SHU'KAN Read online

  SHU’KAN

  Martin Gene Durst

  Dedication

  This book is dedicated to Sonya M. Jarrett; my close friend of many years. And also to my wife who, as always, lets me keep striving to become a better writer.

  Chapter One

  She felt the collective power of the minds that belonged to her. Insatiably hungry, primitive, instinctually driven; they all belonged to her. Her brood numbered in the hundreds. She’d traveled a long way to find a new feeding ground, and here there were no threats from those she avoided. Constantly warring over territory or for survival was tiresome. Here at the edge of the galaxy, the stars were farther apart and they seemed peaceful. –And they bore planets with life for feeding.

  One hundred ships, shiny, sleek and in perfect tandem, completed a protective sphere around her. The center ship was hers and hers alone. Only her personal attendants were permitted on board with her. It was a necessity and a luxury.

  When needed, she summoned males to fertilize her offspring. Only the pure blood could help her procreate. Mutants were genetically inferior. Once the male no longer served his purpose, she simply devoured him. It was her preferred method of nourishment. She hadn’t physically captured prey for as long as she could remember.

  Below her massive sphere of ships, a planet turned quietly while its beauty reflected in the hall of her ship. Her brood worked tirelessly on its surface building a new colony and shipyard for additions to her armada. This planet was rich in resources. It was the perfect location –a short jump from her last incursion. She stumbled upon another species when she perceived their technological presence. The population was bountiful, but resilient. They were a space faring race and destroyed half her ships. She broke her attack when her holds were full and returned to her brood. The specimens she’d collected would be bred. It wasn’t too difficult to procure their reproductive fluids. And the female gestation was a relatively short nine month period.

  This planet, so far, was uninhabited. She’d explored most of its land masses. Its two continents were large and rich with ores. It would serve her needs well. The largest continent resided along the planets equatorial region, so the warmth was an added benefit. She despised cold; so it was here that she applied the labor of her brood. Later, she’d spread her colony to the Northern continent, but not until she was ready. Its extensive forests were a potential asset.

  She flexed her great legs to get comfortable while ejecting a large ball of silk from her abdomen. She skillfully massaged it into fresh padding with a flurry of practiced motion. It felt soft and inviting as she settled upon it. There was little room for luxuries, and she longed for the planet surface. But now was not the time. She’d traveled far in search of a new home. A little longer wouldn’t hurt. Once her new colony was completed and secure, she’d allow herself some indulgence.

  Her mental command brought forth a small army of attendants. –Each of them with specific tasks to meet her needs. Her meal was presented. This was the first taste of the new species. Its flesh glowed pink even as its red internal juices seeped through its skin. –She was pleased that this female was so delicate. First she’d drink her fluids, and then she would slowly eat her meaty portions to fully experience the taste.

  She settled comfortably onto her silk ball and began her feeding ritual.

  Lieutenant Michael Stone woke with a hell of a hangover. Drool, free to ooze unchallenged due to his stupor, had dried to the side of his face. He needed more sleep, but a persistent fly continued to investigate the dried pool of saliva.

  His reunion had gotten pretty rowdy. All his Academy classmates had been there.

  He refused to open his eyes. Every inch of his head hurt. The ever-present drone of traffic assured him he was home. The sound waves penetrated his skull like knives each time a Negrav bus passed. It was never much of an issue here on the eighth floor, but today it was determined to make him miserable.

  He finally rolled over and chipped the lights on. He sat on the edge of his bed and waited for his head to stop spinning. The room was slowly changing from a blurry circular motion to a resemblance of what it normally looked like. He was completely naked. His clothes from last night were balled on the floor and, judging from the smell, sometime during the night he’d vomited on himself. The taste was nauseating as he rubbed his tongue across his teeth. It’d been awhile since he’d been drunk. He tried to dim the lights, but nothing happened. The environmental controls were malfunctioning again. He sent another mental nudge to access a news stream and got a visual on his optic nerves. The audio sent a sharp pain to the front of his head as he quickly turned it down. He desperately needed a hot shower and some strong coffee.

