Sister Katherine

by Tracy St. John

  It was thought the Earthers had left the vortex gateway undefended in order to hide its existence from the Kalquorian fleet. The enemy had no idea young Cassidy Hamilton, new Matara to Captain Tranis’ clan, had accidentally given away the position of the portal. Hundreds of destroyers had made their way into the wormhole before the Earthers detected the invaders.

  With only minutes left until the destroyers flew out of the portal and into Earth’s atmosphere, chaos reigned on the Earther fleet’s side. Some had converged on the wormhole entrance to either fight off the Kalquorians or to make the jump to Earth. Apparently panicked beyond all reason, many of the massive battlecruisers had begun crashing into Kalquorian destroyers in apparent suicide attacks. Even more were flying away from the fight, heading in all directions as other Earther ships fired on them. Simdow and the other men on the bridge, including Captain Tranis and Weapons Commander Lidon, stared in growing horror and shock as the enemy self-destructed in front of their eyes.

  Dr. Degorsk had also come onto the bridge. He muttered in a tight knot with his clanmates Tranis and Lidon. Simdow couldn’t hear their conversation, nor could he spare the attention as he monitored the fight that had become such an insane scene. Keeping track of the fleet’s communications had become nearly impossible as orders and tactics flew fast and furious, along with the broken reports of the invading ships. The wormhole was an unstable one, and keeping tabs on the vessels flying within it was proving almost impossible as interference kept disrupting communications.

  More than anything, Simdow fought to cope with the situation. He’d been in deadly skirmishes before, but he’d never seen full-scale destruction like this. First had been the horror of seeing so many Kalquorian destroyers annihilated and knowing he watched thousands of his own kind die. Now he watched an entire race seemingly go mad as the Earther fleet continued to flee, suicide, or attack itself.

  Were they so afraid of an invasion that their answer was to kill themselves? Katherine’s assertion that men would turn on their wives and daughters to keep them from the Empire’s grasp suddenly seemed all too feasible to Simdow. His throat closed at the awful terror of such insanity.

  Nobeks always spoke of glorious battle and the honor of dying in the midst of it. Simdow didn’t see one damned thing about any of this that was glorious or honorable. It was a horror he’d never fathomed, could have never imagined in his wildest nightmares.

  Lidon’s raised voice suddenly intruded on Simdow’s intent efforts to monitor the situation.

  “A little Earther girl is holding off three Nobeks with a knife?”

  Simdow kept his eyes on his station and the vid reports, but he listened closely as a voice piped in over a com.

  “She’s threatening to stab herself if we don’t stay back. I think we can disarm her without letting her come to harm—”

  A blur of movement pulled Simdow’s attention to Lidon. The scarred Nobek was leaving the bridge at a run, his limp almost nonexistent in his desperate haste.

  Lidon yelled, “Stay away from her! I’m on my way.”

  Tranis and Degorsk were already on their clanmate’s heels, the captain shouting as he ran. “Alert me to any changes, Simdow.”

  Tranis was out of the room before he could hear Simdow’s startled, “Yes, Captain.”

  He moved over to the captain’s station, thinking the entire universe might have very well gone crazy around him. On the main vid, two Earther battlecruisers exchanged fire at one another and succeeded in blowing themselves apart in a blinding pair of explosions. Adding to that, the captain’s entire clan had gone running off the bridge. Based on the little bit of conversation he’d heard, Tranis’ Matara had apparently decided killing herself was the thing to do as well.

  Simdow wondered if he should com Vadef. His Imdiko was with Katherine in their quarters. It might be a good idea to warn him to keep a close eye on their beloved.

  * * * *

  Katherine knelt by the bed in the clan’s quarters, trying hard to pray. She had ample reason, but for some reason the words failed her. Dread lay like a weight in her chest, making it difficult to breathe.

