Part 3 - Part 01

“You can go now and get your ship. The cab is waiting for you on the surface. It will take you to your destination. When you come back land your ship on the landing pad above the hotel and come back here. I’ll be waiting for you.”

“Thank you,” I said and we left.

Recovering the ship

Vel and Daf looked excited as we flew towards Apserpon. They were looking at me strangely which made me nervous. I guess this was the moment of truth for them, to serve with me on the famous ship. I looked at them and they both smiled. They looked like little girls. They were the same age as Ruzha was when I met her but I had aged since then and now they looked so young. I smiled back at them. They looked so innocent and unaware of what was in store for them. I wondered if they would survive to see old age.

As we came closer to our destination I began to recognize the terrain. The sight of the facilities, even from this distance, gave me a sharp pain in my gut like someone had slashed me with a knife.

I was feeling nauseous when Vel asked me what was wrong. I said it was nothing, just nerves. She gave me a strange look and kept looking at me. It wasn’t what I’d done in the past that had brought this on. I felt sick because of what I was going to do in the future with the ship in my hands. How many more lives was I going to take? I don’t think the girls understood what war was. They knew nothing of war.

The moment we landed we were ambushed by a squad of women soldiers dressed in camouflage uniforms. They were pointing their weapons at us. There were seven women; six were standing still and aiming their guns at us, while the seventh, who appeared to be their leader, came over, opened the cab door and ordered us out.

“What is your business here?” she asked loudly.

“This is Captain Otsiron chief commander of the military forces on this planet and he is here to reclaim his ship. I am Lieutenant Velika, this is Lieutenant Dafina. This is our driver who brought us here.”

“The driver can go back in his cab and wait there, the rest of you get your hands up and follow me.”

The driver went back into his cab and waited there.

I refused to raise my hands. The leader yelled something and she and Vel got into a yelling match.

“ENOUGH!” I yelled. “Put your guns down and let’s talk.”

The leader ordered the others to lower their weapons and we all sat around a makeshift table made of logs.

Vel was furious and again fired a volley of words at the leader but she didn’t seem to care. I don’t know what she said.

I told Vel, “These women are soldiers who have dedicated their lives to serve and protect, threatening them with words won’t get you anywhere. We need to find out what they want from us.”

The leader demanded to know what I had said and Vel translated and also apologized for yelling at her.

When Vel was done translating the soldiers looked at me.

“Now that we are your prisoners what are you planning to do with us?” I asked the leader.

The soldiers looked at each other.

“You held your weapons trained on me and two of your officers,” I said. “Surely that is mutiny and mutiny is punishable by death during war.”

The soldiers looked at me and laughed.

“We’re dead already, don’t you know? You, your officers, me, my unit, this whole planet… dead… That’s what war brings… death, do you think I’m afraid of your little threat?” asked the leader looking into my eyes.

“I have to agree with you on that,” I said.

“You’re here to take the ship and our soldiers and lead them into a foreign war, aren’t you?” the leader asked.

“Yes and no. I’m here to take my ship but not the soldiers. I need my ship to end the war. I will do it on my own, without sacrificing any of your soldiers. Not only that, but I have already asked the war council to bring back the soldiers that have been committed to the war. Asora has made arrangements to bring them back, at least the last two million that were sent most recently. They will be coming back in a few days. The rest I don’t know, I’ll have to go to the front myself and find out what’s happening with them. That’s my plan. Now, what are you planning to do with us?”

After I finished talking she stood up, paced back and forth a couple of times and said, “Tell your driver that you are my guests here and I will look after you. Let him go before Anelia sends the army to wipe us out.”

I asked Daf to tell the driver to go back and tell Nagol everything was okay and that we would be arriving maybe a little later than expected.

I then turned to the leader and said, “So, I take it you don’t see eye to eye with Anelia?”

“I don’t know what that means,” she said, “but I despise that woman. I also know what she did to you and yet here you are ready to serve her. That I don’t understand.”

“I’m not here to serve her. I am here to clean up the mess I made. I could have done more before I left but I didn’t. So, now I feel somewhat responsible for what has happened.”

