The Hive
Page 42
REVENOR: He goes by Vice Admiral Hoebeck now.
UKKO: That hasn’t been authorized. And won’t be. But we’ll deal with that later. I want a full accounting of the battle and all events since. I will be meeting with the Hegemon-Elect soon and want to update her. But first, there is a matter for you. This network you’re on is a unique one. It connects to only a few select ansibles. There is someone you need to speak with because she has information that you may not be aware of. I will disconnect with you and then instruct her on how to connect with you. You’ll need to identify yourself. I will connect again with you shortly. Stand by.
GAGAK: Ensign Bootstamp connected. Please identify.
REVENOR: Imala?
GAGAK: Who is this?
REVENOR: It’s me. Victor. It’s your space born. Is this really happening?
REVENOR: Are you there?
GAGAK: I can’t type. I’m sobbing.
GAGAK: Chee, say hello to your daddy.
* * *
Bingwen spent the next two weeks practicing maneuvers in the Battle Room at GravCamp, sometimes with Mazer, sometimes with Rat Army, but usually by himself, which was his preference. When alone, he could close his eyes, extend his arms, and drift through the Battle Room like a leaf upon the water. Someone looking in from the outside might see him and think him completely at ease, relaxed, perfectly balanced. But nothing was further from the truth. Bingwen was never at peace. He had never understood how people could take a few deep breaths and clear their minds. Bingwen’s mind was never clear. Meditation amplified his worries, not dissolved them. But that was why he loved to drift: It allowed him to focus on his worries, rather than brushing them aside as he usually did to focus on the task or conversation at hand.
Today’s worries were many, and at the center of them all was the Hive Queen, still rejected by the Fleet as a theory but more alive in Bingwen’s mind than she had ever been. Bingwen had thought that it was all the evidence of her existence that kept his belief in her so strong. But as he drifted and considered, he realized that this wasn’t entirely true. He believed because Mazer believed. Because wherever Mazer’s roots of logic were planted was where Bingwen wanted his own to grow.
Why was the Hive Queen taking people? That was what weighed on Bingwen’s mind the most. Colonel Li had received intel that Formics were taking people in the Kuiper Belt. What was the Hive Queen hoping to accomplish? By all accounts, she had only taken a few, which led Bingwen to speculate that there was a secret strategy here, something she wanted to conceal. Take too many people, and you draw attention to the problem. But take only a few and no one will much notice compared to the number of casualties elsewhere.
By the end of the drift, he was ready to finally confront Colonel Li. He showered, changed back into his jumpsuit, and made his way to Colonel Li’s office.
GravCamp was nearly empty now. Colonel Dietrich had been sent off to an administrative position at a supply depot in the Belt, where he would likely writhe in misery until the war ended. The marines who had been training at GravCamp were also sent to the Belt, whether they had finished their training or not. After all the losses from what Nak called the Formic simulacrum ships, reinforcements were desperately needed in the Belt. Twelve IF ships had been lost in a single day. And far too many lives.
Colonel Li removed all of the documents from his holotable when Bingwen entered.
“I’ve received your orders,” said Li. “The transport will pick us up in two weeks.”
“Us? You’re going with us?”
“How could I not?”
“I thought this was your facility now. You’re the CO of GravCamp.”
“GravCamp is being abandoned. It’s far too costly and time-consuming to bring soldiers here for zero G training.”
“I could have told you that a year ago,” said Bingwen. “The location of this school is impractical, even considering that it feeds marines to both the Asteroid Belt and the Kuiper Belt. A school like this needs to be close to Earth. Except with better food. And better barracks. And a better Battle Room. And no adults.”
“Sounds like Lord of the Flies in space,” said Li. “Something tells me that wouldn’t pass the first committee to consider it.”
“Once they see how brilliant Blue Army is, they’ll change their tune.”
“You’re not Blue Army,” said Li. “Not really. You only use that name with me. I know you call yourselves Rat Army. Why not just own it?”
“Because you weren’t supposed to know. We wanted something to be ours and ours alone. How silly of us to think that we could have any privacy in this universe.”
“Silly, yes,” said Li. “You’re forgetting this is the military.”
“What about Mazer?” said Bingwen. “Is he coming with us?”
“He is, but he won’t be pleased by the assignment. We’ll be under the command of his former CO, Rear Admiral Vaganov.”
“You’re determined to make Mazer’s life a living hell.”
“I do what I can,” said Li.
“And what will we be doing with Rear Admiral Vaganov? Because if you recall, Rat Army and I aren’t technically members of the Fleet. We’re at a school.”
“We’re taking an extended field trip,” said Li. “The data cube you brought back from the Kandahar contained photos and information regarding an asteroid the Formics had covered with blinds. We knew the Formics were moving the asteroid, but we didn’t know to where. It wasn’t until we got additional information from Victor Delgado that we realized that our one invisible asteroid was actually part of a cluster of nine asteroids that were being gathered out beyond the Belt to provide resources for a Formic superstructure.”
“Sounds ominous,” said Bingwen. “Any chance it’s a theme park?”
“I’m glad you can make light of these revelations. Now’s the time to get all the jokes out of your system. Once we reach the structure, any attempt at levity will fall flat.”
“That does sound ominous. I don’t suppose this structure happens to be the place where Mazer and I believe the Hive Queen fled after she ran from Operation Deep Dive?”
“You have no evidence that the escaping ship was carrying the Hive Queen,” said Li. “But yes, we believe this structure was the destination of that escaping ship.”
“Good. Maybe we’ll get our chance to take down the Hive Queen after all.”
