The Kriseel Xenophobes

By Michael McCloskey

The Kriseel Xenophobes is the 18th book in the PIT series.

The survivors of a harrowing experience in an Imperian facility rush to aid the Pact Nexus, which has come under attack.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael McCloskey
• Release date: Jan 15, 2022
• ISBN: 9780998569796

Michael McCloskey

I am a software engineer in Silicon Valley who dreams of otherworldly creatures, mysterious alien planets, and fantastic adventures. I am also an indie author with over 140K paid sales plus another 118K free downloads.

Book preview

The Kriseel Xenophobes

(Book 18 of the PIT series)

by Michael McCloskey

Published at Smashwords by Michael McCloskey

Copyright 2022 Michael McCloskey

ISBN: 978-0998569796

Learn more about Michael McCloskey’s works at

www.squidlord.us

Cover art by Stephan Martiniere

Chapter 1

Jadie walked a twisted path through stacks of unused Terran and Vovokan equipment in her personal quarters. She slipped into a water shower, the only uniquely Terran amenity she had demanded. One got used to walking on sand floors and excreting into sand toilets, but she could not withstand grainy dry showers, or no showers at all. She cleaned herself quickly, then emerged back into the quarters and picked at various clothing options from the piles in one corner or the other, finally choosing opaque undersheers in two unmatched pieces. She did not bother to attend to any aspects of her appearance. The aliens had no standards against which to compare her hairstyle or fashion choices anyway.

After the shower Jadie felt alert and ready. She donned her old blue and white UED flak suit, a garment that showed signs of wear and tear despite its extremely heavy construction. She glanced at an old laser sitting atop a water purifier, but rejected the idea of bringing it with her.

A ping in her link told her of an imminent arrival at the secret Vovokan station that had been her home for months.

On schedule as always.

She walked to the airlock to receive her Vovokan guest. The station was filled with low corridors that forced her to duck her head here and there to avoid an encrusted pipe or fake stalactite. Jadie pretended she did not mind: at least it kept her loose and flexible. She was not exactly in great shape, but as an ex-explorer, she had some basic athletic standards.

A squad of merc Rollers passed her in the corridor on the way; even though ole’ Forty Legs was the greatest benefactor the Rollers had known in the history of their civilization, they still pretended they needed to show up armed every time zhe came back from a mission. Perhaps it was a form of respect: the Rollers seemed to worship the golden alien.

Oh well. If they’re a bit militaristic, all the better to stand up to the Space Force.

Jadie could hardly complain about the Rollers. They had saved her from certain death on the planet where her crew had starved. At first, Jadie had felt only gratitude for her saviors. Later, as she worked to communicate with them and the Vovokan, she had realized the potential of securing the civilization as an ally for the UED.

She walked in, stood straight, and waited. She conquered some old urge to tame her wild black hair. The lock cycled before her, turning a series of red lights to green as it progressed. Her link gave her a much more detailed view: the pressure matched up as a bevy of sensors checked the air for various threats ranging from Roller toxins to tiny airborne organisms or nanomachines.

Finally the lock opened and Forty walked out. The undulation of the Vovokan’s legs was so smooth and precise the golden alien seemed to glide forward. Jadie’s short stocky frame barely got her head above Forty’s mass sensor bulb a meter and a half above the floor.

Movement caught Jadie’s eye to the right of Forty, down by the floor. A gray multi legged thing scuttled rapidly up beside Forty and climbed up the wall.

Jadie recoiled in alarm and reached for her pistol that was not there. Only the fact that Forty could be somewhat over-reactive in such situations (the Vovokan had previously killed ten Rollers in ‘self defense’) had made her stop carrying it.

What the hell is that thing!? Jadie demanded, pressing her back against a faux cavern surface.

War machine sample, Forty said.

Jadie was not sure what Forty meant. Her Vovokan translator was not great and she still had not managed to get the Space Force’s version, which by all accounts was now near-flawless. The news that the thing was artificial and not some giant bug made her feel a little better, even though a ‘war machine’ would presumably be more dangerous.

