The intake scoops struggled to cope with the increased pressure, and the preliminary filters were rapidly clogging with unexpected particulates. The cryogenic distillation unit began to overheat as it tried to process the contaminated gas stream.

  “Distillation unit at critical temperature,” Adad said. “I am initiating cooling protocols.”

  Despite Adad’s efforts, the cooling systems were unable to compensate for the rapid temperature rise. The separation process faltered, and the storage tanks began to show signs of contamination. The AI attempted to reroute the gas flow and initiate automated repairs, yet the violent atmospheric conditions continued to damage the systems.

  “Warning: Storage tanks compromised. Potential loss of collected gases,” Adad said.

  Auto-repair drones, tiny machines designed to handle in-flight emergencies, deployed from their hatches. However, the fierce winds and fluctuating pressure made their tasks impossible. One by one, the drones were overwhelmed by the storm.

  Realizing the severity of the situation and the failure of automated repairs, Adad sent an urgent signal to Nergal’s Watch.

  ***

  Sub-Engineer Eury sat at the control console of Nergal’s Watch, the space station in low Saturn orbit.

  Eury was the sister of one of the so-called Evil Seven. Years ago, the official story was that the Seven had conspired with Acolyte Damkina—a close servant to Queen Ningal—to surrender to the eight Orion ships heading for the Titan colony.

  Eury didn’t believe any part of the official story. She knew her brother Sarus hadn’t conspired with anyone. Even so, she had been tainted by blood because her brother had been one of the Seven. He had died along with the others, condemned to death by the court.

  Before all that, Sarus had worked with the intercept team that studied TV and radio signals from Earth.

  The official story also said that Acolyte Damkina had died at the Chief Marshal’s hands, after she had slain Queen Ningal, Assur’s mother, by trying to defend him. Assur had cut Damkina down with a shredder.

  Given the horrible blood-taint by her connection to the Evil Seven, Eury had been lucky to have any post at all, even though she was good with electronics and computers. It helped that most Valiant men liked her smile and the shapely counters of her body. She was six and a half feet tall—normal Valiant female height—had curly brown hair down to her shoulders and was slenderer than most, with prominent assets in terms of a soldier’s appreciation. Some might call it well endowed.

  Eury wore a one-piece space engineer suit with pockets, with a belt from which dangled various tools. She wore heavy boots and a slouch hat. She was the lowest ranked on the station, which held nine other Valiants.

  Since so many men were in the military, more jobs like this had opened for women. Chief Marshal Assur had demanded more automation everywhere, but the Titan colony was still stretched thin. That was a good thing for Eury. Otherwise, with her blood-taint, she didn’t think she would have a post anywhere.

  Eury took her job seriously, probably due to her genetic disposition. She had also taken on extra loads because a few of the others on the station had learned about her blood-tainted past and they were inherently lazy. She didn’t mind, really, as she drowned her loneliness through hard work.

  Sarus and she had been very close, especially as their parents had fought and died against the Annihilator missiles in the generational ship’s one Dreadnought. That had been before the Akkad had parked behind Saturn and before the Vim missile struck the gas giant.

  Eury tried not to think about such things as she monitored the console.

  Saturn’s vastness loomed outside and below the observation window, its turbulent atmosphere growing more so.

  Her fingers pressed the holographic interface, adjusting the feeds from the various collection units scattered throughout the planet’s gaseous envelope.

  “Group Leader, we have an urgent transmission from B-04,” an operator said from a different chamber.

  Eury leaned closer to the console, her brow furrowing. “This is Sub-Engineer Eury. Put it on my screen. I’ll look at it.”

  “If you want,” the operator said. “I’m logging that.”

  Eury’s features didn’t show any indication one way or another. The operator was one of the lazy workers. What he did best was cover his ass.

  The display flickered, revealing a series of alarming data points. Overpressure in the intake scoops, filter clogs, overheating distillation units, and compromised storage tanks. The situation was critical.

