New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

The heat of the day was starting to lessen with the fading of the light.

It was welcome, and Urle lowered his heat threshold.  He’d been worried about over-working his cooling units during the worst of it; the last thing he needed was a messy and difficult shut-down of his electronics.

The weeks of labor and limited maintenance were telling on him; everything still worked, but there was dust getting into parts of his system.  Nowhere deep, nowhere dangerous.  But it just wasn’t working quite as well as it did when everything had been clean . . .

Now that the shadows were growing, at least, he could set his internals back down to a lower temperature.  It was more efficient that way.

Stopping to wipe sweat from his still-flesh brow, he saw that a knot of Hessa were heading back in.  One waved to him, and he waved back.

He was well-accepted now, he thought.  They appreciated his help in the fields, and it was a good way to show them that he shared in their efforts.

Further out in the fields a handful of other loiterers were poking around near the edge of the fields of grass.  Sometimes they did that, hoping to take a lizard or find some edible fungoid things.  There was a strange connection between this seed crop they harvested and some edible fungi that tapped into their collective root systems.

It was fascinating, he thought.  The seedgrass that they’d been harvesting was not actually discrete plants.  He’d realized recently, while studying them, that they were one giant organism.

Their fruit were not even actually seeds, he’d found out.  They were simply some kind of edible growth, possibly even waste products to the plants.  He suspected that the plants grew them to attract the mole bugs that broke up the soil and damaged the roots of the fungus trees that tried to lock down the soil with dense mycelium.  The mole bugs did not harm the seedgrass, but would seemed to only eat the fruits.  It was a symbiotic relationship that was altering this part of the world; surely one day the trees would be gone, as they seemed to have no real defense against the mole bugs.

The Hessa seemed extremely tolerant of the bugs for this reason, clearly understanding their role.  At least, they were in the fields, but they would kill any that tried to come into the village and eat their crop stores.

It was not just the mole bugs that were helping the crops, though.  At times, the farmers would find areas of seedgrass with no stalks growing and dig down, cutting out chunks of the mycelium.

They often took out large nodes, whose function he did not understand.  But they would transplant pieces of root from seed-stalk areas.

They told him that this would cause that area to start growing seeds in future years.

He could only liken it to grafting, where a fruit-yielding branch might be attached to a healthy trunk of even another kind of tree.

Besides that, the Hessa did very little husbandry of the plants.  They had learned to manipulate a thing that naturally occurred . . .  but not yet did they grow them from scratch.

He tested his bag.  It was much larger than the ones the Hessa used, they’d made it for him, laughing all the while at its size.  He could carry as much as ten of them, they said.  He wasn’t certain that was accurate, but he could carry a lot, and it seemed to impress them.

Hefting the sack onto his back, he turned and started trudging back towards the village.

What luck, he thought ruefully.  They harvested for only a few weeks twice a year, and he’d come here during the most back-breaking period.

He really began to appreciate just how much technological progress had freed humanity from such drudgery-

A piercing scream broke his train of thought.

He did not realize he had turned, or that he’d begun running towards it for a few milliseconds.

His body had reacted automatically; not instinct, but his machine parts operating on pre-programmed reactions.

His conscious mind tried to take in what was occurring before him.

The group near the forest were screaming.  Two were running his way, while a third lay on the ground, the source of the screaming.

On her back, its claws digging into the bag she’d slung behind her, was a small creature.

It was like a small dinosaur with six limbs, black feathers covering most of its body.  It was thin and lithe, but its claws were large – and deadly.

There was more than one.  His system highlighted six, with perhaps one more still in the undergrowth.

He was moving quickly, flying by the two terrified Hessa who were still running away.

He let out a loud warning call; a klaxon, at a high volume, that he hoped would scare them.

The predators flinched, their gaze just lifting to notice him as he arrived.

Sliding to a stop, his leg lashed out, taking the one on the woman’s back in its sternum, snapping its body back and flinging it up and into the forest.

It would be dead from a crushed chest, he calculated.

As fast as he was, wild predators like this had lightning reflexes, too, and two of them reared, leaping at him in one smooth movement.  Their two sets of higher limbs reached out to grasped him, while their more heavily-clawed back-limbs ready to tear.

He twisted, one of the creatures sailing past him.  It flailed its arms, trying to grab him, but it could only rake at the clothing over his shoulders.

The other one he could not dodge, and his automated reactions kicked in again.

His hand snapped out, grabbing the creature by its long neck before it could reach him.

Its head snapped forward at the unexpected and sudden stop, and its limbs flailed, trying to kick up at his arm to slash him, but metal and carbon nano-tubes were more than proof against natural claws.

Holding the thing by the neck for a moment, he flung it aside, hard.  It hit a tree, but started to stir immediately.

There were more, though, and despite his actions they were not yet ready to back down.

He let out the klaxon call again, as they began to spread out around him, and they flinched.

That was when he saw that some of them were not surrounding him – they were moving past him.

After the other two Hessa, who were still running towards the village.

They wouldn’t reach it in time.

These animals, if they were bold enough, would catch them.  The villagers would then likely come back out with spears, and drive them away.

What drove these animals on?  His system worked at hyper-speed, calculating them, and the situation.

The feathers covered the creature’s bodies, hiding details.  But their feathers were unexpectedly dull.  It was not uncommon for animals with feathers to have bold coloration, and a good shine.  It would usually be taken as a sign of good health, even on Ko.

They were also much smaller than the !Xomyi, a third the weight of a grown man.

These were not normal predators, he thought.  These were creatures in desperation.

And there was an obvious culprit; the moon’s falling debris, though not yet threatening total destruction, was already changing the world.  The Hessa had commented how things had been changing.

So these animals were starving, desperate.

They would not stop just at scary noises.

A fraction of a moment had passed; the predators chasing the villagers had taken barely a step, and the Hessa they chased had not even lifted a foot in that time.

His hand dove for his side, where his sidearm was holstered.

Another animal leaped at him, and he swatted it aside with one hand, turning in the same motion, and aiming his sidearm with the other.

He fired twice.

Both predators chasing the running Hessa dropped.

The crack of the pistol firing went across the ground, and he saw the !Xomyi stumble, looking back in terror.

