Chapter 4
“In actual terms of damage and loss, the Third World War was probably the most devastating of any war in the history of mankind. Many historians have pointed to the First World War for parallels including the extreme nationalism felt by many countries, harbored resentment and ancient grudges held, as well as the system so alliances and treaties making nations that would never have found a reason to fight each other, bomb each other’s cities. The main sides incorporated into the war are many. Asian Ultranationalists, Western Separatists for both the Americas, and Europe, the U.N. and its coalition of vassal countries. Ultimately, the incredibly financial burdens facing many of the belligerents as well as a looming global energy crisis, allowed the U.N. to strike hard and fast, using both technology developed by internal scientists as well as an intelligent military plan cooperating with cunning diplomacy allowed the U.N. to win the war, and finish uniting the planet.” – A Brief History of the World
June 28th, 2157, 0023 Local Time
Satellite Command Control Room, ICOM, Bejing, China
“Someone please tell me what I’m seeing here. This doesn’t look anything like any of the Dominion ships,” Newton asked with a slight hint of anger in his voice. The ships had passed well within the visual range of several satellites. They were several AU out from the planet now.
The Secretary General had about fifteen minutes after he had finished his speech and left came right back and held another press conference before the reporters had even had time to pick their belongings up and leave.
About a hour ago, Newton had also sent Roxanna and Zamani to Tokyo about an hour’s flight away to consult with several scientists at the University of Tokyo at Shimizu. They had released information from the signal to several prestigious universities around the world. Tokyo happened to have been searching specifically at the technology supposedly held by the Dominion and they had said they had just encountered a breakthrough in their tests that they had been half-hazardly conducting. Normally they would just set up a conference between Tokyo and there, but the information was classified, and Newton needed every electronic resource he had there working for something. So the next best thing was to send personnel over.
Right now he was watching the distorted images of the approaching objects. No, spacecraft, they were definitely spacecraft. But he had looked at images of Dominion style ships. They were very geometrically balanced with no discernable front or back. They had the smoothness and tones of machines that were very well built, almost looking like an aerodynamical animal such as a dolphin. While he had less than adequate resolution on these images, it was obvious that if there was one thing these crafts were not, it was well-built. They looked more like a ramshackle object that was about as aerodynamic as a sailboat on fire.
“I’m searching the database captain, but none of the craft that the Dominion shows looks remotely like this,” one analyst said while scrolling through numerous images.
“What about other non-integrated species. Do they mention anything about any sorts of species that are capable of faster-than-light travel or even abnormally fast space travel?” Newton asked.
“I don’t know. The database they gave us isn’t exactly the Encyclopedia Britannica to Outer Space,” the exasperated analyst said while cycling through images faster and faster.
“Colonel, if I may?” Saranya asked as she walked up to the Colonel.
“Go ahead, Warrant.” He responded, watching the screen as images flashed by.
“Major Garcia mentioned that the Dominion assimilated planets. But they don’t do it at an alarmingly fast rate. They’ve only grabbed sixty-two races in the last 300,000 years. It seems like they’re waiting for civilizations to mature before they grab them”
“Warrant, make your point,” Newton growled.
“My point is, all their technology is regular, it’s standard. They weren’t able to advance far enough to develop their own space ships, because they were assimilated into the Dominion. If that is the case, then any ship that doesn’t look like a Dominion ship must not be a Dominion ship.
An awkward pause entered the room. They had been too busy searching about Dominion vessels, quite sure that was the explanation for their problems that they had never stopped to consider any outside reasons.
“But how can these ships not be Dominion. They said that they had assimilated every culture before they had gotten to a significant space-faring stage.” Major Dubois asked, walking across the main observation deck at the back of the room.
“Maybe because they existed before the Dominion did?” Newton said outloud.
“Sir, if they existed before the Dominion did, why wouldn’t the Dominion assimilate them as soon as possible. What is their story?” Saranya asked Newton.
Newton started to answer, but his attention was turned to the massive wall-monitor behind Saranya. The crafts were coming on their closest approach to a satellite yet. Being only 100,000 kilometers away gave the satellite an impressive visual feed. The crafts were horseshoe shaped, and given the dimensions the satellite was reporting maybe a kilometer long or smaller. They had a clunky box-like look to them. There didn’t appear to be windows anywhere on the craft, or for that matter, any openings.
By count there were almost 3 dozen of them, each moving within about 50,000 kilometers between each other. One was about to pass the satellite by almost 20,000 kilometers away. The massive ships continued their silent, but swift journey. First the craft came into sight from the feed, then they were almost on top of the satellite, then the feed from the satellite came to a stop.
“What was that?” Newton blinked several times before asking. “Did they just ram our satellite?”
