Steven Gordon 3: The Modloch Empire Page 4

  The King coughed politely, ‘That’s enough Sergeant. No one here is proposing war.’ He turned to the Emperor, ‘You will have to excuse the Sergeant, he is a typical Scottish soldier. They can get a little carried away sometimes.’ He turned back to Charlie, ‘Dismissed.’

  ‘Yes Sir.’ Charlie took two steps back and saluted, ‘Gentlemen.’

  The Emperor growled, ‘That didn’t translate. What did he say?’

  ‘It is a form of respect towards those of higher status,’ the Chief almost squeaked.

  ‘It is, is it?’

  ‘Yes sire.’

  His eyes sent the Chief scuttling after Charlie. He turned to the King. ‘Why did you invite a common soldier to this evening?’

  ‘Ah! He was the first soldier on to the city ship and one of the last off. He and his men fought the entire length of the campaign without respite and took the surrender of the Albany. This is a little treat. My show of appreciation for their efforts. He represents all of the common soldiers that fought.’

  The Emperor was almost growling, ‘I understand.’ He accepted the King’s explanation. ‘It is occasionally necessary to throw the commoners a few scraps from your table. Their gratitude is pathetic, but it can make them more loyal and fight all the harder.’

  ‘Exactly.’

  ‘It would seem that we aren’t all that different after all.’ The Emperor noted that his Chief Engineer had caught up with the Human soldier and by their body language it was clear that the two were familiar with each other, maybe even friends.

  CHAPTER 7

  Steven and Komoru spent a week in academic bliss at the royal institute. Steven had a list of questions and the Professor welcomed each and every one. Their presence also seemed to inspire his other pupils. Steven noticed there were seats for over a hundred, but only about a dozen were taken.

  The Professor showed the pair of them around and they soon became aware of the prestige of the academy. His schedule was very light so he was able to give them a lot of personal tuition. After a couple of days Steven took Hailey in to see how she would fare. For the past few months Steven had been teaching her the basics. Hailey dived into the classes with as much gusto as Steven and Komoru, to the great delight of the Professor.

  Their arrival didn’t go unnoticed though and at the end of the week they were called upon to attend the Dean of the institute. He eyed them coldly.

  ‘Captains Gordon and Kiazu, your reputations proceed you. It is a pleasure to see you here. However, I have had a number of complaints from some of the students and their patrons, to the effect that you and another member of your crew are receiving free tuition. That is unacceptable. The patrons of this institute are amongst the most influential in the Empire. As such I will have to put a stop to your visits.’

  Steven and Komoru were devastated. Steven tried to reason with him. ‘With respect sir, in the short time I have been here we have learned so much. I was going to suggest that together we start a program to teach Human navigators. The Professor has informed me that too few pupils take his course and the institute is even considering cancelling the program. We can fill those seats and pay for the tuition of the pupils. As a race we are so far behind in the art of astral navigation. Yes, we have computers that do it, but I truly believe that the first generation of navigators should know the absolute basics. Only then can we truly begin to learn.’

  ‘You are correct about the institution wishing to close the department. However, the majority of us hold exactly the same view as you do. To which end as long as a single pupil crosses that threshold then the department will not be closed.’ He sat forward, ‘Your offer is very tempting. There is one major problem though. The Human race has no collateral or cash on this side of the great barrier. You may have rare minerals, metals and gems to trade but without a formal trade agreement in place with the Universal Mining Commission they are little more use than lumps of chalk. As an unregistered planet, any application will take years to process. Of course it would also undoubtedly fail. The last thing the commission wants is a glut of fire diamonds and precious metals on the market. That would drive prices down.

  ‘Many years ago, Captain, I majored in finance and economics. My first job when I left this institution was working with a major freighting company. As you can imagine, this opened my eyes to the way things are run on a universal level. I have to tell you that you and your people are heading for a major disaster. You would be better turning round and heading back to your own solar system.’

  Steven wasn’t amused, and neither was Komoru. ‘Would you like to enlighten us?’ Komoru asked, ‘After all, we have the support of your Emperor.’

  ‘He is one Emperor in a vast ocean of emperors. We do have the largest standing fleet and probably the biggest empire, I admit, but that does not mean we are invulnerable or that we can flaunt the laws at will. Are you aware that there is a universal ban on the movement of any form of meat products within this galaxy?’

  ‘No sir I wasn’t,’ Komoru answered truthfully.

  ‘I would presume you have supplies coming from your own home world.’

  ‘Yes sir, of course.’

  ‘Every freighter and freighter captain is subject to universal laws. There is a universal force that polices those policies. That means that they can lawfully stop any vessel in any sector of the galaxy they wish, including ours. The only exemption are those freighters that are part of a military convoy. The penalties for transporting meat are severe, such is the dislike of meat-eaters. For a world like yours, with no official standing, that would mean internment for many years for the crew and most likely the destruction of the cargo along with the freighter.’

  ‘But we could simply escort them from the great barrier.’

