"Do I also understand that the Teldaki were members of your empire? Their home world was in this region." The Dakar lowered his brow, "You have news of the Teldaki?" I stood and began to pace the room, "The Teldaki were conquered and enslaved by the Milgari. Several million are now servants to the Torrians, if you were unaware, many Teldaki perished during that explosion. We recently liberated another 120,000 from a mining operation. From what we were told the remaining Teldaki were executed before their cities were burned."
Lunge looked down in sadness, "I had traveled to their world many times. I had close business associates that I considered friends. I’m afraid our intelligence is lacking in many areas Mr. Grange. We have lived in fear of the Milgari for a decade and as such we have done a poor job of trying to infiltrate their star systems, many of which were at one time members of the Dakari Expansion."
I again sat on the bench and sighed, "We have all lost many people due to the atrocities of the Torrians and the Milgari. If you had names of your friends I could check our records to see if they were among those we rescued. The chances of that are slim, but we would be happy to check for you. We are both on the same side of this war Lunge. I hope your people are able to see that."
We continued our chat as we made our way towards the Dakari forward base. When we arrived I said goodbye to Lunge as I was escorted to another larger ship. I was seated at a table in front of four Dakar and the questioning began. "Mr. Grange, we are to expect that someone of your knowledge, someone who has accomplished what you have, is sitting on the front lines? It seems to me that a person of your stature would be too valuable for such a dangerous task."
I looked around the table at the stoic faces that were looking back, "Gentlemen, I have been told repeatedly that I should stay out of harm’s way. But I view myself as just another citizen, if I am not willing to risk my own life why should I have the power to risk that of another. As I stated in my earlier answers, I am not a representative for the Grid. I am a representative of a private nation, Defiant, and my governance is over a people who have all come to the fight willingly."
"We do not wish to rule the galaxy and we have no aspirations for expansion. We wish this war to end so that we can live our lives in peace, aspiring to the goals of the individual. And when that time of peace comes, we hope to trade freely and fairly with anyone who wishes the same. My life is of no more value than that of the custodian who cleans our ships. Without that member of our team, this war cannot be fought."
The four Dakar turned away and discussed my case with whispers. As I watched several heated exchanges went on between one Dakar and the other three. The first to turn back towards the table had a scowl on his face. The other three were pleasant.
Mr. Grange, after reviewing the report by Lunge, and after our inquiry here, we have decided that your request should be forwarded to our headquarters. The board of Admirals will review your request and make a determination from there. If they accept, you will be taken to Regents Tower where you will state your case before the Council of the Wise."
"As you can see from our inquiry here Mr. Grange, not everyone will be in agreement with what you propose. These are difficult times Mr. Grange and difficult decisions must be made. I personally find it hard to believe that you, one of four Humans we captured, have the authority to strike such a deal. But that decision will be left for a higher power to decide. Good luck with your venture Mr. Grange. I hope for your sake the Admirals find your proposal worthwhile."
The meeting adjourned and I was escorted to another ship. This time the travel to the Dakari military headquarters was done while sitting in a cell. My food supplies had been brought aboard for my sustenance. My time was spent pacing about the cell in thought about what else I could say. The Captain of the current vessel had no interest in a chat. Two weeks later we touched down and I was again escorted to another ship.
"Mr. Grange, you mentioned knowledge that the Milgari cannons have had a dramatic increase in power output. What makes you believe this to be true?" I told the Admirals of our attacks on the Milgari and the resulting damage to our shields. I then asked if he was willing to risk his fleet now that he had this knowledge. It drew an angry stare. "Admiral, I would like to ask a question of you. Do you trade with the Durians?"
The Admiral returned an inquisitive look. I continued, "I ask this of you because I believe they may have been the ones who sold that upgrade to the Torrians. We have encountered their ship being in the service of the Milgari several times. I have been witness to their trades with those in the Grid Force. If they are trading with you that means they are trading in weapons and shields with all sides… profiting from our demise."
"They recently supplied the Grid Force with a new shielding technology that would help to dissipate half of the energy from an ion bolt strike. I was wondering if they perhaps had sold you the same. We discovered that it had been applied to a Milgari frigate we had captured. If you have had dealings with them you may want to keep that fact in mind."
The Dakari Admirals dismissed me as they discussed their options. I was called back into the room 15 minutes later. "Mr. Grange, the decision has been made to forward your request to Regents Tower. We will be checking out the information you have provided. If any of that proves true, that information will be forwarded on to the Council. But if the information you have provided is false in any way Mr. Grange, expect the inquiries to be over."
I thanked the Admirals and assured them that the information was accurate. I was then escorted to a third ship where the ride was again spent in a holding cell with little to no external stimulus. I found myself happy to face the Council if for no other reason than to no longer be in a cell.
