The Tecate’ had complete knowledge of everything their emissaries had seen the entire three years they were on Sapiea and, when the queen embraced the blue Tecate’ on her return, she was sharing the knowledge she had just acquired about the operation of the ship. They, in turn, would pass these memories on to the other Tecate’.
Tecate’ had little invention or creativity, but they did have cunning. And with perfect memory they could mimic any action they had ever seen, so they could operate any device they’d ever seen operated. And with the exchange of memory, any Tecate’ that received the shared memory could do the same.
Their offspring were also born with these memories. That was the purpose of the red vein that extended from the queen’s crest to her abdomen. It was there to seed her eggs with memories as she laid them.
This was their strongest attribute; this, and their patience. They never made a move without direction from the queen, and the queen never gave a directive until she was certain of the outcome. This was how they acquired the industry they had on Tecama, the knowledge of mining, refining, and agriculture. They sat patient and silent, watching the other species on Tecama until they knew how everything worked. Then they suddenly took over and killed off the other species. In fact, they ate them. The Tecate’ were voracious omnivores that ate anything.
Gaba Dor was correct in his guess that the Tecate’ may have been the only inhabitants living on Tecama. They had long since killed off and eaten every other animal species. The Tecate’ had no regard for other species, no remorse, no compassion, and no love. They had only one desire, spawn and create new Tecate’ cities, or in actual case, colonies.
The Tecate’ had observed the Sapiens for years and now had extensive knowledge of their technology and its operation. They had waited, showing no sign of their true intent, but now they were ready to make their move.
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It was breakfast time, and most of the crew was in the galley when the Tecate’ started moving about the ship. The queen and her two blue drones went to the bridge. The two black Tecate’ went to the galley and took position by the door. The galley, the kitchen, and the food supplies were all in one location, and the Tecate’ now stood by the only way in or out, but no one thought anything about it. The Tecate’ were always standing somewhere watching. That’s what they did, they watched.
It started on the bridge. The queen approached the helmsmen and stood in the upright position, then something popped out of her left forearm, a hinged spear like object with two curved barbs facing inward. The helmsman had no idea what was coming. Then she lunged forward and drove the spear deep in his torso. When she withdrew the spear it pulled out chunks of his internal organs, impaled on the curved barbs. It was a violent and lethal attack. He was dead before he hit the floor.
The rest of the bridge crew saw what was happening and made for the door, but the two blue Tecate’ at the exit dispatched them in seconds. There was no fight. It was a sneak attack, and it was a slaughter.
The queen remained on the bridge while the drones searched the rest of the ship for stragglers. There were none. The crew on a cargo ship is small and everyone was either on the bridge or in the galley.
No one in the galley was even aware of what happened until a crew member tried to exit. The two black Tecate’ stepped in his way and blocked the door. He said, “Excuse me,” but they did not respond. He tried again, but still no response. Finally he said, “Out of my way,” and tried to step between the two. One Tecate’ gave him a quick barb, and he fell to the floor. Now everyone knew what had just happened. The Tecate’ had taken the ship.
The queen had the two blue Tecate’ drag the dead crew members from the bridge down to the galley to put them with the others who were still alive. When they were done the two blue Tecate’ exchanged places with the black Tecate’ and relieved their watch.
The black workers went to the cargo hold and opened a crate of manava. They took out large clumps of the substance and began making nest shaped structures on floor. They were each around four feet wide with a hollowed out depression in the center, and they were each spaced about three feet apart. When entire cargo hold was filled, the black Tecate’ stopped. One went to the bridge. The other remained below.
It took nearly a full crate of manava to create these nests. There were almost a hundred of them.
The black Tecate’ that went to the bridge informed the queen they were done. The queen went to the cargo hold and started laying eggs, one in each nest. Each time she spit out an egg she squeezed the vein in her thorax, giving the egg the memories it would be born with.
The eggs would become larvae in two days. After that they would remain in the nest and eat the manava they had been provided for the next seventeen days. When the nest was fully eaten they would be full grown Tecate’, ready for action.
Of the nests, three were separated out. Two were moved far away and placed in a location where the ventilation system blew cool air on them. One was covered by one of the black Tecate’, which began rapidly vibrating its abdomen, almost like shivering. It was generating heat to warm the egg. The temperature at which an egg develops is what controls the type of Tecate’ they become. The cool nest would become blue drones. The heated egg would become a queen. The rest would all become black worker Tecate’.
It was done. Now they would wait.
As the weeks passed, the larvae in the cargo hold ate through their manava nests and grew larger. Larvae had ravenous appetites and ate all day long. Once the developed into full grown Tecate’ they required less food and only ate occasionally.