  He sighed wearily, ‘Your world has no official standing in this part of the galaxy. They could stop your military vessels at will if they wished to do so. Any form of resistance would bring whatever hell you primitives believe in down on your head. Neither could our Emperor stop it, nor would he. While you are part of the Modloch fleet you are all perfectly safe. The moment you start roaming around on your own, you become very vulnerable.’ He seemed to be about to conclude the interview. ‘There is one more thing that you may wish to consider. May I ask how your ships are being fuelled at the moment?’

  ‘By tankers from home,’ Komoru answered.

  He half smiled, ‘Then you must have a lot of tankers. Your ships are modelled on our own so I know they can travel for months without refuelling, but eventually they will need to be. You will not be able to procure fuel here. I am quite sure that the Emperor might supply you with some, maybe for a while, but a fleet your size is expensive to run. Of course he could just let all of your ships run out of fuel and then rescue your people. Under the laws of salvage those ships would then become his property until you buy them back. Of course he also has the right to procure them from you if he so wishes. I can assure you the price he will pay would be nothing to the cost of building them. Then again, with no legal way of paying you, he could just keep them free of charge. Were you aware of that?’

  ‘No sir,’ Komoru admitted.

  ‘I didn’t think so. I am quite sure that you are having the adventure of your lifetime and I envy you from the depths of my soul. However, the galaxy is not a playground for children. You have no experts in galactic law and no real clue as to what you are really doing here. We are brought up with it. We are taught it from childhood. By looking at you I can see that our brains are much larger than yours and far more capable of retaining the knowledge required to survive out here. From what information I have been able to gather, your species is not ready to join the rest of the galaxy yet. Go home or learn fast.’

  He picked up a tablet and a stylus, ‘If you can find a way of getting funds and a patron, we would be more than delighted to take pupils in from your race. I would suggest that you look farther than just astral navigation. Good day.’

  CHAPTER 8

  Stev
en went straight to the President. Of course, what the Dean had told them was the absolute truth. The President admitted that they had already approached a number of galactic banks and all had refused to open an account for the Humans.

  The President sipped at his coffee, ‘The Dean was right to some extent. We can’t sell any of the precious metals or gem stones that we brought with us. We would be allowed to sell that which we have procured from our own home world if we receive galactic status. Normally when you receive galactic status you can deposit any amount you wish as collateral, providing that it came from your home world. That doesn’t include your solar system. I have a team of people wading through it right now, but it isn’t looking good.’

  ‘What about our supplies sir?’ Admiral Baxter asked.

  ‘We are going to have to ask for an escort from the Emperor.’

  ‘That means we are going to have to stop them on the other side of the barrier until we have a large enough number for a convoy sir. That will seriously delay the arrival of some essential supplies.’

  ‘I am aware of that. We are going to hold a large feast for the Emperor and what other dignitaries he brings with him from the other worlds. After that we may well have to return to our own side of the barrier, at least until we can build staging posts where our forces can cross over to refuel and resupply.’

  ‘Even then, any vessel we have, including our military ships, can be stopped and searched at any time by the relevant galactic forces.’ Admiral Baxter added. ‘Every single one of our ships has meat products on board.’

  ‘That is another thing we are going to have to address: non-meat products that will give our people the nutrients they require to function efficiently. The longer we are here, the longer we walk a tightrope.’

  The Admiral agreed, ‘Aye sir, right now we are at the mercy of the Emperor and his goodwill.’ He shook his head, ‘I don’t like it one little bit. I wouldn’t trust the bugger as far as I could throw him. He has nothing to lose and everything to gain if our people fall foul of these intergalactic laws. To not submit to this galactic police force could bring Dante’s Inferno raging down round our ears. I don’t see any reason for the Emperor to give us fuel or rations, certainly not for free. Neither have we any way of paying for those supplies.’

  The President sighed, ‘We are in a bind, with no real way out. Right now we have fuel and provisions for a number of months. By the time they begin to run out we had damn well better be prepared for what comes next.’

  The President reached out, took a large pad from a pile, and looked around the gathering of top officials and officers. ‘I am going to write out orders and have them delivered to each of you. I want nothing discussed here, nor do I want any paperwork being put into any electronic device. Any plans from these orders shall be made on paper. Our friends and foes are far more technically advanced than we are. As far as we know they could be roving through our databases right now and we would never even know.’

  He looked around at everyone to make sure he was being taken seriously. ‘Gentlemen, I want an escape plan. I imagine our food stocks would run out first, however I sincerely doubt that it would be in the Emperor’s best interests not to convoy our freighters to us. Nevertheless, I wish for this plan to be triggered by either our food or fuel resources reaching a level that will leave us vulnerable. I need your best men to calculate in the fact that we may well have to fight our way out. We know the Emperor is not shy about sending forces beyond the great barrier in pursuit of an enemy. The Burning Wind is a prime example of that. From my end I will have teams of lawyers and politicians look for loopholes in legislation that will give us a foothold in this part of the galaxy. I will also approach the Emperor and other heads of state about the position we find ourselves in, and we will see what solutions they offer. There has to be some form of limited access to banks while a legal application to join the alliance is being considered.’

