Evolution's Essence (40 page)

In orbit the battle cruisers and Goliaths
spotted hundreds of rainbow Subspace openings and out of each
slipped a Goliath. Samuel sat in his grandmother’s throne as Laxus
sent the warning and used his Valek to turn the great city around
and began firing the long range blasts as his readings showed the
heavily armored Golaiths also in orbit began shooting the explosive
spines they kept along their massive claws.

The Emperor yelled “What’s happening?” as
armored Keptl swarmed out in doves all looking up into the starlit
night sky.

Renee made herself do a short range Teleport
to say “The Feral are attacking. After meeting these Keptl I can
assure you I can sense a difference. We got hundreds of signatures
coming. Olly was right, this deep in their space they detected our
signature and realize something is very wrong with the space around
their prisoner. I feel several Queens and they are projecting they
are through dealing with White Blossom. They haven’t learned a
thing from her in thousands of years and realize they won’t. they
are coming to kill her and our presence made them come from every
nearby system in this forsaken galaxy. I can feel it, Markeese.
They come for extermination sensing White Blossom has gained
allies. As a Drake Rider, you know we excel in telepathy and none
of those bitches want us to help her.”

“
She’s right, Emperor.” Said
a man landing with a Silver glowing Drake hissing. “I sense their
hatred and hunger. I’ve never felt such single-minded focus. Every
Keptl in this galaxy feels like it’s moving in this direction.
Drawn to the Solarian signature here within this carefully watched
over system. Emperor, we need to get you out of here.”

Markeese looked up seeing bright beams of
light firing deep into space and every ship in the system using
every means to slow the threat. “Fine, but we’re relocating White
Blossom. If they want her dead then I sure as hell want her alive.
We need to send her to Andromeda, deep in our space where she can’t
be detected so readily as she can here.”

“
Go, I’ll deal with matters
here. My city can hold those fuckers off indefinitely.” Renee
boasted and it wasn’t lightly said either. It was a firm and well
documented belief. “You deal with fallout, Emperor. Just incase you
know.”

“
Very well.” He saw reason
and was rushed away with his beloved.

“
White Blossom!” Renee
yelled as she flew over to the busy Queen being carried by five
Trackers while she focused on important matters of survival. The
Keptl queen blinked and met Renee’s gaze. “No, recall your swarm
back inside the hive. I’m getting you out. Let my Grandson and the
other battleships and fighters hold them off. Have your Goliaths
grab each other and have one use a claw to grab the biggest ship
you see up there. Its big and red.”

“
It is very powerful.
Through my many eyes it is destroying many before my attackers’
spines even reach. Eleven already are torn apart.” Her glowing eyes
brightened for a moment and eerily every Keptl in sight with now
glowing eyes did an about-face and ran back inside the hive. She
also caught Renee’s projected thought to say “Not to worry.
Hard-shell can close up her body to be moved where nothing can
breathe and is very cold. My brood will be safe once Hard-shell
pulls back her limbs so she can be moved.”

Renee turned to find what they used as a
table for the feast churned the ground as it sank back and the
enormous hive made deep groaning sounds as it prepared to be moved
or the first time in over twenty five millennia.

The trackers carried their mother inside the
wide opening as the Humans were gestured to be more than safe and
secure inside by the people who had loved her more than a century.
It was an evacuation and time mattered.

Oliver flew down after producing a barrier
around the entire planet and his eyes now burned like two small
stars. “Go to your seat. I’ll Teleport the hive and make sure
everyone is in contact with it. Since it is alive I can do that
much mass quite well. I’ve already used Nova and my pride to
realize the travel. I did it during the meal and I’ve made all
calculations. I’ll meet you to that system.”

