Scaevola's Triumph (Gaius Claudius Scaevola trilogy Book 3) (51 page)

"I'll get you later for that," Lucilla said in a challenging tone, "but yes, I agree."

"As do I," Vipsania added. "What happens next?"

"You get your invitation. Oh, and don't be surprised if the Ulsians don't say anything either. We prefer to listen, then go away and decide what to do, and we promise you, we won't do anything that has the purpose of hurting Earth. However, you must realize that if we go to war against Ranh, there's little at the moment we can do to protect your planet. It is very far from here, and close to their home planet."

"The prime objective," Gaius said flatly, "is not to go to war against them. You're having enough trouble with the enemy you have."

"On that we agree," the Ulsian said with a nod.

* * *

Gaius entered the room at the same time two of the Ranhynn entered from a different door, and their appearance was unlike anything Gaius was ready for. His first guess before seeing them was that they would be lizard-like, but his first thoughts on seeing them were 'birds', for their heads had a covering of what seemed to be feathers, brown coloured, but with an intense green towards the back of the head. However, their bodies were massive, and clearly not designed for flight. They stood on two massive legs, with massive feet, or at least they had massive 'trousers' and boots. They also had massive feather-covered tails, which protruded from a third extension to the padded trousers. There were, however, no wings, but rather two surprisingly, in view of the legs, delicate arms with two long fingers on each, together with a long thumb. Their bodies were well covered by their green padded uniforms, with only the hands, tail tip, and head visible.

Powerful, elongated necks emerged from these padded uniforms, necks that seemed to be able to twist and turn in quite remarkable ways. The heads had three features: large green-tinted eyes peering from the centre of their faces, two jaws which protruded out about a foot from the face, which, when opened, showed rows of crocodile-like teeth, while above the eyes was a large feather-coated forehead.

"Poor Quintus," Lucilla muttered with a shudder.

The Ranhynn entered, gave a cursory and somewhat arrogant nod to the Ulsians, then gave a look of almost utter contempt towards Gerenthe, then their glance progressed towards the Terrans. There was an immediate jerk of recognition. "What are they doing here!" one of the Ranhynn roared.

"That is not very diplomatic," an Ulsian replied.

"We're not here to be diplomatic. We are here to settle our mutual future in view of this war."

"This is Space Marshall Claudius," the Ulsian said, "and this is Space Marshall Gerenthe. Since you mention that war affects your visit, we have included two of the senior Ulsian commanders."

"A non-Ulsian as a Space Marshall? You lie!"

"I do not lie." The Ulsian pointed towards chairs specially designed for the Ranhyn body, and sat down.

"Then you have concealed the Terran development from us," the Ranhyn muttered as he sat down, "which is a lie. I −"

"Earth is, as of our current knowledge of it, non-technical," the Ulsian responded firmly. "These Terrans were abducted, and Ulse has adopted them. In any case, that is irrelevant. We do not make your military appointments, you do not tell us how to make ours."

"You have no right under the treaty to have Terrans at such a stage of development on your planet!"

"Neither do you, and you have."

"Prove it!"

"We have incontrovertible proof that a certain four Terrans were sent to Ranh. That, by itself does not violate the treaty, as you were not responsible, however the treaty does require you to return the humans. I assume you have brought records to prove the return?" The Ulsian pointed to the wall, where images of the four could be seen.

There was a pause, as the Ranhynn seemed unsure of what to say next.

"You have a message," the Ulsian said. "Please deliver it."

Gaius stared at the Ulsian in slight disbelief. He had always seen the Ulsians as prevaricators, preferring to avoid conflict at almost all costs, yet despite the fact that a war with this race was about the last thing Ulse could afford, this one seemed intent on initiating just that.

"We of Plotk," the Ranhyn started rather stiffly, "are not strong enough to protect ourselves, but we are not sure Ulse is strong enough either. We are afraid we may become targets as a consequence of our treaty with you, and while we have attempted to maintain neutrality, we fear this is not possible in the long term.

