Structural integrity critical!

Security mode initiated.

Commencing memory integrity scan diagnostic…

The scream of sirens filled the hallways. I covered my ears, but the sounds passed through, drilling directly into my brain.

“Come along!” A large man pulled me. He was a friend of my father’s, I think. I remembered seeing him at the filtration station when my parents were on shift. “We’re going to the shafts.”

I didn’t like the shafts. They were dark, narrow, and crowded, smelling worse than the refining part. The only times I went there were when my parents told me to. Right now, none of my parents were here.

“Hurry!” The man dragged me through the crowd, shouldering his way to the maintenance elevator. He was gripping me so hard that his fingers were sinking into my arm. It was painful, like burning needles, but I didn’t stop. Fear kept me moving, more terrifying than any pain I felt—the thought of being left behind close to the surface.

Where’s my mother? I wanted to ask, but the words wouldn’t come out. I told myself that she had to be safe. Probably my father had gone to get her from the food factory to take her to the summer shafts. That had to be it. That’s why he had sent someone to take me, because he was busy saving Mom. After the raid was over, they would come and get me and everything would be like it was before.

“One to go!” The man yelled, his voice soaring above the siren. Some of the people tried to move aside, but the hall was so packed it didn’t make a difference. The smell of sweat was almost suffocating. “Make a hole!”

A sharp tug propelled me forward. Next thing I knew I was in front, being collectively pushed towards the lift. I could see other people pushing their children toward it as well. I recognised several of them; at the moment, everyone looked like pieces of furniture, allowing themselves to be taken somewhere. Do I look like that as well?

The sirens stopped sharply. In a single second, all the noise and motion stopped, as if someone had frozen time.

“They cut the sirens!” someone shouted. “The Scuu are in the system!”

I felt as if an invisible hand had reached out and grabbed me by the throat. The Scuu were here… This wasn’t a flyby anymore. Growing up, my mother had often told me that if the Scuu were to attack, I was to find a safe place to hide and remain there for thirty-eight hours. No matter how hungry or thirsty I was, or if I wanted to pee, I had to remain at that place and be quiet. If I didn’t, the Scuu were going to find me.

I had never seen a Scuu. I just knew that my parents feared them… and that scared me. From what I could remember, the sirens had only gone off four times. Each time, my parents had rushed me down into the shafts, and each time the alarm had gradually faded away, marking the moment we could go back up again. This was the first time they had been cut off.

The crowd paused for a few seconds more, as if hoping for some announcement to take place. When it didn’t, panic exploded once more.

“Go!” The man pushed me through the last line of people and into the service lift. There were a few grownups there, but it was all full with children. The space was so cramped I could feel elbows in my back and stomach. “The fleet will be here in thirty-eight hours!” I heard the man shout as more children were pushed into the lift. “Thirty-eight hours!”

Integrity diagnostic complete.

Returning to standard operations.

You took your time, Kridib’s voice sounded in my head.

Kridib? Everything was pitch black. I tried to stand up. Milliseconds later, I found I couldn’t.

Hang on. You’ll have visual soon.

A series of protocol exchanges occurred in my core. Someone with high fleet clearance was establishing a perma-connection. Once re-established, audio-visual output started streaming into my core. Images formed, though not ones I found familiar. I was leaning against the wall in what seemed to be a dusty abandoned room. The sun was up, flooding in through the cracks of boarded windows. A large sniper rifle rested against my shoulder… on closer inspection, however, I realized it was actually Kridib’s shoulder.

You got visual? he asked, tapping the fingers on his right hand against the sniper rifle.

Got visual, I repeated, as I looked back to my recent memories. The last thing I clearly remembered was disarming the Scuu probe, or at least thinking I had disarmed it. Following that, something had taken off my leg. What happened?

You got blasted like a rookie. Kridib smirked. The connection increased the amount of mockery he put in. One in the leg, two in the chest. I was given permission to link to you to find out where you were.

That didn’t sound reassuring. How was the link established? Are you a battleship?

You’re not the only one with trash in your mind, Kridib hissed mentally. Unlike his appearance, he had serious trouble controlling his thoughts. Half the people down here have implants. Some of us have a bomb in our brain as well.

It was nice to know that I wasn’t the only one with a self-destruct capsule in the head. Then again, at the moment, it didn’t matter. Three shots, I thought. Someone had managed to get three shots in me before I could react. Looking back, this was the first time I had been shot. As good as simulations were, I could always tell they weren’t the real thing. Back when I was a ship, I wouldn’t have even flinched. My subroutines would have been busy sealing off deck sections and saving my crew. Human bodies were fragile, a thing I had apparently forgotten.

Give me a summary, I said, trying to look around. The lack of motor control was annoying.

The locals turned. Tried to take us out before the shuttle landed. They got you, but I was faster. Kridib went to the window and glanced out. The captain’s fine. He and Nitel pulled back to some deserted colony near the impact zone. The other side got you and the Scuu gizmos, so we’re back to a stalemate. Radiance recalled the shuttles. No one’s landing until we’ve secured the artifact.

