The Solarian Celebration: Book 3 of the Alliance Conflict (9 page)

“What happened to the 6 Netos that survived the destruction of the frigate
Bloodlust
?”

Fruid’la: “Unfortunately, we were never able to question them.  Apparently, some AAU’s entered the hangar and killed them.  Their bodies were thrown out into space when the hangar bay exploded.”

“How did they land 3 full squadrons of AAU’s on the station?  For that matter, how could one tiny cruiser accommodate that many troops?”

Fruid’la imagined a personnel hauler driving over yet another being.  He said, “The log clearly shows that Alliance cruiser did not land any troops on the station.  My analysis indicates that the soldiers must have hidden on the captured ships.  Clearly, Station Commander Plot’ko missed them when he performed the inspection of the ships.”

He continued, “We detected a signal that the
Sunflower
sent to the docked ships.  We weren’t able to read it, but the attack began shortly thereafter.  I believe this message instructed the AAU’s to come out of their hiding places and begin the attack.”

“Why do you think that the Alliance blew up their destroyed fighters just before jumping out of the system?”

Fruid’la wasn’t expecting this question.  He honestly hadn’t given it any consideration.  Fruid’la responded, “You are correct.  Just before jumping, the
Sunflower
sent a self-destruct signal to the 4 Alliance fighters remaining in the system.”

He continued, “Three of the fighters had been destroyed in battle and the fourth was sitting intact inside the space station.  The pilot surrendered in exchange for medical aid.”

“Was the pilot taken to the medical unit?”

Fruid’la knew the council person really meant was whether the pilot was still on the station.  Fruid’la responded, “Unfortunately, no.  The AAU’s that killed the Netos in the transport hangar bay apparently rescued the pilot.”

“Again, why do you think the Alliance blew up the fighters?”

Fruid’la thought about the battle of Opron when the High Council ordered him to basically field test the Neto pilots.  He was forced to explode several downed fighters in an attempt to conceal that they contained Neto pilots.  He now wondered what the Alliance may have been trying to hide.

Fruid’la responded, “We may never know for certain.  My theory is that the Alliance pilot didn’t need medical aid.  He lied for the sole purpose of landing his fighter on the station.  Then, they blew up the fighter in order to slow down our pursuit.  The captain of the
Sunflower
may not have known exactly which fighter landed on the station, so he exploded all of the remaining ones.”

“That seems particularly cruel.”

Fruid’la continued, “It is possible though that they were hiding something and exploded all of the downed fighters to keep us from discovering a new technology or something.”

“Continuing that theory; was there anything special about the other 200 odd fighters we temporarily captured?”

Fruid’la detected a bit of derision in the word temporarily.  He responded, “No, there was nothing special.  The fighters were the same design and model that has been produced for the last 100 or so years.”

“So it is extremely unlikely that they were hiding something.  This means that the Alliance intentionally blew up a section of a space station potentially filled with civilians just to cover their own escape.”

Fruid’la: “Yes.  That action seems uncharacteristic of typical Alliance credo, but it fits with the brutally gory theme of the rest of the battle.  The captain and crew of that ship have no decorum or even basic empathy.  It disgusts me.  They need to be brought to justice for their actions.”

Fruid’la had now said justice twice.  He hoped that by repeating the saying the High Council would hold the
Sunflower
responsible for the carnage and not hold him responsible for the abject failure during the battle.

“What are your final thoughts?”

Fruid’la imagined the personnel hauler with room for one more.  He said, “Again, my plan was excellent.  Unfortunately, Admiral Lopeq’la, in charge of the prisoner transfer force, was behind my schedule.  If his taskforce had been timelier the prisoners would have been transferred without issue and the whole battle could have been avoided.”

Admiral Lopeq’la and his fleet hadn’t been late.  In fact, they had been exactly on schedule.  Fruid’la intentionally inserted the word ‘my’ just before schedule and carefully avoided saying the word late.  However, his wording almost ensured that Admiral Lopeq’la would now receive some blame and probably have to face this council and explain his timing.

