Temple of S.A.R.A.H. 5: Debug Mode (7 page)

“Herren and Fokkor are on rapid standby, Sir. All others are out investigating possible locations,” the aide replied as he used his control of the holographic board to show his superior the units in question.

“Move Fokkor here,” he indicated a spot on the map very close to where Vulpas was located. “Make sure they are heavy on supplies and have them take an extra medic. Hot standby on location until Vulpas returns. Then both units are to return to base for evening meals.”

The Lieutenant entered the commands into the computer and looked up to see the unit begin moving on the big board. They moved to the supply point first, then rapidly moved to follow after Vulpas. “Fokkor in motion, Sir. Position in twenty.”

“Very good Lieutenant, thank you,” Cren’lith replied nodding. “The Aracs are down here.” He tapped the large map and indicated their area. “They would starve before reaching maturity. We have to assume that they know that as well, which is why they moved south to begin with.”

“Sir, the Aracs, the Queen included, are little more than pupae after hatching. How would they know to move? Do you believe they have inherited memory like some of the biologists suggest?” the aide asked.

“Possibly, but I think it’s more than that. Not all of the interior mass of the pod was taken up by eggs. There was something else in there. I’m betting it was either a communicator of some kind, or a computer capable of guiding them until they mature.” He snorted. “It could well be both of those things. Honestly, Lieutenant, we simply do not know. We assume there is only one queen in each pod because most arachnids do not tolerate the presence of other queens very well. It could be that we are looking for more than one hive. But, that is inviting trouble we do not have room for.”

The Lieutenant nodded his understanding, but suddenly began listening intently. “Contact. Vulpas Two has engaged an Arac soldier.” The Lieutenant began entering commands on the holoboard so his commander could see what was happening. “The Arac is avoiding contact.”

Cren’lith nodded. “No doubt trying to hide from our soldiers. If they can tag him, it might very well lead us right back to the hive.”

The Lieutenant nodded agreement, “I believe they have already done that, Colonel.”

“Kick Fokkor in the ass and recall all investigative units. Immediate dispatch to the east as soon as possible.” He again opened the channel to the ship. “Command, we have contact with an Arac soldier in the vicinity of the village of Discovery. Terran soldiers currently occupy the village. I am preparing to redeploy my troops according to the plan, but what do you want us to do with those Terran troops?”

“Colonel, if the hive is near Discovery I don’t think the Terran troops are going to want to stay for very long. Try to get them to relocate, otherwise you’re going to be fighting through them,” Captain Edgigly replied.

“Understood. I’ll do what I can, Captain,” Cren’lith replied. And looked at his aide. “Do we have any former Terrans in Vulpas or Fokkor?”

The Lieutenant ran a quick check and nodded. “Yes Sir. Captain Br’nit’s executive officer is Terran. Lieutenant Wendy Foster.”

Cren’lith nodded. “Get me this windyfoster, I have a mission for him.”

“
Wendy
Foster is a female Sir. It is two separate names.” The aide replied as he worked to connect to the Lieutenant’s personal comm unit.

Cren’lith snorted. “Humans! I will never understand their naming conventions! Thank you Lieutenant.”

The man smiled and nodded. “I have her on the comm Sir.”

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V
illage of Discovery

Northwest Territories

Canada

Planet Earth

Sol System

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“I
understand Sir, I’ll do my best.” Wendy replied to her battalion commander. She looked at her captain. “It looks like I have to abandon you, Sir.”

“I’m certain I will wish you had been able to remain, Lieutenant Wendy Foster. However, Colonel Cren’lith is a much-revered commander among my people. If he feels the need for you to undertake a separate mission, it is my duty to support you in it. What do you need?”

“I am to try to convince the Terran Soldiers holding the village of Discovery to move. It would appear that the hive is near that village and those soldiers would be quickly overwhelmed,” Wendy explained to her immediate commander. I know we cannot let any of our equipment fall into their hands, but I feel I will need to show them something if I am to convince them of anything. May I borrow your spare plot board so I might show them the danger?”

