Star Force 12 Demon Star

by B. V. Larson

  “All of us are highly educated,” he said cautiously. “Why do you ask?”

  “I’d like to connect our console to this base’s sensors. Where can we do that?”

  “We can use our own systems, if you will allow us.”

  “No way. I don’t trust you. Everything will go through our console. Just give us a place to tap in.”

  “I am not sure our electronics are compatible.”

  “We’ll see. Kwon, gather everything up. We’re moving back to the command center.”

  By the time we got to the command center, I could walk on my own and see after a fashion. The world looked like it was all underwater, but I was happy nonetheless.

  The circular room was divided into six sectors, which I presumed corresponded to arcs of fire, with a director’s chair in the center. Much of the furniture and many of the consoles were wrecked, apparently by hand-to-hand fighting with Demons. Bodily fluids spattered the walls and floor, but no body parts larger than a finger remained.

  Maybe it was as Galen had said, and the dead Elladans had been eaten. Certainly the Demons that had been in possession of the base had done something with them.

  “Pigs, clean this place up as much as you can. Get rid of all the debris. Galen, who’s your best technician?”

  “Cybele, I believe.”

  I turned to the woman he indicated. I could tell she was female by her body shape, though she looked like a spectral blob to me. “Okay, Cybele. See if you can get your systems to feed our console. I’m sure you’d like to see what’s going on outside as well.” Doubtless she would try to gain some advantage with her superior knowledge of the fortress, but it was a risk we would have to take.

  I stepped over to Kwon. “Did you see any automated defenses inside this base? Like we have on Valiant?”

  “A few, boss. Most were wrecked.”

  “Have our Raptors disable any here inside the command center. I don’t want the Elladans activating them and using them against us. Ditto for anything else that looks dangerous. You didn’t see any battle-drones or war-robots, did you?”

  “No…hey, that’s a good idea!”

  I’d thought so too when it had occurred to me, the unorthodox idea I’d referred to only in the privacy of my own mind. “Yes, well, Star Force has always vetoed having independent brainboxes with weapons. We bent that rule with our internal laser turrets, but Valiant can always override them, and we can override Valiant. I don’t think headquarters is ready to create things like little Macros—things that might go rogue.”

  “Yeah, and what fun is having robots do our fighting for us?”

  I slapped him on the shoulder. “Only you would see it that way, Kwon. Don’t ever change. Now pass my orders on, and keep an eye on Cybele.”

  “I’m no tech, boss. How am I supposed to know if she’s doing anything sneaky?”

  “She doesn’t know how skilled you are. Get one of the Raptors to help you look over her shoulder. Keep her worried enough that she won’t try anything.”

  I left Kwon to his duties and went over to where Galen sat. “So you used some biochemical trick to get the Demons to attack each other in their ships. Why couldn’t you defend this base the same way?”

  “We did, but the scorpions and beetles aren’t susceptible to influence, and the humanoid Demons wear protective gear, reducing our effectiveness. This technology isn’t magic, Captain. It’s merely one more weapon in our arsenal.”

  “You’re losing this war. You know that, don’t you?”

  “Perhaps.”

  “I spoke to my ship. The Demons are about to win. The Ketans are two days out. They’ll liberate Ellada, but you won’t recover before they come again. That means your planet and your civilization are doomed unless you do something radical.”

  “Radical? What do you mean?”

  I shrugged. “I can think of a dozen things off the top of my head. First, quit worrying about your pretty cities, your art and culture, and throw everything you have into building defenses and weaponry. Arm every able-bodied person, even your slaves. Retool every factory. Join with the Ketans and go invade Tartarus. Wipe out the threat once and for all. That’s what humans would do.”

  Galen was appalled. “Arm the slaves? Are you mad? They would revolt against their betters the first chance they had.”

  “Maybe, maybe not, but taking that chance is better than getting conquered and enslaved yourselves. We have a saying: desperate times require desperate measures.”

  Galen thought for long minutes. I let him mull it over.

  “The Senate will never agree,” he finally said. “They’re extremely conservative in these matters.”

  “What about you?”

  “I am the offspring of a military strategist. I can see what’s coming. The Demons were bound to win eventually, as they grow ever stronger, while we do not. I’ve spoken with my father about this, but he also is constrained by the Senate, and perhaps by his own preconceptions.”

  I sat down on the deck, stretched out and leaned my back against a bulkhead. I doubted any of the chairs would hold the weight of my armor. “Galen, before I was born, a fleet of homicidal AI-controlled machines we called Macros came to Earth and tried to wipe us out. My father wasn’t a military man or a politician. He was just a guy that got pissed off about it, and he happened to have the skills and the drive to figure out how to defeat them. To do that, he completely disrupted human society. He often had to make hard choices, such as allowing millions of our own people to die in order to beat the Macros. I can’t even begin to tell you how many rules he broke or how many people he pissed off, but in the end, he beat them—and several other enemies along the way, including traitors within our own ranks. And we didn’t even have a space fleet at the time. So if we could do it, you Elladans can do it.”

  “That’s a fantasy for us. The elders are set in their ways.”

