by Ken Lozito
He’d thought long and hard about what must have been going through his son’s mind in those final moments. The crushing pain he felt at finally seeing Sean and knowing what had become of him struck him like a blow every time he watched the video, but he had to keep watching it. He owed his son that much at least.
With the pain came a sense of pride that his son had fought to the very end. It was a measure of who he’d been. Connor couldn’t imagine what Sean had had to endure, the kind of life he’d led. Connor would never forgive himself for not being there. He’d hated Wilkinson for putting him aboard the Ark, but those feelings had long since faded away. Connor’s choices many years before that event were what had made him leave his family, which had nothing to do with Admiral Mitch Wilkinson. The old admiral knew that, and even Connor’s son knew it.
He powered off the holoscreen and rubbed his face. His eyes were puffy and tired. He made himself watch the video of his son as a kind of penance, as if subjecting himself to all the pain would somehow ease Connor’s most profound regret. He clenched his teeth and slammed his fist down on the shelf. He hated that video and hated himself for what it represented—a life of regret and a reminder of what he’d left behind.
Chapter Two
Noah was surrounded by holoscreens. Each had data feeds being piped into them that fed several regression-analysis queries he had running. The work he was doing could only be done at CDF headquarters in Sierra. It had been two months since the Vemus attack, and Noah was tasked with data mining everything the late Colonel Wil Reisman had been able to steal from the Vemus warship. More than a few times Noah wished he had Reisman’s help. The colonel had been extremely clever and could glean useable intelligence from anything he set his attention on. Noah missed Reisman and had thrown himself at his current project to ensure that Reisman’s last action hadn’t been for naught.
He was in a large work area where his team was carrying out smaller projects serving the same goal: find anything they could use against the Vemus forces coming for them. Working with scientists for so long had taught Noah that often the best results of a large project came from collaboration with others, so when Connor asked him what he needed to get the job done, Noah had told him he needed a team, a large room, and priority access to one of the CDF’s supercomputers. He’d been given all of that, and Noah and his team worked tirelessly. As a result of those efforts, they’d made quite a few discoveries that were being closely examined by subject-matter experts.
As the days passed, Noah kept looking at the clock. They all did. He felt like they were working on borrowed time and at any moment the rest of the Vemus attack force would show up to finish what they’d started.
Someone cleared their throat behind him.
“So this is where they’ve been keeping you.”
Noah turned around and swiped the holoscreen to the side. “Allison, it’s so good to see you. Or should I call you Dr. Blake now?” he asked with a smile. The former medic for Search and Rescue had recently become a medical doctor.
Allison gave him a quick hug. She was tall, with long auburn hair and cupid’s-bow lips. She peered at him. “You’re not getting enough sleep.”
Noah snorted. “No one is.”
Allison glanced around. “I’ve heard a lot about what you’ve been doing. You’re an official hero, but I’d love to meet your wife.”
Noah felt the skin tighten around his eyes. He and Kara had decided to get married shortly after they returned to New Earth. It had been a quiet ceremony, which was what they’d wanted. “I’d love for her to meet you, but she’s at Lunar Base working on . . . I’m sure you can guess.”
Allison’s eyes drew down in empathy. “I’m sorry. It must be hard being apart like that.”
Noah nodded. “I’m sure you’re not here to reminisce about our old Search and Rescue days.”
“No, I’m not,” Allison said.
“What can I do for you?” Noah asked.
“You remember my specialization?” Allison asked.
“Of course. Field biology.”
“I’ve branched out into—” Allison began to say.
One of Noah’s analyses finished running and flashed on the holoscreen next to him. He glanced at it, noting the returns.
“What’s that?” Allison asked.
“The data cache we got from the Vemus ship. It’s over two hundred years old and I’m trying a new regression analysis on the video files. It seems that video logs were the preferred method of recording one’s experiences, which makes it difficult to glean useful information,” Noah said.
Allison frowned as she read the screen. “What are you trying to find out?”
Noah blew out a breath. “How much time do you have?” he asked with a half-smile. “We needed a quicker way to analyze the information people were recording that didn’t require us to watch every video. If we tried to do that, it would take years to get through them all.”
“Why wouldn’t you focus on the research information and such?” Allison asked.
“That’s what we did initially, and I’ve given that to Connor, but I think there’s more to be found,” Noah answered.
“Like what?”
Noah pressed his lips together in thought. “Have you ever heard the phrase ‘missing the forest because of the trees’?”
Allison nodded.
“I think we’re so focused on the facts about the Vemus and what happened to Earth that we’re missing key insights from the people who were actually there,” Noah said.
“Now you’ve lost me.”
“They fought the Vemus for years, but there was a time before the Vemus became as we know them now. I think that’s how we can find something in the records we can use against them. Despite everything we’ve done for the past seven years, we’ve only really had one encounter with the Vemus, and that was about two months ago. The people back on Earth had years to contend with them. So I’m after those people who had a thought or theory they recorded but didn’t have time to fully explore,” Noah said.
