Galactic Calendar 259872/ 2000 [ Sol Year 4387/ Day 154 of 365. Sol standard year]
Days after of Crash landing/ 2
Uninhabited Island / Clearing of Escape Capsule # 405
Galactic Standard Time / 1220
Bradford scowled as he tried and failed to think of anything to help him. As he moved through the hallway towards the bathroom, he tried to think of something to help his position. He couldn’t see anything, any way that he could survive this. Beyond the pipe dream of contacting the Federation within a month, no matter what he did he was finished. He had planned everything, and that was the problem. The contingency of his was vacuum sealed, his fate was done. When they were found, he would spend his last few years waiting for his death.
“DAMN!” He snarled as he slammed his fist against the wall, feeling his emotions surge within him. As he tried and failed to think of anything that might help him, a strange feeling started in his core. As he started walking, the feeling grew and grew until he stopped just within the bathroom. As he tried and failed to understand what it was as he locked the door, he called up his internal nanites. Letting the information scroll past his eyes as he locked the door, trying to find any clue as to what he was feeling. After a few moments, he finally found what he was looking for. All he could do was stare in complete shock, whatever it was this wasn’t expected. Somehow, some way there he had a new strain of nanites in his body.
He held the wall as he felt dizzy, his mind trying to understand this. He had learned a lot about how nanites were introduced to sentient beings, and all the ways it could go wrong. They had to be injected within a liquid, there was no other way. The way that a nanite could travel through the air was different than how it could travel through water. And if someone did find a way to do both, how would it even get to who they wanted? It was an impossibility but here it was, someone he had been infected. And from what he was seeing, they were all making something.
With a thought command, some of his special strains went active. Without a direction they started to investigate what had invaded his body. As he waited, breathing heavily, waiting for the reports to come to him. The only emotion he could feel was pure terror. This could be anything from an assassination to a way something wanted to control him. But he was strong, he was proud. Whatever this was, he would handle it.
Finally, after a minute, he saw the first report on the nanites, the nano factories as he was calling them in his head. From the report, these new things were reacting to his emotional state, injecting. Whatever it was, it was unlike anything he had seen before. As he felt that pressure that was making him feel a strange heat, he started to see something. For a moment he hoped he was just seeing things, but there it was, at the corner of his vision. Slowly, he moved his gaze downward until he was staring at him at his hands. His hands were sending out waves of blue energy that moved away from him for a few inches. As watched the nano factories started to destroy themselves, but the chemical increased.
As he watched, his nanites recorded everything that was happening to him. As he watched the strange heat flashed one last time before it died out. Looking at the reports, he saw a new chemical start to be produced by his system. The report showed that the chemical were coming from all over his body. He had no idea what this was, or even how. He just looked at the energy waves and after a few moments, text appeared in his vision.
Awakening complete, Mastermind template activated in subject.
“What is Mastermind?” Bradford murmured before more text appeared. He looked over a list, most of the words were gibberish but the top was clear and he could read it. “Connect to Followers?”
He felt a strange drain and a moment later a blue energy flat circle appeared in front of him. As he watched he saw white squares form within it. Most of them were nothing but empty spaces but there was one in the center that was clear. It had a black shape on it, it looked like a curved sword. He was hesitant at first but after a moment, Bradford touched it.
He looked at the circle, and just when he was about to think this was all a delusion. He had cracked, he was mental, a head case. As he tried and failed to think of anything a voice came from the circle.
“Who is this, what are you!?” A hard male voice demanded.
Bradford blinked wondering if this was real. “Operative Brute, is that you?”
“Boss? Master Bradford! So you’ve got powers too? Great! This’ll help the plans a lot!” Operative Brute’s voice came from the circle.
Bradford grinned, things were looking up. “Report Brute, where on this island are you?”
“Island? I ain't on an island boss, I’m with the front of the ship and we crashed into ice!”
“Ice?!” Bradford demanded as he looked at the circle in front of him. He tried to imagine the distance involved with this, how this circle could let him talk to his agent. The sheer power this represents to him, the things he could do!
“Yeah, and let me tell you it hasn’t been easy over here. The front half of the ship is here, and only the front half! We were barely moving into the ship when it happened. We got hit by these things, they killed some of us. Then once we got the emergency shields up, a caravan turned up! The captain’s meeting with them now, and they’ll keep it quiet. I’m alone here, don’t know where the others are. I was able to fight the monsters off with somebody else and a crew member boss. What are the orders?” Operative Brute voice held a note of desperation
Bradford looked at the circle and tried to keep his smile down. Operative Brute was a good killer, but he was a born follower. And he knew it. So what to tell him to do then? It had to be something that would let him survive, a broken tool was no good for Bradford after all. As he was trying to think of anything, the circle caused him to stop.
