Elaine lifted her slim hand. “The sensor could be as simple as those used last century that detected the powering up of weapons systems on bombers, ships and land tanks. There’s increased EMF whenever a weapons system powers up. In the infrared and microwave ranges.” She reached out and held the thick hand of Ignacio, giving Jack a shy smile. “Course, no sensor can detect the approach of love.”
“Ohhhh,” said Nikola softly.
Several of the men looked at the ceiling as if to say ‘women!’ Jack gave the two lovebirds a wink. “True. And if old-fashioned radar could detect an incoming rocket and allow a ship time for countermeasures, I’m sure this Arbitor sensor does that better and faster. It is clear this Arbitor ship stays outside of the shield for long periods. Otherwise it could not broadcast the AV talk it gave to Benaxis. Or detect the approach of his ship. So it has moments of vulnerability.”
“Moments are enough for me!” growled Maureen, sitting back in her chair and crossing arms over her black leotard.
“I’m sure they are.” What was with Maureen? Since the morning talk with Benaxis she had been more bloodthirsty, more death-talking than usual. Was the visit of her young granddaughter Hayley the cause? Or was Gareth’s growing devotion causing her to want a future where before she had been satisfied with battle? Jack’s mind swirled with options, worries and hopes. The appearance of this Arbitor in a supposedly invulnerable ship was not something he had expected. He held up his beer-free hand. “To continue, we need to know a lot more about this Arbitor, its ship and why the Arbitor system even exists in the Hunters of the Great Dark culture. To explore that I want to visit Hilok and his family at Zeta Serpentis. These Nasen are smart, sharp and savvy predators. They did not attack us unthinkingly, like some of the predator Aliens at the Sedna Gathering Hall.” He noticed a supportive nod from Hideyoshi. Whose black hairline had receded even more. “How many Hunters of the Great Dark are like the Nasen? Predatory but willing to talk and even Trade. With a system as old as this, I’m betting some Aliens are eager for a change in how things work. Maybe we can gain allies from Aliens we might normally attack or avoid?”
“Good point, Fleet Captain Jack,” said Blodwen from where she sat beside Max. The tall, bony woman pushed away her empty bottle of beer. She looked around the table, her pale green eyes bright. “Everyone, of course I worry about the threat to Earth from this Isolation Globe and the Arbitors. Zhāng’s suggestion that we build a colony ship is smart. And it is what every Hunter predator does when it conquers a new subject people system. No reason for humans to do any different. Let’s just hurry up the colonization process.” She tapped rad-tanned fingers against the metal of the table. “But . . . this interstellar system of social carnivore predators seeking out star systems they can dominate has a major weakness. Each predator species does this Hunting on its own. While multiple predator Aliens will tolerate each other’s presence, as they did for decades in Sol’s cometary Kuiper Belt, they do not cooperate. There is no alliance of multiple predator Aliens. Which is perhaps why there is a need for an Arbitor to settle disputes between two or more predator species.” She gestured down the table. “Denise, what do your Animal Ethology and Behavioral Ecology studies say about this system of only social carnivore predators ruling the starlanes?”
His ComChief, who sat between Max and Ignacio, nibbled her lower lip, then grimaced as she realized she was repeating a habit she had from chewing on a braid of her red hair. She gave a nod to their Sociologist, then scanned the table. Her expression was grim. “My fields of study tell me several things. Which I’ve shared during our Sedna battle and our two interstellar trips. Most important are two lessons taught by Evolutionary Biology.” Their teen took a sip from her bottle of ale, then put it back on the table. “First, warfare is adaptive, as pointed out last century by scholar John Alcock. It sharpens the ability of individuals and species to survive. So fights among Hunters are normal. Second, every predator species seeks to expand its ecological niche, its Hunt Territory. Which is what the Aliens in the Kuiper Belt were trying to do with Sol system, and what other Aliens have done for millennia at other star systems. Because a larger eco-niche means more resources for population expansion.” She looked to Jack, her manner stark. “Fleet Captain, humanity must do the same. We must fight space wars to defeat Alien predators competing for our share of the pie of subject peoples systems. And we must expand our area of control, our Hunt Territory, both for access to rare resources, to unique science knowledge like the Dark Matter info developed by the Melagun scientist Atarksis, and to create a buffer zone so some unknown Hunter Alien does not think it will be easy to conquer humanity. But . . . ” she looked from Jack to the rest of their tablemates. “But freedom to explore is part of human nature. Has been ever since homo erectus moved out of Africa about two million years ago. We don’t stay in one eco-niche like our primate cousins. We expand into all niches, from polar ice fields to ocean islands. The stars are humanity’s new eco-niche. Which is why we must some way, somehow defeat this Arbitor!”
