by Terry Frost
They quickly entered the room and the guard must have heard sounds that came from his fallen comrades that no Human could hear as he was walking towards the exit of the room. Hammer didn’t wait to see what the guard would do and flung the singa at its head and without as much as a sound, its head fell from its body and onto the floor.
A look of astonishment was plastered on the two Daakie captives' faces then Caid Tikit said, “I’ve never been so glad to see a Human face, Colonel. How the hell did you manage to get in here undetected?”
“We can talk, Caid, or we can get the hell out of here. Cover your eyes and back up some. Major, blast that damn lock, please. It’s going to make a sound so you men get ready to haul ass.”
Hoser dialed his blaster to full power and aimed at the lock on jail door. The blast was loud but the lock blew off the door. Hammer jerked the door open and motioned for them to follow him. They quickly ran in the direction they had entered the palace.
The four ran as fast as they could. Hammer was waiting to see or hear a shitload of Hive soldiers running after them, but they heard or saw nothing, at least until they were about a hundred yards from the palace. Then several loud warning sounds came from in front of the palace and the group knew the Hive had found the dead soldiers and their prisoners had escaped.
They ran another two hundred yards with still a couple hundred more to go before they got back to the hornet. As they were running, Major Hoser looked back over his shoulder and saw two airships they didn’t know the Hive had. They were hovering ships similar to helicopters but without rotors.
They began circling the palace grounds with very bright lights that lit up the immediate grounds near the palace. Hammer looked back as well and said, “They are beginning an aerial search. We don’t have long to get to the hornet, so if you have a second or third gear I suggest you use it.”
They ran for all they were worth and finally made it to the hornet and quickly moved inside. Hammer jumped in the captain’s chair and fired up the hornet’s engines. Major Hoser jumped on the ion cannons and was ready to fire at any attacking Hive fighters. The two stunned Daakie buckled themselves in as Hammer began climbing on his way out of Planet Daak’s atmosphere.
Thinking as he was flying, Hammer thought damn sure would be nice to have a stealth mode like those aliens we ran into on Planet Ogre.
It didn’t take the hornet long to get into the stratosphere but they had a dozen Hive fighters on their ass. Their only saving grace was the fact that no vessel could discharge weapons in the stratosphere unless they desired to blow up like a bomb.
Hammer came out into open space well ahead of the Hive fighters and within seconds Major Hoser prepared the hornet to jump. Within ten seconds they had jumped and were on their way with two surprise gifts for Burseq Maalik.
****
Junal’s quarters was filled with giggling women, with two of them besides Junal being, Dr. Morgan Piner, and Ensign Wolski. One of the other three females was the ship’s master fashion designer, Nirvana Kingsly. Back in her home country of England, she had designed dresses for many of the country’s monarchs, including the Queen of England.
Nirvana was taking Junal’s measurements and she looked up and asked Junal to please stop trembling. Junal was so excited and nervous about her upcoming wedding ceremony she couldn’t stop shaking.
Dr. Piner could sense her nervousness and walked over to the young Venic female and began to do what she did best and that was to use her ability to get the girl to calm down and relax. She began telling her how wonderful her life would be once she became betrothed to her one true love. Hearing that seemed to be working, as Junal slowly started to calm down.
Staring out at nothing, Junal said, “I’m with concern for my beloved Gorvik. His people and his world have been lost to the evil Hive monsters. Where will we live if he has no world to begin his rule?”
“You don’t need to concern your little mind with that, Junal. That is part of what those men we love are to worry about. Your world is to take care of the future king, wherever it is that you and he call home. I don’t know this to be true, but if I know Admiral Allen and Burseq Maalik, they will take their revenge on the Hive for their attack on Planet Daak,” Doctor Piner said.
“You can believe that to be true, Junal. We know our admiral will take action against the Hive. He knows he had to for the sake of all our lives if we are to have a future. Now, enough of such talk. We have a wedding to get ready for. Oh, I mean betrothal, “ Ensign Wolski said followed by a laugh.
