Once again Zelof nodded his agreement. “This’s only one of several items which call the Kthpok story into question for me. I’ve got to know why they’re doing what they’re doing! So that brings us to your assignment. Your pod is to infiltrate the Kthpok facility being constructed on Terran Island. You’ll access their computers, download all the data you can and return it here for analysis. All of this is to be accomplished without the Kthpok being aware of your presence. I hope that the results of your mission will explain the strange behavior of the Kthpok.”
He paused and gestured with a true-hand at the terminal. “Does that provide sufficient information for you to select a pod?”
Kazikami bowed his head. “It will do, sir,” he said. “I’ll have the list for my pod within a day. A general infiltration plan and training schedule will be ready after another day. I’ll develop the details for the mission during training.”
Zelof grinned in approval. “Then why’re you still here?”
True to his word, Commander Kazikami returned to Zelof’s office within twenty-eight hours and handed the Swarm Master an electronic pad. “My pod, Swarm Master,” he announced. “How long will it take for them to be assigned here?”
Zelof took a moment to examine the names contained in the pad. Then he placed the device into a slot of his console. After entering a few commands to access the file and perform a search he consulted his screen. “Most of these people won’t be a problem,” he said. “I can have several of the Iidx listed at post within a day but,” he paused to scroll down. “There are two Iidx here who are on New Hive. Are these Iidx really necessary?"
Kazikami shrugged, “they’re necessary only if you want to know what the Kthpok are up to,” he stared at the Swarm Master, “without the Kthpok knowing that we’ve been there.”
Nodding his understanding, Zelof consulted his terminal once again. “I’ll have your entire pod here within five days.”
“By that time I’ll have our training schedule ready.”
The Swarm Master switched off his terminal and removed the pad. “You’ll have a compressed schedule, Commander. The Kthpok are almost finished with their facility on Main Hive and their defenses are being activated.”’
“We’ll move as soon as possible,” replied Kazikami. After saluting he left.
As he stared at the closing door Zelof whispered, “I hope it’s soon enough. The Kthpok have scheduled their first excursions for technology.”
Chapter 8
While holding onto the control yoke Lieutenant T’Nal checked his Head’s-Up-Display for the stat’s that showed his shuttles heading. From the way his craft was flying there was a stiff wind coming in on his strong side that he hadn’t been warned about. It was pushing him off course. The Kthpok gave a shrug with his tail. He should’ve been given a weather update about it earlier but this wasn’t difficult. He could adjust. A slight turn on the yoke brought the craft into an easy bank. He watched the HUD as his ship swung back to the correct heading.
Satisfied his craft was flying in the right direction the pilot craned his long neck up and around so he could see out the window on his left. Passing some three thousand feet below he could see squares, rectangles, and circles of various shades of green. Must be crops, T’Nal thought. At least that’s what fields looked like from altitude back on Fairen. There was an occasional grouping of buildings he recognized as farm dwellings with dark brown lines which meant roads connecting the groups. The roads all moved towards larger roads and the larger roads stretched in the direction the shuttle was heading. As he watched a dot of light flashed from one of the roads as sunlight reflected from glass or polished metal.
Shifting back around, he looked through the front screen to see their destination outlined on the horizon directly ahead. That was Cosli, the capital city of Main Hive. Buildings, towers, and bridges could be seen in profile and everything seemed a little odd. To his eye, the angles and shapes of the structures were all wrong. Specks of light above the city indicated there were more craft in the air than his shuttle.
He reached out a talon and flicked a switch adjusting the trim of his craft. “Navigation!” T’Nal called. “I want a location check. Have we been notified of any restricted space we should avoid?”
“We’re fifty miles from the Iidx capital, approaching on the correct vector,” announced Lieutenant JG S’Rol, the navigator. He was on a perch to the left and a little behind the pilot. “At our current speed and with no course change, our ETA to the city is twenty minutes. There were no travel prohibitions announced when we left base nor have there been any updates.”
