Talosian Chronicles 3: Talosian Alliance (7 page)

“I appreciate that Nathan. I do have to say, I’m a little surprised at the reception we’ve received here. I expected a lot more resistance to our visit," Ian replied.

“Normally, you would have gotten it, but the American Ambassador told his aides about your visit today. He specifically told them to make sure no one knew about it. Which is code to make sure the proper wheels get turned for a smooth visit. Even the Ambassadors know who runs this place. They may give the orders, but it is Aides like me, and Jessica over there that do the actual work." He nodded toward the other aide waiting quietly by the door.

Ian grinned and nodded. “Then on behalf of myself, and my people, you have our thanks. Please make sure no one knows that, too.”

Nathan chuckled. “We appreciate that Sir, I’ll be sure to tell no one what you said.”

Ian stood up and nodded to Nathan. “Let’s do this.”

“Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen of the Security Council. My name is Luke Belden. I have been given the honor of our people for the purposes of addressing you today. I serve as the chairman of our Ruling Council,” Luke said, making eye contact with as many of the delegates as he could.

“Before I get into the civilian aspects of what we are doing, I would like to introduce the leader of our military forces to brief you on the events of the past few weeks. Although his title is Commander, he is the captain and master of the T.D.F Star Dancer, and the highest ranking member of our military. Don’t let his age fool you, without him, none of us would be here today. Commander Williams.” Luke said and stepped aside so Ian could take his place. Star assisted him by using a remote to display three-dimensional images of the battles for the assembly. He started with a brief history of how he had come to be in possession of the ship, and what he had done since that time. Then he finished with a detailed account of the battles that had taken place around the planet, and in the solar system. He finished up with a veiled warning to India and Pakistan.

“Ladies and Gentleman, every single one of us in the military have sworn an oath to protect this planet from all threats. That includes the ones originating down here. Now, just to be clear, we won’t interfere in matters that are internal, or matters that do not threaten the continued survival of the planet and its people. The current hostilities between two countries in the Middle and Far East are a perfect example. If they’re stupid enough to start shooting at each other, we won’t stop them. However, if they use anything other than conventional weaponry, we will stop it, and I will seek diplomatic permission to destroy that county’s arsenal of WMDs,” he said.

“Make no mistake here about our intentions. We will not tell you that you can’t have those weapons, but we do have an issue with you using them on each other.” Ian said. "In case none of you quite figured it out yet, you are not alone in the universe anymore, and hear me on this, there are a lot of worse things out there than simply someone with a different religious or economic point of view.

“I am a military man; I cannot, and will not, act without orders to do so from my civilian bosses. For now, those bosses are represented by that man sitting right there.” He pointed to Luke. “However, it has always been our intent to work in conjunction with the United Nations since it is the closest you have to a planetary authority. We will not favor any single or group of countries over any others. We consider ourselves a planetary military, and in that manner is how we will conduct ourselves.

“I hope I have answered a great many of your questions as well as put most of you at ease about our existence and our intentions. We have no desire to take over the planet, nor do we wish to dictate policy outside of what I already mentioned. With that, I will retire and let Councilor Belden once again resume the podium,” Ian finished and bowed to the Secretary General.

“One moment, Commander, if you will,” one of the Ambassadors said.

“Yes Ambassador?” Ian asked.

“In light of your declaration about Weapons of Mass Destruction, what is your stance on the illegal drug trade?” It was the Ambassador from Britain that had spoken.

“Currently, and according to the set of laws we are using, those that are smuggling harmful drugs are nothing more than terrorists smuggling chemical weapons between countries. However, we have not acted on that because of the legal grey area between your laws and ours. Basically, terrorists are shot on site when caught in the act, and their cargo is destroyed. After sanitization, the rest of their equipment would be sold off, the proceeds going to repair the damage already done, or to other humanitarian causes,” Ian explained.

“You mentioned your set of Laws. How are they different than ours? You are from this planet are you not?” The Chilian Ambassador asked.

“That is a question best addressed by Councilor Belden.” Ian again bowed, and let Luke take the podium again.

Luke answered the question, telling them about the Talosian People, and explaining a little about the laws that they had.

“Councilor Belden, Commander William’s explanation about the events of the attacks on our planet are greatly appreciated, as well as the reports you’ve had sent to us concerning these actions,” the American Ambassador began. “I would like to know how much involvement you are looking for from this body, and if you are planning on letting any of the advanced technology you now have out to the rest of the planet?"

“Let me answer your last question first, Mr. Ambassador,” Luke began. “We do plan on releasing some technology. However, some of the stuff we are going to release isn't alien to this planet. Now, when we do release technology, we have to be careful to not damage the economies of your countries. For example, we have a replacement power plant for automobiles that does not run on hydrocarbon fuels. It uses hydrogen extracted from purified water that recycles with very little loss. Basically, the vehicle would take five gallons of purified water, and not need a refill for a year or more depending on use. If we dumped that on the planet in a large scale it would destroy many economies. So we will release it gradually, and in small amounts, so the economy can adjust and accept the change.

“We have similar technologies that we can release that have already been discovered, but will have to be released slowly and with care. Cold fusion, room temperature superconductors, the list goes on. However, none of the advanced weapons systems, or any technology that can be adapted into weapons, will be released. We will not give you better toys to kill each other with. If you want them, you’ll have to figure them out on your own, we won’t stop you. So, yes Ambassador, we will be releasing some of the tech we have discovered, but we will do it with care and forethought to your economies,” Luke explained and was about to change mental gears. But was asked a question.

“What about propulsion technology? Flight systems so we too can leave the planet if we wish?” the British Ambassador asked.

“That is still under discussion by our Council, Mr. Ambassador. The fact is that the energy systems we use are so far in advance of what you know, we are having a hard time deciding on what the fallout from releasing it would be. We will continue to debate the matter, and let you know what we decide.”

