All The Frail Futures: A Science Fiction Box Set

by J Battle

  Ser-Illar counted to seven in his head and then felt the floor beneath him drop away and immediately followed it, roaring in exultation as he felt the cool air rush past him.

  He snorted in derision as one of his comrades allowed himself to become too excited and ripped off his diaper with one claw, blasting away with his arm cannon; foolishly wasting his ammunition.

  Ser-Illar grunted when his air harness activated and jerked him into a controlled descent. The land was still rushing towards him but he felt in complete control as he scanned the rough ground for possible targets.

  Other, lesser forces would have used the cover of darkness to aid their safe landing, but not the SDS. They scoffed at the very idea. They would always land in the full glare of daylight, ready to start the fight even before they touched down.

  20 hours later, after a full day on the ground, the anger and frustration threatened to overwhelm him, despite all the training he had undertaken. The training was designed to prepare him for the most terrible conditions, the toughest battlefield, for days of ceaseless toil under fire, for weeks pinned down under enemy bombardment before the inevitable command to go over the top.

  But it didn't prepare him for what he found on the hot, dusty surface of Tau Ceti E.

  Nothing.

  There was no-one to kill; no-one to take a shot at him; no-one to hunt down and render limb from limb; no-one to fill his belly.

  Nothing.

  Just a tumble of broken buildings and dust; lots of dust.

  At last, he could put up with it no longer and emptied both arm cannons into the shadowed doorway of one of the few buildings that still possessed such a thing.

  His commander hissed and snarled, but there was no further rebuke. He fully understood what the soldier was going through, and he himself was tempted to fire off a few shots, just to express his own frustration.

  But a shot fired at anything but the enemy is a wasted opportunity to kill, so he restrained himself.

  If he'd looked up, and if his eyes were a little better in the dark, he might have felt exultation rush through his veins as he spotted a lurking figure, hiding behind a rock in the hills above the remains of the settlement.

  But neither was the case, so Dan remained safely hidden as he watched the strange soldiers marching about and discharging their weapons.

  They were similar to Sherdling, but much larger, with an extra set of legs and, quite frankly, much uglier. They were heavily armed and looked desperate to find a use for their weapons and, for some reason he couldn't quite fathom, they were wearing nappies.

  Careful not to make a sound, Dan began to crawl back up the hill, his glowing bands hidden by the shirt he'd retrieved from his sleigh.

  After what he'd just witnessed, he knew that he had to try yet again to dissuade the Evinesse from the suicidal action they were set on.

  Chapter 46

  She marched back and forwards across the spacious but sparsely furnished room that had been her cell for years now. She flexed her long fingers and ground her sharp teeth and her long legs carried her across the room.

  Every day started like this as she awoke and the memory of her situation crashed down upon her. In a little while she knew that she would calm down and return to her normal position, squatting before the locked door, waiting for something to happen. And one day it would.

  For now, as the anger threatened to loosen her tenuous hold on her sanity, she surged across the room, desperate to find some way to vent her anger and frustration.

  Back and forward; forward and back. Sometimes she would carry on like this for hours. Other times she would find a place of quiet in her mind that allowed her to remain still for just a few moments.

  She stopped suddenly. The camera had not made a sound, but she knew that it was active; that he was watching her. She snarled and leapt at the wall, knowing that it was too high for her to reach, but sensing the fear behind the camera. It was the highlight of her day, such as it was. Bringing fear to the massive jailer hidden behind the camera and behind locked doors.

  For now, the anger was banked and she was able to settle before the door, and wait.

  Somewhere, she knew, he was searching for her. He wouldn't give up until he'd found her and freed her, and ripped the throat out of her giant guard. Not her Stave. He would never give up, and no matter what they made him do, he would never fail her.

  That was the hook on which she hung her sanity.

  If, by some extraordinary sense of smell, or hearing, she had been able to detect the presence of a Wurrl-shp fluttering no more than five meters above her head in the cold clear morning air on the other side of the thick wall, then perhaps she would have retained a firmer grip on her mind.

  The little creature, short-lived and intelligent, flapped its fragile black and crimson wings to hold its position against the light breeze. So many thousands of its forbears had spent themselves on this mission, and now it was come to its end.

  The Wurrl-shp live no more than a few days before their little bodies weaken and die, providing sustenance for the next generation. Such a short time, they had no need for names.

  This creature thought of itself as I, and I cherished the moment when the signal was sent. On this final day, the culmination of its line’s constant search, I knew that here was a new experience to be savored and passed along to the next generation, along with the meat of its body; the experience of success. For, after all this time, and all those lives spent, she was found.

  **********

  He wasn't sure how it had happened, but somehow Andreas had become Stave's second in command and, as the blue alien always seemed to be flitting off somewhere on some mysterious mission, it was his responsibility to get the job done.

  They'd been in system for seven days now, and for the past five, he'd been on Phobos, supervising the distribution of the Shift engines. Stave had set up a network of a dozen fabricators, each one producing a self-contained, fully programmed shift engine every three hours. That was the easy part.

