Star People

Chapter 25

Conferences

Jan 13^th, 13 AE…

In a secret conference room at the Zedan Military Base at the capital city of Rikivak, at least two dozen high-ranking officers were shouting and arguing amongst themselves.

“What the Hell is going on?!”

“How could we lose over 2,000 ships?!”

“Why was there no credible intelligence on this Free Land country?”

“We didn’t even sight the coastlines of either Merdov or Bisra!”

“We lost General Rommet!”

“We can’t go on the offensive anymore!”

CRASH!

All the officers stopped as after General Hens Himro picked up a chair and slammed it to the floor to get everyone’s attention. He glared at them in silence for a minute before finally sitting down and addressing them.

“Gentlemen, I know that the failures of the Merdov and Bisra invasions are quite disturbing, but arguing about them and acting like children will not help the situation at hand.”

“The situation at hand is dire enough on its own.” Colonel Cordin Haxin stated. “With the failure of both invasion forces, we have experienced a severe reduction in our overall forces, both in material and especially manpower.”

“I must ask again.” Vice Admiral Rexor Villas inquired. “How could we have lost so many ships, planes and men in such a short time?”

“From all available reports, it was due to the nation of Free Land.” Himro replied. “However, I still cannot believe entirely on these fantastical reports of guided munitions, supersonic fighters and ships that could fly!”

“Then what other reason can you give us to explain the horrendous losses we’ve endured?” Haxin pointed out. “Why do we have so little intel on this Free Land nation?”

Himro paused for a moment before replying. “Apparently, our scouting forces only encountered the lesser-advanced nations in the area, and did not do a more thorough job of surveying the northern continent called Alder. The initial reports and intelligence they had gathered from the island natives spoke of stories of the Alder continent being inhabited by giant, violent beasts and no country ever being formed there. The scouts found no reason to travel to the Alder continent to verify these claims.”

Unfortunately for Zedan, the island natives had not yet been contacted by Free Land, and therefore the natives were unaware that the Alder continent had been colonized by the Star Alliance.

“Damn! So there was a technologically superior nation right under our noses!”

“I still do not entirely believe the reports of their technology being superior to ours.”

“I repeat my previous statement. What other reason can you give us to explain our losses? The reports were that ships and planes were being destroyed without ever sighting the enemy!”

The general was taken aback. Haxin raised a good point. If the enemy did possess weapons that could strike from beyond visual range, then that made virtually all of their World War Two-level tactics worthless.

 “According to the reports, Free Land used some kind of long-range, guided rockets.” Colonel Varsto Ren stated. He was the head of Zedan’s New Technologies Laboratories. “There is virtually no kind of technology that can achieve such a thing. Even if we were to use our best vacuum tubes, and shrink them down to size of a bean, the calculation power needed would create a machine the size of a three-story building! It’s just impossible!”

“Whether or not it is impossible, the proof is that they have that technology!” Haxin retorted. “And what can we do to counter it?”

There was a long stretch of silence as no one had a valid answer.

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Polaris City, Free Land…

In the War Conference Room of Andromeda Base, General Kurdo stood in front of his fellow officers and government officials as they began planning for the invasion of the Zedan continent.

“My friends, colleagues and allies! We have successfully defended the continents of Merdov and Bisra, and forced the Zedan war machine to experience the same hard lessons we had given to the Empire of Sath. However, our work is far from over. The Zedan military is badly damaged, and has suffered near-catastrophic losses, but it still refuses to lay down its arms and surrender. Therefore, we must begin plans to invade the very heart of the Zedan Empire!”

Behind him, a holographic projection of the Zedan continent appeared.

“Unlike our war with the Sath, the Zedan are in possession of more advanced weaponry. Even though they are still no match for our military might, caution is still warranted. We won’t be facing armed horsemen, catapults or wyverns. We will be facing battleships, tanks and propeller-driven planes. And most of all, we will need to contend with the possibility of nuclear weapons.”

Everyone silently nodded in agreement as they were well aware of the dangers of nuclear warfare. Then General Kurkress, another Catian officer, spoke up.

“There’s an additional snag. Both the Kingdom of Atlans and Naran, wish to participate in the invasion of Zedan.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Admiral Kajor said.

“Your reasoning, Admiral?” Kurdo asked.