“I’ll bring up the feed from DSS-63,” One lieutenant said.
This satellite was roughly another 4,000,000 kilometers away from the site but they were still able to see the ships quite clearly. Being too small to resolve on the satellite there was no sign of the disappeared satellite. Again the craft approached as the playback ran. However it soon became obvious that it hadn’t been rammed. Quite clearly they were able to see a light from the closest ship streak across the sky and collide with the satellite causing it to explode in a bright spherical explosion.
Newton’s cigarette fell from his mouth. “Someone just shot my satellite!”
June 28th, 2157, 0254 Tokyo Time
Shimuzu Pyramid, Tokyo, Japan
Newton had sent the five of them over to Tokyo to get the inputs and details from several theoretical physicists. What they hadn’t been counting on was that the physicists hadn’t been entirely ready for them to show up. They had been expecting that newton would contact them through the regular means of communication rather than sending some of his adjutants as well as several troops.
Zamani and Roxanna had come expecting to get details immediately and be able to get back to ICOM within two hours. Obviously that wasn’t going to happen. The scientists had wanted to double check their note as well as solicit the opinions of several of their colleagues. In the meantime they were waiting, watching their hopes of being able to get back to Bejing in a reasonable amount of time vanish with every passing moment.
The officers and the enlisted had separated themselves into two separate groups. Zamani and Roxana on one side and the three soldiers on the other. Zamani suddenly realized that he really didn’t even know any of the lower ranked enlisted troops. He spent so much of his time dealing with highly ranked officers that he rarely if ever saw to an enlisted person, much less talked to one. However they both had things in common right now. Free time and no way of spending it.
Zamani went ahead and walked over to the other three soldiers. They immediately took notice of him. As he walked over he quickly studied their ranks and committed them to memory. Corporal Whitney Murchison. Corporal Hào Song. Private Wĕi Guo. He had never met any of them, but they seemed to know who he was. Zamani was well enough known in the group, but had generally seemed fairly aloof. They didn’t seem to know how to respond.
“So whats the news?” Zamani asked them.
Whitney was the first one to pipe up. She knew who Zamani was. She had passed him numerous times in the hallways and corridors of ICOM, but he never seemed in the mood for speaking, almost as if he didn’t think enlisted had anything to say. “How’s the form yourself, sir. We feel like you officers aren’t giving us our fare due.”
Zamani was slightly caught off guard. He got the distinct impression that Roxanna was laughing at him behind his back. “I guess you have a fair point. What is it that you were curious about, Corporal?”
“Well, Sec-Gen has been playing the part of a chancer, acting like they know everything that is going on. But their head is up in you-know-where. What exactly are we looking at?” Whitney asked.
“Alright, the colonel just reported to us a confirmation that the incoming objects shot a satellite out of the sky. Furthermore he says he has good reason to think that they have shot several other non-affiliated satellites as well,” Zamani explained.
“What does that mean for us?”
“It means we’re in trouble. If this is the Dominion on the warpath towards us, we’re screwed. We haven’t exactly broadcast their military capabilities because of the sheer amount of panic it would cause. If they wanted to destroy us, they could do it without any matter of difficulty.” Roxanna added, having walked up to join them.
Zamani held up his hand in a stop motion. “We still don’t know for a fact if this is even the Dominion. We can’t find any links between our friends coming over for a visit and the Dominion. We’re here because the scientists inside are analyzing the weapons that were fired at our satellites.”
“Sir, I got that, but I’m not thick. Why are we here specifically? Can’t we just get their opinions sent to us back at Intelligence Command?”
“Because they’re trying to keep this very tight lipped. I don’t know if you’re aware, but Sec-Gen activated the entire military and reserves two days ago. The entire army, navy, airforce is getting mobilized all over the planet. I don’t know of any times in history since the U.N. finished the Global takeover that the military has been in such a state of readiness. They don’t want a lot of this information out because it would be more detrimental than helpful to people.” Zamani explained.
“Sir, if I may, that sounds like a load of crock. Don’t people deserve to know so that they can prepare if the worst should happen?” Whitney asked.
“Of course they do. But remember this. You may be a smart person, but if you get a mass of people together, mob mentality takes over. Some people may already be preparing themselves in a paranoid fit from the Sec-Gen conference earlier. You ultimately need to know if it’s better to panic, run, and get caught out in the open, or to be caught unawares, but be hopefully better off. That is ultimately what it would come down to.”
“Sir, that’s right with you, and all, but it just feels wrong.”
Zamani shrugged. He couldn’t change things. “Even in war, the people on the winning side still die. That can’t be helped. It happened during World War 2, During the Middle East Campaigns, and mostly during the Third World War.”
