A Bug's Life Read online

  Praise for The Martian Alliance Chronicles

  “Gini Koch manages to deliver a fun story full of action, deception and misdirection.”

  Pearls Cast Before a McPig

  “This series is just fun, and perfect for when you want to read something in one sitting.”

  A Buckeye Girl Reads

  “Gini Koch has done it again!”

  I Smell Sheep

  Also by Gini Koch:

  The Alien/Katherine “Kitty” Katt Series

  TOUCHED BY AN ALIEN

  ALIEN TANGO

  ALIEN IN THE FAMILY

  ALIEN PROLIFERATION

  ALIEN DIPLOMACY

  ALIEN VS. ALIEN

  ALIEN IN THE HOUSE

  ALIEN RESEARCH

  ALIEN COLLECTIVE

  UNIVERSAL ALIEN

  ALIEN SEPARATION

  ALIEN IN CHIEF (coming December 2015)

  CAMP ALIEN (coming May 2016)

  ALIEN NATION (coming December 2016)

  ALIENS ABROAD (coming May 2017)

  The Necropolis Enforcement Files Series

  THE NIGHT BEAT

  NIGHT MUSIC (coming 2016)

  The Martian Alliance Chronicles Series

  THE ROYAL SCAM

  THREE CARD MONTE

  A BUG’S LIFE

  RANDOM MUSINGS FROM THE FUNNY GIRL

  THE HAPPY ACRES HAUNTED HOTEL FOR ACTIVE SENIORS

  A STUDY IN STARLETS (coming 2015)

  Anthologies

  CLOCKWORK UNIVERSE: STEAMPUNK VS. ALIENS –

  A Clockwork Alien

  TWO HUNDRED AND TWENTY-ONE BAKER STREETS –

  All The Single Ladies

  UNIDENTIFIED FUNNY OBJECTS 3 – Live at the Scene

  TEMPORALLY OUT OF ORDER – Alien Time Warp

  THE X-FILES: TRUST NO ONE – Sewers

  UNIDENTIFIED FUNNY OBJECTS 4 – Support Your Local Alien (coming 2015)

  OUT OF TUNE 2 – Red River Valley (coming 2016)

  alt. SHERLOCK HOLMES: NEW VISIONS OF THE GREAT DETECTIVE –

  A Study in Starlets (coming 2016)

  A Bug’s Life

  Book 3 of the Martian Alliance Chronicles

  GINI KOCH

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, incidents, and dialogues in this book are of the author’s imagination and are used fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to actual events or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental.

  A Bug’s Life

  Published by Gini Koch at Smashwords

  Copyright 2015 Jeanne Cook

  All rights reserved, including the right to reproduce this book or any portions thereof in any form whatsoever. For information, contact the author: [email protected].

  The scanning, uploading and distribution of this book via the internet or via other means without the express written permission of the author is illegal and punishable by law. Please purchase only authorized electronic and print editions, and do not participate in or encourage the electronic piracy of copyrighted materials. Your support of the author’s rights is appreciated.

  Editors: Mary Fiore and Veronica Cook

  Cover Artist: Lisa Dovichi

  ISBN: 978-1-31001-6950

  Gini Koch

  http://www.ginikoch.com

  Dedication

  To all those who take the lost and unloved under their wings

  and fill the role of loving parent,

  whether for a little while or a lifetime,

  we thank you.

  Acknowledgments

  Thanks as always to my awesome agent, Cherry Weiner, and my amazing crit partner, Lisa Dovichi. Love and thanks to my husband, Steve, and daughter, Veronica, for continuing to deal with the madness living with an author can be.

  Special love to the fans who’ve told me that this is their favorite series of mine. DeeDee and the Crew appreciate your support.

  “Asteroid shower!” Roy’s voice came over the intercom. “Crew to stations and strap in!”

