Just how big was the field, she and the other scientists wondered? They came to believe that within this other dimension there was no end to the field. It just went on and on, like the energies emanating from the stars. Smythe would probably groan when he heard this, if he had not already encountered it during the tests being run from Ariall.
Chapter Thirty-three
The fleet had just passed the voyage’s second anniversary when a fighter found a system that held intelligent life. The fighter stayed cloaked as it continued farther into the system until it reached a distant orbit around the primary planet. There, it discovered and recorded a world of Oortmen, humans who had been taken over by the Oort.
Then more scouts began returning to the baseship with positive results. They discovered some 30 civilizations during the next six months, all of them dominated by the Oort, then the results began tapering off. The rat-like people were the most common, though the Oort had taken over several worlds of men.
To their surprise, the Oort had taken over Harbok on six of the most central worlds. Douglas came to calling them Oortboks. Lustrous blue spires, as on all worlds dominated by the Oort, dotted the landscape, but on one Oortbok world, an enormous spire some 500 feet high towered above all the others. Roads radiated in all directions from the spire, with holding pens of aging Oortboks occupying several segments between the roads. A steady stream of these aging Harbok made their way into the spire.
Admiral Daktr, who led the Harbok contingent traveling with Douglas, was shocked and distraught at the discovery of Oortbok worlds. “We had no idea there were Harbok this far outside our empire,” he said. “We are thousands of light-years farther out than any exploration missions of which I am aware. I question whether they are even real Harbok. Their standard of living is much higher than on our own worlds that were taken over by the Oort.”
Because of the concentration of Oort worlds, and because of the unusually large spire on one particular world, Douglas believed he might have found the Oort home world. If he had, he had fulfilled his mission requirements and it was time to return home.
During the return voyage, the Harbok observers seemed distant and distracted, so he called them to a private meeting. “You seem preoccupied,” he said to Admiral Daktr.
Daktr looked hard at him as he replied, “Our words are for Lor Tas’val.”
“They certainly are,” Douglas agreed, nodding. “I’ll see that you get immediate transportation back to Haldor when we arrive on Ariall. In the meantime, we’re all fighting the same war here. Need I remind you that you agreed to serve under my command?”
He and Daktr locked gazes in a long stare-down. In the end, Daktr nodded and said, “We agree with you that we might have found the center of Oort control. We believe it unlikely that it’s their home world. In fact, we theorize that the Oort no longer have a home world, just as we don’t. They came from somewhere, of course, but their needs over the millennia will have been better met by spreading to other worlds with intelligent life.”
Douglas pondered these words, eventually nodding in agreement. “You’re saying that long ago the Oort would have run out of hosts on their planet.”
“Not . . . exactly,” Daktr answered. “Species adapt, and they would have found a way to exist or they would have perished. However, considering the physical attributes of the Oort, we believe it unlikely that they discovered space travel on their own. Their bodies are not made for it. We believe it more likely that unsuspecting interstellar explorers went to the Oort home world, wherever that is, and they succumbed. Through them, the Oort would have gained access to technology and resources that were previously unknown to them. We suspect that these original explorers were the mechanism through which the Oort spread.”
He paused for a long time. In the end, he said in a low, gruff voice, “Considering conditions on the Oortbok worlds here, we’re speculating among ourselves that the original explorers might have been Harbok.”
Douglas looked away in anguish before replying softly, “You’re saying that a few unlucky Harbok explorers might have started this centuries-long conflict? That they might be responsible for all the suffering that’s taking place on worlds taken over by the Oort?”
Daktr shrugged. “Someone started it. Someone who had interstellar capabilities. It’s possible that we Harbok brought this on ourselves and upon any other species who succumbed.”
* * * * *
Douglas carried information of monumental and staggering importance, but with a gleam in his eyes, he decided to end the voyage with flair. He jumped his fleet to within two days of Ariall. The system immediately went on alert, and Greg was on the communicator in minutes.
