not even speak, they were so traumatized. Not so Commander Vadoran, who was his usual hard, uncompromising self. He was heard saying, “What is life? Life is the Solaran Commonwealth. The individual must die anyway. Beyond the life of the individual is the maintenance and expansion of the Solaran Commonwealth, of that there can be no other.” With that, he made his way over to his operators to do what he did best, direct his agents and resistance movements in the field so as to bring a quick and successful conclusion to hostilities.
As for me, I was en route to Sontral aboard the Battle Cruiser, Redoubt. At least my three-day journey gave me time to reflect and come to terms with what had happened. I spoke to Freema at least twice a day. How good it was to hear her voice again, knowing we would soon be reunited. I spent a lot of time sitting in the observation deck in silence for hours on end, just watching the stars fly by. It made you think just how small you are in the big scheme of things. It made me think of the time when I was a teenager, working at Lewis’s department store in Leeds city centre. The boilerman, Alf, who taught me how to play cribbage in my dinner hour, told me the older you get, the faster time passes. At the time I did not believe him, but now I thought to myself how right he was. During the war he had served in the Royal Navy, like my mother’s brother, Bill, in the far east. Luckily, Alf came through it unharmed, unlike my Uncle Bill who was killed on the Atlantic convoys keeping England supplied with food and raw materials to carry on the fight against Germany. Alf told me once that his ship had been attacked by Japanese suicide planes. The ship survived but, unbelievably, one of the planes did not press home its attack and turned back. Of course the ship’s crew was relieved, but Alf always wondered what happened to the pilot, because he would have been disgraced if he had gone back to Japan. It just goes to show that by that late stage of the war, at least some of the Japanese armed forces were not prepared to fight to the last man any more in a war they knew was already lost.
Now at least this part of my journey was over as we entered the orbit of Sontral. After thanking the captain and the crew for having me, I bade them farewell and then Transported myself to the Prime Minister’s living room, so I was finishing up virtually where I had started just over a week ago.
As I stepped out of the portal, Freema was of course waiting for me. She ran over to me and we embraced so tightly… oh, how I had longed for that moment. I told her about Earth and how much I hoped she would make a new life with me there. After we had talked for a while, we were joined by the Prime Minister and Commander Vadoran.
They both warmly greeted me and the Prime Minister then said, “I cannot even begin to comprehend what you went through on Tyros and of course, the sad loss of Kronos and Adema you witnessed firsthand. All I can do is thank you on behalf of the Solaran people for the service you gave and for your contribution to ending the war. Now, one very important piece of information I can give you is that Earth is definitely safe. Commander Vadoran has made discreet enquiries. The Kayton battle squadron was twenty two hours away from Earth when the rebellion started. The former Drone crews overpowered the Kaytons on every ship and used the vessels to make their way back to their own planets.”
“Well,” I replied, “that takes a weight off my mind but I can’t help but think how many of those former Drones who I now call freemen were killed in the process of overthrowing the Kaytons.”
“I don’t think we will ever know for sure how many were lost,” the Prime Minister replied, “but we certainly owe them a great debt of thanks. At least it is all over now.”
“But what a terrible price had to be paid,” I replied.
“Yes,” Commander Vadoran said, “but you got what you wanted and we got what we wanted so it was a win win result for both of us. The means clearly justified the end. Think what would have happened if the Kaytons and their crew had won the war.”
The Prime Minister then interceded. “Now is the time to look forward to the massive job of reconstruction and building a lasting peace that will stand the test of time. As for you, John, I assume you will be heading back to Earth. All I ask from you before you leave is to attend a thanksgiving memorial service in our main cathedral tomorrow. Now, the surviving Kayton leadership is offering unlimited amounts of money for the location of your home planet. But they don’t know where to start; they have nothing to go on. I have discussed the situation at length with Commander Vadoran and we are in agreement that it would be unwise for us to station forces in Earth solar system. It would only attract unwanted attention. Better to just leave things as they are and leave you and Freema to live in anonymity.”
I agreed with them both and not long afterwards, Freema and I departed to spend what would be our last night on Sontral. And what a sight greeted us the following day in Sontral’s largest cathedral, to give thanks the war was finally over. Every church bell in the Solaran Commonwealth rang out as everyone gave thanks. The Prime Minister gave the main reading. An extract from it reads: “Remember the fallen, for they are no longer here to share in the freedoms we all hold so dear. Remember the laughter and the joy they gave us. Remember the sacrifice they made on our behalf. And to this end we honour them by saying never again will this be allowed to happen. But above all, please remember them.”
When the day of remembrance came to an end and after saying goodbye to everyone, it was time for me to return to Earth. Commander Vadoran himself would take Freema to Earth in a small scout ship under the utmost secrecy.
The Solarans still maintained a large professional army, but over the next few weeks the conscripts were demobilised and returned to their home worlds to resume their former pre-war lives. The scenes of happiness and joy were indescribable as families were reunited again after being parted for so long. Then there was one last act to perform. The following day, in every town and city in the Solaran Commonwealth, there was a flypast as the men marched down the main streets. It was not to show off… rather it was a final act that the people wanted to thank the men and the men wanted the parade so as to bring closure to all that had gone before. Street parties were then held, which went on into the early hours of the following morning and then the process of resuming normal, everyday life began.
Legislation was soon passed so that everyone in the Galaxy could enjoy the fruits of peace. It was very similar to the G.I Bill and the Marshall Plan that the United States enacted which rebuilt Europe after World War Two. All service personnel returning from the war had their training paid for, whether it was to become a lawyer or a plumber, the state would foot the bill. All that was asked in return was that they work for one to three years on government contracts on one of the former planets occupied by the Kaytons, so as to help in their reconstruction. As for those planets themselves, if they put up half the money for a project like a new factory or a housing complex, the Solarans would put up the other half of the money. This way, the Galaxy was soon on the road to full recovery with everyone working together for a common purpose.
Now then, remember our Second Lieutenant from Ganeymon on the Keltar front? He had now been discharged from the army. He was from Sontral and had only just qualified as a lawyer when he was called up. After the war his original intention had been to get a job with one of the big law firms on Sontral, but of course he still had one more promise to keep. He had made the long journey to one of the outer systems. It was not like one of the big cities he had been used to on Sontral. I think you could best describe it as the equivalent of a small mid-western town in America. It was right on the edge of the Solaran Commonwealth real frontier country.
After the shuttle had dropped him off, he booked himself into a hotel in town. On enquiring, he was told they did not have a lawyer in town; the residents had to travel to the nearest big city to see a lawyer. He duly noted this fact. Next, he had a certain young lady to meet at her parents’ home where she still lived. Yes, he was keeping the promise he had made to that unknown soldier to return his journals and private possessions to his girlfriend. He had been in touch
by email, so he was expected. How apprehensive he was as he walked along the garden path to the front door and rang the bell. But he had no need to be. Otterley answered the door and after giving him a big smile, invited him in to meet her family. She was even more beautiful than he imagined; the photo he had recovered did not do her justice.
But now I think we should leave it there, as it was their private moment. But you never know, one day there may be a story to tell. Who knows? Oh, but I will tell you our Second Lieutenant’s name… it is Marinas.
Twenty-nine
Now one year had passed and deep within the Nacratic asteroid fields, a small scout ship was navigating its way through the many obstacles. T.A.G.S. that is Totally Automated Guidance System, really came into its own in this sort of environment. The little ship weaved and wound its way around the many asteroids that confronted them with increasing regularity. After one near miss, the Captain, who was the owner of the ship, said to… shall we call him Mister D for now… “Oh, that was close! Are we nearly there yet?”
Mister D replied, “Calm down,