Betrayal

by E. Wayne Stucki

  “I want the plot updated to show the hit zones in conjunction with the Kthpok ships,” the Swarm Master called out. “Any more reports of Kthpok strikes are to be reflected on the plot. The survivors are to go to ground and wait. When we’ve assessed the situation additional orders will be issued.”

  After the communications tech and Combat Information Specialist acknowledged their orders Zelof looked over at Rayel. “Get Queen Dahoni up here,” he ordered. “Now!” Then he turned his attention back to the Plot.

  The Second acknowledged the order then nodded at an Iidx standing nearby who hurried off.

  As the Swarm Master watched the image on the Plot shifted to reflect a map of the main continent. All the cities and bases on the land mass were shown. Zelof glanced at the Plot’s legend. The cities that hadn’t been attacked were indicated in blue while those that had become radioactive wastelands appeared in red. Reports continued to come in but at a more manageable rate and blue marks changed red. As he watched it wasn’t hard to spot a pattern. The Kthpok were orbiting Main Hive from east to west, following the sun’s route, dropping missiles as targets were brought into range. A realization came and he began to curse.

  “Lieutenant Chattan!” he called, “contact all surviving bases and cities. Tell them on my authority they are to evacuate immediately. Our people are to go to ground in the wilderness and wait for further instructions. Anyone still in rural areas is not to go into cities. Repeat, they are not to go into cities. They are to disperse into the jungles and forests.”

  Zelof turned to Rayel and continued his orders. “Get everyone out of Wartten now! They’re to salvage what equipment and supplies they can and bring them to Refuge but they’re not to waste any time doing it. Particular attention is to be paid to food stuffs. Remind our people to use the tunnels to avoid alerting the Kthpok to the existence of this facility.” He paused to check the position of the Kthpok then finished. “Tell them to hurry! They don’t have much more than an hour to get out of there.”

  While the Swarm Master was finishing his instructions Queen Dahoni entered the Command Deck and paused just inside the hatch to look around. As she scanned the room her fluffy antennae began to quiver. The tension in the air was palpable. After she located the Swarm Master the Queen crossed the room, dodging scurrying officers and weaving around stations until she stood next to Zelof. “What is going on?” Dahoni demanded in icy tones. “Why was I ordered here?”

  The Swarm Master gestured at the plot as another blue spot turned red. “The Kthpok have changed their procedure with a vengeance, your Highness. They’re erasing our cities and bases with nuclear weapons.”

  The Queen’s antennae stiffened in surprise. “But the damage to the environment!” she protested. “Nuclear weapons… the radiation’ll damage the planet! This is the place you say they want to possess.”

  Before the Swarm Master could reply Rayel walked over to the two Iidx and saluted. “Swarm Master, the evacuation order has gone out,” he reported. “Wartten will be empty within the hour.”

  Zelof dismissed his Second and turned back to the Queen. He explained how the Battle Plot worked and what the colors meant. The two watched in silence as calls continued to come in and the red lights crept west. One or two blue light remained but were surrounded by red. Occasionally, the Swarm Master would glance at a clock then over at his Second. Minutes before the deadline for Wartten’s evacuation was up the Comm officer called.

  “I’m sorry for the interruption, sir,” Lieutenant Chattan apologized. “But I’m receiving a general broadcast with a high government header on all frequencies. It’s marked as highest priority. All audio and visual bands are covered.”

  Zelof glanced over at Rayel who shrugged his ignorance. “Put the visual of the broadcast up on the main screen, Ensign,” ordered Zelof and turned to the screen. Queen Dahoni stepped up beside him to watch. The rest of the command staff paused what they were doing to see what was happening.

  A moment later an Iidx with a large fluffy antennae appeared on the monitor. A stir went through the Command Deck as the Iidx saw the Queen. “This message is for S’Cinf, Run Point of the Kthpok Swarm attacking Main Hive,” the Queen said then paused and bowed her head. It was a gesture of submission.

  “That’s Geddon!” exclaimed Queen Dahoni. “She’s the most junior queen on the Council. She was inducted onto the Council just a few months ago.”

