Onyx Javelin

by Steve Wheeler

  Af ter a few minutes he saw that he had just killed the momentum he had had when heading away from the asteroid imparted by the Skua. So he fired again, waiting until his speed was a manageable fifty kilometres per hour and allowed himself to rest, looking out into the starfields. He shuddered in anguish seeing round shapes occluding the stars as the shapes headed towards where the wreck of the Skua had been.

  He held the slate up towards the shapes and visually zoomed in on them. He could see they were the predators and relaxed a tiny amount. He could also see that his momentum was going to take him very close to them and a few moments later, his spectral crew comms came alive with Flint's voice.

  'Father! You are alive! We are all so pleased to see you!'

  Speaking using his thoughts and interfacing with his own internal bioware then into the crew comms, Marko immediately said, 'Bloody hell! Where are you? You must be close?'

  'We are riding one of the predator spheres, Marko. We knew that you were out here, so we hijacked one.'

  'You what! How do you hijack a predator?'

  The three mechanical ACE spiders laughed as one, something that Marko found disconcerting, but very amusing, finding himself smiling for the first time in this very long day. 'We can thank a number of things, Marko,' Ngoc said. 'Your design of us, Jim's constant time with Fritz and his delight in finding esoteric knowledge, and also that Spike got into a fight with a baby predator who probably just wanted him as a toy! It grabbed him when he was trying to prise a parasite off the predator's carapace. So, Spike being Spike, he grabbed it by its tentacles and we learned that by pulling them left or right and

  up or down, the creature would respond.'

  Marko allowed some oxygen into his lungs so he could laugh out loud. 'Yeah, that would be right. So why ride one out here?'

  Spike, whose voice, even though completely electronic, came across as a full octave higher than the other two much larger spiders, answered. "Cause we knew you were out here and we knew that the predators were going out after every damaged Urchin and that the ones you fought would be wounded. So it was just a case of watching and seeing which ones came out here, then ensuring this one came out here. Not sure if it is all that happy, because it is from the nursery, but it's a good creature and every sphere that goes past us gives it some large fragments of Urchin to eat, so we think it may be content to be out here.'

  Jim, who rarely spoke, added, 'And, Marko, I have recorded everything and as we approach I am recording you as well. Why do you hold a fifty-millimetre rotary cannon like that while standing inside an inflated life raft?'

  Marko grinned happily. 'As soon as you are here, Jim, I shall copy you everything that I have recorded on my system. It is quite a tale!'

  His slate indicated to him where the ACEs were, as they clung to the front of a twenty-metre-diameter ball of linked predators. The screen, when he magnified it further, showed them spaced apart, pulling on tentacles and steering the creature in an arc. Af ter a quick calculation, he saw that the ball would come up behind him and that its speed was higher than his, so he fired the cannon again in quick bursts until he could see that they were matched.

  Ten minutes later the sphere, with its dozens of interlocked predators all tied together at their outer extremities by their tentacles, bumped into him as he landed in the middle of the three ACEs and the ex-Games Board monitor.

  'Welcome aboard, Father!' Spike said. 'Hope you enjoy the ride.'

  Marko sent his thanks and, for the first time in many hours, relaxed, as he took in all that was around him. He slowly sat up and looked down at the predator's outer shell he was sitting on, magnif ying the surface again and again until he was seeing the shell-like material at a microscopic level. Seeing the structure and what appeared to be very thin layers of silica insulation, he asked, 'Have we any samples of these creatures?'

  Flint answered. 'Always the biologist, eh, Father, no matter what the situation, no matter how bad or mad things are, no matter the insanity of riding a colony of giant insects that feast on Urchins out amongst the stars. You are more interested in how they are put together! We love you. And yes, we have plenty of samples already gathered by Stephine and Veg from ones killed during their battles with Urchins. We also took samples of everything inside the cavern that we could get to. But now, Marko, get ready to hop off this ride as Basaltis close.' Spike let go of the tentacles he was holding as the other two ACEs did the same.

