Evolution's Essence

by H. Lee Morgan, Jr

  Oliver waited atop the mountainous peak of the hive watching as from all directions Keptl came running. The sea churned and when he mentally contacted White Blossom she was grateful for a suggestion and he telekinetically moved Hard-shell out over land and into the ocean where eight percent of the swarm lived an made it easier to get everyone aboard the living creature that doubled as a home.

  It took two hours till White Blossom telepathically told him every single one of her children were firmly inside and they everyone had direct contact with the hive. He put pressure on Renee’s mind a moment before dropping the planetary barrier and used a tremendous amount of power to teleport the most mass via the Valek to date.

  Chapter 11

  The instant chill of the void sucked heat away from moments before. Still holding onto the peak, Oliver watched as the entire hive’s exterior began to frost over in mere seconds. His suit kept him plenty warm and breathing as they floated a few seconds before twenty kilometers away appeared the city-ship and a chain of armored crabs linked together. Next to appear was dozens of undamaged ships.

  Over the com Oliver heard the sweet and spicy lilt of his woman. “Any problems lover boy?”

  “None.” He said as he turned to find the nearest planet about six minutes away at light speed. It was enormous and even on the planet’s dark side it glowed with oceans of angry red lava beneath violent storms in a thick atmosphere impossible to breathe without genetic splicing. Methane and sulfur was too dangerously high for even Solarians let alone Humans without the change. “Start ferrying the people inside the hive while I bring the hive to land.”

  “Unnecessary. Thank you so much for giving me a way to leave my prison. I can move an I can tell through the eyes of my Goliaths the word you chose is absolutely perfect. All of my children are so excited.” From the distance, Oliver watched as five Goliaths broke away and approached to grab hold of the hive. Using the neural chip and a scanner mounted on the top of his armored hands he read powerful magnetic influence emanating from the massive creature that allowed them to move despite their immense size and weight. They were more like living magnets. It was impressive as ever watching this happen.

  Over the following hours those humans who were inside the hive was shuttled over to the city-ship. When every person was gone White Blossom requested sleep and slept for ten hours after the stressful ordeal, but when she awoke she found Oliver, the Ligers, Renee, Steven, Visor and Sparky waiting outside her chamber. “To what do I owe this honor?”

  Steven lifted his hand along with a cube. “We never got to finish our game. Wanna see? We were tied with fifteen points each and was your ball.”

  Excitement thrilled through White Blossom as she clapped her hands. “Yes! Yes! Yes! Wait… um can we start over? I enjoyed it so much before we left. Can we do it all over again?”

  “So you like Zero Ball then I take it?” Visor chirped and ruffled his glossy feathers.

  “Do I? it is the most entertaining thing I’ve seen since Melanie showed me her holographic videos and all the movies. I can play and not worry now. I sense absolutely no taint of any nearby Feral. I haven’t felt this relaxed in eons.” The Keptl Queen looked at peace. None could deny that. She radiated being relaxed. “You’ve done so much for me. I will return you my gratitude as best I’m able, but I want to excel in this game. I like Zero Ball. So exciting.”

  “Take it easy, Big Girl!” Renee chuckled. “We got days before your Goliaths reach the planet. It’s slower than our sublight, but I understand wanting to do things yourself. Still… we got loads of time to get to know each other. After you make a male for me to study I’ll make one out of a volunteer, but for now we can play as much as you like until I get bored or need to deal with my duties that plague my position.”

  “As much as I like?” White Blossom jumped to her legs. “I like the sound of that. Herd-shell, please widen the space where my Humans have lived all this time till it is big enough for the big box of light can fit.”

  An eye came out of a nearby wall. “It will take several minutes.” The mind of the hive informed before eyes turned toward the hope area and watched as the walls expanded and the floor stretched gradually.

  Just as soon as there was enough space Steven tossed it in and let the game room open and build itself so they could play.

