Peace World by Steven L. Hawk

Author:Steven L. Hawk
Language: eng
Format: mobi, epub
Published: 0101-01-01T06:00:00+00:00

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Although the ships were landing twenty kilometers away, the heat and noise they expelled penetrated the thick walls of the Leadership Council Building. People were dying where the ships landed, and Randalyn added another transgression to the mountain of crimes the Minith had inflicted upon Earth since they first dropped from the sky.

How any human alive could still hold on to the false promise of Peace after all the aliens had done to their world was beyond the N'mercan Culture Leader's comprehension. But these people existed—their heads buried firmly in the sand. They were ignorant or uncaring of what happened in the world as long as the attackers' actions never touched their lives directly. As long as their loved ones were safe, they remained content, casually able to look the other way. The problems of the world belonged to others. Others would step up and take care of them. Others would pick up the gun or wield the sword and fight for what was right, if fighting was required.

Randalyn thought back over humanity's last few hundred years. In hindsight, it was not difficult to see where they had gone wrong.

Peace is a utopian concept—an honorable and noble condition to which humanity should aspire. But Peace is conditional, and not without pitfalls. Extended periods of Peace deliver contentment to a population. This contentment, when taken for granted, often leads to indifference. Indifference often allows uncontested acts of wrongdoing and evil.

As the noise of the descending Minith ships ceased, the Culture Leader recognized the indifference that had allowed Earth to become slaves. Their inability and unwillingness to fight the invaders had delivered them to the place where they now found themselves—woefully unprepared to defend against another invasion.

Regardless of how unprepared they were, though, she was committed to doing her part. If she had to die defending her world against the aliens, she would do so gladly.

The window, one of three that looked out of the council chambers on the third floor of the building, offered an excellent view. The park across the wide avenue below them was filled with nearly a thousand soldiers and their equipment. They were dug into defensive positions and she noted that all their weapons faced west, toward the direction of the aliens' landing site.

Like her, they waited for the arrival of the invaders. Like her, they knew it would not be long.

The weapon she held offered a surprising degree of comfort. She ran a hand along its length, absorbing the cool feel of its smooth, metal surface. The coolness helped absorb some of the clamminess on her palms.

She looked around the room at her peers. Diekela Mamun and Sabatina Sabontey sat at their normal places, their rifles leaned casually against the long table. Neither spoke nor made eye contact. They appeared content to be alone with their thoughts.

Quasan Allah was pacing quietly along the back wall of the room. His head was down and his lips moved in prayer.

The two windows to her right were occupied by Primo Esteval and Suyung Trey.

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