Maybe so. For the moment. “As I said, no Human ship will contact a juvenile species until your Sentry probe alerts all Hunters. However, we will attack other subject people systems as we see fit. And we will attack the cometary outposts of other Hunters in any system that we find them in. If our battles draw the attention of a local juvenile species, do you agree we are not violating the Rules of Engagement?”
The Arbitor dino looked down at the new databall, glanced back at its two fellow Arbitors, then faced him. “Alpha Human Jack Munroe, no Arbitor ship will interfere with your conquest of other subject peoples. Such combat is normal among Hunters. Nor will any Arbitor ship intervene in any fight among Hunters waiting in a cometary system for the local juvenile species to reach its outermost planet. Such fights happened in your Sol system before your Uhuru ship was challenged by the Rizen.”
Well, that was something. Jack wondered if zapping a Hunter comet outpost with a thermonuke torp set for a 50 megatons blast would suffice to draw the attention of the local juvenile species. It was something they might explore in the future.
“Thank you for your guidance on the ways of Hunter combat,” he said. “As you said, we are new to the Great Dark. You have educated us on the nature of its Rules. We will comply with your judgment.”
The dino scanned Jack’s crew, focused on the holo of an angry Maureen, then nodded slowly. “Perhaps you understand reality. We depart.”
“Wait!” he yelled, hoping the neutrino link would stay intact. “How do I contact you in the future? If we humans need further guidance on proper conduct in the Great Dark.”
MakMakGor snorted long and loud. “You Humans are indeed a bothersome predator. Though small and lacking in proper skin colors, you know how to be an irritant. You may contact this ship by neutrino signaling at the wavelength equal to helium’s mass cubed. Do not be a continuing irritant.”
The dino image vanished.
On the front screen, the spysat image of the Arbitor ship showed nearby starfield images warping as it entered the Alcubierre space-time manifold. It became a starry teardrop that shot away so fast it vanished in the blink of an eye. Jack turned away from the true-light image of satin black space at the outer edge of the Tau Ceti system and sat in his Tech station seat. He pulled the Tech panel over from his left armrest, nodded to the holo of an impatient-looking Maureen, and looked up at the images of his allied captains that ran across the top of the front screen.
“My allies, confirm that your AV Come-Back signal to me is encrypted in the Beta Blue Violet encryption.”
“Confirmed, Fleet Captain Jack,” said Hideyoshi.
“Pack Leader Jack,” called Benaxis, “we confirm this encryption mode.”
Every Belter captain and the other four Freedom Alliance captains confirmed their AV encryption.
“Thank you all.” He smiled. “You are all probably wondering what I intend. Well, defiance of course.”
“Yes!” yelled Maureen from the holo.
“Good to hear,” Gareth said, his look thoughtful.
“Your boina guides you!” Ignacio said sharply.
He held up a hand to forestall further reactions. “Please. I am not perfect. And we will obey this no-contact with juvenile species Rule of the Great Dark. For awhile. As our master fighter Sun Tzu said long ago, we shall ‘pretend inferiority and encourage his arrogance’.” He smiled and gave a shrug. “Sun Tzu also said ‘All warfare is based on deception’. So, we will seek out data on this Arbitor, find its weak spot and then make it come to us. For its final death.”
“Yes!” cried Maureen from the holo above Jack’s lap. “I want some dino steak!”
Most of the human captains laughed while the Alien captains showed body language reactions that Jack was still learning to read. “First, every human ship will join me in a jump to Zeta Serpentis system. Clearly there is more our Nasen Trade associates know about these Arbitors, the Rules, this Sentry probe thing and the history of the Hunters system.” He looked over to Elaine, whose amber eyes looked hopeful. “Pilot, compute our vector for the trip to the Nasen home star.” He looked further back, catching the attention of Max, Blodwen and Archibald. “Friends, you may recall I told the Arbitor we could not harm it with any weapon we now have. Now. I need a new weapon. Something that will penetrate that shield, whatever it is. Or something that makes the shield fail to happen.” He faced back to the front. “My Freedom Alliance allies, return to your home systems. Look for a neutrino signal from me that is encrypted in Beta Blue Violet mode. If we need your help, we humans will call you!”
