Frozen Soul, and other works: May 2018

Thursday, May 31, 2018

Chapter 108 - Destroyer of Worlds (Again)

(BNS Shinokage, Lupas Sanctuarii Orbit)

I was standing in the secondary command center when Premier Fukuya and General Akagi arrived. Nodding to the two women, I said, “Welcome, ladies, to the Shinokage. She may not be as grand as the Nightforge, but she is the flagship of the Black Star Navy, and I thought you might want to be here when we conduct the strikes that will neutralize the Amazonian threat to Nuevo Edo.”

The Premier smiled, and nodded. “Thank you, Commodore. And it is fine, I assure you. I might be the Premier, but I have spent enough time around military installations to know that they are built with functionality first and comfort somewhere much further down the line. Your ships are the deadliest things I’ve ever seen, though admittedly until your arrival the only warships I’d seen were the Amazons.”

Akagi chuckled, and said, “They certainly have made an impression on the people, I can assure you. When we left to join you on this expedition, there were already people calling the Black Star ships the ‘Kurai Tenshi’, or ‘Dark Angels’. Seeing your ships tearing through the ‘Demon’ forces was akin to a religious experience for some of them, let me tell you.”

I smiled. “Yes, I guess if your enemy is set up as Demons, and another group comes through like the shadow of death and destroys them, then those comparisons are easy to draw. That wasn’t the kind of effect I had initially intended for the Black Stars when I chose their all black appearance, but it works just the same.”

Fukuya raised an eyebrow. Jokingly, she asked, “Oh, if you did not intend to become saviors of lost colonies, then what did you build such a fleet for, in the beginning?”

I chuckled, and said, “Well, my first ship, the Starlight Raven, which you saw when I landed at the quarry, was something I won from a man in a poker game. Unfortunately for him, his ability to hold his liquor was about on par as his ability to keep a person with psychic abilities from reading his mind. When I took possession of the Raven, I saw that she’d be perfect for a smuggler ship. When I picked up the Shadowdancer during the Jagloth incident, I knew I had the beginning of a bounty hunting and anti-piracy fleet. More than a few pirates got suckered into trying to attack a helpless freighter, only for an Assassin to strike from the shadows, wiping them out.”

Akagi nodded. “And you discovered that the ships were just as good in the civil war within the Terran Empire, and expanded into other types of vessels.”

“Exactly. I’ll admit that the psychological impact of ships exploding out of nowhere was quite high during the war. I believe the Usurper forces were calling us the ‘Ghost Fleet’, since all our ships and fighters at the time were stealth models. And it was one of the discoveries we made during the Civil War which is going to allow us to end your conflict with the Amazons without resorting to… unpleasant concepts like genocide.”

Fukuya nodded her head appreciatively. “While I doubt few on Nuevo Edo would complain much if the planet were scoured of all human life, I do not believe it would be the best course for our colony in terms of keeping our souls, for lack of a better term, intact. So, if not genocide, how do you plan to ‘neutralize’ the Amazons? I doubt you intend to create a perpetual blockade, correct?”

“Oh goodness, no. Long term blockades are horribly ineffective in the long run. You spend too much maintaining them, and the people either adapt or you start getting smugglers. Same as with any occupying force in history. If the people are against you, and you’re not willing to kill them until they are cowed, then you cannot hold occupied territory.”

“While we were making final preparations, my forces began a bombardment of the planet with kinetic strikes, taking out their spaceports and surface to space capability. Computer simulations say that, left as they are, it should take them six months to two years for them to regain space capabilities. Naturally, this is unacceptable for the long-term goals, but there are limits to what we can do with orbital bombardment unless we wish to go back to the whole ‘wiping out all life’ concept.”

“Since we’re not going to go killing off the entire population, we had to find an alternative means of keeping them planetbound and removing the indoctrination the nanites they’ve been using for generations has given them. We’ve run preliminary tests on captured Amazons and their pet males. These tests included before-and-after mental and physical screenings, and had a limited control group. Unfortunately, the number of prisoners captured from the enemy vessels was quite small, but computer projections are promising that this is the best choice for keeping the Amazonians from being a problem without killing them all.”

Fukuya frowned. “Well, that is not ominous in the slightest, Commodore. Is it truly necessary to explain what is about to happen in such a way?”

I nodded to the Premier. “Very well, we shall begin the operation.” I looked away from the two Edoans, and focused on the screens in front of me. “Highlight target areas on screen.” Twelve targets on the planet below lit up. “You are looking at the twelve largest industrial nodes, military bases, and population centers on the planet. Status of Inferno Squadron?”

Raven spoke up next to me. “Inferno Squadron is ready and waiting. All bombers have been armed and are prepared for launch. Ghost and Blue Eagle Squadrons prepared for launch as well.”

“Launch the squadrons, and have them gather in the modified groups.”

The three squadrons launched from the Smerti and the Return, and arranged themselves into the new groups, each Dragon bomber flying with an honor guard of a Raptor and a Thunderbolt.

“Give me fleet-wide.”

“Fleet-wide now open.”

“Ladies, Gentlemen, and Others of the Black Star Fleet, I salute you. You have stood in the face of the enemy and shown them that no longer would their barbarous ways be tolerated so long as they were a spacefaring civilization. But as you all know, this enemy is not one that can be reasoned with, it is not one that can be brought to the negotiating table. They have been poisoned by the propaganda and brainwashing of the nanites that have flooded their civilization for generations.”

“We have been tasked with protecting our newfound friends, and with eliminating the long-standing threat of these ‘Amazons’. We are mighty, but we are too few for a prolonged occupation and campaign of pacification. We are vicious to our enemies, but we will not become monsters and engage in the genocide of an entire people. We are firm in our resolve, but we will not see Amazonia become another Jagloth, burnt to the bedrock so that nothing will ever live there again.”

“It is not misplaced pity for our enemies that stays us from that course. Nor are we so coldly calculating that the loss of potential resources is what keeps us from wiping the planet clean. No, we act as we do this day because we are not monsters. We will punish our enemy, and ensure that it shall be a thousand years before they can ever again reach up and touch the stars, and we shall hope that, when they do, they have changed their ways, for we know where they are now, and they can no longer rely on staying hidden and striking from the shadows against an unprepared foe.”

“Commodore Mollen to Inferno Leader. Execute Operation Sagaris.”

I motioned for Raven to cut the channel, and then turned my attention to the screen. The assembled fighters broke into twelve groups, each bomber at the tip of a wedge formation including my two other fighter types. As one, the twelve flights maneuvered, taking up positions around the globe. As one, the twelve flights turned, and dove down into the atmosphere, heading for their twelve targets. As one, twelve bombers released twelve packages, and all twelve flights broke for the skies again. As one, all twelve packages detonated over their targets.

There was no explosion, no nuclear fire or shock wave of kinetic strikes. For a few minutes, it looked as though nothing had happened. For a few minutes, it looked as though the world below would survive the wrath of the Black Star Navy unscathed.

And then the first buildings began to fall. Then the first frenzied communications rang out across the planet, with panicked voiced calling out, screaming in pain and terror. Sometimes they were silenced with a roar, as the world collapsed around them. Sometimes they simply went quiet, with no clue as to what stopped their transmissions.

Soon, the only transmissions were from those outside the target areas, as they tried desperately to figure out what was going on. As they tried, and failed, to outrun whatever misfortune had struck down upon them like the wrath of an angry god.

“By the kamis, what was that?”

