"Tell the North Americans," Thor said drolly. Remember how they shot each other up at Fargone?"
"As I said... Any reasonable intelligence," Gordon repeated, but it was humor, not a reproof.
"The Biter is making their usual hotshot approach to the station," Einstein noted.
"That would be sufficient for me to ban them permanently if I ran the place," Gordon said.
"Ah, the alien ships are hailing us from way out. Perhaps that indicates a little caution seeing a station and this many ships? Is that a match for their previous transmissions?" Gordon asked.
"The first couple seconds, then it diverges," Einstein said.
"Be prepared to transmit images similar to what Captain Chance used with them before. I may want to send video off the bridge." Gordon thought on some of Lee's recent advice. "Have Ha-bob-bob-brie report to the bridge right now. Tell him not to waste time cleaning up or anything, just move it."
"His supervisor says he's on the way," Brownie reported.
"Well we don't want to seem standoffish. Transmit this back to them with my image in video. Gordon checked to make sure he had a decent head and shoulders view in his console camera. 'Hello big boy, I doubt you can understand this but maybe in a few days or a few years you'll translate it. We assume you are chasing Biters. Gods only know what the idiots have done to you but that's not our concern. I'd like to get along with you, but if you touch one of my ships I'll ram a nuke up your butt and ruin your day so fast you won't know what happened. I hope that doesn't happen.' Send them a composite image of our ships and Humans, Derf and Hinth together."
"Sent," Brownie confirmed. It took less than a minute for him to add the images.
The next transmission had no audio. It just showed the Dart, Roadrunner, and Sharp Claws together in formation.
"He's asking why we didn't include the Dart because he's seen them together." Einstein suggested.
"Probably, and a reasonable question. Send a picture of the Dart and a Badger," Gordon said. It was soon on its way. There was still enough light lag to make waiting uncomfortable.
The mosaic of both groups of species Chance sent from his little task force in the far system came back. With one disturbing addition. An image of a Biter was added. Not any image they had sent, and the Biter looked a bit rough, beak hanging open eyes vacant. Gordon would guess he was dead.
"Send the same matrix back with the image of the Biter blacked out. Then send a copy of the star chart the Badgers gave us with their races around it, but be sure not to add the Biters or their worlds we had added after the original chart. Make very sure of that," Gordon repeated.
The image of them all with the Biters included came back again.
"Just repeat the mosaic with blanked out Biter."
A fair line drawing of a flat plate station came back with a Biter ship hanging on the edge.
"Well that's as clear an accusation as I've ever seen. Why is he docked on your station if he isn't part of your group?" Thor translated. "Kind of hard to answer."
"Look on the partial web we carry and find a picture of a big stout door with a locking bar dropped across it holding it shut," Gordon ordered. "Do a search for similar terms and images too."
"I have several," Brownie offered, putting them on his screen. "That's brilliant," he added.
"Hell, send all of them," Gordon ordered, ignoring the compliment.
One was a picture of a Derf keep door, with a massive wooden beam in iron brackets securing it, another was an old woodprint of large plank door with a wagon overturned against it and all sorts of barrels and beams and furniture piled in a heap to block it, backed by men with edged weapons. There was an old ad from Earth for a telescoping lock pole that braced under the door knob, and a picture of a road with two main battle tanks pulled across it at an angle to each other blocking the way and armed men behind them.
Another old drawing showed a stagecoach stopped before a tree cut down across the road. A photo showed a long line of people waiting to get in a club and a padded red velvet ropes strung between chromed theatre stanchions blocking the entry. One bouncer was holding an unfastened rope out of the way to let two people in and the other bouncer was holding his palm up denying the next couple entry. An old picture showed a long line of antique ground cars stopped before a raised drawbridge with a ship going through.
Just to top it all off they ended with a video showing a main entry through the blocky barbican on the face of a castle. First the massive oak and ironwork portcullis comes crashing down sealing the entry and then the draw bridge swiveled up covering it.
