Chapter 83. Creepers rule Cindy?
When Tchaikovsky was 16, a wave of protests against the planet broke out. Colonies on several planets decided not to pay taxes anymore. Officials who came to collect taxes and manage affairs were turned away and ridiculed. The colonies also stopped exporting goods to Earth. This has hit the planet hard. Most of Earth's food supply comes from the colonies because the Earth doesn't produce enough food to satisfy everyone's needs. After the protests, Earth had to import food from aliens to barely guarantee that people would not starve to death. The colony's supply of rare crystals is also disrupted. These crystal mines are vital to the energy supply of Earth and spacecraft. These minerals do not exist on Earth. Therefore, Earth sent its army to suppress the uprising.
On that fateful day, they also arrived at Taurus. The colonists were ready to give in because they could not stand up to such a superior military force. But the approaching troops showed no scruples. They shot and killed the first people they encountered in the settlement. Twelve colonists were killed. Others were then rounded up and stripped of almost everything they owned. Then, some random settlers were singled out as rebels and taken away by the army, including Tchaikovsky's father. From that day on, they never heard from him again.
From that day on, Tchaikovsky decided to fight against the Earth until the colonies were free, even if it took his entire life. And so far, that appears to be the case. Earth has more troops, better organization and training, and more advanced technology. Most of the colonists were civilians who had never participated in a battle, and their weapons were old goods purchased from the black market. In a head-on battle, they would never stand a chance of winning. The rebels can only adopt guerrilla tactics and continue to cause harm to the earth, hoping that the earth will eventually tire of it and give in. However, this did not happen. It is a struggle between two unequal enemies who, despite their obvious differences, are unable to ultimately defeat each other. Sometimes the Earth's army wins and the colonists suffer heavy losses; sometimes the colonists successfully attack the Earth. Casualties on both sides continued to rise. Every time Earth wins again and several colonists lose their lives, the hatred for Earth deepens. And whenever there are vacancies, there are always volunteers willing to fill them. In this way, the cycle of violence continues. Unless one side can gain a decisive advantage, the battle may continue for another hundred years or more.
By teaming up with these strangers, they might be able to gain a decisive advantage. Their technology is clearly more advanced than Earth's. Their ships are significantly larger and therefore may have an advantage in combat. Perhaps victory was closer than he had ever dreamed of. However, in order to achieve this, he had to convince them to side with the colonists. While he believed it was possible, Captain Noah had hinted at a very unsuccessful attempt to make contact with Earth. But he wasn't sure.
Next to him in the jeep sat Olet, the colony's elected leader and a member of the political resistance movement. Olet is sixty-five years old. His hair was white, and his face bore the marks of exposure and physical labor. But his blue eyes still radiated determination and ambition.
He came here from Earth forty years ago. No one knows his past or the reason why he left the earth. But clearly something serious is going on, because he doesn't have anything nice to say about his home planet. When he came to the colony it was in a serious crisis. Although settlement has a history of fifty years, the progress is not smooth. High taxes on the planet have put an end to the enthusiasm of the first few years. The war with the Terrans was very expensive, so taxes were raised. It's all for the good of humanity, they can only feel safe when this threat is eliminated, that's the rhetoric at the time.
However, the war was of little importance to the colonists. The Terrans had never done anything to them. Barring their cunning, they even make good trading partners. With their extinction, the colony lost an important source of income.
Olert was devoted to the colonial cause from the beginning. For him, this is clearly a chance to prove himself to Earth. If he can establish a self-sufficient colony and achieve independence from Earth, he will achieve ultimate victory. As a result, he continued to inspire the colonists to reach their maximum potential, successfully overcome crises, and achieve sustained economic growth. However, to this day, they have not achieved independence.
They sped toward the airport, where long-planned road construction was delayed again and again because they couldn't get enough asphalt to pave the road. This was a disadvantage for trade, as goods had to be transported from the airfield to the settlements via poor roads. Especially after market day, when the roads are badly damaged from heavy use, the potholes line up like Swiss cheese. Add to that the potholes washed out by the rainy season and the road becomes almost impassable. Only the roads inside the settlement are paved with asphalt. This is a priority since most people travel on foot. So at least the comfort level can be improved here.
They remained silent, each lost in his own thoughts. Tchaikovsky had told Olert everything he knew in detail. They have high hopes for this meeting, but also fear that they might fall into a trap and lose everything.
Finally, they entered the airport. The airport has a long runway because some of the races they trade with have ships that require a runway to take off and land. But most spacecraft can land and take off vertically.
