Chapter 10

Called once again to solve a problem involving a non-member civilization encroaching on the good people of Ranahzia, I had to leave some of my lovers behind, ask a few of them to once again follow me into the unknown, and attack the problem head on.

Ranahzia was mostly a human inhabited planet, a natural satellite in the system of the sun Zeta Five. When settled by humans, thousands of years ago, there were forms of wildlife similar to Sol Earth’s, yet different in many ways. There were no advanced life forms, as in monkeys and other sub-human, yet striving to be human, species. They did have a kind of dog, though, that was cute as all get out, and very possessive once it got to know you. It was also fairly intelligent, as animals go. It had short curly hair, like a poodle, but with a pug nose, yet not an ugly mug, like a pug, and large round ears. Its legs were short, and it had relatively big feet. It was different, to say the least.

Their human population was as advanced as any other, as they shared technology and agriculture with other members of the Regency. One thing they had going for them was that Ranahzia was rife with precious metals and other elements used in advanced technology and metallurgy. Hence the problem with ‘creatures’ from the ‘black lagoon’ coming to Ranahzia to rape their planet, enslave their men and children, and have their women for breeding. The creatures in question were just human enough to procreate with humans, but their DNA was normally dominant, so their offspring from the raids and such were mostly resemblant of them.

They were Dorse, as we came to find out after the fact. The Dorse were becoming a violent people, on two dying planets in a dying system with a slowly dying sun. Dorse females could only breed once. How that came to be is anybody’s guess, but it seemed to me like maybe the Creator got wind of their antics and wanted to fix the issue slowly. That would do it.

King Jaren got word of the plight of the Ranahzians through Regency channels, and since his forces were closest, he sent them to hold off any incursions into our friends’ planet until more help could arrive. It didn’t take long for hundreds of ships to go to their rescue, holding the Dorse at bay through tactical skirmishes. The Dorse were kept in the adjacent systems, and probes sent to test defenses were quickly neutralized. They were adamant about taking Ranahzia, though, and until they were outnumbered, ten or twelve to one, thought they would succeed enriching their people at the expense of others.

A bit of research showed their intent wasn’t that innocent. They were attempting to enrich their royal family, the nobles, and the military, at the expense of others. The regular, run of the mill, Dorse people, we thought we came to find were, for the most part, destitute slaves working off indentured contracts, or just stuck in nothing, go nowhere, hard labor jobs with no future, and no real reward.

That view is what our intelligence gleaned from the invading forces. With that in mind, even after the fact, I was glad we did what we did.

Georgia barked out orders. “Communications, open a channel to the Dorse command, please. The Chancellor needs to speak to their leadership.”

“Aye, Colonel Bright.” The comms operator started flipping switches and in just a few minutes had a video communication set up with the Dorse command ship. “Comms up now, Colonel.”

“Thank you, Sergeant. Chancellor, as you will.”

“This is the Chancellor of the Regency. I must speak to your most senior officers on scene. Would that be possible at this time?”

A few minutes later, after some crackling, some obvious electronic switching, and some stuttering of voices, a reply was received. “Chancellor? That sounds important. I am Optimum Leader Feng of the Dorse Empire. I warn you to stand down, back away, and allow us to take what we have conquered.”

“I see, Mister Feng. I understand your request, but cannot abide, as these are our friends, our allies, and more so, our responsibility. It is our duty to keep them safe and secure. I must ask you, Feng, to stand down and stop your attack, as that will lead to your ultimate demise. Your end, if you will. There can be no other way out, as we have thousands of ships on the way here to defend the Ranahzians from your incursion and will not stop until you and your force have been defeated.”

“As a seasoned warrior, I can understand your position, Chancellor, but we need to proceed, so that we may live another day...”

“Feng, before you do something you will regret, can I ask, why do you attack an unknown planet that holds no ill will toward you?”

“We need their resources to survive.” Feng, one could tell, was becoming impatient.

“Why is that, Feng? Do you not have a home, a city, a planet, a sun, to call your own. A place where your people have been living? What is it that has caused your aggressiveness?” I asked him. I felt I knew, already, but was fishing for time and a soft spot if one was at all possible to find.

“Chancellor, although it is not any of your business what drives our people, I will allow you to know that our system, our sun, our planets, our oceans, and our lands, are dying. We must find sustenance until we can find a place to land and settle and call our own. We need metals for our ship repairs, food, not only to feed our crews but also to send home to keep our subordinates alive, human women to mate with, slaves to perform our menial tasks, and precious metals to trade for our needs with other worlds. We have found them here and need to take them. We will do so now, if you will just move aside, Chancellor.”

“Feng, do you have a superior?” I asked him, hearing him gasp at the thought I had questioned his authority.

“More senior and proficient males have died for asking less pretentious questions of me, Chancellor. You are showing your inability to accept guidance from your superiors. Since I know I will have to end your existence, in some way or another anyway, I will advise you that the only person above the Optimum Leader of the Dorse Navy is the Queen of the Dorse Empire, the venerable Teng. She is my older sister. I speak for her in all ways. Should you speak to her, she will answer your questions, if it pleases her, then cut out your heart and feed it to her felines...” I interrupted him.

“So, your older sister runs your world, while you are out robbing, raping, pillaging, and otherwise causing havoc while she is home, safe, in some insulated castle waiting for you to bring home the bacon?”

“Bacon? What is bacon?” Feng asked, about as innocently and ignorantly as I have ever heard.

“Bacon, pork belly, sliced. Shit, never mind. How about gold, platinum, silver, titanium, women, slaves, lumber, milk, whatever. She is waiting at home while you do the work? She was first born, I take it.”

“Of course. It is the way of the starry expanse. The first born is the leader.” Feng did not believe what he was saying. It was more than obvious in his tone of voice.

“No, Feng. Of those civilizations in which we celebrate life, the first-born male is the leader. The women hold the men in esteem, raise their children, love them, and make sure they have a warm, safe, and loving home to come back to after fighting their battles. Battles which can be won. Unlike this one, Feng. While we have been conversing, your opponents have come to outnumber you fifteen to one, each and every one more powerful and better equipped. I don’t want to kill you today, but you will leave me no choice should your position not change. There is an option for you, however.”

“You offer an option, Chancellor? So that maybe we can become your slaves? I think not.”

“No, Feng. You need a home? You like this place, Ranahzia, do you?”

“Yes, very much. It is conducive to our needs and as such we must take it.” Feng was becoming more impatient.

“What if I offered you a place similar, open, untarnished by humans? Nearly identical atmosphere, and similar flora and fauna. Could we talk about that instead of having hundreds of thousands, possibly millions, of people dying, mostly your own, while we deter you and ensure you have nothing? Wouldn’t a new home be better?”

“It sounds as though taking this planet would be easier, Chancellor.”

“Feng, it will not be, I assure you. As we have been speaking, my very well trained and brave soldiers have isolated you and your command vessel and have it locked in as a target. If you do not surrender immediately and accept my offer of a new home, a planet you can settle, with only a few conditions, I will end the life of your queen’s little brother very soon.”

“What conditions, might I ask. Know this, though, we will not bow to anyone, nor any deity. It will just not happen. No entity, force, person, people, nothing, will ever control the Dorse Royal Family from being free to reign and remain in control of their destiny.”

“The Royal Family? Feng, is that the only place where your priorities lie?”

“Yes, the Royal Family. The Dorse worlds exist and live to serve the queen and her family. Our mere existence is for the glory of our people.”