From the arborean tentacles?

Negative. War machine of aliens, now-extinct race.

Interested in other alien ruins now, are you? I thought you were focused on the Arborts.

Encountered Space Force detachment in Arbort complex. Chose cooperative mode and escaped with war machine sample.

The Space Force is here?

Close. Forty sent her a pointer. She saw they were close indeed; the news was alarming. She stared at the little machine Forty had brought.

It’s small... but deadly I assume?

Effective in large numbers. We must study, reproduce.

The octoped moved about the room as if exploring its environment.

Uh, how smart is that thing?

Less intelligent than us. No threat. Easily coerced into cooperation mode.

You’re forcing it to help us against its will?

Negative. Forty has reprogrammed it.

Oh. Good. So it’s not an AI?

Negative.

Very well then, I’ll begin studying it immediately. I assume you have some data to share from during the voyage home?

Affirmative. Suggest mass production.

Well that will be up to the Rollers.

Jadie said nothing so as to avoid highlighting her lack of usefulness in the endeavor.

Forty sent her another link with a trove of data about the octoped. It was extensive. Her work had largely been done for her.

Jadie found the octoped’s translated services in her link interface. She told it to follow her. She left Forty without any further chit chat, knowing that the Vovokan would not be offended. If there was anything left to discuss, the link channel remained open.

Jadie walked into a nearby lab that had been sitting idle.

Once inside the lab, Jadie had to clear away a lot of older projects. The lab was cluttered to the point that it occasionally impeded her work; yet Jadie never cleaned up more than absolutely necessary. It never occurred to her to ask for a robot to organize the labs... that would make everything harder to find and access.

Jadie told the octoped to leap onto a high resolution scanner.

The scanner was Vovokan, as were the cyblocs that supported it. Terran computers were more powerful than Roller ones, and Vovokan computation power was a similar step up. Such powerful tools were what allowed her to study the confiscated Arbort artifacts and help the Mercenary Faction in their goal to adopt the superior weapons technology for themselves.

She dove into the design for several hours. The Arbort artifacts were mysterious and over her head; here, she had something she could begin to understand. The machine was incredibly intricate, a work of art. The device had been easy for Forty Legs to suborn, but they needed to manufacture these things in large quantities.

It’s going to be a lot of work to teach the Roller engineers how to build a factory that can make something so advanced. But at least it’s possible, unlike the situation with the Arbort artifacts.

She recalled that the Space Force was moving in and decided she had better work faster.

Chapter 2

Telisa lay alone in her sleep web on the Synergy, caught in a loop of dismal thoughts that threatened to destroy her. She felt stuck in a nightmare. She reminded herself about the Trilisk column back at Blackhab. It could make everything whole again. Only by forcing herself onto a positive track could she hope to continue.

Normally Telisa and Magnus were very busy with their own work, but they always found time to train and sleep together. She missed her partner terribly. When she contemplated his absence, she felt a gruesome emotional pain that made her almost nauseous.

He had died. But he could be replaced by a copy. That felt unsatisfying, so she reminded herself: We’re all copies. It was the fallback mantra in times like these.

Then her thoughts turned to the Embeez.

So much of this could be blamed on them! Why the Five didn’t they give me enough information about this star cluster?

The Embeez might as well be omniscient, and they sometimes seemed helpful, but after everything that had passed, Telisa felt anger whenever they came to mind. They had sent her here looking for a starbase, but instead the team ended up searching far and wide, going through hell at a starport, and losing so much. Why had they let all that happen?

Telisa had to second guess herself. Did she only feel angry with the Embeez because she wanted to blame someone for her losses? For the loss of Magnus?

No. They should have pointed us right at the starbase, if they wanted us to go there, to do something there. Can we even trust them? They saved us from Shiny. Didn’t they? And they saved the Rovans... or made us believe they did.

Telisa realized that the Embeez could have made the team believe almost anything. They could have showed them anything, real or not, or even just tinkered with Terran minds to get any result at all.

Why pretend like we can strive against beings like the Embeez and the Trilisks?

