The Alien Invasion

Chapter 3: A Cook Takes Action

Chapter 3: A Cook Takes Action

"We are encountering minor, scattered resistance, but all essential facilities are firmly in our hands" said an aide.

"Good," said Queen Zsst, studying the holographic data stream containing latest reports. As ordered, her units were taking root everywhere but on the grounds of the capital itself.

The palace.

Sarney Sarittenden.

Now was the time to do something she had waited years for. "Gunner! Lock weapons on Sarney Sarittenden. Lock all missiles and energy torpedoes!"

"Weapons... locked...."

Her intelligence being spoke up. "My Queen, don't you think we should wait until we examine-"

"I have waited for this moment for over 20 years. Destroy the human capital now. FIRE!"

Missiles spat out of the Queen's flagship, missiles big enough to destroy a cruiser with one hit. They sped down into the atmosphere, on an arc that would prevent them from burning up before impact. They sped down, and hit... precisely on the Parade Plaza itself, ground zero. There was a tremendous explosion, and a fireball filled their screens; and that fireball was amplified by other fireballs, and more missiles struck.

Queen Zsst watched with satisfaction. Finally, after all these years, the symbol of the Alliance had been destroyed. Her satisfaction, however, was short lived, as the explosions cleared, and she saw... the towers and spires of Sarney Sarittenden... without a scratch on them!

How could this be? "Fire energy torpedoes!" the Queen cried.

They fired seconds later, slamming into the planet more quickly than the missiles. More fireballs filled the screen; some of it washed over onto the immediate area around Sarney Sarittenden; but when the explosions died down, she saw the impossible; the buildings still weren't even scratched. Some of the civilian buildings on the border of the palace had been leveled by the attack; but all the structures in the palace proper, Sarney Sarittenden itself, were untouched. How was this possible?

"You fool!"

The Queen jerked her head up to see Baraki entering. Her mandibles chittered a bit.

"What are you doing?" said Baraki.

"We are destroying the symbol of the human leadership," said Queen Zsst.

"You are meddling in things you DO NOT understand," said Baraki. "Cease this immediately!"

The Queen really had no choice; she couldn't have destroyed the palace even if she had wanted to. But how had the palace survived such a devastating attack?

"What do you know about this place?"

"That is not for you to ask," Baraki snapped. The Queen recoiled; she hadn't seen him this angry before. He stomped out without saying a word.

All was quiet in the Queen's chamber for a moment, except the hum of electrical control panels. But then, there came an announcement from an underling.

"Queen, we are picking up a signal beacon from the surface!" stated a comm insect.

"A beacon?" said Zsst. "I thought all communications facilities were in our hands."

"We thought so as well; this must be a small portable generator."

"Who can they possibly be hailing? Track their transmission!"

"The beacon is hailing us!" said the comm insect.

"Is it one of our units?" said Zsst, a little confused.

"No... it is from a human!"

"A human?" This was odd indeed. Could it be one of those pesky diplomats who wanted to negotiate? Zsst thought she had already dismembered all of those.

"So it appears, but the signal is definitely directed at us" said the comm insect, listening to the pulsing sound. "That's it, the same signal, over and over."

"What does the signal say?"

"It says... come at once. There is an important offer for you," said the comm insect.

"It sounds like a trap," said a strategy insect.

"Probably," said the Queen. "Where exactly is this signal coming from?"

"The eastern continent."

"I thought the eastern continent was unpopulated?" said Zsst.

"That's what we were told. There are certainly no large scale dwelling or industrial structures there," said the strategy insect.

The Queen considered. "Send a full combat team to investigate."

********

"Levi! Levi!"

Levi Esherkol, fussing with meat on the grill, at first didn't hear her voice. But then he did hear the engines of the attack transport touching down near his home. In the quarry, probably.

"Levi! The monsters are here!" shrieked Mindy. She ran inside, a look of fright on her features.

"Oh, all right," said Levi, untying his apron and taking off his chef's hat. If only he had twenty more minutes!

"Levi, what do we do?" she said, trembling.

Levi pointed to the range. "Keep flipping them every five minutes. When they start to turn black on the outsides, turn down the temperature." He scooped up a bowl of something and headed out the door.

