Consortium of Planets: Alien Test Read online

  Before she could initiate her new assault plan, a red button on her console started flashing. It was her boss’s secure channel. Martel wanted to talk to her. She hesitated and then broke left; the aliens would have to wait.

  His voice was gentle, almost soothing. “Sasha, I am deeply saddened over Amy’s loss. I know how much all of your people mean to you and how important this mission was to you.”

  Thankful for the friendly voice, Sasha wiped her damp eyes and sniffed, “Is this communication secure, sir?”

  “You know it is or I wouldn’t have called you on it.”

  “Did I just hear you say that the mission was important?”

  Martel grew concerned when Sasha’s question abruptly changed the direction of their conversation. He straightened up in his large chair and leaned against the desk in his private office. “Sasha, you do realize that the mission has failed? You threw everything you had at them, including your wing mate, to no effect. Sasha, even Forge and Stone have been unable to stop the Moonbeam and they’ve been out of oxygen for thirty minutes.”

  She couldn’t give up. “Boss, I still have my nuclear device and someone was able to turn the Beam away from Earth. I think that Forge must have done it from the Moon’s surface. Sir, I can’t return to Earth until I’ve used the nuke and tried to save Forge and Stone!”

  Martel realized that he would have to pull rank and order her home. It wasn’t safe for her to attack without a wing mate to fly top cover. “General Stranova, I…”

  When he began using her rank, Sasha realized that he was getting ready to order her to abort the mission. She cut him off in mid-sentence. “Sir, I’m having trouble hearing you. I must be getting interference from the aliens.”

  The radio went dead because she switched to Forge’s frequency. Maybe she couldn’t save Amy, but saving Forge and Stone was still a possibility.

  “General Stranova! General Stranova!” Martel barked for the last time. He knew she had turned off the radio and was only pretending that it was broken so she could go after Forge’s team. He could feel his eye twitch as he acknowledged to the empty room, “She’s in great danger.” An instant later, he shook his head and called the Space Wing’s Base Operations to get Sasha the support she needed.

  “Sir, it’ll take a few minutes to scramble two more birds.”

  He ordered them in a command voice that he had perfected over the last thirty-five years. “Make it one! Your general’s life depends on it!”

  With her full attention on the alien base now, Sasha began a leisurely right turn toward the Moon. This was the slow part of the plan: to make the aliens think that they had plenty of time to target her. About a kilometer out, she suddenly pressed her fighter’s twin rocket engines for all they had and surprised the aliens before they had a chance to react to her abrupt increase in speed.

  When she leveled off, the base was directly in front of her. Coming in low and fast, the reddish glow of her instruments lit up the intensity on her face. Looking ahead at her target, she flipped on her targeting computer and instinctively moved her thumbs over the red and blue buttons. The tactical nuclear weapon’s target was automatically programmed. All Sasha had to do was release it at the right moment.

  A faint light on the surface making its way toward the Beam caught her eye. Is that the aliens? Its flickering looked completely out of place and her intuition told her that it was Forge. They’re still alive! If she released her weapon now, it would kill them and certainly alert the aliens, so she put the nuke on hold. If it was Forge, she couldn’t warn him because his radio was out, but she could team up with him and knock out the Beam.

  Sasha had no way of knowing that the light she saw was actually Amy soaring rapidly away from the aliens, still strapped in her fighter’s seat.

  The tiny rockets that propelled the fighter’s ejection seat wouldn’t last long against the Moon’s gravity. The seat was much harder to guide than her starfighter but Amy didn’t have far to go. Her swift rise from the Moon suddenly slowed and she hovered briefly before its weak gravity began to reel her back to the surface. Already close to the Beam’s foundation when she ejected, Amy was able to land right beside it, just as her chair’s rockets ran out of fuel.

  With a smug smile, she thought about the fact that her would-be captors hadn’t even gotten a shot off before she left them in…her Moon dust? That sounded strange to Amy, but then the whole mission was pretty strange. Her smile disappeared as she considered how she would make them pay for underestimating her.

  Working against time, she hit the harness release and jumped out of her spent chair. She stood on the rocky surface beside the Beam’s base structure and felt its subtle vibration through her boots. The blaster in her hand was still fully charged. It was the only thing she had that was capable of making an explosion. Amy paused briefly to consider that once she used it, her backup would be gone. She also knew that she was running out of tricks and once the aliens caught up with her, they probably wouldn’t be so easily fooled again. The blaster would be better used as a bomb to blow up the Beam’s support structure.

