Resurrection (The Inherited War) (4 page)

“That would be the carrier, yes, Justice is her name.”  Thalo looked pleased with himself.

“Good, you can come too.  You’re now the highest ranking officer in the Fleet.  I want to supervise the transfer of Hal’s data storage and find out how the AI’s are dealing with everything.  You will have to split up the rest of your people that were on the Reckoning and Retribution to man the remaining ships until we can get to your home and recruit a crew from your people.”

“I am yours to command.”  Thalo stood and offered her his hand.  Sky took it and rose.

“Father, do what you can to change the Administrators’ minds about supporting this fight.  I don’t like to think about going this alone, but I will if I have to.”  Her father considered her words for a moment then nodded his head.

“Good luck and be careful.  I just got you back I don’t want to lose you again.”  He pressed a button on his desk and the door opened.  He watched his eldest daughter leave and hoped it wouldn’t be for the last time.

CHAPTER 4

Approximately 20,000 years ago

Jarrod sat quietly on his bridge.  The representatives of the allied races sat quietly around him.  They all watched the forward screen.  They were only moments from translation from warped space to normal space and the battle they all knew was coming. Jarrod wished he had the new tech they had developed a short while ago.  To actually become the ship would be an exhilarating experience.  For now he would have to settle for the consoles and screens arrayed around him.  His descendants would be the ones who got to play with those toys.

Jarrod signaled his helmsman and his flag ship dropped out of warped space and drug the entire fleet with it.  They came out of warped space well before they were supposed to.  The representatives around him were murmuring questions and looking quite confused.

“Scanner section,” Jarrod called out, “where is the largest concentration of the enemy force at present?”

“We are picking up the largest amount of enemy signatures around and on the moon that used to orbit the planet before it was destroyed.”  The scanner chief replied.

“Thank you.”  He turned to his helmsman again.  “Reset course. Destination Mark Alpha Two.”  Mark Alpha Two was the code to divert ships back to their home systems.  “Thank you for all supporting this mission, we have what we came here for.  You may all retire for the day and prepare to return to your respective fleets.  Prime Administrator, would you please stay behind a moment.  Jarrod waited until the others had left the bridge.

“I will not ask why you betrayed us, I will just ask you to take your leave of my ship and return to your home.”  Jarrod was hiding his amusement as the Prim squirmed in his seat.

“Me? No… how…”  He stammered for a moment before regaining his composure.  “What do you mean, I betrayed no one.”

“Then, how do you explain the massive build-up around the moon?”  Jarrod locked his eyes on the Primes.

“Any one of the others could have sent the information about the attack to the Esii.  The Esii could have known something of value was on the moon and were looking for it.”  The Primes mind was spinning trying to come up with excuses.

“No, I am afraid not.  Each of you got different orders that located the attack in different parts of the system.  You were the only one who thought we were going to the moon that used to orbit Common.  I am not angry, disappointed, but not angry.”  He gave the prime a long steady look.  “You were the first race we encountered when we left to explore the galaxy.  I am sorry that our friendship ended this way.  I will offer you the chance to redeem yourself to the others.  I will not tell them of your actions but I fear it will go badly for the others when the Esii attempt to make the others pay for not cooperating with them.  Prepare your fleets and be ready to aid them if they should require it.”

“You must understand, they said that there was no way we could win against them.  They threatened us with the ship used to destroy Common.  My people, I had to protect my people.”  He was nearly blubbering.

“Faith.  That is what you lack.  Faith that we wouldn’t leave friends to the mercy of the Esii.  That we would lose was a foregone conclusion, but in losing we will ensure that the Esii are in no shape to threaten the rest of the galaxy for decades to come.  You lacked the faith that we would do what was right.  Though we will soon pass from this galaxy, we would not abandon our friends.  Now go and prepare to depart.  Inform the others that they must go to protect their home worlds and render any aid the
rest of you might need.”  The Nixa had a beaten look when he left Jarrod’s bridge.  Jarrod watched him go and felt sorry for the being.  If only he had come to him about the Esii plan, he could have avoided all of this.  Jarrod turned to the giant screen to his front and watched the violent display that was warped speed play over it.