  'Marko, move slowly with purpose,' Ngoc instructed. 'These animals are aware of us and we are not a threat to them, but whatever you do, do not step on the tentacles. Flint did and that one predator spun around and seized him. It looked him over very methodically then let him go because they could not find any flesh on him. But the same cannot be said for you.'

  Marko grimaced and carefully moved his hand away from the tentacle he had been about to grasp. They all slowly moved around the side of the predator sphere with Marko following, still towing the life raf t, ammunition and rotary gun, until one by one they gently pushed off.

  The three ACEs pulled themselves onto Jim's outer housing and gestured to Marko to join them.

  'Shall I fire the weapon and give us some separation from the predator?' Marko asked.

  Flint shook his head. 'Not necessary. It will move away soon enough.'

  Minutes later, the huge ball slowly accelerated, with puffs of ice particles streaming from one part it, as the predator headed back to towards the distant asteroid.

  Ngoc tapped Marko on the arm and pointed behind him to where Basaltwas, and below them the slow-moving Blackjack.

  The sentient smaller ship slid underneath them, part of its upper hull irising open while they floated down, inside the ship. Marko allowed himself to start breathing again and found himself voraciously hungry.

  Ayana

  Haulers Territory on Storfisk

  'Shall I tear that one to pieces, Ayana?'

  Ayana looked at the towering form of the muscular baboon. 'How do you know where the alien is, Fenyang? We cannot see or sense it at all.'

  The ACE harrumphed softly. 'I can smell the crushed insects under its claws and feet. Obviously, it has not thought through all its camouflage systems. It is a good thing that I am an entomologist, is it not? I can smell the combined scent of at least ten different insect alarm odours on it. It is very obvious to me.'

  They were high above one part of the pool- and swamp dotted savannah, in a rocky outcrop, watching the area where Fenyang had directed Ayana hours before.

  'No, Fenyang. Angelito has expressly forbidden us to interfere with the alien. We are to watch and take notes.'

  The baboon ACE shook his head and scowled, which Ayana thought baboons did very well as a rule.

  'There is something wrong with that Angelito. You know that he is an avid follower of that ex-lover of yours? That giant canary who has self-styled herself as the great sage and fount of all knowledge across the Sphere. She is an arse. She has an agenda, that one.'

  Ayana had a brittle edge to her voice as she said, 'Really! Well, I still have feelings for Jet. Yes, she left me, but I still care for her. I would ask that you keep your opinions to yourself, Fenyang.'

  He bent his head, lowering it until he was looking straight into her eyes. He raised one of his eyebrows in a very human gesture and sighed. 'Yeah, and she hurt you, and for that alone I would wish on her much pain, physical and mental. And she is an arse and in cohorts with the Games Board, the shady sides of the Administration and who knows who else. But if this pains you, Ayana, I shall not speak of it again.'

  He looked back out over the plains. 'Is your sensory suite available for an upgrade? I think that you should be able to smell what I can smell.'

  Ayana sat up to look at Fenyang and cocked her head to the side. 'Fenyang. How many metres away is the alien from you?'

  Without hesitating, he answered, 'Three thousand, two hundred and twenty-nine. And I am sure that you don't need the millimetres, do you?'

 
'And you can smell the crushed insects on its feet downwind from here? That is spectacular!'

  He frowned again, looking at her. 'You have very shiny, whitish teeth. Is it necessary to show them all to me? I asked you about space for an upgrade, Ayana. I ask this as you obviously cannot see the slow-release insect alarm volatiles that surround that creature. Those individual scents that were created -and still cling to its feet -when those insects were crushed.'

  Ayana suddenly felt chastened and a little bit mean for although he was abrupt, rather free with his views and sometimes a bit of a know-it-all, Fenyang was still a very good, loyal friend.

  'I am sorry, Fenyang. I just want to destroy that alien and all the others like it as I know that they are up to no good. I am feeling frustrated. Yes, of course, I would really like to have that upgrade. 'It is generous of you. There is more than enough space in my core.'

