“Hey!”
The Birnsteins’ heads snapped in Joe’s direction after his shout. None of them were ready and rushed to get their auto-rifles up.
Joe had his auto-rifle ready, though, and fired at the Birnstein raising his helmet to call a shuttle. The Birnstein quickly ducked down to avoid Joe’s shot.
Ginke and the others opened fire next, and Ginke’s shot connected with the one Joe missed. Hoàng fired a shot that went wide of his target, and when Hoàng fired again, the Birnstein had ducked behind a rock. Beck’s shot pierced her target’s chest and knocked him down. That Birnstein fell back and his weapon discharged into the trees. Mulloy fired a series of shots in quick succession, successfully dropping two other Birnsteins to the right.
With his HUD, Joe saw the others targeting the remaining two Birnstein soldiers. Joe searched for the two civilians next, but his HUD didn’t show their location. Twitching his right eye, Joe activated it instead to quickly locate the two civilians. Joe saw one ducked behind the instruments in an attempt to hide. The other was laying deceased behind a tree a little further away after being hit in the crossfire.
“Clear,” shouted Mulloy a moment later.
“Clear,” added Beck.
Joe quickly scanned the area and saw Hoàng and the others had dropped the remaining two enemy soldiers. The Humans now moved in a circle around the area as they remained alert for any reinforcements. Ginke came up to Joe’s side and nodded at the instruments, and Joe nodded back.
“Get up. Slowly,” said Joe into his headset. With a quick look down, Joe activated the headset’s translator, and it chirped out the translation at the Birnstein hiding.
When Joe spoke, Mulloy and the others all turned their auto-rifles to the last Birnstein behind the instruments.
“Easy,” whispered Joe to the others.
The Birnstein raised his hands and rose slowly. The dark-feathered Birnstein appeared frightened, which was an odd emotion for Joe to see in a Birnstein. Joe raised his auto-rifle with the Birnstein and motioned with the weapon for the Birnstein to step to the side. Mulloy stepped forward and cuffed the Birnstein’s hands and patted him down for weapons.
“We shouldn’t stay here,” said Hoàng.
Joe held up a finger and stepped toward the Birnstein. With the Birnstein’s attention on him, Joe then pointed to the instruments.
“Shut it off,” said Joe as his helmet chirped out the translation.
“I-I can’t,” said the Birnstein, which was quickly translated for Joe and the others through their helmets.
“What was that?” said Mulloy as he jammed his weapon’s barrel into the Birnstein’s side.
“I-I-I mean I shouldn’t!” squawked the Birnstein. “W-We can’t afford a setback!”
“Shut it off,” repeated Joe more slowly as he stepped right in front of the Birnstein. “I won’t tell you again.”
“Directions,” said Ginke from next to the instruments. “Tell me how to do it.”
Joe and the Birnstein stared at each other for a few seconds. Joe allowed all of his hatred for the Birnsteins to consume his expression as he glared at the prisoner. The Birnstein blinked incessantly in response.
“F-Flip the three switches on the top panel,” said the Birnstein as he looked over at Ginke. “T-Then the large button on the central panel. That’ll kill the birquatia gas.”
Ginke followed the instructions, and Joe turned to watch the contents in the dome. The black gas swirling inside ceased and dissipated. The black slime soon began to dry out and turn gray, along with everything else inside the dome. Ginke and Joe looked back at the Birnstein, and the Birnstein let out a long, disappointing sigh before nodding to confirm it was done.
“We need to get going,” insisted Hoàng this time.
“Mulloy, keep an eye on the bird,” said Joe. “Ginke, you take the lead with me. Hoàng, Beck, cover the flank.”
“Sir,” said all of the Humans in unison.
“Come,” said Ginke as he started to the west. “This way.”
Ginke led everyone for a few hours through the forest. Ginke frequently flicked his tongue in all directions but showed no reaction to picking up anything. Joe kept an eye on the Birnstein while scanning the trees as they went. The Birnstein did everything he was instructed to do and never fought when Mulloy shoved him to move faster.
The trees grew denser in the thickening foliage, which slowed the squad’s progress. The terrain also became more rugged, the constant climbing up and down the rolling hills started to tire the squad.
“Sir?” said Hoàng from behind as the squad stood at the base of another hill. He sounded and looked exhausted when Joe turned back. Beck also looked winded.
“Let’s take a break, everyone,” said Joe as he stopped and looked for a stump or rock to sit on.
Hoàng and Beck sat down nearly immediately and pulled out their canteens. Mulloy forced the Birnstein to sit down next to a tree. Mulloy looked tired, so Joe walked over to relieve him.
“Take a break, ensign,” said Joe. “I’ll watch him for a bit.”
“Sir,” said Mulloy with a nod. He then went and sat down next to Beck and Hoàng, pulling out his canteen with a sigh.
Joe sat down next to the Birnstein and just stared at him. The Birnstein looked at Joe once but quickly diverted his eyes. Joe set his auto-rifle in his lap with the muzzle pointed at the prisoner. Joe grabbed his canteen from his pack and took a quick sip. The Birnstein looked at the canteen and opened his beak slightly in thirst, but when he saw Joe still looking at him, the Birnstein looked away again.
“Thirsty?” asked Joe as he lowered his canteen.
The Birnstein didn’t say anything.
“What’s your name?” continued Joe.
The Birnstein turned his head further away and remained quiet.
