The Sparse Lands, page 15
part #6 of Steven Gordon Series
He sighed, ‘I apologise for my grandchildren.’
Darrick shook his head, ‘They will do no harm. Mine have already tested it out. They are waiting inside. Will you join me for breakfast?’
‘As long as it isn’t Catatarac hay.’ They both roared with laughter.
‘I can assure you it isn’t.’ He looked over, ‘How are you Pan?’
Pan bowed, ‘I am fine, your Highness.’
‘Still hungry?’
Pan laughed. ‘Always.’
The wives rushed ahead, guided by a servant. They ushered the children through to the other side. They heard the squeals of delight before they reached them. Both San and Pan were stunned by the sight that greeted their eyes.
San stepped forward, ‘What is this place?’
‘You could call it my own small piece of the planet Earth.’
‘Is their world truly like this?’
‘In the spring. You are seeing the trees in full bloom, the spring flowers. Please warn the children not to try and catch the insects. They sting. They also produce a nectar called honey. This may look pretty, but there is also a serious reason for it.’
‘I have heard of your famous biscuits. I can’t wait to try one.’
Darrick guided them to a pavilion. The scent from the flowers was breathed deeply by all. Everything seemed to be going well until they reached the pavilion, where a figure was waiting for them.
Pan froze. ‘You!’
Charlie stepped down from the steps, ‘Grand Commander Pan Lo Tae´ isn’t it?’ He folded his arms. ‘It has been a while.’
Pan snarled, and his father’s hands shot out. ‘Pan, what has got into you? Behave! We are guests here.’
‘He is the Human that held a gun to my head and threatened me. He can read a persons’ body as though it were speaking words. Have him sent away.’
Darrick stepped in. ‘Charlie is a personal friend of mine. He has also visited the Ambatta home world. You said you wanted to talk about it San. He has been there.’
San took a deep breath. ‘Pan, your problem with the officer can be sorted another day.’
‘He isn’t an officer. He is an ordinary rank. Sergeant, isn’t it?’
‘I was promoted to Captain. So your father is right.’
San nodded, ‘We have met before as well.’
‘Have we?’
‘Briefly, but we were never introduced. It was in a shuttle on the way to the space port.’
Charlie shrugged, ‘I have met thousands of aliens on shuttles.’
‘You bent my guards’ weapons.’
Charlie raised his eyebrows, ‘Ah! I remember that. I’m afraid I didn’t take all that much notice though. I was in a hurry.’
‘Do you bend a lot of weapons Captain?’
‘Being Human, it quite often leads to situations where alien races believe that I am about to eat them. I find bending a few weapons has a rather calming effect on people. It saves me from having to kill them.’
‘It is very effective.’
‘It is, isn’t it?’ Charlie agreed.
San eased his grip on his son’s arm. He had gotten the message; he had seen the weapon, and even tried to unbend it.
‘Another day then Human.’
Charlie sighed, ‘Really!’
Pan felt his temper rise again.
Darrick stepped in. ‘Charlie, San is a good friend of mine, and his son is also like a son to me. Did you give insult?’
‘I can’t honestly remember Darrick. I tend to insult a lot of people, so probably.’ Charlie made a face, ‘Ah! I remember when I got back to the ship, the officer in charge tore me a new one. So, the answer is definitely yes. I still can’t remember what I said though.’
‘Were you punished?’
‘Extra duties, a whole week.’
‘Would you apologise?’
Pan wasn’t happy. ‘What is the point if he can’t even remember what it was he said? Forget it.’
‘That is very gallant of you Pan. Don’t you think so Charlie?’
‘I am in a strange part of the galaxy, with strange people with strange customs. I have spent a lifetime soldiering, training men to fight, and fighting myself. At a point in a soldier’s career, if he has seen too much fighting, the niceties that society taught him as a child are burned off. We become rather blunt in our approach to others outside our small circle of friends. The more I interact with other species, the more I am being made aware of that shortcoming. I apologise if I insulted you. I had no intention to do so, it is just the way I am now.’
Darrick smiled, ‘He insulted me as well the first time we met.’
‘Impossible.’ Pan exclaimed ‘If he had insulted you, he wouldn’t be alive.’
‘He proved the truth of his own words. He also offered up his own life, if he was proven wrong, as an apology. I held the weapon in my own hands.’
‘A story for another day perhaps,’ San interjected.
‘When we are too old to do anything other than drink and eat hay San.’
