Space Chronicles: The Last Human War

by Dean Sault

  General Tragge glanced around the room at his staff. They heard the admiral’s comments and were watching the Heptari fleet on the monitor, wondering if the admiral’s trap would work?

  Several hours passed as the enemy waited between the two asteroid fields for their command ship to reestablish combat level communications. General Tragge knew that if the Heptari’s had one weakness, it was dependence on central command. The admiral’s attack on the command ship’s comm array was brilliant.

  Chapter 36

  The scout glider descended on autopilot. Its ground proximity alarm woke Dr. Hadje. Even before the small ship fully settled on its landing skids, the Head Tasker ran up to the craft and opened the pilot door from outside using an external safety release.

  “Dr. Hadje, we’re under attack! General Tragge issued orders for us to lock down the humans and patrol the quarries. I sent out staff on perimeter defense. It sounds bad.”

  The doctor immediately dialed Tragge on his private comm. No answer. He switched to a diplomatic priority frequency and repeated the call.

  “Hadje? That you?”

  “What’s going on, Byn?”

  “Heps attacked, big force. They pulled back for now, and we’re preparing for the next wave. If you’re calling about those humans, I don’t have time for them. I’d appreciate if you’d take charge of that mess until this is over. I won’t lie, Rosh, we’re in trouble. Gotta go.”

  The general closed out the call before Dr. Hadje could ask questions. He considered the situation for a moment before speaking to his Head Tasker.

  “Pull two thirds of your forces off patrol. This conflict could last a while and our Taskers will need to work in shifts. Have they been informed about the nature of the threat?”

  “Yes, sir. The general ordered quarry leaders to give full briefings to our staffs. He authorized use of deadly force against Heptari soldiers who might land in our quarry. Do you confirm those orders, sir?”

  “He’s right.” Dr. Hadje appreciated the absolute loyalty from his Head Tasker. “Are any of your Taskers ex-military?”

  “I have two retired from ground expeditionary forces. They both saw action in the Syntic Rebellion.”

  “Good, pull them off patrol. We need them to train others. We’re up against real combat troops, not runners.”

  The Head Tasker hustled away to follow orders. The doctor turned to Benjamin.

  “Did you hear that?”

  “Yes, the translator you gave me works fine. My people will start arriving soon. Maybe this is bad timing. Should I send word for them to remain hidden in the jungle?”

  “That’s a good idea, but aren’t they’re strung out all across the jungle? How can you contact them?”

  “Take me to the edge of the jungle. I’ll show you.”

  Dr. Hadje turned to Jix.

  “While Benjamin and I are gone, see if you can reach the main laboratory. Have them prepare all our human zygotes for transport and deliver them here.”

  Jix acknowledged the instructions and left while Dr. Hadje motioned for Benjamin to get back into the glider.

  “This is faster than ground transport.” He noticed Adam standing by the open door, adjusting his unfamiliar translator earplug. “Get in, Adam. You may as well stay with us.”

  The glider crossed the large quarry in no time at all. After landing, Benjamin confidently strode into the short brush on the edge of the jungle. Evening shadows covered most of his body. The old scout took three deep breaths, each one deeper than the one before. His hands formed a crude cone extending in front of his mouth. Out came the shrill attack cry of a hunting hicay.

  Adam recoiled, making a hasty retreat into the scout ship.

  The doctor was astounded.

  Human leader repeated the process three times, listening carefully after each sounding.

  Distant shrieks from responding hicays filled the jungle. Most were faint, but there was no doubt, at least one was close, very close. He returned to the scout glider and leaned patiently against its skin.

  “Are you calling friendly hicays?” Dr. Hadje drew the obvious conclusion.

  “Not exactly. I sent out a general distress cry. With luck, we’ll attract friendlies, but I’d feel a lot better if I was doing this from a tree stand.”

  After waiting several minutes, he returned to the jungle edge to repeat his calls. As he took his third deep breath for another call, bushes to his right jostled, and the head of a small hicay lifted cautiously from behind a large fern.

  Benjamin held his ground and slowly turned until he faced the beast squarely. He extended one arm and began a series of hand gestures. The hicay looked at the nearby glider.

  “Don’t move. It’s frightened,” he said while keeping eye contact with the beast.

  The small predator cautiously approached the human. It sniffed him and sat back on its two hind legs. Both sets of upper arms wrapped around Benjamin, and the old scout returned the hug, fingers massaging deep under its long fur.

  After the brief greeting, the hicay sauntered behind his human friend toward Dr. Hadje and the glider. Adam was nowhere to be seen.

  “I’d like to introduce Kerl-Ga’s youngest son, Syn-Ga. He’s on deep patrol, looking for runners.”

  Benjamin squatted in front of Syn-Ga and made a series of rapid hand signals. The young animal sat on its haunches and lifted its head upward, exposing its soft throat. Removing a small device from his pocket, the senior Elder placed a note inside the device and clipped it into the animal’s fur beneath its neck. Without warning, the hicay bounded away at astonishing speed, making virtually no sound as it passed through thick foliage.

