Galactica: Book 1 - Via Lactea

 

Harp and Ian were still very hot, but at least were on talking terms. The two began discussing how to prevent another temper meltdown.

«Ian, the issue is that you took off without thinking. Being hot-tempered is nothing wrong, but acting impulsively can be dangerous. Had I not stopped you, you would have detonated the moment you would have entered that Null Magic Bubble.»

«I see. How do you propose to prevent anything like that from occurring again?»

«The Protectors shall bind permanently from now on. For the safety of Thebes, temper swings will have to affect all seven of us to show.»

«Will it not make us... emotionally dead?»

«It is more like a wave breaker in a port. It does not prevent waves entirely, but it reduces their amplitude.»

«I wonder if the others will accept that kind of bond?»

«We all suffer from strong temper swings, and you are barely entering your teens! Hopefully, it will benefit everyone, non only you. I can easily see a substantial gain for Enron and I. Thorsten too would benefit from it. And being emotionally anchored to Paschal and Lord Agramon would help a lot. And Typhoon, even if he has a name that sends shivers down the spine of Yamato, is remarkably even-headed.»

«For a Dragon.»

«Yes, and thanks the Gods it is so. Can you imagine Typhoon going off the handle with his natural size, and the extensive genetic maps he carries?»

«Why, thank you!»

«Thank you? For what?»

«For thanking me!»

It took a few seconds for Harp to figure out what Ian was talking about!

«You prick!»

«Now what?»

«Now? You create atoms. Condense energy by converting it into matter. Ianium might be a solution, but there are other atoms we have theorised about, like Adamentium.»

«I will create a pound of Adamentium. That way, it will consume several megawatts of energy. That would consume 4x10¹⁴ watts, a minute amount of the energy I must convert. Then we add a couple of miles of Orichalque to Thebes and cover its external surface with some Mithril.»

«Forgo the Mithril. It would make us visible, while Orichalque is just about undetectable. Since we have a surplus of energy, let us try and create other rare elements instead. Add a ton of Ianium. We can still count the number of atoms available! And we might consider adding to our fleet of FSS.»

«Ok.»

The two princes began producing crystalline forms of Orichalque and binding it with the outer skin of Thebes, while dismantling and storing the laser guns in racks deep inside the space city. Meanwhile, the other Royals actively continued the search for traitors and dissidents that were willing to endanger the survival of the Project for their own needs and greed. Harold called a quick meeting of those involved.

"First, what do we know about dissensions within Thebes?"

Paschal, Enron, Sitar and Thorsten looked at each other, before Thorsten took the front stage.

"The situation can best be resumed as such: the bigotry is mostly concentrated in the old population, those we rescued from Earth. There are three groups: Humans, mostly focussed around the old guard, which have been doing all they can to slow the integration of their old fiefs into the community and opposing King Jefferson’s efforts to break class barriers. Jefferson’s reactions have been ferocious, proving without a doubt his total support of the Empire’s goals, but he can not, alone, succeed. I have lent him a cohort, and Mages are actively scanning Humans for betrayal. Jefferson is currently leading an assault on an entrenched group."

"Ah, that is why he is not present. Continue."

"The Human Children have been, in majority, supportive of the integration process, if only because they have been working with other species in training ever since they could crawl."

"In majority does not mean all. What happens to the Children that do not want integration?"

"Jefferson offers them a choice, if you can call that a choice: death of personality, or reengineering in long-term stasis chambers. Most choose the later."

"No summary execution? I am surprised! I would have thought Jefferson, with his history of being abused, would be merciless."

"I thought so too, but apparently, he feels he would be acting like his uncle."

"What does death of personality mean?" asked Queen Mother Amethyst.

"Those that undergo that procedure have their memory wiped clean. When they come back out of the stasis chamber, they have a new name, a new set of memories, and have lost all knowledge of conditioned responses from parental experiences. Reengineering is more complex and changes only the values set. They remember their parents, who they are, and what they did, but their views of what they learned has changed radically. The former is like using a bulldozer to flatten a house, the later is intensive renovation of the interior."

"And the Adults?"

"They get executed. They are foresworn."

"Does this not create distress for those that do remember their parents?"

"It does, but not in the way you would expect. Initially, we thought it would create hatred toward the Empire, but apparently, the Children are relieved their Parents are removed and will not continue besmirching their name. In effect, these Children are the strongest advocates of radical measures. Jefferson had to intervene to prevent Children from executing their own family members!"

"Humans will always shock me."

"Wait for the rest of the reports before throwing the stone, Queen Mother Amethyst."

"I was going to ask we return to the reports. You mentioned there were two other groups, Thorsten."

"Yes, Dad. Sit down. The next group is the Dwarves. There, the numbers were limited, and I personally took the axe to deal with them. I will not let my Throne be endangered by white-hairs who think because I am young I can be stepped on. I suggest you wait until the Spiders have finished cleaning up the Throne Room of the Kingdom before visiting it."

"Is that why you delayed the next Council?"

"Yes Dad. I did not want those that survived the purge to break a leg by slipping on the gore. Disembowelling can produce a slippery carpet of intestines."

Diamondcutter blinked, looking at his Son describe what he had done with a voice more fit to talk about the taste of sausage and meat cuts than a massacre!

"And you did not need the Army?" he asked shakily.

"Killing six hundred sixty-six old geezers after disposing of a Demon Spawn was a piece of cake. I think they forgot whom they were dealing with."

