Chapter One

THE FLIGHT OF LT. DWIGHT

 

Flying to Limo 2, an atom of data clings to memory; squelched until worst moment.

--was a min, match six plus. Slinky and I playing doctor, hear a ruffle. Sure us the UPs coming for, escape to my house. Mom open to it, Slinky gets a kotch and that night, we play doctor in depth. Words sprinkle; Schedule One; her brother, convict.

 

Revs go, about nine now. Standing at my gate. Coming down the road, a Strange. Can't finger it, but abnormal. Mom says, Go In. Afraid. Go. Dad talks of Crime, prison. Later, matching the Strange = brother of Slinky.

 

Hear the voice of Jaruf:

 

                          "When war begins
                                when blood drowns the stars,
                                you will remember when you asked me;
                              "What is Miunow!"

 

 Flying to Limo 2; flying to Miunow.

 

Nimble output during first spin. Never penned where Schedule 1 convicts go. Didn't know any--save Slinky's brother. Most saps weren't sniff and worry when a derge got doom.  Families move, name change, put themselves on the other side of the grid where their fungus grew. Schedule One convict, should be death is the song, humanity is the lift.

 

Always penned Limo 2 a cheap source of silicas. That's all one got from the blurbers, the maps, didn't know the name Miunow--don't check I'd ever heard it before the now.

 

Now I know, make my match.

 

Commander had cut Sector 1 in a Zerk flyer, seen by TSF--Maybe he was unable to config the radio to correct frequency and explain. Maybe they didn't give him a chance to explain; saw a Zerk batwing and fired first.

 

Maybe he was unconscious when they got to him, maybe tried him without giving him a chance to output, or maybe they didn't believe his output.

 

Maybe maybe maybe

 

The fact is that he was convicted and shipped where the Schedule Ones go; Miunow. That's where the defobabes get to work their brain control. That's Slinky's brother. That's Commander.

 

Defos.

 

That's what we call the Lymogyenes; deformed babies, cause they're sure freaky enough. Look like fat pink babies with big pink teeth and two thumbs on each hand.  Never liked them, always wondered what their side of biateral agreements were; guess I know. They run the prison.

 

In exchange for our protection they take our felons; murderers, terrorists, rapists, whoever it is we don't want around.  I shiver, it's not my suit, it's me.

 

Boxing thought I take a scan as I suck as much joy I can from being part of the New Live It Hard Squadron. The squadron containing me, Eldrige Dwight, hard and sharp, flying black, with no scope of anything Zerk, no scope of anything.

 

I'm mind dealing the Zerks could use the back route.

 

Why did the Brass think the Zerks would make a stand moving through 2 to 3 when they could take 11 and come up?  Limo II is in Sector 12; that's behind Sectors 3 & 4; our turf, Saps side of the line. The Zerk home ball is in 10 and there's another in 13; 11 is ours, that's where Shalimar is.

 

If they skirted the 11th they could find a corner of space to get into the 12th, if they were interested.  

 

My squad isn't progged for the other side of Sector 3, where it touches 11. Our parameter is a fly from 3 to this side of the star in 12; planetwise it reads Beta Mar to Limo II.  If the Zerks take the backdoor, we won't scope. If they go for Monster, that's the route they'll chose.

 

If they go.
Why should they?

 

2468, December 5th, Earth reckoning; the 43rd Battallion attacked Zechia. There wasn't any force field; why'd we think it?  

 

Our bombs fell to ground; who knew the Zerks only inhabited the largest island? That's where our bombs fell.

 

Megadeath.

 

We didn't mean it, didn't matter. We'd done it. We'd nuked an entire population on a world. Is it genocide? Or do we need a new word?

 

The Terran Space Army Corps scanned; it was their operation. Nothing was alive on Zechia--no--someone--a survivor--. He was tracked, a few soldiers pulled on their hot suits and went down.
It's a child.

 

And Colonel David McPherson decides to take custody.

 

Supremo is ratchety; didn't mean to commit genocide. Just acceptable murder. Begs truce.
The Zerks; for the second time in the history of the wars; from 2222 until 2468 come to the table.
No one mentions the survivor.

 

McPherson raises him, trains him, gets him included in human census. He passes for Space Fleet and is accepted.   How? Guess selection was done by computer. And computer only knows highest scores.

 

When did the Zerks know he was alive?

 

I'd guess whenever eDapktchoy was assigned to his first Class Ten Battlestar. Part of the truce means Five Zerk observors ride our Battlestars, Five saps ride their erssavis.

 

eDaptkchoy would have been Lieutenant at their first eyeball, they must have penned him traitor and quitclose.

 

So why would they war for him?

 

Why would they try to pluck him from Miunow when they knew it would mean war?

 

Flying to Limo II, flying black, nothing pinging until D'amato's voice;

 

"No sound from comsat 5--none from planet-."

