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Stories from the Verse
In Version
Chapter 88: Beam 182
Table of Contents
Previous chapter: Brown 267
His team was fed, as he was. Beam and Bron stood in the middle of a line. Dawn stood at the far end near the lake, looking inconspicuously weak and quiet unless you knew how to fight, and then you would notice her well-balanced stance. Bob was behind Beam and Bron, not exactly out of view, but obscured as Beam knew his friend would not strike the most happy note with Humans. Whatever these creatures were might have similar reactions. After all, they did fish, and ran to tell superiors.
Sophie waited to Beam’s left nearest the forest. Her hands flickered with fire. Ashleigh would be somewhere in the forest, and even now with his scriff sense telling him where she was Beam could not see her. So they waited as Bob told them that many minds were coming.
In the distance he saw the elevator open, and about twenty bipeds--Little Green Men, he thought--came into view. They were between three and a half and four feet tall large-footed bipeds. Beam wanted to chuckle at the sight of Little Green Men, but he held his amusement back, and just waited impassively with his hands crossed over his chest. He soon heard the tramping of their feet. The white-haired man was aware that he projected an aura of authority, and he hoped it translated to alien.
The aliens all halted, and then one with obsidian chips on his black uniform ordered them to march forward.
“Its a scratch up, them who can come, come now, force,” Bron murmured, and the white-haired man’s eyes narrowed as he considered his blacksmith’s conclusion. Yes, there was the leader, the alien in black with gems on his uniform. But then there were three with gold vests and purple uniforms who carried metal staffs like walking sticks. There were another two in green uniforms with a varying number of green stones on their uniforms. He also saw eight in what he thought had to be plain jumpsuits. The last six were armed with rifles, and garbed in gold-vested blue uniforms. Bron was correct. This was no elite band of hard core soldiers.
They stopped thirty feet away, and then the one in black yelled something at Beam and Company. Unfortunately, Beam’s education did not extend to Little Green Men, Language thereof, he thought with a smile.
“Bob?”
The Floor Command Officer of Floor Twenty-Eight demands that you surrender to be tried for crimes against The Imperium and the crew of The Seeker in obstructing our lawful conquest of the planet on which you have forced us to crash.
It was not Bob’s speech pattern, but his direct translation of the alien’s words.
Beam thought quickly while he maintained an arrogant facade. It looked like the other versers had been very busy indeed. Crashing a twenty mile tall spaceship and stopping an alien invasion of a planet were no little things. And the command officer in front of him thought he was responsible for all this mayhem. It offered certain possibilities.
“Any other crimes?” he said as languidly as he could, hoping the little green men could understand his body language. Deciding to push it, he deliberately yawned as if bored. This brought a rustle among the force facing him. But then the elevator door opened, and another twenty emerged, this time all of one group. No vest, but red tunics and some sort of energy rifle. They quick-marched toward the confrontation. Beam realized he needed to close this out soon.
His question was relayed by Bob. The enemy officer yelled again. He sounded angry.
You have also slain with a metal cutting item dozens of brave Imperial Guard, and killed the Captain, and the First Officer.
“And what makes you think I won’t continue killing these weaklings before me?”
The whole group of twenty looked afraid, but the six with rifles aimed them his way. The pikemen had a bit of metal snap out of the tips of their metal sticks, and then a shimmering field of some type of energy that made his teeth ache a bit covered the wire. These were lowered like spears.
More yelling came from the officer, and the other group came up to him, and tried to get his group to move out of the way. It was a confused mess.
Beam saw a chance. He raised himself to his full five and two-thirds foot height and stood a bit higher on his toes, towering over the aliens, and shouted.
“I AM EMPEROR BEAM. Kneel before your master, or die as a rebel.”
Bob mentally broadcast the message to every mind within several miles, and many aliens turned in shock. Some began to throw down their weapons. In less than an hour they had gone from Masters of Space to losing what was supposed to be an easy war against low-technology primitives and being buried in the ocean’s depths with many of their most elite troops slaughtered with ease. But the officer spun, and grabbed a pike, and shoved it into the chest of the alien nearest him. The surrender paused, and everyone turned to look at Beam to see what his response would be.
He counted a full ten seconds in his head.
Then he raised his right hand.
“The officer of floor twenty-eight has attempted to slay one who surrendered to me. An insult to me. An injury to one of mine. I will have my smallest dispense justice. Dawn.”
“Sir, yes, sir.” Her rifle came to her shoulder, and the Floor Control Officer’s head cracked open. Bob finished relaying the details of his command and, swallowing, the aliens who had finally caught up on what was happening deactivated their weapons and put them on the ground.
“Take that brave soldier of mine to the medic immediately. He is to receive the best of treatment.” After six of the aliens ran off with the injured one, the nearest red uniformed officer with a few red jewels on his chest, who had led the twenty of the second unit, came forward. He reached almost four and a quarter feet which made him a giant among his kind. He bowed, and said something.
May I swear allegiance to you, Emperor Light-bringer? I am Lieutenant Lors, an officer in command of five hundred twelve of the Force Military. The others I brought are my personal guard, and my staff. We will serve you loyally.
There is a behind-the-writings look at the thoughts, influences, and ideas of this chapter, along with ten other sequential chapters of this novel, in mark Joseph "young" web log entry #491: Verser Ventures. Given a moment, this link should take you directly to the section relevant to this chapter. It may contain spoilers of upcoming chapters.
As to the old stories that have long been here:
