Opening Moves Read online

  “Brother, but what can we do in just a decade and a half?” his female twin shrugged.

  Corr'tane fixed her with a confident stare, purpose suddenly filling his veins.

  “We can do whatever it takes to ensure that our legacy, our people, survives.” He took the data drive and placed it in his lab coat. “Come on, sister. Let's find the science council. Every second now is too precious to waste.”

  Without even changing out of his lab clothes Corr'tane led the way out of the university's research tract. Noticing the look in his eyes fellow scientists and students on the campus grounds alike got out of the young, lean researcher's path. They took a mag-rail ride to the capital city's center and towards the elegantly built National Science Council. In his pocket lay the future destiny of the Ashani race – and of the galaxy surrounding it.

  The NSC was, in name and qualifications both, a highly distinguished group. They represented the peak achievements of cutting edge science across the Dominion and were the peers of the scientific academy. Putting it in simpler terms, they were Corr'tane's superiors in every professional meaning of the word. And they were waiting.

  They received Corr'tane and his sister in the official Chamber of Inquiry. This was where the apex of Ashani scientific debate was held. Twenty of them sat in a high tier of seats circled half a meter above the small open floor used for giving presentations to the council and the academy. Half again as many attended as holograms. That space was currently occupied by both Corr'tane and Pyshana, who now activated the holographic imager and presented her data. The presentation was short but concise, and not once did the council interrupt. When it was over silence hung for three whole minutes until the young female Ashani scientist could not stand it any longer.

  “So, what will you do?” Pyshana demanded to know, exhaustion creeping into her voice. It was a flagrant breach of the strict protocol governing council presentations where only the high scientists asked questions.

  “This data you have provided,” a deep, sonorous voice said. “It is impossible.”

  Pyshana blinked, letting her mouth hang open in disbelief for a moment. “I've laid open my sources. Respected members of the NSC: I assure you the data is completely accurate.”

  “It obviously is not. Such stellar activity is completely against all known laws of physics. This leaves as the only explanations either faults in the data or in its analysis.”

  Pyshana couldn't believe her ears. Her fine feline features twitched. “Fine, then check both my data and my approach for yourselves!” she almost pleaded.

  “We do not have the resources for a fool's errand,” the council leader stated bluntly.

  “The fate of the entire home world is hanging in the balance here!” she threw up her hands and yelled at the top of her lungs. “Gods, it's the existence of our race. You can't just turn your back on that!”

  Corr'tane stepped in, calming his sister. Then he himself turned to the council.

  “You are grossly mistaken to dismiss my sister's research based purely on her age. Pyshana has never been wrong before and a simple comparison will reveal that her data is accurate.”

  “And when did you receive your accolades in astrophysics, Corr'tane?” the council leader retorted derisively. “As I understand it your aim is to find the miraculous recipe for immortality.” There were a few scoffs and chuckles. “It is only your work in other fields of medicine which allow us to tolerate your dalliances. If, however, you choose to attach yourself to such preposterous claims as these we might be forced to reconsider your tenure at the National Academy of Sciences.”

  “Do not try and silence us with threats,” anger boiled up in him. “This is real and it will not go away just because you all dismiss it!”

  “It is not the only thing we are dismissing,” the head of the council said coolly. “Get out of here! And I request a full summary of your other works by tomorrow so we can decide whether or not you are worth keeping here at the academy without these frivolous doomsday fantasies!”

  “It is not a fantasy!” Corr'tane emphasized, forcing himself to sound calmer than he felt. “Two decades from now our world dies. The data is conclusive. We do have the time to do something about it, but only if we act immediately!”

  The council exchanged first looks, then nods. “We are acting immediately. And our action is to evict you from our academy, effective as of now,” he typed something on his console. “The National Academy of Sciences is an institution for serious research, not some carnival where you can indulge your fantasies. Now get out before I have you forcibly removed!”

  Corr'tane gave him an incredulous stare. This couldn't be, shouldn't be, happening. His sister was an excellent astrophysicist with a stellar track record belying her young age. And yet they were so arrogant, so set in their own beliefs of how the universe worked they refused to even consider the possibility that something might be able to put spokes in their perfect little view of physics.

  “Fine. So be it,” Pyshana snarled. “You can burn with our world, and as the radiation sears the flesh from your bones you can die with the exquisite knowledge that it was all your fault.” She took the data drive and stormed out of the chamber, her brother rapidly running up beside her. “The fools!” she yelled, fuming with an anger dwarfing that of Corr'tane, drawing a number of glances from passersby in the corridors of the extensive building. “The triple damned fools! They will burn in all hells for this, all of them!”

  “Sister, please!” Surprised about himself, but even more so about his otherwise so balanced sister, Corr'tane steered her into a corner. He had never once seen her grow so angry. Even in the trying times after their mother's death she had never once lost her temper. She had remained as calm and cool as any scientist could hope to be, an emotionless statue that resembled him. “There is another way, there must be.”

