A Learning Experience 2: Hard Lessons (40 page)

Maybe we beat hell out of them
, he thought.  It was something he’d seen before, on the battlefields of Earth.  A side that believed itself to have been thoroughly defeated, like France in 1940 or the United States in Vietnam, was often unable to summon the willpower to fight back effectively, even though it might not have actually
lost
.  The Tokomak might have reached a stage where they had been psychologically defeated, to the point where physical resistance was impossible.

“They have confirmed their surrender,” the communications officer said.

“Raise the Varnar,” Mongo ordered.  Shipping the prisoners to Earth or a Coalition world would be a logistical nightmare.  “Ask them to prepare POW camps for a few hundred thousand prisoners.”

He sighed.  Now the battle had come to an end, it was far too possible that the war between the Coalition and the Varnar would reignite, even though it would be suicide.  Surely, both sides would realise the advantages in cooperating?  Or would they seek to declare their independence from one another to the point they would refuse to work together, even if they needed to help one another. 

A problem for the diplomats
, he thought.  Interstellar diplomacy was complex, far more than fighting a battle.  If humans could get offended over the merest of things, aliens were far worse. 
Hopefully, it's one I won’t have to solve.

***

“This could be worse,” Wilson said.

“Thank you,” Martin said, dryly.  The interior of the Tokomak ship was giving him flashbacks to the desperate struggle near Earth.  “And
how
could it be worse?”

“We could still be drifting in space,” Wilson pointed out.  “Or we could be the last survivors of the battle.”

“Shut up,” Martin said.  “And keep a sharp eye on the bastards.”

He gritted his teeth.  They’d been teleported to the nearest cruiser as soon as the battle had come to an end, then sent to the Tokomak flagship to assume control.  So far, there hadn't been any resistance, but he wasn't feeling hopeful.  The way the Tokomak were looking at him and his crew, it felt as though they were going to do something stupid any second now. 

They’ve been masters of the universe so long
, he thought,
that they can't abide the thought of their own defeat
.

They reached the command core without incident, much to his relief.  A handful of Tokomak stood in the centre of the compartment, their personal weapons lying on the deck.  Their faces were twisted with some unreadable emotion, but they seemed to have themselves under control.  Martin motioned for them to step to one side, then hacked into the nearest console and linked through to their command datacores.  As ordered, they remained intact and open, just waiting for the spooks to go to work.

“You will be taken from this place to a POW camp, where your needs will be met,” he informed them.  It struck him, suddenly, that their leader was familiar; he’d seen her vanishing into a teleport field, weeks ago.  Now, there was no way out.  “And you will be returned to your people once we have a definite peace treaty.”

The Tokomak offered no resistance as they were shepherded through the corridors and out to the airlocks, where the Varnar shuttles were already waiting.  It wouldn't be easy to set up so many POW camps on such short notice, Martin knew, assuming his experiences in the Sol System were any guide.  But at least it would give the Varnar something to do and keep them from causing trouble, as well as making it impossible for them to backslide.  The Tokomak wouldn't forgive in a hurry.

He pushed the thought to one side as the spooks arrived and started to copy the datacores into their systems, before the ship was even completely emptied of her crew.  The spooks didn't seem to give a shit about the risks, so Martin settled for keeping a wary eye on them as the remaining Tokomak were herded down to the airlocks and sent to Varnar.  It was nearly four hours before the ship was finally empty, by which time the situation outside the hull had settled down ...

“You can go back to the ship in twenty minutes,” Captain Lockland ordered.  “You have some relief on the way, from the Varnar.  They want a handful of these ships for themselves.”

“Understood,” Martin said.  There hadn't been
that
many Solar Marines attached to the fleet, if only because no one expected the Tokomak to allow themselves to be boarded and stormed again.  But then, they hadn't had time to scream for groundpounders as well as starships before the final battle began.  “We’ll teleport back as soon as they arrive.”

***

“It wasn't the final battle,” Yolanda said, later.  “There’s a much larger empire out there, even if we are sitting on top of the gravity point.  They could keep coming at us until they win.”

“Maybe they’ve been beaten too badly to think about it,” Martin said.  “Or ...

His voice trailed off.  He’d seen too many fights in the ghetto to fail to miss the obvious.  The Tokomak here might know they had been beaten, but their distant masters would be completely untouched by the fighting.  It wouldn't be quite
real
to them.  They would try to learn from the experience, but they wouldn't surrender.  Instead, they'd just keep sending their people to die until they either won the war – or lost completely. 

“Enjoy the peace while it lasts,” he said.  Maybe the diplomats would come to some agreement with the Tokomak.  But their pride and reputation had been so badly dented that they would have no choice, but to either continue the war or accept the loss of their empire when their subjects rebelled.  “It’s all we can do, really.”

