The Colony on Meranda IV - Part 19

3 days ago

This post started off as a one-off response to a writing prompt in the Freewriters Community. Then I wrote a part 2 (with the outcome literally determined by a coin toss).

But that naturally leads to a part 3, which is where this short series comes in. I felt that doing it in just one post really wouldn't give enough time to build up a bit of suspense 😀 Enjoy !

Image created by AI in NightCafe Studio

When Governor Dafang walked unannounced into his former office in Meranda Base, it caused an instant stir. He had walked into a half-completed meeting between Mr Garnes and Admiral Maraz. Just the look of shock on their faces made the journey worth it.

Dafang felt no need to tell them that he'd emerged from the ground inside their security cordon, through a pathway chewed for him by the Spineder young. Let them think he'd teleported in or used some kind of stealth technology. It all added to their confusion and the mystique of the Spineders.

Garnes was the first to react. He stabbed a button at the back of his desk. It must have been new, Dafang had never needed any kind of alarm button when he'd been governor.

A trio of guards tumbled into the room. They must have been stationed very close by, although not actually outside the door or they'd have seen him walk in. They were definitely among the recruits Garnes had hired recently, local thugs with no military experience and the bare minimum of training. Their uniforms sat poorly on them, and were not as pressed and smartly put together in the way a true professional would habitually be presented.

"Guards ! Arrest that man !" Garnes shouted, a slightly hysterical edge to his voice as he pointed at Dafang.

"Not so fast," Admiral Maraz interrupted. The guards hesitated. Their personal loyalty was entirely to Garnes, but as stupid as they were they knew the Admiral was significantly senior to the acting governor.

Dafang, meanwhile, just calmly stood waiting for this little power play to sort itself out. Once the guards made it clear by their actions that they weren't going to be doing any immediate arresting, he spoke.

"Thank you, Admiral. Is ASP-Brigadier Garrad available ? It would make sense to have him present."

The Admiral nodded, and spoke quietly into his wrist communicator.

"He'll be along shortly," was all he said.

It didn't take long. In less than five minutes, Garrad walked into the office. Clearly he'd already been briefed, and he showed no surprise at Dafang's presence.

"Now everyone necessary is here," Dafang began, "Let me explain what happened. As you know, I went with Doctor Thwaites to visit the Spineders. It turns out that not only are they a previously unknown indigenous life form, they are far more intelligent and organised than we could ever expect."

Garrad held a hand up. "So what happened when your camera feed cut out ?"

"That's not too relevant right now. What is relevant is that the Spineders are determined that the Imperial presence on their world leaves and that they are left alone going forward."

With a humourless grin, Garrad asked the question. "We've seen that they can make life difficult for unprepared and virtually unarmed colonists. But what is to stop us engaging in a programme of extermination, or even just moving all our people off and dropping a planet-cracker to solve the problem once and for all ?"

Dafang shook his head, "That would be unwise in the extreme. The Spineders have more advantages and leverage than you would expect. Let me explain..."