  While entering after summoning the same Keptl players from earlier, White Blossom laid a hand on Renee’s shoulder to say “I’ve already begun cultivating an egg for the male. I will lay him in three days. He will hatch in the next.” Rene took that information quietly before playing.

  For the next five days the Goliaths moved the hive closer and closer with no additional stress or attacks. Most of that time was spent either in long discussions with Renee as liaison or stuck playing Zero Ball which White Blossom was addicted to. And as promised, White Blossom allowed Renee to watch as she laid the egg of a male. From her large abdomen’s rear a smooth, milky white egg was pushed out with relative ease despite it being twice the size of a human’s head. Whit Blossom confirmed that this egg was as large as she can make and is twice the size of any other she could produce. She could lay sever hundred Tracker eggs for the one male.

  Twenty seven hours later the egg opened to reveal a miniature version of White Blossom, but it has much more fearsomeness in the way of spikes and genetic knowledge. It was to be studied at all times till fully develoed. Which to White Blossom’s estimation would be in ten months. Second slowing growing to maturity next to a Goliath.

  Yet on the fifth day the Goliaths reached the volatile planet and placed the hive on a relatively stable tectonic plate. The hive extended its many limbs deep beneath the surface and made sure it was secure before White Blossom allowed Hard-shell to open her many pores and let all inside, out.

  Scientists and others from all walks of life watched as they got to literally witness from recordings how dangerous the Keptl race truly was and how they evolve so rapidly.

  In that first day White Blossom freed her brood on the planet she sent tens of thousands into the lava and as expected, ninety nine percent were melted within moments. The remaining who survived were severely injured and were brought before her.

  It a morbid fascination, people watched her eat the surviving injured and didn’t need to wait long. She laid hundreds of new eggs and let them grow before sending them out to repeat the same process and it stunned minds from all walks of life when eighty percent survived. Three out of over twenty thousand survived without any injury and willingly let themselves be devoured.

  This third generation of Keptl were completely immune to the extreme temperatures. All within a month. It terrified many, but White Blossom assured the masses that it is only because she is a pure one and not a Feral. Feral take thousands of years to evolve while it takes her far less. She repeated this process with all her brood types and even showed kinds never seen before with tasks that support the workers and solders of her swarm.

  After six months living on the hostile world where she fortified her position and build an army thanks to all the additional resources of the enormous planet she made drastic change to her entire brood to further separate herself from the Feral.

  She changed the carapace coloring of her brood as well as increased a part of their mind to receive her influence after Renee came up with revolutionary ideas after extensive biological study on White Blossom and her brood’s connection. The change to their outward coloring was intentional to differentiate in combat if their armor was not on. With Renee’s aid and guidance, White blossom could now keep in contact with her minions using a subspace frequency that uses minimal Psionic power that extends her range to keep her brood from going feral and bloodthirsty insane.

  Now her swarm can stay in contact within the range of ten million light years.

  This alteration allowed White Blossom to return her gratitude. Now fifteen percent of all Terra fighters housed a crew of Tracker, Lisk and Defiliers and were sent on tactical missions to sho
w their effectiveness. Dragoons and the hulking Behemoths were too big often to keep aboard.

  It was an outstanding partnership and White Blossom’s addition in ground combat proved itself time and again.

  Two years later Renee made good on her promise and after White Blossom killed the male (to ensure no Feral Queen mated with him to give away all her secrets) a Human volunteer was genetically modified and transformed physically to a near identical copy of the previous male, but his semen held the parts White Blossom needed. He was certainly fearsome, but was about fifteen percent smaller than White Blossom.

  When the time came he inserted his phallus inside White Blossom and delivered the genetic material that nearly killed him before the freshly mated queen grew hungry.

  He returned to what he was after the ordeal and was taken care of till he recovered two weeks late with no ill effects.

