Koban (10 page)

Noreen appealed to Mirikami for support. “Tet, you don't think
this can be the result of an alien intrusion do you? How could a race with Jump
capability be living close to us and go undetected?”

Dillon's argument left Mirikami ample room to suffer the same
doubts. “I don't know. Unless they have been aware of us and have been hiding. These
people here are certainly hostile, and they might possibly account for a number
of ship disappearances recently. But that doesn't uniquely point to an alien presence.”

 Mirikami shook his head, and shrugged. “I don't have a better
answer, but I'm not convinced. Hell! I don't want to believe. A species that knows
about us but doesn't fear to risk a war with the human race would have to be very
powerful, or foolhardy. We haven’t had a war in hundreds of years, but we still
have the resources and production of over seven hundred settled planets, and an
enormous population. A foe would have to be damned confidant they would win before
they challenged us. If these super ships are alien, then...”

Jake interrupted.
“There is a new message.”

The second message, delivered by
another hurried voice, identified itself.

“My name is Mavray Doushan. I am, or rather I was, Poldark's
Deputy Ambassador to Bollovstic's Republican Independency. I am making this recording
in the hope I might save many lives.”

“If you are hearing this recording you are fortunate, though
it is not likely that you think so at present. The fact that you are alive and able
to hear my voice means you have survived the initial contact, or more correctly,
an attack. Untold numbers of other victims have not.

“If your attackers have followed previous patterns, your Jump
ship will have been disabled by small single piloted craft of remarkable capability.
The danger of continued resistance is impossible to exaggerate. If all that have
survived to hear this recording will follow my advice, further loss of life can
be reduced. Not eliminated, I fear, but certainly more will live if you listen and
follow my advice.

“As I speak, the Standard Date is 3, June, 2548. I have been
held captive for nearly one year, and there are a few others with me that have been
held captive for more than two years. If you listen to me, and do as I urgently
advise, then more of you might survive to join us. We believe perhaps thousands
of people in your present position have died needlessly.”

Although he knew the date, Dillon automatically glanced at his
laminated thumbnail timepiece. The recording was a bit over two and a half years
old.

“Heroics and panic or resistance must be avoided!” Doushan continued
emphatically. “Only carefully considered movements and actions can avoid a violent
death within the first few minutes of confronting your captors. This will be a terribly
frightening time for you, as it was for me, and for many others.  However, if you
follow my directions and control your fear and emotions, you
can
survive.
The thousands of fellow survivors and I are proof of that. However, the effort of
self-control will be great. You have never faced a more unexpected danger.”

Here he paused dramatically, ensuring total attention. “You are
about to be confronted by warriors in-training of a hostile alien race.”

Noreen threw Dillon a startled look. His stricken expression
clearly showed he took no satisfaction from having his hunch confirmed.

Doushan,
pausing again, allowed his unseen audience time to absorb his previous words.

Then he resumed. “These creatures call themselves Krall, and
they have told us little of themselves. They have obviously studied us for some
time, and have some knowledge of us, but they do not understand human nature and
mannerisms at all. I can tell you they are a bit larger than we are, four limbs,
broad chested with a humanoid form, a ruddy coloration, and a fearsome head and
face. They have great strength and incredible lightning reflexes. The latter is
a primary cause of so many deaths when humans first encounter them. Any move interpreted
as threatening or contrary to an order given can trigger one or more of them into
an attack. They will strike out almost literally faster than the eye can follow.
Once triggered, the defensive reflex is very often fatal to the targeted person,
and might also injure anyone else close to the person attacked.”

He place obvious added emphasis on his next words. “A serious
injury at this stage of your capture, even if not disabling, is always fatal. I
repeat!
Always fatal
! This is because the Krall
never
take injured
prisoners with them and they
never
leave anyone alive behind. Prisoners that
have an injury that you can’t conceal, or if they can’t move unassisted, are killed.
It is vital to avoid injury, and to conceal it if suffered.

