There was a long silence from the Bastet. It lasted so long that Eisenstadt was beginning to wonder if something had happened. “Marines are on their way. Bastet is pulling back.”
“Spirits watch over you,” whispered Kasumi. She sat up straight. “This is Nieth. Prepare for launch.”
Joseph Franklin floated through the Nieth’s passageways. His eyes were half-closed, and he was deep in thought. The only thing keeping his floater from crashing into walls or people was the meter-long snakelike being that guided it.
“Maker/you question have/me,” warbled the Alsoo.
“Hmm? Question?” Franklin shook himself. “What’s up, Second-Daughter-Fifth-Born?”
“Dizzy/think/me help/we you question,” the Alsoo warbled.
“Why are we helping you?” guessed Franklin. The Alsoo responded with the hand wave he associated with a yes. “That’s a hard one,” he admitted.
“Pain/you dead many split-tails/you,” warbled the Alsoo. “Alsoo same/not do,” she declared.
“Why are you flying my floater?” Franklin asked.
“Maker/you help need/you,” replied the Alsoo.
“Yeah, but why are you doing it?” Franklin asked. “Why didn’t any of the Alsoo leave the ship when they had the chance?”
“Know/not we,” the Alsoo said in a quiet voice. “Safe safe/not this place/we.” The Alsoo ruffled its feathers. “Dizzy/think/we,” she warbled in the manner Franklin had come to associate with laughter.
“Dizzy/think all/we.” replied Franklin. “Once I was afraid to live and afraid to die,” he said. “Then I found my core, my friends, and I stopped being afraid to live.” He reached out and ruffled the Alsoo’s feathers. “I still don’t want to die, but I’m not afraid of it.” He smiled. “You want to hear some real dizzy/think?” he said. “We’re going into a fight, one I could have sat out, but I decided to go because it’s here that I could do the most good. And even if I knew I was going to die, I’d still go.”
“Dizzy/think truth/oath,” agreed Second-Daughter-Fifth-Born.
“Nieth, this is Bastet,” came Captain Delaney’s voice over the comm. “Got a situation.”
“What kind of situation?” Kasumi replied.
“A couple thousand Alsoo situation,” the Bastet’s captain replied. “They’re scared shitless and are running from my people,” he said. “On the positive side, my techs have got the singularity bottled up,” he said. “We still need to get rid of it, but it’s under control.”
“Nothing we can do about the Alsoo at the moment, captain,” Kasumi replied. “Good job on the singularity, though.” She rubbed her crest. “Hang on,” she said. “Kasumi to Cool Evening Breeze.”
“Yes, captain?” Cool Evening Breeze replied via her Torque.
“I have a job for Snake Squad,” Kasumi replied.
Lieutenant Hendriks placed his hands behind his back as he surveyed his troops. Twenty-one feathered, snakelike owl-faced beings returned his stare. “Okay, let’s go over this one more time,” he said. “There are a lot of Alsoo trapped on a ship. There are more Alsoo on that ship than there are in the citadel.”
The Alsoo warbled in excitement. Hendriks had long ago given up trying to explain how many there were; the Alsoo had no number above one hundred—and even one hundred was a difficult number for them to comprehend—but they could understand comparisons. The idea that they could rescue more Alsoo than existed in their citadel was, to the Alsoo, the equivalent of saving their entire species. They might be right at that, Hendriks thought. The biologists had explained that even if they rescued the entire two thousand Alsoo, there was no guarantee that the species would not go extinct. But there was hope.
“Your job is simple,” Hendriks said. “Convince the Alsoo on that ship to leave the ship and get in the shuttle, and do it orderly,” he said. “The shuttle can take up to one hundred Alsoo at a time, so it will take at least twenty trips before the ship is emptied.”
“That means you will have to keep your fellow Alsoo from swarming in the ship and be patient waiting their turn to be ferried to the Nieth,” added Lieutenant Cool Evening Breeze. “Do you understand?”
“Long time/short time question,” warbled Speaker First-Son-First-Born.
“It will take a full day before all the Alsoo are ferried to the Nieth,” Cool Evening Breeze replied to what she thought was the question.
“One more thing. There will be a double squad of split-tails with you,” Hendriks said. “Just in case.”