“What was done is done; it has nothing to do with you. My concern now is how we avoid being annihilated by the enemy which is annihilating the galaxy traders. You know that by participating in this absurd war we’ve made ourselves a target. When the attackers are done with the galaxy traders they’ll come for us. By accepting to fight against them we’ve opened the door for them to attack us. I tried to make that point clear to everyone but no one listened, least of all my boss Anelia. If the powerful galaxy traders can’t stop them then how can we? And that crap about victory is at hand, well, it’s

pure crap created by Anelia’s propaganda machine. There is no victory, only death… for all of us.”

“Yes, I know that,” I replied.

“So, what can we do to change the situation?” she asked.

“You mentioned Anelia sending the army to wipe us out. Aren’t you part of Anelia’s army? Why would she send troops to attack her own army?”

“I know for a fact that Anelia has her own private army. Her elite personal guards, if you like.”

“Until yesterday Anelia was commander of the entire army on this planet, why would she need a personal army?” I asked.

“The planetary army is loyal to the people. Her army is loyal only to her.”

“So, let me ask you this. What will happen if I leave this planet with the ship and not return?”

“You know what will happen. A coup... She will use her elite forces to overthrow the elected government and appoint herself boss of our planet and probably send us all to the galaxy trader war. A lot of us will die fighting and those who object will serve in her prisons. That’s what I predict will happen if the ship is gone.”

“I don’t doubt that for a second but how do you know for sure that Anelia has a private army? No one else seems to know that.”

“Well, I wasn’t always a sergeant; I was a colonel in Voskot’s time and responsible for training our elite forces in marshal arts. I still correspond with a lot of them. Some are serving in her private army right now as we speak. They told me so themselves. That’s how I know.”

“Then, am I correct in assuming that Anelia asked for me to be brought here in hopes of getting rid of me and the ship once and for

all? Send me to a war from which there is no return so that she can take control of the planet? And, at the same time, annihilate Vieria’s army which may oppose her takeover?”

“Now you’re thinking. I would say that you’re correct in your assumption,” she replied.

“Interesting?!” I said.

“So, now that we both understand the situation we’re in, what can we do to change it?” she asked.

“In my opinion we first need to save Vieria’s army. We need to do it under the guise that we are preparing it for war but it must not engage the enemy until I personally assess the war situation. This way we can keep the army here. I can convince the war council to do that. In fact I’ve already convinced the council to do that and it has agreed. Then I will take the ship and go to the war front to see for myself what’s happening. After I find that out I will use every means possible to end the war. There are two possible outcomes from that. I will either succeed in ending the war, which means your soldiers will be spared or I will be destroyed and the war will continue and eventually reach your planet,” I said.

“What can I do to help?” she asked.

“Well, if you want to help, I’ll welcome your help. I’ll do something drastic but I think it will work. I’ll appoint you chief commander of the military in my absence. I’ll promote you to general and you can start preparing an elite army. I have the authority to do that, I was sworn commander of all the forces just yesterday. I would also want you to covertly gather intelligence and infiltrate Anelia’s army and break it up from the inside. If I succeed in ending the war then I would want you to eliminate all internal threats on this planet, including those coming from Anelia, and take control. If I fail to bring peace then I’d want you to brace for war. Be prepared for war but always talk peace. This is how you can help.”

“You mean your not sending me to the executioner for pulling a gun on you?” she asked jokingly.

“We all had a laugh and I said, “It’s nice to see a soldier with a sense of humour.”

While the unit was having a chat with their leader, Vel turned to me and said, “How did you do it?”

“Do what?” I asked.

“How did you turn an enemy into a friend?”

“She was never our enemy, she just didn’t know us. When two people want exactly the same thing, the only thing they can be is friends.”

“Like me and Vel,” said Daf.

“Yes,” I said and winked at them but I fear Delche never taught them about winking.

“General,” I said.

The leader laughed and said, “I have a name, you know?”

“I know,” I said. “I’m sorry but I can’t pronounce your name properly so I’ll call you general. Get used to it.”

I paused for a moment and then said, “I want you to come with me and meet some people and after that I’ll ask the war council in your presence to ratify your appointment as general and make it legal. I’ll also tell them that you will be acting on my behalf when I’m gone to investigate the war. How does that sound?”

“I’m sorry but I have become rather cynical in my old age and I’ll believe it when I see it. It’s not that I don’t trust you, I just don’t trust the war council.”

“For now you have my word. Now tell me, did you know Voskot?”

