by Jerry Aubin
Zax soon felt like his eyelids weighed a million kilos, and he ultimately lost the battle to keep them open. Once again, unconsciousness engulfed him.
Beep.
Beep Beep.
Beep.
Beep Beep.
The incessant electronic bleats dragged Zax into consciousness, and he found himself in what appeared to be a medbay recovery room. He blinked a few times and turned his head to discover Kalare beaming in a chair next to him.
“You’re finally awake! Good morning! It’s great to see you! I’ve missed you these last few days. You’re not going to believe this, but you’re actually in the same bed I was in when we last saw each other. What a crazy coincidence! How funny is it you came here to say goodbye to me and now a couple days later I’m here to say hello to you!”
Zax tried to focus on her words, but Kalare was hard to keep up with when he was fully conscious much less when he was just waking up with a sedation hangover.
“Whoa—too—many—words. Slow down—please.”
“I’m sorry. It’s just so exciting to see you again.” Kalare sucked in a couple of exaggerated deep breaths before continuing. “I haven’t had anyone to talk with since you went away, so I’ve been bugging the medics nonstop about when they were going to wake you up. And now—you’re up!”
“I get it, I get it. Thanks. It’s nice to see you too. How long have I been out?”
“You were down on the planet three days ago. Most of the time since you’ve been unconscious to recover from getting implanted. I can’t believe how lucky you are to get Plugged In so much earlier than the rest of us!”
Zax had forgotten about the conversation with the medic where she told him he was getting put under for implantation surgery. Kalare’s reminder made him aware something was indeed different inside his head. A red light flashed in his field of vision. It seemed at first to be attached to a piece of equipment past Kalare’s shoulder, but as he turned his head the light moved as well. It was being projected by his Plug and was something only he could see. He was clueless about how to interact with it, but he was now Plugged In! Mikedo could teach him how to use it—wait—
“Where’s Mikedo? How’s she doing? Did they figure out what was wrong with her?”
Kalare’s smile vanished. “You mean they haven’t told you?” She sighed and dropped her face into her hands. The next words came in a whisper. “She’s gone, Zax. She died while you guys were coming back from the surface. They disposed of her straight out of the shuttle rather than risk bringing her body back onboard the Ship. They were worried she was still infectious. The story led the newsvid broadcast the day after you came back.”
Zax had somehow known this would be the answer, so his emotions were already primed and the tears came instantly. Massive, choking, gasping sobs. Kalare draped her body over his and hugged him as she joined in and cried softly. A min later the hatch opened and Zax recognized through his tear-stained vision it was the same medic who was taking care of Kalare when Zax had visited her. The man discovered yet another crying scene between the two of them, and this time turned and left rather than interrupt.
Kalare straightened up after a few mins and perched herself on the side of the bed where she stroked Zax’s head while he continued to sob. Eventually he croaked, “Thank you” through the last remnants of his tears.
“I’m so sorry, Zax. She was so amazing, and it must have been so hard for you when it all happened.”
It was hard. Zax’s mind flashed back to his hopelessness as he pounded on the door of the shuttle compartment and screamed for help. He remembered the horrible panic he felt when he was lying across Mikedo’s body and realized she was no longer breathing. The tears welled up again, but Zax fought to choke them back.
“Do they know what happened to her?”
“All I know is what they announced on the newsvid. Your recon mission went down to figure out the best way to clear out the bugs before Landfall. A group of you had a close encounter with a bunch of bugs. You all got immune boosts, but it must have been too late for Mikedo because she fell ill on the shuttle and died a short time later. Speaking of the newsvid, it’s about that time.” She walked over to activate the monitor embedded in the wall. “I heard a rumor there’s going to be a big announcement this morning, so we should definitely watch.”
The announcer appeared and the graphic behind his head featured a single word—Landfall.
