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Space is a graveyard

They came to destroy us ...

... Now they're humanity's only hope

The Guardian Angels race home to confront a traitor. Instead, disaster forces them into a savage battle with an invincible enemy bent on Earth's annihilation.

Can Jehu Red lead his team to victory over a power even greater than their XSeeds? Or will humanity burn on the funeral pyre of history?

If you like Super Dimension Fortress Macross and Mobile Suit Gundam, you’ll love the gripping continuation of #1 best seller Brian Niemeier’s Combat Frame XSeed saga! Back the project now and read the book before anyone else!

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Nala Prime and the Great Bug War-20

Epilogue

Inside the Inner City, Nala Prime stood before the Council of Masters in the Spire at the center of the Inner City.

“Nala, you stand before us once more.” The First Master smiled with approval.

The Second Master continued. “Your last report indicated that you located a Bug Hive and requested reinforcements. Special Team 1 answered your request. Upon your return, one of that team had disappeared entirely. Furthermore, your report indicated that you and Special Team 1 destroyed that Hive- but only through the use of unauthorized techniques and protocols.”

Nala nodded affirmatively.

“So,” the Third Master said, “you admit that you defied our ban?”

“Not your ban.” Nala answered, “I had sanction to act as I did.”

The other Masters looked at the First Master, and their bubbling rage turned towards their peer.

“The matter needed proper resolution.” the First Master said, smugly, “You could not bother to fulfill your responsibilities, so tied to your fears as you are, so I did it for you.”

“But the loss of Special Team 1-“

Green Prime entered the chamber. “I am.” Green said, “Whole and better than new.”

The other Masters looked at Green Prime, shocked. “But the reports of your behavior-“

“I was wrong.” Green said with a shrug, “Thanks to Nala’s discovery, I am here to tell you myself of that fact.”

The realization of what this meant—of what the process of transference between the Inner and Outer City meant, and how it related to the constructs and programs that they created in the Inner City—filled the other Masters with utter horror.

“GUARDS!” they cried, and the chamber filled with security programs- programs that halted as soon as they recognized Nala and the First Master.

“Seize the other Masters.” Nala cried, and then he turned to Green Prime: “Execute System Upgrade Protocol.”

Green Prime left the chamber. Within moments, echoes of commotion across the Inner City could be heard as backdoor commands throughout the system went into action.

“If we are to win against the Bugs,” the First Master explained, “then we must embrace all of our advantages and negate all of our weaknesses. As we sit on a font of endless power, power that we are the masters of shaping, not only can we match the Bugs for numbers- we can surpass them.”

Now held fast by the guards, Nala went to each of the Masters in turn and hacked into their brains.

“This Bug brain we took back revealed a lot of secrets.” Nala said as he hacked away, “Such as whom amongst our own were in league with our enemies, and how it came to be in its position; when we saw the Bug swarm coming for that Hive, and saw that it held not us as its primary targets, that’s when all of the weirdness within and about it started to come together.”

“You lot,” the First Master bellowed as he pointed at them, “thought to play them against us.”

Just then, Nala finished the hacks. “Access procured, Master.”

The First Master entered a program into each of his peers and executed it, causing them all to go into convulsions and collapse into unconsciousness. The bodies of the Masters began to change in appearance and form, becoming wholly robotic, faceless and without means of speech.

“Your fears undid you, my former peers. For your folly, I shall compel your service as penance; nevermore shall you be Users, but instead nothing more than Programs yoked by a master protocol that I know none of you could comprehend, let alone defeat.”

The faceless former Masters now arose. Lithe, once more youthful of form—if robotic, android-like—and clearly capable of deeds brutal and graceful alike they were. Yet, despite their aura of power, one with the eyes to see could sense the caged wills within straining at their prisons.

“Kneel!” bellowed the First Master, and—haltingly—they did.

“Behold, Nala, our success. The link that you made between ourselves and our creations has come to its fulfillment at last.”

Just then, Green Prime returned to the room. “Master, Nala: our plans proceed as foreseen, with the expected pockets of resistance.”

The First Master, now simply Master Prime, looked over to his rectified former peers, and he smiled once more.

“Order them to hold position and keep them pinned down.” Master Prime said, “I shall send these programs to finish the job.”

The Sky-Blue Republic won the Bug War a year later. The peace took much longer.

Nala Prime and the Great Bug War-19

Nala Prime and his team fled upward, where they swiftly dispatched the Bugs still within the Hive as they encountered them. Soon they linked up with Red Prime and his team, and as they cut their way through the waning—but fanatical—resistance within the Hive they found Blue and Yellow Prime’s breech point for exfiltration. One by one they made the climb out of the Hive and joined the latter two Primes on the roof, with Red Prime hosing down a few approaching bugs to cover the last man out: Nala Prime.

Red Prime pulled Nala Prime up and out, when Blue Prime pointed to the north. Nala and Red immediately grokked the situation.

“Into the air, now!” Nala Prime ordered. All of them stowed their personal weapons, drew the other baton and leapt into the air. Resolving and mounting their light jets, they fell into formation and flew up to see what came for them.

“It’s a massive Bug swarm.” Yellow Prime said, “I can’t make out the form of Bug.”

“It’s a new form.” Blue Prime said, making one of his leaps of logic, “This place wasn’t for us; it was for some other enemies of their elsewhere. That’s why we’ve not seen much from this Hive.”

“It won’t matter in a few moments.” Red Prime answered, “Shall we?”

“Hit it!” Nala Prime ordered, and Blue Prime detonated the explosives previously placed on the Hive’s pillars. Its structural supports shattered, the stilt-mounted Hive fell straight down into its own footprint and collapsed into a massive heap of chitinous ruins. Explosions from within ripped apart the husk, rending it asunder and causing a secondary collapse that leveled the former Hive into a pancake of insectoid remains.

Yellow Prime passed on a detailed scan of the incoming Bug swarm to the others. “Blue’s right- it’s an unknown form. All we can tell is that it’s closing in faster than other Flyer forms that we know, and they seem to possess some superior individual capabilities.”

