Tides of Mars (Omnibus Version) Read online

  She replied to the Captain as well, so as not to draw questions from the two men. “Well, keep at them. Let’s try to get as much information as we can out of them before we send them away.”

  On the screen, Sean nodded as if agreeing with Ariel’s orders. Gr’eis also dipped her head, acknowledging her orders. “As you command, Milady. What of their cargo?”

  “Do the Ophuchi need it to convict the crew?”

  “No, our word, as well as the holographic evidence is plenty for them. Their reasoning is; considering the punishment for this crime, why would we send them innocents?” Gr’eis answered. “It involves repeated freezing and thawing of body parts. After the pain has driven the convict completely insane, they are slowly lowered into a vat of liquid oxygen. After about twenty minutes, they are ground up and processed into fertilizer.”

  “Jesus, please remind me never to piss those folks off.” Reese said softly.

  “You would have to be caught in the act of committing a capital offense, Mr. Egland. Something I doubt very much will ever happen.” Gr’eis smiled at him.

  “Well, if the Ophuchi don’t need it, space the dope, but hang on to the freed slaves for now. If we explain everything to them, we might find some more recruits,” Ariel said.

  After that, the Admiral and Captain signed off.

  “Begging your pardon, but those two seemed kinda chummy,” George said.

  Ariel grinned at him. “Yeah, it might seem that way, but as far as I know, they’re close friends.”

  “Yeah, and I have no problem with that, but isn’t Gr’eis Hs’ean’s Flag Captain?” George asked.

  Ariel nodded. “Yes she is, those two are both professional enough not to let it affect their duties.”

  mKail chuckled softly, but refused to comment. People had tried to talk to her, but no one stopped to think she might not know the language. Even if she had wanted to respond, (something she rarely did) she couldn’t. She was, however, in the process of learning English so she did understand what her Mistress had said.

  Shortly after that, the men excused themselves. Reese to let his wife know they were moving sooner than planned, and George to begin work on organizing the relocation of the entire work force of the company.

  On Ariel’s way to bed, Ariel and mKail stopped in to visit a very grumpy Bri’tell. The Doctor’s had said that if nothing changed overnight, they would release him to light duty tomorrow. He would have to stay in a wheel-chair so as not to stress the new bones yet, but at least he would be able to get out of the room.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Alliance Council Amphitheater

  Aldus Forward, Collistus Sector

  “My brothers, I come before you today to address an issue that has allowed an exemption to the Decree of Free Trade,” Altrov paused for effect and wasn’t surprised that the assembled started muttering to each other.

  “The legal loop-hole has allowed surveillance satellites to be placed around all territories classified as Imperial Protectorates. This is a direct violation of the spirit of the Decree, and I ask you to consider an amendment to the Decree to include these protectorates.”

  As Altrov sat, a smug smirk on his face, Duchess Hanya Frie stood to be recognized by the Emperor.

  “Duchess Frie, do you have something you wish to say on this subject?” Cr’ale asked.

  Hanya bowed to Cr’ale. “I do, Majesty.”

  Cr'ale smiled at her not so subtle rebuke of Altrov when she bowed to him. “Please proceed, Milady.”

  Once again, Hanya bowed to him as protocol dictated. She then turned to the assembly and spoke. “Lords, and Ladies, I feel that I should remind this body to reconsider this amendment based on the violation of Standing Imperial Law.

  “The first item I need to point out is that a Protectorate, by definition, is any world or group of worlds that are not yet advanced enough to know of our existence, yet require our protection because they lie within the bounds of the Empire. This is from the Decree of Non-interference during the Age of Unification and was accepted by this Council in its second session.

  “I need to ask the question, if a world is not to know of our existence, how could a trade agreement even exist? Any contact with one of these worlds violates that Decree which carries the death penalty.

  “Secondly, a Household has the right of authority within the bounds of said Household. If the Head of Household wants the satellites, then we have no authority to overturn that decision. Of course, that is from the Decree of Autonomy. Since most of these protectorates are not part of a household, they then legally belong to the office of the Emperor. Thus making the Emperor Head of Household for the protectorates.

