Chapter 7 Chapter VII

"Thirty kilometers," said Jane Sagan, "get out of the car." Soldiers from Second Platoon jumped off the dropship and plunged into the night sky above Deliuu, the capital of the Anisha clan.Below, flames from explosions dotted the sky, but it wasn't the violent explosion of the anti-ship defenses that shattered the troop carrier, but the beautiful sparks of colorful fireworks.This is the last night of Chaphalan, and Anisha celebrates the renewal of Vientiane.Enishans from all over the planet take to the streets, feasting and frolicking in whatever manner suits their region and season, and most of them are drunk and lustful.

Deliuou was extraordinarily rowdy at this Chaphalan festival.In addition to the traditional holiday entertainment, there is one more thing to celebrate this year: the canonized heir, the head of Anisha's power, Phileb Ser, officially announced his daughter Viyut Ser as the next ruler of Anisha.To commemorate this canonization, Phileb Sear took out a copy of the royal jelly that she fed Viut Sear, and approved large-scale synthesis to produce its diluted replica, packed in small jars, on Chaphalan Festival The last night of the day was given to the citizens of Deliu. If royal jelly is fed to non-metamorphically developed Anisha in its original form, it will cause significant developmental changes in the recipient, showing obvious physical and psychological advantages when it develops into an adult form.Diluted compounds are different, and give an adult Enisha a very nice psychedelic pleasure.Most of the citizens of Deliuu have already drank royal jelly before the fireworks show and light show. Now they are sitting in private gardens and parks, watching the bright light from the explosion of fireworks. The entire spectrum of perception, the mouthparts rattle the Anisha's "oh" and "wow".

Thirty kilometers in the air, Jared, who was falling rapidly, could neither see nor hear the dazzle of the Enishans. Although the fireworks below were brilliant, they were far away from him. The sound of the explosion was due to the distance and the thin stratospheric atmosphere And lost.Jared's senses were preoccupied with so many other things—the location of his teammates, the speed of his descent, and the requisite maneuver—that he needed to make sure he landed where he was supposed to, while avoiding danger in the chain of events that was about to erupt. Finding where your teammates are is the easiest of them all.Members of the second platoon are all wearing black-body nanomachine protective suits, and the equipment is also covered with shields. Only the miniature energy beam transmitter/receiver for each person is still working. Before landing, they record the positions of other comrades in arms. Continue getting positions in millisecond intervals.Jared knew Sarah Pauling was forty meters ahead to the right, Daniel Harvey was sixty meters below, and Jane Sagan, the last to jump off the troop carrier, was two hundred meters above.Not long after Gettysburg, when Jared participated in the nightmarish high-altitude night jump for the first time, although he did not lose the beam signal, he landed several kilometers away from his comrades, alone and without direction.He was scolded bloody for this.

Jared's target location was less than twenty-five kilometers below, and the Brain Companion highlighted it, and the Brain Companion also calculated a landing path for him.According to the wind speed and other atmospheric phenomena, BrainPal updated the path at any time during the landing process; at the same time, it also accurately tracked the three closely arranged virtual beams of light projected in Jared's field of view.Three beams of light descended from the sky, pointing to three areas in a building: the building is the palace of the ruler, the residence of Phileb Sear, the royal court and the seat of the government.

As Jared and his comrades in the second row descended to a position four kilometers above the ground, the meaning of the three beams of light became clear.Three beams of particles launched from a satellite placed in low orbit by Special Forces appeared in mid-air.One particle beam was faint, one was blindingly bright, and the third was the dimmest, flickering.Seeing this sight and hearing the loud rumbling that accompanied it, the citizens of Deliuu exclaimed in admiration.Their consciousness has been sensitized and slowed by the royal jelly, thinking that the particle beam is part of the light show.Only the intruders and the actual operators of the Deleuvian light show knew from the start that this was not the case.

Satellites producing particle beams cannot escape the attention of the Enisha Planetary Defense Network, and it is the Planetary Defense Network's mission to spot enemy weapons.However, the current situation is a bit special, because the satellite is well camouflaged and turned into three repair tugboats.A few months earlier, shortly after Gettysburg, the tugboat had been arranged, and the Colonial Union had a diplomatic berth at one of Enisha's three space stations, and the tugboat was part of the routine maintenance fleet.These three ships are indeed good tugboats, but it is difficult to find that the engine has undergone a rather unusual modification, whether from the outside or through internal inspection. The clever modification of the software hides the engine's ability, and only the most dedicated investigators It is possible to notice.

