Escape Velocity

Chapter Two: Damned if You Do, Damned if You Don't

"Commander Zicam, I am sorry but I do not feel we are ready to advance to human trials yet."

I stood looking up at him trying to meet his eyes. He towered over me, standing well over six feet. That wasn't the only reason it was hard to return his gaze though. His crystal blue eyes seemed to pierce through to the very soul, and left me feeling exposed. He was the only person I knew that could convey fiery passion and cool disregard in the same look. Regardless of my discomfort, I kept my eyes level with his.

"I'm sorry you feel that way doctor, but the thing is, I have already had six people sign off for further testing. I'm sure you are well aware that's more than enough for us to proceed. Consider this a courteous notification of my intentions.

You know as well as I, that the Davenpur Alliance are now within two hundred miles of the Greater City. If they were to make it past our outer walls, what chance do you think we would have as it stands?"

Able to control myself no longer, I looked down at the floor.

"It is a hard life doctor. Nothing is fair, and every decision we make hinges on a previous injustice. I truly am sorry, but I know you understand it has to be done."

With that being said, he turned on his sharply polished heels and left the room.  I didn't watch him leave, I only continued to hang my head and stare at the cracks between the tiles on the floor.

I didn't feel anger, or even sadness. It was pure, unrelenting fear that coursed it's way through my veins and firmly gripped my heart. It was the same fear that the Commander himself had been so careful to hide. The walls of the city would fall, it was only a matter of how much time it would take the Alliance to reach them.

Youshe see, the Davenpur Alliance had their very own advanced weapon. It was referred to by different names, as there was no technical name for it, but most called it the Creeping Death. It was a suitable enough name. It had crept from over two thousand miles away, consuming city after city... now it was right at our doorstep.

The Creeping Death was a living black mass, made up of billions of individual particles. It was able to think intelligently and could separate and reform at will. It could crawl down throats, out of eyes, in ears, effectively killing living creatures. It also killed vegetation, though nobody was certain how. It was very clear though, that anything the mass touched withered and died. It could also merge with any fluid, poisoning it and rendering it unsafe for use.  The only defense against this monster was an airtight space, and that could only save you for so long.

It seemed members of the Alliance protected themselves with some sort of chemical. They had been seen pouring vials of some mystery liquid on themselves, before and during all the attacks.

Whatever those vials contained, our brightest scientists could not replicate. Some had started saying that they were using vials of plain water in an attempt to confuse us and make us waste time looking for an answer that wasn't there. Three bodies of Alliance members had been recovered, and despite rigorous testing, they had revealed nothing.

That's when Dr. Lawerenson's project and mine had collided. Our leaders had thought it a good idea to suck this mass into a black hole, and send it somewhere else entirely. As long as it wasn't this planet, it didn't matter where. And if it found another civilization at the end of the wormhole? Well that would be their problem then.

I didn't understand why they hadn't met the requests of the Alliance to begin with.  Davenpur was a small border town, on the far outskirts of the Hagen Territories.  The Acadian Army had fought to seize the town for several months, such fights for control of border territory were not uncommon. It was certainly no grounds for a full blown war. I guess that's why the Greater City never sent any of the requested support. Maybe the leaders in command thought the fighting would just fizzle out eventually. At any rate, they had been wrong. Very wrong.

Davenpur had formed an alliance of rebel fighters from the very beginning. It was the only military unit they had, and the whole time they kept asking us for support, they were dropping like flies. Their little rebel faction dwindled down to only six people, and still they were ignored. I'm sure at this time the Commanders' felt that the battle at Davenpur was almost over. They were right, but not in the way they had expected.

We know of two things that happened that week that turned the tides. First a stranger showed up, and joined the Alliance. His name, age, and identity were still unknown to us. The second thing that happened, is this stranger gave the Alliance a weapon, the likes of which had never been seen before.

The next report we received, detailed the sudden and unexpected change of events.

DAVENPUR HAS REGAINED CONTROL.
THE ACADIAN ARMY HAS BEEN DISASSEMBLED AND ARE CURRENTLY IN RETREAT.
DAVENPUR HAS PRODUCED A KILLING MACHINE OF UNIMAGINABLE PROPORTIONS.
THEY NOW ADVANCE ON THE CAPITAL CITY.

Never had such message conveyed so much confusion.

Davenpur had a new weapon that was killing people, and the fatality rate was 100%. Now they were advancing on our city, and we had only one way to stop them. It would come to a war. The Davenpur Alliance obviously did not forget, or forgive.

My head was pounding. I couldn't think straight anymore. I left to find Josef and let him know the Commander's decision.