“It is yours, do you think they will listen to you Lieutenant Wendy Foster?” Captain Br’nit asked.

Wendy shook her head. “No, they will not go past trying to arrest me. At that point no matter what I say they will not listen to me. They are very obstinate individuals. Still, the attempt must be made.”

“Private Harper O’Neal, Private Allain, I have need of you.” The Captain again looked at the smaller female. “You will not go in there alone. I will send the two I called as your guards. If Colonel Cren’lith did not order it I will; remain in contact at all times. Report any new developments and remain safe. If the Aracs attack while you are there, they will focus on you as you have the most powerful weapons.”

“Thank you Captain. I will depart as soon as the two privates arrive,” Wendy replied just as the two Marines in question touched down near them.

The Simonian Captain nodded to her. “Be well, be safe and call if you need assistance.”

Wendy saluted her superior, pointed to the two new arrivals and motioned them to follow her. She locked into their private comms. “Listen up, we have a side mission. The Arac hive is very close to the small village the Terrans have occupied as their base. We have to convince them to clear out before the Aracs attack them or we assault the hive. There is a very good chance these Terrans will simply ignore what we are saying and only continue to try to arrest us. We are not to let that happen, nor are we to allow them to have any of our technology. For the most part, you two are along to keep me safe, and I am supposed to convince these idiots to move. Let us hope you are far more successful in your mission than I am in mine.”

“We still can’t hurt them, right, Lieutenant?” O’Neal asked. “This is my old unit, I might even run into someone I know.”

“That might be helpful, O’Neal. Keep your eyes open for someone you might know. No, no harm if we can prevent it. If the Aracs attack while we are there, we are to defend the Terran commanders, although we will most likely attract the most Arac attention since we have the best toys,” Wendy explained.

“Understood Sir,” both privates replied.

“Now, all of us are human so as to not make the Terrans uncomfortable. Try to speak English as much as possible when dealing with our, uh, hosts. Any questions?” Wendy asked.

Both privates indicated they had no questions, and the trio flew on at treetop level straight for the village of Discovery, twenty miles further to the east.

Their arrival was about what Wendy expected though. The moment they got within a mile of the village, the idiots on the ground began firing at them. The trio ignored the weapons fire and flew on. At the edge of the large clearing where the airfield was located, Wendy and her two guards gently floated to the ground and simply began walking towards the village.

“Hold it right the fuck there! Don’t take another fucking step or we’ll kill you where you stand!” one of the soldiers that now surrounded them yelled.

“Oh bullshit!” Wendy replied which made him flush in anger. “If you could hurt us at all, you would have already done it, and we both know it. Now, I’ve come here to speak to your commanding officers. Would you be so kind as to pass the word along for me please, Sergeant?”

“Just who the hell
are
you?” the belligerent NCO replied.

“Lieutenant Wendy Foster, Sergeant. These two Marines are my guards. Now would you please pass my message to your commanders?” Wendy asked again.

“I’ll consider it after we get you three put in the nice cells we have for you,” the sergeant said and motioned to some soldiers.

“Are you really that stupid, Sergeant? How did you ever make it to the rank you have? Your people have been shooting at us for the last five minutes, and we don’t even have a scratch on us. Do you really think we are going to meekly submit to you? No. Now, call your commanders, or I will simply walk over to your command post myself. Do you understand?” Wendy said indicating the command post clearly marked in the village.

“Lady, you are really tryin’ my patience. You better hand over those weapons, and let us take you to your cell, or we will open fire on you right here. Do you understand that?” the sergeant said, angrily.

“If you shoot us, you will most likely hurt one of these soldiers because the bullet will ricochet off our armor. Wait, let me guess, you think I’m threatening you now right? Man, you really are an idiot!” Wendy said. She pointed to one of the troopers surrounding them. “You, Private! Go get your platoon Sergeant or Lieutenant. This idiot is about to get one of you killed,” Wendy ordered. It was clear she was used to command, because the private almost ran off to follow her orders.

“Stay put, Wills. She isn’t in command here,” the NCO said. “Okay, bitch, you asked for it. Wills! Garret, escort these three to the stockade, if they resist, shoot them!”