The Kite appeared in the airspace of Anisha, because it had recently fought against the Le Rey cruiser, so it requested permission to enter the port to repair the hull and control system, and three tugboats were sent to perform towing tasks.The Kite wins the firefight, but has to retreat temporarily before the damage can be fully repaired (the Kite specifically chooses a moderately defended colony of Le Rey, which has enough military strength to repel the Special Forces ships, but not enough to knock the Kite totally blown away).The commander of the Kite politely invited the Anisha military to board the ship for a visit, but the Anisha military politely declined. They have confirmed the Kite's statement through unconventional intelligence channels with the Le Rey people.The Kite also requested that the crew leave the ship to go to Tresch (a tourist resort specially opened for the diplomatic envoys of the colonial alliance and the personnel stationed in Ainisha) to rest, and was approved.Tresch is located in the southeast of Deliu. A troop carrier set off with two rows and two shifts of "vacation personnel", and the flight route happened to pass south of Deliu.

The troop carrier flew near Deliuu, reported encountering atmospheric turbulence and had to dodge north, briefly passing a no-fly zone over Deliuu.Enisha Aviation Command noticed the change in flight path and ordered the troop carrier to avoid the turbulence and immediately return to the original flight plan.A few minutes later, the troop carrier corrected course, but two squads were missing from the ship. It's fun to do things when the enemy is ostensibly your ally and doesn't know you know it's the enemy. The tugboat assigned to the Kite fires a particle beam that hits the Palace of the Sovereigns.The first beam was much stronger than the other two beams. It pierced through the six-storey palace, penetrated deep into the interior, and vaporized the backup generator and the main power supply line twenty meters below.The main power supply line was damaged, and the palace's electrical system switched to a backup unit, which had been destroyed milliseconds earlier.Without a central back-up power supply, several small-scale back-up units went to work, sealing off the palace through a system of security doors.According to the designer of the power and security system, the simultaneous failure of the main power supply and the backup unit indicated that the palace was probably under attack.This is true, but what the designers didn't realize was that small-scale units without central system control played an essential role in the attacker's plan.

The secondary damage caused by this beam of particles was relatively small, and the energy was deliberately regulated to be limited to its perimeter, straight into the land of the planet Enisha.The hole was eighty yards deep, but part of the debris lifted up (and part of the six-story palace) filled it to a depth of only a few meters. The second particle beam penetrated the administrative area of ​​the palace.Unlike the first particle beam, this one was tuned to a wide range in order to generate a huge amount of waste heat.Wherever the particle beam touched, the administrative area of ​​the palace swelled and melted.Extremely hot air washed over offices, blasted windows and doors, and ignited everything with an ignition point below 932 degrees Celsius.Within moments, thirty or forty Anisha government workers, army guards, and porters on the night shift were roasted alive in their carapaces.In the center of the particle beam was the private office of the head of state. The office and all its belongings were reduced to ashes within a few microseconds. The high heat and energy of the particle beam triggered a fire storm, blowing ashes to every corner of the rapidly disintegrating administrative area.

The second is the most destructive of the three particle beams, but also the least important.The Special Forces did not intend or wish to assassinate the Dwarf in his private office, as she rarely visited it at night, and especially not tonight, when she was performing public duties as part of Chaphalan's celebrations.She was on the other side of Deliu, and it was a clumsy attempt at best.However, the Special Forces wanted the attack to look like a clumsy attempt to assassinate the Mogul, so that the Mogul and his formidable security team could stay away from the palace and let the second platoon go about their real mission.