“Yes, I did. He was very fond of me… but not in that way… He was the one who saw my potential as a good soldier and wanted my skills taught to others. He promoted me to colonel and asked me to take over the martial arts class in the military academy. I was the youngest colonel in the school. But after he was gone I was removed, I guess I was too vocal and critical, too critical of the politicians, so I ended up here in isolation. I have been here for five years. They rotate my soldiers every six months but I am a permanent resident here in this prison.”

It was almost noon by now and we were invited to go to a tent and have lunch with the soldiers. I felt it was important to accept their invitation so I asked the general to contact Asora to let Nagol know that we would be late. Vel said that there was no need for that because she could directly contact Nagol and asked the general for a communicator.

“Is that old man Nagol, Voskot’s and Vieria’s friend?” the general asked.

“I think so,” I said.

She immediately asked Vel for his contact number and began to chat excitedly with him in their language. She kept looking at me and smiling.

“They know each other,” said Vel.

“You’re taking me with you back to Nagol’s place, right?” the general asked.

“Yes, as soon as we recover the ship we’ll fly there,” I said.

When we were done eating the general said, “Go, do what you have to and come back here with the ship. You can land it over there on that pad.”

“We’re all going to get the ship, I’ll take you for a tour.”

Some of the soldiers seemed hesitant.

“What’s the problem?” I asked.

One of them said they weren’t allowed to enter the facilities. They had strict orders to stay out.

The general and I laughed and we both invited them in.

My badge seemed to work on all the doors, including the museum. I took everyone on a short tour. When we got to the last door behind which stood the ship, the badge wasn’t working. The door itself had scorch marks. Someone had attempted to shoot their way in with an energy weapon.

The general said, “These burns must have been here before my time. No one has been in here since then. So, what do we do now?”

I asked them to bring some rags and clean the burn marks. After they did the door still refused to open. I asked them to bring something sharp and I scratched out the burn marks on the laser eye.

The door finally opened. I was relieved and so was everyone else.

While everyone looked around examining the ship and the hanger around it, I struggled to open the ship’s door. I was surprised that I still knew how to open it and that I remembered all the codes. Eventually we all got on the ship. I showed them the uniforms sitting on our seats and asked Daf to mark them and put them to the side. I was going to take them with us and give them back to Ori and Delche. I had concerns about the hangar door above us working. I wondered if I’d have to go up and grease the tracks. It hadn’t been opened for the last five years. I decided to try it anyway. After a lot of creaking and crunching it finally opened fully.

After we took our positions I activated the docking robot and lifted the ship out of the hangar. The ship was exactly as we’d left it and so were the robots. After I watched the hangar door fully close I flew off gently and landed on the makeshift landing pad. After we landed and all the soldiers got off, I activated and armed my guards and went back and closed all the doors inside the facilities. As

expected they followed me everywhere. The soldiers found that very amusing.

The general in the meantime ordered her squad to remain there until further notice.

After I got back on board, I instructed my guards not to shoot at the people on my ship unless they received orders from me. After getting some dirty looks from Vel and Daf, they took their appropriate seats. The general stood behind me hanging onto my chair.

I was surprised that I still remembered all the codes and how to fly the ship. Vel and Daf knew exactly what to do and when I said something to that effect Daf said, “I’ve done this in the simulator over a thousand times, so don’t worry.” Then she asked me to set the speed and punch the autopilot.

When we arrived over the hotel the ship stopped and began to hover. I took my time landing it. I took a smooth ride down to impress the general but she was more interested in landing fast. She was anxious to see Nagol.

As soon as we entered the lobby the general spotted Nagol, ran towards him and embraced him like he was a family member. While watching that I wondered if Nagol was her father or perhaps her grandfather?

When we sat at the table I asked the general how she knew Nagol.

“General, how do you two know each other?”

Nagol interrupted and said, “This lovely girl has a name, you know. Call her by her name.”

“I’m sorry Sir, I can’t pronounce her name. Also, let her get used to the idea of being called general. I feel funny being her commander given that she’s at least five years older than me. I think she should be my commander. She has the aptitude, training and experience for it. I have none of those,” I replied.

The general wanted to know what we had said. Vel translated. She and Nagol looked at each other and nodded in agreement. I decided not to ask any more questions about their relationship. I knew she was special to him from the moment I saw them embrace.

