Peace Army (17 page)

“The remaining forces represent experienced soldiers who—”

“Enough!” Truk interrupted the flow of data with a word and a raised hand. He had heard enough.

“What you’re saying is that we can still hold what is ours, but we cannot expand to other worlds. We can still produce the goods we need; we just cannot get those goods delivered. Is that a fair statement?”

“Um. I believe so, Governor Truk. Yes. That is an accurate statement.”

Truk heaved his large body from the purple chair. He began to pace the length of the back wall—it had become a well-worn track over the past weeks.

“Ghin, the Minith are soldiers and traders. It is what we do. What good is having experienced soldiers if we cannot expand to new worlds? What good is holding the worlds we have if their resources sit idle? We need to get those resources to our partners!”

“I understand, sir,” the aide answered timidly.

Truk stopped abruptly before his desk and slammed his fists on the top angrily. His ears lay back fully upon his head.

“Do you?” Spittle flew across the desk. A few drops landed on Ghin’s suit.

“We have commitments, Ghin! Commitments that must be met, or…” Truk bit off his words; fought to gather control of his emotions. He resumed his back-and-forth movement across the room.

He refused to let Ghin see the concern or the fear he felt. Minith did not show weakness to underlings.

Truk stopped pacing. He looked blankly to the ceiling as his mind turned over rocks and considered the possibilities that lay beneath.

“Ghin, when is General Soo scheduled to depart for Telgora?”

“I believe he and the rest of the contingent are departing tomorrow, sir.”

“Excellent.” Truk marched calmly to his large chair and sat. He relaxed back into the deep cushions and smiled. Telling the general of the mothership on Telgora had been necessary at the time. Now it seemed less so. But it did not matter.

“Have the general report to me as soon as possible.”

* * *

Soo was preparing for the deployment of his hastily assembled unit when he received the summons from Governor Truk. With so much to do in the next twenty-four hours, the interruption rankled. A civilian could not understand the enormity of swapping an entire contingent of soldiers like the one on Telgora.

The planet held more than ten thousand Minith warriors, many of whom had spent years dealing with the planet’s population. They possessed experience and training key to protecting the mining operations from the Telgorans.

Soo had tried explaining the impossibility of the task to Truk a week earlier when he was handed the mission, but the governor would not be swayed. He wanted all forces swapped out within a month. It was an impossible task, but he was careful not to tell Truk that. If the Governor of Waa—and the leader of all Minith—wanted it done, he would accomplish the mission. Or at least, allow Truk to believe it was accomplished.

Soo was willing to tell the governor what he wanted to hear while working to make it a reality.

All of these things went through Soo’s mind as he stood in front of the governor’s desk. He knew to walk a fine line. Truk was not one to cross, even if he was a civilian.

“General, what do you know about our commerce initiatives?”

The general was surprised by Truk’s question. He had expected to be drilled on the readiness of the replacement force.

He took a second to form his response before speaking. “Governor, I know a great deal about our commerce initiatives.”

Truk’s left ear twitched. Apparently he had not expected that response. The governor probably thought all Minith soldiers were ignorant of anything outside of capturing worlds, enforcing quotas, and stamping out rebellion.

“Really? Tell me what you know.”

Soo knew he was being tested, so answered as succinctly and completely as he could.

“Sir, we hold fourteen planets now, including Waa. Each of those planets produces resources, which are then traded to various planetary partners for resources we require, as well as…”

Soo hesitated. It angered and shamed him to admit what he was about to say. He fought to keep his ears erect.

“Well, sir, we exchange resources for protection. And for guarantees of non-aggressive acts by several of our partners.”

Both of Truk’s ears twitched. He had not expected Soo to know that detail.

“Tell me, General Soo,” the governor replied calmly. His voice did not convey anything other than calm. “How does a military man possesses such extensive knowledge of Minith trade relationships? I just learned of these… issues… recently.”

