Alien Manifesto (37 page)

Slowly, formally, the young Queen was
carried to the throne. She could feel the energy pulsing even
before she sat in the bejeweled throne for the first time. It was
intoxicating her senses; she could barely climb down from the royal
barge carried by four of her strongest scribes.

With her true reality on the home
world swirling among that of the Old Ones she soon lost herself,
almost not making it to her throne. As she sat, slowly her mind
cleared. She felt the presence of all of the Old Ones, some vague,
others intensely. Now was the time for her final argument against
war, she told herself. She had to try, for the sake of her children
she must not fail.

PART
THIRTY-FIVE

A Trap Set, Patience
Tested

“
It hasss been three daysss
sssince the king’sss arrival,” hissed Snarth to the scowling
assassin master. “I am sssure of my intelligence and ssSSlice
agreesss with me.”

“
There will be an attempt
on the king’s life,” yowled the assassin master angrily,
frustrated. “We must practice patience, remember these are members
of a feline assassin clan and their patience is legendary even on
my world,” he growled.

“
I have delayed revealing
the treasssure I found jussst ssso you could catch your
assssassssin,” hissed Snarth, equally frustrated, but for a
different reason.

He was frustrated at the lengthy wait
for his guests, many of whom were important people on their
respective planets or in their chosen occupations. Snarth was not
sure how much longer he could delay before the demands of his
guests’ positions required their immediate departure. Howler for
example, was just one of many.

The death of a foolish king
was of lesser importance to Snarth’s plans. Nevertheless, he owed a
life debt to his old friend, the dead stealth master. A debt he
could not repay. His team had all volunteered to help defend the
King without his objecting to it
.

Always a difficult thing
that, hiding something in plain sight, from a group of six-foot two
hundred pound felines, all with moves better than Bruce Lee. We
managed, or so I thought,
pondered
Snarth. He knew, once any one of his guests
lifted ship, most would soon follow. That entirely defeated the
purpose for Snarth’s special gathering. Snarth would be left with
with an estate full of social moochers of the worst sort, the
expensive ones, not one of which could negotiate a price for the
banking jewels on behalf of their home world. They would be the
only ones to stay.

Snarth needed to measure his guests’
response to the number of banking jewels. He could only cash a
fraction of the forbidden planet’s fortune in without any serious
economic damage. He could only do that at the reveal of the banking
jewels, with SSlice’s help of course.

That kind of damage made bad enemies
very fast, enemies that would spare no expense in relieving Snarth
of his living body. He very much wanted to keep this one alive a
little while longer. His new clone would not be ready for quite
some time; until it was ready, Snarth must protect this
one.

The stress was beginning to
show on the team members, the constant vigilance wearing them down.
The addition of Kareen to the team, left the Irishman the odd man
out. The social dynamics had changed again.
It could be months before Kareen became fully acclimated to
the team’s training regimen,
thought
Snarth worriedly
. Now, what to do about
the Irishman? He has finally agreed to enhancements. Then he will
finally be ready to permanently mate.

PART THIRTY-SIX

A Destiny Debated

The young Queen gathered
her courage and her strength, then thought out boldly in front of
all of the Old Ones.
I am convinced that
war with the galactic alliance will be the end of our people. Our
home world will be destroyed and our people will become extinct. It
is this chamber that holds your very essence. If that is destroyed,
so will you be,
she
defiantly-thought.
If we are attacked
before the proper preparation is complete you will all
die.

Silence!
thought the Old One who headed the Council of
Elders, she being the most recent Old One, the evil Queen.
The council has decided WAR
, thought the Leader.

The young Queen was reeling
from the ferocity of the thoughts that burned into her mind.
I say NO!
thought back
the young Queen, weakening with the effort.
I will destroy our home world and all of you with it before I
go to war
.

You have no choice in the
matter
, gloated the Leader.
You cannot escape your destiny
.
Nor can you resist
us
.

I would rather die and take
all of you with me,
thought the defiant
young Queen.

Brave thoughts sister, I
once thought as you do,
thought the Leader
gently, soothing the pain her thoughts had caused the young
Queen.
Yet even now your power to resist
us weakens and it is just I
, she gentlly
thought.
When the others join me we will
all become one. You cannot escape your destiny. Why resist, join us
and live forever. Become a guardian of our children.

The young Queen sensed the guile from
the Leader. Perhaps she was not as strong as she thought she was,
maybe the other Old Ones could not or would not join her. Then the
Leader would be alone and vulnerable.

Emboldened by the Leader’s
attempt at guile to cover her weakness, the young Queenthought
loudly
I demand my right to appear before
the Council. I want to hear it from them.

As you wish young one. At
the height of the season of the sun, appear before us,
commanded the Leader.
You will obey the will of the council or die.

I hear and obey,
thought the Young Queen.

As her true reality spun back into
focus, the young Queen realized she was indeed very weak.
Thankfully, the sun would soon rise above the horizon. Then she
could regain her strength. With thoughts of deep regret, the young
Queen began the plans to destroy the Queen’s chamber and everything
inside it. She intended to be able to carry out her threats to the
Old One Council.

She wondered how long it
would be until the aliens returned looking for more treasure. Time
was of utmost importance. If they returned too soon, her physical
body may be destroyed. The council would then wake her army. Then
the war that would destroy her children would begin and she would
be powerless to stop it. She must risk the scouts; time and her
options were running out too quickly
.

