Chapter 2

6.2 Earth years — 3.7 Ellan years before the year N
Councils Meeting Room

With great difficulty Madam E'eliana restored order in the room. The astronomer reprimanded for her lack of scarf was sent back, the screaming counselors were hushed and the radio turned off. Madam V'vida absence was duly noted and registered by the secretary.

"Madam Chief of the Defense, do we have any options?" asked E'eliana

The councilor dark face with blue overtones — the only blue in the Council — got even darker. "I-I have no idea what to do," she blurted truthfully. "It would be better we call the commander of the Guards. But from the material we have available on this race they could obliterate our whole population of half a billion in hours from the space."

Called into the room, Madam A'mmada the Commander of the Guards — another member of the blue ethnicity — who also was the boss of space, air and Navy had a similar opinion.

"I have been studying this race's capabilities since we debriefed our first scout crew." She stated. "In open combat we are no match and it would be a racial suicide to offer resistance." She paused and saw the desperate looks on most of the councilors' faces. "But we won't be totally defenseless once those brutes disembark. After they try to occupy our country with a mere force of 150 thousand, we could use guerrilla tactics, and the weapons that gave us the victory over the varmints in Prophet A'anna—may she reside at the right hand of the Almighty—times."

"So, you suggest that we surrender pacifically but organize a secret resistance and win over them once they are confident and put down their guard?"

"Exactly, Madam High Counselor."

"So go, prepare the plans which we will discuss later during the day." Madam E'eliana dismissed the Commander.

"Madam High Counselor." The Commander was not leaving.

"Yes?"

"You and the members of the board should go into hiding immediately. It will be difficult to get you out of the building now as it's already surrounded by an angry mob claiming for your heads. Later it could be impossible as the mob is increasing by the minute. I have only 300 guards trying to contain thousands of women."

She was right. The whole operation was secret but quite a few Ellans knew about the decision of exterminating a whole solar system. The Ellans were quite bureaucratic. Even the secret orders had to be filed, classified and copied. The martyred astronauts had families and lovers. The astronauts that returned from the mission had friends and families. A rumor had been spreading through the Ella for quite some time now. And now, alerted by the radio message, the women on Ella discovered that their very existence was threatened by the action of their leaders.

The manifestation was a spontaneous one. The first women that decided to go to the Council Hall were driven by the desire to know what the Council would do. But as the mob started to increase in size, it started to do what mobs do in any society. The fact finding started to change into finding the culprits target and the guards were not equipped for mob control.

Inside the Hall, E'eliana was making quick decisions.

"We can't go all into hiding. A few of us will have to stay to receive the occupation leaders and to run the government. I'll stay and accept all the blame and face whatever is to be my fate. I'll also speak to the Ellans. She indicated the older counselors splitting the council. You three will stay here with me. The rest of you will dress clerk clothes and go into hiding helping the Commander organizing the resistance. GO! Let prophet A'anna—may she reside at the right hand of the Almighty—illuminate your path and give us the ultimate victory."

E'eliana was manipulative, autocratic and a bully, but she was not a coward. She went to the balcony stepped outside and faced the mob with a microphone in her hand. Her amplified voice drowned the angry mob noise.

"People from Ella! My fellow Ellans! Companions! Hear me out! It's a dark day for us. It's exactly to try to avoid it that our government took the steps that we thought would take away the danger from us. We were wrong, but we are not defeated. We don't want our society to be ruined, so we won't fight. We will receive the invaders in peace and we will negotiate a peaceful co-existence. Fear not, with the help of saint A'anna—may she reside at the right hand of the Almighty—we will overcome the extreme danger that is facing us. Go back to your homes and return to work fellow Ellans and wait for our commands."

Her voice was strong and charismatic. After a few more sentences the angry mob's rumble started to mingle with high councilor's name shouted here and there and in a few moments the mob began to chant "e-e-elia-a-na! e-e-elia-a-na! e-e-elia-a-na!"

E'eliana's beautiful face was flushed with the emotion. She raised her hands and shouted "GO! GO! BLESS YOU!"

Groups of women started to break away from the mob and leaving the great square in front of the Council Hall. In half an hour the place was empty.

Inside the Council room the Commander after complimenting E'eliana for the way she dealt with the mob, left the room with the counselors that would hide. E'eliana and the remaining counselors sat in front of transmission equipment. E'eliana was shown how to activate it by a technician and she transmitted a short message that she had composed and wrote on a piece of paper.

"Greetings people from Earth. We won't fight you. We welcome you to the beautiful world of Ella. My name is Madam E'eliana and I'm the Ella's Highest Counselor. I'll be waiting for your leader in the Council Hall to start truce negotiations."

The answer was not long in coming.

"Madam E'eliana, there will be no negotiations. You and all High Counselors will wait in front of the Council Hall for a transport which will take you aboard Earth Alliance Starship Enterprise. Here you will sign your unconditional surrender and will receive information about your future. After this formality our troops will start immediately the occupation. This is the commander of Earth Alliance punitive expedition general Thomas Pulaw signing off."

7 Earth years — 4.2 Ellan years before the year N
Interrogation Center in the Anti-Terrorist Bureau on Earth

Three stars general Thomas Pulaw was a huge man. Big in all dimensions, tall almost six feet and a half and so broad across his chest that his uniform shirt threatened to split at the seams. His hands looked as large hams. His rugged face wasn't handsome, but women thought that he was sexy. His blond — almost white hair was cut so near his scull that he looked bald. His strong jaw and cold blue eyes implied that he was stubborn. His ex-wife would call him pig-headed. He thought himself as headstrong. Men unanimously got out of his way. He wasn't a man to have as an adversary. Not that he didn't have enemies. On the contrary, quite a few of his peers and superior officers would like to see him on a one way mission to the bloody sun. This was due to his blunt openness. He spoke his mind without fear of consequences and without any concern on hurting other peoples' feelings. And he did hurt them. His ex-wife could testify on it. He hurt her also in another way and she could testify to that as well. His ham-like hands could play havoc with a feminine pair of buttocks, but this wasn't the reason she asked for divorce.

He was also known as a tireless work addict. A job entrusted to general Pulaw was a job done. Done quickly and in the most straightforward way possible.

Now he was scowling while sitting in the control room of the Interrogation Center of the ATB in an undisclosed place of the Earth Alliance. His damned job was to get information from the captured alien crews quick. Double quick really, while the starship Enterprise was prepared for the FTL to follow the small alien ship that run away.