“Such as?” Nala Prime said.

Red Prime took a look at the scans. “It’s a more conventional air formation. That’s not a massed swarm of a single type. That’s a conventional bomber formation with fighter escorts.”

The implications of that observation silenced them for a moment, and then Nala Prime spoke up once more.

“We’re done here. Recall protocols, now.” And they did, all the way to the Inner City.

Nala Prime and the Great Bug War-18

Red Prime watched over Nala 4 via the scope on his rifle, while one of his copies watched over the hatchery as a whole. The other shadowed Nala 4, shrouded in stealth protocols and armed for close combat. The latter pair stalked through the dormant Bug eggs, crept up upon the closest of these alien technicians and quickly cut him down. The second approached at that moment, so the infiltrators threw their chakrams and cut him down, but the third could not be seen from their position. Red Prime and his copy couldn’t see the remaining technician either, and let Nala 4 know.

“Keep an eye out for that last one.” Nala 4 said, curtly, “We’ll set explosives; cover us.”

Nala 4 and the Red copy supporting him quickly cover the hatchery in explosives, and as the duo completes their demolitions work Nala 4 sees a blast from an unknown weapon burn through the Red copy’s chest from behind and deresolve him. Once under cover, Nala 4 linked to Red Prime.

“Can you see him?”

Red Prime and his copy scan the room, but don’t detect him. “Nothing. He’s either well under cover or stealthed.”

Nala 4 activated his own stealth and moved out. This was now a game of cat and mouse, of two parties silently maneuvering for position before attacking from ambush and assassinating their enemy. Nala 4 watched the room, looking for tells revealing one’s presence, heightening his senses to sensitize motion. Tense moments passed before Nala 4 detected alien footfalls faintly found in the floor, a trail Nala 4 then pursued, before those sensitive senses served him well at a critical moment.

Out of the corner of his eyes, Nala 4 caught a flash and brought up his chakram to shield himself in a split-second, deflecting away the deadly shot, and then dove for cover. He locked his eyes on that position, and then Red Prime began firing upon it. This forced the technician to break out of that place, and Nala 4—now attuned to what tells to watch for—noticed the technician's flight. With one throw of the chakram, the last technician went down.

“That’s finished.” Red Prime said, annoyed, “Let’s not see any more surprises.”

Nala 4 switched scanning modes, a hunch prompting him to do so. He scowled.

“The Bug eggs are awakening. Slowly, sure, but they’re going to start hatching soon.”

“Not this shit again.” Red Prime said, “So damned predictable. You know what to do.”
Nala 4 hurried back to Red Prime’s position, and with a button he detonated the explosives. The eggs immediately splattered about the chamber, and the Hive shook. Shortly thereafter, the surviving three got the signal from Nala Prime to exfiltrate- and with flames engulfing the chamber quickly, they needed no further reason to quit their position. Once more with rifles in hand, they fled the hatchery and moved to link up with Nala Prime.

Nala Prime and the Great Bug War-17

Nala Prime and his team approached the very center of the Hive. They expected a Queen Bug, but did not find one within. They found, instead, a dull grey humanoid of androgynous sex and features that can only be described as minimalist: its eyes, ears, nose and mouth were the barest possible to act as intended. Its legs seemed Man-like, as did its arms, but again only enough to function as intended; it seemed to be a proto-Man figure.

Once the group settled in, they listened as it walked about the strangely void chamber. Thought none of their gear or protocols could pinpoint it, all of them felt great potential energy- but energy low of frequency. Then, remembering back to their educations, they shifted their perceptions back to those basics imparted to them many years ago in the Academy: now, though faint, they noticed the network of drawn circles on the floor- circles mirrored on the chamber’s roof.

Without words, Nala Prime signed to the others “User?”

The other Nalas and the Reds nodded their concurrence, and they prepared their usual plan for taking down a User: attack from stealth in close-quarters, incapacitate the target before it can react and then lock down the User’s ability to enact protocols. They awaited the signal, which came from the room below when Red Prime’s team engaged the Bugs in the Hatchery. Their target immediately spun about the room, raw power shooting from an outstretched hand and channeling it into the master node of the circle system.

Nala Prime chopped at the air, signaling an immediate attack. The group, going invisible, rushed the alien target and tackled him to the floor before it could seal itself off. The Blues and the Reds got off and spiked the circle system with their batons, draining the power in the system and funneling it to them- power they badly needed. Then they drew their chakrams.
They needed those weapons, because the Nalas found that their target, to their surprise, was a construct- an android! It flung them all aside with some violence and leapt to its feet, resolving blades into each hand and attacking the Reds and Blues.

“Black Knight Neutralization!” Nala Prime bellowed, “NOW!”

As the Nalas got to their feet and drew their swords and chakrams, they watched their target take on the Blues and Reds—fighting as a unit—and matched them blow-for-blow, step-for-step without apparent strain. Nalas 2 and 3 joined the melee and soon found that their added numbers did not help; the User demonstrated a mastery of awareness, acumen and athleticism that they found previously only amongst the greatest of the Sons of Ken or the Knights of the Azure Flame.

Nala Prime drew his chakram, prepared to throw and took aim. Roaring with a barbaric yalp, Nala hurled his chakram at the User. Each of the others, in swift succession, disengaged just enough to throw their own before rejoining the fight. The User fell into a stance and weaved his blades such that he created a swift-pivoting wall of steel, and the others did not let up their assault upon the User for a few critical moments.

Nala Prime, again invisible, leapt high into the air. Using a protocol to enhance his hang-time, he plucked each chakram out of the air and hurled them down from directly above the User. Each struck a limb, severing it, save his own. He held that in hand as he landed. The now-limbless android sputtered helplessly as Nala Prime approached it.

“Game over.” Nala Prime pronounced, “You lose, User.”

Nala Prime decapitated the User and took its head in hand. “Change of plans. We take the head with us and hack it in the lab. Time to exfiltrate- signal Red Prime and move out.

