Queen World of the Insectoid Empire
Brood Chamber of the Hive Mother
Fourth Cycle, 384.91 years, Insectoid solar calendar
June 8th, 2176 A.D.
Staring at the devastating results of the drone missile strike on the projection coming from Bandit-Friend's thorax, the Hive Mother felt rage upwelling inside of her as dozens of animal ships fell to the traitor missiles.
Even the large animal ships were severely damaged, and she quickly signed to Bandit-Friend to share thoughts with him.
Bandit-Friend did not acknowledge her claw signs, but she could see his claws opening and closing rapidly as if he was trying to crush something within them.
Her rage grew at the wrongness she just witnessed, and she sent thoughts to the loyal swarm in orbit.
She felt the command drones respond to her angry thought commands, knowing they would become agitated by her rage and fight harder because of it.
She slowly reached out a claw and fought through her fear as she lightly touched Bandit-Friend on his upper leg, afraid he would react violently to her touching him for the first time.
He turned his head at the touch, and she could see her reflection on the mirrored surface covering his face as she began to make claw signs again.
Bandit-Friend signed back, thanking her for trying to help before he took the small device off his thorax and began to make noises to it.
The projection from Bandit-Friend's thorax changed, and now she could see her loyal ships as they started accelerating to attack the traitor swarm.
***
RSS Warspite – Vengeance Class Battleship
Barnard’s Star
1454 Local Time, June 8th, 2176 A.D.
“We are receiving a priority one message packet. It is marked for your eyes only, and it is coded Sigma, Captain!”
Captain Robert James snapped his head towards the comm officer, his eyes widening at the mention of the Sigma code.
He shared a look with his XO before pushing himself out of the strange chair and heading for the small office located on the other side of the bridge as he signaled for the comm request to be sent there.
Entering the small office, he palmed the Magnati scanner and waited for the door to seal before sitting behind the oblong desk and pulling his dog tags out from under his uniform.
Using his thumbnail, he pried open one of the tags and carefully extracted the tiny chip that was hidden inside of it before gingerly placing it onto the Republic scanner that had been installed on the desk when he took command of the ship.
The scanner flashed and turned green, indicating it accepted the security code of the chip before turning on and projecting a blank gray holo screen. A holo keyboard appeared in front of him, and he quickly typed in his Sigma code before placing his thumb on the scanner, feeling the tiny pinprick as it sampled his blood and scanned his thumbprint.
Lines of Sigma code appeared on the holo screen, and he entered the encryption key slowly to ensure he would not make a mistake and cause the message to self-destruct. A few seconds later, the coded message changed to Republic standard, and he read the message three times before tapping on the destruct icon.
The message disappeared, and the scanner powered off as he carefully removed the chip and placed it back into the fake dog tag before snapping it closed and putting the tags back under his uniform.
Leaning back in the chair, he blew out a shuddering breath as he ran his hands through his hair, his heart rate quickening as the full import of the Sigma message hit him. He leaned back forward and toggled the comm panel.
“Commander Goldsmith, come to the office, please.”
He toggled the comm panel again before rising out of the chair and walking over to the door, quickly palming it open and then walking back to the desk and sitting on the edge of it.
A few moments later, Commander Golsmith walked in and palmed the door shut before looking at him with a questioning expression.
“Tommy, I just received orders to take the Warspite to the Insectoid home system and render assistance to the 3rd fleet. They are in danger of being wiped out by an Insectoid rebel faction trying to seize control of the Insectoid Empire.”
“What? What the hell are they doing there, and what rebel faction?” Goldsmith answered, his face plainly showing his confusion at what he had just been told.
“Aurora sent a null space relay message to the president, informing her of what was happening and the imminent destruction of the 3rd fleet. Admiral Thompson has ordered us to abort the shakedown cruise and to render assistance. We have been given the go-ahead to use the fold space system.”
His eyes bugging out, Goldsmith stammered a couple of times before finally being able to speak.
“Bobby, we haven’t tested it yet. I know the Ma’lit engineers assured us they have reduced the failure rate to less than 5%, but this is crazy. We are not ready yet, and you know it.”
