CHAPTER 27
Home
“Aslexis!” Hickory called from the porch of the weather-board cottage. “We need to talk.” The heat and humidity in the northern tip of Carpentaria was stifling at this time of year, and her shirt clung to her. Wonderful. What a sight I must make.
Three months had passed since her meeting with the Admiral. She’d divided her time between settling the Mitanni into Carpentaria and planning the war to come with military intelligence.
The Dur Untash leader raised a hand in greeting. “Hail, Defender. What might I do for you today?”
She held her annoyance in check. “Defender” was the least repulsive of the alternatives presented to her by the tribal leaders when they arrived back on Earth. She’d balked at redeemer, savior, and deliverer as far too God-like. “I’ve asked you often, Aslexis, please call me Hickory, at least when we’re alone.” The two had become close after his father had died on the journey home and he’d accepted the mantle of the Mitanni leadership.
He smiled at her fondly and said, “As you wish, Hickory.”
Hickory restrained a sigh. He was teasing her. Like all his people, Aslexis had grown fitter and healthier in the eight months since their arrival at Princess Charlotte Bay in Far North Queensland. The tropical weather in this part of Australia seemed to agree with them. Hickory’s program to integrate the Mitanni with the local Ayapathu community was starting to pay dividends already, with several marriages in the offing and at least three healthy pregnancies underway.
She took a moment to admire his golden skin and athletic body, his long eyelashes, and Romanesque nose. Those were what had first attracted her to him, but what appealed to her more was his intelligence, inner strength and the kindness he exhibited to his people. Abruptly, she realized she was staring and blushed. For a moment she lost track of what she wanted to speak to him about. “The local community elders have requested a meeting to discuss trade and other issues. There is a general store in the village which stocks good quality clothing, and you have proven skills in catching barramundi and mangrove jack. There may be some synergy there. Also, they have expressed some concerns with your fishing of the river shark. It is a protected species.” She paused and bit her lip, then patted the space next to her on the swing seat.
He settled beside her and placed his hand over hers. “Hickory, what do you really want to talk about. Why are you trembling?”
Her heart fluttered, and she nodded. “I have received a call from the Academy. What we dread most has come to pass. Kabutai has entered the solar system. He will be in Earth orbit within a matter of days.”
Aslexis’s face grew pale. “It was only ever a matter of time. We have been expecting him. What do you wish us to do, Defender?”
This time, Hickory accepted the label as it was intended—an expression of the tribe’s trust in her. “Nothing at present. Go about your business as normal. You’re safe here for the moment. I’ve been called to a meeting with the military strategists at the Academy and must travel to New Rome in a few days. I hope to return soon.”
“I would come with you.”
Hickory squeezed his hand. He returned her smile, a secret exchange filling her heart with joy. Nothing would please her more than to have him by her side on the journey. “Best if you remain here. Your people will need you, especially in the days to come.” She nestled her head against his shoulder, and he tipped her chin upwards and brushed her lips with his. She rose and led him inside the hut.
#
Hickory stood on the balcony outside the Academy conference room watching the rain sweep across the New Rome sky like a warm shower. She closed her eyes and probed using both her SIM and the energy sparks to boost the range of her empathic power. Kabutai was already moving into Earth orbit, positioning his ship somewhere over Europe. She could sense only a single enemy warship. He came alone? She puzzled over this for a moment. The ship was of a type she’d never seen before. Crafted by Kabutai but created through the power of the Sword. Also, it was massive and almost invisible against the inky blackness of space, moving like a living shadow, feeding on the stars along its path.
She probed for weaknesses and found none. Practically impregnable. Then she sought the signature from the ship’s weapons and was overwhelmed. The hull bristled with space cannons. Any enemy coming within range would be pulverized. She tried to penetrate the hull to find a crew member she could silently interrogate, but Kabutai had built a forcefield that repulsed her attempts to infiltrate. `
She clenched her jaw and strode back to the meeting to report her findings.
