“Do you have a point?” she said.
“I do indeed. Back in Normandy, you took a risk on me for a reason. What was the reason?”
“What do you want me to say?” Shu demanded. “That we planned to use you?”
“No. That wasn’t the reason.”
“Why are you pestering me if you already know what you want me to say?”
Maddox waited.
“You are di-far,” she said in an exasperated tone. “There. Does that scratch your ego?”
“Events move people along a path to logical ends,” Maddox said. “The alien Destroyer once came to annihilate the Earth. Because of me, the outcome was shifted onto a new track. The Spirit used me as a change agent, saving the Earth and thus humanity.”
“Bravo for you,” Shu said bitterly.
“Has it occurred to you that the Visionary didn’t tell you everything?” Maddox asked. “Maybe you came to help me so I could lift the Spacers out of one track and set them on another more meaningful course. If Ludendorff is even partly right, you owe it to your people to find out the truth about female Builders and tell them. Despairing here at the end is the worst outcome of all for you and the Spacers. In a metaphorical sense, are you willing to leap without a parachute one more time?”
“And have you come and rescue me?” she asked.
“I am di-far. I am here to change things. But unless you help me I won’t be able to do it this time.”
Shu did not move for a full ten seconds. When she finally did stir, she said, “What do you want me to do?”
“Use your adaptations and find a computer terminal, preferably the main one,” Maddox said, “and do it this instant.”
-67-
Maddox led the team through yet another vast chamber. He cradled a new laser carbine, one taken from Keith’s supply of weapons. The captain kept a sharp lookout for the so-called Builder love bot.
Riker helped a limping Ludendorff. Meta struggled to carry a legless and suit-less android on her vacc-suited back. Yen Cho had detached his legs and sprayed his torso area with a cleansing agent. Keith had helped Meta rig a harness to carry the android. Keith presently carried a pouch of pulsar grenades and several energy magazines. He also shouldered a laser carbine.
“Go left,” Shu said.
Maddox peered around a corner into a smaller chamber. This one seemed more familiar with obvious stations and screens, although none of the equipment had been built to human scale.
“Is the…Builder nearby?” Maddox asked.
“No,” Shu said in a clipped voice.
“Is she—?”
“Captain,” Shu interrupted. “Let me concentrate on the matter at hand. If the...other…returns, I’ll tell you.”
“There,” Ludendorff shouted. “I recognize a terminal. But I’m sure I won’t know the activation codes.”
“You won’t have to,” Shu said. “I’ve already merged with the system. It’s…” She hesitated before whispering, “This is it. This is what we’re looking for. It’s unbelievable.”
“Why is that?” Ludendorff demanded. “Why is it unbelievable?”
“The terminal is connected to everything we want,” Shu whispered.
Maddox perked up. “Does the computer show the extent of the Swarm Imperium?”
“Oh yes,” Shu whispered.
“And you can project the hyper-spatial tube from here?” Ludendorff asked.
“I think so,” Shu said. “But I can’t contain all this data. It’s too much. And we don’t have time to record it either. I’ve looked outside. Masses of Chitin warships are decelerating as they move into attack position around Victory.”
“Can you—?” Maddox said.
The android interrupted him. “I have an idea. I’ll hook into the system and take a mass “gulp” download. It will only take a matter of minutes. Later, on Victory, I can process the data onto a regular computer.”
That sounded suspicious to Maddox. But time had simply run out for any other option.
“Do it,” the captain said. “Shu, how do we get out of the pyramid and back onto Victory?”
“That’s going to be trickier,” the Spacer admitted.
***
Lieutenant Noonan wiped her face with a handkerchief as she sat on the command chair. Worry consumed her. She hadn’t heard from the captain or any of the others since their fold into the pyramid.
“The Chitin warships are twenty thousand kilometers and closing,” Galyan said.
