17
Three hours later and Clement was on the ground at Camp Alpha, meeting with Colonel Lubrov and going over the camp’s ground defenses one last time. He followed her into her command tent where she had maps, charts, and electronic displays strewn out on several flat tables.
“What’s our best-case scenario?” he asked of her.
She pulled at her regulation ponytail with her left hand and then swept it behind her shoulder. “Even with the rapid-cure concrete bunkers we’ve installed, I can’t protect more than about half of the migrant population, especially now that you’ve combined all three camps into one. That’s just the reality of it. We have minimal antiaircraft batteries and just the small arms that we came with. We have three shuttles we can get off the ground, one from each of the transports, but nothing heavier than that. If the fleet can’t provide us with cover from above, we’re not going to last very long down here on the ground against an enemy that would likely have air power, ground troops, plus armor and artillery. It would be a slaughter.”
Clement looked out the open tent door as hundreds of exhausted-looking settlers straggled through the camp; the looks on their faces were forlorn. He had to decide if risking their lives, and the natives’, was worth it. Perhaps, he thought, taking Elara up on her offer of peace negotiations had been a missed opportunity.
“At this point, Colonel, the attacking fleet from the L2 Lagrange point has dispersed and is rendezvousing out near T6 with the main Ark ship. I’ve sent Elara DeVore out to their fleet, mostly as a diversion, but if they decide to come back in and take this planet there is really nothing we can do about it, at least from a naval perspective. And fighting here on the ground just doesn’t seem like an option.”
“We do have nuclear weapons as an option,” said Lubrov.
“Yes, six small-yield warheads. I don’t fancy myself using nukes in the Garden of Eden,” he responded. “I’d rather not go down as Trinity’s serpent in the garden. We’re loading the nukes from the Agamemnon onto the remaining cruisers and our destroyer. If they are used it will be in space, not on this planet.”
She stiffened. “Understood, Admiral.”
Clement paced across the tent, back and forth. There were no real good options for him to defend the planet or any of its inhabitants. He didn’t trust DeVore, or the so-called Solar League, enough to accept her offer of peace, which simply could be an elaborate trap. He mused on this as he paced, Lubrov allowing him all the time he needed by staying silent. Finally, he addressed the Colonel again.
“Carry on with getting the settlers into the camp, and get them as close to the mountain where the Hill Place is located as you can. Keep everyone that is already in a bunker protected, but your orders are not to fight unless you are fired upon first. If you encounter ground troops and they demand your surrender, you are hereby ordered to stand down.”
Lubrov bowed her head and then looked back up, swallowing hard at her unpleasant orders. “Understood, Admiral, but I wish to convey that I’m not happy about it.”
“And I understand your position, Colonel. If I was in your place I’d say exactly the same thing. But we have to prevent a slaughter, and the only way to do that, it appears, is not to fight, at least not on the ground.” Clement ended his pacing and sat down heavily in a metal folding chair and sighed.
“You’re tired, aren’t you, sir?”
“Yes, Colonel, very. You’d think sixteen hours out like a light would make me feel more refreshed.”
“Losing the Beauregard and Lieutenant Adebayor was a trauma, sir. The g-forces you endured, even while unconscious, take a big toll on your body. You should think about resting some more.”
Clement rubbed at his face. “There’s no time for that, Marina,” he said, surprising her by using her first name.
“Perhaps, sir, there is one other option that we could explore before we give up. Maybe you’re just too tired to think of it right now.”
“I’m open to any suggestions at this point.”
Lubrov came around the table to stand in front of him. “You could go back to the Hill Place, back to that woman Mary and the natives. I’m just guessing, but they may have the technology to stop this thing. It’s our job to try and convince them to come in on our side.”
“I feel like we’ve tried that already, Colonel,” he said, then he bowed his head. “They had an opportunity to intervene when those Solar League ships took orbit right above them, but they didn’t, so I have to assume they won’t get involved this time.”
“Isn’t it worth another chance? To at least ask them?”
Clement looked up at her, thinking. “You’re right, Colonel, it is worth a chance.” Then he stood. “I’ll take Commander Pomeroy with me back up to the Hill Place. Maybe I can convince them that we are worth intervening for.”
With that he was out through the tent opening and into the dusky sunlight of Bellus.
As he made his way through the crowds of anxious settlers toward the VTOL, the crowd parted and he found himself face to face with his parents. He stopped, then approached them.
“Hello, son,” said his mother, giving him a big hug, which he instinctively returned. His father stood back a step and merely nodded to acknowledge his son. “You look terrible,” Abby said.
He laughed. What could he say to that? “I’m sorry, Mother, but I lost my ship, a young crewmate, and a battle today. Not the best of times.”
“I’m sorry for all that, son. Please know that we love you.”
“I do, and I love you too.” He looked to his father. “I’m so sorry for getting you both involved in this. I should have left well enough alone and let you stay on the farm on Ceta.”
Abby shook her head. “You did the right thing, son. Your father here won’t tell you, but we wouldn’t have survived on the farm for another year. We came for the right reasons, and you didn’t make a mistake in bringing us here.”
