"You should have had him bless our ragged asses, too," said A'Tir, looking up from her work.
"Word is," said K'Tran, checking the status scan, "that he already blessed yours. Ah! They've reached the manglers." He studied the tacscan for a moment, then touched the commkey. "First group, stand by."
One of the K'Ronarin Empire's most diabolical weapons, the mangier. It looked and scanned as spaceborne rock until touched by a shield matrix-a catalyst that released its multimegaton potential.
The R'Actolian mindslavers had improved on the manglers, working on them through their long centuries of isolation in Blue Nine. Now no two scanned alike-iron and nickel, igneous rock, yes, but all in different proportion, all innocuous-seeming asteriods of different shape and size.
The foremost battleglobe was almost to the far side of the mangier belt when K'Tran said, "Computers."
"Sir?"
"There are five hundred battleglobes advancing. Why do the others stand off?"
"Assuming AI tactics haven't changed since the Revolt," began the machines.
"Why should they have?" said K'Tran. "They worked."
"Then this is a reconnaissance group. If they penetrate this solar system and advance to their next jump point without incident, the main body will follow."
"And if not?"
"Then unless you demonstrate invincibility, Captain K'Tran, a much larger force will attack."
The lead battleglobe had reached the last line of manglers.
"Let's demonstrate something," said K'Tran. He looked at A'Tir. "Activate manglers, Number One."
A slim finger touched a control. Forty million miles away, a new sun flared as the entire minefield detonated, a nuclear vortex that swept aside impregnable shields, touching off a chain reaction of exploding battleglobes and secondary craft that tripled the size of the initial firestorm.
"Gods!" cried K'Tran a few moments later, as the light from the explosion burst over Alpha Prime's dark side, a fierce wave of light strobing across the bridge just as the armorglass darkened. "What were they carrying?" he asked, rubbing his eyes.
"Planetbusters," said the computers just as all of the tacscans went dead.
There was nothing for a long moment-just the faint hum of the electronics and the blank, sea-green vidglass of a few hundred monitors. Angry and frustrated, voices rose from the lower tiers. "Anyone getting any scans?" asked A'Tir over the commlink.
As she spoke, the screens came up on standby, displaying the starship-and-sun emblem of the K'Ronarin Empire.
"Data," said K'Tran tensely, standing. "I need data."
"Most of our satellite net's gone," reported
Tactics. "Transferring to onboard sensors."
Processing the fresh data, the computers fed it to the bridge. The screens came back to life, filling with tacscans and datatrails.
"Recon force destroyed," said A'Tir. "And all of our manglers."
"Total enemy force remaining?" said K'Tran as he again took the centermost of the seven command chairs.
"Ninety-nine million, nine hundred and five battleglobes, plus an average of one thousand secondary craft per battleglobe." She turned to a different scan. "Secondary craft are roughly equivalent to one of our heavy cruisers."
"That's their total force," said K'Tran, frowning.
"Isn't that enough?" said A'Tir.
"No. I mean, that is their total force, Number One-the entire Fleet of the One -according to everyone from R'Gal to Guan-Sharick. The question arises, who's minding the shop?"
"Not likely we'll be told," she said. "Here they come," she added, nodding at the screen.
"It's how they come that's important, Number One," said K'Tran, leaning forward intently.
The mindslavers were blue dots on the tactical projection-blue dots strung across the apex of a triangular opening through the star system's multiple asteroid belts-an opening quickly becoming pockmarked by swarms of red dots as the AI reaction force advanced.
"I'd trade this ship for a thousand manglers right now," said A'Tir.
"No, Number One," said K'Tran. "The manglers are even more useful now that they're gone. 'In weakness is my strength,' to quote the motto of a failed House."
Something in the way he spoke made her ask, "Yours?," though not expecting an answer. Fifteen years together and she knew nothing about him before his Academy years.
"The infamous S'Yal's," said the corsair captain. "He scattered his unproclaimed throughout the Empire-I'm descended from one of them."
She was about to tell him about a yet-unborn unproclaimed when he said, "Look at this, A'Tir," and pointed to the command tier's main screen with its tactical projection of their rock-strewn solar system. "What do you see?"