  “One last thing before I sit down,” she said as she turned back to face Cr’ale. “My Queen Alustria Grou has asked me to petition the Empire for the installation of these new satellites on all sides of the Cluster. We have been having a lot of trouble with smugglers and pirates and she wishes to put a stop to it.”

  “Forgive the interruption, Milady,” Baron Altrov said as he shot to his feet. “But I must point out that placing those satellites will violate several dozen trade agreements with your Queen.”

  “I am afraid you are incorrect, Baron. Perhaps you should reread the agreements. Besides, since your trade ships are authorized to enter our space, there would be no problem at all,” Hanya replied. “If you would read the last paragraph of every agreement, you will find a clause stating ‘as long as said agreement does not violate any existing treaties’. Your insistence about the satellites Her Highness wants will break the armistice agreement between the Alliance and the Cluster. Is that your wish at this time, Baron?”

  “Your Queen is insane to think she can go to war with the Empire over something like this!” Baron Altrov spat.

  “Again Baron, you are in error. No one said she was going to war with anyone; we would simply sever all ties with the Alliance. However, if she did declare war on anyone, it wouldn’t be the Empire. She is very adamant in her support and admiration for the Empire,” Hanya replied in a bored tone of voice.

  “I don’t know what you’re talking about; the Empire and the Alliance are one and the same!” Altrov said ignoring the look on Hanya’s face, and dismissing her whole testimony. “If the Protectorates belong to the Empire than we have the final say with what is done within them. As for that ancient Autonomy Decree, that can be amended too!”

  Cr’ale stood. Automatically taking control of the floor. “A vote cannot be taken this day, Baron, so it is a moot point. You know as well as we do that sixty-seven percent of the membership must be in attendance for a decree to be overturned or amended. That is the law according to the constitution you ratified. So, at this time, we are dismissing this session. We will resume in one week’s time to allow those missing members the chance to get here.”

  When he stopped speaking, the assembly was supposed to stand as a sign of respect. However, Altrov and most of his followers never bothered anymore. Everyone knew they had nothing but contempt for the Emperor; both the office and the man.

  Once Cr’ale had left the room, Hanya turned and began gathering her things to return to her office. She didn’t see Altrov approach her.

  “Your bluffing about that treaty, there is no way your queen would throw out such a long standing agreement over something as comparatively trivial as spy satellites,” he said to her back.

  Without turning, Hanya continued cleaning up her desk, but answered him. “You are forgetting that we are not human, Baron. To the best of my knowledge, My Queen has never made a statement that she didn’t mean completely. You should take this as a warning, Baron. She knows who is truly behind our smuggling and pirate troubles. With the satellites, she will be able to capture a crew. Then we will learn the truth, and all parties will pay for their crimes; in the Cluster, not the Alliance.”

  He shook his head. “No, if they are captured by one of our warships, they will be returned here to stand trial and punishment if f
ound guilty. That outdated treaty needs to be thrown out, and the cluster officially annexed into the Alliance. All this bickering over treaties and who has what right is bad for business.”

  Finishing gathering her things, she turned and looked down, to face the fat little man. “I think you’ll be very disappointed if you proposed that, Baron. I think you really need to read that treaty before you say anything more to me.” With that, Hanya stepped around him, and walked away.

  Upon the return to his office, Baron Altrov was greeted with the news that not only had the 3rd Fleet developed a method of tracking his cloaked ships, one ship and crew had been captured.

  After he stopped swearing, and smashing the breakables in his office, he ordered his assistant to call a meeting of the Free Trade Alliance, and to call the space port to ready his ship for a trip home to Elysia

  He then poured himself a glass of Ophuchian Whiskey and sat down to try to figure out how to destroy the Divine Light and that upstart bitch, Ariel before they could send that crew and the damning evidence back to Aldus Forward.

