Warp Point

by Darrell Bain

  Dan caught what he thought was a furtive look by the Arm, a short man with shaggy hair and a grim face that showed the lines of a perpetual frown.

  The Potentate of North America began almost immediately with his question. “When can you make yourself and your ship available for duty with the Principal's Arm? He is awaiting now to bring observers aboard."

  Dan wondered if the man felt as pompous as he sounded, speaking of himself in the third person, then left that thought for another time. He didn't know whether the best answer would be to tell the Principal they were leaving Earth, or what he was inclined to say: that before they could commit themselves they first must finish their survey of the planet. He went with the second answer as being a shade less likely to provoke action on their part, but inside, he thought a decision had already been made. He had no idea how it would play out, but on this day he wore his sidearm with the safety off and a round chambered.

  “And how long will this survey take, Captain? The Principal does not brook unnecessary delay."

  “That will depend on my scientists, your Excellency. The survey will be finished when they tell me they've completed their studies.” Then he threw the Principal what he thought might be a sop. “I am to tell you that the books you so kindly gave us reflect favorably on your culture, even though this reality differs substantially from our own Earth, as perhaps you noted in the booklets we provided you.” Even while speaking he wondered if the man had really believed they were from an alternate reality, and simply trying to find a place to settle now that they had lost their way home.

  He never learned whether the Principal believed in their origin or not. One of the things he had seen on television was a military jet-powered ground vehicle, extremely fast but able to hug the land like a Tomahawk missile from their own Earth, skimming along at fantastic speeds only a few feet above the ground. Now Pioneer's radar spotted two squadrons of the vehicles, moving incredibly fast over the low rolling hills. They were approaching in a pattern designed to come toward the pavilion from two sides. Word was immediately relayed to the delegation still talking to the men of the Braken Confederacy.

  Dan had already heard the low roar of the jet cars and had been trying to figure out whether it was coming from the dirigibles or another source. He and Hawkins both glanced at the horizon to each side of them, giving the Principal's Arm and his small coterie a chance to draw concealed side arms. But Hawkins never lost his alertness. He caught the movement from the corner of his eye and shoved Dan to the ground in the same quick, violent motion he used to draw his own weapon.

  Dan, more trusting, had allowed his attention to wander. For a vital few instants he had no idea what was happening, even after being alerted through their connection to the ship of vehicles coming their way. As he hit the ground with a bruising thud, two of the Arm's subordinates were after him like alley cats going for a rat, guns drawn and pointed, wanting to take him prisoner. When they bounced off the shield Pioneer was providing him, they were off balance and fell to the ground, squawking indignantly. Gunfire rang out all around, with the small local fight at the tent taking all of Hawkins’ attention, even though squads of armed men were pouring from the jet cars as they skidded into a slewing half-turn and came to a halt, blowing great clouds of dust into the air.

  Hawkins shot the Arm in the head, backhanded one of his other minions with the barrel of his weapon and shouted something at Dan. Even he didn't know what it was, but it got the attention of the two men who were again trying unsuccessfully to take Dan prisoner. One swung his gun around to fire but Hawkins was well ahead of him. Three quick shots walked up his neck to the bridge of his nose, making little thumping sounds as they punctured flesh and bone. He fell into the path of the other who was trying to rise and at the same time shoot Hawkins. It caused him to miss, but another one, out of sight, didn't. A cascade of bullets hit Hawkins across the chest, knocking him backward and breaking ribs but not penetrating the armor he wore beneath his uniform.

  By then Dan had his weapon out. He saw where the shots that hit Hawkins came from and gunned the man down, even as he wondered what had happened to the protective field that was supposed to be around everyone near the pavilion. He saw two more of the troops from the car aim rifles and fire at him, then stare blankly when their bullets skidded off the defensive field and screamed into the sky. Dan killed them both before the clip ejected its last cartridge.

  Hawkins’ army troops were by then fighting bitterly to protect Dan and recover their fallen commander, and shouting over the cacophony of battle sounds for the surviving civilians to run for the ship.

