by Chris Fox
“Okay, so we have to destroy this thing,” Nolan said. He looked Hannan in the eye. “I need you to deliver me a dead Alpha Judicator.”
“I’m not sure we have the ordinance for that, sir,” Hannan said, going a little pale.
“Sarge is right, sir,” Edwards said, holding up his assault rifle. “I had to leave the 601 behind. This pop gun isn’t going to do shit to that monster.”
“You’re not going to be using your rifle,” Nolan said. He glanced around the corner into the room below, then ducked back into the corridor. “Lena, those cables are conducting electricity, right?”
“Yes, I’m almost positive of it,” Lena affirmed.
“Almost positive will have to do,” Nolan said. He turned to Fizgig. “You, Izzy, Hannan and Edwards are going to distract that thing. We’ll wait for it to walk back to the other side of the room, then flank it. Our crossfire probably won’t do much to slow it down, but all we’re trying to do is distract it.”
“We can do that,” Fizgig said, impassively. Her tail swished behind her. “How do you plan to defeat this enemy?”
“I’ll tear one of those cables out of the floor. When the Alpha passes my position, I’ll dart out and plant the conduit against the Judicator,” Nolan explained. He glanced at Hannan. “Can you keep this thing occupied until I get into position?”
“Can do, sir,” Hannan asked, squaring her shoulders.
“Your plan could definitely work,” Lena interjected. “We know that bullets disrupt the cloaking field. That field covers the entire outside of the unit, so I’m betting it’s highly conductive. If it is, the conduit might overload the Alpha’s systems.”
“I do not believe we have any other choice,” Fizgig said. She looked to Nolan. “The command is yours, of course.”
“This is as good a plan as we’re likely to get,” Nolan replied grimly. “Okay, Hannan, this is your show. Give me a window to get to that cable.”
59
Larva
Kathryn awoke with a start and gazed wildly around the room. She was not in her quarters; this room’s flat metal walls were completely unfamiliar. She began to thrash, but found herself restrained. Thick metal bands pinned her head, forearms, wrists, and ankles to the kind of chair that gave dentists a bad name.
“Calm down,” she said, forcing herself to take several long, deep breaths. What was the last thing she remembered? She’d gone to bed in her quarters, after seeding both the Quantum Network and Quantum Lite with stories about Nolan and the Johnston.
Someone must have broken into her quarters, drugged her, and then brought her to a secure facility. It was textbook OFI, designed to put an interrogation subject off balance. Placing them in an unfamiliar situation outside of their control sapped a subject’s willpower, which made them easier to break.
The first method of fighting that was logic. She needed to figure out where she was, who’d taken her, and what they wanted. That meant gathering as much information as possible. She took some time to look at the room she was in. A metal table sat next to her, with an array of wicked-looking torture tools arrayed prominently. A single high-illumination light shone on her from above like a spotlight. That would partially blind her, allowing her interrogators to stand in the shadows.
Kathryn closed her eyes and listened. In the distance she heard voices. One of them was raised in anger, and she focused on that one. She could make out faint words, one of which she recognized immediately. Ghantan. That dropped so many pieces into place. She’d already suspected that Admiral Mendez was behind this, though she hadn’t wanted to believe he was capable of it. Did he think she knew something about the Johnston that he could use?
“Dispatch the seventh. Make sure only loyal ships are sent,” Mendez’s voice boomed. She knew her father well enough to know that his tone meant he was close to panic. The admiral always went on the offensive when angry. “They’re to wipe out the Johnston, and make sure there are no witnesses. No one leaves that system alive—am I clear? If word gets out now, it could ruin everything. It’s too soon. We are not ready for war.”
Footsteps sounded outside the room, stopping just on the other side of what she guessed must be the door. A sharp hiss confirmed her suspicions, and footsteps sounded inside the room. There was only a single pair, and she knew exactly to whom they belonged.
“Good morning, Admiral,” Kathryn said cheerfully. “It sounds like things aren’t going very well. Maybe because someone leaked information about your little coup all over the Quantum Network.”