  As the burn from the alcohol started to dissipate, he smiled as the seeds of a plan began to germinate...

  Landing platform ‘Beta’

  Command Super Dreadnaught, Divine Light

  210 degrees south, 43 degrees west trans-solar orbit

  Sol System, Horon-A Sector.

  Admiral Hs’ean, or Sean as she was known to those from Earth, personally met every shuttle load of civilians Ariel sent up. Beside her was Senior Fleet Captain Gr’eis. The Captain welcomed everyone to her ship. Before she introduced her friend and Commanding Officer, she asked everyone to please direct any questions or problems to the Liaison Officer assigned to each group.

  In her best command persona, Sean addressed this group, as she had each of the others. “Thank you, Captain. Ladies and Gentleman, I would, in my turn, like to welcome you to the ship, the 3rd Imperial Fleet, and, on behalf of the Emperor, welcome you to the Empire.”

  “Before anyone starts to get too excited, I want all of you to know that I have seen all the Star Wars movies. I found them to be quite entertaining. They are very much fictional. We do have an Emperor, but he doesn’t wear a robe, throw colored lightening from his hands, nor is he particularly ugly.”

  “Emperor Cr’ale is the ultimate leader, but we do have something close to the Congress of Lords formed by members of the peerage. The Empire is simply too large for any other form of government to work.”

  “While humans are the majority in the Empire, we are not the only species. We ask that you not panic if you see a member of one of the other species, as we do have several of them serving on board this ship.”

  “I also feel I should caution you that while we are the majority, we are not the oldest, nor are we the smartest species in the Empire. I do feel confident telling all of you that, for the most part, the Empire is a fair and just place. We do have our problems, and we are doing our best to correct them, but I’m sure you all know how that goes. Please try to be patient with us, and I think you will come to believe you made the right decision in joining us,” Sean finished and turned slightly to wave a small woman forward. “Solna? You’re on.”

  A small blond woman that couldn’t weigh ninety pounds soaking wet and wearing furs moved up and nodded to the Admiral. When she turned to face the new people, she smiled a welcome to them.

  “Good afternoon. I am Commander Solna De Lunea and I currently serve in what you would call the Judge Advocate’s Office. However, because of my background, the Admiral asked me to mention the opportunities available in the Imperial Marines as well as the Fleet. Because of the threat of the Kragen, we are doubling the size of the current force. That means that there are massive opportunities for promotion in both services.”

  “Excuse me, Miss, but I didn’t think the Girl Scouts were part of the military.” Mr. Bill Tolett replied.

  “I’m sorry, who are you?” Solna asked. Sean tried her best to hide her smile; she knew Mr. Tolett couldn’t resist the urge to insult the Commander of her SACT teams. (Special Action Combat Teams) It was the main reason she asked Solna to speak to this group.

  “Bill Tolett, Miss.”

  In the Empire, there was an organization called the Explorers that served the same function as the Boys and Girl Scouts of America. While it was sponsored by the military, it wasn’t actually part of them. It was also coed, and didn’t discriminate like the Earth organizations did.

  Solna had been a member of the Explorers when she was young, and was proud of her time there since she learned a lot of valuable lessons. While Solna didn’t immediately know how Bill had insulted her, she stalled while the information was relayed to her.

  “Here you are; Tolett, Bill; after dropping out of high school, to support your pregnant girlfriend, you tried six times before you received a General Education Diploma through night classes. After the forth failed attempt, your girlfriend left and took the child with her.”

  “Still, you had trouble finding work, and finally joined the U.S. Marine Corp. You served as a rifleman in the 3rd Marines, receiving a Purple Heart for shooting yourself in the foot in Iraq. Since it happened during combat, your commander didn’t have definite proof of cowardice, but still managed to rotate you back to the United States. You finished your tour as a clerk at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina. You were not offered the option to re-enlist.”

