General Wellku of the Rychii leaned into the shadowy figure standing at the edge of the room. “The Premier will give in to these ruthless thieves, my friend. I can feel it. Even now his resolve weakens and the future of the Rychii begins to look like those of the slave worlds of Ryooku. How could any of them actually believe the Given? Ships as big as a moon, the power to turn off every communicator on the planet, and who knows what else? But they would come to help us? Educate us? And now this military whatever he is would even tribute us? They have something in mind but “helping” is not on the list I don’t think. But we are far from defeated. What we lack in weaponry, we’ll need to make up in guile and ruthlessness. Anything less would be to hand our world, our legacy and our future to a new master and none of us plan on doing that just yet. We don’t need to beat them, just drive them back, loosen their grip, make them feel we are not worth the trouble. Have we figured out a way to start up their ships?”
“Not quite, but I have all my best engineers working on it. These are complex systems, centuries beyond anything we have seen before, but we’ve been studying the device retrieved from the one sent back and know how he used it. A biocracker is the term we’ve heard being thrown around by the prisoners. My chief thinks we may be able to leverage this against them.”
“Very good, but we are running out of time. The Given will be on the surface in hours and we need to be ready. As soon as the General meets with his soldiers, the plan has to be set in motion. Do you have everything you require?”
“We do, but you would still risk letting the General address the prisoners, Wellku? It could be the last move we make as free men since you must know the General will be seeking blood payback for the insult of losing his soldiers. If he somehow acquires any inside information, it won’t be long before he comes for you.”
Wellku smiled. “That’s exactly what we want, my friend. By doing so, the General will set in motion a chain of events that has been meticulously planned for months and his anger and need for revenge will be his undoing. It may not happen the way you are expecting but the Given will regret their arrogance and insults.”
***
Jehz and the General arrived on the surface of Rychii with high expectations that they could build on the momentum created by the recent conversation with the Vice Premier. The General put their progress down to the show of force and Jehz to his speech with the not-so-subtle compliments, but both saw an opening for possible success with the Rychii had been created. Should the talks proceed productively, they could be at the forefront of solving a very difficult diplomatic situation without further loss of life and claim a significant professional achievement. An achievement that would not be taken lightly when evaluations were done and promotions were being handed out. The Given hierarchy did not have time for resistant planets, they were an incredible resource waste, and managing thousands of planets was a difficult task for a single people. Those that could make this sort of complication disappear were prized and revered.
To smooth things over and save the hundreds of Given still under Rychii control would require walking a fine line of projecting strength while providing the Rychii with the deference and praise they seemed to desire so deeply. The early rounds of talks went well. While involving mostly midlevel diplomatic types, they seemed responsive to Jehz’s consistent message of safety and sharing mixed with a focus on the Rychii strength and resiliency. He found stressing the similarities between the Given and Rychii to be especially well received. The General remained somewhat detached, ceding control to Jehz, clearly focused on strategy as he asked to be escorted around while projecting the airs of a tottering elder statesmen who sincerely wanted nothing more than to understand his host’s culture and history as much as possible. His plan was to project goodwill and passively accumulate the political benefits of progress while his gun hand lay comfortably on the trigger, waiting for the situation to deteriorate. Either way, the General planned to come out of this mess better than when he came in.
Dorz’s staff were allowed to join them on the planet surface after a couple days. Short trips in sealed suits were all that was allowed but it seemed to be enough to begin breaking down the barriers that had quickly gone up when talks had destabilized on the earlier mission. Nearly all the Liddo staff felt real progress was being made and it wouldn’t be long before their captive brothers and sisters were returned to them and they were making the journey home, another successful protection established. In the end, it seemed destined to go down as one of their more curious and confusing ventures with the banishment and kidnapping but nearly all missions were strange in their own way.
Isolated planet cultures were deeply idiosyncratic even to galaxy bounding travelers like the Given and foreign customs and traditions were notoriously difficult to assimilate in the brief time they had on planet. Throw in the added aspect of how their appearing suddenly in the sky and “offering” their protection often forced out additional oddities and loosened poorly patched societal cracks and it was a wonder these situations held together at all. Oftentimes the only reason they did was the Liddo willingness to be cast in the role of peacemaker and mediator before their diplomatic duties were discharged. It was a path the senior Liddo had traveled many times though none could envision the dark turn the event of Rychii were about to take.
After a week of regular though minor diplomatic victories, the General was finally granted the request, originally suggested by a Wellku agent, to address the three hundred soldiers being held at one of the facilities nearby. He had been tempted by the opportunity since arriving, knowing it would be an excellent way to both pick up the morale of the troops and develop a potential rescue plan should one be required. The General hid his eagerness well and modestly thanked his hosts for the offer. He then quickly set about arming himself with every piece of surveillance tech he thought could be safely smuggled in.