“Understood,” Defender Tok barked. “May your teeth chew the flesh of this Arbitor!”
“We agree,” Thoughtful/Progenitor said. “But our herd remains ready to trample that ship into fragments.”
“May your trap catch this reptile by its tail,” yelped Bulaken of the North.
“May its food be poisoned,” chittered Mother Prime.
The Melagun hippo was last. “Our three ships will always stand at the side of you Humans. Your action to alert us to this Hunter threat is not forgotten. Every Guide will teach our people the wisdom of the Humans from Sol system.”
Jack felt relief. Then tiredness. Being on stage before fifteen other captains, in addition to his crewmates and the Arbitor, was exhausting. But as his Grandpa Ephraim had shared with him, a leader does not choose the time when he will lead. The time chooses him. As it had from the moment the call had come in from the first Melagun he had spoken with.
“Guide Benaxis, you comfort me. My crewmates, my ship and every other human ship will remember your words. And your hospitality at the Refuge. Leave now but be assured you will know the end of this tale.” On screen the three Melagun and four Alliance ships went to blip jump or to Alcubierre space-time bubbles. He scanned the face of every human captain. “This is not ended. Captains Vigdis and Helena are on their way to check out the two Hunter systems that may be the home of these Arbitors. In the meantime, we travel to speak with the Nasens. After that, perhaps Max will find a way to increase our Alcubierre speed. He’s told me the four light years per day limit frustrates him. And one thing I’ve learned from years spent with Max, he always overcomes any frustration!”
Laughs and chuckles sounded from the eight other captains. Behind him his crewmates also made sounds of amusement.
Hideyoshi leaned forward in his seat on the Command Bridge of the Bismarck. “Fleet Captain Jack, do we hold a planning conference before we leave for Zeta Serpentis?”
“No. We do that later. After we arrive. While we are still on the outskirts of the system.” He looked over to Elaine. “Have you transmitted the vector to the other ships?”
“Yes,” Elaine said softly, looking down at her NavTrack panel. “Receipt confirmed. Max?”
Jack looked back and gave a thumbs-up to his Drive Engineer. “Send the Alcubierre activation signal over our laser time-lock!”
“Sending!”
In front of Jack the screen’s image of soot-black space speckled by millions of unblinking stars shimmered, grew hazy, then vanished as the space-time bubble of Alcubierre stardrive wrapped them in its embrace.
To the stars they went.
CHAPTER SIX
On the seventh day of their FTL trip to the home star of the Nasen predators, Archibald called Jack and everyone else to join him for lunch in the Garden habitat of Uhuru. The lush green grass, perennial shrubs and white-barked aspen trees created a feeling of forest and meadow that Jack had always loved. A blue pond occupied one part of the meadow. The pond, meadow and forest were a big deal. Creating a Garden habitat in a ship just 200 meters long and 50 meters wide was not easy. The compartment lay past the Lander Hold and before the Mech Shop that was Max’s idea of nirvana or Heaven. Beyond the Mech Shop lay the third of the ship devoted to three fusion reactors, supercold deuterium and helium-3 fuel tanks, and the fusion cylinder that opened into a funnel for the fusion pulse gases that shot out in one direction, thanks to the m
agfield coils that ran from the cylinder to the funnel. While Maureen often walked through the Drive section in order to get to the rotating globe that was her Battle Module work station, no one else went past the Garden and Mech habitats. Holding the warm hand of Nikola, who had joined him as he walked past the Rest Area group of roomsuites, they sat in a spot between the pond and forest that Archibald had marked out with a red and white-checkered cloth.
“Ahhh,” said Archibald, “the alpha male and his queen arrive! Sit. Grab a class of lemonade. I opened a jar of Brit-made marmalade for sweetening.”
“We will. And thank you.”
“Yes, Archibald,” Nikola said, her tone musical. “This all looks delicious. You’ve set out a feast for us all!”
Their Physicist nodded to the rest of the crew who were gathered around the picnic cloth. “Well, I researched the components of an American-Belter style picnic. Hope it suffices.”
