Earth Colony Sentinel (Galactic Arena Book 2)

by Dan Davis

  Classic technoprimitivist ideology. The military all over the world was partial to it, for obvious reasons and UNOP was remarkably keen on it. The flexibility of it as an ideology meant that any ethical action could be justified through appeals to historic precedent or human behavioral biology, cherry picked and simplified, if need be. People usually assumed that Kat was a believer, for some reason. It was an attractive enough concept but so flexible to be close to meaningless, in Kat’s entirely uneducated opinion.

  “Yes, sir,” she said.

  “You don’t agree?” He was frowning. “Do you believe that we should use tank-bred APs and production line robots to fight our enemies for us?”

  “No.” Kat hesitated, because Admiral Howe was one step below God and a hundred times more dangerous. On the other hand, what could he do that would be worse than what she had already faced. “It’s just that, if you treat your officers and NCOs like drones and APs, then what’s the real difference?”

  He stared at her, face flushing dark at his cheeks. “You are referring, of course, to the fact that you and your fellows were deceived about the possibility of human prisoners onboard the alien ship. I can understand your position. It is natural for you to take it personally. On the other hand, you are seeing what was done to you through the lens of a pre-Orb Station Alpha morality. The stakes are grander now and the old rules will be stretched further. Because time was of the essence, and you were required in order to give us the highest possible chances for success, you were manipulated. The psychological profiles for you, Rama Seti and Sergeant Stirling all suggested that you would perhaps resist volunteering for a hit and run mission to simply drop off a bomb, and so the chance of human POWs on the enemy ship was emphasized to speed up the process.”

  “With respect, sir,” Kat said, feeling very little respect whatsoever, “they lied to us. Used us.”

  “We’re not out here for us. Did you not know that, Lieutenant?” The admiral tapped his chin while he regarded her. “It isn’t us that benefits from all this effort, all this death and loss. We don’t get to enjoy the fruits of our labor here. We’re doing all this so that in a hundred years or a thousand, humanity is still around. Still thriving. You fought so that this planet can one day have cities on the sea front with cafes and restaurants with a sea view and people raising their family here. That’s why we’re here. That’s what duty is. It’s what it means.”

  “I never really went in much for all that, sir.”

  Howe slowly extended a finger and pointed at her face. “I think you did, Lieutenant. The problem is that you do not realize it yet. When you accept that you will only find fulfilment through embracing your sense of duty, you will no longer feel at odds with yourself and with the world.”

  Kat almost laughed but a feeling of dread overwhelmed her.

  Dread that he might be right.

  “That’s quite the upsell, sir.”

  “You must understand that I am in no way suggesting my offer will prove an easy way forward for you, merely that it will be a fulfilling one. There will be no simple choices. Getting all of humanity working together in a state of total war will mean our species, our civilization will continue on to thrive amongst our enemies out there. We have had to make a number of utterly indefensible and unforgivable deceptions, as when we lied to you and the Marines. Seti was always supposed to be expendable anyway. Stirling is a Marine and we will need to spend those fellows like pennies at a garage sale for many years to come. You, we did not want to see wasted but you must see that in the cost-benefit analysis—”

  “Of course, sir,” Kat said, unable to take any more.

  The fact was, humanity did have enemies. Entities that were actively trying to destroy her and her family and all the families that there were and all the families that there could be. Only a moral and physical coward would avoid stepping up to play their part.

  And so, like all grand life decisions, it was, ultimately, rather simple.

  “Alright, sir. I’m in.”

  The admiral nodded. A man well used to having his own way. “I’m glad you understand. Now, what do you think about starting right away in the—”

  “What’s going to happen to them?” Kat spoke over him. “To Seti and Stirling? They were supposed to be coming out of surgery earlier but they said there were complications.”

