Resurrection (The Inherited War) (29 page)

“Come with me.”  Split grabbed him and led him back to where the casualties were.  He grabbed the duffle that Anastacia had been carrying.  There were five intact second skins inside.  He grabbed one out and handed it to West.  “Get naked and put this on.”

West snorted a laugh.  “No problem.  I make it a point to be naked the first time I meet new people.”  He stripped off the rags he was wearing and looked at the suit he had been handed.

“Put it on the floor and step onto it.”  West complied.  “Here is the control for it.  Place it on the suit and hit the button.  West did as instructed and flinched when the suit seemed to come alive.  “It will mold to your body and make a perfect seal.  Place used batteries from the weapons in the pouches on your chest and they will recharge as long as you can move your body.  The more you move the faster they recharge.  As long as the batteries don’t malfunction we have unlimited ammo.  Give these other four suits to men of your choosing.  Have them running up and down this room charging the batteries.”  Splits vision swam for a moment, and he reached out his hand and steadied himself on West’s shoulder.  West groaned audibly from the effort of holding the massive beast up.  “Sorry,” Split apologized as he regained his balance, “the drug has lasting side effects.  And you can call me Split.” 

West held out his hand.  “Well it is nice to meet you, Split.”  Split gently took his hand and shook it.

“Go aid your people. I must check on Cole and the woman.  I will be there in a few minutes.”  Split turned and walked deeper into the room as West turned and started to shout for people who had high endurance.  Split reached the location where the casualties were located.  Cole and Anastacia were not alone.  Two more bodies lay next to them and three more sitting with rags tied around wounds.  Four men were tending to the injured. 

“What happened?” Split asked.

“These men,” one of the tenders pointed to the two bodies, “died during the attack.  Those three received wounds.”

“Who are you?” 

I, my name is Robert, and Anthony,” he pointed to another man tending the wounded, “are,” he paused, “were trauma surgeons.  Ted and Mark were OR nurses.  We are trying to help these men, but we have no supplies and we searched your gear, but don’t know what anything does.”

Spilt got down and rummaged through his med kit.  He grabbed out a hand full of various items.  He handed them to the Doctors.  He explained the use and application of each of the devices, and then demonstrated them on the wounded men.

“Jesus, if we had only had this kind of thing on Earth we wouldn’t need doctors.  This is some advanced shit.”  That was the one called Anthony, if Split remembered correctly.

“Just be prepared for more wounded.  This battle is far from over.”  Split turned and knelt down between Cole and Anastacia.  He placed his hand on Cole’s chest.  He felt it rise and fall.  Good, at least his lungs were working now and he could feel his heart beating on its own again.  His nanites were still reporting some swelling in his brain and he needed his leg set so it could heal.  “You two,” Split pointed to the two Doctors.  His femur is fractured and needs to be set before he can heal.  And bring over that stimulant injector.”

The two men came over and started to gently probe Cole’s leg.  They immediately found the break and went about preparing to set it.  Split took the injector and set it to max dose.  He rammed it into the side of Anastacias neck.  Her eyes flew open and she sucked in a huge lungful of air.  Split dropped the injector and placed both hands on her shoulders holding her in place until she regained her control.

Her eyes rolled wildly in her head as she tried to sort out what her brain was telling her body.  Slowly she calmed down and her panting breath evened out.

“What happened? The last thing I remember is getting thrown through the air.”  She finally looked hard at Split and recoiled sharply.  “Who are you?”  She cringed a little as she said it.  Trying to scoot away from the giant holding her down.

“I am the one you knew of as Split, I switched with my smaller brother in order to hold the door for Cole.  You are ok.  You had a concussion and some bruised ribs.  Your nanites kept you down until they had it fixed.  I woke you up a little early.  We need you and your suit to help hold off the Esii.”  Split released his grip on her shoulders.

“Okay, alright, I can do that much I think.”  She started to stand up when she saw Cole lying unmoving on the floor.  “Oh my god, what happened to Cole?”  She was still speaking in Russian, so no one understood her but Split.