Chapter 27
Hammer and his crew came out of hyperspace and Major Hoser called the Colossus. Allen was in his command chair when Gordo McManus said, “Admiral, I have Major Hoser on the com and he wishes to speak to you.”
“Put him through, Lieutenant.”
“Admiral, we are requesting permission to land, sir. Colonel Hammer is asking that you and Burseq Maalik meet us in the hangar bay.”
“Permission granted. The Burseq and I will be there shortly, Allen out.”
Maalik was still on Colossus when the call for him to join the admiral down in the landing bay area. Allen told Maalik he didn’t know why Hammer had asked for them to be present but knew it had to be important. Otherwise, why not just wait and go through standard procedures when returning from a mission.
The two commanders were standing in the bay before the hornet’s landing gear hit the bay floor. The hornets ramp came down and the first face they saw was that of Caid Tikit followed by Science Officer Faadin.
Now, as far as any of the Humans past experiences with the Daakie emotion was something rarely shown by them. Allen had gotten Maalik to smile a few times when they had shared a chalice of Yuklin but that was it.
But seeing two of his kind that he had already come to terms with that they had died was more than Maalik could bear. He rushed over to his commander, bowed, then gave the Daakie salute of slamming his fist against his chest two times then stepped forward and hugged his Caid.
He did the same thing with Faadin. Neither objected as they felt the same way about seeing a man they had shared many periods of life with on their homeworld. Both rescued Daakie looked as if they had been treated rather roughly.
Tikit and Faadin had black scorch marks on their faces and Tikit’s right arm had second-degree burns down his forearm to his wrist. Faadin had a serious burn mark on the left side of his face and neck. Both men had been tortured with a device similar to cattle prods used to move cows through shoots at auctions.
Admiral Allen walked over to the two rescued Daakie and said, “This is a great day to have you two back safely on board Colossus. I’m sure you have a lot to tell us about being a captive of those hideous bastards, but for now, we need to get your injuries attended to and then get you cleaned up and fed.”
Their rescuers, Colonel Hammer and Major Hoser stood behind the two Daakie officers and Admiral Allen motioned them both to come front and center. The two walked up to Allen and saluted.
“Excellent work, gentlemen. I’m looking forward to your debriefing. Major, would you be so kind as to take the Burseq, Caid, and SO Faadin, to the infirmary. We will be up shortly, but I need to talk to Colonel Hammer for a moment first.”
“Aye, aye, Admiral. “Gentlemen, this way if you please.”
Once they were in the elevator and Allen could see them going up, he turned to Jak and asked, “How bad was it, Jak?”
“As we descended down through the atmosphere we saw thousands of fires burning planet-wide. We couldn’t stay in the air that long because of being concerned about being spotted. So, I located the palace and put the hornet down several hundred yards from it.
“We witnessed hundreds of Daakie being marched to a central location just north of the palace grounds. We also saw twenty or so big transport vehicles moving about and happened to see one of them stop and unload a large group of soldiers. I imagine soldiers were being moved about to begin rounding up the Daakie population in the capit
al city. The reason I came to that conclusion was we saw a long line of Daakie citizens being loaded on the same transports once their soldiers had exited the vehicle.
“I decided to check out the palace first as it seemed to be the only structure not covered by Hive personnel. Why that was I can’t say. It was pure luck that we found Caid Tikit and SO Faadin. One sight we did see on our way to the palace was a sickening one. It was a large pile of Daakie skeletons and I assume they had been feeding on them, sir.”
“Skeletons, you say?”
“Yes, sir. They had been eaten so far down that nothing but their skeletons were left, Admiral.”
“Those son da bitches. Walk with me, Jak.” The two men started towards the elevator and the only comment Allen made was, “Get ready for a tireless campaign of kicking those bastard’s asses, Colonel. I don’t want our people, and those of us that come down the line, to be worrying about those fucking insects after we find our new home, which we may have just found.”
