The Plasma Master

  Chapter 4

  As Smardwurst lay in bed that night – it was called “night” even though Green Scorpion was nowhere near a star – he reflected on the past few days and quickly came to the conclusion that he was glad he had pursued the Yendarians into the vortex. His new shipmate seemed to be taking well to the drastic change in environment; Smardwurst guessed that, in a way, this trip across the galaxy was a dream come true for Nedward. Then there was the matter of the crystal. Even if Nedward did not develop remarkable skills in combat, his power could certainly be used for something that would aid the Alliance. It was going to be a pleasure, Smardwurst thought, to introduce Nedward to this vast new society. It would be almost unreasonably easier than it would be if Nedward had been from anywhere else in the galaxy. That was almost as much as a mystery as the matter of the glowing stone – how could Earth speak the same language as the entire region of explored space even though it was nowhere near it and had had no contact with it? Well, at least not any recent contact. Smardwurst reasoned that there must be some connection with Earth and Anacron. In fact, it was rather likely that…

  Smardwurst’s thoughts trailed off. General Marnax would undoubtedly know much more on the subject, and the question would probably be answered soon enough.

  This recent experience had even deeper significance to Smardwurst, however. From the time he had officially joined StarBlazer he had been convinced that he was justified in the decision to do so, even though it meant defying the government under which even his homeworld was still ruled; the idea of one person governing billions without their consent or influence, no matter how well he did so, was fundamentally wrong. But, although he never questioned StarBlazer’s motives, he had recently begun to question its chances. The Alliance had won several major victories early on, mostly due to the fact that much of the Anacronian military had broken away and joined the Alliance, taking a great deal of advanced technology with it, and due to the fact that those early battles were fought on the fringes of explored space, where the Empire had been hesitant to launch a full-scale attack, believing that the revolts were inconsequential and would go away rather than escalate. But now that the conflict had escalated to a full war, The Anacron Empire had brought its full strength to bear, and StarBlazer victories had become less frequent and less complete than in the past.

  And then there was the matter of the strange power that the Emperor held, as did, according to rumor and disputed history, some of his servants. So far, that power had been absent from Anacronian attacks. Apparently, the Emperor was content to let his unmatched military forces crush the rebellion that he must consider his last obstacle in the way of conquering every known inhabited world. Smardwurst had the feeling that, even if StarBlazer began to prevail militarily, it would ultimately fail unless it could come up with a way to stand against the Emperor’s power; certainly that had been the downfall of the previous enemy to the Empire, although somewhat indirectly. This thought had begun to gnaw at Smardwurst recently, and an increasingly large part of him was beginning to lose hope in this cause that was already considered by some to be lost. But maybe, if the Alliance acted quickly and wisely enough, the power of this stone could stand against the Emperor’s might. Maybe Nedward Simmons of Earth was what StarBlazer needed to survive. If that turned out to be the case, then Smardwurst would have to do a good job of preparing him for the task. Stone or not, there were things both known and unknown that Nedward would not be able to face by himself, and he might have to face them soon.

  This train of thought was keeping Smardwurst awake, and he allowed his mind to drift off to other things. He would be through the vortex soon, and then he would introduce Nedward to General Marnax. Plans beyond that would have to wait.

  Smardwurst awoke early the next morning so that his guest would not have to wait for him. Nedward would surely be desperately anxious to learn about the places to which he would be traveling. Smardwurst went to the ship’s kitchen and brought out some of a supply of Earth food which he had brought with him, just in case Nedward had difficulty adapting to the new menu, and brought it into his guest’s room. Ned was still asleep, and Smardwurst shook him gently. Ned opened his eyes, feeling refreshed after his sleep. The sight of Smardwurst brought back the feelings of anxiety and excitement he had been feeling toward the days ahead. Smardwurst was now dressed in the bluish-grey fabric uniform that Ned had noticed on everyone on Green Scorpion, and Ned guessed that the five-pointed star with the circle in the center, which was the shape of the metal pendant on the left shirt front of everyone onboard, was the symbol of the StarBlazer Alliance. He wondered momentarily why it was called that, but other things quickly pushed that thought aside. The sight of Smardwurst dressed normally, as opposed to his bulky, metallic space suit, was somehow comforting.

