The Ashes of Worlds - Kevin J. Anderson [193]
“No second thoughts at all. My loathing for those bugs gives me all the more incentive to squash them. It is up to us, you know.”
Jess and Cesca, the Ildiran Solar Navy, and flocks of Roamer volunteers had all rushed off to Ildira. Tasia hoped that Robb, Admiral Willis, and the volunteer Confederation ships were accomplishing what they needed to do at Earth, without the Big Goose getting in their way.
That left the group of them — and Kotto’s gadget — to take care of the entire Klikiss race. Fair enough. She was up for it.
But Kotto had insisted that his research compies come with them in case he needed to modify the device on the fly. With those two going on the expedition, DD had asked to join them. And with DD came Orli Covitz and Hud Steinman. Tasia didn’t mind; they had all helped to develop the Siren.
As the hours passed, Kotto spent a great deal of time in the back with the three compies, tinkering with his Siren and running diagnostics. The device was an acoustic transmitter, about a meter across, assembled from dozens of mismatched components, circuit boards cannibalized from other equipment, and dangling power leads. Tasia had no doubt it would work. Kotto’s gadgets usually did.
Kotto tapped the curved dish as he explained. “A complex burst from this siren should incapacitate a Klikiss subhive, at least temporarily. If a group of insects is controlled by the thoughts of a single breedex, and we succeed in stunning that breedex by overloading its input, then they should all freeze.”
“I like the way you think,” Tasia said.
“I don’t know exactly how interconnected the various subhives are. We may have to do this quite a few times.”
“Trial and error, Kotto. We’ll figure it out.”
Despite his genius, Kotto hadn’t given much thought as to how they should conduct the actual test run. He had assumed they would simply fly down to the Klikiss-infested planet, land in the middle of a bustling hive, and switch on his Siren.
“Too much of a risk, if we don’t even know the Siren will work,” Tasia said. “Let me think about this — it isn’t your job to make military plans anyway.”
During the day-long journey, Tasia linked the gadget to the ship’s transmitting systems so that they could send out a blast as they flew overhead — using both electromagnetic transmissions and actual acoustic waves from external loudspeakers. They wouldn’t have to land and could keep their maneuverability. The bugs were going to hear the blast, one way or another.
The test would provide a real, tangible answer soon enough . . . or Tasia would find herself fighting her way out and running like hell.
At last, the ship arrived at Llaro, a planet that held only bad memories for Tasia. She flew closer, all her senses alert, ready to dodge the Klikiss swarmships she was sure would be there. She couldn’t shake her recollection of her last experience at Pym.
To her surprise, though, they found not a single alien vessel in planetary orbit — no sign of them at all.
Orli and Steinman came into the cockpit, both of them obviously uneasy. “Nobody’s home?” the old man asked.
“Could it be a trick?” Orli said. “Are they hiding?”
“Why would they go out of their way to hide from us?” Tasia said. “Something else is going on here.”
With high-res sensors she could see the extent of the enormous hive below, at least ten times the size of the original human settlement, far more spectacular than the one she had seen on Pym. “Looks like the breedex has been busy.”
Despite the size, though, she detected no transmissions, thermal emissions, or any other signs of activity whatsoever.
“It’s a ghost town down there,” Kotto said. “Did the Klikiss all leave?”
“Where would they go?” Tasia continued to study the empty city. “I don’t like this at all.”
DD also entered the crowded cockpit. “Have you found any sign of Margaret Colicos? I am sure she would welcome us.”
“No sign of anyone or anything, DD.” Tasia continued on course, alert for danger. “Oh, what the hell — it’s time for a test run. We’ll find out if anything’s down there. Everybody strap in, just