Altis-5: Book #2 of the Sleeper Series

by J. Alexander Black

  “The Krammar against the Orion was successful; Durack has received his promotion and as his

  Commander you are responsible for his outstanding action. As it happens we seem to have a recent opening for a Force Commander.”

  Carkon almost collapsed with relief as the guards attached Fosch’s insignia to his epaulets. The Lord Commander dropped his smile and looked at Carkon with respect.

  “Force Commander Carkon, I have been informed of your son, Dresden’s sacrifice, you must be very proud of him. I have personally approved the award of the Order of Kaedia.”

  As the guards finished attaching the insignia on Carkon’s epaulets the hard expression returned.

  “Take your position with the others.” There was a pause while he waited until Carkon fell in line, then addressed them all. “The Krammar is fulfilled. We will take our revenge on the Planet Erth. Force Commander Carkon, you have that honor. You are all dismissed.”

  The Commanders replaced their caps, saluted, and departed. When the doors closed behind the departing officers he restored the three-dimensional reflection. With the Galaxy revolving around him he contemplated the immensity of the Kaedian Empire. With a gesture, the image expanded to include the entire Galaxy. With the modern technology, he could now see the entire Galaxy, he watched as the image separated. The Kaedian method of colonization was simple; identify suitable defenseless planets and remove all traces of the indigenous population if any by force. This system had worked for thousands of years but now…

  For a long time, he had been watching the Kaedian Empire and the Hevinian Commonwealth expanding their borders and getting closer and closer. It would not be long now until the inevitable happened and the two great civilizations would clash. He moved outreached arms toward each other and the image zoomed in. As the borders rushed toward him only one small star with its offspring planets circling in their eternal revolutions remained. There is where the great fleets would meet and decide the fate of the Galaxy in one great battle. The system known as Sol would be erased in the conflagration. The fact that this system held the Planet Erth in its gravitational embrace was icing on the cake. The defeat of the Kaedian forces there had stripped away some of the aura of invincibility enjoyed by him and his ancestral line. The effect on his people was reflected in the almost palpable silence as the simultaneous mourning of thousands of sons and daughters seemed to reach every corner of the Empire. He needed one last great victory to regain the confidence of the masses and ensure the succession of his line.

  He knew he was dying; the pains in his chest were becoming more painful and more frequent. His physicians told him that his body would not accept a fourth heart transplant. Even the vessels providing the life-giving blood to his heart had already been replaced. It was time to name and formally acknowledge his son Carl as his heir. With his older brothers and sister killed in combat, he was the sole heir, and as such was far too valuable to be with the fleet. It was time to recall Carl from active service. With a wave of his hand, he dismissed the image surrounding him. He remembered the presence of his Chancellor and turned to

  acknowledge him.

  “Chancellor! We must have Carl recalled at once.”

  Chancellor Ayor Bayon approached his head low, staring at the onyx floor. He was dreading delivering the news he had just received that Carl, the last and youngest son, was part of the ground attack force left behind on Kryton, the planet called Altis-5 by the Erthers. And he was presumed dead.

  “My Lord, it is my sad duty to bring you news of your son Carl. He was listed as missing in the ground action on Kryton.”

  Jank was stunned. “What are you talking about? That is not possible. He was assigned as an Assistant Administrative Officer to a reserve support detachment. What the blazes was he doing in an active combat unit?”

  “The unit was activated to support the occupation of Kryton. It was supposed to be a straightforward occupation to establish a garrison and a colony there. Our information was the planet was unoccupied except for our survey team”

  “So?”

  “When Durack discovered the Orion in orbit he altered his plans to meet the priority of the Krammar. According to his report, the Commander of the ground forces ignored his order to abandon the planet and attacked a well-defended position with no air cover. After Carkon’s son fearlessly executed his orders and rammed his ship into the Orion, Durack was set upon by a vastly superior force leaving him no choice but to abandon the already decimated ground forces in order to save the squadron. He could not have known that your son was even in that quadrant.”

