by Saxon Andrew
“They can dig faster than you can imagine. They’ll be twenty feet down in less than two seconds.”
Cliff sat down and shook his head, “Do you have any idea how many of them there are on this planet?”
Rumel shrugged, “Billions; the ones we killed today will be replaced by the Queen in less than two weeks. We’re trying to keep pressure on them to get ahead of their reproduction cycle.”
“Why don’t you just destroy the planet?”
“The people who once lived here have asked us to try and save it. A planet that can sustain life is rare; it’s worth the effort. However, if one starship launches from it all bets are off and we will use one of the Alliance’s Q ships to destroy it.”
“Why?”
“Those ships will be carrying a Queen to go and infect another world. We can’t allow that to happen.”
Cliff looked at Rumel, “You’re not telling me something.”
Rumel looked at Cliff with a concerned expression, “The Weg that jumped at you was moving faster than your jump boots could lift you. It appears they are developing a new species of warrior that can jump to incredible heights.”
“Won’t our force fields protect us?”
“No, they will not. You saw those glowing claws on one of the arms?” Cliff nodded. “That was their first genetic evolution. The green glow on them allows them to penetrate our personal force fields and sink their claws into us. These creatures can evolve at an incredible speed and you are joining us at a critical time. We hope you can bring some tools to this party that will help us win. Before your scientists gave us stronger force fields they attacked using blasters. Once we deployed the new force fields, they discovered their blasters would no longer affect us and they developed the energy tabs on their hands. Our Warriors are safer than they were against them but…”
“But what?”
“I’m sure they’re working on a new blaster that will be effective against our new force fields. One probably won’t work but if a mass charge is firing at us, the combined power could break through. We’re depending on your scientists to create weapons that will be a difference maker against them.”
“And if we don’t?”
Rumel shrugged, “Then this is a war we will lose and, now that they’ve seen you, they will start looking for your worlds.”
Cliff stared at the giant Gracken and shook his head, “Perhaps we should have stayed out of this?”
“You’d only be delaying the inevitable. This species is like a cancer and, if left alone, no civilization in existence is safe.” Rumel saw Cliff’s expression and patted him on the back, “Hey, don’t let it get you down; you have to admit it was fun down there.”
Cliff looked down at the millions of blasted and burned Weg and didn’t see anything fun in what happened. He saw the ten blasted and charred areas on the sand where Gracken Warriors had been grabbed by the Weg and pulled back down to the surface. Their armor automatically self-destructed in giant blasts when the armor’s life sensors indicated the warrior had died and no other warriors were close by. He looked at Rumel and saw him smiling, “Are you ready to do it again?”
Chapter Four
Commandant Alexander Dunlov watched the recording with Sparta’s military leaders and remained silent while it played on the giant monitor in Sparta’s Central Control Facility. It finally ended and everyone heard the last conversation Cliff had with the Gracken Division Leader. Alex looked at Cliff, “Tell me what you sense?”
Clifford Santiago slowly shook his head and said, “I wasn’t ready to buy the fast evolution explanation Rumel gave…but…do you mind if I rewind the recording?”
Alex nodded, “Go right ahead.”
Cliff rewound the recording to where he had fired his jump boots. The view moved to below him and all of those in attendance saw the Weg moving at high speed toward him from the ground. Cliff froze the video and said, “I want everyone to look at the legs on this particular Weg.”
Cliff brought the view in closer and Alex saw the rear two of its four walking legs were four times larger than the front two. “What are you trying to get us to see, Colonel?”
Cliff turned to Alex, “I’ve looked at every video we’re received of Gracken and Weg combat and that particular Weg warrior is not in any of them.”
Alex stared at Cliff, “Go on.”
“Rumel told me that before the Alliance gave them jump boots to escape, they would implant sensors in the ground and board their carriers when they detected the approaching Weg that were coming underground.”
Alex thought for a moment and said, “The Alliance gave them the jump boots less than three months ago.”
“Yes Sir. It’s clear to me that those larger legs would serve no purpose if the Gracken were gone before the Weg diggers could get close to them. They only make sense after the Gracken started jumping away at the last moment.”
Sparta’s youngest Division Commander, Brigadier General Josh Adams looked at Cliff, “Are you telling me that the Weg developed an entirely new type of warrior in three months?”
“No Sir, they probably did it in less than thirty days. Keep in mind that they would have to see this new escape tactic more than once and determine that they couldn’t do anything about it before this new species of digger was developed.” The room was silent and Cliff said, “I looked back at the early conflicts between the Gracken and Weg and the Gracken pretty much wiped the landscape with them. Their personal force fields kept the Weg off them and they just mopped the floor with them. The Weg developed hand blasters in huge numbers and the tide turned in the Weg’s favor. Once we began sending new force fields, heavy shoulder blasters, and sliver guns to the Gracken, the Weg were once again at a decided disadvantage.”
Cliff looked at the people gathered around the table, “It took the Weg less than a year to develop a warrior with energized claws that could puncture their new force fields. There were eight different types of Weg warriors tried before they found the one that worked.”
