Starplex

by Robert J. Sawyer

  "T'here!" said Van Hausen, pointing to the image of the nearby star.

  "It's just passing from behind the photosphere."

  PHANTOM was showing the unknown ship as a small red triangle; the actual vessel was far too small to be visible at this distance.

  "Any chance that it's just a watson?" asked Wineglass, his British accent carrying a hint of Cockney.

  "None," said Van Hausen. "It's at least as big as one of our probeships."

  Lights moved across Wineglass's web. "Let's get a look at it," he said.

  The Ib at the helm station rotated the ship slightly so that the deck-seventy optical array was aimed at the 'intruder. A square frame appeared around part of the star, and within it a magnified view appeared. The approaching ship was illuminated on one side by the green star. The other side was a black silhouette, visible only because it eclipsed the background stars.

  Wineglass spoke to Kreet, the Waldahud on his right. 'What looks like a Waldahud design. The central engine pod, no?"

  Waldahudin believed each ship--or building or vehicle--should be unique; they did not mass-produce from the same design. Kreet lifted all four of his shoulders. "Maybe," be said.

  "Any transponder signal, Denna?" asked Wineglass.

  "If there is one," the human said, "it's lost in the noise from the star."

  "Please try to contact the ship."

  "Transmitting," said Denna. "But they're still over fifty million klicks away; it'll take almost six minutes for any reply, and--God!"

  A second ship was coming around the limb of the green star. It was similar in size to the first, but had a different, more blocky design.

  Still, the trademark Waldahud central engine pod was visible.

  "Better get Keith down here," said Wineglass.

  Lights rippled across the Ib at InOps. "Director Lansing to the bridge!"

  "Fry to contact the second ship, too," Wineglass said.

  "Doing so," said Van Hausen.. "And--Jesus, I'll try to contact that third one, as well." Another ship, half emerald fire glinting off polished metal, half black nothingness, was emerging from behind the star. A moment later a fourth and then a fifth appeared.

  "It's a bloody armada," said Van Hausen.

  "They Waldahud ships clearly are," said Melondent from his open pool to the left of the physics workstation.

  "Thruster exhaust signatures most characteristic."

  "But what would five--six, eight--eight Waldahud craft want here?"

  asked Wineglass. "Denna, where are they heading?"

  "They're doing parabolic paths around the star," the human woman said.

  "Hard to say exactly where they're planning to end up, but Starplex's current position is within eight degrees of the most likely projected course."

  "They after us are coming," said Melondent. "We should--"

  A door appeared in the hologram. Keith Lansing strode onto the bridge, unshaven, hair matted down from sleep.

  "Sorry to wake you early," said Wineglass, rolling away from the director's workstation, "but we have company."

  Keith nodded at the Ib, and waited for a pOlychair to emerge from the trapdoor in front of his console. It was already morphing into human configuration as it rose up from the floor. Keith seated himself.

  "You've tried contacting them?"

  "Yes," said Denna. "Earliest possible response is in forty-eight seconds, though."

  "They're Waldahud ships, aren't they?" said Keith, his workstation rising to the height he preferred.

  "Very likely so," said Wineglass, "although, of course, Waldahud ships are sold all over the Commonwealth. They could be crewed by somebody else."

  Keith rubbed sleep from his eyes. "How did so many ships arrive without our knowing it?"

  "They must have emerged one at a time from the shortcut while it was shielded from our view by the green star," Wineglass said.

  "Christ, of course," said Keith. He consulted the readout of who was operating which station. "Double-Dot, get Jag down here."

  The Ib at Internal Ops slapped his control panel with ropes, then, a moment later, said, "Jag has his communications routed to a voice mailbox. It's his normal sleep period."

  "Override," said Keith. "Get him down here right now.

  Denna, any reply to our messages?"

  "Nothing."

  Keith glanced up at the glowing digital clocks floating against the starfield. "It's almost shift change anyway," he said. "Let's get the full alpha-shift staff down here."

  "Alpha shift, report immediately to the bridge," said Double-Dot.