"Do we have a list of names?"

"Yes, and a very fine collection of heads on spikes in stasis cubes right at the entrance to the Council Chamber. When I call the next meeting, the message will be clear. Betrayal of the Oath to the Empire means death."

"How long will that be there?"

"Oh, maybe a century or two, until the old generation has died off."

"I wonder if Jefferson considered the idea?"

"Harold, there is a place called Central Park. You certainly remember it? It is where we held the execution of the Goblins that betrayed Rockhook."

"Yes, it is huge. Why do you mention that park?"

"It is now a forest of spikes decorated with heads. Jefferson took my idea and ran with it."

"I have not been in the inner core since that day. I wonder how much it has changed."

"It depends on whom you ask. For traitors, it did not improve!"

"When I think that we still have to deal with nine or so groups of isolationists, and a little army of betrayers, I have my doubts about the efficiency of the method."

"Harold, these people are so cock-sure they believe they can escape with treason and overturn the Empire to their benefit. Anyway, the last part of my report concerns the Elves. Do you want to take over, Enron?"

"No. I am so furious I would probably bite my own tongue in rage. Dump the crap."

"You remember some Dukedoms were already opposed to Enron on Earth. They tried to regroup and create their own independent Kingdom."

"Even after we disposed of their old leadership?"

"Yes. It is not that the lines of inheritance survived. We effectively did kill the lines, beheading crowned heads by the dozen, but we did not do a thorough mind search of everyone. It was not possible since we were at war with the Crocodiles and the Orcs. We just did not have the time or the resources to do so. We had very few Mages available and they were better put to use insuring survival than weeding out poison ivy."

"Yes. But what brought things out?"

"Apparently, a feeling of safety brings out dissatisfaction. The contesters believe we should return to the state of affairs they know. Again, it is the old Elves that are the most vocal. I have to say the young generation takes things in their own hands and rapidly brings to the attention of the Imperial Council any group that shows a tiny bit of organisation. However, the number of groups is exploding. We need to act."

"And given how long Elves live, we can not wait on them to do us a service and die out."

"Exactly, Annabelle."

"When you say the young generation takes things in their own hands, what exactly do you mean?"

"Harold, do you remember Archduke Volant of York?"

"Yes, a fine blade, if a bit slow."

"Well, he has been calling the contesters to duels and so far, he has skewered all of his opponents. I offered him a new blade a month ago, as his blade of function was showing the wear and tear of sustaining his vow of fealty to the Kingdom and the Empire."

"It must be effective."

"Not that much, given there are probably several hundreds that would benefit from his skewering abilities. I heard he usually deals with eight a day."

"That was under my formal order, Harold. Duels can be tiring, and I estimate that he needs a rest between each one, and a good meal come sext."

"Good thinking, Enron. Yamato? Can you lend a hand to the Archduke?"

"Finally! I thought you would never ask! Some exercise!"

"I wonder what you do with all the cold cuts?" asked Annabelle.

"They are converted to ground Beef for the meat-eating Cockroaches and Ants."

"We must have the fattest Cockroaches and Ants in the Universe."

"Do not worry. We also feed the carnivorous Fishes, the Barracudas, and the Lizards. Strangely, the Ants were becoming picky. They only ate the choicest morsels."

"The crowned heads?"

"No, the Soldiers that obeyed them. Apparently, crowned heads have a higher concentration of heavy metals, and taste bad! The Insects did not want to die of food poisoning!"

"Ah! So it confirms what I always thought! Heavy metal is poisonous for the mind!"

"Dad! You are comparing music to food!"

"What is the difference?" countered Diamondcutter, "One feeds the mind the other the body. What is toxic for one is bound to be toxic for the other!"

"I concur with your Dad, Thorsten. When you play your drums and give me a headache, the metal sure becomes heavy!"

"I am encircled by reactionaries!"

"And he plays jazz, not heavy metal!" added Sitar, to help his friend out of boiling water.

"I am sure there must be a difference between jazz and pots and pans falling due to an earthquake, but I, for one, have not been able to hear it!" replied Samson.

"It is not our fault if you have no ear!" Enron said.

"I dare say you may be right, Enron, for I feel I am growing deaf from the constant noise!"

"No, it is old age!"

Enron flipped out of sight less than a second and came back drenched from a stay under a waterfall.

"Old age, young man? I was faster than you! It feels so good to have mastered teleportation! I can finally get even with all the pranks these little Devils pulled on me!"

"Anyway, what are the numbers of Elves targeted for disposal?" asked Harold, as he sipped his tea.

"The biggest group is yet to be tackled, and has been confined to target practice area. There are the nine supremacist groups we have to deal with that are dispersed in Thebes. We are waiting for Ian and Harp to join us."

"Do we need them?"

"No, but would you like to deal with your Son if we deprived him of his fun? He needs to expand energy in a destructive way, and we are holding back on these groups so he has a metaphorical piece of meat to sink his teeth in."

"Knowing Ian, there will not be anything metaphorical about the teeth."

"We know. Zen and his two friends are also waiting for their fun with growing impatience."

"Emerging from transwarp in two minutes! Standby for emergence!" came over the speakers from the Bridge. The deep growl of Typhoon’s voice was unmistakable.

"Typhoon is in command?"

"Yes. The Runt is at the Magical station, and Felicia at the helm. We must be getting ready to release another repeater."

