Rocket’s Red Glare

by David Hardy

  Small shapes – carbon copies of the big shapes – suddenly spilled out.

  At first, the small shapes looked inert. But then, one by one, they began to shudder to life, while the two larger shapes hovered nearby. Attentive.

  “The g-g-g-gate has activated again,” Astrobee reported. “Craft similar in size and mass to those which were previously in pursuit, have been d-d-d-detected.”

  “That’s it,” Charlie said. “They’re here.”

  “But where is here? And what are we witnessing?”

  “I’d say, a family reunion,” Charlie remarked. “But I really don’t know what’s in this system. Astrobee kept telling me that this was restricted information, every time I queried. I figured that meant we’d be dropping in somewhere relatively off-limits for humans. Now that I am seeing what I am seeing, I have to suspect way off-limits.”

  One of the large black shapes detached itself from the small throng of increasingly energetic, smaller black shapes, and quickly maneuvered its way up to where the disabled human ship continued to bleed off relative velocity. A problem which the alien things outside seemed to not notice, nor care about. Space for them was as easy as seawater for an octopus, seemingly.

  The black shape extended an appendage, until the appendage gently touched the ship’s hull.

  “WHAT ARE YOU?” asked a voice from the ceiling, though it wasn’t exactly Astrobee’s.

  “Visitors,” Sue responded, smiling for the first time since before the attack on the other side of the gate.

  “WHY ARE YOU DAMAGED?”

  “They hit us just as we reached the gate and passed through,” Charlie said. “That same group of ships which just came through the gate again now.”

  “YOUR PRIMITIVE ARTIFICIAL INTELLECT INFORMS ME THAT YOU ARE CALLED... HUMANS. WE SPEAK TO YOU IN YOUR WAY, SO THAT YOU MAY UNDERSTAND US IN OURS. IT IS NOT PERMITTED FOR PRIMITIVES SUCH AS YOURSELVES TO COME TO OUR HOME. TRESPASSERS MUST BE PUNISHED. YET YOU HAVE BROUGHT TO US OUR WAYWARD OFFSPRING, WHO APPEAR TO HAVE BEEN IN LONG HIBERNATION. VERY LONG. HOW DID YOU DISCOVER THESE LITTLE ONES?”

  “We can’t really say,” Charlie said honestly. “We just knew that we had to bring them here, at all costs. So we did. Even though we got shot up pretty good along our route.”

  “OUR OFFSPRING WERE ATTACKED WHILE IN YOUR CARE?”

  “Yes... more or less. Our whole ship was attacked.”

  There was a long silence, then the speakers continued.

  “I SEE THE TRUTH OF YOUR WORDS, THROUGH THE RECORDS OF YOUR ARTIFICIAL INTELLECT. THERE WILL BE A RECKONING FOR THOSE WHO DARED TO ATTACK OUR KIND. MEANWHILE, WE ARE IN YOUR DEBT, HUMAN WHO IS NAMED CHARLES ESTERLAN. WHAT WOULD YOU REQUEST OF US, THAT WE MAY PROPERLY SETTLE THE MATTER?”

  Charlie slowly turned his head Sue’s way, a knowing grin spreading over his face.

  Sue Glass grinned right back.

  ○●○

  “You sent us to face an old-sapient race, and you didn’t even warn us,” Charlie said, shaking his head. “You could have at least told us what we were in for.”

  “If I had told you,” Slurrngt said, “you would not have gone. Under any circumstance. Even I would not have gone. The—” Slurrngt made an unreproducible sound with his vocal flute “—are not just old-sapients. They are among the very oldest of the old. So old, that their civilization stretches back before Aggregation records. They are not a collection of single minds, but a massive group mind. Who have engineered for themselves living biomechanical bodies, which freely inhabit space. Fantastic technology. Yet they never set out to harness the galaxy for their own use. They merely traveled. Occasionally dropping spores where it seemed opportune to do so.”

  “You must have found some of those spores,” Sue said.

  All three of them were clustered around a large table at the Deep Vacuum, where few patrons congregated at that particular time of day. Dave O’Connell had joined them too.

  The alien wasn’t the only one who no longer needed to keep secrets.

