Alutia Rising, Anniversary Edition (Alutia Rising Series, Book 1) (57 page)

“Even with self-destruct protocols
implemented, we estimate that both the ASU Schnac'lasis and the HDP
infected human escaped and are now on the Earth's surface. We
recommend a course of action be decided immediately,” Vin's sphere
vanished and the room went silent.

“Your Grace, you must forgive me for doubting
your word. This is a very serious matter and I must return to my
starship and discuss a suitable plan of action with my commanders.
We will reconvene tomorrow at this hour,” Sasha held her rebuke on
her tongue.

“That would be fine, Knight High-Admiral
Baric,” instead responding politely. He and his command staff
saluted as they removed themselves from the meeting room.

“Finally,” she sighed, feeling reborn, “let
us began the discussion on how we plan on going forward,” Both
Knight Admiral Bhool and Knight Captain Quinn raised their
eyebrows, but thankfully, neither raised any objections.

“Have there been any reports of outbreaks on
the surface?” she looked to Knight Captain Quinn, who glanced over
his shoulder at a TSB captain, who quickly stepped forward.

“Yes, Your Grace. A few isolated towns in
Southeast Asia joint management region have shown, what we believe
to be, an infection outbreak similar to this HDP. But we have been
unable to actually verify the infection or locate any of the
creatures from orbit,” Sasha nodded.

“Yes, but didn't Captain Trelic state they
also had trouble locating them at first as well? They seem to be
able to avoid detection that makes it difficult to locate from
anyplace but the ground,” Vickie, it appeared, had more on her mind
then debauchery.

“I do recall that as well, Your Grace. I'd
advise we send all available battleguards to cordon off the area
and try to locate, and then eliminate the infection before it
spreads,” Knight Admiral Bhool said while increasing the size of
the projection of Earth, which now had two tiny red spots marking
the suspected outbreaks in the Southeast Asia region.

“There is another issue, Your Grace, the
local governments and the corporations that control them. Our
starships are clearly visible from Earth and orbit, causing quite a
bit of hysteria.” Sasha hadn't considered the repercussions of
blockading a planet that didn’t know of the NHA’s existence.

“Knight Captain Quinn,” she turned to the
man, who held her gaze with mutual respect, unlike Sir Baric, “can
the TSB attempt some sort of disinformation campaign? I recall
Tre...I mean Sir Trent, mentioning that it is widely known that the
ruling corporations perform secret experiments. Could we use this
to our advantage?” Sir Quinn furrowed his brow and beard, creating
a unique look only a man of his size and stature could pull
off.

“It is possible, Your Grace. I will assign my
best communication and engineering officers on the task. If anybody
can do it...they can,” Sasha nodded, turning to Knight Admiral
Bhool.

“Can you handle the logistics of assembling a
suitable ground force to erect a barrier around the infected
regions?” Knight Admiral Bhool nodded, “we can then worry about how
to locate and eliminate them after they have been contained,”

“If you’ll excuse me, Your Grace,” Lady Bhool
stood, followed by her entourage, “I would like to begin operations
as soon as possible,”

“Of course. Let me know if Sir Baric gives
you any trouble,” she said with a hint of humor, but Lady Bhool
only nodded, a look of concern appearing for a moment before she
exited.

“I must get to work as well, Your Grace.
Please excuse me,” Knight Captain Quinn stood, pausing just as
Sasha was about to respond.

“Your Grace, I thought you would like to know
that the majority of the personnel on TSB Earth Base made it
safely. About 50 of the traitors didn't survive, but the orphans,
injured, and captured personnel were able to escape,” a wide grin
appeared beneath his beard. “Sir Simwa, his guards and retainers,
and the remaining traitors were captured without harm and are
currently in custody. So this time, we should be able to properly
deal with him,” Sasha smiled broadly at the pleasant news. She
couldn't wait to tell Trent. Vickie apparently shared a similar
thought, her eyes burning with absolute delight.

“Thank you, Sir Quinn...that is indeed,
fantastic news. Please let me know if I can assist in any way.” He
nodded, starting towards the exit, then stopped again, Daiyu
bumping into his back.