#
They dubbed Kabutai’s ship Achilles. The goal for Hickory and the world intelligence community was to find and exploit its weakness. The cream of the world’s intelligence services worked as one, analyzing the information Hickory and other neoterics fed to them. Committees were convened to recommend offensive and defensive tactics, none of which had so far proved effective in any way.
After a frustrating month observing Hickory work within the bureaucracy of the administration, the Admiral set up Hickory, Jess, and Gareth as a special resources group reporting directly to himself.
Sitting behind her desk at the Academy, silence greeted Hickory's latest attempt to penetrate the hull of the Bikashi ship. She brought up a live feed of the approaching Warlord. The Achilles dwarfed the Admiral’s flagship and the dozen or so federation cruisers following it.
She watched a frigate approach too close to the forcefield and flare into incandescence.
Cries of anguish and frustration emanated from the G.A. commanders as their efforts proved fruitless.
She switched her attention to the Jabberwocky which darted to within range and released two ship-to-ship missiles. The Admiral’s despair was palpable as the rockets exploded harmlessly less than halfway to their target.
Hickory was unprepared for the release of energy from the Bikashi cruiser. The sheer magnitude caused her to stagger and clutch at her head. The death of thousands of people on the planet surface was as sudden as a light being extinguished.
#
The hovercar sped along the freeway and set her down at the corner of Wurundjeri Way and Flinders Street. She walked the few hundred yards along the banks of the Yarra to Jess and Mack’s penthouse apartment in the Rialto Tower. Melbourne was busy as usual, its alleys and arcades filled with visitors and young couples still finding the time to enjoy lunch in the fresh air.
It was a different feel from New New York and New Rome, where she’d grown up and spent most of her adult life. Melbourne still had that colonial atmosphere, even though it was now the third largest city on Earth after Mumbai and Shanghai. The skies were blue, the grass green, and the city’s gardeners were out in force tending to trees, shrubs, and flower beds. People here placed more stock in these things since the war.
Jess answered the door holding two-month-old Anyar-Sabrina in her arms. “Here, take her. The roast is burning!” She thrust the baby at Hickory.
“Hello to you, too, Jess,” said Hickory. She pulled away the blanket partly hiding the baby’s face and tickled her chin. She walked through to the lounge room, cooing at the child.
Mack sat in an armchair watching the holovision news with a glass of red by his side. He rose and accepted the baby, placing her into the cot nearby, then returned to hug Hickory. “Hi, Captain. How are your Lakedwellers coming along?”
Hickory noticed the shadows under his eyes. Mack was obviously doing much of the night shift duty. “Really well. I was thinking it’s time for them to submit a request for citizenship.”
“Good idea, provided we still have a planet left to bestow citizenship of. Have you caught up with the latest? After Kabutai flattened Berlin, hundreds of thousands of refugees fled Western Europe making for the Ukraine and Turkey. Now, the Bikashi have moved their attention to London. I don’t see much chance of the Brits stopping them.”
Hickory stared at the screen. The camera held by the news r
eporter shook, making it hard to make out the details. The Bikashi spaceship, with smoke and steam pouring from a hundred vents, hovered above Big Ben and the Parliament buildings. Energy cannons had recently unloaded on the Tower and London Bridge, and properties alongside the Thames were in flames, billowing black smoke high into the sky.
“Have you heard from the Admiral?” asked Hickory. Mack had been the Agency’s Cultural Ambassador to Prosperine for three years and was completing a recovery program to return his respiratory system to Earth-normal.
“He’s still aboard the Jabberwocky, taking a hammering. You know his guns aren’t making a dent on Kabutai’s battlecruiser. Their defense field seems to be impenetrable.”
Hickory felt a brief rush as the energy sparks released dopamine to her brain. She’d experienced this a few times since returning to Earth and had come to recognize it as a call for her to do something, to take some kind of action, but despite how hard she thought about it, she never understood what that something was. It was frustrating because intuitively she felt it was important.
