OMEGA Conscript (9 page)

Daria Chen stood at firm attention as she replied. "Our strike resistance has increased by 8 percent in the past three days. We anticipate our original goals will be met before we arrive at the gate."

Harden gave her a stern look. "I'm trusting you to make that happen, Miss Chen. Our planners have calculated those defensive numbers as being critical in assuring we achieve our objectives."

Daria Chen lowered her head in a single nod. "I will make it happen, sir."

The proclaimed emperor and king of the Salton family then turned his attention to a display showing a single squatting female. He exhaled with a long sigh at the sight of his uncooperative niece as she attempted to chip her way through the concrete wall confining her.

Garrett's face pinched. "Cooped up like a criminal. Just let me down there with that creep and I'll snap his neck."

Harden Salton pressed a button on his chair arm. "Joni, why do you defy me? I can provide you with a life of wealth and ease. I can give you servants to satisfy your every whim, rich foods to satiate you before you are even hungry, extravagant galas in your name, just as with your cousins. Why do you refuse a life that most would kill for?"

Joni stopped and looked up at the camera in the opposite corner of the room. "Because someone has to stop you. Family or not, you have gone over the edge. You send millions to their deaths for your own illicit conquest. All for what? So you can feel good about yourself and the empire you control?"

Joni turned back to her chipping for several more swings before she stopped. "Or maybe it's because I have my grandfather's blood coursing through my veins. A blood that has gone sour in both you and my father. You’re corrupt, and he’s weak and easily swayed by your grandiose visions."

Harden half laughed. "And suppose you do chip your way out of that room? Where would you go? What would you do?"

Joni looked at the camera with hatred. "I will go wherever I can find fair-minded people. I will rally them to my side and I will return to unseat you from your unjust position of power!"

Harden leaned toward the camera in front of his chair as his image enlarged on the holo-display in Joni's room. "And what if there are no fair-minded people to be rallied? What if they are content with the leadership they are under?"

Joni spat on the floor next to herself. "Then I will return and finish the job myself!"

Harden again sighed. "Why must you take the joy out of my achievements? You have the spirit I always wished for in your father. You are a Salton like your grandfather and me. You set yourself on a course and you make it happen. You
will
it to happen. I should be gleeful if you would just join us, rather than plot against us. I never told you this, but I always envisioned you as the heir to this kingdom. My daughters are weak; my sons are degenerate. You have the fire, the determination, the intelligence they lack."

Joni smiled. "Well, at least we can agree on one thing. I will be the heir to your throne. I will be sitting in that chair when I dethrone you. So you'd best get done whatever it is that you will be doing before I get out of here. Because from that point on, your time as self-appointed ruler of the universe will begin to shorten with every second that passes. Look deep into my eyes, uncle. One day they will be the last eyes you see!"

Harden Salton huffed and cut the comm channel.

Garrett shook his head. "I love that girl more with every word she speaks. We need to get her out of there before she hurts herself, or pisses him off so bad that he shuts her up."

I replied, "He won't hurt her."

Go cut in. "I see the ambassador heading to the reception hall. Mr. Salton is just reviewing the other displays. Should I stay and follow him or move on to the ambassador."

I said, "Can you see the display where the Kyota guy was? Try to find the station or stations down on the floor that are monitoring the portal gate. Maybe we can get the coordinates we are looking for from there."

Go nodded. "Give me a few minutes."

I sat back and crossed my arms. "So now we know the intended fate of my people. A pincer move against the Grumar at Doomlight. I see one big problem with that scenario. The Grotus will not comply with his wishes."

Garrett replied, "I don't know. They might see it as an opportunity to finish off the Moddle. Let Harden have Doomlight, follow his fleet to the Moddle worlds and force their surrender. After that, the Grotus know the exact location of the entire Salton fleet. If they were to commit their fleet of battlecruisers to a fight with Harden's fleet, I would place their odds of beating him at two to one."

