Consortium of Planets: Alien Test (10 page)

“Our leaders picked The Trinity’s wide expanse to fight the Chn-maa because of the natural crescent barrier that it formed in space. The swirling matter that passed between the three red giants provided a wall of thermal energy, too hot for them to pass through. Even their sensors could not penetrate it. The First Quadrant Fleet was assigned to skirmish with the armada’s left flank and draw them toward the Trinity’s center star. Ultimately, they had to get the armada to reposition itself at the middle of the swirling crescent.

“At first, only small numbers of the Chn-maa reacted to our fleet and our admirals started to lose faith. Then, their evil black wedge took the bait and began to slowly turn and point at the Trinity. Like hungry groutin, they devoured our meager forces as they gave chase and moved closer to the center star. By the time the armada reached the center, less than one quarter of the First Quadrant Fleet remained. Then our fleet did the unexpected: they turned on the armada and became the aggressor. They had to stop the armada’s momentum and hold it where it was. As they pounded the surprised armada, the Second Quadrant Fleet came out of hiding. From behind the stellar crescent they ripped into the armada’s exposed flank. Our navy took heavy losses but continued to fight and circle toward each other. What was left of our battered fleets finally met and formed a single group.

“The armada found itself between what was left of our forces and the combined stellar mass of the Trinity. They were so close to the churning astral waves that we could barely pick up their blips on our most powerful sensors, even though we were only separated by less than a light second. It didn’t matter. They were right were we wanted them to be. Our battle plan would either succeed or fail us. There were no more options.

“Three of our University’s scientific vessels remained hidden, veiled behind the Trinity’s brilliant energy. The ships were assigned to excite the star’s solar energy by using the newly developed praser weapon. If it worked properly, the stars would blow off major portions of their coronas.

“The praser was untested, but our combined fleets had to trust in the weapon’s success and couldn’t run until the University ships powered up the device. Unfortunately, the scientists’ first try failed when the praser’s power conduits melted under the stress of trying to generate enough force to effect all three stars. Our fleets continued to take tremendous losses. They stayed true to the mission and held the armada in place while the scientists hurried repairs.

“Then the fleet got the message from our scientists: they had fired the praser directly into the stars. It worked – energy levels were rapidly rising. It was time for the fleet to leave the Trinity as quickly as possible. Just nanoseconds before the massive energy flashed out from the stars, our ships turned and ran, hoping to avoid the armada’s fate. The armada was so engaged with what appeared to be a glorious victory in front of them that they never saw the three stars’ searing coronal energy lash out from behind. The armada’s vaporization was instant and complete.

“Only a handful of their ships escaped that wave of super-heated energy and survived to tell their story. Even with the warning, one third of our own ships were unable to escape the star’s rage as they fled. Those Warriors will always be remembered for their sacrifice on that fateful day. At first, the Chn-maa couldn’t believe that their invincible armada was destroyed. All that they once were was absorbed by the Consortium of Planets. They are the one species that remains despised even to this day because of their treachery. By law, they cannot hold positions of authority or even attend school. They may only do menial tasks that allow them to survive.”

Chapter Seven

Aydr’n finished his tale and looked at his Human captives for their reaction. Beth looked at Dean and waited for his lead. He saw her glance over and cleared his throat. “Well, mister alien, it’s a good thing that your praser worked at the eleventh hour or I guess Beth and I would be looking at Chn-maa right now.”
They are afraid that we might challenge them in the future, like the Chn-maa, if we continue to develop.

He started to ask Aydr’n why they didn’t sterilize the Chn-maa and be done with them, but he realized that was pointless. Instead, he decided to bring them back to the present situation. “That’s an impressive story Captain, but I think we’ve already shown that we can defend ourselves against you by turning off your Moonbeam. We’ve passed your test, so you can go home now. We’ll let you know if we want to join your band of ‘merry marauders.’”

Aydr’n actually liked Dean’s directness but wasn’t amused by the humorous edge he tried to give the situation. With the future of hundreds of species – including his own – resting on each new species that was added to the Consortium, Aydr’n knew that there was simply too much at risk. More importantly, he couldn’t let these Humans affect his planned coup to put the military in control of the C.O.P. It was obvious to him that the chairman and Senate should be subservient to the Warrior Caste because they supported the terrible decision to place Warriors under the University’s authority.

Before Aydr’n could respond to Dean, Wystl entered and whispered something into his ear. He reacted with a slight nod of his dark head and disappeared out the nearest opening.

