Earth Song: Etude to War (2 page)

“That isn't an option either.” Christian turned around to see Chriso holding a gun on him. The old style chemical weapon was almost an antique, but still formidable. And the Chosen who escorted him to the meeting had deftly removed his heavy combat armor and shield. The second generation uniform he still wore was designed to defeat many energy weapons, but not a simple firearm.

“What are you doing? I'm here to help you. I used to be your daughter’s boyfriend, and I've spent years looking for you.”

“That, is unfortunate.” The gun boomed in the small room. Once, twice, three times.

Christian felt a dull sensation of pain as he fell to his knees. He looked up at the elder Alma as he walked closer. His vision was swimming before his eyes and he struggled to understand as his mind began to drift away from consciousness. “I can't interrupt my work here. The fate of humanity is at stake. I'm sorry.”

The gun came up again, this time aimed squarely between his eyes. Christian struggled to say something, anything. He never heard the gun’s report.

Part I

Chapter 1

Julast 13th, 533 AE

Dean's Office, University of Plateau, Tranquility, Bellatrix

“What the fuck do you mean you're cutting my funding?!” Dean Minu Groves slammed her right fist down on the conference room table hard enough to crack the ancient native palm wood.

The university chancellor looked like he was about to scream in fear as Minu’s gaze bored into him from across the table, her green eyes flashing like lasers and her shinning red hair quickly escaping from the waist length ponytail she'd put it in for today’s meeting. To judge by the chancellor’s reaction, you'd think Minu towered over him, instead of giving up forty centimeters.

“I have students lined up a thousand deep for admission to the War College, which I might add is one of the few departments to bring in even close to what we expend in funds. If you're taking money from me to give it to that damned sports program, so help me—”

“No, no, Dean Groves, I assure you that is not the case!” the slender, matronly bursar assured Minu.

The sports program which included football, soccer and baseball, had begun operation a year after Minu's War College formally started accepting full time degree students. She'd fought an unending war with them since day one for precious funding.

The program was wildly popular among recent primary school graduates, bringing thousands of students from across the Bellatrix to Plateau to attend school when they might well have stayed closer to their native tribes without the offer of sports tempting them away.

And it was yielding secondary benefits (at least in the eyes of the governors); professional sports teams were popping up all over the planet. Something humanity had heretofore lost along with their home world five hundred years ago.

The students coming to Minu's college were older men and women, often veteran Chosen or law enforcement. They seldom played sports, but they almost always paid cash. She gave out the fewest scholarships of any other college at the university. That was the main reason her new building had been built five years ago, before construction even started on the new sports complex.

She wasn't completely against athletics, of course. Soldiers needed strong bodies as well. But she was after the leaders, the future generals of humanity. “Give me those with brains and grit; we can build the body later.” She'd used that line during an interview after the celebration launching the War College, now it was carved in the stone over its main door. Minu never thought it had been quite that clever.

“So why am I taking a five percent cut in my budget?”

“Research grants,” explained Dean Hurt. Minu glared at him, but with only a fraction of the animosity she reserved for the other money-grubbing bastards. After all, Ted had been her friend for a long time.

They'd been a package deal six years ago. She had come to run the new War College, and he'd become the new dean of the physical sciences department, replacing Katherine Diego who had died from, of all things, a skiing accident somewhere halfway across the galaxy. Minu had taken classes from her years ago. She'd been a fair and brilliant professor. The difference between Minu and Ted, was that Ted retired from the Chosen as an honorary four silver stars, while Minu was still active, but banished.

“For what?”

“Environmental research.”

“Oh.” That took the wind out of her sails. If there was anything worth picking her department’s pockets for it was that. Two years in a row, two record hot spells, and two major crop failures had devastated the planet. Only massive efforts led by the Chosen had saved thousands in the Peninsula tribe from starvation.

