“What’s our E.T. A to the Solarian border?” Michael asked for the umpteenth time.
“One hour,” Vargev sighed. It’s only been twenty minutes since you last asked, he thought. “Hold on a minute,” he said eyeing the sensor readouts. “I think I’ve got something.”
“What is it?” Kerulithar asked as he approached where Vargev was sat.
“It looks like we’ve got six bogeys inbound and closing fast.”
“They’re definitely Krenaran,” Kerulithar pointed out; peering over Vargevs shoulder.
Well no shit Sherlock, take first prize. Vargev thought, however he kept it to himself.
“We need maximum power to the engines, tell the Faccadian we are going to need everything he can give us.” This is going to be damn tight, Michael thought.
Kerulithar spoke into a console he was sat at. Before saying, “the Faccadian says, he only just managed to fix the damage that happened the last time you tried that.”
“Well, tell him he’ll just have to fix it again won’t he. Either that or we won’t have a ship left to save.”
Kerulithar spoke into his console again, “he says, point taken.”
“Damn straight,” Vargev piped up.
“We have to hold them off until we are over the border,” Michael pointed out. Whether there is much of a ship to cross the border with is another matter entirely, he thought.
The Liberty rapidly increased its speed through plasma drive, a flotilla of six Krenaran stealth ships in hot pursuit.
“Where the hell did they come from anyway?” Michael asked.
“No idea, they must have been shadowing us, that single surviving Krenaran ship must have brought his buddies,” Vargev suggested.
“I’ll try and scan for any nearby Solarian ships; they regularly patrol this area of space,” Kerulithar said as he keyed in the controls for the external sensors; sharing the data with Vargevs’ console, and began scanning.
“They’ll be in weapons range in one minute; they’re still god-damn closing!” Vargev shouted.
“I’m trying my fucking best!” Michael retorted.
“You’re best is going to get us all fucking killed!” Vargev shouted angrily back.
“Do you want to pilot this thing is that it? because you aren’t qualified, so sit down you big Russian fuck.” Michael shouted back.
“I’m picking up a patrol of three Solarian vessels,” Kerulithar announced.
The other two men were far too busy shouting and swearing at each other to hear him. Instead he silently keyed in the controls for long range communications.
“Solarian vessels, this is ambassador Kerulithar of the Solarian confederacy, we are being pursued by six enemy Krenaran vessels and require urgent assistance.”
The other two men stopped their bickering and suddenly turned to Kerulithar, “What did you just do?” they both asked in unison.
“I took the liberty of scanning for a patrol of Solarian ships and contacted them asking for assistance,” Kerulithar stated calmly.
“Well at least one of us is trying to get us out of this shit hole,” Vargev said.
The command centre speakers suddenly blazed into life, “unknown Krenaran vessel, you will surrender and prepare to be boarded. Any hostile action will be met with all due force.”
“They don’t believe us; they must think we are part of the same fleet,” Kerulithar said exasperatedly.
He hurriedly keyed in the controls again, “Solarian vessels, I am commanding a captured Krenaran vessel, we are headed for Solarian space, my personal identification is 904157 dash 3412 Keru 118. Please respond, repeat we are in need of urgent assistance.”
Just as Kerulithar had stopped speaking; twin bright green flashes of energy shot past the ship, coating the upper dorsal section of the Liberty in a bright green glow, and lighting up the command centre in a vivid emerald hue.
“They’re firing!” Vargev shouted, stating the obvious.
Michael wrestled against the controls on the pilot’s chair, sending the ship into a rapid barrel roll in the hopes of evading the worst of the Krenarans’ attacks.
Multiple particle cannon shots flashed past the ship as the Krenaran attackers tried to get a bead on the Liberty.
“Bring us out of plasma drive,” Michael said rather dejectedly.
“That will kill us for sure!” Vargev retorted.
“I can’t evade all six of them.”
Kerulithar reluctantly did so. The ship dropped back into normal space again closely followed by the Krenaran fleet rapidly in pursuit.
Michael bravely wrenched against the controls; sweating profusely, his arms ached heavily, and his teeth bit into his bottom lip, drawing a small amount of blood. Such was the level of determination to survive; to get his ship to safety.
However the weight of fire was simply too great, multiple particle cannon shots criss-crossed the area of space the Liberty flew through, and several torpedoes flashed across the stern, port and starboard side of the ship.
Michael Alexander, and Nikolai Vargev; the two survivors, the two people who had made it all this way against all the odds silently prayed for a miracle.
Several more particle cannon shots slammed into the rear of the Liberty, rocking the ship from stem to stern; throwing Vargev completely out of his seat. Sparks exploded out from smashed consoles, support beams crashed down. The smell of sizzled circuitry assaulted the nose, and the thick smoke billowing from the smashed consoles and several small fires caused everyone to choke.
“Rear hull plating is down!” Kerulithar cried out over the din of explosions and battle.
Yet more shots flashed past the damaged Liberty.
“Not now. Not when we’ve come this close!” Michael shouted in sheer frustration.
Two torpedoes roared their way toward the Liberty. Slamming into the hull and instantly detonating, blasting apart the main sub-light drive with a huge explosion; causing carnage onboard as fire swept through the main engine room. Emergency bulkheads dropped into place to contain the fires.
Bodies were burnt beyond all recognition, charred corpses lay everywhere as flames engulfed large areas of decks four, five and six. Smashed support girders and bulkheads littered the area.
Michael, Vargev, and Kerulithar were flung to the floor by the sheer force of the huge explosion; Michael was thrown clear of his seat, and lay motionless on the deck.
Vargev slowly managed to get back to his feet, a deep ragged gash bleeding profusely down the right side of his face. Kerulithar slowly stood also, his blue-ish hued skin, had turned black in places from burns and debris that had melted into his skin, his dark blue blood seeping from several cuts.
The Krenaran ships moved into position to surround the stricken Liberty; looking like vultures about to sound the death knell to the disabled ship. And for all the world the ship seemed doomed.
Three more plasma wakes rapidly opened up in space close by. With horrific speed, three Solarian ships emerged out of plasma drive; silver in colour and resembling a large metallic crescent with a ferocious looking raised metallic beaklike structure at the centre.
Bright blue incandescent beams shot forth from their beak like protrusions; instantly two Krenaran ships were totally decimated by the sheer force of the weapons. What remained of their hulls trailed fire and debris out into open space.
The remaining Krenaran ships ignored the Liberty, and moved to intercept this deadly new threat.
Several high energy torpedoes smashed into another Krenaran ship; devastating the upper dorsal area of the vessel, its particle cannon totally torn away, and its torpedo launcher left a flaming ruin. On fire, it limped away.
