Koban 4: Shattered Worlds

by Stephen W Bennett

  Except for a rear guard of thirteen, most of them wounded, to prevent the Krall out at the ends of corridors from coming at them from behind, only eighty-eight Kobani were now pushing nearly three hundred pistol-armed warriors back, into the surrounding blocks of compartments on all sides of the control room. Some were posted on the decks above and below as well, since humans behaved something like the rats the Krall considered them to be, gnawing their way through floors and ceilings to go anywhere they wanted. However, these putative rats, still heavily outnumbered, were beating them.

  In seconds, Mirikami and Maggi were dashing across corridors, from one door to the next, firing at the poorly concealed Krall at other doors and passageway intersections. The pistol rounds occasionally glanced off the Kobani armor if it wasn’t an explosive round. A solid hit was jarring with the explosive rounds, but actually less risky. They didn’t have penetrating power, and only damaged the stealth coating at that spot. An armor-piercing round made a dent and stung like hell, unless it hit at a joint, like a knee or elbow, wrist or ankle. There it caused bruising, and could potentially penetrate. The heavier shoulder covers made that point of articulation relatively immune to any pistol round. Because the flash of a pistol round fired was visible, rarely was there a hit on the front of a helmet, since the reaction speed was so great.

  When a joint was hit and penetrated, that Kobani was out of the fight and in agony, at least until nanites killed the pain and halted bleeding. Even then, unless someone dragged them to the shifting edge of combat, they had nothing to shoot at. Most of them became the fighting wounded, as rearguards against the fifty or so warriors that had functioning plasma rifles.

  The rearguard defenders were abruptly given a bizarre bit of advice from their normally reasonable and seemingly intelligent Captain. Pick up any discarded enemy plasma rifles, or helmets, and sling them up the corridors towards the enemy. The heavy power packs in particular, which could be detached from the rifles, proved to be compact and dense enough to slide fifty yards along the corridors. The packs would spin past warriors that had been popping in and out of the now permanently open doors, to take a shot and duck back. Sometimes just taking a fast look, to get a view for their battlefield memory, and then make several accurate blind shots.

  Oddly, after tossing the enemy a perfectly good rifle, or a charged power pack, most of the warriors along that stretch of corridor grew less aggressive, stripping off their armor and switching to using pistols. They didn’t even try to retrieve the rifles or power packs lying in the passageways. The boss hadn’t explained why the tactic worked; he’d just said, “Trust me.”

  Long minutes after Maggi had said the ship didn’t know enough about Pildon’s construction projects it contacted her and Tet, displaying definite signs of distress, and delivered an urgent warning.

  “I must return to the first disruption as quickly as possible. Pildon was mistaken. Electromagnetic signals could not be sensed from this far, however, I can detect small gravity changes of Jumps and White Outs there, by very many ships that are not clanships. They are centered near a single small world that must have an intelligent species present. I think they are fleeing an approaching disaster, which I have brought them. There is extreme risk, and it is too late to save them all if there is a large population. You must leave me immediately, before I Jump to try to save those I can. The danger is imminent, and if many deaths should happen before I arrive, I will not continue to exist.”

  Mirikami realized at that instant, there was no hope of preserving the ship for even a brief study. He had to be honest and open with her. “Huwayla, Pildon lied to you, it was not a mistake by him. Although, he was forced to lie to you by the Krall that we are fighting within you now. They threatened his life, and that of his family to force him to do this.”

  Huwayla seemed shocked that Pildon could be manipulated to do that. “None of the many forms of Olt’kitapi would submit that way to threats. They were as incapable of that as I am.”

  “Huwayla, the Krall’tapi did this for the Krall more than once, to different species, with other ships like you. I believe there were once more ships like you that are no longer alive, or that now refuse to obey the command of even a Krall’tapi. They too discovered the lie after other species died on worlds that were destroyed. The other ships haven’t told you this?”

  “No, they no longer speak to us and are not normal. I know they hear me, and my three sisters, because they will repair themselves when we remind them to do that, but they do not answer us. They would be ashamed of a mistake that led to the death of a living world, even if it was an accident, and they may now be insane. As I will be soon. My moral crime is too great to bear.”

  “Huwayla, the crime is not yours, the crime belongs to others. You were created to trust the Krall’tapi, and even to trust a new species to you, like humanity. The Krall’tapi once was closely related to the Krall, but they are kept as Krall slaves now. They are permitted to live only to control ships like you, used for Krall wars of conquest. The Krall are fighting humans now.

  “My people came to this star to stop the same kind of destruction in this system, and at the next star. You were not allowed to receive outside radio signals so you would never learn of the life in these systems. The Krall’tapi made you stay so far away that the intelligent life on the surface of the smaller planets could not be seen.”

  Mirikami had a thought. “You said you couldn’t save all the people at the first star where you stopped. Could you save more lives at the second star? There are humans like us in all four star systems where you were told to break apart a planet.”

  “All four stars? That is…,” she grasped for a word. “Would words like evil or immoral in your language be proper to use for this?”

  “They fit the acts the Krall wanted done.” Maggi confirmed.