  He forced himself to move to the bathroom. Its condition was less appealing. Vomit covered the toilet seat and the surrounding floor like a blended pile of leftover fruit cake. He must have been here when he threw up. He stumbled in the shower letting the steam draw the aching pain from his head. Slowly, the throbbing pain began to subside. With effort, he scrubbed the smell of alcohol from his skin; only stopping when the chafing hurt worse than the alcohol smelled.

  Thirty minutes later, he’d managed to shave and dress. And while he slowly nibbled some toast to ease his queasy stomach, he chipped over to his inbox to read his messages. Skimming through the subject lines, he stopped abruptly at an official message from Earth Fleet. He opened it and read the highlights. It was official orders reassigning him to six months as a … Security Liaison?!

  ‘What?’ he hollered. A fresh spike of pain erupted at the front of his skull causing his vision to blur. He gripped the side of the table and squeezed his eyes shut waiting for it to subside. There was obviously a mistake. He’d worked years to get reassigned to the Carthaginian. He cringed inwardly. –High profile.I’ll point out the error. –Make them understand, he thought. His orders said to report to the Secretary of Defense at the U.N.?

  He closed the connection to his inbox and put his plate in the sink. Brushing the crumbs from his shirt, he grabbed his uniform jacket to leave. Either way, he was going to the Carthaginian. Let someone else be a babysitter.

  -He’d picked a hell of a day to be hung over.

  Lieutenant Stone stood in the subway terminal waiting for a transit. Rail Pods shrieked by driving spikes through his head. Dozens of people, moving with the daily flow like worker bees, hurried and rushed around him. Most of the time he didn’t mind waiting; it gave him time to think. As a Lieutenant he made enough to afford his own Negrav Pod, but he really didn’t need one living in the city. He had very little time off anyway.

  He was still a little peeved about his sudden change of assignment. What could be so damned important that Earth Fleet would change his orders? And why did it involve the Secretary? It had to be something urgent. The Secretary of Earth Fleet didn’t meet with Lieutenants. He met with Admirals.

  His self-pity was interrupted by a scream. A crowd of people were running towards an exit. The screams began to echo as more people joined the panic. He looked at a gentleman standing beside him. His face was ashen white with fear in his eyes.

  ‘Access the Teranet,’ he said voice trembling. ‘It’s on every broadcast stream. The Hiver’s are attacking again!’

  He chipped in the net and pulled up a news stream. The news anchor was describing three alien ships being intercepted by Earth Fleet. Three different visual angles bounced off his optical interface. Those weren’t Hiver ships. These were different. It explained why the Fleet hadn’t blown them to bits. But this was still big news. He needed to get to the U.N.C. building. There wasn’t a better place to get information.

  He terminated his link and pushed his way towards the exit. The transit crowd was gathering at the top of the walkway and blocking his path to the street. He pushe
d his way through and hailed a Negrav taxi. The driver careened to the side of the road nearly hitting two panicked women intent on crossing the street. He was linked to the net watching a news stream. Stone jumped in the back. ‘I need to get to the U.N. C. building as fast as possible!’

  The driver terminated his link. ‘You’re lucky it’s on my way home. –That’s the only place I’m headed!’

  Twenty minutes later, Stone was walking briskly toward the U.N.C. entrance. He stopped at the security checkpoint and did a mental push of his credentials through his identichip while simultaneously showing his identicard. The U.N.C. building was the only other place that had security as good as Earth Fleet. He got a nod from the security officer, whose overly-sized nose made his head look smaller, to move on. The large foyer that wasted more space then what was really necessary echoed as his heels struck hard marble. He stepped into an elevator and hit the button for the top floor.

