The Lost Earth (Lost Starship Series Book 7) Page 20

  Thrax worked to keep from clacking his pincers in nervousness. From experience he’d found that she hated hearing him make noise. Her pincers were rather soft and thus much quieter. When Thrax clacked, his pincers sounded hard like a soldier’s.

  The control area seethed with activity as special sub-Hive Masters watched screens and relayed commands to the anxious fleet.

  There were more than a million warships waiting to launch the great invasion of Human Space. With these numbers, they would have a hundred thousand times as many vessels as the soft-skinned mammals. It would be a crushing conquest.

  Thrax did not presently have access to a screen. He was a technical assistant waiting in the background with throngs of others. He and his helpers had completed their plan. Now, would the command ship go through the hyper-spatial tube last as was the custom? That had been one of their thorniest problems.

  Thrax had been sure he could get himself posted elsewhere. That had been the first failure regarding his grand scheme. If the Golden Nexus blew up with the command ship on this side of the hyper-spatial tube…Thrax waited for the perfect moment to speak up. He could not do it too soon—

  A buzzing sound commenced in the ship as power surged through the Golden Nexus.

  “Over there, Reigning Supreme,” the Assault Master said. “That must be the hyper-spatial tube’s opening.”

  Thrax observed a large screen that had just popped up. The swirling vortex in space was indeed the beginning of the hyper-spatial tube. According to his calculations, the tube would stretch over two thousand light-years away.

  Thrax had studied the enemy star systems while in the Golden Nexus. His orders had been to project the tube into the Solar System. Thrax had done otherwise in order to implement his plan.

  Over ten thousand hybrids like him were in the fleet. Most of them were posted to the star-drive-jump saucer-shaped vessels. Ten thousand was less than a drop in a bucket compared to the millions of Swarm creatures in the war fleet. But ten thousand was ten thousand times better than one.

  Thrax waited for the Reigning Supreme to ask him if that indeed was the opening. She did not. Instead, she ordered the Assault Master to send through the first scouts.

  Masses of Imperium warships waited nearby. The First Scouting Arm headed for the tube. Soon, ships entered the swirling mass, disappearing as they began the nearly instantaneous journey to Human Space.

  The Reigning Supreme and her court watched the proceedings with interest.

  Thrax swayed nervously from side to side. He yearned to give a warning to the Reigning Supreme, but he also feared to speak out of turn. He had to get her ship through before the Golden Nexus exploded and thus ended the hyper-spatial tube. Thrax thought furiously. The longer the entrance swirled, the more agitated he became.

  The Assault Master glanced at him from time to time, but he said nothing.

  “What are you staring at?” the Reigning Supreme demanded.

  “I hesitate to say,” the Assault Master said.

  The Reigning Supreme’s appendages wriggled in annoyance. “Does it have anything to do with Thrax? He is behind me with my functionaries, and that is where you keep staring.”

  “It does,” the Assault Master admitted.

  “I could feel his nuisance along my exoskeleton. Well, what is he doing now?”

  “Swaying as if agitated,” the Assault Master said.

  “Stop it at once,” the Reigning Supreme said without trying to scuttle around to look at Thrax.

  “Forgive me, Great One,” Thrax said in an outburst, “but I’m worried.”

  The Reigning Supreme’s appendages wriggled even more. She addressed the Assault Master. “Did I or did I not give the hybrid an order?”

  “You did indeed,” the Assault Master said.

  “How am I supposed to enjoy this moment if the technical assistant interrupts all the time?”

  “Should I summon soldiers?” the Assault Master said.

  “I worry, Great One,” Thrax said, “for your safety.”

  Silence filled the command area. The feeders dared not move, the touchers dared not polish the Reigning Supreme’s shiny exterior. The sub-Hive Masters all froze lest AX-29 notice them and send them to the crushers, to squeeze their life juices into the feeding vats.

  “Why do you spout such nonsense?” the Reigning Supreme finally asked. She hadn’t turned yet. It almost seemed as if she didn’t want to look at Thrax.