  The hard part was getting them distributed across the system.

  He had twenty ships scooting back and forward, collecting the engines and ferrying them across the width of the system to be fit onto the existing engines of as many of the Union's ships as possible before it was too late.

  He judged that perhaps two hundred of the craft that had been commandeered had received the upgrade, but it wasn't enough; not nearly enough. He couldn't resist pausing in his work every few minutes to look past the great red curve of Mars; to study the heavens, searching for a glimpse of a different red. But so far, so good.

  Without having to look, he knew that Iron was only a few meters behind, hovering in case his mind failed and he suddenly required assistance. He knew that the boy was unsettled; not used to the hustle and bustle of the Solar Union, with so many people he didn't know and who didn't know him. Mimi was also on Phobos, in the new dome, along with Mandy and Bill. She seemed to have developed a real fondness for the girl.

  As Mars dominated the sky, he couldn't help bringing to mind Moira. The testing young lady had returned there, to start legal proceedings against him to force him to hand over Angel's Kiss. Good luck with that, he thought, now that the ship was a commandeered possession of the Solar Union.

  Even now the ship was being loaded with the dangerously volatile ammunition that another set of fabricators, managed by Jimmy and Nigel, was producing. The little explosive pellets were adapted to fire from the small caliber weapons that most of the ships were equipped with and Stave claimed that they would be effective against unshielded Hru-argh ships.

  What would happen if they came up against shielded opponents, he didn't say.

  He was counting the latest batch of engines when he felt a tap on his shoulder.

  'Look, man.'

  Iron's voice over his suit's radio sounded strange, almost mature.

  'Just a minute, Son. I'm just finishing off here.'

  'No, man. Look! That's them,
Dad, ain't it?'

  Andreas straightened. He didn't want to raise his head and see what his son had seen. He wanted to stretch the instant of not knowing just a little bit longer. But he could not hold out for long.

  He looked up and he saw them, and a wordless groan escaped his lips. Across the arch of black space beyond the orbit of Mars; beyond the orbit of Jupiter, distorted from his viewpoint as it was targeted towards Earth, was a great red, glowing crescent.

  The Hru-argh had arrived.

  **********

  His brief visit to Earth finished, with both of his tasks completed, Stave sat at his control deck for a moment, considering the wisdom of his actions.

  He'd retrieved a sample of the nano-plague, now locked safely away in its containment capsule, and had intended to leave immediately.

  Then a thought had occurred to him. It was unnecessary and not part of his mission at all, but why not?

  He had the time and it would be his gift to the humans he'd met since he arrived in this system. No-one need know that he'd somehow grown soft in his old age. He tapped at the computer console before him. On his own ship, using its AI, the task would have taken just a few moments, but using this primitive technology, he should still be able to complete the task in a couple of hours. The shielding of the containment capsule would protect the sample from the effects of his actions.

  The nano-plague was a weapon; nothing more. It was designed to devastate the enemy and make conquest a formality; so of course there was a deactivation code.

  When he returned to his controls and began his ascent through the clouds, he left behind a world that was lifeless, but no longer dangerous; with the nano-plague made safe, it was a place that mankind could once again call home.

  As he broke through into the upper atmosphere Stave was stunned to see the crimson lights of the Hru-argh’s display, scarring the night sky.

  He felt disappointment wash over him. If he’d had just another seven days he would have been ready for them; maybe he wouldn’t have been able to defeat them, but perhaps he could have demonstrated to them that the taking of this little empire wasn’t worth the cost.

  His plan had been simple but, given the resources he had, it was the best he could devise. With all of the available ships fitted with shift engines and enhanced weapons, and hidden on the other side of the sun from the expected attack; with all of the space stations and habitats reduced to minimum power; with satellites orbiting Earth blasting out on all frequencies, his trap would be set.

  The Hru-argh fleet would descend on Earth and bring their weapons to bear on the barren planet. With their focus on their defenseless target, the human ships would shift close to their target enemy craft, fire their weapons, and then shift away to their next target.

  It was a risky strategy but, if each ship could manage to destroy four or five of the enemy craft before they themselves were destroyed, it might just be enough.

  But now, with less than half of the human ships fitted, and those that were still spread across the system; with the space-stations and habitats still broadcasting their presence to anyone who might be listening and with Earth remaining silent, it was hopeless.

  Of course he was prepared for this; he had another option that would comply with his instructions from Heldon. She didn’t want the Hru-argh to succeed, but even more importantly, she didn’t want an extended war. His option would ensure that that was not the case. The war would end in days, with complete victory for the Hru-argh and utter failure for all that was now left of Humanity.

  As he considered this option, he felt a little regret cloud his mind. Though his mission might be called a success, it felt like a failure. But regret would not cause him to relent; he had a job to do and, for now he would fulfill his obligations.

  Each of the shift engines that he’d had fitted to the human ships came pre-programmed with two settings. Setting one allowed the engine to detect the presence of a Hru-argh engine and shift to within one hundred meters of that engine. Then the engine would shift again after the thirty seconds required to build up power for the next shift.

