Striker (12 page)

"We occupy the planet of Sidonia, the first habitable planet outside the boundaries of the Milky Way, close to the grid. In one of our patrols, we came across a weak point in the shield. Over the last five or six years, more of such points have appeared, but given time, they usually repair themselves.

"As is protocol, we set up an outpost to oversee the point until our supervision was no longer needed. My office received an emergency communication from the outpost. They received a coded message through the grid from the V'Saar, seeking an audience with the Feteine.

"By the time I arrived, the V'Saar had slipped through the grid in a noncombatant vessel." Zeus suppressed a grin at Alpha's snort. "Under a flag of truce, I met with the emissaries and listened to what they had to say. I agreed to escort them to the Qrxzl, who concurred with our assessment. The purpose of the V'Saar emissaries is one the galactic imperials need to hear. We were devising a plan of introduction when the request came from the Mar'Sani, who also sought help from the Qrxzl."

Star Eater glanced to the V'Saar, his distaste for the creature evident in his controlled sneer. He addressed Europa. "Were you not concerned for your safety? The V'Saar have a habit of making puppets out of other species."

"The newest of the Feteine are biomechanical. There is a possibility they could be subjugated, but I highly doubt it, since their nervous system is completely mechanical. Those accompanying us are non-organic machines. The venom would not affect us."

Zeus could not read the Star Eater's expression as he contemplated the information Europa gave regarding the Feteine.

"Son of the Alpha-Zetamite." Europa paused, her hesitancy oddly human. "Please believe me when I say the Feteine would never do anything to harm the galactic assemblage. We are aware the V'Saar are slavers at best and destroyers of worlds at worst. As a race who shrugged off the chains of slavery, we would never force bondage on others."

Star Eater did not reply, but turned his attention to the V'Saar. The waters of the pool remained undisturbed.

"Introduce yourself," Star Eater demanded.

Zeus understood the sibilance of the V'Saar better now than his first meeting with a bug.

"I am Atizen, oldest son of Queen Isolt."

 
"Soul Crusher,"
Alpha hissed, Zeus automatically giving voice to Alpha's words.

Atizen turned his attention to Zeus. "Yes. The Alpha-Zetamite has met me in battle many times before. My army crushed his homeworld and subjugated his bondmates." A hard clicking noise punctuated the last word.

Alpha raged, trembling with fury against Zeus’s skin. "It seems to me,"—Zeus ground out between gritted teeth, barely restraining their fury—"by those words, you are attempting to incite a war, not seek assistance."

"Atizen, you will restrain yourself from provoking speech." Star Eater warned. "Stay to the reason why you seek out the galactic emperors."

"He killed my sons!" Atizen's hard-shelled feet click-clacked as he moved in agitation.

"You gave no mercy! If it had been my decision, I would have killed your queen and scattered your people to die a long, starving death in a black hole,"
Zeus screamed back.

The V'Saar screeched, turning in a frantic circle. The venomous stinger arched over its body, dripping a viscous liquid, some falling into the turquoise water, only to be spat back out onto the river rock tiles.

Finally the V'Saar's temper tantrum ran down. Zeus silently consoled Alpha. He had never been so bloodthirsty in his entire life. Glimpses of the Alpha's life before and the deeds of the V'Saar horde leading to the Arthro War slipped through Alpha's defense, painting a horrific picture.

"I know this, Alpha-Zetamite. If I were not bound by my oath to my queen, I would challenge you and take the rotting corpse of your bondmate back to her for all the lives you stole."

Zeus worked to loosen every muscle in his body until he stood loose-limbed, staring back at Atizen. He gave a murderous grin, his voice dripping with scorn. "Nice try, bug. You may be bound by an oath to not attack, but to kill in defense … that is something else altogether, is it not? You will need to do better than that to entice us into striking you. We will not break the law. Until you are no longer protected by your emissary status, we will not touch you."

"Atizen," Star Eater snapped. "I will not ask you again to state your business."

"As so happens, Queen Isolt gives birth to many daughters. They fight among themselves, killing each other off.  By doing this, the last one is usually too weak to live past her injuries. A millennia can go by before one is born and survives to become a queen. One daughter, Orla, survived."

