Kelly should chastise his section chiefs for inappropriate reporting, but at the moment, coming off an adrenaline high, he thought it hilarious. He ordered the helm to reverse course to the pirate world and hold off 200,000 km from the planet.
The torpedo ships still held position where they saw the K’Rang ships destroyed. Kelly listened as the torpedo ships reported the Vigilant’s presence. The next thing he heard was a hail from the defense HQ of the planet.
“Scout Force Scout Ship, this is Steven Maynard, head of the Brotherhood of Barataria.”
Kelly let a moment pass then responded, ”Mr. Maynard, this is LCDR Kelly Blake, captain of the Galactic Republic Scout Ship, Vigilant. What may I do for you?”
“I would like to discuss terms of surrender, captain. We could probably have held you off, but we have no desire to take on the K’Rang.”
“Mr. Maynard, I would be happy to accept your surrender, but I must contact my admiral first. Stand by.”
Kelly sent Admiral Minacci a message, informing him of the current situation and asking for guidance on how to proceed. In ten minutes, he was directed to stand by in orbit, awaiting the arrival of the 3rd Assault Landing Group.
Kelly called down to Mr. Maynard. Maynard answered and Kelly ordered him to stand down his forces and prepare to receive the Commander of the 3rd Assault Landing Group in approximately four hours. Kelly observed the space clearing over the planet. Before long, the Vigilant was alone in orbit above the pirate planet.
The series of sonic booms woke up everyone in the factory women’s dorm. Irina Bugarov knew what it was instantly. She ran outside in her nightclothes, with Terri trailing close behind her, and a crowd of other women following. Above them was a contrail looking like a giant dotted line stretching across the sky as far as they could see.
Terri, obviously afraid asked, “What is it? Are we under attack?”
Irina calmed her down, “We aren’t, but our pirate friends are. That was too big to be a fighter and too small to be a major combatant. My guess is that was a scout ship making a point.”
Right then, the torpedoes collided with the K’Rang scouts and the cascading explosions could be seen plainly in the night sky.
Terri asked, “Did they kill them?”
Irina answered, “Somebody died, that’s for sure. I just hope it was some of our pirate friends.”
The dazzling explosions went on for several minutes. Irina thought their deliverance might not be far off. The Fleet had found them.
With the show over and nothing left to see, Irina and Terri retired to their room and climbed into their beds. Sleep came slowly, as they imagined their liberation.
The Vigilant orbited above the pirate world, its sensors peering down to make sure that the pirates had stood down. The sensors detected no activity other than the start of practice for a parade by the Ascetics. Kelly watched the units forming up and running through their drills on his cabin monitor. CPT Chen sat opposite, commenting on lapses of precision in their formations and soldiers out of step. The Vigilant’s sensors were of a high enough resolution that individual soldier’s movements could be seen clearly. There was little else to do while awaiting the 3rd ALG’s arrival. Kelly had already prepared his defense for possibly exceeding his orders, and forwarded a detailed report to Scout Force HQ.
There was a knock on the door and Alistair stuck his head in the door. “Anyone in need of a refill?” he asked, as he entered with a carafe of fresh coffee. Kelly held up his cup and Alistair filled it. CPT Chen still wasn’t speaking to him, but held up her cup, too.
Kelly said, “Alistair, look. They’re preparing my victory parade.”
Alistair sat down and looked on.
Kelly commented, “ I suppose they’re not all that bad, for a bunch of monks. Mary’s platoon could put on a better show. I don’t know much about these Ascetics. Aren’t they just a bunch of mercenaries with religious trappings? I’ve heard they’ve wound up on both sides of a conflict more than a few times.”
Alistair recalled a recent Intel study on the Ascetics.
“The Templar Corps was formed more than 150 years ago on Earth, in reaction to a need for ethical and disinterested peacekeeping forces to preside over disengagements and nation building, in the aftermath of several civil wars and other conflicts. They were surprisingly good at it. They didn’t loot and they didn’t look the other way. They were sufficiently armed and had flexible enough rules of engagement that they could preempt many problems before they blew up.”
Kelly asked, “How did they get started? After all, someone had to have the idea to form units of military monks.”
Alistair continued, “Theopholus the First was the first Cardinal, First Class of the Templar Corps in 2195. He saw the need for ethical peacekeepers after the outbreak of the Retro Post-Colonial Wars in Africa, Pan Pacifica, and Asia in the late 22nd Century. The United Nations-funded peacekeepers too often went in with their own agendas or their hands out and made matters worse.”
“Now, so you understand, the Templar Corps is only the military arm of the Order of the Holy Knights of the Resurrected Temple. The Cardinal, First Class is dual hatted as the military commander and head of the order. The order also provides mobile hospitals, refugee camp administration, logistical support, and nation building support. After the Great Global Depression of 2203, the Templars were able to recruit trained specialists in medicine, logistics, engineering, finance, law, and other fields.”
“Theopholus, seeing the need, also recruited heavily for acolytes and deacons (their foot soldiers) from the slums and barrios, built discipline through rigorous religious and military training, and outbid the UN peacekeepers on dealing with the Nigerian Civil War aftermath in 2207. The Templars went in, disarmed the combatants, restored order, established hospitals, schools, and civil government. It was rumored that they only had to shoot a few key people Pour l'encouragement d' les autres — for the encouragement of the others. In a year, Nigeria was back on its feet with a stable coalition government, a rebuilding economy, and a functioning civil society. It was rumored that their new constitution was dictated by a Templar cardinal.”
“The Templars, or Ascetics as they are commonly known, became the go-to guys for any regional instabilities. Sometimes the mere threat of bringing in the Ascetics was enough to force an agreement at the negotiating table.”
CPT Chen, forgetting she was still mad at Alistair, asked, “Why are they called Ascetics?”
“They take a vow of poverty, chastity, and obedience when they join the Templars. They possess only the clothing they are issued and live a Spartan existence, therefore Ascetics.”
Mary asked, “Chastity? So do they never have sex? Certainly, that must cause them problems? I have enough problems of that sort with my Marines.”
“They have an internal program where exemplary male and female Templars are chosen to have children. The children are raised in common creches and the parents never know which child is theirs. It fosters a sense of family throughout the Corps, because you never know if that new acolyte or presbyter might not be your own child or brother or sister. Scrupulous records are kept in the Templar HQ to guard against incest, which is a high sin in their beliefs.”
“They really made their impact felt in the Great Migration, when they were chosen to provide the security forces for the settlements. Their ranks swelled as each settlement ship left Earth with a battalion of Templars, and there were 100 settlement ships. The Templars established a strong presence in the new Galactic Republic. That’s why every first tier world has a Templar monastery.”
“On my own world, allowing for our unique situation, the Templars became the police force more than a military force. They used their military power at the beginning to put down the Revolt of Desperation, but after that they were our cops. After we got the upper hand on the ‘Many Teeths’, a lethal predator, there wasn’t much need for military. An interesting fact is that the Ascetics train equally on modern weapons and on sword, spear, and shield. That came in handy on Archimedes, after they ran out of ammunition packs.”
“The Templar Corps nowadays is likely to show up in situations like this, where military capability is needed, but can’t be associated with the Republic or any world government. As much as they try to avoid it, they occasionally wind up on both sides of a conflict. They justify their mercenary activities by pointing out that their
