by J Battle
Chapter 44
The line of small green reptiles walked upright along the narrow shadowy defile before emerging on the edge of the ravaged plain that seemed to stretch far beyond the distant horizon. With more space, they spread out until they became a small group wandering across the rough ground.
Jullie snorted as he watched them go. If he’d still been in charge, he thought, he would have had them marching two a breast with a little discipline to give them backbone. But he was no longer their leader; not now Sublan had returned along with his odd friends.
He knew that he should just let them go. They didn’t want him, and what did they mean to him? He would hardly miss them, or the responsibility of trying to make something of them, to make them true Sherdling and not just pathetic ex-sub-dubs.
From his position on the side of this rocky hill, he could see the tip of the spaceship and the light breeze brought the sound of the humans jabbering to each other. Perhaps he could join them; let them take him where they would, or could he sway them to his own will and become their guide and leader?
He snorted again at the nonsense idea; how could he sully himself with such primitives? He glanced to the west, and then to the east. Who could say what adventures he would find if he took either course?
But his eyes drifted to the south, to the crowd of Sherdling.
Though there really was no other choice, he couldn’t help feeling a little diminished as he set off to follow them.
**********
The acceleration couches, most of them salvaged armchairs from the derelict settlements, were all occupied and the countdown had begun.
Soon Angel's Kiss would use the last of its conventional fuel to cast them into orbit; the first step on their long journey home.
Stave was standing easily beside the control panel, watching the primitive displays.
‘Dad,’ whispered Mandy, reaching out a hand to him, ’I don’t want to leave. This is my home.’
‘It’ll be OK love; at least we’ll be safe.’
‘But I won’t know anyone, and we’ll be stuck inside all the time.’
‘You’ll be surprised how quickly you get used to it.’
‘But I don’t want to get used to it. Can’t you tell Stave you’ve changed your mind and we want to stay?’
‘It’s too late and it’s not safe here anymore. Just close your eyes. It’ll all be over soon.’
‘Dad! I’m frightened.’
Bill took her hand in his.
‘Don’t worry. I’m here right beside you, and Stave knows what he’s doing.’
Though the words were spoken softly, Stave turned to them and smiled, as if to say, yes, I really do know what I’m doing.
**********
Commodore Hestor Evans adjusted the little plaque on his desk that displayed his medals. He wanted to be sure that when his visitors arrived, they’d be suitably impressed. The purple one was for getting injured in a training exercise on Mars. The orange medal celebrated his exploration of the Oort Cloud. The white star was in recognition of twenty years as a commanding officer with the loss of not a single soldier.
Who could fail to be impressed?
His office was situated close to the lower rim of the great double-wheeled space-station that orbited Mars, so he was able to enjoy almost Earth normal gravity, although things did tend to slip off his desk in unpredictable ways, influenced by the Coriolis Effect.
When he was happy with the way his desk looked, he stepped over to the small mirror and checked his own appearance. His salt and pepper hair was cut to just the right length; no more than ten millimeters, and his beard was neatly trimmed and dyed a really convincing black. His white dress uniform was fastened right up to his neck and he looked every inch the military officer.
Of course he didn't normally wear his dress uniform just to sit at his desk. It was reserved for special occasions, such as the anniversary of the Exile just a few weeks off, and every second Saturday night when he had his special time with Mrs. Evans.
Resplendent in his white uniform, he was required to march into his home and sweep her off her feet; some reference to a twentieth century film, he believed. He was just grateful that they lived a little way towards the center hub where gravity was somewhat lower; otherwise he didn't think his back would be up to the job of lifting his wonderfully round wife.
As he stood before the mirror, he practiced a calm, dignified expression. He didn't want his annoyance to be obvious when his guests appeared. He should have been present when they arrived; when they were presented to the President of the Union. But the President could barely remember his name, and his chief of staff was nothing less than rude when he told him that he'd be the twenty-first person to meet the alien.
After all, he was the leading military office in the whole of the Solar Union. Surely he deserved a little more respect.
It was such a shame that the Solar Union’s navy was made up of only three ships and the regular troops currently stood at two hundred and sixty two, including officers. In fact, one hundred and seventy of them were officers, which Evans couldn’t help feeling was a little top-heavy.
And here he was, waiting for a visit from an emissary of an alien race, knowing full well that, if the alien’s intentions were not friendly, he had very little to defend the Solar Union with.
He jerked when his intercom buzzed.
‘They are here, Sir.’
He settled back in his chair and took a deep breath. ’Send them in, please,’ he said, quietly.
The door to his relatively spacious office opened, and Stave and Andreas stepped into the room.
Evans stood quickly to attention, then smiled and walked around his desk.
‘Good morning, Gentlemen. It is an honor for me to meet such august visitors.’
Stave took two quick steps and grasped his hand, his index finger resting against his pulse for a short moment.
‘Thank you for allowing us a few moments of you precious time.’
As he spoke, Stave’s eyes were fixed on Evans’ face as if he was desperately looking for something that the Commodore wanted to hide. Evans was more than a little dismayed to find himself on the verge of admitting to all of his little foibles
He coughed and extracted his hand. He gestured to the two chairs in front of his desk.
