by Saxon Andrew
Kim stared at Bart and after a moment said, “If we manage to kill the Queen, we may be able to dig our way out.”
Bart stared shaking his head, “You haven’t thought this through.”
“What am I missing?”
“Just who will dig us out?”
“The Weg that dug us in.”
“Why did the Weg go after the Queen at the Gracken Capital?”
Kim shrugged and said, “They are genetically made to attack any Queen that isn’t theirs.”
“Not only the Queen, Kim. They also went after the eggs.” Kim’s eyes went wide as Bart said, “If the Queen is dead, every Weg on that planet will be going after the foreign Weg. They won’t be able to stop themselves.” Kim fell back on her barstool and almost fell over backwards but Bart grabbed her before she fell, “Careful, these stools don’t have a back to them.” Kim caught her balance and Bart said, “Billions will be coming for the Weg that cut our passages and guess who is going to be right in the middle of the Weg they’re coming to kill?”
Kim lowered her head, “You’re right; I didn’t think it through and it is a suicide mission whether we kill the Queen or not.” Kim looked at him and said, “What do we do about it?”
Bart took another drink and said, “Two things.”
“What’s the first?”
“We go and try to have as much fun as possible before we buy it.”
“And the second?”
“You and I will go and get married today and try to make the time before we go as memorable as possible.”
Kim started shaking her head, “Bart, are you crazy?”
Bart took her chin and turned her face so he was looking in her eyes, “You are my best friend. I trust you with my life and over the time I’ve known you, I’ve come to depend on you to keep me on a level footing with those around me. It’s only been since I learned that you and I will not be together that I’ve begun to lose my way. Life is not worth living without you in it, Kim.”
“But you’ve never even told me you like me, much less…”
“Love you?”
Kim sighed, “Yes, love me.”
“Well, I do. I’m just not able to say the words properly. I know I’d pick the exact wrong time to say it and would mess it up. If you don’t love me, then I understand. I know how hard I am to get along with.”
Kim stared at him for at least a minute and then said, “Bartender!” The bartender walked up and Kim pushed her glass toward him, “I’ll take what he’s drinking.” The bartender’s head went back and Kim said, “Exactly what he’s drinking.”
Bart looked at her, “It really tastes awful.”
“Sometimes the things that taste awful are exactly what you need. As soon as I finish my drink, I know someone that will conduct the ceremony. We’ll have about six weeks before we make the drop. Do you think we can make the most of that time?”
Bart’s smile was the biggest she had ever seen, “I don’t know but the effort will really be worth it.” Kim put her arms around his neck, leaned in, and kissed him. “Does this mean you love me?”
“I’ve loved you since you busted Charles Bear in the mouth for saying something disrespectful to me in training.”
“He deserved it.”
“And I deserve you, Bart.”
Bart stared at her and said, “Let’s forget the drinks.”
Kim smiled and hopped off her stool. Bart threw some credits on the bar and they rushed out the front door. The bartender watched them go and shook his head. He looked at the drink in his hand and took a small sip. He spat it out and threw the rest down the sink. God, how did he drink that poison?
Chapter Seventeen
Josh and Tindel stood on the tall tower overlooking the training grounds at Fort St. Petersburg. Alex looked up and watched for the carriers to appear. He squinted into the bright sky and Tindel said, “You won’t be able to see them until the last moment. You should use the display on your console.”
Josh looked down at his console and saw the hundreds of carriers holding position high in the atmosphere, “Has this been trialed?”
Tindel nodded, “Yes, and it does appear to work.”
“I never liked the word appears in a sentence about weapons.”
Tindel smiled, “Well, it’s not failed yet.”
“That’s another word, yet.”
They watched the display and saw the countdown reach zero. One moment the huge training ground was vacant and the next moment there were two hundred carriers on the field lined up end to end in two long lines. Josh looked at Tindel, “I’ve not been present at the meetings on the new carriers. Tell me why they’re in two lines instead of a square.”
“Actually, the ends of the two lines are closed by four carriers on each end. Instead of a square it’s a really large rectangle. However, the square was to prevent the Weg from breaking through and attacking our forces from the rear.” Josh nodded. “That tactic was necessary when the Weg were primarily using their fliers to attack.”
“They still have fliers, Commander.”
“Yes, but the carriers are staying on the surface and they have the armaments to hold off any aerial attack.”
Josh pulled his visor down on his combat helmet and saw the blue force field that ran under both lines and six feet vertical outside both lines. The carriers looked like they were floating in a huge U with a long base. Josh thought the new carriers looked like ancient Viking Longboats. Instead of oars lining each side, there were numerous heavy blasters for the warriors to use defending the carrier. “What happens when the Weg dig out the ground under the carriers?”
“The carriers will maintain their position five feet above the ground whether or not it’s under them.”
