Winter's Galaxy

by F. E. Arliss

  The Soclaued, a sloth-like creature that lived to burrow, feed on ores and raise their families, simply wanted to live. They had no interest in the monetary outcomes of transactions for the ore. Nor were they able to defend themselves on Talurau II, as their slow-moving peaceful natures and three-digit, claw-like appendages weren’t optimal for holding weapons more complex than a bludgeon.

  The cargo haulers pulling in to Talurau II were low-fare, high volume ships with minimal crews and little to no weapons. So far, five haulers had been boarded, the crews ripped apart and what little possessions they had, pillaged. The plexalon ore had been stolen as well, but no sign of it had been visible on the black-market.

  Queen Altum Juls believed the Arachnians were building a fortified station on one of the low-grav moons in a system, that as yet, had been uncharted. It would be a good place to hide after running attacks as there were no maps of the quadrant currently in the Intergalactic Databases. She’d given Sister a rough set of coordinates for the locale she believed might harbor the station. First, Sister’s crew would check in on the Soclaued and deploy a minefield requiring coordinates for navigation around Talurau II. Hopefully, that would keep them safe.

  The Queen already had upgraded the clearance for ships retrieving cargo from Talurau II to a more heavily fortified grade that would be expecting trouble. It would, without doubt, drive up the costs of the ore and since the security measures were costing a large sum, she advised the Soclaued to limit access to their ore. This in turn would drive up the price of the ore and keep the Soclaued in a place where they could protect themselves.

  The Queen had rolled her eyes over the need for this. She’d hated economics as a student. Never would she have believed she’d be using the dreaded stuff now. Who knew the domination of galaxies and preservation of her species would depend on anything so mundane? Life was crazy!

  The visit to Talurau II had been sad. The Soclaued had lost many families to the Arachnian attacks. They simply tore apart the slow-moving creatures and devoured them until they were full. They dragged a few more along for another meal, loaded the ore and been gone.

  Winter had left a small contingency of warriors on the planet installing force-fields over the Soclaued habitats and ore loading platforms, and then deploying the rotationally timed minefield. The minefield would keep unwanted attackers at bay, while the force-fields would protect the habitats from off-world aerial bombardment.

  The Soclaued smelled awful, a by-product of their life-style in small tunnels and caves. They had a strongly-pungent scent that clung to their shaggy, white, wiry-haired bodies. A loving and peaceful species, it had saddened Winter to see them so devastated by loss. She had found them adorably lovable, and the smell did not affect her as much as others on her crew. No doubt a gift she’d received while living in the stink-ridden dump of Claudio’s brothel in Saltillo. Winter was no newbie when it came to the smell of shit, piss, and other bodily secretions. The fact that there was no ill-will attached to the Soclaued made it all the easier to take. Winter had even been able to hug several of them and to cradle the long-limbed babies they offered her for inspection. They really had been adorable.

  They had been approaching the coordinates Queen Altum Juls sent for the last half-day, going slowly and carefully so as to remain undetected. The crawling pace also gave Winter time to don protective gear and load herself fully with armaments. She’d put the ship on high alert and all her warriors were vigilant and armored to the teeth.

  Arachnians were very dangerous. Although as tall as an Idolum, they had two extra sets of arms. So while you might be engaging them on one front, the other two sets of arms could be busy jabbing a knife between your ribs. They were sneaky that way. Plus, they just liked killing. They’d been born for it and felt no hesitancy when it came to hurling themselves headlong into greater odds.

  Winter had seen Arachanians before on Uzi, when she’d been waiting for Jeanie’s arrival. They came only in the dark of night, smuggled in by the lowest forms of criminal life. They were the main attraction in illegal fights where crowds of eager betters awaited gushes of gore as they tore their opponents apart. Even in the dark and at a distance, they’d given Winter the creeps. Like giant upright spiders, their weirdly disjointed mandibles were always clacking and clicking, grinding away at some unseen piece of chewy meat stuck in their multitude of pointed, rotting teeth. Even thinking about what she’d seen of them sent a shiver of revulsion down Winter’s back.

  “You better get up here,” whispered into her mind, as did Tate’s growing agitation from what he was seeing on the view-screen. Winter flashed to the bridge and stopped suddenly, squinting at the image on view.

  “What the hell is that?” she asked, turning her head at an angle to see if it would make better sense.

  “We’re pretty sure it’s an Arachnian birthing hive,” General Kor said, sending a trepidatious look towards Tate. “It’s ringed by a defensive outer fortification and we count fifteen Arachnian sloops in dock. We have accounts of birthing hives in the helmet, if you wish to access them,” he added, gesturing towards Winter and the contraption that now set against one wall.

  Winter hurried to the helmet and sat down, it responded immediately and within a split-second was delivering intelligence from the ages into her neural cortex. Shoving if off a few minutes later, Winter sighed, “We’ve got a lot to do. Firstly, no amount of attempted diplomatic solutions have ever been recorded as successful. The Arachnians seem closed to any peaceful solutions to co-existence. They are bred to fight and fight is what they’ll do. It’s like breathing to them. Secondly, with fifteen sloops, that’s a lot of Arachnians to kill if a diplomatic solution goes sideways,” she added, seriously.

