Plus one beat-up cruiser coming late to the party, Bagi thought.
Selecting a target, Bagi suddenly switched to max decel. He had been traveling at 0.8 million miles per hour. Now, under max decel, each second his speed decreased by another 12,065 feet per second. The Stree battlecruiser he had picked out for his attention was coming at him a bit under 1 million miles per hour. The rage of missiles and railguns swarming at him increased, a storm of destruction that should have ended him and his crippled cruiser in a matter of seconds. But his sudden decel had caught the Stree off-guard. They had expected him to accelerate through their fleet, getting out of the zone of death as quickly as he could. He had done exactly the opposite; approaching slower than his fellows, and then actually decelerating instead of accelerating.
By the time the crew of the Stree battlecruiser understood what was happening, it was too late. Out of missiles, shot to pieces, no longer able to defend herself, the Blue Quark bore in on the battlecruiser with a precision only a Goblin crew could achieve. In the last few seconds, as the ponderous battlecruiser attempted to twist away, Stree missiles managed to penetrate the bridge of the Blue Quark at last. No warbody cube in existence could have withstood the storm of explosive that tore into the Blue Quark at the end. Bagi and his crew died instantly. But for the Stree battlecruiser, it was a hollow victory. As Admiral Sojatta looked on in calm acceptance, as Guardian Officer Zutirra screamed in fear and panic, the Blue Quark hit the SGH Prophecy amidships. The two ships impacted at a combined velocity of just over 1.5 million miles per hour. Nothing but a highly refined cloud of hot plasma remained behind.
Chapter Thirty-Three
Stree Prime
Corvette Armidale
Called to the bridge again by Captain Stewart, Jim, Bonnie, Ollie, and the rest assembled to watch the first asteroid impact. Arrayed behind Captain Stewart, a gray cloud hung over their moods - a fatalistic feeling they couldn’t shake off. Commander Brady began counting down the seconds to impact.
And then time was up. The leading impactor moved so fast that the last few seconds were incomprehensible. One moment it was approaching the planet. The next moment, the near side of the planet was turning itself inside out, ejecting gouts of molten lava into space, slugs of the planet’s guts that looked like fiery blood. A ring of fire expanded from the impact point, rising, burning everything in its path. Following the ring of fire was a circular cloud, ash-gray and growing rapidly as it began to cover the near hemisphere of Stree Prime.
“The beginning of the end for the Stree,” said Bonnie. “The next one will hit in six hours, one-third of the way around the planet. And the next one six hours after that if we don’t stop it. Rauti is making sure he kills them all.”
“They have colony worlds,” Jim responded. “They’ll recover.”
“But not us, I fear,” said Luda. “Now we are the outlaws of the Galaxy.”
Ollie turned to him. “I guess I don’t understand. The Stree also committed genocide. They destroyed six planets. Rauti only destroyed one. Why would you be singled out?”
“Because we are not biological,” said Liwa. “We are the only known race of sentient AI creatures in the Galaxy. Because of that, we have always been feared by the bios. They have made war on us times beyond counting, seeking to eradicate us from the Galaxy. This will be their perfect excuse to finish the job.”
“But that’s not fair!” exclaimed Bonnie. “The Stree started the war! The Stree killed billions as well! Why is your response any different?”
“It’s the unwritten rule of the Galaxy,” Liwa said bitterly. “Bios can kill bios all day long, and that’s just war. But Goblins - it’s not the same. We’ll be hunted down like dogs.” Turning, Liwa stomped off the bridge. Luda glanced at Bonnie, then followed.
“I guess I just don’t understand,” Ollie complained, looking at Jim. “It makes no sense to me.”
Gazing at the blazing planet in the holo, Jim spoke quietly.
“It’s the age-old curse of being different. The one that is most different is the one the braying mob comes after with their pitchforks and torches.”
Bonnie was quiet for a moment.
“So you think Liwa is right. The bios will come after the Goblins.”
