Star Force 11: Exile Read online

  “What if by doing so we ensure our survival? Can you afford to take the chance?”

  I made a growling sound in my throat. How was it that conversations with the robot so often devolved into moments like this? “Marvin, I’ll handle that moral dilemma when I have to. Until then, you do as I say. Got it?”

  “Directive accepted.”

  “Now what about talking to it? You never did answer on that point.”

  “I was getting to that before you began to insult my ethical judgment.”

  “Your ethical judgment deserves insults. Now please, get to the point. Can we talk to it?”

  “I find no evidence it has any interest in talking to biotic species. It ignores machines and arbitrarily interferes with organic life.”

  “Sounds like it has a specific mission. If we knew what that was, we might understand how to deal with it.”

  “Agreed.” I heard the channel drop.

  Marvin hadn’t been a lot of help, but I was slowly building a picture in my mind of what this ship of the Ancients was about. Sighing with exasperation, I saw that Sokolov and his escort had returned. The general had on his old suit now looking much cleaner and in good repair. I wondered how much of that conversation he had heard, notably the parts about him. Nothing to be done about that now.

  I waved him over to the holotank. “All right, General. Here’s our situation. We can lift off at a moment’s notice if we have to. In any case, we can be up within the hour and moving away keeping the bulk of the planet between the Slab and us.” I raised my eyebrows to invite comment.

  “A sound plan. I needn’t remind you not to fire at it,” he said with a slight question in his voice.

  “Not unless we have no other choice.”

  “I doubt your weapons can affect it, anyway. Ours didn’t,” he said this with pursed lips and a downward, almost ashamed, glance.

  “Our beams are a hundred times as powerful as anything an old Nano cruiser had,” I said.

  “Can they affect ring material?”

  “Stardust?”

  “Is that what you call it nowadays?”

  “Yes. Marvin coined the term I believe.”

  “You didn’t answer my question, Captain.”

  I shook my head. “I’ve never heard of anyone shooting at stardust. Wait a minute.” I called the lab.

  Doctor Kalu, the woman who’d once failed to seduce me, picked up. “Yes, Captain?” she said coolly.

  “Doctor, would our weapons have any effect on stardust? Ring material, that is?”

  “Operationally? Negligible, Captain. It would take hours, even days for beams to peel off a centimeter. If we had unlimited time and power…”

  “What about nukes?”

  “A contact blast might vaporize a few centimeters.”

  “Understood. Riggs out.” For all the awkwardness between us, Kalu was a competent scientist and seemed to understand what I needed from her.

  I turned to Sokolov. “Sure wish we had some stardust as armor.”

  Sokolov nodded, but then Hansen spoke up. “It’s too heavy,” he said. “Plating half an inch thick would multiply the weight of any ship by a factor of a thousand or more. I remember it was discussed a while back.”

  “Nothing’s ever easy, is it?” I said. That drew a few rueful glances from the bridge crew. “General, what do you think the Slab will do when we take off? Will it pay us any attention?”

  Sokolov looked sour. “I’m afraid it may. While the Slab ignored the Macros, it immediately approached the Nano fleet as if…curious.”

  “Yes, but it’s just sitting there paying no attention to the Raptor forts, us, or Marvin and his ship. Not the way I would expect it to act.”

  “It’s inscrutable, Captain. Not human, not even alien. It’s…other.” He said this with such awe and hatred that everyone around him stared. After a moment, he shook off the expression and twitched his lips. “But perhaps it will ignore us as well.”

  “Back to the encounter with the Nano fleet,” I said. “Did the Slab do anything hostile before the cruisers started firing on it? And did the Nanos fire missiles or only lasers?”

  Sokolov raised his eyes, thinking and remembering. “I believe one ship fired both beams and missiles at about the same time, and then others followed in a ragged volley.”

  “So it wasn’t a coordinated Nano response. The bear command personnel must have initiated it. Once the first fired, the rest followed suit.”

