Lacuna: The Ashes of Humanity

by Adams, David

  Her conscience would have to wait.

  "Captain!" Jiang's voice shook Liao from her contemplation. "The Toralii are firing near us!"

  "Evasive manoeuvres." What else could she do? The ship lurched, and she grabbed her console to keep her feet steady.

  "Already on it, Captain. Raising the bow to minimise damage."

  The monitors connected to external camera flooded white. A faint shudder ran through the ship from stem to stern.

  "Near miss, Captain. They weren't firing at us, though, simply completing their ground bombardment."

  "Then let's get the fuck out of their way."

  Jiang tapped her console. "Captain, Broadswords are docking."

  "Good." Liao nodded in approval. "Get them aboard as soon as you can."

  Hsin, their communications officer, spoke up. "Captain, the Broadsword Farsight reports that its reactionless drive is suffering a malfunction. They have to abort their docking and return to land on the surface."

  She felt as though her stomach should have tied in a knot. This should have been a big issue; she should have felt guilt. Anger. Helplessness.

  She felt nothing. "We can't go back for them," Liao said. "Tell them that. Push their engines; on my authority, jettison ammunition and fuel stores. Hell, throw the seats overboard. Just get them onboard the Beijing."

  "Impossible, Captain. They can't break atmosphere."

  "We can't go back for them," Liao repeated.

  "They know, Captain. They plan on ditching in the ocean. Major Berkoff wishes us Godspeed."

  Liao turned back to her console, gripping it with the tips of her fingers. "God's taken the day off, Lieutenant. Send the following: Communication received. Good hunting." She released the console and drummed her fingers on the plastic. "Mr. Hsin, patch me through to the Archangel."

  Their search and rescue Broadsword, infamous for taking on suicidal odds and returning alive. She slipped on her short-range communication headset.

  "This is Lieutenant First Class Medola. Ah, I love hearing your voice, Captain. You always give us the best jobs."

  Liao touched the talk key. "Not a hint of sarcasm. Amazing. You realise I'm going to kill you all one day, right?"

  "Captain, the world's ending before our eyes. That means no more coffee. Life's already lost all meaning for me."

  "Right, well, you're not wrong; I've got a job for you. The Broadsword Farsight went down in the Atlantic Ocean, full of survivors and a crew we're going to need in the coming days. I need options for retrieving a Broadsword crew with reduced reactionless drive capability and survivors, in fifteen minutes or less, that doesn't involve returning the Beijing to the surface. Go."

  "Standby while we unload our own survivors and I think about it. A'right, everyone out! Sergeant, get these people out of here!"

  Liao kept the line open. The brown dust on the ship's external camera monitors gave way to the faintest layer of blue skies, then open space.

  "Captain, it's Medola. Spoke to the Farsight commander. Got a plan for you."

  "Go."

  "The Farsight is dumping their fuel and ammo before they ditch. We're having the flight crew unload what they can from the Archangel, and the same on the Switchblade. We don't have the time to transfer the crew, so we're going to have to get a bit crazy. The plan is this. Industrial strength cables, the stuff they use to restrain Broadswords on the flight deck. We're going to fly down, strap the Farsight to both the Archangel and the Switchblade, then haul arse to the jump point. Request authorisation to make magic, Captain."

  It sounded impossible, but if anyone knew the structural limits of a Broadsword and what could be accomplished with a bit of luck and a lot of guts, it was the Archangel crew.

  "Haul arse on my authority, Lieutenant Medola. Beijing actual out."

  Liao closed the channel then reopened it almost immediately. "Actually, Lieutenant, after your thrilling heroics with the Switchblade last time, why haven't you made Captain?"

  "Slept with Major Aharoni, sir. It'd be a conflict of interest if he promoted me after that. Mmm—can't say he was worth it."

  Rowe, whom Liao knew to be dating Alex "Jazz" Aharoni at one point, shot the radio a filthy look and muttered something Liao was glad she couldn't hear.

  "Well, fortunately you're not sleeping with me, Captain Medola. Bring my people back, and I'll make it official. Beijing out, for real this time."