Valerie stared at the main screen. Dense Chitin warships filled the stellar horizon from one end to the other. It was insane. It was mind numbing. They were like swarming locusts or masses of migrating bees, only these could fire particle beams in overwhelming numbers.
“We must use the star drive to escape our doom,” Andros Crank said from his science station.
“Not yet,” Valerie said, refusing to look at the stout Kai-Kaus chief technician. “We still don’t have the captain.”
“Lieutenant,” Andros said. “I want to save the captain as much as anyone. But surely he’s dead by now. It’s folly then for us to die as well. We must begin the long journey to Earth so we can tell Star Watch what we’ve found out here.”
“Let’s wait just a bit longer. The captain and the others may show up in a few minutes,” Valerie said.
“He won’t,” Andros said. “It’s too late for any of them.”
“Might I make a suggestion?” Galyan said.
“What is it?” Valerie asked, hoping the holoimage had a way out of the soul-crushing dilemma.
“Why don’t we destroy enemy warships?” Galyan said. “If we destroy enough of them, we will buy ourselves a little more time.”
“We’ll gain a few more minutes, maybe,” Valerie said. “But it will also deplete our disrupter banks. I mean, it will if we’re talking about destroying hundreds of enemy vessels. Nothing else makes sense. Yet if Mr. Crank is correct, we’re going to need all our energy to help us make the agonizing and extremely long voyage home.”
“Valerie,” Galyan said. “We owe the captain our lives. We owe our family members who went with him. We must try to the end.”
“We also have a duty to Earth,” Valerie replied.
“He who dares vaporizes,” the holoimage said.
“What?” Valerie asked.
“Oh dear,” Galyan said. “Did I get that one wrong too? Please, give me a moment. Checking…. Checking… I have it. He who dares wins. I know you want to win, Lieutenant.”
Valerie tore her gaze from the main screen as her head swiveled around to stare at the Adok holoimage. “Have you been analyzing my personality?”
“Would it make a difference if I had?” Galyan asked.
Instead of answering, Valerie studied the main screen again, staring at the masses of approaching warships. She swallowed a lump in her throat. Maybe she could buy the captain a few more minutes. Maybe if it came down to it…she could use a few combat tricks to stretch the minutes just a little farther. This was a risky situation. She had to make a snap judgment.
“Lieutenant Smith-Fowler,” she said.
“Lieutenant,” the weapons officer said.
“Warm up the disruptor cannons and begin to select targets of opportunity.”
“Perhaps I could help with the neutron cannon,” Galyan said.
“I thought only the captain was rated to give you permission to fire weaponry.”
“I spoke to him about that earlier, and he changed my regulations, allowing the acting captain to give me that capacity.”
“Okay, fine,” Valerie said. “Ready the neutron cannon.”
“I am here to report that it is already ready, Lieutenant,” Galyan said.
“Did you anticipate my answer?”
“I did, Valerie. Was that wrong?”
“No…” she said, as she stared at the masses of approaching warships. “Begin firing, gentlemen, destroy as many of those warships as you can.”
***
>
Maddox glanced back over his shoulder as he continued to search for the alien creature. He stood guard so the professor could do his magic. With Shu’s help, Ludendorff had activated an ancient terminal.
“This is incredible,” Ludendorff muttered, sounding enraptured with the situation as he manipulated the terminal. “Yes, yes,” he said, while hunched over the panel. “I’m beginning to understand how to do this.”
“No, don’t go that way” Shu warned. No doubt, she used her adaptation to watch what the professor was doing. “You’re about to trip a Xeeten Complication.”
“I’ve heard of those,” Ludendorff said, pausing as he studied the panel. “The Builders inserted the complications into programs in order to put an unauthorized user into a timeout loop. Are you certain about this?”
“I’m very certain,” Shu said. “We’re all dead if you continue down that sub-route.”
“But…”
“Do you see the binary fork?” Shu asked.
Ludendorff tapped the board. “No,” he said.
“You must use the go route, not the loop.”
