Chosen (10 page)

“That's right, Lieutenant.” Ted met the man's eyes, bringing every bit of authority to bear.

“You've always argued against rescues.”

“Maybe I'm tired of letting the Horde steal our men, women, and children without a fight.”

Robert snorted. “That's bull and you know it. I've seen your face when you watch the mothers crying over their lost children. If it bothered you, you would have gone a lot sooner than now.”

Ted clenched and unclenched his jaw, trying to get a handle on his warring emotions.
Should I tell him the truth of the Chosen? If I do that, everything will fall apart.

Everything has
already
fallen apart!

Ted growled as the voice of Gerok filled his head. Of all the Guardians, he had been the one to voice the loudest opposition to the Masters' plan to send them early to their worlds to watch over and train their Chosen.

Perhaps he was right after all.

“I make the decisions, and my orders are final. Is that clear?”

Robert narrowed his eyes and cleared his throat, the pulse at his temple beating in time with his heart. “What exactly are your orders?”

“We leave at first light for the Horde camp. We bring only Martha, Brad, Brent, Mark, and Tess. Tell no one else. I'd rather keep this as quiet as possible.”

“Yes, sir.” Robert turned on his heel and left, back ramrod straight.

Ted sighed and rubbed a hand over his face. The hurt was evident in the posture of his second in command, and he hated keeping the best of his men in the dark. But doubt silenced his voice before he could put sound to words that might have implications more far-reaching than just this one planet. As he lay in bed, he sent a silent prayer to the God of this world, then fell into a troubled sleep.

K
ROMIN

--Describe the planet to me.

Leader 70521 sat quietly in her domicile. She wrote down the details she was receiving from clone 9684. It had traveled far from Kromin, about 500,000 parsecs, yet the signals from its mind were coming in fairly well, though faint. Mirka had to fight a feeling of pride. This was the furthest any of the Chosen had been able to communicate.

It was important to document what each of the clones sent to her through the telepathic link. The other research leaders would want to know details about these planets. Some of them were gaseous in nature, with torrential storms even more powerful than the ones here on Kromin. Others spun strange orbits, heating as they came close to their sun, surfaces boiling, then freezing as they hurled away from the sun. One world orbited a neutron star. The clones that visited had to keep the ship cloaked in protective shields as the star hurled out huge amounts of deadly radiation with each pulse. Still other planets were lifeless spheres of rock.

Some of the planets visited by the Kromin Chosen had sentient life. The clones were careful not to be seen. Even though they were curious and did not intend harm, they knew the importance of non-interference. The life forms that had been brought back to Kromin for the telepathic experiments had had to have their memories erased to prevent them from telling others of their experience.

The telepathic communication with their leader back on Kromin did more than simply enable the clones to send information on the planets they explored. It allowed them to hone their skills at communicating over the lengthy distances through space. And it kept them in contact with their leader. On this emotionless planet, Mirka craved any contact, even if it was only mind-to-mind. This form of discourse was very personal and intimate. She found it strange that a race of beings taught from emergence to mask emotions, could have such an intimate and lovely form of communication. Despite this, Mirka longed for the loving touch of another and hoped that she would soon be on her way back home to Gentra.

She had been feeling anxious as of late and found it hard to mask her feelings from the others around her. She was on edge, waiting for the signs to appear. The Mekans, she knew, would be coming closer and closer. It was only a matter of time before they would begin to land on the planets on the outer rim of the galaxy.

--The life forms on this planet are most peculiar, Leader. They walk on all fours, and their back limbs are longer than their front. They have multiple smaller appendages on both front and back limbs. The front appendages are tipped with sharp claws, or something similar in nature.

--Are they solitary or do they move in groups?

--Groups, led by a male-female pair. The groups consist of about twenty.

Mirka continued her questioning, writing the responses on a small, flat grey screen with a stylus. Anything written on the tablet was transferred to the main computer in the Specimen room. It was an invaluable tool for archiving data. She often wondered if it was possible to communicate telepathically with a computer.

When they had first began communicating with alien races, her Chosen had had a difficult time trying to forge the link necessary for telepathic communication. But it hadn't taken them long to perfect the technique, making the connection with an alien species with ease. Mirka had only been able to successfully forge a link with those whose brain wave patterns more closely resembled those of the Kromins. If the alien life form was too different, her connection was sporadic at best. Her Chosen found it strange that their Leader could
not communicate with aliens as well as they could. Mirka, of course, could not tell them that
she
was actually from another planet and therefore her brain was a curious mixture of two alien races. When her Chosen had begun to communicate over large distances, it had been difficult for Mirka to hold the link for long periods of time. But with practice, she found she could stay linked for hours.

Mirka's musings were interrupted by the sudden loss of contact with clone 9684.

--Clone 9684, can you hear me?

Mirka sat rigid, focusing all her mental energy on hearing the slightest contact.

--Yes, Leader, I can hear you. Something is approaching the planet.

--What is it?

