{"id":2464,"date":"2018-06-09T07:28:53","date_gmt":"2018-06-09T12:28:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=2464"},"modified":"2018-06-16T09:22:25","modified_gmt":"2018-06-16T14:22:25","slug":"master-of-violence-part-19","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=2464","title":{"rendered":"Master of Violence – Part 19"},"content":{"rendered":"

Master of Violence<\/strong><\/span><\/h2>\n

by AJ Marks<\/span><\/p>\n

Part 19<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Angie turned to the cry shock in her eyes upon seeing Heather standing there.<\/p>\n

\u201cHeather,\u201d Angie replied, as they hugged.\u00a0 In a way she had resigned herself to never seeing any of her friends again.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow did you survive?\u201d they both asked at once.<\/p>\n

\u201cActually, Jack here,\u201d Angie said motioning towards jack watching as Heather\u2019s eyes went wide and pulled her close.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe didn\u2019t try anything on you, I know he\u2019s sweet on you,\u201d Heather whispered.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo,\u201d Angie said as everyone now was looking at them.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou said you have information?\u201d Charlie said, focusing attention back on Jack.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, I don\u2019t know what you know of the enemy,\u201d Jack said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnly they dislike a lot of Earth creatures,\u201d another person said.<\/p>\n

\u201cMight be useful,\u201d Jack said.\u00a0 \u201cWe\u2019ve had contact with Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat?\u201d\u00a0 \u201cHow?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt seems there is still a working cell link on Sixth Street,\u201d Jack said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd who are you talking to?\u00a0 A family member?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMy uncle,\u201d Angie said.<\/p>\n

\u201cOh, him,\u201d Heather said starting to roll her eyes and begin a rant\u00a0 against the military like normal then stopped and looked at her.\u00a0 \u201cHim?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah,\u201d Angie said knowing she knew who her uncle was.<\/p>\n

\u201cOkay, and who is your uncle?\u201d Charlie asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cUncle Mark, he\u2019s in the military, actually he\u2019s the captain of the Enterprise,\u201d Angie said.<\/p>\n

\u201cCaptain Pappas?\u201d another man said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYeah, well actually he\u2019s admiral now, promoted to head of the defense fleet, or so he said,\u201d Angie said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe sent him some pictures of what was going on.\u00a0 Managed to contact one of my friends who was captured by the O\u2019krad and able to speak with him a bit,\u201d Jack said.<\/p>\n

\u201cO\u2019krad?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat they call themselves,\u201d Jack said.\u00a0 \u201cThat\u2019s not the big news, they tried to attack Earth.\u00a0 The military beat them back.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen there is hope,\u201d the one who ask who recognized Mark\u2019s name.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Jack said.\u00a0 \u201cI noticed they don\u2019t guard the prisoners too well, its like they don\u2019t expect a break out.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThey shoot anyone who tries,\u201d another person said causing Angie to look over at him.\u00a0 \u201cFive of us tried, I was the only one who managed to escape.\u00a0 They\u2019ve got these collars which activate when someone tries.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why I could approach and not be detected,\u201d Jack said.\u00a0 \u201cYou don\u2019t have it on anymore?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHell no, took that off before bringing him here,\u201d Charlie said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost killed me though,\u201d the man replied, rubbing his throat.<\/p>\n

Angie looked on then over at Heather who appeared listening in as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cThen if Earth is fighting, they\u2019ll need information,\u201d Charlie said to them all.\u00a0 Angie watched as everyone seemed to understand what that meant.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow is it you\u2019re phone isn\u2019t dead?\u201d Heather asked looking at Angie.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe found one of those solar chargers in the rubble,\u201d Angie replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cMakes me wish I hadn\u2019t tossed mine away, we thought they might be able to track them,\u201d Heather replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t keep it on, usually it\u2019s off,\u201d Angie replied knowing such actions would make the battery last longer.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd they probably don\u2019t know the cell tower is active and able to send and receive,\u201d Jack said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, I think we can get this information, and perhaps learn what else they might be doing,\u201d Charlie said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnything is better than just standing around and hiding,\u201d Ben said.<\/p>\n

Angie wasn\u2019t sure about that, but now with more people she felt a bit better about her chances of surviving.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Jeff listened as the intelligence officer went over what happened in the battle.\u00a0 Their weapons had been effective against the enemy, but what surprised everyone was the lack of efficient weapon fire by the enemy.\u00a0 There was some hesitant celebration but Jeff wondered if the O\u2019krad had even more powerful ships.\u00a0 It was something echoed by the intelligence community.<\/p>\n