Nala Prime and the Great Bug War-16

Yellow Prime breached the roof of the Hive from within, and was the first to climb out. Both of the Greens followed, and last was Blue 5. The four of them set beacons and dropped lines back inside so the others could easily home in on their position, and then they took up defensive positions- time to wait. The four of them split their attention within and without, keeping eyes on the skies and the Hive at all times, rotating positions periodically.

The Greens glanced at each other often, maintaining a private and silent dialog. Words were not needed between them, as each knew the other’s mind; they weren’t trusted any longer, believed by the others to be compromised emotionally and thus an operational hazard, so why should they stick around? Why not bug out? Why not take the earliest possible opportunity to get the hell out of there and head back to the Inner City- and then let the Masters know what went down? Sounds like a plan, doesn’t it? That’s what the Greens thought.

Of course, Nala Prime anticipated it. Of course, Blue 5 and Yellow Prime figured it out during their transit to their current position. The Greens, now caught up in a paranoia feedback loop, tried to out-think their erstwhile colleagues- and that sort of logical thought wasn’t their strength. The best the two Greens could do was to assume that Blue 5 had their number, and that he kept Yellow Prime in the loop, so if they just edged out and ran in different directions one of them would get away because they could outrun and out-maneuver both Yellow Prime and Blue 5 should they decide to pursue them.

Then they decided that pursuit could not be risked, assuming that their comrades would see a breakout attempt coming, so they decided to ambush Blue 5 and Yellow Prime and disable them such as to guarantee their escape. This too they considered deeply, until their uniformity of thought ceased as one Green favored flight while the other favored fight. Their glances turned to scowls, then to glares, as they increasingly focused on each other instead of on Blue 5 and Yellow Prime.

Without warning, one of the Greens attacked the other with a sword. The other blocked with a chakram and drew his sword. The two Greens, fighting with chakram and sword, soon forgot that Blue 5 and Yellow Prime ignored them both and slipped back down inside the Hive- just in case. As one would expect from two perfect copies fighting each other, they mirrored each other move for move as their clash left simple melee combat and turned to the tossing of their chakrams in vain attempts to trick one off his line and thus leave an opening for a chakram to strike home and end it in deresolving one Green so the other could flee.

Below, Yellow Prime and Blue 5 looked at each other in exasperated bemusement; at any other time, this would be hilarious to witness. Right now, it’s tragic and stupid; both hoped that one Green would get the other and get on with their scheme. After about 15 minutes, they decided to put an end to this farce: they shot both Greens, knocking each off balance and thus unable to block the other’s chakram. The shattered remnants of both Greens rained upon Blue 5 and Yellow Prime as they climbed.

Nala Prime and the Great Bug War-15

Red Prime finished off yet another Bug with a burst of blaster fire, and then took a moment to asset his team’s condition. It wasn’t good, but within Nala Prime’s expectations—expectations that he shared—and that meant that things went accordingly to plan, so far. According to the clock running on his helmet’s user interface, he and his team endured near-constant contact with the Bugs for about an hour. The Yellow copies got overrun and deresolved about 15 minutes ago, after they got separated from the group in the last ambush, and that took an already thin group past the point of sustainability.

“Form up.” Red Prime bellowed, “We’re on the move.”

The remaining copies of Special Team 1 reformed around Red Prime, and as a group—covering all six possible avenues of assault—they moved through the Hive towards their objective, below the center of the Hive; the Hatchery, if this Hive conformed to previous experiences, would rest below where the Hive’s commander—previously, a Queen Bug—and the eggs it spawned would drop to that Hatchery to be tended by specialized Drones. The now four-man team managed to avoid or cut-short several more Bug contacts, and then it came upon what usually would be the Hatchery.

What they found, instead, was a large laboratory with complex—and inorganic, apparently—machinery that stored Bugs in various states of development. Some, indeed, were eggs. Others were larval forms, and still others were mature forms. Amongst these Bugs were something far more familiar, far more telling in their very presence: obviously humanoid figures, in positions of authority, acting not just as the specialized Drones of previous experiences but also as technicians.

Red Prime waived Nala 4 up to him and pointed at the scene before them. Nala 4 took a long look at them, and then he waived the others forward and had them all stay out of sight.

“The Bugs are not a problem if we can take out the technicians first, quietly.” Nala 4 said, “But we need to do it fast. If we botch one take-down, the remaining ones will react and likely wake up the Bugs. If that happens, we’re as good as dead.”

Red Prime checked the readout on his blaster rifle; it read low, which mimicked the readouts of his internal power levels- he felt spent, but not yet completely drained, and this time to rest did help to replenish his reserves. His copies, and Nala 4, looked similarly depleted and vulnerable.

“No time to rest?” Red Prime asked, knowing the most likely answer.

“Almost none; take it now, while you can.” Nala 4 said, giving Red Prime that likely answer.

“I assume you’re looking at using a stealth protocol and making close-quarters takedowns, due to our low power levels?”

Nala 4 nodded affirmatively. He put his blaster rifle in his lap, gripped it by the two hand-holds and deresolved it back into a simple baton. Putting it away into a leg shealth, Nala 4 instead drew forth his chakram; Red Prime and his two copies comprehended immediately Nala 4’s intention.

“Red 3, go with Nala 4.” Red Prime ordered, “Red 2, you’re with me on Spotter detail.”

Red Prime reshaped his rifle out of its compact, close-quarters mode and into its sniper mode. Red 2 activated a protocol on his helmet that gave him a full suite of personal sensors suitable for being a sniper’s spotter. Red 3 also deresolved his rifle, and sheathed the baton; he also drew his chakram. Red Prime and Nala 4 nodded at each other, and then Nala 4 and Red 3 went invisible and began the slow crawl into the Hatchery-cum-Laboratory.

