The Commander (34 page)

“I don’t understand, Miss,” Tyler said.

The woman took a deep breath and again tears rolled down her cheeks. “My father committed suicide to atone for his government’s failure.”

“Great God almighty!” Tyler exclaimed.

Luke touched his arm unobtrusively.

“I understand,” Luke replied. “I did not know the position was by heredity.”

“You say you understand, but you do not offer your sympathy. I guess that is to be expected of a warlord.”

“I share your sorrow,” Luke said.

The woman examined Luke without comment. Finally, she bowed her head infinitesimally. “Thank you for your condolence.”

“And your government?” Luke asked.

“I am the government.”

“I don’t understand, Miss,” Tyler repeated.

“You don’t understand…Chancellor,” she said patiently as though to a child.

“B-beg pardon?” Tyler stuttered.

Luke intervened. “What about the ministers? Are you…”

“I am now, as my father was, the Honorable Chancellor and Minister Plenipotentiary Bo’erm. As a warlord, perhaps you do not understand the meaning of that title.”

“It means you have the full authority to make agreements on behalf of your planet.”

“Yes,” she said as if surprised by his reply. “That is exactly what it means.”

“But what about your ministers?” Luke persisted.

She glanced at the bowl of lapel pins. “They resigned, of course. What alternative did they have when they could not do their duty as my father ordered? Not a single spineless rat—” She stopped her angry comments abruptly.

Luke guessed at what she was saying. “He ordered them to watch the video as he did.”

“Yes. He recognized the absurdity of their posturing, and his own.” Her words were painful. While grieving deeply she admitted fault by her father. “He could have been more forceful. That is what he told me. But he was too kind. He was always a kind man.”

“I—” Luke was cut off by her powerful look of hatred.

“At least he was until you drove him to his death,” she said. “Until you withdrew your support of our planet, knowing that we will all die like the people on that other planet. Tell me, did you condemn that entire planet too, for the foolishness of a few old men?”

Luke suddenly understood. His threat to leave was taken too seriously. He only meant it as a negotiation ploy, but the unfortunate chancellor had no way of knowing that. The man paid for that miscalculation with his life in the hope that Luke would reconsider.

A cold chill of guilt fell on Luke’s shoulders. He knew he had no skill in diplomacy and politics. Why had he engaged in such brinksmanship? It was his error that resulted in the tragic loss, not the unfortunate chancellor.

“I regret my actions,” he said.

Her face flamed with suppressed rage. “I knew it,” she cried harshly. “I begged my father to wait. I begged him to plead with you to stay. But he was afraid if he waited it would be too late.” She shook her head slowly at the thought her father had died needlessly.

“I regret my actions,” Luke said again slowly. “But if the situation was repeated, I would not change what I did. Time is of the essence if this planet is to survive.”

The truth of Luke’s statement was a slap to her face. She closed her eyes in obvious pain. “I know,” she wept. “My father knew it too.” She hung her head for a brief moment before composing herself once again.

“What do you command me to do, Warlord,” she asked humbly. “Whatever it is, for the lives of my citizens, I will do so, upon my father’s honor.”

“First, I command nothing, Chancellor. I am your ally. It was my desire to be a friend of your father. I understand that because of your father’s sacrifice you and I will never be friends. But I do ask that you help the ambassador be a friend to your people.” Luke nodded at Tyler.

“I will do that,” she said.

“Second, please forgive us for this tragic episode. The fault was ours for introducing that so-called general. In our haste to seek alliances we erred.”

“
I
will not forget
or
forgive,” she said, her eyes burning again. “But I promise that my people will.”

Luke nodded at her underlying assurances. “I mourn the loss of your father; he was a good man. I hope that you will take up his mission. If you do, I will support your planet to the utmost of my ability. It is crucial that you not change anything in that regard.”

“That is my goal. What else?”

Luke shook his head. Nothing came to mind; just that he wanted to get out of the building and off the planet to give this poor woman a chance to grieve.

Tyler spoke up. “There is one other thing.”

“What is it, Ambassador?” she asked in a monotone voice.