The remaining two Krenaran ships returned fire on their Solarian attackers; particle cannon shots slammed into one of the Solarian ships. However a crackling blue energy field shimmered into existence and shielded the ship from the impacts.
The remaining Krenaran ships dispersed before the speed and ferocity of the Solarian attack.
“Ambassador Kerulithar, please respond,” A voice spoke over the crackling speakers.
Groggily Kerulithar limped his way over to the communications console; fortunately it had managed to survive the attack somewhat intact. “This is ambassador Kerulithar; I am unharmed, however the ship has suffered severe damage. We have casualties on board, main sub-light drive is down.”
The Solarian ships performed a thorough scan of the Liberty. After a short bout of silence, a response came through the speakers. “We are detecting several different species on board, however no Krenarans,” the Solarians asked quizzically.
“It is a long story; I will fill you in along the way,” the ambassador said smiling.
“We will tow you to the nearest Solarian repair facility, we have medical teams standing by to treat your injured,” the response came.
“Thank you,” Kerulithar replied with genuine relief.
Slowly Michael regained consciousness, and picked himself back up; rubbing his throbbing head his vision gradually cleared just in time to see the comparatively huge silvery crescent shape of a Solarian battle cruiser maneuver into position just ahead of the crippled Liberty, and fire a red beam at the ship. Not knowing what these strange new ships were, he panicked.
“Jesus, we’re still under attack!” He leapt back into his seat and tried to use the controls again, they were useless.
“Relax; their friendlies. It’s just a tractor beam; they are giving us a tow,” Kerulithar pointed out. “Don’t you have a similar device?”
“No; we haven’t developed that technology yet. We use magnetised tow cables,” Michael replied, a little sheepish at having panicked at the shape of that massive Solarian vessel looming just in front of the Liberty.
“I…See,” Kerulithar said, marvelling at how humanity even managed to get beyond their solar system with such limited technology; however he said nothing.
Within hours, they had reached the repair facility; Solarian medical teams had treated the worst of their injuries.
Michael marvelled at how grand the station looked. It was bright silver and shone brightly set against the backdrop of deep space. Its super structures shone as the light from a nearby yellow sun reflected off its numerous surfaces.
A multitude of smaller vessels flitted to and fro from the massive installation. Some looked like transports, others like warships; there were many different shapes and sizes of vessel. All manner of configurations were present, they couldn’t all belong to the same species, Michael thought.
He also thought the Solarian ships were equally grand, with their majestic silvery crescent shapes, extended wings and metallic beak; they resembled an old earth catamaran, and had an almost regal look about them.
This station was however an altogether different beast. Numerous docking arms jutted out from it, some were already occupied by other vessels. The station had thousands of small ‘port hole’ shaped windows dotted liberally about its surface. At the top of the station, multiple communications aerials rose like fragile silver strands reaching up into space.
“Welcome to the Omicron repair facility and shipyard, one of the largest of all our repair facilities,” Kerulithar announced with pride.
Michael and Vargev said nothing, they were simply awestruck by the sheer size and magnificence of this massive structure.
Another beam shot out from another smaller rectangular shaped vessel which aligned itself in front of the battered Liberty; taking the place of the warship which now returned back to its formation.
Navigation lights from the station shone down upon the severely damaged Krenaran ship, showing up its scorched, fractured hull as it closed with the station. The awful shredded exterior where the main sub-light drive once was could clearly be seen.
The other three warships now made a graceful turn in perfect arrow formation, before they shot back off into plasma drive, and back out to the border.
“Where did they go?” Vargev asked.
“Back on patrol,” Kerulithar answered.
“What is that ship in front of us?” Michael asked. It looked kind of ugly, not at all like the other Solarian ships.
“It is a small tug; used for towing damaged vessels,” Kerulithar replied.
The ship was getting very close to the station, suddenly alarm bells began to ring in Michael’s mind.
“err…how do we dock this thing?”
Kerulithar calmly walked over to the console in front of Michael’s chair. It was partly damaged in the attack and the glass was cracked, but was still operable enough that he was able to use it. He pressed a green button, then a white one.
“The green symbol decompresses the air, and the white one opens the hatch.”
The tug slowly decelerated to a stop; then released the Liberty and moved away. Almost simultaneously a cylindrical hatch extended out from the station and connected to the open docking hatch of the ship, with a slight shudder the docking hatch was sealed and re-pressurised.
“Would you like to take a look inside the station?” Kerulithar asked.
“Hell yeah.”
The three of them made their way through the smoky, dark, debris strewn corridors of the Liberty to the hatch five decks below them. From there they simply walked onto the station.
What greeted them was truly astounding. Huge metallic archways graced the ceiling high above the repair area; massive floor-to-ceiling windows looked out at the vessels that glided by the station, as well as those already berthed. Everything was clean and shiny.
Machines the size of houses with highly complex displays dotted vast walkways at various intervals; several Solarian workers could be seen manning the machinery. Michael hadn’t the faintest idea what they were used for. Along certain areas yet more displays showed a wealth of complicated information.
Michael stopped at one; studying it, trying to figure out what exactly it all meant.
Kerulithar caught up to him, “It’s in Solarian script, you won’t be able to understand it.”
Another Solarian approached them, “I am Solistis, Rulvaa third class, welcome to the Omicron shipyard. The Commander of this facility is most eager to meet you; if you will follow me I will show you the way to his office.”
Michael and Vargev fell in behind the Solarian stranger. Michael thought he seemed a little stiff compared to Kerulithar, he whispered to Vargev, “what the hell is a Rulvaa third class anyway?”
“Beats the hell out of me.”
“I shall check and see if I can get us a shuttle to Solaria,” Kerulithar said as he slipped off down another corridor; his tattered and burnt ambassadorial robe flowing as he walked. While Vargev; Michael and the Solarian officer continued toward the Commanders office.
Soon enough the three of them had arrived, large ornate windowed doors automatically slid open, and the two humans stepped inside, Solistis did not follow them in however and remained outside.
It was a wide spacious office with a row of large windows which looked out at the stars, and the hive of activity buzzing outside the station. A large oval desk with several chairs arrayed around it pervaded the room; a host of status reports cluttered the desk, sat at it was another Solarian, dressed in a finer uniform than what Solistis wore, it was predominantly light grey, with deep red embellishments on it; several of what appeared to be medals hung from the aliens chest.
“Welcome Terrans, I am Commander Ralavas; Commander of this facility. It is an enormous honour to have you here; you are the first Terrans to have actively sought out Solarian space. We have prepared quarters for your stay; however I would like to know just how you did it?” The Solarian officer asked.