“Took a grenade getting us to safety, he will be alright in a day or so though.  Now head that way,” he pointed back towards where the door was, “and help them recharge the batteries.  I will be up there in a moment.”  Split watched as she got her feet under her and steadied.  She started out shaky but as she moved more her walk got more confidence until she finally headed out in a slow trot.  Split sighed and settled back on his butt to rest a bit.  He stared at the stim injector and contemplated using it.  He knew his heart could take another dose, but it would be next to useless.  It wouldn’t last very long, and it might put him down for a day or two using that much stims in one day.  He heard a sharp “snap!” as the two Doctors jerk on Cole’s leg.

“There it’s set, but it needs to be splinted in order to hold it steady.”  One of them said.

“No,” Split replied, “the nanites are already healing it, just leave him alone now.”  Split got into his med kit one more time and pulled out an injector.  He needed Cole up and about.  Laying here wasn’t helping anyone.  He grabbed one more injector.  The first had a nutrient mix and the second was quick heal.  He was going to save it for later in case they got hurt badly again, but decided it was better to use it now.  He injected the full contents of both injectors into Cole’s neck.  He watched the nanites monitor that was still plugged into Coles neck.  The readout’s estimates changed.  Consciousness one hour, mobility six and fully healed in twenty-four hours.  He would have to hold them until then.  Split rose to his feet and lay out the last five skin suits.  He placed three underneath himself and activated them.  Three
barely fit his massive frame.  The next one he dumped onto Cole’s chest.  Cole’s suit would absorb the new suit and mend itself over the next hour or so.  The last one he through to the Doctor.

“Robert?”  The doctor nodded his head.  “You saw how to put these one?”

“Yes, I saw.”  He replied.

“Good put it on and come with me.  You will triage at the door and move the wounded back from the battle.  Follow me.”  The Doctor quickly got naked and activated the suit.  “When we get up to the door activate the tutorial on the helmet functions.  If you understand the instructions, diagnosing and treating injuries will go faster.  Stabilize the wounded then send them back here to your colleague.  Bring the spray bandage and cauterizer.”  Split turned and led the Doctor back up to the hallway.  There were already two wounded men waiting for his ministrations.  Split was also happy to see Anastacia leading other suited men in a slow jog back down the length of the room.  She shot him a smile as she went by.  Split grinned back.

Split was amazed at himself as he entered the hallway.  He had really done some damage to the bastard Esii.  He could only remember that wild charge in brief snatches of vivid memory.  The only good side effect of the drug was temporary memory loss while using it.  He made it to the T intersection just as the firing was dying down.  The man named West turned and saw Split coming his way.

“We held the fuckers back.  They never got close but they tore up our barricades.  I think we can shore them up a bit but I don’t know how long it will last.”  Just then the ground gave a shudder, and the sound of moving rock filled the hallway.

“Shit that was the worst one so far.”  West looked a little shaken at the swaying of the ground.

“We killed the creature at the center of this planet.  It could be its death throes we are feeling.”  West looked at Split skeptically when he heard this.  “Or the planet is collapsing because its core is dead.  We won’t know unless we hold this hallway.  Now, if they have retreated get some men over on the other side and bring back any bodies they can reach.  Weapons and ammo too.  Make it fast, they will be back.”  West shouted some orders to his men and then joined them going over their impromptu barricades.  The intersection was too small for Split to fit into so he settled back and just observed for now.  If they ended up needing to retreat, he could hold the hallway, while the humans scurried back to the room.

West and his scavengers managed to get their hands on some more weapons, ammo, and some undamaged shields.  They got enough bodies to rebuild their barricades and reinforced them with the few shields they had found. 

“Brother, are you there.”  Split asked inside his mind.  He was getting worried, he hadn’t heard from his bond mate since they had swapped hours ago.

“I am here brother and have been enjoying watching you work.  I figured you had enough problems without me distracting you.  By the way, hell of a job going berserk like that.  It reminds me of that one time...”

“Enough.  No need to bring up old memories.  As you have said, I have enough to deal with at the moment.”

“True but it seems the more they send at you, the stronger you get.  Besides they will give up soon enough.”

“Oh, do please enlighten me?”

“That alarm is ringing all over the planet and Esii are leaving in droves. The Pyndingum will have to eventually break off their attempts to kill all of you and let the planet do it for them.”

“How could you possibly know all of that?”

“You were always too afraid to leave my mind brother.  I have no qualms with it myself.”

  “Well, remember one thing, brother.  If I die, we both die, so anything you can do to help would be appreciated.”

