by Nick Braker
It hit him. Magnus’ eyes went wide. He had spurned her love. Katerra’s lack of control of her emotions might cause her to retaliate against him.
“Hey,” he yelled into the next room. “Get these things off me.”
Several seconds passed as Magnus fumbled with the release controls on his medical cuffs. He couldn’t get them off and was about to jerk the tubing loose when a Kron female entered. He recognized her as Yaren, the doctor who had taken care of him before.
“Can I help—” Yaren started to say. “Wait. No. Don’t do that.” Yaren rushed to his side and tried to push his arms down.
“I need to leave, again.” Magnus said.
“Okay,” Yaren hesitated. “Let me get them off you. Hold still while I stop the flow of fluid in each line and then unlock the medicinal delivery devices.”
“Medicinal delivery devices?” he asked, letting her manipulate the controls.
“There isn’t a word in your language for them,” Yaren said in English and then she switched back to her language. “Cort, a too attar o tic.”
Blip.
The fluid changed color in one of his lines, flowing into the cuffs.
“You shifted to your language again. What did you say?” Magnus asked.
“I told the computer to sedate you,” Yaren said, stepping back.
“Hey,” Magnus said, “wait a minute. I’m telling you I want to leave. You’re a doctor and you’re not allowed to hold a patient against their will.”
Magnus tried to push himself up but his arms refused to obey him. The doctor stepped close to him and kept a gentle pressure on his chest with her hand. It was enough to keep him from moving. The sedative made him weak and was already making him sleepy.
“That may be true on Earth but on Kron you are under my care and I decide when you are healthy enough to leave. How absurd is it to leave that decision to the patient?”
Magnus gritted his teeth, trying to sit up. His muscles twitched but he didn’t move. His eyelids drooped and the room began to grow dark.
“You nearly died,” Yaren said. “When you are healed or when you regenerate, as you stated you earthlings were capable of doing, then you may leave.”
“I need,” Magnus said, fighting the cloud rushing down over him, “to speak... to...”
“Sleep and rest, warrior,” Yaren said. “You are safe in my hands. I will be here when you awaken.”
Shit.
Chapter 31
EARTH’S COUNTERSTRIKE
Space - Kron’s Solar System
Tuesday, December 8th, 1987 - 08:30pm
Mira
Mira stared at her console. The past month showed on the faces of her crew. Their weary eyes, their yawns of boredom and their knowledge of the dismal odds that awaited them. None of them were physically tired but the mental strain bore down on them like lead weights. The odds of finishing this mission alive had dropped to an estimated 2.4%. Mira hated estimates but she consoled herself that, regardless of the accuracy of it, they had next to no chance of success. Earth would be destroyed the moment Grep opened the wormhole and their idea to warn WSO was another estimate... a dismal 0.9% chance of success. Their discussions over the last month depended almost entirely on what they would find. No formal plan could be formed without knowing what they had to deal with inside Kron’s solar system.
One thing she was certain of, the presence of the star covering their return point to Earth needed to be addressed first. They could not destroy Kron without warning Earth first. There would be no point. When Grep opened the wormhole at the first of two designated points in space, the blue dwarf star would annihilate Earth in seconds, ultimately destroying their entire solar system. Their attempt to save Earth by launching an attack on Kron would be the cause of their home world’s destruction. They chose the wormhole endpoint solely based on data within their spaceship’s computer systems. Was the data simply wrong, perhaps outdated? What if the Kron had known their intent and had falsified the data, setting Earth up once again? It was their style... let Earth destroy itself by their own hand. She half rolled her eyes, mimicking Magnus on purpose. The thought of Magnus brought a frown to her face and she felt the beginnings of tears welling up in her. He was dead and she had never told him how she felt. When news arrived that Magnus had died that day in Nicaragua, she had cried herself to sleep. Mira finally understood the depth of love she had for Magnus and how she had foolishly suppressed her feelings. She lightly wiped the bottoms of her eyes, clearing the tears and taking a deep breath. She scanned the faces of her crew. No one had noticed.