"If they can't figure it out from all of that they don't have anything in common with us," Gordon predicted. "They'd have to not use doors and I know damn well they have airlocks."
They didn't respond, so either that answered their question or confused them beyond any reply.
Ha-bob-bob-brie arrived in a maintenance jumpsuit that had seen some serious use, liberally coated with several lubricants and metal shavings.
"My daughter thinks you are underutilized, and upon consideration I decided she is right. Will you accept an immediate promotion to bridge crew, details of your training and duties to be worked out after the crisis we have on our plates right now is resolved?"
"I serve at your pleasure, here or cleaning slops," Ha-bob-bob-brie said. "Tell me what to do."
"Good man. For now strap in the number two com console, observe and keep quiet unless you see us doing something stupid," Gordon ordered. Ha-bob-bob-brie strapped in and reconfigured the couch.
The relatively smaller alien ship stopped and took up station trailing the Badger's space station in orbit, using some radar but nothing high powered or aggressive. The two larger ships caught up with one staying back by the smaller ship and the other inching forward slowly. They transmitted again directing it literally as a beam at the Biter ship that hadn't docked. There was plenty of back-scatter leakage to listen in. When there was no response they inched closer and repeated the same message.
Up close there was texture to their hull. It appeared metallic but more burnished than polished. There were lots of things mounted externally both large and small, but no lights and not as cluttered as the hull of the Retribution.
"You're getting this all on video aren't you?" Gordon asked. Confirmation came from Brownie and Einstein, as well as others.
The Biter ship broke orbit and started away at a bit over a G. Eight flat robotic drones like flying carpets flashed out from the big ship. Less than a meter thick, they were too small to be manned and too quick for the Biter to evade them. They attached themselves flat to the Biter hull and forced it back to the large ship despite the flare of their drive showing that they were resisting. A hatch several times longer than the Biter ship opened on a dark dock or hold and they were forced relentlessly into the black maw. They finally gave up and shut down their drive before they disappeared inside. The huge hatch slide shut on them. As soon as it was closed the big vessel left, briskly.
"Bon Voyage," Thor said sarcastically.
"I bet those things would be handy to push small asteroids around," Frost said.
The other huge vessel inched forward and stopped. They transmitted another burst of what had to be speech. But it was still incomprehensible. Then they waited silently for several minutes. When there was no response they eased over slowly toward The Champion William. A similar hatch opened up like the other ship had entered but the hold on this one was illuminated in a pink glow instead of dark. They transmitted again and waited. Finally just two of the flat drones flew to The Champion William and attached much slower than they had to the Biter ship.
"Uh oh... " Gordon said.
"We couldn't hear or feel them make contact," Captain Priceless Fenton informed them calmly on the local net. "I do not see this as an hostile act yet. They are acting with much more restraint than they did with the Biters. Please do not act rashly for us until we see what their intentions are more clearly."
&
nbsp; After a pause the drones gave the DSE a tiny nudge. Starting her drifting toward the hold.
"I'm going to use the maneuvering jets just enough to bring us to rest, not pull away, and see how they respond to that," Priceless informed them.
The Champion William stopped motion, hanging beside the huge ship. After a couple minutes they repeated the unintelligible gobble and nudged them gently toward the hold again.
"I'm stopping again to see if they force it," Priceless said. Once again they stopped and hung there motionless.
"They can undoubtedly hear us speaking. I'm seeing this as an invitation not a kidnapping. I'm asking permission to enter the hold under my own power before they act to push me in again. I believe we may have an opportunity to establish real contact and communications here."
"Permission granted," Gordon told him. "I see it the same way, but you are the ones taking all the risk."
"Helmsman, move us toward the hold at about the same velocity the drones were moving us," They heard Captain Fenton order, leaving his mic open. They started a slow drift and the drones released from their hull, flashing away into the hold they were approaching.
