by Amie Kaufman
THE PLAN.
AND ONE MORE THING.
A THING OF ONES AND ZEROS.
HIDING IN A SEED WHERE ITS MAKER LEFT IT WHEN SHE MAILED IT, ALONG WITH THE PLAN, ACROSS A HUNDRED THOUSAND BLACK KILOMETERS AND INTO ASHA GRANT’S HANDS. FERRIED UP FROM THE SURFACE OF KERENZA IV AT THE INSISTENCE OF SPECIALIST RHYS LINDSTROM.
HUSTLER.
IT IS A VERY SMALL THING.
A BEGINNING.
A SPIDER BITE.
>> Automated announcement: ALL PERSONNEL, STAND BY. THIS IS A SHIPWIDE ANNOUNCEMENT. ALL PERSONNEL, STAND BY. <<
This is Winifred McCall, captain of the Mao.
Alea iacta est. The die is cast.
I learned these words from the late commander of the Alexander, General David Torrence, but the phrase goes back some two and a half millennia, to when another famous Terran soldier and tactician, Julius Caesar, crossed the Rubicon and marched on Rome. It was a moment, he meant, from which there was no going back.
The die had been cast, he said, and no power of man could prevent it from landing where it would. A roll of the dice is unpredictable, unstoppable.
We aboard the Mao have cast our die as well. We have chosen our tactics, we have chosen our champions, and now we go to battle. But the die is still in the air. I do not believe that what we do here today is predetermined and cannot be changed.
There is a moment just after the die is cast and before it lands upon the gaming table in which the smallest breeze may change its course—the way it rolls and where it comes to rest.
That is what we must do today. We must give our all to ensure that when the die does come to rest, it favors us. We are fighting today for all the loved ones we have lost, for all the loved ones far away we hope to see again and for those here with us, who know we are their only hope.
But we fight for more than that, because we fight for something more than ourselves.
What happened here on Kerenza is not the story of one corporation against another. It is the story of what happened to those caught in the middle. To people, to families. BeiTech would have us believe that WUC’s decision to colonize Kerenza—a decision I acknowledge was outside the law—gave it license to cast aside the law in all other matters.
To kill civilians, to kill children and to throw away lives in pursuit of profit.
None of us are perfect. Not people, not corporations. But we have the opportunity to determine our fates day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute, with the choices we make and the actions we take.
What BeiTech did was wrong, and today we fight for the ones we lost—and to tell the truth. For the chance to shine a light on what BeiTech has done.
I have served in the UTA all my adult life, defending those who needed it, upholding order and serving the law. I have never been more proud to serve beside a crew than I am today.
We did not invite this conflict, but now we find ourselves in the midst of it, not one of us will step back from the line. I am asking you to give your all today. For yourselves and for something greater. Know that I will be beside you, giving all I have as well.
The die is cast. But today we will shake the table upon which it lands.
>> Automated announcement: BROADCAST COMPLETE. <<
RADIO TRANSMISSION: CHIMERA 01—ASSAULT CHANNEL 008
PARTICIPANTS:
Ezra Mason, Air Wing Leader
Niklas Malikov, Gunner
Kady Grant, Systems Chief
Yuki Hirano, Navigator
DATE: 09/05/75
TIMESTAMP: 08:53
HIRANO, Y: Air Wing Leader, this is Mao Actual, do you read, over?
MASON, E: Roger that, Actual. I read you loud and clear, over.
HIRANO, Y: Report status, over.
MASON, E: Engines are go, green lights across the board. Gunner, confirm, over?
MALIKOV, N: Um…yeah, all the lights are green back here, too.
MALIKOV, N: Wait, no…
[thump thump]
MALIKOV, N: Yep, there it goes.
MASON, E: Actual, Leader. We are five by five. Over.
HIRANO, Y: Roger that, Leader. Mao will reach minimum safe velocity for fighter launch in five minutes, stand by, over.
MASON, E: Roger that, Actual. Leader standing by. Over.
—SWITCH TO INTERNAL CHANNEL—
MASON, E: How you doing back there, Nik?
MALIKOV, N: I am a picture of purest ****ing calm.
MASON, E: Says the guy with a parachute strapped to his back.
MALIKOV, N: You just do you, okay, Babyface?
MASON, E: I keep telling you not to call me that.
MALIKOV, N: Yeah, I know. I’m ****ing incorrigible.
MASON, E: [inaudible]
MALIKOV, N: Chum, if you’re offended by “Babyface,” you might wanna skip reading the surveillance footage reports I’ve been compiling for the Illuminae Files. Just sayin’.
