by Ken Lozito
The sector chief walked back over to him and leaned down. “Now, we can begin.”
The words appeared on Connor’s internal heads-up display in plain English. Normally, Ovarrow symbols accompanied the English text, but there weren't any this time.
The Krake sector chief regarded him for a few moments and then spoke. “We can now communicate directly. I have questions.”
The sector chief stood up and a soldier handed him a metallic rod, which the Krake held in one hand while caressing it with the other. Connor thought it looked like a stun baton. The tip glowed in pale silver, and the suppressor cuffs glowed in response. He was on his hands and knees one moment, and the next, he was being lifted off the ground by the cuffs and hung in the air several feet above the ground. He tried to yank his arms down and only succeeded in swinging his legs and feet. He could still feel his hands down to the tips of his fingers. He was able to make a fist, but he just couldn’t exert any force that would free him.
“I’ve analyzed your translator. It’s an interesting approach to communicating with the Ovarrow but still a work in progress, I think. I’ve augmented it to speed this interaction along. Do you understand me?” the sector chief asked.
Connor clenched his teeth for a moment. The sector chief had been manipulating them the entire time. He must have been. Why else allow your prisoners to retain their weapons and leave the hangar bay doors open with just a force field to block communications?
“I can understand you,” Connor replied.
The sector chief was silent for a few moments, and Connor wondered whether he had understood him. “You returned for this Ovarrow. Why would you do that?”
“I brought him here.”
“But he’s Ovarrow. You are something else.”
“It’s called loyalty. Maybe you’ve heard of it.”
“We are familiar with this archaic concept. We haven’t seen an Ovarrow wearing armor like this for a long time. You must be from a fringe universe, but which one?” the sector chief said and watched Connor for a few moments. “We’ll get back to that question. Where are your ships?”
The sector chief must have thought he was with Trident Battle Group. Whatever Sean was up to had garnered some attention. Connor considered whether Sean could actually be in this universe and decided the odds weren’t in favor of that. He wouldn’t wager anything, but it did give him some options.
“You don’t expect me to answer that question,” Connor said.
“Defiance is common in the beginning. You’ve traveled a long way. Why would you come here?”
The Krake was full of questions. They were exchanging blows, of a sort, and this encounter was no less dangerous than if they were firing their weapons at each other. The hangar was shielded again, and he couldn’t get a signal out.
“Your reluctance to answer is anticipated, and I have you at a disadvantage—”
“I came here to learn about you,” Connor said, cutting him off. Whoever steered the conversation controlled the outcome. “We’re not from around here.”
“That much is obvious and yet doesn’t tell me anything I don’t already know. This is a delaying tactic—a much different approach than brute force and too subtle for the Ovarrow, though there are some who step beyond the established confines of acceptable response.”
“You’re slaughtering them, manipulating them to play your game,” Connor said.
The sector chief's alien gaze was filled with cold calculation and an energetic intelligence. Though the Krake held himself still, Connor wondered whether his mind was ever still or quiet.
“Why invade this planet? Your targets have had strategic importance, but I don’t see the logic of the action.”
“Who said anything about an invasion?” Connor replied.
“So, invasion isn’t your goal?”
“Why experiment on the Ovarrow? What have they done to deserve this?”
“All external efforts are experiments. I don’t need to explain this to you. The fact that you’re here in this capacity indicates that you are familiar with the concept.”
Connor used his implants to adjust the speed of his comlink and sent out a broadcast. The signal failed as before.
The sector chief stepped closer to Connor. The suppressor cuffs flashed, and Connor was lowered to a few inches above the ground, which put him at eye level with the Krake. The alien extended his hand toward Connor’s shoulder for a moment, and Connor thought he was going to touch the armor. He had his suit’s countermeasures armed, and if the sector chief touched him, the Krake would receive quite a shock.
“Interesting protection you have. Much more capable than this Ovarrow,” the sector chief said, gesturing down toward Cerot.
The Ovarrow had regained consciousness and slowly rose to his feet as the Krake soldiers watched him.
