day moved on and the ship slowly came back to life I opened a comm channel to the Prassi. They too had celebrated well into our new day. On many ships the festivities continued. I arranged for a meeting with their representatives to further discuss the terms of peace. I was hoping there would be no struggles between them and the Dakar over the surrounding star systems. I wanted our peace to start off on the right foot.
When I had completed arrangements with the Prassi I
moved on to the Dakar. Their senior delegates were planet-side. They were busy walking through the collapsed former palaces of the Torrian royal families. Plans were already in the works of how to make use of the vast stores of wealth. The freed Teldaki slaves were beginning to ask for transportation home. I wondered home much freedom they would have under the Dakar.
A site down on the planet was selected for the meeting. I arrived on time and walked into the ornate chamber that had been selected. Workers were busy outside washing away the blood of several hundred Torrians who had been rounded up and executed. It was an unpleasant site, but such was war.
The two species had each brought with them four administrators and three advisors. We would be drawing up a draft document of the agreements we had earlier come to verbal terms on. I had hopes of a quick and easy meeting that fell mostly along the lines of the prior agreements.
There was a vast amount of space between the two empires. Most of the outward end of the Pollus sector would remain unclaimed. As the meeting progressed each side began to push their boundaries further as the other attempted the same.
It finally came to a head when I asked to speak, “Look, this has been a great victory for all of us. Both of you will walk away with territories larger than you have ever had before. I believe the free space between your empires should stay exactly that, free space.”
“Give each other time to bring your empires back from the years of destruction of war. As times progress there will be ample opportunity for discussions on further expansion. We should all go away from here feeling good about what has happened. Our enemies are gone, never to return. Imagine the trade that is possible between our peoples. Both of your empires will benefit from a peaceful co-existence.”
The Dakar delegate spoke first, “We will not stand by while the Prassi take possession of free worlds that may one day choose to join the Expansion! If they are entitled to expand then we are entitled to expand. The Dakar cannot agree with this draft proposal if the Prassi go beyond what was initially agreed upon.”
The Prassi representative then stood, “My people have no argument with the Dakar. Let us work to divide these free worlds equally. Perhaps we should set up a system of weights with each grid receiving a rating from all parties as to its value. We could then take turns selecting those grids, which are adjacent to our grids, which would fall under each domain.”
Again I stood and raised my hand in the air, “Hold on, I don���t think you understand what it is that I am saying. For now, here today, the Prassi will leave with the worlds they had agreed upon. The Dakar will leave, or stay in this case, with the worlds that were agreed upon. We sign this draft proposal and we all then go home.”
“There will come a time when the worlds in question will see an advantage to joining one empire or the other. Whichever way it happens, it does not mean you are enemies. The war is over; we are all winners at this table. There will be many years in the future for each of us to grow and expand. Let us part from here today as friends, as allies, as winners!”
The Dakar rose and with their delegate taking a copy of the draft resolution in his hand, “I will pass this information on to the Council of the Wise. When they return an answer we can again negotiate or part ways with what is before us. Until that time I bid each of you a fair day. I have much work to do to prepare this properly. Good day.” The delegate nodded, turned and left the conference hall.
Immediately following the Dakar an angry Prassi representative stood, “We too will evaluate the proposals in this document. When the Dakar have returned with an answer, we will provide ours.” The Prassi representative then turned and left the room with a scowl on his face.
I hopped a shuttle back up to the Slaughter and gave the Colonel and Admiral the news, “Gentlemen, it looks like we are going to be here for a bit longer. But I wouldn���t worry too much about it. I think we can agree on some minor concession to each side and they will sign.”
“They both have so much on their plates at the moment that I cannot see them going past a little head butting over this. In the meantime, we will sit and try to facilitate the peace as I would rather not leave unless we are all leaving at once.”
“While we wait we can work on healing our wounded and repairing our ships. We have some damaged ship parts floating around out there that we will want to collect. We are no longer at war, but we don���t want to provide a technological advantage to one side or the other if we don���t have to. This arm of the galaxy needs peace. We need peace. Maybe our time for peace has finally come.”
