"We're all hungry, let's distribute them and eat!" called out another.
Upon hearing this, the lead Alliance troop stood up and said, "This is from the Commonwealth. It's contraband, we don't know what's in it. All this will be taken for analysis. It could be dangerous to eat."
"What the hell could it be? They wouldn't poison us! If anything, that King guy is helping us!" shouted a spectator.
"Yeah, the Alliance treats us like crap!" called out a lone teenager. The Alliance troop moved towards the young woman, but was stopped by the crowd. "Move out of my way! She is under arrest for violating speech laws!"
"Like hell she is, you're not touching her or shipping our food away to that Yarwood *******!" said one of the crowd.
The crowd cheered with support. The Alliance troop raised his weapons, but suddenly a rock was thrown at his head. In a second, his weapon was taken. The other two troops, in a panic, were quickly shot.
It wouldn't be long before all the Alliance lost the support of all inhabited Mars.
*Alliance Capitol , Earth*
"We must not allow the rebellion on Mars stop us from completing our victory against the New Commonwealth!" President Wyatt Tergir slammed his fists together for emphasis. "Known Space will again be brought under Alliance control! The Alliance cannot and will not negotiate a peace treaty with the NC."
He was giving his speech right in front of the Capitol Building. He hoped it would inspire the crowd. The huge crowd in front of him remained deathly silent. They didn't have to say anything, the hate for the president was quite obvious. But no one in the crowd dared to shout out, or attempt to start a riot. Battle tanks surrounded the entire capitol, and there were nearly a thousand soldiers present. Plus, armored helicopters high above kept a birds eye view on the entire gathering.
With a smile, President Tergir continued telling the public why they had to fight...
***
Eyes narrowed, Beutel watched the Alliance president speak. Beutel sat out on a terrace overlooking the gathering. The reason that King had sent him here was to 'light a fire under the Alliance' and pressure them into accepting the peace treaty. Beutel decided the best way to do that would to kill the raving lunatic that was in charge of the Alliance. He thought that after Tergir was dead, the next president-John Ling-would be much more reasonable.
Taking a deep breath, Beutel began his attack.
***
President Tergir warmed to his topic, "The hope of the Alliance will not die with..."
He suddenly fell over, his heart crushed inside his chest. But it didn't end
there.
As if with a will of their own, machine guns tore free of the Alliance troops and began
firing into the crowd.
Battle tanks lifted into the air and slammed back into the ground with brutal force-often
landing on Alliance troops.
High above, the helicopters engines seized up. Directed by a sinister force, all of the
helicopters crashed into the screaming throng of people below.
The Capitol Building began falling inward upon itself, sending out huge clouds of dust and
debris.
Alliance troops were toppling over dead-most with no marks on their body. It was pure
chaos.
***
Shaky on his feet, Beutel went back to his hotel and collapsed on the bed, exhausted.
**Jupiter Orbit**
Brett smiled happily as he watched the hologram in front of him. Acting Alliance President John Ling was addressing all of known space.
"I believe that it is my duty, and my right to call an end to this foolish war. Now that President Tergir is dead, I have contacted Harrison King of the New Commonwealth, and we have agreed on a cease-fire. In the following days, King and I will negotiate an armistice so that the Alliance and the New Commonwealth can coexist. Already, I have been promised that all NC ships will promptly leave Sol. I have also been informed that since the cease fire, the food transports are back on schedule, and the rebellion on Mars has been extinguished. People of the Alliance, I say this to you: Have hope. After the armistice, martial law will end on Earth and a lasting peace will happen. Thank you."
The hologram flickered out, and Brett turned to the navigator, "Are we ready to move out?"
"Yessir!"
"Alright then, lets withdraw to Alpha Centuri and wait." Brett ordered. King had instructed him to take position in Alpha Centuri. If the armistice failed, they were to began a brutal attack against Earth itself. The war would end one way or another.
*Five days later*
Scowling, Admiral Brett stood in his cabin in front of his mirror. He was trying to get his dress uniform perfect; he wanted to be a fine model of the New Commonwealth Navy. Satisfied, he nodded to his reflection and left the room. His destination was the "convention chamber"-a hastily converted cargo bay on the Brazen.
Shaking his head, he entered the convention room and quickly looked around the conference table. So far, there was only one person in the room. The one person that Admiral Brett was terrified of, and the one that Harrison King had appointed as the negotiator between the Alliance and New Commonwealth. Beutel smiled and gave an exaggerated wave.
"Yoo-hooooooo! I'm over here, Bretty! Come and sit down! I saved you a seat right next to mine!" Beutel called out.
Brett hesitated a moment and considered leaving the room. He was just about to move toward the door when he was suddenly lifted into the air and flew across the room. The seat next to Beutel pulled itself out and Brett slammed down into it.
"When I say come and sit down, move your ass and sit down!" Beutel snapped.
Brett remained silent and pretended he was alone in the room. Beutel, however, ignored his attitude. "This'll be very easy. I'd say the meeting lasts fifteen minutes...thirty tops."
Curious, Brett asked, "What are you talking about? Negotiations on this scale would take days, not minutes! There is to much to decide!"
Grinning lopsidedly, Beutel shook his head. "Afraid not. There will be no negotiations. Either they will accept our terms and everyone goes on their happy little way, or they will reject our terms. If that happens, I kill the representatives and your fleet will completely obliterate Earth. It's a win-win situation."
"You can't do that!"
"Ah, that's where you're wrong my weak little friend. I can just about do anything that I please. Now, here they come, put a big smile on your face!"
***
Bleakly, the president of the Alliance listened to Beutel as he described the Treaty
of Centuri*. Emotionlessly, he nodded as he heard the terms. When the time came President
Ling signed the treaty. He realized that he had no alternative. And with a single
signature, the largest war in human history was over.
*The Treaty of Centuri was quite a simple one. The most noteworthy term was that the
Alliance was shrunken to only 13 systems. Ironically, one of these systems was Wolf-227
which happened to be saying that it was independent.