*
Meanwhile, the Keulfyd were becoming sick. The spies, in the water and on the land, watched and reported back. On day 26, before Helkmid expected, the Keulfyd started to become ill. Most kept working, but were miserable. On the night of day 26, the Priskya reported that the Cats had observed the sickest of the Keulfyd being transported up to the spaceships. Helkmid was jubilant.
“Idiots! Stupid! Fools! The infection is now on the ships! This is wonderful! We can win this! I can’t believe it! They’ve broken all their containment procedure!”
“But wont they isolate them on board?” asked Sarah.
“I’d bet not. The infection’s airborne. Their techniques are sloppy. They don’t follow accepted procedure and I’ll bet they are convinced it’s something they ate. Mathew, ask the Priskya to ask the Cats if any sick Keulfyd are bleeding. Also did all the cities transport sick Keulfyd up or just some of them. It would be helpful to know if all the ships are infected. If not, how many. And are the Keulfyd medical staff using any precautions?
Mathew found his spying network was getting more and more efficient and fast as more and more cities were emptied of conquered and conquerors and his spies were concentrating on fewer cities. By day 27, only five cities were occupied. But unfortunately, the survivors in other cities refused to fight or combine. Mathew had had Az and Kaz visit these cities to determine if they would unite and fight. The answers were all no. Each time, when they found this out, Kaz and Az were instructed to end the conversation by agreeing it was hopeless, “but I just thought I’d ask.” Never did they say there was a planned resistance. Never, did they say they were fighting back.
Sarah and Kelly were also closely following all signs of the illnesses and getting the Cats and the Priskya to report directly to them and Helkmid.
“Would they have taken the sick to separate ships or would they isolate them on just one ship?” Sarah asked Helkmid.
“I would guess if they have been this stupid, they don’t see a risk. My guess would be that they are all on board their own ships. The ships work almost independently. They compete a lot. The Keulfyd belong to their individual ships. I can’t see them co-operating on this. It is not their way.”
The next night, the Priskya reported back. It seemed that all but one city had transported the sickest up to the ships. The exception had sent someone, probably a doctor, down. The doctor had then returned to the ship. The Cats had been unable to determine if the doctor had used any barrier technique as they couldn’t get close enough to see inside the buildings. The Cats noted that no precautions had been used when transporting the sick up; no masks, nothing covering the sick.
Helkmid was very happy. “The Keulfyd now running the cities are sharing facilities with the sick. The increasing virulence means that the new shift should be getting sick on day 29. The course of their illness should be faster and more deadly.”
By day 28, the infestation teams had been picked up and flown back to a heroes welcome. On day 29, the Priskya reported that during the previous two days, the slaves had begun to be dumped in the ocean deeps. The Cats reported all the cities were now emptied of the dead. Also that wholesale looting had gone on and that the slaves had been used to move the heavier objects, but that now the mercenaries were carrying out the looting while the pilots were dumping the slaves. The horrified Priskya reported that the slaves were dumped alive and fell screaming down to the water and into the ocean deeps. The planes were designed so that much of the bottom of the plane, minus the cockpit, could open up and dump the contents.
Per the schedule described by Az and Kaz, the next phase was that the survivors were now due to be attacked. The Cats noted that no preparations for that attack were evident. Mathew surmised that due to the Keulfyd being sick, a delay was likely. The Keulfyd were still well within their timetable.
Mathew declared a rest day at breakfast. All was ready. There was as yet no sign that the other diseases were working. Mathew declared it was best to wait now until the enemy were further compromised. The less People they had to fight, the better their chances and the less casualties.
They delayed over breakfast, in their usual groups. Li, Stella, Kaz, Az, Mahmoud and Donny together and not knowing what to do about the day off. A picnic sounded like a good idea. Donny had found out about some hot springs. Li and Stella laughed.
“Hot springs and two Wookies? I don’t think so,” said Stella. “When I organised that bath for Kaz I had to threaten to supervise before he’d get in. He was bloody quick too. Talk about grizzle. There was only three inches of water in the bath. And he didn’t know how to use a towel. How did Az cope?” she looked at Li.
“He took some persuading,” said Li with a bland face.
“Well we could throw them in. They could do with another bath,” Mahmoud sniffed the air.
“There’s not enough of you to throw us in,” said Az threateningly.
“Want a bet?” asked Stella.
“What’s a bet? The Translator doesn’t know,” replied Az and they all laughed except for two puzzled Wookies.