“No updates?” asked the Weapons Officer from his station across from the navigator. “No restricted areas? That’s hard to believe.”
“We’re not going to believe it, R’Mot,” replied T’Nal still watching ahead. “You were at the briefing with the rest of us. Our task is to find those areas and their defenses.
“Now, everyone start recording,” the Commander ordered. “Keep watch for any targeting scanners, defensive structures or missile batteries. We need to pay special attention to the facilities identified by the analysts in orbit as items of interest.”
The pilot craned his neck around to look at S’Rol who also doubled as the communications officer for this mission. “I’m going to reduce our altitude so we can get a better view of the ground,” he said. “Let the ‘experts’ in the back know we’re about to begin the tour of our target. Remind them they’re to watch out their viewports for any items that might be defenses. If they see anything they’re to mark the location on the maps they’ve been given. If they have any questions they better ask.”
“Acknowledged,” said S’Rol as he turned to comply. “Some experts,” the officer sniffed, “as if scientists and techs would know a missile battery or pulser mount from a pile of rocks.”
The pilot ignored S’Rol’s comments and continued his instructions as he went back to his flying. “I’m going to vary from our announced flight plan to do a little ‘impromptu’ sight seeing now. Keep me informed if Iidx Flight Control warns us off any particular heading.” As he spoke his talons moved over his control panel to adjust speed and altitude then turned the yoke. In response the shuttle banked sharply to the left.
“R’Mot!” he called. “I also want to know if we get painted with targeting scans.” The Lieutenant JG acknowledged his orders and turned to concentrate on his equipment.
A moment later the shuttle craft left the regular patchwork areas of agricultural lands and entered the outskirts of the city then came over the city proper. Following orders the passengers held their maps of the city and stared out any nearby window. Below they could see structures, vehicles moving along streets and Iidx walking.
In the cockpit R’Mot spoke up as he looked through his view port at the city. “All those things moving around down there, the Iidx..? They’re so small, like little ants.”
S’Rol snorted from his position, “They are ants, sort of, just bigger.”
“They’ll make a bigger mess when stepped on though,” added R’Mot. Amused hisses from both officers followed the comment.
“We’re not here to be tourists or botanists,” reminded T’Nal cutting through his crew’s laughter. “We have an assignment. Now check your equipment. Are we getting any targeting hits?”
R’Mot turned away from the window he’d been staring out to examine his equipment. A moment later he reported. “There’s nothing Lieutenant, just regular traffic control ranging.”
“S’Rol,” called the pilot. “We’ve moved from our announced and approved flight plan. What are you hearing?”
“Nothing important, Sir!” came the immediate reply. “Traffic Control keeps advising us of other air vehicles in the same area as we are. But as near as I can tell they’re warning the other aircraft away.”
T’Nal swiveled his head around to glance at the Lieutenant JG. “Am I hearing this right?” he asked. “Flight Control isn’t upset about our
deviation from course. In fact they’re clearing the way for us. They aren’t ordering us to return to our original course?”
“That’s correct, sir.”
“Strange. No ranging and targeting?” he asked again and turned back to see where they were going.
“Nothing beyond what we’ve already seen,” R’Mot said.
T’Nal shook his head. “Maybe they’re being careful and decided to keep their tracking systems on passive,” he muttered then turned the yoke again causing the shuttle to head for another cluster of buildings. “Have either of you seen any sign of defenses?” The two other Kthpok in the cockpit called back negative. “What about infra-red?” the pilot wondered.
“Nothing showing on the scope,” the weapons officer reported. “Either the Iidx are more proficient at camouflage than we are or there are no defenses.”
“No defenses!” exclaimed T’Nal. Disbelief colored his voice. “This is supposed to be the area of a major military facility. Shells! It’s their planetary capital and you’re telling me they have no defenses?”