Regents Towers was named after a dust cloud formation that was visible in the night skies over the planet Hegomy. It was a stunning view as I rode in a small transport from the space dock to Council of the Wise building in the city central. Wassing was a city of blue skyscrapers with sculptured decks protruding from many a room. The people in and around the Council were neatly dressed and courteous. My time for questioning had come.
"Council members and associated guests, we have before us a representative of the nation of Defiant. He is offering cooperation in the war against the Torrians and the Milgari. He also offers trade relations and the sharing of intelligence. Two sub-inquiries have been conducted with only a single negative vote. The first order of the day will be a speech by the Human after which the floor will be opened for questions. Please extend your normal courtesies."
I stepped up to a podium before 120 council members and an audience of more than 500 guests. I placed my hands on the podium and leaned in to an oddly shaped microphone. An assistant quickly grabbed my upper arm and pulled me gently backward. Another then stepped up to the podium.
"We apologize for any inconvenience but this has been ordered as a closed door meeting. The Council will be meeting with our guest in private. Please exit the guest chambers in a kind and courteous fashion. Thank you."
My opening speech was delayed by 20 minutes as the chamber cleared. When the doors had been closed the assistant gestured for me to return to the microphone. I stepped up and once again placed my hands on the podium.
"Councilmen of the Dakari Expansion, I stand before you today in the spirit of freedom, the freedom for our peoples to live their lives in peace, the freedom to determine our own destinies. We have a common enemy, the Torrians and their henchmen the Milgari, an enemy that has taken much from each of us, an enemy that has committed atrocities beyond the pale."
I continued to make my case for another 15 minutes before resting and stating my closing argument. "… And because of this I stand before this great chamber today. Our people need your assistance. In return we offer ours. This constant threat to both of our peoples must come to an end. Through the spirit of cooperation, I believe this enemy can be defeated once and for all. I believe that freedom and prosperity await both of our peoples once that common goal has been achieved. I thank you for providing me with this opportunity before you. Please ask any questions you may have, I will do my best to answer them in to the best of my ability. Again, thank you."
The chamber was silent. The assistant then stood at the podium to direct the questioning. "Please use your designators to add your name to the queue. The questions will be asked in the order received. Please be courteous and limit the questions to a single succinct question. Our time limit for today’s session has been suspended given its gravity. All normal chamber rules apply. The questioning today will begin with Councilman Walther Maldoon…"
Walther Maldoon… he was as ornery and outspoken as they came. He stood at his council desk and stared into the camera. The council chamber was a large circular room. The council seats lined three quarters of area with the main podium jutting out onto a platform that stood 100 meters above the floor below. The guest seating in the area below the council and the podium sat empty and dark. As I stepped back from the podium I looked down through the transparent floor. For only a moment I had a feeling of vertigo.
Walther Maldoon spoke, "Why is it that every six months we get a new alien in here trying to sell us a load? Are we that gullible? Are we some green star system society that all live under a rock? This… Human… as he calls himself, comes here to tell us he can solve all our problems. Humans? They don’t even have a planet of their own!"
"These… creatures… they pull up and run when times get tough. He even says they have been doing this for 1,000 years! And now, we are supposed to believe that suddenly they can defeat the Torrians? Nonsense! This is a weak species looking for help. Well I would like to offer my help. I’ll help him into a transport and help to send him packing!"
The council chamber erupted in talk. The moderator moved quickly to calm the room. Foori Metas was the next to have the floor. "Mr. Maldoon, as I am sure you know, one plus one equals two. It does not equal one half!" The chamber once again erupted in comment. Flori Metas raised her hand to quiet her colleagues. "This Human… has come to us to offer assistance in this war. Do we need it? Can we fight this war ourselves? Well the answer is YES!"
"But perhaps we should take a different view of this offer than that of my colleague Walther Maldoon. Perhaps this is an opportunity for the Humans to take losses instead of our own people! Let’s think about this… for every Milgari ship they destroy that is one less that we have to fight, that is at least one less Dakar and one less ship that we have to place in danger!"
"It would seem to me that the offer the Human is proposing works in our favor. And I don’t see where Mr. Muldoon gets his concern from. If the Humans are so much weaker than the Expansion, what do we have to worry about once the war is over? We will have our star systems back, they will be happily left alone!"
The chamber once again erupted in comment. Several of the members were soon involved in a scuffle which quickly turned violent. I was shocked at the beating that ensued. An older Dakar was rapping a younger member with his steel cane. After the third strike to his head the young Dakar grabbed his attacker around the waste and picked him up. He was slung over his shoulder as he walked down the aisle beside them.
