...and they are us 3: HiveWorld

by Patrick McClafferty

  “ETA at the sensor’s location?”

  “Twenty seven hours, Zed, at our current speed.

  “Slow us down. I don’t want a tachyon wake alerting the Creednax to an intruder in their backyard.”

  “That will increase our arrival time to 50 hours, Zed.”

  “That sounds good to me. We’re one small ship sneaking into the enemy’s private playground to do an impossible job. Stealth is the word.”

  “I agree.”

  “Is Mike on duty?”

  “He comes on in an hour.” LOLA replied crisply.

  “Let him know the details when he comes on duty.”

  “What will you be doing?”

  “Making sure everything is set in the Rose. The opportunity may come on us fast and I don’t want to be delayed in launching because of something silly.”

  “Like where are the alignment tools?” She was staring pointedly at a small olive green zippered tool bag sitting on Zed’s nightstand.

  “Like where are the alignment tools?” He admitted sheepishly. “Everything else is secured in the Rose. I did that yesterday.” Zed threw back the sheets and headed for the shower. He could feel LOLA’s eyes on his bare derriere.

  The bridge on the Rose was almost too quiet. Zed secured the small tool bag beside a larger box of test equipment Athena told him he’d need for the alignment of the bomb. Precise adjustments based on planetary mass and gravity were critical. True to his word, Mike Flaherty had left Zed a box full of Twinkies on the pilot’s seat. The sight of the Twinkies made him smile, while at the same time his stomach clenched. He picked up the sweet confections and stored them carefully in his zippered tool bag.

  The bridge on the Belerophon more than made up for the silence in the Rose. LOLA had just announced that they were approaching the Creednax system, and people weren’t quite shouting. Zed stood in the lift door for a moment, before he bellowed “Silence!!” Everyone jumped, and then, with red faces, sat back in their seats. “This isn’t a schoolyard recess.” Zed said in a harsh voice. “You’re all trained professional crewmen. Act like it.” He took a breath and sat. Without looking he knew that Mike had come in behind him. “By section, report.”

  Billie Clarke spoke very softly. “Engineering fully operational Captain.”

  Atsuo Tanaka gave him a shy look. “Astrogation fully operational Captain. On course at low cruise speed. Time on Target, 48 hours.”

  “Weapons?” Zed questioned.

  “Ahhh, weapons all set Captain.” George Popkin was a last minute replacement as Weapons Systems Operator, replacing Tamara Smythe, one of the original Europa Base survivors who had received a dislocated shoulder in the last battle. Zed missed the irascible Thomas Covati.

  “Define all set, Mister Popkin.” Zed’s voice hardened.

  The young sandy haired man swallowed and flushed. “All magazines and all energy levels in the Belerophon and both scout saucers are at one hundred percent sir.”

  “Better… Thank you. Life Sciences, how are things holding together, Helen?”

  The doctor, despite her nanite enhancements, looked tired. “As well as can be expected, Zed. The crew could use some shore leave for about a year, the Captain included.”

  Zed chuckled. “That will occur shortly, I promise.” Or we’ll all be dead. He finished in the back of his mind. Helen gave him a flat look, as if she too could read his mind.

  LOLA whispered.

  “How are the sensors looking LOLA?” He said aloud for the benefit of the bridge staff, and to end any further unwanted comments from LOLA.

  Behind him he heard her sigh. “Signal strength is increasing Zed, indicating that we are getting closer to our target. Analysis shows this target is the same destroyer that intercepted our saucer.” Someone on the bridge let out a low growl.

  “How long until we can begin getting useful data on the Creednax system?”

  “No more than an hour.”

  “If we can see them then they can see us. Engage cloaking, LOLA. If we have sensors that can give us a reasonable idea what’s going on, we should launch them now.”

  He could hear LOLA laughing behind his back. “I packed extras, just in case.” She said in a gentle voice. “We’ll need the information if we’re to find the women, and when you get up close and personal.”