“Did what?”
“Managed to capture a Krenaran ship, and then make it all the way to Solarian space.”
“It is a long story,” Michael replied, trying to gauge whether Ralavas was really interested or just attempting to interrogate them.
“Enlighten me,” The Commander said; his long blue fingers forming a pyramid as he leaned forward in his chair.
There was a tense pause, both Michael and Vargev studied the Commander intently before asking, “why do you want to know, this is not an interrogation is it?”
The Solarian laughed. “No, no, such practices were banned decades ago.”
Michael and Vargev both felt a little easier at hearing this.
“One of our colonies was attacked by the Krenarans, I was stationed on a ship sent to investigate; Major Vargev here was already on the planet when the attack came.”
Michael paused, taking a breath.
“I was part of a landing party sent from my ship, however the ship was destroyed in orbit not long after we arrived on the surface, and I was stranded on the planet. The Krenarans also attacked the landing party I was with, and I was the only survivor.”
He allowed Commander Ralavas a moment, as the Solarian listened intently.
“Major Vargev here took me in; however we were captured trying to rescue some human slaves and brought aboard a Krenaran ship, we were placed in detention cells where we met your ambassador, Kerulithar.”
He gave another pause for emphasis.
“Major Vargev managed to make a crude weapon and we escaped, we managed to make it to the command centre, where we shut off the oxygen supply to all other decks except the command centre and the detention facility. We rescued Kerulithar and with his help and knowledge, we managed to make it here.”
The Solarian commander turned to Major Vargev, “and how was it you were not captured on the planet, Major?”
“I am a member of a specialist unit called the E.D. F commandoes; we carry a different weapon called an Armschlager heavy machine gun. It’s old fashioned; but it does a heck of a lot of damage, and they seem to be vulnerable to it,” he began.
“My unit managed to fight their way out of the main attack and then went underground. We began launching guerrilla attacks against them; freeing slaves, destroying communications centres, and generally making life as difficult as possible for the Krenarans until help arrived. And that’s when we found Michael Alexander here.”
“An incredible story!” The Commander exclaimed aloud, “normally I wouldn’t have believed it, except here you are; a living testament; with a captured Krenaran ship in your possession as well. Somehow the two of you have fought a far superior enemy, were captured, escaped, and took control of one of their ships, and made it all the way here, to Solarian space; alive!” Ralavas said with genuine wonder.
It made both Michael and Vargev feel uncomfortable, “it was just what needed to be done.”
The Solarian commander walked toward the door and motioned for Solistis to re-enter the room. “Solistis here will show you to your quarters, I am sure you are very tired and hungry, so we have also prepared some terran food for you, though our database is somewhat limited on terran foods, however I think you’ll find what we have satisfactory.”
“Thank you Commander,” Michael and Vargev said in unison.
Solistis escorted them to their quarters; when they entered, they found they were pleasantly surprised. There were soft comfortable looking beds; a large seating area overlooked a window looking out into space, where the occasional transport drifted past.
There was a large rectangular table which contained a buffet of human foods. Some of which was Chinese, there were sandwiches, drinks, and cakes. All were arrayed in a mish mash fashion, but Michael and Vargev forgave the disorganisation and ate as though their lives depended upon it. After four days of ration packs and horrific Krenaran food; they were simply glad for some food that tasted good for a change.
Finally both Michael and Vargev chose what beds they were sleeping on; and exhausted from their ordeal they slowly settled down to the best night’s sleep they had had in a long time.
Next morning they awoke to the sound of a door chime ringing. Groggily Michael opened his eyes; rubbing them he quickly donned some clothing and headed for the door, slowly it opened and Kerulithar entered.
“I have managed to procure us a shuttle to Solaria,” he said excitedly.
“How long a trip is it?”
“It is two days travel from here.”
“When do we leave?” Vargev asked as he awoke.
“Within the hour.”
“What about food?” Michael asked.
“There is a small food synthesiser aboard the shuttle, and you have time for what do you call it…” Kerulithar said, desperately trying to think of the word.
“erm…breakfast!” Michael corrected for him.
“Yes, breakfast.”
“I hope your breakfasts are more like the food we had last night and not like that crap we ate on the Liberty,” Vargev said as he got dressed.
“No! Solarian food is much more palatable,” Kerulithar laughed.
The two men finished getting dressed, washed, and headed out to a large wide, canteen area. There, tables and chairs were arrayed; along one wall, several food synthesisers stood in a row. Near to the exits there were recyclers, where the finished food remains and the crockery themselves were converted back into their constituent molecules and fed back to the food synthesisers for the next user.
Many Solarians were there ordering food and generally milling around; chatting to one another and giving curious looks to these strange, small humans.
Michael and Vargev felt like they were in a hall of giants amongst the lanky near seven feet tall blue-skinned aliens.
Kerulithar once again explained what was on the menu of the food synthesisers, and both Michael and Vargev ordered a bread like breakfast very similar to large fruit flavoured croissants.
The Solarian food was indeed good to eat; Vargev even had seconds before they finished their meals and headed to the shuttle hangar a short while later.
The hangar was huge, and illuminated along both walls, there were dozens of other shuttles and sleek advanced looking fighter craft arrayed across the hangar floor.
Kerulithar had gone on ahead. “Over here,” He beckoned as he stood near one of the shuttles about thirty yards from them.
The shuttles were also sleek, silver coloured, and bullet shaped. Two almost mandible like protrusions on either side of the small craft, looked like small wings angled downwards.
“How will the shuttle get there if its two days journey to Solaria,” Michael asked, as he inspected the shuttle.
“Our shuttles are equipped with a small plasma drive unit. However they are nowhere near as fast as our battle cruisers or escorts of the fleet,” Kerulithar replied.
The Solarian pressed a recessed control on the rear of the shuttle and a small boarding ramp extended, simultaneously a rear hatch opened and the three of them went aboard. Inside it was cramped yet surprisingly comfortable.
There was a large single display with complicated Solarian controls and three large windows to the front, a second small display hung from the ceiling just above the central window.
Fortunately there were three chairs, one for the pilot, another for a co-pilot and a third for a passenger situated behind them and off to the port side of the ship. To the starboard side of the shuttle there was a very small room, with just a single bed which took up half the available space; an overhead storage locker, and a small food synthesiser.
Kerulithar touched a few controls on the main display, the hatch closed, and the shuttle began to power up.
Gradually it began to levitate as the gravitic engines kicked in with a gentle whine; he spoke into the display in his native Solarian language, and the hangar doors began to slowly open.