  “I sent word to our people to remain in hiding. Syn-Ga will deliver the message, beginning with the closest group. In turn, each group will send out another hicay with the same message.”

  As Benjamin explained his actions, several more bushes moved at the edge of the jungle. Two full-grown hicays lifted their heads from separate hiding places.

  He gave a series of hand gestures from his position next to the scout glider. The nearer of the two beasts let out several powerful snorts and withdrew back into the jungle. The second vanished without making a sound.

  “There’s a wild hicay hunting nearby. We should leave,” Benjamin climbed back into the glider, followed quickly by the doctor.

  “Are you able to talk with those animals?” Dr. Hadje was overwhelmed with curiosity. “How did you do that? Can anyone learn to talk with hicays?”

  “We don’t actually talk, in the traditional sense. My people have learned to read hicay body language, and in turn, friendly hicays learned some of our human sign language.”

  “How did you know there is a hunting hicay in the vicinity?”

  “Three snorts with upright ears. Friendly hicays know how dangerous it is to run into one of their own kind when it is hunting. They warn each other with three quick snorts and visual ear posturing. Mother hicays use three snorts as a general warning to their young. As the babies grow older, this rudimentary communication refines into combinations of snorts, ear positions and low-pitched growls to describe the nature of the threat. In essence, they have a crude vocabulary. We’re still learning from them. So far, we’ve documented over two hundred distinct visual-audible words.”

  “Fascinating. Would you be willing to teach me when this is all over? I’d love to learn from you,” he said and guided the scout ship back across the quarry into concealment.

  While the others finished discussing hicays, Adam, who had been hiding inside the scout glider shook his head in disgust. Despite seeing friendly hicays at the free human cave, he was not ready for them to be part of his life.

  “You guys can have em all. I hope I never see another hicay the rest of my life.”

  Benjamin smiled at the young man’s gut reaction.

  “I’m not sure you know how lucky you were,” he said. “I don’t know of another person who has survived a wild hicay attack. Someday, I hope you
will get over your fear. Friendly hicays can be your best companion. They will fight to the death to protect a human partner.”

  “I’d rather try kissing a pissed-off Ruck guard dog than face one of those things, again.”

  Adam’s companions laughed at the mental image evoked by his analogy.

  Jix was waiting for them when they opened the scout glider door.

  “I can’t access the lab’s main computer from the Head Tasker’s office, and there isn’t anybody working on this holiday. Do you want me to take a transport and go to the lab for those zygotes myself?”

  The head scientist contemplated the offer. His agreement with the Council of Elders was to return with the eggs before the human ship was scheduled to blast off. That deadline was fast approaching. They were out of time.

  “Simon, this is Dr. Hadje.” He reluctantly keyed the radio switch on his scout ship. “If you can read this, I regret we cannot get the package to you in time. I repeat. It is not possible to get the package to you. Please complete your mission.”

  They had agreed to send such a cryptic message in case things did not work out. Doctor Boroski would monitor all Tanarac communication channels in case the doctor needed to reach the human ship. The broadcast was repeated several times on alternative channels to make sure it was received.

  “I’m sorry,” Dr. Hadje put his hand on the senior scout’s shoulder. “I’m afraid we’re out of time.”

  Chapter 37

  “Prime Skah Rotaga, the Tanarac attack did very little damage to your flag ship. We destroyed the enemy ships, including the cowards who attempted to surrender. Communications will be restored within a few hours.”

  Rotaga had greater concerns.

  “How did those Tanarac ships get under our shields?”

  “It was a cowardly, surprise attack, sir. They were inside our shield extension before the energy field reached full strength. It was a fools’ attack with no hope for success.”

  “Indeed! No hope? Their mission was to disrupt our central command structure and delay our assault. Their mission was a complete success.”

  Enraged, Rotaga demanded an accounting.

  “Bring me the head of the officer on duty in the Shield Room when the attack occurred. Tell his second in command, his head will be next if his department fails again.”

  Rotaga’s aide promptly set about the orders while the Heptari commander looked out his bridge window at his fleet. He openly pondered his adversary.

  “This Tanarac commander correctly anticipated my actions. He set the antimatter trap in the outer quadrants. That cost me forty percent of my fleet. He anticipated I would lead with my heavy ships through the asteroid belts. I lost two Rahls and one Cosh in those traps. I countered by sending a single ship ahead of the fleet to clear mines. It slowed my progress. That, too, was his goal. Now, he orders a suicide attack against my command ship to disrupt communications and further slow my progress.” Rotaga turned away from his command window. “These Tanaracs are neither stupid, nor cowards.”

  One of his senior aides approached and waited for acknowledgement.

  “Prime Skah, should our fleet begin through the last asteroid belt? Perhaps, we should send a Rahl ahead to clear mines at the other side while repairs are completed on your flagship.”

  “What makes you think there will be mines on the other side?” He tested his subordinate.

  “That has been their pattern, sire.”

  “What would you do, if you were in their position?”

  “I would deploy all the rest of my mines on the other side of the asteroid belt and form a defensive blockade to protect the planet.”

  “Is that predictable?”

  “Yes, Prime Skah, but they have no other choice.”

