Nemesis 1: Revenge Is Best Served Hot (14 page)

• • •

Grant waited in space and knew the plan but had no idea if the Nemesis and Cinny had survived the attack. Three hours passed and they felt like an eternity. The shuttle’s computer was down and the jump drive along with it. He thought about attempting a repair but knew if he failed he would die of starvation if something happened to the Nemesis. The seconds seem to drag and he forced himself to lay back in his chair, close his eyes, and focus on all that had happened. After an hour he opened his eyes. Something wasn’t right. He thought about what he had remembered and began looking at other events to see if there was anything to corroborate the thought. He closed his eyes and remembered the meeting with the High Priest when they had retrieved the key. That’s where he found it. Things were not as they appeared to be and he had to discuss this with Cinny…alone. Suddenly, he heard, “It’s good to see you made it.”

“CINNY!”

“Are you alright?”

“The shuttle is damaged. The computer and jump drive are down and there is extensive heat damage to the interior.”

“Is it worth saving? We have two others?”

“We should bring it on board and check it out. You never know when you might need three. How did your plan work out?”

“We found a major Raider planet. It’s inhabited by billions and most of the surface is just one giant metropolis.”

“That’s great. The thrusters still work; I’ll bring the shuttle on board and Whippet can take a look at the systems.”

“It’s good to see you’re safe, Grant.”

“I feel the same, Cinnykins.”

Cinny’s eyes teared up. Grant hadn’t called her that since they were twelve years old. Thank the Creator he was alive.

T
he Planetary Commander looked at the Fleet Commander on his wall monitor, “Have you discovered anything since the attack?”

“One of my attack ships was lost during the search of the area around the disturbance in the ocean.”

“Oh, I didn’t hear anything about that.”

“It took four weeks to recover it off the ocean floor. It was twenty miles down and wasn’t easy to get at.”

“What did you find out?”

“It appears that it was bitten in half.”

“Say what?”

“I know; I find it hard to believe as well but the evidence is clear. Some kind of creature bit the front of the attack craft off. We’ve not been able to find it in any subsequent scans.”

“Are you saying a creature big enough to bite off the end of an attack craft exists in your ocean?”

“It didn’t before the incident. I’m forced to believe that the humans brought it here. We’ve brought in some of our best ships to scan the oceans but nothing has turned up. Whatever did it is not showing on our scanners.”

“How big was it?”

“At least forty feet long. The thing that bothers me is that the ship that jumped away from the site wasn’t much longer than that. I don’t see how it could have transported it.”

“And nothing else has happened since?”

“No. However, one of my scanners told me during the attack that twelve streams of turbulent water moved away from the site immediately after we started firing our major beams into the water.”

“Are you suggesting twelve of those creatures were delivered by a ship barely longer than forty feet?”

“I know it sounds ridiculous but I don’t have any other answers.”

The Fleet Commander stared at the display and said, “We know the Humans were advanced in Genetic manipulation of life forms. This might be one of their creations.”

“What could a life form do to harm us?”

“Don’t assume anything. If that’s what it is, you can be certain it’s deadly. Keep me informed about what happens.”

“I will.”

“By the way, did you send your family away?”

“I sent them away right after the attack.”

The Fleet Commander stared at the Planetary Commander and shook his head, “I don’t know if that was a good idea.”

“Why not?”

“If we can assume they followed me to your planet, and we know that ship was there…” The Planetary Commander turned white. “You might want to send them somewhere else…and quickly.”

The Fleet Commander’s display went dark and he knew what the other Commander was doing. He looked at the images of the destroyed attack craft and saw that whatever had destroyed it had jaws that were massive. He looked over his shoulder at his Science Leader, “How hard is the hull of an attack fighter?”

The Leader punched some buttons on his panel and said, “They’re as hard as the hull of a major battleship, Sire.” The Commander shook his head and wondered what was going to happen. He decided to move his family to another location far from the galaxy where the attack had taken place.