“Well, I’ve made plenty since we got here.”
“It’s all right, son. We’re going to be okay,” said his father.
“I . . . I have to go,” Clement said, looking in the direction of the VTOL.
“Do what you have to do, son. We’re well taken care of,” said Abby. With that he got another hug from his mother and then a handshake from his father. He walked off then, purpose in his pace.
Clement rounded up Laura Pomeroy and fifteen minutes later they were taking the VTOL back up to the Hill Place. The ten-minute ride up the mountainside allowed him to clear his mind a bit by closing his eyes and meditating. He was still foggy from his unintended sleep.
“You look like you could use some more rest,” said Pomeroy.
“Does every woman on this mission feel the need to look after me?”
“I’m sorry?” quizzed Pomeroy over the hum of the VTOL turbines.
Clement sighed. “It started back on Kemmerine Station. Yan tried to put me on a diet which made me irritable. DeVore tried to get me to surrender and run off with her to Earth or somewhere. Lubrov told me I needed more rest just now in the command tent, and now you’re at me. I just don’t have time to rest right now, Laura. When this is over—”
“This might never be over,” she said.
Clement didn’t respond for a few moments, then said, “I’ve lost wars before.”
“One with this high of stakes?”
He nodded. “In the War of the Five Suns I was defending over seven million people on three planets. Those were pretty high stakes.”
“Yes, but it was only the Navy that was truly threatened. The Rim planets themselves were never actually attacked.”
“True enough,” he said. “That would have added insult to injury. The Rim planets had no way to defend themselves. It would have been a slaughter.” Then he leaned back in his couch and resumed his meditation. With his eyes closed, he said, “Laura, I’m going to need you to take over communications for the rest of the mission. We lost Kayla . . .”
“I heard, sir. I’ll just add it to the rest of my duties. Not a problem, sir.”
“I need someone I can trust there.”
“I understand, sir.”
They flew in silence for a few more minutes until they touched down outside the hollow concrete bunker the natives had called the Hill Place. Clement opened his eyes and the two of them exited the VTOL, taking minimal equipment with them. It just didn’t seem to Clement that weapons would be needed as they were only there again to plead for mercy.
As they walked toward the bunker Clement went to the hill’s edge and stopped, looking over the ridge and down on the lush green valley below. Even without field glasses the activity was obvious. The native encampments dotted the countryside, their gentle firelights burning against the tepid ruby “night” skies of Bellus. The bustle of Camp Alpha was there, what with thirty thousand migrants making their way to the base of the mountain. The sounds of the bunker construction machines echoed up to them as the Marines worked furiously to provide protection to the populace, both settlers and natives, from the coming attack. Clement was keenly aware that the settlers had come here on his promises, and how much he had let them down and led them into peril.
“That’s what we’re trying to protect,” he said to Pomeroy.
She stayed quiet for a second. “It’s a worthy cause, Admiral. It’s not your fault that things haven’t worked out as expected.”
“It may not be my fault, Laura, but it is my responsibility.” With that he turned away from the ridge and they headed inside the bunker.
This time the elevator door was open and waiting for them, humming with energy. They made their way inside and the doors closed without an action from either one of them.
“It looks like we’re expected,” said Pomeroy.
“I just wish I knew if that was a good sign or a bad one,” replied Clement.
“Well, they do appear to be inviting us down.”
“True enough.”
The elevator doors opened on the vast and beautiful underground cavern once again. As they stepped out Clement noted that the native woman, Mary, was already at the console, manipulating floating 3D displays at her whim. The two Five Suns Navy officers walked down the ramp and quickly up to the control console.
“I suppose you know why we’re here,” said Clement without hesitating. Mary seemed to ignore him for a few seconds, her hands swishing across and through various colorful
three-dimensional displays.
“It’s agreeable to see you again, Admiral,” she said without looking up from her work. “But if you’ll give me just a moment, I can pay greater attention to our conversation.” With that her hands continued to whip through the displays, moving some, combining others, and reaching “inside” still more to pluck what he could only assume were components being moved from one system to another. It was a fascinating kaleidoscope of color, sound, and motion. Clement looked away while she was at her task and examined the rest of the cavern again. He could see many more of the amber-skinned natives than he had ever seen before moving about the cavern, undoubtedly tending to important tasks and activities. In the distant “village” beyond this maintenance area, basking in the amber-gold “daylight” of the cavern, he could also see people and vehicles moving about.
He turned to Pomeroy. “Looks as though they’re preparing for something,” he said quietly, so as not to interrupt Mary’s tasks.
Mary picked up on their conversation. “If you will just give me a few more moments to complete my tasks . . .” she said. Both Clement and Pomeroy took that as a hint for them to shut up. Mary continued her work for a few more seconds before clearing the displays and looking up at the two of them.
“I know why you’re here, Admiral, and as you’ve already guessed we are preparing for something, something we did not expect.”
Clement didn’t bother to waste any time with niceties. “We’re here to ask you to intervene on our behalf against the invading force forming up at the planet we call Trinity-6.”