"I wish Ian and Harp were back. I have a bad feeling!"

"Is that so, Thorsten?" said Harold. "Thebes, establish a direct communication with Ian and Harp, please!"

"Established!"

"Ian, Harp! Report to the Bridge all affairs ceasing! Thorsten has a bad feeling about the upcoming emergence and I am not about to let that intuition get overlooked because of temper tantrums! That is an order!" said Harold in an icy voice. "Let us get to the Bridge before Typhoon rings the Battle Stations! Go on yellow alert, Thebes!"

Shocked out of their work by Harold’s voice, the two Boys created enough oxygen to pressurise their location, and converted to Boy form before porting right on the Bridge, a risky jump given the current speed of the space ship.

"What is the rush?" asked Ian.

"Oh! Good! I was wondering what was up with you two. What do you mean, what is the rush?"

"Typhoon, Harold practically ordered us here with a kick in our solar butt. There must be a reason!"

"He did? We are 20 seconds off emergence! Go on Red Alert! Full Battle Stations! Report readiness! Ian to Firing Station, Harp to Engineering!"

Just as the klaxon rang Red Alert and bulwark closed, the Imperial Family rushed into the Bridge.

"Ten seconds to Emergence!" reported the Bridge Officer.

"What is the issue?" asked Typhoon as he saw the Emperor buckle up and the others do the same as seat belts fell in place the moment the Red Alert was heard.

"Thorsten has a bad feeling about the upcoming emergence. I am not about to dismiss his intuition."

"Agreed. Reports?"

"All weapons at full capacity!" reported Ian.

"Shields at maximum!" added Timor.

"Damper fields at full potential!" noted Iridia.

"Ark lock-down complete!" Greywolf reported. "Thebes is in lock-down. All Battle stations are functional and manned."

"Engineering is green."

"Sick bay ready!" reported Amethyst.

"Internal security insured!" added Annabelle, "I did not bother to wait on the reports from the areas not under our control."

"Communications on standby! Optical sensors filtered! Psionic filters at full power!" the Runt commented.

"Secondary helm manned!" Felicia notified the others.

"Emergence in two second! Emergence!"

***

Thebes emerged into normal space in a bright flash. Its surface was still bluish-hot from Ian’s latest blow-up. From an observer’s point of view, the emergence of Thebes was like a miniature supernova. As the environment came into focus, the camera revealed a strange ship being assaulted by a hive of smaller ships.

"Sensors?"

"The smaller ships are sticking to the big one like glue. The sensors indicate a form of Insect, species unknown. We are still undetected, even with the flash of light we generated, because we are three light-minutes from them. The big ship looks like a Caterpillar."

After a minute, the next report came in from the Runt.

"The ship under attack is occupied by bipedal Marsupials. They are losing ground against the Insects."

"Do you think they would do good allies?"

"Unknown, my Lord. But I do know the Insects would not! They finally detected us and have divided their forces to assault Thebes."

"Open fire!" ordered Typhoon. "Engage evasive manoeuvres!"

As Ian began firing on the smaller ships with everything he had, Felicia began jumping all around the battlefield, trying to materialise in the biggest concentrations of the Hives ships to destroy as many as possible from the sudden dilatation of space produced by Thebes’ materialisation.

"Fourth Swarm! Report to FSS boarding deck two! Ready to deploy in three minutes!"

"What do you plan, Typhoon?"

"Since we are engaged against the Hive ships, we will assist in defending and, if necessary, recovering survivors from that other ship."

"Agreed. Do as you see fit!" replied Harold.

"Have we established contact with the main assault target?"

"No. It may be that we do not share the same communication method."

"Too bad. I so wish I could figure out what happened. What is the result of the internal scan of the target ship?"

"The ship is divided into air-tight segments. The Insects have penetrated within three of the 15 segments, with intense high-energy firing weapons being used on both sides. I think they are some type of masers. It is a very primitive type of phaser. Our Units will be immune to this kind of weapon as long as they wear their FSS."

As the Runt finished his report, the Swarm Leader, Alexander, reported readiness for porting.

"Wave one! Ready to port on my mark! Felicia, bring us to one light-second from the target!"

"On the next jump!"

As Thebes flashed from one location to the next, Typhoon ordered the port.

"Port!"

"Port successful!" noted Thebes, who was in charge of the teleporting.

"Wave two! Ready to port! Port!"

The procedure repeated itself ten times in quick succession. The first three ports had been to the breached segments of the target ship, while the next three targeted the Bridge, Engineering, and Engines. Then the others were spread to include biological life support, living quarters, what appeared to be sickbay, and finally the cargo hoods.

"Do we have reports on the intervention yet?"

"No. The battle seems to have intensified inside the ship, and more segments are being breached by the Insects," replied the Runt. "There are uses of Magic and high-power energy. Apparently, Alexander is in the middle of the biggest battle of all. His magical signature is blinding. He has been sealing breaches as fast as he can while disposing of the Insects that stand in his way."

"Can we fire on the Hive ships that are stuck on the hull?"

"Their hull is too fragile. It would open big breaches and probably kill more of them than it would save."

"I see. Swarm Five to FSS deck Three! Ready to port in two minutes! Thebes, you will port Swarm Five outside the target space ship. Who commands Swarm Five?"

"Isosceles, the Stallion of the Second Herd of Unicorns."