“Eaters question,” warbled First-Son-First-Born.
“Eaters,” agreed Hendriks. The Alsoo ruffled their feathers but remained in place. “Let us split-tails deal with the Eaters,” he said firmly. “Your job is to keep your people from panicking.”
The Alsoo slapped their chests. “Pledge/oath,” they warbled in unison.
For the most part, the Alsoo entered the shuttle in something resembling order. From the constant ruffling of their feathers, it was obvious that the majority of the Alsoo were scared. Yet despite their fear, all the Alsoo got on board and curled up silently in their specially modified seats.
The trip from Earth orbit to the Silent Shadow had taken several hours, even with the Nieth’s Franklin-modified thrusters, but the Nieth had finally reached the derelict ship. Like the Bastet, the Nieth stayed a thousand kilometers from the Silent Shadow. Captain Kasumi maintained contact with Earth command the entire time.
“Nieth to Bastet,” Kasumi hailed the sister ship. “Snake Squad, Ape Squad, and Bird Squad are heading for the Silent Shadow,” she sent out. “We’ll take over Alsoo recovery.” She smiled slightly. “The Bastard is free to take over pest control.”
“Yee-haw,” replied Captain Delaney. “About time we got some real action,” he said. “Bastard is on her way.”
“Good hunting, Captain,” Kasumi replied. “Spirits, ancestors, and your deity of choice watch over you.”
“Same to you, Captain,” Delaney said. A minute later, the Bastet’s engines lit and the ship pivoted and headed back in-system.
Kasumi watched via the Torque as the shuttle headed toward the derelict Silent Shadow. “And may the spirits and ancestors watch over the Alsoo,” she said quietly.
The shuttle crossed the distance in a matter of minutes. In fact, it took almost as long to dock as it did to cross. “Bird Squad, get ready,” barked Cool Evening Breeze. “Snake Squad, stand by.”
Cool Evening Breeze held her breath as the airlock opened. She tensed. However, instead of Polig-Grug or Alsoo, she was greeted by a very human trooper. He saluted. “Corporal Evans, sir,” he said crisply. “The ship is under control. No Polig-Grug.”
Cool Evening Breeze nodded. “Snake Squad, forward,” she ordered.
“Holy shit,” Corporal Evans said. “They really do look like snake-men.”
“Operative word is men,” Cool Evening Breeze said firmly. “Speaker, you know what to do.”
The Alsoo speaker waved his hands, and twenty Alsoo side-winded into the ship. Cool Evening Breeze and Hendriks, along with their handpicked squads of marines, followed closely.
“I’m kind of surprised that there were no Polig-Grug on board,” Cool Evening Breeze said to Corporal Evans. “Have you searched the entire ship?”
“Not yet, ma’am,” Corporal Evans admitted. “We haven’t been able to get into the main cargo hold.”
“Five gets you ten it’s full of Polig-Grug,” Hendriks said in dry humor.
“No bet,” Cool Evening Breeze replied. “Bird Squad,” she barked. “This ship is, to put it bluntly, a trap,” she said. “How do I know it’s a trap? Mainly because it is filled with bait. Whether the Polig-Grug think we consider the Alsoo food like they do or whether they somehow figured out we’re trying to save them, I don’t know, and I don’t care.” Her crest flared. “What I do care about is that there are bug
s to squash.”
“Oo-rah,” grunted Bird Squad.
“What I also care about is that, as far as we know, the Alsoo on this ship represent the sum total of all existing Alsoo,” she said. “And that pisses me off. Does that piss you off, Corporal Evans?”
“I’m a marine, ma’am,” Corporal Evans replied. “Everything pisses me off.”
“Oo-rah,” grunted the marines.
“Marines!” Cool Evening Breeze yelled. “Are you pissed off?”
“Yes, ma’am!” the squads returned loudly.
“You don’t sound pissed off,” Cool Evening Breeze sneered.
“Yes, ma’am!” the squads shouted.
“Better,” Cool Evening Breeze replied. “And what do marines do when they are pissed off?” she asked.
“They fight!” the squad shouted.
“Damn right,” Cool Evening Breeze chirped. Her face blurred for a second, and then she was wearing her red and black “demon” war paint. “Snake Squad, go with Hendriks and his squad and get your people to safety,” she snarled. “The rest of you, let’s go squash some bugs.”
