Genesis

by Lawrence P White

  “If there’s anything else you can tell me, it might help me get you in to see the Lor,” Ollie said. “I have no idea how I’m going to do that.”

  “There are a few more things we can discuss.”

  “Are you familiar with the wines of Earth?” Ollie asked.

  “Yes. My people have similar concoctions.”

  “But not on your ships.”

  “No.”

  “Will you join me?” Ollie popped the cork on a bottle of red and poured, then he sat casually on the side of his bed while Kannick pulled himself up onto a huge plastic chair.

  “You have personally killed Harbok?” Ollie asked after taking a sip and rolling it around in his mouth before swallowing.

  “I have. I’m sorry.”

  “So am I, but at least you didn’t run away.”

  “No, but I would have preferred running away. Do you know why?”

  “Greg tried to explain, but I don’t understand at all.”

  “He does. He finds the explanation as intolerable as you do.”

  “He does?” Ollie asked in surprise. “He told me he loves you An’Atee for your values.”

  “He does, but our values place us at a tremendous disadvantage when it comes to survival. We know it, he knows it, and he’s working us hard to use our talents to help you.”

  “Why?”

  “He’s concerned for all of us, us An’Atee, you Harbok, and his own people on Earth. He believes that unless we all cooperate, we will succumb to the Oort.”

  “He’s right, but he doesn’t appreciate the danger to you and to Earth.”

  “Actually, Ollie, he does, and we do.” When Ollie raised his eyebrows, Kannick added, “How do you think we learned your language?”

  “Not from him, certainly!”

  “No. We sent a cloaked ship to one of your worlds taken over by the Oort.”

  Ollie blinked. “I see . . .”

  “Between what we saw there and what you described to Greg during your meeting in the barn, we know what the Oort do to their hosts. We’re not good fighters, but we will not turn our backs on this problem. Despite the risks, my people voted to get engaged.”

  “It’s too soon for you to be engaged. If the Oort find you, you will be helpless.”

  “Then let us help you defeat them before that happens.”

  “Greg and I had this very discussion. I’ve been thinking about what he said. There is sense to his argument, but I still don’t like it. It’s unfair.”

  “Is it unfair if it leads to victory? Is it unfair if your people toss this yoke from their shoulders? Is it unfair if they start living life the way they want to live it instead of the way the war is forcing them to live?”

  “I’ve been thinking about that, too. I have no idea what life would be like without war. What will we do?”

  “I suspect there will always be fighting somewhere. A few of us An’Atee are beginning to realize it, though most of my people do not accept the argument. I hope they’ll come around in time, but Ollie, how would you like to take part in exploring new worlds? Or help other civilizations the Oort have taken over? How would you like to give those kinds of opportunities to your children?”

  Kannick paused, then in a hushed voice he said, “Sorry. Greg told me your story. I meant Harbok children in general.”

  “What is this weapon that can take out an Oort fleet?”

  “It’s a secret, but it’s part of the plan Greg wants to discuss with Lor Tas’val.”

  “Who is he anyway, that he asks to see the Lor in his own name?”

  “Just a man, Ollie. A man like you and me. But he has a vision, a vision he has pressed on to my people. I hope the day comes when you and your people join us in that vision.”

  “What is this vision?”

  Kannick hesitated. He could not reveal all—the timing of that was up to Greg. “I think you should ask him, Ollie. I know your Lor will when they meet someday. I can tell you that his vision is founded in reality, it is achievable, and it is worthy. I have chosen to devote the rest of my life to bringing that vision to reality. So, too, has Arlynn.”

  “Arlynn, yes. They have a special relationship.”

  “They’re married now, Ollie.”

  Ollie raised his glass. “He told me. A toast to the bride and groom if you will. I’m sorry I missed the ceremony.”

  “I’m sorry we didn’t invite you,” Kannick said with a grin. “It took place on Ariall.”

  “Ah. It wasn’t meant to be.”

