Inherited War 1: Retribution (32 page)

“Remember
, there may be friendlies in there so no random shooting.  Pick and identify targets carefully.”  Before they could object Cole slapped the door release and ran into the bay.  He circled around the beat up ship until he came to what used to be the rear hatch. It appeared to have been welded to its frame.

“Someone grab
a cutting torch and start opening this can.”  The last security guardsman in the room stopped and ran to the wall to grab the bays only cutting torch.  “Hurry, there could be wounded or dying Worlders in there.”  The crewman moved away from the reinforced welds of the hatch and picked a section of outer plating to cut through.

It was insanely slow work cutting a hole in reinforce
d hull plating.  Or it seemed that way to Cole.  Cole watched as the guard finally completed the door he was cutting in the hull.  The slab of metal fell away from the ship and landed on the floor with a resounding clang.  Cole stood in front of the newly made door and waited for the steam and smoke to clear the opening.  As soon as he could see into the ship, he turned on his suit’s face shield and activated its low light function.

He was the first onboard and told two of the guards to stay outside and cover the rest of the ship.  The interior was just as badly banged up as the outside.  The guard had cut a hole into the cargo bay of the ship.  It appeared
this area had been exposed to vacuum at some point because all of the loose items were piled up under a hastily repaired section of the far wall.  “Bring the cutter.  We might need it again.”  They did.  The interior door to the cargo area had been welded shut too.  They hadn’t trusted the patch work to do the job apparently.  Once they had made it into the main part of the ship it was obvious that whoever was on board had stripped the interior of the ship for makeshift repair parts.  Cabling was pulled out of the walls and plates were missing from the ceiling and floor.  They carefully made their way forward to the bridge door.  It was also sealed but only at three small weld spots.  They had it opened in a few seconds.

They tore the door off its housing and stepped into the cramped bridge.  Three figures, two
small and one gigantic, lay prone on the ground in EVA suits.  Cole had no delusions that he could ever roll the big one over so he went to the first of the smaller forms.  He bent down and gently grabbed the arm in the space suit.  Cole took a deep breath and tugged on the arm until the body rolled to its back.

The eyes behind the helmet flickered open and darted around the room unfocused for a moment before settling on Cole.

“Heh, I told those two we would make it.  Where is Sky? I was expecting a kiss for a returning hero?  Oh well I guess I will settle for passing out.”  Thalo did just that.  Cole removed each of their helmets and found all three Worlders alive and breathing, but not conscious. 

“Sky
, better get down here, I think Thalo, Jeth and Split need medical attention and there is no way we are getting them to the med bay.”  She agreed and said they would be right there.  Cole turned to his security team.  “Cut the bridge open, remove the walls and ceiling.”  He felt bad for ordering the final demise of the tough little ship but there was just no way of getting the big Worlders out of there so Sky could look them over.  The team got to work and in a few minutes had all the cuts made and were carefully removing the sections.  All that was left when they were done was the floor of the bridge.  All the walls and ceilings had been removed along with any equipment that had been in the way.  Once they had cleared the way, Sky and her small medical team rushed in to triage the Worlders.

“Thalo was conscious and talking for a moment when we got in
.  The others haven’t responded.”  Cole told Sky as she stepped by him.

“If they have been in these suits for long
, they may have some dehydration and starvation symptoms, not to mention if they had been on any kind of air ration or shortage.”  Sky looked at each of the three Worlders and did some fast imaging scan work.  She ordered her assistants to care for each of them differently and they obeyed without a word.  Sky had built some respect among her students it seemed.  They cut away the exposure suits and got IV’s started on each of them.  All the great technology in the universe and the best way to get fluids into someone was to shove a needle into them and hang a bag of saline.  Cole chuckled a little to himself over that one.  Oh well, if it isn’t broke and all of that.   He settled in to a comfortable position to watch and wait.  He didn’t have long.  Once the restorative fluids hit their systems they started to moan and come to.  Cole couldn’t wait to hear the story of what happened to his two friends and the new member of the crew.  He found out, much to his dismay, that none of them would ever be telling anyone what happened on their mission.

52

“I have liked Thalo and Jeth since our first meeting.  Among a race of beings bonded to one another they may be unique.  Thalo’s never ending chatter and Jeth’s rarely uttered sentences seem to complement each other perfectly.  Thalo is never one to shy away from boasting of his past accomplishments or foretelling his future ones.  While Jeth on the other hand exudes a quiet confidence.  Like he knows he is the baddest individual in the galaxy and will prove it on anyone unfortunate enough to tangle with him.  Their combined quiet confidence and loud arrogance, is a rock I find I can put my back against in a tight spot.  I am very grateful for that rock.”

“Let me get this straight.”  Cole said as Jeth, Thalo and Split sat comfortably in the lounge on Home.  “You leave on a mission vital to our cause, return a whole week later than planned in a beat to hell freighter and you won’t tell me what happened?”  Cole was dumbfounded.   Almost speechless.  He threw his hands up in defeat and stormed around the room.

“We got the two things that you wanted.”  Thalo indicated Split as one of them.  “Split has joined us and we got the data off of Nixa without being seen or leaving a trace.  The how and the why of the rest is irrelevant to the discussion.”