“Oo-rah!” came the cry, and it sounded like a single enraged animal.
Hendriks watched as Cool Evening Breeze and her marines jogged off. “Don’t you dare get yourself killed, Feather Head,” he said under his breath. “Crystal will kill me if you do.” He took a breath. “Okay, Snake Squad. Let’s move.” The Alsoo warbled and followed in Hendriks’ wake.
They reached the first of the holding areas, and Hendriks stuck his head inside. There were no Polig-Grug in the room, but there was plenty of evidence that something else was. The Alsoo squad side-winded inside, and the speaker warbled, “Split-tails Eaters/not. Here/this place safe not. Safe place split-tails/have.”
There was an answering warble, and suddenly dozens of Alsoo were peeking out from behind every possible hiding place. “Eaters/not they question.”
“Eaters/not,” the speaker replied. “Fast/fast safe place go/you,” he ordered. “Mothers first, hatchlings first.” He stamped the butt of his spear on the floor. “Fast/fast.”
“Marines, set up a safe corridor,” ordered Hendriks. “Speaker, make sure no one stays behind,” he said. “Now move it.”
It started as a trickle as Alsoo left their hiding places cautiously. They ruffled their feathers as they passed under the eyes of the humans and Rynn. But the trickle quickly turned into a stream and then a torrent as Alsoo after Alsoo left whatever hiding places they had claimed.
Snake Squad kept the Alsoo refugees moving, occasionally physically dragging one reluctant and frightened Alsoo from hiding and pushing it into the ever-growing throng of escaping creatures.
“Shuttle One, you have incoming,” Hendriks said over his Torque.
“Roger, Lieutenant,” responded the shuttle.
“Speaker,” Hendriks shouted. “Keep ‘em moving, keep ‘em in line, and for the spirits sake, don’t let them stop.”
“Fast/fast,” warbled the speaker to the fleeing Alsoo.
“We’re moving the Alsoo, Feather Head,” Hendriks said. “How’s it going with you?”
“We were right: the cargo hold was packed with bug-lizards,” Cool Evening Breeze replied, and Hendriks could hear her breathing heavily. “Spirits, there must be hundreds of them.”
“Just keep ‘em busy until we get the Alsoo to safety,” Hendriks responded. “No need to take chances.”
“That’s no fun,” Cool Evening Breeze replied.
“Do you want me to tell Momma on you?” Hendriks said.
“That’s cheating,” Cool Evening Breeze chittered. “Don’t worry, I’ll keep my head … oh shit.”
“What?” Hendriks said in alarm. “Breeze? What?” Hendriks started running when Cool Evening Breeze did not answer. “I’m coming, Breeze.”
“Negatory, Hendriks,” Cool Evening Breeze replied breathlessly. “We’re pulling out,” she said. “Remember what they said about linked Polig-Grug?”
“They get smart?” replied Hendriks as he ran toward Cool Evening Breeze and her squad.
“Smart, and they act like a single organism,” Cool Evening Breeze replied. “Move it, move it!” she suddenly shouted. “Escobar, move your fucking ass or so help me, I’ll feed you to those bugs myself.”
Hendriks turned a corner and found himself face to face with the retreating Bird Squad. Right behind them was a group of linked Polig-Grug. Hendriks immediately understood why Cool Evening Breeze sounded retreat. Individual Polig-Grug were barely above eating machines, but a linked cluster was powerful and above all acting intelligently. Hendriks pulled out his battle mace. “We gotta stop’em here,” he shouted.
“Tell me something I don’t know, Fuzzy Butt,” Cool Evening Breeze snapped. “Suppression fire,” she ordered.
“Shuttle One, status report,” Hendriks said at the same time.
“I got a full load and heading out now,” the shuttle pilot replied.
“Outstanding,” Hendriks said. “Not that you weren’t gonna do it anyway, but hurry,” He broke communication and concentrated on the oncoming linked Polig-Grug.
