Pray for the Prey Read Online Free PDF Page A

disguise your planets as one that has been hit by a plague. You’ll need the capability to turn off the power plants and only have very few citizens roaming the streets. It may not come to that, but you should start planning for that if we’re scouted again.”
    “Will we also need to remove our ships as well?”
    “Yes and we’ll need you to take different routes to each other’s planets so the trails in Green Space can dissipate in a short time.”
    Tenah nodded, “We will make the changes immediately.” He looked at the Moet and said, “Do you want to come to us to sign our agreement or should we come to you?”
    The Baron raised his back eyestalks and said, “No species has ever set foot on our capital except us. I think it would be a good start for our association for you to be the first.”
    Tenah nodded and said, “I’ll notify my planets about the new situation.”
    “I will do the same.”
    Dolly ended the call and looked at Hemon, “You were right. They have come a long way.”
    “Sometimes growth has to be forced. I suspect we will need to keep some ships near the Moet Capital.”
    “I think one battleship with a full complement of Needles should be enough.”
    Hemon nodded and said, “Just make sure more are ready if we need them.”
    “Oh, I will.”
    • • •
    The messenger pushed the button and waited for the Hive Controller to open the entry. He hoped the Controller would just ignore him but he knew there wasn’t much hope of that happening. No one ever went to the Hive Controller’s door and if they did, it had better be for a good reason. The messenger nervously moved the small vestigial wings on his back and wished he could fly away. The entry opened and he entered. He walked forward to the chair at the end of the cell and the Controller stared at him, “We have lost contact with our fleet in the second galaxy.”
    “What do you mean lost contact?”
    “The Fleet Controller was sending a feed of the battle he was conducting against the large Blue Ships when he reported that a thousand small ships had appeared behind his lines. That’s when the feed was interrupted.”
    “What about the sensor?”
    “It ceased operating moments before the Fleet Controller reported the ships.”
    The Controller stared at the messenger and the messenger quickly added, “We’ve attempted to contact every ship in the fleet and none of them are answering.”
    “What has been done about this?”
    “I was sent to notify you of the developments and to seek your wisdom on our next course of action.”
    The Controller’s stinger shot out faster than the messenger could see and impaled him in the chest. The injected poison killed the messenger instantly and he collapsed to the floor.
    The Hive Controller pushed his console and said, “Send ten battleships to determine what has happened to our fleet.” He turned the console off and stared at the dead messenger. Can’t anyone make a decision? He stood and began consuming the messenger’s remains. He’d check on the findings after he completed his meal.
    • • •
    The ten Violet Colored Ships jumped out of M-87 and entered the last known coordinates of the attack fleet. The Wing Controller looked at the location and said, “Do not jump us to the exact location. If something happened to our fleet, I don’t want to become another victim. Change the coordinates to ten thousand base units from that last location.”
    The Jump Controller entered the new location and the other nine ships matched it in their systems. The Wing Controller looked around the bridge and said, “Make the jump.”
    • • •
    Two million Blue Giant Battle ships were organized into a giant semi-circle extending out from the destroyed Violet Fleet. The half circle began a thousand miles from the site of the battle and extended more than twenty thousand miles out. The giant Blue Ships looked like giant spokes in a wheel with a hundred mile separation between the individual