“I understand. You’re looking for a needle in a haystack.”
“That about sums it up, but I know you didn’t come all this way to hear about what I was doing,” Noah said.
“I’m doing something similar—” Allison began.
A comlink came to prominence on one of the holoscreens, drawing their attention. It was a priority message with CDF General Connor Gates’ identification on it. Noah opened the channel and Connor’s face came on screen.
Connor looked at Noah and then noticed Allison.
“It’s good to see you, sir,” Allison said, moving to stand next to Noah.
“You as well, Dr. Blake,” Connor replied and then looked at Noah. “I need a status update from you.”
Before the Vemus attack, Noah had thought of Connor as a friend—albeit a friend who tolerated very little in the way of nonsense—but after their encounter with the Vemus, Noah had noticed his friend becoming increasingly bitter as time went on. He understood why, but he missed the old Connor just the same.
Noah brought up another window on the holoscreen. “I have it right here. I’ve sent all I found to Sanctuary.”
“I’m aware of that, but you were supposed to be looking for more information about the power requirements,” Connor said.
“The colossus cannon was theoretical to begin with. I’m not even sure they actually built it back on Earth . . .” Noah’s voice trailed off when Connor speared a look at him.
“Let me guess. You’re still mining those video logs,” Connor said.
Noah looked away guiltily. “There’s good information in there. Things we can use.”
“The only thing in those recordings is how the people of Earth were defeated by the Vemus. Wilkinson found plans for an atmospheric weapon, but we haven’t been able to produce the power required,” Connor said.
Noah felt a flush warm his face. He’d spent a lot of time watching those videos. At first, he’d convinced him
self it was just curiosity, but now he couldn’t stop thinking about them. Some of them were horrifying, but he found comfort in knowing there were others who had faced what the colony was now facing.
“Noah,” Connor called. “All those people are dead. They can’t help us, but you can.”
“I’m doing my best, sir,” Noah replied.
“I know, and I need more from you. I want you to go to Sanctuary and see it for yourself,” Connor said.
“I’m not sure I can help them. There are plenty of engineers there who are trying to adapt the power station from the alien city to use with the colossus cannon,” Noah said.
“Do I need to make it an order?”
Noah glared at the screen. He wanted Kara with him. She was on the lunar base and the Vemus could attack at any moment. “No,” he said and sighed.
Connor’s gaze softened. “Thank you,” he said.
“Sir, I have a request I’d like to run by you. It will only take a minute,” Allison said.
“Make it quick,” Connor replied.
“We’ve been studying the data about the Vemus and its origins, but in order to figure out how it will affect us here on this planet, we need samples. Living samples, that is,” Allison said.
Connor frowned. “We’ve provided living samples to the research laboratory at the lunar base.”
Allison shook her head. “That was the remnant virus. What we’re looking for is the parasite. They work together. All the samples contain only the dead virus.”
“What is it you’re asking for? I won’t authorize any of the samples to be brought down to the planet surface,” Connor said.
Allison shook her head. “No, that’s not what I’m asking. We have a team on the lunar base. They’ve been requesting permission to try and gather live samples from the larger pieces of wreckage of the Vemus ships in the debris fields before they get too far away.”
“I’m not sure that’s a good idea—”
“Sir, this is as important as any weapon system we currently have. Perhaps even more so. This thing spread like wildfire across Earth and we’re not sure if the same thing is going to happen here on New Earth,” Allison said.
Connor pressed his lips together in thought. “Explain it to me then, but keep it brief. I have to give a report to the colonial congress about our readiness status.”
“I’ll be brief. We’re different because we’ve been living on this planet and making it our home, and it’s changed us. Our immune system is different because we’ve been exposed to this planet. There are mammals of a sort here. We’ve sent samples of parasites and viruses we’ve collected to the lab station on the lunar base, but we can’t see how they’ll interact with the Vemus unless we have live samples to work with,” Allison said.
“I thought you’ve been running simulations,” Connor said.
“We have, but they’ll only get us so far. What we could learn from a live sample is whether some kind of organism here would make us resistant to the Vemus. The data from Dr. Stone that was found on the Vemus ship said the Vemus exclusively targeted humans after Earth scientists failed to find a cure. We suspect that the scientists were trying to modify it so it wouldn’t target humans, but, instead, it had the opposite effect,” Allison said.
Connor glanced over at someone who was speaking to him off-screen for a moment. “That’s a hell of a theory, Blake.”
“It’s the only one that makes any sense. We know there are viruses on Earth that can rewrite their DNA, but the Vemus represents a much more complex system than a simple parasite and virus pair. This is our chance to gain a better understanding of what we’re dealing with,” Allison said.
“Okay, you convinced me. I’ll authorize a scouting mission. Send me the team leader you want on the mission, and we’ll make it happen,” Connor said.