The thought of people starving to death in sight of Ft. Jovich sent chills up her spine. All over the planet, massive greenhouse construction projects were under way. The planetary leadership considered purchasing food offworld to be dealbreaker. Bad enough the planet was hooked on Concordia energy like a drug addict, without adding food to the list. “Is there anything my department can do?”

“Don't throw a fit over five percent?”

Minu blushed and nodded her head. “Sorry,” she said to them all, with a pointed glance at the sweaty face of the perpetually nervous chancellor, “I tend to be overprotective.”

“You think?” asked the bursar. Minu gave a little laugh and everyone relaxed, even the Chancellor. “Everyone knows what great work you are doing, Dean Groves, but you just have to believe there is a good reason if we cut back. All the departments contributed something when the hat went around, except yours.”

“I guess I didn't read all the details on that last budget.”

“Doesn't your assistant, Miss Beck, handle reviewing the budget?”

“Ariana has been out this month, her third baby.” A few knowing heads nodded around the room. Minu's longtime assistant who'd followed her from the Chosen was well known for her fruitful womb. “I was going to request a temp, but never got around to it.”

The meeting only lasted a few more minutes before breaking up. Minu caught Ted as the two strolled out onto the university quad. They both donned wide brimmed hats without thinking about it. The bright Julast sun, always brutal in Plateau, was much worse these last few years. Everyone knew why, but no-one wanted to talk about it.

“What's on your mind?” Ted asked her.

“Var'at asked if you could help him with the harvesting bots.”

Ted nodded and unconsciously looked up. As luck would have it, Remus was transacting the sky near the horizon so it wasn't washed out by the glaring disk of their sun. Its brilliant swirling green and blue seas of algae now held a dozen Rasa settlements, all living on floating towns that harvested the algae for off world sale.

They also did a thriving niche market in the disgusting little slimy invertebrates called squidge that fed on the algae. The Traaga and a couple other minor species considered them a delicacy. Minu though they reminded her of a shrimp covered in snot. Of course she found the Traaga equally obnoxious as well, so there was no accounting for taste.

“I can pop up there this weekend on the shuttle.” Ted scratched and shook his head. “The bots are a constant problem. The algae farms aren't affected by the solar radiation increase?'

“Not that he can tell. His scientists believe the algae evolved in these changing conditions and alter the albedo of the surface of the planet to compensate.”

“Makes sense. Those bots were a fine idea of Lilith's. She'd have been quite a good scientist herself.”

Minu nodded and then shrugged. “Problem?”

“Lilith has been kinda moody lately.”

“She is about fifteen, sixteen now, right? Even with her non-existent body fat, she's probably...becoming a woman.”

Minu gawked at him and shook her head. “As a woman you'd think that would be the first thing that came to my mind. She argues with me every chance she gets.”

“Bingo.”

“Stupid, Minu, stupid.”

She shook her head and squeezed Ted's hand. “I'll talk to her soon.”

Ted shrugged. “Why not come up with me when I go to Remus this weekend? We can bribe the pilot to stop off at the Kaatan.”

“Sure, why not? Aaron and I were going to go out, but he won't mind a chance to get some vacuum in his pants.” Ted chuckled and she shook her head.

“Is he doing okay?” he asked.

Minu turned somber and shrugged. “Retirement isn't treating him well. I think he's not really the sort to make business his life.”

“He's lucky to be alive after that crash.”

“Trust me, we know.”

* * *

Minu walked through the doors of the technology firm Groves Industries and nodded to the receptionist. The beautiful blond woman instantly recognized Minu and flashed her a huge smile. She idolized Minu and only took the usually annoying front door job because she got to chat with her from time to time. In years gone by Minu might have been annoyed by such juvenile worship, but she'd long since accepted it.

“Hello, Chosen Groves! How are you today?”

“I'm fine, Celeste.”

“You’re here early!”

“Yeah, wanted to surprise my man.”

“He’s in a design meeting, but I’m sure he won’t mind.”

“Thanks.” Minu walked past her and through the computer controlled door. The passage recognized her ID implant and opened automatically.