“Exactly,” growled Maureen. “Three cheers for the young lady who has more cojones than some rock miners I’ve known!”
Jack once more gave thanks for the presence of young Denise in his crew. While he and Max had studied evolutionary biology on Charon and at Mathilde, it was the aposematic body shape and skin color lessons he had learned from Hortense Mbasa that had alerted him to the danger of the Rizen predators during humanity’s own First Contact, more than a year ago. While Hortie had died when Max’s first lover Monique took most of their crewmates down to that disastrous meeting with the Rizen, Denise carried on Hortie’s legacy. Which he was not about to forget. “ComChief, thank you! Your points are well made. And I agree with you that humanity must never be shut off from the stars.” He looked aside to his lifemate Nikola, whose pregnancy belly bump was getting bigger. “I want my kid, everyone’s kid, to have the freedom to explore the stars. I also want that for the offspring of every intelligent species, whether they are apex predators or not. Guess we got some big time scheming to do.”
Nikola tapped her datapad, shutting off the Nasen star holo. “Jack, I like your idea of going to see the Nasen after we meet this Arbitor. Nalik’s info about the star system that was Isolated was not present in the holo dataset she downloaded into my datapad, during our meeting at Hot Blood.” She leaned forward and rested her chin on clasped hands. “What else do the Nasen know? We need to find out.”
“Very true,” Max grunted. “But I thought this was also a dinner invite. Admiral?”
Hideyoshi gave Max a half-smile. “Very true. Warrant Officer Menami, tell the Master Chef we are ready for the steaks. With our usual side items. Good enough?”
Jack nodded as the Asian crewwoman left by the slidedoor. “Admiral, these steaks aren’t from my freezer collection. What kind are they? And from where?”
The ruler of the heavy cruiser Prince Otto von Bismarck took a sip from his glass of scotch, then chuckled. “You and your crew are not the only schemers! My Weaponry Chief Lieutenant Lopez made a deal with an Argentine transport ship docked at Ceres. Just before we left for Titan. We will feast on prime Angus t-bone steaks!”
“Yes!” Jack felt his mouth begin to water. He pulled up a cardboard box from the floor beside his seat, laying it beside his empty ale bottle. “And as promised, I have some fresh Cuban cigars! One for each of you after dinner and desert!”
The cheers that went up from around the table made him smile despite his worry over the Arbitor. Life was uncertain, as they had been reminded time and again ever since the Rizen made their first Challenge to Combat against the Uhuru crew. Jack and Max had survived the challenge and found a way to rad-slag the Rizen ship. Which had proven humanity was the apex predator of Sol system. Did they have to prove they were the supreme predator of all predators in the Great Dark? Somehow, someway, they were going to defeat this Arbitor and make clear to every Alien predator that you don’t mess with humans!
&nb
sp; CHAPTER FOUR
A week later they arrived at Tau Ceti system on the side opposite the parked Arbitor ship. Jack had ordered Elaine to enter this location into the NavTrack computer for the Uhuru, the Bismarck, the Dragon and the six other ships of his Belter fleet. Their position was 50 AU out from the star, at the edge of its cometary disk. He looked to his sister at the Pilot station.
“What does your Sensor panel say about ships in this system? And can you put it up on the front screen?”
“Done,” Elaine said as she tapped at her Sensor panel. “Got fourteen moving neutrino signals, color of green, a few of them moving from planet five, or Home, at 1.35 AU out to planet six, which they call Cold Gases. But most sources are parked next to Home.” She paused. “Graviton emissions overlap eight of the fourteen neutrino-emitting spaceships. If five graviton sources are the ships of our Freedom Alliance allies, that leaves three on Melagun ships. My guess is our Melagun friends have built their own grav-pull drives using the Dark Matter accelerator of Atarksis. As the image of Benaxis without any strap-down on his deck suggested. Plus they have built another two fusion-pulse ships since we left, for a total of eight space-going Melagun ships.” She looked up and pointed at the front screen. “That purple dot on the far side of the system is the Arbitor ship. It too is emitting neutrinos and gravitons just like any ship of our fleet,” she said thoughtfully. “There are also multiple neutrino signals coming from planet Home and its large moon. But they match the pattern put out by fusion reactors.”