It was interesting to note that I wasn’t considered important enough to rescue. Apparently, a ship remained a ship, regardless of body.

Radiance. I tried to establish direct communication. There was no response. My communication protocols didn’t even engage in a secure handshake.

Has communication been cut off again? I asked Kridib.

No. We’re under quarantine orders. Until we know what that artifact does, Radiance is only sending info bursts down on the hour. Kridib moved to the side of the boarded window, then took a knife and slowly pushed against one of the boards. Almost instantly, the piece of wood splintered to bits, leaving a large hole. The locals weren’t kidding. I had seen similar tactics during prolonged ground operations. When it came to mopping up pockets of resistance, troopers tended to stop preserving ammo to get things over with faster. The fact that they were shooting indiscriminately suggested that they had the upper hand and knew it.

What are the numbers? I went through the images I’d seen through Kridib’s eyes.

Difficult to say. The man looked down at his rifle, then at the gaping hole in the window. A dozen grunts from the ship got podded down here. The captain still has three or four men with him. That leaves a few hundred colonists that want to blow our guts out.

Worse odds than the training SR. Running the numbers showed less than a three percent chance of success. Things had gotten quite bad quite fast. Do you have an area layout?

From what I had made out, the colony resembled Ash, although was even more rundown. On the front, the whole settlement would have been bombarded prior to any ground mission to ensure that the Cassandrians wouldn’t gain any advantage. I had seen it happen dozens of times, most often on human planets fallen under enemy control.

Radiance managed to info burst a partial scan. Kridib reached into his left arm pocket and took out a folded piece of paper. Here.

He unfolded it, revealing a rough sketch. The artistic qualities were highly questionable, but I was able to make out that we were in crescent shape colony with a basic grid structure. A large amount of X’s covered the entire upper area, possibly suspected enemy positions. Three question marks along with the letter C were surrounded in a circle on the utmost left—the whereabouts of the Captain, if I had to guess. There were also five E’s scattered about seemingly at random. I honestly hoped that he wasn’t using that letter to indicate me.

We’re here and here. Kridib tapped on the bottom left and right of the sketch. Orders are to secure the captain first, then go for you.

A bit reckless. My simulations told me that splitting up the attack force wasn’t the best plan when outnumbered and at a tactical disadvantage. Personally, I’d have the entire squad proceed to the Captain’s location, then re-evaluate the situation.

That’s why I’m going for you first. The man folded the sketch and put it away. Now that you’re awake, Radiance will pinpoint you and send me the info during the next burst. We’ll be linked the entire time, so you’ll be on for the ride.

Roger. This was the first time I was going to participate in my own rescue. What do we do until then?

Nothing. Kridib leaned against the wall, looking at the ceiling. Another thing, we’re on a time crunch. Radiance said it’s a four-day march from the nearest colony. If there are reinforcements on the way, that’s when they’ll show up.

You think others are involved?

Communications are up. His glance moved slightly to the left, then back again. He was hiding something. We must be ready.

Right. So much for an easy mission. Why not just burn it and move to the next candidate?

Can’t. Other than Nitel and the captain, there’s no one left.

I felt a sharp impulse of pain pass through Kridib. The man did his best to hide it, but the direct connection betrayed him, sending a spike through the link. Whatever was placed in his brain was making sure he didn’t see what he wasn’t supposed to.

Don’t worry. Kridib snorted in cynical fashion. It only takes one of us to see the mission through.

* * *

Xylla, Cassandrian Front – 607 A.E. (Age of Expansion)

Quarantine imposed.

Quarantine bypassed.

“Planetary evacuation order issued, Captain,” I announced.

Ground communications exploded. Ground officers of various ranks were demanding to know what was going on, requesting clarification, instructions, or shuttle coordinates. Every subsequent millisecond, I dedicated more subroutines to the task while keeping my focus on Lieutenant Pierce. Eleven ships in orbit flooded me with questions of their own. The mass evacuation order made it difficult to distinguish between troops. Amid the chaos, it was quickly decided that troop assignments would be ignored for the sake of speed and efficiency. There would be plenty of time to get things sorted out later.

“FI, what’s the timeline?” Augustus shouted from the bridge, as if the person in question was there.

“Five minutes,” the unknown voice replied through the comm.

“You’re taking a big chance on this one.” My captain snorted. “You better have the connections to back it up.”

“Five minutes, Captain.” The person didn’t sound at all impressed.

“Elcy, what’s the Lt’s status?” Augustus asked.

I enlarged all of Pierce’s video feeds and placed them all over the bridge walls. The amount of Cassandrians in his path had all but disappeared, most of them focused on wiping out what was left of his team. Interestingly enough, they had stopped engaging anyone outside of their ships, choosing to use them as a bunker.

