Steven Gordon 3: The Modloch Empire (31 page)

‘
As King Vison has
pointed out, that is impossible. Is it true they will only trade
with those who have agreed to support their bid?’

‘
At this moment in
time, yes.’

‘
That is a shame. At
this time the only support I can give is to not vocally speak out
against them. I would suggest the farther their trade goods travel,
then the more support they will probably gather.’

‘
It would seem you
have had a change of heart since yesterday.’

‘
If this was not a
political decision, I would throw my people behind yours and the
Human race. However, as Vison has pointed out, we are in no
position to help at this time. The Albany might be weak at the
moment, but they are still getting funds from the illegal selling
of the Blue Grass and have already started building a new
fleet.’

‘
Not for long. I am
close to going into full production and will undercut the Albany by
at least half. That should kill off their funds soon
enough.’

‘
Good luck with that
Emperor. Watch your back though. The Albany are infuriated and
dangerous. I have never seen them like this before.’

‘
Thank you for your
thoughts President, and I will convey your sentiments, if not your
support, to the Humans.’

‘
Thank them for the
gifts too please. I am learning to write.’

Darrick laughed. ‘It is addictive,
isn’t it?’

‘
Strangely so, yes.’
He bowed and the two turned away.

The three friends watched them go. ‘It
is no great loss.’ Ne´ offered.

‘
No I don’t suppose
it is. Still, it would have been glorious if everyone had said
yes.

‘
When are you going
to tell the Humans?’

‘
Later, after
everyone has left.’

‘
Have you told them
about the restrictions yet?’

‘
No I haven’t. I
doubt very much if it will bother them.’

Marcus shook his head. ‘You could be
wrong Darrick. There has never been such a restriction placed on
any race. They might find it insulting.’

‘
I would be surprised
if they didn’t find it insulting on some level Marcus. In fact, it
is downright discrimination. Yet this bid is the first from any
meat eating race to even get this far. I think they will realise
that and hold their peace.’

‘
You could be right.
What are your plans for them now?’

‘
It will take a
couple of months to have the bid ratified and recognised. Once it
is they will have a few months to become familiar with
intergalactic law and sign their compliance. Once they have signed
it they will be bound by it.’

‘
Yes, but what about
their eating meat?’ Marcus pushed the question onto him.

‘
There are laws
concerning diet that should give them protection while petitioning
to become a full member.’

‘
They weren’t meant
to cover meat-eaters.’

‘
No, but the language
is obscure enough to cover it. Once the bid has been accepted they
will have to get themselves organised properly. I have set up a
special team to guide them through the process, including setting
up the proper departments.’

‘
I think you are
going to be kept busy Darrick.’ Marcus mused.

‘
I’m sure I will.
What about you Ne´? Are you looking forward to having the Humans
help you patrol the borders?’

Ne´ thought it over. ‘The proportion of
craft they will have to supply will be small, little more than a
battleship and its accompanying destroyers. I may split them up to
let them gain experience with the rest of the fleet, then maybe
after a year or so let them rejoin. I think it will only be then
that they will show what they are truly worth.’

CHAPTER 37

Kelly and Charlie sat on the oversized
chairs with their legs swinging free. They were in the main palace
complex waiting for some bureaucrat to see them. There had been
complaints about their training program from some of the Modloch
officers. As a result, they were asked to report to this department
so that they could receive a lecture about what the Modloch body
could and could not withstand. Of course, they could have simply
sent them the electronic documentation. However, this was just the
way things were done.

Kelly glanced at his watch, ‘How much
longer? That’s an hour already.’

‘
Beats me Jeb. Looks
to me like we are being put in our place.’

‘
Sure
does.’

Charlie closed his eyes and began to
listen to the minds that surrounded them. He was hoping to find out
what the clown behind the door was up to. What he heard shocked
him. His eyes snapped open and focused on two nobles he recognised
from the evening before. They were being escorted by an entourage
of guards.

As they went past, they glanced coldly
at the Humans. Charlie got up. ‘I got to do something. Can you deal
with this arsehole on your own?’

‘
Sure, if I have
to.’

‘
You’re going to have
to.’

‘
Well whatever the
hell it is, try and get back quickly.’

‘
I will.’

Charlie began to shadow the two aliens.
He kept well back and almost out of sight. He caught up with them
as they reached a terminal.

‘
Where are you
going?’ Snapped a guard.

‘
Space port.’ Charlie
answered.

‘
Wait for your own
transport pod.’

Charlie crossed his arms. ‘I’m in a
hurry.’

‘
Don’t care Human,
you can wait.’

‘
There is plenty room
in these pods for us all.’

‘
We don’t share pods
with dirty meat-eaters.’

‘
Fine, then wait for
the next one.’

‘
Move!’ Threatened
the guard.

‘
Move me.’ Challenged
Charlie.

The guard swung the butt of the long
rifle he was carrying at Charlie’s head. Charlie caught the butt,
grabbed the barrel and bent the weapon in two. He thrust it back at
the guard who stumbled a few steps back. Another charged with a
strange growl, thrusting his weapon at Charlie. Charlie forced the
weapon out of his hands and thrust him aside. The second weapon
received the same treatment. The guard had fallen against a wall
and Charlie tossed the weapon to him.

The first guard was desperately trying
to straighten his weapon out. The others began to move. ‘Enough.’
Snapped one of the nobles. He approached Charlie as a pod slowed to
a stop.

‘
Do you know who I
am, Human?’

‘
No. Do you know who
I am?’

‘
No.’

‘
Excellent.’ Charlie
stepped past them and into the pod. ‘Space Port, Tier Sixteen
please.’

