“Coordinates transmitted,” Elaine said, sounding cool and calm like the experienced pilot she was.
“Max, activate our grav-pull. Take us inward,” he said, sitting back in his seat and folding his gloved hands atop his gut.
Ahead the multiple images went blurry, then jagged as the gravitational lensing created by the artificial creation of an external gravity node caused warping of incoming photons. The Uhuru moved toward that node at a speed of eighty percent of light. They had five hours to pass until they reached their emergence point. Well, let someone else worry about a meal. His heart had been hammering too much during the AV broadcasts, especially when the Niktoren hunter youth had ripped the heart from the Magun predator. While the bloody Rite of Passage ritual had many Earth analogues among the Maasai, Zulu, Aztec and Huli tribes, it stuck with him. He was used to getting his meat from meat processors, whether on Mathilde, Ceres, Vesta or elsewhere in Sol. Which meant someone else did the tough job of separating meat from tendons, bones and vertebrae. But now, they were about to meet a Tech modern people who still killed the predators that had once hunted them. And they ate the raw meat of that dead predator. Idly he wondered if the Niktoren preferred their meat raw like the sushi of Japan, or chose to cook it over flame, broiler or microwave. Soon enough they would find out. Jack closed his eyes, slowed his breathing and did his best to banish his worries about his ability to lead his fleet and his people into unknown danger. Danger was part and parcel of building the Freedom Alliance. A part he accepted as simple reality. But it would be nice to run into a pacifism-focused Alien people . . .
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
The fleet emerged from grav-pull 5,000 kilometers above the north pole of the moon Nightglo. Very quickly the front screen filled with multiple images. Nikola used her Schmidt scope to bring in an image of the two fusion drive ships that were just leaving the world of Tree. Elaine put up a sensor map showing the locations of all Niktoren spaceships, stationary neutrino sources and local rad emissions in the UV, IR, gamma ray, x-ray and graviton ranges, along with alerts on any weapons platforms she could detect. The images of his fellow captains popped into view at the top of the screen. In the middle was a true-light image that looked down at the cratered north pole of Nightglo. Which, unlike Earth’s satellite, was not gravity-tide locked to keep one face toward Tree.
“Ranging!” called Elaine. “Lidar from a mining camp near the pole has just scanned us. The two oncoming ships will do the same once they receive our true-light image. They are 380,000 kilometers distant. Uh, the equatorial space station is now lidar ranging us also.” She paused, tapped her NavTrack and Sensor panels. “No aggressive behavior yet. No laser or missile launches. But I think they have gravitomagnetic sensors in view of how quickly they ranged us.”
“Too damn quickly for my taste!” said Maureen from the holo that hovered above Jack’s Tech seat.
He had already activated his Tech panel and put it into Tactical Display mode. The ship’s dual railguns were loaded with barrels of ball bearings while the port and starboard laser pods were on Auto-Track and Defend. “Elaine, guide us into pinwheel formation with the rest of the fleet.”
“Complying,” she said. “Maneuvering thrusters firing to aim our drive module outward. The rest of the fleet is forming into a ball. Bismarck is at our north pole, the Dragon at our south pole, Zhukov is 180 degrees opposite from the Uhuru, while Hawk and Ferocious are 90 degrees to either side. MacArthur is next to us. Our Higgs Disruptor ships are placed to cover all approaches to us.”
Jack felt his gut loosen at the words of Elaine. Their Pinwheel Plasma Torch formation had proven to be an outstanding defensive formation in past space battles and it allowed all ships to fire externally by way of openings between each ship. With no ship closer than ten kilometers to another ship, and all of them holding a geosynchronous position above Nightglo, there was little chance of collisions among the fleet ships. He unlocked his seat straps, reached down, grabbed his two-handed sword Old Roy and stood up. He faced the motion-eye above the screen.
“Denise, broadcast my image on that second AV channel. The one with the news report on the arrival of cargo at that city. That sounds like the right channel to get through to this Council of the Niktoren.”
“Setting up.” A brief tapping sounded. “Your image is now being fed into the planetary vidgrid. Our signal strength is strong enough to displace the ongoing broadcast imagery.”