The footsteps approached until she could see a shadowed figure standing at the edge of the light. The admiral’s bearded face was silhouetted by the light, giving him an even more sinister cast. She couldn’t quite make out his eyes, but she could see the too-white teeth when he smiled.
“Ahh, Kathryn. I’ve suspected your true loyalties for some time, but that last little stunt was a bridge too far,” the admiral pulled a metal stool next to her chair, then sat. He picked up a scalpel from the tray of tools. “Your flippant attitude is admirable. That’s the product of OFI training, and I’d expect nothing less. I have no doubt it would take weeks to break you, if I used traditional techniques.”
Kathryn considered quickly. This verbal sparring match would be short, and represented her only real chance to get information. After this the torture would begin in earnest, and she’d be in too much pain to learn anything of use.
“So why bother breaking me?” she said, turning her head as much as the restraints would allow. “You could have just poisoned me in my sleep. A heart attack, like poor Admiral Kelley.”
“It’s not sentimentality, I assure you. Our relationship has nothing to do with you still breathing,” Mendez said. He leaned closer, until she could smell the tang of tobacco on his breath. “You’re alive because your incredible ingenuity has allowed you to accomplish something no one else in the admiralty has. To date, our little plot has gone completely undetected. We’ve been operating for nearly a year without a whisper of our activities reaching the wrong ears. Then you come along, tossing wrenches into some of our best plans.”
“I’d think that would be more reason to kill me,” Kathryn shot back.
“That would be a waste,” Mendez said, eyeing her with an unreadable mix of emotions. “I’d much rather convert you to our cause, Lieutenant Commander.”
Lieutenant Commander. Not Kate. Not daughter.
“And how is it you plan to do that?” Kathryn said, raising an eyebrow. “I’ll never work for you, not to subvert our government. You have to know that.”
“Of course you will,” the admiral said, giving a booming laugh.
Kathryn knew this stage of the interrogation was ending, so she asked the most important question she could think of. “Why are you doing all this? You were a hero in the Tigris war. A patriot, through and through. What changed you so dramatically, and how did I miss it?”
“You’ll understand our motives soon enough,” the admiral said. He reached into the pockets of his uniform jacket, and withdrew two objects. The first Kathryn recognized. It was a hypo-stim, designed to inject any number of chemicals into a subject. The second was a small clear vial, but she couldn’t make out the contents. “First, I need to ensure your loyalty. And I assure you, you will be loyal.”
The admiral held up the clear vial, just a few inches from her face. Something green and slimy lay inside, a two-inch slug of a species she wasn’t familiar with. It pressed against the glass, writhing as it attempted to get closer to her. “This is a Gorthian larva. It has several unique properties. The first is its ability to rewrite genetic material. It can modify both RNA and DNA, changing the host body to suit its needs. In the case of sentient species, that means rewriting your neurological pathways to fit desired patterns.”
Kathryn could only stare in horror. If the admiral was on the level, this thing would quite literally brainwash her. That explained so much—why trusted members of every major race were serving the
Void Wraith.
“Its next ability is the one I find most intriguing,” the admiral said, holding the vial up for his own inspection. “The larva acts as a quantum transmitter. It can both send and receive information, allowing the masters to orchestrate their grand design.”
Mendez looked back at her, and gave a start. “You look terrified, Kate. Don’t worry. I know that the bonding process is painful. I won’t make you suffer through that.”
He pressed the hypo against her thigh, and there was a sharp pain as the needle bit. Sudden warmth spread through her leg, and up into her chest. When the admiral spoke again his words were far away. “You’ll sleep through the entire process, and when you’ve awoken you’ll be one of us.”
60
Fried
Hannan took several deep breaths. She glanced around at her people. Everyone was ready. “Okay, let’s do this. Fizgig, Izzy, into the hole.”
The two Tigris darted down the stairwell, reaching the bottom in three superhuman bounds. The Alpha began to turn toward them, but they’d already reached the shelter of one of the pods.