The animals near him flinched at the sound, so much louder and harsher than his earlier warning klaxons.

But they did not run.

He turned and fired at one more.

When the third one dropped, the rest of the predators finally scattered in fear, rushing back into the bush.

In the distance, the !Xomyi were on the ground, still frozen in place, gazing upon him with fear.

He holstered his gun, cursing in his head.  The !Xomyi hearing was much more acute than that of a human, and in ranges that the sound of his weapon would hit hard.  He couldn’t blame them for being terrified.

He crouched down to the Hessa on the ground.  She was not moving.

“Come on,” he muttered, feeling her neck.  Where was the blood?  The predator had been cutting into her bag, not her . . .

He felt no heartbeat.

“No, no, no . . .”

He rolled the woman over.  No, not a woman, but a girl.  She was barely an adult, soon to be married.  Her name was Fyyna.

He scanned her, looking for injuries.

There.  In her neck, the bones were broken.

It had not been the claws, he realized.  But simply the impact of the predator.  She’d been knocked down, and her own thrashing . . .

She was dead.

< Ep 12 part 51 | Ep 12 part 53 >

New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

Admiral Brax listened to them with a sober seriousness that was nearly unnerving.

Four hours ago, they had withdrawn from the area of the moon Omen, pulling back to the diplomatic carrier.

After consulting with Ambassador-General Abashidze, they used the Craton‘s zerodrive to open a faster-than-light data channel to the nearest star base.

It was a stretch, nearly four light years distant, but they had a tenuous connection.

And they had given their report.

“When you told me that an Annihilator appeared, I . . . found it difficult to believe,” Brax said.  “But your data is clear.”

“None of us want to believe it,” the Ambassador-General replied.  “I have seen it as well, in our sensors.”

“It is still holding position near Omen?” Brax asked.

“Yes, Admiral,” Jaya said.

Brax frowned, looking down in thought.  “I would like to tell you that I will have reinforcements out there soon, but I cannot do that.  Assistance is a week away at best.”

“If the Aeena wish for a fight,” Jaya said.  “I will do all I can.  But the real problem is that we can either fight or carry the Ambassador-General’s ship out.  We cannot do both.”

“And doing either abandons all those teams on the surface,” Brax replied.  “It’s a difficult situation.  If you are fired upon, you do have permission to respond.  I won’t sit here safe and tell you otherwise.  But I suggest you act as if you hold a position of strength.”

“They must have been waiting just out of the system themselves,” Jaya said.  “I suspect that message that came from the facility on Omen was meant for an FTL repeater, and then they jumped in.  They could have a fleet out there.  We would not know until the light of them reached us.”

“I do not expect the Aeena know the disposition of our forces.  They can’t know what you have waiting just out of sight,” Brax said.  “However, I do wish your input; if need be, we could abandon this operation, withdraw all teams from the surface, and leave Ko.”

Jaya glanced to Abashidze.  The ambassador’s face was stricken.

They had discussed this idea – frankly – while they’d been warming up the Craton‘s zerodrive for this call.

“We will stay,” Abashidze said.  “I will make the call, with all repercussions if it proves to be the wrong one.”

Jaya hoped that Brax would not try to argue the point.  After their talk, she and Abashidze had been in unanimous agreement on this.

“Very well,” Brax said.  “I admit that I am glad.  I did not want to have to abandon the !Xomyi people.  I frankly do not believe that the Aeena will attack you – if they would have been so inclined, they would have done it immediately when they arrived.  Now the word is out, and to do so would bring another war.  One which I do not think they want.”  She paused.  “You have told me the basic facts, but what have your teams learned from everything you’ve discovered?  The Aeena clearly are the ones behind the mysterious constructions on the surface.  But for what end?”

“Commander Cutter has been modeling the effects of the station,” Jaya said.  “His report . . .” 

Jaya found herself hesitating.

What the Bicet had discovered was, perhaps, the most disturbing part of all of this.

“He believes that the pattern on the map observed by RT-1 in the structure they explored indicates that a system of similar stations that would be capable of braking the moon in its orbit.”

Brax’s eyes widened.  “Are you saying that the Aeena have caused Omen to fall towards Ko?”

Jaya nodded, swallowing.  “We believe it is the most likely scenario.  By braking the moon, it would fall into a lower orbit . . . and towards Ko.  Given a few years of firing the zerodrives, it would be possible to destabilize the orbit completely and . . . put the moon into the position it is at today, where it would begin to break up.”

Despite having heard this analysis already, Ambassador Abashidze sat down.  “I still cannot even countenance this idea.  The Aeena are . . . xenophobic and genocidal, but to do this . . .”

After a moment, Brax nodded to Jaya.  “Please go on with your report.”

Jaya replied with a nod and continued.  “In their final firing, the zerodrive stations folded themselves into zerospace.  I suspect this is also why they had the mercenaries on the planet, they must have been involved and could have revealed this scheme later on.  They were never meant to leave the world alive.  By putting the AI in the commander’s helmet and continually dangling greater rewards and bonuses in front of them, it could keep them unaware until it was too late to even call for help.  Once Omen crashed, all remaining evidence would be destroyed.”

Brax spoke.  “But the one base on Omen failed to put itself into zerospace.  It simply shut down with a partial meltdown.”

Jaya nodded.  “When my team found it, it was reactivated.  I suppose it had connections to a hidden transmitter, which called out to the Annihilator, telling them of the problem so that they could come in and fix it.”

“When they appeared,” Brax said slowly.  “They likely did not know you had people on the surface.  Perhaps not even that the Craton was lurking nearby.  They must have hoped to strike and destroy the remaining facility before we could find it.  If they had succeeded, we would have had an alarming event, one worth complaining about diplomatically, but never have known that they were the cause of Ko’s destruction.”

Jaya felt almost as sick as Abashidze looked, but she kept it in, stuffed it down, focusing on the facts, and her duty.

“All this just to exterminate a people who are still hunter-gatherers?” Abashidze said, her face pale.  “Why?”

Brax sighed.  “We all ask ourselves the same question – how could they?  But the Aeena deem all other intelligent life a threat and insult to them.  Now, or in the future.  If the !Xomyi had been left alone, we don’t know where they might be in ten thousand years.  They might have become space-faring and be colonizing worlds and systems the Aeena considered theirs by right.”