Good. He lifted his steel sword and laid the bare blade in his left gauntlet. “Greetings to the Niktoren people of Tree. My name is Jack Munroe, leader of the tribe named human. Our people live around a planet much like your Tree. We have oceans, forests, mountains and people devoted to their work, their spouses and their children. Like you, we have Coming of Age ceremonies similar to the recent broadcast of Melak’s ritual. Our home Earth is located around a yellow star similar to your Nikhak. Our star home is about 12 light years away from your planetary system.” He paused, gesturing back at Denise. “Here are images of Alien spaceships that were hiding in your cometary disk, far beyond your outermost planet. They call themselves the Hunters of the Great Dark. They are many species from different stars, but they are all social carnivores who treat other star people as their servants and as food for eating. If those people are not carnivores like themselves.” He lifted his sword. “We humans defended our star system from an attack by these predators. We then went into the starry depths to warn other people of these predators who treat thinking people as food sources. And as sites for their colonies. We invite you Niktoren to join our Freedom Alliance of people who believe all thinking species have a right to explore interstellar space.” He lowered his sword. “If your Council tells us to leave your home system, we will leave, never to return. But we welcome the chance to visit with you, to trade items of mutual value and to share our knowledge of other star systems and other star peoples. We await your reply here, above your moon.”
“Jack!” called Elaine, sounding worried. “The two spaceships between us and Tree have increased their thrust to fusion max. At full speed they will reach us in eight seconds.”
Damn. Damn. “Put me back on broadcast!” He looked up at the motion-eye. “Approaching Niktoren spaceships! Do not approach our fleet any closer than twice the width of Nightglo! If you do, you will be fired upon. We have Mothers Of All on our ships and we will protect them!”
He looked back to Denise. “Connect me with the MacArthur on our neutrino comlink!”
“Connected.”
“Captain Amitar, fire a particle beam across the bow of those two incoming ships. Now!”
“Firing,” said the Hindu in charge of the Mars destroyer.
“Maureen, do the same with your particle beam!”
Two blue beams shot out from the Uhuru and the MacArthur, crossing the bows of the two ships that were silvery teardrops piercing green globes.
“At 3,000 kilometers range!” called Elaine.
The onrushing ships turned their noses north and south, rising up and moving down at a right angle to the position of the fleet. The ships twisted in flight and aimed their drive modules toward their vector track. Yellow and white flame gushed out from the drives, slowing the two ships enough so they would go into an elliptical orbit about Nightglo. In seconds the southern one disappeared from view. The northern one passed between the fleet and the surface of the moon, its drive module flaring its exhaust to push it into moon orbit.
“They will reappear shortly,” Maureen said from her holo. “I saw four laser mounts on the globe body, along with what looked like torp ejector ports on the nose of the teardrop portion. They may have neutral particle beamers, if the magcoils that circled the rear portion of the globe are particle accelerators versus fusion thrust magfields.”
“All ships!” Jack called over the FTL neutrino comlink. “Light your fusion flares! Give us some protection from any incoming lasers or particle beams. But hold station using your grav-pull drives.”
; The Uhuru’s floor vibrated under Jack’s boots. A brief push to his back told him the ship’s fusion drive was flaring outward. A hazing of the front screen images said Max was using the grav-pull drive to counteract the inertial displacement caused by the fusion drives.
“Incoming signal!” called Denise.
On the front screen came a hazy image of a Niktoren raccoon dressed in a body-fitting vacsuit. It was strapped in to its function station, which resembled a tall pole with a wide branch for a seat. In the background were six other raccoon bipeds, each seated at a function station. The closest raccoon flared its ears back.
“Humans! Do not approach our world of Tree or the Niktoren Family Fleet ships will fire on you!”
Jack waved a hand at the image. “Agreed! But keep your orbital distance from our ship tribe. We have Mothers Of All on our ships. We ask your ship to stay ten diameters of Nightglo away from us. Let your Council talk. We will leave your system if told to do so.”
The pointed snout of the Niktoren crinkled in a snarl. “Your ship tribe was not invited here! But we will keep distant until our Council gives us direction.”
