by Ryk Brown
“Have you figured out a way to get any of this information back to the Alliance?”
“I don’t think we’ve found anything important enough to justify the risk,” Jessica insisted.
“You don’t think that the entire population of all three Cetian worlds being in favor of the Jung occupation is important?”
“I’m not sure that’s entirely accurate,” Jessica argued, “at least not according to Ellyus. He says it’s mostly propaganda. He says that many of the private conversations he has had over the years—in a soundproof room, I might add—indicate otherwise. He believes that while there are quite a few Jung supporters, most people are just saying they are in favor of the Jung to avoid suspicion.”
“I don’t know,” Naralena said, “I’ve seen a lot of propaganda back in the Pentaurus sector. The Ta’Akar Empire were masters at it. This is different.”
“Perhaps, but it’s not like the Cetians are going to pick up guns and fight alongside the Jung when the Ghatazhak show up.”
“Probably not,” Naralena agreed, “but don’t expect them to be too thrilled about it either. These people have a thriving economy, good living conditions, and robust interplanetary trade… all the things they did not have until the Jung arrived.”
“But they had to give up their freedom to get those things.”
“Freedom is relative, Jess. One person’s freedom is another person’s anarchy.”
“What?”
“I heard it on one of the Cetian programs,” Naralena explained. “Quite true, when you think about it.”
“Maybe, but it’s also the kind of thing you’d expect to hear from pretty much any dictatorship,” Jessica replied as she rose from her seat. “Anyway, I’ve got a patient downstairs waiting to see me,” she added as she headed for the door. “Enjoy your research.”
* * *
Doctor Galloway sat at the nursing station in the intensive care unit, studying patient reports on her data pad. She had been working at Geneva’s central hospital for more than a month now, ever since they first started using nanites on Earth. At first, their use had been restricted to Alliance personnel, as well as a few of the more severe civilian cases. This was due largely to the fact that—for reasons they had been unable to determine—the Corinairan nanites seemed to cause considerable discomfort to anyone not from the Pentaurus cluster.
Although the medical facilities on Earth were inferior by Corinairan standards, it had been nice to again work in a more controlled and traditional environment, despite the fact that the hours were long and the patient load never ending. She felt as if she were gaining more experience per day here than she could in a year of residency back on Corinair.
“Doctor Galloway,” the nurse said as she approached. “I have the latest statistical analysis you requested.”
Doctor Galloway reached out and took the data chip from the young woman. “Thank you,” she said as she inserted the chip into her data pad. The information contained on the chip began to scroll down her screen, causing a quizzical look to befall her.
“What is it?” the nurse wondered.
“Nothing. I just was expecting different numbers, I guess.”
“How so?”
“As you know, the problem has always been that Terrans seem to experience discomfort during nanite therapy,” Doctor Galloway explained. “However, a few isolated cases have not experienced that discomfort. Now that we are administering the nanites to the general public, that percentage has risen… and drastically, I might add.”
“How drastically?” the nurse wondered.
“It has practically reversed itself. Originally, ninety percent of the patients on nanite therapy experienced some level of discomfort. Now that we have begun administering to the general public, the percentage has dropped to twenty-three.”
“That’s good, though, right? Since there is such a shortage of analgesics?”
“Yes, it does make the patients easier to manage, since they do not need to take medications to manage the additional pain. However, it also means we are even further from discovering the reason behind the discomfort. Since our physiologies are the same, we had always assumed that the cause was environmental, but this bimodal distribution is puzzling.”
“Maybe it’s too soon to tell?” the nurse suggested. “After all, it has only been a few days since we began widespread usage of the nanites.”
“I suppose you are right,” Doctor Galloway agreed. “Odd that I find myself hoping for my patients to experience additional pain.”
The nurse looked over Doctor Galloway’s shoulder, noticing something on her data pad. “Did you notice the effectiveness percentage?”
Doctor Galloway looked at her data pad again. “No, I did not. I was so distracted by the drastic change in… That is odd.”
“There have been other cases where the nanites did not work, haven’t there?”
“Yes, but, according to this, the decrease in effectiveness correlates strongly with the decrease in discomfort.” Doctor Galloway thought for a moment. “I am probably wrong about this, but let’s begin screening the urine of all patients on nanite therapy for expelled nanites.”
“I thought they stayed in the patient until you transmitted the evacuation command?”
“Usually, yes, but if the nanite fails, it is programmed to automatically disengage, allowing the body to flush it out of the system. We could be dealing with a bad batch of nanites, although this would be the first case I have seen in many years. The manufacturing process is quite precise.”
“That would explain a lot,” the nurse agreed.
“I will notify the other physicians monitoring nanite therapies,” Doctor Galloway said. “Let’s get the first round of urine testing going as soon as possible.”
“Of course, Doctor.”