Arriving at the facility, the General noticed immediately the lack of heavy security in areas other than the outer fence. His soldiers roamed freely, mixing with Rychii guards, building their relationships and formulating their resistance exactly as they were trained to do. The Rychii response was more curious. Were they allowing this kind of contact with their soldiers on purpose, aware of how the Given would try to exploit the situation as prisoners and training them to resist or counter measure? Were they perhaps unaware? The Rychii had little experience with imprisoning enemy soldiers, their planet being largely isolated and the mostly shared culture of their history seeming to suggest an almost familial handling of captured soldiers was expected. Or were they somehow steps ahead, playing the backwater cousin while slyly extracting all the intelligence they could to support some greater initiative. There seemed to be a deeper truth to the Rychii the Given were struggling to perceive, their motivations remaining murky and not easily categorized among the common goals typical of protected people. The General had come to respect them for their uniqueness and the cultural identity that played such a strong role in defining it. Jehz was clever for recognizing the similarities between the cultures and stressing it during the negotiation discussion. The Rychii were indeed very much like the Given and he knew they would all need to be careful in thinking the situation was contained or they might end up facing their own version of the Awakening. There was a heavy air of danger about these Rychii that was deeply unsettling.
When the time came, the General strode onto the stage and delivered a strong message of hope, strength, and sacrifice to his soldiers. He was reassured by their high morale and resilience. Meeting with his senior officers, he knew they were unaware of the tragedy aboard the transport and decided not to tell them, not wanting to jeopardize the delicate peace with details of the Rychii deception.
Later that evening, as the General settled into bed, relieved and hopeful, a gloved hand engaged a biocracker and entered the cockpit of a Given transport stored in the hangar near the Given prison visited by the General earlier that day. As the transport lifted off, a Rychii soldier struggled to strap a captive Given prisoner into a jump seat. “Why are you doing this?” the Given soldier demanded. “It will serve nothing but to bring the force of the Given army to bear on your planet and mark the moment your destruction was guaranteed. ”
“Don’t be so sure of our demise, invader. Maybe it will instead be the day you and your brothers and sisters and your precious General are exposed as the murderous lunatics that you are. It is what you Given worship so dearly is it not, the death and destruction of all you come across? You shall get your fill then today, invader, and then some.”
The Rychii maneuvered the ship through a dead zone in the surveillance field created by Wellku’s agent and opened fire on the Given barracks. The captive Given soldier looked on in terror as the buildings exploded and his fellow soldiers ran screaming from the barracks with fire consuming them. For their last act, the Rychii soldier piloting the ship stood up and calmly killed his comrade with a stolen Given weapon. He then freed the Given soldier, put restraints on his own wrists, and turned the weapon on himself. The Given prisoner instinctively ran to the pilot’s seat, not knowing what to do and scrambled to get the ship under control. After stabilizing the ship, it suddenly dawned on the Given solder what this would look like should he be recaptured. Panicking, he fired up the engines but before he could attempt an escape, he was surrounded by Rychii fighters and forced to the ground under a barrage of anti-aircraft fire.
***
Rumors of the attack spread quickly through the camp and surrounding communities and the possibility that a Given soldier had gone berserk and killed hundreds of his own brothers and sisters was met with horror and disbelief by locals and prisoners alike. General Wellku monitored the spread of the news carefully from a control room behind his main office and when he felt the reaction had reached an acceptably concerned pitch and reach, he turned to his assistant and nodded. “Notify the Vice Premier, Major. We are bringing the General in for a briefing.” Wellku felt surprisingly calm given what was at stake and the delicate nature of his plan. The Gods are on our side against these filthy intruders who would seek to destroy our way of life, Wellku thought to himself. He could feel it in his bones, knew in his heart it was true, and he smiled a deep weary smile. Who would have thought the humiliation of the Given arrival would turn into the opportunity of a lifetime.
Stolen from its original source, this story is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
All will know I was the one who defeated the mighty Given. Amid the desperation and hand wringing, only Wellku had a plan that could succeed in turning them away. He was the one who could protect the Rychii, the one who should lead the Rychii forward. Finally, all would see it. They would have to. Civillian control of the Rychii government had been a tragic mistake, one that had almost lost them everything. That could now be made clear and he, Wellku, was the one who could correct it all, reclaim the lost glory and might of the Rychii military and with that the pride they had all lost when the gun and sword had been traded for the ball and stick of the games.
