Chapter 14

Chapter 14

---

Day 62

"The Krekkin-Na is what the Kadeshi refer to as an Arkship. We usually associated these Needleships as being Mothership-class vessels, but, as we know, they really only have as much interior space as a regular Destroyer-class ship. It has Carrier-class building capabilities, but no further. However, this Arkship is, without a doubt, a Mothership vessel."

The small holoprojector displayed a large, cylindrical ship, shaped like two saucers joined at their flat sides, and hollowed by a long, tube-like opening connecting the two far ends of the vessel. It had no discernable weaponry, but it made up for this in large hangar bays and some of the most powerful armor I had ever seen.

"The Arkship can carry up to a million Kadeshi people, and has the capability of building several new Needleships. That is pretty much all I know about the Arkship. Supposedly, there is only one-this one-in existence in the Kadeshi fleet, but with the massive amounts of resources that are in the Nebula, I doubt that they couldn't build several more. We're to report there in four days, and from what I hear from Jacyn, we will be working in the Tactical section for a while. However, I haven't found out where Mara is being held, and I have decided not to press the subject, for now, anyway. We don't want to look suspicious." She gestured to Hal, who had more information on the fleet.

So far, we'd been on the Needleship Kkkuuum for two days, and we had only just been able to track down every team member to congregate in my temporary headquarters. I knew that the crew wasn't trying to keep us separated, since they had no real reason to (well, none that they knew of,) but I got the idea that they wanted to make sure we were being truthful in our cover story. Luckily, we had been over it several times on our way over, and we had practically memorized the farce beyond discrepancies.

Hal stood up, and cleared his throat. "Well, from what I have looked up from my room's computer, the Kadeshi Hierarchy is composed of a divine ruler, known as the Great Mother, or something, named N'ua. Now, she apparently rallied the Hiigaran refugees that were on the colony ship Khar'nak during the Exile, and forced them to be strong when they took refuge in the Gardens of Kadesh. When she died, they continued to see her as an idol to live up to, and they have been whipped up in frenzy, becoming a crazed, xenophobic culture.

"They believed they would remain safe in the Gardens for all eternity, but unfortunately for them, the Mothership had to pass through the Nebula. After destroying four of their Needleships, and showing the Kadeshi how they were biologically and technologically akin, it shattered their view of existence. And now they fear destruction from the outside.

"Destruction of their beliefs. They are obviously aware that their Great Evil, the Taiidan, no doubt, cowers beneath their military might, and they plan to use it."

Nolan asked, "To what end?"

Hal grew somber. "This'll amuse you. They plan to take Hiigara."

Aryl stood up. "They want to what? They have only seen our Gemstone Taskforce. IF they plan to take our Homeworld, they are in the surprise of -"

I gestured for him to be quiet. I had swept the room for listening devices, and came up clean, but I still thought it unwise to seem too conspicuous in our activities. Reluctantly, he yielded, and went silent.

Hal said, "Yeah, anyway, they apparently have a Guidestone of their own, and until the Exodus, they weren't sure what it meant. Now, they plan to take the 'Sacred Garden' from where they were banished. By any means necessary.

"So it seems we have a full blown invasion on our hands. I doubt this is their whole fleet, but it is enough. I have counted several hundred Swarmers, dozens of Frigates, and fourteen Needleships, not to mention this Krekkin-Na."

I looked to Jacyn. "Out of all of us, you know the Kadeshi better. We were all Sleepers. What were they like?"

He kept his voice low. "Vicious. I tell you one thing, they are far more religiously fanatic than the Gaalsien. They would put the lives of themselves, and ten of their family members in front of everyone else. Whoever this N'ua was, she still holds considerable power over the Kadeshi. They can and will fight to the death, if the situation calls for it.

"One thing I noticed is that they have no set squadrons. They attack in waves. They go with one wave, and they stick close to attack one single target. Once destroyed, they move on to another one. There are no wingmen, no backup save the next wave, and no remorse."

He lightened up. "However, despite their modifications, they have their old weaknesses. If we take out their Fuel Pods, the Swarmers are helpless. Their hulls are rather fragile, but those new lasers of theirs should cause us some trouble. Fortunately, they still haven't caught on to our shield technology, and if we will be working in the Tactical wing of their command ship, I'm sure we can stall any work they plan to do."

