Orbit’s algorithms detected Lucia’s annoyance.
Lucia sent.
Orbit replied.
While Lucia spoke to Orbit, Jess signaled the pilots to attack.
Shuttles two and three emptied the shadows onto the moon’s surface, and Jess directed them down the tube.
Sharon advised.
When the ramp lowered, Aputi readied the tripod and line, and Jess slid down the line first. Tacnock and Homsaff followed.
The shadows clustered around the blast door. As expected, the panel, which was built to withstand shuttle launches, was unharmed.
Jess activated the panel, and the blast door slid aside.
Shadows scurried inward, hunting for targets.
Linked to the shadows’ controllers, Jess, Tacnock, and Homsaff moved in carefully behind them.
Several Dischnya had ridden the line in Lucia’s company, and following Jess’s hand signs, they crowded the tunnel walls.
The airlock hatch was opened, and Jess flooded it with shadows. Tacnock and he took up their assault positions inside the airlock. They were crammed into the corners, and the shadows clung to the overhead and the walls.
Jess tapped the panel. The blast-side hatch closed, the space pressurized, and the dome-side hatch slid open.
When the shadows didn’t fire, the veterans briefly peeked out. Then they studied their recorded images and that of the shadows.
Tacnock sent.
Jess replied. He sent his group of shadows to scout the tunnels, while he cycled more veterans and shadows through.
When the scout shadows didn’t find insectoids, the veterans flooded the tunnels and confirmed the absence of the Colony. Finally, they congregated at the dome’s airlock.
Tacnock tapped the panel, and the hatch failed to open. His eyebrows rose, as if to ask, “Who can tell why one time the dome is open and another time it isn’t?”
Lucia reached into a small pack, pulled a tube, and handed it to Jess. He removed the applicator and smeared fluid on the panel. Then the hatch slid aside.
“You brought insectoid blood from Quall,” Aputi declared.
“We’ve a collection of tubes under refrigeration,” Lucia said. “We came prepared.”
The assault team carefully checked the dorm rooms on each of the lower levels before they ascended the ramp. The Colony had deserted the dome.
Jess approached the console, replayed Juliette’s vid, and followed the sequence. Swiftly, he locked out the gates and cleared the dome’s airlock program.
Hessan remarked privately to Simlan.
Simlan sent in reply.
The assault team returned to their travelers and made for their ships. Soon afterward, the fleet left for the next domes down line, which had been designated yellow. The Colony had been moving through the gates but had made no attempt to colonize either planet.
In quick succession, a small team entered each dome, which the Colony immediately deserted down line. Jess shut down the gates and cleared the airlocks.
Viewing the planets in detail provided the answers as to why the Colony bypassed the two systems in favor of the final planet in the line.
The first world the fleet studied had suffered a major impact from a comet or asteroid. Its atmosphere was thickly occluded in dust and ice.
The next world had suffered cataclysmic volcanic eruptions. If the planet could recover, it would take millennia.
It was evident that whatever species the Messinants uplifted on those two worlds were long gone.
A question plagued Jess about the red-designated world. It involved the Colony’s evolving responses to the veterans’ presence. He wrestled with how to determine whether the planet had suffered an early Colony invasion or was marked by a later arrival and a series of ambushes.
Then a new thought rankled Jess. “Why couldn’t it be both?” he murmured.
“What do you mean both?” Lucia asked, as she snuggled closer to Jess.
“Why couldn’t the Colony have arrived here a while ago and inundated the planet?” Jess asked. “Then, when the Colony sees us at Dontot, the insectoids decide to set up the final dome and send transports to act as ambushes?”
After a moment’s consideration, Lucia kissed Jess’s cheek. “Good questions, which we’ll answer when we arrive there in five days,” she said. “For now, it’s just you and me.” Then she nuzzled him and began kissing his throat.
21: Designated Red
The red-designated dome was a non-alliance dome. The Tsargit had no recorded data of an uplifted species, which was probably because it was an end-of-the-line world.
Crixtos and the city masters surmised that the line represented the newest endeavors of the Messinants before they ended their galactic experiment with genetic tinkering.
Jess was in no hurry to take action. He let the telemetry data accrue and spent hours in discussion with Orbit, who could quickly and efficiently summarize the imagery.
“Do you detect any differences among the transports?” Jess asked Orbit.
“Specificity would be appreciated, Captain,” Orbit replied. He knew Jess was frustrated by not finding answers to his questions.
“In the designs, Orbit,” Jess clarified. “Could there be later models?”
“They’re identical, Captain,” Orbit replied.
Jess mumbled something that even Orbit couldn’t hear three meters away. Then again, he didn’t need to hear. The captain had said similar things in the past two days.
“Do we have a final count on shuttle landings?” Jess inquired.
“It’s been completed, Captain. Fifty-two engine burn locations have been identified,” Orbit replied.
“Aha,” Jess exulted.
Orbit smiled, and Lucia and the bridge crew were pleased to hear that Jess had discovered at least one answer to his search.
