Guardian Stone 1: Stone Genesis (28 page)

### March 5 – C Day 188 ###

Ten days later Station 1 arrived at Antor 1 to find that Division 12 had already captured Ten Gar Warships and 3 mining vessels. The ships were all placed in the core of Station 172 while the Gar prisoners joined the other Gar in stasis on Station 143. Division 12 was then sent to support Division 18 at Fullus with Station 172 accompanying Division 1 to Cler. Cler had 20 warships that were captured with little effort. Ships and personnel were treated the same as in previous encounters. At Fullus 10 warships were captured and similarly treated. Scans were done looking back in the general direction of Earth and nothing was found.

### March 8 – C Day 190 ###

Following the Cler and Fullus operations, Divisions 17 and 18 were sent to participate in the Gar Blockade while Divisions 1 and 12 continued on to the Linan system. This was the system that Hank was particularly concerned about.  The Antoran Fleet there had systematically destroyed weapons and FTL capacitors leaving the Gar Fleet in considerable disarray. They had not yet determined that they were under attack. The destruction codes for the symbiotes had been sent and the Linan were for the most part going into hiding. All missiles and communications had been disabled. There had been liberal use of the T Raptor teams using the invisibility mode to further stir the situation. The commander on scene felt it best to transport the Linan population to several stations after decontamination. The Gar was faced with a rapidly disappearing Linan population with no explainable reason for the disappearances. The number of stations present made it possible to conduct the "Linan Disappearing Act" fairly quickly. When the operation was finished, there were 178 million Linan on the stations, thus leaving the Antoran Fleet to complete its activity against the Gar. It was explained to the Linan that the Gar would be totally removed from the planet and space at which point they would have their planet back. All would then be returned to Linan.

The Gar and Linan data systems were raided for information and intelligence. The Gar databases at Linan were a gold mine of information. Clearly the Gar High Ruler was the drive behind the Gar invasions and methods. During the review of this data it was discovered that Gar Fleet 4 was not an invasion fleet but rather a force to support a small colony on the destination world called Saram. That world had no indigenous population and the Gar presence there is small. It was apparently to be a backup support area for invasion of the Gar Fleet 5 destination World, a human occupied world called Arber. This fact changed the mission for Divisions 4 and 7 assigned to Gar Fleet 4 who now also had a planet to clean up. Those Divisions were expected to arrive on station the following day and indicated that no reinforcements were needed. They felt they had more than sufficient resources to deal with Gar Fleet 4 and the planet. When they were done there they would continue on to the Gar Fleet 5 destination planet to let them know what was happening.

Barana's testing of the Gar prisoners in stasis revealed that about 25% of the Gar held, were infected by a Gar specific symbiote. This was not expected and the search for data to identify its source was underway. The symbiotes in this case had been resident for a long time and were causing unusual behavior. All Gar Symbiotes were destroyed. Dranz and his officers were not infected.

### March 13 – C Day 195 ###

Hank decided that it was time for a visit with Dranz. Dranz and his five companions were housed in a small lodge not far from the lodge in which Hank and Sam were married. Dranz and his companions were allowed free movement within 3 miles of their quarters and were returned to the rear deck of the lodge by Barana whenever they went one step beyond that perimeter. Hank transported to that deck and Barana announced his presence and desire for a discussion. Shortly the six Gar and Hank were seated around a table on the deck. Hank started the conversation, "Lord Dranz, do you find these quarters comfortable? We were not sure what kind of leisure pursuits were desirable so we had to guess to some extent. I hope these are suitable."

"These are considerably more comfortable than what any of us would have expected. I am not clear about why you are treating us thus. We would have confined you to a small cell in heavy restraints."

"Many of my people would have done the same, but it is not necessary. Where can you go? I may look small and puny to you but I can assure that no one of you could defeat me. That is also true of our Marines in hand-to-hand combat. But what does that prove? I am faster than any of you and stronger. If you think I am stretching the truth, I would be happy to demonstrate here and now."

One of Dranz's officers growled and said that he would like to do just that to silence the bragging human. Dranz said that surely they had sufficient experience with the human abilities to accept that there are things they did not lie about. But the officer persisted. Much to the officer's surprise, Hank agreed to some tests saying, "What would you like to try first, a race, a trial of strength, accuracy of a throw, name your choice."

The officer suggested a race to a tree about ¾ miles away and back. The race started and Hank ran to the tree and back to his seat before the officer reached the tree. While the officer was still running, Hank again ran to the tree and returned across the finish line before the officer. The others were staring in disbelief. Hank then went over to a large boulder and picked it up and then carried it a few yards with his shoes sinking deeply into the turf. On putting it down, he offered the event to the officer who could not budge the rock. Finally, Hank went to the officer with a small bucket full of golf balls and suggested that they throw five of the balls into a target basket about 100 yards distant that was six inches in diameter. The officer said this would be easy, and proceeded to throw the balls. He waited for each ball to reach the target before throwing the next. He managed to throw two into the target. Hank then took his turn firing one ball after the other without waiting for the last ball to reach the target. The fifth was fired as the first hit the target. All five went into the target.

The officer did a short curt bow before Hank and said
,
"You have taught me a valuable lesson. Appearances can be deceiving and I should not let my mouth refute the evidence my brain has processed. Please accept my apology for my rudeness," an
d
returned quietly to his seat.

"Apology gladly accepted
.
The reason I agreed to this demonstration was that I knew that you do not believe humans are capable of what was just seen. In many cases that is true, however our military people can do what you just saw and more. This was not meant to brag but if you cannot get past your misconceptions, you will achieve little but grief."

