Mike's War: Sequel to Jesse's Starship (24 page)

Jesse said, “They’ll make changes to their technology to handle what they’ve learned about our weapons. I suspect they will start using a combination of conventional and advanced force fields.”

Mike nodded, “I’ve always considered you a very smart person, Jesse. You’re absolutely right. We need to make the drop as quickly as possible.”

Bowen said, “Why would things be different this time?”

Mike looked at Bowen on the display and said, “The Warthogs will be coming with us.”

Bowen smiled.

• • •

The Elder arrived back at the Gracken Capital and took a vehicle to the Grand Chamber. He walked in the building and moved at a slow pace as he moved through the corridors. He thought about the species he had just lost a wager to and began to see things he had missed. By the time he entered the Chamber, he knew that species was going to be a real danger to the Unity.

He walked to the front of the room and took his seat in the front row of the Elders. There were ten rows of twenty Elders and those on the front row were the ones that made the real decisions. It would take a unanimous vote from the other nine rows to defeat a vote made by the front row. Those on the front row held the position for life and nothing they did could be used to change their status. They had earned the right to be on that row and the Elder that lost the wager along with a hundred and fifty thousand warriors did not worry about any punishment for his actions. He did, however, take that loss personally. He watched at the giant wall at the front of the Chamber activated and the battle on Fippen began. The video only covered the time of actual combat between the two forces but it took more than four hours for the video to complete.

At the conclusion, an Elder on the front row said, “What conclusions can we take from this?”

There was a moment of silence and an Elder on the fifth row said, “I notice that you communicated with one of the beings in those white ships. Was there a reason for that?”

The front wall split in half, showing the questioner on one side and the Supreme Elder on the other. The Elder addressed his comments to the wall. “I initially said nothing to that being. But when he offered to serve us one of our favorite meals if we would come and get it, I found it humorous. Both of us knew that we couldn’t approach the other without high losses. It made me curious about one; how did he know how to speak my language without an accent; and two, how did he know about that meal? My counter offer was to see what he knew about our civilization.” The Elder paused and said, “I think that the initial remarks were to start communication but then he got to the point. He used knowledge about our competitions to suggest that I allow him to remove his forces from the planet. Does anyone present know what species this being is or how he could have possibly known about our Heradal Contests?”

The wall went blank waiting for a response and after a few moments went back to the questioner and the Elder. The Elder continued, “It made me wonder if they know our location. I don’t know of any other way he could have had such an intimate view of our society.” He paused and said, “I saw that this species was using weapons that defeated our technology. It was that lack of knowledge and the use of weapons never seen before that led to my communicating with that being.”

A loud voice said, “Correction to statements.”

A video started on the wall and a battle between two Gracken forces appeared and the weapons they were using were very similar to those used by the invaders. The Elder said, “Where were those weapons used?”

The computer said, “The question should be, ‘when were they used’. The video was taken more than seventy five thousand years ago on our home world.”

The Chamber was silent. The wall cleared and the questioner reappeared. “I also notice that you made a wager with that being.”

The Elder reappeared on the wall and his expression showed his anger. “I made a mistake doing that. That being had the gall to suggest that his warriors were superior to mine. I accepted the wager knowing that I was not going to send another one of my warriors in to attack their formations. I was going to use the Beamships and Heavy Blasters to disintegrate every one of them. I made the wager to teach that being who was the real power present and also beat some humility into him when he saw his forces burned out of existence.”

An Elder on the front row said, “But that didn’t happen.”

The Elder who made the comment appeared on the wall and the Elder shook his head, “No, it didn’t. But I ask all of you, would any of you have refused the wager claiming our warriors were inferior?” The wall went blank but no one spoke. After a minute the Elder reappeared on the wall. “That being was much more than I thought. He wagered the protection of our mates at the end of whatever conflict we had between our species and I accepted it. What he was wagering was insignificant. Killing my mate if that species ever came to my planet meant nothing. I knew it would never happen and I would expect her to die if it did. However, he was quite clever. When he won the wager, it prevented me from attacking his ships because she was on board his.”

The Elder paused and said, “We were asked what conclusions we can take from what happened. I’ve had some time to think about this and I’ve determined that this species, whoever they are, is the biggest danger the Unity has ever faced in our long history.” The Elders were shocked by his statement and some of them even mumbled their disagreement. The Elder smiled, “You’re making the same mistake I did. You can’t fathom that anyone is as powerful or as smart as we are. My superiority complex prevented me from accepting his offer to withdraw. That was a ludicrous suggestion. But look at what happened; we lost an entire Right Hand to those eight hundred invaders. I must say if the offer is presented again, I believe I would accept it. This species is at least as smart as we are and I hope you can see that they’re just as dangerous as any of our warriors. They also appear to know more about us than we do about them. Drang, we don’t even know what species they are, much less anything else.”

The Front Row Elder said, “What do you think they’re going to do now?”

The Elder appeared on the front wall again as he said, “Let’s consider, for the moment that they think like us. What would we do if the roles were reversed?”

An elder on the back row said, “We’d go back to that planet and kick the guts out of them.”

“I believe that is exactly what is going to happen.”

The Chamber erupted in confusion. The Elder watched and knew they were not accustomed to being frightened. This was a new experience for all of them.

• • •

The Unit Commander walked back to the site of the former Control Center and found it destroyed. He took a deep breath and saw the Support Officer standing on the other side of the building. She looked up and saw him staring at her. She smirked and said, “Thanks.”

“For what?”

“When you sprinted out of the room I looked at the monitor and saw the warrior pulling on that vehicle’s hatch. I ran out right behind you; I appreciate your removing the three doors. It made my escape easier.”

