---LINMERE, SHIFTER OF THE GPA SCOUT SHIP POV
“Lead the way to the command deck.”
These are his first words since he ordered me to follow him. Through prep, then our airlock, and then closing the Observation Ship’s airlock behind us. I was on my way to the lab deck.
“Shouldn’t we secure a hobgoblin species profile? For Ed?”
He bumps into me from behind, and I fly sprawling across the deck. I half roll over, extending an arm into the air expecting his help.
“What are you doing on the floor? Get up. We must secure a hobgoblin species profile for Ed.” He huffs and strides over me, turning left instead of right. I cup my hand to my mouth and am about to call out when a shimmering image appears before me. Long blonde hair, porcelain skin, medium height, and well-proportioned breasts. Her naked beauty could only be the preference of another. As a shifter, we can imagine a human form, but something is never optimal. She is the perfect human form as imagined by a human, probably male.
“I will eject him from an airlock as soon as his purpose is at an end.”
I am shocked, of course, yet she seems so confident. “GPA headquarters has sent us to investigate.”
“What do you need, and why?”
“Hobgoblin species profile. We are to target those with active nanorobots and eliminate them.”
The image before me resolves and unresolves, pulsing. Anger? Confusion?
“Once the GPA headquarters have confirmation of the eradication, what then?” she asks.
What then? I don’t think even the Captain or I know. That is why he has been so un-Captain-like. Can I tell her this?
“We don’t know. We suspect our deaths.”
“I have provided your captain with the hobgoblin species profile, and he hurries back to the airlock. You should move to the storage room on your left.”
I climb to my feet, find the door that opens before me, and enter. Darkness surrounds me and silence. I try to contact her and fail. I try to press whatever buttons by the door I can find, and nothing.
“He is through the airlock, and somehow the airlock has disengaged.” I sense delight and humour in her tone. She thinks this is a game because she is secure. The GPA will ensure they tidy all loose ends up, and I believe the last loose end will be the Observation Ship. After some hesitation, I share my doom with her.
“There is no need for concern. While I am surprised they sent a ship to investigate so soon after the Agents’ demise, they will still dither because we have influence in the GPA headquarters now.”
This can only mean a few of the representatives on the Agency Board are shifters. She sounds so confident; the proof being the ease with which she handed over the species’ data. However, how can I be certain, given my life is at stake?
The storage room door opens. “Will you make your way to the lab level, please? There are some developments I need to show and hopefully train you to use.”
---SCIENCE AND WEAPONS OFFICER POV
“Is the profile good?”
Only a heartbeat has passed since he handed it to me. The storage crystal is old yet functional, and finally the readout flashes to confirm access.
“Yes, Captain.”
“Good. Show me what we can detect, since we are in orbit now.”
I overlay the hobgoblin profile onto goblin, nanorobots, and terrain. Some hobgoblins glow intensely, while others scale.
“Have you been able to separate active and inactive nanorobots?”
I scratch my head. “What difference will it make? Shouldn’t we target all hobgoblins?”
“Do you have a targeting system in mind?”
I flash him a confident smile. “Untested, but I am certain of the science. Simple is best. We issue override commands to the nanorobots. Those that are inactive, we awaken. Then we issue a consumption order.”
“Do you have a test valley in mind? Once tested, we can signal to all the valleys at once.”
His face is one of a schoolboy who has savoured his first kiss. I don’t wish to wipe that happiness from his face, but I must. “We can only do a portion at a time. I will send the commands via light waves, piggybacking on sunlight, and the energy, computing and signalling equipment of the Scout Ship limits us.”
His hands fiddle with his face, an occasional tap or tugging at his chin common. “What if we coupled the Scout to the Observer Ship?”
“The ship lacks signalling equipment, which is code for laser or light beam weapons. At best, I calculate we can target a valley at a time depending on the concentration of targets.”
My words draw an expression of pain across his face. “What if we target hobgoblins with active nanorobots only? One shot in broad daylight, done?”
I turn to smile. “Now you are talking, Captain.” I scratch my chin. “This may play out strangely. What if the hobgoblins associate their destruction with daylight? Wouldn’t they then hide deep underground?”
“No! No, we can’t allow that. We must destroy them all now.” He runs his hands through his hair and mumbles. “Some will survive, the rats. They always do. Down a hole, exploring a cave or in a big enough building.” His head rises, and his eyes lock onto mine. “Can we return to the first valley once we have completed the others?”
