That didn’t mean they would be accepting a suicide mission. It meant it could turn to that dark outcome if things were to go badly. This really put a lot of pressure on one human and Alex had recommended a series of chemicals to be ingested by the candidate in order to give them a sense of well-being. Things like stammering and sweat can give a spy away just as easily as having their hand caught in the trap. Furthermore there was a social pecking order on Zellhigh where women are treated as second - class citizens and thus restricted from certain areas. So the person selected had to be male.
On the third day of the sixth month after the invasion of Triolux a man named Dr. Sven Firegate was put into a cloaked mini-ship and sent to Zellhigh to land in a remote section of a forest outside a city known to the people of Triolux as grid #838. From there he was to proceed to a transportation platform where citizens waited for commercial Airlites and were taken to the underground facility where airships were loaded and unloaded and took off at random times to destinations unknown.
Once again the Wind Mountain dome was filled with spectators, mostly professional, on Triolux North to observe the early proceedings with Dr. Firegate and his assignment. He was to observe the comings and goings of the commercial airships and install micro transmitters to the inside of as many airships as he could. He was to limit his contact to as few persons as possible and keep a very low profile. If he suffered detection he was to push his tongue on the back of his front teeth and hold it there for at least four seconds. This would lead to instant death. No discernable information would come from his body and there would be no connection with Triolux North.
If Dr. Firegate was caught and died it would be a clue for Zellhigh to ramp up its defenses. This could be a blessing or a curse for the observers as the believers might reveal their defensive positions. It might also cause them to harden their planet and begin a star scan in earnest that could point out the six satellites now in orbit around their planet. In the meantime the mini ship was speeding to the forest and would soon touch down.
The satellites observing the forest captured the image of a cloaked mini ship landing in a small clearing and soon a hatch opened and Dr. Sven Firegate emerged. He appeared to be apprehensive as he tentatively emerged with his shoulder satchel and glanced at the sun. He quickly determined the direction he needed to go in and walked through the woods. No large predators had been observed on the land. Large creatures had been detected in their southernmost ocean. Firegate was headed toward a platform that shuttled Zellhigh occupants and at his current rate of travel he should be meeting up with his fellow citizens within an hour.
The mood inside the observatory dome was pensive. Firegate was given a round of narcotics to reduce any anxiety he might feel. This would help with his ability to blend. The believers were not a talkative lot. They seemed to wait for the shuttles in silence. Any animation with others was reserved for their individual family units. They were ferocious when they attacked Triolux North. There was no holding back. They snarled and snapped and slapped each other’s back in mass camaraderie, like a sports team, as they mutilated and tortured innocent people.
Most of the observers sipped on pluthe tea. They were snug in their mountain retreat, safe and sound. Tee wondered if he would have the same courage as Dr. Firegate? The doctor appeared confident and neutral as he approached the platform. At first the others, ninety percent male, didn’t pay him any attention. Then their legs began to shift in agitation as they seemed disturbed by something in the air. Then they formed a predatory circle around Dr. Firegate as if they were a wolf pack. Firegate could be seen talking with a neutral face. Then he was pushed from one side of the circle to the other.
The first strike began with a hit to his face from a large man with the typical Zellhigh oversized arm. Then the pummeling began in earnest as the circle of men with one woman swallowed Firegate in a flurry of swinging arms and thrashing feet. He disappeared beneath the maelstrom of swirling figures like some mad school of sharks, circling as each fish ripped a piece of the meat. When it was all over, in less than two minutes, Dr. Firegate was a red splash on the platform. His skull was crushed and flattened. He was reduced to a crimson blob on the edge of some bushes and the flat surface of the platform. The men as well as the one woman were covered in splashes of blood as well as organ bits and brain matter from Dr. Firegate. An audible gasp broke the silence in the otherwise stunned dome.
Murmuring soon followed. It was not a conscious decision that was made by the Zellhigh. It was a response that was driven by reflex, an antagonistic behavior response of pure aggression. The men on the platform detected something was amiss in the air. Dr. Firegate didn’t smell like them and was immediately perceived as a threat. Reason never entered the calculus of the believers. They simply responded with combative assertion and afterward stood in muted silence. It seemed to be a mass denial as potent as the group response. There was something about the believers’ behavior that made the members of the dome realize they were under a strong spell. A new effort to break down the chemicals associated with the gas that was being breathed by these pawns was foremost in the minds of the Triolux elite.
Stop the gas and maybe these so - called believers, subjects of manipulation, would return to something akin to standard human behavior. And those in charge would need to face a tribunal the likes of which this galaxy had never seen. It’s one thing to lead an army under a false flag of patriotism or religion. But to deliberately create an entire planet of madmen set on attacking their own kind is something on the lines of evil. However they were dealing with an entire planet of humans that slaughtered other humans because of a difference in pheromones. Their bizzare behavior was outside the known goalposts of any game they were used to playing.
The military men scrambled to see how they could take out the gas producing facility they had detected early on in their observations of Zellhigh. This seemed to be the way that could encourage the men and women of the planet to rebel against their leadership. Cut off the gas, and let the people come down from whatever influence the gas had on them and then decide their own fate. It seemed reasonable and a path that might lead to self-correction without the interference of Triolux North in the immediate future.