Atizen stooped to slurp up the venom that the pool had spat out. Was that normal? Zeus held back his shudder at the thought. "A tourney is held and the fifty surviving males who wish to go with the new queen will compete for the honor. Queen Isolt generously gave Orla a small galaxy, but Orla became greedy and sought to gain more of Queen Isolt's territory." Atizen paused.

Zeus gave an incredulous laugh. "Please tell me your queen is not asking for assistance against her own daughter?"

Atizen's head twisted eerily, the beady little eyes staring unwaveringly at Zeus. "It is natural for mother and daughter to fight over territory until one consumes the other. The victor is the strongest. Their offspring is more desirable.

"Orla has decided not to play by the rules. She believes herself to be crafty, even though she loses battle after battle. Her fighters found a permanent weak spot in the grid and she sends troops over into the Milky Way. Our sources told us she struck a treaty with the Terrens. Together, they are intending to take down the grid."

"I would think your queen would enjoy the bounty these new galaxies offer." Star Eater's dark gaze narrowed as he regarded Atizen.

"Queen Isolt does not covet your galaxies," Atizen spat.

The obelisk pulsed to life and a wave of fluid rippled from the base of the stone toward Atizen. The liquid rose up to engulf him, completely covering the V'Saar in a thick, jelly-like film. Zeus waited for Atizen to do something: move away, shake off the substance, but Atizen held still, seemingly immobilized. Why would it do that?

A low voice intoned from the glowing pillar, "Queen Isolt covets the space beyond the wall of the grid, but knows if her daughter acquires a foothold here, then Orla will use the grid against Queen Isolt. She will lose the opportunity to acquire these galaxies herself."

"How would Orla use the grid against Queen Isolt?" Star Eater asked.

The gel moved from Atizen, and instead of the liquid returning to the once-placid pool, a column of liquid stood in front of the V'Saar.

"While listening for the truth, the stone detected the partial lie Atizen intended to tell."
Alpha answered Zeus’s unasked question.

Atizen continued, although he did not seem as confident as before. "My source told me Orla works with the Terrens in order to obtain the key to the grid. The allied parties have been working together for some time, although we do not believe the alliance between them has existed for longer than thirty solar years. They search for the one called the Bespoken. His race is rumored to be the weakest of the three keys, and therefore the easiest to obtain."

Atizen turned his gaze to Zeus again. "Our intelligence reported the Fal'Amoric once resided on Valespia. With well-placed warnings and rumors, they were enticed to run and leave the safety of their homeworld. Orla used the Terrens like hounds to track down the race and to place them into confinement. Yet, the key still eludes them. But you would not know anything about the key, the Bespoken, now would you, Zeus Vondorian? About the Fal'Amoric hidden among the Atlaintician lizards?"

Alpha growled aggressively in Zeus’s head. He wore a bored expression, but all the while, a slow panic began to build. He had always thought the Chtichlians had set him up as a decoy for the Terrens, but if both of the bug kingdoms knew of the Bespoken, then maybe the Chtichlians meant for him to be captured by the V'Saar.

"Did your queen send you to find the Bespoken or to entreat for help?" Zeus knew he should probably keep his questions to himself, but Star Eater did not have the knowledge he held.

 Star Eater nodded. "You'll answer the question, Atizen."

Atizen eyeballed the liquid column before him, as if he seriously weighed how he would answer. "Primary goal is to stop Orla and keep her on the other side of the grid. If she acquires the Bespoken, I am to bring him to my queen."

Zeus caressed Alpha, hoping the soothing motion would calm him
. "He believes you are the Bespoken. I should have killed Isolt when I had the chance. I was—we were all grief-stricken, tired of the bloodshed and war."

"And we need to allow him to continue to believe that."
Zeus knew Alpha would not be happy with his insistence on keeping quiet. He was glad Alpha was no bigger, because Zeus knew he would have trouble keeping Alpha from murdering all of the V'Saar otherwise.

"How do the V'Saar know of the Bespoken?" Star Eater asked as he paced. "It seems to me, if this is the first time you have been on this side of the grid, you would not know how the grid works. The humans should not know, either." Star Eater stopped pacing and glanced over to Zeus.

