by Richard Fox
“Hmm, no adults,” Lafayette said.
“What, the tall ones aren’t adults?”
“Karigole children are born neutral, neither male nor female. They become one or the other during their first puberty at roughly ten turnings. They reach sexual maturity once their second passage—or puberty—completes,” Lafayette said.
“Man, they should’ve sent Lowenn or another anthromo-pediatrican whatever on this mission. This is too much for me,” Orozco said. “So what do we do now?”
“You may remove your helmet, but I will keep mine on. It’s better this way.” Lafayette held up his cybernetic hands with five humanlike fingers. “If they ask, tell them I am human and don’t wish to show my face.”
“You don’t think they’ll be glad to see you?”
“Please, Orozco. It is better this way.” Lafayette touched a button on his gauntlet and his visor darkened to the point it was pitch black.
“Fine, whatever. You’re Lafayette, my brother from another mother.” Orozco stepped out of the grass and onto a muddy patch of ground.
“That makes no sense,” Lafayette said.
A light went on within a large round hut, and three Karigole came out of the low doorway, each wearing leather tunics with deep sleeves. Beads and bits of bone hung from thin cords tied to their clothes that rattled and clinked as they walked toward Steuben. These Karigole had hair tied into heavy buns at the back of their heads.
Must be the geth’aar, Orozco thought.
The lead geth’aar’s skin was an ashen gray, her body heavy with child.
Steuben went to one knee and bowed his head. The geth’aar touched her knuckles to Steuben’s temple and lifted his chin up.
“You are not the last,” she said.
****
Hale sat against a tree and thumbed the magazine release on his rifle. He removed the ammunition from his gauss weapon and looked into the magazine, checking for any sign of dirt or debris in the packed rounds. The cobalt-blue tungsten rounds gleamed in the moonlight. He tapped the magazine against his knee and slapped it back into place.
“Sir?” came from over his shoulder.
Hale looked over and found Rohen standing between two trees, his sniper rifle in his hands.
“You got a minute?” Rohen asked. “Need to talk to you.”
Hale motioned to a patch of pine needles next to him. The sniper knelt on one knee, the butt of his long rifle planted firmly into the ground.
“What’s on your mind?” Hale asked.
“The easiest way for you to understand is for you to say a code phrase into your microphone. You have an encrypted message waiting for you. Just say,” Rohen said, rolling his eyes, “peanut, nostril, happy clam.”
“What? Rohen are you feeling OK? Take a knee and drink some water,” Hale said.
“I didn’t pick the phrase. Please, sir. It’s from Ibarra,” Rohen said.
“Is this some sort of new-guy prank they put you up to? Saying peanut nostril happy clam is not—”
Hale’s gauntlet vibrated violently. A tiny panel flipped open and a projection emitted from a tiny lens.
Ibarra’s head and shoulders appeared between the two Marines.
“Lieutenant Hale,” Ibarra said, “I never did apologize for calling you a knuckle-dragger when you retrieved me from beneath my tower.” Hale had never shared that detail from the longest day in his life with anyone. The only other person who knew about that little insult was Stacey Ibarra, and she was away on Bastion. “Mostly because you are a knuckle-dragger and I’ve never met an infantryman that took offense to that label.
“But let’s get down to brass tacks. Young Mr. Rohen is a proccie, but not your run-of-the-mill kind like Yarrow. See, we recovered one of the overlord’s tanks from the Naga wreck on the moon, reverse engineered it with the omnium reactor and found a number of design flaws. Specifically, we can overload the nervous system when it feeds through the tank, killing the overlord. That’s where Rohen comes in. He was specially designed as a fail-safe for your mission. His mind burns, Hale. It’s better that you don’t know the specifics of how we did it, but we designed him as a poison pill for Mentiq, or any overlord that gets a hold of him.”
“No.” Hale pointed a finger at Rohen—who listened to Ibarra’s revelation with the passion of a man getting yesterday’s sports scores—and shook his head. “Absolutely not. I’m not going to send you to—”
“Get Rohen to the Toth,” Ibarra continued. “They’ll take him to Mentiq and then your mission will be accomplished. I know you’re not the kind of leader to blindly send someone to certain death, so let me tell you this: it won’t matter. We had only a few weeks to design Rohen. We would have made him to survive for years and years, but we didn’t have the time to do it right. He’s dying, Hale.”