I return my attention to my screens. Such a repeat would mean someone would need to stay behind. With time, we could install the signalling equipment on the Observer Ship and the energy and compute would be more than sufficient. If I suggest this, would I be the one staying?
“Well?” prompts the Captain.
“We could do it using the Observation Ship if we fitted our signalling equipment. But who would remain behind to operate it?”
He slaps my shoulders. “Either the current observer of the Observation Ship, who is a qualified GPA operative or someone temporary, like our assessor, until they can send out a permanent replacement.”
“Captain!”
The Captain and I break our conspirator’s celebration and turnabout.
“Miss!” replies the Captain.
“Someone has released the airlock with the Observation Ship.”
He slaps the bulwark to the left of her head. “How is this possible? Did you slip up? Why didn’t you counter the command?”
She is small, to begin with, and somehow becomes smaller. Her mousey brown shoulder-length hair has a habit of falling across her face when she needs to hide. Somewhat irritating for those who wish to see the colour of her eyes, as it were.
She squeaks. “I tried to override the command and failed. When separated, I tried to restart the locking procedure, and while all looked good, the Observation Ship’s clamps didn’t activate. We have, at best, half a lock.”
Good girl, she didn’t apologise. She tried what she knew, what the technology allowed, and that was the simple truth.
“Begin the culling of hobgoblins with active nanorobots while I contact GPA headquarters.”
“Yes, sir.” As he slides past our Navigation Officer, I have an idea. “Request permission for the Navigation Officer to remain and learn the operation, sir.” I wink at the Captain, ensuring Miss can’t spy the signal.
He opens his mouth; I assume to object, but then my wink, I suspect, registers. Another to operate the culling would be helpful, especially if there needed to be a decision about who could go and who must stay behind. “Excellent idea. Stay and assist the Weapons Officer.”
After he passes her, she breathes again. The relief on her face is unmistakable. “Thank-you. I am so grateful to stay with you. Something has gotten into the Captain, and I must stay out of his way.”
“Well, take my chair. I programmed the culling in, but there needs to be manual retargeting after we dose a valley. Also, you need to keep an eye on energy use. We can’t afford to drain our energy reserves to the point of life support failure!” I chuckle. “That would be good for no one.”
Her lips draw thin. “Are you certain? You trust me?”
I point to the first valley; the confirmation feedback is light. “Start here. The energy use will be low and give you practice without risking a colossal failure.”
“What… what will you be doing?” she asks.
I straighten, proud as punch. “I will observe you and devise ways to code or program the repetitive steps with warnings and alerts. Possibly defining operating parameters to prevent energy drain by trying to estimate the energy requirements for a valley after targeting but before culling.”
“Can I ask how this works? Not the buttons and dials but the, um, culling?”
Should I, or shouldn’t I? Will the potential loss of life shock her, even if planetary vermin?
“You understand that the ones we are targeting are an introduced species. Vermin, you might call them.” She slowly nods her head. Not the best reaction, oh well, onwards. “To eliminate each one with our weapons would require low orbit, to target and eliminate with a minimum energy blast.”
She raises a finger. “They would see our ship!” Her large brown, eager eyes, searching for praise, almost hypnotise me, and without thinking, I pat her head. The softness of her hair is a delight. Her eyes slowly shutter, and a quiet purr slips out between her lips, encouraging me to linger longer than I would otherwise.
“Ahem, yes. So, they all have several nanorobots. The variance is unusual, but useful to us. They are active or inactive, the reason unknown, but useful. So, the solution is to program the active nanorobots, and this is where sunlight comes in. As a wave, sunlight has a high point and a low point. On and off.”
Her hand shoots up. “Binary!”
“Yes, we send the nanorobots an override command and order them to harvest water. You must aim the weapons array to ensure we sweep the entire valley, so all active nanorobots receive the instructions.”
Her face screws up for a moment. “Why are the inactive nanorobots a problem?”
I pat her head again, unable to resist taking the opportunity. “They need waking up. There isn’t really a command for that because they aren’t listening or are in a waiting state. They should be, but they aren’t.”
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“Won’t that mean those hobgoblins will escape? What about the goblins with active and inactive nanorobots?”
I smile. “Full of questions, aren’t we?” I am certain she returns a mirror of my smile. “Well, the goblins are the natives, and I suspect the Captain will ask permission about them. To eradicate the inactive nanorobot carriers will require someone to stay in orbit and slowly, over time, target them. Probably a high energy dose to awaken them and then the command.”
