The Space Between

by Scott J Robinson

  While Meledrin spoke, Tuki tried to watch her hand signals, but the image in the dome held his attention. The hurgon ships continued to get closer. They were a few thousand kilometers away, but that did not seem to be very far at all. Tuki divided the image into segments, counted seconds in his mind, and worked out that the aliens would only take a few minutes to arrive if they continued at their current speed. They did not appear to be listening to Cuto at all for the babble on the radio continued unchanged. According to Meledrin, Cuto was repeating his greeting and trying to talk to a 'Mother'. Any mother.

  Remembering something he had tried earlier, Tuki pressed some buttons and an image of space appeared on the wall behind Kim's chair. Another button, and the focus shifted. From there he used a little lever and was quite proud when an image of the closest alien ship came into focus.

  "It is as Cuto said," Tuki said softly. "The ship is alive." It was seven hundred meters long, green and lumpy, smudged and pulsing with life. It had four eyes on stalks and three tentacles reaching out kilometers behind it.

  "What?" Kim asked. She was so busy concentrating on Cuto and the translation that she hadn't even noticed the image behind her.

  Tuki pointed.

  "Jesus." She sat silently for a minute. "It isn't at all like what I expected.

  Tuki had not known what to expect at all when Cuto described the kil'ini. It was a strange and magnificent creature, but it and its fellows might kill them if Cuto was not successful very soon.

  An alarm shrieked out of the strange ball-chair near Tuki, making him jump. His heart started to pound. He examined the chair for a moment, wondering what it meant, before looking back at his own controls. A red light was flashing. Words were scrolling across one of the screens. He couldn't read them, but he didn't think he needed to. There was a new dot on the image made by the skyglass. It was colored orange and was racing towards them from the closest kil'ini.

  "Mo'min. I think they have fired a weapon at us." He didn't say it very loud. Even had he been certain, he didn't know if he could have spoken any louder.

  "Pardon?"

  Tuki cleared his throat. "I think they have fired a weapon at us." His fingers were trembling on the edge of the console.

  Cuto stopped talking for a moment as Meledrin translated.

  Keeble was working at his console, lips moving silently as he read. He stabbed at some buttons, and the alarm cut off as suddenly as it had started. The silence was eerie.

  Eventually Cuto started talking again. There was an unmistakable note of urgency now.

  Kim stared at the image. Her mouth was open, eyes wide. "Should we run?" she asked.

  Tuki turned to look as well. His heart was still racing. His mouth was dry. Did Kim say there wasn't much water?

  "Cuto says that hurgon weapons carried by the kil'ini are stronger than those carried by the kidol, but is unaware how successful they will be against this construct. Seeing it is the only one known to be flying, nobody can know."

  "Right." Kim turned her attention to her controls. "Here goes then." She spun the ball and pushed the thrust lever.

  The pressure of acceleration disappeared after a moment.

  The dot was gaining on them.

  "We will have to go faster, mo'min."

  "What? That's all we've got." She pushed at the lever again, as if hoping she was somehow mistaken.

  Tuki examined the moving images above him. He tried to calculate. Fifteen seconds, he thought. We will be caught in fifteen seconds. Should he tell Kim? He wasn't sure that he was right, so he remained silent and counted down in his head. The computer would probably tell him how long they had, but he couldn't even read as well as Keeble yet. Nobody had shown him how.

  Three, two...

  The ship was rocked by an explosion, then another, and it was set to spinning wildly. Tuki grabbed at the console in front of him, expecting to fall on his head. The ship tumbled through space, stars flashing past the window. Another explosion knocked them the other way. Though the ship somehow made it feel that they weren't spinning at all, Tuki felt he was going to be sick. He closed his eyes and held on.

  "Hull breach in sector 178, level seven," Keeble shouted over the thunder of another hit. "That's something to do with fuel. I think." He seemed to be keeping calm through a sheer act of will, as if concentrating on his screens and controls, doing the tasks he had been assigned, would make the reality go away.

  Tuki swallowed and forced his eyes open. Kim would know what to do. She had gotten them so far already.

