The Wages of War Read online

  “I’m angry about your doing this but why do you say that?” Cami asked.

  “Because you can control me if you choose and I couldn’t stop you nor would I know you’re doing it. If you lied about my detecting it, you’d lie about other things. That is not something to build a relationship on and I do not choose to be controlled by someone else.”

  “Robert, I will not use my talent on other humans!”

  “You already have, Cami! You used it to get your parents to allow you to go on those missions and I know how much you love them. I have no doubt you love them far more than I could ever get you to love me and I have no doubt you’d use your talent on me to get your way if we were in a relationship. It breaks my heart but my hopes and dreams about us are over.”

  “I didn’t lie to you.”

  “Don’t tell me you haven’t used your talent on another telepath!” Robert responded.

  “I haven’t! I feared they would sense me doing it. I honestly thought they would if I tried. I sense every time another telepath looks at my mind.”

  Robert stared at her and blew out a slow breath, “Ok, I’ll not push this. But you could be lying about this and I have no way to prove it either way; neither do you. But it changes nothing. You can control me, and I can’t live with that. The best I can hope for is that we will be friends and can work well together.”

  “Aren’t you worried about me controlling you on the coming mission?”

  Robert raised his hands, “It wouldn’t matter on the mission.”

  “Why not?”

  “Cami, you can control me mentally or issue orders making me do what you want; you out rank me and can force me to follow your commands. It doesn’t matter if you do it through orders or mental manipulation; you will be in control of what happens on the mission.”

  “Robert…”

  Robert held up his hands interrupting her, “Cami! You may not use your talent on me at all but how will I know if you are or aren’t doing it; it’s that uncertainty that would drive me crazy if we were together. Put yourself in my place and see if you can understand why I feel this way.” Robert sighed, “Besides, you and I are not an item and you shouldn’t have an issue with this. It’s my feelings that I’ve got to get a grip on and put my former plans out of my mind. It’s not your fault and like I said, I’m being presumptuous in even discussing it. We’ll make a good team on this coming mission and that’s what I’m working hard to make happen. But before I can move forward, I had to tell you what’s going on.”

  “Robert, I’m only seventeen-years-old. I’m not interested in anyone. I still have some growing up to do.”

  “And you’re going to become a remarkable person. I’ll be one of your loudest cheerleaders.”

  Robert went back to the reactor and put on his welding helmet. Cami stared at him and felt something inside her breaking. She put on her helmet and went back to work. He was right; she didn’t have any feelings toward him being her boyfriend…but she did think that one day it could happen. She hated to admit it but now that he said it wouldn’t…it made her want him. How stupid is that?

  • • •

  Amber looked up from her console, “Riley, I’m detecting a Triangulum Warship entering the star system of the planet we’re scouting.” Amber glanced at her console and turned back to Riley, “There are three unarmed civilian ships following it into the system.”

  “I’m moving above the planet away from the course those ships are taking. Are you able to hear their thoughts?”

  Amber shook her head, “No, the roar from the planet is still too high. However, we should be able to hear them as they move in closer to the planet.”

  Riley nodded and stared at the telepathic scanner, “I thought the Triangulum Civilization was the only one in this galaxy, but it appears I and the Senior Admirals were wrong about that assessment.”

  Amber looked up from her console, “Do you know how many intelligent species have been found?”

  “No one is sharing that information but all of the scouts in our wing have found inhabited planets. The remarkable thing about finding them is none of them have warships or planetary defenses.”

  “I’m starting to hear the thoughts on that warship.”

  “Amber, keep your eyes on your scanners and I’ll listen in on what’s going on.” Riley ordered, “Computer, copy the thoughts I hear into your database.”

  “Recording will start once contact is made, Captain.”

  Riley focused on the warship and managed to link into the ship’s commander’s thoughts.

  “Peacekeeper, I’m sending a message to the planet to set up a meeting with you and the representatives we’ve brought with us.” Riley saw an obvious civilian in the Commander’s mind nod to him. An alien appeared on the wall monitor and the Commander said, “Prepare to meet with three representatives from neighboring planets.”

  “We are not prepared to hold a conference; all of our Leaders aren’t in the capital.”

  The Commander turned to the Peacekeeper and saw him tilt his head and purse his lips. The Commander immediately responded to the alien on the monitor, “I will blast the building you’re in and everyone in it if you aren’t ready for a conference upon our arrival; your people can elect new leaders to meet with us!”

  The alien on the monitor showed his fear, “That won’t be necessary! I’ve sent out a message to the absent Leaders and they’ll arrive before you do. Please come to the tallest building in the center of the Capital City.”

  The Commander ended the contact and the Peacekeeper turned to him, “Are you losing your touch Commander?”

  “No Sire.”

  “Don’t look at me for orders in the future! Your job is to make it happen no matter what it takes.” The Peacekeeper looked at the monitor and saw the tall building on it. He brought the view in closer and ordered, “I want you to vaporize the large fountain in front of that building!”

  The Commander turned to his left and said, “Gunner, hit that fountain with a tight blaster beam.”