San smiled. ‘What say you Pan, will you accept the Captain’s apology?’
Pan still simmered a little, ‘As I said, there is little point in being angry at some old forgotten words spoken in the heat of battle. I accept.’
Darrick was impressed. ‘You certainly have matured Pan.’
The two elders laughed at his wit.
Charlie showed them in to the pagoda. It was raised high enough for them to see as far as their eyes would let them. Inside were the debris from a number of biscuits the children had left behind. A servant quickly cleared up the crumbs. Tea and a coffee for Charlie were produced. Below, the children ran amok. The women picked flowers. It was an idyllic scene.
The chatter went from domestic matters to more serious ones. That was when Charlie began to take heed of the conversation.
‘How did you get on with the Ambatta, Captain?’ San asked him directly.
‘They are a very no nonsense race. Straight to the point. I liked them. I was with the Grand Commander most of the time he was there. He seemed to like them too.’
‘We saw the documentary. Are they really living in the asteroid field?’
‘I would say most of the population is, if not all. They wouldn’t tell us directly. It was just the impression I got while I was there. Our guide admitted it was her first visit to her home world. The way she flew through those asteroids was testimony to the fact she was at home there. She even flew one of our ships through the field, with as much dexterity as she flew a shuttle craft.’
‘Would you, as an old soldier, give an opinion as to the viability of an assault against them?’
Charlie took a deep breath. ‘You would be an idiot to even try… may I explain my reasoning?’
‘Please do.’
‘The Ambatta have been defending that asteroid field for almost a thousand years. Attacks on their home world proved to be ineffective, but prompted them to start building homes within the field. I suppose as insurance against a big attack. When the Federation finally managed to put in an affective assault against their world, it wiped out most of those on the planet’s surface. Yet those in the field were able to supply those on the home world with some sustenance.
‘That was five or six hundred years ago. For the next couple of hundred years, they fought constant battles with those trying to mine their asteroids. From what I could gather, not a single race has been able to mine so much as a grain of minerals from that field for at least two hundred years. That suggests to me that they have a very effective warning system, and the resources to back it up. Much of their manufacturing ability was transferred to the field before the Federation laid waste to their planet.’
‘Do you know how many were in the field before the great war?’
‘I believe it was millions.’
San sat back with a great sigh, ‘So the asteroid field has become their home world.’
‘I would agree with that assessment. The only way to eradicate the Ambatta is to destroy the asteroid field.’
‘Destroying their home world is a waste of time.’
‘A complete waste of time. No one lives there – no domestic livestock, no wild life, nothing.’
San held up a hand, ‘Why do you think no one lives on the planet?’
‘The asteroid we lived on for a few days was clean, spacious. The houses, streets and shops were all well cared for, well maintained. The facility we visited on the planet surface was pretty much the opposite. It wasn’t dirty, but it didn’t seem to be as well maintained. It was a bit grimy. You could see where things had been removed from the wall. To begin with I made the mistake of comparing it to what I would expect to see at home: bulletin boards with rotas, company orders, battalion orders. I thought they had just been removed. Then I remembered that no one on this side of the barrier has what we have at home. It’s all touchpad viewers and screens. Why not just switch them off? If you were that paranoid, you could just cut the power to them.’
Pan grunted, ‘That isn’t much evidence, a bit thin.’
‘You would attack the planet wouldn’t you?’
‘I am a Grand Commander. Of course I would attack the planet.’
‘The Ortea home world was devastated by exactly the same crap as the Ambatta’s world. Yet they had neutralised every agent on the surface of their planet. It was completely sterile. The Ambatta have never eradicated those toxins. They are paranoid about staying too long on the planet’s surface. We asked to see their domestic livestock. It took far too long to gather them together for the animals to have come from underground. The moment we had finished filming them, the animals were destroyed and burned. They warned Ne´ that they could not guarantee his safety, even after Ne´ had the surface sanitised. Before we got there, which of you knew that the surface of the planet was still infected? Would you have checked before you tried to land ground forces?’
Pan shook his head, ‘You may have a point Captain. We may well have landed a strong ground force to secure a safe zone and establish a base.’
‘Aye, especially if the surface seemed devoid of life.’
‘Devoid of life and sterile.’
Darrick had also been thinking, ‘What a good time to strike. Let’s say you had surrounded their home world and put down a strong landing force, maybe in more than one place. You would be loaded up with biological agents. What we use now is different to what we used then. Even if you had a neutraliser, would it have worked?’