“You, Jeth,” Cole pleaded with the giant.  “You can tell me right?”

“I am truly sorry Cole but we have been sworn to silence on this matter by
Thalo.  We take those vows very seriously.”  Rumbled the reply from Jeth.

Cole made
choked strangling noises as he got his temper under control.  “What the hell happened out there?”

Cole looked into Thalo’s eyes and saw a very embarrassed look
cross his face.  They stared at each other for a bit before Cole took a deep breath and calmed himself.  “Someday one of you will break that oath and tell me why Thalo is too embarrassed to tell this story.  But if you say that the mission was a success and no one was the wiser for it then I believe you.”  Cole looked at each of them in turn.

“Yes, yes I was getting to that.”  Thalo cleared his throat.  “Commander
, may I introduce you to master hacker and burglar Split.  Split,” he waved his hand toward Cole.  “The Commander.”

Cole locked eyes with the Worlder.  They stared at each other for a moment without saying a word.  Split cocked his head slightly to the side.  It reminded Cole of a dog tilting its head at a strange noise.  “Okay, okay I will ask him.”  Cole was confused for a
moment, unsure of whom Split was talking too.  “We would like to know who is buying us a new ship.” 

“Umm, we?”
  Cole was definitely missing something here.

“Yes, we destroyed our ship getting these two and the information here and are wondering who will compensate us for the damages.
  We upheld our part of the bargain and were promised certain things.”  Cole looked at Thalo.

“Can I speak to you for a moment?”  He waved Thalo over to him and
walked away from Split.  “Give us one minute please.”  Thalo joined Cole over by the far wall and they began to whisper to each other.

“I know you said you didn’t think he went crazy after his bond mate died but he is talking like there is someone with him.  Are you sure he is sane?”  Cole asked

“Please commander, give him a chance.  He was devastated when his other half died and went off by himself into deep space.  He came back after a couple of years and claimed he could still talk to his bond mate.  I have worked with him before and can defin
itely say there is something to his strange behavior.  He has broken into places I would never even think about breaking into and has hacked supposedly un-hackable systems.  Does he still talk to his bond mate?  I don’t know, but he has skills we can use and is handy to have in a tight spot.”  That was the most serious speech Cole had ever heard Thalo give.

“What did you promise to pay him?”  Cole whispered after a moment of thinking on what Thalo had just said.

“He told us we would have the chance to kill many Esii and Roche.”  Cole turned sharply around to find Split standing right behind him.  Cole hadn’t heard a thing.  “He said that we would meet the human who would remove those two species from the galaxy permanently and that we would be accepted here as an equal. “  His voice lowered before he said.  “No longer an outcast.”  Split cocked his head slightly again and seemed to be listening to something.  “Also we need a replacement ship since ours was destroyed.”

Cole thought for a moment.  Here he was, possibly one of the two last humans alive in the galaxy, starting a relationship with an alien while forging an army from nothing to fight an enemy that had kicked his
ancestor’s asses over twenty thousand years ago.  Now he was about to ask an obviously crazy Worlder to join him in this endeavor.  He smiled a little and shook his head extending his hand towards Split.  “I can promise you all that and more.  We will fight our enemies until they, or we, are dead on the field of battle.  I will guarantee you a ship like you have never had before.  Has Thalo explained the medical procedure you must undergo to join our crew?”

“Yes
, we understand and will comply.  We will follow you as long as our goals coincide.”  He stopped to listen again before he continued speaking.  “He wants me to tell you that if you betray us or fail us in any way that you better watch your fucking ass.”  He grabbed Cole’s hand and shook it vigorously.

Cole watched as
Thalo led Split out of the lounge and off to the med center.  Jeth who had sat forgotten against the wall slowly rose and walked over to Cole.

“He is unique among our people.”  Jeth said.  “I will ensure he brings no harm to anyone intentionally or otherwise.  Thalo has a soft spot for that one
but I do not always agree with him on this matter.  He is rude, outspoken and will speak his mind whether you want him to or not.  He was never an outcast from our people, he has chosen to live apart because of his belief that he can still talk with his bond mate.”  Cole was a little surprised at the length of the speech Jeth had just given.  The giant was usually very quiet.

“
Do you believe him?  About his still talking to his bond mate?”  Cole asked Jeth.

“On that point I agree with Thalo.  I just don’t know.”  With that he turned and walked out of the lounge leaving Cole alone with his thoughts.  He checked the time.  It was late and Cole was tired.  He left the lounge area and slowly trudged back to his quarters.  Hal had all of his people currently working on the thousands of years of information the Nixa had gathered on the Esii and said it was going to take the better part of two days to sort and categorize it all into something understandable.  He called the base command center and let them know he was going to bed for a few hours and asked to be left alone unless an emergency popped up. 

He made it to his room and undressed before wearily crawling under the covers.  He set his alarm for eight hours later and closed his eyes.  Sleep came quickly and he soon found himself dreaming of home.  Earth home.  Not the base Home.  He was back in the army and was walking though the cold woods of wintertime Tennessee.