They were sixteen hours from Kron’s solar system and the beginnings of sensor data had started flowing in. Mira’s console had detected the presence of Kron’s farthest outer planet but they weren’t close enough to get any other reading. The only thing they could go on were their passive sensors. It detected radiation emitted from any celestial object large enough to register on the spectrum. According to their spaceship’s data bank, Kron’s system had seven planets and their objective was the fourth. Alara had provided what she knew of this solar system and Katerra’s home world, Kron. She had told them the data was old since Kron’s space fleet didn’t allow anything or anyone to get close enough to use active scanning technology.
Passive scanners gave them a picture of their enemy’s sun, planets and several of their larger asteroids but they were blind to all else until they got closer. Sensors on the ship simply could not reach that far. Kron’s armada patrolled their solar system and the moment they were detected, their destruction was imminent.
They had each prepared themselves by getting rest and nutrition hours ago. From this point forward, their mission was survival. They had to gather as much information as they could in hopes of forming a plan to reach Kron’s home world. Once they were within 500 miles, they would launch the PB and it would burrow itself into the planet’s core using the same small scale portal technology the Kron had tried to use on Earth. A yellow warning light on her consoler alerted her.
“I have something,” Mira said. “Scanners have picked up seven large asteroids and hundreds of smaller fragments entering Kron’s system. They are located 32 degrees by 271 degrees and heading directly into Kron space.”
Seph spun around in her chair at her console. “That is no coincidence.”
“What? The asteroids?” Jules asked.
“Confirm for me, Mira,” Seph said, “the trajectory of these asteroids is not directly at Kron’s home world but will do a flyby near it.”
Mira checked her system’s automated calculation for the larger asteroids. The system knew exactly where the asteroids were heading and where Kron would be at the moment of their closest approach to the planet. Mira received her answer from her consoles’ instant calculation.
“How did you know?” Mira asked.
“I knew it,” Seph said, excitement in her voice. “The Aliri are helping us.”
“That is a guess,” Jules said.
“Of course it is,” Seph added, “but let me provide additional information to support my hypothesis. Mira, is there at least one asteroid that has near zero rotational velocity?”
“Six of the seven will have a permanent facing toward their sun as they travel through their system, flying by Kron in the process.” Mira said, nodding.
“Holy shit’h,” Zara said, quoting a line from one of her favorite movies. “We are getting help.”
“Look at the facts. We arrived near Kron’s solar system at the exact time several asteroids entered it. Asteroids that have six perfect hiding spots for this ship to help us get close to Kron’s home world.”
Mira could see the excitement build in her crew. They sat more erect in their chairs, their faces exhibited smiles again, their eyes opened slightly wider and their motions more animated as they began assessing hundreds of options.
“The plan?” Mira asked.
Seph paced the center portion of the command section near the ramp that led to the lower
floor. She tapped her finger on her nose, thinking. Seph’s motions reminded Mira of Grep’s mannerisms.
“We choose an asteroid,” Seph said, “with the densest materials that will aid in hiding the ship from Kron’s fleet and their active scanning systems. We land the ship behind one of the asteroids—”
“Hold,” Zara said, raising her voice. “How? This is strange, I... I am receiving a tight beamed tachyon burst aimed directly at us. It is... was a communication packet beamed at us from the edge of Kron’s solar system. The transmission lasted 1.8 seconds.”
“Clearly someone knows were here,” Jules said.
Mira nodded. If someone aimed a beam through space directly at her ship, it was meant for them. Listening to the broadcast would not reveal their location.
“Open the packet,” Mira said. “Let us listen. Do not send a response back.”
“I have it recorded,” Zara said. “Starting playback from the beginning.”