  She’d made the mistake of looking out the small porthole-like window in the main living space of the quarters. The number of Kalquorian vessels, lozenge-shaped sleek vehicles of destruction, had stolen her breath. When Vadef told her there were even more of the Earther battlecruisers amassed on the other side of the security grid, she’d fought hard not to throw up. Simdow had done his best to alleviate her fears, but she now had proof that too many lives, Earther and Kalquorian, would soon be lost.

  She knew when the fighting started, having seen the destroyers that had been floating motionless suddenly burst into motion and fly out of her range of sight. She guessed that had been perhaps twenty minutes ago. There was still no word on how the battle went.

  People were dying right now. People with families, hopes, and dreams. They died in a war that had been based on desperation, fear, and hatred.

  How did one approach God in such a situation? Was Katherine to remain true to her own kind, praying for Earth to win out over the Kalquorians, knowing it would seal the fate of her beloved clan’s people? Or did she ask for Earth to crumble before its enemies, sending its people into panic and occupation? How could she turn her back on Earth? How could she turn her heart against the men she loved?

  She had no options, no way to not betray something important to her very soul.

  The soft tread of Vadef entering the room was a welcome distraction. Vadef had begun speaking before he even walked in. “Are you hungry – what are you doing, my Matara?”

  Katherine turned her head to look at her beautiful Imdiko over her shoulder. Just seeing him looking at her with such concern and love tore at her heart.

  She didn’t bother masking her upset. “I’m praying. Or at least, I’m trying to. Unfortunately, I’m not sure what to pray for.”

  Vadef came over and sat down on the floor beside her. He leaned back against the bed and smiled at her. “You pray for whatever is clearest in your heart. I bet I can guess what that is.”

  Relief made Katherine sag. Her precious husband had seen clearly for her when she no longer could.

  She said, “My girls. You’re right. I can pray for their welfare without being torn in two.” She cocked her head as she regarded Vadef. “Do Kalquorians pray?”

  “Not formally, as you do.” He indicated her posture, looking at how she knelt with her hands clasped before her. “But there have been many times my heart called to the ancestors for guidance. In the worst situations, I’ve even begged them for help.”

  “Your ancestors are not gods. Or do Kalquorians believe they are?” She’d heard of ancestor worship from other vanquished religions in Earth’s past. Perhaps the Kalquorians venerated their forebears in like fashion.

  Vadef thought for a moment before answering. “It’s hard to put my people in a single category when it comes to spirituality. Kalquorian beliefs are highly individualized. Our Book of Life teaches that each person comes to the truth by his own path. No one can travel his path for him, so we must each find our own way. I can only speak for my personal beliefs.”

  “What way have you found, my Imdiko?”

  Vadef spent several seconds considering once more before giving his reply. “I like to think that when we die, some part of us goes on. I believe the part that cares and loves is eternal, and so those who depart the physical world remain interested in the fates of those they left behind. If they can help and if it is in the best interests of everyone concerned, they will answer our call.”

  Katherine smiled at his words. To her, his philosophy was beautiful, simple, sweet and so Vadef. It suddenly occurred to her that her idea of going to Kalquor and showing the aliens the One True Path had been a silly one. No, not silly. Arrogant. Ignorant and closed-minded.

  She told her lover, “I like your philosophy. I have also followed my heart, even when it is at odds with parts of my faith. No ma
tter what they tell me, I know God is love and he is present in every single one of us.”

  “So I am not evil incarnate?” Vadef’s boyish grin made her laugh.

  “Not even close.”

  * * * *

  “Simdow, patch my com to Admiral Piras! Do it now!”

  The first officer had never heard Captain Tranis scream in outright panic, not even when they’d come under attack in the past. Simdow barely recognized his commanding officer’s voice over the com. His fingers flew over the clumsy Earther console to obey the order. His heart pounded. What had gone wrong now?

  The Earther fleet continued to flee and destroy itself outside. Simdow did all in his power to keep from responding to that horror and Tranis’ distraught tone as he found the frequency he needed.

