by Doug Farren
Holding her tail over her back to keep her center of gravity as far forward as possible, she slowly backed up until her rear legs were perilously close to the edge. After a moment of hesitation, she stepped back, allowing herself to fall backwards.
Aboard the airship, Tom’s stomach wrenched as he watched Lashpa come to an abrupt stop with the bulk of her body hanging out of the building. The pipe she was holding had slammed into the edges of the doorway keeping her from falling any farther.
After positioning her front legs, she said, “Deploy front spikes.” A dozen ultra-strong spikes shot out from her front feet and embedded themselves into the concrete. Dropping her tail, she turned her head and shouted, “Climb!”
The uninjured worker climbed up her tail and then along her back to safety. As soon as he was safe, she released her grip on the pipe, retracted her anchoring spikes, and then, using her tail as a sort of third arm, lowered herself down to the platform.
Glancing up, she saw that the worker who had just left was now staring down at her from the ledge. “Get back!” she ordered.
Turning around, she performed a quick assessment of the unconscious worker before picking him up. Holding him tightly in her arms, she put her front legs on top of the safety railing and curled her tail underneath her. Bending her back legs, she said, “Krish, take control and get us into the building.”
Her ship’s AI assumed complete control over her cybernetics. Utilizing the full power of her cybernetic limbs as well as her tail, Lashpa was launched off the platform. Physics dictates that for every action there is an opposite and equal reaction. The sudden loading pushed the already strained bolts holding the elevator tower to the side of the building past their breaking point sending them flying as if shot from a powerful gun. One of them hit her faceplate and punched through the thin armor. The force of the impact snapped her head back and blurred her vision.
Still under the control of her ship’s computer, Lashpa’s arms thrust the worker into the building and then, moving far faster than she could have moved them had she been in control, swung down and grasped the pipe she had laid across the opening. Her tail swung up, curled around, and slammed into the inside of the top of the opening. Her arms and tail added the necessary momentum to propel her into the building. She landed on the floor with a terrific thud and skidded to a stop.
“Lashpa!” she heard Tom yell. “Are you alright?”
“I’m safe,” she replied while still laying on the floor. Her left eye was throbbing with pain and she could feel blood running down her cheek.
“You’re hurt,” Tom replied. “I don’t know how I know, but you’re hurt. What happened?”
The pain began to ease as she stood up. “Something hit me in the left eye and damaged it. I need to get these workers to safety. Standby.”
Lashpa walked over to the worker she had just tossed into the building and checked his vitals. He was still unconscious and his front left leg was now bleeding. His left arm looked broken.
The sound of more bolts popping and the groan of overstressed steel caused her to turn around and look back at the tower. The weakened elevator tower began to collapse. With Rouldian gravity exerting a force nearly twice that of Earth, it fell apart in a matter of seconds. Beams and supports crashed into the ground driving themselves deep into the earth and sending up a cloud of dust. The backhoe that had initiated the disaster was crushed flat by a rain of steel. Because of the impending collapse, the area below had already been cleared and nobody was hurt.
“Krish,” Lashpa said, “Inform rescue that the workers are safe. Tom, I’ll meet you on the ground as soon as the dust settles.”
Turning to the worker, Lashpa said, “Let’s get out of here.”
“You’re hurt!” he said, staring at her damaged faceplate.
“I’ll be fine.” She picked Lurvith up and led the way to the ground floor. A group of rescue workers met them on the second floor.
It was only after she transferred Lurvith to the stretcher that she took the time to assess the damage to herself. She issued a mental command that was picked up by her biolink, “Cancel combat mode.”
The tactical overlay vanished and was replaced by another indicating that the faceplate could not be retracted and that her left eye was damaged. “Krish, summarize the damage,” she whispered.
“Your left eye has been destroyed. The projectile that did so is most likely still lodged in the eye socket. Diagnostics show the synaptic interface with your optic nerve is still functional but the considerable pain you were experiencing indicates there may be damage to your eye socket. I have administered a pain blocker. Glurshvy University Hospital is certified to care for peacekeepers. They have been alerted.”
The cybernetics used to enhance all peacekeepers included a small emergency medical unit stocked with an assortment of drugs in the event they were needed. The peacekeeper’s AI, which constantly monitored the health and security of the individual they were assigned to, could trigger the release of any one of those drugs in any amount necessary to keep the peacekeeper functioning.
As soon as they reached the ground, a paramedic walked up to Lashpa and said, “We have an ambulance waiting for you. Please follow me.”
She allowed herself to be led into the back of an ambulance. “Wait!” she said as the doors began to close. My parents were in the aircar, they’ll be here in a moment.”
The paramedic, who was unfamiliar with peacekeeper equipment, peered at the damaged faceplate for a moment then asked, “Can this be removed?”
Reaching up, Lashpa depressed a pair of locking tabs and gently pulled the faceplate away from her face. There was a ragged hole in the armor with sharp edges protruding from the backside. If the faceplate had been retracted, it would have ripped her eye socket open.