“I have little time,” the female voice said. “I’m here to help you in your mission. Divert your course as soon as possible to circumnavigate the edge of Kron’s solar system. I’ve provided coordinates for entry and destination in the coded beam. This approach to Kron will be your best chance to strike. In addition, allow me to provide information that will aid you in your acceptance of my help. The Kron are indeed genocidal killers and your efforts to stop them are noble. With help provided by the Aliri and myself, your mission should be a success. Know that I am from a proud race of beings called the Cortians that Kron attacked decades ago. I may be the last of my kind. I can only hope that I am not. I’m sure you understand I have good reason to want them annihilated. Please know the asteroids are a diversion, provided by the Aliri to draw a large portion of Kron’s fleet away from the course I provided you. I understand the Kron very well. The presence of the asteroids will draw their larger ships to them. Kada, their fleet’s commander, will not hesitate once in range and will simply vaporize the asteroids into dust particles. This simple action on our part will give you time. The Kron are not stupid. They will not leave themselves defenseless. Their main capital ship will remain in orbit around Kron with the rest of their armada patrolling along their solar system’s borders. They will expect an attack from this diversion but not from a single ship. You have the element of surprise on your side as the Aliri are helping you in other ways, too. You may be aware of the TLA system in Kron’s possession. It is the system itself that the Aliri have compromised and your plans to destroy them have been filtered out for the last several months. They know nothing of your imminent attack upon them. I have provided you the safest possible passage to Kron that can be predicated but it will be up to you to complete it. Know also that the Aliri will warn Earth not to open the portal. Your home world is safe. I wish you the best in your mission. As you earthlings are fond of saying, good luck. Ckilra.”
Mira sat back stunned by the woman’s comments. They were not alone. Several races were at work trying to eradicate their common enemy. Hundreds of possibilities flooded her mind from background processes that she started and some that were started automatically.
“I am entering in the course change,” Mira said, tapping in the coordinates. “Jules, maximum speed.”
Jules’ hands darted over the control panel and the familiar lag in the gravity well told Mira they were moving.
“You believe we can trust this alien woman?” Zara asked.
“I do not know if we can but I know this, Ckilra offers a better shot at success than what we have without her,” Mira said. “To my direct knowledge, the Aliri have helped us for over twenty-three years. Perhaps we did not understand or accept it along the way but today, sitting here with you three, I see their handiwork. It is an orchestrated attack on a common and ruthless species that started with Alara’s augmentation, continued with the four of us and then finished with Magnus, Grep, Brock and Warren.”
“It makes sense,” Seph said. “Our gifts were needed to reach this point and now they will be needed to finish it. Jules, ETA?”
“Approximately four hours, three minutes to the first set of coordinates which is the entry point into Kron’s space that Ckilra referred to. From there, Kron’s home world is one hour and forty minutes at maximum speed.”
“If this capital ship is orbiting Kron, how are we going to get past it?” Zara asked.
Seph’s head dropped as she brought her hand up, pinching the bridge of her nose.
“Seph?” Jules asked.
“Grep and I argued for weeks about this scenario and I intentionally did not bring it up with you three,” she said.
“Oh, shit’h,” Zara said.
Seph glared at Zara but Mira knew they were fine for the moment. Zara handled stress differently and Seph understood that, too. Zara would need to control herself since Seph’s fuse was quite short, especially now.
“We will use the power of the ship’s engines to create a larger and longer portal than what the PB’s power supply can generate. That system only needs enough to bore through the planet and its on-board systems only need to move matter a few feet through its wormhole.”
Mira understood what Seph was not saying. Seph hated bad news and she really struggled with speaking it aloud.
“Meaning,” Mira added, “we boost the PB’s wormhole generator with the ship’s engine power, send the entire ship through the portal, getting us as close to Kron as we can and then launch the bomb.”
“And why didn’t you mention such a great option like that earlier?” Zara asked, sticking her finger at her.
“Because,” Seph said, “it means burning the generator up just like the one we used to get here.”
“Holy shit’h,” Zara said. “Boom.”
“God damn it, Zara,” Seph yelled, “stop it.”
