A New Day (9 page)

"We are indeed fortunate to have met you and your people, Prime Council." Hjoolous turned back to the still kneeling Sc'ellese. "Thank you for your testimony, Ranger Sc'ellese. As with your entire team, you have done an excellent job here. Doctor Lowe, we have some questions, may we speak of them to you?"

Hope knelt where Sc'ellese had been before speaking. "Of course, Majesty."

"May we know why the technology has been restricted to medical use?" the Emperor asked.

Hope shrugged. "That's the only purpose they were intended for, Majesty. I understand that there are far more uses for them, but I have not yet explored those. I will admit that I am reluctant to; I am uncomfortable with designing something that could be considered a weapon."

"Why does that make you uncomfortable?" Hjoolous asked.

"Before the fall, I took an oath to protect life and help the injured. I may have an engineering degree, but I am first and foremost a medical doctor. I don't know how it's done in the Empire, but I believe there is a strong moral and ethical duty that must be maintained for the protection and care of our patients." She hesitated. "That may sound hypocritical coming from me, but it really is how I feel about it."

When the translation of her words was finished, the Emperor looked confused. "I don't see how it would be considered hypocritical; you said yourself that the enhancement procedure you developed was designed for medical purposes."

Jorga stepped forward and knelt beside her mother. "Majesty, I am Jorga Bedouin, among other things, I am Ben's mate, and Doctor Lowe's daughter. If I may explain, I believe you will understand her statement."

Hjoolous nodded. "Please do."

Jorga quickly but accurately explained what had happened to her leading up to Hope treating her with the experimental treatment. She stressed that Jorga was the one to make the decision, not Hope. It was clear that Jorga felt her mother had not made a mistake at all.

Hjoolous nodded. "I understand now. Vice Council Bedouin, are you a medical doctor or do you possess any training in a medical field?"

Jorga looked a little confused. "No Majesty, I have no special training in that area."

"Then I'm afraid your mother is correct when she says she is responsible for your treatment. Simply put, legally, you lacked the required knowledge to approve the treatment while it was still considered experimental. That does not mean your mother was incorrect in the use of that treatment, only that she was the responsible party.

"We're not sure how it worked back then on your planet, but in today’s world, medical practitioners have the ability to offer radical or experimental treatments to terminally ill patients within certain guidelines. From your description of your situation, your mother not only acted correctly, but fully upheld the spirit, if not the wording, of her oath. There are times when the two are not the same.

"Doctor Lowe, you acted in the finest traditions of your profession. You acted to preserve a life deemed lost by your peers. That gamble does not always have a happy ending, but at least the attempt was made. Even if the Vice Council had not been saved, you would have still done the right thing. For what it's worth, we find that you are clear of any guilt in this matter."

Hope bowed her head as a tear crept out of one eye. "Thank you, Majesty that does help."

"Now, back to the business at hand. What are your future plans for the process you have developed?" Hjoolous asked.

"For now Majesty, we are focusing on finalizing the medical version. Beyond that, we have no further plans other than continued research to possibly improve on that single version," Hope replied. "We will be investigating muscle and bone tissue enhancement but we had planned that to be only for medical purposes and not for use in the enhancement of soldiers. I would also mention, that, while not my area, it would seem that before the exodus, extensive research was put into the genetic enhancement of soldiers to improve performance against the stronger and faster lizard soldiers. That research was not completed before the exodus, but the data and notes of the researchers remain in our data base."

Hjoolous looked thoughtful. "The Empire does not support that type of research. Bio-mechanical enhancement is one thing, but altering the very fabric of a being is… distasteful. We can well understand the reasoning for them to begin such research, the lizards are very formidable enemies, but thankfully, there have been other ways found to counter them.

"If it was asked of your Prime Council, would you object to your research being developed for military application by another scientist?"

"It would bother me, Majesty, but I would not object. If there is a need for it to be used in that fashion, then it should be used. By developing something that can protect all of us, it would save lives in the long run," Hope replied.

"Thank you Doctor Lowe and Vice Council. You have given us much to think about," Hjoolous said, dismissing them.

Ben stepped forward. "Currently, the data regarding the biocytes developed by Doctor Lowe is also considered classified and restricted, Majesty."

Hjoolous again nodded his understanding. "We can't and won't ask you to abandon this research. Your possession of it predates our own by several hundred years. The fact that it is designed for humans and not an adaptation will simply have to be accepted. We only ask that you do not begin the wholesale enhancement of soldiers without consulting us first."

Ben nodded. "Agreed, Majesty. That had been our intention all along."

Hjoolous smiled at Ben. "Prime Council, we do not know if you are finished amazing us, I feel there is something that must be done. Forgive me, but it is getting late for you and your people. If there is more for you to tell us, I'm certain it can wait until tomorrow. There is something more important that must be done." He spoke to the room at large. "With the exception of two guards, Ranger Commander Halst, Ranger T'Gree, Prime Council Bedouin, Councilor Carlyle and Vice Council Bedouin, please clear the room," Hjoolous said. It was clear it was an order.

Everyone did as ordered and cleared the room. Very shortly, the only people remaining were Hjoolous, two guards, Ben and his advisers, and the two Rangers.

Hjoolous got up and waved Ben to his chair. "Please, assemble your council, Prime."

Ben dipped his head to the Emperor. "Mother, please enable all monitors and enable two way communication. If any are not present, please ask the missing Councilors to join us."

Surprisingly, most of the Councilors were indeed already present. Only three had stepped away for personal reasons, and they rejoined the group shortly.

