Metamorphosis Alpha 2 Read online

  Metamorphosis Alpha™

  Chronicles from the Starship Warden

  Volume 2

  With James M. Ward

  Edited by Craig Martelle

  Table of Contents

  Contents

  Barking up the Wrong Tree

  Invasion from Beyond the Roof of the World

  A Walk in the Black Forest

  Shepherd, Where Are Your Sh’poids?

  Frenemies

  Another Man’s Treasure

  Script Treatment

  Everyone loves a good surprise

  The Greyness

  Human Pawns

  Ascension

  The Minstrel

  Trouble Aboard the Starship Warden

  The Hunt

  Mission: Restore

  Author Notes

  Barking up the Wrong Tree by James M. Ward

  Metamorphosis Alpha is a concept of space exploration. A colonization starship, the Warden, is lost in space. Three hundred years later some shipboard beings are aware it is a starship, but most intelligent beings think the ship is an entire world. In this story we are looking at one small area of level 10.

  Invasion from Beyond the Roof of the World by Alex Bates

  What happens when you’ve been on a spaceship for so many generations that you don’t realize you’re on a spaceship anymore? Daniil Jaxon is a gardener about to discover that his world is much bigger and stranger than he thought it was.

  A Walk in the Black Forest by Craig J. Brain

  Can a mutant cat save the pure strain humans who don’t want his help, but need it nonetheless?

  Shepherd, Where Are Your Sh’poids? by Bob Brinkman

  It is said that there is no greater bond than that between a dog and her boy. That bond is forged of trust and tested in fire, and will be tested again as crisis looms. In an odyssey across the lands and into the underworld, one dog sets out to save her people.

  Frenemies by Christopher Clark

  Can two disparate cultures live together in harmony? Or are the differences so great that a bloodbath is always the inevitable conclusion?

  Another Man’s Treasure by Valerie Emerson

  “You can call me Geo. You could say I’ve upgraded you.” He grinned and turned to sit on the table, apparently admiring his handiwork. “This is just the first step, Avie. I’m gonna make you something special.”

  Script Treatment by James M. Ward

  A combat team. A mission. A new enemy. Explore this story written as a TV script by the master, James. M. Ward.

  Everyone loves a good surprise by E.E. Isherwood

  Shatzi the warrior woman is having a bad day. Her mental energy is behaving erratically, her friends pop up in the strangest places, and she walks into a dangerous once-in-a-lifetime treasure hunt. Getting to the dig site takes the leadership and skill of a warrior, but in the end, a young girl reveals a timeless truth about Shatzi’s purpose on the starship Warden.

  The Greyness by Scott King

  Bekka couldn’t decide what kind of day it would be. The only thing she knew for sure was that the answers behind The Greyness were locked in House Felton’s vault. Nothing would stop her from finding them.

  Human Pawns by Stephen A. Lee

  For the first time in many centuries, progress has been made in restoring the Warden to its course by the most unlikely of teams.

  Ascension by Scott Moon

  How far is one man willing to go to make sure the dead sleep in peace?

  The Minstrel by Bill Patterson

  Fordice is a minstrel, at least that what he appears to be. The intelligent computer knows better. The people revere him. The Wolfies hate him. And then, there are the aliens. Who will the minstrel save when it comes down to the end?

  Trouble aboard the Starship Warden by Steve Peek

  The long-term layering of mutations of the Warden’s crew members was unique, so the CAS-9 team accepted the remote possibility the DNA procedure might – just might – create a monster. When Law awoke, the remaining portion of his thinking brain function could not conceive of a monster, let alone know he was one.

  The Hunt by Thomas J. Rock

  There is more to hunting than the kill.

  Mission: Restore by Craig Martelle

  Knowledge a mile wide and an inch deep.

  “The books I write because I want to read them, the games because I want to play them, and stories I tell because I find them exciting personally.”

  “There is no winning or losing, but rather the value is in the experience of imagining yourself as a character in whatever genre you’re involved in, whether it’s a fantasy game, the Wild West, secret agents or whatever else. You get to sort of vicariously experience those things.”

  Gary Gygax

  Barking Up the Wrong Tree

  By James M. Ward

  Metamorphosis Alpha is a concept of space exploration. A colonization starship, the Warden, is lost in space. Three hundred years later some shipboard beings are aware it is a starship, but most intelligent beings think the ship is an entire world. In this story we are looking at one small area of level 10. Epsilon City was the one metropolis on the ship. The city is surrounded by artificial forested mountains. On deck ten the city has been taken over by mutant wolves. There are still lots of areas without wolfoids to explore in the city, but few do because of the wolfoid danger.

  Cast of Players

  Beck – He is the proud father of his nine year old son, Achilles.

  Beca – She is Achilles’ worried mother.

  Achilles – A nine-year-old boy preparing for his first hunting trip who is very excited.

