A Space Story 42

            Felina Golumbine woke up in the medical center.  There was something wrong.  She felt something on her face.  Felina had bandages covering her left eye so she could not see out of it.

            “So you finally woke up,” said Dr. Faction, “how are you feeling?”

            “What happened to me?” she asked, “Did something happen to my face?”

            “There was an explosion.  You were hurt.  A lot of people were hurt.  But you are going to be all right.”

            “Did my face get burned?”

            “I had to put on a small skin graft.  Do not worry.  Once we get back to Earth they can smooth it over good as new.”

            Felina was worried but she knew that modern cosmetic procedures could easily fix skin damage.  But there was still something wrong.

            “Is there something wrong with my eye?” she asked, “oh god am I going to be blind in one eye now.”

            The look on Dr. Faction’s face gave away that it was worse than that.

            “Felina when you were brought in… the damage was bad.”

            “What happened?”

            “Your left eye is gone.  There was not enough left of it to save.”

            “You cut out my eye.”

            “The explosion destroyed your eye.  I did what I could.  Until we get back to Earth there is only so much that can be done on this ship.  But you will be fine.”

            Felina knew that was not true.  She had heard about this before.  Even if they could grow her a new eye there was no guarantee it would work.  Eyes and nerves and things with the brain were weird like that.  She might never see properly again.  Then Raddy Volcane came to her side.  Felina smiled.  She was glad to see him.

            “I’m so happy to see you,” she said to him.

            What happened next was not what Felina expected or what she wanted.  Raddy took her hand.  He took it just a little too tight.  And he showed his teeth like he was angry.

            “This is not right,” he said, “of all the people this could have happened to it should not have been you.  You are a good person.  But don’t you worry.  I’ll make them pay.  I’ll make them all pay.”

            What Felina saw in Raddy scared her.  He did not look like the sweet man she had come to care for.  In his eyes Raddy looked like he was going mad.  He let go of her hand and rushed off.  Felina Golumbine was left alone.

A Space Story 41

            Evan Evaide was nervous about talking to this many people at once.  But Anyantha was sitting there close by smiling and trying to tell him he would be fine.  Commander Ardiniero gave him the nod to go ahead and give his report.

            “So I have some good news, some bad news and some very bad news and some worse news, which would you like first.”

            No seemed to find it humorous so Evan continued.

            “Okay I’ll start with the good news.  We do not have to worry about dieing of dehydration or lack of hygiene because we still have plenty of water.  Water rations can stay as they are.  We are fine on that front.  Now for the rest.  Bad news, the social bar was pretty much destroyed and all of its supplies are gone.  Still not sure why the horde thought that was important.  Now as to which is the very bad news and the worse news that is a matter of opinion I guess.   You know how everyone got a gun.  Well the guns you were just using are all the guns we have left.  The horde hit the armory after they were handed out.  They destroyed the rest of the guns.  If we are boarded again we will not have enough guns and ammunition to hold them off.  And the worse news I guess is our food.  Most of our food was destroyed.  They took out almost all of the nutrient pack and capsule stores.  They even blew up the desert closet so it’s just a big pile of carbonized sugar.  We do have plenty of synthetic meat left but it is the least nutritionally vital of all the food that survived.”

            Janessa looked at her data pad and saw that Evan had missed something.  She spoke up, “what about the vegetables?  It looks like we still have plenty of fresh vegetables in storage.”

            “The horde damaged the refrigerator,” said Evan, “It is going to start to go bad long before we have a chance to eat it all.  I guess we still have some canned stuff but not enough to last us the trip there to the horde planet and then back to Earth.”

            Zai, last of the Raath entered the common hall.  Everyone just stared at him.

            “I have come to apologize,” said Zai, “I am greatly responsible for all of this.  Due to my arrogance people have died and you will suffer.  However I may have a solution to one of your problems.  If you will follow me.”

            Zai left the common hall.  Janessa decided to be the first to get up and see what Zai wanted to show them.  A lot of other people followed.  Zai led them to one of the ships lower decks.  He took them to what everyone had always thought was just a wall.  Zai typed into his arm device and it turned out the wall was actually a very big door.  What everyone saw on the other side was beyond anything they could have expected.