  When you’re flying in deep space, there are few things that scare you more than being caught in an asteroid shower. Because even a small rock can rip a hole in your hull, and any hole that isn’t immediately patched has the potential to destroy the spaceship and all the life within it.

  Our stations during an asteroid shower were different than for any other type of flying experience. Sure, Roy was a fantastic pilot. And the chances of him avoiding most of the rocks were high. But they weren’t a hundred percent. We scrambled.

  Once in position, we were all standing up, really tethered more than strapped in, each against a padded interior wall -- concussions tended to slow a being down, and if an asteroid breached, slow was not the best option. But we controlled how far our tethers could release. Until necessary, “not at all” was the operative choice. Everyone also had a patch kit in hand and ready to go.

  “Intercom is open. Crew report, please,” Doven, our Quillian co-pilot and navigator said. “In station order.”

  “Engineering strapped,” Willy shared. “No damage at this time. Engines running fine. Kyle’s with me.” Willy was our ship’s engineer. Kyle was Roy’s younger brother and basically making it a point to learn every station on the crew, just in case. And in cases such as this, Roy always wanted two in Engineering anyway.

  “Medical strapped, all’s well here,” Dr. Wufren said.

  “Quarters strapped,” I said. “Ciarissa, Bullfrog and I are in, doors are open, no signs of damage.” Our living quarters required the most beings to watch them, as we had a crew of nine and had ten rooms, total. Two of them weren’t used currently, because Roy and I slept together. However, ten rooms, two group bathrooms, and a connecting hallway took more than one being to watch. If Roy hadn’t wanted two in Engineering, we’d have definitely wanted Kyle with us up in Quarters.

  “General Areas strapped,” Tresia said. Normally, we’d want another crew member in General Areas as well, but Tresia was an Arachnidan. Eight-limbed beings had an advantage when it came to patching holes quickly, and Tresia was extremely quick. She said being our galley chef made her fast, but it probably had more to do with the speed and agility exercises she performed daily.

  Which was a good thing, because even though Roy had the Hummingbird whirling like a dervish, we still took damage. We all heard the pingggg sound. I couldn’t speak for the others, but my whole body tensed. Then there were more pinggggs.

  “Got it!” Tresia called. Cheerfully. I hadn’t asked her, but I always felt that Tresia actually enjoyed the danger asteroid showers presented.

  “There were at least five hits,” Roy said, voice tight.

  “Six,” Tresia corrected. “All in the same area. Patching them all at once was easier than making breakfast, Roy. And before you ask, I’m ready with six more patch kits.”

  “Good. We’re not through this yet.”

  Everyone managed to refrain from stating that we knew we were still in danger. The Hummingbird spinning and flipping was sort of a clue. Strapped or not, from the sounds most of us were making, we were all really testing out the padding at our stations. Tresia, however, was humming. Yeah, she really loved these moments. Clearly Roy wasn’t letting her see enough action.

  More pinggggs. Not good. Roy was usually far better at avoiding hits than this. “Got them!” Tresia called.

  “Engineering took one hit,” Kyle said. “It’s patched. You gonna ever get us out of this, big bro?”

  “It’s a gigantic shower,” Doven replied, voice tenser than Roy’s had been. “I see no end to it.”

  “Then how did we get into it in the first place, if it’s that big?” Bullfrog asked as we took another hit that he leapfrogged to and patched. Since he was a Polliwog, he really did leap. Like a
frog. Having him stationed in Quarters was a big reason why we were able to cover with just three of us.

  “There is nothing of this on our navigational charts,” Doven said. “And we have the most recent updates.”

  “It came out of nowhere,” Roy said. “Just be glad we weren’t at warp when we hit this. Hang on. Heading for one of the giant rocks.”

  “That never ends well,” I pointed out as we took another hit, near me, this time. I slammed the metal patch over the hole and welded it shut in just a few seconds. Then I looked for the rock that had made said hole.

  And found it.

  And discovered something unsettling – it wasn’t a rock.

