Black Legion: Gates of Cilicia Read Free

Glaucon.
    “It is too easy to let them decide to fight or not to fight. Their decisions are based upon short-term thinking and emotion. Logic, history and reason mean nothing to them, just their own selfish agenda. These decisions should be made by those with wisdom and experience that will take all of us into account.”
    “I take it you’re voting against the Armada, then?” asked Glaucon, sounding irritated. Xenophon had a look that told him precisely what he thought about it.
    “This entire vote is nonsense. We’ve been at war for nearly three decades now, and apart from our allies doing most of the work, what have we achieved? The League is too powerful to allow any successful assault on their worlds, and the Alliance Fleet is too large to allow them to attack us. It’s a stalemate, and that’s why we let our allies fight the war for us, by proxy. If we escalate the war, we change it to one where one side has to win and the other has to lose.”
    Glaucon nodded but not quite appreciating the point Xenophon was making against a decision to go to war.
    “Exactly, it’s a cowards way of fighting. A yes vote will mobilise all eligible citizens to the Armada. If we take the fight to the Laconians, we can end this war once and for all. A democratic Laconia would be to the benefit of all Terrans.”
    “If you think so. We could, of course, lose the fleet and the war in one move. This is nothing more than mob rule dictating state policy. The vote should never have been given to those unable to understand its importance.”
    Glaucon shook his head.
    “Sometimes I just don’t understand you. You are from a family with long service to the Alliance. Your father fought the Laconians, did he not?”
    “And died fighting them, for what? They speak the same language, share most of the same customs. It’s not like we even want their barren homeworld. It is a dull and lifeless place that breeds only the hard and strong. He was forced to fight against friends, even family. Don’t forget that borders and boundaries are just lines on maps. You have family in their territory as well, don’t forget.”
    “I wonder why you don’t live there sometimes. You seem to have a greater love for their customs and laws than we have in the Alliance,” muttered Glaucon.
    “Well, there are benefits to living there. But don’t forget that as citizens we’d be required to serve in the military. Somehow, I don’t see you as a Laconian heavy infantryman! Come on, we know what will happen here, so let’s vote and get on with something a little more interesting.”
    Xenophon moved to the nearest unoccupied display unit. At first glance, it could have been nothing more than a shimmer in front of the stone wall, but it was in fact a fully detailed visual display. He moved his hands in front of his body to operate the touchless interface. It worked by using a mixture of movement and gesture recognition.
    “Good day, Xenophon, please enter your citizen ID code,” said the machine in a gentle, female voice.
    With a few deft movements, he entered the data and was presented with three options to choose from. The first was to vote for the calling up of the citizen Armada, the second to vote against the proposal, and the third and final option was the abstain choice. He gazed at the three for a few seconds as he ran the idea over in his head.
    If we call up the Armada, then all of us, probably me, and most of my friends, will be sent off to fight the Laconians. To what end? The idiots! I’ll never vote for our citizens, my friends or my family to go to war, just so some liberal students can get what they want, he thought angrily.
    With a flick of his wrist, he selected the no vote and confirmed his decision. He turned back his waiting friend.
    “Okay, your turn, Glaucon. Make sure you select the correct option, want me to do it for you?”
    The young man stepped past Xenophon, throwing him a grin as he took up his position in front of the unit.