Celeste watched the Chosen go and sighed. She’d tried twice to join, first in the Chosen Trials and again in a Rangers’ recruiting course. When neither of those worked out, she was forced to settle for being as close to them as she could. Working for Groves Industries was about as close as you could get without having to live by one of their far flung remote facilities.

Minu walked down the hallway, richly appointed with native hardwoods and digital images of projects finished, underway, or dreamed of. One wall was a long window overlooking the panoramic boardroom.

Inside were a dozen men and women along both sides of the huge table, all watching her husband Aaron give a presentation. The four walls of the long boardroom (even the window she looked through) were active displays that could be made transparent if desired. She could see the other three showing technical schematics and all sorts of figures. Aaron looked up from a chart he was explaining to see her standing there and cracked a big smile before turning back to his work. She let herself in as quietly as possible.

“The statistics are promising on the second generation drive adaptations,” he was explaining to the group of investors. “We anticipate going into production inside of six months.”

“Some of us believe you are being overconfident,” one man spoke up.

“The Chosen don't think so,” Minu said and all heads turned to see her there. To the last they all stood and bowed, offering their respects to arguably the most famous Chosen in history. She gave a small bow in return and gestured them back to their seats. “The council plans to purchase the first five off the assembly line.”

She was not entirely being truthful. Their purchase was contingent on a number of factors, sufficient investment being one of them. So she stretched things a bit, all for a good cause.

At her words many of them turned to talk to each other, some nodding in appreciation of this news, others still looking skeptical. “You are the last group to be invited in on this venture,” Aaron said, pushing to close the deal, “so please consider carefully and then make your decisions. Elizabeth, my associate, will talk to you all when you are ready. Thank you for your time.”

The room broke out in polite applause as Aaron turned, picking up his cane from the boardroom table, and walking towards Minu at the exit. His gait was unchanged, a quick left step followed by a slower right. Each step etched pain on his face as he leaned on the crutch, but he still smiled as he approached. Minu leaned in and kissed him gently on the lips. “Tough room,” she said.

“Your timing was impeccable, as always.” Minu slipped an arm around his waist, not to help him, but just to enjoy the contact. She knew better than to help him. “I was losing that group from New Jerusalem.”

“I thought we'd made the budget goals?”

“I thought so too, but that audit we had last week found a shortfall. Of course the damn bank instantly started to balk, so we had to go back to the well for another helping. We've cut this pie so many times I don't think the firm will make one percent profit. But the project is the start we need to complete the shuttles into production.”

They reached the end of the hallway where his office was. “Aaron Groves, CEO, Groves Industries” resided there in gold.

The tiny company they'd inherited years ago when his father died had grown into the preeminent aerospace industrial concern on Bellatrix under his management and inventiveness, and Minu's money raising ability. It chagrined her that somehow she'd become not only a competent public speaker, but an accomplished one who was regularly in demand. Years of lecturing to students and speaking at building dedications (often named after her) had done their magic.

The source of the business was a surprise to Aaron. Their family business was olives when he was growing up, and he hadn't even known his father had started the small aerospace company while his son served in the Chosen. She'd only met the elder Groves at their wedding five years earlier.

Aaron opened the door with his free left hand and went straight for the overstuffed couch, forgoing the expensive kloth leather office chair behind the modest oak desk. He sank gratefully into the upholstery and sighed in relief. “God, I was almost at my end in there.”

“Not feeling any better?”

“No,” he admitted as he relaxed.

Minu closed the door and locked it before sitting next to him. Without being asked she removed his shoes, carefully and one at a time, and rolled up his pant legs. Where the flesh ended and the cybernetics began, was evident on both legs by angry red swelling.

A year was gone since the accident and still his body hadn't adapted to the prosthetics like hers had. The codex data had helped, for sure. Without it they would have had to remove the artificial limbs months ago or risk losing him to catastrophic rejection. “Maybe it’s a little better.” His body was fighting the nano-tailored dualloy fusions between his body and the limbs. It was a rare and painful side effect.