  “I think your British friend can take some of the credit,” Slurrngt said, indicating Dave. “Though he did not know what they were. One of your recent American missions in your Oort cloud recovered them. The Americans made discreet inquiries through the British, who contacted Dave, who then contacted me. I had Dave bring them through the Earth gate, to a secure location where the spores could be properly decanted. Once I was sure what we were dealing with, I had the embryos placed in immediate stasis while we decided what to do.”

  “Shouldn’t you have just contacted the... whatever they’re called?” Sue asked. “Told them you had the embryos?”

  “It would have ignited a storm of controversy and accusations,” Slurrngt said. “My guild would have been openly accused by our rivals of attempting ransom. Or worse. We couldn’t publicly admit to having them. So, we needed a third party. One who could be told just enough to accomplish the mission. But not too much.

  “Since Americans had found the spores to begin with, it seemed proper that an American should return them. What could our rivals do to hurt America, with America shut behind the gate? What could be done to Americans in exile, which was any worse than what had already been done to them? Your people had everything to gain, and so very little to lose. The important part was ensuring you got proper credit... assuming everything went well.”

  “It almost went horribly wrong,” Charlie said, able to chuckle about it now. “I jinxed us right at the moment when we were practically home free.”

  “’Jinx’?” the alien asked.

  “Human superstition,” Sue said. “What he really means is, we were having such an easy time of it, right up until the moment when we weren’t.”

  “Of course,” Slurrngt said. “Once you departed, our rivals set about searching everywhere for you. I tried to plot your gate crossings so that you would seem to be here, and there, and nowhere at once. I don’t think I did a very good job. They managed to pinpoint you on your second to final stop. Terrible fortune, that. And yet, good fortune too. You are still among the living. The cargo was successfully delivered. And now? Things for you might change.”

  “Speaking of which,” Charlie said to his old friend as they sipped drinks, “what’s the word back home?”

  “The United Nations is in an absolute state of panic,” Dave O’Connell said, smiling slyly. “Apparently, the Aggregation contract for the gate in lunar orbit, is being ‘reworked’ according to new guidance which has just come down the Aggregation political chain. The United Nations is being told – in very strong terms – to reconsider its policy against the United States. Lest the Aggregation ‘reconsider’ the entire deal for the United Nations. Arbitrarily. Perhaps even constructing a second gate, for exclusive American use. Well, America’s, and also America’s closest friends.”

  Sue and Dave shared a glance, and a wink.

  “Two operational gates would be a rare thing for any single star system, much less a star system belonging to such a relatively young spacefaring species,” Slurrngt said. “Even I would not have predicted such an outcome. Very good. Very good indeed.”

  “We must thank you for intervening on our behalf,” Charlie said, raising his mug in Slurrngt’s direction. “I might actually get to visit home now. And all the other exiles can visit along with me.”

  “Where’s the first place you’ll go?” Dave asked.

  Charlie thought about it, then smiled, and mimicked casting with a fly rod and reel.

  Dave burst out laughing. “Of course, mate. Of course.”

  Sue seemed a bit mystified, as did Slurrngt.

  “Fishing,” Dave finally said. “The man hasn’t had a trout on his line in almost two decades.”

  “You wouldn’t want to come see England?” Sue remarked, her eyebrows going up with a mixed expression of surprise and disappointment.

  “I’ve been to Britain a few times,” Charlie said. “Dave and the other RAF blokes showed me around.”

  “Yes,
but did they show you my England? The way I can show it to you?”

  Now it was Dave’s turn to raise eyebrows in surprise. He looked over at Charlie, who suddenly felt his cheeks growing red, then quickly buried his nose back in his drink.

  Charlie simply stared at Sue, not quite sure what to say.

  “Well, I... umm... err... is that an offer, or a promise?”

  “Can’t it be a bit of both?” Sue asked, her expression growing sly.

  Charlie let himself smile, and raised his mug in her direction, then downed the remainder of the mug’s contents.