All R’Mot could do was shrug and held out his hands. “Look Lieutenant! I don’t create the results,” he said. “I just report them.”
“I still don’t believe it. Make sure all your equipment’s operating within parameters and I want everything recorded,” ordered T’Nal. The pilot was in such a foul mood that neither officer reminded their commander that the order to record everything had been given some time earlier. T’Nal continued. “We’ll sightsee for a while more then head for our designated landing point. The recordings should catch anything we might miss.”
The shuttle circled the Iidx capital for close to an hour without seeing anything that fit their parameters of defensive emplacements. After receiving course information from his Navigator T’Nal banked the craft. He watched as an indicator moved to show the craft was coming to the proper course. “I’ve stretched our side trip as long as I dare,” he announced to his cockpit pack. “Coming onto the heading for our landing point. S’Rol, notify the Iidx we’ve finished our sightseeing and are on our way in.” The pilot gave a snort. “I guess we’d better be diplomatic so tell them we appreciate their patience and understanding. Consult your equipment and tell them when to expect us.”
As the navigation’s officer bent over his equipment to carry out his orders T’Nal turned to R’Mot. “We’ve passed over most of the city and I couldn’t see anything suspicious. Where are the defenses?”
The officer turned away from his console to look at the pilot. He shook his head in disbelief. “There aren’t any.”
T’Nal’s tail went rigid in disbelief. “What about missile batteries, laser mounts, and tracking facilities?”
“There aren’t any!” replied R’Mot and held out his hands. “I didn’t see anything!” The tone of his voice reflected his frustration. He shook his head again and held up a hand to prevent his commander from protesting. “Lieutenant, I know about camouflage but I also looked for power curves. The Bugs may be able to hide the hardware but the power drain or leakage from systems that powerful can’t be masked.”
“But the ships…” Started T’Nal but was interrupted.
“From what I’ve heard our people in orbit haven’t seen anything,” said the weapons officer. “The analysts of the fleet couldn’t believe it either. That’s why we were detailed for a closer look. As you ordered records of everything we’ve done’ve been kept. That way the smarter and wiser heads back at base can review the recordings and see if we missed anything.”
He shook his head. “I don’t think we did. We know how we’d secure a facility and where to place defenses. That’s where we looked. But allowing for an alien mindset and different priorities we looked everywhere else. If the telescopes from orbit and our low altitude swings can’t find defenses there aren’t any.”
A tone sounded. The pilot looked at his instruments then made a few adjustments to the shuttles course and announced, “we’ll be landing in a few moments. There should be defenses in that area so lets get them mapped.”
Fleet Admiral P’Mar read the report on an electronic pad as the data scrolled up the screen. “I don’t believe this,” he muttered and keyed for another section. The other Kthpok in the conference room who’d been summoned to this meeting looked at each other, tails swinging with apprehension. The room they occupied was in the administration center of their land base. A large window behind the Fleet Admiral’s perch showed the cluster of ships on the landing field but no one was looking outside. They were all concentrating on their commander.
“This can’t be right,” the Kthpok leader muttered and craned his neck to look at the Kthpok around the table. “We used our technology excursions as an excuse to look for defenses and our people found nothing!” he announced. “Is it possible the Bugs learned of our intentions and hid their defenses from us?”
Glances were exchanged once again before the Point of Alien Intelligence, Captain Z’Had, spoke. His position had been created since entering this system and with the Iidx in mind. “It is possible Fleet Admiral, though not probable,” he said. “I don’t see how they could have learned what we’re doing. No Kthpok is going to tell them. But if they have learned what we have in store for them the Iidx had their defenses hidden long before we arrived. As you ordered we’ve been scanning and observing the surface upon entering orbit. Nothing was detected with the initial scans. That was why we utilized the tech trips.” He gave a shrug of his tail. “We hoped a closer look would reveal the location of the defenses we’d have to contend with. All types of scans were used. We’ve gone over the recordings from the flights in detail.” He held out his hands. “There’s simply nothing there.”
