...and they are us 3: HiveWorld

  …and they are us Hiveworld

  By PD McClafferty

  Copyright © 2015 PD McClafferty

  ISBN: 978-0-9864245-3-3

  http://pdmcclafferty.com

  Ebook formatting by www.ebooklaunch.com

  Contents

  Chapter 1: Where The Hell…

  Chapter 2: Belerophon

  Chapter 3: Tildan & Eacrorth

  Chapter 4: Thataway

  Chapter 5: The Myrthraa

  Chapter 6: The Rose

  Chapter 7: Katherine

  Chapter 8: End Game

  Chapter 9: Hiveworld

  Epilogue: Cybele

  Chapter 1

  WHERE THE HELL…

  “Where the hell is my wife?” Fernandez Edwardo Raphael Daniel Yates, usually know as Zed, shouted for the third time at the cringing red-headed young man behind the counter. Beside him Michael Joseph Flaherty, Zed’s XO, former NASA astronaut and Marine pilot, rested his hand on the butt of his holstered Colt pistol in a relaxed, non-threatening manner. His face could have been chiseled from granite, and the air in the small impromptu Operations building snapped with tension.

  “Perhaps.” Mike said softly in voice that held the threat of imminent death in its very tone. “You should get your supervisor.” He glanced at the fuming Zed. “My friend here seems somewhat distraught, and when that happens whole solar systems have been known to vanish.” He leaned forward on the roughhewn counter, his blue eyes cold. “Poof!!” The clerk jumped.

  “I’ll go find Lucas Strutton; he’s in charge.” The cowering young man wiped a bead of sweat from his forehead, although the temperature in the building couldn’t have been much over 15º Celsius.

  “That might be a good idea.” Mike returned in a flat voice.

  The arrival of the 7651J Rose of the Dawn an hour earlier had caused a sensation, to say the least, at the modest ranch tucked in beside a small lake on the west side of the 1,000,000 plus hectare Boise National Forest. The excitement occurred when the main hatch to the cloaked starship, a small space black 50 meter scout ship shaped very nearly the same as a traditional flying saucer, appeared like a glowing portal floating in the empty front yard. The appearance of the cat added to the general panic. Not just any cat, but a Dramul CatTrace. The size of panthera pardus, the cat was sleek, well fed at 90 kilograms, and more than tired of being cooped up on a small ship for a week. Not simply a pet though, the CatTrace proved to be an efficient fighter when it came to eliminating the Creednax version of human nanites; green spiders with bodies the size of tennis balls, with lethal neuro-toxic stings. Feng, a young male, had the markings of Bengal Tiger, but in shades of gray and black. He moved like a black rocket out of the ship and into the shadows of the surrounding trees. Several women were still screaming when Zed, Mike and the rest of the crew descended the ramp. Zed ignored the turmoil, instead heading directly for a small building set apart from the other dozen or so, and bearing a handwritten sign declaring it OPERATIONS. His pregnant wife, along with fifteen other pregnant women sent away to safety as the battlecruiser Rose of the Dawn went into combat, were supposed to be here, and he couldn’t begin to describe how much he missed her.

  Lucas Strutton was a tall thin Brit with a heavy Devonshire accent, and had the infuriating habit of pulling his right earlobe when he was nervous. He was pulling it for all he was worth as he turned to face Zed.

  The man in question had finally managed to get a hold of his temper, and he took a deep breath. “My name is Fernandez Edwardo Raphael Daniel Yates. Most folks call me Zed. I was in command of the Terran Fleet Ship Rose of the Dawn. When we went into battle recently against the Creednax to defend the world Callidus…” He stopped and gave the supervisor a hard look. “You HAVE heard of the Creednax, haven’t you? Scourge of this galactic arm? They eat planets and fleets like you eat breakfast cereal.” The man nodded furiously. “Good. As I was saying, When we went into battle recently against the Creednax we sent a number of pregnant women here in a small scout ship for their safety because our own survival was in question. One of the women was my new wife, and one was my Exec’s fiancé. We’ve been apart for some time, and would very much like to see them again.” Smiling to himself, Zed stopped. He hadn’t even sworn once.

