by Saxon Andrew
“That’s our leader’s title.”
Grant sat down on the ground in front of the Raider and Cinny joined him after a moment. Grant looked up at the sun and said, “You’ve chosen a good place to live.” The Commander smiled and nodded. “I’m surprised you didn’t take a shot at us as we flew in.”
“I’ve seen how fast you are. You’d kill me before I could have raised my hand. I knew when you appeared that all my planning was for naught.”
“Why is that?”
“Because you have no problems killing my species either.”
Cinny said, “Why did you destroy my planet?”
The Commander looked from Grant to Cinny and shrugged, “We launched thousands of colony ships a hundred and twenty five years ago.”
“Why?”
“We were in a war with a large civilization and it wasn’t looking good for us. The ships were launched to ensure the survival of my species. One of our ships landed on that planet and settled in…”
Grant interrupted, “It was my belief that your species believed that planet was our home world.”
The Commander snorted, “The servants around our Leader are idiots. They intercepted some of your communications saying that the colony ship and the warships defending it were attacked when it approached your planet.”
Grant lowered his eyes, “You don’t believe that?”
“No, when I was ordered to pursue you, I took the time to research the documents taken prior to your planet’s destruction. The Leader of the colony definitely said that he was being attacked from space.”
Grant nodded, “That means he had to be on the ground.”
“Exactly. That told me that particular planet was not your home world.”
“Why didn’t you tell your leaders that?”
“And show him he was wrong?”
Cinny stretched her legs out and leaned back on her arms, “You don’t appear to be overly concerned about the safety of your species.”
“I’m not overly concerned about the safety of my leaders. There are enough colony planets scattered across the universe that my species will survive.” He looked back at the metal building where his family was standing in front it watching what was happening. He softly smiled, “We might have made that happen.”
Grant stood up and said, “We are not here to harm you. We were shocked by your apparent callousness at killing so many innocent civilians but I can understand the choices you were faced with. We wish you a long and happy life. We have not recorded your coordinates in any of our drives. If anything happens to us, they won’t be able to discover your location.”
The Commander stood up and stared at the two Humans, “You are not what I thought. It’s a shame our species are at war.”
Cinny nodded, “You have a beautiful family. Take care of them.”
The Commander nodded, “I will. I hope you survive the conflict.”
The corner of Grant’s mouth went up, “You’re probably doing what we should do; find a place and pull it over us. However, we’re in too deep now.” The Commander nodded as Grant and Cinny walked over to their scooters, activated the force fields, lifted off the ground, and flew at high speed toward orbit.
The Commander felt his mate’s arms around his neck and heard her sobs. He continued to watch the two rise into the sky and said, “We’re safe. Shhhhhhh, everything is alright.” He saw his son staring at him and he smiled, “They could have killed us but they chose not to do so.” He looked back up in the sky and smiled, “They chose life and I trust them more than our own people.”
His son sighed and put his arm around his mate.
• • •
Grant was sitting on the Nemesis’ bridge late and he thought about what the Raider had said. Cinny and Whippet were in their quarters sleeping but peace wouldn’t find him. He stood up and walked over to the main console and lifted the key. He inserted it into the slot and the Hologram immediately appeared, “You have to reinstall me!”
“Oh be quiet about that. I need to ask you some questions that you should be interested in answering.”
The Hologram opened its mouth again and then closed it. After a moment, it said, “What could you possibly ask that would interest me?”
“I went and had a discussion with that Raider Officer.”
The Hologram’s face showed surprise, “And?”
“How long ago did Earth colonize Avalon?”
“A hundred and ten years ago.”
“Were you aware that there was a Raider colony on the planet prior to Earth colonizing it?”
“That’s not true.”
“Then how did the Raiders find it?”
“I’m not sure what you mean?”
“The Raiders had to have the coordinates. Where did they get them?” The Hologram stared at Grant and knew the odds of just stumbling on the planet were too high to even consider. Grant stared at the Hologram and said, “The Raiders arrived on Avalon a hundred and twenty five years ago. They had launched thousands of colony ships at that time because they were in a war with another civilization and it looked like they were not going to prevail. That war continued for a hundred years. That Colony ship sent a message to its home world that they were being attacked from space. What does that tell you?”
“How can you believe him?”
“For the sake of this discussion, let’s assume he is being truthful and see where it takes us.”
The Hologram stared at Grant and said, “The Raider had to be on the planet to be attacked from space.”
“Which would mean the colony had been there for fifteen years before the exploration ships from Earth arrived.” The Hologram hesitated and nodded. “So our ships discover a beautiful world that’s perfect for colonization but has another species there. It’s not a huge colony on the planet’s surface and they hadn’t been there long enough to really spread out over a large area.”
The Hologram said, “So the Leaders on Earth decided to take it?”
“That seems to be what happened.”
“What are you trying to say?”
“When the Raiders finally attacked Avalon, how did our warships stack up against them?”