  The story begins in an apartment in Epsilon City. The apartments are marvels of technology. Engineering robots make constant repairs on many of the systems. All city intelligent cultures leave the engineering robots alone because those robots fix systems the inhabitants can enjoy. Each apartment has a kitchen computer that delivers any type of requested food. Several computer systems deliver entertainment of all types to the rooms of the apartment. Special design machines fabricate clothes and other useful items at the request of the apartment owners. Largely unknown to the inhabitants of the city there is a massive computer and robotic infrastructure that stocks the marketing shelves with fresh fruit and fills the stores with free product. Into this environment we present our family.

  It’s dawn over the city, and a very worried mother is having second thoughts about her son and the trip he is about to take.

  “I’ve changed my mind. Our son is clearly too young to go on a dangerous hunting trip,” Beca whined. “He’s only nine. He hasn’t fired a hunting rifle before. Let’s wait a year more. I know he will be disappointed, but we can give him that toy cruise ship he’s wanted forever, to take his mind off the canceled trip.”

  “That isn’t going to happen, dear,” Beck said. “A boy or a girl’s first hunting trip is an important part of their life experience. Honey, how old were you when you took your first hunting trip? Be honest now.”

  “I was eight,” she said. “But we needed the food then, and the pack we ran with wasn’t doing well that year. I had a miserable time. I made every mistake in the hunting book, and my best catch was a muti-otter.”

  Beck, the husband, had an “ah ha” look on his face.

  Beca didn’t want her husband to call her a bitch, even though she knew she deserved the moni
ker. She tried to marshal her thoughts to convince her husband.

  “My first hunting trip I shot a cave bear, and we have enjoyed that pelt in front of our fireplace for years. I fondly remember that hunt. I’m going to give our son the chance for that same experience.”

  “Honey,” Beca was about to go on and on.

  Beck shushed her. “I’ve taken him to the firing range. We’ve shot 22s, shot guns, and laser rifles. I can see a natural born hunter in him. This plasma rifle I’m giving him for his birthday is computer controlled so it won’t fire at me or him. We are going right now, and that is that.”

  He turned and called to his son. “Achilles, birthday boy, are you ready to go?”

  The son came bounding out of his room with his cute, red DragonScale backpack all ready on. “You bet, Dad. I can’t wait.” His eagerness bubbled over and he was almost bouncing around the living room.

  “You had better have everything I told you to carry in that pack of yours,” the father admonished. “We won’t be coming back for things like canteens, cooking gear, and ground covers.”

  “Dad,” the son rolled his eyes. He also rushed back into his room and quickly came back with a ground cover tarp rolled and tied to the top of his pack.

  Beck turned his son toward the door and gave him a little push. He turned to his darling wife. He gave her a hug and a gentle tonguing. “Everything will be fine. We will be back in three days.”

  He lifted a much heavier backpack with a wrapped present on the top. He checked his sidearm and walked to the door.

  “You take good care of our son,” she whispered. “Achilles,” she shouted. “You take care of your dad and make sure he comes home safe and sound.”

  “Will do mom,” the happy-as-a-pup child said going out the door.

  “Call him back. I want a hug,” whined Beca.

  “Nope, coming back after starting the journey is bad luck. Bye dear,” Beck said chuckling at his wife. He left with a happy stride, glad to be on the hunt. It had been too long since he last hunted. He also wanted to teach his son a lot of fun and useful things.

  * * *

  Father and son walked from the city to the nearby wooded mountains to the north of the city. They journeyed seven miles, which was just a good stretch of the legs for the pair. They could have taken a city taxi out there or used a grav sled, but the father wanted to have his son savor the experience. The wrapped present was given to the boy as they got near the site where Beck wanted to camp. Achilles knew exactly what he was getting and quickly ripped the paper off of a brand-new plasma, bolt-action hunting rifle. “Be careful with this son. Remember your rifle safety classes.”

  The boy was going to leave the birthday wrapping paper on the ground. His father started with the first of many hunting lessons. “Achilles you can’t leave that paper there. I know you think no one will care about the waste paper. That’s not the point. All of the generations of our people have worked to keep the forests pristine around the city. Your sons and daughters and their sons and daughters are going to walk these same hills. Do you want them to walk through a land filled with trash or the forest we are walking through right now?”

  The boy picked up the paper. “Gee, Dad, I never thought of that. I’m a long way from having kids, but you are right. I want them walking through a clear forest just like we are now. Sorry, Dad.”

  “Not a problem,” Beck said. “It’s just one of many things we will talk about on this trip. You have learned this lesson and won’t make that mistake again.”

  The father checked his side arm for the second time that day. It was a 60 caliber five-shot pistol. It had quite a kick but Beck was very strong and could handle it with ease. There were four more cylinders of bullets in pouches around the father’s middle. The quick draw holster allowed the father to draw and fire the weapon in a second or less. The dad was deadly with the weapon up to 100 yards. He often put a five shot pattern in the head of targets his people used.

  “Before we go killing the things, tell me what you know about muti-deer.”

  “That’s another easy one, Dad,” the boy said moving around his father like a coiled spring. “The deer really like thick brush cover. We will look for antler sheds as they get knocked off all the time. If we are by a creek or brush we should look for more sheds as the deer jump over those areas. Wind direction is important to check several times an hour. The muti-deer have very sensitive noses and we don’t want them catching our scent. Windy or rainy days are great times to stalk the deer and the noise of the weather condition can mask our approach.

