An Accidental Alliance (33 page)

     
“Mister Galactic?” the green man asked, confused.

     
“I understand none of you seem to like giving your names to us mere Earthlings,” Park explained, “and I have to call you something.”

     
“My name is Dannet Nrenth of Deensee,” the suprahuman replied a little stiffly. “I would not expect you to know it, but my father is the Lord of Dennsee. You are Black Captain McArrgh?”

     
“Parker Holman, actually,” Park laughed, holding out his hand. Dannet Nrenth accepted it briefly. “Call me Park if you like. I’d love to hear more about your world and family, but we may have others who need rescue. We can talk later.”

     
An hour later another dozen survivors had been collected and Park was trying to decide what to do with them, while Velvet’s crew finally got to work repairing the satellite. “Park, we have to take them back to Earth,” Iris told him. “The other ship refuses to come back for them. The captain doesn’t trust us to respect a flag of truce.”

     
“Lord Dannet,” Park asked, “do you think you could have a talk with him?”

     
“It’s just Dannet, sir,” Dannet replied. Once Park had grown accustomed to Dannet’s skin color, he realized that the man was fairly young – quite possibly only twenty years of age – and took himself far too seriously. Park supposed if taken hostage after an extremely brief space battle he might not be quick to make friends with his captors either.

     
“Dannet then,” Park nodded easily. “We aren’t really equipped to take hostages nor is that our inclination. We’d much rather return you to your base.”

     
Dannet looked at him strangely before replying, “I can try.” The young green man called the remaining Galactic ships but there was no response. He tried in several languages ending up in a frustrated shout. Finally he turned to Park and told him. “It is possible they think I am being coerced.”

     
“Fine,” Park shrugged, “Garnore, please hail the base on Luna and tell them we will be returning these people as soon as we can land there.”

     
“They won’t like that,” Dannet predicted.

     
“Why not?” Park asked.

     
“Ah, er,” Dannet muttered embarrassedly. “Well, you know. You’re from Earth and, well…”

     
“They’re afraid of catching our cooties?” Park prompted him.

     
“What?”

     
“We’re unclean and unfit for polite society, maybe?” Park translated.

 
    
“Well, I wouldn’t quite put it that way,” Dannet replied uncomfortable. “I mean… Look, I really must thank you on behalf of us all for your rescue and generous terms.”

     
“I didn’t offer you much,” Park told him.

     
“You rescued us and promised our safety,” Dannet replied quickly, and then blurted, “It’s more than we expected from pirates…. Uh, I mean…”

     
“What?” Park pressed. “Barbarians? Savages from a forgotten past, perhaps? Look here, Dannet of Dennsee, we’re people, same as you. That includes both the humans on this ship and our friends and allies the Mer. Thinking, breathing people. We would like to think we are honest and honorable people as well and if we are pirates, it’s because you Galactics want us to be. But just keep this in mind; we know what pirates are and if your people want piracy in the space lanes, just remember it was your choice, not ours. You asked for it.”

     
“Sir?” Garnore spoke up. “Luna base replied that none of their ships will come and pick up the hostages and if
Trenisi
dares to approach, all their ships will open fire.”

     
“What?” Dannet asked incredulously. “They only have two ships left;
Vigilant
and
Starwing
. And they’re both damaged.”

     
“I don’t think you’re supposed to have told us that,” Park advised him. “Still we may have gotten lucky and the base could well be defended.” He looked at Dannet and was unable to read the man’s face. “Very well,” Park sighed, sitting down at his over-stuffed captain’s chair. “Patch me through, please.”

     
“All set, Skipper,” Garnore reported a moment later.

     
Park took a deep breath and announced, “Attention Luna Base or whatever you call yourselves. We have your people on board
Trenisi
. There were some casualties and we are sorry for that, but the survivors are well and as comfortable as we can make them. They will be fed and housed in civilized accommodations but we would prefer to simply return them.”

     
A high pitched voice replied, “Stay away from the Moon, pirate! No indigenes of Earth are allowed here or anywhere in space.”

     
“Well, we’re here now and we are not going away,” Park retorted.

     
“Park,” Iris informed him. “Four ships have just launched from Earth.” Park knew that was the entire Mer fleet at the moment and, unlike
Trenisi
, they were unarmed, but in a moment he made a decision. “Luna Base we have reinforcements on their way. You have two damaged vessels. Ours are all intact and unharmed. You’re out-numbered and out-gunned. Here are our terms.

     
“One,” Park continued. “I cannot repeat this enough. Your base is on Earth territory, human territory which we cheerfully share with the Mer. Two. You have been trespassing on our territory for a very long time and we expect you to pay your rent retroactive to the establishment of your base. I imagine that roughly coordinates with the establishment of the so-called Covenant. If you do not pay the back rent you are hereby evicted and have thirty Earth days to vacate the premises and, in fact the entire Solar System.

     
“Three,” he went on, “the Covenant is hereby null and void. It was illegally drafted as you are not the owners and protectors of the Earth’s biosphere. We are. And Four, you have attacked our ships and our people in a barbarous and unprovoked manner. You have unjustly imprisoned two sentient races for no good cause other than your own racial prejudice. You owe restitution to the Mer and the Atackack to be determined by the injured parties later. You may now signal your surrender.”

     
“Pirate, whoever you are,” came the high pitched response, “You have not the right to dictate such terms. You will stand down and await our orders…”

     
“Negative!” Park shouted back, grateful for the full duplexing abilities of the Mer radios. He could shout over the other speaker and make him listen. “I have the right of conquest. I have the right of prior occupation. I have the right of ownership. You have none of that. I understand your weapons become ineffective at a range of three hundred and fifty kleckamers.” Park knew that from a previous briefing with the Mer. He was uncertain just how long a kleckamer was, but seemed to be something between a kilometer and a mile. “Our weapons have a greater range and we can simply bombard you until you either surrender or die”

     
“Park! You wouldn’t!” Dannet exclaimed. “That’s barbaric.”