At that point, predictably, Kelly came over to see what they were up to for the day. To Az’s astonishment, when told, she sniffed the air in his vicinity and said, “Good idea.”
“Kelly? I expected your support in this,” said Kaz.
“I’m going too,” she answered.
In the end, they all went plus a lot of others. Two very reluctant Wookies were given some very pointed comments from the others, which they ignored. Kelly finally just ordered them to strip to their underpants and get into the shallow pool and they were thrown some soap. Az and Kaz were getting used to the different dress code and were becoming very appreciative of swimming clothes, especially on the women.
They noted that there did not appear to be any embarrassment between the scantily clad males and females. Kelly came over. She looked pretty good in her clothing too. Stella was with her and slid in too, Li followed. Kelly was in doctor mode.
“What happens if your people drown? Do you get water in your lungs?”
“I suppose so. Never tried it,” answered Kaz.
“Do your people know how to restart the heart and lungs of someone who has drowned.”
“Yes. If they’re got to quick enough.”
Kelly smiled, “Thought so,” she went away.
Az moved clumsily over to Li, “What was that about?”
“Mum thinks your race are closer to us than you think. She’s been talking to Helkmid. He says genetically we are all one Race. She thinks you have a mechanism that shuts your air pipe off to prevent inhaling water,” answered Stella. Az and Kaz were puzzled but Stella could see Li and Donny had got it. Both were grinning.
“Can we get out now?” asked Kaz plaintively.
Stella and Li got out with them and demonstrated how to use a towel. Once all were dressed they headed off to explore. Az and Kaz just wore shorts until they dried enough to put their shirts and trousers on. But it had taken a lot of nagging and persuading to stop them dressing. Finally, Kelly had just said, “Look you idiots. Adapt! No Cleaners! It is not acceptable to us or to you to be dirty or to put dirty clothes back on! You must adapt. Use water to clean your clothes and go without your clothes until those thick pelts are thoroughly dry,” and she had grabbed their clothes off them to be washed, leaving them in their underpants (or rather the underpants of the American Political Team whose clothes they had helped themselves to). They were not happy.
The afternoon went on with time for people to stop, think, relax and talk. Plans B, C and D were gone through with the children. Rani, Julia Helkmid and Julia had nutted it all out. All the children were ordered to report to Rani.
“Once the adults start fighting,” she said, “you are all to hide your weapons, scrunch up in your camouflage suits, stay silent and still. No matter what happens. If we win, we will come for you. If we lose you stay put. You must survive and complete your next mission. You all know what to do. Ali? Plan B.
”
“Wait until the second moon comes up and all is quiet. Sneak out like I sneaked in. Take my suit. Drop the guns. Drop everything technical and artificial. Get going until I find the Cats who will be in the trees near where we landed. Go underground with them. Wait until they say it’s safe for me to go and then go to the Priskya who will hide me in those underwater caves. Stay there until the Priskya say it’s safe to go and tell the universe what happened here.”
“Donny, Plan D.”
“As for everyone else except when the Cats say it’s safe I am to try to make my way to Helkmid where Alan and Dieter will be. When I get there, Alan can go to the Priskya or the Cats if it is safer there.”
“Very good,” said Rani. “Everyone knows where to go and how to get there?” She looked around and they all nodded.
Julia and Rani sat down together. Julia sighed, “I know this plan has been gone over and over but there are so many variables like what happens if we win in some cities and lose in others?”
“Mathew’s right. We keep it simple. Stick to the Plan. No complications. First priority is the safety of the children. Let the Cats sort it out. I trust them and the Cats and Priskya can communicate, remember.” Rani didn’t know how Mahmoud would fare either. She had trouble with the thought of him killing anyone. She hoped it wouldn’t damage him psychologically.
“I trust the Cats but Helkmid is up to something. Donny thinks so too. But I trust him too. We have to. He was too ready, too prepared. All that huge amount of research done on the Keulfyd virus and not the research he was supposed to do! Kelly said it probably took him decades. It’s as if he expected something to happen.”
“Maybe he did.”
“Then why did he come to Torroxell? Why did he risk it? And why did he let Donny and Mahmoud in.”
“More to the point, why did he let them out again when they knew he and his staff were there? Why did he trust us? He had a lot to lose if we ratted on him.”
“Maybe he thought the Aliens would just shoot first and not ask questions. He would have been right I think. They don’t ask questions, they just gas.” Julia looked around cautiously but it was safe. No children in sight.