  The general nodded. “And perhaps once the fleet seemed committed, the Nano brains continued the attack, for Alamo joined in without my order. She did, however, allow me to countermand and cease fire…unlike the others.”

  I knew that both Macro and Nano fleets became smarter as more brains joined their network. The Macros seemed to think as one mind while the Nano brains remained more separate even while linked.

  “In the end it didn’t matter, right?” I asked. “The Slab disappeared Alamo anyway,” I said.

  “Yes. I transmitted a request for contact but never got an answer. Then I woke up in the maze.”

  “But you didn’t find any of your gear. No equipment you could identify as coming from Alamo?”

  “Not when I awoke, but eventually I did run across a few things—a blanket with a specific pattern and one shoe I was pretty sure was mine. Everything seemed scattered randomly through endless corridors and chambers.”

  “If the Slab is some kind of collection device,” I mused, “you’d think it would have organized what it found systematically.” I realized I was already assuming the ship of the Ancients was a single machine rather than something with a crew in it. Until I learned something to contradict that belief, I’d go with it.

  “Maybe it is organized in some other unfathomable way,” Sokolov replied, “but I found no evidence of it.”

  “I—”

  That was as far as I got before the holotank began blinking suddenly. Specifically, the Slab’s large yellow icon strobed, disappearing and reappearing every half-second or so each time in a different place until it eventually moved off the plot. I zoomed the display outward until I reacquired it moving—if that was the word for what it did—perpendicular to its earlier axis. Now it lined up on the planet’s equatorial plane of rotation and stopped.

  “Valiant, analyze the motion of the Slab. How did it move?”

  “Unknown. Processing.”

  I got a bad feeling then. Valiant was a pretty smart ship. If her brainbox had reached the limits of understanding, even temporarily, something really weird was going on. “Get me a channel with Hoon.” I hoped he would have some insight.

  “Yes, young Riggs?”

  “Professor, how is the Slab moving? What kind of propulsion is it using?”

  “None at all that I can detect, young Riggs. It appears to be transporting itself from place to place using the same principle of the rings.”

  My jaw dropped. “It’s teleporting without a ring?”

  “I would not use the word ‘teleporting.’ It appears to be opening a temporary controllable rift in the space-time continuum and passing the effect over itself, resulting in repositioning approximately 9,566.36 miles away each time.”

  “That’s…that’s fantastic.” I’d been about to say “impossible” but I caught myself.

  “Now you see what we’re up against,” Sokolov said darkly. “We can’t fight it conventionally, and we can’t run if it wants to catch us.”

  Something about the way he spoke made me look closely at him. I would have thought to see despair, but instead I detected interest, fascination, and what I could only call restrained hunger in his eyes. Was he still lusting for revenge on the Slab for killing his precious Pandas? Or was there something more?

  Abruptly, the large icon in the holotank winked out.

  “What just happened?” I demanded. I zoomed the display out until it covered the entire star system, but it didn’t reappear. “Valiant, locate the Slab.”

  “The Slab
is not detectable with passive sensors.”

  “Go to active!” I ordered. Nothing showed up right away, but our radar pulses would take hours to reach throughout the system.

  “It seems to have disappeared,” Hansen said, frowning at his board.

  “Did its jumps exceed the speed of light?”

  Hoon answered from the speaker. “Based on my observations, the Slab’s ‘jumps,’ as you call them, took no discernible time at all.”

  This really made my guts roil. Except for the rings, which were fixed and comprehensible artifacts, nothing had been found to exceed the speed of light. Now here was this huge ship made of almost invulnerable stardust popping from place to place without straining itself. I couldn’t imagine how to affect it.

  But maybe Sokolov had an idea. I knew he wasn’t telling all he knew, and I believed he harbored a deep anger, even rage, toward the Slab because of what it had done to his Nano fleet and his bear buddies. The human will was a powerful thing. Sokolov had had the motivation, two years’ experience, and all sorts of equipment to experiment with.