  “Good morning, Nedward,” Smardwurst said as he set the tray of food down on a small, nearby table. “Go ahead; I’ve already eaten.”

  “Good morning – and thank you,” Ned replied.

  As he ate, Smardwurst began. “We will meet the starship Galactron later on today, and there I will introduce you to General Gerran Marnax, the leader of the StarBlazer Alliance. He will help us to decide how your power can best be put to use. Now, I believe you have waited long enough to learn about the region of space that will be your home for the next while.”

  Ned smiled. “That might be helpful. I’d especially like to know why we speak the same language. You hardly even have an accent…”

  “I will do my best to explain things, but you might have to wait until we speak with General Marnax for some of the answers. He was a member of the Imperial Council before he broke away, and he knows more about what I am about to tell you about than I do.” Ned nodded. “First of all, let me tell you the history of the Anacron Empire as well as I know it.

  “Some time ago – about a hundred Anacronian years I believe, although I have never heard for certain – a spaceship of unknown origin crashlanded on a world that was rather technologically primitive. The space craft was a small one and only a few people knew about it at first. No bodies were found, or if they were then knowledge of them has been lost. This group of people who originally became aware of the ship eventually learned to use some of its basic functions and decided to attempt to convince others to recreate the technology. Their early attempts at duplication were unsuccessful, though, and a conflict nearly broke out over who should have possession of the technology, so the group decided to move its find away and study it privately. Only a few were allowed to join them, and most of those were specifically sought out by the group. Among those who studied the wrecked space ship were some extremely bright minds, and they eventually learned the basic concepts behind its construction. Within not many years they had constructed another ship like it and achieved space travel. With this new knowledge they again prepared to bring their discovery before the world, but before they could do so a great war broke out. Members of both sides were present in this group of people, and it was extremely difficult to determine which side, if either, was justified in its cause. The group decided to withhold the knowledge awhile longer with the hope that a more appropriate time would present itself soon.

  “That time did not come. One of the warring sides received knowledge that there was a group of people who had been developing amazingly advanced technology in secret, and it began to organize an attempt to seize it. Learning of this, the group members felt that their lives were at stake and that to allow either of the warring sides to gain control of their technology would have a devastating effect on their world. They decided that the best course of action would be to leave. They hoped to return soon, but they had never found any inhabitable worlds in their limited search of space, so it turned out that they were required to travel far before they were able to settle. No one is sure how far or for how long they traveled; for some reason, the original records of the journey have been lost. Eventually, though, they did find a place to settle. It had environmental conditions rema
rkably similar to their homeworld, and it was uninhabited by intelligent life, although the people later did find evidence of a previous civilization. They named the planet Anacron, for they considered themselves to be an anachronism in their world’s scheme – people whose knowledge came before its time, and who as a result had lost their place in their own history.

  “The early Anacronians prospered in their new home. They used their newfound technology along with what they could find of remaining technology that had been left by the planet’s previous inhabitants to build up the world that they had meant to make out of the home they had left. They had only begun to prosper, though, when they were attacked. The Anacronians fought back valiantly, and they defeated the new threat again and again. With each victory they acquired even more knowledge, which they then used to their advantage. They were attacked repeatedly, and again and again they prevailed. Eventually their attackers left them alone and moved on to other worlds, but those worlds had heard of the fame of Anacron and flocked to it for help. Anacron formed alliances with many of the surrounding civilizations, and it successfully protected them from invaders. Eventually those worlds called their benefactor what translated into the Anacronian tongue as an “empire,” and Anacron adopted the title. The Anacron Empire was governed by a council, not a single emperor, and citizens of other worlds were permitted to sit on that council. But members were appointed by the existing council, not by the citizens themselves. Still, the Empire was a just and merciful organization, as well as a powerful one, and previously independent worlds pled to be admitted into it. Throughout it all, enemies assailed the newly-born empire, but always it prevailed, sustained by superior might, ingenuity, and motives.