  It’d been two years since the Hiver’s left. The name stuck when, later, a news broadcaster described their behavior as a hive of insects. He had to admit that most of them strongly resembled arachnids. –A trait that only made things worse since most people hated spiders. Either way, they’d ravaged humanity for food.

  Humanity didn’t need any more problems right now. The Hiver’s had no remorse, no sense of morality or mercy. They were an indescribable species. Some were bipedal with long white hair or bald. But most were multiple legged and spider-like. But of the two variations, the bipedal’s were now believed to be remnants of a mutated species. But the one thing they had in common was the orange-brown colored hide or skin, and razor sharp mandibles.

  Technologically, the Hiver’s were advanced. They possessed FTL, or faster than light drives. They also appeared to be telepathic and didn’t use any physical or technical communication.

  At first, their motives were baffling. They invaded swiftly and decisively; their engagements intent on feeding and destruction. Waves of the hideous things pushed through New York City and Beijing with massive collection ships. Some gorged themselves on human flesh as others captured victims. Simultaneously, they destroyed almost two hundred military vessels and dozens of civilian ones in Earth space.

  Then, it was over.

  As abruptly as they arrived, they left. The devout prayed thankfully for their deliverance, and the world set about dressing its wounds.

  Within hours, an official announcement was made that hundreds had become infected. It was a retrovirus like none ever seen before. Scientists frantically searched for a vaccine while mutated Humans began to feed. –And once others were bitten it began to spread. The trademark orange-brown skin left no doubt as to the origin. Thousands of infected had to be eradicated to stop the mutation from spreading.

  The Hiver’s didn’t discriminate either. Earth and the Moon Colony were left to slowly mutate. No one knew the fate Mars, so the Carthaginian, Earth Fleets sole remaining Carrier, was widely expected to investigate. But Earth’s Leaders were hesitant to allow the flagship to go and further weaken our defenses. It was assumed that everyone was dead since there’d been no communication.

  Stone pulled himself back to the present as the elevator stopped and the doors slid open. He disembarked and walked briskly through another open lobby. The U.N. building, now the U.N. Capitol, had been renovated many times over the centuries. Long gone was the original structure, but its location remained the same. It was only six stories tall, oval shaped and stepped, as most modern structures now were. The top three floors were reserved for the private offices of each head of nation, while the three bottom levels held the stadium sized assembly hall. It was here world diplomacy happened.

  Stone ignored several inquisitive looks as he stopped at the receptionist desk. A team of attractive clerks were receiving and routing calls while six others handled the walk-in traffic. The collective power of their perfume was overwhelming. Here, each President could filter the business of their respective countries, but most governing was done within their home nations. When official duties required a presence at the U.N.C., many chipped through the Teranet. But once in a while, issues were important enough for a more personal touch. Today was one of those days.

  ‘May I see your identicard, Sir?’ A receptionist moved to assist him. She was attractive, but not really his type. Her build was slender and her facial features thin. He much more preferred women that had more curve to the hip line.

  ‘Yes. Lieutenant Michael Stone, Earth Fleet. I have a summons from Earth Fleet Secretary Sadim?’

  ‘Just one moment, please.’ She scanned his identichip and ran a cross reference of his credentials through the Teranet. ‘The Secretary will see you now,’ she said smiling and handing back his identicard.

  ‘Thanks,’ he replied casually.

  He moved past to the rear of the lobby. Here were the offices of the U.N. Prime Minister. He also had a Cabinet and support staff.

  He opened the door marked Office of the Prime Minister where another receptionist sitting at a desk greeted him with a warm smile.

  ‘Hello Lieutenant Stone. The Secretary will be with you shortly. Please have a seat.’ She waved to a chair against the wall and he moved to sit down. Four security personnel were stationed intermittently around the room. They stood passively with eyes focused straight ahead. He suspected the closer he got to the Secretary the more security he’d encounter.

