The Ashes of Worlds

At the end of the day, he was the only person he could truly count on. Once Basil finally faced the breedex, leader to leader, he trusted his own political skills to make the Klikiss be reasonable. Diente must have done something wrong in his earlier attempt.

As the shuttle flew onward, Basil pushed aside his hatred for King Peter, and now Deputy Cain and Sarein. He did not worry about them. Not now. The Klikiss consumed his attention. Those other problems could wait. He clenched and unclenched his fists, drew a long, slow breath.

The breedex had not included King Peter in the invitation. That was something, at least. Obviously, the Klikiss understood who was truly important here. Always thinking ahead, he wondered in a giddy moment if he might be able to strike some sort of bargain, provided he could communicate his needs to the breedex. Maybe he could convince this insect swarmship to destroy Peter and his Confederation ships. Now that would be a neat solution!

He contacted the pilot. “Increase speed. Let’s get this over with.” The man must be sweating, but he didn’t argue with the Chairman’s orders.

Basil called for an EDF escort as the diplomatic shuttle flew out to where the eleven swarmships waited beyond the orbit of the shattered Moon. While General Brindle remained ready in theGoliath, Admirals Pike and San Luis flew their Mantas on either side of the shuttle. Still not a terribly impressive procession.

The shuttle pilot called Basil to the cockpit. “Mr. Chairman, I have a message from Admiral Pike. He wishes to speak with you personally.”

Frowning at the interruption, Basil made his way forward. Without being invited, Margaret and Anton Colicos followed. Ahead of them, out of the shuttle’s front windowports, Basil could see the looming alien craft growing larger as they closed the distance.

The pilot gestured to the communication panel. “He’s on screen, Mr. Chairman.”

Admiral Pike’s glowering image appeared, looking impatient. Basil leaned forward into the focal zone. “Yes, what is it?” Basil asked.

“If the fate of the world wasn’t at stake, we would blast your shuttle to ions right now, just as you commanded me to destroy Chairman Fitzpatrick’s space yacht. The bugs can have you, as far as we’re concerned.”

Basil blinked, momentarily speechless. Now what? He felt a sense of unreality, as if he had fallen into some kind of distorted mirror world. “What are you talking about, Admiral?”

Admiral San Luis broke into the transmission. “Our families have been freed. You no longer have any hold over us.”

Pike lifted his chin, and his eyes were pitiless. “They’re safe, Mr. Chairman. Their story is being broadcast by Freedom’s Sword. Admiral Diente’s family is doing the same. Everyone knows what you’ve done, sir. No matter what happens, you can’t blackmail us any longer. When you do come back to Earth, you will not find a warm reception from us, nor from anyone in the EDF.”

Basil felt blindsided. And then he realized that Pike and San Luis had broadcast on a completely open channel.

The two Admirals ended the transmission, and the escort Mantas on either side of the diplomatic shuttle altered course and peeled away, leaving the small craft all alone in space as it approached the alien swarmships.

A chain-saw ache pressed into the back of his skull. His carefully laid foundations were turning to quicksand.

Margaret Colicos looked at him. “The timing could have been better.”

Basil drew deep breaths to drive back the red fringes in his vision, staring at the foremost of the huge Klikiss ships until his eyes burned. No one dared to speak a word in the cockpit.

The diplomatic shuttle drew close to the enormous sphere. Millions of component craft moved about like grains of sand trying to keep a proper configuration, shifting, blurring, shifting again.

Finally, the pilot said in a small voice, “I can’t find any port or access to the interior of the swarmship, Mr. Chairman. What should I do?”

“Just keep heading forward,” Margaret answered for him. “You’ll see what you need.”

Basil’s throat was dry. His skin prickled with goose bumps. He clenched his fists so hard that his well-manicured nails cut crescent-shaped grooves into his palms.One problem at a time. Prioritize. He would take care of the others later. if he survived.

“Are we supposed to read minds?” he said testily. “Why doesn’t the breedex issue some instructions?”

“The breedex doesn’t have to.”

As they neared the external shell, the component craft suddenly re-arranged themselves, and the outer layer of vessels broke off like gases blown from a sun’s surface. The hive vessel seemed to be evaporating, spreading out.

Basil flinched as geometrical alien ships flurried around them like a cloud of gnats, and then simply re-formed the swarmship’s shell on the other side of the shuttle, swallowing them up. Though the gigantic conglomerate vessel hadn’t moved, the Hansa shuttle was suddenly enclosed within the alien sphere.

139

King Peter

The Confederation ships hung beside the EDF vessels in space, facing the enigmatically silent Klikiss swarmships. Nothing moved.

King Peter stood on theJupiter ’s bridge with Estarra and OX, studying the huge alien clusters as the foremost one abruptly engulfed the Hansa’s diplomatic shuttle, along with Basil Wenceslas. The mass of interlocking alien components had simply absorbed it.

Good riddance.

“If there’s a way to make this situation worse, the Chairman’s bound to find it.” Admiral Willis leaned forward in her command chair. “I’m keeping our weapons ready.”

He couldn’t imagine what the breedex wanted with Basil. The Klikiss arrival had certainly thrown a wrinkle into his plans for returning to the Whisper Palace. Now they had to stand together against a seemingly invincible enemy.

Peter stared at the screen until his eyes burned. Could he really take advantage of the distraction to seize control of the government? The very existence of Earth was threatened by the massive alien ships.

On the other hand, how could he not, knowing that the situation would only grow worse in the hands of Chairman Wenceslas?

Sarein was greatly agitated. “The Klikiss have changed the circumstances, but not the main goal. It’s more important now than ever. Deputy Cain is ready for you down there, and so are the people of Earth. Basil won’t be able to do a thing about it.”