Wellku could hear the commotion in the outer hall, knew the General had arrived and he sat and listened. He could hear the anger rising in the General’s voice, knew the time would soon be here when the General would be primed for what was coming next. Wellku could barely contain his anticipation, but he forced himself to sit and wait as the General roared with both the insult of the day’s events and being ordered to wait for his audience.
Finally Wellku rose to meet the General, the mighty commander who feigned incompetence while trying to discover the inner workings of the Rychii defense. The General might have fooled the politicians but not his spies, thought Wellku. This man was a war machine through and through. He could see it even if no one else could. But I am one step ahead, thought Wellku, always one step ahead.
“General, welcome,” said Wellku, sweeping his arm toward the large chair in front of his desk. “I wish we could have met under better circumstances, but today is a sad day for all of us.”
“I assume this is about the security failure at the prison camp?” asked the General, “and if so why wasn’t I called through official channels? This is a delicate operation, General Wellku and I may not be the right man if you are looking for someone to intimidate or a sympathetic partner in concocting some out of band scheme.” He stared coldly at Wellku, looking for a sign he had knowledge of the kidnapping and attacks. “You might be better served working with our Liddo partners on whatever you have in mind.”
“Oh I think you are the right man, General, quite sure of it. Please let me share what we know so far. Tonight at 0807, a Given soldier, one of yours, escaped from Camp Alpha, took two Rychii hostages and stole a Given transport. His movements were quickly identified by our defense team onsite and his escape routes blocked but he then did a most unusual thing, something quite unexpected. He reversed course and proceeded to open fire on the Given barracks, his own people. Your people. Most unpleasant. I’m being told upwards of 200 casualties, including the Rychii on board. A shocking affair, General, absolutely shocking and you have to wonder what could possibly motivate someone to do such a thing. It would be astounding to hear this story about a common madman, but a highly trained military officer? It bogles the mind, does it not?
“Your people of course have my deepest sympathies and I’m sorry to be the bearer of such bad news, but it gets worse I’m afraid. After being captured and questioned, this Given soldier is stating under oath that he had direct orders to commit the atrocity from senior Musa leadership. The purpose of the mission apparently was to escalate a war between our people and sabotage the negotiations that I’m given to understand were going so well. A budding partnership is forming, one that we all believe in. All but some of the Musa leadership it would seem. You wouldn’t have any idea who might have given the order, do you General? If we could find them quickly there is a chance all of this could be smoothed over still. Of course, we tried to question the prisoner, but he committed suicide using some kind of poison implant. We were helpless to stop him.” Wellku gazed across the desk with the most concerned face he could muster, the face he used when attending the funeral of a political opponent he despised but could not be seen openly disrespecting.
The General rolled his eyes at the audacity of the Rychii’s bad acting, wondering if was trying to fool him or only make it appear he was doing so. “I am fully aware of the events, Wellku, though your version would seem to be open to challenge. Do you have visual confirmation of the escape and kidnapping? Such an attempt would be a desperate and deranged errand and one no Given soldier would take under the circumstances. There seems to be more than meets the eye here.”
“We are searching the camera data now, General, but I can assure you multiple eye witnesses have confirmed my version of events.”
“Were any of them not under your command? This is all highly irregular Wellku, so why not just tell me what your real play is here. You try to frame one of my soldiers for massacring his own and then insult me by pretending you are simply calling me in for a courtesy briefing. Since it was you that sought me out when protocol on both sides would suggest another path, I assume there is something you want. You might simply let me know what that is and stop wasting both of our time. The walls are closing in Wellku, and it might not be just your head being crushed. If I were you, I would share everything I know about this nefarious plot and perhaps you and your conspirators will still have rank the end of it all, or at least your lives.”
Wellku looked at the General, surprised at his aggression and how quickly he had seemingly seen through the charade. He had to be bluffing, there was no way he could be sure of the truth in his words, was there? Wellku decided to press on. “You openly insult me General, but given the tragedy of the day and the obvious discomfort you must be in due to the circumstances, I will let this pass but do watch yourself. Remember you are still a guest here. Rychii is not under your control as yet nor will it be anytime soon. So yes, the walls are closing in General, but I wouldn’t be so quick to say on who.”