“If,” Jaya said.

“But I still do not know why this much secrecy,” Abashidze said.  “That one Annihilator could have destroyed all life on this planet, yes?  Why so much effort to hide their work?  It must have taken years and huge amounts of resources.”

Jaya knew the answer, but she looked to Brax, knowing the admiral had already understood all of this, and could say it better than she could.

“Because,” Brax said, “if their plan had worked, they would have had plausible deniability.  The light from such a moment will forever be traveling – and someday someone will see it.  I doubt anyone would have cared or noticed the small convoys traveling to a moon and made the connection that they had caused it to fall.  But if they had seen an Aeena warship exterminate a helpless species, they would know forever that they are an enemy.”

“Why the moon, though?  I do wonder that,” Jaya admitted.  “An asteroid a fraction the size would have worked.”

“An asteroid we could deflect.  As you said – we cannot stop Omen now.  At least, that is what I suspect,” Brax said.  “Or it may be part of their supposed obsession with moons.  We may never know for sure.”

She shook her head.  “The Aeena started their war with the Union with the sterilization of a Coral-populated system.  They did not know that the Corals were part of the Sapient Union, or even that the Union existed.  Since the war, they have learned a lesson, just not the one we were hoping for.  We hoped they would see that they lived in a populated universe and would act accordingly, not attempt such a barbaric action again.  But they only learned to take a new tact.”  Her expression turned even more grim.  “They will continue, I think.  They believe their result inevitable, no matter how many millenia it takes.”

Jaya felt her stomach heave, realizing that in some sense today they had beaten the Aeena’s plan.  All of their efforts to hide the fact that they were attempting to genocide the entirety of the !Xomyi people had been in vain.

Not that it helped the !Xomyi or Ko.  The world, and any life they could not pull off it, was going to die.

Brax saw the look on her face.  “Yes, Acting-Captain Yaepanaya.  I know what you are thinking.  But know that you did well today.  Your teams helped uncover a great crime, an act for which five of them gave their lives, the all of their hearts and bodies.  Today we won – and we will be sure to tell everyone else about what has happened here.”

The Admiral sighed again.  “But even victory here is not something that we can feel good about.”

< Ep 12 part 49 | Ep 12 part 51 >

New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

“The Aeena vessel is still not responding to our hails,” Shomari Eboh said softly.

The bridge was deathly quiet, everything in combat mode.

But what a combat it would be, Jaya thought.  The Craton was at every disadvantage; they were still extricating themselves from the moon’s trail, a predictable path.  They had to meet up with and recover their shuttles, which would leave them vulnerable.  And on top of that, the diplomatic carrier was present and completely defenseless.

They were at optimal range for the enemy particle cannons, a weapon against which they had little defense except being at extreme close range or extreme far range.

“Coilgun shots!” Smith called.  “They’ve struck the moon!”

“Are the shuttles out?” Jaya demanded.

“Still looking . . .” Smith replied.  “We’ve got them!  They appear to be intact, moving away from the moon on expected evacuation course.”

“Establish contact with them,” Jaya said.  “And keep trying to get through to that Aeena ship!”

The Annihilator was still lazily cruising, nearly 5,000 kilometers out from the moon and planet.

Its particle cannons were still warmed up, but the ship was not aiming towards them.

With even longer barrels than coilguns, the Annihilator had to be built around its terrifying primary weapons.  They ran the length of the vessel, all of that length a particle accelerator.

A single shot would reach them in less than a second at this distance.

The particle stream would punch excited electrons through the target.  It wouldn’t just cause physical damage, but overload and destroy computers near the course of travel . . . and each contact with an object would create a burst of deadly radiation that would poison thousands of people.  And the Annihilator had six such cannons.

“Captain,” Shomari Eboh said.  “We have . . . received a response from the Aeena ship,” he said, his voice incredulous.

“Put it on,” she said.

An image appeared on the screen, hovering just over the Aeena ship.

Jaya had not expected an Aeena to be on-screen.  The reclusive species did not show themselves, even if one must be in command of the Annihilator.  Instead, it was a Fesha.

Some said the beings looked like creatures from old Earth mythology.  Jaya did not see it in their crystalline bodies that were translucent to the human visual range.

The being was wearing a fine robe that seemed more fitting for some ancient kingdom than a warship.  But it was finer than any petty emperor of the ancient world had ever possessed, every inch of it a work of art, inlaid with symbols that she knew told the story of this individual, and a highly creative history of his people, glorifying their position as Honored Slaves of the Aeena.

“You have been seeking an audience,” the Fesha said.

Jaya’s heart was pounding.  Ships of the Union and Aeena had not interacted in decades; all correspondence and diplomacy was by messages.  What she was doing now, attempting to speak to the captain of their ship, was not something she should be doing; it was far above her pay grade.  Yet she had to; not out of anger, but to at least figure out what they hell they wanted.

Her hand moved in a command sign language, out of the view the Fesha had of her.
Contact the Ambassador-General.
Shomari Eboh signed back; they have not replied.

It seemed that the Entente was running silent on the other side of the planet.  It made sense; signaling the Craton would betray their presence, and they were unarmed.  That meant Ambassador-General Abashidze couldn’t even know they’d actually made contact.

“I seek to speak to your master,” she said.

The Fesha did not blink or even move in response to her words.

Which, she recalled from her classes, was their way.  They simply would not respond to, or even acknowledge things that they would not comply with.

“Why do you bother me?” the Fesha said, his voice disdainful.  “I am degraded by your presence.  On top of this, you dare to bore me.”

“You fired upon the moon,” Jaya began.

“Oh?  This upsets you?” the Fesha asked.  “This is neutral space.  We are free to test our weapons upon any uninhabited body we choose.  You have no standing to complain.”

He waved, dismissively.

Jaya bit back her anger.  It was the point of such behavior, of course.  Interrupting was another habit of Fesha representatives for the Aeena.

“I had people down on the moon,” she said, forcing herself to stay calm.  “You . . . put their lives in danger.”

The Fesha was slow in replying, looking disinterested.  “If only we had known,” he replied calmly.

