effect where it hit the still waters of the ocean below. The display
in front of me pinpointed the cities on the approaching continent, listing
their unpronounceable names in Sentient script. Although I couldn’t read any of
the incoming information, it was clear that there was no air or ground traffic
anywhere within sensor range.
Nothing was moving…anywhere.
I could feel the acceleration as we reached cruising altitude—soaring
toward our destination. Looking over at Del, I saw that its concentration was
absolute, focused on piloting the ship and watching for any signs we’d been
spotted. Stinson and Mendoza continued looking at the main monitor—still displaying
the target. Mentally preparing themselves, I believed. Within minutes, I could
see a city growing larger on the approaching horizon.
There are still lights on in the buildings.
I briefly imagined that someone had survived and was hunkered down,
waiting for a rescue that would never come; my instincts told me that was
wishful thinking. Del confirmed this by informing me that most of the city’s systems
were automated, and would continue to cycle on and off as needed until the
power grid finally went down.
I was glancing from my monitor to the video feed on the wall when
a movement off to the side caught my eye. Stinson had pulled a small photosheet
out of his pocket, and was looking at a holo-representation of two women. At
first, I thought they were sisters because they looked so much alike—but something
in the way he gazed at the image, even reached his hand out to touch it, told
me it had to be his wife and daughter.
Mendoza was checking her gear yet again, and when she saw me
looking, said, “Let’s do this sir.” A familiar combination of false bravado and
nervous chatter; I understood completely.
“We’ll get it done, Mendoza.”
Two small bumps followed by a winding noise signaled our touchdown
on Seveq. The door swung open and a ramp extended silently. Drawing our weapons,
we walked as a group out into the cool night air. No…not cool. Cold. The
ship’s hull crackled and hissed as it bled off the leftover heat from reentry,
and I noticed that my breath was visible as milky clouds of heated vapor.
And we were alone. So far so good.
Del’s natural coloration made any camouflage unnecessary, and I
was intrigued to learn that Sentients could temporarily suppress the blue
sparks that crawled across their skin. When it did this, Del was almost jet
black—invisible in the shadows.
Light was pouring out from the lower floors of the buildings, but
thankfully, there were still plenty of blind spots we could use to mask our
approach. We kept to the available shadows and started on our way—the ship retracted
the ramp, closing itself up behind us.
Del said it was familiar with the city’s layout, so I let it lead
the way. We didn’t get five meters before seeing the first body, arms and legs
splayed open, lying in the middle of the road. Then we saw three more, then a
dozen—they were everywhere. We were forced to step over and move a few of them along
the way, and I was morbidly fascinated to note that there was no smell of
decomposition. It could be the result of the cold environment, or maybe Sentient
biology was so different that death was a disparate experience.
So similar in some ways , I thought, yet so
different in others. Leaning down to look closely at one of the faces, I
saw a brown discoloration around the mechanical eyes… rust maybe? Hopefully,
I’d have a chance to learn more about them later, when this was all over.
If there was a later, for them or us.
It took far longer than I’d hoped to wind our way to the park but
we finally made it, ending up on the street facing the Sentient ship’s opening.
Seeing our objective in person made my heart beat a little faster—this was real now. Like I do for every operation, I converted my growing excitement into
focused determination. Stinson was composed and cool, as was
in front of me pinpointed the cities on the approaching continent, listing
their unpronounceable names in Sentient script. Although I couldn’t read any of
the incoming information, it was clear that there was no air or ground traffic
anywhere within sensor range.
Nothing was moving…anywhere.
I could feel the acceleration as we reached cruising altitude—soaring
toward our destination. Looking over at Del, I saw that its concentration was
absolute, focused on piloting the ship and watching for any signs we’d been
spotted. Stinson and Mendoza continued looking at the main monitor—still displaying
the target. Mentally preparing themselves, I believed. Within minutes, I could
see a city growing larger on the approaching horizon.
There are still lights on in the buildings.
I briefly imagined that someone had survived and was hunkered down,
waiting for a rescue that would never come; my instincts told me that was
wishful thinking. Del confirmed this by informing me that most of the city’s systems
were automated, and would continue to cycle on and off as needed until the
power grid finally went down.
I was glancing from my monitor to the video feed on the wall when
a movement off to the side caught my eye. Stinson had pulled a small photosheet
out of his pocket, and was looking at a holo-representation of two women. At
first, I thought they were sisters because they looked so much alike—but something
in the way he gazed at the image, even reached his hand out to touch it, told
me it had to be his wife and daughter.
Mendoza was checking her gear yet again, and when she saw me
looking, said, “Let’s do this sir.” A familiar combination of false bravado and
nervous chatter; I understood completely.
“We’ll get it done, Mendoza.”
Two small bumps followed by a winding noise signaled our touchdown
on Seveq. The door swung open and a ramp extended silently. Drawing our weapons,
we walked as a group out into the cool night air. No…not cool. Cold. The
ship’s hull crackled and hissed as it bled off the leftover heat from reentry,
and I noticed that my breath was visible as milky clouds of heated vapor.
And we were alone. So far so good.
Del’s natural coloration made any camouflage unnecessary, and I
was intrigued to learn that Sentients could temporarily suppress the blue
sparks that crawled across their skin. When it did this, Del was almost jet
black—invisible in the shadows.
Light was pouring out from the lower floors of the buildings, but
thankfully, there were still plenty of blind spots we could use to mask our
approach. We kept to the available shadows and started on our way—the ship retracted
the ramp, closing itself up behind us.
Del said it was familiar with the city’s layout, so I let it lead
the way. We didn’t get five meters before seeing the first body, arms and legs
splayed open, lying in the middle of the road. Then we saw three more, then a
dozen—they were everywhere. We were forced to step over and move a few of them along
the way, and I was morbidly fascinated to note that there was no smell of
decomposition. It could be the result of the cold environment, or maybe Sentient
biology was so different that death was a disparate experience.
So similar in some ways , I thought, yet so
different in others. Leaning down to look closely at one of the faces, I
saw a brown discoloration around the mechanical eyes… rust maybe? Hopefully,
I’d have a chance to learn more about them later, when this was all over.
If there was a later, for them or us.
It took far longer than I’d hoped to wind our way to the park but
we finally made it, ending up on the street facing the Sentient ship’s opening.
Seeing our objective in person made my heart beat a little faster—this was real now. Like I do for every operation, I converted my growing excitement into
focused determination. Stinson was composed and cool, as was
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