  If someone wanted something badly enough, he might give anything to get it. Knowing that gave me some leverage if I could figure out how to use it. One thing did occur to me right away, something that had been a thorn in my side ever since I’d taken over. Maybe this was an opportunity, if I was willing to take it.

  “General, a word please?” I gestured toward the ready room. As Sokolov preceded me, I turned to Hansen. “Continue liftoff prep and get us into space as soon as everything’s done. Put us a couple million miles out and deploy a full suite of recon drones to cover the entire surface of the planet.”

  Hansen acknowledged as I followed Sokolov into the private room. “General, I have a proposal for you,” I said once the door had closed. “As I told you, I took over as Captain because all of Valiant’s other officers got eaten by the Pandas.”

  “I’m sorry about that, Captain,” he replied, “but I believe there must have been some kind of misunderstanding.”

  “We’ll probably never know, but I tell you that this crew wouldn’t throw a rope to a drowning bear, and your obvious love of them isn’t helping your case. However, I think we can help each other out if you care to.”

  Sokolov stared for a moment as if judging my sincerity. I like to think I can bullshit with the best of them, but I was speaking plainly and truthfully now. Apparently he saw that.

  “All right,” he said. “I’m listening.”

  “I’ve earned the right to lead this crew. I brought them through some deadly situations and made good decisions to preserve our lives and our integrity. They accept me as captain, but it would help me and, frankly, them if I had the stamp of legitimacy from Star Force. Of course, we haven’t been able to communicate with home. The ring network is shut off the way we came, and in the direction we’re going there’s probably a hundred or more links in the chain, any one of which could be blocking our signal. That’s why Marvin decided to release a self-replicating program into the multidimensional maze network, and that’s what I believe attracted the attention of the Slab.”

  “I’m not sure I see your point.”

  I paced back and forth in the small room. “My point is, if you as a Star Force general would confirm me as acting captain it would unite the crew even more and enhance everyone’s survival chances—and help your image as well.”

  Sokolov smiled slightly then, something he hadn’t done until now. “I’ll do it,” he said, “and add something even better. I’ll promote you—pending confirmation from Headquarters, of course—to any rank you choose. Straight to Captain if you like.”

  I stopped pacing. “That’s a good idea. However, full Captain is too much of a stretch from Ensign. Lieutenant isn’t enough. That leaves Lieutenant Commander and full Commander…”

  “Better you become a Commander, then. Leave that troubling word ‘Lieutenant’ out, don’t you think?”

  I chuckled. “I like the way you think, General.” I realized I’d accepted the man as a comrade then—not without reservations of course. But he was human, he’d been through a tough time, and he deserved a place in my crew.

  Besides, he could be quite useful if I handled him properly.

  “Commander it is,” he said, smiling again.

  * * *

  Once we’d lifted off and taken a position two million miles out, we waited. After several hours, I stood the ship down from General Quarters and sent everyone back to their routine watches. After I’d gotten out of my suit, showered and donned a fresh uniform, I called for a meeting of my staff in the main conference room, Sokolov included.

  He showed up in a modern General’s working uniform of smart cloth. “Miss Turnbull had it made for me,” he murmured in my ear by way of explanation.

  “Good idea. It will make everything appear more legit,” I said back. “Have you worked out a script?”

  He tapped his temple. “Up here.”

  “Great.”

  My warrant officers and noncoms had filed in.

  “Valiant,” I said, “broadcast this meeting to everyone’s workstations.”

  I then walked over to stand at the head of the table. “Welcome, staff and crew. You’ve all had your vacation on the planet. Now we’re back in space with strange things going on. The Slab, probably a ship of the Ancients, apparently investigated this system and then departed. A transport full of friendly Raptors is on its way to see us. Additionally, Marvin recovered a man from the early days of Star Force, General Anton Sokolov, preserved inside the Square for the last twenty-five years or more. We’re fortunate to have him because he’s agreed to represent Star Force in an administrative matter that will put to rest some nagging questions. General?” I gestured for him to come up.