I turned to look at Premier Fukuya, and saw that both she and the General had rather stunned and horrified looks on their faces. Good, the kind of people who would enjoy seeing things like this weren’t the kind I wanted to be involved with. There were some horrible necessities that came up in war sometimes, but that necessity did not make it any less horrible.

“We captured a nanoweapon from an Imperial Research Laboratory during the Civil War. It had several other names, but my people have begun calling it Greenwave. The twelve packages that were delivered to the surface of that world each had twenty kilograms of microscopic nanites, programmed to seek out and destroy any technology that is more advanced than the steam engine, using those materials to self-replicate until they cover the entire globe, wiping out all technology past the age of steam. We call it Greenwave because, by the time the nanites have finished, the planet will be primed for a rebirth of natural flora and fauna, restoring it to a more primordial state.”

Akagi nodded slowly, and said, “The tests you conducted, you tested this nanoweapon upon the prisoners?”

“Yes. When the nanoweapon was initially used against Earth at the climax of the Civil War, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions, died as a result of the nanites attacking the implants in their brains or other parts of their bodies. At that time, it was a choice between killing them or having them forcibly enslaved by a mad AI intent on galactic conquest. If it had not been Greenwave, it would have been a different method which would have stripped Earth of all life, leaving it a lifeless husk.”

“We did not wish to commit genocide, so I ordered testing to be done, to see what kind of reaction these people would have to the weapon. They do not have implants, like many people in Known Space do, but their bodies, including their brains, have been extensively modified by nanites, which remain in their systems and provide maintenance on their bodies, and are there to destroy the corpses when they are killed.”

“Since you just used this weapon, I can assume that it did not kill the prisoners?”

“Of the forty females and five males captured from the enemy fleet, we lost one male and one female due to nanite self-destruction. Analysis suggests that their internal nanites detected the intrusion in time to send the kill codes and cause the body to self-destruct. Most subjects suffered symptoms from mild discomfort to intense pain, but their nanites did not have time to destroy them before the nanites were destroyed.”

“Based on mental and physical tests conducted before and after exposure, we believe that females will suffer a roughly 8.74% drop in cognitive ability and a 35% reduction in physical prowess over the next six months as cerebral enhancers and physical maintenance nanites won’t be present to continue their functions. Males will have no change to their physical capabilities, but may see as much as a 30-50% increase in their mental capabilities due to the removal of nanites actively interfering with cerebral processes. The numbers for the males in particular are in line with the records for those women who have been rescued from Hundeherstellar owners in the past.”

“However, while the growth in the male’s mental capacity is encouraging, it should be noted that the men will still be largely uneducated, and the removal of nanites will have no immediate effect on the long-term psychological effects of the conditioning and mental rewriting they’ve been through. Though that conditioning will no longer be reinforced by the nanites, it will take time to fade enough for men to break conditioning, and they will still be as uneducated as they were before.”

Fukuya sighed, and said, “It is not instant death, but I cannot believe that the people on the surface will have an easy time of things in the coming years.”

I shook my head. “No, they will not. But they will be alive, and have the chance to become a better society without the forced programming they had been inflicting on themselves for generations. That is the best outcome we could have hoped for, in my opinion.”

(Elsewhere)

In a section of space remarkable only for how empty it was, a small black form sat with its black wings outstretched, taking in everything that it could about what had just transpired.

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Be sure to read my published works!

Frozen Soul series (Sci-Fi Supervillain story):
Frozen Soul https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071R125QT
Tales of the Void Traveler https://www.amazon.com/dp/B06ZZ52G37

Rules-Free VRMMO Life (Dark Fantasy GameLit):
Volume 1 - Tutorial https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071VPRNDB
Omnibus 1 - Volumes 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0774T354X

Into the Black (Sci-Fi GameLit):
Book I - Game Start https://www.amazon.com/dp/B071LT5WGL
Omnibus I - Books 1-4 https://www.amazon.com/dp/B077X2KR7Y

City of Champions Online (Superhero GameLit):
Issue I - Origin Stories https://www.amazon.com/dp/B075SHXQS1

Lewd Dungeon (Dungeon Core GameLit):
Book 1 - Welcome to the Apocalypse https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07BB34DHF

The Kalipshae Affair (A First Contact Short Story): https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0739V6R6T

Monday, May 28, 2018

Chapter 107 - Amazonian Assault

(Gateway, Lupas Sanctuarii System)

The Conquest Gate opened, from the Prey System, and throughout the fleet, the members of the Wolf Fleets watched to see what ‘riches’ the Second Capture Force had brought back. The last raid five years ago had been less than they had hoped, which is why they had to advance the timetable for acquiring new breeders. If, as some said, the lesser creatures were almost devoid of prey to take, then they would have to look for other worlds through the Conquest Gate. Either way, the Wolves would hunt.

And because they were waiting for their conquering heroines, no one was prepared for what happened next. So long had they been safe in this system that they had forgotten the possibility of being attacked.

(Ghost Squadron, Lupas Sanctuarii System)

“Ghost Leader to all squadrons! Break into attack formations! Weapons free! Let’s roll out the welcome mat for the Commodore!”

“Eagle Leader, Confirm.”

“Sentinel Leader, Confirm.”

“Giant Leader, Confirm.”

“Inferno Leader, Confirm.”

“Phantom Leader, Confirm.”

Parca nodded to himself as all the squadron leaders reported in, and the attack began. His Ghosts and Lioness’s Grey Phantoms had been first through the gate, since their Raptors were stealth ships by definition. Speed and stealth was what they lived or died by. But they WERE capable of attacking ships, at least enough to let the better armed and armored Thunderbolts and Dragons through unmolested. By the time the squadrons were through the gate, the feeble defenses around the gate were shattered, leaving nothing available to stop the rest of the fleet from coming through.

It was a slaughter, simply put. A one-sided, hopeless mismatch that turned into a complete and total slaughter of the defending forces. No quarter was given, even if the defenders had time to ask for it. Everyone knew the score. These were pirates and raiders, and they deserved everything that was about to happen to them and more. The two corvettes and four defense platforms that had been placed to cover the gate were wiped out utterly.

And then Shinokage led the Assassins and the rest of the fleet through the Gateway, pretty much sealing the deal on whether the ‘beachhead’ was going to be held or not.

“Commodore Mollen to all fighters, all ships. Raven confirms the presence of three hundred and fifty-seven individual targets requiring servicing, including space-based and planetary industrial nodes. All ships are to advance and destroy the enemy completely. These are fanatics, brainwashed from birth. They have been raiding the people of Nuevo Edo for generations to sate their misguided ambitions. We will not permit them to remain a spacefaring ‘civilization’. Execute Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.”

Parca chuckled, despite himself. Someone was having fun with the operation names again. “You heard the man. All fighters, targets are now appearing in your HUDs. Inferno Leader, the two dreadnoughts closest the gate are begging for your full attention. Thunderbolts, cover Inferno on their run, and take out the ‘little ships’ as you please. Grey Phantom, Ghosts, we’re going to hit hard and fast at the industrial nodes, to make sure nobody gets stupid ideas. Watch out for crossfire, boys and girls. Show these people why they should have been good neighbors!”

Laughing at the joke that only the Nomads would understand, he cut the chatter and went FTL with the other Ghosts to service his targets.

(BSN Shinokage, Lupas Sanctuarii System)

The ‘flag deck’ of Shinokage was organized chaos. As the battle reports began filtering in, Commodore Mollen and Raven stood next to the screens showing the layout of the system in as close to realtime as they could manage. Looking over the screen, the Commodore gave his orders.

