Arach

by C. M. Simpson

  “Show me.”

  “Yes,” Delight added, sounding slight put out. “Show us.”

  Mack shrugged, and took them along the scan feed to where the debris had floated. To our surprise, the solid chunk wasn’t there. We pivoted the scan. Everything else we’d seen was there, but the largest mass was not. We broadened the scan, only to have the control suddenly wrenched from us.

  “Like this,” Tens said, and the viewpoint widened to take in the debris field.

  Now that we looked at it, we could see a number of largish pieces—and they were all drifting. The scan shifted through several spectrums, and warmth brightened part of the underside and rear of each.

  “Sons of bitches,” Mack said. “Those are escape pods.”

  And Delight smashed a connection through to the bridge of the Odyssey cruiser.

  “Sugarsides! Scan the debris field for survivors, and retrieve them.”

  “Aye, aye, Ma’am!”

  “And don’t open the pods,” the vespis queen added. “Isolate them, and lock them down until I arrive.”

  “Who is this?”

  “Sugarsides, this is Queen Tekravzary—”

  “Who?”

  “Ruler of K’Kavor. The invaders will be tried and sentenced on my world, according to my laws, as it is according to your law.”

  Delight was stunned to momentary silence. The captain of the Sugarsides broke it.

  “Agent Delight? Ma’am?”

  “Do as she asks,” Delight said, although I got the impression she wasn’t happy. “She is right; it is our law.”

  There was a pause. When the captain spoke, again, there was uncertainty in his voice.

  “Some of these pods show humanoid on the scans.”

  And I got the sense that Delight was counting to a ten. When she spoke, her voice was calm—with the tightness of outraged fury hardening its edges.

  “The arach are shapeshifters,” she said, and ripped the memory of Mack melting into arach form right out of my head.

  I felt Mack’s arms tighten around me, felt his whole body go rigid with tension.

  “I’m sorry,” he whispered, “so very, very sorry.”

  “Don’t be,” I said, and flashed him a memory of the mess that had been left by the time Tens and Delight had finished firing.

  Mack was outraged.

  “You used live rounds in the outer circuit?”

  “We dialed them down.”

  Delight didn’t sound the least bit repentant, and Mack was still tense.

  “They rescued me,” I said, not meaning to remind Mack that it had been partly his fault I’d been in danger in the first place.

  “Yeah, thanks, Cutter,” and he let me go.

  I think that was because he really didn’t have an excuse to keep holding onto me, and not because of what I’d been thinking. It was just a shame I couldn’t be sure—and then I realized I’d had an audience for that thought, and I felt my face grow warm with embarrassment.

  I glanced over at Mack, but he was already turning his attention to the queen.

  “Your Majesty,” he said, “may I have your permission to dock at the K’Kavoran orbital?”

  “It would be our pleasure, Captain Star.”

  “Tens! Make it so!”

  He moved towards the door, and then realized I hadn’t followed him.

  “Stay with me, Cutter.”

  When he got to the door, he stopped and, again, looked to the queen.

  “Your Majesty, I believe your bodyguards are waiting to escort you to the bridge. I would be honored if you would be my guest there, until we dock.”

  And I realized that the queen must have come down to the med bay, at some point while we’d been observing the debris. Delight, too, for that matter, which would explain why she was standing beside the door, and grinning like a Cheshire cat. She stepped back to let the queen pass.

  At this point, I realized a second thing—the queen was in human form—and an unreasoning fear thrummed through me. What if she was in human form because she was not the queen? What if another arach infiltrator had come across on the shuttles? What if…

  I stopped, suddenly aware of an agitated thrumming of wings, of angry buzzing and chitters coming from the corridor… of the suddenly very threatening presence of six angry minds inside my own. Mack and Tens had pivoted towards me, even as I backed away from the door.

  “For fuck’s sake, Cutter! Will you calm the fuck down?” Mack exclaimed.

  He wasn’t the only one moving in my direction. Tens was, too, and Doc. Delight might have thought about it, but she was already pinned against the wall by the door, one very large, very angry, unfamiliar human holding her in place. Two more very large, unfamiliar humans, armored in red and gold, had entered, and were heading in my direction. Well, fuck.

  I backed into the chair and then hit the bed behind it—which was when Mack and Tens caught up with me. Doc hadn’t quite been quick enough, and had been picked up and tossed over to Delight’s captor for holding. He was currently pinned under a big, red boot.

  “I should just let them have you,” Mack growled, pulling me back into his chest, and dragging me down to the floor.

  Like that was going to be any help. One bladed forehand, and we’d both be meat on a stick.

  “Nice, Cutter. Real nice.”

  Tens hadn’t appreciated the imagery. I wondered if the wasps would accept an apology.

  “I doubt it,” Mack muttered, as a red-gloved hand curled around his throat from behind.

  For an instant, I thought the wasp would just try and haul him off me, but it didn’t. It squeezed, until Mack went limp. Only then, was he lifted away, and passed back to the warrior waiting behind the one looming over me. I glared up at it, sick with fear for Mack, and for Tens, and deadly afraid of what was about to happen next.

  “You could at least check!” I told it, and it reached down and lifted me from the floor.

