Birthright: Battle for the Confederation- Turmoil (35 page)

"Yes,"
Loren said confidently.  "He's with a Fixer I've worked with."

Bak's eyes darted
around as he tried to recall the name.  "Drayven, right?"

"Garrett
Drayven, yes," Loren finished.  "We sort of owe him a lot of Confed's
money, but he's secure, he'll come through, and nobody outside of our group
here knows about his work for us."

"You trust this
man?" Bak asked somewhat doubtfully.

"With my
life," Loren reassured the man.  "I think he values as clients, even
considers us solid acquaintances; he won't turn on us now that he's taken the
job.  It's his code, so to speak.  But I'll vouch for him."

"I guess you
just have," Bak mused.  Then he leaned forward again and looked at Loren
and Elco, a gesture that was beginning to wear on Loren.  "Alright, I
guess you and your bunch has earned the right to make a few judgment calls like
that by this point.  Just tell me Drayven won't burn the operation."

"He
won't."

Velk hadn't said
anything for hours; he just stared out the large windows, which were made of a
pricey glass composite that could be made opaque, mirrored or even one-way. 
Garrett had assured the Priman that the treatments as well as a host of other
items in the condo prevented any sort of monitoring; he'd even gone so far as
to make rude gestures to a police vehicle that went floating by.

Then the silence had
followed as Velk's mind wandered.  He was stuck somewhere in the middle of this
conflict and didn't know what to make of it, or what his part was supposed to
be any more.

His people had spent
all those hundreds of years marooned in space with a single purpose; return,
reclaim, re-establish civilization.  These inhabitants were destructive,
irresponsible, and desperately in need of leadership.  He thought that swift
victories would weaken their resolve, but instead they'd fought harder.  It
went against everything they displayed by outward actions, but there it was. 
And now the Commander was more intent on wiping them all out than returning
them to the fold as citizens of Priman society.  Surely there was some middle
ground? Maybe he had been wrong in his assessment of these people?  It pained
him to admit that, but he'd be a greater fool to continue working with a
viewpoint that was incorrect.   

"How do you
think this war is going, Mr. Drayven?" asked Velk out of the blue.

"Me?"
asked Garrett, surprised.  He was in the expansive kitchen making them a light
supper of breads, cheeses and meats.  Too bad if Velk wasn't going to get his
hands uncuffed; Garrett had everything sliced into neat little cubes the man
could lean over and pick up with his teeth.

"I'm just a
businessman," Garrett said as he seated himself at the table and slid
Velk's plate over to him.  "Sorry, you don't get a knife.  Or a fork.  Or
anything, really."

Velk didn't respond
to the food or comments.  "But you make your living in this region of
space, correct?"

"Sure,"
Garrett replied.  "All the way up and down this arm of the galaxy,
sometimes farther if the job calls for it.  What are you asking?  I'd be happy
to just tell you."

"Do you think
you can win?  Should you win?"

"Me
personally?" Garrett asked.  "Look, I make my money despite who's in
charge.  Wars can be good for people like me.  Peacetime, too.  I adapt."

"Pick a
side," said Velk testily.  "Who would you prefer in charge?"

"You're really
locked onto that, aren't you?" Garrett said with interest.  "Look, we
might be unruly and somewhat despicable at times, but there are lot of great
people, good things, wonderful accomplishments we can take credit for as well. 
I think the positive aspects of our civilization outweight the negatives.  Some
would even say that you can
’
t
have the good without the bad; sort of a cosmic balancing act.  And as far as
the inhabitants around here go, when it comes down to it, you'll find there are
many more people who'd fight to the death than willingly become your
servants."

"But you don't
have to be our servants!" Velk insisted, something he'd never found the
way to put into words before.  "We came back to reclaim our title, yes,
but more than that was our mission to restore order.  We could teach you so
much, help you further yourselves."         

"And people would
always ask what the cost was going to be," Garrett replied knowingly. 

"As it stands,
the cost will be your annihilation," Velk said with a measure of regret. 
"Our new Commander has no reservations about wiping everyone out and
starting our old experiment over if need be."

Garrett mused on
that for a second.

"Maybe there is
a way we can coexist," Velk offered.

"I thought your
people already made an official offer to us," Garrett replied.  "I
think Senator Dennix read a statement about it just a few minutes ago.  I
should have watched, actually."

"That offer is
a ruse, packaged as a treaty that means nothing to our leadership.  They will
continue to use your Senator to chip away at the Confederation until it's too
late.  And then you will all perish."

"And I suppose
you could do better?" asked Garrett doubtfully.

