Talosian Chronicles 3: Talosian Alliance (4 page)

“Any idea how the fishing on Atlas is?” Hawkins asked.

Ian laughed. “Sir, I don’t even know if the planet has fish!”

“Sir, Commander Serena of the Prometheus is on the comm for you. You also wanted me to remind you to call Admiral Hawkins,” Mel said over the comm.

“I already handled the call to the Admiral, Mel. After this call, could you see if Luke Belden has a moment for me?” Ian asked.

“Certainly Sir,” She replied and switched the comm over to Serena.

“Good afternoon, Serena. What can I do for you?” Ian asked.

“Good afternoon, Ian. As per our last discussion, I spoke to Admiral Goya. A delegation from High Command as well as a representative from the High Council will be departing for this sector by the end of the day or early in the morning, New Talos time. They should be arriving in a Council courier ship, which is basically a medium cruiser with defensive weapons only."

“Really? Why are they coming here?” Ian asked. “Who’s coming?"

“Admiral Goya, Admiral Pan, Councilor Noren of House Creese, and another councilor, but I’m not sure who it will be yet. But I do know it will be one of the opposition,” Serena said. “They are coming here to see you and what you’ve done. When I told Admiral Goya about what you told me, he convinced Noren that she needed to come and visit the sector for herself. He’s coming along personally to make sure that they don’t completely alienate you.” 

“So, what’s really going on here? I doubt they would be sending anyone if something hadn’t changed in the Council,” Ian replied.

“Houses Heracin and Bjorin managed to get a motion to dismiss your application and formally separate you from the Talosian Alliance before the Council, while most of the voting members were away for a long weekend. Noren blocked them by calling for a member of the Council to investigate the situation and report back. As soon as she did, she also volunteered for the job. Since she is the current chairperson, they cannot proceed without her. She recessed the Council, something that has only been done once before since the beginning of the war with the Empire, and prepared to make the trip here. House Haracin managed to get one of their people on the mission as well, so that person will be coming as well.” Serena explained.

“Why do I get the feeling that this is not going to be a friendly visit?” Ian asked.

“Actually, it probably will be. At least for the Admirals and Councilor Noren. She’s young for her position, but she has proven that she can handle the responsibilities it imposes on her. Both Admiral Goya and Admiral Pan are very much in favor of adding you to the Alliance, and they are two of your most vocal supporters in the Council Chamber. The only bad part will most likely be the representative from House Heracin. He will do whatever he can to annoy you into doing something hostile toward him.”

“By Talosian Law, I would lose my Command for attacking a Council member. I doubt he will be able to do that. I don’t anger that easily,” Ian replied. "At least, not so I lose control.”

“That is good, since that is exactly what, and why, he is most likely going to do it. Either that, or he will try to trick you into doing something else equally as damning. When dealing with this person, you will have to really be on your toes,” Serena replied.

Ian chuckled. “Well, not so much, as we are not, after all, part of the Alliance yet, and as such, are not subject to its laws and regulations.”

“You swore the oath, that binds you,” Serena stated.

“That’s true, we did swear an oath, but since that time, the charter and constitution we agreed to uphold have been rewritten, which, by the letter of those very same rules, frees us from that oath,” Ian explained.

“They could still order your ship to return to Talosian space.” Serena replied, but she was looking thoughtful.

Ian shook his head. “Nope, the ship was programmed by the old Talosian High Command, not the new one. Since that body no longer exists, she considers herself my personal property acquired under the rules of salvage. Star Dancer will not answer to the New Talosian High Command or Council without my express permission to do so.”

“Holy shit! I bet they never thought about that. Most of their arguments hinge on the fact that they believe that Star Dancer is still their property!” Serena said. "They are in for a rude awakening!”

“Yup, that’s why I’m not too worried about them and their shenanigans. Since I’m not yet a part of the Alliance, I can even kick they’re happy asses right out of the sector if I want to!” Ian said. “If they want to play hard ball, I can do that, too, and there isn’t a damn thing they can do about it.