Rohen nodded, then took out an auto-injector and jabbed it into his neck. He shuddered and clenched his jaw as the medicine took hold.
“The human nervous system wasn’t designed for what we created. He knows. We told him as soon as he came out of the tank. Gave him the option to live out his days peacefully on the Crucible or go with you to Nibiru. He made his choice.
“Rohen has…maybe thirty days until he dies from neurological failure. There’s nothing medical science can do to stop that. Help him fulfill his purpose. Accomplish your mission at less risk to you and the Breitenfeld. Good luck, son.” Ibarra turned to the side, then looked back into the camera. “Gott mit uns.” His image vanished.
Hale let his arm fall to his side.
“It’s true,” Rohen said. “Everything. Though I don’t think I have thirty days. The tremors are getting stronger and more frequent. Let me go with the kadanu when they arrive. They’ll take me straight to Mentiq. He’ll…” Rohen touched his forehead, “and that will be that.”
“This is wrong, Rohen. I don’t believe a word Ibarra said. He must be lying to you about-about what you are. A trick to get you to throw your life away. I’m not going to order you to just…offer yourself to Mentiq!” Hale got to his feet. His hands opened and closed and his breathing became shallower as anger rose from his heart.
“No! I will not lose another Marine because of Ibarra, you understand me?”
Rohen stood up slowly.
“I’m willing, sir,” Rohen said. “I came out of the tube a Marine, ready to accept an order that would result in certain death.”
“I don’t order my Marines to die. I tell them it is time to fight and lead them into battle. These are different things, Rohen.”
“Not for me, sir. I will die. Very soon. My body is falling apart and I would rather my death serve a purpose, a grand purpose that will keep Earth safe from the Toth. I’d rather that than lying in some sick bay on Titan Station.”
“That’s Ibarra talking. He must have loaded your head with this garbage, not given you a choice but to embrace this mission. We will get you back to the Crucible and…I don’t know, make him put your mind in another body. Something. Anything.” Hale put his hands on his hips and turned around.
“It doesn’t work that way, sir. The others told me about Torni. How she gave up her spot on a transport so more civilians could make it off world. They said if you hadn’t been unconscious and about to bleed to death, you would have been the one left behind.”
“Of course,” Hale said.
“I’ve got the same choice: my life for other Marines. My life is forfeit either way. I choose to spare the rest of you. We don’t know what’s waiting for us in Mentiq’s city. Let me go by myself. I’ll get their attention and our mission will be complete,” Rohen said.
“No.” Hale turned around and pointed a finger at Rohen’s chest. “That’s the easy way out. The coward’s way. We’re going to that city and we’ll kill that bastard with bombs or bullets and get you back to the Crucible. There must be something Ibarra can do for you. I refuse to accept that you come with an expiration date.”
Rohen ran his hand along his rail rifle.
“That’
s your decision to make, sir. I’ve spent a lot of time on the range…would be a waste not to put that practice to good use.”
“I’ll tell the rest of the team. They’ll—”
“Sir. Think about it. If things go south and the Toth get their hands on all of us…if the overlords get to anyone else first, they’ll know I’m a time bomb. Then I’m useless. Leave the option open. Like Ibarra said, a fail-safe,” Rohen said.
Hale worked his jaw from side to side.
“But I know,” Hale said.
“Don’t let them take you alive,” Rohen shrugged. “Not that any of us have a chance if we’re captured.”
“Fine. We’ll keep this to ourselves. But I don’t want you trying to sneak off and make yourself a martyr. Understand?”
“You have my word, Lieutenant.”
****
Orozco ducked into the large hut from where the three geth’aars emerged. The matriarchs sat cross-legged on a reed mat. An adolescent sat back-to-back with the eldest geth’aar and supported her as she leaned back for comfort.
Steuben squatted down across from the matriarchs and motioned for Orozco to sit next to him.