How to safely destroy the gas manufacturing plant without releasing a massive amount of it
The believers at the shuttle station brushed the remains of Dr. Firegate off themselves like dust on a new pair of slacks and seemed to return to their chore of waiting for the next Airlite. The Airlite came and it was an autonomous vehicle that waited a predetermined amount of time and then left. A machine not much bigger than a storage chest arrived in front of the splattered and disgusting mess that had been an educated human being not long before and sprayed some chemicals on the hideous evidence of the senseless violence. Dr. Firegate was then sucked up and carried off as if he were an animal carcass struck by an Airlite and needed to be carted off before his odor caused offense.
There was an audible relief that no investigation was going to take place. The whole ordeal was surreal and it made the observers realize they were up against a powerful unknown. Without knowledge to break the spell on the people of Zellhigh, an invasion would be fruitless. These maniacs would not stand still to discuss a move toward to improvement. They would snarl and bite at the invaders until one side or the other was no more.
Within hours a best - case scenario was being bantered around that dropping a neutralizing agent on the gas factory was the best course of action. What would that agent be remained to be seen. Lain sat with Tee in the cafeteria and moved her food around on her plate, lost in thought. Tee saw her distraction and asked her what was going on.
“They’re puppets. They‘re mindless creatures lacking free will.”
“It seems that way.”
“I never in my wildest dreams thought I’d have empathy for them, “Lain said. “I thought your talk of improvement was distant and clinical. I am awed by your wisdom, husband. Your patience will pay
off and the people of Triolux will believe that the light has truly given you the correct path.”
“My dear, do you not think I had my doubts. Until we saw what we witnessed today and confirmed that there is a planet whose entire population is under the influence of a mad few I was often turned toward to teaching them a lesson so brutal and complete that the galaxies would shudder at the mention of Zellhigh and Triolux North. The light embedded its message into me and forced me to stand up and declare the path. But until today I would have violated that path if it seemed as if Zellhigh were entertaining coming back and we were not prepared.”
Lain patted his arm and they smiled at each other. How would this change the perception of those who had suffered, knowing the invaders had lost the ability to have free will and were themselves victims of a viscous game. Tee nodded from his chair at one of the engineers and excused himself to Lain. “You’ll need to finish without me - duty calls.” And with that he gave her cheek a gentle peck with his lips and followed the engineer into the recesses of the mountain.
Chapter 10
What Triolux thought was a machine to clean up the mess that was once Dr. Sven Firegate was in fact a device that analyzes remains. From the contents the Zellhigh could tell what formed the bones and therefore deduct the diet of the invader. It was determined in short order that the man was from Triolux North. A scan of the area revealed the mini - ship that he had traveled in to arrive there. Not by detection, because the ship was cloaked, but by showing up as an anomaly when a graph of the natural terrain was placed over the present shape. The elite of Zellhigh were livid.
As the inhabitants of Triolux North came to certain realizations about the believers and the best way to free those locked souls from the prison of gas that seeped into their cells day in and day out, the Zellhigh were planning on eliminating their rivals altogether. Plans were underway to occupy the planet. They were leaning toward getting into the plankton reaping business. So viscous and fuming were the leaders of Zellhigh that an extra dose of the mind bending gas would be given to the murdering soldiers as the spaceships flew out from Zellhigh.
An alarm woke Tee soon after he fell asleep. He and Lain jumped up and dressed. Lain put Lacy in her stroller, grabbed her laser gun and headed toward the underground tunnels. Tee kissed her goodbye on the ground floor. He too had his laser gun and after she went down the steps of an access hatch he turned and scanned the sky. It was a beautiful, star - filled night with Talium Nine waxing in the east and Ventoris #6 a waning crescent in the west. He began to notice a cluster of small lights approaching from the west and they grew in size. He saw them separate as they went to land in different parts of his planet.
He saw small streaks of light reach up toward the approaching armada of ships bent on raining down on his people. These were shots fired from the Triolux defense systems. He watched as one ship after another miraculously exploded in the air. The invaders began to make evasive maneuvers and flew erratically as the pulses of light tried to kill them. The maneuvers were working and the ships sped up in their descent. If they could break the horizon they’d be out of range from the false islands that were shooting them down.
Tee had counted nine airships knocked from the sky. But there were at least fifty descending on to the planet. He knew each of those ships was loaded with hundreds of maniacs. Both peoples were set on sending a signal to the galaxies. Zellhigh was trying to say, “Don’t even think about revenge.” Triolux North was pushing the message, “Attack and you will pay.” Tee heard the sound barrier boom as ships came into view and he could see their massive underbellies. How he wished he had larger weapons to destroy those smoothly curved shapes and obliterate the lunatics inside them.
Men now gathered beside him with their lasers while Tee stood on a bench, the same one he’d used to deliver his first speech, and he yelled in a clear voice, “Take cover, fire and retreat. Bring them into the buildings where they need to come at us in confined spaces.” The men nodded and looked at each other with wide-eyed fear. Tee crouched behind a planter near the children’s play area. He saw his neighbor Vintner sprawl out and aim from behind a decorative wall.
