Dangerous Evolution

by Vann, Gregg

  I laid there in silence, hoping for the best, but somehow knowing better. Nothing in this universe comes easily except the realization your greatest fears. Hope and faith take work, but the bad things seem to happen effortlessly, thriving despite valiant and courageous opposition. After a few long moments, the screen flickered brightly before resolving into an image of Del. The Sentient’s face spoke volumes of sorrow.

  “They still refuse to listen,” it said dejectedly, “and are presently trying to distance themselves from my ship.” It paused, then leaned in closer to its console.

  “Thov is a good officer, well respected by the fleet and The Consensus. After what happens here today, Commander, work together with the captain to make peace for both of our races.” An alarm started to wail in the background and Del’s image shook. The Sentient staggered backwards before leaning back into view. Smoke began to fill the screen.

  “Goodbye, Commander.”

  The screen went black, then returned to the image of the combined fleets. I looked at the rear section of the Sentient formation—tying to spot Del’s ship—but it was still in stealth mode. I watched as a group of large Sentient vessels began to move away in unison—fleeing from the main fleet in reaction to Del’s threat. Then they split apart and shot off in different directions, desperate to put some distance between themselves and the Mass Nullifier.

  But it was too late. That piece of the universe vanished.

  The nullifier detonated, sending an incandescent explosion of energy washing over the Sentient ships, reaching out in an expanding wave of destruction to swallow them whole. It was as if the maw of hell itself opened up and tore at the fabric of life, shredding everything it touched, and dragging the tattered remnants down into oblivion.

  My mind struggled to comprehend the level of destruction.

  I watched as the zone of death grew larger, and felt real fear in the pit of my stomach; a sensation I hadn’t felt since the beginning of the Diaspora War. How far will it spread? How many will die? Will it ever stop? Then, as if it heard my silent plea, the destructive energy dissipated, leaving nothing behind but the bright halos burned into my vision—and an area of space cleansed of all matter…including life.

  Del was dead.

  My eyes gradually adjusted enough to see the aftermath on the display; fully half of the Sentient ships had been vaporized, and the rest were drifting out of formation…powerless. But it wasn’t just the Sentient ships I noticed; the Sector fleet was also out of action.

  Son of a bitch, I thought, How many of those bombs did the Sentients have?

  I squeezed my eyes closed tightly, trying to clear my still hazy vision. After a few moments, the sparkly backdrop and glowing artifacts faded away. I opened them again, then watched as the remaining Sentient forces fighting the Na’ardeen and Invincible peeled away—speeding toward the site of the gigantic explosion.

  To my great relief, the two capital ships were still intact. But I saw that three of the Invincible’s four escorts were gone, and the Na’ardeen seemed to be maneuvering with some difficulty. Both vessels were recalling their fighters and regrouping, and within a couple of minutes, the formation began moving in my direction. With our trajectories matched and accelerating toward one another, my escape pod quickly met up with the two ships.

  As the Na’rdeen’s crew remotely steered the escape capsule into an empty niche, I watched on my screen as a growing number of Sector ships regained power and joined together—encircling what was left of the Sentient formation. The attack force that had been fighting the Invincible and Na’ardeen positioned themselves a short distance away in a fractured grouping. It was clear that no one knew what to do next.

  They were all just…waiting.

  The pod slid smoothly into place, and I heard the locking clamps secure it to the ship. After a series of clicking sounds and electronic tones, the door above my head opened and a blast of fresh air came rushing in. It coolly flowed over me, and I took a deep breath, grateful to be rid of the stale smell of the pod’s re-circulated atmosphere. The light shining through the hatch was brighter than the pod’s feeble illumination, and it took me a moment to recognize the face looking in at me. It was Val.

  She reached in and started stroking my hair. “You could have been killed you idiot.”

  “I missed you too,” I replied rubbing my still sore eyes.

  “Are you okay?”

