Burning Eagle

by Navin Weeraratne

  Jahandar looked behind the reception desk, and then scanned two side rooms. “Front lobby secure,” he called out. “No obvious bombs.”

  “Loading dock secure,” said Saleh, stepping over a body and forcing a door open. “Heading to your position, Jahandar.”

  “My arm hurts like a bitch,” whined Khalid. “Hey, I found some chocolate! J-Dog, do you think it’s still good?”

  “Stop fucking around,” Koirala ran down the stairs and back outside. “Check the second floor. Careful, that’s where all the comm gear is.”

  In the near distance, artillery boomed. The horizon lit up with flashes.

  Koirala stopped dead. “Hey, did any of you see that?”

  “See what?”

  “Get to a window.”

  The booming repeated, followed by more horizon flashes.

  “Looks like the One-Fifty-Fives,” said Jahandar, peering out. “It’s 2000 hours. They must be supporting the refinery.”

  “But those shells aren’t landing near the refinery. They’re landing at the city limits. Let’s hurry up.”

  “Wow,” Jahandar slung his gun and looked around. “This is pretty old school.”

  The walls were crammed with displays, consoles, and the odd holo projector. All were dead. Chairs were strewn across the room and stacked on tables.

  “Single function holos and screens,” Khalid nodded. “No tablet docks. No direct neuro-optical transfer. Enough seats and consoles to hold an exam. How did people manage a century ago?”

  Saleh sat down at the largest, most important-looking console. He put on a clunky headset and started hunting for switches.

  “I got this,” he murmured. Koirala stood beside him, arms folded. “There!” he said suddenly. “The system is rebooting.”

  “Why were they defending this place?” Khalid sat down heavily in a plastic chair. “It’s not like they were going to use it for anything.” He swigged from a water bottle. Then he poured the rest over his deathly-white, new, hand.

  “It wasn’t much of a defense,” Jahandar shrugged. “Both sides have bigger things to worry about than this place. Once the guys who were stationed here miss their next check-in, we’ll probably get visitors.”

  “Let’s go see if we can set up that HMG to greet them,” said Khalid, getting up. “And find somewhere to charge our camo cloaks.”

  All the screens came alive suddenly. New holos emerged. The air crackled and buzzed into over thirty frequencies. They self-tuned into as many frantic, panicked voices.

  “What the hell is going on?” Saleh frowned, and put a hand to his headset.

  The four stopped and listened.

  “So that’s what they were shelling,” said Khalid. “Well, you were right about the AI. Do we have a chance?”

  “No,” said the others together.

  “Kashi will fall by morning,” said Koirala quietly. “It’s all over, gentlemen.”

  “What about the Washington?” asked Jahandar. “What if Cullins destroys the Xeno-Transcendent?”

  “Even if he succeeds, we don’t know if that will really stop that thing. It’s too different from anything we’ve seen. And I can’t help but notice, that every time we think we have it figured out, it costs us dearly. Also, we now have a Von Neumann disaster, and weaponized AI on the loose. That’s a job for a whole fleet, not a single ship.”

  “So what do we do?” asked Khalid. “Doesn’t this change everything?”

  “It does.”

  She sat at a console. Holos sprung up before her.

  “Saleh, can you call up-to-date map data on every city, town, settlement, village, farm, and forest on the planet?”

  “A little awkward, but yeah, I can do that.”

  “Good. Get on it.”

  “What are you doing?” asked Jahandar. “Koira, What are you doing?”

  “Bombing the planet into lava.”

  Game of Thrones

  “The media know something is up.”

  Havelock adjusted the straps on his breather. The air was metallic and left a chemical taste in the throat. The breather scrubbed it some, and funneled extra oxygen from a small tank. The frost on the grey path crunched under his boot. Icicles hung from the branches of coolant tower trees.

  Cameras flashed and hovering media drones elbowed each other. Reporters turned their heads for makeup assistants, who brushed cheekbones and sprayed hair. Cameramen peered down eye-pieces and lifted up breathers to sip coffee. Suits with dark glasses checked their ear phones and looked bored.

