The Nixian Agenda
Noahide Books
By Daniel Daly
http://noahidebooks.angelfire.com
‘Of course, everyone knows Hydran’s can’t be trusted. Those fowl
snakes have always thought themselves superior to us, especially on
the sporting field. But a day of Judgement has come, I tell you. We
live in a new era, in this stellar civilization. The old ways time
and time again have failed. Everyone knows that. Pluto and Charon
never act in our best interests and rarely present our claims to the
stellar council. So I urge you, fellow Nixians, join the revolution.
Join ‘The way of Darkness’ and we will ultimately conquer our foes.
Remember, united we stand, divided we fall.’
The speaker, Roge Jembray, got down from his soapbox after another
afternoon on his usual crusade and started handing out flyers to the
crowd which had gathered. About 50 metres away a parked cruiser
ignited its engine and took to the skies. As the cruiser headed back
to its hotel destination, the two men on board in the back seat felt
satisfied. They had seen enough. They had seen firsthand the growing
revolutionary feeling on Nix, one of the moons of Pluto & Charon, and
would take this news back to their Hydran politicians. War was coming
– that much was certain. And Nix and Hydra were about to face a most
decisive of encounters.
***
‘So how did it go today, Roge?’
‘Oh, the usual turnout, Julessa. I did sign 20 or so new recruits,
which gives us the number we were looking for. We have 10,000 now.
10,000 souls willing to put their life on the line for the future of
Nix and our place in the system.’
‘And if it leads to war, Roge? What then?’
‘Then some will live and some will die, Julessa. But freedom always
has a price. Mankind has always known that truth.’ Julessa Jembray
nodded at her husband’s words. They were in truth familiar.
‘Will you be at the meeting tonight, or have you changed your mind and
agreed to spend the night with me and mother and father to celebrate
their wedding anniversary?’
‘You know I would love to, J. But you know how important the meetings
are. I can’t miss them. Not for anything.’
‘Yes, I know. I was only hoping.’
Roge, having been greeted by his wife after returning from his
preaching, got up from the kitchen table and walked into the living
room to turn on the holoviewer. He switched the channel to Nix’s main
news channel. The usual mix of politics and other events. As he sat
there, relaxing, he thought on his struggle – his struggle for the
future of Nix, one of the furthest moons from old earth, right out
near the edge of the system. It was 400 years old now since
colonisation, and completely settled. Solar magnifiers gave them the
heat and the electricity they needed and they had ample water taken
from one of the ice rings of Saturn. Nix homed a billion people, or
thereabouts. The whole surface of the moon was covered and sublevels
went down near to the moons core – it was its own new world. And now
it had a growing culture and identity – it was proud of itself, and
Nixians wanted more. Roge knew that. They wanted to impress
themselves upon the system and, as far as Roge Jembray was concerned,
in a way that would not be forgotten.
***
The man in black examined the picture. ‘So this is Jembray?’ The
agent in front of him nodded. ‘Mmm. He doesn’t look that dangerous.
But better to be safe than sorry. Agent 8X, you are authorised to use
deadly force to deal with this radical. But please, obtain your
weaponry on Nix. We want no leaks back to Hydra. Am I understood?’
Agent 8X coldly nodded. He understood, alright.
***
The meeting had gone well. Better than expected really, the latest in
the long rally. They were ready now, the ‘Way of Darkness’, and the
political stage was the next logical step. They had the 10,000
official members required for a political party and, despite Nix being
long regarded as a left-wing haven, the radical right might just have
a say in the affairs of Nix in the immediate future.
As he drove home that night in his cruiser, Roge Jembray was excited.
The party was to lodge its official application to become a political
party tomorrow morning. It required the standard electronic
application, but new parties still had a degree of old fashioned
paperwork as official hard copy documents which needed to be sighted,
which Roge had been working on for the last few weeks. He was the
number two man in the ‘Way’, technically, but number one, old John
Sinclair, was more of a figurehead from an ruling right wing party
from earlier in the century. In all practical manners, Roge ran the
show. He was not sure just how far he would go, in the end, but he
sensed a sentiment on Nix. People were fed up with the short straw
this end of the system usually got in system resources. Nearly always
the last on the handout cue. Of course, they were largely self-
sufficient as satellite body, but they still needed the rest of the
system as no planet stood alone in the end. Roge had a plan. He
wanted to ruffle Hydra’s feathers in some ways. Hydra was much like
Nix, similar in size, the other major moon of Pluto/Charon. But Hydra
had a long standing attitude of superiority against their Nixian
neighbours, being older in settlement, and slightly larger in
population. They were competitors on and off the field of sporting
glory, but there was a growing feeling in Nix that if Nix could get
one really good one up on Hydra, well the whole planet would feel
better about itself. And that is the role Roge Jembray saw for
himself. Being the right man at the right time for Nix, his beloved
planet of birth.
Driving along he was oblivious to the cruiser which had just pulled up
behind him. And as he neared his home, Agent 8X readied himself for
his assassination attempt.