Her link told her to prepare for their meeting with Captain Ockham of the Adventurer. The group needed to plan and practice now during their voyage to the Nexus. She took a deep breath and logged into the meeting.

She found herself in a dull artificial environment with bare walls, white cup chairs with red cushioning, and a long gray table. The Space Force captain had not appeared yet, as it was still early. Cilreth had already showed up, sitting at the table.

Cilreth’s avatar gave her a look of compassion.

Don’t worry. We’re going to handle this attack in no time and get back to Blackhab, Cilreth told her.

Telisa nodded. I’m supposed to be the one holding up morale. But thank you.

Cilreth nodded and left it at that. Soon the Captain’s avatar joined the meeting. A second later, Maxsym showed up as well.

Good day, TM, Ockham said formally.

Captain. Allow me to introduce you to my colleagues who will be participating in our simulations, Telisa said.

Telisa nodded toward Cilreth.

"This is Cilreth. She’s master of the Synergy."

When it comes to space engagements, Cilreth clarified.

"The Iridar is commanded by Maxsym," Telisa said, pointing at Maxsym’s avatar.

Maxsym nodded his head to Captain Ockham.

I have no significant combat experience, Maxsym said quickly.

Telisa snorted.

He means, other than defeating entire enemy squadrons, risking his life to save allied ships multiple times—

No no no, Maxsym said, holding up his hand. "I just tell Iridar what I want and it does the rest."

Captain Ockham smiled.

An honor to meet you both, PMs, Ockham said. Needless to say, we all pretty much do what Maxsym does; we lay out the parameters for engagement and the ships handle it. Which brings me to a recommendation. I would like to respectfully offer your ships our latest combat control suites. I understand I may be out of place to mention them, but—

Not at all, Telisa said. "I’m sure the Space Force has superior software developed by many bright officers including brilliant AIs. We definitely want your latest, not only to upgrade our own capabilities, but also to improve coordination between our vessels. I suspect that the varied suites we have on Synergy and Iridar would leave us less effective when acting as a single team."

Ockham nodded.

Thank you, PM. Exactly what I was worried about.

"I’ll help to set up Iridar’s Vovokan system to emulate the newer Terran control suites," Cilreth said.

Excellent, Telisa said. Captain, do you have any other recommendations?

Captain Ockham nodded.

Aismodeus provides superior point defense within forty thousand kilometers, Captain Ockham explained. "Therefore, if we’re facing a large Kriseel fleet capable of a mass launch, I recommend Synergy and Iridar stick close to us."

Thank you for the advice, Telisa said. "One of our ships at least will do that. I was thinking though that since we have stealth that is beyond the ability of the Kriseel to counter, one of Synergy or Iridar may go in stealthed on a flanking maneuver."

Not a bad idea, Ockham said.

I also have a couple of things I wanted to bring up before we start practicing, Telisa preambled. Keep in mind that this attack is likely sourced from a subset of the factions, she said. Not all of the Kriseel present may be our enemies. I think our technological advantage may be enough that we don’t have to worry about being able to tell friends from enemies. We can likely afford to hold back until it is very clear.

The others nodded.

"Which brings me to the second point. I intend to attempt diplomacy before we start shooting, unless Belfann has been destroyed, Telisa said. If diplomacy fails, Captain Ockham will take over command."

TM?

You’re more qualified and the squadron needs just one leader.

May I remind you that I’m the captain of an exploration vessel. You’ve likely seen more combat than I have in my brief time in the Quarus Incursion.

You studied at New Annapolis?

I did.

Then doubtless you’ve spent countless hours training in fleet engagements.

"Well, yes, but some of your space battles are the basis for some of our scenarios!"

Mine, or some other Telisa copy?

Telisa suddenly wondered how confusing life would become if she uploaded the experiences of all the Telisas that Shiny had sent out into the galaxy. Would she even be able to function with such a set of overlapping memories?

If diplomacy fails, you’re it, Telisa said.

Captain Ockham nodded.

"Let’s hope it doesn’t come