Unsanctioned Reprisal

by Eddie R. Hicks

The entry ramp leading into the cargo bay lowered, and the bridge crew looked on in awe as the dramatic rescue unfolded. All parties that were in danger stormed up the ramp, climbing aboard and shooting backward to disperse the wyverns that got close. Bat-like dragons spewed out from the entrance of the construct, adding to the threats that surrounded the Kepler from all angles. Williams darted away from his post, entering the cargo hold to assist in the rescue.

  “Everyone, be on alert in case we have a repeat of our last epic rescue,” Foster said.

  What was unfolding reminded her of what took place two months ago on the surface of New Babylon. The Johannes Kepler coming in for the save, only for the Dragon Maiden to sneak aboard.

  Williams returned, having confirmed the rescue was a success. The Johannes Kepler was once again airborne as its launch thrusters flared, and its fading primary shields flashed blue and azure colors from the never-ending horde of dragons.

  “So, as for our exit?” Chang asked.

  The bridge’s sliding doors slithered open once more as Tolukei returned. He moved to the side slightly and watched intently with his four eyes as EVE escorted a weakened and limping Nereid to sickbay.

  “What happened to her?” Tolukei said, returning to the psionic station.

  “We had to brute force our way down using the overshields to keep us alive,” Foster explained.

  “She is still far from completing her training,” Tolukei said. “It might not have been wise to ask such a task of her.”

  “Didn’t have a choice.”

  “I could have done what you required of her.”

  Tolukei wasn’t wrong, he probably would have lasted longer. Pierce and the others on the other hand, not so much. Foster tried not to dwell on it. She was doing her job as the captain, making the tough choices to get the mission done. A crew member potentially suffering a brain aneurysm to save the lives of six others wasn’t an easy choice to live with, but necessary.

  “And it’s that same thing I’m gonna require of you now,” Foster said. “Get a new overshield up, and give it all your might, even if it makes you pass out.”

  Tolukei nodded, folded his hands together, and spoke once more before entering a deep trance. “As you wish.”

  The Johannes Kepler pulled up and away from the surface, entering the skies and another rocking assault by multiple swarming wyverns, all visibly angry at the ship that stole their next meal. What remained of Tolukei’s psionic power forced a powerful overshield to flash and reappear around the ship, absorbing the barrage of attacks, and giving the ship’s primary shields time to slowly regenerate.

  Foster gave Tolukei a look and noted his flinching face beneath his dark hood. The stress was getting to him, less than the stress Nereid had to deal with, but it was there nonetheless. If Tolukei followed instructions and held back when he was protecting Pierce’s group, then he should have just enough powers left to get them to safety. This was all in theory of course, Foster wasn’t an expert in psionic powers, let alone the powers of a Javnis Muodiry like himself.

  The altitude numbers, displayed on the bottom left of the view screen, ticked upward as did the speed of the vessel. They were escaping, too bad the overshield percentages dropped just as fast. Five minutes into their climb up and away from the super-earth-sized world, the Johannes Kepler poked up from the sea of yellow clouds with wyverns in its wake. The skies darkened, turning from yellow to beige, fading away into blackness dotted with the stars of the galaxy, and a raging space battle before it.

  The growing debris field, mixed with burning flesh from bio-ships and charred pieces of what was once a UNE destroyer, had Foster worried. “What’s the status of the fleet?”

  Odelea eyed her holo screens, spoke quickly to the other ships, and gave her response. “All UNE ships are preparing to withdraw from the system now we’ve left orbit.”

  It was good enough for Foster. “Then let’s do the same, Mr. Chang, set a course to the wormhole.”

  “Already on it.”

  One by one, UNE battleships vanished after small bright flashes of light via FTL jumps. Once in position, the Johannes Kepler did the same, entering FTL and traveling at speeds equal to two light-years per month, double what the UNE battle group was capable off. Despite not making their FTL jump first, the Johannes Kepler took the lead in the escape back through the wormhole, soaring past all ships and hostile enemy fire which was also able to travel faster than light.