The shuttle accelerated, and the small bullet-like craft glided gently out into the star lit blackness of space. Smoothly it glided past the various docking arms that jutted out of this side of the station, and past the myriad of ships that frequented the facility.
Once clear of the station and all the surrounding traffic. Kerulithar powered up the plasma drive, and the tiny craft jumped into its own tiny plasma wake and was gone.
Over the course of the journey, Kerulithar taught Michael and Vargev the basics of how to control the shuttle; allowing all three to take turns between piloting, and resting.
The journey passed relatively uneventfully; there was a small Ion storm which they managed to skirt around. And exactly two days later the shuttle arrived in orbit of the Solarian homeworld, Solaris IV, and the capital of the Solarian Confederacy.
The glow emanating from the massive red giant sun of the Solaris system bathed the planet in a red-orange glow. At the same time Michael and Vargev noticed the sheer number of ships going to and fro, there were dozens of them, from smaller inter-system freighters to the battle cruisers and smaller escort craft of the Solarian fleet, to huge star liners carrying thousands of tourists. Not to mention the multiple orbital facilities, stations and satellites that en-circled the planet.
“Are all your planets this busy?” Michael asked.
“No, Solaria is one of the most important planets for trade and tourism in the known galaxy, it is actually rather quiet at the moment.”
Michael laughed incredulously, I’d hate to see it busy then, he thought.
“How do you keep track of all the visitors?” Vargev asked.
“Why would we wish to? All species in-bound to the planet go through a series of highly sensitive scanners, any weapons or items that may pose a threat to the populace are confiscated and destroyed. The person is escorted to a holding facility in orbit until a vessel from his race arrives, then he is instantly deported off the planet,” Kerulithar said as he pressed a control on the panel in front of him, again, he spoke into this panel in his native language. “Aliaris foreth ganost alothios.”
After a slight delay, there came a reply, and the shuttle began to descend into the atmosphere.
“What did you say?” Michael asked.
“I was asking for landing clearance, we have been cleared at pad B on the Allathas spaceport.”
“Can anyone live on your planet?” Vargev asked.
“Of course, but only a very rare few of the other races actually do; mainly wealthy businessmen who trade with Solarian colonies, a few rich celebrities have property here also.”
“Why so few?” Vargev asked interested.
“Mainly cost. Interstellar travel can be an expensive business, especially when used for private use; also the property prices on Solaria are extremely high.”
“Why?” Vargev probed.
“You’ll found out very soon.”
The shuttle cut through the cloud cover, and the surface was at last revealed to them, far off in the distance mountain peaks could be seen; flocks of birds flew far below them. It looked like someone had thrown a smattering of large rubies on the surface of the planet, with one particularly large group; they glittered as the light reflected off of them.
“Are they communities?” Michael asked peering through the shuttle windows.
“Yes, the largest one is Solaria city.”
“What are those buildings made of?” Michael whispered aloud.
“I’ve no idea,” Vargev replied, equally fascinated.
Gradually the shuttle slowed as it began its approach to the small speck that was the Allathas spaceport; its gravitic engines began to whine as they continued to slow the shuttles descent. Gradually the spaceport grew larger as they neared it, individual landing pads could begin to be seen, and some were already occupied by other ships.
Kerulithar pressed a control on the panel above the front window, and the landing legs on the shuttle slowly lowered. The whining of the gravitic engines increased as they killed the last of the shuttles forward momentum, and then stopped as the shuttle rested gently on its landing legs.
Kerulithar pressed another button and the hatch slowly opened.
All three of them disembarked from the shuttle and stepped out onto the landing pad. There was a gentle warm breeze, and clear skies.
Vargev almost immediately stopped in his tracks awestruck, “Mother Russia, have you seen this place!”
Michael stopped and looked at Vargev, “what are you talking about?”
“Look!”
Michael looked around and immediately understood what Vargev was trying to tell him.
“My god!” Michael gasped aloud absolutely amazed.
And there they were, stood on the landing pad gazing out at the magnificent beauty of Solaria city. As far as the eye could see there were crystalline structures, all of which were polished to an almost mirror like finish, large birds flew to and fro high above, and perched on the apexes of the crystals, some of which were hundreds of feet high. Strips of chrome were added to the structures here and there; giving an indication of floors.
The entire city glittered like a collection of bright rubies as the light from the Solaris sun reflected off the sides of the buildings, each of these ‘buildings’ if you could call them that, were connected to one another via massive archways of the grandest baroque design, the occasional Shuttle flew high above the city.
“This cannot be; do my eyes deceive me,” Vargev exclaimed.
“No, they do not deceive you. It’s the reason why I couldn’t tell you on the shuttle, you had to see for yourself,” Kerulithar replied with a smile. “This is Solaria city, the capital of the entire Solarian confederacy, and one of our greatest achievements.”
“An entire city, built from crystal,” Michael said shaking his head almost in disbelief.
“The crystal was already here, as a people we crafted it into this.”
“People on Earth would pay a million credits to see a sight like this; I wish I had a camera,” Michael said.
“How did the crystal get here?” Vargev asked.
“Millions of years ago Solaria had two moons, Kyo and Ora’is, Ora’is exploded however. This caused huge tectonic upheavals on Solaria itself; earthquakes and volcanoes threw tonnes of ash and molten rock into the atmosphere; coming within a whisker of making all life extinct.” Kerulithar bowed his head low.
“With the ash clouding the atmosphere Solaria cooled as did the Volcanoes and the Lava flows. The bubbling chemicals on the surface went through a crystallization process, and produced the crystal structures you see today, crystal structures like these can be seen all over the planet; however this is the most dense cluster.”
“What is the chrome used for?” Michael asked.
“That’s the other great resource this planet has blessed us with; the core of Solaria is 60 % nickel and 40 % chromium, molten chromium was thrown up during the upheavals. It’s primarily used to strengthen the crystal, as well as aesthetic reasons.”
Kerulithar turned and made for the exit from the landing pad; Michael and Vargev followed him. The space port was full of hundreds of different types of aliens and other Solarians, talking, conducting business, and stopping by to have a drink in one of the many restaurants and bars that adorn the complex.
Soon the three of them exited the spaceport, and carried on their journey down one of the many arched walkways of the city. Resembling a wide roadway, anti gravity vehicles buzzed along the bustling street.
Along the paved sides of the archway thousands of Solarians and other races walked. To the right of them across the road, there was a massive structure almost a thousand meters high; it dominated the skyline in this part of Solaria city.
“What building is that?” Michael asked as he looked at it.
