by H. T. Kofruk
It had only seemed like a few days since she looked down on Earth from the wormhole station. She clearly remembered seeing the large, slanted 8-figure shaped man-made island in the middle of the Pacific Ocean from which the capsule had been launched, the same island where she had worked as a doctor in the capital city of the Pacific Federation. She had felt pride in living on a vast island the size of Australia that the Pacific had built on the millions of tons of trash that had accumulated on the sea bed. It was one of the technological and engineering achievements that illustrated just how far the Pacific Federation had come from the collection of relatively poor mid-sized countries. Now they boasted leadership in a variety of scientific fields.
But that pride, and even that of her academic and professional accomplishments, was outshone by what she had accomplished in the past few months. This was what the military was about. She gained enormous respect for everyone who had managed to complete the training and knew she would only be able to trust someone who had done so in a combat situation.
The medical team had received orders to report to an army unit on a planet called Kheut. The good news was that this planet was relatively similar to Earth and had no local intelligent beings. It was slightly smaller and a full day was roughly nineteen Earth hours. The tilt of the planet was even similar at about twenty two degrees. It rotated much faster around its sun, in about two hundred Earth days. She read that local vegetation could not be consumed but the bacteria population was quite harmless and the air composition had slightly higher levels of oxygen.
The bad news was its location; it lay not too far from a hot spot between the Atlantic and the Chinese. Though officially the Pacific was not aligned with the Atlantic, medical teams were often sent to help in case of skirmishes. Not too far was also the domain of the Orthodox Empire, perhaps the most rash and compulsive of the major empires.
The day of their departure, they said farewell to the other soldiers and embarked on the destroyer vessel that would take them and the thirty or so combat troops to their destination. Her mind wandered to Earth, to her family. She imagined her father tending the plants on the balcony and her mother lecturing her younger sister. Her younger brother was playing with her two dogs. She bade them all farewell in her mind.
The same annoyingly calm voice as when she first left Earth seemed to echo from the speakers on the ship announcing their departure in one minute. She was tempted to ask how the same guy was on all the announcements. In a few seconds, a bright green light emanated from the wormhole manipulator on the station and a large green-tinted black hole appeared in the middle of the vast vacuum. With a slight thud the large vessel separated from the docking area and slowly swivelled around so the bow would face the wormhole. Heera felt perspiration rolling down her forehead. It was already the second time she would travel through a wormhole but it still made her uncomfortable. A slight panic much like what she felt when she first travelled to the station in the capsule started to get a hold of her. She knew that she wouldn’t even notice traveling through the wormhole since it was normally done at light speed in order to minimize the enormous energy consumption of keeping a wormhole open. She gritted her teeth and forced herself to calm down.
“Light speed in ten, nine, eight…”
In a flash the outside view changed. The change was so quick that she wondered whether they had moved at all and someone had put on a holographic display just to fool them. The sun in this system was smaller than that of the Solar System and slightly paler. And beneath was the green planet that would be her home. It looked quite similar to Earth but there was less water surface. The landmass, however, was much more fragmented with green islands dotting the surface in almost uniform density. Three moons of various sizes orbited the planet at different angles and distances.
The wormhole closed immediately behind them and the ship moved to enter orbit. All the new personnel were herded into a landing craft. Heera was relieved that she didn’t have to take another capsule and be shot down to the surface. She preferred to ride something where someone was actually in control. She later changed her mind, however, since the ride itself was far from enjoyable. There was the same violent trembling on entering the atmosphere and she could now see the flames engulfing the landing craft as it entered the atmosphere. Perhaps it was better to stay blind to all this.
They landed in the middle of a military installation. As soon as the pressure adjusted, the cabin opened up and she immediately felt the lighter gravity. The new soldiers were again barked at when they got off and ran in formation for the newcomer security briefing. The medical team, however, were officers and a sergeant saluted them as they disembarked. The Micronesian head doctor, Jeff, returned the salute.
“Sirs, Ma’am’s, you are the first medical team we have in one year. We have an injured bunch of Atlantic soldiers who arrived two days ago. They’re currently being tended to by medical droids but some of them have serious conditions. I know that you must be fatigued by your journey but the garrison commander wants them looked at as soon as possible. The security briefing for you will be held separately soon afterwards.”
He then shook hands with each of the medical team and led them to the sick bay. Heera saw fifty or so Atlantic soldiers in there, some of them with serious injuries. Many had lost limbs and some were in a weak mental state, murmuring to themselves.
“…and it killed the LT. I couldn’t even stop it. It came from nowhere…” said one of the soldiers, curled up like a ball and staring into empty space.
“They have briefed us about an attack on Janpu. They seem to be the only survivors” explained the sergeant whose name they had learned was Han. “It was some pretty bad attack they suffered, it seems.”
“Did they tell you who did it?” asked Heera.
“Some kind of alien army. Probably working for the Chinese” he replied.
She had never seen an intelligent alien but had heard that all of the empires used them as soldiers. Some of the independent planets actively provided mercenaries to the highest bidder.