She turned to Dean. “Colonel, it only appears that what you call the Moonbeam has been turned off. You have given too much credit to your pilot. Only the illusion that was bright colors and flashes of light is gone. In order to get Earth’s attention, I designed the illusion with color to give it size and shape. It really has no sides or length, only a two-dimensional mouth that swallows whatever gets in its way. I determine its size, its strength, even its location. It does not emanate from my ship. It is only directed from here with my control pad. It was intended to let you see what you were fighting and give your test better meaning. The tactical black hole that I refer to is still active and continues to advance on the asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter. You are still being tested.”

Annoying beads of sweat clung precariously to Amy’s forehead and threatened to sting her eyes. Unfortunately, taking her helmet off while she stood unprotected on the lunar surface to wipe away the moisture wasn’t a good idea. The real problem was her oxygen gauge’s steady decline toward zero.

With time running out, she tried to think. She shook her head with exasperation when she realized her only source of oxygen was back at the fighter from which she had just escaped. Getting back would be risky.
Was that hole I dropped into with all the aliens an illusion or real?
If it was real, then her fighter might still be in that hole or depression, or close to it.

She had no choice and began looking for a round hole. While she scanned the rock-strewn crater bed, a debate raged in her head.
What if the aliens are still watching, or worse, still in the hole that I’m trying to find? I’ll be completely out numbered, or would I? How many did I kill when I blasted them before? That must have evened the odds a little in my favor, right?
She continued her train of thought, even though she knew she was getting carried away.
Hell, they might even be slightly intimidated by the way I kicked their butts.

After that brief indulgence, she yelled at herself. “Amy, get a hold of yourself! The rest of those creeps are probably looking for you right now. Quit wasting time trying to figure out how many are left. You’ll just have to kill as many as you can. Keep moving and don’t become a target!”

With a slow three hundred-and-sixty-degree scan of the barren moonscape, Amy finally found the large hole she was looking for. Meandering toward her from the depression was a fissure in the surface the size of a small ravine. It stopped a few meters from her feet. It was just a big crack in the otherwise flat terrain, but it looked like it could provide decent cover from an alien attack. She smiled to herself when she saw that she only had to follow the ravine for about two hundred meters.
Finally, some good news!
She had found natural cover, and it was only a short distance to her fighter and a new air supply.

As Wystl had asked, Aydr’n left her with the strange Earth creatures in the control room and proceeded to the briefing room. He thought about the Humans as he approached his next duty and wondered if they could actually pass the Searcher’s test. Only a few hours ago, he had been convinced that they would fail and would probably have to be sterilized. Since then, the Humans had shown great promise. They had overcome Wystl’s illusions and deduced the true threat: the tactical black hole. They still had to overcome her Dimensional Shifter which controlled the black hole.

Once he rounded the hallway and entered the briefing room, his thoughts turned to his angry crew. A short time ago, the Human pilot had fired missiles and lasers into their ranks at close range. Even the best Consortium armor couldn’t completely insulate them at that range, but Wystl wanted him to control his Warriors and let the Test continue. He would do what he was told for now. Soon, the time would come when he would unleash his Warriors on her and the rest of the C.O.P. Then the Warrior Caste would be in control again.

A hush came over the room when he entered. Aydr’n saw the crew’s icy stare and knew immediately what they wanted. He wouldn’t give it to them, at least not yet. He would continue to do the Searcher’s bidding, but the Warrior Caste wasn’t like the Searchers: Warriors didn’t care about knowledge unless it made them more successful in battle. What Warriors did care about was taking revenge when their comrades were killed. That was what Wystl told him to have his crew put in check.

Aydr’n took a deep breath and held his arms up in a calming gesture. He kept his speech brief and began with a simple statement. “The Human pilot is nothing. Even though she killed two of us, she is only a pawn that you can’t kill until the Searcher or I say so. The deaths of our comrades do have meaning. Theirs deaths were part of an ongoing test of this species.”

Everyone in the room knew that dying in a test was not the same as dying in combat, which was how the Warriors preferred to be remembered. Aydr’n watched them shift uncomfortably and increased the projection of his voice to maintain their attention. “Your mission now is to go out on the surface and bring her in alive!”

Someone in the rear asked, “And if she resists?”

Controlling his impulse to shoot the insubordinate Warrior on the spot, Aydr’n pretended not to know who asked the question. “Who said that?” The Warriors maintained their stoic posture and no one responded. After a brief pause, he added gently, “I will notify the families of our new heroes. You are dismissed.”