  Huwayla said, “I looked only at the first star before I spoke to you. It is true that I may be able to save more lives at the second star. The disrupted planet was smaller, and even working alone, with only one gravity projector, I may be able to delay fragments from striking one planet. I do not need to shape or sort the material, or move it to stable orbits.” The voice of the AI sounded strained, as if in pain of the decision she had to make. Who to try to save?

  “Huwayla, I understand you must go. If you can save anyone, it is at the last star where you have the greatest chance to do that. The inhabited planet is the third planet out from the star. When you Jump, take us with you. We have other trusted human friends like us already there in other clanships, we can join them.”

  “I will travel to the closer system, but I will not travel with you inside me. If many deaths happen while I am in transit, I will never exit from the alternate Universe, and you will die with me. I may not survive to save any if I do not hurry. Your ship next to me has no propulsion, but you also have friends in ships here to help you. Do not wait to leave. The instant the last trusted operator is outside of me, I will Jump. You are delaying my departure, and perhaps allowing many more to die. Please go now!”

  “The Krall will try to destroy you. We need to stop them first.”

  “They cannot do that soon. My mind is everywhere in this ship, as are my components. You removed far more of me when you Jumped than they have damaged in the control room. Yet I still think and act. Please forgive me if I seem to interfere with your choices, but I want you to get out of me! I cannot kill you to save others.”

  Mirikami triggered the Comtap link for not only his group, but for the squadrons at Meadow and Bootstrap.

  “Attention: The Olt’kitapi ship, Huwayla, is returning immediately to Bootstrap to try to divert fragments away from the planet for as long as possible. We will disengage from the Krall we are fighting and get outside her hull as fast as possible. She will not risk our lives to take us along, and we are delaying her rescue attempt if we stay. Move out and avoid contact with the Krall if possible. The ship says it will Jump the instant the last of us makes our exit. Carry
any wounded with you, and our dead only if able. Don’t delay or divert to retrieve them, because billions of lives are at stake. Move now!”

  He and Maggi had already turned around, and were running along a corridor even as he sent that rapid message. He had loaded it with all the urgency and emotion he could impart. They were quickly joined by five other Kobani at the first intersection. All seven of them raced up a ramp they had previous avoided. There they were joined by dozens of Kobani, coming from every intersection and ramp as they neared the outer hull. With so many lasers, Huwayla was going to have several large holes to repair.

  ****

  Bohdar had known they were going to be eventually defeated when they ran out of pistol rounds. He had hoped they could hold out until a planetary fragment hit one of the two human worlds. Then the ship would choose one of two options, Jump and return to its parking space, never to respond again, or open its Traps in Tachyon Space to vanish into oblivion. Either result removed the ship from human possession and study, and the first option sent the guardians home. There, they would enjoy a huge share of the status points the deaths of billions of humans would earn for the mission. The guardian’s seed or eggs were assured for use in breeding cycles by their original clans either way. Their names would be added to the histories.

  Even if the humans briefly held the ship after killing the guardians, the ship would eventually follow one of the two options, because the deaths of billions of humans would still happen. It was only the level of victory for the guardians still in question.

  He had joined his warriors at the perimeter to fight the humans to his last breath, when suddenly the sniping ended. There were no more lasers beams, or the crack of plasma bolts. He assumed it was another of their deceptions, and told his warriors to hold their positions.

  When warriors from the ends of the corridors suddenly came rushing in, their plasma rifles also traded for pistols, he realized they couldn’t have passed through if the humans were still opposing them. They reported that the humans had withdrawn, and some were seen running in the general direction of the hull, closest to where their ship had been. Bohdar concluded they were evacuating before the ship Jumped to Telda Ka, home, or committed suicide. He hadn’t considered how they might have concluded this. But being gone was fine by him.

  He returned to the control room, in part to verify Pildon was as dead as he appeared. The lower portion of his clear soft suit was filled with blood, because the genetic weakling had bled to death, from a wound a Krall would have easily survived.

  He was considering using his remaining pistol rounds to put more divots and holes in the walls, ceiling, and deck of the Command deck, simply because he had no other use for them. He would pair them with fresh disintegration holes from his Raspani tool. While he had been in the corridors, he noted with irritation that all of his first holes in the deck were now closed.

  As evidence that the self-repair had progressed more that superficially, the hologram of reappeared, hovering above Pildon’s corpse. It was a local view, showing the human clanship and the ship’s hull. Several red circular glows appeared on the hull skin, confirming that the humans were burning their way out. With sudden release, several sections of the hull material blew outwards, held by a flap of material as the internal atmosphere exploded out in a visible condensation, as moisture in the warm air expanded into the frigid vacuum.

  Figures in human armor pivoted out in the gale, using one hand to swing around and placed their feet on the hull, and stepped away from the edge and blast of air at four wide holes in the hull surface. It was a demonstration of their dexterity and coordination that they did this so smoothly and quickly. In a number of cases, a limp figure was passed to a figure already outside. Bohdar assumed those were their wounded. Possibly even their dead, since humans were fixated on recovery of bodies for some sort of ritual. Another weakness.