A squad of heavily armed seven foot tall warrior insect units were already disembarked from their ship. Their weapons were scanning, bobbing all about, and several of them trained on Levi as he approached, who was openly carrying only the bowl in his hands.

The Insects processed what they were seeing. The human was unarmed. Civilian. Therefore capture, not annihilation, was in order. For now.

"Human. You will service us," one of them said through its flashing translator device, It pointed its gun barrel at Levi with one arm and lifted him painfully by his throat with another. A third arm reached up and secured a control collar around Levi's throat, which sealed with a click.

"Oh, uh, yes," croaked Levi, rasping through his sore throat as he dangled painfully in the air. Then he was cruelly dropped to the ground. As he dropped he barely managed to avoid dropping the bowl he carried.

"Report to the transport for reassignment-" said the Insect, stopping in midsentence. For it had started sniffing. The aroma coming from the bowl was strong, very strong...for an Insect, that is. A human wouldn't have noticed the smell, but the concoction in the bowl was designed to give off a very appealing smell. Appealing to Insects, that is.

"What... is that?" came the harsh but flat voice through the translator.

"This?" said Levi, looking at the bowl of brown goo, as if noticing it for the first time. "Just some insect food. I entomologist, I study insects and I just going to feed... say, you descended from insects, no? I suppose you might to give it a try...?"

Normally, there was no way the Insect was going to accept food from a human; it could, after all, be poisoned. But the smell was so overpowering... for a human, it was the equivalent to the smell of steaks, frying over a charcoal grill, with a smattering of hickory chips to give it that special smell... but the scent was even more overpowering for the Insects, who were even more sensitive to smells than humans.

The Insect called over one of its junior hatchlings. "Try this," it ordered.

The junior hatching did, without needing to be prompted again; it liked the irresistible smell too. When the hatchling took a tentative taste, and then another, and then another, it wasn't long before the entire squad was digging out of the bowl and licking the sides of it.

"I have some more of it in house" said Levi. He paused, as if considering something. "You know, it's shame I going to be common slave. I make very good food for insects, no?"

********

Queen Zsst, in her ship in orbit around August, dipped one of her claws into the bowl again. "It is good," she hissed. "Very good, in fact. Very well, bring it in."

Levi Esherkol, wearing a collar around his neck and manacles around his hands, was brought into her command chamber, looking mighty small and alone as he was flanked by seven foot tall Insect guards. He was actually only the second human to get this far; the first, the human League President Mitterand, hadn't fared very well.

"I am told, human, that you made this food which is pleasing to us," rasped the Queen.

"That? Oh, that was nothing," said Levi, with a shrug. "A quick snack. With proper tools and equipment, I could do much better."

"What do you mean?" the Queen asked.

"Well, it a science, see? At least, for humans it is," said Levi. "Tell you what; you give me access to lab, and I cook up some food you really like!"

The Queen buzzed for a moment. She didn't think humans had any other uses besides manual labor, but she had never met the likes of Levi Esherkol before. If the human could produce pleasing food, why not? She could always terminate him if she grew bored or displeased. "Very well," said the Queen, raising an arm to dismiss him.

"Ah, just one minute," said Levi. "You haven't heard my conditions."

"Conditions?" said the Queen, standing up in her high chair, towering over Levi.

"Requests, then," said Levi, taking a step back, and trembling.

The Queen sat down, hiding her amusement. "State them."

"One: that you leave my wife out of this. You will need her on our farm, on August, to produce much of the food I will need to prepare for you."

The Queen nodded. That seemed reasonable enough. "Continue."

"Two: That I have a fully stocked lab, and one or two of your... associates to experiment on."

A human, experimenting on an Insect?

If Levi couldn't interpret the Queen's expression he was able to make a good guess as to what she was thinking. "To test new recipes, I mean," said Levi hastily. "I wouldn't want you to try a new recipe until I had tested it on your underlings, right? If I didn't, I might come up with something you might not like, and what would happen to me then?"

"You would be executed," said the Queen. She shifted about, appearing to grow bored.

"Final request!" said Levi, sensing her restlessness. "Leave the Eastern continent free from development."

"Development?"

"You know, mining, manufacturing-"

"Unacceptable," said the Queen flatly.

"Well," said Levi, swallowing hard, "How about just protecting two or three locations from development?"