“And what is your aha moment, Captain?” Lucia inquired.
“Fifty-two shuttles mean twenty-six transports,” Jess said triumphantly.
“Twenty-six?” Lucia queried. The number didn’t equate with what they knew.
“Affirmative, Admiral,” Orbit replied. “Yet, there are thirty-two transports in orbit around the planet.”
“Six traps hiding among what might appear as the normal transport fleet. Does the Colony think we can’t count?” Lucia remarked with irritation.
“It only takes one mistake,” Jess said. “A little hubris on our part can lead to a disaster.”
“Do you have your answers?” Lucia asked.
“Only one, but it’s enough to get started,” Jess replied. “This is a dangerous system. It combines the worst of the Colony tactics. The insectoids have invaded the planet with one thousand forty insectoids, and they’ve planned the latest ambush technique with their transports and undoubtedly the dome. We’re being tested.”
“It’s the end of the line,” Lucia remarked. “Access through the domes has been truncated. I’d love to know how they’ll get the information out of here. Otherwise, why test us? What good will it do these particular insectoids?”
Lucia, like Jess, assumed the Colony could somehow communicate the veterans’ actions. They hadn’t found the method, but there were too many coincidences from conflict to conflict that said the method must exist.
Orbit had searched telemetry data. He sought to locate a transmission of some sort, but the evidence had eluded him and every other SADE.
Kasie had shared a thought with Jess before she returned to Py
re. She’d said, “Jess, the logical and simplest method would be through the consoles.”
“The gates?” Jess had asked.
“No, silly,” Kasie had replied. “The consoles ... a messaging technique within them.”
“How would they direct the message to the correct dome?” Jess had asked.
Kasie had kissed her twin on the forehead and whispered, “Who says it has to be directed? Maybe the consoles are holding messages for the Messinants and the Colony.” Then she’d departed to catch the Earther Trident that would transport her to Pyre.
Jess had shared the idea with Orbit, and the SADE was interested in exploring a non-alliance console. This would be his opportunity.
While Jess worked to resolve his puzzling questions, Lucia sent a message to the Freedom. She’d frequently updated the fleet at each dome. For the first message from the red-designated dome, she’d sent,
Jess queried Orbit on the travel timing of Lucia’s transmission and the fleet’s transit to enable the Freedom to appear. The answer was one more surprise about alliance space.
Orbit replied, “Captain, this system is actually closer to Quall than Dontot.”
Jess’s latest round of questions for Orbit concerned the local population, whose primitive domiciles had been spotted.
“The sentients are at the level of an early agrarian society,” Orbit replied. “Their huts are made of plant material compacted with mud or clay.”
“Is there evidence of significant carnivores?” Jess asked.
“Undoubtedly,” Orbit replied. “The huts are clustered in distinct villages. A tall wall surrounds the entire village, and it’s topped with thorn branches.”
“Good,” Lucia commented. “The locals are prepared to deal with aggressive entities.” She recalled the Quall, whose bodies lay in repose, as they succumbed to thirst, famine, or both, and she shuddered. In this regard, she supported Homsaff’s opinion that sentients had to fight for life.
“How dense is the population?” Jess asked.
“The huts are found across less than twenty-seven percent of the planet. Primarily, they occupy two belts that circle the planet. Both are temperate zones,” Orbit explained.
“Where did the shuttles land?” Lucia inquired.
“In the same areas, which is logical,” Orbit replied. “Temperate areas are preferable to the Colony. However, the relative scarcity of both races means initial interactions should be at a minimum.”
“Except for the adventuresome and curious,” Jess theorized. “Imagine you’re a primitive, and you see fiery objects fall from the sky. Then one of them lands near you.”
“More than likely, you or a small band investigates the mystery ... never to be seen again,” Lucia finished.
“All of this suits the Colony’s strategy,” Jess said. “The insectoids will want to build their numbers before they advance on the villages.”
“It’s too bad we can’t talk to the locals and learn when the Colony arrived,” Lucia lamented. “That would give us a better idea of what we face.”
“Maybe we can, and maybe they can,” Jess replied, with a grin. “A little pantomiming goes a long way.”
“Why interact with the locals at all?” Lucia asked. “Orbit said the numbers are limited. We can hunt the insectoids without bothering the villages.”
“Orbit also said it’s an early agrarian society,” Jess replied. “That means the inhabitants still possess hunter-gatherer habits.”
“Which means that we’ll eventually run into them in the field,” Lucia supplied.
“Be aware, Sers, that the villages will possess varying associations,” Orbit said. “Historic data suggests some groups would trade and others would war.”
“You can imagine what the locals might think when they see us,” Jess suggested.
“Deities or demons as depicted by the ancient religions,” Lucia offered. “We could either be given food and drink or have weapons hurled at us.”
“Either way, we have the resources to start a hunt,” Jess concluded. “But we need to establish some understanding with the locals. It’ll help the greater team when the Freedom arrives.”