  Crossing the threshold past the wormhole’s event horizon marked the end of the ordeal. The Draconians, despite having annexed Kapteyn’s Star system for months, never sent their ships through the wormhole. The sizeable UNE battle group on the other side pointing their guns and nuclear warheads might have something to do with it, though that group was now behind the Kepler, still making their escape. The more Foster thought about it, the more she realized that perhaps the real reason why they didn’t try to leave, was because they had exactly what they wanted. Control over the system and nothing else.

  That monolith and ancient city was more important to them than we thought . . . “What’s the status of the fleet behind us?”

  “Still in one piece, Captain,” Chang reported. “It will be a few more minutes before they make it back to the wormhole.”

  The tension that gripped the bridge crew finally dissolved. “Amazing flyin’ as always, Chang,” Foster said to him.

  “So, it’s you I gotta thank then, eh?” A familiar voice said.

  Foster spun her chair to the aft, and smirked. The UNE Marine, Jacob Miles, stood at the entrance, still in his exosuit with his arms crossed.

  Chang too turned his chair to face him. “For those flight skills that got us to the finish line? Yes, sir.”

  Miles’ heavy steps moved closer to Chang, and his bearded face was not impressed. “And blastin’ Jackson George music that lured the enemy to us?”

  “It was George Michael,” Chang corrected him. “Michael Jackson was the previous song—”

  “I don’t fuckin’ care, b’y!” Miles exploded, drawing all stares to him like a magnet. “My team’s dead, others are dying or MIA on the surface. Don’t get me started on them ships we probably lost covering yer arses.”

  Chang was revving up to make a witty come back, one that probably would have gotten him punched in the face, while the imposing and uninvited Marine drew closer to him. Foster stepped in between the two, holding her hands out before Miles and his armed chest.

  “Okay, how about y’all talk this over later?” Foster said.

  Miles backed off and gave his ginger beard a stroke. “I dunno what kinda ship and crew you’re runnin’ here, Foster. But my God, if you guys are seriously our last hope for survival, may he help us all. This whole mission went sideways because of your helmsman’s playlist.”

  “Actually, Lieutenant Miles,” EVE said, as she stood with her hands behind her back having returned from sickbay. “According to my analysis, the music drew the Draconian forces away from the survivors we recently recovered. Once they encountered your team and the other Marine forces, they called for reinforcements that had been guarding the construct you, Doctor Piece, and EDF-1 had entered. Had Chang’s playlist not been playing, I predict we would still be on the surface waiting for the recon teams to observe the situation. The survivors would have been discovered and killed, and the construct would have remained heavily guarded.”

  Silence hit. Everyone’s minds began to process what EVE revealed.

  Chang broke that silence seconds later.

  “So what EVE is trying to say is . . . my actions resulted in lives being saved and allowed you and Pierce to do . . .whatever the hell it was you were doing inside that, construct, thingy.”

  “That is correct, Flight Lieutenant,” EVE said. “You inadvertently triggered a chain reaction of events, which resulted in this positive outcome.”

  Chang raised his hands in triumph and he spun his char around to face the helm. “I will take thank yous in the form of hug
s from the ladies, and men bowing down before me saying Dennis is king.”

  Foster held onto her hips, shaking her head at him. “Chang . . .”

  “Okay, okay, I’ll shut up and fly the damn ship.”

  “Thank you, by the way,” said Pierce, who had entered the bridge silently behind Miles, holding his wrist terminal high up. “I was starting to worry if this intel would be lost for a moment.”

  “What do you got there?” Foster asked him.

  “I don’t know, but I intend to find out. Odelea, I could use your help with this one, if that’s okay, Captain?”

  “I ain’t got any problems with that,” Foster said, returning to her chair. “It’ll be at least a day before we arrive at Amicitia Station 14 and drop off these survivors.”