  “Yes, well, sadly, the damage to their cells was rather more significant that originally feared and it may take some time for them to be cured and revived. But we have months before we are home and if they ever do make it through, the intention is to form a very small special forces unit that we can use for high risk missions. At least, until they are KIA, which will perhaps not take very long. But, should their medical problems be resolved, they will do their duty for humanity until the inevitable happens. I have a feeling that we will need to draw on the services of every capable human that we can if we are going to survive two wars, on two fronts, with two advanced alien species. And we will need the support of our allies.”

  Kat looked at the digital mock up on the screen of the new alien threat that awaited them in the new Orb Arena. A species that was all swirling tentacles and evil intentions.

  “Alright,” she said. “When do I start?”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  White pain. Searing brightness flooded his eyes and a deep, rumbling humming filled his ears with a rhythmic vibration.

  What is happening? Where am I?

  “Everything’s alright,” a calm voice said from nearby. A cool palm pressed against his forehead. “You are experiencing severe disorientation. You are perfectly safe. Slow your breathing. Please relax.”

  Ram’s throat was so dry he could not speak. It was dark and he was laying on his back. Waking from a long sleep.

  “Just be patient and all will be well, soon enough,” the voice said. It was a woman. He recognized it but could not think who it belonged to. “All will be well, mate.”

  “Relatively speaking,” a new voice said. That voice was also familiar, and yet different. Masculine but strange. Artificial.

  “Quiet,” the woman’s voice said. “Bloody idiot.”

  “Just being realistic,” the voice said. “Don’t want to get his hopes up.”

  “Knock it off,” the woman said. “No one finds you amusing.”

  Pain throbbed in his temples and he blinked, light stabbing into his eyes like pin pricks.

  “What’s going on?” Ram said, or tried to. A straw was slipped between his lips and he drank ice cold water down. “Am I cured? The radiation? Or am I dying?”

  His hands were free and he rubbed his eyes, blinking his vision back. It was incredibly bright but he could see a woman standing over him, looking down. She wore a UNOP Navy uniform.

  “You are in perfect health,” she said. “Although you’ve been inactive for a long time and you need to improve your physical condition. And you need to do so pretty bloody rapidly, frankly.”

  He frowned, squinting up at the face. It was familiar. He did know her but she looked different. Fuller in the face, fuller in the body. Her mouth and eyes wrinkled, deeply.

  “Lieutenant Xenakis?” Ram said. “Kat? Is that you?”

  “Yes,” she said, smiling. “It’s been a while, mate.”

  “She is Captain Xenakis, now,” the other person said, unseen across the room somewhere.

  “Captain?” Ram said, trying to think. Trying to remember. “Captain of the Stalwart Sentinel?”

  She snorted a laugh that had no trace of humor. “We are onboard my ship, the Hereward, which is a corvette.” She looked across the room. “And my position is a captain of this vessel but my rank is Lieutenant Commander.”

  “Congratulations on your promotion,” Ram said. “Where are we?”

  “Heading into danger.”

  He became aware of other people in the room around his bed, medical staff monitoring him. It was a medical center. Ram felt like he was always coming to in those places, always being ro
used by someone strange. A medicalized life.

  A man began coughing near to him. Before the coughing had fully subsided, his angry voice rose above every other noise. “What the hell is going on? Why am I hooked up to all this shit?”

  Ram recognized the voice. “Sergeant Stirling?” he called out. “It’s Lieutenant Seti.”

  “Sir? How’s your arm, sir?”

  Ram had forgotten about losing it and he looked at his hands. “Seems I grew a new one.”

  “Gentlemen,” Lt. Commander Xenakis said, cutting in. “Fellas. Listen up. You’ve been asleep a long time and there is a lot to catch you up on. Very little of it is good news.”

  Ram struggled to sit up and some medical staff tried to hold him down but he pushed them away. Someone huge slid up at the edge of his still-blurry vision, and for a moment Ram assumed it was Sergeant Stirling coming to help him up. But the figure approached from the wrong side.

  A massive, three-fingered hand with sharp claws appeared in front of him, the thick, knobbly alien skin a deep, mottled red. Ram recoiled away from it and looked up at a massive wheelhunter, the central hub and legs clad in a slick, dark gray environment suit. The arms and hands were bare and exposed acres of the red skin.

