by Nick Webb
The Trit simply said, “We will meet your challenge. Dharmasha ghosh and, I add, very easily. This is the end of our conversation.” He tapped the screen and it turned off.”
Granger pointed at him. “No. I won’t allow you to sacrifice your entire world just for me.”
Klollogesh held out a hand, palm down. Indicating . . . reassurance? “I have foreseen this, Old-man-et-cetera ghilimsha ghoshaga. It was an inevitable part of the story, and it is why I have already evacuated most of the planet rholishlik ghoshantik ghash.”
“But your world. This place. It’s your home. I won’t stand by and watch you lose it.”
Klollogesh maintained his outstretched hand. “What is a world without people? Tlohthla shoghosh What is a home without a family? Ghoshaga tloth they are locations in space, and nothing more. We have other locations in space, other homes, other worlds tlohthla ghoshag sa shaltha.”
Granger was speechless, half in awe of the greatness of the Trits’ attitude, and half out of respect for their foresight. “But, forgive me, leader Klollogesh, I’m confused. If you foresaw this, why are we here, and not out in space making our getaway?”
Klollogesh lowered his hand and threw back his head. “Ha! Ha ha!” He glanced at Granger. “Was that sufficient human laughter for your most humorous and naive question? Dhloshlag gloshlag sa sha. If not, I will add more. Ha ha ha ha! HAAAA!”
Oh my god, these Trits . . . He forced a tight thin-lipped smile. “I’m not following what is humorous, Leader Klollogesh.”
“Ginzaga glosh of course you don’t! The Cantankerous-old-man-of-few-words-who-enjoys-silence-and-ethanol-and-long-periods-of-brooding-whereupon-he-bursts-into-frenzies-of-work-and-sport-and-has-great-insight-and-wisdom-in-spite-of-all-protests-to-the-contrary from the stories of old never did laugh much, and neither do you, so why would you understand something so humorous gloshag tlitlith?”
“I . . .” He trailed off. There was simply no response he could muster to answer that.
“It is humorous, Old-man-et-cetera, ghingza gryk klollog because now the bad humans and the worse humans will attempt to take you by force!”
Jasper, who’d been getting visibly more frustrated as the conversation went on, yelled, “And how is that a good thing?”
“Because, younger impetuous human, ghunza tlosh they will land here, or will be close enough to the planet, such that when it explodes, it will take them with it to its death. Ghingza gryk tallog sta And besides, the Great Story requires a daring, heroic escape by the great leader, Old-man-et-cetera, as happened long ago.”
Qwerty was watching his handheld. “Uh, Cap’n, they’re coming.” He looked up. “Lots of them. Looks like a full-scale Findiri invasion force.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
Veracruz Sector
Chantana III
ISS Defiance
Bridge
“Where is it?”
Commander Ethan Zivic sat in the XO’s chair, half glowering at the viewscreen that showed the barren surface of Chantana Three and the orbiting Eru ship, and half at former president Sepulveda, who’d parked himself in the captain’s chair.
“Not reading the ISS Volz anywhere in the system,” said Rice. “Oh. Well that’s not good.”
“What?” said Zivic and Sepulveda at the same time.
“The other side of the planet. Reading a whole bunch of Findiri ships that just q-jumped into orbit. And the Resolute is with them. Oppenheimer’s ship.”
Zivic stood up. All he could think about was her, but he knew that he had a duty. They were now in a potential war-zone, and he had a crew in his care. “What’s their posture?”
“Looks like the Findiri ships are sending out a whole lot of smaller dropships and fighter escorts.” Rice looked up, distress written all over his face. “It’s an invasion force, sir.”
He reached down and gripped the back of his chair. Dammit! He wanted to find the Volz, find what, or who, had killed his future wife. Not enter the fray of a battle to save an alien world.
“Us against four Findiri ships. I don’t like those odds. I’m afraid the Trits will have to get along without—”
“Sir!” said Ensign Platt at comms. “I picked up the signal of a conversation between Oppenheimer, the leader of the Trits, and Captain Granger!”