Getting off the desk, he looked Goldsmith in the eyes as he replied.
“Ready or not, I intend to follow the orders I have received, and we will be taking the ship into a combat situation. We are the only ship that can reach them in time, so are you ready to do this, Commander?”
Standing at attention, Goldsmith returned his gaze and answered.
“Always, Captain. What are your orders?”
“Set condition two and notify the chief that we are going to be using the fold space generator. I want to leave as soon as we can make the jump.”
Goldsmith saluted and turned around, palming the door open and exiting the office as he went to get the ship ready for combat. He waited for five seconds before exiting the office and entering back into the main bridge, the crew already in the process of getting the ship ready for departure.
Walking over to the strange command chair, he sat down in it and carefully put on the Magnati command interface headband before activating it.
He felt a momentary disorientation as the interface connected to his optical nerves and whatever other medical terminology he was told when first testing the device under the instruction of the Ma’lit advisors.
Multiple windows and status screens appeared in his vision as if he had an internal HUD inside of his head and eyes, and he was still having difficulty absorbing and processing the sheer amount of information available to him through the device.
He quickly looked around the bridge, and the status of every station was updated as he looked at each one individually, now having access to all the relevant information as if he was operating them himself.
Hearing familiar mechanical footsteps coming up from behind him, he turned to greet one of the three Ma’lit technical advisors assigned to him and the ship for the shakedown cruise of the newly commissioned RSS Warspite.
The suited figure stopped in front of him and raised a hand before beginning to speak in a synthesized voice. Looking at the name tag on the suit, James saw that it was Rilth’dir addressing him.
“Greetings, Captain James. Am I correct in assuming you intend to take this ship into combat?”
“You are, honored elder. I have received orders from Fleet Command to render assistance to the 3rd fleet. They are currently engaged in combat with a rebel faction in the Insectoid home system, and I am to use the fold space system to get there in time to prevent their destruction.”
The suited figure put its hand down, multiple lenses moving and zooming in on his face and body. It creeped him out when it did that, but he displayed no outward signs of discomfort as he waited for it to respond.
“This is highly irregular. You are not ready to take this ship into combat, and we have yet to test the fold space generators. I recommend you decline the assignment based on the factors I have just listed. I would be willing to pass along my reservations to your superiors if that will help you make your case.”
He tried not to laugh in its face for thinking he could decline the orders he had received as he replied in a carefully neutral tone.
“I thank you for your offer of assistance, honored elder, but that is not how our command structure works. Even if I could refuse the orders, I wouldn’t, and my crew would not either. Our people need us, and we are going to help them. So, can I rely on you for your continued advisement, or do you wish to leave the ship?”
“That will not be necessary, son of the Magnati. I wish to be part of this endeavor and to render whatever assistance I can. May I join you on the bridge for the duration of this unexpected mission?”
He pointed to the empty chair to his left as he responded to the Rilth’dir.
“I am grateful for your offer to remain and advise us, honored elder. You may take this seat if you wish.”
Putting up a hand again, the Ma’lit responded.
“That will not be necessary, Captain James. When the time comes, I will maglock to the deck and remain standing behind you so as not to be in the way of the crew. With your permission, I will connect to the network so I may advise you through the auditory system of the command interface if the need arises.”
The Ma’lit abruptly turned and walked over to the tactical station, and the XO came from behind and slipped into the seat to the right of him before leaning close and whispering.
“I thought it was going to give us trouble and deny us permission to take the ship to the Insectoid home system.”
James snorted at the statement, letting the XO know exactly how he felt about the Ma’lit trying to deny them permission to use the ship under such extenuating circumstances.
“I thought so too, but they seem to be upholding their end of the bargain so far. When did the chief say we will be ready to go?” He asked, before remembering he could find out himself.
Putting up a hand to stop Goldsmith from answering, he focused on the information he wanted, feeling the interface intuitively respond to his desire. A second later, the fold space generator status report appeared, showing him that it was ready to be activated.
As if on cue, the chief engineer came over the intercom, his heavy Polish accent blaring from the speakers.
“Captain, we are ready down here. The Ma’lit dupek finally shut up after I threatened to kick it into the reactor core if it didn’t stop breathing down my neck. It thinks I am małpa z cyrku. Okay, we can go now.”
