Askarjan, p.8
Askarjan, page 8
CHAPTER 12
Celthorion was waiting in the small meeting chamber when the rest of the committee filed back into the room. None looked happy. When no one spoke for several seconds, she was unable to control her curiosity. “What happened? Did they turn us down? Wouldn’t they suspend the Non-Interference Laws?”
First Councilor Helgearth exhaled air through her spiracles in subdued laughter. “Much worse. They gave us everything we asked for. I’m not sure you realize the responsibility what they did places on us.” She laughed again. “I’m not sure any of us does. The Non-Interference Laws haven’t been waved in over four hundred years, and then only when an entire sentient species on a planet was in immediate danger of extinction from something they didn’t cause and couldn’t control, such as their world being struck by a huge asteroid. Even in the few cases where it has been set aside, the Council of Planets could usually intervene without our being detected. The last time we made ourselves known to a species without interstellar travel was over eleven thousand years ago.”
Councilor Nithohalis said, “And we all know how that turned out.”
Celthorion shuddered. Like everyone in the council of planets she was all too familiar with the stories of the war. It ended almost ten thousand years ago, but still caused children to have nightmares and authors to write horror stories. It was a war the Council of Planets was forced to fight with a species so fanatic and brutal even their name still frightened people. “The Grathorkians. The Grathorkian Empire managed to get information letting their armies travel between the stars before they’d matured enough as a species to control their aggression.”
General Barathoris said, “I’m not sure the word ‘managed’ is appropriate. We gave it to them. It was before the Non-Interference Laws were passed. Those laws were passed mainly to protect species we encountered who were behind us from a technological aspect, but we found out the hard way that not only can contact with primitive species be dangerous to them; it can be dangerous to us.
“Giving the Grathorkians the knowledge of how to travel between the stars resulted in disaster. It led to one of the four full scale interstellar wars ever fought in the known galaxy. The worst of the four.”
He glanced at Councilor Patilis. “I’m not counting short term series of skirmishes like your people had with the Canlupuns when your species first met. There have been enough of those, at one time or another involving every species in the Council except the Kobolans, but none came close to wiping out an entire species. In the Grathorkian war they exterminated at least two dozen other species before they committed racial suicide.”
The Pathfielean Councilor nodded in agreement, his slight grin probably due to the irony of the situation. The Canlupuns and Pathfieleans were now such strong allies, and had such friendly relationships, they sometimes felt they could not function without each other. Some believed only the two species making the Joinens, who literally could not survive without each other, were more strongly interlinked. He gave Councilor Zglergas a feral smile. “Yes. As I recall, the Prethsapeate system was one of the first Council planets invaded by the Grathorkians. In fact, it was only rapid intervention by Askarjan units saving the Prethsapeates from extinction.”
Zglergas half rose from his seat. “The Askarjan almost wiped out the Grathorkians in Council space, and led the attack against their home system. It might have been fear of the Askarjan causing the Grathorkians to commit racial suicide. Now those same Askarjan threaten the future of another species. They may well be the most dangerous element in the known galaxy. The threat they present to the planet they’ve invaded is almost beyond comprehension.”
As Patilis started to get out of his chair, a snarl on his face, and Zglergas stood up to face him, First Councilor Helgearth said, “Gentlemen.” That one word told Celthorion why Helgearth had been elected First Councilor. She hadn’t raised her voice, but the tone and inflection were enough to convey what another person would have needed paragraphs to say. Zglergas and Patilis, both looking embarrassed, sat back down. They looked away from each other. Both were careful not to make eye contact with Helgearth.
The First Councilor went on as if nothing had disrupted the meeting. “We have been given a free hand by the Council. Now we have to decide what to do with it. Doctor Celthorion says it would be unwise to attempt a covert search for the fugitives. Does anyone disagree with her?”
No one said anything. “Unless someone corrects me, I’ll take your silence to mean you agree with her. That means we go in, make ourselves known, and try to enlist the people of Earth to help us in our search.
“General Barathoris, I want you in charge of the planetary operations. Commodore Eglacrane, you will have command of the ships we send. We will also need someone skilled in diplomatic relationships to handle negotiations with the Earth people. I have someone in mind for that position.” She laughed. “He won’t like it, but he’ll do an excellent job.
“Other than those three positions, I’m open to suggestions. Commodore, what do you want in the way of ships?”
“One standard Kobolan assault craft. Not one of the little ones the Askarjan use. I want a full sized Kobolan assault vessel. I want all Kobolan ships, in fact.” He paused for a moment as if doing mental calculations. “Along with the assault craft I want one light cruiser, four destroyers, and six patrol/pursuit vessels.”
Celthorion Blinked. “Sir, you’re the expert, but I’m not sure a force the size you’re talking about is wise. What little we know about the humans on Earth indicates some have strong xenophobic feelings. So many of our ships descending on them might be interpreted as an invasion fleet.
“A good point. I’ve given it some thought. Tell me if this sounds workable to you. I was thinking of keeping the cruiser, three of the destroyers, and four of the patrol ships in full stealth. We’re sure Earth technology is too primitive to detect our spacecraft in full stealth.
