The energy signatures of the Syn-Ens in the Academy’s com station split into two. A second later, all life signs in the training grounds disappeared. Showing on the ground level camera, RPG shot toward the four Syn-Ens climbing into land vehicles. The lens recorded a direct hit before the fireball took out the camera.
Bei switched his attention to the satellite camera. “That’s why there’s been no upgrades for the Syn-En for the last year, and why the number of wards assigned to the service have decreased despite there being the same number of children turned over to the state.”
Citizen override commands trailed across the screen of the satellite imagery, attempting to power down the system.
Shang’hai tugged on her short pink hair. Her wide brown eyes fixated on the destruction playing out on the screen. “What did they do with the ones not taken into the Fleet?”
“I don’t know.” But he now believed the rumors about the children being killed. Inwardly reeling at the injustice, Bei watched the satellites ignore the citizens’ shutdown command and issue a false compliance signal, explaining why four Syn-En had remained inside a targeted building. They’d been uploading Bei’s virus to stop an outside force from taking over their eyes in the sky while they’d disabled all but a few Syn-En ident signatures at the training facilities, hiding their people in plain sight.
XO Penig sat back in his chair. Metal groaned and his muscles trembled a tight hold on the armrests. “How do the citizens expect to survive without us there to fix their problems?”
The countdown stopped. Fireballs mushroomed on the screen, reducing resolution. The entire Academy disappeared in the flames. A concussive wave knocked down buildings on the training grounds and trees into the fallow fields.
The news screen flickered to life.
A round cheeked woman with bright red lipstick smiled out at them. “UEN News reports a horrible accident at the Syn-En training compound today.” The charred remains of the once white buildings blazed across the screen. “According to sources, an underground pipe exploded, taking out the soldiers while they were sleeping. Despite increases in the budgets, this latest tragedy underscores how necessary citizen management of the Syn-Ens has become. Some in the UEN have even called for the disbandment of the unit themselves, saying they were a bad idea that ran its course. In other news…”
After the five second news blip, the screen went dark.
Five seconds. That’s all the children rated? They were human, dammit. Bei took a calming breath. “The year before we left Earth, we spent much of that time training the new citizen corp.”
XO Penig pounded his fist against the armrest. “We trained our replacements.”
Bei nodded. It made sense at the time, after all, the Syn-En were going to settle a new world. Someone would have to look after the old one. “I figured with the last cohort, the Syn-En would be phased out, never hunted and slaughtered.”
The second video opened. Three satellites showed Syn-En ground forces with yellow dots. They scrambled over the uneven terrain and entered what should have been an empty village. Com units switched off, blotting out the ground forces signature. The time stamp put it right before the Academy assault. The green tinted image wavered and other life signs appeared.
Noncombatant civilians ident signals registered before the screen blank and reclassified them as hostiles to be neutralized. The Syn-En ground troops moved in. Red flares highlighted the bursts of energy weapons.
From four clicks above, Syn-En Air combat received the green light. Their targeted battlefield overlaid the ground forces and the civilian village. Seventeen darts swooped onto the target. Live rounds took out half the buildings and their occupants. The next wave dropped down for their attack run. The death tally appeared on the screen, the numbers spinning as the computer compared the life signs to those from a minute ago. Seven hundred dead.
Shang’hai whistled through her teeth as she inhaled. “The citizens used our ground forces to kill civilians then had our air corp blow up whatever remained.”
Tension bit into Bei’s shoulders as the second wave delivered their payload. Even though only half the buildings had been destroyed, sixty percent of the ground forces were blown apart. God only knew how many civilians had died. Orange mushroomed across the screen indicating the air corp had switched from live rounds to simulated ones. Bei released his held breath. “After the first salvo, they were blanks.”
They’d stopped the killing, but the damage had already been done.
Using the WA, Bei brought up the assault force orders. Just as he suspected, the two training missions had been rescheduled at the last minute. A sealed rating had prevented the air corps from knowing they were attacking their own men on the ground. The third strike team landed their darts. Infrared marked them moving among the carnage.
