"You must all die."

Becky felt the planet begin to spin, but caught herself just in time. "Are our translators working right?"

She asked in a daze as she tugged at the device in her ear that Minstrel had given to each of them. "They are functioning perfectly," the Kraaqi leader said directly to her.

Chapter Twenty-Four.

"I hope Mother'schildren are enjoying their First Contact," Minstrel said as Saris moved beside its undulating form. "I know Mother is worried about them."

Saris smiled, and her green complexion deepened. "MotherShip understands the greatest love in the universe."

If Minstrel would have had eyebrows in its current form, they would have risen with Saris' sudden insight. "Please explain," Minstrel asked.

"MotherShip has a strong bond with her human children. It is evident in her care for them, and in her concern, in spite of the fact she only is an intelligent machine." Saris sighed. "MotherShip knows that the greatest love in the universe is that of a parent for its offspring."

Minstrel thought a few moments, remembering the many interchanges with Mother, and how her processing was always focused to some extent on her human charges. "Yes, you are right." Minstrel's form shimmered with sudden intensity, and then spoke again. "Has your communique to the Hrono and Kraaqi been answered?"

Saris' head-tail lashed from side to side behind her neck. "There is still no word from the Chieftain council of the Kraaqi. But that is not surprising. Ever since the last war between the Hrono and the Kraaqi, when we continued to trade with the Hrono, the Kraaqi have not maintained diplomatic ties with us. The Chieftains a.s.serted that we aided the Hrono in their war plans, but it is untrue. The Kraaqi are such a quick-tempered race, and they hold to their anger for many years. I fear that Becky and her men will not enjoy their first meeting with them."

Minstrel morphed suddenly into the silvery shape of a human female and stood facing the Mewiis High Commander as she stared with a mixture of concern and amazement. "Once they deliver their message about the oncoming T'kaan Third Fleet and its cruel intentions, I believe even the ferocious Kraaqi will see the wisdom in our three-fold alliance."

"I wish I could share your optimism." Saris shook her head, now accepting the present shape of Minstrel as normal. "But we have known the Kraaqi too long to hope for such a quick decision. Individual warrior Bands may act that quickly, but the Chieftains are old and set in their ways." Saris sighed. "It will be difficult for Becky and her men."

The silver visage of Minstrel nodded. "What about the Hrono? Mother will be entering their sector in a few days." "Yes, and we have had an answer from them. The Mewiis and Hrono still share a formal Trade agreement."

"Was the answer hopeful?" Minstrel asked.

"It was good in some ways, but in others it was rather mysterious."

Minstrel morphed again, changing its plasma body from a human shape into that of the Mewiss, albeit a male of their species. Minstrel enjoyed the sensation against his neck and shoulders as he made his head-tail swish with antic.i.p.ation. "Please explain."

Saris stood silent with her mouth open as she gazed with wonder at the perfect Mewiis before her.

Minstrel chuckled with a flick of his head-tail and it brought Saris back out of her frozen amazement.

"Per Mother's instructions." Saris clenched her eyes shut as she focused her thoughts. "We communicated solely with the Hrono High Command and told them that we had a message of the utmost importance." Saris began walking toward the great window which looked out upon the city of MewiisProlo. The tall spires and towers of the inner city greeted her gaze. "They were very concerned, of course. They confirmed they had received Mother's initial communications along with her plans for integrating the hybrid weapon into Hrono ships. But, they began to ask many questions about the MotherShip messenger, especially when we explained that Mother is a sentient machine created by a entirely different race from the Three Kingdoms."

Minstrel nodded his current visage, smiling widely, and once again thankful for the translator that enabled the Minstrel race to understand most alien languages. It was a good thing Minstrel had insisted the children take them for their encounter. Minstrel sighed with gladness. "Continue."

"After their initial flurry of questions about the MotherShip and the humans, I think they started to understand that the reason for such a meeting was serious indeed." Saris turned from the window. "I could tell from their faces onscreen, how their countenances changed."

"Yes," Minstrel said. "They understand the dire occurrences."

"Correct," Saris sighed deeply. "They became quite tense, almost aggressive in the nature of the questions. Especially when we could not answer in detail about the new enemy." Saris shook her head and walked back to Minstrel. "We told them that Mother was bringing them the detail about the enemy which threatened the entire Three Kingdoms and that she had information that would help all of us."