  He watched the kil'ini in the image in the dome. They were still catching up, spreading out as if to trap the ship in a net. He thought of telling Kim, but it didn't seem relevant. And he didn't know if he could make his voice work anyway.

  "Shields are at 100%," Keeble added.

  "Shields? What shields? How do we turn them on?"

  "I don't know."

  "No use then, Keeble." Kim was gripping her console, staring at the steering ball. It seemed to be spinning wildly, when really it was perfectly still and the ship was spinning. "Talk to them Cuto. What the hell are you doing?"

  34: The Enemy

  Meledrin glanced at Kim. "I will not translate that literally," she said. In fact she didn't say anything at all to Cuto. Though the alien seemed calm on the surface, it was obviously trying desperately to get through to their attackers. To suggest otherwise might be seen as an insult. Kim had no sense about how to deal with people.

  "Cuto and the hakans have not attacked," the alien was saying. "The hakans will not attack. Cuto has information that could bring immense profit."

  And finally, whether it was something that was said or how it was said, the chatter on the radio stopped and, after ten more seconds, the explosions stopped as well. A lone voice issued from the radio.

  "This is Mother Konu of the F'nago Family with Re'angadano'a," Meledrin translated. "Is Cuto a prisoner? I believe that the failure to mention a family branch is significant. Re'angadano'a is the kil'ini." The elf cocked her head to listen again as Cuto replied. "Cuto is not a prisoner. The hakans aboard this construct rescued Cuto from a prison on Target World Three3."

  "Why? Why should Mother Konu believe that Cuto is not under duress?"

  "Have these hakans fired upon Re'angadano'a or any other kil'ini? Have the hakans made any threatening move at all?"

  There was a moment of silence. "No. That does not mean this is not a trick. Or a trap of some kind."

  The alien ships now completely surrounded the Hakahei. It would all be over very quickly if Cuto failed to convince Mother Konu.

  "If that was the case, Cuto would have used the proper codes."

  Another stretch of silence. "Are these hakans important? Can the hakans be ransomed?"

  "No."

  "Then where is this profit Cuto speaks of?"

  "The profit would come with the end of the war."

  Other hurgon, mothers and fathers from other kil'ini, joined the conversation. Meledrin listened as they discussed contract law and other subjects she did not understand. She did not translate all that was said, explaining to her companions that much of the detail was irrelevant.

  "Do you think it worked?" Kim asked. "Have we stopped the war?"

  Meledrin was unsure and said as much. "None of the hurgon here can make such a decision, but they can speak to their superiors. They can make recommendations." She paused to listen to Cuto. "Mother Kuno wishes to speak with the Mother on our ship. I believe that would be you, Kim. It is akin to a captain."

  Kim suddenly looked very nervous. "Are you sure?" She took a deep breath but did not look any calmer when she was done. "Of course you are. Okay then. Pass on my greetings and thank what's-her-name for listening."

  Meledrin raised an eyebrow. "What's-her-name?"

  "You know who I mean. Kuno."

  Meledrin shook her head in disgust. "Some respect would not be out of place."

  "I respect them, I just can't pronounce their names properl
y."

  Meledrin sighed and waved her hands in the ini rituals. Cuto translated into the microphone then paused to listen to the reply.

  "Mother Konu says the F'nago Family are pleased to have the opportunity to speak with the hakans about a possible end to the war. Konu says if agreements can be reached it will bring much esteem and wealth to the F'nago and to Cuto's T'loop Family. Furthermore, lasting peace would —"

  Meledrin paused in her translation as Konu commenced speaking again. She could not understand all the words, but it was immediately obvious that the alien was not pleased. Cuto interrupted Konu's interruption. Neither raised their voice or seemed overly agitated at all.

  Meledrin was unable to believe what she was hearing. She realized her mouth was hanging open and snapped it closed. She gathered her thoughts and wove a Changing. "Konu says Cuto's deception has bought dishonor upon all the T'loop."

  "What?" Kim said, almost shouting. "No. Come on, damn it."