«Isosceles, your objective is to take the Swarm ship glued on the target ship. If you can take prisoners, do so, if not, I will not have nightmares."

«At your command, Dragon Lord.»

"Thebes, ready to port Swarm Five on command. This time port them in a four-sided boxing layout! Felicia, port us to the same distance as before."

As Thebes moved and jumped around the target ship, millions of FSS materialised within a few inches of the Hive ships and began digging their way through the hulls using high-energy weapons and cutting tools. Sudden decompression of what appeared to be methane gases revealed that the Insects were the product of evolution of life in gaseous giants. The methane escaping the hulls of the breached Hive ships quickly condensed on the hulls, tarnishing them and giving the surface a frosty powdery look. Luckily, the FSS had hooked themselves to the protuberances found on the Hive ship, or they would have been blown away by the explosive decompression. Chunks of metal flew out, along with what seemed to be organic material best associated with Insect appendages. As the 5th Swarm disappeared in the rubbish, the Runt noticed that those ships not yet engaged either with the boarding of the target ship or assaulting Thebes were converging on the outer, icy, layer of Hive ships.

"Typhoon, our Units may be caught in a pincer! They are turning our strategy against us."

"They learn too fast for their own well-being. Swarm Six to Boarding Deck One! Three minutes to port!"

Harold blinked a couple of times, but he was not going to put Typhoon in a bind by putting his orders in doubt, especially since none of the Protectors seemed to react to the command negatively.

"Runt, tell me when the Hive ships have linked to the target’s exterior."

"They are slow. It will take them ten minutes to even get in position. I shall keep you informed of their progress as best I can."

"Ok. Ian, what is the situation for us?"

"None has managed to get closer than 250 miles without getting blown to dust. Their numbers are diminishing fast. I am surprised they still fight us. We should look like Goliath to them."

"Felicia, ram the ships that are getting ready to bond to the target vessel. Warp one!"

Thebes sudden gain in speed took the Hive ship by surprise and they were even more shocked, if Insects can be shocked, when the huge vessel passed to within one hundred yards of the target vessel, ramming most of the Insect ships before they could move out of the way and sandwiching quite a few others in a space way too tight for comfort. As the giant ship came back on the other side without even bothering to rotate on its axis, the Hive ships panicked and dispersed before again converging on the Atlantean ship in a semi-spherical formation.

"Launch antimatter missiles on my mark. Change trajectory to cross their bow!" ordered Typhoon. "Mark!"

Thirty missiles each carrying 15 pounds of antimatter left Thebes at point-blank range and hit the leading Hive ships of the hemisphere in a cascade, destroying their target and several others that had the unfortunate privilege of being within the sphere of destruction covered by the ordinance.

"Damage control report!"

"One external camera destroyed. The maintenance Spider is already out to replace the faulty sensor," replied the Runt. "The Hive is changing its configuration. They are forming a tight sphere."

"The idiots!"

"Who said Insects were bright?"

"Arm one 250-pound antimatter missile! We shall detonate it while we are between the Insect cluster and the target vessel, thus shielding it from the explosion. Shields at 150% of nominal!"

"Missile armed!" reported Ian.

"Shields at 150%!" added the Runt.

"Move us between the target and the spherical grouping, Felicia. Do it slow so they have time to adjust and target us."

"You, sir, are devious!"

"Is it not required of Kings, my dear?"

As Thebes slid slowly between the incoming Hive ships and the bigger vessel, in effect hiding it from any blasts, the Hive ships rotated their trajectory to intercept.

"Thebes, port the missile right in the middle of the formation and detonate it on materialisation as soon as they are completely invisible from the target ship. Let us see how they digest that kind of beating. Meanwhile, port the 6th Swarm on the target ship, just in case we miss some of these stubborn Bugs."

"The Maintenance Spider is back inside."

"Thank you for the report."

"Two minutes to detonation. Swarm Six is now hidden by the outer shells of the Hive ships."

"Occlusion at 50%" reported the Runt.

"Distance to Hive ships at 500 miles and closing."

"Swarm Six reports sporadic engagements with Insects within the debris field. Apparently we missed some as we skimmed them earlier. Swarm Five is fully engaged on the back of the Insect Units. Swarm Four is engaged side by side with the Marsupials in defending their ship. At first, their arrival was seen as a worsening of the situation but as the members of the Swarm began decimating the Insects with high-power phasers, the Marsupials accepted the unexpected help."

"Detonation of the missile!" reported Thebes.

"No surviving Hive ships within sensor range!" reported the Runt.

"Stabilise Thebes’ trajectory so it matches the target ship, 100 miles to port."

"You go for show?"

"Yes. We are several magnitude bigger than that ship. I want them to understand that stupidity is not beneficial for them."

Harold could not help but laugh at Typhoon’s comment, as he knew the size of the Dragon King when he decided to return to his natural form.

"Captain Typhoon, I have to report the destruction of one of the revolutionary groups."

"How is that possible? We were never breached."

"I felt an anomaly in the damper field when we exited transwarp, and again as we jumped around during the battle. I send a Spider to investigate, and the Legionnaire just breached the door to the area. Everything has been reduced to a thin layer of organic slime containing a high concentration of heavy metals. This is consistent with the effect of a disabled damper field: everything not tied up solidly got thrown against the nearest surface by huge accelerations. Nothing could have survived that for more than a second, if that."

"How many were in that wall-painting extravaganza?"