  She stepped up to one of the four massive pylons that held up the Beam’s large dish, set the blaster to “overload,” and hid it under the column’s foundation. As Amy came in contact with the metal it began to shimmer and waver. It’s just an illusion! Then she remembered that the Beam’s support structure had reacted similarly when she fired on it at close range, but it had corrected so quickly at the time that she couldn’t tell what was happening.

  The structure completely disappeared as she stepped through it and underneath where the Beam used to be. She looked up, expecting to see the Moonbeam’s rainbow of colors and flashing light, but saw only stars twinkling in the night sky. She stepped back through and the whole scene reestablished itself – Moonbeam and all. It’s not real! Now that is serious camouflage!

  No longer needing the blaster to blow something up Amy adjusted it back to its normal kill function. She quickly scanned the area for aliens and a place to hide. A low wall of natural stone had remained after the illusion disappeared and she dropped out of sight behind it. If the aliens could cause such a realistic illusion, they could likely see through their own deception just as well. She hoped they couldn’t see through her barrier.

  She kept as low as possible and peeked around the bottom of a large rock. Before her was what remained of the alien base, or at least what appeared to be? She gathered a handful of rocks and began throwing each one at the remaining buildings to see if they would disappear like the Beam. Each time Amy hit a building, it would shimmer and destabilize but quickly return to its original appearance. For some reason, the illusion that had been the Beam had turned off, but the others were still on.

  Then Amy realized that the illusions were two-dimensional and only worked from one side, like a picture or a mirror: as soon as someone stepped through them and looked back, the buildings were gone. The riddle solved, she charged headlong into the alien illusions, throwing rocks with one hand and firing her blaster with the other. She was determined to get past as many of their illusions as possible.

  Sasha circled the aliens’ crater, looking for a place to land, and saw brighter flashes of light than she had seen before moving away from the Beam. Wait, the Beam is gone! She would worry about that later. Right now, her heart was racing. Those bright flashes of light are the right color to be coming from a Corps blaster! The flashes looked like a fire fight at first, but there was no return fire. Sasha set down behind a cone-shaped hill that might have been a volcano long ago and headed toward the fire fight. It had to be Forge and Stone.

  Dean shook his head in amazement as he watched the young pilot’s success play out on every monitor. Her ability to blast aliens, eject away from capture, and shut down the Beam in a matter of only minutes showed just how vulnerable the aliens were.

  Beth’s excitement was short-lived when she noticed how impressed he was with Amy. Beth felt jealousy deep in her chest and found
it surprisingly hard to control. But then Wystl faced them with that weird smile and Beth quickly forgot about her emotions.

  Wystl nodded and addressed Dean. “I think the Test is going well. What do you think?”

  Dean laughed out loud. “I’d say that is an understatement, at least for our side. A single pilot has eluded your troops and taken out the Beam.” Then Dean began to boast. “If Earth had sent an entire invasion force, we’d have kicked your alien butt all the way back to your precious University by now.”

  As quietly as she could, Beth leaned in and reminded Dean, “We want to win her trust, not antagonize her.”

  Before Dean could add anything, Wystl responded. “Trust will come for all in good time if you pass the Test.” Then she added, “You are correct – your pilot is doing remarkably well. She has moved you farther ahead at this time than 95.33% of the previous species that I have tested. Colonel, I am interested in seeing what she does when she finds this ship.”

  The amusement melted off Dean’s face. “Wystl, that brings up a good point. You never said what would happen if we fail the Test.”

  Her painted smile vanished, and she began to fight an internal struggle. She looked back and forth at Beth and Dean for a long moment. They both could tell that it made her uncomfortable and that it was not something she wanted to talk about. She finally broke the silence and spoke so softly that it was almost a whisper.

  “Some of the species that fail the Test are sterilized.” Before Dean or Beth could get over the shock Wystl turned abruptly and left the room.

  Captain Aydr’n stepped forward and with a steady voice explained. “We don’t like to do such a thing, and normally we don’t have to. Your species is the most intriguing that we have discovered in the last three or four hundred cycles, but your potential seems overshadowed by your aggressiveness. If you fail the Test, your continued progress could cause problems for the Consortium in the distant future.”

  Aydr’n lowered his voice and became more serious as he began to tell Dean and Beth about the last great battle. “The Consortium hasn’t faced a real challenge in a several thousand cycles, but it hasn’t always been that way. The last galactic war ended with the Chn-maa’s defeat at the Trinity. Soon after, we developed the praser weapon that focuses highly charged protons into a narrow beam, much like a laser does with light.”