Next to him Maureen tapped her Combat panel into three dee simulation mode. “Loading those sensor readings now, along with the orbital tracks Elaine described. Plus the data from our UV, gamma ray, x-ray, neutrino, graviton, EMF and other sensors,” she said, her voice calm. “Wonder why the Arbitor ship has not moved in-system?”
“Maybe cause its current location is where we dropped off our Predator Alert satellite.” Jack tapped on his right armrest Weapons panel, which allowed him to back up Maureen’s Combat station. “So. We have our nine ships plus five Freedom Alliance ships plus at least two more Melagun ships capable of blip-jumping across this system. That comes to a fleet of 16 ships.” Jack scanned the top of the front screen. He saw the AV images of Minna, Ignacio, Akemi, Júlia, Aashman, Kasun, Gareth and Hideyoshi. Each of them wore vacsuits with bubble helmets since his order had been to prepare for combat upon arrival. “My first allies, how are your ships post-Alcubierre exit? Any trouble?”
“We’re fine,” said Minna, her two blond braids swinging freely. The usually stern woman was smiling. “Alaric just proposed to Elie! About time. Our two other Finns are just waking up.”
“Congratulations!” Jack said. Alaric Vertanen and Elie Hämälänen were two people he had counted on during their prior space battles. They had made the Wolverine a deadly fighting machine.
“We Basque are also doing fine,” Ignacio said from the Badger. “Wokirk, Aligarde, Ibai and Josepe are eager to dance around this Arbitor, daring him to attack us!” The swarthy-skinned man’s black mustache lifted with his smile. “And Captain Jack, it is good to see you wearing your boina.”
He grinned. The black beret gifted to him by Ignacio long ago made him an honorary member of the Basque, or Euskaldunak, people. Nikola had reminded him to don the boina before they put on their vacsuits. “Good to hear that my brother. And fight we will. But first with words.”
“Just so,” said Akemi from the Orca. The descendant of a samurai family was a long-time resident of the Asteroid Belt and a talented commerce raider when the Unity world government had controlled Sol system. She had been fearless during their swords-versus-claws fights on the comet Sedna, before Jack had destroyed the HikHikSot base. And fearless in their space combat during two star voyages. The petite woman, who had grown up on the 52 Europa asteroid, wore her short black hair in curled bangs, like Maureen. She lifted a thin black eyebrow. “I too am eager to confront this Arbitor.”
“With our help!” called Júlia from the Caiman. The woman who had once worked as a maid to the Unity governor on Ceres had become as reliable as the sunrise in her support of Jack.
“And our help too!” said Aashman of the Mongoose. The tall, lanky, brown-skinned Hindu sat in a cabin filled with four Sikh crewmen. Each of them wore turbans, blue for Aashman and red for the Sikhs. “While this Arbitor Alien is stranger looking than our god Ganesha, let us hope our efforts will be blessed by the son of Shiva and Parvati. We will need divine help in removing this Arbitor obstacle and ensuring the success of our venture.”
Brown-skinned Kasun nodded. “Perhaps we can encourage this Arbitor to seek the peace of nirvana. Elsewhere in this universe.” The slim, black-haired captain of the Leopard gestured to his four Sri Lankan crewmates. “My crew and I stand ready to convey the wisdom of the Lord Buddha. Or to bestow upon this creature the wrath of an angry bodhisattva!”
“And,” grumbled Gareth from the Dragon, his brown eyes flashing, “if none of that works, well, we Cymry know how to tunnel under any fortification. Including invisible ones. May I be the first to use our Higgs Disruptor on the Arbitor? The beam of the weapon reminds me of our Dyrnwyn, the flaming sword of our hero Rhydderch Hael!”
Jack held up one hand. “Enough! There will always be a time for fighting. It is the nature of reality. But first we must greet our Alliance allies and Guide Benaxis. And as someone reminded me not long ago, negotiation is always harder than any battle. Right?”