  “That was good thinking.” He leaned back in his seat. “I guess all we can do is wait now.” He and LOLA said at the same moment.

  Seventy five minutes later the Tactical Display lit, its faint red tracings crawling across the view-screen. “We now have sufficient data to give us a preliminary idea of what we face.” LOLA’s voice was calm and level. “We are entering the Alrami 437 System, also known as Rukbat. The sun is a blue dwarf, and is surrounded by six planets. There is a heavy asteroid belt between the fifth and sixth planets that indicates a seventh planet may have been broken up for raw material.”

  “Defensive positions?” Zed asked, studying the display intently.

  “The new probes report many heavy defensive satellites in the system. There appear to be at least two full battle fleets within the system, each massing more than 3,000 ships.” Someone whistled. “In addition to the fleets the probes have detected several thousand unassigned ships floating in space. I would guess the ships have been built, but the Creednax have insufficient crews to man them all.” She gave him a wink. “That would be thanks to you, and things that go bump in the night.”

  “I’m going to give them a whole new definition for things that go bump in the night.” Zed murmured in a voice as cold as death. “Where is the destroyer heading?”

  A brighter red arrow appeared on the display. “The destroyer appears to be in orbit around this world.” A small red sphere appeared in the display, the red arrow hovering just above it. “That’s odd…” LOLA paused for several long moments. “It appears the destroyer is not stopping at what we know as the Hiveworld. Judging from the amount of electromagnetic energy being generated, this is the Hiveworld.” Another sphere on the far side of the sun blinked red. “The world the destroyer stopped at, a terrestrial class planet, appears rural, with virtually no energy signatures. There is a second planet in this system that fits those descriptions.” Another sphere blinked, slightly closer to the sun and in an oddly elliptical orbit.

  “Follow the destroyer, LOLA. We’ll find our answers there, I suspect.”

  “Aye aye, Captain.”

  Zed stared at the screen, a feeling of dread forming in the pit of his stomach. He knew without being told just what those two rural planets were being used for. As the world drifted closer, Zed and the crew could barely contain their excitement. Finally the blue-green planet filled the view-screen, while above the world floated the destroyer. Even from this distance Zed could see the signs of battle damage; the gaping hole not even the voracious Creednax nanites could repair in such a short time.

  “We have a weapons lock on the Creednax destroyer, Captain. It will be an easy kill.” George Popkin could barely contain the excitement in his voice. Zed turned to face the young idiot, but Mike beat him to it.

  “You will shut off the weapons lock this instant, Mister Popkin.” Mike’s face was red with anger.

  “Weapons are disengaged, sir, but why?”

  Mike sighed. “You are relieved of duty Mister Popkin, especially after asking that last stupid question. If the Creednax detected a weapons launch, or even our weapons lock, we would have 10,000 hostile warships trying to kill us. Do you understand that?” The Weapons Operator nodded jerkily, his face the color of chalk. “LOLA, how many Creednax battleships are there in this system?”

  “The Creednax have exactly 827 battleships in this system, Michael. I would like to remind the Executive Officer that a single battleship almost destroyed us in our last engagement.”

  Mike repressed his smile. “Thank you LOLA, I remember.” He turned to the quaking young man. “Get off my bridge right now!” His voice was deadly. G
eorge opened his mouth to say something, thought better of it… which was wise, turned and ran. “LOLA, will you please…”

  “I’ve already summoned George’s replacement to the bridge, Mike. She will be here momentarily.”

  Mike shot Zed a wry glance. “I hate it when she does that.”

  “Tell me about it.” Zed replied, still staring at the screen. Behind the two men LOLA looked smug.

  “Two Creednax shuttles are departing the ground and are headed for the destroyer with a minimum crew. I would assume they dropped off whatever they needed to. Shall we continue following the destroyer?”

  “No LOLA we will not. Please begin scanning the planet for lifeforms, especially around the probably landing spot for the Creednax shuttle.”