  He stared at his Chancellor not believing what he’d heard. The stress rose as he realized the possibility that a dynasty thousands of years old was about to end. His son Carl had both physical and mental strength and would have made a strong leader but if he was dead then the next in line for the Lord Commander of the Kaedian Empire would pass to his much younger cousin, a weak man who could not control his mate, let alone control an Empire. He knew there were men positioning themselves, opportunists ready to pounce if anything changed in the line of succession as soon as he passed. Millions of Kaedians would be killed in the resulting internal war from which the Empire might never recover. Perhaps one of them had arranged for his son to be in harm’s way. The pain surge through his chest with more intensity than ever before. It was with difficulty that he fought off a wave of nausea and dizziness. he felt as though he was going to pass out.

  “Summon my physicians immediately and get Carkon back in here.”

  The Chancellor gestured and a couch rose out of the floor on to which the ailing Lord Commander sank into thankfully.

  Jandar Veston, an administrative aid to the Force Commanders Council, finished preparing the video consoles in the conference room. Jandar had to work fast as they would expect everything to be ready when they arrived. The Chancellor had informed the administration staff that the next task would be the invasion of Erth. It was a formality; everyone had known the Lord Commander would not allow that planet to go unpunished. Jandar made sure all the displays were functioning correctly. Once that was done he looked around to make sure he was alone. He made sure that the last display he checked was the one console that was not in view of the video monitors. He quickly entered a private code and initiated a connection to the Battle Cruiser Zargon, Flagship of the newly promoted Senior Fleet Commander Durack. The fleet had been exercising in the Regulas system working the kinks out of the new tactics devised by his second in command, Tactician Commander Lutto. Jandar swiped a button on his display console and immediately a face appeared. The code opened a communication to one particular Communications Technician aboard the Zargon and the response was immediate.

  “Greetings, Jandar.”

  “Greetings, Beroth. There will be a planning session when the Force Commanders return. I have been informed that Senior Fleet Commander Durack and Tactical Commander Lutto will be summoned.”

  “Thank you, Jandar. I will inform my supervisor. I’m sure the Commanders will appreciate the advanced notice.”

  Jandar broke the communication link. He had done his duty and given Beroth the time he needed. Beroth forwarded the information to his supervisor knowing he would not be able to resist the opportunity to present the information in person to Lutto. While his supervisor was busy toadying up to his superior Gravin Beroth worked quickly. Using a code provided by Jandar he opened a portal to the ship’s Central Management System. Finding the ship’s duty rosters in the Admin files he brought up the Com Tech roster and changed the name of the duty Com Tech to himself. Then he changed the date/time stamp to backdate the change. With two swipes, he accessed the primary code of the system’s communications section and dropped in a bifurcation code then backed out of the system ‘dragging brush’ behind him erasing his entry as he left. He waited for the call. It didn’t take long.

  As soon as the Force Commanders took their seats, Carkon activated his display console with his personal code and ordered t
he communication to the Zargon opened. Immediately the system detected an anomaly and reported it to the duty Com Tech at the receiving end who followed protocol and reviewed the anomaly then entered an ignore command. The system responded to the command and allowed the

  transmission to continue. As soon as the link was established the communication bifurcation code activated and began sending a real time copy of the communication to a Hevinian listening post on asteroid Q-4534678.

  Monitoring the transmission, Beroth heard Carkon say, “The orders are the complete destruction of Erth.”

  Then there was silence for a moment then, “I must attend the Lord Commander. Continue…”

  Beroth froze as his console suddenly went dark; instinctively he turned to see a Security Officer pointing a weapon at his chest. “Seize him!” Two troopers grabbed Beroth by the arms and hauled him out of his chair. One of the guards punched him in the face there was a brief flash of light followed by intense pain then nothing.

  Force Commander Carkon was admitted

  immediately, he found his Lord Commander surrounded by two physicians, somber looking men in dark robes, bent over a hovering machine. One of the men removed two tubes from his arm, stood up, and gestured to the other who pushed the machine away. He looked at his Lord Commander knowing he had not long to live.

  “We have replaced 80% of your body fluids with a hyper oxygenated serum and given you a large dose of diconderum to strengthen your heart muscles. A combination of the two treatments repeated at short intervals will keep you alive but I cannot say for how long.”

  Jank could feel his stimulated heart muscles sending the serum coursing through his body. The nausea and dizziness dissipated.