  Dan crouched down for a moment then remembered there was no need for him to do so. He slipped another clip into his pistol and began walking forward, upright and arm extended. A desperate fusillade of steel-jacketed slugs bounced off the defensive field surrounding him. Very deliberately, he began picking as targets what he thought were NCOs and officers and shooting them dead.

  The sight of a lone, seemingly invulnerable man striding forward and deliberately killing their leaders was so unnerving that half the attacking soldiers turned tail and ran. The remaining ones stared stupidly after emptying their rifles and were easy prey for Hawkins’ soldiers. That gave the general a chance to get most of his men and the civilians back to the ship. He was in great pain and walked in a crouch but still managed to use his sidearm again in the last stages of the fight.

  When Dan saw the opposing force had been defeated, he ran back toward the bullet-riddled tent, either jumping over or going around the intermingled bodies of Earthmen and his own crew. He walked backward with Hawkins and the last of his soldiers, hoping the defensive field surrounding him would give them some protection.

  Inside the Pioneer, the officer in control of the gunners gave the command. The squadron of jet-cars involved in the fight was suddenly ravaged by a barrage of heavy laser beams. They cut through the cars and men indiscriminately, leaving smoking ruins with body parts scattered among them. Several blew up in deafening explosions when the lasers punctured fuel tanks. The other squadron, which had been prevented from participating in the battle by Pioneer's defensive field, now became the center of attention. The ship shifted the field out of the way and lasers began savaging that squadron, too. Several armed jet cars, which had been supporting the troop carriers from farther back, had been unable to fire into the melee around the tent without taking a chance on hitting their own men, but the ship was different. They turned their heavy guns on the laser ports, then were astonished to see the big slugs deflected by an invisible shield.

  The few jet cars still unharmed retreated out of sight behind the hills. Warning laser beams struck near the dirigibles and prevented them from taking off. The gunnery officer dearly wanted to destroy the airship hovering high overhead but decided to leave it alone. He had no orders about it and could only watch as it swiveled and began moving away.

  Once inside, Dan gave the order to let the other two dirigibles go. After a half hour, when they realized they were not going to be fired upon, the gangs of handlers came out and released the moorings. Fifteen minutes later the airships were only specks in the sky.

  Hawkins had been refusing treatment. Now he gave his last order before reporting to the medical section. “Send a squad out to recover the bodies and another squad to guard. We'll bury them later."

  * * *

  Chapter Thirty-One

  Several hours later, in orbit again, Dan was chairing a recap of their meetings and casualty-strewn altercation with the Braken Confederacy.

  “Not very promising so far, is it?” Hawkins said. He was sitting in a wheel chair specially equipped to ease the painful breathing resulting from his three broken ribs.

  “No,” Dan said shortly. He sipped at his brandy. “By the way Chet, I found out why the defensive field allowed you and some of the others to go unprotected. Pioneer had extended the field to hold off the jet cars encroaching from our left; that didn't leave much leeway to protec
t any of the personnel near the tent except me.” He spread his hands apologetically. The ship always defended him and Stacey before anyone or anything else and nothing engineers or computer scientists had found would change it.

  “Maybe England will be better,” Susan said hopefully. She was being very attentive of Hawkins, Dan noted with a bit of amusement. He wondered how long it would be before Hawkins got over the loss of Kyra and his children. So far he had shown little outward sign of bereavement, but Dan knew his friend was still suffering.

  “The question is, should we even bother?"

  “I think so,” Stacey said firmly. “Dan, we simply have to let some of the people out of the ship. Tara says a number of them are even talking about wanting to be put off in England."

  “I think we'd better ask the natives about that first. They may change their minds once we discover a little more about the place. But yes, I know the problem. All right, we'll land there if they give permission."

  “You're going to ask this time?” Hawkins spoke.

  “According to broadcasts we picked up in our previous orbits and what we're hearing now, I somehow think they may be expecting us."