“Defiant to a fault,” the sector chief said and then looked back at Connor. “They are easily manipulated. Though this is our first meeting, this isn’t your first encounter with my kind.”
“That’s obvious. I’m sure you can figure out why I’m here,” Connor said.
He was able to move his feet, which meant he was only being held by his wrists.
“Won’t your companions come back for you? I would expect that they would since loyalty is a behavior your species has demonstrated.”
“Some things are more important,” Connor replied. They’d stolen data about the Krake, and it was more important for Dash and the others to get to Samson and escape than it was to rescue him. He had no intention of dying, but he had to admit that the odds of him leaving this hangar bay alive were dwindling.
More Krake soldiers entered the hangar.
“Loyalty and sacrifice. We’ve seen these behaviors before—inspiration for the feebleminded. You have given me much to ponder,” the sector chief said.
“I’m glad you find me so interesting. If you know so much, why do you keep experimenting on the Ovarrow?” Connor asked.
“You mistake me, or perhaps we’re having an issue with the translator. It was based on inferior attempts at communication. Me saying that you’ve given me much to ponder doesn’t mean that I find you or your species merely interesting. In fact, the knowledge I’m going to extract from you will be fascinating. Entire factions will align themselves with what I will gain here. They’ll yearn for more.”
“You haven’t answered my question. You force the Ovarrow prisoners to fight, herding them toward an arch with a gateway to where? Their homes?”
“We do not force the Ovarrow to do anything. We simply create conditions whereby a choice must be made, and we offer them a way to salvation,” the sector chief said.
He turned away from Connor and a large holoscreen appeared, showing multiple vantage points of the battlefield. Each holoscreen had a combat HUD, and Connor found that the translator was able to interpret the Krake language. The Krake had complete control over the battlefield, and Connor saw where they had their heavy cannons fortified, their soldiers deployed, and their orbital platforms locked onto the area for the next bombardment.
Connor clenched his teeth. This wasn’t an elaborate experiment. He jerked his body, trying to tear free from the suppressor cuffs, but they held him firmly. The sector chief regarded him for a few moments.
“Ah, an emotional response. These images anger you, which means you’re intelligent enough to realize—at least on the surface—that there is futility in fighting what is inevitable,” the sector chief said and stepped closer to Connor. “But tell me, would you still fight even for the slightest chance to return to your home?”
Connor knew he was being baited, and it was working. The sector chief was putting himself within reach to try to get a response from Connor. He clenched his fists from within the armored confines of the combat suit and glanced at the dozens of Krake soldiers that stood nearby. They waited with an almost practiced patience, as if they expected him to strike the sector chief and were ready to respond once he did. He couldn�
��t do what they expected. As much as he wanted the moment’s satisfaction of kicking the crap out of the Krake sector chief, he knew it wouldn’t gain him anything.
“Would you?” Connor asked.
The sector chief didn’t exactly look smug, but it was as close to smug as an alien could look. Instead of answering, he engaged a holo-interface below one of the holoscreens. Connor watched as heavy cannons atop mobile platforms swung around and a bright flash of orange burst from them, scorching the ground and decimating the Ovarrow lines. They kept firing in bursts, forcing thousands of Ovarrow prisoners toward the city where Krake soldiers waited.
The sector chief’s cold gaze watched the holoscreen dispassionately. This experiment wasn’t about whether the Ovarrow could defeat the Krake. They couldn’t. This was an experiment about what the Ovarrow would do in their last moments—how they reacted to death. Connor watched as the sector chief’s gaze flicked toward the Krake soldiers. He was watching them as well. Was he measuring the reactions of the soldiers? A response to Connor's comlink broadcast appeared on his internal heads-up display. His reconnaissance drone was inside the hangar bay. It must have been close enough to detect his earlier broadcast.
The sector chief turned back toward Connor. “Are we everything you feared us to be? I know you don’t like this. If we were able to measure your biometrics, then no doubt your system would be showing signs of increased stress.”
