A Savage War Of Peace (Ark Royal Book 5) (12 page)

He leaned forward, cutting off any debate.  “You will each be given a tracking implant before you leave the ship,” he said.  “We should be able to find you wherever you are, as there will be nothing on the planet capable of blocking the signal; however, I strongly advise you never to leave Fort Knight without informing us and taking a security detail.  Do
not
leave the base without permission, no matter what you’re told.  Troops have been lured away before and they have not always returned alive.”

Joelle winced.  She’d been involved with negotiations after a pair of soldiers had been lured away from a garrison in North Africa.  It had ended very badly, with one of the soldiers dead and the other mutilated so badly that it had taken months to put him back together.  The insurgents had paid - their base camps had been flattened from orbit, along with a pair of local villages that had supported them - but it should never have been necessary.  They’d been very careless to leave the base and walk straight into a trap.

At least the Vesy won’t be showing hot girls to horny and isolated men
, she thought, wryly.  It was very hard to tell the difference between male and female Vesy - and no one, at least no one human, would find either sex attractive. 
But they could probably come up with a very attractive bribe, if they wished
.

“Those of you who are cleared to carry weapons may do so, at will,” Mortimer added.  “Bear in mind that all such weapons and ammunition have to be accounted for, at all times.  The Vesy, if they feel like stealing from us, will consider such weapons to be prime targets;
don’t
let go of them and, if you do lose one, report it at once.  You will be in shit, but trust me; you will be in
deeper
shit if one of those weapons winds up being used against us, catching us unaware.  If you’re not cleared to use a weapon, you may borrow the shooting range 3 Para intends to set up and take a brief proficiency course.”

He held up his hand.  “Yes, you’re diplomats, and you try to settle things through talking rather than shooting,” he warned.  “But you may need to shoot your way out of trouble if all hell breaks loose.”

Joelle nodded when several heads turned to look at her.  She’d never been caught in a trap, but she had been shot at twice, an experience she would have gladly foregone.  It had been years since she’d carried a pistol outside the Foreign Office’s shooting range, but she made a mental note to draw one for herself and practice when she had a moment.  The Vesy had no reason to comprehend just how much firepower could and would be brought to bear against anyone who threatened a British Ambassador.  It had been a long time since any state had just swallowed an offense to the flag.

She looked back at Mortimer, who had moved on to a different subject.

“They may attempt to open private negotiations with you,” Mortimer said.  “Either to purchase technology or weapons off you, or to try to learn more about our negotiating stance and society.  Report all such contacts to Ambassador Richardson
at once
.  Do not take any payment from them without permission, as they may intend to blackmail you later; it’s happened before, on Earth, and it may happen here.  There is no shortage of horror stories in the files if you care to look at them.

“In addition, do not tell them anything about our society, no matter how harmless you feel it may be.  There is no way to know what they may be able to use against us.”

Grace put up her hand.  “Isn't that rude?”

Mortimer gave her a sharp look.  “Explain.”

“They may try to talk about comparing our lives,” Grace said.  “It would be rude for us not to talk about life on Earth.”

“But you won’t, because you might tell them something important without realising it,” Mortimer told her, flatly.  “We will be telling them more about ourselves, but not in a piecemeal fashion.”

“But how could it be used against us?”  Grace asked.  “They can’t
get
to Earth!”

Joelle spoke before Mortimer could formulate a response.  “You might accidentally tell them that we have a rivalry with the other Great Powers,” she said.  “Or tell them something that allows them to
think
we have a rivalry.  They would then try to play us off against the other Great Powers, which would allow them to get better terms.”

“Or you could tell them about the war,” Mortimer said.  “They might start thinking they could talk to the Tadpoles instead.”

He cleared his throat.  “Take recorders with you whenever you leave the fort, but do not mention them to our hosts,” he added.  “All recordings are to be handed over to the researchers at Fort Knight for long-term study.  Do
not
turn off the recorders, even when you go to the toilet.  I assure you that the researchers have better things to do than watch you shit.”

Joelle smiled at her staff’s horrified reactions.  “If worst comes to worst,” she said, “you can just hold it in until you get home.”

“Indeed,” Mortimer agreed.  “Your piss might be a state secret.”

He chuckled, then resumed his lecture.  Joelle settled back and forced herself to relax, despite the growing excitement in her chest.  Four days ... and then she would set foot on an alien world, speak to alien minds ...

One hell of a challenge
, she thought. 
And I’d better be ready
.

Chapter Eleven

General Anjeet Patel watched, feeling a surge of sudden anticipation, as the shuttle flew over the Vesy city, then proceeded towards the LZ they’d identified in the fields, a mile from the alien settlement.  He had to admit the city was a remarkable sight, given the technological limitations the builders faced; towering stone buildings, some covered in patches of green grass-like plants, surrounded by a wall that would be practically invulnerable, faced with Stone Age weapons technology.  India had plenty of old buildings of its own, but there was something about the vibrant
realness
of the alien city that called to him and repelled him in the same breath.  Perhaps it was the sense that it was subtly wrong, somehow, or perhaps it was the awareness that the minds that had designed the city were very far from human.