Zamani let the words sink in. He looked out over the city. Located on one of the original compartments in the pyramid, they were able to get a remarkable view of the city proper. Arcologies, massive self-sustaining cities in their own right, towered over the smaller buildings. Only 50 years ago had the first arcology, the one they were standing in, had been completed. Now he could see easily three dozen of them from his vantage point. Humans had stopped sprawling outwards and started expanding into the sky. Several of these mega structures even now housed over a million people, and rose greater than 2 kilometers into the sky.
This city was the symbol of a growing Earth power. Housing 100,000,000 people within its small confines, Tokyo had become the main power structure for the rest of the world. The U.N. had relocated here after their takeover a century previously. The rest of the world was already beginning to mimic the structure of Tokyo, and more and more arcologies were finished every year.
Zamani turned to talk to Whitney once more, but he felt the buzz from his earpiece indicating an incoming call. He switched it on to receive the call and listened for what could have been no longer than 15 seconds. He switched it off and said. “We need to get out of here. Right now.” Walking towards one of the exit elevators, they picked up the pace. He was moving fast, and it looked like he was trying to retain his composure rather than breaking and running. He pointed at Roxanna. “Rox, call the Takama base, tell them to expect us..”
“I’m going to need a reason, Zam” she replied, while searching for the appropriate number on her hand-computer.
“There isn’t time. There isn’t time,” Zamani mumbled, his composure now starting to break.
“What the hell is going on, Warrant?!” Whitney asked, becoming impatient. She had already pulled out her Baldwin ME-7 rifle, and was nervously pawing at the safety.
“That was ICOM, they said they found something about these guys. Bad news guys all around. The Dominion call them Marauders. They ransack rocky worlds for resources, destroy civilizations to steal technology. They’re some kind of religious zealot species. They worship the end of the universe and their ultimate goal is to cause it faster,” Zamani explained in hushed tones once they had reached the elevator. Roxanna was currently in the process of calling Building Control.
“Why was this so hard to find? It sounds like something the big powerful Dominion would be concerned about them,” Corporal Song asked.
“Because they are supposed to be extinct. The Dominion put out some extermination order on them millennia ago, and was supposed to have destroyed them in their entirety. Evidently not. They said they’d send me more data, but in the mean time, we have to get out of the city. They are undoubtedly hostile.”
“What about everyone in the city? They can’t just stay in the city!” Whitney asked.
“They’re going to have to. Where are they going to go? Can you imagine trying to evacuate 100 million people in less than an hour? It is impossible. They are safer in doors than they are out in the open. Those arcologies are a lot harder to destroy than you’d think.”
The elevator had reached the bottom, and already the evacuation alarms had gone off. This would normally be a problem in some buildings, but in arcologies they were specifically designed for ease of movement. The entire building could be evacuated in 30 minutes. The elevator had already reached the bottom floor of the building, and the five soldiers had spilled out onto the street below.
Zamani knew where they had to get to first. A soldier without directions was generally about as useful as a glass window on a space station. They grabbed a taxi to take them back to the Takama Military Base roughly 45 kilometers away. Even given the state of arcologies and the cleaning up of civilization, there was always traffic to deal with. Luckily the taxi was automated and computer controlled, so it was able to drive by itself. Zamani grabbed the captain’s chair, and the rest piled in after him.
The Taxi took off at an astonishing speed that would have made any normal driver nervous to travel at. Suddenly a blinking light went on the car dashboard. Zamani knew exactly what it was.
“Well that sells it.” He said as the car pulled over to the side of the road and stopped. The light was the emergency activation signal. It was installed on every non-governmental car on the planet. When emergency services needed priority, they would broadcast a signal to the vehicles in the area that would force the vehicle to stop, pull over, and get out of the way for the emergency vehicles that was generally speeding by at several hundred kilometers an hour. It appeared that someone had activated the signal possibly in panic. Now virtually the entire Tokyo area was no doubt stalled in traffic with no one able to get their vehicles running.
“Someone just made a big goddamn mistake! Zamani yelled in anger, “Rox, can you get us going?”
“I don’t know. I haven’t been keeping up with my mechanical expertise recently. Kind of hasn’t come into necessity in the past,” she said as she ripped the dashboard of the car, looking for an override.
“Here, let me, “ Whitney said, as she leaned forward and began fingering and messig with various wires in the car, looking for the right one.
“Um, people…” Private Guo stuttered.
“What is it, private?!” Zamani lashed angrily, turning to face Guo. The young private was pointing at something outside. Zamani followed his hand, and his eyes widened when they connected with what the private was pointing at. The Marauders had come.