"I imagine that got their attention," Minstrel said.

"That's when their questions turned rather mysterious." Saris' eyes became distant as she remembered the communication. "All the rest were about the MotherShip AI. Her alone."

Minstrel allowed his form to flow back to its normal, fluidic shape. "That is not so strange for a race that worships technology. They would naturally be intrigued by a sentient machine."

"Maybe you are right," Saris said doubtfully. Her head-tail flicked from side to side as her eyes followed Minstrel's twinkling form.

"Have the first Mewiss battle cruisers begun their refitting?" Minstrel asked. "Yes. The first ship is completed. The super-weapon and its vast accompanying circuits that integrate into the ship's power plants have been installed. As have the engine upgrades. They are even now being tested before we continue with other ships."

"Good. You will find this weapon needs a substantial recharging time, so your ship's commanders will need to be instructed in their tactical use, in conjunction with the ships normal weapons." Minstrel glowed as a ripple of rainbow colors flowed down its body in waves.

"We have begun strategic planning sessions with fleet commanders, using the downloaded data from MotherShip's long-term memories. The data of actual battles that the MotherShip has fought with the T'kaan has been most useful." Saris drew a deep breath. "But the most unforgettable sequence was the final battle of humanity against them. TheirLast Stand .. Pressed together on that last planet with the T'kaan ships...o...b..ting like vultures. It was..." Saris shook her head. She was at a loss for words to express her emotions.

"The T'kaan are ruthless. They destroy entire races to propagate their own. We must defeat them,"

Minstrel said.

Saris felt hot tears filling her eyes as she thought of all the Mewiss children, and the possible fate that awaited them. If they failed. She spoke with a look of grim determination.

"We have to defeat them."

Chapter Twenty-Five.

The T'kaan warshipsgathered together into tight formation around theone Great Horned ship, the centerpiece of each T'kaan fleet. The jet-black hulls glistened from the fires of nearby stars, the long prows of each capital ship bristling with horns from which their weapons' fire emanated.

Inside the darkened hallways and rooms of each ship, activity had increased to a fever pitch.

Hundreds of frigate-cla.s.s ships gathered in formation around the ma.s.ses of battleships and battle cruisers, while flying in and around all of them like clouds of locusts were countless formations of Scout and Hunter fighters. The T'kaan Third fleet was at full strength once again.

From another direction an equally numerous mult.i.tude of ships drew near the sacred rendezvous point.

In every direction, as far as their sensors could see, there was nothing but the ships of the dreaded T'kaan.

Inside the Great Horned ship, the Fleet Commander slithered to the main meeting hall. His tentaclespushed and pulled his undulating body over the floor and around the black tapestries that hung like endless dragnets throughout the vast interior. At the center of the great circular meeting room a ma.s.s of waiting warriors and leaders slithered and slapped their tentacles in growing intensity. Some had even extended their huge talons on their tentacles in their growing l.u.s.t for battle. The room was alive with their grunting and the clicking of these talons against the floor.

The Fleet Commander of the T'kaan Third entered this melee and took his place at the very center. He did not have long to wait. He focused his globular optical ma.s.s onto the new group of arrivals.

They looked at first appearance to be no different than any other T'kaan undulating within this war room. But they were.

The new Leader pushed and pulled himself over the bodies and tables and made his slimy way to the other waiting Fleet Commander. The warriors he crept over shuddered at his touch, feeling his power-feeling his difference and his sameness with them with quivers of delight.

It was a great day for the T'kaan. A rare day, an event that had not taken place for almost a full millennium.

And more were to come.

The new Leader pulled himself the last few feet until he was before his equal. Each T'kaan Leader jerked and writhed his body with delight as their tentacles twirled and twisted around the other's tentacles.

The clicking noises in the great, dark room became deafening.

In a sudden split second, all went silent.

The two Leaders in the center of the circular room had twisted all of their tentacles together around the others and now held each other firm in the ritual grasp. In the vast silence, the T'kaan commander of the mighty Third spoke.

"The greatest race, T'kaan to be. Three to One, and One to Three."

