When Amity Retreats

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“There’s an incident in Sector 283B, sir!” 

“Pinpoint.” 

“Sector 283B, Vector 2, Level X, sir!” 

“Sir, we have a TransR on a possible collision course!” 

“Okay, folks, let’s get this together so we can scramble a squad,” the Qualin Commander ordered as he surveyed the two young cadets manning the controls. Every year he was amazed at the talent the academy sent him and the excitement they always exhibited when called upon to save a world none of them would ever give a second thought to actually inhabiting. For him it was old hat, something he long ago became used to and no longer gave much thought to the implications of what would happen if they failed in their duty. They never failed. It was his responsibility to see they never did. 

Six more weeks and he could go home to his beautiful world of Qualin. Then he could retire from the force with full benefits and start living the life he and his wife had always dreamed. Forty years of service was a long time, and he was starting to feel his age. His wife had begged him to quit after thirty years but he still felt a sense of duty, and besides, the extra income upon retirement that would come with the extra years of service would be worth the ten years. So, he had reenlisted and was enjoying service on the home world until circumstances changed, and he was sent to Tulros in the Janmar system. 

The Janmar system had two inhabitable worlds and Tulros was the most populated. It definitely wasn’t Qualin but it was okay, and it was better than many of the worlds he had been stationed on over the years. But he had discovered even on planets with less than desirable environments, if he stayed near the base everything was better. So, even on Tulros he had never ventured very far into the local habitat. That’s what he had his lower ranking offices for. They could make all the necessary contacts with the locals, and he was content to lead from the control center. 

His wife decided not to join him this time. She had trekked with him over the years to the different stations he was sent to, but this time they agreed she should stay home and be near the grandchildren. They had been together for nearly thirty-five years, and he missed her, but this tour of duty would result in their never having to be apart again. He felt it was worth it. 

“Sir, the merger will take place at Sector 283B, Vector 2, Level AQ,” the young cadet barked.

“Okay, which squad?”

“I’m scrambling Echo squad, sir!” yelled the other cadet.

“Very good,” the Commander offered. “Watch for the results and report immediately.”

“Yes, sir!” 

The Commander closed his eyes and took a deep breath. It was all standard protocol. The squad would intervene and prevent the two Tulrosans from meeting and starting the chain reaction that would destroy all life on the planet. It was mundane work, but vital to the existence of all. 

Over a millennium ago, Qualin scientist discovered the nature of intelligent life to destroy itself. This was observed first hand with Qualin’s initial contact from aliens who were superior in all aspects and ultimately wiped themselves out of existence. The Xenru had evolved as a peaceful species and when they landed on Qualin they readily shared their superior knowledge and abilities with all Qualins. This put the Qualins on the fast track in advancing technological skills. They owed much to the Xenru for sharing all they knew. 

The Qualins and Xenru became close friends, almost like brothers. Then one day all Xenru were ordered home without explanation. They were never heard from again. It was a couple centuries before Qualin developed interstellar travel, but when they did, the first trip was to the home world of Xenru in search of their long-lost friends. All that was found was a lifeless, barren planet. 

Qualin archaeologists sifted through the remnants of the destroyed structures on the planet in search of an answer as to what had happened. No one could offer a plausible explanation until Dr. Miscroft made the startling find of an intact database that held the answer. What was found ran a chill up the spine of all. 

Xenru had advanced to the technological point where any individual had the ability to destroy all living creatures on the planet. The knowledge of this ability was kept from the masses. This deadly secret was known only to a select few leaders as they decided it would be too tempting for someone to use it if everyone knew. They were mistaken as self-destruction was too easy and eventually someone succeeded. Whether it was done intentionally or by accident was never determined, but it had the same result. The entire Xenru species was wiped out of existence. 

Upon examination, the Qualin leaders surmised they were on the same destructive path as the Xenru. This was especially true since much of their technological advances were the direct result of shared Xenru knowledge. Something needed to be done to avoid a similar fate. After much research and debate, it was decided to let progress continue its natural course but establish safeguards to prevent self-destruction when the ease of doing so became commonplace. 