  He said, “You are patched in, sir. Captain Tranis comming Admiral Piras.”

  “Piras responding.”

  Tranis managed to force his voice into some semblance of proper military toughness. “New information from General Hamilton, sir. If breached by our ships, the portal’s exit is rigged to trigger nuclear blasts on Earth’s major cities!”

  Simdow forgot how to breathe. The others on the bridge gasped and exchanged horrified looks. A low tide of muttering broke out among the young crew.

  Simdow put his rank on like armor, as if it could protect him from what was happening. He barked out the order, “Attend your duties.”

  The crew settled just as Captain Tranis barreled onto the bridge with Lidon right behind him. Simdow smoothly transitioned the connection with Admiral Piras from portable com to ship’s com and moved out of Tranis’ station a moment before the other man took his place.

  As Tranis hurried to his station, he said, “I repeat, if breached by our ships, the portal’s exit is rigged to trigger nuclear blasts on Earth’s major cities!”

  The disembodied voice of the admiral in charge of the invasion answered. “We are sending retreat messages on all frequencies to the invasion force. Distortion in the magnetic waves is blocking our efforts.”

  Lidon had assumed his place at the tactical station. His hands flew in a blur over his controls. “Only the last dozen destroyers to enter the portal are acknowledging receiving the message. No response from the rest,” he reported.

  Back at his own station, Simdow watched the reports come in. His heart slammed against his breastbone as if determined to break out. The first of the invasion force was only a minute from Earth.

  Simdow cast quick, surreptitious glances at Tranis and Lidon to make sure they weren’t watching him. They were completely absorbed in the threatened carnage. He brought his private com to his mouth, clicked his Imdiko’s frequency, and quietly whispered into it before his clanmate could acknowledge him.

  “Simdow to Vadef. Do not respond. Something has gone terribly wrong. Imminent major destruction to Earth is expected. Take care of Katherine.”

  He clicked back off and returned his com to his belt. Another glance around found two more people had come onto the bridge: Tranis’ Imdiko Dr. Degorsk, and his new Matara Cassidy. The Earther girl’s face was almost blindingly white and terrified. If Simdow hadn’t been convinced before of the unbelievable warning Tranis had given, Cassidy’s expression cured that. The trouble was real.

  Simdow swallowed and went back to scanning his reports. He said, “ETA to portal exit on Earth’s side, thirty seconds.”

  Degorsk said in a hoarse voice, “Maybe it’s a bluff. There might not be any explosives.”

  They spoke in Kalquorian, but little Cassidy picked up the tension anyway. Her voice wavering, she begged, “Please, Tranis. Don’t let this happen.”

  The terrible knowledge on the captain’s face that said he could do nothing to thwart the coming agony of his Matara made Simdow quake inside. It told the young Dramok that the alleged explosives weren’t set under just a couple of cities. Earth was set for a major cataclysm, one that might decimate the planet’s population.

  This isn’t how it was supposed to go, his mind insisted. He stared down at the readouts coming from the rest of the fleet, at the desperate communications trying to reach the first ships into the portal. Those ships would trigger a race’s near-obliteration if the com interference didn’t miraculously clear within the next few seconds.

  Simdow couldn’t go where he was needed most: to stand at Katherine’s side. He couldn’t do what needed to be done either. He couldn’t shield her from the coming horror no more than Tranis could shield his Cassidy. Simdow could only wait and watch and pray to all the ancestors that this was just a bad dream.

  * * * *

  Katherine watched Vadef. The Imdiko stared at the portable com on his belt, looking pale and sick. Simdow’s voice had come through loud and clear, but he’d spoken in Kalquorian. The only thing he said that Katherine had understood was her name. Vadef had not responded to the communication. He sat beside her, absolutely still. The only movement came from the shaking of his hands, which hovered in the air poised to pull the com from its place. Slowly he lowered them and looked up to meet her frightened gaze. He turned paler until Katherine thought he might faint.

