Star Force 12 Demon Star (33 page)

“I’m glad to hear that. I hate to believe Sakura was behind all this, at least knowingly.”

“But not Hansen?”

“I never liked him all that much,” she admitted. “He does seem like the logical choice, too.”

“Yeah. But half-truths are more believable than lies, and admitting to us that she was involved might be a preemptive strike against our believing it was she alone that did these things. It will muddy the waters by throwing suspicion on someone she now despises.”

Adrienne moved around to straddle me in my chair. “Now you’re just arguing for the sake of argument.”

“I’m not arguing. I’m discussing.”

“Arguing.” She kissed me.

“Okay, I was arguing. It’s how I think things through.”

“I know.” She kissed me again, and I slipped my hands under her tunic. “Naughty captain,” she said. “I need to get back to work.”

“You can spare an hour.”

“Aye aye, sir.”

The interruption ended up taking two hours—but it was worth it.

-27-

Full of drills and exercises for our green Elladan crew personnel, two weeks passed more quickly than I would have thought possible.
Valiant
seemed crowded again, like a vessel of war should be, and I detected no hint of trouble with the outsiders. I attributed this to the fact that most of them came from the “lower orders” and were ecstatic to be freed of their collars and treated with a modicum of respect, even in their bottom-level trainee positions.

As we approached Trinity-9, the Whale gas giant, the lightspeed communication delay fell to a manageable level, so I got in touch with Farswimmer. His—their?—image floated within the holotank as if it were an aquarium, an odd perspective. I sat in my chair and made sure the cameras were aimed at me only.

“Greetings, Captain Riggs,” the Whale began. “It appears we’re safe for one more year.”

“Thanks to your fleet, yes. But your world paid a heavy price,” I said.

“We only lost a few percent of our population. We shall rebuild. We always do.”

“I’m not so complacent, Farswimmer. Ellada was bombed as well, and theirs is a much less resilient world than yours. Wouldn’t it be more sensible to eliminate the threat once and for all?”

“Depending on the cost, Farswimmer tends to agree. But this mind-group is considered radical among my kind. We’re unusual by definition—even talking to aliens is considered bizarre behavior. The consensus of the Elder Minds—what you would term our government—is that the potential consequences of attacking are not worth the risk.”

I leaned forward. “Farswimmer, you can pay one price now or a much higher one later. The Demons are not merely an aggressive alien race that may tire of attacking you in time. They mean to subjugate you and the Elladans, making you their slaves forever.”

“You cannot know that.”

I sighed. “Humans have traveled the cosmos. We’ve dealt with marauders like the Demons and their fleets. They all have the same goal: to take as much power as they can get and disregard who gets hurt in the process.”

“If we could only communicate our message of peace to them…perhaps then, in a flash of understanding, they will advance from their primitive mire and trouble us no more.”

I rolled my eyes. I couldn’t help it. Fortunately, I didn’t think Farswimmer knew the meaning of the gesture.

“That is mere wishful thinking, Farswimmer,” I said in a level voice. “One of our philosophers once said: Prepare for the worst. If the worst doesn’t come, you’ve wasted resources—but if it does, and you’ve sat idle, you’ve lost everything. Do you see?”

“This being does, Captain. The question is, will the rest of my people?”

“Propose the plan to your people. We’ll help in any way we can.”

Farswimmer hesitated. “It would assist us if you would explain the details of what you wish from us, so we can properly evaluate the offer. I must warn you, I don’t hold out much hope for your chances.”

Knowing I had a surprise in store for Farswimmer, I didn’t react to his negative attitude.

“Of course. Valiant, transmit a copy of the package I uploaded earlier. Farswimmer, the data I am sending will explain my proposal. Feel free to revise it as necessary in order to convince your government. Although we can provide you with some new and helpful technologies, your people will be doing most of the work.”

Farswimmer floated in the holotank for a couple of minutes, not saying anything. I was just about to ask him if he’d fallen asleep when he suddenly became more animated. “We received your data package. You have opened the portal from our world to Tartarus!” His tone, as much as could be gleaned from the translation software, seemed accusing, as close to anger as I’d ever seen.