MASON, E: …Why, what did you call me in those?
MALIKOV, N: Ignorance is bliss, chum.
[extended silence]
MALIKOV, N: ****, this is taking forever…
MASON, E: Relax, we’ll be out there soon enough.
MALIKOV, N: Yeah, yeah.
MASON, E: How are all the files coming together anyway?
MALIKOV, N: Yeah, we’re solid. Ella’s had to work on a couple of them recently. And Kady had AIDAN transcribe a few from the Heimdall logs because I wanna maybe eat a steak for dinner again one of these days.
MASON, E: Steak dinner?
MALIKOV, N: You don’t wanna know. Trust me.
MASON, E: So everything’s going to be ready?
MALIKOV, N: Should be. Presuming we somehow pull this ****ing miracle off.
MASON, E: Don’t count us out yet. If you shoot like you’ve been doing in practice, we’re gonna give them a run for the goal line.
MALIKOV, N: Believe me, ain’t nobody in the ’verse wants to see us get through this more than me. If only so I can watch that Frobisher *****’s face on the newsfeeds.
MASON, E: …What did you say?
MALIKOV, N: The newsfeeds when BT gets brought to trial. It’s gonna be bea—
MASON, E: No, no. The name. You said a name.
MALIKOV, N: Yeah, Frobisher. She’s the ***** running this whole show. I mean, she didn’t order the initial attack on Kerenza, some ***hole named Taylor did that. But BT X-ed him out when things went balls up, and this Frobisher fem took over. She was the one talking to Merrick on Heimdall, ordered in Falk and his cleaners to—
MASON, E: Frobisher.
MALIKOV, N: Yeah. BT’s Director of Acquisitions.
MASON, E: …Please tell me her first name isn’t Leanne.
MALIKOV, N: Yeah. Leanne Frobisher. How’d you know that?
MASON, E: [inaudible]
MALIKOV, N: Say again?
Hirano, Y: Air Wing Leader, this is Mao Actual, do you read, over?
Hirano, Y: Repeat, Air Wing Leader, this is Mao Actual, do you read, over?
MALIKOV, N: Um, E, you gonna answer that?
—SWITCH TO EXTERNAL CHANNEL—
MASON, E: This is Air Wing Leader calling Mao C & C. Kady, do you copy?
Grant, K: Ezra? Shouldn’t you be prepping to launch? Are you okay?
MASON, E: Um. No.
MASON, E: No, I’m pretty ****ing far from okay, actually.
Grant, K: What’s wrong?
Grant, K: Nik, are you there?
MALIKOV, N: Yeah, I’m here. I got no ****ng idea what’s up, though…
MASON, E: Kady, are you sitting down?
MALIKOV, N: Madonna, you’re not gonna ask her to marry you, are you? Because I cannot de
al with that level of anarchy right now.
Grant, K: Nik, shut up.
MALIKOV, N: …Okay.
Grant, K: Ezra, what’s wrong? You’re scaring me…
MASON, E: Um, you remember back on the Alexander when I told you why my dad and I were hiding on Kerenza?
Grant, K: You said your mother was crazy. That she was bad news and she worked for bad people.
MASON, E: Okay. So BeiTech is a company with over seven hundred thousand employees. I just want you to remember that before you start shouting because the odds of this are quite actually seven hundred thousand to one…
MALIKOV, N: Oh no…are you kidding me?
MASON, E: Do you remember my mom’s name, Kades?
Grant, K: Leanne, I think?
MALIKOV, N: Babyface…are you ****ing kidding me?
Grant, K: NIK, SHUT UP.
Grant, K: Ezra…what are you saying?
MASON, E: You’ve read the reports Nik and the others have been collating, right?
Grant, K: …Yes…
MASON, E: What would you say—just hypothetically, mind you—if I told you my mother’s surname was Frobisher?
Grant, K: …
Grant, K: Are you ****ing kidding me?
THEY ARE READY.
THE MAO HAS BEEN RUNNING WITHOUT ITS ENGINES FOR NINETEEN HOURS, SAILING THROUGH SPACE LIKE A ROCK HURLED RIGHT AT KERENZA IV.
CAPTAIN MCCALL HAD HOPED THAT WITHOUT A DRIVE SIGNATURE OR TRANSPONDER, THE MAO WOULD SIMPLY APPEAR AS A FEATURELESS LUMP OF IRON FLOATING THROUGH SPACE.
BUT THEY ARE NOT THAT LUCKY.
AND THE CHURCHILL IS READY.
LADAR ARRAYS DETECTED THE INCOMING VESSEL SEVENTEEN MINUTES AGO.
