Betrayal

by E. Wayne Stucki

  “There’s always hope when we fight for freedom,” replied the Swarm Master and nodded at the plot again. “As you can see the Kthpok haven’t hit the cities where the factories are now. At least for now.”

  “And those factories made the missiles they fired at our Swarm,” added Sesum. “They need the factories to replace the munitions they’ve expended or will expend against us. Their ships must have been damaged from when they fought the Swarm. Other factories will be needed to make those repairs.”

  “Just so,” said Zelof. “For those reasons and perhaps others we aren’t aware of the Kthpok have created a refuge for our people. So what we do now is pull everyone we can into the cities while the rest go into hiding. Those cities have defenses that could possibly hold their own against any attack that isn’t an intense bombardment from orbit. We simply make sure our population is housed, fed and protected then wait. The Kthpok can’t destroy the cities because they need the factories nor can they attack on the ground.” He shrugged. “Perhaps they’ll quit our system when faced with that problem. If they don’t, they starve. Either way we have our victory - and our freedom.”

  “I can’t argue with that logic,” said Sesum. “But I can’t help but think the Kthpok have thought of that and’ve prepared a very unpleasant surprise for us.”

  “It does seem that they’ve thought of everything,” agreed the Swarm Master.

  Chapter 24

  Forst followed Rian through the jungle and looked up the meandering line of Iidx. He gave an amused wave of his antennae at the fact that everyone was here for this little expedition.

  A week ago Colonel Levron had called from the mainland to announce that a new weapon had been provided by the Swarm Master and was going to be used against the Kthpok. Lieutenant Regul and his Swarm were ordered to observe the attack and report on the effectiveness of the weapon.

  After signing off Regul had turned from the transmitter, taken his headset off and announced he had the date and approximate time for an attack. Then he called for the Conservation Ranger and the two had moved through the Swarm to reach a work table where they began deliberations. Using recent satellite photos of the island they discussed and argued over the merits of possible observation points. Because he’d been all over the island in the course of his work Fairron’s insights into possible sites were invaluable. After thirty minutes of watching the debate the rest of the Swarm had lost interest and left to find other distractions.

  It was another hour before Lieutenant Regul had called the Swarm back together. During that time an enlarged satellite picture of the target area along with a mission roster had been placed on a wall in the cave. After everyone had quieted down Regul moved to the front, took a pointer and indicated a spot on the photo. With soft murmurs the Swarm had eased closer to see the Lieutenant was pointing to a mountain on the edge of the plain. The spot he’d selected to observe the attack was on a steep slope below the summit of that mountain and was facing the plain. He explained this location had a good view of the target and appeared to be relatively clear of the ever present jungle canopy.

  Forst shook his head when he remembered Regul’s amused reaction when Private Lepteron had raised a true-hand to ask why they weren’t going closer to the target. The Lieutenant’s antennae had jerked for just an instant then he’d gotten control and explained that although the observation post was seven miles from the target base it was an ideal vantage point.

  Fairron had spoken up at that point and told the Swarm not to accept that explanation alone. An important reason for selecting this location as their observation point was that the Kthpok had increased their patrols in the jungle. Attempting to get any closer would risk the Iidx on the island being discovered by the Kthpok. The Ranger had calmly announced that Regul was just as interested in saving everyone’s shell as getting the information for Colonel Levron. That pronouncement had been greeted with grateful murmurs and an embarrassed dip from Regul’s antennae.

  Then the discussion had turned from the location to the Mission Roster. No one had an argument with the observation point. What had the antennae bent of some Iidx was being left off the mission roster. Those who hadn’t been named had made it very clear they wouldn’t be left behind. They’d go anyway! There was a point during the heated discussion that’d erupted that Forst wondered if the announcement had set off a mutiny. After twenty minutes of arguing, threatening and complaining Lieutenant Regul had finally bowed to the inevitable. To the chirping and whistles of celebrating Iidx he’d announced everyone could go.