“Why have you come in cloaked? Is someone following you?”
“We are not cloaked, and we have not been followed,” Douglas answered. “We have a new toy.”
Greg visibly relaxed. “The coast is clear?”
“Completely. Relax. We’ll talk in a couple of days. I don’t want to talk about this over the radio.”
Meetings went on for days. Emily and Cass spent days back out in space demonstrating the new capabilities. Emily’s first passengers were Greg and Arlynn, just the three of them aboard the scout. Arlynn stood beside her with a hand on Emily’s shoulder as Emily set up the first jump, then hit the execute button. Multiple, short jumps brought them to the outskirts of Ariall’s system. Arlynn stood beside Emily the whole time, asking occasional questions but really just enjoying the feel of Emily beneath her hand and sharing some of the glory that had become Emily’s.
“I wish your mother and father could be here to see this,” Arlynn said as Emily unwound herself from the pilot’s seat.
“They are here. My other mother and father will get their opportunity in time.”
“They will. We’re all proud of you, dear.”
“I’m sort of proud of myself!” she responded with a grin. “Had the scientists bothered to include pilots in their earlier research, this system would have come into being much sooner. It didn’t take a scientist to figure it out, it took a pilot.”
“Partly true, but Gertie told us what you went through. You’re a pilot, but you’re also a scientist now with a major discovery to your credit, and you’re only 27 years old. I think you jumped a few rungs up that ladder Angie gave you.”
“I’m still just an ensign.”
“I know. Because of our long life-spans, promotions among the An’Atee come slowly. But we’ll see about that,” Greg said with his arms around each of them. “You don’t have much command time yet, so changes are in store for you.”
“Are you mad at me or Admiral Douglas for the risks I took?”
“I’d like to be, but everyone in the Alliance takes risks,” Greg said. “We knew that before we sent you out. We haven’t held you back from those, and we won’t. You’ve shown good judgment, and that’s all we ask.”
“Can I invite Cass to dinner when we get back?”
Greg rolled his eyes, but Arlynn just smiled. “You may. Who else would you like to invite?”
“No one.”
“You’ll be putting a lot of pressure on him.”
“I know,” Emily said with a gleam in her eyes.
* * * * *
When Douglas completed his debriefing, Greg sat back and lapsed into deep concentration. The pieces of an elaborate jigsaw puzzle began falling into place in his head. The Oort, their unfortunate hosts, An’Atee, the Harbok, Earth, fast ships, and his beloved Alliance all formed parts of a puzzle that pointed to a win for the Alliance. The win wasn’t there yet, but he felt like he was entering an end game.
When he opened his eyes, everyone at the table was staring at him. With a smile on his face, he said softly, “Well done. I’m proud of you, all of you.” He looked around the table at people who had, over the years, become not just associates but good friends: Arlynn, Kannick and his wife Danaria, Ollie, Grayson and Angie, and Douglas and Gertie. “We’re nearly there. Let’s discuss i
t over lunch tomorrow at our place,” he said with a glance that included Arlynn. “We’ll have an informal barbecue, so bring whomever you’d like.”
The weather was perfect the next day, so Greg’s plan held. As host, he manned the barbecue with a beer in hand. Everyone, including Emily and Cass, Gertie, Angie Tolland, Professor Yarbo and Doctor Llambry, mingled, all of them discussing future possibilities.
Following lunch, Greg sat before tables and chairs that had been arranged into a U-shape around him. “In my mind,” he began, “the development of fast ships is the glue that will bind everything together over the coming years. I’m told the credit for them goes primarily to Smythe, Gertie, Emily, and Cass. It’s not my place to suggest rewards since thousands of your crewmembers supported you, so I’ll leave that up to Admiral Grayson.”
He knew his next words would spur debate. “I intend to keep the technology behind fast ships as secret as I can. An’Atee scientists have been fine-tuning your work, but they have been doing so under the auspices of the Alliance. I consider the technology behind fast ships to be an Alliance development, a development I intend to exploit.”