“So, let me understand you correctly, this lovely woman tells me that you want her to take over the entire planetary force and lead it while you’re away investigating the war? And you promoted her from squad sergeant to general all on your own, without consulting the war council or military command?”

“Yes Sir,” I replied.

After he laughed out loud he said, “Otsiron, I love you like a grandson but sometimes I wonder what you’re thinking. Things are not as simple as you may think. Just because a bunch of crooked politicians appointed you commander, to save their own skins, doesn’t make you commander. You need to earn the position. You also need the support of the military, the officers, the troops… They are the real power, not the word of a bunch of politicians. I’ve been in this business for a long time and know how things work.”

“You’re absolutely right, Sir. This was a decision I made on my own under the assumption that the authority given to me was genuine. And as such I’m acting on it like it is genuine. I was led to believe that my authority was handed to me by the war council consisting of elected officials, crooks or not, elected by the people with authority to act for the people. It is their responsibility to inform the military and get its approval. That’s how I understand things. Promoting this lovely woman to general will be a test for me to see if my authority is real or not. And yes, I intend to promote her like I promised.”

“And what if you fail?”

At that point I stood up and loudly said, “If I was given the position by deception then I will resign and the ship will never fly. Or I might use the ship to do what I feel like. I might even decide to take revenge on those who deceived me. As far as I know my authority is legal. It was given to me by vote, by the elected war council. I’m a

soldier and I will exercise my authority. I took a pledge to defend the people on this planet and I will equally defend them from an internal enemy as I will from an external one.”

Nagol looked away, shook his head, took a deep breath and said, “You talk tough but you have no idea what you’re up against. You have no money, no power, no connections, no allies… and on top of that, you don’t even know who the enemy is…”

The general looked at me, smiled and whispered, “Bravo, bravo…”

“What are you two doing, playing some sort of a game?” asked Nagol.

“Yes, yes we are, he knows what he’s doing. They need him and they will tell him what he wants to hear as long as he promises to help them but he won’t help them until they give him what he wants. That’s a good strategy,” said the general.

“If you ask me, I think you’re both crazy. But that’s me,” said Nagol. “On the other hand we’re in a big mess here and we need to do something, so please focus on that.”

After a moment of silence I said, “My gut tells me the war will end before it gets here. My gut also tells me that I won’t be coming back and neither will my ship. You don’t have to believe me. But suppose that my gut is right, what do you suppose will happen here after the war ends and the ship is no longer around?”

Nagol looked around. No one was offering any answers.

“Anelia will make her move and take over the government, even by force if necessary. After that she’ll eliminate every bit of opposition, everyone knows that,” he said.

“So, as you can see the danger you’re in is not just from the outside. I think Anelia is a far greater danger to you and your people than any distant war. That’s why I’ve chosen to promote this lovely woman to general with the responsibility of taking command of all the forces so that when the time comes she will be ready for Anelia.

I know this is a big step to suddenly take but we’re running out of time and, as you mentioned, I have no one else I can trust. Plus the general believes, or I should say has confirmed that Anelia possesses an elite army of her own.”

“It’s true grandfather, she does, I know that for a fact. I just don’t know how big it is but I intend to find out.”

Nagol took another deep breath, looked at her and then at me and said, “She is my only grandchild. I can’t agree with anything that puts her in harms way. Whatever she does will have to be her own decision and whatever she chooses to do I will support. But, if you ask me, this is suicide for the both of you.”

“Thank you grandfather,” she said.

“I don’t think she’ll be in much danger as long as she follows the rules. I will insist on a couple of things. One, the troops be properly trained in martial arts for hand to hand combat and two, the troops must wait here until my return. The general will work under the assumption that we’ll be going to war; it’s a matter of when. While this goes on, the general will covertly prepare the military for any and all actions. She will insist that she needs more specialists in order to properly train her forces and in this way she will deplete the elite from Anelia’s army. Anelia must not find out that the general knows about her private army…”

“Enough talk,” Nagol interrupted and waved at the man looking in our direction and yelled. “Bring us food and drinks.”

The general kept looking at me and smiling which made me nervous. I looked back at her and said, “What?” in Macedonian.

She didn’t understand and said something to me in her language but I motioned with my hands that I didn’t understand either.

Vel looked at me and said, “Would you like me to translate?”

“No,” I said, you can tell me what she said some other time.

