Searcher a-5

by Saxon Andrew

  “I really think we could and I was hoping to give it a try when you came here but with your ports open it just wouldn’t allow us to try our best weapons on you.”

  “My but you sound like someone I might recognize. Perhaps you’re not so much different from us as I thought.”

  Matt flinched at the observation and immediately felt a sense of guilt. He didn’t want to but he was starting to like this Eight Legs.

  “However, the only way to see if we keep our promise is to just see. A person who is facing death will promise everything. We aren’t facing it at this very moment so our promise might have more weight than the moment just before your best weapons hit my ship.”

  Tag was shaking his head. He was trying not to smile but wasn’t being successful.

  Sprig thought, “Could the rest of your species resist consuming intelligent civilizations?”

  “You sound different from the first being. The answer to your question is no. They cannot nor will they want to resist changing their eating habits.”

  “What makes you and your children different?”

  “After our last harvest we were not successful in gathering a good meal. We went hungry for a long time. That’s why we were sent here first. I think that lack of a big meal has made a difference in us. The time we’ve spent chasing you around several systems has also thinned us. I can sense my children and they, like I, don’t have the insatiable hunger for intelligence that others of my species possess. I don’t know how to answer your question except to say that we can harvest life forms that are not intelligent for our meals. I am the surviving leader of my family and my children will follow my orders. That’s how we are made. My connection to the Nest Mother died with my Supreme Male; she no longer has any control over me.”

  “I don’t understand what you mean by control?”

  “The Supreme Male of each family has total control over every member. They are chosen by the Nest Mother and when they are selected she downloads into them a compulsion to give her all that they learn. The Supreme Males do this by downloading a copy of everything the children gathered during the harvest. The Supreme Male also puts that compulsion into his children so that they will surrender their harvest when ordered by him. There is no choice; we are compelled by forces we cannot resist when those orders are given.”

  Matt thought a moment, “So why are things different for you now?”

  “Because the Nest Mother consumed my entire family with all of the Ship’s Males and the Supreme Male. The compulsion placed in me by my ship’s former commander which came from the Supreme Male ended with the death of the Supreme Male. The Nest Mother consumed my family’s Supreme Male before my ship was taken. I have looked at my data banks and I cannot find anywhere in our history where that has ever happened. Usually every ship is downloaded, or consumed if punished, after the harvest is completed so that all ships are present. My ship is the first ship to ever be completely free of the compulsion passed down by the Nest Mother. I can feel it and so can my children. We are, for the moment, free.”

  “Why for the moment?”

  “Because we will be found by the other families; they will be able to see us as soon as they enter whatever universe we travel. They will block the exit and destroy us.”

  Matt jerked, “How will they block the exit?”

  “Place enough main ships around it so I can’t get to it to escape.”

  “Stand by a moment.”

  “Sure.”

  Matt turned to the group and said, “I think we need to help this ship.”

  Danielle looked around and said, “I agree.”

  Melanie said, “Me, too.”

  Sprig looked at the two human females and asked, “Why do you say that? These creatures are universe killers.”

  “Because I think that they are universe killers because of the compulsion placed in them by their Nest Mother,” Danielle said. “Did you notice that they backed off invading a system to come here and communicate? Ask them why they did that, Matt.”

  Matt shrugged and thought, “I notice that you were in the process of invading a planet but backed off and came here instead; why did you do that?”

  “My, my; you have been keeping track of our movements. I’m impressed. I ordered the ships back because I received a call from another family’s Supreme Male ordering me to download what I have learned in this universe. I decided to delay and not give it to him. I told him some of my ships were being attacked and that I would get back to him as soon as I resolved the issue. I then turned off my communicator panel and disabled the tracking device in my ship and came here hoping to get you to communicate with me.”

  “What will happen when they try to contact you and are unsuccessful?”

  “I’m hoping they will think I’ve been destroyed. I must say that you have done an excellent job of hiding your activities so I’m sure they will be nervous about coming here.”

  “Do you think they will still come?”

  “Absolutely!”

  “Why do you say it like that?”

  “The Nest Mother craves advanced life forms like no other meal. I could sense it in the Supreme Male’s communication. If my ship is destroyed then she will know an advanced life form is here that is quite powerful. The explosion of the new universe from this one is what caused us to come here early.”

  “Stand by.”

  Matt looked at Danielle and said, “Why does it make a difference that he turned away?”

  “Because he was not driven by uncontrolled urges; he stopped because of other considerations. I believe that when he resisted the other Supreme Male he broke the compulsions placed in him. I suspect he will be quite different from this moment forward. Also, please notice that he has not with held any information you’ve requested. I think this creature is honest to a fault.”

  “That is exactly what I see, too, Danielle,” Melanie said. “Whatever he has told you is the truth and I think he can be trusted.”

  Matt looked at Tag and Sprig. Tag shrugged and Sprig thought, “The two strongest psychics in seeing truth agree on this. I think we must follow their lead. Do you agree, Twig?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  Matt looked at the group and then said, “Al, do we have one of the new hand weapons?”

