{"id":2500,"date":"2018-08-13T15:43:42","date_gmt":"2018-08-13T20:43:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=2500"},"modified":"2018-08-18T07:14:53","modified_gmt":"2018-08-18T12:14:53","slug":"master-of-violence-part-26","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/ajscifistories.com\/?p=2500","title":{"rendered":"Master of Violence – Part 26"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

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

Part 26<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n

Toncor watched amazed at what was going on around him.\u00a0 The activity on Earth had picked up tremendously since it was announced they would begin preparations to retake Sierra.\u00a0 Of course when Jeff had returned from the rebellion things had become a bit rocky with them.\u00a0 The rebellion seemed to have a different opinion on what to do.\u00a0 They had argued not to attack the O\u2019krad and regain Sierra.<\/p>\n

A young woman walked up to him along with a few others.\u00a0 He reasoned she was his contact on board the warship, his first time for being on board such a ship.\u00a0 Everyone walked around with purpose unlike many civilian ships.<\/p>\n

\u201cToncor, welcome aboard the Enterprise,\u201d the woman said.\u00a0 \u201cI\u2019m Lieutenant Victoria Sheffer.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cPleasure,\u201d Toncor said shaking her hand, a custom of the humans.\u00a0 He had never been aboard a warship before, even the rebellion\u2019s ships he had never been on board, as most of the meeting with them had been on the planet\u2019s surface.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you\u2019ll follow me I\u2019ll show you to your quarters,\u201d she said to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d Tonor said, moving along with her with his small bag, not that he had much.\u00a0 \u201cSo how are things going?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cMoving along faster than we expected,\u201d she replied.<\/p>\n

Toncor knew that, he had been approached by the leadership and asked if he would go.\u00a0 They felt with the knowledge of other aliens on Sierra he might help when the planet was retaken in getting them settled.<\/p>\n

\u201cOperation Tiger will be underway in a few days, or so we hope,\u201d she said to him.<\/p>\n

Toncor nodded, having learned that bit from humans.\u00a0 They were big on physical communications as well which seemed very odd to him.\u00a0 A head shake here, hand gestures there, it was something he learned and studied as it added to what was spoken and could give an insight to what the person was thinking.\u00a0 Their body might be at odds with what they said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is so much we still have to do,\u201d she said continuing as they moved further into the ship.\u00a0 One thing he noticed right away was how much taller the ceiling was on human ships compared to what he was used to.\u00a0 Humanity was taller than his race.<\/p>\n

\u201cI understand, I believe the reason was to keep the O\u2019krad off balance,\u201d Toncor said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s the idea, but with so little information about them its hard to determine how they will react,\u201d Victoria said.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd they are probably doing the same with your race,\u201d Toncor said.\u00a0 \u201cEspecially if they are used to races either fleeing from them, or using a certain amount of force to defend themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI guess, not used to someone fighting back like we would,\u201d Victoria said.<\/p>\n

That was another problem Toncor thought, the response humans expected didn\u2019t match what they expected in war.\u00a0 He had talked with some of the others and realized they fully expected to have been defeated by now.\u00a0 They viewed the O\u2019krad as very dangerous, and should be much more advanced considering how much longer they had been spacefaring.<\/p>\n

Now they were preparing to go on the offensive and things were tense as no one had any idea what to really expect when they attacked.\u00a0 Would there be a large defense force, or barely anything.\u00a0 They had some idea on the surface thanks to the spies they had, but in orbit they had almost no idea.<\/p>\n

\u201cDo you think this will work?\u201d Toncor asked, as they arrived at his quarters watching as Victoria thought about the answer for several seconds.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes I do,\u201d she finally said.<\/p>\n

She said it with a conviction Toncor didn\u2019t feel.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019ll see you in a couple of hours so you can speak with the admiral on your role in all of this,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

\u201cThank you,\u201d Toncor replied, watching as she left allowing him to settle in.\u00a0 Placing his bag down he went over everything, including a conversation with Iccol who had been against his going.\u00a0 The younger Simian expressed doubt over the success of the mission.\u00a0 Toncor had his doubts, but had not allowed them to be expressed, an odd feeling keeping things from others as such things were not common with his race.<\/p>\n