  “Then, not twenty years ago, a new enemy threatened to destroy the Empire and gain control of all of the known galaxy. Anacron fought back with all its might, but this new enemy steadily gained ground, and it began to seem that the Empire might lose. No one seemed to know what to do; all of the Empire was employing every available resource to protect itself, but it was not enough. Still the enemy pressed forward. Then Trelan Thendrak, a member of the Imperial Council, announced that he had discovered a strange, new power. A few other councilmembers subsequently professed to have mastered other divisions of this power, and they commenced a study as to how the power could be put to use. Trelan, who was recognized as the most proficient in the use of the power, discovered a way that he believed that it could be used against the encroaching enemy. The Imperial Council jumped at this news and pledged its support in whatever Trelan advised it to do. Little is known by the public concerning the specifics of this plan, but one of the councilmembers who had learned the use of this power betrayed Trelan and prevented him from executing his plan.

  “Then, just as it looked like the Empire was going to fall to its enemy, Trelan announced that he had come up with a way to allow the Empire to stand against any enemy for any length of time, even without the power that had been lost, although this new method would take a great deal of work and coordination. Immediately the goal of the entire Empire was to enable Trelan to accomplish his designs. The Council appointed him sovereign Emperor so that the plan would work more quickly and efficiently, and he became known as Dark Viper by his people – a name that symbolized power rather than evil, although those of us who now oppose the Emperor find it ironic that the people would choose the viper as their symbol of honor.

  “Dark Viper delivered on his promise of protection, though. I am not sure if anyone knows how, but, with the aid of the other holders of the strange power, Viper constructed around one of the Empire’s stars a spherical shell with the radius as wide as a planet’s orbit. The inhabited part has the thickness of a planet’s diameter, and the rest is thinner so as to avoid offsetting the habitation sector’s gravity.”

  “A Dyson sphere,” Ned cut in. His eyes were wide with amazement.

  “You have heard of such a thing?” Smardwurst replied, amazed that the idea was not new to Ned.

  “I don’t know where the idea came from, but I assume someone named Dyson hypothesized about it. I guess you were supposed to line the inside of it with solar panels, and they’d power the entire society inside, which could be huge, since the surface area of a planet would be just a speck on the inside of the sphere.”

  “Solar panels?” Smardwurst asked, but Ned did not understand the question.

  “Yeah – they take in energy from the sun and …”

  “Oh, yes. I just do not recognize the word ‘solar.’ I suppose it is to be expected that we would not have all the same words – but I am getting ahead of myself.

  “Yes. The inside of the structure was covered with panels that converted stellar energy into power for the planet-sized civilization inside. Supplies were moved into this structure – Venom, it is called – and there the Empire fortified against its attackers. If it had been necessary, the Empire’s people could have lived there indefinitely, but at the same time that Venom was being constructed, the Empire’s army was continuing to fight back against the enemy. And even in the early stages of its construction, Venom’s power cells and the production facilities they powered were providing the Empire with a rich supply of resources. The enemy soon felt it necessary to make an all-out assault on Venom before it was completed. This was a fatal mistake. When the main body of the enemy fleet was well within range, literally millions of laser cannons ripped through the enemy ships and crushed the entire invasion force in a matter of seconds. The war was over, the Empire had won, and Dark Viper was the most loved man in the galaxy.

  “Shortly afterward, though, some of the members of the Imperial Council felt that Dark Viper had too much power. One of them was Gerran Marnax, and he will explain this in greater detail, but eventually the conflict got so severe that Marnax and a small group of followers left the Empire, and they were later followed by many more. That was the beginning of the StarBlazer Alliance. StarBlazer did not claim any of the Empire’s territory; it moved to the very fringe of explored space and its people founded civilizations there, but Dark Viper would not tolerate his rival’s actions, which he called rebellious. He immediately claimed all explored territory in the name of the Empire and demanded that StarBlazer disband and submit itself to Anacron. It did not, and now a war has resulted.

  “Nedward, Venom still exists. We do not know why Viper has not created a huge army of warships the same way he created that huge superstructure. We assume he cannot; perhaps he expended too much of his power in the creation of Venom. Nevertheless, the enemy StarBlazer fights is a mighty one. Since its founding, the Anacron Empire has never been defeated in any major conflict, and now here we are, fighting against it… I am digressing again – I will leave the rest of the history lesson to the General.

