Confederation -- 32

Chapter 32

Rudy and Holmes had left to visit their two assigned planets, and my two remaining ships were now heading for the most distant Sunny world. It would take almost twenty days for us to arrive, and we were now on the nineteenth day. I expected our ship to drop out of FTL early in tomorrow's day shift.

We'd left the unarmed two of the three captured ships in the care of the Sunnys. In addition to one of our Sunny pilots, I had insisted on crewing the captured armed vessel with a small group of Marines along with a couple of Sim-tigers for back-up and in case any Pug-bears happened along. We'd made sure the ship was supplied, and the crew had taken it out to the extreme edge of the system where it would discretely hang around on watch until we returned for the trip back to Earth. I'd initially planned to re-visit the first liberated (I hoped) planet to check on the yeast's progress rather than the second, but I reasoned the second would do just as well. We'd pick up the armed ship then.

The other two ships had been turned over to the Sunnys with a warning to keep them from being recaptured. Telling them to stay away from the Pug-bears was probably unnecessary, but I couldn't help myself. I wanted to make sure they were careful. It wouldn't do to allow those ships to fall back under enemy control.

There were only two other FTL ships in the Pug-bear fleet, as I currently understood it. If they showed up, I was prepared to attempt their capture. If not, we'd eventually have to go hunting for them. Leaving the Pug-bears with the capability for space travel was a sure recipe for trouble. I'd spent a lot of effort to isolate the troublesome creatures, and I wanted them to remain isolated.

My only alternative to that strategy was to drop a planet-killing-sized rock on their heads. Due to a possibly misplaced sense of conscience, I didn't want to go that far. I didn't want to be known as the first human who had destroyed a planet and an entire alien species.

Liz and I were sitting in the cafeteria when Kasm sauntered in, followed closely by Jefferson. I felt a little pang at the sight. It wasn't actually like I'd lost my cat, even though he spent a lot of his time with Kasm. He still slept with us more often than not, but during his waking periods, he was most likely to be found hovering around the big, green-striped creature. I guess hanging with the Sim-tigers made him feel like he was part of an invincible pride.

Kasm trailed his manipulating hand over my back as he walked by. He seemed to be rather fascinated with our musculature and smooth skins. If he hadn't been an alien, I wouldn't have put up with being petted. As it was, he patted us about as much and in much the same way as we patted Jefferson. It might have been humiliating, except that I knew he really cared for us.

He got something from one of the food synthesizers that provided raw meat or a reasonable facsimile and returned to curl up on the floor near our feet. Only then did he begin to communicate.

"Dec, Liz, I've been thinking," his thoughts came through clearly. "We now have enough starships to control the Pug-bears and Pugs. I think that my planet needs at least one."

He hastened to add, "It's not that we're interested or maybe even able to fly the thing, but I think Tukoli needs its own fleet for defense. It would place us on a more nearly even footing with you humans and the Sunnys."

I replied out loud, "Yes. I can see that. I've been thinking something like that also. You see, I believe that our three species would benefit by cooperating. Your people and mine get along well, and together, we can provide a measure of security for the pacifistic Sunnys. We may be able to establish some form of interplanetary trade. I don't know what the Sunnys or your people need or what your planet has to trade, but we can figure that out later. If we established regular traffic back and forth between our planets and maintained a joint force for defense, it might give us the security and means to build our civilizations into something more than they are now."

He mused for a bit and then sent, "I see what you mean. One thing from Earth that I know all of my people would like is venison. During my time on your planet, I've gotten kind of addicted to deer meat. It's a delicacy, unlike anything on Tukoli."

He sighed, "I suppose that we'll need some arms also. We do like your swords. That's a given, and I think we could use some specialized anti-matter projectors if they were designed for our use. Dangerous beasts, like the Night Stalkers, can't always be avoided, and it would be nice to have a weapon that would stop them."

He was indirectly referring to the deaths of his mate and son, and I caught an overtone of sadness in his thought.

Liz spoke, "I'm sure that could be arranged. In addition, I expect that at least some humans would like the opportunity to visit Tukoli or perhaps even live there. Our species usually likes adventure, and some would surely enjoy the opportunity to explore your planet."

I said, "That's true. Don't forget the Sunny planets. If we can get rid of all of the Pug-bears and Pugs, they might become attractive places to visit also."

We all looked up as Frazzle walked in. He had a business-like air about him that led me to expect him to start in about our arrival tomorrow. Instead, he started on almost the same topic that Kasm had brought up.

"Dec, you give the two FTL ships to the Sunnys. I talked to dem, and we will be very careful with the ships. Pug-bears never going to get their control back," he started.

I responded, "That's good. I'd hate to have to do all of this again."

He looked at Kasm momentarily and then said, "Maybe we all works together. Maybe we make agreement to be big family with three different peoples. We Sunnys can make technologies that humans and Sim-tigers can't do yet. You learns, but maybe we can trade our machines for protection."

He paused again and then thought of something, "And fish. Yes, definitely human-world fish." He licked his lips and added, "Dey good!"

Kasm looked at me, and I caught his thought, "Bargain hard, Dec. He has something else in mind also."

"Frazzle, that's just what we were discussing. I believe that our three species would do well to form an alliance. We could trade goods and services, including defense," I said.

Frazzle smiled with his tight grin. The Sunnys didn't show their teeth when they smiled. Possibly, that was too aggressive to suit them.

He said, "We can always use some of the food from your planet. We likes de fish and maybe some of plants too. I think we can make alliance like you say. Sim-tigers maybe don't have as much on their planet for us, but they good fighters and can provide protection."

Despite my prior thinking about mutual defense, that statement seemed to imply that defense might be necessary.

I asked, "If we can isolate the Pug-bears and Pugs, is there anything else that we have to worry about?"

Frazzle made a churring noise in his throat, "Errrrrr, maybes. Dere some sign of other creatures far out past our boundaries. We never contacted. Then the Pug-bears took over, and we been slaves. I don't know if there be a potential problem or not, but better to be safe."

This was news! I had been primarily concerned about another Pug-bear break-out, with maybe the remote secondary possibility that the Pugs might one day develop into a threat on their own. However, if there were other aliens somewhere, we would eventually encounter them. There seemed to me to be a possibility that we'd have about an equal chance of cooperation or conflict, depending on what each species wanted. As Frazzle had said, "Better to be safe." Also, better to be prepared, I thought.

I concluded, "It seems like we have the beginning of what we could call the Inter-species Space Confederacy. The details will have to be worked out, but from our experience together, I know all three species can cooperate and work together for mutual benefit."

"I like that," Liz interjected. "The ISC. It seems promising. Let's make it happen!"

Frazzle nodded in solemn agreement while Kasm reached out and patted Liz on her thigh. It was enough to make me grin. Maybe it would work.