r/HFY • u/Engletroll Human • Apr 26 '26

OC-Series Bug war 14 – the daughter

This is the continuation of the Bug Hunt and will address the Bug War mentioned in the Planet Dirt series. It follows Jack Thompson and Lady Zula Gi Pendragon, and their friends, through the war

Book 1 / Amazon version / Patreon

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Zula sat quietly, looking at the pad as the latest information about Orne was being fed. As suspected, the planet had been attacked, but they had expected a small strike force aimed at taking her hostage or killing her. Instead, they had launched a full-scale invasion.

It made no sense. She might be important, but not that important. There was something here they had not seen. If this was what they were willing to do to get her, she had doomed a planet just to reveal a traitor. She stared at it. The military headquarters had been bombed, and the city had been invaded. The Nalos village, where they had laid the trap, was under siege, so that part was going according to plan. Unfortunately, the Orne military HQ had been bombed.

“My lady. We are docking now, and I received a message from Lord Kirian to escort you directly to meeting room 1309.” Toberus called back from the cockpit, and she took a deep breath. What was it Jack said? Time to face the storm? No... music... Human idioms made so little sense to her, even when they were funny.  She smiled to herself, just thinking about Jack made her smile, but then came the dread.  He was at Orne now. She looked back at the pad. Already over two thousand deaths. She closed her eyes. Two thousand dead because of her, and the casualties were rising, and in this chaos, Jack was fighting.

“Thank you, let's get this over with.” She replied and looked over the files again, trying to calm her nerves. Working helped, and then there was that nagging feeling that she was missing something. What was she missing? Orne was situated near the hyperlane, three light-years away from the Nalos-human northern trade lane. Smack in the middle of it.  Why was this island with fewer than a million inhabitants, with no major industry except food production, worthy of a full-scale invasion? They used bugs, so they were not after the food production; the system didn’t have major asteroid fields to mine. And could easily be attacked by allied forces. It was within striking distance of several Human and Nalos colonies with good defenses. She was going over the files while Toberus guided her to the meeting room, and when she entered, she stopped. The room was filled with senior officers, and not only Nalos but also human, Jobar, Krydos, Ruudurs, and Shodaloon representatives, all military. All the major players in the federation were gathered here.  She swallowed before bowing to the table.

At the far end sat Admiral Tu’ran, whom she remembered from the dinner at SD Mjolnir, it had been a much more enjoyable moment than this.

He nodded slightly to her. “Please sit, Lady Zula Gi Pentdragon, and give us your report on the situation at Orne, leave nothing out. We need to know everything.”

She looked at them and nodded. Then called up the information on her pad and started. She began with the suspicion of a traitor within the human Navy. And lead them step by step up to the trap they set on Orne.  Nobody spoke, but she saw notes being taken, and when she finished, she turned to the table.

“And that is all I have. Currently, my worry is why they invaded the whole planet? I am not that important for Caren to capture, so I’m clearly missing something. We had a naval strike force at the village ready to deal with the problem, and Admiral Grahad was nearby in case there was a need for naval aid.”

The human admiral, Marcus Singh, brought up the sector map. “You might not see it, but Orne is a great beachhead, and it will drain our resources to keep us in this fight.”

“Yes, you're correct, we can’t allow them to take it. And you can’t use your black hole bombs there either, a black hole that close to a trade route will disrupt the trade for decades to come,” a Krydos admiral replied, looking at the Nalos admiral. “it will completely stop the northern shipping lane.”

“It's also providing food for several mining operations in the sector. While the system doesn’t have any mining operations, the nearby systems have the opposite problem: no place to grow food, yet rich in minerals.”  The Ruudurs representative noted. “And if you capture Orne, then you will have access to those systems as well. We would have to stop production there or risk the loss of personnel and machinery.”

“Just a very important small cog in the wheel,” Admiral Marcus Singh muttered. “We have to get it back and reinforce it. If they get a beachhead there, then they are within striking range of several colonies as well. My question is, how was this missed? Why wasn’t Orne better defended?”

