So, we ran. We didn’t just pull a U-turn and head straight for Earth, of course. That would have been a gross error. First off, the pursuing Skay were coming from that general direction, blocking our path. Secondly, running for home would make it obvious where we’d come from and who was responsible for this intrusion into a Skay province.
Instead, we set course for the outer rim of the galaxy and left Province 926 that way. We passed right outside the Empire proper and entered the frontier, then banked and headed on a long circular route back toward Earth. It took months to get home—three of them, to be exact.
Along about halfway through the second month, Galina finally decided to revive my ass. When I came out of the oven and asked where and when I was, the answers kind of surprised me.
“Huh…” I told the incurious bio-lady. “So I’m on Dominus? And I’m not under arrest, or anything?”
“Not as far as I know, Centurion. Are you ready to walk on your own?”
“Always.” While my foggy mind organized itself, I kept thinking of Galina. “I wonder if she’s gotten over things…”
The bio-lady stamped me good to go, so I got up and went. Not twenty minutes later, I found myself timidly tapping on Galina’s cabin door.
I’d had the good sense to wash up, so I wasn’t all drippy and bleary-eyed. I’d put on a fresh uniform, and I’d even smooshed my face into a smile by the time the door finally opened.
“Hello Tribune,” I said, as if nothing had ever happened.
She nodded, and she stood aside. “Come in, McGill.”
Immediately, a swagger entered my step and my overall manner. For some reason I wasn’t hated or reviled today. A man such as myself always took such moments to heart. Deciding to go with the flow, I helped myself to her bar and downed all her snacks while she talked.
“James… this isn’t over with yet. The enemy, as it turned out, attacked Earth in our absence.”
“You don’t say?”
She narrowed her eyes at me. “You aren’t surprised?”
“Nope, not really. I mean, they had to have more of a plan than just hanging around at the bottom of an ocean stacking up supplies. What kind of attack did they manage to land on Earth?”
Galina avoided my gaze for a moment, then she explained. “They attacked Central City. Thousands died. It all started down at the docks… I guess they had some gateway posts and a long underwater tunnel up to the city, you see...”
“Makes sense. What’s the punchline, here? Why’d you wake me up? Just to…” I broke off, because Galina looked upset.
“There were casualties as I said. I… I don’t know how to say this, so I’m just going to do it. One of the people who died was your daughter.”
We looked at one another for a moment. My mouth kind of fell open, and some food and booze dribbled out. It wasn’t a pretty look, I’m sure, but I didn’t care.
“What?”
“Etta, James. She’s been killed. A lot of people at Central were killed. Apparently, the attack began when we landed on that damned island. I think our initial invasion pushed them into acting prematurely.”
She looked at me, but I didn’t say anything. I think I was in shock. She went on, talking a little faster.
“The good news is that our bombardment here worked. We stopped the attacks on the city. People are saying that we must have caused earthquakes here on Green World, mudslides down at the bottom of those pressure-tunnels where they had their secret bases. If—”
She broke off her long-winded speech at that moment because I’d stood up suddenly and grabbed her. Those pretty eyes of hers flashed with alarm. I had her by both elbows, and I gave her a little shake.
“Galina, are you telling me Etta is permed?”
“I think so. I… there were data-core losses. I’m so sorry.”
I let go of her slowly and wandered around her quarters, dazed. “But… she’s part of Hegemony. Surely, there’s a back-up somewhere. There’s got to be.”
She shook her head slowly. “I don’t know. We’re not back to Earth yet, and don’t want to say anything definite. But the news I’ve gotten from Central isn’t good.”
“What about Central itself? Was it destroyed?”
“No. It was shielded. But the attacks came at night from the docks, and her apartment…”
I knew what she was saying. Etta had always liked to live in places that had a good view of the sea. Maybe that had been her undoing.
“We’ve got to get back home,” I said. “We have to know what happened. I have to know.”
“I understand. We’ll be there in a few weeks. There are other issues—the Galactics are sending out Nairbs. It seems like the Skay have lodged a formal complaint against us.”
Turning to her, I scowled in anger. “They were the ones who let this crappy rebel base grow in their territory! We came here to preempt attacks just like this one!”
“I know. We all know. That’s how great powers fight sometimes. They use proxies when they don’t want to resort to open warfare.”
“So, we’re the pawns of the Mogwa, and shit-heels like Armel are the servants of the Skay. Us little guys pay the price, not the big-wigs.”
“That’s generally how it always works. Think of our own history.”
I shook my head. “I don’t want to think about history. I don’t care about any of that. I’m going to Earth, and I’m going to see if I can fix this. I’m leaving right now.”
She looked surprised. “How
