The Genetic Imperative

by P. Joseph Cherubino

  “OK,” Rachel said “We are on the way. We should reach the Antarctic shelf in under five hours. With any luck, we will make it an hour before Nina and her crew. Feel free to leave the flight couches. Not much to see, but you’re on a spaceship so you might as well enjoy it.”

  Arnold started to do the math on the speed and distance. The implications were too much, so he abandoned the pursuit.

  General Breslin hauled himself from the flight couch and picked up his clipboard. He began reading Rachel’s report on Nina as he paced from one end of the ship to the other.

  Chapter 21: Earth, Antarctica, Reckoning

  The ship decelerated for more than two hours on its final approach to Earth. As the distance closed, Nina’s doubts increased as if they were part of Earth’s gravity field. Why was Talin here? What was Talin’s connection to the Queen? What was happening back on Homesphere? They decided to break communications with home as they were now unsure of who might be listening, or who might be in control. Now that Olthan made her move, the crew was not sure who to trust. For all they knew, more ships could be on their way to hunt them down on Earth.

  But most worrying at the moment was Talin. What was she doing here? Talin had always been a dutiful soldier, but Nina had never known her to be the type who slathered her speech with phrases like “Queen Willing,” or other superfluous trappings of reverence. Most front line soldiers didn’t bother with that. But now Talin’s tones when speaking of the Queen verged on the mystical.

  The Queen occupied Talin’s body. Who knew what was done to her. Was the Monarch in control now? The thought of having some other presence controlling her own body made Nina’s stomach turn.

  Her rumination ended when the kinetic fluid drained from the bridge.

  “We are at a safe speed now,” Nayar announced “We are about one hour from our destination. They maintained their energy sheaths anyway. No utility in taking chances.

  Nina saw the display was set to one hundred percent magnification and showed the blue globe of Earth growing larger. Without the fluid, the force of deceleration pulled them forward against the couch harnesses. A few minutes later, the curved sky of Earth loomed on the display. Soon after, the blinding yellow light of flames appeared as they pierced the oxygen-rich atmosphere. Before long, the ship was breaking through a low cloud cover high above Earth’s south pole. The icy land below sparkled and spread out to the horizon to the west and met the seat to the North.

  “Land us on Eastern region near the coast. It will bring us a bit closer to the Asian landmass. Make it as close to that ocean as possible,” Nina ordered, and Nayar angled the craft to point toward Australia.

  ***

  Exile One had reached the pole nearly two hours before Nina. The fiery entry of the Queen’s shuttle was hard to miss. Rachel called for General Breslin, who stood beside her pilot couch watching the display.

  “Do they see us?” the General asked anxiously.

  “Probably not. If they do, they haven’t shown any signs of it. We’re not running an energy sheath and I have the hull configured to bend light, so we shouldn’t be visible, especially in this environment. I’m keeping our energy expenditure to a minimum. They would really have scan closely to see us. We’d show up as just another gravity swirl to them even if they did detect us. They might notice us when we start moving, though.”

  “How far are they?”

  “About a thousand kilometers due east. Our altitude is twelve kilometers. We can be on them in seconds. They are drifting toward the coast at about a hundred meters above the surface,” Rachel answered.

  “I will keep an eye on them, General,” Donna said. The bridge displays told Donna everything she needed to know.

  “What do you think their next move will be?” Breslin asked.

  “Well,” Rachel began “Since they think we don’t see them, they’ll be looking for a place to build a base. They are probably scouting for a place to build shelter. The ship is big, but they'll want to be in the environment. Once they have that, they’ll split up and send a smaller crew up in the ship to begin scanning. If I were her, and I once was, I would spend a day building shelter, set up a patrol and start scanning the next day.”

  General Breslin stood on the bridge and weighed his options. The element of surprise was theirs. The goal was to confront this incursion and keep that confrontation non-violent. They wanted their adversary on-notice, but not on the attack.