  She took off her headset. It was time to give Summer something to think about other than her ex. "Rowe, status report on the jump drive."

  "Well, it's not quite as bad as we thought, Captain. There are fractures all around the surface, but I had engineering crews spot-weld what they could find. It's rough work, performed under less than ideal conditions with significant time pressure and improper tools, but it should get us through another handful of jumps as long as we don't have to emergency jump again. The whole outer shell will need to be replaced, though."

  She mulled over this prospect as the ship sailed towards the jump point. The damage to her ship was distant to her and far less significant than she knew, on an intellectual level, it should have been. "How long will that take, assuming we don't have access to the proper manufacturing process or anything?"

  "Outside of Lunar space dock? Nine months. Best case scenario. Probably more."

  Not a great scenario, either. "We'll try to avoid emergency jumps then." She turned to Dao. "How long till the jump point, Lieutenant?"

  "Fifteen minutes, Captain."

  Fifteen minutes would pass in the blink of an eye. Liao studied the monitors before her. "And the Toralii are still ignoring us?"

  "For the most part, Captain. In fact, they appear to be pulling away from Earth."

  "Guess they got their fill of murdering civilians for today. Estimate on the casualties on the surface?"

  Nobody spoke up. Nobody had any kind of estimates, and their guesses were as good as hers were. "That bad, huh?"

  "Pretty much," said Rowe.

  "Captain," said Jiang, "report from the Archangel. They're attaching the retrieval cable to the Farsight now."

  "Good. Keep me posted as to their progress."

  Iraj tapped his console. "Captain, the Madrid is holding at the jump point until we're ready to jump with them. We're beginning to decelerate to pull alongside them."

  "Acknowledged, Commander. Status on the Washington?"

  "Long gone, Captain. They jumped while we were on the surface."

  "Anderson's a smart man."

  "Captain," said Hsin, his tone conveying distress, "receiving a long-range signal from the Archangel. They report that they attempted to lift the Farsight out of the ocean but the cable snapped. It might have been damaged during atmospheric re-entry. They request permission to return for another two so they can tie them together."

  A glance at the navigation monitor on her command console gave her the answer she knew was true. "Denied. Have the Switchblade and Archangel evacuate as many survivors as they can between them and flood the Farsight. Send it to the bottom of the ocean so the Toralii can't recover it."

  Not that they would care about Human technology, but protocol was protocol, and it felt good to have some clear direction to follow.

  Hsin relayed the message. Liao could hear him arguing with Medola in the background. She gritted her teeth.

  "Mr. Hsin? Instruct the Archangel that this order comes directly from me. I expect it to be obeyed immediately."

  "Aye aye, Captain."

  They had lost too many lives today. As grave as the loss of a Broadsword was, Human beings were more important. The survivors aboard the bomber were more important than the metal. They could always make more ships.

  Or could they? Space or fire filled every one of the monitors around her. Every industry on the planet had been annihilated. Could they really make more ships?

  She wouldn't allow herself to go down that line of thought. People had to come first.

  "The Toralii are coming about," s
aid Ling, jabbing a finger at his monitor for emphasis. "Captain, the strike fleet is turning back to Earth."

  Liao frowned. "Why?"

  "It's hard to tell at this stage, but they appear to be making for the Farsight splashdown point. They're launching strike fighters."

  She had no idea why the Toralii would let so many Humans escape but then take particular interest in a single ship. The aliens' motivations were opaque to her. It might be a slight upon their honour to allow an armed vessel to travel through space they considered "theirs", or perhaps they were simply concerned about counterattacks, or any number of what-ifs that circled her brain, all largely unimportant. The reasons didn't matter.

  "How long until the worldshatter devices are within firing range of the Farsight?"

  "Five minutes," said Jiang. "Less. They didn't move far."

  "Captain," said Dao, "we have arrived at the Earth-Moon L1 point. We are in formation with the Madrid. They're waiting for us to jump."

  They should be long gone from this place like the Washington, but the Switchblade and Archangel were still out there. She reached for her long-range communications headset.