Unlike the Xenru leaders, Qualin educated everyone on what the future held. It became required teaching in schools, churches, and businesses. Century after century everyone was drilled with the fact that one day all Qualins would have the ability to destroy all. It was hoped that with knowledge would come the power to prevent such disaster. 

As Qualin life advanced it became clear more safeguards needed to be implemented. No one objected when it was decided that all newborn infants would have a transmitting chip imbedded under their skull. This would give the ability to track the location and activities of all on the planet. Eventually, as older Qualins died out, there was left only those with the implanted chip. 

The Qualin Army was given the responsibility to keep up with everyone’s location, while protecting the individual’s privacy. They had done a remarkable job considering the scope of the operation. In the past five hundred years there had only been two occasions where someone had tried to use the gathered information for personal gain. In each instance the perpetrator was discovered and publically executed for the crime. Not only was that a deterrent, but the stigma left on the person’s family had a profound effect and added to the Army’s determination to avoid such improprieties. 

As Qualin scientists learned more about individual nature, it was discovered certain personalities were incompatible with each other. In the course of most interactions this didn’t matter much as it resulted in a silent dislike, or at most, a benign altercation with the occasional brawl. This was something the local authorities could handle as it was the routine of life. But, it was learned there were two personalities, known as TransR and TransF, that when confronted with each other would lead to deadly consequences. There was some discussion of trying to eliminate these personalities from the gene pool, and some attempts were made, but with all their advances in science and biology it was never successfully done. Despite all their knowledge and skill, life kept finding a way to produce the two conflicting personalities. 

So, until science could discover a cure or another way, the Army took the initiative to keep TransR and TransF personalities from crossing paths. Everyone’s imbedded chip played a vital role in accomplishing the task. As the Qualin civilization continued to advance, the Army’s responsibility increased, and the tipping point came when everyone had the ability for mass destruction, and eventually, the ability to destroy all life on the planet. 

To counteract such from happening, the Prys squads had been developed. Once the Army’s control center detected the possibility of a TransR meeting a TransF, the Prys swung into action. It was their job to intercept one or both of the individuals and guide them away from each other, thus eliminating their contact and the threat of extinction. Almost all TransR and TransF were cooperative as no one wanted to be the one to cause a global disaster, but the Prys were equipped and prepared to take whatever actions deemed necessary to reduce the threat, including eliminating the individuals if needed. 

The Qualins were explorers and had travelled extensively throughout the galaxy. They were peaceable and shared knowledge and technology with all they encountered. The Tulrosans were the first species they had met to advance to the same ability for self-destruction. There had been many worlds where the remains indicated other species had reached that level, and some even had sparse populations left that testified to reaching such an advanced stage, but Tulros was the first to survive intact. 

There was some discussion among Qualin leaders as to whether to allow the Tulrosans to continue blindly on the road to self-destruction, or to offer their help in preventing it. Not everyone agreed, but the decision was reached to offer their assistance. So, the Qualins quickly educated the Tulrosans on the danger they were facing and a treaty was signed between the two that gave the Qualin Army oversight of Tulrosan Prys squads. For their part, the Tulrosans made it mandatory for all citizens to have the necessary chip implanted and accomplished the task in a matter of weeks, even though sometimes it was forcibly done. 

The original plan was for the Qualin Army to turn over their leadership to the Tulros Army once they learned how to efficiently direct the Prys. But, as time progressed, everyone became comfortable with the status quo and the Qualin Army continued to direct the operation. Some Tulrosans continued to voice their objection to an alien army having so much power, but most felt with the success over the years, why change what was working? 

“Time?” 

“Six minutes forty-two seconds to interception, sir,” the cadet answered. 

“How long to X time?” the Commander asked as he referred to the time the TransR was predicted to cross paths with the TransF. He always thought the “X” was a fitting symbol as it consisted of two lines intersecting in the middle, quite similar to the destined paths the TransR and TransF were taking. 

“Ten minutes, twelve seconds, sir,” the other cadet responded. 