  “On top of that, we’ve got what looks like millions of eggs. I’m guessing the reason they took the ore from Talurau II is that it’s a dessicant. According to the tests Sister is running on the atmosphere here, it has a lot of humidity in the ozone. These eggs may not flourish without a dessicant to dry the surrounding area. What I don’t get is why they chose this spot for a hive? What’s the food source to be after the eggs hatch?” Winter asked.

  “The closest large colony of anything edible to the Arachnians would be Karulla, with its population of Storch,” Tate murmured. “I don’t think even that large of a colony of birds would feed this many eggs. There must be something we’re missing,” he added, stroking his hands over his long white hair in thought.

  “That’s highly possible, as we’re in uncharted space. I think we need to send out probes to see if there is another life-sign within easy enough reach for the Arachnians to push the hive towards,” Winter nodded at General Kor as she said this. He hurried to launch a set of probes, reprogramming them quickly for life-signs before pushing the codes for release into the console.

  Withdrawing to a safer distance, Winter put the crew to charting the information the probes gathered as they explored. Just mapping the new areas would be well worth the trip out here, if they lived through it! On the third day, a probe hit gold. A large, blue planet showed on the vid-feed sent through to them. A water planet, smaller than Gateka, but teaming with life, though half of its surface was ice-covered. It had to be the food source planned for the hatchlings.

  Winter ordered Sister to approach the planet from a roundabout trajectory, avoiding any chance of detection by the Arachnians. Keeping long-range sensors on maximum gave Winter only a small modicum of peace as they approached the planet. The last thing they wanted was to alert the Arachnians of their presence.

  Life signs were being detected all over the planet’s surface. A wildly diverse array of mammals populated both the water and the land of the ice-planet. None of the mammals appeared to have the capacity to communicate intelligently. Not that animals weren’t intelligent, Winter conceded. Heck she’d trained the mice and roaches to stay off her bed on Uzi. There was probably a way to communicate with these animals as well. She and Tate could communicate, maybe the two of them c
ould create some sort of hive-mind connection with some of the species.

  “How long do we have until the eggs hatch on the station?” she asked Kor.

  “Sister guesses about two weeks. If you’ve got a plan, you better get crackin’,” he added dolefully.

  “I need to send a message to Queen Altum Juls. She must arrive post-haste,” Winter dictated. “Bring Behr, in entirety.” With that, she turned to sweep from the room, barking, “Ready a shuttle, Tate and I will convene on the surface.”

  Three hours later, Winter and Tate had tramped several miles over the frozen tundra looking for mammals. They’d encountered several who had simply slipped into the water and disappeared. They looked like seals, Tate said. Winter had never seen a seal. Even as a kid when they’d gone to the beach, she’d never clapped eyes on one. She’d take Tate’s word for it.

  Finally, setting quietly for a few minutes on a rocky ridge of frozen ice, Winter closed her eyes and keyed in her senses. Time to stop chasing and start finding. She knew she’d gone about this the wrong way. She needed to find the one mammal on this frozen berg that could communicate with her. The only way to do that was to set down and start communicating in the only way she knew how, thought.

  Putting herself deep into a meditation, Winter wove her thoughts in with Tate’s and allowed their intent to beam out from their consciousnesses in a search for any sign of like communication. It was a long shot, but at this point, why the hell not, was all Winter could think. Tate agreed.

  Finally, a point of movement in their consciousness showed Winter that something approached. Something large and slow moving. It crept towards their position, its foremost intention was one of curiosity.

  She communicated only peace and good will towards it. Whatever it was.

  It turned out to be something that reminded her of a cross between a polar bear and a wookie. It tromped towards the ridge they sat on and settled onto stout legs in a semi-squat in front of them. It had long white hair, large brown eyes and long black claw-tipped hands with opposable thumbs. A flattened nose sniffed the air inquiringly. It appeared intelligent.

  Winter quietly said, “Hello. I’m Winter. This is Tate,” all the while transmitting peace and harmony.

  The mass of hair shifted forward onto all fours and approached slowly. Drawing to within a few inches of Winter’s face, it gradually lowered its enormous head to eye level. After a thorough search of Winter’s eyes, the being gently pressed its broad forehead against Winter’s smaller one.

  “I am Koso,” entered both Tate and Winter’s minds at once. “Why are you here?”

  Winter, using the same technique, simply communicated, “We are trying to stop the spider people from arriving.”

  “We know of the spider people. They come every millenia and decimate our population. Then we regrow. It is a terrible cycle, yet we have no defense. As the time grows near, our females no longer carry young to full term. Fear aborts the fetuses. This is a new development,” Koso added grimly. “I fear our people are giving up.”

  “What do you care of the spider people?” Koso added after a pause laden with sadness.

