by Gregg Vann
“You are on a Brenin scout ship bound for Obas,” I replied.
“So the escape went well, then?”
“I wouldn’t say that. In fact, if that chamber hadn’t been spaceworthy, you wouldn’t even be here right now.”
Boe looked down at the container and shook his head. “I see.” The Obas then dropped down to the floor and stood up straight, stretching his limbs as he took a long look around the ship. “How much longer until we arrive?”
“A little more than a day. And the Brenin will be following in right behind us.”
“Have you contacted the Obas yet?” he asked excitedly.
“And tell them what? ‘Please ignore this Brenin ship as we land on your planet. We’d appreciate it if you wouldn’t blow us out of the sky.’ That is why we are brought you along, Obas. Remember?”
“Yes…of course.”
Boe took a few tentative steps before finding his balance, and then strode up to the flight console with an air of authority. He looked around for a minute, moving his hands from panel to panel, and then stood back. “I can’t figure out the communications system,” he admitted. “Actually, I can’t even find it.”
Uli stepped forward and turned it on, tuning the radio to the Obas’ general frequency. “There,” she spat.
“Thank you…and I really am sorry about the scalpel.”
She ignored him, turning back to rearrange the items in the medical kit.
It seems the Yano bear grudges, I thought.
{You know our history now, Udek. What do you think?}
Before I could reply, Boe started speaking into the comm. “This is Master Pilot Boe, issuing a priority contact request.”
There was an immediate reply. “Master Pilot? Your voice prints matches…but we thought you were dead. When you chased off after that Brenin ship and didn’t return, we were certain of it.”
“I’m alive, and heading toward Obas now—in a ship very much like the one we discovered spying on us from behind the third moon. But this one is under my control, and I require clearance to land in Edo.”
“Edo? In a Brenin ship? You know we can’t possibly grant that. You will have to land on the surface.”
“But you must!” he yelled. “The Brenin are coming to Obas. We have to prepare.”
I leaned in close to Boe’s ear, lowering my voice so it couldn’t be picked up by the microphone. “Tell them you have gathered intelligence that can help them fight the Brenin,” I suggested.
As I backed away from him, the Obas stared at me, trying to evaluate the truth of my statement. I nodded confirmation.
“I have information that will help us fight them,” Boe said into the microphone, his eyes never leaving my face, “You have to let the Ki Assembly know.”
There was a moment’s silence, and then the voice returned. “I’ll need a few minutes to relay this, Master Pilot.”
“Of course,” Boe replied.
“Edo?” I said. “I don’t think I’ve ever heard of that Obas settlement.”
{That’s because it’s very well hidden} Seeris’ voice called out from the scanner.
Boe’s face paled. “How do you know that?” he demanded.
{We’ve known about your hidden population for some time, Obas. You might be able to keep your secrets from these other pathetic races, but you can’t hide them from us}
“But if you know that—” Boe was interrupted by a tone indicating the communication system had again gone active.
“Master Pilot Boe, the assembly has granted you permission to land at Edo. I’m sure you understand full well the position you’ve placed us in, and won’t be surprised by the armed escort as you get closer to the planet. We’ve located your ship based on this transmission and anticipate your arrival in approximately 26 hours.”
“Seeris,” I said aloud, “can we find out how far behind us the Brenin fleet is now?
{Yes. But if you turn on our active scanners, the fleet will be able to pinpoint our location as well}
I have a feeling they already suspect where we’re headed.
{That is a safe assumption, Udek}
I walked up to Boe’s side, prompting him to step away and give me access to the console, then I pushed in the control pin to activate the sensors. A new interface popped up, and I slid my fingers across one of the yellow lines it projected into the air, directing the sensors aft—back along the exact path we’d followed to Obas. Within seconds, a large pattern of ships appeared on the screen indicating the position of the Brenin fleet. On the small display the hostile armada looked extremely close, but the distance indicators actually put it at a little over a day and a half behind us. I told Boe as much.
“The Brenin will arrive at Obas in two and a half days,” he said into the microphone. “Tell the assembly to mobilize the fleet; the ships need to be fueled, armed, and launched into space as quickly as possible.”
There was a brief pause, and then the voice replied, “Do you have any idea what you are asking us to do, Master Pilot?”
“Yes. I do. And I’ll need to speak to the assembly as soon as I land as well.”
“They have already told me as much. I really hope you know what you’re doing, sir”
Boe turned around to look at Uli and me and then replied, “So do I.”
The lights dimmed on the comm panel as the channel went dead, and Boe turned silent. I knew that there was a somber deliberation going on in his mind—logic and necessity struggling to determine how much to reveal about his world. But there was an overriding curiosity as well; he wanted to know how much we already knew.
The Obas lowered himself slowly into one of the pilot seats and placed his hands on his knees. “How did you know about our hidden cities?”
“What hidden cities?” I asked.
