TEN

The image of the boy’s face of Chief Prefect Jason Turden appeared on the screen, his normally pale face gone ashen. He was resentful, now focusing hostility on the man whom he had earlier called “intriguing.” Turden looked pathetically disoriented. Crybaby, thought Landry. But, then, what was going on?

     “Why have you attacked us?” Landry demanded. “And a completely unprovoked attack. We intended you no harm. We were just preparing to leave when . . .”

     “You have betrayed us,” said Turden, his voice bitter with affront.

     Landry was incredulous. “Betrayed you!” 

     Contempt filled Turden’s eyes. “Don’t keep trying to pretend that you don’t know what you have done.”  

     Landry was silent.

     “We have been randomly monitoring your vessel’s communications since you first arrived,” said Turden. “It was discovered that you were broadcasting a transmission to your star command headquarters informing of a pending attack on Alfaron.”

     What the hell was he talking about?

     “What transmission?” Landry demanded. “We have advised our base of no such attack. In fact, our command instructed us to leave you alone.”

      “At two hours ago of your own time,” Turden said, “you sent a transmission to your base informing that you were about to launch an attack on Alfaron to free human captives.”  

     Landry shook his head, bewildered.

     He paused, wondering why Turden was so upset. It was, after all, the planet attacking the Aurora--not the reverse. That might change now--because the planet had attacked first. Then it struck Landry. Turden was afraid that a retaliatory strike by the Aurora might de-stabilize the human-lizard government and permit the human rebels to prevail.

     “We would not attack you first,” Landry said. “But now that you have attacked, we may defend ourselves—and with force devastating to you.” 

      “You lie,” said Turden. “You knew that we were monitoring your broadcasts. You deliberately provoked the lizard high command by transmitting misinformation about a supposed attack on us--so that you could justify your own retaliatory attack.” He paused and swallowed hard. “It was, in effect, you who struck first. And now you will pay.”  The screen faded.

     Landry considered Turden’s accusations. The communication of the sort that Turden described--a combat message from a starcraft to a command base--would have been a scrambled transmission. It was unlikely that such a scrambled message could have even been deciphered by the lizard government on Alfaron. Unless of course one wanted the transmission to be intercepted, just as Turden had said, and the message was not scrambled.

     But who would have transmitted such a false message of imminent attack by the Aurora against the lizards? Andrea turned from her station and looked at him with something like a knowing accusation in her eyes. Then it came to him. He knew.

                                          ***

     “You have to get us out of here.” Andrea was almost pleading with him now.

     Landry shook his head. “If we leave orbit,” he said, “then we arguably lose the privilege of self-defense against the lizards. The exercise of that privilege may help the human rebels.”

     Andrea stared at him. “So that is what this is all about.”     

     “Tell me if am wrong,” said Landry. “Were you not on our side when we debated with General Edwards about offering rescue to the human slaves of the lizards?”

     Andrea looked at him. “That was before our craft got pummeled by energy bursts which are beyond anything that even our technology can create. Don’t you get it, Colonel? The Aurora cannot keep taking direct hits like that. Much more and we will have major hull breach. If that happens, it is possible even that the fusion reactor will blow.”

     “I think that under the present circumstances some calculated risk is justified,” Landry said. “Now that the lizards have attacked us first, it is as much as we need to defend ourselves and maybe help free the human slaves in the process.”

     “Calculated risk?” Andrea said heavily, appalled. “A risk that you are going to take for all of us, right? You are the commanding officer and you don’t have to have majority vote. But, you know, you might consider the great risk that you are posing to your flight crew in trying to save some undeserving group of humans who have been slaves for generations. And--if I might add--at their own choosing.”

     “They did not choose,” said Landry. “Their corrupt leaders of four hundred years ago made that choice for them.”

     “In the end, people have to be accountable for the actions of their government,” Andrea said evenly. “The people are responsible. They have had four hundred years and acquiesced in being slaves . . .”

     “Not all of them have acquiesced,” said Landry. “In fact, only about one-half of them. The ruling privileged class. The workers, the slaves, are resisting--at overwhelming odds. They need our help.”

     “It might be different if there were not such a severe risk to us,” said Andrea. “Under the balance--between them and us—our own flight crew should take priority. Can’t you see that?”

