Harvester 7 (9 page)

"People of
Watuma" he continued, "Today is a sad day for our planet and
colonies, we are laying to rest the finest peacetime leader since
our history began," he paused and studied the silent faces sampling
thoughts, anticipation hung in the air, mixed with fear and
hatred.

"But we are
no-longer at peace." he shouted suddenly making those closest to
the podium jump and clutch their heads, Go'an was communicating on
two levels, verbally and telepathically, everyone would receive his
message and vision for the future.

"War is upon
us, our enemy approaches, we do not know if it will be today, or
tomorrow, or next year, or twenty years from now... but do not
doubt, they are coming, and they bring death. They are not benign
Gods as you have been led to believe, they are predators,
conquerors, they come to kill not bless," he paused again and
tasted the reactions, it was still early to form an opinion so he
continued his rhetoric,

"Well I will not lie down for them," he channelled his
formidable power into the statement and absolute silence followed,
all minds were now open to his suggestions, he smiled a slow and
cruel smile, "I will not submit, and neither will my High Council,"
he chuckled as he caught small comments about his use of the
word
my
not
the
, he
was laying the basis for a new style of government and he was happy
that his hints were being picked up.

"I have been
your humble servant for many years as Vice Chancellor, and as a
servant of the people I have always held the welfare and
sovereignty of the Watu close to my heart, I have increased the
size of our military, I have developed weaponry that will be used
to protect our wives, our children, our homes... our planet."

"The threat is
real, the enemy knocks at our door, I will not welcome them in and
bow down before them, the people of Watuma bow to no enemy," he
shook his bone staff and felt the alignment of millions of minds,
billions of minds, minds rallying to a common cause, "We stand
united as a people... or we fall divided."

"I will tolerate No division," the sentence thundered around
the planet carried by every satellite, and a world cheered as one
voice. Go'an smiled, he had their full attention, he had made it
clear that he
was
the High Council, he was the ultimate authority on Watuma,
and most importantly he would tolerate no opposition to his
absolute rule.

Raising his
hands he signalled for quiet before he continued.

"People of
Watuma, I serve you still as your Chancellor, every action that I
take from this day forward will be for the betterment and security
of our world, this I swear before you all in the name of the true
Gods."

Theatrically
Go'an reached towards the sky and prayed out loud, imploring the
blessings of the Gods, begging for strength and wisdom, shaking his
staff and swearing to protect his people as they were his witness,
he felt the hatred diminish slowly being replaced with a patriotic
fervour.

"I am not here
to campaign," he finished, almost a whisper but clear as crystal,
"I am here to say farewell to a friend, I pray that you will show
me the same support that you showed him during the dark days that
lie ahead of us. Bless the Watu."

The ovation
was expected and Go'an could barely stand, the mental energy that
he had expended to influence an entire race had been staggering,
but influence them he had, and he was now undisputed Chancellor of
a united people.

***

"Assist me."
he ordered the new Vice Chancellor who walked at his side as they
descended the steps from the podium, Go'an felt his knees begin to
tremble, the concentration required for his first planet wide
address had drained his strength.

"Fine words
Brother," answered Vice Chancellor Na'ta as he grasped the offered
arm and added his support, "Father would be proud of you if he were
still with us."

"I am
exhausted brother," admitted Go'an, "But the crowds must not see me
weak, I must always be strong in their minds."

"This is a
fleeting weakness," comforted Na'ta, "It will soon pass, you have
such strength, I could not have extended that much influence over
so many."

Go'an shook
his head, "You are still young, your own power will develop in
time, have patience, your time will come."

Go'an searched
his mind for the contact with his Terrillian far out in deep space
but could only find a buzz of static interference, he concentrated
again without success, "I am more exhausted than I first imagined."
he told himself but it mattered little, after resting he would try
again, Master Maulik would be in safe hands with the Kressa unit,
the Terrillian was still many weeks away from his meeting with the
Diurians, so much hinged on his missions success but Go'an had
plenty of work to do getting his own house in order before the
negotiations could begin.

Go'an ran over
the growing list of potential allies he wanted in his new
Federation, the Terrillians were already part, the Diurian's would
soon follow, he hoped, they would be powerful friends to have, if
he could smooth away the distrust that had clouded their relations
for centuries. The Su'al were another possibility if he could
convince them to cease their constant in-fighting and territorial
squabbles, their territories would mean nothing in the end he
smiled, when he had stripped away all of the borders. His mind
drifted to other plans.

"I am going to
the institute," he announced, "I can rest on the transport."

"Do you want
me to join you?" questioned Na'ta.

"You are Vice
Chancellor now," snapped Go'an, "You represent me when I am away
from the Citadel... sometimes I worry about you brother," Go'an
sighed, "Just oversee the clearance work, I want my new Council
Chambers built within the month, that should keep you busy."

The institute
had been Go'an's brainchild when he came into office and was
dedicated to bio-mechanical research, a subject that had always
fascinated him. Until the formation of the institute organic
integration had been a fantasy but Go'an had drawn together a group
of dreamers and chemists, engineers and biologists and set them to
work with unlimited funding and facilities that were the envy of
established scientists across the planet. His detractors had called
it a crazy dream sponsored by a deluded war monger, their voices
had slowly disappeared, those that couldn't be bought had all met
with untimely accidents which only served to fuel Go'an's
reputation for ruthlessness.

It was inside
the institute that the Kressa project had been conceived, his team
had shown some advances as they integrated the higher functions of
several species of reptiles into mechanical skins, the results were
promising but very limited in application. It had been Go'an
himself who had suggested work should begin with a more aggressive
species and the short-list of suitable indigenous predators had
been whittled down until only the sleek and agile Kressa
remained.