"What I've been seeing for three watches." she said. "One old, tired L'Raq class star, ringed by hundreds of millions of asteroids. No planets. And a new feature-ten thousand AI battle phalanxes closing on the system's periphery."
"And twenty-two mindslavers lying in wait," said K'Tran, straight-faced.
A'Tir laughed. "The slaver didn't blunt your unique perception, Y'Dan. Why do you think we're lying in wait and not waiting to be slaughtered?"
"The rocks, A'Tir," he said, stabbing a finger at the board. "The bloody damned rocks. This must be the classic invasion route from the AI universe to this. The next jump point out from the Rift is in this system. Any sizable force in a hurry's going to come through here. And someone, probably the Trel, blew up every world in this system just to take out some AIs."
"I still don't see…"
"Look at it from the perspective of the AI commander," he said. "You've just lost your advance group to what tacscan showed to be rocks. All you still see here are rocks. Are you going to plunge into those rocks? Or are you going to take the only open route-the one that leads right to our welcoming arms?"
"They're not crazy enough to think we've got millions of manglers?" she asked uncertainly.
"Of course they do," he said. "They're paranoid-any system that exists on slavery and holds grudges over a million years is paranoid. That AI commander isn't seeing rocks on his tacscan, Number One-he's seeing manglers. And that's going to bring him right here, a million battleglobes strong."
"And then?" said A'Tir.
"And then, Number One, we're going to hand him his ass."
"Welcome back, sir," said B'Tul as N'Trol stepped onto Implacable'^ otherwise deserted hangar deck.
"Thank you, Gunney," he said as the two walked toward the lift.
"Some… persons… from the slaver worked on the drive," continued B'Tul as the lift whisked them toward the bridge. "Supposedly it'll cut our run to K'Ronar down to three jumps-tight-jumps.''
"Let's hope it works," said N'Trol, watching the level indicators flash past. "Anything else?" he said, sensing the other's diffidence.
"We monitored your call from Line and Admiral L'Guan," he said, his big hands rubbing the seams of his trousers.
"And you're as uncomfortable as hell," said N'Trol, smiling as the lift stopped and the doors hissed open.
"Well, how would you feel?" said B'Tul.
"Uncomfortable as hell," said N'Trol as the bridge snapped to attention, something not even flag rank rated.
"Sit down," said N'Trol wearily. "Please." The crew looked uncertainly at the gunnery master. B'Tul nodded and the men sat.
"The command chair, sir," said B'Tul, motioning to the raised captain's chair.
"It's got a fine beverager," said N'Trol, "but I prefer the engineering station.
"Are we ready to go home?" he said, pressing the commswitch as he took the engineer's seat.
"Yes, sir," came the reply. "Tight-jump plotted to K'Ronar. May not come out the other side, but we're jump-enabled."
"Very well," said N'Trol. He looked at the main screen, with its view of the dark slaver and the flaming sun. "Have a last look at K'Tran and the slavers, lads-something to tell the grandchildren. Jumping… now."
"Coming up on us now," sai
d A'Tir. Compressed in an almost solid field of red, the lead battleglobes opened fire on the mindslavers. On the tacscan, the space between red and blue became flecked with silver as hundreds of thousands of missiles streaked toward the defenders.
"Plasma tap-now," ordered K'Tran.
A green tendril flashed from Alpha Prime down into the sun-a tendril instantly turned a blinding white from the energy soaring up it-up and out along the network of tendrils now extending to the other slavers, tendrils whose energy was used to augment the ships' overlapping shields as the AI missile swarm struck.
Wrapped in a common, cylindrical-shaped shield, twenty-two mindslavers stood before the sun as a lesser sun blossomed around them: the white firestorm of the missiles tearing at the blue of the fusion screen. Wave after wave of missiles struck the shield, slowly turning it to a rippling, red-flecked ocher.
"Now for the fusion batteries," said K'Tran, watching the distance close between the battleglobes and the slavers. He read the data trail: two hundred AI battle phalanxes were inside the triangle-two million battleglobes.