“What? Granger’s here?” Zivic raced over to the comms station and looked over the data. Sure enough, he saw the tail end of the conversation, just as the Trit leader and Granger ended the transmission. “Dammit. That changes things. All hands, prepare for battle.”
Sepulveda swiveled the chair around and glared at him. “And just what exactly do you think you’re going to accomplish by going up against the Findiri with a single IDF starship?
“With Granger’s life on the line? Easy. We’re going to accomplish whatever the hell we can. Now if you’ll excuse me, Mr. Former President, I have a battle to wage, and you’re in my chair.”
His expression made it all worth it. Damn that felt good.
Sepulveda actually got up and, perhaps recognizing his uselessness, sulked to the back of the bridge and out the doors.
“Thought we’d never get rid of him,” mumbled Rice.
At least he made the popular choice then. Now time to win an unwinnable battle. “All hands, battle stations. Engage the stealth. Ready all railgun tubes, lasers, and PDC cannons.”
“Uh, sir?” said Rice.
“What?”
“You’re aware we’re running with a bare-bones crew on a ship that wasn’t designed for a whole lot of people in the first place?”
“Are you telling me we don’t have a weapons crew?”
Rice nodded quickly. “Oh, we do, it’s just that his name is Greg. Lieutenant Koskinen.”
“Fine. Tell Greg to get me some effing guns to fire. And while you’re at it,” he glanced around the bridge. How many people did he actually need up here? “You, you, and you, go join him.” He pointed to what he considered to be the third wheel at every station. The three ensigns stood up and fled the bridge.
“Comm, get me Granger. Low power, as tight a beam as possible—we don’t want to lose our stealth.”
“Aye, sir,” said the officer. A few moments later, “Got him, Commander. Lo-Fi Audio only—less chance of breaking stealth that way.”
“Captain Granger? It’s Commander Ethan Zivic. I’ve got the Defiance here, sir. What’s the situation? What are your orders?”
“The situation? Four big-ass Findiri ships are about to invade Chantana Three. Orders? Get the hell out. As soon as I can get back to my ship I’ll be making my own escape, so standby to—”
The staticky sound of a massive explosion sounded out of the speakers. At the same time, the lead Findiri ship had orbited far enough across the horizon that it was in view, and a deadly purple energy beam was pulsing down toward the planet. It shut off after another second.
“Captain! Are you okay?”
“Fine. We’re fine. They just destroyed my ship is all. They must have had a lock on it after all.”
Zivic shook his head. “Okay then, we’re coming in after you. Helm, begin calculations for—”
“No! We’ll find another way out. You’re in the Defiance? Stay stealthed, and standby. Granger out.”
The transmission ended. “Dammit,” muttered Zivic. He sat back down in the captain’s chair and drummed his fingers on the armrest.
Every second you waste, Jerusha’s killer goes free.
“Helm, make those calculations for a q-jump, right to Granger’s location.”
The helmsman swiveled in his chair and gawked at him. “Sir?”
“You heard me. There’s at least three kilometers of empty space in there and the Defiance ain’t all that big. We’re going to get in, and hopefully, get out.”
Rice caught his eye. “You sure about this, sir? If the Findiri are already there with their fighters, they’d make short work of us in that tight space.”
“They’d make shorter work
of Granger without us there. And besides,” he stood up and walked toward the exit. “The Defiance won’t be sticking around there for very long. Call the fighter bay. Tell the deck crew to have my bird ready.”
Rice shrugged. “The deck crew’s name is Doris, and I’ll her let her know you’re coming.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-THREE
Veracruz Sector
Chantana III
ISS Defiance
Bridge
When Commander Zivic had left, Commander Rice dismissed Ensign Platt at the comms station. “I’ll call down to the fighter bay. Please assist at tactical for now.”
“Aye, sir,” she said, saluting and retreating to the other side of the bridge.
He tapped the comm and opened the line to the fighter bay. “Chief Petty Officer Grimm?”
“Yeah? Doris here,” she said.
“Zivic is coming down and needs his fighter prepped for launch.”