Jim nodded sadly. “Yes. They’ll try to wipe us out for good this time.”
And it was only in that moment that Bonnie remembered.
Jim was now a Goblin.
Phoenix System
Landing City
For Mac, everything happened right on time. At 0215, he heard rifles open up to the east, past the big open space called Central Park. He lifted his head ever so slightly and peered over the top of the gully. In the distance, about a mile away, he saw rifle flashes, more and more each second.
Then Turgenev’s forces opened up from trenches and foxholes in the center of the open space, amongst the shuttles. Within three minutes a full-scale battle was taking place.
Mac hunkered back down and waited, watching his watch. And almost exactly at 0230, a new round of firing started, south of him. Tatiana’s Battalion West was assaulting into the colony from the jungle there.
“Time to go,” he whispered to Olivia. He waved at his squad, and they advanced over the top of the ravine and moved into Landing. Working their way through the abandoned tents, they moved quietly but quickly toward the Headquarters tent and the new jail just south of it. Twice they came across colonists. The first time, they saw the couple first, and Mac waved his team to one side, taking another path to avoid them.
The second time, a couple stepped out of a tent right in front of them, half-naked, trying madly to get into their clothes. They saw Mac’s team, screamed, and ran like hell.
Mac ignored them; there wasn’t much he could do. He had to grin a little, though.
In the throes of passion, then suddenly gunfire in the distance, then soldiers coming at you. That would put a damper on your evening.
Three minutes later, Mac settled his team into a position just north of the jail, hidden behind the Headquarters tent, and peeked around the corner.
He monitored the area by the jail for a minute, until he was sure he had found all the guards. There were ten of them by his count; eight standing in fixed positions at the four corners of the jail, and two roaming around. He saw only two rifles, so he guessed the rest of them had pistols.
Moving back into concealment behind the Headquarters tent, Mac briefed his team.
“Olivia, take your squad around to the left and assault into the jail area from that side. Take out the four fixed guard positions, then secure a perimeter on the north and east sides.”
“Aye, got it,” said Olivia. She appeared calm, almost relaxed. With some surprise, Mac realized that both of them had settled down considerably as the action got closer.
It’s the anticipation that’s so nerve-wracking, he realized. Not the actual action.
“My squad will assault the guards on the west and south sides and secure our perimeter there. Then I’ll take my Fire Team One into the jail to secure the prisoners. Everyone else will stay outside and watch our backs. Any questions?”
Heads shook in the negative. Mac grinned.
“Then let’s do this, folks.”
Mac turned and led his squad to the edge of the Headquarters tent. They paused until Olivia was in position. When he got her “Ready” signal over his comm, he counted down.
“Three-two-one-go!” he called over the comm, and charged forward around the tent.
The battle to the east and south was in full swing now. There was a cacophony of gunfire from those directions. So much gunfire, the guards were mesmerized by it. The last thing on their minds was Mac and his team coming in from the north.
Mac shot three of the four fixed guards before they even knew they were under attack. The last one, and the roaming guard on his side of the jail, had just enough time to see them coming. The two guards managed to get their rifles up, at least, and one of them even got
off a burst before he died.
Then Mac’s team killed them. His squad quickly checked the bodies to ensure they were dead, then set up a perimeter. When Mac was sure they were secure, he rushed to the main door, his fire team behind him.
Peeking in, Mac saw three guards inside, all of them facing the door, rifles raised, ready to fight. Behind them, at the window in the rear of the jail, he saw Olivia’s face poke up slowly into view. She assessed the situation, and then waved Mac out of the way.
Pulling back, Mac crouched down beside the wall of the jail, waving his fire team down. Suddenly a burst of rifle fire exploded from behind the jail. A voice came over his comm.
“Clear,” called Olivia. “You can go inside.”
Mac rose, peeked in the door again. There were three bodies lying on the floor, and Olivia was grinning through the rear window. He nodded at her, focused on the door, and blew the lock off with his rifle. Pulling the door open, he gingerly stepped inside.