  “Move in on them carefully. I want us close when they land. Find a defensible,” the General ordered.

  Rachel carefully reduced their altitude and aimed the ship toward the Queen’s shuttle.

  ***

  “Captain!” Nayar shouted “There is another ship. It’s just like ours. It is descending toward us from twelve kilometers altitude and about one thousand kilometers southwest.”

  “How did we not see them before?” Nina asked, “Where did it come from.”

  “Captain,” Azin said “It did not come from Homesphere. I would have seen them. They also would have attacked before we landed. It’s another Queen’s shuttle, so likely does not belong to General Olthan.”

  Nina did believe that Azin would have seen a ship chasing them from Homesphere. She only doubted whether Azin would report that. There was still a good chance that Azin was loyal to Olthan, Nina thought. If she wanted Azin’s trust, she would have to give trust first, but that carried risk.

  “Both of you: give me your assessment.”

  “Why don’t we just ask them what they want?” That was Nayar.

  Nina took time to consider the situation, said, “My assessment is that we should avoid further conflict that would damage the mission. This ship was obviously on the planet before us. They are not running an energy sheath. They are trying to hide, but they are not in a threatening posture.”

  “It is a survey mission ship,” Osae’s voice came to them from the aft bridge. They looked at her with surprise. Osae stood there in her neat battle robe and fully healed. “A special survey mission was lost to Earth nearly a century ago.”

  “Lost?” Azin asked.

  “How could it be lost?” Nina added to the question.

  “It was lost to mutiny. Its crew of sixty refused to return to Homesphere. The Queen allowed this because the alternative would have been open conflict between Advocates within the Seed Planet.”

  “And how do you know all this?” Azin demanded. The question and the venom Azin put into it made Nina believe she was genuinely surprised. She was also suspicious and angry. That might be a good indicator that Azin was at least outside the plot against this mission.

  Osae hesitated. Her face twitched.

  “Captain. Please forgive me. I was ordered by General Olthan to report to her during this mission. I was ordered to sabotage this mission.”

  Azin was on her feet and lunging for Osae’s throat before Nina had a chance to stop her. At least Nina received a clear sign of Azin’s loyalty.

  “No,” Nina spoke calmly as Azin pressed Osae against the aft bridge bulkhead with her hand clamped around the Corporal’s throat. To her credit, Osae kept her hands up and locked Azin’s eyes defiantly. She did not try to fight. She had the sense not to make that fatal move. “Commander Azin. Release her,” Nina said, stepping close. “Please,” Nina added. “This is not the way. Nayar is right. We need to limit further hostilities. That should start with us. We've harmed each other enough.”

  Azin let Osae go and backed away an arm’s length. The two soldiers stared at each other angrily. Nina now believed that Azin was with this mission. She had proved her loyalty to the Queen, if not to Nina herself. But now Nina had more issues of trust with Osae. She was not pleased to have her orders confirmed.

  “It seems that you do not want to obey that order,” Nina said.

  “This is true. I cannot obey. It is wrong. Also, General Olthan tried to kill me on the Third Arm. I thought there was honor in dying that way. I was wrong. It took this mission for me to real
ize it.”

  “Yes it is wrong." Azin said. She sat back in her flight couch and turned her attention back to the situation at hand.

  "Take your station," Nina ordered. Osae resumed her place as copilot. Nayar welcomed her back.

  Nina also took her place. She gave everyone a few minutes to calm down. Each team member looked over the information flowing in from the ship sensors.

  “This must be the Colonel who contacted us before. This is the only answer that fits,” Nina said, then she turned to Osae, said, “Open a channel to the approaching ship. Let us all hear it.”

  ***

  “They see us, General,” Rachel said, worried, “They are requesting contact.”

  “Make us visible. Keep the energy sheath down. Bring us to them. Keep a safe distance. If they show hostile intent, I want this ship ready to retreat at the highest speed possible.”

  Rachel obeyed her General’s order.

  “I want everyone to hear this,” the General added.

