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  “Twelve to each habitat,” Crixtos replied. “It’s a fortunate number.”

  “Is there a specific purpose to the individual habitats?” Lucia asked.

  “That’s not our way,” Crixtos replied, as he stepped out of the lift, which had risen extremely smoothly. “Each habitat is relatively self-sufficient.”

  “What about your industries?” Menous asked.

  “Light work is underground, and the noxious methods take place on our moons,” Crixtos replied.

  “Do you live in aerial cities to stay above predators?” Jess asked.

  “Then you’ve seen them?” Crixtos asked in surprise. “Usually their stealth means that when you do see one, your end is imminent.”

  Crixtos entered a room with comfortable seating, and elders wrapped in splendid robes waited to meet them.

  “These are Desterté’s city masters,” Crixtos said. “One for each habitat.”

  Introductions on both sides were made, and everyone was seated.

  “Whom do we address?” Crixtos asked.

  Lucia spoke first. “I’m the senior officer, who has authority over the ships above, but our purpose here concerns the Colony. In that regard, Captain Cinders speaks for us.”

  “We deeply appreciate what your ships have done for us,” a city master said. “Destroying the ring halted the invasion. We were nearing the limits of our resources.”

  “Then you’ve been fighting the Colony,” Aputi presumed.

  “That’s not our way,” Crixtos replied. “We capture and transport them.”

  “When we realized the females carried young, we realized time was of the essence,” another master explained.

  “As a habit, we focus on carnivore males, but, in this case, we netted the female insectoids and removed them,” Crixtos added.

  “You can identify the females?” Tacnock asked.

  “Yes. You can’t?” a master inquired. “There are distinctions in fine marking on the underside and lower third of the entities.”

  “Ah ... places we haven’t had time to study,” Tacnock replied, realizing that the veterans didn’t have a use for the observation. The insectoids weren’t going to hold still for an examination.

  “What is the status of the Colony now?” Jess asked.

  “We’re prevented from accessing our dome,” a master replied.

  “We’ll take care of that,” Jess said, which pleased the Dontots. “My question was meant to inquire about your planet.”

  “Your concern is appreciated,” Crixtos said, “but we have no worries there.”

  “Why not?” Jess asked.

  “We netted the majority of the females who landed here and transported them to Oxnetto,” Crixtos said. “With most of the females absent here, the Colony population won’t be able to procreate at a rate that survives predation.”

  “Oxnetto is the other continent?” Menous inquired.

  “Yes, your pardon for the use of local terms,” a master replied.

  “So, you transported the netted females to Oxnetto,” Homsaff said. “Why wouldn’t you be worried about the Colony’s population getting away from you there?”

  “We’ve been transporting the largest male carnivores from here to there for generations,” a master replied. “While it’s dangerous on the ground here, it’s nothing like surviving on Oxnetto.”

  “The Colony is predatory,” Crixtos said. “It’s befitting that the Colony meet our planet’s deadly species.”

  “Have any survived?” Homsaff asked.

  “That’s unknown,” a master replied, “but after this amount of time, it’s highly doubtful.”

  “It’s of little consequence,” a master added. “You’ve stopped the influx, and those insectoids who might remain are down there and we’re up here.”

  “When will you free our dome?” Crixtos asked.

  Heads turned Jess’s way, and he said, “I’ll need to talk to my companions before we make that decision.”

  “We’ll leave you to discuss the matter,” Crixtos said, “and I’ll have food and drink brought to you when you’re done.”

  When the city masters left, Aputi asked, “What’s the concern?”

  “It’s the line,” Lucia replied, and Jess pointed a finger at her and nodded his agreement.

  “I see,” Aputi said. “If we take the dome, we will have to cut off access to both gates, which won’t help the Dontots.”

  “Not only that,” Tacnock added, “but we’ll have trapped the Colony members down line. I’d imagine they’ll concentrate their forces at the red-designated star.”

  Jess sent,

  Orbit replied.

  Jess had created a conference link, and Homsaff kept Menous updated.

  When Jess finished his conversation with Orbit, he said, “This isn’t going to be simple.”

  “We have to take the entire down line and the alliance dome up line to procure the Dontots’ safe gate connections,” Tacnock surmised.

  “Then we should get started,” Homsaff said.

  “I have one question,” Menous said with a straight face. “Who’ll be responsible for checking the gender of the adult insectoids before we engage them?”

  The group broke out in their individual forms of laughter, and Menous displayed his broad square teeth.

  Tacnock touched the door panel. When it slid aside, he found a young female Dontot waiting.

  “Are you ready to speak to the masters?” the female asked.

  “Yes,” Tacnock replied.

  The masters returned, displaying expectant faces.

