properly informed about current events, as you have complained about before.”
“Thanks for keeping me in the loop,” I replied. “I appreciate that. I think it is time I made tracks now to get ready for tonight. I will make my own way back to my quarters. See you both at the theatre tonight.” I bade them both farewell, leaving them to examine the training videos of me practicing the assault on the command bunker.
As a parting shot, Commander Vadoran shouted, “Oh and by the way, John, it would take more than four guys to bring me down.”
On the long walk back to my quarters I thought to myself, the Kaytons might die of laughing if I was on Tyros. But if Commander Vadoran was there they would all die of boredom. Somehow I did not think I would be on the Commander’s Christmas card list… mind you, the feeling was mutual. I could just imagine Commander Vadoran saying to Kronos, “Are you seriously telling me the new Guardian is robbing banks with his Guardianship so that he can live the high life on the proceeds?”
On arriving back at my quarters I showered, changed and had a bite to eat. I still had plenty of time left before Freema was due to pick me up so I relaxed in the armchair. I was looking at my travel belt, or Guardianship, as it should correctly be called. On closer examination I noticed an inscription written on it.
“Kev,” I said, “what does this inscription mean?”
“Hello, John,” Kev replied. “The writing is an old Kultarn war cry, Ishtar Racnar Tacknar Heyah.”
“Seeing that we are talking about the Kultarn language, do you know the words to the ancient Kultarn song the Solarans have adopted as their national anthem?” I asked. “If so, can you teach me the words in the next couple of hours before Freema comes to pick me up? I think it would be a mark of respect if I sang it along with the Solaran people at the end of tonight’s gala performance the Prime Minister has laid on for me.”
“Yes, John, I do know the words and I would be glad to teach you.”
And so we were on our way. It was a good job Kev was patient; it wasn’t easy learning the words to a song, especially in a foreign language. But we got there in the end and at least time passes quicker when you are keeping yourself busy. It took a lot of concentration, though, I must say.
The last few minutes before Freema was expected to arrive, I was just letting my mind wander. Thinking about the Majestic project and the Majestic Nine, it suddenly came to me that when I was a youngster my mother used to go to the Majestic bingo hall on Leeds City Square. During the summer holidays, if she played the afternoon session, I would go and meet her when she came out and then, if I was lucky, she would take me to the cinema. How I miss those days… I hope the name connection turns out to be a good omen. Then there was a knock on the door. I was quick to answer and there she was, as stunning as ever.
“Hi, John,” Freema said. “Are you ready?”
“Yes. You look nice. I will have to see you more often on your days off.”
“Thanks, you scrub up pretty well yourself. Shall we make tracks?”
“Yes, good idea,” I agreed, and with that we were both on our way to the theatre to enjoy a well-deserved night out, courtesy of the Prime Minister and the Solaran people.
Thirteen
Earlier, at the Prime Minister’s residence, a very important cabinet meeting had been held prior to the vote of no confidence that was due to take place in Parliament the following day. Kronos and Commander Vadoran were also present at the meeting. As everyone took their seats in the cabinet room, the Prime Minister opened the proceedings.
“Thank you all for attending at short notice. I think the gravity of the situation demanded it. I know the overall situation is critical but it is not desperate. I have been in discussions with the Hellertron ambassador who, after consultations with his government and high command, has agreed to my requests. That is, every Hellertron division will be paired with one Solaran division and every Hellertron ship will be paired with one Solaran ship. They would come under our operational command but the Hellertrons would retain the highest political control. By corseting our forces together in this way we should be able to avoid a repetition of what occurred recently.”
“Mister Prime Minister,” the Foreign Secretary interjected, “we don’t mind Kronos being here as an observer, indeed we welcome him, but we object to Commander Vadoran being present. He has been granted tremendous powers but he is unelected and is not answerable to Parliament or the cabinet, only to you. He has been granted billions of pounds for secret weapons research but so far we have seen no tangible results. It just seems to disappear into a bottomless black hole, never to be seen again.”