“Nolan, let’s go,” she said. Hannan sprinted to the first landing, pausing to fire a three-round burst at the twelve-foot-tall Judicator. The rounds pinged off its face, but they got its attention. It turned in her direction, raising a massive rifle. That rifle took a moment to warm up, blue energy crackling around the barrel.
In that instant Hannan dove from the landing, rolling to safety behind a pod on the far side of the room from where Fizgig and Izzy had taken shelter. The Alpha’s shot hit the stairs where she’d been standing, and the metal erupted into a spray of razored shrapnel that peppered the wall behind it. The pieces of shrapnel left a crater in their wake, both in the landing and in the wall where they’d hit. Jesus, that thing hit hard.
Nolan darted down the stairs behind her, popping off rounds from his pistol as he did. The Alpha pivoted to face him, and Hannan knew he was in serious trouble. Then Fizgig was moving. She popped around her pod, firing a round from her Tigris war rifle. The shot took the Alpha in the face, and actually knocked the thing half a step back. It ruined the Alpha’s aim, and the shot that had been intended for Nolan wound up hitting the ceiling instead.
Nolan dropped from the stairs, rolling to his feet near Hannan. Their gazes met, but Nolan didn’t slow. He ran low and fast behind the pods, crouching near the one closest to the Alpha.
Then Hannan’s attention was back on their opponent. It was stalking through the room, the barrels of its multiple weapons scanning both sides as it sought targets. Edwards leapt into the room, firing off single shots as he dropped into cover behind the stairwell. The Judicator swiveled to face him, and began advancing in Edwards’s direction.
“For Fizgig,” Izzy yelled, charging the Alpha from the side. She made an impressive leap, grabbing the Alpha’s shoulder with one paw. She used the momentum to swing herself onto its back, then buried her bayonet deep into the thing’s neck. If the wound caused any damage, the Alpha certainly didn’t show it.
The Alpha paused, then reached back to remove Izzy. Hannan cursed under her breath, popping out of cover. She unloaded several more three-round bursts, each targeting the same knee. The first two bursts pinged off the tough metal, but one of the slugs from the third volley found something sensitive. The Alpha staggered, and the swipe it had aimed at Izzy missed by a good two feet.
Fizgig charged forward, burying her bayonet in the same knee. She squeezed the trigger of her rifle, and a loud boom echoed through the room. The scent of ozone intensified, but the Alpha seemed otherwise unharmed. It didn’t go down. If anything, the wound had only annoyed it.
The Alpha swung its wounded leg forward, catching Fizgig in the chest. She was launched backwards, sailing toward the wall. Hannan winced, knowing Fizgig would have broken bones from the impact. Then Edwards darted from cover. He dove forward, catching Fizgig the instant before she slammed into the wall. The two went down in a tangle of limbs, but neither appeared to be harmed.
Edwards rolled to his feet, darting into cover near the commander.
“Hurry it up, Nolan,” Hannan ordered. Izzy was dancing away from the Alpha’s probing hand, but sooner or later the thing would grab her.
“Got the cable free,” Nolan yelled back. “You’re going to have to get it closer, though. This thing doesn’t stretch very far.”
“Screw it,” Hannan said. She ran toward the Alpha, popping off single rounds from her assault rifle every third step. Each shot tagged the thing in the face, and by the fourth shot its beady blue eyes had focused directly on her. The Alpha took a step closer, then another. Hannan skidded behind the pod next to Nolan, panting as she glanced up at him. “I hope this works.”
The Alpha stepped around the pod, leaning over it to aim its rifle at her. It seemed to have forgotten Izzy, who was holding onto her rifle with one hand while emptying her sidearm into the back of its neck with the other. Hannan watched as the Alpha’s rifle got closer, until the barrel seemed to swallow her entire vision. Energy began to crackle around that barrel, and she knew she had only a few seconds to live.
