“Captain, what the hell was that?”
“Not sure, Dr. Wasserman, but I think the Roaches are shooting blind.”
“I beg your pardon?”
“They’ve got no computers left, almost no communications, and they’re losing the air battle.”
“So they heaved a tactical nuke into the air on the notion that it would take down more of us than it would of them?”
Oakley was silent, listening to updates in her earpiece. “That seems to be the case, Doc. Maretti, triple the intervals; we’re spreading out.”
To Lemuel Wasserman, war had always been a fascinating topic, somewhat like a game, in which performance statistics and strategies combined and interfaced in complex, competing matrices. But no. It’s just madness and desperation, he realized with a swallow, watched as a few more Arat Kur fighters recovered from faltering dives. But, without computers, and not being seasoned combat pilots, they could not elude or get any advantage over an equal number of Dutch, Chinese, and Swedish interceptors that were on them within five seconds. As the first of the Arat Kur aircraft flashed and then began to trail yellow flame and black smoke, Lemuel Wasserman had a sensation and a sudden desire that surprised him more than the day’s rapid reversals, the ominous mushroom clouds, or the nearby detonation of a five-kiloton nuclear weapon:
Don’t: don’t kill any more of them than you have to…
Caine could not be certain, but as the minutes of uncertainty ticked by, Hu’urs Khraam seemed to weaken, as if he were about to collapse. Obversely, First Voice seemed to have swollen to gigantic proportions, loping to and fro, one claw rubbing at the oddly shaped handle of his sidearm.
While Darzhee Kut conferred quietly with Hu’urs Khraam, Urzueth Ragh guided the assembly of a patchwork communications and control system that the Arat Kur technicians were building out of those few bits and pieces that the virus had missed. When Downing’s voice finally emerged from the speakers, Hu’urs Khraam rose up.
“First Delegate Hu’urs Khraam, are you reading me?”
“Mr. Downing, we can hear you plainly.”
“Excellent. First Delegate, I’m afraid we don’t have much time left.”
“I concur, Mr. Downing. To start, please redirect your inbound missiles. We cannot intercept them all.”
“With respect, First Delegate, I would be surprised if you could intercept any.”
First Voice literally growled. His retinue stared at him, then at each other, and then placed casual claws on the handles of their firearms. Not promising.
Hu’urs Khraam did not bother to lie. “You are correct in your supposition. And I am mindful that your submarines could do many times more damage before we regain the ability to sink them or intercept their missiles.”
“Exactly. Before you regain the ability. And so, because you almost certainly could regain that ability, I cannot let this moment pass. Consequently, if you do not surrender now, I will be forced to allow our missiles to continue on their current courses, to allow our spacecraft to destroy yours without attempting to commandeer them peacefully, and to allow our inbound ground and air units to carry out their attack on your bases. I reemphasize this so that you know I understand both the weakness of your current situation, but also the advantage you will certainly regain within the hour. I can’t allow you to regain that advantage, so you will understand that I am not ‘bluffing.’ I will act as I have said, without regard to your, or our, casualties—unless you immediately capitulate according to the terms I set forth earlier.”
Hu’urs Khraam looked about the room slowly, as if measuring what to say next. “There are complications.”
“Such as?”
“I cannot compel all my forces to stop fighting. We do not have communications left. Those who are no longer in contact with us will not know to cease resisting.”
“I am sorry, Hu’urs Khraam, but it is just as I warned you during our first communication. The longer we waited to discuss terms, the more needless loss would occur. But I assure you of this. We will make every attempt to spare the lives of your troops. The best way to achieve that is to keep all those currently under your direct control in barracks and unarmed. As more of our forces arrive, we will be able to control the insurgents and send in units to secure you and your personnel.”
First Voice made a sound as though he were spitting out a bone that had gone down sideways. “You will send your forces to secure us? For what reason?”
“To ensure your safety against reprisals by the insurgents. Once in Confederation hands, your troops will be treated according to the human conventions for handling prisoners of war.”
First Voice turned to Hu’urs Khraam. “This conversation must end.”
Hu’urs Khraam bobbed apologetically. “It cannot.”
“You are discussing surrender. You simply haven’t spoken the word yet.”
“I am saving our lives.”
First Voice reared up very tall, his crest flaring dramatically. “First Delegate Hu’urs Khraam of the Arat Kur Wholenest, the Hkh’Rkh will have no part of this. I refuse to be present, to be accused of giving even that tacit approval, to your discussion of surrendering to these s’fet. And if you do so, I do not wish to hear you do it. For then I would have to not merely renounce our alliance, but name you as our betrayers: enemies more profound and lasting than the humans. I shall leave two of my retinue here to witness what transpires.”
Darzhee Kut sounded forlorn. “And where shall you go, First Voice?”
“I go where I should have gone hours ago: to the field of battle. Where I will fight, for your honor as well as my own, until I have no kinsmen or blood left.” He pointed a claw at each of the two huscarles who were still just behind Caine and left with the remainder.
Downing’s voice was the first sound to break the silence. “First Delegate, am I to understand that you and the Hkh’Rkh are no longer allies?”
“Mr. Downing, I am uncertain myself. I believe that if I surrender to you, they consider themselves at war with us. At any rate, I cannot make any promises for the Hkh’Rkh. I cannot guarantee that any will surrender. Indeed, if they feel their foes utterly without honor, they may affect the appearance of capitulation simply in order to trick you, to conduct an ambush when they seem to be relenting. I fear that their rage at the insurgents has made them ungovernable.”
“We fear the same thing about the insurgents in relation to your troops and the Hkh’Rkh, First Delegate Khraam. That is why we are sending in our forces to establish control. If Arat Kur do not fire at our inbound forces, those forces will not fire at Arat Kur. I cannot guarantee the actions of the units that began the day already on Java. Their radios are inoperative, and we have only one overtaxed fiber-optic link sending updates to a limited number of infiltration teams.”
“I understand and accept that there may still be attacks on our compounds until you reestablish general communications. And what of my rock-siblings who are operating outside the compounds?”
“Those you can reach should be told to hide, stay put, and to set their suits to broadcast distress signals, if they still function. We will home in on those and presume they indicate the wearer’s intent to surrender.”
“But most of them have lost their radios to the virus or the EMP strikes. I cannot reach enough of them.”