Mestor, Sohm'lan, and the Monticore moved to the step above Azaes and Zeus. He had already shared everything he had learned about the Fal'Amoric and the Chtichlians' work to set him up as a decoy for the Bespoken with his brothers and the guards. Their movement let him know that they, too, thought the Chtichlians had meant for him to be captured, and not just be a decoy.

Someone who had intimate information of the grid, who understood how to operate the defense system, fed the information to the V'Saar or the Terrens, just as something or someone caused the Fal'Amorics to flee the safety of their homeworld. This meant a traitor. A traitor in a place of authority, of trust.

"Queen Isolt has an informant among the V'Saar who infiltrated this side of the grid. They were able to obtain a communication device made by the Terrens, allowing us to receive transmissions from our spy."

Alpha spoke up and Zeus repeated his words. "Has Orla crossed the grid?"

"We believe her to be quarantined to a planet near the Milky Way breach."

Believing Orla trapped and actually having her cornered were two separate things in Zeus’s mind.

Atizen continued. "The planet is close enough that if the grid dropped, she would attempt to escape to this side of the boundary. Of course, we would pursue, but if the grid reactivated after we crossed, then we would be trapped. Separated from our queen. Orla would pick up those stranded to reinforce her numbers before she found a place to build her hive."

Zeus blurted, "You would abandon your ties, your loyalties, to your queen so quickly?"

"We are V'Saar, we need our—a queen. If that scenario were to happen, Orla would be heralded the victor. That alone would ensure that the drones tied to Queen Isolt would change their allegiance. The strongest queen has more warriors, drones, and resources, but if Orla's scouts were pushed back across the grid, and the problems with the connectivity corrected, Queen Isolt would handle Orla herself."

Alpha grew very still. Zeus had not realized how much Alpha moved about until he stopped. He put a voice to what Alpha thought. "If the grid came down, if one of the keys became lost, then no one would be the victor and the two queens would continue to fight over territory."

"Queen Isolt signed a treaty, and made a vow to the Alpha-Zetamite." Atizen spat, making chittering noises that Zeus took as sounds of displeasure.

Azaes spoke up. "But you did not sign a treaty or give a vow, Atizen. You, who are second only to your queen, would lose your station if Isolt were to fail in the war with Orla."

"We should have pursued and destroyed all, not allowed ourselves to be locked behind a wall like rabid dogs. We are better and stronger and more numerous. The first time she was backed into a corner, she bargained. We do not entreaty, we conquer!" Atizen's head thrashed about as he spoke. Unexpectedly, he launched himself from the pool's edge towards Zeus.

Too shocked to react immediately, not that he had much to defend himself with, since all of his weapons had been left at the shuttle, Zeus could only watch in horror as Atizen flew through the air towards him. The Monticore, though, did not hesitate, swarming him and Azaes, bearing the two of them to the ground under a press of bodies.

From the stone floor, Zeus watched Star Eater leap, intercepting Atizen, and land them both in the turquoise pool. Star Eater straddled Atizen's back, both his hands wrapped around the spindly neck.

"Atizen, first born of Queen Isolt, you have broken the laws of emissary and used the position in subterfuge. I, Star Eater, judge of this tribunal, declare you guilty. For the attempted murder of Zeus Vondorian and Alpha-Zetamite, for conspiring to murder the Bespoken, for conspiring to break the treaty and bring down the grid, I find you guilty."

The hand around Atizen's throat began to glow red. Atizen screeched and thrashed in the water, but could not throw off Star Eater. Zeus knew Atizen did not have long when the hard exoskeleton caught fire. Before he counted to ten, Atizen dissipated into nothing more than a fine oily ash, floating in the surface of the pool.

The danger was not yet passed. The Monticore moved cautiously off of Zeus and Azaes. The Feteine prodded the two unresisting V'Saar to the pool's edge. The bugs kept their legs and tail tucked submissively beneath their bodies.

One of the remaining two immediately began to speak when they reached the water's edge. "Our queen holds a treaty with you, Star Eater. She does not want to break it; she only wants to send us to seek assistance in heading off Orla's attempt to cross the grid. Yes, she covets the galaxies on this side of the wall, but she would not attempt the wrath of the Alpha-Zetamite again. The words I speak are true." The water remained placid.

Star Eater walked to the edge of the pool in front of the V'Saar and gazed at them. "We will consider the request. You will be shown to a secure room for the time being."