“I was attempting to tell you this,” Jaya said.  “But you refused my hails until it was too late.”

“How sad,” the Fesha replied.

“We will be filing a diplomatic complaint,” she said.  “To prevent further . . . misunderstandings, I request that your vessel leave the orbit of Ko.”

“Why?” the Fesha asked.  “You are free to leave.”

“I have business here,” Jaya said.

“As may we,” the Fesha replied.

“Then perhaps we should set some boundaries,” Jaya replied dryly.  “To prevent any future ‘misunderstandings’.”

The Fesha smiled.  Then the call ended.

Silence reigned on the bridge for long moments.  Jaya was not sure what she could do except continue to recover the shuttles, and once they had, to pull back.

“Captain,” Smith said.  “The Annihilator is putting its weapons on standby.”

A tension lessened in her chest, one she hadn’t even realized was there.

Looking to the Aeena vessel, she saw that its weapons were all now powered down.  But it was also rotating, so that they faced towards the Craton.

“How long until the shuttles are recovered?” Jaya asked.

“Twenty minutes,” Commander Zhu answered.

“As soon as they are recovered,” Jaya said.  “Pull us back, out of range of their weapons.  But keep them in sight if you can.”

< Ep 12 part 48 | Ep 12 part 50 >

New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

“Captain, we’re detecting krahteon emissions from the asteroid,” Aminia Smith said.  “That’s . . . not good.”

Jaya leaned forward, looking towards Cutter.  “Could the zerodrive down there have activated?”

“Seems impossible,” Cutter said thoughtfully.  “But krahteon emissions would account for lost contact with teams.”

“Move us so we have a line of sight on their location,” Jaya said.  “Use direct communications methods!”

“Aye!” Ji-min Bin called.

It was a testament to the discipline of the command staff that they obeyed her order.  Line of sight for the teams would put them into the trail of the moon; where the most debris was.

It was not a position they could hold long, but there would be places of safety within it.  But such safety was relative, and their frontal shield was going to take a beating.

The ship shuddered.

“Two-meter asteroid,” someone called.  “PDCs got it just a dozen meters from the nose, pelted us with debris.”

“Keep up the defensive fire, but be mindful of the teams,” Jaya cautioned.

“Captain,” Shomari Eboh called.  “A coded transmission just came from the moon.”

“The teams?”

“No,” Eboh said.  “It is not using Union codes.  It was a tight-beam transmission, and wasn’t even pointed towards us.”

“Show the path,” Jaya said.  It appeared on screen.

It was headed out of the system.  But where?  There was no one else out there to hear.  Even if someone was listening from out of the system, light could only travel so fast.  It would take hours to leave the solar system.

“Can you break its code?” she asked.

“Working,” Eboh said.  “It is extremely complex.”

Perhaps it was originally meant to speak to someone far closer, she thought.

It took them precious minutes to get into position where they could see the teams.  The Craton took several more hits, none serious, but each one alarming.

“We’re going to need a new nose shield after this,” Ji-min Bin muttered.

“Quiet,” Jaya said calmly.  “Display countdown until we achieve line of sight.”

The countdown appeared on screen; only seven seconds left.

As soon as they got into position, Eboh had the line open.  “Teams One and Two, this is Craton.  Evacuate the site immediately!”

“We can’t stay here more than two minutes,” Ji-min Bin said.  “A big piece is heading towards us.”

Jaya could see pieces coming from the moon’s surface.  And highlighted was the position of the team.

“Maximum zoom,” she ordered.

The image appeared, and she could make out the shuttles of their teams.

“We’re getting an IR message,” Eboh said.  “It’s Commander Pirra.”

“Put it on.”

“Captain!” Pirra’s voice came through.  “The station zerodrive is activated, we’re pulling out right now.”

“What’s your situation?” Jaya demanded.

“Team One is preparing for liftoff, but the ground is shaking down here.  Team Two has a landing strut stuck in a crack, and they’re trying to get it free.”

Alerts suddenly sounded across the bridge.

“Something big is coming out of zerospace!” Aminia called.  “It’s – oh, dark.”

They all stared, as the object in question appeared.

The vessel was eleven kilometers in length.  It was a warship, one of a type that had not been seen by the Union for thirty-six years.

“Annihilator-type Aeena Battlecruiser has fully exited zerospace,” Aminia Smith said, her voice soft, in shock.  “Armed with twenty coilguns and . . .  at least six particle cannons.  We’re . . . we’re no match for that thing.  Not any day of the week.”

“What is it doing?” Jaya demanded.  “Is it warming up its weapons?”

“Uh . . .”  Aminia’s hands were shaking.

“Cutter, tell me what it’s doing,” Jaya demanded, whirling.

“It is warming all weapons,” Cutter said, even his voice just a soft hiss.  “And we are within range.”

“Commander Pirra, an Aeena Annihilator has just appeared,” Shomari Eboh’s voice came.  “You are ordered to take off immediately.”

“What?” Pirra called back.  An Aeena Annihilator, one of the most heavily-armed warships of known space, had just appeared above their heads?

How in the depths had that happened?

“Team Two still has a landing pad stuck.  I was about to send some of my team over to help get it free,” she called back.

“Belay that.  You are to take off now,” Eboh said.  “Captain’s orders.”

Pirra felt a surge of fury.  The Captain could not order her to abandon her people!

Except she could, she told herself.

But it wasn’t right, she argued.

She didn’t have all the information.  She didn’t even know if her people could get over to Team Two fast enough.

“Belay order to go out,” Pirra told Kiseleva.  The woman, two others with her, paused.  “Get back in your seats.  We’re lifting off.”

“Why?” Kisleva asked.

“I’m saying so,” Pirra snapped.  “Sit, now!”

She switched to Team Two’s line.  “We can’t send over help, Team Two.”

“That’s okay,” Devilleneuve called back.  “I’ve got two people out right now with shaped charges, they should cut the rock and then we’ll be free.”

It was a risky move, Pirra thought.  They had to have laser cutters, but those would take longer.

She felt her ship shudder, the engines roaring to life.  Thrown back in her seat, she turned her feed to the outside view of the other shuttle.