  Six months after conception, the longest White Blossom went without laying an egg, she pushed out an enormous egg easily able to contain two or three full grown Humans. It was so big it filled up most of her abdomen. Much like the Kiwi bird does when laying its egg. The birth of the egg took its toll on the fun loving Keptl Queen. She was unconscious for days and when awoken she cried happily after delivering the new queen she could already sense was perfect even without using a genuine Keptl male as the genetic donor.

  During this time of alliance and friendship Renee and Oliver learned much of the Solarian race and about the far reaching past. It seemed the Feral are the true second oldest sentient race and before Solarians met them, they were already a plague for millions of years. White Blossom was born to one of the last true Queens who ruled for eons, but were systematically whittled down due to the lack of the Feral connection. The true Keptl Queens were solitary till White Blossom’s mother designed her to be highly social and driven to make connections after it was determined to already be too late against the Feral onslaught.

  Three more years passed before the egg hatched to produce the first healthy Queen in over half a million years according to White Blossom who reared her young and happy child in a healthy way among friends.

  While this happened there was minimal contact among the Creelin until after eighteen years Oliver was riding on the back of Nova and was running his Pride in a combat simulation against Colorful Mind and her first group of birthed Trackers over rugged and jagged land. Colorful Mind is the daughter of White Blossom who watched from afar, telepathically teaching her child of thirteen years how to properly guide her own young to fight effectively. Using tactics and inspiration to deal with faster and stronger foes when over a hundred meters away there came a flash of light that put a stop to this lesson.

  Using the neural chip’s ability to zoom one’s vision and enhance clarity, Oliver blinked when noticing certain robes on a figure. He said loudly “Colorful Mind, hurry to your mother.”

  “But?” the half grown Keptl Queen was curious.

  “NOW!” his strict tone made her jump before she scampered as fast as her limbs could carry her, her Trackers children came close as to keep her safe. Her fear made her run faster across the dangerous terrain.

  A mental nudge to Nova turned the muscular feline and all the others followed the direction till gathering before the figure. The helmet retracted and Oliver arched an eyebrow. “Well I didn’t expect this result in my future plans. What has happened, Netul?”

  “Much my old friend. I’m as confused as you at this turn of events.” Netul pulled at the side of his lavender robe with his sharpened fingernails shaped into thick claws on three long fingers and a thumb. The Creelin writing running down from the shoulders spoke of his greatest achievements, but was nothing compared to the symbol placed in where a human heart would be. It was an amulet that radiated colorful light in a dazzlingly display that was also extensively intricate. Judging by the shifting color of Netul’s eyes glowing almost pink told how overwhelmed he felt even without telepathy bleeding emotions into Oliver’s consciousness. “My appointment was nearly unanimous. Less than twenty percent voted against me. I…”

  “It’s been far too long, My Friend. Eighteen years is too long to be apart.” Oliver dismounted and embraced the Creelin in a strong hug, pulled back and gripped the slender shoulders. “I know it must be difficult for you to breathe on this world, let’s go somewhere more pleasant.” Oliver looked up and easily calculated a well known area in the same system successfully terraformed and teleported to the rich planet where instead of Volcanoes and sharp ground, there expanded a seemingly endless grassy plain with distant mountains. “Better?” the Ligers spread out.

  “Much.” Netul inhaled deeply and fell down on his back with little care to his clothes. “Where do I even start?” the Creelin closed his eyes and basked in the star’s warm rays and enjoyed the passing wind carrying the scent of wildflowers.

  “The beginning usually works. Start where we last met.” Oliver changed out of armor and went naked from the waist up before falling back as well to enjoy a needed break.

  “After you punched the eldest of all my people for her foolishness I was surprised more didn’t wish your death.” Netul heard Oliver chuckle in recalling that vivid event and also loosed some mirth from his noseless nostrils. “She was old, set in her ways and stubborn, as were many Archivers who didn’t feel the need to inform all my people the truth of the Invaders. I fought against them as you know, but we were falsely led to believe that they could die. I believed each one I fired upon was slain permanently, not that they kept coming back over and over like the endless tide. I, like many of my Zeelin brethren who fought that abominable enemy, were outraged yet still loyal.” Netul sights. “What a fool I was.

