Free A Savage War Of Peace (Ark Royal Book 5) by Christopher Nuttall

files that they would treat as manna from heaven.”
     
    “I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Percy said. 
     
    “You must admit they need it,” Fanwood countered.  “You've seen their living spaces!”
     
    Percy nodded.  He’d seen a hidden village, buried in the forest, and the interior of a giant city that reminded him of ancient ruins in Mexico.  They’d both been filthy by human standards; the streets coated in layers of bodily wastes, despite the risks of disease, the Vesy themselves hardly bothering to wash when it wasn't raining heavily.  The medics suggested their immune systems were stronger than the average human immune system, something they needed desperately.  Their cities were breeding grounds for disease. 
     
    “It wouldn’t be hard to show them how to build sewers,” Fanwood continued.  “Hell, the Romans had sewers!  Or even just to build gutters and wash the shit out of their cities for good.  Or ...”
     
    “That problem may take care of itself,” Percy pointed out.  “They know how to produce gunpowder now.”
     
    He held up a hand before Fanwood could say a word.  “I understand your feelings on the matter, sir, and I will pass your suggestions to the diplomats when they arrive, but right now we are not meant to interfere in their affairs.”
     
    “We have already interfered,” Fanwood snapped.  “Our mere presence here is interference in their affairs!”
     
    He was right, Percy knew.  The buildings just outside Fort Knight didn't belong to a single city-state; they belonged to representatives from every city-state for a thousand miles and traders who had come to see what the humans had to trade.  He’d told the Vesy they’d contacted first, months ago, not to interfere with the gathering of representatives, but he had a feeling it hadn't gone down very well.  The factions who had aided the human race clearly believed they had first right to any rewards.
     
    And if we weren't here , he thought, grimly, they would be trying to kill each other by now .
     
    It wasn't a pleasant thought.  Before the Russians had arrived, the Vesy had largely been grouped in city-states, not unlike Ancient Greece or Rome.  The Russians, by arming a particular faction, had introduced the Vesy to the concept of empire ... and, even after their defeat, several Vesy factions were trying to build their own empires.  It was impossible to monitor the locals to any great degree - Percy didn’t have the tools to keep an eye on them - but satellite observation revealed that a number of city-states were waging increasingly brutal wars against one another.  The influx of tools, gunpowder and a handful of human weapons had only made the slaughter worse.
     
    “I would suggest you make your representations to the diplomats,” he said, curtly.  “This isn't the time to do anything that might upset one of the factions.”
     
    “The factions might become upset because we haven't paid them for their services,” Fanwood offered.  “How do you plan to cope with that?”
     
    Percy shrugged.  The Vesy would have to be insane if they attacked Fort Knight ... assuming, of course, that they comprehended the sheer scale of the Human Sphere.  There was literally nothing they could do against a single destroyer raining rocks from high overhead, as Warspite had proven in the final moments of the first Human-Vesy engagement.  But would they understand the danger?  The further away the city-states were from the battle, the more their inhabitants would believe the reports to be exaggerated.  They might not take the threat of retaliation from the stars seriously.
     
    “There has to be something we can offer now, something that will keep them tranquil,” Fanwood insisted.  “Corporal ...”
     
    “The decisions involved are well above my pay grade,” Percy said.  He was surprised he’d been left on Vesy at all, rather than his immediate superior.  And his orders were really