A Savage War Of Peace (Ark Royal Book 5) (31 page)

“Miss Schneider,” a female voice said, as she clambered out of the helicopter.  A young dark-skinned woman, no older than Penny herself, was standing just past the safe line, smiling at her.  “I’m Panda, Special Assistant to Ambassador Begum.  If you’ll come with me ...?”

“Of course,” Penny said.  She couldn't help feeling a little dowdy as she eyed the Indian girl.  Panda wore a long sari that both concealed her body and hinted at her curves.  In many ways, it was more seductive than if she’d been naked.  “I was wondering why I was invited here?”

“I believe Ambassador Begum likes your work,” Panda said, as she turned and led the way towards the nearest building.  “She chose you specifically.”

Penny frowned, but - suspecting she wouldn't get any straighter answers - concentrated on looking around the Indian base.  It wasn't just more military than Fort Knight - everyone she saw seemed to be wearing uniforms, save for Panda herself - it was completely free of any alien presence.  There were no Vesy within the base, as far as she could see; no sign that it was anything, but a human compound.  She could easily believe that the Vesy didn't exist, if she hadn't already met them.  The base was a piece of India far from home.

The interior of the base was depressingly akin to British prefabricated buildings, without even a half-hearted attempt to make it liveable.  Penny had lived in an apartment block put together from prefabricated components and it had been dull, even though some of the younger children had hung their drawings and paintings from the walls.  Here, the Indians seemed not to care about decorating their base.  Perhaps they intended to move on at some later date.

“We have a recorder for you, if you didn’t bring one,” Panda said, as they stepped into a large hall.  “Did you?”

“I did,” Penny said.  “It should be fine, I think.”

Just in case, she checked her recorder, perched on her shoulder.  It was working fine, save for a message stating it couldn’t establish a direct link with the orbital network or any nearby data processing nodes.  Penny wasn't too surprised, even though it was worrying.  Military bases tended to frown on anyone sending signals from within their defences and employed jammers to make it impossible.  But the Indians, if she recorded something they didn't like, could easily confiscate and destroy her recorder before letting her go.

If they ever do
, she thought.  Kidnapping a reporter would cause problems for India, she was sure, but how many?  Would the British Government really go to bat for a reporter? 
I might stay in their jails for the rest of my life
.

She pushed the thought aside as a handful of Indians, led by Ambassador Rani Begum, stepped into the hall.  Up close, it was clear that the Ambassador and Panda looked remarkably alike; indeed, they were close enough to be sisters.  Or was the Ambassador Panda’s mother?  A wealthy woman in Britain could remain young, at least in appearance, right up until the day she died.  There was no reason the Indians couldn't do the same.

“Take a seat,” Panda urged.  A couple of aliens followed the Indians, both wearing the gold and purple robes that designated them as religious and political leaders.  “We’re about to begin.”

Penny shot her a sharp look, then sat as the diplomats mounted the stage.  Someone moved behind her; she looked round to see a couple of Indian reporters, all wearing recorders of their own.  She knew one of them by reputation - he was known for serving as a government shill - while the other was a stranger to her.  There didn't seem to be any other reporters invited at all, save for Penny herself.  It was an oddly worrying thought.

Rani stepped up to the podium and smiled, her gaze resting on Penny for a long chilling moment.  No matter how young she looked, and she
could
easily have passed for Panda’s sister, Penny was sure the Ambassador was a formidable woman.  But then, as an ambassador and government representative, she would have to be.

“India has a long history with colonialism,” Rani said.  “Our country was invaded, our cultures were challenged and our resources were stripped from us.  These experiences have given us a burning desire to prevent their repetition.  India will not be turned into a colony again - and nor will anyone else.  Today, we have signed an agreement with a cluster of Vesy city-states that have effectively become the most powerful state on the planet.

“This agreement is a mutual defence treaty against intrusions from those who would see the Vesy ripped apart, their unique culture turned into a pale copy of humanity.  Should there be any direct involvement in Vesy affairs, by anyone, India is committed to use all necessary force to defend the Vesy against outsiders.”

Penny stared at her.  They’d done
what
?

She thought, rapidly.  There was no way the Vesy could assist the Indians, if they came under attack from other human powers.  That meant the Indians had committed themselves to defending the Vesy in exchange for ...
nothing
.  There was no point in a mutual defence treaty if one side couldn't uphold its obligations ...

Or was there something else at stake?

“It is our duty, as a civilised nation, to take a stand against colonialism in all its forms,” Rani continued.  “We will not sit by and allow the Vesy to be exploited ...”

Chapter Thirty

Joelle forced herself to remain calm as she stepped into the empty conference room and poured herself a mug of tea.  Alcohol would have been better, considering the shock she’d had, but she didn't dare get drunk.  At best, it would end her career; at worst, it would trigger off a major war.  She sat down as soon as she could and focused her mind.  The Indian gambit had turned everything upside down, once again.  It was quite likely that the consensus she’d put together was about to come apart at the seams.