Counting each of the squares, he saw that they mirrored his people on the Spirit. That must mean that everyone was alive. But for some reason, he couldn’t connect to them. that he could use this for. This meant that there were others out there, other survivors. With the captain with the wreck of the ship, the leadership on this island was something he could take after all. But how? And what could he do to Duncan to make that happen?
If you spot this tale on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.
“Operative Brute, I want you to get in close with the command, tell them you’re credentials and past. Do anything you can to get a position to explore! I want you to find the others, I’ll try and contact you again when I can!” Bradford said and he heard a chuckle.
“Was gonna do that boss! I’ll try and find ya! Stay alive, and watch out for what’s hiding out here! Cause from what I saw, this planet’s been hit by ships since before mankind left Sol!” Operative Brute said as Bradford touched his square again.
Bradford only looked at the square, trying to wrap his mind around what Brute just told him. If that was true, then this place might have a Ruin above them. He had read reports on Ruins before, and how some of them were kept away from public knowledge. If this was caused by one of them, then the ship breaking in two was getting off lightly. But what about the creatures that had attacked them all? What was the connection there? However he heard something beyond the door, and he frowned.
Opening it he saw people moving past them to the very center of the capsule, and he stopped a man by grabbing his arm. “What’s happening!?”
“We’re under attack! The shield is being assaulted by what the crew are calling Insectoids! They’re ready for them to break through, and they ordered us to cover!” The man said before he broke free and ran after the crowd.
Bradford felt a grin form on his face. This might be just what he needed! Without the Captain there was still the chance. A Chance of a higher-ranked officer around here were smaller, but there it was. All he needed was to wait and learn. Wait until he had a chance, and he could take control after all! But he needed to talk to Duncan and see if he could get up to the field. If he could find a way to improve their safety, that would go a long way to help his rise to power!
“No, I won’t let this stand. I’ll go and talk to Mr. Duncan, I’ll see what I can do to help protect us all!” Bradford declared loudly. As the other passengers heard him as he walked against them, some of them smiled.
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As the watcher saw its kind claw and bite the others, it looked at their prize. There was something here, something that the name of sang to it. The sound it made was so inviting, and it took all its willpower to stand its ground. There was something that this wonder represented, something beyond just hiding from prey.
Even with the power that this might give them, they needed more. Already the forces around them were prowling the borders, already they smelled weakness. They had to get something from this hunt, they had to. And this power might be what they needed. But to the watcher, there was something about it. There was about the clear thing, something that was so familiar.
When they first heard the notes, it had seemed the Sky-Riders were behind it, but not. This was like the things they used, but it was different. There was something new about the song, beyond how this was more, how it was a longer note.
And the Sky Riders always moved in small groups, all the better to hide. But what it could sense within the shield, there were more, many more. If they could just take this back with them, then they would feast well. And whatever strength they used to make this, they would take it and use it for themselves.
For a moment it wondered if this was the work of the Creators, but it forced that thought away. They had already lost the way to find the den of the beast that attacked them. But then the idea of the Creators wouldn’t go away. If those were involved in this plan, then everything was at risk.
Could they have sent the monster to kill them because they were getting too strong? There hadn’t been a Hunt from them for a long time. Could that one have been their new hunting hound? It forced itself to stop, there had been no follow-up attack after the beast had moved off. If the Creators had sent it after them, then it would have.
But after a moment it looked down and saw some of its fellow being pushed back. It leaped from the tree with a screech and clawed into one of the black-shelled others. As the corpse fell to the ground, the watcher screeched in victory as it attacked another black shell.
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“Good plan, but what happens once the winner turns against us?” Terra asked as she looked past the shield.
“I guess we just have to kill that when it happens,“ Bob said and Terra looked at him.
All Terra could was facepalm as she tried to think. That was the most “Great. Just great. At least this way their only going to come at us from one way.”
That was the only bright side that Terra could see to this. She had hoped that they could reinforce the shield before something attacked them. But instead, the insectoids attacked them right as they finished it.
