“I rested on the flight,” Kevin said. On the starship, he’d been completely isolated from the concerns facing Steve and Mongo. “You, on the other hand, have always been monitoring your work. This is the time to take a rest.”
He said nothing else until they were in one of the offices and sitting down comfortably. “I think we’re going to have to base a permanent team on Ying,” he continued. “Both to hunt for starships we can buy, but also to keep track of galactic affairs. Maybe not an embassy, in the usual sense…”
“A spy mission,” Steve said. “But do you think the Galactics will notice?”
“I don’t think they care,” Kevin said. He shrugged. “Would we be really worried if the Maldives set up an operation in New York?”
Steve paused, clearly consulting his interface. “The Maldives are an Islamic nation,” he said, after a moment. “We might be worried if they opened a consulate.”
“Then use Andorra then,” Kevin said. “Somewhere so minor it barely registers.”
He shrugged. “We’d need a long-term presence there,” he continued. “And probably one in several more nearby star systems. And probably human traders, once we have more starships to use as independent ships.”
“I was daydreaming about becoming one,” Steve mused. “It would be something different… and it would be something away from Sol.”
Kevin nodded. Like it or not, Steve had effectively ruled as a dictator. Either he ran for election, when they finally bothered to hold elections, or he stood aside… but either way, he was going to cast a long shadow over Heinlein Colony and the planned Solar Union. It would be better, far better, if he disappeared from the solar system after the elections, leaving a clear field for the new government. A trading life wouldn’t be quite a return to the ranch, but Kevin had a feeling that was no longer a possibility. Steve wouldn’t be happy on the ranch after seeing the boundless immensity of space.
“It might be a good idea,” he agreed. “But for the moment, you need a break.”
He smiled. “I’ll sic Mariko on you if you don’t agree now,” he threatened. “I’m sure she’ll force you into it.”
“I’d like to see you try,” Steve countered. “I dare you to tell her she needs to take a break.”
Kevin stared at him, puzzled.
“She went back to New York as soon as we got some proper security in place,” Steve explained. “I couldn’t talk her out of it.”
“Oh,” Kevin said. Mariko might be small and slight, but she could be as intimidating as hell when she wanted to be, like pretty much every woman who lived on a ranch. And she was devoted to her medical work. “But…”
Steve smirked at him. “Be brave,” he said. “Don’t worry about a thing. Little boy with big job to do…”
“Oh, shut up,” Kevin said.
Steve sighed. “I’ll convince her to come away with me this weekend, all right?”
“If you’re brave enough to try,” Kevin said. “But really, you need to take a week.”
Steve opened his mouth to answer, but his communicator shrilled before he could say a word.
“Sir, this is Tom in Tracking,” a voice said. “We’re picking up twenty-five separate starships heading towards Earth at FTL speeds. Estimated ETA is five hours from now.”
“Those will be the ships Friend promised,” Kevin said. “The first down payment for human mercenaries.”
“But not warships,” Steve mused. “That could be a problem.”
“It could,” Kevin agreed. “But I think beggars can’t be choosers.”
Steve jumped to his feet, suddenly galvanised. “Sound the alert,” he ordered, as he made preparations to return to the ship. “I want the entire solar system on alert.”
Kevin frowned. “Why…?”
“Two reasons,” Steve said. He ticked them off on his fingers as he spoke. “First, we need to know just how well the alert system actually works. And second, you might be wrong and these aliens might not be friendly after all.”
He was right, Kevin knew. Twenty-five starships were more than enough to overwhelm Earth by an order of magnitude. But he knew Friend’s best interests lay in cooperating with the human race. Human slaves would be far less useful than human allies.
“Good thinking,” he conceded, reluctantly. He stood, too. “I’ll come with you.”
The next few hours passed very slowly. On Earth, military bases were alerted and reserves called up, but there was no formal public announcement. Kevin wasn’t too surprised, no matter how much he hated the Government’s willingness to defend itself while leaving the civilian population to burn. If there was a widespread panic, there would be absolute chaos and thousands of people would be hurt even if the aliens weren’t hostile. Besides, what difference would it make if the aliens deployed antimatter bombs? The entire planet would be cracked open like an egg.
“They’re coming out of FTL now,” Mongo said. “I’m reading… twenty-three freighters of various designs, one warship and one starship of indeterminate purpose.”
“They’re hailing us, sir,” the communications officer added.
“Then reply,” Steve ordered. Left unsaid was the notion that one warship, commanded by a capable crew, might be a match for all three human ships. “Let’s see who they are.”
There was a brief pause, then a familiar blue-skinned face appeared in front of them. “Mr. Stuart,” Friend said. Clearly, he’d been studying the data he’d been sent on humanity. “It is a pleasure to see you again.”
“And you,” Kevin said, swallowing. “These are my brothers, Steve and Mongo.”
“It is a pleasure to meet them too,” Friend said. “However, we cannot wait. We will merely give you these starships and leave.”
“I understand,” Kevin said. The aliens wouldn’t want to draw attention to Sol if they could avoid it. “But we will meet again soon.”
“Indeed we shall,” Friend said. “We shall see you at Ying.”
He paused. “We have loaded the freighters with goods you might find useful,” he added. “We give you these freely, without obligation. You are welcome to them.”
Moments later, his image vanished from the bridge.
Kevin pursed his lips. Was the free gifts a bribe… or a simple consideration… or a display of just how wealthy the aliens actually were? If they could provide so many ships so quickly, just how many did they have in total? But there was no way to know. For all he knew, the aliens had spent a few hours with a fabricator and churned out everything they thought humanity might want — or need.
“Interesting person,” Steve observed. He didn’t sound too impressed. “Doesn’t he want to stay for tea?”
“I think he fears us being noticed,” Kevin commented. On the display, flashes of energy were being detected as the freighter crews were beamed onto the unknown starship. “And if Earth became noticed, the results might be dire.”
Steve didn’t bother to disagree.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Deep Space
“And there has definitely been no sightings?”
“No, Most Supreme Lord,” the messenger said, banging his head against the deck. “They went to Earth and were never seen again.”
Horde Commander Yss!Yaa cursed under his breath. The messengers were of no Subhorde, something that made them absolutely trustworthy, for his successor would purge them if he managed to take over through assassination or outright coup. But they could also be publically blamed for the message, if someone needed to be a scapegoat. Being a Horde Commander was sometimes more about making sure that someone took the blame than actually leading the Horde.
Three ships, one of them a valuable Warcruiser, had gone missing. It wasn’t unusual for the Horde to lose starships, but to lose three of them in the same place suggested enemy action rather than the normal incompetence of his subordinates. The reports had started that Earth’s odd-looking inhabitants, the human race, had no starships of their own, but the Horde Commander knew all too well just how much nonsense, misinformation and outright lies made their way through the galactic mainstream. It was quite possible that humanity had a small fleet of starships of their own.