by Mike Luoma
“Are you sure you were successful?” she asks BC. “Maybe he’s using you, listening and watching us through you.”
A s mart cautious woman.
“I’d like to think I was successful. I could feel his frustration at my blocking him. When he reaches out, my mind feels… violated by the oily touch of his mind, his thoughts. It’s kind of hard to put into words, but I know it when he’s there. I think.”
“It doesn’t hurt to be careful,” Erskine says. “So where did they dig up this Dolomay? How is he still around? Shouldn’t he be a million years dead and gone?”
“He should be. Evidently, he was placed in suspended animation as a punishment for his crimes by the Ancient Enemy a million years ago.”
“Oh great! You mean… this guy was a criminal among cutthroats? Even they thought he was bad?”
“Looks that way. The Eldred discovered that another alien race possessed a capsule with Dolomay inside. They brought Dolomay, inside his capsule, back to Eldray and kept him there, his continued existence a secret. When the Eldred brought me to Eldray, my proximity somehow triggered the capsule’s controls… and Dolomay thawed out.”
“I remember when you were steeling yourself to go visit them. You had no idea about this stuff with Dolomay then, did you?”
“I had never even heard of the Ancient Enemy.”
“How did the Eldred allow this to happen?”
“They didn’t put Dolomay in the suspended animation. They just kept him in it, without really understanding the technology of the Ancient Enemy that was keeping him under… and that, ultimately, woke him up.”
“This would almost be comical if he wasn’t so deadly,” she observes.
“I try to laugh at it so I don’t cry,” BC tells her. “As for Dolomay’s mind control, and whether he’s watching through me? I’d bet he’s pretty tied up using his abilities keeping his little fleet together right now. And why would he be trying to get to me and through my blocks I’ve put up against him, when all the rest of humanity, every other human mind, is open to him?”
“Great.”
“What?”
“Now we have to suspect everyone,” she points out.
“And I thought I was paranoid,” he says. “Well… it’s probably wise to be paranoid, at this point.”
An alarm begins to go off in BC’s rooms, startling both Erskine and BC.
“BC! It’s Anita!” Her voice calls out from the com on emergency override.
“Anita? Where are you?”
“We’re here! In orbit of the Moon, BC!”
Chapter Eleven
“We bailed on the asteroid base, at least for now!” Anita explains to BC over the com. “I piled everyone I could into the biggest transport we had and we blasted our way out! I didn’t want to go to…
anywhere else, you know? So we came to the Moon. But we went to our old base… I don’t know, BC. It’s just gone – destroyed!”
BC and Erskine exchange a knowing glance.
“I just got that news from the governor here,” BC tells her. “Dolomay attacked about two hours ago, raided and destroyed the place.”
“Great. So where are we supposed to land?” Anita asks over the com.
“Have them land at Lunar Prime,” Erskine says. “I’ll clear it for you.”
“Thank you, governor,” Anita thanks her and signs off.
“Com?” Amanda Erskine calls out loud.
“Com,” the system responds.
“Give me the port,” Erskine says.
“Port Authority here. Oh, hello Governor Erskine!” the speakers ring out with the man’s voice.
“Burt, we’ve got a ship here from the Project. Coming in. A big one. There may be others coming, too. Clear them, bring them in. Make sure to get their ships berthed properly, got that?” she commands.
“Got it,” he says over the com. “Done and done, Madame Governor. Over and out.”
“You heard the man,” Erskine says to BC. “Done and done.”
“Thank you.”
“You’re welcome. I figure it’s the least I can do. You’re telling me we’ve got a whole race of aliens that want us dead. Never mind an interstellar, telepathic sociopath. We humans need to stick together, huh?” She smiles, a serious grin. “So… when are you getting the UIN on our side?”
“Hah!” BC laughs an ironic laugh. “That is a good question. They’re kind of on board already. Dolomay used the people of Mars as Ibn Al-Dolomé. I managed to get the Eldred to spare some of them and Mars itself, for the time being. The Eldred believe that I am in charge of Mars now, actually. Al Salid agreed to it.”