A loud clearing of Ollie’s throat shifted attention to him. “I see where you’re going with this, Greg,” Ollie growled. “Do you think we can’t figure it out on our own?”
Gertie spoke up. “You can in time. I will tell you that the concept is not obvious, and the execution is not simple.”
Greg did not let it end there. “I intend to equip every Alliance ship with the system, regardless of who’s crewing them,” he said, staring into Ollie’s eyes. “Everyone else will have to wait. Are you hearing my message?”
“You’re taking aim at Lor Tas’val.”
“I’m giving him a tool. I hope he’ll use it to convince his admirals to join the Alliance.”
Ollie stared long at Greg. In the end, he nodded with pursed lips, accepting the fact that his return to Tas’val would not be as pleasant an experience as he had imagined.
“We might decide to equip non-Alliance ships eventually,” Greg continued, “but if we do, we won’t have to share the science and engineering. We might even insist that we do the work—for a fee.”
He paused in contemplation, comfortable with allowing a period of introspection among his friends. “Fast ships give us the means to end the war with the Oort,” he eventually said. “Not only can we track them, we can catch them and defeat them on our terms. As important, we can blockade their worlds and prevent their fleets from waging war ever again.” He looked at Ollie and said, “I once asked you what the Harbok would do once the war ended. Your 2,000-year-old war is, in essence, over, Ollie.”
“We Harbok deserve to have a hand in dealing with the Oort.”
“You’ll have it.”
“I personally deserve to have a hand in it.”
Greg leaned back in his seat for a time, then he leaned toward Ollie again. “I think that Captain Ollie has already made a huge impact on the outcome. Do not desert me now, my friend.”
Ollie leaned back with his arms folded across his stomach, but he offered no change in his stand on wanting to play a part in the Oorts’ demise.
Greg turned to Douglas and Grayson. “How do we keep the Oort from expanding?”
Grayson shook his head, saying, “I’m not sure we can. Let’s focus on the six core worlds Douglas found. I can stop all space flight to and from those worlds with a blockade, and I’m not hesitant about shooting down any non-Alliance ship that leaves or arrives at one of those planets for any reason. Douglas can continue searching for more Oort worlds, or any other civilizations for that matter, and he can study the Oort in the process. He’s our science guy.”
Professor Yarbo spoke up. “For every Oort you kill, you kill an innocent host.”
“Give me an alternative,” Grayson offered.
Yarbo squirmed in his chair. In a low voice, he said, “I can’t—yet.” In a stronger voice, he pleaded, “I need time to study them. We need some method of detaching the Oort from their hosts.”
Greg nodded his agreement, but he added, “When you find that method, you might be left with just the husk of a person. He or she might be incapable of survival on their own. At best, even if the hosts’ brains remain intact, most will never have known life on their own. We might be left with children, children who might or might not have a mind that we can inform. Babysitting worlds full of no one but children would bankrupt the Alliance.”
“Hence the research,” Yarbo replied. “Rather than speculate, we need to make informed decisions.”
“How long will it take?”
“I can’t say.”
Greg changed the subject. “I was tasked 15 years ago with forming the Alliance. We’ve been skirting around formalizing something while we fought this war, but the decisions we’re about to make impact all three civilizations. I want to formalize things, make the Alliance a reality.” He looked at Ollie. “Is Tas’val ready?”
Ollie sat back in contemplation, then shook his head. “No. Our people are not ready to relinquish command of our fleets to the Alliance.”
“Despite the enticements we might offer?”
Ollie scratched his chin, looking like he had eaten something that disagreed with him. “You’re speaking of the LifeVirus and your ship improvements. Those are powerful persuaders, but I think they are not powerful enough. You talk about how hosts from whom you separate the Oort will be like children. We are too. We have never known life without war. We need to learn new priorities, new focuses. Personally, I believe it will take at least a generation, and probably more.”