There was a hallway leading to the back of the jail. While his fire team checked the bodies, Mac stepped over them and moved cautiously down the hallway. The first two rooms were offices. Both were empty. Next came cells, three on each side. In the first cell, a tall, thin man with graying hair stood at the front, holding on to the bars. He looked haggard and had cuts and bruises all over his face.
“About time you got here!” he grinned at Mac.
Stree Prime
Battlecruiser SGH Resolute
From the Admiral’s cabin of the Stree battlecruiser, Rita and her team watched the impact of the second asteroid. Even though Tika and Hajo were ambivalent about it, and in one sense glad the Stree were dying, there was still a grim mood pervading the room. Everyone knew the Goblins would be blamed for this genocide. And everyone knew the consequences would be dire for them.
As Rauti had so carefully planned, the planet had turned one-third of the way around in its rotation, giving the asteroid a fresh target. Rauti was ensuring that his destruction was complete.
Hajo continued to call Rauti up to the last second, but it was useless. Rauti refused to answer.
The results of the second impact were similar to the first. The seconds counted down, and suddenly it was over. A long streamer of plasma and molten lava exploded into space, a great gout of planetary guts centered over an ever-expanding ring of fire. The ring of fire soon overlapped the still-raging circle of destruction from the first impactor. All of them knew no living thing could survive in the area encompassed by those two raging circles of death.
Rita had cleared the room of any Resolute crew not part of her secret inner circle. Now she closed her eyes and bowed her head, saying a silent prayer for the billions of Stree killed with the impact of the first two asteroids. Finishing her prayer, she raised her head and stared at Hajo.
“Are you still talking to Rauti?” she asked.
“Yes. Of course, his first two instances are dead. They rode their impactors down to the surface. But his third instance is still onboard the last pusher missile. I’m trying to get him to respond, but he refuses to acknowledge my calls.”
Rita sighed. “Keep trying. Keep trying to impress upon him - his revenge is already complete. He’s killed more than two-thirds of the Stree populace. He’s destroyed their home. It’ll be something like a century or more before anyone can live safely on Stree Prime again. Try to convince him it’s not necessary to kill them all.”
“I will keep trying.”
Rita turned to Tika and shook her head.
“It’s all up to the Armidale now. If they can’t stop the last impactor, there won’t be a Stree left alive on the planet.”
Tika’s response showed her bitterness.
“If the Armidale fails, then it’s the fate of the Stree to die. So be it.”
“I know how angry you are, Tika,” responded Rita. “But there’s a greater morality here. The end does not justify the means. We do not take our revenge on the Stree by killing their children. We must try to save a remnant. Just as we saved a remnant of humanity from Earth. Just as we saved a remnant of the Ashkelon - our recent enemies. Just as there will be Goblins who survive this holocaust, to start the species anew. We cannot descend into madness, simply because the Stree did.”
Tika replied bitterly.
“I do not care,” she spat. “I will be happy if every Stree in the universe dies.”
“That won’t happen, Tika,” Rita answered. “Even if the third impactor hits and there are no survivors on Stree Prime, there are other Stree colony worlds out there. And the survivors of the Stree fleet at Stalingrad. And this battlecruiser, which probably has a crew of hundreds, if not more than a thousand. A remnant of the Stree will go on, just as remnants of Humans and Goblins and all the others will go on. And I see a bleak future ahead if all these survivors do for the next few hundred years is try to kill each other. Is that what you want?”
“Fine with me,” snarled Tika. “I’ll gladly spend several lifetimes trying to hunt down every Stree I can find.”
Once again, Rita shook her head in negation.
“Tika. There comes a time when the guilty have been punished enough, and we have to move on. This is that time. All the species involved in this damned war have been devastated. There are no winners. It’s enough. We have to move on from this.”
Tika got up from the table. She stood, glaring at Rita, for several seconds.