  “Let’s see now, when I shoot I need to focus on the deer. I can’t look at its antlers or face. I want a vitals shot. I wait to make sure the vital area has cleared of any vegetation. I’m looking for a shot that hits just above the front shoulder. If I miss entirely, by the way, Dad, that is not going to happen.”

  The father snorted at his son’s confidence.

  “Anyway, if I miss entirely I’m to let the deer run. If I can’t hit it when it is standing still, trying to hit it on the run is just taking foolish risks at missing again and hitting something I didn’t want to shoot. These plasma rounds are powerful and do a lot of damage on any setting from needle thin to five inches across. Good enough, Dad?”

  “Good enough my son.” Beck took out his plastic bottle and started peeing in it.

  “What the heck are you doing, Dad?” the boy asked not believing what he was seeing his dad do.

  “Son, do you have the plastic bottle I told you to bring along?”

  “Sure, Dad, but I had no idea what you wanted it for,” Achilles answered.

  “This liquid carries the strongest scent our people make. For a hundred yards in any direction no matter what the wind direction is or the weather conditions, the scent of our pee will tell prey we are near and they will flee the area. It’s not so bad to pee in the woods near our camp. We don’t want animals bothering us there. But all along the hunting trails, we use the bottles and leave no trace of ourselves. Do you understand?”

  Achilles eyes sparkled as he grasped the idea his father was trying to teach him. “Sure, Dad, no problem. I get it now, and that’s very logical when you think about it. Let’s go find some muti-deer.”

  “We’ll set up camp first unless we are lucky enough to spot that deer you want so bad on the way. The river is just a few miles north of here,” Dad said. “We need to avoid the Jawed Plant patch and that nasty Death Bush area. Give me the electrical tape I told you to bring along.”

  Achilles gave his father the tape. “This is another odd thing. Who ever heard of taking tape on a hunting expedition?”

  Beck put the strip of tape on the front end of his pistol. “If it’s raining or I trip and fall in the brush I don’t want my pistol barrel fouled. The tape on my pistol barrel will just be shot away and never hurt or affect my aim on the target.”

  He gave a strip to his son who promptly put it on the barrel of his plasma rifle.

  “You go first son and I’ll follow your lead.”

  The boy was off like a shot. His father didn’t have the heart to tell him to slow down. Achilles was a magnificent Alpha child. He hurried up to catch his boy; pride making his chest almost burst.

  They walked into an oak grove. There was a fresh water stream to the south of the hill. In the north was a large blue berry tangle. The berries were fist sized and very ripe. Acorns were all over the place and looked perfect for roasting.

  “This has always been my favorite camping spot,” Beck said. “I’ve never failed to get some type of prey. Maybe we can get some fishing in at the same time.”

  Achilles pulled out the force cube tent. He set it for two and the cube activated special force fields. A five-foot dome of force appeared around the cube. Bugs hitting the field turned to dust. Larger creatures, sniffing around, were blasted with sonic waves to drive them away.

  It was only noon, so they dropped off their equipment and started walking in a half circle aroun
d the camp.

  “Tell me Achilles how did you prepare for this hunt?” the father asked.

  “Prepare, hmmmm. I spread mint oil on my shoulders and feet,” the boy said. “That stuff is real stinky, Dad.”

  “Yes, well that is true. Why do we use it?”

  “It’s so predators can’t track us by our scent. That’s an easy one,” the son remarked.

  “We will talk about that a bit later. Did you do anything else?”

  “Well I brought along my Gladius. I filled my backpack with the hunting things you said I should have. What else should I have done?” the son asked concentrating on the woods around them. He looked for dangerous surprises. He carried his rifle in the proper manner and made sure never to point the barrel anywhere but up.

  “Yes, that Gladius; I meant to talk to you about that,” Beck said. “That sword is handy, although you will probably go to a Spatha as you get older and stronger. However, your weapon is useless for gutting a kill.”

  “Well geez, Dad, it’s razor sharp and should easily cut into the fur of the deer. Why isn’t it good enough?” the boy asked.

  “It’s 23 inches long,” the father explained. “When you skin an animal, and you will be doing all the skinning on this trip; it’s very fine and close work.”

  He reached into a boot sheath and pulled out a vibro-fish boning knife. “I brought this and I’ll have you use it. Of course you have to make a kill first. We’ve been at this for hours and the animals don’t seem to be cooperating.”

  “We will get so many kills that we won’t be able to carry it all back,” the youth said enthusiastically.

  “We hunt for food,” the dad said. “We never hunt for sport. Being able to hunt also helps us become better defenders of our homes in Epsilon city.”

  “I can’t wait to get in one of those battles right alongside you, Dad,” the youth said.

  “Achilles, I hope you never have to battle like that. I’ve lost both parents and two brothers in those battles, and I miss them every waking day,” Beck said patting his son on the shoulder. “However the reality of our land is one of battle and maneuver. You will begin classes on combat against others when you turn ten. For now let’s just be two hunters out for a challenge.”