     
“And pitting three armed ships against one is civilized, is it?” Park turned on him. “We clearly stated our peaceful intentions and you just didn’t care, did you? Not until we shot back. You thought three balls of plasma would destroy us, didn’t you? Never thought we might be too smart to fall for the same trick twice. Well, Dannet of Dennsee, you and your lords and masters screwed up big time.”

     
“Screwed up?” Dannet asked awash to the term in English.

   
  
“You look like an intelligent kid,” Park told him condescendingly. “I’m sure you can figure it out from its context. We won, you lost. How would you explain it?”

     
“Better fire power, sir?” Dannet guessed.

     
“Using weapons that were obsolete two hundred and fifty million years ago,” Park told him. “Keep that in mind when you think about your fellow Galactics.”

     
“Why do you keep calling us Galactics?” Dannet asked.

     
“It’s what the Mer call your confederated government,” Park told him. “You have another name?”

     
“The Alliance of Confederated Worlds,” Dannet replied.

     
“And doesn’t that just trip off the tongue,” Park returned. “Well, to each his own. In any case we’re acting in our own self defense. You were not. All we were trying to do was establish a more efficient world communications network.” Park decided not to mention their eventual plan to break the blockade the Galactics, or the Alliance of Confederated Worlds, if they would rather, held on the Earth. “And what did we get for that? Not one but two unprovoked attacks. So don’t you go feeling all superior over the barbarian pirates. We did not fire until you did. That was an act of war. I warned whichever squadron leader I spoke to before he decided to open fire.”

     
“That would have been Captain Harroi,” Dannet supplied, “of
Watcher
. He was the senior ship captain on the Moon. I guess I am now, and I’m two ranks lower than he was.”

     
“So
Watcher
was the lead ship, I take it,” Park nodded. “I see it does not always pay to lead the charge.”

     
“You were not aiming at him in particular?” Dannet asked.

     
“I was aiming at all of you,” Iris informed him from her console. “He just got the phaser in the face, is all.”

     
“What’s a phaser?” Dannet asked, but no one answered him.

     
“Sir, the station on Luna seems to have been turned off without warning,” Garnore reported. “There was a blank signal coming in, but then there were a few shouts in a language I didn’t understand, followed by nothing.”

     
“Perhaps they are considering their options,” Park conjectured. “We can afford to give them a few hours to think it over. Velvet and her team are still working on the commsat and the other four ships won’t be able to rendezvous for hours yet. It appears we have a bit of time now, Dannet. Tell me about Dennsee, if you please.”

     
Marisea had barely taken a moment to glance at the varied Galactics in the after cabin before following Velvet and the others though the airlock on their mission to repair the satellite. However, once the repair work was done, she had the time and inclination to study these people of whom she had only previously heard of.

     
There was no one with formal medical training on board
Trenisi
, but everyone had some first aid instruction before being permitted into the human-Mer space program so Marisea started helping others in attending to the wounded. Most of the Galactics were only bruised. As all
Trenisi
’s crew were rapidly learning, injuries in space were usually either fatal or minor. The few worse than minor injuries were mostly broken bones caused by the sudden demise of Watcher.

     
As the young Mer helped Iris and Velvet make their hostages comfortable as best they could, she got her first real looks at the mysterious Galactics she had heard about all her life. What she saw were not the monsters she had expected, but people. They were people, in fact, who looked more like the humans than not, in spite of additional limbs and digits or the odd colors of their skin, hair and eyes.

     
“Marisea,” Iris called her out of her reverie. “This is Sartena.” She indicated a woman with bright red hair cut in page boy style and deep orange skin. She also had long pointed ears and thin round fleshy protrusions that stuck up about three inches from the back of her head and ended in small violet balls. “She’s developing a fever and I’m very worried.”

     
“Hi, Sartena,” Marisea told the orange woman with gentle politeness. “I’m Marisea Waisau. Pleased to meet you. Iris what can I do?”

     
“I’ve prepared some cold compresses,” Iris told her. “It’s all we can do for now. Just use them to help keep her cool, like this.” Iris demonstrated until Marisea signaled her understanding.

     
“Marisea is a pretty name,” Sartena told her. “Oh yes, that cold feels good.”

     
“Where are you from?” Marisea asked curiously.

     
“My world is called Tzantsa,” Sartena replied. “Some call it the Orange Planet.”

     
“Because of your people’s coloring?” Marisea asked.

     
“In a way,” Sartena smiled thinly. “Our ancestors genetically enhanced us by giving us pigmentation that matched the plants of our world. Our world is actually nicknamed for the plants, you see.”

     
“Must be pretty,” Marisea remarked wistfully.

     
“Green plants just don’t seem the same to me,” Sartena sighed. “Oh, yes, more of that compress on my forehead, please. Perhaps I can show you my home someday.”

     
Marisea looked at her strangely, “Now how could you do that?” she asked, not betraying any sharpness.

     
Sartena looked stricken, “Oh, I’m sorry. But I wish I could take you there. I’ve never understood this whole gene-locked thing.”

     
“Really?” Marisea asked.

     
“Really,” Sartena assured her. “What difference does it make? We’ve all been genetically modified, well our species have. Evolution doesn’t happen to individuals, after all.”

     
“That’s what I’ve always said,” Marisea told her. “Of course it’s different when a Mer says it.”

     
“No it isn’t,” Sartena disagreed. “It’s the same no matter who says it.”