Then the thing staggered backward. Hannan rolled away, looking around the other side of the pod. Nolan stood right next to the Alpha, and was holding the conduit against its wounded knee. The Alpha’s back arched, and electricity played up the length of its body in tight, blue arcs. Those arcs caught Izzy, who tumbled limply from the Alpha’s back. Hannan dove, catching the Tigris just before she hit the deck.
“Commander, move,” Edwards roared.
Hannan turned to see what was happening just in time to watch the Alpha topple limply towards Nolan. Edwards shoved Nolan out of the way, but was too slow to save himself. The Judicator fell heavily atop the big Marine, crushing him under several tons of metal.
61
Tigris Bridge
“You’ve brought a human traitor onto my bridge?” a black-furred cat roared at Khar. Dryker stood passively, knowing that anything he said would probably make the situation worse.
“Mighty Fizgig allied with this human,” Khar spat back. The fur on the back of his neck stood up, and his tail swished angrily. “Dryker may be our only chance of survival. Let him speak, or I will challenge you right here, Skaan.”
“Very well. Speak, human,” Skaan said. His eyes narrowed distrustfully.
“In about twenty seconds an internal explosion is going to tear the Johnston apart,” Dryker said.
Skaan’s eyes widened, and he whirled to face his bridge crew. “Disengage the docking clamp. Now!”
“At once, Mighty Skaan,” answered a golden-furred female.
The ship rumbled, and Dryker could see a gap begin to form between the Johnston and the Claw. He winced inwardly as the Johnston’s hull began to buckle. Fire shot out of different points along the hull, while other sections collapsed inward. The whole vessel distended, then broke apart roughly midway down the hull. Seeing it break apart broke something inside of Dryker. She was his ship, and she was dying.
Then the Johnston exploded. The brunt of that explosion was directed inward, but enough force remained to wash over both the Void Wraith vessel and the Claw. They were knocked back, and the screen went white for a moment.
When it cleared, the Void Wraith vessel was still there, seemingly unharmed.
“Mighty Skaan,” the white-furred female called. “The other Void Wraith vessels are beginning to respond. They’re moving away from the station, and heading in our direction. Two have already cloaked.”
“Blast it,” Skaan cursed, rounding on Dryker. “You’ve brought this on us, human. I’ll see you dead.”
Khar glided silently forward, seizing Skaan’s head between both massive paws. The muscles in his arms tensed, and he gave a single twist. There was a sharp crack, then Skaan’s lifeless body toppled to the deck.
Silence reigned across the bridge for several seconds, then the golden-furred comm officer called out. “Mighty Khar!”
&n
bsp; The cry was taken up all over the bridge, until Khar raised his arms to silence it. He turned to Dryker. “Now, what?”
62
Void Wraith Bridge
“Hang in there, Edwards,” Nolan said, kneeling next to the burly Marine, who was still pinned underneath the Alpha.
“Sir, you have to get away. This thing could blow up now that we’ve killed it,” Edwards said, in short pained gasps.
“I doubt that,” Nolan said, looking at the Alpha. “The other Judicators detonated almost immediately. This one’s been dead a good thirty seconds.”
“Nolan is right,” Lena said, approaching cautiously. “I suspect the Judicators have a different directive here. Why set them to detonate aboard your own ship? That could cause catastrophic damage.”
“Excellent point,” Fizgig growled. “That may serve us well. We should keep moving.”
“What about Edwards?” Hannan said. Her face was set into the mask of determination Nolan was beginning to recognize. “We don’t leave our own behind.”
“There is no choice,” Izzy said, placing a paw on Hannan’s shoulder. “We lack the strength to move the Alpha.”
“My legs are crushed, anyway,” Edwards said, panting. The pain must be excruciating, if his armor couldn’t suppress it. “You need to leave me. Finish this, or everything we’ve done is for nothing.”
“He’s right,” Nolan said, standing with a sigh. “Hannan, Izzy, take point.”
“Sir,” Hannan said, moving to stand in front of him. “We can spare two minutes to try to—”
“You have your orders, Marine,” Nolan said. “I need you, Hannan. Get moving. Now.”