Not good, but sufficient. He nodded at the raccoon person. “Leader of your tribe, your ship will be safe if you keep your distance. That will allow the Niktoren Family Fleet ships to continue feeding and protecting your cubs and mothers.”
The raccoon captain showed its white canines, then slapped a control panel. Its image vanished.
“Too damn close that was,” Maureen said from her holo. “They moved the way that Melak jumped onto that cougar. Captain Jack, we need to sweep nearby space with our Higgs Disruptors. I want to be sure there are no mines or stealth torps hiding out there, just waiting for orders to attack us.”
The cold sweat that ran down his neck convinced Jack. “All ships, keep flaring your drives with grav-pull offset. Bismarck, Zhukov, Dragon, Hawk, Ferocious and MacArthur, put your Higgs beams at a 50 kilometer footprint and 4,000 klick range. Fire when ready and sweep the space between us and the moon, and to all sides of our geosync vector.”
Six yellow beams spat out into space and began sweeping sideways, up, down and everywhere.
Brief sparkles of white light showed as the beams hit small micrometeoroids. Those small masses lost all coherence and became subatomic particles with no gravitational attraction for each other. But there were no large flares of released matter.
“Maureen, do you see any sign of mines or torps in the sweep areas?”
“No. Not yet at least. But keep sweeping,” the woman said as she worked her Fire Control panel. “My antimatter beamer is ready, as are our HF lasers and particle beam.”
Jack wished he could wipe the sweat from his forehead. Or scratch the itch that had sprung up between his shoulder blades. Neither was possible thanks to his vacsuit.
“Incoming AV signal!” called Denise.
The front screen image of the moon surface was replaced by an indoor image of five Niktoren. Three were the larger females while two were male. Each wore the chiton robe that was open at the sides for ease of rib-breathing. Five pairs of yellow eyes fixed on him. Though each male scanned his crew with one of their mobile eyes. The central figure in the line of five was a Mother. She looked the same as the males in bioform, but her manner was one of confidence and focus. She spoke.
“Leader Jack Munroe of the tribe Human, your appearance in our system is a surprise. The males who search the skies with special machine eyes have found no sign of other people,” she said in a steady barkspeech that Anonymous immediately translated into Belter English. “But you are here. And your images of other lifeform spaceships are worrisome. We do not care for our Home territory to be invaded by secret predators.” The Niktoren female crossed hairy arms over her belly, the black and white striping on her arms a sharp reminder to Jack that these people had only the appearance of raccoon primates. On Earth white and black striping occurred only on the tails of raccoons. Among the Niktoren, the striping ran from their long curving tails to their bodies and out to the hands and feet. The black facial mask accented their strange eyes. The female hummed, then barked. “My Council advises me to send you out of our system. But a Mother Of All does not always follow the advice of others. She must do what is best for all her people. And while your ships carry weapons, you came to us openly. Unlike the ones hidden among the comets of the Outer Ice Belt. Stay where you are. Myself and these councilors will travel to our station in orbit above Nightglo. There to meet with you and your Mothers Of All. Are such among the Humans behind you?”
“Yes! Our Mothers Of All are present here.” He gestured for the women to stand. “Behind me is my lifemate Nikola. To my right is my sister Elaine. In the middle is Denise of the red fur. Next to my Drive Engineer is his mate Blodwen of the yellow fur. Beyond her is my sister Cassie of the hazel eyes. Our sixth Mother is Maureen, who controls the weapons of my ship. They are all eager to meet fellow Mothers Of All.”
The central female flared her long tail and inclined her head, her two mobile eyes scanning Jack’s crewmates. Soon she fixed on him. “I am known as Bulaken of the North, mother of many. And leader of the Home Council of the Niktoren people. Tell me, how do you Humans first greet people new to you?”
Jack smiled. “With food, song, music and drinks that intoxicate. We call it a party. We have foods from our home world of Earth. And drinks made from of the chemical group hydroxyl that is bound to saturated carbon atoms. We call it booze. We also offer pure water if that is preferred.”
The two males who stood on either side of the line looked at each other, their tails whipping slowly. They opened their canine-filled mouths slightly. Perhaps a smile?