Small figures could be seen around it.  They moved back, then there was a flash.

“Ship’s free!” Devilleneuve called out.  “Getting team back in . . .”

There was another flash, though, and he cut off.

“Devilleneuve?” she called out.

“We’re okay!” his voice came back.  “Something happened . . . small explosion.  My people outside are down.”

There was a pause.  “They’re alive.  We’re heading out to get them.”

Another signal came through.

“Commander, this is Captain Yaepanaya.  The Annihilator is charging weapons, and they are aimed upon your location.  Get all you can out immediately..”

Pirra felt her heart as a hum in her chest.

“Devilleneuve,” she said.  “Belay that.  Lift your team off now.  Our location is being targeted by enemy vessels.”

There was no answer.

“Devilleneuve, this is not an option,” Pirra said.  “You’ll lose everyone if you stay.”

The line clicked twice.  It was not a voice confirmation, but it was acceptance, she thought.

Then she saw the second shuttle lift off.

A voice message came; it was from an individual still on the surface.

One of the two that she had just ordered to be left behind, she realized.

“We heard, everyone,” the woman’s voice said.  Pirra did not know who it was immediately.  “Get yourselves out of here.  Give ’em hell, and long live the Union!”

“Something big just fired!” Kiseleva yelled.

Pirra’s external view was just a flash, no true image resolving; even these cameras could not capture coilgun rounds, they simply moved too quickly.

The damage to the surface below was total; a full coilgun volley that left, down below, only a glowing crater.

< Ep 12 part 47 | Ep 12 part 49 >

New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

“Initializing counter-burn,” the computer said in her helmet.

Pirra shifted slightly in her seat, fighting back the nervousness before a mission.  It was a little stronger now than normal.  How could it not be, after that last mission?

At the same time she was also itching for a fight.

Ah, she thought.  The universal fight or flight response.

Anywhere there was a Darwinian biosphere – basically all of them – there was that trait.

There seemed little chance of a fight here, though.  Further scans showed the building as cold; no one was home.  They had a full complement of Guardian drones and scanner drones, and they’d be sending in scanners ahead of themselves to check for traps.

And this was their element.  They were espatiers, meant for space combat.  The moon was a body, but small enough to have only microgravity.  Perfect for them.

The counter-burn started, and her team were shoved in their seats hard as they were hit with ten Gs.  They were all braced, and no one fainted.

Her leg hurt, but she ignored it.  Her suit noted the spike and suggested a painkiller, but she ignored that, too.  They said the painkillers given on missions didn’t affect one’s thinking, but she always felt they did affect her, and she wanted a clear head.

“Impact in ten,” the computer said.

The G-forces were still intense, but decreasing marginally.  Still nine Gs, her system told her.

She took a series of sharp breaths, then held herself.  Blood was wanting to be pulled towards her back, but she kept her body tensed, preventing that as much as possible.

“Five seconds.”  They were down to six Gs, still a fight, but tolerable.

Four Gs.

Then two.

The counter-burn stopped, and they bumped just slightly as they landed.

“Landing successful,” the system said.

“All right, team, out and form up!  Cover every direction, remember we’re not on some mudball anymore!  It’s proper vacuum out there!”

“Aye!” her seven espatiers called.

Each member of the team had checked their gear before leaving, confirming all was sealed up.  The computer had checked them as well before transit, during, and even now.  But each member now checked each other as well – in an airless environment, it was always a good idea.

The doors opened, and they moved out in two lines, spreading out in twos to check all directions, and find cover.

They were in the crater, with the ragged canyon a hundred meters ahead.  Drones moved by them in carefully-coordinated swarms, spreading out and scanning every bit of surface as they moved.

Her eyes told her they were clear, and the drones said the same.

“Move out,” she ordered over the radio.

The almost zero-gravity here meant that they only needed to kick slightly off the surface to move forward.  Small thrusters on her shoulders hissed, pushing her back down so she didn’t end up flying high.  Other than that hiss, conducted through her suit, and her own breathing, it was silent.

After the last time, when their enemies had had extremely powerful jammers, this time they had better back-ups; infrared lasers that could beam communications directly between each member of the squad.  As long as there was line of sight, they could talk.

Team Two landed, two hundred meters off to their left.  Devilleneuve led his team out.

“Planting surface sensors,” Devilleneuve said to her over comms.

“Copy,” she replied.  While his team was planting the sensors that would let them get an idea of what lay under the surface, she took her team towards the structure in the canyon.

Reaching the lip of the crack, Pirra stopped and looked down.

It was a sheer cliff, the drop not dangerous in the low gravity – only an inconvenience.

They attached ropes to the edge of the cliff, so they could climb back up when they were done, and pushed off, heading down.

“Half a percent Earth gravity,” Kiseleva muttered over the radio.  “Might as well be zero.”

“Eyes on target,” Pirra said.

She let her thrusters maneuver her towards the wall, grabbing onto the rock and sliding down it to slow herself.  Before she landed on the building she came to a stop on a slight outcropping, while the rest of the team caught up.

They didn’t know if the building was rigged for pressure.  Drones confirmed there was nothing visual, at least.

“Scanning section,” Kiseleva called, holding a device to the edge of the building.  “I’m reading nothing,” she said after a few moments.

“It’s going to be empty,” Pirra said.  “Circle the edges, look for any entrances.”

“I can make one,” Kiseleva said.

“You will.  But I want to know if this place was even meant to be entered,” Pirra replied.

Kiseleva prepared to make a door while the rest of them searched.  A single entrance, a heavy airlock, was found, but it had no power.

“We’re down on the side,” Pirra called to Kisleva.  “Once your explosives are placed, come join us and we’ll blow it.”

Once she had joined them, Pirra gave the go-ahead, and they blasted a hole into the building.

They all waited, tensed, in case something happened.  The explosion could be felt through any surface they were touching, but they couldn’t hear it.

The breach hole was wide enough for one to go through easily, and Pirra went first, floating over the hole, and two others shoving her shoulders down.

Raising her rifle as soon as she was inside, she swept in all directions.

The building was mostly empty.  But not entirely.

“We’ve got some equipment,” she called.

Cutter’s voice came on the line.  “Closer.  Share feed.”