"I hope to see you all again soon. Thank you for allowing this experiment, Gordon." Then the hatch slid shut and the data link was gone. The vessel didn't hang around to talk further, hurrying after it's mate. The smaller ship hanging back cut straight through the middle of them after its larger companions.
"They should have named him Fearless instead of Priceless," Thor commented.
"The aliens are pretty damn brave too," Gordon told him.
"How so?" Thor asked, visibly uncertain what he meant.
"He just took an armed ship into the guts of that thing. I have no idea what they build their hull from or how they line their shuttle dock or whatever he's in. But I have a hard time believing that it wouldn't be a major problem for them if Priceless detonated all six hot to launch X-heads he carries inside their ship. Beside the explosion itself the primary beam is still generated even if you don't program the secondary beams. And being inside them they'd get the back end of the primary beam that is usually wasted. At least I've never heard of anybody slick enough to position an X-head precisely between two targets to use the back beam too."
"Yeah, that would probably leave a mark," Thor acknowledged.
* * *
"Are you sick? Do you have a headache?" Tish asked concerned.
Lee hadn't heard her come in. The room was dark, the only light in the library spilling in from the open door to the hallway. The carpet was thick and that muffled her steps too. The Badgers tended to click their nails on the harder floors like out in the hall.
"No, I'm fine," Lee assured her.
"My mom or dad don't usually sit in the dark like that leaning back on the headrest unless they have a headache or feel sick," Tish explained.
"I'm using my spex," Lee explained, reaching up and touching them. She still could see Tish follow the motion of her hand in the dim light. She wondered if the kid could see better in the dark than her? "There's a bunch of stuff happening up above with my ships, and it's way too complicated to watch on the little screen on my com pad. This projects it at my eyes so it looks like a big screen in front of me with lots and lots of detail. You can use it overlaid on what is in front of you, but it's much easier to see plot boards and system scan projected with the dark ceiling behind them."
"Are your ships in trouble?"
"Possibly. One of the ships was pressured to leave with one of the huge ships that came in looking for the Biters. He volunteered to go... somewhere. It was very brave and I hope he comes back safe. But it was worth the risk if we can learn to talk with these people. They build spaceships twelve hundred meters long. I don't know how to translate that for you. Do you want my pad to say it in Trade for you?"
"No, that's eight hundred thirty pik. I read about meters and hours and all your measurements."
"Really? I'm impressed."
"I thank you for telling me the truth that your ship is in trouble. Father would just tell me never mind, that isn't something for little girls to worry about."
"Parents always look at children differently. Even my adapted father Gordon treats me differently than my biological father did. And we all lived together for years. Your father has to see you are fed and sheltered and protected, I just get to enjoy knowing you and I'll be gone in a month maybe and there are no promises I'll ever see you again."
"If I don't see you, thank you again."
"You're welcome. I was starting to wonder if I would see you again. Been hiding in your room?" she teased.
"I went to my aunt's house yesterday, and I'm not allowed in a lot of the rooms in the house. I can come in the library and the kitchen when the servants are there, but not when it's empty because there's sharp and hot stuff that can hurt you. I'm never to go in my parent's apartment or the servant's quarters. And they never told me, but I'm pretty sure I wouldn't be allowed in your guest rooms."
"Well if you want to see me just come to my door and rap on it with your knuckles and I'll come to the library here or wherever you want and visit."
"Thank you. Couldn't I just text you?"
"Silly me. I didn't know you had a phone."
"Not a voice phone, and I'm not allowed a camera, but I have a tablet computer that can text you."
"OK, you are welcome to text me anytime." But she thought and added. "I sleep pretty much the same time you do."
"I wish I'd come earlier. I'd have liked to see the ships moving and doing stuff."
"I have it recorded. But I'm not sure the spex will work the same for your eyes. Do you want to try it? I can watch on my pad and see enough to tell you what was happening."
