by Rod Little
Outside the tent, the three of them watched the failing assault on Lusus' compound. Even with the help of the Saratu, it seemed hopeless. The Earthlings were outgunned and outnumbered. And the spiders were busy keeping the lizards at bay, with little time to help the second front to bring down the enemy gunmen. During the last hour the war had shifted against them to a greater degree, and the bomb was the nail in the coffin.
Crippled and demoralized, the Earth coalition started to retreat.
“This is a mess,” Stu said. “A damn mess.”
“Let's pull back.” Camila pleaded. “Save our people for another day. Or evacuate back to the Vortex? We can be protected there, right?”
“Or just go back to the Starbase and give up,” someone said. It was one of the volunteer doctors, originally rescued from Ohio and taken to Starbase 21. He had enlisted to come back and help on this trip. Now his hands and shirt were covered in blood; he had more patients lining up by the minute.
“I don't think we have time for any of that,” Jason said. He pointed to the compound, where a cluster of MOABs ignited. The flare momentarily blinded them – a fierce, white light. The pack lifted into the sky, off to an unknown target, stirring up dust from the compound itself. Their blast was so great, it killed two of the rebel soldiers near the lift-off pad.
The sky filled with red.
And then black.
“Run!” Someone shouted.
* * *
Lusus felt gratified as he watched the launch sequence. But he would not stay here to view it on the small screens. He had a better place to be; he could watch the fallout from his secret fortification.
“Prepare my transport,” he ordered.
“Ready now,” said Yota.
“Accompany me, my friend. It's time to go.”
“Agreed, I'm with you,” Yota said, taking a data tablet in his hands, and slinging a backpack on his shoulder. “Your transport is standing by.”
The missiles lifted off.
Dust covered the cameras, making the view-screens cloudy and difficult for the Commander and Sub-Commander to see anything outside.
“Let's get to the transport,” Yota said. “We must hurry to avoid any blow-back.”
These two men had no problem with sacrificing some of their staff or soldiers, should the bomb launch be too hot; but they themselves wanted to be ferried off to safety.
They rushed to the corridor, and then to the elevator.
“You're in command,” Yota told a lieutenant at the controls. Other men saluted, content with the victory close at hand, and clueless about how dangerous their stay might be.
In the instant before they disappeared into the elevator, Yota and Lusus saw a bright red flash. And then a dark shadow covered the entire room, blocking the windows.
What have we done? Lusus wondered, but there was no regret in his mind.
In silence, the two men left the shadow behind and rode down.
* * *
A great oval ship descended sharply out of the clouds. It rotated in a downward spiral over the camp, and so fast was its plunge to the surface, it looked like an asteroid. But it wasn't; it was the Neptune transport vessel.
Loxtan Vahr commanded this ship, the flagship of the passenger convoy from Neptune's moon. He brought it down hard on the rebel compound and covered the entire area – even beyond the camp – such was the vast nature of this craft. It dominated the sky and blotted out the sun.
The ship was unique in size and stamina, but had no weapons. Today it would need none.
Like a giant lid over a steaming pot, President Vahr lowered his ship over the battle and blocked the six missiles from completing their take-off. The missiles impacted with the ship's bottom hull and struggled with brutal energy to force it up, while the giant vessel labored with equal effort to shove the rockets back down. They pushed against each other for several long seconds.
And then detonation.
The MOABs exploded, and in that second the oval ship pushed down with all engines on full-power, and forced the explosion into the ground. Its shields surrounded the blast and contained it within the mile-wide area of its embrace.
A flash of light.
Dirt spilled up like a tsunami of grass and soil, covering the men at the front lines.
Everything inside the compound and a hundred feet around it was obliterated. Nothing remained except ash, stone and charred bones. The shock-wave was felt across the land, as far north as Vermont. The tent city and Shane's compound felt tremors.
A surge of hot air forced the Earth men at the front line to the ground. They clawed at grass and dirt and tried to crawl further away from the blast, but there was no need. The explosion itself had been contained by the ship's protective field. It did not reach out further.
The majority of the Saratu died in the blast, but a few, forty or fifty, remained alive outside the zone. They retreated to watch the oval ship climb back into the sky to reveal nothing alive underneath. Nothing stood, no tower or building, nothing beyond the first floor of any structure. Steel bars stabbed upward from the rubble, along with melted bones, all charred black.
The blast ruined everything within its grasp. Nothing was not burned, nothing unsoiled. Rafters and walls were now dust and ash. Objects that might never have met in another life, had fused together as one clump. Everything had turned inky dark or gray and carbonized.
Everything except one.
The Seed remained, and it glowed green, brighter than ever against the backdrop of so much ash. That single artifact, a brilliant stone amid so much dark color, alive amid death, signaled their victory. Its power was not diminished, its form was whole and unharmed. It lay there glowing, mocking those who would have aimed to use it or bid to destroy it.
A chill shivered down Dexter's spine, as he watched it throb, a glare of intense green. Nothing that powerful could be good, he thought.
We must get it off this planet.
Soon.
He looked away from it.
One brave Saratu attempted to approach the stone, but its front paws burned as soon it crossed into the charred zone. Too soon to start picking through the bones of the dead. It limped back to its mates.