I nodded. "I would place them higher. Whatever the Grotus have showed of their own fleet to the Grumar is probably only a small portion of what they have. If they have such a fleet, and if those ships were to commit, I believe it would be a slaughter."

Garrett smirked. "What, you got no faith in your own people?"

I shook my head. "The Grunta are capable fighters. This however, would be a space battle, between ships. My people are sitting on transports, but they are useful for ground assaults only. The Grotus will slaughter them if given the opportunity."

Go said, "I checked the stations that appear to be connected to the portal gate. There's no information to be had from them, just stats and other readings, nothing to do with nav coordinates. Harden is coming down in his elevator now. We are coming up on the hour, so I suspect he will he headed to his meeting with the ambassador. I'll tag along."

Garrett replied, "We'll be right there with you."

   Chapter 9

Harden stood in a doorway as Galorian Ambassador Tum Raal came down the hall with his escort. "Mr. Salton, I thank you for this invitation. Perhaps this meeting will be the start of a renewed spirit of friendship and cooperation between our families."

"Have a seat over here, Ambassador," Harden replied. "I trust all of your needs have been met since your arrival?"

Ambassador Tum Raal nodded. "Your staff has been most generous with their assistance."

Harden got right to the point. "Look, Mr. Raal, it's no secret that our families have had their differences when it comes to trade. The reason I summoned you here today was to put forth an offer that I believe will benefit not only the Galorians and ourselves, but all the families."

Harden Salton turned on a holo-display sitting atop the table in front of them. A long cylindrical ship structure came to life before them.

Harden gestured toward the ship. "I call this the first diplomacy vessel of the New Alliance. It will be located in orbit near Alpha Prime and will be the diplomatic quarters for the representatives from each family. Because it will be a self- sustaining station of sorts, there won't be any quarrels about diplomatic immunity, or worries about terrorist strikes against diplomats."

Raal raised his chin. "So you heard about the attacks on Giados IV. I commend you on your intelligence gathering, Mr. Salton. What I don't understand … is why you have summoned me here about a diplomatic ship. There is nothing I see here that warrants my travel from Giados."

Harden smiled. "I want your family to be the builder of these ships. You take our designs, we supply the materials, and you supply the labor. I would think the prospect of employment for a hundred thousand workers would be incentive enough for your people to at least begin talks of opening up our trade relations. Each family would be responsible for the construction cost of the station for their capital world."

Garrett pointed at the holo-display. "That's a strange-looking station for diplomats if you ask me."

I asked, "Why?"

Garrett gestured. "It's long and thin. I would think you would want something round or spherical where the diplomats were in close proximity to not only each other, but meeting rooms, dining halls, everything. If I were building a diplomatic station, it wouldn't look like that."

Raal smiled as he looked over the holo-model that floated before him. "You just made the proposal interesting, Mr. Salton. A contract would indeed change things."

Harden zoomed in on a meeting room and pulled up another floating image of its design. I would also add that I believe each family should provide inspectors during the construction process so that none of us are tempted to outfit the station with audio or video or any other, shall we say, illicit information devices.

"I am certain that your teams are vigilant in their sweeps of your diplomatic compound as our own staff is on Giados. The section assigned to each family on the station will be owned and furnished by that family after the initial construction is complete."

Raal nodded. "I do like this concept, Mr. Salton. I, of course, cannot say yes to this myself, but I believe this proposal to have a high likelihood of approval by both our diplomatic and trade councils. How soon are you wanting to proceed if I receive approval?"

Harden held out a data store. "My people have worked out a proposed contract we believe your people will find both fair and lucrative. We are prepared to move on this immediately if we have your approval. Once construction has begun, we can each send an invitation to the other families."

The Galorian held out his data store and the contract and ship designs were transferred. A nod and a smile then sent the ambassador on his way.

When the door to the conference room had closed, Harden Salton turned and smirked to himself. "You are one devious individual. Me? Why yes, yes I am!"