  Dean really wasn’t interested in Consortia’s history. If this story is intended to answer questions, it’s failing and only adding to the ones I already have. He decided it was time to shake things up a bit and test the aliens for a change. Dean’s booming voice filled the room as he rudely interrupted. “That was stupid! You gave away the ending. I hate it when I know who won!”

  Aydr’n responded instantly and grabbed Dean by the throat. Just a few millimeters from Dean’s nose, he bellowed angrily, “You will not disrespect our greatest victory and the death of so many heroic warriors!”

  Dean could feel the alien’s powerful grip tightening and smell its putrid breath blow across his face. The other aliens began to gather and chant something in their native tongue. He had pushed the alien too far and needed to back off, if it wasn’t too late. Before Dean could change tactics, Beth followed his lead and threw her body sideways and struck Aydr’n low in his legs. Completely surprised, the big alien lost his balance and crumpled onto the floor. As he fell, he instinctively released the Human and tried to catch himself.

  Dean took the opportunity to see just how tough the aliens really were and landed a roundhouse kick to the side of the alien’s leathery head. The force of the blow caused Aydr’n to cartwheel through the air in the light gravity. He landed on his feet with a smile like Wystl’s – only more evil. The only effect Dean’s kick had was making the alien angrier. Dean could still feel the impression of Aydr’n’s hands around his throat. He wished for his hands back so that he could rub that feeling away – and give the alien more than just a kick.

  Beth watched fearfully as more aliens entered the room to see their captain take apart the Human. The situation was getting away from Dean and he knew it. Now was not the right time. Even with his hands and arms, Dean knew the alien would be difficult to take, and the other aliens would stop him anyway.

  He had to try a total reverse of the attack and spoke up. “Look, Aydr’n, I’m sorry.” He watched the angry alien stop in surprise to listen.

  “But we had to try. You would have done the same if you were in our place. I meant no disrespect to those fighting for what they believe in.” Dean looked at Beth and then at Aydr’n. “Go ahead, we want to hear the rest of the story.” Beth gritted her teeth and smiled at the alien.

  Adyr’n took a step back. He agreed that, under the same circumstance, he would have reacted in the same way. He had to respect the Human for trying. “You want to hear it now – after you attacked me?” He paused with a slow nod of realization and then answered his own question. “Yes, I have shown you how resilient we are in individual combat. Now I will tell you how we defeated our greatest opponent in battle.”

  Once again, Aydr’n appeared dark and foreboding as he began his tale.

  “Long ago, the Chn-maa was a rival culture that we hoped to make our allies. When we first came into contact with them, we found that they controlled much more of the galaxy than we did. Their fleet was four times the size of ours and it was more advanced. While their diplomats talked of peace, their rulers combined their fleets into a huge armada and attacked us.

  “They made a surprise push into our space with what they thought was overwhelming speed and force. They blew across our worlds one-by-one like a great plague. They took no prisoners, everyone was killed.

  “A few planets managed to hold on longer than most. They threatened to slow down the Chn-maa timetable. Those worlds felt the wrath of the Chn-maa’s primitive Dimensional Shifter and were completely obliterated. Their diplomats talked our leaders into sending two of our fleets as a show of good faith to distant consolidation talks. They anticipated that by the time our fleets returned, there would be nothing left to defend.

  “It was beginning to appear that they were correct. No matter how hard we fought, their numbers and technology gave them the edge. And they kept coming and coming and slaughtering us!

  “Finally, our admirals were pushed into making one last stand. Only two of our Quadrant Fleets were available for the battle. The other two fleets were still too far away and were being harassed and slowed down by smaller Chn-maa carrier groups as they tried to return home. The admirals ordered what remained of the First and Second Quadrant Fleets to retreat to the Trinity.

  “The Trinity was a formation of three red stars that were close enough to share their swirling stellar matter. It formed a brilliant red crescent against the darkness of space. Our quadrant Fleets lay in wait there. They were all that stood between our civilization and the whole Chn-maa armada.

  “On Judgment Day, their navy hung like a massive cloud of dark matter. It eclipsed the very stars with hundreds of deep space heavy carriers, thousands of cruisers, and a million fighters and support craft. They felt invincible and telegraphed every move as they methodically formed their forces into a massive wedge.

  “They hoped that by showing us what they had planned that our fear would overcome us and we would run but we would never abandon Consortia. When we showed no fear, they advanced and began the attack. They tried to overwhelm us with numbers, but our admirals were wise and our Warriors had much battle experience. We fell back into the Trinity’s very palm.

  “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 midd
le 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.