Trace the Stars

by Nancy Fulda

  “Directive one: Dispose of the dead bodies immediately. All bodies must be buried or cremated within twenty-four hours, starting now.

  “Directive two: all citizens selected will be required to house at least one soldier, and serve them dutifully in all ways requested.

  “Directive three: Comply with all orders of the Chinese Military Corporation.

  “We are fortunate to have such a strongly led institution guiding us in the times ahead, which will be filled with prosperity for our colony. The two greatest corporations are now combined as one. We are all citizens under the protection of the CMC. In Unity We Trust.”

  Sachiko read the last line and bowed low. She desperately wanted to say more and thought of an ancient speech delivered at the end of a terrible war the Japanese people had lost. She risked the ire of Admiral Zhou and said, “Honored citizens, we must carry on as our people have always done after a great loss. I beg you, on behalf of all the generations to come, endure the unendurable, and suffer what is unsufferable.

  “Let us continue as one family from generation to generation, welcoming the new members of our colony who have traveled from the dying world of all our ancestors. We must be mindful of the heavy burden of responsibility to continue no matter what, and of the long road before us.” Sachiko bowed again, eyes on the floor until she heard one man applauding.

  Admiral Zhou stopped clapping. He grinned at the officers beside him. “You see, this woman will be our mouthpiece.”

  The men laughed. The one with the Caucasian features made a crude joke in Mandarin. She thought he said that Sachiko was too old to warm his bed, but he could find an appropriate use for her mouth if she stayed on her knees.

  She pretended not to understand. “I am your servant, Admiral Zhou,” Sachiko said humbly, while thinking it was obvious why these men had been chosen to remain behind on Earth when their betters had been allowed to travel to the Chinese colony.

  “You will be our puppet for as long as you are useful,” Zhou said.

  “Yes, Admiral Zhou. I will not disappoint you, and neither will the people of Neo Nihon.”

  Four battle drones escorted Sachiko down a hallway to a tiny lavatory. She voided her bladder and hoped the millions of nanobots in her urine would be able to do their job and find their way into the data core of the ship. She also blew her nose and rinsed out her mouth sending even more spy devices into the closed system of the CMC vessel. She had to learn about the weapon that had exterminated the males of Neo Nihon. She also needed to understand what had happened on Earth in the past decade when no communication pods had come with news, and the arrival date of the Japanese colony ships had come to pass six years before. What had the CMC done to the people of Japan and her family specifically? Knowing the fate of her mother and father, since she had lost half her loved ones in the colony, was of utmost importance.

  The battle drones marched Sachiko to the same shuttle and she rocketed away from Admiral Zhou’s flagship. She expected at any moment for Admiral Zhou’s smug face to appear in a monitor. He would taunt her and gloat about his discovery of the espionage devices planted aboard his ship.

  The shuttle shook and pitched. The thunderous sound of reentry assaulted Sachiko. Would the CMC just detonate the craft and be done with her, blame her death on an unforeseen problem? Or would they do nothing, as their anti-nanobot systems would prevent any breaches of their networks?

  A loud boom made Sachiko flinch. She tried to calm herself and considered an even worse scenario. What if the CMC compromised the bio-nanobot devices and fed false information, setting up Sachiko and her conspirators for a catastrophic failure?

  The CMC must not be underestimated. They had somehow captured the Neo Nihon Corporation colony ships and developed a doomsday weapon of unparalleled power. Perhaps she was foolish to oppose them now and the defensive strategy of the colony would come to nothing.

  Sachiko met with her spy chief, Okina Makoto behind the thick metal door of a walk-in freezer in the kitchen inside the parliament building. The staff had all gone home to attend to their newly assigned “partners.” Okina checked the area thoroughly and deployed counter-surveillance devices. The faint smell of frozen fish filled the room.

