No, Jumbo needed to be dragged into the future. That way, all interests would be served. His troops would have a worthwhile mission, the Greeners would have their pastoral paradise, the threat from the nomads would be removed, and Jumbo could spread and develop.
Of course, the interim might be a little rough. The Greeners would never go along with his ideas, for instance. They just wanted to farm in peace. And then, change is never easy. There would be a lot of resistance from the present power structure, the kings and the wizards. And, of course that was where the General and his troops came in.
The General dismissed the train of thought. All that no longer mattered. Rankin, Jenfu, and their people had killed the General's dream. He would have to do his best to salvage what he could, with emphasis on protecting the colony. Even if he and his troops must pay for it with their lives. So, how could he most effectively ensure the colony's survival?
********
"I can't believe you actually went along on that raid," Cale said with a frown as Explorer carried them back to Valhalla after returning the surviving raiders to their mountains. "We need you too badly for you to chase around on commando raids."
Zant shrugged. "You have to understand that these aren't disciplined troops we have. It was just a bunch of trappers off on a vacation adventure. I couldn't just sit on my fat butt giving orders. I had to lead the party, or there wouldn't be one." He grinned. "Besides, it was fun."
Zant's smile faded. "It cost a lot of lives, though. Six dead. I was the only one to come back by river," he added. "The other four made it back to the forest. So, what did those six lives buy us?"
Cale's expression cleared. "There's still a lot of smoke, so we can't see everything," he said, "But you definitely got the flitter and the disruptor. And we're pretty sure you got the lasers. So, you got the three main targets. The Great Hall is still burning. The warehouse you bombed burned, but it got a lot of attention from the fire brigades. Whatever's in there is important. They really worked to save what they could.
"It looks like your boys mostly went after the soldiers rather than the equipment. They really hit Militia Farms. There were fires in barracks and mess halls, but almost every building in officers' housing was hit." He smiled."I was worried that they would take out the Greeners, but it seems they left the farmers alone."
"So now what?" Zant asked.
Cale shrugged. "I don't know. I think it's time for a strategy session. We need at least Tonio, and maybe even the king in on this. We need to try to figure out what the General will do now."
"If I were the General," Tonio said when they were all assembled, "and I had lost nearly half my forces, I'd pull back. He's got too much area to guard. I think he'll pull back to Nirvana, and maybe even to New Home."
Zant shook his head. "I don't think so. Oh, he may pull out of Gorby. But his troops are Spec Ops. Those guys can't sit around long without going nuts. I think he's got a real problem. He can't sit still; the snipers will bleed him dry."
Cale frowned. "I dunno, Zant. The General is driven by duty. He won't abandon the Greeners. Protecting the colony will be his highest priority."
King Rajo's eyebrows rose. "You think he will keep faith with those he imprisons?"
Zant frowned. "Your Majesty, I know you think him a villain and criminal. But Ochoa-Mariden is a professional soldier. He may have a poor opinion of those he serves, but if he has taken an oath, he will do his duty to protect them unless he's killed."
Tonio nodded. "He told Cale that he had imposed martial law on the Greeners. That means that the military has assumed control. But in his view, he has done so in order to better protect them, not to subjugate them."
The king shook his head. "We do not understand star man thinking. He is faithless in order to be faithful?"
Cale frowned, considering how to best respond. "Your Majesty, you deal with a wide range of problems and issues for your people. But Ochoa-Mariden has what is called 'tunnel vision'. He sees things only in military terms, as though looking through a long tube. He can see nothing to either side, only what is straight ahead.
"His duty is to use his military force to protect the colony and help it grow. To the Greeners, that meant to patrol and protect them from the nomads while they went about their farming, and learned to live in peace with the people of Jumbo. But to the General, the nomads were not the only threat to the colony. The kings of Jumbo also threatened it. To the General, the only way to deal with a threat is to attack it. So, he attacked them."
The king was still shaking his head. "But King Karel was no threat. He had granted the star men the Cursed Lands, and had signed a treaty with them."
Tonio nodded. "True. But remember the General's tunnel vision, your Majesty. If King Karel changed his mind, or the Greeners somehow offended him, He could at least cut off their access to the settled section of Jumbo, leaving them at the mercy of the nomads, or at worst invade New Home himself. Ochoa-Mariden could not see the problem as a political one, to be solved by discussion and treaty; to him it was strictly military. He felt he had to conquer Nirvana to ensure the colony's access to the rest of the settled lands."
Cale smiled. "On my planet there is an old saying: 'To the man who has only a hammer, everything looks like a nail.' The General knows only the military; therefore every problem must have a military answer."
The king's face relaxed into a smile. "We have courtiers like that. The merchant sees every problem as involving taxes or credit, profit or loss."
Zant nodded, grinning. "Exactly, your Majesty."
King Rajo nodded. Then his face fell back into a frown. "You people obviously understand this man much better than We do. We will leave you to your deliberations. We must begin preparing for Our journey to Treaty."
Cale straightened. "Treaty? The nomads?"
The king sighed and nodded. "Yes. It is Our twice a year attempt to get the savages to see reason. All of the kings must attend." He smiled. "All the kings are certain that if they once miss a trade, that will be the time the nomads finally see reason, and they will be shut out of the agreements."
Cale nodded and turned to the others. "Treaty is the ruins of a small village King Gralen's father tried to establish. The nomads wiped out the villagers, but they somehow managed to arrange a cease-fire twice a year. For week in the Spring and another in the Fall traders from the villages are permitted to go to Treaty. The nomads come to them with furs, salted meats, trained dinos, and handicrafts to trade for things they can't make themselves. It's the only times villagers aren't simply slaughtered.
"I think it's essential that we go, too. It'll be our only chance to talk to the nomads." He shook his head. "I've been so concerned about the General that I completely forgot about the nomads!"
"Will your General come?" The king asked.
Cale shook his head. "I doubt it. Oh, he read my report, but I think he paid a lot more attention to their weapons than to chances to talk to them." He grinned. "May we offer your Majesty a ride to Treaty? We might as well try to impress them with a large spacecraft."
King Rajo shook his head. "Your ships are too small. We will be accompanied by twenty guardsmen and thirty traders with wagons or carts."
Cale grinned. "Don't count us out yet, your Majesty. We have a ship large enough to carry all that and more. And even better, it is armed, just in case."
"Weapons are not permitted in the village," the king replied. "But you could not land such a big ship in the village anyway." He smiled. "Still, that big ship towering over the village might make the nomads think this time."
"Especially if the weapons are showing," Zant added, grinning. "And the turrets on a Din-Class are very obvious."