Desperation always clouds
one’s good judgment
.

PART THIRTY-SEVEN

Time to Show off the
Treasure

“
I cannot wait any longer.
Have all of our guessstsss gather in the main ballroom,” Snarth
hissed into his com-link at SSlice. “All team membersss meet me at
the treasssure vault. It isss time to get the party ssstarted.
Human Tom, I want you and the feline massster cloaked until I
sssignal otherwissse,” he hissed.

“
Yes sir,” echoed across
the com link as each team member acknowledged Snarth’s orders,
heading for the treasure vault.

All of the team members except SSlice
were waiting for Snarth when he arrived at the vault. After the
biometric scan of Snarth’s living DNA the vault opened. The inside
glittered with the reflected light of three hundred banking
jewels.

Wondering what they were waiting for,
I settled into my waiting stance, sensing my mate next to me. From
the sound of her breathing, she was doing exactly the same thing. I
was slowly learning the art of waiting and the patience it
required. The arrival of the maintenance mech with the portable
repulser-lifted cargo pallet answered my silent question, signaling
an end to my waiting.

My mate and I led the way for the rest
of the team and the now loaded cargo pallet. The canine fight
masters followed the pallet into the main ballroom; with Snarth and
the Irishman bringing up the rear. This caused all conversation to
stop and everyone in the ballroom to stare.

It was not every day that any one
being would ever see three hundred banking jewels in one place: it
was a stunning fortune. One empires within the Galactic Alliance
would go to war for, needing only an excuse to ignite old debt
disputes and simmering hatreds.

“
My friendsss, now that I
have your attention,” hissed Snarth in the silent ballroom, from
the top of a table carved from a huge slab of stone, “I would like
to announce that I have found a very large cache of banking
jewelsss. I have certified their authenticity azsss thoroughly
azsss any private citizen can. However, it will not be official
until the banking minister hasss hisss technical mechsss run their
ssscansss. Once that isss done, I will be taking bidsss for
purchassse. All sssales are final and to the highessst bidder,” he
hissed. “Thossse of you who need to may, of courssse, avail
yourssself of my communicationsss array.”

There was not a stampede for the com
terminals, but hand held communications devices appeared in almost
every hand or its equivalent. A steady stream of guests filed out
the main entrance, heading toward the estate’s landing pad and
their waiting ships. Howler was so busy on his communicator that he
did not even have time to say good-bye to Snarth and the
team.

“
All right my friendsss,
back to the vault,” hissed Snarth as he was now furiously using his
own wrist communicator.

PART
THIRTY-EIGHT

To Fight or Flee

The leader of the Old Ones
gave much thought to the foolish young Queen.
There is only one way to save our race,
thought the Leader.
I must ask for
the rejoining
. Even as naive as she is the
young Queen must sense the Council’s weakness. Only a Queen in
corporeal form could command the army of the Ones. If the young
Queen could not be persuaded to enforce the Council’s wishes, she
would cause a joining of the Council: only the second time a young
Queen required the council’s intervention in the known history of
the Ones’ race. The entire council would join power, overpowering
the young Queen’s mind. Her corporeal body would then be bent to
the will of the council.

On the day the giver of life reached
its zenith of the season, the young Queen appeared before the
Council, resolute in her beliefs, defiant.

The time has come, we must
waken the army,
thought the Leader of the
Council.
Are you with us?
she thought at the young Queen.
Or do you still cling to that foolish notion of
equality? Do you still wish to run like a coward?

Calmly, determinedly the
young Queen addressed the council in formal thought.
I am not a coward. I am trying to save our race.
If you start a war, what will the army eat? Each other? During the
siege, the Leader’s children stripped every living thing off the
surface of the home world. You would know this if you respected our
children rather than treat them as slaves,
she angrily-thought to the council.

Then you leave us no
choice
, thought the Leader of the Council
angrily,
We must join
now
, she thought to the other Old
Ones.

No, No, No!
screamed the young Queen, feeling herself losing
control of her corporeal body.

The time has come, sisters!
We wake the army!
screamed the
Leader.

The young Queen felt her body raise
its antennae to the Sun, the giver of life. When the Sun peaked, a
beam of light shone directly on the huge crystal at the top of the
Queen’s throne. The throne’s crystal then reflected the sun’s
energy to each of the carefully placed Queen’s crystals, magnifying
with each refraction, building more and more connections until a
beam of pure energy was directed into the young Queen’s Life
crystal. Giving her all the power she would need to wake all of her
widely scattered warrior children at the same instant, even from
across the galaxy. Beginning the Ones’ opening attack on the
unsuspecting and complacent galactic fleet. The war had
begun.

PART
THIRTY-NINE

Unexpected
Consequences

Snarth watched as the feline King’s
procession headed directly for him, causing him to grimace as only
he could. A bright flash of pure energy out of nowhere knocked
Snarth off his table, stunning him on the floor. Snarth slowly
regained his senses to the screaming of his guests, some in agony,
and some in terror.

The sight that confronted
him was an impossibility. A full-grown One warrior was bearing down
on him. It was swinging a makeshift club right at his head.
Where did that come from
? thought Snarth as he scrambled out of the way of the club.
But he was pinned by the wall behind him, trapped. The One warrior
was extending his feeding appendage toward Snarth’s head,
overpowering him quickly.