“Cutting it close,” the Commander said more to himself than anyone else. He made a mental note to work with the cadets more on recognizing potential threats sooner. The optimum time was fifteen minutes. There would be no failure on his watch. 

His thoughts were interrupted when one of the cadets declared, “Sir, you have a scrambled transmission from HQ requesting no recording.”

“Hmmph…,” he muttered as he wondered what the urgency was about. It had been weeks since he last heard from HQ on Qualin. They usually involved themselves on interstellar exploration problems and left his little operation alone. “Secure the line and put them through.”

“Yes, sir.” 

The screen sprang to life and the Commander immediately recognized General Affton. They had known each other for years as they had graduated at the same time from the Academy but had never been close. In fact, his dealings with the General at times had left a sour taste in his mouth. He believed General Affton was more interested in his unfulfilled political ambitions more than he was being a good soldier. In the Commander’s opinion this had resulted in some poor decisions on the General’s part and had made the military’s work harder than it should. 

“Hello, General,” the Commander greeted.

“Commander, is this line secure?” the General immediately asked.

“It is,” he replied with a hint of disgust. “The recorders are off as you requested.”

“It’s come to my attention you have an X situation emerging,” the General declared.

“That’s correct,” the Commander agreed. “We have a Prys team intersecting momentarily.”

“I want the Prys team to stand down, now,” the General ordered.

“What?!?”                                   

“That’s an order, Commander!” the General restated. “This directive comes from the office of the Prime Minister.” 

The Commander couldn’t believe what he was hearing. If he stopped the Prys from intervening in an X situation the whole world could be destroyed.

“General, if we stop the Prys there’s a ninety-eight-point two percent chance of a disastrous event,” the Commander protested.

“I know the odds,” the General huffed. “The Prime Minister knows the numbers and this is his order. Stand them down!”

“I hesitate to do so, sir,” the Commander continued. “Not only will the Tulrosans face extinction, but we have over fifteen thousand Qualin military and diplomatic personnel stationed here. An X encounter will result in our deaths, too!” 

The General glanced down at his desk and then in softer tones said, “I know we’re asking for the ultimate sacrifice, but you and I agreed to that possibility when we joined the military years ago. Now, the time has come for you to live up to that promise.” 

The Commander was stunned at the General’s response. Gathering himself he retorted, “You’re going to have to give me more than that. If I’m going to make that sacrifice then I need to know why.”

“Okay,” the General agreed. “It’s a complex matter, but in a nutshell, the Prime Minister and leaders of his party believe Qualin is heading toward multiple X encounter situations. So many, in fact, that we in the Army will be unable to control them.”

“Why?”

“Qualins in general are becoming complacent in their attitude toward what we’re doing,” the General continued. “There’s even small pockets of dissenters who are trying to push the point that it’s immoral to carry a chip that allows someone to track every movement. They’re promoting the idea that an X encounter is an excuse the government is using in order to control everyone. The Prime Minister is very concerned about this. If allowed to continue these groups could fester into protest movements that could threaten Qualin’s existence.”

“So, what’s that got to do with Tulros?”

“We need an example to show what will happen if X encounters are not controlled,” the General explained. “So, it was a difficult decision, but Tulros will be that example.” 

The Commander felt his blood coming to a boil. This was nothing but a political stunt that would cost billions of lives including his and his staff. It made no sense to anyone but a politician, and then only to those intent on keeping their positions at any cost. How could any military leader, including one as incompetent as General Affton, sign off on such a scheme? He must have been assured some lucrative government position to go along with it. 

“General, I can’t believe the Parliament has agreed to this,” the Commander blasted in exasperation.

“We’re running out of time, Commander,” an equally exasperated General countered. “But, I’ll give you this: The opposition party voted against the idea in top secret meetings, but the Prime Minister has the full support of his party. So, this is our government’s direction.”

“You can’t be serious!” the Commander yelled. “The Prime Minister rules because his party holds fifty-one percent of the seats of Parliament. You’ve got about as many in government saying this is a bad idea! I would think something of this import would demand a consensus of both parties.”

“You have your orders, Commander,” the General shouted back. “If you ignore them, you will be tried for treason!!”

