3.2.
The Yonohoan ships blurred into place in orbit around a blue marble of a plent, the third rock from the sun. They squawked out their identity over the radio waves, announcing their presence in the star system, followed by their intentions.
They were relief ships, here to help Earth recover in the wake of the disastrous second battle between Earth and the Rosantean Empire.
They had been invited in by the military authority, and their presence was expected.
The fleet interrogated them further, just to make certain that this wasn’t a Rosantean ploy.
Aboard the flagship that his sworn brother had given him, Diego Cruz confirmed the identity of the relief ships and signaled to his fleet that they truly were Yonohoan vessels here to help.
It had been six days since the battle, and Western Europe was still dark after being hit by the EMP like Kirata beam. Thousands of people had died when plains, cars, and other vehicles had abruptly quit working, resulting in disastrous accidents. More had died since then.
Earth was struggling to recover from the orbital bombardment of. She had been wounded, and at night the lack of city lights was apparent from orbit.
But compared to many of the weapons which might have been used, the people of Earth had been lucky that it was only a Kirata beam. Their technology was useless as anything except for a paperweight, but they remained alive.
Most of them.
Diego watched as the ships broke apart into smaller ships, leaving behind only the carrier frame. The individual shuttles spread out and went for atmospheric landing. The soldiers who had come aboard those shuttles had been trained centuries ago, he knew. They had dedicated their lives to the service of humanity, and they were not ready to put down their calling yet.
So they waited, in stasis, in a perpetual state of readiness.
Waiting for the next war.
A war that the Rosanteans had started when they broke intergalactic law by bombarding the surface of Earth.
Those soldiers would help the local governments restore order and rebuild. Then they would return to the stars, and rather than helping people, they would bring pain to the Rosanteans.
Diego wished that he could feel good about that, but all he felt was sorrow.
His people, both the people of Earth to whom he had been born and the Yonohoans who had adopted him in a sacred brotherhood ceremony with one of their most significant living figures, were marching to war.
~~~~~~~
Captain Ji-eun Moon and Captain Anthony Anders stood at attention as the ceremony drew to a close. They were aboard a space station which had been built in orbit around Mars by the Yonohoans, which was one of the few locations aside from Earth itself for official functions might occur. Two representatives of the press, embedded reporters, had been present. Moon and Anders had both just been commended for their actions during the Second Battle for Earth.
“Glad you survived,” Captain Moon said to her former XO. They hadn’t been in the same room together since she had left to complete the science mission of the Seeker of New Discoveries aboard the Toormonda ship that the Yonohoans had gifted them, which she had named The Keeper of Dreams .
That seemed so long ago, but it was really only a few weeks since they had come back. But they were some of the most pivotal weeks in human history.
Or at least, human history on Earth.
“You too,” Anders admitted. “Although to be honest I didn’t do much. I simply instructed my communications officer to continue making yo momma jokes at them until they suffered mental breakdowns.”
“That was clever. I’m surprised that they were so vulnerable to such simple tactics,” Captain Moon commented.
“It’s nothing compared to your accomplishments. Taking control of a ship that hasn’t even been rated for human occupation yet and destroying two of the enemy vessels,” Anders objected.
Moon shook her head. “The Yukopan ships are rated for combat. You’re running around a battlefield with a camera attached to a magic alien school bus. You’ve got balls of steel, Anders, and you deserve this medal.”
“So do you,” he commented. “Back at your post for two days before the battle and you played a pivotal role in the combat. How does your boyfriend feel about that?”
“He’s still pissy that I re-upped without talking it over with him first. I think we might be over. I’m not certain. I don’t want to call it off with him, but I wouldn’t blame him at all for saying we’re through” Captain Moon said. “How about you? Any romances in your life?”
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“I’ve found that my duty leaves little time for a love life, to be honest. I hope that your boyfriend sees a way to forgive you, but if you’re unwilling to stand aside in this conflict then I understand why he would prefer to move on. A clean break is sometimes the best solution,” Anders said.
“I know. I’m dreading the possibility that we’re ordered to take the Yukopan vessels and raid Rosantean space, you know? It will be hard enough maintaining a long-distance relationship from within the solar system,” she said, sighing. “You heard anything about the captives we pulled out of their wreckage?”
