Chapter 5; The aftermath
Khagaan walked through the corridors of the Coalition base, making her way towards the command centre. The entire place was shot up. The walls were full of bullet holes and black scorch marks from grenades. Machinery and computers had been blasted to pieces, spitting sparks while black smoke drifted from some of them. The ground was strewn with bits of concrete and metal, while a foul smelling mist of smoke lingered in the air. The bodies were everywhere: maintenance crews in orange hazard suits, officers in green–brown uniforms lying on command consoles or crumbled in the hallways with side arms in their hands, enemy infantry in desert camouflage near every available chokepoint. Here and there Gaalsien soldiers in their green uniforms and breather units lay among the dead. Living Gaalsien soldiers also lingered in the hallways, guarding important positions, searching among the corpses for survivors of either side, patrolling the halls and corridors in an effort to secure the base and clearing away the bodies of their fallen.
As Khagaan walked she spotted movement on the ground: A single maintenance crewman crawling on the ground, tying to reach the stairwell in front of him, a red stain on the centre of his back. Whoever had shot him had apparently broken his spine. It would take him hours to die. Even if by some miracle he survived, he would never walk again. Without even slowing her stride, Khagaan pulled out her side arm, disengaged the safety switch and put two rounds into the head of the wounded man. A young Gaalsien soldier near the entrance door to the command centre jumped at the noise, raising is rifle a fraction until he realized who had done the shooting. He was about to salute her until she spoke up:
"Never salute officers in combat situations. Officers are priority targets, you don't want to signal their presence to the enemy, didn't they teach you that in basic?"
"Oh…er, yes they did" the soldier stammered. "My apologies Lady–P…"
"Don't do that either, just be more alert next time. What's the point of guarding something if just anyone can sneak up on you?"
"Sorry ma'am" the soldier said, clearly embarrassed, as Khagaan walked past him and into the command centre.
As she entered the Coalition command center she took a look around herself. The space was vast, expanding to the left and right for as far as she could see. The outer wall was lined with windows, through which she could see the rest of the base in all its immensity. Despite the size the command center was far from spacious. Every available space was taken up by computers, work stations, displays and command consoles, leaving only narrow pathways from one area to another. Unlike in a typical Gaalsien base, here the predominant color of the lighting was blue. The space was also far more utilitarian, stripped of just about every feature that did not serve a practical function. In a Gaalsien base one would have expected religious imagery lining the walls, scrolls of holy texts on consoles and special spaces left empty for daily prayers. Like other areas of the base had been, the command center was littered with the signs of battle, but to a far lesser degree. The soldiers had been under orders to capture this place as intact as possible, and thus the fire had been lessened. This reduction in firepower showed in more Gaalsien bodies among the fallen. Even here some of the computers had been shot to pieces, and Khagaan quite suspected that many had been deliberately destroyed by Coalition soldiers in an attempt to deny the Gaalsien intelligence. Despite this many computers were still operational, enough for their needs. She turned to speak to one of the Gaalsien sergeants in the room currently working on one of the computers: "Well, soldier, have you managed to locate the information we seek?"
"Not yet ma'am" the soldier answered not turning his gaze from the screen of the computer "the database is extensive, even the encrypted section. And we have to be careful. Systems like this can contain all kinds of booby-traps and failsafes. We press the wrong button at the wrong time we might accidentally end up purging the entire system."
Khagaan nodded. "Don't take any chances. We need that data."
She glanced around herself taking another look at the destruction around her. "How many did you lose?" she asked.
"Enough to be angry about it" the sergeant answered simply.
"I'm sorry for your losses" Khagaan responded, wondering if she had been inconsiderate in asking the question.
"Yeah, I try not to think about it" the soldier said, clearly somewhat uncomfortable with the subject. "I heard that the Ashoka was hit during the battle. How bad was it?" the soldier nonetheless asked after a few moments of silence.
"It was bad. A damn cruise missile nailed us right on the upper deck. Caught us and the breacher teams." she replied her voice a mixture of tiredness and sorrow. "I too have lost enough people today to be angry about it".
"Hmmh" breathed the soldier "It's been that kind of a day hasn't it?"
Behind her mask Khagaan gave a half grimace, half sarcastic smirk: "Most definitely." She was about to continue when her helmet radio crackled to life. "Command actual calling Command ranger, are you receiving?" came the voice of Arraesh.
"Command ranger receiving, what is it?" she replied.
"The Renza just reported in. They've sustained heavy casualties, but Epsilon base has now been taken and secured. However the Kapisi was not there."
"Not there? What do you mean?" she asked, confused.
"Well the Renza hit the base as planned, but the Kapisi had apparently already left." Arraesh explained.