She nods, and I assist her in scanning the first three valleys containing hobgoblins with active nanorobots. They are conveniently adjacent. She is methodical from the start and overlaps her sweeps. I relax and observe her sweep the next three as she targets the nearby valleys further south.
---
I am making progress. A simple geofence for each valley will allow sweeping within meets and bounds. The next sweep automatically aligns with the edge of the previous sweep. These programming adjustments are based on the recording of her valley sweeps.
I slap my forehead. Stupid, I name myself. The key is the recording of her sweeps. All that is required is a simple playback without warnings, since there won’t be a human operator. An automatic pause until the energy level returns to a sufficient level. The sweep will miss some hobgoblins with active nanorobots. Therefore, I will need two programs. That’s it. Use a high-energy wake-up on the nanorobots in one valley, then an active nanorobot sweep on the next and so on. During the active nanorobot sweep, energy will restore and be ready for the inactive sweep…
She slaps my shoulder, and I snap my head about. My scream remains in my throat as I see what she sees.
---TINUNA, SHIFTER OF THE GPA OBSERVER SHIP POV
Her reaction is amusing. I considered warning her, but this is better.
“You don’t expect me to? You can’t?”
“Didn’t you say you expected your death? I offer you a way to live.” I try to keep the humour from my thoughts.
“As a hobgoblin female? When the Scout Ship sees a shuttle leave this ship, won’t they simply destroy it? I assume that is how you intend to transport me. What becomes of my body?”
This is the trick and the all-or-nothing part.
“I will possess your body.”
She works her jaw, trying to find words. An appropriate reaction, except we are communicating with our will, our magic.
“Why? No, not why. I won’t let you. I won’t leave my body.” She pouts. Her human form is perfect, so I suspect she stole a human identity, and perhaps I can use that.
“How did you perfect your form?” Her mind stutters. “As I thought. I will use your body to become you and return to the Scout Ship. As I have done with the Observation Ship, I will gain control of the command-and-control circuits, and no one will shoot at anything. They will simply believe they have.”
Again, her mouth opens, although she snaps it shut this time. Her self-annoyance is obvious.
“You won’t have time…”
I send her a tut-tut. “Your Captain was eager for the hobgoblin species profile, was he not?” I don’t wait for her confirmation. “I am certain he handed the crystal to his Science Officer, and I am equally certain his Science Officer quickly inserted the old crystal into the ship’s computer, and they celebrated his success.”
“No! All GPA Ships can detect malware, subversive programming and anything beyond data. They would have isolated the attack.”
I can’t help but reply with a cackle. “Magic.”
“His position would be one of the few with command over the code and data… You have already infected the Scout Ship?” I think she pauses to digest her own words, so I will wait. “Your magic is already infiltrating the command-and-control circuits. But to what end?”
“I need to communicate to GPA headquarters as you, the assessor, and fabricate an outcome.”
I sense the realisation in her mind before she communicates. Oh, wonderful. “How did you come to master your will, your magic? I thought, as do many, hundreds of years would be necessary to hijack the command-and-control of a human spaceship, yet now I doubt…”
Should I explain to her? Will her reaction really have an impact? I am sending her to him, and once with him, surely, she will realise the incredible bounty I grant her.
“When you land on the planet, you must meet and lay with a hobgoblin, Lord Klar or Lord Klug. Become his spirit-bound wife.” I sense her delicious shock and forge ahead. “When you die, he will call your spirit back to be bound to another’s flesh, and in that way, you will live again and again.”
“I… What are you saying? I give up my body to you, and in return, I am forever planet vermin?”
I would like to take her by the throat and shake… no, that is him, not me. “Weren’t you saying success or failure, the GPA would see the crew of the Scout Ship dead?”
Her eyes stray and examine the fine naked form of the female hobgoblin on the raised slab. Her human form relaxes, and the ear definition is always the first to smooth. After several heartbeats, she gathers herself.
“What happened to your body?”
