by Alex Kings
Stating his allegiance this way still felt odd. Though the word 'Earth' did have a pleasing Glaber sound to it.
A Glaber appeared on the screen. Lips pulled back against razor-sharp teeth in a combined snarl and sneer. “What?” he said. “What do you want?”
“A coalition, as I said. Fight alongside the Tethyans, Varanids and humans against the Terran Dominion.”
The Glaber cocked his head. “Tell me, before I shoot you down. Why would I ever want to join such a coalition?”
“Money,” said Uruth. “Two million cryptcreds from each of the major powers – Tethyan, Varanid and human – once the war is over.”
The caught the other Glaber's interest. He leaned forward. “And what if you lose?”
“Then it won't matter,” said Uruth. “When the Terran Dominion is finished with us, it will come to get rid of you next.” He shrugged. “On the other hand, let's say you don't join us. We already have two other hives signed up to join us in battle. If we win, they will have riches and the Tethyans' favour. You won't.”
The other Glaber growled. The transmission ended.
Serafin leaned back in her chair and watched the screen. She fiddled with the bud in her ear that was giving her a translation. Uruth scratched idly at the rubbery loose skin of his neck.
The other Glaber reappeared on the screen. “How do we join?” he growled.
“Assemble a fleet and put it on the outskirts of Varanid space,” said Uruth. “We attack in a week.”
“Fine.” With a snarl, the other Glaber smacked something offscreen. The channel went down, and the Hunter moved away.
“Three of four,” said Serafin. “This is going better than expected.”
They turned and began calculating a jump to their next location.
The trip was a short one, cutting through Glaber space with the stealth systems active. Three hours later, they found their prize.
Another Hunter. It was bigger and uglier than all the others they'd seen so far. With this one won over, they'd have the four most powerful Glaber hives on their side.
Serafin hailed them, and Uruth began his spiel again:
“Hive of the bullet, of the thrashing prey, of the executed traitor, I invite you now to glorious battle, to find a common enemy and crush them beneath our heel. I am Uruth, speaking from Hive Earth.”
It was several seconds before a response came.
Another Glaber appeared, laughing. “Uruth? Uruth the Hiveless, hiding with the humans? What is this begging? Try begging me not to kill you!”
“Oh, crap,” muttered Uruth.
Chapter 59: Discovery
“An entire planet?” said Chang.
He stood alongside Hanson and Kuta, with the Firmament's Admiral listening in. They'd moved to a separate room inside the Varanid parliament. At the front of the room, Yilva stood, upright and confident, in front of a screen on the wall.
Yilva nodded and gestured at the screen. “Cantor. It formally belongs to the Solar Alliance, but it was never colonised.”
Cantor was mostly white. Ice caps extended across half its surface. But at the equator, there was a narrow band of green, bordering on dozens of tiny inland seas. There it was just about warm enough to live comfortably.
“This will be the home of the Free Petaurs,” continued Yilva. “It is near the outskirts of your territory, so we have room to expand.”
Chang took a deep breath and looked at Hanson.
“Right now we don't even control Earth,” Hanson reminded him. “I'd call this a bargain.”
Chang sighed. Addressing Yilva, he said, “I don't have the authority to give away a planet,” he told her at last. “The Solar Alliance government is out of contact right now.”
“You are the military leader of the Alliance navy in a time of crisis,” Yilva said. “If you defeat the Terran Dominion, and especially if the Tethyans back your decision, they will have to listen to you.”
Chang stared at the planet in silence. “Okay,” he said at last. “Cantor is yours.”
Yilva nodded. “Thank you, Admiral,” she said, turning to give the planet an almost loving glance.
“A planet from the humans,” Kuta said. “All well and good, but what do you want from us?”
“Trade deals and defence treaties,” said Yilva. “We are starting from scratch, so we need all the help we can get. From both the Varanids and the Tethyans.”
“So long as the terms are favourable, I see no problem,” Kuta said.
“Agreed,” said the Firmament.