  “Yeah, I’m fine…but a little weak. Can you help me out of here?”

  She stepped aside, and two sets of hands reached in to grab my arms to help me slide out. Stinson and Captain Thov I saw. They sat me down easily onto the deck then moved back; Val knelt down and ran a medical scanner over me.

  “Shocked again, huh? Don’t worry, the effects are already subsiding.” She placed one of her soft hands on my face—her cool palm on my warm cheek. “You’ll be back to normal in a little while.” I smiled at her in response then spoke to Thov.

  “Captain, is the situation secure enough to transfer Mendoza to the Invincible?”

  “I believe so, Commander. Everyone is on a defensive footing now, trying to assess the situation. It’s a fluid state of affairs, but if the ambassador hadn’t minimized the explosion, I don’t think any of us would be here to worry about it.”

  “Minimized?” I asked in disbelief.

  “Yes…by a large margin actually. I will contact Captain Prescott and have your soldier transferred immediately.”

  “Thank you, Captain.”

  Val patted me on the knee. “I’ll go along with her to make sure there are no complications.” She helped me stand, then checked me over once again before heading off to the lab. As I watched her walk away, she looked back and smiled.

  I turned to Thov. “I suggest we go to the hub and try to steer this situation to our advantage.”

  “I agree, Commander.”

  We walked briskly, and although my legs were doing their level best to obey my commands, I faltered a couple of times. I politely waved off Stinson’s repeated attempts to steady me.

  “I didn’t know Sentients could paralyze someone like that,” I said.

  Thov made a dismissive gesture. “Most of us can’t. As you’ve seen, our soldiers can fire bracers with a stun setting, but to control the energy bare handed is almost unheard of. Del was gifted in many ways, Commander; even with so many dead and dying, the loss of the ambassador was particularly tragic. It will be felt for a long time to come.”

  As soon as we reached the hub, Captain Thov called Prescott to arrange for the transfer; Mendoza and Val would be safely onboard the Invincible within the hour. I felt better knowing that Mendoza would finally get the care she so desperately needed. One burden gone, I thought, but an even larger one loomed.

  The Na’ardeen was monitoring a great deal of communications traffic between the Sentient vessels, but they still refused to speak with Thov or any of the Sector representatives. The majority of their fleet had finally restored power, but they were seriously out-gunned and completely surrounded. Most of the larger Sentient ships had been disabled or destroyed, and if any stealth ships had survived, and were foolish enough to try a sneak attack, they would be instantly vaporized by the formidable Sector presence. The Sentient armada had been gutted, and I was proud and thankful that the Sector forces were acting with such restraint. But I also knew that temperance wouldn’t last forever.

  What were the Sentients going to do now?

  “Captain,” one of the hub officers called out, “we are being contacted by Captain Tizo of the Vallisa.”

  Thov’s voice held hope. “I know Tizo personally. Put it through.”

  “Captain Thov,” the disembodied voice started, “We will not surrender to these humans. We will die first.” Tizo’s tone was defiant and resolute.

  “No one is asking for your surrender, Tizo. We are asking for you to listen...to calm down and think. Do you really believe that I am a traitor? That I would protect or help anyone—especially humans—
if they were responsible for this virus? You’ve been to Seveq; you know what I’ve lost.”

  I caught Thov’s attention and indicated that I wanted to speak with Tizo. When it became apparent that a reply wasn’t forthcoming, Thov continued, “I have a human representative here that wishes to speak with you. If you care about your family… about all of our families; listen to him.”

  “Very well.”

  I cleared my throat and leaned against the console in front of me—numb limbs still trying to betray me and send me to the floor. “Captain Tizo, my name is Commander Benjamin Malik, acting representative for Sector Security.” I paused to let that sink in, for whatever it was worth.

  “We are not responsible for the sickness plaguing your people. In fact, as we have been trying to tell you…”

  Calm down Malik.