The battle between the human/Rynn squads and the linked Polig-Grug seemed to go on forever. Every so often, the shuttle would break in with arrivals and departures. Hendriks and Cool Evening Breeze’s initial squads got rotated out of the battle to get some food, and fresher squads got rotated in. And even though those squads that got rotated out could have taken a spot on a shuttle to safety, it was a measure of their commitment that none did. One squad became two, which became a company, and still the battle remained a stalemate.
“How many more Alsoo do we have to ferry off?” Cool Evening Breeze asked after she and Hendriks finished another shift at keeping the Polig-Grug at bay.
“Last report was about four hundred,” Hendriks replied. “And Snake Squad is still finding stragglers.” He wiped at his face. “Nieth says they already have more than the two thousand we originally estimated.” He smiled tiredly. “That’s actually good news.”
“How about the invasion force?” Cool Evening Breeze asked a few minutes later.
“Oh right, the invasion force,” Hendriks chuckled. “Forgot about that.” He shrugged. “If there was a problem, I think someone would have told us by now.” He turned as something rubbed against his leg. An Alsoo was prodding him with his short staff. “Shouldn’t you be helping to get your people loaded up, Speaker?” Hendriks asked. His Torque warbled the translation.
The speaker warbled back. “Neuters/they remain/they,” he said in some satisfaction. “Breeders burrow/safe/they.” He looked past Hendriks to where the marines were keeping the Polig-Grug pinned down. “Eaters.” He ruffled his feathers.
“Yeah, Eaters,” agreed Cool Evening Breeze.
Speaker First-Son-First-Born ruffled his feathers again and then warbled loudly. From the direction of the shuttle bay came a large number of Alsoo—far more than there were in Snake Squad. The speaker started to warble. “Split-tails/they protect People/we. Truth/oath,” he said. “Split-tail/they oath keep/they.” He raised his sharpened staff. “This time, People/we warriors/be. This time, people/we Eaters/they fight/we.”
“Hey, there’s no need,” began Hendriks as he deciphered what the Alsoo was saying.
“Need,” warbled the Alsoo. “Long time People/we hide/we, scared/we.” He shook his staff. “Speaker/me say this time not hide/we, not run/we. This time hatchlings/ours see/we warriors/see.”
Hendriks was about to say something when Cool Evening Breeze placed a hand on his arm. “He’s right. They need this, Hendriks,” she said. She looked at the little Alsoo. “See those rope things that connect the Eaters to each other?” she said. The Alsoo waved its arms in agreement. “Cut them,” she said. “And we’ll do the rest.” She reached to her belt and pulled out her utility knife. “U
se this.”
The rest of the humans and Rynn listening nodded, removed their own utility knives, and handed them to the closest Alsoo.
The speaker took the knife, which he held like a broadsword, and raised it. The surrounding Alsoo raised their own knives. “Warriors/we this time fight/we,” he warbled loudly. “Go/we.” A wave of Alsoo side-winded directly toward the Polig-Grug.
“Suppression fire,” yelled Cool Evening Breeze.
With the humans and Rynn giving them a chance, the Alsoo reached the first of the connected Polig-Grug. They dodged the slashing legs and biting jaws and swarmed up the bodies of the insect-like creatures.
“Halt suppression fire,” yelled Cool Evening Breeze.
The humans and Rynn watched in horrified fascination as the tiny Alsoo hacked and cut madly at the connecting nerve bundles that united the Polig-Grug into a single entity. Jaws would bite down on a screaming Alsoo, claws would rip into their bodies, but still they continued with their suicide mission.
“They’re doing it,” a marine shouted in excitement. “Go, you crazy sons of bitches.”
“Oo-rah!” shouted a number of the marines, and they charged. The Polig-Grug were so distracted trying to contend with the Alsoo that they didn’t realize what was happening until the humans and Rynn were already upon them, maces and battle axes swinging.
“Shuttle One to Bird Company!” came over the Torques. “Recall. Recall.”
“Everyone on the ship?” Cool Evening Breeze grunted between strikes.
“Everyone but you guys,” came the response.
“Speaker!” Cool Evening Breeze shouted. “Speaker!” she repeated several times before the Alsoo leader turned to her. Even across the ten meters or so that separated them, she could see that the little Naga-form was in the grips of a battle frenzy. “Get your people to the shuttle. Now.” The alien looked her blankly. “You’ve won,” she shouted. “Now get your people to the ship.”
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