“That’s fine,” said Joe before he quickly took another sip from his canteen. “Once we get back to base, we’ll turn you over to interrogation. They’ll be excited to learn you weren’t cooperative with us. It lets them know they can go straight to the…harsher tactics, if you know what I mean?”
Joe watched the Birnstein’s eyes grow wide, and the Birnstein slowly sneaked a look back at Joe while swallowing nervously.
“You don’t want that, do you?” said Joe. “I get it. But you know what you can do to avoid that: tell me your name.”
“Turczak,” said the Birnstein as he looked down.
“Rank?”
“No rank,” said Turczak. “Lab assistants don’t have a rank.”
“Lab assistant…. So what were you doing with that sludge back there?” said Joe.
Turczak closed his beak and looked away. Joe shook his head.
“And now we’re back to this,” said Joe as he leaned back.
While the Birnstein tried to ignore Joe, Joe looked Turczak over. Joe realized that Turczak wore a simple uniform under his half-zipped jacket. Over the right breast, Turczak had an insignia that looked familiar. Joe reached over and moved the Birnstein’s jacket to the side slightly to see the whole insignia, which looked like a bird’s feathered breast with three vertical slash marks across it.
“That insignia,” said Joe quietly. “I know it….”
Joe stared at the insignia for several moments as he tried to place it, and his thoughts drifted back to Pturllel. Then, Joe placed it, and rage began to consume him. Slowly, Joe started to sit back with his gaze still fixed on the insignia. Turczak slowly turned his head and looked at Joe oddly, unsure what his Human captor was doing.
“Joe, you okay?” whispered Ginke who moved to sit next to Joe.
“I do recognize it,” said Joe. He raised his head, and Turczak flinched from the hatred in Joe’s eyes. “That insignia was on the Birnstein ships at Pturllel.”
It didn’t seem possible, but Turczak’s eyes grew wider before he said, “You were at Ou-4?”
“It’s Pturllel,” said Joe sharply.
“Right, Pturllel. That’s what the inhabitants called it. You were there? What can you tell me about it?”
“So that’s what will get you to talk: the destruction of worlds?”
Turczak swallowed and then lowered his head to look away.
“Yes, I was there. It was my home, and the birds destroyed it.” Joe paused for a moment before adding, “What do you know about it?”
“Ou-4--”
“Pturllel.”
Turczak paused once more before he said, “It was our flock’s greatest failure. We failed to secure the world for the Birnstein Empire because of the Kelkers and Humans.”
“What about the beings already living there?”
Turczak grew silent again.
“Go on,” prompted Joe.
“W-We lost standing with the other flocks in the empire after that.”
“How horrible,” mumbled Joe sarcastically.
“Joe,” whispered Ginke.
“W-We eventually were ordered to take Scincia,” continued Turczak nervously as he watched Joe continue to stare at him intensely. Mentioning Scincia drew Ginke’s attention. “T-That’s why we’re here now.”
“Were you on Pturllel?” asked Joe.
“N-No, I wasn’t. I was still learning at the academy.”
“But you know what happened to Pturllel, right?”
“I-I--,” started Turczak, but he soon grew quiet and looked away.
Joe leaned forward to get the Birnstein’s attention back.
“Well, I do,” whispered Joe at first before his voice grew louder with each following word. “I saw the reports during the newscasts. Then I was taken from my home and loaded onto a shuttle with no idea where I was going next. And that’s when I saw it from orbit. I saw it consuming the continent. And then what do I learn after that? Pturllel died! And there’s only one thing I want now!” Joe paused for a moment, and then he whispered, “Can you guess what that is, Turczak?”
Everyone sat in silence. Ginke flicked his tongue once as he looked between Joe and Turczak. Hoàng, Beck, and Mulloy had all turned to look at Joe as they were confused by his outburst and the rage in his voice. Turczak looked at Joe but didn’t make eye contact. Joe could tell the Birnstein prisoner wanted to say something.
“I-I’m sorry for your loss,” whispered Turczak, “but I want to know what you saw on Pturllel. I’ll tell you whatever you want then.”
“Why?” asked Joe quietly. “Do you not have any video of that black sludge running into the ocean and getting caught in the currents to spread around the planet? Do you not know how that consumed the world in months? Do you really not know that nothing will ever live on the planet again? Because I know that’s what you were trying to do here just now.”
Ginke gasped, which got Turczak to briefly look at the Scincian before the Birnstein looked down again.
“You didn’t know that, Ginke?” said Joe, who broke his glare at Turczak briefly to see the surprised horror on Ginke’s face. “That dome back there was growing the same black sludge that destroyed Pturllel. They were getting ready to release it here, too.”
“No!” said Turczak. “We were just running a test to see how birquatia twenty-one would respond. We aren’t going to release it here. We want to live here. Why would we destroy our new world?”
“But,” said Ginke, “it’s not your world. You can’t have it.”
“Exactly,” said Joe, who nodded at Ginke before looking back at Turczak. “You released this birquatia twenty-one on Pturllel when you couldn’t have the planet, right? Why not here, too?”
“I don’t know anything about that,” said Turczak. “I’m just a lab assistant. I run tests and report the findings. Others make those decisions.”
“Accomplice,” whispered Ginke with disgust.
Turczak looked away from Ginke and back at Joe.
“I told you what I saw,” said Joe, “now answer my question: who released birquatia twenty-one on Pturllel?”