by Michael Ryan
“I’ve always followed the rules of engagement and fought with honor.”
Spencer looked away with the hint of a smile playing across his face. “You know, Avery, not so long ago, invading forces would kill all men, women, and male children. It was standard procedure.”
“We aren’t savages anymore.”
“Why do you think they were savages? It was cultural. They’d kill their enemies and save the young women for concubines and slaves. Sometimes they’d keep the boys as well. But war was brutal and bloody. There were no rules. Only merciless death.”
My arms strained against the restraints, but to no avail. “I don’t get your point.”
“What we do today – a war fought by the ‘rules of engagement,’ as you so nobly frame it – will be found just as brutal and vicious in a few hundred years. You’re a savage, Avery. A merciless savage who butchers Tedesconians who’ve never done you any harm.”
“I’m not buying this bullshit,” I said.
“Yet you know I’m telling the truth. You view the warrior from the past as a savage. Your great-great-great-grandfather, or perhaps his grandfather, thought that his grandfather’s generation was brutal, evil, and cruel. If you really think about it, you’ll see I’m right about how future generations will judge you: as an immoral murderer.”
“Dr. Spencer, let me up,” I said.
“I might,” he said. “If you convince me I can trust you.”
“I want the antidote.”
Another sad smile. “There is no antidote.”
“You said something…a…a vaccine?”
“Yes, there will be a vaccine. For Guritains who are fortunate enough. But that’s in the future. There is no vaccine now. Besides, you’re already infected. It’s too late for an immunization shot, Avery.” Spittle wet his lips, and his eyes gleamed with manic fever. “You’re carrying our salvation, son. You’re the savior of the world – our world. You’ll be memorialized for generations as the man who brought peace on Earth.”
“You’re insane.” I pulled at my restraints and jerked my legs, but nothing gave. “Let me up!”
“Maybe tomorrow,” he murmured. He inserted a syringe half full of an amber liquid into my IV line and depressed the plunger. “You need more sleep.”
~~~
I opened my eyes.
“Hello?”
There was no answer. The dim glow from the monitor told me I was still in the same room.
“Doctor!” I shouted. I scratched my forearm and realized I was no longer restrained. I managed to sit up. Other than being light-headed, I didn’t feel like anything was wrong. I pulled the cannula from my arm and detached the pulse oximeter from my finger, and an alarm sounded from the monitor.
“Shit,” I whispered.
The door opened. “Awake again,” Spencer said. “You must be famished. Come.”
I followed him out of the room. Walking wasn’t easy. My leg muscles seemed to have no strength, and I felt weak and dizzy.
“Try not to fall,” he cautioned. “Go to the table and sit. I’ll bring you some coffee and eggs.”
As much as I wanted to argue, or throttle him, after days without food, I was starving, and I allowed him to serve me breakfast.
“You have questions,” he stated, his tone businesslike.
“What did you do to me?”
“You’re carrying kifo-ukufa, Avery. You have to accept that. Don’t be like that idiot out there.” He pointed toward the exit, where the lieutenant’s frozen corpse still lay on the ice.
“He…” I stumbled for words.
Spencer nodded slowly. “Yes. When it came to the moment of truth, he was a coward.” He regarded me. “What’s ironic is that he knew the mission. He actually volunteered.”
“I find that hard to believe.”
“So do I. But it’s true. He volunteered, as did several of the scientists we lost. You’re the final backup carrier, Avery. Nobody thought it would come down to the backup’s backup’s backup, but there it is.”
“Military redundancy.” I sipped coffee and stared at the doctor. I imagined breaking his neck or stomping his head into mush.
“Don’t look at me like I’m a child rapist,” he said. “I’m also a public servant. I’m loyal to my government and my leadership. I’ve done my sworn duty; and now, so will you.”
“And what’s my duty?”
“To suit up and travel to Mexico City.”
“You’re completely out of your mind.”
“You’re going to stop this war, Avery. Don’t forget that. You’re going to be a hero for generations.”
“I’ll be seen as a monster. Millions of people will die if I do what you’re asking.”
“Hundreds of millions. Perhaps a billion.” The eerie smile flitted across his lips again. “Think of how long this war has waged. Decades. Across two planets. If you take into account what your ancestors brought to Earth, the death toll is already in the tens of billions. Don’t forget that billions of humans died from disease when your grandmother’s people came to Earth.”
“That wasn’t deliberate.”
“It wasn’t?”
“How could it be?”
“You know the histories.”
“I thought…I mean…like with the Native Americans…”
“You mean like where the palefaces killed all the buffalos to starve the natives? Or used smallpox-infested blankets to further biological genocide? You do know about that, right?” He shook his head in disgust. “Some things never change. And the public laps up whatever bromides they’re offered by those responsible, because otherwise they might be forced to look in a mirror, and that isn’t popular.”
“I don’t believe it was deliberate,” I insisted.
“You think a civilization advanced enough to have starships couldn’t have prevented the decimation caused by alien viruses and bacterial infections?”