"Not me
personally," Velk said.  "My time has passed, but perhaps the next
Commander, the Junior Representative, could be shown the light of truth.  We
can coexist, not annihilate.  And to be honest with you, Mr. Drayven, this war
is affecting my people in a way you wouldn't notice.  We were always of one
mind, one purpose.  We would have never backstabbed, made back room deals,
conspired to kill our own in order to get ahead; those are human traits.  If we
win but end up becoming like you, then we've failed in any case.  There is no
point in winning if we lose ourselves that way."

"Are you still
trying to win me over?" asked Garrett. "Because now it just sounds
like you're insulting us."

"My people are
being corrupted," Velk said flatly.  "I don't make this offer to help
myself or even to help you; I do it to save my people.  And to be pragmatic, as
you would say, the longer we fight, the more of us on each side dies.  Surely
there can be a solution all of us can live with, at least grudgingly."

"So you'd just
negotiate some terms, settle down, plant some flowers?" said Garrett with
a look of mistrust.

"My people were
once a race of thinkers, scientists, artists," Velk continued.  "We
had to become a race of fighters, and once we were defeated and crammed into
those motherships, we barely had any record of our old skills and trades.  Much
of that heritage was lost, technology stagnated, and over almost ten centuries
I am ashamed to say we had little to fall back on other than preparing to
reclaim our birthright."

"You forgot the
part about where you deserved it," Garrett added.  "According to what
few records survived, entire civilizations were lost.  Planets laid to waste. 
It was fairly grim."         

"What I am
saying is that I want to avoid that happening again, in our present age." 
Velk stared Garrett down, and suddenly the thought occurred to Garrett that
this man could very well be speaking the truth.

Chapter Sixteen

"You're not
going to believe this," Admiral Bak said to Loren and Elco as he
approached them in one of Thunderbird's many mess halls.  They'd been enjoying
a late supper when the Admiral himself came to get them.

"Must be pretty
good," Elco said with a curious look.

"I just got a
call from your Fixer, Commander Stone," Bak continued in hushed tones as
he sat down with them, the three of them having an entire table to themselves. 
"He seems to think Velk is seriously willing to try to help settle this
war with us."

"Isn't that
what this supposed treaty that Senator Dennix just had that press conference for
was all about?" asked Elco.

"Velk claims
it's all a sham, part of the Primans' deal with Dennix.  He says he wants a
real, honest, straight-up truce with us and the rest of the galaxy."

"What's his
price?" asked Loren harshly.

"I'm not sure. 
Drayven is on his way up here so we can talk about it together."  Loren
and Elco exchanged glances.  "We have terms," Bak continued. 
"We meet on Garrett's ship, just him, Velk, and the three of us.  Garrett
gets to keep Velk in his custody unless Velk decides to stay here."

"And I thought
this day could not possibly get more strange," said Elco in wonder.

Bak, Elco, and Stone
were waiting for Drayven's ship when it arrived in Thunderbird's central hangar
bay.  It was a high end private cruiser, aerodynamic and curvy, big enough to
comfortably handle fifteen or twenty passengers.  Garrett had refitted it for
the needs of just himself, and obviously took a great measure of pride in the
ship.          

"Must have some
good hidden weapons ports on there," Admiral Bak said to Garrett after
he'd walked to the bottom of the ramp to meet his guests.  "Our sensor
operators couldn't find them."

"That's because
there aren't any, Admiral," said Garrett easily.  "She's fast and has
the biggest shield generators I could fit onboard.  I'm a respectable
businessman, you know," he said with a cheery smile.  "Why would I
need weapons?"

Admiral Bak just
nodded and tried to conceal a smile.  He couldn't decide if this gutsy man was
too brash and annoying, or if he admired the man's ingenuity and drive.

"After
you," Garrett said, moving aside and indicating the ramp.  All four of
them walked up and into Garrett's ship.  They entered a large space taken up
with a massive and ornately carved wooden table along the port bulkhead.  There
were displays attached to the walls, a holo field generator, and plenty of
comfortable lounge chairs along the other side of the main traffic area.  The
dark, heavily knotted wood contrasted sharply with the high-end technology
packed into the space.

"The table is
an antique," Garrett explained as they rounded the corner and saw it. 
"It's a wood that's extinct now, ridiculously expensive to buy.  I have it
not really for myself, though I do like natural furnishings when they're
appropriate.  But you probably know as well as I do that sometimes you do
things for appearances.  It impresses certain elements of my clientele."