The noble followed him in. ‘Wait. We
are going to Tier Fifteen and we are in a hurry.’

‘
Please yourself.’
Charlie touched the control pad. ‘Space Port, Tier Fifteen then
Tier Sixteen please.’

They crowded into the pod but put as
much distance between themselves and Charlie as possible. One of
the guards was giving Charlie the eye.

‘
Don’t even try it
son; there simply isn’t enough of you, and if those pair you are
guarding are important, then you are going to find yourself in so
much shit you will drown in it.’

‘
Leave the Human
alone.’ Growled the noble that had spoken to him before.

The journey only took five minutes and
the alien group scowled at Charlie all the way there. They got off
at tier fifteen and the pod moved on. Charlie pressed the pad.
‘Back to central plaza please.’

Kelly was still waiting. ‘Come on Jeb,
let’s go.’

Kelly was suddenly alert. ‘What’s going
on Charlie?’

‘
We got bigger fish
to fry than this tosser.’

CHAPTER 38

The shuttle pilot banked to ninety
degrees and watched the sun appear from behind the green planet
below. The beauty of the scene made his breath catch in his throat
every time. Ex US Navy, Ex American Airlines, the crusty old pilot
considered himself to be one of the luckiest men alive. He had
applied for the astronaut training program but hadn’t been
selected. When he had served his time with the navy he had been
snapped up by the airlines. Five years from retirement he saw an
opportunity and grabbed it. Space shuttle pilot. He thought that he
could still pilot a fighter if need be but the space corps were
looking for older, more experienced, pilots for their shuttles.
After a thorough medical, they had snapped him up too.

He smiled to himself. The fighter
jockeys sat on board their mother ships doing the odd combat air
patrol. Furlough was rare. Here he was, up and down to the planet’s
surface almost every day. Flying around the fleet. Visiting alien
ships. There was always time to look around the space port or
cities he visited. With his old digital Nikon at his side, his
family drooled over his Facebook page. He also had thousands of new
friends.

The shuttle entered the atmosphere with
very little vibration. Once through he was guided into a landing
pattern. With automatic safeties engaged in case of mishap, he
landed the shuttle at the Emperor’s private airfield. His
passengers alighted and stood in a small group waiting transport.
He grabbed his old Nikon, and with permission snapped a couple of
pictures.

Transport arrived and whisked his
passengers away. The old pilot played the pictures back to himself.
The President, King and Captain Gordon all waved at him with big
smiles on their faces. He wondered how many likes and shares he
would get for this picture.

The journey to the palace was brief.
All were a little worried about the meeting. Steven was wondering
about why he had been summoned. It had been a while since his
personal meeting with the Emperor. They were guided into a drawing
room. They found Human sized seats arranged round a large coffee
table.

The Emperor relaxed in a large
armchair. He stood. ‘Gentlemen, please, come and sit down. I have
Human tea and cakes.’

‘
Wonderful, shall I
be mother?’ The King asked. They all laughed. They thought the
smile on the Emperor’s face was a good sign.

Once the tea was poured the Emperor
began. ‘I shall not keep you in suspense any longer. Your bid was
successful. All but two of the delegates agreed to endorse your
bid.’

There was a collective sigh of relief
from the Humans. The Emperor went on, ‘I have to admit that the
amount of endorsements you have gained is unprecedented. However,
there is one important precondition you must agree to before they
will endorse you. I told the King last night. Did he discuss it
with you Mr President?’

‘
Yes, briefly last
night and I talked to the Earth council this morning. We filled in
Captain Gordon on the way over. As I stated last night, we are not
interested in any territory this side of the barrier. Our great,
great grandchildren may well feel differently of course, but by
then – hopefully – Humanity will be a full and trusted member of
the galactic federation of planets.’

‘
That is exactly the
way we feel about it.’ The Emperor admitted. ‘Now that is over and
done with we can proceed. We need the signature of three nobles
from your planet and I believe you three are the best qualified to
sign.’ He turned to address Steven specifically. ‘I know who and
what you are to the Human race now. You will also become a goodwill
ambassador. Your name and signature on this document will add
weight to your position as an ambassador.’

‘
Then I must thank
your imperial majesty for his thoughtfulness.’

He nodded. ‘Your biggest assets are the
foods and animals you enthralled the nobility with last night. I
fear demand will far outstrip supply. You will have to get your
priorities right. I will help you with that. In fact, I will put
together a team to do just that. You have a lot to learn, and until
your bid is acknowledged by the Council, you are still vulnerable.
That will be the state of things until you have signed the terms
and conditions that bind you to your bid.

‘
The bid will be
submitted to the council. It will be checked thoroughly. Each head
of state which signed it will be contacted to verify their
signatures and to make sure they have not changed their minds. Once
that is complete you will receive a document containing the full
terms and conditions. You must read and digest it. You will have at
least six weeks to do so. You may take as long as you want. As your
world does not have a single ruler then it must read and signed by
the whole of the leading body of your planet.

‘
You will be expected
to draft new laws for your planet that reflect the treaty. That
draft will have to be ratified by your leading body and passed into
law before submitting it to the council for approval. Your draft
may well be rejected; with recommendations of course. I have seen
this part of the process take years. Your people cannot afford
these kinds of delays.

‘
Once you have done
all of that and your bid goes forward, you will receive a copy of
the intergalactic laws. Again, this is a process. You may of course
object to certain laws you believe are prejudiced against your
people. If you do, the laws may well be reviewed, and if it is
found that the laws are prejudiced against your race, a new ruling
may well be awarded, or special dispensation given. If it will
affect no other race, that is.