“One more thing, Your Grace,” he turned back
in embarrassment that didn’t fit his masculine appearance, “may
Vice-Commander Daiyu and myself see Sir Trent? I would like to
apologize and thank him for all he's done for the TSB and NHA,”
Sir Quinn’s
words touched Sasha's
heart.

“You may...but not today, I plan to bring him
to
tomorrow's meeting.” A few eyebrows
rose in response, word had spread about his condition and the fact
he would be bed ridden for a month.

“I look forward to it, Your Grace. If you
will excuse me,” he bowed again, then quickly exited with the rest
of his staff in tow.

“Shall we excuse ourselves as well and
indulge in some fine dining, Sasha?” Tiana asked as she stood,
stretching dramatically.
It’s a good idea,
she thought, but
she had other matters to attend too.

“I shall have Gil’Da prepare something for
me. I would like to eat with Trent,” Vickie and Tiana cooed
teasingly, the unison uncanny. Sasha tried to smack them both, but
they jumped out of reach with a merry squeak that Terra echoed from
her bosom. She started to chase them around the table, then stopped
herself with a sigh.

“I am going to see Trent,” she stated with a
huff, hurrying from the room, not even looking back at her two
giggling ladies.

The virgin jungle closed in around him, its
densely packed flora, mixed with the stifling humidity, made every
step a battle in itself. An insect crawled into his ear as he
pushed through a bush with meter wide leaves. He tried to remove
the prickly invader, stumbling over a hidden root in the process,
falling to his knees. A swarm of gnats erupted from the damp soil,
diving towards him like tiny fighter jets to attack his exposed
skin. He swatted at the cloud, trying in vain to defend against
their assault, forcing him to extend the hood feature of his ground
exploration uniform, or GUNI. Only to retract it a moment later
when the sweat pouring off his brow soaked the fabric faster than
the GUNI’s auto-dry feature could work. With an annoyed sigh, he
pushed on.

When a request for volunteers for ground duty
came through the fleet channels, Daniel had jumped at the
opportunity. Any chance for him to escape Xi and her sadistic
lovemaking was a chance not to be missed. But of course, the ground
duty tuned out to be of little relief.

His assignment required trudging through
dense jungles that flowed like a river around a mountainous range
to plant shield spikes in the oppressive summer heat. They weren't
informed of the exact reason why such a mission was required. But
the gossip on the landing shuttle told it had to do with an alien
born, viral outbreak, a few hundred kilometers to the east, which
needed to be contained.

He worked his way through a patch of chest
high ferns, their sharp frowns biting at his chin, trying to move
in the direction indicated by the arrow projected by the combat PDU
that sat snuggly over his ear.

“Not again,” he muttered, a thicket of trees
with massive, moss covered trunks and vines thicker than his arms,
blocked his path. He pushed his way through, only to find a gully
of tightly packed, three meter tall, spindly bushes with thorns the
size of his fingers. Luckily, a long fallen tree bridged its span,
but was so rotted Daniel considered doubling back in search of
another route; discarding the idea when he realized he was already
behind schedule.

Slowly, he crawled across the trunk, using
the spotty growth to keep himself from sliding off its curving
edge. Once clear, he worked his way around a small pond, careful
not to sink into the mud that extended well beyond its bank. A
steep rise appeared before him, barring his way with an unbroken
covering of bushes, ferns, and trees. Fortunately, there were some
conveniently placed vines littering its face.

An annoying buzz filled his ear the moment he
began his ascent, another of the pesky insects coming for his
blood. He swatted in its direction, trying to scare it away, and
lost his grip on the vine, grasping an exposed root just before he
tumbled back down the hill. The moist vines began to slide
precariously in his sweat soaked gloves when he finally reached the
crest. Daniel squatted, breathing heavy as the destination icon
flashed on the display projected before his eyes.

He pulled free one of the long, silver
colored bars with a clear globe on one end, from the case he
carried on his back. He placed it on the ground and waited. The
bars vibration told it was set and he let go just as it extended
deep into the ground while simultaneously shooting a hundred meters
into the sky. His display flashed again, a new arrow appearing to
point to his next destination.

The trip down the hill went quicker then
Daniel had intended when, catching a loose piece of mud, he
slipped, tumbling down, through the damp bushes and ferns, missing
a tree by only a few centimeters. With a loud, painful splash, he
crashed into a shallow pool of stagnant water.