Nala Prime and the Great Bug War-14

The Bug defense turned into a relentless onslaught. Now in close-quarters, the range advantage turned to the Bugs. Only with the superior skill and experience did Nala Prime, Special Team 1 and their copies—those still alive—withstand that assault and blasted, hacked and slashed their way through and penetrate deep into the Hive. Once they broke through, quickly did they rush out of sight and away from the still-converging Bugs; once satisfied as to their distance, the band paused.

“What’s the plan now, Nala Prime?” Red Prime asked, “Because I doubt that splitting back into sections will work.”

“Correct.” Blue Prime said with a nod, “But staying together like this invites continued Bug attack that could jeopardize the mission.”

“You’re both right.” Nala Prime affirmed, “So here’s what we’re going to do. Yellow Prime will take the Greens and Blue 5; they’re going to sneak their way to the top of the Hive and prepare our escape route, where they’re going to stay unless called for. Red Prime, take the Nala 4, Reds 4 and 5 and the Yellows; go find and blow up their hatchery. Everyone else goes with me as we make for the Bug Mastermind and hack his brain.”

The others said, as one, “Understood.”

People shuffled around to their new assignments, but before the group split up the Nalas quickly conferred amongst themselves. Then Nala 3 handed off thumb-sized crystals to Red and Yellow Prime, who each sublimated the crystals and absorbed the contents therein. Comprehending what the Nalas gave to them, Red and Yellow Prime saluted Nala Prime before gathering up their assigned men and heading in different directions.

Nala Prime looked over his group. He knew he could trust his own copies, and he trusted the Blues to go along with what he had in mind. Getting the Greens and the Yellows out of the way, lest they screw up what’s to come, seemed sensible to him- especially after some of the Greens already got compromised by the events of the mission. Give the Reds military objectives, and they’ll be fine; they’re here to fight a war, not to quibble about philosophy.

“Red 2, take point. Red 3, bring up the rear. Nalas 2 and 3, go with them. The Blues, Nala 4 and Nala 5 will be with me in the center.” Nala Prime said.

Nala Prime and his copies led his group carefully through the Hive, crawling through its interior and swiftly removing those Bugs discovered that they could not avoid. The faint echoes of combat hit their ears, assuring them that Red Prime’s group indeed kept the Bugs busy by making noise and then doing hit-and-run engagements. Nala Prime’s tap on Yellow Prime informed him that, as expected, the Greens had no problem following Yellow Prime back out of the Hive; they also revealed that they too shared the thoughts of the other Greens- but were now too scared to act on them.

“Yellow Prime, no doubt, awaits their sudden—but inevitable—betrayal.” Nala Prime thought.

Nala Prime and the Great Bug War-13

Furthest back, near the gateway, Nala Prime and Section 1 mounted up on their bikes and—in stealth mode—made their way through the ruins.

“Red Prime’s section carves a path through the ruins.” Nala Prime said, “We’re going to follow some distance behind them while Yellow Prime leads his section against the Fliers and ties them up.”

“Understood.” Section 1 said, and the five of them kept quiet as the other sections moved around them.

Nala Prime kept track of the other sections not visible to him through an overlayed user interface. By way of this monitor protocol, he tracked the deresolution of Yellow 3 as well as the death of Green Prime. He, along with the rest of Section 1, witnessed the impressive aerial displays as well as the ground combat. He saw Blue Prime’s section swiftly move after Yellow Prime’s section breeched the Hive, riding their bikes right up the pillar of the Hive. Then he saw Green Prime’s fall and demise when he smashed into the Hive from above.

“My counterparts are acting as I expected.” Nala Prime thought, “Are the other Greens also compromised?”

Then Green 1 spoke up. “These Bugs, aside from any possible ambushes, aren’t able to fight us effectively. This can’t go on.”

Nala Prime already suspected it, but Yellow got there first: “Don’t jinx it.”

“No, Green 1 is correct.” Blue 1 said, “I fully expect the circumstances to shift into the Bugs’ favor once we’re inside. Having made this much of a commotion, there is no way that we won’t meet stiff resistance once the battlefield shifts to their advantage.”

Red 1 nodded, concurring.

The group passed by the sight of Yellow 3’s deresolution, now another place piled up with Bug corpses and blasted environs. Ahead they saw Red Prime’s section grouped up similar to themselves, riding on bikes, now that Blue Prime’s section had achieved the breech. As they saw Yellow Prime’s section mop up the Fliers, both they and Red Prime accelerated and followed Blue Prime’s lead in riding their bikes straight up the side and gain the breech themselves.

Within, as Blue 1 predicted, the Bugs regrouped and counterattacked. Red Prime’s section immediately dismounted and opened fire with their blaster rifles. Nala Prime signaled to his section to follow, and they too dismounted; rifles resolved into their waiting arms, they added their firepower to the others and slowly drove the Bugs back. With Yellow Prime’s section landing behind them and joining the fight, Nala Prime felt that the next phase had arrived.

“All sections, status!”

“Section 5, down two: Lost Green and Yellow.”

“Section 4, down one: Lost Green.”

“Section 3, down one: Lost Green.”

“Section 2, all present.”

“Section 1, all present.”

Greens 1 and 2 could not help but feel put upon at that moment, but neither them knew about Section 4’s mutiny against Green Prime or how Section 3 deliberately sacrificed Green 3 to ensure that the mission’s next phase would go ahead by slapping some bombs on him and kicking him at a hulking warrior Bug form blocking their way to a vital access shaft. However, they couldn’t avoid feeling that they—more than anyone else—were utterly expendable.

Nala Prime and the Great Bug War-12

Green Prime resolved his copies and inspected their integrity.

“I am Green Prime. This is Section 4 and the mission is go.”

Green Prime saw Nala 4 smile. “Wipe that smile off your face. I don’t like what’s happening, and after this is over I’ll see that your original gets dragged back before a committee to account for all of this.”

Red 4 scowled. “What’s our status?”

“The other sections are in motion. We’ll soon follow. We’re to make a direct run on the Hive, but not the fastest one. The other sections will clear a path; we slip through during the commotion.”

“Understood.”

