Gods Dogs, Book 3
Chapter 38

I think bullying in general is for cowards.

Eddie Alvarez

The ‘dark forest’ hypothesis was one that fell out of the Fermi Paradox (‘where is everybody?’), and the conquest empire was one manifestation. Everybody was hiding. Three of the five empires in Andromeda succumbed to the xenophobia inherent in the dark forest hypothesis, which predicted a universe populated by beings who viewed Creation as ‘be destroyed or be assimilated.’

The other two empires, Machine and Iracian, defaulted to the same policy out of self-defense: be destroyed or be assimilated, because we need your numbers and industry to keep ourselves safe. On the developmental ladder humans discovered, this policy, which sprung from the ‘dark forest’ hypothesis, was a fairly low rug on the ladder of potential for sentient beings. However, for those on these lower rungs, what came to be known as ‘first tier,’ they viewed those on the rung below as the known enemy, and the ones on the rung above as the unknown or incomprehensible enemy. They had no idea, let alone an appreciation for, the ladder itself. Only a ‘second tier’ civilization would replace acceptance of the entire ladder. All beings struggled through similar stages of development, but only so far as their civilization permitted.

The civil wars, in this sense, were breakthroughs that gave access to higher rungs on the ladder. The non-dominant species intuitively knew this more profoundly than the dominant ones, and much of the fire for defeating the elites came from the non-dominant species.

The attacks on each solar system pitted Baston against Baston, Chert against Chert, and Dobal against Dobal, but the crews of the new empire ships were predominantly made up of marginalized species. The current goal for the Accords fleet was to destroy the elites’ capacity to wage war by targeting infrastructure – shipyards, munitions factories, and the like. Thus herding the elites to deep space and the final showdown.

The new empire forces fell to the task with a will. However, the Iracian contribution, sneaking in and actually destroying infrastructure, and the Machine contribution, fast attacks that either took over or destroyed command ships, was decisive in the battles at all three solar system targets.

The advantage the androids enjoyed was threefold: their ships generated less heat, such that their heat sinks were adequate for stealth; they could survive much higher g-forces, which gave them a maneuvering advantage; and their cyber-warfare abilities were an order of magnitude better than the enemy.

In the current action against the Chert elites, the Machine battlecruiser hung back from the attacking squadron and coordinated the attack.

River gained access to the cyber-warfare suite as an observer. Quinn and Moss were observers with the tactical team on the flag bridge. Pax stayed on Satya, but the ship received a feed of the battle.

Following the action in real time was, for River, Moss, and Quinn, impossible. The androids’ processing speed made it imperative that their implants translated the flow of information so the humans could follow what was happening.

Each of the two flights of six cruisers was attacking one control ship. These disc-like ships joined together and docked with their platforms or dreadnaughts when traveling. They undocked and separated for fighting. One was the primary command module. The other was the primary damage control module, as well as the backup command module. Both needed to be taken out to disable the huge weapon platform.

The heavy bombardment the rival fleets exchanged gave the squadrons the distraction needed to slip inside the one light-second range. Three cruisers boosted for a high-speed attack, while the other three followed in their wakes. Those three released boarding parties to try to capture the disc.

From Quinn’s perspective, it looked like a suicide run. He said as much to Moss.

They wore light armor, as the ship was depressurized to minimize battle damage. They were also strapped into acceleration couches to protect them from high-speed maneuvers.

Moss replied, “Their reflexes are better. Maybe that makes a difference.”

Ari and Shiva were tapped into the command network, and Shiva told them, [This is a favored tactic for the Machines. The biological races can’t counter the course adjustments of the cruisers, and the boarding parties are apparently terrifying. Many command ships surrender when they are boarded.]

River was having a similar conversation with Becky.

[They jam the signal to the dreadnaught. That prevents the point defense to target the cruisers. Once the boarders breach the ship, they overwhelm the NSAI. The crew usually surrenders at that point.]

[Pretty slick,] River commented. [Can we learn anything about their cyber attacks?]

[So far, there’s nothing to learn. It’s all brute force.]

The battle lasted ten hours before the elites escaped through the corridor the empire fleet left for them. Then the cleanup began.

The targeted infrastructure was further reduced to space rubble. From the targets in the outer system around gas giants, to the ones in the inner system around the rocky planets, the elites’ presence was demolished.

Two days later, they contacted the planet where the elites set up shop. The locals had rebelled during the battle in space, and the elites on the planet were dead.

