Chapter No.19

Has not there come to you the news of the overwhelming calamity?
(Some) faces on that day shall be downcast,
Laboring, toiling,
Entering into burning fire,
Made to drink from a boiling spring.
They shall have no food but of thorns,
Which will neither fatten nor avail against hunger.

- The Holy Koran -

Marty looked at Brian's image on the main screen and swallowed hard. The order that he was about to issue was one that would have deep consequences.

"I want you to go to the Cyborg home world and launch your doomsday weapon into the star. I think that the best strategy is to come in from behind the star, launch the weapon and then fly through the star's corona to shield your presence before you accelerate out to jump speed."

"I have studied the specs on this weapon," Brian said. They recommend that I be at one million kilometers away from the star before I launch. What if I run into Cyborg ships on the way in?"

"I don't think you will," Marty said. "I believe that the Cyborg fleet is away from the planet, not defending it. They would never expect a direct attack."

"I understand, Commander. I will do whatever it takes."

"Good luck, ol' buddy."

Brian saluted.

"Take us to the Drak planet, Delphi."

"Yes, Martin."

"We will transfer these people to the planet," Marty said. "We will be going into battle and I don't want a belly full of pregnant humans and Dragons."

"Who is going to deliver them when they are ready to bear fruit?" Ferris asked.

"I don't know, but I really don't think it's a good idea to have pregnant women and babies on the ship when we are in battle."

"Their fate is in our hands and the hands of Allah," Ferris said. "We must ask Allah for deliverance from this tribulation."

"I hope you know how to take care of babies," Marty said. "We will be up to our ears in them."

"I will take responsibility for their care," Ferris said.

"So be it," Marty said.

On the transport deck where rescued people are housed, both human and Dragon females mingled together because they realized that they were linked by the common bond of motherhood. Arby and Wendy marveled at how their bellies were so extended.

"They look like they have swallowed potato sacks," Arby said.

"Where did you get that?" Wendy asked.

"From The Great One."

"Well, son of The Great One, get busy with sonograms."

Arby moved a detector around on a human female's belly smeared with acoustic fluid. "I see a healthy male baby in you. He has the proper number of fingers and toes."

"Thank you," the woman said.

Arby ran his hand over the woman's thigh. "I love your nice brown skin. It is beautiful."

She smiled.

Arby turned to Wendy. "Why does't our species have people with nice brown skin?"

"She is an Earth woman. Their species has different races. Our species doesn't."

"We are boringly monochrome," Arby said.

"Get busy and examine that female's vagina," Wendy ordered him.

"Why don't you have a vagina?"

"You ask too many questions."

The women laughed.

"Quit goofing off over there," Honey chided them. "We have many more females to exam."

Arby gestured to the next pregnant woman, and when she stood up. Arby had to bend his head back. "My, you are the tall one. You have nice slim legs." He pointed at a stool. "Have a seat."

When she sat down, she crossed her long legs. Arby wrapped a pressure cuff around her right arm and pressed a button. "Your pressure is nice and low."  He used a magnifyer to look into her eyes. "I don't see anything bad in there."

When he felt her breasts, she stiffened.
l
"Do your breasts hurt?"

She looked at his mitten hand. "No, I was . . . I didn't . . ."

"Oh, you mean my hands. Our species doesn't have fingers. I'm sorry."

She smiled. "No, I'm sorry. Please continue."

"You have nice breasts," Arby said. "They are nice and plump for a female of your height. I especially like the neat looking nipples." He turned to Wendy. "Why can't you have nipples?"

"Why can't you shut up?"

The woman giggled.

***

The X-4001 quietly slipped out of jump a milion kilometers from a K3 class star.

"I need confirmation on this system, people," Brian said. "I surely don't want to destroy the wrong star."

"This is the star that we were given," John Mayer, his astronomer, said. "The spectra is an exact match."

"I have detected a large group of enemy ships at 220,000 kilometers. I don't  think they've seen us yet."

"Maintain full stealth mode, Delphi."

"Yes, Brian."

"The enemy ships have turned."

"Accelerate to maximum safe velocity, Delphi. "Aim us for the center of the star."

"They're closing and they've launched missiles."

"Please fire plasma bombs at the incoming missiles, Delphi. Please arm Supernova device in aft tube one. Please arm the doomsday weapon, authorization code alpha, baker, two, eight, six, one, gamma."

"Yes, Brian."

"Let me know when we're in range," Brian told his navigator.

"Yes, Commander."

Delphi fired plasma bombs at the incoming missiles, causing all of them to explode.

"We are in range, Commander."

"Please fire the SuperNova weapon at the enemy ships, Delphi. Please launch the doomsday weapon and turn us into the star's corona."

"Yes, Brian."

The doomsday weapon accelerated to a tenth the speed of light, and when it penetrated the star's photosphere, its powerful magnetic shield created towering filaments of hot plasma that surged out into the star's chromosphere for thousands of kilometers.

***

"The Dragon vessel is alongside, Commander," Ninja said.

"Open COM, Delphi."

"COM open, Martin."

"Where is your other vessel, Commander?" the Dragon commander asked.

"It is destroying the enemy home system," Marty said. "I will transmit the system's location."

"We welcome your data."