“Trust me brother, I know full well the consequences of failure, and I am trying my best to find us a way out.”  Split felt his brother leave his mind and he refocused on those around him

“Shit, here they come again.”  Someone shouted just before a heavy volume of fire streaked out from behind the barricades.  Split grunted and regained his feet. 

“Hold them again boys.  Every time they attack, we get stronger.”  Split turned to the man next to him.  “Go back and get the batteries that are being charged, we are going to need them.”  Split returned his attention to the reports West was relaying to him and began giving him the best advice he could.

CHAPTER 21

Three days.  Three days of waiting.  Three days of uncertainty.  Three days in hell. Three days is exactly how long Thalo and Vinco had been gone with the Kin.  Sky snorted and brooded quietly in the cockpit.  She hadn’t been very good company the last three days, so her sister had spent most of her time with Jeth in the back of the transport.  Her frustration at being held as a virtual prisoner on her own ship bubbled momentarily to the surface, and she uttered some choice words directed at the Kin and slammed her hand down on the armrest of her chair. 

The Kin.  She hadn’t known what to expect from them but it hadn’t been this.  All knowledge of the Kin had disappeared from the galaxy and the Kin had drifted into legend.  She hadn’t expected such cruelty from such beautiful creatures.  She also hadn’t been expecting to be called a traitor.  Jeth had claimed to not know what they were talking about and had told her Thalo would have to enlighten them all.

She racked her brain and the computer for anything that would shed some light on the subject, but found nothing.  Most of the information on the war and the Pures had been purged from the galaxy by the Esii and the Roche.  Her own people had kept the memories alive in secret archives and through oral traditions.  It seemed the Worlders had more of the original data on the Pures and Kin than anyone else.  She hadn’t expected the wings either.  She cursed again.  Every time she thought about the Kin her mind got distracted by their exotic beauty.

One more day.  If they were not back by morning tomorrow, she would head to the city herself and damn the consequences.  She turned on the interior monitors and watched her sister and Jeth.  Their heads were close together, and they were talking in low tones.  Sky couldn’t make out what was being said but by the giggles that soon erupted from her sister she knew it was none of her business.  She switched off the feed and returned to her dark brooding.

It was only an hour later when the ships AI interrupted her funk.

“My sensors are picking up a lone life sign approaching from the city.”  He stated matter-of-factly.

“Finally.” Sky almost shouted as she got to her feet and stomped her way off the bridge and through the ship.  Sky opened the door to the cargo area and walked over to the weapons locker.  Her sister was startled by Sky’s sudden entrance and shot to her feet.

“What is it, what’s wrong?”  She asked hurriedly.

“AI picked up a life form heading this way from the city.”  Sky said as she strapped on her weapon and equipment belt.  “I am going to wait at the bottom of the ramp.”  She chose to stop the argument before her sister made it.  “Don’t worry I won’t set foot on their precious ground.”

She had fought with her sister and Jeth the last three days about leaving the ship.  Her sister and Jeth thought it wise to follow the letter of the law and stay on board, Sky wanted to get off and stretch her legs a bit walking around on the planet.  She was overruled each time.

“Do you really think you need weapons, sis?”  Snow asked her sister.

“I refuse to get caught unprepared again.  There is only one person returning.  If it is one of ours then there might be trouble.  Grab a gun or not, it is up to you.”  With that she walked by the pair and down the already opened ramp.  She got to the bottom and stopped.  She put a pair of long range binoculars up to her eyes and scanned the plain. 

“Thalo is much too far away for you to see him yet.  He says he is fine and is looking forward to some rest.  Apparently he has not slept for some time.”  The voice of the AI came out of the small speaker in the ramp housing.

“Can you get a scan on him?  Does he seem physically well?”  Sky asked in a worried voice.

“He says he is fine and I will take his word for it.”

Sky interrupted the AI.  “I didn’t ask for his or your opinion.  I told you to scan him if he was in range and report back.”

There were a few moments of silence.

“Scans check out.  Mild sleep deprivation and all that goes with it, but otherwise healthy.”

“Thank you.”  Sky responded as she settled in to wait for Thalo.  It took Thalo a while to make the trek to the ship, and when he finally got there all three of his friends were waiting at the ramp for him.

