Bender of Worlds

by Isaac Hooke

  Tane decided to make his way to the cockpit. He was relieved for the break in the monotony, even if that break meant they were entering into grave danger.

  He reached the cockpit. Sinive was sitting on the floor next to the jump chamber, while Gia was in the chamber itself. Both women seemed rested. Well enough to make two jumps back-to-back, anyway.

  “Have any of their ships changed course to intercept yet?” Tane asked.

  “Yes,” Gia said. “A few seconds before you arrived, Muse reported that all members of both task groups were accelerating to intercept us. Some are traveling inward, staying close to the rift—apparently hoping to cut us off before we arrive. The remainder are accelerating directly toward us from both sides, moving away from the rift in a diagonal direction.”

  “Covering all their bases...” Tane said.

  “It won’t help,” Sinive said. “They’ll never reach us in time.”

  “How do you know?” Tane said. “Unless she’s given you access to the tactical display?”

  Sinive shrugged with a knowing smile.

  “Can I get access?” Tane asked her.

  “Girls only,” Gia replied with a wink.

  Tane stared at her in disbelief, but before he could say anything to embarrass himself, Gia said: “Sinive doesn’t have access. I already explained the tactical situation to her, just as I explained it to you. And I’ll confirm it in a moment, once the ships in both task groups reach maximum speed.”

  A few minutes later, Gia said: “Okay, the different ship types have all hit their various maximums, and they’re staggered at various distances from one another based on those maximums. Looks like I was right. As predicted, only a couple of the fastest enemy vessels will reach firing range before we enter. They’ll have a small, two-minute window to unleash their gorewars at the maximum possible range extents of the weapons. Our shields will hold.”

  Tane still had access to the external nose cam so he pulled it up. The enemy ships were too far away—he saw only blackness.

  He wondered if Jed was observing or listening from sickbay. “Jed, you here?” Tane tried.

  “I’m here, Engineer,” Jed said. “I wouldn’t miss this for anything.”

  “How about you, Gall?” Tane said.

  No answer.

  Figures.

  The alien wasn’t all that interested in human affairs. Though he probably should be, given the situation.

  “You know, I’ve been thinking about how we plan to jump to a different system as soon as we pass into our universe,” Sinive said. “And I thought of something. When the dwellers tried to invade after Remus, why didn’t they do the same? Jump immediately after passing through the rift and into our universe, I mean?”

  “They thought they could destroy the waiting TSN fleet,” Jed said over the comm. “And they might have, had our Engineer not intervened. Besides, once the dwellers started jumping, the fleet would have been alerted, and they would have been ready to disrupt the jumps of all those coming in behind.”

  “If we want to save Lyra and Nebb, maybe we shouldn’t jump,” Sinive suggested. “Maybe we should let the TSN capture us.”

  “No,” Jed said. “There’s no guarantee either of them will be aboard the ship that captures us, let alone in the Anteres system at all. We need to arrange a swap at a place and time more favorable to us. Preferably a neutral, planet-side city. Anywhere in the Mautauraen Empire would do.”

  “All right, I cede the point,” Sinive said. “It’s better we choose the time and place. But still, why not have the swap occur in space somewhere? Once we have Lyra, we send him out onto the hull of one of the battle cruisers, and he starts doing his stuff. He could destroy a whole TSN fleet if he had to.”

  “I don’t want to destroy another fleet,” Tane said. “Especially not a human fleet. You know how many people are aboard each ship? How many would die? Lyra and Nebb would be sick to their stomachs if they found out how many people we killed to rescue them. I would be sick.”

  “Okay, you’re right,” Sinive said. “But I can’t see how a planet-side city would be more advantageous to us.”

  “We choose a planet that’s not under the dominion of the TSN,” Jed said. “Because of treaty constraints, that would limit the number and types of ships the TSN could bring into the system.”

  “Say we perform the swap on a planet in the Mautauraen Empire, as you suggest,” Tane told him. “What kind of limits are we talking about?”

