15: Crushing the Enemy

I refuse to accept the view that mankind is
so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war
that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood
can never become a reality...
I believe that unarmed truth and
unconditional love will have the final word.

Martin Luther King, Jr.

Once back aboard their shuttle, Gary fired up the engine and headed back to their ship, as Al sought to reassure everyone.

‘Completed the negotiations. Everything’s a go. As soon as we get back onboard, we can get out of here and hopefully lower Yitzl’s blood pressure a few points.’

He’d no sooner than finished the message, when Yitzl reconnected.

‘Al, you need to organize your people. The problem is deeper than we suspected. The failure of the one sensor evidently produced feedback, damaging some of the internal cables running through the ship.’

‘I just spoke with them,’ Al assured him. ‘They’ve isolated the trouble, though as you suggested, getting to it is problematic. It’ll take a little more time, but not that much more.’

‘We’ve already been stranded here for much too long. We’re sitting ducks.’

‘Not really. You have your sensors working again. They just aren’t as reliable as we’d like. However, it’s better we resolve it now, than once we’re engaged in a battle. Either way, the sensors will pick up any new ships in the region, and you can still escape without any immediate risks. As far as anyone discovering us, I’m not picking up any threats, so I’m satisfied we’re in the clear. Once we get underway, we’ll be better than ever.’

‘You’re awfully confident.’

‘I know and trust my people, and they’re keeping me informed. They just didn’t want to report to the bridge until they had a definitive answer, afraid of worrying you if additional problems cropped up. However, that’s unlikely at this point.’

‘That must be nice. What’s the current timeline?‘

‘It’s difficult to be specific. Since the area they need to access is much too small for our engineers to manage, they sent Chich’k in, a new addition to our group. Once she traveled as far as she could, she used her companion, Smurl’k, who’s not only smaller, but is fluid with no hard body structures. She can get into areas no one else can without excessive effort. What would normally take weeks only takes her a short time. Unfortunately, Smurl’k isn’t terribly communicative, so we won’t know how long it’ll be until it’s done.’

‘Well, as much as I don’t like not having solid time estimates, knowing it’s under control and being addressed is the next best thing. Isn’t Chich’k one of my people?‘

‘She is. One of the people your crew sidelined into unimportant jobs where the paired warrior class wouldn’t have to see them. If you had to depend on them, you’d be stuck indefinitely.’

‘You don’t have to remind me how extraordinary your people are, I’m well aware of it. You manage to motive my people to heights I’d thought were unimaginable only a few short weeks ago.

‘If they’re so close to finishing, you should probably head back to the bridge so we’ll be ready to depart.’

‘I would, but I want to be there when my people finish. Part of inspiring quality work is acknowledging it. My people don’t demand much, so I’m not going to stiff them on the one thing which bests motivates them.’

“You think he bought it?” Gary asked.

“Definitely. Although I wasn’t there to babysit him, as far as he knows, I was encouraging my people to resolve the issue faster than his ever could. He may be upset at the moment, but in his eyes, we just pulled his ass out of the fire.”

Al held his finger by his ear—mostly as a signal to Gary that he was still conversing. ‘Myi? I want you to see if you can discover who among the crew has been collecting trophies.‘

‘Trophies?‘ she asked.

‘Specifically, the skulls of deceased Zssizliq. It’s something they’re very aware of, and which paints all Tandorians in a bad light. I want to put a stop to it, but in order to, I need to make an example of someone.‘

‘I’ll see what I can find. We know a lot of ex-warriors who’ve been sidelined after losing their partners, hopefully we can find some associations that way.‘

“It’s about time you showed up, I’m glad you finally deigned to visit us,” Captain Yitzl complained as Al casually strolled back onto the bridge. The rest of the crew were waiting for him. “Everything came fully on line a few minutes ago. Whatever you were doing, worked. The systems seem to be functioning better than ever.”

“I was just thanking my people, inspecting and admiring their work. It’s why I also take part in our daily exercise and training regimes—well, aside from keeping myself in prime fighting shape that is. It keeps everyone on their toes, knowing I not only can see and approve their efforts, but that I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty, either.”

“Maybe I should start participating?”

“That’s your decision, but it wouldn’t hurt. If you did, your crew would be more likely to join in, too. We already have a lot of people joining us, but we’ve got spare training centers. It wouldn’t take much to put them all into operation, especially if we rotate practice schedules.”

“It wouldn’t hurt getting into better shape,” Yitzl admitted, poking his belly. “I’ve noticed the way those working with you carry themselves. They respond quicker, possess more confidence and are excited about their work and their futures.”

“If we get everyone involved—regardless of rank, marital or social status—soon you’ll have the most professional crew in the entire fleet. Trust me, even the high command at Tandora aren’t this motivated.”

“All right, let’s get out of this zone. We’ve been here a long time, and haven’t seen any sign of other ships. We’re unlikely to encounter any by waiting even longer.”

“Before we do, part of why I left early was to recenter myself. Aside from anticipating unexpected dangers, I was able to anticipate which destinations are more likely to involve risk. If you’re ready for a real fight, I can probably provide an actual conflict for us fight.”

“Damn right, I’m ready. The sooner we find the Zssizliq, the faster we can verify your claims and return to safer regions. I’m not comfortable being this far from home. While it’s difficult to engage in combat while traveling faster than light, it’s not unheard of.”

“Good,” Al said before turning and rattling off the coordinates of a new undocumented system. “When I considered the spot, I registered a significant danger, so I backed off enough so the risks weren’t quite as high. But we’ll want to be prepared.”

