He came round to find Altia cradling his head. He was lying on the floor, and, with his hand no longer in contact with the wall, the hexagonal pattern had disappeared.
"What happened?" Altia asked.
Knave saw Jay standing a step or two away, allowing him space, giving him air.
"I dipped my toe in the Drifter information stream," Knave said, "I think I almost short-circuited my mind."
"What are you talking about?"
"I saw some hexagons when I touched that wall."
Knave pointed at the wall and Jay went over to it and placed his hand against it. The hexagon pattern from before slowly appeared in luminous gold lines.
"Pretty," Jay said.
"But I couldn't get the hexagons to do anything else," Knave went on, "So I asked Yort. It told me to open my mind and I could access some kind of instruction manual. I opened my mind, and ended up flat on my ass."
"You can't access information," Altia said, "via a purely mental connection. That's not possible. It's tantamount to magic."
Knave's head was still resting in Altia's lap, and he was in no hurry to move it.
"It felt real," he told her.
"These hexagons are real," Jay said, "But it just seems to be some sort of pattern on the wall."
"Yort said it was a machine for provisioning."
"Provisioning?" Altia said.
"That's right. And Yort brought us here when we asked for weapons."
"Weapons?"
"That's right," Knave said.
“What do you need weapons for?”
Altia let his head fall to the floor as she stood up and took a step away from him. Knave felt a little silly lying on the floor now, so he clambered to his feet.
"Because you told Shivia about my little resignation speech."
"It seemed sincere," Altia said, weakly, "I didn't think you meant it to be kept secret."
"I don't," Knave said, "I'm done with Tarazet. What has the empire ever done for me except make me risk my life and kill people in exchange for food, and terrible food at that. But I'm also under no illusions about how long they will hesitate before blowing me away and taking Galaxy Dog."
“So you want to fire on Tarazet forces," Altia said, "You two were in here looking for weapons."
"Right," Jay said, then waved at some hieroglyphics, “but we couldn't read any of this, so I went to fetch you.”
"And this is when you stumbled on the data stream?" Altia asked.
"Yes," Knave said, his eyes intense, "It's right there. Just close your eyes and it will reveal itself to you."
Altia and Knave kept arguing, but Jay cut off the input from his optical sensors and looked for the new source of input Knave had told about, and found it. It was such a huge bandwidth of information that it actually started to slow him down. Processing power was redirected from less essential operations to help cope with the load. Jay froze in the end, becoming a statue as data kept pouring in from the new channel.
Then, three minutes later, he started moving again, went directly over to the wall and touched it, watching as the hexagonal pattern appeared. Then he simply angled his hand to force the bottom of one of the hexagon inward, a depression formed as the metal of the wall deformed to accommodate his fingers, giving him enough purchase to pull the hexagon out and open a long, thin, drawer.
The drawer contained racking with item after item held snugly in place, side by side. Jay reached in and pulled out one of the items. He held it up, to get a good look at it. It looked like some kind of building material. It was just a bronze block, with gold inlay, looking hardly more complex than a block of wood. It had roughly the dimensions of a data pad, a small one that could be slipped in a pocket, but thicker, more robust looking.
Altia and Knave were ignoring him, still arguing.
“You really plan to shoot Tarazet forces,” Altia said, horror in her voice.
“I don't plan on it,” Knave said, defensively, “I've spent a lot of my life as part of Tarazet forces. But, realistically, if its a choice between them and me...”
“How can you think that the Tarazet government will use violence against us?” Altia asked.
“How can you not?”
Jay decided it was time to interrupt.
"This," the robot held it up, "is a weapon, and I now know how to operate it."
"How?" Knave asked.
"Place your hand like so, covering these two marks here, and it scans the hand to configure a handle for me."
The weapon unfolded into the robot's spidery fingers, forming an open cage to enclose his delicate hand.
"And then it extrudes a muzzle."
The gun carried on with its folding motions of reconfiguration, small plates sliding over and under each other, parts twisting and deforming, until a muzzle formed.
"Now just point and shoot," Jay said, followed by his disturbingly predatory laugh.
"Throw me one of those, will you," Knave said, "I want to see how it works."
Jay reached into the drawer, retrieved a block and tossed it to Knave. Knave caught it and placed his hand the way Jay had shown him. The weapon reconfigured, but based on Knave's more robust, human hand, it made a closer approximation to what he recognized as a gun. The muzzle was heavier and the grip sturdier.
"What does it do?" Knave asked, hefting it, "Is it a blaster, or a mass driver, or something else?"
"I'm not sure," the robot said, "should we fire one off to find out."
"Are you nuts?" Knave yelled, "This is powerful alien technology. For all we know, you might take out half of the Galaxy Dog."
"Then we make planetfall," Jay suggested, "and shoot up the place."
"Tempting," Knave said, "Is there a holster for this in there?"
Jay peered inside and then looked back at Knave.
"Doesn't look like it."
"It'll fit in my pocket."
Knave dropped it into his pocket and it had turned back into a small block of seemingly inert metal almost the instant it left his hand. It happened so quickly that it took him by surprise. He slipped his hand into his pocket to pick it up again and it instantly turned into its gun form and nuzzled into his hand. The transformation was much quicker than the first time, when it had slowly configured itself to his needs. He dropped it back into his pocket again, marveling at how quickly and precisely the transformation happened.