  “As to the question of language: The Anacronians have always required those who joined them to learn and speak their language, and even idioms are preserved well from generation to generation in the Empire. There is no way that the same language could develop on two totally isolated worlds. I am convinced that the planet from which the Anacronian settlers originated is the planet you call Earth.”

  Ned had come to the same conclusion as he had listened to Smardwurst’s story, and he was fascinated by the idea. “So the language hasn’t changed at all? In all that time?” Ned’s curiosity in the subject was growing. “Is it still phonetically corrupt like it is on Earth?”

  “The Anacronian language is perfectly phonetic,” Smardwurst replied.

  “How many letters are in it?” Ned asked. He had often wished that English made more sense, and now it seemed he was living in a world where it did. He realized, though, that it would be necessary to adapt to the new symbols that had undoubtedly been added to the alphabet.

  “There are sixteen vowels and rilteen consonants, Smardwurst said.

  “Rilteen?” asked Ned. “What kind of a number system do you use? We only have a base ten system.”

  “We use a base ten system as well. Perhaps the
names of our numbers are different.”

  “Count to ten,” Ned prompted.

  Smardwurst began: “Zero, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, zeld, ril, ten.”

  Ned was rather confused. “On Earth, ten comes after nine. Why do you have two extra numbers? This means I’ve misinterpreted every number you’ve mentioned to me!”

  “You only have zeld numerals?” asked Smardwurst. “But then your decimals must be quite awkward. For us, one-half is point six, one-third is point four, one-fourth is point three… For you they must be awful!”

  “That’s true,” Ned admitted. “Ten – our ten – isn’t divisible by as many numbers as our twelve – twoteen? – is. But really, that changes everything, doesn’t it? I mean, ninety plus ten is now zeldty, not a hundred, and nine hundred plus one hundred is now zeld hundred, not a thousand. How am I ever supposed to adapt to that?”

  “Perhaps you won’t have to,” Smardwurst suggested. “We will provide you with a portable data unit and program it with a number conversion function.”

  “That would be nice,” Ned said gratefully. “I should also learn your alphabet before too long. Is one divided by zeld called ‘one-zeldth?’” he asked, still shocked by the magnitude of the difference between this new number system and his old one.

  “Yes.”

  “Weird.”

  “This must be rather overwhelming,” said Smardwurst. “We still have a few hours before we reach the vortex. Incidentally, it does not seem to have moved very far from where it was two days ago. That might be good news for you.” Ned nodded. “I suppose I could tell you a few things about our basic lives, but I imagine you will discover most of it yourself. Perhaps what we should do now is tour the ship. It will be important for you to find your way around starships; it is likely that you will spend much of your time on them, and I will not be able to be with you all of the time.”

  “I would like to see the ship,” Ned said, “but I’ve been wondering – what do you people do for recreation. Humans play sports, video games, board games – do you have anything like that?”

  Smardwurst looked puzzled. “By ‘humans,’ are you referring exclusively to Earth humans?”

  Ned was puzzled by the question. “What do you mean? That’s what a human is – someone from Earth…”

  “Actually, the word ‘human’ refers to the entire species. Separate races are designated by planet name. I suppose you would be called Earthans or Earthians, although I suppose that sounds awkward.”

  “What do you mean the entire species? You mean the Anacronians, don’t you? Apparently they’re hu- Earthlings, or whatever.”

  “The entire species,” Smardwurst attempted to clarify. “Actually, nearly all forms of intelligent life belong to the same species.”

  “What do you mean they’re all the same species?” This concept was even more mind-boggling than the number system.

  “The same species,” Smardwurst repeated. “Genetically compatible.” He was now beginning to realize how difficult it was going to be for Ned to assimilate into this new culture. Language alone was not enough to make the transition easy. Smardwurst wondered momentarily what would have happened if the stone had fallen into the hands of an Earthling, as Nedward put it, who spoke another language entirely. Then another thought struck him so strongly that he abandoned the previous conversation. “Nedward, why did that stone fall so near your home? Three-fourths of your planet is covered by water, and most of the land is not inhabited, and, as I gathered from my brief experience, most of your planet does not speak English. It is almost as if the stone sought out someone who would be able to use it and communicate with us.”