  “Roy, abort that plan!”

  “What?”

  “Don’t go into whatever it is you see ahead of us. We need to get out of this, but don’t get into it even more.”

  “Why not?” Doven asked. “We can shelter from the smaller rocks inside the larger one.”

  “It’s not a rock. It’s a ship. Well, what’s left of a ship.”

  “How can you tell?” Roy asked. “You’re in Quarters. Are you looking out a porthole?”

  “No. I can tell because I’m holding the object that came through the hull near to me, and it’s not a rock. It’s a rivet.” I looked at the rivet more closely. “In fact, I think it’s a Pillar rivet.”

  “I’ve searched for what broke through in the Galley,” Tresia said. She no longer sounded cheerful. “I also have metal pieces, and they are absolutely Pillar design.”

  “I sense no minds other than ours,” Ciarissa said grimly.

  “Roy, I’ll try to create a telekinetic shield,” Dr. Wufren said. “Not sure how long I can hold it, my boy, but now that I know what we’re in the midst of, I can at least make the attempt.”

  “You’re sure?” Roy asked, sounding concerned. Dr. Wufren normally didn’t expend his telekinesis talent on meteor showers because for him to create this kind of shield took a lot of energy and, in case a big rock made it through, his talent was our last line of defense to keep us from ripping apart.

  “Yes,” Dr. Wufren said firmly. “The danger is confirmed greater than normal. What we’re in the midst of could rip us to shreds much more effectively than your average asteroid shower.”

  “What are we in the midst of?” Kyle asked.

  I had the answer. It wasn’t a good answer, but we were all used to that. “Genocide.”

  The Diamante Purge had focused on races and sub-species of races that had greater powers than the norm. The only planet filled with special beings left alone was Espen – where Ciarissa and Dr. Wufren were from – a planet filled with beings with a variety of tele-talents. The generally accepted reason why Espen had been spared was that they had a strict noninterference policy and they policed their people better than anyone else could.

  The rest of us weren’t so lucky. Quillians with Shaman Powers, which Doven possessed, were almost completely wiped out. Shape shifters such as myself were even rarer. Doven and I had both survived because we were the best as what our races did and we were smart survivors. And because we’d joined with Roy.

  Roy and Kyle were as rare as Doven and I were; not for their special powers, but for their bloodline. They were from the Martian Imperious line, meaning that Roy was the true Galactic Emperor. Not that anyone other than the crew of the Hummingbird and a select, trustworthy few knew this.

  The Diamante Families had done their best to destroy not only the Imperious bloodline, but all the existing governments – monarchies, democracies, theocracies, and so on – so that every being in the galaxy would bow to one name and one name only.

  Millions died in the Purge, but most still had planets to call home. Not all, of course. I was among those who would never, ever be able to return home – the shifter home planet of Seraphina had been turned into an asteroid belt by the power of the Diamante Families and their weapons of horrific destruction.

  The planet of Pilla had also been destroyed. However, the Pillar had no special talents that made the Diamante Families jealous or wary. They were an insectoid race – and unlike the Arachnidans, who, per Willy, resembled a cross between Old Earth grasshoppers, beetles, and spiders – Pillars weren’t remotely threatening.

  Arachnidans had eight limbs complete with pincers, were tall and could be imposing, and could move deceptively fast. Among their many talents, they were excellent hand-to-hand and weapons fighters, fabulous dancers and artists, and, as Tresia proved daily, excellent chefs.

  By comparison, Pillars were long, but not tall. They possessed a brittle shell and fifty tiny legs. When threatened, they curled up into balls. This was effective because their brittle shells became hard as iron when they were in a ball. It was ineffective in that they weren’t able to do much other than roll – if they’d curled up on an incline. They were good scientists and mathematicians, however, their species focus was on their own planet and people and doing their best to be left alone.

