Eternity's End

by Jeffrey Carver

  The ship became rounded, a domed flying saucer, with all-around visibility. The clouds began to change in color and density as they shifted the image through different combinations of filters. Inform them of what? Palagren asked.

  To ready their defenses.

  He felt Palagren's surprise, then heard the soft mutter of the Narseil passing his words on to Ho'Sung and Fre'geel. And the captain's voice: What exactly have you seen, riggers?

  Legroeder answered, Nothing I can explain easily. But it's the lightning and thunder. Somehow I have a sense—

  Before he could finish, there was another flash, like heat lightning in the clouds ahead of them. As he listened to the rumble of thunder, he felt that there was something not quite natural in the sound. He felt the recognition as a tightness in his chest. To the left and astern, he saw a fleck of darkness moving against the underside of a cloud. His stomach dropped. Mother of stars...

  Legroeder, Palagren said, what are you sensing? It does not seem—

  Legroeder interrupted. It's behind us, port side and thirty degrees above! Prepare for attack. This is it!

  He felt Palagren's puzzlement as he sent the message on to the captain. The Narseil didn't feel his certainty; but then, they had never rigged with pirates. Expect a lot of light, and a lot of—

  I hear it. Coming now—! Palagren called.

  A second later: B-D-DOOM-M-M! B-D-DOOM-M-M!

  The sound crashed through the net with a dissonant rumble, as if reverberating from all directions at once, a hundred echoes arriving out of synch with each other. The Narseil riggers looked jarred and confused—too many inputs funneling through the tessa'chron. Legroeder called, This is the beginning of an attack! Don't let it shake you!

  Palagren, recovering, called back, I'm all right. Captain, we are under attack!

  Audio attack only, so far, Legroeder added. No sign of weapons fire yet.

  Very well, came Ho'Sung's voice. Let's act like victims, until we determine their intentions. His voice became more distant, probably directed elsewhere on the bridge. Let's have that hail ready.

  Act confused but don't be confused, Legroeder thought.

  B-D-DOOM-M-M! B-D-DOOM-M-M! B-D-DOOM-M-M-M!

  The reverberations shook the net, making it harder to steer a level course. They were hitting turbulence, as waves of sound crashed over them like a pounding surf. The fleck of darkness that Legroeder had spotted was gone. It was impossible now to localize the direction of the sounds.

  The pattern was familiar enough to Legroeder—did all raider bands use similar tactics?—but it also felt different enough to reassure him that this pirate ship was from an outpost other than DeNoble. It was not his former captors.

  The captain's voice rang through the net: All weapons and stations are on full alert. Is the attacking vessel in sight?

  Palagren answered, Not yet. Legroeder—do you see it?

  Negative. He'd lost it in the clouds. The pirates could make their approach from any of a dozen directions. The terrain of the Flux was so convoluted here, the number of places to lurk almost limitless.

  Sending our hail now, Ho'Sung said.

  A moment later, a recorded voice echoed into the Flux. THIS IS NARSEIL STARLINER H'ZZARRELIK. PLEASE IDENTIFY YOURSELVES. REPEAT, PLEASE IDENTIFY YOURSELVES. The message repeated, in five different languages.

  Legroeder waited, holding his breath.

  B-D-DOOM-M-M! B-D-DOOM-M-M!

  The sounds were growing louder and more frightening. Legroeder shut his eyes, trying to suppress the memories of countless raids that were welling up in his mind. He felt himself begin to shake. He thought of all those weapons hidden within H'zzarrelik's structure and imagined them coming to life. He thought of the weapons carried by the pirate ship, and began to shake harder. He had never gotten used to combat, and his stomach was knotted. (Calm... calm... ) he whispered to himself.

  // Use an image to quiet yourself,// one of the implants suggested, vibrating to life. It offered an image of waves lapping on a shore.

  He seized on it gratefully; even as more thunder shook the net, he felt his trembling abate slightly. He scanned the shifting mists of cloud. There it is! he shouted, spotting a flicker of light ahead of them and off to the left.

  Moving this way, said Palagren.

  The object turned toward them with a flare, and accelerated toward the Narseil ship with remarkable speed—either riding a powerful sideways draft of turbulence, or using internal fusors to drive it across the streams of the Flux. As it flew toward them, a great curtain of red fire lit up the clouds behind it. The fire grew into an enormous canopy of flame spreading outward and forward like great outstretched wings. In the space of half a minute, it curled around H'zzarrelik as though to engulf them. It seemed to shout a warning: Fire... death... destruction...

