Warp Point

by Darrell Bain

  Hawkins was the first to answer. “That's a lot of hoping, Dan. But you know, I've been thinking about the MI ships all being nothing but platforms the artificial intelligences use to manipulate their environment. They weren't built for war, other than those last big mothers that showed up. Possibly they were, and are just now getting here."

  “Chet, they can't be war machines, not according to the Termites."

  “Okay, you're right. They're probably just made to employ really powerful tractor fields, but for our purpose, that amounts to the same thing as war. Anyway, what I'd like to do is keep on our present course, heading exactly toward the warp point this time, rather than skirting it like we've been doing. And I want us to hold our fire until the last possible moment, even if we have targets in range."

  Matt looked perplexed. “But why? God knows we've got enough of the bastards to fight our way through; why not try taking some of them out beforehand?"

  “I want to know the answer to that, myself,” Stacey said.

  Hawkins explained. “I'd like to get us in real close to them, and not fire right off, even when they activate their tractor fields. We'll also hold off on expanding our defensive field until I think the right moment has come. And Dan, I'll give the signal when I want you and Stacey to pretend that you're in mortal danger. The ship is programmed to protect the ones who control it, meaning you. It did the job back on Earth and that leads me to think there's a chance Pioneer has capabilities we haven't seen yet."

  “You may be right, Chet, but I don't want to bet the whole ship on it. And why haven't you mentioned it before?"

  “Because, damn it, I just thought of it! Anyhow, I don't want to put all our eggs in that one basket. I'm going use our weapons when I think they'll be the most effective and I may as well tell you, part of it will be by instinct and intuition. And in addition to you two yelling bloody murder, I'm going to plaster them with everything we have left at the time, all at once, and expand our defensive field just about then. If it does its job like I hope it will, then we may be able to power our way through even if Pioneer doesn't have anything in reserve to protect you two."

  “And suppose it doesn't,” Stacey said, imitating Dan by brushing at her hair, already mussed almost beyond repair. “You're sure we can make it anyway?"

  “Yeah, I think we've got the power to bull our way through regardless, at least according to Susan's figures. It won't be easy, but no one ever said we were going on a joy ride."

  Stacey stretched and wriggled her shoulders. Dan reached over and began kneading the muscles along her spine, working out the knots as she replied. “Well, I'm ready to get on with it, Chet. I feel like I could close my eyes and sleep a week. Just don't bounce me around too much when the fighting starts."

  “I'll try not to."

  Dan missed the significance of Stacey's remark. It wasn't until the others had left, politely giving them a little time together and alone, that she told him.

  “Sweetheart, unless Dr. Sigler made a mistake, I think a honeybee sprinkled a little pollen on me."

  “Honeybee ... what ... oh my gosh! Really?"

  “Remember me being sick those few days? And my breasts being a little sore the last time we had a chance to make love? Plus my period was way late. I put everything together and had Dr. Sigler test me and sure ‘nuff, the little bunny rabbit winked at me."

  Dan hardly remembered the next few minutes, other than holding Stacey tightly and kissing every part of her he could get to. He looked longingly at the bed, as did Stacey, but they couldn't take the time. He needed to get back to Central Control. There wasn't even time to ask her why she thought they had conceived now, after all the years of trying.

  * * * *

  As if they knew in advance what Pioneer was attempting, the MI began closing in on the ship as well as sending more of their massive fleet toward the warp point.

  Dan took back control of the ship from Hawkins. From now on his only job was to keep it lined up properly for entry into the warp point leading to the alternate universe while Hawkins handled everything else. Hawkins would have no leeway to maneuver; he would have to fight the ship while it followed an imaginary straight line directly into the enigmatic spot in space. For the most part, Pioneer's computer system would handle the orientation and changes in thrust, but Dan had to be ready for possible emergency manual control when they began encountering the mass of MI ships waiting for them. And he and Hawkins had to judge exactly when he and Stacey were to call on Pioneer to protect them. That was the ticklish part. Too soon and the ship might decide there was no threat. Too late and the ship might not be able to do anything.

  He and Stacey sat side by side, leaving only for short breaks. Hawkins and Matt did the same. Dan had everyone who counted in Central Control now; he wanted nothing left to chance as the crucial fight neared. He left his uniform jacket off, as had Stacey and the rest of the military part of the group. He figured they might as well be comfortable during the critical battle. This was the heart of all their efforts and it was looming closer by the minute. They would either succeed in breaking through or be forever confined to Termen, with the natives for company. It gave them all the impetus they needed for the fight ahead of them. And fight it would be, for everything in their arsenal would be used to break through the barrier of MI ships. After that ... well, he'd worry about what conditions were like in the alternate universe when they got there.

  Dan felt a faint humming sensation as the first tractor beam brushed them. Pioneer plowed on ahead, not attempting battle yet, even as more MI ships converged in the effort to block them from advancing. More of the humming commotion swept through the ship, greater this time, telling him that an array of tractor beams was affecting them. He glanced over at Hawkins for a moment and was satisfied. His friend and Second Officer was grim-faced but calm, just as if he had spent a lifetime fighting space battles. He heard the general murmur to himself, not yet, not yet...