“Speaking to a low rank soldier is probably pointless, and extremely
dangerous. You can't reason with them in any way. For one thing, their soldiers
on these raids are young novice fighters in training, and do not understand more
than a few words of Earth Standard, if any. Even our natural hand and body gestures
might seem threatening to them, or seen as a challenge. Don’t dare look them directly
in the eyes; that is an invitation to a fight.

“One or more higher ranking Krall translators go on a raid. They
will speak some Standard, and will tell you what they want you to do. They may or
may not accept questions. Don't press them too much or defy them, or else they too
may kill you without warning. They will permit you slightly more latitude after
you have been marked with a sort of oval tattoo, below the throat. This will release
that person from instant unrestricted challenges to a fight to the death. This is
a cultural thing for them, and there’s no time to explain what this means.

“I've been permitted to forewarn you, but not out of Krall concern
for your well-being. We don't know why yet, but they want a large number of healthy
human prisoners. Some of us were able, at great risk, to communicate the idea that
obtaining relatively undamaged ships and live prisoners would be more efficient
if a warning is sent just prior to the first face-to-face meeting. For this reason,
several of my fellow captives and I have been branded as traitors by many of the
Ladies that are leaders within the prisoner ranks. Judge us when we meet, if you
will, but remember, you have to survive the next few hours to do that.

“The only way we have found to modify Krall behavior toward us
is to appeal to their obsession for speed and efficiency. My promise of a higher
percentage of whole ships and live prisoners per raid has made this recording possible.
If I'm proven wrong by their standards, I'm dead, along with those few who backed
my assertions.

“I don't want to appear to help the Krall but they
will
get
what they need anyway. I'm trying to stop the bloody slaughters witnessed by so
many of us. Alive you have some hope of rescue, release, or at least life. Death
at their hands or your own is an available option at any time. Listen to me, and
chose life!”

In a sudden move, Mirikami activated the voice Link. Speaking
fast and low, he instructed Jake to start playing the second message from its beginning,
for the entire ship. He realized if the recording were much longer, there might
not be time to pass the warning to the passengers and crew.

The enveloping ships, now joined by the two original attackers,
had arranged themselves in a spherical shell about the Flight of Fancy. The shell
had begun to contract.

Doushan described the boarding process. “They will board you
by burning a body sized opening in your hull. They avoid hatches and airlocks until
the target ship is secured. The holes remain largely airtight, sealed even when
the single ships pull away. Later, if your ship is capable of a Jump, you might
be allowed stay on board with a sort of prize crew. If not, every able-bodied person
will be moved onto a Krall transport. Those left behind, the dead and injured, along
with the ship and equipment, will be dumped down a Jump Hole to remove any trace
of the raid. I'm sorry, but that has been the pattern reported by nearly all the
survivors here.

“Your personal risk,” the voice became strident again, “is in
giving a Krall reason to believe that you are offering a challenge or threat. An
innocent action can get you killed. Keep your hands in sight, very still, and out
of your clothing at all times, or else hidden weapons are suspected. If anyone near
you, even a family member, is struck or threatened, don't make the slightest move
to defend them or your own death is assured, as is probably theirs!

“Carry nothing in your hands other than infants, and if practical,
small children should be stripped naked and held away from your own body with your
hands visible. Hold the hands of larger preteen children, one adult on each hand.
A Krall absolutely will not hesitate to kill a child, including infants.

“When a Krall indicates that you are to go anywhere or to do
anything, you must obey them instantly, even if that order forces friends or family
to separate. You will be reunited here later. Discard any weapons now, either makeshift
or actual, since they will be essentially useless. Please believe me in this! You
rarely can do enough damage quickly enough to kill a Krall before it kills you anyway,
and then every other Krall around will accept your challenge! It has been tried
many times, with the same fatal result every time.”

