SHU'KAN

by Martin Durst

  ‘We’ve already spoken to them,’ the Secretary added. ‘They’re concerned of course, but agree to allow you if you’re willing.’

  ‘-And you’re going?’ Matheus asked Tr’al.

  ‘Leader Bro’na has already spoken to my parents. It’s different with Shu’kan society. It’s considered a high honor for one’s family to be asked to serve the Supreme Leader or the Shu’kan people. Of course I’m going.’

  Matheus grabbed her other hand and pulled her a little closer. ‘-And what do you want me to do?’

  She looked away and after a moment replied, ‘you should decide on your own. –Not worry about what I want. It’s too important.’

  Matheus held her hands a bit longer; enjoying the soft leathery texture. Her hands were warm and felt small in his grasp. He lifted his eyes to admire her long silver-white hair. –Definitely a positive trait of Shu’kan females. He let her hands go and looked away. He wasn’t sure what to do or really what contribution he could make to the expedition. But one thing he knew for sure, he wanted to be with Tr’al. He hoped his parents understood. ‘Ok. I’m in.’ The look in Tr’al’s eyes was all the assurance he needed. ‘When do we leave?’

  ‘Not so fast, young man!’ The Secretary stepped forward with his aid again. Matheus now noticed that there were three more shiny pins left on the tray. ‘Before you hop the next Negrav to the moon, you need this.’ The Secretary nodded to his aides again.

  ‘Attention to orders, the following personnel are field commissioned to Ensign: Tr’al of the Shu’kan and Matheus Santos.’ The Secretary pinned an Ensign rank on both their collars, and then stepped back for his aides to continue. ‘The following is field commissioned to Lieutenant: Shi’la of the Shu’kan.’

  ‘Congratulations!’ Leader Bro’na said to Tr’al and Shi’la. ‘You’ve both made history as being the first Shu’kan to join Earth Fleet!’

  Shi’la had to take a moment to digest what had just happened. ‘Are you saying that we are now … Earth Fleet Officers?’

  ‘Exactly,’ the Secretary responded. ‘Now you’ll have to behave yourself!’ he grinned slyly waiting for her to get the punch line. When she continued to look confused, and then uttered something about how had she misbehaved, every human in the room laughed that much harder.

  ‘C’mon, Leader Bro’na,’ the Secretary said putting his arm around his shoulder between gasps, ‘I’ll explain it over lunch!’

  Matheus wondered what he was getting himself swept up into as he followed the party out of the Secretary’s office. And why amidst all the gaiety did he have a sinking feeling in his stomach? Was it an omen of things to come? He hoped he was wrong … very wrong.

  She was, for the moment, content. Almost a full cycle had passed since her last encounter with the species. Her brood was steadily growing if not as fast as she’d hoped. Her production centers now worked non-stop. She was able to synthesize a growth hormone that increased the species gestation period by nearly a hundred percent. Her brood was fed, if not always well. Still, it was better to keep a high population to meet her other needs. She needed ships, and before the ships, she’d needed an additional shipyard. A new ship was now being completed every few months. Everything seemed to be on schedule. What bothered her now were the strange thoughts. She’d felt them for the first time during her last encounter with the species. –Others not of her brood. This was concerning. It indicated the presence of another queen. –Or a queen that now knew of a new feeding ground. It was impossible to know if the other had felt her thoughts. She had to assume that she had. After all, she’d felt the thoughts of the alien brood. –And there was no limit in all of space that a queen could not feel her brood’s thoughts. She’d have to prepare. She could hope that the other female had no interest in traversing so far from traditional feeding grounds in pursuit of her scouts. But, she may be wrong. She, after all, took the risk.

  She reached out to all the minds of her brood. She now could see the entire planet she’d chosen. It pleased her. The resources were plentiful, and if utilized efficiently, would last her a millennia; well past her prime. She would have a strong brood for her chosen child. –A female worthy of her brood.

  Her mind drifted to one of her scout ships exploring a small continent at the northern hemisphere of the planet. She directed the member of her brood that happened to be controlling the craft to turn towards something that caught her eye. Exploring this way seemed like flying to her. Since she was in fact one in the same with the minds of her brood, and they physically part of the ship through neural interface, she was in essence the ship.