“Inferno Squadron has the two closest dreadnoughts. Jubilee is to take Third Group’s gunboats and help the fighters wipe out that task group. Focus fire on the cruisers and mid-level ships. Shinokage is to take First Group and wipe out the fleet in orbit of the planet. Focus fire on the dreadnoughts first. Thunderfury is to follow in our shadow, and assault the primary orbital facility. Marines are ordered to search and destroy on all combatants, and to look for intelligence to capture. Full Contamination protocols are in effect. Nightforge is to remain by the gate with Vicious Return and Dykhaniye Smerti. Carriers are to prepare to refuel, rearm, and launch fighters. Priority to the Dragons. When the Dragons are relaunched, I want them pointed at the rest of the enemy capitol ships.”

Raven nodded to her commander, and said, “The initial surprise of the attack through the gate worked well. The enemy defenses are coming online now, but we should be able to avoid any serious casualties. Their weapons are simply too weak to do anything against modern ships. The fighters are the only ones in any real danger.”

“Don’t underestimate rabid animals, Raven. They’re cornered, and they have to know there’s no winning, but that makes them dangerous. Those ships may be old and slow, but enough of them focusing fire on one point could rip even the Nightforge to shreds. They brought handguns for a shootout, and we brought APCs with machine guns, but that doesn’t mean they can’t do something insane just to bleed us.”

Raven considered the Commodore’s words, and said, “Then why are we bothering invading their station, when we’re destroying all the others with prejudice?”

“Because that station is important, and I’m betting any information worth talking about is going to be mentioned there, somewhere. I want to know what kind of tech they have, if there’s any of it we can use safely, or can adapt to our needs without becoming monsters like the Hundeherstellars. And if they’ve been working on refining that ‘freedom fighter’ virus the originals had, I can think of a few ways that would be very useful, don’t you?”

“Yes, I guess it would be. Better to have what information we can get before we destroy everything these ‘people’ have accomplished since fleeing known space and leaving them husks of their former selves.”

The Commodore smiled at his companion, and clapped her on the shoulder. “That’s the spirit, Raven. Now, let’s see how the battle is going.”

The android looked at the screen, even though she didn’t need to in order to interpret the data. “Twenty-five percent of targets have been neutralized all ready, including five of the twelve dreadnoughts. As expected, the older-model ships are not able to take as much abuse as the newer ships. All ships are jumping away from combat when their shields fall below fifty percent, rotating attack runs so that the enemy does not get a chance to adjust or conduct repairs.” She paused, and then continued, “Update, enemy casualties have risen to forty-two percent. Fighters returning to carriers for refueling and rearming. Ghost and Grey Phantom squadrons report all space-based industrial nodes have been neutralized.”

“Raptors are to be rearmed and then deploy to intercept any ships leaving the planet before they can get extrasolar. Assume that they will be leaving a direction other than by the gate. Nightforge and the carriers will cover that direction. All other fighters are to engage targets of opportunity as they arise.”

“Enemy casualties have risen to fifty-seven percent. The Marines are now breaching the station. All dreadnoughts have been destroyed. Commodore, we are receiving a communication from the planet. They are demanding to know who we are.”

“Send back, text only, ‘Naughty wolves will either be domesticated or put down.’” The Commodore chuckled as Raven looked at him like he was a madman. “Let them think what they will. We’re not negotiating with these people, and we certainly aren’t going to evacuate them or help them with what is about to come. But if, somehow, they are able to mount a response, I would rather have it directed at those who deserve it, rather than at my people or Nuevo Edo.”

“Understood, Commodore. All major enemy ships have been destroyed. Gunboats and fighters are hunting down the smaller warships and freighters. Enemy defense network has been destroyed.”

Raven paused, and then said, “Alert! Four ships launched from the planet below. Four different intercept tracks. Raptor squadrons have the data, and are moving to intercept. Detecting four old-model FTL drives in warm-up mode, five minutes until FTL-capable. Ghost and Grey Phantom squadrons have intercepted. All four ships have been destroyed.”

The Commodore nodded at the not unexpected news, and simply smiled at his companion. “They are terrorists, Raven. Their kind always run and hide when things get dangerous. That’s what brought them to this part of space, after all. They were running from the Hundeherstellar forces when their coup failed. In the face of overwhelming force, it was only natural that they would try and run again, saving what they could of their leadership and industrial base. The improvements in FTL drives since their time made it a certainty that they could not escape us, provided we had fighters ready to intercept when they made their move.”

“And you pretended to be their old enemy to flush them out?”

“Say rather that I employed a bit of psychological pressure on a known facet of their group ideology. If they believed that it was a choice between death or a worse fate, then the leaders would likely attempt to flee, and preserve their ‘movement’. On the other hand, if they thought we were just another enemy come to take this world, then they may have tried to dig in, or go to ground, and turn it into a guerilla battle on their home turf. If the leadership was still in place, they might be able to react better to the coming challenges, and that would make things more difficult.”

“Understood, Commodore. I’ll remember that for future engagements. Use of psychological warfare to hamper enemy operations. All enemy ships and installations have been destroyed, except for the primary orbital platform.”

“Very good. Now, how are the Marines doing?”

“Major Khan reports all major resistance ended when the enemy ships were destroyed. The remaining forces are standing down. The computer cores, such as they were, have been physically destroyed. No recovery possible.”

“Unfortunate, but oh well. Tell the Major to send those who surrendered down the space elevator to the surface, and then evacuate the station so Executor and Entropy from Third Group’s gunboat squadron can have some target practice. Fighters are to leave one squadron of Thunderbolts on combat air patrol, and all others are to return to base, on standby, while the Nightforge and carriers remain on station by the Gate.”

He took a breath, and said, “All other ships, advance to the planet and begin bombardment of all spaceports and ground to space vehicle launchers. If it can get a manned vehicle to orbit, I want it hit until it will take at least four months to repair the damage.”

Looking over to the android again, he asked, “What is the status of the special munitions packages I wanted?”

Raven considered the data, and answered, “Twelve packages ready to fire. Due to the increased size, we can fit a single package on each Dragon-type fighter. Time to equip Inferno squadron with the packages: approximately five hours.”

“Do it, and contact our observers upon the Smerti. Ask the Premier if she and the General would like to be present as we finish the threat of the Amazons to Nuevo Edo once and for all, and offer them an invitation to the Shinokage in five hours time.”

Friday, May 25, 2018

Chapter 106 - Public Exposure

(Conference Room, BSN Nightforge, orbiting Nuevo Edo)

“And you say this Nightforge of yours was originally a superdreadnought that you captured in battle?”

Commodore Mollen chuckled as he nodded to one of the government officials who had come to ‘officially’ meet with the Black Star company. Once the light of the battle with the ‘demons’ had reached Nuevo Edo, it was impossible for the government to hide the existence of ‘visitors from home’. That had prompted Premier Fukuya to arrange an official welcome, with the planetary news agencies along for the ride. The Commodore had agreed, and set the meeting to take place on the Nightforge, where he offered them a tour of the impressive mobile shipyard’s facilities.

“Yes, unfortunately time has not changed human nature, and it seems that when we do not have threats from the outside, we are often content to find them amongst ourselves. In this case, the younger son of the Terran Emperor decided that he would be a much better than his father, and all the others in front of him in the line of succession. He was supported by several high nobles and military leaders who wanted the wars of expansion to start again. There was an assassination attempt on the rest of the imperial royal family, but he didn’t get them all, and so there was civil war.”

