Inherited War 1: Retribution (13 page)

23

“
I did not have the greatest life on Earth.  I did not have many dealings with nice people on Earth.  My life on that once great planet was far from idyllic. But it was my home.  I think I possibly would have fallen apart at this point if I had been alone.  Sky was my rock.  She kept me focused on what needed to be done, not bemoaning what could not be changed.  I owe her yet again.  The next few hours were kind of a blur.  I relied on Sky to let me know what happened from a calmer perspective.”

He had no idea how long he had been sitting on the floor but Sky had fallen asleep with her head cradled in his lap.  He looked down at her calm features and gently shook her awake.  She slowly sat up trying to keep eye contact with him at all times.

“How are you Cole?”  She didn’t know what else to say at that moment in time.

Her question weighed down on him.  How does one feel after having seen the demise of his planet and people?   He was quiet for a while before saying.  “Numb, I guess.  I don’t know.  I am angry, upset, frustrated.  I want to lash out and destroy those who destroyed my home.  Most of all, I want to know why?  Why they did this and who they were.  Yes, I defiantly want to know who did this.”

“I can help you with the second part and offer some insight into the first.”   Sky said getting to her feet and helping Cole to his.  She leaned into his chest and put her arms around him.  “I recognized the ship from stories I have heard from the purge.  It is an Esii Sun Eater.  It works in two ways
.  The first is the one we saw.  If a planet is close enough to a sun of sufficient power and size, it harnesses the sun to destroy the planet.  The second, and just as devastating, is if the planet is too far from the sun or the sun has insufficient power, the ship just draws the energy from the sun and sends it off into space slowly weakening the system’s sun to the point of collapse.  This also kills every planet in the system because it forces a heavy collapse, which forms a black hole.  The black hole does the rest.  Your planet was just at the outer range of the ships effective area to directly attack the planet so enough energy was siphoned off that your sun will begin collapsing much sooner now than would naturally occur.  Hal estimated within a thousand years give or take.”

Cole quietly contemplated what Sky had just told him.  Even though he had seen it happen
, he still couldn’t believe it.  The Esii.  They had just made a big mistake.  They hadn’t been on Cole’s radar until this attack.  They were going to get theirs that was for sure.  But that was for later.

“As for your first question I can only assume that someone discovered what we were doing out here and told the Esii.  The Esii were the main peoples who led the purge against the pure humans all those years ago and some believe they had help from an unknown advanced race. 
A race that gave them the technology to build new powerful ships like the Sun Eater.  I can only assume they have standing orders to destroy every descendant of the pure humans they find.  That’s my working theory anyway.”  She placed both of her hands on either side of Cole’s face and tilted his head until he was looking at her.  “I am very sorry Cole, for what happened and my part in it. I can understand if you want me gone or even dead.”

Cole’s eyes grew heavy with fatigue as he looked at Sky.  “No Sky
, I need you too much and this wasn’t your fault in any way.”  He leaned forward slightly and pressed his lips to her forehead giving her a gentle kiss.  “I don’t think I could go on from here without you,” he whispered.  He was silent for a few heartbeats.  “Hal, any luck with those scans?”  He asked.

“Nothing yet, Sir.  We still have to do the other side, but again I caution against optimism.  The odds of anyone surviving this kind of attack are astronomical, to say the least.  With our low stores I also wouldn’t recommend staying very long.”

“Stow it Hal.  I don’t want opinions right
now, I want you looking for survivors. I will decide how long we stay.  Now download that footage to my cabin computer. I want to review it a few more times.  There is something nagging at me about it and I can’t pin it down.”  Cole gently removed Sky from in front of him.  “I need some time alone if you guys don’t mind.  Time to think.”  He hung his head as he headed for the bridge door.  Cole thought that there were two paths open to him at this time.  Path one:  Let this mire him in grief until he self-destructed.  Path two:  Use this anger and grief to fuel his vengeance.  Revenge. 
Retribution
.  Death to his enemies.  Death to those responsible.