  “The information we’ve sent you is all true. We provided you with the actual cure, developed by the same hand that created the virus, Doctor Rroske. We have also transmitted that information throughout Sentient space so your planets can begin manufacturing the medicine. It will take your people time to gather the necessary materials and start producing the cure, but we have the ability to do so right now. Together, we can save millions of Sentient lives.”

  The reply was quick. “How do we know we can trust you?”

  There was a pleading quality to the voice—nearly imperceptible—but there nonetheless. They were looking for hope, I realized, but afraid to believe it was possible. There was a chance here—a tipping point I intended to use.

  “You don’t. But I trust Captain Thov and its judgment, and so should you. I propose that your ship follow the Na’ardeen and two of our own ships to a laboratory where we can rapidly manufacture the cure. You can participate in every stage of the process if you wish—evaluating everything as you see fit.”

  Val said she would be happy to produce the cure; I hope she doesn’t mind visitors.

  “After production is complete,” I continued, “you can return here and transfer the remedy to your other ships, for transport throughout Sentient space. In fact, if I can secure Sector approval, maybe we can lend some of our faster ships to the effort as well.”

  I was promising a lot and knew it, but we had an opportunity here for real peace, a chance to save trillions of lives. They had to agree.

  “Why…human? Why help your enemy?”

  “Because I made a promise to Ambassador Del; because it’s the right thing to do; because there has been too much death already, and most importantly, because we don’t have to be enemies.

  “Captain Thov,” Tizo said. “We’ve known each other for a long time, and I do know the losses you’ve suffered. I might be able to believe that either you or Ambassador Del might be traitorous, but I can’t possibly conjure up enough imagination to think both of you were. If I have your word that these humans will help; I will agree.”

  “You have it, Tizo; they are telling the truth.”

  I watched as one of the larger Sentient ships moved out of formation and toward the perimeter established by the Sector fleet. I contacted Prescott, and he gave the order to permit the ship through the security cordon. A Sector dreadnought took up position alongside the Sentient warship, escorting it to our location.

  I exhaled forcefully, then let go of the console and looked down. I’d been squeezing the pedestal with so much force that my fingers had gone white. The blood started to flow back into them, and a now all too familiar tingling sensation began anew.

  We looked around the hub at each another—human and Sentient alike—relief and anticipation on every face; but also a single question, fueled by years of paranoia, distrust, and fear…

  Was it really over?

  Chapter Twelve

  The four ships exited Transit together, emerging in a tight formation near the gas giant where Evan’s Moon silently revolved. Val stood at my side as we began circling the colorful planet; rejoining me on the Na’ardeen just before we left the fleet behind, bringing welcome news from the Invincible’s physician that Mendoza should make a full recovery.

  The ensign nearly died when they removed the Sentient netting from across her abdomen, but the doctors managed to save and stabilize her. According to Val, when she left the Invincible Mendoza was already awake and cussing. Somehow, I wasn’t the least bit surprised. Val also told me that Captain Prescott had been very kind to her, and had asked a slew of questions about me. He would get his answers soon enough, I thought, when we finally met in person.

  The negotiated settlement reached at Vrent had been simple: Both fleets would hold their positions and effect repairs while this special, joint task force collected the cure and returned. Neither side would arm or repair weapons systems, call in reinforcements, or make any other potentially aggressive moves. It was, in every sense, an old-style verbal agreement between humans, and a race that had no history of tolerance or restraint. But I knew that the only thing truly holding the peace together was our superior firepower and positioning.

  Well, that and the apparently broken will of the Sentients.

  The ships made a single orbit of the planet, then moved as cohesive unit toward the moon. The huge vessels kept such a tight spacing that one might mistakenly believe their navigational controls had been slaved together, but it was my belief that each side was just showing the other how proficient they were at controlling their craft.