            “That looks like a jungle,” said Junitha, “there is a jungle inside this spaceship.  Holy shit is that a waterfall.”

            “Welcome to Botanics,” said Zai, “this is where all of the ship’s air comes from.  There are a variety of fruits and vegetable that can be harvested from here.  Mr. Evaide will have to take inventory of them so they can be properly rationed.”

            “Is that a cow?” asked Janessa.

            “Yes,” said Zai, “I also keep livestock down here.  They are able to feed off the environment.”

            “Why would you need cows?” said Evan.

            “My diet requires meat,” said Zai, “I prefer to slaughter and prepare my own meals.  I also like to eat a number of vegetables.  However most fruits never did sit well with my people’s digestive system.”

            “Are you familiar with the term ‘too much information’ Zai?” asked Junitha.

            “I am but I never understood the phrase,” said Zai, “the more information you have the better prepared you are.”

A Space Story 40

            Felina Golumbine was not sure what to do.  There were alerts going off and people running around with guns and they said she should get to safety but where was safe.  Then there was an explosion.  She saw a flash and was knocked back and then there was only dark.

            Evan Evaide held Anyantha Whitecross as they took shelter in the commissary.  Lights began to flicker and then some of them burst into sparks.

            Dr. Vandis Bane huddled in a corner in her quarters and prayed for it all to be over.

           

            In the kite fighter bay the horde aliens were learning.  They weaved and zigzagged.  They used one arm to protect their dome heads.  It was getting harder to take them down and they were not stopping and there was no visible end to them

            “Wake up you ugly alien son of a bitch,” was what Zai awoke to have Duron scream in his face.

            “Move,” said Zai as he leaped to his feet and stepped into the razor system control ring.  He put his hands together as if to pray.  Zai began shouting in a language no one recognized.  The wings of the Daedlus expanded as the razor system activated.  But something new happened.  The front of the ship, the ‘beak’ began glowing and the wings began to glow bright as well.  The beak detached from the rest of the ship.  The parts of the wings began flying away like feathers.  The beak and the feathers zoomed through space and collided with one of the Spectral Horde battle cruisers.  The enemy ship was torn apart and the beak and feathers headed for the next target.

           

            All over the ship the horde aliens stopped attacking for a moment.  Then they all began running away.  But they were not retreating.  They were all now headed for the command and control center.

            At first Zai’s shouting seemed random.  After hearing it for a bit they realized he was chanting.

            Zanka Aros,

            Zonga Moko,

            Shaka Rozo,

            Zanda Kaas

            Another Spectral Horde battle cruiser went down.  The third began to break away.  But it was too late.  The beak and the feathers cut it to pieces then they returned to the ship.  All over the ship horde drones fell down lifeless.

            “So what was that?” asked Duron, “some kind of voice controlled combat system?”

            “That is one way to put it,” said Zai, “It was a powerful combat spell that when combined with Raath technology can amplify the razor system.”

            “A spell, you mean like magic?  But there is no such thing as magic.”

            “One hundred years ago everyone on your planet was sure there was no such thing as aliens.  Try to keep and open mind.”

           

            “This is a really nice morgue,” said Dr. Winchester Faction, “I knew people would probably die on this mission but I assumed it would be from outer space combat.  When a fighter explodes there is not enough left of the body to make recovery worth it.  I did not think I would be using this morgue.  Now we have eight people in it and dozens more injured.”

            “It could have been much worse,” said Duron.

            “Well let me show you what I found,” said Dr. Faction.

            There was a horde drone out on a table.  Dr. Faction had been dissecting it.

            “It looks like Zai was right.  These things are not alive.  They are robotic drones.  But they are like the opposite of what he have on Earth.  We are soft fleshy creatures and traditionally we use metal as armor.  These things are the opposite.  They are these skinny little combat robots that have this thick organic armor kind of like an insect carapace grown over their robotic parts.  I’ve never seen anything like it before.  And this blue dome with the blue ooze is where they get their remote signals.  The blue stuff is a coolant for the circuits.  Without it they must overheat fast.”