“It will never be enough for me. As long as one Stree remains alive in this universe, I will hunt them. Hunt them and kill them. The Stree feared us because we were different. Let them fear us now for a better reason.”
And with that, Tika turned and departed the room. Hajo followed her. As the hatch closed behind them, Rita stared at the lone bodyguard still in the room with her.
“Maybe it would be best if the Armidale fails. If all the Stree here on Stree Prime were killed. Then Tika and her Goblins could hunt down the rest of them and wipe them out. Maybe the Universe needs to start with a clean slate.”
The bodyguard stood, staring at Rita.
“They killed our planet, Rita. They deserve to die.”
“No, Jim. They don’t.”
Jim Carter glared at Rita.
Rita had refused to leave Stree Prime without her husband. But she had also needed Jim to be aboard the Armidale to help the prisoners escape. In the end, Jim had done the only thing possible to be in two places at once.
There were now two copies of Jim Carter in the universe.
Turning and departing, he left Rita alone in the conference room. Rita closed her eyes and bowed her head, her thoughts swirling, and began another prayer.
Chapter Thirty-Four
Stree Prime
Corvette Armidale
“There’s two of you?” Bonnie asked incredulously.
Jim nodded. “Yeah. I didn’t want to tell you at first. I thought you’d probably freak out. But yeah. There’s another copy of me on the Stree battlecruiser with Rita.”
Bonnie shook her head in disbelief.
“I…” she stopped, at a loss for words.
“Rita insisted one copy of me had to stay with her. But she didn’t trust anyone else to get you and the other prisoners out. So there’s two copies of me. One here, and one on the battlecruiser.”
Bonnie looked at him in awe. “Which one are you?” she asked.
Jim, puzzled, cocked his head. “What?”
“Are you the original or the copy?”
Jim grinned. “Your question makes no sense. Both of us are copies. The original was my biological body. Or I guess you could think of the data that’s stored somewhere in the electronics of the scanner as the original. But both
myself and the one on the battlecruiser are copies. Two copies of near-perfection, of course.”
Bonnie sniffed. “A long damn way from perfection, bub.” She grimaced, thinking it through. “But…what do I call you? Jim? Or Jim 2? Or Jim Prime?”
The fat Stree face that Jim was currently wearing wrinkled in a huge smile. “How about Lord Jim?”
Bonnie bowed her head, trying to hide her grin. It was hard to be pissed at Jim when he was like this.
“I think I’ll just call you Jim and we’ll leave it at that. But wait - how long are you gonna stay in that fat fucker’s body? Did you bring the bodybuilder along?”
“No. Rita needs it worse than I do. But Hajo and Luda already made an android copy of my bio body. It’s in the cargo area. I can switch back into it anytime.”
“Well, the sooner the better. I really don’t care for your new look. But…Jim; what will you do? If Rita has the other copy of you…Oh, hell, this is gonna be such a mess for you. I’m so sorry.”
“Well…don’t be sorry. I did what I had to do to save you and the rest. I’d do it all again.”
“But Jim…you know we can’t follow that battlecruiser to Aslar. As soon as we finish pushing the impactor, we have to make a break for it.”
Jim lost his smile. “Yes, I know.”
“That means you won’t be with Rita.”
Jim shook his head. “No, I’ll be with Rita. Just not this copy of me.”
“But Jim…”
The creature across the table from Bonnie stood up. He raised his palms, a gesture that was universal. A gesture that meant, there’s no fixing this problem.
“I’ll be fine, Bonnie,” he said. “When this is all over, I’ll go find something else to do.”
“You…you could come stay on Phoenix. With Luke and I and the rest…”
Jim shook his head in negation. “No. That’s the last thing I could do. It would cause nothing but trouble. Either Luke would be jealous of me, or I would be jealous of Luke. If I can’t have Rita, and I can’t have you, then I don’t want to be anywhere near Phoenix.”
Remnants: Broken Galaxy Book Five Page 26