  She turned her ship hard to the left diving low to the surface instinctually. She’d felt them again, if ever so slightly. –Those not of her brood. She fought the nausea she felt from her brood pilot. Normally, the inertial dampeners would more than compensate for such maneuvers, but she’d reacted strongly to the sensation. The sickness passed quickly as she hovered mere feet from the surface of the planet. Yes … there it was again. If she could feel them, then she had to assume that the queen of this brood could feel her. She pushed hard into their minds. The queen had followed her here through the expanse. She could see through the alien brood’s minds the images of her past. Once she’d left to harvest from the species, the queen settled her brood here. She was weaker than her. –Her brood smaller. –Which explained why her brood was unharmed when she’d returned. But, she was much younger and therefore could build her brood much faster. Already she could sense how fast she’d grown while she was away. The alien queen had no infrastructure to speak of. –A small breeding comb only. –But how she could breed!

  ‘Why are you here in the domain I’ve selected for my brood?’ she asked. She could feel the hesitation from the young queen. She was unsure of how to respond. She was attempting to block some images in her mind.

  ‘I’ve come as you have come: Seeking new and fresh feeding grounds. You have found such a place here.’

  ‘Why are you attempting to hide your mind? You have information that you do not want me to know.’ The young queen could not prevent her from seeing the truth any longer. She probed into her mind and finally saw the answer to her question. They were coming. –Millions of them. Her corner of this galaxy was no longer safe. She would have to either cooperate or perish. It was the only way. ‘You are the first of many. The feeding grounds you have had are exhausted, and now they come here to the edge of the galaxy. This is unfortunate.’ She paused momentarily then made her decision. ‘We will co-exist. As other Queens come, we will allow some of them to join us. All others will be turned away. There are other star systems available for them to colonize, as we have done for millennia’s.’

  She turned her scout ship south and sent it back to her colony. She would allow the Queen to breed. Only one of two things ever happened when queens disputed over territory: either co-existence or war. –And she didn’t come all this way to lose territory for her brood. Together, the new Queens and she could defend her feeding ground from the coming onslaught. There were always the few who came before. From these, she’d select a few more allies.

  Brian Fisher was a man used to getting what he wanted. Twice his plans to develop the weapon that would bring big profits while defeating the Hiver’s had been derailed. And to add to his frustration, he no longer had specimens for testing. He’d never had trouble seizing opportunity, but one thing he couldn’t tolerate was allowing opportunity to be taken away.

  He walked to his mirror. –Still looked the same. For the past three weeks, he’d itched unbearably. But even that was nothing compared to the pain he’d endured. The procedure had lasted only a few hours, but the healing … God, the healing! The itching was unbearable! Still, at least he could finally sleep again.

  ‘You’re looking better.’

  Fisher turned to see the only person he’d ever trusted. It wasn’t that he had trouble finding friends, in his line of business, he couldn’t afford any. ‘Carolina, I was beginning to wonder if you w
ere coming back. –Don’t stare,’ he said coldly, ‘I can’t bear it.’

  ‘You’ll heal,’ she replied indifferently. ‘I often question you sanity. Is this really necessary?’

  ‘I’ll worry about what is necessary!’ he almost yelled. ‘These people cost me millions! I’ll have my revenge no matter the cost! –And when I’m done, they’ll regret ever interfering in my affairs!’

  Carolina shrugged and went to investigate the wet bar. Fisher always kept a generous stash available. She poured herself two fingers of sherry and sipped while she admired the room. The décor was impeccable as usual. Always the best for him, she thought amusedly.

  ‘What’s so stinking funny?’ he asked.

  ‘Nothing. –Just thinking.’

  He let it go and went back to picking some loose skin.

  ‘The doctor said that you shouldn’t do that.’

  ‘Shut up,’ he growled. ‘You’re not the one itching unbearably. Do you have my credentials?’

  She nudged her chip to upload to his, then handed him an identicard.

  He reached reflexively then gritted his teeth as waves of pain rippled through his shoulder. The wound was minor and the arrow had been removed easily, but the tissue would need time to heal.