24

“
It was at that point I decided to name my ship Retribution.  The Retribution had a certain ring to it, I thought.  It would be a constant reminder of what I was planning on doing with the rest of my life.  However short that life would be.  How does someone deal with the death of 7 billion of your fellow species?  I couldn’t and still can’t answer that question.  I know what I did and whether it was right or wrong, well only history can judge that.”

Sky was getting worried.  Cole had been in his cabin for almost six hours now and he wasn’t responding to her repeated attempts to contact him.  Hal assured her that his vitals were all in normal ranges so he wasn’t in any medical trouble.  She needed him, she needed to be with him.  She felt horribly responsible for what had happened to his planet.  She felt she should be the one falling apart like this and she should be caring for him.  After all, those were his people dead out there, not hers.  He said he just needed some time alone.  Alone with that awful video of his planets demise.  Hal had said Cole had watched it almost a hundred times since disappearing into his quarters.   How could he stand to see that over and over, she could probably never understand?  Regardless she was here outside his room waiting until he needed her.  She would stay here for eternity if that’s how long he needed.  She leaned her back against the cold metal wall and slowly slid down into a sitting position on the lightly padded floor.  As soon as she touched the deck, Cole’s cabin door slid open and Cole came stumbling out.

“I knew it
, damn it! I was right.”  He shouted with a crow of excitement.  “I figured out what has been bugging me from the first time I saw the video.  Quick Sky, come inside and let me show you what I found.  You too Hal, you have permission to enter my room.”  He almost jerked Sky’s arm out of socket, hauling her to her feet and quickly shuffling her into his room.  “No time to waste hurry, hurry.”  He maneuvered her in front of the monitor on his desk.  His room was a mess.  It looked like he had taken some of his anger out on some of the furniture.  The desk was about the only thing that wasn’t trashed.  “Umm, sorry about the mess I had some frustration to work out, I’m fine now though.  Sit down and watch this.  You can see what I’m showing her, right Hal?”

“Yes
, I can see what is on the monitor.  Go ahead Cole.”

“Okay
. Now I have enhanced a section of the planet and zoomed in as much as possible to this point here.”  Cole jabbed his finger at the screen.  Pointing at a small section of space about an inch away from the Earth.  “What do you see there?”  He asked excitedly.  “Come on, you guys have to see that.”

“Hmm.”
  Sky leaned in to get a better look.  “It looks like something is there in a low orbit around the planet.”

“Yes
, I agree.”  Came Hal’s response.  “Too big for a satellite, but possibly something large enough to be a small drone ship perhaps.”

“God you two.
  It’s the international space station.  Well, the part of it we can see.  Remember we were just really getting into space, it wasn’t huge but it was our first attempt to man a semi permanent space facility.  Now watch as the arms of that Sun Eater spread over the Earth.”  He started the feed again until the arms moved fully into position before he stopped the video.  “What do you notice now?”  He asked.

After a few seconds with no forthcoming answers, Cole grumbling under his breath said,  “And I’m the ignorant barbarian.  Look at it and tell me what you still see there.”

“All I can see is the planet, the arm of the ship and the space station is more
visible now that it has the arm of the ship as a back drop.”  Hal said and Sky agreed with him.

“Exactly.”
  Cried Cole.  “The Sun Eater was between the station and Earth so the station wouldn’t have been destroyed when the Eater took out Earth.  It could still be there somewhere in one piece.  Most importantly, it was a manned space station.  There could be survivors.  It has only been about a week since the attack.  Someone could still be alive in it.  Hal, I want you to use whatever data you can to try to figure out where the hell it went.  From the video it looked like it might have been knocked out of orbit.  We need a general direction and speed, to work up a bearing and distance from its last known location.”

“He is right
Hal, I remember watching them build that station.  If it wasn’t destroyed out right it could have been knocked out of orbit towards deeper space.”  Sky looked almost as excited as Cole felt.  “We need to try to find it, if possible.”