“You got it, sir. Doris out.”
He flipped over to the tight beam transmitter and dialed down the power to as low as possible. Then he typed in a message. Text would require far lower power than voice.
Attn: Adm Oppenheimer. Defiance stealthed and awaiting further orders. Quarry under planet’s surface.
A few minutes later, the reply came.
Standby. Findiri only want the quarry, dead or alive—apparently just his DNA will suffice. If he escapes here, get him to Earth even if it breaks your cover. —Oppenheimer.
CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR
Kiev Sector
Bellarus, high orbit
Smolensk Orbital Research Station
Vice President Shankar’s Office
“Get a good look?”
She almost jumped. Dammit. She’d miscalculated the effect of the drug on Mr. Shankar.
“Hey . . .” She trailed off. “So, I can explain . . .”
Simon Shankar had folded his arms and regarded her with equal measures contempt and curiosity. “What was it? Let me guess. Naptime? You know we developed that drug right here at Smolensk? IDF paid us a shit-ton for that one.”
“I . . . yeah. Naptime.”
“Damn. I don’t even remember you knocking. Shit works.”
She stepped back from the terminal, and he glanced at the screen. “You’re with Cooper, I presume. What, were you plan B? In case I refused?”
“Something like that.”
“Well don’t worry sweetheart. Your boss is walking out of here with exactly what she came for, in spite of,” he waved a hand at the screen, “the wishes of certain carpetbagger politicians.”
“You don’t approve of the new Chairman of the Board?” she asked.
“Chairmen come and go. They usually know their place, and stick with schmoozing the politicians and keeping the money flowing. But this guy fancies himself a chairman, CEO, and president of a galactic republic all in one. Pretty ambitious for a dead guy.”
Her eyes narrowed. “What do you mean?”
He grinned. “You don’t believe it, do you? I mean, who does? No one here, I can tell you that. Curiel was dead. Dead as a doornail. This guy? Who the hell knows who he is. I’ve never met him in person. Could be some ass-wipe who either fooled over half the board into voting him in, or they’re in on it too.”
“I’ve met him,” she said.
He did a double take. “Is that so? And?”
“Sure as hell looked like Curiel. Sounded like Curiel. Not sure how you bullshit that.”
“Prosthetics and makeup can be pretty damn convincing these days. Voice synthesizers? All I know is, Curiel is dead. That guy? Don’t know who the fuck that is.”
Liu nodded slowly. “Which is why you’re helping my boss.”
“Which is why I’m helping your boss. Me and a few other VPs. We’re pretty sure the CEO is in on it with this low-life, so we’re keeping it on the down-low for now.”
“Aren’t you worried about what she’ll do with it?”
“The Juice? Hell, it was the UE higher-ups that gave us the precursor in the first place. You’re IDF Intel, you should know. They probably taught you in your first classes at Intel academy, or whatever you call it. Back in the day. General Norton orders Captain Shelby Proctor to firebomb the Valarisi’s homeworld. She incinerates the entire surface. Except, lo and behold, IDF Intel saves a bit of it, just a sample, so to speak, and stores it away. Thirty years later, Admiral Oppenheimer is leading the fleet against the appearance of a strange ship wreaking havoc on our worlds and ships, and a madman self-proclaimed prophet—Huntsman—takes over the Grangerites and nearly the GPC too. And, wouldn’t you know it, the sample goes missing. Except it didn’t go missing. IDF Intel knew exactly where it went. It went to us. In exchange for . . . services.”
Keep talking, ass-wipe, she thought to herself. “And . . . you boys did your experiments, and turned it into . . . the Juice.”
He shrugged. “More or less, to make a long story short. A few hiccups along the way.”
She felt like they were close to a turning point. A breakthrough. “What does it do?”
To her disappointment, he shrugged. “No one knows for sure. Haven’t had the chance to test it yet. That’s why you saw,” he waved an arm out to the walls, and beyond, as if to indicate the destruction of Bellarus’s capital, “all this. A looser regulatory regime will permit much greater flexibility in our research. Before long we’ll hit our target. And United Earth, of course, is our first and best customer.”