Khagaan frowned. This was not supposed to be possible. According to the intel they had, the carriers of the expedition were months away from full deployment readiness with the exception of the Sakala, which had been fully operational for some time. So either the information they had was faulty to a catastrophic degree or…
"They must've rushed the Kapisi out with only partial readiness." she said, still frowning.
"That would be my guess as well." Arraesh agreed. "Risky if you ask me, but on the other hand they're still alive, must be doing something right. Oh, and before I forget we received a data burst from the Arrakesh as well, regarding the Sakala engagement. Not much here, it just says *engagement concluded, priority target terminated*."
"That's it?" Khagaan asked, sounding more puzzled than ever "That seems…underwhelming, given how long it took to get a straight answer from them."
"That's all the message says. But it seems that the matter is dealt with and the Kapisi is now the only target left." Arraesh said with some uncertainty in his voice.
For a lengthy while Khagaan said nothing. She had an odd sense of foreboding. There was something very odd about the message from the Arrakesh, though she could not quite put her finger on what exactly it was that troubled her. Finally she shook it off as irrelevant for the time being.
"Very well, we'll discuss the Kapisi situation with the command crew once I get back. Inform the salvagers to collect what they need as quickly as possible, we may have to depart sooner than expected."
She was about to continue when she was interrupted by the sergeant speaking up: "Ma'am, I think we have it!"
"Show me, show me!" she said, suddenly exited, the tiredness of the day's hard fighting gone from her voice.
The soldier typed in a command to the computer he had been working on, and on the inner wall of the command centre a large view screen lit up, showing their world viewed from space. The image of their planet rotated, stopping roughly at the area of Dhaigren. Then rapidly the planet grew larger on the screen as the machine zoomed in on a location. Now that she had the satellite data to see, it was no surprise to her that the Gaalsien had never discovered the location of Khar-Toba, before. It was located deep in the desert, near the equator, in a place where even the Gaalsien usually would not go. And without knowing what or where they were looking for, they could have been looking for lifetimes without finding it. They knew this was so, for they had tried. The location was a field of stone and sand, indistinguishable to the naked eye from a thousand other such locations on the planet. A series of various windows opened on the screen, showing the visual image of target area, the same area through various filters, as well as various measurements and readings the satellite instrumentation had been able to receive. A the centre there was a large, dark shape distorted by the sheer distance it was being viewed from but still distinguishable against the sand, a shape too ordered and regular to be anything else than the work of human hands. According to the satellite data the structure gave readings that indicated high concentrations of various heavy metals and unidentifiable ceramic materials. This would not have been entirely unique on its own, although there could have potentially been great value, both secular and sacred. The Gaalsien knew that such wreckage sites existed, often the source of valuable raw materials and technological advances. Gifts of divine providence, so taught their faith, brought here by Sajuuk in ages past, to arm his servants in the war his grand designs had foreseen, a sign that their resistance against the Northern heretics carried his blessing and approval. Also, these wrecks were believed to have belonged to other peoples Sajuuk had created, peoples who had not fallen as far from his grace as theirs had. Therefore these sites had great religious significance, for through proper rites and reverence it might be possible to share an essence of the blessings Sajuuk had bestowed upon these superior peoples of the stars, still contained in the intricate designs of their sacred artifacts.
The feature that marked that marked this place as special, the one that separated it from others like it, was the power readings the satellite had received on its blasphemous mission. The site was flooded with energy, with far exceeding anything Khagaan had ever seen. According to the numbers displayed on the screen, there was more power in that place that there had been estimated to be in the sun above their world, all stored inside the derelict she was now seeing. There was something wondrous there, something incredible, something that could only come from a source of absolute divinity, of that she was certain.
"Yes, there it is, the first city." Khagaan said, her voice of one of quiet awe. Never had she expected to be here, at this moment of discovery. In truth, in a small corner of her mind she had had doubts whether this part of their legends was true. Perhaps there had never been a first city she had thought, perhaps her people being here was something that had always been and would always be. Now, however she knew the truth with certainty. Knowing that vindicated a lifetime of faith for her, and the sense of completion was overwhelming. There was nothing more profound than to have ones faith rewarded with the truth, with proof that you were in the right.
A passage of one of their sacred texts became unbidden to her mind, and she began to recite it aloud:
"And so it was, after we were felled for the crime of our pride, of seeking to rule the light of stars themselves, the Great Maker brought us here, to the harsh lands of sand and scorching sun, cast out from the paradise of Hiigara. And it was right, for we had strayed far from his teachings. Sinful were our thoughts, dark our deeds, terrible our nature. Here he raised the first city, wherein he set a measure of his divine power, so that even in our shame we might remember him, and hope for redemption. That was his will."