  “You think the Creednax offloaded the women to the planet?” LOLA sounded confused.

  “I’d bet my life on it.” He shot his suspicions to LOLA, and her usually warm friendly expression faltered as her face paled.

 

 

  The voice of LOLA sounded stricken.

  He reached over and touched her arm.

 

 

  LOLA, tears streaming down her cheeks gave Zed a quick kiss on the cheek. “I’ll be back soon.” She vanished.

  Mike leaned over and raised a single eyebrow. “What was that all about?”

  “I told her my suspicions of what those two planets are for. Deep down, LOLA’s a sensitive girl. It upset her.”

  Mike looked at the display, and his face darkened. “Farms?”

  “Yup. I plan on going down tonight and getting our women before any can be harvested. We’ve lost too many as it is.”

  “And then what?” There was anger in Mike’s voice now.

  “Then,” Zed said slowly. “we destroy the Creednax, completely and utterly, without quarter and without remorse.” Mike let out a totally animal sound, like a low and dangerous growl. “Until LOLA gets back I have to review the data coming in.”

  “You can do that?” Mike sounded surprised.

  “Remember what I did on the Rose of the Dawn?”

  “Oh yeah…”

  Zed leaned back in his chair and closed his eyes, overlaying the incoming data on his closed eyelids like the Tactical Display overlay the view-screen. The torrent of information almost overwhelmed him until he figured out how to filter out the extraneous information. He looked down from a god-like view and watched a group of figures move away from the spot the shuttle had deposited them. One fell. The others stopped while some went back to help the fallen woman. Zed counted twelve, and winced. Who had died this time? He tried to zoom in on the amorphous shapes, and found that it just gave him a headache.

  A soft voice in his mind said. The image resolved into startling clarity. In black and white he could suddenly see Katherine helping Alina to her feet. Zed swung his point of view across the small group of women. Several women were obviously no longer pregnant, but Katherine and Alina thankfully, were.

  Zed shot to the other presence in his mind.

  There was light laughter in her mental voice. He felt her smile.

 

  She seemed surprised.

  Zed thought about it for a moment.

  It felt like a mental hug, warm and reassuring. She let out a little laugh.

 

 

  He added with a laugh of his own.

 

  He set a tag on Katherine and watched it move off with her.

  Zed opened his eyes and blinked, turning to his XO. “Katherine and my son are alive, as well as Alina and your daughter. We’re missing two more women, and several have lost their babies.” Mike sagged in his seat, his eyes suddenly full of tears. “Why don’t you take a break? LOLA is on her way back right now.” LOLA popped into existence beside him, and gave him a long kiss, full on the lips. Zed heard someone snigger.

  “Thank you for what you did for me a few moments ago, and then for what you did for all of us.” Mike looked at them curiously.

  “Athena helped me interface with the sensors.” Zed shot LOLA a quick glare. “That’s all.” LOLA, however, wasn’t paying any attention at all. Before Mike entered the lift, Zed called out. “Don’t make plans for tonight. We have a date with a planet.” Mike’s eyes went very wide and a feral smile crossed his face.

  Zed hit the release and the small scout saucer dropped free of the Belerophon. Falling at only a few hundred kilometers an hour, the saucer slid undetected through the atmosphere. It was a long boring uneventful fall; just about as uneventful as the departure of the Creednax destroyer, which simply slid out of orbit and sped on its way to the Hiveworld. The small saucer homed in on Katherine’s tag with mindless mechanical precision. The larger of the two moons bathed the world in a soft silvery light as the ship reached treetop level. LOLA’s sensors had picked up only the most rudimentary Creednax guidance beacons, and virtually no surveillance systems. It appeared to Zed that the majority of the sophisticated gear was kept aboard the ships.

  “There!” Zed pointed to the thermal bloom of a fire in the view-screen. “There are eighty to ninety lifeforms there. Our dozen are down there.”