Josh nodded, “So if the Weg take the ground out from under them, the force field will still be between them and our carriers?”
“Yes, they will have to come up to the surface to attack them.”
“And you think the six feet will keep them off us?”
“No, not really. The Weg still have the claws that can penetrate our force fields but we won’t be sitting idle while they’re trying to cut their way through. You will notice the heavy blasters lining each side of the carrier.”
“Commander, the Weg can jump higher than six feet.”
“And the force field can be raised to twenty feet.”
“They still have millions of fliers.”
“If absolutely needed, we can close the top of the U and keep them out.”
Josh stared at Tindel, “Do you feel good about this?”
Tindel shrugged, “I feel as good about it as I do about any new weapon. We won’t know how it performs until it’s put into action.”
Josh turned back to the training field as a massive thunderclap exploded. The two hundred carriers had disappeared as they were pulled away from the surface. He shook his head and said, “How many are dropping?”
“Ten Spartan Divisions and fifteen Gracken Divisions.”
Josh rubbed his forehead, “I wish these carriers were trialed before we send so many warriors into harm’s way.”
Tindel shrugged, “Then the Weg would have more time to develop a defense against them.”
“What about the missiles?”
“We’re working on a system to perfect our ability to stop them.”
“How close are you to getting it done?”
“Pretty close. We’ll be sending in decoy transports prior to your arrival. We should have the bulk of their missiles neutralized before you arrive.” Tindel looked at Josh and lowered his eyebrows, “How is your plan coming along?”
“We’re not there yet.”
“How much longer will it take for you to be ready?”
Josh took a deep breath and slowly exhaled it. “We’re ready to go after the Queen. We’ve just not found a way to get out if we manage to kill her. You know if we’re successful in killing her, all the Weg on the planet will be focused on coming after the Weg w
e use to dig our passages.”
Tindel nodded and after a moment of silence said, “I guess it goes without saying that if you don’t kill her it will be the same result.” Josh tilted his head and then nodded. Tindel put his huge hand on Josh’s shoulder, “Are you absolutely certain you have to go in with them?”
“I’m the only one that can change the plan on the fly. The level of Weg thought taking place during the attack will be deafening. I have to be close for them to be able to hear me. They deserve the best opportunity possible to make this happen. That means I’ll have to be there with them.”
Tindel nodded, “I guess the seismic probes you’ll be placing as you move deeper will allow you to keep tabs on the Queen’s location.”
“Where did you hear that?”
“Your part of the plan was discussed in the general meeting with the landing Commanders. The only way the information from them can be used by your Weg is for you to be there. How does your wife feel about this?”
“About the same way she did when I went after one of your Beamships in our conflict.”
“And that is?”
“She didn’t like it then and she likes it even less now.”
“I could take your place.”
“The Weg won’t listen to you.”
“Oh, you’re right. I’m not thinking clearly.”
“Neither is she.” Josh and Tindel jumped as another huge clap of thunder rolled over the training field. Two hundred more carriers had dropped in. Tindel looked at them and shook his head, “I think we have a much easier task than you do.”
“I hate to agree, but you’re right.”
• • •
The Alliance Engineer put on the telepathy helmet and looked at the Weg Engineer, “The Mother appears to have selected a good place for her chamber.”
“Why do you say that?”
“She chose a place below the planet’s bedrock. The bedrock above that chamber is about a mile and half thick and extends for twenty miles around it.”
The Weg stared at the Engineer and said, “How far below the surface does that layer begin?”
“About two hundred yards.”
“That’s both good and bad news.”
“What’s the good news?”
“All of the surface defenders will be above that layer.”
“What’s the bad news?”
“How far down will the shaft be made for us to enter?”
“I asked our Chief Engineer about that he’s of the opinion that it will cut to within five hundred yards of the bottom of that layer.”
“Well, it will take some extra time to cut through that rock.”
“How long?”
“We should be able to cut through it in about fifteen minutes. The bad news is you’re going to have to keep the surface defenders from pouring down the shafts you cut.” The Weg paused and said, “It will take an hour for them to cut their way through the rock at any other location. They will have to use our passage ways to stop us.”
“Do you think they will know that?”
“We would.”
“That doesn’t sound good.”
“I’ve told our leader the same thing.”
“I hear you say the walls should be collapsed behind you?”
“Ordinarily, that is exactly what I’d recommend.”
“And now?”
“They will send all their forces to dig through whatever walls we collapse because it will still be the fastest way for them to get below the bedrock. Those collapsed walls will be much easier to penetrate than the rock. Perhaps the best way will be for the Leader’s children to try and delay them as long as possible and then collapse the walls.” The Engineer stared at the Weg who appeared to be shaking. “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing. I’m excited about our chances. The Mother chose poorly in choosing a location below that much rock.”