“Ah,” Ludendorff said, tapping faster. “I see now. That was indeed a trap for the unwary.”
“I’m not certain it was a trap as you conceive of one,” Shu said. “It was to ensure that an exhausted Builder didn’t…”
“Don’t stop now,” Ludendorff said. “Tell me.”
“I can’t,” Shu said. “I’m ashamed. I’m ashamed for the Spacers.”
“No, no,” Ludendorff said while working on his board. “There’s no need for shame. Your ancestors made the mistake, not you.”
“You don’t understand. All these centuries we’ve traveled down the wrong path.”
“Bah,” the professor said. “You Spacers are light-years ahead of the normatives. You know so much already. You’ve explored and learned and—”
“Because of false premises,” Shu said. “We’re going to have to reroute our entire religious beliefs, our main motives.”
“That is an interesting proposal,” the professor said, still hunched over the terminal. “But I would suggest you’re looking at this the wrong way. You have a fantastic beginning. Now, you have found a formative error. So what? Adjust and begin anew.”
“This could cause a break in Spacer ranks,” Shu said in desperation.
“That seems to be the human condition,” Ludendorff said, “continuous splintering. Don’t worry, though. Many of the Spacers will refuse the truth. They’ll keep to the old ways. If you find you can’t adjust to the marvelous new—well, to the truth, you can return as a penitent to the hidebound and remain with the others the rest of your life.”
“You’re mocking me.”
“No,” Ludendorff said. “I’m trying to convince you to expand your horizons. Now, let me concentrate. I think I’ve found it. Yen Cho, are you ready?”
The android had twisted off a hand to reveal special computer plugs. “Give me several more seconds,” the android said. Carefully, Yen Cho inserted the plugs into one terminal slot among many.
Maddox hoped Shu and Ludendorff had guessed correctly. This was taking too long as it was, and they still hadn’t found a way out of the pyramid.
“Captain,” Keith said.
Maddox glanced at the young ace. Keith pointed up into the shadows.
“I see something,” Keith said.
Maddox squinted. He saw it too. The creature had returned.
-68-
She hurt unbelievably. She’d never known it could be this bad. She wished now that she hadn’t regained her intelligence.
Look at those bipedal monsters in the engagement chamber. How they profaned an act of love, beauty and procreation. She remembered her callers with fondness. Twice, she had conceived, bringing forth a Builder child.
The one had died shortly thereafter, a female offspring that succumbed to the wicked virus. The other had thrived, leaving soon with his father.
What should she do to the vile bipedal monsters? Her rippling motions increased, which caused the pain to build in her.
Their presence down there was an affront to the Builder Race. They stained the Temple of Love. Anger and pain seethed in her, mingling in an unholy fashion. They actually tapped into the central computer. They hunted for data. That seemed clear. What were they attempting to do? Mate with her in an abominal fashion?
She could almost believe it. The thought caused her to begin another attack run. Then, she reconsidered, swerving as she noticed the tall one raise the pain wand of laser fire.
He was keen to inflict hurt upon her. Earlier he’d inserted a fireball into her like a male spurting his seed. He must have done it that way as a mighty insult to her and the act of love.
Such blasphemy must not stand. If he escaped, he might recount the vile deed to millions of other bipedal forms. They would howl and gape, strut and mock the memory of the Builder Race.
She realized now that she wasn’t fully Builder. She had been fashioned to please and to repopulate the universe with the ultimate genetic achievement.
With her newly accessed intelligence, she realized the span of time since her last love-fest was a millennium ago. That meant something horrible had occurred to her callers. Could the virus-makers have struck again? Could those bipedal monsters be like the Chitin hordes outside the golden pyramid?
Yes. That had to be the answer. The Makers of the Destroyers had surely fashioned a killer race of bipedal monsters. Perhaps the bipedal monsters scoured the universe as the Destroyers had once tried to do. The terrible Makers had gone small instead of big this time.