  “Like what?” she spat, staring viciously at her last blood relative. “Without the support of the council we have no credibility, no support, no access. Brother, we'll be laughed out of every meeting! We will be discredited and even imprisoned for 'fraudulent claims' and for spreading panic! Our people will die and there is nothing we can do!” She was almost screaming in desperation. It seemed that the future of her race was grasped in her hands – and nobody cared, nobody would make even the tiniest effort to save them, their families, to save the whole Ashani people. They just didn't care, and they would die for it. It was unbearable.

  “We must go to the media: we must force them to accept it!” Corr'tane tried to calm her. It wasn't easy. There had always been a strong bond between the two of them. Her emotions were often his emotions, too. “If we tell enough people they must…”

  He trailed off as he noticed a rather large man striding up beside them. He wore the deep black of a mid-level officer of the Ashani Navy and held himself with a rigid and disciplined stance, a sign that the uniform had been well earned. He came to a halt next to the twins.

  “What do you want?” Corr'tane sighed. Suddenly he felt physically exhausted. “Have you come to arrest us for breaching the public peace?”

  “I was in the council room. I heard your speech,” he said by way of reply.

  “Ah, I see. And now you want to ensure our silence.” Pyshana laughed mirthlessly. “How reassuring that despite all of it. some things still work as precisely and infallibly as an atomic clock.” She looked up at him defiantly. “You'll have to kill us first, and right now I have no fear of death. We'll all burn soon anyway. So, go ahead: kill me. Make me a martyr to the Dominion.” She stretched her arms out wide. “Death is on its way, why should I wait for it?”

  The officer did not change his dour expression. “For starters, you could stop this. I'm not a great friend of dramatic gestures. I'm not here to kill you. But we do need to talk. Quietly.” He looked around. Pyshana's loud outburst had drawn a lot of unwanted attention from the students and interns who frequented the council. “I represent the Naval High Command, and any threat to
the Ashani, however spurious, requires investigation.” He stepped aside and pointed to the door way. “So, let's take a walk. That is, unless you want to be ignored and ridiculed?”

  Pyshana immediately quieted. The anger seemed to seep out of her, leaving behind only coldness and analytic clarity. She regarded the officer with a clinical eye, searching in his face for signs of the truth: whether their walk would mean the government would listen, or whether it would end with her brother and herself turning up dead a in river due to a 'regrettable accident.' Ashani society had that cutthroat streak.

  The officer returned her gaze unflinchingly, not betraying a single inkling of his intentions. His face was as hard and unmoving as stone.

  Pyshana moved first. With a quick raising of an eyebrow to her brother, encouraging him to come along, she headed for the door. She gave another close look to the officer, and saw a hint of a smile on his face.

  “I think you'll agree, Miss Pyshana, that we have no time to waste. Karashan most certainly cannot afford it.”

  With that final statement Corr'tane knew he was out of options. At least here was an official who would listen. Even if he was to silence them, when he had heard their story word of it at least would reach his superiors. He nodded in acquiescence, and followed his sister out of the building.

  The treacherous sun gently warmed the area of greenery outside the NSC's lavish grounds. Around it the towers of the capital rose skywards. It was a beautiful sight, peaceful and tranquil. A gurgling brook ran parallel to the old pale buildings containing the various labs and conference halls, with a few tall trees dotting the lush fields and bright gatherings of flowering plants in the late morning brightness.

  The three of them walked along the banks of the brook, its clear waters dancing like liquid crystal with speckles of bright light glaring on the surface. The light of the sun, Corr'tane noted absently. The same light which was going to touch these waters in truth someday fifteen years from now. His stomach was feeling completely empty, as if there was a hole in the center of his body that gradually expanded by this terrible knowledge nobody else seemed to want. His fiery anger was lost now to inevitability, a deep sadness as he took in the beauty around him and recognized it was all lost.

  “Let's take a seat here.” The officer gestured at some low rocks beneath a vast and ancient tree, one that had seen centuries of growth. So long lived, but with so little time left, he thought solemnly. Every thought he had ultimately came back down to this very concept: that they were living on borrowed time. A whole race whose time was running out.

  They settled down in the shade, looking out across the waters to where a group of young naval officers were having a small picnic with some wide eyed girls from the academies ranks. The military held a special place in Ashani society. They were almost universally respected, even revered, and it was never hard for an officer to get a date with some naïve young student or professional.

  “I am Commander Tear'al,” their military companion said. “I apologize for not introducing myself earlier but it was important we went somewhere out of the way before we continued our discussion.”

  Corr'tane continued to watch the party over by the brook. Two of the officers had found branches and were having a mock sword fight to the apparent delight of the rest of the group. None of them were older than he was, yet he didn't have that sort of playful joy within him. Even before today's shocking news he would not have sat and made moon-eyes at some female military officer fooling around. It just wasn't who he was.

  “Do you believe our evidence?” Pyshana asked plainly. She had a way of going straight for the jugular, something he had admired and tried to emulate.

