by Robert Boren
“Wow, that’s a big improvement,” Elizabeth said.
“Where is all this going?” XC22272 asked. “Why did you destroy your ship, and what happened to your crew?”
“The creatures were trying to regain control after they destroyed our Vitamin D supplies. They had several members of the crew compromised, and were beginning to come aboard and fight us. Humans were no match for them in a straight up fight… they can tear a human apart in hand-to-hand combat. Their exoskeletons protected them from plasma weapons, and spikers couldn’t get through either. We had to use explosives. Not a good idea inside a star ship.”
“They were protecting the eggs, weren’t they?” XC22272 asked.
“Yes.”
“I think I know where this is going,” Elizabeth said. “They got control of the ship and came into our universe.”
Ecason nodded.
“You used self-destruct?” XC22272 asked.
“They disabled that a soon as they took over the ship,” Ecason said. “We got an idea. The Samson Drives still had the remote-destruct capability. We’d applied the patch when it was available, but I knew how to remove it. They had the internal command and control system locked up tight, but they didn’t think to stop remote access. I slipped into an escape pod, took off, disabled the patch, and sent the self-destruct code. I didn’t expect to live. Those escape pods aren’t fast, and I couldn’t put it on a countdown, or they would’ve just stopped it. I pushed the button, and boom.”
XC22272 leaned back in his seat. “Judging by the condition of that escape pod we found you in, it’s a miracle you did survive.”
“Why didn’t you take more people with you?” Elizabeth asked.
“There were very few humans left alive at that point, and we needed them on the ship to stop the creatures from shooting me down before I could finish my job.”
XC22272 got a sick look on his face. “There was a lot of debris where we found you. How sure are you that eggs didn’t survive?”
“Oh no,” Elizabeth said in a hushed tone.
“Janiza didn’t think they could survive in a vacuum, but honestly I don’t have any proof of that one way or the other. I’m hoping that they wouldn’t survive the heat of entry onto a planet with an atmosphere, but who knows? Somebody could pick them up out of space and take them to the surface of a planet.”
XC22272 stood. “I’ve got to go. Get back to work.”
Elizabeth and Ecason watched as he left the lab.
“Why’s he running off?”
“Probably going to go tell somebody all about this,” Ecason said.
“Maybe they’re going to try a salvage job. That debris might still be out there.”
Ecason laughed. “Oh, you think they might want to use those creatures as a weapon? That wouldn’t be advisable. I really doubt any of those eggs survived the blast and the heat anyway.”
“Did you ever get a close look at the eggs? How hard were their shells?”
“Never got a look in person. I saw video. They were long rows of eggs in a bone-like structure. Janiza said there were about a thousand eggs on each, but there was some quantity variation.”
Elizabeth got up to pace. “What would happen if those things hatched on a populated planet?”
“Be someplace else. They’d take over in a few years.”
“How?”
“Well, this is all according to Janiza’s studies before they cut off that kind of information exchange. It might be inaccurate.”
“I understand.”
“Okay. They’re about five millimeters long when they’re born. They grow slowly, but they can reproduce when they’re about a half meter long. They continue with that throughout their lifetime.”
“How long do they live?”
Ecason stood. “Nervous? You’re pacing?”
“Are you kidding?”
“I wouldn’t worry about these creatures. Chances are slim that any eggs survived, and we don’t know if they can survive here, even if they can breathe our air. We don’t know what they eat, for example. They were very secretive about that.”
“Why?”
Ecason shrugged. “I don’t know.”
“You aren’t worried about this at all, are you? Why didn’t you tell them earlier?”
Ecason looked uncomfortable as he got ready to answer.
“Shit, Ecason, you didn’t tell them because you were afraid there were surviving eggs.”
“That’s only part of it. I didn’t want them to find out how to build those drives. They might have tortured me for that info.”
“Oh. Shit, I can see that.”
“Our captors and Prime Minister Aeon are both far more dangerous. Trust me on that.”
***
Simone and Kaleb were both exhausted after their training, walking onto the bridge.
“Anything going on?” Simone asked.
Crystalline turned towards her. “Very quiet since you’ve been in training. How did it go?”
“Amazing,” Simone said.
Kaleb grinned. “I thought the first day of speed training was insane. The second day? Wow.”
“Yes, it was exhilarating, to say the least,” Simone said. “You’ll be starting tomorrow, Crystalline.”
“Good, can’t wait. You two should go get some rest.”
“On our way, just wanted to check on things,” Simone said.
“I would’ve called you if anything was happening, you know.”
Simone smiled. “I know, Crystalline. I’m a control freak. Sorry.”
“I didn’t mean that, Captain.”
“Don’t worry, I’m not offended, and what I said is the truth.”