"We have also rescued 352 of your females. They are all pregnant. We wish to transfer them."

That silenced the Dragon commander for several seconds. He conferred with others. "We will transfer on the planet."

"Acknowledged," Marty said. He turned to Uma. "Get the female Dragons ready to go down to the planet."

"Yes, Martin."

In the examination room, pandamonium was about to commence.

"I have just been informed that all of the Dragons ara being transported to the surface," Honey said to her kids. "We have to get them ready to go."

"What do you want us to do?"

"Line them up at the entrance."

"Yes, Great One," Arby said.

"I will give you a Great One if you don't get busy."

Wendy smiled.

"You are being returned to your people," Honey shouted to the Dragons. "We will transport you down to the planet now. Please line up at the entrance."

They obeyed much quicker than an equivalent group of human females would have. The sight of so many pregnant female Dragons was both fascinating as it was sad. They had gone from being tortured to death to a possible future life.

***

Marty, Honey, Karl, Rosie and Brigit poured over the star charts that had been extracted from data that Honey had obtained from the Cyborg's brain.

"We have to assume that the base that they have taken the Admiral, Lia and Tyler to is in one of these star systems," Marty said. "If we could only interpret these insignias on each of the systems, we may be able to make an educated guess."

"I believe that the insignias are a representation of the function of each base," Brigit said. "The only problem is that they do not fit in the written language of the Cyborgs."

"The Cyborg language is like hieroglyphics," Rosie said. "These are cartouches."

"Yes," Marty said. "You are right. The symbols are action related."

"I think that this symbol is a blade of some sort," Honey said. "Perhaps these bases are where the Cyborgs are killing people."

"Yes, and the blades are not all the same size," Brigit said. "Some are larger. Maybe they are major killing bases."

"I think that the largest one is this one," Marty said, pointing at a star.

Karl examined it. "That's our designation AD 10707. It's a G5 class star 38.7 light years from here."

"We must be sure that we've considered every aspect," Marty said. "The lives of three people depend on it."

Just then Birdie entered the room. "I have an idea."

"We're listening," Marty said.

"I believe that the Cyborgs did not take the Admiral and her party to the largest base, but rather, the most obscure. They know that we are searching for her, and it would be logical to expect them to take her to the main base."

"That's a contrary theory," Marty said. "If we're wrong, we can write off the Admiral, Lia and Tyler."

"I have a suggestion," Birdie said. "Send a fighter to the main base just in case."

"That's what we'll do," Marty said. "We'll take the main ship to the small base and send a fighter team to the main base."

That satisfied everyone.

***

Arby looked at Honey with a concerned face. "You want me to help deliver babies?"

"You can do it; I can help."

"Why is she in pain?" Arby asked, gesturing to a woman sitting on a birthing stool.

"Her uterine muscles are pushing the baby into the birth passage. Those muscles are more powerful than those in your leg. The process is equivalent to you passing a basketball out through your rectum."

Arby winced. "Ouch! That is a very effective similie."

"Go take care of that woman," Honry ordered him, pointing at a tall thin blond.

"Oh, hi!" Arby greeted her. "You are long tall Sally with the nice breasts."

She smiled and grimaced at the same time.

***

Angie woke up in a start and immediately examined her hands and her feet.

"What the hell? I saw and felt them cutting off my hands and feet but they're still attached." She looked at Lia and Tyler with astonishment showing in her eyes. "I swear that I watched two female Cyborgs cut my hands and feet off. The pain was excrutiating. It was so real. I don't understand."

"I believe they are manipulating our thought patterns," Lia said.

"But, the pain was real. It hurt like the devil." She looked at her wrist. "Wait a minute. Look, I can see a thin red line where they cut my hand off. There's no way that they could have reattached the hand. I saw them grind it up." She examined her leg. "Look, I have the same red lines on my legs. How in the hell did they do that?"

"Perhaps, they regenerated your hands and feet," Tyler proposed. "You were gone for several days. We though that they had executed you."

"They told me that it was a form of punishment," Angie said. "They call it processing." Angie said.

"These bastards like to use euphemisms for their idiotic crimes against humanity." Lia said.
.
"We have to get whatever they used to restore my hands and feet back to Space Command."

Both Lia and Tyler seconded that goal.

***

"What is wrong with this baby?" Arby said. "Instead of his head, I see his feet."

"That is a breech delivery," Honey said. "It is more stressful on both the baby and the mother. Come over and take care of this normal delivery. I will handle that one."

"I am having trouble with this one," Wendy said. This baby refuses to come out."

"The baby will need to be removed from her womb. Take her to Onuki."

"Yes, mother."

Honey smiled. "Children. What are you going to do with them?"

Rosie and Xanthin were busy examining pregnant women.

"I have never seen this many pregnant humans before," Xanthin said. "Where did they come from?"

"They were rescued from a Cyborg base where they were being tortured and killed."

"So, these are the fortunate ones."

"Yes," Rosie said. "Some of them were within minutes of being chopped up into pieces."

"They had already cut two of my fingers off," a red-headed Irish woman said, holding up her hand with the missing digits.

"That had to have been painful," Xanthin said.

"It was terrible," the woman said, grimacing for emphasis.

No one could dispute that.