  ‘This is a perfect forgery. As far as anyone will know in Earth Fleet, you’re now lieutenant Joseph Stanford. The photo has been enhanced to represent you, or at least the soon-to-be you, exactly. No one will know the difference. The files I sent your chip are you personnel records that are stored at Earth Fleet. –Don’t ask what that cost you. –Sure you want to go through with this? It’s not too late to reverse the procedure.’

  ‘I’m sure. The sacrifice will only make my revenge that must sweeter. One way or another, Lieutenant Stone and that Shu’kan witch will pay.’

  ‘Commander Stone.’

  ‘What?’

  Commander Stone. He just got promoted,’ she said rolling her eyes. ‘Isn’t that wonderful? –Don’t forget the Brazilian boy. Kill him the first chance you get.’

  ‘Oh, don’t worry. He’s next on the list.’ He wouldn’t admit to Carolina, but he was still embarrassed that he was bested by the young man. He’d underestimated him. He wouldn’t make the same mistake twice.

  He reviewed the files in his chip while finishing the salve treatment on his face. Just a few more days, he thought, and you won’t even be able to see any surgical changes. As far as anyone will be able to tell, I’m just lieutenant Stanford. –Communications officer! There would be no issue performing his required duties. He was competent in the field and had even degreed in the study while a college student. ‘I’ll be leaving with the Fleet soon. You’ll be acting CEO of all my Company Boards while I’m gone. Don’t disappoint me.’

  Carolina looked at the man who’d been her employer for over a decade. He was wealthy beyond imagination, and yet he was risking his life. For what? Even Ahab was destroyed by the great white whale because he was consumed with revenge. Fisher was doing the same thing. She briefly thought about trying to convince him again, but decided it was futile. ‘Everything will be in order when you return. Just try not to get yourself killed. Space can be dangerous. And on top of that, you’re traveling to another star system for the first time in human history. Well, at least that’s something.’

  Yes, I suppose it is,’ he replied smoothing his uniform while admiring himself in the mirror. ‘I may get some additional enjoyment from this after all.’

  Admiral Benjamin Cook stood on the catwalk overlooking the banquet hall of the newly restored Earth Fleet Moon Base. It’d been re-commissioned just in time for a farewell ceremony. Several dignitaries to include Defense Secretary Sadim mingled with the hundreds of personnel that’d been picked for this historical moment. The banquet hall was only a small portion of the newly renovated base. It was feared that the Hiver’s were going to destroy it again during the last engagement, but the Shu’kan’s last minute intervention saved over a year’s work. As a result, the location was naturally chosen for the farewell ceremony. His speech was to be broadcast across the entire Teranet.

  The base was also a design of functionality. Ten hangar bays, or caverns to be honest, had been carved from the stone to accommodate full atmosphere maintenance on ships as large as the Carthaginian. The very engineering was awe-inspiring. Even now the five ships scheduled to depart in the morning sat docked; each in its own hangar. These ships, as he was about to reveal, had the latest improvements in Shu’kan-Human technology. For the first time in years, he felt humans could stand on even footing with Hiver technology. –And these were just the beginning. Three other shipyards would be operational within the week. Each yard will have the capacity to produce ten ships a month. Earth Fleet was being rebuilt. Next time, if there was a next time, Earth would be ready!

  ‘Sir, we’re ready to begin when you are.’

  Admiral Cook turned to acknowledge the adjutant that had broken his thoughts. ‘Very well, Ensign. Let the Master of Ceremonies know we can begin.’

  He turned again to the pool of personnel below him. Earth Fleet personnel mingled amongst each other whispering excitedly about their upcoming mission. He could feel their apprehension. They have a right to be a little nervous, he thought. Humans have never ventured beyond our own solar system. Now we are about to jump to a completely different star system.

