by H. T. Kofruk
The Web-Com translator device only took into account spoken language and thus, often created mistakes. Indeed, Anna once recalled an event a few days ago when the professor had said ‘the accident was probably caused by gas accumulation’ and their Goroth hosts had burst out laughing. It later turned out that the word ‘gas’ could also mean a female virgin if coupled with a finger pointed downwards. The Tsanu word for ‘trodden earth’ had created so many translation errors that by now Anna knew that it also meant evidence.
“Circumstantial evidence!” cried the professor once more. “Just because their arrival coincided with the accident, it doesn’t mean they caused it!”
Bitsuman blinked his four red eyes. His blue mane still grew only sparsely indicating his youth. But at nearly eleven foot tall, he was nevertheless daunting. “Then what else?” he said through the translator.
Professor Hamid switched off the translator with an annoyed gesture. “These bastards are pretending to be dumb. I’ve seen so many aliens play stupid as if they don’t understand when it’s not to their benefit.”
“This conversation is taking us nowhere” said Captain Ngeze, the leader of the security detachment of which Anna was the leading non-commissioned officer.
“Well, this is all we’re permitted to do, captain” said Hamid with an air of exasperation. “I would love for you to be able to force these aliens to give us access to the site.”
Anna knew that using force was an exceedingly dangerous option. The Goroth were generally primitive and their most advanced weapon was the bow and arrow. But they were very large, extremely strong and their bows made of the flexible back-bones of the animals they hunted shot arrows that could penetrate some of the weaker spots in her armoured amplifier suit. On top of that, the security detachment only numbered five marines.
Bitsuman carried such a weapon and a quiver of arrows each one over six-foot in length and an inch in diameter. His tough white skin contrasted with the dark metal dagger hanging at his waist.
The same sort of conversation went on for another few days, each one ending with frustration and vexation. But the professor’s tenacity was starting to get through. Each day, the initially calm Bitsuman would get more and more agitated and annoyed. The explosion had taken place almost a week ago already, and it no longer seemed possible to get any meaningful information from the contaminated site anyhow.
Anna sensed that Hamid was trying to get access as a matter of principle, both to delay the execution of the three Renden suspects and to set a precedent for any similar cases in the future. She respected him for that, even though his stubbornness often forced her to stay and listen to the same conversation for hours. Though Captain Ngeze never expressed it, she knew that his patience was getting thinner as each hour and each day ticked by.
On the eighth day, they were permitted to see the three Renden engineers who were being held in a crude underground prison cell. Anna had thought at least the underground location would keep them from the perpetual cold.
It was slightly warmer in the dark underground cell, but also dirtier. There was no separate toilet and the place was infested with tiny thrumms, a large earwig-like vermin that laid eggs in anything warm.
The three engineers had been on the planet on a humanitarian mission to install a geothermal generator that was small enough to be carried by four men but powerful and efficient enough to bring energy to tens of thousands of locals. The mission had been planned by United Terra, of which Anna was now a member of the Marine Corps, which had forced all the member super-states to renounce the colonisation of planets home to intelligent aliens.
Professor Hamid had a theory that the explosion at the housing complex had been caused by methane accumulation at the communal latrines. But the fact that it had happened during the first night after the arrival of the three engineers and at a location only a few hundred feet away from their camp immediately fuelled suspicion in the local superstitious population who were already awed by and afraid of Renden technology.
Doctor Carla Asturias, the leader of the engineering team, almost broke down in tears when she saw them from behind the metal bars. The stench of human excrement almost made Anna gag and she barely resisted the urge to pull down her visor and activate air purification in her suit helmet.
“Jack is sick” was the first thing she said to them. “He needs help right away or he’ll die.”
Zhu-guo ‘Jack’ Feng, the youngest of the team, was shivering under a fur blanket. His face was pale and dark circles were prominent under his eyes. Despite the cold, he was sweating profusely. Nana Fujiwari, the last member of the team, was holding his head with a worried expression though she didn’t look very healthy either.
“They took all our rations. I don’t know why…they can’t even ingest our food. They’ve given us some sort of bread but it seems poisonous to us. We’re all sick from it but we have no choice” continued Doctor Asturias.
“Grey, scan him” ordered Captain Ngeze to Specialist Mark Grey, the team corpsman.
Grey took out a scanning device when the prison guard, a twelve-foot, stupid-looking oaf, started yelling at him. He had a long spear with a flexible bone shaft and a nasty, jagged spearhead which he pointed straight at the marine medic.
Anna immediately pointed her rifle at him as did her two other marines.
“Wait! Wait!” said the Hamid. He fumbled in his bag to find the translator device.
Captain Ngeze pulled down his visor and used the helmet’s built-in translator. “We only want to see why he’s sick.”
The alien continued to yell unintelligibly, gesturing for them to get out. Cutting the metal bars would take barely a second and they could run to their ship just two miles away. The temptation was great in Anna’s mind.
“Put your guns down” said Ngeze. Through his translator, he said “Okay, we’re moving out.” Anna was frustrated by the hasty withdrawal.