****
Admiral Allen decided to allow Tikit and Faadin plenty of time to recuperate before asking them to come to their debriefing. He and Vice Admiral Petrov along with Colonel Hammer, Commodore Jeeves, and Burseq Maalik were back into Room Forward four hours later when Caid Tikit and SO Faadin came to the room, without the admiral requesting them to come.
Both looked mostly rested and their wounds had been cleaned and doctored. Hammer smirked as he saw the two Daakie officers were dressed in USC uniforms. Allen could tell that even though the Caid was appreciative to have been given a change of clothes, he knew the Daakie Military Commander was uncomfortable wearing Human clothing.
“Welcome, gentlemen. I’m glad to see you are looking better after your terrible ordeal. I apologize for the uniforms, and have only a few minutes ago asked Burseq Aiimk to go to his Zurgut and find a proper Daakie uniform for you both.”
“Thank you, Admiral,” Faadin said.
“If you think you're ready to be debriefed, I would like to get started. Please take a seat. Do either of you want something to drink?”
Tikit answered for both he and Faadin, saying, “We are fine, Admiral.”
“Caid, could you begin informing this group about what transpired during and after the Hive attack on your homeworld?”
Tikit didn’t respond immediately and only looked down at the table for a few long seconds before saying anything. The men in the room weren’t sure if he was going to respond at all, then suddenly he looked up, turned his head to his left, looked into Admiral Allen’s eyes and spoke.
“King Gaakin died with honor. He fought them until his last dying breath. Our gracious king had only recently become too weak to stand or walk. The Hive came with overwhelming force, Admiral.
“Myself and Science Officer Faadin were in our king’s private quarters when we heard explosions all around the palace. It didn’t take the insects long to eliminate the palace guards and begin their way up to King Gaakin’s quarters.
“Our king asked me to give him my blaster, which I promptly gave to him. He had a singa in one hand and the blaster in the other. I pulled my battle sword and Faadin pulled his blaster. They busted open the door and we begin fighting them. Our Grace sent three to the floor with his singa and began blasting them as they crowded through the opening.
“Suddenly, out of nowhere, came in a soldier much larger than the rest of the alien soldiers and he fired a weapon that stunned Faadin and I. We weren’t able to move any part of our bodies with the exception of our eyes.”
Tikit paused for a long time then finally said, “The Hive soldiers only had one purpose in mind and that was to kill our beloved king. I saw out of the corner of my right eye, King Gaakin had two dead insects at his feet and one dead one lying across his legs.
“The big alien walked straight over to him and pulled out a large bowed blade and took our king’s head. Why they didn’t kill me or Faadin I don’t know. But I tell you now, I should have died with my king,” Tikit said and slammed his closed hand down hard on the conference table.
“Science Officer Faadin, what can you tell us about the size of the Hive attack force. The Hive nests were so plentiful they practically blocked out the sun. The palace became dark as if something had turned day into night.”
“Prince Gorvik told me he thought the Hive nests numbered to as much as three-hundred. Would you agree with the Prince’s tally.”
Tikit spoke up quickly to ask, “How is Prince Gorvik? How is he doing, Admiral?”
“About as well as could be expected.”
Tikit looked at Maalik and said, “We must coronate our prince. He must become King Gorvik as soon as possible.”
“I agree, Caid, and the admiral and I have begun arranging a ceremony for that very thing, sir.”
Tikit stood up and said, “I would like to see Prince Gorvik. I need to tell him how bravely his uncle fought against our attackers. He must know King Gaakin died with honor. Please escort me to his quarters. Science Officer Faadin can answer any remaining questions you might have, as he saw everything I did. But before I go I need to know that we are putting plans together to avenge his Grace and the people of Daak.”
“Go see Prince Gorvik, Caid. I assure you we are working on plans to eliminate every damn Hive we can find, in the short and long term. Commodore, would you please take the Caid to Prince Gorvik’s quarters?”