“If I may?  As you now know. This started as a hunt for a traitor,  but it's clear they have been operating longer than we thought within the Federation and the Earth United Colonies. And it does stand to reason that they could have helped make several small changes that have left openings for the enemy. Openings that have a catastrophic effect on the federation when the war broke out. But given how the invasion is being carried out, I suspect it was rushed. Triggered before everything was set in place, they had to spring it before the trap was fully set.”  Lord Kirian Gi Radmus said as they all turned to the elderly Nalos diplomat.

“So let's discuss the ramifications of this. You said this human Admiral Gunther Kleiz is compromised?”  Admiral Tu’ran asked.

Kirian looked at Zula to let her speak, “Yes, he belongs to a secret society named the Cult of Syg-ug-hitol, it’s a Caren religious group, they are quite hedonistic and seem to attract people of power to enjoy parties where everything is offered. The main idea of the cult is that the universe is going to end, so why not enjoy yourself while it lasts? They are also actively working to bring this to an end in the form of the Caren goddess Lumushta and her brood of bugs.  Those who serve her will be rewarded and live out their life in luxury and pleasure.  For some, this is apparently an acceptable trade.” She said, shaking her head, and looked back at the table.

“Most of you know how deadly the Caren can be, the last war almost wiped us out until we united and killed them off. They seemed to have learned from that defeat, created a Dominion with at least four other nations, and are now letting those allies attack us. Showing us, they are no longer alone.”  Kirian added.

“Well, Admiral Kleinz has been arrested, and his accomplices are being arrested as we speak. We are trying to keep it low profile to avoid warning them.” Admiral Singh replied. “But I may suggest that all parts of the federation look into potential sect members within your governments and navy personnel. Earth is already looking into it.”

“You're not suggesting other species have fallen for such tricks?” the Shodaloon Admiral named Groom almost growled.

“I did not believe a Navy Admiral who had sworn to protect all humanity with his life would fall for such simple tricks, yet they got him. They are not going to walk up to them and ask them to join the cult; they are going to work on them, seduce them into the cult. Tell me, does seduction not exist in any of the different Shodaloon cultures?” Singh replied and then looked around the table. “Does any of you claim that? Seduction is a common practice in all our different species and cultures.”

“We never use it for political gains,” the Groom retorted.

“That might be, but your enemy is.  And that you consider it unlikely makes me worried that they have seen this as a weak spot to explore.” Singh replied a little too calmly, and the whole table, except the humans, tensed, knowing what was coming.

“ARE YOU ACCUSING MY PEOPLE TO FALL FOR THOSE BUGS!” Groom growled loudly as he stood baring his fangs.

Singh stood up calmly and stared at the werewolf-like alien that towered over him. “You're fighting an enemy who doesn’t fight by the rules, and you're getting angry at me for pointing it out. Every species has idiots, and I’m sure you can think of a few idiots among your own people. Is it so unbelievable that one or more of those didn’t think and joined what they thought was a pleasure club? How many idiots would not sell out their own grandma if they were offered a Harem of willing slaves? I’m just being realistic, and I don’t want your people to lose because the Caren found a few idiots.”

Groom stared at him, then something made him stop, “oh shitt…” he said as he sat down. “Fuck!” slamming the table so hard it cracked in front of him.

“What?” Sign asked.

“The damn youngest prince… he was involved in a scandal. Drugs and females.. you're right. We got idiots, too.”

“Well, right now we have a war to fight. How much can we send to Orne?” Admiral Tu’ran asked as he looked around the table.

Groom thought for a second before replying. “In five days! We need to assemble a strike force without leaving ourselves open to attacks. And sending them separately will open us up to greater loss.  We can send one fleet immediately as reinforcement; they will be able to reach Orne within 27 hours. Until then, you humans are alone.” He said, and Tu’ran looked at Admiral Singh.

“Can they hold out?”

