Redemption

Redemption(Paul Sherry) Title Redemption

Author Paul Sherry

Length 3100

Status Draft 5

Date 12/06/2011


Mo slowly exhaled in reaction to the G forces pressing her into her acceleration couch as her orbital shuttle penetrated the ionosphere. Far below her, the airbursts of the first nuclear detonations blossomed like obscene sunflowers opening their petals to the first light of day. Soon all the cities of her planet would be reduced to so much vapour and rubble as her civilization was systematically exterminated. In one of them her husband and two-year-old son were kneeling, praying to whatever god could allow such events. At least they were prepared for the end; the alternative - coming with her - would be not to know, and that would be worse, far worse.

The sky gradually darkened to the black velvet of space, the pinpoint lights of the stars speckling the backdrop. Mo noted the familiar belt of Orion - Alnitak, Alnilam and Mintaka - the first stars she had ever identified. She smiled at the memory of an excited girl wondering about the nature of the heavens while fumbling with her torch and a battered star chart on a freezing, clear winter night. That was thirty years ago. That was in the time before the arrival of the Thargons.

Her reveries were broken by a flashing display announcing the shuttle's attainment of standard orbit. Mo performed the routine status checks before unclipping the straps holding her on the protective couch. She pushed down and floated towards her restrained companion.

“Good dog, good boy,” she crooned as she freed Victor from his cradle, tickling him behind the left ear just the way he liked it. The labrador whined in response, beginning to paddle his legs furiously and equally ineffectually as he tried move.

“I know old boy, zero G again. Don't worry we'll make planetfall again soon, it won't be long. Then we can go walkies.” Mo murmered as she bent her head to Victor's muzzle allowing the frenzied licking of her hair. her companion used to wake her up in the morning when it was time for his daily excursion, “but first things first. You may be a good guide on the ground but you're not much use up here." she grabbed a handful of scruff and used her human ability for navigating in freefall conditions to propel them both back to the couch.

Mo flicked the switch that connected to the Thargon communications net.
“Unit 614 requesting clearance for docking,” she said.

A pause.

“UNIT 614 CLEARANCE GRANTED,” a monotone voice replied, “DISENGAGE ALL DRIVE MECHANISMS AND STAND BY.”

“Efficient as ever, never heard of please?” Mo muttered while she powered down her systems and lay back in the couch, or at least tried to. She smiled to herself once again at the pointlessness of such an action while weightless. Retro jets aligned the shuttle and propelled it towards the massive grey sphere of the orbital jaunt station. Within minutes, it was docked in a large bay alongside many ships of an identical design.

“PLEASE DISEMBARK AND PROCEED TO JAUNT CAPSULE.” The link clicked off.

“OK. Victor old boy, let's go.” Mo collected a metal case and donned her glasses before woman and dog passed through the airlock into the bay beyond. She located the illuminated outline of the access corridor. Victor padded along happily, making use of the passable artificial gravity present at the equator of the rotating sphere. They proceeded like this for a minute along the tunnel like corridor until it ended abruptly in a curious cylindrical room with stark white plastic seats along the walls. There was no way out save that by which they had come. A door slid shut, sealing them in.

“PREPARE FOR JAUNT,“ the anonymous voice announced from the intercom, so she sat down and deliberately unclenched her fists. Thargon mastery of graviton theory was undeniably impressive, decades if not centuries ahead of Mo's own civilization, but the ability to use artificial singularities to fold space and allow instant transport between distant locations -the dream teleport of fiction -still made her uneasy. Besides, graviton technology had other, less benign applications.

“JAUNT IN 3..2..1..” Mo felt nothing. The only indication they had moved at all was when the door slid open to reveal, not the tunnel, but a brightly lit reception area. The sensation of increased gravity indicated they had arrived on the barren world the Thargons had used as a base since their arrival in the Solar System. They had been jaunted twenty light minutes further from the sun in an instant. After the Jaunt station, the surroundings she stepped into were rather more luxurious. Victor lead her forward.