  “More than that, in fact. I know it to be true,” Tear'al stated bluntly. “I work for the Naval Intelligence Directorate. We've known about the anomalies in our sun for some time now.”

  Corr'tane moved fast, grabbing his sister before she had the chance to jump up in rage. “Sit!” he hissed firmly. “Let him speak.”

  “We know. Have known for some time via the satellites spread throughout the star system. We expected that, sooner or later, someone outside the official astronomical observatories and military analysts would find out. But, quite frankly? We thought it would be years yet. I've got to say I'm very impressed.”

  “Impressed!?” Pyshana railed. “You knew the world was ending and you did not speak up to the council!”

  “They are a civilian body and do not need to know. The military doesn't answer to them,” Tear'al scoffed.

  “Their ignorance has just cost us our livelihoods!” Pyshana growled. “Something you could, no, should have prevented.”

  “The government will be happy to offer you new opportunities,” the intelligence officer replied unperturbed. “We have a wide range of scientific facilities dealing with astronomy and biology, large enough to keep you both productively employed.”

  “Military science?” Pyshana almost laughed. “Mapping foldspace to create safe routes for the movement of ships and troops? Using my brother's gifts to create biological weapons? This is your offer?”

  “It is.” Tear'al ignored the female scientist's insulted tone. “We will give you as much freedom and resources as you need. I know you both have your own personal projects,” he glanced at Corr'tane who met his gaze head on. He knew about his tests for an anti-aging procedure and was offering him nearly unlimited resources to continue his research. “I guarantee you that you may continue them, as well as working for us in certain fields.”

  “And you want us to keep silent,” he deduced. “If you knew and have told no one, and if you have been monitoring the academy and the NSC you clearly do not want the people to know.”

  “Exactly.” Tear'al shrugged nonchalantly. “Your work will be secret, known only to the highest echelons of the military and government. You will not speak of it to anyone. You will not associate outside of your new facilities. You will obey military regulations, and in return you can do whatever research you like, and more importantly, you can play your part in saving our people.”

  “But we can't tell them?” Pyshana asked again. “Why not? They have a right to know what's coming and prepare for it!”

  The intelligence officer did not answer straight away. Instead he followed Corr'tane's gaze to the opposite bank and the party there.

  “Suppose you went over there and told those people that the world was ending and they believed you: what would happen?” he asked her innocently.

  “I guess they'd try and leave the planet, after going home and picking up their possessions,” Pyshana answered.

  “And go where?”

  “One of the colonies.”

  “Would they show up to work the following day then?”

  “Well no, of course not,” Pyshana frowned. “They'd start a new life somewhere safe.”

  “Sounds all right, doesn't it?” Tear'al nodded. “But multiply that by fifteen billion Ashani and what happens? What happens when everyone on the planet tries to flee? When the spaceports turn into murderous riot scenes and when you could be killed just on the off-chance you had a ticket for a ship off-world?”

  “Yes, but with twenty years you could get some sort of order to the evacuation.”

  “Are you sure? Since when did panic and mass hysteria listen to logic?” the officer pointed out coolly. “And if everyone runs, what happens to the economy? You wouldn't need to wait two decades for Ashani civilization to die, it'd be over in fifteen days!”

  “That's a very pessimistic view,” Corr'tane observed.

  “But a true one, nonetheless,” Tear'al remarked. “The information you have poses a more immediate danger to our civilization than that does up there,” he pointed to the sun. “Which is why it is imperative to keep it secret.”

  “And what about them?” Pyshana raised her chin at the party. “What happens to them?”

  “When the time is right we evacuate – but only when the time is right. We need to make preparations, b
oth physically and mentally. The exodus of an entire planet is no easy task.”

  “Perhaps we could ask another race for help?” Pyshana suggested. “We have good relations with a few of them.”

  “Good relations?” the officer smiled thinly. “Some of them use us and we use some of them in return. The galaxy isn't an altruistic bazaar. If they can't get anything out of us they won't help. If word gets out we're evacuating, our businesses on the galactic stock exchanges will collapse, and our economy will collapse with them. Strike, and we're dead. The alien races will circle us like carrion crows, buying up our failing businesses and our technology before it's too late, and anything they can't buy they will take by force.” He spat out the last few words. “That's the nature of known space. Eat or be eaten. If we show weakness and ask for help we will be turned upon and destroyed far sooner than our sun could ever do the job.”

  “Maybe,” Pyshana tilted her head, weighing her words. “I suppose it's true the aliens have long coveted our advanced weapons and our resources. Our colonies will be tempting targets once they realize we can't defend them. And with those gone there is no escape for our people.”

  “You've been watching too much propaganda,” Corr'tane reprimanded. “We are not under constant alien threat. The government just wants you to think we are.”

  “Would you like to know why?” Tear'al asked him calmly. “Because sooner or later our needs will conflict with those of our neighbors, specifically with those of the Pact worlds. The truth is: we need our people to hate them and be fearful of them, so that when the time comes there will be no opposition to the action we must take.”

  “What action?” Pyshana focused her green eyes on the naval intelligence officer.