“That’s the Solarian central commerce building,” Kerulithar replied. “Most of the trade on Solaria is done there, in one form or another.”
They carried on past several other archways, some went under the one they were on, some loomed above casting great shadows, others connected directly to it.
At last after they had seemed to have walked for over an hour they came to a particularly wide crystal formation, with a large domed roof at its centre.
Continuing up a flight of marble steps, they entered through automatic glass doors. Inside there was a hushed atmosphere, the people inside all had an air of seriousness about them and were all dressed formally, the decoration was very formal also.
All this made Vargev and Michael in their torn, battered, and dirty landfall uniforms stand out like a sore thumb.
“Where are we?” Michael whispered.
“The Solarian council building,” Kerulithar whispered back, “It’s the seat of government for the entire Solarian Confederacy, and every planet has an elected member here, led by Solarian president Karalis.”
Kerulithar approached the nearest official, and began speaking. “I would hereby like to convene a meeting with the Solarian council as soon as is practicably possible; my name is ambassador Kerulithar.”
“The council is in deliberations at the moment, it’s unlikely that you will be able to convene a meeting for several days. They have an extremely busy schedule at this time,” the official replied.
“Please; it is a matter of great urgency,” Kerulithar replied, almost pleading with the official.
“One does not interrupt the council when in session,” the official replied sternly.
“It is these two Terrans who seek the council; their case is desperate and could have an impact on the galaxy at large, and I am acting on their behalf.”
“These are Terrans you say?” The official asked in amazement. He looked over at the humans again and then stammered. “I’ll notify the council.”
The official pushed open a pair of ornate looking chrome doors and disappeared inside.
“I hate politicians,” Vargev whispered.
“What’s to hate about politicians?” Michael laughed.
At length the official returned. “The council will grant your request; you may enter.”
Kerulithar raised an eyebrow at the relative ease of getting a hearing. It was hard enough even for Solarians let alone other races, yet he deigned to say nothing.
The three of them walked through the grand doors and into the council chambers itself.
Inside; the room was shaped like a vast oval, although only dimly lit; hundreds of delegates were all seated around its perimeter.
Several administrators worked in the centre; they were separated from the delegates by a handrail that ran almost the length of the entire room.
Kerulithar, Michael, and Vargev were ushered to a raised stand in the middle of the room; administrators were faced just in front of them.
The lights in the room swung around and shone down directly on Kerulithar, casting him in a bright white light. The only other light in the room was from a row of lighting embedded in the handrail which showed up the faces of the delegates and the head of the council.
Suddenly a deep, powerful voice came over the speakers in the room. “What do you seek from this council?” It asked.
Kerulithar spoke into a microphone fixed to the stand. “We seek for our case to be heard, Mr. President.”
Then the deep booming voice said again, “and what is your case?”
“I am acting on behalf of these two Terrans stood next to me; they have come to ask this council for aid for their people,” Kerulithar replied.
There was a brief hushed silence; a wave of excited whispering voices washed across the room. This was unheard of in Solarian politics, two Terrans stood in their own council; and issuing a declaration for aid, this was big news indeed.
Lights suddenly shone on Michael and Vargev as well; as if scrutinising them.
“And these are the Terrans?” The voice boomed again.
“They are, Mr. President,” Kerulithar replied.
“The Terrans may explain their case themselves,” the voice announced.
Michael and Vargev suddenly felt distinctly nervous, they were standing in possibly one of the most powerful ruling councils in the known galaxy. It was a place for senior diplomats and heads of state, and who were they? Just two humans, nobodies really, not even high ranking diplomats, just two ordinary humans trying to survive.
“You may speak before this council,” the voice came.
Michael tentatively began by telling them the same story he had told to Commander Ralavas at the Omicron repair facility, after Michael had finished, Vargev dutifully took his turn.
Then after several minutes; once the council had heard their stories, and the whispering of deliberations taking place, the voice boomed again. “This is a profound case with severe consequences and must be reviewed with a full panel, we will reconvene tomorrow at 2 o’clock local time, this session is now adjourned.”
They emerged out of the council; both Michael and Vargev felt somewhat disappointed and looked downcast, Kerulithar however looked jubilant.
“Why are you so happy?” Michael asked nonchalantly.
“That was incredible! They are going to give our case a full hearing. That has never been granted to an outside race in the history of the Solarian Confederacy, this is going to be talked about for weeks now,” Kerulithar replied triumphantly.
“But are they actually going to do anything, apart from just sit down and twiddle their political thumbs,” Vargev said.
“It is the best we could have hoped for.”
“I don’t know about you Kerulithar, but I didn’t come nearly half way across the galaxy, just to be told they might think about it,” Michael said.
“What more would you have me do? I’m just a simple ambassador!” Kerulithar retorted growing somewhat angry at the two human’s attitudes.
“To help us; give us a fighting chance against these Krenaran murderers,” Michael responded.
Vargev stood aside; quietly watching Michael and the Solarian argue. I should take bets on who’s going to come out on top, he thought with a mischievous smile forming across his face.
“That is for the council to decide,” Kerulithar pointed out.
“Well they had best decide quickly.”
At last Vargev stepped in, “look, this is getting us nowhere comrades. Let’s just get our heads down; get some sleep, and see what the council has to say tomorrow.”
Kerulithar and Michael both looked at the Major quizzically.
“What?” Vargev asked innocently.
“It’s kind of ironic,” Michael said smiling.
“What is?”
“A hard bitten, E.D. F commando veteran like you playing peacemaker,” Michael replied.
“Now don’t you lay any of that bullshit on me!” Vargev replied in mock anger.
They both laughed.
After a brisk walk along another archway they arrived at Kerulithars apartment. It was getting dark now; Kyo had reached its zenith high in the Solarian sky, stars were beginning to twinkle, and shuttle landing lights chased across the night sky which had turned a very deep crimson as the sun was almost set.
Kerulithars’ apartment was six floors up inside one of the myriad crystalline towers, and it was located close to the centre of the city. The Solarian opened a door and beckoned the two men inside. “Come in, this is my place, you are most welcome to spend the night here.”
“Nice place,” Michael said as he looked around.
“I like it; it was passed to me when my father died ten years ago,” Kerulithar replied.
The Solarian was busy making them both a drink when Vargev beckoned to Michael. “Over here; come and have a look at this.”
He was stood at the edge of the room, looking out over the city, Michael walked over to join him.
The streetlights on all of the archways had lit up gradually; bathing the archways in a soft light, as well as the parts of the buildings that they interconnected with. Occasionally the lights of an anti gravity vehicle could be seen as it traversed one of the archways. It was a calming yet beautiful sight.