  12 Avearan

  City Core

  Cassini City, Titan, Sol system

  October 14, 2118, 06:27 SST (Sol Standard Time)

  Avearan gave her apartment one last fleeting look before she went for the front door with her traveling bag in hand. I’ll be back in week, she told herself. If it took longer than that, then she and Lisette had found a means for the two to remain in the Empire. Her landlord could do whatever the hell he wanted to with her stuff, not that she had much of value.

  She arrived at the academy campus from the same brain train she always took, this time not as a student heading to class and training. She took a seat in one of the many cafes on the lower floors, waiting for Lisette who still had one last training session left before the week-long break. She passed the time reviewing their last-minute travel documents, trying not to think about the credits that were emptied from her account to pay the passage for the two, or the cheap protein bars they’d have to live off until their arrival. The number of ships they’d need to transfer to was plentiful, and the Empire didn’t use credits. Getting passage on Imperial ships without Imperil standing required a whole lot of bartering. Phylarlie had her people take care of that, lucky for them.

  Lisette greeted her with opened arms and a kiss when she was ready. The two made their way to the train platform, sat, and waited for one that would take them up north to the nearest starport. The journey had the two observe the sights of Titan’s untamed rugged hills and mountains, ice harder than a rock, yet the lakes and rivers of methane remained in their liquid state. Lisette pestered Avearan with questions about how it felt to stand outside without an EVA suit, or what was it like to see and be in a rainstorm of water. The concept of water falling from the skies was crazy talk to her, as liquid methane rainstorms were all she knew. Even then, those were rare on Titan.

  The train’s automatic announcement system, which sounded a lot like EVE, announced they had arrived at the starport. What they saw when the doors slid open made both of their faces wrench with worry. There was a large crowd of humans blocking the starport’s main entrance, chanting and waving signs, protesting about . . . something.

  “Oh shit . . .” Lisette muttered as they neared the protest.

  “Wonder what they’re complaining about now?” Avearan said.

  Lisette grimaced and pulled Avearan toward her tight, like she was trying to protect her. They pushed past the protesters, slowly trying to make their way to the only entrance to the starport via the station’s platform. The chants of the humans became more noticeable as with the signs they held up. Some signs had slogans such as ‘UNE is for humans only’ others said, ‘Extraterrestrials go home!’ The chanting was of a similar nature. Avearan felt powerless without her old cybernetics.

  “Just keep your head low and walk,” Lisette whispered to her.

  News reporters with flying camera drones stood around the protesters, recording and reporting on what was going on, one reporter even took the time to conduct an on-the-spot interview. Avearan managed to hear bits of the interview despite the loud ranting. The protester being interviewed mentioned something about nonhumans needed to leave the UNE, and something about the end of humanity was near unless people rose up and joined them.

  Hateful glares locked onto Avearan’s body when someone, using their loud and agitated voice, made it clear that Avearan was a Hashmedai, not a human with purple hair as her clothing and shades made it appear. Lisette, holding Avearan close to her, didn’t spare her from their wrath and hateful comments. She wished she had followed her advice and kept her head low, not stare and listen to the interview.

  Heckling and harassment ensued, as with shoving and pushing upon the couple that only wanted to step inside the starport, free of the protest. Rubbish from the waste bins were thrown at them, some people spat at their feet, others did what they could to block their path to the entrance. Avearan was called a murderer of two billion lives; Lisette was called an alien lover.

  The last shove the two received nearly toppled them to the ground. Lisette retaliated with a weak telekinetic push, sending the raging protestor onto his ass, while his sign spiraled elsewhere.

  “Hey, you an asshole all the time or just when you hold up signs like this?!” Lisette yelled at them.

  “You know, one day when the rest of the fucking UNE wakes up, you alien lovers will be hung!” shouted another protester from behind.

  A bottle flew at Lisette’s head, she swatted away with her powers. “Fuck off!”

  “How about you fuck off with your alien?”

  “Alien lover!”