The king of the Salton worlds pressed the comm button on his arm pad. "Joseph, I'm in the Green Room. Come in here, please."

As Joseph entered the room, Harden gestured. "Close the door, please."

Joseph complied. "I take it the meeting went well?"

Harden grinned. "Yes! They will be constructing the very ship that will one day cause their surrender!"

Joseph sat in a heavily padded lounge chair. "How is it that a diplomatic station will be used as a weapon?"

Harden sat in a chair facing Joseph. "The diplomatic station will not be a diplomatic station. When the construction of the hull is complete, we will start some phony squabble, kick out the Galorians, and take control of our newest weapon."

Harden Salton gestured toward the holo-display of the model ship floating over a table. "If you notice, the structure spanning three quarters of the vessel is repeated. Each section is identical to the second section which holds a bank of powerful ion generators. I plan on filling the remaining identical sections with more generators. Up here, in this first section, is where the wormhole generator will be housed. We are building a platform that will allow us to easily move our portal gate to wherever we desire."

Joseph half smiled. "It's a hassle to move the gate now, but we can do it if needed. What I don't understand is, why you are enlisting the labor of the Galorians to build it? Couldn't we construct this same ship in our own yards?"

Harden nodded. "We could, but our cesium supplies are dwindling. In ten years time we will have to start shutting down worlds unless we find new sources. The Galorians are overburdened with cesium. I wish to lighten their burden through trade. At the moment, they wouldn't sell us a gram of gallig fat. With this grand gesture, I hope to put together a trade agreement that will allow us to build a stockpile of our most important fuel.

"A single freighter of cesium will power an entire colony for anywhere from three years for an Alpha Prime—up to fifty years and beyond for some of the smaller ones. Fully powering that portal gate expends nearly a quarter load of cesium. As we ramp up our operation on Doomlight, we will require a larger supply than we currently have."

Joseph stood and looked over the station design. "And the portal being used as a weapon, how does that come into play?"

Harden touched his arm pad and a holo-image of Giados popped into view several meters in front of the proposed portal ship. "One of my strategists convinced me that the portal gate could be used as a weapon. Open a portal just below the surface of a colony city, sweep upwards. We could take out a section of a colony nearly two kilometers in diameter with the push of a button."

Joseph winced. "Attack a city full of civilians? What would happen to that section of city?"

Harden enabled a simulated video. "The portal opens with the aperture set as wide as possible since we aren't jumping galaxies in this instance. A section of the city is then brought through the portal with a sweep. The section of the city, of course, is left floating in space. The Galorians would have no choice but to surrender and join us."

Joseph shook his head. "I don't think that is the best of ideas, Harden. The Galorians may surrender, but they will be forever resentful of an attack on their citizens."

Harden smiled. "Yes, they will. And fortunately for us, they will believe the attackers to be one of the other families. Our new weapon will be mobile. We jump to a Wasata family sector, conduct the attack, and jump back here. The evidence will remain in the Wasata family's territory. We will swoop in with our fleet and a defensive pact. You see, we get to be the heroes as well. The Galorians will love us for our assistance."

Joseph sat. "I don't know, brother. What if word gets out that we have the portal device?"

Harden turned off the holo-display. "They won't find out. The portal ship will be fully automated, but controlled from here. We will be outfitting it with several of the Grotus ship computers. We have been studying them for two years now. Our engineers are convinced we can make the ship a smart ship, crewless if you will. It will be equipped for self-repair with the Grotus autobots. You see, all we have to do is provide fuel, then we sit back and command it to do our bidding!"

Joseph rubbed his chin. "What of the workers who construct the ship to begin with?"

Harden again smiled. "Simple! Conscripts. When the ship is complete and made operational, we send those workers off to Doomlight to fight for the Empire. Joseph, this morning when I said that we would one day control the six galaxies and beyond, this portal ship will be our means of accomplishing that feat. I have our engineers working on converting a new gate for our use right now. I envision a fleet of portal ships allowing us to control all known space, and to then expand beyond what we know!"