Pan shook his head, ‘Probably not. Did the Grand Commander order specific neutralisers?’
Charlie nodded, ‘Aye, when we told him the surface of the planet was still infected, he had to research what was used and order the exact ones he required.’
Pan finally got it, ‘I could have had half my troops on the planet’s surface. They wouldn’t be protected from any of the agents. You said they destroyed the animals Captain?’
‘That’s right. Immediately, and burned the carcases to ash.’
‘So the agent could still spread. That would mean if we took them back aboard, the whole fleet would be in danger. Our forces would be split. The planet is a trap.’
‘Do you have enough firepower to eradicate the whole asteroid field?’ Charlie asked him.
‘A field that size…’ he shook his head. ‘We couldn’t even scratch it.’
All four fell silent for a few minutes. Pan was still mulling things over as he munched on a biscuit.
‘Captain, did you see their ships, anything substantial?’
‘A few battleships. They were almost twice the size of the Burning Wind. Luckily we weren’t treated to a demonstration of their firepower. I am no expert, but I got the impression they could handle anything we could throw at them, and dish out more.’
‘We have never seen one of their ships outwith the field. I have seen the footage. They seemed slow and cumbersome.’
‘Aye, they seemed that way.’ Charlie agreed. ‘Which is in complete contrast to everything else the Ambatta do. Another red herring.’
‘That didn’t translate.’
‘Another deception. Sorry, a Human saying.’
San took over the questions, ‘Now the Grand Commander has neutralised the agents on their planet, do you think they consider it a precursor for an invasion?’
‘I think that was their initial impression. They don’t trust the Federation or any of its members. However, when he signed a pre-cessation of hostilities agreement, drawing his forces away so they had some room to manoeuvre, I think he gained a small measure of trust.’
‘Do you really think Ne´ wants this peace accord to succeed?’
‘I would say he was more than determined. The Ambatta have agreed to supply the Federation forces with rare minerals and metals at nothing more than the cost of extraction, which, given their technology, is minimal.’
San grunted. ‘That will save the Federation millions, maybe billions every year.’
‘He also desperately wants their scouts and their skills to chase down pirates.’
‘Any appropriate Human saying Captain?’
‘Killing two birds with one stone.’
‘I like it. You Humans have a lot of sayings.’
‘We have a lot of imagination. May I be blunt?’
‘Do you have to be?’
Charlie thought it over, ‘I don’t have the social skills to put it any other way.’
San laughed, ‘Well said Captain. Please, be blunt.’
‘If you get involved, you’re going to get your arses kicked. I can’t tell you exactly what the Grand Commander is up to, but if he can find a legal way of interfering in attempts at attacking the Ambatta, I think he will.’
San waggled a piece of biscuit at him. ‘It isn’t that easy to turn your backs on your allies Captain.’
‘Does that mean they have superior forces to yours?’
‘An indelicate way of putting things Captain, but you have already apologised, so yes, that’s exactly why.’
‘Would they still be smaller if your allies got their arses kicked?’
San smiled, ‘Maybe not individually.’
‘We know the Catataracs don’t have a substantially bigger force than you. Their biggest asset is Admiral Valachean. The Grand Commander believes him to be the biggest threat. Word is he has drafted in our Admiral Baxter as a countermeasure to him. The Albany have nothing. In fact, intelligence tells us that you are protecting their borders at the moment. That only leaves the Haspsopot. Do they have a large fleet?’
San snapped upright, ‘I have no idea.’
Charlie’s mind was wide open. He caught a glimpse of a huge fleet, a fleeting image. San’s mind screamed the numbers at him.
Darrick reprimanded him. ‘That’s a little too forward of you Charlie.’
Charlie sat back satisfied he had his answer. His mind was still wide open though.
‘Sorry! My bad.’ Charlie looked away. He watched the children and women playing. Their thoughts were as clear as day. They were enjoying themselves. The Ranagata wives were envious of what the Modloch had. Darrick’s wife was feeling very superior. The children didn’t give a hoot. The servants were worried the children might hurt themselves or be stung by a bee. His eyes flicked to someone who was approaching the group.
‘Kill them, stop me, kill them, save me, please someone stop me. KILL THEM!’
Charlie snapped to his feet, ‘Darrick, who the hell is that?’
Darrick was still annoyed with Charlie but glanced across, ‘How should I know?’
‘I think he is going to try and hurt the children.’