“Who’re your friends? The children say they’re human,” the eldest said to Steuben. “We kill any kadanu foolish enough to come to our island. Mentiq only sends his warriors or the Kroar now.”
Orozco took off his helmet and smiled, and the matriarchs bared their teeth at him.
“This is Sergeant Orozco. He is human but not of the kadanu. He is a Marine, from their home planet’s warrior caste. The other is Lafayette, also a Marine,” Steuben said.
One of the matriarchs clicked her claws together and a child came over to Orozco and handed him a crude wooden bowl full of writhing grubs.
“Oh boy.” Orozco looked at the bowl then to the matriarchs, all of whom had their eyes glued on Orozco.
“Eat one, then pass it to Steuben,” Lafayette said.
“What if…they’re poisonous to me? Yeah, that’s it.” Orozco held the bowl to Steuben, who didn’t move.
“Eat. It. Or I will tell Cortaro you are a giant cat,” Lafayette said.
Orozco picked up a single grub, then tossed it into the back of his mouth. He swallowed hard and fought against a gag.
“I think it’s still moving,” he said as Steuben took the bowl from him. Steuben distended his jaws and swallowed the entire bowl.
“I haven’t had chiqi in a long time,” Steuben said.
“I am Guilan,” the eldest said. “This is Naama and Cuibo.”
“Pleased to meet you,” Orozco said.
“Where have you been, Steuben?” Guilan asked. “We’ve waited a long time for your Centuria to find us.”
“We were in Alliance space when we learned of the Toth betrayal,” Steuben said. “When we reached our home world…there was nothing left. All we found were bodies on the spaceport’s landing fields. Our ships were wrecked. There was no sign of another Karigole on the planet…just the bodies from where the Toth gorged—”
Guilan held up a hand.
“We held out hope for a time. We managed to capture a Toth vessel off Vulkaaren and interrogate the crew, but they were adamant that no Karigole made it off our home world alive. Then Kosciusko made us take an oath to ghul’thul’ghul. We would survive as long as we could, make the Toth pay for what they did to us. We worked with the Alliance, hoping to find allies willing to take the fight to Mentiq, but none took up our crusade. The threat of the Xaros was too great and we…” Steuben shrugged, “we became little better than mercenaries helping train races in the Xaros’ path. Most of us died trying to capture a Xaros drone on some backwater planet.”
“The humans accepted your crusade?” Naama asked. Orozco felt Lafayette stiffen next to him as the matriarch spoke.
“We ran into the Toth on Anthalas,” Orozco said. “We didn’t get along. Then the lizards attacked Earth. It didn’t end well for them.”
“Stix,” Steuben said and spit on the ground, “the arch-traitor, he met his end at Rochambeau’s hand. I and—sorry, just me—I killed another overlord with my bare hands. Kosciusko gave his life to prevent one of Mentiq’s chosen overlords from escaping the battle.”
“And you are the only one who remains from the Centuria?”
“I am the only one that lives,” Steuben said.
“Stix.” Guilan ran a claw across her throat. “Stix kept us three geth’aar and a few adults alive, hidden away on his ship during the cull. Mentiq’s orders. The overlords have little self-control once they start to feed, but they have enough discipline to obey their master. To displease him is to die. They all know that.
“Mentiq put us on one of the larger islands, gave us adequate shelter and food for a time. Our numbers grew.” Guilan put her hand against her stomach as the baby inside kicked. “We thought we were kept as some sort of science experiment, to see why we are so long-lived compared to most other races. We were left alone. Then a shuttle landed and the kadanu demanded we give up an adult and three children for Mentiq. That’s when we realized that we were nothing but food for Mentiq and Mentiq alone.
“We fought, and lost. Mentiq took more away. After that we sent adults to the other islands, trying to convince the other species that we are nothing but animals waiting for the slaughter. We had some success, but our revolt had no chance. The Lan’Xi were purged completely. We were banished to this little island and forced to live like savages.”
“Where are the other adults?” Steuben asked.