“Can I have it in writing?” Yilva said. At last her confident posture dropped and she gave a shy smile. When she next spoke, her tone was different. “That is something you learn to watch out for, living among Albascene.”
“Of course,” Kuta said. “I'll have a councillor draft an agreement.”
“All the Admirals are listening in,” said the Firmament. “We can negotiate.”
By diplomatic stands, it was almost instantaneous. After a couple of hours, during which various Varanid negotiators and the more legal-minded of the Free Petaurs came in and talked softly, three simple deals had been worked out.
The Free Petaurs became a nation, recognised by Tethyans, Varanids and humans, based on the planet Cantor. Yilva immediately sent her Petaurs to work on upgrading the fleet.
As Hanson was striding outside the doors, his comms chimed.
“We've got word back from the Afanc,” said the officer on the other line. “It will be joining us in battle.”
*
Agatha leaned against the wall inside the Varanid Parliament, watching Yilva as she hung from the grating of a heat lamp with her tail and one foot. Hanson stood beside her.
A couple of Varanid politicians walking down the corridor gave them a disapproving glance but continued on their way. They were used to aliens by now.
“I did it,” Yilva said. She closed her eyes and sighed. “I actually did it.”
Hanson smiled. “Well done,” he said approvingly.
Yilva opened her eyes and watched them both intently. “But … what do I do now?”
“Now you celebrate,” Agatha said.
“Yes! Good idea … how?”
Agatha shrugged. “With a whole lot of booze.”
She looked at Hanson, who put up his hands.
“Meeting with the Admiral at six hundred hours,” he said. “Then mission prep, then going over intel … well, you get the idea. I think I'd best sit this one out.”
Agatha thumped him on the shoulder a little more than gently. “Military,” she said with a sigh, and kissed him. Turning back to Yilva, she continued, “On the other hand, I'm a complete fifth wheel until the fighting starts. What do you think?”
Yilva bit her lip. “Oh, um … oh crumbs … okay, yeah!”
Hanson waved to them as they headed off. “Have fun!”
They retreated to Yilva's lab, which was now empty, and which she still had complete access to. They parted briefly, and Agatha arrived in a shuttle carrying a bag of formal-looking aluminium bottles.
“Where did you get those?” Yilva asked.
“Don't ask.” Agatha grinned.
Through a broad window, they could see a volcano range in the far distance. They laughed, talked, and watched the scenery. They sky darkened through dusty reds to a final black. Glowing patterns of lava down the sides of the volcanoes seemed to float in the blackness.
Agatha upended a bottle over her plastic cup, stared at it for a few seconds, then tapped its sides. It gave a dull ringing noise. “This'un's empty too,” she said throwing it to the side.
“Hold on, hold on!” said Yilva. Her tail snaked out towards another bottle, twined around it, and knocked it over. She giggled and settled for rolling it towards them.
“Where is Srak?” she asked while Agatha refilled her glass with pale blue liquid.
“With Kuta,” Agatha said, grinning to herself. “Re-familiarising himself with Varanid culture.”
“That's nice.” Yilva's eyes widened. “Oh!”
They laughed for some time and refilled their cups.
“I realise,” Yilva said, holding her cup up high, “that I did not need to ask.”
“Huh?” said Agatha.
Yilva stood, pushing herself up with her tail, and scrambled over to one of the terminals. She patted it. “Anything we want to know, I can find for us!”
“That's a bit … invasive, innit?” Agatha asked.
Yilva stared at her.
Agatha laughed. “I'm kidding! Come on, let's have a look! Also, I really wanna see you try and do this drunk.”
Together they peered at the console while Yilva gestured at it. Agatha had some experience with peering into the parts of computer networks she wasn't supposed to see, but in her current state, and with Yilva's speed, it all looked like a lot of commotion.
“Are you actually doing anything?” she asked after a moment.
Yilva nodded. “No … no personal stuff … but military stuff is fine. I do that all the time anyway.” She giggled again, and her hand lurched to the side. “Oops! I nearly activated nuclear defences.”