The bridge crew snickered at what the famously hot-headed chief engineer had to say about the Ma’lit advisor assigned to him, not even having to translate the Polish insults since they had all been subjected to his linguistic tongue lashings many times before.
Rolling his eyes, he opened the comm link to the engineering compartment and replied.
“Chief, please refrain from threatening to kick our guests into the reactor core; they are here to help us. Thanks for the update; we will be jumping shortly. I am keeping the line open for now; let me know if any issues arise.”
The chief grunted before muttering more Polish curses, making him smile as he used the interface to check the overall status of the ship. Everything was ready, and he called out to activate the Magnati AI.
“Warspite, are you ready to go?”
A synthesized male voice responded over the intercom.
~ Captain, all systems are nominal. The combat sub-mind is on standby. ~
The tale has been taken without authorization; if you see it on Amazon, report the incident.
“Excellent, go to condition one, Warspite, and jump us to the coordinates the helm station has input. We are jumping into combat, so I want all offensive and defensive systems activated, Warspite.”
~ Affirmative, Captain. ~
The lights immediately changed to a red hue as the traditional Magnati combat alert chime sounded three times.
Warspite began broadcasting a shipwide countdown to jump as the combat alert continued to chime three times in a row every five seconds.
The bridge crew had drilled for this many times, and they all leaned back in their chairs to allow the Magnati forcefield restraint systems to activate. Their stations reconfigured for combat duty, and repositioned themselves closer to the now restrained crew so their hands could still use the panels.
~ Fold space activation in fifteen seconds. ~
Feeling his heart slamming in his chest, James looked around, seeing all the status updates of the stations on his mental HUD. He ignored them, not looking for that reason.
He was looking at the faces of his crew, feeding off their expressions of grim determination and using it to bolster his own courage as the countdown continued.
~ Three, two, one. ~
There was a blinding flash, and then a distinct feeling of every molecule in his body being stretched to infinity as a wave of the worst nausea he had ever felt came bubbling up inside of him.
Trying not to vomit, he glanced to his right to look at the XO and distract himself, only to see Goldsmith shimmering in and out of reality. He looked down at his hands and saw they were doing the same thing.
He tried to clasp his hands together, no longer aware of the nausea as he saw his hands passing through each other as if they were not there. There was a warning chime, and then what felt like a thousand g’s of force pressed on him, cutting off his air as the stretching-to-infinity feeling returned.
There was another blinding flash, and he felt himself returning to his place in the universe as the worst pain he had ever felt pierced his brain. In the time it took for him to process the pain and begin to open his mouth to scream out in agony, it was suddenly gone.
The last of the jump effects wore off, leaving him a gasping wreck as his eyes darted around the bridge at the very pale and bewildered faces of his similarly affected crew.
Warspite ejected two dozen Magnati drones that immediately flashed into null space to position themselves throughout the system to build a picture of the forces currently within it.
Five seconds later, a massive holo display shimmered into existence, showing a green blinking icon with Magnati script that converted to Republic standard and displayed RSS Warspite.
More icons began to populate the screen, a cluster of blue in between three masses of red deeper into the system as Warspite began to update the ship's status.
~ All systems functioning. What are your orders, Captain? ~
Clearing his throat, he answered the AI, unsure of how to proceed as he struggled to get his bearings. He heard Rilth’dir’s voice in his head as it gently spoke to him through the command interface.
“Captain, the Magnati AI is quite capable of fighting the ship for now if you are having trouble recovering from the fold space jump. I promise you, subsequent jumps will not affect you so badly in the future; it is only the first one that is the most... disorienting.”
A wave of relief flooded over him at the assurances of the AI being able to fight the ship while he and the bridge crew recovered, and he thanked Rilth’dir for its advice before answering the AI.
“Warspite, our mission is to rescue the Republic ships in danger of being encircled by the Insectoid forces. Please display your tactical recommendations to achieve this objective.”
~ Affirmative, Captain. ~
Two seconds later, the holo display began displaying an accelerated simulation of the Warspite flashing in among one of the two swarms coming behind the 3rd fleet.