The old Dakar struggled and continued to swing his cane as the young Dakar came to a railing. With a sudden thrust the old Dakar was thrown over the rail. He plummeted to his death the 100 meter distance to the chamber floor below. I looked around at the other chamber members, most were oblivious to the altercation and the death of the old Dakar. When the crowd had once again settled a new Dakar stepped up and took the dead councilman’s seat.
I had a sudden realization that maybe the Dakar were not a species to be allied with. I wondered if I would have a similar fate if I too got into a heated exchange with a Dakar. The thought then occurred to me that the crowd might be easily swayed with the right approach. In a moment of brilliance I stepped back up to the podium and banged my fist. The chamber went silent as many of the council members looked on in stunned silence.
"Members of this council! These are grave times for each of our species. Much like the politicians at home I am sure there are many of you who see alliance with an alien species as something that disgusts you, after all, who is this alien that he thinks he can stand before us and command our attention, an alien that has yet to even earn our respect!"
The chatter in the chamber again rose as I paused for effect. I slammed my fist down on the podium for a second time, "I am Don Grange! I am a warrior for my people as was my father before me! I have fought beside men who have died with the belief that these Torrians who plague us should be annihilated!" The chamber again came to life. But the councilmen were no longer leering, I had their full attention.
"I would be honored to stand and fight beside each one of you against our common foe!" I reached out and grabbed the assistant standing next to me and locked arms. "Why do we squabble amongst ourselves here today when the enemy still controls our lives. We must join together and force an end to this war. We must stand together and crush the spines of the greedy and hateful Torrians. It’s time we stood and reclaimed the properties and freedoms that are rightfully ours!"
For several seconds the chamber remained silent. I pushed the assistant away, banged my fist hard on the podium three times and then thrust it into the air, standing as in defiance of the Torrians. The council again remained silent for several seconds before a group of Dakar on the right hand side all stood at once and raised their fists.
It was a spark that ignited a flame. Other members of the council then began to rise with their fists in the air. When the number of fists passed two thirds of the chamber I began to pump my arm up and down as I yelled into the microphone, "War! War! War!" In seconds the council was united, their fists pumping into the air as they too chanted "War!"
The Dakar were a species that responded to strength and boldness. I wondered if with a fiery enough speech could I convince them to throw each other from the chamber rail. It was a strange culture, but it was one that the nation of Defiant was now allied with. I turned to the assistant and smacked him on the shoulder, "Let’s go have lunch!" He stepped back and gave me a strange look.
The council meeting was soon adjourned and I was escorted into a nearby conference room where eight members of the council were seated. "Mr. Grange, welcome. My name is Fewish Minter. I am the current Patta of the Council of the Wise. Please be seated. We wish to discuss our cooperation with you and your people. Before we join in any type of alliance we thought it might be prudent to limit our entanglement to a single operation."
"We wish to recapture the Posad world of Mortel. The Emerald mines are of a particular value to the Dakari Expansion and we wish to regain control of them." I wondered if liberating the Posad would mean that they were trading one task master for another. Mortel belonged to the Posad and not the Dakari Expansion, but I was not in a position to argue, the Dakar would be an improvement over the Torrians.
"Mr. Minter. Defiant would be willing to commit our troops to the ground if your ships can command the space surrounding Mortel. The garrison of troops, as we have seen on other mining colonies, is generally limited to several thousand troops. We will liberate the miners and then leave the planet for your people to come in and assist the Posad in their recovery."
"While our ships are capable of taking control of the Mortel system, I believe it would be a show of our trust to take on the dirty part of an assault that would include hand to hand combat. If these terms are agreeable, plans will be put in place. I would add that at this time we do not wish any transfer of our technologies until such time as a level of trust has developed that warrants such cooperation.
I am sure the Dakar people have many secrets and many technological advances that we do not. I would also believe that you think the same of us. I would recommend that you re-evaluate your relationship with the Durians. I believe they are playing both sides of this war for profit. We caught them involved in a large trade of Tantric ore with the Milgari. That ore was confiscated and is one reason that the Milgari have pulled back. They are struggling to replace any ships lost.
Fewish Minter then spoke, "Yes, about that, it would seem that your strategy of denying them ore has created a problem for us. With their fleets pulled back deep in the Pollus sector our conflict with them has not only grown but it has become both complex and difficult. This may have been good for your people, but it has not been good for ours."
We were quietly amassing a force to deal with the Torrians. With the pullback we have now become a concern, which has in turn brought the full attention of the Torrians that we hoped to avoid. This is why many of the council members have grave concerns about interacting with Humans. Your actions have been a hindrance to our goals.
I raised my right hand, partially covering my mouth as I thought about Fewish Minter’s words. "Mr. Minter. I understand the difficulties we may have caused, but you must understand that we could not sit silent and allow the Milgari and the Torrians to overrun our position. We are not willing to compromise our freedoms."