Kaleb nodded. “Every good commander is a control freak.”
“You’re going to get some rest, right?” Simone asked, watching Kaleb sit at his station.
“I will,” he said. “Just need to wind down a little bit.”
Simone eyed him a moment, then left the bridge.
“She okay?” Crystalline asked.
“She handles stress better than I do,” Kaleb said. “I want to check the long-range scans before I hit the rack.” He ran through them, not finding any indication that Aeon’s forces knew where they were. No ships approaching Earth. He logged off and stood up. “We’re in good shape. Hearing any scuttlebutt?”
“The security team on the Animus caught sixteen more enemy plants.”
“Who told you that?” Kaleb asked.
“Cyrus.”
Kaleb smiled. “Oh, first name basis, huh?”
“Stop. He’s got a lot of questions, and I was on Animus. We’ve gotten to know each other well, but there’s nothing going on.”
Kaleb started towards the door. “Wouldn’t bother me if there was. See you later.”
***
JJ flew her flight suit towards what she knew was the New Jersey, not seeing it. Then a sliver of light was visible in front of her, the small bay door opening.
“That’s the weirdest looking thing,” Nolan said.
“Seriously,” JJ said, her suit flying through the door, Nolan right on her tail, the bay door closing in an instant as they set down vertical on the floor. The bay re-pressurized in a moment, and they lowered the sides of their suits, stepping off the disks.
“I love these things,” Nolan said.
“Well, they are a very good tool,” JJ said. “Glad we didn’t run into any more plants.”
“Just heard from Cyrus,” Nolan said. “They got attacked again. Officer’s dining room. The plants didn’t last long, but they managed to kill one crewmember.”
“Maybe most of them were on Animus, then,” JJ said. “That is their flagship, after all.” She pulled her uniform top over her head.
Nolan finished dressing. “That’s what Cyrus is thinking, but he said he’d continue patrols on the other ships for the time being.”
“How’s the training going on Animus?” JJ asked as they walked towards the door.
&nb
sp; “They finished their first day of Nano training already,” Nolan said. “Too bad we have to be so restrictive on who gets trained.”
JJ stood before the door, and it slid open. “I know, but we don’t have a choice.” They left the bay, heading for the transit station.
“Going to the bridge?” Nolan asked.
“I’m going to wherever Trey is.”
Nolan chuckled. “Emerald giving you a hard time?”
JJ nodded. “She needs to learn her place.”
“I’m going to my stateroom,” Nolan said. “See you later.”
JJ nodded, watching him take a different hallway. “Well?”
JJ went into the transit station, taking a tin can to the bridge, arriving just a moment before Trey.
“Hey, how’s it going?” Sondra asked. “I think Captain Clarke is on his way.”
“He is,” JJ said, sitting in an observer’s seat. “I’m beat, but we got the modules installed and working on the rest of the Overlord’s fleet.”
“Any more enemy plants?” Skip asked.
“Some attacked the Officer’s Dining Room on Animus, but Cyrus’s team made short work of them. We didn’t run into problems on the other ships.”
“How are Simone’s crews holding up?” Sondra asked.
“I think they’re relieved.”
Captain Clarke breezed through the door. “Beat me here, huh?”
“Go ahead and hug him, we won’t tell,” Sondra quipped.
Captain Clarke smiled, giving JJ a quick embrace. “You guys finished, from what Butch told me.”
“We did. That part of our fleet is out of immediate danger.”
“Is Nolan convinced there aren’t any more surprises buried in those ships?”
JJ sat silently for a moment. “He’s a sure as he can be. I think he’s still a little worried about it, to be honest.”
“Great,” Skip said.
“Let’s not spread that around for now,” Captain Clarke said.
“How’s Simone doing with her training?” JJ asked.
“Haven’t talked to her all day. Heard anything, Butch? You can go on speaker.
“Good. Sondra, have the long-range scans shown anything we need to worry about?”
“No sir,” she said.
“I’ve been monitoring too,” Skip said. “All of the Central Authority force movement is on the far side of our zone. Ten more planets were attacked this morning, but I think that’s getting harder for them now.”
“Children,” Captain Clarke said. “Why are they having a harder time?”
“The troop speed loaders are the main problem,” Skip said. “So far all of the newly targeted worlds know better than to allow those to be installed, and it’s pretty easy to stop the process. They’re paying for it in the form of increased railgun attacks, of course. The planets are fighting back, though.”
“Zeke!” Skip said. “Don’t ever say that again.”
“No more jokes like that, ever,” Skip said. He looked over at Sondra. “Sorry.”
Sondra smiled at him. “Don’t worry about it, Skip. Bagiwang, same with you, and don’t butt in. It’s not polite.”