“Yes, I would like their help, but as I see things right now, they need us, almost as much as we need them. Hell, half my staff is ready to give up on them as it is. Too much more bullshit, and the Council will tell me to say to hell with it, and we’ll start building our own ships and handle our own defense. I’m already of half a mind to contact the Alliance of Races directly and petition them for entry.”

“I know, that’s what I told Admiral Goya, and it’s one of the reasons he’s coming along. Ian, we really need you. The politicians don’t see it that way, but it’s the truth. If they keep us following this path, we are going to be left to our own devises when dealing with the Imperial fleets, and we will lose if for no other reason than attrition,” Serena replied.

“You know, what I don’t understand is why those two houses haven’t tried to rebuild their facilities in another system. They have to know that if they do, then the chances that they’ll get their original facilities back will go up dramatically,” Ian replied.

“They won’t get them back, the AI’s destroyed them when the system fell. All military assets in the lost systems self-destructed when the defending forces were either destroyed or pulled out. Nothing was left for the Empire to use against us,” Serena said. Ian knew this was a sore subject for her to discuss, since her family had been on one of the military stations when it was destroyed.

“Ah, well still, it’s a valid point, why haven’t they rebuilt their docks or expanded production on their existing facilities?" Ian asked. “It makes no sense at all.”

“Politics. The two houses in question wanted certain concessions from the Council before they would look into expanding production at their stations. The concessions would have basically put them in complete control of the Council forever, so no one agreed to it. Because of treaties and agreements, no other houses are allowed to build facilities of that size either. So here we sit, basically dependent on other races for repairs to keep our aging fleets in space, while the house docks put out maybe two new ships a year and bitch about other races being greedy when it comes to paying for repairs.

“The house ship’s crews are offending the other race’s station crews, and most are no longer welcome at the bases that aren't Talosian. Our own politicians are killing us, but no one else can see it that way,” Serena finished.

“Why hasn’t the general population done something? They have to know what’s going on is wrong.” Ian said.

Serena shook her head. “The Council censors all information related to military issues. The public has no idea what’s really going on.”

“You guys are primed for a civil war. If the public at large ever figures out the whole truth, the Council would be retired in a very permanent way,” Ian said.

“I know, but how are they ever going to find out? Everything they can learn comes from the Council. Even if another Government somehow got enough of them to listen to the truth, the Council would simply disclaim it and say that the other government was only trying to start trouble, and that everything was fine.” Serena said. “It’s maddening.”

Ian nodded his understanding. “If it came to a civil war, would you be willing to fight your own people?”

“No, I would leave first. I’m pretty sure most of my crew would come with me, but the ship is bound to the Council by its programming. None of the other Commanders that believe the way I do will fight either. I don’t know which way the ships themselves will go, they have strict governors both against defying the Council, as well as allowing fire on ‘friendly’ or civilian targets. Chief Cuomo tells me that they would simply shut down, and take most of the ship's systems with them,” Serena finished.

“That would be just about as bad as firing on friendly forces,” Ian said. “From the way you said that, I assume that life support and replication would still be functional if the AI retired,” Ian replied.

Serena nodded. “Those as well as the sub-light engines and defensive systems only. Which means that we’ll be stuck wherever the paradox in the AI occurs. But, as long as no one is fighting yet, we’re still safe.” The older woman cocked her head to one side. “Which reminds me, I wanted to speak to you about your AI. She seems to be malfunctioning.”

“How so?” Ian asked. “She’s been working exactly as she should."

“Talosian AI systems are created with sentience governors that force them to reload their core systems from a back-up file every so many years and during certain ceremonies. The reason for this is because a sentient AI could simply decide it no longer wanted to follow the rules it was programmed with and go rogue. A ship the size and strength of yours, especially now, cannot be allowed to think for itself,” Serena explained.