Fewish Minter then raised his hand. "Mr. Grange, you do realize that if your people decided to flee to another sector, the Torrians and Milgari would follow. They would leave this sector and thus would bring an end to this war for us. We were building up for just such an eventuality when your Tantric strategy changed this war. We must now fight the full force of our enemy to recover that which is rightfully ours."
I again paused in thought for several seconds before speaking, "I can see your reasoning and its merits Mr. Minter. Things are different for us this time. The Milgari have a new more powerful weapon, a weapon that will allow them to attack our station from a distance. It is a very real possibility that our drives could be damaged and the station unable to flee."
"If the drive technology on the Grid were to fall into the hands of the Torrians, they could easily control this arm of the galaxy. Even with the powerful ships you now have fighting, those ships would be worthless against a foe that could attack any point of your empire, with devastating results, before your fleet had a chance to react."
"In an instant they could have 20 of the massive ships sitting half a light-year away. Those ships could easily destroy your cities, factories and stations and then be gone before your fleet had a chance to engage them. And with the prize of our drive system in their possession, they would stop at nothing to dominate and subdue all of your star systems. Those same massive ships can then be used to destroy your fleet from afar."
Fewish Minter then rose and spoke as he slowly paced the room, "Mr. Grange, you pose a good argument. And I will give you credit for the adjustment you made out there in the chamber. The Dakar are an arrogant species. They react to bold gestures in a positive manner while a kind and courteous speaker will be chastised and berated."
"I was impressed with your sudden change, but I do not believe that is who you are. I also believe the remainder of your Human counterparts to be indecisive and weak. We believe the open nature of your Grid will be its downfall. We have gathered information on your species over the past decade Mr. Grange."
"It is one of the reasons I have difficulty believing that you are a representative for the Grid as well as your nation of Defiant as you call it. We have seen the results of your actions in our space, but there is no indication of those actions on your station. It would seem that you and your Defiant people have acted on your own."
"I will recommend this first joint action to the council. If all goes well we can again meet to discuss a further action. If it does not go well, we will be having a much less pleasant conversation with you Mr. Grange, much less pleasant. I will recall the council and you will know the results of our decision within a week."
"Until such time as a council decision is made, you will be our guest. Hegemony has a number of natural wonders to be seen. You will be escorted to those locations, but there will be absolutely no contact or conversation with any Dakar citizen. That will include your escorts Mr. Grange."
"The courtesy we are extending comes with restrictions, if those rules are violated, any discussions will be ended, leaving us with the much less pleasant conversation I have just mentioned. You may observe the natural wonders in silence. When you return, you will have our decision." A hand of an escort was then placed on my shoulder.
I was taken to a suite in the council chambers building where I was offered a moment to bath. My Human stench was offensive to the Dakar, a people who by their own right were extremely clean. With my hygiene in order I was then flown to the first of the natural wonders of Hegemony.
Violar Falls was a majestic 700 meter tall natural waterfall. From the top of the falls I was flown to a building at the bottom and then taken through a tunnel to a massive cave structure behind the falls. The cave held the standard scenery of stalagmites and stalactites as well as crystal clear calm pools of water. I had always enjoyed the scenes of nature when visiting planets. One day, I hoped that Jarhead would offer natural wonders of its own.
From Violar falls I was taken to a park of the highest mountain on Hegemony. Its lower regions stretched down to a vast sea. Green tree lines pushed upward to 2 kilometers where barren granite took over up to the summer snow line at 6 kilometers. The massive peak of Mount Jurdiene then rose another 3 kilometers up into the heavens.
The tour continued for the remainder of the week as the Council of the Wise met to determine my fate. Upon my return the members of the high council were again seated in the conference room. I was escorted in and asked to sit.
"Mr. Grange, after much deliberation, some of it otherwise unpleasant, we have decided to accept your offer. You will be escorted back to your ship and returned to your people. We understand that there are great distances to be traveled. Therefore, we have allowed 74 of your calendar days before we assemble for an attack on Mortel."
"We will be expecting you to return for the ground assault portion of this battle Mr. Grange. If the date is missed we will proceed without you, but keep this in mind Mr. Grange, from that point on any encounters between our people will be hostile. If you hold up your end of the bargain we can again meet to discuss further cooperation."
As the meeting adjourned I had one final request for the Dakar, "Would it be possible for the Captain who first brought me in to be the one that takes me back to my people? His fair dealing with me brought with it a semblance of trust. I would prefer to be returned by his hand if that can be arranged." Fewish Minter stood and gestured towards the door. "We will provide such Mr. Grange. We look forward to doing further business with you when and if that time comes."