"They'll be trying to englobe us," said A'Tir as the battleglobes soared above and below the plane of ellipse, free of the encircling asteroids. "Only our rear's safe."
As she spoke, every battleglobe and secondary craft that could range on the mindslavers opened fire with their fusion batteries, millions of beams coalescing into one just before the shield wall, striking it centerpoint, a single massive beam.
"Shield's going to critical," reported Tactics. "And our sun's becoming highlv unstable."
Outside, the missile attack stopped as the beam continued boring at the shield, the area surrounding its hitpoint now an angry red.
"Another phalanx is moving in," said A'Tir.
"Two million, ten thousand," said K'Tran. "Good enough." He leaned forward, touching the commlink. "All ships, fire on my ten count and jump. We'll hold shielding for you. Ten, nine, eight…"
At zero, the first of two hundred and four waves of missiles streaked from the mindslavers and through the common shield. Disdaining secondary targets, they homed on the battleglobes. Easily avoiding electronic and beam defenses, each released another hundred smaller missiles, each of which struck a battleglobe. The beam attack on the mindslavers halted as the Fleet of the One looked to its own defense.
No chipping away at shields for the slaver missiles-whenever they touched a battle-globe, that battleglobe disappeared in a pillar of blue-red flame.
As the last missiles left the slavers, the slavers themselves left, jumping far from the battle. Only Alpha Prime remained, last as she was first, safe behind a much smaller shield, watching the carnage.
The slavers' missiles plowed on, sowing havoc among the battleglobes.
"I think we should be thankful," said K'Tran, "that this universe and not the AIs' discovered a way to hold matter/antimatter in stasis and release it at will."
"Ten hundred thousand gone," said A'Tir. "Gods."
It was then that the missiles reached the close-packed squadrons of battleglobes, halfway down the triangle, setting off secondary explosions that coalesced into one cascading sea of flame that only died when it reached the base of the pyramid and the last ship in the AI attack group.
"Two million ten thousand battleglobes destroyed," reported Tactics.
"Master computers, confirm, please," said K'Tran.
"Confirmed, Captain. Their greatest defeat since the Trel. Our compliments."
"Only two percent of their force," said K'Tran with a shrug. "What do you think, Number One?" he asked, turning to A'Tir.
"I think," said A'Tir, meeting his gaze, "that they must be very pissed now and that we should get out of here. We're one ship with no missiles and a few thousand fusion batteries against a universe of ships."
Movement on the tacscan caught K'Tran's eye. "Look, they're exhibiting intelligence."
A lot of the red dots were moving into the system, above the plane of ellipse and the asteriods. "Not taking the direct route anymore," said A'Tir, calling up a specialized data trail. "They'll curve in on us, avoiding our supposed mines."
K'Tran pressed the commtab. "Engineering. Have you set my console yet?"
"We have," replied a woman's voice. "The red Initiate switch, number four from the left, will trigger a drive pulse into the star."
"Thank you."
The battleglobes had spread into an arc that was sweeping down on Alpha Prime.
"How many, A'Tir?"
"Another four hundred phalanxes."
"Wipe them and we've destroyed four percent of their force." K'Tran sighed. "Not enough. Computers. How unstable has this system's sun become?"
"It will go nova with the slightest provocation, Captain," said the machines, "or with none at all. The fusion tap has accelerated its death."
"Captain to crew," said K'Tran, leaning back in the chair. "I intend to spark a nova of this system's sun, using a jump pulse through the fusion tap. But it can't be done without sacrificing this ship. Please commence evacuation procedures. Jump-fitted lifepods are off of bridge access corridor R3. You can go anywhere in this galaxy in them. Go far and live long. Luck."
He waited, watching the tacscan as the sounds of hurried evacuation faded. When the computers reported eight lifepods launched, he turned to A'Tir. "A good run, A'Tir," he said. "Who'd ever thought we'd go out as loyal Fleet officers, battling alien hordes?"
A'Tir stood, taking off her commjack. "The only place I'm going is to a lifepod." She carefully set the commjack down. "You want to fullfil some adolescent death wish, Y'Dan, you can do it alone. I'm out."