  “Yes we do.”

  “Teleport it to me now.” A projectile gun appeared on the console. Matt put the arm brace on and placed the gun in it.

  “What are you doing,” Melanie asked?

  “Seeing if he can be trusted,” Matt then turned back to his display panel and thought, “We are discussing the possibility of helping you; however, we want to meet with you directly.”

  “How would you suggest we make that happen?”

  “Go to the surface of your ship and we will bring you to our vessel. Do you have a suit that is not made from that green substance?”

  “Yes, I do.”

  “Please wear it so we can move you.”

  “Give me a moment.”

  “We’ll be waiting.”

  The Ship’s Male looked at his Sensor Male and said, “If something happens to me I am appointing you to be the new leader of my children. I entrust their welfare to you and I insist you do all you can to prevent the families from killing them.” All of the children in the ship heard what he said and their devotion to this new ship leader increased tremendously. They knew the risk he was taking and hoped he survived.

  The Sensor Male said, “I will do my best, First Fang.”

  “Call me Ship’s Male from now on; that First Fang title irritates me.”

  The Ship’s Male put on a standard work suit and took the elevator to the outer door where two of his children opened it. They reached forward and tenderly touched him with their two front legs as he exited the hatch. Their emotion touched him deeply. He thought to himself, “I will not see you harmed.” He walked out to the surface of the giant ship and thought, “I am on the surface; you may come and get me.” Suddenly he was standin
g in a ship surrounded by seven beings. He was shocked speechless.

  “Welcome aboard the Aladdin, Ship’s Male.”

  The Ship’s Male saw the being addressing him and noticed he was holding a device. “May I assume that you are pointing a weapon at me?”

  “Absolutely.”

  “I don’t blame you. However, you are in no danger from me.”

  “That is what we are here to determine. My name is Matt and I need a name to call you other than your title.”

  The Ship’s Male raised his two front legs in a shrug and said, “We actually don’t have names other than our title. You may call me whatever you desire.”

  Matt looked around and said, “We will call you Destiny.”

  The Ship’s Male tilted his head to the left indicating a smile, “Let’s hope it’s a name that has possibilities. I notice that you moved me directly from my ship to your bridge. I didn’t know that technology existed. I suspect that by revealing it to me that if we cannot agree on my trustworthiness you will be compelled to kill my ship.”

  Matt shook his head and said, “You do understand things quite well. I think that by coming here and talking with us you have made strides in our believing your commitments. I just have one question.”

  “What is that?”

  “Can you stand by and watch us totally destroy your species?”

  The Ship’s Male thought a long moment and then replied, “It would not be as hard as you think. If my children survive, my species will not be destroyed and we can rebuild our selves perhaps better than before. I will agree not only to stand by but to assist you anyway I can to survive the coming harvest and to never consume another intelligent civilization.”

  Danielle and Melanie both said simultaneously, “He’s telling the truth.”

  Matt looked at Tag and he stepped forward and said, “Then as King of the Star’s Realm, I welcome you and your children into our protection. We will defend you against all aggressors and I expect you to defend us against all enemies. Will you agree to these conditions?”

  Destiny looked at the strange being and said, “I do.”

  Matt said, “Destiny, we are going to send you back to your ship. We will communicate further but I will be sending a team of engineers to install a device on your ship’s hull that will hide you from detection.”

  Destiny felt a huge weight lift and he said, “I thank you for assisting me in saving my children; I look forward to learning from you.”

  Matt nodded and Al teleported him back to the surface of his ship. He stood there looking around for the ship he had just left but could not see it. Suddenly, ten beings appeared on the hull and began installing a device. One of them came up and said, “Hello, and welcome to our community of civilizations.” He held out a device and handed it to Destiny. Destiny took the device and saw two buttons on it. “The large button will turn on a screen that will hide your ship from your species. It is a color you cannot see through. The smaller button will turn it off. It will be ready when we teleport off your ship. Do you have any questions?”

  The Spider shook his head and the being turned to go work on the device being installed on the top of his ship. Destiny thought, “This is a whole new universe. Things look so different now.” Then he entered the door to be greeted by his adoring children.

  Two hours later Destiny saw that the beings had left his ship. He turned to the Sensor Male and said, “Launch an attack craft and have it take station three widths from us.”

  The small ship launched and moved ninety thousand miles away. “Tell it to scan our ship and to keep us in sight.”

  “They are scanning us now.”

  Destiny pushed the big button and the Sensor Male flinched, “The pilot says they have lost all sight of us; his scans show nothing.”

  “Excellent,” then he pushed the small button and said, “Order the attack craft back aboard and let’s go look for a planet with lower life forms that we can harvest.”

  “Does it have to be land animals?”

  “No, Sensor Male, sea life is acceptable.”

  “I know just the planet.”

  The huge green ship turned and moved out of the system, crossed the jump limit, and disappeared.”

  “Al, where did they go?”