  “One transport ship, capable of carrying a hundred troops, with only four of those troops having the ability to Siphon, restricted to jump specialists,” Jed said. “One Volur may also accompany them. The TSN can take along the Red Grizzly as well, though they’ll have to fly it in separately. Since it’s a civilian ship, the Mautauraen wouldn’t know it belongs to the TSN.”

  “What’s to stop the TSN from breaking the treaty?” Sinive asked.

  “It would be detrimental to their relationship with the government of the system in question, and tantamount to an act of war,” Jed said. “I have the perfect Mautauraen system in mind. Greater Pindi. The heart of their empire. In Greater Pindi, the Mautauraen have a navy big enough to make the TSN think twice before violating the treaty. And keep in mind that the Mautauraen hate the TSN with a passion…”

  “All right, well, we can work out the details after we’ve passed through the rift and safely jumped away,” Tane said.

  The next hour passed tensely. The alien ships on either side continued to close their pincer, while the Mosaic raced against time to reach the rift ahead of them.

  “We’re two minutes out from the rift,” Muse finally announced. “Three of the incoming ships just reached the upper range boundaries of their weapons.”

  “That means they’re within our upper range limits, too,” Sinive said.

  “Muse, fire dragons at will,” Gia said. “Concentrate all fire on one of the ships.”

  “We’re receiving gorewar fire,” Muse said. “Shields are holding at eighty-five percent. Returning fire.”

  “Did we cause any damage?” Gia asked a moment later.

  “Negative,” Muse said. “We did even less damage to their shield systems of course, since we’re one vessel to their three.” Muse paused. “A dweller ship just launched an Essence lance.”

  “Just one?” Gia said.

  “Yes,” Muse said.

  “They don’t want to risk damaging their precious Doomwielder,” Sinive commented dryly.

  “Climb,” Gia said. “And when the lance is close, dive to avoid it.”

  “Climbing,” the Mosaic’s AI said. Ten seconds passed before the Muse added: “Initiating dive.”

  The deck vibrated.

  “I couldn’t dodge it,” Muse said. “The Essence lance struck the starboard side. We’ve received minor damage to the hull. No breaches.”

  “So far so good...” Gia said.

  “Another ship is launching an Essence lance,” Muse said.

  “Bump up our speed,” Gia said. “Emergency acceleration. It’s time for the final run to the rift. And dodge that lance when it gets close!”

  “Issuing emergency acceleration,” Muse said. “Two more ships just came within firing range. We’re taking another round of gorewar fire from them. Shields are down to sixty-five percent.”

  “Come on,” Gia said. “We’re so close.”

  “Had a near miss on the lance,” the Mosaic’s AI said. “Though a third ship is firing another.”

  “Almost there…” Gia said. “Return fire as soon as our dragons are recharged. And rotate our nose until you have one of their ships within the throw angle of our plasma weapon, and then fire: give them something to avoid in turn.”

  “Rotating nose,” Muse echoed. A moment later: “Firing plasma thrower.”

  The deck shook once more.

  “We just took another Essence lance impact,” Muse said. “On the underside of the nose. Minor damage once again, though there is a small hu
ll breach in the deck below the cockpit.”

  “The pantry…” Gia said.

  “Yes,” Muse said.

  “Guess we’re eating freeze-dried chicken going forward,” Sinive commented.

  “Dragons are charged,” Muse said. “Firing. Minimal damage inflicted upon target. Four more ships just entered firing range. We’re receiving gorewar impacts on our port side. And the previous ships are firing their lasers again, starboard side. Shields are down to fifteen percent.”

  “Time to the rift?” Gia asked.

  “Sixty seconds,” Muse answered.

  “Remember, our shields will go down when we pass through” Tane said. “You have to make the jump the instant we emerge. Otherwise we’ll be at the mercy of the TSN.”

  “I haven’t forgotten,” Gia said. “Which is why I’m relying on Muse to help me time the jump.”

  A moment later the Mosaic’s AI said: “Forty seconds. The incoming vessels have fired two more Essence lances.”