The Modloch staggered on his feet for a second. Charlie gauged the distance and made a beeline for him. A running leap made all who saw it gasp. The Modloch’s thoughts were garbled and confused. Charlie could feel the pain as he rushed towards him, and he thought he wasn’t going to make it. At the last second the Modloch pulled out a large curved blade and raised it above his head. His attention had been swinging from one running child to the next. He selected the nearest child, who looked up just before the Modloch was about to strike.
Charlie roared at the top of his voice. The Modloch snapped round. Light flashed in Charlie’s hand and the raised arm fell to the ground, but the pain did not register with the Modloch as he bent down and peeled the blade from his own twitching hand. Charlie struck again and the legless torso fell to the ground.
The females began to scream. Charlie deactivated the light sabre and slipped it back into its holster. A hand was still reaching for the blade and Charlie picked it up. With now way of harming them now, something snapped in the Modloch’s mind. Blood gushed from his mouth, and the madness in his eyes receded. His eyes sought out Charlie’s.
‘Thank you for saving me.’
‘Who did this to you?’
Images flashed through his mind. ‘Aliens, hurt me. Couldn’t stop myself. Couldn’t could…’ His voice slipped away with his life. Charlie knelt and closed his eyes. He then lifted the Modloch’s hair and saw the marks.
The females and children had all retreated to a safe spot, all but one. San’s son stood trembling with fear. Charlie turned and looked down at him.
‘Look at me, not at him.’ Charlie raised his voice. ‘Look at me.’
His eyes slowly came up from the gruesome sight. Charlie knelt down as the others ran up.
‘My Papa said I will have to get used to the sight of dead people if I want to become a soldier.’
‘Your father is a great warrior, and he is right. If one day you want to become a warrior, you will have to deal with the taking of life, the sight, sound and smell of death. That is in the future, when you are older. This is not the time. This is the time to be a child, to play, to make friends, to laugh, to hurt yourself and cry like a child. When the time comes you will be taught to be a warrior, to deal with the sights a warrior meets in battle. Do you understand?’
‘Yes sir.’ He reached out.
‘Close your eyes,’ Charlie ordered. He did so and he picked the child up. He returned the child to his mother, who almost ripped him out of Charlie’s arms.
A fierce but low key argument had already sprung up by the time he reached them.
Darrick shook his head, ‘They will do no harm. Mine have already tested it out. They are waiting inside. Will you join me for breakfast?’
‘As long as it isn’t Catatarac hay.’ They both roared with laughter.
‘I can assure you it isn’t.’ He looked over, ‘How are you Pan?’
Pan bowed, ‘I am fine, your Highness.’
‘Still hungry?’
Pan laughed. ‘Always.’
The wives rushed ahead, guided by a servant. They ushered the children through to the other side. They heard the squeals of delight before they reached them. Both San and Pan were stunned by the sight that greeted their eyes.
San stepped forward, ‘What is this place?’
‘You could call it my own small piece of the planet Earth.’
‘Is their world truly like this?’
‘In the spring. You are seeing the trees in full bloom, the spring flowers. Please warn the children not to try and catch the insects. They sting. They also produce a nectar called honey. This may look pretty, but there is also a serious reason for it.’
‘I have heard of your famous biscuits. I can’t wait to try one.’
Darrick guided them to a pavilion. The scent from the flowers was breathed deeply by all. Everything seemed to be going well until they reached the pavilion, where a figure was waiting for them.
Pan froze. ‘You!’
Charlie stepped down from the steps, ‘Grand Commander Pan Lo Tae´ isn’t it?’ He folded his arms. ‘It has been a while.’
Pan snarled, and his father’s hands shot out. ‘Pan, what has got into you? Behave! We are guests here.’
‘He is the Human that held a gun to my head and threatened me. He can read a persons’ body as though it were speaking words. Have him sent away.’
Darrick stepped in. ‘Charlie is a personal friend of mine. He has also visited the Ambatta home world. You said you wanted to talk about it San. He has been there.’
San took a deep breath. ‘Pan, your problem with the officer can be sorted another day.’
‘He isn’t an officer. He is an ordinary rank. Sergeant, isn’t it?’
‘I was promoted to Captain. So your father is right.’
San nodded, ‘We have met before as well.’
‘Have we?’
‘Briefly, but we were never introduced. It was in a shuttle on the way to the space port.’
Charlie shrugged, ‘I have met thousands of aliens on shuttles.’