Pirra did so, sweeping her gaze slowly over the equipment.  It was huge, whatever it was.  Something . . . coiled?  It was hard to tell.

Reaching the floor, she pushed off a wall, heading around the huge piece, and then gasped.

“Sky, something had a meltdown in here,” she said.  Her eyes flickered to her radiation sensors, but there was no uptick in the readings.  “Confirm my rad sensors are working.”

“Confirmed,” Cutter replied.  “Drones detected no elevated levels of radiation.”

Pirra let out a breath.

Kiseleva came over.  “I think this was intentional damage.  An attempt to destroy and cover up, not an accidental meltdown.”

“I concur,” Cutter said.  “Very hastily done.  Very poorly.  Good for us.  Find anything intact – share feeds.”

“Copy,” Kiseleva replied.

“Secure this facility,” Pirra called out to her team.

It was a large building, but being so empty it did not take long to check it all.  There was no data storage, nothing complex except the single large, partially-melted device.

But they did find a sign on the wall.

“Commander,” Kiseleva called.  “You’ll want to see this.”

Pirra came over.

At first she thought it was some sort of art.  It had boxes imposed on a circle, and lines from each heading towards a single central box.

Then she saw that one of the boxes on the edges was marked out.

“You are here,” she realized.

“I think so,” Kiseleva said.  “This is only one of many.”

“Our scans didn’t find any others,” Pirra said.

Kiseleva shrugged.  “We could have missed them.  Or they might have been dismantled more thoroughly.”

Cutter’s voice came on again.  “Image confirms suspicions.  This facility makes little sense on its own.  But as part of a ring – can only be a zerodrive.”

“An asteroid-scaled zerodrive?” Pirra asked.  “For what purpose?  Omen isn’t a new moon.”

“Do not know,” Cutter said.  “But I am confident in conclusion.”

Suon’s voice came through the comms.  “We’ve found a computer hidden in a wall panel.  Nothing big, but it’s plugged into the main system here.”

“Is it on?” Kiseleva asked.

“No, it’s off.”

“We’re on our way,” Pirra said.

Suon spoke again, but his voice suddenly had a note of alarm.  “It’s turned on and it’s doing something!”

“Did you touch it?” Kiseleva demanded.

“I just- I barely-“

Pirra whirled, her system guiding her to Suon’s location.  Jetting over, Kiseleva right behind her, they looked at the computer.

The wall near the computer had a huge burn hole in it.  Kiseleva peered through it.

“The computer’s connection to the system had been damaged by debris,” she said.

“There was a cable that had come out,” Suon said.  “I touched it and it slipped back in.”

“It’s not a booby trap or we’d all be dead already,” Kiseleva muttered.  “So what is it doing?”

Pirra turned, looking around the room.

Something wasn’t right.  There was a hum in the floor that hadn’t been there before.  It was subtle, but growing stronger.

“Do you feel that?” she asked.

Everyone froze, and she saw Kiseleva’s eyes widen.  They both realized at the same time, and looked at the huge damaged coil.

“It’s getting hot,” Pirra said.

“Yebat’,” Kiseleva spat.  “The people trying to hide these facilities didn’t dismantle them.  They sent them into zerospace.”

Pirra’s eyes widened.  “But this one had a failure . . .”

“And the computer just sent it an order to try again,” Suon finished.

“We can’t be near it when it opens the portal,” Kiseleva said quickly.

“Can we turn it off?” Pirra asked, moving in front of the computer.

“The power is building rapidly,” Kiseleva said quickly, scanning the computer.  “I don’t know what will happen if we break the connection.  But I know that that coil is already dangerous.  Look what it did last time.”

Pirra looked at the damage to the room.  They wouldn’t survive it, and if it was much more powerful this whole building wouldn’t survive.

“We’re moving out!” Pirra called on a channel to her team.  “Team Two, do you copy?”

There was no response.

“Kis, what’s going on?”

The floor was humming more and more.  Her team, she realized, hadn’t even all reacted to her order.  “Craton?” she called.  No answer.

“The zero field is messing up radio comms,” Kiseleva said, her voice coming through the direct infrared signal system.  “Line-of-sight communications only.”

“Get everyone else,” Pirra ordered Suon and Kiseleva.  “Then meet outside.”

It took them precious time to get the other five members of the squad.

“Up and out,” Pirra ordered.  One by one they all leaped up, passing through the hole they’d cut through the ceiling.

They had three lines coming down, and they leaped up to them, grabbing and jumping higher, using the ropes only to keep from falling back down.

As soon as Pirra crested the lip, she called out.  “Team Two, back to the shuttles now!”

The ground, she realized, was starting to rumble.

< Ep 12 part 46 | Ep 12 part 48 >

New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

The inside of the tent, with its equipment and the Union pragmatic aesthetic felt somewhat alien to Brooks.

Kai had let him know that there was a priority message from the Craton.  He’d come in as soon as he could.

Jaya appeared, her face serious.  “Captain,” she said.

He nodded.  “Is all well, Jaya?”

Her head lowered slightly, her eyes darting away.  “I must tell you what has happened.”

She told him about the discovery of the camp, the Response Team’s investigation, and their losses.

Brooks closed his eyes.  “Three dead?  These mercenaries must have been well-armed.”

“Yes, sir.  It was peer-level technology, and each individual was extremely well-equipped.  They were a well-trained unit with good fighting experience.”  She paused.  “We are fortunate that only three were lost.”

“How is Pirra taking it?”

“As well as an officer should,” Jaya replied.  “While I am sure this is difficult for her, she is ready to go back into action – and I believe safely able to do so.”

Brooks nodded.  “Now, tell me what we’ve learned about these mercenaries.”

She did so; about their group and known crimes, about the captured officer and his information, and finally her thoughts on it.

“The strange thing is,” she said.  “That we found no evidence of smuggling artifacts.  They are not even equipped with things one might expect.”

Brooks frowned.  “Show me their manifest of known equipment.”

The file came through, and Brooks skimmed it.  “I agree,” he said.  “I’d expect preservation equipment for perishables, cryo tanks, packing equipment, bulk cargo modules, and scientific equipment for cataloguing, the black market in research can’t be overlooked.  Then they’d need a launch platform for regularly bringing things out, as well as local transit.  It would take twenty tons of goods to break even on an expedition like this, and an ability to search far afield.”