"From the sensors, somewhere around 250, mostly Adults, but also some Teens. No Children were within the area at the time. Apparently, the Children took to the hidden shelters the moment the alert became yellow."

"Good for them. Are they still there?"

"Yes."

"Inform them that the Alert level will be downgraded incessantly but to wait for the signal and the arrival of a Legion to exit their shelters."

"It is already done, your Highness."

"I wonder why Children are systematically more intelligent than their Parents. It is as if the Parents deny their own senses."

"Who said Adults had any good sense?" Ian replied.

"Ian!" exploded Harold.

"My point is made!"

***

Meanwhile, Alexander was leading assault after assault on the Insects, wondering where they could all be coming from. The noise within the space ship was terrible, as walls buckled and collapsed under intense fire. Alexander tried, vainly, to repair the outer shell using Magic, but the Insects were tearing it faster than he could patch it up.

"First Mage Legion! Target repairs of the outside hull! First Armoured Legion! Protect the Mages! First Medical! Assess the defenders’ health to the best of your ability! First Dwarf Legion! Rebuild the bulwarks! Diplomatic Corps! Try to establish contact with the crew of this ship! Second Armoured Legion! Protect the Diplomatic Corps from the Insects."

As the battle raged, Alexander noticed an increase in the noise from the outside of the ship’s shell.

"What is happening?" he asked his Tactical Information Officer.

"There seems to be a raging battle outside of the hull. We have reports of several powerful detonations and the ship is being pushed in all directions by the explosions."

"I figure Typhoon decided to sandwich the Insects. I am surprised this ship still has artificial gravity and atmosphere."

"The Engineering and life support are under our control. The Insects have not managed to breach the hull. Engines are also under our control, sir, which is good. They use a contained black hole as energy source. A breach of the containment field would be catastrophic."

"Agreed. As soon as we are clear, I want additional units displaced to the Engines to increase protection of the black hole containment field."

"Sir, we have contact with the 5th Swarm. They are actively pressing the Insects against the hull and decompressing their ships."

"Good. What can they tell us about the Hive ships?"

"Apparently, they breath methane, which clearly indicate a very cold planet surface. Furthermore, their artificial gravity is comparable to what would be found on a gaseous giant. Luckily, the FSS have gravitational compensators or we would be at a disadvantage."

Just as the Lad reported his findings, a group of Insects dropped from the ceiling on the Atlanteans. The battle was ferocious and short, as the phasers cut through the space suits of the Insects. The assailants boiled and exploded due to the sudden decompression of their space suits and the high temperature of the environment, even if the phaser shots were set to stun in an effort to capture at least one Insect alive.

"Who would have thought they would use such poor material for space suits. From spectral analysis of the gases they give off as the phasers skim the surface, it is a thin layer of tin hammered in with copper! If it is their bronze, it sure is a poor imitation of the real product!"

"Hammered? That does not make sense!"

"It does. I think that for them, high temperatures probably means a match. Imagine the difficulty of creating metal alloys without the benefit of fire!"

"So, let me get this clear: the Insects live in a very cold environment, under intense atmospheric pressure, in an atmosphere of methane, where fire is just about as deadly as a nuclear explosion, and they have metallurgy that uses cold fusion by hammering the metals together to create alloys. Yet their space suits are able to maintain their atmospheric pressure, as long as they are not breached in the slightest! This is nuts!"

"What is more nuts is how they managed to attain space flight! How in Hell did they ever manage to leave their gravitational well without creating a cascade of catastrophic chemical reactions is beyond me, sir."

"Get me in contact with Swarm Five. I want them to look into what can be salvaged of the Hive ship. We must find out how they work!"

A few minutes later, Alexander had established contact with Swarm Five.

"Isosceles, Stallion of the Second Herd of the Unicorns, reporting! How may we assist you, your Highness?"

"Not directly, Isosceles. I want you to divert some of your Legions so they begin analysing the Hive ships. Focus primarily on propulsion and pressurisation, but also on life support. What I have been hearing from my teams spooks me off. We may be in for some surprises."

"What are you looking for, exactly?"

"First, how did they manage to escape the gravity well without using high-energy propulsion methods? According to my engineering guys, the mere lighting of a match in their atmosphere would be like setting the planet on fire with dynamite."

"Ok. What else?"

"What is so special with their ship design that it allows to resist intense internal pressure in the void of space?"

"That will be more difficult to assess, your Highness. As we progressed, the ship hulls literally shredded each time we breached them. We would benefit from an intact ship, but so far, we have not had such luck."

"We have the same issue with their space suits. See if their ships have some form of computer where they could be storing ship designs or characteristics."

"We shall look into this. Who knows? Maybe we will find an unused space suit that is in storage."

"Thank you for the effort."

"I must leave you, your Highness. One of my Units is engaging another concentration of Insects. And there are reports of battle behind my lines. Fortunately, I think it is another wave of ours that is holding the line so we do not get sandwiched."

"Go ahead. Keep me informed."

"I shall do so as soon as we have a break."

"I wonder how Insects could grow so big?" wondered Alexander aloud.