“Damn,” he growled, pulling himself clear,
plucking free the leeches and bugs that were trying uselessly to
bite through his GUNI.

“No!” a muffled shout echoed from nearby,
followed by the sounds of many birds and animals fleeing in all
directions. Daniel's combat PDU flashed an emergency beacon,
meaning someone was in trouble and he was closest support.

For a moment, he considered ignoring it, not
wanting to place himself in danger. But then he remembered that
their movements were being tracked, and if command noticed him move
away from an emergency beacon, Xi would become the least of his
worries.

Carefully, he crept in the direction of the
beacon, trying not to disturb the dense undergrowth. He pushed
through a group of waist high bushes flanked by massive, moss and
vine covered trees. When he was halfway through, the display
flashed 10 meters till destination. He kneeled, listening intently,
but finding the jungle eerily quiet.

He pushed on, to the line of five meter tall
bushes, with large green leaves, that blocked him from what lay
beyond. He forced one of the leaves aside, ignoring the water that
trickled from its mates down his neck, unable to pull his gaze from
the expose clearing just beyond.

Three ABF Battleguards lay on the ground, a
strange green, sticky looking slime oozing from their skin.
Something covered his mouth, dragging him back into the waist high
bushes. He struggled to break free, but the strength was
enormous.

“Quiet!” a voice hissed in his ear. Daniel
glanced over his shoulder, finding an older man, with long,
thinning grey hair, wearing the red and black jumpsuit of the ABF.
“Stay silent, it's still around,” he released his grip when Daniel
nodded, “we need to get to a shuttle, and quickly,” the man
instructed, leading Daniel away from the clearing.

“Shouldn't we help them,” he didn't actually
want to, but he always tried to make a good first impression.

“It's too late, once the bug gets ya’, it's
all over. I've seen it happen a couple times already,” the old ABF
crewman paused, noticing Daniels rank. “The names Tho'Mos, ABF
Senior Deck Engineer,” he saluted, “took this job because I thought
it would be some easy land duty,” Daniel returned the salute, eager
to get moving.

“TSB Lieutenant Daniel, here for the same
reason,” Tho'Mos nodded.

Before they could start moving, Daniel's
combat PDU flashed an emergency evacuation order.

“I have a waypoint for a shuttle to the
Northw-,” Tho'Mos pushed him down, firing his laser arc over his
back. An inhuman screech responded, making Daniel's hair stand on
end and a shiver to explode across his flesh.

“Run!” Tho'Mos threw Daniel ahead, into a
tangle of vines, as he fired his laser arc again, though only an
angry howl rose in response.

Daniel didn't think twice, crawling his way
through the heavy vines, then breaking into a sprint when he
cleared the dense underbrush, in the general direction of the
shuttle. Inhuman screeches and howls followed, filling the jungle
around him.

What have I gotten myself into?

The porridge dribbled down his chin as Sasha
partially missed his mouth...
yet again
. Trent had a feeling
she was doing it on purpose, since she would smile and giggle, her
eyes twinkling with delight when she wiped his chin clean. It felt
like she was fawning over him like a newborn baby, and he found, to
his own chagrin, that he rather enjoyed the overbearing
attention.

Once Sasha returned from the command meeting,
he'd been introduced to the two beautiful ladies sitting together,
laughing at him and Sasha from one of the seating areas near the
corner of the bedchamber. The brunette, with a single braid that
fell to just below her waist, was Lady Vickie, while the short
blond, with wavy hair that could almost be called curly, was Lady
Tiana. They were ladies-in-waiting to Sasha, which was further
explained to him as a sort of assigned friend. Used so ruling and
important high level nobles, who were expected to only keep certain
company, could have proper companionship. The whole concept was
foreign to him. But he recognized it in its most basic form. They
were friends...real friends.

Melancholy momentarily overtook him as his
thoughts wandered. He wondered what it was like to have a real
friend, someone who would enjoy his company and him theirs.
But
of course, I don’t have anyone like that
, he knew, all people
ever wanted to do was use or abuse him
.
His sudden mood
change must have caught Sasha's attention, since she lowered the
spoon, staring at him, eyes questioning.