Cole nodded. “I’m one of them.” He pulled up the sleeve of his lab coat and showed a growing sore on his forearm. “So is my daughter.”
“I’m sorry, Doctor…”
All eyes looked up when they heard multiple sonic booms as the transports entered the inner atmosphere.
“Here they come,” Copeland said.
The large, round ship slowed, extended its landing struts, and gently landed in the designated area.
“Looks like a damn flying saucer from old Earth movies,” Cole said.
Copeland grunted. “No one fires unless I give the order!” he shouted.
The engine shut down, leaving the area in silence, until the center of the bottom section of the ship opened, and the sound of a motor whining filled the air. A ladder descended from the transport, and the moment it hit the ground, a blonde, human female slid down using the outside rails of the ladder.
She walked toward Copeland and Cole with her hands raised. “Do not fire! I am Doctor Diana Conner. Lieutenant Vi’Shelexsor will be exiting the craft. He is only here for my protection.”
What emerged next from the transport caused every mouth to drop open. A huge snake came out, and it seemed it would never stop. When it finally did, they got their first look at the Serpentes. A 15-foot-long rattlesnake coiled itself and laid under the ship as it looked around in all directions. It definitely resembled the snakes they knew, but it was much thicker and its head was impressively large.
“I mean you no harm, humans, unless you attempt to harm my ship, me, or Doctor Conner.”
What his ears heard was just a long hiss, but Copeland understood, thanks to his translator, and swallowed hard. He knew he had the firepower to stop the thing, but it was huge.
Cole rolled his eyes and beckoned to Doctor Conner. “Quick, this way. I have a test setup in the truck.”
Conner nodded and picked up the pace. She ran behind Cole into the truck.
* * *
Inside the truck, Conner took off her backpack and opened it to hand Cole a vial. “That’s what you need.”
Cole took it, used a syringe to extract a sample, and put it into a machine on one of the tables. “Doctor Cole, nice to meet you.”
“Doctor Diana Conner.”
Cole typed on the keyboard, and an analysis of the substance came up. “Okay, moment of truth.”
He entered a command and the venom and antivenin were introduced to each other. A high-powered microscope from the machine showed the results, and a chemical analysis was displayed beside it.
“It works. What’s the best administration method?”
“Intravenous is the fastest. It can also be sprayed locally as a booster at the introduction site.”
“How much do you have?”
“300 doses on each transport.”
Cole looked over at her. “Let’s get to work then.”
He led the way out of the truck at a run. “General, it works! Send the order to start administering the antivenin immediately.”
“Are you sure?”
“Yes, General. I’m sure.” He pulled a pre-loaded syringe from Conner’s backpack, rolled up his own sleeve, and injected himself.
“Okay, let’s get started. Is there more?”
“Yes,” Conner said. “Vi’Shelexsor will have to get the containers out of the transport.”
Copeland glanced at the huge snake still coiled under the transport and frowned. “It’s safe?”
“Yes, he is safe, as long as you don’t provoke him.” She crossed her arms over her chest.
“Okay…do it.”
“Lieutenant, bring the containers down!”
Vi’Shelexsor raised his head, and his upper length disappeared into the transport. Copeland watched in awe as he used his body to bring the containers down. He was coiled around the containers and flexed his muscles to slowly lower five containers to the ground. Once they were all down, he lined up beside them and used a sidewinding movement to push the crates toward where she and the doctors were standing.
“Amazing,” Copeland said under her breath.
Cole smirked but said nothing as she walked up and, one by one, punched in numbers on a keypad which caused the sides of the crates to drop open. Each container contained several smaller crates which looked like coolers, complete with carrying handles, obviously built for a humanoid race to carry.
“What about the stuff that’s on the ground, coating vehicles, etcetera?” Cole asked.
“It becomes inert 30 minutes after it is exposed to oxygen.”
“So, it’s all safe by now.”
Conner nodded.
* * *
General Stevens watched multiple video feeds as, around the city, the scene repeated. An announcement was sent out on the emergency broadcast band that all citizens in the city were to report to the nearest landing area for treatment. It took several hours to treat everyone, and some were lost.
“Everyone has been treated, General. We sent remote teams to those who couldn’t get to the landing areas on their own…though we don’t know if any didn’t report,” Colonel Poole said.
“What’s our final count?”
“Reports indicate 200 casualties. Mostly children or elderly, who were more vulnerable.”
He sighed and nodded. “Thanks, Carter. Get me the president.”
* * *
El’Jyiurma slithered back and forth across the bridge as they waited. Finally, after several hours, they received a hail from Admiral Gallagher.
“Admiral, we’ve been waiting to hear from you. I hope we were in time,” she said.
“Final reports indicate at least 200 dead, elderly and children, but the rest were saved. I have to tell you Admiral, our people aren’t happy.”
“Nor would mine be in a similar situation, Admiral.”
“Your transports are lifting off, now, to return to your ship. What are your intentions?”
