“Start targeting the nearest Chitin missiles.”
“The distances involved—”
“Begin at once,” Valerie shouted at Galyan.
“Working…” Galyan said. “I am firing…”
“Keep firing,” Valerie told him. “We may knock out some of the missiles. We may confuse their onboard computers. The professor said the Chitins have primitive technology. Let’s see if we can’t use that to our advantage one more time.”
***
The “she” inside the Temple of Love had cataloged the little destroyers’ fold activity. That had been ingenious. By following the computer commands via her wireless connection, she believed she understood what they had done.
After endless cycles trapped in here, she finally had a way to escape her confinement. Should she attempt to use the fold this instant?
She debated this for several seconds, “thinking” at computer speed. She’d measured the hyper-spatial tube, seeing the length of its span and the star system where the end appeared.
That would be her first destination. The counterattack would not happen overnight. She would have to modify the Chitins first. She would have to do this while the Swarm tried to batter its way into her Nexus.
Keen anticipation built in her. For so long now, she had been bored, simply existing in her primitive state. She would live gloriously after this, presenting a great offering to her callers, the Race of Builders. She would make the little destroyers burn in their star systems. She would bring mayhem to that end of the galaxy.
What was this? She sensed a problem in the outer pyramid. Certain systems might burn out at any moment. If those ancient systems burned out, that would destroy the Nexus’ ability to create new hyper-spatial tubes.
She continued to reason at computer speed. She could see the problem and realized that she didn’t understand— Hold. There was a possible way to fix this. She could allow one section to burn out, relaxing the strain from the other systems. That would freeze the present hyper-spatial tube, in effect, making it a permanent space event. It would be a bridge to that part of the galaxy. The only drawback was that the Nexus would need new power sources to keep the hyper-spatial bridge intact over time.
I can do this because I possess the ancient knowledge of the Builders. First, however, I must physically reach the outer location in order to activate the proper sequences to save the other systems.
As she readied herself, she wondered if she could use strategy against the little destroyers. If she maneuvered the Chitins properly, she might sucker the Swarm mass through the open tube and let them soften the little destroyers for her.
That was a guileful plan, a worthy tribute to her lost lovers.
She swooped low toward the spot the bipedal monsters had used. As she did, she followed the cunning bipedal beast’s manipulations. She believed she understood his moves.
How could she not understand? She had the intellect of the great Builders. She saw deeper and farther than she ever had in her existence.
Unfortunately for her, she tripped upon the Xeeten Complication. Too late, she recognized it as a trap. Through the wireless connection, she worked and manipulated at computer speeds. She fought the complication, desperately working exacting mathematical formulas and complicated equations. For several seconds in real time, she believed she’d solved the problem.
A new pain in her midsection brought the first pang of doubt. That doubt accelerated as a fold grew inside her.
No, no, I did not take into account the derivative equation. I needed hyper-reality quantum physics. If I can access said physics and re-loop—
She worked through advanced calculus and tri-quantum mathematics, jumping far beyond human understanding of the hyper-spatial process. Then, one of her inner android connectives, working at lightning speed, burned out due to the laser fire from earlier. She had an interior overload.
At that moment, she lost the equation race, even though she continued to try. In the midst of attempting a re-loop, the fold twisted her in half, sending part of her membrane through while the other remained inside the Temple of Love.
Her great plan was aborted with her death. Humanity would likely never know the deadly fate that had hung over it these few brief moments.
I loathe the tall one, she thought at her death. I wish I had killed him. I wish—
Her thoughts ended with her destruction inside the barren Temple of Love.
-72-
Captain Maddox burst onto the bridge as the first Chitin warheads shredded apart due to the first wave of PD fire from Victory. He stopped in wonder, recognizing what the pin-dot-like flashes meant on the main screen. Galyan had appeared beside him half a minute ago, explaining the gist of the situation.
Another wave of Chitin missiles bored in toward the starship, however. Victory had gained another thirty seconds to do something, possibly an extra minute.
“Captain,” Valerie said, hopping out of the command chair. “It’s good to see you, sir. We thought—”
“We’re alive,” Maddox said. “Excellent work, by the way, with the PD fire. I’m impressed.”
Valerie stood a little taller as a wide smile spread across her face. That disappeared a moment later.
“We’re far from out of it yet, sir,” she said.
“Granted,” Maddox said. “But we’re going to make this work.”
Valerie sensed some of his command power at that moment. The man exuded confidence. He had faith in them. That reignited a burning desire in her not to let him down.
She realized something else. That’s what she’d felt as a young girl with her dad. Her father had had faith in her. It was one of the things that had propelled her to continue striving no matter what. She felt the same urge now with the captain.
Hurrying to her station, Valerie went to work as everyone redoubled his or her efforts.
“Sir,” Smith-Fowler said. “One of the disrupter cannons is almost online.”
“Excellent,” Maddox said. “Begin targeting the nearest missiles the second you can fire.”
Smith-Fowler manipulated his panel faster.
“I have impulse power,” Andros Crank said.