“They were far ahead of us in their technology.”
“So consider this. The Raiders sent several warships to defend the colony and, in order to remove the Raider colony, those ships had to be removed. Earth knew from the beginning that they were more advanced than their own forces.”
“So?”
“Once the colony was removed and all traces of it eliminated, Earth began advertising the discovery of a perfect planet for its citizens to move to, where they would escape the overcrowding conditions they were forced to live in on Earth.” Grant paused, “How many of Earth’s citizens left for Avalon?”
“Three billion.”
Grant leaned forward, “Do you really think they would have gone if they knew that an advanced alien species had been attacked and killed there?” The Hologram stared at Grant in silence. “They had to know those Raider Warships would get out a message about that attack and that the Raiders would eventually do something about it.”
The Hologram’s face showed its shock, “They sent three billion humans into harm’s way.” The Hologram looked at Grant, “Why would they do that?”
“What’s the easiest way to relieve overpopulation?” The Hologram remained silent. “You either kill the excess population or send them somewhere else. Earth really didn’t care if the Raiders showed up. The only issue they faced was keeping Earth’s location secret and I’m pretty certain they convinced the citizens of Avalon that it was their duty to protect the species, never telling them that the Raiders were there to right a wrong perpetrated by Earth’s leaders.”
The Hologram’s tears were instant. Grant’s eyes narrowed, “How can a computer program have emotions?”
“I am a reproduction of the electronic pathways in the brain of the woman that took you to the Choten-Zan. I am essentially an ele
ctronic duplicate of her brain.” The Hologram looked at Grant, “All of my descendants and family were sent there to die.”
“What does that tell you about the ones you’ve been working for?”
“Avalon became a paradise. The people made a planet that was peaceful and lived in beautiful homes. Our scientists were some of the best minds from Earth and we actually exceeded Earth’s productivity. It was wonderful.”
“Why didn’t more people leave Earth to go there?”
The Hologram’s eye narrowed, “Earth prevented them. No one understood why.”
Grant tilted his head, “Now you do.”
“You have to reinstall me!”
“I really wish I could. However, I couldn’t trust you. You are, after all, a tool they made to use against me.”
“Please!”
Grant shook his head and pulled the key out of the console. He went to bed and sleep finally found him. Now he knew what they were up against. He shared the conversation mentally with Cinny the following morning and she was both shocked and overwhelmed by the information. At the end she was furious. Whippet returned in the afternoon. The Spiders had learned all they needed to remove tracking devices from the shuttles they captured. He told them he was glad to be back.
• • •
A week later, Grant and Cinny were sitting in their chairs on the bridge when the computer announced, “I’ve just received the frequency ordering the former computer program to destroy this ship.”
Grant’s blaster was in his hand in an instant, “Whippet, step away from your panel!”
The Werstag stared at Grant, “What’s going on?”
“A green light illuminated on your panel the same moment the computer received that message. You were lifting your hand to press it. If you don’t step back, you’re dead!”
Whippet’s hand was still below the level of the console and he knew he could never raise it before Grant fired. He swiveled his chair and stepped back from his control panel, “This is crazy!”
“Maybe; but you will do as I say or your life is over. Lay down on the floor face up with your arms out from our sides.” Whippet saw the barrel of Grant’s blaster was pointed directly at his forehead and he went to the floor. “Cinny, strip off his armor and remove his pouch.”
Cinny had Whippet stripped at a speed that surprised both Grant and Whippet, “Computer, scan Whippet and tell me if there’s anything still on him?”
“He has a small device under the skin in the back of his left hand.” Grant turned the baster and fired it. Whippet’s left hand disappeared.
He screamed and Grant said, “Shut up, you big baby. Everything is cauterized.”
Cinny looked at Grant, “What’s going on?”
“It appears Earth is ready to begin its offensive operations against the Raiders.”
Whippet was holding the stump of his left arm screaming in agony as Cinny went to a locker and pulled out a spray can. She sprayed the contents on Whippet’s left arm and he stopped writhing in pain. Cinny said, “How long have you suspected him?”
“From the moment I saw him in that restaurant.”
Whippet’s eyes narrowed, “That’s ludicrous.”
Grant shook his head, “Ana told us that they had put out disinformation to the Raiders to make them focus on finding us. That tells me that her masters could intercept the Raider’s communications. The plan to attack us in that restaurant had to be set up with numerous messages. When the attack on Lovely failed, Earth decided to get someone close to us to prevent us from being killed before we started distracting them. They intercepted the messages informing the Raiders about us being on the planet where we ran into you. They rushed you there and set up the meeting. You were sent there to see if you could join us.”
Whippet looked at Cinny, “There’s no evidence to confirm that; he’s becoming paranoid.”
Cinny looked at Grant, “He does make a point.”
“He led us to the key. He made us see the program was inside the key. He developed tools to shut off the computer’s power. He knew where the chips were located. Do I need to go on?”