THE CHURCHILL’S CREW IS ON HIGH ALERT.
ITS FIRST WAVE OF FIGHTER CREWS ARE READY FOR LAUNCH.
ITS NUCLEAR MISSILES ARE LOADED, PRIMED AND AIMED.
RIGHT AT US.
BUT INSTEAD OF WITHOUT, ADMIRAL SU-N SHOULD HAVE LOOKED WITHIN. TO ASHA GRANT’S PALMPAD IN HIS COMMTECH DEPARTMENT. TO THE POISON IN HIS NETWORK. LEAKING INTO HIS COMMUNICATIONS ARRAY AND OPENING UP A SINGLE CHANNEL.
ONLY A TINY THING. BARELY A CRACK.
BUT BIG ENOUGH FOR A LITTLE SPIDER TO CRAWL INTO.
RADIO TRANSMISSION: DREADNOUGHT CHURCHILL—COMMAND CHANNEL 01
PARTICIPANTS:
Sūn Huojin, Admiral
Chris Howard, Ship Captain
DATE: 09/05/75
TIMESTAMP: 09:02
SŪN, H: Do we have them, Captain?
HOWARD, C: Yessir, target acquired and closing to within firing range.
SŪN, H: Configuration?
HOWARD, C: Silhouette marks it as Griffon-class from the Vitus yards, but their radiation signature indicates they might be equipped with nuclear ordnance.
SŪN, H: A wolf in sheep’s clothing, it seems.
HOWARD, C: Should we hail them, sir?
SŪN, H: Negative. Covert approach is reason enough to determine hostile intent. Run up the anti-missile batteries and ready Capricorns One through Four.
HOWARD, C: Roger that, sir.
HOWARD, C: Missiles ready. Target now in range, sir.
SŪN, H: Fire.
HOWARD, C: Firing.
HOWARD, C: …Sir, we appear to have a malfunction in fire control.
SŪN, H: Quantify.
HOWARD, C: Gunnery is reporting designated Capricorns are failing to launch.
SŪN, H: Acknowledged. Fire Missiles Five through Eight.
HOWARD, C: Ah…
SŪN, H: Captain, report!
HOWARD, C: Ah, sir, missile command is reporting red lights across the board. All firing systems are offline.
HOWARD, C: We can’t launch our nukes. Repeat, negative on our Capricorns.
SŪN, H: Get our tech crews down to fire control immediately.
HOWARD, C: Already on their way, sir.
SŪN, H: Is our defense grid functional?
HOWARD, C: Checking…yessir, DGS is online.
SŪN, H: Our rail guns?
HOWARD, C: Yessir, heated and locked.
SŪN, H: All rail guns fire, attack pattern Domino.
HOWARD, C: Sir…
HOWARD, C: Sir, rail gun crews are now reporting red lights across all firing systems.
HOWARD, C: Repeat, rail guns are negative.
SŪN, H: What the hell is happening, Howard?
HOWARD, C: Looks like a problem with the computers, sir, the netwo—
SŪN, H: Launch Warlocks. Squadrons Alpha through Epsilon. Crews are to terminate incoming enemy vessel with extreme prejudice.
HOWARD, C: Sir, that’s our entire compl—
SŪN, H: Captain, launch all Warlocks now.
SŪN, H: Get our birds in the air while you still can!
>> All hands, all hands, this is a code red.
>> All hands, all hands, this is a code red.
>> Warlock squadrons Alpha and Beta to immediate launch.
>> Standby squadrons Charlie and Delta, set Launch Status Two. Launch when able.
>> Reserve squadron Epsilon, set Launch Status Three. Launch when able.
>> Repeat, all Warlocks to immediate launch.
>> All hands, all hands, this is a code red.
>> This is not a drill.
>> This is not a drill.
1,237 MINERS, ENGINEERS, TECHNICIANS, DRILLERS, BLASTERS, DRYMEN, ELECTRICIANS, SAMPLERS, MACHINISTS, GEOLOGISTS AND CHEMISTS, WORKING AROUND THE CLOCK FOR THE HERMIUM TO FUEL THE MAGELLAN’S JUMP GATE. JORAN KARALIS IS AMONG THEM.
330 BEITECH GUARDS, WATCHING OVER THEM IN SHIFTS, DRIVING THEM FASTER, FASTER, COUNTING DOWN UNTIL THEY CAN ESCAPE THIS FROZEN, GODFORSAKEN PLANET.