  Thrax understood that she found him repulsive. That hardened his resolve. He’d outwitted a Builder. He could surely outwit the bloated Reigning Supreme, and in that way, he would prove his superiority over her. He would, in fact, prove that he was superior to the entire Imperium.

  It was at this moment that Thrax had the first inkling of his true goal. He did not dwell on the inkling, but it had burst up from his subconscious during this fearful moment.

  “Great One,” Thrax said.

  “I am not ‘the Great One,’” AX-29 said angrily. “I am the Reigning Supreme. Can you not even use Imperium titles properly?”

  “Forgive me,” Thrax said, “I am in error.”

  “That is a constant problem with you,” she said. “Why must you ruin my greatest moments?”

  “I am worried the swirling entrance may be unstable,” Thrax said in a rush.

  “Is this instability due to negligence on your part?” she asked.

  “On no account, Great—Reigning Supreme We did our task perfectly.”

  “Then why should there be a risk?”

  “It is the Builders’ fault,” Thrax said.

  As a hybrid, Thrax was perhaps the greatest liar in the Imperium. Most Swarm had no conception of lying. Only the Hive Masters and above could conceive of the concept. Since AX-29 viewed him lower than that, she tended to take Thrax’s statements at face value.

  “Do you understand what he is spouting on about?” AX-29 asked the Assault Master.

  “I do not, Reigning Supreme. Should you let him elaborate?”

  “I do not want to,” she said, “as I loathe hearing his voice. It always sounds wrong, as it is much too harsh. Do you not agree?”

  “I had not realized, Reigning Supreme,” the Assault Master said. “Yes, I do find his voice repugnant.”

  “That you feel so speaks to your high breeding, Assault Master.”

  “You are generous in your praise.”

  “There you are wrong,” AX-29 said. “I am perfect in my pronunciations.”

  “I am honored by your words,” the Assault Master said. “You guide us with perfect intellect.”

  “Do you hear that, Technical Assistant?” she asked Thrax.

  “Yes,” he said.

  “Yes, he says,” she sighed. “He speaks in such a loutish way. We have refined ourselves through intense selective breeding. He is repulsive with his heavy appendages and constant movement. Does he not realize that stillness aids our intellect?”

  “I do not think he does, Reigning Supreme,” the Assault Master said.

  “The Queen has tasked me with a hard duty,” she said. “Thus, I will use the freak’s knowledge because I must.”

  “Glory to you,” the Assault Master said in a ringing voice.

  “Very well,” AX-29 said. “Thrax, hurt my sight by coming into my line of vision.”

  Thrax scuttled from the court behind her, coming into view. He was quicker, but she was many times bigger. Thrax had to restrain himself from thinking of cutting up her exoskeleton. How he would love to hear her shriek in pain.

  “What is that stupid-looking expression on your face?” she asked.

  “The look is due to the honor you do me.”

  “I do you no honor at all. This is a horror to me.”

  “Then I am glad you accept my—”

  “Silence, Thrax. The taint of your pheromones makes me want to vomit. Now, without your breath reaching me, tell me about this danger.”

  “The entrance of the hyper-spatial tube may produce inst
abilities in the general region,” Thrax said. “Those instabilities could damage the harmonics of the nexus’s hyper-generators. You see, the vibrations—”

  “I did not ask for a tedious explanation,” AX-29 said. “Thus, spare me your boring lectures. How can you fix the problem? That’s what I wish to know.”

  “The problem will become worse over time,” Thrax said. “By that I mean, the vibrations will grow—”

  “Speed it up with your warning,” she said. “This is taking too long, and I am becoming hungry.”

  “I suggest you enter the hyper-spatial tube sooner,” Thrax said. “Thus, you will spare your command vessel and your person from possible harm. Those who wait have a greater chance of—”

  “I see,” she said, cutting him off. “That is enough. Go back so I don’t have to look at you and fear smelling your stink.”

  Thrax scuttled out of her view. The various feeders scuttled away from him as if he had a disease.

