Planet of the Remaining, page 18
‘She’s nice,’ said Stanza, but his mind was elsewhere. ‘Daviss. Something strange happened while the Zerot were dissecting me. I was looking down on myself as they cut me open. I remember everything as clearly as this conversation with you. They said my cellular structure was “biologically immortal” and that I could have been ancient because I never age. That’s why they put me back together. They want to carry out further experiments on me. I’m afraid. They have Bellogorn here – they’re using them to keep track of the slaves.’
‘They won’t do anything while I’m with you, Stanza. That, I promise.’ He put his hand on the Gargan, edging him further into the tunnel, the light of the next pod in the distance. ‘How far back do you remember, little one?’
‘About twenty years. But that’s the strange thing, I don’t remember my childhood, and I don’t know how old I am. I arrived at the Doth Pleasure Moon four years ago and was welcomed back by many elderly residents who knew me well. But I had no recollection of them, or even being there. I believe my race is scattered about this sector of the galaxy because my stories say that. But I’m not sure if I’ve ever met one.’
‘You may have a short-term memory condition. I don’t know. Come now, we need to rest. Let’s find somewhere to lie low, away from prying eyes. When the time is right, we will find out all about your past.’
The queen beckoned to Nama-Krikk. ‘How are my drones?’ she asked.
‘Not too bad,’ he replied. ‘They found the information early on, so their recovery will be swift. It seems Screen 14 was unattended for a short while during the purging of the intruders and the subsequent clean up. This is what we found.’
Nama-Krikk played the recording of a second rogue Z34a emerging from the mining vessel with three Bluetons in tow. ‘We have confirmed the reboot of the AI during the global check of all Z34a’s, but the fake Bluetons are still at large.’
‘Very good, Master Nama-Krikk,’ said the queen, while turning to Screen 14 and entering the mind of the drone manning it, exacting some discipline.
She left the drone writhing in pain on the floor. ‘Are we sure these are the only remaining members of this little incursion?’
‘Absolutely, except for the females in your guest chambers, all are accounted for.’
‘Round up every Blueton. Check them all for disguises and then kill them. Bring the impostors to me.’
Daviss had gone to meet Dorrikk at the appointed hour, but she’d failed to turn up. He waited an hour and was on his way back to where he’d left Stanza sleeping. He was sure he was being followed, and ducked into an alley at the next turn. He waited until he heard footsteps and risked a look. Two Zerot clearly in search of someone. The female saw him and whispered to the male.
‘Are you the Blueton that Dorrikk met yesterday?’ the female asked.
‘Who is Dorrikk?’
‘Everyone in the slave pens knows her,’ said the male. ‘This is the one,’ he said to the female.
‘She left earlier to meet you, and we followed later. When we got there, you were there, but she wasn’t.’ The female was distraught. ‘Did she meet you?’
‘No,’ replied Daviss. ‘I waited for an hour. She never came.’
The two Zerot whispered animatedly. All Daviss heard was the female’s parting words, ‘Stick to the plan.’
‘Go with Tanzine,’ the male instructed Daviss. ‘She can get you out of the pens to a safe place, where we can talk. I’ll try to find out if the guards know Dorrikk whereabouts.’
He left without giving Daviss a chance to reply. Tanzine took his arm and led him in the other direction. ‘You’ll need to wear this to get past the perimeter guards.’ She tried to put a collar around his neck.
‘What is that?’ he said, resisting her.
‘An obedience collar.’ She stepped in front of him. ‘Do you want to get out of here? This is non-negotiable. I’ll deactivate it once we’re through.’
He let her fit the device.
At the perimeter, she presented a document to a guard, who scanned it and handed it back. ‘A Blueton? Not my choice for this sort of work,’ he said.
‘They’re very slow, I know,’ she replied. ‘But the quality of their work is better than most. And,’ a shock went through Daviss, making him jump. ‘I like the way they respond to discipline.’ They both laughed and she and Daviss passed through the disabled section of force field.
