Annihilation: Book 05 - Searcher (44 page)

Destiny stared at the Human. “Do you still know how to produce that toxin?”

Matt shrugged, “Yes, I found the formula.”

“You know it would be death to my family if we came into contact with it?”

“That’s why I’m here, Destiny. The only copy of that formula is on this recording. I’m giving it to you for safe keeping. I have decided that we are not willing to risk harming your family by producing this substance.” Matt handed the recording to Destiny.

Destiny looked at the recording he held in his leg and then looked at Matt, “I know what it took to give me this. This shows me beyond any doubt that you keep your commitments. My family will do everything we can to protect you for all eternity. We consider your people a part of my family.”

“There’s more, Destiny.”

Destiny turned his head upside down and said, “What else?”

“I found a description of this creature. It was a solitary creature that only came together with other members of its species to mate. It was considered gentle in nature and avoided contact whenever it could and only bit when it could not escape.”

Destiny looked at Eyes and said, “That explains a lot.”

Sprig thought, “What do you mean?”

“My children are asking to be allowed to go exploring this universe. They are almost bursting with curiosity about what’s out there.”

“My species’ adolescents leave our worlds to explore and sate their curiosity during their youth. They return as adults to share with us what they have learned. I suspect your children are similar to mine. It was during my adolescence that I discovered the teleportation process we currently use. It was also when I first came into contact with the humans.”

“You’ve seen some of my children, Sprig; what do you think?”

“I am amazed at their mental capacity and their ability to pull unrelated information together to produce a new concept. They are going to change what we know in remarkable ways if they are given time.”

“I have also noticed that my children have lost their aggressive traits. They seem to like every creature they encounter. I’ve also found that one meal lasts much longer. They only need to feed three times a year and probably only twice with two big meals. I think they will be self sufficient within the year.”

Sprig looked at Destiny and said, “One of my concerns is that if one of your children goes exploring into another universe and they are captured; the invaders will know everything about us and your family.”

Destiny looked at Eyes and said, “Please open the ship’s speakers.” Eyes pushed a button and lowered his head. “Children, I need your attention.” Throughout the ship everyone stopped what they were doing and listened. “I have two of our friends here on the command chamber with me and they have mentioned something to me that I must discuss with you. I have seen you changing and becoming more and more like what we are supposed to be; individuals. Our minds have been stunted because of the compulsions forced on us by the rulers of our people and it is only now after being freed from them that we are coming truly alive. My friends think that for you to fully develop that you should be given ships and allowed to explore this universe and find those things that interest you. I am in agreement with that plan.” The young spiders felt their excitement at the prospect and looked at each other with anticipation. “However, if one of you goes outside this universe and is captured by our former rulers, then they will know that we are still alive and everything about our new friends. We cannot allow that to happen. Until we find an answer to that threat, I am forbidding any of you to travel into other universes. We will also remain aboard this vessel until the current invasion is resolved. The other members of our species are looking to find us to kill us. They have already consumed the other members of our family and I’m sure they will not allow any of us to survive if they can find us. I am now going to ask you to focus on any way you can discover that will help our friends and us to survive the harvest that is happening as we speak. If you discover anything that will help our friends, I want you to notify me or Eyes immediately. I know the idea of killing members of our species may not be something that seems right to you but I have come to know that they must be stopped and that is the only way to end the danger our species represents. Thank you for your attention and I treasure every one of you.” Destiny turned to Matt and said, “They will not disobey an order from their father. We are made that way and you can count on them staying in this universe.”

Suddenly they heard a voice, “Father, I think I have something that might help loss of life.”

Destiny looked at his console and said, “Who is addressing me?”

“My name is Newton, Father.”

“What do you have, Child.”

“I have discovered a frequency that when used as a field repels the green substance. If you add it to the red screen’s generator, it will stop anything with the green substance from penetrating.”

“Child, come to the bridge immediately.”

Matt and Sprig looked at each other and Sprig said, “We won’t have to move planets if this is true and we can place them at planets that are going to be invaded. We’ll just teleport them in and activate them if what he has discovered really does work.”

A small spider entered the bridge with a device in his two front legs and handed it to Destiny. “It’s pretty simple, Father. Our friends may take it with them and use it.”

Destiny looked at the small spider and said, “We need one to use for our ship, child. Can you build another?”

“I’ve already installed it on the surface father. I was going to ask if we could send one of our ships outside and see if it works.”

“The invaders will see the ship if it leaves your screen,” Sprig thought.

“No, I’ve duplicated the color of the red screen and changed one of our craft to match.”

Sprig looked at the small spider, “How did you do that?”

“I rearranged the outer layer on one of our small craft one molecule in thickness to change to the color.”

“I am not going to ask how you did it,” Sprig thought. “I’ll be asking that question every ten seconds at this rate of discovery.”

Destiny turned to Eyes and said, “Launch the craft that this child has changed and let’s see what happens.”

Eyes turned on his scanner and immediately saw the red ship. A crew boarded it and lifted to the exit shaft and exited the ship. Move it about a hundred of what they call miles, Father.”

The small craft moved away from the mother ship and stopped. Newton turned a dial on a device in his front legs and said, “Move the ship toward us.”