The two privates stepped forward and Wendy motioned for her two guards. “This idiot is no help at all, let’s go guys.” She turned and all three started walking toward the village and the command post.

“Squad! Back off and open fire! Take them down!” the sergeant ordered. The Terran soldiers backpedaled and started firing at the trio as they slowly walked towards the command post in the hut near the landing field. The white clothes that all three Alliance Marines had been carrying since leaving their own lines clearly visible.

On the front porch of the hut, Wendy could see the command officers standing outside watching the proceedings. Bullets were flying all over the place, and as she predicted would happen, one of the Terran soldiers fell to the ground, followed shortly by another, and yet another. The officers at the command post must have ordered the sergeant to stop shooting because he did soon after that. Wendy and her guards still advanced on the command post.

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N
ear Discovery

Northwest Territories

Canada

Planet Earth

Sol System

––––––––

V
ulpas used their armor to quickly converge on Sergeant Tul-sa and her teammate. They had gotten a positive ID on an Arac soldier, although it had been a little smaller than they were used to. Tul-sa had managed to tag it so when Captain He’rsree arrived, she set one of the probes on the signal from the tag and launched it; they couldn’t afford to lose this Arac.

“They picked a location close to habitation, Captain. That can’t be a coincidence,” Tul-sa replied as she knelt next to her commanding officer. Since the computers in their armor were still limited, Tul-sa had to physically link her tracking unit into He’rsree’s computer in order for the drone to follow the tag Tul-sa had fired.

As she watched the drone racing through the woods on her visor, He’rsree silently hoped Eric would be able to build the upgrades for the new armor. It would be good to be able to do stuff like this without having to physically connect the suits together.

“We have no way to know, Tul-sa. Personally, I agree with you, but there is still no proof. For now, let’s just focus on finding and then killing these Shuk-pa. We can worry about their society later,” He’rsree replied. “After all, that’s why we’re recording everything.”

“Yes Sir. I’m just a little worried about how close those Terrans are,” Tul-sa replied.

The Captain nodded. “Well, those Terrans are so certain of their ability to handle any situation that I doubt anything will get them to leave. Bravery is one thing, but blind stupidity in the face of overwhelming circumstances is quite another.”

Tul-sa chuckled. “There is a human saying that goes; ‘there is a fine line between bravery and stupidity.’ I think that would definitely apply here.”

“Well, as far as we know, the Aracs haven’t started taking the Terrans yet. But, it’s only a matter of time,” He’rsree replied. “Got him! That is one fast spider!”

“I’d heard they clocked one on the surface of Jakkar II at almost eighty klicks per hour,” Tul’sa said conversationally.

He’rsree was a little distracted as she chased the critter with the drone. “The drone is bouncing back and forth between about forty and seventy. I think all the trees are slowing it down, but it sure is weaving through these trees. Whoops! It just dropped into a hole. Here we go!”

“Captain He’rsree, this is the Honor of Vengeance; recording and mapping software is on-line. Approach and secure hive entrance, wait for reinforcements before breaching. Repositioning other drones to listen for resonance echo,” the AI reported. Each of the drones emitted a special subspace signal that they used for mapping. An echo received by another drone could indicate either an area of much softer ground, or another ingress into the hive.

After only a few moments of mapping, He’rsree could tell the underground was a complex maze of tunnels and chambers. She could also see that they looked to be leading off to the east toward the village of Discovery.

Her unit, a military grouping roughly the same size as a Terran military company in terms of number of personnel, settled to the ground around the still hidden tunnel.

“Holy shit! Captain, Sergeant, I think you should see this!” one of the troopers called. He’rsree and Tul-sa moved to where the trooper had called and were surprised by his discovery. In a framework almost like a tent, a tightly woven web of fibers had been built over the entrance. The amazing thing was that the fibers seemed to disrupt light to the point that they completely hid the large hole from anyone not directly on top of it. Even ten feet away, the hole was completely camouflaged.

“Command, are you seeing this?” He’rsree asked.