‘Sorry about that. The device is off. Please follow a short distance behind me. Looks count.’
‘Yes, madam,’ Daviss replied, hoping that Stanza would be okay. Both of them were unaware of pair of composite red eyes watching from the shadows.
They arrived at an accommodation block, where Tanzine navigated a maze of identical-looking domiciles. Tanzine stopped at an entrance and looked anxiously around, dragging Daviss in quickly behind her. Another Zerot awaited them inside and the Zerot chivvied Daviss into a second room, which Daviss could see wasn’t originally part of this dwelling.
‘I’m Jerbbekk,’ the strange Zerot said. ‘Before we tell you anything, we need you to tell us what you told Dorrikk yesterday. Convinced me you can be trusted. Showing us who you really are would be a good start.’
‘I’m from a world called Residuum. A planet of survivors of the Zerot.’ He deactivated his holographic enhancements.
‘You certainly aren’t a Blueton,’ Jerbbekk said, stating the obvious. ‘What are you? And why are you here?’
‘I’m a Preenasettian. The survivors on Residuum have spent the last few thousand years trying to find a way to stop the Zerot. We just learned the location of this planet, this mission was to assess your strengths and weaknesses. I’m afraid it’s done little more than show us our own weaknesses.’
There was a tap on the door.
‘That will be Brack,’ Tanzine said, reaching for the latch that activated the door. But it wasn’t Brack.
Tanzine buried her face in Jerbbekk’s chest, cringing away from the thing in the doorway. The Zerot guards were feared, but the Z34a standing before them, surveying the secrets of the room was as terrifying as it was unexpected. It wasn’t alone. It held a smaller creature under one arm, one the two Darfelot had never seen before.
How on Preenasette did he get here? Daviss thought, looking at the Gargan. ‘Is that you, Nog?’
‘No, it’s Tip, Daviss. I am rebooted, but I have wronged this little one, more than you can believe.’ Z34aTip gently touched Stanza De-Lay-Brandon. ‘My fourth processor is now non-functional, although fully activated. You could say, “My heart is broken.”’
Chapter 33 - The Zerot Armada
The Zerot Armada
Six Torpedoes
* * *
THE CAST:
Gokk, Z34a, Corren, Lady Kell
* * *
The Zerot armada arrived over Residuum and parked in geosynchronous orbit above the City of the Remaining. The three giant dynasty vessels targeted the city below, weapons systems powering up.
‘Analysis?’ asked Gokk, leader of the Rebutti dynasty ship and overseeing commander.
‘All inhabitants of this planet are in the city below,’ the Z34a replied. ‘Seventy-six different species identified. Multiple numbers of each. Total number indiscernible.’
‘Is there a Bellagarn?’
‘Searching. Yes.’
‘Defences?’ Gokk asked, happy the Lord High Elders’ specific instruction to find the Bellagarn was satisfied.
‘Domed citywide shielding. No surface-to-air weapons detected. All vessels appear to be within the dome.’
‘Minimum weapons payload to destroy the city?’
‘Two T14 conventional weapons deployed sequentially from each ship will overcome the shield and obliterate everything.’
‘Good. Instruct the other ships to launch as required.’ Gokk addressed his second in command, smirking. ‘Let’s use up their firepower instead of our own. Having more firepower than everyone else when we reach our destination is a definite advantage.’
‘Ready,’ the Z34a reported.
‘Proceed.’
Three torpedoes were fired sequentially from two of the three dynasty vessels, slowing as they reached the shield, easing through and accelerating again. They struck different parts of the citadel, causing the desired devastation because the resulting blast, for a short time, was held inside the shield. The inevitable failure allowed the blast to escape, the shockwave radiating out from the city.
The Zerot waited patiently for the dust to settle, revealing a city levelled to the ground.
‘Life signs?’ asked Gokk.
‘None detected,’ replied the Z34a.