  34

  ALTIS-5

  Kristin Duvalle, age twenty-six, was one of only fifty unattached adults selected for the initial Earth colony on Altis-5. This was mostly because she was a veterinarian who specialized in large animals but also because the local Confederation Assignments Supervisor owed her money. When he saw her application, a simple stamp of approval eliminated his debt.

  Her combination homestead/clinic was on the southern outer fringes of the new colony that abutted the northwest corner of the desert. On her tenth day on Altis-5 she finished building the smallest of the three paddocks she had planned. It was time to go check out the herds of wild horses that had been reported on the other side of the desert. Two Hevinian built antigrav vehicles had been assigned to her; a large one for transporting large animals and a small single seat runabout for use on her rounds. She packed the runabout with food and extra water as she was going to travel over the dessert. Finally, she packed her vet bag.

  Heading out the door she stopped to make an entry in her clinic page on the colonial intranet closing the clinic for the day and documenting her intended route. Heading south, she passed through great forests of two-hundred-year-old oak, their great spreading branches blocking out the sun and preventing any undergrowth. It was obvious the trees had been planted with care by the Hevinian biologists. There was just enough space between them for healthy growth. Suddenly the oak vanished to be replaced by elm and beyond that expansive meadows leading down to the edge of the dessert. She stopped to admire the myriad of wild flowers growing seemingly in a natural pattern. Her runabout hovered silently while she drank some water. Movement caught the corner of her eye, she turned to see a deer come out of the elm forest about a half mile away to graze. At first there were only a few but within minutes it seemed like there were hundreds of them. She was transfixed she had never witnessed such a large herd before. Leading the way out of the forest was the alpha male; the biggest buck she had ever seen. He was a prime specimen, at least six feet at the shoulder sporting a magnificent rack. He spotted her immediately and began to move toward her evaluating the threat to his herd. She remained perfectly still. The buck watched her for several minutes then, deciding she was no threat, bellowed at her to stay away and turned back to his herd.

  Kristen realized she had stopped breathing she was so enthralled by what she was seeing. It was moments like this that created great conflict in her. She was a veterinarian but not a vegetarian. On the one hand, she could appreciate the magnificence and splendor of animals in nature, but she loved to eat meat. Being a vet meant living with the irony of spending several hours saving a cow that could end up at the slaughterhouse a week later. It is the way it is, she thought, but still…she shook her head to clear her thoughts.

  The movement was spotted by the alpha male. The herd had moved closer to Kristen and now he perceived her as a threat. He gave a great bellow put his head down and came at her. Kristen decided very wisely that it was time to move on. She engaged the drive and moved away from the herd. The buck, satisfied that he had done his duty gave a great snort and turned back to the herd, there was a female he was very interested in.

  Speeding over the dessert the vibration caused by the anti-grav engine created great disturbances in the sand. Many of the inhabitants scurried out of the way as she passed. However, a fully-grown adult male Bungarra, half buried under the sand, startled and jumped straight up colliding with the front of the vehicle. The Bungarra, an Australian sand lizard, one of many brought to Altis-5 by Hevinians a hundred years ago normally grows to four and a half feet on Earth, but because of the lower gravity and the abundance of food they now averaged over twelve feet in length and weighed as much as two hundred and fifty pounds. The shock of the impact tossed the vehicle in the air and sent Kristin flying off the open vehicle into the sand; her head hit a smooth round rock knocking her out cold.

  She awoke several hours later. Feeling groggy, she found her backpack nearby and drank most of the water left in the small bottle. She checked the wrecked vehicle’s communicator but it also was totally destroyed. She had studied the maps of the area before setting out and had followed her progress carefully enroute so she knew she was less than ten miles from the edge of the desert. That’s about a three-hour hike, she thought, piece of cake. She looked back at the disappearing trail left by her vehicle. She gathered her pack and set off in the opposite direction. She fixed a large distant dune in her sights that would do for a marker until dark by then she should be out of the desert if not then she would find a star to guide her. She had never walked on soft shifting sand before; every step took three times the energy of walking on a solid surface. By the time Altis had risen once more she was still in the desert and she was exhausted. She sat and rested. She had consumed the last of the water two hours ago and now the thought of having to continue in the scorching desert heat filled her with fear. Without water, I don’t stand a chance, she thought.