“
Alright. Steven! Visor! Get
your asses over here!” she yelled as she mounted Sparky and held
out a hand the warrior took and soon as the hawk latched in Renee
teleported directly beside her throne to watch her eldest
grandchild ripping apart all incoming enemies with rapidly moving
eyes rotating around a full three hundred and sixty degree hologram
he used to fire upon all aggressors. Seeing him occupied she
contacted the residents of her city and explained the plan in a
calm voice. The ship barely shook as an armored Keptl Goliath used
a pincher to clamp onto the ship.

“
Sammy, Teleport us five
seconds after your grandfather goes. White Blossom told me her
Goliaths can go about an hour before losing themselves without her
touch, but I don’t wish to test that theory.”

“
Neither do I, Grandma.”
Samuel said as the first explosions from returning fire was
absorbed by the city’s shields effortlessly. “Neither do
I.”

Oliver waited atop the mountainous peak of
the hive watching as from all directions Keptl came running. The
sea churned and when he mentally contacted White Blossom she was
grateful for a suggestion and he telekinetically moved Hard-shell
out over land and into the ocean where eight percent of the swarm
lived an made it easier to get everyone aboard the living creature
that doubled as a home.

It took two hours till White Blossom
telepathically told him every single one of her children were
firmly inside and they everyone had direct contact with the hive.
He put pressure on Renee’s mind a moment before dropping the
planetary barrier and used a tremendous amount of power to teleport
the most mass via the Valek to date.

Chapter 11

The instant chill of the void sucked heat
away from moments before. Still holding onto the peak, Oliver
watched as the entire hive’s exterior began to frost over in mere
seconds. His suit kept him plenty warm and breathing as they
floated a few seconds before twenty kilometers away appeared the
city-ship and a chain of armored crabs linked together. Next to
appear was dozens of undamaged ships.

Over the com Oliver heard the sweet and spicy
lilt of his woman. “Any problems lover boy?”

“
None.” He said as he turned
to find the nearest planet about six minutes away at light speed.
It was enormous and even on the planet’s dark side it glowed with
oceans of angry red lava beneath violent storms in a thick
atmosphere impossible to breathe without genetic splicing. Methane
and sulfur was too dangerously high for even Solarians let alone
Humans without the change. “Start ferrying the people inside the
hive while I bring the hive to land.”

“
Unnecessary. Thank you so
much for giving me a way to leave my prison. I can move an I can
tell through the eyes of my Goliaths the word you chose is
absolutely perfect. All of my children are so excited.”
From the distance, Oliver watched as five Goliaths
broke away and approached to grab hold of the hive. Using the
neural chip and a scanner mounted on the top of his armored hands
he read powerful magnetic influence emanating from the massive
creature that allowed them to move despite their immense size and
weight. They were more like living magnets. It was impressive as
ever watching this happen.

Over the following hours those humans who
were inside the hive was shuttled over to the city-ship. When every
person was gone White Blossom requested sleep and slept for ten
hours after the stressful ordeal, but when she awoke she found
Oliver, the Ligers, Renee, Steven, Visor and Sparky waiting outside
her chamber. “To what do I owe this honor?”

Steven lifted his hand along with a cube. “We
never got to finish our game. Wanna see? We were tied with fifteen
points each and was your ball.”

Excitement thrilled through White Blossom as
she clapped her hands. “Yes! Yes! Yes! Wait… um can we start over?
I enjoyed it so much before we left. Can we do it all over
again?”

“
So you like Zero Ball then
I take it?” Visor chirped and ruffled his glossy
feathers.

“
Do I? it is the most
entertaining thing I’ve seen since Melanie showed me her
holographic videos and all the movies. I can play and not worry
now. I sense absolutely no taint of any nearby Feral. I haven’t
felt this relaxed in eons.” The Keptl Queen looked at peace. None
could deny that. She radiated being relaxed. “You’ve done so much
for me. I will return you my gratitude as best I’m able, but I want
to excel in this game. I like Zero Ball. So exciting.”

“
Take it easy, Big Girl!”
Renee chuckled. “We got days before your Goliaths reach the planet.
It’s slower than our sublight, but I understand wanting to do
things yourself. Still… we got loads of time to get to know each
other. After you make a male for me to study I’ll make one out of a
volunteer, but for now we can play as much as you like until I get
bored or need to deal with my duties that plague my
position.”