“And if I go along with this insanity then I’ll be dead, along with everyone else on this planet!” the Commander yelled just as loud. “What are you going to do, General, try all forty-nine percent of the seats in Parliament who opposed this for treason, too?”

“They’re not the ones directed to follow orders!” the General bellowed. “You are!”

“I do follow orders, General,” the Commander declared. “I’ve followed every inane order you’ve ever given, and believe me, there have been many. But, when it comes to doing something this evil on this scale, then I’ll follow the orders from a higher source, my conscience, and it’s telling me this is insane and if the Qualin people knew of it they would have you and the Prime Minister up for treason! If the Tulrosans found out they would consider it an act of war!!” 

The General thought for a moment and then declared, “You give me no choice, Commander. I’m relieving you from your command. Cadets, are you hearing this conversation?”

“Yes, sir,” replied both cadets together.

“You are no longer to take orders from the Commander,” he directed. “I want you to order the Prys to stand down.”

“Yes, sir.” 

Both Cadets stared at the Commander as if waiting for his reaction. He stared back at them briefly then reached over and disconnected the General’s transmission. The Cadets’ eyes widen in surprise.

“Ignore the General and continue with the operation,” he ordered. “How long to interception?”

“One minute twelve seconds,” the Cadet on the left replied.

“Sir, we must stand down the Prys,” the other Cadet declared. “Those were the General’s orders!”

“I said to ignore those orders,” the Commander asserted.

“He said you were relieved of command, sir,” the Cadet continued. “I am sworn to obey my superiors!”

“Don’t worry,” the Commander offered. “I’ll take full responsibility for this.”

“It’s not that easy, sir,” the Cadet declared as he turned to look at the Commander. “You are not in command and I can’t take orders from you.”

“You will obey my orders!” the Commander was shouting again.

The Cadet turned and keyed numbers into the control panel. “I’ve given the order for the Prys to stand down as ordered.”

The Commander jumped to his feet and grabbed the young cadet. “You stupid idiot! You’re going to kill all of us!!”

“That is not for us to decide!” the Cadet yelled back. 

Balling his fist, the Commander swung and caught the Cadet squarely on the jaw. The Cadet lurched, blinked and then fell into an unconscious mass on the floor. Turning toward the other Cadet he barked, “Get those Prys moving again!”

The Cadet turned to the control panel and frantically punched a set of numbers on the keypad. Once he had finished the Commander fell back into his chair and hung his head. His hand throbbed with pain as he was sure he had broken it when he hit the Cadet. Of course, if the intervention had been delayed enough and the X encounter took place then a broken hand was the least of his worries. 

“The Prys are on course again, sir,” the remaining Cadet calmly declared. 

“Time?” 

“Forty-one seconds, sir.” 

“And to X time?” 

“One minute three seconds.” 

He quickly noted the Cadet had failed to address him as “sir.” Normally this would result in a reprimand, but under the circumstances it didn’t matter. The only thing mattered was that the intervention prove successful. Closing his eyes, the Commander tried to ignore the pain and stiffness in his hand. He had never known an intervention to come this close to the X encounter time. After all, the encounter time was an estimate based on a number of variables. If any of the calculations were off by much, then the intervention attempt could come too late. If the TransR proved to be unreceptive to the point that the Prys had to use alternative methods, then it may prove too late to avoid the X encounter. The timing was too close for comfort and the tension caused the Commander to hold his breath until he realized he was doing so. He slowly exhaled and then took a deep breath to try and calm his frayed nerves. 

Waiting for word on the intervention did give him time to reflect on what had happened. How could leaders in their right minds decide to sacrifice an entire world of people to simply send a message to a small group of dissidents? It was beyond his comprehension. Had life become that expendable to a political party trying to retain its control over the government? He knew it had happened on other worlds, and always with disastrous results, but he never imagined it taking place on Qualin. His species was too advanced to have something like this so easily happen. Something had gone wrong, terribly wrong. Whatever it was it had to be corrected, or Qualin was doomed. 