The third particle beam has the lowest energy level, flashing and flashing across the roof of the palace like a surgical operation, peeling away one layer of skin at a time like surgical cautery.The goal of this particle beam is not to unleash fear or mass destruction, but to create a direct path to a certain room. The target of the second row is there. This chip, if used well, can make the Anishan Withdraw from the tripartite covenant that attacks humanity. "Who do we want to kidnap?" Daniel Harvey asked. "Vyut Thur," said Jane Sagan, "heir to the throne of Enishar." Daniel Harvey's look of disbelief reminded Jared of why Special Forces soldiers had to hold face-to-face briefings despite their conscious fusion.After all, nothing can replace body language. Sagan forwarded the mission information and mission content to everyone, but Harvey started talking again before the information was decompressed. "When did we start kidnapping?" Harvey asked. "It's a new way." "We've kidnapped before," Sagan said. "It's nothing new." "We've kidnapped adults," Harvey said. "Usually, it's someone who intends to harm a human being. This time it's a child." "It's more appropriate to say it's a larva." Alex Roentgen had already decompressed the mission clippings and began to read. "Whatever you want," Harvey said, "larvae, cubs, children. The point is, we're going to use innocent larvae as bargaining chips. Are you right? It's probably the first time. Very nasty." "You actually said that? People tell you every day not to spit shit out of your mouth." Roentgen said. Harvey looked at Roentgen and said, "Yes, you often tell me not to spray shit all over my mouth. But I must say, this mission stinks. You guys are all out of your mind, aren't you?" "Harvey, the enemy is not as noble as you," Julie Einstein said, reposting a photo of the children's corpses on the planet Gettysburg.Jared shuddered again. "So we have to be as mean as they are?" Harvey said. "Listen," Sagan said, "this is not a vote. Our intel says Le Rey, Anisha, and Aubin are going to make a massive move into human airspace soon. We've been harassing Le Rey on the fringe and Obin, but still can't take action against Enisha, because we still have to accept a polite illusion-they are allies of humans. This gives them time to prepare for battle, although we feed the Enisha a lot of fake intelligence, but they still know too much about human weaknesses. We have credible intelligence that Anisha is fully involved in all attack plans. If there is an open confrontation with Anisha, all three of them will rush together, and our resources are not enough Go to war with them at the same time. Harvey is right, this mission takes us into new territory, but no other plan is as intimidating as this one. We can't defeat Enisha militarily, but we can defeat them psychologically. " By this time Jared had read the entire report, and he said to Sagan, "It's not just about kidnapping." "Yes," Sagan said, "kidnapping alone is not enough to force the Chief Executive to accept our terms." "My God," Harvey said after reading all the materials, "smelts like shit." "Better than other plans," Sagan said, "unless you really think the Colonial Union can take three enemies at once." "May I ask a question?" Harvey asked, "Why do we keep doing this shit?" "We're Special Forces," Sagan said, "and that's our mission." "Bullshit," Harvey said, "you're going to go yourself. We're not going. No one can do that. We can't be made to go because other people don't want to go." Harvey looked around the briefing room and said, "Come on, we can at least talk to ourselves. Real assholes in Military Intelligence came up with the plan and a bunch of real generals signed off on it, but the real commander of the Colonial Defense Forces Didn't want to get involved at all. So left it to us, people thought we wouldn't mind, because we were a bunch of two-year-old amoral killers. Shit, I have morals, and I know everyone in this room has them. Face to face I'm not backing down. You all know that. But it's not a face-to-face fight. This is fucking shit. First-class shit." "Well, it's bullshit," Sagan said, "but it's our job." "Don't send me to snatch that thing," said Harvey. "I'll give cover to whoever goes, but I won't touch the poisoned drink myself." "I won't send you there," Sagan said. "There are other tasks for you." "Who does the bad luck go to?" said Alex Roentgen. "I'll go by myself," Sagan said, "and two volunteers." "As I've said, I cover," Harvey said. "In case I get shot in the head, Harvey, someone else is responsible for the kidnapping," Sagan said. "I'll go," said Sarah Pauling, "but Harvey's right, this shit stinks." "Thanks, Pauling," Harvey said. "You're welcome," Pauling replied, "don't be too complacent." "There's one," Sagan said. "Anyone else?" Everyone in the briefing room looked at Jared. "What?" Jared suddenly became uncomfortable. "It's nothing," said Julie Einstein, "it's just that you and Pauling always