  "Beijing actual to Broadsword Archangel, Broadsword Switchblade. Report status."

  Medola's voice, barely audible over the howl of wind and the crashing of the roiling ocean, filled her headset. The whole craft must be open. "Captain! We've evacuated some of the Farsight, but they've got a lot of wounded. Some are pinned in the lower decks."

  "How long?"

  "Fifteen minutes, Captain. Maybe twenty."

  Command was about making hard decisions. The thought didn't make things easier, but it made things simpler.

  "Archangel, the Toralii have made you. They're coming to your location. End the operation and withdraw with the Switchblade. Get out of the atmosphere and head out to the L4 point; rendezvous with us at Velsharn when you're free."

  "Negative, Captain, we need more time. We've picked up less than half the survivors."

  "And that's all you're going to get. I'm giving you a direct order to head to the L4 Lagrange point and jump, effective immediately."

  No response.

  It was a serious breach of protocol, ignoring a direct order. There would be hell to pay for this, but for now, the Broadswords had to save themselves. Liao tried again, her tone softened slightly. "If you stay, you'll die, and so will all the people you've saved so far. We're going to need them in the coming weeks, Lieutenant."

  Nothing still, and then Medola's voice returned, minus the howling wind. "Copy that, Captain. Archangel disengaging."

  "Very good. Beijing out."

  Liao took off the headset and then reached into her breast pocket for the key to the jump drive. "This better work."

  Rowe shrugged helplessly. "Velsharn locked in, Captain. If I screw up, well, at least we'll all die quicker than the poor bastards down there did."

  "Wait," said Hsin at Communications. "Captain, we're receiving a communication from the Toralii Alliance vessel Seth'arak."

  Avaran. Liao could barely stand to talk to him, let alone be civil. She reluctantly placed the long ranged headset over her head.

  "This is Beijing actual."

  The voice filled her ears, so full of pride and smug accomplishment she wanted to retch. ["How pleasant it is to see you again, Commander Liao."]

  "You're a gutless bastard, Avaran. You murdered billions of people today. Innocent men and women. Children." Her tone turned acidic and emotion, anger, surged in her for the first time. "Saara tells me that Toralii believe children to be the greatest treasure anyone can have. My daughter was on that planet." The force of remaining calm almost broke her. "She was a year old. One. An infant. How can you do this? How can you murder innocent people? Children?"

  ["Not our children,"] said Avaran. ["The children of an impetuous, reckless race who misuse universe-destroying power, who gallivant around the galaxy heedless of the risks they take for all of us. I did not murder Human children, Captain Liao, Slayer of Varsian the Immortal, I saved them. The children of the Toralii. The Telvan. The Kel-Voran and the Iilan and all the other living races. Your anger is misplaced; you and your avarice killed your children. I saved the ones who were left."]

  "We will never forgive you." It was a simple statement of undeniable fact, spoken for all of them. "We will never forgive you for this, Warbringer Avaran, and as long as I live, you're going to pay for what you did today."

  ["No,"] he said, ["I will not. Run where you will, Commander Liao. Our ships will find the rest of you, and we will destroy your species."]

  She could stand to hear no more and cut the connection. She tore the headset off her head and flung it across the room.

  Silence reigned for a time and then—somehow—Liao collected herself. The anger faded and the emotionless robot returned.

  "Mr. Iraj."

  "Yes, Captain?"

  "Jump the ship."

  Iraj moved to the jump console, and she followed suit, the pair of them sliding their keys in. Liao raised her head to the monitor that showed Earth—a dark, roiling ball that seemed so unrecognisable to her now, consumed by fire and smoke—and took a last look at her homeworld as she turned the key.

  CHAPTER II

  Better Days

  *****

  L1 Lagrange point

  Planet Velsharn

  Velsharn system

  LIAO GENUINELY THOUGHT THE SHIP was going to break up this time. His metal hull strained and twisted, protesting the treatment with a loud, profound groan that echoed through every bulkhead, every deck-plate of the entire ship.