‘You bent my guards’ weapons.’
Charlie raised his eyebrows, ‘Ah! I remember that. I’m afraid I didn’t take all that much notice though. I was in a hurry.’
‘Do you bend a lot of weapons Captain?’
‘Being Human, it quite often leads to situations where alien races believe that I am about to eat them. I find bending a few weapons has a rather calming effect on people. It saves me from having to kill them.’
‘It is very effective.’
‘It is, isn’t it?’ Charlie agreed.
San eased his grip on his son’s arm. He had gotten the message; he had seen the weapon, and even tried to unbend it.
‘Another day then Human.’
Charlie sighed, ‘Really!’
Pan felt his temper rise again.
Darrick stepped in. ‘Charlie, San is a good friend of mine, and his son is also like a son to me. Did you give insult?’
‘I can’t honestly remember Darrick. I tend to insult a lot of people, so probably.’ Charlie made a face, ‘Ah! I remember when I got back to the ship, the officer in charge tore me a new one. So, the answer is definitely yes. I still can’t remember what I said though.’
‘Were you punished?’
‘Extra duties, a whole week.’
‘Would you apologise?’
Pan wasn’t happy. ‘What is the point if he can’t even remember what it was he said? Forget it.’
‘That is very gallant of you Pan. Don’t you think so Charlie?’
‘I am in a strange part of the galaxy, with strange people with strange customs. I have spent a lifetime soldiering, training men to fight, and fighting myself. At a point in a soldier’s career, if he has seen too much fighting, the niceties that society taught him as a child are burned off. We become rather blunt in our approach to others outside our small circle of friends. The more I interact with other species, the more I am being made aware of that shortcoming. I apologise if I insulted you. I had no intention to do so, it is just the way I am now.’
Darrick smiled, ‘He insulted me as well the first time we met.’
‘Impossible.’ Pan exclaimed ‘If he had insulted you, he wouldn’t be alive.’
‘He proved the truth of his own words. He also offered up his own life, if he was proven wrong, as an apology. I held the weapon in my own hands.’
‘A story for another day perhaps,’ San interjected.
‘When we are too old to do anything other than drink and eat hay San.’
San smiled. ‘What say you Pan, will you accept the Captain’s apology?’
Pan still simmered a little, ‘As I said, there is little point in being angry at some old forgotten words spoken in the heat of battle. I accept.’
Darrick was impressed. ‘You certainly have matured Pan.’
The two elders laughed at his wit.
Charlie showed them in to the pagoda. It was raised high enough for them to see as far as their eyes would let them. Inside were the debris from a number of biscuits the children had left behind. A servant quickly cleared up the crumbs. Tea and a coffee for Charlie were produced. Below, the children ran amok. The women picked flowers. It was an idyllic scene.
The chatter went from domestic matters to more serious ones. That was when Charlie began to take heed of the conversation.
‘How did you get on with the Ambatta, Captain?’ San asked him directly.
‘They are a very no nonsense race. Straight to the point. I liked them. I was with the Grand Commander most of the time he was there. He seemed to like them too.’
‘We saw the documentary. Are they really living in the asteroid field?’
‘I would say most of the population is, if not all. They wouldn’t tell us directly. It was just the impression I got while I was there. Our guide admitted it was her first visit to her home world. The way she flew through those asteroids was testimony to the fact she was at home there. She even flew one of our ships through the field, with as much dexterity as she flew a shuttle craft.’
‘Would you, as an old soldier, give an opinion as to the viability of an assault against them?’
Charlie took a deep breath. ‘You would be an idiot to even try… may I explain my reasoning?’
‘Please do.’
‘The Ambatta have been defending that asteroid field for almost a thousand years. Attacks on their home world proved to be ineffective, but prompted them to start building homes within the field. I suppose as insurance against a big attack. When the Federation finally managed to put in an affective assault against their world, it wiped out most of those on the planet’s surface. Yet those in the field were able to supply those on the home world with some sustenance.
‘That was five or six hundred years ago. For the next couple of hundred years, they fought constant battles with those trying to mine their asteroids. From what I could gather, not a single race has been able to mine so much as a grain of minerals from that field for at least two hundred years. That suggests to me that they have a very effective warning system, and the resources to back it up. Much of their manufacturing ability was transferred to the field before the Federation laid waste to their planet.’
‘Do you know how many were in the field before the great war?’
‘I believe it was millions.’
San sat back with a great sigh, ‘So the asteroid field has become their home world.’