  “It wasn’t, but if Greg has his way, you will one day see Ariall. Maybe sooner than you think.”

  “Why?”

  “We An’Atee are going to help you win this war against the Oort, Ollie, whether you want us to or not. We already have ways of helping you, but you’re forcing us to guess at what’s most critical. You have an intuitive grasp of your needs that not even Greg has, and he knows it. Look at how quickly you understood the true threat of the Oort cloaking device. We need your help. Think how much more effective our assistance could be if we had your guidance.”

  “We have experts who would be much more helpful than me.”

  “I don’t doubt it. Can you name any who would be willing to go to Ariall?”

  “Aye, there is that.”

  “It’s too soon for you and me to speak of that. Greg is working on the big picture while you and I have a smaller task—getting me in to see the Lor. The plans I brought for the laser-tagger might help with that. Is it possible for me to begin translating those plans during this voyage?”

  Ollie pursed his lips. “We can try. It’s been a long day. Tomorrow I’ll introduce you to my chief engineer. I don’t think he will be much help, but you might at least make a start.”

  “He won’t be much help?”

  “We are fighters, Colonel, not scientists. We’ll see.”

  “I’m curious about something. Haldor is a cold world, but I am not cold on this ship. Have you warmed it up for me?”

  “No. We Harbok are not from Haldor. Most of us grew up on warmer worlds and prefer warmer temperatures.”

  Kannick’s jaw dropped, then he brightened. “I didn’t know. I hope my stay there is short.”

  Ollie just raised his eyebrows. Kannick’s stay on Haldor might well end up being very short, if not nonexistent.

  Kannick went to work the following day with the ship’s engineer, Lieutenant Borkt. Ollie did not mince words with Borkt. “You don’t have to like working with Colonel Kannick, but I want you to give him your best.”

  The work went slowly. Borkt was not a scientist, but that was not the whole problem. Science intrigued him, so he had undertaken extra study of fundamentals and theory on his own, more than the minimum provided to ships’ engineers. But he spoke not a word of An’Atee, and Kannick’s knowledge of the Harbok language was limited in technical areas. They spent a full week, much of it in frustration, as they attempted to translate An’Atee scientific notations into Harbok. At the end of the week, just as Kannick was beginning to feel like they had made some headway, Borkt threw down his stylus in disgust.

  Kannick looked at him in surprise. “What’s the problem? I know we did this right.”

  “How do you expect us to make those computations so quickly?”

  “The computers will do it,” Kannick answered with lifted eyebrows, not really understanding the problem.

  “No, they won’t. They’re not fast enough.”

  “Hmm. We can add another computer in parallel.”

  “It’s not that simple. We might have computers in laboratories somewhere that are this fast, but we don’t have them on ships.”

  Kannick sat back in contemplation. What was Borkt talking about? He suddenly had a bad feeling. Looking through narrowed eyes at Borkt, he said, “I haven’t seen any of your systems yet. Perhaps this would be a good time to show me your computer.”

  Borkt called Ollie—he was not going to give away Harbok secrets without Ollie’s approval.
He explained the problem to Ollie, then Kannick asked a question.

  “Can I see your drive computer?”

  Ollie answered by leading the way to the drive compartment and pointing to a long wall of cabinets. Kannick’s mouth dropped open at the size of the computer, but when he swung panels open and looked inside, he felt himself deflating. Rows and rows of circuit boards, similar to the circuit boards used in computers on Earth, filled the compartments. The Harbok had never graduated to computing with crystal complexes.

  “We have a problem, Ollie,” he said. “Lieutenant Borkt is right. These computers will never be fast enough. Do you have better computers?”

  Ollie looked at Borkt who shook his head. “Not that I know of.”

  Kannick went into one of his deep-thinking states. When he came out of it, he said, “We need to let Greg know. It still makes sense for us to bring this system to Haldor, but in the short term the system itself will not be sufficient. You need better computers, and until you get them, you need new ships.”

  Ollie’s lips thinned. “I see,” he said. “This is all a ruse to let you bring an armada to Haldor.”