  Lucas frowned. “I’ve heard o the Rose of the Dawn an them damn Creednax things. Ye say ye were in command, like ye aren’t no more?”

  Zed’s smile began to fade. “The Rose of the Dawn was destroyed in the battle, however the world we were defending, Callidus, was saved.” The man’s eyes widened. “My wife and the rest of the women?”

  “And my fiancé, and unborn daughter?” Mike growled, stepping forward and leaning on the counter. Lucas took an involuntary step backward when he saw the fire in Mike’s eyes.

  “Ahhhh.” Lucas pulled his ear so hard Zed thought the appendage would come loose. “No ship ever showed up, guv’ner.” Zed’s smile vanished. “The last ships to arrive here were the shuttles from the Colonizer Mistral, and they be gone weeks and weeks ago for Cybele.” He paused, cringing. “They made it there, didn’t they?”

  “Yeah.” Zed returned in a distracted voice. “Ian is running things there while the AI Cybele helps us fight a war.”

  “Ian??” Lucas goggled. “Ian’s a good man, he left me in charge when things were quiet, but run a planet?”

  “I said almost exactly the same thing. Cybele should be going home shortly.” Zed watched the relief wash across Lucas’ face.

  The first clerk Zed had spoken to timidly poked his head back into the room, as if afraid he’d get it bitten off. “Ahhh, Lucas? I hate to interrupt you, but you’ve got an incoming FTL transmission.”

  Another tug on the ear. “I do?” Lucas replied in a tone that said he regarded the incoming call with the same enthusiasm he would regard a venomous snake.

  Zed groaned. “I’ll take it. Where’s the com?”

  The clerks eyes widened, and he glanced at Lucas, who was nodding enthusiastically.

  Mike glared at the cowering Lucas. “Don’t you have something better to do, on another continent perhaps?” The supervisor turned white. With a shrug, the red-haired clerk gestured Zed to follow, and Mike, after a last disgusted glance at Lucas, turned and left the room.

  Zed stopped in front of a very modern com screen that was at total odds with the rough timbered construction of the Operations building. “This is Zed Yates speaking. How can I help you?”

  “Zed?? What the hell are you doing there?” The screen cleared to show a swarthy, short haired man with sparkling hazel eyes.

  “Kal Sirak?” Zed blinked. “I got the Rose shot out from under me, and I’m looking for Katherine.”

  “You lost the Rose… again?” The man on the screen jibed gently. “Me - I got recruited into flying this bus back and forth while Cybele is away.”

  “You’re flying the Mistral?”

  “Oh hell no! They have me flying the new Argonaute. I had to turn the Formidable over to my XO. You run a hell of an airline my friend.”

  “It’s been a while since the Dramul fiasco, hasn’t it?”

  “Yup.” Behind Zed the terrified clerk was slowly backing toward the open door, obviously feeling that this was something way way above his pay grade. Zed caught the movement, and without a comment, crooked his finger, pointing at the floor beside him. The clerk reluctantly returned. “You’re going to have to tell me about the Rose.”

  “If this place has a bar. The story will need a few beers.”

  “That bad?”

  “Yup. Now, what can I do for you?”

  “I’m here to pick up 3000 pioneers for delivery to Cybele I guess, and drop off a couple of very
pregnant Dramul CatTraces.”

  “I have a change of orders for you. You’ll be taking the pioneers to Callidus. Drop one cat here on Earth, and another on Callidus. LOLA, my AI, has the coordinates in the scout ship.”

  “Callidus… Callidus… I can almost…”

  Zed filled in the blanks. “Callidus was the Dramul Manufacturing and R&D planet, abandoned about ten or fifteen millennia ago after the empire’s collapse. Now it’s ours. The Creednax wanted it and we had a heated discussion over the ownership but it’s still ours, although a little the worse for wear. Athena, the AI there says she needs about five million souls for minimum staffing. Hope you don’t mind driving a bus. You’ll be at it for a while.”

  “Five million??” Kal sounded stunned. There was a thump from the wood floor and Zed glanced down to see the clerk passed out at his feet. He turned to Mike and rolled his eyes in resignation.

  “Throw a bucket of water on this slug.” He growled.

  “It will be my pleasure.” Mike’s grin was scary as he strode from the room.