"Name them."

Levi gave her the name and spatial locations of a certain rock formation, a certain forest, a certain waterfalls, and two other locations.

"I will consider your requests," said the Queen. Levi opened his mouth to say something more, but she cut him off, "Take him away." And he was dragged off.

"Shall I have the human executed?" said an underling.

"No," said the Queen. "It amuses me. But first scan the locations the human seeks to keep off-limit for development. Look in particular for any signs of hidden human installations. Then report back to me."

The report came back a few hours later. Orbital scans, aerial overflights, and even landings by ground troops had found nothing suspicious in any of those locations--simply varied arrangements of trees, rocks, and water. Neither the Queen nor her underlings realized these were the most highly protected natural treasures on August. But they didn't have an eye for natural beauty.

"These humans are strange," said the Queen. "Tell the human its terms are accepted, for now. We will see how long it proves amusing...."

Chapter 4: The Silencer Comes to August

Chapter 4: The Silencer Comes to August

The Insect ships patrolling in orbit around August tracked the small starfighter that streaked past their orbital blockade towards the planet; but though they trained their lasers on it, it was too quick for them, streaking in-atmosphere even as their orbital fighters set course to engage it.

But the Insects were confident that once it landed, they would be able to quickly locate and destroy it. Then a decision was madenotto destroy but to capture and interrogate the pilot. The Insects wanted more information about this individual who could slip through their net so easily.

The starfighter settled in a clearing near a set of low hills on the outskirts of the Sarney Sarittenden, in a small (and very rare) public spot: a city park. But the ship's landing also attracted the attention of others.

********

From Clifford Croft's perspective:

"See that?" I said, squinting with my electrobinoculars.

"See what?" said Gantry, one of the Column members he had teamed up with.

When I had recovered my wits after nearly being blown up with Column Headquarters, I locater other surviving Column Operatives and quickly organized them. They knew I was one of the Eight, perhaps the only one who had survived the initial attack. They were only too eager to have some expert guidance. We were now a small but dedicated combat force, moving around the capital, harassing the bugs wherever we could.

"A spacefighter," I said. "It looks like it landed a bit to the west."

"How do we know it wasn't an Insect ship?" asked Jenna, another Column team member.

I shook my head. "It looked like one of ours." Hoisting up my backpack, I said, "Let's go."

Gantry groaned as he lifted a long, bulky bag. "But today is Sniper Monday!" Gantry was the "caddie"; he was in charge of lugging the special rifles in their protective carrying case.

"We can shoot some Insects later. Someone might need our help."

"The landing site will probably be crawling with Insects. Why are we taking such a big risk to help one pilot?" said another agent named Colleen.

I took a breath. "All right, we're not going there to help whoever's there; we're going there to find out what the pilot knows. Once we finish interrogating him, we can turn him over to the Insects. Satisfied?"

It was funny what a difference a few weeks of scavenging could make. Most of the population of August had been interned in forced labor camps. But a few scavengers and resistance fighters survived. Some of them were soldiers, and others were Column teams, like the one I led. As a member of the Eight, my leadership of the group was never in question, even if my decisions constantly were.

We tried as best we could to hurry to the place the starfighter had landed, but we also had to evade Insect patrols. But when we arrived at the park, it seemed the Insects had gotten there first. In the distance we saw the starfighter, its exhaust still smoking, as it lay neatly parked by a lake, and we could faintly see Insects around it. They didn't seem to be moving.

"Neat landing," Gantry commented, peering at the ship in the dim light. It had landed on a tiny patch of green lawn. "Whoever did that must've been one great pilot, even with repulserlifts."

But then as we cautiously snuck closer we saw another detail... the Insects we had seen from the distance were all lying on the ground, unmoving. In fact the lawn around the ship was oozing with green, coming from their bodies. Dead bodies. All dead, at least 20 of them. What had happened here?

The ship was a one-seater, maybe a two seater at most. Could one or two people have gunned so many Insects down?

And then I saw the figure, leaning against the side of his ship, whistling a sad tune, his hand reflexively drawing, holstering, and redrawing his gun at a rapid pace.

"Is this a crazy man?" Gantry hissed, as the others and I peered at the guy through the bushes.