  I don’t know what I expected it to do, next, but I wasn’t going to beg. I might be wrong, but I might also be right—because I seriously doubted they’d gone sniffing their queen, when they’d inspected everyone else on board.

  And I really doubted they’d checked each other.

  The bodyguard looked at me, her expression mixing fury and exasperation in equal parts.

  “What? You don’t like my logic? Mack doesn’t pay me to be popular.”

  Mack groaned from off to one side, but I didn’t let him distract me. I kept my eyes on the bodyguard’s face. Mack probably hadn’t heard a single thing I’d said; he was probably just regaining consciousness.

  “I ought to kick your ass,” he muttered, and I hoped the vespis knew he was talking to me.

  “We know.”

  Well, that was both good, and not. It crossed my mind that, if the queen was not the queen, then her bodyguard might not be her bodyguard, either, in which case…

  “Put a sock in it, Cutter!” Delight… also unimpressed.

  Whatever.

  The bodyguard set my feet back on the floor.

  “Turn around, Cutter,” the queen said, and I froze.

  The voice in my head sounded very much like the queen’s voice, but I remembered what the arach impersonating Mack had sounded like—and drew no comfort.

  “You have serious trust issues,” Delight snarked, and then grunted.

  If I didn’t know any better, I’d say she’d just been bounced off the wall.

  “Turn around.” The queen, again, as persistent as hell.

  “You had better be what you should be,” I said, glaring at the bodyguard, and was surprised when a human hand came over my shoulder to press its palm against the bodyguard’s chest.

  “Girl’s got a death wish,” Tens muttered.

  Like that was at all helpful!

  “Turn.”

  That was an order—and it sounded like one I’d better not ignore. I took a breat
h, and turned, sliding slightly to one side so that the arm reaching across me was no longer coming directly across me. A suddenly strong grip on my shoulder stopped me from moving further, and I opened my eyes.

  Up until that moment, I hadn’t been aware I’d closed them.

  The queen stood, less than a foot away, her face a mask of patience, as she waited. I wondered how long that would last, and saw her lips twitch.

  “You are most entertaining, Cutter,” she said, and I heard several snorts of disagreement from around the room. I swallowed. Up this close, she was somehow frightening in her solemnity.

  “I’m not trying to be,” I managed, and her face softened in what might have passed for understanding.

  “I know. Watch.”

  Like I had a choice. I don’t think I could have looked away if I’d tried. The air around the queen shimmered with a wavery quality, and her features melted into the more familiar form of the vespis monarch I’d seen before. Seen from a foot away, she was terrifying, and I couldn’t move a muscle. There was only one thing I could say.

  I’m sorry,” I said, as soon as my vocal cords were working. “I meant no disrespect.”

  The queen’s amusement echoed around the room, and she morphed back into human form.

  “Now, say sorry to my guards,” she said.

  I was very tempted to say that they were big bugs, and had broad shoulders, but I didn’t. Even so, I’d forgotten they were psi, and the hand on my shoulder tightened. That just made it more tempting to sass them, but the queen’s face was losing all trace of amusement, and I decided that I might just have pushed my luck as far as it would go.

  17—Taking Back the Orbital

  Apologizing to the guards didn’t take long, but the one who’d brought me to the queen didn’t take its hand from my shoulder, as the others turned Mack, Delight, Tens and Doc loose. I watched as Doc warily accepted the hand offered by his former captor to help him up from the floor. Delight just stayed, leaning on the wall, watching what was going on around the room.

  I was relieved when Tens and Mack were let go, not so relieved when I went to join them, and was held in place. Mack caught that moment, too.

  “Your Majesty?”

  “With your permission, captain,” she said, “I would like Cutter to remain with my guards, and work with them until we dock. We will need her to help to clear the arach infestation from the planet, and it would be better if they built some rapport before the operation began.”

  For a second, Mack’s face mirrored my disbelief, but then his expression closed to reveal nothing of his feelings, and he nodded.

  “I will need a contract,” he said.

  “We can draft one on the way to the bridge,” the queen assured him, “and she can walk with the guards… if that is permissible?”

  I watched as Mack’s gaze shifted to me. There really was only one answer he could make to that, and I’d be okay. I glanced back at the guard. Her grip had loosened, but her hand still rested on my shoulder. She turned her head towards me, and raised one eyebrow in an all-too-human gesture. I felt my own eyebrows rise in response, and turned hurriedly back to the queen.

  Mack’s answer was as inevitable as the stars.

  “As your Majesty wishes.”

  The queen flashed us both a quick smile, and gestured towards the door.

  “If you would lead the way, we will arrange for the repairs your Shady Marie requires.”

  I saw Mack hesitate, for just the briefest moment, before walking towards the door.

  “Of course, your Majesty,” he said, but he favored me with a quick and worried glance as he passed.

  There really was nothing I could say to that. The queen was right: The arach forces had to be found and driven out—and we had a debt to repay. We had, after all, been coerced by the arach into playing a small part in their plans. There was only one way to clear that debt from our plates, if not our consciences.

  “Exactly.” Mack’s response sounded in my head, quietly, as though only I would hear it.

