by S. H. Jucha
he sent.
Alex expected Renée to be shaken by the episode’s trauma. Instead, he detected anger in her thought and body language.
Jess cleared his weapon’s breech, marched to the front of the cabin, and dropped heavily into a seat.
Julien chose to sit beside Jess to allow him to face Alex and Renée, who sat across from him. For several moments, nothing was said.
Then Jess abruptly said, “I’m not doing that again. Alex, if you want to go out there with Z, Miranda, and the shadows, go ahead. It’ll be without me.”
“Thank you for my life, Jess,” Renée said, with humility.
“Jess, we were wrong,” Alex swiftly added.
“Captain, I saw the grays at the Sylian station, and I thought that we’d taken adequate protection to protect me,” Renée explained.
“That’s what I’ve been trying to convey to you,” Jess said, throwing his hands in the air. “These aren’t giant insects. Yes, they might look like that, but they aren’t. When the Messinants uplifted a species, they played with the entire genome. Insectoids are crafty and ruthless.”
Julien dropped Jess off the group link. Then he sent,
When the travelers returned aboard the Freedom, the SADEs led the shadows off for charging.
Jess exited the shuttle with Alex and Renée. He remained unsettled. Renée’s near death had rattled his focus, and afterward, he felt he’d been too abrupt with the co-leaders.
At the airlock, Renée turned and stared at Jess, who had difficulty meeting her eyes. She wrapped her arms around his neck and fiercely hugged him. “Lucia couldn’t have found a better partner than you, Jess,” she whispered. Then she kissed his cheek, turned, grasped Alex’s hand, and exited the bay.
On the airlock’s return cycle, Tacnock and Aputi entered the bay.
“That was close,” Aputi said, having passed Alex, Renée, and Julien, as they stepped through the far hatch into the corridor.
“Too close,” Jess agreed.
“So, we hunt?” Tacnock asked.
“Yes. We can’t let a little thing like almost losing one of our two patrons, who are helping us save the alliance, slow us up,” Jess remarked. He’d tried to make light of the situation, but his stress showed.
Aputi clapped a heavy hand on Jess’s shoulder and gave it a firm shake. “Focus, my friend,” he said. “We can’t afford to lose you either.”
6: Zistarians
“There’s a major flaw in our strategies,” Julien said. Cordelia and he were seated with Alex and Renée in the owner’s suite.
“It became obvious, while we observed the hunt on Zista,” Cordelia added. “Captain Cinders notes that the insectoids respond quickly to our improved tactics. The encounters on each successive planet speak to the evolution of combat styles on both sides. We are in agreement with the veterans and suspect the Colony has a unique and undiscovered means of communicating. This must be investigated.”
“In general, Omnians, including SADEs, are not correctly anticipating what the reds and the grays will do in the next encounter,” Julien said. “Our humans aren’t creative enough, and our SADEs envision too many options.”
“It’s the veterans’ instincts, honed by their experiences, that are invaluable,” Cordelia continued.
“What are your suggestions?” Alex asked.
“The shadows are able to operate independently within a restricted area, such as in the dome and its tunnels,” Julien explained, “but on planets, they need a veteran to interpret the terrain, guide them, and judge the encounter.”
“There are a number of veterans on Pimbor and Quall,” Renée suggested.
“Every one of them without an implant,” Alex returned.
“Then we need to correct that,” Renée said firmly. She’d emotionally recovered from her near-death experience, and she was determined to provide better support for Jess and his companions.
“One suggestion that we might make,” Cordelia said, “is leave the Freedom and the freighters here for the team. The three of you would transfer to the Rêveur and sail for Sylia and Norsitchia. You’d gain permissions from the ruling parties for their citizens’ implants. When the veterans finish clearing Zista, we’ll sail for Pimbor. The sooner that planet is eliminated of insectoids, the sooner we’ll recover those Sylian troopers.”
“Won’t Tatia be upset when she finds we abandoned the one armed ship in our fleet for an unarmed liner?” Renée remarked.
“Any angrier than when she discovers the details of your trip planetside?” Julien inquired, with the lift of an eyebrow.
* * * * *
Jess examined the travelers’ telemetry and chose three Colony shuttle landing sites. Tacnock, with his shadows, was dropped at the first location, Aputi at the second, and Jess joined his shadow team at the final destination.
