Chapter 600

Jeff, along with many others including the General, waited for the signal to travel from Saturn’s rings to Ship, who was now in orbit to facilitate the transmission between the two points better.

“Shit,” the General griped, “I never realized that video transmissions were so slow.”

“ ... Or that our solar system was so big,” Jeff offered.

“Yeah, that too,” Whitworth returned with an amused grin.

“Do you think they’ll answer?” Diana asked as she sat beside her husband watching the blank holo screen.

“Well,” Jeff replied, “from Ship’s analysis of their communications between their Ship and those Paladins, they have sophisticated equipment. She says that hers is better, but maintains that they should be capable of sending and receiving over the distances involved. But ... no matter how good the system, we are all still limited to the speed of light, roughly 186,000 miles per second. Saturn at this point is a long way off, and, according to Ship, it will take the signal approximately an hour and nineteen minutes to make the trip – one way. We just have to wait for the answer to get here – if they decide to answer.”

To say that the time went by slowly would have been an understatement, but finally, Ship warned that the time was approaching for a signal to arrive, should the aliens have bothered to answer.

The holo flickered for a few seconds, then settled to show several aliens, with one standing a little closer to the pickup than the others. They were wearing what seemed to be uniforms. Later review of the recording would reveal slight differences in the markings on the shoulders that they assumed designated rankings of some sort.

The scouts had recorded transmissions between the mother ship and the Paladins, so the aliens’ appearance wasn’t a shock to anyone. They were bipedal, and their faces seemed to be a little flatter than humans while their eyes appeared more rounded, were slightly bigger and set a little farther apart, plus they had a couple of brow ridges that certainly weren’t human. Their ears were set a bit higher on their heads, and the auricle (the visible part of the ear) seemed to be quite a bit smaller. The present view didn’t allow any great detail about their hands, but the fingers seemed generally longer and the hands appeared to have long thumbs, also. Overall, their appearance was startlingly human-like, and the group appeared to be all male. None of the recordings had shown a female, either.

The alien closest to the pickup took another step forward and stood with his hands apparently clasped behind him. “We have received your transmission. We are the Miadax, and I am the First Officer of our great ship, the Raider. Our usual approach to a new world is to take what we want after a softening-up attack.” After a slight hesitation, he went on, “However, I have decided that we will differ in our usual approach to a new world and offer trade with your planet, instead. We have been reviewing your transmissions, and our computer has easily translated most of the languages of your planet. Your technology is quite backward, but your manufacturing abilities are impressive for such a backward race. Therefore, I feel confident that we can offer technological advances in exchange for processed goods – the details of which we can go into later.”

After describing his ship in more detail – its enormous holds, automation and superior weapons – he hesitated before deciding to tell the truth. “However, my ideas on trade go outside the norm for us, and there lies a major problem. There is a faction aboard that would rather continue with our tried and true method of simply taking what we want, but I hope to change that...”

With sharp suddenness, another voice overrode the one speaking, and the computer continued to translate. “Fuck you, First. I, your Captain, am back in command!” the voice screamed. “There will be no trade with these... humans. We will destroy a few major cities to get their attention, then take what we want – Standard Operating Procedure. No more of your foolish trade talk. For your treason, I will watch you and your cronies starve while we raid this Earth of its treasures and its females. Without a doubt, the females will bring a premium when we return to Base.”

The Captain ranted over the intercom for another few seconds before everything on the Primary Bridge went black, even as the ship’s computer, at the Captain’s direction, locked the hatch, which was the only access.

Stunned, Jeff, along with most everyone present, had come to their feet to stare as the last view of the alien bridge froze on the holo screen.

“Oh, my gosh,” Arlene said. “How could this...”

Before Jeff could answer, the screen flickered again, and another being came on, his uniform strikingly different – gaudier – with some type of chevrons on the shoulders of the uniform and what appeared to be a row of stars down the left front. The voice was that of the one that had claimed to be the Captain. The alien computer continued to translate, but the alien was so angry that even with the translation, he made little sense, coming across with a wave of almost insane anger. However, one thing that translated perfectly was, “There will be no trade,” he spat out as if even the word had a bad taste. “There will be death and destruction first to teach you Earthlings to obey, then we, the mighty Miadax, will issue our demands. Any hesitation in complying will result in the destruction of two more of your major cities. You have met the Master Race, and you will be enslaved just as every other race we have encountered has been,” he screamed before the transmission cut off.

