Earth Afire (The First Formic War)

inertia as if it refused to accept it was dead and leave the fight.
    Other pieces of debris were caught in an invisible field behind the Formic ship and pulled along, as if a giant magnet at the rear of the Formic ship caused the debris to change course and follow the ship.
    The surviving ships pressed on, undeterred, firing relentlessly, pounding away at the Formics with everything in their arsenal. The outcome was always the same. Death, death, death. In moments, the hive of bees was diminishing, thinning out, leaving only a few persistent ships. Don’t you see it’s useless? Lem wanted to scream at them. Don’t you see you’re going to die? You’re not even damaging them. Pull away. Dying accomplishes nothing.
    But the ships in the holofield ignored him, firing and hammering away. It was pathetic now. A mere handful of ships remained. And then in a flurry of Formic fire, they were gone, leaving nothing but the Formic ship itself, unscathed and unflinching, silent once again as it bored through space like a bullet toward Earth, dragging a line of wreckage behind it.
    The vid stopped.
    Benyawe wiped at her eyes.
    And to Lem’s surprise, he realized that his own eyes were wet as well. He wiped at them quickly, furious with himself.
    Fools, he thought. They had all been fools. Why had they persisted? Why had they wasted it all? Didn’t they see they weren’t making a dent? Didn’t they know their loved ones on Earth would be devastated?
    Of course they knew, he realized. It was their loved ones on Earth that had driven them. That’s what had kept them in the fight, a desperation to save those back home.
    I could have done the same, he thought. I could’ve stayed in the fight as well when we confronted them. But I didn’t. I ran. I scurried away like a frightened mouse. Does that make me the wise man or the greater fool?
    “I need to get word to my father,” he said. “Laserlines aren’t getting through, but we need to send something, anything. And we need to send it repeatedly, nonstop, a continuous broadcast. Maybe we’ll hit a pocket where the interference is thin. Maybe someone will hear us and relay it through. Maybe it won’t work, but we have to try.”
    He waited for her to respond, to say something, anything.
    Finally when she spoke, her voice was trembling. “What will they do when they reach Earth, Lem?”
    He shook his head. “I don’t know. But they won’t do it for long. I’m going to destroy it. With or without my father’s help, I am going to destroy it.”

CHAPTER 9
     
    Announcement
     
    Victor stepped through the doorway and into the small furnished apartment. It was a company suite, located underground in Juke’s tunnel system and normally reserved for employees from Earth when they visited corporate headquarters. The lights came on, and an image of the Imbrium skyline at night appeared on the wall where a window should be.
    “Someone will bring you your meals,” said Simona. “If you get hungry before then, there’s a kitchenette and a fully stocked pantry. Help yourself.”
    “What about Imala? Are you putting her up somewhere as well? She can’t go back to her apartment. She helped me escape. The authorities might be looking for her.”
    “You needn’t worry about Ms. Bootstamp. Mr. Jukes will provide for her. The police won’t be a problem.”
    “Meaning what? Ukko controls the police?”
    Simona ignored the question. “I’ll bring you some fresh clothes. Stay presentable and keep the room neat. You’ll probably have visitors.”
    “Who?”
    “Specialists. Scientists. People with questions.”
    “I told you everything I know.”
    “Mr. Jukes will want to verify your claims with his own people.”
    “Prescott and Yanyu are already working on that.”
    “Mr. Jukes has specialists in all fields. He’ll want many of them to talk to you.”
    “Every moment counts,” said Victor. “Why is everyone dragging their feet on this? Did I not make it clear what’s at stake here? Militaries need time to prepare.”
    “Mr. Jukes is an intelligent man, Victor. I assure you he knows what he’s doing.”
    Victor shook his head. More delays. More inaction.
    Simona stepped back out into the hallway. “This door will remain locked at all times. If you need anything, use the holopad there on the nightstand. Someone will assist you.”
    “So I’m a prisoner here?”
    “We’re keeping you here for your own safety. The LTD doesn’t know you’re here, and we want