She’d her travelling clothes ready and a small sac of necessities, including travel food for they used such bars on longer hunting and camping trips.
Her `Dinis, Pal and Diz, were in hibernation which solved that problem. Not that she couldn’t keep things from them but it would be unfair of her to seem to desert them for no reason she could explain beforehand.
Time got shorter. The Queen seemed enfeebled and nothing could tempt her to eat more than a few mouthfuls and the intervals between these were increasing.
Zara overheard her parents talking about Rojer on board the Genesee. Until he’d managed to get some new sort of probe around the inhabited planet of the Hive colony, he’d had some sort of problem on board. Served him right, she thought disloyally, when he was actively participating in the destruction of a species. And people said the Hivers were predatory, merciless and ruthless. She was even pleased to hear – and certainly did not form part of the majority – that this colony world was swarming with all kinds of Hive life, with well-developed defences, and hundreds of satellites and large ships orbiting. Evidence suggested that the Hivers were even readying for more exploratory voyages. That was, of course, what they did, according to the `Dini.
When a world became too populated, that meant too many Queens, a ship was provisioned with excess Queens and sent forth to find its own world.
Would that procedure alter when the unarmed homeworld Hive ship arrived to tell the colony of the nova, and the destruction of their original system? Many thought it would cause chaos in every one of the Hive worlds. Maybe even, the incurable optimists suggested, curtail their explorations while they established a new homeworld. Others were certain that it wouldn’t even give the living Hivers a moment’s pause.
There was speculation over what would happen if the Hive worlds knew a Queen was held prisoner on Earth? Since it was unlikely that even the B-squadron’s quarry would know that the biggest ever Hive ship had been destroyed, why would they care?
Which made this lone Queen’s life even more important to Zara.
Miner Representative Mexalgo approached Aurigae Tower for transport to Earth for an important meeting of the Federated Nine Star Miners and Metallurgists Association. That was Zara’s chance, for Mexalgo was a large man, nearly two metres tall and close to one hundred and ten kilos. He wouldn’t fit in the usual single carrier. A double was allotted him. He also had some alloy samples he wanted to bring with him. Zara nearly yodelled with delight.
She was so slight in build that she wouldn’t cause an imbalance, especially if she `lifted’ herself. And she was small enough so that she could fit under the second padded couch, with a dark blanket covering her from Mexalgo’s notice.
And, when the double carrier was cradled in the yard first thing in the morning, she took breakfast with the family as usual but when she went back to her room, ostensibly to access her morning’s Teach, she assumed a crouched position and `ported right into the carrier.
She hadn’t quite judged the interior and barked her shins hard against the inner couch and scraped her back along the outer one.
She ought to have crouched long ways to the carrier, not athwart it. Rubbing her legs fiercely and setting a minor block to reduce the ache, she positioned herself, her sac, and the blanket so that she’d be lost in the shadow when the carrier was open to settle M.R. Mexalgo.
She’d put her Teach on automatic the night before so it would air and turn off at appropriate times, and left a note saying she’d gone to look for greens.
No-one would expect to see her before dinnertime.
She had a moment’s shock when something very heavy swung into her back as Mexalgo settled himself.
`You’ll want to secure those samples to the other couch, Mexalgo,’ the stationmaster said, and Zara caught in her breath and shielded tightly against the chance that Keylarion might investigate.
`Why?’ grunted the miner rep.
`Tower policy, sir. Wouldn’t want you squashed.
The pack’ll fit nicely on the spare couch and belt down safely’ That accomplished and the hatch closed. Despite holding her shields down as tight as she could, Zara could `feel’ the initial lift of the capsule.