A wind kicked up, transporting the smell of dead bodies and charcoal; a sick brew of odors that caused some men to cough and choke.
The Earth men began to stand themselves up. They stared at the rubble for a long time, a stew of horror and awe – and disgust – at the terrible scene in front of them. But soon it was time to get back to tending the wounded. Time to break back to reality.
The day had been won, at least. A few men cheered, some whooped, or cried. Most just watched.
The giant oval ship soared higher into the clouds.
Chapter 46
Late in the evening, past midnight, an important meeting occurred in a medical tent. President Vahr met with his brother and a delegation from Earth: Camila, Stu and George. Shane was there, confined by Camila to a bed, his wound properly bandaged and healing. Sam and Bohai were last to arrive.
“The terms are acceptable,” Vahr said. “We will share the planet. My people will cooperate. They need to learn... well, they need to learn everything from you, from all of you. They know almost nothing of Earth.”
“We'll help them,” Shane promised in a weak voice. He squeezed Camila's hand. Pain still lit up his side.
Camila agreed. “We have people here on Earth to help, and we need to ferret out the rest of Lusus' men. But we can support your civilians, too. Whatever help they need.”
“The rebels are finished without their commander,” Vahr said. “Some have already turned themselves in. I'll take them back to a prison on Neptune. Others have gone on the run. However, you now outnumber them.”
“Thanks for what you did,” Shane said. “Honestly, that was a class act.”
Dexter uniquely understood his brother's sacrifice. “What will you do now?” He asked. But he knew.
“Go back home and
face a trial,” Vahr said. “Resign as president, and become a prisoner. As I deserve.”
“That makes no sense,” Camila said.
“I committed a heresy. I broke the law,” said Vahr. “But worse, I was not faithful to my own beliefs. I caused death in the most direct way. That is not permissible in any manner. It is not... our way.”
“You saved even more people by doing that. You realize that, right?” Sam asked. “That should count for something, right? Your actions should be rewarded, not punished.”
Loxtan Vahr smiled, the sad smile of a lost man. He touched Sam's arm and sparked a tiny blue ring. “Take care of yourself, son of Jayden Soren.”
He turned to Shane. “And you. Lead them well, or don't lead them at all. You have two worlds to bring together now. Nothing about this will be easy. I will put you in touch with the new President, after matters are settled back home. And one more thing...” He inserted a pause to make an impression. “Our people are not accustomed to violence. Do not teach it to them. Treat them gently.”
“We'll do our best,” Shane said.
“And the pollution,” Loxtan grimaced. “It overwhelms me, the pollution on this sacred planet. You need to change that. Polluting is a crime on Neptune, punishable by death. My people will not tolerate contamination of their new world. Nor should you.”
“We'll do what we can,” Camila vowed.
“Do better.”
“We'll take care of it,” Sam promised.
Camila repeated the promise again. She meant it.
Dexter shifted uncomfortably from one foot to the other and said, “You know, brother, you could come to Starbase 21 and stay with us. No one would come for you there. No one would seek you out.”
His discomfort and tone were out of character for the old Sayan scientist. He didn't know why he felt the need to save his brother. Nor could he explain why a decade of hate had simply slipped away like a balloon that has escaped a child's hand – off into the sky never to be found again; it wasn't so important anymore. He didn't know why, and that agitated him most of all. His hate was half of what powered him to continue.
That hatred has tenure, he thought. How dare it quit on me!
Again, a sad smirk, Loxtan spoke softly, “You know that is not my way, Dex. You are the rebellious one in the family, not me. I will go home and face my trial, as I should.” He looked at the others. “I'm sorry. At times, some men have but one path before them. There is no detour for me.”
“So why did you do it?” Bohai asked, not sure he should pull at that thread, but pulling anyway. “Why save us, if you knew you'd go to jail?”
Loxtan looked directly at Bohai. “Take care of your spiders, young man. I will never understand how you can know them. I admire you most of all.”
That shocked Bohai. “For what?”
But Loxtan was not answering questions today. He smiled again, a more wistful smile, and looked up at the sky, then at his ship.
“I should be going.”
“We lost so many people,” Camila said, unforgiving. “How could you just let that happen?”
Shane put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a look that said: ease up. It's over.
“For that I will suffer the consequences,” Loxtan said. “I'll be denied this sunlit paradise, and spend my days in a cold Neptune prison.”
Not enough, Camila thought, but Shane held her hand close and calmed her with another firm, but warm look.
It's over. Let it go.
“But my people will live in the sunlight,” Loxtan said. “For me, that is worth it.”
Shane felt dizzy; he needed to lie back and sleep. Camila insisted on letting him rest, and shooed everyone out of the tent. The meeting was over. They could talk again tomorrow, if they wished.
“For now, get out,” she commanded. No one argued.
“She scares me sometimes,” Bohai whispered as they left, and Sam nodded emphatically.
George and Dexter escorted his brother, the ex-President, to the glider that would ferry him to his oval transport ship. When he was gone, Dexter talked to George, but George felt the scientist was really talking to himself.