  “I thought about that,” said Ned, “but I just figured that it was by chance, as small as that chance was. It’s not impossible, obviously. I don’t know, though. I don’t even know where the stone came from.”

  Smardwurst nodded, unsatisfied but deciding that the question would have to go unanswered, at least for the moment. “Now, what was I saying? Oh, yes. We are all of the same species. Technically, beings are of the same species if their offspring can have offspring.”

  “And that’s true of most of the people you’ve encountered?”

  “Yes. I know – that seems rather unlikely, and we are not sure why it is, either.” Smardwurst chuckled. “In fact, it must seem about as unlikely as our languages being the same. But as to your question of recreation, there are too many forms to generalize. There are hundreds of sports played in the Empire and the Alliance, many games that involve moving pieces – chess is an ancient Anacronian one; perhaps it came from Earth.”

  “As a matter of fact, it did,” remarked Ned, “but I wouldn’t be surprised if the rules of that have changed, too.”

  “I am not sure what you mean by ‘video’ games,” the other continued.

  Ned was not sure how to articulate it. “Video games are where you control what happens on a screen, like guys going around and fighting bad guys and finding stuff. You know?”

  “Oh, yes, we have those, as well. We also have ASI simulations – that stands for ‘Artificial Sensory Input.’ They are less common for entertainment, however. They are expensive, difficult to design well, and many people find them too realistic and too complicated for entertainment purposes. At least, that is true of many of the people I know. I think you will find that real life is exciting and dangerous enough without risking it in simulated worlds as well. We do not have such a game system onboard, but we do have a flight simulator, and I expect that you will be given piloting lessons soon. Galactron has more in that area. To be honest, the only form of recreation I do on a regular basis is read. I am too busy to involve myself in any form of entertainment that requires much practice; the only things I practice these days relate to the war… which brings up an interesting point. I am sure you realize that the life you have agreed to live for the next while is drastically different from the one you left, but you have no idea how different. In the upcoming days you will be asked to learn and do things that will probably be extremely difficult, and it may seem overwhelming at times. I hope the friendliness and hospitality I have tried to show you here have not caused you to let down your guard on life. I will try to make you as comfortable as possible for as long as you are with me, but in everything you do you must remember that the entire known galaxy is at war, and you are a part of it. From the moment you set foot on Galactron, Nedward, you will be first and foremost a warrior.”

  That statement took Ned off guard. He had realized its truth from the moment Smardwurst asked him to come with him, but until now he had not been forced to come face to face with the grim reality of what he was agreeing to do in coming here. What exactly would the Alliance have him do? Surely it would be more than to walk in front of them and block enemy shots. What would he do if he were required to shoot enemies himself? Ned caught his mistake immediately – the question was not if; it was when.

  Smardwurst spent the next hour or so showing Ned around the ship. He showed him how to use the door control panels on non-automatic doors to “call” and ask whoever was in a room for permission to enter, how to respond to such calls, how to read directional signs in the corridors, and where various parts of the ship were. Ned was especially interested in the ship’s method of propulsion, and Smardwurst attempted a simple explanation. He sat down with Ned at a table that reacted to his touch as if he were writing on paper and began.

  “The space in which we normally exist is known as phase space, or warp zero. Distances between stars in phase space are, of course, incredibly large. It takes light decades to get between inhabited star systems, and nothing can travel faster than the speed of light. Space is not one-dimensional, but I will use a line to represent all of the space between two planets.” Smardwurst drew two dots on the screen connected by a line. “Now, just as space has more than one dimension, it also has more than one ‘phase,’ which I will try to explain as we go. What our warp engines do is create a warp fiel
d around our ship, which, in effect, increases the phase at which we exist. At warp one we exist within a higher phase, and distances become smaller. This line represents the same space at warp one. It is not to scale, of course.” He drew another, shorter line centered above the first. “As our warp level increases, relative distances decrease. We therefore do not have to travel for as long in order to get between two points in space, even though our speed, relative to our phase, is no different. The higher the warp level, the smaller the distances, and so the effect is that you get places faster.” He drew several more lines above the second, each smaller than the previous one, so that the lines formed a sort of funnel-shape opening downward.