     “I can see only that there are humans in need,” said Landry. “We are now justified in self-defense, and if we can lend a hand to others at the same time, we will do it. I will be the judge of when the risk has become so significant to us that we must run.”

     Andrea did not give up. “It is not perfect self-defense,” she said. “Someone on board this craft provoked the lizards with a message transmission threatening an attack on them.”

     “An intercepted message transmission,” Landry said. “Not a direct transmission to the attacker.”

     Andrea shook her head and smiled wanly. “Don’t give me that, Colonel,” she said. “You know better. Under established interstellar law, a planetary government--for the sake of planetary security--has a right to monitor communications of a vessel in orbit around the planet. Especially an unscrambled message transmission!”

     “When the time comes--and if it comes,” said Landry, “I will leave it to the Alliance attorneys to sort out all the subtle issues raised in this particular situation. In the meantime, I have the right to invoke self-defense--even the taking of offensive action--against the lizard government. I intend to do so.”

     Andrea shook her head. “Do you really think that you can justify retaliation against the lizard government if the Alliance Command ever traces that message transmission?” 

     She paused. “And I think that we both know who transmitted the message.”

     Landry looked at her, his own face without expression.

     Andrea was defiant. “You know as well as I do that it was Adams who sent the transmission--to provoke the lizards to attack. So that you have ostensible legal authority to defend the Aurora with devastating force directed at the lizard stronghold. To help the human resistance fighters on the planet. ”

     “I will have you making no unfounded accusations against anyone,” Landry said, a little hotly. “I have no direct information that there ever was any such message transmission. That claim may well be just a ploy by the planetary government to justify their attack upon us. Under the circumstances, tracing any such alleged transmission is a lesser priority to defending ourselves from attack.”  He did not entirely believe all that he said, but it was a good answer for her.

     Andrea suddenly went quiet, becoming resigned to it all. 

     “A transmission is coming from the planet,” called out the communications officer.

     “Put it on the screen,” Landry said. But the transmission turned out to be audio only, unsteadily drifting in and out.

     “Craft in orbit--please help us,” implored a man in the antiquated Colonial English of Alfaron. “We are the human resistance force on Alfaron. For generations we have been enslaved by the lizards. We are fighting the lizards, but we are overwhelmed. Please help us . . .”

     Then the transmission faded away, awash in a burst of static.

     “I like that,” said Landry. “We have the privilege of self-defense. And now we have the plea for help of a self-described captive.”

     “A lame argument,” Andrea objected baldly to Landry. “The ruling planetary government sanctions his bondage. Didn’t you hear General Edwards?”

     “It may be changing very soon as to who is the ruling planetary government,” said Landry. “And the victors of war have a way of rewriting history to support their views of it.”

     Then he turned away from Andrea, saying, “We will maintain orbit for at least a while longer, until it becomes too dangerous for us--”

     “It is already too dangerous for us!”

     “Do not interrupt me,” Landry said. “In the hope of helping those people down there, we stay for now. You have your duties, Major. Maintain your station.”         

     Then Adams’ voice came over intercraft communications, almost as if he knew that Landry and Andrea had just been speaking of him. “I need some help down here in engineering, Colonel. My chief assistant and half of the others are out with injuries to the Med Deck. We have two engine panels knocked out from the last blast. As it is now, we won’t be able to maintain momentum power after we leave orbit unless--”

     “I will get help to you,” Landry said. He turned to Andrea, who was the obvious choice. She was the only flight member on the control deck--and the entire craft for that matter--with sufficient engineering expertise to quickly assist Adams in his repairs.

     “My place is here at astrogation,” she said.    

     “Your place is where you are needed,” Landry retorted. Then considering that as a little harsh, he quickly added, “Major, please have a sense of perspective.”  It was actually unlike Andrea to be so unreasonable; clearly, she was letting her irritation at Landry affect her normally impeccable judgment.  

     He waved his hand at the full complement of specialists around the astrogation station. “I have a full astrogation house here at my disposal to get us out of orbit. But if you don’t help Adams in engineering, we won’t be going anywhere after we leave orbit.”

     She did not answer but just looked at him.

     Landry paused and then let out a sigh of exasperation. “Get down to engineering. Now!”