“Well no, it's been a real pleasure.” Neither of the two had ever seen Sirio smile so much. “We'll have to do this again soon. Maybe you could come over for dinner next weekend.”
Ingrid shot him a look, but for only a second. Then she composed herself again.
“You can count on it! We'll be here!” Tylor exclaimed.
“And bring Betty too, of course,” Sirio said.
“She'll be thrilled to come along.”
Mike got up from the couch. “Good, it's decided. We'll be going now.”
“Bye, guys,” Sirio told them.
Ingrid walked their guests to the door. “It was a pleasure to meet you both.”
“The pleasure was ours,” Mike hastened to reply.
“See you soon!” Sirio yelled.
Tylor's hands gripped the steering wheel. “What a waste of time!”
“I wouldn't be so sure,” Mike countered. “We've established contact. And we've been invited back, so we'll have plenty of time to make a plan of action.”
“Poor Sirio. His brains have turned to mush.”
“He seems happy.”
“What the hell are you saying, Mike?”
“Whoa! I'm not happy about his mental state. It's just a thought. On the other hand, a shot of heroin makes people ecstatic.”
“An ecstasy that'll kill them in the end.”
“Agreed. But you'll see. If we were able to get him off the Alpha Orionis, we're capable of doing just as much with Ingrid's house.”
Tylor nodded yes with his head, then continued driving with his eyes fixed straight ahead. Once they were completely outside of Canberra, at one in the morning, they were the only car on the road for a mile. Then, something fell hard behind them. Something traveling very fast, which must've been moving hundreds of miles per hour.
“What the hell...” Mike started to say, before being blinded by a sudden light. Both he and Tylor had to shut their eyes. The engine speed increased. They were overwhelmed by an intense, suffocating heat. When the light and the heat subsided, they had only a fraction of a second to realize that they were crashing into a tree at breakneck speed.
The impact was deafening and terrifying. Parts of the car ended up dozens of meters away and the body caught on fire. No one saw the accident, except for the pilot of the Ikalian shuttle, who disappeared over the horizon.
43
“I don't like it. They appear to be stupid!” Eldgh stated.
“We did our best,” said Namiko.
“It's not enough.”
“There's no more that we can do. At least not now. Maybe after the mission...”
“I just hope that it's not an irreversible process.”
“Xnoris didn't seem like someone who does things haphazardly.”
“True. Maybe it's our approach to their reeducation that made them like this.”
“Allow me to tell you: I don't find them be as artificial as you do.”
“I remember how they were at first. I also remember my own mental state. Trust me, Namiko, even when they were controlled by neural processors, they didn’t act like the puppets they are now.”
“It's probably because they need more time to develop their own personalities.”
“Don't go hazarding hypotheses. They seem ready to face the Ikalians, in any case.”
The Japanese woman nodded with an imperceptible movement of her head.
“What's wrong? Are you worried?”
“No,” she replied tersely.
The new Commander of the Alpha Orionis continued to stare at her. Then she turned and looked him straight in the eye.
“I'm afraid!”
This time, it was Eldgh's turn to stand there silently.
In the last few days before they reached Earth, hundreds of key roles had to be formalized on the Betelgeuse, in order to manage the ship and its mission the best way possible. Eldgh, with Namiko's consent, opted to have the highest rank, with the Terrestrial relegated to the role of Earth's Chief Adviser. One of the few Taahrians that showed signs of a personality was named First Officer. On the bridge, in the Engine Room and in any other place of vital importance, it was essential that communications were rapid and free from misunderstandings, especially during an armed conflict. Since the translators were now upgraded, Namiko, who knew practically no Taahrian, decided to step aside. The role of Chief Adviser was then offered to her to maintain firm order within the ship.
Coming out of hyperspace, the first image Namiko saw displayed on the bridge's huge screen was that of the Moon. Looking at the ship's trajectory, she was sure that they'd slam into it. She almost screamed; but, noting the Alpha Orionis' rapid directional shift, ultimately managed to hold it in.
“My God! That was close!”
“You're seeing an enlargement,” Eldgh noted impassively. “For all its high technology, the ship's enormous mass wouldn't have allowed us to move away quite like that.”
Namiko tried to calm down. She felt nauseated and her heart was pounding due to the hyperspace jump. Despite being well-trained, this situation was scaring her to death. There was too much at stake: her, Sirio, her family, the Earth, and the destiny of the entire galaxy.
The Commander entered in a perfect trance state. All of his mental resources had been directed towards the completion of their mission. For the first time since the chip had ceased to function, his self-awareness, the knowledge of his origins and his destiny were no longer an issue.
The navigation personnel announced that that it would take sixty minutes to reach the other side of the Earth. That was where they'd find the Sjunish. Until then, they'd remain hidden from the other ship, at least visually. Endless minutes passed, during which they performed a Check List of operations three times. The Earth became bigger and bigger, and at twelve minutes from visual contact, the computer announced: “Four hi power torpedoes incoming.”
