“We’re on a peaceful exploration mission from Sol, eleven and a half light years from here,” started Gallant.
Cyrus Wolfe Junior’s eyes glossed over, “He’ll be glad to hear your entire history when we get to the meeting.”
Gallant decided to think of this person as “Junior,” but he didn’t intend to call him Junior to his face.
Junior seemed intent on ending all conversation, but Gallant gave it another try.
“You seem rather young to be in such an important position.”
“No younger than you, Lieutenant.”
Junior didn’t introduce the other members of his delegation, but spoke deferentially of President Wolfe and their need to hurry along to the waiting council members in the assembly building.
Gallant smiled, evaluating the man as a cool customer. “Are you authorized to discuss policy with me?”
A quick mutual glance passed between the Elysium men. Junior said, “No, this group is to evaluate security prior to bringing you to our leadership council, not to negotiate.”
“I see,” he said gravely, taking mental note to not reveal too much too soon. “Okay. What more can I do to reassure you my intentions are for our mutual benefit?”
Glimpsing Gallant’s side arm, Junior said, “I’ll need your gun and communication devices.”
Seeing Gallant’s reluctance he added, “They will be returned to you when you leave, but we are responsible for security on Elysium. The SSP allows no weapons here.”
Having already noted their apparent lack of weaponry, Gallant decided to cooperate and handed his laser side arm to the police chief, but hesitated to remove his comm pin. “This is my communication pin and I’m going to need it to communicate with my ship.”
“You can arrange communication to your ship from our headquarters.”
Gallant handed over his comm pin and said, “I am most anxious to meet with your president. I’ve listened to his speech broadcasts and I hope we can be of mutual benefit to each other. It would help if I learned more about your people.”
“Elysium is an independent planet. Run by Cyrus Wolfe and the planetary council.”
“Forgive me for asking, but you are human, aren’t you?”
“Yes, we’re human.” Junior smirked. “In fact we’re from Sol, but you’ll have to wait for more explanation. For now please come with us. We have a meeting arranged with the planetary council in the town hall.”
Gallant met his eyes and held them, refusing to look away. Finally, Junior blinked and turned away.
Junior and his three guards led Gallant to a building, one of the bigger structures in the community on the edge of the clearing. The strictness and uniformity with which these men treated him was disturbing. He was left in a large room where he stood waiting for events to unfold.
After several minutes, eight men entered the room and took seats arranged around the table. They didn’t acknowledge Gallant, but looked at him as if to evaluate his potential. Clearly, Junior had informed them of his experiences with the new arrival.
“Please sit down, Lieutenant Henry Gallant. Make yourself comfortable. We are most anxious to welcome you to Elysium. I am Cyrus Wolfe,” Wolfe Sr. said, sitting with assured authority, surrounded by his symbols of office and power. Behind him were a strange flag, several marble statues, and plaques. The room was adorned to emphasize influence.
Wolfe was a large, portly man with long flowing black hair with gray streaks and a bushy gray beard. However, he had elegant attire and a proud demeanor. Next to him was man who appeared to be his chief of staff. The stocky man nodded a vague acknowledgment, but then quickly whispered into Wolfe’s ear.
With a tight smile and a slight bow of his head, Gallant indicated his intention to comply by sitting, glad to see this more diplomatic tone to his arrival.
“Thank you. I am grateful for the opportunity to meet with you to establish a relationship of cooperation and goodwill.”
“Our colony thrives on this island chain. We call this large island, Kauai. The main inhabited town is named Hallo. I am president of the planet and leader of the council.”
One town, on one island, and he thinks he’s ruler of a planet?
“We’re the governing body of the independent planet Elysium.” Wolfe paused casting an examining look at Gallant.
Gallant, realizing the importance of the statement, remained quiet.