The empire forces gave chase to the elites. The Iracian and Machine contingents stayed. The Iracians carried humanitarian supplies and made numerous drops to the planet to begin supplying the population with the aid to rebuild. Jolene’s team dropped with the Iracian delegation that met with the planetary leaders. She told Quinn it was a nightmare scene. Recovery for this world would take decades.

The task for the Iracians and Machines was to hold the planetary system and help with reconstruction. The capital ships began patrols in search of elites that returned. The cruiser squadrons joined the Iracians in rendering aid to the planet.

Quinn’s team dropped to the planet later that week to help set up a regional government. Power grid, hospitals, communication network, food distribution, water, sewer, and temporary housing were all on the to-do list.

The planet was water-rich with oceans, great lakes, and mighty rivers flowing through three main continents. It was also humid, and jungles and rain forests dominated. The settlements were mostly along coastlines.

Quinn’s team landed on a shuttle with a group of engineers and DR Prime. As an ambassador, he would talk to the local officials to come up with a plan for the reconstruction of this city by a large lake.

The indigenous species weren’t as hairy as the Chert, and they wore pants but no shirts. Instead, they wore Chert-like harnesses. Brow ridges sheltered deep-set dark eyes, and the male chests looked like they wore plate armor across their chests and down their abdomens. The females wore a bodice attachment to harnesses, similar to Chert women.

A group of them waited at the bottom of the shuttle ramp. DR Prime walked up to them, the Coyotes and engineers followed.

“I am Delta Rho Prime. We are here to help with your reconstruction efforts.”

“You’re a machine,” one said.

“The five empires have an Accord. We are part of a great armada to finish off the elites.”

“Then what?”

“Then we will replace a way to live in peace with one another.”

The group of seven males and two females stared at the android for a moment. Then one of them barked a laugh.

The apparent leader smiled but said, “We’re just getting organized, but we are arguing over what we should do first.”

Quinn stepped forward and said, “Water is first. Waste-water and sewage disposal is second. Shelter is third. Food is last.”

“How do you know?” one challenged.

“We have training in disaster management,” Quinn answered.

“You’re not a machine,” one of the women observed.

Moss chuckled. “Good catch. We are biologicals like you, and we have a lot of experience with disasters. The hospital is set up. Now you need to figure out a water distribution system. Concurrent with that, you need a sewage system, ideally one that can compost. These engineers can show you how.”

The leaders turned to the engineers. “What do you need to get started?”

That group headed off, and another group moved forward. This group was women, mostly older women.

“The Chert elites are gone,” the oldest began, “but the damage down to our souls remains. Warlords are gathering the angry young men. You will be attacked before you can organize us into a self-sustaining township.”

Pax asked her, “Where in the forest is the warlord that would claim this city?”

The old woman studied Pax before answering, “The young men are angry, not evil. The warlord is the evil one.”

“Where?” Pax insisted.

“Southeast. There is a clearing by a hunting lodge. He has gathered fifty men so far.”

Quinn looked to DR Prime who said, “You are observers. I can have a squad of soldiers round them up.”

“Better to cut off the head of the snake,” Moss said. “That way we can use the young men’s energy to help with the rebuilding.”

The old woman said, “He is a good woodsman and a strong shaman.”

“We’re better,” Moss replied.

Quinn told River, “Send a message to Jolene through Satya. Let her know about this development.”

Then Quinn asked the old woman, “Are you in contact with the other shaman women?”

“Yes.”

“In two days, we will come to your meeting place. We will need your help in the efforts to rebuild your world.”

“Men have the power here,” she replied.

River said, “Not for much longer. The Divine Feminine must balance the Divine Masculine or chaos ensues.”

The old woman dipped her head in a shallow bow of acknowledgement and turned to go.

DR Prime watched the women leave and said, “This is why I was assigned to your team. I think I understand what transpired between you and the old woman.”

“So, we’re good to go?” Moss asked.

DR Prime turned his shiny head to look at them. “Don’t get killed. It would look bad on my record.”

Moss cocked his head. “Are you developing a sense of humor?”

“It may be so.”

Moss chuckled as the team trotted southeast. They wore light armor and carried a combat load-out. They were ready for this self-assigned mission. Through the town and onto a track that led into the rain forest, they kept up a mile-eating jog.

River released air-borne drones to expand their search area and to construct a map of their surroundings.