“You are so lucky to live here Kerulithar,” Michael said. “After what I’ve seen of this city, I understand why the property prices are so high.”
“Thank you; here try this,” Kerulithar said walking over to them and handing them each a glass of a bright blue looking liquid. “It’s called Solarian Atollos.”
Both Michael and Vargev held the glass, eyeing it ever so suspiciously, Vargev sniffed it. It gave off a strong alcoholic smell.
In the end, both men gave in to politeness and drank from their glasses.
“Tastes a little like gin, or perhaps whisky,” Michael said.
“It reminds me of drinking the finest of vodka’s back in the motherland,” Vargev replied.
Kerulithar took their glasses from them, and after barely a single glass the humans began to stumble across the room as if barely able to stand, before finally collapsing onto their beds.
I must remember not to give the humans Atollos in the future, Kerulithar thought.
“Good night,” The Solarian said to the two inebriated humans as he pressed a control that made the crystal walls go dark. Vargev and Michael simply grunted their responses.
Next morning they awoke, Kerulithar was already awake and had been for some time, he was looking his typical cheerful self, both Michael and Vargev hurriedly got dressed and staggered out of the room groggily.
“What was that stuff you gave us last night?” Michael asked.
“It’s called Solarian Atollos.”
“Goddamn it, that stuff is lethal.”
“It is 98.2 % pure alcohol; however it also has a herbal extract, which only grows on Solaria. It is that extract which interacts with the taste buds and the areas of the brain that determine taste; fooling them into thinking that it’s the subject’s favourite drink.”
“Is that stuff legal?” Vargev asked.
“Yes. But only in Solarian territory, it seems we are the only species that can handle it, anywhere else and possession of it carries a heavy penalty. It has also been used by unsavoury characters to mask the taste of certain poisons.”
“Then why try it on us?” Michael asked.
“It has never been tried on humans before, I was curious to see if you could handle it; it looks like you’re intolerant to it also,” Kerulithar answered. “I thought you might like breakfast, we have a big day ahead of us today.”
“What is it?”
“It is a Solarian breakfast called Sorgrest, it is very sweet and full of energy.” The Solarian replied.
It looked like mashed up fern leaves, both Vargev and Michael eyed their bowls suspiciously. Not quite believing what Kerulithar was telling them, gingerly they tried some. And to their surprise they found that they liked it.
It tasted sugary and seemed to give the body an injection of energy which human breakfasts could only dream of; they quickly finished the bowl off and felt highly invigorated.
“This stuff is great how do you make it?” Michael asked.
“We found it purely by accident; a Solarian transport ship was damaged and crash landed on the moon Saris III; a planet within Solarian space. The moon did have an atmosphere but only small amounts of oxygen; enough to breathe but only barely,” Kerulithar paused for a moment. “The rescue vessel was weeks away and with little food the choice was either to eat the native Sorgrest plants or starve to death; and that is how we came upon it. In time we set up production facilities on that moon, and began to cultivate crops of it on other planets. It has been a staple breakfast food of our people ever since.”
They finished eating and found that they had some time to kill, so Kerulithar offered to show them some of the sights of the city.
The Solarian also pointed out that Michael and Vargev could do with some new clothes to wear; since the filthy and battered landfall uniforms looked horrendous.
He showed them to an advanced looking machine within his apartment. It had a display written in Solarian script, and what appeared to be a scanner.
Kerulithar told the two humans to remove their clothes so that the synthesiser could scan them into its central database, since there were no records of human military uniforms Kerulithar would have to create a new file based on the design of their clothes.
Michael and Vargev managed to grab a towel each to cover their modesty as they stripped and handed their clothes over to Kerulithar. Who touched a few controls on the panel and held each item of clothing up to the scanner in turn; within seconds of the synthesiser scanning a dirty item of clothing. An exact clean copy was created, which Kerulithar handed over to them before placing the old battered items into the synthesiser; which rapidly broke them down into their constituent molecules and reabsorbed them to be used again later.
Both of the men were overjoyed at having brand new clean uniforms instead of the dirty ones they had been tramping around in, in recent weeks. Once the humans had dressed again, they headed out of Kerulithars apartment.
They looked upon the huge Grand Sargrond theatre house, where an open air play was being performed; and the Elgrath stadium where Stallos is played.
“What is Stallos?” Michael asked.
“It is a popular sport here on Solaria, there are nine players to each team; they have to hit the ball with the forearm. If the ball drops to the ground the opposing team scores a point; there is a net in between the two teams, and they move around the field of play on small anti gravity boards,” Kerulithar pointed out to them.
“Kind of like volleyball, but with hoverboards,” Vargev filled in.
They continued walking along another of the giant archways, “do you show lots of plays on Solaria?” Michael asked.
“Oh yes; it is one of our primary forms of entertainment. We once had television like you do, however it fell out of favour on our world. Now we go to the theatre instead. There are still some small T.V. networks that do exist, but as a rule most Solarians don’t watch them,” Kerulithar checked a small pocket watch that he pulled out of a pocket in his robes. “It’s getting close to the time we must be getting back to the council building now.”
As they began to make their way back to the council building, Vargev pointed out the large black birds flitting from tower to tower.
“What kind of birds are those?” he asked watching them.
Kerulithar looked up and said, “they are the Logethi birds; they represent freedom and peace amongst my people, it is an offence on my planet to kill one.”
“They look really nice,” Vargev said.
After a short walk they made it to the entrance of the Solarian council building once again; walking up the marble steps for a second time. A large crowd had gathered for this momentous day.
“Obviously our story had generated some interest,” Michael whispered to the others.
Hundreds of Solarians had gathered on either side of the steps leading up to the building. They were being held back by barriers and the local Solarian planetary police, the crowd looked eager to catch a glimpse of the first two terrans to set foot on Solaria.
The mass of people cheered when they caught sight of Michael and Vargev, which made them both proud and uncomfortable in equal measure.
This time the same official stood and greeted them formally, “the council is expecting you, and is arrayed to review your case, you may go straight through.”
“Thank you,” Kerulithar said.
They walked through the ornate council doors and into the huge oval council chambers once again. This time the entire council was arrayed; fully 125 delegates from planets across Solarian space.
There was a hand picked public adjudication panel made up of some of the most noted theologians, scientists, philosophers, and lesser dignitaries on Solaria.
Kerulithar also noted that Saltovos; the head of Solarian military forces was also present. This is huge, he thought, the biggest case of my ambassadorial career.