“
As much as I like?” White
Blossom jumped to her legs. “I like the sound of that. Herd-shell,
please widen the space where my Humans have lived all this time
till it is big enough for the big box of light can fit.”

An eye came out of a nearby
wall.
“It will take several
minutes.”
The mind of the hive informed
before eyes turned toward the hope area and watched as the walls
expanded and the floor stretched gradually.

Just as soon as there was enough space Steven
tossed it in and let the game room open and build itself so they
could play.

While entering after summoning the same Keptl
players from earlier, White Blossom laid a hand on Renee’s shoulder
to say “I’ve already begun cultivating an egg for the male. I will
lay him in three days. He will hatch in the next.” Rene took that
information quietly before playing.

For the next five days the Goliaths moved the
hive closer and closer with no additional stress or attacks. Most
of that time was spent either in long discussions with Renee as
liaison or stuck playing Zero Ball which White Blossom was addicted
to. And as promised, White Blossom allowed Renee to watch as she
laid the egg of a male. From her large abdomen’s rear a smooth,
milky white egg was pushed out with relative ease despite it being
twice the size of a human’s head. Whit Blossom confirmed that this
egg was as large as she can make and is twice the size of any other
she could produce. She could lay sever hundred Tracker eggs for the
one male.

Twenty seven hours later the egg opened to
reveal a miniature version of White Blossom, but it has much more
fearsomeness in the way of spikes and genetic knowledge. It was to
be studied at all times till fully develoed. Which to White
Blossom’s estimation would be in ten months. Second slowing growing
to maturity next to a Goliath.

Yet on the fifth day the Goliaths reached the
volatile planet and placed the hive on a relatively stable tectonic
plate. The hive extended its many limbs deep beneath the surface
and made sure it was secure before White Blossom allowed Hard-shell
to open her many pores and let all inside, out.

Scientists and others from all walks of life
watched as they got to literally witness from recordings how
dangerous the Keptl race truly was and how they evolve so
rapidly.

In that first day White Blossom freed her
brood on the planet she sent tens of thousands into the lava and as
expected, ninety nine percent were melted within moments. The
remaining who survived were severely injured and were brought
before her.

It a morbid fascination,
people watched her eat the surviving injured and didn’t need to
wait long. She laid hundreds of new eggs and let them grow before
sending them out to repeat the same process and it stunned minds
from all walks of life when
eighty
percent survived. Three out of over twenty
thousand survived without any injury and willingly let themselves
be devoured.

This third generation of Keptl were
completely immune to the extreme temperatures. All within a month.
It terrified many, but White Blossom assured the masses that it is
only because she is a pure one and not a Feral. Feral take
thousands of years to evolve while it takes her far less. She
repeated this process with all her brood types and even showed
kinds never seen before with tasks that support the workers and
solders of her swarm.

After six months living on the hostile world
where she fortified her position and build an army thanks to all
the additional resources of the enormous planet she made drastic
change to her entire brood to further separate herself from the
Feral.

She changed the carapace coloring of her
brood as well as increased a part of their mind to receive her
influence after Renee came up with revolutionary ideas after
extensive biological study on White Blossom and her brood’s
connection. The change to their outward coloring was intentional to
differentiate in combat if their armor was not on. With Renee’s aid
and guidance, White blossom could now keep in contact with her
minions using a subspace frequency that uses minimal Psionic power
that extends her range to keep her brood from going feral and
bloodthirsty insane.

Now her swarm can stay in contact within the
range of ten million light years.

This alteration allowed White Blossom to
return her gratitude. Now fifteen percent of all Terra fighters
housed a crew of Tracker, Lisk and Defiliers and were sent on
tactical missions to show their effectiveness. Dragoons and the
hulking Behemoths were too big often to keep aboard.