  “How can you tell?” asked Havelock. “No one has tipped them off, have they?”

  Deputy Director Goddard shrugged. “These are old hands. Claessen from Channel Four. Volkov from Direct News. They’ve seen the Director at enough press conferences to know all his tells. See how he keeps pulling out his script? How he keeps drinking water? He’s like that whenever he presents something big.”

  “He just looks nervous.”

  “Well he should be. Let’s hope that’s all they’re picking up on.”

  Havelock turned looked up the grey, frost-covered steps. The Alliance Assembly building looked like an insect hive taken over by a newly rich gangster. Crystal and basalt plating glittered for several stories, meshed together by an organic, black, resin. Steam torrented from cooling spines, some glowing red. The summit was capped with a gas giant diamond, as big as a bus.

  “I wonder what it’s like on the inside.”

  “You’re guess is as good as mine,” answered Goddard, “but it’s definitely not friendly to human life. Or even most alien life.”

  “Even aliens? Who uses that thing?”

  “The Old Ones. It’s not something commonly known, even on the alien ships. Assembly representatives usually meet in nearby buildings, but rarely in the Assembly building itself.”

  “Judging from all heat it’s giving off, I guess the Old Ones are in session.”

  “They’re always in session,” said Goddard. “The ones in there never leave. It’s rumored they’ve been here longer than the building has.”

  “How old is the building?”

  “No one really knows. The capital was the very first ship in the fleet.”

  One of the suits standing by Chalmers whispered into his ear. The director nodded. He climbed several steps alone, then turned and faced the cameras.

  “Ladies and gentlemen,” he cleared his throat, “I have just received word that the last repatriation transport has left the capital.” Cheering and clapping broke out. “As of this moment, all the hostages are heading home. This marks the end of a very difficult chapter for all of us. We are here today, and our loved ones are returning, only because we have stood together. Young and old. Privileged and struggling. Insurgent and soldier. As a community, we have triumphed against all those who would have seen us fail. As a community we have found ourselves.

  “But we have paid a great price for this. A price in blood that every one of our ships knows. Young Carlene Anders, who died on the London attempting to save her preschool students. Suhail Gosh, a firefighter and father of three, who died in the line of duty on the Geneva. Grandmother and doctor, Santusha Kareem, who refused to leave her practice and her patients on the Hyderabad. It is not enough for us to simply remember and honor these people. They gave their lives because they were human, and when the chips were down, that’s all we had left. Only humans cared about us. Only humans took a stand. Only humans said no. The Universe is a cold and friendless place: all that we have is each other.

  “That is why today, I am here before you on the steps of the Alliance Assembly. I speak to you not as an appointee of the Alliance, but as your representative. One of many throughout the ships. Civic leaders, union bosses, town elders, and minutemen. We have held discussion and have decided that Humanity can no longer be part of the Alliance. Today, we declare our independence.”

  Gasps broke out. Cameramen looked up from their eye-pieces. Styrofoam cups fell, coffee pooling on the ground
.

  “At this very moment, on every human ship, antimatter engines have begun firing. Our vessels will drop out of the fleet, forming our own. We will then begin the slow journey back to Paradiso. Our fate does not lie here in space, but back with our own kind. Whatever challenges they face are our challenges too. We will face them, together.”

  The shockwave knocked Havelock off his feet. His head and spine took the full force as he crashed into the hard ground. He almost blacked out with pain. His ears rang.

  He raised himself on one elbow. A camera lay beside him, broken into pieces. The operator was already up – white eyes wild in a mask of blood. He stared down at Havelock, dazed.

  “Get up!”

  People screamed and were running from the steps. A pair of techs were around a wounded female reporter. A kneeling suit tore his own sleeve, making her a tourniquet.

  “Agent Havelock, can you hear me? Get up!”

  A knot of Human Affairs suits were crowded around the Director. Two held his arms across their shoulders and helped him limp forward. The others drew their guns and blocked line of sight. They scanned for targets, their voices tense.