‘I would agree with that assessment. The only way to eradicate the Ambatta is to destroy the asteroid field.’
‘Destroying their home world is a waste of time.’
‘A complete waste of time. No one lives there – no domestic livestock, no wild life, nothing.’
San held up a hand, ‘Why do you think no one lives on the planet?’
‘The asteroid we lived on for a few days was clean, spacious. The houses, streets and shops were all well cared for, well maintained. The facility we visited on the planet surface was pretty much the opposite. It wasn’t dirty, but it didn’t seem to be as well maintained. It was a bit grimy. You could see where things had been removed from the wall. To begin with I made the mistake of comparing it to what I would expect to see at home: bulletin boards with rotas, company orders, battalion orders. I thought they had just been removed. Then I remembered that no one on this side of the barrier has what we have at home. It’s all touchpad viewers and screens. Why not just switch them off? If you were that paranoid, you could just cut the power to them.’
Pan grunted, ‘That isn’t much evidence, a bit thin.’
‘You would attack the planet wouldn’t you?’
‘I am a Grand Commander. Of course I would attack the planet.’
‘The Ortea home world was devastated by exactly the same crap as the Ambatta’s world. Yet they had neutralised every agent on the surface of their planet. It was completely sterile. The Ambatta have never eradicated those toxins. They are paranoid about staying too long on the planet’s surface. We asked to see their domestic livestock. It took far too long to gather them together for the animals to have come from underground. The moment we had finished filming them, the animals were destroyed and burned. They warned Ne´ that they could not guarantee his safety, even after Ne´ had the surface sanitised. Before we got there, which of you knew that the surface of the planet was still infected? Would you have checked before you tried to land ground forces?’
Pan shook his head, ‘You may have a point Captain. We may well have landed a strong ground force to secure a safe zone and establish a base.’
‘Aye, especially if the surface seemed devoid of life.’
‘Devoid of life and sterile.’
Darrick had also been thinking, ‘What a good time to strike. Let’s say you had surrounded their home world and put down a strong landing force, maybe in more than one place. You would be loaded up with biological agents. What we use now is different to what we used then. Even if you had a neutraliser, would it have worked?’
Pan shook his head, ‘Probably not. Did the Grand Commander order specific neutralisers?’
Charlie nodded, ‘Aye, when we told him the surface of the planet was still infected, he had to research what was used and order the exact ones he required.’
Pan finally got it, ‘I could have had half my troops on the planet’s surface. They wouldn’t be protected from any of the agents. You said they destroyed the animals Captain?’
‘That’s right. Immediately, and burned the carcases to ash.’
‘So the agent could still spread. That would mean if we took them back aboard, the whole fleet would be in danger. Our forces would be split. The planet is a trap.’
‘Do you have enough firepower to eradicate the whole asteroid field?’ Charlie asked him.
‘A field that size…’ he shook his head. ‘We couldn’t even scratch it.’
All four fell silent for a few minutes. Pan was still mulling things over as he munched on a biscuit.
‘Captain, did you see their ships, anything substantial?’
‘A few battleships. They were almost twice the size of the Burning Wind. Luckily we weren’t treated to a demonstration of their firepower. I am no expert, but I got the impression they could handle anything we could throw at them, and dish out more.’
‘We have never seen one of their ships outwith the field. I have seen the footage. They seemed slow and cumbersome.’
‘Aye, they seemed that way.’ Charlie agreed. ‘Which is in complete contrast to everything else the Ambatta do. Another red herring.’
‘That didn’t translate.’
‘Another deception. Sorry, a Human saying.’
San took over the questions, ‘Now the Grand Commander has neutralised the agents on their planet, do you think they consider it a precursor for an invasion?’
‘I think that was their initial impression. They don’t trust the Federation or any of its members. However, when he signed a pre-cessation of hostilities agreement, drawing his forces away so they had some room to manoeuvre, I think he gained a small measure of trust.’
‘Do you really think Ne´ wants this peace accord to succeed?’
‘I would say he was more than determined. The Ambatta have agreed to supply the Federation forces with rare minerals and metals at nothing more than the cost of extraction, which, given their technology, is minimal.’
San grunted. ‘That will save the Federation millions, maybe billions every year.’
‘He also desperately wants their scouts and their skills to chase down pirates.’
‘Any appropriate Human saying Captain?’
‘Killing two birds with one stone.’
‘I like it. You Humans have a lot of sayings.’