            “I still wish we knew how they knew where to attack us,” said Duron, “How did they know where everything was on the ship?  I wonder if it is linked to the thing they are using to tamper with the fighters targeting systems.  We just don’t know.  Thank you for everything Dr. Faction.  I should get to the briefing in the common hall.”

A Space Story 39

            Vanz Kerrigan walked down a hallway alone.  He knew he was close to the kite fighter bay.  He froze when he saw the alien.  It was alone and came around the corner cautiously.  It aimed its head at Kerrigan then started walking towards him.  Then I started running at him.  Kerrigan raised the gun and started shooting.  He was not ready for the recoil and the shots went wild.  The alien was almost on top of him and it was not slowing down.  Its head exploded.

            “I admire your courage Mr. Kerrigan,” said Ryoko Jeagan, “but you are a lousy shot.”

            “Thank god,” he said.

            Ryoko led him to the blockade they had set up outside the kite fighter bay.  Roweth had been telling everyone to pass the word around that the best way to take the horde aliens down was a direct head shot.  It was possible to kill them with enough concentrated fire on the body but destroying the dome head was instantly lethal.  Kerrigan aimed his weapon.  The horde aliens would all have to come around the corner ahead to get to the kite fighters.

            When the aliens rounded the corner they stopped for a moment as if to take in their enemy.  Junitha stood up to get a better look at them.  They charged forth.  Junitha stayed standing and smile.  She began to sing.

            Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens,

            Bright copper kettles and warm woolen mittens

            Brown paper packages tied up with string,

            These are a few of my favorite things

Everyone opened fire.  Junitha fired along with everyone else and she continued to sing and smile.

            The crew in the command and control center had been expecting Duron but Zai got their first.  He called down the razor system controls.  The next thing Zai did no one expected.  He started stripping.  He started by taking off his mask.  Everyone had seen Zai’s face when he announced himself but they were used to seeing his mask.  In many ways the expressionless mask was easier to look at than his actual face.  The sharp teeth and pointed ears and gray skin, Zai looked like some kind of mythical demon to most people.

            Zai took off the gloves and foot covers of his battle suit first and the command crew saw that he did not have nails.  Zai had claws.  Then he proceeded to strip of the upper part of his battle suit leaving himself bare chested.  The skin on his body was the same as on his head.  It was gray and bumpy and looked wet and clammy all the time.  Duron entered just in time to see it.

            “What the hell are you doing now?” asked Duron.

            “The system works better this way,” said Zai.

            The system had not yet been activated when the Spectral Horde ships began to glow.   The crew reported that they were detecting a power build up.  The three ships fired together.  Upon impact it was like an earthquake was happening.  Reports were coming from all over of power surges and explosions.  Duron saw Zai, last of the Raath unconscious on the floor.

A Space Story 38

            Dr. Winchester Faction had not held a gun in a long time.  He was a man named after a gun.  He had grown up aiming and firing and maintaining guns.  He wanted to put away that chapter of his life.  He had set foot on this ship to heal if healing was needed.  He had not set foot on this ship to pick up a gun again.  But the enemy was coming and it was not going to stop just because he did not want to have to hold a gun.

            He reminded himself of what Zai had said.  That these things were just drones not really alive.  Then he remembered that once upon a time people said something just like that about Winchester and his brothers.  The security team had not come yet.  The Spectral Horde was charging around the corner towards him.

            Winchester Faction took aim and began firing.  He aimed for the head.  He always aimed for the head.  He did not move his legs at all.  His upper body moved like a precision machine as he went from target to target.  When the security team arrived, there was nothing left for them to shoot.

            “How did you do this Dr. Faction?” one of them asked.

            “Back when I was a soldier I used to tend to my brothers wounds,” he said, “I also happened to be the best sniper of my generation.”

            It was not something Winchester was proud of.  It was not something he liked being reminded of.

A Space Story 37

            The only thing Evan Evaide could think about was getting to Anyantha.  As soon as the alerts began sounding he was running towards the viewing room where they had confronted Zai.  Evan found her long before he got there.  She was with Kerrigan and they seemed to be headed for the kite fighter bay.

            “Evan what are you doing here?” asked Anyantha.