  Meledrin almost felt like shouting herself. She cleared her throat. "The F'nago and the other families holding Target World 1 will not let the action go unpunished. The Greater Council will hear of the deception. Sanctions will be enforced. Matters will —"

  Four missiles struck the ship in quick succession, and Meledrin lost the thread of the conversation. Possibly the details didn't matter all that much in any case.

  "What's going on?" Kim shouted.

  It seemed obvious enough to Meledrin. She closed her eyes and hung on as the ship tumbled under a barrage of missiles. "Konu has ceased trusting us for some reason," she said into a moment of silence as she attempted to loosen her grip on the arms of her chair. "Cuto is currently discussing the matter with Konu."

  "No shit?" Kim was staring at Cuto as if force of will could change the outcome of the conversation.

  Meledrin did not understand the term, so made no reply.

  "How many moons were there before?" Keeble asked.

  She turned to examine the image in the dome overhead, which now also included the world they had fled. Something was different, though she could not quite grasp what it was.

  "I'm not sure," Kim replied vaguely, glancing at the three-dimensional image located in the center of the room. "As long as I wasn't going to run into it, I didn't really care."

  Meledrin had not taken particular notice, either. She had never considered the fact that there might be other than two.

  "There was only one," Tuki said quietly.

  Meledrin watched as well as the smaller of the two moons moved. She shifted nervously on her chair, weaving a Greater Beginning with shaking hands. It was an unseemly display but appeared to go unnoticed.

  Meanwhile, Kim gasped and Keeble muttered under his breath.

  "It is a ship," Tuki added hesitantly. He zoomed in but could not get close enough to see it clearly. "It is a cylinder, twenty point four kilometers long and two point three in diameter."

  "Jesus."

  Meledrin shifted again. She examined the ship but could not truly grasp the implications of the dimensions Tuki was listing.

  "It's killing the aliens," Keeble said.

  The small yellow dots of the aliens were disappearing from the view overhead. Those closest to the strange ship went first. The others were scattering.

  "Are you sure they're being killed?" Kim asked, almost as quietly as Tuki. She was leaning forward in her chair as if wishing to go to help the hurgon. "Or are they just disappearing?"

  "Some were shot," Tuki confirmed.

  "Are you sure?"

  Tuki suddenly looked as if he was not sure. He glanced at Kim for a moment, then back at his screens. "Some are leaving of their own accord now. Others are dying."

  Meledrin was unsure if a young saveigni such as Tuki could be trusted to make such a judgment but was not about to argue. The yellow dots were disappearing by the handful. Those that chose to remain were moving randomly, dodging towards the newcomer as they fired their weapons, if she was interpreting all the dots correctly. But all their maneuvering seemed to do nothing more than delay the inevitable for scant seconds.

  "Mother Konu obviously believes this recent arrival fights at our behest," Meledrin said. She sat back in her seat and smoothed down her dress to disguise the shaking of her hands. The rapid beating of her heart could not be controlled so easily.

  To have come so far to fail now.

  Cuto was the first to notice that the image on the back wall had changed. Shifting away, the alien pointed and Meledrin turned to look. Where previously there had been a view of the stars outside, now there was a perfectly white, reflective, humanoid face. It was perfectly symmetrical, perfectly formed. Too perfect to be real.

  The cold, dark eyes flickered. The mouth moved rapidly as if the androgynous being were mumbling. Symbols came and went at the bottom of the screen. They slowed. Slowed. Slowed. Stopped. Meledrin could read the word. It said 'Rongo', the language of Kiva.

  "Where are you running?" the creature inquired a moment later. Its voice, like its face, was expressionless. It was a dull monotone. "Like ninth level beings leaving a stricken vessel, you scurry for safety. You cannot run fast enough."

  On the screen, the creature smiled, but merely as if it had seen a smile somewhere else and wanted to see how the gesture tasted. "Multeese will kill these hurgon," it said, "and then chase you at our leisure."