The lead female chuffed. “We know of such chemicals. Our males are highly fond of such beverages. We waste good plant food on the creation of such drinks.” Bulaken gestured to one side. “My fellow Mothers Of All sometimes partake of such drinks. Myself not. But we all enjoy meals prepared by others. Do you Humans enjoy meat prepared over an open flame?”
“Yes!” Jack said happily, then recalled he was on stage before a planet full of carnivorous raccoons. “Some of my fleet allies chose to join my alliance due to the payment of their duty with herbivore steaks, cigars that are smoke-inhaled and different types of human booze. Others joined out of duty to their mates and cubs. But all my ship allies are united in one purpose . . . to oppose the stellar domination of the Hunters and to encourage other star peoples to control their home system. We have also battled other Hunters of the Great Dark in order to liberate star peoples from domination by them.”
“Interesting,” Bulaken said thoughtfully. “We look forward to learning more about such matters when we meet on the station Dotil. Since our ships travel slower than your ships, can you broadcast to us images of your Earth world, its people, its forests and its lesser lifeforms? That will help us better understand you Humans. And make our people more at ease with your sudden arrival.”
Jack nodded slowly. This female leader of the Niktoren was reacting to the sudden appearance of Alien people on her planetary doorstep better than many human leaders would react. Including the dead Dictats of the Unity. “Denise of the red fur is my ComChief. And the person who developed the thinking machine digital codes that so quickly translated your language into our English. She will transmit several Earth nature programs to your world on the AV channel used today by the Melak Coming of Age ceremony. And on other channels that reach your people. Is this acceptable?”
“Most acceptable,” Bulaken said. She again scanned his crewmates with her mobile eyes, then fixed both yellow orbs on Jack. “You Humans show wisdom in the high ranking of your females. Such is natural to our Niktoren people. It is . . . encouraging to see such among you Humans.”
Jack lifted one hand, palm out. “We agree. I will depart to consult with my ship allies. Meanwhile, our Denise will transmit Earth AV programs to you and your world. And with your permission, we will bring meats, cigars and booze of Earth to our
meeting with you on Dotil.”
The predator snout of Bulaken opened broadly. Her pink tongue licked white canines. “We look forward to eating your meat! We will bring the flesh of our Magun predators and our Dolon herbivores with us. And some of our Niktoren beverages that elevate the senses. I will call you to join us after we arrive at Dolon. Until later.”
He waved agreement. “Thank you, Bulaken, Mother Of All for your wisdom and your invitation to share knowledge and food. We humans look forward to a party with you!”
The Niktoren’s image disappeared.
“The two Niktoren ships are moving to a high elliptical orbit,” Elaine said. “They will not come closer to our fleet than 24,000 kilometers.”
Jack turned and sat in his Tech seat. Pulling his restraint straps over his vacsuit, he locked them. It was a habit he liked doing, even if outmoded by the constant one gee internal gravity afforded by the grav-pull drive. He looked to his allies on the front screen.
“Admiral Hideyoshi, I would ask that you bring the Prince Otto von Bismarck alongside the Uhuru. Captain Gareth, please bring your Dragon alongside too. Captain Ignacio my brother, please bring your Badger alongside. We need to confer. Which can be done in our Food Refectory. Will you join me for a drink and a steak?”
They all agreed, smiles on all faces, even the normally sober looking Hideyoshi.
“You were lucky, youngster,” called Maureen from her holo. “These Niktoren could have reacted to our sudden appearance as if we were a plague virus suddenly descending on them. The way the head hunters of New Guinea reacted when Christian missionaries arrived among them. I’m coming up but leaving the Battle Module on Auto-Track and Defend.”
“You are always welcome at our fleet conferences.” He looked over to his sister. “Elaine, feel free to get your Ignacio nicely drunk. But only after the conference with these Niktoren.”
She laughed, her tone one of happy relief. “Agreed! And be sure to wear your boina before Ignacio arrives. He is always alert to respect given to the Euskaldunak people.”
Freedom Vs. Aliens (Aliens Series Book 3) Page 21