The moment the server filled our shot glasses with rakia, Nagol picked up his glass and toasted us with the words, “To our friendship”, touched the glass to his lips and put it back down again. The general and I gulped it down quickly.

“I needed that!” I said.

I looked at the general and said, “May I call you Gen?”

She laughed out loud and said, “I was wondering when you were going to come around to finding a pet name for me? Yes, of course you can call me Gen.”

I took offense to that so to get back at her I said, “I only give pet names to the women I admire.”

“Don’t encourage her,” said Nagol. “She was infatuated with you after you left, like every other woman on this planet. Ruzha made you into a star.”

Gen smiled, shook her head and said, “When it comes to men I’ve been a disappointment to him. He wants great grandchildren but doesn’t like the men I choose.”

“You’re so lucky to have a grandfather who loves you,” I said and clinked my glass against hers and we gulped another shot.

Vel and Daf were still working on their first shot.

Gen was tall like her grandfather but also thin and very muscular. She was honest and brave. She reminded me of Asora. But Asora lacked her toughness and steely determination. She would make an excellent commander. I had no doubt about that. But given the current circumstances with the war going on and Anelia plotting to take control of the planet, what price would she have to pay? And again, it would be my fault if things went wrong. She was good looking but I couldn’t help but look at her with sad eyes.

After a few moments of silence Nagol spoke and said, “I guess now is as good a time as any to bring you up to date regarding your friends. Which one would you like me to start with?”

“Please start with Delche, and Vel please translate for Gen.”

Getting reacquainted

“Delche was one of my better students. Unfortunately, after all he’d done for the planet, especially for the scientific community, he was punished for his wife’s activities, which had nothing to do with him. That’s how corrupt our judicial system was but I think you already know that. I wanted to help him and even got Voskot and Vieria involved but we could do nothing. All we managed to do was save him from going to jail. The man became so alienated and disillusioned by the whole experience that he left the middle zone and disappeared. His name wasn’t always Delche. He used that alias to hide but I guess you already know that too.

Well, after you left I went to see him at his restaurant. That’s when I learned about the rakia and the Macedonian foods he was cooking. I wasn’t sure how he was going to react, given that I had failed to help him in the past, but I was interested in finding out more about you. So I set everything aside and went to see him. I was surprised by how accepting he was. He was a more mature version of the Delche I used to know. A bit more cynical but the same old Delche nonetheless. All he wanted to do was talk about you, Ori and your adventures. At the same time he told me that the captain of the science vessel which took you back to earth had contacted him and discussed a business proposition to distribute rakia to the galaxy traders. Oh, that was a big deal for him, a lifelong dream. He said that you had made it possible for him. By the way the captain is retired now and he’ll be here with his wife tomorrow. He too is anxious to see you. You must have made quite an impression on him.”

“So, what happened with his rakia business?” I asked.

“Well, when the war broke out all business with the galaxy traders abruptly ended. Delche was a tycoon for four years and amassed a lot of money which he donated to develop the outer zone where he lived. He sponsored a lot of businesses which still function to this day. Now he’s back in his restaurant cooking Macedonian foods. He said to me, ‘What’s the point in having all that money if it doesn’t make you happy?’ Rakia, unfortunately, is still illegal on this planet and he can’t sell it so he gives it away... Asora left him you know,

she left him before you departed for earth but Delche didn’t want to tell you. He knew how disappointed you’d be.”

“I kind of knew that because they hardly spent any time together. I don’t blame Asora, she had a hard life. I kind of feel responsible for their breakup because I put them in that situation, first Delche as my navigator and then Asora in politics; something she wasn’t ready for.”

“Don’t blame yourself for that, you couldn’t have known what was going to happen. Anyway, Airam was the glue that kept them in contact. After you left Delche started to fall apart but Airam kept him from jumping into the deep end. She was helpful to her mother too. Every time Asora had a breakdown she ran to Airam. Ironic, isn’t it, a mother running to her daughter. So, we all owe Airam a lot. Unfortunately her commitment to her father and mother and to the restaurant took a heavy toll on her romantic life. Even Ori cried on her shoulders many times, looking for solace after you left. He asked her to marry him but she turned him down. She told him she didn’t want their marriage to turn out like her parents’ marriage. Poor Ori, he left his post in Asora’s government and lives like a hermit now somewhere in the outer zone. He volunteers at a mission in the slums helping the helpless. Airam visits him once in a while to bring him rakia and make sure he’s still okay. I understand he also drinks a lot. That poor guy wasn’t ready for what awaited him but at that moment Vieria didn’t have anyone else. I told her that he wasn’t ready but once you became inseparable she decided to leave him with you. No one knew that you would be separated. I’m so sorry that things turned out the way they did for the three of you,” said Nagol and paused for a moment.

