The Gripping Hand

by Larry Niven

  "Here."

  "What's-" Renner couldn't say it properly.

  "Atropos on line. We can receive."

  But no transmissions yet. Renner slapped at the keys. The screens were still dark, but a voice was saying, "Sinbad this is Atropos. Sinbad this is Atropos. Over."

  Renner stretched experimentally. Integral e to the x dx is e to the x... He'd found that the computers recovered quicker than he did. Should be safe enough to test now. He woke the communications computers. A snarl of static.

  "Atropos, this is Sinbad."

  "Sinbad, stand by."

  "Rawlins here."

  "Status report?" Kevin croaked.

  "Critical. We're under attack by half a dozen ships. One of them's a big mother. Sir."

  Green lights showed on one corner of Renner's control board. "Freddy! She's waking up, see if you can see anything."

  "Right."

  "We're recovering," Renner said. "How bad is it?"

  Rawlins: "We're peaking in green. I won't last forever, and I can't shoot back. No chance to send a message to Agamemnon."

  Renner shook his head. Critical. Can't shoot back. Why can't he shoot back? Energy. Energy control. More green lights on his console.

  Bury's machinery started suddenly: displays hunting, then drips to adjust his chemical balance.

  The Mediators were thrashing feebly.

  A screen came to light. Then another.

  "Rawlins," Renner said. His voice was still thick. "Hang in there. We're going past."

  "Here's a battle picture. I'll relay as long as I can."

  The enemy fleet was a scattering of black dots across MGC-R31's orange-white glare, visibly receding with Sinbad's velocity. They'd positioned themselves well, Renner thought. Just sunward of the Sister, to foul an intruder's sensors; near enough to blast them at point-blank.

  Atropos was glowing far brighter than the little sun. Nothing smaller than Atropos would have survived this long, without Atropos itself as shield. Too few Medina ships were adrift behind Atropos, firing around the shield, easing back. When Atropos went, they'd go, too.

  It was going to be tricky. The Moties aboard were no use at all. Sinbad's computers were Navy quality, three independent systems, each working the same test problems until they all got the same answers-and they weren't getting them.

  "Townsend!"

  "Sir?"

  "Get the Flinger going! Hit that Motie fleet. Especially the big ship."

  "Will do. Launcher self-check. In order. Erecting." The Field blinked for a second as the loops of the linear accelerator eased up through the black energy shell. "Launcher outside Field. I'm getting direct camera information. Trajectory analysis-"

  Sinbad was flashing past the battle. They had almost no time.

  "Trajectory computers give divergent answers!" Freddy shouted. "Rape it. Launching. Stand by!"

  Sinbad recoiled. Then again. "On the way. Automatic loaders are working," Freddy said.

  A muted keening sound had to be coming from Glenda Ruth.

  "Stand by," Freddy said. "On the way. Dispersion pattern. Continuous fire, stand by!"

  There was a floodlight glare from every screen, then all screens went dark. "They hit us. That's it for the cameras," Freddy said. "Captain, the Flinger's dry. We'd have to bring it in to reload."

  "Never mind."

  Bury was trying to crawl up Kevin's ankle with just one hand. "Bring it in. Kevin, bring it in!"

  "Okay, I'm doing it. Lie still, Horace." Unseen, the loops of the Flinger were sinking through the Field into the hull.

  "Superconductor," Bury said.

  "Ah." Sinbad's finger was a linear accelerator made with Motie superconductor. That was why it hadn't melted in the glare of Khanate lasers. If it wasn't withdrawn, it would conduct the energy of the laser attack into Sinbad.

  "We're still getting relays from Atropos," Renner said. The relays would be progressively out of date as Sinbad moved away from the battle. "And I've got a camera on-line."

  Someone, human or Motie, made a strangling sound. Glenda Ruth wailed again. The black beyond the windows began to glow dull red.

  An image formed on Renner's screen, a composite of the relay and direct observation. It showed a cluster of Motie ships receding as Sinbad moved past the battle. Beams reached from three smaller Motie ships toward Sinbad. Six others held Atropos pinned like a bug. One of the Motie ships attacking the Imperial cruiser was nearly as large as Atropos.