  “Assault Master,” AX-29 said. “Begin moving the command vessel toward the entrance.”

  “May I suggest another possibility?” the Assault Master said.

  The Reigning Supreme and the court grew silent. “What?” she finally asked.

  “Perhaps Thrax could turn off the hyper-spatial tube for a time and restart it later,” the Assault Master said.

  Thrax almost interrupted to say that would only make things worse.

  “No!” AX-29 said. “We will enter the tube now and await our war fleet on the other side.”

  Thus, in minutes, the great command vessel and many of her defending ships headed for the hyper-spatial tube.

  -4-

  Against all protocol, the command vessel moved during the first ten percent of the conquering fleet’s maneuvering. It was an unprecedented act.

  Thrax silently preened as he stood in the back of the court. He’d known he could convince these so-called intellects. Imperium theory said that stillness aided thinking. Thrax thought otherwise. He believed that his motion, his ability to fight, run and slink aided his thinking. Motion helped to stimulate his thoughts. He did not always try to rest secure, either. He put his own being in danger in order to implement his plans. The Hive Master class seldom faced danger. They sent others to kill and die, while they claimed all the glory for having thought up the strategies.

  Thrax thrilled to travel through the hyper-spatial tube, popping out much closer to the end of the Orion Arm Spiral. He knew that the nearest star system was Tau Ceti, twelve light-years from the prized Solar System.

  Other motherships came through the hyper-spatial tube. Afterward, more scout vessels poured through the opening. Medium warships slipped through next—and without warning, the exit to the hyper-spatial tube vanished.

  At first, only Thrax noticed. But then, he’d been watching the monitors for it to happen. Fortunately for his further plans, all the saucer-shaped jump ships he’d brought from the Builder Dyson Sphere had already made it to this side of the now vanished tube. In those ships were his only allies in the universe.

  Soon, the Assault Master on his pallet began to issue orders to the screen monitors.

  AX-29 must have noticed. She gulped faster, draining her feeding tubes. Only then did she spit the tubes out of her mouth. The feeders had been giving her the highest-grade royalty mush, her favorite.

  “What is the problem?” she asked the Assault Master.

  “I’m not sure there is one yet,” he replied evasively.

  “You’ve upset my feeding schedule,” she said. “So, you might as well tell me what you’re worried about.”

  “It is the hyper-spatial tube exit, Reigning Supreme.”

  “What about it?” she asked.

  “It is gone,” the Assault Master said.

  Silence filled the spongy-floored deck.

  “Technical Assistant!” shouted AX-29. “Come forth and explain this cessation.”

  Thrax scuttled forward as his hearts beat rapidly. This was the next critical moment. He had to survive it. If he didn’t—Thrax refused to allow himself that possibility. Still, if she ordered his death, he would attack and try to scar that lovely polished exoskeleton. While he hated the Reigning Supreme, he could still appreciate beauty when he saw it.

  He bowed low before her bloated bulk.

  “What is the meaning of the exit’s disappearance?” she asked.

  “I hope the fools at the entrance did not push in too fast,” Thrax said in feigned anger.

  “Reigning Supreme,” the Assault Master said. “Could I ask the technical assistant a question?”

  “By all means, do so,” AX-29 said.

  “Why would ships crowding the entrance cause the exit to disappear?” the Assault Master asked.

  “It is obvious,” Thrax said in a scathing tone. “You mean to tell me that you don’t see it?”

  “Impertinence,” the Assault Master declared.

  “Me?” asked Thrax. “I’m not the one speaking out of turn.”

  “Reigning Supreme,” the Assault Master said, looking to AX-29.

  “Stop this bickering,” she said. “Answer the question, Technical Assistant.”

  “If several ships tried to cram into the opening at once,” Thrax said, “they could have upset the harmonics of the tube. If they did it violently enough, they might have caused the tube to collapse.”

  “How long until the tube…reappears?” asked AX-29.

  “That is an imponderable,” Thrax said.