“The Omegas have made a final determination as to the status of the planet we are orbiting. We shared with you previously that a member of the Flight Corps died of an infection sustained during a scouting mission to the planet’s surface. She had been in hand-to-hand combat with a large group of bugs, and the Ship’s medical staff has concluded this was the source of her deadly infection—not anything having to do with the planet itself.
“The original plan was for the Marines to remove all of the bugs before Landfall, but the discovery of this illness has shifted that thinking. The Captain has decided to instead remove the bugs by deploying a Planetbuster from orbit against their settlements. This will glass over the landmass where the bugs are located and make it uninhabitable for centuries, but the Omegas have wisely concluded this is a small price to pay in exchange for not risking additional infections among our Marines. There is more than enough high-quality land on the second continent to sustain a settlement. The loss of the other should not make a difference for the future of the colony.
“We will nuke the bugs in 172 mins and, unless there are any problems, Landfall will start tomorrow. The first wave of colonists will depart at 0700. Let’s go to a report from the staging area where preparations are being made.”
Kalare smiled at Zax. “Well, there’s some good news for you. Cyrus is part of the Colonial Security staff, so he’ll be off the Ship with the first wave tomorrow morning. Since the medic said you’re in here for another twenty-four hours, you don’t have to worry about ever seeing him again.”
Kalare’s words barely registered with Zax. Cyrus was the furthest thing from his mind. All he could think about was what had transpired down on the planet. How his recollections didn’t sync with what he just heard on the newsvid. Kalare was still rambling about something related to Landfall when Zax interrupted her.
“Doesn’t all of this sound a little weird to you? There are tons of historical records of the Ship encountering those bugs, right? We’ve never experienced any sort of infectious disease in our dealings with them before and that includes some furious, all-out battles where thousands of Marines experienced plenty of hand-to-hand combat. When they came to give us our immune boost shots on the shuttle, Mikedo was surprised and questioned the medic about it because she said we never bother doing that when we encounter the bugs. And speaking of Mikedo, the newsvid has it entirely wrong. She didn’t have any close combat with a bunch of bugs—there was a single warrior and Mikedo took it down with her blaster from fifty meters away.”
Kalare seemed bewildered, but Zax continued. “So now, rather than try to learn anything about this mysterious new infectious disease which killed someone within mins of exposure and is associated with aliens we encounter all the time, we’re instead going to just nuke it all away. We’re going to destroy half of the landmass on this planet the day before we drop a colony onto the other half. When was the last time a Captain even used a Planetbuster? Can you think of a single situation from the Ship’s records where we’ve done anything similar to this? It’s all crazy!”
Zax glared expectantly at Kalare and after a few secs she started laughing. “I’m sorry to react this way because I know you’re being serious, but it’s super funny how things have been flipped. You may not remember it, but I distinctly recall a conversation with you from a few weeks ago where I started questioning what I’d just seen on a newsvid and you got terribly upset with me. In fact, you were so angry you stormed out of the mess hall muttering something or other about my ‘paranoid fantasies.’”
Kalare had
a point, but Zax was certain she would share his doubts if only she knew what he had found down on the planet. He felt compelled by his promise to Mikedo, though, to withhold that critical detail. Zax was trying to figure out how little he could disclose while still getting her to appreciate his concerns when the medic returned.
“I’m sorry to interrupt, but I have to get you prepped for a Plug diagnostic.” The medic turned to Kalare. “Time for you to leave, cadet. Your friend will be discharged tomorrow morning and you two can chat all you want after that.”
Kalare stood to leave. “Bye, Zax. Hopefully, they didn’t screw up your brain when they gave you the Plug and that’s what’s making you all crazy paranoid like me. We’ll talk more tomorrow.”
The hatch shut behind Kalare, and the medic appraised Zax with an expression of grave concern. “What did she say about you being paranoid? Are you having any strange thoughts? It’s important I know if there has been any change in your mental state because it could signal a problem with your implantation.”
