Harry didn’t find anything at the university. He wasn’t surprised. They didn’t know enough, and intelligence gathering was not something he was good at doing.

He was a lot better at shooting targets than finding them.

He went by the pizza place and paid for five pizzas for the small group he expected to deal with. He wanted to check in with Cat, but refrained. He figured if the bees had shot another pushy doctor, she would have called by now.

He arrived at the Stuarts’s house. He noted the lack of burn marks. He nodded at that. His bees buzzed when they saw him. He waved.

“Any problems?,” he asked. A chorus of negative buzzing came back.

“I’m going to do some work in the backyard,” said Harry. “Let the others know when they get here. Also the kids from the other day are working for us. Don’t shoot them unless you have to.”

An affirmative buzzing answered that.

Harry carried the pizzas to the back of the house. He opened several catalogues with his massive pool of points. He wondered how things were going on the two planets he had counterinvaded. Were his bees chasing the xenos, or waiting for them to get too close before chasing them?

Maybe he could have Nick pass on instructions for tactics. He didn’t want them wiped out because most of the bees were out burning up aliens.

He called up a hot box and mobile generator for the pizzas. He turned it on and put the boxes inside the machine. That should keep the food warm until everyone was there.

Now he had to build a meeting place for them. He doubted John and Cat wanted the kids who tried to break in their house actually in their house. He doubted they were that forgiving.

He didn’t know why he hadn’t killed them. He had killed enough kids when he was in the Corps. He just hadn’t for some reason. Maybe it was because of the drugs.

He decided not to think about it too much. Sometimes he just did things on impulse that he later regretted.

He flipped through the instant buildings he had access to through the quartermaster. He decided that he needed something the size of a garage. He eyeballed the yard. He could fit the thing in the yard, even if it squeezed the property lines a little.

He paid the points and a circle appeared on the ground. A small hut appeared. It expanded outwards to where he was standing. The bees buzzed around, examining the new addition to their zone of operations. Some landed on the roof and pronounced it suitable for backyard sniping at any dog that barked too hard.

“Looks good,” said Harry. “Have everybody come back here when they get here.”

A few of the bees buzzed around to the front to follow orders.

Harry walked inside the oversized hut. He needed a table to hold a projector and chairs for everyone. He flipped through the catalogues he had opened for furniture.

He found something that he could use. He picked out the chairs he needed and called them. He set them aside until he needed them. He picked out a round table and placed that in the center of the room. He picked out an automatic note taker and put that aside, and placed a small disc that should project maps for them to look at while they were trying to figure things out.

“Can we load up pictures to this projector?,” asked Harry.

“I can,” said Nick. The Earth appeared in the air above the table, spinning with a time stamp at the bottom of the image.

“All right,” said Harry. He checked his watch. “The others should be arriving soon. I hope Guy brings the drinks.”

“What do you plan to do?,” said Nick. “Bubba says his contractor is on the way.”

“Bubba?,” said Harry.

“Do you really think my name is Nick,” said Nick. “You can’t pronounce our real names, savvy?”

“I got it,” said Harry. “You can’t really speak the English, so you have to make sure that you can fake it to make it.”

“Whatever,” said Nick.

Harry walked around the house to the front of the house. He looked around. John and Cat drove up. He waved at them as they pulled in the driveway.

“How’s it going?,” he asked. He smiled as his bees poured out of the car, assuming overwatch for their wards.

“Your bees don’t like the way I drive,” said John.

“No surprise there,” said Harry.

“They’re right,” said Cat. “I am glad that someone agrees with me about that.”

“Guy used to drive for us when we were deployed,” said Harry. “I put up a clubhouse in the back. Pizza is there.”

“Drinks?,” asked John.

“I told Guy to bring sodas,” said Harry. “I should have done it myself.”

“He’ll be here,” said John. “Who else is supposed to be here?”

“Another contractor, Wozniak and another guest, and Delmar and his friends,” said Harry.

If you stumble upon this narrative on Amazon, be aware that it has been stolen from Royal Road. Please report it.

“Delmar and his friends?,” said John. His face grew cold.

“I hired them to be lookouts,” said Harry.

“What if they get killed?,” asked Cat.

“Not my problem,” said Harry. “Go ahead. Don’t kill Delmar or his buddies.”

“I’ll try not to,” said John.

“I’ll keep them separated,” said Cat. “Come on, honey. Pizza will make you feel better.”

“No vegetables,” said John.

“Sure, sure,” said Cat. She patted his arm.

Harry shook his head as he watched them go.

Wozniak and his partner showed up at the same time as Delmar and his friends. They got out of their cars and eyed each other.

“How’s it going?,” said Harry. “Keep your hands away from any weapons. The bees get jumpy.”

One of the bees landed on the wheel man’s shoulder. He looked at it.

“He likes you,” said Harry. “Never seen that happen. Good job on that.”

“This is Bellvue,” said Wozniak.

“This is Delmar, Garry, Marques, and LeRoi,” said Harry. “They used to work for the guys I chewed up last night. Now they work for me.”

“All right,” said Wozniak. “Are they fighting xenos?”

“God, no,” said Harry. “I wouldn’t trust them with a gun. They’re spotting for me.”

Another car rolled up and parked behind Le Roi. Guy got out and hoisted two cases of store coke out of the back seat. Harry did introductions and told them to go around back and get their pizzas. He still had one more guest to wait on.

Another car rolled up. A thin guy got out, gold bracelets on his right arm, and several necklaces around his neck. Modified glasses like Harry bought covered his face. He grinned when he saw the bees taking aim at him. He raised his hands.

“You the contractor?,” asked Harry.

“Yep,” said the contractor. “They call me Box.”

“Harry Jordan,” said Harry. “The meeting is in the back. I’ll introduce you.”

