Darren Wearmouth - Critical Path

“Earth was being destroyed. We would have all died in the terraforming, if the croatoans didn’t kill us first. I’d say my group saved it.”

Aimee bitterly laughed. “You’re so naïve. Do you think the Croatoan Empire consisted of those two ships and the farms? They won’t let anyone get away with bringing down a colony and a terraform ship.”

He’d considered the scale of consequences, but speculation took second priority. Focus had been channeled into stamping out the immediate danger of the localized aliens and terraforming process.

“How do you know what they’ll do about it? If they destroy the planet, they’ll be destroying thousands of aliens who are still here,” Charlie said.

“We recovered Hagellan from the first escape pod. He’s just told me what to expect after recovering his galactic tracker.”

Charlie shrugged. “Hagellan? Who the fuck is that, and why should I care?”

“Hagellan ran the Earth program—he was the head of the croatoan council for this planet. There’s a precedent for when things like this happen. All croatoans involved in the operation are seen as guilty as the planet’s inhabitants. The Grand Council does not tolerate failure. They will send a planet destroyer to obliterate Earth. We’re not the first species that they’ve done this to.”

Her nonchalant delivery of the news confused Charlie. Aimee didn’t betray a flicker of emotion and waited for him to respond. “Are you serious?”

“They will smash us into a billion pieces.”

“Why are you telling me? Even if this is real—how the hell do I know you’re telling the truth? It’s not like you’ve done much to earn my trust since you took me from the escape pod. If it’s such a big deal, why can’t Hagellan do anything about it? He’s the head alien, ain’t he?”

“It is real, whether you want to believe or not. But are you willing to take the risk that I’m lying? Hagellan knows a way to stop it. Croatoan ships get to Earth by using a transport gate on a colonized planet in a neighboring galaxy. It’s not croatoan technology. If we destroy the gate, their ships won’t have the range to reach us. We need your help—and expertise.”

“What the hell do you expect me to do about it?”

“We require another bomb like the one you used to destroy the gate,” Aimee said. She leaned closer and touched Charlie’s shoulder. “We can do this, together. But I must warn you. This is a one-way mission. Once the gate is destroyed, there is no way to come back.”

“You want me to take a bomb? How do you propose getting to the gate? We don’t have the means to fly, never mind reach another galaxy.”

“Hagellan has a team of engineers working on an old grounded invasion craft. Their plan is to salvage parts from other downed ships. He thinks some of the internal infrastructure might still be intact. Once they have it working, the craft will fly to the transport area and signal the gate, ready to jump across space.”

“Why can’t one of them take a bomb if I decide to help?”

“This is your payment. The price of freedom. The planet has a similar atmosphere, and you can live out your life in peace.”

Charlie frowned. “You said the croatoans colonized it. What’s to stop them destroying that planet?”

“I don’t know those details. Only that we will be safe. You can discuss it with Hagellan when you meet him.”

“Why can’t his engineers make a bomb?”

Aimee sighed. “You smashed their local capability. Hagellan doesn’t think they can reproduce the kind of power you created. He only has vehicle engineers and those that stayed back in Unity—they just don’t have the expertise. Those that did were killed during the crash of the two ships.”

The irony of the situation dawned on Charlie. The very people who organized the killing of his family, friends and millions of others around the planet were now asking for his assistance. Wanting him to sacrifice himself for their freedom. He felt a sudden surge of anger. “Do you really expect me to help after what they did?” Charlie pointed at the two aliens. “They can die along with us. At least I’ll die having the comfort of knowing the creatures who terrorized Earth will be roasted.”

Aimee stood and took a step back. She glared at Charlie with her piercing blue eyes. “If you refuse to help, you will die in the arena. Augustus may kill you first. He’s already told me that he plans to have your head on a spike displayed outside the tavern.”

By helping the local croatoans—assuming all this wasn’t bullshit—he would at least ensure Denver and the others’ survival. But the thought of working with Hagellan sickened him. Mike would have to be part of the proposed plan. Charlie knew he’d been working on a spare bomb in case the first one malfunctioned. Charlie didn’t want to risk exposing his old friend to the danger of being around aliens or Augustus, but he couldn’t let everyone die. He needed time to think things over. The revelations were too big to come up with a snap decision.

“Will you accept the mission, or do you want to be hacked to death by him?” Aimee said, pointing at Baliska.

“I’ve beaten it once already, so that doesn’t scare me. I need some time. How long have I got?”

“I’ll be back in two hours. If you decide to help, you’ll leave this place with me. If you don’t, well…”

Charlie stood and brushed himself down. “Where does Augustus fit into all of this?”

Aimee rolled her eyes. The mention of Augustus seemed to irritate her. “He doesn’t know about the planet destroyer or that Hagellan survived. Augustus is a schemer and is more trouble than he’s worth. But he kept quiet about this place. Hagellan is furious that Augustus never informed him about Unity. We can’t trust him to be a part of our plan.”

“Why don’t you just kill him?”

“Augustus has his uses. He knows about administration and is gaining popularity because of his ludus. We need to be inclusive here, which means putting up with him—for now. If I went around killing everyone I didn’t like, our society would quickly fall apart.”

“If I agree, and I haven’t decided yet, I assume you wouldn’t let me out of your sight. What’s to stop him sending a couple of goons after me?”

Aimee swished her hand as if brushing away a fly. “I run this town. If I say you’re not to be touched, you won’t be.”

She walked out of the cell.

“Wait,” Charlie said. “Can you bring me some root?”

“I’ll think about it,” she said over her shoulder.

The door slammed shut. Charlie crouched and scraped two circles in the dirt, denoting two planets. He moved his finger from one to the other and drew a cross through the second. Baliska seemed to understand. It reached over and scraped a cross through the first.

He sat back against the wall with his head in his hands. It didn’t matter which way Charlie looked at Aimee’s suggestion. If he refused her offer, anyone left alive who he loved or cared for would end up being destroyed.

Denver sipped the hot tea from a metal cup. The campfire crackled, sending glowing sparks spiraling up through the cool morning air. His backside and legs were getting cold from sitting on a fallen tree, its log still damp from the morning dew.

The alien hunter tied to the tree stared on silently, blinking its large black eyes. Like Venrick, this one wore the adapted breathing system with the portable tanks of root-air on its back.

“Good job, Khan,” Denver said after he swallowed the bitter but flavorsome tea. “You’ll have to teach me the recipe. Where did you learn it?”

Khan smiled at the compliment and looked away awkwardly. He was still getting used to being in constant company, having been out here on his own for years.