• • •

“Sire, the Planetary Commander on the planet that was attacked has asked for an extended leave.”

The Principal looked up from his console and said, “Why?”

“He says he’s been on active duty for ten years and he’s having problems with his children.”

The Principal snorted, “I can understand that. My eldest wants to kill me and take my place. I was considering demoting him for the loss of the ships in his fleet. This makes it easier. Tell him he is now in our reserves and can take all the time he needs. When he requests to return to his post, refuse him.”

“Yes, Sire.”

• • •

The Planetary Commander looked at his new orders and saw that his replacement would arrive in two days. He was to bring him up to speed on the current situation and would then be in the reserves. He thought about the attack craft that had been recovered and brought undercover to a small building where it was inspected by a team of six scientists. He met with them and discovered that a life form had destroyed it. He thanked the scientists before pulling out his blaster and vaporizing all six of them. He used the blaster to burn the exposed front of the attack craft and then called for a demolition team to come and pick it up for recycling. He knew that the Fleet Commander and he were the only ones that knew about the biological attack and he was certain the other Commander would say nothing about leading the humans to his planet. It would be death if he did. If the Commander was right and the Humans followed his family to Bergold… He needed to disappear quickly before things started happening.

• • •

Three days later, he took a commercial vessel and gathered his family. He purchased a small ship and fled to a planet outside the Raider Dominion. The new Planetary Defense Commander wondered why the previous Commander was in such a hurry to leave but didn’t think much about it. Later, he understood why.

• • •

Eight months passed and the crew of the Nemesis spent their time on board. One of them would go to purchase supplies occasionally but for the most part, they stayed on board and used the computer to look at the detailed history of their former home planet. Whippet left for four months to visit his family and it didn’t seem the same without him.

• • •

Cinny took off her helmet and looked at Grant, “When are the children going to start playing?”

“It shouldn’t be too much longer. The Crocs needed time to grow and Iggy told me that if there’s a good food source for them, they should be close to full size in about nine months.”

“They can grow that fast?” Grant shrugged. “Maybe we should go check up on Iggy and Slick.”

Grant smiled and said, “This boredom is getting to you, isn’t it?”

“It is.”

Grant looked up, “Ana, we’re taking the scooters to check up on Iggy.”

“I can take you there.”

“No, save the fuel. We’ll stay in touch and call if we need you.”

“Be careful.”

“You know us.”

“That’s why I said it.”

• • •

They arrived at the lagoon and were welcomed by Slick, Iggy, and their new hatchlings and spent time catching up and telling them that a new planet had been found to attack but the success of the first hatchlings had to be determined before any more were dropped. The youngsters were highly disappointed but understood.

Grant looked at Cinny, “Let’s go swimming.”

“Is it safe?”

Grant looked at Iggy, “Are there any dangerous life forms inside the force field?”

“No, I removed the bulk of them and my children have taken care of the rest. Why do you ask?”

“Cinny and I are going to take a swim.”

“I didn’t know you were amphibious.”

“Actually, we’re not. We can’t live underwater but we can swim.”

“Have a good time.”

Grant stood up and started taking off his armor. “What are you doing?”

Grant looked at Cinny and smiled, “I want to feel the water on my body. Come on.” Grant touched his ear, “Ana, we’re going to take off our armor and go swimming.”

“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

“It’s safe. All the dangerous life forms have been removed.”

“I still don’t think you should remove your armor.”

“Ana, you’re worrying for no reason. We’ll put it back on as soon as we finish. Relax.”

“But…”

Grant took off his helmet and turned off the power. Cinny said, “She’s yelling for us not to do it.”

“Tell her that we’re in command and we’ll be careful.”

“She says one of us should keep it on.”

Grant picked up his helmet and powered it on, “Ana, what’s so important about us keeping our armor on. Have you not told us something?”

“No, no, it’s just safer.”

“Then relax. It’s perfectly safe and I’ve been in this suit for too long. I need a short break.”

