Bad Seed

Chapter 16

A quick check showed that her weapons were twice as strong, her shields stronger with a few more energy settings. She could now resist several more types of energy weapons. This would help greatly when she went against the last race.

Wren again went over the six races that had attacked the earth; Pescules, the Begules, her father had destroyed. The third, the Eloagones she had enjoyed destroying. The fourth, the Jutrocs, who followed the fifth race, the Zetcrons, like they were gods. Yes, the Jutrocs had begged she could care less, though she had also destroyed many of the Zetcrons.

A smile lit up her features, the Zetcrons were the most arrogant of the six races. She imagined that they and the worse race, the Meltry, would be hunting her now. She was closing in on the Zetcrons soon, she thought.

She took off as soon as the doorway closed. "Alright Trigon, take us out. Last position we were near before we came back."

"Compliance," Trigon said as a portal opened, then the ship vanished.

Wren watched as they came out of the trans-warp portal. A small smile lit up her face at the pure carnage, many thousands of destroyed ships.

She had been hoping that there would be a few ships that had investigated. It would make the last two worlds easier to find.

"Alight, I want as far a scan out you can get. If they have been here since we left I want to know," Wren told Trigon.

"Now working master Wren, I have extended as far as I can. As yet there is nothing on scans. Should I also keep an eye out for you, brother," Trigon asked.

"Yes, I think that in this instance that would be advisable," Wren said. "Try to remain outside his senors, maintain a full cloak. The new one should be far more effective."

"It will be as you say, master Wren. I will also monitor for any odd transmissions. Shall I notify you if we recieve anything from the Masters of Ceti-5?" Trigon asked.

"Yes, I am going to rest some more, for some reason I am still feeling strange. Since the last leveling, things have started to feel out of place," Wren said.

"Perhaps you should contact the masters? They have never seemed to have steered you wrong," Trigon asked.

"No, I think not right now, they have enough with the eleven new people there. The planet is already starting to repair itself, they need time to make things right," Wren said.

"Taking all things into account that may seem plausible. Though I also remember master Wren, they have been doing this for a long time," Trigon said.

"I know all of that, Trigon, though they are also weak from everything. I know, I know they are a lot stronger than I think, I hope they are. For now, I think we need to let them rest a bit," Wren said.

"It will be as you wish, master Wren, we should arrive in a few minutes. All sensors at full, all weapons armed at fill. Cloak at full now emerging," Trigon said.

Wren looked over all the reading, then nodded as she walked out to her quarters. Maybe, just maybe she can almost end this today. Then she thought, with an almost evil smile, she could take care of her bitch of a mother and brother-in-law.

On the master's world of Ceti-5, things were progressing further than they thought they would. Rena and the other six were pouring over the entire program they now had.

"It appears that she has advanced further than we ever thought she would. The outside has actually started to stabilize. Though we need more of the females, we actually have a thin atmosphere," Rena said.

"We have been over all the data that we have brought up, it is as we feared. Esmerelda has grown stronger than we thought she would. Even with ten of us, we barely have enough to defeat her," Tiane said.

"It appears that at the moment we can keep her in check, barely. Even with the other two, it will be difficult, with her added power. I am afraid that we will need more. I just hope that the males can help," Vassie said.

"From all that I have seen, the addition of the twenty-first male should help. I still think that we need more females to even the balance more," Lota said.

"All the plans we have worked on indicate that the plan will work. Though, I am afraid, as all of you thought, we barely have enough power to just arrest her," Effie said.

"It appears that only we first six are at full power," Terra said.

"Yes, we are trying to increase our power," Kell said. "Our latest sister is still weak, at the moment we are unsure."

"It appears that I am indeed far weaker," another dark-haired female said. Walking in, she sat, "I am trying to grow faster, though it appears that Wren put far too much into reviving us three. I am glad to see as many of our sisters as I do," the last of the eight females called Chidie said.

"All the data has been combined and processed, for now we have a plan, though we will need more. With the addition of the other two females, more of the balance is returning far faster. Has the atmosphere returned enough to support life?" Rena asked.