  “So LOLA is still kicking around the universe? How are you managing that neat trick with no big ship and no central computer?”

  “You wouldn’t believe it if I told you.”

  Kal laughed aloud. “Zed, I’ve known you for a while. I’d believe most anything is possible with you.”

  “You’re a bum.” Zed laughed in return. “I’ll check into our pioneers and get back to you. When do you want to leave?”

  “Is yesterday too soon? If I wait too long my XO will begin to think my heavy cruiser is hers.” Still laughing, the former Sergeant in the Dramul space force and now Terran capital ship captain turned his screen off.

  Zed stood aside as Mike threw a bucket of water on the dozing clerk. “So, now what?” Mike gave Zed a long look.

  Zed sighed as the man on the floor made sputtering noises. “We help them get things set up before we go.”

  “But…”

  Zed interrupted. “No buts. You know as well as I do that if we leave, this place will turn to chaos, and Callidus will never get the people it needs to survive. Then, instead of one problem, we’ll have two or three.” He saw the pain in the big man’s eyes and knew that Mike was seeing the same thing reflected in his own. “I hate leaving Kat and the other women lost, but we’ll find them, I promise you that. You’ll see Alina again, and your child.”

  Mike was staring at the floor. “Doctor Sutherland told us it would be a girl.”

  Zed slapped his friend on the shoulder. “We’ll have to get your girl together with my boy.” He glared down at the clerk who was just struggling to sit up. “You. This place was set up as a transfer station between Earth and wherever. I don’t see any dormitories. Where are the people?”

  “Ahhh.” The red-headed youth mopped water from his face. “Ian took a lease for a big chunk of Mountain Home Air Force Base. They closed it 20 years ago, but the barracks are still usable. Ian got the heating running and we have several thousand pioneers waiting there right now. Housing the former military was the easiest. They’re used to hurry-up-and-wait.”

  Zed frowned. “We have military?”

  “Yeah, your friend Admiral Grinwell set something up so that certain military folks with over 15 years of service could get out and come right here. We have about 1000 veterans right now, but make that about 2000 if you add their families.”

  “Cool. Why didn’t you just buy the whole base? We could land the shuttles there with no problems.”

  “Ian was being frugal. The whole base would cost millions.”

  Zed gave the youth a flat look. “And how many kilos would that be in gold?” The clerk’s eyes suddenly got very bright. “Make this happen quickly and I’ll see that you have a few kilograms of your own to do with as you please.”

  “Make that 10 kilograms.” The suddenly bold clerk shot back.

  Zed chuckled. “Done. Let me know how much we need for the base, and let’s get those vets and their families moving here.” The clerk was out the door before Zed could blink. Greed was a wonderful thing to use against someone.

  Busses began to arrive with the veterans just after midnight two days later, and the shuttles from the Argonaute arrived only 30 minutes after the busses. Unloading and embarking a maximum of three busses a night would take them 11 days. Zed hated the delay, but there was simply nothing he could do to speed things up.

  Of the 16 members of Zed’s crew, six had chosen to remain with Mike and him, to continue the quest to find the lost women. Many weren’t a surprise to Zed: Dimitri Galygin, the former Spetsnaz Captain and now his head of security, and Larisa Borisyuk, a former Lieutenant in the same Spetsnaz Company and now a leader of the Strike Team, along with “Chief” Emilio Lopéz, a former SEAL who, he suspected, had more than a passing interest in Larisa. The surprises were the diminutive Science Officer Atsuo Tanaka, the equally small but feisty Billie Clarke, a gifted engineer from the former HMS Gryphon, and Helen Sutherland, the head physician from the original Rose of the Dawn. The last part of the team that would be going with him was the cat. Feng, their shadowy crewmember spent most of his time decimating the local rabbit population, in addition to deer and partridge. Still, Zed thought as he watched the sleeping cat, Feng only killed what he needed to eat, and nothing more. If only humans could be so conservative.

  It seemed that Zed had just crawled into his rude bed in the bunkhouse when a hand was shaking his shoulder. He looked up at the bleary eyed face of Mike Flaherty. “Better get up, Zed. There’s a call for you.”