The simulation showed the Warspite launching a blistering assault that broke up the nearest Insectoid formation before flashing out and repeating the process in the other large formation.
A battle summary appeared, listing the projected enemy casualties from the simulated assault.
Projected enemy losses: 14 hive ships, 137 cruisers—63% enemy force reduction
Combat time: Three minutes, fourteen seconds
Expected damage: None
Staring at the battle damage assessment, he realized his mouth was hanging open, and he closed it before calling out to the AI.
“Um, okay, Warspite, let’s go with your recommendation. Execute!”
~ Affirmative, Captain. Null space transition in five seconds. ~
Sharing a look of disbelief with his XO, James heard Rilth-dir in his head again as it bade him to not interfere with the AI during combat. He was about to sarcastically thank him for the heads-up when the brilliant flash of the transition into null space flooded the bridge.
There was a momentary disorientation from the Warspite flashing back out of null space, and he barely had time to blink away the spots in his eyes when the lights dimmed further, followed by the whining sound of the particle accelerators firing as the AI began engaging targets.
“Captain, I don’t have helm control!”
“Tactical is not responding to my inputs, Captain!”
Raising his hand to quiet down the multiple crew members warning him of not being able to control the ship, he called out loudly to settle them down as they continued to shout warnings of non-functioning stations.
“Warspite is controlling the ship, people. Let it do its job and pay attention to your stations so we can learn from it.”
The viewpoint changed on the holo screen, displaying the Warspite from multiple angles as it bulled its way through the center of the Insectoid formation they had flashed into.
The black and beautifully curved ship, its hull bristling with weaponry and sensor systems, was pouring out an incalculable amount of energy as it cleaved its way through a cluster of Hive ships surrounding it.
The Magnati particle accelerators, far more powerful than the war beams of Republic nullships, gutted the massive Hive ships as the invisible beams tunneled straight through them and blasted out the hulls on the opposite sides of where they struck.
Finally reacting to the presence of the deadly ship among them, the ship rocked slightly as first a few, then dozens of Insectoid particle beams began splashing against the Warspite’s shields, the ship rocking harder as the shield grid kept deflecting the increasing number of weapon impacts away from the armored hull.
An alert popped up on the holo screen, highlighting a group of cruisers that were launching a massive volley of large missiles at the Warspite from the periphery of the formation. James muttered a shocked curse as the one hundred and twenty-strong missile swarm dashed right for them, acutely aware of just how powerful the Insectoid warheads were.
~ Firing countermeasures ~
Not knowing if Warspite was trying to alleviate his fear or was just talking to itself, he paid close attention to see what countermeasures the AI was talking about on the holo screen.
From the top-down video feed of the ship, he saw a half dozen black round pods being fired from the starboard hull, the same direction the missiles were coming from.
The interface felt his desire to observe the pods, and five screens popped up, all of them displaying different viewing angles so he could see them in action.
The pods dashed away from the ships with no visible means of propulsion, covering almost 5,000 kilometers in less than two seconds as they formed a diamond formation before bursting apart from what looked like an explosive bolt system.
Ignoring the increasingly violent shaking of the ship, he stared in fascination at the internal construct that appeared from inside of the pods. They looked like missile racks, with each one having twelve 60-centimeter-long missiles hanging on the two sides of the rack.
A nearby cruiser targeted one of them, and he gasped in surprise as he saw the telltale sign of a shield grid activating and deflecting the particle beam, followed by two other missile rack shields flaring brightly as more Insectoid cruisers targeted them.
The six missile racks then fired their entire payload before self-destructing three seconds after release, and the one hundred and forty-four small missiles darted at incredible velocity. Wondering how fast they were going, an infographic popped up on his interface HUD and displayed the speed: 321,868.8 km/h
Each missile targeted a large Insectoid anti-ship missile, zeroing in on their targets with ruthless efficiency despite all attempts by the drone pilots to break the target locks. There were brilliant explosions as the missiles intercepted their targets, and three seconds later, every single missile in the swarm had been destroyed.
The remaining twenty-four missiles quickly executed insane maneuvers as they acquired new target locks, slamming into nearby cruisers before they could even react to the missiles now coming after them.