  He nodded solemnly and extended one of his hands with the datalink opening at the end of one of his long fingers. She did the same with her paw, accepting the link and watching the download streaming into her outer core over the next few minutes. When it had finished, Fenyang withd rew the link and waited quietly, watching the alien walk up to another bluebuck antelope in the far distance, its ghostly outline obvious to him.

  Her shielded outer core checked the software, then minutes later allowed it to slip down into her conscious mind. As she looked through the data and the systems, she made the changes to her brain, allowing the far greater volume of information to be accepted through her eyes with a cross referencing through her nose sensors as well. Fif teen minutes later she looked at Fenyang and the vegetation around her and the information flowed, giving her much more than she had ever seen before. She also noticed that her hearing could be tuned and focused down to the tiniest insect beneath her paws.

  'I see you, Fenyang. Where did this software come from? 'It is so fresh and invigorating, like nothing I have ever experienced.'

  The baboon ACE graced her with a quick smile. 'The great eagle Haast gave it to me when he was in this area a week or so ago. No, you would not have seen him, even if he had been right above you. His camouflage systems are quite remarkable. Between you and I, Ayana, I wonder if he knew about the alien before we did. Itseems a little too much of a coincidence that he should have this tech available here and now when we need it to deal with such a complex creature as that one down there.'

  'Can I share this tech with Sven? He should be here in a few hours. And what do you think we should do about that thing down there?'

  Fenyang's chuckle had a dark edge to it. 'Watch, observe, take notes for that idiot above us and send for the terrible twins. They could be here within a day. We set it up so that they just happen upon the alien and let's see what comes out of the exchange.'

  She grinned. 'Ghost and Spirit! Now there is an idea. Fanatical martial artists that they are, I bet they would be itching to go up against that thing. Good. I shall pass the message out through our own network. No need for Angelito to know about this.'

  Fenyang gave her a feral full-toothed yawning smile, watching her send out the invitation via the planetwide ACE network, then said, 'Yeah, will be interesting. Reviewing the images of what it did with your drones, I don't think that it is here to play sport. Your new software bedded-in and operative?' She nodded, and Fenyang continued: 'Right, let's put it to the test. Connect with me again and I shall give you a crash course in insect alarm and dispersal chemicals. Actually, that gives me an idea. I wonder how I could go about dropping an attractant pheromone on the alien? Then get the native wasps

  to land on it and have a go at chewing its head?'

  Ayana emphatically shook her head. 'No. Most definitely no. Let's not do that yet. I suspect that that creature is very smart. No need to allow it the opportunity of learning that it is being targeted.'

  'You are probably right. But I shall think on a suitable delivery method for later use. OK, move over here and link and let us see what you can do.'

  Ayana moved close to him and with glacial slowness raised her head so she could see the entire bluebuck antelope herd. Slowly panning from left to right she gradually increased the intensity of the software as it 'saw' the various scents around the creatures and assigned colours and intensities to them as she looked. As the additional recognition software flowed from Fenyang to her, she started to distinguish the insect smells mixed in with the animal scents and the vegetation around them. By tuning the software further, she slowly detected the individual animal smells as a specific identity for that individual. Then she became aware of a hole in the visual data and came to recognise it as the alien.

  She nudged her friend. 'Oh, I so like this! I can see it so clearly. How would the imagery be affected by mist or rain?'

  'Yeah, drops off depending upon the intensity of moisture. We would need to pick our times and conditions. Observe. See how it approaches the antelope. 'Ittouches it with something long from its head, then withdraws. Moves to another animal and does it again. Oh! Look at the pheromones it is giving off: they are the same as the baseline ones of the bluebucks. Same use of that tech we use when we want to move amongst them. The bluebucks show no fright as they smell one of their own. Smart!'

  'I have a bad feeling about this, Fenyang. 'It is moving throughout the whole herd one by one. I desperately want to know what it is doing. This is going to take time.'

  'I have some of the maestro Fritz Vinken's latest music. How about we listen while we watch?'