  Zed swung his feet out of the bed and winced as they hit the cold cabin floor. “What does Kal want?”

  “It isn’t Kal. It’s Tom Covati in the Frigate Boston. He seemed somewhat surprised to find us here.”

  “I’ll bet.” Zed returned tonelessly, pulling on his fur lined coat. “In the middle of all this he’s going to want to dump the excess 287 folks from the Rose of the Dawn and let his crew take a little shore leave. Those science types will all want transportation to Boise.” He sighed. “Maybe we could sneak a few shuttle-fulls down to the old air base. Nobody would blink too much about busses going in and out of there.”

  “You’re probably right.” Mike handed Zed his shoes. “You might need these. It snowed last night.”

  “Shit!”

  Former NASA Astronaut and Marine Captain Thomas Covati looked up as Zed switched on the screen. “I didn’t expect to see you here… already.” He stated bluntly.

  “Oh, you know, I didn’t have anything much to do… after the Creednax shot the damned Rose of the Dawn out from under me and killed more than half my crew. We did manage to save Callidus, with some help. Now I’m just sitting around… wondering how I’m going to find a lost saucer with 16 pregnant women on board, one of whom is my new wife. How are things going for you?” Zed took a deep breath. He hadn’t meant to sound so bitter, or to take it out on someone else.

  The Captain of the Frigate Boston looked shocked. “I didn’t know, Zed. Damn, I’m sorry. Your wife is missing?”

  “Their saucer never made it to Earth. Mike and I have been too busy trying to clean up the mess down here to do much of anything… not that there’s much we can do from here.”

  “Is there anything I can do?”

  “Yeah, we’re thinking of having you set a couple of shuttles at a time down in the old Mountain Home Air Force Base. We’re leasing a good part of it, and working on buying the rest.”

  “I know where that is. The runway runs 120/300. Rather than set shuttles down, why don’t I just set the whole ship down? The ship doesn’t need lights to land. That massive taxiway would be perfect, and the frigate would be cloaked and invisible to visual or electronic observation. At 143 meters long with a normal crew of 200, I could just open the hangar door on the Boston, and let folks walk right into one of the big base hangars. Busses could pick them up there.”

  Zed nodded his head. “It’s a good idea.” He glanced at the calendar on the w
all. “Give us a couple of days to set things up, lease transportation and things like that.”

  “Sounds good. Just have the buses waiting when we get there. Some of the science types are getting a little antsy, if you know what I mean.”

  “Oh yeah. See you Tom, and sorry for snapping your head off.”

  “You had a right, Zed.” The screen went dark.

  Zed staggered back to his bed, but just couldn’t get to sleep with his tossing and turning and worrying about the lost women. Finally, in something like desperation, he headed for the saucer. A wash of light from the opening hatch flooded the yard as he approached. Walking up the small ramp he felt like he was coming home. LOLA was waiting for him in one of the comfortable bridge chairs, her bare leg draped casually across the arm.

  “Hi Zed.” She chimed brightly. “Busy day?” She pushed a wayward green bang out of her eyes.

  Zed collapsed in a seat. “And then some.”

  “You look cold.”

  “I’m freezing!” He replied, teeth chattering.

  “Then do something about it. During the battle for Callidus you got literally cooked when hundreds of Creednax powerplants lost containment at the same time. When Athena and I rebuilt you, we purposely didn’t use human DNA. You’re not a human, so why act like a human?” She held out a slim pale hand, and Zed could see waves of heat rising from it. In a moment the edges of her fingers were glowing red.

  “That’s impossible!” He gawked at her glowing hand. He could feel the heat radiating from it on to his face.

  “You’re going to have to learn that the word impossible doesn’t apply so much to you anymore, or to me or to any of our little family. Try it!” Zed held out his hand, and soon the edges of his sleeve began to smoke. The heat subsided. “See? Now, just think of a general warmth in your body, from head to toe.” She smiled as he concentrated. “There! Now you’ve got it.” Zed relaxed, luxuriating in his warmth. “So, when can I go out to see the sights? I’m tired of being cooped up, although surfing the Internet is fun. I swiped lots of neat ideas from your DOD and government think tanks. I’ve also downloaded about every song ever recorded, every movie, every book and every music video.”