“Over fifty years ago, the first Earth asteroid mining operations began in the asteroid belt. Once colonization and asteroid mining began, commerce was established and immigrants built colonies that became self-sufficient. They had their own food production and air ventilation control systems,” said Wolfe. He paused for a second before continuing, “The Titans attacked and captured the Ceres asteroid-mining colony. We’re survivors of those kidnapped humans taken from Ceres by the Titans fifty years ago.” Once again Wolfe paused and peered at Gallant as if to assess the impact of the revelation on Gallant’s psyche.
Gallant let Wolfe’s words sink in and began to reevaluate stories he had heard before. He was aware of stories surrounding the “Ceres Disaster,” as it was referred to. The incident occurred before the Untied Planets discovered the existence of the Titans. The disappearance of the miners and the destruction of their facilities were attributed to an accidental detonation of their mining explosives, or a major asteroid collision beyond the capacity of the normal asteroid protection lasers.
Gallant made a strange connection to this story when certain facts clicked together in his memory cells—the financial losses of the disaster were absorbed by the NNR Shipping and Mining Company, owned by rich and powerful Gerald Neumann, president of NNR and father of Anton Neumann, Gallant’s new commanding officer.
Bizarre.
Even after the war with the Titans was in full swing, no one seriously suspected the Titans’ involvement in the “Ceres Disaster.” The Titans must have used extensive non-nuclear explosives to cover their tracks and throw off the UP investigators.
Now we’ve come full circle.
Seeing Gallant begin to nod, Wolfe continued, “Fortunately soon after those methane-breathers left us alone on oxygen rich Elysium, I was able to build a force field. Our force field has protected us from further exploitation by the Titans for the last twenty years.”
The other members of the council exclaimed their devotion and approbation over Wolfe’s accomplishment.
When the commotion died down, Gallant, perplexed, asked, “How were you able to design and construct such a remarkable planetary force field?”
Wolfe raised his voice to be heard above the clamor. “Not so hard, but that’s a discussion for another time.” He smiled, pleased with himself. “We are a young world, and in our short history, we have had only one leader—me,” he said with pride.
A faint emphasis upon the way he spoke the words alerted Gallant to an undertone in their meaning. He recognized the seat of power was here. From here, Wolfe could have him killed or tortured to suit his needs, but what were his needs? His hands folded tight before him, Gallant wasn’t exactly sure. He had no formal negotiating training and could only rely on his own experience to guide him. His instincts told him Wolfe was a master manipulator and Gallant would have to play his hand carefully to succeed on this mission.
“The United Planets has been at war with our mutual enemy, the Titans, since shortly after you were abducted. The Intrepid is our first FTL ship and this was our maiden voyage to test the drive. Unfortunately we ran into a Titan destroyer and our ship was badly damaged,” Gallant paused waiting for acknowledgment from Wolfe. Seeing none he continued, “We need to utilize the resources of this planet to affect repairs,” said Gallant.
“You presume a great deal, perhaps too much,” said Wolfe. “But let’s proceed slowly, shall we? First let’s enjoy a meal, compliments of the bounties of Elysium, and we can get to know each other before we begin making weighty decisions.”
Grateful for the break, Gallant
tried to collect his thoughts.
Tread lightly.
Waiters entered and began setting the table for an extensive meal. Apparently they had done this before because they were incredibly efficient arranging cutlery, napkins, and place settings. Then the food arrived, including a combination of green vegetables, fish, and meat dishes. A variety were hot, others cold, all giving off an attractive aroma and whetting the appetites of those seated around the table.
Gallant sat at the center of the table while they brought in a wide variety of foodstuffs for him to sample. It all looked delicious—a unique variety of fish and bird dishes, plus fruits and vegetables, all of which he happily tasted. Wolfe described, in seemingly endless detail, how they had developed their agriculture and fishing industries. He obviously liked to talk about how self-sufficient the colony was.
Besides being served excellent food, Gallant surveyed the furnishings of the room. The utensils and plates were quite unusual for a United Planets’ household.