  “Space with a positive warp level is called ‘hyperspace.’ There are also negative warp levels, called subspace, where distance is greater. This, of course, would be a ridiculous way to travel, but it can be used for storage. A negative warp field can be generated around an object, and distances become larger. In this way, several large objects can be stored in the subspace phase of a small normal space area. There is more to it than that, but it is not really important. The warp fields must be kept up constantly, and that method of storage is used only rarely.”

  Ned was following along well, but he had a few questions. “So, when we go to warp, do planets and other things in normal space just get smaller for us? I mean, If I can still see the stars outside, then wouldn’t people at warp zero see us too, only larger?”

  “Those are good questions, Nedward. The reason we can still see stars is because the power created inside them has what is called a hyperspace signature. What we see is not really the light from the stars, but what is essentially a warped version of light. Objects in warp do not exist in the same phase as objects in normal space, so they cannot be seen. However, we can detect hyperspace and subspace signatures while we are in normal space, so we can detect approaching ships. In fact, that is how we detected your stone. I said that subspace is not generally used for storage, but there are other uses for subspace fields, and they are common on inhabited planets. In your star system, though, the only subspace signatures were your sun and the stone you carry. That is why your stone attracted both our attention and that of the Yendarians. Which reminds me – what is the name of your star? It would be interesting to see whether the Anacronians ever named the star they left, and whether it is the same as your name for it.”

  “Well, we just call it the sun,” Ned replied. “I guess it’s technically called Sol, and that’s why we call star systems ‘solar systems.’“

  “Oh! So that is what you meant by ‘solar’ panels.” Smardwurst said. “Well, there may be mention of a Solar system in our records. We probably have it on file here if there is, but I think it can wait until we are on Galactron and with the others, who will need to know anyway.”

  They decided to take a break then, and Smardwurst took Ned to the ship’s dining room. There, along with some of Smardwurst’s officers, Ned had his first alien meal. He watched with trepidation as the cook brought out the food, and he breathed an inadequately-concealed sigh of relief when he saw that it was no longer alive. In fact, it looked normal, for the most part. It consisted of a meat with a strange but pleasing taste, along with a reddish form of pasta topped with a yellow sauce with little chunks of something. Ned did not ask what they were. They drank a clear liquid that, judging from the taste, was probably some sort of fruit juice. For dessert, they had chocolate ice cream; Ned could discern no difference between it and the version he had eaten at home. At least, not until he heard mention that the beast from which it came was personally hunted and prepared by one of Smardwurst’s men. When they were finished, Ned thanked the man who had prepared the meal, and then the Green Scorpion’s crewmembers took some time to finish up their conversations before leaving Ned and Smardwurst alone.

  “I am pleased that you found our food palatable.” Smardwurst said. “In a way I assumed you would; you have fit in rather well with just about every part of our culture you have learned about. We are nearly to the vortex. Is there anything else you would like to know before we meet Galactron?”

  “I think I sort of understand your warp drive now, but I would like to hear how your normal engines work.”

  Smardwurst smiled, trying to think of the best way to explain it. He was rather surprised that Nedward was so interested in the way things worked; Smardwurst had expected that his guest would be concerned primarily with simply what things did. “Our thrusters operate on the principle of the internal graviton vortex.” He was amused to see Ned grin at the long, but as yet meaningless, phrase. “Do you have octopuses on Earth? Good. Our thrusters use pockets of warped space to push us along much the same way octopuses use water. The engines use a hyperspace ‘vortex’ to create a sort of low-pressure area in spime – the combination of space and time – in the direction we wish to travel, and the ship slides into it. I’m sorry – I just cannot think of another way of putting it without a deeper lesson. The process of creating the vortex puts off some exhaust, which we can vent through the glowing parts on the backs, and sometimes other parts, of most of the ships you will see. If we wish, though, we can store the exhaust within our ship and dump it later. That way we do not leave anything behind for anyone to follow.”