  “We’ll free your dome, but you’ll have to wait to be able to journey or send cubes,” Jess said. “We’ll need to clear the line that leads to the dead end and the alliance world that you connect with before we can open your gates.”

  “You can shut off gate access?” Crixtos queried dubiously.

  “We have associates who are enormously gifted with digital devices of all kinds,” Lucia said.

  “How long will this take, and how will you inform us?” a master asked.

  “I’ve no answer to the first question,” Jess replied. “As to the second, one or more of our ships will return to notify you and open your gates.”

  The room’s door slid open, and young Dontots brought trays of food and pitchers of drink.

  “Let us share a meal,” Crixtos, “and we’ll discuss your compensation for service rendered.”

  Jess was about to say there was no charge, but a glance from Lucia stilled the words in his throat.

  Lucia sent, and Jess smiled at her.

  20: Down Line

  The Dontot meal consisted of planet-based foods, which were prepared with fruits, nuts, and legumes.

  Two young females insisted on feeding Aputi bite by bite. He’d opened his mouth to protest, but Homsaff stopped him. She sent,

  Aputi did as the queen instructed him, and unexpectedly, he found it satisfying to be treated in this way.

  With the meal finished, and the question of compensation completed in favor of the station, Jess and his companions were returned to the central platform.

  Several Dontot males leapt lightly to the ramp and prepared to assist their guests.

  “They make that look so easy,” Aputi remarked.

  “Try not to hurt anyone, Aputi,” Jess warned.

  The veterans made Aputi jump first. It gave him less time to think, and this time, the Dontots were ready for him. They used their hands to stop his forward momentum, while they leaned into his mass.

  Jess thanked Crixtos for the Dontot hospitality.

  “It’s we who wish to thank you, Captain,” Crixtos said graciously. “Your race intrigues us. We’ve decided to visit Pyre when the gates are open again.”
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  “I imagine that I won’t be living on my home world for many annuals,” Jess said.

  Crixtos watched the emotions cross the captain’s face. “You have a long journey ahead of you, Captain. Our representative will speak of you, the other veterans, and the Omnians in the Tsargit.”

  When Jess boarded the traveler, the Dontot males exited, and Sharon lifted.

  Jess sent.

  Orbit replied.

  Orbit’s response caused eyes to turn toward Jess. That included Menous when he heard from Homsaff.

  “We shouldn’t expect the insectoids to quit,” Tacnock said sympathetically to his friend.

  “I know,” Jess replied. “It’s their population pressure that drives them. It makes them predictable and intractable. I was hoping they might have run when they saw our ships.”

  “Wishful thinking,” Homsaff remarked.

  Jess had Sharon divert to the Rêveur. He selected Tacnock, Aputi, and the Dischnya for the attack. Lucia selected herself, and Menous chose to ride along and observe. The veterans took one shuttle, and two more were loaded with shadows.

  On the trip to the moon, Jess brooded.

  When Lucia had enough of Jess’s silence, she sent,

  Jess sent in reply.

  “Homsaff, the holo-vid,” Jess suddenly requested. Then he sent,

  the pilot replied.

  Jess requested.

  The ship’s view was from a distance. Movement could be seen by virtue of the gates’ firings but not much more.

  Jess sent.

  Jerome replied, as he eased his traveler toward the dome.

  The veterans crowded around the holo-vid that Homsaff held. They were anxious to see what worried Jess.

  Jerome asked.

  Jess replied.

  “Real close,” Jerome murmured.

  The lieutenant halted the ship two hundred meters from the dome and level with it. Insectoids could be clearly seen appearing on one platform and transferring to the other. Then they were quickly sent on a journey to the next dome. The direction was always the same — down line.

  Reds weren’t in evidence for a while. The ship’s sensors caught groups of grays moving equipment and crates. Finally, a pair of reds arrived, and the pilot shifted the sensor view to capture the upper half of them, as they slithered off one platform and headed for the other gate.

  After the reds journeyed, Orbit trapped the sequence for Jess, looped it, and sent it to the holo-vid for display.

  “Oh, for the love of Pyre,” Aputi moaned, when Jess froze the vid on the best angle.

  “No more slug throwers,” Tacnock opined.

  “Opinions?” Jess queried.

  “The weapons’ shapes, the packs on the reds’ posterior portions, and the heavy connecting lines between the packs and the rifles,” Lucia analyzed. “They have to be energy weapons.”

  “And substantial ones,” Tacnock added.

  “Anyone else?” Jess asked. He was disappointed that no one put forward an alternate theory, although he didn’t expect one.

  “It was bound to happen sooner or later,” Homsaff said. “This is a response to our actions, and it’s probably only the beginning of their escalatory practices.”