  "Blue field," Renner muttered. Give him another five minutes. Then he's gone and so are we.

  "Five. Four," Freddy counted. "Three. Two. One. Zero. Maybe the timer's off. Or the trig-"

  Something flashed intolerably bright beyond the larger Motie ship. The larger Motie ship went from green to bright blue, expanding. Another flash. Another. The blue shaded toward violet.

  "Jesus, Horace," Renner muttered. "Fifty megatons? More? How long have we had those aboard?"

  "You would not..." Bury's voice was weak but held a note of ironic triumph. "You would not have approved. At what those cost I nearly did not approve myself."

  "It's working!" Joyce shouted. "They're not attacking Atropos anymore. They're-"

  She fell silent. Two of the Motie ships flashed violet and beyond and were gone. The largest ship was now glowing blue-white, and Atropos was firing at it. "He can't last," Joyce said.

  The big Motie ship flashed and vanished. Now a score of bright dots clustered around the fading glow that was Atropos and accelerated toward the remaining Tartar ships.

  "Sinbud, this is Atropos."

  "Go ahead, Commander."

  "Well done, sir. We've won this battle," Rawlins said. "The Moties can clean up the rest of their blockade fleet. Sir, there was no opportunity to contact Agamemnon. I suggest you do that."

  "Right. Carry on, Rawlins. Townsend!"

  "Here."

  "Find Agamemnon. Send that message."

  "On it."

  "You fight like vermin," Harlequin said with contempt.

  Jennifer flinched at the insult, then wondered at its meaning. But the Mediator had kicked himself aft without giving her a chance to reply. Now the Moties huddled, chattering, and Jennifer turned back to the display.

  There had been a battle. Ships had died. It looked as if the intruders had won.

  Harlequin was back, with the Warrior hovering behind her. "I apologize," the Motie said. "I understand now. You throw away resources like vermin, but it is not that you are animals. You have endless resources."

  "If you win everything you want, your descendants will think the same way," Jennifer said.

  "Yes. Our battle plan has changed, Jennifer, We no longer believe we can pass to New Cal."

  "Surrender," Jennifer said. "Accept the Crazy Eddie Worm. No Motie need die because there are too many."

  A wave dismissed the notion. "We have considered this. There are domains to be fought for, and we may yet win."

  And Mediators speak for the Masters. "You can't win. The Empire has-you've seen the resources we have. This hasty little expedition. A civilian ship was enough to harm your war fleet and alter your plans, and you haven't seen what the Empire can do! Harlequin, talk to your Masters!"

  "I have done so. You have none of your altered parasite. There is no time to test it, and your altered parasite might well be fiction." Harlequin might not even have seen her reaction. "In any case, our options are not ended. Your representatives have made agreements with our rivals. Medina Consortium, Pollyanna calls them. Very well, we need only conquer Medina and take their place. Then we will have a gripping hand on the vast resources offered by your Empire."

  This at first seemed ludicrous to Jennifer. "All Moties look alike?"

  "We must assume that you passed messages describing your situation, describing promises made to Medina Consortium, describing battle plans. But if we silence every human voice, and if we make our rivals extinct, who will tell your Masters which of us was Medina Consortium?"


  Jennifer sensed that her answer would be taken very seriously; so, very seriously, she thought it through.

  "What if you fail? One voice could destroy you all."

  "Humans are conspicuous. They require their special life support systems. We will find you."

  "What are you going to do?"

  "It is done. Our Warriors will follow your human-built ships and destroy them. Others may remain on Medina's major carrier, but my Warrior adviser calls it a mere hydrogen snowball, conspicuous and slow, easy to capture."

  She's crazy! But all Moties look different. It's no better than looking all alike. It could work, Jennifer thought. And Harlequin knows I believe it might work. Damn. "What of us?"

  "We may have need of you."

  "Of course." If the Khanate failed, she or Terry would convey surrender terms to the Empire. So, they would be the last to die. I have to think. There must be some way to convince them that this is madness. "Crazy Eddie."

  Harlequin had not mastered the art of appearing to shrug, but her inflection conveyed the same sentiment. "As you say. These are Crazy Eddie times. But time is short, and if we seek this option, we must seek it now. We will speak later."

