SHU'KAN

by Martin Durst

  He drew and fired. Even as he squeezed the trigger, he could feel his entire shoulder burst into flame.

  ‘Matheus, no!’

  He was faintly aware of Tr’al’s outburst. Burnt flesh choked his nostrils. He could feel himself falling backwards as a scream erupted from his lips. He’d never felt pain so intense.

  ‘Fool! Did you really believe you could shoot me!? You were done before you even touched your pistol! Now you’re going to watch me blow their heads off before I finish you!’

  Carolina cackled with the crazed look of a lunatic. –The barrel of her pistol still causing heat shimmers in the air. She was coming unglued and Matheus knew he was finished. He could barely focus through the pain. ‘There’s no reason for this!’ he said through gritted teeth. ‘What is the purpose of it all!? Just let them go!’

  ‘No, it’s too late for that! You’ve caused too much damage. It’s time to end it!’ She raised her heat pistol and pointed it at Tr’al. ‘You first!’

  Chapter Thirteen

  Matheus was desperately frantic when a sudden scream of Negrav engines being forced to work beyond their normal capabilities ripped through the air. The trees around them bent then slowly flexed back upright from the concussive force. Matheus felt his entire body being pushed into the ground, then just as abruptly, the feeling was gone. Hovering no more than a few feet above them was an Earth Fleet pod steaming from the intense atmospheric pressure it had just experienced.

  ‘Stand down, or I will fire!’ There was no telling who their sudden benefactor was, but Matheus was not objecting. He was just relieved to still be alive.

  Carolina moved and was gone. Matheus had to blink to be sure he wasn’t hallucinating.

  Tr’al, who’d been supporting Shi’la the entire time, staggered toward Matheus. ‘Help me with her!’

  He pushed Carolina from his mind and ran to help Tr’al. His shoulder was throbbing, but he was able to help support Shi’la with the other. As the three of them hobbled to the now landing pod, he stole a glance toward Tr’al. She looked weary as she struggled to help Shi’la walk. Shi’la remained silent. She seemed to be focusing all her energy on just walking.

  ‘Shi’la, thank God I got here in time!’ Running toward the trio was Lieutenant Michael Stone, brandishing a heat pistol. He expressed a clear look of relief. He gently lifted Shi’la’s head by the chin and looked into her eyes. She offered a weak grin. ‘You gotta habit of being in the wrong place at the wrong time, lady!’ She offered a weak chuckle then started walking again.

  ‘How did you find us?’ Tr’al asked in amazement.

  ‘Matheus and I’ll explain later. Let’s get everyone on board before she brings back reinforcements!’

  Tr’al looked at Matheus with a puzzled look, but let it go. Right now all she wanted to do was get as far away from this place as possible.

  Matheus’s shoulder injury turned out to be a flesh wound. He didn’t want to think about how his collarbone would have looked had Carolina’s shot been another two inches higher. It wasn’t until he’d been patched up, and all the new passengers had prepared a meal to eat in the pods miniature galley, that Lieutenant Stone offered an explanation.

  ‘Back at the village, Matheus and I decided to utilize a tracking device in case we got separated. I gave him a GPS beacon the night before you were kidnapped, Tr’al. Little did we know that Carolina was going to attack shortly after. Matheus, here, made his move at the last minute. I thought she’d taken you both till I saw his beacon initiate several hours ago. As soon as I could, I grabbed a Negrav Pod and tracked him here.

  He looked critically at Shi’la. –Obviously still concerned over her. ‘I had no idea that you’d be here, though. I’m glad I decided to come when I did.’

  ‘I’m glad also,’ she stated earnestly between bites. ‘I’m not sure how much more I could take. That man is … not normal. He did things to me that … I mean it was just cruel!’ She broke into a quiet sob.

  Tr’al moved next to her sister and wrapped her arm around her. ‘It’s ok now. He can’t hurt you anymore.’

  ‘Oh, you don’t know the half of it.’ Lieutenant Stone had a faraway stare that indicated he was connected to the Teranet via his chip implant. ‘I just got the confirmation that a small squadron of Earth Fleet Attack Pods just hit Fisher’s compound. I called in a priority one air strike to Earth Fleet just after we left. It appears he was conducting unauthorized research on a group of Hiver’s in that warehouse. They’ve all been vaporized along with the main building. I don’t think we’ll have trouble anytime soon from Mr. Fisher.’