Technically, Lopeq’la hadn’t done anything incorrectly; Fruid’la just didn’t like him very much. He recalled the conversation they had had on the Spindle Station just after the prisoners escaped.  His command carrier had been destroyed and the rest of his fleet had already jumped out of the system.  Therefore, he and his crew needed transportation back to Hiricula.

Fruid’la had to stoop to asking Lopeq’la if they could ride back with him.

Lopeq’la responded something along the lines of, “But of course Admiral.  We have plenty of room since you have no prisoners awaiting transfer.  In fact, you and the few crewmembers that are still alive can have an entire passenger liner to yourselves.”

Fruid’la imagined where he would reassign Admiral Lopeq’la when he rose to ultimate power.  He could think of several prime spots including Neto over watch, Neto training, and Neto facilitation.  Or, perhaps we would assign him to guard the navigational beacon in Dunron.

“Thank you…”

Fruid’la had been waiting all meeting for the right moment to ask, but figured that he was now out of time.  He said, “Clearly this was a setback, but not a dire one.  In fact, we might even be able to use it to our advantage.  Am I allowed to proceed to the next phase of the plan?”

There was a considerable pause.  Finally, the council responded in unison, “Yes, you can proceed to Phase 2.”  After a momentary pause, one council member said, “Thank you, you are dismissed.”

Not too bad, Fruid’la self-summarized.  The meeting went better than he expected. 

Fruid’la performed the traditional Hiriculan goodbye and left the High Council chamber.  It was a beautiful day in Hiricula’s capital, but he barely noticed.  He entered the ground car waiting for him and instructed the driver to take him back to the spaceport.

The Conron system contains only gas giant planets.  Further, it does not have any habitable moons or even any moons that are candidates for terraforming.  So, while the Conron terrestrial bodies cannot support life, they are rich in trace minerals.  As a result, the system has developed a thriving mining operation.

The Alliance Navy has a significant presence in the system.  There is a fleet of 18 warships stationed near the Conron – Opron hyperspace lane.  The Navy has a relatively large space station located here that is primarily used for ship repair and as a supply depot.  The Navy also has two huge forts guarding the Conron – Earth hyperspace lane.

Not counting the military, the system boasts a population of 4 million Advranki – the overwhelming majority are situated on 6 large commercial space stations.  Three of the stations are drilling platforms, two are environment spheres used for growing food, and the sixth is a huge space station.

The huge space station, named Anvabliaklis - or Anvil in Alliance basic - is the center of commerce in the system.  Nearly all of the commercial shipping is located here; including the system’s mercantile, ship repair, and storage facilities.  The local government is also situated here. 

The beings that live here have a reputation for being practical, sensible, and hard working.  Nearly everyone works in either mining or shipping or in a function that supports shipping or mining.  They are generally described as being relatively near dirt.

At the moment though, no one was working.  All eyes were tuned to a communication pad or monitor.  The Alliance Senate had just announced its 1
st
ever press conference in the Conron system and no one wanted to miss it.

There were precious few reporters and news crews stationed in the Conron system.  However, every single one of them was assembled in preparation for the impromptu conference. 

Frank was peeved because he couldn’t think of a reason to speak in front of the cameras.  Since Figur had been forced to deliver the news of the fleet’s capture, he was allowed to give the news of their escape.  Oh well, Frank thought, it was entirely possible that this conference would make Figur a target for an assassination attempt.

Figur waved for everyone’s attention and began the conference.  He said, “Gentle beings of the Alliance, last week I reported that an Alliance naval fleet had been peacefully investigating the illegal presence of a Hiriculan space station when it was attacked and unjustly forced to surrender.”

He continued, “I have an update.  Our navy launched a daring rescue attempt.  The attempt was hugely successful as we were able to rescue the captured crew members and repossess all of the undamaged naval ships.  The Hiriculan navy was given yet another humiliating defeat.”

Figur slowed his rate of speaking and lowered his voice. “The battle had a terrible cost.  Roughly 150 Advranki and over 200 Hiriculans were killed.  Let us pause for a moment in silent thought for the families of all beings that lost a loved one during those two battles.”

Figur paused for a moment of silence.  He continued the speech, his voice reaching a crescendo, “Beings, it is my hope that this battle showed Hiricula the terrible, terrible cost of warfare.  I hope that communication and diplomacy will again be the norm and that this was the last battle we will ever fight.” 