  “They jumped into a system with a planet that has no intelligent life and is predominantly covered with water. It looks like they are going to have a sea food buffet.”

  Matt laughed and said, “I like that Eight Leg. He is so refreshingly open and honest.”

  “What do we do next?”

  “We go with Sprig to see about some chemicals.”

  Sprig nodded, “On our way.”

  The Second Reg turned to the third, “Did you see this happening?”

  “No, I did not. This is quite surprising.”

  The First Reg entered the chamber and said, “Twenty of the elders have started having sparks.”

  The Second and Third looked at the First. The First said, “It appears that even they can be surprised by events. I never anticipated anything good from those green creatures.”

  The Third looked at the First and said, “I can answer your question now.” The First continued to look at the Third, “They will have to handle it on their own. We cannot allow our gift to be used yet.”

  “This surprise makes that decision even clearer. Let’s see what happens.”

  Chapter 19

  The Supreme Male was nervous. He had reported to the Nest Mother and she was looking at his download. “So that Ship’s Male told you some of his ships were exploding?”

  “Yes, Nest Mother, and he said they were under attack and he would contact me as soon as he handled the situation. I have been unable to communicate with him since and his tracking device in not responding.”

  “Explain to me how that ship is still alive. I ordered that family’s Supreme Male to consume his family.”

  “It probably isn’t still alive; however, the Supreme Male did consume his family. I’m sure he thought you would not want to wait for him to go to that Galaxy to consume that last ship.”

  “When I say consume a family, I mean every ship.”

  “Yes, Nest Mother.”

  The Nest Mother was nervous. With the death of the Supreme Male that ship was no longer bound by the compulsions she had downloaded. Then she turned and said, “Did you tell that Ship’s Male that I had consumed his family?”

  “Yes, Nest Mother, he wanted to know why I was contacting him instead of his Supreme Male.”

  The Nest Mother felt her rage grow to the point of exploding but then she backed off. If she consumed this stupid male’s family then the harvest would have to be delayed again. She forced herself to calm down.

  The Supreme Male saw her rage and knew his time had come and his family was about to die. He was genuinely surprised when the Nest Mother did not order him consumed.

  “How much longer before the first ships launch?”

  “Three dgets.”

  “I will be kept informed; do you understand?”

  “Yes Nest Mother.”

  “Go, get out of my chamber.” The Supreme Male scurried out as quickly as he could run. “I hope that ship was destroyed,” she thought. “It is not good to have a ship without compulsions; they would be a free agent and that would not be something she wanted. She thought a moment and wondered how long it would take the ship’s crew to start returning to their natural state. “I’m worrying about nothing; they would have communicated if they were still alive.” She still felt nervous and couldn’t shake the feeling.

  “Destiny, do you have a moment to communicate?”

  “Yes, I do. With whom am I communicating?”

  “I am the one who agreed to provide you the screen. Do you have some time to take a trip away from your ship?”

  “How long will I be away?”

  “Probably less than one rotation of the planet you’re parked above at this moment.”

  “How do you mana
ge to keep such close track of my movements? I must say that you really keep close watch of our activities.”

  “Wouldn’t you in my place?”

  “Of course but I don’t think I could actually do it.”

  “I have some questions and I need your help. I would like to take you to a planet where we are developing ways to stop the coming harvest. Will you help me?”

  “What do you want me to do?”

  “Go to your ships surface again and wait there. Just send a thought when you’re ready.”

  “Give me a few moments to get there.

  “Standing by.”

  Destiny looked at his Sensor Male and said, “I’m going to be gone for a while. You are in command and I want you to make sure my children actually consume the entire meal. If they are eating a large fish, I want that fish completely eaten. There will be longer periods between meals. Make sure they have sated their hunger before you leave this planet.”

  “Yes, Ship’s Male. I will do as you order but I suspect we will still be here when you return.”

  “I agree. One more thing, Call me by the name the beings have given me from this moment forward. Your name will be Eyes.”

  The Sensor Male smiled. “I like that name, Ship’s, I mean, Destiny.”

  “Please tell my children that they may also start giving each other names of their own that they feel are appropriate.”

  “I think they will like that. I will protect the family in your absence.”

  Destiny handed Eyes the device that controlled the screen, “You know how to use this. Keep it until I return.”

  Eyes looked at Destiny and felt proud that he was trusted with such an important device. Tell me when you’re returning and I will turn it off.”

  “I will; I’ll return shortly.”

  Destiny put on his suit and worked his way to the surface and went out the external door. He looked out at the billions of stars in the galaxy he was in and thought that they were beautiful. The thought shocked him; he had never looked at stars that way before. Something was changing in him and he wasn’t sure what it was. He decided to think about that later. “I’m on the surface,” he thought. A silver field appeared above him and moved down toward him. He found himself standing on a planet that had a vast barren plain stretching in all directions. He felt sorrow for the lack of life. “My race killed everything on this planet more that twelve hundred of this planets revolutions around its star.”