Of course, he was boxed in now and could do little about it. If the Prys failed, then he would die with the rest of the planet. He knew the blame for the failure would be placed directly on his shoulders. The Prime Minister, his party leaders, and the General would never admit to giving such a hideous order of destroying a planet, especially one they professed to be friends with. They would launch an investigation, place the blame on his dereliction of duty, establish protocols so such a disaster could never happen again, and send a clear message to the dissidents to stop their protesting implanted chips as the tracking of individuals was the only effective way to avoid such a disaster on Qualin. His wife and family would live the rest of their lives believing he had betrayed the trust of all Qualins.

On the other hand, if the Prys were successful in the intervention he wouldn’t fare much better. He would still be alive, along with billions of innocent Tulrosans, but his military career would be over. The Prime Minister and General would see to it. Of course, they would never try him for treason as that would cause too many embarrassing questions to be asked in a military court with the public looking on. It would be his word against theirs, but they wouldn’t take the chance on anything going wrong. He knew they would arrange for him to simply disappear. More than likely, he would be kidnapped by the Tulrosan underworld and after an exhaustive search by his fellow officers, his body would wash up on a deserted shore. They may even go through the motions of prosecuting some unlucky patsy for the murder and then lock him away for the rest of his life. Once again, his family would be the ones to suffer. They would never know the real reason of what had happened. 

Both scenarios left a bad taste in his mouth. In either case, he was the ultimate loser. But he was convinced of one thing, his life may be over, but he was going to do all he could to prevent others from dying, too. 

His attention was drawn to the moaning coming from the floor. The felled Cadet was slowly stirring and trying to gain his bearings and understand what had happened. He pulled himself to a sitting position and surveyed the surroundings.

“You hit me, sir,” he stated as he tried to make sense of it.

“I did,” the Commander agreed. “You were about to destroy all of us.”

“But, sir…” 

“We’re getting a read out,” the other Cadet excitedly proclaimed as he interrupted. “The Prys were successful, sir!”

“I figured as much,” the Commander asserted. “After all, we’re still alive.” 

“Sir, I don’t understand,” the other Cadet declared as he pushed himself to his feet and rubbed his swollen jaw. “I thought this was a test.”

The Commander allowed himself a weak smile before stating, “This was real, as real as it gets.” 

Both Cadets quickly glanced at each other as the one rubbing his jaw exclaimed, “I am sorry, sir! I assumed we were being assessed on how well we responded to a change of command, whether we are loyal to the Army instead of one commander.”

“Sir, I thought it was a test, too,” the other Cadet declared as the blood visibly drained from his face. “I thought it was a test of our loyalty to our commanding officer.” 

Heaving a deep sigh, the Commander stood and faced his two young soldiers. Nodding his head in an understanding way, he declared, “Gentlemen, I think we’ve witnessed the Qualin government at its worst. I disobeyed a direct order from my superior because I wanted to save us from certain destruction. Now, I will have to pay for my decision. I’ll make sure the official record shows you two tried your best to stop me, but I outmaneuvered you. This incident will not affect you nor your careers.”

“Thank you, sir,” the Cadet with the swollen face said. “But, I’ll gladly stand by your side. They can’t punish you for not following an insane order.”

“Yes, they can, and they will,” the Commander asserted. “My days here are through, and there’s a good chance I will never see Qualin again. So, you two maintain your station and I’m going to my quarters and submit my resignation. Maybe that will be enough to keep me alive for a while.” 

“Sir, your hand,” the one cadet with the swollen face blurted out. He quickly pulled a healing stick from his front pocket and ran it over the Commander’s hand. It immediately decreased the swelling and swiftly eased the pain.

“Thank you,” he quietly said. “Use that on your face, too.” 

The two young Cadets promptly saluted their commanding officer. As he turned to leave, the one Cadet blurted out, “Sir, I have a confession to make.”

The Commander turned back and weakly raised an eyebrow as his heart was really not in to handling any other crisis. “Yes?”

The Cadet cleared his throat and then confessed, “I disobeyed the order to turn the recorder off when the General called, sir.” 

The Commander stared at him as his mind raced at the implications of this new information. “You did, huh?”