 

We tighten, send tests, wanting the ping.

 

No ping.

 

Offline.  Don't need to know--know.

 

Scanners straining, nothing, nothing times nothing. D'amato does a specta- "Picking hot--."
Radiation. High. And dust. 15% above acceptable params.

 

"Come in Limo 2--." D'amato's calling Santa Claus.

 

"Slow to 35k2." Nimble orders.

 

We're a million klics from the planet but know there's been hits, but we're going closer to make it suck into the coms so the data dogs can pull, the sci guys can chew.

 

There's nothing alive there.

 

No flyers buzzing--Blue team, the one we're to relieve, is erased. Six killies as we, anti-matter.
How?   Six killies in VX--can't see, can't catch--unless--unless the Zees had the tech--they had the tech--.

 

The com is dancing, data filling.

 

And Biko's voice: "They got the weapon--. The whole potato--."

 

All could read the scanners; wording it not required.

 

"Nimble." I call. "Before or After?"

 

"Before--." He flicked.

 

But knowing strange, it's all after.

 

Form the arrow, revert to the Excalibur, fingers on buttons, eyes straining, for it's Red here, but nothing playing.

 

"They're good." Whispers Ladybug.

 

The Zerks got here, wiped and were gone. And we never got the Es from Es Oh Es---.
The Zerks were in the Game. They'd played Diplomatic Channel too. Maybe not with our finesse, but they knew the game.

 

It was war, didn't see how to make an avert now. Limo was part of the Terran grid. Where would the Zerks go next?

 

"You want to flybye Shalimar?" jibes D-man.

 

No one output, we were six killies far from Momma, and weren't making detours. I didn't analyse the data sucked from Limo. Could be living down there. Could be one half piece crawling--alive--. We couldn't land anyway; these birds only fly, can't take grav or atmosphere.

 

If there was a cargo ship--rescue?  Rescue what?

 

The TSF wiped Zechia. Then went into rescue mode.  Why?  Let the Zees clean their own. No.
Rescue the survivor. Order by Colonel MacPherson. Wasn't ordered by Supremo, Col. Mac on his own authority. Rescue.

That's how Monster got to be our Honcho. Now Monster's gone. Should have left him on Zechia. Let the Zerks do the clean up, take him home to their house. But we took him to ours. Now he's gone.

 

Why would the Zerks buy war to rescue him?

 

If what was done to Monster was Standard Procedure, wasn't much left cept to bury.  Guess same reason Johnny Burns got vanqed.  Dishonour.  Probably wiped the planet with Monster on it.

 

End dishonour with death.

 

"Nimble--." I output, "Maybe they want us to know they've gotten the potato?"

 

"Joker, if you need to masturbate do it quiet."

 

"Chew that, Squad Leader--." I off the radio.

 

Why couldn't they just wipe Limo, prove they got the tech and leave it there?

 

The TSF could make it's backstep. Face saved, life saved. Only the Lymogyenes get to die; just those who run the prison or the mine. And some sched one cruft; loss we could accept.

 

Why pull war for a Freak they never lined in all the revs antecedent?

 

Maybe it's stopped here. Maybe the attack on KeyTash, the loss of the battalion, the nuking of Limo was enough. It could be enough.

 

Didn't have to be war.

 

The Exie opened and we inned, the data dogs on spot as we exited the closets and found the galley. I didn't feel like eating, but didn't want to find my kotch.  I was eye scrapping, looking for a fem, found one. She saw me staring, made a step.

 

"So what's out there?" She asked.

 

"Can't output, but might mumble in my sleep." I give.

 

She did a scope; is my output worth a skibby?

 

I tried to make my map entice; I guess she had nothing else to do, so a head jerk and moved to the portal. I made it after her. She took me to her cabin and it had been a long time. After I'd drained she wanted the hushabye.

 

"Miunow's closed." I whisper.

 

"What's Miunow?" She asked.

 

"When war begins when the blood
drowns the stars, you will remember
when you asked me; "What is Miunow!"

Chapter Two

 The iKhay
uPAYCHEL

 

I had avoided confrontation. Upon control deck at the advent of the Prison Ship, I dispatched iTays to view and report.  I did not attend Shari; she required solitude to regain her sha. What had been done to eDapktchoy I was not capable of beholding.

 

Aware iKhyarm placed Shari within my Chamber, I took that of my omTay and reposed. Arising, after refreshing, I was informed the Doctor had concluded her ministrations. I strode to the Injury Unit, into the Section taken from the quando vessel to the capsule in which eDapktchoy lay.

 

His torso and head exposed, his injuries of no import, yet his aura capsized my reason. I departed to gain fiuma and balance my sha. It was beyond comprehension and I would not twist my rational to understand.