  Steady, Legroeder murmured. It's just an effect. Slow and steady as we wait. His heart was pounding, and he had to remind himself that the effects were not nearly as powerful as they seemed. Their greatest power was to frighten.

  The thunder was now an incessant din... DOOM-M-M... DOOM-M-M!... making it hard to think or communicate. The Narseil crew and Legroeder kept H'zzarrelik on a steady course, turning neither to flee nor to attack. Steady, steady, like an unarmed ship...

  With a blast of static, the net suddenly came alive with a yammering of voices, crying in a cacophony: SURRENDER! SURRENDER! THERE IS NO ESCAPE! THERE IS ONLY DOOM-M-M... DOOM-M-M... DOOM-M-M! From the clouds there came an enormous, rumbling thunder like the sound of a tornado passing; and the nose of the oncoming ship spat half a dozen bursts of neutraser fire, which lit up the clouds on all sides of H'zzarrelik with dazzling green light.

  Multiple thunderclaps followed each of the firebursts. The net of the Narseil ship shook and sizzled with energy. Legroeder gritted his teeth. If one of those bursts had truly connected with H'zzarrelik, they might all be gone now in a blaze of energy. But the pirates didn't come out to destroy; they were here to capture, to pillage.

  Legroeder, what's your assessment? Ho'Sung asked quietly through the net.

  Legroeder drew a harsh breath. Captain, I don't think they're out here to talk. They're trying to frighten us into submission. This is a standard attack pattern. And damned effective, even against those who knew the strategy for what it was.

  You don't believe this is a pretense? Ho'Sung asked.

  Hell no, I—

  Protect yourselves! cried Palagren.

  Their words were cut off by the flare and crackle of a fresh neutraser burst, directly in front of H'zzarrelik's bow. Fire blazed through the net. Legroeder cried out in pain. It felt as if they had passed through a wall of fire. The Narseil net was sputtering and crackling with energy. It took several seconds for the energy to dissipate, leaving the net tight and sluggish. That was more than a warning shot; it was intended to disable.

  The pirate ship was coming into full view now. It was a menacing-looking frigate—not the largest Legroeder had ever seen, but powerful enough to challenge even a naval cruiser. Ripples of fire danced through her net, outlining the ship, and flashing at node points that probably represented the positions of her riggers. Legroeder imagined the crew of H'zzarrelik targeting those rigger-stations with their concealed weapons, and for an instant, he felt a pang. Those riggers who were attacking him—how many of them were captives as he had been? He drew a sharp breath and forced the thought away.

  A powerful drum beat was growing in the Flux now, booming through the net like the rumble of kettle drums. Then a braying voice:

  HEAVE TO! HEAVE TO OR BE DESTROYED! NO DELAY! THERE WILL BE NO SECOND WARNING!

  To punctuate the words, two more bursts of neutraser fire flared off the bow of the Narseil ship.

  Ho'Sung's voice reverberated in reply: THIS IS THE NARSEIL H'ZZARRELIK. WE ARE SETTING OUR STABILIZERS AND PULLING IN OUR NET! WE REQUEST A PARLAY. REPEAT, WE REQUEST A PARLAY. Then he ordered in a more muted voice, Riggers, shut down and withdraw!

 
The net rocked with laughter, broadcast from the other ship. The three Narseil and Legroeder pulled the net close around the ship, set the autostabilizers, and withdrew. The last words Legroeder heard in the net were: THIS IS FLECHETTE. STAND BY FOR BOARDING...

  * * *

  Legroeder emerged from his clamshell to a scene of deadly calm on the bridge of the Narseil ship. The captain and commander were each at com posts, murmuring instructions. The weapons control panels were alight. The Narseil weapons crew, led by Agamem, were stone faced, motionless, awaiting orders.

  Ho'Sung conferred in a low, hissing voice with mission commander Fre'geel, then turned back. His manner was intense, but he seemed very calm. "Riggers, stand by to return to your stations on my order!" He spoke into the ship-to-ship com. "Flechette, our net is down. We have unarmed civilians aboard—"

  One, anyway, Legroeder thought.