Aryl said, "Man, I wish we had our own lasers." I informed him, "Well, Aryl, we aren't exactly going to slaughter them all, but we aren't going to merely save Mara and run, either. Should we run into something that could prove useful, I'm sure Fleet Command would forego theft charges. If you know what I mean." Aryl grinned. "Yes, sir!"

A voice rang over the intercom. "Karesh-Nok, please report to the medical bay for quarantine procedures." I stood up. "Well, until we get onboard the Krekkin-Na, I doubt we'll find Mara. Spend our remaining time aboard this ship finding out all you can. If we don't see each other until then, and I don't suggest that we do, good luck to all of you. Now, if you don't mind, it is time for my check-up."

* * *

The medical bay was, like everything else on the ship, mercilessly sterile. Not just the walls and instruments, but the atmosphere. The bone-white décor only increased the effect that there seemed to be zero emotion on the craft.

The doctor who worked on me reminded me of Dr. Sjet onboard the Angel Base. He appeared rather old and wasted away, but then all Kadeshi appeared this way. He didn't immediately appear intimidating like the others, but I wasn't sure why.

He said, "Cough, please."

I coughed.

He ran some sort of medical scanner over me, and I felt rather uncomfortable for a while, but he seemed to think that everything was in order. "Your calcium levels in your bones are at a remarkable level. Have you been working out in high-g environments?"

I thought for a moment. I knew that all Kadeshi had low calcium levels because of the little stress they applied to their bones in low-g starships. I decided that they would notice the same for all of my team members, so to lower suspicions, I said, "Yes, sir. Everyone aboard the Muu'sha was required to do so. I believed that if we are ever in a hand-to-hand combat situation, we would need to be as strong as they are." He nodded slowly, and I suppressed a sigh of relief. "Yes…but low gravity emulates the vacuum that had borne us. By being freed from our grounds, we are closer to the Mother N'ua."

I gritted my teeth. "Like I said…only a precaution."

He shrugged, and continued tests. After a pause, he said, "Did you happen to attend the Mother Worship ceremony last night?" I licked my lips, hoping I had a good answer. "Uh…no, I missed out on it, unfortunately."

He looked at me in a strange way. Fuck, I thought. I shouldn't have said that.

"Battle stress," I explained. He didn't respond immediately, but he soon nodded in acceptance. "You know, there is no better stress relief than prayer." I lied, "I know. I'll try to attend the next one."

He looked at me in an odd way, and began to do something hat could only be explained as massaging. He rubbed my chest with his hands, and explained, "This is nothing but a physiotherapy thing; don't be alarmed." I wasn't entirely against the action, because it felt kind of relaxing, but it reminded me of my fake layer of skin, since both it and my real skin were rubbing against each other. I feared that the doctor would notice that the outer skin was rubbing on something, and that he would want to take a closer look.

Obviously, the doctor noticed something, because he said, "Wait a minute. What is going on?"

I felt my stomach twist itself into a ball of yarn. "What?"

He looked at me with a face that said, "I have got you now, imposter." He pointed to a part of my chest, and said, "That rash; shouldn't you get that treated?" I looked down, trying to withhold the surprise from my face. Where he pointed, a place near my left hipbone, was a discoloration of a reddish hue. I instantly relaxed. The team who had replicated this bio-suit must obviously have messed up the dyes, and caused that spot to be formed. I replied, "Uh, no, sir. Haven't noticed it." He turned around, and opened a cabinet, plucking a small vial off of one of the shelves. He presented it to me, and said, "Take some of this, and rub it into the area every day." I accepted it, and hoped that this would be the closest he would come to finding me out.

It wasn't. He asked, "Tell me, how come only five of you survived the fleet?"

I said, "Beg your pardon?"

He elaborated, "Well, you six all came from the Muu'sha Frigate, no?"

I nodded a wary yes.

"Well, what happened to the other nine on the vessel? Did they all perish?"

I was unprepared for this. "They tried to take the Frigate out of the battlefield itself. But…the Frigate was too slow, so the six of us jumped off with the shuttle before the Unclean caught up to us."

"And you didn't try to get the others off?"