“Bridge in sight,” Lieutenant Pierce said. “What are my instructions?”

The sound dampeners were supposedly keeping any sound from leaving the suit, but I had my reservations. There was too little I knew about the Cassandrians to make a proper assessment.

“Captain, I need permission to start bombardment.” I recalculated the odds. Even with my advanced weaponry, the missiles were going to take approximately four hundred seconds to reach their target. “Do I proceed?”

There was a moment of silence. For several seconds, Augustus turned around, staring at the video feeds along the wall one after the other. It was impossible to know what was going through his mind, but after spending so much time under his command, I was able to pick up certain subtleties. Right now, it seemed as if, for the first time in a long while, the man was hesitating.

“Just say the word, Cap,” Wilco whispered, his words almost ringing in the silence.

“Start planetary bombardment,” Augustus said. “Coordinate with the orbital fleet. Scorch the surface.”

“Coordinating targets, sir.” I transmitted the order, selecting the targets with the other ships. Eighty-seven milliseconds later, the missiles started launching. Everyone who couldn’t manage to make it onto a shuttle in the next three minutes would never leave the planet. Looking at Lieutenant Pierce’s location, I knew that he had never been intended to survive.

“Send a general warning,“ Augustus added. “Skip the LT.”

“He’s still a human and a crewmember, sir,” I protested. “Regulations state that I must—”

“Do you like reminding him that he’ll die?” Augustus barked. For once, I had no answer. Running simulations, I predicted his reaction based on twenty different responses. In one fashion or another, they all ended the same way.

“I’ve reached the bridge,” Pierce’s transmission sounded in the bridge. “What are my instructions?” His video feed was almost entirely black at this point, censored to the point where he almost appeared to be in outer space. “No hostiles present.”

“Move to the green module on your left,” the unknown voice said. The image he was seeing differed significantly from mine. “You’ll receive an image of a particular item. You’re to retrieve the item from that module and secure it into an M-4 container. You still have one, right?”

“Yes, sir.” The Lieutenant’s voice remained moderately calm, but all his readings spiked. He knew he was being sacrificed. “I was issued one in orbit.”

“Do what you have to,” the Fleet Intelligence operative said.

Three seconds later, I received a data packet to transfer. I couldn’t see what I was sending, although I could assume it was a picture of some sort. Whatever it was, it seemed to make sense to the Lieutenant, for he quickly headed in a specific direction and hacked out a black object of undefined shape from the black background. As he did, I ran a search in my database for an M-4 container. Initially, my search was blocked, with the pretext that I was requesting information on a classified item. Strangely enough, the restriction was waived nine-hundred milliseconds later, granting me access.

A container? The question popped in my mind the instant I saw the visual reference. The M-4—also known as a Magnitude Four container—was an alloy cube with a side of eight centimetres that was able to withstand impact from a fifth-generation bombardment missile. With such strength, it certainly would survive the bombardment that was to hit the planet in three hundred and eleven seconds. If one thing were to remain, this would be it, along with the contents it held.

“Found it!” The lieutenant’s words almost echoed in the silence. No one on the bridge dared say a word. A few even held their breath. “Placing it in the M-4.” I watched him put the invisible object in the container and close it. “What now?”

I didn’t respond, waiting for the Fleet Intelligence officer to do so. Seconds passed, and the order didn’t come.

“Light Seeker, what are my instructions?” the ground officer repeated.

“No further orders,” my captain said before I could ask the question.

“Understood.” Some of Pierce’s bio-readings started going down. “How much time do I have?”

“Enough,” Augustus replied. I didn’t know whether it was his intention, but he was lying—the first lie that made me feel uncertain.

I had seen soldiers sacrificed in combat. I knew that a large part of ground troopers would die during their tour. I also knew that there was a very high chance that I would be destroyed in the course of battle. Sending a squad of soldiers with the intent of them dying, only to protect something, wasn’t taught during my training… and now I could see why.

“Leave orbit,” Augustus ordered, making his way off the bridge. “Find out where command wants us and get there. Aya has the bridge.”

“What about the M-4, sir?” I asked.

“That’s not our mission, rookie. Someone else will get it.”

* * *

I never learned what Lieutenant Pierce had found on the Cassandrian ship. Based on the effort involved, I could say it had been significant, though nowhere significant enough for the BICEFI or Salvage to get involved. Right now, the fleet was dealing with a potentially unknown third-generation artifact, possibly modified by the Scuu. I had no doubt that one of the organisations would make their presence known, just as I knew the lengths they’d go to obtain the artifact.

Do you have any M-4 containers? I asked Kridib.

What’s that? The man adjusted the sights of his rifle.

Nothing, I lied. At least I knew he wasn’t planned to be a sacrifice, and for the time being, neither was I. Nothing important.

Worrying about myself or the artifact wasn’t my mission. The focus was getting Renaan safely off the planet. Everything else would have to wait, even my own body.