“What’s this about?,” asked Box. They walked around the house.

“I need to get some brain waving going on,” said Harry. He pointed at the hut. “I’m hoping to fill in some slots so I can get at the xenos.”

“That’ll be a hard row to hoe,” said Box.

“Tell me about it,” said Harry. “At least I’ll get some pizza and drink out of it.”

Harry arrived at the hut, and pulled out his phone. He put that on the table.

“That’s my phone,” said Delmar.

“Not any more,” said Harry. “Buy another one out of your pay.”

“So what do you want, Harry?,” asked Guy.

“Some outside opinions,” said Harry. He noted that Box did the same with his phone. Bubba must want in on the talking.

“Earth,” he said. The projector put a spinning Earth in the air. “Can you throw up the area of conflict between the Bernies and xenos?”

The Milky Way pulled out. Red marks showed active fleet engagements. Several planets were marked red.

“Why are those spots red?,” asked Wozniak.

“They are holdings for the enemy,” said Nick. “They are losses behind the front lines for us.”

“Planets completely overrun?,” asked Guy.

“Yes,” said Nick. “The enemy used star whales and other things to control the space before we could reinforce the contractors and native forces there.”

“Okay,” said Harry. “Show them the mark, and then go back to the map.”

Nick flashed up the drawing for the humans. He gave them time to look at it before going back to the revolving map.

“I found one of those from the incursion at Wu U,” said Harry. “According to Nick, the drawing was found at places where super gates were created for invasions. Can you mark those, Nick?”

Green dots replaced some of the red planets. Each was deeper in the Bernie controlled territory. There were two outliers on either side of the middle ‘steps’.

“That looks weird,” said Marques. “It looks like they are coming right at us.”

“Accident?,” said Nick.

“Verily, they have assumed myriad other paths to this destination,” said Bubba. “Why should this be any different than any other seen by the vile miscreants?

“Never mind them, Marques,” said Harry. “They’re aliens. They don’t know any better. What are you thinking?”

“Can we see the steps again?,” said Marques. “But can you put in lines?”

The map cleared back to the neutral yellow. Each planet lit up in red. Then a line reached out to the first taken planet away from the mass. Then the next planet lit up, then the next, until it reached the end of the line.

“You said these planets were taken with the sign, right?,” said Marques. “I think they were steps to get to Earth, and wherever they need to go to from here.”

“These planets were heavily populated, weren’t they?,” asked Harry. “These are the planets that you lost to the super gates?”

“Yes,” said Nick. “What’s the theory, Marques?”

“I don’t know,” said Marques. “It struck me as weird.”

“I have a thought,” said Guy. “Do you guys mind if I put my thoughts out there?”

“Go ahead,” said Harry. “That’s why you’re here.”

“I think he’s right,” said Guy. “These steps have a goal. What’s the next populated planet after Earth?”

“Corionus,” said Nick. “It’s right here.”

“It’s behind Earth,” said Guy. “What do you think, Marques?”

“If they want to get there, they have to take Earth, or another planet where they can come in the side,” said Marques.

“What are we saying?,” asked Wozniak.

“I think what we are looking at is a king run,” said Guy. “If Marques is right, and we can prove it, we’re saying that they are going for a planet on the other side of Earth. Maybe the Bernies’ capital is in the line. If they take that, they win.”

“What?,” said Nick and Bubba.

“They’re coming to blow your house down,” said Delmar. “English, do you speak it?”

“Show them the pictures of the planets you saved,” said Harry. “Mark them too.”

Still pictures appeared of devastation stretching for miles. There was no telling the wounded from the dead in some of the pictures. Most of the species were humanoid, but some had obvious differences to mark them as other. The map was smaller but those planets were marked in yellow.

“Hook them together,” said John. He hugged his wife as he examined the scenes.

“It’s a king run,” said Guy. “We did them often enough when we were in the desert.”

“What do you think?,” asked Harry. “Wozniak, what would you need to prove this out if you had to take it to court?”

“I don’t know off rip,” he looked at Bellvue. “But if what we’re saying is all the

xenos need is a line of sight with their gates, then there’s no reason to come at Earth when they can hit populated planets on either side unless Guy is right, and they want to get at the Bernies’ central area. There is a way to prove that the gates are line of sight just from this.”

“How do we do that, Detective Wozniak?,” asked Nick.

“Do know when the incursion hit Wu U?,” asked Wozniak. “I remembered reading the report. There was mention of a beacon being thrown across the gate.”

“Yes,” said Nick. “I have the official times here.”

“All right put Earth up in the position it was in during the attack,” said Wozniak. “Then put up which way the signal came from the beacon when it was planted.”

The two planets stood on both sides of the projector. A line connected them.

“That’s great,” said Harry. “What about the other two gates?”

“Let me see the numbers,” said Nick.

Harry pulled the beacon readers out and placed them on the table. He saw the other spots light up. He nodded at the spots.

“What’s the empty spot?,” said Wozniak.

“That’s where the star whale was when I nuked it,” said Harry. “The beacon is

drifting out there now.”

“It has a straight line,” said Marques.

“Marques is right,” said John. “Each of these spots have a straight line to Earth. What about other planets between us and them?”

“There is nothing populated,” said Nick. “Oh.”

“What is it?,” asked John.

“The gates don’t work on any planet that doesn’t have any life,” said Nick. “That means they don’t target any gas giants, moons, or asteroids. They only target planets with life for invasion.”

“Is that good?,” asked Garry.

“I don’t know,” said Nick. “Is this the solution to the problem we didn’t see?”

“It’s a theory, and it looks provable,” said Wozniak. “If this is how things work, how do we fight it?”

“How do we use it?,” asked Harry.