Zax’s mind had been flooded with all kind of strange thoughts since the newsvid played, but he was certain they had nothing to do with his Plug. “No, sir. Nothing out of the ordinary. She was just joking around. She’s got an odd sense of humor, that one.”
“Well, she seems to care an awful lot about you. She’s been here pestering the staff nonstop about when you would wake up and she could visit you.” The medic grinned. “I might even suspect there’s something happening there beyond just friendship.”
Zax blushed but quickly regained his composure. “You mentioned something about a Plug diagnostic, sir. There’s a flashing red light I’ve been seeing in the lower right corner of my vision. Is that anything to worry about?”
“No, that’s not a problem. It means you have a message waiting. The diagnostic is just a quick scan to be sure your neurons are properly melding with the Plug. The implant tech will be down here in a min and she’ll check you out.”
Zax was intrigued by the idea of a waiting message since he had no clue who would have sent him anything already. “How do I access the message?”
“Sorry, but you can’t just yet. The Plug needs another twenty-four hours to meld before we can fully activate the neural interface. You’re seeing some of the low-level notifications now because that functionality is the first to come online. Assuming there aren’t any problems, you’ll have an orientation session tomorrow afternoon. Your instructor will activate everything and teach you how to interact with the Plug. Don’t worry, cadet—that message isn’t going anywhere.”
CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO
You said ‘if’, sir.
The next morning Zax awoke to enjoy one final meal in bed before he was due to leave medbay. He ate breakfast as the morning newsvid broadcast live coverage of the first two hundred colonists grimly marching into their transport. The former Crew members no longer wore their uniforms, but instead dressed in clothes which identified them as Colonial Security.
Zax caught a glimpse of Cyrus boarding the vessel and allowed himself a quick smile at the realization he had dodged that problem. Aleron remained on the Ship, of course, but Zax could deal with him. A giant psychopath with more muscles than brains and nothing to lose like his mentor, however, was better left far behind.
He received one final physical evaluation and was then discharged. The medic smiled as he wished Zax farewell and said he hoped to not see him again anytime soon—either as a patient or a visitor. Zax’s assignment schedule for the day revealed only light duty with three commitments. He had to lead a class about Landfall for the Gammas in the morning and was scheduled for initial Plug training in the afternoon. Those two activities were sandwiched around a meeting with the Flight Boss which was booked right after lunch.
The thought of meeting with the Boss filled Zax with foreboding. Mikedo made it clear how she told the Omega that Zax had zero knowledge of the mysterious fighter, but the Boss might try to verify that for himself. The chain of events which occurred immediately after Mikedo informed the Flight Boss about the fighter suggested her concerns about the discovery might have been more than paranoia. Zax desperately wished to believe it was all a giant coincidence, but he refused to bet his life on it. He needed to be on top of his game if he sensed the Boss was digging for any reason to mistrust what Mikedo had told him.
Zax set his concerns aside and entered the training compartment full of Gammas. There was a buzz in the air as they were all following the news about Landfall with great excitement. It had been so long since the Ship found a habitable planet that the kids in Gamma probably had no memory of it ever happening. Zax barely remembered the last Landfall himself.
“Good morning everyone. Who watched the morning newsvid?” Zax knew it was a silly question, so he was not the least bit surprised when every hand shot up. “OK, good. I was busy and missed it so who can tell me what they showed?” All of the hands stayed up, and Zax chose a boy who sat in the front row and bounced with enthusiasm.
“Sir—they showed the first wave of colonists loading up for transport down to the planet.”
“Interesting. Who typically makes up the first group?”
“Sir—the new Colonial Security staff goes first. They are former Crew members, so everyone has gone through the rigorous training we all experience. The same way the Crew has final authority on the Ship, Colonial Security has final authority in the new colony.”
“Exactly right. Ten credits.” A girl midway towards the back appeared puzzled and raised her hand. Zax pointed at her.