He was walking through dinosaur country in the far back area of Ft. Campbell Ky.  He was in his fatigues but didn’t have his rucksack or rifle with him.  This area was his favorite area on base.  In the
spring and fall it was flooded and the trees roots were all hidden.  But now in the winter the water was gone and all of the trees roots were exposed.  They called it dinosaur country because it always looked prehistoric when the water was gone.  A branch snapped somewhere behind him and he turned towards the sound.

“Hello
Cole, sorry it has been a while since our last meeting.  Much has happened that we should discuss.”  Cole’s ancestor walked out from behind one of the bigger trees.  “I can see why you liked this place, it has a very primitive feel to it.  I thought you would enjoy walking here again, if only for a short while.”

“Yes
, thank you.”  Cole’s voice got quiet.  “I miss it very much.  I miss all of it.  Even the bad parts.”  Cole let out a deep sigh.  “But we have, as you pointed out, things to discuss.”  Cole walked over to an exposed root and sat down leaning against another root.

“I wish things had turned out the way we had planned Cole.  Again I am sorry that we brought about the destruction of your world.”  Cole’s ancestor moved to stand directly in front of him.  “Let us start with any questions you have.”

              Cole thought for a moment before he replied.  “Where are the last seven sites?  I figure Earth was one, the base and yards was another and the AI’s storage facility was the third.  I think we need to know where the rest are and what they hold for us.”

“That
is unfortunately something I cannot answer.  I would if I could, but the programming we installed into your genes will not allow that information out yet.”

             
“Screw the program, you can get it if you wanted.”  Cole shot back.

“I wish it were that easy. 
We never thought for a moment that your people would be forced into rapid DNA configuration like you were.  We had no contingency in place to deal with it.  You still have to unlock the knowledge yourself.  I am sorry.”  He started to pace back and forth.

“What about the Worlder, Split.
  What do you know of their bonding process?  Is it possible that he can still talk to his dead mate?”

“We learned much about the Worlders when we studied them.  They are truly a singular oddity in the galaxy and probably the whole universe.  But for every question we answered
, dozens of new ones had to be asked.  The bond that they share is strong and the more matching matter they share in their bodies the stronger the bond.  I would say it is possible that in some way he may believe he is talking to his bond mate, but in fact is speaking to only a memory.”

“Heh
, I know what that is like.” Cole said.

“Yes
, I suppose you do.”  He smiled slightly at that thought.

“Are there more of u
s?  Humans I mean?”  Cole asked.

“I don’t honestly know.  Until
you find out the rest of the coordinates for the worlds that were prepared, I cannot answer that question.”  Again Cole got the sense of disappointment with his response.

They spent the next little while talking and
answering mundane questions that had been nagging at Cole for a while.  He didn’t learn anything earthshaking, but rounded out his knowledge where his current allies were concerned.

“On to more serious matters I am afraid.  You did well in your first fight against the Esii
Cole, but they are a crafty enemy and one we never really understood.  When we first discovered them, they had the rudiments of near light speed travel and could move from their system to another one only one light year away. We watched them for a century but were unable to learn much because they dwelt underground.  We were unable to really penetrate the unique combinations of metals found naturally on the surface with our scanners and sensors. We didn’t even know their language.  It seemed they never even developed radio or other forms of long range communications.  We sent emissaries to the surface of their home planet.  They were taken below and never heard from again.  We tried several times to make contact but were always met with silence or violence.  We finally wrote the whole endeavor off as a mistake and cordoned their small section of space as a dangerous area to travel to.”

“We never saw the Esii out of their two systems for hundreds of years.  Finally they somehow managed to create ships that could go faster than light and started to spread out into the wider galaxy.  They forced us to deal with them at that point
, by sending a diplomatic envoy to what was rapidly becoming the governing center of the galaxy.  It was a planet called Centrus Prime.  It was the location that was chosen by all the space faring beings of the galaxy to be the place that handled disputes and made the laws that all would follow.  The Esii brought with them the Roche, another race that we determined to be too violent and unready for elevation into the stars.  They came to us under the guise of diplomacy and worked secretly for hundreds and thousands of years to slowly undermine the stability of the galaxy.  When they had it at its weakest, they struck at Centrus Prime, killing most of the galaxy’s leaders in one fell stroke.  We came to believe that the Esii had made a pact with some race, so far undiscovered, that gave them the technology and the means to ensure our destruction.  We could never find the beings behind the Esii, but firmly believe they existed.  The Esii possess great mental powers and can possibly communicate telepathically.  That was the only explanation we could come up with as to why the Esii never seemed to have used any kind of communication devices. Some of our ship’s crews and Captains would report seeing, hearing or experiencing odd visions or emotions while the Esii ships were near.  You must be careful and guard your thoughts around them when you begin your attacks.  Never underestimate them and you should do just fine.”  He came closer to Cole and placed his hand on Cole’s shoulder.

“My time is short
.  I must go and allow you to get some real sleep.  Remember, I have faith in you and believe you can win this war once and for all.”  With that he turned and walked away slowly disappearing into the trees.  He had given Cole much to think about and he was feeling the weight of responsibility weighing down on him.  He started to drift out of this half sleep world and down into a deeper restful sleep.