  It was almost a relief when no-one else responded, as though even the vespis understood the illusion of privacy. That concept had to hold value in a society of psi.

  Mack kept walking, and Tens followed him. Delight remained with the Doc, helping him over to a seat, and brushing away the bodyguard’s concern.

  “He’ll be okay.”

  The wasp hovered a moment longer, clearly worried. It flinched, when Doc reached out and laid a hand on its shoulder.

  “I’m just a little old for these shenanigans,” he said, and it raised a hand to his weathered face, placing a palm gently on his cheek.

  “We are sorry,” it said, and Doc patted it on the shoulder.

  “It is not your fault,” he told it. “I was being foolish.”

  “You were defending your nest-mate.”

  There was no real response for that, so Doc said nothing. He just patted it, again, and sat down.

  “Go,” he said, when it hesitated. “Delight is here.”

  It moved a couple of steps away from him, and then turned to look back.

  “We will need her on the bridge.”

  It didn’t say when, but we all knew Delight was needed as soon as she could make it. Doc understood.

  “I will not keep her long.”

  “Thank you…” and the series of sounds it made at the end held nothing but respect.

  The queen turned, and crossed to where Doc was resting. She said nothing when she arrived, just stood and looked down at him, before laying a palm briefly against his cheek. To my surprise, he turned his face into it, kissing her lightly and covering her hand with his own.

  It was a short-lived gesture, and full of a meaning I could not decipher. I wonder what Mack would have made of it, but said nothing. A glance at Delight showed her observing the exchange, and frowning slightly, as though the meaning escaped her, as well. It was something I would pursue, later. For now, all I could do was follow the queen, and work with her people, as she had commanded.

  And as Mack wished.

  I sighed. I hated politics, and this looked like more politics than what I had trained for. When the bodyguard fell into step behind her queen, I walked beside her, glad when she took her arm from across my shoulders. After all, where would I go?

  Mack was having no luck with the station master in charge of the orbital.

  “You cannot dock.”

  “I have to dock. My ship is in need of urgent repair.”

  “You are not authorized.”

  “Station, this is the captain of the Shady Marie requesting permission to dock for emergency repair.”

  “Shady Marie, wave off, wave off, wave off. You are not permitted to dock. Wave off.”

  “Station, why are you refusing permission?”

  “Shady Marie you have been in contact with arach forces. We cannot risk contamination. Permission to dock, denied. Wave off.”

  Mack opened his mouth to try, once more, but the queen cut across him as she entered the bridge.

  “Station, this Queen Tekravzary aboard the Shady Marie. You will allow this ship to dock.”

  “But, my queen, the arach…”

  “The arach force has been eliminated, but this ship is in need of sanctuary and repair.”

  “I cannot offer sanctuary…” the station master began, but, again, the queen cut across him.

  “I can. You will allow this ship to dock, or I will relieve you of your position. You will not deny your queen a second time, today.”

  “I…” and we heard him pause. “Of course not, your Majesty. The Shady Marie can dock on Arm 3.”

  “That is not where the repair docks are located.”

  “The repair docks are not available, your Majesty,” the station master said, and this time, we all caught the nervous flicker of his eyes.

  “Station Master,” the queen said, “do you need our assistance in preparing th
e repair docks?”

  He opened his mouth to reply, and was suddenly pulled below the top of his console, his cry of alarm echoing through the bridge, even as the link to the station died.

  Mack turned to the queen.

  “Looks like your station is compromised,” he said.

  “Not all of it,” Tens broke in. “The control center, and the repair dock show arach life sign, but the rest is currently clear. It looks like the station personnel were able to lock themselves down, when the first wave hit.”

  “What about the freighter?”

  “The freighter is currently locked in its docking bay,” the queen said, but her form was wavery, and anger rolled around her in a palpable wave.

  Around me, the bodyguards shifted from human to vespis, and sent out a low, penetrating hum. I heard it broadcast ship-wide over the intercom, and felt it penetrate to the bone. My ears ached with the power of it. Shortly after, Rohan’s voice came through the comms.

  “Captain, I am flying Tek’s team over to the station.”

  It was not a request, and Mack turned to the queen.

  “You did not ask if you could send the boy into danger.”

  The queen was unrepentant

  “The boy was available, and there was no time to remove him to safety. He was in the shuttle, and knows how to fly it.”

  “He is one of my crew.”

  “And, as such, is now contracted to me.”

  “But—”

  “The boy is more than capable, and has proven he can hold the shuttle against intrusion.”

  I wanted to ask when Rohan had ever done that, but then realized a lot of things could have happened while Mack and I were defending the bridge.

  “Exactly,” the queen confirmed, and Mack rested his forehead against his hand.

  “Understood, Ensign”—and that was new to me, too—“Stay with the ship, or the team, as required.”

  That was a lot of latitude, but Rohan’s voice was full of glee, when he replied.

  “Aye aye, Captain.”

  Mack rolled his eyes.

  “They’re all smart-asses,” he muttered. “Every single one.”

  The queen ignored him.

  “You, Tens, and Cutter will come with us.” She tilted her head towards Delight. “Agent, if you would be so kind.”