He then looked at me and said, “After you left for earth Ruzha came onto the planetary scene with stories, magnificent stories about you and your exploits. She was so good she made all the girls on the planet go nuts over you.”

“Really?”

“It’s true, I was one of those girls, it happened to me. You were very popular, even more popular than royalty. Only a woman in love

could have done all the things she did for you. And you ended up breaking her heart,” said Gen.

“Yes, it’s true. You became a subject in our history lessons and in the Macedonian school. Every student wanted to learn Macedonian because of you. They had to put a limit on how many students the academy could enroll,” said Vel and Daf agreed.

“I find that hard to believe,” I said.

“Well, you watched the parade of thousands of young ladies marching for you. Why would they even have such a parade if they felt you weren’t important? And now all those women see you as their saviour. And the more I listen to your conversation the more I believe this is yet another deception and I’d have to agree with Gen, that they’re out to get you and destroy Vieria’s army; the army I belong to. But these poor girls don’t know that, do they? I didn’t know that until today,” said Vel.

Nagol looked at me with a worried look.

Gen interrupted and said, “Grandfather, this is my fault, I’ve been thinking out loud again, I’m very sorry.”

“Well this is the sort of thing that could send you into isolation again, so you have to be careful what you say,” said Nagol.

“Please Sir, with due respect, these two young ladies are my officers whom I trust with my life and they’ll never repeat to anyone, outside of this circle, what they’ve heard no matter how hard they are tortured. Isn’t that right Lieutenants?

“Yes Sir,” both of them replied in unison.

“I’m sorry girls but I’ve been in this game too long and have seen what can happen if we let things slip, even unintentionally. I tried to tell this to my hard-headed granddaughter but she didn’t listen to me and preferred to learn things the hard way.”

To change the subject I asked, “So, what is Ruzha up to now? Did she marry?”

“No, I’m afraid she didn’t marry. Just after you left she became influential, too influential, especially with the outlanders. So the rats made her life difficult. One by one the networks began to drop her stories until she disappeared from public life. Now she works as a photographer cataloging items for the main science lab in the centre zone,” said Nagol.

“Did she at least finish her education?” I asked.

“Yes, while serving on the science vessel for two years she finished her education and became good friends with the captain and his wife. When the captain retired and the ship was passed on to another captain she left the science vessel and retired from journalism. After that she took the job in the science lab. She’ll be here tomorrow.”

“She didn’t marry because she’s still in love with you. I’m surprised she hasn’t contacted you already,” said Gen.

“And how do you know that?” I asked.

“She told me herself when she came to film the facilities. I was in charge of guarding the place. She spent three days and two nights with me. All she did was talk about you. Why did you leave her? How could you do that to her?”

“Gen, you more than anyone should understand that there is a time for relationships and that was not the time. I’ve met many women with whom I could have had relationships, not just here but also on earth, but I know how dangerous that would be for them and for me. Ask your grandfather if you don’t believe me.”

“I know that but…” she replied.

“It hasn’t been easy for me either but I know it would be much harder if I was in a relationship and my enemies got hold of the person I cared for? If that happened, in my position it would be a

disaster. It would be over for me, the ship and for everyone who depends on me. That’s why I can’t have a relationship with anyone.”

“Yes, I’m very sorry about that,” said Nagol. “I too have problems with relationships.”

After a moment of silence, Nagol took a deep breath and said, “If there are no more questions, I’d like to give you a tour of my museum. I keep things there that are illegal. When we own things that are illegal on this planet we open private museums and put them there. That’s considered legal… to have illegal items in a museum. It’s a loophole for collectors of illegal items.”

As soon as we stood up and began to leave the table, the man serving us came over to clear the dishes but Nagol signaled him to leave things as they were.

The museum was close. It was located behind closed doors. Nagol opened the door with his badge and we walked in. The first thing he did was take my medallion which was hanging on the wall and show it to Gen. She immediately recognized it. Ruzha had shown her pictures of it. I didn’t remember Ruzha taking any photographs of my badge but I guess she had during the brief time we were together on the science ship. I watched Gen admire it and rub it with her palm.