  Forst brought his thoughts back to the present as he swung around the trunk of a large tree then cut through a clump of bushes. A boulder, partially covered by moss, blocked his path. He continued walking, getting closer to their destination, and noticed the jungle was growing lighter and the foliage less dense as boulders became more numerous.

  After moving through another line of dense bushes the two pilots joined the rest of the Swarm who were gathered on the edge of a clearing on the mountainside. Looking out of the jungle at the open space the Captain finally understood why Regul had settled on this particular area for their observation point. Glancing up the steep slope he saw a gash in the mountainside where a large rock had broken off, fragmented and crashed down the hillside. The rockslide had cleared out a large portion of the jungle and opened a view of the entire countryside. Knowing how quickly the plants of the jungle regrew Forst determined the rockslide must have occurred recently, perhaps within the last six months or so. Besides that, if one stood at the right spot, he’d be able to see the strait separating the island from the continent as well as the target.

  A brief, shrill whistle caught Forst’s attention. He looked around to see that everyone else had left the jungle to find an observation point. The Captain waved his antennae to acknowledge the call then hurried to catch up with the rest of the Swarm.

  Coming out of the trees he glanced up and down the slope trying to find a boulder with concealment which gave him a good view of the jungle and the Kthpok base beyond. Forst saw a tree where a rock had rolled down the slope to slam up against the trunk and remained. The impact had the tree leaning downslope but the branches still provided the desired concealment. He started towards the rock then stopped. Sergeant Helmon appeared from behind some bushes, walked over, slipped off his backpack and tossed it onto the rock. Shaking his head Forst turned to find another post. The rock wasn’t big enough for two.

  He continued looking for his spot, moving up and down the slope but was a step behind Sontel, Sol and Mada. Just as he was ready to settle on a rock that didn’t have the best view of the target Forst heard his name being called. Looking further downslope he saw Rian was motioning him over.

  “There’s room enough for two here, Captain,” Rian announced.

  Forst looked at the boulder the Lieutenant was indicating. It seemed big enough with a large flat face overshadowed by a clump of trees and bushes. He walked down the hillside to stand next to Rian and looked out across the plain. The view of the target area was impressive.

  “This is perfect!” the Captain exclaimed then glanced over at his Lieutenant. “But why didn’t Lieutenant Regul want this position?”

  Rian shrugged his antennae. “He’s the one who found it, Captain, and pointed me over here. He said I could have it because he wanted a place where he could see both sides of the island.” The Lieutenant waved upslope and towards the ridge. “He and our Conservation Ranger are up there somewhere.”

  Satisfied with Rian’s explanation Forst gave an amused wave from his antennae. “Well the Lieutenant’s loss is our gain. If he doesn’t want it we’ll take it!”

  Both Iidx took off their packs, set them on the flat face of the rock, and then climbed onto the boulder to wait for the attack. Forst checked his watch to see they had a few minutes to go before the missiles earliest arrival time. So he took a drink from his water bottle then nibbled at a fruit he’d picked from a nearby bush.

  “How lo
ng do you think we’re going to have to wait, sir?” wondered Rian.

  Forst waved his antennae in ignorance as he stared across the plain. “No idea, Lieutenant,” he replied. “All the Colonel could give us was the date and a general time.” He set the bottle down on the rock and pulled a magnifier from his pack. “But I guess it’ll be soon. Regul’s been pretty good at timing things out.” He gave a little chuckle. “I’ve also noticed he doesn’t like to wait. Besides that the Colonel’s known for punctuality so we’d better get ready. We wouldn’t want to miss the fireworks.” The Captain glanced over at Rian and waved his antennae. “Who knows? It might be in the next ten minutes or an hour from now.”

  They didn’t have to wait the hour before the call, “Antennae’s up!” came from Lieutenant Regul. “We have incoming from the mainland.”

  Forst and Rian turned to look up the slope in time to see several shapes streak over a ridge and drop to follow the terrain. A heartbeat later a blast of sound shook the mountain sending hordes of local flying creatures into the air.

  “They’re awfully low, Captain,” said Rian as the two Iidx turned towards the valley to track the flight of the missiles. “What if they hit a downdraft? That could put them into the trees or a hill.”