“I will admit that the two kingdoms acquitted themselves quite well in repelling the invasion to Bisra. They were able to use the upgrades that we had provided to them with competence. However…”

“However?”

“They would be fighting against an enemy on his home territory and there’s the threat of nuclear weapons. They have no defense against them and I feel very wary of exposing the existence of such weaponry to the inhabitants of this world.”

“Then we would have to make certain that Zedan’s nuclear capabilities are neutralized before begin the invasion.”

“Have we received any intel about Zedan’s atomic weapons from the spies we had sent to the Zedan continent?” Admiral Tarhesse asked.

“So far, nothing substantial.” Kurdo admitted. “Our spies are following a few leads but we haven’t gotten 100% confirmation. Still, they have been giving us reports on the Zedan civilization, the people and the overall government.”

Kurdo and the other members of the upper brass continued to discuss amongst themselves.

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The Kingdom of Naran…

“Are you serious, Your Majesty?”

“Indeed.” Emperor Vilgar Senshirine IX replied. “Even though our fighters had done well against the Zedan air forces, the other nations of the world seem to view Free Land as the strongest superpower. It appears that we are no longer seen as the apex nation.”

The advisor had just finished with his report on the battle against Zedan near the Bisra continent. Although the Emperor was quite happy with the news that the new Sky Blade II fighters had performed admirably, he was still annoyed over the fact that the battle wouldn’t have resulted so favorably without Free Land’s aid. In fact, just about every victory for the allied nations against Zedan was due to Free Land in one way or another. And that in turn had only added to the growing resentment the Kingdom of Naran had against Free Land. A resentment that had been steadily growing for nearly a year.

Before the appearance of the people from the stars, the Kingdom of Naran had enjoyed the status of being the most powerful nation on Istaria. There were no other country that could even come close to the magical might and technological level of Naran. The Sath envied them. The Kingdom of Atlans tried to be like them with their mechanical technology. And the Empire of Euracon would do whatever it took to steal from Naran. Trade with Naran was considered extremely lucrative for every other nation and Naran magic technology products were highly sought after.

And the prestige of being the top world superpower was also a major perk. Maintaing positive diplomatic relations with Naran was a top priority for the other countries. Until recently, there was not a single country that was foolish enough to raise arms against Senshirine’s country. They would risk being annihilated by Naran’s magical technology. High-ranking officials and even royalty bowed down to the Kingdom. There was simply no other realm that could compare. Naran was seen as the future.

Then the Star Alliance came to the Alder continent.

At first, Senshirine and most of the other world leaders didn’t give much thought about a newly-founded nation. In nearly all cases, a young nation was seen as primitive and weak. And they normally didn’t have much in terms of wealth.

However, things immediately changed the moment everyone learned that Free Land was located on the Alter continent. The fact that a nation had been created in that land of giant and deadly magical monsters was incredible by itself. Furthermore, there was reported to be millions of humans, beastkin, lizardmen, fairies and blue-skinned elven women living there. And most importantly, the threat of the giant monsters had been all but eliminated, thereby giving the Free Landers access the staggering wealth of magical ore that was located on the Alder continent.

Almost immediately, this new nation had garnered the attention and interest of everyone else.

Naturally of course, being the closest to the Alder continent, the Sath Empire tried to get Free Land to become one of its vassal states. Their desire to obtain the magical ore wealth was obvious, even to a simpleton. However, they soon learned, as did many of the other nations that Free Land was far more formidable than anyone could have imagined. In just under a week, the people of the Star Alliance tore down nearly all of the Sath military capabilities and forced the entire empire to capitulate. According to the reports and rumors, the new nation was in possession of mechanical technology that far outstripped the Kingdom of Atlans and was said to be even greater than the Kingdom of Naran’s magical technology.

Greater than ours! Hah! The Naran ruler scoffed. He and many others in the nation found that notion hard to believe. In fact, aside from those blue-skinned elven women, the race called the Kyteeri, virtually none of the inhabitants were interested in utilizing magic. That by itself was considered odd by the other countries, especially Naran. How could anyone survive without using magic? Even the mechanical nation of Atlans used some magic, at least in their magic gemstone fuel. However, the land of the Star Alliance was able to perform miracles by science alone. Furthermore, after the Sath conflict, it soon became apparent that Free Land had much more to offer than merely the magical ore of the Alder continent.