“I don’t understand, sir. No one from the Crew ever volunteers to join a colony, right? So that means the only Crew members who are picked for Colonial Security are those who have been Culled. Doesn’t this mean all of our colonies are being led by the very worst people from the Crew?”
A boy in the back row jumped in before Zax could answer. “That’s a stupid question! Why do you think the rest of us worry about the Leaderboard so much? No one wants to get Culled because that’s what happens—you wind up dumped off to some nasty colony.”
Zax smiled at the girl who asked the question. “There are no stupid questions, only stupid cadets.” He smirked at the boy who had jumped in as he stressed the last word. “Ten credits for the cadet who asked a good question. For her classmate with the quick answer—ten credits for being right, ten demerits for calling a smart cadet stupid, and fifty demerits for speaking without first raising his hand.”
The boy glared at him, but Zax smiled broadly back at him before he continued. “Though the cadet’s answer was technically correct, I think there was a deeper meaning hidden behind the original question. I would rephrase it this way. Does it make sense for colonies to be led by the worst members of the Crew? I think this question has two distinct answers. Who wants to take a crack at it?”
A number of Gammas raised their hands, but Zax called on the cadet he punished for speaking out of turn. The boy answered smugly, “Because even the very worst Crew member is better than the best civilian.”
“Spot on. That’s the more obvious of the two answers, though, so I’m only giving you five credits.” The boy glared at him even more fiercely than earlier. “Anyone want to take a crack at the second answer?”
All hands remained down around the room. Zax allowed the silence to linger for a few extra beats so everyone was good and uncomfortable before he expelled a dramatic sigh. “Do I have to do all of the work here, cadets?” Zax enjoyed being a trainer so his exasperation was fake and played for effect. He believed you had to needle the kids a little every once in a while to keep them on their toes.
“We all know the Ship’s Mission is to seek out habitable worlds and seed the universe with as many human colonies as possible, right?”
Heads nodded around the compartment and Zax continued.
“If we represent the last remnants of Earth, we owe it to our ancestors who built this amazing Ship to continue that Mission and propagate our species far and wide. W
e could choose to maximize the chances of survival for any single colony by populating it with the best members of the Crew. Our Mission isn’t to create a single successful colony, however, but to create thousands of them. Therefore, the greatest chance of succeeding at our Mission is to keep the best of us on board so the Ship can continue its journey. Since we know the worst Crew member is still far better than the best civilian, we can be confident even those who aren’t good enough to stay in the Crew are well prepared to lead and develop our colonies. Make sense?”
Most heads were nodding, but the interruption boy raised his hand again. Zax pointed in his direction.
“You said ‘if’, sir.”
“Excuse me?”
“Sir—you said ‘if we represent the last remnants of Earth’ like there’s some doubt about it.”
Dammit, thought Zax, this was exactly the type of slip-up Mikedo was worried about when she warned him to push the discovery of the fighter far out of his mind. He hoped the lights were dim enough in the room the cadets wouldn’t notice the flush in his cheeks.
“Thank you, cadet. Good catch as I obviously misspoke. There’s no question the Ship and the colonies it has settled are the last remnants of humankind in the universe. Our ancestors realized almost too late the Earth had very limited time left. They were able to put aside their long history of destructive conflict to unite and pool what remained of the planet’s meager resources to build this Ship—the one and only lifeboat for humanity.”
He wasn’t feeling enthusiastic about the standard Landfall lesson script given all his worries, but Zax knew it was important he deliver it convincingly. “The best and brightest of Earth were selected to be part of its one hundred-thousand-member Crew while a planet-wide lottery picked the civilians who got to come along and staff the less important jobs and provide a pool of future colonists. Ten million civilians were to remain conscious at all times and support the Mission while an additional one billion were put into the Ship’s cryosleep holds. Look around the room right now and you see the descendants of that original Crew. We serve our Mission with pride once more by settling another group of humans who will represent a new outpost to prevent the extinction of our species.”