Warp Point

by Darrell Bain

  An alluring scent he had never known her to use drew him nearer. “Mmm. You smell good. When did you buy this?"

  The tinkling laughter came again. “I didn't. Pioneer made it for me."

  “Wow. It should go into business.” He embraced her eagerly. Her kiss stimulated him like none he remembered. His hand roved over her breasts, loving the resiliency as he fondled them, feeling her hardened nipples beneath the thin material of her gown. He fumbled at the tiny little closures. It was all he could do to contain himself until her breasts were free and waiting for his lips and tongue. Stacey gave a little moan and shrugged off the negligee. A moment later he hovered over her body while she guided him inside. The sensation was exquisite, her warm moistness gripping and holding him, just as her legs and arms were doing while his body moved, bringing them together in a mutual rising, bursting explosion of pleasure.

  “Oh my God, sweetheart, what happened?” He gasped when he was able to get the words out. “I feel like ... like I could love you like this forever."

  Stacey ran her hands up and down his back, feeling out the ridges of muscle along his spine. “You might have to,” she said, still breathing heavily. “I asked Pioneer for a new perfume, but I think I got an aphrodisiac."

  Before the night was over, Dan decided she was probably right. He had never been so sexually exhausted, so drained of desire, and yet it made him want to do the whole night over again, even if his body was incapable of it.

  Just before he finally drifted off to sleep, shortly before their normal waking hour, Dan muttered “I think you'd better not use any more of that perfume, not until we've taken care of business. I'd hate to have to fight a space battle while my body was telling me to carry you off to bed."

  “Mmm. Too bad. And I guess I'd better tell our sexy old ship not to give out the secret to anyone else, huh?"

  “Uh huh. It would cut our efficiency in half."

  “At least.” She snuggled up to him, sliding her arm around his waist, and soon they were both asleep.

  * * *

  Chapter Nineteen

  “You look surprisingly chipper this morning,” Dan said in greeting to his wife. “Especially considering the lack of sleep and how much of that ersatz brandy you drank."

  Stacey finished buttoning the blouse of her uniform then drew Dan to her. She stood on tiptoes and whispered “Our ship can manufacture very effective hangover cures as well as ... um, that other stuff.” She touched the tip of her tongue to the inside of his ear then lowered herself into a normal stance.

  Dan held her loosely. The brief conversation had triggered a thought that ran through his mind like a dervish, intent on being noticed.

  Stacey stared at him for a moment. “Hello? Earth to Dan? Come in Dan."

  Dan blinked. “Oh. Sorry. I was just thinking."

  She smiled affectionately. “Well, keep it up; it's good exercise for a captain."

  Dan goosed her and they left the stateroom for Central Control, only a short distance down the corridor from their stateroom.

  * * * *

  With the increased acceleration, they were rounding Termen the following afternoon by ship's time. Central Control was fully manned and Pioneer's imaging system became very busy. Dan wanted to accumulate as much data as possible about the Termenians, even if it was by visible means only.

  Right before closest approach, but still well short of the range of the MI robots, he heard Susan snicker. Glancing toward her, he saw Terrell had gotten up and was looking over her shoulder. He was grinning as if he had just been told a slightly off color joke.

  Susan snickered again and glanced his way, then quickly back at her screen, as if not wanting to miss anything. He could stand it no longer. “What is it?"

  “Just a sec; I'll send it to you."

  Manipulation of Central Control instrumentation was becoming easier and easier for those whose duty placed them there. Not much more than a second later, a figure appeared on his screen. It was blurred and fuzzy, even with the best enhancement the ship was capable of, but the three dimensional image was unmistakable.

  “I will be damned!” Dan exclaimed. “They really do look like Termites!"

  The recording resembled a termite about as much as a rabbit does a coyote, but the similarities were sufficient to be entirely noticeable. The creature had six appendages like an Earthly insect, although the two front pair, as well as four forward pointing antenna terminated in a clusters of fine digits, slender and pliable as was apparent by the way it was holding an implement of some kind. It was divided into a head and body, typical of Termites, rather than three distinct body parts like other insects such as ants. The head was large, with several sets of compound eyes and a wicked-looking double pair of mandibles.

  “I wouldn't like to be locked up in the same room with that critter,” Terrell said as he reseated himself in his own chair.

  That was the general, acknowledged consensus. Dan thought it might be hard even for State Department ambassadors to warm to the Termenians. He was rather glad the prospect of having to deal with them was left for later, even as he silently berated himself for bigotry. He finally put the matter out of his mind by attributing any prejudice to innate wiring in his brain, a feature he could do nothing about. Human beings were not evolved to talk to insects, no matter how intelligent. They usually killed and in some places, ate them. The ambassadors, selected by Octavia Jenson for their supposed neutrality, were going to be tried to the limit if face to face contact was instituted. He found himself smiling inside at the prospect.

  “Contact, Captain. Far upper quadrant. MI signature to the signal."

  “Battle stations,” Dan said without pausing to think. “Weapons release to General Hawkins.” The routine had been practiced over and over on the way to the warp point. Dan's screen blinked and a whole new set of numbers, vectors and icons appeared. He heard the battle station alarm hooting until the hatch into Central Control slid closed.

