Infection and Invasion

People convicted of capital crimes on Hepra had two options, revealed to them secretly after trial. They could either face the death penalty and be killed by lethal injection, or volunteer for the military’s biogenic research and development centre. If they volunteered, they were told, new vaccines for weapons of war would be tested on them, and provided they didn’t present a health risk, they would be re-integrated into society on one of the moons after a year. Roughly two-thirds of those convicted volunteered for the laboratories.

What they were not told, is that no one had ever survived a month as a test subject, let alone a year. The biogenic unit could only create a vaccine to weapons if the subject was infected in the first place and given the particularly nasty properties of the viruses used by the enemy, such infection was the equivalent of a five day warrant, with the end effect being the same in effect as their other option, but without the relatively painless death.

Staring at one of the test subjects, Holsten had to remind himself that the man had raped and killed four seven-year old girls to stop himself feeling empathy for the subject. The day before, a large and particularly unsightly red boil had covered his left cheek, and this morning Holsten had been informed that it had burst, causing black blood to spill down the man’s face onto his naked shoulders, where Holsten saw it had mixed with the same substance that oozed from the other similar boils that covered his body. Away from them, his body was pale and his skin sunken as the virus ate away at his muscular tissue and despite eating his last meal only days before, the man now looked like someone who hadn’t enjoyed food in months.

“Never fails to impress, does it?” asked the lead scientist of this particular laboratory.

“Aboalds, there are many words I could choose to describe this scene however I assure you, ‘impressive’ is not one of them.” Holsten turned away from the transparent mirror-glass.

“I admit, it is not for the faint of heart, but don’t let yourself forget this man’s crimes. I hope he feels every one of those boils tearing his life essence away from him.”

“And that is why you have never been awarded the Humanitarian Cross. Tell me, have you made any advancement with this subject?” Holsten never bothered to learn the names of the testees.

“Indeed. We have made great steps.”

Holsten refrained from tapping his foot as the scientist smirked at the prisoner. “Well?”

“You will recall that in the early days of testing this particular strain of Ji’Prai, a subject’s blood was highly infectious by day three of infection. But now, even when a subject has advanced to the fifth day, the blood would have to be ingested for the virus to transfer. You could literally walk in there and scoop up the blood with your bare hands and you’d be fine.”

Holsten scowled. “You call that an advancement? I want a vaccine, Aboalds, or failing that a cure. I do not consider non-infectious blood to be a ‘great step’”

The scientist smirked again. “And that is why you will never be awarded the Carrington Prize for Scientific Advancement. This is but the first step on the road to a vaccine, and it is a day worth celebrating.”

Without looking at the test subject, Holsten turned back to the computer readout of his status. “This improvement you have made, is it ready to be administered to soldiers?”

“Most likely.” The scientist held up his hands at Holsten’s sharp look. “Of course I wish to test it some more for safety’s sake, but I feel this is ready now. The typical Ji’Prai propelled-grenade immediately infects those within a twenty metre radius and the included shrapnel means that their blood is exposed to the oxygen in the air, causing their haemoglobin cells to become infectious all the more quickly. Our estimates say that at present, each grenade kills on average sixty people. This will cut that number in half, at the very least. Their biological weapons will be little more effective than our standard ones. The only real difference will be the manner of death.”

Holsten nodded. Between being killed immediately by explosive shrapnel or dying over a five-day period in the manner of Subject #00402, he knew which he would opt for. This was an ungodly way to die. “Good work doctor. I will see that my report recommends a letter of commendation for you.”

Aboalds scoffed. “I have enough to decorate as it is. See simply that we are able to distribute this quickly, and I am given a steady flow of test subjects. That will keep me happy.”

As the wiry man smiled, the laboratory shook. Both men looked worriedly at each other and moved quickly towards a wall display which showed security cameras views of the facility’s exterior. At first, little seemed out of place save an unwelcome hue, but as camera 42 panned upwards, the sight they saw silenced whatever cry they might have felt they uttered. A large and expanding wall of cloud was expanding outwards at an excessive rate, and as it did, it came ever closer to them.

---

From orbit, the explosion was just one of many and the bright orange glow of the centre could easily be seen by the orbiting EV Indignation, which had jumped into the system only moments before. Though the cruiser was half the size of the Fleet’s largest, the accuracy of the short jump had allowed them to unleash twenty-four Ji’Prai devices, which was more than enough to wipe out the population in a matter of days. Intelligence reports put the casualty number at 3 billion, more if people were allowed to escape from the surface, which was what the second part of the Indignation’s mission involved.

---

On Tosce Prime, the home of the military that both Holsten and Aboalds worked so hard for, the intelligence report filtered though less than thirty minutes later. The receiving officer immediately noticed the nature of it and handed it to her supervisor who quickly placed a call directly to the Field Marshall’s office on a line specifically created for such an event. After only reading half of the report, the Field Marshall left his office and stormed out of his building and across the heavily guarded street to what appeared from the outside to be a simple three bedroom home. Upon passing the guard and entering however, a spacious lobby was revealed and the flag officer moved quickly through it to the stairs at the rear which he climbed two at a time. Upon reaching the summit, he strode forward ignoring the personal assistants who attempted to divert him and heavily pushed open a black door.

“Mr President, intelligence reports indicate that the enemy has bombarded Hepra with biogenic weapons, the effects of which will have rendered over 85% of the planet’s population infected. An EV frigate was able to jump almost directly into orbit from outside the system and launched a volley before our stationed ships could do anything to stop them.”

The President had faced criticism in the press for his lack of military experience but in practice he had proven to be quick at assimilating information and making good decisions. Today though, his jaw remained ajar for seconds before he asked the pertinent question. “Did any ships escape from the surface?”

The Marshall nodded. “We had three Valiant-class frigates in orbit as well as the carrier Lightstar. The vessels moved to intercept the enemy frigate, however it unexpectedly charged the Lightstar. It collided into the port side of the ship and summarily self-destructed, dealing near fatal damage to the carrier. Whilst two of our frigates attempted to destroy any infected craft launching from the surface, without the Lightstar’s fighters it proved to be an impossible task. The initial report shows at least twenty small vessels made it off the surface. They have been identified and will be destroyed if they approach any of our controlled worlds.”

The President stood calmly and stared out the window. “Does the Press have this yet?”

“No sir.”

He shook his head. “I don’t understand. What about the accord?”

“It seems sir that they have taken the time they need already. There is no need for a peace treaty if your military is ready to conquer.” As the President stayed silent, the Marshall spoke more forcefully. “Sir, we need to organise the Fleet and we need to do it now. I have four battle groups in likely target areas but if they are attacked as they have been in the past, they will need Inner Core reinforcements in order to survive the day. Sir, the Humans are coming, and I cannot stop them unless you give me the word.”

The President turned back to the Marshall as he spoke. “Do it. Move what forces you must.”

The Marshall nodded. “Yes sir.”