“He started this whole mess,” Dexter told him in a weary voice. He was tired of... so many things. “He allowed Lusus to lead the rebels to Earth and to capture it. He pretended not to know, and later he pretended to object. But he knew. He wanted them to do his dirty work. They needed this planet. Foolish men do even more foolish things... sometimes for the right reasons.”
George understood, and said nothing.
The others began to roll out plans for the next stage of the rebuilding. Everyone had a choice to make: to stay on Earth or go back to Starbase 21. And those left back on the space station, such as Walter and Tina, could also choose their new home. In space or on Earth. A lot of work lay ahead – the reconstruction of Earth. Farming, electricity, water... it all had to be restarted again.
After the group dispersed, Sam and Bohai found themselves alone outside the command tent. They had no place yet in the rebuilding effort. Instead, they had one more mission to fly.
The next day, the Neptune civilians were offloaded back to the surface of Earth. Humans from across the planet came to meet and discuss the efforts to re-ignite the planet, restart the infrastructure. The rebels had to be hunted down and captured. Most of them had disappeared, with plenty of places to hide on this near-empty planet. Shane and the new President of Neptune would organize many cooperative details in the months ahead.
Dexter and a team of Earth scientists would return to Starbase 21 within a week. Once there, the Vortex could transport anyone from the station who wanted to return to Earth. Tina and several others wanted to come back. Walter and his wife, Margaret, planned to stay on the Starbase and continue their research. Dexter and his wife would stay there, too. Finally, Dexter had escaped his prison on Earth.
Most of the Saratu disappeared. Some guessed they went into hibernation, but no one knew for sure. Only seven creatures remained, ready to return with the Seed to the Nebula.
Gena introduced Erakan to Stu, who assigned the alien man to the farming crew. He could learn as he worked the earth. It was his dream to have his hands in real soil, warm soil, lacking any ice or hard-packed silicates. The man still marveled at flowers and bees. And sunlight. He was scared, but ready to try.
Camila and Jason took other volunteers on a mission to find more doctors and to rebuild a network of hospitals. George began organizing a true military force and a police force. Shane set up a new interim government, along with a living Senator from the past world, and prepared to meet with the new Neptune President.
Mitch, Gena and John volunteered to roam the country and spread the word about the rebuilding. They mounted motorbikes – real motorbikes this time – and hit the open road.
No one assigned Sam or Bohai to anything, as they had one last mission to perform. Their job was on the other side of the galaxy. Until that mission was done, there would be no earthly assignment for them.
Tina sent word that she would return to Earth on the next transport. Two doctors would stay to be the medical team on Starbase 21. She missed her friends, and the touch of real grass. Mark and Dylan, and all the children would return to earth. They needed more space to stretch their legs, to play. And they needed school.
“Space is no place for kids,” Tina said firmly. And that was that. Shane agreed. Schools would be set up again as soon as enough of the infrastructure got back up and running.
Spring marched toward summer. Another transport from Neptune brought more civilians. Like the others, they squinted against the sun, and marveled at the smallest of things: butterflies and leafy trees. A team looted nearby stores for sunglasses and umbrellas to help the new arrivals adjust.
A week later, the Praihawk's course was plotted. Sam and Bohai last mission to return the Seed was assigned, but no mention of what they might do after that. This was fine with Sam, who always made lists and took life one st
ep at a time.
Sam, Bohai and Teak boarded the Praihawk with the seven remaining Saratu, and set out to return the green stone back to the Boneyards of Nebula. The creatures remained quiet, sequestered to the back of the ship. They seemed finally at peace. Bohai carried the stone and locked it in a vault in the control room.
Camila and Shane strolled together to the clearing to see them off.
Camila flipped her hair dark behind her shoulder. “You know, there was an elevator shaft below Lusus' compound. It went to a tunnel and a subway of sorts. A tube that leads to the harbor. You don't suppose he got away, do you?”
“No way. It was all burned, melted. A mess. I know you have nightmares about him. But he is dead.”
“Sure. I know. Just wish we had a body,” she sighed. “Closure.”
“We got hundreds of bodies. All melted together. You wanna try and find him?”
“No,” she laughed. “I'll let Stu and Jason's crews clean them up, bury them. He said they'll cover the whole mess with dirt. Concrete. Something like that.”
The ship's send-off was small and lacked ceremony. Only Shane and Camila were present, until George popped by to wish them luck.
“Hear you goin' back.”
“Yeah, George. We're going back inside that space junkyard,” Sam said. “We have to return something we took.”
“You need me to come?”
“No. It's okay. You stay here and help get the machines running again. I heard you were promoted to General. Head of Earth's military force.”
George laughed. “Oh yeah. I got a dozen men under me. Quite an army to command!”
“I'll bet. Good luck to you.”
Bohai stuck out his hand. “Take care of yourself, George.”
The way he said it was so formal, it made George hesitate for a moment.
“I sure will. And you, too. Both of you.” He patted Sam's shoulder hard and leaned back for a last look at the ship. A part of him honestly hoped he would never be on it again. He turned and cantered back to camp. At one point he turned to say something better, but then continued on toward his work detail. An eloquent speaker he'd never be.