After the war with the Sath, (though in reality it was more like a one-sided stomp), the former superpower began to transform from a military-first country of conquerors, to a center of commerce and trade. And the most desired products of all were imports from Free Land. Everything from construction, infrastructure, household commodities and mechanical devices that made products from Atlans look like cheap toys. Exotic foods such as the Instant Food Packet were highly sought after by foreign armies and adventurers.

And it wasn’t just Free Land products that the people wanted. New techniques and knowledge from Free Land were also commodities that the other nations wanted. The dwarven countries soaked up every new manufacturing process they could learn from the Star Alliance. They were even petitioning to have their nations join the Star Alliance. New fabrics and sewing processes made textile nations such as Merillo ecstatic. And the Kingdom of Atlans had all but abandoned magic and was determined to someday catch up to Free Land. Soon, much to Senshirine’s and everyone else’s annoyance in the upper levels of the Naran government, every other nation were constantly singing the praises of the products and techniques of Free Land. The phrase, “Let’s Catch Up to Free Land Someday” had become quite irritating as of late.

This had also caused a domino effect among the other nations and races. Previously, the Kingdom of Naran had enjoyed the monopoly of exporting its goods and services to lesser nations. There was simply nothing better. Even the Kingdom of Atlans and their mechanical technology couldn’t compare. Furthermore, the lack of competition allowed Naran to set their prices to whatever they wanted and the customers had no choice but to accept it. As a result, the topmost magic-technology country in the world had filled their coffers to bursting while the others languished in stagnation.

And now Naran was experiencing an economic downturn they never had before. Large amounts of currency were flowing out of the domain, currency that the government needed to function. And the appearance of a competitor with the ability to easily mass-produce on a scale unimagined, put an enormous strain on the Naran artisans and manufacturers to meet demand. Despite their mastery of magic and their access to the ancient technology of their ancestors, Naran couldn’t match the power, efficiency and sheer volume that Free Land was capable of.

Oh they tried to show that their magical technology was still superior. Recently, they had gotten into a bit of a race with Atlans on who could launch an object into space. Unfortunately, Naran suffered a humiliating loss after Atlans managed to get their rocket past the stratosphere first. What was even more humiliating was when the Naran technicians later learned that magic didn’t work in space. Therefore the effort and resources they had used for the project was all wasted as they couldn’t do anything once they achieved orbit.

The biggest embarrassment of all was the fact that they had to ask Free Land on how to improve on their magical jets. Studying the ancient technology of the First Ones took a lot of time and flight principles had to be slowly and painstakingly learned. For Free Land, aeronautics and jet technology was elementary to them. And it was an additional strain on the country’s resources as the Star Alliance warned them. The new jets were fuel-hungry and needed more maintenance. As a result, they couldn’t keep more than a small force of them. And they couldn’t even compare to Free Land’s starfighters.

“Begging your pardon, Your Majesty, but to be completely honest, I cannot see Free Land as anything but the apex nation. As much as it pains me to say this, but they are so far ahead of us that it boggles the mind!”

The advisor’s words brought the Emperor’s attention back to the present. At this point, he made a decision.

“I will admit that I was very surprised when the diplomatic envoy we sent to Free Land had given me their reports.” Senshirine said. “I was even more surprised with the reports of Free Land’s technology during the war with the Sath and later with that ‘Planet Ravager’ in Euracon and Bisra. In fact, we have Free Land to thank for the technological advancements to our jet fighters. However…”

“However?”

“We cannot lose our position as the topmost nation in this world. To do so would cause our allies to lose faith in us. Therefore, I have decided to bring out the Ancient Technology that we had amassed over the centuries and show the world that we are a force, nay THE FORCE to be reckoned with.”

“But Your Majesty! To bring forth such a weapon as the Deriaton! We only have three of them, and it took us over a century to build one! They represent the pinnacle of our magic technology!”

“Exactly. It is high time for the world to be reminded that the Kingdom of Naran is the center. The Zedan had insulted the other nations and us and demanded that we bow down to them! Therefore, I think it would be fitting to show them that Free Land is not the only country they should fear! The ones they should truly fear are us!”

“I see.”