  “If it’s a matter of survival, you might want to think about drastic measures. Plenty of civilian governments have been overthrown by the military. It doesn’t work in the long run, but for the short term…”

  “You’re talking about treason! We’d be dehydrated!”

  I frowned. Was “dehydration” a form of execution? I supposed that it must be.

  “If traitors prosper, none dare call them traitors. Would you rather become slaves of some bug army?”

  “Of course not.”

  I leaned in toward the man I was trying to turn against his own government. “Then you might have to convince your father to seize power for the good of all. And if I get through this with my ships intact, the Whales and I will be all that’s left. What will they do?”

  “The Ketans? They’ll go home. It was only through tremendous effort that we convinced them to come liberate us this time. They do not like to leave their planetary system.”

  “You mean you used your biochemical suggestion drugs on them, right?”

  “Of course. They’re difficult to influence, with their multiple minds and complacent attitudes.”

  “And you don’t think you’ll be able to keep them here.”

  “No. But there will be no need, if the Demons are all destroyed.”

  I smiled, hoping Galen could see my expression. “Good. That will leave us as the only military power above the planetary surface.”

  “If we make it through the next two days.”

  “Optimistic son of a bitch, aren’t you?”

  But he was right. Things might get interesting pretty soon.

  -20-

  “Galen,” I asked my prisoner of war as we sat in the control room of the wrecked Elladan battle station, “if you were able to talk to your father, do you think you could convince him to order Stalker released? That’s the Raptor battleship under my command.”

  “I’m willing to try.”

  “Is that console ready yet?” I asked Cybele.

  “I’m testing the interface now,” she said. “I believe it will function.”

 
“Use it to access your communication systems and try to make contact with Strategos Argos.”

  “Yes, Captain.”

  The Elladans all seemed cowed and compliant now that we had the upper hand. I guess it was a shock to them. Maybe they were having feelings of inadequacy, maybe they were suspecting that they were the lower order now. I kind of hoped that’s how it felt to them. They deserved it.

  My sight gradually improved as the hours passed, but it wasn’t fast enough for me.

  Cybele spoke into the audio pickup for some time. She reached various ships and units, and eventually got the offices of the Strategos on the line.

  “Let me speak,” Galen said. He took Cybele’s place, and then said, “High Command, this is Captain Galen for my father, the Strategos.”

  A moment later, Argos came on the line. “Hail, my offspring. Did you capture the foreigners?”

  I shoved Galen aside and grinned. “No, you backstabbing jackass,” I said. “He didn’t. In fact, he’s lucky to be alive. If you want him and the survivors to stay that way, you’ll turn my Raptor battleship loose before it’s pointlessly destroyed.”

  I heard mumbling in the background, as if someone had covered the microphone at the other end, and then Argos spoke again. “The Raptor ship is vital to our defense, and my spawn is a soldier. He always knew he might have to give his life for his people.”

  “Dammit, man,” I said. “We could have helped you much more, but you had to try to compel us. What made you turn against us?”

  The Strategos’ voice sounded dull, defeated. “It is our way to dominate others. We could not afford to trust you newcomers in this desperate situation. We had to be sure of your help.”

  “So you made my ships shoot at one another? That’s how you cement alliances on Elladan? Who made the decision to backstab us?”

  Galen spoke up next to me. “It must have been the Senate. My father follows orders, he doesn’t make policy.”

  I chuckled grimly. “What about you?” I asked Galen. “You agreed to the plan readily enough.”

  “I’m a soldier. I was only told to capture a force of aliens who were trying to seize this base.”

  “Just following orders, huh?” I asked. “Both of you have the same excuse for treachery.”

  My words were bitter, but if he was telling the truth, he wasn’t entirely to blame.

  “It was the will of the Senate,” Argos said. “The military serves the people, and the Senate represents the people.”

  “Listen, Strategos. Your Senate might have lost you the war. Even though the Whales may defeat the Demons, your world may never recover. The only way your people will survive is if you mobilize the entire planet for war. Doing so requires that a ruler rises up, one who is willing to do what it takes today, but who will give up power later when peace returns. That’s what my father did on Earth, and that’s what you’ll have to do to save your planet.”

  “The Senate will never make me the singular ruler.”

  “Then, as Shakespeare said, if persuasion fails—you must compel.”

  “Who said this?”

  “Never mind. I mean, if they don’t give it to you, you have to take it. For the good of your people and your survival.”

  “You’re a persuasive snake, Captain. On one hand you complain we are dishonorable, then a moment later, you suggest I turn against my own government. Can it be this is your way of influencing my mind? It is crude, but I’ll think about your suggestion.”

  “What about Stalker?” I asked. “I demand you release your hold over her crew.”

  A pause. “I will direct my subordinates to release your weak crewmen. The vessel can’t turn the tide of battle anyway. I feel that preserving it is wise…I would suggest that you crew it with personnel with stronger minds in the future.”

  “Don’t worry about that, Argos. We’ll be taking precautions from now on.”

  “Father,” Galen said, “I believe Captain Riggs to be correct. You must force the Senate to give you sweeping powers. The constitution must be suspended. The Demons will only come in greater strength next year.”

  “As I said, my spawn, I must ponder. Be well. End transmission.”