  “Weapons free,” Hawkins confirmed. From that moment, he was in charge of both offensive and defensive weaponry until the captain released him from the responsibility.

  Dan was little more than a spectator as he watched developments. The readings on his screen told him these alien ships were coming in from the Oort cloud, accelerating at what he thought must be their maximum speed—which was very fast. Nevertheless, he saw that it would be at least twelve hours until first contact, and after that he had no idea how long the conflict might last. There were the ships coming from the gas giants as well, but they were almost as far away.

  “Commander Saddler, First Officer Selman and Ms. Cadler, you're all relieved. Get four or five hours sleep, or if you can't sleep, please rest."

  Stacey and the other two stood up and strode over to a small unlocked hatch which opened into a resting area, called the break room. It contained a half-dozen cots, a small galley and a bathroom. They disappeared inside and shut the door behind them.

  “I make it seven ships, each about half the size of a destroyer. The formation is beginning to spread into an arc, about one hundred eighty degrees,” Hawkins announced. Dan wanted him to read out changes as they showed on the screens. It would help keep him and Hawkins alert, as well as Terrell and Berlin.

  “George, a half cup of coffee, please. See if the others want some."

  “Yes, sir,” Sergeant Stewart said. Melinda had gone off duty when the others headed to the break room and would relieve George when the shift changed.

  Dan sipped at the coffee, grateful for the stimulation. He reminded himself not to overdo it. This promised to be a long and fatiguing campaign if the Termenians had given them correct information. The seven ships that first appeared were only the start. Many more would be coming. However, he doubted if the MI had any idea what they were getting into. Matt had called it right; if the entities didn't have backups for their manufactured minds, a lot of them would die in the coming days.

  * * * *

  Dan took four hours off
and tried to sleep. It was impossible, knowing the MI ships were barreling toward them at top speed, as if the longer Pioneer remained unconfined to a planet, the more they would contaminate pristine space. He did close his eyes, but couldn't stop his mind from roving, from bringing up all that had happened to them since that first observation of an alien object entering Earth's solar system, more than six months ago. The fact was, he didn't feel like a world saver, nor the captain of a tremendously powerful spaceship. Further, he had no strong feelings toward the Termites, one way or another. The main reason he had decided to engage the ship on their behalf was the thought that mankind might not be excluded from suffering the same fate. The MI must know of the warp point by now and could as easily split their forces as not, using some to bring their tractor beams to bear on them and others to head for Earth and force their few puny spaceships to ground. It was something he was just beginning to consider. The Termenian communication had stated that the MI wanted nothing to do with warp points if possible, but would probably follow any ship crewed by biological intelligence through one if that's what it took to corral them with their tractor beams and force them down onto a planet. He couldn't help but wonder whether they would send some ships to Earth, knowing there must be a planet in that direction.

  Should he say anything to the others about the possibility the MI might try for Earth? Would anything be gained if he did? He decided not to mention it, other than to Stacey, because there was nothing he could do about it anyway if the MI were inclined that way. The others had enough on their minds already, preparing to enter battle in space when none of them had even a smidgen of knowledge about what tactics the MI might use against them. All he could say for sure was that it would be close encounters; it would almost have to be, considering the MI wouldn't try to destroy them, but only attempt to force them back to the termite planet. He turned uneasily on his other side in order to block his face from observation. He didn't want anyone to see the worry lines he was certain must be gracing his face, making him look older than his years.

  Before coming in to rest, he had suddenly wondered if the MI would talk to them, possibly even arrange a parley. Maybe the Termites weren't being truthful. For three hours, they had tried contacting the onrushing ships, with absolutely negative results. In the meantime, the formation had widened more, forming a loose, three dimensional half-globe of ships designed to surround Pioneer, then close in and immobilize it. Finally he ordered the communication attempt to break off, leaving only a continuously repeating message should they change their minds—or circuits, or whatever they used to reason with. It was the best he could do and he would waste no more effort on it.

  “Captain?” A whispered voice roused him from a light sleep. He had dozed off after all.

  Dan opened his eyes. It was Melinda. “Yes?"

  “Captain, Commander Saddler asked that you come back to Central Control. She said to tell you to wash your face; it's not an immediate emergency."

  “All right; thanks, Melinda.” Dan got up and splashed water on his face and hair. It was amazingly refreshing. He dried off and combed his hair, then tossed the disposable towel into the recycle chute. He noticed that Chet was sleeping. He put his finger to his lips as a signal to any others who were awake not to bother him. He could always call him if the situation was serious.

  * * * *

  “What is it?” Dan asked as he slid into the captain's seat.

  “More MI ships.” Stacey nodded toward the screen.

  It took him a few moments to peruse all the new data and integrate it into his thinking, although the reason Stacey had called him back early was easily apparent. A second group of ships had been sighted, coming from a different section of the Oort. They were pointed unerringly in Pioneer's direction. There were more than a dozen of them this time. As he scrutinized the screen and the data relevant to the new MI contingent, he saw that they were already spreading out in the same manner as previous ones.

