Odyssey (The Spiral Slayers Book 3)

by Rusty Williamson

  They slowly climbed the hill, and then they gasped in shock.

  Evelyn said “Oh my God!” and fell to her knees.

  Needle Mountain was in full view from the top of the hill. Chiseled into its sides were carvings of two people each at least 500-feet tall. It was at once evident to all the stone carvings were of Adamarus and Evelyn.

  Adamarus turned to Evelyn, “You know… we’re never going to live this down.”

  ---

  After much debate and effort, three things were decided.

  One, no one could call them bees, everyone called them stowaways, many still thinking they were.

  Two, they could not communicate with the stowaways, many attempts had been made.

  Three, a lock would be placed on the Atrium door.

  Nemesis still had a mission, they were between galactic groups in abyssal space, and so eventually they decided with the lock on the door the new insects in town would just keep on keeping on. However, the crew needed to get back into their duties, or into hiber-sleep.

  ---

  Water dripped from the ceiling and steam rose from the floor as the thin cold atmosphere interacted with Nemesis’ warmer surface. Red muscle like lumps contained smaller white bumps… the nerve bundles.

  A huge hibernation pod 50-feet by 30-feet and 40-feet tall held what was left of Bugs. The lid was open exposing his bone like head and two remaining tentacles.

  On the floor, running around the nerve bundles, was a two-rail track which Bugs’ hiber-pod traveled along.

  Bugs original duties had included advisor and emergency management of the biosphere, ergo the Atrium. Now reduced to interfacing directly with the nerve bundles everyone thought that’s all he could do. That was far from the truth, in fact, he could do everything from the nerve bundles.

  Bugs noted the problems in the Atrium—the evolved-bee, the bee and wasp war, the damage they caused and their apparent God fixation on the humans—and it decided differently from what the humans had decided. This strain of bees cataloged as Red Stingers had evolved too fast, would definitely be a problem in the future and needed to be eradicated.

  Bugs would have consulted with the humans, but they were all in hiber-sleep at present.

  So, it just proceeded.

  ---

  The plague came eight thousand years after the last appearance of the Gods. It selectively killed the bees the humans called stowaways and it spread from South End, west across The West Howie’s and kept going.

  It was a horrible and painful death, the bees rotted from the inside out. However, it was thankfully quick and one hundred percent lethal. News of the plague barely outran the spread of the disease and in most cases help spread it.

  ---

  d-cyn would be next most famous bee to d-bet. She led her hive up the southern slopes of North Peak to escape the plague. When they hit the snow, it became too cold to fly, the sisters had to carry their queen and her males. When it became almost too cold to walk the sisters covered their queen and males with their own bodies to keep them from freezing to death. The journey was epic and was recorded in a dream-dance.

  Only d-cyn’s and five other hives would make it to the lava tunnels and escape the plague and there they would stay hidden there for millions of years.

  ---

  The next shift came out of hibernation just after the purge. They were up to doing 3,000 years at a time in the hibernation pods. Life seemed normal until someone entered the Atrium.

  Almost immediately, once again, Adamarus was brought out of hiber-sleep early—the new stowaways in the Atrium were all dead. Millions of insect bodies could be found all over the western forests. None could be found alive.

  Scientists said it was some kind of sickness that had killed them.

  Adamarus toured the forests of bodies.

  Beyond this tragedy, Bugs’ listening chamber had been completed in an area by the nerve bundles so Bugs could access it.

  Adamarus went to see his old friend. The listening chamber was much smaller than the old one as Bugs could no longer expand its lung to use it. Bugs could only speak as it had the last time it spoke in the old listening chamber on Amular after the attach, by jerking up and down and making soft sounds from its head’s air vents. This time the disability was permanent. The chamber was no more than a room with a soundproof window and translator.

  Bugs looked terrible. It only had two of its six tentacles left and it had large scars all over its head. Fortunately, the rest of Bugs’ mangled body was hidden by the huge hibernation chamber.