“They’ve apparently all vowed to cooperate with our POW laws. When we informed them of their rights upon their surrender they were very reassured,” Anders answered. “They’ve supposedly cooperated with the attempts to debrief them. None of them are from the ship that fired on Earth, and none of them know whether it was an accident or not. Or so they claim. But according to our Yonohoan friends they’re also not enhanced, so they’re being held in a standard prison facility for now.”
“Scary to think of what might have happened if the salvage crews would have arrived a few days later,” she commented. The Rosantean wrecks disabled by her own ship, a Yukopan vessel that she had named The Other Shoe , had been marked as killed by her software, but they had in fact been merely disabled by their Kirata beam.
Including the life support systems. The air had been pretty thin by the time the Earth Space Force’s crews had arrived to pry open the doors of the vessels, and the crew of the Rosantean wrecks had meekly surrendered.
“Nice touch of them, letting Lisa Desmond give that speech,” Captain Moon asked.
“You don’t think it’s opportunistic using her as a symbol for this war?” Anders asked.
“It is, but she wants vengeance for her husband. If they didn’t use her in an official capacity then she’d be a loose cannon. Better to keep ‘The Widow of Earth’ under control by making her an official part of the propaganda machine,” Captain Moon suggested calmly.
“I understand it. I don’t like it but I understand it. A part of me is annoyed that ‘Captain Kirk’ has become such a symbol when hundreds of men and women died with the first skirmish, not just him. But I understand it,” Anders said, sighing. “It’s been good to talk with you again, Captain. I’m going to go try some of the crab-jello they’re serving. Diego said it’s good.”
Anders wandered off, and Captain Moon looked down at the commendation that she’d been awarded.
She understood the necessity of taking part in the ceremony, but she’d feel better once she was back on her Yukopan vessel and continuing with the integration exercises to get Earth ready for the next possible wave of invaders.
~~~~~~
The Yonohoans in the Korjakala ship, Tumbaruna Toko , which literally meant ‘very deep inside’, but in a slightly inappropriate way that allowed it to be used in a very dirty joke, all came out of stasis at the same time as their ship’s AI received notification from the government that the situation in the Rosantean Empire meant that it was no longer safe to play Korjakala among the stiff-necked authoritarian region.
They were a little surprised. Ten years ago they had pretended to be from a darkworld just beyond the disk of the galaxy in one of the stars that had been flung out of the milky way. They had enjoyed the confusion that their antics had caused, and they’d managed to get thirty of the Empire’s Enforcer class ships following them before they’d abruptly engaged their real stealth systems, as opposed to the one that was designed to make the ship invisible but even more easy to track to every other sensor system.
It had been fun, and they had agreed to wait twenty years in stasis before trying it again.
Now, the young men and women, who had spent more time in stasis than they had been alive, were swiftly reviewing the information that their government had sent them.
A darkworld had been found. Named Earth, it was one of the most culturally rich worlds to have emerged into the universe in millennia. The Rosantean Empire had attempted a meat-fisted grab in order to expand their territory, and the Earthlings had beaten them back twice.
But the parting shot of the Rosanteans had struck the beautiful planet. In outrage, the Yonohoan government had declared war.
Which meant that the time for the playful Korjakal was over.
The crew of the Toko met in the flesh in the bridge. The humans and Topokans both discussed their options. They could either return home…
Or…
“Where is the nearest shipyard of the Rosanteans?” one of the peers of the ship inquired.
“According to the information that we have, there is a manufacturing ring twelve light years away,” another peer said.
The first among peers saw what his friends were thinking and nodded. He was thinking the same. “We are far behind enemy lines, my friends. If we leave for safety, I am certain we will make it. Or we can use this opportunity to strike a blow into the heart of those who would use an orbital strike on an inhabited planet and teach them that they are not as safe from retribution as they believe.”
“We are not part of the military,” one of the peers objected. “We were just playing Korjakala.”
“Korjakala is many things, and it we have been in service of our people since we began. We may think of it as a game, but it is also a perpetual state of readiness to ensure that we are ready to act should the treaties be broken,” The first among peers reminded them. “Nobody will shame us if we turn back now. But if we strike at the heart of the empire, even if we die or are captured, then we will be seen as heroes.”
The room was quiet as the Yonohoans considered the matter. The Topokans shifted about nervously, waiting to see what the humans would decide. Whatever it was, the Topokans would fall into line with their allies. Where the Yonohoans led, the Topokans followed.
Abruptly all of the Yonohoans stepped forward.
“It is decided,” the first among peers declared. “Let us send our decision to the military and see if they have any targets for us to strike more rich than those we can find on our own.”