Starplex

Keith nodded thanks to Rhombus, then: “Thor, status of the Waldahud ships?”

Thorald Magnor looked over his shoulder at Keith. “Assuming they’ve got nothing better than standard police lasers, they will be within effective range in three minutes.”

“How long until our own ships are ready for launch?”

Rhombus’s lights blinked out a reply as he rolled back to his workstation. “Two are ready to go now; the other three—grant me another four minutes.”

“I want to launch all five at once. Everything goes out the door in two hundred and forty seconds.”

“Will do.”

“We’ll still be outnumbered, eight to five,” said Thor.

Keith frowned. “I know that, but it’s only our five fastest ships that are set up for dolphin pilots. Rhombus, as soon as our ships are clear of our docking bays, I want full power to our force screens. Cut the engines; divert everything to the screens.”

“Will do.”

“Lianne,” said Keith, “I want to put a message for Tau Ceti in another watson. Shoot this one out a mass-driver tube. Send it on a transfer orbit that’ll take it to the shortcut under momentum only; I want it to fly all the way there without using power.”

“It’ll take a watson three days to get to the shortcut that way;” Lianne said.

“I’m aware of that. Calculate the trajectory. How long do I have until our ships launch?”

“Two-point-five minutes,” said Rhombus.

Keith nodded, and touched the privacy button that erected four double force-screen walls around his workstation, creating a sound-killing vacuum gap.

“PHANTOM,” he said, “search all computer records for research done by Gaf Kandaro em-Weel and his associates, especially for material that’s never been translated from Waldahudar.”

“Searching. Found.”

“Display titles and abstracts in English.”

Keith scanned the screen in front of him. “Download into a watson articles two, nineteen, and—let’s see, better add twenty-one, as well. Encrypt everything under the password ‘Kassabian’: K-A-S-S-A-B-I-A-N. Record the following, and add it to the watson as an unencrypted message:

“Keith Lansing to Valentina Ilianov, Provost, New Beijing.

Val, we’re under attack by Waldahud ships, and I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re under attack soon, too. I have learned that there is a theoretical way to destroy a shortcut, by flattening spacetime around it, preventing it from anchoring in normal space. If a Waldahud invasion force seems likely to overwhelm your fleet, perhaps you will want to consider destroying your shortcut exit. Doing so will, of course, effectively isolate Sol/Epsilon Indi/Tau Ceti from the rest of the galaxy, and give the Walciahudin forces no way to retreat. Think long and hard before you do this, old end. The procedure can be gleaned from the articles appended to this message. I’ve encrypted them. The key is the last name of that woman we both fancied on New New York all those years ago. End.”

“Done,” said PHANTOM.

Keith tapped a key. The privacy force screens vanished.

“Launch the watson, Lianne,” he said.

“Doing so.”

Keith watched the tiny canister drift away from Starplex. His heart was pounding. If Val decided to use the technique, there was one other consequence that Keith hadn’t spelled out: he and Rissa and the rest of those from Earth aboard Starplex would never see home again.

“Here we go,” said Rhombus. “Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Launching PDQ. Three. Two. One. Launching Rumrunner. Three. Two. One. Launching Marc Garneau. Three. Two. One. Launching Dakterth. Three. Two. One. Launching Long March.”

The fusion flares of ten twin engines lit up the holographic sky as the five probeships shot away from Starplex’s central disk. The approaching Waldahud ships were now close enough that they could be seen directly, rather than as colored triangles.

“Force screens to maximum,” said Rhombus.

“Open windows in the force screens and send the following via scrambled comm laser direct to each of our ships,” said Keith. “No one is to fire unless the Waldahudin shoot at us first. Maybe a show of strength will be enough to get them to back down.”

“They already creamed one of our watsons,” said Thor.

Keith nodded. “But if shots are going to be taken at sentient beings, the Waldahudin are going to have to start it.”

“Incoming message,” said Lianne.

“Let’s see it.”

Gawst’s face appeared. “Last chance, Lansing. Surrender Starplex.”

“No reply,” said Keith. He glanced at one of his monitors. Starplex was still oriented with its lower telescope array facing the green star, and toward the approaching fighters.

“Gawst’s ship is coming toward us fast,” said Thor. “The other seven are holding position about nine thousand klicks away.”

“Steady, everyone,” said Keith. “Steady.”

“He’s firing!” said Thor. “Direct hit on our force screens. No damage.”

“How long can we keep deflecting his lasers?” asked Keith.

“Four, maybe five more shots,” said Lianne.

“The other Waldahud ships are moving in, trying to surround us,” said Thor.