“Take us down,” he ordered, as they hovered over the designated LZ.  “And deploy the troops as soon as we land.”

The shuttle touched down with nary a bump; the hatches opened a moment later, disgorging a dozen heavily-armed soldiers who fanned out around the shuttle, watching for potential threats.  Anjeet rose to his feet and strode out of the hatch himself, taking a deep breath as he stepped onto alien soil.  The air was hot and wet, smelling of something he couldn't even begin to identify, something very definitely
alien
.  He took another breath, willing himself to suppress his reaction, then forced himself to relax.  It wouldn't be long before diplomacy began.

They won’t have any difficulty seeing where we landed
, he thought.  He hadn't trusted the Russian files completely - and the British base was sitting far too close to where the Russians had lived and worked - but it hardly mattered.  The local aliens could hardly avoid coming to see what the humans were doing, ensuring he had a chance to make contact with a whole new alien faction. 
All we have to do is wait
.

He smiled as he caught sight of an odd bird-like creature fluttering its way through the air, flying towards a grove of strange-looking trees.  Another followed, keeping a wary distance from the humans; he couldn't help wondering if they knew to be afraid of human weapons or if they were merely concerned about the strangers.  The Vesy were humanoid too, after all, and the bird-like creatures might not be intelligent enough to tell the difference.  Or maybe they were just naturally frightened of creatures that were larger than themselves.

His radio buzzed.  “General, we have a line of aliens leaving the city,” the orbital observer said.  “They’re heading right towards the LZ.”

“Keep tracking them,” Anjeet ordered, calmly.  “Do they appear to be armed?”

“Only with swords, spears and bows,” the observer said.  “However, they are wearing long cloaks and may be concealing more modern weapons.”

Anjeet smiled.  In his experience, people liked to show their strength before starting negotiations, if only to prove they simply couldn't be pushed too far.  If that held true for the Vesy too, and nothing in the Russian files suggested otherwise, they would have carried modern weapons if they’d had them.  That was good, he told himself.  Their new allies would be hungry for human weapons and technology, which would make them
very
willing to do whatever it took to get their hands on them.  India would have a very strong bargaining position indeed.

“Keep tracking them,” he repeated.  “ETA?”

“At current rate of progress, twenty minutes,” the observer said.  “They’re moving at quite a clip.”

Don’t want us to leave before they have a chance to speak to us
, Anjeet thought.  The one downside of his refusal to coordinate with the British - let alone everyone else who had arrived - was that there was no way to know just who the British had talked to during their six months in sole control of the planet.  He rather doubted the British had had a chance to do much, but it would have been nice to know. 
They must be desperate after the God-King showed them that empire was possible
.

He waited, feeling sweat trickling down his back, until the aliens finally came into view, standing at the edge of the field.  He’d thought himself prepared for their appearance, knowing that they were far closer to humanity than the Tadpoles, yet he couldn't help feeling a shiver as they stood there.  Somehow, looking at the Tadpoles was far easier, despite the complete lack of real common ground.  The Vesy were just close enough to humanity to make him feel uncomfortable, as if his mind insisted on seeing them as human even though they unquestionably weren't.  It was, he hoped, a reaction he would overcome very quickly.

The Vesy stopped, then made a show of laying down their weapons on the grass-like ground before resuming their advance, holding their hands in the air to show they were unarmed.  It made Anjeet wonder if the Russians had taught them how to approach human ships, or - more likely - if it was something they’d developed for themselves.  Humanity had evolved ways to signify a lack of weapons long before they’d reached for the stars.

He frowned as he studied the group.  There were six of them in all, five wearing coloured robes with their heads uncovered, the sixth wearing a long hooded cloak that hid his face from view.  Was there a reason for that?  He had no idea; maybe it was a woman, hiding her face from the infidels, or maybe it was the person who was actually in command.  Anjeet reminded himself, sharply, that it was dangerous to jump to conclusions, not when aliens were involved.  Their culture was so different from humanity’s that something as simple as shaking his head might be interpreted as a major insult that could only be washed away by blood. 

The lead Vesy stepped forward.  “I greet you,” he said, in halting Russian.  “I am” - he said something that sounded like a rock falling into a muddy patch - “and I rule the city of” - something else, equally unpronounceable - “as its master under the gods.  I bid welcome to honoured guests from the stars.”

“I thank you, in the name of India,” Anjeet said, also in Russian.  Thankfully, he’d taken the time to brush up during the voyage.  Russian wasn't common outside Russia itself - Eastern Europe and Central Asia still preferred English - but the Russian renegades had taught the Vesy how to speak their language.  “It is our hope to arrange a mutually beneficial trade with you.”

There was a long pause.  Anjeet found himself wishing he knew how to interpret their body language.  Two of the five stood still, the others twitched their arms in a manner that could signify anything from excitement to a maddening itch.  The sixth showed no reaction at all.