get along." "Not exactly," Jared said. "We've been in the platoon for seven months and we've covered every single one of you." "Don't get excited," Einstein said. "Nobody said you two were married, and each of us covered you, but each of us prefers to go on missions with a certain person. My partner is Roentgen. Sagan is Harvey, because no one would take him but her. You and Pauling are partners. Nothing else." "Don't make fun of Jared," Pauling said, laughing. "He's an honest guy, not like you bastards." "We are honest scumbags," Roentgen said. "Or dirty and honest," Einstein said. "Enough joking," Sagan said, "I'm short of a volunteer." "Dirac." Harvey signed up for him. "Enough," Sagan said. "No," Jared said, "I'll go." Sagan seemed to want to object, but then forgot. "Okay," she said, and went on to briefly describe the situation. "Here it goes again," Jared sent Pauling on the private channel while listening to the briefing. "Did you see that too? She actually wanted to say 'no'." "Yes," Pauling said, "but she didn't say it. And on the battlefield, she treats you as well as anyone else." "I understand that," Jared said, "I just wonder why she doesn't seem to like me very much." "She doesn't seem to like anyone very much," Pauling said. "Don't be suspicious. All in all, I like you very much, except when you are suspicious." "I'm trying," Jared said. "Great work," Pauling said, "thank you for volunteering." "Well, well," Jared said, "it's just what the people want." Pauling laughed.Sagan glared at her. "Sorry." Pauling said on the public channel. A few minutes later, Jared called Pauling on the private channel: "Do you really think this mission is bad?" "Damn it stinks in the wind," Pauling replied. The particle beam disappeared, and Jared and his comrades in the second row bounced off the drop pack.The nano-robots are charged, unfolded in the form of vines from the backpack, and form individual hang gliders.No longer in free fall, Jared oriented toward the palace, flying into the smoking hole left by the third particle beam, which led to the heir's nursery. The palace of the ruler is as magnificent as St. Peter's Basilica, but it is not a small place. Outside the main hall is the royal court of the ruler and the now-collapsed administrative area. Non-Anisha people are not allowed to enter.There are no architectural drawings of the palace in public records, and the palace itself follows the natural Enisha architectural style, with a focus on flow and chaos, resembling a continuous colony of termite nests, where it is not easy to find important areas or rooms.Before the plan to kidnap Anisha's heir can be carried out, the private room where the heir is located must first be found.The Office of Military Research thought the problem was weighty, but they didn't have much time. The solution is to think small; yes, think in the direction of single-celled organisms -- say, C. xavierii, an Enisha prokaryote that's the same thing as bacteria from an evolutionary standpoint .Just as various bacteria form a happy symbiotic relationship with humans, so do C. xavierii and Anisha, which mainly exist in the body, but also on the body surface.Like many humans, not every Anisha can stick to good habits in the bathroom. The Colonial Union Military Research Bureau deciphered the genetic code of C. xavierii and recombined it to create a new subspecies, C. xavierii movere, whose DNA was capable of constructing a mitochondria-sized radio transceiver.These tiny organic machines record the host's every move by measuring the position of C. xavierii relative to other Enishans within range.The recording capacity of the microscopic device is limited, and can only record less than an hour of host activity, but each cell division generates a new recording machine that continues to track the host's activities. The Military Research Office put the genetically modified microorganisms into the hand sanitizer, and it was introduced to the palace of the ruler by an uninformed Colonial Alliance envoy, who had frequent physical contact with the Enisha diplomat.Next, through daily contact, Diplomat Anisha passed the bacteria to the staff in the palace.The Colonial Confederacy envoy (and the envoy's entire staff) had their brainmates secretly modified to record the incoming micro-waves from palace staff and occupants, including the Chief and her heirs.In less than a month, the Bureau of Military Research drew a complete internal structure diagram of the Palace of Power through personnel activities. The Office of Military Research did not tell the Colonial Union mission that they were unknowingly acting as spies.Not only because it would keep them safe, but also because they would be furious if they found