The Colonel stuffed a piece of Omega root between his cheek and gum, “Frankly, I don���t trust either one of them farther than I can throw them. They are both expansionists. If we are going to peacefully co-exist, it will mean that we will want alliances and star systems of our own. Once we get back to the Grid, I think we will need to put some teams together to discuss that very thing.”
“And let���s not forget our friends the Durians. If there is a race we cannot trust it is those sneaky blue lizards. I would bet they are smarting right now at the loss of their prime customer. If they side with the Dakar or the Prassi we may have another war on our hands. They might not be gunning for us at first, but if one side or the other loses, they will come knocking!”
The Admiral replied, “I said before that the Prassi were expansionists. They are cash poor at the moment, but they are industrialists that can turn that situation around in a hurry. At the moment I would put my credits on the Dakar. I think they have the technological and funding edge as of today.”
I had to let out a sigh, “We have only had peace for a few days and we are already talking war. I���m starting to think all of our retirements may never happen. If today was any sign of what���s to come we are going to have to start building our defenses. It is starting to look like only through strength can we maintain peace and protect the Grid.”
The Colonel and the Admiral continued on with their discussion of the day���s events. I stood and walked to the counter and poured a cup of coffee. I then walked to the bridge and sat in the Colonel���s command chair. It was wide and the padding was almost non-existent. I squirmed around to make myself comfortable.
I was looking out the viewport at the planet Dakamus. It was a beautiful world of blues and greens, much like what I hoped Jarhead would one day be. I began to daydream about walking on a high mountain path with Ashley Elizabeth by my side. There would be a cool breeze moving up the mountainside, her blonde hair gently blowing to the side as I peered into her big blue eyes.
A passionate kiss would then reveal the wonder that being at peace would bring. My world, our new world, was only weeks away from its humble beginnings. Humans would have a planet on which to reside, a place to call home. For only a moment I wondered what might happen to the great gray station called the Grid. The Colonel’s chair was hard and the coffee strong, but as I daydreamed I fell into a peaceful, blissful sleep.
We had won the Milgari war…
~~~
What’s Next!
This Human is asking for your help!
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I sincerely hope you have enjoyed reading this book. The first chapter of the next book in the series is provided below, I hope you will enjoy it as well!
Steve
AMP
Rebellion
Chapter 1
A week had passed with no agreement between the Dakar and the Prassi. I had ordered our fleet to stay at Dakamus as a stabilizing factor, but the two species continued to show mistrust. With each new meeting they appeared to be moving further apart with the animosity between them only growing. On the eighth day, both species would no longer return my comms. It was complete silence.
I spoke with the Colonel, “It’s making me nervous that they aren’t talking to us. We’ve stayed decidedly neutral during this whole affair. It just doesn’t make sense for them to go quiet.”
The Colonel replied, “I’ve found over the years, that if something smells bad, it is usually because it is rotten. I think it’s time we pulled up and left this place. You gave it a good try; let them work out their issues between themselves. The last thing we want is to be stuck in the middle, as they will both be demanding that we join their side. It’s time we left.”
The Admiral was in agreement. Our efforts at diplomacy had failed. I sent out the orders for the fleet to prepare for the journey home. There was still much to be done on the Grid as well as our little planet of Jarhead. After attempting one final comm call to both species I gave the order to depart. As the first ship began to move the Prassi fleet repositioned to block our way.
The Admiral put his hand on my shoulder, “That���s an aggressive move Grange. I think they have something else planned for us.”
In a similarly aggressive move the Dakar force positioned their fleet, closing off our other avenues of escape. We were blocked from every angle.
I again tried to hail both species, “This is Don Grange with the Nation of Defiant. With what cause do you justify these aggressive acts against our fleet? We have no quarrel with either of you. Please clear a pathway to allow for our departure.”
Alarms then sounded as sensors detected 42 large ships entering the Dakamus system. They were Durian.
AMP Blitzkrieg Page 23