  “We are networked with the Captain’s ship. You may speak when ready,” Rachel said.

  “To the Advocate ship. This is General Chase Breslin, United States Marine Corps. I command a task force that represents Earth. You will drop your energy sheath and comply with all our instructions.”

  Nina felt no need to communicate with Humans or their allies before this moment. Now that they possessed equal force, she had little choice. She found herself suddenly in a very uncomfortable and delicate position.

  “We will drop our energy sheath. We will not comply with your instructions beyond that. Our mission transcends your immediate concerns. You must already understand that our mission is necessary to our mutual survival.”

  “Thank you, Captain for dropping your sheath. We do understand the nature of your mission. We have information to share that I am certain will remedy our differences. This taskforce is authorized to represent Humanity just as your mission represents the Advocate Warriors. I propose that we meet.”

  Nina thought for a moment, then turned to Azin. “No,” Azin whispered, keeping her thought from the network.

  “General. Give me a moment to consider this,” Nina said. Nayar paused the connection.

  “Osae, Is the ship translating this human language accurately?”

  “Yes. Very high confidence of accuracy. They understand us clearly.”

  “Azin, why do you object to the meeting?” Nina asked.

  “We are not subject to Human concerns. They are Seed People who are working with traitors,” Azin growled. Nina sighed. It appeared Azin was back on her “traitors” track gain.

  “You regarded me as a traitor before this mission, and now you support my command.”

  Azin’s face shone again with that now familiar bloom of blood beneath the scars. “I serve the Queen, not you. So long as you follow the Queen, I follow you.”

  “Fair enough,” Nina began, “But Azin, until a few moments ago, I did not entirely trust you, but I gave you the benefit of the doubt. Now I want to give the same opportunity to these … former Advocates and the Humans. As my second, I am asking for your support in this.”

  Azin thought about this for a moment. “Yes,” she said, and turned away. That counted as a ringing in endorsement as far as Nina was concerned. Nina opened the network again.

  “General Breslin. We will meet you. I trust and believe that you have no hostile intent and my crew is prepared should this not be true.”

  The response was quick.

  “We have no hostile intent. I would expect nothing less than full preparedness from your command, Captain Nina Gaav. I look forward to meeting you.” The channel closed.

  “Osae,” Nina said, “do not do this yet, but how fast can you target that ship?”

  “I already have an attack solution programmed. I can target in fractions of a second,” Osae responded.

  “If they look like they will attack, I want you ready at all times to initiate that solution. Let us hope it will not come to that.”

  ***

  Exile One set down on the hard packed ice behind a low rise a kilometer away from Nina’s ship. During their descent, Lieutenant Triska, Sergeant Nichols and Corporal Makon went aft to unpack supplies as ordered. Donna phase-shifted a long work table in the cargo area and the three set out uniforms and equipment. Arnold was impressed that Sergeant Nichols managed to requisition arctic combat clothes in the perfect sizes for all, including the diminutive Corporal.

  Donna also divided the passenger compartment in to three additional sections. Just opposite the entry, she created an enclosed conference room with a table and chairs large enough to seat ten. Behind that compartment, she created a small galley, complete with a sink and running water. She had trouble programming a food warmer. Ship logic had no reference for cooking elements, so she improvised. They could boil water for warming coffee and MREs. Donna even found mess kits in the supplies and placed them in the galley.

  Corporal Makon was not shy. As soon as they were done selecting the gear they needed, she stripped down completely and began dressing in arctic gear. She grabbed a pair of thermal underwear and slipped them on. Arnold and Sergeant Nichols shrugged their shoulders and did the same. They were prepared to give Corporal Makon privacy, but she was all business and obviously did not care. All three were sweating by the time they finished.

  “Donna, can you hear me?” Arnold spoke in a conversational voice.

  “Yes,” Donna answered by the invisible PA system.

  “Could you please drop the temperature in the aft compartment? We want to lessen the shock when we go outside.”