It was Soo’s turn to be surprised. Not that Truk had just learned of the trade issue with its partners. Most Minith, unless they were closely involved with direct trade negotiations, would not know those details. His surprise was that Truk would
admit
not knowing. It was rare that a superior would ever admit any shortcoming to a subordinate. Soo appreciated the openness and responded in kind.

“Sir, my brother’s wife was a member of the trade committee on Minith. She reported directly to the Minith Trade Commander.”

“Ah. So she is one of the lost, then.” Truk referred to the millions who vanished with the home world.

“No, Governor. She emigrated to Waa two years ago. She now works as a resource specialist, responsible for ensuring the Waa have the materials they require to continue their work.”

Soo withheld the information that his brother’s wife, Rala, was banished from the home world by the Trade Commander. She was too good at her job and he had used the reassignment as a way of eliminating a competitor.

“Really? I would like to meet with your brother’s mate, General Soo. Can you arrange that?”

“Certainly, Governor. At your convenience.”

“This afternoon, perhaps?”

“Of course. I will speak with her right away.” Soo wondered what he had just gotten Rala involved with. It was evident that Truk had concerns with the trade agreements that were in place.

Of course...

With the destruction of the home planet, the Minith agreements with its partners had to be in jeopardy, which meant that Truk was facing threats from one or more partners. Rala’s experience could be invaluable to him.

Her experience could be invaluable to their entire race.

Suddenly, the task he had been given to replace the forces on Telgora paled in comparison to the larger issues facing his people.

“Sir,” the general spoke lowly and with clarity. “What can I do to assist?”

Governor Truk smiled weakly. He apparently understood that Soo had worked out the issues facing the Minith.

“So, General. You understand our situation?”

Soo nodded once.

“I believe I do, Governor.”

“Excellent. Then you know we face a severe challenge.”

Truk stood from his desk. Soo watched the leader of his race begin to pace.

“That’s why I have called for you, General. Your orders have been changed.”

That got Soo’s attention.

“Yes, sir,” he stated simply.

He was anxious to hear what Truk had in store. Whatever it was, it had to be better than the impossible posting to Telgora.

“We must rebuild our logistics supply capabilities. That is our first priority. I have succeeded in pushing back our delivery dates to all partners by a year, but I fear it will not be enough.”

Truk stopped pacing and turned to face the general squarely.

“If we cannot meet our new deadlines, we must be prepared to defend ourselves. Find a replacement for the Telgora assignment.”

“Yes, Governor.”

“But you are not to tell him about the mothership,” Truk stressed. “Your forces there can still perform the search of the compounds, but there is no need to let anyone else know about the mothership. Is that clear?”

“Yes, Governor.” Soo understood Truk was fighting against an angry population. They wanted answers and revenge. Keeping the mothership under wraps would help stave off demands for action.

“Then I want you to dedicate yourself fully to the protection of our race, General.”

Soo stood straighter. His mind raced with ideas, problems, and solutions. Finally, a challenge worthy of his attention.

“I would be honored, Governor.”

“And General…”

“Sir?”

“I want to turn the tables on our so-called partners. I know our forces are diminished, but we must find a way to conquer them. The Minith will stand in the shadow of no one.”

Soo smiled. He had been thinking the same thing.

General Soo exited the governor’s office in haste. He had much to do, but his first order of business was to speak with Rala. She needed to meet with Truk right away.

Soo knew his brother’s mate would play a vital role in the future of their race. She was an expert at trade, having been involved with most, if not all, of the agreements that had been made between the Minith and their partners over the past ten years. She knew many alien representatives by name. She knew their cultures. Hopefully, she would know how to gain their trust, which was critical. Individuals who trusted you were far easier to defeat than those who did not.

More than anything else, Soo had to caution Rala.

She could never let Truk know that his brother, her mate, was an officer posted to Earth. If the governor knew that detail, he would never trust either of them.

