“Not that we could detect,” said Yanyu. “And it gets worse. Yesterday the U.S. and a few other nations launched an assault against the mothership using a fleet of over fifty manned ships. That attempt failed as well. Now debris from the destroyed ships and shuttles is floating around the mothership. Thousands died. It was awful.”
“Why is the debris collected around the Formic ship?” asked Victor. “The wreckage should have shot off in every direction when the ships broke apart.”
“The Formic ship has some kind of field around it,” said Yanyu. “Magnetic somehow. It’s not strong enough to catch everything, but it catches the smaller pieces. It’s a mess up there. The debris field is several hundred klicks thick.”
“Did the Formics sustain any damage?” asked Imala.
“Not exactly,” said Yanyu. “There are a few scorch marks from laser fire, but no structural damage that we could see. For us, however, it was a massacre. People are calling it the end of any large-scale space-based offensive.”
“What about China?” asked Imala. “What’s the status on the ground?”
Here Yanyu became solemn and quiet. “It is terrible. The casualty estimates are now above the two-million mark, and the military has not landed any major victories. The three landers still stand. The air forces have hit them with everything, and every attempt fails. Now the Formics have built mountains of biomass from stripped vegetation, dead animals, human corpses, all thrown together like giant piles of garbage. No one knows why, but there are plenty of gruesome photos on the nets, which I suggest you avoid.”
“Have you heard from your family?” Imala asked.
Yanyu nodded. “My mother and father fled Guangzhou on a shipping boat to Vietnam. From there they flew to London. They only got out because they’re wealthy. All of my friends and extended family are still in China. My father is trying to get out as many as he can, but the boats are few and the price for passage grows every day. There are thousands that gather at the shipyards every morning, but only a few ships get out. The crowds have turned violent. Some people literally kill to get passage.”
“Survival instincts,” said Victor. “Parents will do anything to save their children.”
“It’s too horrible to think about,” said Yanyu. “That is not the China I remember.”
“What else have you heard?” asked Imala.
“Nothing good. I have many friends in China on the nets. They send me images and vids they’ve taken of the destruction. I used to open their attachments. I don’t anymore. I don’t have the stomach for it. I have some net friends who haven’t answered my e-mails or logged on in weeks. I don’t know if they’re dead or alive.” Her eyes misted, but she kept her voice steady. “I feel so helpless here. My country burns, and I can do nothing. I cannot even enlist.” She held up her gimp arm. “I tried, but they would not accept me.”
“Take me to the recruiting office,” said Victor. “That’s why we came back. So I can join in the fight.”
Yanyu looked surprised. “But what can you do? You are not Chinese. My country is not letting in other soldiers, and the fight out here is over.”
“My family’s ship was destroyed,” said Victor. “My father and half my family were killed. The Formics did that. I’m not going to watch them do that to someone else. I’m going to stop them.”
Yanyu reached across the table and took his hand. “I am sorry for your loss, Victor.”
It was her touch and the gentleness of her voice that nearly pushed him to tears. For days he had buried all thoughts of Father. It was too much to think about, too painful to dwell on. Father was dead. The most constant person in Victor’s life was gone. Day after day they had spent every waking hour together bouncing around the ship and making repairs, learning together, laughing together, arguing at times yes, but always apologizing and feeling stupid together afterward. Always together. Not even Mother spent that much time with Father.
And now Father was gone.
Victor wondered how Mother was taking it. A part of him felt guilty for not rushing back and looking for her and the others on the WU-HU ship. Wasn’t that his duty as the last surviving male? Not going back was like abandoning Mother, wasn’t it? She needed him. She would be broken inside without Father.
And yet Victor also knew that Mother’s spine had more iron than his. If anyone could survive and keep all the women and children together, Mother could. She didn’t need Victor’s help for that. In fact, he would only add to her burden because she would be consoling him, not the other way around.
That was Mother’s gift. Father fixed broken machines, Mother fixed broken people.
“Come,” said Yanyu. “I will take you.”
They took a track car to the center of Old City where the recruiting offices were located. They got out at the NATO building and stood in the artificial sunlight.
“You want me to come in with you?” asked Imala.
“No,” said Victor. “I can do this.”
“We’ll wait here,” said Yanyu. “I’ll take you both back to my place when you’re done. They won’t ship you out for a few days at least.”