  “Before you departed and we lost touch I’m grateful you passed me the documents and am glad you continued to trust me even after denying all ties cut between the Empire and us until we figure a way to not let this stupidity pass again. My people believed the Archivers never withheld any secrets from the collective. And when I had my son Pathilim go over what you learned from White Blossom and hacked the personal files of every Archiver to get all information on the Invaders… Pathilim was unable to respond for days after doing the private investigation in his lab proving just how ineffective our greatest weapon would have been. All it would be capable of doing is stunning them, and not for long either. Using hyperspace energy was foolhardy as a weapon. There was a possibility our own weapon could bring more Invaders and we end up repeating history or making it even worse.

  “When my youngest son could respond he begged me to destroy our weapon at all costs. I’ve never seen my son so fearful after reading what you gave into my possession. It took six months before he was able to stabilize his mind after coming to the undeniable truth.

  “But I was unable to destroy it as even a Beyleez.

  “My people were outraged at the Archivers when you openly hacked their private memory crystals and revealed how many times we were lied to and the Creelin peoples around the universe wanted all the corrupted Elders to step down and start as all young ones fresh out of the learning centers must.

  “All but the honorable Archivers were spared this dishonor. Many Archivers committed suicide rather than face their disgrace, especially the eldest one. After you punched her, three days later she was found with her wrists slit and her memory crystal bidding farewell as she entered the void. Others regained their honor in death against the swam of Feral we’ve begun eradicating.”

  “How did you become leader of all Creelin?” Oliver asked after a long pause and touched his own muscular chest where Netul’s pendant was placed.

  “Archiver Tammat and Brambbit and over half of the remaining honorable Elders who were found innocent after your revelation to all of my race declined becoming leader of All, much to the shock of many. They told us none of them not only didn’t want the responsibility, but were too old to fulfill the role. None of them in good conscience believed they were immune from repeating their mistakes and instead each Arc
hiver that remained could select a single champion they believed could do what the eldest one lost sight of so long ago.

  “Each champion had to meet strict requirements and would ultimately become an Archiver regardless of their age. Archiver Tammat selected me as his champion and I, among eight thousand other champions, were given precisely one hundred tasks from unbiased Archivers. My first task was given by Archiver Ny’re to bring the body of a Feral Queen out of her hive without being detected by a single Feral and must not disturb others. I did it by poison and managed to slip in and recover my prize. It was a worthy challenge I must admit.

  “This lasted sixteen years until I and eleven others stood having completed all our tasks set upon us. Those years were exciting and pushed me to limits I had long forgotten I had. When we faced our people we were cheered and yet only one can be leader of All.

  “As by right of honor, all twelve remaining were given a single Psi gauntlet for a blade and we fought. I became victor and thus leader of All Creelin.”

  “Was the fight worthy?”

  Netul sat up, his eyes a merry blue color. “It was one of my most distinguished fights. My opponents were powerful and I was honored to be part of their mettle. Had I not learned after teaching you to fight I very well might have lost. Each of my brothers and sisters proved themselves my equal in glorious combat. Not even I won without a permanent reminder of their prowess.” Netul pulled the front of his robe open to show off a myriad of scars crossing all over his torso. Some were hair thin and others jagged.

  “How do you scar? You regenerate like we do?” Oliver was confused.

  “The Psi blades given were specially designed to inhibit regeneration. I am proud to wear these markings as are my brethren whom I bested. They are my finest advisors I keep close.” Netul thought of them with unmistakable pride. “My first at when I was given the signet of leadership was the dismantling of the galactic destroyer and all its resources were reallocated to newly established colonized planets and all documents on is creation and technical implementation were destroyed. All creators and great thinkers responsible for its creation are denied ever to speak upon or teach any aspect involved in harnessing hyperspace energy as a weapon.