"I would like to discuss with you these invasions your people have instituted. They have caused substantial disruptions in this section of the galaxy. The Gar has decimated the populations of Cler and the Fullus, have seriously impacted the Glarin and the Linan. The genocidal efforts of the Gar have been a part of the history of this section for more than 500 years. This is not acceptable and we are in the process of stopping it now. The two fleets sent towards my planet are now gone. All Gar presence around Antor 1, Cler and Fullus has been removed and before tomorrow is done, the same will be true of the Linan System. Your present High Ruler and his immediate family and advisors must go, we have no choice given the genocidal and disruptive path he is on but to depose him. This will happen. The question at this point is how. There is another question that concerns us greatly and that is who will take his place. A power vacuum at this point could limit the choice to destruction of Gar. As you may have determined by now, I abhor genocide for expediency. I will not partake of it. However I do have within my power the ability to return the Gar to the Stone Age. I can eliminate your technology and prevent your development. I can bar you from space.  I have some difficult choices to make so I want to understand what drives your people to do what has been done. Are you willing to talk to me candidly about this subject?"

Dranz replied, "You are telling me that the Gar has been pushed back as far as Linan?"

"Yes and after tomorrow there will be nothing left of Gar from Glarin to my planet. We have managed to do this without killing a single Gar. All captured ships will be either scrapped or rebuilt as commercial trade ships. We have several missions underway in addition, but all with the focus of removing the Gar from the space ways. Beyond Gar, there is an 800 ship fleet on its way to a colony located about 1,050 light years from here that will be encountered in about another 2 days. In addition you have an invasion fleet en route to a human occupied planet about 1,180 light years distant. That operation also starts in 2 days. In about 6 days all of this will culminate when we appear at Gar."

"This is even more comprehensive than I had imagined. You are speaking of the Gar colony, Saram and the human world, Arber. Only a few of us know of the existence of those planets. I should cease being surprised at what you know and what you can do. It is enough to know that such as you exist in this part of the universe and does so without a malignant demeanor. The officers you have allowed to accompany me are of like mind concerning the things of which I will speak. Our race has earned the dismal reputation that we now endure. I am amazed to think that you would wish to hear of our viewpoint on anything, nevertheless, I am happy to relate what I can in hopes that it will enable you to treat us less harshly than we have done for others."

"The Gar has a single monarch. Once enthroned, that monarch serves for life. Often a monarch comes to the throne in very early adulthood and endures a very long reign. Our lifespan is generally about 1,400 to 1,500 years so this can be for a long time. Any ruling by the monarch is law to be obeyed without question, even if there is question. Unfortunately this severe adherence to the dictates, whims and pronouncements of our monarch has led us to our present condition. None of us is proud of the dishonor this monarch has brought to our race but we are essentially powerless to change it since the mere suggestion of change is sufficient to result in our execution as well as that of our families. As you might imagine, few have elected that path. The monarch is rarely seen and is sequestered to the point of hiding. Many believe that the lifespan of the monarch would be much shorter if he were seen more frequently. I am inclined to think that is probably true. From what I have learned, advisors execute day-to-day decisions on governance, a distinct power behind the throne. The lifespan of this group is shorter that the average Gar due to infighting and falling out of favor that is usually terminal. The lifestyle of the monarch and his family, usually 10 to 20 individuals is lavish and to my mind, decadent. The common Gar is expected to provide the population for the many invasion efforts that have been our way of life for too long. Most have little in the way of amenities."

Hank interrupted, "Excuse me Lord Dranz, but would you mind if my wife joined us."

"I do not mind, but you have your family here on a ship of war, this is another surprise."

"Come ahead Sam," as she appeared and after introductions, Hank continued, "This is a primarily a habitation that can fight when needed. We grow our own food, in some cases we have more creature comforts than we do on our home planet. On this Station we have 20,000 warships, 2,500 large commercial type ships, 20,000 small commercial type ships and more than 165,000 shuttles of varying sizes. This ship is capable of housing 438 million persons indefinitely. Presently we have about 150 million people on board including people from Earth, Antor and Glarin. The station is self-sustaining. I have a question for you. Does your monarch rule under a charter or constitution that establishes the parameters of rule?"

"We have heard of such documents but do not ourselves have such. Why do you ask this?"

"My home world has nearly 200 political units. Each self-ruling. The forms of governance range from democracy, to monarchy to dictatorships with lots of variety in between. It is almost a laboratory. It strikes me that one of those units might serve as a model for your people to try to get back on track. I was wondering if your people would be able to consider a different model than the rather severe one you currently experience. For instance, we currently have on board a young man who lives on the planet Frote. Frote is a Constitutional Monarchy. This means that the powers of the ruler are restricted to those granted and defined in a constitution. The people through an elected legislature have created the laws governing the people. This would be an advisable alternative to a strict monarchy such as you now have."

"Lord Dranz, I am going to be quite candid with you but first I have a question that I want to ask your companions. I wonder if they would walk with me for a minute and if you might continue here in a conversation with my wife, Sam."

"Certainly, but I will admit to being curious."

Hank responded while rising, "Thank you and I will tell you what we discussed shortly." With that he motioned for the Gar officers to join him. After walking about a hundred yards, out of hearing distance, Hank turned to face the officers and said, "I know that the experience of recent days has to be very trying for you, and I am trying to find a solution that will avoid bloodshed. I know that Lord Dranz is a man of honor that was faced with a considerable dilemma when I asked him to surrender. I intend to keep my promise to him and to you. I know that he is also of royal blood. My question for you, is what would be your reaction if I asked him to be the next monarch of Gar, using a constitutional monarchy form of government to avoid some of the mistakes of the past."