visions from the past played directly on the inside of their helmets. They were patchy and incomplete, flashes of sight and sound, a swift succession of scenes from throughout the Base, but taken together the story they told was clear enough. Of what happened the day the aliens came to Gehenna Base.
They were insects, of all shapes and sizes. Spiders and bugs and praying mantises and yard-long centipedes, scuttling and crawling in an endless tide. They varied in size from less than an inch to bigger than human, and everything in between. Horrid combinations of dull carapaces and shimmering wings, too many legs and eyes, and all of them moving incredibly quickly in sudden darting movements. They snapped and stung and tore at human victims with clawed limbs. Some had clacking mandibles big and strong enough to rip a man's head from his shoulders with an ease that was almost obscene.
Silence's skin crawled with instinctive reaction. There was something awful and unnatural about insects that big. That organized. He watched with mounting horror as the insects swarmed through the Base, crawling over all the surfaces, running along the walls and ceiling, jumping up and dropping down on the Base personnel, biting and tearing without pause or mercy. Blood splashed everywhere, and the smaller insects licked it up. Disrupters and cold steel took their toll on the invaders, but there were so many insects, thousands of them, and they never stopped coming. And men and women died from poisoned bites and stings or lay shuddering on the floor while smaller insects burrowed in their flesh. Huge bugs like living armor tore human limbs away with horrid ease and waved them like dripping banners. People screamed and fought and died, and still the insects pressed on.
'Interesting,' said Frost quietly. 'I've never seen so many apparently different and unconnected species acting together. Could be a mass consciousness, a gestalt or group mind. Or maybe they're all drones, following orders from some hidden and protected queen. I can't be more certain without specimens to examine. But I'll tell you one thing for sure, Captain. Those big bugs aren't natural. Insects don't get that large. Body structure won't allow it. Which implies they were genetically engineered, constructed and adapted for various functions. Maybe all of them were. Which in turn suggests a level of biotechnology well in advance of anything we have.'
'How can you be so calm?' said Cross angrily. 'Those bastards slaughtered men and women and tore them apart, and you sound as though this was nothing more than a training session!'
'All part of the job,' said Frost.
'Damn you, those were real men and women!'
'She knows that,' said Silence. 'But she's an Investigator. She's seen worse. Now, be quiet and watch the records.'
'I think this new file shows the beginning,' said Stelmach. 'It's the last intact one.'
The Base's force Screen shut down suddenly, for no reason anyone in the Base could understand. Which was supposed to be impossible. The personnel weren't too worried—at first. The Base had been designed to protect them from the heat of the fires, even without the Screen. And then the insects came, cracking the Base open like an eggshell to get at the unprotected flesh within. The Base called for help with increasing desperation, but the comm systems were useless. Jammed. Which was also supposed to be impossible.
Finally, one by one, the cameras stopped recording as the insects discovered and destroyed them. And after that, there was only darkness.
The control room surroundings reappeared on the insides of everyone's helmets as the security file came to an end, and they all stood quietly for a long moment.
'There was a pattern to the invasion,' said Frost. 'The larger insects broke things, the medium range attacked people and investigated human tech, and the smaller ones cleaned up after them, sucking up blood, carrying away machinery, and eating the fallen, whether human or insect.'
Silence closed his eyes, but he could still see the images of men and women screaming, struggling helplessly, or crying out for help that never came. He was glad he'd seen only glimpses of the carnage. He didn't think he could have stood seeing the horror of it in real time. He opened his eyes and breathed deeply to clear his head. He had to be cool and centered if he was to have his revenge on the bugs.
'They were specialized by function.' Frost was still speaking, and Silence made himself pay attention. 'Designed for specific purposes. But what did they want here?'
'What aliens always want,' said Stelmach. 'To destroy humanity.'
Silence swallowed hard, his mouth dry. 'It isn't usually that simple, Stelmach. We know what happened here, but not why. And without the why, we can't hope to predict what they'll do next. They could be anywhere inside the Empire by now. There has to be a reason for all this destruction and slaughter. Investigator, you said the insects appeared to have been designed for specific tasks in this assault. That implies there was an aim to be achieved, an end to be reached.'
Yes,' said Frost. 'Almost certainly. I get the impression they were after information, as much as anything. They certainly seemed to pay special attention to the computer records. People were mostly killed or attacked when they got in the way or tried to interfere with the search. I think they were looking for something.'
What could they have wanted here?' said Cross. 'Gehenna is the farthest planet in this sector of the Empire. There's nothing beyond here but the Darkvoid.'
'And they couldn't have come this far through the Empire without being noticed,' said Stelmach. 'So they must have come from… outside the Empire.'
'Nothing lives in the Darkvoid,' said Frost. 'Apart from the traitors on Haden.'
Then, maybe they came from the other side of the Darkvoid,' said Silence slowly. 'And this was the first human outpost they discovered. But why just attack? We always try to communicate first. If only to find out what we're getting into. Did the Base have something the aliens wanted? Something they knew the Base personnel wouldn't give up voluntarily?'
'I think we're reaching a bit here,' said Cross.
'Of course we are,' said Frost. 'It's all we've got. Now, unless you've got something useful to say, shut the hell up. We're thinking. So they took tech apart, killed people in search of something. Information. What did they want to know that we wouldn't tell them?'
'Weaknesses,' said Stelmach. 'Defense stations, weaponry, secrets…'
'The location of homeworld!' said Silence. 'Destroy Golgotha, and the whole Empire would be crippled!' A shudder ran through Silence as his thoughts raced ahead of him.
'You thought this was a trap, Investigator, but it isn't. It's a decoy intended to keep us occupied here while the aliens head for Golgotha! Heads up, everyone. We're leaving.'
'Oh, come on,' said Cross. 'This is really reaching.'
'No,' said Frost. 'It feels right. It's what I'd do.'
'But what about the missing personnel?' said Cross. 'What if they're being kept somewhere here on Gehenna? If we go chasing off after a theory, they could die here! What if we're wrong about this?'
'Then, we're wrong,' said Frost. 'Now, shut up and move. Homeworld must be protected, at all costs. No wonder you keep being transferred, Cross. You talk too much.'
'We are leaving, people!' said Silence. 'Investigator, lead the way. Cross and Stelmach, stick with me. Marines, bring up the rear. If anything moves, shoot it. We don't have any friends here anymore.'
And so they made their way back out of the Base, breasting the endless sprinkler rain like swimmers in a race. It was hard to run in the heavy, clumsy hard suits, but they did it anyway. There was no telling what kind of advance the aliens had on them. The attack on the Base couldn't have happened long ago. What was left of the human bodies hadn't had time to corrupt much. That meant a few days at most. So everything depended now on what kind of stardrive the alien ship had, and whether it was the equal of the
Usually, the Empire found aliens and made decisions about their future. The aliens could join the Empire, be subjugated, or die. No other choices were available. This time, something had found the Empire. And all Silence could do was hope the
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