The cruiser landed in the port of his home and he got out and stood
looking at his house, a technical wonder in this era of Nixian
history. He reached back down to the open cruiser door, picked up his
GHT567 Phaser which he carried for defensive reasons, and heard a
zapping sound just as he picked up the laser. Looking around he
noticed a scorch mark on his house and turned quickly to see a figure
in black hiding behind a cruiser just across the road, weapon pointed
at him.
Roge reacted quickly. They had chosen the wrong guy to mess around
with. He had served in Nixian security details and was an expert with
his weapon. So much so that after an exchange of a dozen or so shots
he landed the killing blow on his opponent.
Coming over, he looked at the dead figure. All in black with and id
badge reading 8X. That sounded familiar. Hydran special agents used
that id system. He had read the action novels about them as a
youngster. Hydra was after him now – that much was apparent. He
would have to be even more cautious in the future. But this was a
good thing. It meant he was being noticed. And if he was being
noticed, it meant one other most important of things. He had power
coming to him. And with that power he would change the history and
future of Nix and the stellar system forever.
***
Gaining 14 seats out of the 5000 House of Representatives sitting
members was a good start for Roge Jembray and the ‘Way of Darkness’.
Both John Sinclair and himself were amongst the winning members and
there was a sense in the party that this was just the beginning. Just
the beginning. After he had survived the assassination attempt the
news had been leaked that Hydra had been responsible and there was a
growing undercurrent in Nix now, more so than ever. Nix wanted a
piece of Hydra. They wanted to stand up to their older brother.
At the next election they increased to 158 seats and were officially a
minor party in the house. They also gained 2 senators. While
previously they’d really only had voting power in the house of reps,
Senator’s carried a lot more weight. And Roge had foregone his seat
in the house of Reps to take up one of the Senatorial positions for
the party. Now he had a degree of power – real power. They were a
far right party, but the right wing opposition occasionally had words
with them and sought their support on voting issues from time to
time. Roge now had some influence.
It was at this time Roge formed ‘Children of the Night’, a long
planned part of his agenda. The ‘Children’ were special operatives of
the party, which Roge worked hard to gain official power for, which
was just granted by a special sitting assembly. Even the left wing
recognized some of the sentiments the ‘Way’ represented. The
‘Children’ were then given the resources to accomplish their
objectives.
Nix had a long standing arrangement with Hydra on supply ships from
the inner system, but when special operatives of the ‘Children’
amongst other key groups started abducting the robotic operated supply
ships from the inner system which were due for Hydra, Hydra eventually
noticed. And hostilities began.
It started slow. Firstly official words from one president to another
seeking clarification of the situation and the hope diplomacy would
end the problem. But Nix remained insistent of their innocence, which
both parties knew was not true. Nobody really expected war, in the
end. Nix had a grudge, nothing more. And their agenda to gain
revenge on their long rivals was seen just as that. And because of
that, after the first official space conflict between Hydra and Nix in
which a Hydran battle-cruiser was destroyed, the Hydran President
decided that Hydran’s simply did not want war. They would wait this
one out.
***
It was 4 years into the conflict that the inner systems finally
decided to act. A special council was convened on Earth, head planet
of the system. Representatives of Nix and Hydra were summoned and the
Grand Chancellor spoke directly with Roge Jembray, Nix’s selected
representative. It was an illuminating conversation, and years later
Roge Jembray had finally acknowledged the wisdom in the Chancellors
words.
The Chancellor had said this to Roge, in private, at the seat of
stellar harmony in New York. ‘Roge, we humans have a long history of
conflict. Our history is rife with such a reality. Indeed, this
represents human nature in so many ways. And while we often react to
the oppression of others in hostility and hatred, as a civilization we
have slowly learned the lessons that war and pride must give way to
peace and forgiveness for the good of all of us. The ancient United
Nations was a beacon in the early days of a united humanity,
symbolizing the best in us to get along on a global scale. In those
days there was so much racial and religious division that many
despaired of ever finding universal peace. But we persevered as a
people and, in the end, saw the light. Be it the creator’s grace, or
just that funny thing called ‘love’ we eventually learned enough to
know how to get along as a people and respect each other. And that, I
think dear Roge, is what Nix and Hydra must learn. It is not unique,
your situation. Civilizations have gone through such dilemmas many
times before. So I urge you, dear Roge Jembray. Learn from them.
Learn from their mistakes and successes and learn that getting along,
being at peace, is always preferred to a life on the edge, in which
safety has vanished. I am sure, in the end Roge Jembray, you will do
the right thing.’
Later on that year the conflict between Nix and Hydra had largely died
down. The council seemed to have resolved most of the issues that Nix
in particular had. And Roge, as he continued in his political life,
thought often on the wisdom of the Grand Chancellor and eventually
nodded to himself that he had indeed spoken with a wise man. And, as
the years past, and Nix and Hydra grew more into friends than rivals
Roge Jembray acknowledged that there was wisdom in the way of peace.
There was wisdom indeed.
THE END