Transmission Lost

by Stefan Mazzara

  -No...ah...No, m'lady,- the lieutenant said. She swallowed. -Communications has been intercepting royalist transmissions from Lirna. They're reporting that Admiral Me'lia has been killed.-

  Admiral Kris' eyes widened, and for a second she felt like her heart stopped. Her ears swept back as she crossed the distance between her and the lieutenant and grabbed her shoulders. -How reliable are those reports?- she demanded, shaking the officer violently.

  -Th-The intelligence division thinks they're authentic,- the terrified lieutenant replied.

  Selina cursed and spun away, her thoughts jumbled by this new information. She thought about the reports she had been receiving from the planet's surface. Eight of her fifteen ground commanders had failed to report in as scheduled, and the casualty numbers were not favorable. If Ara'lana had been killed, that was a further blow to their command structure. Some sort of miracle would be required to win this battle now, at least as long as those goddess-forsaken Pteryd held their hands behind their backs.

  -Admiral, transmission coming in from the Pteryd.-

  -About time!- Kris growled. She went back to her command chair and activated her comm system. A holographic image projected itself in the air before her, but it was not the Pteryd that she expected to see. -Seirin-143? Where is Admiral Tailin?-

  The Pteryd envoy clacked its mandibles. ~The admiral is tending to the fleet and is busy. You wished to speak. Speak.~

  -We are being decimated out here!- the Ailian admiral said, barely restraining her voice from a shout. -We need your assistance to drive back the humans.- She looked at her radar readouts, her eyes scanning back and forth. -Why are you pulling back your ships?-

  ~Admiral Me'lia is dead,~ the Pteryd said without inflection or feeling of any kind. ~Our soldiers on the ground informed the Combine before they were killed. The humans have changed the equation. This battle is lost. We intend to minimize the losses we will take and are falling back to positions in the Inner Colonies. You may stay and continue this futile endeavor if you wish. It would be much more prudent to conserve strength for the future.~

  Admiral Kris bared her teeth at Seirin-143's image. -You are retreating? What cowardice is this?-

  ~It is not cowardice. It is a simple risk and benefit analysis. If you live, I look forward to speaking with you again, Admiral.~ Seirin-143 cut off the transmission on its end. Almost immediately afterward, Pteryd ships began disappearing from the radar screens as they jumped into hyperspace, leaving the system.

  Selina clenched her fists, and then she slammed a hand down and snapped the armrest of her chair off. She was as furious as she could imagine herself ever being. -Damn those bugs...I told Ara'lana...-

  -Admiral...-

  -What!?- Admiral Kris snapped, spinning in her chair and glaring at the lieutenant who was still standing behind her.

  The officer pointed at the forward viewport in answer. Admiral Kris turned back around just in time to see more human ships exiting hyperspace, smaller ships that seemed more suited to border patrols, but additional firepower nonetheless. She did the math in her head, and she leaned back in her command chair. Coldness washed over her. There was no way they could win this now.

  -Admiral, what are your orders?-

  Selina covered her eyes with one hand, and she clenched her jaw so tight that it ached. -Recall all fighters. Form up the fleets. Issue abandon ship orders for the most heavily damaged vessels, and gather escape pods as you can.- She lashed the air behind her with her tail once in anger. -Full retreat. The homeworld is lost.-

  ******

  “Shit,” Jack hissed. He flinched away from the sting of the antiseptic spray.

  “Sorry.” Lieutenant Ayalis replaced the spray back in the medical kit on the ground. She reached for an electric wound sealer and began tracing them over the small cuts and burns on Jack's arms.

  Jack looked around the gardens. Once the fighting around the palace had ceased, they had become a makeshift triage area for soldiers injured during the battle. Human, Nuretan, and Ailian medics were moving among the flowering bushes and tress, tending to people lying on stretchers, stone benches, and the grass. People were still being brought out of the palace on stretchers, a lot of them servants who had been caught in the crossfire.