It was a museum not too dissimilar from Voskot’s. Nagol and Vos must have shared the same passion for artifacts and weapons. I looked from shelf to shelf and from wall to wall. One shelf was full of various alcoholic drinks including some from earth. Nagol must have seen me shaking my head, impressed with his collection of booze, something which Vos didn’t have.

I smiled and said, “For a man who doesn’t drink you sure have a hefty collection of rakia.”

“Only a drinker would notice that,” he said. “There was a time when I could drink.”

“So, how did you come to collect rakia from so many far away places? I see you even have rakia from earth.”

“I have to thank my students for that. They brought me things from their expeditions. Some things, including some of the weapons and ammunition, I bought on the black market.”

I noticed Vel and Daf looking at the various museum pieces and talking about them in their language. Nagol and Gen went to the corner and took some time to talk in private. And here I was, once again, feeling alone, having nothing in common with these people. I shouldn’t be complaining because I’d felt alone even when I was on earth.

When we were done exploring Nagol led us back to the lounge and Gen and I resumed drinking while snacking on the chunks of fried meat and white cubes that passed for feta cheese. Nagol spent some time talking with Vel and Daf, getting to know them better.

Sometime later, when Gen and I had had enough rakia in our system, enough to make us feel brave and uninhibited, we joined Nagol and the girls and wanted to talk strategy about what to do next.

“We’re free this evening,” I said. “So why not invite Asora and some of the other politicians you trust and have a frank discussion with them about a strategy to end the war?”

“Well, but we’d have to be discrete. I only trust Asora, I don’t know about the others.”

“All you have to do is bring them here. I’ll do the talking and I’ll be very discrete.”

After Nagol walked away, everyone looked nervous, especially Gen, who was now full of rakia. But then again, rakia doesn’t work the same way on everyone. As I recall I’ve made many decisions under the influence of rakia which I ordinarily wouldn’t have made. I regret some but I’m grateful for most. Rakia appears to work the opposite on Gen. It makes her meek and placid, which is okay.

When Nagol came back he said, “The war council is in assembly right now and will see you in their boardroom as soon as they’re done. They’re expecting you to be there as soon as possible. When you’re done with them you come back here for dinner.”

“You’ll join us in the boardroom, right?” I asked Nagol.

“Of course I will, I wouldn’t miss that for the world. Plus I want to be there to see my granddaughter promoted to general. Imagine that!”

“I hope you’re not being sarcastic, Sir?” I asked.

“I’m everything you can think of, I’ve seen it all and I’ve done it all. I’ll believe it when I see it. But, at the same time, I must have hope. I will be there with you.”

Old man Nagol slowly led the way and we followed. Just as we approached the long security corridor I began to wonder how I was going to get my armed guards past security. I was about to say something to Vel when the big door flung open and there was no one in the long corridor.

Nagol must have been watching me fret because he said, “Don’t worry, they’re all gone home for the evening. The guards are only here during business hours and special sessions. This is an informal meeting.”

We waited outside the big door in silence while the war council continued to have its discussions. When they were done, Asora opened the big door and invited us in.

When we entered the conference room I noticed everyone was there and sitting in the same seat as before. The seat beside Anelia was empty. I decided not to sit there. I decided I was going to sit on the opposite side of the table with my armed guards standing behind me. Asora was familiar with them and wasn’t worried about them being armed but I could sense fear in the rest of the councillors.”

I introduced everyone including my personal guards and Nagol, whom everyone already knew, and we sat down.

“I’ve come up with a proposal on how to approach the war situation and I want to discuss it with the council with hopes of getting it approved,” I said.

Asora looked around and said, “All in favour of hearing this proposal raise your hand.”

They all raised their hands.