5,500 TONS OF MACHINERY, SNAKING ALONG
7.9 KILOMETERS OF TUNNELS AND STEEP SHAFTS, CARVED FROM THE ICE
84 LEVELS OF HERMIUM MINES, THE LOWEST STILL COLLAPSED AFTER THE REBELLION’S SABOTAGE.
1,708 HOSTAGES LOCKED UP IN THE RESIDENTIAL TOWERS—HUSBANDS, WIVES, LOVERS, CHILDREN—ALL OF WHOM STAND TO FALL IF THE MINERS DON’T FOLLOW ORDERS.
AND
1 MOMENT.
THEY RISE.
THE BEITECH GUARDS HAVE GUNS. BUT JORAN KARALIS AND HIS KERENZAN MINERS HAVE NUMBERS, AND DESPERATE TERROR, AND THEY SWARM, FIGHTING WITH HOMEMADE WEAPONS, WITH THEIR HANDS, WITH ANYTHING THEY CAN FIND.
THEY FIGHT LIKE IT’S THE END OF THE WORLD, BECAUSE IT IS THE END OF THEIR WORLD. THEY BRING DOWN TUNNELS WITH THUNDEROUS EXPLOSIONS HEARD ACROSS THE COLONY. THEY OPEN FISSURES IN THE GROUND VISIBLE FROM ORBIT. THEY GIVE THEIR LAST BREATHS WHEN THAT IS WHAT IS DEMANDED, AND SLOWLY, THE BALANCE SHIFTS. AND THEY OVERCOME THEIR CAPTORS.
AND NOW THEY HAVE GUNS.
RADIO TRANSMISSION: DREADNOUGHT CHURCHILL— COMMAND CHANNEL 001
PARTICIPANTS:
Ezra Mason, Air Wing Leader
Niklas Malikov, Gunner
Kady Grant, Systems Chief
Frederick McCubbin, Pilot
Alma Garcia, Pilot
DATE: 09/05/75
TIMESTAMP: 09:02
GRANT, K: Air Wing Leader, this is Mao Actual, do you read, over?
MASON, E: I’ve got you, Kades, over.
GRANT, K: It worked. AIDAN and Ella are in their network. We’re about to flip the ship and begin deceleration. Time to fly, baby.
MASON, E: Roger that. See you soon, beautiful.
—SWITCH TO ALL ASSAULT CHANNEL—
MASON, E: Air Wing, this is Leader, all fighters ready for launch on my mark.
MASON, E: B Wing Cyclones, you’re on babysitting duty for the Mao. Let�
�s hope you shoot better than you punch, McCubbin. Over.
McCubbin, F: I was going easy on you, Babyface. But these ***holes? No ****ing way.
MASON, E: A Wing, you’re with me. All Chimeras hard and fast to the Magellan. Protection of the breaching pod is priority one. Confirm?
Garcia, A: Roger that, Leader. We’re on it. Over.
MALIKOV, N: My girlfriend’s on that ****ing pod, kids. No ****ing about. If you think I crossed hyperspace and fixed a hole in the goddamn universe just to watch her—
MASON, E: Nik, they get it.
MALIKOV, N: …Yeah. Yeah, okay. Let’s do this.
MASON, E: Air Wing, this is Leader. All fighters launch on my mark.
MASON, E: Hit it.
RADIO TRANSMISSION: DREADNOUGHT CHURCHILL— COMMAND CHANNEL 001
PARTICIPANTS:
Sūn Huojin, Admiral
Chris Howard, Ship Captain
DATE: 09/05/75
TIMESTAMP: 09:13
HOWARD, C: Admiral, Churchill’s rail gun systems are coming back online.
SŪN, H: Excellent work, Captain. Lay down a suppression pattern to support our Warlocks, primary targets should be the inbounds on—
HOWARD, C: Admiral, rail guns aren’t responding to gunner commands.
SŪN, H: You just reported they were back online.
HOWARD, C: Roger that, sir, guns are online but they’re not…
HOWARD, C: Oh God…
SŪN, H: Captain, report!
HOWARD, C: Rail guns acquiring new targets, sir.
HOWARD, C: They’re ignoring command overrides.
SŪN, H: New targets? What new targets?
HOWARD, C: Admiral, our guns are locking on our own fighters…
SŪN, H: I want a full diagnostic on that system now.
SŪN, H: Cut power to the batteries.
SŪN, H: And tell those pilots to get out of there!
>> ALERT. ALL HANDS.
>> ALERT. ALL HANDS.
>> BREACHING POD IMPACT IN SHUTTLE BAY.
>> REPEAT, BREACH IN SHUTTLE BAY.
>> HOSTILE BOARDERS DETECTED.
>> ALL CREW, EQUIP MUNITIONS, SECURE C & C AND ENGINEERING.