Mira stood up and moved quickly to Seph, hugging her. Jules rolled her eyes at Mira.
“Okay you two,” Mira said, “that is enough. It is an option of last resort.”
“Sorry, Seph,” Zara said, “you know I am just nervous.”
Seph nodded at Zara, mouthing the words I am sorry, too. Seph pushed Mira gently away.
“Thanks, I’m okay.” Seph said. “This mission and the weeks of preparation have taken a toll on all of us. Knowing that does not make it easier for me to handle. I will try though.”
“Back to your stations,” Mira said, “we need to be ready when we enter Kron space.”
Space - Kron’s Solar System
Wednesday, December 9th, 1987 - 12:00am
Mira
The four hours ticked by with agonizing slowness, far worse than the 32 days they traveled to get here.
“Mira?” Jules said. “We are here.”
Mira looked up from her console. She had monitored their approach to the first set of coordinates the alien woman had given them. The girls needed her to be a leader and she had given a great deal of thought to what she would say. From this point, it was an attack run to Kron. She had a plan if they were not discovered and a backup plan if they were discovered.
“You know,” Mira said, “if Warren or Brock were here, they would say something cute like ‘You mean, we’re under Kron’s solar system right now?’ Mira laughed softly. “Then we’d have to explain to them how three-dimensional space works and give them coordinates with a negative Z-axis value. I miss them terribly and we never got a chance to truly mourn for either of them.” Mira stood. “I want you three to understand why we are here and who is responsible for all of this. The Kron species will be eradicated in less than one hour... by our hand. We do this for Brock and we do this for Warren and we do this for all of Earth. I know some of you feel that Magnus and team are still alive. I will concede to your belief and offer you this promise. If somehow, some way, Magnus is on that planet, I will join you in finding a way to save them but if there is nothing to corroborate that as fact, I ask that you join me in fulfilling this mission.”
Jules looked surprised, recovered and then she n
odded at Mira.
“You have my word,” Jules said.
Mira blinked.
That was easier than I anticipated.
Seph and Zara agreed.
“Jules,” Mira said, “Maximum speed.”
“Aye, captain,” Jules said, nodding.
The ship accelerated to twice the speed of light toward the planet Kron. Mira and her crew had 50.1 minutes left in a two-month long endeavor. They were down to the wire. She pulled up the telemetry from the ship’s sensors. Kron was the fourth planet from their sun with a population, according to an extrapolation of life signs they could read from the southern hemisphere, of roughly five million. They focused all their efforts every second over the next 41 minutes.
Zara sifted through all communications flowing back and forth in Kron’s space. Seph monitored the ship’s systems, checking each one several times. Jules examined their flightpath repeatedly while adjusting their course to minimize their travel time. Mira focused on short and long range sensors, looking for any activity that would indicate Kron had found them. Several ships were patrolling Kron’s space but none of them near their flightpath. The only ship she could detect was the one that maintained a geosynchronous orbit around Kron. Ckilra had referred to it as their capital ship. So far, Ckilra’s help had worked. The people of Kron had not detected them.
The capital ship, the one that Ckilra warned them about, left orbit. It moved into their flight path directly between them and Kron’s home world. It stayed close to Kron, protecting it. Mira had no doubt it would destroy them once they were in range.
“We have been detected. The capital ship has spotted us and long range sensors are detecting incoming ships from numerous directions,” Mira said. “The first of those ships will intercept us in 11.4 minutes. That ship is holding steady in our path at a distance of 19.9 light minutes. ETA to the capital ship is 9.79 minutes. ETA to Kron is at 9.9 minutes. They know we’re here and they are not leaving Kron undefended. Seph, can you make that wormhole idea work?”
“Yes,” Seph said. “It is ready but we need to get closer. The range is extremely limited. If that ship holds its position, we can bypass them through the wormhole and come out inside Kron’s atmosphere... if we survive the portal generator’s explosion. Mira, any readings on that ship’s capabilities?”