“You guys excited to see me or what?”  He smirked at them as he spoke.

“Enough with the crap Thalo, what happened?”  Sky blurted out.

“Oh, hi to you too.  And, oh don’t worry about me I’m fine.  A little sleepy and ravenously hungry, but fine none the less.  Thanks for asking.”  Thalo shoved his way past Sky but found the impenetrable wall that was Jeth blocking his way.

“Welcome back, brother.”  Jeth leaned in closer to Thalo and locked eyes with the smaller Worlder.  They stood like that for a while before Thalo let out a sigh.  He turned to face Sky.  They both spoke at the same time.

“Thalo I'm …”

“Sky I'm…”

They both looked a little sheepish at that point.

“Thalo, let me go first.”  He nodded his head at Sky.  “I was worried about you the whole time but I knew everything was fine when your first words were a smart ass remark.  I should have been more mindful of what you may have gone through the last few days.”  Sky smiled at her friend.

“Don’t bother. I am so tired that I forgot that the longer we delay the longer Cole sits in an Esii prison.  Let me get some food and a stim, and I will tell you what happened over the last few days.  We won’t be leaving right away, so we have time.  And trust me; we need these guys if we are going to the Esii homeworld.”  Jeth moved up the ramp and waved Thalo forward. 

Just inside the cargo area was a makeshift table and a plate heaped high with Thalo’s favorite food.  The pile of food was still steaming from the heaters in the kitchen.  Thalo nearly stumbled as the aroma of the food assailed his nostrils.  He dashed to the plate and dug in.

“The AI updated its scan of you as you got closer and detected you were becoming malnourished.  I whipped up what Jeth said was your favorite.”  Snow said as she took a seat across from Thalo.  “I also laced it with some stims so you should be awake for the next two hours.”

“Thanks.” Thalo said around a mouthful of food.  He swallowed.  “I think Jeth got one over on us both.  This isn’t my favorite, but it’s what he always tried to get me to eat.  He says
it’s healthy or some such nonsense.  But, as they say, hunger is the best sauce.”  He nudged his bondmate as he spoke and then dug back into this food.  Thalo didn’t stop eating until his plate was clean.  He leaned back against the bulkhead and let loose with a thunderous belch.

“Ahh.”  His sigh was as great as his burp.

“He acts like he hasn’t gone longer without food before.”  Jeth rumbled from beside his friend.

“It is never my choice though.  The last time was five days and that was because I was stuck in that wall during that Rylioan mating ritual.  If I had moved, they would have killed me.”  Both he and Jeth shared a good laugh over that one.

“Okay, on to business.  First and foremost the Kin have agreed to help us, to a degree.  It will be up to each individual Kin to decide whether or not to join us.  I gave them one more day to decide.  After that, we are free to go, with or without their aid.”

“Wait, wait.”  Sky interrupted.  “You have been there three days and don’t know if they are going to help us?”

“Maybe I should start from the beginning.”  Thalo looked at his friend and started over.

“We walked all the way back to the city with the Kin who came to the ship.  Their wings work fine by the way they only walked in deference to us.  Apparently they have no modern means of conveyance, period.  We went to the city and through it to the very center of the Kin world.  Both physically and spiritually. As we arrived at the amphitheater in the center of their city, all the Kin dropped out of the air.  Literally.  That’s where we have been the last three days.  It is something they call the Convictus.  According to their history, and they know their history well.  Before the final battle were the creators, don’t ever call them the Pures in front of a Kin by the way.  The creators brought them back here and freed them.  I don’t think they were ever enthralled by the creators, but they felt that way so it was more symbolic than substantial.  They were told that one day the creators might return and ask for help.  They would no longer be obliged to our and out help but could decide for themselves whether they wanted to fight or remain hidden.   For the past three days they have debated both side of the argument.  I was asked to retell the story of finding the creators and their subsequent return to the galaxy.  They were not too happy with the Admiral for bringing Cole back prematurely, or that the Earth had been destroyed.”  Thalo paused at that point and took a drink of water.  Refreshed he continued.

“I did everything I could think of to help convince them of Cole’s plight.  The last day got kind of heated.  I got the impression that most of their meetings end amicably, and this was something new.  They fought for a few hours and finally settled in to vote.  They voted for the individual to make up their own mind.”