  “It also means that the Colony will have changed tactics against our entry methods,” Jess added.

  When Jess’s three attack ships arrived at the dome, he directed the lieutenant on overwatch to retreat. Then he signaled the pilot of shuttle two to drop two shadows at launch tube one. That tube contained the destroyed Colony ship.

  Jess sent. Via his traveler’s controller, he linked to the shadows on the moon’s surface and gave them designations.

  Jess sent.

  On the holo-vid, the veterans observed shadow one’s actions through its sensors.

  The shadow scurried to the tube’s edge, switched foot pads, and made its way down the launch tube wall.

  Hanging off the tube wall, the shadow’s programming compared the data recordings of previous shadow investigations to what its sensors detected. At the blast door, it paused and notified the assault commander.

  “What is that?” Menous asked.

  Lucia enlarged the imagery, without improving the visuals.

  “There’s another tweak for the next iteration,” Tacnock commented. “Future shadows need to mount a light.”

  Jess sent.

  The holo-vid image went through several changes until a high contrast version was presented, which allowed human eyes to see what had halted the shadow.

  Gossamer threads stretched across the opening that led to the blast door. Most biologicals would never have seen them unless they’d shined a strong light at an angle on the door.

  “Trip wires,” Jess said. “There’s probably a charge in the base of the launch tube.”

  “I’d place it under the shuttle debris,” Homsaff added. “More damage to invaders that way.”

  “Jess, the Colony might not have thought to include the blast door panel,” Tacnock offered.

  “I would have,” Lucia said, “but we have to find out anyway.”

  Jess signaled shadow one. It climbed up, across, and down the blast door opening. Crawling along the wall, the shadow reached the panel beside the blast door. A single leg reached out and tapped it.

  Instantly, the shadow’s visual relay disappeared.

  Orbit switched the veterans’ holo-vid display to that of their traveler. Gouts of flame and debris shot out of the tube, and the shadow, or what remained of it, went with the explosion.

  Sorry, Mickey, Jess thought. It was a waste of a good shadow. When the walls cooled, he sent shadow two into the tube to investigate the damage. As expected, the trip wires were gone, and the panel was irreparably damaged — blown from the inside out.

  “We might try shorting the panel’s delivery wiring,” Menous suggested.

  “To what good?” Tacnock asked. “The Colony will probably have sealed the blast door.”

  “I think that Tacnock’s right,” Lucia said. “The Colony would ensure that we couldn’t gain entry through this tube. A sealed blast door might just be the beginning of impediments.”

  “But did the Colony do this to the other launch tube?” Jess remarked. He signaled the pilot of shuttle two to recover shadow two and drop it at the second tube.

  The shadow worked its way down the launch tube. No gossamer threads were detected.

  “Now, we have to ask ourselves how devious are the Colony members?” Lucia said. “Did they exclude the trip wires to make us think this entry is unguarded, but the panel is the detonation trigger? Or did they just not protect this entry?”

  “Then again, is the shuttle to be launched when we descend, because we didn’t discover any traps?” Homsaff asked.

  “We could get dizzy trying to outthink the Colony’s new tactics,” Tacnock snarled in frustration.

  Jess sympathized with Tacnock, but he’d always been good at one thing with his sister. He could beat her at digital games.

  Jess sent privately to the pilot on overwatch.

  Jerome replied.

  Jess sent. Then he explained the maneuver the pilot should perform.

  Jerome had Jess repeat the instructions more than once, and Je
ss sensed his trepidation.

  Jess sent.

  Jerome replied.

  Jess sent.

  As Jerome and his traveler dropped toward the surface, Jess positioned the other ships.

  On Jess’s signal, Jerome came in low across the moon. He engaged the fighter’s destruction program on his controller. The ship flipped bow down and slid sidewise toward launch tube two.

  Sharon was linked to Jerome’s controller and viewed the action through the ship’s sensors. She allowed Jerome’s fighter to hover over the tube for the briefest moment. Then she signaled the controller, and the traveler slid starboard.

  Handling’s ship cleared the tube opening, and a fraction of a moment later, the shuttle blew, spewing super-heated fuel and shrapnel out of the tube like an ancient cannon firing.

  Jess sent.

  Jerome replied.

  Jess sent.

  Jerome was intensely bothered by the thought that if he’d waited another second or two before signaling the controller to slide the ship aside, he’d have been late. He sent an earnest thank you to Sharon.

  The veterans’ view of Jerome’s maneuver had been from their traveler. Lucia watched the fighter slide into position over the tube, and she’d been alarmed. But the action was over before there was any chance to object.

  Lucia sent,

  There was no privacy request from Jess, which enabled Orbit to share.

  Lucia remarked.

  Orbit replied.