The three of them once again stood on the raised stand in the centre of the room; lights gradually dimmed, and the handrail circling the room lit up once more. The lights in the ceiling suddenly turned on and once again bathed the ambassador in a bright white light.
The powerful and deep council voice boomed over the speakers once again. “Ambassador Kerulithar of Kendris III, do you still represent the Terrans presented before this council.”
“I do.”
“Thank you ambassador, you may now step down,” the voice boomed again. “This council is now in session.”
Kerulithar bowed respectfully and stepped down, taking his place behind the two humans.
“Terrans!” the voice spoke again, “please explain to this council how you got here; one more time.”
Vargev and Michael took to the stand and told their stories once again. The council sat quiet listening to the details intently.
After a short pause to take in these details, a delegate finally arose, “Ambassador Kerulithar.” The aged delegate said, “do you seriously think that this council would go to war with another alien race on the request of two low ranking Terran officers; without a single shred of evidence?”
Kerulithar took to the stand again. “There is significant evidence; I have it in my possession. And I would wish the council to look upon it.”
“Present your evidence,” the voice replied.
Kerulithar reached into his pocket and retrieved a small disc, passed it to the nearest administrator who took it and inserted the disc into a small reader; automatically a holographic screen shimmered into life above the centre of the council, casting the dark oval room in an emerald glow.
“It contains Commander Ralavas of the Omicron repair facilities’ testimony; the damage sustained by our captured Krenaran vessel. As well as sensor data from every action the ship has taken part in since its construction. It has also been translated for our benefit,” Kerulithar announced.
The delegates watched the footage aghast; a wave of whispers floated around the room, some of the delegates were clearly outraged by what they were seeing.
“How did you get that disc?” Michael whispered to the ambassador.
“I had Ralavas prepare it for me before we left Omicron. It arrived this morning while you were sleeping,” Kerulithar answered.
“I think I owe him a drink,” Michael said.
The disc was played in chronological order. It showed the vessel going on reconnaissance sorties deep into E.O.C. A territory long before the war actually started.
Data was displayed containing the relative strengths and weaknesses of E.D. F ships and facilities; it showed footage of the first attacks upon the civilian mining vessels. The disc was then paused.
“Terrans, can you identify for the benefit of this council the vessels that are under attack in this picture?” The council voice asked.
Michael spoke up, “yes; they are civilian mining vessels.”
There were some serious hushed whispers around the chamber at hearing this news, civilian targets were being attacked.
“Please continue,” the voice spoke aloud once again.
The disc continued playing; showing more attacks upon the mining vessels, and then the attack upon the Montfort; the disc was paused for a second time as the attack began.
“Terrans, can you identify the large vessel shown in the picture?” The voice asked again.
“It is an E.D. F Naval carrier, called the E.D.F. S Montfort, it was sent to investigate the attacks,” Michael answered.
The disc was played again; depicting the fiery destruction of the Montfort. Then the attacks upon the Agemman colony itself, plumes of thick black smoke rose high into the night sky, as torpedoes blasted apart building upon building.
Tracer fire from hastily erected artillery and anti-aircraft pieces from the 22 ^ nd E.D. F artillery company, the black panthers, could be seen lighting up the night sky as they desperately searched the sky for the attacking Krenaran vessels. Flames and explosions lit up the colony in bright flashes as torpedoes found their targets. Smoke filled the night sky; everywhere buildings were burning and bloodied bodies lay strewn across cratered streets.
Kerulithar said, “please pause the disc.”
The administrator did so.
“Notice how the Krenaran ships are leaving all the water sources untouched, we will come back to that later, please resume.”
The disc was played once again; the council studied Vargev as the disc showed more scenes of the wholesale slaughter at the Agemman colony.
At length one of the delegates stood and said, “you look like you recognise this atrocity.”
“I am one of the survivors from the attack on that colony; I was there the night it happened.” Vargev said, even his trained emotions seemed heavy with grief as he remembered the utter desolation of that small outlying colony.
Everywhere voices erupted across the chambers; here was an actual survivor; an eye witness to the events.
The disc continued playing. Now it portrayed the Krenaran ship in orbit, veering toward the E.D. F fleet, as the Krenaran ships silently massed for the attack on the battle group led by the Ulysses. Suddenly and almost simultaneously the Krenaran ships opened fire; huge explosions lit up the space immediately surrounding the battle. Rail-cannons thundered in response, and the lethal bright green particle beams of the Krenaran attackers tore open the hulls of the E.D. F ships, opening great rents of fire and twisted blackened metal.
Michael bowed his head low, this was the first time he had seen what transpired in the battle itself. He thought of Dylan and all the other 1640 souls on the Ulysses, whose lives ended that day, incinerated by five minutes of brutal fire fight.
“You seem in shock,” the speakers boomed again.
“Wouldn’t you be? I served aboard the flagship of that fleet; it’s called the E.D.F. S Ulysses,” Michael responded grief stricken.
They continued watching but it was a slaughter, finally Michael turned away; he could watch no more.
“The largest ship in that fleet; is that the flagship?” The council voice boomed.
“Yes, it’s called a Danitza class battleship, one of the largest and most advanced ships we produce, 1640 men died on that ship alone,” Michael announced.
“If you will, how many died in the battle in total,” the council asked.
Michael had to think hard, there were 7 ships involved in total. Two Ghandhi class destroyers, one Mandela class light cruiser, two Alexander class medium cruisers, the carrier Furious, and the Ulysses. That makes 3,290 men dead; the realisation of the scale of the slaughter struck him like a thunderbolt. That many dead, he could scarcely believe it. What with the attacks on the Agemman and Aurelias colonies, never in the history of the E.D. F or E.O.C. A have there been such losses.
“In total 3,290 Naval personnel died in that battle,” Michael replied trying to keep composed and to keep some form of professional detachment. The sheer scale of the slaughter made him waver though. Voices around the chambers also began to denounce the level of bloodshed.
The disc shown that once the battle was over; the ship landed on the planet.
Human slave trains could be seen shambling towards it. Beaten, bruised, and dressed barely in rags, every single one of them looked totally crushed; like their morale and spirit had been cruelly stripped away. The sheer amount of damage the devastated colony had taken was evident to all. It resembled a dusty, windswept, smoking ruin, almost devoid of life.
“They are using slaves; it’s a blatant violation of galactic laws!” One delegate shouted.
“We cannot get involved, it’s not our war!” Another exclaimed aloud.
Then suddenly like a tinderbox, the whole chamber was engulfed in furious debate, both for and against aiding the Terrans. The arguments were fierce; should the Solarians actually aid these Terrans? Or should they stay out of their war, it simply did not involve them?