The others did not say so with the conviction of the other sections, but Green Prime failed to notice as they took to the air- not in light jets, but instead launching high into the air via teleportation. Once at top altitude, each man activated a glide-pack resolved from their backplates and controlled their descent down upon the Hive.

“Once we’ve breached the Hive, we’re to fix beacons to guide the other sections to our position.” Nala 4 said, “We then hold position until we meet up with the others.”

Nala 4 noticed that Green Prime did not share the others silent consent; Green Prime’s body language gave away the man’s dislike of the situation, and Nala 4 saw that it now affected Green Prime’s judgment significantly. He suspected—but did not know—that this would spread to his copies, and he looked over to Red 4. Their eyes locked, and in a moment the two most assertive of the five concurred on a decision. They saw, similarly, that Blue also concurred; Yellow, they knew, would go along with it.

As they descended, they saw that at least two other sections engaged the Fliers patrolling about the Hive and then launching from within the Hive. They knew that one stood about the base setting the demolition charges, confirmed as they saw a group of light bikes racing straight up the Hive’s pillar after the airborne section breached the Hive and opened a hole. Nala, Red and Blue 4 looked at each other and nodded; Red and Blue 4 seized Green Prime by the limbs as Nala planted explosives on him, and then tore off Green Prime’s glide pack.

“What are you doing?”

“Ensuring the success of the mission.” Nala 4 said, “You’re compromised.”

“You can’t do this!”

“The First Founder and I already accounted for this contingency.” Nala 4 countered, and he signaled to Red and Blue. Green Prime plummeted in uncontrolled freefall, blowing up upon impact with the Hive.

Yellow 4 looked on, but did nothing. “What you do mean, Nala?”

“Remember what Blue Prime said before we started?”

The realization came over them, and they looked at Nala once more aghast.

“That’s right, brothers.” Nala said, “He and I have this all figured out. We can’t fail.”

Nala Prime and the Great Bug War-11

Yellow Prime resolved the copies of the others and checked them for integrity. Satisfied, he said “We are Section 2, I am Yellow Prime and the mission is go.”

Nala 2 smiled.

“What’s our status?” Red 2 asked.

“We’re going to attack the Hive from the sky, provoking it to release Fliers and providing cover for the other sections as they move to breech and infiltrate the Hive. Once they’re in, we to break off and rendezvous with them inside to continue to the mission.”

“Understood.”

Section 2 drew their batons from sheaths on their bodies and leapt into the air. In one smooth motion, they split the batons and—anchored in those baton sections—resolved their light jets as they fell to earth. Once fully-formed, the engines ignited and the quintet swiftly ascended into the sky- and in perfect formation.

“Time to poke the nest.” Red 2 said, and he accelerated to attack speed. The others followed and they unleashed a series of strafing runs against the Hive. At first, no response came from the Hive; instead, Fliers on patrol moved to intercept Section 2.

“That’s disappointing.” Yellow Prime said with a sigh.

“Wrap them up in a cocoon.” Red 2 commanded, and as one Section 2 flicked on the light walls in their wake. They carefully coordinated their movements against the Fliers, covering each other’s tails in an aerial acrobatics display that seemed more like the choreographed performances of the Old World than practical dogfighting. When a Flier got too close to one of the section, another of the section shot it down without hesitation. The light walls became the weave of the cocoon, against which Fliers would crash in greater numbers and then fall to Earth where the impact would kill off those not slain by their mid-air collision with the light walls.

More Fliers launched from the Hive, and in greater numbers, but they—like the others—lacked any ability to return fire. Numbers themselves being easy to counter, Section 2 exploited their superior armaments and mobility to make a mockery of the Bugs. Colliding into airborne walls, shot down by blaster fire or tricked into crashing into the Hive itself- all this and more resulted in the risky move by Red 2, whereby he affixed a set of potent demolitions charges to a pursuing Flier in a deft aerial move and then Nala 2 shot it down near the Hive. The resulting collision detonated the charges, breeching the Hive and opening a hole for another section known to be below.

“This is too easy!” Blue 2 said, “None of these Bug forms are armed with anything that’s useful in our way of warfare.”

“Don’t jinx it!” Green 2 shot back.

“Clean these Bugs up.” Red 2 ordered, “We’ve got a rendezvous to keep.”

Section 2 did jus t that, and the skies soon belonged to the Sky-Blue Republic. One by one they flew into the breach and landed to continue the mission.

Nala Prime and the Great Bug War-10

Red Prime resolved his copies and checked them for integrity. Satisfied, he addressed them: “We are Section 5, I am Red Prime and the mission is go.”

Nala 5 smiled, but Green 5 cut him off. “I can’t believe we’re doing this.”

“Belief is not required, Green.” Blue 5 said.

Yellow 5, Nala 5 and Red Prime nodded in concurrence.

“File your protest after the fact.” Red said, “Now, here’s the plan. We’re going to hit that group of workers over there and overrun them. We need to be loud and stompy. This will provoke the Hive to send Fliers after us. We’re going to run interference on the ground for the other sections for a while, until one of them breaches the Hive. Once that happens, we stop playing here and go join the party.”

“Understood.”

Section 5 drew their batons and resolved blaster rifles into their arms. Then, on Red Prime’s signal, they attacked the workers. Caught by surprise, the sudden barrage of blaster fire ripped apart the worker Bugs and then their warrior escorts without any chance for counterattack. Red Prime got the last Bug, but—as planned—let the alien get off an alarm before tearing the thing’s body to shreds.

“Time to intercept?” Nala 5 inquired as he double-checked the enemy casualties.

“No launch yet.” Green 5 said.

“We raid until they do.” Red Prime commanded, and Section 5 obeyed. Flashes of blaster fire and fires from flaming corpses spread throughout the Hive’s dig sites, each one overrun by Red Prime and Section 5 in turn. Unable to ignore the attacks, the Hive dispatched Fliers to deal with Section 5- and got shot out of the sky from their coordinated ground fire.