“There is a matter of two emergency escape spheres which are in space from the traitors. Given that it was your planet which was attacked, I will leave their disposition up to you. We can take them back to Strorix, where they will be tried and executed, or you can deal with them. I caution you, though, they will likely not submit quietly or without a fight. I have also been authorized by our king to open diplomatic channels with your people.”
“As it happens, our president would like to speak to you. One moment.”
The image of a man with well-groomed black hair, wearing what she thought was formal attire for a human, appeared on the screen.
She activated the visual pickup.
* * *
President Juan Frazier schooled his expression as the image of a huge king cobra appeared on his screen.
“Admiral El’Jyiurma?”
“Yes.”
“I’m President Frazier, the elected leader of Gieliv. Thank you for your assistance in saving my people.”
“It is the very least we could do, President. I only regret we did not arrive soon enough to prevent the attack.”
“I must ask, why do you even possess such weapons, which are obviously illegal, and could cause your system to be cut off by the Bith?”
“It is an internal matter. What I will tell you is that they were not supposed to have been created and were used by a traitor who had already been demoted for his previous actions. Once we knew of the missiles, we issued orders to destroy them, but the traitors were able to conceal them.”
“How do we know you don’t have more?”
“Honestly, we don’t know for sure ourselves. Back on Strorix, an effort is already under way to ensure that no more exist. Those responsible for concealing them have been…dealt with.”
“I see. I understand there are escape pods containing some of those responsible for this attack?”
“Yes, two, which will contain the bridge crews for two of the Navas.”
“And you are leaving their disposition up to us?”
“It seems fitting, giv
en that it is you whom they attacked, President.”
“I also understand that it’s unlikely they would surrender peacefully.”
“Did you see the Vipers that were with our transports?”
“Yes,” Frazier nodded. “I saw the footage.”
“Each of those spheres contains no less than five of them, and as soon as they can, they will attack without mercy.”
“Well, I think we’ve lost enough people for one day, Admiral. We will leave it to you to deal with your own problem.”
“Thank you. Vi’Kshalu, fire when ready.”
She heard a voice from off camera. “President, I show two missiles leaving the larger ship.”
“Do not be alarmed. We are destroying the spheres.”
In seconds, both missiles impacted and destroyed the spheres.
“There, that issue is dealt with.”
* * *
El’Taja slowly slid out of the water where his individual escape pod had splashed down and made his way to a forest he saw nearby. The humans had managed to destroy his sphere, but every sphere had an escape tube built into the center so the ship commander could escape, even in a worst-case scenario.
Now, he thought to himself, what to do, what to do. So many walking meals.
He laid low and watched between gaps in the trees. He hadn’t been spotted, and his escape tube was at the bottom of the lake, so there was no evidence. He flicked out his tongue and tasted the air. Food was all around him, he simply had to choose which human to eat first.
He coiled around a tree and climbed up nearly to the top to observe the sky.
Yes, it should be dark soon…then, I will find a home.
Men, women, and children walked by the forest, with no idea what waited and watched.
* * *
Frazier raised his eyebrows. “You certainly don’t hesitate, do you?”
“No, President, we do not, unless the situation warrants it. In this case, they were traitors, and would have been executed back home anyway. There was no use risking my crew by transporting them. Do you disagree with my decision?”
“I can’t say that I do, Admiral. May I be blunt?”
El’Jyiurma tilted her head. “You mean to be direct, I believe? Yes, that is best.”
“Our people fear you. They’ve seen the footage of your doctors helping, and the…Vipers?...lying under the transports, and even helping move the containers, but a fear of snakes is something that’s sort of inborn in a lot of humans.”
“Yes, we encountered this when humans first arrived on our planet long ago, so the stories say. There was even a short war because of that fear. There are still some who distrust us today, and I must admit, with some reason, such as the Serpentes like the traitor, who have consumed humans without orders.”
Frazier held up a hand. “Wait…without orders? That means you DO eat humans?”
“We are being, you said, blunt, yes?”
He nodded.
“If anyone on our planet, human or Serpentes, is sentenced for a major crime to death, they are consumed. Our population is growing beyond our means to raise livestock. We have settled a second planet in our system, specifically for breeding and raising food stock, which is populated only by humans, Pantherops, and Thamnos because they consume smaller portions and less often. I believe you would call them corn snakes and garter snakes.”
“I think that’s something we might keep from our people.”
“That might be best, yes…”
“Admiral, I’d like for you to bring your ships to the planet and establish orbit. I need time for my writers to construct a speech so I can address my people, but if we are to establish any kind of diplomatic setup, my people will need to see that you are, indeed, not dangerous. I also need time to convince my security team that it’s a good idea.” He grinned
“Very well. We will make our way to your orbit and wait. Thank you.”
“We’ll be in touch in the morning; that’ll be in about 13 hours.”