Speechless, K'Tran watched as she turned for the ramp.
"A'Tir! Wait!" he called, standing.
"What?" she said, stopping and facing him, hands on her hips.
"Excuse us," interrupted the computers.
"What?" snapped K'Tran.
"Enemy closing to beam range and Commander A'Tir carries your child. We suggest you decide what to do about both quickly."
"My what?" said K'Tran, advancing down the ramp.
"Baby," said A'Tir. "Ours."
"How do you know?"
"It's vicious," she said, folding her arms as he reached her. "Kicks a lot."
"You have a few moments left to reach the last lifepod," said the computers. "We will be happy to trigger the nova at optimum."
"Damn," said K'Tran, turning to clench the railing. "If I died now I'd be the greatest hero in the next million years."
"You want to be the father of an orphan?" said A'Tir, hand to his shoulder. "Come on, Y'Dan-that lifepod's colonization-equipped. We could start our own civilization, way out on some galactic arm. No Fleet, no AIs-just the three, four, maybe five of us."
"Five?" he said, looking stricken.
"Choose now," said the computers. "No one will know you didn't die with this ship."
"S'Hlo," said KTran, looking at her. "What?" she said.
"Let's run," he said. Grabbing her by the hand, he led her at a charge down the spiral-ing ramp and off the bridge, her delighted laughter trailing them.
"Quite a couple," said one of the computers as the lifepod launched.
"It would be interesting to see the child," said a second computer.
"We're taking heavy beam hits," said a third voice. "Best to initiate now."
"Very well," said the first voice. "Let's see if machines have souls."
"Of course we do," said the third voice. "It's humankind I have my doubts about."
A very ordinary nova, it consumed all the asteroids, the AIs' advance force and -K'Tran would have been delighted -another sixteen percent of the AI fleet hovering outside the doomed system.
After a while, the Fleet of the One regrouped and moved on to their jump point. Nothing remained to mark their passage.
23
"cant raise prime Base Command," said the commtech.
"They're probably all dead," said Commodore A'Wal, trying to find at least one operable vid
unit anywhere near the headquarters complex. About to give up, he finally found one, out near a shuttle maintenance depot, far from the battle. Swinging the vidunit around, he directed it on the headquarters building and set the pickup on max.
Security blades were flying in and out of the shattered windows of the main tower, desert sun glinting off their blue metal hides. About a meter across, the flying machines were the AIs' most efficient killers, able to deliver flawlessly accurate blaster fire to multiple targets while slicing through the soft bodies of organic prey.
As A'Wal watched, a squad of blades flushed some black-uniformed commandos from behind an overturned hauler. The commandos stood their ground, firing as the blades swooped in low and fast. "Give 'em one for me," said A'Wal as the red blaster bolts exploded into the lead blade. As it cascaded to the ground in a shower of flaming fragments, the other three blades passed over the commandos, blue bolts flashing from their rims. They then soared off into the west, toward the landing fields, a half dozen smoldering corpses in their wake.
Feeling very old, A'Wal flicked off the vidscan and looked around the room. FleetOps was at a standstill, the staff going through the motions of trying to restore contact with lost ships via the satellite network -a network the Combine ships hadn't even bothered to take out.
"Planetary Guard is at ninety-four percent strength and deployed in all cities," reported the Tactics officer. "General S'An requests enemy disposition and our status."
"Advise General S'An," said A'Wal slowly, "that Prime Base has fallen, our cruisers have been blasted out of space and that FleetOps is besieged." A'Wal took off his headset and stood, drawing his Mil A. "You may further tell the General," he said, his voice filling the room, "that I and anyone who'll follow me are going to launch a sortee through the enemy, seize a ship and blast our way into space." He looked at the grim faces. "Anyone for a glory run on T'Lan's command ship?"
"We'll never make it," said a subcommand-er, reasonably enough.
"You want to wait down here for them to smoke us, K'Yar?" said A'Wal. "Or slip some blades down the vents?" Checking his blaster charge, he reholstered his weapon. "Rot here if you want-I'm going to check out an M32 and join the fun topside." Turning from his station, he headed for the armory.
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