“We’re not afraid of you. So far, you’re everything I thought you were.”
The sector chief raised the rod that controlled the suppressor cuffs and thrust it above his head. Connor’s body lurched into the air. Then he was flung to the side and dragged helplessly behind by the cuffs on his wrists. Connor gritted his teeth and exhaled forcefully. The cuffs changed direction and his body sped toward the floor. His armored body slammed onto the hard surface and bounced into the air. Sharp pain lanced down his back and legs, and pain suppressants and nanites entered his system. As the pain dulled, his MPS engaged from within his combat suit. Just when gravity was about to bring him down, the cuffs engaged again. Connor sent a concentrated burst of power to his wrists, intending to overload them, and as his velocity through the air slowed, he quickly sank toward the ground. He slammed his wrists together with all the force he could muster and then hit the ground, shoulder first. The combat suit absorbed most of the impact, but jarring pain still ignited down his arm. Connor regained his feet and looked down at his wrists where the suppressor cuffs were mangled and bent. He tore them off and looked around. The Krake soldiers were still gathered in an open area near the center of the hangar bay. He peered at them and saw the sector chief raise the rod into the air, making a slicing motion with it.
Connor felt his lips lift up in amusement, but then he heard the clang of something hitting the ground. He hastened to the side and saw Cerot dangling upside down. The box with metallic laces had shifted to his back, and it glowed like Connor’s suppressor cuffs had.
The sector chief lifted the rod up into the air and Cerot’s body rose in response. The Krake turned toward Connor. He was a hundred meters away, but the open hangar bay doors were between them. Connor could reach the door and get away if he chose. The sector chief flicked the rod and Cerot spun right-side up. The Ovarrow was bleeding from the wounds he’d sustained, but he was still conscious. He lifted his head and looked at Connor. After a few moments, he inhaled deeply and shouted.
“Leave!”
Cerot's shout was cut off by violent coughing.
The smart move was for Connor to leave, take what he’d learned about the Krake, and return to New Earth, return to his family. He closed his eyes for a moment and sneered.
“Leave!” Cerot screamed again.
Had their positions been reversed, Connor imagined that Cerot might have left, and he wouldn’t have blamed him. There were so few Ovarrow on New Earth, and the intelligence gathered was worth more than one person's life. Cerot wouldn’t hate Connor if he left, and Vitory probably wouldn’t resent Connor when he learned of what had happened.
His personal recon drone had tapped into a Krake console, and Connor had given it more precise search parameters based on what he’d seen with the new translator program. He’d found gateway references for hundreds of universes, all accessible through the arch, but the number wasn’t infinite. It wasn’t even close, and Connor didn’t know why that was. If he left now, he could take that knowledge with him and come up with a more effective strategy for defeating the Krake. He could make sure Cerot’s sacrifice was known to everyone.
Connor watched as Cerot’s body hung in the air. The Ovarrow was willing to die for this. Lenora had saved Cerot’s life when they were trapped under a collapsed bridge, and Cerot must have seen this as a way to repay the debt, but that was only part of it. Cerot must've believed that Connor and the CDF were the only chance the Ovarrow had of defeating the Krake. Loyalty mixed with pragmatism.
The sector chief waited for Connor to make his choice. No matter what Connor did, the sector chief would learn something about him. He glanced at the open hangar bay doors and the path to freedom; then he looked at Cerot, waiting to die. The Ovarrow had sacrificed so much to be there. He'd been raised in a world of war, a world where sacrifice was required in order to survive. It was why the Ovarrow had gone into stasis, and it was why Cerot was willing to sacrifice himself so Connor could leave. But he wasn’t going to leave. Connor decided that he was going to educate the Krake on what fighting a single human would be like. The Krake data dump would be lost, but Connor had something he wanted to teach the Krake, and Cerot.