out that they were being used in this way. Jared flew close to the roof of the palace, retracted the hang glider, and landed far from the entrance of the cave to prevent accidental collapse.The comrades in the second platoon were either landing or had already landed, busy tying the downhill rope at the entrance of the cave and preparing to slide down.Jared saw Sarah Pauling, who had reached the mouth of the cave, peering down through the smoke and dust. "Don't look down," Jared told her. "It's too late," she replied, sending Jared the dizzying view from her perspective.Jared felt her nervousness and anticipation in the fusion; his own was in a similar mood. The rappelling rope is already tied. "Pauling, Dirac," said Jane Sagan, "action." It had been less than five minutes since the particle beam fell from the sky, and every second of delay increased the risk of the prey being diverted.They also have to figure out how to deal with the military and emergency responders that will arrive sooner or later.Blowing up the administrative area can temporarily distract the second platoon, but it cannot last. The three of them buckled on the downhill rope, slid down the fourth floor, and rushed straight into Quanshou's residential area.The nursery was just ahead, and they had previously decided not to shoot the particle beam directly over the nursery, lest it accidentally trigger a collapse.Jared understood how wise this decision was during the descent. Although it was said to be as precise as a "surgical operation", the particle beam still destroyed the three-story building above the residence of the ruler, and a large amount of rubble fell directly. "Turn on the infrared," Sagan said during the rappel. "The lights have been cut off. It's very dusty down there." Jared and Pauling carried out the order.The residual energy of the particle beam and the smoldering buildings below emitted heat, bright in the infrared field of vision. As soon as the three entered Quanshou's residence, the guard in charge of security broke open the door, rushed into the room, and rushed towards the intruder.Jared, Sagan, and Pauling released the locks and fell heavily into the rubble below—the gravity of Enisha was stronger than that of the earth.Jared fell on the rubble and was nearly pierced by a broken pile, but the protective suit hardened immediately, saving him from his fate.The three scanned the room with naked eyes and infrared vision, determined the position of the guards, and sent the information to the top.A few seconds later, there were crackling sounds from the roof, and the guard fell down in response. "It's safe," said Alex Roentgen. "This area has been cordoned off. We don't see any other guards. Others are coming down." Before the words fell, Julie Einstein and two other comrades in the second row came Sliding down the downhill rope. The nursery is adjacent to the private room of the head of state. For security reasons, both rooms are self-contained units that can be sealed and cannot be broken into by most violent means (except for super-strong particle beams from outer space).The outside of the two rooms is always heavily guarded, so the security measures between the two are simple.The first bedroom was separated from the nursery by an ornate door with a single latch.Jared shot the latch and entered the room under the cover of Pauling and Sagan. Jared was about to check the left and right corners when something swooped in.He squatted down and rolled on the ground, looked up to find an Anisha trying to smash his head with a stick he had just grabbed.Jared parried the blow with his arm, and kicked the Anishan right between his two front lower limbs, breaking his carapace, and the Anishan screamed.Out of the corner of his eye, Jared glimpsed another Anisha in the room, crouching in a corner, holding something that kept screaming. The previous Enisha rushed forward again with a growl, but the growl stopped abruptly, but he continued to charge forward, and finally collapsed on Jared.Only after the Enisha fell did Jared realize he had heard a gunshot.He looked around the Enisha and saw Sarah Pauling standing behind the body, grabbing the Enisha's cloak and pulling the body away from Jared. "You should have killed him before he jumped at me," Jared said. "One more complaint, and I'll let this damn thing crush you," Pauling said. "Can't you just give it a push? Get yourself out of here as soon as possible." to the side.Jared climbed out and studied his attacker carefully. "Is that him?" Pauling said. "I can't tell," Jared said, "They all look alike." "Let's go." Pauling said, looking closely at the Enisha man.She checked the mission briefing and said, "It's him, the child's father. The spouse