  Sachiko was desperate to learn if the infiltrator bio-nanobots had been able to broadcast anything. For three weeks she had no indication of success. Her life consisted of dealing with the daily troop landings and the assignment of CMC soldiers to the homes of grieving widows. So far she had been spared the dishonor of her own live in “partner,” but Admiral Zhou had visited her once himself, making clear in humiliating fashion that he was in absolute control.

  She considered a memory removal of the painful event, but she wanted to remember, and it motivated her to press on.

  Okina’s request for a meeting had given Sachiko renewed hope. “You have news?”

  “Congratulations, Prime Minister,” Okina said. “The devices you planted are working. “The transmission started yesterday.”

  Sachiko felt joy for the first time since the attack. “Is it authentic? Not misinformation from the CMC?”

  “I believe it’s real. The data was hidden inside normal traffic from Zhou’s flagship.”

  “Will they detect it?”

  “The chance of them finding it is not statistically relevant,” Okina said.

  “Good. What did you learn?”

  “Prime Minister, what you planted on the battle drone was unsuccessful in breaking the firewall, but we have a lot of other information. There’s a lot to analyze. I’ll need help.”

  “You’ll have help,” Sachiko said, “but not yet. What strategic information did you find?”

  “Most everything we’ve learned from the CMC soldiers is true. The pulse wave weapon has no defense and can be used against either gender, or both simultaneously. It was used by both sides during the war, but the CMC started it, not the African Federation. Men only were targeted first in the initial attacks, then both genders were hit at the end in desperation.”

  “Do you have casualty numbers?”

  “Remnants of the CMC ground armies, and fragments of the civilian populations are living along the equator in Indonesia, the Philippines, and Central America. Male survivor estimates range from four to five million planet-wide, but no one knows for certain. Virtually all the women are dead. Only those few females in orbital stations or on spacecraft survived the final strikes.”

  “Wait, how many are dead?” Sachiko asked.

  Okina’s eyes misted over. “Five billion.”

  Sachiko covered her face with her hands. The calamity on Neo Nihon was miniscule compared to what happened on their homeworld. The people left behind had destroyed themselves instead of waiting in line for their turn to travel to the colonies and escape the ice age and the wars plaguing Earth.

  “Prime Minister?” Okina asked.

  “Yes.”

  “The devices you planted on the computer screen have gotten into the network of Admiral Zhou’s staff, but not the most secure files.”

  Sachiko allowed herself to smile, but when she saw Okina’s grim expression her excitement faded.

  “We know their plan,” Okina said.

  “Go on.”

  “The CMC is the only military left with the pulse wave technology. They will use Neo Nihon as their base and strike from here once they are ready. They’re planning to conquer all the colony worlds one by one and bring their remaining soldiers on Earth to live with any sizable population. They will annihilate the males on all the colonies and replace them with their own. We are their first test. They will replicate this strategy everywhere they go in the future. The CMC fleet will return to Earth as soon as they can, and gather more troops before they launch an attack against another planet.”

  “What news of Japan?” Sachiko asked, a coldness enveloping her whole body.

  “The CMC estimates there are many pockets of male survivors in the underground shelters throughout the country, but they’re
not worth the resources to eradicate.”

  “How long do we have before the colony ships are ready to return to Earth for reinforcements?”

  “The CMC leadership wants them to depart in twenty-two months. It will take that long for their energy requirements to be replenished and for the ships to be made ready for another Wheeler-Bridge crossing.”

  “How many soldiers will they bring back?”

  “The maximum, approximately 600,000. The troops on Earth have been told that two or three men will share one woman here until they are redeployed to other colonies.”

  “Have we not been humiliated enough?” Adrenaline surged through Sachiko. She took a ragged breath to calm herself. Rage must not cloud her judgment. The CMC was not invincible. They had seized Neo Nihon Corporation colony ships, which were the most advanced vessels ever built. Technical help and orbital maintenance facilities were imperative to them, and they needed help with everything. The CMC had anticipated a passive population, and a secure base on a rich world.