“Aye, aye, Admiral. Follow me, Commander.”
Chapter 28
The debriefing had been completed and everyone had gone to eat dinner and basically relax for the rest of the day. But before turning in for the night, Allen asked Colonel Hammer and Burseq Maalik to join him in his Ready Room, for a brief but vital discussion about something that had been worrying him about the Elimination Hive mission.
Allen welcomed them into his private quarters and asked them to take a seat. He walked over to his bar and poured them all a fair amount of his expensive scotch whiskey. Neither man asked for a drink, and Allen didn’t ask if they wanted one.
He walked over and sat the scotch whiskey in front of the two men, then sat down opposite of them. Maalik picked up the glass and before sipping it, thanked Allen for the scotch. Hammer followed suit, then took a good sip of the expensive whiskey.
“I asked both of you here because something about our planned mission of eliminating the Hive has me bothered. The reason I didn’t ask the Caid, or SO Faadin is I don’t want them to know how I feel pressing forward.
“What is troubling you, my friend?” Maalik asked.
“Believe me when I say I know with the combined forces we have we will be able to eliminate quite a few Hive nests. But when we start our hit and run strategy I fear the Hive will begin pursuing us on a more active and aggressive basis.
“The number of Hive nests that attacked your planet, Maalik, is astounding. I have so many unanswered questions about the Hive. Were the three-hundred nests all they have? I say that as if that were enough but what if that number is just one attack force among many?
“How many of those damn command centers do they have throughout this part of the galaxy? Fifty, a hundred, a thousand, or hundreds of thousands. I guess what I’m asking your opinion on is, shouldn’t we know the strength of our enemy before we begin a plan that might just get all of us killed?”
“I understand how you could have those thoughts, Arvin. I too have asked myself the same question. No one wants revenge on the, how you say, son da bitches, more than I, but I also agree that we need to know their numbers.
“Caid Tiket is hurting, and I don’t know if he will agree with delaying an attack on the Hive. He can be a difficult one to make see the ways of others. I know as I have had many verbal battles with the Commander over many periods.”
“In the next day or two you’re people will be crowning a new king. So my suggestion is to talk to Prince Gorvik prior to his coronation about the need to take the time to understand the strength and numbers of our enemy. Having the future king agreein
g with us will be all that is needed to handle Caid Tikit,” Colonel Hammer suggested.
Maalik didn’t immediately respond. It was obvious he was thinking long and hard about what he was going to say next. Allen and Hammer didn’t press him as they could tell he was pondering something, something important.
Finally, Maalik spoke: “Back when I was only a child, and when our king was in midlife and just a prince, he and Faadin were sent on an exploration mission to the farthest reaches of what you call the Perseus Arm. King Adaani, King Gaakin’s father, wanted to expand the Daakie Empire.
“King Adaani knew the mission was a dangerous one and didn’t wish for his only son to perish while going out to explore regions not previously explored by his people. He sent three Zurguts along with King Gaakin and Science Officer Faadin.
“After a long amount of time had passed, King Adaani received word that his son had discovered a new world that had met the king’s qualifications for a new settlement. My king plotted his find and informed his father they were going to proceed further within the region and would send word if he found anything more before returning to Daak.”
Allen was wondering where this story was leading and stayed patient while listening to the Burseq. But the not so patient Colonel Hammer started to say something that Allen figured could wait, and gave a nod to Hammer indicating for him to not interrupt.
“Their mission continued on through three more Star Systems and the last one they entered found them in the middle of a large alien battle. King Gaakin and SO Faadin were the first two Highborns to discover the Hive.
“Unbeknownst to King Gaakin and SO Faadin, there was only one that knew about the existence of the Hive, and that was King Adaani. Our historians had written about the king’s accidental introduction to the Hive, but Adaani had the record erased for some reason. It wasn’t until King Gaakin returned, did he find out that information from his father. What surprised my king the most was that his father told him the Aborians were a race made up of only females. Tall, muscular, battle-hardened warriors.