“It will never happen unless we encourage it,” Greg replied. “I’m just thinking out loud here, but what if we don’t send you any more ships, and what if we don’t share the latest advancements with you? Any military people who want those things will have to state their allegiance to the Alliance. We’ve already done that with the An’Atee. We could extend the same opportunity to Earth.”
“Who would pay these people? Where would they live?”
“That’s why we need to formalize an agreement. The Alliance will tax member worlds to pay those expenses.”
“Careful, Greg,” Grayson said sharply. “You don’t want to create another UN.”
“I know. Members of the UN never ceded military control, but the Alliance would be starting out with the best ships and technology, something that never happened on Earth.”
Grayson shook his head, still uncomfortable with the argument. “We need some real forward-thinkers to work this out,” he grumbled.
“And some lawyers,” Greg said. “Still, I want to get the major players together—the Atee, Tas’val, and someone from Earth. Ollie, why don’t you go home and get him. Emily, you can go to Earth and bring your father back.”
* * * * *
Later that night as they were getting ready for bed, Arlynn said, “You need to re-think your demand that Earth speak with one voice before joining the Alliance.”
Greg stopped what he was doing and turned to her. “What? That’s been Dave’s focus for years now.”
“You gave him an impossible assignment.” When Greg shook his head, she sat on the edge of the bed with her hands in her lap and smiled. “Stand back a little. Look at it from a wider perspective. The Harbok protected us for thousands of years, and they’ve done a good job. We An’Atee have become, in reality, infrastructure. We’re a source of research and development, and we’re good teachers, but we are not the driving force behind the Alliance. Earth is.”
“But Earth isn’t ready.”
“Earth is our catalyst. Look at what people from Earth have accomplished. You’re from Earth, and you are on the verge of making the Alliance a true interstellar representative government. Think what that means to future generations throughout the galaxy. Grayson developed a rational, balanced military arm of the Alliance, and in the process, he managed to get all three civilizations working together. Smythe led An’Atee scientists
to levels they never imagined. He has been a catalyst for scientific advancement that the An’Atee would have taken generations to produce. Emily taught us how to navigate not only the stars, but our own systems. And all of this in the span of a few short years. Earth is definitely the catalyst.” She paused and looked him in the eyes before saying softly, “Maybe it takes speaking with many voices to keep the catalyst burning.”
Greg started to object, then he blinked a few times, considering her words. He stepped over to her and took her hands, lifting her into an embrace. “Seen through your eyes,” he said, gently, “I set requirements for them that are not their own. I don’t have that right, nor does the Alliance. The Alliance’s charter that we’re proposing requires us to stay out of local politics.” He took half a step back from her and, looking up to the ceiling, said thoughtfully, “As always, your aim is perfect. Speaking with one voice should be within their own purview, not ours. I can’t tell them how to run their own planet, I can only get involved in how they interact with other worlds.”
She reached out and caressed his cheek. With shining eyes, she said, “I’m so proud of you. You’re always willing to consider other points of view. Maybe that’s why I love you so much. You’re just the right person to be leading us.”
He leaned forward and kissed her. “I always listen to you, even if it might seem like I’m not. I never forget that the choices you made, right at the beginning of all this, paved the way for everything that’s happened since.”
“The time has come for me to step down as Earth’s representative,” she said. “You’ll have to ask them to name their own representative.”
“But you’re not leaving the Board,” he rejoined instantly.
“No, not yet. Maybe never.”
Greg breathed a sigh of relief. He could not imagine running the Alliance without her and Kannick, and even Ollie.
Chapter Thirty-four
Before unleashing Grayson on the Oort, Greg called a meeting that included Jemara, Lor Tas’val, and David Rhodes. It took a month to get all the players in position, but it was worth the wait. He ushered them into his office and closed the door, then he invited them to join him at the conference table.
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