Tyler put his hand on Luke’s shoulder. “This man is
not
a warlord. He is a man of peace, just like the men on this planet. His only goal is to save your planet, and countless others from the fate that you saw in that video. And you should know that before Luke began this endeavor, hundreds of other planets suffered that same fate. He is the only one trying to stop this terrible threat. Help your people see him in that way, not as a warlord without feelings.”

Christ, Tyler. Thanks a lot
, Luke thought.
Just what she wanted to hear
.

The young chancellor stared at Tyler for a long minute as though trying to absorb what he was saying. She turned her gaze on Luke before bowing again. “My apologies…, Warlord. May I withdraw?”

“Of course,” Luke replied.

With her back ramrod straight, the new Chancellor Bo’erm rose and left the pavilion without looking back.

“That was uncomfortable,” Luke said, inanely.

“You think? Jesus, Luke.”

Luke pushed back from the table and faced Tyler. “I’m getting out of here. I’ll stay in system to help get your defense forces going. But for the next few weeks, I need an ambassador here on the planet.”

Tyler didn’t like the idea at all. “Seriously?” he asked, a bit incredulous. “You want me to stay here? So they can burn me alive in effigy of you?”

Luke put a hand on his friend’s shoulder. “I know you’ve had a rough time on planet these past weeks, so I won’t insist that you stay. But I’m not much of a diplomat. We just saw proof of that. If this is too much for you now, I’ll find someone else. But I need
someone
to stick around and face the music with her. I think that woman will do what she said but she’ll need support. This is your call.”

Tyler slumped in his chair. Luke was tempted to assign someone else simply because his friend was so exhausted. But he wasn’t defeated. And at the moment, Luke needed Tyler’s wisdom standing next to the chancellor. “Go on,” Tyler muttered, a whiff of anger in his voice. “I’ll stay, but you owe me, mister. You owe me big on this one.”

Luke walked out, leaving his unhappy Ambassador behind. The warship descended quietly and Luke climbed in, ready to get off the planet. He had caused enough misery here and hoped that Tyler could support the new political leader in her effort to pull the population out of despair.

Annie looked at her reflection in the mirror. She wore an outfit that
Sadie
had created for her to wear on arrival at Moonbase One. It made her body look like it had been spray painted with high-gloss black enamel.

“It’s you,”
Sadie
said encouragingly. “Don’t be shy.”

“I look like an X-rated cartoon.”

“It’s been a long time. You need Luke’s attention focused on you.”

“This would do it,” Annie agreed.

Annie’s choice was a modest business suit like those she’d worn during her first weeks with Luke. It made her look smart and professional. Back then, Luke had complimented her on the way she looked.

Sadie
was totally against the conservative idea. “This isn’t a job interview. You don’t want compliments; you only want him to think about getting you in bed. After that, he’ll do whatever you say.”

It was a fair point. This would definitely…

Annie shook herself mentally. For a moment, she had actually considered the Space Babe outfit. True, the weeks of exercise and healthy eating had added back a few pounds in the right places. No one would call her scrawny now. She put on the silver-studded leather jacket that
Sadie
had included in the ensemble.

Nope. There was no way she could parade around in public wearing a can of black spray paint. It was time to change into something appropriate.

“
Warning
.”
Sadie
’s voice had changed. “Please report to the cockpit.”

Annie ran to the front of the shuttle and slid into the pilot’s seat.

“Talk to me,
Sadie
.” Annie said.

“We just entered your home solar system and I’m detecting debris.
Projecting
it now.”

The left side of the canopy became a viewscreen that displayed the wreckage of several
Ambrosia
-class warships.

“This is here? Is it the Bakkui?”

“Probability high,”
Sadie
confirmed.

Annie’s mind filled with the images of early probe results that showed devastated planets. She prayed that hadn’t happened to Earth.

“More debris,”
Sadie
said.

The display changed to a different scene with more shattered spacecraft.

“Hurry,” Annie said.

“Acknowledged. I’ll delay slowing to sub-light until one million miles from Earth.”

“What about Mars?”

“Unknown. Mars is in opposition at the moment.”

“Maybe that’s good,” Annie speculated.

“
Going
sub-light, now. Standby, linking with George... It is the Bakkui. George reports they arrived in system six hours ago. All warships were ordered to shut down; approximately fifty percent were destroyed.”

