REV- Rebirth

by T. R. Harris

  The alien blinked his yellow eyes several times. He was an intelligent creature; it didn’t take him long to understand the meaning in Zac’s words.

  “Even if I could, where would you go? We are on Enif.”

  “And very close to Human space. All I need is a ship—and a pilot would be nice.”

  “I cannot do that. How…how would I explain it to Lord Bornak?”

  “All I need is a little loosening of the straps. I can do the rest. Just don’t be around when I do.”

  Zac watched the conflict rage on the face of the alien. Like doctors everywhere, he was tasked with preserving life, not taking it. And here was a new species, advanced, stronger and more developed than anything before it. Groshin had the power to preserve this new creature…or destroy it.

  “Will you not hurt my assistants? They are my friends.”

  “I will do my best.”

  Groshin was quiet for another long moment before speaking. “Give me time to make the arrangements. I cannot promise it will happen, but I will try.”

  “Do I have time?”

  The alien nodded. “Lord Bornak is busy with other matters and is off planet. He returns in ten days. He wanted you speaking by then. If he was planning your execution for that time, why would he want you to speak?”

  “Maybe so I can beg for my life? Fat chance of that happening. Thank you, Body-Attendant Groshin. You are a great Antaerean.”

  “I am a traitorous Antaerean,” Groshin corrected. “Yet I feel this is necessary. Please do not make me regret my decision.”

  21

  Doctor Groshin returned to the hospital room a number of times over the next ten days, yet never again mentioned his offer to help Zac escape. Occasionally, Zac would catch his eye, looking for any trace of a secret residing inside, but the alien seemed more embarrassed than conspiratorial. Zac felt deflated. It didn’t appear he had the accomplice he once thought he had.

  But then when they were alone this last time, Groshin leaned over Zac’s bed while tending to the monitoring attachments and unexpectedly blurted: “It has not been easy. Most medium range starships on the planet have been pulled away for some unknown reason.”

  “So you’re going to help me?”

  “Is that not what I am referring to?” Groshin snapped. The doctor looked around the empty room, appearing even more nervous and unsure of himself. “We are in an annex of the Endorus Communications Station. The complex has a large spaceport for its dedicated use. A merchant pilot is available to take you from the planet. Naturally, he does not know your ultimate destination.” Groshin glanced at Zac with a sour look. “I expect at some point you will elect to assume command of the ship yourself, since the pilot will assuredly not want to take you into Human territory.”

  Zac was ecstatic. After the brief hope he’d felt several days before, the feeling had been replaced with despair. Without help, it looked as though Zac’s death-wish would be granted. But now—

  The door to the room suddenly opened and Congin Bornak entered. He was joined by two stern-looking Enif guards. The Enif were humanoid—as were all the species of the Colony Worlds, with bulbous foreheads and harrier bodies than Humans, or even Antaere for that matter. Their skin was primarily a deep brown, yet there were variations, as there were with all races.

  Groshin stood next to Zac’s bed, looking nervous before forcing an even expression to his features.

  “My Lord,” he said. “I wasn’t expecting you.”

  “I have come to see how our patient is doing,” Congin said jovially. He scooted a chair over to the bed as the guards took up positions in the background. “I worry when I have not seen him for a period of time. So how is he doing?”

  “He is recovering adequately from his last activation,” Groshin reported, visibly relieved at the topic of discussion. This was his domain, and his confidence was obvious. “I amend a segment of our last conversation. The alien has incredible strength of will to match that of his natural functions.”

  “So what you are saying is he is well enough to board the starship you have arranged for him to leave Enif? I was worried that all your clandestine activities on his behalf would have gone wasted if he was otherwise.”

  To his credit, Groshin played his part perfectly, first displaying confusion, followed by defiance. “I do not know that of which you speak, Lord Bornak. I have not been advocating on the Human’s behalf.”