"Your Highness," began his second in command, "they may look like Insects but they certainly are not. Biological Units have begun looking into their anatomy, and it is only superficial similarities that are involved here. Their exoskeleton is made of a strong titanium-carbon alloy, which is both light and extremely resistant. Their anatomic systems are completely different from what we call Insects. Yes there are six legs, but two are more for tooling and handling objects than walking. They walk on four legs, with the forward thoracic segment raised at about 90° from their rear segments. Their weak points are the segment junctions and their sensory organs, namely the eyes, which are not faceted, contrary to our Insects. When they decompress, their body fluids are violently expelled via the mouth, the eyes, and the genitals, to the best of our knowledge. What we are left with is an empty exoskeleton. Their antennas are vestigial and seem to be for nuptial parade if that."

"Eww! You can be a bit too descriptive at times! I much prefer extracting the gore myself rather than expect it to come at me at the slightest incident."

"Your Highness, I am sure if you found yourself in their situation, you too would exude your interior by every hole in your body."

"Luckily I did not eat before boarding the FSS or my lunch would be slogging at my feet, inside the suit! What is the normal atmospheric composition found on this ship?"

"Nitrogen 80 %, oxygen, 15%, carbon dioxide, 3% and water vapour 2%. We have two issues: the atmosphere is oxygen-poor and it is rather cold, with a bit too much humidity for our comfort. Also, the pressure is slightly above what would be found at 4,000 feet. We would have serious breathing issues initially."

A biomedical team heard the discussion and decided to intervene.

"Your Highness, I would not recommend removing the FSS under any consideration, even if the atmosphere was ideal."

"Why is that?"

"First, we have no idea of the initial microbial conditions found on this ship; second, this is a war zone, and however far-fetched the idea may seem, we do not know if the Insects themselves might not carry viruses or bacteria that might prove fatal to our kind. Third, we may be carriers of unknown infectious agents that might destroy the Marsupials or might conceivably combine with the microbial life forms of either the Marsupials or the Insects and create a super-bug. We really do not need that kind of shit in the Tessaract!"

Alexander could not help but agree with the Biologist.

"It is worrisome the Insects breached the Marsupial ship. The Marsupials could well be compromised by this even if we finally exterminate them."

"Your Highness, we have an advantage: We can always put the Marsupials in stasis. I have been transferring data to Thebes, and it is readying a number of chambers. Also, their sickbay offers some indication of their biology, so we shall be informed of what molecules can be synthesised to heal them or maintain them in stasis for a short while."

"Good."

"Prince Alexander, we have cleared one more segment of the Insects. The last segment was the most compromised and will take a few more hours to clear up. The arrival of the 5th Swarm has helped us reduce the breaches."

"Can anyone explain why we are unable to raise Thebes directly?"

"Your Highness, the issue seems to be the Hive ships. They emit a continuous full-bandwidth signal that seems to be a rallying call for their kind. We dare not stop it, for fear it might be interpreted as an alarm of some sort," replied the telecommunication Engineer.

"Extend a cable through the last hull breach and to the outside. I want to be able to talk to Enron. We also need to inform Dad of our discoveries and decide on our actions."

"At your command, your Highness."

Another shudder told the command crew the 5th Swarm had breached another close Hive ship.

"Let us move toward the last battle zone. Have we had losses?"

"None. The FSS performed to perfection."

"Have we been able to isolate any of the Marsupials to begin medical treatment?"

"For now, they are moved into the inner rooms of the ship, closer to the core. Their sickbay is full and we have left their Healers to do their work. We observe, and try to understand what each drug is used for. As each vial is emptied, we take the residue and send it under stasis to Thebes for analysis and synthesis."

"Acceptable. What is the most common ailment?"

"Decompression, frostbite, and open wounds, in that order."

"What can we do?"

"Open wounds are cleansed by their Healers, and a dozen Mages are activating cell division using Magic to speed the healing, much to the amazement of the Marsupial Healers. Frostbites are treated by Magic as well. Decompression treatment needs to be delayed. We need hyper-bar rooms to even begin the treatment."

"Stasis chambers have an hyper-bar state."

"I know, your Highness. We are currently waiting for their arrival."

"Mage Callahan?"

"Yes, your Highness?"

"Have you ever anchored a side-along teleportation?"

"No. I am only a class 8 Mage. I have enough trouble teleporting anything, much less myself or myself and an object. In fact, the last time I tried teleporting anywhere, I materialised completely nude. My clothes stayed behind!" replied the Mage, embarrassed.

After a chuckle, Alexander eyed the young Man and replied, still smiling, "You would pass totally unnoticed in the Imperial family. We are unrepentant nudists!"

The Royal party progressed toward the third and last segment currently occupied by the Insects. They needed no guidance by now within the segment, as the internal structure seemed to repeat from one to the next.

"I think these segments were those dedicated to the crew quarters, your Highness. The divisions were simple, functional, and seemed to be able to bunk about 50 of the crew members apiece. I do not know if Officers had the same arrangements as the enlisted crew members. It may be that the next segment is also totally different."

"We shall see. It does not matter how they organise their ship."

"There is an issue, your Highness. They seem to have practiced hot bunking. Given the number of wounded, we can not possibly consider leaving them on-board for treatment."

"How many losses in their crew?"

"We do not have the numbers yet, but the numbers are shocking."

"Give me a rough estimate!"

"Two out of three, so far, and the numbers are climbing, even with our best effort."

"Then your hot bunking issue is moot."

"This is a cold way to see things, Prince Alexander," replied the Healer.