“The assault craft, one destroyer, and two patrol ships will approach their planet slowly, contacting them and letting them know we have peaceful intentions. The destroyer they can see will remain in orbit, as will the ships in stealth mode. The cruiser and destroyers aren’t made to function in atmosphere at any extent. The ships in orbit can block any attempt by the Askarjan team to escape into space.
“The assault craft, and possibly the two visible patrol craft, will land and work with the people on the planet. Do you think that will work?”
“It sounds reasonable, but with a race this immature, there’s no way to be sure. I think it might be best to just land the one ship, the assault craft. Even with just the one we should be careful. The name ‘assault craft’ could be taken to imply aggression.”
“Understood. General Barathoris and I have discussed this in general, but not in detail. General, why don’t you tell them what you want as a minimum force for ground operations?”
Barathoris nodded. “Not being able to use Askarjan teams will limit us more than I like, but I suppose I’ll live with it. In the absence of Askarjan, I’ll want a full battalion, or better yet a reinforced battalion, on the ground.”
Celthorion said, “I’m not sure how many people there are in one of our military units, but isn’t a battalion a lot of soldiers? Do you need so many?”
“A full battalion will give me about a thousand troops. I’d prefer a reinforced battalion with between twelve hundred and fifteen hundred infantry, as well as more combat units providing armored transport and support. All together I’d like between eighteen hundred and two thousand combat personal working on the ground.
“Do we need that many? It depends. The more we have, the better the chance of finding the Askarjan quickly. Cutting down our search time is one reason for the numbers.
“If we find the Askarjan and they decide to come peaceably, one soldier would be enough to bring them in. If they decide to fight, fifteen hundred well-supported infantry might” the stress he put on the word “might” made his skepticism clear, “be barely enough to defeat them, or at least to allow a few of us to escape alive, but we can expect to take at least one thousand to twelve hundred causalities. I know I’m talking about a large force for a planet at Earth’s stage of technology, but I’m talking about the smallest unit I can think of to give us a minimum chance of success, or at least survival, if the Askarjan resist us.”
Celthorion couldn’t restrain a shudder. She always heard the Askarjan were the most deadly individuals in the known galaxy, but this was far beyond anything she’d imagined. Maybe Zglergas was right, and the genetically engineered soldiers were too dangerous to be allowed to exist. Think about that later, she told herself. She forced herself to concentrate on the situation they were trying to deal with. “What species of troops are you thinking about using, General?”
“Of the one hundred twenty two species in the council, about ninety-five would be suited for combat on the land surfaces of Earth. I thought it might be best to have a mixture of all of those. If the humans on Earth see how many species have learned to work together peacefully, and treat each other as equals, they might be less inclined to see us as a threat.”
“Up to a point I agree with you. I see a possible problem. As I’ve mentioned more than once, these people are, as a species, somewhat xenophobic. In looking over what we have of their writing, fiction and otherwise, most aliens are viewed as vicious and aggressive.
“There are a few benevolent species mentioned, or species that are aggressive but able to cooperate with humans, but those are exceptions. When the benign aliens do appear in their literature, they are almost always humanoid bipeds. Other anatomical designs are almost always the bad guys. In most cases so are aliens significantly larger than the people of Earth. Given what we know about how aliens are presented in their literature it might be best to have most or all of the ground troops be humanoid bipeds, and picked from species in the same size range as the Earth humans.”
Helgearth said, “What about in non-military roles? The person I was thinking about sending to handle negotiations is one of my species.”
Celthorion tried to recall everything she’d read about human reactions to fictional alien species, the only kind they had ever ‘encountered’. “I’m not sure. I think it might be all right, as long as there weren’t many non-humanoids involved, and they didn’t act like they were in ultimate control of the humanoids. If they gave the impression they were the ones in charge, the humans might regard the rest of us as conquered and subservient races. It could make them think they were seeing the first wave of an invasion, and had some moral responsibility to try and free the humanoids they thought were enslaved.”
“I think the person I have in mind could handle it. His biggest problem might be acting like he was the subservient one, but from what you’re saying I doubt such behavior would be a negative in this situation. The things you’ve said make one other thing clear, however. We need an expert on human culture and behavior with the team.”
“In theory, I agree. The problem is, there aren’t any experts on human behavior in the Council. I think I know as much about them as anyone, and I know almost nothing about them.”
Something made her look from one committee member to another. Their eyes told her what was in their minds. “No. I’m a university professor and a researcher. The kind of researcher who spends her time in libraries, not even labs, let alone the field. I’ve never, up to the trip here, been out of my home solar system, and very seldom off my native planet. I’m just a reasonably well-educated country girl who likes to hunt, fish, and swim in her home swamps. I wouldn’t have the slightest idea how to handle something like you’re talking about.”
She had always been under the impression Kobolan’s didn’t have a sense of humor, but was almost sure there was hidden amusement in Councilor 249CX23M5’s voice. “It sounds to me like you are the ideal person for the job. Like it or not, Doctor, you are the Council of Planets leading expert on Earth humans. I’m fairly certain that if you don’t volunteer, the Council will draft you, so I’d advise you to make a list of everything you think you might need for your trip to Earth.”