  He glanced at the time. It showed only a little more than an hour until contact with the first group of ships—and no one had the least idea of how far the MI tractor beams could reach. He decided to play it safe. “Melinda, please call General Hawkins and the others from the break room and have them come in."

  Hawkins showed up a couple of minutes later, looking very much refreshed. Unlike Dan, he had taken the time to shave and change uniforms before lying down.

  Looking at him, Dan decided he'd follow his example from now on. This thing wasn't going to be over in an hour or a day or a week. It might last longer than he wanted to think about, given that the MI ships had to come in from far away. These first ones had probably begun their journey as soon as their detectors notified them that biological intelligence was loose in their system. He couldn't help but wonder how many more were on the way.

  Hawkins sat down and conferred with Stacey briefly, then began playing with controls. A moment later he asked the question all of them had been wondering about. “Captain, the first ones'll be in missile range very shortly. Do we fire first or wait until they initiate hostilities?

  Dan drew in a breath. He had been considering that very question ever since removing himself to the break room, weighing the safety of all five thousand persons aboard Pioneer against the possibility that the Termenians were wrong and the MI ships were peaceful. On the other hand, there had been no response to his prolonged hail, and there was no denying the fact of a confining force field around Termen; they had been brushed by it upon closest approach, as if the Termites wanted to show them what it consisted of.

  In the end, he felt he had no choice. “You may fire when ready, General Hawkins.” He heard the sound of in-drawn breaths at his words and wondered how many of those present disagreed with him; not that it mattered now. They were committed.

  A moment later Hawkins gave the order to fire in a calm, uninflected voice. A barely noticible shudder was felt in Central Control as a barrage of fourteen anti-matter missiles sped from Pioneer toward the first fleet of MI ships, two for each. He wanted to keep their enemy at a safe distance—so long as the supply of missiles lasted. After that, it would be laser cannon and plasma guns, but Hawkins hoped he had no need of the other two offensive weapons in his lethal repertoire.

  Most of the mass of the missiles consisted of engines and containment chambers for the anti-matter warheads. They sped from Pioneer with homing devices activated and locked on the encroaching fleet. As they neared, the MI ships began their defense, using heavy laser cannon in attempts to intercept them, only to find Pioneer's missiles were too fast and maneuverable for laser beams to kill them. When that failed they attempted to deflect them with tractor beams as they closed, a poor attempt that did little to keep them at bay. They were simply going too fast for any kind of beam to stay fastened on them long enough. The missiles were deflected a bit but quickly compensated and came on. At the last moment, powerful short range blades of plasma were fired in swaths of destructive energy seeking the missiles, and at the same time the MI ships began violent maneuvers designed to escape oncoming destruction. Three of the laser beams managed to sear missiles long enough to inactivate their engines. One of them got to a containment field and that missile blew apart in a violent explosion of matter meeting anti-matter. Two others met their end in globes of plasma that left little remains. The rest came on. Several missed but the rest plowed into the MI's defensive force fields with sufficient velocity to either penetrate or smash their containment fields and loose the antimatter warheads. In either case, the MI ships were doomed. None of the seven escaped destruction.

  * * *

  Chapter Twenty

  “Captain, I'm going to need complete control of the ship in addition to our weapons. I'm afraid we're going to have to maneuver very shortly and I may not have time to ask."

  Dan didn't hesitate. In fact, he berated himself for not turning over control earlier. He touched the correct controls as well as giving voice to Pioneer's computer. “You have it, General.
Good work, by the way."

  “Thanks. The MI probably learned something from the first encounter, but so did we. Now we know the approximate limits of their tractor fields and what else they use for defense. We'll try to stay beyond the tractor beams, and I believe their lasers are an industrial type rather than ones designed for warfare. It's like they might not've been thinking about the future."

  “What do you mean?” Terrell asked.

  “If those ships were anticipating meeting another intelligent race, they would've had better defensive weapons, I'd think. Most likely, those ships were involved in construction and were simply the closest to the scene. On the other hand, this next batch might be designed specifically for trundling other ships down to a planet's surface."

  “We'll find out soon. The others are coming on."

  “Contact. More ships just appeared from the Oort,” Stacey announced. There was the faintest bit of strain to her voice but her hands were steady and her face showed no sign of tension.

  If this kept on, they might be overwhelmed despite what the Termenians had told them, Dan thought, but there was nothing to do about it. If they ran for Earth, they would simply lead the MI back there even if they could fight their way through. If they broke off contact and went for the alternate universe now, the MI might not send all their ships after them. They had to get them all. There was no choice but to fight them off while staying alive long enough for every MI ship in existence to arrive in their locality. The Termites had given a time span for that to happen, but it had quite a large range of possible error.

  The fights were brief and furious, but made easier by the MI wanting only to gather enough ships around them, then use their combined tractor beams to first immobilize them, then to shepherd them down to Termen. Over the next twenty four hours, fully two score MI ships were destroyed, yet it didn't seem to bother them. They came on as remorselessly as ever.

  During a break in action, Dan asked “Chet, when do you plan on edging us toward the warp point we want?” They had already bypassed it once.