Chapter Forty

Reports are just coming in of a military coup in Washington, DC.  Soldiers from the 3
rd
Infantry Division have seized the White House, the Pentagon and other buildings of political, military and historical importance, while Marines have sealed the city and have been conducting house-to-house searches for certain people.  Local radio and television channels have been broadcasting messages warning people to stay indoors and informing them that a Government of National Salvation will be assuming control shortly ...

...As yet, there has been no word from the President.  However, there are reports of violent protests and riots in a dozen cities, with community leaders screaming their outrage into the datanet.  Many of the riots have started to take on the air of ethnic cleansing, as they are primarily directed against other ethnic and religious groups.  Churches, mosques and synagogues have been destroyed, forcing their occupants to flee.  Armed vigilantes are patrolling hundreds of communities, despite strict gun control laws ...

-Solar News Network, Year 53

“And you think the peace treaty will hold?”

Kevin smiled.  After spending two weeks meditating while the Coalition and the Varnar haggled, it was almost a relief to face the War Cabinet.  They might order his immediate sacking, certainly for exceeding his orders to some degree, but they wouldn’t restart a war that would weaken the sector to the point the Tokomak could just come back and take over without a fight.

“I believe both sides understand they need to cooperate,” he said, calmly.  “They will not be entirely
happy
about the terms, but they have little choice.  The Tokomak will be back, sooner or later.”

The President nodded.  “And our own role in this?”

“They do want to trade technology with us,” Kevin said.  “But I don’t think we can maintain a monopoly on everything for much longer, in any case.  We have shown too many people what is possible and knowing what can be done is half the battle.  Trading will probably help us to garner extra political influence – and warships, of course.  We’re going to need them in the future.

“And as for joining the expanded Coalition ... well, it’s time we committed ourselves,” he added.  “
Someone
has to sit between the two sides, if nothing else.”

“That will have to be discussed in the Senate,” Bute said.

“I can't see them all being happy about it,” Marie added.  “We chose not to join formally for a reason, Director.”

“I know,” Kevin said.  “But the Proxy War is now over, thanks to us.  We owe it to ourselves to both stand against the Tokomak and try to keep the Coalition together.”

He sighed.  So far, all attempts to raise the Tokomak Government and come to a permanent agreement had failed.  It wouldn't be long, he suspected, before the Tokomak Government attempted to launch yet another attack on the sector, probably through the gravity point at Varnar.  The disrupter had worked once, but it wouldn't work indefinitely.  Besides, sooner or later, the Tokomak would find a way to reverse its effects.

And after that?  God alone knew what would happen.

“We keep working with our allies, we keep developing our own technology and we keep focusing on ultimate victory,” he added.  “We have a talent for helping people of different races to work together, after all.  I think we should use it.”

“The Senate will debate the issue,” the President said.  “And much else.”

Kevin nodded.  The Council had bent the rules as far as they would go – and
that
couldn't go unpunished.  In a week or two, the Senate would assemble to pass judgement on the Councillors, including the President.  It was quite possible that they would all find themselves unemployed, shortly afterwards.  They hadn't exactly
abused
their positions, which would have guaranteed a jail term, but they had certainly bent the letter of the law.  The Senate might not approve.

Steve would have approved of them standing in judgement
, he thought, ruefully. 
He always thought the politicians should be held accountable by the people.

“So,” Bute said.  “We now have the issue of a coup in the United States.”

“It isn't our concern,” Marie snapped.  “We stay out of politics on Earth for a reason.”

Kevin smiled, then rose.  The coup bothered him on an emotional level – if it succeeded, it meant the end of America; if it failed, it
also
meant the end of America – but it really wasn’t his concern.  His home was the Solar Union now ... absently, he wondered how Mongo would take the news.  He had always been less ... flexible where patriotism was concerned.

“With your permission,” he said, “I will return to my duties.  There is much work to be done.”

“And the prospect of losing your job,” the President noted.  “Good luck, Director.”

Kevin nodded and walked through the hatch, past a pair of armed Marines.  Outside, Sally was waiting for him, sitting on a bench.

“I hope that didn't take as long as you feared,” Kevin said.  The asteroid’s garden was lovely, even though it was utterly untamed.  He was tempted to just walk with her for hours and forget the universe.  “I’m sorry about bringing you back here.”

“I wasn't wanted back on Varnar,” Sally said.  “Not after ...”

“I’m sorry,” Kevin said.  Mr. Ando had politely, but firmly, released Sally from her duties after the war had come to an end.  “But I do have a job offer for you, if you want it.”

Sally’s lips thinned.  “Spying?”

“Helping the diplomats,” Kevin said.  “Earth is probably going to be hosting more talks over the next few months.  You’re already experienced in dealing with aliens, you have quite a few contacts of your own and ... well, you’d be good at the job.  Or you can try to find a job elsewhere.  There are no shortage of corporations planning to do business with aliens who would find you very useful.”