Three minutes later, Lashpa heard her mother’s voice. “I want to see my daughter!”
A second later, she appeared in the doorway. The paramedic finished securing a thick bandage over Lashpa’s left eye and stepped out of the way.
“Are you alright?” Kirth asked as he and Tom appeared.
“I’ll be fine,” Lashpa replied, stepping out of the ambulance.
Shava’s tail was writhing with worry. “What happened?”
“One of the bolts holding the elevator tower to the side of the building snapped. It hit me square in the eye. If I hadn’t lowered my face shield, the bolt would have ended up in my brain and I’d most likely be dead.”
“Still,” Tom said. “You’re very lucky.”
Kirth and Shava tasted their daughter then stepped back as Lashpa loaded herself into the ambulance. A moment after the door closed the ambulance took off.
Turning to Tom, Shava said, “She’s been in pain. You should know we can taste it. I want the truth; will she be able to see out of her left eye again?”
Tom had underestimated the exquisite sensitivity of the Rouldian tongue. They used taste to assess an individual much like humans relied on subtle facial expressions and body language. “There’s been some damage to her eye socket,” Tom replied. “But her ship has informed me that the interface between her optic nerve and her cybernetics checks out fine. The doctors will repair the damage and she’ll be as good as new.”
“Do you know how long she’ll be in the hospital?” Kirth asked. “Heshgerv is due to arrive later today and someone should meet her at the starport.” Looking at his mate, he added, “We would rather remain at the hospital to ensure Lashpa is alright.”
“The hospital is certified to treat peacekeepers,” Tom assured them. “Unless there are complications, she should be released before Heshgerv arrives. If not, I will go. Because of our implants, Lashpa and I are never out of touch with each other.”
A police officer approached them. “Excuse me.”
“Yes?” Tom and Kirth simultaneously replied.
“I was asked to inform you that a car is on the way to take you to the hospital. It should be here in a few minutes.”
Kirth turned and looked at Tom. “Did you call for a taxi?”
“I did not.”
“It’s a government vehicle,” the officer said. “I’m sorry, but that’s all I know.”
Chapter 5
Captain Harth walked into the conference room and thumped his tail on the deck bringing the meeting to order. After the side conversations had ended, he began the meeting. “In case anyone doesn’t know, the Paranuth has entered the planet’s atmosphere. It’s still being guided to the surface by the vessel that attacked it. So far, none of our probes have been interfered with.”
“Have you been able to ascertain the condition of the crew?” Captain Ginth asked. She, along with many others in the fleet, was attending the conference via video link.
“At the moment, we are assuming they are still alive, but we have had no communication from them since the attack.”
Several others tried to speak all at once. Captain Harth raised his hand and thumped his tail. “Please save your questions until the end of the brief. Fleet Command on Roulda has acknowledged our communication but has not yet come to a decision as to how we are to proceed. We’ve been ordered to maintain a safe distance from L103-021. Our use of the existing probes is approved but we are not to send any additional probes or ships towards the planet.”
The Captain turned to the Tharveth’s tactical officer. “Commander Curvoth, your report please.”
“The weapon used against the Paranuth and us is a highly compressed magnetic field surrounded by what appears to be a modified self-sustaining FTL drive field. The weapon’s velocity has been calculated to be approximately 28% light speed. The modifications made to the FTL drive field are what enabled it to penetrate our shield.”
“Have we ever seen a weapon such as this before?” Admiral Shurvith asked.
Commander Curvoth nodded his head and his tail twitched. “It’s very similar to a weapon deployed by the Kyrra against the Chroniech during the battle of Almaranus.”
“The Kyrra!” Captain Harth exclaimed, his tail curling into a tight spiral. “Could we be dealing with another probe like the Hess?”
“Unlikely,” Commander Curvoth replied. “The Hess indicated that it had been unable to contact any of the other probes. The ship that attacked us also did not bear any resemblance to any of the Kyrra vessels in our registry. What is apparent, however, is that we are dealing with a race that has reached a level of technology similar to that of the Kyrra.” Looking at the Captain, Curvoth added, “We were wise to withdraw.”
“Did you learn anything else from your analysis of our encounters with whoever is on the planet?” Captain Harth asked.
“Yes. The weapon that hit us was only 20% as powerful as the one used against the Paranuth. It’s clear we were being warned. They could easily have disabled us had they wanted.”
“Does that mean you are of the opinion we’re dealing with a relatively non-violent culture?” Admiral Shurvith asked.
“Before I answer, I’d like to share one more piece of information. By analyzing their actions, I’ve determined that the unknowns have established a boundary around the Chroniech warship with a radius of 1,230 meters. The Paranuth was warned then fired upon when it crossed a line 1,230 kilometers from the surface of the planet. I don’t believe this number is a coincidence. It’s most likely a multiple of the unknown’s measurement system.”
“The Vartha’oon did not report being warned,” Captain Harth pointed out. “In fact, they were allowed to orbit the planet and send a shuttle to the surface without interference. Why?”