The sergeant joined her in her recital, apparently caught up in her religious rapture, and together they spoke:
"And Sajuuk spoke to our people, to deliver commandments and grim warnings. Here you shall dwell, in this harsh land. It shall teach you the lessons you must learn. Hard you will have to toil to scrape a living from this soil. A thousand, thousand hardships you shall suffer here. Suffer them nobly, with a humble heart, and you may yet regain my favor. Teach yourself he lessons of humility, forge yourself a noble heart, free of cruelty and keep to the ways of life I have taught you, and you might earn my forgiveness. Remember, as you sin, so shall you suffer. The greater the sin, the greater the suffering that must be endured. Know that you might never be forgiven, such have been your sins, such has been the punishment your actions have warranted. All I shall offer you is a chance. If such a day should ever come that I decree you are pure enough, I and I alone shall lift you back to the paradise of Hiigara. Until then the gardens of the stars are not for you. Seek them not, nor dream of what you might discover among them. Be also warned, if you seek a path to the stars without my consent, my wrath shall be great. A great fire shall burn the skies, a flame so hot even sand and stone will burn. Defy my will again and none of you shall remain within my domains. You shall be cast to the outer darkness, to howl alone at your misery for all eternity, and even your memory will die. This grim warning I deliver unto you, to keep close to your heart when doubt about my teachings creeps into your minds. Let it be a protection against the day when arrogance and selfishness once again fester in your hearts. Let fear be the barrier between your life and your death, the last and mightiest of my deterrents. That is my will."
Their recital finished, and for a moment silence reigned, with all those present basking in the moment. Finally Khagaan spoke up again, turning to speak to the sergeant:
"Bring this information to our Kiith-Sa. Take the fastest ship you can find and an armed escort for protection, as many ships as you require, and advance to the nearest communication tower with all available speed. This matter now takes priority above all else. There will be no distractions, and no unnecessary delays. Understand this: the future of our Kiith, and of Kharak rests on the successful completion of this mission, and I will have you treat it with that seriousness. Have I been as clear as I can possibly be on this matter?"
The sergeant nodded: "It will be done. No distractions, no delays, and no failure. I swear it by Sajuuk."
"Huh, never thought these heretic satellite things would be this useful." the sergeant commented as he was downloading the data to a storage device.
"No one ever said that they did not have a certain… utility." Khagaan commented in response. "Indeed, in a way, that is the problem. Power can be a trap. Being able to do almost anything makes people think they have the right to do whatever they want, that they are above judgement or condemnation. Power makes people question established truths and make their own. Already we have heard of the northerners abandoning faith in Sajuuk altogether and embracing science and technology as their new god. Their accomplishments have made them blind, dazzling them with their brilliance, and now they risk stumbling over the cliff's edge, of arousing a power infinitely their superior. We faithful know that Sajuuk has given us a commandment to follow, and that it is not our place to question his will, even if it so happens that the power to do so is within our grasp. Just because you can break a rule does not mean that you should do so. Both the rules of Kiith and those of the Great Maker were made for a reason, and are not to be broken on a whim. Those who think to do so inevitably face judgement before the proper authority. Sajuuk is the proper authority for the Kiithid of Kharak, and if we break his laws, his judgement will be fire and death."
The sergeant chuckled: "The way you speak makes me think you should have been a Truthspeaker, ma'am." "Meaning no offence and meant in the best possible way of course:" the sergeant added cautiously.
Khagaan smirked. "I am my father's daughter, and to tell the truth I did consider the role once, long ago, when I was still a girl. But I craved to learn the ways of the blood-sand, and so here I stand. I like to think that Sajuuk preferred me to defend faith rather that teach it. Regardless, I hope my endless monologues do not bore you overmuch, soldier."
"Not at all," the soldier said with sincerity. "it is a poor Gaalsien that cannot bear words faith and wisdom."
"Yes," Khagaan agreed with surprising seriousness and just a hint of sadness "I have seen what it can do to a person, to lack the convictions that are expected of us. They are not happy people, those that are thus cursed. Reject the proper course and one is left directionless."
The sergeant was about to ask for a clarification, as it seemed the Lady-Protector was speaking from personal experience of some kind, but thought better of it. Private matters of one's commanding officer were best left alone.
"Complete your download, then be on your way ASAP. Remember your instructions" Khagaan finally said to the sergeant. "Meanwhile it seems if have some wartime hunting to organize." she continued.
"It figures this could not be simple. Of course there had to be that one slippery bastard that slipped through our fingers like water. Now we probably have to chase the blasted Kapisi halfway across the globe before were done." She muttered to herself as she made her way out the door of the command center.