“Damn straight we do.”  Cole
turned and headed for the door.  Sky was only a step behind him.  “I want that course figured out by the time I get to the bridge, okay Hal?”

“Basic math
Sir, I should have it by then.”  Hal replied.  “I will adjust the scanners to look specifically for it as well.”

Cole and
Sky raced to the bridge.  Cole vaulted over the back of the Captain’s chair and landed with both hands already gripping the interface grips.  He suddenly found himself as the ship again, but this time the novelty of it was a distraction.  One he ignored as the information Hal was getting for him raced through his brain.  Fast as thought, Cole turned the ship to point at the general area Hal was giving as his highest percentage for the station’s location.  Cole nudged the ship into motion.  Being reckless now wouldn’t do anyone any good at all if he slammed into the large chunks of rock that used to be Earth.  He spent the next few moments navigating through that wreckage, moving steadily closer to where he hoped the station would be.  He finally cleared the debris field and moved into open space.  He was pushing as much power into the scanners as they could take.  After just a few moments he got a hit.  The scans were reporting a large cylindrical object roughly matching the dimensions of the stations living area.  Cole goosed his speed a little now that he was in the clear.  It first appeared to him as a blinking dot showing him the way.  As they got closer, it started to resolve itself into a three dimensional image.  Finally, it came into video range and showed up as it actually appeared.  The remains of the station were thoroughly battered.  It only had a portion of its solar panels still attached and on one end he could see where part of the station had sheared off, leaving an interior hatch (closed thank god) exposed to vacuum.  But most importantly, life signs scans were detecting a definite signature of something being alive inside.

Cole slowed down and set a course that would bring the ship alongside the station.  He retreated back into his body.  He was speechless as he looked to Sky.  He could hardly believe
it, they had possibly found someone who had survived the attack, other than himself.  He wasn’t alone anymore.  Well, alone as a species.  Cole cleared his throat.  “Is the remains of the ship small enough to fit in the cargo bay Hal?  I think it would be better if we got it inside than trying to link up with it in a vacuum.”

“Yes
, it should just fit into the cargo bay area.  You will have to go in through the exposed hatch, which from here looks like a cutting tool may be required.  But it is highly doable.  I can run the recovery operations if you would like to go down to the cargo area.”

Cole got up and started to head for the door.  He turned back to Sky and paused.  “Could you go get whatever emergency medical supplies you have and meet me down in the cargo bay?  Bring anything you think would be helpful.”  He didn’t wait for a
response, he just headed out the door.  Sky got up and made her way to the medical bay on her own.  She was feeling mixed emotions at this discovery now that she really thought about it.  Who was this person they were about to rescue?  If it was a female would Cole feel obligated to be with her? Or if it was someone who used to be in a position of power, would he try and take control of the ship and the mission?  She was ashamed that she felt this way when Cole was so obviously excited about finding a survivor.  She would follow his lead though and do what she thought was best for Cole.  Bringing that issue to resolution for the time being, she picked up her pace.  After arriving at the med bay she loaded a kit with everything she thought she would need for possible trauma and long term exposure to the horrible conditions the occupant would have lived through.  She gave her supplies a quick once over and headed out to the cargo bay.  Ready to face whatever was about to come their way.

Cole made it down to the cargo bay just in time to see
the big rear cargo door swing open.  He could see the exposed hatch, as Hal gently guided the ship around the last whole piece of the station.  As the station slowly slipped into the bay he felt Sky slide up next to him and take his hand in hers, and give it a gentle squeeze.  He returned the gesture never once taking his eyes off the station.  It seemed to Cole to be an agonizingly slow process.  But finally the station was fully inside the cargo bay and resting on the floor.  The outer bay doors started to swing slowly shut.  Just when the doors were almost closed, they snagged the end of the station and with a shriek of metal, slid the station across the floor. It came to rest mere inches from the interior door Cole and Sky were standing at.