Unlike the day’s initial foray, the teams moved quickly. Some insectoids were caught by surprise, and others set ambushes. However, the veterans often, but not always, perceived the threats and effectively used the shadows to eliminate them.
The insectoids’ inconsistent preparations confused Jess. Every new dome and planet encounter presented the veterans with different scenarios. The Colony was constantly adopting alternative methods to repulse an enemy that the race had never faced b
efore.
The Colony’s newest techniques employed on Zista forced the veterans to imitate the insectoids by diving to the ground and slithering for cover.
Reds didn’t confront their attackers in the open. Instead, they fired their slug throwers from concealment, and it took the teams some time to surround the entrenched Colony members, force them into the open, and eliminate them.
Jess stood and brushed dirt from his clothes after scrambling for shelter behind a boulder.
Z and Miranda’s powerful lasers had burned holes through a tree trunk that the red hid behind. Then their lasers found their target.
Jess was about to compliment the SADEs when he received an alert from Miranda.
Jess watched a traveler lower its rear ramp, while it descended. The SADEs didn’t wait for it to land. One by one they launched their avatars into the air. When they hit the deck, the controller quickly corrected the ship’s attitude to account for the heavy impact on its aft end.
Jess relayed the SADEs’ exit to Tacnock and Aputi.
Jess inquired of a pilot. He was told that the Rêveur would soon be sailing with Alex, Renée, and Julien aboard.
By the end of the first day, the teams had racked up thirty-eight kills. The females were pregnant, but the teams hadn’t found any birthed young.
The veterans were tired and hungry. Jess chose to rendezvous their travelers, and he dispersed the shadows to keep the encampment safe. Mickey’s new version could charge power crystals from grav cells, given sufficient time.
The veterans sat outside in the company of their pilots, while they ate and stared at the stars.
“We hit three sites today,” Aputi mused, as he started on his second meal. “Based on our experience, we should have totaled sixty adults if we’re to account for every insectoid that supposedly left those shuttles.”
“They’re spreading out far,” Tacnock commented.
“Yet, some are staying behind, and some are laying ambushes,” Jess argued.
“It’s like they’re trying to fool us,” Aputi reasoned. “Criminal gangs often sacrificed their lesser members hoping that security would be satisfied with the arrests.”
“The Colony must think we can’t count,” Lane quipped. She was Jess’s pilot.
“If we were to revisit the same sites tomorrow,” Tacnock said, “we’d have to cover much more territory to account for the other twenty-two adults. If that’s the true count, is it worth it?”
Aputi, Tacnock, and the pilots stared at Jess, while he considered Tacnock’s question.
“We can’t leave that many to the Zistarians to handle,” Jess said. “Alex told me that the citizens’ hunts have proven unsuccessful, which I interpret as they’ve lost members in greater numbers than they registered kills. Those twenty-two missing insectoids represent thirty-seven percent of the Colony members who landed from those three shuttles.” He was pleased at how easily the implant had provided the calculations.
“The pilots wish they could be of more help,” Lane said. “By the time we spot the adults in the open, the shadows are on them, and we never see the ambushes, not with the way the insectoids use camouflage.”
“Not to worry,” Aputi told the pilots. “You provide easy transport, a safe and comfortable place to sleep, and plenty of hot food.” He burped loudly to emphasize his final point, which generated chuckles all around.
The pilots made more thé for the veterans, who sipped their tubes, watched the stars, and talked of other things. Soon, yawns overtook the conversations.
Jess signaled the shadows to load, and the veterans watched them scurry aboard their assigned ships.
“The smarter they get, the more often I find myself wanting to talk to them,” Aputi admitted.
“I already do,” Tacnock returned, and he flashed his teeth.
“Everybody inside,” Jess directed.
Jess’s chronometer woke him at Zista’s dawn. As he opened his eyes, he found Lane watching him.
“Trouble?” Jess asked groggily. He was stiff and sore from hunting, which had included diving for cover on hard ground much too often.
“Let’s just say, Captain, that you’ll have the pleasure of first contact,” Lane replied, as she handed Jess a container of thé.
Jess sipped heavily on the hot liquid. “You’ve got better social skills than me, Lane. Why don’t you go out there and talk to him, her, or whatever?”