The American and French ambassadors entered, followed by a handful of minor representatives.  Neither Italy nor Turkey had bothered to send formal ambassadors, but their representatives had insisted on being included in the meeting and Joelle hadn't been able to refuse.  Everyone needed to attend.  Hell, she hadn’t been sure the
Indians
would be attending until Ambassador Begum’s helicopter had landed at Fort Knight.  She pasted a calm expression on her face as Rani Begum entered the room, then took her seat at the rear of the table.  Joelle couldn't help noticing that the Turkish representative sat down next to her, while the Chinese ambassador sat in the middle.

He’s doing a balancing act
, she thought, grimly.  What could India offer the Chinese in exchange for neutrality?  They’d clearly found
something
.  And
so the Big Five start to fray
.

“I believe we can dispense with the formalities,” she said, once the door was closed.  “Can I ask, Ambassador Begum, just what you were thinking?”

Rani met her eyes, evenly.  “We have signed a mutual defence agreement with the Flowered Clan, as our Vesy allies wish to be called,” she said.  “We are committed to come to their defence, should they be attacked by a human power, and they are committed to come to
our
defence, should we be attacked by a Vesy power.”

Joelle thought rapidly.  That actually made a great deal of sense, assuming the Indians didn't want to send more troops to Vesy.  They’d have additional forces they could call on, if necessary, while they could ... discourage any human power from intervening with weapons the Vesy couldn't hope to match.  Given how much firepower the Indians had in the system, they would probably win the first battle ... but then, it would probably start a general - and thus unpredictable - war.

They’re gambling that we wouldn't risk engaging their ships here and triggering a free-for-all
, she thought. 
And they might well be right, because that would leave humanity vulnerable to the Tadpoles.

“Your governments have caused the Vesy considerable problems,” Rani continued, with the air of a woman making a speech.  “They are quite happy to work with us on even terms, but they resent, quite badly, humans treating them like children.  Indeed, they were less than happy to be told that their gods don’t exist.  The long term implications of a single idiot telling them off for being what they are might well be disastrous.

“We, by contrast, have been treating them as equals from the start.  We have understood their needs and wants, we have understood the problems facing them ... and we have carefully refrained from doing something that might offend them.  Please, tell me; just how happy would your people be if an alien race, armed with god-like power, told you that your religions were completely wrong?”

“That isn't the issue here,” Schultz said.  “The issue is that it was agreed that no power would sign any political agreements with the Vesy.”

“And that was a mistake,” Rani said.  “You are aware, of course, that the Russians seriously destabilised their society.  Their old balance of power is gone.  The city-states that secure help from humanity will be the city-states that dominate the foreseeable future, at least on Vesy itself.  They are not stupid children, Ambassador.  I dare say they understand the realities of the universe far better than the American electorate.”

Ouch
, Joelle thought.  But it wasn't true, not since the Age of Unrest.  Western populations had had a rather nasty wake-up call. 
We understood the realities of power much better at the end of the 21st century than we did at the start
.

“Furthermore,” Rani continued, “India never signed any such agreements.  The
Great
Powers assumed that they could decree a thing and it would be so.  We did not sign such agreements, therefore we do not consider them binding.”

She smiled at him, coldly.  “You treat the Vesy as children,” she pointed out.  “Children, who can have adults run their lives; children, who cannot be trusted to make their own decisions; children, who can have their questions silenced with a simple assertion that their parents say so.  We treated them as adults, right from the start, and we have reaped the rewards.”

“There is no way your agreements with them are anything, but one-sided,” Barouche pointed out.  “They will be your slaves when they become wholly dependent on you for ammunition.”

“They know it,” Rani said.  “Don’t you understand?  They are not a hypocritical species.  They do not waste their time coming up with justifications for stealing something by naked force.  They understand that we are trading openly, without trying to conceal what we’re doing behind a fig leaf of respectability and they appreciate it.  You ... you keep talking to them like children who cannot be trusted to handle the truth.”

And the British public wouldn't trust them to handle the truth
, Joelle thought.  She couldn't help feeling that Rani had a point.  The aliens had made it clear, more than once, that they preferred blunt honesty to diplomacy. 
But how do we explain anything else to the folks at home
?

Rani leaned forward.  “The Indian Government has recognised the Flowered Clan as the effective government of Vesy,” she continued.  “They have a united force that no single city-state can match and, thanks to us, the training and equipment to crush resistance.  With that in mind, we have signed a second treaty with them, granting us settlement rights on Vesy II and ...”

“Out of the question,” Schultz snapped.  Joelle was equally shocked.  “They do
not
hold the entire planet!”

“The British Government would agree,” Joelle said, backing him up despite the chill running down her spine.  The Indians, it seemed, had covered all the bases.  If the Flowered Clan was the sole representative of the planet, their claim to Vesy II would stick; if not, they could set up a base on Vesy II anyway, relying on the Terra Nova precedent to make it stick.  “There is no way we could grant total recognition to the Flowered Clan.”