When everyone was present, Ben stood at the terminal that was normally his place. "Brothers and Sisters, it is my honor to introduce to you his Imperial Majesty, Hjoolous, Supreme Ruler of the Hyclarion Imperial Consortium." He turned. "Majesty, as you requested, the Council is assembled. AI Mother will introduce the individual Councilors as the need arises."

Hjoolous stood next to Ben so he could be seen clearly by everyone. "Councilors, it is our great honor to address you and welcome you to the Empire. As I'm certain all of you are already aware, I have been meeting with your Prime Councilor, and we have discussed a great many things.

"In the past, it has been required of any nation that joins the Empire to bring something with them to contribute to the Empire as a whole. We dare say that you have far exceeded that requirement. The simple fact that you have proven to us that this is the home world of the human race would have been enough, as our human citizens have suffered for far too long because of that bias.

"However, you bring far more to this union than simply a place to call home. You are bringing new technologies, new ideas, and most importantly, new citizens. Considering the state of the galaxy at this time, and what you have been able to accomplish on our behalf, truly humbles me.

"Our histories tell of your exiled brothers as being violent and warlike, yet intelligent, cunning, and very resourceful. That is the real reason your people were sequestered and suspected of being Lizard spies. They fit that profile far better than the one they told us of. Alas, we were wrong.

"As a people, the traits we attributed to you were accurate and most likely still are. However, our error was in not giving you the benefit of the doubt. That was our real mistake. We were at war and, at that time, surrounded by enemies. Over the years since that war, we have learned that, while you are a violent species, you also have the capacity for compassion, understanding, and reasoning; traits not originally attributed to you.

"We feel that over those same years, you have forgiven us our mistakes. Not one of your people has ever given us reason to believe that you were spies, as we labeled you, or are against the Empire in anyway. Still, your people have been repressed because they had no home planet. That is no excuse, but it is difficult to change an entire society.

"But change it must, and change it will. It is our intent not only to name this planet as the home of the human race, but to also declare you an independent nation under the protection of our Empire. Your people will have a place in our court so you will have a means to put your needs and concerns before the Empire. It is also our intent to assist you in the formation and protection of your new nation until such time as you can safely do so for yourselves. In effect, you will become a member nation of the Empire with all the rights and privileges you have been denied for so long. Within the bounds of Imperial law, you will be allowed to govern yourselves and those worlds under your influence.

"However, we will admit that your Prime Council has not yet made known to us what your wishes are, but we felt the need to address you directly to let you know our intent. We cannot officially apologize for past actions against your people, no matter how we feel about them, but perhaps we can try to make amends,"

As one, the councilors stood and clapped, showing their approval of what the Emperor had said. Even Ben was clapping and smiling. Hjoolous nodded his thanks to the council.

After the applause died down, Hjoolous again spoke. "It is clear to me that you are friends to the Empire. It is our wish that friendship continue. While what we say is generally what happens, we are sure it will be resisted. Terrel III is a valuable world, and many of our father's former adherents tend to count credits before counting lives. Many will want this planet for their own. However, it is clear that this is your home world, so they will not be able to claim it. That does not mean they will not try, so the official proclamation will most likely take some time. However, there is much we can do that will not be affected by the senate.

"Unfortunately, we are also now at war with the Lizards again. We will have a protective force assigned here as soon as one becomes available. Until then we will do everything we can to protect you and this world."

"Councilor Yoshi wishes to ask a question," Mother said.

Ben pointed to the appropriate monitor so the Emperor could face the man.

Yoshi again bowed to the Emperor. "Majesty, we understand your words as well as your intent. May we ask what can be done to protect the citizens currently on the surface?"

Hjoolous bobbed his head at the Councilor. "Currently, there is not much we can do for them. We brought along what force remained at Hyclarion that could be spared from protecting the citizens there. It isn't much; roughly four hundred Rangers in poorly armed ships meant for policing duties.

"My Lord Admiral Yolinar has issued recall orders for the Hyclarion fleets; if they are not molested in anyway, they will be back here in a week. However, it is believed that our fleets will be attacked by supportive elements within the Lizard territory. Although that has not yet happened on a large scale, some of our smaller units have come under attack by unknown forces. Their current orders are to avoid all enemy contact and regroup with the main fleet.

"As soon as we finish here, I will be ordering the Rangers currently in orbit to arrest Duke Tammerain on multiple charges, but most importantly, treason against the Empire. If no one else has actually fired on us by then, that act alone will most likely trigger the war. I do wish there was more we could do for the people on the surface, but the best we can hope for is that the Duke will not get the chance to issue orders regarding this world."

"Councilor Cormier wishes to be heard," Mother said.

"With respect Majesty," the councilor bowed. "Prime Councilor, I wish to make a motion to officially acknowledge that a state of war exists between the people of Terra and the forces of the Duke currently occupying our planet. Further, I would also make a motion that you immediately offer the aide of our meager forces to the Imperial Commanders trying to protect the citizens on the surface."

"My apologies, Councilor," Ben replied. "I already did that about four hours ago."

Cormier slapped his forehead. "I must have missed that. My apologies Prime Council."

Ben smiled back at the man. "However, you declaration is still valid, as I have not done that. Councilors of Terra, there are many beings on the surface of this planet that have nothing to do with the machinations of the Duke. However, they will be caught in those plans and most will forfeit their lives. So I ask all of you, and this decision must be unanimous, does a state of war exist between the people of Terra and the forces of Duke Tammerain on the surface of our planet?"