  “There’s a small clearing about a hundred meters to the west.” Mike chimed in. “LOLA can drop us there.”

  “It sounds good.” Zed agreed. “Everyone have their contacts in?” Dimitri, Larisa and Mike nodded their confirmations. A marvel of engineering, the contacts provided a monochromatic night vision, plus allowed LOLA to superimpose tactical information directly on the user’s field of vision. “How about weapons?”

  Dimitri sighed. “We know our job, Kapitan. LOLA provided us with neural disruptors to render warm blooded creatures unconscious.” He snorted. “A jolt of these would probably make the Creednax dance the Kozachok.” He gave Zed a beatific smile. “I brought my favorite slug thrower, just in case, as a backup. Even a Creednax won’t stand up to an armor piercing round.”

  “There’s not much that would, my friend.” Zed agreed, remembering something LOLA had said to him sometime back.

  ‘Earth humans are deadly and relentless fighters.’ She had said. ‘Comparing species to species, without taking technology into account, Earth humans are the most deadly combatants I’ve ever encountered. That includes the Creednax.’ Looking at Dimitri, Larisa and Michael, Zed suspected that she might be right.

  “Coming up on drop.” LOLA’s voice came out of the small speaker each member had screwed into his o
r her ear. Zed of course didn’t need one. “Lights are dimming.” The small bridge went black and then came up to a dim black and white twilight, thanks to the contacts, the same light you might get from an Earthly full moon. “Door opening.” A small square of silvery gray appeared in the gloom. “The ramp is down. Take care.”

  Zed felt his way down the ramp until his feet touched the soft earth. Behind him he heard Dimitri and Larisa fanning out towards the woods. Mike came up beside him, just as the breeze from the lifting saucer ruffled his hair. There was no noise.

  “Where to?”

  Zed studied his HUD, quickly locating the tag he was seeking. He pointed. “There. Ninety two meters.” He signaled to Dimitri and Larisa, and they disappeared into the woods.

  According to the sensors, there were an even hundred people in the small camp, mostly huddled around the small camp fire in the cool night air. Eighteen Myrthraa, armed with crude spears, towered above the rest of the cowering humanoids. It was clear who was in charge. Zed crept closer.

  “This last bunch will serve us well.” A big guard hissed to another. “Some will drop their kits soon. Those we save. The ones who lost their litter in transit we will give to the masters for food when they come again.” It gave a hissing laugh. “It’s a win win situation. We live and they die.”

  Zed gritted his teeth. “Dimitri and Larisa, listen up.” He sub-vocalised using a small mastoid mike LOLA had implanted. “The big cats are the ones in charge, and are giving the others to the Creednax ‘masters’ when they come around looking for snacks. I would like to shatter their illusions of this notion. Will 16 be too many for you to take out?”

  Larisa laughed. “I’ve already taken out three since you said they were donating our people for snacks. I hope you didn’t need them alive for anything.”

  Zed shook his head. “Not really. Go for it.” Shadows flitted between the trees in complete silence. Then the entire camp erupted into chaos as Dimitri, Larisa and Mike engaged their enemies. Zed winced at the whining crack of the neural disrupters. Two of the harder pressed Myrthraa, both towering over two meters tall howled in anger, and charged Dimitri, their spears outstretched. Zed looked on openmouthed as Dimitri calmly drew his Marine Ka-Bar fighting knife, a gift from former SEAL, “Chief” Emilio Lopéz, and smiled. Dimitri seemed to flow around the first spear thrust, and his arm seemed to flicker in a short, controlled movement. The Myrthraa stumbled, fell on his face and didn’t move. The second Myrthraa took one look at what had happened to his companion, dropped his spear, turned and bolted for the dark woods. The Ka-Bar grew in the center of his back, and the second Myrthraa collapsed, joining his companion in death. Dimitri pulled out the knife and calmly wiped the blade on the fallen fighter’s fur before returning it to his sheath. The air smelled of wood smoke and blood.