They sat motionless for a moment, then stood to leave. Their captain’s words had done nothing to ease their sense of loss. With anger still visible on their faces, they began to slowly file out of the room.
Now they could unleash their anger on Amy.
Personally, Aydr’n didn’t really care if she lived or died. He was just going through the motions to keep Wystl happy.

Amy kept her head low as she squirmed forward through the powdery lunar dust and followed the ravine that she prayed would lead to her fighter. She could hear her breathing become more labored the longer she crawled. Breathing in short gasps and sweating profusely, she had to pause. She was able to hold her head up just high enough to see over the ravine’s rocky side and check her position. Only a few short meters remained between her and the hole.

Off to the side, she could see what remained of the alien base after she had destroyed most of it. What she hadn’t destroyed caught her attention when it began to shimmer and waver like a mirage in the desert heat. At first, Amy thought she must be hallucinating because of her low oxygen supply. Suddenly, the unstable illusion completely disappeared and all that remained was a majestic starship that sat tall and round on the empty lunar plain about five hundred meters away.

There was only one reason the aliens would end the illusion: they didn’t need it anymore. Amy was out of time. Her adrenalin started pumping. Desperately, she got up and started to run as fast as she could toward the hole and her fighter, but it was too late – from the alien ship, she could see several dark figures moving quickly toward her. Within seconds, red beams flashed at her from the aliens. Their shots began throwing up dirt and rocks all around her. She dropped back into the ravine for cover.

When she raised her blaster to respond, blue light flashed past her shoulder and toward the approaching aliens. It was a Corps blaster! Amy kept her head down and rolled over to see who had come to her aid.

It was General Stranova who jumped into the ravine beside her.

“Captain, I can’t believe it’s you! I thought I was going to find Forge and Stone getting blasted!”

Amy wanted to hug her boss, but it took all of her strength to turn back and shoot at the advancing aliens. Her radio was still out and she had to imagine the sound of her general’s voice with its slight Russian accent. While she fired at the aliens, Amy tapped Sasha’s shoulder to get her attention. Sasha dropped two aliens before she could look at what Amy was trying to tell her. Amy tapped at the side of her helmet by her ear, frowned at Sasha through her visor, and shook her head. Sasha immediately realized that Amy couldn’t hear. Her radio was out.
That’s why she hadn’t been calling or responding
.

Amy continued to fire at the approaching aliens and watched her general do the same, but everything was beginning to move more slowly. Her oxygen was almost gone, but she couldn’t risk taking the time to pantomime that message to her boss – the aliens were too close now. Her eyes were so heavy that she couldn’t see her gallant general killing the enemy anymore. Soon, she wouldn’t be able to see at all.

No matter what happened, Amy knew the twinkling lights in the sky would always be there. She thought of a story that her mother once told her long ago.
Or, was it only yesterday?
She could hear her mother’s soothing voice again.

“Amy, each of those lights in the sky is a beautiful guardian angel that is peeking through a black velvet curtain that surrounds heaven.”

She prayed that her mother was right. She could feel her life slipping away with the last of her oxygen, and she would soon need an angel’s help.

Dean and Beth were only half-watching the fire fight as it played across every screen in the control room. Aliens dove for cover while pieces of their purple body armor, mixed with dirt and rocks, went flying. Sasha and Amy were doing a fairly good job of fighting for their lives, but they were obviously outnumbered.

Since entering the control room, Dean had kept an eye on the action outside, but his primary interest was learning how to use Wystl’s control pad. Beth had been looking for any weaknesses by observing how the aliens functioned and how they interacted with each other.

Sasha and Amy kept laying down fire, but the aliens were still able to work their way closer. There were just too many to repel. Sasha tapped Amy to tell her to retreat toward the hill that hid her fighter, but Amy didn’t move. Sasha rolled over Amy’s limp body and found a fogged visor instead of her face. On the lunar surface beside her head, Amy had scratched the word “air” in the dust before she passed out. Sasha knew the fight was over and raised her arms in surrender. Amy needed air now and Sasha wasn’t about to lose her a second time.

“No!” Dean and Beth yelled in unison as they watched Sasha give in to the advancing aliens.

Wystl ignored their cry and studied Sasha’s face on the monitor for a few moments.  She nodded introspectively and punched her control pad twice. Then she snapped at Aydr’n. “The Humans have given up! Have your Warriors stand down and take them prisoner.”

The Warriors in the Control Room sat still at their desks. They waited for their captain’s response. He scowled back at them when they didn’t respond to Wystl. His normally greenish-gray face flushed pink and anger filled his voice. Wystl was still in command and discipline was always paramount. “You heard her, tell them to detain the Humans!”