"Maybe, but tell me how to resuscitate the dead and I shall reconsider! Meanwhile, Healer, between bouts of moralistic binge, do not forget to get a cell sample for each of them, dead or alive, and copy these copper plate drawings that seem to be unique to each crew member, stick it to the cell culture and ready them to be sent to Thebes. Put the corpses in deep freeze, and ready for memory mapping as soon as we have a functional understanding of their brain structure. Do not forget to put them in an anti-oxidant atmosphere so their body does not degrade during the cooling process!"

"What are your plans?"

"Rebuild their bodies and remap their brains so the crew is recovered."

"Do you think it is possible?"

"If we can do this for every species now on Thebes, I see no reason why we could not do it for them."

"Do you plan to do the same with the Insects?" said the nearest Healer with a shiver as he looked at the body of one.

"We do need to understand their physiology better. So get over your greenish looks and begin distributing the work amongst the Healers of the Swarm. You have your work cut out for you. Just do not mistake one species for the other. We shall wait some before creating their atmosphere in a containment cell and inserting one of the Insects in it."

"At your command!"

"And make sure your extraction kits are sterile! It would not do to mix the two species samples because of blatant neglect!"

The Healer grumbled but proceeded to do as asked, under the very acid gaze and watchful eyes of Alexander. Each time the Healer thought of making a run for it, he met the intimidating face of the Imperial Prince.

"I sometimes wonder if we should not dispose of the Healers and be rid of Francesca emulators once and for all. Continue with those thoughts, Healer, and I may not wait for the next meeting of the Imperial Council to submit the idea to my Father! You are more trouble than your worth!"

They reached an airlock and could hear battle beyond it, clearly indicating there was an atmosphere.

"Mage Thornton, establish a pressure wall at that corner. I will open the air lock as soon as it is set."

A few minutes later, the Mage nodded, and Alexander used his own Magic to break the lock and pull the door open. They fell in a battle between the Insects and the Marsupials, with no Atlanteans involved yet.

"Fire on the Insects!"

The phasers decimated the Insects in sight, and the Atlanteans progressed rapidly across the Marsupial lines to charge the nearest corner. The Marsupials were so shocked they did not immediately react, and were stymied by the violence of their unexpected allies. The Atlanteans continued their progress, finding more and more dead Marsupials as they progressed and tried to make their junction with the last assault teams. As they rounded yet another corner, they could see the ruby light of phasers at full power, and feel the pressure waves of detonating Insect space suits.

"I wonder what pissed off the Army Commander?"

"I have an idea, your Highness. This segment is the nursery. What we find is Infants and Children with few adult Marsupials. I suspect he or she is in a rage," replied another Healer.

"A nursery?"

"I think this is an exploration ship combined with a colony ship. This is why it is so big relative to the FSS or, for that matter, the Hive ships."

"Continue advancing! Be careful not to shoot at our own troops! I do not want friendly fire casualties!"

The Units progressed further down the segment, continuing to decimate the Insects as quickly as possible. As the front Units made for the next straight hallway, they met the Scout Units of the other Atlantean Army. The two Scout Units recognised each other and sandwiched the residual Insects in an intense cross-fire. A few minutes later the ship grew silent, as the last blasts of phasers died down. Outside, the growl of the other battle was also diminishing, as the Insects were being crushed against the Marsupial ship’s hull before they could bore a hole in it. Outside, in the void of space, the 6th Swarm was cleaning up the last of the Insect ships still functional.

«Your Highness, you have communication with Thebes!» the Unicorn Stallion informed Alexander.

«Thank you. Bore a passage leading from the exterior to the ship’s air lock through the Insect crust wide enough to allow the passage of stasis pods in both directions on a continuous basis. Put your best Mages to teleporting the stasis pods from the passage to Thebes under a class 10 biohazard containment field!»

Taking a breath, Alexander established contact.

"Thebes, this is Alexander! Reply, Thebes!"

"Thebes telecom, your Highness, the Runt speaking."

"Great! Just the one I need! Runt, establish several thousand class 10 biohazard containment fields, ready to receive stasis pods. We have thousands of wounded from the Marsupial side, but no survivor in the Insect, and no one was hurt amongst us."

"It shall be done. What else?" replied the Runt as his claws could be heard playing a life concerto on the command station of the biohazard control centre located across his standard field control station.

"Ask Paschal and Enron to get ready to receive thrice as many biological samples in the level five biohazard laboratory, and to proceed immediately with genetic mapping and to test the full-body regeneration protocols on the samples tagged in red. These are the dead crew members."

"Enron and Paschal have ported to the laboratory as soon as you mentioned the issue. Anything else?"

"Maintain the Red Alert. We may be seeing the tip of the Insect iceberg. Extend sensor range to 100 light-years!"

"I suspected as much. Red alert has been maintained throughout. The General Hospital AI reports there are several hundred stasis chambers ready to port to the entrance of the cavity the 5th Swarm had dug into the shell of Insect ships. Are you ready to receive?"

"Yes. Have you received the medicine samples?"

"Yes. Their molecular structure is now in the system so the stasis pods are able to administer them. From the flasks supplied, it was possible to determine dosage as well."

"Do we have enough cryogenic chambers?"

"Yes. They will be next. Harold suggested we treat the living first and the dead after."

"Good point. Has Paschal examined the intact Insect space suit?"

"No. It is not yet in Thebes, and we are currently focussing on life more than engineering."

«Isosceles, why is the Insect space suit not in Thebes yet?"