  “We must analyze and exploit everything now,” Sachiko said. “Contact all your staff and activate our hidden assets according to the defense plans. Use every resource we have available to crack their networks. Have our people work on this project as hard as I know they are able.”

  “Prime Minister,” Okina said, “it will be a great risk.”

  “Okina-san, we have less than twenty-two months to find a way to defeat our enemy. If we do not succeed by then, our people may never recover. The CMC reinforcements must not arrive.”

  “Yes, Prime Minister.”

  “I will also require more of the espionage devices. I will get us access to all of the CMC’s data centers and codes.”

  “How?” Okina asked.

  “It may take months, but I will find a way. Admiral Zhou is the key.”

  “Prime Minister Okura,” Admiral Zhou said, “you will be pleased to know that the colony ship program is two weeks ahead of schedule. The technicians you have provided are working well, despite the conditions aboard the ships.”

  “That is welcome news, Admiral,” Sachiko said. She sat on the other side of a red glass desk inside his spacious office aboard his personal shuttle, which had landed outside the parliament building.

  They were alone and he stared at her, saying nothing for an uncomfortably long moment. Perhaps he was giving her time to ponder why he had made his unannounced visit. During the grueling eighteen months since the CMC had invaded, Admiral Zhou had made only one other visit to the capital, and never before had he stationed so many guards around the parliament building.

  “Sachiko, I’m not here to congratulate you.”

  “Admiral Zhou, I do not require praise. How may I be of service?”

  “No, it is I who will help you for once.”

  “I am honored,” she said.

  Zhou leaned back in his large chair with data transfer ports and controls on the armrests. “Have you read the reports from your citizens about their level of satisfaction with the current situation?”

  Sachiko demurred. “I have avoided them on the recommendation of my advisors.”

  His expression showed pity. “Sachiko, you are the most hated woman on this planet. Your citizens despise you more than they hate us, and we murdered their sons and husbands.”

  The people had been told Sachiko and Admiral Zhou were consensual lovers, laughing together and planning the dishonor of the people of Neo Nihon. He had only visited her one time, long ago during the first weeks of the occupation, but she chose not to publicly dispute the rumors.

  “Forgive me, Admiral,” Sachiko said, “have I displeased you? I have done my best to carry out all CMC directives and pushed my people beyond their breaking point to help the CMC accomplish all its goals.”

  “I am not displeased, but you have made yourself irreplaceable.”

  “Admiral, I do not understand.”

  “Sachiko, there are plots to assassinate you. Your beloved polite and honorable people want you dead.”

  Sachiko averted her eyes, then showed him an expression of surprise.

  “I can’t risk leaving you here in Neo Kyoto. I’m taking you up to my flagship. Your new office will be there, where I can keep you safe and we can work more closely together.”

  She stood up and took a step to the side of his desk. “Thank you very much, Admiral, but is there no way I can remain on Neo Nihon with my family?”

  “I will have your staff, your granddaughter, and daughter-in-law transferred with you. They may also be in danger. Your daughter-in-law’s dear husband, Major Chun Liu will be my new liaison officer.”

  Sachiko shuddered when she thought of Chun Liu. His treatment of poor Esumi, and his threats to little Sachiko, who still asked about her father made her blood boil. Sachiko hid her true feelings and stepped toward the Admiral with gratitude on her face and adoration in her eyes. “Thank you very much,” she said, and reached for him, intent on touching his face and kissing him on the lips.

  Zhou caught her wrists shook and his head, keeping her away from him. “That is not necessary.” He gently pushed her away.

  “I’m sorry,” Sachiko said, averting her eyes and wondering if he knew what she was trying to do.

  “I have something to show you,” Zhou said.

  He sat Sachiko at his desk and showed her a monitor screen with Okina Makoto’s face on it.

  Sachiko gasped.

  “You know this woman,” Zhou said.

  “She works in the parliament. She’s an old friend.”