  “Initiating emergency response protocol,” Eury said. She knew the importance of the deuterium and helium-3 for the upcoming campaign against Earth. Losing this fuel was not an option, especially since the fat, lazy, older Valiant ex-soldier had logged it to her. Any strikes against her might start an investigation and would end badly.

  “Prepare the heavy shuttle,” Eury said. “I’m going down there.”

  “I’m logging that, too,” the ex-soldier said.

  Eury made the tiniest of expressions. Then she hurried for the exit.

  ***

  A shuttle designed for heavy-lift operations roared to life in the station hangar. Eury suited up, her mind focused. The shuttle was equipped with repair tools and emergency containment systems, but the journey would be anything but easy with this storm brewing.

  As the shuttle disengaged from the docking bay, Eury took the pilot’s seat. She piloted the shuttle down toward the swirling clouds of Saturn, feeling the first jolts of turbulence as it entered the gas giant’s atmosphere.

  The winds were fiercer than she’d expected, battering the shuttle. Eury’s grip tightened on the controls, as she sought to keep the shuttle on course. The shuttle shuddered again as gusts of wind slammed against it.

  Visibility was approaching zero, with thick clouds enveloping the shuttle. Eury turned to the right, using the instruments instead of sight. This might have been a bad idea. However, it was too late to turn back.

  It took time, but eventually through thick haze, Eury spotted B-04 swaying in the gale. The docking procedure was going to be difficult. Muttering, Eury activated the docking systems, the ride even bumpier as she maneuvered toward the balloon’s port.

  “AI Adad, prepare for manual docking override,” she radioed.

  “Manual docking override initiated,” Adad responded.

  The thrusters fired in precise bursts as Eury tried to counter the winds. She squinted hard while trying to align with B-04’s docking port. Each adjustment took focus, the horrible turbulence pushing against the shuttle.

  “Now,” Eury said, using a thruster burst, having judged the winds, she hoped, just right.

  The shuttle slid to the left, but with a quick adjustment, it jerked the other way just enough to dock with B-04. The mechanical arms extended, securing the shuttle before it could slip loose.

  Eury let out a breath, tired from the ordeal.

  She got up and hurried to the exit. Even though the trip had drained her, there was no time to waste. She wanted to get off as soon as she could. The emergency repairs might be critical. Dying in the process wasn’t her plan.

  “Adad, initiate preliminary diagnostics.”

  “Preliminary diagnostics initiated,” Adad replied.

  Eury leaned against a bulkhead, taking a moment as her knees weakened. The docking… She should have headed back to Nergal’s Watch and logged the docking as impossible. What had possessed her to try that thruster trick?

  She chuckled despite everything and for no particular reason.

  The storm raged outside, and the real work was just beginning. If B-04 lost its cargo, everyone would blame her. Of that, Eury had no doubt. She was determined that wouldn’t happen and thus summoned additional willpower.

  -4-

  “Adad,” Eury said, “hurry up with that diagnostic; I need to know exactly what we’re dealing with.”

  “Diagnostic scan nearing completion,” the AI said.

  Eury shoved off the bulkhead and moved through a corridor to a storage compartment, retrieving a spacesuit designed for heavy repair work. The suit was bulky, with reinforced joints and a high-capacity oxygen supply. It was necessary for the hazardous environment of B-04’s operational areas.

  Eury donned the suit, sealing each section. The helmet clicked into place, and she activated the suit’s internal systems. The heads-up display came to life, providing her with vital statistics and environmental readings.

  “Adad, show me the locations of the most critical failures,” she said, as she fastened the last of the suit’s clasps.

  “Scan complete,” Adad said. “I am displaying the critical failure points on the HUD.”

  Red markers appeared on the visor, indicating intake scoops, distillation unit, and storage tanks. Nothing had changed from the initial report. She hadn’t expected it to, but she was following protocols.

  After a long hike through dimly lit, narrow passages and ladder wells, Eury reached the intake scoops. The turbulence from Saturn’s winds made the structure vibrate, the metallic groan of stressed joints echoing everywhere.