  "—please do not shoot again! What are your orders?"

  The answer was a staticky shout: YOU WILL OPEN YOURSELVES TO BOARDING, OR WE WILL BLOW YOU OUT OF THE FLUX!

  Ho'Sung stood silent for a moment, then looked at Legroeder. "You're the expert in human behavior. They're not responding to the prearranged signal. Do you see any reason not to regard this as a hostile contact?"

  Legroeder shook his head, swallowing. "I think we have a fight on our hands."

  Ho'Sung gestured a go-ahead to Fre'geel.

  There was no further communication from the pirate ship, now framed in the long, narrow band of the monitor across the front of the bridge. The raider was nearly bow-on to H'zzarrelik's flank, presenting the smallest possible target while keeping its bow weapons trained on the Narseil ship. Three lines fired out from the frigate, snaking through the glowing mists of the Flux to attach with a thump to the hull of H'zzarrelik.

  A company of small, suited figures emerged from the side of the raider ship. The pirates moved with alarming speed along the lines between the vessels. They would be at the airlocks in less than a minute, and they would be none too concerned about whatever damage they might cause boarding the ship. "Open the airlock hatches," ordered Ho'Sung.

  Legroeder stared at the screen, fighting back memories of a pirate boarding, long ago...

  "Pinpoint all targets," said Fre'geel, to Agamem and the weapons crew.

  Legroeder held his breath.

  "Ready," said Fre'geel calmly, as the pirates approached the ship, "to destroy targets, fire... now."

  The screen erupted with light. The sides of H'zzarrelik blazed as the concealed neutrasers fired. The beams were too fast for the eye to follow, but Legroeder saw the nose of the pirate ship seem to explode, and smaller, multiple explosions zip like lightning along the boarding lines. Cinders that had been suited raiders were blown off into the Flux like so much pepper.

  Before anyone could exult, the raider ship released a blossom of return fire against H'zzarrelik. The deck shuddered beneath Legroeder's feet as the first blast hit, but by the time he had caught and steadied himself, Agamem and his crew had pinpointed and destroyed those weapons on the pirate's flank.

  H'zzarrelik was yawing in the grip of the raider net. She was damaged—how badly Legroeder couldn't guess—and Ho'Sung was shouting commands for damage control. But what about the enemy ship and its riggers? Legroeder couldn't tell. This was a perilous moment: the Narseil had eliminated the nose weapons on the Flechette, plus a couple of side weapons. But the fight was just beginning; the raider captain had most likely just revised his plan from "capture" to "destroy." H'zzarrelik held a momentary advantage due to surprise. It was possible they could even destroy the pirate ship right now, if they wanted—but maybe not without destroying themselves in the process. The ships were too close together to use the torpedoes. And that wasn't what they had come for.

  Ho'Sung and Fre'geel were snapping out orders. Deep in the belly of the ship, Narseil fighters were preparing for their own assault. If H'zzarrelik could survive long enough to get them on their way over to the enemy...

  "Maneuvering fusor! Portside stern, hard!" Ho'Sung shouted.

  A loud groan passed through the hull, and in the long screen—part of which was now dark, knocked out—Legroeder could see that the Narseil ship was rotating away from the raider, into a more protected nose-on position. But hardly had the maneuver begun than Legroeder heard a shout of "Torpedoes in the Flux!" Three jets of light streaked from the pirate ship. Three missiles shot away into space, and then looped back, bearing down on H'zzarrelik.

  "They're mad!" hissed Palagren. "They'll kill us both!"

  Agamem already had the Narseil defenses in action. A flash of neutraser beams took out one of the torpedoes with a splash of light, and a second went spinning away. The third streaked inward unhindered, until with a shudder, the side of H'zzarrelik vomited a torpedo of its own. The two connected about a kilometer from the ship, near the edge of the enemy's rigger-net. The torpedoes exploded together in a curtain of fire.

  An explosion in the Flux was not like an explosion in the vacuum of normal-space. The energy from the explosion blossomed like a jellyfish, enveloping the two ships. Some of the energy flared outward into the Flux, but much was focused inward, drawn to the nets. The Narseil net was withdrawn, but the pirate's net was fully deployed, and it blazed up like a sparkler. A moment later, it went dark, dropping its hold on the Narseil ship.