“What?”
“Kidding! I nearly got caught is all.” She gestured a few more times. “Here we go!”
The screen was filled with documents. Agatha pointed a few of them out. “What's that? And that?”
They turned out to be intel of various kinds and reports of ship capabilities.
“Yilva, girl,” said Agatha. “You're making top-secret military stuff seem really boring.”
“Here is a report on me!” said Yilva.
“Ooh, any dark secrets?”
Yilva scanned it. “No. It is all super positive! Except the standard military stuff about how I'm independent and how they have to have a contingency plan to kill me … the usual.”
“What about that one?”
Yilva frowned. “It's about … Emily Dawes? Huh. Oh, and there is a –”
“Go back,” said Agatha.
She and Yilva studied the document. “Huh,” Agatha said after a moment. “She's here. They didn't want me to know about her.”
She stumbled back and went to the window.
“Are you okay?” Yilva asked.
“Yeah … let's open another bottle.”
Chapter 60: Four out of Four
Uruth stared at the other Glaber's face. His expression was stony, but his brain felt like chewing gum being stretched apart. Half of him wanted to cower. Half of him said, jump now and rip the bastard's throat out, without worrying how difficult that would be with ten thousand klicks of vacuum between them.
Serafin muted the microphone. “I take it you know this guy?” she said under her breath.
“He's my brother,” said Uruth. “Name's Oth. Last time we met, he bit open my neck and left me to bleed out on an abandoned space station.”
“Huh,” said Serafin. “Sibling relationships are always complicated, aren't they?”
Uruth smiled faintly. “Turn it back on.”
Oth yawned, idly baring a full set of razor-sharp teeth.
“You became leader of the Hive, I see,” Uruth said.
“Yes. When Hive Shrike collapsed, the last leader was too much of a coward to take advantage of it.” Oth grinned. “And you've gone running to the humans. You have a talent for picking the losing side.” Uruth saw his hand moving to one of the controls. “Should I put you out of your misery now, or do you want to beg a little more?”
Serafin spoke up for the first time. “You try it, and you'll have a hell of a fight on your hands. The Black Cat is small, but she's got teeth.” She leaned forward and stared Oth down. “And if I'm going to lose, I'll make sure I take you with me.”
“I can handle this!” Uruth snapped at her.
Only after the outburst did he realise she'd done better than expected. She'd used Glaber dominance assertion perfectly. Oth might just have a sliver of respect for her now, rather than thinking of her as another flimsy, weak human.
If he did, it wasn't obvious. “Poor Uruth needs his little human friend to fight for him,” he said. “Still … small prey screams the loudest. Let's see if you can back up those threats.”
He gestured at his console. Chimes on the Black Cat noted his weapons were aiming at them. Serafin aimed back.
For a few seconds, there was silence between them. Uruth could tell Oth was just teasing for the moment, but with things this tense, he might easily slip into aggression and fire the first shot.
“Oth, stop being a coward,” he said. “You want to kill me, do it like a Glaber. With teeth.”
Oth stared back. “If you think you can trick me into coming aboard your ship …”
“No,” said Uruth. “I'll come aboard yours. In fact, I challenge you for leadership of the hive.”
A smile slowly spread across Oth's face, until he was baring all his teeth. “I accept your challenge. Come aboard.” He cut the channel.
Uruth sighed.
Turning to him, Serafin said, “I hope you have a plan here.”
“I do,” said Uruth. “I'm going to tear his throat out in front of all his followers.”
Serafin put her head in her hands.
All its weapons still armed, the Black Cat sidled up towards the Hunter. A small airlock revealed itself between the decorative blades. Through a tiny porthole, Oth's face smiled out at them. As agreed, he was waiting to meet them.
A docking tube extended from the Hunter to meet the Black Cat, connecting with a dull thump. Serafin and Uruth went across in full armour, in case Oth tried to retract the tube while they were still in it.