“What about Merrik, what does our new Minister for War and President-elect have to say?”
“Very little except platitudes. Since Paris fell, she’s been isolated in her office, seeing no one except a few of her closest advisers. The presidential press office releases a video of her every day, saying the same stuff about how the planet needs to stand firm in the face of the aggressor, that Earth will never, ever give up. Real ‘we will fight on the beaches’ stuff. But never a word about how she intends to defeat the Warlord.”
Hickory sighed. Previously head of the politburo, Merrik had used the emergency to take over the Presidency. She’d announced Dwighberg was suffering a severe illness that prevented him from carrying out his Presidential duties. She’d forced a vote through the Parliament to give her wide-ranging executive powers until the emergency was over. The current crisis had overshadowed Merrik’s heavy-handed approach to human rights, and she’d been able to claim it as a necessary response to the alien invasion.
Mack was still speaking. “The Admiral reckons London will fall within the week. God knows who will be next. What’s Kabutai’s objective, do you think?”
Jess kneed open the kitchen door, bearing a platter of roast lamb. “Pretty obvious, honey. Total annihilation.” She placed the meat beside the vegetables and pulled off her mittens. “Take a seat, Hick. Red?” She poured two glasses and topped off Mack’s.
Hickory sipped the Cabernet Sauvignon. “Nice. I’m not sure it’s so straightforward, Jess. Sabrina said the Warlord has long coveted Earth’s biosphere. He’s a terraphile which explains all those old videos he had. Ultimately, he wants this planet for his own.”
“So why is he destroying the place if he’s so in love with it?” said Mack.
“Two reasons I can think of. Firstly, he aims to break the will of the people. When he settles, he doesn’t want any resistance. Second, he needs to reduce the human population to a level where the Bikashi will have a self-perpetuating source of slaves, but once again not enough to pose any threat.”
Jess’s fork hovered midway to her mouth. She half-turned to where her baby slept. “He wants to turn us into Lakedwellers.”
“Essentially, yes. I believe so. Earth’s population is still recovering from the last war, so he already has a head start. If Australia wasn’t so distant from the center of government, Melbourne would be a priority target simply because of its size. But he’ll get around to it soon enough. Small communities like Charlotte’s Bay will be preserved as a source of slaves.”
“Jeezus, Hick, where do you get this stuff?” Jess slapped her knife and fork on the table.
She shrugged. “I just know.” They continued eating their meal in silence.
Over coffee, the conversation turned to the futile efforts of the military to so far come up with a solution to slow Kabutai’s progress.
“I hope Gareth has better luck,” said Jess. “I wish I could be with him, but the baby…”
Hickory nodded in understanding. “Anyar-Sabrina needs you here now. You’ll be at the pointy end when the chips are down, Jess. I spoke to him last night. He and his team of researchers have been working twenty-four seven on something called antimatter strangelets. I’m flying to Hawaii tomorrow to meet with him. He’s asked to see the Black Box.”
#
Next morning, Jess and her family farewelled Hickory at Tullamarine. Jess asked her how long it would be before Kabutai turned his attention to the Antipodes.
“Not long. It’s best you make preparations to leave the city as soon as you can. People in the street are already nervous. I can see it in their faces. When it does happen, there will be widespread panic. You want to be long gone by then.” She hugged them all and said, “Sorry to be such a harbinger of doom. If I didn’t love you so much, I wouldn’t have said anything. Keep in touch with your SIM, Jess.” She watched the car glide onto the exit ramp and raised her hand goodbye.
Hickory checked the information board at the check-in. All flights to Western Europe had been canceled until further notice; sporadic flights were still being scheduled to Moscow and Leningrad, and Asian destinations had been scaled back. Her jet to Hawaii was delayed for two hours.
People crowded departure desks, desperate to find transport to the off-world space stations and thence to far-flung Earth colonies. Other passengers huddled around holoscreens, watching the latest broadcasts from London and updates on the other European cities. She went into the lounge and poured herself a coffee, then sat in a chair with a view of the runway.