Alex looked at the new jumping Weg and turned back to Cliff, “What does the Gracken High Command say about this conflict?”
Cliff tilted his head, “This is a war between two different technologies. The Gracken use advanced technology to fight the Weg. The Weg use advanced biotechnology to fight their enemies. The Weg are incredibly adept at making radical changes in their evolution to adapt to their enemies. This leaping digger is an example of what they can cook up in a very short time.”
Pricilla said, “Did anyone notice that this Jumper has different arms than the others?”
Everyone looked at her and Cliff backed the close up out slightly and saw the Weg jumper had its arms tucked in to its sides. He rotated the image and saw that both arms had the distinctive green glowing claws. He shook his head, “It has claws on both arms to grab its enemy.”
Prissy nodded, “It also has a thicker hide to withstand the jets from the boots. I suspect that the future warriors they develop will dispose of that huge pincer and have the two arms with claws. If what the Gracken say is true, it’s easier to hold a blaster with the clawed hand than the pincer.”
Alex looked at Pricilla and shook his head; she didn’t miss much. The young couple never ceased to amaze him. Josh’s parents had refused to allow them to marry until they were at least eighteen years old. Even then, Adams kept them so busy in assisting the transformation of Earth that the wedding didn’t happen until they were twenty-one. Prissy was now expecting their first child and was reluctantly accepting that she would not be going with her husband into combat. She held the rank of Colonel and was head of Fleet intelligence. Her insights were a big asset to putting together Sparta’s war plans. Sending Clifford to actually take part in a Gracken attack was her idea and it paid off.
Josh started frowning, “The only way to eradicate these creatures is to go underground after them.”
Cliff looked at Josh with shock on his face, “Did you see what was underground?”
“I did, but you won
’t make any progress cutting into their reproduction cycle on the surface. You have to go after the Queen and remove her. The only way to do that is attacking them underground.” Josh stared at the Jumper on the monitor and said, “It will probably require making our own routes underground.”
Everyone at the table looked back at the image of the Jumper and saw the millions of Weg below it squirming in the dirt that caved in. Cliff shook his head, “You’re right. I just can’t get my mind wrapped around meeting THAT underground.”
Prissy said in a deadpan voice, “That is not even a minuscule image of what’s underground.” Josh looked at her and she stared him down.
• • •
Adams and Jeanette sat at the two end seats on one leg of the U shaped table and saw the interaction between their son and daughter-in-law. They looked at each other and Adams closed his eyes and whispered, “I think it’s time for me to retire.” Jeanette nodded. Adams did a double take, “You agree?”
“We can use the two weeks off.”
Adams eyebrows went up, “What do you mean two weeks?”
“You’d be stir crazy by then and demand to go back.” Jeanette stared at him and whispered, “Do you really see it happening any differently?”
Adams snorted, “Get real; it would take at least four weeks.” Jeanette quietly chuckled as they turned back to the meeting. He stared at his son and his daughter-in-law sitting at the table of Sparta’s Leaders and didn’t like the fear in his gut. His son was difficult to restrain; he was brave to a fault. He saw Prissy knew it as well.
Alex looked at Bowen, “Do you have a scan of the continent?”
Bowen nodded and pressed a button on his terminal. Everyone in the room took a quick breath. Alex shook his head, “Is that what I think they are?”
Bowen nodded, “We launched seismic probes all over the infected continent to get a handle on what’s going on underground. The probes were developed by Alliance scientists and they’re better than any we’ve used in the past. The lines you see are major passageways cut under the surface. There are thousands more for each major pathway you see here that are too small to show up on this large a map. The really big one you see extending halfway out into the ocean is currently being dug to reach the other continent.”
The map showed the entire continent was crisscrossed with hundreds of thousands of lines. Alex stared at it and said without looking away, “Have the Gracken seen this?”
Bowen nodded, “I gave it to them immediately after the battle Cliff observed.”
“And?”
“They are of the opinion that saving this planet with our current technology is a lost cause. They had no idea it had been infested to this level.” Alex shook his head and Bowen continued, “The two large dark places on the map is where they are building starships, Sir. The Gracken say that the size indicates they are getting close to launching them.”
Alex blew out a breath and looked at Adams, “Will you notify the Gracken Fleet that we are going to blast that planet tomorrow and that they should be prepared to move their ships to a safe distance.”
Cliff shook his head, “Sir, I wouldn’t wait.”
“What?”
“I was told that once they start launching their ships, they’ll simultaneously send thousands to the surface to jump away as soon as they clear the atmosphere. It takes hundreds of blaster hits to destroy one of them.”
Alex looked at Adams, “Get this done now!”
Adams nodded as he and Jeanette stood up and ran out of the room. Jeanette said, “We’ll retire next week.”
Adams nodded, “We can only pray.”
