by Damon Alan
Seeming to sense her agitation, Jac looked up at her and cooed. “Gaajamoo?”
Sarah smiled instinctively. Jac was eight months old and growing like mad. She was due to stop nursing him in two months, then report for duty. She was off combat duty a year already when he was born, because of her injury. After healing she was given another year to give birth and breastfeed Jac. Not that the Navy wasn't working her in non-combat roles. She made appearances at recruiting drives, gave speeches at shipyards, and met the Queen for a holovised talk about duty to the state.
On that holovid the Queen said people should continue to make future citizens. Sarah didn't agree, but had the sense not to contradict her monarch. Besides, at this point that would be hypocrisy. Birth rates were plummeting since Zelan. With the Hive conquest of Alberath, birth rates were going to head down again.
“Moo?” Jac asked.
Sarah stared into Jac's deep brown eyes and smiling face. “You're Mommy's reason to fight, aren't you baby boy?”
“Moo?”
“Oh, alright.”
Sarah fed Jac the contents of her other breast and sat quietly as he ate. The childcare room at the public relations office where Vonn worked was empty but for Sarah and Jac. She and Vonn regularly spent time at Vonn's office, when one or the other wasn't away for a speech or event.
The surviving ships from Alberath were berthed above Korvand for repairs at the navy's orbital shipyard. The ships were visible in the night sky, lit by work lights. The massive station was a visible sign of the Royal Navy people saw regularly. A reminder of the call to service.
“Naa,” Jac said.
“Done? Okay, sweetie, let's find Daddy.”
Sarah walked back into the offices, Vonn was speaking to a young man at the front desk as Sarah walked up. “—is probably the best way to go if you want to serve, the Army isn't seeing any action in this war. If you get close enough to shoot Hive with a rifle, you're infected.”
“So get close enough to shoot them with a railgun,” Sarah added.
Vonn beamed. “Recruit, I'd like you to meet my wife, Lieutenant JG Sarah Dayson.”
“From One-Eight?” the kid asked.
Sarah smiled at the young man, but wanted to run.
“The same,” Vonn answered for her. “I'm proud of her.” Vonn took Jac from Sarah. “And this handsome man is our son, Jac.”
The kid cooed at Jac, but seemed afraid to interact. Maybe he thought babies broke if he touched them. Sarah laughed then spoke to Vonn. “I'm leaving Jac with you, Mister. I'm taking a shuttle to Gern Station to see if I can get some simulator time before I return to duty in two months.”
“You're going back to fight Hive?” the recruit asked.
Sarah set her jaw. “If I have anything to say about it.”
Vonn shook his head. “What she means is yes.”
“Me too,” the kid said. “Where do I sign?”
* * *
08 MAI 15311
Sarah's entangler squawked.“Zero-Five squad, Korvand Defense Orbital. Gravitational lens detected out system. You're the nearest grappler flight. Sending target coordinates for intercept.”
This flight was the first time Sarah was assigned an entangler radio, it was strange communicating instantly with another person light-hours away. The entangled atoms, a few dozen in each radio, responded instantly to each other, allowing the communication. Too bad FTL travel severed the entanglement or interstellar communication would be much easier. Sarah picked up the mic from her nav station. “Zero-Five copies. Awaiting coordinates for diversion. Zero-Five out.”
“KDO out.”
The grappler squad Sarah commanded was linked to Sarah's boat, Zero-Five. Her panel activated as she received the targeting data.
She switched from the entangler radio to the local squad frequency. “How's everyone doing?”
The other three grapplers in her flight responded with various greetings.
“We're diverting to scan a target two days outward from us. Probably another bulk freighter, but that adds seven days to our flight time. Watch your stores, that will be cutting it close. I know it's not the news you're looking for, but hey, it's extra combat pay.”
“Zero-Eight. We're going to be running into reserves on oh-two, Hugo's a mouth breather.”
“How deep?” Sarah asked.
“About eight hours. Nothing that makes me nervous.”
“That leaves you over two days on reserve. Ask your team. It's only recon, you can return to base if you want.”
Several seconds passed before Zero-Eight answered. “We're with you. RTBing is for wimps.”