“Let’s start turning the ship then,” Maddox said. “We only have a few minutes more until the hyper-spatial entrance disappears.”
“The gravity dampeners are acting up,” Valerie said.
Maddox didn’t need to hear that to know. He swayed to the side on his chair as impulse power began to turn the mighty vessel.
“There!” Smith-Fowler said.
A disrupter beam slashed through the void. A Chitin missile harmlessly exploded—destroyed.
“I have more impulse power,” Andros Crank said. “Hang on. This could get rough.”
Victory began to tremble, as it turned harder. The disrupter cannon continued to shred the nearest missiles. Then, a second beam started firing.
“No,” Andros said. “The second beam is sucking up too much power. We need that power for the impulse engines.”
“Shut down the second beam,” Maddox snapped.
Victory turned enough so the starship finally inched toward the swirling silver mass. Chitin missiles followed relentlessly. Behind the enemy vanguard were tens of thousands of more missiles.
“Shut down all the disrupter cannons,” Maddox said. “Put all power into propulsion.”
“But sir—” Smith-Fowler said.
“That’s an order,” Maddox said in a level tone.
Valerie shuddered. The captain finally had that part of the art of command down pat. His voice was steady, yet it bit like a lash.
Smith-Fowler obeyed without any further objections.
The starship appreciably gained velocity.
“Detonation,” Valerie said.
Maddox glanced at her.
“A Chitin warhead exploded,” Valerie explained. “The blast will reach us…now.”
The starship shuddered.
“Another detonation,�
� Valerie said. “They’re going to start hammering us, sir.”
“And we’re going to keep taking it,” Maddox said. “We have to get into the tube. Nothing else matters.”
Valerie tapped her board as another wave of radiation and blast smashed against Victory’s armored hull. They didn’t have enough power for the shield and the impulse engines.
On the main screen, the swirling silver mass seemed to shrink.
“It’s closing,” someone said.
Maddox’s right fist tightened. So did the narrowness of his gaze. He seemed to be trying to will the ship to reach the hyper-spatial tube in time.
“What if we’re inside it when the tube collapses?” Valerie asked.
Maddox didn’t answer. Instead, he along with everyone else watched as the swirling mass grew smaller yet.
Then, the silvery color disappeared. A yawning dark emptiness replaced it. They had reached the inner area of the entrance. Could they slide down the rabbit hole in time?
Maddox’s fist tightened to such a degree that his fingers began to ache. He couldn’t tell if the entrance continued to shrink or not. Finally, though, Starship Victory entered the hyper-spatial tube. Maddox could tell because everything seemed to stretch and elongate.
***
Victory passed through, coming out of the other end of the hyper-spatial tube over two thousand light-years away. The starship was adrift, the crew unconscious due to hyper-spatial shock.
Eventually, Captain Maddox opened his eyes. His forehead furrowed with confusion. For some time, he just stared at the blank main screen. He didn’t know how long that lasted. His field of vision widened. He inhaled deeply, glancing around with greater awareness.
He stood unsteadily, staggering to the lieutenant’s station. She had slumped forward and frozen in catatonic immobility. He tapped her board, engaging the sensors.
Maddox expected to have reached the Solar System. It surprised him there were no messages. It took over a minute before he realized they had traveled somewhere else.
His heart rate increased with anxiety. After all their hard work, had they failed to return to Human Space?
Four minutes later, Maddox had the answer. They were near Earth in an empty star system five point seven light-years from the Sun. According to the computer, this system lacked Laumer-Points. No wonder no one had ever colonized it.
Maddox straightened. He found the idea of Victory coming to an empty star system—
“Lieutenant,” Maddox said, shaking Valerie. “Lieutenant, wake up. We have a problem.”
-73-
The ship awoke. The reports poured in, and it turned out that Victory had taken more damage than anyone expected.
The Chitin particle beams had been particularly harmful. The nuclear blasts at nearby range had magnified the problem. Almost a hundred crewmembers had radiation burns and sickness. They were still lining up in sickbay. Around half the ship systems did not work and would not be online for hours and maybe even days.
This was like the first days aboard Victory when they had still been trying to figure everything out. The differences today were many. Ludendorff and Dana were both awake and alert. The same held true for the Kai-Kaus. Andros Crank proved critical, as he understood Adok technology as if born to it, which, of course, he had been. The third plus was that even with so many crewmembers down, they had many more who were eager to make repairs.
“Why did we arrive at this particular star system?” Maddox asked Ludendorff as they gathered in a conference room with a few of the others.
“Captain, I’ve told you several times already,” the professor said. “I targeted the Solar System so we would appear halfway between Jupiter and Neptune. I have no idea what went wrong.”
Maddox turned to Yen Cho. The legless android sat at the table, with Meta nearby.
“I have nothing to add,” the android said. “I in no way had anything to do with our present destination. If you’ll remember, I took a data gulp and could do nothing else.”
“Surveyor?” the captain asked. “You have the capacity to have altered our destination.”
“I suppose I might,” Shu said. “But—” She rubbed her forehead. “There’s something I don’t understand. It’s on the edge of my consciousness, but refuses to show itself.”