The forest showed signs that at one time it was a managed ecosystem. The trees were wide-spaced, where there wasn’t deadfall, and groupings of plants grew wild beneath the trees. They were thick trees with leathery, pliable bark, and roots protruded from the ground to form a gnarly base. The branches and leaves formed a crown at the top. Epiphytes and vines connected the trees about halfway up, so that a separate eco-system thrived above the forest floor. A third ecosystem, they assumed, lived in the canopy some two hundred feet up.

“Pretty place,” River observed.

“Too muggy for me,” Moss replied.

“I wonder what the predators look like,” Pax responded.

“The drones haven’t picked any up,” River said. “But then, they might hang out up in the vines during the day.”

After traveling through the forest for about ten miles, they halted.

“Looks like the camp,” River said as the drones’ transmissions resolved into images on their HUDs.

“Spread out,” Quinn ordered. “We’ll do a slow approach from all four corners. Check for sentries, booby-traps, and you know the drill. Then we’ll see what we can do to turn the young men back to the Light.”

By the evening, they were in position at the edge of the large clearing. The warlord was addressing the group of young men who were eating and drinking around a bonfire some fifty feet from the hunting lodge.

Pax sent out on tac-net, “I think what they are drinking has mild narcotic qualities. The group energy is getting fuzzy.”

Quinn said, “Well, I think I’ll confront him. River, shoot him if it doesn’t work out.”

Quinn stood and attached his rifle to the magnetic lock on his back and strode through the crowd. His camo and shielding was off, and his helmet was retracted.

When the crowd noticed him and started fidgeting, Quinn called out, “Hail, warlord. I challenge you for the right to lead this band of warriors.”

The warlord, who looked to be a middle-aged native whirled to throw a knife at Quinn.

Quinn caught it and tossed it over his shoulder. “Your planet needs to rebuild, not endure more war and suffering.”

The warlord conjured a ball of energy between his hands and flung that at Quinn. It was simple nature energy. Quinn’s response was to draw from nature, spirit, and the void and force-punch through the ball and into the warlord’s chest.

He flew backward and landed on his back. At that, he screamed, “Get him!’

“Stay where you are,” Quinn commanded with empowered words. “This is between me and the warlord. Observe and learn.”

The warlord recovered and leaped to his feet. He was taller and heavier than Quinn, which he must have noticed, as he charged in a bull rush.

Quinn dropped to his left side when the warlord was close. His left foot shot behind the warlord to kick his left ankle. Quinn’s right hand grabbed the inside of the warlord’s right thigh. With all his body weight hanging on the warlord’s leg, he fell heavily to his right.

As he fell, Quinn rolled to his left, which freed up his right leg to deliver a kick to the warlord’s jaw in the middle of his fall. He landed hard, as he was unconscious.

Quinn stood. “He is a bad man, and he feeds you drugs so you won’t notice it. Your city needs you to help rebuild. Follow me back to the city, for I now lead you by right of combat.”

The crowd squirmed in indecision.

Quinn shouted, “Now! Or does someone else want to challenge me?”

A young man stood. “No one goes into the forest at night. It belongs to the forest hunters by agreement with our shamans.”

Quinn chuckled at that and chided himself for giving an order that couldn’t be obeyed. It was a rookie mistake. He recovered from that to say, “Then get rid of that drink and purge your systems with clean water. I will tell you stories from the planet I come from. But first, my team will deal with the warlord.”

They trussed up the warlord and spent much of the night telling stories to the youth. As the narcotic left their systems, they young men began to realize what the warlord had done to them. The team was hard-pressed to keep the warlord alive.

After about five hours sleep, the group made its way back to the city by the lake. The young men returned to their families, and DR Prime handed the would-be warlord over to the android police.

Then DR Prime addressed them, “We have other reports of warlords now. It confirms the old woman’s warning. Jolene’s team is after one near her location, but we are ill-equipped to replace the others. This planet’s flora makes it easy for them to hide.”

“Not after tonight,” Quinn said. “When we meet with the shaman women of this world, we will know where most of them are.”

“I replace that hard to believe, Quinn, but I will accept it as an hypothesis.”

“Good enough,” Quinn said with a smile. “Jolene’s team and mine will deal with the warlord problem. What I want you to do is set up the interim government so that it includes the women in positions of real power.”

“I know of many such governmental systems,” DR Prime said. “We should be able to replace one that will work for this culture.”

That evening, the team met with the shaman women at the place in the realm of Nature where those meetings could be held.