“Yes, sir,” the cadet replied. “I was busy watching the Prys advancing and forgot. Then when I heard the General’s demand, I decided to leave it on.”

A broad grin spread across the Commander’s face, and he declared, “I don’t know whether to have you court martialed or kiss you.”

The Cadet stiffened and stated, “Sir, I prefer neither.” 

The Commander started chuckling and the Cadets struggled to keep a solemn look. “Both of you, at ease.” All three joined in the laughter that comes as a release after a tense situation. Finally, the Cadet asked, “What are you going to do, sir?” 

“Will you send the recording to my quarters?” he requested.

The Cadet pressed a screen on the panel and said, “It has been sent, sir.” 

“Thank you,” the Commander stated. “With this recording of the General’s direct order and some friends that I know, I might be able to turn this thing around.” He turned to leave and then turned back. “Look, thank you both. You two have handled yourselves as soldiers should when faced with extraordinary events. I’m proud of you and if it’s within my power, I’ll see you both placed on the fast track for a promotion. It is my honor to serve with you.”

“Thank you, sir!” both said at the same time. 

When he reached his quarters, he quickly played the recorded conversation to make sure it was all intact. It was. Looking around his modest apartment he smiled at the possibility of turning the tables on those who were willing to sacrifice billions of people for their own political ambitions. He settled into his old but comfortable recliner to plot out what he was going to do and say. 

It wasn’t long before he placed a video call to the Presidential palace of the leader of Tulros. The operator answered, he stated his name and asked to speak with the President’s personal secretary. He knew better than to simply ask for the President, as the operators were trained to ignore and disconnect those calls. 

The familiar face of Manuth, the President’s secretary, soon beamed across the video link. “Hello, Commander,” her high pitch but sweet voice responded. “You’re not on the President’s schedule until two days from now.”

“I know,” he agreed. “But, it’s very important I speak with him and it can’t wait.”

“I see,” she offered as she studied his face for any sign of how really important the matter was. His steely look convinced her to immediately transfer the call. 

“Hello, Kam, my dear friend,” the President bellowed after a minute’s wait. “What do I owe this great honor of being called upon by the commander of the great Qualin Republic?”

The Commander recognized the Tulros formality which meant the President was not alone and could not speak freely. So, he simply replied, “Mr. President.”

“Give me a moment,” the President said when he recognized this was to be a serious conversation. 

The screen turned a light blue as the Commander waited for the President to return. Soon it blinked and once again the President’s face lit up the video. “Okay, Kam, I take it this is far more serious than our weekly chats.”

“Indeed, it is, Mlik,” the Commander agreed. Long ago the President had asked him to address him by his given name when they were alone and in an informal setting. They had known each other for a number of years, going all the way back to when the President was the Tulros Ambassador to the Qualin Republic. He had been stationed in the capital city and the Commander, as a young Lieutenant, had been assigned to escort him to his many functions. They had become close friends, though not in public as they wanted to give no weight to any accusation of collusion, and had stayed in touch over the years. The Commander always suspected his current assignment on Tulros was the result of the newly elected President nudging things that way, but he never bothered to ask him. If he had to continue in the military as his wife and he had decided, then to be near a dear friend was definitely a perk. 

“So, what is it you’re wanting to tell me?” the President asked. The Commander took a deep breath and then explained about the call he had received from General Affton when an X encounter was imminent. 

The President listened intently and then offered, “Kam, what you’re telling me is going to be hard for many to believe and even harder to prove.”

“I agree Mlik,” the Commander said. “But, I have an ambitious cadet who disobeyed orders.”

“Such as?”

“He recorded my conversation with Affton,” the Commander revealed as he pressed the “send” button to transmit the recording to the President.

“That makes it more interesting,” the President offered. “Of course, we’ll review it, but I have no doubt as to what you say.”

“I am shocked and dismayed at my government’s conduct,” the Commander declared. “There will be those who learn of this and believe I’ve committed treason for not following orders and then providing you this top-secret evidence. But I can’t be a party to such a heinous act.” 