“Send word to the Magical Technologies Bureau! Once Free Land and Atlans are ready to invade, we shall show Zedan and the world who is truly the greatest superpower!”

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The continent of Zedan…

“This is getting us nowhere!” General Himro shouted, instantly quieting the arguing officers at the conference. “I called you here to discuss what can be done since the invasions of Merdov and Bisra have failed! Now give me some answers!”

There was another stretch of silence, before one officer stood up to read a report. This was General Verite Scrandel.

“Begging your pardon, General Himro, but there’s really not much we can do. We’ve experienced a severe reduction in our overall military forces. We can no longer go on the offensive and can barely fight a defensive war.”

“What do we have left?”

“After losing the Merdov and Bisra Invasion Fleets, the total remainder of our ships numbers at around 600 capital ships, including 4 heavy carriers. Normally, that would be seen as a formidable force, but considering how the enemy wiped out over 2,000 vessels in such a short amount of time, we cannot say with confidence that our remaining ships would be able to hold off an enemy invasion indefinitely.”

“And what about our air forces?”

“Including the 4 heavy carriers, we do have several land bases on the continent and on the dozens of island bases we had set up when we first arrived in this world.”

“So we have sufficient air cover?”

“For the time being. Our fuel reserves are not at critical levels, but it is worrisome. Even with our synthetic fuel plants working on a 24hr basis, we could not sustain our military needs for very long. Our best estimates would be 4-5 months before we exhaust them.”

“I heard that the new fighter is being developed and is in the final phases of testing.”

“Yes sir. However, we cannot depend solely on the new plane since we lost a great deal of our veteran pilots. No matter how powerful the new plane is, we’d be sending it out with rookie pilots.”

“Better than nothing. And our ground forces?”

“Fortunately we do have the majority of our infantry, armored divisions and artillery, so we should be able defend against any enemy land incursions. However, we have yet to see the enemy land force capabilities. There have been some rumors that Free Land has giant mechanical soldiers, but these reports have yet to be confirmed.”

“Considering that these ‘rumors’ about their beyond-visual-range, guided rockets have been confirmed, I would think we should take these rumors about giant mechanical soldiers with caution.” The general took a deep breath and sighed. “It is obvious that we cannot defeat the enemy with the current state of our forces, but perhaps we can still outlast the enemy. We cannot take the fight to the enemy, but we can make the fight to invade our home so bloody that our opponent might be convinced to come to the bargaining table.”

“But how do we do that? According to all reports, are weapons are virtually useless against them!”

“Conventional weapons perhaps. But not our ultimate weapon.”

This caused the entire conference to gasp in surprise. The ultimate weapon meant only one thing, the Ender Bomb.

The Ender Bomb was the result of 10 years of research and development on their old world. It had cost them much of their economy and used the power of rare elements. They had used one to end their war with their ancient enemies, the Medosians. It had also caused them to be thrown into this new world. And they had one more.

“Must we resort to the Ender Bomb?” Major Crax Vero asked. “The last time we used it, we were thrown into this new world! Not to mention that we only have one left!”

“I thought the Bureau of New Technologies & Development was creating more?” General Himro asked.

 “Yes, the labs are hard at work trying to refine the Zedanium, but it will take time. Too much time I’m afraid.” Crax admitted. “I have been informed that they will only be able to create another, fully-functional Ender Bomb in two months.”

“They have two weeks to finish two more.”

This caused another series of gasps to be heard among the group of high-ranking officers. Himro raised a hand to silence them all before continuing.

“From what I have assessed from our remaining forces, and from what we’ve experienced so far from the enemy, our best hope is to hold them off for as long as we can. If the worst happens and our forces are unable to stop the invasion, then I have been authorized by the Emperor to make use of our one remaining Ender Bomb. Should it fail, then we will need at two backups.”

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In a small hotel room…

Hans Kihoffer and his fellow spies listened in on the conference through the secret transceiver Hans had planted on the major. Their expressions turned serious as they heard Crax’s words.

“So do you think this Ender Bomb is Zedan’s equivalent to the atomic bomb from World War 2?” Hans asked his associates.

One spy, a man named Pierre La Fonte, could only shrug. “It sounds like it is. All that talk about refining this ‘Zedanium’ element could mean they’re trying to get the right isotope. This Zedanium could either be the equivalent to uranium-235 or plutonium.”