Jaya paused, surprised at how much more thorough Brooks’s thoughts were on this than her own had been.

“So what were they doing here?” she asked.  “I cannot figure it out.”

Brooks leaned back.  “Investigate the moon.  If there are any clues there . . .”

She nodded.  “I feel it is worth the risk.  I will take the Craton as close in as I safely can.”

Brooks hesitated before speaking again.  “Do you feel confident enough to command this?  I could return-“

“No, Captain,” she said calmly but firmly.  “I feel every confidence in my ability to lead.  And your mission is important.”

He studied Jaya’s image for a few moments longer.  She was not a rookie; she was a seasoned officer.  He had never met a junior officer who he thought was more ready for command than she was.

“All right,” he said.  “Good hunting.”

< Ep 12 part 44 | Ep 12 part 46 >

New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

It did not take the mercenaries long to flip.

They still might have had a case, Pirra thought.  Just because they knew it was Union people there didn’t mean that there wasn’t a right of self-defense, and some might even accept that an armed unit of espatiers was threatening.

But within the Union, it was a very slim chance.  They’d taken the better chance, of turning on their peers.

It was going to be close to see who flipped first, Pirra thought as she watched the recordings.  The legal AI gave its presentation of the evidence to the men at the same time, and some agreed to turn on their fellows before the recording was even finished.

Richard Amin was one of them.

“I’ll tell you everything,” he said.  “As long as the death penalty is off the table.”

Jaya had a chance to consider the offer.  “I’m going to accept it,” she told Pirra.  “Do you have any objection?”

Pirra was surprised that her opinion had been asked.  It seemed like something Captain Brooks might do.

She did want to see this man executed.  She knew she could be bloodthirsty that way.

But he’d still likely get a sentence of fifteen consecutive years for each death.

“It’s fine,” she said, thinking of Lal, Mac Mordha, and Zivai.

Jaya dialed in to Amin’s cell, still sitting in her large administrative chair that contained various equipment.

“We are willing to accept your plea,” Jaya said.  “You will tell us everything you know, and we will remove the possibility of the death penalty.”

“That’s all I ask,” Amin replied.  He still seemed controlled and calm.

A man who knew he was facing a long sentence, Pirra thought.  But someone who had always known it was a real possibility.

“You do understand,” Jaya said, “That you have not ruled out a mind-scanner.”

“I have,” Amin said.  “I knew you’d never accept me just on my word.”

“If I find what you say doubtful, I will be using the scanner,” Jaya promised.  “I may anyway, simply to confirm it.”

The man paled a little, but nodded.  Mind-scanners did exactly as advertised.  When combined with certain chemicals, a person’s mind and thoughts could be read.

It was almost completely harmless; there was no pain with the process.  There were no lasting changes to the person.

Yet faced with the reality of it, most people quailed.  No one liked the thought of having any thought in their mind exposed; any deed they might have done.  There was no lying, no twisting the facts.  And because of centuries of study on the technology, what answers it came to were legally accepted.

It was such a violation that its use was highly restricted.  No civilian could ever have it used on them.  For a criminal to use it on someone else carried some of the harshest penalties in the Union.  It was reserved for only the worst crimes and criminals, even banned in use during war among all known governments.

But this situation did fall within the requirements.

“Who was your employer?” Jaya demanded.

“I don’t know who we were working for,” Amin said.  “That’s pretty common in contracts.  Only the commander might have known, but in some cases only Centauri knows.”

“We’ll accept that answer for now,” Jaya said.  “What else?”

“Initially there was a lot of equipment at our site, but most of it was ferried out after two months.  I’d say the last of it was gone only a few days before the first Union ship arrived.”

“What was it for?”

“I don’t know,” he admitted.  “We had some technicians with us for awhile, but we had very little contact with them directly.  We just provided security.”

Jaya sat back.  “Did your people harm any of the natives?”

The man swallowed.  “On several occasions we were required to demonstrate to the nearby alien settlements that they should not give us cause for harming them.”

Jaya frowned.  “I do not like the sound of this answer.”

The man hesitated, then said; “We executed some operations against the local population.  Whenever they got too curious, or in one case attempted to damage some equipment.”  He added after a moment; “But we were only operating under orders.”

“And do you think that helps?” Jaya asked.  “I am going to send you a report.  You will fill it out, and we will compare the notes against all the others who have also filled the reports.  We will do every bit of investigation we can of your logs, everyone’s logs.  So I hope you will realize that honesty is a . . .” Jaya paused.  “Requirement.”  Her eyes narrowed.  “How many were killed?”

The man stared at her, meeting her eyes.  There was no mercy on Jaya’s face, Pirra thought.  And in it a seriousness that demanded an answer.  Or she would bring out the mind scanner.

“At least two dozen,” he admitted quietly.

Jaya’s face tightened slightly, and the coldness in her eyes turned to heat.  “I see.  This is, as you may expect, an important matter.”

The man nodded, his composure breaking and the weight on him heavily now.  Attacking the Sapient Union was one whole level of stupid; but at least they could fight back.  The crimes against the locals was another that he knew would get him no mercy.

“I have something else,” he said.  “If I can get immunity for-“

“You cannot get immunity for that,” Jaya said.  “But your cooperation will be noted.”

“That’s not enough!”

“I can get the scanner,” Jaya said.  “And spend time thoroughly questioning you.”

“You need an in,” the man replied, a spark of defiance showing.  “Something to start with – the right question.  You won’t guess it.  Give me a concession.”

Jaya regarded him for a long time.  The man waited, but the quiet got to him.

“No heavy labor,” he begged.

“If your information proves relevant,” Jaya said slowly, “Then I will consider it.”

The man looked ready to protest, but his eyes went downwards, and he was thinking.  Jaya wanted this information, yes.  But he had to weigh that against the possibility that she was equally willing to let it go – or try her luck with the mind scanner, which would involve quite a lot of questions that might bring up things he did not want to share – like previous crimes.

“If you promise, on your honor, to give the information a fair consideration for its value,” he said softly.