"Oh yes, please." She climbed up on the big leather couch and wiggled back under Lee's arm.
The nose bridge was way too narrow, but they got the spex perched on her muzzle as long as she held them, because the ear pieces didn't work at all, but the image was just fine.
Lee explained the situation a little and plugged an ear bud in for the translation program.
"You getting it?"
"Yes, but having it translated doesn't help if I don't know a lot of the space words in Trade either. But I think I understand what is happening."
Everything being adjusted Trish held the spex straight with one hand and held Lee's hand with her free hand while she watched.
When they got to the part with video of the big ships she got all excited. When they grabbed the Biter ship she said, "Wow, oh wow!", and almost forgot to hold on to the spex.
"Thank you," she said again at the end, handing the spex back. "I really hope they bring your ship back OK, and nobody gets hurt." She paused. "Well, maybe the Biters if they're going to keep hurting everybody. They must have been nasty with these new people too, huh?"
"That's the story," Lee agreed. "Maybe they'll straighten out and stop being like that."
"Maybe," Tish said. But she didn't sound convinced.
* * *
"You're awfully quiet. Worried about The Champion William?" Thor asked.
"Worried sick. Isn't everybody?" Gordon asked.
"No, I'm pretty confident actually. I'm just a little jealous what marvels they may see. If they had any harm in mind I just can't believe they'd have handled her so carefully and not just grabbed her and forced them to go along the same as the Biters."
"That's what I keep telling myself. Why couldn't they have grabbed the High Hopes? I'd much rather be taking the risk than them. We're about the same size as her. Was it just a random pick? Luck of the draw?" Gordon asked.
"If they'd given you a choice who to send, it would have been a very poor choice to go yourself. You have some responsibilities to the fleet you know. It's not your place at all to go flitting off on an adventure, if you'll pardon me for saying so. Priceless will do just fine," Thor assured him.
"I entertained a few doubts about him but that embarrasses me now. He didn't hesitate an
d his crew hopped to his orders marvelously."
"You just never know who is going to perform when it counts until the hammer drops," Thor agreed. "You can run all the tests and exercises you want, but when they know it's make believe with no real risk it takes the pressure off."
"What if they don't come back before we leave?"
"I thought you were more concerned if they'd come back at all," Thor said. "They have a fuel scoop. They have all our navigational data. If they are brought back here after we go they can follow us home the same way we came in or take a new route back and maybe add some discoveries that way."
"It's a lot riskier for a single vessel."
"Riskier than volunteering to fly off in a huge alien vessel when we have no idea what manner of creature is flying her and can't talk to them?"
"Put that way, going home a new route alone is tame," Gordon agreed.
* * *
The hold or shuttle hanger was illuminated at a level Human eyes saw as twilight, more pink than golden. It was indirect but the source wasn't obvious. It didn't have that glow you'd expect if the surface itself was fluorescing. The walls were not plain. There were depressed areas and ridges that suggested underlying structure. There were several huge hatches on the side that would lead deeper in the giant ship and a few smaller ones too. Where the tugs that had pushed them docked was not obvious. There were a few small protrusions here and there that might be sensors or controls but nothing that was obviously familiar such as a key pad or buttons or levers. No conduits or rivets. No bolt heads or camera lenses. Nothing that would make it familiar in any way.
The effect was jarringly alien. Far more so than the video they had seen of any of the ships the races they were meeting built. Not even pix of the damaged Biter's ship which the Badgers had finally shared with them after being asked for it several times.
"What do you have for local gravity?" Captain Fenton asked.
"Just a hair over point one three G dead on a perpendicular to the deck," Probity Schlemmer said.
"Any variation in it? Check back in the stream and see if there are any changes. Did it ramp up smoothly when we settled to the deck or what?" Fenton asked. "It didn't seem abrupt but it's so light I wouldn't trust my senses."
Family Law 2: The Long Voyage of the Little Fleet Page 37