“Correct,” murmured Hideyoshi from the Bismarck. The elder man’s manner was one of resolute determination. The devotee of professionalism in all he did scanned Jack’s crew before returning to him. “Fleet Captain Jack, the Bismarck and her crew are prepared for combat, for negotiation and to give our lives in defense of humanity. But yes, let us go see—”
“Incoming neutrino signal!” called Denise from her Comlink station. “It’s Benaxis! Going up on the screen and I’m piggy-backing it on our own Come-Back signal to the fleet ships.”
Below the small icons of each ship captain that ran across the top of the front screen, there appeared a six-legged hippo wearing a red robe over his flanks. Large brown eyes stared at Jack as two of the Alien’s tentacle hands touched a control pedestal on the Command Bridge of his spaceship Polar Ice. Six other Melagun worked behind Benaxis at their own control pedestals.
“Pack Leader Jack Munroe, is that your fleet which arrived at the edge of the Outer Rock Fields?” grunted the hippo in low-toned infrasound. “Our gravitomagnetic sensors tell us nine graviton-emitting ships just appeared at the edge of our system.”
“Yes, it is us, Guide Benaxis.” Jack unsnapped his seat’s restraint locks, stood up in his vacsuit and took position in front of Maureen. He looked at the motion-eye above the front screen. “My ship Uhuru, my Belter fleet ships, and our allies on the ships Bismarck and Dragon are with me. We are heading inward to Home and your orbital Refuge station shortly. By grav-pull blip jumping.”
Benaxis’ blocky face contorted in what Jack knew to be a body sign of puzzlement. “But your ships can arrive sooner than—”
“Stop!” Jack said hurriedly, giving thanks for the nearly instant functioning of the neutrino comlink. “Do not discuss our fleet’s abilities. Who knows who might be listening to our hoots? Recall we did not agree on an encrypted comlink mode when last we visited you.”
The hippo, also wearing a bulky vacsuit and oblong helmet over its head, nodded in the human style. A body language it had learned during their earlier visit. “As you wish. So you and your fleet will arrive here in a few hours?”
“Something like eight Earth hours,” Jack said, giving thanks the Melagun had not mentioned the fleet’s habit of Alcubierre jumping into the depths of a star system. That was a practice not followed by other Hunters of the Great Dark. And he saw no reason to alert the Arbitor to one of their battle tactics. “Perhaps you, your fellow ship captains, our Alliance captains and our fleet captains, we can meet in the conference room of the inner rin
g of your Refuge? The other Alliance members are used to a gravity similar to our Earth. Your three gees gravity is rare among the lifeforms we have met.”
“Understood,” Benaxis rumbled in low tones. “I will send a neutrino signal to Arbitor MakMakGor advising him of your arrival and your need to refuel and seek food and drink at our Refuge. After that we will travel to meet his ship. Yes?”
“Exactly so,” Jack said, giving thanks for the swift thinking of Benaxis in coming up with an excuse for why his ships did not go directly to the Arbitor ship. “We have brought intoxicating liquids of our own, to share with you and with your fellow Guides. Thank you for your patience until we arrive.”
The Melagun hippo flared his vacsuited tentacle hands towards Jack. “Understood. We await your arrival.”
The Alien’s image vanished. Which left Jack facing a screen image of the Tau Ceti system that depicted the locations of all graviton and neutrino emitting spaceships, and the star’s planets. Courtesy of Elaine’s Sensor panel. He turned, sat back in his Tech station seat, pulled over his Tech panel, and called up its display of all ship systems, along with data on all radiations impacting the outer hull of the Uhuru. He looked back over his shoulder.
“Max, set up a laser link with each fleet ship’s Drive computer. Then activate our grav-pull drives and take us inward to the world of Home.”
“Working on it,” his buddy said. “Done. Moving to grav-pull blip jumping.”
The front screen image of black space sprinkled with white, yellow, blue, orange and red stars shimmered from the gravitational lensing that always happened when they used the grav-pull drive. The images of his fellow captains, who were working with their own crewmates, also shimmered. But the imagery remained, rather than disappearing as it did whenever they entered the space-time manifold of the Alcubierre stardrive.
Aliens Vs. Humans (Aliens Series Book 4) Page 4