“We were expecting that, ” Eldgh murmured, then ordered: “Neutralize them!”
Namiko didn't understand the nature of the attack or their defense.
The four flashes of light on the screen were enough for her to understand that the danger had been averted. Then she said: “I had hoped that they wouldn't notice us until the last minute.”
The commander's reply was swift: “I don't think it was the Sjunish that saw us”.
“A surveillance probe was monitoring us,” asserted a tactical officer.
“Or maybe even those same terrestrial satellites,” added another.
“I'm convinced,” Eldgh replied, “that they wanted to test our defenses. They've probably been aware of us from the beginning; and, caught off guard, undertook an initial offensive test.”
“You're positive that they can't hurt us?”
As a matter of protocol, she should've been more formal in addressing the Commander, but Namiko, after months of working closely with him, wasn't used to that and Eldgh didn't care anyway.
“You know,” the Commander replied, “we're more prepared than they are. The only weapon that could cause us any serious damage is a negative mass generator. And I don't know if they even have one on board; not to mention that, if they did, it would take more time to activate it than they have.”
“At least this time, you managed to cheer me up.”
Eldgh smirked.
Namiko supposed that his expression related to her comment, then learned that something very different had caused his amusement.
“Our generator, on the other hand, has been active for hours!” Eldgh said, full of satisfaction.
44
It first appeared as a dot, then got progressively larger and more well-defined. Finally, thanks to the screen on the instrument panel, they were able to admire the Sjunish in all of its grandeur.
“It's enormous!” the Chief Adviser exclaimed.
“The Alpha Orionis is bigger,” the Commander pointed out laconically.
The day before the anticipated battle, Eldgh had isolated himself on one of the ho
lodecks, running simulations. He ran the encounter twelve times, utilizing four different scenarios. When he reemerged, Namiko had asked him: “How'd it go?”
“I'm ready,” was the reply.
Whatever you have in mind, the Terrestrial thought, I sure hope it works.
For several moments, there was a surreal silence on the bridge. You couldn't hear a sound, not even whirring. It was as if the universe had suddenly locked the image in place indefinitely. Namiko knew that wasn't the case, as her heart was beating at a frantic pace.
“Our readings indicate that all weapons are charged,” stated one of the officers.
Given our proximity to Earth, the negative matter generator should be used at maximum power, Eldgh thought, then asked: “Are we ready to use the generator?”
“I don't have the readings,” stated the authorized officer.
The Commander turned back to the AI: “Computer, is the negative mass generator ready?”
“The generator is active, calibrated to ninety nine percent, and ready for use.”
That weapon is horrible! Namiko meditated in religious silence. It'll completely wipe them out. That wasn’t the plan.
Eldgh turned to look at her. It was as though he had read her mind.
“I don't want to waste torpedoes,” the Commander explained. “They could come in handy six months from now, when who knows what arrives from Ikali.”
The translator functioned perfectly and the Chief Adviser took note of his reasoning. She felt like a fish out of water. She had never felt at such a disadvantage. Her entire nervous system was paralyzed, at the worst possible moment. Thinking she was a liability, she believed her role as adviser was fairly ridiculous. Then, Eldgh's orders interrupted her thoughts.
“Computer, target the negative mass to one hundred twenty two dedjen from the Sjunish's engines.”
“Affirmative.”
For a moment, every single light on the Alpha Orionis went out. The ship shuddered, hissed, then returned to normal. The Ikalian ship was still intact and in its orbit. Nothing happened for about ten Terrestrial seconds. It seemed like an eternity. Everyone on the bridge stood there, with their eyes fixed on the big screen. The Commander was besieged by terrible doubts. The high energy weapons on the Sjunish's stern lit up. That's a bad sign, Eldgh thought. I didn't know that they had that many weapons.
“We have insufficient knowledge about their shield modulation,” the tactics officer reminded him. It was an issue that they hadn't been able to resolve. The information had probably been sent to their neural chips by the Ikalians via subspace waves.
“Computer,” the Commander asked again. “Does the Ikalian ship possess an energy shield?”
“I am unable to respond.”
In another instant, the Sjunish's weapons would fry them.
We're screwed! Namiko was sure of it.
A fraction of a second before the shots were fired towards the Alpha Orionis, the Ikalian ship veered in a movement too quick to have been the result of a deliberate action.
“Enlarge it on screen!” the Commander ordered.
As the enemy ship rotated, he could see damage to the area around its propulsion system. It had been crushed as though an entire planet had landed on top of it. Some explosions in various larger areas of the Sjunish followed.
“Engines destroyed, numerous breaches in the hull, twenty six decks hit, artificial gravity compromised, and life support systems seriously damaged,” the initial report stated.
Eldgh was aware that he had exceeded expectations. His intent was to taken the Ikalian ship out of commission and make it surrender, not to destroy it.
“Is there anything we can do to save those on the Sjunish?”
“No, Commander. I'm sorry,” the First Officer replied.