  “It’s a new development,” replied Captain Forst as he followed the cruise missiles with his magnifier. “As I understand it those things’ve got upgraded computers and radar. That’s how they can follow the terrain so closely.

  “Look!” he cried, pointing with his left false-hand while watching through the magnifiers. “There’s one missile leading the others.”

  He turned away from the missiles and put his attention on the Kthpok base. “Oh!” Forst exclaimed. His antennae went stiff with excitement. “The Kthpok just noticed the missiles. It worked! They didn’t know the missiles were coming!”

  Rian scrambled to get his own magnifiers out of his pack as Forst watched the action. Pulses of light began to rise from the Kthpok defenses to stop the Iidx cruise missiles. But the targeting was off. Seconds later counter missiles erupted from their launchers. Their targeting was off as well.

  A mile from the target the lead missile gained a few hundred feet in altitude and exploded. Its shaped charge blew a cloud of chaff forward into the air causing the Kthpok targeting scanners to go fuzzy for just a moment. Then the small filaments of metal began to disperse in a slight breeze.

  The Kthpok scanners had just started to paint the missiles when the chaff appeared. Confused by the loss of their targets the equipment went through their automatic reset routines then tried to re-acquire the incoming Iidx weapons. But the cruise missiles were travelling too fast, flying too low and the reset took too long.

  All four of the remaining missiles blasted through the chaff cloud, crossed the intervening jungle, and then raced over the security fences, defensive emplacements and buildings. Instead of spreading out to strike four different sections of the base the missiles concentrated on the manufacturing sector. Captain Forst watched as the weapons dove one by one in quick succession and disappeared in a huge ball of flame, smoke, and dust.

  “Yes!” cried Rian punching a clenched false-hand in the air. “They did it!” Then he lowered his magnifiers and looked up towards the ridge where the missiles had crossed. “Where’s the rest?” the Lieutenant asked. “Shouldn’t there be more?”

  “That’s all the fireworks for today, Lieutenant,” replied Forst. The sound of explosions coming from the base was loud enough to rival the thunder of the evening storms.

  “But there was only five! And they didn’t destroy the whole complex!”

  Still watching the Kthpok facility through his magnifier the Captain spoke again. By this time the booming of explosions was starting to fade. “Lieutenant what you just saw was the test of a new weapon system,” he said. “The Colonel only had five missiles. Apparently the Swarm Master wasn’t sure how well they’d work or if the Kthpok would be able to target the weapons. This was to see how effective the missiles targeting systems and warheads are.”

  “And?” wondered Rian.

  Forst lowered his magnifiers and returned them to his pack. “Couldn’t be better,” he announced. Seven miles away smoke from fires started by the explosions could be seen rising from the base. “As far as I can see the entire manufacturing sector is now flaming rubble. The destructive power of the warheads was as advertised. But the best part of this little experiment is the Kthpok weren’t able to track the missiles.”

  He stood and began to pull on his pack then glanced over at Rian. “The Lieutenant will want to get back to the hive and transmit our observations,” he said. “Once the Swarm Master knows how successful this attack was maybe he can get another flight over here to finish the destruction of the only Kthpok outpost on Main Hive.”

  A shout from Regul stopped the conversation for a moment. “See?” said Forst with an amused wave from his antennae. “We’re leaving.” He dropped off the boulder onto the grass and started up the slope towards the ridge. “You’d better grab your pack and come on,” he called back. “You know Lieutenant Regul doesn’t like to be kept waiting.”

  An amber light began blinking on the main communications console of the Kthpok Colony Ship, Raging. An insistent chiming cut through the background noise. Growling the Kthpok officer turned from the screen he’d been watching to reach out with a talon to complete the link and cut the noise. “Flagship communications!” he announced. “Lieutenant P’Son speaking! What do you want?” His response wasn’t exactly protocol but it was the middle of ships night and the Lieutenant wanted to get back to his entertainment.