“It’s just like the
Marco Polo
.”

“Not completely,”
Sadie
said. “The Moonbase shields can be manually controlled.”

“What about Earth?”

“I’m connecting you with Roth,”
Sadie
said. “You’re on.”

“Roth? It’s Annie. Are you there?” Thunderous explosions filled the background.

“Annie? Good God. Get out of here! The Bakkui are eating us alive.”

Annie yelled to be heard over the booming noises. “Where’s Luke, Roth? Can you put him on?”

“Luke’s gone, Annie. He left months ago. He went to system J64. You should leave; maybe you can link up with him.”

Annie’s chest constricted and her thoughts grew fuzzy. This was the nightmare that she and Luke had feared. The Bakkui had arrived and Luke wasn’t here. She shook herself mentally.
Concentrate on saving lives.

“How many ships are there?” she shouted at Roth.

“We don’t know. But don’t even think about trying to take them on. George tells me that they’re a level—”

Annie cut him off. “A level-two-device! I know. We ran into the same thing at Colony Three. We’ve developed a workaround.”

“I have a situation update,”
Sadie
intervened.”

“Go ahead
Sadie
. Pass it to Moonbase at the same time. Listen to this Roth!”

Sadie
reported in an emotionless voice. “I am registering sixteen Bakkui ships. Fourteen warship-class and two colony-class. They are maintaining a bombardment on Moonbase and the Gateway.”

“Yeah,” Roth said. “They started pounding us the second they got here. The Gateway too.”

Sadie
broke in. “The American president is dead. One colony class has landed in Beijing. Standby… The Bakkui are threatening to kill the Chinese general secretary if all shields are not lowered within… Wait one… That time limit has expired. They are now threatening to kill the emperor of Japan in thirty minutes.”

“This makes no sense,” Annie said.

Roth replied, “They’re targeting the largest economies. They landed in DC earlier and a robot pulled the president out of the Oval Office. Bullets bounced off it.”

Sadie
interrupted again. “Colony-class Bakkui now moving to Tokyo.”

“Can we take him out?” Annie asked.

“We can try,”
Sadie
responded.

“Set course to Tokyo.”

“Don’t be an idiot!” Roth shouted. “You and that puny shuttle are no match for these guys. They wiped out our whole fleet.”

“Cut connection,” Annie said.

She breathed a sigh of relief with the silence.

“Bakkui moving to intercept,”
Sadie
said.

“What should we do?”

“If you give me control of the battle, I will engage the enemy.”

“You have the hammer,” Annie said.

“Beg pardon?”

“I said you have the hammer.”

“I… I don’t need a hammer. Perhaps you misinterp—”

“It’s what Luke says!” Annie shouted rapidly. “It means you have control.”

“Ah. Understood. I have the hammer.”

“We need to work on our terminology,” Annie mumbled.

“Bakkui on the nose.
Engaging
in three…two…”

The space around
Sadie
lit up like the sun. The canopy darkened against the blinding dazzle. Each blast from the main shoulder cannons spit out a flaming bolt of pure energy that left a trail of sparkling incandescence all the way to the target. The chin cannons began a continuous stream of fire that laced back and forth between the enemy ships. Each impact burst into a yellowish-white light that illuminated their shields.
Sadie
’s twin disrupters emitted a lightning-bolt charge of energy and where the ripples touched the Bakkui shields, they dissolved completely.

The Bakkui attack was furious. All fifteen spacecraft fired at an incredible rate and thousands of projectiles burst against
Sadie
’s forward shields, creating an almost solid curtain of explosions. Annie had to squint to see through the incoming fire.

Sadie
concentrated her fire on the largest of the Bakkui ships until it detonated in a flash of light. Chunks of the warcraft flew into the line of fire, which in turn were torn into smaller pieces until there was nothing left but dust.

“You nailed that one,” Annie said, astonished with the result.

Sadie
’s fire on the smaller Bakkui ships was just as devastating. Every time her tracers found their shields, she followed with disruptor ripples that left them defenseless. When their shields failed, a blast from her main cannon delivered the kill shot.
Sadie
delivered the one-two-three barrage repeatedly. The last few Bakkui broke formation, attempting to flee.
Sadie
tracked each one without letting up on her attack. A moment later the battle was over. Nothing remained of the Bakkui in orbit.

