"The War to be Won" by Emma-Jane C. Smith

        “Can you hear me?!!!” Alexi screamed through the wall. “Help me!!!” Suddenly someone pulled her hair, and she could feel their hot breath on her neck.


        “Stop your screaming. Come with me, you’re wanted in the main room.” He pulled her along, not letting go of her hair no matter how hard she struggled. When they had reached their destination, Alexi was pushed into a steel-framed chair. She could feel its coolness seep into her. She did not bother to try and rise, a bright light glaring in her eyes. She knew that there was a circle of people watching her, surrounding her, which was the Hurili way of interrogation. She shivered with the thought.

        “I can’t give you what you want, you must know that,” she told him, a bit of desperation creeping into her voice. She closed her eyes to the intense light focused on her.


        “Can’t or won’t? Do you honestly believe that you are unable to remember? The scan of your brain showed that none of your neural pathways are blocked. You know what we want and we will get it by any means necessary.”

The person who spoke walked in front of the light for a moment and all Alexi could distinguish was a shadow, before she was blinded once more.


        “Please leave me alone, I cannot give you what you want.”


        “And does it mean nothing to you that billions of lives are at stake? In your mind, you hold the key to the machine that is set to destroy Amita’s star and with it four highly populated planets of our people.”


        “I did nothing, I have no information for you. I am only human.”


        “Yes, only human, the only species that is still a mystery to the rest of the galaxy of beings. The human mind; the most uncharted of spaces.”


        “Yes, but you’ve tried to rectify that haven’t you. How many humans have you driven insane or have been killed during your filthy experiments? How many have you murdered just so you can know everything there is to know in the universe?”


        “We have only done what is necessary for our own survival. Your race has killed more of us than they will ever admit to.”


        “And so you blame all humans for one politician’s stupid decision?”


        “No, I would blame you for following his orders and nearly wiping out our entire race.”


        “I am not the one who he sent. I am not the one who was given the orders.”


        “Liar!” Alexi was struck across the face. She spat out blood.


        “You won’t ever believe me will you? I am a human, so I must be a killer, an exterminator of you race.”


        “YES!” he hissed, “All humans are taught to hate us, we who would have been your greatest allies. Instead you reduce us to our current intolerable state of existence.”


        “You seem to be doing well despite our efforts though. What with you managing to smuggle 1000 kilo tonnes of CGPD, which you then proceeded to use on all humans you came across. You even killed a ship full of human children who were being transported to safety. Are you not ashamed of that murder? Are you not ashamed of killing too?”


        “Well thanks to your government we now must do everything in our power against you. Even if it means killing innocents.”

Suddenly the light turned to darkness and she could hear movement all around her. Her eyes now could only perceive dots as they danced across her vision.


        “And what are you going to do with me?” Alexi asked unafraid. The answer came swiftly as what felt like a mesh bag was placed over her head. Suddenly images flooded into her mind. She could not stop them; they were her memories that were now being resurrected by their alien machines.


        “NO!!! I will not let you do this!” she screamed, throwing her body about in the chair. It was no use, she was bound far too tightly to gain the freedom she sought. And despite her defiance the memories came and she could not stop them.

Flash!

Ten Hurili stood in a line before her, all of them with their backs against thick metallic columns. Beside her stood her Commander, a hard man who hated the Hurili with every fibre of his human body.


        “Your orders, sir?” Alexi inquired.


        “Kill them, all of them,” came the cold reply, emotion long since absent from his voice.


        “But sir, they are prisoners, they freely surrendered.”


Her Commander turned his icy gaze on her but did not reply. She knew that he did not care for the rules of war, he cared only for the destruction of the Hurili.


        “Yes, sir.” Alexi said, trying not to let the sadness or horror creep into her voice. She was a soldier for the human race, and she knew what she must do.

Alexi pulled out her high-powered blaster and aimed it at the first Hurili in the line. With a pull on the trigger the Hurili man convulsed and then died, his body remaining limp against the pillar that held him captive and upright. Zvipt, zvipt, zvipt… Alexi shot each in turn. None of the Hurili tried to escape. They simply looked her in the eyes as they died, chilling her to the core. Her soul felt tainted.

Flash!

That night she sat alone in her small room aboard the Horizon. Her hands began to shake at the memory of what she had done. She tried to tell herself that what she had done was good, for she had saved countless human lives by not letting them go free. But that did not stop the tears from falling, nor the heavy set of her heart. She had killed.

Flash!

The next day she was aboard one of the Horizon’s attack vehicles, they were to ambush a small fleet of Hurili vessels. Her partner, Orico sat in the cockpit behind her.


        “Okay Alexi,” Orico told her as he checked the data on his screens, “We are to head to the left flank and engage the smaller ships of the fleet.


        “Copy that.” Alexi responded, secretly dreading the promised fight.

The battle began and raged with a flurry of weapons fire. As instructed, Alexi veered to the left to flank them.


        “Lets kick some alien backsides!!!” Orico cried out as the adrenaline started pumping through him.


But as Alexi entered the fight she found she could not go through with it.


        “What are you doing Alexi? Get back into the fight!” Orico yelled as she turned the attack vehicle back towards the Horizon.


        “There’s something wrong with the firing mechanism,” she lied.


        “I can’t see any faults on my screens, just get back to the fight!”


        “I can’t.” she replied, refusing to turn the ship back around.