“Mo, welcome,” said a friendly voice. Mo turned towards it.

“Commander Verdun, I hoped you would be here to greet me,” she replied extending her hand to the middle aged man who was waiting for her.

“We have things to discuss?” The Thargon commander got to the serious issue immediately. ... “We have organised a reception. We thought it best that you, as head of engineering ... and our spokesman for the past two solar years, should speak first. You have discussed matters with your people? You have explained the necessity of destroying your planet with the graviton device?”

Mo nodded slowly but couldn't meet Verdun's gaze. “Yes I have, but was it necessary to nuke the planet first? Surely the device,” she retorted a little too quickly, and Verdun's dark eyes narrowed.

“I thought you were clear about this.”

Mo reprimanded herself. As a deep cover operative of her planetary security covert-ops division, she should not make such elementary mistakes. her engineering experience had made her the best choice for the final mission. her two years undercover - reviled by her own people as a collaborator, even shunned by her own family - would have been wasted if she messed things up now. “I'm sorry. It's just now that it is nearly over,” she said.

“I understand Mo, It can be hard to adjust fully.” Verdun's tone was soft. He seemed satisfied. “We had to neutralise any possible threat. If one of the graviton satellites is attacked once they are orbiting your planet, replacing it would be inconvenient, we would already be at safety range outside the Solar System.” Verdun was now staring above Mo's head. “Once your planet is destroyed, not only can we return to mine mineral resources, but the local destruction caused by the device will leave no trace of our presence.” Mo looked up, giving her best impression of looking enthusiastic. She had heard Verdun's sermon before.
“With each system we encounter, we absorb the best people and their technology, thus we improve. We are not one, but the sum of hundreds of civilizations, and yet we are not an Empire. Empires are destroyed from without or crumble from within. We leave no trace and pass invisibly through the galaxy. Unthreatened by most, no threat to many and unseen by the rest.” The Thargon commander was almost out of breath.

“I understand commander,” Mo said “and so does my dog.” She grinned.

Verdun looked at her sharply and smiled back. “Sorry Mo, I can go on somewhat. Yes your dog. Your attachment to these animals is fascinating. I think we may even absorb that tendency too.”

“You should commander, you should,” Mo said, tickling Victor's ear once more, “when your engineers helped to fit the artificial limb after the accident last year, they became quite attached to her.” As if on cue Victor lifted his metal paw for display. “I don't think I thanked you properly for that.”

“No need Mo,“ his smile quite genuine now. “The least we could do, in fact we can do more. Our engineers have found a way of reversing your retinal condition so we may be able to make Victor obsolete. and remember that engineer's curiosity of yours?”

Mo looked up. “You mean I will I be able to inspect the graviton device?” she asked. Mentally she held her breath, everything depended on this.

“It was not easy,” Verdun replied “but viewing of the activation room under my direct supervision and full security protocols has been approved. A reward for all your assistance in expediting matters.”

“Excellent,” Mo did not conceal her enthusiasm, “To see implementation of such technology in my lifetime was only a dream. When can we leave?”

“We had best do so immediately; you are due at the reception on the Mothership in an hour, and as one of the guests of honour.” Verdun grinned as he stood up. “you would best not be late.”

Mo collected her equipment case and started to follow the commander out of the room. “Victor quintro,” she called.

“Your own language?” the commander said, pausing at the door.

“It's how he was taught, 'you can't teach an old dog new tricks,' as we said at home.” Mo laughed.

Verdun grinned back. “I like that, I will remember it. Come then, or should I say 'quintro'.” The commander chuckled.

The shuttle settled onto the landing pad, resting down lazily on its shock absorbers. Five metres away a white stone building crouched beneath a lattice of metal girders. A shining metal satellite dish decorated the roof; there was only one entrance. An automated connection tube affording protection from the hostile environment snaked out to the shuttle's airlock and engaged. All three passengers passed through silently into the quiet building.