Things aren't too busy at the moment. Most of the merchants will arrive in the next few days. Without markets, few traders and tourists would come to the colony.
They drove past towers and several warehouses where trade goods could be transshipped. Since the colony does not have shuttle ships, all goods must be delivered to the settlement via tram. There are only three ships in total available, not too big compared to Earth's ships, but too big for traveling between planets.
Olet slammed on the brakes, bringing the vehicle to a stop. Only a few meters away, and in a few minutes, the stranger's shuttle would land. They left the car and leaned against the front. Olet looked at the gray sky, trying to make out something. But nothing could be seen except clouds.
"They should be landing already," he muttered. "Apparently they don't value punctuality very much."
Before Tchaikovsky could speak, a mechanical buzz sounded, and then four people appeared on the landing site. Tchaikovsky immediately recognized them as long-awaited guests by their uniforms. He looked at Olet in surprise. Never in his best dreams had he imagined that he would appear here via a teleporter.
The stranger approached. The man with bronze skin spoke first and said directly to Olet: "I am Noah, the captain of the fleet ship Republic. Thank you for your invitation. I am very happy to be here." He extended his hand to Olet.
Olert shook his hand in return. "Welcome to Taurus, Captain. It is my honor. I am Olert, the colony's top administrator. You already know my colleague Tchaikovsky."
Noah nodded kindly and shook hands with Tchaikovsky. He then introduced to his companions: "Dr. Celia, our medical officer, Gladys, security, and Mr. Jeffrey, scientific officer."
When they introduced the Vulcan, both colonists' eyes were riveted, as if they couldn't believe what they were seeing. It was like a mythical creature that existed only in legends suddenly came to life in front of them. Olert, in particular, never seemed to believe everything Tchaikovsky told him. That's not surprising, considering what happened to Vulcan.
"Welcome," Olert finally repeated, perking up again. "Forgive our surprise. But it would be almost a miracle to see a Vulcan again. We have never seen one like you before."
"Also, your mode of travel is unusual," Tchaikovsky added.
"You didn't use teleportation technology?" Celia asked in surprise.
"No, it's not safe enough for living things. The teleportation technology is not mature enough. Even the teleportation of goods is very rare. Some merchants who visit us mainly teleport large goods. But no one would think of walking into the teleporter. Or even think of themselves To be broken down into atoms is already outrageous,” Olert explains. His tone made it obvious that he thought the stranger was only allowing himself to teleport to demonstrate their superiority.
However, Celia didn't seem to notice this. She reacted to Olet's answer. "Where we come from, teleporters are the safest system. Teleporter accidents are extremely rare. As far as I know, it's been eight years since the last one. Our world wouldn't function properly without teleporters."
Whether Orlert has changed his mind about strangers showing off is not shown. Instead, he made an inviting gesture and pointed toward the car. "I'm sure we have a lot of interesting things to talk about. Please, get in the car and we should continue this conversation in the prepared room of the Senate."
"The Republic officials followed the invitation and got on board. The off-road vehicle had seven seats, so accommodating everyone was not a problem. Noah felt as if he had traveled back in time. On his Earth, four-wheelers only It can be found in museums or in the hands of specific collectors. Judging from the hum of the engine, this should be an electric engine. A particularly powerful electric engine, and he felt its power during his journey. Due to the development of technology, No particularly large batteries are needed to achieve this kind of performance. The primitive fossil energy sources of the 20th and 21st centuries are no longer needed.
As they approached the colony, Noah discovered that the buildings here were mostly two-story and similar to each other. These are Earth standard structures often used during colonization. This makes it possible to establish an initial settlement quickly and easily, providing a place for colonists to live. As settlements expanded, buildings could also be easily dismantled and rebuilt elsewhere. This seems to have happened here. For in the center Noah saw a solid stone building that must have been built later. To make room, they expanded the settlement by moving the original buildings to the edge of the city.
"We chose these solid stone buildings because we thought they would be most likely to survive without needing repair for a long time," Tchaikovsky explained, apparently noticing the look in Noah's eyes. "It's also these buildings that are the most well-preserved on Earth. These buildings from the 17th and 18th centuries have gone through the baptism of time, and modern buildings have been demolished and replaced time and time again. But because we don't have that many resources here, we have to build A more durable building. It’s also more in line with our overall way of thinking.”
Noah was impressed. If he correctly understood what he had seen so far, the colonists did do a great job under difficult conditions.
They stopped in front of a building with pillars decorating the entrance. Noah looked up at it. It's a bit like a Roman temple, but has its own style. There are three stone statues on the roof above the entrance.