  It was making a bizarre noise.

  “Ha ha ha. I told you he would be surprised.”

  Lt. Commander Xenakis, standing beside the alien, rolled her eyes as Ram sat up and swung his legs off the side. “You’re lucky he didn’t pull your bloody arm off and beat you to death with it, you idiot.”

  “He wouldn’t do that. We’re old friends, aren’t we, Rama Seti? Old comrades. Such a joy to see you again.” The alien crept back a few gigantic steps, holding out its arms as best it could and bending into what Ram assumed was meant to be a formal bow. Or maybe a curtsey. Its translated voice was generated from somewhere unseen, presumably integral to its suit.

  “Red?” Ram rubbed his face. “You’re the same wheeler we dragged out of that cave? Brought up to the Sentinel?”

  “And with a functioning memory, how wonderful.”

  Ram wondered for a moment whether he was dreaming. On the other bed in the room, Sergeant Stirling sat glaring at the alien and at the medical staff with equal hostility. He and Ram were naked but for a few draped pieces of papery cloth.

  “How long?” Ram asked.

  “You were both put into a coma twenty-six years ago.”

  She handed over a screen and Ram yanked it from her grasp. The little date display in the corner said the year was 2228. August 12th. When he had been on Arcadia, the year was 2201.

  “Twenty-six years?” Ram said, holding his hand over his eyes. “Why? What happened?”

  “A great deal happened,” Kat said, her voice thick with emotion. “Your radiation damage was extensive and took a little longer to heal than anticipated but that was just a few months more than was planned.”

  “I’m healed?”

  “Fully. You both are.” She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry to phrase it in this way but you were put to one side and forgotten about for a long time, as we had more important issues to deal with.”

  Ram could tell from her face that she was not kidding around. “Something bad has happened.”

  She nodded. “The new threat, the Hex, the hexadecapodiformes, were more than our subjects could handle. That Orb Station operates an arena combat every nine years. The first attempt was in 2210 and our subject lost. Badly. Our enemy was awarded, by the Orb Builders, rights and access to the Sol System. Just like that. We appealed to the Orb but it was as intransigent as always.”

  Ram felt a deep stirring in his chest. “They invaded our home system?”

  “They are technologically superior to us. They are physically superior. They had more ships, with higher power output.” She broke off, cleared her throat. “Sadly, it was not much of a battle. We had little chance. UNOP High Command decided, in order to save the fleet, that we would not contest the Earth. So, in 2212, the Earth was lost.”

  Ram and Stirling exchanged a look. They each gripped the edges of their beds.

  “Lost?” Ram said.

  Stirling’s eyes were filled with horror. “Earth is destroyed?”

  “Not destroyed,” Kat said. “The enemy occupy Earth. Millions were killed, most of them by starvation and disease following the breakdown in order and in trade. Probably over a billion by now and increasing but it’s almost impossible to say for certain. The Hex have bases, cities, launch sites. They occupy our homeworld and try to convert our people to their ideology while humanity does its best to carry on in smaller and smaller enclaves all over the planet. Some small nations stayed together, most others broke up into separate states. Lawlessness. Famine. Urban areas were the worst hit, of course. The Hex don’t want to wipe us out, we’re doing that without them. What they want is to make us see reality like they do, worship the Orbs like they do. Anyone who dissents and rejects their indoctrination is killed.”

  “Can we win it back?” Stirling said, nodding at Ram. “Like he did against the wheelers. Win in the arena?”

  “The second combat was 2019 and we lost that, too. The enemy pushed us back from Earth and from Mars, until we’re just about holding on out there in the outer system, and in asteroids and orbital stations everywhere. We have the 55-Cancri System and a thriving economy primarily on Arcadia is helping us to maintain the war. The largest population and industrial center is Rama Seti City.” She gave him a quick smile.

  “You’re kidding?” Ram said.

  Stirling laughed.

  Kat shook her head. “Rama is the place to be.”