“I thought–”
“Of course you did. That’s what you were taught in school, read in your textbooks – the ones so thoughtfully provided by your ancestors. Don’t blame yourself for being duped. I believed the same for years before I started my research.” He shook his head in wonder. “The victors create a narrative that paints them in a positive light, and the survivors believe it, because the alternative is to live in a world filled with monsters. It’s always been that way, and probably always will be.”
I had no rebuttal.
His placid expression twisted into something ugly. “If I weren’t a full-blooded human, I’d infect myself with the goddamn virus and happily take it to the Tedesconians. Hell, my only regret would be that I couldn’t pass it to the Guritains, too.”
“You fight for our side,” I reminded him.
“Of course. I’m not stupid, son. I enjoy my work. I enjoy my life. Of course I sided with the Gurts. I had no choice. But never forget I’m a human. Earth is my home, and if I could kill every single purvast on this planet, I’d do so without hesitation.”
“You sound like a…a zealot. A terrorist,” I said.
He laughed, and the sound was harsh, like sandpaper on rotting wood. “A terrorist? In the eyes of your victims, who do you think the terrorists are?”
“I haven’t killed–”
He cut me off. “Please. Just stop with the nonsense. You’ve killed civilians, and we both know it. Perhaps you’ve killed them inadvertently, but they’re still just as dead.”
I didn’t know what to do. I stared at the doctor, and rage welled inside me. I wanted to strangle him. I wanted to wake up from this nightmare and be told it was all just a bad dream. I wanted to do something, anything, except take a virus out of the lab of a madman and cause a billion deaths.
“I won’t do it,” I said.
“You have no choice,” the doctor said.
“I’ll self-terminate, like the lieutenant.”
“That would be an unfortunate setback, but not insurmountable. I’d keep your corpse from freezing and
transport you to Mexico City as if you were a giant petri dish.”
“Why didn’t you take the samples you had in the first place?”
He shook his head and looked at me like I’d asked why I couldn’t levitate at will. “Too unstable. They thrive best in a host, at body temperature. The most beautiful viruses are also the most fragile.”
“And this is it?” I asked softly.
His forehead creased. “This is it for what?”
“You don’t have the virus elsewhere? I find that…un-army-like.”
“I presume you noticed the Teds attacking just as we arrived?”
“Of course.”
“All armies have spies. The other lab was destroyed completely three weeks ago. I suppose others may exist, but if so, I wasn’t told. I have the distinction of being the lead virologist on this project, but that, of course, doesn’t mean there aren’t others. Could be.” He shrugged. “Doubtful, but you never know.”
“I’m going to die no matter what happens, aren’t I?”
“I’m afraid so.” He gave me a stern look. “Everyone does eventually. How many of your friends have died already in this war? How many will die over the years if we continue fighting? You’re not going to do anything different than a huge percentage of your peers already have, Avery. It’s what the young have been called to do in war since the dawn of time.”
~~~
Callie nudged me.
“Yes?”
“This is horrible, Avery.” She paused, her expression puzzled. “But…you’re here.”
“Yes.”
“What happened?”
I yawned, suddenly tired, and closed my eyes. “I killed the fucker.”
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
War means battling for ground, and taking ground means killing purvasts.
~ Prime Minister Cleire Voblumnt
“It’s time for you to suit up,” Dr. Spencer said. “The heli-jet will be here in two hours.”
“Why didn’t we…?” I realized the answer to my question before I finished it. If the Teds were watching, arriving in a trackable craft would have given away the lab’s location. Our long trek on the ground had been purposeful: to preserve secrecy.
“They’ll destroy this place,” I said.
“Of course,” he said. “Once the heli-jet stops and picks us up, this place becomes a hot LZ within minutes.”
I followed the doctor to a makeshift armory and undressed. We didn’t speak as he fitted me into my suit armor. I stood when he was finished and ran a system check. All green. I motioned toward a comm unit. He picked it up and inserted an earpiece.
“Yes, Avery,” he said. “What is it?”
“I’m still not comfortable with this,” I said. “I’d like to speak to my chain of command as soon as we’re clear of the LZ.”
“I am your chain of command now.”
“I’m appealing to chapter fifteen, article seven.”
“Denied,” he snapped.
“You can’t deny this,” I stated as firmly as I could. I had rights as a soldier that couldn’t be rescinded.
“We’re in an imminent state of emergency with the potential for catastrophic loss of life. Subsection twenty-seven applies.”
“That makes no sense,” I said. “There’s time for me to have a conference with my CO.”
“We will not compromise this mission under any circumstances.”
“There is no…” My words trailed off in defeat.
I realized arguing wouldn’t generate the result I wanted. Maybe I’d get an opportunity to demand access to a comm once aboard the heli-jet so I could exercise my rights under article seven.
“Yes?” he asked, eyebrows raised.
“Never mind. When do we go up?”
“Soon.”
~~~
An hour later we rode the basket up through the crevice to the transport. A huge polar bear was standing by the vehicle, clawing at the door. It stopped when the basket reached the top, and eyed us. The enormous carnivore walked to the edge of the gap and swatted at the basket with a paw the size of a catcher’s mitt while sniffing the air.