She wondered how Anyar, Sikona, and Sabrina were getting along. She hadn’t seen or heard of the Yatzi since she left Auriga almost a year ago, and it had been eight months since she’d farewelled the siblings. The revolt against Kabutai must have failed, she reasoned, otherwise he wouldn’t now be attacking Earth. I hope they survived. I could do with their help right now. Sabrina, in particular, had valuable insight into the Warlord’s strengths and weaknesses. If she was going to overcome him while he wielded the Sword, Hickory would need some sort of edge.
The pain hit her like an out of control truck, jangling every nerve in her body. She fell to the floor, and her legs jerked as though in epilepsy. People surrounded her, and a physician pushed his way through the crowd and knelt to examine her. Her eyes turned up in her head, and saliva drooled from her mouth. After a few minutes, her mind began to reassert control, and she became aware of the energy sparks coursing through her cortex as they worked to minimize the damage from the attack.
She drew in a deep breath and sat upright, perspiration covering her face. She grasped the emerald crucifix dangling from her neck and climbed to her feet. “I’m fine now,” she said, thanking the doctor and onlookers for their help. “Feeling a little embarrassed, but I’ll be okay after I wash up. I’m fine, really.” She protested when someone tried to insist they call an ambulance and escaped into the washroom.
In the shower, she let cold water run over her while she sought to identify the source of the onslaught. There had been a massive release of emotional energy, but it had stopped as quickly as it began. She sensed residual fear and tracked it to its source. She pressed her lips together. Merrik.
CHAPTER 28
Mind Jousting
Gareth met her outside the baggage pick up at Honolulu and wasted no time in whisking her off to the Physics and Astronomy building at the University of Hawaii. “I’ve been working with the research team on the Gamma Magnetic Spectrometer, trying to find solutions to the Segniori energy equations we brought home from the Ark. We’re using GMS-02, the international orbiting research station to study high energy cosmic rays to answer fundamental questions about the Universe—”
“Gareth, you know particle physics isn’t my strong point. Have you made any practical progress to help defeat the Warlord?”
Gareth blinked at her. “You know, you sounded just like Jenny for a second. Yes, we have made some progress.
The guys have detected small traces of antimatter Strangelets in the vicinity of Kabutai’s battlecruiser. Their presence can only be explained by exotic activity around the Sword of Connat. Now, what I’m hoping is—”
“So, how is Jenny?”
“Uh, she’s fine, at home looking after number-two daughter. The thing is, we might be able to use the output from our research to get to the heart of the Ark’s black box. Is it in the case?” He glanced at the aluminum container on her knees.
Hickory smiled. It was weird to think of Gareth as the father of two girls. It wouldn’t be long before they had him wrapped around their little fingers and the priorities of his life would change. Right now, though, he was still the same boy-genius with an answer for everything. “Yep, right here.” She tapped the container.
When they reached the lab, Hickory unlocked the case and placed the box on the workbench. Other than the metallic gold sheen, the heavy nine-inch cube was featureless. She felt the energy particles flow through her bloodstream.
Gareth let out a long breath. “Beautiful, isn’t it?”
#
Cortherien had arranged for his private jet to take Hickory from Hawaii to New Rome.
She found herself with a few hours to spare before the meeting with him and the Admiral and decided on an impromptu visit to her grandmother. She arrived at Via Domenichino and halted, stunned by what she saw. The top floor of the apartment block where Maria Lucerne lived had vanished.
Hickory raced to the entrance and ripped away the crime scene tape blocking her way. She threw open the door and took the stairs two at a time until she reached the middle-level apartment.
The door was ajar.
She pushed it open and stepped into the lounge. Daylight shone through a massive hole in the ceiling and rubble covered the polished wooden floor. She looked around the kitchen and then went into her grandmother’s bedroom. The apartment had been ransacked. There was nothing left of Maria’s valuable artwork or jewelry, and no sign of her grandmother.
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