  Congin cocked his head and frowned. “Then forgive me Lead Body-Attendant Groshin. I suppose the recordings I have witnessed of the prior events within this room have been somehow manipulated by the evil Humans. But how could that be? Image manipulation is my specialty.”

  He motioned for the guards to advance. “Place the body-attendant under arrest. Sequester him from all others until I can review the recordings for accomplices among his staff.”

  The guards took Groshin by his arms. The aged Antaerean had no intention of resisting; it wasn’t his style. Instead, Zac saw evidence on the alien’s face of his mind working through the various scenarios and excuses he could come up with. The fact that there were recordings of the room left him few options. His shoulders slumped.

  “There are no others within my staff who are complicit. It wasn’t necessary to involve them. The plan was simple and direct. I was not looking to make it more complicated.”

  “And very wise of you, Groshin,” Congin said. He was nearly bouncing in the chair, reveling in the moment. Zac knew the feeling. He had a saying he often used during his REV days: The Kill is the best part of my day. Congin had just gone in for the kill, and Body-Attendant Groshin was his trophy.

  “Remove him and secure the room,” Congin ordered.

  Zac watched as the doctor was led away, hoping to catch his eye so he could convey his regret for what had happened. He never got the chance.

  Once it was just Congin and Zac in the room, the Antaerean leaned back in the chair and crossed his legs in a very Human-like manner.

  “The room is constantly monitored and recorded,” the alien volunteered, “yet only recently did I have an opportunity to review the videos. If your friend had acted sooner, he may have been successful. As such, he was too late.”

  “What are you going to do with him?”

  Congin frowned and waved his hand. “It is as you suspect, yet that is not your concern. He will be just another dead Antaerean, dead from your direct action. As they say on Earth, one more bites the dust.”

  Zac relaxed back in the pillow. “Now you’ll have to find me another doctor.”

  “His Second will suffice, for the time you have left.”

  “So it’s finally come to this?” said Zac. “You wouldn’t consider making it a fair fight, like you and me in a little man-on-alien cage-match action?”

  Congin laughed. “That would hardly be fair. But since you mentioned it, that is exactly what I have in mind.”

  Zac was surprised by the comment, but he was sure Congin didn’t mean it the way it sounded. Or did he?

  “I’m working on a little exhibition to be broadcast from the Relay Station and sent out to all sections of the Grid. REVs against NOVs in a spectacular battle to the death.” Congin held up a finger as if to interrupt his own thoughts. “But I mean to say is a REV—singular—against a group of NOVs, something like a three-to-one ratio. I’m sorry it couldn’t be more of a mismatch, but we have so few NOVs this far out in the Grid. It’s the best I could do on such short notice.”

  “Hardly seems fair,” Zac said. “I’m sure you expect me to put on a good show before I kill all your warriors. I’ll do my best, if it means winning my freedom.”

  Congin laughed again. It was a little more manic than before. “I will so miss Humanity’s sense of humor and irreverence when you are all gone. Yet I have confidence the Order will survive without you.”

  Zac sensed something in Congin’s tone, an electric enthusiasm for a secret only he knew.

  “What are you up to, Congin?” Zac asked. “You
seem anxious to get something off your chest.”

  “Ha! And that I do.” Congin slapped the arm of the chair. “You are very preceptive. From the moment of your capture I’ve been wanting to tell you this. And now, within the last few hours of your life, I will do my own form of confession. I do this to prove how utterly overmatched you—and your Humans—have been.” Congin took a deep breath before continuing. “For a very long time I have had a plan, and twelve days ago I set the final part in motion…and there is nothing you can do to stop it.”

  The alien glared at Zac, his golden eyes sparkling in their brilliant intensity.

  He finished his thought: “Four days from now, your homeworld of Earth will be destroyed.”

  The blunt statement sent Zac’s body cascading, yet with the residual alien NT-4 still in his system, it was a different kind of sensation. He felt nauseous again, and his vision became erratic. He took several deep breaths to calm his emotions. Without Groshin to come to his rescue, Zac was worried.

