Warrior Chronicles 4: Warrior's Wrath by Shawn Jones

sir.”
    --
    Five hundred kilometers beneath the surface of a planet thousands of light years away, a synthetic creature was eating its way through rock and dirt. It had began its journey ten thousand Terran years before, and its limited consciousness was aware of new sensations. The vibration again. It slows progress, but I will be patient. I have been patient. The makers sent me long ago. How long, I wonder? Time does not matter. My end is near. My goal is almost met. My task will be accomplished. What is the purpose of my task? It does not matter. I will be content to accomplish that which I was created to accomplish.
    Bergh Station
    “Heroc is going back to her homeworld and H’uum has invited Dalek to go with her again. We have a weekend to ourselves,” Kim said when she and Heroc joined Cort in the kitchen.
    “Perfect, we can go camping on C-742. I wanted to scout it for a forward base anyway. You up for it?”
    Kim said, “Just try and keep me away. What is 742 like?”
    “It’s pretty much identical to all of the Cuplan worlds toward the galactic center. It’s one point zero three Earth gravity, the atmosphere is seventy-seven percent nitrogen, twenty-two percent oxygen. They just finished their evacuation and we have a company of Marines there now, operating from the last Cuplan city. Based on the satellite maps, though, we may want the main facility in another area. That’s where we will go.”
    Looking at the Queen who was once a member of the Cuplan society, Kim said, “Are you sure it’s no trouble, Heroc? He’s a handful these days.”
    “Of course not, Kimberly,” Heroc clicked as she reached for a cup of sweetwater. “He is a celebrity on our world. If a human could assert with our queens, he could be a primary when he comes of age.”
    “Dear gods! He’s spoiled enough already, Heroc. Don’t make him a king!” Cort laughed.
    Heroc looked away from Cort and Kim. “Of course not, Cortland.”
    Kim added, “Just take enough human food with you this time. Last time he wouldn’t eat anything but honey for a week after getting home!”
    “What’s in the box?” Cort asked, indicating a package on the table.
    “Oh, I forgot about that. Dale sent it over for Dalek. I haven’t seen it yet, but he said it’s a FALCON for Dalek.”
    Cort opened the box and looked at the suit. “Why did he make Dalek a FALCON?”
    “I asked him to print something that looked like your uniform. Dalek always wants to dress like you. Dale said it was just as easy to print the real thing. It doesn’t have the strength enhancements, but other than that, it’s the same armor.”
    “Well, at least he thought it through. Can you imagine a temper-tantrum in a suit with augmented strength?” Cort asked.
    “I don’t have to imagine it, baby. I’m married to you.”
    “Funny,” Cort said. Looking at the smaller powerpack on the back of the suit he added, “Let’s hope Dale didn’t add the overload software too.”
    “He didn’t. This is a completely safe version of the suit. He said it will even absorb impacts and falls. He also thought to add remote access to it, so Dalek can’t hide from us unless we allow it.”
    “Does it have comms?” Cort asked.
    “Yes. Like I said, it’s just like ours, but without the dangerous stuff. If your son likes it, I’m going to print a couple more. It will be nice to know that if he plays too rough with the wolves, he won’t get hurt anymore.”
    “He’s your son too, Kimberly,” Heroc clicked.
    “Not when he acts like Cort, he ain’t.”
    After laying the child-sized armor back in the box, Cort turned to Heroc. “I have something I want you to talk to H’uum about for me while you are there.”
    “Of course. What is it?” Heroc asked.
    “This is regarding the federation, not the Collaborative. I want to start talking about expanding the contact between our races.”
    Heroc’s mandibles widened. “But we are still on many of the planets we converted. You