            “I had to make sure you were safe,” he replied.

            They embraced each other.  Then he kissed her.  Then he said, “Um hello Mr. Kerrigan.  Why do you have a gun?”

            “I’m going to help hold the line,” said Kerrigan, “or whatever it is they call it in this situation.  Take her somewhere safe.”

            “But Mr.Kerrigan…” Anyantha wanted to protest.

            “Do not argue with me,” Kerrigan barked, “I want you both to stay far away from any of the places the horde is headed to.  Where were you before you came here?  Did you see any fighting along the way?”

            “I was in the intelligence lab with Suchin,” said Evan, “There was no fighting there.  But I did here shots being fired on the way here.”

            “Stay away from shooting.  If you can get back to the intelligence lab then do it.  We have seen no sign so far that the horde is going there.  I am counting on you to look after the best personal assistant I have ever had.  If you do not I am going to come looking for you and I am going to bring this gun with me.”

            Evan took Anyantha’s hand and did as Kerrigan told him.

            Janessa and Junitha were on their way to the hangar when they ran into Therazan.

            “Where is your security team?” asked Janessa as they all walked together.

            “I sent them ahead,” said Therazan, “I wanted to make sure no one was left unaccounted for in our hangar defense team.  Most of the fighter squads are in place along with my main security team.  The pilots who can’t get to the hangar are helping take back the storage units.  I hope my other security forces are able to get to the medical center in time.”

            “So the horde is still on the move?” said Junitha.

            “The team attacking the storage units is being held back.  The team heading for the medical center is almost there.  The main horde team stopped. Most of them anyway.”

            “Stopped where?”

            “For some reason they are taking the time to destroy the social bar.”

            “Aw man now we’re going to miss karaoke night.”

            “A few of them did not stop with the main force and will be here soon.  Oh shit there they are.”

            People had described them as being like gorillas.  They had longer arms and short legs like gorillas.  And they walked on their knuckles like a gorilla.  But there were no similarities beyond that.  Their bodies were smooth orange blocky things.  The domes did not look like helmets.  It looked like they had their heads swapped for the domes that were filled with some kind of blue gel.  The horde aliens charged.  All three women began firing at the one in the lead.  They kept hitting it directly but it kept coming.  When it did fall they saw its dome head crack open and the blue substance oozed out revealing sparking clicking circuits.  The other aliens just climbed over their fallen comrade and kept coming.  They continued to fire and the enemy got closer and did not stop.  Zai, last of the Raath flew through the air over their heads.

            Zai landed on his feet and a sword formed in each hand.  The horde aliens attacked him.  This was the first time anyone had truly seen Zai fight.  It was like watching a beautifully choreographed dance.  It was like watching art.  Zai was graceful and ruthless in combat.  And then it was over.  His enemies were dead at his feet.

            “Get to the kite fighter bay,” said Zai, “more of them will be coming soon.”

            “Aren’t you going to help?” asked Janessa.

            “I must get to the command and control center.  I must destroy the Spectral Horde battle cruisers.  In the last battle in the Solar System they were getting close to penetrating the ships defense field.  I must hurry before they are successful this time.”

A Space Story 36

            Duron spoke into the communicator, “what are the Spectral Horde forces doing?  Where are they attacking?”

            “So far they have not gone out of their way to attack anything,” they reported from command and control, “they just keep moving and stopping then moving on.  They split into three groups, two small ones and a big one.  Oh god. There’s fire.  There are multiple fire alerts.  Sir I think they are planting explosives.  They are blowing things up.”

            “Where are they going?”

            “The first team is planting bombs in storage areas.  They are blowing up supplies.  The second team, it looks like they are going towards the medical center.  And the third team, the big team, they are headed towards the hangar.  I think they are going to attack the kite fighter bay.”

            “If they destroy those fighters we lose our best weapon against them,” said Kerrigan.

            “Or they could be planning to capture them,” said Zai, “the Spectral Horde must not be allowed to possess Raath technology.”

            “Where is the security team?” demanded Duron.

            “Ms. Sajan has mobilized her teams and all pilots and military personnel are scrambling, but no one is sure where to go first sir.”

