Alien Manifesto (28 page)

“
My Queen, it has been five
hundred seasons of the sun since the great defeat,” explained the
young nymph. “The elders have lost faith in the old ways. They did
not believe that I saw the landing of the alien ship that heralded
your return. For I am just a nymph and prone to many wild tales,”
he said, his chest plate scraping the ground.

“
An alien ship you say,”
exclaimed the Queen.

“
Yes, my Queen,” answered
the young nymph, “On the far side of the north river, in the canyon
leading to the river’s head.”

“
No others have come in
five hundred seasons?” asked the Queen.

“
No my Queen, not to my
knowledge,” answered the young nymph earnestly.

“
How long ago did the alien
ship land?” asked the Queen.

“
Two light cycles, my
Queen,” answered the young nymph, bowing even lower, his young fear
scent reaching the Queen’s sensing antennae.

“
Fear not, my brave young
nymph, for I shall raise you high in my inner circle now that I
have returned,” praised the Queen.

With an audible gasp, the young nymph
stammered his reply, “Thank you my Queen.”

“
Now go and bring your
entire nest before me,” commanded the Queen, “We have much work to
do, beginning with the capture of that alien ship so I can feed on
its power cells and regain my full strength.”

“
I obey, my Queen, but how
am I, a lowly nymph, to convince, much less command, a nest elder?”
gasped the young nymph.

“
Tell them I have named you
chief aide to the Queen and under the penalty of death I command
them to appear before me with all haste. If they refuse show the
senior elder this,” said the Queen as she held out a ring to the
young nymph.

Trembling, the young nymph accepted
the ring. It was the ring of the chief aide to the Queen. “Wear it
with pride young one. Now go, and be swift for time grows short and
we have much to do.” What the young nymph did not know is that the
Queen had removed the ring from her former chief aide as she fed on
his life force, just before the great defeat.

It was early in the next daylight
cycle that the young nymph arrived at his nest. He went straight to
the senior elder’s nest and asked for admittance.

“
Why do you disturb our
morning feeding,” asked the senior elder grumpily.

“
The Queen commands the
entire nest to appear before her at once,” said the young nymph
with much more confidence than he felt.

“
The Queen is dead,”
answered the senior elder flatly.

“
No, she has returned and I
am here at her bidding,” insisted the young nymph, his confidence
falling rapidly.

“
Enough of your foolishness
or I will banish you from the nest,” roared the enraged senior
elder, losing his patience completely. In anger at the senior
elder’s blasphemy, the young nymph brandished the ring the Queen
had given him.

Seeing the shock on the senior elder’s
face, the emboldened young nymph shouted, “The Queen commands you
under the penalty of death to appear before her at
once.”

“
Where did you get that
ring?” gasped the senior, his air of authority
destroyed.

“
As I said, the Queen has
returned and she gave it to me just in case I met with any
resistance,” said the young nymph, emboldened by the visible
crumbling of the senior elder’s authority. “She has named me senior
advisor to the queen for my faith in the old ways and for returning
her to her throne,” continued the young nymph quietly.

Bowing and scraping his chest plate on
the ground the senior elder exclaimed, “Her will be done. Gather
the nest at once, we leave for the Queen’s Chamber
immediately.”

“
No, I am not going to
gather the nest; you are,” said the young nymph, firmly asserting
his newfound authority.

It was late in the light cycle before
the entire nest, every male and female young and old, was ready to
make the journey to the Queen’s chamber. The senior elder
approached the young nymph bowing, waiting for acknowledgment.
“Would it not be better to leave at the beginning of the next light
cycle?” asked the senior elder.

“
Perhaps you would like to
explain why the nest kept the queen waiting after I gave a direct
command in her name,” answered the young nymph coldly, reveling in
his new found power, remembering his humiliation at the hands of
the senior elder.

“
No, senior advisor, the
Queen’s will is our command and you are the Queen’s voice,”
answered the senior elder. “Please lead the way.”