  As they entered orbit around the moon, shuttles emerged from the large ships—one apiece—each containing that vessel’s captain and assorted scientific personnel. Our shuttle carried; Stinson, Doctor Sa, Val, Captain Thov, myself…and a small Envirocell with a little blue infant inside.

  I watched Val’s face as we crested the moon’s horizon and her dome came into view. She let out a brief smile—visibly relaxing for a moment—then the tension returned. I understood her reaction; it was as if the weight of the world had been lifted from her, only to be replaced by the weight of two worlds. She was home, but still had a serious task to accomplish with trillions of people counting on her.

  “You okay,” I asked.

  She grabbed my wrist. “I will be.”

  We were the first shuttle to set down, entering the dome via the hangar where Val’s private ship was still docked. Looking out the shuttle’s window, I saw that the engineers had finished reassembling the flyer. It looked complete, polished and ready to go, but I wondered if she’d ever be able to set foot inside it again.

  She will, I thought, as we made our way down the ramp. She’s strong; made even more resilient by surviving this madness.

  We left the hangar, walking outside to a nearby common area to await the arrival of the other groups. I realized that Invincible’s shuttle was the next to touchdown when I saw Captain Prescott burst through the doors and walk swiftly toward us. From the opposite direction, I saw Breth and several of the dome’s staff approaching at an equally rapid pace.

  “Val!” Breth called out, running up to hug her. They embraced for a moment, then Breth held her sister out at arm’s length to look her over. “Are you okay? We were all so desperately worried.”

  “I told you over the com, Breth; I’m fine. Really. It’s…it’s good to be home.”

  “Commander…Captain,” Breth said, looking over at Stinson and myself, “I can’t thank you enough.” Her voice faltered, “I can’t imagine…well. Val, you are never leaving this moon again!”

  Val gently broke away from her sister’s grasp and directed the workers to grab the portable Envirocell. She announced to everyone present, “Doctor Sa and I will take the child to the lab and get it hooked up to a support system. Then we’ll start mass producing the cure.”

  Val and I shared a meaningful look, then she left for her lab with the welcoming party in tow. As they walked away, I saw Breth peer into the child’s chamber. “Ah the baby you spoke about. Let’s have a look at…oh my….”

  I turned around to find Prescott standing right behind me, taking it all in. “Command
er,” he said, “I have to admit, I was torn between shaking your hand and punching your lights out.” He held out a thickly muscled hand—the rest of him was just as solidly built. “I’ve decided that I’d like to shake your hand.”

  “I’d like that too, Captain Prescott.”

  Gesturing to the rest of the group, I introduced Prescott to Stinson and Thov, and they all shook hands in turn. Captain Thov was obviously discomfited by the gesture but reciprocated nonetheless.

  “Due to my recent experience working alongside Captain Thov, and my association with you, Commander, the Regents have appointed me acting fleet commander for the duration of this…incident. As such, I’ve been conferring with Prima Sector’s HQ, Captain Stinson. You will be happy to know that the Babylon Rising will be here in two days. You are to resume command as soon as it arrives.”

  “Of course,” Stinson replied. “I need to get back onboard as quickly as possible. You know how discipline wanes when the captain is off the ship. Besides, we need to resume our patrols.”

  “About that, Captain, due to the losses from this battle, much of the newly combined Sector fleet is being repositioned. I’m afraid that the Babylon Rising is being reassigned to Narel. Your daughter lives there I believe… Hopefully, you’ll be able to quickly adjust to your new duties.”

  Stinson’s business-like veneer cracked open into a wide smile. “Oh, I think I’ll manage just fine, sir.”

  “I’m sure you will.”

  Prescott turned his attention to Thov, “Captain, allow me to express my personal condolences for the crew you’ve lost today, and to thank you for your valor. There were at least two clear instances during that battle where my ship would have been destroyed without your efforts.”

  “It would have been a wasteful loss, Captain. I am also grateful the Invincible’s actions. With luck, this will be the last time our people feel the need to war with one another.”