After numerous shouts for order, the arguing gradually died down.
“We have definitely started something now,” Kerulithar said as he smiled at Vargev and Michael.
“This council will come to order!” The voice boomed even louder over the speakers.
There was a barely contained hush, one delegate stood up and asked, “is the disk genuine?”
Kerulithar passed the disc to an administrator who took it and handed it to a scientist on the adjudication panel who passed a small scanning device over the disc, scrutinising it carefully for several minutes.
“In my opinion, the disc is indeed genuine. I can find no evidence of tampering.”
Once again fierce debate erupted in the council chambers.
“This council will come to order!” The voice boomed again.
At length another delegate arose from across the room and said, “I know very well the history of the Terrans, you are an aggressive warmongering people, you have had two massive world wars, and very nearly a third. You kill your own people as easily as anyone else, and now you wish to bring your warmongering ways to the stars. I say we should not help these Terrans, they have brought this upon themselves, and they should deal with the consequences of it.”
Angry debate once again arose throughout the chambers, the voice boomed repeatedly calling for order, finally the delegates quietened down.
“And now I come to my final point,” Kerulithar said.
His hands were clasped together giving a sense of calm contemplation, he waited a few seconds; Michael suspected it was partly a diplomatic trick to get everyone’s attention on him, and partly to gauge the reaction of the council, which fell suddenly silent. He put a finger into the air as if pointing out something.
“Why do you think the Krenarans have left all the water sources undamaged?”
He gave another little pause as if to emphasize the point. “We all know that Terra has abundant amounts of water in its oceans, lakes and rivers, as does the other Terran colonies, Sicarius IV, Gamma Aurigulon, and Brianus.”
Again Kerulithar gave a little pause to let the council take this in. “They are leaving the water sources undamaged because there are untold billions of credits worth to trade. The Krenarans will undoubtedly use some of it for themselves; the vast majority however will be sold on to the highest bidder. With the massive influx of revenue gained from the water, their military will go into overdrive.”
He looked over the council members, noting several of them nodding in agreement.
“Advanced technology will be developed at a far faster rate than previously thought; as they will now have the capital to fund it, and new, even more powerful ships will be built much more quickly. For water remains one of the most expensive natural resources anywhere in the known galaxy. We all know that the Krenaran race is an aggressive, hostile, and expansionistic race.”
Once again he paused for emphasis.
“Do you really think they will stop with the Terrans when they have access to that kind of power? The Krenarans could pose a threat to every major race in the known galaxy.”
He paused to let the seriousness of the situation sink in. “Can we really afford not to get involved?” He said finally.
The chambers were deathly silent, as the realisation of the seriousness of the situation had finally hit home.
The Krenarans were not invading to eradicate the human race, far from it, but to enslave them, and to strip them of a resource that until now was regarded as plentiful and rather inexpensive by human standards.
Michael and Vargev also realised this and were stunned by the news. The reason why so many people were dying was water, just plain old H2O.
Every delegate in the council mulled over the prospect that in the years to come the so called mighty Solarian Confederacy, could indeed feel the impact of this war themselves; and very possibly be defeated by it. In the years to come it could be Solarians in those slave chains.
Finally after a long pause; Karalis, the Solarian President stood and addressed the council.
“All those in favour of aiding the Terrans in their war with the Krenarans, please vote on your terminals; all against the motion please also register your vote.”
Each delegate pressed a button on a keypad mounted on their desks. Very quickly a set of numbers flashed up on a computer screen at the administrators’ position.
“All votes are in,” she said.
“What say you?” Karalis replied.
“122 votes for; and 3 against,” the administrator replied.
“Confirmed the count is accurate,” spoke another.
“We have done it!” Kerulithar punched the air in jubilation.
“Adjudication panel, what say you?” Karalis addressed the panel.
“In light of all the evidence presented here, we unanimously vote to aid the Terrans in their war with the Krenaran Empire.”
“Let the Solarian warhost be gathered; I want all ships prepared and battle worthy. When is the minimum amount of time this can be achieved, Primar Saltovos.”
“Six weeks to gather the warhost, Mr President.”
“Six weeks it is then; I want a full battle plan formed and presented to me before then.”
“It will be done,” Saltovos replied.
Karalis turned his attention to the two Terrans, “what would you want us to do with the ship which you arrived in; the captured Krenaran vessel.”
“The Liberty,” Michael corrected. “I would like to keep her under our command if I may Mr. President.”
“As you wish; however we would advise some Solarian upgrades to the vessel. It is currently docked at the Omicron shipyard; which is one of the best equipped for this type of work in Solarian space,” Karalis pointed out.
“Excellent; I have seen how powerful your ships are first hand, you would get no argument from me Mr President,” Michael replied.
“Call me Karalis,” The president smiled and nodded respectfully at the two Terrans.
“We are in agreement then; the Liberty will be ready in six weeks time before the warhost sets off into Terran space. This is the first agreement between our two peoples, and I hope the first of many. The small Terran empire may yet rule the fates of all; for what its worth you have made a friend in the Solarian people today Michael Alexander.”
“As have you in the Earth and Outer Colonies Alliance, Mr…erm…Karalis, sir,” Michael stammered.
Karalis laughed, “in six weeks.”
They exited the council jubilant, and to a cheering crowd who had just heard the news. This was a historic day and news of this would spread right across Solarian space.
Both Michael and Vargev were greatly heartened by what they had just accomplished, it was by no means easy but now they had a chance to fight back; finally someone was on their side. But they were also worried at the same time.
“Six weeks,” Michael said to Vargev. “That’s a hell of a long time; I hope there is an E.D. F left to save.”
“So do I comrade, so do I,” Vargev replied.
Michael, Vargev and Kerulithar continued their stroll back towards Kerulithars apartment.
“Well that’s it; the Solarians are coming to…what do you call it…kick the Krenarans ass,” the ambassador pointed out.
Michael and Vargev laughed. “Something like that.”
Six weeks, Michael thought, I hope there will be an E.D. F left by the time we get there.
“When we get there, the war will be waiting for us comrade,” Vargev said, as if reading Michaels’ thoughts.
“That’s a bit of a turn around, you were all for taking the Liberty and using it against the Krenarans as soon as we captured her.”
“Let’s just say we have a bit better chance now. When the Liberty and the rest of the Solarian fleet start smashing into the Krenarans they’re not going to know what hit them.”
“And the Solarian government shouldn’t have too much trouble in maintaining popular support for our involvement. Krenaran attacks on our borders have been growing for some time and the government just needed an excuse, conveniently, you gave them one,” Kerulithar added.