“And with that, we’ll go,” Captain Clarke said. “Keep an eye on those planet attacks. Aeon will ramp things up if he gets resistance.”
“Will do,” Skip said.
JJ and Trey left the bridge.
“You tired?” Trey asked. “Or hungry? We can stop for a bite.”
“Let’s go to our stateroom,” JJ said. “Emerald put some ideas into my head.”
Trey put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. “Good, that’s what I hoped you’d say.”
JJ broke into a giggle as they headed into the transit station.
{ 5 }
New Alliance
S imone woke to the buzzing of her PA.
Simone sat up in bed, checking the time, seeing she slept for eight hours. Dammit. “Put him on screen but leave my camera off until I get dressed.”
Cyrus’s face showed up on the screen. “You there? Can’t see you.”
“I’m getting dressed,” Simone said, pulling on her full-length nano suit, zipping it up, feeling it tighten. “Oh, there’s a cleaning capsule on the floor.” She bent down to pick it up. “Fascinating.”
“Yep, these suits are a marvel,” Cyrus said.
“Sorry, my hair will be a mess.”
“This isn’t a social call,” Cyrus said.
Simone sat in front of the comm unit with her clothes on. “Okay, Silver.”
“Ah, I see you,” Cyrus said. “Your hair looks fine. Quite attractive, actually.”
“Thank you, Cyrus. What can I do for you?”
“Katerinolia and Admiral Peteralinia placed a call to us.”
“Oh, good,” Simone said. “I was so worried. Can you patch it in here?”
“Yes, but make sure there aren’t indicators that you’re on the Spitfire.”
“Oh yeah,” Simone said, looking behind her. “I think we’re good, except for my hair, but I won’t worry about that.”
Cyrus chuckled. “Okay, here they come.”
The screen split into two panes, Katerinolia and Admiral Peteralinia before her.
“Simone, so good to see your face,” Admiral Peteralinia said. “It’s been too long.”
“It’s great to see you too,” Simone said. “So sorry about your sister.”
“They’ll pay for that. It’s already started.”
“And Katerinolia, how are you?”
Katerinolia smiled. “Better than the last time we talked. The people rose up and tossed the Central Authority leadership out. Pentant Simtar as declared our independence.”
“That’s great,” Simone said. “How did Aeon react?”
The admiral chuckled. “Threats and bluster, but he can’t do anything about it, and Devonia Axxiom is no match for us. He’s got a full-scale rebellion going on there. Good time to hit him.”
“Are you really allied with the Samson Corporation?” Katerinolia asked.
Simone smiled. “That’s what we were discussing when you had to flee. What happened?”
“They tried to capture me. My training saved me. I ended up killing two and wounding a third, but had to move to a new location.”
“Good,” Simone said.
“Well?” Admiral Peteralinia asked. “Are you allied with the Samson Corporation?”
“Yes,” Simone said. “As of recently.”
“You’ve fought with them already, haven’t you?” Admiral Peteralinia asked.
“Two engagements so far,” Simone said. “We fit well together.”
“We’d like to join you as allies,”
Katerinolia said. “We know it won’t be easy for you to trust us, so we have a proposal.”
“I’m listening,” Simone said.
“We propose a video meeting with your leadership and a joint session of our entire government,” Katerinolia said. “That way there will be no doubt who is running the government of Pentant Simtar.”
Simone sat silently for a moment. “I’ll have to discuss this with our leadership team, but I’m very much excited about this idea. Let me discuss it with them.”
“Who’s your leader?” Admiral Peteralinia asked, “if you can tell me.”
“Our military leader is Captain Trey Clarke. Our supreme leader is Chairman Vermillion.”
“And what post to you have?” Katerinolia asked.
“I’m on staff to Captain Clarke.”
“This is okay with you?” Katerinolia asked.
“Very much so,” Simone said. “I trust my allies. In fact I shouldn’t just call them allies. The Overlords… what there is left of us, are now part of their team. We don’t have autonomy, nor do I desire autonomy. It just gets in the way.”
“These are positive statements,” Admiral Peteralinia said. “I look forward to our meeting.”
“Who is your new Prime Minister?” Simone asked.
Admiral Peteralinia smiled. “Yours truly.”
“Good, I was hoping that was the case,” Simone said. “Speak to you soon.”
The call ended.
“Yes I did,” Simone said. “I know many people from Pentant Simtar, and expected Aeon’s murders in the Joint Session to cause the people to shun the Central Authority. It happened a little faster than I expected.”
“Yes,” Simone said, getting up. “I’d like to join them on the New Jersey if the meeting with Pentant Simtar gets approved. Can we secure the type of video meeting we’ll need?”
“That’s not a decision I can make on my own,” Simone said.