Sitting at the head
of the table and cuffed to the chair was Velk, still looking dignified despite
days in captivity and being bound to a chair.

"I suppose I
can release these now," Garrett said, and tapped a button on the
touchscreen on the bulkhead.  Velk's stunner cuffs clicked open and the Priman
removed them, setting them on the table in front of him.

"Representative
Velk," Admiral Bak said solemnly as he walked toward him.  "May we
have a seat?"

Velk indicated the
chairs at the table.  "We have much to discuss."

The Confed officers
sat down, though they gave Velk some empty space.  Loren figured he could draw
his SSK in plenty of time if Velk decided to get up and charge.

"As Mr. Drayven
told you, I believe it is both our people's interests to find a way to end this
war as soon as possible."

"It would work
well for us if you surrendered," Admiral Bak began.

"You know my
people wouldn't do that; I wouldn't, either.  Make no mistake, as I have
already told Mr. Drayven.  I do this for my people more than for yours."

"So let's cut
to the chase," Admiral Bak continued.  "We've heard the argument, and
I can't say I disagree; your hard liners are working with Senator Dennix and
want the dissolution and subjugation of Confed and everyone else.  What would
make them happy short of that?"

"Them?"
said Velk with a sneer, "Nothing.  I
can
hope for more moderate
voices among our Council and perhaps within the next Commander.  We just want a
home.  We assumed the galaxy would be ours, but what's the point in taking our
message to the galaxy if we have to destroy it and our own souls first?  I believe
that if we had a place to settle, call our own, that we could return to the
peaceful thinkers we once were."

The three Confed
officers pondered that shocking offer for a minute before any of them managed
to think up a reply. 

"I don't think
there are a lot of planets just sitting out there that we could dig up,"
Loren began.  "Anything in this part of space that's truly valuable is
pretty much claimed."

"What about the
former Enkarran Empire?" said Velk.  "We've already settled many of
their worlds, and their empire is as much as dissolved in any case.  Let us
call that region of space home, and I truly believe we might end this."

"I sort of
think the Enkarrans might object to that," Elco interjected.

"Would you
defend them?" Velk asked in surprise.  "They allied with us against
you, you'll recall.  And in any case, we as a culture are many times more
valuable in the contributions we can offer."

"Well,"
added Admiral Bak, "technically we're allies with what's left of the
Enkarrans."

"Tell me that
your populace wouldn't support that option," Velk commanded, and Loren
knew people would.  They'd vote for it in a heartbeat if it could end the war. 
Nobody would care that the Primans displaced an entire civilization to do it. 
Would that be a solution people could live with morally?

"So you're
saying all we have to do is get the combined leadership of both our peoples to
agree to those terms?" Bak asked.

"They
won't," said Velk with confidence, "not now.  My people are led by
the hard-liners, the corrupted ones who seek their own power more than the good
of the people and led by a Commaner who wants to scorch the galaxy bare and
start over.  Your leaders are in league with them and serve their own selves
first as well."

"Oh, so all we
have to do is get rid of the leaderships of both sides?" asked Loren
easily.  "No problem."

"I never
claimed it would be an easy proposition," said Velk acidly, "but if
there are people who would be willing to risk themselves for their homeland, I
assumed it would be you."

And it all made
sense to Loren in that instant.  If their leaders were all dirty, they all
needed to go.  Just clean house and start over with people who would be willing
to find a way to solve the problem.  It sounded so simple, but it would be next
to impossible to actually put into action.

It was Admiral Bak
that spoke next.  "Just between the five of us here," he said
conspiratorially, "suppose I'm willing to play with this idea.  Suppose I
believe our leadership is compromised, and yours has lost their way.  What
would we do?  Our leaders are elected; we can't just go drag them out of office
if we don't like them.  The people have spoken; they elected or at least
support the government, for better or worse."

"What if you
can prove without a shadow of a doubt that the Senator is corrupt and
conspiring against the Confederation for personal gain?" asked Velk.

"Oh, I suppose
that would make it easier," Bak admitted.

"Then a gesture
on my part is in order," said Velk softly.  "You're familiar with the
rings our operatives have worn while on-planet?"

"They disguise
Priman biosigns, let you pass cursory body scans," Loren said, and Elco
even fished the ring out of his pocket that he'd kept since Loren had given it
to him after Velk's breakout.  Elco placed it on the table in the middle of
everyone. 

"Like
this?" Avenger
’
s
captain asked.

"Yes,"
Velk allowed, then dropped the thermonuclear bombshell.  "They also
record, in three dimensions holographically with audio, everything that goes on
within a few arm-spans of the wearer."