thousands of years? We need to be a little more progressive. Somehow, you have managed to find allies among them. If two defected, maybe more could follow?”
Taylor shook his head. Bryan could tell that he was not at all convinced.
“No? So what made those two so special?”
He remained silent for a moment. The moment they became his allies was still something he had not fully explained or shared with anyone, but he knew the time would come when he would have to do so.
“When we captured Lord Demiran on L2, those two lay down their weapons and surrendered to us. During the chaos of the attack on the station, they managed to escape, just as all soldiers have a duty to attempt.”
Weller leaned in closer to hear Taylor’s low voice.
“Go on.”
“During their re-capture, an officer subordinate to me tried to execute them, despite not presenting any threat. Having saved their lives, that same officer attempted to take mine, and very nearly did. Those aliens saved my life. They did the right thing, but I can never go on the record with such information. We saved one another’s lives, and in doing so have eternally earned each other’s trust.”
Weller took in a deep breath and sat up straight on his stool.
“Most interesting,” he replied. “And you have told this to no one else?”
“Not the whole truth, no.”
“And now those around you doubt your belief in our alien friends, and you cannot explain to them why you place your trust?”
Taylor nodded in agreement. He was impressed that the Major was so quick to understand the situation.
“You were right to remain silent. There would be a violent backlash if it became known that they had killed one of our officers, no matter how justified.”
Taylor was still unsure of Weller’s endgame, but he had a good feeling about the man. He surprised himself that he had come out so quickly with that story having never told anyone.
“You were quick to get that out of me, and I commend you. I only hope you use such information wisely.”
“Those two could be vital in the coming years. We need all the help we can get if there is any chance of gaining more foreign support, or even creating dissent among their ranks. It could make all the difference.”
Weller threw back the last of his beer and laid the bottle down on the bar.
“This is it for me. I have further notes to make, and we both need our rest. I will see you at 0900 hours at the cells.”
Taylor nodded in agreement and lifted his bottle in a sign of friendship. As the Major walked away, Mitch thought hard about their newfound friendship. He’d never come to trust anyone so quickly before, and that still made him suspicious, despite not having any reason to doubt Weller.
He returned to his quarters to rest out for the night. The room was silent, and it was clear Parker had not been back. As much as he’d have liked her there when he returned, he hated the fact she was being so unreasonable.
It had been so much easier during the war, he thought.
Climbing into bed alone was lonely, but it was just the tranquillity he needed to rest and recuperate. Mitch was finally feeling that his body was recovered from the brutal year it had endured.
It was 0901 and the two officers were sat at the table, as they had been the day before. Only this time, Taylor’s shorts and sandals were gone and replaced with more suitable attire. Weller read out his name, rank and others present for the records before beginning.
“Your former Lord Demiran and his kind. How did they get to their position of power?”
The two aliens looked confused, and Jafar finally spoke.
“What do you mean?”
“How did Demiran become a Lord?”
“He was born.”
“Are all Krycenaeans status dictated by birth?”
“Yes, but you must still prove yourself in that class or risk being outcast.”
“So you were both destined to be guards to a great Lord from birth?”
“They nodded.”
“And what dictated that?”
“Our people come from one island on one planet. We are more intelligent than most, faster, stronger and more agile. We have guarded the Council of Lords for thousands of years.”
Taylor sat in shock. He had never thought to ask any of what Weller was doing, but it was explaining a lot of what he had been curious to know.
“I would like to know more about your society, but we will come back to it. The Krycenaeans seemed desperate to conquer Earth at any cost. Under the command of Karadag, what was the purpose of the invasion?”
“The Great Book tells of a world so heavenly that any Krycenaean would die to live on it. Our people have searched for it for hundreds of years since our technology allowed us to do so.”
“And you believe it to be Earth?”
“I believe so. It is the most amazing place we have ever seen. Clean sweeping oceans, free from radiation and meteor showers; temperatures that you can live in without fear of death, and no predators hunting you. This is a paradise.”
Tsengal continued.
“Our Lords have gone from one system to another, destroying all in their path in an attempt to find such a place. Other races have fallen under the onslaught you faced.”
The two men’s faces went blank. It was so much information to take in; they could barely believe their ears. The room went silent for half a minute as they tried to picture what they were being told.
“My God,” Taylor finally spoke. “They’re systematically wiping out civilisations to find their perfect world.”
Weller leaned in towards Mitch and whispered.
“We had suspected something of the sort for some time, but knowledge of other races is something we had no idea of.”
He looked back to the Jafar.
“These other races you have encountered, have they been utterly destroyed?”
“That was before our existence.”
“Damn shame.”
Taylor butted in.
“The technology we have seen so far would suggest it could take hundreds or thousands of years for your ships to reach Earth, is that so?”
Weller initially turned to cut Mitch off, but he let the question stand, as he was inevitably about to reach the same one.
“For the first ships, the pioneers, yes. They left our worlds knowing that their future generations would reach their destinations. We now travel on the gateways they produced.”
“Gateways? What do you mean?” asked Taylor.
“I think he means some kind of gateway through space, folding space, black holes…”
“You believe it possible?”
“Technically, yes.”
“We cannot tell you how these work, only that a gateway was established a little over a year ago in your time, enabling the fleet we travelled with to reach Earth.”
“This space gateway, it is still there now?”
“I do not see any reason why not.”
“And you can travel through these instantly?”
“Yes, but they are built many thousands of kilometres from planets, for reasons we have never been