* * *
Naralena looked down at the digital tablet that Ellyus had given her, as she took more notes about what she was seeing on the Cetian news programs. As she was writing, she could hear footsteps from the entryway. “That was quick,” she called out. “I don’t think it has even been an…” Her words fell short as she looked up and toward the doorway to her left. Standing there was a man, dressed in black from head to toe, his face covered by some sort of screen that diffused the features of his face. She did not react, trying to remain calm, just as she had been trained over the weeks preceding the mission. Without moving her head, she glanced to her right, looking for an escape route, but another man in similar attire was blocking the other doorway.
“Where is the other one?” the first man asked. His voice had a metallic sound to it, as if it were being altered by some device. He was also speaking in English, but not perfect English.
“What?” Naralena responded, speaking in Jung using the same Cetian accent that she had observed over many hours of Cetian news broadcasts.
“There were two of you,” the man replied, again in English. “Where is the other?”
“I don’t understand what you’re saying,” Naralena said, again speaking in Jung.
“You are lying,” the man insisted, this time speaking in Jung. “She was here earlier.”
“She left,” Naralena replied, continuing in Jung. “She went shopping.”
“We do not have time for games,” the man told her. “You are both in danger.”
“Who are you?” Naralena asked, pretending not to understand them.
“The Jung have this place surrounded. They are preparing to storm the building as we speak. They will take you prisoner.”
“I don’t understand…”
“You are from the Aurora, right?” the man asked.
Naralena suddenly found it hard to hide her reaction, her eyes growing wide. They were nearly twelve light years from Earth, so even with the Jung’s fastest probes, it was unlikely that anyone on Kohara would know about the Aurora. “Who are you?” she asked, again in Jung.
“Who we are is unimportant. If you and your friend do not escape with
us now, you will both die in Jung captivity.”
“Why should I believe you,” Naralena replied, still speaking Jung.
The man deactivated the visual distortion field, revealing his face to her. “You have no choice.”
Naralena stood. “She’s downstairs, with Ellyus, in his office,” she replied, this time in English.
The man tapped his comm-set, speaking in Cetian this time. “She is with the peeper, in his office.” A moment later he said, “Understood.” He looked at the other man, signaling him into action. “Go with this man,” he instructed as two more men came in from the outside landing and headed down the stairs behind the first man. “He will see to your safety.”
“What about my friend?” Naralena asked.
“I will see to hers,” the man answered as he turned to follow the others downstairs.
“Wait!” Naralena called out. “How did you know about the Aurora?”
The man turned back to look at her. “Jung comm-drones are much faster than you realize,” he told her just before he disappeared through the doorway.
* * *
“As expected, the people of Kalita did not offer any resistance,” Commander Telles told Nathan in his ready room.
“Any stragglers to deal with?” Nathan wondered.
“Not of a number that would cause concern,” Telles explained. “The conditions on Kalita are rather harsh. Without proper logistical support, the few Jung who escaped will be forced to either surrender, or die… either at the point of a Ghatazhak weapon, or by the atmosphere of Kalita, once their particle filters have become saturated. In any case, they will cease to be a factor within a few days.”
“Have any of the Kalitans stepped up as leadership?” Nathan asked.
“No, and I do not expect any to do so. The people of Kalita wish only to leave Kalita, at the earliest opportunity.”
“Really. I did not expect that.”
“When the Jung took control of Kalita, the people fought back. In response to their efforts, the Jung decimated their world, killing more than ninety percent of their population in the process. The ones who survived were put to work in the mines. Kalita is rich in many ores, but was of little value to the Jung otherwise. Had the people not resisted, their civilization would probably be intact today.”
Nathan leaned back in his chair and sighed. “Still, you would think at least some of them would want to stay and rebuild.”
“There is nothing left to rebuild with,” the commander explained. “The Jung kept no industrial infrastructure here. Only the mining operations, the processing plants, and what little infrastructure that was required to keep the Kalitans alive to serve them. It is a meager existence by any measure. One totally devoid of hope. Kalita died long ago. What remains is nothing more than its bones, left to slowly decay over time.”
“How many of them are there?”
“Under a hundred thousand, I would guess.”
Nathan thought for a moment. “Tell them we will arrange to have them evacuated. It will take time, but it will happen. In the meantime, they must keep themselves alive with what they have, meager or not.”
“Understood,” Commander Telles replied. “To where shall they be evacuated?”
“Still to be determined,” Nathan answered. “We’ll arrange for medical teams and support personnel to help them keep it together until then.”
“I shall explain the situation to them.”
“I had hoped this would get easier,” Nathan admitted.
“In fact, I expect it to become harder,” Telles warned. “The longer a world has been under occupation, the more likely the population is to support the Jung. Worlds like Kalita, ones that were all but destroyed, are the exception.”
“I suppose you’re right,” Nathan agreed.
“I fear that the worlds of Tau Ceti will be even more challenging. The Jung will not want to give up three, fully industrialized, heavily populated worlds. Especially ones that have been reformed to be as hospitable as possible to humans. If the Cetian economy is as strong as it appears to be, their people may not want to be liberated.”
“That is why we sent Jessica and her team to Kohara.”