It was a full dark cycle and most of
the following light cycle before the members of the young nymph’s
nest arrived at the Queen’s chamber. Not knowing what to expect,
the young nymph led a procession of elders to the base of the
Queen’s throne. Each elder scraping his chest plates harder on the
chamber floor than the last, trying to gain favor as they waited
for an acknowledgement from the Queen.

For quite some time the Queen just
stared at the assembled elders, saying nothing. Soon the fear scent
was so thick in the air that the Queen knew she had all of the
elders’ attention. “Who can tell me why I was awakened by a mere
nymph? Who can tell me why the season of the sun goes uncelebrated?
Who can tell why it has been five hundred seasons before I was
awakened?” raged the Queen, her anger scent filling the chamber.
“Well? Must I guess or shall I feast on all of you?”

Trembling with fear the senior elder
stepped forward, “My Queen,” he began.

“
Silence you fool,” rebuked
the Queen, “I do not need excuses, I need loyal subjects who
believe that the Sun is the all-powerful giver of life and that I
am its voice.”

“
Your will is our command,
my Queen,” answered all of the elders in unison.

“
Then listen carefully, for
your life and the life of your nest mates depend on how well you
carry out my commands. I want every full grown adult to find an
energy collection globe and take it to the alien ship,” the Queen
commanded.

“
Once there you are to fill
them with energy from the ship’s main engine plasma and return
here. Only then will I be able to regain my full strength. You must
use every caution for it is important that the aliens do not know
who stole their power. We are not yet ready to reveal ourselves,”
instructed the Queen. “I doubt you will encounter any aliens as
they are undoubtedly out searching for treasure.

“
Once you have returned and
I have regained my power we will capture the aliens’ ship and begin
reclaiming our place in the galaxy,” she commanded. “Leave the
young and old here to begin preparations for the hatching of my new
army.

“
Senior aide,” called the
Queen.

“
Yes my queen, I am here,”
answered the young nymph as he scurried to her side.

“
You will stay here. See to
it that my orders are carried out and that I am not disturbed in my
meditations,” commanded the Queen.

“
Your will is my command,
my Queen,” answered the young nymph, scraping his chest plate on
the floor.

Turning to the senior elder the young
nymph said coldly and with absolute surety of purpose, “Well: what
are you waiting for? Gather all of the adults. The energy
collection globes are in the next chamber. See that each adult gets
one. The alien ship is in the canyon at the head of the north
river. I expect you to feed, then start out immediately after. You
must collect the energy under the cover of the dark
cycle.”

“
You there,” said the young
nymph pointing to the senior female of his nest, not even
acknowledging his nest mother. “You will be in charge of the young
ones,” knowing she hated children. “Now go, all of you, the Queen
wishes to meditate,” commanded the young nymph.

With much scurrying the Queen’s
chamber was soon empty except for the Queen and her new senior
aide.

“
Well done, young one,”
said the Queen, “I foresee that you will be a powerful senior aide.
Now see to it that I am not disturbed until the energy collection
globes return.”

“
Yes my Queen, as you
command so shall it be,” said the young nymph as he swelled with
pride while guarding the entrance to the Queen’s
chamber.

PART THIRTEEN

The Queen’s
Chamber

After an uneventful rest period, the
team gathered in the forward lounge for a briefing from Snarth.
They did not have to wait long; he soon arrived followed by
SSlice.

“
Well, my friendsss,”
Snarth hissed, “we now know for sssure that the Onesss were not
completely wiped out azsss we once thought. However, all that we
know about the Queen’s aidesss tellsss usss that they are not
aggressssive. That is not to sssay that they are not dangerousss,”
he hissed warningly.

“
It also raisesss the
possssibility that sssome One warriorsss may have alssso
sssurvived. There isss alssso a sssmall chance that the Queen may
ssstill live. Very little isss known about the Queen, ssso from
thisss point on, no one travelsss anywhere outside the ship alone,”
hissed Snarth: “Teams of two at all times.”