  “I thought you and Krissen were the only remaining Queens of the Council,” said Zelof.

  “As far as I know we were the only ones who left the capital,” the Queen replied with a shrug. “But from this,” she gestured at the screen, “Geddon wasn’t in the Council Building when it was destroyed.” She went to say something more but the Swarm Master motioned for her to be quiet so he could listen to the rest of the message.

  “I am Geddon, Presiding Queen for the Consolidated Hives.” The Queen looked into the camera as she introduced herself. “We…acknowledge the supremacy of your forces. With that…”

  The mountain seemed to turn upside down and inside out. All at once. It was like being on the Command Deck of a ship taking hits. Because they weren’t restrained Iidx were thrown from their positions and bounced around. Equipment shifted, sparked and smoked. A fire started in the Damage Control console sending a stream of acrid smoke into the air. Queen Dahoni was thrown from her feet, slammed against a nearby console then fell in a crumpled heap. Thunder boomed, reverberated. Lights dimmed, blinked off, came back on then went out.

  After what seemed an eternity the shaking and thunder stopped. The only sounds heard in the command deck were groans from injured people and the sparking of equipment. Emergency lights came on adding to the flickering light provided by fires.

  Zelof slowly climbed to his feet checking with each movement to see if he might be injured. When he was on his feet and satisfied he wasn’t hurt he turned to business. “Get those fires out,” the Swarm Master called. “Let medical know what casualties we have. Damage Control is to begin repairs immediately. Let’s get our lighting back on. I need to know the extent of our damage, casualties and what happened.”

  The swarm members that could began scurrying around. Some went to put out fires while others tended the wounded. Still others began examining equipment. A quick look around by the Swarm Master confirmed things were starting to happen then he saw the crumpled heap that was Queen Dahoni. His middle heart threatened to fall out of his thorax and the head heart pounded. Ignoring the cracks in the floor, sparking equipment and dust falling from the ceiling he scuttled over to the fallen female. They couldn’t lose the Queen! There were only two. Well… three, he corrected, with Geddon.

  In the dim, flickering light Zelof bent down to see if Dahoni was dead, injured or unconscious. But before he could do anything several chunks of rock and concrete had to be moved off the female. After that he used his true-hands, running them up and down the Queen’s limbs, to check for anything broken. As he was performing the examination his antennae were shivering from anxiety and nervousness.

  Without warning the main lights came on. Crying out, he reared back, trying to shield his eyes from the unexpected light. Other cries and curses were heard throughout the room.

  When his eyesight had adapted to the brighter light Swarm Master Zelof looked around to see smoking equipment, blasted consoles, rubble strewn floor, cracks in the floor, ceiling and wall and casualties. A layer of smoke was accumulating along the ceiling. Turning back to the Queen Zelof noted that Dahoni hadn’t reacted to the sudden light. That wasn’t good. Straightening up he called, “I need a doctor over here. The Queen’s been injured.”

  “Medical people were on their way,” Rayel replied from across the room.

  Satisfied, the Swarm Master bent over the Queen again. He made sure her breathing tubes were clear and finished pushing rubble away. In the better light he could see none of her eight limbs were broken. Closer examination revealed her shell wasn’t cracked either. But she wasn�
��t waking!

  Since there wasn’t anything else he could do for the Queen, Zelof stood and looked around the room to gauge the damage. Some of his people had gotten into the rooms equipment storage and were replacing damaged modules. Others were clearing rubble while still more were helping the injured. The smoke and dust in the air was starting to clear now that the ventilation system was operating. Someone had been able to force open the room’s entrance to the main corridor beyond.

  Just then several Iidx carrying cases hurried through the main hatch and paused. Zelof noticed the new arrivals and the insignia on their cases. “Here!” he called. “Over here! The Queen’s been injured.”

  One of the new Iidx, the insignia of a chief surgeon painted on his shell, looked over at the Swarm Master. He waved his acknowledgement, finished giving instructions to the others then started towards Zelof. The rest of the medical people scattered throughout the room to treat the other injured Iidx.