“I hope Mo that you will not be disappointed with the activation room.” Verdun began to explain as they progressed along a gently downward sloping passageway. “Like much of our technology the theory may be complex but the implementation childishly simple, I suppose an engineer like yourself can understand that.” They were approaching a semi-circular arch, “but first the necessities of security.” A young Thargon security officer, early twenties Mo thought, leapt to attention at their approach.

Mo let Victor's harness fall and he padded on ahead, his claws clicking on a metal strip as she passed beneath the archway to take up position behind the young man where he promptly began to sniff his bottom. He looked uncomfortable, but to his credit maintained his poise.

“Victor sedira,” Mo barked, causing her dog to desist his investigations. She retreated down the corridor and lay down placing his head between his paws somewhat sullenly.

Verdun laughed again. “Yes, I think we will breed more of these dogs; they can be quite... entertaining.” He stepped into the archway and nodded to the officer. Immediately a warm orange light bathed his body.
“I can tell you now that activation of the graviton device requires four distinct encrypted code sequences...”

Mo wasn't listening, she knew perfectly well about the codes, she also knew a lttle of the efforts the covert ops division had expended procuring those codes. It had taken three solar years of painstaking deep cover. Now she could only hope their labours had not been fruitless.

“And so, this scan can detect the presence of any such codes on people or equipment. Only an order from the High Command can allow such data within this perimeter. Violation causes the activation room to be sealed immediately. If you please Mo,” Verdun indicated the arch. Mo stepped into the orange glow, she felt a momentary dissociation from her surroundings as even her neural synaptic pathways were screened, shortly a green light appeared on a panel in front of her.

“Green for go,” she said.

“indeed, that signal seems to be a universal constant,“ Verdun smiled broadly.

It occurred to Mo that he seemed to be enjoying himself. Presently, they entered the antechamber of the activation room. It was Simply furnished: one chair and a communications console. The activation Room itself was equally Spartan, the only other adornments being four electronic panels, each separated by around two metres Mo guessed.

“This communications console, interfaces directly to the Mother ship for receiving final orders before the fleet jaunts to a safe distance from the target,” Verdun began.

Mo acted quickly. She signalled Victor to come to heel and walked to the control station in the centre of the activation room. Her experience of Thargon systems during her 'work' with them meant it posed little mystery. She rapidly entered two commands on the keyboard. The first caused a Plexiglas security screen to slide down, clicking into a slot in the floor and separating her from the antechamber. The second was risky, it was the code to lock the screen so it could not be opened from the outside. Verdun looked at her quizzically. The fact that the door remained closed after her efforts at her console confirmed that the locking code was valid.

“So far so good,” Mo whispered to herself. She opened her case and removed the contents, placing a square-scanning panel similar to those used for verifying palm prints on the floor. Then she attached four leads, each ending in a key card to slots located on the panels around the room. Verdun watched this intently.

“What are you doing?” he finally asked through an intercom.

Mo didn't even look up as he spoke, “you will know that normally four operatives are required to insert their encrypted key cards into the slots simultaneously. Three, two, one, go, sort of thing, very old fashioned if I may say so,” Mo pointed to the scanning panel on the floor, “now one code input will activate the device. That is what I am going to do. Not over my planet, but over this one.”

Verdun frowned but was not in the least perturbed. “Impossible,” he sneered, “even if your set-up works, you couldn't possibly possess the codes, even one would have altered security at the perimeter.”

Mo remained silent, Verdun's frown deepened. “The security scanners alert us to possession of anything containing encrypted sequences or even algorithms capable of generating them. We scanned you and your equipment,” his self-assurance was returning, “the process is infallible.”

Mo looked up calmly. “You are correct. It is infallible,” she replied.
“You scanned me. You scanned my equipment,” she waved her arm casually over her assembled apparatus and met Verdun's arrogant stare. “But you didn't scan my dog.“ By now Mo could detect the gleam of sweat on her enemy’s face making if appear through the Plexiglas screen as if it were cast in wax.