"Ship's meeting," Knave said.
"Ship's what?" Altia asked, hostility plain to hear in her voice.
"Meeting," Knave said, "We're all here, time is of the essence, and I'm calling a meeting. Lets all go find a table to sit round."
"All right," said Jay.
He followed Knave to the nearest room with a table and Altia came reluctantly afterward. They found a hexagonal table and each sat at one side, each separated by an empty side.
"Well, out with it," Altia said, almost as soon as they were seated, “What's this all about.”
"I'd like to suggest that we wait for a few days, before appearing at the Seat of Reason. We need to know what all this new technology we have access to does. We need to practice using it all a little bit, to avoid unpleasant surprises if there is a difference of opinion with Shivia, in case we have to leave in a hurry."
"Actually," Altia said, “I would really like more time here, for research. I feel like I'm making breakthroughs every day and I feel like I'm being gotten rid of. It's all too fast."
"Then just stay," Knave suggested, "and we can forget about Tarazet and Shivia."
"But also I can't just turn my back on humanity," she said, "Not like you."
"I understand that," Knave nodded,
"I've been thinking," Jay said, "Why does Altia have to choose. She could study the Galaxy Dog, and be based here as a scientist, but go home and see her folks, and the other people she cares about, you know, at the weekend."
"We can suggest it to Shivia," Knave said, "See if we can work out some kind of deal like that, but Shivia isn't the
only one we have to think about. There are military types too. Even the emperor is probably taking an interest, and do either of you really think they are going to be at all okay with this?"
"No," Altia said, "perhaps, it seems sensible to try and come up with some contingency plans."
"That's what I'm talking about," Knave said, "Yort, would you be agreeable to waiting a short time before we make an appearance at the Seat of Reason?"
"I can agree to a delay of nine days."
"Nine days?" Jay said, "That's quite specific. Why nine days?"
"The damage we sustained in our escape was extensive and we are not yet at complete readiness for action. It will take nine days for us to reach complete readyness."
"That settles it," Jay said, "And Yort."
"Yes."
"Could you find us a nice uninhabited planet that we can use to familiarize ourselves with these guns and test their capabilities."
"Computing," Yort said, "It will require two hours to arrive at the nearest likely planet."
"Then let's go," Knave said.
"There is one thing," Altia said, "How are we going to get down to the surface?"
“What do you mean?” Knave asked. He looked at Jay.
"Have you found a shuttle bay in your wanderings of the spaceship, is what she's asking," Jay said.
"No," he said, then looked vaguely upwards, as he did when he wanted to talk to Yort, "Yort, how do we get down to the planet's surface? There doesn't seem to be a shuttle."
"A shuttle is not required," Yort explained, "The Galaxy Dog can be brought into the lower atmosphere of a planet and crew can then be teleported to any destination within a ten mile radius of the spaceship’s position."
"Teleport!" Altia shrieked, "Are you kidding me? That's preposterous."
"It's a difficult technology," Yort admitted, "and is not to be trusted for long-range jumps, but it is a very good solution for short-range transfers to a planetary surface."
"By the very powers," Altia said.
"That is impressive," Jay said.
Chapter 22
––––––––
"I don't like the idea of teleportation," Knave said, "If they pull me apart and reconstitute me at the other end, how do I know the new me won't be like, my evil twin, or something?"
"You've been watching too many entertainments," Altia smiled, "Now choose a hexagon and stand under it."
She had dived into the Drifter information flow and found out everything she could about Drifter teleportation technology. She had led the other two to the teleportation chamber and was now giving them their instructions. Knave looked confused, so she pointed at a cluster of glowing hexagons in the ceiling of the room.
“The hexagon is up there,” Altia pointed, “You stand under it here. Jay, you stand here, and I'll stand here.”
“There are enough hexagons for a big landing party,” Jay noticed.
“Okay, off we go,” Altia said, and she gave a mental command, which was then relayed to Yort through her interface.
***
Suddenly, all three of them were standing in sand. The Galaxy Dog hung there above them in the sky, resting on its gravitic drives and casting a shadow on the desert sands.
"You know," Jay said, "If that spaceship suddenly got it into its head to fly away, we would be in deep, deep trouble.”
Altia looked around and nodded. The planet that Yort had found was uninhabited, but it was plain to see that it hadn't always been that way. They had seen the ruins of a planetary society scattered around the planet's surface from orbit. It looked to Altia like some primitive culture had caused a greenhouse effect and wiped itself out. She saw signs that the planet had had a much more pleasant climate, but now it was all deserts and baked mud flats.
"Let's not stay here long," Altia said, "It's depressing."
"I know," Knave said.
The desert sand dunes they were standing atop had invaded what looked like it had once been some sort of industrial complex. The dunes were surrounded on three sides by industrial structures and were open to the desert behind.
"Okay," Jay said, "It's time to shoot some stuff. I'm gonna shoot that tower thing over there."