\u201cCan we expect another attack?\u201d Natile asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI think it\u2019s a certainty,\u201d the officer answered.\u00a0 \u201cIt would be unthinkable for any such race to ignore what happened in that battle.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd we have no idea how many new ships would be coming our way,\u201d she said out loud.<\/p>\n

\u201cNo ma\u2019am, considering we have no idea how large their fleet is, or what other capabilities they might have,\u201d he replied back to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll you have done is anger them,\u201d Yissffer said from his position.\u00a0 Everyone could understand him in the meeting as everyone wore the translators.<\/p>\n

\u201cLike they have angered us with their unwarranted attack upon our sovereignty,\u201d Natile replied back to him.\u00a0 \u201cThey started this war, a war we didn\u2019t ask for.\u00a0 There is a saying among us, don\u2019t be the one to start the fight, but be the one to finish it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff had a feeling that Yissffer didn\u2019t understand the meaning behind it.\u00a0 From his experience with the other races so far this concept of standing up for someone or something was almost non-existent in other races. As a result they didn\u2019t understand the human reaction either despite the feeling that Toncor appeared to be learning.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m beginning to get the feeling that humans are violent creatures at heart,\u201d Yissffer said back to her.<\/p>\n

\u201cHave they made any hostile moves toward you?\u201d Toncor said speaking up.\u00a0 \u201cThey haven\u2019t done anything against us except try to help us.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cBringing more bloodshed among the stars with this war, how is that not harmful to everyone?\u201d Yissffer asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd allowing the O\u2019krad free reign over the universe stops the bloodshed how?\u201d Jeff asked speaking up for the first time.<\/p>\n

Yissffer said nothing for several seconds before finally replying.\u00a0 \u201cYou would not understand, as you appear incapable of such understanding.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff mentally rolled his eyes but stayed quiet wondering if the Volor actually believed what he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs there anything else we can learn from this engagement?\u00a0 Maybe a bit more about their technology?\u201d Natile asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re currently picking up the debris from the destroyed ship and should have something soon,\u201d the officer said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAdmiral, what is the status of the fleet and defenses of Earth?\u201d Natile asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt will still be a while before the first of the new ships will be ready,\u201d Richard said speaking up.\u00a0 \u201cDuring the attack we lost station delta, alpha was damaged and we\u2019re currently working to repair it.\u00a0 Two destroyers took damage as well, but the Enterprise survived with minor damage and is currently operational.\u00a0 A few fighters were lost but those are quickly being replenished as production of the fighters is up a hundred fold from peace-time production as is pilot training.\u00a0 We estimate we can have two additional fighter squadrons ready in a couple of days.\u00a0 We\u2019re rushing the deployment at the stations replacing the shuttles normally kept on board with the fighters at the moment.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI see,\u201d Natile replied.\u00a0 \u201cAnd if the O\u2019krad come with a larger force?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIt depends on how large,\u201d Richard replied honestly.\u00a0 \u201cWe will do our best, our greatest defense might be on the ground.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThose preparations are underway right now,\u201d Natile said.<\/p>\n

Jeff understood, even civilians were being armed for defense.\u00a0 Many were eager to take up training.\u00a0 If they attacked Earth it would be a bloody day for them.\u00a0 In a strange way the longer the O\u2019krad ignored them the stronger they become.\u00a0 Of course they had no knowledge of how the enemy worked.\u00a0 Were they used to such defenses, or were most of the races they enslaved willingly to run instead of fighting.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou are adamant in defending your world against the Dark Race,\u201d Toncor said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes,\u201d Natile said.\u00a0 \u201cAnd we prefer O\u2019krad to some vague term.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff watched as Toncor gave that some thought.\u00a0 He understood that, you call something by an unknown name, vague and it might cause an unnatural fear of the race.\u00a0 Jeff had no problem with calling the race by their name.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a force of habit,\u201d Toncor replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cUnderstandable,\u201d Jeff said speaking up.\u00a0 \u201cIs there anything else intelligence can tell us so far?\u201d<\/p>\n

Everyone turned back to the intelligence officer.<\/p>\n

\u201cPrelim reports indicate their power sources are not much different than those on board the Volor ship.\u00a0 While more powerful than what we currently use, it doesn\u2019t appear to affect their weapons, which are very much like our own.\u00a0 Scans of the battle indicates the destructiveness of their weapons is almost the same as ours,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