This was all beginning to make sense. It caused greater rage to wash through her intelligence centers. Together with the pain and the damage to her being, something unforetold began to occur.
Her love programs rerouted. Some burned away. Others redirected in an unforeseen manner. If one loved, one could correspondingly hate whatever harmed the object of love. The bipedal monsters down there had logically harmed or annihilated her callers.
As she considered this, as her rage and pain and damage worked together, a new directive began to form in her intelligence centers. She must exterminate the bipedal monsters as her last act of love to her callers.
How could she do that? First, she had to escape the ruined and stained Temple of Love. Then, she needed tools to help her scour the universe of these bipedal creatures.
Hovering out of range of the laser wand, she analyzed and computed various plans. None made logical sense, as she lacked the means to achieve her goal.
It seemed obvious that such tech-savvy monsters came from a large technological society. The starship outside the golden pyramid, the one annihilating endless Chitin warships, proved the truth of this hypotheses.
Wait! The Chitin warships! The Builder bio-computers given to the Chitin vizier mass eons ago. Yes! The Chitins were the answer. They would be the tool to her achieving dire revenge upon the bipedal monsters.
Oh, this was marvelous, ingenious and very clever on her part. It would take time. It would take great intellect, and she would need to rebuild the damaged areas in the—
This was a Nexus. Suddenly, she realized the bipedal monsters must be attempting to activate a hyper-spatial tube.
This was profound indeed. She had a choice before her. She could block the hyper-spatial tube from forming. That would be easy, as her intellect had a wireless connection to the Nexus’s computers. Or…she could aid these monsters. Most importantly of all, she could see where the tube went. That would no doubt be into the heart of their vile bipedal star empire. Then, once she had retooled the Chitins, she could follow with a holy crusade of vengeance. She would exterminate the biological infestations of destruction, as was their due.
She exuded desire and passion, but in ways she’d never conceived or been built to achieve.
I will remake myself into a love offering to my former callers. I will do this in memory of the lost Builders of yore. I will yet know
fulfillment as I burn out these freakish little destroyers.
Despite the pain and damage, for the first time in many cycles, she felt as if she truly had a reason for existence.
-69-
Valerie blotted her face. This was more intense than her time with von Gunther when they’d first faced the New Men.
The Chitins kept coming, remorselessly dying to the starship’s disrupter beams and neutron cannon.
Three disrupter beams flashed from Victory. The leftward beam burned into a Chitin warship, chewing through the hull armor and smashing through the thousands of miniscule decks.
Lieutenant Smith-Fowler minutely adjusted the beam so it struck the reactor core. Eleven long seconds later, a nuclear explosion finished the dense warship. The hull cracked just before the entire ship blew, the heavy shards flying in all directions. Some of the pieces struck other warships. Sometimes that made a difference. Usually, the Chitin warships ignored the damage and continued to bore in toward the starship.
Victory could only fire in so many directions. From the other side of the golden pyramid, more Chitin warships came. The starship had less free space every second as the massed vessels tightened the circle.
“Retreat toward the pyramid,” Valerie said. “If the Chitins love the artifact so much, maybe they’ll be reluctant to fire near it.”
Victory’s pilot began the rearward maneuver, keeping the pyramid between the ancient Adok vessel and the Chitin warships on the other side.
“I do not know that we have slowed them in any appreciable fashion,” Galyan said.
“I know,” Valerie whispered. “I can feel them,” she added. “Seeing all those ships, knowing that ants drive them, gives me the creeps. They’re tightening the noose second after second.” She rubbed her throat. “I hate this place.”
“Perhaps you could do what Captain Maddox would in a situation like this,” Galyan said.
“What do you mean?”
“I have studied him closely, Valerie. Often when finding himself beleaguered, the captain will radically alter his behavior. On many occasions, that will unbalance his enemy, giving him an opportunity for yet another sudden shift.”
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