The closest ship hovered for a moment and then sent out three large retractable legs. They landed with a loud thud. There was the crushing of stone and metal as they squashed anything underneath them. The ship was massive and intimidating. The ground shook and Tee grabbed the planter to keep himself from being toppled. A smooth and steady square box sealed on all sides was lowered from the middle of the ship. It landed with a thud so loud it sounded like a distant bomb. Perspiration ran from Tee’s forehead and over his eyebrows. He wiped the sweat away and concentrated on the box.
All four sides of the box rose in unison and a buzzing sound packed the air. Thousands of tiny flying objects the size of a baby toe came pouring out of the box. Each had a metal glint to it and the men opened fire. Many of the devices were knocked down but many more flew toward the men. Tee watched as two landed on his neighbor’s face, drilled holes into skull and killed him. The box was being raised back up and into the ship. Tee grabbed one of the pots that held a plant and toppled it upside down. He put it over his head and stood still. The flying objects buzzed around his face and then moved on.
Soon the humming of the tiny weapons was heard a long distance away as they moved past the men who surrounded the ship and went deeper into the buildings and the city. The box came back down and this time it was jammed with the psychopaths of Zellhigh. Tee removed the pot and took aim while they were still tightly packed in the box. He let loose with a slew of shots and steadily moved his gun left to right and back again. As he swept the clump of men others emerged. They were trapped and as they tried to raise their laser rifles he continued shooting, giving them little time to find his location.
The box closed, cutting men in half as it did so. It was retracted back into the belly of the beast and for what seemed like a lifetime it stood still. Tee took the time to look around him and what he saw seemed to be a dream. A nightmare filled his eyes as he saw every man who had come to meet this first wave dead with the little weapons buried into their skulls. Their eyes were packed with glistening bits of metal giving them the appearance of some kind of failed cyborg. He breathed in deeply and sighed down to his soul. These animals will have to pay. The box began its descent once again and something told him to run. He ran into the nearest building entrance and from there he moved toward the base of some steps. There was a hall to the left and stairs were straight in front of him. He waited and tried to calm his body. His heart was slamming in his chest and then a light so bright he had to close his eyes swept the building.
The light cut through the walls and ricocheted off objects and the hall was filled with stone and dust. He choked on it and dropped to the floor, covering his mouth and wiping at his eyes. The light had passed by him and now he heard the noise of equipment being unloaded and the stomp of men’s feet. He lay flat and moved slowly over a pile of rubble and aimed his gun toward the end of the hall. He told himself to wait until the hall was full before firing. It felt like a lifetime. The dust was sinking and he spat as his mouth filled with grit.
He heard stomping from the boots of madmen as they began to fill the hall. They seemed too agitated to take proper aim. They were grunting like wild beasts and mucus ran from their noses and spittle from their lips. Tee watched their wild eyes move left and right. He realized the crazy Zellhigh appeared to be overdosed with something, most likely the gas. He waited until there were fifteen of them close to him and from the ground he began sweeping the hall with his laser.
They grunted and fell and stared at the ceiling as if to stargaze. When Tee had shot them all he could hear no more men coming. He collected a half - dozen of their weapons and climbed up the steps in caution. His hair was filled with dust and each step sent a cloud cascading over his eyes. He bent and shook his head until the dust was gone. He continued his slow climb up the stairs. He heard a group of soldiers comi
ng from the left at the top of the stairs and he had no place to take cover. He pressed himself against the wall and waited.
He took slow breaths and calmed himself as best he could. The stack of guns lay in a heap at his feet. He checked his laser and saw he had depleted half its charge. He held it straight out and chest high. When he couldn’t wait anymore and the noise of the boots was so close he moved his hands around the corner and shot down the hall only exposing his hands. He stepped out into the hall and began firing with aim. He moved the gun from one side of the hall to the other. The soldiers were so doped on berserk gas that their aim was off and wild. They were all aiming high and hitting the ceiling. Tee shot until he couldn’t see anyone left standing. And those on the ground had been ripped to shreds.
He pushed past the open door opposite him in the hall and went inside the apartment. It suffered little damage from the laser light that had swept the area. He knew that that much energy must have cost the Zellhigh something. It probably drained the core of the spaceship. That meant they couldn’t take off anytime soon. He thought on that and its consequences as he moved toward a window that faced the ship. If he could sabotage the ship they might be able to hold a captain as a hostage. The idea intrigued him and he watched as the ship sat dormant. It appeared too weak to even retract its delivery box.
Tee looked out the window in quiet solitude concentrating on a way to damage the ship. It was a hundred meters in front of him and appeared to be a well-designed fortress. He called up Alex and found there was once again no communication with the powerful computer system. He worried his bottom lip and wondered if Lain and Lacy were safe. How could they fight off those mad, buzzing weapons that lodged themselves in the skulls of people? He sank into despair and slowly rallied himself as he thought he might be able to make a device using the laser guns of the fallen Zellhigh creatures. If he tied them together and got all of them to focus at once into the belly of the ship, a half - meter opening might be able to render it useless.
Ths Sacking of Triolux North Page 6