\u201cHow is it that a race bent on conquering others has technology almost the same as ours?\u201d Natile asked.\u00a0 The entire question was something even Jeff found hard to believe.\u00a0 To his surprise it was Richard who spoke up.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ve been asking myself that same question,\u201d Richard said to them all.\u00a0 \u201cWhat happens in our own history when a group isn\u2019t challenged over time.\u00a0 It shows that their weapons hardly improve, they grow stagnant.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff paused and considered that statement.\u00a0 Were the O\u2019krad stuck in such a bubble?\u00a0 If so then they were complacent in development of weapons.\u00a0 It could give them a slight advantage for a brief moment.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf that\u2019s the case, then can we learn anything about improving our weapons?\u201d Jeff asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cOnce we get their armor samples down into the lab we\u2019ll be able to analyze them and figure out a better way to defeat them,\u201d the officer said.<\/p>\n

\u201cLet us hope they don\u2019t have any more powerful ships at the moment,\u201d Jeff said.\u00a0 The meeting went on a bit longer going over simple figures before finally being let out.\u00a0 He made his way out wondering what might happen next.<\/p>\n

*****<\/p>\n

Mark looked up at the chime of his phone and quickly picked it up to read the message.\u00a0 He learned from the texts that the one who usually sent things was actually someone else with Angie.\u00a0 It made sense as his niece wasn\u2019t this good at observation for a military standpoint.\u00a0 He did know she was safe.<\/p>\n

The current message was a bit different considering his last message said they had defeated the incoming attack.\u00a0 This message indicated they had more than just two people now.\u00a0 They had joined up with other survivors.<\/p>\n

The news made Mark pause wondering how many they had.\u00a0 It also gave him some new possibilities as he thought of them doing even more recon.\u00a0 There was also some indication that they were unsure of how much longer communications would be possible as the cleaning crew were starting to close in on the area they were able to get a signal.<\/p>\n

Mark realized he had to work quickly then if they were to continue gaining information.\u00a0 There was no way to actually get them anything for communications.<\/p>\n

A sudden idea came to him and he quickly sent off the message to intelligence and his commander.\u00a0 Putting the phone down he went back over the prelim intel of the battle when his communications activated. Pressing the screen he was slightly surprised to see Richard\u2019s face.<\/p>\n

\u201cMark, just got this message, care to explain?\u201d he asked.<\/p>\n

Mark realize that was fast but recovered.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe last message from my niece states they might not be in communications for much longer as the aliens are making progress towards clearing the area they have a signal,\u201d Mark replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd when they lose that spot we lose our intel,\u201d Richard said.<\/p>\n

\u201cRight,\u201d Mark stated.\u00a0 \u201cBut if they delay the progress, it could give us time we both need.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIts risky,\u201d Richard said.\u00a0 \u201cEndangering their lives like this, are you sure?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe could pose the question to them and have them decide instead,\u201d Mark said.\u00a0 \u201cIf they haven\u2019t already decided.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThat is a possibility,\u201d Richard replied.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll I can do is suggest it, anything else would be up to them,\u201d Mark said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll right, I don\u2019t like it, but losing that bit of information could be critical,\u201d Richard replied.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019ll inform the President of the situation.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat about our two guest alien races?\u201d Mark asked knowing they were about finished with any repairs and resupplying.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, the Volors are eager to leave, Toncor isn\u2019t so eager and is expressing his desire to stay,\u201d Richard replied.<\/p>\n

Mark nodded before ending the communications thinking about that before sending off a reply to his niece with his suggestion wondering what might happen next, if anything happened at all.\u00a0 Would the O\u2019krad leave them alone for a while, or would they attack quickly.\u00a0 It was something everyone feared, the unknown of the future.<\/p>\n

End part 19<\/p>\n

Continued in part 20<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Master of Violence by AJ Marks Part 19 Angie turned to the cry shock in her eyes upon seeing Heather standing there. \u201cHeather,\u201d Angie replied, as they hugged.\u00a0 In a way she had resigned herself to never seeing any of her friends again. \u201cHow did you survive?\u201d they both asked at once. \u201cActually, Jack here,\u201d […]
Continue reading…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[24],"tags":[3,83,28,5,12],"class_list":["post-2464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-original","tag-aj-marks","tag-master","tag-original","tag-sci-fi","tag-story"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2464","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2464"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2464\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2471,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2464\/revisions\/2471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}