by Richard Fox
The old man walked right in front of Hale, the floor creaks lessening as he neared the invisible Marine. He frowned as the sound from the floor changed unexpectedly.
“Odd.” Idadu shifted his weight from foot to foot and the floor groaned in response. Hale raised an open hand slowly, ready to grab the old man by the mouth if he stumbled into him.
“Eh, no matter.” Idadu tottered over to a wooden box and opened a drawer. He removed three tightly wrapped silver pouches the size of a large pill and held them up in the candlelight. “Now, this part of your path has been kept secret since our beginning on Nibiru. This gift from our Lord will calm your mind, ease any anxiety you may have.”
Idadu ripped the corner away from a pouch and tapped a pale-white pill into his deeply lined palm.
“Lilith? You first.” He grasped the pill between two fingers and reached toward her.
Hale grabbed Idadu by the wrist and dropped his cloak.
“Mentiq preserve us!” Idadu said. He looked at Hale with wide eyes, his jaw slack. “Brother kadanu, what are you doing here?”
The two elderly anointed looked at each other. “Is this part of the ceremony?” the old man asked.
“I’m not your kadanu.” Hale pointed a finger at Idadu. “I need you to stay quiet and listen to me.”
Steuben de-cloaked and put a weighty hand on the elderly couple’s shoulders.
“Shh,” the Karigole said.
“They found me in the forest, Idadu. They claim they’re from Earth. Tell me this is some sort of test of our faith, please,” Lilith said.
“I don’t—I…Earth?” Idadu shook his head from side to side. “No, that’s impossible. Mentiq saved only us so we could grow closer to perfection. Then he promised to call us to his side and live with him in heaven forever.”
Hale let Idadu go.
“This is not going to be easy for you to hear.” Hale removed his helmet. “Earth survives. Whatever your ancestors told you was a lie. Here. We made this for you to watch.” Hale angled his forearm computer to point between the Akkadians and tapped a file.
A holo projection filled the air: Earth, spinning in the void, great swaths of megacities gleaming in the night. The video cut to human cities bustling with energy and commerce. Then an edited version of the video with Commander Albrecht, the former commander of the Breitenfeld’s air wing who was left behind when the ship and the rest of the Saturn colony fleet stepped out of time, narrating Earth’s scouring by the Xaros. Then images of Phoenix being rebuilt and footage of the Toth attack on Hawaii and a wrecked overlord tank on display in the foyer of Euskal Tower. The holo ended.
The four looked at Hale, confused.
“What was that at the end? The broken glass?” Lilith asked.
“You don’t know what the Toth overlords look like?” Hale asked.
Their blank expressions gave him the answer.
“The Toth leaders, and Mentiq, survive by consuming the neural energy of sentient beings, just like us,” Hale said.
“Ridiculous. Absolutely ridiculous,” the old woman said.
“I have another video.” Hale swiped through the files on his gauntlet and hesitated before opening another file. “My armor captured this while I was a Toth prisoner aboard one of their ships. This will be difficult to watch.” He double-tapped the screen.
A hologram of Kren standing next to a pilot from the Breitenfeld began. Demands went back and forth between Kren and Hale as the overlord demanded more information about the proccies, information Hale didn’t have to give.
The four civilians went deadly pale as Kren murdered the first pilot. The elderly couple clutched at each other as Kren consumed the second pilot, the woman’s head buried in the man’s chest. Idadu’s shoulders drooped. He looked so surprised that Hale could have tipped him over with the tip of his finger.
“That’s…what was that?” Lilith asked.
“Toth. Mentiq’s species,” Hale said.
“No.” Idadu pointed at the painting. “That is what he looks like. He is just like us, but perfect in every way.”
“I’ve seen them up close and personal. Trust me on this,” Hale said. “The warriors you saw aren’t the worst kinds of Toth.”
Steuben took his helmet off and looked at Idadu.
“You know my kind?” he asked.