“Have they reported back yet?”
“No, they haven’t,” Nathan answered. “However, it has only been fifteen days. They won’t be considered overdue for another ten.”
“If they are unable to complete their mission, we may be forced to destroy the Jung ground forces from orbit. Due to the density of population surrounding those targets, the collateral damage will be quite significant.”
“I don’t suppose we could leave them intact?” Nathan wondered. “Maybe call up the Cetians and ask them if they’d like us to remove the Jung from their world before we attack?”
“Once the element of surprise is lost, the Jung will be better able to defend themselves. If necessary, they will disappear into the masses, creating a network of saboteurs that will be difficult to combat.”
“So, just taking out their ships and moving on is out of the question as well, I suppose?” Nathan inquired, already knowing the answer.
“You cannot win a war by leaving enemy forces alive and well near your borders,” Telles explained. “If a single Jung ship was able to retrieve those forces, and then somehow drop them on Earth…”
“Yeah, I know.” Nathan sighed again.
“Besides, it is not just about the existing Jung forces,” Telles added. “It is also about the industrial capacity of the Cetians. That is why the Jung have so many forces in that system, not because of its proximity to Earth.”
“The thought had crossed my mind,” Nathan replied. “Anyway, I expect Admiral Dumar will make that decision when the time comes.”
“I’m sure he will.”
“And if that decision is to attack the surface from orbit?”
“Then I will obey that order, and destroy the targets on the surface,” Nathan responded, looking the commander straight in the eyes.
“I am confident that you shall, indeed.”
“I won’t like it,” Nathan admitted, “but I will do it, nonetheless.”
* * *
Jessica looked at Ellyus Barton. “And you haven’t had any contact from any other operatives in going on twenty years?”
“Closer to twenty-five, I suspect,” Ellyus replied. “That’s the last time I remember having contact with any of the other operatives. That’s also when I decided to get married and raise a family, so as to better blend in. On Kohara, everyone is married and has kids.”
“But you kept gathering intelligence. Why?”
“I guess part of me wanted to believe that eventually someone would come… that what I was doing mattered. I kept reminding myself that it took years to travel between Sol and Tau Ceti, and that the Earth only had so many ships. I kept telling myself that someday they would come. Unfortunately, they did not. It also became apparent to me that the Jung were so powerful, and had such an armada of ships, that there seemed to be little hope for Earth. I convinced myself that the same thing that happened here would happen on Earth—that the Jung would swoop in with dozens of ships and force the EDF to surrender. I convinced myself that it would be relatively bloodless, just as it was here, and that the people of Earth would be better off… again, just as it happened here.”
“Earth isn’t Kohara,” Jessica said.
“Yes, I know.”
Jessica leaned back in her chair and sighed. “For the life of me I can’t understand how anyone can accept subjugation in exchange for peace and prosperity.”
“I suspect it is simply a matter of priorities,” Ellyus said. “Some people are very headstrong and refuse to be told that there are things that they cannot do. Others are content to do what society asks of them and not make waves. My wife is that way. She does not want to be noticed, or stand out in any way. She is set in her routines, comfortable in familiar surroundings. Vacations tend to cause her considerable stress, as her routines are inter
rupted. To her, peace and security is far more valuable than freedom.”
“One person’s freedom is another person’s anarchy,” Jessica mumbled, remembering the phrase that Naralena had quoted earlier.
“You’ve heard that one?”
“Nora has,” Jessica said.
“It was very popular back in the months just after the Jung took over,” Ellyus explained. “It was a mantra for the pro-Jung crowd in protest against an underground anti-Jung movement.”
“So, there was some sort of resistance at one time?”
Ellyus raised his eyebrows. “I don’t know that I would call it a ‘resistance’. It was more of a movement… non-violent for the most part, as most Cetians abhor violence. The reactionary pro-Jung movement was triggered by a number of attacks allegedly carried out by the anti-Jung groups.”
“Allegedly?”
“Many believed that the Jung staged attacks to discredit the anti-Jung groups, to make them appear as terrorists, and to rally support for the Jung occupation.”
“What do you think happened?”
“I have no evidence either way,” Ellyus admitted, “however, I find it hard to believe that the anti-Jung groups resorted to killing innocent people to make their point. Or should I say, I find it easier to believe that the Jung would resort to such measures… especially after what you said about Kent.”
Jessica sat for a moment, thinking, looking at the pictures displayed on the view screen built into the conference table. She looked at Ellyus again. “So, have you ever considered returning to Earth?” she asked.
“I’d be lying if I said no,” he admitted. “However, I came here never expecting to return home.” He looked at her, a quizzical expression on his face. “Why do you ask?”
“We could get you off this world, if you’d like,” she told him. “You and your family.”
“I appreciate the offer, but Kohara is my home now.”
“Are you ever going to tell your family?”
“About my real identity? What would be the point? After you have gone, I will destroy all the intelligence data I have collected over the years. Now that I have reported everything I know to you, my mission is finally complete. For that, I thank you.”