  Ned asked about a few of the other pieces of technology he had seen during his tour of the ship, and Smardwurst did his best to explain them. After programming a handheld computer with a number conversion formula and giving it to Ned, Smardwurst also explained about the standard laser cannons and torpedoes that were the common weapons of the time, along with the energy shields that protected starships by absorbing damage. He told Ned that he would learn about personal equipment as he was trained to use it, and that he would be trained soon. It was not long before a voice over the ship’s intercom informed Smardwurst that they were approaching the vortex. With Ned in tow, he strode quickly down the corridor to the ship’s primary command center, or “pricom.”

  The room was hexagonal in shape, with viewscreens taking up the front three walls and computer terminals lining the back three. There were a few more computer stations in the center of the room, among which was Captain Varlon’s command chair. As Ned entered the pricom from the door in the center of the backmost wall he was dazzled by the level of activity in the room. About a dozen people sat at the consoles, looking at images on the screen whose significance Ned could only guess at. The forward viewscreen showed what was in front of the ship, although the pricom was itself near the ship’s center, well away from the more vulnerable outer hull. At the moment the screen showed only an endless array of stars. The bright pricks of light were stationary; apparently the ship had dropped out of warp for its passage through the vortex. Everyone seemed busy with something, and there was no time for Smardwurst to make introductions, although Ned recognized a few people from his brief travels around Green Scorpion.

  “We will enter it in less than a minute, Captain,” said a man as he rose from his chair to address Smardwurst. “There is slight evidence that it may have receded farther from where it was when we last traveled through it, but it appears to drift back and forth slightly at irregular intervals, so we cannot be sure.”

  Smardwurst nodded, and the man reseated himself. Smardwurst walked over to his command chair, and Ned followed behind him, feeling out of place. Smardwurst glanced down at a readout on one of the arms of his command chair and said to no one in particular, “Here we go…” Abruptly the forward viewscreen showed a purple light building steadily, and in moments the ship was engulfed in it. Ned was reminded of his own light; lines of something Ned could not identify streamed through the vortex in chaotic patterns, and bright flashes from the screen occasionally lit the room in a purple aura. It lasted only a few moments, though, and soon the blackness of space returned, along with the countless pricks of stellar light.

  “We’re through,” came the report. “All starfighters are through, as well.”

  “Good,” said Sma
rdwurst. “Set course for Orina Four, warp ten.” Then, turning to Ned, “It will be good to see the General again.”

  “Captain!” someone shouted, but Smardwurst was already acting. He had been afraid this might happen. Apparently, the Yendarians he had been fighting before entering the vortex had returned to the site of the battle to search for their lost comrades. They had surely not missed the fact that there were StarBlazer forces unaccounted for, as well. Now Smardwurst’s sensor readout indicated six Yendarian warships approaching at warp. Smardwurst realized with dismay that they had probably been lurking in the general vicinity of the vortex since the battle had ended, waiting to intercept anyone else who returned to search the area. He thought momentarily of heading back through, but there was a chance that the Empire did not yet know the vortex was there – the Yendarians would not have told them voluntarily – and Smardwurst wanted to keep it that way.

  There was no time to run. Even with a longer head start, the Yendarian warships would have been able to catch up with him in a few minutes, and Galactron was not even expecting them to regroup for another four days, so it would not be looking for them. Smardwurst ordered a distress signal sent, but even as he did so he realized that it would arrive too late. There were six flashes of light in space as the Yendarians dropped out of warp and launched their fighters: twelve – or for them ten – for each warship.

  Smardwurst activated the intership communicator to address his starfighter escort. “All fighters: attack!”

  The StarBlazer forces went into action immediately. They had been outnumbered in their previous battle, though not as badly, and it had not been two days since they had defeated the Yendarian fleet on Earth without a single StarBlazer casualty. The Yendarians were skilled pilots, but the StarBlazer force commanded by Smardwurst Varlon was more skilled still. The fighters split into four groups of three and attacked the Yendarian fleet, hoping to catch it off guard before it was fully prepared. The helmsman on Green Scorpion followed the group of fighters that was most badly outnumbered against the enemies it attacked and backed it up with the freighter’s stronger weapons.