  Securing herself to the scaffold with magnetic clamps, Eury steadied her breath and began dismantling the clogged filters. Each filter was cumbersome, heavily coated with layers of fine particulates. The work was hard, each filter requiring effort to remove and clean.

  Eury finally cleared the last of the clogged filters. Her arms ached, but there was no time to rest. The next task waited: the overheating in the distillation unit, located deep in the balloon’s central structure.

  That meant a long climb up the ladders until she hurried through narrow corridors. Finally, she reached the distillation unit.

  The cooling system’s conduits were blocked. She had to manually bypass several sections to restore the flow of the coolant. The heavy valves and pipes required time, a task made harder by the bulkiness of her protective suit.

  It took longer than she’d felt it should, but Eury finally said, “Cooling system restored.”

  “Noted,” Adad said in the helmet’s headphones.

  Taking a deep breath, Eury prepared for the final task: sealing the compromised storage tanks. Maybe she should have done that before climbing up here, but she had followed procedures. It paid later when superiors went over the logs. The cooling systems were considered more critical.

  Reversing her route, Eury moved through the narrow corridors and down a series of ladders. Finally, she maneuvered through a swaying structure to reach the tanks.

  After a quick visual inspection, she began to apply sealant patches, aligning them to prevent any gas leakage. The sealant bonded instantly to the cold metal surfaces.

  Eury almost hadn’t taken enough patches along. She only had two left in her pack when she finished.

  “Storage tanks secured,” Adad confirmed.

  As Eury began to walk away, a shudder coursed through B-04. The winds outside had intensified further, causing the entire balloon to sway violently. Eury felt the structure groan under the increased strain.

  “Warning: Atmospheric disturbance escalating,” Adad said. “Structural integrity is at risk.”

  Eury climbed with determination and soon jogged back to the storage locker. She was panting, the suit’s air-conditioner trying to cool her down. She slid off the protective suit and hung it back up where it belonged. Then she moved more easily to the exit.

  The shuttle was still docked. That was good. The mechanical arms held on tight. As long as the engines kicked on, the shuttle would be able to take her back to Nergal’s Watch.

  Soon, Eury climbed aboard the shuttle, sealing the hatch behind her. She moved briskly into the main compartment and slid into the pilot’s seat, switching on the engines.

  “Adad, prepare for immediate undocking.”

  “Undocking sequence initiated,” Adad said.

  In moments, the shuttle detached from B-04, immediately buffeted by the winds.

  Eury gripped the controls as the shuttle descended. She powered up the thrusters, and the shuttle moved under control. Then it jolted because of fierce winds. Eury laughed defiantly. Despite the howling outside, she kept the shuttle on course, even as massive gusts threatened to send them spiraling deeper into the atmosphere.

  This was why they used a heavy shuttle. Eury concentrated on doing this right, knowing the thrusters had the push to get her up to the station.

  After what felt like longer than she’d expected, the shuttle finally broke through the worst of the storm. The turbulence lessened as Eury stabilized their ascent for orbital space.

  Later, Nergal’s Watch came into view.

  Grinning, Eury guided the shuttle toward the station’s docking bay. The procedure proved smooth, especially compared to B-04. Soon, the battered shuttle came to rest within the station’s hangar bay.

  Eury sat back in her seat. A few moments later, she disembarked.

  Group Leader Sabine met her. “Glad you’re back in one piece. Any problems down there?”

  “Routine,” Eury said.

  “I doubt that. You look beat. Go take a break, and that’s an order.”

  Eury nodded. She needed rest. She also wondered if this was her fate for the rest of her life: to be a Valiant drudge in the endless campaign against humanity.

  -5-

  Chief Marshal Assur opened his eyes wide as he lay in bed. He was older but still big, although not as big compared to regular Valiants. His face was weathered and creased, his once dark hair turning gray. Worse, there were bags under his eyes that hadn’t been there two years earlier.