“Oh. I’m sorry. Haven’t you heard? Al Salid is dead,” Erskine tells BC.
“What?”
“You hadn’t heard the news. Well, it did just get reported.”
“No, I hadn’t heard,” BC says.
I just saw the guy!
“He, uh, committed suicide.” she tells him.
“Great,” he sighs.
“There’s a new Khalif, now. He’s speaking as the new head of the UIN.”
“When did this happen?”
“Today.”
“Why wasn’t I… never mind governor, not your fault. I’m just the head of the UTZ council…
think I’d get the news…” BC shakes his head. “Our new Khalif needs to be careful. The Eldred only spared Mars because I vouched for the planet, and Al Salid backed me up. They might take the new Khalif’s announcement a bad sign… if you see what I mean,” BC tries to explain his thinking.
“I do,” she says, conceding his point.
“I’m going to have to talk to him soon,” BC says, but he’s already thinking ahead. The Eldred won’t be pleased. Gotta meet the Khalif. Let him know I’m not in way, but trying to stay in the way of the Eldred wiping out everyone on Mars!
“Hey, thanks again for stopping by with the news about the Project base, governor,” BC says.
“And for being so accommodating with the ships that are arriving.”
“You’re welcome,” she says, a disappointed look on her face. “Is that my cue to leave, then?”
BC is confused.
“Well, uh, I thought that was all you came here for. I’m sorry. Was there something else?” he apologizes.
“Actually, there was,” she says. She looks him in the eye. “I was hoping we could talk about alliances. Thought we were heading in that direction,” she says.
“Are you sure about that?” BC asks, half-joking. “The last governor of Lunar Prime who forged an alliance with my help ended up getting voted out of office!”
“Different people. Different times,” she says matter-of-factly. Her eyebrows raise. “Can you speak for the UTZ council?”
“Maybe!” BC laughs. “Might as well. The council is pretty much useless. The meetings we’ve had…” he trails off. “They just haven’t been that productive. Lots of talking, lots of ideas, very little action.”
“Do you have control over the UTZ military?” she asks.
Does anyone?
Wentworth does.
“Personally?” he asks her. “Not exactly. Wentworth does. But he’s been a solid ally since we agreed to work together, so the military shouldn’t be a problem.”
Not sure where she’s going with this…
“Wentworth, huh?”
“Well, I’ve got control over the new Stinger ships the Project has been building. Most of them are operating under the Project at this point.”
“That works,” she says. “Should be good enough, anyway. Has to be…” she grows more serious, darker. “As scary as the thought might be, BC, only you, me, maybe Wentworth, a few others…
we are all that’s keeping everything from falling into chaos. We’re holding some precarious strings, clutching some slippery last straws… pick your metaphor. We’re just barely holding on,” Erskine says with an edge in her voice.
“Down to us, huh? That is scary,” BC admits.
“If not us, who?” she asks.
I wish that was rhetorical…
“I’ve never wanted to be anyone’s last hope,” BC mutters. “We need something better than the UTZ Council to face this,” BC admits. “Stronger. More capable of action… Hell, able to do anything. We need a War Council.”
Where did that come from?
Guess she’s got me thinking…
“A War Council?” she asks.
The door speaker pipes up.
“BC? It’s Anita!”
“Come in! Door open,” he says. He turns to Governor Erskine. “Here’s another charter member of the War Council.”
Anita walks into the room.
“Anita Capituna, meet Governor Amanda Erskine, Governor Erskine, this is Anita, my right hand at the Project.”
“Hello Anita,” Governor Erskine greets her. She eyes her warily. Erskine knows her from somewhere. She tries to place her as she shakes her hand. “Have we met before?”
“Hello, Governor, nice to meet you,” Anita nods. “We may have met when I was working in other capacities.”
“Anita was a spy,” BC explains to Erskine. “Masqueraded as LSC Nita Bendix. Remember?
They thought she killed Governor McEntyre.”