‘We have a lot of imagination. May I be blunt?’
‘Do you have to be?’
Charlie thought it over, ‘I don’t have the social skills to put it any other way.’
San laughed, ‘Well said Captain. Please, be blunt.’
‘If you get involved, you’re going to get your arses kicked. I can’t tell you exactly what the Grand Commander is up to, but if he can find a legal way of interfering in attempts at attacking the Ambatta, I think he will.’
San waggled a piece of biscuit at him. ‘It isn’t that easy to turn your backs on your allies Captain.’
‘Does that mean they have superior forces to yours?’
‘An indelicate way of putting things Captain, but you have already apologised, so yes, that’s exactly why.’
‘Would they still be smaller if your allies got their arses kicked?’
San smiled, ‘Maybe not individually.’
‘We know the Catataracs don’t have a substantially bigger force than you. Their biggest asset is Admiral Valachean. The Grand Commander believes him to be the biggest threat. Word is he has drafted in our Admiral Baxter as a countermeasure to him. The Albany have nothing. In fact, intelligence tells us that you are protecting their borders at the moment. That only leaves the Haspsopot. Do they have a large fleet?’
San snapped upright, ‘I have no idea.’
Charlie’s mind was wide open. He caught a glimpse of a huge fleet, a fleeting image. San’s mind screamed the numbers at him.
Darrick reprimanded him. ‘That’s a little too forward of you Charlie.’
Charlie sat back satisfied he had his answer. His mind was still wide open though.
‘Sorry! My bad.’ Charlie looked away. He watched the children and women playing. Their thoughts were as clear as day. They were enjoying themselves. The Ranagata wives were envious of what the Modloch had. Darrick’s wife was feeling very superior. The children didn’t give a hoot. The servants were worried the children might hurt themselves or be stung by a bee. His eyes flicked to someone who was approaching the group.
‘Kill them, stop me, kill them, save me, please someone stop me. KILL THEM!’
Charlie snapped to his feet, ‘Darrick, who the hell is that?’
Darrick was still annoyed with Charlie but glanced across, ‘How should I know?’
‘I think he is going to try and hurt the children.’
The Modloch staggered on his feet for a second. Charlie gauged the distance and made a beeline for him. A running leap made all who saw it gasp. The Modloch’s thoughts were garbled and confused. Charlie could feel the pain as he rushed towards him, and he thought he wasn’t going to make it. At the last second the Modloch pulled out a large curved blade and raised it above his head. His attention had been swinging from one running child to the next. He selected the nearest child, who looked up just before the Modloch was about to strike.
Charlie roared at the top of his voice. The Modloch snapped round. Light flashed in Charlie’s hand and the raised arm fell to the ground, but the pain did not register with the Modloch as he bent down and peeled the blade from his own twitching hand. Charlie struck again and the legless torso fell to the ground.
The females began to scream. Charlie deactivated the light sabre and slipped it back into its holster. A hand was still reaching for the blade and Charlie picked it up. With now way of harming them now, something snapped in the Modloch’s mind. Blood gushed from his mouth, and the madness in his eyes receded. His eyes sought out Charlie’s.
‘Thank you for saving me.’
‘Who did this to you?’
Images flashed through his mind. ‘Aliens, hurt me. Couldn’t stop myself. Couldn’t could…’ His voice slipped away with his life. Charlie knelt and closed his eyes. He then lifted the Modloch’s hair and saw the marks.
The females and children had all retreated to a safe spot, all but one. San’s son stood trembling with fear. Charlie turned and looked down at him.
‘Look at me, not at him.’ Charlie raised his voice. ‘Look at me.’
His eyes slowly came up from the gruesome sight. Charlie knelt down as the others ran up.
‘My Papa said I will have to get used to the sight of dead people if I want to become a soldier.’
‘Your father is a great warrior, and he is right. If one day you want to become a warrior, you will have to deal with the taking of life, the sight, sound and smell of death. That is in the future, when you are older. This is not the time. This is the time to be a child, to play, to make friends, to laugh, to hurt yourself and cry like a child. When the time comes you will be taught to be a warrior, to deal with the sights a warrior meets in battle. Do you understand?’
‘Yes sir.’ He reached out.
‘Close your eyes,’ Charlie ordered. He did so and he picked the child up. He returned the child to his mother, who almost ripped him out of Charlie’s arms.
A fierce but low key argument had already sprung up by the time he reached them.