  Freddy Townsend said, "Sir, I have some other ships in view. Interested?"

  "No. Find Agamemnon."

  "Waiting."

  "Making coffee," Joyce said. "Strong, with hot milk?"

  Freddy said, "If Agamemnon has shields up, I won't find it, period. What if we just beam your message at the Jump point?"

  "Good, Freddy. Do that. Then keep trying."

  "Aye, aye."

  Lights dimmed. All of Sinbad's power was going into that one blip.

  "Oh, Lord," Freddy said.

  "Talk to me, Townsend."

  "More ships under acceleration. Fusion drives, high acceleration. I count sixteen no more than five million klicks away, all with a redshift and no drift, and I don't know where they're aimed but it isn't at the Jump to New Cal."

  Renner brought the images in closer.

  "Kevin, what is it?" Joyce demanded.

  "Not enough data."

  "There's more," Freddy said. "A whole sparkling field of drive lights at maybe sixty million klicks, all of ‘em between us and Agamemnon."

  "They've cut us off," Joyce said.

  "That they did," Freddy said. "Skipper, I've got four minutes integration on them now. They're showing a decreasing redshift and no drift."

  "Thrust?"

  "Close enough to three standard gee."

  "Bound to be Warriors."

  "All redshifted?" Joyce asked. "That means they're going away from us."

  "Decreasing redshift," Freddy said. "Going away, but they're thrusting toward us. An airplane would be turning around, but you can't do that in vacuum."

  Renner touched the intercom buttons. "Omar, have you been following this?"

  "Yes, Commodore."

  The Motie's voice conveyed weariness, confusion, and determination at the same time. Never off duty, Renner thought. "Watch. That group I just marked. That's the main body of the Khanate fleet. Best estimate is that their Warriors were going all out toward Agamemnon and the Jump point to New Cal until the Masters popped through."

  "That is reasonable."

  "Okay. But now the Masters are all moving away from the Sister, and the Warriors are slowing, probably coming back. What are they likely to think they're doing?"

  "The Warriors are swarming back to defend the Masters from us. The Masters have many options. Their target may be a place of hiding, perhaps the comets around the brown dwarf star. They seem to have given up the Jump point out of the system. Something has convinced them that your defense at the Jump is too formidable."

  "Jennifer," Freddy said. "She must have convinced them."

  "Those bombs did not weaken her arguments," Omar said. "Whatever else you have done, you have shown that you are willing to expend resources."

  "Resources to burn," Joyce said. "Which we quite literally-"

  All the screens whited out. Kevin moved two dial displays, in haste. The screens dimmed to a scattering of laser-green points. Sinbad was under attack.

  "Whatever. Now what's happening?" Renner mused. "Omar, that Warrior fleet is aimed right at us. Or at the gate back to the Mote system. Which is it?"

  "Why not both?"

  "Both."

  Omar and Victoria conferred briefly. Then Omar said, "If we threaten the Khanate Masters, they will attack us, of course. But consider this. If they have abandoned the notion of forcing their way past Agamemnon, then the Khanate may have instructed their Warriors to return through the Sister to prepare a path of safety for their return to Mote system."

  "They're giving up?" It was the first time Glenda Ruth had spoken since the battle.

  "Perhaps." Omar shrugged. "Or they may attack Medina, to soften our power for later negotiation. Or something else. This is a matter for military strategy."

  Victoria said, "They'll kill or capture the humans if they can. If your Empire has only the Khanate to negotiate with, any contract would favor the Khanate."

  "Bet?"

  Victoria answered in Motie. Glenda Ruth laughed as their speech became faster and faster. She said, "Uncle Kevin, they're betting! Descendants for their Masters! Victoria's giving four to one-"

  "Later, Glenda Ruth. Omar, it looks like their whole fleet of Warriors is coming straight at us."

  The cabin went dark. "I've found Agamemnon," Freddy reported. "I'm beaming your message again."

  "Good. Very good. Now we've got to get out of here. Suggestions?"

  No one answered. "Freddy, turn us around. Get us on course to go back through the"-hell-"through the Sister."

  "Through the Sister. What thrust?"

  Renner let the computer work for a moment. "That's a god-awful amount of radiation they're aiming at us. If it keeps up, we'll have to duck. What are they trying to do?"