The two men stared at each other as they reflected on what had been discussed. Finally, the President stated, “You know, your Prime Minister could be innocent. This could be the act of one overzealous general.”

“I’ve thought about that,” the Commander revealed. “It’s possible. But, I believe there could be others directly involved as I fail to see Affton doing this on his own. I’ve known him for years and he can be quite lame at times, but not this treacherous. But, how far up the ladder it goes I don’t know. It may reach all the way to the Prime Minister, but I doubt we will ever know for sure.”

“Then my people and I must carefully plan an appropriate response,” the President mused. “You know, Kam, this could easily be seen as an act of war on the part of the Qualin Republic.”

“Yes, it could,” the Commander readily agreed. “But it’s not the will of the people of Qualin. As you know, they are peaceable and have established a bond with the Tulrosans. This was the actions of an individual or individuals who do not reflect the people’s wishes. I would trust you take that into account when considering what action to take.”

“Yes, I will,” the President assured him. “But, I too have those in government who itch for a fight. We must not use this to fuel the flames of war.”

“Agreed.”

“Also, we must ensure no harm comes to you, dear friend,” the President continued. “You acted in good conscience and saved all of us.”

“I appreciate your concern.” 

After a brief silence, the President revealed, “You know, Kam, our scientists have been closing in on a procedure to eliminate the possibility of self-destruction.”

“That’s very interesting,” the Commander asserted. “I’m afraid our leaders stopped looking for an alternative a long time ago. It has become too easy to rely on the Prys to avoid disaster.”

“Well, it has worked well over the years,” the President offered. “But, dissent was bound to come as the generations become restless over such scrutiny from their government. That’s why I think we’re on the edge of discovering a better way.”

“Is it something you can share?” the Commander asked.

“If I did, some here would think I’ve committed treason,” the President acknowledged.

“Join the club,” the Commander said with a grin. 

The President laughed and continued, “We’re on the verge of developing techniques where anyone will be able to stop a destructive mode if started.”

“That is absolutely brilliant,” the Commander declared as he moved forward in his chair as he quickly calculated the importance of what was being told him.

“Oh, we’ve been wanting this for centuries,” the President observed. “We’re just now putting it all together.”

“So, let me make sure I have this straight,” the Commander interjected. “Say an X factor has occurred and a TransR initiates a self-destruction sequence, what then?”

“It wouldn’t matter as the TransF, or anyone else for that matter, could just as easily stop the sequence, thus averting annihilation,” the President explained. “With everyone having the ability to avert destruction, the odds are greatly stacked in our favor that it will be stopped at the earliest moment.”

“But, you’re not 100% certain, yet,” the Commander reflected.

“No, we’re not,” the President agreed. “There is the minute possibility that no one would react, and the destruction would not be interrupted.”

“Of course,” the Commander asserted. “You have to stop self-destruction billions of times while it only needs to be successful once for disaster to occur.”

“So, that’s where we are today,” the President revealed. “We’re very close to solving that issue, but we’re not quite there. I personally believe it won’t be long until we do as we’ve got our best minds working on it.” 

Both men took a moment to silently reflect on what they had learned. Finally, the President broke the silence and offered, “Kam, you know how I cherish our friendship and how the Tulrosans will always be in Qualin’s debt for their kindness and assistance over the centuries, but this will be a game changer. No longer will Tulros be in Qualin’s shadow. This discovery will push Tulros to the forefront in the minds of many species and some may even view Qualin’s influence as fading.”

“I know,” the Commander agreed. “I was thinking that if any of this has leaked out, or if certain ones on my world suspected you were close to developing this technology, then it might explain the orders I received from Affton. It’s hard to comprehend but I’m sure there are those who would rather see a whole world destroyed than Qualin losing any influence in the galaxy.”

“It is hard to believe, but you may be right,” the President said. “An X factor destruction here could have easily solved several of Qualin’s problems. I am thankful we have a friend such as you.”

“So, what are you going to do?” the Commander inquired.

Heaving a great sigh, the President answered, “Well, first I’m going to sleep on it. Then, tomorrow I’ll gather my staff and see what options are the best.”