Sarah laughed. “Tell Hugo to take an antihistamine and breathe through his nose.”
“Zero-Eight, roger.”
Sarah transmitted the target to the other ships, in case Zero-Five was lost. The squad moved into a stacked diamond so their fusion exhaust wouldn't affect each other, then burned toward their target.
* * *
“Burn complete,” Sarah's pilot said.“We've matched velocities with the unknowns.”
“Zero-Six, Zero-Five. What does your scan package report?” Zero-Six carried a modular sensor package designed to carry an array of sensor types. The package included sensor limpets capable of detecting Hive activity from outside the hull of an infected ship.
Ensign Elia Vantis's voice broke over the speaker. Elia was a classmate of Sarah's at the grappler academy. She wasn't at Zelan, and didn't get the promotion Sarah did. “Lead, Zero-Six. We read five freighters, one FTL grade. All five transponders interrogate as from Zelan.”
That's not good.
“Roger,” Sarah replied. “Let's close for inspection.”
Zero-Five squad executed a small maneuvering burn to close the distance on the massive vessels.
“Launch limpets,” Sarah ordered. “One fore, one aft, each ship.”
“Zero-Six, roger.”
Sarah watched the tiny devices drop from Vanter's grappler, then race forward on small engines. The devices would magnetically clamp to the freighter hulls, offering Sarah options for scanning inside them.
“Elia, how long for a report?” Sarah asked.
“As soon as they stick, Lieutenant. About twelve minutes from this distance.”
“So we wait…” Sarah said. “Anyone play twenty questions?”
Silence answered her.
“Guess not,” she grumbled. Sarah plotted the burn back to Korvand Defense Orbital during the wait.
The radio squelched.“Local patrol, this is the Anciter, over?” Sarah checked the frequency. Monarchy civilian bands.
The call was phrased as a question. The poor sensors on the ships were probably barely detecting the small grapplers. Sarah didn't answer.
“You going to answer that, Lieutenant?” Sarah's copilot asked.
“No. Maintain silence.”
“Local patrol, we need help. The Gerette, the Malvanis and the Bolani Express aren't answering our hails. We need you to get a message to them.”
Sarah kept silent. Although the other three grapplers discussed operations on the common frequency, it was on a military band the freighters shouldn't be able to hear. Sarah noticed Elia's voice absent from the conversation.
“Oh stars, the other ships are infected aren't they? The Anciter is clean!” The voice shrieked in desperation. “We're just trying to live.”
Is it odd he'd broadcast that suspicion?
Elia sent the incoming data from the limpets directly to Sarah's command display. Two of the five ships showed Hive signatures fore and aft, one showed the EM signature of Hive in the forward compartments only. The Anciter did appear to be clean.
Sarah called KDO on the entangler, isolating her microphone from her crew and the rest of the squad. “KDO, Zero-Five. Five freighters popped the bubble. Inbound Korvand by zero burn trajectory. Origin Zelan.”
“KDO copies, Zero-Five. Crew status?”
“Three ships Hive infected. Two scan as no infectio
n. Request instructions.”
“One moment, Zero-Five.”
Two minutes passed. Sarah listened to the chatter among her crews, and ignored an incoming private call from Elia. She sent Elia text by console ordering her not discuss the survey results. Sarah would let the others know when the time was right.
“Zero-Five, KDO.”
“Zero-Five.”
“You are to destroy all five ships. Nuclear release granted. Stand by for release code.”
Attacking the freighters was the order Sarah expected. Her stomach twisted and tears gathered in the corners of her eyes.
I wish tears weren't how I showed my emotions.
It would take KDO a few minutes to deliver the codes. Sarah prepared her crew. She punched into the squad frequency.
“…then there's a bar on Overtin that serves fresh—”
Sarah interrupted. “Hold off on that for a moment. I need to discuss something with you.”
Silence. They probably already knew what it was.
“The freighters ahead are Hive infested. Three for certain, two we don't know. We've been ordered to destroy them.”