“Well,” the General said into the silence, “I think you could say without hesitation that he has thrown down the gauntlet.”

Jeff caught Whitworth’s eye. “Any change of plans, Sir?”

“Just fucking win,” he said as he came to his feet. “If you need something that I can provide, name it, and I will make it happen. Ship,” he said, his voice without emotion, “Please transmit the recording of the aliens’ message to Security. I will show it to the proper people – not that they will believe it is real,” he finished, morosely.

With a nod from Jeff, Ship put them on the ground so the General could depart.

On the Primary Bridge of the Alien Ship

“How did he manage to do that?” the Second snarled out. “How can we be summarily locked onto our bridge as if we are children who have misbehaved? Surely, there is something we can do,” he said as both he and the First officer tried again and again to open the hatch.

Giving up, the First sighed, walked over and slumped into the Captain’s seat, the bridge now lit only with emergency lighting that had come on automatically. “I knew that the Captain had override codes, but I thoroughly searched his quarters and couldn’t find them. He must have had them memorized. Just in case he did, I had the computer lock the Auxiliary Bridge, but he obviously managed to get inside somehow. There are only two places on the ship that his override codes will work: here and on the Auxiliary Bridge, but I still can’t understand how he gained entrance to the other bridge. It should have been impossible without many shifts of cutting through all that armor.”

There was silence for a time, then, “Surely there is a way to get out of here,” the Weapons Officer said.

“Well, as we all know, the lock and hatch are armored and are designed to thwart an attack should we be boarded, or there is a mutiny. Unfortunately for us, that armor works both ways if the energy to open the lock is not available. At least we still have air, since the bridge is designed so that the air and water cannot be shut off externally – again by boarders or those involved in a mutiny.”

Turning to the Steward, the First asked, “What do you have to tell us about food?”

“Sir,” he said from the other side of the bridge, “we have survival food in stasis for ten days (Interpreted). That is, of course, at full rations – longer if we adjust. Our water, as with our air, comes through armored conduits and is virtually uninterruptible.”

The First didn’t interfere with the Science Officer, who, along with Helm, had the bottom cover removed from Helm’s console, and the two were kneeling to peer inside while they seemed to be involved in a heated discussion.

On the Auxiliary Bridge

“I am in command again,” the Captain told the Paladin Commander via intercom.

“Good,” the Commander snapped back. “Shut down the mutiny defenses and I will come to the Bridge.”

“Make that the Auxiliary Bridge. I have locked the Primary Bridge crew in, and I have moved my command to the Auxiliary Bridge.”

“They are still alive? Why did you not kill them?”

“They are alive for now. I had no way to kill them. I plan to starve them.”

“Are they armed?” the Commander asked unnecessarily.

“Certainly they are. I only had the three technicians and the pipe engineer with me, so I just locked them in.” Then with obvious reluctance, he added, “It would take a fool to engage the First in a firefight.”

“You should have killed them, somehow. They will break out and come for you.”

“They cannot break out. The bridge is the most secure area on the ship.”

“I am aware of that, you idiot. We all know that it was designed to secure the bridge crew from a mutiny or a boarding. Did you, perhaps, consider that the designers might have thought about food for the crew while a boarding party tries to gain access?”

“I am the Captain. Of course, I know that they have survival food to last a few shifts. It will just take longer to starve them. Their controls are dead. They cannot do anything, no matter how long it takes for them to starve. While they are slowly dying, we will attack and overcome this Earth. I want to ‘investigate’ some of their females in a more personal manner,” he said with the alien equivalent of a devious chuckle.

“I am more interested in the capabilities of those Earth fighters,” the Commander shot back. “We need to win this little war before we celebrate.”

“What are a few Earth fighters against our Paladins, let alone against our glorious Raider? The battle will be over before it starts.”