“I’ve been pondering that question for the last hour,” Commander Curvoth replied, his tail moving like a snake. “The only reasonable explanation I can come up with is that the Vartha’oon is not a warship. There is a pattern to their behavior. The survey probe was destroyed because it attacked one of the planet’s indigenous life-forms. Another probe was damaged but not destroyed when we attempted to get too close to the Chroniech warship. The Paranuth was warned. We ignored that warning and now the Paranuth is in their custody. When we fired on the unknown’s ship, they responded with a very clear warning. I firmly believe that if we had used a heavier weapon we would now be completely disabled.”
The Admiral got up and started pacing around the room. “So, these unknowns are obviously capable of swatting us out of the sky as if we were insects. We are allowed to send unarmed ships to the surface, but warships are unwelcome. Unwanted intrusions and acts of violence are dealt with swiftly. What baffles me though is that we’ve been forced to figure all this out on our own because they refuse to communicate with us.”
“Does this mean you believe the crew of the Paranuth will not be harmed?” Captain Ginth asked.
A female Rouldian sitting at the table spoke up. “I believe I am the most qualified to answer that question,” she began. “As Chief Medical Officer, I’ve received extensive training in Rouldian as well as non-Rouldian psychology. Based on the actions taken by the unknowns, it is my professional opinion that the crew of the Paranuth will not be harmed unless they threaten their captors.”
“Let us hope they do not,” Captain Ginth replied.
Admiral Shurvith stood at the end of the table. “Now that we have established what- - -” he stopped in mid-sentence. He remained still for a moment, then said, “Stop. Link into the conference and repeat what you just told me.”
A moment later, a voice addressed the room, “We have a fix on the location of the unknown’s base of operations. One of our probes has tracked several drones and they’ve been seen entering a large cave on the side of an extinct volcano a little over 30 kilometers from the Chroniech warship. There’s a lake at the summit in the old caldera and the computer believes the base is located deep inside the mountain.”
“Excellent work!” the Admiral exclaimed. “What is the current status of the Paranuth?”
“It’s being grounded about 100 meters from the Chroniech ship. One of our class-one probes is observing from an altitude of 1,500 meters.”
“Inform us if you see any sign of the crew,” the Admiral ordered. Looking around the table, he said, “Now that we know what we are up against, we need to come up with as many recommendations as possible to present to Fleet Command. Bear in mind that we’re dealing with an adversary in possession of far superior weapons. Our goal should be to establish a peaceful relationship with them and to secure the release of the crew of the Paranuth. I am open to any and all suggestions.”
There was a moment of silence as the attendees considered their options. The first to speak was one of the captains attending via video-link. “It’s difficult to negotiate with someone who refuses to communicate with us.”
“And what would you have us do then,” Captain Ginth asked. “Sacrifice more people by sending down a negotiating team only to have them become trapped as well?”
“Send a peacekeeper,” one of the other captains said. Everyone turned to look at the relatively young captain who had made the suggestion. Seeing they wanted more, she added, “A peacekeeper’s job is to maintain the peace. They are experienced negotiators and their cybernetic enhancements give them an advantage over a non-enhanced negotiator.”
“And,” Captain Ginth chimed in, “They have the authority to speak on behalf of the Alliance Grand Council. I like your suggestion.”
“And if they fail?” Admiral Shurvith asked.
“Then we could try launching a ground assault,” Commander Curvoth suggested. “We could load several unarmed transports with our most advanced combat robots. One group could attack the base while another secures our people.”
“We could also drop an asteroid on them,” someone suggested. “If we can get an unarmed ship close enough to where they’re keeping the Paranuth’s crew, we could protect them from the blast with a shield.”
After a moment of silence, the Admiral said, “All good suggestions. A transcript of this meeting will be sent to Fleet Command. We will- - -”
“Link the video feed to this conference,” the Admiral ordered.
There was a short delay then the image of the grounded warship appeared. A line of people could be seen exiting the side of the ship. They were walking past two closely spaced multi-legged robots while several worker drones hovered nearby. Most of the crew had large backpacks strapped to their backs.
“Can you magnify the image?” the Admiral asked.
A moment later, the image changed. They could now see each person as they exited the ship.
“Those are emergency ration kits and survival gear,” Commander Curvoth said.
One of the robots suddenly moved, violently pushing one of the crew out of line. A drone descended and grabbed the person’s backpack pulling the struggling crewman into the air. A second crewman appeared in the doorway and pointed a large gun at the closest robot. Before he could fire, there was a flash and the crewman holding the gun collapsed. There was a second flash and the crewman being held aloft suddenly stopped moving; his head and most of his neck were gone. The drone casually tossed the body aside.
The next person to leave the ship was forced to step over the body in front of the door. He or she waited until another person arrived, then together they moved the dead crewman out of the way.
“Violence of any sort is swiftly dealt with,” Captain Harth muttered. “Let’s hope that nobody else wants to be a hero.”
Twenty minutes later, the last of the Paranuth’s crew filed out of the ship. Several of the robots that had been standing off to the side then entered the vessel.