“I’ll think about it,” Sally said.  “But thank you.”

“You’re welcome,” Kevin said.  “And, for what it’s worth, you more than earned that medal.”

Sally snorted, then rose and started to walk through the garden. 

After a moment, Kevin followed her.

***

“I’m being assigned to
Formidable
,” Martin said, awkwardly.  They sat together in their hotel room, on shore leave.  “And yourself?”

“
Thor
,” Yolanda said.  “I’ve been promised a fast track to Commander if I do well, but apparently I need some more seasoning before they can give me the rank.”

“They told me I might be promoted to Lieutenant myself, depending on the new recruits,” Martin said.  “Apparently, someone filmed our adventures in space and sent the records to the datanet. 
Everyone
wants to be a Marine.”

“You might be getting new recruits from Earth too,” Yolanda reminded him.  “Have you seen the news?”

“They’re saying it’s the beginning of the end,” Martin said.  “A coup in Washington, tanks on the streets in the South, race riots in a hundred cities ... it’s good we got out, I think.

He shivered.  If he’d still been on Earth, he would probably have joined one of the black mobs driving everyone else out of the area.  And if he’d been born white or brown, he would have joined one of
their
mobs and practiced ethnic cleansing on their behalf instead.  His life would have come to an end, perhaps, when the government sent in the tanks ... or perhaps it would have been destroyed in an orgy of rape and looting.  And, in the end, what would it have gained anyone?  His life in the Solar Union was so much more fulfilling.

“Yeah,” Yolanda said.  He wondered if she was thinking about her father and stepmother.  “It could have been worse.”

Martin hesitated.  He’d never really talked to a girl before moving to the Solar Union, not really.  The ghetto didn't encourage long relationships, if only because a person could get more benefits from the system by remaining single.  Besides, it wasn't a manly thing to do, he’d been told.  Fuck them and leave them ... maybe, if he survived his teenage years, then he could consider a relationship.  It had honestly never occurred to him just how destructive many of the patterns were until he was seeing them from the outside.

“If I wait for you,” he said, “will you wait for me?”

“I would love to,” Yolanda said.  “But can we?”

They’d been lucky, Martin knew.  They’d started as friends and then become lovers.  And they’d been assigned to the same ship ...

But that had finally come to an end.  Who knew when they would see each other again?

Robbins was right
, he thought. 
This is the moment of decision
.

He swallowed, then pushed forward.  “If you find someone else, while you’re on your ship and I’m on mine, I won’t mind,” he said.  “And we can try again after we finish our terms ...”

“I don’t think you want to finish your term,” Yolanda said.  “You’ve found a
meaning
in the Marine Corps.”

Martin nodded.  She was right.  There were no shortage of jobs for retired Marines, but he didn't
want
to retire.

“And yourself?”  He asked, dreading the answer.  “Do you want to stay in for life?”

“I don’t know,” Yolanda admitted.  “I’m twenty-two.  I have hundreds of years ahead of me.”

“I know,” Martin said.  Yolanda could stay in the navy for fifty years, then buy her own starship and go trading among the stars, or simply find something else to do with her time, if she wished.  “I may change my mind too, after a hundred years of being shot at.”

Yolanda smiled.  “You might,” she agreed.

“Then we will see,” Martin said.  He leaned forward to kiss her.  “And, whatever happens, I will always be your friend.”

***

They had let her go.

Neola didn't understand why the humans had simply let her go.  She had agreed, of course, to carry their messages of peace to the Old Ones, but any Tokomak could have done that!  And she was the one who had surrendered an entire fleet to its enemies.  It was unlikely the Old Ones would want anything to do with her, after that failure.  They were much more likely to hurl her out the airlock bodily rather than risk her defeatism contaminating the younger generations.

But it wasn't defeatism, not really,

The humans were strong, and innovative, and very determined to win.  And so, in their way, were both powers in the Proxy War.  But their alliance didn’t have the towering resources of the Tokomak, let alone the colossal advantage in manpower and scientific understanding.  The younger generations could be forced into preparing for war, the older teachings could be swept aside and the scientists, who had thought they knew all there was to know about the universe, reenergised by evidence of human discoveries.

She would go home and she would
make
the Old Ones listen.  Or she would remove them from power, whatever the cost.  They would come to understand just how dangerous the humans were ... and just how badly their reputation had been shattered by their defeats.  The Reserve would be activated, new spacers would be trained and then the Tokomak would go back to war, having rediscovered their own vigour.  Next time, it would be a different story.

Neola sat in her cabin and waited.  It was only a few months from Varnar to the Homeworld, after which she could get to work.  The Old Ones would listen or the entire empire would be destroyed.  She would
make
them listen.  Her race had conquered an empire before, crushing all opposition with ease.  They could do it again. 

Next time, she promised herself, it would be different.

The End