  ‘Is he dead, this Fisher man?’ Shi’la asked hopefully.

  ‘We don’t know. They entire area was vaporized to ensure it was sterile. Earth absolutely cannot risk another outbreak from roaming Hiver’s. If he was still there, he’s more than likely dead.’

  Shi’la just shook her head in amazement. ‘How many research labs did this man have operating? This … bioweapon … he’s obsessed with it!’

  ‘Well,’ Stone replied, ‘as for as we know, only the lab in Iceland remains; and that is still under the control of Earth Fleet. –And don’t ask,’ he said looking at Shi’la. ‘The place was wiped clean. There was no evidence, or testimony for that matter, that we were ever there.’

  It’d been almost four months since she’d been rescued, and now she sat watching Secretary Sadim pace his office. He looked perplexed and worried. Shi’la looked to Leader Bro’na who also seemed deep in thought. Around the plush room sat all the people in her life that mattered. It seemed odd to her that in such a short time she could feel genuinely attached to humans. She slowly looked at each of them. Tr’al, her sister, Matheus, the young man who had played such an important role in her life for the past few weeks, and Lieutenant Stone – Michael – who she knew her feeling were becoming intricately involved with. Across the room sitting rigidly as only military men do, were Admiral McConnel and his son. –Kyle, if she recalled correctly. And the only other man standing was Admiral Cook. Though she’d never met him, Leader Bro’na respected him – and that was enough for her. He wore a look of confidence that indicated he was used to power and wasn’t afraid to wield it.

  ‘I’ve summoned you all here for a reason.’ The Secretary abruptly stopped pacing startling Shi’la from her thoughts. ‘I’ve been briefed about all of what you all have been through or the events you’ve witnessed. I now believe that, directly or indirectly, these events are intertwined.’ He rubbed his chin thoughtfully. ‘These are the facts: We have, of course, just repelled another invasion attempt by the Hiver’s, and a threat by a non-governmental organization that seeks to use the Hiver’s as an opportunity to …what? Make money? Could it really be that simple?’

  ‘Sir,’ lieutenant Stone interjected, ‘We’re talking about a lot of money. This guy … Fisher, is looking to make billions by developing and controlling a bioweapon that would help end the war.’

  ‘Yes, Mr. Fisher,’ the Secretary replied. He moved to his desk and tapped his holo emitter. ‘You mean this man.’ A three dimensional display floated about two inched from the floor. If she hadn’t seen it appear in front of her, Shi’la would have sworn it was the man in person. ‘We checked into his background. He’s clean. There’s nothing other than boring details and the fact that he owns several corporations in many different countries. –Mostly medical and pharmaceutical research stuff. In fact, he’s too clean, so we’re watching him. But until we have something more conclusive, there’s not much we can do. –But, we need to talk about something more pressing. Each of you here, directly or indirectly, has witnessed the resurgence of the Hivers attack. I’ve had each of your debriefs compiled into a single data stream so that each of you can review them all.’ He turned to Leader Bro’na. ‘I took the liberty to prepare a hard copy for yourself and Ms. Shi’la to be picked up as you leave. –Translated into Shu’kan.’

  ‘There was no need,’ Leader Bro’na replied graciously. ‘We all r
ead and speak your language fluently.’

  ‘I know my friend. It was a courtesy nonetheless.’ The Secretary bowed slightly in respect, but his smile quickly faded as he continued. ‘You’ll understand if I insist that all the information be treated as classified. All the details you can divulge in later, for now, let’s pull together what we all need to know.’ He looked at Admiral McConnel cueing him that it was his turn. He rose and straightened his uniform.