{We discovered them when we first started scouting your civilizations for conquest—before we even moved our fleet into this area of space. Your agricultural output on the surface was far too much for the known population, and you don’t engage in trade with the other races. In fact, you don’t export anything at all, so we wanted to find out where all of this extra food was going. As part of this investigation, we sent undersea probes to the bottom of your oceans, finding the caverns, and your real cities; the true size of your population}
“The caverns…” Boe looked shocked, and then afraid. “We’ve stayed hidden from the rest of the galaxy for so long. We never imagined being discovered.”
Hiding their numbers had been easy for them, I realized. No one ever paid any attention to the Obas; there was nothing important about them or their planet. From a practical standpoint, they had nothing of value to trade for…or to take. And as far as the other worlds knew, the Obas had only a small population, housed in modest settlements scattered across the few pieces of dry land the planet possessed. Their tiny fleet of outdated and underperforming ships simply strengthened this perception of harmlessness. Who would ever bother to take a closer look when there were so many more interesting and profitable systems to explore?
“How many of you are there?” I asked.
{Tell this clueless Udek, Boe. Let him know how foolish his race is, and how little they know about their own tiny part of the galaxy}
The Obas sighed, knowing he had no secrets left to protect. “Our last census counted nearly eight billion.”
“Eight billion,” I asked, incredulous.
“Yes, and that was taken almost forty years ago. You only know about our land settlements, but we have many large cities built on the seabed as well. And, of course, the natural undersea caverns we inhabit.”
{And still, they were considered harmless, until I discovered their submerged fleet on a follow-up mission}
“We feared you’d found something,” Boe confirmed. “That’s why I trailed you to Bodhi Prime. I was chasing after you when the Udek attacked and took your ship, but I didn’t dare intervene. The Udek are…unreasonable. Beyond that, I needed to keep our secrets, and wanted to
avoid any potential questioning. So I followed the Udek to Bodhi Prime, and then again when they left the planet. Watching and waiting. When the scout ship launched again, I was elated. I’d been given another chance to destroy whatever information you’d gathered about Obas. But I wasn’t expecting the Udek to defend you, and I certainly wasn’t prepared for the Brenin.”
“I still don’t understand,” I replied. “According to the Brenin, your military power almost rivals that of the Udek. But why? You never leave Obas. And you ignore all attempts at trade or political alignment. What possible use could you have for all of that firepower?”
Boe’s features hardened. “Just because we choose not to interact with the galaxy, doesn’t mean we are ignorant of its dangers. We are prepared to defend our isolation.”
“I see.”
{The Obas were first deemed a minor threat, and when we split the fleet into its constituent clans—soon after our initial victories in the outer systems—they were given little priority. But now that they know about your ships, the Saba contingent is coming for you. The irony is that your protective fleet is going to doom your world, Obas}
“Eight billion?” I repeated, ignoring Seeris. I shook my head, still not believing it. But my brain never got the chance to digest the information.
Because the Udek chose that exact moment to attack us.
Chapter Eighteen
The small ship lurched upward, then rocked violently side to side—sending the three of us forcefully colliding into one another. A second impact hurled Boe back into his confinement tank, knocking it over and sending the last bit of water still inside all over the floor. He slipped on the wet surface and went down hard. I lost my footing as well, and quickly grabbed the flight console to keep from joining him on the deck. I saw the Obas pull himself back up using the blunt edge of a bulkhead, then looked beside me to find Uli holding onto one of the flight chairs as tightly as she could manage—fighting to keep from being tossed around the ship.
I gazed down at the sensor display and saw that it was an Udek patrol vessel attacking us—one with more than enough firepower to eliminate this little ship. I hit the comm switch and hoped for the best. “Call off your attack now. We are not the enemy!”
But the Udek ignored us, just as I expected they would—just as I would have done in their position. Two more powerful blasts hit us in rapid succession, and this time we all hit the floor. Uli landed on top of me, and I helped her back up as the ship regained its attitude. I grabbed at the console and tried again. “This is an Udek special operation under the direct authority of General Queltz. Cease your attack immediately.”
The pounding abruptly stopped, and a harsh voice barked out over the comm system. “Who is this?”
“Kiro Tien, Udek Special Corp. I’m working under orders from General Queltz himself.”
“It is my understanding that General Queltz is dead. Why should I believe a disembodied voice coming from an enemy ship? Show me your face, Tien. Prove you are who you say you are.”
“Our communications system was damaged in your attack,” I lied. “The video feed isn’t working. Contact Colonel Eraz, acting captain of the Ral 97M. She can confirm my identity, and my clearance.”
At this point, I really hoped she’d survived the engagement with the Brenin.
“I will,” the voice replied. “And I’ll also come aboard to verify it for myself.”
{You can’t permit that to happen, Udek. As soon as he sees my body, and Uli’s, they will start shooting}
Believe me, Seeris, I know.
“This mission is extremely classified. The nature of this vessel alone should suggest that to you. And no one comes aboard without clearance from Eraz,” I said.
“You don’t command me, Tien. Prepare to be boarded.”
I sat down at the flight controls and toggled the engines, ramping them up to full throttle…and then a little beyond. Slowly edging the ship sideways, I pointed it away from the Udek craft in what I hoped were small, imperceptible movements, and then I darted off when I had a clear path—using an aggressive escape pattern that I knew would push the patrol ship’s maneuvering and targeting systems to their limits. I was very aware of the ship’s capabilities…and its few weaknesses.