  ‘Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, we are ready to begin the evening meal. Please find you table.’ The Master of Ceremonies, who was really just an unlucky Captain that got volunteered for the duty, waited for everyone to take their seat. Several male officers assisted their evening dates by pulling out their chairs. This seemed to irritate the Master of Ceremony, but he waited patiently till everyone finally was seated. ‘Everyone, enjoy the evening! Our meals have been ordered and are being prepared; but in the meantime, I give you our Fleet Commander, Admiral Benjamin Cook!’ The room erupted into applause as the Master of Ceremony swept his arm up to the catwalk. Admiral Cook waited for the roar to die down as he leaned onto the rail with both hands.

  ‘My fellow defenders and officers of Earth Fleet, I’m proud to be chosen to be you leader during this dark hour. But the future is looking brighter! Together, as many of you in this room have already done, we’ll meet the enemy on the field of battle. In less than forty-eight hours, we leave for the Alpha Centauri System. We’d leave sooner, but many of you wouldn’t make it out of the rack on time in the morning!’ He waited for the laughter to die down, and then continued. ‘First, I’d like to mention some of our new officers, and then I’ll close with some impressive improvements to the ships all of you will be assigned to.’ He took an offered glass of wine from the waiter. ‘If you’ll notice to the rear of the room to my left we have a table of newly assigned crew members. From left to right we have Commanders Michael Stone and Kyle McConnel, Ensign Matheus Santos, and our first Shu’kan officers, Lieutenant Shi’la and Ensign Tr’al. Let’s give them a hardy welcome!’

  The room erupted into loud applause as the table of newcomers grinned.

  ‘It appears I have embarrassed the young Ensign Tr’al,’ the Admiral quipped.

  Everyone laughed as Tr’al tried not to blush even harder.

  Matheus was amazed. He didn’t even know Shu’kan could blush; as dark as their skin was!

  ‘Commanders McConnel and Stone will command the Stargazer and the Destiny, respectively. I’ve yet to make my final selections for the Shadrach and the Terra Firma, but will make my final decision by close of business tomorrow.’

  The room murmured in speculation as the Admiral waited. His mood seemed to grow more somber as the seconds passed.

  ‘We’ve made some impressive improvements to the capabilities of our ships. The first, and most significant improvement, is FTL capability. I’d like to thank Leader Bro’na and the Shu’kan for sharing their technology with us. We can now battle on equal footing with the Hiver’s.’

  All eyes looked to Leader Bro’na
as he stood and bowed slightly as a show of respect.

  ‘The second is advances we’ve made in our shielding.’ The Admiral paused for a moment to let the suspense build. ‘We can now manipulate the Negrav drives to generate a protective field or screen around each ship. Because of the unique properties of negative gravity, the field is quite powerful. We’ve tested them at full strength and they easily deflected our strongest missiles. The most impressive part is that Negrav Shields can absorb massive amounts of energy. There is definitely a finite limit, but the improvement still far exceeds the hull plating we’ve utilized in the past.’ He paused one final time before adding one final point. He needed to be everyone was paying attention. ‘The Hivers are socially organized similar to Bee colony. We’ve deduced that there must be some sort of Queen, or at least an Alpha member, that controls the others. On Mars, we discovered that one of their ships that crashed into the dome of the colony was controlled by a single Hiver that was wired into the ships systems. It was the nervous system of the entire ship. However, it was no different than the other mindless creatures we’ve encountered before. Intelligence experts have been able to deduce that this creature was being controlled. In short, we fight a powerful enemy that has the ability to communicate through telepathy. This discovery also explains the high degree of technology in spite of the primitive state of the so-far-encountered Hivers.’

  The servers began to deliver plates to all the tables as the Admiral finished.

  ‘And since the food is here,’ he chided, ‘I’ll wrap up. We’ve also successfully fielded high energy laser weapons and made significant improvements in our missile technology.’ He waited for the gasps to stop. ‘That’s right. You heard correctly. Everyone in here knows that lasers are old tech, and that the primary problem in using a laser is its inability to follow a target in motion. But we’ve now developed a mobile targeting system that works much like a rotating turret that locks on a target and follows it even while our ships are moving. It has a full three-sixty degree capability and can almost match that in a vertical motion. The point being, we can now use them against the Hiver radiation shielding. We’ve also adapted the Negrav screens to our missiles. Each warhead now contains a miniature Negrav generator that shields the missile allowing it to penetrate their radiation shields.’