  Doctor Talax, the Chief Medical Officer for Refuge, moved through the room, skirting damaged equipment and dodging Iidx making repairs. When he reached the Swarm Master he settled down next to the prone Queen, opened his case and took out a scanner. A low hum was heard as he swept the device back and forth over Dahoni. Occasionally, he’d pause to check the readings shown on a small gauge.

  While the doctor examined the injured Queen the Swarm Master moved closer to watch. Zelof was so anxious and got so close that he actually brushed the doctor’s antennas. At that Talax swung around to glare at Zelof. “I don’t need a second opinion,” the doctor growled, “or someone bending my antennae. Go find something useful to do in this mess.” He made shooing motions with his true-hands. “Go on, I’ll take care of her. You go make sure our mountain’s still standing when I’m done.” When the Swarm Master stood up and moved back a few steps Talax nodded then returned to the stricken Queen.

  Zelof looked around the busy Command Deck and decided the doctor was right. While he couldn’t help the Queen there were other things he could be doing. With his decision made Zelof hurried through the room to where Rayel was working. “What’s our status?” he asked.

  The Second reported without hesitation. “We’ve sustained some minor damage in the upper portions of the base, sir. The damaged equipment in the command deck is being replaced from stores although we’ll want to replenish our inventory as soon as possible. Casualties consist mostly of broken limbs and cracked shells. Nothing the Medical people can’t heal.” Rayel glanced down at the pad he’d been holding before continuing. “There were two fatalities that we know of, sir. An Iidx in the power room was electrocuted by his equipment when a power surge came through. The other was in the tunnel leaving Wartten and was crushed by a falling rock. We have five people unaccounted for.”

  “What about Refuge? How sound is the structure?” Zelof didn’t want to abandon the mountain.

  “The construction teams were very thorough and competent,” reported Rayel. He gestured at the cracks in the room. “Damage control reports that despite the shaking most areas had little or no damage, just cracks. A few areas in the lower portion of the mountain, the Command Deck included, were harder hit where parts of the ceiling collapsed.” He gave a shrug of his antennae. “Our refuge is as safe as nature and hardening can make it, Swarm Master. Damage Control Swarms will have repairs completed within 24 hours.”

  The Swarm Master gave a nod of approval. “A concise report,” he announced and saw Rayel’s antennae give a slight quiver at the praise. “Now, what caused the quake?” he asked. “I know that when Wartten was commissioned geologists examined the surrounding area. They found no fault lines which would explain the tremor.”

  “It wasn’t a ground shift like the ones we know, Swarm Master” replied Commander Shunshin who’d just walked up. “What we felt was artificially produced.”

  “The Kthpok?” asked Zelof, his antennae drooping.

  The Commander nodded and started entering commands in a nearby console that had been repaired. “This is what the exterior surveillance recordings show,” Shunshin said and glanced around. He nodded at an undamaged screen. “I’ll bring the recordings there.”

  Zelof turned to watch as the indicated screen flashed and stabilized to show a landscape. There was no need to have the Commander provide narration because the Swarm Master immediately recognized Wartten as viewed from the mountainside. He’d seen it in person a number of times before the current emergency. From the time showing on clocks and the light he realized it was late afternoon outside. As he watched a dark shape streaked down from the sky. An instant later there was an eye-searing flash and the image flashed out.

  The Swarm Master turned away from the monitor. “The evacuation?” he asked.

  “Most of our people were able to make it through the tunnels before the missile hit,” Rayel replied. “Some were caught in the connecting tunnels when they collapsed. As was mentioned earlier we show one person dead and five are missing. Rescue operations are under way to see if we can find them.”

  “That missile must’ve been nuclear to shake us around like that,” Zelof said. “How are the radiation levels?”

  “They’re well within tolerances,” the Commander replied. “The mountain will shield us from any residual radiation and the prevailing winds will quickly disperse the airborne particles.” He gave a slight shrug. “We won’t be able to make a surface approach to Wartten for several decades though.”