Fukuya smiled as she watched the Commodore glaze over the full impact his ships had had on that war. Honestly, five warships and a modified freighter had destroyed many times their tonnage in enemy ships and materiel, and had proven to be critical difference makers at several points, according to the primer on recent galactic history his ships had sent them. Oh, the reports hadn’t come out and said that, but she could read between the lines as well as any politician, and the raw numbers were fairly clear that this ‘Merida’ faction was losing before the Commodore gave them a trump card that no one knew how to counter until it was too late. Combined with the… predatory tactics he had shown against the Amazons, as people were now calling them, it would have been a nasty shock.

“The Nghtforge, which had a different name back then, had been too badly damaged to continue service as a superdreadnought when they surrendered to my forces. Honestly, two thirds of the crew were dead, and large parts of the center of the ship had been opened to vacuum thanks to the pounding it had taken. So I had the idea to turn it into a mobile shipyard which I’d use to support this expedition.”

Fukuya smiled at that, and said, “She certainly is an impressive ship, Commodore. It makes me wonder what we could have accomplished had we had access to the same wonders that you did.”

Mollen nodded to her, and said, “Well, we can’t change the past, but if there isn’t too much political ill will against ‘outsiders’ coming to visit you, then we might be able to set up something more permanent here as a new branch for the Black Star Company. Your long exile from the rest of civilization would be over.”

“Commodore Mollen, is it true that the majority of your crews are male?”

The man turned to look at the suddenly blushing Minister of Science, and smiled at her. “Oh yes, and I happen to know that there are more than a couple scientifically minded ones in the fleet that would enjoy having a long, hard, stimulating discussion with you, Minister.” There was polite laughter as the minister’s face went crimson, but Fukuya could see she was excited about the prospect. It had been far too long for most of these women since they’d seen a man outside of the Breeding Halls.

Fukuya decided she ought to speak up to prevent any ‘confusion’. “We have already spoken with the Commodore, and have agreed to the construction of our first starport built to modern specifications outside Kyoto. The crews of the Black Star Fleet, and any traders that may come to Nuevo Edo, will be free to walk around there, regardless of gender. I have spoken with some of you already, but there will be lotteries for all women on the planet, with the prize being a week’s stay at the starport for ‘recreation’. Government employees are exempt from the lottery, to preserve fairness, but a similar program of leaves is being planned for our military members. And before you ask, yes, we do plan to ease the restrictions on our male population as well, now that we can contact the rest of the galaxy again.”

“But what about the Demons?”

“The Amazons, as we are now calling them, have been driven back. We will continue pressing that advantage in the coming weeks. Those of you who have seen the sensor logs of the most recent battle no doubt understand that the ships of the Black Star Navy have a sizeable tecnological advantage over the Amazon forces. Because of this, and the information we were able to gain from the first-ever interrogations of Amazon forces, we have hired the Black Star Company as mercenaries to take the fight to the Amazons on our behalf, and neutralize their threat to Nuevo Edo.”

That got a moment of stunned silence, and Fukuya was glad that Mollen stepped up next to her to fill the void. “We will, of course, not speak of the conditions of the military contract between Black Star and Nuevo Edo at this time. It is Black Star policy not to comment on ongoing military operations, for obvious reasons.”

And then something Premier Fukuya dreaded happened. One of the Assemblywomen, who happened to be a key figure in the Partidad de Libre Uso, got the attention of the Commodore and the cameras. “Commodore, I am Assemblywoman Maria Sanchez, of the ‘Free Use’ concept that has been proposed in the recent legislative session.”

“Ah, Senora Sanchez, yes I am aware of the law in question. While I personally have no issue with any lovely lady coming up to me and demanding that I have sex with her on the spot, I am the owner of a multi-ethnic, multi-species company, and must think of the best interests of all my employees, just as Premier Fukuya must think of the best interest of all Nuevo Edoans. As such, I must say that while the law has promise, without a means of ensuring consent on both sides I cannot in good conscience support such a measure, or allowing my crews to go to areas with such measures in place.”

Fukuya did her best not to smirk as he paused, letting the ‘no men’ threat hang in the air for a moment, before he continued, “However, among the advances in technology we will be introducing as we bring trade to this system, are wearable communication devices like the bracer you see on my arm here. When combined with the display in the glasses I’m wearing, it provides a variety of effects. However, for the purposes of the proposed law, it could be set to provide a ‘halo’ in other wearers’ HUDs, showing that they consent to be used. This simple system would allow those who wish to engage in such behaviors license to do so, but would not force it on those who have moral or ethical objections, or who simply need a break from all the ‘activity’.”

Ooh, that devious man. Fukuya smiled into the cameras as he said both yes and no, and offered to sell them technology to make it workable. But she ought to change the subject quickly before that damn Sanchez suggested he offer another kind of ‘product demonstration’ on live TV. She took a breath, and said, “We are also happy to announce that we have come to an agreement on the construction of our first orbital shipyard, capable of producing ships that would be able to travel faster than light, like those of the Black Star Fleet. This, combined with the knowledge we now have of how the Gateway Network functions, will give to all Nuevo Edoans that stars, letting us break free of the world that sheltered us for so long, and go off into the unknown, exploring new worlds as our ancestors did long ago.”

(Feucht, Germany, Earth)

Gemroth snarled at the cowering gauz girl. “Damn it, Mina! How many times have I told you that you have to be careful with the boiler! You let the steam get too low again! Now hurry up and start stoking that fire! We have plenty of wood, so I want to be moving on. Long way to go until we reach the safe zone!”

Mina sobbed as the cruel man hit her with his hand. She was used to pain. She’d been born a slave, the gauz daughter of a guaz slave who’d been the favorite toy of a human master, the product of that master ‘breeding’ her mother with another gauz slave to ‘improve the breed’, like they were show dogs. They’d have been better off if they were. No one hit the show dogs, they were too expensive. But slaves were cheap. So she was used to pain, but she sobbed anyway, because she knew that the pain givers liked it, and if they didn’t get what they liked, they hurt her more.

She hated her current master more than the others, though. They were well off, and only hurt her if there was a reason. Her new Master was insane, and obsessed with finding some man she had never met. Since the Plague had wiped out technology, and this madman had captured her, she had prayed for death, but death never came for her.

She focused on stoking the fire, doing her best to look busy while she was actually taking her time. Her ‘Master’ didn’t want to hear her talk, so she didn’t mention the bandits that she’d spotted closing in on them. Maybe death would finally come for her?

(Temporary Science Lab, Requiem)

Calling the refurbished cargo containers that were currently gracing the surface of Nuevo Edo’s moon, Requiem, a ‘Temporary Science Lab’ was giving it a good bit more credit than it deserved. The whole thing was basically several large boxes with a bunch of cameras set up to observe the proceedings, with two occupants in each box: a drone, and one of the captured Amazon women.

Now, normally such things were completely unnecessary, but the owner of the company had specifically mentioned that there was to be absolutely no risk to the fleet from the trials that were about to be done. They had to know how the indigenous population of the world they were about to attack would react to the proposed solution. Thus, they needed to test.

Physical tests should have been unnecessary, since they already had significant data on those effects. But the Amazons were different in many key ways from the prior ‘test subjects’, so they needed a good mental baseline to use before they could sign off on whether the compound could be used safely. And while they were conducting trials on the mental changes, if any, brought on by exposure, it made sense to pair those tests with physical ones, to ensure that there were no hidden surprises in the production version.

There were six Amazon women in the containers, each of them naked save for a metal chastity belt that held two large phallic shapes inside them. They were separated from the drones by shimmering energy shields. In the first ‘cell’, the drone produced an odd, mechanical-sounding voice. “Volunteer 01, complete the following puzzles within the time limit. Compliance will be rewarded. Failure to comply will result in negative consequences.” As if she needed any idea of what those rewards and consequences were, the vibrators in her pussy and rear alternatively started buzzing, and then delivered an electric shock directly inside her. And she couldn’t pull the things out of her.