  About the Author – Brad R. Torgersen

  Brad R. Torgersen is a multi-award winning, multi-award nominated science fiction author, who is a healthcare tech geek by day, a United States Army Reserve Chief Warrant Officer on the weekends, and a sci-fi writer at night. His short fiction has been featured in the pages of several notable genre magazines, including the venerable Analog, where Brad has received three separate readers’ choice selections. Married with children, he resides in the Intermountain West, where he is presently working on a new hard science fiction space opera series for Baen Books.

  Manifest Destiny

  Keith West

  Commander Lance Tolliver, captain of the United States Space Ship Intrepid, settled himself in his chair on the command deck and ran the back of his hand across his brow. In spite of the environmental controls set to keep the ship cool, he was feeling decidedly warm.

  “Play the transmission again,” he said.

  His second in command and wife, Lieutenant Jennifer Tolliver, punched a button on her console.

  USSS Intrepid, this is UN Peacecruiser Resolution. You are unlawfully transporting UN Citizen Marshall Van Buren. Stand down and prepare to be boarded. Upon relinquishment of Dr. Van Buren, you will be allowed to proceed barring no other irregularities are found. Please acknowledge.

  “It’s been repeating for about ten minutes,” said Jennifer.

  Tolliver grunted. He’d been off duty and getting some much needed sack time before they entered the jump gate. He was wide awake now.

  “I’ll try to talk sense to them.”

  This time Jennifer grunted. “Good luck with that.”

  Tolliver pulled on his headset and keyed the mic live.

  “UN Peacecruiser Resolution, this is USSS Intrepid. What’s this about standing down and being boarded?”

  The message had been in English, with no discernable accent. When the reply came, the speaker had a distinct accent. “USSS Intrepid, you are ordered to stand down. You are illegally transporting UN Citizen Marshall Van Buren. He is to be remanded into our custody for safe transport back to Earth. Failure on your part to comply will result in charges of kidnapping.”

  “On what basis are you making this request, Resolution?”

  There would be a brief delay before he got a response. Tolliver killed the mic and turned to the navigator Mackenzie Sweeny. “What’s our ETA to the jump gate, Mac?”

  “Approximately 3 hours and 55 minutes, sir.”

  “And our rendezvous with the Resolution?”

  Sweeny ran a quick calculation before she answered. “Approximately 3 hours and 50 minutes, sir.”

  Tolliver sighed. He was already pushing the engines as it was. There was no way to go any faster. He felt a bead of sweat run down the side of his face. They were so close.

  The Resolution’s reply was along the lines Tolliver was expecting.

  “Intrepid, Dr. Van Buren was awarded UN Citizenship under UN Resolution 56-7329-103. As such he is subject to all UN Resolutions, enjoying the privileges, responsibilities, and restrictions such Citizenship entails. Because he has been declared a World Heritage Citizen, he is prohibited from traveling off planet without formal UN approval. As such approval has not been granted, your transportation of him is illegal.”

  Tolliver recognized the resolution number, as did everyone on the command deck. It was commonly referred to as the Greater Good Resolution. In a nutshell, it gave the UN sweeping powers to restrict, reallocate, or confiscate both persons and resources as the UN saw fit. For the Greater Good of Humanity, of course.

  Tolliver turned his mic back on.

  “Negative, Resolution. Dr. Van Buren is a free citizen of the United States and as such is not subject to UN travel restrictions.”

  No one said anything during the time delay while they waited for the response.

  “Intrepid, UN Resolution 56-7329-103 supersedes national citizenship. You will stand down and prepare to be boarded.”

  “The United States is a free and sovereign nation, and as such its citizens are not subject to the UN unless they choose to subject themselves to the UN. As the United States has not signed any treaty recognizing the validity of this particular resolution, and indeed tried to veto it, we will not stand down nor will we turn Dr. Van Buren over to you unless he requests us to do so.”

  Tolliver killed his mic again. Turning to Jennifer he said, “Get Dr. Van Buren and meet me in my private conference room.”

  Jennifer didn’t say anything in response. She unbuckled herself and headed for the passageway leading to the sleeping quarters.

  Tolliver reactivated the mic as the response from the Resolution came in.