  The vector pointing toward the warp point wavered as more tractor beams impacted the ship, slowing it and trying to push it off course. Dan began to feel the intermittent humming in his bones, but each time Pioneer managed to break free and speed up again, getting back into the groove. Dan wondered what the MI must be thinking when they refused to take the bait and loose their arsenal on targets so close there would be no chance of missing. Whatever, it induced them to come even closer, so close that he began to wonder whether Hawkins was paralyzed into indecision.

  “Weapons free. Fire at will,” Hawkins said calmly, dispelling his doubts.

  Pioneer's bulkheads rumbled as clusters of missiles dropped free and sped toward targets already so near they were well-nigh at knife range. There was hardly a pause as a second then a third volley of missiles were released.

  Dan's screen burst into a brilliant array of icons that flashed then disappeared, representative of exploding MI ships. Others replaced them, moving closer and closer despite losses. The hum of tractor beams became a constant vibration, making his skull hurt. Lasers came into action, targeting the nearest MI ships, boring through defensive fields and the outer plates, then boiling away the composite material of containment fields until they could no longer hold. The moment they went, ships disappeared in gigantic explosions that tore at the very fabric of space. He hardly noticed, as all his attention was concentrated on making sure Pioneer stayed in line with the vector displayed on his screen. The minute it veered by a pre-calculated margin, he would have to take over from the computer.

  Pioneer was buffeted this way and that as an increasing number of tractor beams reached them. More missiles shot from their cradles meeting fiery deaths seconds later as they impacted MI ships. They gave only temporary relief as more and more MI ships managed to close in. Hawkins noticed that the larger MI ships were being held back, but he had no time to wonder why. All he could do was hope they were simply platforms for heavier tractor beams and not some new weapon.

  Hawkins saw the last of his missiles leave th
e ship and immediately activated the plasma guns. The incandescent energy of their pulses erupted from Pioneer in bursts so close together that for all practical purposes they functioned as beams. They wreaked terrible destruction across the formations of MI ships, leaving shreds of glowing debris in their wake when containment fields remained intact, and appalling blooms of red and gold and green fire when they failed, residual evidence of broken containers of anti-matter. None of the destruction appeared to bother the machine intelligences. They simply accepted their losses and came on, obeying the imperative programming at the core of their manufactured minds.

  Laser fire from Pioneer had been almost continuous from the onset of battle, and along with plasma guns more than made up for the empty missile cradles. For a short time the combination disrupted the MI pattern of envelopment to such a degree that no tractor beams were touching them. For a few minutes Dan thought they would be able to finish the run to the warp point despite the number of MI ships still converging on them, but then he heard Hawkins mutter, “Uh oh."

  A gauge on his screen suddenly indicated the energy supply which had kept the laser cannons active dropped below the level needed to sustain continuous fire.

  “Defensive field, stand by,” Hawkins said, then for the first time since the fight began he uttered a curse. “Oh Goddamn! Now I know why they held back those big sumbitches. They waited until we were out of missiles and our laser cannons were down."

  A deadly humming brushed Pioneer as if getting the aim right, then it became loud enough to almost drown out conversation. It continued without pause; the beams were locked on them and as quickly as the plasma guns destroyed one MI ship, two more took its place. Dan saw Pioneer wobble away from the computer generated vector and made ready to take over if the ship failed to restore its path.

  “Maximum defense! Disable plasma guns!” Hawkins shouted. “Starks, give us every bit of energy you can spare from thrust!” The shouting wasn't necessary, but the emotional impact of raising his voice helped him to overcome the relentless noise of the tractor beams slowing them down.

  Dan saw that Hawkins was using every bit of the ship's energy not needed for thrust to power the defensive field up to its maximum strength. Just before he thought he would have to take complete control of the ship, Pioneer's defensive field expanded in a rush of power far greater than they had seen before. The humming sensation faded but didn't cease. Nevertheless, it was working. Slowly, ever so slowly, Pioneer came back in line with the vector leading to the warp point, a much shorter line on his screen now.

  Just when he thought they might make it, the defensive field collapsed, overwhelmed by the immensely powerful tractor beams of the large ships the MI had held in reserve, waiting for the right moment.

  * * *

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  Pioneer slowed almost to a dead stop despite using every bit of energy available for thrust now that the defensive field had failed. They were being held in place by the tractor beams of the big MI ships and within a few moments they would be herded so far out of line from the warp point there would be no chance of hitting it.

  “Now!” Hawkins cried, twisting to face Dan and Stacey.

  They began pleading for help, both vocally and mentally. If ever they needed aid from Pioneer, this was the time.

  As if it had been waiting for just this occasion, the great ship trembled. A glow suffused the very air they were breathing. On his screen, Dan saw a completely new pattern, a red color expanding from the point representing Pioneer. It washed in twisting threads over the nearest MI ships in a confusing thrust of a new, unknown power. The humming of tractor fields changed to a shrill thrumming noise that abruptly ceased to affect them.