Gritting her teeth, the Amazon got to work, as the message was replayed in the other cells.

Tuesday, May 22, 2018

Chapter 105 - Interrogating the 'Demons'

(Interrogation Observation Room, BSN Thunderfury, Nuevo Edo orbit)

I stepped into the observation room with Raven, the General and Minister following closely behind. Captain Am’Rica and Major Khan were waiting for us. The two Edoans had received a bit of a shock when they saw their first ‘aliens’ up close, but then we had told them that we were a multispecies organization. By now the two of them were putting up at least a front of nonchalance, to preserve their dignity. The rest of us played along with the polite fiction to keep them from losing face. Between the ships of the fleet and the way the battle had turned out, there were enough shocks for everyone, really.

“Captain Am’Rica, Major Khan, allow me to introduce General Akagi and Minister Takahara of Nuevo Edo. They wish to observe the interrogations. Ladies, Captain Am’Rica is the commander of the Thunderfury, which is a Marine Assault Craft, designed to plunge into the fire to deliver Marines where they need to go, and to bring them back out again after. Major Khan is the leader of the Black Star Marines, and commanded the strike on the enemy dreadnought.” I looked to the Major, and asked, “What do we have?”

Major Khan nodded, and said, “The fleet docs are still running tests, but from initial reports It seems that we are not the first humans to visit Nuevo Edo.”

“Explain.”

“Atmosphere on the enemy ships was within human tolerances, with no toxic elements. Because we were going in with full Contamination protocols, we had sensors working full blast analyzing everything for contaminants. The ‘Demons’ put up a fight, and we couldn’t count on stunners to work through their armor. After the initial engagements, we discovered that their armor tech was equivalent to known designs that were several generations old, so we switched to stunners, but those first firefights confirmed that we were dealing with biological humans.

I frowned at that. “Major, I’m not doubting you, but humans don’t normally get that tall, and when they do they’re stringy little bastards from living on super-low gravity worlds, not brawny like these people. And we would have heard if any groups had made contact this far out and returned to Known Space.”

“I can’t answer for why we haven’t heard from them yet, but Doc says that the people we captured have all had extensive nano-modifications, probably from conception. They are biologically human, but they’ve been altered, probably over generations, to be the size we see now. I’ve sent the information to Raven for further analysis, since she’s our resident expert on nanotech.”

Raven nodded. “Analysis is ongoing, Commodore.”

I nodded slowly. “Any sign of weaponized nanites?”

“They did have melee weapons designed to inject a target with nanites, but they were insufficient to get through our armor. We have contacted the Assassins, and the freighters were indeed troop transports, but were only partly full, containment cells indicate they were looking to grab prisoners, as intel suggested. The troops on the freighters were armed with ranged versions of the injectors. No armor failures, but they only managed to capture six prisoners from the freighters. Everyone else fought to the last.”

“Unfortunate, but not outside expectations. Total prisoners from the dreadnought?”

“Thirty-nine. Thirty-four of them female, including the one we suspect to be the fleet commander. The five males were not in armor or uniform, and were normal human sized. I haven’t seen anything like it except on pirate ships, with the genders reversed. Worse, it appears that the males have all been… conditioned somehow. They obey any order a female gives them, without question. We even tried it with a male Marine using a female voice over his speakers, and the men complied instantly.”

General Akagi broke in, “So the reason they stole our men?”

I nodded gravely to her. “Slave raiders, almost certainly. If their people are like typical pirates, then they ‘use up’ any of the men they capture before long. To keep their population going, they must see raiding as being better than any reforms.”

Minister Takahara sighed. “We all believed that the men who were taken were killed, if not immediately, then before too long, but there were many who held out hope that they might yet be reunited with loved ones.”

Raven cut in then, with a voice filled with icy fury. “Even if we found any of your men still alive, Minister, they would no longer be your men. Commodore, I have finished the preliminary analysis of the weaponized nanites used by those on the dreadnought and the freighters. They are almost identical from a technological standpoint to the Hundeherstellar nanites of 120 years ago. The software has been given a complete rewrite however.”

I sighed, and said, “Well, here I was hoping desperately that we’d left that nonsense behind when we came to a completely different arm of the galaxy. I assume that one of the changes to the software is that it targets males instead of females?”

“Indeed, Commodore. I’ll have to do an in depth analysis of the control software if you wish for a complete description of the reprogrammed personality traits, but the male/female identifier was right at the beginning of the code.”

“Any clues as to who these people are?”

“Not enough data for more than a 10% probability match, sir.”

Well, that was too much to hope for, I guessed. Looking back to the Edoans, I said, “I do not know if your historical databases cover the Hundeherstellar Corporation, but they were a… rabidly misogynistic group of men and their ‘pet’ women who did not agree with little things like ‘equal rights’. Early in Earth’s colonization history, they were able to buy one of the first FTL colony ships and set out for the edge of Known Space to set up their ‘perfect’ colony. At some point, they developed nanite technology to the point where they could literally rewrite a person’s mind, destroying whoever they used to be and leaving a mindless bimbo slave behind. Your Demons are apparently a dark mirror of these people.”

Khan got our attention, saying, “We’re ready to begin interrogations.” With a word, he turned on a screen, which showed a very tall, very muscular woman. It did not take a great feat of imagination to understand what the designers of their nanites were going for. These were Amazons. Real, live, Amazons.

The Amazon was in a green uniform that hugged her muscular curves very tightly. If one was into the musclebound woman look, then this would be a treat for the eyes to them. Across the table from her, Sergeant Delacroix looked positively puny in comparison, even though she was slightly tall for a woman, and most definitely in as good shape as all the Marines were. If this had been someone designing a character at chargen, it would have obviously been a MAJOR case of overcompensation, but then if these people were founded by those who somehow were getting away from the Hundeherstellar people, some overcompensation could be understood.

“My name is Sergeant Francine Delacroix. What is your name?”

The Amazon snarled, and said, “Who are you people? You’re not those little weaklings from the planet. Did you come from another Gate to take our spoils?”

“So, you speak English, this is good. But you appear incapable of answering simple questions. This is unfortunate. I will try to speak slowly, like talking to a child, until you prove to me that you have the intelligence to answer questions like an adult.”

“Insolent whelp! If it weren’t for these restraints, I would—AUGH!” The Amazon screamed as the Sergeant calmly pressed a button. She only held it down for a second, but the effect on the prisoner was emphatic.

Speaking slowly, the Sergeant continued, “That was the equivalent of a taser. As you can see, a brief jolt causes no permanent damage, but is quite uncomfortable. I do not believe in torture, but naughty children must be taught boundaries. I will ask questions. You will answer them, or you will stay silent. If you wish to ask a question, you must first ask permission, using ‘Please’ and ‘Thank You’. You will not threaten me, the ship, or anyone else. Fail to obey these simple rules, and you will be punished. Do you understand?”

“Fuck—YAAAAGH!”

“Do you understand?”

The woman growled. “Yes! Yes, I understand, so stop with the damn shocks!”

Delacroix smiled. “Excellent. Now what is your name and rank?”

“Wolf-Commander Dejah Thoris of the Second Capture Force.”

“Now, that wasn’t so difficult, was it? What is the name of your ship?”

“Fang of the Triumphant. Who are you people?”