As she watched the insectoids fight and kill each other, all she could feel was fear. The shield had dropped to around seventy percent, and only the other insectoids stopped them! And then there was the fact that two groups of them came! That meant that they were in the area that overlapped two hives! And that meant that they were in worse danger than they thought. But why hadn’t either hive attacked them before now?
“If they break the shield, we fight. We gotta hope that they kill enough of the other to make it easier,” Bob muttered as he looked through the shield.
Terra looked at Bob, and now she had to wonder about him. Was it just luck that he had been able to bring the new insectoids to attack the old? How had they even come here now? What had changed, or what was blocking them from coming this way? How had they missed the crash? Could they have been hibernating? Were they scouts, looking for a new home?
“Got any other idea to boss? I mean besides just fighting them off?” Bob asked Terra.
She looked at him and it pained her that she had almost forgotten what was happening. But no, Terra couldn’t see anything else but to fight and hope to beat them off.
As the last of the black insectoids died, the red-shelled ones looked at the shield. For a second they stood there, their mouths dripping with blood. But then they charged with a screech and started to slash at the energy shield madly.
Terra gripped her riffle tighter, ready for the shield to fall.
“Shield strength at sixty percent!” One of the Deckhands called out, and Terra aimed her rifle. The moment the shield dropped she would fire and kill one of the insectoids, maybe it would scare the others off. Maybe it wouldn’t, but that was all they could do. Kill enough of them to drive the rest away, the oldest truth of war.
“Fifty –five percent, get ready!” The deckhand called out again, and Terra closed one eye as she looked at her target.
Suddenly a loud boom echoed from off in the distance, and the insectoids all stopped. A bare moment later from the trees more of those flying worms took flight and flew off in all directions. After that, the insectoids screeched and ran off.
It was all Terra could do to keep standing as the other deckhands all cried out in glee.
For everyone, this was a miracle. They had survived another attack, and they had a safety net. They would have more problems and threats to their survival, but for now, they were safe. That was enough for most of them, but not for Terra
“Everyone quiet down! I want a heavy presence here until the shield is up to full power! I want one from each side to go get the other shield towers! Once there’s another one up here, we move around! When we have three each or we run out, we make another closer around the crater! Someone look over the directions, I want to know how to open a hole in our wall! Get to it now! Bob follow me!” Terra barked as she walked towards the crater. As Bob fell into step beside her he looked at her and nodded his head.
“So gonna yell at me for firing at the shield from our side?” Bob asked and Terra looked at him before sighing.
“No, I’m not. I just…. We were lucky, very lucky. I don’t know what else we can do. The investigation party ran into those things to the north. The beast that attacked us that way, and the party went there today” Terra said with a scowl as she looked around. "I think the other bugs came from the only way we didn't send people. Then that means we're in a cross, and we can't go anywhere!"
Bob nodded, understanding what she wasn’t saying. “Okay. Then we need to make this place harder to hit. Maybe a few of us can make a trench or something? but what about that second line for the shield?”
“I can only hope it will. I think I heard about a company making one work in space. Maybe we’ll be lucky and someone from that company is down there?” Terra asked jokily and Bob laughed a little.
Terra looked around, trying to think. She had been onto something before, she could feel it. There had to be something, something that she was missing. As she looked around, Bob shrugged.
“Yeah, I doubt it. And I think I read that article. Didn’t they stop testing because of the….. the sound,” Bob whispered as Terra went still and looked at him.
Terra’s eyes widened as she let her thoughts fly free. That made sense, it made sense! The shield must be making a sound, something that drove those insects to attack the shield! That explains everything, it really did! But that meant that as long as they had it up, they would be ringing the bell to call every bug to them! And those bugs might break the shield and kill them all.
“Oh nova! Oh, nova! This is bad!” Bob said as he looked at her. “We have to turn it off, we have to! Everything in the forest could be coming at us!”
She looked up at him and shook her head. “It’s too late. The damage is done. The only thing keeping us safe for now is the shield. And if it called anything to us, then the shield will be the only thing to hold them back. Anything that heard it is already on its way here. We don’t have a choice. This is too big for us.”
Bob looked at her before looking away, cursing under his breath. “We have to tell the chief, we have to tell everyone!”
“Yeah, we do,” Terra agreed. She looked up and saw another of the flying worms hit the shield and die. All she could do was wince. Never in all her life had she ever heard of anything like this, but they had to deal. They had to stay alive until Jinn’s group made it back, that was all they could do.