The frequency exploded. “You can't… what if… there might be… two aren't…”
“Quiet,” Sarah broke in on the override. “Our duty is clear. My boat will make the kill shot. We will not broadcast any warning to the freighters. I think I'd want to go without seeing it coming. They won't suffer.”
The radio immediately broke out into discussion about that. Sarah let them talk, the decision was made. Other than the laser linked comm between the grapplers, she controlled all communication. The decision on how the operation proceeded was hers.
Four minutes passed. The Anciter called three more times, each time more plaintive than the last. Sarah wondered if the calls were a trick. She didn't know if the Hive could fake human conversation. She didn't know if all five ships were infected, the limpets weren't one hundred percent effective. What she did know was that the squad would use nuclear weapons on civilians within minutes. She regulated her breathing so her voice wouldn't crack when she spoke to KDO.
“Zero-Five, Korvand Defense Orbital.”
“Zero-Five.”
“Indicate ready for code.”
Sarah opened a small panel on the console to her right. A holographic keyboard popped up. “Zero-Five ready to receive.”
“Uniform, tango, six, one, four, six, Delta, Mike.”
Sarah entered the code and launch panels at the weapons stations on each grappler slid open.
“Zero-Five. Will report destruction of targets.”
Sarah took a deep breath, then spoke to her squad. “As I said, Zero-Five will launch the killing strike. The rest of you will keep your missiles in reserve to saturate the area with EMP after the kill. Zero-Five out.”
Sarah looked left at her weapons officer, Ensign Muhsin Danagri. He was studying location data for the freighters. “Muhsin, prepare our attack. Stand by to launch.”
“I'm not doing it,” Muhsin replied.
Sarah stared intently at Muhsin. He wasn't looking at her, from the side his face was blank and emotionless.
I do NOT need this right now.
Sarah switched to her command voice. “Excuse me? I must not have heard that right.”
“You heard me, I'm not killing civilians. It's a war crime.”
“Muhsin…” Sarah's copilot implored. “We have a duty.”
“You will do as you're ordered,” Sarah said. Her emotions flashed inside her, cresting and falling, rage at Muhsin's defiance, sympathy with his plight. They had a duty to their world. Her own crew mutinying wasn't expected and she didn't need it.
“I don't kill civilians,” Muhsin answered.
Sarah lowered a panel on the ceiling. She dialed life support for Muhsin's suit to zero. Muhsin's suit had overrides that would kick in to keep him alive, but she cut those too. Muhsin's suit would slowly lose oxygen and build up carbon dioxide unless she turned the life support back on.
“What the fuck are you doing?” Muhsin screamed. “You bitch—” He reached toward her, but the console between them was too wide for him to succeed. He started to unhook the auto-straps on his grav couch.
Sarah locked those out too.
“I'm doing exactly what I'm supposed to do if you refuse a wartime order.” Sarah gestured at the life support controls. “If you want that turned back on, you will plot the attack pattern for our missiles, then you will launch them once I verify your targeting data. I have time to wait you out. If you want to live, you should get started. You have about eight minutes of consciousness. Maybe less, since you're struggling.”
Sarah heard the front seaters gulp simultaneously. “Sarah…” the pilot said.
“Silence,” Sarah ordered. “Muhsin, you will do as I command, or you will die a convulsing death from carbon dioxide poisoning in that suit. Your choice.”
“Fuck you,” Muhsin raged, but began plotting the solution for the missiles. “Turn the scrubbers back on.”
“You weren't listening. I said when you complete your task. If you don't make it, it will be up to me if you live or die.”
Sarah informed the other grapplers to stand by for instructions. The cockpit of Zero-Five was deathly quiet. Muhsin completed his plot and sent the data to Sarah's panels.
“Turn my air back on,” he bellowed.
Sarah ignored him as she looked the data over. She had to make sure Muhsin wasn't wasting their missiles. He wasn't. As she studied his work Muhsin raged at her. She turned off his mic but not his receiver.
“Launch the missiles,” Sarah ordered.
Muhsin pleaded silently inside his suit. Sarah wondered where the resolve to force him into compliance came from. She could have ordered another grappler to strike. But it was her duty, and Muhsin was her crew. She would have none of his insubordination.