  “I do not like your answer,” the Reigning Supreme said. “We hardly have any ships here at all, a mere 80,000 according to that monitor. Are you suggesting the hyper-spatial tube won’t appear any time soon?”

  Thrax assumed his plan had succeeded. That meant the Golden Nexus would never manufacture another tube, because the nexus would be drifting junk in space. He did not dare say that, however.

  “That is possible,” Thrax told her.

  “Assault Master,” the Reigning Supreme said, agitated. “What is your suggestion?”

  “I do not understand,” the Assault Master said.

  “We are in—where are we?” she asked the Assault Master.

  He barked orders. Workers moved screens before him. Soon, the Assault Master said, “We are in empty space.”

  “Why are we not in the Solar System?” she asked.

  “I imagine Thrax has failed you in this, too,” the Assault Master said.

  “Thrax,” she said. “Where are we?”

  “Twelve light-years from Earth,” Thrax said. “Earth is the human species’ origin planet.”

  “I know very well what Earth is,” she said. “Twelve light-years is too far. I will be aged before we arrive there.”

  “Only if you headed straight there at sub-light speeds,” Thrax said.

  “How else would I get there?” she asked.

  “Use the Builder-made jump ships.”

  “There are only four hundred of those with us,” the Assault Master said. “Are you suggesting we attempt to conquer Human Space with a mere four hundred warships?”

  “You must use surprise against the humans,” Thrax said.

  “I am outraged,” the Assault Master said. “Our 80,000 vessels are barely enough in this place for a defensive position. Now, the mongrel speaks of conquering with a mere four hundred jump ships? I think the trip has unhinged him.”

  “That isn’t how I see the situation,” Thrax said. “We have plenty of vessels to annihilate the inferior mammals.”

  “Are you seeking to give us strategic advice?” the Assault Master asked, outraged.

  “If 80,000 vessels are all we have,” Thrax said, “then let us conquer the humans with them. That is better than running back to the Imperium admitting gross defeat.”

  “Reigning Supreme, I demand—I request that my soldiers—”

  “You demand?” Thrax asked, having noticed the slip. “Who are you, Assault Master, to order the Reigning Supreme as if she is your technical assista
nt?”

  The Assault Master turned to AX-29 in horror. “I did not mean that—”

  “Yet you said it in a commanding tone,” Thrax added. “We all heard you. I wonder, Assault Master. Did you engineer the craft to block the entrance so you would leave the Reigning Supreme with only a handful of vessels? Have you lost your mind, hoping to supplant her in power?”

  “Reigning Supreme,” the Assault Master said. “He is a lunatic—”

  “Because I see your subtle threat against the Reigning Supreme’s position?” Thrax asked. “Yes, I am only a technical assistant. But as one, I see the nature of your threat with greater clarity. I cannot believe your perfidious—”

  “Silence!” AX-29 shouted.

  Thrax fell silent, knowing he’d taken a terrible gamble in speaking like this. The Assault Master was cunning. If the master plan was going to work, he had to weed out the other strategic thinkers until he alone was left. Thrax had reasoned this out carefully. Yes, AX-29 hated him. But the royalty did not realize other Swarm could think and plot. In truth, they could not. But he was a hybrid. Yet, because they held him in such contempt, they would not expect such devious behavior from him.

  The Reigning Supreme stared at Thrax. He stood frozen in obedience. “How is it you can see a threat in the Assault Master?” AX-29 purred.

  “Because he despises me,” Thrax said, “he has grown careless by what he has said around me.”

  “I cannot believe this,” she said.

  Thrax dared to play his ace card. “I have a recording of it, Reigning Supreme.”

  “What?” both the Reigning Supreme and Assault Master said in unison.

  “Look how the Assault Master talks out of order,” Thrax said, “speaking at the same time as you as if his words have equal weight. That is a sure sign of his rebellious nature.”

  “Reigning Supreme,” the Assault Master pleaded. “Let me call the soldiers so they can shred this foul beast to pieces.”