XO Penig dug the heels of his palms into his eyes. If only the images could be wiped away that easily. “What is Operation Enduring Freedom?”
Bei watched the first two strike teams fly over the bombed area. The time stamp marked a minute past the attack on the academy. “When the first pictures came back of Terra Dos and the Syn-En were ordered to colonize the planet, I got to thinking. If there was one inhabited planet on one end of the wormhole, there might be another on the other side.”
The satellite relay on the left LCD backed away, tracking the Syn-En darts as they moved to intercept the citizen
Stellar
vessels sweeping the grounds of the Academy over five hundred miles away.
Shang’hai’s jaw dropped open. “The Op was to protect the Earth from alien conquest.”
Bei shrugged. “In the months before we left, I had munitions stashed on abandoned asteroid mines and in Pluto’s low orbit. Commander Brazil, Captain Petersburg and several others worked on the best strategy to move troops to the wormhole. They planned to commandeer private vessels. Most ships would be used to evacuate populations but a handful would be positioned to guard the flank.”
XO Penig grunted. “Instead we used the plan to save ourselves.”
Bei hadn’t saved them yet.
The third package opened. Two satellites recorded the firefight between the Syn-En and the citizen’s ships. Although the
Stellar
were newer and had, in theory, superior capabilities, they couldn’t match the experience of the Syn-En pilots. Every ship was shot out of the air, then the Syn-En chased down the citizen’s ground forces and plowed their remains into the ground.
“Bastards died too quick.” Penig nodded in satisfaction.
The UEN News started on the LCD over Lieutenant Berlin’s head. “In an apparent retaliation for the explosion of the training facility, Syn-En forces have attacked the tiny village of Helena in the North American Consortium. Ten thousand are confirmed dead, including the valiant Citizen’s brigade that rushed to defend the unarmed town.”
Bei checked the other screens. No one had rushed to anyone’s aid. The survivors had to die so the citizens’ lies could continue.
Cheerily, the newscaster motioned to the stock photo behind her. “UEN Council has voted unanimously to rescind Syn-En protection because of the brutal attack. All Syn-Ens are required to report to the nearest Citizen Police Unit for detention and trial. Oh, we’re going to Bangladesh, where Councilwoman Lisa Perez has a statement.”
The screen image changed and a trim woman flicked lint off her cherry red sari and turned to the cameras. Her preserved features reflected a suitable amount of shock and horror. “After reviewing footage of the attacks, the Council has declared that civilians who aided and abetted the attack will also be executed by military court. An anonymous source high in the UEN Council revealed that plans for a coup were found among Admiral Beijing York’s personal possessions. The papers enabled the heroic Citizen Protection Force to respond as quickly as they did. Sadly no one survived the Syn-En savagery.”
“Turn off that crap!” Penig rose from his chair.
Bei nodded to the lieutenant. He’d seen everything they needed to. The Syn-En had been tried and convicted. Bei had been accused of inciting the desertion a full month before he’d actually done so.
XO Penig looked at Bei. “Everyone needs to see this.”
Bei nodded. “Open a channel to the fleet.”
Lieutenant Berlin stood at attention. “Channel open, Admiral.”
“This is Admiral Beijing York, I ask that you stop your tasks for a moment. We have just received an urgent communiqué from the Syn-En units left behind on Earth. Please know that while the images are disturbing, ninety percent of our people survived and will soon be joining us. After viewing these clips, double your efforts to repair the ships.”
The lieutenant’s eyes changed to charcoal for a moment, then the first video clips started to roll.
Turning to his command staff, Bei clasped his hands behind his back and paced in front of them. “Have your best science officers report to Shang’hai on the
Starfarer
to finish solving the equations to open an event horizon. Triple the repair efforts. I want everyone’s ship moving as soon as possible to the exit point marked on Nell’s flight plan. If the citizens figure out a means to destabilize the wormhole, we’ll need to move and move fast.”
Instinct, that automatic response once valued in humans,
can now be successfully controlled in Syn-Ens by their cerebral interface.
The result: a soldier who is self-sacrificing and fearless.
