Desolate: The Complete Trilogy Part 26

Fortunately for the weary admiral, the Federate Flagship Dionysus and the rest of the fifth fleet were due to dock at Emperors Station in just a few cycles. After a debriefing session with Fleet Admiral Sche, he would finally go on leave and enjoy some much earned rest. Although he missed his wife and family, he looked forward to a few cycles with his mistress first before heading for home on the planet's surface. She'd sent him a private message earlier letting him know their reservations for one of the station's suites was placed. Flie was several yarwens past retirement age but still took pride in his bedroom prowess and felt his excitement rise as he gazed out the porthole.

The intercom tone ripped the admiral out of his l.u.s.t-filled daydreams. He sat forward in his chair and mashed the receiver b.u.t.ton.

"Yes, what is it?"

"There are two gentlemen to see you, Mr. Flie." The voice of his a.s.sistant over the speaker had a nervous edge to it. He'd worked for Flie long enough to know the admiral didn't like being disturbed this close to the dinner hour. "Commander Murfow and Junior Crew Officer Aikon."

"Tell Murfow whatever he thinks is so important can wait for the next staff meeting. I'm in no state for visitors." He drummed his fingers on his desk, impatiently waiting for a response.

"I told Mr. Murfow those very words but he insists the matter is urgent and he must see you immediately."

Flie rubbed his face and sighed. "Very well, send them in."

The hatched opened before the admiral finished depressing the intercom b.u.t.ton and the two men hurried in. Commander Murfow stood at attention beside the nervous-looking junior officer Flie didn't recognize and whose name slipped his mind.

"Apologies for the intrusion, Mr. Flie," Murfow said. "I have some information I think you'll find interesting and I thought it best not to wait for next cycle's staff meeting."

Admiral Flie made of a point of not responding right away and eyed both men as they stared straight ahead over his shoulder. A bead of sweat ran down the junior officer's face. Flie finally sat back in his chair and crossed his arms. "And what information is it that you deem so important?"

"Junior Crew Officer Aikon made an interesting discovery." The commander turned to the junior officer who looked properly terrified. It was obvious he had a.s.sumed the commander would do most of the talking on his behalf.

"Uh, yessir," Aikon stuttered. "This morning, I was running deep catalog scans of the systems in the Q sector, per standard procedure. It was uneventful until I came across an old Federate distress signal signature. I triangulated the signal and found it originated from a planet in the R system, several hundred light-yarwens away." Aikon paused for a moment and risked a glanced at the admiral. Flie just stared at him with no signs of emotion.

"The signal hadn't transmitted for quite some time of course, but we think it came from an old Federate research vessel on the planet's surface."

"Junior officer, this is all very interesting but I hardly think it's an issue that concerns me," Flie said. "If you have a point, I suggest you get to it."

Aikon shifted his weight and Commander Murfow spoke up. "Sir, the reason this is being brought to your attention is we believe the signal came from the Federate research vessel Artemis."

"Artemis," Flie repeated. "That name sounds familiar but the significance escapes me."

"The Artemis suddenly lost contact yarwens ago and was never heard from again. It was commanded by a Captain Sekwee who was under investigation for possible connections to the terrorist group the Sons of the Confederates."

Flie smiled. "Sons of Confederates? I haven't heard of them since history cla.s.ses in the academy."

"Yes, sir," Murfow continued. "I needed to refresh my memory as well. Fortunately, I had the opportunity to research the topic earlier. Thanks to Aiken's work, it's our theory that it was Sekwee's ship, the Artemis, that crashed-landed on the planet. That would explain his sudden disappearance."

"Still waiting for the point, commander."

"Sir, do you recall from your history lessons the downfall of the Sons of the Confederates?"

Admiral Flie's stomach growled and he quickly cleared this throat to attempt to mask the noise in the quiet room. "Why don't you refresh my memory, Murfow?"

"This terrorist organization attempted to hold one of the planets in the R system hostage. RM-394, I believe. They did so by attempting to rapid clone a dangerous xenomorph native to RZ-237 and unleashed them on the citizens of RM-394. I say attempted, because their cloning procedure didn't pan out as tested and most of the clones died within just a few cycles. The technology was quite crude back then, after all. After the failed attack, most of the Sons were captured and executed."

As Commander Murfow spoke, Aikon entered a few commands on the tablet he was holding before placing it on the admiral's desk. Murfow leaned forward and stared at a photograph of the xenomorph on the tablet's display. Aiken noticed a slight grimace on the admiral's face before it fell back to the emotionless void that made him so uneasy.

"It was believed that Captain Sekwee and the rest of the Artemis crew were attempting to illegally locate and capture one of these creatures before they disappeared. Sekwee failed, but the Sons of the Confederates obviously found a specimen from a different source. Which leads us to today. Aikon?"

The junior crew officer's posture stiffened. "The last catalog scan of the planet the Artemis crashed on was over ten yarwens ago. The Federates never bothered to make contact with the native species due to their primitive nature so we don't have a great amount of data on them. The scan I ran this morning provided very interesting results, however. Nearly the entire native population has been depleted and the scan revealed a new life form that wasn't in the database from the last scan."