So Shovik-Orion did have a hand in sparking the civil war on Bellarus. Monsters. “Smart priorities,” she said. Keep him talking, she thought. “Are you sure your targets are the same as ours?”
“Why wouldn’t they be? Neither of us like the idea of an enemy occupying Earth. Neither of us like the idea of the Russian Confederation, the CIDR, the Caliphate, all causing discord and disunity in the face of our enemies. Just think what the Juice could accomplish. From a single computer terminal: control of a billion-man army. Do you think the RC would keep up their cold hostilities if their council was programmed to love us? Do you think the Findiri would stand a chance if the entire population of Earth was able to resist them, synchronized and in harmony, working together? And all Cooper would have to do is press a few buttons?”
Liu smirked. “And all for the low, low price of…?”
“Four easy installments of, oh, the entire IDF budget for thirty years.”
“That’s it?”
“See?” He smiled. “That’s what I told Cooper! But she’s a shrewd bargainer, that one.” He shook his head back and forth and rubbed his eyes, trying to exorcise the last of the drug she’d administered. “Now then. You should be on your way. Your boss should be just about finished with her tour. Oh,” he snapped a finger, “and tell her if she ever sends one of her goons to drug me and sift through my data again, said goon won’t find it so easy to walk out alive next time.”
You wish, she thought, but mirrored his smile. “I’ll pass it along.”
He stood up and escorted her to the door, and shut it softly behind her. As she walked back down the hallway Danny’s voice blared in her head. Are you done?
Yeah, just finishing up. You? How’d it go?
They actually let me use the loo! Then escorted me back to the ship. That worked way easier than I thought it would.
Great. Coming back now. I’ve got some news.
She managed to find her way back to the airlock on the outer ring where the Crimson Phoenix was docked. The security guard’s eyes bulged when he saw her. “But—”
“Thank you so much, another minute and I’d have shat myself.” She grinned and walked past him into the airlock and on into the ship before he had time to say another word.
She found Danny in the galley with a cup of coffee, sat down, and told him everything.
He listened in silence the entire time, shaking his head in disbelief. Finally he said, “So I was their guinea pig.”
“Pretty much.”
“I me
an, I’m alive, so there’s that. And the entire Valarisi race too.”
Her companion chimed in. YEAH, THANKS FOR THAT. She chuckled. It was picking up on their wry humor. It. He? She? Can a liquid have a gender?
She responded to it. Hey, I just realized I don’t even know what to call you. Do you have a name?
NOPE. SHOULD I?
It might help, she replied. Better than saying, hey you.
HOW DO I GET A NAME?
Well, she began, you could just choose one.
IS THAT HOW YOU GOT YOURS?
No, my parents named me.
YOU SHOULD NAME ME. IN A SENSE, YOU’RE MY PARENT. I WAS BORN WHEN I ENTERED YOU.
Hm, okay. She paused, thinking. “Got any ideas for a name for my companion?”
“You too, huh? That’s just what I was talking about with mine.”
Liu fiddled with the beverage dispenser and ordered her own coffee. The machine gently whirred to life. “They’re technically siblings. Or is yours like the parent of mine? Which would make me and your companion the parents. And you . . .”
“The grandpa.” He laughed.
“How about— Jack and Diane?”
He laughed harder. “What? Like the song?”
“I don’t know! It was just the first thing that popped into my head!” She took the coffee mug that slid out of the unit and sipped.
“Bonnie and Clyde,” he countered.
“Luke and Leia.”
“Salt and Pepper.”
“Ebb and Flow.”
“Sonny and Cher.”
“Wax and Wane.”
“Thelma and Louise.”
“Frodo and Sam.”
“PB and J.”
“Thing One and Thing Two.”
“Barbie and Ken.”
“Rum and Coke.”
“Lewis and Clark.”
“Death and Taxes.”
“Fire and Brimstone.”
“Give and Take.”
“Tarzan and Jane.”
“Pork and Beans.”
“Trial and Error.”