The small red ship flew toward the mother ship and fifty miles out stopped abruptly. “Try to move closer,” Eyes ordered. The ship fired its engines to full throttle and moved a mile closer and then shot away from the ship more than two hundred miles. “I got the idea from those balls that bounce off the green substance. The field modulates the molecular signature of those balls.”

Matt looked at Sprig and said, “Obviously, the planets come first. We’ll use this with our ships later.”

The small spider handed Matt a duplicate of the device he was holding and said, “I made this one for you. I want you to have it for your ship. Just turn the dial to its highest setting and it will extend a mile outside your red screen. I know that it was you who chose to talk with Father and allowed us to live. I made this especially for you; I want to make sure you live to see me as I grow up.”

Matt took the device and said, “Thank you, Newton. One of the first things I’m going to do if we survive this harvest is to take you to Ross to meet the King and Queen of our people.”

The small spider quivered with his excitement, “Would you, could you. Oh how exciting.”

Destiny looked at his child and said, “He always keeps his promises, child; just be patient.”

“I will, Father.”

Sprig teleported out to begin manufacturing the new device.

Matt looked at Destiny and said, “Thank you, my friend. Your child has just reaffirmed my faith in you.”

“He’s also made me proud, Matt.”

The little spider just quivered from the praise.

Four months later Al said, “Prince Gardner, the ships have started launching to invade planets.”

“Cassandra, are you ready? The main invasion is about to begin.”

“We’ll be jumping to the entry coordinates in one minute, Matt. Are the megaships ready to handle the ships that try to move to the sides?”

“They are already on station waiting for you to take the point.”

“Thirty seconds to port.”

“Fleet command, order all Searchers to hit their assigned vessels in thirty seconds.”

“Attention all Searchers, weapons free in twenty seconds. I repeat, Weapons free in 17 seconds.”

General Brez, we have assigned a planet for your division, prepare to teleport to the coordinates on your com in thirty minutes.”

Brez listened as Fleet Command assigned other planets to the Red Warrior’s divisions as he transferred the coordinates to his units. He looked and saw the coordinates of the planets center of government and assigned his company to arrive there first. “Full invisibility mode; hit your points and move out to receive the invader’s landers as soon as we arrive.”

Matt watched his display boards and waited for what he knew was coming. “Al, take us to the entry point. I have to see what happens.”

Matt felt the surge and then saw the entry point as thousands of huge ships appeared. They started to move out when suddenly the Alexander Kosiev appeared and thousands of lights erupted from it. They moved too fast for the eye to follow and every light struck one of the huge green ships above or below their center. Green ships were stopping and drifting immediately after being hit by one of the Kosievs’ penetrators. The tide continued and thousands, then tens of thousands of mother ships began appearing. The Kosiev sat at the front of the entry point looking like it was on fire. A huge wall of stopped invaders ships began building in front of the entry point and those coming in began hitting and bouncing to the sides. The hundred thousand megaships that had moved in and taken station around the entry point began adding their fire to the Kosiev and the mass of ships grew bigger by the second.

The Supreme Male waited as he watched his family start jumping into the entry point. His Sensor Male turned and yelled, “I just received a transmission that was cut off that said our ships are being attacked as they enter the door.”

“Contact them and find out what’s happening?”

“None of them are answering.”

“Contact one of the ships in the initial wave and have them go see what’s happening.”

“I’ve already tried, none of them are responding.”

Life looked at his assigned ship as it moved toward the planet. He counted down the remaining time and then launched his penetrator. It flew true and struck the huge green ship directly on top. The ship moved forward for a few seconds, slowed and drifted off course. Life waited to see if anything escaped but nothing came out of the ship. The planet had launched their fleet of ships toward the invader and Life tuned in to their frequency and announced, “This is Wild Man. I am a member of a Realm that has come here to defend you against the ship moving toward your planet. I would recommend that your return to your world and I will notify you of the next action you should take.”

“Was it you that fired that bright projectile at that vessel?”

“Yes, and I am somewhat certain that I have killed this ship. However, I will need to stand by for a period of time to confirm it.”

“You killed that ship with one missile?”

““Yes, I believe I did and I don’t wish to kill any others so I recommend that you return to your planet.”

The fleet commander looked at his bridge crew and said, “I don’t want to face that ship.”

His weapons officer said, “It’s such a small ship, surely our fleet could handle it.”

Life listened to the dialogue and then fired his main beam into a moon circling a planet near the fleet’s location and watched as it blew apart and disintegrated into dust.”

“Maybe that will help you decide,” Life thought to the fleet’s commander.

The bridge crew jumped when the moon exploded and then heard Life’s comment. “Return to the planet; all ships, return to the planet. Still want to take it on, Weapons?”

“No sir, please disregard my last statement.”

Life watched the fleet turn around and make very fast time back to where they had launched. “Good, no more loss of life. I wonder how the other Searchers are faring.”

Of the million ships that entered in the initial wave, all but two hundred were hit before they launched their ships. All of them died.

“Al, can you show me what the Kosiev is firing at those ships?”

“Magic, I’ve slowed the recording down to one millionth speed and this is what I recorded.”