"They were a lot more loyal to the ship itself. They refused to follow."

"But weren't you the captain of the ship? Why didn't you go down with it?"

I gulped. If anyone were going to give me trouble on this mission, it would be him. Boy was I waiting for these two days to pass.

* * *

"Yes…but only a foolish warrior dies in vain. If he can live to fight another day, he can do more to serve the Great Mother."

"Ah, but cannot one be seen as more holy if one sacrifices himself for the good of the rest?"

I just stared at him, mouth gaping, struggling to say something. Then, a buzzer sounded. He looked at me, half-pleased. "Our time is up, Colonel. I hope you come to the Worship Ceremony tonight. Room 4-38. 21 sun falls from dawn."

I looked at him as I stood up, nodding. 21 sun falls from dawn? I think that meant 1730 hours, but I couldn't say. I would have to look it up; a time system based by people who had never witnessed a planetary daily cycle would be interesting.

And I wished I didn't have to go to the ceremony.

* * *

The meeting was rather creepy. It began rather sooner than I expected it to, at around 1500 hours. I entered a large auditorium wearing not my battle armor, but far more comfortably fitting robes, which I had found hung in my room's closet. The material felt very much like silk, and I found it far from a burden to wear.

The room was filled with about a hundred and eighty people, which I considered to be the entire crew of the Kkkuuum, but I did not notice any of my team members there, even though they were still in disguise. I sat down on a sort of pillow on the floor, and waited. Soon, the whole room was filled, and several people in red and orange robes closed the large doors of the room.

As the doors closed with a cavernous echo, a hum began to spread through the audience. On a stage at the front of the room, a bright light began to shine, and through my squinted eyes I saw the light transform into a holographic effigy. It looked like a woman, rather aged, but still appearing fierce and maternal. All eyes were fixated on her image, and I guessed that she was none other than the Great Mother N'ua. The humming increased in volume, and I joined in to prevent from seeming conspicuous.

One of the orange-robed (priests?) men walked onto the stage and stood in front of the holographic statue. He clapped his hands, and everyone in the room mimicked him. The humming died down gradually, and when all were silent, he said, "Serve and Protect the Great Mother!"

"Serve and Protect the Great Mother!" everyone chanted.

"Banish the Unclean, and return to our Homeworld!"

"Banish the Unclean, and return to our Homeworld!" they cried fanatically.

This last chant I found rather amusing. Would they have merely asked, many in the Hiigaran Diamid, despite their horrendous war crimes, would be glad to accept the Kadeshi into Hiigaran society. Hell, in the military alone, we needed all the help we could get, with more and more ships becoming more and more under robot crews. Instead of 550,000 Survivors, we would be a complete race of many millions, more than enough to bring the old Kushan rule back from its 3,000 year slumber. But I had the impression that they weren't the ones to be diplomatic.

"Destroy the Great Evil!" With this last chant, I surprised myself by feeling powerfully against the Taiidan, wishing that all of them were dead. I seemed to agree fully with the words. I wasn't sure why, but this ceremony began to feel very compelling.

With "Reclaim what is ours!" I began to experience a feeling of hate that went beyond mere thought. I could clearly picture the Burning of Kharak, and felt like I wanted to kill every one of those murdering sons of bitches; stabbing even the weakest and youngest among them and watch their blood seep through my fingers; beat the murderers to death with my bare hands; oh wouldn't it be lovely; hear them beg mercy; but did you grant mercy? no, you did not; you murdering bastards; you slaughtered innocent lives over a long-forgotten treaty; 300 million who wouldn't have been able to fight back; they did nothing wrong; why should they have died? why should my parents have died? they were only scientists; only microbiologists; they were in the cryo trays and could not fight back; my father didn't even believe in the military; why did we have to build the Mothership? if we didn't, everyone would still be alive…still be alive…why?

WHY?!?!?!?

The chant stopped momentarily, and I snapped out of it. I looked around, and began shaking. I had to take long, deep breaths, not recalling that I was holding it. I winced as my head felt like my whole brain was throbbing.

Whoa. Right then and there, I knew why the Kadeshi were so fanatic about their religion. And I prayed to Sajuuk that we Hiigarans would be prepared for what was to come.