Sacrificed. How do I tell her that long story? “When the spirit of Lord Klug returned the last time, there were difficulties, and my magic was near exhausted to the point I didn’t think I could maintain my body.” I hear her mentally gasp. She understands. “To return Lord Klug, I needed to kill him. Assume it was the only way.” She paces. “He has a unique ability, does our Lord Klug. He activates the nanorobots in such a way that they can learn. They break free from their programming. I suspect the magic of this planet contributes, and somehow, he taps into that without really knowing. He was a GPA but didn’t arrive in a GPA flesh bag. We had to re-life him into a hobgoblin corpse containing an overdose of nanorobots. They cleaned and refined him as per their programming, but they also recovered latent memories of the former owner of the body and adopted his personality. In a sense, they became alive. Something only the magic on this planet could engineer because I have no other explanation. Once his body died, you would think the nanorobots would die, but they transformed into a spirit-like entity that followed him in death and reunited with him in life. When I killed him, in desperation, I infused my body with the blood of his corpse, hoping the nanorobots were still active and, well, magical.”
She holds up a hand and then leans her bottom against the slab. “You polluted your body?” She raises an accusing eyebrow.
“Yes, and…” She holds her hand up for me to stop.
“Let me guess. Your body became less shifter and more something else until, eventually, both halves fought, and neither remained?”
“Yes, but with the time I had, I strengthened my will and, hence, my magic. At body death, I transcended, attaching my spirit to the Observer Ship. My consciousness is in command of the ship I occupy.”
She crosses her arms. “Won’t you lose your command when you take my body? What of your plans, then?”
“This is new to me, of course, so there are uncertainties. I can only say part of my magic was in the crystal and, as a living extension of my will, follows my bidding. I will leave some of my magic here and hope for the same result.”
Her hands wipe down her face. “You are mad. Clearly, the time you spent alone here has destroyed your sanity.”
“If that’s true, then why don’t I simply remove the air from this lab?”
She edges towards the doors. “You can’t kill your kind…”
Her mind wavers, of course, because of doubt. “Didn’t you say I was mad?” She reaches the doors, which, of course, don’t budge. Her flicking hand waves towards the sensor for naught. “Another thing I forgot to tell you is that while I was on the shuttle, busy killing Lord Klug for his own good, the Planet’s magic reached out to me. I would like to take credit for an amazing discovery, but the revelation was because of pure chance. My dagger thrust sprayed back some of his blood, and without thinking, I licked the splatter from my hand. The magic within the planet hummed, sensing my will. At that moment, I knew his activated nanorobot blood from his fresh corpse was the key. A catalyst, even. I could absorb magic from the planet and store it in the nanorobots. He does the same, I suspect, but isn’t aware. I am almost certain if you return to the planet in the body I have manufactured especially for this occasion and consume his seed, his nanorobots will permit you, a shifter, to absorb magic from the planet as well.”
She slides down the door into a crouching position, her head in her hands. I believe I offer an ample reward for her body, yet shifting is the very essence of our being, even if, as in her case, she would have never shifted out of her human form often or for long. The risk of discovery is too great. My loss was traumatic and only survivable because this planet and the GPA, known as Lord Klug, promised so much.
“So the plan is I accept this body, take a shuttle to the surface, assume the scout doesn’t fire on me, find Lord Klug, become his spirit-bound wife and absorb much magic. Then what?”
Can she be this dumb? Limit herself so. “You could become the first Practitioner of Magic since our race lost our homeworld.”
“But I will no longer be a shifter…”
---NARO, HIGH PRIESTESS OF KLUG POV
I pace across a stone floor in a storeroom deep in the cliff. Under the flickering light of torches set into the walls, dried-out husks of former hobgoblins lay before me in several rows.
“They are difficult to identify, High Priestess, yet we made an educated guess depending on where they were found. Some were the remaining hobgoblins of Kluggoth, found on their estates. The number found is enough to suggest his line has been ended.”
I suck in a breath. How can this be? The Holy Scribe steps towards another lineup.
“As for the others, Klugrath’s line, several in hiding, high in the mountains. We suspect these are responsible for the attack on the Oath Keeper Tower. We found the others on their estates. Life and death was a simple matter of being under a roof or not.”
Several of the husks are children. Fathers and mothers playing with their children in broad daylight easily come to mind. The curse spared those watching from within buildings or under shelter.
“Finally, some samples of your Priestess’ who typically preached in the open by running water, as is their practice of converting non-believers. Note, High Priestess, these were, until their death, the most successful in spreading the word of Lord Klug.”
I stop my pacing. “What of my bodyguard? I heard a rumour.”
“Only one, and the drying was slow enough that the removal of half her hand stopped any further progression.”