“Explosion of the vessel is imminent,” the AI announced. “You are advised to leave the area.”
“Computer, take action!”
“All rear thrusters engaged. Done.”
The gravitational plates kept them from feeling the movement, but the screen on the bridge showed the Sjunish becoming ever smaller.
Soon there was a blinding flash.
“Prepare for the shock wave!” someone yelled.
Namiko crouched down and held onto a section of the holographic generator anchored to the deck. Thanks to their timely departure from the scene, the ship was only grazed. A few light shocks followed. Namiko was reminded of the earthquakes in Japan. When it was all over, Eldgh asked: “Damage?”
“Irrelevant,” was the immediate reply.
Then the Terrestrial screamed: “The ship! The ship! The ship!”
At first, no one understood. When all eyes finally followed Namiko's gaze, there was a general shudder of horror.
“Among the remains of the explosion,” said the First Officer, “there are three sections with a diameter of at least five hundred meters.”
The Commander and adviser looked at each other.
“And they're plummeting towards Earth,” the officer concluded.
45
Saarin had never harbored any doubts about the fact that he would become the most famous emperor in history. The Ikalian machine and its manifest technological superiority, known throughout the galaxy, guaranteed such power that he had to ask himself why none of his predecessors had succeeded in conquering three new worlds. The explanation might lie in their having been less zealous and too superficial, like that lout of his father. In any case, this predictable operation was getting boring. Maybe it was just the tedium of a game that had gotten too easy. That could be the entire problem. Saarin sensed that he would have to find new stimuli. To keep from getting distracted from his goals of conquest, he would need to proceed with Hatmnal's amendments to the plan, to make the expansion of his empire more exciting. Saarin had always been an especially lucky Ikalian: his every fantasy seemed to turn into reality. The desire to include changes to his plans for conquest wouldn't be an exception. Unfortunately for him, the realization of his dream had exceeded his grasp: a calamity occurred at the stroke of the ninth evening hour, in the midst of his dinner of blue shellfish.
“Not now!” the emperor commanded the messenger.
“Sire, I beg you, this concerns the most nefarious event in Ikalian memory.”
“You know how much I detest being interrupted during dinner. You could just say that the Alpha Orionis has been destroyed.”
“Sire, it's far worse!”
“We're listening! What could ever be worse than that?” he asked arrogantly.
“The Alpha Orionis has destroyed the Sjunish!”
The emperor began to choke and almost suffocated. He coughed for some twenty five runije4 before regaining his composure.
The subspace transmission cameras had recorded every moment of the attack, from one hundred and twelve different angles, beginning with the explosion of the engines, to the point where all communication ceased. The emperor rewatched the sequence of events seven times, then stopped. It was useless to ask questions. He was too intelligent to be unaware that they would have to examine an infinite amount of data before determining the causes of the catastrophe. Before his very eyes, he had just witnessed an event that Ikalian science had determined to be the least likely in the galaxy. Saarin would've felt less astonishment and alarm if a black hole had appeared in the Ikalian star system or superluminal engines had caused an irreversible tear in the fabric of space-time. Even the apocalypse foretold by the books of Tammhal would've made more sense.
For the first time in his life, he had the time to develop a concept of fear. The attack which had left that mark on his face, had happened too suddenly for him to be horrified. Instead, the high-resolution details of this event were making him shake like a tjunth leaf. A sense of revulsion mingled with horror at the sight of something that never should've happened. This was an event he couldn
't justify, which could only be explained by the ineptitude of their military; an incompetence from which he didn't exclude himself. Saarin, before being an emperor, was an Ikalian who knew how to take responsibility. He had been a fool. Although the destruction of the Sjunish was an unforeseeable event, believing that he had everything under control was an unforgivable mistake. He would consult with his advisers for hours before giving an appropriate address to the people of Ikali. Saarin had no idea how the people would react to an event as serious and unprecedented as this, just as he didn't know if the Terrestrials, the Taahrians or some terrorist organization was at fault. However, of one thing he was certain: he didn't like this game any more. The Alpha Orionis
and the Earth would be destroyed.
Live or Die
Trilogy
The Choice (Vol. III)
A Novel by
J.A. Hawkings
Ebook protected by Digital Rights Management
© 2015 All rights reserved by author
First English Edition May 2015
This novel is a work of fantasy. Names, characters, places, organizations and events are the result of the author's imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely random.
This work is protected by Copyright laws. Any unauthorized duplication, even in part, is prohibited.
First Part
The Fall
1
The Mtjugiaankh resistance had neither a fixed set of regulations nor a true hierarchical order. It was the brainchild of a small number of enlightened minds, who were mostly academics and scientists with exclusive access to government facilities. The Ikalians' natural inclination to collaborate had allowed the talents of these particular individuals to harmonize. But, to weaken the empire at its foundation, it had to have roots outside Ikali. Out of twenty-two inhabited worlds, Pristh and Blue C were the prime candidates. If the first assured refuge and cooperation, the second would be the cornerstone of the revolution.