  "Maneuvering power!" Ho'Sung shouted. "Riggers, return to your stations!" The Narseil captain darted across the bridge, giving orders to his crew. Legroeder and the others scrambled to their rigger-stations.

  If the curtain of fire from the explosion did not hit the ship directly, the waves of turbulence in the Flux did. The ship had begun to lift and turn, shaking horribly. Legroeder was halfway into his rigger-station, the clamshell still open, when the strongest wave hit. In the screen across the bridge, he saw the ship turn sideways to the pirate ship, then begin to tumble. He drew a fearful breath as the clamshell closed around him.

  Reentering the net was like pulling on a tight bodysuit of unraveling fabric. The net had been seared, even in its withdrawn position; but it was still workable. He shouted, Ready! as he strained into position and stretched his arms into the Flux. The other riggers joined him, and they began expanding the net.

  It was like sticking his hands out from a spinning raft into the base of a waterfall. The Flux had taken on the look of a cosmic maelstrom, and across the whirlpool of light, the raider ship was a chip spinning on a swirling stream. The pirate captain had badly miscalculated in firing those torpedoes. The two ships were some distance apart now, but the currents seemed as likely to slam them back together as to carry them further apart. It was probably a good time to counterattack, while the other ship was helpless; but H'zzarrelik was nearly helpless, too. Maneuvering was going to be very difficult.

  Ho'Sung clearly understood that. Get us out of here, but keep the enemy in sight if you can, he ordered.

  Let's steer out toward the edge, said Palagren. I'm going to change this to an undersea image—

  Legroeder cried out, without even thinking, No, not the undersea! It's a whirlpool of light; it's a galaxy; I can keep the raider in sight if you let me form it for you.

  Startled, the Narseil leader gave Legroeder the con over the net. Legroeder worked quickly, repainting the churning mists into a vaster, grander picture of violently exploding nebulas and spinning stars. The ship was being pulled hard, and it took all of their strength to keep them in a current moving in the direction he wanted—downward, and to starboard. The Narseil riggers, confused at first, gradually understood what he was doing and found the leverage points to help him, moving H'zzarrelik away from the center of the maelstrom. At last they were able to turn and watch the raider ship, a small black dot caught in the currents of light.

  I think their net was shredded by that blast, Legroeder said. It might well have killed their rigger crew.

  They're helpless, then, if we want to go after them? Ker'sell asked, from the keel position. It was a
moot question, because H'zzarrelik was now riding a stream away from the raider.

  Although the image looked like a disrupted galaxy, the power of the stream dissipated fairly quickly. As the riggers brought the ship around in the slowing current, the captain called: Are we in a position to go after them?

  Palagren took a quick poll of his team, his gaze at last coming to rest on Legroeder. You're the expert on pirates. Can we do it?

  Legroeder thought hard, staring out at the small black object still spinning in the stream, disabled by its own weapon. No, he said at last. I don't think we should go in and risk getting caught in that turbulence again.

  But isn't this is our best chance to get them? asked Palagren.

  Yes, it is. But not by going in. Legroeder grinned at Palagren across the ghostly veil of the net. I think I know where he's going to come out. And I know right where we want to nail him when he does.

  Chapter 15

  Capture!

  All right, we'll follow your lead on this. Go ahead, Rigger, and— The captain interrupted himself in the middle of his communication. Legroeder could hear him shouting to someone on the bridge. "What do you mean they got into the airlock? Do you have it under control—?" There was a moment of silence, and then he came back with: Get us clear, riggers! But stay ready to engage! Then he was gone—light-years away, it seemed.

  Palagren looked to Legroeder to see what he had in mind.

  Take us deeper into the Flux, Legroeder said, praying that his certainty was not misplaced. Now. While they can't track us.

  But we'll lose sight of them, Palagren protested.

  Didn't you bring me along to tell you how the pirates think? We'll pick them up again.

  Palagren reluctantly complied, stretching out the battered fabric of H'zzarrelik's net to draw the ship deeper into the multidimensional layers of the Flux. As the glowing mists darkened and became less focused, Legroeder explained his reasoning. It was likely that the pirate ship had suffered severe damage to her rigger-net when the torpedo had exploded. There was no way to know how much damage, or how long it would take to repair, if it could be repaired. But Legroeder knew what most raider captains would do, in a case like this. They'll try to sink into the deeper levels and get out of the turbulence.