‘Take a seat, gentlemen, please.’
When they were all sitting comfortably, he offered them refreshments.
‘No thank you, Commodore. We are neither hungry nor thirsty.’
‘In that case, let us begin. I must say it was something of a shock to have your ship suddenly appear in our mist; quite out of the blue in fact. Not spotted by any of our peripheral outposts; this is a little disappointing, on a personal level.'
'Let me put you at your ease in that respect, Commodore. They didn't spot us because we didn't actually pass them; not in any real sense. We shifted into you system from a considerable distance; I can send you the details to your implant if you require them.'
'No, no thank you. That will not be necessary.' Evans was not at all happy with the idea of the alien sending something directly to the implant in his brain. At least, not until he knew him better.
'In that case, I will explain the reason for my presence in your solar system.'
'I like a person who gets straight down to business...' He paused when he noticed that his human visitor seemed to have nodded off.
'Is he OK?' he whispered to the alien, feeling a little strange. He'd never expected to be in a position where whispering to an alien seemed appropriate.
'Don't worry about Mr. Barr. He is prone to unexpected behavior. Faulty headgear is the cause, I believe.'
'I see, Mr. Stave...'
'Stave is quite sufficient. No honorific is required.'
'Stave then, you were about to provide some explanations.'
'Yes, Commodore. I am sorry to inform you that your settlement on Tau Ceti E is under attack again and is likely to be overr
un within the next few days. Those settlers who did not make their escape with us will almost certainly not survive. I would also expect data on the location of your home planet to be obtained by the Hru-argh very soon after the attack is completed. Subsequently, they will leave Tau Ceti E and travel here to engage your defense forces and attempt to take over your solar system. I believe that this is an accurate, if brief, representation of the situation you find yourself in.'
It was a lot to take in in one chunk, and no immediate response sprang to the Commodore's lips.
'Could you repeat that to me, please, Mr. Stave?' he said, at last.
Stave did as requested.
'When do you think they will arrive? How much time do we have? Surely it will take them a long time to get here? Tau Ceti must be 10 or 15 light years away.'
'It all depends how long it takes them to obtain the co-ordinates. The actual journey time will be negligible. They could be here in a matter of days. We don't have much time, so we have to develop a strategy that will help you defend yourselves.'
'D-days? How can they...? No, this can't be right. There must be a mistake. We can't possibly be expected to... '
'Listen to him, man. He knows what he's talking about.'
Andreas was back in the room and firing on all cylinders.
'I need full details on your navy; the number and category of ships, current deployments and capabilities. I need information on all planet and satellite defense systems and you will probably need to pass legislation to give you full power over the populace of the Solar Union. The whole of the Union will have to work together to have a chance.' Stave paused for a breath.
Evans groaned and dropped his face into his hands; he only just made the catch.
'What is it Commodore? Surely it is too early for despair.'
Evans muttered into his hands.
'I beg your pardon Commodore but I did not hear your words clearly.'
Evans remained still for a moment, and then he raised his head. His face was flushed and his eyes were strangely shiny.
'We only have three ships.' He whispered as if afraid to say the words out loud.
Stave glanced at Andreas. Andreas raised his eyebrows and made a sound half way between a groan and a laugh.
'You have only three ships in your navy?'
'It's all we ever needed, Stave,' replied Evans; trying not to sound defensive, and failing.
'Defense facil...?' Stave stopped as Evans shook his head.
'We've never needed them.'
'Smart weapons?'
'We have some...twelve I think.'
'Twelve?'
'They're very expensive.'
'Not nearly as expensive as their lack.' Stave stood up and began to move slowly around the room.
When he'd completed two circuits he returned to his chair.
'How many ships could you commandeer at short notice into you navy? Police, government, private.'
'If we included every ship in the system we'd probably have...what, about five hundred craft, I think, give or take.'
'We'll need them all.'
‘But what can we do with them in such a short time? Most will have some defensive weapons, but what use will they be against supercharged alien battleships?’
‘Trust me, Commodore. All they need is an upgrade and a very good plan.’
Chapter 45
Heldon emerged in to real space; tumbling gently as the stars spun across his vision.
It was a strange feeling; shifting without a ship. But the gift from the Selflief was an essential requirement if he was to undertake the defense of The Milky Way in the only manner he could see that had a chance of success; even if that was only a slim chance.
With the organic shifters he had grown, and the strange little muscle that somehow linked him to the ancillary avatar of the Selflief, which would do the heavy lifting in the shift calculations, he was almost ready to leave.
But not quite.
He wished Jashna-del was still here; ready to act as his tool, leaving him to do what he did best; the planning, the organization, the subtle influencing. It was such a long time since he’d needed to get involved personally. Not since…no, there was no value in bringing that awful time to mind. Better to focus on the matter at hand.
The thought of Jashna-del sparked the seed of an idea in his mind.
Was there time? Would he agree? Could he make such a request of Jashna's son? Or was he just delaying taking the action he’d chosen; the action that would involve risking everything for the Galaxy he called home?