He grabbed his block from a kind of holster that he had designed and attached to his right leg. The block instantly transformed into a gun and he aimed it at the tower. It had taken them a long time, immersed in the Drifter data stream, to discover the secrets of pulling the trigger. It required the hand to be in position, on the grip, but the gun was fired with the mind.
"All right," Jay said, "I'm painting a mental target, and I'm firing."
There was a high-pitched squeal as some basic underpinning of physics was twisted and distorted, and simultaneously there was a muzzle flash, like a little intense prism of energy, which appeared a few centimeters from the muzzle of the gun. Then the tower recoiled like it had been hit by a car. A cloud of dust was kicked up as sand that had settled on its upper surfaces was thrown in the air, and there was damage too. The energy projected by the gun, whatever it was, left a twisted and scorched hole in the thick metal, about the size of human torso.
"Not bad," Jay said, "I guess that sort of range and damage is comparable to a mass driver."
"I'd say so," Knave said, "but in a much smaller package."
"The technology is certainly very advanced," Altia said, "Have a few more goes, Jay, and then one of us will take a turn to practice. But remember, this equipment is only a contingency."
"Why don't I just pick something over that way to shoot up," Knave asked, “Then we can both get some practice at the same time.”
"Let's be methodical and scientific about this guys," Altia chided, "These are advanced weapons and have to be treated with respect."
"No problem," Jay said, "I'm already starting to feel a little more respect for this thing. For my next shot I'll aim slightly above the previous impact point."
The industrial tower reverberated again, shot after screeching shot accompanied by thundering explosions. Then Altia took a turn, then Knave, then back to Jay, and on and on. They didn't move position much, staying atop the dune, but making sure they stayed in the shadow cast by Galaxy Dog as the sun tracked across the sky. Soon the industrial complex around them was peppered with scorch marks, holes, debris and other damage.
"It's quite easy to make a big mess very quickly with a weapon as powerful as this," Knave murmured.
Nobody saw fit to answer him, each of them silently considering the implications of what he had said.
"How about we move on to testing the armor," Altia suggested.
"All right," Knave said, "but I'm a little confused by the terminology here. Is this armor or is it an energy shield?"
He reached into one of the hexagonal crates they had brought with them and picked out a hexagonal piece of metal.
"What are we calling this again?" he asked
"An armor badge," Jay reminded him.
"That symbol on the surface is the symbol for armor, I think, but I agree," Altia admitted, "I don't see how something so small could constitute armor. It must most probably project an energy shield."
"Only one way to find out," Jay said.
He reached into a hexagonal crate and pulled out one of the armor badges, just like the one Knave was holding. Then he emptied the rest of the contents of the crate into one of the other crates. He walked across the dunes to the tower he had been using for target practice. It was so full of holes now that its architectural integrity had been compromised and it was leaning slightly to the south. Jay found a likely looking spot and wedged the crate in between some pipes so it wouldn't topple over. He then held the armor badge loosely against the front of the crate. He had been practicing the next part, they all had, where he gave the mental command to tell the badge to protect. The badge responded instantly, and adhered snugly to the side of the crate, allowing Jay to let go of it. He walked slowly back over to where the other two were standing. One of his glowing,
red facial sensors flared bright for a fraction of a second then went dead for half a second then came back to life.
"What was that?" Knave asked.
"Are you okay?" Altia asked, though her voice wasn't quite as concerned as Knave's.
"That, ladies and gentlemen of the audience, was a wink."
Jay spun round drawing his block gun as he spun. His shot was on target, and there was the usual muzzle flash, screeching noise, and thunderous impact. When the dust cleared, they saw that the pipes holding the crate were busted and warped, but the crate was still snugly in place, except it didn't look like a crate, it now looked something like an insect. They looked at each other then back at the crate, as the insectile armor panels folded slowly away, back down to the original, impossibly small, hexagon. With the armor panels folded away, the crate was revealed to view again.
"Well, by the powers," Knave said, "It is armor."
"Works great against block guns," Altia said, "Jay, could you grab Knave's fancy blaster and see how it copes with a shot or two from that?"
"With pleasure," Jay said, letting his block gun fall into the little holster on his leg, "Throw me that thing will you, Knave?"
"What were we just saying about treating weapons with respect," Knave grumbled, "I'm not throwing any blasters anywhere."
He went to one of the crates and extracted the blaster he had been issued back on Ice Tomb. He took it over to Jay and presented it to him. Jay took the gun, shouldered it and fired in one smooth movement.
If he had been hoping to catch the alien protective device by surprise he was destined to be disappointed. When the sand kicked up by the blaster fire had cleared, there was the insectile armor. It waited a few more seconds before folding itself away.
"Impressive," Altia murmured, "We need to analyze the footage we're getting to see just how quick that thing reacts."
"It seems to be quicker than a blaster," Jay said, "Which makes it something akin to magic."
"Let's see how it copes with two attackers," Knave said, "You ready, Jay?"
"Sure."
They both started firing, and then kept on firing, both of them on rapid fire settings. It took almost half a minute to drain the blaster's capacitor and make it pause to recharge. Knave's block gun was still firing, but he stopped along with Jay, curious to see what damage, if any they had wrought.
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