  She stood up and started walking, and suddenly she had no idea which direction to go. The star that had guided her throughout the night had disappeared with the dawn and she had failed to find a landmark before she sat down. She headed out but within an hour she knew she was totally lost. She decided to rest until dark then if she could find her star she would at least know she wasn’t walking in circles. She pulled out a light jacket from her pack it would provide enough shade to keep her face from burning and lay down to wait. Within minutes she was asleep and the desert wind had blown away the flimsy jacket.

  Carl Jank looked at his reflection in the pool of water inside his cave. He no longer resembled the clean cut Kaedian Officer he had once been. His normally jetblack hair and beard, bleached by constant exposure to the elements was long and unkempt. His face was lean and sun burned. As an Admin Officer in a reserve unit he spent most of his time inside and exercised only when necessary. Months of living off the land in survival mode had given him a lean and strong body. As far as he knew he was the only survivor of the failed Kaedian assault on the Erthers compound. After months of rough living his combat fatigues barely resembled a military uniform anymore. Wearing them day after day, the black material had been bleached by the sun to a light grey and they were beginning to wear out. He had fashioned a vest from animal skin and was working on a kilt
, pants being beyond his capability. He was surviving; in fact, he was surviving well. After all his time of traveling he found the cave at the edge of a vast ocean. He had made a passable bed and a chair out of stretched animal hides and tree limbs. He had plenty of water and several racks of meat were hung high up to dry. Firewood was in abundance and there were plenty of root vegetables and fruit trees in the area to supplement his diet. He gave grudging thanks to the careful preparations made by the Hevinians to prepare this planet for colonization.

  All in all, he felt good about himself. However, with the basic essentials for survival; water, food, shelter and clothing available he now faced his greatest challenge, loneliness. He had been raised in a large family; he was the youngest with three brothers and a sister. All of his life he’d been surrounded by other people and now he was completely alone. He could feel depression creeping up on him like a fog rolling in off the ocean. He shook it off and decided to head out, activity was the answer. He had been successful in hunting the southern plains, but today he intended to challenge himself and go north over the top of the cliffs and explore the other side. Clouds had covered this part of the continent for the past four days but today was bright, sunny and warm. He packed food and water for three days onto his tow, even though he was only planning on being away for half a day he had learned that survival depended on being prepared. He had contemplated hiking up the cliffs but it would be a long haul on foot so he decided it would be quicker to take the transport and go south first, turn inland and then head north ascending up the gentler slope to reach the top. As he climbed the few trees disappeared leaving only grassland covering the tops of the cliffs the chalk layers under the topsoil being unable to support the root systems necessary to sustain trees. As he crested the tallest cliff he looked east out to sea. He could see for miles but there was nothing disturbing the surface. He was hoping to see some more of the great black and white creatures that hunted the shore line but today there was nothing. Traveling north he stopped at the edge of the dessert, the mile-wide strip of vegetation separated the ocean cliffs and the desert behind him. In front of him the sand dunes stretched into infinity. Not much point in continuing, there will be nothing worth hunting out there, he thought. He adjusted the height of the vehicle and sat for a while looking down from his lofty position fascinated by the changing shape of the dunes. As the wind moved the sand and the clouds blew by overhead blocking the sun intermittently the dunes seemed to undulate constantly moving in and out of shadow and light. But there was one shadow that was not moving. He could see a dark shape on one of the dunes he squinted to get the shape into focus but it was too far away. He pulled out his direculars and focused. It was a body, a human body lying half buried on top of the dune. He shifted from hover and accelerated in the direction of the body. It took mere seconds to reach the spot. A quick exam revealed that she was alive; unconscious, and barely breathing, but still alive. Her face was burned and her lips were cracked. She had obviously been out here for a while. He lifted her head carefully and poured a little water on her lips. She coughed back most of the water. He gave her a little more; just enough to wet the lips. He knew not to give too much just a little at a time until she began to rehydrate. After a few moments, she began to stir, attempted to lift her head then passed out again. He gently lifted her into his transport and headed back to his cave.