Invasion By Betrayal

By Ron Lugge

Part Twenty-One

"Your analysis of the assault's potential?" Kane queried.

"New data gives better chance. Chance still good. Not much change. Worried about troops. What if parasites lose host. Get new host?" The translator beeped, indicating translation failure, and re-rendered the last three sentences. "I'm worried about the possibility that the harvester parasites may attempt to take control of Sakkra troops after their human hosts are destroyed."

"That is unlikely. Apparently they are very much linked to their host. While the human structure survives more or less intact, autopsies indicate that the parasites fuse their exoskeleton directly to the human skeletal system. The also seem to merge their nervous system directly to the human, so that rather than interfacing directly to a separate human nervous system, they simply take over and merge them as one. This explains the reaction time, and the extensive neurological changes. Most importantly, it explains their need to rend, maim, and destroy. It doesn't originate solely from the parasite unit, but rather from the changes the parasite unit creates in the host's biosystem. To-" Coughing at Kane's glare, Mictian mumbled "Er, sorry. This isn't my specialty, but that's what the medics told me."

"Head hurt worse. Thought you were scientist. You're doctor. Doesn't make sense. Think troops not in danger." Godzilla's translator again beeped, "I though you were a scientist, but now you're a doctor. I think you said the troops aren't in danger."

"General, please ready your troops. Take all precautions, but I want that ship intact. Take prisoners if possible. Good, luck, and you're dismissed." Kane waited until after Godzilla thumped his fist against his chest in salute. Wincing, as always, at the force involved, Kane wondered how the Sakkra had evolved such strong scales. Stronger than normal steel, the material was extremely tough for a biological compound, yet it could bend and unbend itself in a manner more reminiscent of human skin than metal. They'd need the armoring.

"Now, onto the next problem." Kane continued. He wished that more of his duties could be consolidated this way. Dealing with major command decisions at the same time as his weekly operations meetings helped cut down on the time it took to do his job. Noticing the next item on his list, Kane gave a smile-a rarity these days-and chuckled. "Welcome aboard Major Mcguillity. I see you've been promoted since the last time I saw you. I'll arrange a party soon. Have your subordinates managed to track down the galley thief yet?"

Major Mcguillity smiled at the greeting, and then frowned. "No, he's proving rather elusive. He seems to have access to every single security code aboard this ship. Even yours, I'm sorry to say." Checking his notes, he continued. "We've managed to get a glimpse or two of him through security cameras, but nothing more than a shadow or a blur that could be a limb."

"He has my command codes? Are you certain?"

"I wish I wasn't. As it is, I suspect he's a security threat, if not a breach." A security threat was something that could cause a breach, and a breach was when security over a system or idea had failed.

"A breach? How so?" Now Kane was curious. "Even if a crew member had those codes, he wouldn't be a breach unless he used them."

"I've come to the conclusion that it may not be a crew member. I ran a computer search for any other materials that have disappeared recently, and miscoded the search. Instead, I got a search on all material use that isn't within normal parameters, such as the fuel consumption on our shuttles. Specifically, when you came aboard with Professor Mictian, the craft had an excess weight of about 100 kilos. We still haven't been able to find where that extra mass came from, or went."

"Are you suggesting a stowaway, on board my flagship, with access to all our security codes?" Kane's voice was neutral enough to be a clear warning sign.

Meeting Kane's cold eyes with difficulty, Mcguillity replied, "Yes sir, I am."

"Run a full security sweep then. This takes priority over all other activities; we can NOT afford to have a security breach on this vessel at this time. Tell Godzilla that they assault will have to be delayed until we can be sure this ship is secured."

"That won't do any good sir." Mcguillity replied, shifting in his chair.

Cold-fire in his eyes, Kane demanded "Why not?"

"Because this intruder has already avoided several intruder alert drills. That's how I managed to get those glimpses I men-" An alarm blared, cutting him off.

"ALL HANDS! ALL HANDS! REPORT TO DUTY STATIONS! THIS IS NOT A DRILL! SECURITY BREACH IN PROGRESS!" Kane leapt out of his chair, and slapped his hand on the com panel.

"Bridge, this is the Admiral, what's going on?" He shouted over the alarms.

"One of the enemy FTL carriers that we managed to capture just took off sir. No one noticed it until one of our recon craft made an unscheduled scan of the area in a drill. We're registering one person aboard, non-human. Its not a harvester either sir-we just don't recognize the signature. It looks vaguely human, but there are too many differences." The OIC (officer in charge) on the bridge replied.

"Get some of our craft after it! Don't let it escape!" Kane snarled, "I'll be on the bridge momentarily!"

Next Chapter

Back to Fan Fiction index