Atlas asked, What was that all about?
Atlas, look in my memories at human history and see what happens when one nation or group of nations became more powerful than their neighbors. We have the capacity in us to become conquerors and destroyers. You represent the ultimate weapon, and we would use your technology to become dominant over all other races. We will lose ourselves if we allow ourselves to depend on knowledge that we dont earn. Im not suggesting that you would make your technology available to us, but I am telling you that at our current level of social development that no race could handle being invulnerable, least of all humans.
Ive wondered why you didnt ask for my help in the previous conflict.
Would you have given it?
No. Im still working on issues over my masters disappearance from the universe. If they could cease to exist with all their advanced technology, Ill not take action until I have a better understanding of where my actions might lead.
Do you want to remove the tools you gave me? Tag asked.
No. Our link gives me direct access to the events shaping the future. I wish to protect that link. What did they mean psychic skills?
There were too many witnesses to what I did during the ground battle with the Alliance. Most people know I have a psychic gift, and if what happened can be chalked up to my mental abilities, it would remove the temptation to look for a technological answer. In other words, the ability dies with me.
I understand, Atlas said. He then told Tag he was going to take a look at human history. I wonder what this human would say if he knew when I put the shield in him that I changed his lifespan too, Atlas thought as he started looking around at Tags memories. I have begun to understand what friendship is, and I dont intend to lose my only friend for a long time. Then Atlas noticed in Tags memory that humans often lost the will to live with the loss of their mate. Ill have to do something about that soon, perhaps next time he sees her.
The Cainth dreadnought Sharp Claws and its escort ships emerged from star drive and entered the Ross system. They parked just outside the star drive limit with their drives on ready and sent two cruisers in to investigate the planet. Their sensors were set as sensitive as possible and the two ships crews were nervous; however, nothing showed up on their scans and they continued to proceed in system until they were parked in orbit above Ross. The planet rotated below them and looked absolutely normal. If a comet had struck here, it had left no evidence. The eerie thing was that there was no sign of intelligent life remaining on the planets surface, nor was there any sign of the two hundred Cainth warships that had taken possession of the planet or the twelve thousand ground troops. On the surface they found the grounded Cainth troop transports and the shuttles sent groundside were sending back recordings of the battle sites from around the planet. Sir, there was fierce combat here. Weve counted more than nine hundred burned out floaters and weapon platforms near the main captive camp alone, and most of them are still smoking.
Ship leader Haronk looked at his visual screen and saw the extensive wreckage of both Alliance and human military hardware. The last report from the fleet before we lost contact was that a comet was on collision course with the planet, and the admiral was ordered to evacuate his ground forces. Haronk looked at his console and continued, Up to that point the civilian population had not resisted our forces. According to ground command, there were no weapons on the planet for them to use in a resistance.
Something happened to change things, then, one of the crusier commanders said. Sir, there is human military hardware here and a lot of it that was destroyed. The battle here must have been extraordinarily fierce. My scouts also report the same thing from the other sites around the planet. We see nothing anywhere on the planet that would suggest it was hit by a comet.
Keep me informed it you find anything else, captain.
Haronk continued to stare at the beautiful blue-green world on his screen. Try as he might, he just couldnt come up with what had possibly happened to all those ships and men. We were in total control, he thought. Now what?
He turned and ordered, Communications, open a channel to Central Clan Leader Terl. Haronk had been ordered to report his findings to the clan central chamber. He was not sure what he was going to report. He also wasnt sure what action he was expected to take. He hoped that they would pull his task force from this system. Nothing remained here but ghosts of a battle and unanswered questions. Until an answer was found, he worried about his men and ships.
Aboard the Cleveland, Captain Patel recorded the movements of the Cainth task force. It appeared that they were nervous about entering the system. The flagship and five escorts remained just outside the star drive limit, and sensors showed that their star drives remained charged and ready to make an instant jump. The two cruisers had come in cautiously with screens and weapons ready, and over the last four hours they had landed shuttles on the planet while they remained in orbit and received information from their scouts. All the shuttles returned to the cruisers and they headed back out of the system. The dreadnought and its seven escorts jumped into star drive as soon as the cruisers arrived back to their position and disappeared from the Clevelands sensors. Send the sensor records to Earth command and a copy to the Washington, Captain Patel ordered as he thought about what the Cainth must be thinking. They have to be nervous, or those ships would have stayed, he thought. Ah well. It shouldnt be too long before the main Alliance fleet will arrive. Things should get interesting then.
Chapter 30
Admiral Dorg looked at his conference screen, and Head Clansman Terl was asking him questions that he could not answer. He was scared and he was trying his best to hide it. Terl continued his barrage: Are you aware that we have lost two hundred warships and twelve thousand ground troops and theres no trace of what happened to them?
Yes, I am, Clan Leader. I have not been to the scene yet, and I wont arrive there until tomorrow.
Please explain why you felt it was necessary to attack that human colony with only two hundred ships instead of your entire fleet.
I felt that the humans needed to see that our occupation was coming and that we would not tolerate any resistance. This colony was taken easily and all appeared to be going as planned.
Terl looked at the admiral and said, Of course it went easily; they surrendered as soon as the first ship showed up and welcomed you to their planet. You showed them your appreciation for that warm welcome by executing 25 percent of their population. Now we are missing 10 percent of our naval forces and a division of our infantry. Didnt you tell me that you didnt know what the humans capabilities were?
Yes, I did.
So you thought you could send two hundred ships and twelve thousand troops and they would be perfectly safe against an enemy that you said represented a grave threat to our race?
Dorg felt the chill run up his spine. His life was in the balance here. His face was damp and his heart was almost out of control. Sir, I covered your assigned officer with my plans to make sure the clans approved them. I was told they were approved.
Thats the only thing saving you from execution. You are supposed to be the human expert. You are supposed to make the right decisions about them. You more than anyone should not under estimate them, but you obviously did. Its that inefficiency that has the clan leaders angry. Do you have enough ships to handle the job?