  He had awakened from sleep just now because of a jolt of radiating pain in his stomach. It had shaken him from an enjoyable dream where he was together again with his first wife.

  Assur sat bolt upright, stiffening, groaning, and shivering at the pain even as it receded. Then it started again, a spasm that hurt intensely. He stumbled out of bed as it receded again. The pain hit a third time, though, and he collapsed onto the floor, his knees giving out. He sprawled there, hoping the aide in the other room hadn’t heard that.

  While on the floor, and as the spasm ended, Assur listened intently. No, there was no sound from the other room.

  “Are you okay, sir?”

  Assur started at that, surprised. Was his hearing getting worse now, as well?

  “Sir?” the aide asked, sounding more worried.

  “I’m fine,” Assur said. “I bumped my knee is all. There’s nothing to worry about.”

  “Are you sure? Do you need me to come in and assist you?”

  “No,” Assur said. “I’ll be fine. Go back to sleep.”

  The aide knew enough to let it go.

  Assur panted as he lay on the floor in his apartment on the Titan colony. He should be aboard ship. The gravity pulling him on Titan was much less than what it would have been on the homeworld or even Earth, but it was often even less aboard a spaceship.

  He crawled around and back toward his bed. When he reached it, he couldn’t lift his arms. He felt paralyzed. This was bad. He was the leader, the supreme warlord of the Valiants: powerful soldiers conquering an entire solar system.

  “The Vims—forget about the Vims,” Assur said under his breath. “Get back into bed and recover your strength.”

  He waited for the spasm to hit in his gut for a fourth time, but it didn’t, or at least not yet. He hoped it had subsided.

  He should see a medic about this, but he was afraid of what the spasms represented and that word would seep out no matter what he did. Despite his recent weight loss, he still worked at projecting strength. Could he be deathly ill? After all these years of life, to succumb now at the point of the great victory he hoped to achieve…

  Clenching his teeth, Assur rolled over onto his back. He panted and finally moved one of his arms. With his fingers, he felt his sweaty face.

  Great, that was just great. What was wrong with him?

  Slowly, using his hands and arms, he managed to sit up and push against the bed with his back. That felt better.

  Then something unlocked in his chest, and his arms could move easily again. He turned around, got his arms leveraged, and pushed up into his bed and lay there gasping.

  What if he had an attack like this during a meeting or while inspecting one of the mobile asteroids? That would be awful. The others might depose him, start a coup on the spot.

  He had to see a medic about this. He couldn’t afford to die now. This was going to be his great legacy. Who else had the balls, the fortitude, to annihilate the human race? So many of the Valiants were soft, despite their hard muscles and supposed ferocious ways. Only he understood the need for grim ruthlessness to annihilate humanity so that the Valiant race would live.

  Naram Sin, the Chess Man, as many called him these days, or the Chess Master—worse still. Naram Sin had seen the truth of the matter. If they let the humans live after the conquest of Earth, because Valiants could breed with them, Valiant DNA would be submerged in the moronic mass of humanity. That was because there were billions of humans and only 170,000 superior Valiants. In ten generations, Valiants would be extinct even though they had won the war, their better genes drowned in the weak mass.

  Despite the Earthers’ inferiority, it had been a draw at the Moon. A lone human or two of them had destroyed the transport that had carried all the mass drivers. What kind of fool had put all the mass drivers in one cargo vessel?

  The Chief Marshal knew the fool who had done that: Marshal Baal. Now, Baal was returning. Baal could be a problem even though he had retreated from the humans.

  Despite the draw at the Moon, Baal had kept all the warships intact. Baal had also made the correct decision, particularly now, with the three new Enforcers at the orbital yards nearing completion. While the mobile asteroids—what a fantastic weapon to end this solar-wide war for good.

  Important people were talking about Baal, that he had been wise to retreat after all the mass drivers were destroyed. But Baal had not been wise. He had been a fool to lose the mass drivers. If he had spread them out, he would have kept some mass drivers, installing them on the Moon. Then Baal could be pounding Earth into submission right now.