~

Cole was sitting with his back to a corner in his cell.  He hadn’t moved much in over two days.  He had been in this cell for almost a week.  No one had bothered to feed him in all of that time.  He was hungry, well he should feel hungry but his nanites were blocking the feeling from bothering him.  He hadn’t had much body fat when he had been captured, and what he did have was long gone.  His nanites had advised limiting his movements to conserve energy and muscle mass.  So he had been sitting almost motionless for the past two days.

He had watched all the shows Hal had recorded for him and was starting to get bored.  His suit was still providing enough water to keep him from becoming dehydrated.  The Esii must prefer higher levels of humidity in their ships than he did. 

It took him a second to realize that the wall opposite him was starting to slide up into the ceiling.  He had his helmet down and was blinking at the brighter light shining in.  Slowly his eyes focused and he saw two Esii on either side of the now open wall, they had weapons trained on him.  A third figure appeared in the middle of the opening.

“You are a very hardy being.  Most usually start begging for food and water after only two or three days.”  He walked in and set a large bowl down just inside his room.  He took a few steps backwards and the door slammed shut.

“Bastards,” Cole whispered.  Slowly, he leaned forward and rested his weight on his hands and knees.  Even though he did it slowly, the movement was a little too much for his formerly still body to take.  Blood surged to his head, and he passed out on the floor.  Cole lay unmoving on the floor with his hand stretched out to the much needed food.

Split stood along the far wall looking at Cole.  They had a dilemma.  They had followed Cole off the doomed ship.  Using his races talent to make themselves invisible, they had followed behind Cole and the other human as they made their journey to the Esii battleship.  They had kept themselves well hidden and had followed Cole from the bay they had arrived in to his cell.  This was the first time they had a chance to get into the cell with Cole.

They had wanted to keep themselves hidden from both Cole and his captures, for now.  They didn’t want to keep themselves hidden from Cole but until they had a better chance to help him escape what Cole didn’t know he couldn’t reveal.  Split knew Cole had to be starving, but was it worth revealing themselves to help him eat?

“He has on the suit, it will absorb the liquid.”  The voice of his bondmate was strong in his head.

“Yes, that will work.”  Split said to himself and leaned out and gently grabbed Cole’s hand and drug him the last few inches to the bowl.  He rested Cole’s hand in the bowl and slowly let it go.  Reaching into one of his many pockets, Split pulled out a packet and tore it open.  He emptied its contents into the bowl and gently stirred it in.  Satisfied that the powdered protein and vitamin supplement was dissolved in the bowl of whatever that was, Split moved back to his corner.  He hunkered down and waited. 

Split hadn’t wanted to believe it when Thalo and Jeth had shown up with stories of the Pures return to the galaxy.  They had gone along with the two so they could meet this supposed human reborn.  Even after meeting him, they still weren’t sure.  Nobody knew that Split had been around since the fall of humanity twenty thousand years ago. They had made a promise to Jarrod, they would survive and be here when the humans returned.

For twenty thousand years, Split had been preparing for the return.  He hadn’t been prepared for what had actually returned.  Cole was so much like their friend Jarrod but at the same time very different.  Split had kept their identity hidden from Cole.  They wanted to see him in action and see if he would work to repair the damage the traitors had caused.  Split had spent the last few days discussing it with his brother.  They had decided that he was the one they had been waiting for. 

They had no idea how they would rescue Cole from the Esii but were sure an opportunity would present itself in time.  They had been worried when Cole had gone so long without food or water.  They took the opportunity of Cole finally being fed to gain access to the cell.  They had planned and packed well for this mission.  They had more than enough provisions for themselves and Cole for the foreseeable future.  They just needed the opportunity to get them to him without him knowing.

They watched as the suit slowly absorbed the gruel in the bowl.  It might not take the edge off of Cole’s hunger, but it would get him the nutrients he desperately needed.  Split thought that Jarrod would have been proud of what Cole had accomplished in such a short time and with few beings to aid him.

“It will be hard brother,” the voice sounded in his head, “but we must only reveal ourselves if he is in danger of dying or can be successfully rescued.”

“I know brother, but he will be tortured and made to suffer.  Everything we prepared for won’t help us or him now.  It will be hard to stay close to him and do nothing.”