“What about the Commander?”

The Female looked at the huge tank in the center of the demolished structure and said “I believe he’s under that thing.”

The Commander shook his head, “They really played us.”

“That they did.”

They heard a noise overhead and saw a Beamship dropping toward the ground. They stepped away from its thrusters’ blasts and the huge vessel settled to the ground. The ship’s Commander stepped out carrying a mobile transmitter. “I have a transmission for you.”

The Commander said, “Who is it?”

“One of the Supreme Elders.” The Commander closed his eyes and lowered his head. He took the communicator and looked at the video as the ship’s Commander held it. “I see you managed to survive again, Unit Commander.”

“I ran when I saw the danger, Elder.”

“As well you should have. Your former Commander wasn’t smart enough to issue orders forbidding anyone to approach those vehicles.” The Elder paused and said, “I am promoting you to Planetary Commander.”

The Gracken was shocked. “I’ve done nothing but fail, Elder. Why would you want me?”

“Your plan to attack them at the buildings wouldn’t have failed except for the stupidity of the other two Unit Commanders. The delay is what caused your forces to die. Your running from the control center was the smartest thing you could have done. I expect the species that we just killed will be returning shortly to avenge the deaths of their fellow warriors. I want you to prepare our forces on the planet to meet them.” The Warrior stared at the Elder and the Elder said, “Say what you’re thinking; you won’t be punished for honesty.”

“If that species has a way of destroying our Beamships, I don’t know that we can defeat them with our current weapons.”

“I agree with you.”

The Warrior was shocked by the response. The Support Officer said, “I would suggest that you get as many transports here as possible as quickly as possible to remove the stockpile of metals we’ve collected. The Unity will need them, Elder.”

The Elder looked at the Female and smiled, “Now that is the first good suggestion I’ve heard since this fiasco started. I’ll start the transfer immediately.”

The Warrior shook his head, “What do you think I should do to prepare?”

“That’s why I chose you. Use your own good judgment. You are going to have to come up with strategies that we can use against them.” The Elder paused, “Think like they did. How could you make them pay for attacking you?”

The Video went dark and the new Planetary Commander said, “You will be my Support Officer. I want all of our forces moved into the cities and once the stockpiled metals are removed, I want the local populations moved back into the cities.”

“What are you thinking?”

“When those invader first appeared, the Pacifiers met them inside the city and killed more than five hundred of them before they were all killed. The reason they were all killed is because the former Commander ordered them to charge the force field complex. I’ve learned this much; a frontal charge against them is tantamount to suicide. Our best chance is to take them on one on one or two by two.”

“What makes you think they just won’t blast the city?”

“Why are they attacking in the first place? Those ships clearly show they’re associated with the civilization this planet is a part of and I suspect they would frown on blasting the people they’re sent here to free from us.” The Commander paused, “Did you take a good look at the city just before we burned it to the ground?”

The Female nodded, “I don’t know how those weapons they use operate but most of the buildings were shattered by the projectiles they fired. Some of them blew all the way through one wall and exited the building on the other.”

“They’ll be forced to endanger the local populations to remove us. We’ll have to make it too costly for them to push the attack.”

“Will you kill the populations if it comes down to it?”

“I see no reason to do that. I suspect they’ll die while we’re fighting them. I see no reason to kill them.”

The Female smiled and lifted her arm. She activated the general communication channel and began speaking. The first giant transport arrived forty minutes later.

T
he Assembly on the Governing Planet watched the feed being sent from the attack on Fippen and the members talked in hushed tones. They remained in the Council Room and watched as the Gracken overwhelmed the humans and killed every one of them. They began discussing what they witnessed but were shocked into silence when the self-destruct modules on the human’s armor detonated. When the tanks exploded a few moments later they all sat down and remained silent. Hetzel watched the members of the Assembly and saw many were dismayed by what they saw. He stood and went to the podium. He was touched by the sacrifice the humans had made to remove the invaders. He looked at the members talking among themselves and he sounded a tone. The room grew silent and he said, “What do you think about what happened on Fippen?”

“Most of the population was killed in the fighting; how is this an answer to the invasions?”

Another member stood and said, “I now understand why we destroyed those warlike planets.”

Hetzel felt his anger grow with each comment and he let it continue for twenty minutes. He knew if he told them what he thought about their cowardice, he would lose them. He rang the tone again and said, “You are right in your assessment of the danger. I will notify the humans that they will no longer be required to come to the defense of any of our planets that are invaded.”

He turned to walk off the stage and the entire Assembly stood and screamed at him, “Are you crazy? Don’t you dare take that action without a vote?”

Hetzel stopped and walked back to the podium. The room grew quiet and he stared at the members until they began to feel uneasy. “Where were you when this battle was being fought?” He didn’t give them a chance to answer. “All of you were sitting here enjoying drinks and a meal while those humans were disintegrated fighting a savage civilization that is attacking our planets. You have the unmitigated gall to stand there and complain about the danger you see. Are you willing to go out in their place and stop the Gracken?” No one spoke. “You don’t have the courage to do it. You refuse to see that the humans could have saved their warriors if they were willing to agree to not attack the Gracken again. What did they choose to do when the offer was made?”

A Nicean stood and said, “They refused to agree. They knew they had to stop them from attacking us.”

Hetzel nodded, “Steg right they refused. They are the weapon we have to protect us and they are willing to die to do it. Are any of you willing to do the same?”

“But if they defeat the Gracken they can just conquer us at their leisure.”

Hetzel stared at the member of the Council that made the comment and after a moment said, “Indeed they could. That’s the nature of war.”

“Aren’t you worried they will do just that?”