by Don Viecelli
“We don’t have time to fix the Onutu receivers that are not working on Qum. Jopar suggested we use our warship Onutu receivers to do the same thing. I have ordered my ten warships to position themselves over the areas not covered by working receivers.”
“It’s a great idea!” Doug said excitedly. Then he thought of something else. “But you don’t have the quantum computer capacity to store nineteen billion minds on your warships!”
“That is correct, but we don’t plan to store the minds on our warships. We will use our Onutu computers as QTL transponders and send the data to our Onutu computers on Holtu where we have plenty of storage capacity.”
Doug understood the plan now. It just might work. Even if the nano-agent couldn’t save everyone on Qum, those who do die when the kill code is sent will get a second chance at life if this plan works. There was still hope for the Qumru no matter what that mean bastard Rahta decided to do. All they could do now was wait to see what happens.
Chapter 64
Kill Switch
The next morning in the capital city of Vickta on Yoykan Rahta woke up early to face the dawn. He rested well in spite of recent events. He ate breakfast alone in his palace and reviewed the security reports given to him by his assistant. Everything important appeared under control as usual. Rahta’s only concern was the unrest some of his warship fleet commanders expressed about the turn of events in the Holtu star system. He knew he would have to correct this impression among his commanders quickly or face criticism of his rule; something he simply would not tolerate.
When his assistant, a military officer he trusted with his life, returned, he requested his private shuttle be prepared for departure immediately. He planned to return to the Solruku with High Commander Anahta and see if his prisoner, Tumil, was cooperating with his scientists or not. If not, Rahta would do want he promised and show the Qumru who really ruled the galaxy.
The Solruku was a beautiful starship. Even Rahta had to admit as much to Anahta. “We should have our space engineers study this ship and see what improvements in design we can use on our own ships for exploration purposes, High Commander.”
“I agree, Imperial Leader. The Qumru know how to build great starships. This one is equipped for long, deep space journeys. We could use if for this very purpose once we defeat the Holtu and Humans.”
The shuttle was about to land inside the Solruku hangar. The pilot waited for the doors to open and then slowly guided the shuttle for a safe landing. Rahta and Anahta, along with a small squad of soldiers, walked to the elevator to go to Level 12 where Tumil was being held captive. One of Rahta’s soldiers was carrying the quantum computer device in a special case that provided access to all nanomachine controlled hosts on all subjugated slave planets. In essence it possessed the kill switch codes that would terminate any person or race Rahta decided to teach a lesson. It was the most deadly device in the entire galaxy.
Rahta was filled with anticipation. Today, he would force Tumil to help his scientists learn how to program the Onutu quantum computers to decode Yoyka DNA to use in the Onutu regeneration chambers and allow the transfer of Yoyka mind consciousness and memories to new bodies on demand. Onutu would allow the Yoyka race, Rahta in particular and any Yoyka loyalists he deemed worthy, to live and rule forever! It would be the most powerful and important discovery in Yoykan history!
The elevator doors opened on Level 12. Rahta and Anahta walked side by side down the hallway leading to the room where Tumil was held captive. As soon as they reached the room, they knew something was wrong. Standing in front of the see through windows was a group of white lab coated Yoyka scientists whispering quietly amongst themselves and looking terrified.
“What is happening here?” Rahta demanded.
The scientist in charge turned to face the Emperor with fear written all over his face. “We do not know, Imperial Leader. He was this way when we got here a few moments ago.”
Rahta pushed the terrified scientist out of his way and looked inside the room. Tumil was lying on the floor unmoving. He appeared unconscious or worse—dead!
“Someone go inside and see if he is alive—now!”
“Whoever goes inside will be contaminated with the Qumru nanites, Imperial Leader. We need a protective suit.”
Rahta almost made the poor scientist go in the room without protective gear in anger, but Anahta said, “One moment, Imperial Leader. There are protective suits in the other room. We must be careful not to let anyone come into contact with his body or we could infect others.”
Everyone waited while one of the soldiers found a protective suit in the medical lab nearby and put it on. He opened a containment door and entered. After the room cleaned the air, the soldier entered the room where Tumil’s body lay. He checked for a pulse and found none. “He is dead, Imperial Leader. It appears he suffocated.”
“How could this happen?” Rahta questioned out loud.
“Someone turned the oxygen off in his room. It could have been anyone, Imperial Leader. We will view the video recordings and check the logs immediately,” the scientist said.
Rahta was livid. He turned to Anahta. “Bring me the case!”
Anahta motioned to the soldier carrying the nanomachine computer case and had him open it.
Rahta entered his personal command code and placed his hand on the device for print analysis. The lights lit up and the device was ready to use. He turned to the scientists in the room. “The Qumru race has proven itself unworthy to exist in our Empire. I am terminating all the slaves on their home world of Qum. You scientists will report what happened here and find a way to enable the Onutu technology to work for our race. The first one to make Onutu work will be allowed access to the discovery whenever they wish.”
Rahta found the home world of Qum on the display and selected it for activation. The image of Qum lit up on the screen. Rahta thought for a moment what it would feel like killing billions of slaves on a planet one thousand light years away. He felt nothing but absolute power and touched the button on the screen with one finger.