            “These are my orders,” said Duron, “tell Mr. Sinclair to start distributing weapons as fast as he can.  The main security team and all pilots are to defend the kite fighter hangar.  That is our top priority.  All other security and military personnel are to either defend the medical center or take back the storage units depending on which they are closer to.”

            “I must get to the command and control center,” said Zai.

            “What for?” Kerrigan wanted to know.

            “There are still three Spectral Horde battle cruisers surrounding us,” said Zai.

            “We have fought more than three before,” said Duron.

            “Not without the kite fighters deployed,” said Zai, “I will go to the bridge and use the advanced razor system.”

            “Now there’s an advanced razor system?” said Kerrigan.

            “Only I am capable of using it,” said Zai, “I suggest you find a place of safety.”

            Zai ran off ahead of them and out of sight.

A Space Story 35

            Duron Ardiniero did not like it when his subordinates kept secrets from him.  It was clear to him now that something was going on with the intelligence team and Vanz Kerrigan was responsible.  Duron was on his way to Kerrigan’s suite when Kerrigan came down the hall with Anyantha following behind.

            “Mr. Kerrigan I need to have a word with you,” demanded Duron.

            “Walk and talk commander,” said Kerrigan, “I have a very full schedule today.”

            Kerrigan seemed to be in a very good mood.  No one had seen him this enthusiastic since before Zai revealed his self.

            “The intelligence team has not been giving me regular reports for several days now,” said Duron, “When I ask them why they avoid the question.  From what I can gather they are no longer working on decoding the Spectral Horde signals.  They are working on some other project for you.  Would you like to explain yourself Kerrigan?  How do you justify allocating resources vital to our mission for your personal use?”

            “I will justify that in a matter of minutes,” said Kerrigan with a smile, “just follow me.”

            “Where are we going Kerrigan?”

            “We are going to say hello to our alien friend.”

            Zai, last of the Raath was in the viewing room at the back of the ship above the off limits engine room.  From here you could see The Daedlus’ wings.

            “How are you today Zai?” asked Kerrigan as he came in.

            “What do you want Kerrigan?” said Zai without looking away from the stars.

            “I want to offer you the chance to surrender,” said Kerrigan.

            This piqued Zai’s interest and he turned to face Kerrigan.

            “And why would I do that?” asked Zai, “Why would I surrender anything to you?”

            “What the hell is going on Kerrigan?” said Duron.

            “I am doing what I do best,” said Kerrigan.

            “From what I have seen what you do best is manipulate and control,” said Zai.

            “Damn right,” said Kerrigan with a slight sneer.

            “Whatever your plan is Kerrigan it will fail,” said Zai, “that is a promise.”

            Duron stepped in, “Stop this.  Zai listen to me.  Whatever Kerrigan is up to I did not know about it.  You can not hold his actions against all of us.”

            “Of course I can,” said Zai, “it would not be the first time that many had to pay the price for the actions of the few.”

            “I have had enough of this,” said Kerrigan, “Its time Anya.”

            Anyantha raised her com watch to her lips and said, “It is time.”

            Evan Evaide heard the message and so did Suchin Markjon and the plan went into effect.

            As far as Duron could tell nothing was happening.  Then the device on Zai’s right arm began beeping.  Zai flipped it open and looked.

            “What have you done?” said Zai.

            “We have locked you out of all the ship’s systems,” said Kerrigan smiling with glee, “When you authorized the razor weapon system we monitored the signal between you and the ship.  It took weeks of work.  We have rewritten the ship’s programming so that it no longer grants you access.  This ship is ours now.”

            Zai typed away at the device for moment then said, “Indeed this is remarkable work.  Ms. Markjon is far more gifted than anyone realized.  She was able to decode and analyze the Deadlus’ operating system and now has rewritten key parts of it.  I am now completely cut off.  This is most impressive.”

            “So now you have choice,” said Kerrigan, “you can either work with us Zai or you can stay out of our way.”

            Duron did not like the way Kerrigan had pulled this off but if he could get them total control of the ship he was not going to argue with it.

            “I am not without options Mr. Kerrigan,” said Zai.