"This is our parliament. From here, our elected representatives rule our colony. Each city can send elected representatives to the parliament according to its size. There are currently thirty senators," Olet does not Wu explained proudly. "The statue above depicts the founders of the colony. Of course, the original group of settlers was much larger, but the three on the statue were the first leaders who ensured the successful colonization of the planet. After their deaths, A monument was erected to them.”
They entered the building. The shiny stone floors and wall-mounted decorations are reminiscent of the ancient Roman Empire. Maybe it looked the same there two thousand years ago. Noah also got a glimpse of the Senate chamber. It is circular, with a colonnade surrounding the walls. There is a row of round tables in the room. An image of the planet is drawn on the stone floor in the center, showing the colonized parts of the world. Tchaikovsky explained that the round table symbolized that no senator was more important than the others. And the image of the planet reminded them that they were here to serve the interests of the colony.
However, the conference room they entered was equipped with a rectangular table. This is a compromise on practicality. A round table leaves too much space. And it is unrealistic to build a house with only round rooms.
Noah and his team sat on one side of the table, while Olert and Tchaikovsky sat on the other. There already sat a woman and a man who identified themselves as other senators.
This woman's name is Amiya, and she comes from the second largest settlement. Her thin face was surrounded by messy black hair, some of which were already gray. A pair of black glasses sat on her nose, giving her an owl look. Her whole body was thin, the joints of her hands were clearly visible, and she felt like her hands would be crushed at any time when she shook hands.
The man was younger, a senator elected in the most recent election. He calls himself Ichiro Ono. His close-cropped hair revealed that he was actually blond. His most striking feature is his broad nose, which gives him a vulture-like appearance.
All senators present were members of the political resistance. Not all senators belonged to the group, something Republic officials later learned. Although everyone knows that there are resistance groups on Earth. But those not involved will not be given further details of the plan. This is partly to protect the resistance itself, but also for those who do not actively participate. If the Resistance is exposed, those not involved can credibly claim they have no idea what is being planned.
Noah was a little disappointed to find that there weren't any announced Vulcans present. In fact this is the most important reason why they are here. Well, they will ask when the time is right.
Olert once again formally welcomed the guests and offered them some drinks. In particular, he recommends a native plant that tastes like coffee. After everyone had had their drinks, Olet started the conversation.
"We are very pleased to welcome you here. Seldom do we have the opportunity to host such an important guest. Please feel free to make this your home and accept our invitation to spend a few days in this colony."
Noah smiled indulgently. Olert evidently valued having his colony introduced to him. From his perspective, he understands this, even though he has a completely different topic to talk about.
"Our colony has been established for more than ninety years. We are the fourth human colony established outside of Earth's solar system, and by far the furthest from Earth. As a result, only a relatively small number of refugee ships have reached us, and they Leaving Earth to start a new life somewhere else. Still, I must admit that the rapidly growing population gives us some concerns."
"How do you meet your daily needs?" Jeffrey asked with interest. "The transport path to Earth is long, and the planet itself doesn't have enough resources."
Olet smiled proudly. Clearly, he liked that his guests were interested in the colony. "First of all, the planet is very fertile," he began to explain. "We grow almost everything we need self-sufficiently. There are some earth plants that grow here, but there are also native edible plants. And we grow far more than we need. So there's some surplus that can be traded. Secondly, our geographical location brings advantages that other planets do not have. We are located in a border area where the paths of multiple alien races cross. We provide them with a place to trade, for a small fee of course. So , we make money through the market here while also buying what we can’t produce ourselves and selling our surplus. Orions are crazy about green apples,” Olert said with a laugh.
"Fascinating," Jeffrey said, raising his right eyebrow. indeed so. Republic officials had never encountered anything like it. Since the Commonwealth no longer uses currency, this pattern of economic cycles has become less common. It's really fun to provide a venue and get compensated on a monetary basis. And, obviously, the need is so great.
"What races trade here?" Jeffrey asked another question. The topic seemed to interest him.
"We are often visited by Orions, Denobrans, and Benzes. From time to time, there are also Cindy, renegade Andorians, and a species called Kadasi."
Tchaikovsky explained: "They are primates and humanoids. They suffered terribly under the rule of the Creepers. Therefore, they are always trying to make favorable deals here."
"Creepers rule Cindy?" Noah repeated in disbelief. He exchanged a confused look with Jeffrey. He had never heard of any dominance among the Sindy race. However, little is known about this mysterious race. And the most detailed information is from a hundred years ago, and things may have changed a lot by then.
"What's going on with the other Sindy races?" Jeffrey asked the next logical question.