“You’re Karigole. How did you get off your island? You’ve been under sanction since I was a boy for participating in the Lan’Xi heresy. I remember the day one of you came to us, making ridiculous claims about how we’re nothing but fodder for Mentiq. The kadanu captured him and…” Idadu brought his hand to his mouth. “They said he was lying about everything. A test of our faith.”
“The Toth overlords consume the minds of sentient species,” Steuben said. “You and your people have been born and raised for this specific purpose, as food.”
“No!” Idadu whirled around, his gaze darting from the images of those who’d made the journey to Mentiq’s city. “All of them? Every one of us who’ve ever…ever…” His eyes rolled into the back of his head and he collapsed to the ground.
“Damn. Yarrow, get in here,” Hale said. He pressed a thumb to Idadu’s throat and found a pulse.
“I think,” Lilith swallowed hard, “I’m going to—”
A small waste bin flew through the air and stopped beneath her face. She wretched into the bucket. Standish, who’d grabbed the bin, materialized.
“They’re taking this really well,” Standish said. “Much better than I would have.”
Lilith grabbed the bottom of the bin and vomited again.
“There you go, sweetie.” Standish gave her a pat on the head. “Don’t worry. I still think you’re hot.”
The door to the building opened and shut, and Yarrow dropped his cloak.
“Get the elder back on his feet,” Hale said to the medic. He turned his attention to the three villagers. “Tell me, what’s supposed to happen next?”
“Idadu takes us to the kadanu before dawn, at the landing pad,” the old man said.
“How many of these kadanu are there? Are they armed? How big is their ship?”
“The area is forbidden.” Lilith wiped a sleeve across her mouth. “No one’s ever seen what happens when the anointed leave and no one has ever come back. Not once in seven hundred years since this village began.”
“Ugh,” Idadu said as Yarrow sat him up. Yarrow snapped a small capsule and waved it under the old man’s nose. His face twisted with disgust and his eyes snapped open. “You’re all still here,” he groaned.
“What’s supposed to happen next? Tell me about the shuttle,” Hale said to the elder.
“They take the pill and I guide them to where the shuttle will take them away,” he said. “Then I spend the night patrolling the village, making sure everyone stays in their homes so they don’t disturb the anointed.”
Yarrow picked up a pill from the floor and placed it into a small chamber on his gauntlet. Readouts came up on his forearm screen a moment later.
“This would be one hell of a party drug back on Earth, sir. Muscle relaxants, sedative effects…it would keep them nice and pliant for when the Toth show up to get them,” Yarrow said.
“Back on the ranch, we’d never slaughter an upset cow,” Standish said. “All that adrenaline would ruin the taste of the meat.”
“This is all a pack of lies,” the old woman said. “I’ve been ready for my ascension for sixty years and I’m not going to let you take this from me. We are going to the temple, aren’t we, Idadu?”
“Wait, wait.” Hale raised a hand. “I can save you all. I have a ship in orbit that can bring you all back to Earth, but first I need to get to Mentiq’s city and…deal with him.”
“Heresy!” She pointed a knobby finger at Hale. “I will denounce you to the next true kadanu I see. My reward for just service to our lord will be more than I can imagine once Mentiq brings me to heaven.”
Steuben picked up a wrapped pill and tore the p
ack open. He shoved the pill into the old woman’s mouth and held her jaw shut. She struggled briefly, then calmed down. Steuben snapped his face toward the old man.
“Will you be a problem?”
The old man shook his head so fast his double chins quivered.
The woman rolled forward and lay on the floor, drool seeping out of the corner of her mouth.
“Enzuna, this is wonderful,” she slurred. “I feel so close to our Lord Menflish…”
“She’ll be like that for hours,” Idadu said.
“Sir, you’ve got one coming in fast to your location,” Bailey said.
Hale heard shouts from beyond the walls.
“I thought everyone was supposed to stay in their homes,” Hale said to Idadu.
“They are!” Idadu got to his feet and took a few wobbly steps toward the door.
“Cloaks on,” Hale hissed. He slapped his helmet onto his head and thumbed the activation switch. An error icon popped onto his visor; the batteries were dead. He tried to turn it on again and got the same results.