"Furthermore," the Ranhyn continued, in a tone that even Gaius interpreted as mendacious, "we recognize the value of peace. Although when our species first met we may have been reluctant to accept the reality of an advanced civilization, we do now." The delegate paused, seemed to almost shake off the preparedness of the speech, then almost roared as he pointed a claw at the Ulsian and continued, "And what do we see now? You stopped our war because it would inhibit future trade, and inhibit future freedom of passage. Your future, we might add. Well, as we know only too well, this war is inhibiting our trade, and it most definitely inhibits our freedom of passage. This war is a complete blight on our future. Once before, Ulse told us to settle our war or face the consequences.

"Well, we've decided to help settle this pestilent war. We have issued a similar statement to the M'starn, to the effect we shall permit the space areas near Plotk to stage an ultimate battle. Within two months of my returning, we shall see who controls the designated space around Plotk. At that point the Ranhynn will declare war on the loser. If you win, or if the M'starn fail to show, our fleets will help you rid this part of the galaxy from them. If you lose or fail to show, we will help them destroy you. This plan was decided by the Ranhynn over half a millennium ago, and a full fleet from Ranh is approaching. The M'starn have been given precisely the same warning you have been given, corrected for distance. It is your move to decide upon whom this fleet will be unleashed."

The Ranhynn got to their feet, and the spokesman wagged a claw as he concluded, "Do not think that you can cheat. Any attempt to launch an attack on any M'starn base before this is settled will lead to our launching immediately against Ulse. Similarly, if the M'starn are detected heading for Ulse rather than Plotk, we shall come to your aid. They have been told this, and since they must pass Plotk to get to Ulse, you need not fear that form of treachery. There is also space around Plotk forbidden to both of your fleets. Stray into the forbidden zones around Plotk, and we shall destroy you. The one exception is for single lightly armed shuttles, which may visit Plotk for supplies on a pay and carry basis. The same offer has been made to the M'starn, and each side is forbidden to attack the other's shuttles inside the forbidden zone

"This forbidden space comprises the zones we use for interplanetary freight between our settlements, and the inhabited planets. We also wish to leave enough space so that wrecked space ships cannot fall on settlements, or leave radioactive waste on our lands. Effectively, you use the space occupied by the giant planets. So, decide your move. If you wish to have our help, you must honour those fine words you gave the Ranhynn once before. You must turn up and win. Nothing less will do. Think about this, but do not think too long." With that the pair spun around and left.

"Well," Vipsania said with a puzzled look. "What do we make of that?"

"Hardly matters," Gaius shrugged. "Ulse must send a battle fleet to this Plotk."

"You seem very certain of that," the Ulsian asked curiously. "It could be a trap."

"Hardly matters," Gaius said. "Either they're telling the truth or they're not. If they are, they will side with whoever prevails around Plotk in two months, and not turning up would be a disaster. If they're lying, then they've already decided to join the opposition. But they must expect Ulse to turn up with a major fleet, and they must have enough power there to defeat it or risk being wiped out themselves. Accordingly an enemy will be there with a major fleet, and irrespective of why they're there or who exactly they are, we have to remove that fleet from the field or lose the war. Therefore, we go."

"I agree," Gerenthe offered. "Realistically, we must set out immediately. I shall be honoured to lead the Ulsian response to this challenge."

"We are in the unusual position of having two Space Marshalls on Ulse at the same time," the Ulsian said with a tone of clear displeasure at this offer. "Who leads is for the Ulsian civilization to decide."

"I believe it is clear that an Ulsian must lead," Gerenthe said firmly.

"Your view?" the Ulsian turned towards Gaius.

"I believe that commanders should be given the commands on the basis of which combination is most likely to lead to overall victory."

"Combination?" Gerenthe asked in disbelief. "You're not proposing to send half our fleet somewhere else?"

"The overall strategy is yet to be decided," Gaius said simply, "and even if it were, there may be a case to send two fleets to Plotk with independent command. Two independent space groups, able to operate in different places."

"That's ridiculous!" Gerenthe said. "There's one job to do, so we need one overall commander. Whatever good could the second one do?"