  "Lianne Karendaughter, Thoraid Magnor, Rhombus, Jag, and Clatissa Cervantes to the bridge, please."

  "Thank you," said Keith. "Denna, open a channel to all the approaching ships."

  "This is G. K. Lansing, Director of the Commonwealth research vessel Starplex. State your business, please."

  "Transmitting," said Denna. "They've closed the distance between us and them considerably. If they care to respond to your latest message, we should have an answer in under three minutes."

  A door opened up in the part of the hologram displaying the framed close-up of the approaching craft. Jag walked through, his fur not yet brushed. "What's wrong?" he said.

  "Maybe nothing," said Keith "but eight Waldahud ships are approaching Starplex. Do you know why?"

  All four shoulders moved up and down. "I have no idea."

  "They are refusing to respond to hails, and--"

  "I said I have no idea." Jag turned around and faced the hologram where the door had been. All his eyes began tracking independently, each one watching a different approaching ship.

  "What kind of ships are those?" asked Keith. "Scouts?"

  "They are the right size for that," said Jag.

  "How many crew members aboard each?"

  "Starships are not my field," said Jag.

  Keith looked at the Waldahud at life sciences. "You, there--Kreet, is it? How many people aboard such a ship?"

  "Perhaps six," said Kreet. "No more than that."

  Two of the four bridge doors opened simultaneously.

  Thoraid Magnor walked in through one, and Rissa Cervantes came in through the other. The Ib and the Waldahud vacated the helm and life-sciences stations to make room for them.

  "Eight ships are approaching Starplex," said Keith, to Rissa and Thor.

  Rissa nodded. "PHANTOM briefed us enroute. But no additional ships should have come through the shortcut until we gave the okay." She stood by her console, waiting for the chair to configure itself.

  "Maybe they're here by accident," said Thor, tapping some keys on his console while 'his chair rose from beneath the deck. "When a new shortcut comes on-line, the acceptable approach angles to select a desired destination grow narrower. They could have been sloppy in their calculations.

  Maybe they meant to go somewhere else."

  "One pilot might make a mistake," said Keith. "But eight?"

  "The communications-lag time is up," said Denna. "If they'd wanted to reply to your latest message, they could have done so by now." Rhombus had entered a moment earlier, but was content to wheel up to a position next to the ExOps workstation without getting Denna to vacate.

  "Thor, if I give the order to get out of here," asked Keith, "can we escape those ships?"

  Thor shrugged. "I doubt it. They're blocking the shortcut, so we can't go that way. And see those roedial tings around their engine pods?

  Those are associated with Waldahud Gatob-class hyperdrives. Of course, no one can use a hyperdrive this close to the green star, but if we tried to get away, eventually we would be out in space that was flat enough for hyperdrives to be engaged, and then they'd be on us in a second."

  Keith frowned.

  "The ships are fanning out," said Thor. "I'd call it an attack formation."

  "Attack?" said Rhombus, lights strobing incredulously.

  "Incoming message," said Denna.

  Another part of the sky hologram wa
s blocked off by a glowing border.

  Inside it a Waldahud face appeared, framed by brown fur streaked with copper. "Lansing commanding Starplex," said the translated voice, "I am Gawst. Mark that name well: Gawst." Keith nodded; to a Waldahud male, credit was everything. "We have come to escort Starplex back through the shortcut. You will surrender--"

  "How long for a reply to reach them?" asked Keith.

  "--your ship to us."

  Denna consulted a readout. "Forty-three seconds."

  "Cooperate," continued Gawst, "and no harm will come to your vessel or crew."

  "Thor, can we dive toward the shortcut apparently on one trajectory, but at the last moment change direction so that we'll exit somewhere other than where they'd expect?,'

  The helm officer shook his head. "Those little scouts might pull it off, but Starplex's volume is three million cubic meters. I can't make it tap-dance."

  "How long until those ships reach us?"

  "They're moving at point-one-c," said Thor. "They'll be on us in less than twenty minutes."

  "Lansing to Gawst: Starplex is Commonwealth property.

  "Request denied. Off. Rhombus, let me know when they've received that message." Lianne Karendaughter strode onto the bridge. "I want some options, folks," said Keith.