Gallant said “I’ve been living on synthetics for a long time and this array of fresh food is quite irresistible.”
Wolfe twitched and repressed a placated smile. “Yes, all this food has been collected and prepared locally. Please help yourself to the dishes before you. I hope you will taste from each of those available.”
After being in space for so long, existing on nothing, but artificial foods, he couldn’t disguise his delight. Gallant took a taste from each dish and enjoyed the delicious meal. He was aware how manipulative Wolfe was being in shifting the discussion away from exchanging information.
After a while, however, Wolfe got down to business.
“Well, Lieutenant, it has been interesting, but you should be able to conclude we are self-sustaining and perfectly capable of surviving without outside assistance.” His mild conversational voice hid the depth of his commitment. In fact the placid look on his face did not waver as he focused his attention directly on Gallant. His body firmed up, becoming rigid, affirming his intractable intent.
Gallant felt the dismal scene before him was the result of a troubled history. He tried to remember the last time he had experienced anything comparable.
“Didn’t you detect us approaching the planet?” asked Gallant, venturing into troubled waters.
No response.
“You never warned us about the Titan destroyer. You must have known it was preparing to ambush us. What were you thinking?” asked Gallant.
Wolfe looked like he had been hit in the face with a wet towel. Nothing escaped his lips.
Don’t have a cover story?
Gallant moved on, “I understand your position as the leader of a new state, but I need to interview other members of the Hallo community to get a sense of the collective opinion of the citizenry. The Intrepid is willing to take anyone who wants to leave—back to Earth.”
“No!”
“You’re still part of the United Planets. We’re in this struggle against the Titans, together. Aren’t we?”
“Elysium is independent, and will remain so.”
“Surely there are people who will want to return to their families,” said Gallant, as if innocent of detecting any deeper nefarious meaning on Wolfe’s part.
Indignant, Wolfe said, “I’ve been waiting for you to say such a thing. Originally, we started out with several thousand colonists from Ceres and from time to time individuals were taken away by the Titans and they never reappeared. Obviously the Titans used them to learn about us, perhaps through medical experiments and tests in which their survivability was not a priority. We were studied and treated as an experiment or a zoo. But now, no one wants to leave this paradise planet. I suppose you think it’s strange we wished to stay here and not return to the United Planets, but we have a better life here than we had on the asteroids. Aren’t we safer? The UP peoples are still at war with an enemy while we are perfectly protected with our force field.”
“These are serious matters. We must find common ground to resolve them,” said Gallant.
“It then rests on the art of persuasion to reach an agreement we can both find satisfactory,” said Wolfe.
Gallant said, “The Intrepid needs heavy metals, titanium, uranium, and an accelerator to produce dark matter and antimatter. It may require many months of construction including fabrication and forging of hull and reactor parts. It will be an extensive effort and we would welcome your assistance.”
“Those may be your needs, but you haven’t asked what my needs are,” said Wolfe, raising his eye brow while pulling at the end of his brushy gray beard.
Gallant stared at Wolfe, who returned a stoic glare.
Mounting tension filled the room when . . .
Bang!
The noise startled everyone.
The conference room door had been slammed against the wall with enough force to produce the loud bang—calling a halt to the proceedings and focusing attention on the arrival of a young slender blonde with a shapely figure, dressed in rugged outdoor hiking gear, who marched boldly into the room. She was about a year or two younger than Gallant, perhaps twenty.
She dominated everyone’s attention. It wasn’t because she was so shockingly belligerent as to require an immediate rejoinder, though she was clearly intent on being provocative—nor was she was so strikingly beautiful so as to inflame male passions, yet she was certainly attractive. No, she dominated the situation, despite portraying a rebellious joy of life, because of her defiant bearing, her air of resolution, and her dogged expression—all of which were so clearly evident—by marching, hands on hips, into the focal point of the room, thereby demanding the immediate and undivided attention of all present.