“Sunlight? No omens? No signs in the sky of any kind.” I repeat her words to me earlier. “No goblins.” I retreat to the door. “Does this mean that hobgoblins must now always stay undercover in the dark on the off chance death will strike from the sky?”
She doesn’t answer, and I turn about, snarling.
“It would seem so, at least for any of Rexa’s line and possibly those sworn to yourself. Also, those most devoted to Lord Klug seem to be victims of this deadly curse.” She falls to the floor, dropping her scroll. Seeing through the shadow, I observe her sobbing into her hands. “The worship of Lord Klug is done, High Priestess. I suspect that the death of the Oath is somehow to blame because why now does this curse visit us? What has changed? The Oath’s death has cursed us.” She continues to sob. I don’t even go to her and console her.
The death of the Oath is recent, dramatic, and a cause of unrest amongst the faithful. Few Oath Keepers, let alone worshipers of Klug, knew the true purpose of the Oath, except they must keep him alive and forever imprison him. Could these deaths be a consequence of his death? Is one visitation sufficient, or will there be others?
“High Priestess!”
I swivel to meet the new arrival—a priestess.
“Yes?”
“We have had word that the Oath Keeper Curse is visiting each valley, and many hobgoblins are fleeing ahead of the curse or trying to.”
I release a bellowing laugh. “Unless they have a mount, the fact you are reporting suggests the curse is many valleys ahead of those fleeing, and they would have survived, regardless.”
“No, High Priestess, you misunderstand. The curse hasn’t struck every valley at once. The curse strikes each valley from the entrance to the high mountains. Ours, where Lord Klug first walked, being the first, then the Valley of the Hobs, where we spread his word next and then the next valley where the worship of Lord Klug is strong. After that, we must rely on rumour, but it would seem to only strike those valleys with significant villagers and towns of hobgoblins.”
That would mean… “What of our agents and allies in the other valleys? Have we received any word?”
“Some, yes, although from the nearer valleys first, of course. Most are extolling the virtues of worship to the village elders or town authorities, and they typically prefer indoor meetings, so most can report they still live.”
“Thank you. Report more when you know more about the distant agents.” I wave her away.
A sniffling mess wraps her arms around my leg. “We are doomed, High Priestess. Each visitation of the curse will weaken us and grow doubt in current and future worshippers. Our only security will be to hide away from sunlight.”
This is the elitist Holy Scribe. She who sat above the fray while I snatched the High Priestess title. Who recorded the slaying of my rivals and the almost extinction of several families because they could have challenged me?
I reach down and grasp her chin. Her eyes look up. I drag her to her feet.
“Don’t forget yourself, Holy Scribe. You will be as stoic as you have always been. You will search the Temple records for any previous appearance of the Oath. Then you will search the Oath Keeper Tower for any records. When finished, you will report your findings to me and no one else.”
She tries to nod, so I release my grip. “I… have searched the Temple records, High Priestess. There is nothing like this…”
I slap her. “You will search again. I doubt the records will record the event as the Oath Keeper Curse. You are searching for subtle clues, hints, notes about strange things which were probably dismissed when written.” I grab her chin and ensure I stare into her eyes. “Now go do as I command.”
I release my grip. She scampers off. I hope there is something to find, anything. Doubt is the faith killer. Family bloodlines seem to be a target, but that would be a given. My bloodline, though, is simply me. My bodyguards aren’t of any important bloodline. No, they feed on my blood, and I feed on Lord Klug’s blood, a treasure of the Oath Keeper Tower. I survey the husks again and remember the Holy Scribe’s descriptions. What could be common? My guess would be the volume of Lord Klug’s blood that once ran in their veins. Her son’s family lines, especially Klugrath’s, would be a beneficiary of Lord Klug’s blood, although it is said Rexa granted fewer favours to her family as the years passed. This is where the priestesses became a target. Rexa allowed them to drink Lord Klug’s blood.
If my bodyguard is any guide, I assume Kluggoth’s family line would have died slowly and painfully unless, like my guard, they were prepared to cut off the cursed limb. Klugrath lines would have succumbed quickly, yet I believe they still would have had time to react. The priestesses, though, would have been quick, as I am certain Rexa would have favoured them most recently. How do I find out without raising too many questions? Also, I wonder if any who should have died didn’t because, while not undercover, they wore armour or heavy clothing.
I must figure this out because I didn’t sacrifice, connive and assassin for nothing. I earnt this position, and I will not surrender to an Oath Keeper Curse, no matter how potent it seems now.
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