  "Option number one," said Lianne, taking her seat.

  "Retreat. The farther we are from the shortcut, the less likely they will be able to coerce us through it."

  "Right. Thor, let's--"

  "Forgive the interruption, Keith," said Rhombus. "Your message has been received."

  "Good. Thor, let's get out of here. Full thruster power."

  "I'll take us away at an angle," said Thor. "We don't want to move into the dark-matter field. It's an obstacle course, and small ships will be better able to handle it than we will."

  "Fine," said Keith. "Rhombus, see if you can get a watson with today's mission logs through to Tau Ceti. I want to alert Premier Kenyatta."

  "Doing so. But it will take over an hour to reach the shortcut from here, and--excuse me: incoming message from Gawst."

  "Lansing," said Gawst, "Starplex was built at the Rehbollo shipyards and is of Rehbo!lo registry, and therefore is Waldahud property. Let us avoid as much unpleasantness as possible. Once the ship is returned to Rehbollo, we will release all crew members for immediate repatriation to their home systems."

  "Reply," snapped Lansing. "Starplex's construction was funded by all the Commonwealth worlds, and its registration is just a formality; all ships require a homeworld of record. Your claim is rejected. If necessary, this ship will defend itself against unlawful seizure.

  Off."

  "Defend itself?." said Thor, shaking his head. "Keith, this ship has no armament."

  "I'm well aware of that," snapped Keith. "Lianne, 'give me a full inventory of all shipboard equipment that can be used as weapons. If anything aboard can discharge an energy beam, or throw an object, or can be made to blow up, I want to know about it."

  "Working on it," said Lianne, hands dancing over her console.

  "Starplex wasn't designed for fancy flying," said Thor, speaking to a Keith hologram above the rim of his console.

  "We'll wallow like a hippopotamus in heat compared to small fighters."

  "then we'll fight them on their terms," said Keith. "We'll defend Starplex with our probeships." He glanced at the list Lianne was feeding through to his number-three monitor: geological digging lasers, mining explosives, mass drivers used for launching probes. "Lianne, coordinate with Rhombus on getting as much of that equipment as possible loaded into our five fastest probeships. I want everything aboard in fifteen minutes; I don't care what you have to rip apart to accomplish that."

  Denna Van Hausen finally moved away from the ExOps console and Rhombus rolled into place. Manipulator ropes darted across the controls, and Rhombus's sensor web flowed half onto the panel to better interface with the equipment.

  "Even with a slapped-together armament," said Thor, "our probeships aren't going to be able to outgun real fighting craft."

  "i'm not planning to outgun them," said Keith. "Starplex may be of Waldahud construction, but our probeships aren't."

  "Granted they may be reluctant to fire on Ibese craft," said Thor,

  "but--"

  "That's not what I'm thinking," said Keith. "Unlike the approaching craft, our probeships weren't designed by Waldahud engineers."

  "Ah--and we have dolphins to pilot them!" crowed Thor.

  "Precisely," said Keith. "PHANTOM, intercom with direct holo links: Longbottle, Thinfin, Nickedfluke, Squint, Sidestripe, respond."

  Drawn-out dolphin heads began to pop into existence above Keith's console.

  "Here."

  "What happening is?"

  "Thinfin, acknowledging."

  "Yes, Keith?"

  "Hello."

  "We are about to be attacked by Waldahud craft," said Keith. "Our probeships are more maneuverable--if dolphins pilot them. It will be dangerous, but so will staying here and doing nothing. Are you willing to--"

  "Ship is home ocean now--we protect!"

  "If necessary, help will I."

  "Ready to assist."

  "Okay."

  "I--yes, will do it."

  "Excellent," said Keith. "Proceed to launch bays. Rhombus will give you your ship assignments."

  ThOr looked at his Keith hologram. "There's no doubt that our ships are more responsive--but dolphins have no experience with weapons.

  They should each have someone else on board to act as gunner."

  Rhombus's web flashed. "Sentients will die if weapons are used."

  "We can't stand by and not defend ourselves," declared Thor.