“Alaina, you are interrupting important state business. What do you want?” demanded Wolfe, standing up to express his annoyance with her theatrical appearance.
Wolfe’s carefully crafted mask of self-assurance had slipped.
“My grandfather is unable to attend, so he asked me to take his place, which is his prerogative. Certainly that’s allowed? Isn’t it?” she asked with an authoritative voice, shifting her gaze from one council member to another, causing them to fidget in their seats as her stare met theirs.
Clearly internal politics were at play, but Gallant was wary of how he should interact with this new dynamic in the room.
Wolfe heaved a sign of resignation and sputtered, “Well—of course—under those circumstances, you’re welcome. Please sit. Here, sit next to me.”
Alaina brushed back her long flowing blonde hair and walked toward Gallant instead. “Well aren’t you going to introduce me to this officer?” she asked.
Again Wolfe heaved a sign of resignation, this time deeper and more sustained. “Lieutenant Gallant, this is Alaina Hepburn, granddaughter of Professor James Hepburn, a leading citizen, a member of this council, and our leading expert on cybernetics.”
“I’m glad to meet you, Ms Hepburn,” said Gallant, standing and offering his hand.
“A pleasure, Lieutenant.” Alaina bowed her head slightly, but kept her hands clasped to her hips. A moment later, to Gallant’s surprise, she flashed him a luminescent smile and took the seat beside him, tapping her fingers impatiently on the top of the table. With her hair pulled back from her face, the creamy beauty of her skin was exposed.
Gallant took his place beside her.
She helped herself to a cup and filled it with the coffee-like beverage. She sipped slowly as if waiting for the meeting to resume, all the while studying him surreptitiously.
“Are you enjoying our local cuisine?” she asked, meeting his gaze.
“Very much so.”
“Here, try this fowl. It’s one of my favorites.”
“Thank you.”
Aliana took charge of Gallant, commandeering his attention right along with the meeting.
Gallant’s face grew rosy under her scrutiny. He felt self-conscious, because admittedly, he didn’t look his best—after all, he had recently been in battle and was
forced to wear a ragged uniform.
“We’ve recorded information about the battle you fought against the Titans and we’re interested in finding out your current circumstances. Is there anything we can do to help?” she asked.
“Well, yes. That’s my mission. I’m seeking your assistance in making repairs to our ship before the Titan destroyer can repair their damage and return.”
“Well, you must know, you’ve been a long time coming. We’ve been waiting and waiting for many years, actually.”
“We never knew what happened on Ceres. In fact, we are not here on a rescue mission. It’s a coincidence we found you now, but this is an opportunity for us to work together to our mutual benefit. Once our ship is repaired, we can provide transportation back to Earth for representatives of Elysium.”
“No,” exclaimed Wolfe, once more upset on this point. “All our people are happy here, on Elysium.”
“Not everyone,” added Alaina.
“Please, Alaina, do not take too much upon yourself. This is a discussion for the United Planets’ representative and the council.”
“Meaning, you will make all the decisions, as usual, Mr. Wolfe?”
“Not at all. Not at all. I only mean there are certain boundaries we must draw before this becomes a public discussion.”
“Ha,” she scoffed.
Turning from Alaina, back to Gallant, Wolfe added, “But the hour grows late, and I think we should adjourn for today. I would be glad to arrange a private meeting with you in a few days. In the meantime, please get to know our people and look around.”
Alaina, who had gotten settled in her chair, glared at Wolfe.
Gallant surmised Wolfe ignored people whose presence was inconvenient, treating them as if they were invisible or nonexistent. Finding himself in an awkward position, thanks to Alaina, Wolfe was unable to carry the situation off with his usual high handedness.
“I don’t think there is anything more we can accomplish today. Let us digest your request and when we’ve had time to consult with our leading citizens, we can get together again for a more detailed negotiation,” said Wolfe.
Henry Gallant Saga 2: Lieutenant Henry Gallant Page 7
