were a truly unique people. Or perhaps they had an unseen agenda. Jenetta shook her head to clear her thoughts. Perhaps she was just becoming paranoid, but the President of the Flordaryn planet was a politician, and she didn't have very much respect for politicians. These days, they always seemed to be embroiled in bribery, corruption, or sex scandals. Of course, she knew it had always been that way with the ruling classes. It had just gotten worse down through the centuries as people won the right to vote, while governments had grown larger and power had become centralized. During their careers, politicians seemed to slip deeper and deeper into the wallets of big business until they all but lost sight of their constituents— until it was time to seek reelection. And now the GA Senate wanted to establish a new center for operations on Quesann— her Quesann. What had she ever done to deserve that?
* * *
"I'm Admiral Jenetta Carver," she said when communications had finally been established with the senior Tsgardi officer aboard the destroyer Vekezemos .
"I know who you are, Terran. You destroyed the Kingdom's fleet and murdered our military forces."
"Yes, well— that sometimes happens when a would-be conqueror attacks a peaceful nation in the belief they can steal that nation's territory. You chose to chew on something that could bite back and had much sharper teeth. I gave the Tsgardi fleet the opportunity to surrender peacefully. They foolishly made a decision to fight. Once that occurred, the outcome was inevitable."
"Every Tsgardi warrior carries your picture, Terran."
Jenetta quickly formulated a strategy for dealing with this latest obnoxious commander who was all bluff and bluster. She knew she had to knock him down a peg or two without it actually coming to blows, so messing with his head a little might throw him off balance from the start. Smiling sweetly, she said in a totally girly voice, "Oh, that's so sweet. Are they hoping to get my autograph?"
"What?" the Tsgardi asked with a confused look. He was expecting death threats.
"Are they carrying my picture around so I can autograph it for them if we ever happen to meet?"
The Tsgardi sneered and said, "They carry it so they can study it every night and burn your image into their mind. They will recognize you instantly should you meet, and they will exact revenge for our dead comrades."
"Oh, I guess it's not so sweet then." Jenetta had known exactly why Tsgardi warriors carried the images. It was reported that they never fell asleep at night until they had studied each image of their enemies for at least five minutes. "Tell you what, let's you and me duke it out right here."
"What's this 'duke it out' mean?"
"It means fight," Jenetta said as she pressed a spot on her left monitor. "There, I just gave the order to ready five torpedoes. That's one for each of your ships."
"Wait, we're unarmed. You can't fire on us."
"Oh, but I can. You see, when the Tsgardi War Council surrendered unconditionally, they were told that no Tsgardi warship could ever leave your solar system without permission. You did not request permission from Quesann and yet here you are in a different solar system. Legally, I can reduce you to space dust and no one can say a word against my action."
"But we're unarmed."
"I think we both know that doesn't really matter. You wouldn't stand a chance even if you were armed. So we might as well just finish this right here and now and have it over with. Are you ready?" Jenetta poised her finger over a contact spot on the monitor.
"You can't do this," Admiral Kelakmius screamed. "You're a Space Command officer. This is murder."
"Why shouldn't I do it? You believe me to be a murderer anyway."
"But that wasn't cold-blooded murder. It was murder during battle."
"Oh, murder during battle, was it? Well, we'll call this a battle and then it will be alright, okay?"
"We're defenseless. You can't murder us like this."
Jenetta had tired of the
* * *
"I'm Admiral Jenetta Carver," she said when communications had finally been established with the senior Tsgardi officer aboard the destroyer Vekezemos .
"I know who you are, Terran. You destroyed the Kingdom's fleet and murdered our military forces."
"Yes, well— that sometimes happens when a would-be conqueror attacks a peaceful nation in the belief they can steal that nation's territory. You chose to chew on something that could bite back and had much sharper teeth. I gave the Tsgardi fleet the opportunity to surrender peacefully. They foolishly made a decision to fight. Once that occurred, the outcome was inevitable."
"Every Tsgardi warrior carries your picture, Terran."
Jenetta quickly formulated a strategy for dealing with this latest obnoxious commander who was all bluff and bluster. She knew she had to knock him down a peg or two without it actually coming to blows, so messing with his head a little might throw him off balance from the start. Smiling sweetly, she said in a totally girly voice, "Oh, that's so sweet. Are they hoping to get my autograph?"
"What?" the Tsgardi asked with a confused look. He was expecting death threats.
"Are they carrying my picture around so I can autograph it for them if we ever happen to meet?"
The Tsgardi sneered and said, "They carry it so they can study it every night and burn your image into their mind. They will recognize you instantly should you meet, and they will exact revenge for our dead comrades."
"Oh, I guess it's not so sweet then." Jenetta had known exactly why Tsgardi warriors carried the images. It was reported that they never fell asleep at night until they had studied each image of their enemies for at least five minutes. "Tell you what, let's you and me duke it out right here."
"What's this 'duke it out' mean?"
"It means fight," Jenetta said as she pressed a spot on her left monitor. "There, I just gave the order to ready five torpedoes. That's one for each of your ships."
"Wait, we're unarmed. You can't fire on us."
"Oh, but I can. You see, when the Tsgardi War Council surrendered unconditionally, they were told that no Tsgardi warship could ever leave your solar system without permission. You did not request permission from Quesann and yet here you are in a different solar system. Legally, I can reduce you to space dust and no one can say a word against my action."
"But we're unarmed."
"I think we both know that doesn't really matter. You wouldn't stand a chance even if you were armed. So we might as well just finish this right here and now and have it over with. Are you ready?" Jenetta poised her finger over a contact spot on the monitor.
"You can't do this," Admiral Kelakmius screamed. "You're a Space Command officer. This is murder."
"Why shouldn't I do it? You believe me to be a murderer anyway."
"But that wasn't cold-blooded murder. It was murder during battle."
"Oh, murder during battle, was it? Well, we'll call this a battle and then it will be alright, okay?"
"We're defenseless. You can't murder us like this."
Jenetta had tired of the
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