“We will have fun once we reach the home world of these creatures.  Death seems to be a part of life for the Esii, a few more bodies here and there won’t draw any attention.  We must be cautious, of course but we will thin their numbers a bit.”

“Yes, I am looking forward to that.”  Split settled back and waited.

~

Cole slowly regained consciousness.  He looked up and saw his hand resting in the now empty bowl.  “Shit,” he mumbled to himself.  He pushed himself to his knees and looked at the bowl.  He peered around the floor to the sides of the bowl, nothing.  Where the hell did the food go?  He realized he was actually feeling his hunger pains now.  He had an idea.  He popped his helmet back up and scanned for recent activities.  Hah, he had thought so.  His suit had absorbed the contents of the bowl and added it to his water supply.  He popped the tap into his mouth and drank until the reservoir was dry.  He sank back onto his heels and relished the full feeling in his belly.

He slowly rose to his feet and stretched his stiff, under used muscles.  After a few good deep stretches, he did some light calisthenics.  He felt better than he had since he got on this gods forsaken ship.  As he was settling back down on the floor, the wall opposite him slowly turned transparent.  Cole got back to his feet and readied himself for whatever was coming, as best as he could.

A moment later two figures appeared in the now completely clear wall.  One was the human astronaut, the other was the leader of the ship.  Dayja had ditched her Second Skin for traditional Esii garb.  The leader, Mikil, looked the same.

“It seems the animal has recovered from his captivity rather quickly.  He is a very robust specimen.”  Mikil looked Cole over as he talked.

              “As I have told you, he is a true descendant of our ancient enemies.  But he also has much of the size and strength of his mundane ancestors.  He was the one we were looking for when we attacked and destroyed his planet.  The Keisarinn will be please to feed upon him, once his Pyndingum have had the chance to extract the information that is stored in him.  He has all of the knowledge of the Pures stored in his mind.  He also possesses the means to access the shipyards where their advanced ships are made.” Dayja leaned forward and placed her hands on the transparent wall.  “That’s right, you have much to look forward too.  I have never seen the Pyndingum ply their trade before but I am sure the Keisarinn will allow me to watch them work on you.  Once you have spent some time with them, you will never be the same.  That is if you live through the experience.”  She smiled wickedly.

“I have seen them at work,” Mikil said, “and I would not want to be you if you hide things from the Keisarinn.”

Cole stepped up to the wall and held up his right hand.  He didn’t care if they understood or not, he extended his middle finger and turned his back to them. 

~

A few hours later they came for Cole.  This time they only sent four guards.  The wall slid open again and bright light assailed Cole’s eyes.  Before he could adjust to the bright light, Cole was assaulted by the guards.  Two of them tackled Cole and slammed him to the floor.  They held him in place while the other two wrenched his hands behind his back and secured them with manacles.  The manacles were connected by a foot long solid metal bar.  Once the restraints were on tight they inserted a long metal pole into the connector bar near the middle.  The pole was about eight feet long and kept the guards safely out of Cole’s reach.  “Get up,” one of them growled.  They didn’t give Cole the chance to obey.  They used the pole to lever Cole to his feet.  Cole felt his arms bending to far up and could feel the burn in his shoulders.  He scrambled to get his feet under him before they dislocated his shoulders.  Finally on his feet, Cole attempted to turn around to say something to his abusers.  Right when he started to move the guard holding the pole slammed it into his back and propelled him into the far wall.

Cole hit face first.  He felt his nose break and one of his front teeth broke off.  He was momentarily dazed and spitting blood.  His mouth and nose were on fire.  Before he could regain his composure, they were yanking him out of his cell backwards and forcing him down the hallway.  His vision finally cleared enough to let him see, he wished it hadn’t.  They had left the cells behind and were heading through the pens.  On either side of the center aisle were open top rooms set into the floor.

Cole saw hundreds of different aliens in varying states of health.  He had seen this before.  When they had landed on that Esii station, they had encountered what was left when Esii fed on sentient species.   It reminded Cole of the zombie movies he used to watch.  The longer a being was fed upon the more their body deteriorated.  Finally, just before death, the being was nothing more than a living husk that would do anything for the beings that killed it.