  “Thank you, Captain Riggs,” he said as he took a position clasping his hands behind his back and eyeing the cameras with confidence. “First, let me say I am grateful to this crew for my rescue and the warm welcome I’ve received.”

  I choked back a snort of laughter at this outright lie. The crew had been anything but warm, and the man’s natural demeanor wasn’t friendly, either. Still, he seemed to be able to turn on the charm in public when he had to, like any good politician.

  “I asked the captain what I could do to repay such kindness, and he told me doing his duty was its own best reward.”

  Nice, I thought. He was really making me look good.

  “But I pressed him hard, and eventually I determined that despite everything he’d done to earn the position it still saddened your captain that he couldn’t fully claim the title he so richly deserves. Therefore, I insisted he give me the opportunity to confirm something all of you already know: that Cody Riggs is your captain. By custom, by dint of superior performance, and, once I finish with this ceremony, by all formal legality, we will lay to rest any question as to who is the captain aboard Valiant.”

  Sokolov led the packed conference room in a round of wild clapping and cheering for me, and it felt pretty good. The man sure knew how to wow a crowd even if he was laying it on a little thick. I could never have blended such pompous eloquence with sincerity. I found myself grinning.

  “Therefore…Captain Riggs, would you come up, face me, and raise your right hand?”

  I marched up to the front and did so.

  “By the authority vested in me as a general officer in Star Force, I hereby appoint you to the rank of Commander with all rights, powers and privileges according thereunto, said appointment to be confirmed by Star Force headquarters at the earliest possible opportunity. Furthermore, I confirm your position as acting captain of Valiant. Cody Ryan Riggs, do you swear to uphold the Constitution of Earth against all enemies, foreign and domestic, to adhere to all Star Force regulations and directives, to obey the orders of all officers appointed over you, and to discharge the duties of the rank of Commander to be best of your abilities?”

  I swelled with pride. Full Commander less than a year out of the Acade
my! “I so swear,” I said.

  “I hereby log your appointment. Valiant, please preserve a record,” Sokolov said, and after exchanging salutes he shook my hand. “Congratulations, Commander.”

  “Thank you, sir,” I said. Adrienne stepped up to kiss me on the cheek, and the rest of my staff shook my hand enthusiastically in turn. I’d worried this maneuver might be seen as selfish or arrogant, but it appeared as if everyone was on board with it.

  Of course, having a potential crisis and a weird ship flitting around helped to focus people’s attention on what was important, and I had been perfectly serious when I told Sokolov that ensuring my legitimacy would improve our survival chances. The crew knew it, too. Nobody likes to serve among comrades with shaky confidence in their commanding officer.

  All in all, it was a rare moment in my active duty as a part of Star Force. I felt appreciated and happy.

  As is so often the case, the feeling was to be short-lived.

  -8-

  It seemed like all I did was stare at the holotank lately, but that was a captain’s lot in life. The device provided my integrated interface to the world outside the ship. The few times it had been knocked out I’d felt cut off, bereft, forced to fall back on screens and crew reports relayed from their separate system displays.

  The Slab had vanished without a trace as mysteriously as it had come. But there were two alien contacts in nearby space. One of them I’d expected, the other I hadn’t.

  “The Raptor transport is three hours from rendezvous now that we’ve moved closer,” I said. “But this baby…” I tapped the glass of the tank over the new icon. “This is a problem.”

  Sokolov stood to one side, not speaking. Despite our improving relationship, I’d cautioned him against getting in the way of my command structure or offering too much counsel on matters with which he had no experience. He seemed to be following my wishes. I turned from him and deliberately looked at Hansen.

  “That’s a Raptor warship by its configuration,” Hansen said. “It’s not answering our hails and it’s a big ship, bigger than any Raptor vessel I’ve ever seen. It looks to be a battleship, larger even than our newly rebuilt Valiant.”