He didn't, and the Glaber airlock opened for them. They stepped inside and took their helmets off.
Inside, it was dark, warm, and humid. It smelt of mulch and blood, with a faint note of rotting meat. The floor was soft underfoot, covered with actual soil. Tangles of thin, woody vines hung from the ceiling amid the faint lights. Insects floated about.
This was how it supposed to be, Uruth thought. A ship with actual life. Not the sterile boxes the other species hid themselves in.
Oth was armoured from the neck down. Behind him, a dozen Glaber in full armour hefted carbines and rifles.
Serafin spoke first. “Before anyone decides to get clever, you should know the Black Cat is monitoring my lifesigns. Anything happens to me, she initiates an automated attack program to destroy this ship.”
Oth smiled at her. “No need for tricks when you can win easily.” He raised his clawed hand, and the Glaber in the background lowered their guns and stepped back.
Serafin sighed. “Fine.” She turned to Uruth. “Where do you fight?”
“Here,” said Uruth. He dropped his helmet by the airlock and stepped forward. “You might want to move back,” he advised her.
Serafin retreated to the airlock with a sigh. The Glaber pulled back, leaving Uruth and Oth with the corridor to themselves.
They squared up.
Oth said, “Well, brother, it looks like –”
Uruth headbutted him.
Oth fell back with a snarl but recovered almost instantly. As soon as Uruth moved forward to attack, he dropped to the floor and rammed into Uruth's legs, knocking him down.
Uruth tried to get to his feet, but then he felt Oth leap onto his back. Fetid breath washed over him as teeth approached his neck.
He rolled forward, slamming Oth's head into the floor. With his grip loose, they scrambled face-to-face for a moment before pulling away.
Oth wasn't smiling anymore. He panted lightly, teeth bared. He opened his mouth to say something, thought better of it, then rushed at Uruth.
Uruth stepped neatly to the side. But Oth saw what was happening and changed direction. He kicked out, knocking Uruth's legs out from under him, then slammed his head against the wall.
Spots danced before Uruth's vision. Fingers encircled his neck. The second impact was almost painless. It felt distant, unreal. He saw Oth's
teeth and, acting on instinct, managed to pull away.
As he stumbled down the corridor it occurred to him that there was no way he could win like this. Oth was too fast and too strong.
Uruth let his legs go limp beneath him and, quite intentionally, collapsed to the floor.
He lay there, making feeble attempts at getting up. He could hear Oth advancing on him but made no move to escape. Then Oth was on him. He could feel the breath on his skin, hear the jaws opening just over his neck.
At the last moment, he revealed he wasn't as weak as he seemed. He twisted around and stuck his fist into Oth's open mouth. The blow knocked Oth back, and when his jaws closed they were only around Uruth's wrist. Pain flared, blood flowed, but Uruth ignored it. He'd managed to avoid the big canine teeth.
He closed his claws on Oth's tongue. Surprised more than anything, Oth opened his mouth again and pulled back. Blood poured from his mouth.
Uruth pushed upwards, smacking Oth's head against the wall, and unleashed a flurry of punches with his free hand. With the other, he twisted Oth's head to the side. At last his pulled his arm from Oth's mouth.
“You,” managed Oth through a mouthful of blood, before Uruth's teeth closed on his throat.
They stared at each other for a few moments before Uruth released Oth and watched him collapse.
He wouldn't make the same mistake his brother did. He stood over Oth until he was certain his opponent was dead.
Only then did he look up to the dozen Glaber down the hall. “I claim my position as leader of this hive,” he told them. “And I commit it to the Anti-Dominion coalition.”
He wiped the blood off his arm and turned back to Serafin. “Four out of four,” he said.
Chapter 61: Let's Go
The station was a buzz of activity, with Alliance personnel, Varanids, and Tethyans hurrying back and forth, looking up their assignments, or making last-minute preparations.
Agatha fought her way through the crowds, heading towards a giant window that covered one wall and looked out onto dozens of docked spacecraft.