Verdun switched his stare to Victor, still sitting patiently on the floor, his cybernetically implanted right paw held slightly above the smooth metal surface, and the magnitude of his error was revealed to him in a blinding flash. Without hesitation he opened a security link, it took two attempts with his trembling hands. Urgently he began barking orders: “Emergency, Armed team required in the activation room! We require forced entry, repeat forced entry NOW!“

Mo returned her attention to the control station monitor. Her fingers played the keyboard like a piano virtuoso; she had rehearsed the procedure many times. After reading the green figures flashing across the screen she relaxed a little: covert ops intelligence had been correct; far above her in the thin upper atmosphere four drone satellites began assuming geo-stationary orbit in a tetrahedral formation around the planet. The Thargons might try to destroy them if they had the time; in fact they had no time at all.

She was not surprised to see that Verdun had been attempting to break the Plexiglas wall with a consol chair, he was breathing heavily from his exertions but his face remained calm, he almost appeared in control again.

“Mo... ” the commander began, deciding some different tactics were necessary, “you cannot do this. Think about the crime you would be committing. You are committing genocide not just of one civilization, but the distillation of hundreds.... you do not have the right!” Mo turned from the monitor and Verdun recoiled from the expression of contempt on her face.

“Crime? I don't have the right? You killed my world, my family and all that was decent about us. Your society is obscene. Your society is the worst kind of parasite: you don't just take, you destroy at the same time. Your society is a distillation of evil, a concentration of the worst elements of humanity... It ends here.” Returning to the monitor, she ignored the three security officers who entered the room. They hastily erected a tripod, onto which they attached an industrial laser cutter. A spliced power coupling activated it and a bright dot appeared on the Plexiglas; soon the dot became a glowing red line.... The monitor flashed the message that two of the satellites were in their final location.

“Victor quedera indi,” Mo commanded. The trained, obedient labrador rose to his feet and padded over to the scanner panel leaving the security officers no weapons line of sight on her. Simultaneously Mo noted the third satellite attaining orbital position, but she could also smell acrid smoke from the burning plastic. “Come on, come on,” she muttered. Then things began to happen quickly. Two bullets tore a hole in Mo's abdomen, spinning her round and throwing her onto the floor behind the console.

“The dog! Kill the dog!” Verdun yelled, but the hole in the Plexiglas was still too small for a man to climb through. An electronic computer voice concluded things: “GRAVITON SATELLITES NOW IN TETRAHEDRAL ORBIT. AWAITING FINAL CONFIRMATION.”

“Victor, Victor! Engage the sequence,” Mo gasped. The labrador didn't move, his warm brown eyes just stared at her. She struggled to rise but slipped in an expanding pool of blood. Then she smiled to herself for one last time, must be losing my senses she thought. “Victor quedra este.” Victor obediently raised his cybernetic paw and placed it onto the scanning panel. “Victor, I love you,” Mo whispered.

Verdun was screaming but Mo could no longer hear him. Above the planet, the satellites emitted their pre-programmed graviton pulse. The four quantum emissions intersected at the centre of the virtual pyramid within the planet's core. The singularity that formed did not theoretically exist in space but the effects of the artificial black hole were dramatic. First: the core imploded, atomic nuclear compression caused an inevitable mass to energy conversion. Second: the magnitude of that dreadful ratio created expanding spheres of high-level quantum energy. Third: the planet's mantle vaporised, pulverising the crust to asteroid rubble. One second later the Thargon civilization in orbit was annihilated.

The devastating energy waves continued their concentric expansion. Thirty minutes after detonation, Mo's planet was stripped of most of its atmosphere and finally sterilised. But the waves did not stop there: the next planet encountered was lifeless, but not for long. Quantum energy acting at a molecular level caused organic molecules to begin combining and recombining so the first vital sparks of life were created. The millions of intelligent life forms that would evolve on that world would never know the debt they owed to a lone agent and her dog on a suicide mission, but it would have warmed Mo’s heart to know that the last Martian did not die in vain....