  “Are you all right?” Congin asked, displaying genuine concern. “Please do not die on me now. That will spoil my plans, at least some of them.”

  “Fuck your plans!” Zac yelled.

  The outburst seemed to bring his system back into balance. Anger was both the trigger and the savior of REVs, more now than ever.

  “Good, you appear to have recovered very quickly,” said Congin. “Perhaps I should accelerate my story. You may not last long enough for me to recite it all.”

  “Recite what, you asshole?” Zac growled. “I know you started all this with the destruction of the Temple on Iz’zar. What more is there to tell?”

  Congin blew out a deep breath. “You think it started then? No, it began long before I destroyed the Temple. It began when I was only a young advisor to the Tesnin, Denak Zaphin, even before Earth was approached to become part of the Order.

  “I was a member of the evaluation team, a military expert at the time and tasked with studying the primitive creatures on your planet. This was a time when the Colonization of the Grid was accelerating, carried forward on the successes of the earlier worlds, such as Enif, Crious and Sandasin-Gon. There was pressure from all sides to add more Colonies to our growing empire, and Earth was the next of the Antara-like worlds to be considered.

  “And yet I advised against it. I realized Humans would never fully adopt the Order as their primary religion. Not only that, but you were savages beyond belief. Others argued that primitives had been contacted before, such as the Noc and the Luconnon, yet they still serve the Order, as do all the Colony Worlds. You may not be aware, but each world we allow into the Order provides at least one specific purpose to Antara. Some may provide food, others raw materials. Some are incredible manufacturers and builders. But none have been warriors. That task we reserve for the Antaere alone.

  “Yet as the centuries passed, there was less need for our military prowess. The integration of subservient worlds came from the seductive effects of the Order. Yet through my research I realized Humans could never be seduced by the religion. You already had too many competing versions of your own, and even they were falling out of favor. Not only that, but you are competitors without limit. Everything to you is a competition, and the ultimate victory is the death of your opponent. Therefore, your race became supreme fighters, and as a matter of your existence, wage continual war upon each other

  “I saw this in Humanity, and I said so in numerous reports. And you know what happened? Nothing—no, worst than nothing. I was transferred from the council of the Tesnin and assigned to the staff of a sniveling and pampered young royal named Andus Zaphin. At the time, he was not in line to become Rowin. That only came about as I trained him, making him stronger, more decisive and better educated in the ways of the Court than any of his siblings. I made him what he is today. I made him Rowin.

  “Now this brings us to recent events. The war with your kind had not been going well, yet not from the actions of the Antaere, but because of our weak-minded alien followers. They enabled your kind to gain victories on the Colony Worlds, almost to the point where Antara would be threatened next. So I devised a plan, one that would turn the Grid against the Earth and expose the Humans to their eventual extermination. I planted the story of the Corollaries. I provided the false document which you and your REVs took from the Temple. And yes, I destroyed the Temple of Light. It was the catalyst for the loyalty shift I needed to happen within the ignorant masses on the Colony Worlds. I even devised the recent trap on Kaus to show the Colony Worlds the ineptitude of the Humans, with the added benefit of making Earth distrustful of any overtures from the Colonies. All has worked to perfection.

  “And when you were captured, I continued with the deception. You have not been aware, but we have used your computerized image to confess to a multitude of wrongs, and not only the Temple destruction.” Congin laughed again, thoroughly enjoying the moment. “Through clever digital manipulation, I have turned you into the greatest terrorist the galaxy has ever known!”

  He took a breath, forming his next thoughts. The alien was talking fast and freely. Zac had no idea where the conversation was headed next. What more could he say?

  “And the Corollaries; they have recently become a minor hinderance to my plans. The fake document you retrieved on Iz’zar was never revealed, yet the true texts are now being broadcast. We are countering the truth with our own deception, yet the message is slowly penetrating. Yes, the Final Glory is real; how could it not? There is no room in the Universal Order for anyone other than Antaere. It will be only the Antaere, now and forever.”