"For the moment, we now have a thinner than we need, though with the addition of the other two, it has increased," Tiane said.

"Might I suggest that both of you two rest so you can increase your power. I hope that Wren can bring more of us out soon, we need more to help us and the planet," Vassie said.

"We all hope that is true, that Wren can indeed bring us back without sacrificing herself," Lota said.

Onboard Thomas' ship, he and the engineers were trying to increase the trans-warp energy. The only thing they had accomplished so far, was a one-minute duration. They had also managed to get it down to a half day.

Over the two days, they had managed to get almost back to where they had started. So it wasn't really all that much of a surprise when he saw Wren's ship appear.

As soon as the alarms started to go off, Thomas tried to portal out. This almost took too long as Wren had started to fire on them.

"What in the hell was that?" Wren asked of Trigon.

"It appeared to be a fairly early and weak form of the trans-warp. At the moment they are outside normal space. It appears that they have at least a three-minute window. That will put them far past where we last stopped," Trigon said.

"Are they that easy to track?" Wren asked.

"Yes, master Wren, as I said, this is a weaker, earlier form of our trans-warp. Do you wish to be there when they emerge?" Trigon asked.

Wren stood there a moment thinking, then shook his head. "Track them, stay with them, I want a constant lock. He just might actually lead us to the fifth race. It might help us to get them a lot faster," Wren said.

"Compliance master Wren maintaining a lock on them now. They should be coming out of trans-warp in thirty seconds," Trigon said.

"I want us within two million miles, keep us as far from their sensors as you can though," Wren said.

A minute later, Wren's ship was in trans-warp only a minute, then emerged near a star system.

"Master Wren! I am detecting a small fleet of fast-attack Zetcron ships. For the moment, they haven't detected us, now moving to avoid detection," Trigon said.

"Can you tell if they are the main system?" Wren asked.

"Not that I can tell, scanning." Trigon said. "No, it appears to be an outer colony world. Master Wren?" Trigon asked. "I am detecting strange energy readings. Wren! Those are human em fields!"

Wren ran to the console, staring at the pure human brain waves. Wren shook her head there had to be at least a hundred there! She had to come up with a plan to free them.

She started to go through everything that she had on this type of function. She sighed, she had her work cut out for her.

"I want you to see if we have the room for all of them," Wren told Trigon. "See if they need anything extra equipment wise."

A few moments later, Trigon answered, "Master Wren, we barely have enough room. At present, I am not detecting any need for special equipment. We will have to have a place to put them though, afterward."

Wren sighed as she went through all the places she knew of. The new imperial planet was out for sure. There were a few places, though they weren't that safe, no good atmosphere."

"Give me a moment," Wren said as she opened a portal in front of her. Stepping through, she saw several of the masters there. "I need a safe place to put a hundred humans I discovered on a Zetcron colony world. Are any of the Decacon habitable?"

Several of the masters were in thought a few moments, then the first master spoke up. "I believe that the one that still has a breathable atmosphere is Decacon-one. The only problem I can see is the fact there is hardly much heavy plant life there."

"I believe that I can remedy that problem, as well as a few others. As long as my mother can't get to them," Wren said.

"We also need to test your levels again. We are afraid that you might have harmed yourself after the last that you brought out," the first master said.

Wren just shrugged as several of the masters started to scan her, then their mouths dropped open. Wren started to grow worried when she saw this. "Is anything wrong?" She asked.

"This is astounding," several of the masters said. "Last time you were barely level twenty-six. Now you are almost to level thirty-one."

"Oh, ok," Wren said as she left the room. The door of the Chrysalis opened as Wren walked straight in to the Chrysalis. "So please back up, I hope it will be easier this time."

She had just put both her hands on it when six of the first eight females walked in. "Wren, don't try to exhaust yourself," Rena said.

Wren looked back a minute, "no, don't intend to knock myself out again like that."

She then turned back toward the huge brightly glowing crystalline structure. Less than a moment later, three distinct orbs of energy broke free from the structure. For the first time ever, Wren felt no strain at all.