  “Perform the usual evasive actions when impact from those lances is imminent,” Gia said.

  Tane activated a timer on his display and counted down the seconds to the rift.

  At the twenty-five second mark to the rift, Muse said: “One lance missed. The second struck the starboard side. Another minor breach. It’s the cargo bay.”

  G’allanthamas was still listed as online. Tane attempted to contact him. The dweller answered immediately.

  “What’s going on up there?” G’allanthamas said. “I was almost sucked out!”

  “We were hit by an Essence lance,” Tane said.

  “Ah,” G’allanthamas said. “I’m guessing the range is long, otherwise the damage would have been a lot worse. You know, it’s probably a good thing this compartment is so tight. It was easy to brace myself when the bulkhead gave way.”

  “So I guess that means you’ll stop complaining about your living conditions now…” Tane said.

  “On the contrary,” G’allanthamas said. “I have a hole in the bulkhead leading out into the void. I’m going to complain even more loudly now.”

  “We’re receiving multiple gorewar laser impacts, all sides,” Muse announced. “Shields are down to ten percent.” A moment later: “Five seconds until we reach the rift.”

  “Four.”

  “Three.”

  “Two.”

  The jump chamber began to light up, and Tane heard the characteristic humming fill his hearing.

  “One.”

  The blurriness of the cockpit lifted. As did the dark blue tint that colored everything.

  They had returned to their universe.

  The jump chamber flared even brighter, and that humming crescendoed. Tane felt the familiar wave of nausea pass over him, and he braced himself against the bulkhead with one hand.

  And then the chamber brightness faded away, along with the humming, and the nausea.

  “It’s done,” Gia said weakly, her head lolling to one side. “We’re no longer in Anteres. I selectively activated our thermal emitters during the jump to alter our heat profile. If anyone scans us, the best match they’ll get is a Dryer class transport. Not a Scow.”

  Her voice sounded normal, and no longer split between two octaves. But that normal was the new abnormal, considering how long Tane had spent in the Umbra. It would take a few moments to get used to it.

  “My turn,” Sinive said, standing.

  Sinive helped Gia out of the jump chamber and then slid inside. She glanced at Tane. “Do we have a target system in mind?”

  “Yes,” Tane said. “Greater Pindi.”

  Tane sat in sickbay next to Jed.

  During the second jump, Gia had Muse selectively activate different thermal emitters on the hull, changing their heat signature once again before the Mosaic’s arrival in the final system. That small change would buy them a few hours at least, because by comparing the timestamps of arrivals and departures reported by space traffic controllers galaxy-wide, eventually the TSN would track them down—assuming their AIs actually exchanged traffic data with the Mautauraen Empire. But by then, Tane would have already set his final plan in motion.

  After arriving in Greater Pindi the Mosaic had flown to the most populated planet, a world known as Xalantas, and landed at a shipyard in the biggest city: Nalax. It was a sprawling metropolis composed of skyscrapers at the center and low- to mid-rise apartments in the outlying districts.

  Sinive and Gia were resting aboard the ship in their shared quarters after the back-to-back jumps. Gia had instructed the shipyard’s robots to supply the necessary raw materials the repair drones needed, but to otherwise stay away from her ship. She didn’t want the robots discovering G’allanthamas in the breached cargo bay. The repair of that bay was the first order of business, and she had commanded her drones to concentrate on that breach first.

  Tane had also elected to remain aboard the Mosaic, since there was no real reason to travel into the city proper, at least not for the time being. Jed had already made a virtual dive into the city, and picked out a spot for a potential rendezvous with representatives of the TSN. Now all Jed needed to do was notify the TSN to commence the plan.

  Lying in that sickbay bed, Jed was looking just as pale as he had when Tane had first attempted healing, although the dark veins in his side had only spread a few centimeters since then. The longest threaded all the way up to his underarm area.

  “So what are you going to tell them?” Tane asked.