  “Bugs, how are you doing?” Adamarus asked. The translator translated and the ear-splitting screech could still be heard beyond the window.

  Bugs jerked up and down making soft beeps and whistles, the translator did its magic… “I am doing wonderful,” it said.

  Adamarus doubted that “No problems with the Basin transition?”

  “No. Some serious Atrium problems but, I took care of them.”

  Adamarus’ eyebrows furrowed, “What do you mean?” he asked through he was afraid he knew.

  “The strain of bees that had the battle with the pollen wasps and put out the sunlight and later had a God complex on you, they had to go.”

  “You killed them?” Adamarus asked incredulously.

  “The two species would have destroyed too much of the bio-system with constant war—they were natural enemies vying for the same resources and both populations were out of control outstripping what the biosphere could provide. You are upset.”

  “The stowaways… evolved bees it seems, were… interesting. I am upset that they are gone. The wasps… I don’t know… are the wasps intelligent? Were the bees?”

  “Well, both… depending on your definition of intelligent. Adamarus, we do not have the bio-depth to support the development of an evolving intelligent species. The wasps were not a threat but the Red Stinger bee species was definitely this kind of situation. Within a hundred years the bees would have destroyed too much with uneducated choices in hunting and agriculture for the Atrium to survive as it is now.”

  There were no chairs yet in the small room Adamarus was in. He sat down on the floor and just looked down for a full minute thinking about it. Finally, he nodded and said, “Bugs, I understand what you are saying, however, going forward, I absolutely want you to agree that any future purge like this requires my approval.”

  Bugs seemed upset by this but agreed.

  ---

  It was late evening and Matt Dolton exited the shuttle and walked down the broad and now darkened Nemesis Blvd. He was angry or maybe just nervous as he made his way towards lights at the end of the block.

  The lights said The Lazy Lover. General Whitehall had never asked him out after hours to a bar. What was up?

  He entered the piano bar and looked around. Very few people, a piano player in the corner, booths along the back wall. He spotted Whitehall in one of the back booths.

  Dolton walked over and sat opposite him. He nodded, “General.”

  “What’s your poison?” the general asked.

  Dolton hesitated.

  The General spoke up to the bartender, “Another one of these please,” he held up his glass.

  “What’s that?” Dolton asked.

  “This…” Whitehall looked at his drink as he swirled it around then gave Dolton a sympathetic look, “this is what you’re going to need after hearing what I have to say.”

  Dolton raised his eyebrows. The drink came. This whole new Whitehall he was seeing was unreal. The General never confided in him. What the hell was going on?

  Dolton went ahead and took a sip of his drink. It was strong but went down smooth. He looked at Whitehall who was giving him a serious expression. Dolton asked, “General, what’s all of this about?”

  Whitehall took a deep breath then steeped his fingers in front of his mouth as if holding back his answer. Then he said, “What I am about to tell you is classified and need to know only but, you can look up so
me side-details in the public record.” He paused, then said, “Before we left, Bugs held a secret meeting. In attendance with Bugs was President Wicker, Adamarus, Radin, Dora Feather, Victor Lamar, Mark Silva, and Will Sanders.”

  “What was the meeting about?” Dolton asked.

  “No one knows.”

  “Okay.”

  Whitehall looked around, started to say something then took a drink.

  Dolton waited.

  Finally, Whitehall continued, “The last guy, Sanders, was killed in the bridge explosion that also killed that gal… don’t remember her name…”

  “I remember that,” Dolton said.

  Whitehall nodded as he took a drink, “That’s the second unexplained explosion we’ve had.” He looked at the other man.

  Dolton leaned back and crossed his arms, “And that has what to do with a secret meeting?”

  “I can’t think of anything,” Whitehall took a drink.