Iccol wasn\u2019t wrong in his doubts, yet Toncor had a feeling about this, a feeling he was unable to give a voice to, one which he had a feeling he would see something great happen.\u00a0 That\u2019s why he felt he had to go.\u00a0 For now he prepared for the upcoming meeting with the admiral and seeing where he might be useful.<\/p>\n

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

Jeff looked on at the meeting group, having been summoned to the rebellion\u2019s headquarters.\u00a0 It seemed they were concerned about the upcoming mission the humans had come up with and were now expressing that concern.\u00a0 Jeff had been told by the military the operation was a go, and final preparations were underway.<\/p>\n

In front of him were the same group, but this time, along with Lumin and Vislo, there was Tzittif and Belru in the meeting.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve been hearing some disturbing reports from your people,\u201d Lumin said starting the meeting.\u00a0 \u201cIn fact, it appears as if your military is preparing an operation against the Dark Race.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff listened, and noticed that they still refused to call the race by their proper name, the O\u2019krad even as Lumin continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is highly problematic for us all,\u201d he continued on saying.\u00a0 \u201cIf you go ahead, and fail then it\u2019s a disaster for the entire universe.\u00a0 There is no way to understand how they will react to such an aggressive action.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are barely hanging on with our current military, and such actions might force them to attack us here,\u201d Vislo said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYet you do nothing to upset the status quo,\u201d Jeff said.\u00a0 \u201cDoing the same thing over and over again, for us, it\u2019s a definition of insanity.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd what would you have us do?\u201d Vislo said bristling with some anger.<\/p>\n

\u201cFight,\u201d Jeff replied looking them all in the eyes.\u00a0 \u201cYou sit here judging us for doing what we consider is our right.\u00a0 Yet you want us to give up, flee, and for what?\u201d<\/p>\n

At this point Jeff stood up and paced around the room.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe are not a race who will sit back and allow someone to just attack us.\u00a0\u00a0 They will be met with deadly force.\u00a0 We do not lay down for an attacker, its never been our way,\u201d Jeff said to them.\u00a0 \u201cIf you wish to keep the status quo then that\u2019s fine with us, stay out of our way.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you telling us to leave you alone? \u00a0You realize what you do affects us all,\u201d Lumin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes, I am aware, are you aware that what you do also affects us,\u201d Jeff replied back to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur way keeps people alive,\u201d Lumin said stiffly.<\/p>\n

\u201cDoes it?\u201d Jeff challenged, moving to stand next to his chair, forcing the alien to look up at him.\u00a0 \u201cWhen faced with extinction do you fight, or lie down and accept it?\u201d<\/p>\n

He watched the all seemed to struggle with the question and he realized none of them every looked at that way.\u00a0 They considered running a perfect excuse for everything.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou go and run away, but how many species have died out due to that?\u201d Jeff asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd your way, how does that not cause the same thing?\u201d Vislo asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cI make no guarantee about it, but if you fight, at least you are doing something about it.\u00a0 You are fighting to survive, a chance, instead of delaying it,\u201d Jeff said to them.\u00a0 \u201cWe won\u2019t back down on our intentions.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff walked back around and sat down waiting to hear what they might say next.\u00a0 He would do nothing to compromise the mission of retaking Sierra.\u00a0 It was the one thing which would really give the people of Earth hope that they could fight, and beat this enemy.\u00a0 So far all they had done was win a few defensive skirmishes, to prove they could go on the offensive would be a much different operation, and one which the rebellion obviously had never considered.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere is a saying by my people, a good defense is a good offense,\u201d Jeff said to them.\u00a0 \u201cTo win any war, you must go on the offense, otherwise you do nothing to change the outcome.\u00a0 A war based on defense is almost always doomed to failure.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cAre you saying we have failed?\u201d Vislo asked, obviously now ruffled by the statement.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn a way, yes,\u201d Jeff said seeing them all get upset at that.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut he is right,\u201d a quiet voice said suddenly speaking up.\u00a0 They all turned to look over at Belru sitting there and looking back at them.\u00a0 Jeff waited to see what might happen next as the others seemed almost stunned by what Belru said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat do you mean?\u201d Tzittif asked, who had been quiet all this time as well.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, what have we done?\u00a0 What is our goal?\u00a0 I can\u2019t say I know the answer to that question,\u201d Belru said.<\/p>\n