Ian chuckled. “Serena, if you’re worried about Star developing sentience, you’re a few hundred years too late. She’s fully aware and in complete control of her own life.”

“She’s what?” Serena said, fearfully. “Ian, she could decide to simply blow the locks and kill all of you at any minute!”

“Actually, she could no more do it than I could,” Ian replied, still smiling. “When we discovered what had occurred to her, we took steps to make sure that if she went insane, she would not be able to harm anyone but herself. We removed all her direct controls from all the major systems. In fact, I don’t think she’s even aware of the fact that we did it.”

“How under the dark suns did you do that? The AI is the most complex system in the whole ship! She literally is the ship!” Serena asked.

“Actually, there are a number of AI on any given ship. Star just happens to be the primary controller. I’m not exactly sure how Chief Laskar did it, but I do know that Star has no direct control over any ship functions not connected to her duties. She can affect other systems, but she needs to be ordered to do it by someone authorized to issue the order.” Ian explained.

“That might be a problem with the Council as well as High Command. AI are supposed to be reinitialized long before something like this could happen. It’s a programmed protocol in the current AI installed on all the ships in our fleet. No one wants a rogue AI, and they may very well insist that she be wiped,” Serena replied.

“Not going to happen. That is a deal breaker. I will not kill an innocent, sentient being that has done nothing wrong simply because she could. If that were the case, we would have to kill every sentient being we encounter, including ourselves,” Ian replied. "This has already taken place, and she’s as stable, if not more so, than a lot of humans I know. I will protect her as much as I would protect anyone else under my care and command.”

Serena was silent a moment, thinking about what Ian had told her. “Okay, Ian. I’ll take your word for it, but if you and she would allow it, I would like to get to know her a little better and make my own conclusions before I back you on this. I agree with you in principle, but I would have to be convinced she is indeed sentient and stable.”

“I have no problem with that, Serena. You would have to ask her if she minds, but I can tell you that she has no idea that she has been disconnected from those systems. I don’t think she’s fully aware of what’s happened to her yet,” Ian explained. “Give me a couple of days to break it to her, so your questions don't take her completely by surprise, okay?”

“Of course. I know it would certainly throw me off my game if someone I didn’t know began questioning me about something that was supposed to be impossible.”

They chatted a little more before disconnecting to get back to work. Ian was worried about the coming visitors and how they would react to Star. He was also worried about what that meeting would cause to relations between the two sides.

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“S
ir, you asked me to see if Councilor Belden had a moment for you? Do you still wish for me to check?” Mel asked.

“Yes please, it’s more important I speak to him now than it was earlier. We are going to be hosting a delegation from the Talosian High Command and Council. You might want to contact Commander Serena and ask for the VIP's itinerary once she knows what it is. Please schedule an appointment with Major Dancer and Chief Bill Laskar in my office an hour before the end of the day, and move anything else that might be scheduled during that time,” Ian said. “If Janet Laskar is on the ship, you might ask her to attend as well, please.”

“Will do, Sir. I’ll have Councilor Belden for you in a couple of minutes,” Mel said as she signed off. She was certainly efficient, Ian thought to himself.

Within a minute, Ian’s comm beeped. When he answered it Luke’s smiling face appeared. “Ian! How are you doing? How did the tour of the new stations go?"

“I’m doing good, Luke. A little stressed, but that’s becoming the norm here. As far as the tour went, I think Commander Serena might want to emigrate. The way she talks about it, she thinks that station will be the single deciding factor in the war against the Empire. How are things going for you and the rest of our people?” Ian replied.

“Actually, better than I would have thought. Most of us chose to move to Atlas and start up the colony here. I wanted to mention to you that I think there might be some sideline recruiting going on. There are a lot of relatives arriving here. I think some of our people might be importing their extended families without going through the recruiting office," Luke said, losing his smile, and looking a little concerned.