• • •
Rumel watched his monitor as three Alliance Q ships came flashing into orbit above the planet he had been fighting to save for six months. He knew it had to be done after seeing the seismic map but his anger threatened to take him. So many warriors had given their lives in the campaign and now he saw it was all wasted effort. Fleet Control notified him to prepare to jump away from the planet and he knew the world only had a short time to live. The Gracken Fleet jumped two hundred thousand miles from the planet as the Q ships moved in as he waited, staring at his wall monitor to see what was going to happen. The Gracken Fleet went to war stations and activated their blasters. Rumel was certain the Weg would see them moving away and might take the opportunity to start launching ships.
The three Q ships spaced themselves evenly around the planet’s equator and then the massed fleet saw three brilliant beams flash through the planet’s atmosphere and strike the surface of the planet. The brilliant beams continued to fire for thirty seconds and then the planet seemed to implode in on itself and then bust out in a giant explosion. The Q ships jumped away as the remains flew out into space.
Adams pressed his communicator, “Commander, my ship’s scanner revealed that hundreds of starships were being moved from the two caverns where they were being constructed. They must have determined when you moved your fleet away from the planet that they were in jeopardy. They were only a quarter of mile below the planet’s surface when our beams hit. “
Rumel closed his eyes and fought to calm himself, “I’ve not seen a planet destroyed like this one.”
Adams nodded “We normally use just one ship, which usually leaves a barren rock. Our Leaders were concerned that with the corridor being dug under the ocean, some Weg may have survived and continued to build ships. We are going to blast the large pieces momentarily to ensure that none of them survive.” Adams looked at the Angry Gracken, “I’m sorry we were forced to do this.”
Rumel looked at Adams on his monitor, “Find a way to prevent this in the future!”
Adams stared at Rumel and, after a long moment, nodded.
• • •
“One of my daughters no longer speaks to me.”
“What was her last contact?”
“She says the Metal Monsters were moving their creations away from her home.”
The Giant Male Weg stared at her and finally said, “Did she say if she was able to launch her daughters?”
“That was the last thing she said.”
The Male didn’t like seeing the Queen upset but there was no way to prevent it. If he tried to delay her fear, it would only grow. “I fear she and her new home have been killed.”
The gigantic Queen began rapidly changing colors and after an hour returned to her normal bright orange color. She said to the Male, “It appears something new has been added to our conflict. We must find out what it is and develop a counter.”
“I will launch a probe to see what happened.”
“You should delay the launch until enough time has passed for the Monsters to leave.” The Male flashed orange for an instant and turned to leave the Queen’s Chamber.
• • •
Two weeks later, a sterile Queen entered a small vessel and mentally activated the bio-systems controlling it. The only electronic system on board was the star drive and it was not activated until the small ship had cleared the golden glow around the Weg Home World. As soon as the small ship moved into clear space. The jump drive and the other electronic systems went to full power. The small Queen had limited intelligence but followed her instructions to the letter and pressed the one button on her control panel. The small ship disappeared.
• • •
The Giant Queen watched the small Queen’s view as she arrived at her silent daughter’s home; she forced herself to control her anger. Nothing remained of the home but a large cloud of dust that had begun to fan out into a belt orbiting the distant star. How did the Monsters do this? They didn’t possess the means of destroying a planet. Suddenly, she saw the small Queen’s view turn and look at a small strange looking metal ship that suddenly appeared close by. The strange ship fired a beam and she saw no more from her daughter.
• • •
The Queen remained calm and thought about what she had seen. She replayed the recent conversations with her deceased daughter and focused on a
being that was with the Monsters at the last confrontation. There was only one of them with the Monsters and it was incredibly small compared to them. That being must be the one that built the ship that fired on her probe and killed her daughter’s home. She brought the image into clarity and sent it to the Male, “A new enemy has joined the Monsters. It must be this new enemy that destroyed my daughter’s home. I will notify all my daughters about it. In the meanwhile, you must locate this enemy and find a way to eliminate it.”
The huge Male Weg focused on the image and left the chamber.
• • •
Adams looked at Jeanette, “You were right.”
“These creatures must have a way to communicate across the stars. When the communication stopped, they had to come and see why.”
“What do you think about this new war we’re getting into?”
Jeanette sighed and looked at Adams, “Your suggested retirement now looks better. This is a war the youngsters will have to win. I’m tired to my soul of all the killing.”
Adams slowly nodded and put his arm around his wife, “Who do we transfer our ship to?”
“You know the answer to that.”
“If the two of you are leaving, Josh and Prissy should be my new masters.”
Jeanette nodded, “Even Tuffy sees it. I’m worried that Josh and Prissy have more bravery than good sense. They might rush in when running would be the best option.”
“They’re going to be that way with or without a Q ship. At least it would increase their odds of survival.”
Adams nodded, “I’ll notify Alex and get Prissy on board to start the imprinting process. Josh can do it later.”
“That would be good.”
• • •
Josh was on board Rumel’s Flagship and listened as the huge Gracken explained how the Weg invaded a planet. “The ship the Weg use to launch a Queen into space is a unique creation. It is impervious to most blasters and can withstand an incredible amount of heat. It takes numerous blaster hits to destroy it.”
Josh’s eyes narrowed, “Are you saying your warships can’t shoot them down?”