  “They turned the outpost into a city?” Ram asked.

  “Oh, no,” Kat said. “They tried. The outpost became Sentinel Colony for a few years but it was in too poor a position on the surface to grow into much. It is a research station now. And a tourist attraction, for some reason. No, Rama Seti City is on the coast, in a sheltered bay on either side of a deep river where it flows out to the Sentinel Sea.”

  The sergeant snorted. “Naming everything Sentinel, are they?” He grinned. “Should have called it the Stirling Sea.”

  “Well,” Kat said, “there is a mining town called Stirling up in the central highlands.”

  Stirling’s face fell. “Seriously? Oh, shit.”

  Ram wondered if there was anything named after Milena Reis. A hollow sickness gripped his guts at the memory of her loss. He could not bring himself to give voice to the question, did not trust himself to speak her name aloud.

  Not fully healed, after all.

  “And where are we right now? Where is the corvette Hereward heading?” Ram looked at Kat. “Why did you wake us up?”

  She nodded. “You got it. We need you. I obtained the both of you a few months back, along with the equipment you will need for the mission. And I found you a team, such as they are.”

  “The mission is what?” Ram said. Stirling sat up straighter.

  “We’re running the blockade,” Lt. Commander Xenakis said. “We need you and your team to land on Earth. There is a new weapon, a prototype, hidden underground and you will need to find it and get it off-world, away from the enemy to where it can be used.”

  Ram nodded. “Do I get a few minutes to stretch my legs first?”

  Kat smiled. “We’re a couple of weeks away, yet. You’ll need to train hard and use the time to get to know your team all over again.”

  “Again?” He looked at Stirling, who shrugged.

  “Me, for one,” the alien in the corner said. “Try to contain your excitement.”

  “Is that really Red?” Ram asked. “The one from Arcadia?”

  “I can assure you, sir, that I am the one and only. The original.”

  “Why is it talking like that?”

  Kat pinched the bridge of her nose. “He not only enjoys human comedy and humor, he thinks he’s actually funny. No, that’s not quite it. He makes himself laugh. The fact that every human he’s ever met finds him
insufferable doesn’t stop him.”

  “I bet the humans on Earth will be glad to see me.”

  “It’s not really on my team, is it? Red is on my team? We’re letting one of them on our home planet?”

  “He’s already been. Two decades ago, he was part of the team that negotiated the terms of our alliance. We recognize the legitimacy of the wheeler splinter group and support them to overthrow their central powers while they assist us in the war against the Hex.”

  “I gave a speech at the United Nations,” Red said, the voice emerging from the hulking great insect-lizard that filled a quarter of the compartment. “In spite of my best efforts, I was not a diplomat for very long. I have since trained and operated as a commando. I am quite good at it. I found my calling in life.”

  Ram felt like he had woken up in the middle of a dream. “You, me and Stirling are going to invade the Earth, are we?”

  “Not just you, Ram. Send them in,” the Lt. Commander said, turning to the door as it opened.

  A couple of soldiers in mismatching fatigues stepped in. Ram recognized them at once as older, slower versions of Cooper, Flores, and Fury. They gathered about their sergeant and all talked at once, sad smiles on their faces. Flores was not a youngster any more. She was hardened, dead-eyed. Fury was close to being an old woman, and she was even thinner, and held herself as rigid as a rifle barrel. Cooper made no attempt to joke and had extensive scar tissue now on his face and neck. No Harris. No Tseng.

  Ram lowered his voice while the others were distracted. “Not that I’m ungrateful for being woken up. And I don’t want to criticize team mates. But if this mission is so important, why is it left to me? And to this team?”

  Lt. Commander Xenakis nodded. “Resources are stretched to breaking point. In fact, breaking point was so many years ago now I can barely remember it. UNOP Navy, humans all over the system, everyone has been falling back into using whatever we can find and bring to bear. UNOP uses old ships, uses fission over fusion power generation. Calling on people who retired. It’s total war, now. Every living human is dedicated to the war, in some way or other.”