  Admiral McConnel swept the room pausing momentarily on the Shu’kan female Shi’la. He was consciously aware of how fortunate he was that she did know of his involvement in her kidnapping. It was time to burn some bridges. – A fact he’d have to correct as soon as possible. ‘We now have a defense that can repel the Hiver ships. The surface-to-atmosphere cannons were very effective in our last defense. I only wish it would have been possible to fire earlier, but the only systems online were those at Earth Fleet headquarters. The good news is we now have sites coming online in China, Africa, South America, Antarctica, and Canada. Exact locations are included in your data streams. However, this will give us a three-sixty degree visibility on any other ships coming into our space. In addition, we’ve made great strides in the designs of our attack pods. All the models in service now are atmosphere and space capable. We’ve also used Shu’kan alloy technologies to harden the hulls of all the ships now coming out of production. We took heavy losses with the retrofits we put back into service, but the new models will prove to be more durable. In fact, none of the ships left in service will be re-commissioned with the exception of the Carthaginian. She alone will test the first FTL engines we redesigned with Shu’kan assistance. After, we’ll field the new ships already in production. In short, we’ll get any kinks out ahead of time.’

  ‘Why not continue testing here at the surface before deploying any ships?’ Stone asked.

  ‘Because, we need intelligence.’ Admiral McConnel now nodded toward Admiral Cook, who, up to this point had remained quiet.

  Admiral Cook hesitated before speaking. The nightmares still haunted him. Twice now he’d led Earth Fleets finest while defending Earth. –And he’d gotten all the credit. It turned his stomach to think about it. Who was he to deserve it? Everywhere he went people whispered his name. No one ever whispered the names of the dead. He’d lost hundreds of men just a few short weeks ago, and since then, the Prime Minister has had him globetrotting on a public relations campaign. ‘Raising the spirits of all man-kind’ he’d stated. So why did he feel so guilty? And why did the ghosts of his past continue to haunt him?

  ‘Admiral Cook? Are you ok?’

  He blinked back into focus and realized he’s been staring at all of them for several seconds. ‘Yeah. I’m good. –Just collecting my thoughts.’ He focused on the task at hand and got down to business.

  ‘We’ll not have a new fleet in place for another two years at best, so we have no choice but to take the fight to the Hivers. Earth needs time to recover. The Secretary and Admiral McConnel are working with the Prime Minister to convince the U.N. of the sense of urgency, but in light of this last attack, the task won’t be difficult. What I’ve been asked to do is provide the time needed to build our defenses.’ He paused allowing the full impact of his words to sink in. Never in human history has any Earth ship gone beyond the solar system. It was Lieutenant Stone who spoke first.

  ‘Are you saying that you are going to lead a strike force to Alpha Centauri?! That’s a suicide mission! You can’t be serious!’

  I’m quite serious. We have the technological capability now thanks to our Shu’kan friends, and combined with our weapons and Negrav capability, we now have some advantage.’

  ‘But what we don’t have is numbers. –Something the Hiver’s have no shortage of!’

  ‘Lieutenant, we’ve already put this through the best minds of Earth fleet. Think it through. If we wait, there is a strong possibility that we’ll not survive another attack. Meanwhile, the Hiver’s multiply like cockroaches. We need to try and slow that. Five ships, one the Carthaginian, will be fully retrofitted. The other four are cruiser class ships that will carry four full wing elements each. The Carthaginian will carry six and it’d usual armaments. The cruisers also have been upgraded to have additional batteries. These ships will act as a strike force with a primary and secondary mission: Find and destroy any Hiver ship and colony, and to gather intelligence to send to Earth.

  The room fell silent. No one seemed willing to break the silence.

  ‘So why am I here?’

  It took moment for Shi’la to process who had spoken, but then everyone was looking at Matheus.

  ‘I mean, really? What on Earth can I do about the Hivers? Frankly, I’m feeling a little out of my league here.’

  Admiral Cook looked hard at this young man that appeared too young to even be in the room. He was opposed to the idea, but the Secretary had been persistent. –Some crap about using every tool to our advantage. ‘The Secretary tells me you saved some people in this room. –Says you have insight on observing Hiver behavior? –This true?’

  Matheus looked back at this man who was deemed Savior of Earth. He’d heard of him of course. –Who hadn’t? It was hard not to be intimidated. ‘You could say that. I observed the group of Hivers at the Compound for several days. I know that they’ll try to eat each other if hungry enough and that they form social orders. There were two competing packs. Fights were frequent and territorial.’

  ‘Look Son, we know these things. What do you have new?’

  Matheus glared at this man who was supposed to be legend. So far he wasn’t impressed. ‘Ok, how ‘bout this. They’re not the same.’