When one of the Tecate’ did get hungry it would go to the galley for dinner. They would eat the crew. At first they ate the dead crew members, but when those were gone they moved on to the living crew. They actually preferred the living food, but the food supply was limited, so they at the dead first, before they rotted.
Now they were eating the live crew. The process was gruesome and painful. When a Tecate’ had chosen its victim it would push them to the ground and hold them down with the massive weight of its armored body. As it hovered over them it would eat directly from their prey, generally starting with the limbs and moving in toward the torso. The victim would wriggle and scream in pain and terror as their flesh was torn away, small bite by small bite.
The crew endured this misery for weeks. All they could do was stand by in horror and watch as their ship mates were consumed by these monsters. The ship’s complement was slowly dwindling away, but Avan Moc, the ambassador, was still alive. The queen had ordered that he be left alive in case she needed more information. And even though she had spent time with him on Tecama, it was of no concern. She had no feelings of familiarity with him. She was indifferent. He would simply be eaten last.
The young Tecate’ were emerging from their nests, and Tecate’ now infested the entire vessel. The queen realized it was time for the next step of her plan. She went to the bridge, dropped the ship from FTL flight and came to full stop, letting the ship drift freely in space. She knew cargo ships flew in heavily travelled commercial lanes and that there were other cargo vessels nearby. She activated the distress beacon and waited.
It took two days before a ship responded to the beacon, but as she had hoped, another cargo ship pulled up and came to rest on their port side. They hailed the Spracus.
“This is the Nirva responding to your call. What is the nature of your distress?”
The queen placed the translator by the microphone and spoke. Her translated message went out. She said, “This is the queen of Tecama, on route to meet with the Sapien council. The entire crew is sick or dying and we are floating in space. We require assistance.”
“One moment,” came the response. A few minutes later, “We will pull along side and extend a docking tube. We will send someone over to assess the situation. Please stand by.”
The ship pulled alongside, extended the docking tube and locked on. She sent eight Tecate’ as a greeting par
ty. They stayed around the corner where they could not be seen from the attached vessel. Two people from the Nirva opened the door and stepped onto the Spracus.
“Permission to board” they yelled out as they entered. No one responded. They stepped ahead and rounded the corner. Just as they were out of view the Tecate’ ambushed them. It was quick and brutal.
Now all eight Tecate’ rushed across the docking tube and scattered throughout the Nirva, killing everyone they saw the moment they saw them. Two Tecate’ ran straight for the bridge and took out the bridge crew. The crew of the Nirva were extinguished before they even realized they were under attack. No distress call or warning was sent. The plan had worked. Now the Tecate’ had two ships.
She and the other queen embraced, then the new queen took two blue drones and two black workers through the docking tube to the other ship. They also took three cases of manava. The new queen would repeat the same birthing process on the Nirva, and while they were in flight this queen would spawn yet another brood.
The ships separated and returned to FTL fight. Two Tecate’ ships were now on route to Sapiea and would arrive with hundreds of Tecate’, and no one knew they were coming.
Chapter 10: The Pairing
The Maximus was still on its way to star system Hail. It would be several more days before they’d arrive, but the crew was about to get a much needed diversion. As Sava predicted, two young Sapiens had paired and they were planning a formal joining ritual. The entire crew was excited and joyous. This was a time for celebration, and a time meant to be fun for all. Everyone on board played their part.
The common areas were decorated with long strings of flowering Bahala, hanging from the ceilings and mounted around the eaves of every doorway. Bahala was a vine that was normally a food product. It fruited a purple gourd large enough to make five meals. They grew it in the hydroponic gardens on board, but this time they harvested early, while the plant was still in its flowering stage and had no fruit. They would forgo the meals for this celebration.
It was tradition to hang Bahala at a joining ceremony. Bahala always had two different colored flowers that grew in pairs intertwined with one another. One flower was red and the other blue. And when those intertwined flowers exchanged pollen, a purple fruit grew. This was considered symbolic of two joining to become one.
Special meals had been prepared. Asha and madi-tah had worked hard preparing a Sapien-Dolek fusion dish for the celebration. It was something they never tried before and no one on the crew had ever tasted this dish, except for the chefs, of course. And they were confident this would be a big hit with everyone. Everyone except the Nanda. The Nanda only ate seafood. But what the Nanda didn’t know was the madi-tah had brought along a delicacy from his home world called Vanagi. That was an eel type creature that lived in the seas of Dolis. To prepare it, it had to be marinated in a hot mustard sauce for seven days, then served cold and raw. It was a special gift for the Nanda, who were beloved by the entire crew.
The two young Sapiens that were being joined were Ta Orr and Omon Dah. They were both assigned to the biological lab and had been working together to understand the physiology of the Mahatma. There was always some sort of chemistry between them, and it went from there. They were, indeed, a lovely couple. And the entire ship stood behind them.