Another spy, Jack Sodman, gave out his thoughts. “Remember that energy scan I took of that building in the center of that research facility? The emissions I detected do match with that of uranium-235. I also came across large amounts of heavy water.”

“So it’s almost certain that they have the equivalent of the Little Boy.” The fourth spy named Mario Cordon stated. “So they may have a weapon that’s capable of delivering at least 15 kilotons. Nasty.”

“We still don’t have all the information to make that assumption.” Hans pointed out. “We need definitive proof.”

“That means that we need to get into that facility.” Pierre stated.

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Later that night…

Rikivak Military Base, New Technologies & Development Facilities, Building 38…

Four figures silently made their way across the rooftop. To the average guard, they would see nothing as each spy was wearing a holographic camouflage bodysuit that wrapped the images of the surroundings around them. They were also equipped with sound-dampening equipment to cover their movements and even had a device to mask their scent and fool the guard dogs that were patrolling below along with the sentries.

This wasn’t their first incursion into the base as the four Free Land spies had made a few reconnaissance trips around the outer sections two days ago. This was their first time near the center where all the nuclear research was presumed to take place. As they came across a ventilation exhaust, they unveiled their secret weapon.

The micronized surveillance drone was no bigger than a small pack of chewing gum, and had its own camouflage field. It used a tiny set of G-force nullifier field projectors in order for it to float and maneuver in the air. It also possessed powerful video and sensor arrays, as well as recording equipment.

Hans nodded to Pierre and signaled for him to activate the drone and send it down into the building. Mario and Jack were on lookout duty as Pierre tossed the drone down the exhaust and activated the holo-viewer and controls on his wrist. He began guiding the tiny spy device through the ventilation systems.

The drone zipped down the shaft and began to navigate its way through the ducts. After about a half-hour, its sensors then started to pick up the presence of deuterium. Pierre guided the device toward that area and when it came to a ceiling grating, he focused the image enhancers on the contents of the room inside.

All four spies were shocked to see what was in the center of that room.

On a stand that was about the size of an office desk was the Ender Bomb. The weapon was about 3 meters in length and was shaped like an oversized tadpole. The front of the bomb was like the head of a baseball bat and the rear looked like one of those old box kites. The resemblance to the original Little Boy bomb was remarkable, but that also meant that it was just as dangerous.

The drone then scanned about and recorded everything else in that laboratory, including uranium-refining equipment, large tanks of heavy water and various other devices that resembled what was used during the Manhattan Project. Then Pierre turned on the audio sensors in order to listen in on the conversation between two scientists.

“Have they gone mad?! They want us to produce enough Zedanium to make two more bombs and they want it in 2 weeks?!”

“It’s impossible! It took us more than two months for us to create enough Zedanium for the first bomb!”

“Why don’t they just use the bomb we still have?”

“The Emperor and the top brass don’t want to waste the only bomb we have left! They want to have at least two more for insurance.”

“I tell you, it’s impossible!”

“Tell that to the Emperor.”

“Ah… right.”

“So what can we do?”

One of the scientists pondered for a moment, and then responded. “We may not have enough time or material to make a complete Ender Bomb. However, that doesn’t mean we HAVE to make a complete one.”

“What do you mean?”

“We don’t have enough Zedanium to make a full-power blast, but a partial amount should still be sufficient to do the job. Even at one-tenth of its strength should be enough.”

“So you want to just scale down the new bombs?”

“Yes. We don’t need a full-sized one. And by scaling down, we can also scale down the amount of time needed to construct a bomb. If we cut a few corners, we might be able to create workable versions of the Ender Bomb within the time frame.”

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On the roof…

“Did you hear that?” Hans asked.

“They can’t be serious! What they’re planning to build are pocket nukes!” Pierre responded.

“And I don’t like the idea of them ‘cutting corners’ while building them. They could end up with what they used to call as dirty bombs.”

“So what now?” Jack asked.

“Well, we have conclusive evidence that the Zedan have the atomic bomb.” Mario stated. “Weren’t we also given additional orders?”

“Yes, I believe we were authorized to do whatever is necessary to make certain the Zedan never get to use those weapons if they have them.”

All four nodded in agreement and began to make plans to transmit the intelligence they had gathered and to sabotage the Zedan atomic weapons.

To be continued…