Koban 6: Conflict and Empire (28 page)

“Shall I call it our mental
flexibility
? They don’t embellish or lie, although they will withhold what they decide not to share. You all know the two we brought with us, Kobalt and Kit, who are the most experienced with mental contact with another species, and are fluent in Standard.

“Another unique thing is that they were the first rippers to ask the Raspani and Torki to design and embed a Comtap, like we Kobani have. For clear differentiation in our thoughts and writings, they will now be described as Komtaps, spelled with a K in Standard, which sounds the same anyway. They already have the databases uploaded of every language we have translations for, which means all of yours, the Olt’kitapi, and now includes the two new ones from the Empire, for the Thandol and Ragnar. Every species we’ve encountered so far can enjoy the same blunt, truthful, and sometimes unflattering words, which we Kobani have been receiving from rippers for decades.”

That caused a ripple of species unique expressions of humor to spread around the room. The lip smacks, head bobs, carapace scratches, laughs, and shoulders shimmied, revealed that those present already had experience with this.

Maggi revealed more of their plan. “Tet and I have spoken with them, and they’ll reveal their frill ability to the Ragnar that we expect to meet in the future, while not sharing with them the fact that some humans have the same ability. They can withhold that information, even if they won’t lie about what we can do.

“If we are willing to be an outside destabilizing force to help the Empire’s security forces, they may be able bring down the Emperor and his Empire, or at least keep them too busy to bother us. If we can foment a successful trio of revolts, that would serve our interests by splitting one vast threatening empire into three smaller entities, with sectors ruled by the Ragnar, the Finth, and the Thack Delos. There might be a fourth region still controlled by the Thandol. They each would need to focus on consolidating power in their own regions, giving us time to breathe, and to strengthen the Federation. Of course, we don’t know if this is possible, but we want to try.”

She looked around the room. “Fellow Feds, what do you think of trying to implement that proposal? Divide and survive.”

A member of the newest species to join the Federation spoke first. She represented a small population of people that had good reason to feel a deep distrust of powerful species having power over them. Toldot Fetra, one of the two newly elected Krall’tapi representatives to the Federation Council on Haven, had recently conducted an intensive study of human history.

She asked a question that clearly revealed her concern. “Isn’t the actual human expression
divide and conquer
?”

It was voiced with a sense of skepticism and distrust. She had just pulled that expression from data stored in a library placed within her new mind enhancer, a device recently implanted by the Raspani for her, and for any of her people that wished to reacquire the expanded memory, and mental link capability the ancient Olt’kitapi had once given them.

She expounded on her question. “Isn’t this merely a means to break up the Empire into easier to defeat individual pieces by the Federation?” It seemed like a logical extrapolation to make, based on her people’s experience with the Krall.

Maggi suppressed her usual impulse to answer with a caustic reply, recognizing where the suspicion originated. “Toldot, did anyone force the Krall’tapi to join the Federation? Were your people threatened, or refused any benefits of our newly developing society if you voted not to join? You and Representative Deldra Holtor were granted participation in discussions when we were forming our constitution, and you both voted to approve the final version of that document, well before your people decided to join the Federation.”

Fetra shivered a left shoulder, in an uncomfortably Krall-like sign of agreement. “True. Yet we were bound by the terms of that constitution, even though not a member of the Federation. How free were we to do as we pleased?”

“Well, for one, you had the right to leave Federation territory if you wished, with our help to reestablish on some distant habitable planet outside of our control. The world where you were held prisoners wasn’t your home world, since that home was also the Krall’s destroyed home. You could also have retained your non-member status where you currently live, to rule yourselves, and even to refuse permission for Federation citizens to live on your world, or from visiting there if you so decided. Of course, you couldn’t have visited any Federation worlds without being invited, if you did that.”

“You would have isolated us from our neighbors. As the Krall isolated us.”

“No, you would be isolating yourselves from your neighbors. You would be restricted from imposing your form of government on other people in the Federation, whatever you decided your government would be, and from imposing your laws on them. Just as we would not be allowed to impose our form of government on you. We granted you the planet where you lived as your possession, but the adjacent planets are Federation territory. You couldn’t colonize them unless you were a Federation member, and you would have to apply for the right to do that, and accept that any other Federation species could also live there, or visit when they wish.

“Now that you are Federation members, the right of access to other citizens applies to your declared home world, as you well know. Any Federation species can visit your world, and even take up residence. The population accords apply, of course, and your present small population will not be swamped with an influx of immigrants, which would dilute your self-rule, within our constitution’s framework.

“The Federation doesn’t have a claim on a single one of the star systems within the Empire, let alone over any of the species that currently live there. We do claim the right to defend ourselves from attacks by anyone. If a species within the Empire, such as the Ragnar, wishes to help us counter the threat the Thandol represents to the Federation, we will accept their help, and in turn help them oppose the Thandol. That doesn’t mean we will demand they join the Federation, or go to war with them to force them to join. That goes against the constitution we all approved.

“When I didn’t say divide and
conquer
, I was expressing our right to survive, and of asking for help to break up an empire that intends our dissolution. That is part of our survival, not of conquering and exploiting pieces of the Thandol Empire. I said exactly what I meant.”

Fetra was still confused about the composition of the invited group present in the conference room. “Only you Kobani, of those in this room, have the temperament and capability to effectively fight the Thandol, or their Ragnar servants. The Prada, Torki, and Raspani have faced an enemy before, but none of them defeated the only aggressor they ever encountered. We Krall’tapi couldn’t resist our own ancestors, even with Olt’kitapi technical assistance. Why were we asked to accompany you to a war zone? Are we expected to
talk
them out of fighting against you?”