“
We will alssso be
posssting a team to guard the outside of the ssship at all timesss.
Each team member will carry a blassster rifle at all timesss when
outssside the ship. That isss in addition to your personal
weaponsss. Any questionsss?” hissed Snarth, finishing his orders.
The quiet acceptance of his orders was all the answer Snarth
needed.

“
We are going into a place
where no one hasss been in five hundred yearsss, the Queen’sss
chamber,” Snarth hissed. “The very center of the mossst feared
warrior race the galaxy hasss ever known. I do not know what we
will find but we mussst be prepared to fight our way out. So ssstay
sssharp,” hissed Snarth. “ssStay in contact with your partner at
all timesss. Human Tom, you and the feline massster will ssstand
watch while the equipment is loaded. I want you cloaked. You have
your ordersss, we move out azsss sssoon azsss the bikesss and
equipment are loaded on board. Dismissssed,” hissed
Snarth.

In short order the equipment and
cycles were loaded and the ship was enroute to the extinct volcano
that SSlice believed was the location of the Queen’s chamber. After
a reconnaissance pass, Snarth landed the ship about one click from
the volcano in a grove of dense vegetation, the only cover
available. I, the feline master and Snarth reconnoitered the
immediate area then stood watch as the Irishman and Rowl unloaded
the bikes.

“
Irissshman, you and Rowl
will ssstay and guard the ssship,” hissed Snarth as he mounted his
cycle and put his helmet on. “ssStay cloaked, keep in contact with
each other and report any sssighting of anything at once. Be ready
to join usss immediately if we call for help.” Then Snarth closed
his visor and took off with a burst of acceleration, followed
closely by myself, the feline master and SSlice.

The extinct volcano jutted up abruptly
into the sky from the bare and flat plain in a huge valley, the
largest of a series of three peaks. Its rocky slopes were devoid of
any vegetation, scarred, presumably by the final bombardment that
ended the war, yet still defiant and majestic.

Slowly Snarth and company circled the
volcano, our cycles scanning as we went. The team had completed one
and a half circles before the scanners picked up an opening halfway
up the volcano’s side. Closer inspection revealed a large flat area
jutting out from the steep cliff side, looking out over the bare
earthen plan, a perfect landing spot; and Snarth signaled us to do
just that.

After we all had landed and dismounted
Snarth began hissing orders.

“
ssSSlice ssset up a
sssensssor perimeter around thossse bikesss. We don’t want to be
forced into a retreat only to find our meansss of essscape isss out
of energy or missssing. Tom, you and the feline massster
invessstigate that opening. ssSSlice and I will join you azsss
sssoon azsss the sssensssorsss are ssset. ssStay in conssstant
contact and report anything you find immediately,” Snarth
hissed.

My senses were tingling and not just
because of the feline master’s closeness. We were going where no
one had dared to go in a thousand years if ever and lived to tell
about it. I had no idea what to expect as I made my way down a
slight slope toward a small opening in the cliff face under what
looked like a small natural cistern.

As I looked, I realized that that
opening was too small for Snarth and SSlice. My mate and I might be
able to wiggle through it if we left our weapons behind. As I
turned to tell Snarth, I noticed my mate intently examining the
small alcove’s wall.

“
There is a hidden door
here my love,” she purred. “See this hairline crack and these marks
here; we just have to find the lever to open it.” After several
minutes I heard her say, “Ahh there you are,” as she pushed against
a portion of the wall. With a loud scraping noise, a huge door
opened revealing a downwardly sloping ramp that opened up into a
huge room, its walls lined with crystals of every color in a
beautiful mosaic. The shock of what was in front of us stopped my
mate and me in our tracks. It was the sight of a huge throne in the
middle of the huge room, and the presence of the Queen’s body,
still and unmoving.