He watched just one missile impact the aft quadrant of a cruiser, and the explosion was so violent, the cruiser flipped aft over bow before tumbling wildly out of control with no signs of power.
Within five seconds of acquiring their new target locks, eighteen cruisers had been destroyed, and another six were so badly damaged that it was something of a miracle their cores hadn’t overloaded yet.
“Holy shit!” exclaimed the XO, mirroring his own sentiments exactly as he surveyed the destruction left in the wake of the Magnati countermeasure pods.
~ Objective achieved; targeting second enemy formation, null space transition in three, two, one. ~
He barely had time to register what Warspite was saying before there was a brilliant flash as they entered null space, followed by another flash as they exited less than two seconds later.
The Warspite’s weapons were already firing as they strafed the leading edge of the second Insectoid formation with particle accelerators and railgun turrets, sending hundreds of 30-centimeter tungsten alloy slugs tearing through the densely packed cruiser screen protecting the Hive ships in the center of the sphere formation.
The bridge flashed again as they transitioned to null space without warning, and he fought off the wave of nausea threatening to overwhelm him as they flashed back out right in the middle of the seven Hive ships forming the nucleus of the second formation.
~ Deploying nuclear penetrators. ~
“What?” was all he was able to get out of his mouth before the bridge flashed with a brilliant light again as they transitioned back into null space. He fought off the disorientation, trying to pay attention to the holo screen as Rilth’dir’s voice came into his head again through the interface.
“Look closely, son of the Magnati. A gift from the Ma’lit to our new allies.”
Struggling to focus on the holo screen, he could see the seven cylinder-shaped devices drifting in space where Warspite had ejected them before flashing back out. They all suddenly pivoted, using some kind of unseen thruster control system to point the ends of the cylinders at the seven Hive ships.
The holo screen flared brightly before dimming as all seven cylinders detonated in a flash of raw power that could only be coming from nuclear bombs. The holo screen split into seven sections, each one displaying what remained of the targeted Hive ship.
“Oh my god!” he blurted out as he saw the devastating results of the Ma’lit gift. The Hive ships just simply ceased to exist, having been shattered into dozens of large, tumbling pieces.
“What the hell was that Warspite?” he called out, demanding an explanation for what he was seeing.
~ I deployed the nuclear explosive formed penetrator system, Captain. The system detonates a nuclear charge and channels the energy into a tungsten alloy plate, forming it into a shaped projectile that achieves a velocity of 987.4 kilometers per second. ~
Feeling miffed about not being informed of such a weapon system being part of their loadout, he was just about to interrogate Warspite further when the holo screen changed back to its original configuration and what remained of the red icons began to blink as the formations broke apart.
~ Captain, the remaining enemy vessels of the two targeted formations are changing their vectors. My calculations indicate they are trying to flee back to the outer system. What are your orders? ~
“Give me a minute, Warspite. I need to catch up with the tactical situation.”
~ Affirmative. Shall I display a countdown, Captain? ~
Rolling his eyes, he barely suppressed his frustrated groan before responding to the AI.
“Negative, Warspite. It is a figure of speech. Wait for further orders, please.”
~ Affirmative, Captain. I strongly recommend the crew take a dose of the transition medication; we are almost at the limit of allowed transitions before deleterious effects begin to manifest among the crew. ~
“Thank you for the reminder, Warspite. Everybody, take an injection. Comms, pass along the order to the crew.” James called out, grateful for the AI warning them to take the null space medication manufactured for them by their new Ma’lit allies.
He reached into his right chest pocket and pulled out the small subdermal injector before pressing it against the side of his neck. As soon as the contents were emptied, the injectors disintegrated and turned to nanoparticle dust in his hand.
Wiping his hand on his leg, he reminded himself to thank the Ma’lit advisors for the medication when the battle was over. Without it, they could only manage one or two more null space flashes before neurological damage was incurred and the crew would be forced to stay in normal space for almost two weeks to recover.
With the medication, a crew could enter and exit null space up to twenty times in a row without any adverse effects or the mandatory rest periods spanning many days.