“Like I said before, I’m willing to lead your armies into the war but before I do that I want two things done. First, like I said before, I want to know everything there is to know about the war, which I will investigate myself. Second I want to lead a strong army to ensure, without a doubt, that complete victory will be achieved. The army I lead must be well prepared for all kinds of combat, especially hand to hand combat. Most wars today are fought with high technologies. They are rarely ever fought with ground forces. From the number of troops involved in this war I have deduced that the fighting is done on inaccessible terrain, inaccessible to high technology, most likely underground or in places that technology cannot reach. That is why it is imperative that my forces are prepared for every kind of action, especially hand to hand combat. I searched your databases for trainers who can give me quality soldiers and fortunately I found one. According to your data this soldier, sitting here, is one of the best trainers in marshal arts on your planet. I need her and many others like her to train the troops. When the soldiers return, the ones that have been recalled, they too should be trained in hand to hand combat. I also want them trained in marshal arts. We need to crush the enemy at the source and must not let it escape. For that I need capable soldiers who can do the job. But, in order for them to do the job, they must know how to do it and this soldier here, in my opinion, can give them that. But she can’t do it alone and neither can she do it as a sergeant. That’s why I have come here to ask for your help to give me the opportunity and authority to prepare your army, my army, for the final victory. I want this sergeant promoted to general with authority to act so that she can train and organize the army on my behalf while I’m away

investigating the war. We must have the army ready and prepared for transport upon my return. As I understand it, the war is expanding and unless we act immediately, it will gain strength and come closer to us, which we don’t want. You must also contact the galaxy traders and ask them for permission to give me access to their airspace so that I can carry out my investigation. You must inform them to also make preparations to receive a huge army. And may Mother Nature be with us!” I said and looked around. Everyone sat there in silence.

I then said, “Since you’re all here, please take a moment and think about my proposal. Please let me know if I’m going in the right direction and if I should continue with this plan.”

Asora looked around and said, “Does anyone have any questions?”

“I have a question,” replied Anelia.

Everyone looked at her.

“Why her?” she said pointing at Gen. “You know she has a criminal record. She’s been charged with insubordination. I don’t want her near my soldiers.”

“I don’t care who she is and what she has done,” I said. “Find me someone better and I’ll let her go. Do you have someone better in mind?”

“No, not at the moment, but I’m sure I can find someone in a couple of weeks.”

“With all due respect Anelia, I plan to leave this planet as soon as the forces that have been recalled arrive. That’s in a few days and if you don’t agree with my plan you can put it to a vote. But unless I get what I need, unless I can assure you that I will bring you victory, I’m not taking on this mission. Failure for me is not an option.”

Asora stood up and said, “Thank you Anelia, thank you Otsiron for your suggestions. Now I think I’ll put Otsiron’s proposal to a vote. All in favour please raise your hand.”

“Thank you. Let the record show that the vote is unanimous with the exception of Anelia who opposes.”

Asora again looked at everyone and said, “All in favour of promoting [Gen] to General in charge of all forces in Otsiron’s absence and as master trainer in marshal arts and hand to hand combat, please raise your hand.”

“Thank you. Let the record show that this vote too is unanimous with the exception of Anelia who opposes.”

After everyone settled down I said, “Thank you for having confidence in me. Now there are a couple more things that need to be done. One, because Anelia opposed my proposal which is now legal, it would be a conflict of interest for her to remain as my boss in your government. She cannot be my boss if she is against what I plan to do. So I’d like to ask the council to take one more vote. Should the council decide not to remove her, I’ll have no choice but to resign, take my ship and go back to earth.”

Vel was about to jump off her seat and yell “NO!” but Nagol grabbed her by the wrist and told her to sit down, be patient and continue translating.

Vel’s sudden stir caused my guards to jump back a step and take on a state of readiness, ready to draw their weapons. That didn’t go unnoticed. Everyone in the room saw what had happened but, as it turned out, no one said a word or objected to them being there.

“Cool it,” I said to Vel. “You promised me you’d trust me.”

Asora pretended she hadn’t seen anything and put the motion to a vote. One by one the councillors raised their hands and again, with the exception of Anelia, they voted in favour of stripping her of authority over the military. It appeared that at that moment they were more afraid of me, or I should say of my guards, than they were of Anelia.

“There is one more thing that the war council needs to do,” I said, “and that is to inform the government and military command of all the changes that took place here in the last two days and find out if they agree with my plan. I would welcome any comments or suggestions from them.”

“With the council’s permission I’d like to inform military command as suggested. In the meantime I propose that I temporarily take over Anelia’s role in the military, if that’s okay with the council,” said Asora.

After looking around at everyone she said, “I’m putting the last motion to a vote, may I see some hands?”

One by one the councillors put their hands up except for Anelia.