  "Kill us?" Freddy suggested.

  "Well, if they can, but what else?" Renner studied the screens. If the Motie fleet continued on course, it would get to the Sister in about twenty-five hours. Another moment of indecision. Then, "Keep it reasonable. Say point three for now." The Field was dull red. Not bad, but they'd be bathed in that green laser glare for hours to come. "I want to see what those Warriors will do."

  "What of our ships?" Omar asked.

  "I'll keep Atropos," Renner said. "Have all your Motie ships reinforce Balasingham. Look, he's going to be a bit wary of them."

  "We have discussed this," Omar said. "Our ships will position themselves to aid your warship without threatening it."

  Horace Bury's voice trembled with exhaustion, but there was triumph, too. "Mercy of Allah! Kevin, we have sent our message to the Empire, and the Khanate has turned back. We have fulfilled our mission, whatever happens. Now we survive if Allah wills it."

  "We may have fulfilled the mission," Kevin said. "It all depends on that Khanate Warrior fleet. We don't know what they're going to do, and as long as they're in this system, they're dangerous. They could still batter their way past Balasingham." Renner studied the screen again. "Well, as long as they're chasing us, they're not doing that. If they're back in Mote system, they're for sure not doing that. Maybe we can lead them there."

  "Good," Bury said.

  Kevin thought, Can you take another Jump? and didn't speak. What if he said no? "I'll tell Rawlins."

  "My viewers may not understand," Joyce said. "I'm not sure I understand. First we come through to the red dwarf system. Then we fight. We win. Now for the past four hours we've been slowing down, and we're headed back the way we came." She looked at her screens, noted the yellow glow of the Field. Sinbad was under continuous attack.

  "It's all part of the same battle," Freddy Townsend said.

  "The important thing is that the Khanate fleet is moving toward the Sister, not going after Agamemnon," Glenda Ruth said. "We have to keep them heading toward us."

  "But are they after us, or wou
ld they go back to the Mote anyway?"

  "It doesn't matter, Joyce," Victoria said. "Anything that gets them back into the Mote system."

  "So we're bait," Joyce said. "I guess that wouldn't be so bad-but to be bait when you don't even know it's you they're after!"

  "They're after us," Freddy said.

  "How can you be sure?" Joyce demanded.

  "If they're not, they're sure wasting a lot of energy," Freddy said. "They can't spare the fuel. I think it's this way. If they can kill us, they won't go through, but if we run through, they'll follow us. Glenda Ruth?"

  "Best bet," Glenda Ruth said.

  Joyce said, "And there you have it."

  "Situation unchanged, Commodore," Rawlins said. "They haven't tried to intercept the allied ships we sent to reinforce Balasingham. It's us they care about, all right, and there's too many to fight. Our only chance is to run. I suggest we increase acceleration. The less of this fire we take, the better chance we'll have once we're through."

  "Agreed. Take it up to one point five gee."

  "One point five, aye, aye." Rawlins's image turned away for a moment.

  "Once we're stabilized in the Mote system, thrust along this vector," Renner said. There was a twitter of data. "And I had the Moties record some orders. You'll recover before we do. Send these messages to Base Six as soon as you can."

  "Messages to Base Six. Aye, aye."

  "Keep the comm link," Renner said. He sighed and touched the intercom buttons. "Stand by for increased gravity. One point five g." He touched another button. "Horace-"

  "I will survive."

  "Yeah. If they keep that beam on us too long-"

  "Kevin, you will do what you must do."

  Renner had been at work. Sailing Master aboard MacArthur, Bury's pilot for thirty years: this he could have done in his sleep. "Horace, can you take one point seven gee for eleven minutes?"

  "Yes, of course, Kevin."

  Of course. The danger to Bury wasn't from another increase in thrust, but from Jump shock. "Townsend, do it."

  Ali Baba's eight kilograms hit him in the chest. The pup cried, "No, Kevin! Not again!"

  "Here, Ali Baba," Bury said, and the Mediator went, fearfully. Freddy said, "Aye, aye. Done. Any margin of error there?"

  "We'll be violet when we go through the Eye." Freddy shuddered.