Jack grinned at the man’s earnestness. Usually shy and reserved, there had to be something special going on for the Cornwall-born academic to do something so out of character as this picnic. Writing out esoteric equations on a holo board was more the man’s line. And if the equations gave him no solace, Archibald would hang with Max in the Mech Shop, discussing Alien tech. The only hint of normal male mode he’d ever seen in the man had come at the mention of one Agnes Cumberland of the New Physics Research Institute on Vesta. Archibald had disappeared for a month to work with Cumberland on upgrading her particle accelerator so it could generate WIMP particles, or Dark Matter, for human-made grav-pull drives. But the woman had not accompanied their Physicist upon his return to teaching classes at Mathilde.
“Here, my love,” Nikola said, offering Jack a tall glass of yellow lemonade with ice cubes in it.
“Great! Thank you.”
Maureen, who sat at his right, jabbed her left elbow in his ribs. “It’s you who should be serving this maiden here. What with the bother of morning sickness and a growing baby, it’s a wonder she looks so perky.”
Jack ignored the veteran of the First Belter Rebellion in 2072. While the woman had been an admirer of his grandfather Ephraim, and a possible lover of grandpa long ago, that did not mean he had to bow and scrape to her. Instead, he looked around, taking inventory of the expressions, moods and appearances of his crewmates.
Brown-haired Elaine sat beside their sister Cassie, who had pulled her blue-black hair over one shoulder. They looked happy and relaxed. Even though he knew Elaine missed the company of her lover Ignacio. Cassie was more of a puzzle. She seemed happy doing her Spy craft when it came to First Contact with Aliens. But did she want more? Need more? Like revenge for the death of her buddy Howard Goldin, who had been tortured by the Unity Naval brass at the Antarctica base? Maybe not. Lately he’d seen her with the Mars Marine Lieutenant Andy Mabry at a few Mathilde dances. Were they a couple? She noticed his look, stuck her tongue out and went back to chatting with Elaine.
He resumed the check-out of his crewmates. Across the picnic cloth sat Max with one rad-tanned arm around the waist of Blodwen, who was wearing a Spring dress embroidered with images of flowers and butterflies. Bare-armed like Max and everyone else, the Welsh lass was focused on their Drive Engineer, her manner devoted and loving. Their Sociologist seemed quite happy to focus her analytical skills on the proper etiquette needed to wrap Max around her small finger.
Which left young Denise to their right, wearing a black leotard. Sitting cross-legged, the freckled teen had coiled her thick red hair into two braids, one on either side. She was looking down at a yellow datapad, seemingly absorbed in whatever it showed. Perhaps a game called Farm Animals. Or perhaps a new algorithm to improve the SETI translation matrix she had created with the help of Anonymous. She was a puzzle to Jack. While she had dated several young men on Mathilde after their return, there had been no one special that she showed off to her crewmates. While he valued the maturity she had shown during their two star jaunts, there had to be something more that kept her working as ComChief. What did she hope to achieve by serving on the Uhuru? She could have left the ship, thanks to her share of the diamonds and emeralds they had earned on their last trip. She had stayed. Why?
With a sigh Jack gave up trying to figure out their teen. He picked up a plate of green grapes newly harvested from a grapevine that grew in one corner of the Garden, thought about snatching a few cherry tomatoes from his lifemate’s plate, then gave up. She needed the vitamins. Which brought him back to the woman who loved him, who had accepted his yellow diamond-studded Commitment Ring, and seemed overjoyed at being pregnant. She still puzzled him despite knowing her for the last two years counting time at Charon Base. Chief Astronomer that she was, she had a brain every bit the equal of Max and Archibald. But what did she want out of life, besides him and a baby? What kept her on board the ship when she could have pled the need to stay at Mathilde until the baby was born? Though with both parents long dead from an Earth plague, perhaps being among her crewmates was the same as being with blood family.
Jack swallowed the grape he’d been chewing and fixed on the man who had chosen to leave the Charon science station and emigrate to the Asteroid Belt, where he now did Remote Tutor classes for the smart youth of 253 Mathilde. Except when he was on interstellar jaunts with the other crew of the Uhuru.
“Archibald, out with it. What’s the secret?”
“What?” The man whose head was festooned with an unruly mass of reddish-brown hair looked at Jack with puzzled brown eyes. “What secret?”