  A brilliant beam shot out of the warship and hit the huge fountain vaporizing it and turning all the water in it into super-heated steam. The Alien reappeared on the monitor shouting, “We’re setting up the conference!”

  “I didn’t like your obvious lack of respect to the Peacekeeper. When we arrive for a conference, you will hold it, or you’ll die; is that clear?”

  “Yes Commander!” the alien replied in a shaky voice.

  “I trust I don’t have to remind you that if anyone we’re sending down to the conference is harmed in any way, I’ll leave this planet a burning rock,” the Ship Commander added.

  “They will be treated with great respect Commander.”

  The Commander ended the contact and turned to the Peacekeeper, “Do you think they’ll negotiate?”

  “There won’t be any negotiating,” The Peacekeeper responded. “The representatives from the other planets will state their grievances and then the local Leaders will state their position. I’ll listen to them and decide the outcome, and everyone will accept it.” The Peacekeeper laughed, “Commander, one day you may be a Peacekeeper and you need to understand that peace is the most difficult thing to enforce among different species. You must make hard decisions that prevent planets from attacking each other. If it means destroying some planets to maintain the peace, then so be it.”

  The Ship Commander looked at his panel and turned back to the Peacekeeper, “Your shuttle is ready in the landing bay.” The Peacekeeper turned and left the bridge.

  • • •

  Riley shook his head and ordered, “Computer, stop recording and send a copy of what you’ve recorded to Commodore Hobbs immediately.”

  “Sending now.”

  • • •

  Jack was sitting in his chair next to Graylin when the recording came in and he quickly looked at it. He turned to Graylin and said, “I’ve just received a recording from one of our scouts. I think it explains what’s going
on here.”

  Graylin’s brow furrowed, “Send it to me.” Graylin watched the recording and started shaking his head, “It appears we’ve not understood the Triangulum Civilization. Computer, send a copy of this recording to Admiral Brown immediately.”

  • • •

  Kelli received the recording, watched it, and turned to Justin, “Sir, I’ve just received a recording from Commodore Hobbs, and you should take a look at it.”

  “I thought he was sending his data tomorrow.”

  “Yes Sir but he felt you should see this now.”

  “Send it to me.” Justin watched the recording and sat up straight in his chair. “This explains a lot!”

  Frank turned around, “What’s going on Sir?”

  “It appears the Triangulum Civilization has forced all the intelligent species in this galaxy to live in peace. I’m sure it didn’t happen overnight, but I suspect whenever they encountered an intelligent species they gave it the choice of being destroyed or giving up all their weapons of war. Over time, every species in this galaxy were forced to work together and now live in peace. The Triangulum Civilization enforces the peace with a heavy hand.”

  “That’s why they don’t need to use scanners in this galaxy,” Janie commented.

  Justin nodded, “No one represents a danger to them.”

  “That’s all well and good but what happens when they leave for the Milky Way?” Frank asked.

  Justin stared at him and Janie said, “If what I saw on this recording is accurate, everything will fall apart and species with grievances against each other will rebuild their weapons and attack each other. The only thing keeping things in equilibrium is the Triangulum Civilization enforcing the peace.”

  Frank looked at Justin, “Is she right?”

  Justin raised his shoulders, “Yes, she is.”

  “And if we come out here and attack the Triangulum Civilization, it will throw the whole galaxy into a state of war, right?” Frank added.

  Justin turned to Kelli, “Get a copy of this recording out to Fleet Headquarters immediately.”

  “Yes Sir.”

  Frank’s expression showed his dismay and Justin asked, “What’s eating you Frank?”

  “Sir, we’ve discovered more than four thousand inhabited planets with civilizations that have no way to defend themselves. It’s my understanding that we will stop the Triangulum Civilization from moving to the Milky Way and the only way to make that happen is to conquer them. Are we going to assume the role of peacemakers in this galaxy?”

  “I’m reasonably certain we won’t,” Justin answered.

  “Then we’ll be responsible for the deaths of trillions if we don’t.”

  “Frank, we’re not forcing the Triangulum Civilization to leave; they decided to do that on their own. Fleet thinks they’re doing it because of a threat they fear in Andromeda.”

  “And if that threat they fear does come to the Triangulum Galaxy the peaceful civilizations here will be conquered and who knows what they’ll have to endure. I believe we need to communicate with the Triangulum Civilization and tell them escaping to the Milky Way will not be allowed.”

  “If we do that, and that threat in Andromeda shows up, they will certainly tell them about the threat humanity represents to them.”

  Frank blew out a breath and shook his head, “Well, greater minds than mine will have to resolve this conundrum.”

  “Before we can do anything, we must find out what the threat in Andromeda is and whether or not we can handle it,” Kelli interjected into the conversation.

  “I was there when those twelve huge warships detected us,” Frank replied. “They’re clearly more advanced than our ship and I believe they are a real threat to anyone they attack.”

  “How long do we have before the Triangulum Civilization turns their attention to the Milky Way?” Janie asked.