            Zai began typing away at the arm device.  A moment later Evan was on the com watch saying, “Anya something is wrong.  Suchin says the new system is being hacked into.  She says she can’t stop it.”

            All of the glee disappeared from Kerrigan’s face.

            “Thirty seconds,” said Suchin, “It took us weeks.  To get into the system.  To learn how it worked.  Then to rewrite it.  It took us weeks to do all that.  It took him thirty seconds.  He hacked into our system and replaced it all in thirty seconds.  That should not be possible.  But I just saw it happen.  He really is a monster.”

            Even after he had taken back control Zai kept on working on his arm device.  When he was done he looked up and said, “How are you feeling Mr. Kerrigan?  Are you feeling dizzy?  Are you having any trouble breathing?”

            Kerrigan was feeling a little light headed and the air did feel a bit thin.  He stumbled.  Then he saw Duron and Anyantha were also feeling it.  Duron went to the communication panel and said, “Command and Control report.”

            “Commander it looks like the atmospheric control systems are shutting down where you are,” they answered, “We are losing air on that part of the ship but there is no sign of a hull breach.”

            Frantically Duron shouted, “Please Zai you can’t do this.”

            “You keep saying that,” replied Zai, “but the truth is I can do this.  Do not take this sort of action against me again Mr. Kerrigan unless you are prepared to deal with the consequences.”

            Zai pressed a few buttons on his arm device.  Soon command and control reported that atmosphere levels were returning to normal.  Everyone was able to breathe again.

            “This is not over Zai,” said Kerrigan.

            “That is enough Kerrigan,” said Duron.

            “No, it is not enough,” Kerrigan shouted, “I will not submit to this thing.  We will not be judged by you.  Do you hear me?  We will never stop fighting back.”

            “Perhaps a further demonstration is in order,” said Zai.

            He began typing away again.  The lights went out.  Then they came back on.  Command and control reported that systems were going offline them coming back on all over the ship.  Then they felt the ship shake.

            “What the fuck was that?” said Kerrigan.

            Through the viewing room windows they all saw a Spectral Horde battle cruiser incoming.

            “No,” said Zai as he worked on his device to restore all the ships systems.

            “What have you done?” shouted Kerrigan.

            “What is the status of our defenses?” said Duron.

            “We have incoming Spectral Horde pods,” they reported, “the defense field is still down.  There are three battle cruisers surrounding us.”

            “You bastard,” said Kerrigan, “You’ve killed us all.”

            “No, no, no,” said Zai as he kept working.

            The Spectral Horde battle cruiser opened fire.  The blast was headed right for the viewing room.  Anyantha screamed and covered her head.  Kerrigan and Duron turned away from the flash and ducked.  Zai did not move.  He looked on as the blast of energy illuminated the area.

            Nothing happened.  They were still alive.  Command and control reported the defense field came back online just in time.

            “But we have a problem sir,” they said, “three horde pods attached to the hull before the field went up.  We have been boarded.”

            “Fucking Christ,” said Kerrigan who then pointed a finger as Zai and said, “This is your fault.”

            “Kerrigan I suggest you get to the safe room in your suite,” said Duron.

            “That is at the other end of the ship.”

            “Then stay here.”

            Duron took a portable communicator out of the wall and left the viewing room.  Zai followed him.

A Space Story 34

            Roweth Sinclair liked to be organized.  He also liked to be prepared.  In the back of his mind he was always ready for the possibility of danger.  He was prepared for a fight when he found Zai in the armory.  Roweth took out his blaster like a quick draw gunfighter and was ready to shoot.

            “You do not have access to this area,” he said, “how did you get in here?”

            “This is my ship,” said Zai, “I can have access anywhere I wish.  I came to talk to you Mr. Sinclair.”

            Roweth holstered his weapon and said, “Then talk.”

            “I want you to know why I selected you for this mission.”

            Zai had said he selected most of the crew.  It never occurred to Roweth he might be one of those chosen.  He assumed he was on the ship because of his outstanding record.

            “I chose you because you are a liar,” said Zai.

            “Excuse me,” said Roweth insulted.