Sarah pointed at the launch console. “You will launch the missiles, or you will die in the next minute or so.”
Crying and screaming, Muhsin reached forward and punched the launch button with his fist. Explosive bolts on the wings of Zero-Five fired pushing the missiles down and away from the weapons pylons. The missiles ignited their engines and shot ahead into the darkness.
Sarah reached up and turned Muhsin's life support back on. After he recovered he was calm, but cried in his suit. She watched him for a moment, wondering how he got this far in his career. She would keep him isolated until they RTBed and she had him arrested.
“Zero-Five squad, my crew executed the kill shot. The rest of you will work with Hugo to plan a dispersal pattern for your nukes. We don't want any nanites lingering out here. Set for maximum EMP burst and saturation.”
The grapplers acknowledged the order, but Sarah heard the tone in their voices. Dismay.
What do they think our job is? We protect Korvand from the Hive. At all costs.
A few minutes later two flashes flared in the distance. The canopies of the grapplers auto-darkened, keeping the radiation outside. The Anciter begged for help until the end. As hard as this process was on her crews, Sarah was grateful she was the only one to hear the last desperate cry cut off mid sentence.
I'll never know if that was a human being.
The other grapplers launched their weapons and saturated the area. Weapon racks empty, squad Zero-Five turned for home.
Sarah stared out her navseat window as her pilot did his job.
These deaths are only a fraction of what's to come. Zelan was the beginning. Where is the end?
Chapter 12 - Infamy
22 HUNI 15311
Sarah went from hero of Zelan to the villain of Korvand. One of the crewmen from squad Zero-Five went to the press with details about the incident. The press excoriated her.
“Military hero kills thousands!”
“Hero of Zelan turns on our own.”
“Hero sailor threatens to kill own crew.”
To be fair the reporting wasn't all hype against her. S
ome news outlets disputed the feeding frenzy talking points of the sensationalist media outlets, but those voices weren't nearly as exciting to the general public. The Navy moved Sarah and her family into isolation pending the outcome of the official inquiry into the matter. One news outlet was now calling the incident, “The Five Freighter Fiasco.” The name stuck and caught fire.
Muhsin was arrested and placed in jail awaiting court-martial. The rest of squad Zero-Five was split up and placed in different squadrons. Three crewmen holoed Sarah to let her know they didn't blame her, and supported her decision. She'd only followed orders.
Months passed again with Sarah off combat duty, during which time she and Vonn raised Jac, and spent time with each other. Sarah was careful to avoid another pregnancy. In the middle of her time off she was called as a witness to Muhsin's trial. He was found guilty of dereliction of duty and sentenced to several years of imprisonment. Sarah felt sorry for him. He was an untested crewman, and he'd broken when placed in a position he never thought he'd see. At least he wasn't mindwiped. Dereliction of duty during wartime carried that fate as a maximum penalty.
Sarah argued for leniency during her testimony, something that surprised her.
After the trial Sarah spent her time researching the Hive extensively. She watched theorists explain the ideas regarding how the Hive arose. Simulations with nanites similar to those that originated the Hive offered no explanation. Whatever happened in the body of Victim Zero, it remained unrepeated in the laboratory.
She watched the trial of the only known conspirator involved in the infection of Albeus III, the origin point of the Hive. Evans Hyatt. He'd performed industrial espionage for a company called Bracket Dynamics. Nanites he'd injected into someone for the purpose of illicitly gathering data mutated, creating the monsters now exterminating the human race.
He was caught attempting to flee his homeworld prior to a Hive attack through bribery of a military official. To the surprise of investigators thinking him simply a desperate man, a mental scan revealed the nature of Hyatt's betrayal of humanity. Hyatt was mindwiped one hundred and thirteen years earlier, on Mai 34, 15198
After Hyatt's capture executives from Bracket Dynamics were systematically denied exit visas from their homeworld. Those who managed to leave prior to the discovery of the Bracket Dynamics plot were hunted down, and if found complicit in the conspiracy, mindwiped. The homeworld of the criminals who started the Hive was overrun by the Hive two years later, and Bracket Dynamics ceased to exist.