  “Then…”

  ”So of those who attended that secret meeting who’s still present?” Whitehall said, “What we have left are Adamarus, Radin, Feather, Silva and Lamar.”

  Dolton interrupted, “And Bugs…”

  “Bugs is confined to a very small place but before the accident—that first mystery explosion—include Bugs in what I’m about to tell you.” Whitehall leaned forward, “The same crew members that were in the secret meeting are always the last to go into the hibernation pods.”

  Dolton blinked. “So what?”

  “I don’t know,” Whitehall scratched his head. “Probably nothing. But every time? Every time?”

  “I’ll check into it,” Dolton said.

  “Yeah, no,” Whitehall said, “that’s exactly what I want you to do but, you’ll get nowhere asking, I’ve tried.”

  Both men took a drink.

  Whitehall continued, “Here’s what I want you to do…”

  When Whitehall finished, Dolton said, “You’re crazy.”

  “It’s the only way to be sure.”

  “I trust Adamarus and Radin…”

  “So, do I but they…they don’t trust us enough to tell us what was said in that meeting, no?”

  “I don’t care…”

  “They’re doing something. Maybe, probably, if we knew what it was, we’d agree… help even. But who knows. I can’t do it myself because I’m up front and they watch me go into hiber-sleep. You can.”

  “It’s just crazy,” Dolton stuttered.

  “Then do it and confirm it’s nothing.”

  Dolton swallowed, “I’ll think about it.”

  ---

  That time again, Whitehall thought and was excited. The tech came over and helped Whitehall into the hibernation pod.

  Whitehall looked up near the control booth… yep, Adamarus, Radin and the three bridge crewmembers as always.

  He caught Radin’s eye. Whitehall smiled and winked then the lid was closed and he drifted off… the last thing he saw through the window was Radin’s puzzled face.

  ---

  The look on Radin’s face baffled Adamarus causing him to do a double take, “What?”

  Radin ran his hand through his prematurely thinning hair, “Whitehall. He gave me the strangest look before he went under.”

  “How do you mean?”

  “Like he’d just swallowed a sweet little hummingbird. Like he completely knew what we were up to and was about to catch us red-handed.”

  Adamarus frowned. Radin had caught stuff like this before. He nodded towards Whitehall’s hibernation pod and they both walked over. They looked at Whitehall through the small window then checked the readouts and settings on the pod.

  “He’s out, and the pod is not set to wake him until the correct time,” Radin said.

  “So, he’s not going to wake up and catch anything?”

  “Nope.”

  Adamarus sighed. He looked around. He tried to see what Whitehall would see as he went under. Obviously, he saw Radin. And himself and what… three bridge crew not under yet. Nothing really. He caught Radin’s eye and shrugged.

  Radin shrugged back. “I don’t know,” he looked around as Adamarus had. “I don’t know.”

  Adamarus sighed again, “I think we’re okay.” He tilted his head.

  Radin nodded uncertainly.

  Chapter Ten - Mutiny

  “(Differential Definitions) …

  finite:

  Human: Having an end or limit.

  Loud: (There is no comparative word in the Loud’s vocabulary. This is

  because the Loud consider all things to have an end or limit.)

  infinite:

  Human: Not measurable, having no end or limit.

  Loud: A number, size or scope which is too great and/or which is increasing or

  decreasing too rapidly in the observer’s frame of reference for the

  observer to measure. …”

  “A Compendium of Human and Loud Differential Definitions”

  Dr. Loraine Harrington

  Source: The Archive

  Dolton rigged his pod so it would go into hibernation mode but, without him in it.

  He had decided, if Adamarus, Radin and the others went right into their pods, he’d say to hell with it and put himself under for the full time and forget all this crap.

  So, he watched from behind his pod, 50-feet away as General Whitehall was put into hiber-sleep.

  He was shocked to see them double check the console confirming that all pods said everyone was asleep then Adamarus and Radin walked over to Whitehall’s pod and had a soft conversation that he couldn’t hear. Finally, they did not get into their pods to go into hiber-sleep. They all left.