  “Understood,” Donna answered, and the temperature dropped a few degrees until they could see their breath.

  Sergeant Nichols set out three range-finding binoculars, three M16s and a sniper rifle. Colonel Balanik ordered the sniper rifle unpacked, but she didn’t specify what she wanted done with it.

  Rachel and Donna appeared in full battle robes. Penny was surprised at the sight. The robes resembled the ones she’d seen in old samurai movies, only these were light gray and made of very coarse-looking thread the texture of burlap. The skirt sections of the robes were wide triangular panels that seemed very stiff and the robe legs billowed behind them. The feet of the robe were very strange. They covered the top of the feet loosely but shifted and undulated against the floor. She could see the material formed tightly against the outline of toes as the feet sections moved.

  Colonel Balanik had a long black staff strapped diagonally across her back. One end appeared over her left shoulder and the other end extended behind her right hip. Donna’s staff was thicker and dark gray in color and she held it in her right hand so that its length followed the back of her arm and extended over her shoulder.

  “Lieutenant Triska, this is your team. Corporal Makon is qualified on the sniper rifle. I want her on it. You three are to set up on top of a ridge about half a kilometer between us and their ship. Conceal yourselves there. We will meet our guests. If things go well, we will escort them here.

  Corporal Makon. If the Advocates attack, I want you to aim for the face, neck and joints. The rounds we brought along are all depleted uranium, even the 5.56. If you aim where I told you, you might have a chance of bringing one down with the .50 cal. Not likely, but solid rifle hits will slow them down at least.

  If they attack, you take your shots to slow them down, then you retreat. Do you understand that? This goes for all of you. If they attack us or kill us, you try slowing them down so you can retreat. They’ll try to hunt you down on foot, but you’ll be on the ship before they reach your firing position. You get back to the ship and you leave. General Breslin can command the ship to take off and it is programmed to return to base.”

  “Yes. Ma’am,” Penny said. She meant it this time. Donna taught her well.

  “Understood,” Lieutenant Triska said. Rachel opened the door as the three humans pulled on their balaclavas, slipped the parka hoods over their heads and geared
up.

  The cold took their breath away. Arnold never realized that expression could be literal truth. Even with parkas and covered faces, the cold hit them like a solid wall and sucked heat from their flesh like a vampire. They slipped on their goggles as an afterthought when the morning sun reflecting from the endless snow blinded them. Rachel and Donna didn’t react to the cold at all. Their faces and hands were bare. They didn’t even need their energy sheaths for weather like this, even as frost formed on their eyebrows and in their hair. They stepped down the stairs formed into the extended ship panels and out onto the ice.

  Rachel and Donna ran across the hard packed snow to meet the Queen’s ship. They reached it just as Lieutenant Triska and his team were installed at the peak of a low ridge looking down at the meeting place. Penny kept her eye focused on the scene through the scope of her sniper rifle while Andre and Arnold observed through their binoculars. Andre took distance and wind measurements and Penny adjusted her scope to compensate.

  The two Warriors who called themselves former Advocates stopped running a few hundred meters from Nina and Azin, who stood close to their ship. They approached at a brisk walking pace. Nina noticed one of them had to be Heavy Infantry. Her build was unmistakable but she was small by Heavy Infantry Division standards. The two stopped two meters away and they exchanged greetings. Rachel found it difficult to speak in the Advocate tongue after so many years.

  “Welcome,” Rachel said without smiling.

  “Thank you,” Nina replied politely.

  “I am Colonel Balanik. This is Donna.”

  “Donna is not a soldier in this human army?” Azin asked, her gruff voice matching the air temperature.

  “I was. I live freely now. I serve Rachel when she asks,” Donna replied.

  “So why do you come to us?” Nina asked.

  “I come to you as a fellow Warrior. We share common goals.”

  “I doubt that,” Azin said, and Nina cast eyes at Azin in warning.

  “What do you believe my goals are?” Nina asked.