  “After release from the Marines, you found work as a general laborer with a local construction company. You were arrested three times for public lewdness, assault, and resisting arrest. When you showed up to work drunk, the foreman ‘laid you off’.”

  “You moved out to Las Vegas, Nevada and got hired as a laborer with your current employer. You met your current wife who was waiting tables, and waiting for her real career to take off.”

  “When she got pregnant, you must have feared history repeating itself, because you immediately joined the local Mason’s Union, and was taken on as an apprentice, eventually reaching the level of a Journeyman.”

  “Since joining the company, you’ve been arrested six times for Drunk and Disorderly, Seven times for Assault and Battery, (three of which were filed by your wife) and twice for Driving under the Influence.” She looked up at the angry, red face of the big man. “That’s quite a history. It sounds to me like you enjoy getting drunk and beating on anyone smaller than you. I believe the word is ‘Bully’,” Solna finished, smiling up at the big man.

  By now everyone had backed away from the two because they all knew that Bill didn’t have to be drunk to fight. His wife was obviously scared, whether for herself, or for Solna wasn’t clear though. If anyone would have looked around they would have noticed that work hadn’t stopped in the hanger, but those that did notice what was going on, just shook their heads.

  As Bill started walking toward her, she spoke again. “You’re really not very bright are you, Bill? If you were, you would wonder why a tiny woman, such as myself, would have intentionally made you mad enough to attack.”

  “I don’t care why you were that dumb, bitch. But it’s clear someone needs to show you your place!” With that Bill reached one huge paw-like hand to grab the small, grinning woman by the neck.

  When Bill got close enough to almost touch her, Solna jumped into the air, and did a backwards somersault. However, half-way through, she kicked the underside of Bill’s thick arm, and he screamed in pain and outrage. He stopped in his tracks when he realized that he couldn’t feel it anymore, and the arm was hanging limp at his side.

  “What the fuck did you just do to me you little bitch!” Bill roared.

  Solna’s smile got bigger. “Who? Me? How could I do anything to you, I’m too small, and I’m just a woman!” It was clear she was trying hard not to laugh. “I’m still waiting for you to show me my place, though. So far, I haven’t seen anything!”

  Bill growled in anger and rushed at her. Suddenly, she jumped at him too. She grabbed his numb left arm and swung arou
nd to his back. The move spun Bill, exposing the inside of his right leg, which she again kicked. With her momentum, Bill’s newly numb leg couldn’t support either of them, and he spun slamming hard into the deck. Solna landed lightly on her feet by his head.

  She looked down at him. “I guess you sure showed me my place, Mr. Tolett. If I were you, I’d lie there and let my temper cool before you end up in life station with four dead appendages.”

  She straightened her uniform, and resumed her place beside the Admiral. “Ladies and Gentleman, please forgive the interruption.” She noticed everyone was watching the two medics working a groaning Bill onto a hovering litter. She waited until they left with the constantly bitching man, before she got everyone’s attention again.

  “Sorry, but perhaps I should also mention that working in the Advocates office is only my ‘day job’ as you would call it. I am also the Commander of what the U.S. Navy calls SEALS on the Divine Light. I have been in the Special Operations Group since my initial enlistment thirty-four years ago.”

  An older woman held her hand up to get Solna’s attention. “Pardon me, Commander, but I don’t understand what you mean. You can’t be more than nineteen or maybe twenty years old, and that would be pushing it.”

  Solna smiled at the compliment the woman thought she was giving her. “Thank you. However, I didn’t grow up on Earth, I grew up in the Empire, with medical care far more advanced then you currently have. I was born on the planet Galuminus-six, forty-eight of your years ago. My current life expectancy is approximately nine hundred to twelve hundred years. In comparison, I would be roughly the equivalent age of maybe fifteen or so.”

  “Is your doctor taking any more patients?” The woman asked to general chuckles.

  Solna laughed with the rest of the group. “Of course! As are her peers! I should also mention that if anyone would be interested in medical, or any profession, training is provided free of charge provided you agree to certain terms of service to the empire.”