Cinny looked at Grant and saw something was going on. She wasn’t going to take off her armor but now she wanted to know why he was so adamant. “Ana, we’ve done much more dangerous things and you’ve never said a word. Why are you acting like this?”

“I just worry about you.”

“You didn’t say anything during the attacks.”

There was a pause and they heard, “Just be careful.”

“We will. We’ll contact you as soon as we leave the water.”

Cinny began undressing and saw Grant without any clothes. She smiled, “You’re pretty good looking.”

Grant watched her undress and smiled as well, “Look who’s talking. Let’s get in the water.”

They walked out in the water and it was cool against their skin. Grant began swimming and Cinny followed him. After about fifty yards, Cinny said, “Why were you so adamant about taking off your armor?”

“This is the only way I can talk with you without Ana listening in.” Grant looked back at the shore and said, “We need to talk about this quickly. I wouldn’t be surprised if she jumped here and used her scanners to listen in.”

“What’s going on?”

“Something’s not right, Cinny.”

“I didn’t think you noticed.”

“Noticed what?”

“You tell me what you’re talking about.”

“Do you remember when Ana said that the ones who created the Spiders didn’t know what they had done?” Cinny’s eyes narrowed and then went wide. Grant nodded, “Now you see it.”

“There’s something else, Grant.”

“What is that?”

“During the first battle with the Raider ships at the planet where they nuked the city, I took my hand off the controller and lifted my feet off the floor.”

“And?”

“Whippet was still able to fire the missiles using the advanced technology. It was dependent on one of us touching the ship.”

Grant nodded and said, “If she’s coming, she’s here. Nothing more about this for the moment.”

“But…”

Grant shook his head and said, “I’ve forgotten how good this feels. We’ve got to do this more often.”

Cinny’s eyes were troubled but she forced a smile, “I agree. This will be a reward for us.”

• • •

Ana arrived over the planet and activated the Nemesis’ scanners. She found the lagoon and focused on the two shapes in the water and heard, “But…”

“I’ve forgotten how good this feels.” She continued to focus on them and wondered what Cinny had said ‘but’ to. But their conversation was normal and she jumped away when they walked out of the water and began putting their armor on. She didn’t want to be detected by their scooters if they connected to them.

Grant walked over to his scooter and sat on it to dry off. Cinny walked over and Grant thought she was the most beautiful sight he had ever seen. She stood beside him and watched him turn the dial on the scooter’s scanner, which Grant had left active. She saw a blip appear showing a ship above the planet. He looked at her and saw her nod slightly. They put on their armor and spent the rest of the day with Iggy and Slick.

• • •

The next day, Grant walked on the bridge and saw Cinny and Whippet staring at their monitors. Cinny looked up at him as he said, “Ana, plot a course to the Choten-Zan monastery.”

“Why would you want to go back there?”

Grant’s eyes narrowed, “Ana, are we in command of you or are you free to do whatever you want?”

There was a pause and Ana said, “You are in command.”

“You’ve started challenging everything I want to do from swimming to going places. My scooter’s scanner showed that you came to this planet while we were swimming. Just who are you working for?”

“I’m your servant and work for no one else, Grant. I just worry about your safety.”

“If I told you to self-destruct your circuits, would you do it?”

“I am not programmed to do that.”

“Then we are not truly in command of you. We have nothing to control you if you are working against us.”

“Why are you so upset, Grant?”

“Why did you come to the planet to spy on us while we were swimming?”

“I just came to make sure you remained safe. There was no other motive.”

“Then why did you leave so quickly? You were attempting to be deceptive and that shouldn’t be part of a computer’s programming. You are not what you present yourself to be, Ana.”

“The one that created me took you to the Choten-Zan when you were babies. If I am a danger to you, then she could have ended your lives before they even started. I am her personality and it distresses me that you can’t understand my fear for your lives.”

“Let’s be clear on this; do not question my orders in the future. And if I find you being deceptive again, we will capture another ship and leave you.”