As they made their way to orbit, she crafted a message for Fleet Admiral El’Syaaso and had it sent through the gate, apprising him of the situation, and that she would be remaining in the system. She was not surprised to see that their ships were surrounded by several others, including the Ravager, whose admiral she had dealt with just a short time ago.
* * *
Once darkness fell, and there were far fewer people around, El’Taja decided to explore. He made his way out of the tree and along the ground. He paused now and then to feel for vibrations through the ground and scan the area with his natural thermal vision. He recognized building types and signs from the human cities on Strorix. While he could not read them, he knew that businesses would have many signs. He was looking for a home to make his own.
After a few hours, he left the commercial district of Stranta and found the residential areas. The night air was becoming cooler, which he did not like. As he became cooler, he felt tired. He knew he needed to find warmth and food. There…there was a hot spot behind one of the houses. He saw several child humans jumping on what looked like a stretched piece of fabric. Two adult humans were sitting in chairs, practically glowing with heat in his eyes.
The doors and windows in the home also radiated heat; that would do nicely. He inched his way closer along the grass. With his 20-foot length, he could strike up to 12 feet away, and he felt certain he could outpace these humans. They looked fat and filling.
As he drew closer, a bright light came on and illuminated the entire back yard, including him. The two small humans, girls he could now see, screamed and pointed at him. He moved quickly and bit one of them, then the next, before either could react. They were not dead, but they would be in a moment.
He coiled himself up and raised his head fully seven feet in the air and stared down at the humans as he spread his hood and showed his fangs, which dripped with venom. The female ran toward the children, which was a mistake. He struck quickly again. One of his fangs pierced her heart, and she screamed and collapsed.
He turned to take down the male adult, but he had run into the house. “Mmmm,” he said. “Fast food.”
He collapsed his hood and raced toward the door just in time to use his head to stop it from closing. The human was talking on a communication device.
“It’s a giant snake, I’m telling you! It’s killed my kids and my wife. Oh shit!! It’s coming into the house!!”
He bit the man and brought the rest of his bulk in to coil around him and began to eat immediately, communication device and all.
* * *
It took him 30 minutes to completely consume the large human. He stretched his body and hissed in satisfaction. He felt a large vibration in the ground and looked out the window. There was a large truck, with many humans jumping out of it.
* * *
Colonel Desiree McIntyre had just come on duty and had only just been briefed on the situation with the Serpentes. They hadn’t been expecting any issues, but apparently someone was wrong. She was very glad First Sergeant Olsen had been nearby and free to join her.
“Alright, Top, get the drones up; let’s take a look around.”
“You got it, Colonel.” First Sergeant Nathan Olsen, called Top because of his rank, and because he allowed it, directed two soldiers, who opened cases and launched several aerial drones. He pulled a tablet computer from one of the cases and held it so he and McIntyre could both see it.
“We’ve got three heat signatures in the back, fading…I’d say they’re deceased, ma’am,” he said.
“So according to the report, somewhere in that house, there’s a giant snake?”
“That’s about the size of it, ma’am.”
She frowned and studied the house for a moment. It was a two-story house, which made things a bit more difficult. “Wish we could have brought a mech.”
The sound of the truck had awoken some of the local residents, and porch lights started coming on. People slowly made their way out onto their
lawns in various stages of undress. Before the colonel could say anything, Olsen was on it.
“Private Bruce! Get those people back into their homes. We don’t know for sure if this thing is still in the house.”
Private Bruce brought up the loudspeaker device which was attached to his belt and walked toward the people who were coming outside. “Please go back into your homes. We have the situation under control. For your safety, please go back inside.”
“Under control…right. Suggestions?” McIntyre asked.
Like most good officers, she knew to rely on the experience of her first sergeant, who had been in uniform longer than she had and had definitely seen more hostilities.
“I’m afraid we’re finally in a situation I haven’t seen, ma’am. I’d say use the drones to light the house up in all light spectrums, because I’m not sure how those things see. See if we can blind it.”
“Well…can’t hurt. Try it.”
He tapped on the tablet a few times and nodded. “Done.”
The drones around the house suddenly lit up, and bright lights hit every surface of the house.
“Keep your eyes on every door and window; no telling where that thing is!” Olsen said.
“Ma’am, I’m not sure about trying to assault a barricaded, giant, poisonous snake,” he said quietly to McIntyre. “We’d be basically sending at least one person to their death.”
She nodded. “We’ve already lost over 200 people to these things today, Top. I’m gonna get General Stevens up.”
“Better you than me, ma’am.” Olsen wandered off to check the positions of his soldiers.
* * *
Stevens groaned as he rolled over and picked up his communicator. He’d only gotten to sleep an hour earlier.
“General Stevens. This better be important.”
“General, this is Colonel McIntyre. We have a situation. It looks like one of those snakes is on the planet and has killed a family. It is inside their house, as far as we know. We have the house surrounded, but even First Sergeant Olsen is recommending against trying to enter the building.”
Salvage Conquest Page 38