"Suppose," Gaius said slowly, "their aim, after victory, is to proceed on to Ulse. If so, they'll have troop carriers, but these won't be in the major fight. If that's the case, the second fleet gets the opportunity to wipe out the enemy troops. So even if we lose, Ulse remains safe, which must be the top priority."

"I'm sure I could handle that," Gerenthe said. "There's only need for one commander."

"With respect," Lucilla interjected, "I think it would be unfair to place that responsibility on Space Marshall Gerenthe."

"What?" Gerenthe almost howled. Everybody else turned towards Lucilla.

"When we came back," Lucilla said in an explanatory tone seemingly filled with sympathy, "our ships had to be scrapped. According to the reports, including Gerenthe's own public statements, his battle was much fiercer than ours was, the odds were worse, so it is obvious that his ships must need repair. I have seen the timetables for repairs, and in my opinion, given that Space Marshall Gerenthe has yet to start his repair work, there just isn't time."

"There're no repairs needed," Gerenthe said simply.

"That is extremely brave of you to say so," Lucilla said in an extremely earnest and understanding tone, "but surely you will have been hit by
some
enemy fire."

"The repair robots have already dealt with that," Gerenthe said irritably. "There's no need for you to worry about that."

"Yes," Lucilla said in a false but almost motherly tone, "but what about inner structural damage? And piping?"

"The piping's quite all right," Gerenthe said emphatically. "We got back without any difficulties whatsoever."

"The self-sealing mechanism prevents leakage," Lucilla countered, "but it cannot maintain strength. Another hit in the same place could lead to immediate immobilization, and it's not right that such an important commander as yourself be placed under such risk. Apart from the fact that such a victory should earn you better treatment, the psychological damage to the Ulsian people, and your troops for that matter, would be too great to bear if you were immobilized by an early lucky hit."

As Lucilla sat back, the reaction from each in the room was quite different. Gerenthe was furious, but also almost speechless. Gaius was staring almost in disbelief that his sister had bothered to acquire working knowledge of the mechanical operations of a space ship, Vipsania was clearly impressed by Lucilla's deviousness, for she knew that Lucilla would probably be the first to cheer if Gerenthe met a disaster, while more importantly, the Ulsian appeared to take the message at face value.

"Ulsian military law is quite specific on this point," The leading Ulsian frowned. "We cannot send a ship which has sustained damage into a new combat zone without first verifying that the ship has been properly repaired. And I'm afraid there're no new ships for you. The three newest have been personalized for the Terrans, and there're no others available suitable for command function."

"The ship is fine!" Gerenthe said. If he could have, his stare would have buried Lucilla. He paused, then realized the obvious counter would be that it would still have to be verified, he added, "The only damage was trivial. The hull was never penetrated." He paused and almost choked as he added, "You can check the internal central damage log if you wish."

"Not damaged?" Lucilla said in a tone of almost awe. As she said later, faked it might be, but no alien would know enough about Terrans to recognize that. "They fired so much weaponry at you, you must have got
some
damage,"

"They missed."

"My goodness," Lucilla continued. "You must either be extraordinarily lucky, so much so that maybe you've used it all up, or you must have some secret."

"Maybe I've got a secret," Gerenthe sneered.

"Then you must share it immediately," Lucilla continued. "Personal glory must be foregone! Ulse needs every edge it can get."

"I agree!" the Ulsian politician urged. "If you've discovered some advantage, it's imperative all Ulsian ships be made aware of it."

"There's no secret," Gerenthe withdrew. "I simply employed the appropriate Ulsian battle methods." He paused, then when he noted everybody staring at him, he continued, "Timing's the key. It's not only choosing what, but selecting the exact moment to execute it."

While there was much truth in this statement, nobody was convinced that that was his secret. After all, why keep secret highly polished ability to execute standard tactics? The senior Ulsian there had stared for quite some time at Gerenthe, and alien he might have been, but each of the Terrans could see that he was suffering increasing discomfort. It seemed almost as if some form of stalemate had been reached, when Lucilla continued her probing.