A juvenile went to a reed carpet and rolled it up. He brushed dirt aside, revealing a stasis tube with a Karigole inside that looked like Steuben, but with gray edges to his scales.
“All are kept asleep until one of us are ready to conceive,” Guilan said. “Then a male and female are awoken at random. Once we catch, they must return to their tubes. We debated refusing to go on…”
“But we are the lineage,” Naama said. “As much as we detest our existence, we can’t stop. Who would care for the children? So long as we three live, the Karigole are of value to Mentiq. We die and the rest will go to the blocks.”
“It ends,” Steuben said. “It ends now. I will get us all out of here—I swear it.” Steuben slammed a fist against his chest plate.
“You must have come in a ship. The oceans are full of those damn krayt,” Guilan said.
“We did, but it is too small for us all…” Steuben glanced at Lafayette.
“We would need at least four more Mules from the Breitenfeld. Or two Toth shuttles,” Lafayette said. “With the large number of humans that need to be evacuated, this will be challenging.”
“And the adults?” Guilan looked at the stasis tank. “The seals are connected to our pheromone levels. How do we get them out?”
“Leave that to me.” Lafayette bowed his head slightly. “I can hack the Toth systems with enough time.”
“I’ll speak with Hale, the human leader,” Steuben said. He gently put his hand against Guilan’s swollen belly. “I will not leave this planet without you.”
He stood up and turned to Lafayette. He switched off his voice box and spoke in English.
“Brother. I know what she means to you. But do not speak with her yet,” Steuben said. Lafayette nodded. “I return to the Mule to confer with Hale. You find a way around the stasis tubes.”
Steuben ran from the hut and into the night.
“What was that all about?” Orozco asked.
Lafayette switched off his voice box.
“Naama,” Lafayette said. “She’s my birth geth’aar, my mother.”
CHAPTER 15
Hale’s gauntlet vibrated with an incoming message. He sat up and wiped sleep from his eyes.
“Ten whole minutes,” he said as he checked the timer on his gauntlet. “That’s enough rest for one day.”
He opened the channel and Steuben’s face came up on the inside of his visor.
“Hale, I have news.” The Karigole brought Hale up to
speed.
“That’s…incredible, Steuben. I’m happy for you.” Hale looked to the night sky. The mass of ships in the anchorage and the circling Toth dreadnoughts were visible against the distant nebula. “That’s also really tricky. We’ve got the same problem in both villages. Lots of people, not a lot of air lift.”
“Lafayette says he can slave together Toth shuttles. He flies one…more will follow his lead in a swarm. Egan can do the same back to the human settlement,” Steuben said.
“We should have a ride into Mentiq’s city by daylight…it might look suspicious if we swing by your island,” Hale said.
“Unnecessary. A shuttle will arrive at dawn to pick up two Karigole children. We will commandeer the vessel, like pirates from your old videos. Lafayette will work with Egan once we arrive,” Steuben said.
“There’s still the matter of killing Mentiq and figuring out how to get off this spitball of a planet,” Hale said.
“One problem at a time.”
“Yeah, sounds like a plan. Do you think we’ll ever set foot on a planet and have everything go smoothly?”
“If that happens, it’s a trap,” Steuben said. The line cut out.
Hale considered going back to sleep, then opened an IR line. “Egan. Cortaro. Come see me. We have to work out some new details.”
****
Sunlight glinted off the Toth lander as it flew a few feet over the ocean’s surface, leaving a wake of disturbed water behind it. It arced over wave-lapped rocks and tall trees before it circled around the landing zone where three robed figures knelt along the outer edge.
Landing gear extended from the craft and it landed gently, jets of compressed gas hissing out of the pneumatic landing gear as it settled. The nose of the craft hung over the robed figures’ heads.
A seam appeared along the smooth surface of the craft’s underbelly and a hatch lowered. Jaundiced yellow light spilled out of the lander and onto the landing zone.
Two men in gold-colored scale armor carrying long hooked poles came down the ramp, their skin and hair coloration the same as the villagers, silver circlets wrapped around their foreheads. They stopped at the edge of the ramp. One wore heavy gold necklaces and bracelets.