A nanomachine termination code was sent over the quantum communication channel that would activate a kill switch inside the minds of all Qumru hosts on Qum. The effect would be instantaneous. The nanomachines would terminate the hosts immediately. Billions would die! Without another word, Rahta shut the device case and walked out of the room.
Chapter 65
Qum
The last twenty-four hours on Qum were hectic and filled with worry. Word of the destruction of the Yoyka warships and troops on the ground surely had reached the Yoykan Imperial Leader by now. The Yoyka no longer had control of Qum, but the Qumru infected with Yoyka nanomachines was another matter entirely. They were still at the mercy of the Yoyka masters and their fate would be determined at any time.
Doug wearily sat down in a chair on the USS Illinois Command Center close to Admiral Weston, Killian, Jopar, Colonel Tills and a dozen other Holtu and Qumru standing or sitting nearby. They had been helping nonstop with the Qumru nano-agent canister drops all over the planet trying to disperse the contents over as many cities, population centers and regions where the Qumru lived. Warnings were broadcast over the entire planet on all media channels for people to go outside and look at the sky in order to come into contact with the nana-agent. At one point the entire planet atmosphere took on a pale green color as the nanite filled mist carried by the wind settled to the ground. It was all the liberators of Qum could do.
“Do you think it will work in time?” Doug asked Killian and Jopar sitting near him.
“The nano-agent will work as predicted, but we don’t know if it will save everyone in time. The Qumru who remain inside their homes or in buildings and are not exposed to the mist or come into contact with others who have received the nano-agent will die if Rahta sends the nanomachine termination code too soon. Our nano-agent needs time to shut off the nanomachines in the brain in order to prevent the kill code from working.”
“S
omething is happening on the ground!” Killian announced suddenly. The AIC monitoring the orbiting satellite video channels displayed pictures beaming up from cities all over the planet. Qumru by the millions were falling to the ground as if felled by an invisible hand. The most terrible event that could happen to a planet filled with billions of people was occurring before their very eyes.
“God help them!” Someone in the Command Center moaned. Then more cries from people in the room and screams from others on the USS Illinois could be heard throughout the warship.
“It’s happening! Rahta sent the nanomachine kill code! The bastard is trying to kill everyone on Qum!” Doug was filled with rage. He pounded the sides of his seat and stood up. “We need to go down to the planet and see if anyone survived.”
“Jopar and I will go with you, Commander Martin,” Killian said with tears in her eyes. She looked very disappointed the nano-agent did not work as expected.
“Someone had to survive, Killian. They just had too!” Doug said forcefully.
As soon as they could, Doug, Killian, Jopar, Colonel Tills and twenty other Qumru volunteers and Space Marines boarded a shuttle and left the USS Illinois for the trip down to Qum to inspect and report what was happening. They landed near the capital city of Ollala and quickly ran outside to inspect the hundreds of Qumru who were lying on the ground, on sidewalks near buildings and in the streets. Qumru had fallen everywhere. No one was moving. They all appeared to be dead.
Killian and Jopar were the first to reach a group of people lying on the ground. Killian checked for a pulse. “This one is still alive!” she yelled to the others. More bodies lying on the ground were checked for signs of life.
“This person is too!” Someone shouted in the distance.
More and more shouts of Qumru still living were heard as Killian, Jopar, Doug and the others checked for life. It soon became apparent the Qumru lying on the ground in front of them were not dead—at least not yet.
Doug walked up to Killian and Jopar. “Will they live?”
Killian placed a medical device near a young female Qumru’s head. She measured the brain waves and looked relieved. “The brain is still active. The nanomachine termination code was not successful in this person. I believe our nano-agent may have worked just in time to prevent death. I am hopeful.” She looked up at Doug with a sigh of relieve.
Others began reporting the same result; seemingly a miracle. They may have saved millions, if not billions of Qumru from Rahta’s wrath.
Qumru lying around them began to stir. Some of them regained consciousness and sat up looking disorganized and confused. Many shook their heads or covered their eyes from the light. Killian helped the female near her stand up after a few moments when she began to ask questions. Doug listened to the conversation over his translator device.
“What is happening to me? Where am I?” the female asked Killian.
“You have been sick. You are in Ollala. What do you remember?”
The female explained she had no memory of the last few simas (months). She had no idea why she was in the city. She and her family lived far from here.
The same story was heard over and over again. The Qumru who had been infected with the Yoyka nanomachine had no memory of past events after the Yoyka invasion. They were mystified at what they had been doing all this time.
Doug finally pulled Killian and Jopar aside to talk. “We need to bring more help from Holtu to treat your people and get things back to normal. It will take a long time, I imagine.”
They both agreed and let Doug send the request to Vice Leader Di who would communicate the message to Holtu. He had already requested military support to protect Qum from possible retaliation from the Yoyka.
Doug relayed the response to Killian and Jopar. “Di has already requested more medical support from Holtu. It will take some time to get here. Any idea how many Qumru survived?”