  “Could be,” Hawkins conceded. “We've picked up some tidbits that tell us England found out about our little dustup with the Braken Confederacy pretty quick. I suspect they have clandestine sources of information from here."

  “They must,” Stacey said. “The broadcasts came so quickly afterward. And I'll bet Dan is right. They'll be expecting us, or at the very least, hoping we'll try talking with them."

  “Well, there's one way to find out,” Dan said. “Craddick had a message all worked out to ask for permission to land, regardless of the place. That's one good thing he did, so let's use it. We're coming around to their radio range now, so send this: ‘United States Space Force Ship Pioneer, returning from expedition under auspices of the United States of America, with diplomats aboard representing the United States and the United Nations of Earth. Request permission to land.'” He shrugged. “May as well start off being truthful, even if it won't mean much to them."

  “At least we won't have to remember what we've said,” Stacey commented with a chuckle.

  The answer came back within a few minutes, indicating that someone on the ground had been waiting to hear from them.

  United States Space Force Ship Pioneer, greetings. Please follow landing signal dah dah dah dit dit dah to prepared landing site. Use lowest power possible.

  “Polite, aren't they?” Dan mused.

  The message repeated several times while Brad was checking coordinates. He looked up from his console and shook his head in a negative. “Captain, we can't do it this orbit. You'll have to tell them it'll be another two hours."

  Dan ordered it done. Hawkins started to wheel himself away to get the troops ready to debark, then laughed at himself. “I'd play hell going into combat in a wheelchair, wouldn't I?"

  Nevertheless, he let Susan push his chair over to the privacy alcove so that he wouldn't distract the rest of the crew, then began consulting with the Battalion Commander.

  The routine passage of time until the scheduled landing was interrupted only once, when Dan and Father Gomez conducted a burial ceremony at one of the airlocks. The bodies of their fallen comrades were expelled from the ship with enough force to put them into a much higher orbit. Perhaps eventually they would fall back to the Earth of the present reality; perhaps not. Somehow, Dan felt it was better not to know.

  * * * *

  Time seemed to pass swiftly after the burial in space. Pioneer was soon settling slowly in for a landing. The designated spot was near the center of the Island known in their home reality as England, Scotland and Wales, but commonly referred to as simply England. The pall of the burial ceremony still hung over many of the crew, but despite this they were waiting anxiously, and hoping for a much more hospitable reception this time.

  Again there was the gentle, barely perceptible bump as Pioneer touched the Earth. It set down in a pasture where there were signs that the area had been hastily cleared of grazing stock and outbuildings. It reinforced the geographers’ opinion that the island was even more heavily populated than it was in their own reality. Once the ship finished settling, with its massive weight pressing the sod down to the underlying bedrock, Hawkins ordered his reconnaissance team to debark and check the lay of the land.

  Dan, Hawkins, Matt and Stacey all watched on their screens. The soldiers deployed in a standard defensive perimeter and awaited the arrival of their hosts, who were already on their way. A line of cars led by a stretch limousine could be seen entering the pasture and driving toward the ship on a rutted, unpaved road that had probably served farm vehicles. The lead limousine sported an antenna that held a flag. It bore no resemblance at all to the Union Jack of the home world.

  Dan was using Craddick again, but this time he informed the man to simply introduce himself and his assistants, then go through the niceties of a first meeting. After that, and being as assured as possible for the safety of the delegation, he would take over.

  It seemed to him that Craddick strung the preliminaries out far past the point of necessity. It caused him to make up his mind on one thing for certain: Craddick was going to be demoted and Stacey or Matt put in his place, despite their lack of knowledge of diplomacy. It had just occurred to him that in alternate realities, all the diplomatic formalities brought from their world would probably be worthless here.

  Once Craddick finished, the U.N. representative insisted on having a few words, which turned into a speech that Dan thought more boring than informative. Apparently their hosts weren't taking it well, either. Puzzlement was the predominant expression on their faces.