  Meledrin could understand passion, any type of passion, but the face of the creature did not suggest it would gain anything at all from killing them. Thinking of its vessel, she did not doubt that it would kill them. In an instant. The ease with which it was destroying the kil'ini suggested it would be no effort at all.

  "Run all you like. It makes no difference to us. Multeese superiority is unchallenged, though even fifth and six level creatures, all claiming some form of intelligence, never admit that before their deaths."

  Kim nodded, a cold look in her eyes. "Well, let us get to our running then."

  The figure on the screen paused, as if attempting to drag another expression from its memory and failing. "We will kill you."

  "We'll be expecting you."

  "You will not escape."

  "Not much of a conversationalist, are you," Kim said. She turned to Meledrin. "Switch that damn thing off, would you."

  Meledrin had not turned the image on in the first instance, but the expression on Kim's face made her withhold any comments. After a moment of hesitation as she attempted to remember, Meledrin selected a button and pressed. The screen did not go blank, but the cold, white face froze.

  Tuki looked terrified.

  Keeble was shaking his head. "So, you were trying to get us killed?" he said to Kim. "There are easier ways of committing suicide."

  Kim shrugged.

  Keeble was hitting buttons. "We have to get back to the planet."

  "We aren't going down there."

  "It's our only chance, woman."

  Kim was staring at the screen, as if trying to memories the face of the alien. "Us going down there will kill everyone, one way or the other. Even if that guy doesn't kill us, then the hurgon will."

  "You don't want to be friends with this new alien?" Keeble asked with a sneer.

  "There was always a spark of compassion in the hurgon."

  Meledrin slowly sat back in her seat. She felt the need to wave a ceremony but was unsure which might be most suitable. Greater Beginning? Greater Ending? Greater Changing? Perhaps an 'ini ritual would be better. In the end, she did none. "Then what is it you are proposing?" She did not wish to admit to agreeing with Keeble.

  "We run."

  "Why?" Tuki asked quietly. "It was killing the kil'ini easily."

  Kim sighed. "I haven't come all this way to give up now. I haven't come all this way to die without a fight."

  Meledrin had seen Kim like this on one another occasion. At Sherwood Forest, her determination had been partially obscured by her uncertainty, but here it was burning fiercely. Greater Beginning.

  "So, th
at's your plan then? We run?"

  "Part of it. Meledrin has to get on her radio and warn the Americans, give them time to prepare for an attack as well. And we have to run faster, because the longer we last, the longer they have. Right?"

  Keeble depressed some buttons and checked his console. He still read slowly, but seemed to be improving remarkably quickly for a dwarf. "We were going two kilometers a second under our own power. The hurgon bombs gave us a push along though, so now we're doing double that."

  "Good." Kim appeared slightly stunned by the figures. She checked her safety belt. "Meledrin, you're just sitting there? Find the Americans for me. I need to talk to them."

  Meledrin did not like Kim's tone but was accustomed to it by now. She sighed and turned to do as she had been asked.

  "They appeared out of nowhere," the dwarf pointed out. "Can we really outrun them?"

  Kim shrugged. "Who knows? But leading them to the hangar down there will be a very bad idea. Those ships are the only real hope we have at the moment. So, we have to warn the Americans and draw the bad guy away."

  "We don't even know how to fly this thing properly," Keeble added. "And we're running on one engine."

  "Well then, we'd better all learn and get things working." Kim examined her controls. "I'd better start by stopping all this spinning."

  Meledrin studied her companions.

  Keeble shook his head but turned his attention to his screens. Tuki strapped himself in and examined the skyglass, as if answers to all their problems lay within. Cuto was crouching adjacent to the center of the bridge, gripping the back of a chair. The strangest group of allies an elf had ever known. Was this truly the group that could save all the hakan people? Or would they merely be the first to go?

  Probably they would be killed, but perhaps Kim was correct. Perhaps their own deaths were insignificant compared to the thousands of deaths that might well occur. Delfrana had scorned her desire to help Keeble because he was merely a dwarf. Meledrin had done it anyway. And she felt the same obligation now. Neither her companions nor their peoples deserved to die, no matter that they were not elves.