Free The Tower and the Hive by Anne McCaffrey Page A

gently on its flat feet. “I have been noticing, Admiral, that this planet doesn’t seem to be as densely farmed as Xh-33.”
    â€œI have decreed”—the Admiral glanced about in a pseudopompous manner—“that this planet is to be referred to in all documentation as ‘Arcadia.’ ”
    â€œThat gives it more personality than Cj-70,” Sam said with a big grin.
    Grm pondered this, fingering its chin. AGREE. AR-CA-DEE-A.
    At that point, the Admiral’s wrist com bleeped quietly with an incoming message.
    â€œYes? Now that’s very interesting. Thank you, Commander,” Ashiant said. “They’ve dated the sphere by the deterioration of the metal fragments at five hundred and eighty years old.”
    â€œThat’s old!” Sam added a soft whistle. “What is the oldest sphere you ever encountered, Grm?”
    â€œThis one older than any seen,” Grm replied in good Basic, still rocking on its feet. “We have only two hundred years fighting. That is much older.” Now it shook its head up and down and clicked softly in its throat. “Far, far from homeworld too.”
    â€œRather daunting, actually,” Ashiant murmured. “Just how deeply have they penetrated our galaxy?”
    The probes had entered the night side of the planet.
    â€œShall we continue, sir?”
    â€œYes, since I believe those probes are equipped for dark-vision. I want to know just how many collection points and queen installations there are, and where.”
    â€œQueens live deep under the ground,” Grm said, pointing to the deck and jabbing its digit to indicate considerable depth.
    â€œHave we got any probes sensitive enough to pick up queen life-form readings?” Ashiant asked Thian.
    â€œRojer managed to do some probing in the collection facilities on Xh-33,” Thian said, “but he didn’t actually find a tunnel that opened into a queen’s living quarters. It was a maze ... with low-ceilinged waiting places for the various types of workers.” He shook his head at the immensity of such an undertaking.
    â€œMuch smaller workers,” Sam said, still rubbing his jaw. “Don’t understand what that could mean. Prime, can you get us some soil samples from”—he grinned—“Arcadia’s surface? Dr. Tru Blairik, the bio on the Columbia, suggests that the soil on Marengo and Talavera was deficient in a variety of minerals and earths. We also have the components of the Xh-33 for comparison.”
    â€œI’ll direct the probes to start collecting soil samples. Random selection, Lieutenant?” Thian asked.
    â€œYes, please.”
    â€œWe can help you now,” Clancy said. “There’s nothing left in that sphere that we haven’t seen in the others, though it doesn’t have escape pods. Maybe that was a brand-new innovation for the Hivers when they met Mrdinis, Grm.” He grinned at the ’Dini, who swiveled its poll eye around to Clancy.
    â€œInt’resting.” Admiral Ashiant began to rub his chin thoughtfully.
    â€œIndeed,” Grm agreed, continuing to rock as if that was as much an aid to thought as jaw rubbing.
    â€œPrime, have we any updates from Squadron ... excuse me, Fleet B?” the Admiral asked.
    Thian leaned across to Clancy and indicated that the T-2 was to take over the maneuvering of the probes. Clancy nodded as he and Rame took firm control of the two, while Thian leaned into one of the Washington’s generators for the gestalt needed for a far sending. While he could have done it without aid, he had learned to save unassisted contact for emergencies.
    Rojer? You available?
    Always, was the cheerful reply, and a mental sketch of a deep bow.
    Is it daytime wherever you are? Thian couldn’t be sure, since it was his brother’s touch that he had contacted, not the ship or a planetary surface.
    It is — and I’m on Talavera, where