“Our bug suggested the High Queen comes and goes without notice. She is well guarded. He suspects she does not announce her comings and goings as a safety precaution. He thinks assassination is a real possibility. She is despised. He suspects her chemical control at Darkside is low.
“Some, not all, but some bugs might even be developing a resistance to the control pheromone. That was conjecture on the bug’s part. He personally feels that his will has been stronger of late. He definitely was helpful with the interview.
“In fact, I’m impressed enough that I think a call is in order. Perhaps our organic chemists that mixed up the bug spray can tone it down a bit. Let’s use more of a knockout spray than a killing spray.”
Good decision!
***
+ BEGIN TIMELINE DROP.
NOTE: We knew so little about bugs as people. I’ll never forget that first meeting in Mr. T’s lab, when we met the bug we would come to know as Scotty. He seemed a decent sort. Helpful!
As a Kreahaam (bug) fusion reactor engineer, Scotty spent most of his time at the Moon base, working on the power supply for what the Empire calls a Primary Service Transportation Gate.
A Primary Gate is built to last. Such a gate is often used by High Officials. As such, the primary power system would have twice the output necessary for normal operation. There would also be redundant systems. It just would not do to lose a High Official in transit-space.
Matter/antimatter reactors can be used for Primary Gates. But Luna had a rich supply of Helium-3, which made nuclear fusion a good option, though the process of gate set up requires additional time. There was no time urgency for the Darkside project. That was especially the case since there would be a delay in receiving the additional shipment of exotics for the gate.
I ran across a Findings Report and thought a piece of the narrative would be interesting in a Drop.
Source: Scotty Montgomery, of Kreahaam, and a well-known associate of Undersecretary Trollkin, helped to decipher an encrypted communication stored on the personal computer of the High Queen of the invasion.
“Aye, Capin. Indeed, there twas one other message from Prime Command sent on top of the directive to set the ancillary gate. It twas eyes-only to her highness, to her very self, the High Queen. It helps ta know, Command, they are quite the stingy lot wit the gate exotics. We only had material to make one gate and a wee bit extra for the just in case.
“No one wanted to be havin even a wee bit just lyin around, so we buried it neath the southern polar region of the Moon. The gate exotics, it tis finicky. Gravitational anomalies and such and so. We had used a load of the stuff way out at Sleepy instead a Jupiter as Prime Command had actually wanted. The communication error and all.
“On the besides, it twas an emergency gate so we did have quite a bit of the exotics left. It is finicky though, as I made mention, and amounts needed for a gate can vary dependin on this and that. The Primers knew they would need to drop-ship another load of exotics out to Sol. That twas on them though. All of that delayed the setting up of the primary portal gate at Darkside.
“Any the way, once Prime got around to doin a test on that emergency gate, and found it twas way out to Sleepy, they were a mite perturbed.
“The second message that twas sent pronounced to her highness, by way of paraphrase, it twas the last straw droppin the gate way out to Sleepy. Command was clear in sayin, when they caught up to her, the High Queen herself would be fed to the spice flies of Aarodan.
“I am of the thinkin, that message did no help with her drug dosages, if ya catch me drift.”
END TIMELINE DROP. +
***
Mr. T said this bug even knew of times when some bugs managed to help humans. The bug wasn’t specific. It was like he was being humble. Mr. T had to press with the delve, to find out more.
Our bug was in the Darkside control room when the base watch satellites detected Bugeye on a course heading for the Moon. There was some general radio chatter, and one ship was sent to intercept. Mr. T got the impression our bug was eves-dropping on the comms.
The intercept ship was undamaged and could have easily overtaken the recon ship, BugEye. Our bug primarily works as a fusion reactor engineer, though he has other engineering skills as well. He took the risk of sending a file to the onboard computer of the bug ship that had been directed to destroy BugEye.
It was a modified reactor diagnostic test file that tripped a subroutine which emulated a glitch with the fusion reactor. It would be unsafe to proceed at over one-half maximum acceleration. Because of that, Bugeye was able to take scans before Darkside defenses destroyed it.
Our bug was caught red handed by a colleague. Mr. T is getting better at delving. He was able to access part of the bug’s eidetic memory of the event and provide a translation. Let’s look up the quote.
Our bug said to his colleague, “Oh, put your little dagger <stinger> away Kahlum. Let the humans see the base. It is impressive. Perhaps it will prompt them to surrender and end all this bloodshed.”
Obviously, Kahlum didn’t turn in our bug. It does make a person wonder.
Another incident was widely broadcast to the bug invasion forces as a warning against making “mistakes” when given a direct order. That incident resulted in the bug that made the mistake being stripped of rank, tormented, and sent to the re-processor.
The incident was called a mistake but our bug was certain it was