“Three days wasted.  They should have just done that first and we could have been gone.”  Sky’s anger was boiling up.  “Let’s just go.  These…these beings can hide in their hole if they want to, I am going to get Cole.”

“No, now sit.”  Thalo glared at Sky.  “Sit!  Now!”  Sky was furious and locked stares with Thalo.

“Listen to him sis, there is more.”  Snow was pleading with Sky.  Sky and Thalo broke eye contact at the same time and Sky sat once more.

“Ahh-hem,” Thalo cleared his throat.  “Our cause is lost without the Kin.  If we step foot on that planet without a Kin, we will be lost.  They have a, according to the Kin, a breed of Esii we have never encountered before.  Something called the Pyndingum.  No one has seen them in the last twenty thousand years.  They have such extraordinary mental powers that to be within their range is to lose control of your own mind.  That is what the Kin did for our ancestors.  When our armies had to fight it out planet side, a Kin was assigned to every unit of one thousand troops.  They shielded those troops from the mind dominating powers of the Pyndingum.  They also have the added bonus of cutting off all sources of energy that the Esii feed off of in a certain radius.  Without them we wouldn’t make it one step off of the transports.  Plus the Kin scare the living shit out of the Esii.  According to the Kin, just the sight of them on the battle field has broken Esii field units.”

Everyone grew silent at the end of Thalo’s narrative.  Snow reached out her hand and gripped Sky’s leg.  She gave her a gentle squeeze of reassurance.  Sky hung her head for a moment and closed her eyes.  She looked up and began to speak.  She stopped when she saw that Thalo had fallen asleep where he was sitting.

“Jeth, get him into bed.  We can finish this when he is rested.”  Sky stood and stretched.  “I’m for bed too.  Wake me when Thalo gets up or if the Kin begin arriving.”  With that she left the cargo area and headed for her small room.  Sky lay down on her cot and stared at the ceiling for a while.  She began to cry.  Tears streamed from her eyes, down her cheeks, and onto her small pillow.

“Forgive me Cole,” she whispered to the either.  “I may have failed you.”  She cried quietly by herself until her own exhaustion overcame her and she fell into the blissful void of sleep.

~

Sky awoke to a banging on her door. 

“Sis, wake up.”  Snow was shouting and pounding on her door.  “Damn it, if you don’t answer me I will cut this door off of its hinges.”

“I'm fine,” Sky shouted.  “Give me a moment to wake up.”  Sky paused to listen for a response.

“Okay.  You had me worried is all.  I have been trying to wake you up for a while now.  Thalo is awake and is eating breakfast.  He is waiting for you to finish his story.”

“Be right there.”  Sky sat up and stretched.  She stood and did some limbering exercises in the cramped space.  She felt like she had been asleep forever.   Her muscles where sore and stiff from inactivity.  She used the small shower and got dressed in her freshly washed suit.  Feeling more like herself, she exited her cabin and headed to the cargo hold.

She arrived just as Thalo was finishing his breakfast.

“Ahh, the Doctor wakes up looking much better than she did last night.”  Thalo said with a big grin plastered to his face.  He was right though.  Sky hadn’t been taking very good care of herself lately.  She had expended some extra effort upon waking to brush her hair and plait it into a tight braid that fell down her spine to the middle of her back.

“Thanks.  You look much better yourself.”  Sky sat down next to her sister across from the Worlders.  “Now, not to be rude but you left many things unsaid last night and I would like to hear the rest.”

“Not much more to tell really.  Well I guess that’s not entirely true.  Vinco stayed behind to spend some time with his daughter.”  Thalo looked at all of his companions to gauge their response.

“You’re kidding?  Right?”  Snow seemed the most shocked of all of them.

“No.  Apparently there is one small fact nobody knows.  The Kin cannot reproduce on their own.  They need DNA from species other than themselves to reproduce.  They only ever have Kin babies but the fathers have to come from outside of the race.  That’s why our friend Vinco was allowed to come here with his brother.  There are never more than ten thousand Kin at one time.  When a Kin dies they lure a father to the planet and get him to donate some DNA.  Doesn't sound like a bad job if you ask me.  It has its possibilities.”  Thalo kinda drifted off for a moment with a goofy smile plastered on his face.