by F Stephan
Boris gasped, now fully awake. No one on Earth could talk to the beasts except his daughter. This meant the blond woman could only be the Pilot. Natalya Podorovski had come. He had expected contact with her, but not so soon and not in person.
“Ask the tigroids for help. And tell her we are on our way.”
He ran to the car, speaking into his communicator. “Igor, Maritschka, we’re moving. Full combat gear.” He donned his exoskeleton, the one he had kept from his time in the army. Now or never.
Ten minutes later, the armored car left the compound. Maritschka was driving, Sacha, who had trained with them for years, manned the cannon, and Igor and Boris hung from the side, powered armor on and rocket launchers ready.
“What’s the plan?” asked Igor.
“We’ll have the element of surprise for a limited time only. And long-range rockets will retaliate once our attackers know where we are,” said Boris. “So, we move in fast, grab our visitors and move back into the bunkers as fast as we can.”
The car sped up into the forest. Boris had been careful to clear a path beneath the tree canopy, invisible from the sky. He had always known that one day he would need speed on his side.
“Do you have a feel for their location?”
“They are rushing to the network relay where you usually go,” answered Sacha, her eyes losing focus. “Their pursuers are closing in on them. They will have to stop soon if they want to reach the relay.”
“OK, we have to intercept them before they land. Can you ask the tigroids to buy us some time?” The landing was the best spot to intercept them. Boris had long ago prepared the road for these circumstances.
Sacha closed her eyes and beads of sweat rolled down her forehead. “Done. Father, I saw them. They will not make it.”
Maritschka swore and hit the accelerator.
Tasha
Siberia, April 4, 2141
Tasha suffocated under the current of the river. Two of their bodyguards had disappeared into the rushing water. Bullets whistled past her. The river was turning around a large bend. The landing would be father along, following a straight section. The two armored cars were rushing madly after them. And they will have a clear line of fire as soon as we reach the landing.
For a second, the shots stopped, and Tasha surfaced and gasped for air. She heard splashes around her, and then she was thrown out of the water. She landed on the back of a tigroid who launched himself in the air in a huge leap. She bent forward, gripping the mane of the beast tightly.
Gunfire came from the trucks again. Tasha glimpsed Lelal and Alexieva riding beside her.
The tigroids moved into a denser part of the forest. Branches tore at her, but the shots stopped. Respite. For a little while, at least. Tasha ran her hand on the flanks of her tigroid and felt the warmth of its blood. He’s hurt. New sounds echoed in the forest. Grenades. They’re clearing a path behind us. The sounds increased in volume. The cars had picked up their speed and were closing in on them again.
The tigroids stopped in a clearing. A car was waiting for them, barring the way. The armored trucks entered the clearing behind them. Above them, two lasers tore at the armor of the pursuing trucks, while the waiting truck opened fire. One engine exploded, sending up a wave of flames.
Tasha rolled to the ground, thrown off her mount. Still, their pursuers continued to shoot from inside their truck, protected behind its heavy armor. New detonations shook the ground around her. Mines. They had hidden mines. One of the cars was thrown into the air. The other was gutted by the blast. Tasha crawled to join their new allies, trying to escape the destruction behind her.
Boris
Siberia, April 4, 2141
Boris dropped to the ground. “Quick. To the bunker now.”
Maritschka and Igor brought the bleeding scout to the car. The Pilot and her bodyguard got up, with difficulty, and jumped in. They were scarred and badly burned.
“Sacha, the tigroids, how badly are they hurt?”
Sacha was examining the wounded beasts, stroking their manes. They were massive and powerful. “Surface wounds. Be back to their usual shape in a week.”
“They have to flee. As far as they can. And us as well.”
“Yes, Papa.” She closed her eyes for an instant and moved back into the car, while Igor and Boris took their footholds again on its side. The tigroids bounced away in different directions.
Boris turned to his wife. “We have left a heavy heat signature. They know where we are. They will destroy us. They don’t want this meeting. Maritschka, faster.”
Maritschka was driving so fast now that Boris had to use all his robotic strength to keep his hold on the truck. He looked at the newcomers. The Pilot shivered in the center of the platform. Her scout was bleeding on her stretcher. The alien, her bodyguard, was giving her an energy bar. It seemed such an odd moment to eat. Should Sacha eat as well? What did I miss?
Anaru
Geneva Governmental Complex, April 4, 2141
“Are you sure?” Anaru fidgeted, an uncommon trait for him, but something he had been doing too often during the last year. He hated waiting. The command center overlooked the entire garden valley, which was darkening with the coming evening and the blanket of snow which poured from the sky.
“Yes, President. They confirmed it. They are flying back to us. It won’t be long now,” Nashiz replied quietly. Anaru looked at the Envoy who continued. “Our team is in position. Full combat mode. As soon as the truck reaches the Federation compound, we launch the shuttle to orbit.” Geneva always had a small shuttle ready for short orbital flights. It would wait beyond reach for the regular flight to Acheron.
“Isn’t it extreme? Full battle gear just for a piece of equipment?”
Nashiz continued, “Your station needs it. Ten more plants for space operations have been attacked at locations all over Earth. Rockets, missiles, rigged trucks – all types of devices have been used against us. Someone wants the Federation out of this planet.”