“Captain, I would suggest a homogenous team for your initial appearance,” Orbit said. When Jess and Lucia frowned at him, he elaborated. “Only humans, Captain. No Jatouche, Dischnya, or Norsitchians.”
“Well, Orbit, you’ll pass for human. Don’t forget your holo-vid,” Jess said.
Orbit briefly considered reminding the captain that he preferred to support the fleet’s endeavors from aboard ship. However, the expression on the admiral’s face said he’d be joining the team.
The following morning, Sharon’s traveler dropped through the planet’s atmosphere. It was a cargo model and carried Lucia, Jess, Aputi, Orbit, a security team, and six shadows.
There had been a vigorous discussion about the best approach to the locals. The consensus was to impress them with technology.
In addition, Jess wanted to tell the villagers a story. The question was whether to do it with a holo-vid or an example.
Orbit settled the question. He said that most likely the hut inhabitants would think the holo-vid images would be entities trapped by Jess. It would be better if they were presented with a real example.
Sharon was directed by Orbit to a shuttle landing site.
When the ship neared the location, Jess dropped the ramp and sat on its lip. He visually searched the ground, while the others used the ship’s sensors. There were hopes that the adult insectoids wouldn’t have adopted camouflage methods yet.
Orbit spotted them first. he sent.
Jess sent urgently.
As the traveler reversed, Jess rocked slightly backward. He was held in place by Aputi’s big hands, which gripped his harness.
Sharon set the traveler down, and Jess offloaded the six shadows. He checked the breech of his Loopah weapon, and Aputi did the same. They heard the snick of another breech.
Lucia stood behind them. She regarded their quizzical faces and said, “Someone has to look after you two.”
“Certainly, Admiral,” Jess replied evenly, though that was nothing like he felt.
Jess sent. He received a tiny app. It presented a visual. When he turned his head, he could align with the center mark of the image.
Jess sent. Then he signaled the shadows forward, except for one that he assigned to Lucia.
On a whim, Lucia signaled the shadow by her side to join the hunt. The small head turned her way. Then it looked forward and continued to pace her. As she thought, she wouldn’t be able to override the assault commander’s directives.
“It looks like it’s you and me,” Lucia whispered to the shadow. The smallest of smiles creased her lips.
Jess followed Orbit’s app until he saw the shadows react to a scent trail. Then he reverted to hunting techniques. A glance to either side assured him that Lucia and Aputi were ready. Jess let the shadows lead, and the humans followed.
They were late to the feast. The reds and the grays had finished. The carcass was picked clean, and the insectoids had vanished.
The shadows found three scent trails.
Jess queried the shadows. Their controllers and sensors were sophisticated enough to discriminate between the scents of a red and a gray. One shadow had what Jess wanted, and he directed the others to hunt.
When the red tired of running, a hiding place was chosen. It was an enormous fallen log. As it rotted, the inside was dug out by animals seeking shelter. Rain and weather had continued to eat at the once forest giant.
The shadows focused on the log, and Jess signaled them to halt. They didn’t have a shot at the head, which was
what they were programmed to target.
Aputi sent.
Jess sent.
The veterans and every shadow but one were signaled to pull back.
After backtracking about a hundred meters, Jess lost his link to the lone shadow. He halted their retreat and retraced their steps by a few meters. When his connection resumed, the hunt team settled to wait.
The shadow that had been left behind hid in a pile of dead branches. Mickey’s creation emitted nothing to give away its presence. It didn’t make sounds, and it gave off no scents. It was a ghost in the woods.
Eventually, the red left its hiding place and crawled right into the shadow’s laser shot.
“You have your specimen,” Lucia commented. “Now the hard part. We meet the locals.”
Sharon lifted and landed the traveler as close as she could get to the dead red.
The problem for the veterans was that most of the insectoid was still within the log, and its sharp leg tips were embedded in the wood.
Jess sent.
Orbit reordered his algorithms to quell the odd sensation he experienced at Jess’s request. He often studied the code that gave rise to the desire to remain aboard ship or station. Deleting it would have been a simple cure, but he considered it part of his personality.
Focusing on Jess’s signal, Orbit moved swiftly and silently through the woods. The imagery from the captain told the story. When he arrived, he grasped the red’s pincers and hauled it from the rotten log. Then he dragged it to the traveler.
At the ship, Orbit pulled the red’s head as far forward as the initial row of seats would allow. A portion of its tail lay on the ramp.
Jess sent.
“Big one,” Aputi commented. “Nearly six meters.”
“Mind the pincers,” Jess said to the security team. “The tips can still ooze venom.”
It was an unnecessary recommendation. Security was giving the dead insectoid a wide berth. Most of them were wondering how the veterans had the courage to hunt the deadly monstrosities.
This was Sharon’s opportunity to confront her fears, and she knew it. She did manage to release her harness and get out of her pilot’s seat. But at the cockpit doorway, she signaled the door closed and returned to her seat. Not today, she thought.
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