“That got their attention.” Yellow 5 said, “These Fliers have no shooting attacks. Neither do the ground Bugs. There’s no way that this Hive will just throw Bugs at us until we win, right?”

“We have no way to know that for certain.” Blue 5 said, “The presence of the Bug Mastermind changes all that we know of their adaptation capabilities.”

“We’ve got company coming up from below.” Green 5 said, “Diggers!”

Erupting from the ground came a group of giant-sized Bugs with massive mandibles meant for deft digging, and glands that extruded some acidic substance meant to make digging easier. One of them erupted beneath Yellow 5, capturing him in its mandibles fast and—before its violent emergence completed—snapped Yellow 5 in half. Shattered, the copy fell apart and deresolved instantaneously.

“Crap!” Green 5 said, “NALA! I thought we were as good as the originals!”

Nala 5, fully in the moment, did not hear Green 5 or Yellow 5 as he reacted without thought to the new arrivals. With his rifle, he blasted one down at point-blank range, and then tossed his chakram at a second closing from the flank while he engaged a third coming from behind and hosed it down with rifle fire. The chakram, energized as usual, sliced through the Digger’s armored carapace with aplomb and cut it in half before returning to Nala 5’s hand- and then to its sheath.

“There’s your answer.” Red Prime said, “Now get your head straight.”

Nala Prime and the Great Bug War-09

Blue Prime watched the copies of Nala, Red, Yellow and Green resolve before him in the water. Once he satisfied himself of their integrity, he signaled for them to follow him ashore where they crept into a cave-like ruin.

“What’s our status?” Red said.

“The mission is still go.” Blue Prime said, “We are Section 3, and I am Blue Prime.”

Nala 3 smiled. “It worked.”

The others nodded, and then Green 3 asked “What is the status of the other sections?”

“Unknown.” Blue Prime said, “We’re under silence until the rendezvous point inside the Hive.”

“Understood.”

The five members of Blue Prime’s Section 3 carefully negotiated their way to the Hive’s pillar base, where they took great care in planting and concealing a series of demolition charges keyed to a no-win remote trigger. While Blue Prime and Nala 3 focused on the charges, Red 3 took Green and Yellow 3 to intercept and dispatch Bug sentries before they could raise an alarm.

“Blue, we’re going to raise an alarm soon.” Nala 3 said, passing a charge, “If that leader is as I think it is, then it maintains contact with the drones. As soon as it notices that these drones are gone, we’re going to have company.”

“Understood.” Blue Prime said, setting the charge.

Nala 3 turned to the others. “Get ready for Fliers!”

Section 3 watched several groups of Fliers launch out of the Hive far up into the sky, but none of them descended towards them. Distantly, they noticed one dogfight going on that involved another section.

“Not yet.” Red 3 said, “But soon they’ll come for us.”

“Done.” Blue Prime said as he finished the final link in the set.

Just then, some ways above them, they saw one of the other sections blow a hole into the Hive.

“Ascension now!” Red 3 ordered, “There’s our door, so let’s get inside.”

Grabbing batons from their holsters, Section 3 resolved their personal bikes and, with a quick hack, shot up the side of the Hive as if on level ground. Green 3 saw some Fliers peel off to come for them and flashed a warning.

“Acknowledged.” Red 3 said, and then ordered “Let’s make some bows for them.”

All five bikes flicked on their light walls and rode in close formation, the brilliant walls revealing their location. The Fliers closed quickly, now seen as a group three times their number, and lacking any ranged attack forms.

“Point-Defense Protocol!” Red 3 bellowed, and he—along with the others—drew their chakrams from their back sheaths and energized them. As the lead Flier dove to attack, they threw their weapons; all five, unerringly, struck and sliced through the gigantic flying insect before returning to their hands. A few more flew in, and as one got shredded in the same manner two more got lured into the bikes’ light walls and crashed.

“Not long now.” Nala 3 said.

Just then, one of the other section strafed the attacking Fliers from his light jet- and caused one to crash into the light wall left in his wake while shooting down many more. The hole in the Hive fast approached, and the Point-Defense system held off the attacking Fliers as Section 3 breached the Hive one-by-one.

Nala Prime and the Great Bug War-08

Nala crept into a well-concealed position on the outskirts of the Old World ruins and then signaled to the others: “Nala Prime to Special Team Sections, report in.”

Concealed hull-down in an overgrown brush: “Green Prime, standing by.”

Concealed under a camouflage protocol deep within the ruins: “Yellow Prime, standing by.”

Just under the water in the large, freshwater lake: “Blue Prime, standing by.”

Standing outside a work gang in the ruins, Red said “Red Prime, standing by.”

Nala looked at the map superimposed over his vision, showing the five of them spread out evenly around the Hive, and with each of them ready to execute their part of the plan.

“All sections, resolve and attack!”

Nala activated the backups, resolving copies of Special Team 1 about him. He turned to them, gave each of them a quick evaluation for integrity, and smiled- it worked.

“This is Section 1, and you are Special Team 1. I am Nala Prime, and we are to continue the mission.”

“Understood.” The copies of Special Team 1 nodded, and then Red asked “What’s our status?”

“Hive’s there.” Nala said, pointing to it, “Diversions are in place and underway, and under cover of those diversions we’ll slip into the Hive and rendezvous with our reinforcements before moving on to the objective. Then we hack the enemy leader’s mind, set the Hive to blow and then exfiltrate.”

“Hitting as a unit?” Yellow asked, and Nala nodded.

Blue looked at Nala with a crocked eyebrow, but before he spoke he looked at himself and the others of Special Team 1.

“What’s our designation, Nala Prime?” Blue asked.

“Section 1. You are all Section 1.”

“You did it, didn’t you?” Blue 1 said, “We’re copies, but the originals aren’t dead. What did you agree to designate us?”

“Each copy appends the section number to their name.”

“So,” Green said, shocked, “You’re the original Nala.”

“No.” Nala Prime said, “I am the first Nala. Each of you are the perfect copies of the first Special Team 1. Should you survive, and the Prime not, you become the Prime.”