P’Mar shook his head as he thought. “We’ve identified our priority targets but they aren’t defended. It doesn’t make any sense. It’s almost like the Bugs don’t expect to have their facilities or cities attacked. Only the ships of their fleet are targets.”
Another officer perched next to Z’Had spoke up. While his voice was steady his twitching tail betrayed his unease. “A possibility exists to explain why there are no defenses to worry about, sir.” He gestured at the Fleet Admiral. “If the Bugs haven’t fought a war for generations their military would have taken on the role of a police force.”
“And you are?” asked P’Mar.
The Kthpok seemed to shrink on his perch and didn’t answer. He’d violated protocol by speaking in the meeting without receiving permission. The realization fo what he’d done seemed to paralyze him.
“This is Lieutenant Commander C’Ter,” Z’Had replied coming to the Kthpok’s rescue. “I had him come with me as he has an aptitude for thinking in new ways, Admiral.”
P’Mar nodded his understanding. “Thinking in new ways is what we need,” he replied. Then a cunning look came over the Admiral’s face. “A police force. That is an intriguing possibility,” he said and a grin stretched to show his teeth. “If that were true the Bugs wouldn’t be expecting a massive assault, just raids. And those raids would be to obtain wealth not destroy it.” C’Ter seemed to relax a little and he resumed breathing as the possibility of living to see tomorrow appeared on the horizon.
P’Mar shook his head. “That may explain the lack of defenses but it doesn’t explain the size of metal in the Iidx fleet. A fleet of smaller, faster ships would be more suitable to handle mere raiders. There’s got to be an explanation!”
He turned to the Lieutenant Commander who’d offered the suggestion. C’Ter stiffened again in apprehension. “It was your idea, Commander. Use the link established by the linguists to do a search of the Iidx database. I want to know when the last war occurred and how extensive it was. I want the report in less than two weeks.” The Commander had pulled out a pad and was entering notes as fast as the Admiral spoke. P’Mar paused for a moment, thinking then continued. “While you’re looking find out what was targeted during that fighting and why. We also want an explanation for the size of the Iidx
fleet.”
After C’Ter acknowledged his instructions the Fleet Admiral turned back to the others. “Even if the scans and surveys are accurate and there are no defenses we aren’t strong enough to take the planet from the Iidx. What progress have we made in repairing and rearming?”
Another officer, Captain K’Zan, consulted the pad he was holding before replying. “In the half year we’ve been on Main Hive our base’s constructed, the repair facility’s been completed and the first ship brought down, Admiral. The dreadnought Terranic is having its hull armor repaired, power mains and controls reset.” He nodded at Z’Don, the captain of the dreadnaught, who was across the table.
“Have the scientists and techs been able to determine if the Iidx have any technology we can use?” wondered the Admiral.
“There are several applications which are readily apparent, sir,” replied Z’Had. “We’ve found the Iidx have a stronger alloy for their armor so we’re going to update our hulls. In addition, their lasers and capital missiles have longer reach and power. We’ll refit to those as well.”
P’Mar nodded his approval of the news. “The Iidx weapons and armor may give us trouble if we can’t achieve surprise against their ships when we attack. But when our fleet returns to Fairen we’ll have no problems with the humans. What’s your time frame for the repairs to the fleet?”
“That depends on the condition of each vessel,” replied K’Zan. “A new, more comprehensive survey of the fleet is being conducted now. After finding out what needs to be repaired and the extent of the refit needed I’ll be able to give you a more realistic schedule. The experience we gain with the Terranic will prove valuable.”
“Very good,” said the Admiral then recapped. “We’ve found technology in alloys and firepower that we’re going to exploit. Is there anything else?” He glanced from one officer to another until he came to the second to last Kthpok at the table who gave a nervous twitch of his tail. “Yes?” prompted P’Mar. “Who are you and what can you contribute?”
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