The door to the meditation room burst open, and a young boy fell into the room.
“Lilly!” He scrambled toward the young woman and wrapped his arms around her. “Don’t go yet! Our mommy and daddy are gone. Ask the kadanu to let you stay!” The child did a double take when he saw Hale standing in front of the portrait.
“She can stay a bit longer, can’t she? At least until I receive my calling.” He looked at Hale with tear-filled eyes.
“Yeshua!” came from outside. Three more villagers ran into the room. They went to their knees once they saw Hale.
“We’re so sorry, kadanu,” a middle-aged man said. “We tried to stop him but he slipped out of the house. Please forgive him. He’s just a boy. Don’t take him away so soon.”
Hale looked at Idadu.
“Wonderful news, everyone!” Idadu clapped his hands together. “Lord Mentiq heard young Yeshua’s prayers and sent his most trusted servants to us with a message. Lilith will stay until the next choosing.”
“She will?” Yeshua squealed and squeezed his sister even harder.
“I will?” Lilith asked.
“Yes, you’re staying,” Idadu said firmly. “But the elder anointed ones will continue on.” The old man went pale. Idadu winked at him. “Now, I want a welcome feast prepared for the kadanu in the college chambers. Lilith, my dear, you will organize the un-tasked girls, just like the last time the kadanu arrived.”
Lilith stood up, Yeshua still clinging to her. “Give me half an hour before everything is ready for our…guests.”
“Go! Shoo!” Idadu waved the villagers out of the room. “Wake up everyone and tell them about the boon from our lord and savior.” He waited until the rest left before he turned to Hale. “Play along. Our tradition is to welcome the kadanu. There are always four men who come. The leader stays with me. Do you have three more men with you?”
“Yes, what do you need them to do?” Hale asked.
“Just need them to eat food and stay silent. I’ll guide them through the rest,” Idadu said. “You can really take us all back to Earth?”
“Yes, every last one of you.” Hale opened an IR channel. “Standish, Yarrow, Rohen. Drop your rifles with Gunney and report to my location ASAP.”
“This is most unusual, but we’ll manage. I’ve been in charge for almost ninety years. My village will follow my lead,” Idadu said. “Wait until the girls with the flower petals arrive at the door, then have your men follow them. I’ll have everyone back in their homes before the shuttle arrives. Excuse me.”
He stepped over the old woman and got one step toward the door when Steuben blocked his path.
“Where are my people?” the Karigole asked.
****
Yarrow, Rohen and Standish followed behind a pair of young girls, each holding a basket and sprinkling flower petals before the Marines. Idadu led them all toward the college. Windows lit up across the village as more and more of the inhabitants awoke. Many stood in their doorways, gawking at the new arrivals.
“Anyone else not like this?” Yarrow asked. His voice box was muted and his words unaltered. They’d heard the elder tell the flower girls that the kadanu high guard spoke a language more pleasing to Mentiq’s ears, and the Marines took the hint. “We don’t even have our rifles.”
“Just play along,” Standish said. “These folk seem pretty harmless. Worst comes to worst, we’ve got our Ka-Bars and our armor. The old fart’s got them all eating out of his palm.”
“What’re they going to do to us?” Rohen asked.
“Well, if they want a virgin sacrifice…” Standish pointed a finger at Yarrow.
Yarrow tensed and his face went red. “Damn you, Standish.”
A set of heavy doors leading into the college opened ahead of them. Long wooden tables ran the length of an open ballroom; villagers bustled about with trays of food while others swept the floor and picked up bits of trash.
Idadu hurried into the room.
“No one will be anointed this day,” Idadu said loudly. “Lord Mentiq sends his high guard to honor us. Let us welcome them with our finest food and drink.”
The villagers looked puzzled, and many backed away as the three Marines entered the ballroom. Idadu pointed to three high-backed chairs on a slightly raised platform.
Standish did his best to smile and nod, waving to small, tired-eyed children. He took one of the seats, which groaned beneath the weight of his armor.
“What’re we supposed to do?” Rohen asked as he sat next to Standish.
