“That’s a thin line, Matt,” Stem said.
“Only if that gun is the only way I have to kill someone; if I already possess a means to kill them then they did not give me something I didn’t already possess; which means that before this ship will activate we have to find a way that will kill the invaders without using the power in this ship.” Mat paused, “I am so impressed with the beauty and integrity of the Reg and proud that they considered me a brother. This is the only way they can get around their principles to help. I felt that they wanted to help and this is evidence that supports that feeling.”
Sprig and Stem looked at Matt and said, “Then that suggests that a way exists outside of this ship to kill them or they would not have left this ship those million years ago.”
Matt nodded, “Logic absolutely supports that belief.”
“Then we have to find it, Matt.”
“Yes, we do.”
“I am calling a meeting of the Realm’s leadership in two days,” Sprig announced. “Will you please plan your schedule accordingly?”
“Al and I will be in attendance.”
“How do you know my schedule allows for that?”
Stem shook, “You bucket of bolts; we couldn’t keep you away. Tell him he can’t go, Matt.”
“You stay out of this you grass clippings.”
Matt and Sprig smiled glad to see them back at it again.
“First Fang, we have been unable to find the missing children.” Four days had passed and the entire system had been searched in great detail; no trace of the three was found.
The Ship’s Male was uncertain of what to do. His responsibility was to search this universe and see if it warranted a full harvest. He was given four intervals to make the decision and had not even used a thousandth part of one interval; however, this disappearance of the children was problematic for him. He searched the data records and determined that there was no record of any disappearances in the recorded history files. It was only three children of the billion on his ship the number was not important but their disappearance was. He was told by the Supreme Male that the Nest Mother suspected a highly advance life form existed in this universe. Could that life form have taken them? He pondered that question and then looked at the Sensor Male. “Are there any readings of any ships in the system other than the planet we just harvested?”
“No.”
“He knew about the crystal creatures in this universe but they had never disturbed them after the initial attempt at harvesting them. The Supreme Male had already decided to just ignore them as a waste of time. “Did you see a crystal ship in this system?”
“No.”
Most of the family was still digesting their last harvest and needed the four intervals to complete their meal. Should the timetable be moved up? The Ship’s Male wavered on what to do. Then he sat on his bed and quivered. His large black central section with the hour glass on the bottom moved down ten meters and he inserted his eight legs into their electronic receptacles. He replayed all that his children had seen in the system and just couldn’t find anything out of the ordinary. “Where is the next harvest?”
“Do you want the closest or largest,” the Sensor Male asked?
He was tempted to go to the largest because unlike the rest of the family, his ship had not consumed as much as the others in the last harvest which meant his ship had already consumed their meal which was why his ship was sent ahead to scout. But, if there was danger then it was probably close to his current location. “The closest,” he responded.
The Sensor Male issued the order and all of the green ships in the system began reentering the mother ship, “Arrival in two measures, First Fang.”
The Ship’s Male settled in and decided that he would harvest the next planet and see if there was another disappearance; then he would contact the Supreme Male either way. The decision would then be his to make about what to do.
The Colonel in Fleet Command watched the feed being sent from the sensor probe at the harvested planet. He immediately pressed his com, “The ships are reentering the mother ship. They will be jumping soon.”
“Notify us of their jump track as soon as they leave.”
“I have the probe ready to follow and relay that information as soon as the track is read, Sir.”
Another planet was going to die. The Colonel waited for the information and felt anguish as he hoped that someone could find a way to stop these deadly creatures.
The meeting was room was full as Sprig called the room to order. He immediately turned the meeting over to Matt who explained the Reg and his beliefs about what they had done. Danielle looked at Matt as he spoke and saw that he was changed. She thought about what she would be like if she lost Tag and understood what he must be enduring. She was surprised that he was holding up as well as he appeared. After Matt finished and took his chair, Tag said, “How are we going to find the means to kill these creatures?”
Sprig thought, “We are going to have to attack them and use anything we can think of to hit them.”
Matt leaned forward and said, “The danger of attacking them has gone up tremendously.”
Tag flinched, “Why?”
Matt looked at Sprig and then said, “Because we have uncovered how they knock out ships so quickly, Your Majesty.” Matt put on a glove and reached over and unfolded a white cloth in front of him. He lifted a green colored pointed shard and held it up for the attendees to see. “This is what killed Angel and damaged her ship. Each of the three Eight Legs all fired one of these when they entered the ship and all three hit her.”
The attendees all looked at the shard and Danielle asked, “What have we learned about that, Searcher?”
Matt looked at Sprig and Twig and said, “Not a lot but we can surmise several things. If I am wrong about anything, please correct me.”
Sprig thought, “Please continue, Searcher.”
“It appears that the Eight Legs can actually see intelligent life even through solid walls. The only holes in Angel’s ship were made in a direct path from the three that penetrated her hull. All three of them fired at the only life on the ship and there was no other damage anywhere else. These shards went through our strongest materials to hit her and were not affected by the passage; the holes they made left no residue when they passed through. It is my belief that this is one of their weapons systems but they only use it when they penetrate a ship so that they can consume what they hit. The shard was covered in an extremely powerful neurotoxin that paralyzes the victim it hits giving the Eight Leg time to consume the victim before they die. Another by product of this toxin is that it holds the brain in a stasis so that even if the body dies the brain can still be consumed giving up any memories it holds.”
“Why does that make attacking them more dangerous,” General Durk asked?
“Imagine a fleet of our ships attacking them and the invaders fire a barrage of these shards. Our sensors would not detect them coming and they would penetrate our screens and hulls before we even knew they were approaching. Just because they have only used them on ships they’ve penetrated in the past does not mean that is the only way they can be utilized. I suspect that if the invaders learn that we can teleport away before they can land on our ships that they will fire first and then harvest the crew. If we dared to use our warriors against them, they would fire these shards right through their armor and devour them at their leisure.”
The room was silent. Everyone understood the implications of what he said.
“The attack on Angel also removed one of the methods I was planning to use against them.”
Sprig leaned right and said, “What was that, Searcher?”