“Well
, I said it should fit okay.  These things are tricky you know and even I am not perfect.”  Hal said getting in a pre-defense against what he knew Cole would say about his miscalculation.

“
Not a problem Hal you did a fine job.  Thanks for doing the hard part.”  Cole replied back.

“Thanks, now pressurizing cargo bay. 
Bay at optimal pressure, opening inner doors.”  The door slid up and there was a slight breeze as the two slightly differently pressurized rooms equalized.  “This would be easier with a lightsabre but here goes nothing.”  Cole went to work on the sealed hatch with a high powered plasma cutter that he had picked up in the maintenance room, he had found on the way down to the cargo bay.  It wasn’t as cool as cutting through the door with a lightsabre but Cole didn’t mind too much.  It only took a few deft cuts at the door’s hinges to get it to fall out of its frame onto the floor with a loud clang.  Cole turned the cutter off and set it on the floor.  He stared inside for a moment looking at the damaged remains of the station.  It actually looked worse than the exterior.  He couldn’t imagine how anyone survived in this for a week.  Alone.  He shuddered.  He forced his way through the trash piled on the floor to the back of the station.  He stopped at the rear wall.  There was an outline of a horizontal door about half way up the wall.  It was about six and a half feet long and two feet high.  The perfect dimensions of a safe room in a space station short on space.  Could someone have put themselves in here after the attack and lived like this for seven days?  He waived Sky forward.  “I don’t know what we are going to find in here, but be ready to move fast.”  Sky nodded at Cole and indicated she was ready.  Cole reached for the controls to the far left of the outline on the wall.  He keyed the only button on it.  There was a slight hiss of air escaping then the outline slid out.  For some reason it made Cole think of a giant cash register drawer opening.  Cole stared down at the girl lying in the drawer.  She was human, beautiful, alive, and savagely beat up.  She was also hooked up to a few different tubes and leads.  Cole sidestepped out of the way.  “Alright Doc, it’s your show now.”

Sky moved in
, pulling out a few things she thought she would need right away.  The first thing she did was hit the injured women’s body with a portable scanner.  She started getting hits right away.  “Two broken ribs, concussion, fractured collar bone, and some minor internal bleeding.  She is hovering on the brink of dying.  She also appears to be dehydrated and starting on the verge of malnourishment.  It looks like she has kept herself in a state of near hibernation with a chemical drip of various drugs.”  Sky dug into her kit until she found the device she wanted.  “She is barely alive.  I’ll need your help Cole.”  Not waiting for his response she told him to roll the girl onto her side gently.  She poked around for a moment with a lead from the device she had taken from her kit.  Suddenly and quite savagely, she jammed the device into the lower back of the girl.  She held it there for a moment looking at a small readout on the screen.  “Okay that should take care of the internal bleeding.  Now I’m going to give her something to clear the drugs from her system so I can get better ones in there that will block the pain and start the healing process.  Hold onto her Cole, she may wake up and if she moves around too much before I can get the new stuff into her, she could hurt herself even more.”  Cole stood up by her head and held her arms down, he nodded to Sky.  She placed an injector up to the woman’s neck and squeezed its trigger.  She waited a few seconds, watching the girl’s vitals.

The girl’s eyes suddenly flew open and she took a long sharp breath. 
It reminded Cole of someone taking a breath after being nearly drowned.  Before she could do anything else, Sky hit her with the new drugs and she was out cold doing no further damage.  Sky put her hands on the drawer and blew out a breath.  “That was the tricky part. We need to move her out of here now, and get her to the med bay.  I can work up a quick genetic profile and have the nanites ready to go in no time.”

“No nan
ites.  Heal her however you want but no nanites unless it’s life or death.  This was forced on me I will not force it on anyone else.  If it turns out she needs the nanites to live, you can do it.  Otherwise she heals naturally with as much help as you can give her.  But no nanites, not yet any way.”