On Starkad, land-dwelling Tigeries and sea-dwelling Seatrolls are not at war but are natural enemies. Merseian equipment and advice enables the Seatrolls to drive back the landfolk. Terra retaliates by helping the Tigeries in order to prevent Starkad from becoming a unified Merseian client state. Although the Starkadians have no concept of treaties between sovereign powers, Terrans occupy Mount Narpa by treaty with the Ujankan Tigeries while Merseians have an underwater base in the Kimraig Sea by treaty with the sea-dwellers. The Covenant of Alfzar between Terra and Merseia obliges both powers to help other civilized beings on request. Thus, Terrans and Merseians killing each other on Starkad are not waging inter-imperial war but merely assisting Starkadians.
The Merseians build a primitive submarine base, operable by seafolk, that will wreck local landfolk commerce but the Terrans' fiendishly good Intelligence chief somehow learns of the base and the landfolk are given chemical bombs and told where to drop them, thus killing several Merseian technicians. The ship commanded by Brechdan's son, Elwych the Swift, which is nearby at Betelgeuse, must send some replacement engineers.
All very altruistic of the Merseians, of course...
1 comment:
Kaor, Paul!
I remember the overtones of sardonic humor given us by Anderson in Chapter 3 of ENSIGN FLANDRY!
Well, the Merseians would think it was only right and proper of Elwych to assist the Merseian effort on Starkad.
And I think of the Covenant of Alfzar as an agreement by the civilized interstellar powers to accept the laws and conventions of war and diplomacy worked out by humans over the centuries. Basically, the Geneva, Hague, and Vienna Conventions.
Ad astra! Sean
Post a Comment