«Because it constitutes a biohazard, your Highness. We have no idea what microbial life inhabits the inside of the suit, the atmosphere it carries, or the outer surface!»

«Ok. Leave it outside for now. We have enough issues as it is.»

"Damn it! I almost forgot! Runt, what can we do to clean our FSS? We can not materialise inside Thebes without a sterilisation procedure!"

"We are less the 20 light-minutes from a brown dwarf. The surface is at 8,000° Fahrenheit, more than enough to sterilise the FSS. Port into the surface and take a nice sunbath without any solar cream, and you will be done. Once done activate the recall."

"Ok. What are the plans for the Marsupial ship?"

"We need to know more. For now, put your Engineers to repairing what can be, and try to establish contact with the Officers."

"We are on the Bridge. For now they seem to be content with watching us clean their ship of the Insect infestation. I am moving with my command toward the segment that contains the Bridge presently. Oh yes, send me another Healer before I behead the one that is part of my command team. He is getting on my nerves to the point I may explode."

"You better not!"

"Ian, you have no place to point fingers at anybody!"

As Ian was turning red, Typhoon took him by the collar, err, neck, as Ian was nude as by his habit, and turned him around to look at him directly in the eyes.

"You may be the Heir, prince Ian, but as long as I am Captain, you will behave! One hot issue a year is enough for me!"

"That from a Dragon?" asked Ian with a smirk.

"Yes, Prince! If we had your temper, the Earth would not have survived long enough for water to condense and wet your arse! Now, if you need to expand energy, we still have eight felon clusters to clean up! I am sure Thebes will be glad to guide you and your flames to these locations, but there shall not be any blow-ups on the Bridge under my command, is that clear?"

Ian looked at the diminutive Gold Dragon Boy and could not stop himself. He began laughing so hard he wet the deck!

"I needed that, did I?" he said, hugging his bonded Dragon.

"Yes. Now, are you ready to return to your station?"

"Yes. Let me clean this up first!"

With a simple breath, the Bridge deck recovered its sparkling cleanliness, and Ian returned to his station.

The Runt interrupted the cosy eye exchange between Ian and Typhoon.

"Sensors report a massive convergence of Insect Hive ships headed toward us!"

"Not again! Alexander! How long before you can evacuate the Marsupial ship of all occupants, dead or alive?"

"Three hours!"

"And if we sent the 1st Swarm to assist?"

"That would cut the time by half, but why must we evacuate?"

"There is an Insect Hive heading for our position!"

«OK. Fifth and 6th Swarm, bore another hole to the Marsupial hoods. Do not bother preserving the electromagnetic field. It seems we have been discovered anyway. Once done, clear the external hull of the Marsupial ship.»

Returning to Thebes telecom, Alexander continued.

"I expect the assistance of that Swarm as soon as practical. We should be able to port stuff as soon as the Insect crust gets blown off by the outer Swarms. Meanwhile, use the holes bored to the different air locks! Thebes, ready a tractor beam to pull the Marsupial ship within our transwarp bubble."

"This seems the only available avenue. I am implementing it immediately!" replied Typhoon over the Captain’s microphone.

"Keep us informed of the Hive progress! I want us out of here five minutes before they reach our location!"

"It is also my plan. Swarm One is off, under Rockhook’s command."

"Ok. Now, get the Diplomats to work. We have ten minutes to communicate with the Marsupials. Lead me to their Bridge!"

Alexander began making his way along the ship to the front segment, passing through the very bloodied Sickbay, and clearly indicating he would not put up with any obstruction. Even the Marsupial crews understood something was up and got out of the way as quickly as they could.

"It is the next segment that contains the Officers’ quarters and the command deck, your Highness. The air lock is opened. Engineering reports the ship now has propulsion. The only issue is that the shell of Hive ships blocks the reactors’ exit. Our external teams are busy clearing the front segment so they can recover sensors; another clean-up crew is currently removing the Hive carcases and sending them adrift toward the Primary at half the speed of light. They should reach the Primary in 40 minutes. The Chief Engineer is delaying the removal of the Hive hulls from the Engines for he fears the panicked reactions of the Marsupials the moment their sensors reveal either Thebes or the Insect Armada heading our way. It would be ill-advised to head blindly in any direction and he hopes that the internal sensors of the ship will tell the Marsupials that firing their engines would blow their ship up."

"When will the tractor beam be applied?"

"The structure of the ship requires it be applied across the board. If we pull only on the front segment, it will separate from the rest, leaving the other segments without controls and the front segment without life support or engines to propel it."

"This is a faulty design."

"Yes, but we are not here to teach them space ship design, your Highness."

The group entered the front segment and made their way to the Bridge.

"What is the hold-back on establishing communications?" Alexander asked of the chief Diplomat.

"First, they have no telepathic powers; second, their verbal means of communications are out of our hearing range!"

"Has it ever occurred to you to use the FSS to change the frequency of the sound waves? Why is it I get burdened by incompetent arse holes? Civil servants seem to graduate on incompetence! Now I understand why Harp had several blow-outs with your lot! Do not wait to piss off Ian to learn to use the brain between your ears instead of the one between your legs!"

The Diplomat blushed purple and frowned at Alexander.

"Go ahead, have a heart attack and rid us of your incompetence! Now, do your job!" Alexander turned to a junior Diplomat "You! Begin gaining basic vocabulary by pointing at objects and asking their names! This should have been going on for the last six hours, damn it!"