Syn-En
Vade Mecum
Introduction, Getting to Know the New You
Chapter Ten
Nell opened her eyes and stared at the pin lights glowing softly in the smooth ceiling before turning her attention to the utilitarian, sparsely furnished room. The barrel chair by the desk remained empty and the bathroom door open. She was alone in the room. No, not room, quarters. She was on a spaceship. For once the idea didn’t elicit fear. Instead, excitement coursed through her.
Sighing back into the mattress, she wiggled against the tightly tucked blanket. The warm, coarse fabric rubbed pleasantly against her skin. Funny. She never thought she’d miss friction, but then she’d never experienced zero gravity until she woke up in that dark room.
As she recalled her short death and the crazy woman in the cargo bay, Nell’s mood darkened. Floating hadn’t been the only thing she wasn’t prepared for. What had the Save Our World Foundation been thinking to send her here? Sure she had that voice providing information, but really it was a little creepy to have someone or something inside her head. Still, she’d applied for the job with Save Our World to save her family and….
Oh, God. Her family! Her heart rate kicked into overdrive. She needed to find out what happened to them. Jerking on the tucked-in blankets, Nell tried to rise. Cold air rushed down her chest, pebbling her bare skin. Crap! Where was her shirt? She wiggled her toes against the rough weave. And her boots. How was she to get around without touching the ground? Something rustled on her right and she yanked the blanket up to her chin.
“Ah, you’re awake.” Doc Cabo stepped across the bathroom threshold, studying a cotton swab topped with electric blue held between his tan fingers. “How are you feeling?”
“Good.” Exposed. Still nearly naked under the blanket. She’d never make a good nudist. A low hum caused a cascade of goosebumps along her spine and the unmistakable sourness of vomit tinged the air. Was it her imagination or had something changed her? Nell tucked the blanket around her, checking to make sure no wobbly bits peeked out. Not that she should have bothered. Doc Cabo paid more attention to his specimen than her.
“I’m glad to see you’ve recovered.” Doc maneuvered the blue tip into the gaping compartment in his forearm and the whites of his eyes seemed to turn gray. “Your fever broke an hour ago.”
“Fever?” Spying her shirt on the pillow next to her, she tugged on the green tunic, before sliding out from under the blankets. Her feet barely skimmed the floor. Great. Now she just needed to find her shoes and socks. Nell grabbed the mattress, bent over and looked underneath the bed. No shoes were wedged against the solid base welded to the floor. Damn.
“Probably a side effect of your body adjusting to normal functions instead of the maintenance provided by prolonged stasis.” Doc frowned and his brown eyes returned to normal.
Unease itched the skin between Nell’s shoulder blades. No good news ever came from a frowning doctor.
“I didn’t die again, did I?” Using her toes, she scratched the metal floor and propelled herself to the foot of the bed. The weight of the clothes stopped the motion from shooting her toward the ceiling, but she’d be glad when she could walk instead of this bizarre swimming motion. In her head, all she saw was the image of a cartoon character’s legs spinning in a blur but the character never getting anywhere.
Joining her trek to the end of the bed, Doc cupped her elbow and guided her the rest of the way. “I’m happy to say you did not die, but I must tell you that you experienced a few seizures and unusually high brain activity.”
“You scanned my head?” Panic squeezed Nell’s chest, making it difficult to breathe. She glanced at Doc. Had that been why he frowned? Had he found space parasites or… or anything that shouldn’t be there? Her tongue was thick in her dry mouth. “Did-did you find anything?”
“You’re very healthy considering you came from the early twenty-first century. From what little we know of it, illness, malnutrition and chemical poisons affected all humans.” Doc smiled, flashing his even white teeth.
Nell relaxed. No space parasites. No… She tried to chase down the errant thought, but couldn’t quite catch it. Maybe she should perform her own scan. Right, she hadn’t been able to master Facebook, what made her think she could operate twenty-second century medical equipment? To her surprise, a manual of knowledge flowed easily across her consciousness.
Now she definitely would have her head examined. This had to be more than simple brainwashing. Banishing the thought, she scanned the room but still did not see her boots.