            “For many years now you have been posing as a gene mod soldier when you are actually a natural born human.  Your family has a long and proud history serving in the royal armed forces of Great Britain.  However because of your parents’ religious beliefs they did not participate in any government gene mod programs.  You wanted to follow in the footsteps of your ancestors.  To make things easier for yourself you faked your records and joined the Solar Fleet military branch under the guise of a gene mod soldier.  You stayed away from areas that would require you to compete too much with others in most physical areas.  You excelled with weapons.  You taught yourself to disassemble and reassemble them faster than anyone.  You took care to hone your skills as a marksman.  You did a very good job blending in.”

            “Are you going to tell them about me?” said Roweth almost choking on anxiety.

            “I notice that you are getting closer to Ms. Suchin Markjon,” said Zai, “She still thinks of you as a friend.  If you wish to take your friendship with her any further you will have to tell her the truth about yourself one day.”

            Zai left the armory.   Roweth felt his normally steady hands shaking.  It was a strange thing to have your worst fear become real.

            “So did you ever get around to sleeping with Roweth?” asked Junitha.

            “Roweth and I are just friends,” said Suchin.

            “Yeah but he still totally wants you,” said Junitha.

            “Why do you always say things like this?”

            “You guys just look like you would be good together.  You guys remind me of Pierce Brosnan and Michelle Yeoh in Tomorrow Never Dies.  Except you guys are not spies.  And you never do anything cool.  Actually you are a little too cutesy to be Michelle Yeoh.  Ah Michelle Yeoh, now that lady could kick some ass.”

            “What?”

            “She does that sometimes,” said Janessa, “she talks about old movies no one has ever heard of.”

            “People have heard of James Bond,” insisted Junitha.

            “Remember that Mr. Kerrigan needs your report on that project today Suchin,” said Anyantha.

            “Is that today?” said Suchin, “Okay everything should be ready in time.”

            After lunch Junitha spoke to Janessa alone.

            “I think Kerrigan is up to something and I think Suchin is helping him with it.”

            “What do you think it is?”

            “I’m not sure yet.  But if either of those girls gets hurt because of it I am going to make Kerrigan pay.”

A Space Story 33

            With all the people gathered in the ships auditorium it reminded Janessa of the first day when they attended Kerrigan’s speech.  Duron and his command and control team were there all dressed in white.  Suchin and her intelligence team were also present in yellow.  Janessa noticed Therazan Sajan and Roweth Sinclair in their green uniforms.  Kerrigan was sitting up front and Anyantha was next to him.  The rest of the seats were filled by the pilots in red.  Prime squad was there along with all the other squads.  Janessa and Junitha had on their red flight jackets.  One last person came to attend.  It was Dr. Winchester Faction.  They waited a few minutes then Zai arrived.  He went up on stage and activated a holographic display.  The display cycled through images and models of Spectral Horde ships.

            “You are humans,” said Zai, “One of the greatest strengths of your kind is that you are curious creatures.  You like to ask questions.  I am concerned that my presence may be distracting you from asking certain questions that could be crucial.  I would like to share with you what I know about the Spectral Horde.  The Spectral Horde’s weapons and propulsion systems are not unlike those on the Daedlus but they are not as advanced.  In fact as far as I can tell in many ways your existing weapon systems are comparable to theirs.”

            Zai stopped talking and waited.  The question did not come from anyone giving it great thought.  A member of the intelligence team just blurted out, “If our weapons systems are comparable then why have we been losing the war for the last few decades?”

            “He’s right,” said Ryoko, “I’ve been examining our battles with the horde.  The way their ships move.  The way they attack.  They are really no better at waging outer space warfare than we are.  The only real difference I can see is that their ships can move faster.  And they never seem to miss, unlike us.”

            “Everyone misses sometimes,” said a pilot.

            “Not as often as we do,” said Samal Hectorese, “I too have been examining our battle record.  I have noticed that we miss our targets far too often.  More than that too often we all miss at the same time.  I know I am not the only one who has been convinced they have a target lock only to have the shot miss.  It happens too often for it to be a coincidence.  The only thing I can imagine that would account for it is that the Spectral Horde is somehow able to confuse our targeting systems in battle.”