“There are many Formic structures that could be holding the Hive Queen,” said Li. “Both in the ecliptic and in deep space. We have people investigating them all. Someone will find the Hive Queen. Or whatever it is that controls the Formics. And when that someone does find her, he’ll kill her. I’m hoping that someone is you.”
“I’ve certainly learned a great deal about killing lately,” said Bingwen.
Colonel Li sighed. “Spill it, Bingwen. There’s obviously something on your mind. I can see that you’re seething. What is it?”
“It was you who murdered the captain of the transport. On the way out here to GravCamp. You went in his office, put the laser to his head, shot him, and made it look like a suicide.”
“You’re making a ridiculous and baseless accusation,” said Li. “And to your commanding officer, no less. Why, great detective, would I kill a stranger and risk my career and livelihood?”
“He was about to be promoted again,” said Bingwen. “His friends at CentCom had arranged to move him from his post on the transport to a new warship, where he would serve as captain. A crew of nearly three hundred marines. You and the intelligence agency knew that he was incompetent and dangerous and thus a risk to his subordinates. It took me a long time to find that information. The plans to promote the captain were never publicly known. He didn’t even know it himself, which would have thrown a wrench into the suicide narrative, if he had known. But you also did it because it was a test of a new program, identifying incompetent and high-risk commanders and then removing them. Sometimes non-lethally. Sometime
s not. You and your superiors wanted to know if it would work, if you could stage a demise like his in plain sight without anyone suspecting anything. And then you had Rat Army serve as analysts identifying the other targets. What’s sad is that I knew all along that that’s what we were doing, giving you people to remove, helping you kill people.”
“A fascinating story, Bingwen. Sadly, it’s one that all the evidence disproves. I know you think I’m an evil human being. But when this war is over, and we’ve won, and you see how we’ve won, and how we would’ve lost if hard people had not done hard things, you’ll thank me. Because you’ll still be alive, and you’ll still have a world. You’re dismissed.”
Bingwen left. He had said his piece, and he would never bring it up again. Not until after the war, perhaps. And maybe not even then.
He returned to the Battle Room and was surprised to find that it was no longer empty. Mazer was launching back and forth, twisting in the air, landing somewhat awkwardly.
“I thought you were supposed to stay off that ankle for a while,” said Bingwen.
“I have been. I’m bored.”
Bingwen didn’t mention the superstructure or Vaganov. Mazer would find out soon enough. He didn’t mention the dead transport captain, either. He probably never would. Instead he called Rat Army to the Battle Room. “We’ve got two weeks to live it up here,” he told them. “Then we’re off to places with far less leisure.”
“That stinks,” said Nak. “Just when I was starting to like this place.”
“Let’s divide up,” said Bingwen. “Mazer counts as three people.”
“Are you saying I’m fat?” said Mazer.
“I’m saying you’ve got three times the skills that we do.”
“Speak for yourself,” said Chati. “I can take this old man.”
“What are we playing?” asked Jianjun.
“I don’t care,” said Bingwen. “So long as it’s just a game.”
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
The talents and assistance of many people made this book possible. The authors would like to give special thanks to our editor, Beth Meacham, who is such a wise and careful reader and always kind. Thank you, Beth, for your patience and suggestions. Thanks also to Jen Gunnels at Tor for all her assistance. Liana Krissoff caught and corrected errors you will thankfully never see. Bless you, Liana. Cyndie Swindlehurst caught even more errors and greatly improved this novel with her careful reading and meticulous notes. She is the type of beta reader every writer dreams of, attentive and thorough and always right. Our deep gratitude also goes to the brilliant John Harris, whose art graces the cover of this book. John has created the art for all of the Formic Wars novels, and we could not be more delighted and honored. We would be remiss if we didn’t also thank our wives, Kristine Card and Lauren Johnston, who are always our first readers, and who gently nudge us along with loving encouragement. Lastly, thank you, dear reader, for believing in this universe and in these characters. We appreciate your support. May your dreams be free of Formics and your slasers always charged.
By Orson Scott Card from Tom Doherty Associates
Note: Within series, books are best read in listed order.
ENDER UNIVERSE
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Parallel storylines to Ender’s Game from Bean: Ender’s right hand, his strategist, and his friend.
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The Swarm
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ABOUT THE AUTHORS
ORSON SCOTT CARD is the author of the international bestsellers Shadow of the Giant, Shadow Puppets, Shadow of the Hegemon, and Ender’s Shadow, and of the beloved classic of science fiction, Ender’s Game, as well as the acclaimed fantasy series The Tales of Alvin Maker. He lives in Greensboro, North Carolina.
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AARON JOHNSTON is the coauthor of the bestselling novels Earth Unaware, Earth Afire, and Earth Awakens. He was also an associate producer on the movie Ender’s Game, wherein he makes an appearance as an officer of the International Fleet. Blink and you’ll miss him. He and his wife are the parents of four children.
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CONTENTS
Title Page
Copyright Notice
Dedication
Epigraph
1. Commander
2. Ghost Ship
3. Saboteurs
4. Zipship
5. GravCamp
6. Imala
7. Heist
8. Blinds
9. Lem
10. Wila
11. Vandalorum
12. Analysis
13. Rescue
14. Hegemon
15. Khalid
16. Superstructure
17. Fighters
18. Warheads
19. Money
20. Pain
21. Mothers
22. Hives
Acknowledgments
By Orson Scott Card from Tom Doherty Associates
About the Authors
Copyright
This is a work of fiction. All of the characters, organizations, and events portrayed in this novel are either products of the authors’ imaginations or are used fictitiously.
THE HIVE
Copyright © 2019 by Orson Scott Card and Aaron Johnston
All rights reserved.
Cover art by John Harris
A Tor Book
Published by Tom Doherty Associates
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New York, NY 10010
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