“Uh-uh-uh. Remember, Dejah, you must ask permission before you can ask questions. I will give you a warning this time, since you’ve been so good about answering me, but next time I will have to shock you. The rules are pretty specific about that.”

“Rrgh! Please can I ask a question?”

“Why, yes, of course you may. What do you wish to know?”

“Who are you people?”

“Oh dear, you forgot to say ‘Thank you’ first. That means we have to give you a small shock.” The Sergeant reached for the button.

“Wait, wait! Thank you for letting me ask you a question! Who are you people?”

“Much better. Now, we are known as the Black Star Company, a multispecies group from closer to Earth.”

“Earth? You’ve seen Earth? You lie-aaagh!”

“That was a question without asking please. Do pay attention, Dejah, or the men watching this interview will start to think you enjoy pain. Why were you approaching the planet?”

“To attack them, of course! We cull their numbers whenever we need new breeder stock, and take the males so they can fill their natural role in society, fathering the next generation of warriors.”

“Why do you need warriors?”

“To destroy the Enemy when we find them again, of course!”

“And who is the Enemy?”

“The Evil Ones, who tried to force the Unnatural Order on everyone. But the First Matriarchs fought back like wolves, and managed to free those they could. They sought help from other worlds, but none would listen to them.”

“So what happened then?”

“The Evil Ones struck back, and attempted to destroy the She-Wolves. Many fell and were enslaved to the Evil Ones, but those that escaped fled until they got to a Gate. Knowing that oblivion was better than any fate the Evil Ones had in store for them, they cast themselves into the Gate, choosing a destination at random. The Evil Ones followed, but we left mines at the Gate, and they destroyed themselves. None others dared follow.”

Raven cut in, whispering as the Amazon captain pridefully told the story of her people’s escape and founding or whatever. “Commodore, if this information can be believed, there is a 83.2 percent chance that this group is descended from a rebel organization that arose on the Hundeherstellar world almost one hundred and twenty years ago. They were women who fought against the rulers of the world, but their movement was quickly discovered and crushed, quite severely. A splinter group was tracked going through the Gehenna Gate, but they were never heard from again.”

“Do we have the coordinates for their gate?”

“Yes, Commodore. We got a clear read from the probes when they exited the gate. Location of their system is unknown, of course, but we have an Eighteenth Known Address.”

Major Khan interrupted. “I have a question. If they were on that crazy-ass world where all the women are injected with mind-control nanites when they become adults, how did any women stay free long enough to organize a resistance?”

Raven shook her head. “Political sabotage. A member of their ruling body wished to discredit a rival and had a virus uploaded into his rival’s pets’ nanites while they were sleeping, which changed their programming. The changes got out of control, however, and those women were able to ‘free’ other women, rewriting them into freedom fighters.”

I nodded. Age old story, really. No matter the political system, someone always wanted more, and was willing to tear down others to get it. And when that happened, sometimes it wound up biting everyone on the ass. Even if they desperately needed a good ass-kicking, anyways. I looked over to the two Edoans, and said, “You know, since we have the location of their world, Nuevo Edo could always hire Black Star to take care of this problem in a more permanent manner.”

Sunday, May 20, 2018

Chapter 104 - Demons!

The ships coming through were unlike anything I’d seen before. But then, I hadn’t seen a lot of the ship types that were used outside the Empire or Confederation. But it was pretty clear that the locals were familiar with the ships by the way they reacted.

Focusing on the General for the time being, I asked, “I assume those are the Demons you’ve alluded to, General?”

Akagi nodded slowly. “Yes. For the last hundred years, they’ve been fighting us, usually sending groups every ten years to attack, raiding the planet for men to steal. We don’t know why. They’ve never responded to our communications. We’ve never seen under their armor.”

“But you’ve been able to at least fight them off most of the time, correct?”

“Yes, though not without losses, and sometimes they do manage to land. It was after the conflict twenty-five years ago that the protective custody of males was introduced. If we have them all in centralized locations, it is easier to defend them.”

Fukuya broke in at that moment, “Why haven’t our watchers reported to us about the Demons coming through the Demon Gate yet, General?”

I rescued the General by saying, “Because the light of the gate hasn’t reached them yet. The Black Star Fleet, however, laid several probes by the gate to monitor it, and because we have limited FTL comms, this is a Real-Time view of the gate.”

The Premier blinked, “FTL communications? I knew that there were people working on FTL drives when the Ponce de Leon left, but the idea of FTL communication systems was pure science fiction.”

I nodded. “As I said, we have made some improvements since you left Earth. The benefits of trade and war, rather than isolation.” I turned to look at Raven. “Raven, analysis?”

“Detecting twenty-three ships of unknown design. Designate six as possible corvettes, another seven as possible frigates, five possible cruisers, one possible dreadnought. Other four targets are probable freighters or landing craft for troops. Formation is a standard raider formation.”

“If the design is unknown, why do you have probable types?”

“Ship designs are not in any databases Black Star has access to. However, there is a 34% match to pre-FTL Imperial fleet designs from a cosmetic standpoint. Probability of these being successor designs progressing along a different design track is almost 67%.”

“So they are no match for the Fleet?”

“Unclear, but unlikely, unless they have made significant improvements over the base designs, which are almost a hundred years old. However, they may have made design improvements in other ways.”

“Intercept chances?”

“Complete destruction of enemy forces before they reach the planet: 78.6 percent. Inflicting enough damage that the enemy decides to retreat through the gate: 89.9 percent. Enough of the enemy surviving to make landfall: 12.01 percent.”

Looking back to the General, I asked, “My ships are currently stationed between the planet and these Demons. Would you like a product demonstration of what Black Star has to offer you?”

Akagi’s grin turned feral. “Nothing would please me more, Mollen-san.”

(BSN Shinokage, orbiting Nuevo Edo)

“The local commanders would like to see an example of what we are capable of, Captain. While they are perfectly fine with wiping every last one of the ships from the sky, I would like to have prisoners that we can extract intel from, since I am negotiating with the locals on getting Black Star to take care of their ‘demon’ problem.”

Captain Inatumal nodded once. “Understood, Master. Orders for the fleet?”

“Raven tells me that these ships are likely advancements on pre-FTL designs. So far their acceleration curve corroborates that, but do not count on them not having some kind of nasty surprises. First Group is to use FTL capability to get behind the enemy and cut off their escape. Third group will advance, along with the Thunderfury, to engage the enemy directly.”

“Vicious Return is to hold her fighters in reserve, in case the enemy receives reinforcements from the gate. The Smerti and Nightforge will hang back and cover the planet in case any ships make it past Third Group. The Smerti will launch Thunderbolts and Dragons to support the attack. Green Giants are to remain with the carrier as combat air patrol, with Grey Phantoms ready to scramble if needed.”

“Shinokage will have overall tactical command. Strategic orders are to destroy or capture all enemy ships. No one escapes to warn their people about us. You are not to take any undue risk to the fleet in order to attempt to disable the ships or take them intact. If they look like they can hurt the fleet, you are authorized to dispose of them all, with prejudice. Priorities for capture, if convenient, are the freighters and the dreadnought.”

The Captain frowned. “I understand the dreadnought, but the freighters, Master?”

“They’ve been raiding the planet, and stealing parts of the population, Captain. The commander of the dreadnought and the captains of those freighters probably have the best idea of where those captives go, and what happens to them.”

“Understood, Master. It will be done.”

“One more thing, Captain. All boarding operations on the captured ships are to be done according to full contamination protocols. Assume all types: chemical, viral, radioactive, nanite. We know nothing about these people other than the fact they are humanoid in shape and 2.5 meters in height. They apparently never take off their armor where the natives can see, so assume greatest possible environmental dangers.”

