Battle Beyond Earth: Insurrection (8 page)

"This won't be easy. There will be many who contest this."

"And you will deal with them. There cannot be another war or another division between us. Together we will fight the Morohta, but divided we will almost certainly fall."

Taylor strode up to the other Cholans and walked up and down the line. He intimidated them, and it was no surprise.

"You will support Tuin as your leader, or you will answer to me."

He looked back to the new Emperor and nodded as if to hand over to him. "Good luck," he added.

With that, Taylor picked up his rifle, turned, and left.

"That's it?" Jones asked, as they passed through the palace doors, "What is to stop them coming at us again?"

Taylor shook his head.

"We can't enslave them. We have done all that we can do. Now they must sort it out amongst themselves. Something tells me Tuin will be a far more formidable leader than they could ever have imagined."

Jafar groaned as he lay back into his chair aboard the bridge of the Yavuz. Sarik stepped into the room just in time to see his Lord suffering from the wound that was not yet healed, but he would not ask after him in front of the rest of the crew. Jafar studied the bridge carefully.

"Been a long time since I have been aboard this old warhorse."

His sentimentality amused and confounded Sarik.

"You speak like a Human," he added in a friendly tone.

Jafar nodded.

"You should continue to learn everything you can from humanity. For a weak people with just one planet, they defeated every fleet our forebears ever threw at them."

"I do not doubt their strength and ingenuity, but you would be wise to remember your origins if you are to visit the Barbarlars. They are not forgiving, and will only see your Human tendencies as weakness."

Jafar sighed as he thought about the road ahead.

"They will not fight for us."

"Then why are we going?"

"Because however unlikely, we have to try. Taylor showed me that."

"What exactly?"

"To not trust the odds. That often victory can be sought through adversity, no matter how severe or seemingly insurmountable."

"You are becoming philosophical in your old age."

Jafar noticed just a hint of humour in his voice.

"You are not without Human influence either."

Sarik did not respond.

"Plot a course. Let's get this over with," said Jafar.

"Are you sure you do not want to take a larger fleet? One Battleship and two support vessels will do little in the event that the Barbarlars take offense."

Jafar shook his head.

"I will not weaken the Alliance position here, and we cannot risk any more."

"But we are risking you, our leader. What if you were to fall?"

"Life will go on. Set the course, and get us moving."

He looked around to study the vessel. It was almost a hundred years old, and yet still one of the most powerful ships in his fleet. He could see its resilience in the battle with the Cholans only served to show the strength of the Yavuz.

"I am sorry we could not transport you on a more modern warship," added Sarik.

Jafar shook his head.

"The Yavuz is battle proven. Dependable. I'd rather rely on a ship with a proven history than the latest technology and a polished interior."

Sarik barked a few orders, and they were soon going forward towards the jump gate. It powered up, and Jafar knew there could be no turning back.

"Do you believe Colonel Taylor can succeed?" Sarik asked.

"I have no doubt he will. There is not a task that man has set himself to that he has not achieved. One has to wonder if he was sent by a higher power."

"Do you believe he was?"

Jafar shook his head.

"I do not know anymore. Certainly what he has accomplished goes beyond what anyone could ever have believed possible. Maybe he is the Dusmus Kahraman."

He had said it almost as a joke, an off the cuff remark, but Sarik had taken it very differently.

"You cannot believe he is the one?"

Jafar looked around to see the entire bridge crew had heard him and stopped in silence to hear him go on. It was in this moment he began to wonder at the significance of the legend.

"Dusmus Kahraman, the fallen hero," he translated as he thought more deeply at the matter.

"Could it really be? A fallen hero returned to us in our greatest time of need?" asked Sarik.

Jafar didn't believe it, for he never believed the myths and superstitions of his people, and his time with Taylor had only reinforced that position. And yet he saw the rise in the morale of the crew, and that he could use it to his advantage. He rose out of his chair to address them.

"Is Mitch Taylor the Dusmus Kahraman? I cannot know, and neither can you. But each of you should think about everything he has achieved. The legend never stipulated that the Kahraman was one of our own, only that he fought for us, and died for us. This world that was created, this paradise we have lived in since the demise of Erdogan, Taylor created that. It was Taylor who put me on this throne. It was he who enabled our people to live on Earth, who brought peace with the Aranui. Is he the Kahraman? He might as well be."

He was even starting to believe it himself and felt it had captured the imaginations of those around him.

"Taylor has gone to conduct one of the most important missions of the war, and like ours, he had too few resources and too little time. But he would never let that make him believe for a second that he could fail. I know what you think of the Barbarlars, for I think the same. They are a savage people that I would rather never encounter in person. When we arrive at their world, I ask for just two volunteers to come down to the surface with me."

"I will go," Sarik said without hesitation.

Jafar shook his head.

"Anyone but you, my friend. I will not risk any more here than we must. The war may go on without me, but the Alliance needs every strong fighter and ship it can assemble. If I encounter resistance when I meet with the Barbarlars, you will run, and that is an order!"

Sarik's lips were sealed.

"Promise me you will follow that order, even if it may be my last?"

"We swore an oath to you, how can we leave you?"

Jafar took a deep breath.