Jaya nodded.  “I so swear.  What is your information?”

“There was another team,” he said.  “Up on the moon.”

Jaya let her curiosity show.  “What were they doing there?”

The man shrugged.  “I don’t know.  But . . . that team was still there more recently.  I doubt that they could have fully evacuated before the first Union ships got here.  If that was the case . . . well, I bet they buggered off as soon as they could when your ships were on the far side of the planet.”

Jaya did not seem very impressed.  “I see,” she said.  “To be honest, Richard Amin, that seems rather trivial.”

The man’s eyes widened, and his mouth opened, but Jaya terminated the connection.

She looked up to Pirra.  “This is interesting.”

“If true,” Pirra replied.

“We will go and see,” Jaya promised.  She looked at the man, who was muted now, but frantically talking.

“If he gives up anything else, let me know.  Otherwise, we shall let him stew until we see how much his information is worth.”

< Ep 12 part 43 | Ep 12 part 45 >

New to Other-Terrestrial? Check here! Or if you need to, jump to the beginning of the episode here!

Victor Devilleneuve, commander of Response Team Two, appeared as a hologram before her.

“Report,” Jaya ordered.

Pirra watched, sitting off to the side.  She’d rather not be sitting, she’d rather be doing something, but her leg was aching.  She hadn’t said it, but Jaya had noticed her limping; sitting had then become an order.

They’d been waiting hours, while Response Teams Two and Three conducted their forensic sweep of the combat zone.  Everything had been taken and would be analyzed; weapons, ammunition, equipment, bodies.  Anything could be the clue that might help them figure out what the hell these mercenaries were here for.

“We’ve found everything I think we can expect to find,” Devilleneuve said.  He was talking loudly, the cacophony of the nighttime jungle leaking through despite the acoustic scrubbing software.  “We found enough clues to suggest that the first and second in command of the company were in one of the bunkers that took a direct hit.  At first we didn’t think there could be anything useful left – but then we found this.”

From off-screen, someone handed Devilleneuve a helmet.  “We believe the commanding officer removed his helmet before entering the bunker.  When the kinetic spike hit, the helmet was flung away into the jungle.  While it still suffered damage, we were able to recover some data – including some partial communications that were still in the active memory.”

“Play them,” Jaya said.

The man nodded, and the file stream was sent.  The quality was poor, the audio damaged, parts recovered by AI.  But the words could be understood.

“-repeat, we have visual confirmation that it’s a Union Response Team.”  There was a pause, as if the man was listening.  “That’s right, they’re Union.  No mistaking it.  They landed a few hours ago, and now they’re about to enter our camp.”

Pause.

“No, we don’t know what they know.  Our camp is as hidden as it could be.  We can’t be invisible against high-quality scans.”

Pause again, longer.

“I am not picking a fight with the Sapient Union.  That’s just bad business.  I don’t know how many there are up in orbit.”

The man went quiet for a long time.  Whoever was talking to him was saying quite a lot.

“All right,” the voice said.

Then the line went dead.

“The second recording, made right after the first,” Devilleneuve said.

There were two voices this time.

“We’re going to attack.  No prisoners,” the commander ordered.

Another man’s voice, gruffer and deeper.  “Are you sure we want this fight?”

“We’re offered generous compensation,” the commander said.

“Yeah, but what good is that if we’re dead?” the second replied.  “There’s at least one ship up in orbit, and we can’t take that on.”

“We don’t need to worry about them,” the commander replied.

It ended, and Pirra looked at Jaya.

“There we go,” she said.  “We’ve got them.”

“Yes,” Jaya said.  “But who was he talking to?  Why couldn’t we hear them?”

“At first we were puzzled by that, too,” Devilleneuve replied.  “But then we discovered fragments of code within the helmet with security elements we couldn’t account for.”

“What do you mean?  Encryption on the helmet’s data?”

“No – something hidden on the helmet itself.  It was very well-guarded, even launching attacks in response to our attempts to crack it.”  The man shrugged.  “I turned it over to Commander Cutter, and he took a look at it.”

The Bicet appeared.  “Once defenses were breached, discovered self-deleting code.  Replaced itself with offensive programming.  But fragments of original code remained – enough to identify.”  Cutter paused, tilting his head.  “An AI was installed to mercenary’s helmet, without him knowing.  While he believed that he was communicating with client from afar, he was instead being controlled by AI within helmet.”

“Absurd,” Jaya said.  “How could he not figure this out?”

“AI was very cleverly programmed,” Cutter replied.  “Not perfect – but very good.  Offered generous rewards for completion of important objectives.  One such objective was, apparently, to protect their site at all costs.”

“But why?” Pirra asked.  “What was so valuable about it?”

“Unknown,” Cutter said.  “Equipment of unknown nature – but appearing to be data vaults – were found outside camp.  They had been thoroughly destroyed, leaving no trace data to rebuild.  We are without further clues.”

Cutter seemed antsy in a way Pirra hadn’t seen before; he was sitting back on his tail, all of his arms tapping together in a way that she knew denoted nervousness in Bicet.  His gaze was upwards, lost in thought.

Jaya seemed to be finding her thoughts, though.  “So it was only an AI that was assuring him not to worry about us.  Still . . .”  She trailed off.

“Commander, is there something else, sir?” Pirra prompted.

Jaya noticed how odd Cutter seemed.  “Commander, if you have more to say, please do so.”

“It is strange thing,” Cutter said.  His words were hesitant, slow.  “AI in helmet – expertly made.  Bears hallmarks of . . .”  He trailed off again.

“Yes?” Jaya prompted.

“It was made by Bicet,” Cutter finally said.

Jaya frowned.  “I fail to see the significance.”

“My people do not factionalize,” Cutter said.  “We are united.  We are all beings of the Union.  Who made this, then?”

“Perhaps it was just something more general, originally, then adapted for this mission-” Pirra began.

“No,” Cutter said.  His hologram turned.  “That is all, Captain.”

“Very well, thank you for your good work, both of you.  Get the teams back up to the Craton,” she added to Devilleneuve.

Jaya looked to Pirra.  “Let us go have another chat with our prisoners.”

< Ep 12 part 42 | Ep 12 part 44 >