‘Good. Inform Zerot, and resume course for the Sol system,’
Corren and Lady Kell stared at the smouldering rubble that only hours before was the city of Residuum. They landed as close as was safe. The surrounding countryside was seared from the heat of the attack; all vegetation vaporised. Lady Kell draped her tentacles around Corren. and sobbed.
‘What have we done?’
Corren tried to comfort her. ‘All that we could have.’
‘I feel like the Zerot.’ Her stork eye, red with tears, fixed him with a look of utter despair. ‘We have condemned them. Our plan was a death sentence.’
Not one building left standing. No one could have survived that. The readings from space had told them so, but the horrendous reality was a dagger thrust into their hearts and twisted. Corren led her back to the Corringe Delta.
‘Come, my darling. We have a promise to keep.’
Chapter 34 - The Imprisonment
The Imprisonment
* * *
THE CAST:
Morvina, Ralphic, Dorrikk
* * *
Ralphic waited hopefully for Morvina’s return, but in the small lobby that serviced the six cells of this prison block, she could only see Zerot. One other cell had an occupant – a young female. The guards left, leaving eerie silence after Morvina’s removal. Ralphic dreaded what the queen might have planned for her leader and worried she might never see Morvina again.
She gently probed the surrounding space, wondering if they planted the Zerot female to monitor her. She’ll get nothing from me, she thought.
‘Why would I want anything from you? Whoever you are.’
‘Mmm… how did you detect me?’
‘You were subtle, but I’ve been well trained.’
‘We spent twenty years avoiding detection by your kind. You must have a different level of mental competency than other Zerot. Are you here to monitor me?’
‘No.’
‘Not another of the little games you like to play?’
‘That’s the second time in a day I’ve been accused of playing Zerot games… No!’
Ralphic moved her consciousness down a level in her mind; she didn’t want this stranger hearing all of her thoughts. She admonished herself for being so sloppy and getting caught by the Zerot. Things were so much harder not being in a collective and having no one to remind you. But being alone was better, though nothing would ever replace the hive mind of two she’d had with Flaverack. An intrusion interrupted the thoughts of her murdered mate.
‘My apologies for interrupting your private thoughts. Are you one of the infiltrators?’
‘My, you’re good. Is there nothing that you aren’t aware of? I’m probably the last of the infiltrators. Our leader was taken an hour ago and may not return. The rest were killed by order of the queen. How do you know of us if you’re not one of her underlings?’
‘I was talking to one disguised as a Blueton in the slave pens yesterday.’
There was a palpable pause while Ralphic digested this information, a pause not lost on Dorrikk. ‘I was to meet him this evening, but the guards intercepted me and brought me here.’
‘Why would she be interested in you?’
‘That’s complicated, and I’m not at liberty to discuss it here.’
‘Why? Because she might listen?’
‘No. I can detect her. If I cease communicating, be assured that she’s about to join the intercourse.’
Their communication was broken but not by the queen, by drones at the outer door, bringing Morvina back. They dumped her into a cell opposite Ralphic. The laser lassos released as the door slammed shut.
When the guards were gone, Ralphic asked Morvina. ‘How are you?’
‘I’m okay. Who is in the other cell?’
‘A Zerot. She says she’s here at the pleasure of the queen – like us.’
‘She must be here to spy on us.’
‘I’m not so sure,’ said Ralphic. ‘She can hear everything. Even the queen, if you believe her.’
‘Believe it or not. I don’t care either way,’ Dorrikk said.
‘Tell me what happened,’ Ralphic said. ‘It matters little who hears us.’
‘I suppose it doesn’t. The queen told me that my race still exists, stuck in the Point of Ascendancy – the final realm before transferring to an existence of pure consciousness. It may be true, but she was trying to get under my skin before the death she’s preparing for me. She likes her little games.’
‘And I’m up next,’ Ralphic said. ‘She wants to know what makes me tick. The Zerot knows of our Blueton.’
‘Really,’ said Morvina.
‘Yes, really. And I know of your Gargan,’ Dorrikk said.
‘We have no such creature here,’ said Morvina.
‘Stanza De-Lay-Brandon?’