“I am sorry you and other members of the cabinet feel that way,” the Prime Minister replied, “but as long as I am Prime Minister, the Commander stays. I granted him these exceptional powers due to the seriousness of the overall situation and he has my full confidence. Now, moving on, Mister Cabinet Secretary, to the best of your calculations, how do the votes stack up for the no confidence vote tomorrow?”
“Mister Prime Minister,” the Secretary replied, “the opposition is sensing blood. They think they can win the vote, causing a general election, which they are confident of winning by running on a peace platform. Our members of parliament are becoming very disillusioned since the Hellertron collapse and subsequent headlong and seemingly unstoppable retreat. They have all read Commander Vadoran’s intelligence reports on the combat efficiency of the Hellertron armed forces and it doesn’t make good reading. Faulty and inadequate equipment, faulty officer training and a lack of spirit among the combat troops, stemming from a belief in their eventual defeat. If we accept the Kaytons’ offer of peace talks with no pre-conditions, I am confident we can win the vote. But if we don’t, I think the vote will be too close to call. I fear the worst; we are playing for time, Mister Prime Minister, and it is running out.”
“I am not prepared to countenance any negotiations with the Kaytons,” the Prime Minister declared. It would send out a completely wrong message to the Hellertrons and the Solaran people. Anyone can see they are trying to split us from our allies and I am not going to fall into that trap.”
“What is our situation as far as reserves and armaments are concerned?” asked the Chancellor of the Exchequer, looking the Minister for War Production squarely in the eyes as he waited for a response.
He was the rising star of the government, tipped for the top job one day, being only thirty-eight years old when he assumed the post of Minister for War Production four years previously. He was the youngest ever cabinet member, handpicked for his organisational and mathematical genius. The ministry itself was vitally important for the very execution of the war. He promised and delivered a fifty percent increase in armaments and munitions production over four years. At the time, no one thought it could be done. Everyone except the Prime Minister said that if he even achieved half that target, he would have done well. But as in all his previous jobs, he once again showed the doubters that the impossible could be done. More and faster became the watchwords. Overnight he put the Solaran Commonwealth on a total war footing, eliminating waste and duplication, increasing the hourly working week, fully mobilising women into the war effort and cutting administration staff, first by ten percent and then a further twenty percent. But alas, since the Hellertron collapse it was not enough. The truth, however unpalatable, had to be told.
He just replied, “For now we are holding our own but we are burning out at the core. As far as armaments and munitions are concerned, the war can go on for another six to eight months. As for troop reserves, there are none. What we possessed have all been dispatched to help the Hellertrons. The replacement army cannot cope with the huge losses any longer. If the Kaytons break through the thinning crest of our defense lines we only have the strategical missile strike force left to cover our retreat, allowing us enough time to make an orderly withdrawal. But that is it then; no more reserves and all our raw materials will run out in a matter of months. I will, ho
wever, support the Prime Minister in whatever decision he makes.”
“Thank you,” the Prime Minister said. “I appreciate your support. Now I propose we reject the offer of peace talks—”
“I’m sorry, Mister Prime Minister, that is not good enough,” the Foreign Secretary interrupted. “This is supposed to be cabinet government; I propose we vote on the matter.”
“I second that,” the Chancellor said.
“All right,” replied the Prime Minister, “if that is what you all want, I agree. But if I lose the vote I will stand down immediately. I am not prepared to negotiate with those war criminals. Under the constitution I will hand over the reins of power to you at once, Mister Chancellor, and the best of luck to you, you are going to need it.”
“If we get into serious talks with the Kaytons,” the Foreign Secretary said, “we might be able to negotiate autonomy for the Hellertrons within their Greater Galactic Prosperity Sphere.”
“If you believe that.” the Prime Minister replied, “you’re a bigger fool than I thought you were.”
“It’s better than being led down the road to ruination, which is what you’re doing with Commander Vadoran egging you on,” the Chancellor pointed out. “If we