  Dan held his breath, hoping whatever the ship was doing would continue for just the few moments longer they needed to enter the warp point. It did, barely. Just before reaching the invisible entrance to another universe, it suddenly quit, as if the last dregs of power Pioneer could salvage had been used up. The MI ships had no time to realign their tractor beams before Pioneer was gone. There was no time for a feeling of triumph as digits read off the last seconds before the passage. Again there came the peculiar twisting sensation, as if every nerve end in his body was tangling and untangling in swift succession. Again, his vision blurred and his muscles were frozen. He couldn't move, but this time he knew what the sensation was and tried to relax. Moments later he could see clearly again, and they were in a new universe.

  “Brad, watch your parameters! Matt, record everything as well as you can! We have to be able to find that warp point again!” Dan ordered, remembering that physical laws might very well be different in this universe. If they weren't, they were in great trouble anyway, because his screen was already showing MI ships coming through the warp point, as implacable as ever, their machine intelligence unable to admit defeat or to swerve from their designated mission.

  Abruptly, all the screens blinked, went blank, then came back, but fuzzily, as if their electronic innards were seeing something impossible to fathom.

  Dan placed his hands into the slots on his console, the same place he had put them so long ago when he and Stacey first entered the ship. He didn't know why he was doing it, but some instinct told him Pioneer needed human interface until it could cope with a whole new universe of differently operating parameters.

  “Look!” Matt shouted excitedly. “The goddamned MI ships are going crazy!"

  It was true. Almost as quickly as they entered the space of the different universe, they began moving erratically, accelerating and decelerating and changing directions as if suddenly dropped into an invisible maze where they had no idea of which direction to go. What tractor beams were functioning were more likely to be directed at another MI ship than them.

  Brad Starks, the engineer, wasn't so happy. “Captain, I've losing control of the ship! It won't respond to thrust commands."

  “I've got it,” Dan said, hoping he did. He was using his mind and the touch interface to reassure Pioneer, as if it were a child in a strange environment. He didn't really know what he was doing, but it seemed to be working, after a fashion. Where the MI ships continued to go in all directions, with lasers and tractor beams flashing out unpredictably, Pioneer settled into a slow steady acceleration.

  The screens came back to life. Digits flashed, disappeared and reappeared, then steadied, and for the first time Dan could see more than just the pursuing Mi ships. There was a nearby sun, looking as normal as one from their own universe might. Stars shone with pinpoint brilliance and already, a wavery circle around one of the points was indicating a planet rather than a star.

  “Brad, don't try doing anything right now. I'm going to go through the ship functions one by one and try setting them right."

  “You'd better start with internal environmental control then. All of a sudden we're not making oxygen or disposing of carbon dioxide."

  “We'll last for a while on what we have and what the hydroponics produce. I'll get to it in a minute. Right now I want to get our acceleration into the path we calculated and hoped we could use."

  Dan wanted to take Pioneer in a very wide, long circle while the MI ships continued to pour into the new universe. He wanted every single antagonist to follow them before trying to go back through the warp point. He didn't mention it to the others, but a complete new set of precise parameters would have to be calculated for that to occur, especially as he hadn't anticipated coming out in a solar system. The ones used to enter the new universe were worthless now; different physical laws meant whole sheaves of data had to be changed and he wanted plenty of time for them to do it right.

  “Sweetheart, go get some rest,” Dan said to Stacey. “You'll have to take over for me after a while."

  She kissed his cheek and left Central Control. No one commented on their intimacy while on duty.

  “Matt, why don't you take your team and get some rest, too. Chet and I'll handle it for now. If it looks like the MI are getting themselv
es under control I'll call you, but I don't think it's going to happen."

  “I don't either,” Berlin said. “I expect they'll just continue trying to reset and operate on the measurements used in the normal universe and it won't work.” He gazed at digits on his screen in silence for a moment while trying unsuccessfully to smooth his odd looking hair that couldn't make up its mind whether to be nappy or just normally curly. “Actually it doesn't look as if the physical laws here are too much different than what we're used to, but of course it doesn't take much to send electronics to the booby hatch. If you weren't here I doubt we'd be able to operate the ship. There's no great differences but the small ones are bad enough; gravity slightly off, resistance to electron movement a very bit greater and a few others I doubt will matter."

  “I think you could operate the ship,” Dan said. “It'd just take you longer to get it adjusted. Whatever else the Termites are, they did a damn fine job of engineering, and they put in every contingency anyone could possibly think of. See, they knew Pioneer would be in this universe. While they didn't know what its laws would be, they prepared the ship to recognize when they changed and to reset its data. It just can't do everything at once and I'm having it be careful and double and triple check before bringing systems back on line. However, don't go anywhere. I want you and Brad to see everything I do. You'll have to know how to reverse it when we go back, in case anything happens to me and Stacey."

  Hawkins made a rude noise. “Don't worry. I'm not planning on letting anything happen to you. Not when we've come this far."

  “We've got a ways to go yet,” Dan said quietly. “Don't forget that."

  * * * *

  Over the next two weeks there was no diminution in the number of MI ships coming through the warp point into the new universe, nor was there any sign they were ever going to be able to operate in it. The ships would enter, act erratically anywhere from a few days to a week, then cease doing anything at all, as if whatever intelligence might still be present had simply given up.