  At that point the Swarm Master’s attention was drawn to movement across the room. The doctor had been able to get Queen Dahoni to her feet. An almost overwhelming sense of relief flooded through all three body segments. Turning back to his staff he called, “All right people; let’s finish repairs and make sure our wounded are treated. The Kthpok don’t know we’re here or they’d’ve dropped something really heavy directly on us. So, as planned, this place is secure. It’s also the place where we coordinate our efforts to repulse the Kthpok from our planet.” He looked at his officers gathered around. “To do that I need to know what’s happening on the rest of Main Hive.”

  As the officers moved to get the base back into the fight Zelof turned to the Plot and the images shown there. Yes, the Swarm Master thought, I do want to know what’s happening to the rest of the world. But it would be interesting to know what Queen Geddon’s message to the Kthpok was.

  Chapter 26

  A light murmur could be heard over electronic chirps and beeps as the Command Run coordinated targets and ship movements. Run Point S’Cinf stared at the image of Main Hive shown on the central viewer of his ships Center Room. His people were tapping into satellites placed in orbit by the Iidx (which had a delicious sense of irony) and were receiving a real-time picture of the events taking place all over the main continent. The blue-white orb they were miles above had pinpricks of black which marked places where Iidx cities and bases had already been destroyed. Bright flashes indicated the detonation of nuclear missiles or impact of kinetic weapons and the elimination of more enemy targets. He looked closer and noted that some of the black pinpricks were beginning to streak across the continent. S’Cinf bobbed his head in approval. In those places fires started by the explosions were being blown by winds through forests and grasslands. That happenstance hadn’t been anticipated but was welcome. Those fires would take away places for rogue Iidx to hide.

  His eyes flicked to the right. An indicator in the bottom right corner of the screen marked the progress of the bombardment. It was nearing forty percent. With his right hand he keyed in a query on the missile inventory for the fleet. They had to be careful with the use of their weapons as there wasn’t a ready source of resupply nearby. The data appeared on a side monitor and he grunted. That wasn’t good. Perhaps they should use more kinetic weapons. There was plenty of space junk for that.

  A flicker on the central viewer caught his attention and he looked to see. S’Cinf gave a low growl of satisfaction as another flurry of bright dots appeared in the middle of the continent.
The conquest of this planet was so easy - easier than he’d expected in fact. But, after eliminating the Council of Queens, the orbital platforms, and Iidx Space Fleet there was no creditable opposition. The Iidx hadn’t even tried to destroy the incoming missiles.

  He cocked his head as he considered. Perhaps actual warfare was outside the Iidx experience. But he quickly discarded that thought. According to the histories he’d seen there’d been fighting between hives after. Some of those wars had been as involved and destructive as the war with the humans. A more reasonable explanation for the lack of coordination was that one of the earlier attacks had taken out the center that controlled the planets scanners.

  The Run Point’s thoughts were disturbed when the Communications Specialist, Lieutenant L’Art, accompanied by Fleet Admiral S’Cal walked over. “Run Point,” the Lieutenant said after flashing a salute and receiving permission to speak. “We’ve picked up a broad band transmission from the senior surviving Iidx Queen.” His teeth bared in a hunter’s grin. “At least she claims to be the Senior Iidx Queen. She’s requesting a truce and an opportunity to speak with you. She wants to negotiate a resolution of the conflict.”

  S’Cinf glanced at S’Cal then bobbed his head. “This may be a way to conserve our supply of missiles, Admiral,” he mused. “That’s a consideration since we won’t get any more until those factories are put back into operation.” The Fleet Admiral nodded his acknowledgement but kept silent to let his commander think.

  A moment later the Run Point gave a sharp, decisive nod then turned to the Lieutenant. “Yes Lieutenant, tell the Queen I’ll speak with her.” With a wave of a hand he sent L’Art on his way.

  “What would you like me to do about the bombardment your Eminence?” asked the Admiral. “Since conservation is an issue perhaps we should halt now.”

  “No…,” replied S’Cinf giving a slow shake of his head as he considered, “we’ll continue operations for now. That should provide an incentive for the Queen to come to a quick understanding. But be prepared to stop on my command. When the Queen meets my terms we’ll halt the bombardment.” He nodded as he considered the options once more. “Yes, this should work to our benefit. When you get back to your station link in and listen to our conversation. I may want your impressions of this Queen.”