  Kannick’s face turned to stone, but only for a moment. He had spent enough time around Greg to become accustomed to distrust.

  “It is not, Ollie. We’ll find a way to prove it to you, because you need ships, lots of ships. We can give them to you anywhere you choose. Maybe you can even send pilots to Ariall to pick them up, but you need them. And you’re going to need instructors and mechanics. Let me get Greg started on it. We’ll figure out the details later.”

  Ollie led him to the control room and opened a channel to Greg’s prime ship which was headed out in the other direction on its way to Ariall. The distance separating the two ships was already significant, leading to long delays in the conversation.

  When Greg responded to Kannick’s briefing, he was clearly as surprised at the issues as Kannick had been. “Got any suggestions?” he asked.

  “Ollie says we can’t send an armada to Haldor, but I still think they need our ships. Can you free up a thousand or so fighters?”

  Greg’s reply after the time delay was, “Maybe. But they’ll need support. And modifications. I’ll get things started, but I won’t send anything until I get the okay from you.”

  “I’ll try to convince them to allow a baseship to come along. Failing that, maybe a few prime ships. I might be able to bring enough Harbok crews to Ariall to fly the ships home. You’ll need to reprogram teaching machines to teach them our language.”

  “Or convert our ships to theirs,” Greg replied, again after a long delay. “I’ll look into it. You’ve got one heck of a sales job to do, Kannick. I’ll get our guys started on modifying seats and stuff, and I’ll get some instructors up to speed on the Harbok language. Are you making progress on the plans?”

  “Yes, but it will take a lot more than these plans to get them operational.”

  “I can send scientists. If they’ll allow me to send a baseship, it will already have manufacturing capabilities on board. I’ll get to work on it as soon as we get back. Good luck.”

  When Kannick signed off, Ollie angrily grasped him by the arm and led him to a corridor outside the bridge for a private conversation. “You asked him for a thousand ships, and he said yes. I demand to know just who he is.”

  “He’s my boss, Ollie.”

  “He’s a lot more than that.”

  Kannick rubbed his chin while he considered. “I guess we slipped up there. You might as well know that he’s in charge of some of our space forces. We An’Atee are not afraid to admit when we need help, and he’s been willing.”

  “How many of your space forces?”

  “Uh . . .” Kannick searched for a way out, but he had not yet learned how to lie. Looking Ollie in the eyes, he said, “All of them.”

  Ollie’s jaw dropped. “You put an Earthman in charge of your military?”

  “I would think that you, of all people, would approve.”

  Ollie thought for a time, then he nodded his head and smiled grimly. “I do approve. You An’Atee are more practical than I thought. How is he doing it? Earth’s technology did not prepare him for this.”

  “We’re good teachers, and he’s a fast learner, but more important, he understands warfare. He’s been trying to teach us how to fight for four years now.”

  “Are you learning?”

  “Actually . . . yes, but most of us still can’t pull the trigger.”

  Ollie’s shoulders slumped. “Would that you could,” he said.

  “We’re working on it, trust me.”

  “So, he’s in charge?”

  “He is, and we’ve given him an unlimited budget. He definitely has us on a war footing.” He looked long and hard at Ollie. “That’s my message to Lor Tas’val. I will expand on that message when I meet him.”

  When Ollie frowned, Kannick added, “We have to make it happen. The Oort might have tipped the balance in this war of yours, but it’s now our war as well. You have an ally whether you want one or not. Together, I think we can tip the scales back the other way.”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Kannick and Borkt took a break from translating plans the following day when Ollie invited Kannick to the bridge to observe his crew during a training exercise. Kannick quickly learned why Ollie’s seat was higher than the others. The floor in front of Ollie and the two pilots opened, and a holographic projection of surrounding space filled the air in front of him.