  “There are always other choices, especially during desperate times,” Rotaga snapped back.

  “Sir, what do you expect?”

  “I expect the unexpected. I will take your suggestion to begin the last asteroid field penetration, but not with our heavy ships. This time, we lead with our light ships.”

  “But sir, the Tanarac vessels are more than equal to our light ships. Won’t they be destroyed on the other side?”

  “Probably, but they are expendable. They have no bearing on the final outcome of this war, and their destruction will reveal my counterpart’s plan. That will be his flaw.”

  Another young officer approached Rotaga carrying a flat-black box. He kneeled behind the Prime Skah and waited for acknowledgement.

  “Rise. Do you present a head?”

  “Yes, Prime Skah. Pak-one Cyndar sends his deep regret for his failure and requests honor for his family name.”

  “Granted.”

  Chapter 38

  Inside the human spaceship, Simon and Dr. Boroski watched images from the sentinel satellites that gave quiet witness to the devastation taking place in space.

  “Do you think Tanarac can win this war?” Simon asked in hushed tones, almost anticipating the answer.

  “I don’t know. Heptari ships have a new particle cannon that is quite powerful. A single pulse penetrates most Tanarac shields. The situation does not look good.”

  “How are we gonna get past those cannons?”

  “This ship is not affected by Heptari weapons.”

  “Do we have stronger shields?”

  “Actually, we have no shields at all. Our entire ship is an energy conversion matrix. If a Heptari vessel fires a photonic or particle beam weapon at us, our hull will simply absorb the radiation and convert it, adding to our energy stores.”

  “Why can’t Tanarac use the same technology?”

  “To our knowledge, we are the only scientists in the galaxy who have solved the field transformation equations associated with the Theory of Temporal Displacement.”

  Simon asked with intentional sarcasm, “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “I’m sorry. I suppose you never reached theoretical time equations in your education. In reference to this ship, it simply means Heptari weapons are actually beneficial to us. The more they fire, the more energy we acquire.”

  “Are you saying we can fly right through their fleet?” Simon began to understand.

  “Correct. Well, it’s a bit more complex than that, but you are essentially right.”

  “Why didn’t Earth’s military use your technology to win the Human War?”

  “I already told you. Don’t you remember? Our scientific discovery came too late in the war to make a difference. Besides, the entire surface of this ship is an energy conversion matrix. There’s no place to mount weapons. A purely defensive vessel held no interest for our leaders. Of course, it is possible that—”

  Dr. Boroski’s photon image froze for a second.

  “That was a message from Dr. Hadje. He cannot make it back to the ship with the human embryos in time. We need to recall Shilgar so we can leave.”

  Simon did not hesitate. After all his hours in the pilot chair, his actions seemed almost second nature. He returned to a semi-prone position and summoned the ship’s comm system.

  “Kelly, can you hear me?” His voice startled her as it boomed out of the walls.

  “Yes,” she replied while looking for some visual hint of her friend. “Passengers are all loaded. Shilgar went to the surface to wait for Dr. Hadje, and I think I made Dr. Boroski mad at me. He left a little while ago and hasn’t come back, yet.”

  “How could he leave you? He’s been here with me since we started loading the ship.”

  The hologram scientist interrupted them.

  “Actually, I was visiting with Kelly too, until I received the radio message. That’s one of the perks of being a hologram. Photonic existence is great for multi-tasking.” The hologram scientist grinned at his own joke. “Kelly, I’m sorry for leaving so abruptly. I had to start several programs related to our departure.”

  Satisfied with the hologram’s explanation, Simon resumed his instructions.

  “Go to the surfac
e and get Shilgar. I sent the signal, but there’s no way for him to confirm. We have enough time for you to get him, but we’ll have to leave as soon as you both return.”

  “What about the eggs?” Kelly understood the need for additional DNA.

  “Zygotes won’t get here in time, and Dr. Boroski says we can’t wait any longer.”

  Kelly acknowledged her instructions and hurried out into the dark tunnel for the last time.

  Simon was troubled by an apparent contradiction.

  “If we don’t have to worry about Heptari cannons, why is it so important for us to leave right away?”

  “I must admit something to you,” the old scientist said and paused, as if to carefully select his words. “We never had an opportunity to test Dr. Farnthal’s theory. Based on his equations, we should be able to withstand—”

  “Wait a minute!” Simon interrupted as his anxiety piqued. “You’ve never tested what theory?”

  He looked at nearby monitors displaying widespread combat in near space.

  “Dr. Farnthal postulated that our hull could absorb energy weapon discharges in the same manner as it does any other radiant energy source. We have no reason to distrust his predictions. Everything he theorized so far has turned out exactly as he anticipated.”

  Dr. Boroski’s attempt to reassure Simon failed.

  “This is not the time to be testing theories!” He expressed anger for the first time toward his teacher. “We have hundreds of people on this ship. They are depending on us, on me, to take them safely to another planet. Why don’t we just wait and see if Tanarac wins? Maybe we won’t have to worry about those Heptari cannons.”

  “I didn’t want to tell you this because you are already under a lot of pressure, but I guess you need to know everything.”