The ramifications of the new medication and the effect it would have on Republic battle doctrine were still being examined, but it was a major tactical advantage and would forever change the way the Republic Navy would conduct battle operations.
Looking at the holo screen again, he glanced at the blue icons of the 3rd fleet before looking at the two smaller clusters of red icons indicating Insectoid ships. The larger grouping of red icons was still moving towards the planet, while the smaller grouping was just starting to accelerate from the L1 Lagrange point to join them.
“Comms, contact the Mei Zhou and let them know we are here to render assistance. Open a channel with Captain Michaels; I want to speak with him.”
“Aye, Captain. We are eight light minutes away. I recommend we flash out behind them to within at least three light seconds to avoid the communication delays.”
“Noted, lieutenant. Warspite, prepare to reposition us behind the 3rd fleet, one million kilometers away, please. Lieutenant, as soon as we flash out, send an encrypted message to the Mei Zhou with our codes and inform them that we are here to render assistance. Warspite, take us in.”
~ Affirmative, Captain. Transition in three seconds. ~
They flashed into null space and flashed back out two seconds later, now a million kilometers behind the 3rd fleet. As the light from the fleet reached them, he heard gasps from the bridge crew as the Mei Zhou appeared on the holo screen, followed by the other half-destroyed and heavily damaged ships on the front line.
A massive chunk of the port side was missing, with torn-apart bulkheads opened to space, and the Mei Zhou was drifting unpowered with only a few undamaged sections showing any signs of flickering emergency lighting within.
“Warspite, analyze the Mei Zhou and give me a status report.” James called out in a trembling voice filled with fury as he looked at the other heavily damaged ships of the 3rd fleet before changing his mind and issuing another order.
“Warspite, I want the Insectoid formation closest to the 3rd fleet destroyed. Make it happen. And Warspite, only standard offensive weaponry this time. You are not to deploy nuclear weapons without my explicit permission ever again, is that understood?”
~ Affirmative, Captain. I will comply. Transition in five seconds.”
Feeling a feral snarl forming on his lips, he stared at the holo screen still showing the heavily damaged warships of the front battle line. The feral snarl turned into a vicious smile as the blinding light of them flashing back into null space filled the bridge.
***
The queen watched the viewer as the dangerous, unknown animal ship appeared again, right among her last inner system swarm. It began firing its weapons, and she ordered all ships in the swarm to target it.
Same as before, none of their weapons could harm it, and she watched as her ships were rapidly destroyed one after another. She felt equal measures of rage and fear growing inside of her as the unknown animal ship continued to destroy everything she had been planning for so long.
She had been so close to achieving her desire, to culling her sister and taking over the empire that rightfully belonged to her. All her efforts, her falsehoods, her trickery, all destroyed by the animals she hated with all her essence.
Seeing no choice but to accept her defeat, she left the commander drone she had taken and returned to her own body in the command chamber of her Hive ship. She sent a final command to the remaining command drones still alive in her rapidly dwindling swarm.
She felt the command drones' recoil from her thought command, detecting their unwillingness to destroy the main Hive world and billions of their sisters.
She pressed deeper, feeling the number of available minds shrink rapidly as the unknown animals continued to destroy what few ships she had remaining in the inner system.
She felt them give in to her powerful thought command, and she ordered the command drone standing next to her to bring the Hive ship out from around the gas giant they had been hiding behind.
She wanted to see with her own eyes when the ships exited within the atmosphere and destroyed the planet. If she couldn’t have it, then none of her sisters could either.
After the Queen World had been destroyed, she would use her pheromones to turn the drones still loyal to her remaining queen sisters, take whatever ships and eggs remained, and flee before the persecutors arrived. As she felt the Hive ship engines begin to bring them out from behind the planet, she thought of the hate she had for the animals, and what she would do when she ruled her new empire far away.
Let the animals fight and destroy each other; I will make a new empire far from here and rule over my own daughters as the rightful Hive mother. I will not make the same mistakes as the others did. I will cull all the animals I come across, even the ones not yet in space. Only our kind will claim many suns to warm our Hives, and we will take the animal suns and Hives away from them wherever they may be. We can only know peace if we are the only ones; all others must be culled.