“
Altering
course to Tokyo,”
Sadie
said quietly.

“Good job,” Annie commented lamely. Until that moment she had no idea how powerful
Sadie
’s offensive capabilities were.

The planet rushed to meet them. The island of Japan grew in the blur of blue ocean. On the distant horizon lay the Chinese mainland.
If only
, Annie thought. She wished she had arrived just a few hours earlier.

The city of Tokyo on Japan’s western coastline came into view. Under the noonday sky, sunlight reflected off a thousand skyscraper windows. A vast harbor cut into the south side of the city. In the very heart of downtown, a circle of green came into view. It was the grounds for the emperor’s residence, the imperial palace.

On the southern edge of the forested gardens, a large clearing was occupied by the last Bakkui ship.

“Tractor beam on,”
Sadie
advised.

A bright blue beam burst from
Sadie
’s nose and enveloped the Bakkui vessel.
Sadie
came to a stop and reversed course, lifting the enemy ship into the air. It vibrated as though trying to escape.
Sadie
spun around several times like an Olympic discus thrower.

“Tractor beam off.”

The blue beam vanished and the Bakkui flew upwards.
Sadie
’s cannon fired once and the enemy craft exploded, raining fragments over the Pacific.

Sadie
turned back and settled onto the ground in front of the imperial palace.

An automaton stalked out of the residence. It was an awkwardly constructed bipedal robot. A glow surrounded its artificial body.

“I surmise that is the Bakkui,”
Sadie
said. “Not too impressive.”

The robot was dragging an old man by the arm. It was the emperor. He battered an ancient sword ineffectually against the machine’s arms and legs.

“I am attempting to communicate with this machine,”
Sadie
said. “It keeps threatening to kill the emperor if the shields are not shut off on the Gateway and at Moonbase. This is merely a foot soldier.”

“Can you destroy it?” Annie asked.

“Not without killing the emperor. Any energy blast strong enough to take out its force field would be fatal to the human.”

“What can we do?”

“I have a solution but it could be dangerous.”

“Let me worry about that,” Annie replied. “What is it?”

“Miss Daniels. I will not risk your life. That goes against my core programming.”

“I understand,
Sadie
. What’s your idea?”

“Do you recall the cutting tools that the commander used to carve new hallways out of the rock at Moonbase?”

“Yes. Luke said the beams collapsed matter.”

“An accurate enough explanation. I am manufacturing a handheld cutter of that type. The cutting beam will penetrate the Bakkui shield. I am also manufacturing an extra-strength personal force field. But do not allow the machine to grasp you. At close range your body is still vulnerable.”

“I can do that.”

“If I perceive that you are in danger I will fire on the Bakkui and the emperor will likely perish. That is not negotiable.”

“Don’t you dare kill that old man,
Sadie
. That’s an order.”

Sadie
ignored the ultimatum. “The replicator is finished. You should hurry. The emperor is quite old. I am uncertain of his health.”

Annie found the cutter inside the kitchen’s replicator appliance. It was a long handle and had the same type of controls she had seen on the Moonbase stone cutters, an Off/On button and a twist dial for depth of cut.

“Please do not activate the cutting beam until you are outside,”
Sadie
warned.

“Got it,” Annie acknowledged.

The personal force field was a bit larger than normal. She pulled a tool belt from the cabinet and strapped it on.

“Oh my God!” Annie wailed in dismay.

“What’s the problem, Miss Daniels.”

“I can’t go out like this! I’m still wearing this ridiculous skin suit.”

Sadie
sighed audibly. “Miss Daniels. Perhaps this is not the time to worry about fashion. The emperor is in danger.”

Shaking
her head in disgust, Annie strapped the personal force field to her tool belt. “Space babes, unite,” she muttered to herself.

The door opened and Annie walked out to face the Bakkui.

“Turn on the cutting tool,”
Sadie
reminded her.

Annie thumbed the on button and the cutting beam appeared. She adjusted the depth until the blade was about four feet long.