He tossed a grape at the middle-aged man. It hit him in the middle of the Hawaiian style shirt he wore over his ship leotard. No stain was left, despite the man’s automatic checking for it. Jack shook his head, amazed at how a physics brain like Archibald could explain Dark Matter and its production by way of generating WIMP particles with the ease of a mother explaining birthdays to her child, while being so socially blind. “You and Max have been spending too much time in the Mech Shop. You two are up to something. Or have figured out something. What?”
“Exactly!” growled Maureen. She lifted a rad-tanned hand and pointed a manicured finger at their lunch host. “You’re not romancing any woman, on Mathilde at least, according to my spies. But you are in love with the Alien tech of the grav-pull and the Alcubierre drives. So, what gives?”
Archibald blushed at the accusation of Maureen. Then he gave a quick glance to Max, who was also doing his best to appear nonchalant. Which the Pole from Lodz could do about as well as Jack could solve a tensor calculus problem in his head. “Well . . . ,” he shrugged, sipped his glass of lemonade, then grinned widely at them all. “We’ve done it!”
“Done what?” asked Blodwen, whose position between Max and Archibald put her in the middle of the two tech brains the way a net lies between two volleyball teams.
Archibald lifted reddish eyebrows, then looked down at his lunch plate as he suddenly returned to his normal shy mode. “Well, Max and I, we think we know what the Arbitor ship shield is. And the Isolation Globe might be. Actually, we think we know that and how they are powered.”
Relief came over Jack at the news. The demonstration of invulnerability by the Arbitor ship had kept him awake half the nights since they’d left Tau Ceti. He’d been up in the middle of the ship night as often as Nikola had gone to the toilet, thanks to preggy issues. “Wonderful! What are they, and how are they powered? And can you kill either or both?”
“No to killing either,” Archibald said, his happy look going briefly sad. Then he brightened. “But, but, we are on the track to figuring that out. Now that we know what those two things are.”
“What are they?” Nikola prompted. “Come on. Tell us before I deliver my baby.”
Max laughed, Blodwen chuckled and the other women also gave sound to their amusement at his lifemate’s tease. Archibald’s rad-tanned face darkened as he flushed.
“You people are worse than students!” The Brit looked to Max, who gave him an expressionless nod. “Well
, you all saw the shield globe become visible multiple times. Thanks to Captain Jack’s attack efforts and his laser challenge at the end. Right?” Archibald scanned everyone, going from face to face until he saw nods from the rest of the crew. “While we saw a black globe surround the Arbitor ship, we also saw silvery streaks of starlight appear on that globe. Those were signs of gravitational distortion. The same kind of gravitational lensing of external true-light images that happens when this ship goes to gravity-drive propulsion. Which is also the same distortion that happens when we activate the Alcubierre manifold and surround this ship with a space-time bubble. See?”
Jack closed his eyes. “See what?” He opened them and gave the man his impatient look.
Max leaned forward, his expression now amused. “What my collaborator means is this. The protective shield that surrounds the Arbitor ship is likely a kind of Alcubierre space-time manifold. Which does not move the Arbitor ship, but does protect it from all energy and matter events that happen outside the manifold. In short, any beam, any laser, any torp that hits the shield is translated to Elsewhere-Elsewhen space-time. Which is another dimension. Which is why the Arbitor ship cannot be harmed. So long as the shield is up.”
Weird. But for Jack, it was understandable. “Well, you two are the experts in these Alien tech thingies. I just use them. So, is the Isolation Globe just a giant shield?”
Archibald nodded quickly. “Yes. Well, mostly. Well, uh, yes,” he said when he saw Jack’s frown. “The Isolation Globe sits beside the home star of the system to be isolated because the Alcubierre space-time manifold can only generate a globular field. A bubble. Like the one we see every time we watch a starship activate its stardrive. Except this globe is the size of a star system and it encloses the star, planets, comets, stellar wind, dust particles and gases. They are all inside an Alcubierre space-time globe that never shuts down.” The academic shrugged his bony shoulders. “Which is why it’s called an Isolation Globe.”
Aliens Vs. Humans (Aliens Series Book 4) Page 7