Erskine eyes both of them coldly.
“Right. But she didn’t?”
“Nope,” BC confirms.
Please don’t make me tell you I did!
“I see,” Erskine says. She turns to Anita. “Has BC talked to you about his “war council” idea?”
“War council?” she asks.
“Nope,” BC says at the same time. “I only just thought of that,” he says.
“This IS war!” Anita says, her voice full of emotion. “Our ships are all safely down now, BC. We got everybody out of there. Krish and Dell escaped with… uh, everything they’ve been working on… in one of the Project’s heavy transports.”
They escaped with the Eldred ship! Good job!
“Good!” BC says. “Glad to hear they’re safe. Where are they?”
“Still on the transport with all the… tech they brought with them,” she says cautiously.
“She’s okay,” BC says to Anita, nodding at the governor. “She knows about everything. Dolomay, the Eldred…”
“The ship?” Anita asks, arching an eyebrow.
“I think we can tell her,” BC says.
“I think you better her… and stop talking as if I wasn’t here!” Governor Erskine says.
“We captured an Eldred ship,” BC says to the governor. “Krish and Dell, two of the best Project scientists, are leading a team reverse-engineering the Eldred technology so we can use it to our advantage.”
“So what’s this ‘war council’?” Anita asks.
“I just thought of it,” BC admits. “After Governor Erskine and I got talking about the UTZ
Council, and how ineffective they are. She was talking about alliances… and the thought of a war council occurred to me. Made up only of the people who are really responsible, capable of action and motivating the population. You,” he nods at Anita. “Me. The governor, here. Wentworth. Maybe M’Bekke, maybe Krish, Dell. Maybe even this new Khalif who’s risen up on Mars,” BC says.
“Do you think the Khalif will work with us?” Erskine asks.
“Why wouldn’t he?” BC wonders.
“Why would he?” she counters.
“A new Khalif?” Anita asks.
“There’s a new guy on Mars calling himself Khalif and Head of the UIN,” BC explains to Anita.
“He’s endangering their entire colony! What about Salid? The Eldred only spared them because you… Doesn’t he know?” Anita blurts out.
“Obviously not,” BC tells her.
“So… a war council?” the governor asks again.
“You suggested alliances… I’m merely trying to figure out the mechanics of that alliance,” BC
explains.
“What happened to Al Salid?” Anita asks.
“Salid committed suicide,” Erskine informs her.
Anita nods.
“Oh.”
“The man was worked over pretty badly by Dolomay,” BC speculates. “Al Salid was being manipulated and controlled by Dolomay for most of the last year or so. Must have been some pretty heavy duty mind control. Dolomay erased whole chunks of Salid’s memories. Maybe after Salid was freed of that…” BC shakes his head. “I don’t know… maybe he couldn’t live with all that he’d done as Dolomay’s pawn.”
Another alarm begins to sound.
“Now what?”
The com crackles to life.
“This is an emergency override,” the com announces. “Is the governor there?”
“I’m here,” Erskine tells the com.
“We’re getting requests for emergency assistance from Mars! They’re under attack!”
“By who?” BC and Erskine ask simultaneously.
“They say that it’s aliens… but in human ships!”
“Gotta be Dolomay. He’s on a roll,” BC figures out loud. “No time for any councils, looks like. Governor, why don’t you secure Lunar Prime? Get the Lunar Security Corps ready for an attack, just in case he comes here next. Anita?” She nods. BC continues. “Organize the Project personnel here that are non-combatants and find someplace safe where they can stay. And tell all combat personnel to scramble. Let’s try to hit Dolomay while he’s hitting them. I’m taking all the available Project fighting ships to Mars!”
BC heads for Mars with all the ships he can muster from the UTZ and Project fleets. BC’s cavalry is made up of thirty ships of varying sizes and capabilities, mostly Project ships. He looks at the reports from the planet as they make the Transpace jump to Mars. According to preliminary reports, Dolomay has five ships pounding ground targets on the surface.