  His thoughts again drifted back to before the invasion. Life had been good. Earth was beginning to cooperate under a one world government and the Charter of Human Rights and Responsibilities was drafted and ratified by all sovereign nations. Each Nation still governed their internal policies, but economic and military affairs, as well as exploration, were now under the authority of the U.N. It was a glorious time as Humanity started to focus on the horizon of the future.

  Mohammad Sadim, Secretary of Earth Fleet, emerged from an adjacent door. ‘-Lieutenant! Come on in.’

  ‘Mr. Secretary. It’s a pleasure to meet you.’ Stone shook his hand vigorously. ‘-Although I can’t imagine why you would be involved in Earth Fleet assignments.’

  ‘As you might guess, everyone’s nervous and edgy,’ he replied. ‘We’ll go into it more during the brief, but it’s not the Hiver’s up there.’

  ‘I know. Those ships look nothing like the Hiver’s. –Mr. Secretary, I’m afraid I’m confused.’ He gave him his orders. ‘I was already ordered to the Carthaginian. –There was obviously a mistake.’

  ‘There’s no mistake, Lieutenant. These orders are correct. Your original orders have been revoked.’

  ‘But, Sir, I –’

  ‘Lieutenant, hold your questions till after the brief. The Prime Minister will be starting shortly.’

  He set aside his frustration as they walked in unison to the briefing room. Dozens of staff scurried around prepping for the meeting.

  At the center of the briefing room was a large oval table. It shined with articulate care. The permanent member Presidents of China, France, the Russian Federation, the United Kingdom, and the United States were already present around the table. –Each of them whispering quietly. Some of the non-permanent members were straggling in as aids worked feverously positioning dossiers in front of the table members. The Prime Minister’s chair was reserved at the right end of the table. Behind his seat a large holoscreen displayed the seal of the office of the Prime Minister. Chairs were lined along all four walls for staff and distinguished guests. It was here they sat.

  Security personnel maintained their silent vigilance throughout the conference room. They paced quietly no doubt communicating on a secure chip channel. They closely monitored the actions of the service staff bringing beverages and snacks to the table. An additional food table was set up for guests along the walls. Of course, it was self serve. He was briefly thinking about drinking a cup of coffee to pacify his hangover when the adjutant to the Prime Minister entered the room.

  ‘Ladies and gentlemen, the Prime Minister will begin in
a moment. Please take your seats.’

  Several VIP’s who were wandering around and chatting sat down.

  He turned and looked at the Secretary. ‘Sir, is there any indication that these ships will be a threat?’

  ‘They initiated contact immediately and sent overtures of peace. Besides, they’ve only five ships and have also made an interesting proposition,’ the Secretary said with a twinkle in his eye. ‘Wait and see.’

  Their conversation was interrupted by the adjutant.

  ‘Ladies and gentleman, distinctive guests, please rise for the Prime Minister of the United Nations!’

  Every member of the Security Council and the guests rose in silence as a tall imposing figure entered the room.

  ‘Thank you,’ he stated. ‘Please take your seats.’

  The Prime Minister was a formidable man. He stood well over six feet tall. His broad shoulders gave him the appearance of confidence. His grey hair was tied back loosely in a short ponytail, and he wore a dark suit with a bright blue tie. Strong facial features complemented his already strong presence. It was no wonder this man commanded the entire human race. One didn’t rise to the position of the U.N. Prime Minister by being weak.

  ‘Thank you, again, members of the Council,’ he began. ‘As Presidents’ of Nations, your constituents are surely wondering who our visitors are. And judging by all of you being present for this meeting, I’d say it’s a matter of urgency. We haven’t had the entire Council present around this table in months.’

  ‘Vice Admiral Cook, Commander of our remaining strike group, was contacted approximately two days ago by another species. They call themselves the Shu’kan.’

  The Prime Minister turned and looked at the holoscreen. On cue, the lights dimmed and three-dimensional images of Earth Fleet and the Shu’kan ships appeared. The holoscreen was apparently for the benefit of the guests seated along the walls as an identical three dimensional display rose from the surface of the Security Council table.