  Their main contribution to the galaxy was music. Pilla had the most accomplished musicians of any planet – fifty little legs could do amazing things with a piano, a drum set, a violin, or anything else. They were mostly useless on woodwinds, though some Pillars did manage to master them, and those who did were always exceptional.

  There was no logical reason for the Diamante Families to destroy this planet. Pilla had nothing impressive in terms of natural resources, no solar- or galactic-level weapons of any kind, a desire to just stay on Pilla and be ignored, and a planetary belief that the power of music was all a being needed to make the galaxy better. When a being looked up the definition of “nonthreatening” a picture of a Pillar would be shown.

  But destroy Pilla the Diamante Families did, as viciously as they destroyed Seraphina. However, they didn’t destroy the Pillars. Because the Pillars had been warned somehow, and the entire population was off planet when the Diamante Families’ Destruction Fleet arrived. The general assumption was that the Espen Resistance had given the Pillar leadership the head’s up that it was time to run, but this had never been proven.

  Due to their brittle shells, the Pillar were unable to travel in warp – the pressure of traveling at warp speed would crush them flat. They could go into what they called Round Form and survive, but they couldn’t remain in Round Form for longer than about thirty minutes to an hour. And the younger the Pilla, the shorter time they could last in Round Form. And it was pretty hard to pilot a spaceship if all you could do was roll around.

  But what the most nonviolent race in the galaxy had been doing since the first hints – decades prior – that the Diamante Families were getting uppity had come to them, was creating gigantic, generational, self-sustaining spaceships.

  A Pillar Colony consisted of six generational ships, tethered together. The Pillar had put their entire race into these Colonies and sent them out, each one going in a different direction in space. No one knew how many Colonies had left Pilla, though – based on the Pilla reproductive cycle, which was short; the Pilla lifecycle, which was also relatively short; and the restrictions a generational ship put onto any race – a conservative estimate was a thousand Colonies.

  In a sane galaxy, that would have been the end of it. The Pillars would be heading off to nowhere, and the Diamante Families would have been satisfied with destroying their home world. But this wasn’t a sane galaxy, and hadn’t been since the first Diamante decided that everyone else was a lesser being than he was.

  “It’s helping, Fren,” Roy said, voice tight. “Hold it as long as you can, I think we’re almost out of the wreckage.”

  The ship was still flipping and spinning and it was still unpleasant. Despite the telekinetic shield, we took several more hits, but they were much fewer than we’d had before and all patched quickly. However, we had no banter and no one bothered to even share that things were patched. Some to avoid disturbing Roy and Dr. Wufren – since the telekinesis he was doing was extremely challenging. Some because of the horror of wha
t we’d stumbled into.

  But finally everything stopped – the ship flipping around, the pinggggs, and, based on hearing Dr. Wufren, Roy, and Doven all exhale at the same time, the telekinesis and the danger.

  “We’re floating above it, but we’re going to have to move on, soon,” Roy said. “But you can all untether and take a look. We need to verify that all windows are intact anyway.”

  “Sensors indicate they are,” Doven added. “But under the circumstances, use extreme caution.”

  I was sure no one really wanted to look. But at the same time, we needed to. Every room in Quarters had a porthole – and every porthole was space-strength reinforced glass, with an interior sliding and locking metal door. The door meant that if any debris hit and cracked or shattered the glass, it wouldn’t cause decompression and death. At least, not at the time of impact.

  If sensors were wrong, however – and they could have been damaged due to what we’d just been through – then we could open a porthole door and be sucked out into space, or at least have our faces sucked out, which was just as bad. Hull repair was a lot easier, faster, and far more effective than glass repair.

  We had options, but the fastest was to let Bullfrog verify the portholes’ integrity. Polliwogs looked like giant frogs, were strong, fast, and could close their nostrils and still breathe. His scales gave him the most natural protection, too.

  I shifted into Polliwog form and went with him as backup. Ciarissa manned the doors, as in, closed and locked them from the outside until we could verify that each porthole was secure.