        “For heaven’s sake!” Orico exclaimed, furious at not being able to take part in the slaughter.

Suddenly, a misguided weapons beam hit them in the aft, taking out their engines.


        “This is Blue Jatony to Horizon.” Alexi called over the com. “We’ve taken a hit to our engines and are unable to move. Require immediate retrieval!”


        “Just our luck!” Orico exclaimed, fuming.

Alexi didn’t say anything. Then suddenly, her scanners beeped.


        “There’s a Hurili ship on a collision course!”

Alexi tried desperately to divert power to the emergency engine but it wasn’t working. In a matter of moments the Hurili ship had positioned themselves above their attack vehicle. The Hurili locked a pulley onto their ship’s hull and began to pull Alexi and Orico inside. Alexi tried desperately to call for help but their com was jammed. Soon they were in the belly of the enemy ship and were whisked away into the endlessness of hyperspace.

Flash!

        “So you no longer want death to my people,” her interrogator stated after Alexi felt him pull the mesh bag off her head.


        “I know that I have also killed your kind. For that I know I am cursed. But I hope there is a future where there is no war between our kinds” she responded. Sweat slicked her forehead from her attempt to suppress the memories the technology had brought to the surface.


        “We have decided in light of this that you deserve to fight for your existence, a fight to the death. This is by no means hope, for we will continue this war. We only give you a chance at freedom because you have demonstrated you wish no more harm to us. We are obliged by our culture to give you this.”

Alexi remembered little after that until she found herself being transported down to a planet. It was a desert; the two suns were horrendously hot. She instantly started to sweat.


        “Choose your weapons,” one of the Hurili called out.

Her interrogator stepped forward. He chose the P’kant, a weapon that was a long quarterstaff made of metal. Each end was sharpened into a sword, and in the very centre laid its handhold. Alexi chose a weapon that closely resembled a human samurai sword and a shield.

        “Alexi and Ba’rutc, begin!” came the call.

Dodging the P’kant, Alexi looked around the barren landscape hoping to find some cover. There was nothing, not even a small plant seemed to be able to live in the aridness of the desert sand. The only thing that was present mar the stark scenery was a ring of Hurili onlookers, their faces stark and cold.

Reluctantly Alexi focused her thoughts, she would have to fight this man, and she would have to win. Steel on steel rang out in the air as she blocked his strikes. Alexi was caught across the left arm as he suddenly changed the direction of his blade’s swing. She let out a small gasp of pain before she bit her lip, channelling the pain inwards in an attempt to use it against her opponent. The blood from her wound dampened her ceremonial tunic.

Suddenly, Ba’rutc’s P’kant caught under her shield and flung it away from her across the hot desert sand. Alexi’s hand now harboured a neat and very deep cut. Blood started to trickle down her arm, dripping to the ground at her elbow.

Using his closeness, she caught Ba’rutc across the chest. A small blow but one she had needed. Translucent mauve blood smeared his bared chest. With a roar he attacked with renewed vigour. He caught her on the stomach and she repaid it with a slice to his thigh. Now limping slightly he was unbalanced, making it harder for him move around.

Alexi manipulated the turn of events to the fullest extent, she now pushed harder, fighting with all she had, striking at every opportunity. She used all the knowledge she could from her mandatory combat classes back on earth, ready for such fighting as this, against the Hurili.

Blood from both of them now smeared their bodies. In the battle their blades were not their only weapons. Fists and feet were equally as useful but tended not to inflict enough pain for their need. Finally, with a twist of her sword against Ba’rutc’s P’kant, Alexi ripped it from his hands and pushed him to the ground. She placed both blades inches from his vulnerable flesh.

He lay there panting, for a few moments they just waited there, motionless. Alexi’s sword dropped to the ground along with the P’kant. The onlookers gasped. Slowly she held out her hand to Ba’rutc and found him putting his own into hers. She helped him to his feet and then took a step back.


        “Let this end here, let this end with no lost honour, I will not fight you anymore. I have fought your kind before, and I am sick of the killing and the murder. I am sick of the hate. I am sick of war. All I want now is to be at peace. I will end my life now and be done with it, done with this hatred.” Alexi announced.

Alexi bent down to pick up her sword, Ba’rutc stopped her, picking it up himself. He stepped closer to her so that there was less than a hair’s breadth between them. He looked down into her darling blue eyes as she gazed back into his of deep, passionate orange. He lifted his arms to encircle her, and with all his might he plunged the sword into her back and through himself as well.

Their faces were painted in pain, but no sound escaped from their lips. They stood together for a moment, frozen in time. Then they fell to the ground together, the desert sand beneath them. Their eyes did not stray even as death came swiftly for them both.

The onlookers departed, their heads were bowed. Ba’rutc had done what had not been done since the birth of their race. Now they had no choice but to make the wish of his actions to come true. As the desert sand was whipped skyward by the wind, it covered the two bodies that lay there alone. The rest of the Hurili race withdrew into their rooms in silence. Each wrote their oath of peace, signing it with their own blood. No matter what the humans would do, they made a pact to kill no more. A subspace transmission rang out across the vacuums of space. The Hurili would fight no more.

Even as earth’s last trained agent set the machine to destroy the Amita star, the news spread that the Hurili wanted peace. And into oblivion they kept their promise to harm no other being, not now, nor in the future that did not come for them.

The war had been won.