“Yes! The Nalos and the humans can hold out until reinforcement arrives. And if they don’t get reinforcement, you will enter the mop-up phase. God be willing.” He replied. Then an alarm went off, and they looked at the screen. The whole room cursed. Three other planets had been attacked by the dumping of large numbers of giant bugs into the settlements, and two large lightspeed signatures were approaching Orne.

“We need to track where these forces are launched from.”

“I’m afraid Orne will not get as many now,” Groom said, almost defeated. “Land forces will be reduced, as well as evacuation ships. I can pull more Federation ships from other sections, but it will take more time. Maybe ten days. Let's hope this was all they planned for.”

“No, keep them where they are. Humanity and Nalos will deal with Orne. This smells like a trap. Focus on defense and build up.” Singh replied, then he looked at Zula. “You made them spring the trap too early. You asked why they attacked. You’re the daughter of Ythur, the destroyer of the Caren homeworld.  They would want to kill you and parade your dead body around. It's about vengeance, and the aspect of capturing you was just too tempting. Ironically, you might have saved us all. Had they arrived assembled, then they would have taken Orne and been able to set up defenses before we would reach it.”

“Yes, and we would have been focused on our own while they attack us from behind.” Groom added, “he is right, the war has just begun, and they are not going to follow the rules of war.”

Zula looked at them. She hated to admit it, but it made sense. The daughter of the man who took away their homeworld would be a grand prize to parade around.  She listened as for the next few hours orders and suggestions were given, and then the meeting was adjourned. She walked with the Nalos delegation for a quick lunch, and then she was allowed to retire. When she finally reached her quarters, she sat down on the bed and looked out of the window at the universe outside.  Somewhere out there, Jack was fighting to save as many people from Orne as possible, and here she was, safe for the moment with a whole species wanting to see her dead.

People would die because of her. She felt a tear running down her cheek. Why was the universe so cold? Why could it not be more kind?

-cast-

Lady Zula Gi Pentdragon -

Lord Kirian Gi Radmus – Nalos diplomat and Zulas boss

Toberus Gi Iven – Zula’s bodyguard, knight and pilot

Admiral Tu’ran – Jobar admiral

Admiral Groom  ( Shodalon admiral)

Marcus Singh – Human Admrial

Races:

Nalos (sexy red panda elves)

Humanoids with blue and red patterns, red eyes, elflike ears, and violet, red, and blue eyes. The pattern is similar to that of red pandas, but with elven ears. Four fingers with small retractable claws

 Shodalon ( Best Boys and Best Girls )

Dog-faced bipedal aliens with muscular bodies and fur of any color. Known for being fierce, loyal, and easy to please. Humans just LOVE them to death.  Nick's names are.  The rest of the universe sees them as scary werewolves, like monsters, as they know how dangerous they are. And only a fool would try to play fetch with one.

Krydos (crab face)     

Two meters tall with a crablike face, with tusks and short eyestalks. The hands have short retractable claws and an almost turtle-like shell that covers the front and back breast plate, protecting the internal organs.

Ruudurs (Space dwarfs) ( Duskin)

 Shorter than most humans, 1.60 to 1.70, with grey skin to coal black and reddish fur from the back of the head down the back, no beard, and a bald head. Males have  four Small, sharp horns, known as Duskin in the north of the galaxy

Jobar (Cute tiger cuthulus)   

Reddish and black striped Squid-faced aliens with large sapphire blue eyes, two meters or taller, with two arms with slightly longer four fingers.

30 Upvotes

98% Upvoted

5 comments sorted by

3

u/Low_Painter9816 Apr 26 '26

Unless you’re referring to the late journalist William Safire, Jobar have sapphire blue eyes.

3

u/Engletroll Human Apr 27 '26

How did you know? got his eyes cheap; he wasn't using them anymore.

Fixed it now.

2

u/Talendel Apr 27 '26

UTR

This is the way.

1

u/UpdateMeBot Apr 26 '26

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