“You can’t outrun them,” Boe stated flatly.
“No,” I agreed. “And we can’t outfight them either.”
“Then what is your plan?” Uli asked.
“To stay alive long enough for them to get a response from Eraz. So she can vouch for me and call them off.”
{How do you even know they contacted her?}
“I don’t. But there is nothing else we can do now.”
I banked the ship up sharply in relation to the Udek craft, and then turned hard and flew back down the side of it. The larger patrol ship couldn’t match our maneuvers, but did manage to target us as we passed by. Our ship shuddered under the blasts of multiple energy cannons.
Of course they’d have a competent weapons officer, I lamented.
I flipped over backward and dropped our velocity—causing the turning Udek ship to overshoot us—then dropped into a wide loop to spin back around. But they’d managed to hit us again as they flew past and one of the engines was damaged; I realized just how badly when I came out of the loop and tried to bring it back up to full speed.
“Damn…damn…damn…” I muttered.
The Udek had matched our course and were now overtaking us, and there wasn’t a damn thing we could do about it. I powered down the remaining engine to wait, and then turned to speak with the others. “Prepare to be boar—”
“Kiro Tien,” a voice rang out, filling the scout ship. The Udek patrol vessel had come to a complete stop, stationing itself just off our port side.
“Colonel Eraz has just confirmed your status and directed us to aid you in any way possible. I don’t mind telling you, Tien, that I don’t like being bossed around by a mere colonel. But she was General Queltz’s aide, and that gives her…additional authority. Until they rescind it anyway. And with him dead, that shouldn’t be much longer. But for now, what do you require?”
“To proceed unimpeded,” I replied. “That is what I require.”
I checked the engine’s diagnostic display and saw that the self-repairing systems had already brought the efficiency back up to seventy-five percent. Shortly, it would be fully operational again.
“But there is one other thing,” I added. “Give Eraz a message from me. Tell her that the marshal is gone, and that the Brenin are headed to Obas. Tell her to bring every warship she can summon to the system.”
“Obas?”
“Yes, Obas. A good portion of the Brenin fleet will be there…in just a little over two days. And let her know I’m still working on the shield problem. She will understand.”
“Very well. I’m just going to re-transmit this exact audio…after I examine it for any hidden Brenin code, of course.”
“Of course. I’ve been unable to establish a secure channel from this ship for much the same reasons. Udek security protocols forbid accepting any transmission that originate from enemy ships.”
“If I hadn’t enabled a local override to allow your original broadcast, you would be atoms right now…my curiosity got the better of me. But believe me, Tien, with the level of Brenin technology we’ve seen so far, I’ll be thoroughly scrubbing my short range radio after we disconnect.”
“A wise precaution. Tien, out.”
I re-input the course for Obas and we resumed our trip, slowly gaining velocity as the damage engine healed itself. The Udek patrol ship sped off in the opposite direction, on a mission of its own.
That was close. Too close.
I stood up and stretched my arms, causing the one remaining bledi to slide out from underneath my wrist and protrude slightly. It retracted again automatically. Seeing the bledi reminded me of where I’d left the other one, and what would result from that action; a Yano spy, killing the Saba leader and then working with
the enemy to escape. The plan couldn’t have gone any better.
Thanks to the dreams, I had a much better understanding of the Brenin. I knew that the assassination would set off intense fighting between the clans, and send a wave of bloodlust rippling through the fleet—a hatred powered by their ancient memories. It would weaken them, of that I had no doubt, but would it be enough? Only time would tell. But right now, the Saba contingent was bearing down on Obas, and they would be incensed when they got there.
I truly hoped that there was something useful in the information I’d stolen. Something that could help us fight them. Something that would at least give us a chance.
If not, Obas will become the final resting place of us all.
Chapter Nineteen
The tranquil, turquoise ball grew larger as we swept around the last of Obas’ eight moons, diving steeply toward the thick atmosphere ahead. According to the sensor readings we took as we flew by, some of the planet’s moons were habitable—even if only marginally so—but the lone signs of settlement were extensive scanning arrays pointing out in all directions; it was as if the Obas were watching the entire galaxy to make sure it didn’t intrude on their solitude.
What were they so afraid of? I wondered.
The flight console beeped for attention, warning us that four ships were rising up from the surface on an intercept trajectory; they reached orbit at the same time we did, and took up positions around all four sides of the Brenin ship.
The newly arrived Obas craft were impressive—larger than Boe’s ship had been, but covered with similar markings. Most notably, these vessels bore many more guns. As they drew in closer, tightening up their escort positions, I got a better look at their full complement of weapons.
For their size, the ships were immensely over-gunned, almost ridiculously so. I saw energy cannons, ion arrays, and obvious missile tubes with unknown tools of destruction hidden behind them. The ships bristled with so many armaments that I wondered if there was any room left inside for a crew. Seeris made a similar assessment.