“You are all former Americans. How will we defend ourselves from the American military if you do not release your technology to us? You said you intended to work with the UN, what if we order you to surrender your technology?” the Russian Federation Ambassador asked.

“Mr. Ambassador, while it is true that many of us are former American citizens, not all of us are. Further, and let me stress this, we are no longer citizens of any country, but consider ourselves to be citizens of the planet instead. What technology we release will be released to everyone, equally, without bias or prejudice.

“That is where the involvement from this assembly comes in. How you handle relations with us, we will leave up to you, however, you will not have control over us, or our military. We will entertain as well as accept requests as well as emergency support requests from the UN. Any contact for trade agreements, or anything like that should be made through the UN. We are citizens of the planet, and feel a responsibility to the people of the planet as a whole, not to any single country or government. We will do all we can to improve life here while we work to mitigate the petty quarrels and the damage you are doing to yourselves and your environment.”

“How would you have us address your people, Councilor?” the Secretary General asked.

“We call ourselves Terrans, Mr. Secretary. We considered Earthlings, but had some pretty bad flash-backs to some black and white 1950’s science fiction movies,” Luke answered, grinning. “We would like to send an Ambassador of our own here, if one would be welcomed, to facilitate contact and communications between ourselves and the rest of the world.”

“We have been told that you have taken up residence on the moon, is that correct?” the Chinese Ambassador asked.

“We do have a base on the moon, yes, Mr. Ambassador,” Luke replied.

“Then you are in violation of a treaty signed by many of the signatories here. This agreement was reached to ensure that we did not go to war over who got to colonize the moon. You will need to vacate your lunar facilities immediately,” The Ambassador said.

“That will not happen, Mr. Ambassador. Simply put, we are there, you are not. We claim the part of the moon we are on by right of homestead. The same applies to all other facilities and installations we have, regardless of their location. What land we do own here on the planet, was bought and paid for according to the local laws of that area. We will not swindle anyone intentionally, but we will not be bullied either,” Luke replied.

The Chinese Ambassador did not look happy at that announcement, and looked ready to argue, but the Ambassador from the United States unexpectedly agreed with him.

“I’m sorry to say it, but I have to agree with my esteemed colleague from China. In fact, I would go so far as to say that the ship that was salvaged from the moon is actually the property of the country that claimed that area. Now, no one is accusing anyone else of theft, since the common citizen isn’t normally aware of international agreements. I’m sure the whole matter can be quietly forgotten if you simply surrender the stolen equipment to its rightful owner,” the man said and sat down, smugly. Most of the dark side of the moon had been claimed by the United States.

Luke smirked at the man. “Mr. Ambassador, with respect, the ship in question contains a self-aware, sentient, artificial intelligence that selected Commander Williams, from everyone else on Earth. Commander Williams, after hearing what the AI told him, responded. Since the AI is sentient, it cannot be claimed as property any more than an illegal alien entering the United States could be considered property. Aid was given, and the AI was removed from the moon as quickly as possible. As for the installation that was built, we would be more than happy to remove that too, if you were capable of defending yourselves from the rest of the Universe. Simply put Sir, if you are releasing us from our oaths to protect this planet and the people on it, we would be more than happy to pack up and leave you to your own devices. It will be harder to do, but we would then return after the governments of the world have fallen and do our best to free the remaining citizens from which ever race has enslaved you. That is, assuming that’s all they did,” Luke replied. “So, Mr. Ambassador, your choices are this; accept us, and our installations as they are, or don’t. If you don’t, we will leave, and that will be that.”

“Are you telling us we cannot explore the moon any further, or pursue space flight?” the British ambassador asked.

“Not at all, Mr. Ambassador. We might even be inclined to assist you in such endeavors, dependent on their use and their purposes. No, if you want to figure out how to peaceably get off this planet, we applaud you,” Luke replied.

“You have just told us that there are a lot of dangerous species out there, yet you are telling us we cannot launch armed space craft to defend ourselves!” the Ambassador from the Russian Federation replied.

“That’s not exactly what I said, Mr. Ambassador. We see Earth as one people, not two hundred plus different countries. We have taken it upon ourselves to defend you against anyone that may want to attack us. What I’m trying to tell you is that you won’t need to build and launch armed space craft, because we already have them. To do so would be redundant and a massive waste of your resources.

“We are here to help you, but we will not let ourselves be used against anyone else on this planet. Nor will we knowingly allow you to use weapons of mass destruction against each other. Anything else you want to do is none of our business. If we have a problem with something, we’ll tell you about it and try to reach a peaceful and mutually beneficial resolution.

“We are not interested in making deals, or in mutual defense treaties. We are already defending you, we will not fire on our own people unless they are trying to use WMDs or are doing something else equally as devastating. Nothing more, nothing less. It’s that simple. We will from time to time offer our services to humanitarian causes and we will release technology that will improve the lives of the people and help heal the planet.

“We came here today to brief you on the actions that took place over the United States and in the rest of the solar system. We did this as a courtesy to you. We also wanted to let you know we are out there, watching over the planet. What you decide to do with that information is your concern. We are protecting you, but we are not, and will not, be ruled by you at this time," Luke finished.

“So you’re telling us we have no control over the military that is ‘protecting’ us?” the French Ambassador said. “What if we would like to meet or perhaps enter into trade agreements with some of these other races? Will you ‘protect' us from them as well?”

“I never said you didn’t have control over our military, Madam Ambassador. I said you didn’t rule us. That is what we are trying to accomplish here today. We are asking for permission to station an Ambassador here to keep you informed of our actions, as well as bring some decisions to you so you have some say in the decisions made in regards to the defense of this planet. Other matters not directly affecting this planet will be handled by our own ruling council.