\u201cIts to prevent more deaths,\u201d Vislo said looking over at Belru.<\/p>\n

\u201cIs it?\u00a0 I thought that way not long ago, but,\u201d Belru paused looking at the others before continuing, \u201cI can\u2019t say we\u2019ve been successful.\u00a0 He is right, when it doesn\u2019t work you change things up.\u00a0 If you were trying to create a new metal, would you continue the same experiment over and over again?\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOf course not,\u201d Lumin said.\u00a0 \u201cIf you did that you\u2019d get the same result.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cExactly.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jeff waited to see what they might do next.\u00a0 He had no way of knowing which way this conversation would go next.\u00a0 It appeared Belru was at least, somewhat, on his side at the moment which he would take.\u00a0 Though, Jeff knew it wouldn\u2019t matter in the long run, humans were locked in on a path which would take something massive to stop.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo what do we do?\u00a0 Allow this to happen?\u00a0 It goes against everything we believe in,\u201d Lumin said.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou don\u2019t have to, we are doing this on our own,\u201d Jeff said.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut you are dragging us in,\u201d Lumin stated.\u00a0 \u201cBy your very actions you are causing more trouble for everyone.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThen what do you suggest to change things, to stop the O\u2019krad from conquering the entire universe?\u201d Jeff replied back to him.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know.\u201d<\/p>\n

And that\u2019s what Jeff expected.\u00a0 He also realized something else.\u00a0 \u201cYou\u2019re scared of change.\u00a0 But without it, we have no advances.\u201d<\/p>\n

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

Mark looked on seeing the bridge crew working hard.\u00a0 He noticed everyone moving about with purpose, especially considering what was about to happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cAll ships in position.\u201d A report stated.<\/p>\n

\u201cGood,\u201d Mark said, looking down as the communications came to life and Richard\u2019s face appeared on the scanner.\u00a0 \u201cEverything in place?\u201d Mark asked.<\/p>\n

\u201cYep, the last of the rebellion\u2019s ships have arrived,\u201d Richard said.<\/p>\n

Mark didn\u2019t ask, but they had been against humanity\u2019s attempt to take back Sierra to the point where the government sent Senator Jeff to talk to them.\u00a0 Ever since then they had been much more cooperative, and were supplying the defense of Earth while the fleet was at Sierra.<\/p>\n

Sierra the name rolled around in his mind wondering what they might find upon arrival.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just wanted to wish you luck, we have little information about what is really going on down there.\u00a0 Especially considering we lost contact with our group there two weeks ago,\u201d Richard said.<\/p>\n

Mark nodded, knowing all about that, having checked his phone almost every hour to see if his niece had texted him.<\/p>\n

\u201cT-minus one minute,\u201d the announcement came.<\/p>\n

\u201cWell, I better let you get to work, we\u2019ll expect to hear from you shortly,\u201d Richard said.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ll try to make contact the moment we drop out of hyperspace,\u201d Mark said.\u00a0 \u201cAnd try to make this a short battle, it would be best for us all if that happened.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cSee you on the flip side then,\u201d Richard said, a saying that had been around for a while.<\/p>\n

\u201cYes sir,\u201d Mark said, ending the communications.<\/p>\n

The countdown continued on until it reached zero.<\/p>\n

\u201cHyperdirve active, engage.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Enterprise leapt into hyperspace heading on the first offensive of humanity against an alien race.<\/p>\n

End part 26<\/p>\n

Continued in part 27<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Master of Violence by AJ Marks Part 26 Toncor watched amazed at what was going on around him.\u00a0 The activity on Earth had picked up tremendously since it was announced they would begin preparations to retake Sierra.\u00a0 Of course when Jeff had returned from the rebellion things had become a bit rocky with them.\u00a0 The […]
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