  “That we’re willing to trade you for Lyra and Nebb,” Jed replied. His voice sounded strained, tired. Tane had grown accustomed to the single octave words by then, and the lack of motion trails when lips moved. “Along with the Red Grizzly. A simple note. Short and sweet.”

  “You think they’ll buy it?” Tane pressed.

  “They’re desperate to get their hands on you,” Jed said. “Of course they’ll buy it. They have no choice.”

  “And if they demand a different location?” Tane said.

  “They’re in no position to make demands,” Jed said. “I’ll make that clear to them. We meet here, or the deal is off.”

  Tane nodded slowly. “If you send this location, won’t the TSN scour the place? Starting with the shipyards?”

  “No,” Jed said. “That would be a treaty violation. And they certainly won’t want to alert the Mautauraen government that they have the Bender of Worlds in their city.”

  “But obviously they have a few spies here,” Tane said. “Either that, or a couple of hacked AIs.”

  “Which is why I’m not sending the message until tonight, after we’ve left the ship and found a short termer to stay at,” Jed said.

  “Gia won’t want to leave the ship here,” Tane said. “Not if the TSN sends spies to search the shipyards for a newly arrived Scow.”

  “I’ll have her park the ship outside the city tonight, and take a shuttle back to whatever short termer we acquire for ourselves,” Jed said.

  “Sounds reasonable.”

  Tane returned to his quarters to wait until dark. He didn’t have to worry about his chip transmission range now that he was surround by billions of people, so he pumped it up to its usual maximum. He could also connect to the Galnet again, seeing as the control chip had been removed. He’d been avoiding it all this time, during the entire flight to the planet, and after landing. He wasn’t sure why. Maybe he was a little worried that the TSN still had some remnants of the control chip inside his brain. No, that wasn’t really the reason. He knew he’d have messages waiting from his parents. He also knew that once he watched those messages, he’d want to reply right away. Watching, and responding, would take an emotional toll on him.

  And not only that, but those messages would remind him of the past, and the life he’d given up. He wanted to believe he had a better life now. But he wasn’t so certain. Being chased around the galaxy, hunted by aliens and humans alike, with no sign that his situation would ever change. His friends captured, used against him… sometime
s he thought it might be better to go back to the simpler days of his youth, when he was an Engineer who liked to play piano on the side, instead of the Bender of Worlds.

  Yes, he wasn’t looking forward to reading and answering those messages.

  He pulled up his network preferences on his HUD and authorized Galnet connecting.

  A moment later his message box filled up.

  Among the pings from his friends back on Galtede Serpentis were several holographic messages from his parents. He resolved to review them all.

  When he was done, he sat back to process the information. Each message was essentially the same. His father, sitting stoically beside his mother, who often had tears in her eyes.

  They missed him. They wanted to know where he was so they could leave Galtede Serpentis and join him. The robots Lyra had left with them were treating them like “prisoners,” and wouldn’t let them go out onto the streets unescorted or without blurring caps. They wanted to know if he had made it to his destination, and if so, whether the Volur were holding him hostage. Did he retrieve the lost crew member yet? Why was he talking like he might never see them again?

  Tane took a moment to compose his thoughts and then began recording a message. He enabled full video mode, so that when they received and played back the message, it would seem like he was seated across from them.

  “Mom. Dad. We still didn’t make it to our destination. In fact, I won’t be going there after all. Because it turns out the Volur want to keep me in chains just as badly as the TSN. Not Lyra and Jed, though. They wanted to help me. Well, okay, they lied about taking me to Talendir, but it was only because they thought I’d never agree to go with them willingly otherwise. I know that sounds bad. It’s complicated. But trust me, I’m all right. And yes, we retrieved the lost crew member. Her name is Sinive. She’s doing well.” He didn’t feel the need to hide the names of his friends anymore, since the TSN knew all about them now. And revealing the location of their previous destination didn’t matter either, considering he had no plans to ever go there. Talendir. Den of Volurs. He remembered that man, Xescartes, who had helped Nelson chip him. Yes, most Volur were definitely not on his side.