  Every few seconds, Jack looked over to make sure Brooke was still doing okay. One of the UN medics was looking after her a few feet away from him. She hadn't been injured by gunfire, but the slave girl had been bruised after a few falls inside. She looked overwhelmed by the amount of activity that was going on around her, but she still looked relieved that it was all over.

  “Got another coming out!”

  He turned his head to see a group of UN Navy corpsmen emerge from the palace, carrying someone on a stretcher. As they approached, he could see that it was a black-furred Ailian wearing the uniform of a Royal Guard. One of the nearest clear spaces was next to Jack, and they made for it. When the stretcher was set down on the ground, he immediately shot to his feet.

  “Aria? Aria!”

  Lieutenant Ayalis tried to make him sit down again, but he pulled away from her and went over to the stretcher's side. Aria was lying limp on its surface, and she looked like absolute hell. Blood stained her uniform all over and was matting her fur, and she was breathing shallowly and slowly. The left side of her face was almost unrecognizable, but he knew it was her.

  Jack pushed one of the corpsmen aside and put a hand on Aria's shoulder. “Aria?”

  Several seconds passed, but eventually her right eye opened. The yellow-gold orb took a moment to focus, but when she saw him her hand came up and grabbed the front of his shirt. “Jack...,” she managed to say, her voice a low, strained rumble. She tugged him weakly down, her other arm coming around his back as she hugged him to her blood-soaked breast. “You safe...” He could hear the relief in his voice, but also the pain.

  “I knew you were coming for me,” Jack said. He straightened up and looked her over again, as he let one of the corpsmen back him off a bit. “What the hell happened to you?”

  “Mother...,” Aria croaked. She coughed, a little blood coming up as she did so. She winced slightly as the corpsmen began cutting off her uniform. “Find her. Fight her. Kill her.” Her tail was hanging limp over the side of the stretcher. Jack couldn't remember seeing her this bad, not since the fight she'd had with the pack of wild beasts soon after they'd first met.

  “How bad is it?” Jack asked one of the corpsmen.

  The medic looked at Aria, and he shook his head, shrugging. “I don't know Ailian physiology all that well,” he admitted. “But just looking at her...Massive blood loss, a few broken ribs...probably some more broken bones. That eye is probably beyond saving. She's going to need some serious surgery in a real hospital, nothing like what a field hospital can give her. Her people are probably going to need to medevac her after we get her stabilized.”

  “Fuck, Aria...,” Jack groaned. He held onto her hand as the medics began to work. Brooke was looking on curiously. She had met Aria before, of course, though they'd never really spoken at any length, but she was familiar with her from her time at the governess' residence on Arbaros. “You'll be okay...You're gonna be okay...”

  He looked up at the sounds of clattering equipment. A squad of four Royal Guards was moving their way, and they were escorting two familiar faces. Li'ren, the Empress, was walking side-by-side with Sami, moving around the garden and observing the work of the medics. Jack was a little surprised that she would still be here, but with all the friendly soldiers around she was probably as safe as she had been in days. She was accompanied by a human military officer that Jack hadn't seen up to now.

  When she saw Jack and Aria, Sami's eyes went wide and she rushed ahead of the group. The younger Ailian knelt next to Aria's stretcher, looking down at her elder sister with extreme worry on her face. She was clearly distraught, tears welling up in her eyes as she saw how badly her sister was injured. Li'ren came over as well, putting a comforting hand on S
ami's shoulder.

  “Jack,” Li'ren said, looking down at him. “I am glad to see you made it through this.” She glanced over to where Brooke was seated, and her muzzle widened in a smile. “Little one, you are alive as well...Thank the goddess for that.”

  Brooke bowed her head, looking down at the grass. “M'lady.”

  Li'ren looked back to where Aria lay, and she squeezed Sami's shoulder. The younger girl's hand came up and laid over hers, her head leaning over and her cheek rubbing against where their hands were joined. “Captain Me'lia's injuries appear very grave, indeed,” she said solemnly. “She has proven herself to be ever the strong fighter, though. I have confidence that she will recover. I do not wish to award more medals posthumously than I must.”

