by Calista Skye
She had time to think. Was it true what the Ethereal had said? That Ator'aq had wanted Olivia given to him? And that Space Force had given her to him just like that, without asking her or even telling her? What did it mean to be 'given' to him, anyway? He didn't seem to act like he owned her in any way. Maybe it had been a lie. Ethereals weren't exactly known for their dependability. But they weren't known to be liars, either.
“Sir, how is your wounded warrior?”
“He's expected to survive, but we can't be sure. He lost a lot of blood. Those objects the Ethereals use to defend themselves against our swords are deceptively effective. They have strange edges and properties. We don't understand them, but we don't need to.”
“What happens now? I mean, in this war? Should we attack?”
The alien king peered down at her, amused. “One should always attack. But I doubt your Space Force is in any shape to. If nothing else, this event should have showed your superiors how woefully inadequate their weapons are. And their tactics and preparedness. We Braxians hate to be without our swords, precisely because the Ethereals can strike at any moment.”
They reached the Commander's section and proceeded to his office. Space marine guards saluted them, visibly shaken from the attack, but still on duty. The generals were already there.
General Wilhelmsen smiled faintly at Olivia, while Star Marshal Hoffner was clearly in a bad mood.
“Well, General Ator'aq, even with you present on this base, you couldn't prevent a surprise attack by the enemies. An attack on our main base, I might add.”
Ator'aq looked bemused. “Are we your sentries, all of a sudden? Base security was not our concern. Our own ship wasn't breached. But don't blame yourself too much. Surprise attacks by the Ethereals are hard to guard against. They are sometimes not restricted to our three dimensions.”
Hoffner seemed to be restraining himself. “General Ator'aq. That is new information to us. You seem to have held back absolutely crucial intel that could have made this incident less severe if we had known about it. If we are to be allies at all, I must now insist that you tell us everything you know about the enemy. If not, we will be sitting ducks here. The enemy casually entered our base, abducted almost thirty military personnel and then left again. We didn't kill or even wound a single one of them.”
The big alien nodded slowly. “We killed several. But I like your duck image. It's apt. Sitting like prey just waiting to be hunted. Of course there's no way at all that I will tell you everything about the Ethereals. But now that you have seen how they behave in close quarter combat, I think you're ready for a lecture. Before I begin, has Olivia's sister been found?”
“She's still missing, General,” Wilhelmsen said. “We count her among those abducted. I'm sorry, Lieutenant.”
Olivia just nodded stiffly, feeling worry and plain fear for her sister flood over her. But she had to keep it together.
“There's no need to think too much about that,” Ator'aq said calmly. “The abductees are probably lost forever. Unless the Ethereals are defeated once and for all, the prisoners will be consumed over the course of the next years, while the enemy travels to the next solar system. I said that the Ethereals are not confined to our three dimensions. They can move in other spatial dimensions, meaning that they essentially can pop in and out of existence at will. But that takes huge amounts of energy. They are extremely reluctant to do that, because it eats into their precious energy reserves.”
General Wilhelmsen seemed to be taking notes on a pad. “Their energy reserves being people they eat?”
“Essentially. This attack was not typical. They didn't seem to mean it, in a way. The enemies my men and I defeated were undetermined and unfocused. It felt like a diversion, as if they wanted to catch our attention while something much more important was going on elsewhere.”
General Wilhelmsen looked at Olivia. “You talked to one of them, didn't you, Lieutenant?”
“Yes, ma'am. I did.”
Ator'aq arched his eyebrows in surprise. “Really, now?”
“Yes, sir. I was on the way to see you during the attack, and I met one of them.”
“Were you wearing your visor?” Hoffner asked.
“Yes, sir. “
“Play the recording.”
Olivia touched her visor and the recording started playing on a screen on the wall.
She saw the MP area, heard the communication with Central, her run through darkened corridors and the Hostile! warning given by the visor. But the Ethereal himself could not be seen on the recording, only a faint and misty outline of some kind of entity was just about visible.
And his voice was so faint as to be almost inaudible, while Olivia's own responses to him were so loud by contrast that she winced. When the Ethereal said 'nice rack', the recording suddenly became just static for a few seconds, only coming back to crystal clarity when it showed Olivia was finally firing her gun at the Ethereal.
They viewed the whole thing until the part where she and Ator'aq parted ways and he went to check on his wounded warrior. Olivia knew that several minutes of her encounter with the Ethereal was missing from that recording.
The room was in silence for a long time. Ator'aq smirked at her, Wilhelmsen looked bemused and Hoffner seemed like he didn't know what to say.
“Hmm,” he said finally. “Seems that you were singled out for special attention from the enemy, Lieutenant. What was said during the period where your visor seems inexplicably to have stopped functioning?”
Olivia collected her thoughts, but before she could say anything, Ator'aq cut in.
“It's well known that the enemy has strange influences on electronics. It's one reason we only use our swords and our organic senses. The Ethereal didn't want that part recorded, for some reason. Think carefully, Olivia. Take your time.”
Olivia's mind raced. How much should she tell them? Even Ator'aq seemed to think that Tessa couldn't be rescued. But if Olivia gave the Ethereal what he wanted, he might release her. That could be the only chance she had.