Even as she watched, all three elongated, then became more humanoid shaped. A few moments later, all three became clearly two females and a male.

Wren put her arms down, checking all three. "You should all be fine in a few hours," Wren said.

Wren then turned to see all the females and most of the males smiling. "I was afraid that would deplete you," Rena said.

"Wren shook her head as she looked at the masters, "oh no. All the masters tested me again, apparently I am almost to level thirty-one."

All the females' mouths dropped open. "That is extraordinary, you are feeling no strain at all?" Tiane asked.

Wren looked within not feeling any strain, though she did feel again that something was off.

"I think I need all the masters to look me over. For some time since the last leveling up, things haven't felt right," Wren said, then was concerned when all the females were staring at her. "What is wrong?"

"We all think that is a very good idea," Vassie said. A moment later, the first twenty masters and Flugret were around Wren.

This really started to concern Wren. "Am I alright? Have I done something wrong?" Wren said, her face becoming more concerned.

"It isn't as bad as you think it is," several of the masters said. "It appears that you have leveled far faster than your body was ready to. This should help you more than waiting."

Wren stood there as the masters started to glow, then their power reached out to her. At first, she wasn't feeling it, then, she started to giggle uncontrollably.

All the masters were about to stop when Wren fell to the floor laughing as hard as she could. "How, how much longer? Not sure if I can't take much more!" Wren said when she could breathe.

"Not much more," several masters said as they tried to hurry. A moment longer the masters stepped back, though for a few moments Wren continued to laugh.

"Whoo," Wren said, "hope I don't have to do that often." Wren suddenly stopped, her eyes going wide. "I'm glad I brought this to your attention. Much longer I can see that it would've consumed me. Thank you," she said to all the masters.

"As we wish to thank you little Wren. We now have thirteen of our mates back as well as two more masters. There hasn't been this many of our people out in a very long time," the first master said as all there bowed to her.

Wren was astonished, about to let them know when she 'heard' Trigon. Master Wren came the voice of Trigon in her head. I am getting even more activity from the Zetcron colony world. I am afraid that it is your brother's transmissions that have alerted them.

"Shit! " Wren said as she looked away from the masters. "I need to do this quickly," Wren said.

Leaning a hand on the Chrysalis, Wren started to glow. "Wren!" Rena said. "It is too soon!"

"No not really, I need to get another," Wren said as another spot broke from the Chrysalis. Less than a minute later, it elongated, then took a Ceti-5 humanoid shape.

They could all only stare as another female appeared. A groan issued from the female's throat. "Where am I? She barely managed to say.

"You are in the Chrysalis room," Wren said with a smile.

"What? I am..." the female hesitated.

"You are solid again, there are fourteen of us now," Rena said.

The new female's mouth dropped open, "Rena! Then it is true? I thought I was dreaming when I opened my eyes!"

"It is not a dream, she has appeared. We number thirty-six now," A happy Rena said.

"Not to nix this, but I have to go," Wren said as an oval of light appeared before her. She then stepped through to alarms going off.

"Situation," Wren said as she stared at the almost swarm of ships that were before the viewscreen.

"Approximately twenty minutes ago, the Zetcron colony's defenses went on alert. Their defense shields went to full, not as strong as we thought they'd be," Trigon reported.

Well shit, that's going to make things more difficult. 'Bout the same as always with almost all I do, she thought.

"Alright, for now I want you to move all that you can to accommodate the hundred that are there. Then I need you to finish the matter transfer that I have been working on. Query, does it work?" Wren asked.

"Working, it appears to be sound in principle. I am detecting as few faults that need addressing," Trigon advised.

"Go to stealth, I want no movement or engines 'til we are ready. Then we are going in hard and heavy. I want all ships destroyed as fast as possible. Also, I want all planet shatter bombs prepped and ready," Wren told Trigon.

For the next several hours, Wren worked as hard as she could to rectify the matter transfer. God knows she'd never used it before, so this was going to be a hard test run. Finally, she thought she was ready, she'd been working on this almost as long as the trans-warp.