The Kressa
project had been a success, but the feral mind proved erratic and
unpredictable so a series of protocols were established. Under
normal circumstances the programming maintained stability as it
smoothed away the wild impulses and boosted the intellect until a
level of understanding and reasoning could be established, yet a
flaw hid within the coding, under stress the complex program
collapsed as the creatures natural instincts gained dominance. The
designers saw a failure, Go'an saw only opportunity, suddenly he
possessed a thinking weapon that delighted in the chase, that
revelled in the kill. He ordered further development to cease, he
had what he wanted, docile and pliable in peacetime, yet vicious
and unstoppable in action.

The male
Kressa became the gender of choice, they were far more stable and
predictable, they possessed aggression in abundance but were much
easier to control, the females displayed a high level of
irrationality, almost displaying emotions, true they were the
better hunters and killers, but they simply weren't reliable enough
to consider mass production. An order was issued that ceased female
production leaving only the original prototypes in existence, the
few female Kressa units became novelty items and of little military
value.

Go'an relaxed
his mind as the transport carried him deep into the rugged
highlands that surrounded his research institute and smiled as he
thought of the Territes delight in his unreliable Kressa unit, the
gift had been so small a sacrifice to make when he considered the
potential benefits, and if negotiations failed, what had he lost? A
silver skinned freak and an emotional prototype.

"The Kressa is
fast and agile," he began to think of options for future
development, "Now I must find something for my land invasion
forces," he ran through a list of suitable life forms for potential
integration, "I need something armoured and stubborn, something big
and aggressive." his head began to ache reminding him of the
massive drain he had suffered only hours before.

"Why am I
worrying about this?" he rebuked himself, "I can leave that to the
biologists, that's what I pay them for."

***

Even in his
depleted condition Go'an sensed instantly that his scientists were
hiding something from him as he stepped through the main entrance
and into the institutes wide and bright reception area, he felt
their evasion and discomfort, he sensed secrets and concerns,
concerns that bordered on fear.

"Tell me." he
demanded as he forced eye contact with the director.

"It is nothing
to worry about Chancellor." replied the nervous head of the
facility.

"I find that
difficult to believe" Go'an replied as he forced his way into the
mind that stood before him.

"Why was I not
informed?" he glared as he forced the director to his knees.

"We didn't
think we should worry you," came a pained reply, "We are working on
a fix right now."

Go'an felt his
own concerns rising, he was basing his entire domination plan on
the Kressa units, it had not been by accident that they had
remained a closely guarded secret for so many years... now their
reliability could be in doubt.

His plan had
always been to unleash their ferocity on any race that failed to
comply with his broader plans for the Federation. Accept his
authority or suffer the might of his Kressa fleet. "And they have
begun to over-ride the safety protocols?"

The director
nodded, "It is not happening throughout the entire fleet, but the
fact that it is happening at all is a concern, but please don't
worry Chancellor, we have a team of software experts working on the
code and inserting new safeguards, given a little time we can fix
this."

"You have
three months, not one day more" warned Go'an, "After that I want a
functioning and reliable fleet at my disposal... do not disappoint
me Director, it would be very unwise."

Maulik sat in
his seat in Kressa's cockpit and they discussed the mission ahead
of them. "How long will it take us to get there?" he asked.

"No more than
eight hours," she replied, "We could be there much quicker, but I
don't want to over work my reactor, we don't know what the
reception will be like yet, and I don't think it will be wise for
us to arrive when I'm not operating at full capacity."

Maulik nodded,
"You know I'm just a passenger, you could probably do all of this
without me." he laughed.

"I cannot
function without you," she replied instantly, "It's a safety
protocol, I cannot operate without a pilot, so we are both equally
important."

"That's
comforting to know," he chuckled, "I was beginning to feel very
obsolete. So, eight hours, that should give me enough time to think
of something to say when we arrive." he joked.

"Unnecessary,"
cut in Go'an, "I will tell you what to say, do not concern yourself
with that issue."

"Nice of you
to join us Chancellor." sighed Maulik, Go'an was beginning to
irritate with his constant interruptions to daily life, "Any chance
you will cut the link when this job is over?" he asked
hopefully.

"I may
consider it," laughed Go'an, "But then again, I may find more uses
for you, there are other worlds."

"With respect,
find someone else," replied Maulik with feeling, "I really would
like my mind back, no disrespect intended, but you are really
starting to annoy me now."

"Despite the
knowledge of what I could do to you, even at this range, you are
still defiant, I like that independence of spirit, I respect you
Master Maulik, when you return we must sit down and talk properly,
maybe you can be convinced to work for me more willingly, you would
find the benefits and rewards... attractive. But that is a matter
for future discussion, right now we have more pressing issues to
attend to, have you made your preparations for the journey?"

"Yeah,
mostly," he replied wondering why Go'an always insisted he repeat
what he already knew, "I was just discussing that with Kressa."

"Good, the Kressa unit already has my initial salutation to
transmit as you approach Diurian space, do not cross the neutral
zone until you have received confirmation from their central
command that your embassy has been accepted, it may take some time,
so display patience Master Maulik, there is a certain …
pace
to Diurian
thinking, you must not rush them."

"The mistake
that you made on first contact?"

Maulik sensed
a hesitancy, "You people rushed in didn't you?"

"Let us just
say we failed to adhere to protocol." admitted Go'an but masked the
true details of their first contact.