  Ayana readily agreed, and in spite of what was happening was enjoying the intrigue and the company of Fenyang.

  The day dragged on and the two ACEs listened to music as their fur soaked up the warm sunlight, turning it into sugars which each stored about their body, readying them for the cool night.

  Sven announced his presence by transmitting a laser message onto the back of Fenyang's head when he was still a kilometre away. Ten minutes later, the black panther silently slunk up and greeted his two old friends. They filled him in on what was happening as Fenyang transferred the smell recognition software to him. By sunset, he was up to speed and asked what they should do.

  Fenyang shook his head and looked at the herd, which had moved further away from them. 'Nothing. We wait, watch and learn of what we are dealing with here. Now this is interesting. Look at the antelopes the alien touched first. Their pheromones have started to change a little. They now smell different. Look. look. it is sequential. They are probably all in a state of change. I believe that that creature has altered their body chemistry a little. Ha! 'Itis as I thought. 'Itis a vampire. See, it is feeding on them.'

  They watched the alien move up against a number of the antelopes that it had first touched. As soon as it approached, they stood still for a few moments while it bent its head down against their necks. As soon as it moved off, they went back to chewing their cuds.

  'I can see the cuts under visual amplification,' Ayana remarked. 'They are long cuts, but they seal very quickly. So, it is a blood feeder. The question is, did it arrive here able to drink the blood of the bovines, or did it gain that ability while here? Remember, it took a sample from the bison this morning, but did not drink the bull's blood. My conjecture is that it altered its own body chemistry after it took that sample and is now able to feed. But why the altering of the antelopes' body chemistry?'

  Sven answered. 'To make them more docile, maybe?'

  'No,' Fenyang said, 'there is more to it than that, I fear. 'It would not be necessary as it was able to get close very quickly. Why waste the energy? This alien appears to be intelligent and economic with its actions. I think the next few hours will tell us of its intentions.'

  Ayana turned to Sven. 'Could you please go back to the buffalo herd and see if the bull's body chemistry has been changed? The beetle I left with it should have the information, but I do not want to lose another dragonfly the same way as the others by sending another to query it.'

  Sven laughed softly. 'But you would happil
y risk me instead!' he said as he slipped away. 'Your thoughtfulness knows no bounds!'

  Ayana smiled and turned back to watch the alien. 'Ithad come back to the first one it had fed upon. The antelope went rigid as the alien stood by one of its rear legs for a few moments. She could see a big lump appear under the skin of the upper leg and that what looked like large sutures were holding closed a long cut.

  Over the next few hours the alien went from animal to animal, doing the same thing.

  Ayana felt a deep alarm, looked up into the clear intense starry sky, located where the Hauler orbital Angelito was and opened a laser channel.

  'Angelito, I am sending you everything that we are seeing on the blue antelopes as something seems to be placing material under the skin of the right-side rear legs. It is the same with every one. We cannot see what is doing this but must believe that it is the alien that disappeared from sight earlier.'

  After a few long moments Angelito answered. 'There is no need for concern, Ayana. I am seeing and recording developments. You can stay there, out in the cold, huddled together with the baboon if you wish, but I would suggest that this is a natural thing that is happening. Maybe you three should disperse and go back to your assigned areas, but because you are ACEs I do not expect you have the same sense as myself, who is one of the Haulers' Collective. Do not under any circumstances engage with that, or any of the other aliens. Goodnight to you all.'

  The connection was severed abruptly. Ayana looked at Fenyang and Sven who had just rejoined her. She uncoupled her eyes so that she could see Fenyang's and Sven's at the same time and initiated a laser conversation through her eyes with both of them.

  'Has that bloody jerk lost the plot? I mean he has always been a pompous prick, but this is wild! He seems to be ignoring the standard protocols. That thing down there is placing something into dozens of bluebucks and that bloody AI is doing nothing about it! And early this morning he was warning us that those things were a real threat and he was dealing with it per guidelines, which is why I did not tell him that we can see the alien.'