“Thank you for the compliment, Captain, but I wouldn’t dream of usurping the privilege of first contact,” Lane rebutted. “Besides, we’ve conducted a count. There are seventy-nine individuals waiting.”
“Armed?” Jess asked.
“Yes, but it’s hard to discern what type of weapon they’re holding,” Lane replied.
“Posture?” Jess inquired.
“An intelligent first contact question, Captain,” Lane replied. Her Méridien face lit with an approving smile. “They’re sitting in discrete circles. However, twelve of them are acting as outlier guards.”
“Tell the pilots to keep the others inside until I signal them,” Jess directed.
“Tacnock’s been informed,” Lane replied. “Aputi is still asleep.”
“A lot more mass to move. He needs more recuperation time,” Jess commented. “It doesn’t help that this planet is a little heavier than Pyre.”
Jess and Lane ate and waited until they received word that Aputi was up and fed.
During the intervening time, Jess had studied the Zistarians. They appeared to be one of the more inventive genomic manipulations of the Messinants. He couldn’t imagine that their pre-lift ancestors appeared similar to the Zistarians’ present conditions.
“Time to visit our hosts,” Jess announced to Lane, and he repeated his warning to the other pilots not to lower their ramps.
Lane signaled her ship’s ramp to drop, and Jess walked to its far edge. His ear wig beeped when the language app’s synchronization was complete.
The Zistarians rose on their short, hocked, furry legs. Long vests covered their chests and draped to their thighs. Their bare arms were covered in shimmering blue and green scales. Heavy necks had folds of skin on both sides, and the openings pumped regularly. Their heads were smooth and hairless, and their faces displayed large eyes, blubbery lips, and nostril slits.
Bulbous eyes stared at Jess, who said, “Greetings, Zistarians.”
An individual, with a unique patch on his vest, stepped forward. “I’m Indersan, and I greet you who sails the stars and hunts our enemy.”
“I’m Captain Cinders,” Jess replied.
“We request the privilege of hunting with you, Captain,” Indersan said. “Too many of us have failed in the hunt and fled to the beyond. During the earlier cycle, we observed your companion, the big one. He was most successful.”
The travelers’ ramps lowered, and Jess was joined by his friends, whom he introduced to Indersan.
“These Zistarians wish to hunt with us,” Jess explained.
“What type of armament are these?” Tacnock asked, indicating the heavy rifle that the Zistarian carried.
Indersan proudly hefted his weapon. “We adapted them from displays in our cultural heritage exhibits,” he replied. “Our ancestors plied the seas before we sailed through space.”
“Could you demonstrate it?” Aputi asked.
Indersan scanned around him. “That black tolimar,” he said, which the veterans took to mean the dark-barked tree. Hefting his weapon, Indersan sighted down the long barrel and released a catch. A triple-ba
rbed spear launched from the weapon and struck the tree.
The Zistarians croaked in celebration of their leader’s skill.
“Reload, Indersan,” Jess requested.
The veterans suspected a problem, and Indersan confirmed it, when he sent a young Zistarian scurrying to the tree to retrieve the spear.
Aputi sent.
“Indersan, we’d be proud to have your citizens watch our hunt,” Jess said. “You’ve seen our shadows operate. You must stay behind us, or you could be hit by laser fire.”
“We’ll do as you request, Captain,” Indersan replied. “Is it possible to purchase your weapons and your devices, your shadows?”
“I’m sorry, Indersan,” Jess replied. “We speak to the shadows with our thoughts.”
“Truly?” Indersan queried. The nearest Zistarians croaked in surprise.
“Yes, a device implanted in our heads enables us to send instructions to them,” Jess explained.
“Marvelous,” Indersan croaked.
“However, we can help you with weapons,” Jess said. “We’ll supply them later to you this cycle.”
Indersan repeated Jess’s message to his throng of citizens, and the Zistarians raised their weapons and rejoiced.
Jess had the Zistarians wait, while he sent the travelers, loaded with shadows, to the previous day’s deployment sites. Then the ships returned and scooped up the veterans and Zistarians.
The teams spiraled out from yesterday’s starting points. The goal was to locate as many of the estimated twenty-two insectoids that remained at large.
Jess directed eight of his shadows to protect his group of Zistarians, who marched behind him. He released ten to hunt and kept two for himself.