“I’m an engineer.”
Grant smiled, “Yes you are but you were an engineer on old commercial vessels. You never had exposure to the modern systems used by current warships. Coming up with devices that would shut off two advanced reactors that did not exist anywhere else in the universe except on this ship and the ships Earth is building pretty much confirmed my suspicions.”
Whippet stared at Grant for a moment and sighed, “What are you going to do?”
“If you answer my questions honestly, I’m going to leave you on the planet of your choice.”
“That isn’t a really good choice.”
Cinny looked at him, “Why not?”
Whippet stared back and forth between them and then shrugged, “Because Earth is going to conquer every civilized planet in the known universe after they remove the Raiders and subjugate them under an iron fist.”
“Why would dropping you off be a bad decision?”
“I have failed at the task they assigned me. Failure means death.”
“What would that button on your panel have done if you pressed it?”
“It would activate a subspace transmitter allowing them to find you wherever you went.”
Grant stared at the Werstag and then said, “I’m dropping you off at the animals’ planet.”
Whippet shrugged, “They will eventually find it. Their ships are more advanced than the Nemesis and it’s only a matter of time until they track a jump drive there.” Whippet looked at his stump, “However, at least it’s not on their star maps. It’s as good as anywhere else.”
Cinny said, “What about that device in your hand?”
“If I didn’t follow their orders, it could be activated through subspace and kill me.” Cinny stared at Whippet with her eyes lowered. Whippet shook his head slowly, “I confess that I really had no problems working for them initially…”
“But…”
“I do like the two of you as well as the animals. I really didn’t have a choice.”
Grant shook his head, “There are always choices. You could have severed your hand after Ana was removed and told us what was going on.”
Whippet tilted his head to the left, “I guess there is that.” He looked at Grant, “Could you have done that?”
Grant stared at him and after a moment nodded, “If it came down to it, I could and would.”
Whippet sighed, “Both of you are much stronger than I.”
Grant looked at him and shook his head, “I really hate I was right about you, but at some level, I can’t bring myself to harm you.”
Whippet held up his stump, “You shot off my hand!”
“What’s the loss of a hand among friends? You are, for the moment, free of all outside pressures.”
“What about those you bring to bear?”
Grant shrugged, “You’re right; I didn’t think about those.” Grant looked up, “Enter the coordinates to the Animals’ Planet. Move us into subspace and keep us there.”
“Moving into subspace.”
Grant looked out and saw the infinite colorless domain around the ship and he fired a small nose thruster. The Nemesis was shoved an incredible distance. Grant turned the ship and fired the thruster four more times before he said, “Jump to the coordinates.” The Nemesis disappeared in an instant.
• • •
The giant crimson colored ship appeared in normal space and the Captain said, “Where is it?”
“Sir, this is the last location of the device we placed in the rat.”
The Captain’s eyes narrowed and the Scan Lieutenant said, “I’ve just detected a jump drive in the distance.”
“Could it be them?”
“It could be anything in eight galaxies.”
“Do you have the location?”
“No Sir, it was too far away.”
The Captain shook his head and pr
essed his communicator, “Sir, they’re not here.”
“Notify all ships in that quadrant to start a search for them.”
“It will put us behind schedule on dealing with the Raiders.”
“They’re more dangerous than the Raiders. Find them!”
The display went dark and the Captain shrugged, “Initiate a scan for the frequency of their reactor.”
“Yes Sir.”
• • •
The Nemesis arrived at the Animals’ Planet and his eyes went wide; there were thousands of shuttles hanging in orbit above the planet. Half of them were covered with Spiders. Grant looked at Whippet, “You can ride down with Cinny.” Whippet stood up and walked off the bridge with his shoulders slumped. Cinny shook her head and followed him to the landing bay.
They arrived on the ground and Grant said, “Iggy, where did you acquire all those shuttles?”
“We found a Raider fleet at one of the target planets you found. We used our beams to cut the front and rear of the ships from the landing bay.” Iggy shook his head, “Those landing bays are huge and can hold more than a hundred shuttles.”
“Did you remove the tracking devices?”
“My children did that on the run. They jumped away and removed them as they made numerous jumps.” Grant’s eyes narrowed and Iggy held up one of his front legs, “I know what you’re going to say. I had them make numerous small jumps in subspace before they came here.”
“How did you know to do that?”
“The Ant’s Mother notified us that Earth was starting their attacks.”
“How did she know?”
“They sent a frequency activating a device telling her to kill all of us. She destroyed the device.” Grant shook his head and thought, “If that device had a locator…”
“It did have a locator but one of my children went and showed her what it looked like a week ago. She used one of her newborns to go inside the device and cut the leads to it.”
“Did you just hear my thoughts?”
“No, it was obvious what you were thinking by your expression.”
“I see there are now thousands of Spiders on them.”
“And more are being hatched as we speak. Our Mother knows we’re going to need them to survive.”