  The human officer that was with Li'ren came over to Jack and extended his hand. “You're Jack Squier, right?” he asked. Jack blinked, nodding as he took the officer's hand. “I'm Lieutenant Commander Carswell, SEALs. Empress Amani has been telling me about you and Captain Me'lia here. Interesting story you two have. If you had stuck with the Navy longer than you had, I think you would have done well with us.” He grinned at Jack. “I hear that you did well for yourself in there, anyway.”

  “Well as I could, I guess,” Jack allowed. He didn't want to take his eyes off of Aria for longer than he had to. The corpsmen had her uniform cut off to expose her injured areas, and they were checking her over more thoroughly now.

  “I have been speaking with the commander,” Li'ren said. “I think that there is great promise for a continuing alliance between the Ascendancy and the United Nations. This is not the end of the war, after all, and the rebels continue to hold large quantities of human and Ailian space.”

  “Yeah,” Jack agreed. He wasn't paying much attention to what Li'ren was saying, preferring to listen to what the medics were saying as they worked to stabilize Aria. “I bet.”

  Li'ren didn't seem bothered by it, in fact she seemed to smile as she saw the way that Jack was concerned over Aria. “The first step towards solidifying that alliance will be taking place very soon, in fact. I have requested, and the UN fleet commander has agreed, to begin evacuating humans previously held in slavery on Lirna.”

  “What?” This came from Brooke, blurted out before the girl could realize that she was interrupting. Her eyes were wide, and she had stood up without seeming to know it.

  “I keep my promises,” Li'ren said firmly. “The UN upheld their side of the bargain, and I must uphold mine. All slaves will be freed, and any humans who wish to leave the Ascendancy will be repatriated.” She met Brooke's eyes. “Starting with you, child.”

  Brooke's jaw dropped. “M'lady?”

  “You have been a faithful servant ever since Kri'a took you in,” Li'ren told her, smiling warmly at the girl. “Commander Carswell will be leaving with his wounded men in a few hours, returning them to Cerelis for more expert medical treatment, and he has agreed to take the human servants from the palace with him. If you wish to accompany them, you are more than welcome.”

  The dark-haired, dark-skinned young girl looked dumbfounded, terrified, and excited all at the same time. For all of her life that she could remember, she had been a slave, and now she was being given the opportunity to leave that life behind and return to be with her own people, to be free. “M'lady...,” she said, her voice wavering. “Th-Thank you...I want to go.” She looked down at the grass, and then she looked up again, staring Li'ren right in the eyes. “Thank you. For treating me like I was a person, and not someone's property. I won't miss Lirna, but...thank you...”

  Li'ren smiled at her. Next to her, on the stretcher, there was a lull in the activity of the corpsmen, and in that lull Aria stirred and spoke again.

  “Jack...,” she said, her voice a little stronger but still faint. “You go, too...”

  For a minute, he wasn't sure that he had heard her correctly. Jack tilted his head to the side. “Say again, Aria?”

  “You go...to Cerelis,” Aria said. She tried to sit up, but one of the corpsmen eased her back down, keeping her flat on the stretcher. She bared her teeth and tried, but failed, to growl at him. “Not stay here. Go back...to you people.”

  “What?” Jack couldn't believe what he was hearing. He looked between the human officer, Li'ren, and Aria, shaking his head. “No, no, I'm staying with you, Aria. I'm not going anywhere. I love you. I'm not leaving.”

  “Please.” Aria swallowed, gathering all of the strength that she needed to talk. Jack could see a tear make its way down her cheek. “Not want to. But with me...not safe. Is war. Mother have many allies. Many friends. All angry now, want revenge. Will try kill me...Kill you, too.” She blinked her good eye, and another tear fell. “Much safer for you...if not with me. Please.” She squeezed his hand. “Want you here...But want you safe more...”

  Jack could think of a million things he could have said and done. He could have been angry, could have yelled at Aria. He could have screamed that it wasn't fair, to go through everything they had been through together and then be torn apart again. He could have gotten up and walked away from her without saying a word, could have killed her with his silence. He could have asked the Empress to interfere and talk sense into Aria.