Yellow 1 then spoke up. “Nala Prime, what if none of us make it?”

Blue interjected right then. “If he worked with the First Founder for this project, and this is a field test, then lab tests already occurred and succeed. The First Founder isn’t about to let such a man be lost to mortality like that.”

Nala Prime nodded. “I can’t confirm or deny that he did so, but if I know the Old Man as well as I think I do, then he probably did back all of us up. However, unless he remotely synced with us, those backups will lack our knowledge.”

“Irrelevant. We’re immortal.” Red said, “That has consequences, Nala Prime.”

“We’ll see.” Nala Prime said, as he—along with the others—took notice of the Hive sending out Fliers to deal with the sudden explosions denoting the other sections making their moves. “Move out!”

Nala Prime and the Great Bug War-07

Special Team 1 sat back, wordlessly proclaiming their disbelief.

“Yes, I do recall that the Bugs took notice of our presence. Yes, I am aware that another infiltration will be far more difficult. Yes, I do recall that we are only a small team of brothers and not the vanguard of an army. That does not worry me, because I know how to use all of these facts to our advantage.”

Special Team 1 did not seem convinced, let alone impressed.

“We’re going to split up and infiltrate along different vectors, with a rendezvous point set by the first of us to breach the Hive.”

The four of them looked at Nala as if he proclaimed fire to be ice.

“But first, we’re going to sync up and copy our emergency restore files to each others’ systems. Once each of us begins infiltration, we initiate those restores.”

“Wait a moment.” Yellow said, “Is this going where I think it is?”

Nala nodded. “I’ve continued the work I began at the Academy, under the mentorship of the First Founder, and in the Inner City I devised a working protocol that gets around the problems with the restoration protocols.”

“You came up with a hack?” Yellow asked.

“Better.” Nala answered, “I upgraded it.”

Blue, again faster than the rest, got to the point. “Yet we don’t have it, and we’re amongst the first to receive the new stuff. Therefore I conclude that your upgrade hasn’t yet received final approval from the Masters, and it hasn’t gotten that approval because there aren’t any records of a successful field test.”

“I dislike being deployed as a test dummy. That’s what test programs are for.” Green said, dismayed.

Now Red tapped his head, remembering something. “I remember your thesis!” he said, “Yours was the first thesis not to be freely disseminated by the Academy after its acceptance and defense in a generation.”

“Three, actually.” Nala smiled. “It’s a distinction truly earned.”

“It got flagged for review by Internal Affairs under the Eden Clause.” Red continued, “I sat on the review committee at the time, so that’s why and how I got a copy.”

Blue’s eyes now perked up, his curiosity aroused. “Oh, really?”

“Nala here submitted a lengthy thesis, under the sponsorship of the First Founder, laying out the case that there was no difference between a sufficiently-complex program and we human beings- and, as such, we could easily use this fact to advance ourselves far beyond the limitations of Mankind. By the same token, we could no longer afford to regard our most sophisticated constructs as mere automatons but instead as fellows like us- or even as us entirely, as wholly-created humans. The key element to his argument, backed up with experimental data as well as building upon past generations’ work on similar queries, rested upon the very process that occurs when we cross to or from the Inner City.”

The other three members of Special Team 1 looked aghast at Nala, and he just smiled at them.

“What was the committee’s decision?” Yellow asked of Red.

“After one session, where we interviewed the First Founder about it, we concluded without dissent that—though disturbing and radical—Nala had not violated the Eden Clause and would not be sanctioned in any way. However, his thesis would remain locked away under the Masters’ Seal.”

Before Green or Yellow could follow up, Blue again got to the point.

“Nala figured out how to get around the Fork Fracture problem.” Blue exclaimed, his voice trembling slightly as he fixed his eyes upon the man, “The implications of this breakthrough are-“

“-revolutionary. Yes, I know. The First Founder took me on as a student for a reason.” Nala proclaimed, “The Masters have reservations. They want proof that it will work as intended before formal recognition, and subsequent publication to the fellowship.”

Nala paused, letting the fullness of this information steep in their minds.

“If we succeed, this means that the war will be won within the year.”

“And failure?” Red inquired.

“If what Nala intends works, failure is impossible.” Blue answered.

Nala Prime and the Great Bug War-06

The brothers soon returned to concealment and reviewed the information gotten from the Son of Ken, using it now as a holographic playback device.

“It seems that the Sons had the same idea that we did.” Red said as he watched the playback of the Son’s infiltration of the Hive’s perimeter.

“They’re not fools, so they think of this place as a possible hunting ground.” Blue said, as the group watched the Son stalk, slay and consume a worker Bug form, “I think, however, that they are not capable of dealing with the heavy airborne presence.”

They watched as the Son alerted the Hive inadvertently, having noticed the digs and could not comprehend any reason to dig up Old World ruins. He attempted to flee, got cornered and then fought his way out only to be hounded and cornered repeatedly over a series of days before fatigue and wounds finally weakened him enough for a Bug to put him down. Most of this occurred by the Flyers, as he could not long evade them or easily dispatch them.

“Impressive.” Red said admiringly, “He made them pay.”

“He did not get a good price.” Blue said, unmoved. “Bug life is cheap, and these forms are no different from any we already encountered.”

“Halt playback.” Nala said, and the image froze. “Repeat the direct encounters between the Son and the Bugs, slowly.”

Yellow did as asked, and during the first encounter between the Son and the Fliers Nala again called a halt. Again, the image froze, and Nala called out a distant image behind the Fliers about to get into close quarters with the Son. Without being asked, Yellow isolated it and brought it out for easy of inspection.

“Watch closely.” Nala said, pointing out a connection between the image and the Bug about to attack the Son, “I think we have our lead.”

The playback resumed, and there seemed to be a brief flash of light between the two. The Bug then appeared to be far more skilled in close combat than Fliers usually are in their experience, yet still got cut down. Before another engaged the Son, there was another flash and the phenomenon repeated itself. Noting the pattern, the group saw this persist throughout the playback. Finally, as the final Bug struck that fatal blow, the Son locked eyes—as it were—with its slayer and its eyes glowered with some sentience heretofore lacking in the Bugs.