“Thank you, sir,” Allison said, sounding relieved.
Connor shifted his gaze to Noah. “There will be a transport going to Sanctuary tomorrow morning and I want you on it. Gates out.”
The comlink closed and Noah stared at the blank screen for a few seconds before looking away. He rested his hands on his hips.
“He seemed kind of harsh toward you,” Allison said.
Noah shrugged. “They’ve placed the survival of the colony in his hands. How would you be?”
Allison pursed her lips in thought. “All this wasn’t real to me until two months ago. Earth and everything about it seemed so far away.”
“Trust me, it’s real,” Noah said. He powered off the holoscreens he’d been working from. “I’m worried about him.”
“What do you mean?” Allison asked.
“Some of the things we found in the data cache were for Connor specifically. There was at least one video log,” Noah said.
Allison’s eyes widened. “Oh god.”
“I have no idea what was in the video log or who it was from. The only thing I do know is that after I sent it to Connor, something seemed to break inside him. At first I thought it was because of everyone we’d lost, but this seems different,” Noah said.
“Have you told anyone about this?”
“Who would I tell? I’m not sure what good it would do. If it’s personal, then shouldn’t it remain personal?” Noah asked.
Allison gave him a look that somehow made him feel foolish. “He’s grieving, and whatever was on that video log certainly didn’t help. Why didn’t you look at it before you sent it to him?”
“It wasn’t meant for me,” Noah said.
Allison arched an eyebrow.
“Fine, I couldn’t access it to see what it was. So I sent it to him.”
“There must be someone he can talk to about this,” Allison said.
The first people Noah thought of were Wil Reisman and Kasey Douglass, but they were both dead. “Diaz might be able to help.”
“Maybe. What about that archaeologist, Dr. Bishop?” Allison said.
“Lenora! I’m not sure whether that would help at all. They’re not exactly on speaking terms,” Noah said.
“I’d try to talk to him, but I don’t think he’d listen to me. Frankly, I’m surprised he agreed to my request,” Allison said.
Noah nodded, thinking the same thing. Should he contact Lenora and see if she would speak to Connor?
“I have to go,” Allison said.
Noah frowned. “You never did tell me what you came to me for.”
“Oh, I got what I wanted. I was going to ask if you’d found more information about the Vemus and then I was going to run my request to Connor by you to see if you thought he’d listen,” Allison said.
“Glad I could help,” Noah said.
Allison left him, and Noah glanced around the room. There were glowing holoscreens active, with several teams of two or three people working together.
Noah brought up a smaller, personal holoscreen and sighed. He really wanted to talk to Kara, but there were comms restrictions to the lunar base. He pressed his lips together, then sat down in a chair nearby. The holoscreen sank down with him. He sent a comlink out, which was immediately answered. He’d almost hoped it wouldn’t be.
“Hello, Lenora. Do you have a few minutes to talk? I need your advice about something. It’s about Connor.”
Chapter Three
Connor stepped off the personnel carrier onto the landing pad on the roof of the congressional building. His security detail followed him, and Connor glanced over at the rooftops of the tall buildings nearby. Rail-cannons were mounted on them for Sierra’s defense. CDF soldiers were stationed throughout the city and were on alert. With the imminent threat of invasion, some people were reluctant to leave their homes, but a familiar face met him at the rooftop entrance to the building.
“Major Quinn. I was expecting to encounter a different Quinn before the meeting,” Connor said.
“She’s already inside, so you’re stuck with me, sir,” Sean answered.
They went inside and entered the stairwell.
“Not
a huge group of people in the congressional committee, but they’re all expecting you to give them an update on the state of our defenses,” Sean said.
“They want much more than that,” Connor said and quickened his pace.
They left the stairwell and quickly made their way through the building to the main hall. Sean stopped just outside the meeting room. “Director Mallory wanted me to inform you that Parish is part of the committee,” Sean said.
Connor’s chest tightened. Stanton Parish had tried to have Connor killed before the Vemus attacked them, but he couldn’t prove it. Connor and Tobias had managed to remove Parish from the office of governor, but they couldn’t be completely rid of him. Like it or not, Parish was an elected official, but he was unfit to deal with the current threat to the colony. There had been a push from Parish’s supporters for him to remain in an advisory role on the defense committee, and in the interest of a smooth transition of power, Tobias had agreed. Connor hated the man. Parish had reallocated resources away from the defense of the colony and denied multiple requests to finish the defensive projects they’d begun, and the result was that the CDF had had to face their enemy at half their fighting capacity. Too many lives had been lost due to the actions of Stanton Parish. Removing Parish from office seemed like a slap on the wrists compared to all the CDF soldiers who had died defending New Earth.
“Alright, I’ve been informed,” Connor replied.
Sean eyed him for a moment and then opened the door. The interior chambers were mostly empty except for the committee that sat at the meeting table. Defense of the colony was everyone’s priority now that the Vemus had finally shown up.