26
Connor cranked up the combat suit’s power systems to maximum. Then, with a running start, he leaped into the air and engaged the suit thrusters. The Krake soldiers all seemed to move at once. Connor pulled out a massive combat knife as he closed in on the nearest Krake soldier. The soldier tried to bring his weapon up, but Connor was already on him, ramming the knife through his side. The force of the blow was augmented through his suit thrusters, and it pierced the Krake armor. The soldier let out a mournful howl, and Connor lifted him up and threw him into the nearest soldier. He leaped into the air again and stepped off the nearest Krake soldier’s shoulder to jump even higher. He'd managed to get his arm wrapped around Cerot's middle when the section leader slammed his arm down, and Connor felt Cerot’s body begin to plunge back to the ground. Connor jabbed the tip of his knife into the metallic box on Cerot’s back and pried it loose. He then clutched Cerot to him and twisted in the air to shield the Ovarrow from harm as they landed on the ground. Pain blossomed down his side despite the pain-numbing meds already in his system. His combat suit status showed multiple damaged sections. Connor regained his feet just as another Krake soldier attacked. Connor fought him, driving him back, but more were coming. He engaged the suit thrusters near his elbow and struck a crippling blow at the oncoming soldier. Then he quickly spun around and grabbed Cerot, running toward the rows of small ships.
The Krake soldiers were quickly catching up to him. One grabbed hold of Cerot and pulled Connor off balance, so he dumped Cerot onto the ground and turned to face the soldiers. They didn’t use their weapons but instead chose to fight him hand-to-hand. With the help of the combat suit, Connor was keeping his attackers at bay, but more soldiers were closing in and he was getting struck more often. If he stayed there, he'd be overwhelmed. A Krake soldier attempted to maneuver Connor toward another one who held suppression cuffs in his hand, and Connor quickly scrambled out of the way. He noticed Cerot stumbling toward some kind of small fighter that had an open seating area on top.
A Krake soldier struck Connor in the back and unleashed a burst of energy. The combat suit conducted the power as best it could, but his systems were being overloaded. Sensing he was vulnerable to the attack, the Krake soldiers banged their fists together so they were all glowing. Connor turned and ran, knocking into one of the soldiers before the rest closed in on him. He engaged the combat suit's self-dest
ruct protocol and adjusted the timer. Then he engaged it and selected the quick-exit protocol. The combat suit split down the middle, allowing him to jump free. Connor’s MPS became active and propelled him at speed away from them. He only had mere seconds before the suit exploded, and the force of it thrust him forward. He just barely kept his feet under him and stumbled into the ship Cerot was attempting to bring online. Glancing behind him, he saw that Krake bodies had been flung away from the scorched ground where his combat suit had been, but more were coming.
He hopped onto the front bench of the ship where Cerot had opened a holo-interface. Connor sat down next to him and took over. The translator enabled him to access the holo-interface, and the ship came online. It was more like a battle sled, and there was a cannon off the back. Connor activated the cannon and it swung around, priming for a few seconds before unleashing a bolt of molten fury that blasted through the hangar bay walls. There were several flashes off to the side where Krake soldiers were firing their weapons. Connor grabbed the controls and flew the Krake ship out of the hangar. He banked to the side and headed directly toward the battlefield where the battle was raging on.
“Take control of that cannon,” Connor said.
Cerot brought up a secondary-weapons interface and the rear cannon responded to his commands. He looked at Connor, and Connor gestured to where the Krake weapons were herding the Ovarrow prisoners along. Cerot understood. The Ovarrow began firing on the Krake forces, taking their line of soldiers completely by surprise.
“Take out their cannons,” Connor said.
Cerot began aiming for their cannons, which were unable to swing around in time to track the small ship. A proximity alert appeared on the ship’s HUD, and Connor saw that there were multiple ships heading in his direction. He flew along the main thoroughfare, and Cerot was able to take out the Krake defenses there. The Ovarrow prisoners rushed down the street, heading for the arch. Connor hoped it actually led to their home world, or at least someplace that wasn't under Krake control, but he was afraid it was a lie. He couldn’t be sure, but he didn’t have time to worry about it because the Krake ships were firing on him.