“Finally, once any ships have been secured, interrogations are to be done by females, if possible. We don’t know why these Demons want human males, but no dangling steak in front of lions until we know what they can do. Understood, Captain?”

“Understood, Master. We will see it done.”

“I know you will, Captain. Wipe them out. Mollen, out.”

Captain Inatumal turned to her bridge crew. “You heard the Master. Send out orders to the fleet. Deploy Third Group to cover the planet and advance on the unknowns. First Group will follow the Shinokage. Helm, I want a least-time in-system FTL course that gets First Group between the Gateway and these bastards, without us having to ram our way through them. Curve us around, if you can. Comms, give me a line to the fleet.”

She paused, and waited for the communications officer to give her an affirmative signal, before speaking to the Black Star Fleet. “This is Captain Inatumal of the Shinokage. As you know, there is an enemy force incoming on the planet we are currently orbiting. The Master has declared that these are pirates and raiders, and will be most put out if they are able to disrupt his negotiations with the locals. We are going to ensure that this does not happen. Tactical commands are being passed out to all ships. Our orders are to kill or capture all enemy ships. Not one of them is allowed to escape the system or harm the planet. Disable them if convenient, destroy them otherwise. Priorities for capture are the ships being designated Haulers 1 through 4, and Heavy 1. Extreme prejudice is authorized for all other ships.”

“Send these sorry excuses for ‘Demons’ back to whatever pit spawned them, in the Master’s name. Shinokage, out.”

Finally, she took a breath, and said, “Let’s get to work. Those pirates aren’t going to kill themselves.”

(Space around Nuevo Edo)

Because of the quirks of lightspeed imagery, the Demons spotted the two largest ships in orbit of the planet because they occluded enough of the planet below that, even from a light-hour out, it was clear that there was something there. As one, the ships turned and began speeding up towards the planet on an intercept course. They would arrive at the planet nine hours after their light did, too quickly for those tasty prizes to load people and get up to speed to escape the system.

If their prey had decided to try and escape rather than fight, then they would not have the defenses in place to stop them. This time, they would have complete victory over the lesser beings!

(Meeting Bunker, Abandoned Edocite Quarry, Neuevo Edo)

Premier Fukuya looked at the man who commanded a fleet she could not have even dreamed existed until she had been hurriedly briefed on her way to the command bunker earlier that day. He was an enigma, and that bothered her. Even if he had not proclaimed himself the leader of the fleet above, she would have guessed it by the way he carried himself, like someone used to having authority. And the women who were with him, even the woman he had talked to on the starship above, all clearly regarded him as being the one in charge. Indeed, with the revelation that slavery had returned to humanity in the time since her people had left Earth, it seemed likely that he owned a large percentage of the crew of that fleet in orbit, which spoke of a certain personality type. And yet she didn’t get that kind of read off him. He certainly hadn’t shown any great arrogance or need for ‘submission’ from those around him, at least not where she could see it. It was possible he was putting on a false face to put her at ease in the negotiations, but if that was true than he was the best at it that she had ever seen, and she was in politics!

No, he was an enigma, and she needed to solve him, before she could commit her people to anything v than the ‘shore leave’ he had proposed. She was under no illusions there. That would increase morale greatly, once the spaceport was built. Access to the spaceport, for those who weren’t a part of the on site staff, would have to be regulated. Perhaps they could create a lottery of sorts, to have willing women given a vacation in the spaceport for the young men to visit? Government workers would be excluded, to make sure people saw that this was as fair as possible for the commoners, but perhaps a separate leave system could be worked out with the military side of things?

She shook her head to clear those thoughts, and watched as the man directed his ships into battle. She’d seen space battles unfold before, during the last Demon War, just five years ago, and the waiting was always the most difficult part. The Demon ships were still about eight hours out, if the ‘FTL comms’ could be believed, but the man was standing there as though he expected the battle to commence at any moment. He didn’t look like he was inexperienced in battle, so…

She gasped as the ships disappeared, all except the two big ones and the clearly civilian craft that were still in orbit of the planet. A moment later, they reappeared, in two groups, one in front of the Demons, and one behind, just as the man had directed them. If this was not some kind of elaborate trick, then they truly did have FTL capability!

The Demons were also surprised, because it took them a few moments to notice they were under fire. By then, however, it was already far, far too late for them. Missiles and energy weapons slammed into the Demon fleet, shredding the little ships like they were nothing. The ‘bombers’ as the man called them were the first to draw blood, their missiles simply obliterating the cruisers and frigates like they were not even there. The fighters were next, ripping the little corvettes apart like they were tissue paper. The dreadnought did not last longer for any reason but that the ships were not trying to destroy it outright, hitting it with those beam weapons until the shields crumpled, and then switching to what the man called ‘ion cannons’ to disable the ship. And without her noticing the freighters had been swiftly disabled as well, their crews never even getting off a shot before their shields and systems were overwhelmed by the stealth ships.

The man nodded, and pressed a button on his wrist device. “Mollen to all ships. Thunderfury’s to board and capture the dreadnought. Assassins to send tactical teams to capture the freighters. Remember, full Contamination protocols.” Then he turned to her. “Madame Premier, General Akagi, I am pleased to say that your planet is safe again, for the time being. We are about to have prisoners for interrogation, if you would like to have some of your people present to oversee this, while my assistant works with the individual who has been listening in on this conversation since the beginning?”

Minister Takahara’s laugh could be heard through the Premier’s communicator, and she said, “Tactfully put, Mollen-san. In that case, might I suggest that the Premier remains to negotiate the trade deal, while I join you and the General to observe the interrogations.”

The man chuckled, and said, “Sounds perfect.”

Friday, May 18, 2018

Chapter 103 - Trade Deals

“…Finally, the Founders were able to break free, and found themselves here, in Nuevo Edo. What should have been a journey of a hundred years and twenty-five light years had turned into a mere ten years, but a good deal further than we had ever intended.”

As Akagi finished her tale, I looked to the rest of my team. They looked as shocked as I had been. Everyone knew that there was an ancient civilization (at least one) out there, since the Gateways existed, but to find proof that one of the Ancient civilizations that had not yet succumbed to the passage of time was astounding. That they apparently eschewed the Gateways and instead covered distances of over twenty-five thousand lightyears in mere days was the stuff of science fiction. If I didn’t have proof in front of me, I’d swear they were lying.

“And you never found out who they were?”

Fukuya shook her head. “Unfortunately, no. The colony ship had suffered damage from the… turbulence of being caught in the ship’s wake, so by the time they were able to break free, they… expedited the landing procedures for the colony. There was one thing, however. The morning after we landed at Chiba-dos, in front of the main access point to the colony ship we found the Spire, which had not been there the night before. On the Spire were written hundreds of combinations of symbols, ones we later learned were the same as the ones on the Demon Gate, except one. Along with the addresses, there were snippets of writing in both an alien script, and Japanese.”

“Oh, holy shit. The aliens left you an address book, for when you finally figured it out, so you could ‘call home’ if you learned how!”

Akagil nodded solemnly. “Unfortunately, that chance never came. It took us almost seventy years to return to space after the state our colony was in after landing. It wasn’t until we were able to get a closer look at the Demon Gate that we understood what the Spire was trying to tell us. Miguel Sanchez, the leading researcher on the Spire, was one of the first victims of the Demons when they first came through the Demon Gate. Since then, more effort has gone into detection and defense than researching a doorway to where our nightmares dwell, once we learned we could not destroy it, at least.”