  “Intrepid, let me remind you that the United States veto is nonbinding. The old Security Council no longer has binding veto authority. Resolution 56-7329-103 gives the UN power to declare individuals as World Heritage Citizens without their consent or the consent of their national governments if doing so is in the interest of the world’s greater good. Entities in a position of privilege, whether individuals or nations, have a moral obligation to help disenfranchised entities. Dr. Van Buren is a unique individual with knowledge and skills. As such he has an obligation to use that knowledge for the greater good of humanity. By transporting him through space, you are risking the loss of his knowledge and skills. Failure to stand down and be boarded will be viewed as an act of defiance of the UN’s authority, both legal and moral, and will be met with force. For the last time, you are ordered to stand down.”

  “Negative, Resolution. Any attempt to board this vessel or any hostile action to prevent our entering the jump gate will be viewed as an act of war and will be met with full resistance. Intrepid out.”

  Tolliver unbuckled himself from his command chair. The sweat on his back had soaked into his shirt. It pulled away from the chair with a sticky sound.

  “Lieutenant Sweeny, you have the command deck. Notify me immediately if anything changes.”

  He didn’t wait to hear Sweeny’s “Aye-aye.”

  ○●○

  Marshall Van Buren was a short, portly man with a receding hairline and a perpetual squint. He didn’t fit anyone’s idea of a billionaire inventor, certainly not one who had developed the jump gate.

  And he certainly didn’t fit anyone’s idea of a man who would be instrumental in establishing colonies in other star systems.

  So far he was taking the news of the Resolution’s demand more calmly than Tolliver would have expected. Tolliver, Van Buren, and Jennifer were hanging by straps on the walls of the commander’s private conference room. As room on space vessels went, it was cramped. Tolliver could have reached out and touched either of the other two people without losing contact with the wall if he had wanted to.

  “It’s going to be close, but I don’t think the Intrepid will be able to enter the jump gate before the Resolution catches up with us.”

  “Where did they come from?” asked Van Buren.

  “Projecting their current trajectory backwards indicates they came from the far side of the Moon.”

  “Could they have been waiting for us?”

  Tolliver paused. With more immediate concerns, he’d not given the question any thought, and in fact it hadn’t occurred to him.

  “Quite likely. That means the UN may be on to us.”

  “I’m surprised we’ve managed to keep things under wraps this long. I’ve done my b
est to keep as much of the jump gate technology and the theory behind it as secret or tied up in patents as I can. I always knew that sooner or later, someone would figure it out. Or figure out what we were up to.”

  “Not that it really matters at this point. What are we going to do about that ship that’s pursuing us?” Jennifer spoke up for the first time.

  “They can’t prevent us from entering the jump gate, at least not without destroying us.” Tolliver pulled a tablet attached to an arm away from the wall and tapped on it a few times. Van Buren and Jennifer each pulled a similar tablet around so they could see their respective displays.

  “Here are the specs on the Resolution. She’s more heavily armed than we are. We’re a transport and evac ship, not a gunship, designed to move quickly rather than take part in a prolonged engagement. The Resolution on the other hand is a gunship, one of the top ships in the UN fleet. They’re on an intercept course and they’re closer to the jump gate than we are. That’s why they’ll reach us before we reach the jump gate. And even if we went through the jump gate ahead of them, they would simply follow us through. There’s nothing we can do to prevent that.”

  “Then I guess we go ahead and blow the gate,” said Van Buren, and there was a note of sadness in his voice.

  “What do you mean ‘blow the gate’?” asked Jennifer.

  Tolliver ignored his wife.

  “That’s exactly what we’ll do, but you and my wife are going to be on the other side of it when we do.”

  A light seemed to dawn in Van Buren’s eyes. “I see. And how do you suggest we arrange that?” His tone told Tolliver that the scientist knew exactly how he intended to do that.

  “Lance, what are you two talking about?”

  Tolliver continued to ignore his wife, who was looking more alarmed with each passing second.

  “We’re going to load the largest shuttle with emergency supplies for you and Jennifer plus as much cargo as we can fit in. Just before we engage the Resolution, we’ll rotate the ship and use the spin to hurl the shuttle towards the jump gate. There’s no way we can stop the Resolution, or even slow it down for long. I’m fairly certain we can delay them long enough for the shuttle to pass through the gate, though. Once you’re safely through, we’ll destroy the gate generator with the main maser cannon.”