“Yes, we have,” I admitted.

As part of his combination of experimentation and research, Marvin had activated the ring. I’d thought that detail might alarm the Whales and goad them into action.

“You must close it again!” he boomed.

“I’m afraid we can’t do that.”

“You must! We insist, on behalf of our people. This is our star system, not yours. Our world is directly threatened by this ring.”

I held up my palm. “I’m sorry, let me clarify. I don’t mean we
won’t
, I mean we
can’t.
Activating the ring at all was a fluke, a stroke of luck. We were actually experimenting on the Elladan ring, not yours, but the devices are networked, and so this was the result. What’s done is done. This is a two-edged sword, a golden opportunity if we seize it, but a potential disaster if we don’t prepare. The data I sent you outlines two possible plans. We could attack them at their home or lure them into a deathtrap at yours. I don’t see a viable third option. Do you?”

“Yes we do, and it is the one our leaders will most likely favor. We suggest we should fortify our side of the ring so strongly that the enemy cannot possibly survive transit. That will return the situation to normal. The Demons will again be forced to travel a great distance to attack us. We’ll see them coming, as always, and prepare.”

I shook my head. “No, no, no! If you let the Demons keep attacking you year after year, they will eventually come up with something that will beat you—a new technology or a new strategy. They’ll change it up like they did this time. You, on the other hand, have to win
every single time.
They only have to beat you once, and you’ve lost the war. That’s why attacking them is the best option. With this ring, you’ve gained the element of surprise. If you embrace the methods I outlined in the plan, you greatly increase the odds of success.”

“You make a persuasive case, but the Elder Minds are set in their ways. I will try to convince them. Farewell for now.” Farswimmer waved his tentacles. I lifted a hand in farewell, and then he was gone.

“Put me through to Marvin on the ansible,” was my next command. As I had no idea where he was at this point, the faster-than-light radio was the most secure and reliable means of communication. Perhaps because of that, he seemed to respond to it more reliably.

“Captain Marvin here.”

“It’s time to deliver the packages I need,” I told him.

“They’re already inbound on an automated stealth probe. I’ll turn on the transponder.” A moment later, the holotank activated, showing a tactical plot of the space around
Valiant
and the Whale planet. One tiny group of pixels flashed, and a circular icon appeared to highlight it.

“Twenty minutes out?” I asked. “When were you going to call us, Marvin? What if we’d spotted your probe and blown it out of space?”

“I’m not responsible for your potential errors, Captain Riggs.”

“Never mind. Anything special we need to know to recover it?”

“Nothing special. It is traveling ballistically and has no ability to change its course. Standard protocols should apply.”

“What about recovering the…items?”

“They’re sealed within lightly pressurized metal containers with standard valves.”

“No smart metal, right?”

“I followed your instructions exactly, Captain Riggs.” Marvin almost sounded insulted. “However, I’m still skeptical about the wisdom of your plan. You may be letting a genie out of a bottle.”

“Nice use of idiom, Marvin—”

“Thank you—”

“—but let me worry about the consequences. That’s what I get paid the big bucks for.”

He quietly thought that one over for a few seconds. “Would this be a good time to discuss my next promotion?”

“No, Marvin, it wouldn’t.”

“I’d like to discuss—”

“Marvin, we have to catch your probe now. Riggs out.”

“What was that about?” Hansen said from his pilot’s chair.

I eyed him for a moment, allowing myself to think of him as a potential suspect. I considered not telling him what Marvin was sending, but then I rejected the idea. After all, if he were guilty, I could surprise him and observe his reaction.

“Come with me, and I’ll show you,” I said.

“Okay. I’ve matched velocities with the probe. Lazar can take it from here.”

We left Bradley in charge on the bridge. Hansen and I suited up, just in case. I led him down to the small craft launch bay, from which we normally deployed shuttles and pinnaces. We arrived just in time to see tentacles set a probe on the deck, and shut the outer doors, restoring the atmosphere.

The automated delivery system was the size of a small ground car and had a distinctive, Marvin-tech look to it. When we approached it, a hand-shaped panel lit up and began to flash.