“I guess she never considered that you would be coming after her. She probably thought it would be a barrier that would stop our blaster beams.”
“That is her mistake. However, we will fail if the surface defenders are not delayed before we cut through the rock.”
The Engineer nodded slowly and wondered if that was even possible. He had seen the numbers that would be pouring down the shafts. “I’ve been wondering why your species attacks other Mothers.”
“On the planet we originally evolved on, space was at a premium. The only way to survive was to eliminate other Mothers to prevent her children from expanding into another’s territory. If they weren’t killed as soon as they were discovered, the entire planet would have been stripped by the overpopulation of our species. Removing other Mothers is as much a part of us as our claws. Any new mothers would have to be sent to another planet before they were fertilized.”
“What happened before you discovered space travel?”
“The Mothers were not allowed to hatch a Mother egg. They would only be brought to life when the current Mother died.”
“What would happen if more than one Mother landed on the same planet?”
“Before anything else was done, one of them would have to die.”
The Engineer nodded and wondered what would happen to the Engineer once it went into the ground on another Mother’s planet. He didn’t like what he was seeing in his mind.
• • •
General Yokawo watched her division drop and liked what she saw. They were finally getting it right. She had struggled to get them ready for the coming drop and it wasn’t easily done. The division’s former commander had failed to get them up to the standard needed for a successful drop and she was promoted to replace him. The first thing she did was determine what pilots were deficient in their timing and immediately bust them back to being a Line Warrior. Six more had to be replaced before the others got the message.
The former General had not demanded excellence from his warriors and they gave him what he wanted, mediocrity. Her division was now ranked in the top ten on their performance and she felt reasonably certain they would crack the top five before the drop took place. She kept her face stoic as her XO gave her the latest times. “They can do better!”
“Yes Sir. I’ll have them drop again.”
“That would be good, Major.” Her Communicator beeped and she saw Cliff on the display. She moved over to a corner of the reviewing tower and punched the activate button, “Cliff, how’s it going?”
“Pretty good. Congratulations on your promotion. You deserved it long before now.”
“Are you saying I should have been promoted ahead of you?”
Cliff smiled, “You would have if you had made that first drop with the Gracken. It often boils down to being in the right place at the right time.”
“I think it also helps when your commanding officer is given another star and needs another General.”
“Josh does count on us to get things done without having to constantly get him involved.”
“What’s bothering you?”
“I’ve taken another look at this new silent Weg Digger and I’m concerned.”
“You think they represent a danger to the new carriers.”
“I do. You appear to be thinking the same thing.”
“I am. What do you see?”
“They have the heavy duty claws with the force field glow. I’m beginning to think they might be able to cut through the Carrier’s force field if enough of them can get their claws in it.”
“I’ve wondered the same thing.”
“I’m going to talk with Josh about this and see what he wants to do.”
“He’s not commanding the drop of conventional forces.”
“I know but he knows who is. I think this needs to be examined by the carrier’s designers.”
“Let me know what they say.”
“If they don’t choose to do anything about the current design, you might want to take some portable spinning force field modules with you.”
“How would I use the
m?”
“Drop them through the central hatch on the bottom of your carriers and activate them.”
“Cliff, I didn’t know the carriers have a central hatch in them.”
“Most of our officers don’t. However, it’s there to drain rainwater in the event of foul weather. It’s large enough for a spinner to be dropped through it. You can power it with the carrier’s secondary reactor.”
“Darn, now we have to start working on using them.”
“I’ve seen your times are really getting good. This will probably affect your standings.”
“I don’t care if I’m dead last if this will save the lives of my warriors. I’ll order them immediately.”
“Better hurry, I suspect there will be a run on them when the other divisions see what we’re doing.”
“Talk to you later.” Jackie was amazed at Cliff’s knack at using all the tools available to plan a campaign. He was amazing. Jackie called her XO over and sent him after the projectors. He had better bring two hundred of them back. She called for a night drop to start practicing their deployment and heard her warrior’s groans over her helmet. Well, too bad. They could complain all they wanted. If they weren’t needed, then no harm. But if they were…”
• • •
Alex shook his head, “Mike, I hope we’ve got all our bases covered but there’s so many new devices and weapons we’re going to use that have not been tested in battle that I’m worried.”
“Do you want to do a trial drop?”
“Not if it means we give away what we have. I especially don’t want to do it with some of our forces underground.”
“Alex, is this worth doing?”
“I guess the real issue is whether or not our Warrior’s lives are worth trying to save a habitable planet.”
“They are rare.”
“I know. And we’re going to need the space if our populations continue to grow.”
Mike leaned back and said, “I guess this coming drop will be the bellwether we use to decide if we move forward against other Weg planets.”
Alex looked at Mike, “Were you ever this nervous before a battle?”