Harden sat beside his brother. "And I need for you to be with me throughout this journey. As I said earlier, you are the voice of reason, I am the vision. Together we will create an empire like none ever before imagined. Imagine an empire of a hundred galaxies! Or a thousand! All under our guidance and control! I need you, my brother. I need you to bring a dose of reality to my ever expanding dreams!"

Joseph took hold of his brother's forearm. "I will be there, Harden."

Harden grinned. "I know you will, brother!"

Harden then stood and began to pace the room. "I had a short discussion with Joni this morning. She is as stubborn as ever. She had broken a steel leg off a chair and was attempting to dig her way out by chipping away at a concrete wall. I wish she could see things from our point of view. She reminds me of father and me with her tenacity. She could be a huge contributor to our cause, where my own children are dimwits, nothing more than spoiled leeches sucking the blood from the family. Continue to work on her, Joseph. I feel we may one day need her."

Joseph replied, "I will do what I can, but we must be patient."

Harden looked at is arm pad. "I have a meeting with a representative of the Igari."

Joseph stood. "Is there anything I can help with?"

Harden waved his hand. "No. I have a list of minor concessions I am prepared to offer in exchange for their cooperation against several of the colonies where they have influence. If we can bring the Igari unrest under control, I believe we can use them as a tool to quell unrest elsewhere. Did you know, they are expected to surpass us Humans as the majority species here on Alpha? Just a short time ago, that thought would have been unfathomable. Our colony at Endura is now the only Human dominated colony in this sector."

Joseph nodded. "The great expansion of Human ideals by the founders of the AMP has truly come to an end. I believe it was a mistake for the founders to hide away Earth. It is a symbol of Human greatness, but a symbol that we cannot touch or see. We are left to wonder if it ever really existed at all."

Harden scowled. "When we take control of the Milky Way, I will make it a priority that we find Earth. I agree that it has been a symbol of the Human species. I would make it the capitol of the Salton Empire, and make Humans the favored species, placing restrictions on breeding by other species."

Harden turned toward the door. "I must go. We will continue these discussions further, brother. I would like your wisdom on what we might do."

Harden left the room. Go powered after him.

Garrett said, "A thousand galaxies? This guy is a nut. You couldn't possibly manage an empire so large."

I nodded. "They will never make it to their dream of a thousand galaxies, let alone a hundred. I very much doubt they will ever control the six. Harden is an egomaniac. His push to make things happen quickly will be his undoing. He will soon discover his mistake of making an alliance with the Grotus and the Grumar."

Go said, "Let's see what it is he has to offer to the Igari. Their representative just entered the room."

Harden Salton stood with his hands clasped behind his back. "Mr. Jalud, welcome to my home. I hope my staff has met all of your needs?"

Harma Jalud stood quietly for several seconds. "I must insist that your henchmen leave the room, Mr. Salton. Their presence is an insult to our diplomatic efforts."

Harden turned toward his bodyguards and gestured for them to leave.

"Let us not dally, Mr. Salton," Jalud said. "You have an offer for my people. I trust you have met our demands?"

Harden Salton's expression turned from a polite smile to a scowl before settling back into a forced smile. "Mr. Jalud, I am prepared to offer a loosening of the trade taxes by nearly half on the colonies under your influence. I will also begin to pump a significant amount of stimulus credits into your economies in an effort to show that I am serious about our commitment. The credits will be in the form of purchasing agreements for excess production from your factories, for shipment to other sectors. I will also remove all import taxes on raw materials coming into your colonies. That should give a significant boost to the Igari through full or near-full employment."

Harma Jalud shook his head. "This is exactly the kind of shiny trinkets we were expecting from you. I'm afraid I must decline and instead offer another more permanent solution."