  Something had gone terribly wrong, and Katherine’s first thought was for the little ones.

  She grabbed Vadef’s shoulders. “What is it? What did Simdow say?”

  Vadef swallowed. “My love … he didn’t explain … but he said Earth is in great danger. That there will be great devastation.” The Imdiko shook his head and disbelief flooded his features. “But how? He said something has gone wrong, but how? Our destroyers can only cause so much damage, and the orders were to keep that at a minimum once they reached Earth. Surely we can’t put an entire planet in jeopardy.”

  Katherine went cold through and through. Once more she heard the voice of the Holy Leader on the bulletin vid that had played months before. How someone with such a compassionate, warm tone could order what he did had stunned her then. Holy Leader Copeland’s voice was one of ultimate reason, so unlike the haranguing tones some priests used. It was the voice of someone you just knew had your best interests at heart, even when the commands were utterly heartless.

  “We will prevail. However, God might wish to test us and our faith in him. He may actually send the devil Kalquorians in our midst, to allow us to prove our fealty to the one true religion. If that should happen, my children, you must be ready to save your very souls. Fathers, husbands, and sons will take the lives of their daughters, wives, and mothers so that they will be spared the hellish depravity of being raped by our enemies. You will do this even as the poor, sinful women beg for their lives, for it is a better thing to be in the arms of the prophets than the beds of Hell’s emissaries. You will do this out of love for them and your God.”

  Katherine had the sudden insight that Holy Leader Browning Copeland would not leave such awful work to mere men who would indeed shrink from such a terrible dictate. No, he and his cabinet of righteous leaders would have found a way to make sure Earth did not fall in Kalquor’s hands. Not a life-sustaining Earth, anyway.

  Her lips numb, Katherine whispered, “It’s my people who will destroy Earth, not yours, Vadef. Earth’s government and the Church will do it. They will obliterate everyone before they let our planet be taken.”

  Vadef stared at her, his face horrified. “That’s insanity! Katherine, all the women and children on your planet are innocent! Your religion can’t possibly do that to them.”

  “But they will.” Though she hadn’t been able to make out Simdow’s message, she had heard the panic in his voice. “‘And they came to the place which God had told him of; and Abraham built an altar there, and laid the wood in order, and bound Isaac his son, and laid him on the altar upon the wood. And Abraham stretched forth his hand, and too the knife to slay his son.’ According to Earth’s religion, God demands complete devotion, even to the point of sacrificing those we love. We are to obey without hesitation though it may break our hearts.”

  Vadef looked at her as if she
’d gone mad. “Your god would do such a thing?”

  Katherine shook her head. “Their god, not mine. Their god is jealous and angry. They have killed in his name for millennia. They know only wrath, not love.”

  She grabbed Vadef’s still shaking hands in hers. “Pray with me now, Vadef. Pray for them all, the weak and innocent.” Tears poured down her cheeks as she thought of all the little ones in the hands of real monsters, the ones who shouted for the might of God but ignored the true message of love. “Pray that if the end must come, that it will be quick. Pray that they will not know it is coming, that they might die with smiles on their faces and laughter still on their lips. Pray now!”

  Vadef grabbed her, pulling her close so that Katherine sat on his lap. They clutched each other, holding tight. Their lips moved as they whispered almost silent entreaties to those they had faith in, those that they hoped would be waiting to receive with warmth and love those headed their way.

  * * * *

  Lidon’s groan filled the silent bridge. “Oh no.”

  Simdow could only stare. If he had tried to speak, he feared he would scream right along with Cassidy instead. The first destroyers had broken through to the other side of the wormhole, never having received the frantic messages telling them to turn around and come back. The invading ships’ communications had automatically linked with the satellites around Earth and blasted the feeds back to the fleet.

  Monstrous clouds, black with debris, erupted like volcanoes all over the planet. The Earthers had really done it. They had actually destroyed their world rather than surrender and face occupation.