  Seven other crewmen manned stations, though some stations were still vacant. Ollie explained to Kannick that the vacant positions were only filled during battle. Gunners manned two guns, one on the top of the ship and one on the bottom. Borkt stayed in the drive room with his mechanics, and several computer engineers held duty stations in the computer room. Kannick wondered why they did not deal with computer issues from the bridge, but he kept his silence. He was here to watch and to learn.

  A dozen Oort ships materialized within the holographic display. Three immediately homed in on them. Ollie reached into the hologram and highlighted a target for his gunners.

  Ollie punched up the cloaking device and issued instructions to the pilot who immediately headed for the targeted Oort. He presented his top turret to the target, and the fighting began in earnest. Kannick did not notice any reduction in view with the cloaking device in operation. Ollie’s pilot maneuvered toward the Oort ship, Ollie called out a warning, then he punched the cloaking device off. The top gunner was ready and immediately opened up on the Oort. Two other Oort came at them, but the gunner kept his concentration on the target. The pilot maneuvered the ship spritely to avoid hits, though he had to keep the target Oort in his gunner’s view. It was quite a feat of flying. Ollie issued orders only when necessary, letting the rest of the crew do their jobs while he focused on the big picture.

  They destroyed the first Oort fairly quickly, but the other two Oort stayed engaged. Ollie designated a second target, but they took a hit just as he did so. The displays filled with a yellow mist for several seconds as the pilots jerked the ship every which way. The displays soon cleared, and Ollie designated a new target.

  Two more Oort joined the fight. Ollie punched up the cloaking device, the pilot backed off a bit, then he dove back toward the targeted ship. Ollie dropped the cloak, and his gunners immediately opened up again. They got another Oort, but two Oort fired on them simultaneously. The displays turned yellow again, but this time they stayed yellow.

  Ollie cloaked the ship, issued orders to the pilot to back off, then he called the computer room and ordered the next computer brought on line. It took a full two minutes, a very long two minutes during which they were blind. While they waited, the pilot blindly jinked the ship around in random jumps.

  When the display came back online, Ollie chose a target, and the fighting resumed. They took out two more ships, but by now all the Oort were focused on them. Ollie cloaked, targeted another Oort and raced back into the f
ray, but this time the cloaking device stayed on most of the time, turned off only when the gunners were prepared to fire. Ollie let them engage for as long as he could, but they took numerous hits to their shield.

  The computer died again, and the replacement process repeated itself, taking two minutes to bring the new computer online. While they waited, Ollie looked down at Kannick. “Six down, only six to go.”

  “I’m impressed, Ollie. I’ve never faced that many targets at once.”

  “Want to try one of the guns?”

  “Yes, very much so, but maybe another time when we’re not so overwhelmed?”

  “Very well. You’ll get your chance tomorrow.”

  They stayed at it until all the Oort were gone. The fighting lasted several hours, and everyone was exhausted when Ollie stood them down. “Good job, men,” he announced. “Take a look around, make sure no one else is in the area, then stand down. The relief crew has the bridge.”

  He and Kannick walked down to the kitchen for a cup of the Harbok equivalent of coffee. They sat down across from each other at a table where Kannick had positioned a box on top of his chair so he could reach the table. No one else on the ship used that chair, even when he was out of the room.

  “So, tell me, Ollie, does your computer let you get killed?”

  “Very definitely. We wouldn’t have our jobs if it happened very often, though.”

  “In that case, I’m even more impressed. Twelve at once!”

  “We’d been warming up a little while you were drawing your pretty pictures. Couldn’t let an An’Atee see us fail now, could we?”

  Kannick smiled. “I guess not. What was that business about switching computers periodically?”

  Ollie shrugged and said, “Ah, well . . . you know how computers are. They can only take so many overloaded sensors before blowing out. But don’t worry. We have six of them, and we only used three this time. Had this been a real battle, Borkt would be hard at work now on repairs.”

  “Why do they blow out?”

  “Because they’re computers,” Ollie said with a nonchalant wave of his hand. He watched Kannick’s expression go from deep thought to puzzlement, then surprise. “What’s the problem, Kannick?” he asked.