“But we have now lines of supply in space for water, food, even spares now.”
“Yes. And with this computer and the advanced processing it provides you, the station will be operational within the next ten years. Our enemies don’t want to let us get this device back. We won’t let this happen.” Nashiz wanted to fight. Anaru could see it in his stance. And he knows this is an Ancient device. He doesn’t care as long as we succeed and as long as it’s in space, where he can send his Marines to get it back if needed.
“You think they would attack the compound?” Geneva had been neutral for so long that the possibility of an attack seemed folly.
Nashiz said, “Yes. I’d advise you to leave the planet for the station with the shuttle. It’d be more secure.”
Anaru answered firmly, “That’s what they expect from us. If we do that, they’ve won. If we flee, we’ve lost the fight before it even starts for real.”
The Marine standing beside them suddenly intervened. “We must evacuate to the bunkers now.”
“What? We’re supposed to monitor the entire operation from up here. We won’t have good real-time communications down there.”
Anaru moved toward the elevator, while the Marine took the Envoy by the arm and carried him away. “Change of plan, Envoy.” A siren began wailing in the corridors.
The compound had been built in the Swiss Alps in troubled times. A klick below it, hidden below a granite ridge, had been built a secure bunker capable of sustaining a direct nuclear hit.
“Compound evacuation?” Anaru asked the guard at the elevator.
“Underway, sir. Proceeding as planned.”
People approached the massive elevators apprehensively. They were close to panic, Anaru could feel it. He took a position next to the elevator. “Envoy, would you accompany the children below? They would feel better with you.”
Nashiz protested but the Marine pushed him into the elevator, saying, “Who wants the Envoy to tell a story about Alkath?” The children’s han
ds shot into the air, their attention shifting suddenly. Parents turned toward the Ambassador as the massive doors closed.
The elevator dropped into the darkness, fleeing the compound. It was a very cunning design – the elevators all ran on a separate network, not connected to the external world.
“How many trips left until the compound is empty?” Anaru asked quietly, positioning himself on the other side of the massive blast doors.
The Marine checked his datapad. “Still two to go, sir. The children were slower than planned.”
“Perfect,” Anaru called, his voice loud enough to be heard by the panicking staff. “Everyone in good order. Evacuation continues as planned.” He looked to his own datapad and nodded slowly. “All civilians in the next elevator. I’ll take the last.”
The guards around the room nodded in silent acknowledgment.
Anaru canceled the countdown on his datapad, focusing on looking serene for the benefit of the mass of people around him.
Leopold
Space station Acheron, April 4, 2141
“Launch – we’ve got multiple launches.”
Leopold’s shout jolted the bridge awake.
“What?” asked Jay from his console.
“An old Korean nuclear satellite has launched several missiles.”
Noul appeared at his side. “Five surface attacks in Geneva, two toward Siberia. Four launched at the station. Full acceleration. Can you intercept?”
Earth or station? Neither can defend themselves.
Leopold had to make a choice. One hour before impact on the station. Minutes before impact on Earth. He activated his nanites, linking to his ship and sending it at full speed toward the missiles. “Trying it. Jay, raise the others.”
“Yes, sir. What will you do? We have no weapons.”
“Try to get into the satellite and find out what you can do.”
Earth sped below the ship. Leopold distorted the gravity with the singularity and felt it spike under him. A spaceship was not meant to work so close to a gravity well. “Noul, I need you with the singularity.”
“Working on it. We are too close. Leopold, you’re not a full pilot, you’re not quali—”
‘But there’s no one else who can do it. All those people!”
Jay called out loudly, “Geneva has started its evacuation process. It will be close. The station is raised. I don’t know how they can evacuate.”
How can they evacuate the station? Leopold had no time to think. He sped toward Geneva, dropping the ship closer to Earth, increasing the strain on the singularity. He juggled with vectors, bringing the ship close to the first of the missiles. The gravity field struck the missile which went off course and self-destructed. Leopold caught a second missile. The other dispersed into the upper atmosphere.
A shout from Jay: “I’m in the satellite. I can’t block the attack.”
Leopold turned the ship. It was inertia-free in the void, but here the wind buffeted against it and he forced the singularity again to send it after the remaining missiles.
“Pilot. I’ve a link back to the origin of the hack. I’ve got the location.”
“Singularity warning. Down to fifteen percent,” Noul’s high-pitched voice seemed to scream on the bridge. Somewhere inside Leopold’s skull, an alarm was triggered. I’m in amber, close to red. I must withdraw. Then he saw a possible vector to intercept the third missile. I may not be fully qualified, Noul, but I can save more people.
Leopold focused harder on his nanites, the ship and the missiles. The third missile separated into multiple warheads, but Leopold was on top of them, and the gravity field sent the warheads into self-destruct patterns.
Surface defenses had activated, picking off warheads.
Absently, Leopold noticed a blast over the Lake Constance. The Federation response team had taken off toward Romania. His eyes were now blurring, and he sensed a warm liquid upon them. Bleeding.
