The Human Factor

They arrived at Slave Camp 31 twenty minutes later, only to find it in ruins. The Aexi must have detonated mines in the area...but to what end? What were the Aexi so interested in hiding? The miniscule amount of humans left on earth couldn’t be it, could it?

Hagen stepped out of the rover and began sifting through the remains of the installation. Near a telescope, he found two humans, dazed and bruised, but alive. He told them to go back to the rover and wait. They were helpful enough to point out where others might be.

Two of the other investigators began to search for indications of where the mines went off, and where other survivors might be. Apparently, the Aexi had failed to hit the rooftops of the installation, which left the center open to the possibility of finding survivors.

He walked slowly to the center area, avoiding the debris scattered about the compound. He found a likely spot...a large cabinet had tipped over, doors flopped open, but intact.

He signaled to the third investigator and together they lifted the heavy object from the pile of rubble it had fallen on. Underneath lay a crumpled ball of a human. Hagen reached down to its...her...neck. There was a pulse.

The woman looked frail, with long, frizzled red hair. Under better circumstances, she might have been pretty, but a life of servitude (even as a scientist) had worn her features, making her look old beyond her years.

Hagen lifted her crumpled form and carried it back to the rover. Two hours later, they had failed to collect anyone else. The team headed back to the rover.

“Hey,” the tallest survivor asked. “Can we go around the perimeter once more? A lot of good people worked there, and just maybe, one of them might still be alive.”

Hagen knew he would have felt the same if he were in their shoes, but they had already made it through the complex once without hitting any mines, and if he knew the Aexi, they would probably send a patrol to inspect the damage, and it would be arriving very soon. But who was he to deny them the chance to try to save their friends’ lives? Reluctantly, he nodded and told them to be as quick as they could.

A short while later, the rescue team heard the sound of an explosion from the far side of the compound. They quickly rushed to it. The sight made Hagen choke back a swell of bile. Two bodies had been tossed into the air and now lay in grotesque positions on the ground.

He let loose a tide of vomit. He prided himself on his ability to maintain composure during stressful situations, but this was just too much. It was such a waste that so many lives had been lost, but to lose two that they had already saved hurt even more.

He spent a few moments regaining his composure, wiping the vomit from his mouth.

“There’s nothing more we can do here,” Hagen said, indicating for the others to return to the rover.

“But what about any tools that may have been undamaged?” one of the officers asked.

“There wouldn’t be anything left after what we’ve seen,” Hagen replied. “Besides, we don’t need anything more on our plates right now. We’ve got to build up our defenses. It looks like the Aexi are becoming aggressive again.”

Hagen sighed. They had failed to liberate the camp, but at least they had managed to save a life.

And that had to count for something.