  Eventually it settled, taking far too long to do so for Liao's liking. In the commander's console, the floating blue ball of Velsharn floated in space, as beautiful and serene as the last time she saw it, a stark contrast to the Earth they had just left.

  The ship began to move, clearing the jump point for the Broadswords behind them.

  "Report," she said, reaching up to wipe sweat from her forehead.

  "Jump successful," said Rowe, "more or less. But Captain, I'm serious—really, really serious—we shouldn't try jumping again so soon. I mean, not now, not for a long time. The jump drive's fracturing deeper into its core. If we push it, it'll break for good, and we simply will not have the capacity to fix it."

  Rowe was prone to hyperbole and exaggeration, but this time Liao could tell she was serious. "Noted," she said, staring at the planet. "We're not going anywhere. Dao, clear the jump point. Move us to within ten minutes of entry, though, in case we need to move and move fast."

  "Aye aye, ma'am."

  "Mr. Ling," said Iraj, "keep a watch for any further contacts, especially the Archangel."

  "Aye, sir. So far scope is clean, no hostile vessels."

  "Did the Washington and the Madrid make it?"

  "Yes, Captain. They're holding just outside the jump point."

  That was a relief, but they had other issues to deal with, too. James jumped into her mind. His ship would be at the Telvan world, Belthas IV. "Launch a Broadsword," said Liao to Jiang, "and deliver a message to the Belthas system."

  "Yes, Captain." Jiang's round face was pulled tight, her teeth clenched with a mixture of fear and anger. In many ways, her face mimicked that of the dragon tattoo on her arm. Liao had seen it after Jiang was injured. "What message?"

  Liao did not know precisely how to put into words what had happened. She would be dispatching a whole crew with as much time to put in as much information as she could, but she couldn't begin to decide what to tell them.

  So, as all good captains did, she delegated. "Tell the allied ships there what's happened to Earth. Relay that Velsharn is our rendezvous point, and tell them to make their way here when their business is complete. Give them as much information as you can, and request aid from the Telvan. It looks like they'll be paying back their debt a bit sooner than they anticipated."

  "Very good, Captain. Should I add anything else?"

  "Tell them not to hu
rry. There's nothing we can do for Earth, and if the Toralii Alliance find us and decide that they're not done killing today, we don't want to have everyone here when they show up."

  Jiang acknowledged her order and went to work. The internal communications link lit up.

  "Captain," came Lieutenant Cheung's voice, an edge of urgency to her tone. In the background, the murmur of voices filtered in like static. Angry voices. "We have a ship full of people who are hot, panicked, and thirsty. There are insufficient toilet facilities and no water. What are the provisions for catering for them?"

  "Tell them to stand by," she said. "We're looking at options to resettle them now."

  "That's ill advised, Captain. These people can't see what you see. If we don't give them some kind of concrete answers about their future and soon, we're going to have a riot on our hands. That is not something we want to deal with."

  She appreciated the urgency of the situation, but acting unilaterally was ill advised. The Washington would be in a similar situation. They, too, would want to unload their passengers.

  But she had to do something.

  "Cheung, let me talk to them. Hsin, patch me into the other ships, the Broadswords too. Put it out on every frequency."

  She gave Cheung and Hsin time then spoke. The words felt as though they were coming from someone else's lips.

  "Survivors of Earth, this is Captain Melissa Liao. We have escaped, and I ask for your calm, understanding, and cooperation in the days to come. Please be assured that the crew of the Pillars and I will do all we can for you, but I also ask that you follow any orders from the crew. Survival must come first. We are currently orbiting a planet that may suit as a home, albeit temporary. It's warm, temperate for the most part, and capable of sustaining Human life. Lots of oceans. We are, however, liaising with the other ships who have escaped—and I stress to you that other ships have escaped—and that we're going to begin resettlement as soon as possible. We're looking to start the disembarkation process shortly. I will update you on the situation when I can. Captain Liao out."

  "Very good, Captain," said Cheung. "I'll pass a recording around to the other sections." She cut the link.