  “They are attacking our people as well. We wish to stop them from populating this sector. Their growth is a blight for all near them,” Winter stated calmly. “We are here to help.”

  “Where have you been in millenia past?” the large shaggy creature asked with some resentment boiling in his mind.

  “We did not know you were here. The spider people encroach further and further from their home world. We have only now discovered the floating hive above us,” she returned matter-of-factly. “We could not prevent something we did not know was happening.”

  “True,” Koso grumped. “What do you propose?” he asked simply.

  “I propose a joint venture on your planet. Our Queen is on her way to help us. It will take her some time to arrive, but with her help I am sure it is possible to defeat the Arachnian protector sloops and eradicate the eggs. In the meantime, I would like to give you some information about the Idolum species,” in her mind she gestured towards Tate’s lanky form.

  “They have a symbiosis with other mammalian species that can be very beneficial for both parties. Would you be interested in learning about that?” she asked, as though not particularly interested in the outcome.

  “In the meantime,” Koso stated without prevarication and shrugged his massive shoulders in a ‘why not?’ gesture.

  Back onboard Sister, Winter asked Tate to implement her back-up plan. Should the eggs hatch before the Queen arrived, they better have a Plan B to deal with the sloops and the hatchlings. Hopefully, they wouldn’t need it. Better safe than sorry. Winter always wanted a Plan B and maybe a Plan C. Though sometimes it was just better to wing things, research never hurt.

  The next week flew by as Koso introduced the crew to many of the different species on the planet. Having no name, the crew debated with lively suggestions, a new name for the ice world. Tate wanted to call it Iceland. Winter rolled her eyes at that. Tate just grinned. He was pulling her chain!

  Kor suggested Seinea, a frozen world of Idolum myth. Sister finally came up with the best suggestion. One of the apostles of the Mother had come from the frozen depths of the eons as a sparkling white goddess by the name of Beira.

  Winter thought it appropriate as she’d asked the Queen to bring Behr with her. General Behr was a dark-skinned Idolum. One of only a handful in recorded history, his difference set him apart from his species. This isolation had resulted in a taciturn General who withdrew to harsh conditions in order to protect his nest.

  While his nest had prospered through their ferocity in ‘protection for hire’ security services. They had no homeworld and roamed the galaxy like gypsies in order to remain safe. Beira would give his nest a home. The names being similar, seemed only to confirm to Winter that this was his destined homeworld.

  Chapter Twelve

  Arachnian Encounter

  “What is the ETA for Queen Altum Juls?” Winter asked Tate again for the hundredth time in as many hours.

  “Mother help us,” Tate sighed and clasped his hands in mock prayer.

  “The same as last time you asked me. She’ll be here in about four hours,” he added patiently.

  “Sister says the Arachnians are firing up the engines on the hive to move it closer to Beira. If they do that, and any of the hatchlings break free, they will be within survival distance to Beira. We can’t let that happen,” Winter almost shrieked, her usual aplomb completely shot.

  “So what do you want to do?” Tate asked. “We can target the thrusters on the hive, but that will alert the sloops and we’ll have a full-out battle on our hands. We’re one ship against fifteen,” he added, most unhelpfully, Winter thought, glowering at him.

  Fats waddled over to Winter, took her small hand in his and said, “I’ve got a plan.” His mischievous grin made her feel better instantly.

  “What’s your plan?” she asked, completely ready for some new ideas.

  “I’m tiny, no more than a drifting bit of space trash to the Arachnians. I say we strap some jets on me and let me set a charge on the hive thrusters. I can get in and out without being seen,” the little man added seriously. “I’m dark, just an ink blot on an otherwise dark ass galaxy,” he added, extending his drawl to make Winter smile again. “We can use one of the small, cloaked Idolum fighters to transport me in and out.”

  “No, definitely not!” Winter said firmly. “I’m going to blink in and set the charges. I’ll have a session with the helmet for a type of charge and then I’ll blink over, set it, and blink out again,” she added confidently.

  Tate just stared at her. “You’re going to set explosives,” he stated a bit dazedly.

  “Yes. Yes, I am. Hopefully, they’ll think it’s a malfunction. We should be prepared in case they don’t and launch the sloops. If they do, they will most likely slide into a grid-cross search pattern. We’ll need to try to chart their initial trajector
ies so that Sister can calculate an evasion program for us,” Winter explained, as though she’d thought it all out in a long and complex thinking session. This was one time when she was flying by the seat of her pants. Definitely.

  “My session with the helmet won’t be long. Have Kor ready likely devices for deployment. As soon as I’m out from under, we can build the device and go. The sooner the better,” Winter said calmly, then slid into the helmet’s chair. Instantly, the helmet descended and she was gone in data files, her head firmly in the helmet’s grip. Tate grimaced and commed Kor.

  Half an hour later, she was ready to blink to the hive. Tate had a terrible feeling about this and simply told her so. Pausing, Winter looked at him, a slight frown on her face. “What is it that is giving you this feeling?” she asked seriously.