“Hmm.” I took off my glove and set my naked palm on it. The device was so cold it hurt to touch it. The thing beeped once, and then the probe opened clamshell doors on top, revealing a four-by-five array of pressure bottles the size of small fire extinguishers.

“What are they?” Hansen asked.

“When Marvin couldn’t come up with bug spray, I decided this was the next best thing.”

“You gonna keep me in suspense forever?”

I chuckled grimly. “Okay. These bottles contain silica-nanites.”

“Lithos?”
he asked in alarm.

I could tell he wanted to add something like
you’re crazy.

“Not Lithos, exactly,” I explained. “These things aren’t intelligent. They’re just the non-evolved nanites that make up Lithos beings. I had Marvin extract them and make sure they didn’t have the programming to form sentient creatures. These are just like what the Raptors used against the Macros on the worlds they took over.”

“So, even after all that railing against the stupidity and shortsightedness of the Raptors for releasing this plague upon the universe—you’re going to do it again—for your own purpose?”

His words made me uncomfortable, but I’d already rationalized my plan within my own mind. “I know it’s dangerous and shortsighted, but I don’t see any other way to make sure we wipe out the Demons.”

“Oh yeah?” Hansen balled his hands into fists with clearly growing anger. “What if you’re giving them a new toy to play with? A new tool for their arsenal? What if they direct silica-nanites to evolve into full Lithos under their control? Then the bugs will have two inimical races to attack us with.”

“It’s a risk I’ve decided to take, XO. Our allies, whatever their faults, must be given time to recover and rebuild, or next year’s attack will wipe them out, leaving nothing but these complacent Whales to fight off the Demons. Then we’ll have to go back up the ring chain to get away, dealing with all the dangers we thought we’d escaped. Do you want to go another round with the Cubics or the Raptors?”

“I get that, sir. But what I don’t get is why you think you have to unleash a biological weapon. Why can’t we count on surprise and military preparation to go in and wipe them out conventionally? If we can catch their ships without crews or ammo—and we have no evidence their AIs are good enough to fight us on their own—then we and a hundred fifty Whale warships should be able to kick their asses easily enough. If not, then we can deploy this stuff, but only if we have to.”

I began to pace the deck back and forth in front of the grounded probe, waving my hands for emphasis. “Surprise is everything,” I said, “Part of my surprise includes the use of these nanites. We have to prepare them and use them properly
before
the enemy figures out what we’re doing. If we hold them in reserve, they’ll be a weapon of retaliation after we’ve already lost the battle instead of something that will bring us victory. They’ll be like nukes in the old Cold War days, just something to threaten disaster, never to be used to actually win. Well, we need to win, win big, and win up front. That means we use the scary surprise first, before they’re ready.”

“I have to argue against this, Captain. I think it’s pushing the boundaries of what’s moral.”

“Moral?” I stopped and put my hands on my hips in disbelief. “You’re usually the one that wants to shoot first and ask questions later. I’ve been the one to advise restraint, to try to talk to each new alien race in hopes of making peace. Now I want to stick it to them, but you’re getting cold feet?”

Hansen’s voice rose, and he stepped toward me as if getting ready to bump chests. “It’s not shooting first that bothers me. I want to see the Demons wiped out as bad as you do, but bio-weapons are completely unpredictable. And I think you might be creating something worse.”

Right then I almost brought up the data Sakura had provided me and accused him of sabotaging my command. It seemed as if he’d gone right back to his knee-jerk opposition to my ideas, now that he and my chief engineer were on the outs. I wouldn’t have predicted this. I’d have thought he’d be happy to have the Elladan trophy-woman on his arm. After all, I was the one who’d made that possible.

Maybe he didn’t feel right about Sakura either. Maybe flaunting Cybele was a way to get back at her for the breakup.

Complicated crap like this was why shipboard relationships were discouraged in normal times.

I stepped forward, letting my irritation take over. “I don’t know where all this is coming from,” I said, putting my fist against the bigger man’s chest, “but right now I don’t need arguments from you. I need you to fall in line and back me up. We had a nice vacation, but now it’s time to step up our game and go kill some bad guys. Got it?”