  But he realized she was right. As long as the rebels were still out there, there would be people who wanted revenge for the death of their leader. Aria had said it herself to him, many times. Ailians had long memories, and an insult or slight against their honor was not easily forgotten. They'd come for Aria, he was sure, and as long as he was around for her to worry about, that would be that much more attention she'd not have to devote to doing her job, keeping herself safe, and fighting this war. So not only was it safer for him to do what she asked of him, it was safer for her as well. As much as he didn't want to say it, that was the truth.

  “Alright...,” he said, barely able to hold down the sob that wanted to escape his throat. “I'll go...I'll go back with them.” He rubbed the back of his arm across his eyes, wiping away the tears that were clouding his vision. “I love you, Aria.”

  She pulled him back down again, kissing him passionately. He accepted it, blood and tears and all, without hesitation. “Se le ch'aa ara,” she whispered to him as the kiss broke. “I never forget...”

  ******

  Back on a UN transport ship, moving steadily away from Lirna, Jack stood near a window in one of the galleys. He was looking back at the planet, leaning against the thick glass panel with his forehead resting against his, staring at the sandy tan orb with unblinking eyes. Lirna was slowly shrinking as the ship moved away from its gravity well, prepping to make the jump to hyperspace and begin the journey to human space. He knew it was too late to go back, but he at least wanted to look at the planet until it disappeared from view.

  “Coffee?”

  Jack didn't turn, but he recognized the voice of Commander Carswell. “No thanks.”

  “You really didn't want to leave,” the SEAL commander said. He made it an observation rather than a question, but Jack responded to him anyway.

  “I didn't,” he said. He brushed a hand back through his blonde hair. For the first time in a few days, he realized how exhausted he was, but he knew he wouldn't sleep well tonight or any night for a long time.

  “That Brooke girl is settling in well,” Carswell told him. “Thought you'd wanna know. She asked about you. I told her I'd come look for you. I think she'd appreciate having someone she's used to being around, once we reach Cerelis. Lots of records from the old colony worlds were destroyed by the Ascendancy, in the early days of the war. I went ahead and transmitted the request to see if any of her family can be tracked down, but...not much hope of that, I think.”

  “Probably not,” Jack agreed. “I'll think about it.”

  Carswell slapped him on the shoulder. “Might wanna find someplace to sit down,” he told Jack. “Going to hyperspace before too much longer. Be good to get home.”

  “Not home for me,” Jack murmured as the offic
er walked away. He felt like there was a fist around his heart, constricting it and making his whole chest feel tight. “My home is down there, millions of miles away from where I was born.”

  When he would be able to return home, he didn't know. Not for a long time, he was sure. But he had faith. One day, he knew, he would be able to come back. And she would be waiting there for him.

  Epilogue

  - Signal Received -

  “It really is an incredible story, Mr. Squier. What do you say to some of the people who question the authenticity of the details, or those who might say you've betrayed your species?”

  Jack shifted in the chair he was seated in, the harsh glare of the stage lights making him slightly uncomfortable. This wasn't his first time in front of a camera, but it was his first time being in front of an audience as large as this one. He knew that this interview was going live across all of human space, and it was probably being picked up and rebroadcast on a delay in parts of the Ascendancy and the Nuretan Empire as well. He resisted the urge to wipe at the fine sheen of sweat that had to be gathering on his forehead on the hot stage. He had thought that he might get asked questions like what the reporter had just put to him, so he did have some answers ready.

  “Well, David, I know a lot of the story seems incredible,” he began. “I mean, most of the people who will be watching this can remember the beginning of the war. I definitely can. To some people, it might seem unbelievable that a human and an Ailian can become friends, let alone go through some of the stuff that I experienced.” Jack brushed a hand back through his sandy blonde hair, and he tried not to scratch his face. The caked-on makeup the network staffer had pasted on him for the cameras was really starting to itch. “But it all happened just the way I've said it, and somewhere out there is the paperwork to prove it. I'm sure it's all classified, but hey, it's written down in some Ascendancy database somewhere.