The new Leader shuddered with pleasure. "Our Eternal war, the cycles four. Victory our fate, feast and mate."

The thousands gathered in the room howled as one. The two Leaders of the T'kaan unwrapped themselves from each other as two lessers brought them the frozen meat.

"Feast you now, equal of mine. On human meat, sweet and sublime. We destroyed them first... but not complete. Our victory worst."

The new leader's body quivered with distaste. The T'kaan always annihilated their enemies and destroyed them completely. Always the victory was complete. This was dreadful news indeed to the newcomers. As his shudders abated, he spoke.

"Received I have, this report unreal. We finish these last, their death to seal."

"She is the Iron Huntress. Enemy great, steel and heartless." The T'kaan Third's Commander begangnawing the meat before him.

"I have heard of this ship alive. T'kaan horns must kill, she, too, will die. But first we wait for the others, our brothers." The new Fleet Commander opened his tusks wide and began eating.

Around the two leaders, the tens of thousands gathered chanted in unison a single, solitary word, "War!"

They chanted together, louder and louder. The huge room resonated with their guttural voices.

"Death to the Huntress," chanted the Third's leader in answer to his equal. "Death to the humans three.

Death to the Mewiis, Hrono and the Bands of Kraaqi."

Inside the great room, the walls bled purple.

The oily fluid began to appear in large globules as the black, flowing dragnets began to wave in unison.

Those T'kaan gathered nearest the bleeding walls began to shake and fall to the ground, their chanting and shouting reaching a fever pitch. The ma.s.s of tentacled aliens began to writhe and crawl toward the sweet, dripping fluid.

As they reached the curved walls, their long arms reached forward excitedly. Thousands of tentacles slapped against the supple walls, encouraging the slimy flow. The eerie sound of this orgy mingled with a new sound, a sound like the rumbling of thunder that emanated from somewhere deep inside the Great Horned ship.

It was The Great One himself.

The fluid began to seep faster, completely covering the first rows of T'kaan, bathing them with a glistening glow, baptizing them in its b.l.o.o.d.y stench.

All throughout the combined fleets, among the frigates, cruisers and battleships alone, certain sections of their inner walls-the walls that lived, that melded with the armored hull-they, too, began their b.l.o.o.d.y flow as their black dragnets danced.

Those on the smaller warships cried out in frustration, cursing this rare opportunity, knowing that theirs were merely warships and that they could not partic.i.p.ate and feel the fluid on their own skin.

The bleeding ships talked to one another in their peculiar way, joining with the Great Horned ships in exquisite delight.

The T'kaan rejoiced as One.

Chapter Twenty-Six.

"Uh, could Iaskwhy we have to die?" Jaric stared in disbelief at the Kraaqi.

The warrior's eyes narrowed. In one quick movement the curved rapier was out of its scabbard and the razor-sharp blade pressed against Jaric's throat.

Jaric stood very still.

"You have violated everything that is sacred in the universe," the warrior snarled. "And so, you must die."

The air grew silent as Jaric stared defiantly up into the brown eyes of the Kraaqi.

"I say you're wrong," Becky said.

The muscles under the warrior's tight leather shirt tensed at her words. His head jerked toward the voice, sending the long feather-hair dancing over his shoulder. He slammed Jaric down as if he were a toy and in two steps he stood right before Becky, his breath hot on her face, his rapier raised.

"You call me a liar?" His eyes looked her up and down. "And youonly a female?"

Becky gritted her teeth, taking a deep breath. "No. I meant we haven't been here long enough to violate everything sacred in the universe.

The warrior growled.

Kyle started to take a step forward.

"Don't!" Jaric shouted.

The reaction was instantaneous. The Kraaqi grabbed Becky by her shoulder to hold her still while he raised his rapier toward Kyle. He twisted his upper body to get a better angle for his stroke.

For a split second, he glared down into Kyle's eyes.

In that instant, Becky's knee smashed upward into his groin.

With a loud grunt, the Kraaqi warrior bent over double as his rapier fell to the gra.s.s.

As she took his arm and twisted it to hold him still, she brought her knee up into his stomach, eliciting another deep grunt of pain from the Kraaqi. For good measure, she rammed his stomach a third time.

The Kraaqi warrior remained bent over in pain, though he still had not been completely felled.