The engagement is immediate and violent as soon as they reach Mars’ orbit. BC, watching the screens on the bridge of his ship, sees three of Dolomay’s craft break off to repel his cavalry’s arrival, firing up at his ships while rising up from the planet’s surface.
BOOM! BOOM!
BOOM-THANG!
BC can hear his ship both fire and take fire. The video and tactical feeds of the battle on the screens in front of him help him follow the action.
One of Dolomay’s dreadnoughts comes in close on the screen. BC watches as it’s ripped in two by a beam from another Project ship. Shrapnel and sparks ricochet off the viewscreen as the ship explodes. The screen darkens to protect their eyesight as the ship’s explosion glows intensely bright.
KANG! BOOM!
His ship is rocked sideways. BC holds on tight to avoid getting thrown from his chair.
“That ship tried to ram us!” the captain tells BC.
Their ship shakes. A low rumble echoes from the ship’s bulkheads.
“Enemy ship destroyed,” the captain says. “Almost too close, though. Fried some of our sensors. But our shields held pretty well.”
“What about the other ships? Have they broken off their surface attacks? Watch them! I’m betting they’ll come after us soon enough. Any idea what ship Dolomay’s on?”
As if in answer, a voice shouts in BC’s head.
I KNOW YOU!
BC “hears” Dolomay as if he was speaking in the room. BC tries to “shout” back. Get out!
OUT OF WHERE?
Out of my head! Out of my hair! Off of Mars… I can keep going…
JUST TRY AND KEEP ME OUT!
Okay…
BC thinks of heavy doors closing in his mind, a trick that has worked in the past. Well?
Nothing. His mind is “silent”.
BC looks around the bridge, almost expecting Dolomay to pop
out from behind a chair or out of a doorway. Silence.
It worked! But where is he, really? “Felt” like he might still be down on the surface…
“We think he’s on board one of the two ships still hitting surface targets,” the captain says
. “Are you okay, BC?” he asks, sounding worried. “Your eyes just kind of rolled back in your head just then,”
he tells BC.
“Fine. Dolomay’s down there. I can… feel him there.”
BANG-KOOM-THANG!
That’s another of their ships! They’re done.
BC looks up to see another of Dolomay’s ships on the viewscreen, damaged and trailing a spray of sparks. The ship careens on an erratic course until it plows full on into Phobos, one of the moons of Mars.
“We’ve got UIN ships!” the captain cries.
“What? UIN ships?” BC has to ask.
“They’ve rallied some ships from down below… five or, maybe, six of them, taking off from what’s left of their spaceport,” the captain says.
BC watches six UIN fighter ships rush up off the surface to engage one of the two ships left. A bright flash erupts across the viewscreen.
“Oh my god - they’re actually taking out one of the enemy ships! Surprised him, by the look of it,” the captain says. “They got it!”
“One of Dolomay’s? BC asks.
“Yup! I mean, yes sir! Dolomay has only one ship left! And they’re leaving!”
“They are?”
“Dolomay’s last ship is firing up its Transpace engines!” the captain informs BC. Dolomay’s ship blips off the viewscreen.
“We’ve got an incoming transmission,” the captain says abruptly. “It’s from the surface, I think. Maybe. Anyway… The ‘Khalif’ is on the line. He wishes to speak with you, BC,” the captain says. Okay…
“Put him on, please,” BC says.
“Bernard Campion? I am the new Khalif, the leader of my people. And if the Eldred are listening in, as I would suppose they are, I would like to acknowledge you, Campion, as the ruler of Mars.”
“Hello, Khalif. Well done. And I recognize you as the religious leader of your people just as you have recognized my control of Mars,” BC says. “Just in case the Eldred are listening.”
“I knew this Ibn Al-Dolomé, as he called himself. I did not like him,” The Khalif says. “How is it that he is also your enemy?”
“Dolomay is a dangerous and powerful alien, Khalif. He possesses abilities beyond our own. Perhaps you’ve seen what I mean?” BC asks.