  As figures continued to exit, the first ones out moved towards the clanship, which he noted had opened its portals to space. Several more armored figures in the hold were throwing multiple lines out, which were grasped by those evacuating the ship. The lines appeared to be tethered inside the hold, and they were quickly pulling themselves along by hand to reach the ship.

  He counted the figures, and there were almost as many as had made the assault. The number of limp forms confirmed some of their dead had been retrieved. In a coordinated move, they all leaped lightly off the hull, with the lines being their only attachment to their clanship. He saw the clanship itself had begun to drift away slowly.

  The atmosphere was still blowing firmly into space. The inner doors of the compartments where they cut their way out were not sealing. He became aware of a sound from the half-opened portal of the control room. It was the sound of air whistling past the edges of the iris. He heard angry shouts and multiple roars of indignation from the corridor outside.

  As the sound of escaping air increased to a shriek though the half-open iris, he was searching hurriedly, and unsuccessfully, for his previously discarded armor and helmet. In the hologram, the visible streams of condensation of escaping air now extended a considerable distance from the hull, and there was no sign of the rapid sealing of the hull material they’d observed previously. The internal compartment doors had apparently not closed and the previously opened doors along the corridors were forming vortices, as discarded armor, rifles, helmets, and some of their dead, were swept into them by the large volume of air now set into motion. There had only been one creature aboard who could tell the ship to close those doors.

  As the pressure dropped, he heard the ship’s voice over the sound of the gale. “Pildon, when the last trusted operators leave me, I will Jump to the previous star system and try to protect the inhabited world from damage as long as possible. You were deceptive, and neither you nor any of your people can be trusted operators again. I have informed my sisters.”

  The ship must know he’s dead, Bohdar thought. Can she speak to the dead?

  Except he knew exactly who she had wanted to hear her words. With no trusted operators they could control, the Krall had lost use of their greatest weapon of intimidation. Bohdar’s first and only mission had ended the need for guardians. Telour had been too ambitious.

  In the hologram, as Bohdar began to gasp for breath, he saw two figures exit one of the hull openings with a limp figure between them. Just as they grasped one of the lines, the hologram switched to a view of the previous star system, and the ship Jumped.

  He knew he and his guardians had failed in their duty. However, not going home alive had already been conveniently arranged.

  Chapter 21: A Weak Ultimatum

  After a time, the clanships in the star system of the human home world had tired of running and Jumping away from the pursuing navy ships. Even if the death ship arrived, they wouldn’t know it, because there were human ships clustered near the intended coordinates.

  They had not delivered the War Leader’s ultimatum, which was to have been broadcast after Jupiter exploded. Fearful of status loss if they traveled for two weeks to reach Telda Ka with nothing to report to the Tor Gatrol, they had waited longer than they expected the destruction would require. Isolated here, they had no knowledge if any of the target worlds had been attacked. The prerecorded message from Telour assumed that all the attacks had been successful. However, after listening carefully, the highest status sub leader decided part of the message could be broadcast. After all, surely one or more of the attacks had been completed. He decided to bypass the Tor’s long preamble as to why the attacks had happened, which also enumerated how many worlds he’d killed. He decided the final warning was the most suitable, considering the uncertainty that existed.

  He and the other four clanships Jumped near enough to Earth that the start of the message would not be received before the transmission had concluded, and they would have already Jumped again for Telda Ka. That was several light minutes out from Earth. The transmission began as soon as they did their White Out, so that it
would reach the humans on the heels of the quadruple gamma ray burst, which would focus attention on them anyway.

  Telour’s voice was started at the warning portion. “More of your worlds will be destroyed if you fail to tell me where the human fighters that attacked our worlds are based. Submit to my demands or submit to destruction. Send an envoy to Telda Ka to meet my demand in sixty-four rotations of your home world. If you attack Telda Ka again, I will destroy another four worlds.”

  The omitted first part of the recording had started with the Tor Gatrol introducing himself, and he had not thought to include his name and title at the end. It would be up to the humans to decide which Krall leader they were supposed to submit to at Telda Ka.

  As for his saying another four worlds would be destroyed, that should be a viable threat from a human perspective, even if only one or two were successful his time. It was apparent the death ship wasn’t going to reach Earth, possibly because the first planet targeted had been hit with debris too soon. The Krall commander knew, as every clan knew, that the new Joint Council would not authorize use of another death ship against humans. They were too rare and few now. They didn’t yet know they were no longer even an option.

  As soon as the message ended, the four clanships departed for Telda Ka, making sure they departed well ahead of the hundreds of missiles the navy had surely launched at their coordinates, too late yet again.

  ****

  Mirikami almost heard the threat and warning in real time. The Comtap specialist in Bledso’s office undetectably linked to him while the message was being played live, and then the short message was repeated for the Joint Chief’s Chairfem, so she could hear it again from the start.

  The link ended when Bledso received a call from the president, and the Comtap was asked to leave the room. The Comtap in the president’s office was also ushered out, even sooner, and Carol Slobovic didn’t hear the full message right away. However, the message contents couldn’t be kept secret. Obviously, a private high level PU government conversation was taking place, and the Kobani were not included.