Morvina was startled. ‘You spoke to him?’
‘Yes, in the slave compound. He was recovering from an invasive medical assessment, probably a full sub-molecular level probing. They stitched him back up and dumped him there. I’m surprised they didn’t just kill him. The poor creature was in a terrible state. Your friend disguised as a Blueton went to find him after I left.’
What is going on? Morvina wondered. The backup plan is on track, but why is Stanza here?
‘You are making your thoughts open to me. I don’t know why the Gargan is here, but I was to meet with the Blueton. The guards intercepted me. Your reconnaissance mission is stuttering badly, but hasn’t completely stalled.’
‘She’s good,’ Ralphic added.
‘We have little time, child,’ Morvina said, ‘we’ll all soon be dead. Humour us, and tell us who you are.’
‘I don’t see the harm. Thousands of years ago, three species occupied the world you refer to as Zerot. The Zerot, the Merrot, and the Darfelot. During early space exploration, war broke out – a devastating nuclear war that destroyed the surface of the planet. The Zerot survived because of their subterranean existence. A few of my race, the Darfelot, survived and infiltrated the underground world. We’re hidden among the Zerot. Simply put, I’m the queen of the Darfelot, albeit queen of only fifty souls, but we’ve kept our survival secret.
‘In the past, the Darfelot queens stayed hidden, guarded against discovery by the Zerot queen. But I’ve had enough. I want to make a difference, make something happen. Our little society possesses the knowledge to change things, but they lack the conviction to act. The Zerot aren’t evil as a race, but their leaders are, and they keep the population subjugated and ignorant. They even put additives into the drinking water to change their behaviour and cause infertility. The queen rules with impunity. Stop her, and you stop everything evil on Zerot.’
Chapter 35 - The Arena
The Arena
* * *
THE CAST:
Peter, Kobios, Rosier
* * *
The female Blueton stirred, sat up and tried to get her bearings in the dim light. The heat was oppressive. Peter was next to her on the floor, head and shoulders propped up against the wall. They were in a cell, sparsely furnished; just a bench and a dark hole in the corner. Basic accommodation, she thought. The door was solid, with a small barred window and a slot at the bottom. A bowl of uninviting food appeared moulded onto the metal base. Kobios put her hand on his face. He was warm, and his breathing was normal. Peter sat up, rubbing his head.
‘Where the hell are we?’
‘We appear to be in a cell,’ she replied. ‘Can you remember what happened?’
‘Zerot guards,’ he said. ‘They came up behind you and stunned you. I had a little more time before they shoved some energy stick in my side. I remember seeing Daviss, but nothing after that. I think they stunned us a second time.’
‘Have they discovered us?’ she asked.
‘I don’t know,’ he said, getting to his feet. ‘You still have your disguise.’ He looked at his arms and protruding stomach. ‘So do I, it seems. And the translators are still active. So, maybe not.’
‘Let’s stay with the Blueton ruse unless they tell us differently.’
There was a noise outside, footsteps. The hatch slammed open.
‘Shove tray out, fresh food,’ the voice said in a broken common tongue.
Kobios knelt to push the tray out. ‘Where are we? Why are we here?’
‘Arena, cells,’ the gruff voice replied.
Peter was up at the bars. He could make out the outline of a Zerot, more substantial than usual, with a bloated face – a Grunz.
‘Why are we here?’ he asked.
‘To fight, in the arena,’ he grunted.
The food slid through the hatch. ‘Eat. Strength. You will need.’
Two days passed. Their only contact with the outside world was the Grunz arriving with food and water three times a day. It seemed to be dim-witted, but they worked on gaining its trust, appealing to its sense of importance. They put together the scraps of information gleaned and learned they were to fight young Zerot, in training to become a cadre. A cadre, when mature and fully trained, sent to prepare worlds for a Violation Squad – an armada sent to destroy entire species. She, as they eventually ascertained, was called Rosier, and had been part of one of these squads, but had returned home after their cadre had failed in their task.