Flie finally looked away from the tablet's display. "New life form?"

"Yes, Mr. Flie. I ran the figures dozens of times before I was confident enough to bring this to the attention of my commanding officer, but I believe the scan picked up signatures of the xenomorph the commander just spoke of."

"That species is extinct. That's one fact I'm certain I remember from my studies."

Aiken nodded frantically, his excitement over the discovery momentarily overcoming his anxiety at speaking to the admiral. "They are thought to be, that is correct, sir. But the evidence I collected is overwhelming."

"How many did your scan pick up?"

"Impossible to say from this range, but every single one of them is isolated on a single island. If I had to venture a guess I would say several thousand of them, sir."

Commander Murfow leaned forward and placed his hands on the admiral's desk. "After the botched terrorist attack, the Federates realized what a powerful biological weapon those creatures could be if they could be controlled. Most were relieved the species was thought to be extinct."

"Yes," the admiral pondered. "Moral military code was quite old-fashioned in those days. Today, however..."

A smile spread across the commander's face. "Sir, if Aikon is correct, just consider what this might mean."

"What it means, gentlemen, is a significant advance in our capabilities. A distinct advantage over the Outer Rim Alliance and an end to this blasted war."

"And a great honor for the fifth fleet, sir," Aikon said. "And, if I may be so bold, a great honor for our admiral."

Admiral Flie allowed himself to smile slightly and rub his chin in thought. Aikon and Murfow exchanged a glance but remained silent.

Flie finally rose from his desk. "Commander, put the fleet on alert, sh.o.r.e leave is cancelled. I want you to set a course for this planet. Which is it?"

"It's RM-105, Mr. Flie," said Aikon.

"Yes, set a course for RM-105 and draw plans for a ground a.s.sault of the planet. If these xenomorphs are as dangerous as legend has it, I think we may need at least two or three marine battalions to secure this island alone."

"And what of the natives?" Murfow asked.

"As long as they don't interfere, we pay them no mind. We have no need for savages."

"It's been quite a long time since the initial catalog scan. Perhaps they've advanced enough to be a threat."

"How long ago did you say the Artemis crash landed on RM-105?"

"It was around eighty yarwens ago," Aiken said. "That would be the equivalent of 400 yarwens for the species living on the planet. Our first scan was around the same time but somehow missed the signature from the crash site."

The admiral absently rubbed his significant belly. "And your latest scan showed no evidence of navy a.s.sets or ion ordinance?"

"There were signs of very modest unmanned probes in the system and a station orbiting the planet. It's my opinion they haven't even discovered particle or FTL technology yet."

"Then we move ahead as planned." Flie nodded at the commander.

"Yes, sir." Murfow saluted.

"Oh, and Commander? I'd like a recommendation for commendation and promotion for our young junior enlistman here. Good job, son."

Aiken beamed and saluted the admiral. "Thank you, sir."

The men left the room and Flie sat down, suddenly energized by the thought of his own imminent promotion. When the Federates learned of this, he was sure to make vice admiral. He just had one small problem, how to break the news to his mistress that she'd be enjoying the suite by herself.

Also by Robert Brumm Jr.

Windigo Soul.

It's Hank Reed's birthday. As a citizen of the United Federation of Nations that means a mandatory death sentence simply because he turned sixty years old. Referred to as "retirement," it's one of the desperate steps the government has taken to curb overpopulation. Retirement is a widely accepted fact of life on a dying planet ruled by a tyrannical government. Hank's execution goes ahead as planned but state sponsored euthanasia isn't what it seems. The Reed family learns what really happens to retirees when secrets the UFN keep from the public start to unravel.

Windigo Soul at Amazon.

Stage Five.

Robert Brumm Jr., author of Windigo Soul and the Desolate series, brings you Stage Five - a collection of five short stories.

Warning. May contain traces of the following:.

Talking cats and dogs, a serial killer on dialysis, t.e.s.t.i.c.l.e dissecting robots, prost.i.tutes getting shot in the back, a meth head burned alive, a decapitated head kicked across the room, a puggle tempted to eat fresh vomit, a woman with a hangover wearing a Reggie White t-shirt, a pink litter box, and the extinction of the human race.

A Blog Named Phil - Visit Phil's blog to read his account of the day his dog and cat started talking to him. Yes, it happened to everybody but read it anyway. Phil's a lonely guy.

Cooper a Having to kill a gum snapping prost.i.tute, a knuckle cracking beefcake, and a twitchy meth head was just the start of Cooper's bad day. When he gets teamed up with Vinnie Smalls, a razor wielding pain in the a.s.s wise guy, to collected a debt, the night goes from bad to bizarre to deadly.

Stage Five a After a night of usual binge drinking and television watching, Amy finds herself the next morning locked in the bas.e.m.e.nt cell of a serial killer. Her death seems certain until the killer realizes he may have picked the wrong woman to be his next victim.

We Called Them Sheen a They started out as personal a.s.sistants, butlers, nannies, and companions. They ended up being responsible for the extinction of the human race.

She Must be a Daisy a One cat and one man in an apartment. One dies. The other tries to stay alive.

Stage Five at Amazon.

end.