Realizing the sound of his voice might carry, I hit the ground, pushing Gantry down as I motioned him to be silent. But the warning almost came too late; right after they dropped, an energy bolt scored right where Gantry had been standing.

"I... see... you...." came the voice, as it stopped whistling and started humming. The humming also sounded sad. But that voice! That voice sounded familiar, kind of.

I raised my electrobinoculars, as I lay prone on the ground. Then I caught the gunman square in his visual sites... and also caught the end of the man's pistol, pointing straight at my binoculars. "Wait!" I yelled at the top of my voice.

The man didn't fire, so it must have worked.

"We're human!" I yelled again.

The man seemed to have known it from the start, but he wanted to give us a hard time. "Prove it," he said.

I slowly started to get up, but Gantry pulled on me. "Croft, he's obviously mad!"

"Oh, most definitely mad," I said. "But probably not at us." I realized that the man could have shot us dead several times by now, even at this distance.

I stood up, with my hands raised, and slowly walked closer, seeing more clearly now the man I expected to see.

The Silencer.

The Silencer had his gun drawn and pointed at me. "Croft?" he said, lowering it a few inches.

I nodded. "Can I lower my hands now?"

The Silencer nodded. "You can tell your guys in the bushes there, there, and there..." he pointed with his pistol, "To relax. They're with you, right?"

I nodded again.

We approached his ship. "How did you get here?" Gantry asked.

The Silencer made a deprecating sound and pointed to his ship.

"I mean, who are you? What are you doing here?" Gantry asked.

"No time for that," I said. "We've got to get you out of here, it's not safe-"

The gun whirled out of the Silencer's holster and two bolts were fired. On the far side of the lake, two approaching Insects fell to the ground, one of them screeching as it was shot.

"I know it's not safe. That's why I'm here," said the Silencer. Then, purely as an afterthought, "You'd better go."

"If you stay here more, more bugs will come, and they'll kill you," I said.

"I know," said the Silencer, standing his ground. He slowly turned his head, looking for potential targets.

"What's this all about?" I said. "You don't usually kill unless you're paid for it." Then, looking at the Silencer's face, and thinking about his actions, I suddenly understood. "Where's Annie?" I asked.

The Silencer's face was granite. He said nothing. But that said everything.

A squad of Insects burst into view. My people raised their weapons, but before they could fire, there was a burst of rapid blasterfire, and it was all over. The Silencer momentarily lowered his weapon.

"This isn't the answer, John," I said. "Sooner or later they'll come at you with armored vehicles, or shoot you from the air."

"Yes."

"Don't you want to live?"

The Silencer shrugged. Then, uncharacteristically, he added, "I just want to kill as many of these creatures as I can."

"That's not what Annie would've wanted," I said. That got me a glare, and for a moment, I felt a wave of fear. I licked my lips, and tried a different tact. "These Insects didn't kill Annie, John. It's their leaders, they're the ones who gave the orders."

"I know, I killed one of them," said the Silencer. "I'd like to get some of the others, but I don't know where to find them." The Silencer's gun shot out again, and two more Insects fell. In the distance the sound of a motorized vehicle could be heard. Time was running out.

"Some of them are on August! And if you work with us, we can help you get them!" I said.

For the first time, I felt that something that I was saying to the Silencer was finally having some effect.

Several mechanized vehicles broke into the clearing on the other side of the lake. They were brimming with troops.

"That will take time," said the Silencer.

"In the meantime, you can kill some Insects with us, have some fun, paint the town... just think, you can kill more if you come with us and live, than if you simply stay here and get kill."

"I don't know," said the Silencer. "I think I can kill an awful lot more before they get me."

"Come with us, and you'll kill even more in the long run!" I said.

The Silencer considered how many he could kill with each option, as the vehicles closed into effective range.

The Silencer turned to face me. "Are you promising me I'll be able to kill them in really large numbers?"

"That's a promise!" I agreed.

Something clicked in the Silencer's head, and he briefly nodded.

When the Insect ground transports cleared the far side of the lake, all they found was an abandoned starfighter. One of the Insect troopers, inspecting the cockpit, found a stick pressed against one of the controls. The trooper removed the stick... and the ship exploded, taking two of the groundtracks and more than a dozen Insects with it.