of the head of power." Jared nodded.Jahan Shio, the spouse of the chieftain, gave birth to an heir to the chieftain for political reasons.The matrilineal tradition of the Anisha royal family stipulates that the father of the heir is responsible for caring for the heir before the heir develops abnormally.Tradition also stipulates that after the heir canonization ceremony, the father must guard the heir's side for three Anisha days, symbolizing his acceptance of his father's responsibilities.This, and several other reasons connected with the canonization ceremony, dictated that the kidnapping be carried out at this time.Assassinating Jahan Theo is a minor but crucial part of the quest. "He died protecting his children," Jared said. "He died this way," Pauling said, "not for this." "I don't think it makes a difference to him," Jared said. "A mission that stinks," Pauling said. A gunshot rang out from the corner of the room.The screaming that had been going on since entering the room paused for a moment, then resumed with greater urgency.Sagan stepped out of the corner, MP in one hand and a wriggling white mass in the crook of the other arm.Another Enisha fell where Sagan had shot. "Nanny," said Sagan, "will not give me the heir." "Did you ask him if he wanted it?" Pauling said. "Yes," Sagan said, pointing to the small translator buckled on his belt, which will come in handy later in the mission. "Anyway, I tried." "There seems to be no use in killing the consort of the head of state," Jared said. The screaming thing Sagan was holding writhed desperately and almost fell out of her arms.Sagan dropped the MP and hugged the thing tightly.Sagan held the thing tightly between his arms and body, and the thing screamed louder and louder.Jared looked at the thing carefully. "This is the heir," said Jared. "That's right," Sagan said. "It's actually her, female. Pre-metamorphotic Anisha. Much like a screaming maggot." "Can you sedate her?" Pauling said. "It's too loud." "No," Sagan said, "need to show the authority that she's alive." The heir continued to squirm, and Sagan stroked her with his other hand, hoping to calm her down. "Dirac, get MP for me," she said.Jared leaned over and picked up the gun. The lights come on. "Shit," Sagan said, "the power is back." "Didn't we blow up the backup generator?" Jared asked. "Yes," Sagan said, "it seems that there are more than one group, it's time to go." The three exited the nursery, Sagan hugged the heir, and Jay listed his and Sagan's two MPs. Back at Quanshou's residence, the two members of the second row were hanging on the rope.Julie Einstein was in charge of guarding the two doors of the Diocesan's residence. "They cover the upper two floors," Einstein said, "and the openings on these floors pass through rooms that have only a single entrance, at least that's how the architectural drawings show them. But the uppermost floor is a completely open structure. " "The troop carrier is on its way," Alex Roentgen said. "We've been spotted, and the firefight has just begun." "We need people to cover us up," Sagan said, "and suppress the enemy's firepower on the top layer. Since it is fully open, that's where the enemy will appear." "Got it." Roentgen said. Sagan handed the heir to Pauling, removed the equipment pack, and pulled out the shoulder straps, which had a belly pocket just the right size for the heir.With some effort, she tucked the howling heir into her belly belt, fastened it, and slung it across her body, the shoulder strap fastened behind her right shoulder. "I'll climb the middle one," Sagan said. "Dirac, you're on the left, Pauling, on the right. We'll climb, and Einstein will be the cover. Once we're up, you'll cover her and the other two. Got it?" "Understood." Jared and Pauling replied. "Fill my MP and give it to Einstein," Sagan said to Jared, "she won't have time to reload." Jared took out the magazine for Sagan's MP and pulled out one of his spares Put it in the box and hand the MP to Einstein.She took it and nodded her thanks. "Get ready," Roentgen said from above, "you hurry up." As soon as they grabbed their respective ropes, the heavy footsteps of the Anisha came from outside the door.They started to climb, and Einstein started shooting.When passing the upper two floors, Jared saw his comrades waiting calmly, staring at the only entrance and exit of their respective rooms.The fusion consciousness told Jared that they were all terrified, waiting for their fateful moment. Jared heard gunshots above.The Anisha people have rushed to the top floor. Sagan took the heir, but no MP and equipment backpack, one plus one minus, she had the lightest burden, so she climbed fast, ahead of Jared and Pauling.Climbing high enough