  Part of Stave wanted to say no, let’s stick with setting one, let’s do our best and, if we fail, at least there would be honor in our failure.

  It was a very small part of him, however.

  Putting regret to the back of his mind, he sent at signal across the width of the Solar Union instructing the shift engines to move to their second setting.

  With his task complete, there was no need for him to stay to witness what was to come, so he programmed the shift engine on his ship to take him away from this unhappy place.

  Naturally the shift engine on his ship was free from any pre-programmed settings.

  He was just about go when he received a signal from the little blue ship that had been left behind on TCE. It was in-system and that could have only one meaning.

  Staff had been located.

  Without a second thought he powered down his human craft and called his little ship to him.

  As he waited for his ship to arrive, he gave no thought to the humans he was leaving to die; no thought to perhaps changing what he’d done.

  All he could think of was Staff, lost to him all of these years. Now she was found, and she would be freed. There was no room in his mind for other thoughts.

  Chapter 47

  Hru-argh have a thing about ovals; they love them. They lay oval eggs, their ground vehicles are oval shaped, as are their spaceships. If you want to give a Hru-argh a present, then it should come in an oval package.

  The three glimmering silver eggs were discovered in the basement of one of the less damaged buildings; less damaged in the sense that it still retained two more or less vertical walls.

  The soldier who’d found them had arrived just in time to see the last of the SDS leave for more important missions than Tau Ceti E was apparently able to offer, and he was more than a little disappointed. He still had dreams to join that elite squad and had hoped to make one or two contacts that might aid in him in his plan. But that wasn’t to be, so he found himself following his mundane orders to search the buildings for, well, whatever he might find.

  The eggs were in the basement, but no attempt had been made to hide them as they were placed in the center of the room, lit by the only working light in the building. He should have been suspicious, but they were such lovely smooth oval shapes. He sniffed them, then he licked them. For a moment he considered hiding them and keeping them for himself.

  He allowed himself a moment to dwell on the idea, then he snorted. All-desy was nothing if not a loyal soldier and, anyway, the logistics of getting them off the planet unseen were beyond him.

  He called it in and stood guard over the precious treasure.

  When his commanding officer burst into the basement, All-desy offered his neck up for a dutiful bite but he was ignored. Del-such only had eyes for the glorious orbs.

  After repeating All-desy’s examination, he picked up one of the eggs. He held it to his chest and stroked it gently, a low crooning sound emitting from his mouth.

  All-desy was about to slip away and leave him to his devotions when his superior lifted his head and seemed to notice him for the first time.

  ‘Private,’ he said (to be honest he used the Hru-argh word ‘Urg-nas-plat’, and the literal translation would be ‘first line soldier whose death has little consequence’), ‘send a signal to the Captain of Dlugslug. Tell him that we have two precious eggs for him and that we will send them up to him on the next shuttle.’

  ‘Two, Sir? But there are…’

  ‘Two, private. I can only see two.’

  All-desy studied the eggs for a moment, as if he was actually counting them.

  ‘Yes, Sir. Two, Sir. There are only two eggs, Sir.’

  ‘Exactly.’

  Del-such separated one of the eggs from the others when he was alone, then he carried his treasure to a corner and squatted over it, comforted by its wonderful smooth shape.

&n
bsp; **********

  Enshulden was a cold rocky place, with little surface water and not much in the way of fauna or flora. The dull black and brown, grey and yellow landscape was relieved only by the green of a type of giant moss that seemed to be the dominant life form on this inhospitable planet. Only seemed, because this was the home of the Fellrays; the birthplace of one Jashna-del.

  The Fellray were a long-lived species, scattered across their rocky world, with children few and far between. They mated for life with one male having anything up to ten wives as the ratio of male child born was one in ten compared with females.

  Heldon found it hard to remember the last time he’d walked on solid ground and felt the force of a planet’s gravity compress the bones in his spine. Fortunately, with his compact male bipedal body, he was able to function and interact with the natives in a way that would have been impossible with his enlarged female body.

  He strode towards the crest of a low mountain, ignoring the strong, cold wind that pressed against his broad back. When he reached its highest point, the closest thing to a city on this world came into view. In fact, the mountain was no more than the remains of a caldera encircling a crater that was more than twenty kilometers across. The inside walls of the crater were riddled with dark holes; the nests of the Fellray.

  As he watched, dozens of the winged creatures seemed to fill the air, dropping from the edges of their nests and spreading their beautiful, iridescent shudder wings just enough to be caught by the air and then powering up to dizzy heights.

  Heldon felt some sentiment as he watched them; regret, loss, hope, or just sentimental hogwash. He filed the feeling away for future consideration and carefully made his way down a rough path that was really far too narrow for him, even with his reduced stature.

  The path didn’t quite reach the nest he was aiming for, so he had to stop close to its precipitous edge and call out the name of Jashna-del’s son.