“It’s weird though. Even alien armies are normally commanded by Rendens. According to them, they never saw one. The whole planet was apparently taken just by alien infantry” he continued.
That sounded strange to Heera. She remembered one of the propaganda holographs back on Earth where Pacific Federation marines were standing alongside alien soldiers. The Renden marines were treating the aliens like second-class pets and even went as far as to reassure the viewers that the ‘creatures’ were fully obedient to their Renden superiors.
“Do you have adequate medical supplies?” asked Jeff, changing the subject.
“Well, sir, we’re not actually a front line garrison. Transporting that stuff is expensive so we’re kind of low at the moment and frontier planets get priority. We’re not equipped for this many injuries at once.”
Heera approached a man in obvious pain who had lost an arm from the shoulder down. But to her dismay, he turned his head away, trembling from the agony all the while.
“I will not be treated by a female doctor. Get me a real one” he said with a haughty British accent.
She rolled her eyes. The thought of a female professional was taboo in the Atlantic.
“Well, Lieutenant,” she said after seeing his rank on his uniform that was folded next to the bed, “I’m the best you’re going to get.”
She looked at the wound and realized that the arm hadn’t been cut off but had in fact been pulled out cleanly at the shoulder. Bio-synthetic gel had been applied to stop the bleeding and stop infection but she could clearly see the empty shoulder socket. Something had pulled out this strong soldier’s arm even with his armour and amplifier suit on. This one would survive and maybe even get a new arm grown from the bio-labs. He just needed something for the pain. She wiped his neck with a disinfectant cloth and stuck a pain-killer tab she fished from her bag. The effect was instant and he stopped trembling. She then sprayed an anti-inflammatory liquid on hi
s shoulder to ease the swelling.
“You just need to get some rest. Your government might even get you a new arm when you get back home” she said to him calmly.
“Home?” asked another soldier in the adjacent bed. “Yes, I need to go home. I was never cut out for this. I don’t want to die like this. I want to go home.” He started scratching his head with his rough nails so hard that there was soon blood underneath them. The nails came down onto his face and he started to cry and repeatedly yell the word ‘home’. The burly nurse who came with them, Jason, rushed over and grabbed his wrists. A nurse droid approached after sensing the commotion and managed to stick a relaxant tab on the soldier’s neck, after which he fell unconscious.
Heera turned to the soldier and looked into his frightened eyes. “What happened, Lieutenant?” she asked.
He hesitated a moment as if he didn’t want to remember. He looked around as if someone might eavesdrop and he was telling a dark secret.
“We were so prepared” he said in a low voice. “But they attacked in such a strange pattern. Once they got into the base, there was no stopping them”
“Them?” she asked
Again he hesitated. “The aliens. I’ve seen good alien fighters but these were something else. They just wouldn’t die. They were so strong and fast. I mean, we didn’t stand a chance. It was almost like a game of cat and mouse to them.”
He stopped abruptly. A tear came to his eye on saying this. Heera wondered what could have scared this soldier into weeping. Weren’t Renden soldiers the most feared warriors in the universe? Didn’t this one also make up the cutting edge of the great Atlantic sword? He opened his mouth to continue but someone interrupted.
“That’s enough, Marine” said a broad voice in a slightly cockney accent. “You should go ask your command. They debriefed us all.”
She turned to look at whoever had said this. A tall Atlantic marine still in uniform was standing behind her.
“Hi Heera. It’s been a while” he said to her with a slight smile.
She couldn’t believe it. She opened her eyes wide almost as if she was seeing a ghost.
“Terry…”
Chapter 11: The Priest
‘Pure and single belief in God is the sole most important motivation for all our endeavours. At risk of sounding Machiavellian, I believe reinforcing and spreading this belief will make us the most powerful organized force in the universe, no longer subject to the whims of Nature’ – Saint Andrew Palini,
“Who is your god?” asked Qin for the hundredth time.
“My Lord is Jehovah and his Son, Jesus” answered the prisoner.
Qin nodded his head and the two aliens each grabbed one of the prisoner’s arms and pulled. His left arm fell out first and he fell to the ground, screaming in agony. The alien grabbing his right arm put a foot on the side of his head and pulled his arm again. But instead of having the desired result of pulling his arm out, his necked snapped and the unbearable screaming ceased.
“Do you see these great alien warriors? Did you see the absolute victory that our ingenuity and their strength have brought?” he said to the hundred or so Atlantic prisoners.
He scanned them with his eyes. He could read the fear oozing from them. But the fear was not directed towards him but the twenty aliens standing guard around them. He realized their fear of the aliens was distracting them from his words. A demonstration had to be done.
He pointed to one of the aliens and said “You, come before me.”
The alien obediently complied.
“Attack me, try to kill me with all your strength” he ordered the alien.
He knew he was taking a great risk by doing this since he could not guarantee a victory. Much of the combat conditioning was done with his input, so in theory the aliens knew his patterns well. He concentrated his nerves and increased the receptiveness of his neurons. He controlled his breathing and put his concentration on the centre of his body, just below his belly button. His tendons stretched and muscles tensed. Every cell in his body was completely under his control.