“Smile and nod, boys. Smile and nod,” Standish said.
A side door burst open and three young women came in, carrying trays of food and three wooden cups.
One of the women stopped in front of Standish, her silver-blue hair cut into a bob, her eyes as green as emeralds. Her tray held a hot bowl of cooked grains, a saucer with deep-red seeds and a cup of purple liquid. She gave Standish a coy look and giggled.
“Please, enjoy,” Idadu said.
Standish took the tray with a wink and set it on the wooden armrest.
“OK, let me test this for poison,” Yarrow said as he took out a detection wand from his gauntlet. “Who knows what kind of microbes are—”
Standish took a swig from his cup and popped a handful of seeds into his mouth.
“Wine,” Standish said. “Good too, lots of body with notes of…cardamom and peat. The pomegranate seeds are fantastic. I’m going to turn my box back on, ask this cutie what her name is and tell her she’s got a Marine boyfriend.” He wiggled his eyebrows at the serving girl, who giggled and covered her mouth.
“Don’t do that,” Rohen said. “Let’s play our part and get out of here before we start a riot.”
“Boys, welcome to the Island of Fiki-Fiki,” Standish said.
“What?” Rohen frowned.
“Just eat…and let’s not mention the wine to Lieutenant Hale. Booze is a big no-no while we’re in the field,” Yarrow said. He picked up a spoon full of grains and took a bite. At the end of the ballroom, he got a glimpse of Lilith. She’d retreated to the back wall. She had her arms crossed and pressed tight against her body, her head low. She wiped at her face between deep breaths.
Yarrow kept eating, though he’d lost his appetite.
CHAPTER 13
Egan twisted the IR dish toward the stars and tapped at his gauntlet. Only a few bright stars burned through the red blanket of the distant nebula while Hale and the Marines stood in a small glade. Clicks from alien insects filled the air.
“Should be just a second, sir,” Egan said. “There, got our handshake. You’re secure with the bridge.”
A projection of Captain Valdar came to life in front of Hale, cast from the Egan’s antenna.
“Hale, good to see you. What’s your status?” Valdar asked.
Hale recounted events up until when his Marines went to the welcoming ceremony. Valdar didn’t act overly surprised when Hale told
him about the village full of long-lost human beings.
“I’ve got the two elderly villagers in our relocated hide site, sedated. Idadu will keep them under until our mission is complete. My plan is to ambush the kadanu when they arrive at daybreak and use their shuttle to get into Mentiq’s city. From there, we’ll find some way to neutralize the target or get the shields down so you can do it the loud and messy way,” Hale said.
“Decent, but I can’t think of anything better from orbit. How many civilians are there?”
“Three hundred ninety-two at this location, but there’s a catch. Seems there’s a population of Karigole on a nearby island. We don’t know the numbers but I’m sending Steuben and Lafayette and Sergeant Orozco to investigate. They’ll use our cloaked Mule to get to the island.”
“Karigole? That’s…incredible. Something tells me you didn’t have a lot of choice with sending Steuben and the tin man to check it out.” Valdar looked to the side and spoke to someone on the bridge.
“No, they were pretty insistent. I put Orozco on their team to keep me informed with what’s really happening on that island. The Karigole are hard to predict when it comes to Toth. That there’s more of them out here…all bets are off on how rational they’re going to be.”
A crack of thunder broke from behind Hale and Valdar’s projection flickered.
“Crap, that figures. You’ve got a few minutes left until the weather breaks the connection,” Egan said.
“Sir, can we even evac all these civilians? I flew through that mess at the anchorage. There are a lot of hostiles in orbit,” Hale said.
“I’ll worry about the evac. You worry about killing Mentiq. Understand? Need you to get moving faster. Our batteries…” Valdar went fuzzy. “…work around but…hours.” The projection cut out.
Hale looked at Egan, who shook his head.
“Nothing is ever easy, is it?” Hale asked.
“Nope. I can’t help but notice that you left out my battle with the krayt. It isn’t every day that happens to me,” Egan said.