  As he listened to the reply the officer sat straighter on his perch. His tail began to sweep from side to side in agitated jerks. The instant the link was ended P’Son swung around to call for the Officer-of-the Deck.

  Moments after he’d received a call for the OOD, Fleet Admiral S’Cal walked through the Center Room hatch adjusting his harness. He still hadn’t gotten used to being elevated to the post of Fleet Admiral. When they’d entered this system he’d just been the Captain of a battle cruiser. Now he was commanding the entire Kthpok fleet.

  S’Cal hurried over to the officer-of-the deck. “What’s our status?” he asked the Lieutenant who’d come to attention and saluted. The Admiral returned the salute and nodded for the Kthpok to stand easy.

  “All ships are on station, Fleet Admiral,” the officer replied after taking the appropriate stance. “Repairs are proceeding as scheduled as is the resupply from the colliers.” He paused for a moment to check an electronic pad before continuing. “Although the last shuttles from the surface are late.”

  The Admiral bobbed his head in acknowledgment. “I am aware of the reason for their delay, Lieutenant. Has anything new happened on Main Hive since you called me?”

  “No, sir!” was the crisp reply.

  “Good! Now where is the Run Point?”

  “His Excellency said he’d be in Conference Two reviewing reports, Fleet Admiral,” replied the OOD. “He’s been there for at least an hour and left orders not to be disturbed. He doesn’t know what’s happened.”

  S’Cal didn’t say another word but swung on his tail and stalked from the Center Room leaving behind a stunned Lieutenant. Minutes later the Admiral was outside the door of Conference Two reaching for the key pad. Then he hesitated. Was this important enough to override the lock and risk the possibility of being killed or should he try the attention tone?

  Taking a deep breath he came to his decision. He exhaled then keyed in the code to unlock and open the door. Before the door was completely open S’Cal hurried inside.

  At the sound of the door opening S’Cinf looked up from the data pad he’d been studying to see the Fleet Admiral scurry into the room. The Run Point gave the Admiral his best glare as the Kthpok came to attention and saluted. “I assume you have a death wish, Fleet Admiral,” S’Cinf growled. “I gave explicit orders not to be disturbed! If the reason for this inter
ruption isn’t sufficiently important you’ll see what the environment is like outside the ship - without a suit.”

  Dropping his salute the Fleet Admiral began. “Your Excellency! I’ve just received word that our surface facility has been attacked.”

  The pad he’d been holding clattered onto conference the table as S’Cinf stood from his perch. “Attacked?” he asked. “What happened to the defenses? Why weren’t they online?”

  “The defenses were online, your Excellency, but they were configured for Iidx operated aircraft,” replied S’Cal. “Over a month ago, while we obliterated the Iidx fleet and liberated New Hive, the Iidx attacked our base on the surface using fighter aircraft. As you know that attack was destroyed although the facility sustained moderate damage to the industrial area.

  “For this attack the Iidx fired five long-range, low-level missiles. According to the preliminary information we have these missiles flew below radar, following the islands terrain. Scanning couldn’t detect them until the Iidx weapons were in final acquisition. Although we were watching for another attack we didn’t even know they’d been launched.”

  The Run Point pondered for a moment, staring at the grain in the polished wood of the table. “Missiles that can’t be detected,” he said then angled his head to look at the admiral. “I don’t recall a missile of that type discussed in our early meetings with the Iidx.”

  “No, Sir,” agreed S’Cal. “After you appointed me Fleet Admiral I reviewed the transcripts of those meetings to make sure I was up to speed. I also checked the reports from our inspection packs sent into their factories.” He shook his head. “There wasn’t anything like this mentioned.”

  S’Cinf settled back onto his perch and began tapping a talon on the surface of the table. “That seems to indicate the Iidx weren’t as open with us as we were led to believe,” the Kthpok leader decided after a moment. His lips parted in a ferocious smile. “Weapons that fly below radar scans to avoid detection until the moment they strike has merit. Our scientists will need to examine the Iidx records for this this type of missile after we complete the destruction of the vermin. Its abilities, in addition to our stealth tech, will make a valuable addition to our armament.”