“Alert me before we reach the region,” Yitzl warned, “so I can notify the crew. I’m sure everyone is as ready for this to be over as we are. I want our forces in battle armor and in their fighters when we arrive.”

“Will do Captain,” the navigator assured him.

“So please, tell us how these sensors failed and how you repaired them. If we can anticipate these issues, we may be able to head them off in the future.”

“Attention everyone,” Captain Yitzl announced, his voice echoing throughout the ship. “We’re preparing to arrive at our destination, and we’re anticipating a hostile reception. We hope to catch any enemy ships by surprise, so everyone must be ready to respond immediately. I want the crew in their attack crafts, suited up in protective gear and fully armed. This might quickly degrade into direct hand-to-hand shipboard combat.

“We’ve been preparing for war, and this is our first chance to test just how prepared we are. How you perform today could very well determine how the entire military Tandorian forces train in the future. The entire Empire will be impacted by our performance here. Even if many of us don’t survive, your actions will reverberate throughout the Empire. This battle is bigger than just this one assault. It represents the fate of our war with the Zssizliq. Let’s make Tandor proud of our actions, and eager to follow our lead in this upcoming encounter.”

“Let’s just hope there’s someone to fight once we arrive,” Yitzl added after ending his speech.

Before Al could defend himself, Albrechzkl—who was on the bridge to observe the outcome of Al’s prediction about what they were likely to encounter—spoke up.

“Actually, having taken Al’s advice to sit quietly, empty my mind and allow the future to fill me, I concur with his opinion. I’m convinced we will face opposition, and it’ll occur soon after we appear. His impressions about where to enter the system makes the most sense, too. At first glance, the selected site didn’t stand out as threatening. I’m learning a tremendous amount by studying under him.”

“Believe me, we all are. Even if we don’t encounter anyone this time, we’re still way ahead. We’ll undoubtedly stumble upon them soon, but I’m afraid the crew’s enthusiasm might dip if this particular case doesn’t bear out.”

“Trust me, I’ve never insisted I know how things will turn out, only that I see what’s likely to happen. I think the crew realizes the limitations of precognition. Your people are enthused because they are allowed to participate, and have their decisions and actions appreciated and respected. As long as that continues, their dedication to their tasks will continue, even if we encounter setbacks.”

“You mean like a disastrous battle with the enemy?”

“Well, assuming we survive, then yes, even that.”

“We’ve arrived,” the navigator declared.

“Initiating rapid deceleration,” the officer in charge of the faster-than-light engines announced.

“There’s a large Zssizliq vessel ahead of us, as predicted,” Groxxl, the sensor monitor said, as a view of the region appeared on the wall before them.

‘There’s a smaller, active ship sitting a short distance from the inactive one, ‘ the One informed Al.

Al and his people bit their lips, pressing their nails into their palms as they squeezed their fists, so when the Zssizliq mental scan struck, they never flinched as everyone else grabbed their heads, groaning.

As the scan dissipated and everybody recovered, refocusing on the display again, things accelerated.

“They’re firing!” The ship’s military commander declared.

“Return fire,” Yitzl ordered.

The single Zssizliq shot passed them by harmlessly, while theirs struck the ship dead on. Actually, only one shot hit, the other two missed it entirely. However, the sensor readings, including the full-wall display of the action, were entirely constructed by the One in real time. It didn’t really matter how they’d targeting the enemy vessel, the One modified the readings so the shots would target the areas they wanted anyway.

The single shot which struck the ship produced a small explosion. Yet it triggered a more massive one as their reactors exploded. Everyone’s eyes were temporarily blinded by the brilliant flash—aside from Al’s, of course, since he knew to look away. The other two false shots also hit, providing smaller explosions.

“Prepare another volley,” Yitzl ordered.

“They’re ... trying to contact us,” Zita reported, broadcasting the message to the entire bridge.

“Please! We’re incapacitated. We surrender!” a Zssizliq voice announced, in heavily accented Zssizliq.

“Uh...” Yitzl hedged, unprepared for such a response. “Stand couch as tired worms,” he ordered in badly pronounced nonsense, unable to remember his prior, but little-used training in the Zssizliq language.

“Power down your shields as a sign of good will,” Al said in nearly perfect Zssizliq.

“Our vessel is no longer habitable. Our life support systems are non-functional. We’re abandoning ship, but don’t wish to be fired upon as we flee. Our evacuation shuttles don’t contain weaponry, only enough energy to sustain life for a limited period.”

“Begin the evacuation,” Al ordered, the entire conversation unfolding too fast for those observing to catch more than a few stray phrases. “We will watch to ensure you don’t launch any attack vessels.” He paused a moment, as if considering something. “Are you able to send a distress signal?”

“Our power died when the reactor exploded,” the enemy officer declared, the sounds of distress and aliens clamoring echoing in the background. Various escape capsules were shown launching away from the Zssizliq ship.

Al hesitated briefly, glancing at Captain Yitzl before continuing.

“Give us the coordinates to send a distress call. Once we ensure there’s no further risk, we’ll retreat so they can rescue you.”

Their Zssizliq contact paused, then relayed a complex set of coordinates. Without waiting for authorization, Zita entered the information, opening a channel.

“Are you sure that’s wise?” the security officer asked.

“The Zssizliq don’t communicate with us, because they consider us barbaric animals unworthy of trust,” Al argued. “By allowing them basic first aid, we help to reverse that underlying distrust, and hopefully allow our crews to surrender in the future. This one small action stands to potentially save tens-of-thousands of lives.”