The snarling alien jumped in the air and tried to pounce on him only to land on empty space. He reappeared behind the alien, thrusting with a knife in his hand. But the alien was too quick and moved sideways. At the same time it threw a blow at him, just missing his head as he ducked just in time. He moved at impossible speed backwards while the alien continued to attack him, dodging the murderous blows so fast, he was merely a blur to the onlookers. He disappeared again, only to appear behind the alien once more but this time with a knife in either hand. The alien turned to face him again. He again thrust the knife to the alien’s head but predictably, the alien ducked. But when it came up to full height again, it had a knife stuck in its eye.
It shrieked in pain. Before it could recover, he quickly thrust the other knife into its ear, the blade tip reaching deep inside the brain. He grabbed both blades and twisted them ninety degrees. The lifeless alien fell haplessly to the floor, twitching a couple times before going completely limp. The assassin looked at the defeated Atlantic Alliance soldiers and knew he had their attention.
“Our victory was inevitable. We serve a walking, breathing god, not a figment of our imagination. You are all witnesses of what he is capable of. Your lives and those of your loved ones depend on his mercy” he said while glaring at them. “You have seen me kill one of the monsters that you fear so much. Yet I am just a man. The difference between me and you is belief in the True God.”
Suddenly one of the soldiers got up and looked with fearless eyes at him. He lifted both his arms as if to receive something from above and closed his eyes. He then started praying.
“Our Father, who art in Heaven. Hallowed by thy name; Thy kingdom come…”
The other soldiers got up one by one and joined in the prayer, all while looking directly at him with defiant eyes. Fools, he thought. Only those whose eyes were completely shrouded in lies could be so stubbornly stupid. He stared at them with emotionless eyes. With a twitch of his wrist he signalled for the executions to begin.
The aliens wailed into the prisoners and started killing indiscriminately. Despite the pain, the prisoners continued praying, even amidst the screams of their comrades. Captain Qin, the Shadow warrior and faithful servant to the Emperor, felt a slight chill. Their faith was resolute and not even agony or death could break it. This is why the Emperor feared the Atlantic Alliance so much. During the five hundred years prior to the ascent of the Chinese Empire to its rightful position, the countries of the Atlantic had dominated the world. Their exploits of conquest based on technological superiority, religious mission and trade became handbooks for the current empires.
The Pacific Federation, on the other hand, was made up of mere former vassals of China, especially the founding members. They did not have the strong spirit or the cultural depth of China or the Atlantic. Many of them shared cultural roots with China and yet they stubbornly resisted their rightful master. Instead, they chose to continue a wasteful competition for colonies and resources.
And then there was the Orthodox Empire. It had formed in order to counter the influence of the One God movement. But it was really another Russian attempt at gaining superpower status. Russia had coaxed most of the countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia back into its sphere of influence by emphasizing their common Orthodox culture, Slavic language and use of the Cyrillic alphabet. It also reaped fear of the two mighty blocs forming on either side, especially China. As the world experienced drastic changes in climate in the twenty-third century, North America became a frozen land, mostly due to disturbances in ocean currents. Siberia, however, went the opposite direction and melted. But with their population diminishing at a frightful rate, Russia could no longer maintain the vast Siberian Plains. The newly rich, arable lands were claimed by China and Russia could just stand and watch.
Orthodox mistrust of China ran deep as a consequence. But China
needed an ally to face off the Atlantic and Pacific. So China gave them the technology and resources to become a space-faring empire. Money was given to build vast incubation and nurturing centres for test tube babies. After all, population was an important factor if space domination was to be successful.
He received word that the Atlantic high-priest wished to see him. He was immediately reminded that everything, even mighty empires, had soft spots. And he had found the soft spot in the form of a corrupt cleric. Just looking at the priest disgusted him but he went to see him anyway.
The plump priest was waiting in the cargo area and his pointed hat had been taken off to reveal his shiny shaven head. He had an annoying look of importance surrounded by his bodyguards and assistants.
Qin approached and bowed. “Your Holiness, how may I be of service?” he asked mockingly.
“I have been made to wait here for hours, captain” he said while wiping the perspiration from his brow, oblivious to the assassin’s insolence. “I thought we had a deal. Me and my men will be sent to planet T-212 and be provided for as a reward from his Imperial Highness. All in exchange for Janpu and the chance to test your new toys, is it not so?”
“Ah, yes. Diqiu Two, the most Earth-like of all the planets in the Yinhexi. We have made arrangements for your arrival, your holiness, with a large, luxurious installation on a sea much resembling the Mediterranean. Women will also be provided. Perhaps Your Holiness will finally even lose his virginity?” he answered with a sly smile.
The solid-looking, blond bodyguard standing to the priest’s left shifted his weight at Qin’s remark and stared at him threateningly. If he looks at me like that again, I think I’ll kill him. Qin maintained the smile on his face but his eyes communicated the thought to the bodyguard, who then decided to focus his attention on the priest.
The priest looked at him in an over-dignified, even arrogant way. “My life is but to serve God. My men here will be my lambs. That is all I ask for.”