  Matheus enjoyed the look on Admiral Cooks face immensely. He could tell he was confused.

  ‘What do you mean ‘not the same’?’

  ‘I mean they’re different than the Hivers that we’ve seen so far. They have two less legs and their fur doesn’t have as much of a pronounced orange tint to it.’

  Admiral Cook and everyone else but the Secretary seemed to need some time to process the information. It was a full minute before he finally spoke. ‘My God, there are more of them out there?!’

  ‘That’s right,’ the Secretary exclaimed. ‘We have less time than we thought. We don’t know how or when this other species variant got here, but we can only assume that there are even more. Mr. Fisher may not have even made the connection, but we confirmed it. Genetic samples from the site do not match any other sample we have. We even compared DNA to the specimen in Iceland. –They’re related, but definitely new to what we’ve seen so far.’

  ‘I thought the site was vaporized?’ Tr’al interrupted.

  ‘It was,’ Admiral McConnel replied. ‘But our young friend Matheus here snatched a sample of the leftover meat they were feeding those things. We pulled the DNA from their saliva.’

  Admiral Cook looked at Matheus with renewed appreciation. ‘It appears you have discovered some valuable intelligence, young man. Well done.’

  ‘Now that we all know why we are here,’ the Secretary interjected, ‘we can get on to what the Prime Minister and I have planned. He nudged his chip and an aide came in carrying a tray with an assortment of shiny items. ‘I need you all to stand please.’ The aide stood quietly holding the tray next to the Secretary as yet another aide walked in and stood to his other side. ‘Each of you has contributed honorably to our fight against the Hiver’s. Now you will be officially … recognized … so to speak!’ The Secretary grinned mischievously then nodded to his aide. ‘Attention to orders,’ he began reciting. ‘The following personnel are hereby promoted from Lieutenant to Commander by the order of the U.N. Secretary of Defense and the Prime Minister. –Officers Michael Stone and Kyle McConnel. –Date, effective immediately.’

  The Secretary pinned each of them with Commanders rank, then led a light applause. ‘Congratulations, gentlemen! You are now both Earth Fleet Commanders!’

  Stone looked at Kyle McConnel. He hoped he didn’t look as fl
abbergasted. “Thank you, Sir! I’m not sure what to say. I’m caught totally off guard!’

  ‘Yes,’ chimed in McConnel. ‘I didn’t see this coming in a million years!’

  ‘Well, don’t let it go to your head,’ his father replied with obvious pride. ‘Were extremely short officers now, and even though your experience is limited, you still have more than most. We’ve even resorted to cutting academy time down by two years to meet the demand. –Just make me proud.’

  ‘Yes, because now that you are Commanders, ‘Admiral Cook added. ‘I have your new assignment. –You both will command a Cruiser that will accompany me. I hope that you are up to the task. Report at zero six thirty tomorrow in my office for a full operational brief. Secretary? Admiral? If there is nothing further, I’ll take my leave.’

  ‘Yes, of course,’ the Secretary replied. ‘You’re dismissed.’

  The room was noticeably quiet when Admiral Cook left. ‘He sure knows how to ruin a party,’ Matheus snorted.

  ‘Don’t be to judgmental,’ Admiral McConnel replied. ‘That man has seen a lot and has sacrificed beyond measure for us all. He’s entitled to a bad day once in a while.’

  ‘Young man,’ Leader Bro’na interrupted, ‘we have something for you also.’ He looked at Secretary Sadim and got a nod of approval. ‘We’d like you to go along. –And not just you,’ he swept his arm towards Shi’la and Tr’al, ‘but your new friends as well. If you all are willing, the Secretary has agreed that you’re unique experiences could contribute to our efforts. Aside from that, Shi’la here is an accomplished scientist as well. What do you say?’

  Matheus felt as if he was being sucked into a vacuum. Everything around him seemed amplified yet distant. He was vaguely aware of someone calling his name, and then fingers intertwining with his.

  ‘Matheus, what do you say?’

  It was Tr’al holding his hand and looking at him. ‘Well, I don’t know … I … I mean I’ll have to talk to my parents. They’re already concerned that I’ve been away from home this long.’