"Some things are more important than one man."

"And yet you would not say the same about Taylor?"

"But Taylor is no ordinary man. Just do this for me. Do not risk these ships and your lives in any futile attempt. If this is my end, and that is my fate, so be it. I am old. My best years are distant memories. This is your time. Now take us through, and let us do what we can."

He took a seat as they passed through the gateway, and Sarik knelt down beside him so that they might talk more privately.

"You don't believe there is any chance of this working, do you?"

"No," replied Jafar quickly and quietly.

"Then why go at all?"

"Because that is my duty."

Sarik looked frustrated. Jafar laid a hand on his shoulder.

"You will run if things go badly down there. Trust in Taylor. He is the key to victory, but he cannot do it alone. For it is not what he achieves individually that decides the outcome of a battle or a war, but what he inspires and the success he manifests in others. If I fall, he will support you in taking up my position as the leader of my people. It is my final wish that has been documented and arranged. With him by your side, you will make a great leader."

"Let's not talk like you are already dead."

"Don't think I want to be. I am not going down there to fail. I will, as I have always done, do my utmost to succeed. But we live in difficult times, the most difficult since the demise of Erdogan. I have lived through many wars, and I may yet survive this one yet. As Taylor would say."

They passed through the gateway that returned them to Krys space.

"It will be almost twenty hours before we can reach the Barbarlar sector. You should rest," said Sarik.

Jafar was glad of the suggestion and left the bridge.

Sarik noted the crew were uneasy and restless. None of them wanted to go anywhere near the Barbarlars. Sarik himself thought back to the only encounter he had ever had with them, and it almost cost him his life. But as he rested back in his chair, he began to think of the Dusmus Kahraman myth. He had grown up with tales of Taylor and never once linked the two together. He still didn't believe an alien could represent the myth, and yet it gave him some hope.

The time passed slowly as they travelled to the Barbarlar homeworld. They were nearing a moon outpost when finally they made contact. Two craft were on an intercept course, smaller than the three vessels they had taken with them. Before Sarik could say a word, the door behind him opened and Jafar strode in.

"Will they fire on us?"

Jafar shook his head.

"We do not come in great enough number to pose a major threat. They will see this as exactly what it is."

"And what exactly is that?"

"Diplomacy."

"I am not sure they know that word."

"We are being hailed," said the comms officer.

"Put them through," replied Jafar, "They need to know I am on board."

"Why?" Sarik asked.

It was clear he was more concerned they would be fired upon as a result.

"Because they will understand the severity."

"I do not like this at all," replied Sarik as the screen displayed one of the Barbarlars. The face shape was recognisable, but black and white face paint and loose deep red and black clothing made him look like something out of their history books. The face was more wrinkled and a little simpler and angrier looking than a typical Krys.

"What is the meaning of this invasion of our space?" he demanded.

Sarik was unimpressed by the man's lack of introduction and rude tone, but he left Jafar to deal with it.

"I am Lord Jafar, leader of the unified Krys worlds. I come in peace and wish to meet with your leaders."

"We have no reason to talk."

"But we do. A threat exists that will come to your world after it is finished with ours. I offer my hand in friendship so that we might fight this threat together."

The alien's face seemed to light up slightly at the prospect of combat, and Jafar knew that was the bait with which to catch the primitive elements of these people.

"Hold your position, and I will take your proposal to my Lord."

Jafar nodded for Sarik to issue the order.

"Reverse thrust, hold position," he added.

The transmission ended abruptly without another word. Had it been anyone else, they would have assumed the signal had been lost, but it was clear that they were abrasive and rude.

"Are we really going to try and make a deal with these animals?"

"Yes, you won't dissuade me. If there is any way we can make this happen, we must. No matter what it costs."

There was an uncomfortable silence that lasted a few minutes while they waited for a response. Sarik was checking the scanners for any more enemy vessels every few seconds, clearly expecting them to come under attack at any moment.

"Relax, they have no reason to strike at us yet," Jafar finally said to calm everyone's nerves.

"That isn't very reassuring," replied Sarik.

A light suddenly flashed, and the comms officer accepted the call to find them facing the same Barbarlar they had spoken to just moments before.

"You have been granted an audience. Coordinates will be relayed to you shortly. Be warned, any sign of aggression will be taken as an act of war and responded to with force."

The call transmission ended abruptly once more.

"The planet of Erzurum," Jafar stated. They looked at the solitary world before them, "Has any one of you set foot there before?"

There was no response.

"Never before have I seen an inhabited world as hostile and barbaric as this. The Barbarlars are hardened by the fact that only the toughest and most resilient survive. There are more than a dozen predators that would eat any one of us alive. Some of the Krys have even wrestled those into submission and ride them as symbols of their strength and power. They use advanced technology only when they have to. A few ships to monitor the outside world."

"If they are so formidable and yet primitive, why did Erdogan not force them into submission when he had the chance?"

Jafar nodded in agreement, for it was a good question.

"Some legends say the Barbarlars are the oldest of our people, and not one Krys Lord would spill their blood in any way that would be considered dishonourable, or risk angering millions of our people. The only way to deal with the Barbarlars is to get them onside as allies, or to beat them into submission using your bare hands."