  He shook his head. “No, this is leader of the plotters who wants to kill you.” He played a recording of Okina in a dark room speaking into a camera.

  “Everything I have done was for the people of Neo Nihon. We will no longer allow the cruel and honorless, Sachiko Okura to speak for us. She is a tool of the CMC and cares nothing for our lives. She will cause all of us to pay for her vanity and her schemes must be stopped. She will die for her crimes, and though I will not live to see her assassination, my sisters will carry our the task and fight to the end. Death to the tyrant, and death to the CMC.”

  Okina put a pistol to her head and pulled the trigger. Her head exploded in a shower of blood and brain matter.

  Sachiko pushed the screen away and held the armrests of Admiral Zhou’s chair with a death grip.

  “My men found her moments after she killed herself,” Zhou said. “The message was sent, but not many will see it. Still it’s a pity we didn’t take her alive.”

  “What about the others?” Sachiko asked.

  “Do not worry,” Admiral Zhou said. “I have taken care of everything. My men will track all the plotters down and pull up their organization by the roots. We have captured several of them already and are punishing them now.”

  He played a live feed of six different rooms. CMC soldiers tortured screaming women. He stood beside her, grinning at the depravity committed by his men. He turned up the volume so she could hear the cries and pleas for mercy.

  “This is not necessary,” Sachiko said.

  “This is their penalty. We have all the information needed to continue our hunt, but they must be taught a lesson. You see here only the beginning of what will happen to those who oppose us. Their children will pay a harsher price.”

  Sachiko seized her moment and slapped Admiral Zhou across his face, her palm connecting solidly with his cheek.

  Surprised, he backed away and drew his sidearm.

  Sachiko fell to her knees, touching her forehead to the floor. “Admiral, please forgive me. You are within your rights to do anything you wish. I am a foolish mother and grandmother with a soft heart. I am very sorry for touching you and beg for your forgiveness.”

  “I have broken your famous composure at last,” he said. “Get up. You’re an old woman and I have no need of you on your knees. Leave me, now.”

  She stood, avoiding his gaze and tried to shuffle past him. Zhou put his gun to her head and grabbed her by the throa
t. “Never speak of this to anyone.”

  She nodded, fear in her eyes.

  He dug his fingers painfully into her, almost choking off her air. “Never touch me again.” Zhou pushed her away and she fell to the floor.

  Sachiko fled the room as fast as she could, somewhat surprised she was still alive, and hopeful she had accomplished her task. It would take time for the bio-nanobots she planted on Zhou’s face when she slapped him to do their jobs. Would they see enough for Sachiko to find a way to take control of his system? Perhaps the bots she planted on his armchair controls or the desk screen would be able to penetrate his data core? Time would tell and she would likely never have another chance.

  By the next morning, Prime Minister Sachiko, all her staff, and her surviving family, along with two hundred female technicians and their CMC partners were aboard Zhou’s flagship. She stared at the large view-screen in her new office. The blue planet with vast oceans and beautiful white cloud formations so similar to Earth took her breath away.

  She silently thanked Okina-san for her tremendous sacrifice. The spy chief knew too much and had requested to die. It was the best strategic move.

  They had come too close now, and Sachiko’s plan was also ahead of schedule. The angry women Okina Makoto had recruited did not know they were part of an elaborate hoax, but they would divert the attention of Admiral Zhou’s secret police for many precious months. Innocent citizens would be tortured and killed, but they would die for a higher cause. Victory in war without casualties was not only impossible, but foolish to contemplate. The real question was how those lives would be spent.

  Sachiko stood behind Admiral Zhou in the brightly lit command center of his flagship. Crew in crisp brown uniforms and small caps worked diligently as she watched the entire CMC fleet begin their last exercise before returning to Earth, which was scheduled in two days. All of the colony ships, and their escorts positioned themselves for the opening of a Wheeler-Bridge. The long column pointed away from Neo Nihon and toward the yellow sun, almost identical to Earth’s.