“Down to ten percent. Disengage, now.” Leopold sent the ship upward. If the singularity collapsed this close to Earth, the planet could turn into a black hole itself. He was now fighting upward, fighting against the gravity well. He was also fighting against his own body, against the mad nanites which ran wilder and wilder.
He felt a sharp pain in his heart. Anti-nanite syringe. I have seconds left. He focused the last of his energy to bring the singularity back to stability. It didn’t improve for several long seconds while the spaceship left the upper atmosphere. Suddenly, it was back to twenty percent, and then it passed the threshold of thirty percent.
We are stable.
Darkness engulfed him.
Commander Grayt
European Confederacy, April 4, 2141
The shuttle exploded out of the hangar in a fury of wrecked wood. It had lain hidden inside for a year, smuggled there by Commander Grayt when she had arrived on Earth. At last, we’re fighting back.
It turned, aligned and rushed over the mountains, accelerating madly. No pre-Federation human really believed in the reaction time of the Marines. They deemed it mere fantasy. It was not. A thousand klicks would be crossed in less than five minutes, with ten gees of acceleration and deceleration.
Inside, the Marines were motionless in their battle gear, multiple tubes feeding them sugar and energy. Their nanites were working madly to repair their bodies during the acceleration and the braking. When all was done, they would need weeks for their bodies to recuperate fully. But right now, they rushed to meet their enemies faster than anyone could expect. Amidst them, Commander Grayt rejoiced. Political maneuvering could not replace the rush of adrenalin. They had all worked together, training together for years. They were a team, and today was their day.
They had all gathered in a virtual environment since they had boarded. The wait had lasted only seconds instead of hours, sparing their nervous systems the anxiety of pending action. Then, when the shuttle lifted off, time slowed again to give them time to prepare for the coming fight.
The Sergeant, Deraili, was a burly and bad-humored man from Calophe, and was waiting for them in a virtual tactical room.
“Hello, Commander, kids. Our target is a former military facility. Sixty years old at least. We expect our enemies to have reinforced it in an unknown manner. Today, we’ve got a dense fog on the ground, which will help us.”
The map appeared in front of them with all the details the United Organization could provide. Grayt took the lead. “Thank you, Sergeant. This is a trap, everyone. It has been tailored for us, based on data they have gathered over the last year. We take our time disarming those traps. You go in pairs and cover each other’s back. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir.” The atmosphere was subdued. The last few months had taken a toll on their morale.
“Now, we have identified a probable location for the command center. Anyone outside is dead meat. Anyone inside will be stunned, alive and talking. Is that clear?”
“Yes, sir.” The two-man teams were already busy choosing weapons and confirming their targets. The Sergeant stood at ease among them. They were all veterans. Deraili grinned at the Commander.
The shuttle’s nose was burning with the speed. Cloudy, the red pilot from Madoul, alerted the Commander as surface missiles exploded around them. A quick calculation showed the shuttle was too fast for the missiles. All but two would miss.
Gray didn’t have to ask. Her pilot activated countermeasures. Thirty high-velocity missiles were shot in front of the shuttle at twenty gees. They would burn to ashes in thirty seconds and disappear. But only one hit was needed to deal with each incoming threat. In seconds, two detonations lit the sky.
The shuttle was now braking hard. All the Marines received the weapons they had selected from the automated weapon locker. At this speed, no one moved around. A blinking light activated by the Sergeant told Grayt they were ready for action. The pilot grinned a wolfish smile.
“Good hunting, Commander!”
Tasha
Bunker, Siberia, April 4,
2141
The car braked abruptly in the middle of a former military courtyard. Tasha had spent all her time since she had boarded the truck gripping her seat, trying to survive the mad rush on the bumpy road under the trees. After her ride on the tigroid, she had bruises everywhere.
She looked outside. This was an ancient base dating back to a period where the world was colder.
“I am—” she began.
“No time for that. And I know who you are, Miss Podorovski. Run.”
The man, whom she guessed was Boris, led the way while the other armored mercenary took her scout in his arms. Lelal followed with the two remaining women. They all rushed to a small entrance dug into the hill. How did he know my name? How did he know to pick us up? How are they connected with the tigroids? New opportunities for peace in Siberia would open if they could talk with the fearsome predators.
One woman wore combat gear, but wasn’t military. A red cross on her shoulder marked her as a doctor. She was as old as Boris – her wife, maybe, from the picture Roman had shown her. The other was younger, her daughter, maybe. But she wasn’t as Tasha expected. She had looked ill on the only picture Roman had found. This girl seemed very fit – too fit.
In an instant, they were below ground in a mine cart. The warrior cut a rope and the cart tumbled downward in a large spiral. Behind them, blast doors shut, one after another.
“Where are you leading us?”
An earthquake stopped her words. Not a quake. Tactical strike.
A light appeared in front of them and the two mercenaries used the strength of their exoskeletons to halt the cart before it crashed into the landing area. Sacha was trembling. Without thinking, Tasha handed her an energy bar, but her trembling increased and she couldn’t catch it.
“Inside, quick!” ordered the mercenary. At a nod from Tasha, Lelal picked up the girl and brought her inside. Another tremor shook the ground. How many missiles have they shot?