  "To surrender our ship is better," said Rhombus.

  "No," said Keith. "I refuse to do that."

  "But to kill--"

  "No one need be killed," said Keith. "We can shoot for the engine units, try to disable the Waldahud ships without breaching their habitats. As for gunners--we're all just scientists and diplomats."

  He considered for a moment.

  "PHANTOM, consult personnel records. Who would make the five most proficient gunners?"

  "Calculating. Done: Wong, Wai-Jeng. Smith-Tate, Helena.

  Leed Jelisko em-Layth. Cervantes, Clarissa. Dask Honibo em-Kalch."

  "Rissa . . . ?" said Keith under his breath.

  "If the object is to fire geological lasers," said Thor, "then why not use Snowflake? She's senior geologist."

  "We Ibs have lousy aim," replied Rhombus. "Targeting works better when you have a single point of view."

  "PHANTOM," said Keith, "find replacements from other species for the two Waldahudin, and set up an immediate intercom between all of them and me."

  "Done. Intercom open."

  "This is Director Lansing. PHANTOM has determined that each of you has the training and skill to best operate makeshift weapon systems aboard our five dolphin-piloted probeships. I can't order you, but we need volunteers. Are you up for it?"

  A second row of holographic heads appeared above the dolphin faces.

  "Good God, I--yes, I'll do it."

  "Count me in."

  "I'm not sure that I'm the right person, but . . . yes, okay."

  "On my way."

  Rissa had moved over to stand .next to her husband. "I'll do what I can," she said.

  Keith looked at her. "Rissa . . ."

  "Don't worry, honey. I gotta make sure you get to live all those billions of years."

  Keith touched her arm. "Rhombus, assign each of them to a ship.

  PHANTOM, convey them there as fast as possible."

  "Doing so."

  "Good work, everyone," said Keith, leaning forward in his chair, fingers steepled in front of his face.

  "JESUS!" shouted Thor. A tiny explosion was blossoming in the display.

  "They've shot our watson out of the sky."

  "Jag, analyze the weapon used," said Keith. "At least we can figure ou
t what their armament is."

  Jag glanced at a square monitor screen. "Standard Waldahud police lasers," he said. But then he rose from his station and gestured toward Melondent, who had been serving as physics officer during delta shift.

  Jag touched a few keys. "Transferring physical sciences to dolphin station one," he said. He turned to Keith. "Perhaps . . .

  perhaps it would be best if I did not further participate. Gawst did not invoke the name of Queen Trath, so I assume that he and his associates are acting without royal approval--an attempt to garner considerable glory. Still, they are Waldahudin. Perhaps I should return to my apartment."

  "Not so bloody fast, Jag," Keith said, rising to his feet. He glanced at Lianne. "Time to launch?"

  "Ten, maybe eleven minutes."

  Keith turned back to Jag. "You had me move Starplex so that we wouldn't be able to see the Waldahud forces massing on the green star's far side."

  "I deny that," said Jag, both sets of arms crossed behind his back.

  "Your loyalties don't lie with the Waldahudin?"

  "My loyalty is to Queen Trath, but there is no evidence that she authorized the attempt to seize this ship.."

  "Lianne,' how many watsons did Jag receive in the last two days?"

  "Checking. Three. Two were from CHAT--"

  "Which is located just outside the Waldahud home system--" said Keith.

  "And the third was a commercial unit from a telecommunications utility on Rehbollo."

  "It contained personal news," said Jag, "related to an illness in my family."

  "Examine those watsons, Lianne," said Keith. "I want to check the messages that they carried."

  "Once I had downloaded the data that I wanted," said Jag, "I released the watsons for reuse--wiping the data first, of

  COUrSe."

  "We should be able to recover something," Keith said.

  "Lianne?"

  "Checking," she said, then a moment later. "Okay, the watsons that came for Jag are still on board. We carry over a hundred of them, and those three are still in the queue for reuse." She pressed some keys.

  "I've interfaced with all three; they're blank."

  "Nothing at all to unerase?"

  "No. The data area has been wiped, then filled with a random pattern.