  ‘Sir, if I may?’ It was an Australian General who had interrupted him.

  ‘General Crombie, isn’t it?’

  ‘Yes sir, commander of the Australian First Division.’

  ‘Please, go ahead General.’

  ‘How close are we to making an official application sir?’

  ‘This is what these celebrations are all about General. We require the support of at least half a dozen heads of state to make the application – half a dozen different races out of hundreds. The more support we garner the more chance we have of gaining access to this galactic family. We would need the support of over half before we could actually gain galactic status, and I suspect that day is a long way away. In the mean time we have to court those the Emperor puts in front of us; I suspect they will do as he guides them to do.’

  ‘So our first priority is to win over the Emperor?’

  ‘That’s right. We need to impress him on every level. Make him believe he can’t live without us.’

  ‘Dazzle him with bullshit sir.’

  The President laughed, ‘Exactly. At this moment in time our biggest asset is the British King. They seem to be able to communicate as equals. He in turn is taking directions from us. He can approach the Emperor on an informal level that no politician possibly could. We deal with the politicians on an equal level and inside the Royal residence we have the King working on our behalf. That doesn’t mean it is going to be a cake walk. We hope for the best and plan for the worst.’

  ‘I can’t argue with that sir.’

  ‘Good, any more questions?’

  There were a stream of them and the President worked his way through them.

  When the meeting was over the President took Steven to the side. ‘Do you have the latest reports from the King?’

  ‘Yes sir,’ Steven produced a memory stick and handed it over.

  ‘Thank you Captain Gordon. I think I really need to meet with him soon.’

  ‘According to Lady Jane he wishes to talk to you as well sir. It seems he has grave concerns about some of the problems that were brought to light in this meeting.’

  ‘That’s great Captain. It’s good to know we are on the same page. I have to admit I wasn’t sure about bringing the King on board at first, but he has proved invaluable. He would have made a helluva politician.’

  ‘He is a very intelligent man with the benefit of the best education Earth can provide sir.’

  The President studied Steven for a moment, ‘Of course that is exactly true. Thank you for reminding me of that. Your ship must have exhaustive data on galactic laws and treaties.’

  ‘Yes sir, she does.’

  ‘We need that information. Everything you have.’

  ‘There are terabytes of information sir.’

  ‘I don’t care, we need it all. Would you be able to sift through it and sort it into categories for us?’

  ‘Of course.’

  ‘Thank you.’

  CHAPTER 9

  Mya stood in the entrance hallway of the grand house frightened to go any farther. Two rows of servants lined the great hallway with their heads lowered. The giant at her side touched her gently on the shoulder.

  ‘Please enter Lady Mya, this is your new home.’

  She took a deep breath, ‘It is too much. I can’t.’

  ‘Not to accept would be to dishonour Gairloch’s memory and last request. That would upset the Emperor greatly. The last thing you want to do is upset my brother.’

  Her head came up and she had a tear in her eye. ‘What on Earth will I do with it?’

  General Rannalld laughed aloud, ‘You live in it. When you are on planet of course. This is your home now. You will receive Gairloch’s pension until you pass away.’

  ‘You mean like his widow?’

  ‘Yes.’

  ‘But we were not.’ Her face took on a pained expression.

  He laughed again, ‘No one thinks you were, woman. Gairloch never married. I remember he told me that one day he would find a woman worthy of our bloodline. When he did he would marry her.’
The giant sighed, ‘He never did. I think he was married to the fleet. Then in one of his final messages he changed his will. No one was more surprised than we were. Leaving everything he had to an unknown alien woman he hadn’t even married? But he had finally found a woman he deemed worthy of our great blood line’

  ‘Would I be able to request that the Emperor takes it back?’

  ‘You could, but why would you wish to do that?’

  ‘I do not deserve this. I did nothing to deserve this honour.’

  ‘You must have done something?’

  She shook her head, ‘Nothing I can think of.’ It was very hot and Mya flicked her hair round the back of her head to the other side. Rannalld found himself mesmerized by the action.

  ‘We did no more than talk.’

  ‘What did you talk about?’

  ‘Everything. My home, his home. Our family. He talked a lot about the planets he had visited, and sometimes the battles he fought in.’

  ‘Were you not bored? Gairloch could be very long winded.’

  ‘I loved listening to him. He was very good at describing things.’ Her head canted to a slight angle, ‘He had to be good. Before I was abducted I had never left my home island. We had no electricity. We worked in the fields and collected fruit from the jungle to survive. We thought the stars were the souls of our ancestors. I had no idea they were suns like ours or that people lived on planets around them. I could not read or write until I joined the crew.’

  Rannalld stared in wonder at her for a moment then shook himself. ‘Let us enter.’

  Mya shook her head, ‘Please, I don’t want to.’

  He reached down and gave her a gentle push, ‘Don’t be frightened. I will contact the Emperor and convey your misgivings. It may take a while and it is cooler inside.’

  ‘I am sorry, of course.’