  Dan grew impatient. “I'm going out, Chet. Hold the fort. And I think it wouldn't hurt for Stacey to come along as well. The ship'll protect us both and if there's any chance of settling here, they may as well get used to women in positions of authority."

  Stacey's face brightened into a wide smile. Forgetting about the formality usually adhered to in Central control, she used her hand on the back of his neck to pull him close and give him an enthusiastic kiss. When she saw how carefully everyone was looking elsewhere, a line of red crept up her neck, but stopped short of a full scale blush. A few minutes later they were on their way.

  * * *

  Chapter Thirty-Two

  “Hello, Captain Saddler. I'm very glad to meet you,” a large man said. He was dressed in what could have easily passed for a cross between a tuxedo and boy scout uniform. “I'm Baron Cedrick Rumorta, representing President Birmingham.” He stretched out his hand.

  Dan took it and noted the firm handshake even while he was trying his best not to show amusement over the regalia the Baron was adorned with. “I'm Captain Dan Saddler, Commanding Officer of Pioneer."

  Baron Rumorta glanced up at the huge spaceship, looming over the tent like a small mountain. “Yes, a most impressive airship, sir. Or should I say spaceship?"

  “It's primarily a spaceship, Baron Rumorta, but it can operate in atmosphere when necessary."

  The Baron nodded. “Wonderful. For you, I mean. Now, what say we dispense with formalities if your protocol permits? I seldom use the title. Most of my comrades and friends simply call me Cedrick."

  “That's fine with me, Cedrick. I'm Dan when speaking privately, which I'd like to do. Why don't we sit down? I'm going to have several advisors, including my wife and Deputy Captain, Commander Saddler. Her first name is Stacey and I'm sure she'd prefer it over her military rank."

  “Certainly, Dan. Shall we?"

  Dan and his inner circle, which now included Susan, went inside the tent, a new replacement for the bullet riddled one left behind in the Braken Confederacy. The English followed. Cedrick gestured at his two assistants. One, in dress resembling Cedrick's, was introduced as Blain Seldin and the other, in some sort of uniform that Dan took to be military, had a title he didn't quite catch but his name was Jack Boffrom. Once inside,
a chair was removed from the conference table to make room for Hawkins’ wheel chair.

  Cedrick stared curiously at the wheel chair for a moment until he realized his attention might be construed as impoliteness.

  Hawkins chuckled. “Yes, I'm not walking too well right now. Your opposite numbers on the other continent didn't receive our company in a very pleasant manner."

  “Well, I certainly hope we can do better. Now as I take it, you're from an Earth which resembles ours in some respects and differs in others. I'll confess I'm having trouble grasping the concept even though my scientific staff tells me such a situation is theoretically possible."

  “Theoretically, yes, but the physical aspects of actually moving from one reality to another is beyond my grasp, and observer physics is my specialty,” Blain Seldin stated.

  “Observer physics. That must be what we call quantum mechanics,” Matt said.

  “Yes, that's what our interpreters called it."

  “Why don't we leave those subjects for now and deal with practical reality, if I may describe it as such,” Cedrick said bluntly. “Captain, may I ask, did you come to our world intentionally?"

  Dan could barely contain his laugh. “Not hardly! We're here purely by accident, through a chain of circumstances so unlikely I'm still having trouble believing it myself.” Off to the side, he saw Craddick frowning at the release of so much information in such a nonchalant manner. He knew Craddick would have roved around the periphery of their circumstances for days, trying to extract data from the other side in exchange for bits and pieces from them. He had no intention of wasting so much time, so unnecessarily.

  “Then it appears, if I may speak bluntly, that you may be lost?"

  “That's it exactly,” Dan confirmed.

  “And you're looking for a place to settle, is that correct?"

  “Yes, Cedrick, eventually. We're trying to be very careful before we commit ourselves to any particular world or region of a world. For instance, the Braken Confederacy is definitely not a place we'd care to settle."