They heard an indistinct low-pitched growling voice in the recording's
background. Doushan's words became very rushed. “I'm out of time, I’m sure they’ll
move in fast once you receive this. Good luck.”

The transmission
cut off. There was a deathly stillness on the Bridge.

Mirikami broke the silence. He spoke in a near whisper. “They
seem to be following the described pattern. Those should be the boarding parties
closing on us.” He indicated the external screens.

The twenty-two surrounding ships appeared as glittering pinpricks
against the backdrop of stars. Eight ships had left the symmetrical formation and
were moving toward them. They had apparently been waiting only for the transmission
to end.

He queried Jake, knowing the AI could multi task. “Jake. Do you
have any news record of this Doushan person; I forgot his first name, being reported
as killed or missing in recent years? He was apparently a minor diplomat.”

The AI didn’t display a moment’s hesitation. “Yes Sir. A person
by the name of Mavray Vilinkin Doushan was reported lost, along with a small diplomatic
courier ship, on or about August 12, 2547. There were reported to be twenty six
people aboard, three diplomats, and their families, with...” Mirikami cut him off
from a sure-to-be longer reply.

“Thanks Jake, that’s enough. I’ll make a ship wide announcement
directly, when that warning message finishes.”

“Yes Sir.”

Mirikami keyed on the ship's intercom and listened until the
last of Doushan's warning was played. He began speaking the instant it ended. “This
is Captain Mirikami. Eight boarding craft are approaching us now. I want everyone
to do exactly what the man named Doushan advised. If you are in a hull side compartment
I want you to move quickly toward the center of your deck area and discard anything
an alien might consider a weapon. There are a couple of teenaged children among
you, so watch after them carefully.

 “As soon as I know where we have been boarded, I will attempt
to contact a Krall translator. If permitted, I will keep you informed of their demands.
Please, always think before you act, and remember the warnings. Don't give them
the slightest reason to harm you. An alien might think any unfamiliar object is
a potential weapon, so throw anything like that away now. I order every crewmember
to do the same. If others have gone through this ordeal and survived, then we can.
Good luck.”

He switched from intercom to voice Link. “Jake, did you understand
from the message that we will be boarded by having holes cut in the ship's hull?”

“Yes Sir,
by burning openings.”

“Correct, Jake. Do not activate the Sealer System unless there
is an explosive decompression, and do not activate the foam units unless a serious
fire is detected. The Krall might think we are using some sort of chemical defense
and start shooting. Understood, Jake?”

“Yes Sir.”

“Also Jake, segment the forward main view screen into eight equal
squares and show me the closest view of each anticipated entry point as any video
monitors might permit. Adjust the views if the entry points shift. Do you understand?”

“Yes Sir.”

The forward screen immediately divided into eight views of large
compartments and corridors, private cabins did not have cameras. Five hull side
compartments and one small cargo area appeared empty of people, but two outer ring
corridor views showed a press of confused and frightened people pouring from staterooms,
streaming toward the centrally located lounges on each deck. Jake hadn't been asked
to furnish audio so the two scenes of pandemonium were silent.

A loud metallic sounding clang came from somewhere well below
the Bridge deck. Mirikami jabbed his seat release. “Up! Get away from the controls”
he ordered. He unsnapped and dropped his previously retrieved utility belt as he
stood, emptying small uniform pockets as well. Noreen and Dillon hurriedly followed
suit, moving away from the control consoles.

“Tet”, cried Noreen, as a though flashed through her mind. “Jake's
still on audio, do we want to let them know about him?”

“No. Good
thinking”, he agreed.

“Jake, restrict your communications to crew transducer units
or internal intercom calls off speakers until either I or the highest-ranking crewperson
remaining on board tells you any different. Advise the rest of the crew of these
instructions, and give them a brief summary, approximately one minute or less long,
of what is happening on the ship every five minutes. Understand?” Both officers
heard Jake’s acknowledgement through their embedded transducers. Dillon did not
via the speakers.