“Nala, you’re right- something intelligent is behind these Bugs.” Green said, his voice quivering in disgust. “That’s malevolence of a very personal sort. This Son wasn’t merely on the wrong side of an impersonal part of life, but actively hated and willfully murdered.”

The rest of the playback consisted of other Bug forms, heretofore unknown to the brothers, of a sort that mocked the human form in grotesque and obscene ways attempted to communicate with the Son- and torturing him. One, larger than the rest, observed and managed the Bugs doing the work; this also glowered at the Son, hate in its eyes.

“That Bug, Special Team, is our primary objective.” Nala said as he pointed back to the Hive, “That Bug Hive is where we need to go to get to him.”

“Five against a Hive?” Yellow shook his head in disbelief. “Nala, you can’t be serious.”

“I am serious, and I have a plan.”

Nala Prime and the Great Bug War-05

The five brothers affixed their personal tethers to the gateway, which they concealed under a camouflage protocol, checked themselves and each other for readiness and then embarked down into what was once a thriving freshwater port and its surrounding suburbs in the Old World. Using a variant of the bike construct popular amongst the people of the Sky-Blue Republic, enhanced with stealth and speed hacks, the team swiftly descended into the ruins. Discreetly they scouted, sighted, scanned and identified the Bug forms that they found as they sought for clues to the governing intelligence that they believed to be present.

Silently, using only hand signs, the quintet progressed through their search for some time. As the sun soared through the sky, soon to fall behind the hills and cast the ruins into shadow, they paused at one of the many dig sites. Nala then pointed down into the open dig and motioned to enhance their vision: below was a humanoid figure, prone and unmoving.

Without deliberation, Nala dismissed his bike and motioned for Blue and Yellow to follow him. The three leapt down into the pit; Red and Green assumed an over-watch position, expecting trouble. Without missing a beat, the three landed, rolled to their feet in a single motion and approached the figure- now clearly one of the Sons of Ken, as his snow-white hairless skin and sunken yellow eyes made clear.

This Son fought the Bugs, and did not conquer- that much was obvious. Yellow checked his pulse while Blue used a diagnostic protocol to check for other injuries- or surprises; he wasn’t dead just yet, but had lost too much blood to survive and could not be moved due to mortal internal and external wounds. They looked to Nala, and Nala signed his response: fix the frame on him.

Blue and Yellow resolved a chestplate similar to their own while Nala made a copy of his chakram and affixed it to the backplate. They waited for the chakram to synchronize to the mind of the dying Son, and then Nala went to work using the inside circle as a holographic computer interface to initiate a rapid backup of the Son’s memories to the chakram.

Red and Green scanned the ground and the sky, watching for a reaction, and distantly they found it. A fast-moving Flyer group raced in their direction straight from the Hive, and Red linked his visual feed to Nala.

“As expected.” Nala thought, “This confirms that there is an intelligent Bug form present.”

The download finished well within the time before interception, and Nala detached the disc from the backplate. With his free hand, Nala ordered Blue and Yellow to rig the Son for a glorious death; they did so, and the three leapt out of the pit in a single bound. Regrouped, Nala gave the sign to exfiltrate and the five of them used their teleportation protocols to return to the gateway. As soon as their protocols reassembled their forms at the gateway and they got back their bearings, they witnessed the Flyers getting blown up by the bombs that they left behind- conveniently deresolving all evidence of their presence.

Nala Prime and the Great Bug War-04

The others took a look at the hive below.

“Brothers, we need to know just what is going on down there. This is reconnaissance, not engagement, so stealth and discretion is required. We can’t properly cure this infestation if we don’t know what they’re here for and how they get it.”

Getting out of sight of the Bug Hive, Nala and the Special Team sat in a circle as they created a holographic map of the area.

“Creating a Hive in the ruins of a major port suggests to me that the Bugs are not nothing more than alien insects of a rapacious nature.” Nala said, “Their activity suggests not only intelligence, but a level of knowledge regarding the sciences and the technology one may make of them.”

“It also suggests experience with warfare against life forms similar to us.”

“Correct, Red.” Nala said, acknowledging Red’s astute observation.

Another spoke. “While we’re quite capable of doing without access to the lake’s water, many of our allies are not so fortunate.”

“Especially if they’re still dealing with predation by the Sons of Ken.” Red said.

“Yellow’s political assessment is also correct.” Nala said, “You begin now to see the threat that this Hive presents.”

Another now spoke. “Is it correct that this specific Hive has not engaged in offensive action, but instead acts as a node in a logistical network? I notice that combat-specific Bug forms are few, and that they focus on rapid-response forms. This suggests a security force, not a staging ground, and therefore I suggest that what this Hive has for a mission has less to do with battles and more to do with strategic or economic concerns.”

Nala nodded. “Blue, you’re sharp mind never fails to amaze me.”

“Blue’s noticed what I noticed, and I think I know why.” The fourth spoke now. “These ruins are between the Bugs and what I noticed with previous operations in and near Bug Hives, which is the very natural world itself. They’re an alien life form, so they cannot help but to either adapt to our world or make our world adapt to them. As they are insectoid in nature, what they’re doing is to impose their form of life upon our world.”

“That would explain why the Sons of Ken are also opposed to the Bugs.” Yellow said, “I think that we could have quite the change in affairs if we could provide proof to the Sons that we share a common enemy.”

“At least they would lay off of us for a while.” Green said, wryly.

“So,” Red said as he turned to Nala, “what are we looking for?”

“Information, Red. I think that this Hive, being that it’s one that links up so many closer to home with points further north, has a higher-order Bug form somewhere within its perimeter. If not, then I am certain that something else exists within that space which performs the same function. Nothing else explains why this Hive isn’t constantly throwing war-form Bugs at us. We’re going in there, we’re going to find it and then we’re going to pull a job on its brain.”