Figur made another slight pause for effect and finished, “However, let me assure you that the Alliance will fight if required.  We have soundly defeated them and will continue to do so in the future.”

The crowd cheered and applauded for several long minutes.  Frank was impressed.  It was a great speech and Figur had marvelously delivered it.  Frank had helped Figur write the speech shortly after the meeting with Admiral Solear.  He had insisted that Figur include the phrases ‘humiliating defeat’ and ‘soundly defeated’. 

Frank was certain that the words would provoke a Hiriculan reaction.  This finally gave Frank the motive that he so desperately needed. 

They decided not to mention the 157 Netos that died in the battle.  The speech just sounded better without their inclusion.  They also neglected to mention the 6 humans that had died.  However, in this case the reason for their exclusion were purposeful.

The cheering died down and Figur asked for questions.  This time he actually selected a reporter and waved for everyone else to be silent.

Reporter: “Can you give us the details of the battle or show us the simulation?”

Figur; “Not yet.  It is still classified.  Please recall that the families of the deceased have not yet been notified.  When the notification is completed and the navy has performed a thorough review of the battle, more details will be released.”

Frank noted that Figur said ‘more details will be released’ versus ‘the actual footage will be released’.  Frank had personally coached Figur on that response.  He doubted that they would ever release the simulation from that battle.

A different reporter yelled, “How many Hiriculan ships were destroyed in the battle?”

Figur responded, “There were only two Hiriculan ships in the system when the rescue occurred.  Both were destroyed.  The remainder of the Hiriculan fleet wasn’t in the system at the time of the rescue.”

Figur continued, “It was an amazing twist of luck actually that…”

Frank realized that Figur’s joy for talking was about to overcome the strict script the Senate had authorized for the conference.  Frank interrupted by gently leading Figur away from the podium.  However, he now realized that he was standing in front of the microphone.

Frank said, “Again, that is all of the information that we can share about the battle at this time.  However, please join me in welcoming our troops back.  It is certainly heartwarming to see them return.”

Frank paused for a moment and waited for the claps and cheers to die down.  He continued, “However, there is another subject that we would like to discuss.  Senator Korno…”

Frank stepped away from the podium and was replaced by the Senator Korno. 

Korno said, “Beings, I have an update on another subject.  As most of you recall, last year the senate voted to have a small team visit Earth and reevaluate the Humans.  It was the 60
th
anniversary of the last visit and 10 years past our typical evaluation period.”

Korno: “As I am sure most of you already know, the team’s summary was similar to the last 5 audits.  The Humans as a species are simply too violent for civilized society.  However, the team noted that some progress has been made during the intervening 6 decades.”

He waited for the laughs to stop and continued, “Believe it not, individual humans are now somewhat able to control their violent natures enough to interact with us.  Again, progress has been extremely slow, but there has been progress.”

Korno waited for the oohs and aahs to die down.  The news had the desired effect.  The crowd no longer cared about the battle.  They wanted to hear more about humans.

Korno continued, “The team decided to invite a few of the least violent humans to return with them.  They have been kept in a securely guarded, tightly controlled area.  Several of our top naval officers have been patiently trying to assimilate them into gentile life.”

One reporter shouted, “What are the results?”

It was impolite for a reporter to interrupt during a speech, but Korno forgave him.  The reporters in this system were relatively inexperienced and the news was tremendous.  Korno replied, “Well, it appears that we have started the question and answer session.  The results are mixed at best.”

Korno looked at the reporters.  They were literally bouncing up and down on their feet.  He realized that every single reporter wanted to shout another question, but none dared after that admonishment.  Korno said, “Next question please.”

One reporter shouted, “Can you expand on the mixed results comment?”

Korno said, “Well, on the plus side they have been able to learn Alliance basic to some degree of success; though their accent is atrocious.  Further good news, they haven’t killed any…”  Korno almost said anyone.  He saved himself just in time and continued, “Alliance citizens.”

Another reporter shouted, “If that is the plus, what is the minus?”

Korno replied, “They have demonstrated little technical or social skill.”