Maddox sighed inwardly. His initial thought seemed to have been correct. Shu was the culprit, again.
“Can you describe this hidden thought?” Maddox asked her.
Shu gave him a reproving glance. “If I could do that, I’d know what I can’t recall.”
“What is brought to mind as you try to dredge up the memory?”
“Well…it has something to do with Spacer history.”
“There you go,” Maddox said. “What else do you sense?”
The small Spacer pursed her lips. “It feels like déjà vu, as if I’ve played out the situation before.”
“I have a question,” the professor said.
Maddox gestured curtly at the Methuselah Man to keep quiet.
“Now, see here, my boy,” Ludendorff complained.
“Professor,” Maddox said, sharply.
“Oh,” Ludendorff said, blinking. “I see. Yes, of course.”
Shu glanced at the professor. “What do you mean by, ‘Of course’?”
“Nothing at all, dear girl,” Ludendorff said, “My apology for interrupting.”
Shu turned toward the captain. “You don’t think I had anything to do with our being here?”
“You’re the most likely suspect,” Maddox said, “and your feeling of déjà vu makes it doubly so.”
“Why would that matter?”
“I ask myself if inner compulsions might not feel like déjà vu. You feel like you’ve done this before because something inside you is telling you to do it.”
“You mean like hypnotic commands?” Shu asked.
Before Maddox could answer, Galyan appeared in the chamber. “Captain, the specifications you asked for have arrived.”
Shu grew still before swaying as if surprised. “Spacers have arrived in the star system.”
“Correction,” Maddox said. “Galyan has detected cloaked Spacers. Worse, they are approaching us. The evidence suggests they’ve been in the star system for some time. It would seem they have been waiting for us to arrive.”
“Captain,” Shu said earnestly. “I’m on your side. We’ve been to hell and back, and I finally realize the truth about the female Builder, that it was an android. But if my people are waiting for us, it implies they knew I would make sure to target the return hyper-spatial tube here.”
Shu pinched her lower lip. “I think you’re right about a compulsion. They did something to me. The old Spacer plan is forfeit, however. The truth about the android Builders means that I cannot allow Victory to fall into the Visionary’s hands. I can’t, because I have to save my people from their false view of the past. Captain, you must stun me one more time. You cannot let me communicate with the Spacers.”
Maddox tapped a finger on the table. He looked up and addressed the others. “I believe her. Professor, if you please.”
Ludendorff hesitated.
The captain cleared his throat.
Finally, Ludendorff reached inside his vest, pulled out a small black cube and adjusted it.
Shu touched her forehead, frowning. “I feel dizzy.”
“It should pass,” Ludendorff said.
Shu took her hand away from her head. “What did you do to me?”
“Try to use your transduction,” the professor suggested.
Shu concentrated. “I can’t,” she said, sounding slightly hysterical. “I feel something missing in me, like I have lost one of my senses. I do not like this.”
“It’s temporary,” the professor said. “I wouldn’t be too worried.” He turned to Maddox. “I don’t intend to be her guardian.”
“Give the cube to Meta for now,” Maddox said.
The professor twisted around, and with
a fatalistic shrug, he handed the cube to Meta.
The Rouen Colony woman pocketed it.
“The two of you will be spending all your time together for a while,” Maddox told the Spacer.
“Captain,” Shu said. “I appreciate this show of trust. However, it would be easier and safer for all of you to render me unconscious. Why are you doing it like this?”
“You said it yourself,” Maddox said. “We’ve been to hell and back.”
“You’re a sentimentalist,” Shu said, shocked.
“No,” Maddox said. “I’m a loyalist. I stick by those who stick by me.”
“But I caused our present problem,” Shu said.
“I believe it was directed by someone else,” Maddox said. “I abhor mind control. We’ll leave it at that. Meta, take Shu to medical. Have Dana run the Amber-Clayton psyche test on our guest. That might be a good place to start.”
“Thank you, Captain,” Shu said. “You won’t regret this.”
The two women left the chamber.
Maddox stood. “Professor, please come with me to the bridge.”
“What about me?” Yen Cho asked.
“You will remain here for now,” Maddox told the android. “Do not fear. I will not surrender you to the Visionary. You are too important to Star Watch for that.”
Yen Cho considered that, finally nodding. “I find that acceptable. But Captain…”
Maddox waited.
“If I ever find something unacceptable, I will delete the Builder data from my core.”
“Of course,” Maddox said, “as that is your primary bargaining chip. Professor, it’s time we hurried to the bridge.”
***
Captain Maddox sat on his chair in his dress uniform. Ludendorff stood to the side. The professor was out of range of the video feed going over to the Spacer flagship but in easy conversation range with the captain.
Galyan stood behind the captain’s left shoulder, while the others were at their stations.
The Kai-Kaus and those crewmembers who were able continued to make repairs. A small amount of power went to the shields, all they could afford at present. A disrupter cannon was online, but at best could only make a few beams before the weak energy banks became depleted.
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