            “Well the horde do send out all kinds of disruption signals to cut off communications between our ships,” said a member of the command crew, “Until now we thought the Daedlus was immune to those signals.  If what you’re saying is true it would mean that at the very least the horde can get into the kite fighters targeting system as well.  Is that even possible Zai?  I thought your technology was unstoppable.”

            “I never claimed this ship or its technology was unstoppable,” said Zai, “I have only said that it is superior to yours and the Spectral Horde’s.”

            “But if your technology is superior to the horde’s how can they tamper with the targeting system?” someone asked.

            “It’s not like we know a lot about how Spectral Horde technology works,” said another voice, “half the signals they send out can not even be analyzed, they make no sense.  We know next to nothing about them as life forms.  We do not know anything about their culture or social structure.  We do not even know the purpose of the specters that surround their ships that we named them for.”

            “Great job listing what we don’t know,” said Raddy Volcane.

            “Your crewmate has a point,” said Zai, “you have done remarkably well against an enemy you know so little about.”

            Janessa was looking at the display of the Spectral Horde battle cruiser and said, “Why don’t they show up?”

            It took Janessa a moment to realize that everyone was looking at her wondering what she meant.

            “The specters around the horde ships,” she said, “I know this has been pointed out before but they don’t show up on recordings.  You can only see them when you are looking directly at a horde ship.  Everyone assumes they don’t show up on recordings because they are on some unknown wavelength or something.  What if that’s wrong?  What if the specters around the ships do serve some purpose?  What if the reason they don’t show up on recordings is more important than anyone thought?”

            “What kind of reason might that be?” asked Zemwell Tickbird.

            “I don’t know,” she replied.

            “Well why don’t you tell us the answer Zai?” said Raddy.

            “I never said I had answers,” said Zai, “I am merely encouraging you to ask questions.”

            “What the hell for?” someone demanded.

            “I have not yet finished making my judgment of you,” said Zai, “in the event you prove to be unworthy and I must abandon you I would like to think I at least left you with a fighting chance.  With that said I would like to ask you a question.  How much do you really know about the Spectral Horde?  What do you know about their biology?  How many of you have actually seen one of them?”

            “None of us have ever seen one,” someone spoke out, “almost no one has and lived.  They have boarded ships and people fought them and a few got away sometimes.  But all we have are survivor descriptions and drawings.  No one has ever actually recorded an image of a horde alien before.  And no one has ever been able to transmit images of them because of horde disruption signals.”

            “You have many questions about the Spectral Horde life forms,” said Zai, “in this matter I may have some answers for you and I would like to share them.  But the answers I have will lead to more questions.  I have been acquiring samples from the wreckage of Spectral Horde ships.”

            The holographic display changed.  An image that they were familiar with came up.  It was an image of what most believed to be one of the horde aliens.  It looked like a big orange hairless gorilla with a blue dome for a head that everyone assumed was a helmet.

            “These are what you know as the Spectral Horde,” said Zai, “however I do not believe they are your actual enemy.  The samples I have studied lead me to believe that these creatures are merely drones.  They are cybernetic constructs that are not truly alive.  They are machines that have organic tissue grown over them.  They are probably remote controlled by your actual enemy from with the battle cruisers.  When a Spectral Horde battle cruiser explodes there is almost no organic matter left of whatever was on it.  I managed to recover a single hair.  However it is not any sort of hair that would be found on a life form like you or I.  My analysis of its remaining DNA indicate it is most likely from some sort of highly evolved insect.”

            “You think the Spectral Horde are insects,” said one person.

            “I can not be sure unless I see one,” said Zai, “but yes that is my hypothesis.”

            “I have a question,” said Dr. Winchester Faction, “It is not about that horde though.  My question is what are you Zai?  I mean biologically what are you?  I am a doctor.  I am curious about that sort of thing.”

            “Different planets have different flora and fauna,” said Zai, “but on many you can find parallels between biological entities.  You are highly advanced apes.  You are mammals.  You are primates.  I too am a mammal and a primate.  My people were the most advanced apes on our planet and the only intelligent life forms.  However there is a key difference between your kind and mine.  The apes you evolved from and most of the primates on your planet tend to be herbivores.  The apes my people evolved from were carnivorous predators.”