She was really antsy about risking a living person. She had Trigon land on the moon they were hiding behind, though she was afraid that would soon evaporate.

"We need to do this as quickly as we can, I am afraid that they will start checking out further. See if you can find something about the weight of an average human, this has to be right," Wren told Trigon.

"I have a large rock about the same weight, now initiating transfer," Trigon said.

There was a loud hum, then a rock appeared, then it crumbled to dust. "What needs adjusting," Wren called from the back.

An hour later, Wren had Trigon try again. This time the rock appeared, then it shattered into three pieces.

"Damit! That was the closest we've been yet! I need the new adjustments," Wren said.

Another two hours passed before Wren felt that this time, she had it. A feeling that proved correct when the rock appeared, and nothing happened.

"I want a full analysis of it. I want to make sure that we actually have it," Wren said as she looked over the machine that she had worked on for decades. Finally, after another two hours, Trigon reported that the transfer machine was working correctly.

An almost evil smile came to her lips as she made sure that everything was ready. Stealth at full, particle weapons, energy and missiles all at ready. Her shields she had actually worked on also increasing them another five percent. Ah! Then were her shatter bombs, all four were ready.

Trigon brought them out from the moon as Wren had him get behind the small fleet. She had Trigon start to bring them onboard five at a time. In less than fifteen minutes, all a hundred were aboard the ship. A little cramped though doable.

With a turn she saw that most of the fleet seemed to be hunting for them. Another evil came to her lips as she started to destroy the ships ten at a time. She then launched a shatter bomb, a minute later, part of the atmosphere was ripped away.

"Alright Trigon, launch fifty thermic missiles," Wren said, then smiled when all the ships in front of her vanished. She then launched another shatter bomb, seeing another part of the atmosphere ripped away.

"Alright Trigon," Wren started, then the ship was rocked.

"I am detecting your brother's ship," Trigon said.

Wren growled as she fired a total of six thermic missiles. The first two missed, as did the third. There was a scream as the fourth and fifth connected. Wren was surprised when his shields actually stopped the first two. Then she smiled as the fifth blew a hole in the side of his ship.

"Enjoy asshole," Wren said, then watched as the last missile hit next to the fifth.

She then had Trigon turn toward the planet again, this time she dropped both bombs at once. She smiled as they cracked the planet open. "Destroy the rest of the fleet," she ordered Trigon, as the rest of the fast ships vanished.

Wren made sure they were all dead, before she had Trigon turn toward Decacon-one. A moment later, a portal opened that they slipped into. A few minutes later, they exited near a blue world passed Ceti-5.

Wren landed looking at all the humans she had rescued. Stepping outside, she thought of all the plants she wanted to appear. It took a lot of energy though she got all she wanted to appear. Next, she had several lakes appear, there she thought, then sat down for a few minutes.

OK, she thought might want to do this much again for a while. Oddly enough, the twenty buildings she had appear took almost nothing. Finally ready, she started to move the people out.

Wren had almost everyone out when a small voice stopped her cold, "Wren?"

She turned to see an almost younger mirror version of her mother. For a minute, all Wren could do was stare. Then she ran to hold her sister Helene, tears falling from her eyes.

Wren had to let her go, back up, then make sure that she wasn't imagining it. She took her sister back in the ship.

"I'll be back as soon as I get all of these people out, OK?" She asked her sister.

"OK, hurry Wren. I have missed you for so long," her sister said, almost afraid to let her go.

"I will Helene, I will," Wren said.

After they were all out, she told them they were safe for now. She showed them all that she had prepared, also that she bring more as soon as she got them.

With that, she left, stopping in orbit to put several defense satellites. At least now she thought they had some better protection.

As they rose away from the planet, Wren started to ask her sister about all the people. Her sister said that most of the planet had people being held. The aliens were using their brain power to survive.

This made Wren pissed as she opened a portal back to where they had been. Helene's mouth hung open as she watched the portal open.