“Well, I guess that’s as good a lead in as I’ll get, so let me start my pitch. I am the leader of the Black Star Company, as you know. We have three basic arms to the company: Shipping, Security, and Shipbuilding. We build ships which we then use in the Shipping and Security arms, or sell to public and private groups. We ship goods throughout the Confederation of Allied Planets and we’ve started making some inroads in the Terran Empire, using contacts we made during the Civil War. The Security arm is designed to respond to a variety of situations, from anti-piracy work to assisting in fleet battles, and we have tactical elements capable of a wide array of offensive and defensive missions.”

I paused, and then said, “This conversation is private, completely. Not one word of what is said inside this room will be repeated on the outside by my people, so please allow me to get straight to the point, without the posturing and social niceties one typically wastes so much time with in this kind of situation.” The premier looked like she wasn’t exactly keen to hear what I was about to say, but nodded.

“Your military technology is, frankly, obsolete. You have done very well for yourselves, in isolation without access to the innovations that have come in from Known Space. The rest of the Galaxy knows you’re here, now, sine a fleet the size of the one I put together for this expedition was hard to miss. I’ve managed to keep the coordinates for this Gateway hidden, but the Known Gates will be watched, looking for our return, so the moment we send any ships back to our primary base, you risk being opened to the public. You would be very lucky indeed if it was just governmental groups who came in trying to fight over who got to ‘recruit’ you. More likely, some pirates would come in, sweep away your defenses, and set themselves up as kings.” I paused, and then said, “Tell me, is your population entirely female?”

Akagi shook her head. “No, but the Demon Wars have not been kind. For reasons we do not understand, the Demons target males especially. The lucky ones are simply killed. We do not know what fate awaits those they capture, but none have ever been seen again. Our population is currently just over 85% female. The few males we have are… well, they are jealously guarded as genetic stock, to be honest, as we could not afford to lose any more genetic diversity.”

I nodded. “Then I am afraid that your population would essentially find themselves a pirate’s dream conquest, a planet full of women to take and sell as slaves, if they didn’t… ruin them beyond the point of sale beforehand.” I held up a hand to stall any comments. “I say this not as any kind of a threat, but so you are aware of the gravity of your situation, and what I can offer you.”

“And what is that, exactly?”

“For starters, access to the most powerful fleet of stealth-capable warships in Known Space, perfect for, say, Demon hunting, or keeping the pirates and more forceful government types at bay while you build up your defenses to something capable of actually defending your world against modern threats. My ships are blooded in battle against superior foes, and they still fly while the enemy was broken before them. Moreover, having Black Star guarding your world, even temporarily, will convince the governments that worked with us before that you might be one of the more reasonable sort, unlike some of the, shall we say, more fundamentalist types that left Earth and were only rediscovered later.”

“Secondly, we have databases on the flow of goods throughout Known Space. We know what resources are at a premium, and what items are far too common for them to be profitable. Unless you have made great strides in other fields despite your military technology being behind the times, then selling technology is not an option. However, ‘exotic’ manufactured goods, art objects, and other such things may provide an additional source of income if you can get them which market. Any unique elements or pharmaceuticals you have would be almost certain to be worth more than the cost of shipping them. The primary benefit to you is that our database also includes the typical cost of these kinds of items, which means you would be less likely to get duped into a bad trade deal due to ignorance.”

“And third, with the facilities we have in place, we can begin construction of a shipyard, which would allow us to begin building and repairing ships here in Nuevo Edo, without relying too greatly on the mobile shipyard we brought with us, since the lack of space in the Nightforge means we can only build a single Assassin at a time, or several of the little gunboats. But if we got a shipyard running here, it would open up this arm of the galaxy for exploration and possible settlement, and you would be the center of it.”

Premier Fukuya considered this for a moment, and said, “And you would be the ones providing the shipyard, the shipping, the security, which would profit you greatly in the long run, yes? It is similar to some of the things the Founders recorded their predecessors doing on Earth, before they left.”

I shrugged, smiling slightly. “I never claimed to be a genius, but I have had a couple years to plan what I would do if I found people still alive here. To be honest, I wasn’t sure what we would find, or how reasonable you all would be, which is why I gathered such a large fleet.”

Akagi grumbled. “Which brought us to the attention of the universe.”

“You already had the attention of the universe, General. The ‘Demon’ attacks are proof of that. What I did is open you up to the part of the universe that might want to do something other than kill you and steal your men.”

I leaned back in my chair, and said, “Oh, and in case you were wondering, as of this moment, the current population of the expeditionary fleet Black Star put together is almost 75% male, due to the high concentrations of former military personnel in the mix. While I certainly would NEVER order my crews to come down and have as much sex as they possibly can, people aboard ship can get… antsy if they don’t have a source of ‘release’, and shore leave is a long-held tradition. And perhaps those tireless males in your population may also enjoy adding more… variety to their duties, if any of the women in the fleet are looking for ‘fun’.”

The premier was slack-jawed, and I could see that some of her guards were starting to be really interested in what I had to say, beyond just guarding their leaders. The General, however, laughed. “Oh, my, that would certainly solve a few morale problems in the forces, to say nothing of the general populace.”

“And it certainly wouldn’t hurt morale in the Black Star Fleet either, I assure you. If we can hammer out the details on a trade deal, and set up a starport somewhere a little more populated, we could start a shore leave rotation going pretty quickly.”

The premier recovered from her shock, and said, “There are some issues that would need to be addressed. With males at such a premium, we had some… issues that were getting worse until the men on the planet were put in protective custody, and given scheduled times at the… I think it translates best as ‘Pleasure Halls’. There was some violence between certain groups who wished to lay claim to remaining males by force, and other such foolishness.”

I winced. “Well, I can definitely say that my crews won’t signing up for protective custody, and if someone tries to force them into something, then they’re going to respond, and if it doesn’t get resolved then I’ll have to respond.”

Raven cut in, “Commodore, if we set up a starport near the primary settlement, and built it according to Frontier Plan 4, we could control access to the complex easily enough, allowing those on shore leave to move freely through the complex. It would be limited, but the intoxication and intercourse needs of the crews would be satisfied. It is a short term solution for a long term problem, however.”

I nodded, and looked back to the premier. “Frontier Plan 4 involves building a starport complex with several bars, shops, and brothels surrounding it, as well as customs and security buildings, all enclosed by a high wall. It is a design typically used on planets that are early in their settlement, and may not have completely tamed the fauna local to the area. But as Raven said, this is a short term solution. You’re going to need to prepare for some changes. A majority of human freighter crews in Known Space are male, something like 56%, I believe. The numbers are a little different in alien species, but trend to about the same. A port where everyone is female will be VERY tempting to lonely spacers, but if the captains are worried about their male crew getting snapped up and put in protective custody to keep them from being kidnapped by locals, that is going to hurt trade.”

Fukuya sighed. “Yes, we knew it would cause trouble later on, but we didn’t see a choice, with he fighting, and the Demons stealing most of the men. I’m afraid that even with the promise of trade we won’t be able to relax our controls on them or there will be… unpleasantness. The Founders said that the Japanese were cunning, especially when dealing with rivals, and the Latins were hot tempered and fiery, at the best of times, but especially when it involved sex and romance. The combination of the two cultures has had a few unintended consequences, shall we say.”

I was about to respond when Raven tilted her head in that way that told me she was receiving a transmission, she sent it to my HUD, and I nodded slightly. “Screens are installed?”

“Of course.”

“Bring it up, let everyone see.” On one wall, which looked just the same as the others, a screen activated, showing a view of the Gateway.

It had just opened, and ships were coming through.