  Justin raised a shoulder, “They are wrapping up the war with the Stealth Civilization and their fleets should be back in Triangulum in less than six months.”

  Frank rolled his eyes, “Well, that’s how long we have to determine what we’re going to do.”

  “It will take longer than that.” Everyone turned to Kelli and she added, “They have lost warships in the war with the stealth Civilization and they’ll have to be replaced before they continue their plans to invade the Milky Way.”

  Justin thought about it and nodded, “The crews will also have to be given time to decompress from the war before they’re sent out again.” Justin turned to Kelli, “Have we got a number on the warships they currently have in Triangulum?”

  Kelli queried her computer and she looked up, “I was wrong.”

  “About what?” Janie asked.

  “The scouting report made when we initially scouted Triangulum reported they had ten thousand warships not taking part in the invasion plans of the Milky Way. The current number our scouts have found is around fifty thousand. They’ve been building new warships over the last five years.”

  “That means they won’t have to delay to give their fleets returning from Andromeda time to decompress,” Frank remarked. “They’ll just send the new warships as soon as they arrive back in Triangulum.”

  Justin turned to Kelli, “Send a copy of our conversation directly to Grady Henricks along with the recording you sent to Fleet Operations.” Kelli tilted her head, “I’m not depending on Fleet Operations to get this to Grady quickly; they’re notoriously slow getting information out before they waste weeks analyzing it.” Kelli nodded and turned to her console.

  Chapter Nine

  Grady arrived at the construction site and found Cami and Robert on board their ship. They went to attention and Grady said, “At ease, take a seat. How long before you leave for Andromeda?”

  “We’re leaving in four days,” Cami answered.

  “Is the ship ready?”

  Cami glanced at Robert before answering, “Everything has checked out. We’re double checking everything and should be done shortly. The ship still has to be fueled and provisioned.”

  “You need to leave now! I’ll have the provisions brought on board today and the ship will be fueled by this evening.”

  “What’s going on Sir?” Robert inquired.

  “We’ve discovered an issue in Triangulum and we believe they will be leaving to invade the Milky Way in about six months.”

  “We can stop them, can’t we?” Cami asked.

  “That’s the issue. We’ve discovered there are thousands of intelligent species in Triangulum that have been unarmed by the Triangulum Civilization and peace is forced on them. If the Triangulum Civilization leaves for the Milky Way, the planets left behind will start going to war with each other; trillions could die.”

  “Then just stop them from leaving; they can’t stand up to our warships,” Cami responded.

  “It’s not as simple as that,” Grady replied. “The Triangulum Civilization is running because they fear a threat in Andromeda. If we stop them, then they along with all the peaceful planets could be conquered and destroyed. We must find out what the threat is in Andromeda and we need to know before they start their invasion of the Milky Way.”

  “Sir, what if the threat in Andromeda is not something we can handle?”

  Grady turned to Robert, “Then we’ll have to make some hard decisions and I want to know what we’re up against before I do that. You have six months and everyday counts. Plan to leave as soon as your ship is ready.” Grady paused and said, “Do not take any foolish risks. Your lives are more important than rushing into a dangerous situation to gather information.”

  Cami hugged Grady, “We’ll be careful Daddy.” Grady nodded and left the ship.

  Cami sat down in her chair at the weapons console and turned to Robert, “I was planning to discuss an issue with you just before we launched but it appears I must do it now.”

  Robert’s eyes narrowed slightly, “What issue is that?”

  “On this mission, you will be in comm
and of the ship.”

  Robert shook his head, “Cami, you are the superior officer on this ship.”

  “Sweets was the superior officer on the missions we flew in the LMC and Triangulum, but she put Charlie in overall command.”

  “Why did she do that?”

  “He had more experience flying the ship in combat situations.”

  “That’s not the case here; you have far more combat experience than me.”

  “Are you willing to swap places and operate the weapons console?”

  Robert shook his head, “No! You’re better with the weapons and I’m a better pilot.”

  “So you’re the one that will have to make instant decisions on where the ship must be flown to avoid dangerous situations. If you have to wait for me to issue orders, we could be killed. I’ll certainly offer suggestions if given time but you’re the pilot and you will have to do what you think is best.”

  “I don’t know if I like this.”

  “I won’t be second guessing you and I’ll only pull rank in the event I see something you’ve missed.” Cami paused and added, “I’ll also not be manipulating you mentally during this mission. I know you don’t trust me on that issue but that’s something you’ll have to deal with. My word is good even if you don’t believe it.” Cami paused and saw Robert’s expression, “Tell me where I’m wrong!”

  Robert sighed, “I’ve thought about this as well and you’re not wrong. I just don’t like being given this freedom.”

  “That’s because you believe you’re not truly free if I could manipulate you. I trust your instincts a lot more than my own and I believe together we can be better than operating separately. I do suggest that in a dangerous situation, we should link our minds telepathically so there is no delay in making critical decisions. Are you ok with that?”

  Robert thought about it and then sighed, “It’s the right thing to do. We’ll instantly see what the other is planning and can function accordingly.”