to grab the roof, she reached for Julian Lovell's hand.But at that moment, two bullets hit her shoulder at an angle, and a third bullet grazed Sagan's shoulder, hit Lowell's right eye, pierced the brain, bounced on the inside of the skull, and burrowed into the neck. , tore the carotid artery.Lowell's head fell back, then fell forward, and his body collapsed, falling forward into the hole, hitting Sagan just right, tearing the last few fibers of the heir's shoulder straps.Sagan felt the shoulder straps snap and loosen, but was too busy trying to keep his balance from falling to grab hold of them. "Catch it," she said, and Alex Roentgen grabbed her and pulled her to safety. Jared reached for it, but missed it, the shoulder straps were too far away from him.The shoulder strap flew past Pauling, Pauling grabbed it, and the shoulder strap made a half circle around her. Jared felt the shock and pain of Julie Einstein below.Her MP fell silent.Immediately afterwards, there was the rustling footsteps of the Enisha people crawling into the room of the head of authority. Pauling looked up at Jared and said, "Climb quickly." Jared scrambled desperately, not looking at his feet.As he passed the top floor of the palace, he caught a glimpse of the corpses of two dozen Anishans. Behind the corpses, there were more living Anishans shooting at Jared, who was climbing. Comrades fired back with bullets and grenades.He quickly crawled past them, and a comrade he hadn't seen dragged him up to the roof.Turning, he saw Sarah Pauling clutching the rope, with one hand on the shoulder strap.The Anisha below took aim at her.She clutched at the shoulder straps and was unable to climb. Pauling looked at Jared and smiled. "My favorite," she said, throwing the shoulder strap at Jared, and the first bullets hit her body.Jared reached out, and the bullet sent Pauling dancing in the air, hitting her legs, torso, back, and skull beyond the protection of the protective clothing.Jared grabbed the shoulder straps and lifted her up, and she fell down to the bottom of the cave.He felt her last breath, and then disappeared. He was still crying as his comrades dragged him aboard the troop carrier. The matrilineal tribal culture that rules Anisha is well suited to this race, whose distant ancestors are insectoid creatures that dwell in beehives.The matriarchs of the major tribes voted to elect the leader. This process sounds very civilized, but it is not, because the collection of votes may involve years of indescribably cruel civil wars, and the tribe has to fight to decide who will be the leader.In order to avoid large-scale turmoil caused by the resignation of the head of power, after the head of power is elected, the throne becomes hereditary, and the pressure is very high-the head of power must give birth within two Anisha years after taking the throne and canonize a fertile heir, so as to This ensures an orderly transfer of power in the future, otherwise the tribe's dominance would end with its abdication. Matriarch Anisha drinks the hormone-rich royal jelly, causing massive physical transformation (another product of her lineage), and has the ability to reproduce throughout her life, so producing heirs is rarely a problem, the question is from which tribe Choose the father of the heir.The matriarch does not marry for love (technically, the Anisha have no concept of marriage at all), so political considerations come into focus.Tribes unable to climb to the top turn to competition (much more subtle and often less brutal) for mates, with the benefit of directly increasing the social status of the tribe and the ability to influence state policy as part of the mate's tribe's "dowry" .There are two ways for the newly ascended tribal leader to choose a spouse, or the most powerful ally tribe, as a reward for loyalty; or the most powerful enemy tribe, provided that the leader's "vote" is extraordinarily chaotic , the entire Anisha nation needs to mend their relationship with each other.In contrast, the head of power who ascended the throne through generations has a lot of room for maneuver in choosing a spouse. Phileb Thur is the sixth generation head of the current Thur family (a tribe that has risen to power three times in the past few hundred years).Upon her succession, she chose a leader from the tribe of Shio, a tribe whose ambitions in expanding the colony culminated in Anisha's decision to form a secret alliance with Le Rey and Obin to attack the humans.Due to his dominant role in this war, Anisha will take the best planets of the Colonial Union, including the Colonial Union's home planet Phoenix.The Rarai were given fewer planets, but among them was Coral, where the Colonial Federation had recently