If he left immediately, perhaps he could prevent the destruction of another star. But having help might increase the chance of success; the chance of saving all of the stars.
Heldon eased out of his tumble and searched the panoply of stars that blessed him with their cold light. He soon found the one he wanted; dim and distant. He flexed the little muscle that linked him to the Selflief and tensed his shift organs. He was self-aware enough to realize that fear played a part in his decision but, after eons of success, could The Milky Way survive his first failure?
**********
The onslaught was remorseless and deafening. Deep underground, Dan hoped that he'd find it a little easier to dissuade the Evinesse from their attempt on the northern settlements, with evidence of their folly ringing in their ears.
As the tunnels shook around them, many of them discarded their strands and cast themselves into the subterranean watercourse. Those that could retain personal integrity pressed themselves against the walls of the tunnel, with their optical organs covered by their frond-like hands.
Dan made a couple of forays to the surface, to see what information he could gather. The first time it was nominally night-time, but the sky was brighter than the hottest day, lit by energy weapons and barrages of explosions. Even the air smelt burnt and he could taste the grit in his mouth as he covered his ears with his hands, trying to block the concussive noise.
The ground shook as if subjected to a thousand consecutive mini earthquakes, and he knew that he had to make a final attempt to get the aliens to give up their fight for their world; get them to run for their lives; run and hide as far from any human settlements as it was possible for them to travel.
He couldn’t allow them to still be here when the ground troops arrived to clear up whatever was left alive after the unbelievable bombardment that was raining down on the great planet.
When the assault had tailed off a little, he found Ardeenallwys still quivering amongst the others, pressed against the tunnel wall.
'We have to leave, while we still have time. When the aerial attack finishes they'll put troops on the ground. If they find these tunnels, you'll be helpless. They'll kill you all.'
Ardeenallwys dropped her hands from her face, and turned to him.
'REPETITION PROVIDES NO ADDITIONAL INFORMATION OR IMPETUS. YOU HAVE ALREADY USED THESE WORDS, AND THEIR MEANING IS FULLY UNDERSTOOD. AS WE ALSO HAVE ALREADY SAID, WE ARE COMMITTED TO THIS COURSE OF ACTION AND NO WORDS OR EXPLOSIONS OR SHAKING OF THE WORLD CAN DISSUADE US.'
'But, can't you see? You're all going to die, if you don't hide.'
'WE WILL NATURALLY HIDE AS WE SEEK TO DESTROY THEM, DANROBINSON. WE ARE NOT LACKING IN INTELLIGENCE. WE CAN SEE THAT A FRONTAL ATTACK WOULD BE FOOLHARDY. BUT AN ATTACK WILL BE MADE AND THEY WILL BE BANISHED FROM OUR WORLD.’
She paused for a moment as Dan began to shake his head.
‘I SEE YOU ARE EXPRESSING DISAGREEMENT, BUT KNOW THIS, DANROBINSON, THIS IS HOW WE SEE THE FUTURE, AND THIS HOW THE FUTURE WILL BE. IF YOU WISH TO RUN AND HIDE, WE UNDERSTAND, AND WE THANK YOU FOR YOUR HELP THUS FAR. IF YOU WISH TO PROVIDE FURTHER ASSISTANCE, THEN YOU WILL BE OUR THREE TIME FRIEND.'
Dan groaned and leant his forehead against the cool, glowing wall. What was he going to do now? He was surrounded by his frail alien friends and he had no more words to deflect them from the course they felt compelled to take.
His sleigh was lying where he'd left it, so
long ago. He could take it and continue his search for Helen, although he’d already spent many hours looking for her over the past few days.
With no trace of her so far found, she really could be anywhere. Or he could give up on her and make his way south on his own. South to possible safety; away from the Hru-argh and away from his friends.
He shook his head; what was the point in fooling himself? He was never going to leave them to take on the Hru-argh on their own. He had the gift of his life to repay, and he quite liked the idea of being their Three-time friend. And he still had to find Helen.
'In that case,' he said, pushing himself away from the wall, 'we need a cunning plan. Any ideas?'
**********
Ser-Illar tightened the straps on his diaper. This was it; the culmination of all those years of training, of sacrifice. He'd had the honor of being called to the elite service more than five years earlier and this would be his first taste of action, and he was ready; so ready. He checked for signs of fear within himself, and snarled his delight at their absence. The danger ahead meant nothing to him; he relished the chance to risk his life for his squad, for his people, for the honor of the great Hru-argh Empire. His mouth watered at the opportunity he would have to kill and tear and feed and a satisfyingly strong odor drifted from the tight confines of his diaper.
He glanced at his comrades in arms, arrayed all around him. He could see that they too were ready. Everywhere he looked sharp teeth were on display as every soldier snarled his defiance.
He checked his arm cannons, designed to leave his enhanced claws free for close fighting and his air harness that would carry him to the ground fast enough so that he wouldn't be a helpless target for too long, but slow enough that he would not be broken by the impact with the ground.
A loud buzzer sounded and darkness filled the disembarkation hold.