The same day, Bitsuman came to their heat-memory inflatable tent. Professor Hamid went out and talked to him with only Captain Ngeze. When they came back in after a short conversation, Hamid sat on a chair and sighed.
“They want weapons in exchange for the prisoners.”
Anna couldn’t believe her ears. “So they’re not really prisoners but hostages.”
Her commanding officer’s silence confirmed the truthfulness of her remark. His wide, angry eyes met hers and she knew right away that he was already planning a rescue in his head.
That night, the five marines slipped out of their tent with their armour colour changed to true black. Ngeze had explained that Goroths had more developed eyesight than humans, especially with regard to colour. Even in the dullest light, the large aliens distinguish different shades of colour with astonishing accuracy. Hence, the true black armour.
Anna’s first victims were the two guards who were watching the Renden tent. They were talking in diminished tones when Anna jumped up silently and severed both their heads with one stroke of her hyper-vibrating machete.
They had to kill two more locals before reaching the entrance to the underground prison which was really just a mound of earth with a large gaping hole. Two of the team remained at the entrance while Anna entered behind Captain Ngeze and in front of Specialist Grey.
She watched with satisfaction when Ngeze cut through the neck of the sleeping prison guard. They had worked so quietly that none of the other prisoners in the dozens of cells had even awoken.
Anna activated the smaller laser attached to her pulse rifle and it cut through the metal bar in no time. Doctor Asturias was sleeping so she gently covered her mouth lest she make any sound. When the head engineer woke, her eyes were wide but she made no attempt to say anything. Ngeze woke Doctor Fujiwari while Specialist Grey went to Jack Feng who was moaning in his sleep.
Jack Feng immediately started to shout in delirium before Grey put on a sedative tab on his sweaty neck and he went out cold. The corpsman put the sedated engineer over his shoulder while Ngeze and An
na each helped the two others walk out. The marines guarding the entrance reported no distubances.
As they silently made their way to the tent to collect Professor Hamid before heading to their ship, Anna’s visor indicated that fresh Goroth tracks and residual heat was leading towards the professor. She reported this to Ngeze who said nothing but sped up.
When they reached the tent, it was as she had feared. Two dozen Goroth warriors with bows and spears had ransacked the tent and Professor Hamid was held by his neck with his face towards them. Whoever was holding the professor whose face showed he was close to suffocating was hidden behind the dangling Renden body. Anna could guess easily who it was, however.
“Put him down” said Ngeze through his translator. Doctor Fujiwari was clinging awkwardly to his shoulder.
“I knew you’d attempt this. Rendens know no honour” said Bitsuman after revealing his face.
“We can settle this amicably. But first, put down the professor or he’ll die” said Ngeze calmly.
Anna could feel her heart race. She wanted badly to kill the shameless Goroth. The professor’s face was turning blue.
Ngeze continued talking to Bitsuman, frustrating her. But when the alien was talking, he muffled his visor and gave her an order through the Web-Com. “Take the shot. Kill the son of a bitch.”
It gave her great satisfaction when the alien’s head suddenly exploded into a blue pulp. The other marines opened fire on the aliens who responded with their long arrows. The headless corpse of Bitsuman kneeled before falling flat but continued to convulse as if it refused to acknowledge the absence of a brain. It still wouldn’t release Professor Hamid.
“Behind us!” said Ngeze as several arrows peppered the ground from behind.
“Carry the hostages out of here. Petranovskaya! Cover me as I get the professor.”
The three other marines each carried one of the hostages and sped away towards their ship. Ngeze jumped up and made it to where the dying corpse of Bitsuman was still strangling Hamid. Anna shouldered her rifle and took out her machete. She also jumped and started cutting limbs off Goroth warriors.
“Let’s go!” shouted Ngeze, now carrying the unconscious Hamid over his shoulder.
A warrior challenged him with a spear which he grabbed and threw back at him, piercing one of his four red eyes. The two sped away towards their ship.
But the Goroth had planned this out. Warriors emerged, shooting arrows before hiding behind shrubs or trees. One of them hit Anna on the chest and the force was enough to have her land on her rump. She was unharmed, however, and continued to run.
The ship was in sight and the pilot had already started the engines. Within a few moments, she was on the ramp under the belly of the transporter. She turned to see Ngeze running at full speed a hundred feet behind her. She shot at any warrior who dared show his head.
It must have been one of the luckiest shots in history. An arrow flew from a couple hundred feet away and the shooter had since disappeared. Anna could see that its trajectory would coincide with Ngeze’s. She thought it would bounce off his armour and send him sprawling on his face. Hamid would suffer a few more grazes as a result, but nothing serious.
But the arrow stuck! It had flown in from two hundred feet, aiming for an object traveling at a hundred miles per hour and it had penetrated one of the weak points of the amour; a small space no less than inch wide between his shoulder blades. It sent him to the ground but remarkably, he didn’t release the unconscious Hamid.
Anna immediately went to get him, hoping that it hadn’t done any serious injury. As soon as she saw where it had stuck, she knew that the broad arrowhead had broken his spine and sliced open his heart. As soon as Grey did a scan on his commanding officer, he confirmed her belief. Hamid was going to be alright despite a bruise that was starting to appear around his neck.