“It is clear someone, almost surely in the Musa organization, would do anything to undermine this peace, this new opportunity for the Given and Rychii to move forward and forge a new understanding. I can’t say why, revenge for your fallen soldiers some would guess, but with your sloppy leadership, I’m thinking this type of loss must be a regular event for you so admittedly that doesn’t make a lot of sense or you’d be killing natives by the hundreds all across the galaxy. But wait, you already do that don’t you? My goodness it is all so confusing, it’s really hard to tell exactly what the Given are and why they do what they do isn’t it? Do they kill for power, for control, to steal or just for fun? Not even the Given really know, do they?” Wellku walked from behind his desk and moved close to the General, provoking him as he leaned close in. “In the end, it really doesn’t matter why I suppose, you just kill don’t you? Well, to prevent further intrigue and reduce the risk of additional Given prisoners falling under the same strange spell that somehow possessed our first attacker, all remaining civilian Given prisoners have been moved to an off-planet location. I’m told there is some risk due to their condition, but we can’t protect them here. We are too vulnerable to your advanced tech. Should we somehow find the culprit who hatched this despicable plot, so much unpleasantness could be avoided. Including your questioning by the Vice Premier’s head of security within the hour.” Wellku held his gaze as the General’s eyes widened with surprise. “Oh, did I not tell you about that. So sorry, it was hastily arranged but quite necessary under Rychii law. Nationally broadcast, also by law, to all leadership centers as well but we can arrange an advisor for you if that would help. Now about that name that gave the order. The questioning would go much smoother for you if we could demonstrate some cooperation on your part.”
“I think we both know the name Wellku. Why you would risk everything for this plan is beyond me. You can’t possibly win. We could tear this planet apart, set your people back 200 years and walk away without any regret. We would not want to lose even a single Given life in the process, but we have lost people before and all understand we have a larger purpose, something a petty little power grabber like yourself wouldn’t know anything about. Be very, very careful with your next decision or you will find your cowardice will set a heavy price that will need to be paid by your ambition.”
Wellku had planned this day knowing the General could be provoked and thinking he would not accept the insult of being opening lied to about the attack but he had underestimated him. The General seemed quite aware of what Wellku was trying to do and quite in control of himself, but Wellku could not let that ruin the plan. While it would have pleased him to see the General enraged and out of control, turning the tables and attacking the General would do just as well so he decided to improvise. Wellku feigned outrage, grabbed the General by the collar and yanked him out of his chair. As they tussled, Wellku was able to wipe a clear gel containing the bioagent on the air supply of the General’s sealed suit. At nearly the same moment, the General was able to attach two Given micro trackers to Wellku’s wrist and neck. The guards rushed in to separate the men and as they were being pulled away, both felt satisfied the meeting had gone as planned.
The General was quickly escorted to the outer chamber. Dorz was already there looking alarmed and clearly thinking the General had gone off plan. “Don’t worry, Dorz,” said the General, “I didn’t initiate this meeting and something tells me General Wellku has more than his share of enemies in the Rychii establishment. Like the ones that notified you I was here perhaps? Wellku mentioned something about a required security questioning, would you know anything about that?”
Dorz shook his head but said “Let me look into it” and stepped away. He spoke intently into his comm for some time before returning. “It is cleared up. Wellku is saying he has evidence you were involved in this plot, but I assured them that was outlandish and he has not delivered on his promise to provide the evidence as of yet. You were right as well that he has some enemies in the Rychii establishment. He is respected as a strategic genius but is also considered unpredictable and uncontrollable with a strong fascist streak according to my source. I know this whole situation is quite upsetting but we will need to assist in the investigation for appearances sake. The attack at the prison camp is currently being treated as most likely carried out by a lone rogue prisoner and that is fine for now as that will give us some breathing room, but I think we both know better. This has Rychii military all over it and we need to pursue that before they get a chance to frame anyone on our side, especially you.”
“Agreed, Dorz, but I can probably help fill in the blanks on who from the Rychii side is involved in this. I would bet anything our friend Wellku here is in as deep as anyone, so I would start the investigation right in this office.”
The next few days were filled with a flurry of activity as both the Given and Rychii establishments tried to make sense of the attacks. The accused Given prisoner had no record of violence or disobeying orders before this event though the extreme stress of the imprisonment and bioagent infection was offered as a mitigating factor by both sides. Neither diplomatic team wanted to give any credence to those voices on the Rychii side that were promoting a conspiracy theory and thereby undermine the progress that had been made in the negotiations. The Rychii government was particularly reluctant to cause any insult by casting accusations as they had now been convinced that the original Given protection offer had not been a cover for an invasion but would instead be likely to result in continued independence, or at least some acceptable form of it. It might even be useful as a lever to keep themselves in power. This realization caused Wellku’s agents to lose influence and when he began to see his position was weakening, he realized his final plan would need to quickly be put into place. The Given had been following Wellku’s movements closely but he had been very cautious in the days after the attack, showing nothing out of his ordinary pattern. That would now need to change but he would need to be very careful. He was so close.