She frowned inwardly as the argument raged around the table.  Barouche objected - the French wouldn't accept it either - but both the Chinese and Turkish representatives kept their mouths shut.  That bothered her more than she cared to admit.  The Chinese might be trying to remain neutral, which was understandable, but the Turks had just invested a considerable amount of money in snatching mining rights to a whole
cluster
of asteroids.  They had every reason in the world to object, strongly, to anything that created a unified government for Vesy. 

“Let me put something forward,” she said, tapping the table.  An uneasy silence fell.  “This is the first system we have discovered that has evolved an intelligent race.”

“Tadpole Prime,” the Turk sneered.

“The Tadpoles discovered us, not the other way around,” Joelle said.  “Furthermore,
this
intelligent race is largely incapable of defending itself.  The Tadpoles could tell us to go to hell and make it stick, if they liked; the Vesy can do no such thing.  There is nothing they can do to stop us invading their world and enslaving them.  How many books and movies have we seen where a more advanced race sets up shop on Earth and starts eating humans for lunch?”

She paused.  “The only restraint on humanity, here and now, is humanity itself.”

“A pretty speech,” Rani said.  “But it won’t impress the
Vesy
.”

Joelle ignored her, somehow.  “We can agree, I believe, that we can have transit rights through the system without going anywhere near Vesy or its asteroid clusters,” she said, softly.  “There’s no reason we can't set up a cloudscoop for refuelling starships in orbit around the gas giant - and there is absolutely no risk of sucking the gas giant bare.  Hell, Saturn alone provides more than enough HE3 to keep Earth’s civilisation going for millions of years.

“This system is
theirs
.  We shouldn't plunder it, particularly when there’s no
need
to plunder it - and for what?  What can we find here we can't get at a million other star systems?  Let us leave this system’s resources in trust for the Vesy, when they finally climb up into space and meet us as equals.  They can settle the question of who rules this system without our input.”

The Turk scowled.  “The precedent of Terra Nova ...”

“The precedent of Terra Nova applies to a system that was settled from Earth, not a system that developed an intelligent race of its own,” Joelle snapped.  “There is nothing, save for their own disunity, that prevents the people of Terra Nova from developing their own space-based industry.  They do not need to learn to understand the theories they need to understand the theories they need to understand how the Puller Drive works, let alone the drive fields we use to move ships from tramline to tramline.  And, every year, thousands of them leave the planet for somewhere more congenial.

“The Vesy have none of those options.  They will leave their planet, one day, and what will they find?  They will discover that the resources they need to bootstrap themselves into a spacefaring race, an interstellar power, have been stolen by us!”

She looked from face to face, quietly gauging their opinions.  “I understand that the World Court might have handled this situation badly,” she added, addressing Rani.  It was true enough; the World Court had wasted time trying to sort out who, if anyone, should be charged with breaking the non-interference edict, while the Indians and other minor powers had been plotting how best to take advantage of the situation.  “But if you give a damn about colonialism, you should consider that perhaps the best response to the situation is to back off and let the Vesy sort things out for themselves.”

Rani opened her mouth, but Joelle spoke over her.  “And if you can't bring yourself to abandon your friends on the surface, even if we do the same, then at least consider leaving their asteroids and planets alone.  Let them have their resources, their rightful inheritance, when they finally climb into space.

“We represent all the powers involved in the system,” she concluded.  “
We
can agree, now, that the asteroids are to be left alone ...”

“My government will not accept that argument,” the Turk drawled.  “We claimed the asteroids first, Ambassador.  I don’t think we will merely abandon them in exchange for ... what?  What do you have to offer us in exchange for giving up our rightful claim?”

He went on before anyone else could say a word.  “You are bringing this up now, I believe, because we did something you never thought to do,” he added.  “If you want us to give up our rights, you will have to pay for it.  Your government can argue the matter with my government.”

“It would seem to be too late,” Rani said coolly, “to recognise that you
might
have made a mistake.  You and the other Big Five put together an agreement without consulting us, then expected us to stick to it.  India’s position is, and remains, that we are not obligated to honour any agreement we did not sign.  We signed no agreements with you, Ambassador, but we
did
sign an agreement with the Flowered Clans.  Those agreements will be honoured.”

Her eyes swept the room, then fixed on Joelle.  “Your nation could have acted faster, if it had truly wanted to allow the Vesy to develop in peace,” she pointed out.  “You could have claimed the system for yourself and kept a firm quarantine in place.  Instead, you looked for advantages, just as we did.  Do not blame us, please, for doing the same.  I am not impressed by your attempt to move the goalposts, as you would put it, when you happen to be losing the game.  We have no intention of abandoning our claims on Vesy in exchange for vague pleasantries about the moral and ethical dilemmas faced by people unwilling to do what it takes to secure their positions of power.”

“There is no way we can recognise your ...
clients
as the sole rulers of Vesy,” Joelle snapped.