humiliated them severely. Still mysterious, the Obin contribute only slightly less than the Enisha, but only one planet: an overpopulated, resource-depleted Earth.The situation on Earth is so bad that the Colonial Federation has placed it in quarantine.Both Anisha and Le Rey were happy to give up the Earth. The national policy advocated by the Shio tribe makes Anisha inclined to wage war against humans.Although bound by the chieftain system, each Anisha tribe has its own council.At least one tribe, the Garen, vehemently opposed raids on the Colonial Alliance on the grounds that humans were powerful, troublesomely stubborn, and unprincipled when they felt threatened.Galen thought that Lerai would be a better target, because Lerai had been hostile to Anisha for many years, and his army was weak after Coral was severely damaged by humans. Chief Phileb Sear ignored the opinions of the Galen Council on this matter, but she noticed that the Galen tribe obviously had a good impression of humans, so she chose a member of the Galen tribe named Hu Galen as the Enisha's ambassador to the Colonial League.Hu Galen was recently recalled to Anisha to watch the heir canonization ceremony and celebrate the Chaphalan festival with the head of power.During the raid by the second row, Hu Galen sat near the head of authority, and when the second row who killed the head of authority's husband and robbed the heir called the head of authority, he was hiding with the head of authority. “艾尼沙人停止射击了，”阿历克斯·伦琴说，“看来知道继承人在我们手里了。” “很好。”萨根说。鲍林和爱因斯坦死了，还有几个士兵被困在宫殿里，她想把他们救出来。她示意大家登船。丹尼尔·哈维给她包扎肩伤，她疼得龇牙咧嘴。防护服完全挡住了第一颗子弹，但第二颗打穿防护服，造成了严重伤害，右臂暂时完全失去活动能力。她举起左手，指了指运兵船中央的小轮床。权首继承人维尤特·瑟尔被绑在轮床上，仍在不停地扭动，她不再尖叫，但还在呜咽，疲惫渐渐战胜恐惧。 “谁给她打针？”萨根问。 “我来。”雅列抢在别人开口前站起来，从萨根座位下的医疗包里取出注射器。他转身走到维尤特·瑟尔身前，无比仇恨这东西。脑伴把示意图叠加在视野上，告诉他从哪儿下针，要把长长的针头插进内脏多深，才释放针筒里的物质。 雅列恶狠狠地把针头插进维尤特·瑟尔的身体，冰冷的金属扎得维尤特·瑟尔拼命哭喊。雅列揿下注射器上的按钮，把一半的液体推进继承人两个尚未发育的生殖囊的一个之中。雅列拔出注射器，将针头扎进另外一个生殖囊，推空了针筒。纳米机器人覆盖了生殖囊的内壁，自行燃烧，烧死组织，生殖囊的主人不可逆转地丧失了生殖能力。 维尤特·瑟尔因为困惑和疼痛而哀嚎。 “接通权首了，”伦琴说，“音频视频都有。” “接进公共频道，”萨根说，“阿历克斯，你到轮床边当镜头。” 伦琴点点头，站在轮床前，视线对准萨根，把来自耳朵和眼睛的音频和视频信号接进脑伴，充当麦克风和摄像头。 “接通了。”伦琴说。艾尼沙权首出现在雅列和运兵船全员的视野中。尽管看不懂艾尼沙人的表情，但很明显权首愤怒得都要燃烧了。 “他妈的人类屎渣，”权首说（更确切地说是翻译器说，它没有逐字对译，而是表达出了文字背后的情绪），“给你们三十秒，把女儿还给我，否则我就向你们的所有行星宣战。我发誓要把它们化为灰烬。” “闭嘴。”萨根说，腰带上的扬声器吐出翻译。 线路另外一头传来许多响亮的咔哒声，权首王庭震惊得无以复加。难以想象，居然有人敢这么和权首说话。 “你说什么？”权首最后说，她本人也很震惊。 “我说'闭嘴'，”萨根答道，“你要是够聪明，就该好好听我说话，免得你我两方人民无谓受苦。权首，你不会向殖民联盟宣战，因为你已经向我们宣战了。你们、勒雷伊和奥宾。” “我完全不知道——”权首说。 “再撒谎，我就割掉你女儿的脑袋。”萨根说。 又是一阵咔哒声，权首闭上了嘴巴。 “请问，”萨根说，“你们是不是已经向殖民联盟开战了？” “对，”权首过了好一阵答道，“或者说很快就将开战。” “我认为不会。”萨根说。 “你是谁？”权首说，“哈特林大使在哪儿？我凭什么要和拿我女儿生命威胁我的人谈判？” “哈特林大使应该还在她的办公室里，努力搞清楚局势，”萨根说，“既然你认为没必要向她通报贵方的军事计划，那么我们也同样认为没必要。权首，你之所以正在和拿你女儿生命威胁你的人谈判，是因为你对人类孩子的生命构成了威胁。你之所以在和我谈判，是因为此刻你只配和我谈判。这一点你大可以放心，你再也不可能和殖民联盟谈判了。” 权首陷入沉默，最后说：“让我看看我的女儿。” 萨根对伦琴点点头，伦琴转身望向又开始低声啜泣的维尤特·瑟尔。雅列看着权首的反应，权首从星球领袖变回母亲，孩子的痛苦和恐惧她感同身受。 “你们的要求是什么？”权首说。 “停战。”萨根答道。 “还有另外两方，”权首说，“我们要是退出，他们一定会想知道原因。” “那就继续备战，”萨根说，“转而袭击你的一方盟友，我建议勒雷伊。他们国力衰败，突袭应该能拿下他们。” “奥宾呢？”权首说。 “留给我们处理。”萨根说。 “你们行吗？”女王显然很怀疑。 “当然。”萨根说。 “你难道说我们要掩盖今晚发生的所有事情？”权首说，“你们用来摧毁宫殿的粒子束在几百里外都看得见。” “别掩盖，好好调查，”萨根说，“殖民联盟乐于协助艾尼沙朋友调查，到时候发现元凶是勒雷伊人，你们就有理由开战了。” “还有什么要求？”权首说。 “有个叫查尔斯·布廷的人类，”萨根说，“我们知道他在协助你们。我们要他。” “不在我们手上，”权首说，“在奥宾那儿。你们尽管去找奥宾人要吧。还有什么要求？” “我们要你保证你会退出战争。”萨根说。 “难道要签订条约？”权首问。 “不，”萨根说，“你换配偶，由我们选择。” 这话引得王庭发出了最响亮的一阵咔哒声。 “你们杀害了我的配偶，居然还想挑选下一个？”权首问。 "Yes." Sagan said. “为什么？”权首暴怒道，“我的维尤特已被册封！她是合法的继承人。如果我满足你们的要求，你们放我的女儿回来，她还是希奥部落的一员，按照传统，他们仍旧拥有政治影响力。如果你们杀死我的女儿，破坏他们的影响力——”权首泣不成声地顿了顿，继续道，“如果你们这么做了，我为什么还要满足你们的要求呢？” “权首，”萨根说，“你的女儿没有生育能力。” silence. “你们不会那么做吧？”权首恳求道。 “已经下手了。”萨根说。 权首抿紧口器，发出超越尘世的哀恸叫声。她在哭泣。她从座位上起身，在画面外痛哭，忽然重新出现，凑到离镜头最近的地方。“你们这些魔鬼！”权首尖叫道。萨根没有吭声。 继承人册封后不能撤销。继承人无法生育意味着这条权首血脉的断绝。权首血脉断绝意味着许多年激烈的血腥内战，各个部落为了登基而竞争。如果各个部落得知继承人无法生育，他们不会等待继承人自然死亡才开始自相残杀。在位权首将被刺杀，让无法生育的继承人掌权，无法生育的继承人接着成为刺杀目标。权位唾手可得，很少有人会耐心等待。殖民联盟使维尤特·瑟尔丧失生育能力，宣判了瑟尔权首血脉的终结，艾尼沙即将陷入内乱。除非权首答应他们的要求，接受一件异常可怕的事情。权首本人很清楚局面。 但她还是反抗了，权首说：“我不会允许你们替我挑选配偶。” “我们会通知各部落的族长，说你的女儿没有生育能力。”萨根说。 “我会就地摧毁你们的运兵船，连同我的女儿。”权首尖叫道。 “动手吧，”萨根说，“所有族长都将知道，是你这个权首的无能使得我们袭击艾尼沙，导致配偶和继承人丧命。接着你会发现不管你选择哪个部落向你提供配偶，那个部落都会拒绝你的要求。没有配偶就没有继承人，没有继承人就没有和平。权首，我们很熟悉艾尼沙历史。我们知道部落曾经为了更小的事情拒绝提供配偶，遭到联合抵制的权首都撑不了多久。” “不会的。”权首说。 萨根耸耸肩：“那就杀了我们吧，或者拒绝我们的要求，我们把你丧失生育能力的女儿还给你；要么就按我们说的做，与我们合作，延续权首血脉，让艾尼沙民族远离内战。这就是你的全部选择。你的考虑时间不多了。” 雅列看着各种情绪掠过权首的面部和身体，她是外星人，看起来很奇怪，但没有减少其中的力度。这场挣扎悄无声息，但撕心裂肺。雅列想起简报会上萨根的话：人类无法从军事上战胜艾尼沙，必须从心理上打垮他们。雅列望着权首逐渐屈服，最后终于垮了。 “说吧，要我册封谁。”权首说。 “胡·盖伦。”萨根说。 权首转身望向胡·盖伦，胡·盖伦静悄悄地站在她背后，露出艾尼沙人的苦涩笑容。她说：“我并不吃惊。” “他为人不错，”萨根说，“而且会安慰你的。” “人类，你要是敢再安慰我一句，”权首说，“我就宣布开战。” “抱歉，权首，”萨根说，“我们达成协议了吗？” “是的。”权首说，又哭了起来。“噢，天哪，”她喊道，“噢，维尤特。噢，天哪。” “你知道你必须做什么。”萨根说。 “不，不行，我做不到。”权首哭道。听见她的哭声，已经安静下去的维尤特·瑟尔又扭动起来，哭着要妈妈。权首再次崩溃。 “你必须这么做。”萨根说。 “求你了，”艾尼沙行星上最有权势的生物恳求道，“我做不到。求你了，人类，帮帮我。” “狄拉克，”萨根说，“动手。” 雅列抽出战斗匕首，走向萨拉·鲍林为之而死的小东西。她被捆在轮床上，扭动着要妈妈，她将孤独而恐惧地死去，远离每一个爱过她的人。 雅列也崩溃了，他不知道原因。 简·萨根走到雅列身边，接过匕首，举起来。雅列转过身去。 哭声停歇。