In response Mary pulled up a visual display and “tossed” it into the air above the three of them. “The enemy fleet has already formed, Admiral. Our monitoring equipment allows us to see things in real time throughout our star system, as opposed to your equipment, which has, of course, a temporal delay due to its inferior quality.”
“We understand our technology is limited compared to yours,” said Pomeroy, “that’s why we’re here, to see if you have anything that might help us defend the planet,” she finished.
Clement watched as the Earth Ark and its fleet of surrounding ships was already in motion and on a direct course for Bellus.
“I’m curious, you told us the planetary defense systems would work automatically, but when the Solar League ships took orbit above Bellus, the defense system didn’t react in any way.”
“And that goes to what we did not expect, Admiral. The planetary defense systems appear to be off-line. In all of our diagnostic examinations the system is always shown as operating and ready. However, when the threat came above our skies, the system did not react. Upon further examination we discovered that system has been disabled, perhaps a long time ago.”
“Disabled? By whom, or by what?”
“We don’t know the answer to that. It may have been that the system was designed by the Makers to go off-line at a prespecified time if no threats were detected, or it could be that the system simply failed. That would be a surprise, though, as almost every other system is working perfectly. In any case, at the moment why it has happened is irrelevant. We’re focusing now on how to get the system back up and running, and we’re clearly in a situation that threatens both the people and this planet.”
“So, you’re saying you have no way to help us?” asked Pomeroy.
Clement held up a hand to quiet her. “What will have to be done to get the system back online?”
“We are trying a variety of automated techniques at the moment. If they do not work then one of us will have to interface with the system directly.”
That was concerning to both Clement and Pomeroy. “What do you mean by ‘interface directly’?”
She gave him an odd look, tilting her head slightly to one side. “I mean what I said, Admiral: interface directly with the system through a physiological connection.”
Pomeroy could not contain herself. “You mean you’re going to merge with a machine? Has that ever been done before?”
“Not to my knowledge,” replied Mary, “but we do have that capability in case some portion of the planetary artificial intelligence were to breakdown, as it appears to have happened in this case.”
Clement felt a shot of dread go through him. “Mary, are you implying . . . I mean, what happens to you if you do this? Your personality? And can it be reversed?”
“I don’t know that, Jared. I can’t know, for I haven’t experienced this process before.”
Clement hated that answer. “When will you know if you have to do this interface?” he asked.
She looked at him blankly. “The enemy fleet will be here in nine hours. The interface and repair will require at least two, so we have roughly seven hours to try to get the system back up and running before I must make that decision.”
“Mary, we came here to ask you for your help in defending us, but I’m also here for humanitarian reasons. The people outside, at the foot of this mountain, my people, are innocent. They are merely pawns in a much larger game that they never should have been involved in. I cannot help them, and we’re no longer strong enough to defend them. I’m asking for your mercy. I’m asking you to let me bring as many of my people down here, inside this cavern, as I can before that fleet gets here. I don’t know if you have the capacity—”
“We do, Jared, and your request will be granted. Your people are welcome inside the cavern, but understand that without the planetary defense system working I cannot guarantee their safety.”
“I understand that, Mary, and I thank you for granting our request. I will try to start moving our people up here as quickly as we can, but I’m worried we won’t have enough time to get everyone up the mountainside and down here through the elevator. It may end up being only a handful of people that we can protect.”
“It’s not necessary for your people to come here the same way that you did. We can open the cavern up for your people to enter directly.”
“How?” asked Pomeroy.
“We have bunker doors that are at ground level. Your people can enter there without the need to come up the mountain. They can shelter in the village, and there is plenty of room for them to set up their own shelters once the village is filled up. There are abundant natural water sources, and food can be provided by the Maker machines. Our people will see to your people’s needs. I will also call many of our nearby people to join us here. But even with all of this, please understand that I cannot guarantee we will be safe from an all-out attack.”
“Understood,” said Clement, “and thank you. I will get my people moving as soon as I can get topside to send the order.”
“Very well. And I will see that the bunker doors are opened thirty minutes from now.”
“Excellent.” He looked to Pomeroy. “We’d better get moving.”
“Aye, sir.”
Clement turned to go but Mary’s voice called him back. When he looked again she was already back to manipulating virtual displays.
“Keep in mind, I may not be here to speak with you by the time you return. Every minute that passes without the planetary defense system coming back online on its own brings me a minute closer to having to undertake the Ascension.”
Clement and Pomeroy exchanged confused glances. “What is the Ascension?” he asked.
“My interface with the Machine. Once it occurs I will be responsible for running all the systems on all the Trinity worlds. This is a process from which I, as an individual, may never return.”
“You mean you’ll be permanently linked to the Machine?”
She paused from her work to look at Clement.
“No, not linked. I may literally become part of it, inseparable for the rest of my days.”
And with that she went silent and returned to her work.
Clement and Pomeroy made their way out of the cavern and back toward the elevator. Once the doors were closed, Clement turned to her. “We have to do everything we can to keep her from undergoing this Ascension. It could cost her soul.”
“It could at that,” agreed Pomeroy.