And now she was pretty sure that what Denibael had said about her being given to Ator'aq was true. So they had treated her like a piece of meat. Did she owe them any loyalty anymore?
“He told me that they had taken Tessa. I think he just wanted to taunt me. He seemed to think that I was important because I was close to the Braxians. He said his name was Denibael.”
“Strange,” Ator'aq said. “Judging from the recording, he expended at lot of energy on that conversation. He moved faster than the eye could follow, he dipped out of existence at the end of it and he kept yawning. That's not a joke – he was tired from the exertions. He will not be able to use his powers again for a couple of days.”
Wilhelmsen was still taking notes. “Do you know who that was, General?”
Ator'aq peered at Olivia. “I do. I have never laid eyes on him before, though he is my main enemy. It seems Olivia is more important that anyone thought. Denibael is the king of the Ethereals.”
18
Hoffner cleared his voice. “Well, be that as it may, General Ator'aq, I have to make a decision based on this encounter with our enemy. When we said that we wanted you to be our ally, and when we paid the price you demanded for your help, we expected you to actually help us. You were unable to prevent this attack, and you were unable to stop many of our brave men and women from being abducted by the enemy. You plainly have no intention to share any of the vital information you possess about the Ethereals. You and your men saunter around our station, seducing our servicewomen and depleting our stocks of the most expensive foods we have. As far as I can tell, your help is worthless.”
Everyone in the room stiffened, except Ator'aq. He was his own calm, unshakable self. “You have no idea what you're talking about, Marshal. There's no shame in that. Making decisions based on incomplete information is every general's job. For what it's worth, I agree. We should not be allies. Your forces have a good spirit, but their leaders fail to see the s
eriousness of the situation and insist on using ancient and useless ways to wage war. Consider our alliance dissolved.”
Ator'aq got to his feet.
“Now, wait just a minute,” Wilhelmsen said, alarmed. “We still have much to contribute to each other. Splitting up is the worst thing we can do. General Ator'aq, you know how desperate we are. We can learn. In fairness, you have told us very few specifics about how to fight the Ethereals, even if we have asked many times. We want nothing more than to adjust and turn Space Force into an effective army. We need your help, General.”
“No,” Hoffner said heavily, also getting to his feet. “We don't need that kind of help. Eleven men can't do much anyway. And eleven lazy alien playboys with swords? No thanks. We will do this on our own. It's the Earth way.” He turned his back and left the room.
For once, Wilhelmsen was exasperated. “What the hell is going on here? General Ator'aq, you can't seriously- I mean, we're totally helpless without you and your Braxians. Tonight's events are proof good enough.”
“I agree,” the alien king said. “But I had my doubts about this arrangement anyway. Goodbye, General. Your Space Force is lucky to have you. You too, Olivia.” He looked her up and down again, making her want to touch her hair. Damn, even in a pretty disastrous situation like this, he made her feel attractive.
The huge alien sauntered easily out of the room.
General Wilhelmsen stared after him in disbelief. “This can't be happening. Without them, we're just fucked. Uh, keep that to yourself, Olivia. But damn...”
“We should probably switch our guns for iron swords,” Olivia said, privately reflecting that it wouldn't matter much anyway. The Braxians had needed years of training to learn to fight the Ethereals. “And any guns should use iron bullets. That's why the Braxians use those swords. Only iron works.”
“It's like going back to the iron age,” Wilhelmsen sighed. “Seems like a Roman legion would be better than carefully trained space marines. How the hell do we get iron swords, of all things? Just bringing ten thousand swords up here from Earth...”
The Chief of Intelligence visibly pulled herself together. “But it isn't over until it's over. We'll find a way. We have to.”
Olivia glanced at her shoulder, seeing the golden bar shine. Had it been a charade? “Ma'am, is it true that Ator'aq wanted me to be given to him?”
The general sighed. “I have no idea how that Ethereal could know that. Yes, it's true, Olivia. You must understand. We were desperate for his help. Anything he wanted we would have given him.”
“Even a person.”
“Even that.”
“Without asking.”
“Yes. We thought you might protest. And he would accept nothing else. Only you.”
“So you didn't even tell me. And this liaison bullshit was just...”
“Oh, that was real enough. You are a real liaison officer. But we would normally not have picked you, that's true. Tarrant is so angry to be replaced that he has to be kept at a remote army base on Earth without access to communications or he will spill the beans to the press.”
“How did that Ethereal even know about him? And about all the things that have happened here?”
“I see what you mean. The Ethereal you talked to was very well informed about us. That in itself is extremely worrying. If I didn't know better, I'd say there might be a traitor among us. But we have to analyze this whole thing much closer. Your recording and your memory about the encounter with the enemy will be important.”
Olivia had her own worries and tried not to think of Tessa. “What happens now?”
“Now there's some debriefing to be done. We must find out everything we can about the Ethereals based on this attack. It will fill out our knowledge pretty well. That iron sword thing is important. Actually, Olivia, run after Ator'aq. Cling to him like a limpet until he leaves the station. Ask him every question about the enemy that occurs to you. Don't hold back. Offend him if you must. Pester the hell out of him. Just get any scrap of info that you can before he leaves for good. Especially about how the Ethereals got here in the first place. Why didn't we see them before they were pretty much inside the station? Get it? Okay, run!”