  Havelock raised his other hand and pointed up the stairs.

  “It’s on fire! The whole damn thing is going up!”

  “Are you hurt?”

  “I don’t think so.”

  Goddard took his hand and pulled him up.

  “Was that a bomb?” Havelock asked.

  “Of course it was a bomb!” Goddard snapped. “They let humans on to this capital for the first time; the Director declares independence; and then the Assembly goes up? It can only be a bomb.”

  “Sarasvati,” he touched his aching scalp. His fingers came away covered in red.

  “Bitch betrayed us. There’s no going back now. Get to the ship,” he looked away and raised his voice, “Everyone! Get back to the ship! Everyone back!” he turned to the group with Chalmers. “Get the Director out of here, don’t stop for anything, do you understand? Go.”

  They got moving. Reporters were already fleeing ahead of them. Other agents took point, covering each other as they ran. They looked about worriedly, scanning for trouble.

  “Why would she do that?” shock wearing off, the pain in his head grew.

  “The hell if I know. Can you walk? We should never have trusted her.”

  “I’m good,” he waved him away, one hand on his head. “Let’s get out of here.”

  They formed the rearguard. The media and the director’s escort quickly pulled ahead.

  “Do you hear that?” Havelock held up his hand.

  “Gunfire,” Goddard replied. “That must be why no one’s stopped us. We’re not the terrorists.”

  “Do you think that will matter? I mean, tomorrow?”

  “No. We’re human: we’re marked. Chalmers address will be interpreted as a declaration of war.”

  Goddard was thrown off his feet. His body rolled, black, thick, smoke pouring from his skull.

  A black quadruped stalked out from behind a grey building. Its spindly torso mounted dual-weapon racks; a beam weapon and a grenade launcher. The grenade launcher whirred and clicked. A blue laser sight swept away from the corpse’s skull, and found Havelock’s chest.

  The blast struck behind it, but that was enough. The Fractal Worm lifted up, its limbs tearing off. It tumbled forward end over end, burning.

  A figure stood up from behind a large rock. It lowered the rocket launcher and tossed it aside.

  “You!” Havelock’s gritted his teeth, “You crazy bitch!”

  Angelica Harris, Saraswati, walked towards him. Behind her came ten men and women in grey, digital-camo fatigues and black combat webbing. They carried rockets, shotguns, and bullpup rifles. Two had their weapons slung over their shoulders. Between them, the carried a black, heavy, box.

  He drew his gun and aimed.

  “That won’t do anything,” she raised up her hand, and the others lowered their weapons. “There are six more of me in the capital, right now.”

  “We had an agreement. We had a plan!”

  “This was the plan. We knew you would never go along with it, so we didn’t tell you. I’m sorry about your friend, but this had to happen.”

  “Like hell it did! What have you done? You’ve declared war!”

  “And what did you think was going to happen?” she threw her hands up. “That they’d just let us go? That they’d suddenly develop self-determination as a value? Rex, they invaded our world. They killed millions. They were never going to just let us go. They’ll kill us first. All of us.”

  “So you blew up the Assembly?” the two carrying the box lowered it carefully to the ground. One fiddled with it till the top slid open. Underneath, a keypad was revealed.

  “A decapitation strike,” she answered. “We took out most of their leadership. The Old Ones don’t empower any of their races. Without their orders, no one knows what to do. Most won’t even know what’s going on.”

  “What’s that,” he waved his pistol at the box. The techs looked up at him for a moment. Then, they went back to the keypad. “What the hell is that?”

  “It’s an antimatter bomb. You need to hurry up and get to your ship.”

  “Another one?”

  “No, the first one. The only one.”

  “You said you weren’t building those things!”

  “And when I said that, it was the truth. Circumstances changed.”

  “Circumstances? Like using Human Affairs, to get you on the capital ship?”