Yet another asked, “Do you have both males and females?  If so, are there any differences?”

Korno said, “Yes and no.”  He waved off any further questions and said, “Please, everyone be silent for a moment.  I have a very special guest to introduce to you.”  Korno waved to the curtain behind him.

Becky Matthews looked over at Admiral Solear and whispered, “Do I have to go out there?”

Solear replied, “Just remember your diversity training.  When someone smiles at you, you do not… what was it that you said you were going to do to the instructor?”

Becky: “I said that if he doesn’t stop grinning at me I would slap that smile off his smug little face.”  She swung her hand through the air in demonstration.

“Yes, I recall now.”  Solear stated.  “Don’t do that.  Just try to act as dignified as possible and answer a few questions.  Again, if someone gives you a compliment, you…”

Becky gave a huge sigh and responded, “Give one in return.”

Solear” “Not…”

Becky: “Threaten to slap him.”

Solear reflected upon the first session of the humans’ diversity training.  It had not gone well.  Apparently humans have an inability to smile and give one another compliments without becoming suspicious of their motives.  Hopefully, the next session will be better.  Well, once they find a replacement instructor.

Becky walked to the center of the stage and stood at the podium next to Senator Korno.  Solear stood on her other side.  She still wasn’t sure why she had to address the media.  Well, she was clear why they had to introduce humans to the media; she just wasn’t clear why it had to be her. 

That wasn’t entirely true either.  This was her punishment for failing to take diversity training as seriously as she should have.

The room had been loud and boisterous.  However, the moment she reached the podium it became completely silent.  One could hear a communication pad drawing device drop.

Becky stood 13 cm (5”) taller than Senator Korno.  She leaned down to speak into the microphone and said, “Hello.”

The entire area broke into a cacophony of sound and motion.  Some beings were moving forward, others were retreating.  Everyone was pointing at her.  Becky felt like she was a zoo animal and she supposed in many ways she was.

One bold reporter asked, “Is it true that Humans kill and eat all of the other races?”

Becky replied, “Not all of them.”  She smiled as brightly as she could.  It was terribly insincere, but she doubted anyone would notice.

The initial sound and motion stopped the second she gave that answer.  Now the gallery was eerily silent again.  The reporter really didn’t know what answer to expect, but he certainly wasn’t expecting that one.

Another asked, “Could you clarify your last remark?  Perhaps it didn’t translate properly.”

Becky responded, “We do not eat other races now.  The Alliance scientists made it clear that it is bad for our digestion.”  They were going to pay for parading her around like an animal.

After another pause for the audience to calm down, another reporter asked, “Are you surprised that you look so similar to the Solarians?”

Becky replied, “Everyone looks like an alien to me.”

The first, bold reporter waited for the chuckles to die down a little and asked, “How do you feel about being stranded here?”

Becky yelled, “What?”

A hush ripped through the gallery.  The reporter said, “There was a mining accident and the hyperspace lane from Conron to Earth was corrupted.  The Navy is searching for a new path, but in all likelihood you will not be able to return to Earth in your lifetime.”

Becky just stood there in stunned silence for a moment, processing the information and trying not to tear up.  Eventually, she recovered and said, “It appears that my colleagues neglected to mention that to me.”

“Well, how does it make you feel?”

Becky: “I feel like I want to find the person responsible, put my hands around their neck, and strangle them.”  Becky couldn’t help herself.  She put her hands out in front of her and simulated strangling someone.”

A female Advranki standing near the back of the room gasped and fell down.  A medical team rushed to her and carted her out of the room.

Becky turned to Admiral Solear and whispered, “Who was that?”

Solear was surprised that he actually knew her.  He replied, “That being is Banolie, the president of the mining company that accidently blew up the moon.  Therefore, she is the singular person that is ultimately responsible for corrupting the hyperspace lane.”

Senator Korno gently eased himself back in front of the microphone and said, “Beings, please be considerate.  The Humans are still adjusting to life here.”

The crowd was rumbling.  Korno knew that they needed an answer so he said, “If a new route to Earth hasn’t been found when their evaluation period ends, the Humans will be relocated to Solaria.”