“We would welcome trade with our illustrious guests from the stars,” the lead alien said, finally.  “What do we have to offer you in return?”

Anjeet allowed himself a smile, knowing the aliens would probably understand the expression.  “Land,” he said, simply.  “We require territory to set up a base.  We would be happy to trade goods for land.”

There was another pause.  The aliens conferred briefly amongst themselves, then turned back to face the Indians.  “What are you prepared to offer in exchange for land?”

I never claimed to be a haggling wife
, Anjeet thought.  It was clear the aliens were fishing for information, perhaps even making use of the language barriers to extract
more
insight into the human mind, and yet ... they couldn't be blind to the literally priceless goods he could offer.  Did they want him to spell out what he could offer them?  Or were they testing him to see if he would offer them the equivalent of beads and rattles? 

He looked right at the alien’s beady eyes.  “What do you want?”

The alien’s hands twitched.  “The other humans have traded weapons,” he said.  “We will trade you land for weapons of our own.”

Anjeet kept the smile off his face.  “It will be our pleasure to trade weapons,” he said.  “We can offer you a demonstration of their power right now, if you wish.”

He wasn't surprised the talk had moved so quickly to weapons, not after the God-King had started to build a genuine empire.  Human weapons had tipped the balance of power so decisively in his favour that any state without access to such weapons, even primitive muskets and cannons, was doomed.  Anjeet was quite happy, in line with his orders, to supply as many human-designed weapons as his new friends could possibly want.  They would be enough to ensure their allies became much more powerful, even to the point of building an empire of their own. 

His lips twitched.  Furthermore, any human-designed weapon would require human-designed ammunition.  He could practically give the weapons away, in exchange for land, and then drive a hard bargain over each bullet.  And, as the weapons had been designed in India, they would have problems obtaining compatible ammunition from other human powers.

The aliens held another brief conference.  Their words would be recorded and fed through the translator, Anjeet knew, although the translations were very far from perfect.  This time, one of the aliens leaned up to the veiled alien and muttered to him, so quietly that Anjeet couldn't hear a single word.  The answer, if one came, was completely inaudible. 

“We would be happy to see a demonstration,” the lead alien said, finally.

Anjeet nodded to one of the soldiers, who had already been carefully briefed.  The young man unslung his carbine, then pointed it into the air, tracking one of the bird-like creatures as it swooped over the field.  He pulled the trigger - the Vesy jumped at the sound, hands reaching for weapons they were no longer carrying - and the bird-like creature disintegrated into a mass of feathers and bloody chunks of meat.  The Vesy seemed shocked, even though they had seen - or at least heard about - human weapons in action.  Perhaps it was the staggering accuracy of the weapons.  Everything Anjeet had heard about longbows suggested that accuracy wasn't one of their prime attributes. 

Although a skilled man might be able to shoot a bird out of the air
, he thought, as the aliens conferred once again. 
It would still take years of training for them to learn how to use a bow so effectively.

His eyes narrowed as he looked, once again, at the veiled figure.  He had shown no reaction at all; it might have been concealed by his robes, but Anjeet was starting to have a suspicion that the figure was quite familiar with the sound of guns.  Indeed, the more he looked at him, the more he wondered if he was staring at a human, rather than another alien.  No human could hope to walk like one of the aliens, not without breaking multiple bones, but the robes would conceal anything strange about his movements.

“We will talk,” the alien leader said, finally.

“We will,” Anjeet agreed.  He motioned towards his shuttle.  “Would you care to join us in the shade?”

He had been curious to see what the Vesy made of the shuttle, but it didn't look as though they were particularly impressed.  To them, he realised dully, the inner cabin looked like a soulless metal room.  Indeed, it was the sheer preponderance of metal that seemed to impress them the most.  Their world didn't lack for metal, according to the Russians, but gathering so much together in one place would be a remarkable feat, for them.  The shuttle would be literally priceless even if it was completely grounded, unable to return to the skies.

“We require five square kilometres of land,” he said, once the Vesy had explored the shuttle and squatted oddly on seats designed for human posteriors.  “For this, we are prepared to trade ...”

The Vesy might have been aliens, but they knew how to drive a hard bargain.  It took nearly two hours before they had agreed to sign over the land, in exchange for three thousand human rifles, machine guns and various other weapons, as well as 10’000 rounds of ammunition and free human passage through their territory.  The whole concept of an
exclusive
agreement seemed foreign to them - Anjeet had the feeling they would probably try to play other human factions off against the Indians, once other human factions arrived - but for the moment the Indians were the only humans who had made contact, save for the British.  And it didn't seem as through the British were interested in selling weapons.

Assuming they have them to sell
, Anjeet thought.  Fort Knight had looked tiny, when he’d peered down at the base from orbit, and had a mere Corporal in command. 
They didn't come here expecting to run into aliens, so they didn't bring anything they might have wanted to trade
.

“We will move the shuttles to the land as soon as possible,” Anjeet said, when the discussions were complete.  “And start ferrying down your payment immediately afterwards.”