19
The Braxians were busy tidying up their quarters. They hadn't brought much anyway, and they were pretty much done. The rooms they had used were as clean and pristine as if they'd never even been there.
“We could have made good use of each other, Earthlings and Braxians,” Ator'aq reflected, carrying some exercise equipment to the shuttle that would take him and his warriors to their own spaceship. It was the last load of their stuff. “But we're used to fighting the enemy on our own. We have no problem with that.”
“Is it true that you were about to leave and that you only stayed because Space Force agreed to your price?”
The alien warrior glanced at her. “That Ethereal had the details wrong. When I first saw you I knew that I wanted you closer to me. But I never asked that you be actually given to me. I just wanted you around. I know that on military duty, you might be ordered to some post that would mean that I'd never see you again. Of course I thought that your superiors would tell you about that. It soon became clear to me that they had not. I suppose they misunderstood. I may have phrased my request a little too direct. Yes, I suppose I might have used the word 'give'. But I am a warrior. Diplomacy was never my thing.”
“Why did you want me around?” Olivia belatedly realized that that got pretty close to asking the question that the Ethereal wanted the answer to.
“Oh, I have my reasons,” Ator'aq said, carelessly dropping the equipment onto the deck of his shuttle.
He put his hands on his hips. “And those reasons are still valid.”
He pierced her with his crystal clear eyes. “I am leaving now. It's the end of the Earth/Brax alliance. We will fight the Ethereals in our own ways. I with my ten warriors. Earth with ten thousand valiant, but woefully inexperienced and badly equipped space marines. One will triumph, the other will perish. Can you guess which is which?”
Olivia felt some hopelessness set in at his words. He would know. “Earth still has a chance.”
“No, not with the Ethereals still in this solar system. Not with the level of technology you have. Not with the leadership of your fighting force badly betrayed and infiltrated by the Ethereals. Every move they make will be known to the enemy in advance.”
“Is there an Ethereal spy in Space Force?”
“There is. The enemy knows too much. And splitting up this alliance is a triumph to them. Olivia, you have a choice to make. I hereby invite you to join me. Join my Braxians. Become a warrior. Take part in destroying the Ethereals, use your space marine skills! Your own Space Force betrayed you. They will lose this war. Everyone will die. But we will win.”
It was the first time Olivia saw Ator'aq that passionate. She was starting to understand why he could lead his men so effectively.
She looked out the window to space. He was right. Space Force was too weak. The space marines had a strong spirit, but their equipment was inadequate. Their training too. The Ethereals were just playing with them, like a cat playing with a mouse before the final kill. Ator'aq and his warriors might seem arrogant and undisciplined, but the Braxians were the only ones who had fought the enemy effectively. They were the only hope.
She sighed. Joining the Braxians would mean leaving Space Force. And, she realized, the Space Marine Corps, too. She would be leaving behind everything she was, everything she had. Was it not better to just die with her fellow space marines, fighting for her planet? If she left with Ator'aq, she was not only AWOL. Leaving now meant desertion. During wartime. She winced at the thought.
If it had been only herself, she would have chosen to stay. There would be no alternative. But there was something else involved now.
She looked Ator'aq straight in the eyes. “You had a price for forming an alliance with Earth. I also have my price.”
“Yes?�
�
“Yes. If you want me to join you, our first priority is to rescue Tessa. And the others that were abducted.”
For the first time, Olivia saw the alien king look anything other than completely in control. His jaw dropped for a moment and his gorgeous features took on a confused look. He looked cuter than ever.
“But... that is completely insane... my strategy...” He composed himself. “My goal is the destruction of the Ethereals. Anything other than that will just hamper our efforts! We will wait them out, make them feel safe, let them win against Earth, let them defeat Space Force. After a victory, they become complacent and weak. That's when we'll strike. And it will be the last time they ever invade anyone. Because we know all we need now. We know how to take them down.”
Olivia didn't waver. “You want me to join, we rescue Tessa.”
The huge alien warrior shook his head. “You don't seem to understand this. The only hope of defeating the enemy is to strike when they are weak. They are only weak after a victory, when they have feasted on the flesh of their vanquished enemies and are about to leave a devastated solar system behind. That's when we'll hit them. That's when we will win. If we try to attack them before that, we will not win. It's that simple. You will lose your sister, it's true. But you will learn to live with the loss. We Braxians have.”
“I see. Well, good luck, General.” Olivia straightened and gave him the best space marine salute she knew how. She turned on her heel and walked back into the station, her back straight.
She was about to turn the corner when he called to her.
“Olivia.”
She turned, lifting her eyebrows. “Sir?”
The huge alien stood there, grim and serious and proud, looking more like a king than ever. His trademark smirk was nowhere in sight.
“I accept your price.”
“We will rescue Tessa as the first thing we do.”
“We will.”
She sauntered back to him. “Then I agree to join the Braxians.”