  Spawn? It seemed like an odd thing to call your son, but maybe my translator was doing its best and failing.

  I keyed my ansible the moment the channel with Argos closed. “Valiant, come in. Get me Hansen.”

  “Hansen here.”

  “The Elladans have agreed to release Stalker. As soon as possible, get her out of the battle to rejoin with you. Try to get them all into sealed suits that have been decontaminated and are impervious to biological agents. Fall back as far as you need to and make repairs then come back to pick us up when the Whales arrive.”

  “Okay, Captain. You sure you don’t want us to try to rescue your team before that?”

  “I can’t see well enough to make that call. Honestly, XO, could you do it?”

  Hansen didn’t say anything for a moment. “It would be tough to get to you,” he finally admitted.

  “By which you mean, too tough to risk it?”

  “Yeah,” he said. “Sorry. There are sixty Demon ships in the region finishing off the remnants of the Elladan fleet, and they’d be all over us if we came within range. But Captain…do you really think you can hold out for two more days?”

  “I guess we’re going to find out.”

  “We lost the Nano frigates,” he said in a grim tone. “All but one of them.”

  “Damn. Hansen…put me through to Adrienne.”

  “Okay. I’m out.”

  A moment passed. “Cody?” came a soft, feminine voice. It felt good to hear my girl again.

  “Good to hear your voice, Adrienne.”

  “Cody, why aren’t we coming in to rescue you?” she asked.

  “Hansen says it’s too dangerous.”

  “That means you told him not to. Or, that he’s lying and wants your job.”

  I could tell she wasn’t going to be reasonable about this. She wanted me home, and anyone who got in the way of that was going to be attacked.

  “Let’s not fight,” I said. “I’ll see you soon enough, I promise.”

  We expressed our feeling for a while in low tones. When the channel closed, she felt better—but I didn’t. I missed her.

  Valiant called again soon afterward. “Stalker is withdrawing and the Demons aren’t pursuing her. It appears they’re consolidating and beginning the mop-up phase. I will call again if they approach your position.”

  “Thanks, Valiant. Make repairs, stand by, and do what you can without too much risk. Riggs out.”

  Turning to Galen, I said, “Do you people bathe?”

  The man drew himself up as if insulted. “Of course we bathe. We consume most of our liquids through our skins, in fact.”

  That was a weird statement, but I let it go. “Is your bathing facility intact?”

  “I can show you the way.”

  I grunted and gestured. “Anyone else who wants to come along can,” I said to the Elladans.

  Galen led us down a passageway to what turned out to be a very nice bathing complex. He fiddled with a few controls, and soon hot water flowed into a series of baths.

  “Everything you need is here,” he said. He showed me where towels and perfumed oils were stored. I was disappointed they had nothing resembling soap, but I figured I couldn’t have it all.

  “You guys have more luxuries on a battle station than we would,” I said, cracking my suit and stepping out of it. I felt grungy and figured that this would be the last chance I’d have to get clean for a while.

  “What’s the point of living if you can’t live well?” he replied.

  “Getting home is more important for us. And you’d better grow some backbone for hardship if you want your people to survive—uh, sorry.”

  I realized at that moment with a jolt that these people didn’t have backbones. I had no idea how they moved, in fact. They must have cartilage or
something. Maybe they could flexibly increase the rigidity of various portions of their bodies.

  Galen shrugged out of his pressure suit and slipped into the hot water. The other four Elladans got naked too, and I admired the view of the three women. They were some of the most perfect specimens of female humanity I’d ever seen, making me wonder if they practiced genetic engineering, or at least selective breeding among their upper classes. I turned away when they saw me watching.

  As they climbed into the tubs, I saw them bend and flex their limbs now and then in ways no human could have done. So very odd.

  “Galen,” I asked, “I know you people aren’t really human. You just look like us. You don’t even have bones in your bodies.”

  Galen looked at me flatly, saying nothing. It seemed to me he was hiding something.

  “That’s okay by me,” I said. “I’ve seen loads of different physiologies on countless worlds. But what I’m wondering is if you’ve taken on human appearance for our benefit.”

  Galen looked uncertain. “We’ve wondered the same thing,” he said. “Long ago, when we were more primitive in form, we must have decided to look like humans. There’s no other explanation.”

  I frowned. “You mean you can take on any form you like?”

  “Theoretically. But we can’t do that as someone might flip a switch. This bipedal humanoid formation of cells is popular among our kind. It has been for a long time. We’re not sure why, as our original colonies didn’t keep records. Our generations are short, you see.”

  I didn’t see, not at all. “Are you saying you die young?”

  “Not as complete forms, as you see here. It is our individual cells that die quickly. Fortunately, we’ve evolved sufficiently to allow our minds to recall events from previous generations.”

  “I’m not following you,” I said, laughing. “But it doesn’t matter. You’re some kind of oddball alien that can reshape itself, and at some point you must have decided to look like humans. Maybe you know a guy named Sokolov. He knew about your people.”

  Galen stared at me. “That name is known to us.”

  I pointed a dripping finger at him. “Ah-ha! That bastard! He isn’t on your planet somewhere, is he?”