CHAPTER 13
Andrew turned around to look at the speaker. She wasn’t alone. He did a quick count. There were eleven, all armed, standing where he could see them. There was no way for him to know if there were more in the woods. The clothes they were wearing and the weapons they had with them were seventy years out of date, but a round from an M1 rifle would kill you just as dead as a round from an M16. The fact an M1 rifle and an M1 carbine were among the weapons sent another alarm through his mind. Whatever these people were doing in the woods, they weren’t turkey hunting.
At least none of the weapons were pointing at him or Mary. They were all holstered, slung, or carried in a non-threatening manner. The odds remained eleven against two, Mary’s shotgun wasn’t loaded, and his, as state law required, was plugged so it could only hold three rounds.
The woman who’d spoken was in the center of the line facing them. He guessed her height at five eight or nine. She was of medium build, and had such delicate Asian features she looked almost like a porcelain doll than a real person. Her fifties style hair do, dress, high-heeled shoes, and purse were distinctly out of place in the middle of the woods. The pistol on her hip, what looked like a Browning Hi Power, made her outfit even more jarringly wrong.
She smiled. “I am sorry. I didn’t mean to startle you. However, you’ve found something we have to keep hidden, and we can’t allow you to tell anyone about it.”
Mary said, “How do you intend on stopping us?”
“We hope we will be able to convince you to keep quiet about what you’ve found. If we can’t, all we can do is leave. We can’t let our presence here be discovered. I hope we can convince you not to tell anyone about us.”
She blinked as if just now understanding something. “I’m afraid I have to apologize again. I didn’t mean for anything I said to be taken as a threat. Your language is new to me, and I don’t understand all the nuances. If you’ll feel more comfortable with your weapons loaded and in your hands, or if we put ours down, or both, tell us. You have my word. You are in no danger from us.”
Andrew wasn’t sure why, but he believed her. He glanced at Mary, who shrugged. “If they wanted to hurt us, they already could have. Besides, three rounds of birdshot in each of our shotguns wouldn’t give us much of a chance in a firefight. I say we trust them.”
He nodded and turned back to the Asian woman. “Convince us, if you can. If it means telling us what’s sitting in the middle of the clearing, so much the better. To say I’m curious about it is an understatement.”
The woman turned to the man on her left, a six-foot-four-inch, coffee with cream colored black with a badly out of date afro. He looked almost as wide through the shoulders as he was tall. Even through his clothes it was obvious he had a body so heavily muscled the most fanatic weight lifter would envy it. He nodded.
Andrew wasn’t sure why he looked behind himself. It wasn’t a noise, because what was happening was noiseless. A pair of doors he couldn’t see slid to the sides, showing a large, plain room in what should be the center of the clearing. The most obvious feature of the room was what Andrew was sure was a tracked armored personal carrier with a dorsal turret holding what looked like a light cannon.
He looked back at the Asian woman. She smiled. “If you’ll step inside where we won’t be disturbed, I hope we can make you understand why we can’t let people know about what you’ve found here.” She must have detected some sign of hesitation on his part, or on Mary’s.
“Again, you have my word. You are in no danger. If you prefer to speak out here, we can, but I think everything will be easier to explain inside. If it makes you more comfortable, I’ll go in with you alone, and leave my pistol out here.”
Mary chuckled, just short of a laugh. “Which means you’re sure you can handle both of us by yourself and unarmed.”
The woman gave a bubbling, musical laugh. “I am. However, I can’t see it becoming necessary. Either you will agree not to talk to anyone about what you’ve seen and what I’ll tell you, and we can act as if this meeting never happened, or you won’t agree, in which case you’ll walk away and we’ll leave. No matter what agreement we come to, you are in no danger.”
“Good, because as curious as I am, you’d have to hold me down to keep me from going in there. I’m sure my husband feels the same way.”
He admitted he did, although he suspected he was a little more nervous about the situation than his wife seemed to be. Well, he told himself, in for a lamb, in for a sheep. “My vote is for all of us to go in. I can’t make a guess about an explanation for what I’ve seen so far. I have to admit I’d like to hear one.”
“Excellent. And our weapons?”
“My wife is right, isn’t she? Every one of you thinks you could take us out without the weapons?”
“Yes.”
“In that case, I don’t see where you’re having them with you matters. Besides, I don’t like the idea of leaving firearms lying about where anyone could pick them up. All my training says to retain control of your weapon.”
“It sounds like you had some degree of proper training. Please, enter the ship. We’ll give you a quick tour before we answer your other questions.”
As they entered light radiated from the walls, floor, and ceiling, giving the room even, bright, glare-less illumination. Mary, who seemed to be taking this in stride, said, “Thick walls.”
“Yes. The front and rearand side walls are about five feet thick, some of it storage and weapons pods, but much of it armor. The bottom and top walls are the thinnest, about a foot thick, but solid armor. This is used as our ready room when we’re ready to disembark. Other times it serves for exercise, training, and recreation. It can also serve as storage for vehicles. As you can see, it’s being used for that purpose at the moment. Unless you want to take a close look at our troop carrier, there isn’t much to see in this part of the ship, but feel free to look around if you wish.”