“It will take time to see who did not receive the nano-agent. If we are lucky, at least fifty percent of our people will have survived. The rest will have to be regenerated with Onutu. That will take a long time if we have billions who did not survive the Yoyka nanomachine kill code.” Jopar knew they could not have saved nineteen billion Qumru in the short amount of time they had.
Doug took a moment to comprehend the disaster he had just witnessed. Nothing in human history could compare to this moment in time. It was utterly incomprehensible what the Yoyka race just did to another race in the galaxy. It was alien genocide in the extreme. If they could do this to the Qumru, they certainly would try to do it to the Holtu and his own human race.
“We will stop the Yoyka, Killian; Jopar. Whatever we have to do, it will be done!” Doug called the shuttle pilots and said it was time to return to the USS Illinois. They had a lot more places to visit to see how much damage the Yoyka did to Qum. Then he needed to return home to Mars and help the Holtu and Qumru find a way to defeat the Yoyka once and for all.
Chapter 66
Home At Last
It took more than a month before Doug could return home to Mars to see Janice. First, he had to help Killian and Jopar inspect other cities on Qum to see how bad the situation was. It was not good. The final estimates were at least fifty percent or nine billion of the population on Qum had been killed by the nanomachines when the Yoyka sent the nanomachine kill code. They saved the planet from complete destruction, but it would take decades to recover from the damage.
The good news was the Holtu was successful in uploading most of the Qumru minds for Onutu regeneration. The Holtu warships were able to use their transponders to relay the consciousnesses they recovered on Qum to their quantum computer centers on Holtu for storage and later retrieval. It would take decades to regenerate billions of bodes to replace all those who had died on Qum, but it would be done no matter how long it took. The technology and capabilities of Onutu were simply mind boggling to humans. The implications of such an advanced technology were far reaching and life changing. It would take more time to appreciate its benefits on Earth.
Doug returned home on the USS Illinois. Admiral Weston was kind enough to drop him off at the Haffen City Spaceport before he returned to Earth for meetings with President Anderson and General Bradstone. There was a lot more work to do to prepare the UN Space Strike Force for the battles sure to come. The Holtu had sent surveillance probes to report on the Yoyka warship fleet activities in their star system. It was evident the Yoyka were revamping their warships with the new FTL hyperdrive capability in preparation for another attack on Holtu and/or Earth and Mars. It was just a matter of time.
The reason for Doug’s return to Mars was to witness another very important event—the birth of Jan’s and Doug’s first child. Time was short. He had to leave the shuttle and race to the local hospital checking his wristcom every few minutes. He did not want to be late after travelling 10,000 light years to be by Jan’s side and watch the delivery.
Doug reached the hospital and raced up to the front desk to find the delivery room. His last message from Jan was she was being taken to the delivery room now to have the baby. Doug was nervous as hell. The battles with the Yoyka were nothing compared to this.
He found the right floor and ran into Doctor James Colbert, Doctor Chang-Woo Mun and UN Security Director Gwen Rollins. They were all smiling at Doug at seeing the worried look on his face.
“It’s about time, Doug. Jan just went into the delivery room,” James said seriously.
“I know. Sorry I’m late. It was a long trip. How is she?” Doug asked as a nurse quickly approached and told him to put on the hospital gown so he could be with Jan.
“I told her you were coming. She’s fine and just wanted you to get here as soon as possible,” James added.
“Thanks, James. I’m ready now. Take me to Jan,” Doug said to the nurse.
Doug entered the delivery room. It was brightly lit and somewhat cool as was standard practice for delivery rooms. He walked up to Jan and grabbed her hand. “I’m h
ere, Jan. I made it.” He gave her a kiss.
Jan smiled in relief as a nurse wiped her sweaty brow. She was in labor now. The baby was coming.
Jan breathed when the doctor and nurse said until the baby decided it was time to join the people in the room at last. Jan let out a sigh of relief as the doctor held the baby up for her and Doug to see. It finally cried for the first time. “He’s a beautiful baby boy! Congratulations to you both.” The female doctor handed the baby to the nurse so she could check its lungs, clean and wrap the baby before giving him to Jan to hold.
Jan held the baby close and looked into its eyes and face. He had dark brown hair and eyes. “He looks like you,” she said to Doug.
Doug touched the baby’s hand. “He’s so small. He’s beautiful, Jan.”
Jan smiled and said, “I win the bet! You owe me a trip to Holtu’s canyons.”
It took a moment to remember the original bet. If he had won, they would have gone to Earth for a vacation on the North Carolina coast where the Gulf Stream warmed the Atlantic Ocean waters all summer long. It would have to wait for another time.
Doug smiled at his lovely wife and new son. “I guess your mother was right. Old wife’s tales sometimes come true. It really doesn’t matter. I will love all our babies the same.”
It was time to let their friends know their baby boy had finally arrived. It would be a new start for his family and hopefully, a new start for Mars. Doug would do everything he could to keep his family safe and happy. Maybe, with access to the Qumru Onutu technology, their lives would last a very long time.
The End of Book 2
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Nanomachine War - Book 3
Killer Nanoboids
A Novel by
Don Viecelli