  He followed them.

  They led him to the bridge but locked him out. He hid and waited 40-minutes for them to come out then he followed them back to the hiber-pods. He watched them place themselves in hiber-sleep then waited a half-hour before checking their pods. He checked them, and then he double checked them.

  Their final destination was still 132,692 ship years away. The first awake shift was set to wake up in 30,000 ship years, but Adamarus’, Radin’s and the three bridge crewmembers’ pods were set to wake them in on only 18,000 ship years.

  Why?

  Dolton breathed out slowly, this could all be something innocent, he thought. Or, Whitehall could be right.

  Dolton had to find out. He set his pod to wake him up in 18,000 ship years and got in. He drifted off and dreamed…

  Dolton watched it approach—it was coming fast. It seemed to accelerate toward them at impossible speed.

  The green curtain of energy beams that stretched from horizon to horizon had been racing across Amular all day and now it without pause or perhaps even concern or knowledge, it rolled through the capital city of Axes

  The wind at their backs changed to chaotic buffeting swirls. The booms became impossibly loud and the ground jerked and heaved.

  Then it was upon them and everything went crazy. They were all thrown into the air then the ground came up and hit them and then what felt like tons of dirt and debris rained down on them.

  They had been buried by only about a foot of dirt, rocks, and debris. They dug themselves out, coughing and gagging as the ground spasmodically jumped and heaved. It was raining dirt and the only light coming through the downpour and smoke was a sickly green.

  At first, visibility was less than five feet, however, a powerful gale was sucking the smoke straight up, and above them, the air cleared somewhat.

  Dolton looked up, the green curtain was behind them and receding. HQ had been right; the energy beams had missed them.

  “Move, move, move,” Dolton yelled.

  They dug around in the dirt searching for their equipment, extracted it and heaved it up. Two men carried the maser cannon and one carried the weapon’s tripod while Dolton shouldered a duffle of energy cells.

  The ground rocked while swirling gusts whipped the smoke around them. The surrounding area they could see was
covered with debris. They were completely disorientated.

  “Which way?” someone asked.

  Dolton looked up, locating the receding energy beams through the smoke, but was the closest trench left, or right? He turned, and above the smoke, spotted a cloud of burning embers rising into the air. “This way,” he yelled, and began running.

  The heaving ground settled down to a slight rocking and the booms weren’t as loud as the green curtain raced away. Visibility was now about 20 feet. Still, the going was slow as they dodged around upended vehicles, power poles and rubble.

  They came upon a thick pile of ruins that climbed before them. Through the smoke and ash, they could make out a wall of rising embers beyond. They started climbing over the pile.

  The temperature started rising and the wind changed. It was pushing the heat radiating from the burning embers right into them. It burned their faces and made forward progress more difficult. They started seeing scattered fires, the smoke and ash thickened and visibility dropped.

  They moved forward until the heat became unbearable. Although they could not tell how close to the edge of the furrow they were, the rising embers they could see looked close.

  Dolton looked around and, in the growing darkness, spotted a collapsed wall of a building rising from the rubble. “There!” he yelled.

  They made their way to it. It would offer shelter from the heat as well as the oncoming alien ships. They found a comparatively level area and started setting up.

  While they worked, another sound came to them, a zinging sound that was growing louder.

  “Hurry,” he hollered.

  As soon as their weapon was set up, Dolton positioned himself in front of the firing controls. The zinging sound was much closer now. Another man began winding the elevation crank, raising the weapon up about four feet. Another plugged in a power cell.

  Dolton ripped away the protective cover from the targeting goggles and looked through them. He could see nothing through the smoke. He switched on radar and infrared enhancement. The scene was confusing. He rotated the weapon, searching, and then he saw it.

  Heat plumes were shooting out from an unseen central location about half a mile away. It was a staple ship.