  “The Assembly bombing was a backup, in case this mission failed. Destroying their leadership helps us, but it doesn’t guarantee our safety. This bomb can do that, Rex. It’s powerful enough that it won’t just destroy the capital. Do you know where we are right now? We’re at the very center of ship. A blast here distributes the energy evenly, throughout the structure. The entire vessel will turn into a ball of shrapnel, and push out into its neighbors. We’re at the very center of the fleet. We estimate over twenty percent will be destroyed.”

  “You’re going to bomb the fleet?”

  “The human ships are at the fringes. That’ll protect us from the debris and most of the radiation. No one will be able to stop us leave, or even dare to. Rex?” she cocked her head to a side and frowned. “What are you doing, Rex?”

  The gunmen barked between each other, raising their weapons. Havelock ignored them, and reached the smoking hulk of the Fractal Worm Cataphract. He crouched down, coughing on the acrid smoke, and pulled off his jacket.

  “Go make sure he’s not trying to send a signal or something,” she said. Two men nodded and ran towards him.

  Hands wrapped in his jacket, he dug inside the weapon rack. His fingers closed around something hard, long, small.

  “Get up,” the gun barrel was pressed into his back. “Slowly.”

  He smiled and rose, pulling out the tube. He squeezed its end, and it let out a high pitched whine. The gunman cursed.

  “You know what this is, right?” He held it up in front of him, “You know what happens if I let this go, asshole?”

  “You wouldn’t dare!” he sneered back, a scar across his cheek.

  Rex kicked him in the balls, hard.

  “Come on!” he turned to the other one and gestured come-hither. “Pick a fight with a guy who’s only going to use one hand!” He kicked the man who was down, in the neck.

  “Rex, what are you doing?” her eyes were wide. “That grenade will kill us all!”

  “Stop calling me call me ‘Rex,’ And get your little bomb squad away from that before I shoot them,” he redrew his pistol with his other hand. The two backed away from the device, immediately. The other gunmen started shouting, and formed a circle around Havelock. Guns aimed at his chest and head, they glances at each other.

  “Havelock, think about this. If you kill us, the bomb won’t get set.”

  “That’s the plan.”

  “And what happens then? They’re
going to target our ships. They’re unarmed. The Nautiloids will bomb them. Who will hold them back now?”

  “That’s your doing!”

  “It’s certainly done, yes. If this bomb doesn’t go off, you sentence those people to death.”

  “You say they’re unarmed – what about the antimatter projectors they’re carrying? Each ship has a nuclear cannon!”

  “And do you really want them to use them? If you kill us, the bomb won’t blow up, and humans and aliens will die in huge numbers. If you let us blow up the capital, many aliens will die – but not as many. And the humans will live.”

  “You’re not about to blow yourself up,” Havelock sneered. “You’ll leave, and then I’ll let the Alliance know what’s happening. They’ll listen to me. We’ll defuse this. We’ll stop you.”

  “No, no they won’t, Rex. And we’re not leaving. We’re here till it blows.”

  He raised an eyebrow.

  “What, that surprises you? After all that’s been invested in this? There are teams all over the capital, tying down the defenders. No one is coming to help you, Rex. And if you want to minimize casualties, human and alien, you’ll get out of our way.”

  He leveled this pistol at her.

  “You’ve lied to us, every step of the way,” he said quietly. “Why should I believe you now? You’re no better than they are.”

  “Maybe,” she replied. “But I’m the one trying to save your life.”

  “What?”

  “The bomb is already live, Rex. It’s been for several minutes. If the grenade goes off, it will simply blow the weapon, early. I only talking to you, to try and save you.” She stepped forward. “Please give it to me,” she held out her hand. “I’ll hold it, till you can get away.”

  “No…”

  “It’s over Rex. It’s done. You can’t stop this anymore, so you don’t have any responsibility in this matter. You have no reason to feel guilty. Now, you have a responsibility to your people. You have less than ten minutes, and they won’t leave without you. Go, or they’ll die.”

  Havelock lowered his hand. His face fell, and shoulders drooped.