  “Yeah, I do love her,” Lisette said, grabbing hold of Avearan’s arm, and returning to their journey to the starport. “What are you going do about it?”

  “The UNE should have wiped out the HLF quicker and told Radiance to get lost back in day,” another protester shouted. “We’d have fewer people like you fucking up our nation!”

  The racket the protesters were making dimmed as they entered the starport and its wide glass sliding doors shut behind them. The chaos was over, around them were peaceful people heading to their designated airlocks, and the starport’s staff going about their business in front of computer stations.

  Avearan looked back at the protestors through the glass door. “Lisette, what the fuck was that about?”

  “Don’t worry about it,” Lisette said.

  “I had to run from the Empire because of how they practically enslaved me, then run from the Morutrin system because of its lack of laws.” Avearan faced away from the door, marching to the check-in stations. “I’d rather not have to run from the UNE . . .”

  “They’re supporters of a group called the Terran Legion,” Lisette said, joining up with her. “They hate all nonhumans, especially the ones on Titan since it has the second largest dwelling of nonhumans in Sol.”

  The Terran Legion. Avearan remembered one of the scrolling headlines mentioned the name of that group the other day when she was watching the news. It talked about protests turning violent on Earth. Protests on Titan and Earth . . . it was clear this group had supporters across the UNE. A number of anxious thoughts clouded her mind while the two checked in, thoughts that made her question if Ella’s words were wholly truthful about life in the UNE being better. At least in the Empire, people never protested. Those that thought about planning one found themselves without a head.

  The two sat and waited for the transport to land and dock. Holo screens floating above played the news and showed footage of similar protests happening across Earth and two other UNE colonies, confirming Avearan’s worries.

  “These protests look commonplace,” Avearan said.

  “The Legion has been around for years,” Lisette said. “But it’s never been this bad, or violent.”

  “Good thing we’re not going to Earth then.”

  Lisette’s head came to rest on Avearan’s shoulder. “Yeah, or anywhere in the UNE.”

  The news report continued to play. Support for the Terran Legion had increased thanks to the Draconian attacks, and due to the discovery of ancient structures found on Earth. An orbital strike turned the summit of Mount Hermon on Earth into a crater, in which an ancient structure had been un
earthed. The footage switched to a huge pit, created by the Dragon Maiden when the Draconians had attacked, in a southern Baghdad park; ancient catacombs were discovered in the pit.

  “People are fucking stupid,” Lisette said. “They’re letting their fear of the dragons do all the decision making in their lives.”

  “Dragons that knew the location of ancient structures on Earth, not built by humans,” Avearan muttered.

  “I know, I know . . .” Lisette said. “It’s only going to make that many more people think the end is near and that something needs to be done to prevent it.”

  “Like supporting the Terran Legion with protests?”

  “The Legion wants all nonhumans out of the UNE and for the military to take a more proactive stance to prevent future attacks.”

  Ella’s memories, imprinted into Avearan’s mind, reminded her of exactly how humans, before they reached the stars, had handled threats. Wipe them out before they became one. She hoped that a hundred years was long enough for humanity to change their ways but given what she just experienced, it was doubtful.

  Their transport descended from space, hooking up with the airlock, some thirty minutes later. The two boarded alongside a crowd of eager personnel looking to get off-world. The transport left the moon and the Saturn sector minutes later, entering FTL speeds on a course that would take them into the UNE wormhole network.

  Next stop was Amicitia Station 14, and from there, a brief layover that would see them transferred to an Imperial cargo ship. The cargo ship was expected to depart the station and travel through the wormhole that linked to Paryo and the Uemaesce system. From there, they needed to board another ship that was expected to take the space bridge in orbit around Paryo, to the Uelcovis system, the location of Taxah.

  The journey was expected to take a number of days to finish.

  13 Foster

  XSV Johannes Kepler

  En route to next wormhole jump, Interstellar Space

  October 14, 2118, 08:06 SST (Sol Standard Time)