And that would make it much harder to unseat him when the time came.

As he had for the past week, Soo wondered where his brother was, and if he were involved with the destruction of the home world.

It seemed unlikely.

Treel was always such a loyal Minith.

Chapter 25

“So, what you are saying is that they have a single mind?”

“No,” Ceeray explained to Gee. “They have individual minds. They can go about their daily lives with no problem. They can take independent actions. But they also share what you could call a ‘mass mind.’”

“Meaning they can read each other’s minds?” Titan tried to clarify.

“Yes,” the interpreter agreed. “It is remarkable on one hand, but… it seems to hold them back in other ways.”

“What do you mean?” The engineer was always asking questions like that. It was how his mind operated. He was constantly solving problems – trying to understand how things or others worked.

After Titan’s first foray into the Telgoran caves, life on the planet settled into a routine. They had been on the planet for five months and were learning more and more about the Telgorans. They met daily. Besides discussing what they learned, it was a way to cope with living on a planet where they were the only humans. Ceeray understood it was also an opportunity for Titan and Gee to check on her. She had not handled Derk’s death well, she knew.

They sat in the dim light of Titan’s room. The soft glow cast by the cave was perfect. It provided just enough light for Gee and Titan to see Ceeray, while also being dim enough to allow her to see them. The absence of her secondary lids was seldom an issue in the ever-present twilight of the Telgoran tunnels. It was only when she neared the central cavern that the light became too bright for her to see clearly.

At Titan’s request, the Telgorans had placed a bed and three chairs in the space. All were built from the gray metal substance that was the base of their artwork. Gee thought the metal might be agsel or a byproduct of agsel. Although the natives did not use chairs or beds themselves, they were experts at working the metal and had quickly crafted the furniture that the humans described. The pieces were covered with the soft, orange leather of the
ninal
beasts.

Titan had learned that the Telgorans hunted the
ninals,
but only when they needed leather. The beasts were rarely hunted for their meat. The Telgorans considered the meat inferior to the
tatal
tubers they grew in special caves close to the surface. They only ate the meat when
tatal
harvests were low. Otherwise, they used it as fertilizer for their farms.

Ceeray hated the
tatal
. She was glad when Titan had requested—and received—regular, ongoing deliveries of the
ninal
meat. They cooked it over hot metal coals delivered from the southern face of the planet. The Telgorans seemed pleased that they had another outlet for ridding themselves of the
ninal
by-product. It was a win-win.

“The Telgorans make all decisions as a group. Nothing of importance is settled by an individual, or even a group of individuals,” she explained. “It has to be all or nothing. Unanimous or nothing.”

“So that’s why they do that weird nodding thing? They’re making decisions?”

“Exactly. It’s their decision making process.”

“Amazing.” The engineer made his “thinking face” and lifted a thumbnail to his mouth. Titan shook his head and swatted the engineer’s hand. Gee dropped it to his side sheepishly.

“Sorry. Forgot.” He was trying to break his nail-chewing habit. Titan had decided it was his job to help.

Ceeray was amazed that violence had become such a common part of their lives so easily. She knew that living with the daily violence meted out by the Minith for so many years helped in that regard.

So did killing an entire planet of living, sentient beings. Violent beings, but living, sentient beings nonetheless.

And then there was Derk.

Losing him hurt her greatly. So many things had changed.

She shook off the negative thoughts of what had happened and refocused on their conversation.

“Amazing, but also
debilitating
,” Ceeray stressed. “Can you imagine having to gain the approval of an entire race before making a decision? I mean, how do they get by doing that?”

“Think about Telgora,” Gee said. The excitement in his voice was clear. “This planet is a very, very hostile place. Can you imagine how unlikely it is that anything could survive? Much less evolve, as the Telgorans have? Their mass mind helped them evolve.”

Ceeray recognized and appreciated Gee’s insight. He was probably correct and she was thankful that he had such a keen mind.