Even the Nanda were participating, and while they didn’t understand a ‘joining’, they sensed the strong bond between these two young Sapiens and knew it was something special. The Nanda were doing the light show at the after party. The engineers had wired colored lasers up on the dance hall to mimic the patterns the Nanda flashed. Whatever the Nanda did would be spread across the ceiling and walls of the reception hall. And the Nanda had practiced almost non-stop for the last three weeks. The engineering crew played the chosen music and the Nanda choreographed their own unique routine.
The Nanda didn’t understand the ‘joining’ because the Nanda were multi-sexed. They could be male or female at any time. There was no marriage or joining, they just mated with whoever was nearby when the season hit. That had always worked for them. Nonetheless, they were as excited about this event as everyone else aboard the ship.
Sava Doll made his way to the front of the hall as master of ceremonies. He was dressed in the traditional purple gown of the officiator, which covered him from head to toe. His outfit consisted of a long robe with a hood and sandals. Bishop thought he looked like a purple monk.
Ta and Omon were dressed in the traditional joining garb called the kila. The female was dressed fully in blue, the male in red, representative of the intertwined Bahala flowers. A kila was a sort of dress with a short skirt. Nothing was worn beneath it. Many said the purpose of the kila was so they could easily raise the skirt and have the bonding.
In the front corner of the reception hall was a structure called a broma. The broma was a tent like object filled with blankets and plush pillows. It was a private area for the newly joined couple. According to tradition they were supposed to disappear into the broma and do the bonding at least three times during the after party. The kila made that easier. Each time they emerged from the broma someone was supposed to make a toast and everyone had to have a drink.
This was going to be a fun time, but now it was a moment of solemnity. Everyone gathered together and stood as Sava prepared to recite the ceremony. Asha stood next to Bishop, and as the ceremony began, she slipped her hand inside his arm. Bishop was very aware of her hand on his arm, and it gave him a sense of comfort. She was aware of it too, and she felt in a way she had never felt before, happy at the pleasure of another.
Sava began.
“We are here for the bonding of Ta Orr and Omon Dah. Two separate beings who will blend to create a new whole which is the combination of each, and greater than the sum of the two. We honor their choice and offer our support and friendship for all time.”
“Let us now bond them.” They turned to face the attendees, the male on the left and the female on the right.
Sava draped a long string of Bahala across their shoulders and said, “They are forever joined. May the creator from Vhamora bless them and guide them all of their lives.”
Everyone yelled out, “Forever Together,” and cheered.
The ceremony was over. Very to the point. A traditional Sapien ceremony done as it had been done for thousands of years. And now, for the after party. Everyone moved to the back of the reception hall and took a seat at one of the tables.
One additional table was also being set up at the front of the hall, near to the broma. This was the couple’s table. It faced outward, toward the dance floor and the guest tables. The couple took their seat at this table.
Bishop and Asha sat next to each other at a table with Sava, Paumi, Devor, and several others. For a moment Asha excused herself so she could help madi-tah deliver their special dish of Vanagi to the Nanda. The Nanda were surprised and pleased. They loved it.
Asha was back in time for dinner. All were pleased with the new dish that Asha and madi-tah created. The dinner was just served when Ta and Omon stepped into the broma. Fifteen minutes later they returned and told everyone to make a toast and have a drink.
Sava toasted, “May you be forever happy,” and everyone had a drink.
Dessert was being served when Ta and Omon stepped out again. Fifteen minutes after that they returned as before and told everyone to make a toast and have a drink. A Dolek warrior in the back yelled out, “May you always have victories in life’s battles,” and everyone drank.
Everyone was dancing and having a good time. The Nanda were doing the light show, and it was phenomenal. Everyone was in a fantastic mood and momentarily freed from the boredom and routines of extended space travel.
Asha and Bishop were dancing together when the music changed and the beat slowed. They remained on the floor for the slow dance. Bishop reached out and placed his hand on Asha’s back, then drew her in near to him. She did not resist. She moved in even closer, so there was no space betw
een them. As they danced Asha placed her hand on Bishops cheek and looked directly into his eyes. He brought his face close to hers and they kissed. A soft gentle kiss that went far beyond friendship.
Then Ta and Omon exited the broma for the third time and said, “Everyone make a toast and have a drink.”
Bishop held up his glass and yelled out, “May we all find your happiness in our lives.”
Everyone drank. Bishop and Asha went back to the table, but something was different. Their lives had just changed on that dance floor, and each of them knew it.
The next day the crew moved slowly about this ship, cleaning up. There was little conversation for most of the morning. Everyone was recovering.
Bishop was in his quarters, getting dressed and thinking about how he should respond when he next saw Asha. He was planning to visit her, but then a person-to-person communication came in from Karen.
“Bishop,” she said.
The Long Day Page 10