--Unknown. It is approaching from the northeast, moving very slowly.

The contact was silent for a moment, then resumed.

--They appear to be massive machines.

Mirka felt the first stirrings of fear. She fought hard against the strong emotion that threatened to overwhelm her. Clone 9684 was on one of the planets near the outer rim of the galaxy.
Don't panic
, she told herself.
It could be anything.

--They are approaching the area.

--You must get to your travel pod at once.

--Leader, I am sensing something strange in your contact.

--Clone 9684, get to your travel pod. You must leave!

--Do you know what these machines are, Leader?

--Yes.

--Should I not stay and observe their behavior? Others may want to know of these machines.

Damn this emotionless race!
Mirka paced the room as she fought panic. She needed to get her Chosen off the planet.
But how?
She had to make the clone see the danger without giving away too much information.

--I came across a small bit of data. These machines are known to destroy entire planets.

--Leader, one of the larger machines has landed in the center of a forest. A hatchway is opening. A smaller one is exiting and heading towards me.

--It is as I feared. Can you reach the travel pod before they get to you?

--Unknown.

--You must hurry! You are too important to lose! The thought escaped before she could stop it.

--Too important? I do not understand. I feel that strange sensation again, Leader. What is it?

Mirka's breath came in small gasps as she fought to maintain control of her emotions. She had to prevail or her Chosen would be lost. The desire to learn and study was so strong that the clone was willing to stay and risk being killed.
I must get it off the planet
.

--As your Leader, I order you to depart immediately.

There was an almost sullen quality to the contact as the clone reacted to the order.

--Understood.

Mirka breathed a small sigh of relief, yet she could not relax completely. Her clone was not safe until it was back on Kromin.

--I have reached the travel pod. The smaller machine has stopped short and seems to be taking readings of some sort.

Mirka's shoulders sagged. Her worst fears were confirmed. One of her Chosen was on a planet being raided by the Mekans.

--The machines delve and excavate planets for minerals and ores.

--Curious. Where do they originate?

--Unknown.

Mirka decided that she had told her Chosen enough. She was dangerously close to sharing what was not to be shared.

--Have you left the planet?

--Yes. I will ready for hyperspeed in a moment. I will contact you when I reach Kromin.

--Understood.

Mirka sighed as she felt the contact end. She had been sure one of her Chosen would be killed.
The other Guardians are surely having an easier time than I
. She decided that the excursions to alien planets were at an end.
I intend to keep my Chosen on this planet.

V
OLGON

Feeror glanced up from his work snarled in frustration as he saw the patrols returning to the colony empty-handed. Only one Gorkon prisoner remained. Feeror was sure he was close to perfecting the device but he needed more Gorkons on which to experiment.

He glanced at Seelyr, working on a schematic for a shield to help protect the Volgons from the sound weapon in the event that Feeror or the others could not make the weapon work only on Gorkons. She looked up from her drawings to stare at the wall. A single tear fell from her eye and slid down her cheek. She wiped at the tear absently and noticed Feeror's gaze, hurriedly gathered her drawings and walked out of the weapons room.

Feeror felt a stab of guilt as he watched her exit the room. She had lost a great deal of weight and her shoulders slumped.
I had no choice!

Seelyr and her mate, Niilor, had had a pup a few weeks prior. It had been born sickly and weak. General Kroylir ordered the pup to be killed immediately. Feeror had talked with the General and received permission to use the pup to test the newest modifications to the sound weapon. The weapons team needed creatures other than Gorkons on which to test the machine. Scouts had been unable to find any melgor in the vicinity near Colony 3 and the General forbade foraging missions for the armored lizards to extend too far from the colony.

The timely birth of Seelyr's sickly pup offered an opportunity to test the device on a Volgon. Seelyr and Niilor had protested vehemently.

Seelyr and Niilor knew that their pup had to be put down. The limited resources of the colony could not be wasted on a Volgon who would never be able to fight. Knowing this fact did not make the task any easier. Both parents were heartbroken. They had only one young one, Nyilor, who was almost of mating age. Sacrificing the pup for the good of the colony was one thing; handing it over for cruel experimentation was another. Seelyr knew what was in store for her pup if the General allowed Feeror to use it to test the sound machine.

Seelyr was torn. She knew the importance of the sound device. She also knew how close Feeror was to making it work. What an advantage in battle to have a weapon that would decimate large numbers of enemy forces within earshot of the device when it was activated and leave their own people unharmed.

Yet, this was her
pup
being offered up for the experimentation, not some melgor. Though her little one was sick, she loved it all the same.

She wiped her eyes and glared at Feeror. “I refuse to be there when you test the machine.”

Feeror nodded in agreement, hating himself for what he was doing.

As soon as Kyron noticed the pup suffering along with the Gorkon soldier, he reached out a taloned hand to shut down the machine. Feeror pushed Kyron out of the way.

“Are you insane? If we stop now the pup suffers longer. The experiment must continue.”