War Ring (Canaris Rift Book 6) by Todd McCaffrey

Author:Todd McCaffrey [McCaffrey, Todd]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Foxxe Frey Books
Published: 2022-08-30T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter Eight

DF-1 appeared at the rendezvous with two minutes to spare. It transmitted the authentication codes. The processing automatons examined the medical readings, then activated a special protocol which overrode all the security on the Snipe and accessed all its internal data. Two minutes later, it sent its drone off and began procedures to receive and process the three captives that were shipped over in specially sealed containers.

#

“Green!” July Smiley cried as the data light blinked on her display. “We’ve got a green!”

“So I see,” Seth Marvel agreed , adding, “We’re still on the clock for DF-2.”

“Buzzkill,” July muttered. “And now we get to send our drone off.”

“Extra cleanroom,” Seth agreed. “And you can’t fault it.”

“I wrote it,” July said. “We should be getting the first analyses from P1 in another twenty-fours hours.”

P1 was the abbreviation for Processing One, the first of the two special-built automated processing units that July had designed — with help from Alara Koenig, among others.

#

“Admiral,” the ensign on comms reported to Morgan Branford, “we’ve got a drone from Dark Force. Message reads: Green.”

“Excellent!” Morgan replied. Guys! They got one!

Keep us posted, Ophelia Branford replied.

Two hours later, the comm officer reported the second drone: Green.

And now we wait, Owami thought.

#

Thirty days later, July Smiley jumped back to Tilly. She’d left Alwich Aigon behind, charged with continuing the processing of the two remaining Reds. One had died in the first week of captivity. It had managed to swallow the analog to its own tongue and had choked to death.

Analysis had indicated that it had higher levels of White DNA in its system. Tentatively, they identified this specimen as female but they still weren’t even convinced that the Reds had genders.

“They could all be hatched from replicators,” July said as she briefed the BioGroup which included Ira, Gray, Janis, Igor, and curiously, Vicki Branford. “But we’re trying to assemble some form of vocabulary.” Vicki nodded and July thought ah to herself. “We’re not sure quite how they communicate. We’d like permission to let the two interact, first from vids and then, if that doesn’t work, maybe physically.”

Target One, it transpired, had been a breeding planet for Greens. DF-1 had lost twenty spacers — all killed in a skirmish with the Red combat reaction force in an unfortunate encounter — one of those instances where two combat teams had literally run into each other. The spacesuited KoGs had all been incinerated in their suits, so there was no chance of the aliens acquiring any human DNA. But the three Reds acquired were all noncombatants which, July hoped, meant that there was a greater chance to communicate with them.

“Our diffusion and air analysis indicate that there are no viral or bacterial effluvia emanating from them that contain White DNA,” Igor Jankowsky added. “So it would be safe to actually meet them.”

“Are you volunteering?” Vicki Branford asked with a purr.

Igor gave her a hurt look and shook his head. “I was just observing.”

“We send in the robots,” July said. “We have the specs now, we can build them and send them in under automated control.

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