“Hurry up and kill it,” Spencer ordered.
I retrieved a percussion grenade and tossed it onto the roof of the transport.
“You goddamn idiot!” Spencer shouted.
The grenade detonated, and the bear fled. Spencer dropped to his knees, clutched his ears, and glared at me.
“I didn’t need to kill it,” I said.
“You could’ve started an avalanche,” he said. “Following orders means following orders.”
My private comm with Juliana opened. “Avery, was that explosion you?”
My eyes widened. “You’re alive!”
“Barely,” she said.
I clicked on the locate tab. Her icon indicated that I was practically next to her. I leapt from the basket and ran to the transport as I called up the interface to open the door.
<
“Dr. Spencer, open this door!”
“I’m sorry, Avery. I told you she wasn’t going to make it,” he replied.
Juliana’s voice trilled in my ear. “Avery?”
“Hold one, Juliana,” I said to her. I switched back to the doctor. “Open the door now, Dr. Spencer!”
“Sorry,” he said. “I know this is difficult.”
I marched back to the basket. “Open the door.”
“It’s not on mission.”
“I don’t give a shit about your mission parameters. That’s my partner in there.”
“She’s already dead.”
Spencer was still in the basket. I stepped across the edge of the ice, into the basket, and faced him. “Open the door.”
“Private Avery, you’re under my command. We’re not going to jeopardize our mission. You will follow orders, and you’ll do it immediately. Now, get me off this basket and help me across the gap.”
I picked him up and dangled him over the precipice. “Open the door,” I repeated.
“You’ll be court-martialed. Now put me down. That’s a direct order.”
“What do I care about a court-martial? I’m already dead.”
“Think of your family, Avery. You can go into the history books as a hero…or a villain.”
“I’m going into the history books as a soldier who didn’t abandon his partner. Open the door.”
“I’m sorry.”
He began speaking on a different comm. I could see his lips moving, so I turned on my external ears and heard the tail end of an authorization sequence.
“What have you done?” I demanded.
“The heli-jet will be here in four minutes,” he said.
“What the hell have you done? What did you just authorize?” I shook him violently.
“We’re getting on our ride. I’m sorry about your partner.”
<
“You evil bastard…”
“Avery, let me go. This will change nothing.”
I flipped him upside down, gripped his ankles, and shook him over the abyss. “If she dies, you die next.”
“You’re being insubordinate.”
“I’m being a good partner. Like I was trained to do.”
“You were trained to follow orders.”
<
~~~
All these years later, I can’t say with certainty whether or not I intended to drop him.
But I did.
I released my hold on his legs, leapt from the basket, and rushed to the transport.
I pressed the muzzle of the Gauss rifle against the door and fired continuously until the rounds and heat melted the locking mechanism, and I was able to force the door open. I grabbed Juliana’s armored boots, pulled her out, and ran with her to put as much distance as possible between us and the vehicle. Seconds later, the transport blossomed in a flash of heat. My DS flashed bright w
hite as I looked back, and then it adjusted and I watched molten metal sizzle through the ice in a cloud of steam.
“Juliana?”
She didn’t answer. I logged into her system. She was in shock, but alive.
My system notified me that a heli-jet was overhead.
I tried to hail it but received no reply.
I opened a scan program and waited to see if I got lucky.
Nothing.
I lit a flare.
<
I accepted and spoke. “I need a medivac, now!”
“Where’s Dr. Spencer?” a voice asked.
“He’s dead. Send down a basket. My partner is hurt.”
“Hold one. And put out that goddamn flare.”
I crushed it and waited.
A minute passed. “She’s really hurt. Can we pick up the pace?” I asked.
“Keep this line clear, soldier.”
The heli-jet moved. A few seconds later, its icon disappeared from my display screen. I was isolated between two massive walls of ice with no way to see what was going on. I waited. Ten minutes passed.
<
The Ted fighter was off my system a fraction of a second later, but another appeared, and then another. I counted twenty-two fighters flying over me in formation. No friendly craft reappeared. I waited.
The irony of Spencer’s actions hit me. If I’d activated the transport, we’d all be dead. His attempt to kill Juliana had saved us from being discovered. But with a squadron of KAFs on deck, I suspected our rescue boat had been destroyed.
I waited another twenty minutes.
<
A system message cautioned me that Juliana’s blood pressure was dangerously low, her temperature dangerously high, and that she needed immediate help. It displayed a long list of medical issues that I couldn’t pronounce, but the gist of it was that she needed out of the suit.
I coupled her to my armor and walked to the edge of the ice.
With a simple hack, I opened her jump sequence protocol and set her emergency chute to deploy in three seconds.
I counted one one thousand and leapt into the dark.
I fired my backup a second after hers.
The risk of entanglement was high, as was the possibility of smashing into the ice walls or tumbling out of control or landing too hard. Our free fall slowed to a rapid but not life-threatening speed, and we only bounced off the walls a few times as we sank into the depths.