 

aVadi, my first Aide, informed of our trajectory, the alertness of the flyers which swarmed, aware I was disharmonised. To distract, he told me of the quando Doctor, her connection to the series of events. I had heard the rumors why uReglimi never mated.

 

I allowed the teka to conclude before attempting to confront Shari. I was informed the wecawl, iKhyarm, present in a bastard manner of Aide.

 

He had been created her brother in a configuration of emtradath, and rumours suggested he might be zychothesha.   I had perceived the amity he provoked among the oRains, knew his father one who could not seize power yet effect balance.

 

I attended my chamber. iKhyarm manifested as custodian, and gazing beyond him I perceived Sharon, in repose.

 

I directed him to the side chamber, my Aide, iZamel, accorded fiuma cut with symenthe. I felt iKhyarm's suspicion as I had when we be within uReglimi's Fortress on KeyTash.  Yes, this foolish oRain is zychothesha for Shari and may soon die either of it or because of it. But I would speak of other matters.

 

"oRain--the horror sits within my brain as--" I did not complete but sipped from my cup. I could not conceal my terror. "oRain, of the ZeSha, eDapktchoy--."

 

"It is eviler than imagined," He reveals. "Lord, I saw what I do not recognise as being observed. The hemgye permitted no aspect to remain undamaged--Save his sacred region--" He declared this perhaps stronger.

 

Our gaze webbed, I would not retract. heTalya may be his hazi and her mate, eDapktchoy, his brother. Yet, this was my erssavi, my power dwarfed his. More significantly, there was connection twixt myself and Shari he did not perceive.

 

"The Lady heTalya?" I ask, to plumb the depth of his passion.

 

"She is disharmonised. She of herself fell into darkness upon witnessing the effect of the--" he gestured towards his head. "Upon reversion the Doctor injected her, which is why her repose so deep."

 

"She comported as a Warrior upon that place?"

 

"Zha, as a great ZeSha."

 

"oRain, she has given him her sha, her suffering equals his."

 

"Lord, this I recognise; I have been her azi---"

 

"That is advisable." I reply, though much within his gaze to be kept silent.

 

He studied me and I am assured he is aware of the skeins of ascendancy. Though I might be of the peerage of eDapktchoy, a few etalia older than he, my rank superior to iKhyarm's father's.

 

He had been informed, perhaps vaguely of the cord twixt I and Shari; he had placed her in my salpi. Had he placed one I did not cherish it would be affront and I could take his life.

 

Conjecturing his advisement I moved to the kalki, knowing the sound of my rank designations confirm the power I held.

 

"I am fervent to cross into ZerShaz space." I mention. "I entertain Terran attack."

 

"iKhay, we have superior weapons to the Terrans. The vehes soar about, ever efficient to destroy any enemy that dares to affront us."

 

"This I appreciate." I reply, waiting while his sluggish brain recalls it was I who piloted Shari's flyer from ZerShaz landing it upon KeyTash.

 

uReglimi's Aide, a superior aviator had arrived from KeyTash to exhibit the VX to the Great Lord; The VX; the Terran's greatest weapon. A fighter which could attain velocities we could not dream, possessed of a weapon effective above and below the speed of light.

 

Our existence required we gain such fighter; for without it the Terrans would destroy us.

 

When aboard uReglimi's erssavi eDapktchoy created diagram of such fighter. Duplicated and dispatched to our planets, where such being constructed; yet to gain an material VX, ahh that was the prize!

 

And Sharon heTalya the Sakari had granted such gift.

 

The aviator who arrived was uReglimi's primary umRain. He had given me instruction. I, a superior aviator, was competent to operate the craft and return it to KeyTash.

 

I was not, as the sons of Ki-ZerShaz, a lineage Lord, whose conjunction to power had gained me the best postings and training. Zha, I had a most illustrious family, but my ascendency was on my ability, not the name of my father, uncle or otherwise.

 

Now this pretty boy gazes upon me, recognising my abilities and my potency and softly admits: "I have never seen ZerShaz."

 

He was of the planet of Kintwin who would not gain ZerShaz perhaps once or twice in his existence while thereupon I abided as did all my lineage.

 

Zha, he now recognises he does not trade words with a common omTay, but a Lord who exists within ascendency.

 

"The ZerShaz would desire to distinguish the Lady heTalya." I reveal so he would further comprehend he must not forfeit his existence by shows of braggadocio.

 

He was astounded by the idea of seeing ZerShaz, coming before the Great Lord and that his 'hazi' would be officially sanctioned as the Sakari.

 

In the silence, my thoughts moved to the mate of Shari.

 

"oRain, I have observed eDapktchoy." I paused, then swallowed the contents of the cuplet, he too drained his cup. "Regardless

Impressum

Verlag: BookRix GmbH & Co. KG

Tag der Veröffentlichung: 01.10.2021
ISBN: 978-3-7487-9607-7

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