Chapter 20: Zyla Strikes Back

Horti met with Admiral Frichadarsya Lassastla, Maslav, and their respective teams and assistants.

“Your mother will be fine; we are slowly removing implanted devices that Zyla’s people believe cannot be removed. Ajende Grep Gahnil-Zuksat has similar devices. It will take another half an hour before they will be safe,” said Admiral Frichadarsya Lassastla.

“Zyla communicated with us. She informed us she had installed a bomb on our gate and threatened to blow up the gate unless we allowed her and her people access to the portal. She says if we disagree, she will kill Ajende in fifteen minutes. She wants a week on the other side before we go through, or she will destroy your mother.”

“How can she kill Ajende?” Craig asked.

“Through the device in her head, but she made another threat. Zyla added she would kill Chak in two hours if she didn’t hear from us.”

“What did you answer?” Horti asked.

“I told her we can’t react until you regain consciousness. We asked her to allow us half an hour to bring you here. We are waiting to hear her reply.

“Can Ajende be made safe in fifteen more minutes?” Horti asked.

“It is unlikely. If they rush the removal, the doctors say they could destroy her brain,” said Admiral Frichadarsya Lassastla.

“How long will it take to back up her consciousness?” Horti asked.

“It will take us six minutes.”

“Do it, and do my mother as well. If either dies, we will rebuild them on the other side,” said Horti. “Get some DNA for us to take with us.”

The Admiral touched her hologram. “It will be done.”

“Has anyone looked at the gate?” Horti asked.

“There is a device next to the start plate. My experts confirm it is a bomb. The bomb warns if anyone approaches closer than a meter, it will explode.”

Admiral Frichadarsya Lassastla’s slate pinged. “No, she won’t give us more time.”

“Have we located her ship?” Heather asked.

The admiral nodded.

“Can we board her ship secretly?” Heather followed up.

Moksur walked into the room. “Horti, your mother is not in a good way. We will do as much as possible to remove the device, but the process is agonizingly slow. We backed up her consciousness. Zyla physically attacked her, broke many bones, disfigured her face, and blinded her. She began on Ajende today after your mother lost consciousness this morning. Luckily for Ajende, our people attacked and got her attention. It gets worse!”

“Did you speak to Ajende before she went into the pod?” Horti asked.

“I spoke to Ajende briefly. Zyla boasted she had hidden a planet killer near the capital. She will destroy the planet in a month. Zyla told her she would blow up the gate after her people were through, no matter what we did,” said Moksur. “At the last minute, she killed her chief scientist and changed her strategic approach.”

“That woman is a curse and a blight on our lives. Thanks, Moksur, that is useful to know. Can we go back to Heather’s question? Can we secretly board Zyla’s ship?” Horti asked

“The short answer is no; the long answer is yes. Her ship, like ours, can resist transporter technology. We can send cloaked boarding gunships and penetrate the hull. If you want stealth, we must board through a hangar and take control of the ship,” said Admiral Lassastla. “Zyla has ample time to transport herself elsewhere.”

“Maslav, is your gate working?”

“No, Horti, a bunker buster destroyed it.”

“Horti, I am sorry to say what I am about to say. This accursed woman has outflanked us and will damage us no matter what we do. It looks pretty bleak,” said Moksur.

“I need to eat and think,” said Horti, “I am starving. If one faces ruin and impending death, one does not do so on an empty stomach.”

“How are you, Horti?” Craig asked as Horti walked along deep in thought next to Moksur.

“One of the admiral’s people is a spy for Zyla; I wanted to get out of there so we can follow her,” said Horti.

“How do you know?” Moksur asked.

“As she fiddled with the slate when she heard the Colza gate was hit, I listened to her thoughts. She didn’t detect my intrusion. She was communicating with Zyla directly on the slate. She intends to kill me when she gets an opportunity.”

“Are you sure?” Moksur asked.

“Yes, she will turn to walk to the hospital. There she will ensure she wipes both consciousnesses.”

“There she is, turning to go down the passageway to the hospital. She is the one five meters in front of me.”

Horti turned and unslung her assault rifle and shot the aide in the back, then ran forward and retrieved the aide’s slate as she subsided to the ground.

Horti turned and walked back. “It is still on, Aubrey, so that you can get in. Please find her recent communications and any other useful data.” Horti handed him the slate. “She is a spy.”

Horti turned to Craig. “Since I spoke to Maslav, I feel a lot better. I like the idea of laying eggs. I will be happy to have spiderlings. They can all change to be humanoid. I want to learn how the Colza brings them up. Once things settle down, I will consider a baby. What do you think?” Horti asked.

“I like the Colza, and I am happy to go along. I must talk to you and Maslav about that weird dance in the brood chamber once this crisis ends. I was on autopilot. I feel as if I am in a vivid dream fantasy where I never can catch up with my life,” said Craig.

Horti laughed. “I heard your father say the same.”

Craig turned to look at Horti. “You can be ruthless!”

“Yup, I can be when the stakes are high.”

When they walked into the canteen five minutes later, there was an uproar when the diners saw Horti.

They shouted and stuck their arms in the air. Horti smiled and waved, then joined her team.

They ate quickly and then returned to the conference room.

Admiral Frichadarsya Lassastla looked at Horti and nodded.

“Thank you, Horti; as you suspected she was a spy, Aubrey sent her communications to me. There is a nest of them in this base. My assistant used a rogue doctor to give several security clearances. We will repeat the security clearance of all personnel on this base in the next few hours. We arrested those identified on her slate.”

An agitated adjutant walked in and whispered in the ear of the Admiral.

The Admiral sighed and turned to the group; then, as the adjutant waited, she waved him out.

“Zyla is in the city. Our informant tells us she is here as she must personally arm the planet killer. The city is the last place I would have put it, but Zyla knows it is the last place we would look. She has several of our old, unstable planet killers. They have one advantage; they are small but are difficult to arm if you are not deploying them from a ship. They also will not remain armed for longer than a day. She will kill sixty-three billion people if she sets it off here.”

“Who can arm the devices?” Lisirra asked.

“She must do it herself, or one of her senior admirals must do it. I can’t understand why she is doing it.”