“That sounds good.”

“I want you to know that I will not forget the sacrifice you’ve made to save my people,” the President declared. “So, I want to see what we can do to help your situation.”

“Thank you, Mlik,” the Commander said. “I trust your judgment and am willing to face whatever consequences that may come.” 

Two weeks later the two cadets reported to their stations to find a new group of cadets had taken their place. They stared at them and was about to object when they saw their former commander approaching. Snapping to attention, they both saluted and shouted, “Sir!” 

“At ease,” he quickly commanded. “You’re not at your posts?”

“Evidently, we’ve been replaced, sir,” one of the cadets explained.

“It appears so.”

“Sir, are we being suspended?” the other cadet asked.

“Oh, no not all,” their former commander replied with a sly smile. “It’s just those stations are manned by cadets and not lieutenants.”

“Sir?!?”

“Congratulations you two,” he quickly added as he showed them their lieutenant bars to be pinned to their lapels.

Both men were speechless as they stared at the pins. They beamed with pride as their former commander pinned the bars to their shirt collars and shook their hands.

“Congratulations, Lieutenants,” he declared.

“Thank you, General,” both said. One of them added, “And congratulations on your promotion.”

“It was well-deserved,” the other one declared. 

The newest Qualin General nodded his head and offered, “I told you two I would do what I could, and this is what I’m able to do. It’s a field promotion, but they’re just as good as if it came from HQ.”

“Thank you again, sir,” one of the new Lieutenants said.

“When are you heading home, sir?” the other one asked.

“I’m on my way to the ship now,” he replied. “But I couldn’t leave without seeing my partners in crime and giving you your bars.” 

All three of them laughed and then one of the new lieutenants observed, “You know, sir, it turned out good, didn’t it?”

“Yes, it did,” he agreed. “Maybe even a little better than we realize. We may have helped preserve peace for some centuries to come. After that, those future generations will have to figure it out themselves. It won’t be our problem.”

They laughed again, the new lieutenants saluted him and then left to start their new duties as Qualin officers. The General glanced around the control room and reflected on the events of the last two weeks. Without revealing any sources, the Tulrosan government had discreetly leaked the taped conversation through the Tulrosan press corps and at the same time had made a formal announcement on the possible advancements made in avoiding self-destruction. 

The reactions to the tape were swift and decisive on Qualin. The Prime Minister vehemently denied any knowledge of General Affton’s claim that he was involved in trying to destroy Tulros. Affton stuck to his story and was quickly placed on leave while the Army investigated the allegations. The Prime Minister’s popularity nosedived to the point where he was forced to call for new elections. All polls showed him and his party losing badly to the opposition party, so his days in power were coming to an end. 

There were dissenters on Qualin who were rising against implanted chips and the government’s tracking of individual activity. With the news release from Tulros of the possibility of such tracking becoming a thing of the past, the dissenters quickly disbanded as Qualins no longer gave them a favorable ear. The general populace was excited about the Tulrosan solution, including many of the dissenters, and were willing to patiently wait for the day when it became reality. 

He didn’t fully understand what had taken place, but two days ago the Chief of Army called him and told him of his promotion to General. Also, he was being summoned to HQ to join the Chief’s personal staff. He would continue to work there until he chose to retire with full honors. All he knew was his friend, the Tulrosan President, had kept his word and pulled whatever strings necessary to make this happen. When he called the President to thank him, the President feigned ignorance and innocence with a big smile on his face. He invited his friend to come and visit him in retirement when his Presidency had ended. 

Now, he was going home. His wife and family were proud of his promotion, and he looked forward to seeing and being with them again with no fear of being assigned to some faraway world again. Also, the extra income was nice, too. 

“There’s an incident in Sector 328G, sir!” 

“Pinpoint.” 

The General smiled and nodded his head at the new commander sitting in his old chair. After one last glance at the two new cadets working feverishly to avert disaster, he turned and walked to the waiting car that would take him to the space port. Once again, amity prevailed in the cosmos.

THE END

Copyright ©2014 by Jerry W. Crews