  “How does all this figure into the destruction of Earth?” Zac asked, tiring of the gloating. Zac was already the brunt of most of the Grid’s animosity regarding the Temple fiasco. He also knew he was innocent, so Congin wasn’t telling him anything he didn’t already know.

  “Because, my Human friend, this shift in loyalties has allowed me and Andus to build the greatest fleet the Grid has ever seen. And at this very moment, it is approaching your precious homeworld.”

  “Bullshit,” Zac said. “There aren’t enough Antaerean ships in the galaxy to attack Earth. We’ve kept track.”

  “That was until recently. Thanks to the efforts of your former Enif allies, I now have more than enough ships to defeat any force you set for defense. Not only that, the Enif are crewing a third of our ships.” Congin snickered. “They will make excellent fodder to send against your initial defenses, acting as our version of the REVs to break through and disrupt your lines, after which the Antaere will move in and claim full victory.”

  Congin studied Zac’s ashen face. His message was having an impact. Zac felt like vomiting.

  “I have sent three times as many ships than are necessary, Mr. Murphy,” the Antaerean continued. “And with your forces divided between Earth and Crious, those protecting your homeworld will be swept away in a matter of hours. Then we will use the forbidden nuclear weapons to scorch your world. I know this may seem drastic, but it will rectify a terrible wrong, one that was committed by that idiot Denak a long time ago. I was right in my assessment of the Humans, and the Tesnin was wrong, fatally wrong. I am now correcting that error. And without Earth to call upon, the Colony Worlds will have no option other than to bow to Antaere will, even without the umbrella of the Order to convince them. And as another consequence of all this, the newly empowered Andus Zaphin will make his claim on the leadership of the Antaere. And how can he be denied, having just eliminated the greatest threat—and the greatest mistake—the Antaere have ever made? Andus will become the new Guardian of the Order, and I will be there beside him, guiding his every move, as I have for twenty years.”

  Zac was stunned. He knew Congin had been pulling the strings of the Antaere for some time now, but he never imagined just how much. And the alien was right. Even though Earth had been preparing for the defense of the planet, that had only been going on in earnest for the past year. Before that, the Humans were winning the war, and
Earth was not in the line of fire. And with over half of the fleet posted to the planet Crious, there was little chance of reinforcements arriving in time. Crious was two weeks from Earth, even on emergency gravity-wells. Zac doubted they were even aware of what was headed for Earth, and if so, there wasn’t time for the fleet to get there to help.

  Congin Bornak could actually pull off the destruction of Earth, and only massive counter forces could stop him, forces that were nowhere to be found.

  Congin’s face was animated, his light yellow hue darker, more vibrant than Zac had ever seen it. And his golden eyes burned with an inner radiance. The creature looked insane, but Zac knew he wasn’t. He had methodically planned for this moment, for this entire series of events, and if there was one thing Zac knew about Antaere, they were masters at playing the game. The Humans had been outmaneuvered at every stage, and Zac had played an integral part in Earth’s failures.

  Now he lay defeated and drained, drenched in chilling sweat and strapped to a hospital bed, feeling utterly helpless. Congin had just laid all his cards on the table…and it was a royal flush. All the Human’s posturing for the secret documents, with the plan to reveal them to the natives and win their hearts and minds forever, that plan had instead been masterfully executed by the Antaere, and not the Humans.

  Just then, a sour and sad thought came to Zac’s mind. More than any sacred document, more than any unknown super fleet of phantom warships coming to Earth’s rescue, what Zac really needed was a recording of Congin’s gloating speech. It had been complete and detailed, the ultimate confession, the bitter truth.

  And according to the Antaerean, everything in the room was being recorded….

  22

  “Where is everyone?” General Smith asked rhetorically. “The system is essentially empty of traffic.”

  He was scanning the proximity screen at the nav station of the Zanzibar as the ship approached the planet Enif. The AI Amber was piloting the ship, following a predetermined commercial track. Military vessels had a different line to the planet.