  Everyone seemed to have forgotten that Ned was there, and that was just as well with him; he would have left the room if he had not feared getting in someone’s way. His eyes were glued to the three viewscreens in front of him, which showed the battle from various angles, although the many work stations around the pricom offered the people there individually-controlled views and readouts. At first the battle was nothing more than a mad mixture of lights and ships to Ned, the silver and green StarBlazer fighters dodging in and out of the swarm of black Yendarian ships, all of them lit by their glowing engine exhaust ports. It was not long, though, before violent explosions lit the screen, and it was then that Ned fully realized what was happening. This was, indeed, war, and not all of the fighters that were now fighting to protect him, among others, would return. Ned felt sick. He stared, horrified, at the viewscreen a moment longer, and then lowered his head into his hands and tried to wonder whether the explosive sound he heard occasionally as Green Scorpion’s shields were hit by enemy fire was a direct result of the damage or whether it was simulated. He found, though, that he just did not care.

  Smardwurst did not have the luxury of hanging his head in his hands. He was busy fighting a battle that was not going well at all. His fighters had now destroyed over half of the Yendarian fighters, but the StarBlazer force had taken casualties as well, and it could not afford them as much as the Yendarians could. In addition, only two of the six enemy warships were critically damaged. The distress signal had gotten out in time, but shortly afterward the Yendarians had shielded the battle area against hyperspace transmissions, so there would be no further communication until the battle was over. Smardwurst ordered his ship away from the Yendarian warship he had been attacking. His shields were almost gone, and when they failed the ship would not last long against enemy weapons. Then, suddenly, all of the Yendarian fighters returned to their ships, and Smardwurst ordered his ships to back off, as well. He held his breath in expectation. Were the Yendarians leaving?

  A blinding flash pierced through the blackness of space as a massive starship dropped out of warp forty. It was twenty times the size of Green Scorpion, and its surface was brisling with weapons. It had no sooner entered normal space than the bright, red lines of the ship’s lasers hammered with devastating force into the Yendarians, who had not been quick enough in their retreat. Blue torpedo launchers flashed viciously as the guided projectiles ripped into the enemies’ engines and blew them apart. A few of the Yendarian fighter pilots who had not had time to rejoin their ships signaled surrender, but the rest of the attack force was blown apart in less than a minute.

  His face streaked with sweat and even a few tears, Nedward Simmons looked up at the forward viewscreen as the black image of space was replaced by that of a room similar to the one he was now in, only larger and apparently more complicated. A man dressed in a uniform that Ned recognized as StarBlazer stood in the center of it. He was tall, with dark hair and dark eyes, and his bearded face had the hard look of someone who had been through more dangers than Ned dared to imagine. His piercing eyes had the look of authority; even though he had not yet spoken, Ned got the feeling that anything he said would be obeyed.

  “Greetings, Smardwurst,” the man said in a voice that to Ned was surprisingly pleasant, and as he did so he smiled. “I hope you are glad to see us.”

  Smardwurst’s face revealed his undisguised surprise. “General Marnax! How did you reach us?”

  “When we didn’t hear from you after the battle three days ago, we decided to come and check the situation out. We had just discovered the spatial anomaly, called in a science team, and were headed out when we picked up your distress call. I see that our mad dash through warp space was not at all too soon. Are you all right?”

  Smardwurst looked down at his computer readout. “Everyone who’s alive is well,” he said solemnly. “We lost eight fighters, and my ship will need repairs.”

  Eight! Ned thought. He had never met any of them, but he wondered painfully what this would have been like if he had. He was overcome suddenly by an intense gratitude for his own life, and he exhaled deeply. The action drew Smardwurst’s attention.

  “General!” Smardwurst said to the image on the screen. “We must speak immediately. The anomaly you found is some sort of tunnel that connects us with another part of the galaxy, although we are not sure how stable it is. This young man here is from a planet on the other side. It would be well for you to meet with him soon.” Smardwurst wanted to tell his whole story right then and there; he was growing weary of explaining things.

  General Marnax nodded. “We will take the starfighters aboard for the trip back to Orina. You can bring your guest over on a shuttlecraft, if you wish.”

  “Thank you, General,” Smardwurst said.

  “I’ll see you then.” Marnax nodded, and the viewscreen again showed the vast starfield, as well as the huge bulk of the starship Galactron.