Mirikami spoke up, before his wife said something
he’d
regret, but that she would enjoy saying. “Representative Toldot Fetra, how long have the Krall’tapi been a subservient species of the Federation?”

“I…, we…,” she faltered at the confusing question. “I mean, we Krall’tapi are not subservient to anyone. We are free of Krall domination.”

“Then, would you say the other three nonhuman species in the room are subservient to a Kobani Emperor, who rules the Federation on behalf of humanity?”

The questions quickly came into focus for her. “No, none of us are servants to your species, or dominated by the Federation. I was not saying we were. That was not what I asked.”

“I agree with you. Nevertheless, your valuable contribution to the conflict at Tanner’s World, and for the entire conflict with the Thandol Empire, may be to do exactly what your question asked. We do want you to try to
talk
them out of fighting with us.”

She seemed puzzled. “If your missiles and energy beams cannot make them stop fighting, how can my words?”

“Words from you, the Prada, Torki, and Raspani, may be more valuable than all of our weapons.
Because you are not subservient species in the Federation
, as every species in the Empire is, except for the Thandol. Your words and example may be more effective than our fleet of ships.”

Her toothy, Krall-like attempt at a human style grin was no more comforting to observers than was a ripper’s “smile.” Yet it conveyed her new understanding of what her role would be at Tanner’s World, and her willingness to serve in that capacity.

“If you can get them to listen to me, I will speak for my people, to tell the Ragnar that the weakest population of the Galactic Federation has a voice and a role in its government.”

“Thank you. I should add that I don't ask that everything you say to them to be glowing praise of the Federation. I know that I couldn’t compel you to do that even if I tried, and I don't want to try.” He smiled back at her.

“You have a right to mention your dissenting opinion on aspects of specific Federation decisions, which you have freely expressed in previous public discussions. Such as our preserving remnants of the Krall on an isolated planet. I know you prefer they be exterminated for their crimes. You can express that, or any other disagreement with Federation policy, as can any of our representatives of member species.

“This right to dissent and to be heard is a key difference between the Galactic Federation and the Thandol Empire. Such words should have value as an influence on future Ragnar actions, as regards their support of the Empire. I hope we find an opportunity to speak to them with other than our weapons. We’ll know soon, because we’re barely a half an hour from arrival, and they’ll detect our approach at any moment.”

****

“How many are there, and how soon will they arrive?” The acting Space Force Commander sounded annoyed with the sensor specialist who’d linked to him. Messengers carrying bad new were seldom appreciated.

Grudfad had initially responded with even greater snappish irritation, to what he assumed would be another useless gravity target report from his sensor division. Up until now, their inertial mass detections of stealthed enemy ships had repeatedly arrived too late for coordinating fire control or fleet disposition. This was a slippery and elusive foe.

The sensor division had a different type of detection to report this time. More enemy ships were coming. “Sire, they are too tightly clustered to isolate traces for individual ships, but the advance tachyon waves our traps detected suggests a combined mass roughly equivalent to the last fleet of enemy ships to arrive.”

“Another two thousand?” He grunted in disbelief. He’d have considered another two hundred to be bad news. The technician gave him a time-to-arrival that didn’t leave Grudfad long to plan a response either.

Not that I can create any practical plan to fight twice as many of these berserkers
, he thought sourly. He knew what he had to do, and he linked to Thond to tell him.

“Sire, a second fleet of enemy ships is inbound for this world. The advance tachyon wave reveals that it represents a mass equivalent to their previous reinforcement fleet, which consisted of 2,000 of their Ravager equivalent warships.”

Thond replied to him gruffly, displaying less respect than his Acting Space Force Commander thought he deserved. “Lieutenant, they’ve proven to be a very deceptive foe. That new force might consist mainly of those giant ships the crabs build, which are not combat craft, and a just a few of them could be loaded with water, to emulate the mass you infer is present. The enemy wants you to retreat. Do you even know if they have two thousand more captured clanships to send? That would mean they have significantly more warships equivalent to our Ravagers than we have. Where have they been for the other raids?” He knew exactly where Grudfad was leading.

“No, Sire,” his second in command admitted. “We can’t confirm what class of ships these are, but we have not seen any other type of Federation warship. Sending the giant crab ships wouldn’t fool us after the White Out. Not even if they possess the same advanced stealth systems, and can prevent a gamma ray burst. Their large mass concentration would register quickly on our Thandol sensors. We can’t accuse this enemy of being stupid, and they certainly know we are not.”

Thond, to give himself a moment to think, avoided the real subject of Grudfad’s call with a brief diversion. “The additional Hoths have joined our four infantry groups. Did the Spears evade damage as we hoped?”

“They Jumped in and out, nearly as fast as do the Federation ships when they attack us. The enemy reacted by Jumping near to where they had been, but they were too late to launch an attack on them. The Hoths promptly descended deep into the atmosphere, evidently their smaller size and high numbers catching the enemy atmospheric defenses by surprise. The Hoths reached your ground forces before the heavy atmospheric missiles could even get aloft, and their normal aircraft could not face a faster Hoth, having a Normal Space drive.”

Thond, whose mind had been racing, saw no advantage to his present predicament by prevaricating. Time was too short. “What are you going to do, Space Force Commander?” Using this title, rather than his rank of Force Lieutenant Commander, he acknowledged Grudfad’s primary responsibility to the Space Force element.