The ramp was raised shut and the transporter trembled as its engines exerted to get it off the ground. She could still hear the muffled thuds of arrows bouncing off the ship exterior. She took the helmet off Ngeze’s head and saw the look of surprise imprinted on his face. With two fingers, she closed his eyelids.
Chapter 1: Infiltration
‘The Chinese Empire has the most bizarre ruling structure with the Emperor at the top but without any official government title. In the government organisation chart, his position seems almost ceremonial but it is a well-documented fact that the throne wields all the power. My conclusion is that it is just a personality cult, fertile ground for cronyism, favouritism and random interpretations of the vague notion of the 'Emperor's Will'? It is startling how compartmentalized government organisations were and how little coordination and oversight was wielded.’ - Terry Southend,
He heard the footsteps of four people amid the sounds of beasts, insects, and birds. He could tell they were all highly trained professionals; two of them were trying to sound as irregular and as random as possible while the other two were purposefully stepping in sync with the natural sounds around them. Their amplifier suits were using sound-cancelling technology, emitting only slight whispers with each movement. But his training permitted him to see right through such gimmicks. He could even tell that one of them was female just from her lighter steps.
All of them were exceedingly cautious. Though they could reach his location with a single amplifier-assisted jump, they were just circling and assessing. No doubt they were talking to each other in their muffled helmets through their mobile Web-Com. Movement ceased. Assessment had finished and a specific tactical action plan had been formulated. In a small group of four, a good leader would send one person in advance and the others would follow shortly. The leader would always be the second person to move.
If his goal was to kill them, he would remember the footsteps of the leader and kill him first. The first set of footsteps started towards him as he had predicted. He could tell that the scout was very light footed and quick. Despite his heavy armoured suit, he made very little sound on the earthy jungle floor. To his surprise, the female was the second to move, indicating her leadership.
All four of them were standing around him within a few seconds. The evaluation of the situation and execution of the plan were all impeccable. If he were a normal enemy, they would have surrounded and killed him in a highly efficient manner. All four pulse rifles were pointed at him, waiting for him to stir.
He opened his eyes and put on a convincing terrified expression. He even screamed in fright.
“Who are you?” he gasped. “What do you want from me?”
The female lowered her weapon and opened her visor, revealing her green eyes. “Get up” she ordered flatly.
He complied hurriedly, trying to look nervous and confused. He put his hands on his head. “Are you here to rescue me?”
“It depends” she said.
“Are you United Terra?” he asked.
She didn’t answer. She didn’t have to. He could make out the shapes of the environment-detecting camouflaged amplifier suits and they didn’t resemble any of those of the Six Empires of Earth.
“Identify yourself” she ordered.
“Captain Derek Wurth, security officer of IGN Jesus of Nazareth” he answered.
“You’re Atlantic Alliance?”
“Yes, I am. At least what’s left of it.”
“What were you doing on a Chinese vessel?” she asked coldly.
“I was taken prisoner. I was on the Jesus of Nazareth in the orbit of Janpu. Our whole crew died bleeding from their mouths and eyes. The ship was boarded by Imperial forces.”
She looked at one of her men with an inquiring look. His visor opened to reveal dark skin and hazel eyes.
“The Jesus of Nazareth went missing after the first Nikruk attack on Janpu almost six years ago. It hasn’t been recovered. Nothing is known about survivors.”
“Do a retinal scan. You’ll see that I’m in your database” said Derek Wurth whose real name was Qin Huei.
&
nbsp; She looked at him for a moment before lifting a flap on her wrist. “Look into the red dot” she ordered.
The smell of ozone told him that a Web-Com scan was being performed. She pulled down her visor to see what it told her.
“I am Major Geraldine Schmitt, United Terra Marine Corps” she said after verifying his identity and lifting her visor. “We’ll take you to our vessel for medical attention.”
The big, dark-skinned man lent him his hand which he took graciously. He purposefully made his knees tremble as he stood up.
Twenty minutes later, he found himself strapped inside a diagnosis capsule. The self-inflicted scars on his arms and torso caught the eye of Major Schmitt who was looking at him from outside the glass bubble of the capsule. He was taken by her surprisingly soft, feminine features.
“Did they torture you?” she asked through the glass in a concerned voice.
He let a few seconds pass for dramatic effect. “Yes” he whispered.
“How did you end up on this planet?”
“I think they were trying to transfer me to a more secure location. I have no idea where they held me but it was attacked a few weeks ago, probably by your forces. I could feel the trembles each time an explosion went off. Without any explanation, they put me in a transport vessel.”
“Were there any other survivors?”
“Initially we were six when they boarded the Jesus of Nazareth. I never saw the other five again after that.”
Geraldine’s expression was grim. She remained silent as if waiting for more.
“I don’t know why my captors brought me here from wherever I was. All I know is that there was a malfunction or an attack and the vessel crash landed. I was in a reinforced cell compartment. My imprisonment probably saved my life.”
“Did you tell them anything?” she said with a sharp edge in her voice.
He sighed. “I suppose so. But I was just a captain. I didn’t have any knowledge of strategic importance, especially since most of my fleet was lost. All I knew was that we had just finished invading Janpu.”
