Dark Allies

  "Robin … I see your point, but …"

  "He makes her happy, Si Cwan." She took his hand, which didn't thrill him overmuch, because she had been coughing into it. But he took some consolation from the fact that she was a human with a human sickness, and therefore the odds were that it wouldn't be able to make the transition to the Thallonian system. "And it's obvious she makes him happy. They're young and they're exploring a universe of possibilities. If you deny it, then …" She sat up, apparently seized by an inspiration. "Then you're no different than the Redeemers."

  "What?" The criticism stung like no other. "How can you say that? I'm her brother—"

  "And they're the self-styled saviors of the galaxy. They're imposing their worldview on others without caring what the others may think, or what makes those others happy. You're displaying the exact same lack of consideration. You would 'redeem' her by making sure that she shares your view of things, whether she wants to or not. Obviously you're not going around taking over planets … but the principle is the same. Either you show tolerance in all things, or you don't. Would you ever dream of forcing a world full of strangers to think the way you do?"

  "No, of course not."

  "Then why are strangers entitled to more consideration than your own sister?"

  "You just …" He hung his head. "You just don't understand, Robin."

  "Actually, I think I do. I'm afraid that you're the one who doesn't. But I'll tell you right now, if you don't understand, and soon … you really are going to lose her, and soon. Because the more you try to force them apart, the more they're going to want to stay together, just to spite you."

  Slowly he looked up at her … and he chuckled.

  "Did I say something funny?" she asked.

  "Not intentionally," he smiled. "But you have given me something to think about. Something very important. Thank you for that, Robin."

  He reached over and embraced her quickly. For an instant he felt her reciprocate in a far more intense fashion that he had imagined she would. He released her and looked into her eyes with a measure of curiosity. "Robin, that 'example' you gave me before. Asking how I would react if you told me you felt … a certain way about me. That was simply a hypothetical …wasn't it?"

  "Of course!" she said, a little too quickly. "Of course it was. I was just trying to get a point across to you. I hope I succeeded."

  "I think you did. But Robin … if you did have …you know … feelings of that nature for me, then I—"

  "Si Cwan," she said quickly, "you don't have to say anything. It's really not necessary. It was just pretend. I hope you understand that."

  "I understand … perhaps more than you think I do."

  Robin nodded briskly, then sneezed with so much power that she stumbled back and almost knocked herself off her feet. "I … goddago," she said and backed out of Si Cwan's quarters, leaving the Thallonian noble thoughtfully considering his options.

  VII.

  IT TOOK THE BRIDGE CREWsome time to get used to the sight of a Redeemer vessel pacing them. The impulse was to be at battle stations, preparing for a direct assault. Indeed, the captain had told them to remain battle-ready, but the ship had stood down from yellow alert. They were cautious, and Kebron kept a wary eye on any sign that the Redeemers were powering up their weapons. But there was nothing. One would have thought the Redeemers to be the most benign of races in the history of the galaxy.

  They reached the Tulaan star system, and Soleta held a brief (over the screen) conference with the Prime One who, along with the Overlord, had returned to the Redeemer vessel. He indicated the point where the far watch points had indicated that the Black Mass had first emerged, and then Soleta—in conjunction with McHenry—plotted a course that would take them in the direction of the Black Mass so that they could see it first-hand and, hopefully, intercept it.

  By that point, Calhoun brought the ship to yellow alert so that they would be ready for anything. Si Cwan was likewise on the bridge as theExcalibur, side by side with the Redeemer ship, hurtled in the direction of the Black Mass' last reported position. Although the entity was moving at warp speed, it was nevertheless only in the realm of warp one or two. The starship could move far faster, of course, and therefore could get to the Black Mass long before it got anywhere near Tulaan IV. They would have lots of time to try and deal with the Mass and somehow get it to change course or, preferably, turn around and head back for the Hunger Zone. At the very least, they hoped to re-steer it toward an uninhabited system, of which there were more than a few.

  There was none of the usual banter on the bridge as they watched the monitor. Even though they knew that the sensors would inform them of contact well before there was a visual, they couldn't help but strain their eyes studying the screen.

  And finally, Soleta—the more experienced sensor monitor—announced, "Captain. I'm getting readings, dead ahead."

  "What are they?"

  She paused for a long time before finally saying, "I do not know."

  "You don't know?" Calhoun tried to keep the surprise out of his voice. "Best guess, then."

  "A biological form, moving at approximately warp one point three. Impossible to determine its size, since it keeps changing. Best description is that it is like an amorphous, living cloud."

  "Is it one entity?"

  "I do not believe so. It appears to be composed of millions of smaller entities, but I am unable to get an individual reading from any of them."

  "Put it onscreen."

  Calhoun imagined that the collective breath of the bridge crew was being held as the screen shifted for a moment, and then the Black Mass appeared on it.

  He didn't quite know what he was looking at, at first. "Highlight it, Lieutenant," he said. Within seconds the screen adjusted so that the rest of space dropped out and the pulsing Black Mass was the only thing on it.

  "My God," whispered Shelby.

  It was not the most professional thing she had ever said, but Calhoun could fully understand it. In his memoirs, James Kirk had written of a time when theEnterprise had encountered a gigantic, space-going amoeba. Calhoun had often wondered what it must have been like to be on the bridge of that legendary ship, to encounter something as incredible as that and know that somehow, it had to be dealt with. But it wasn't as if he had wondered about it so much that he had a compulsion to actually find out. As it happened, though, that was exactly what was happening.

  And not only that … but the Black Mass seemed bigger than the amoeba reportedly was. Bigger … and more vicious.

  Calhoun had a knack for knowing when danger was near, a sort of sixth sense that warned him and had helped him to survive during his days as the Xenexian warlord. Never in his life, though, had this survival instinct been less necessary, because never had the danger been more obvious.

  "Suggestions?" Calhoun said.

  "I don't suppose dropping the Redeemers a nice good-bye note and getting the hell out of here would be an option," suggested McHenry.

  "Actually, that's already crossed my mind. Si Cwan … tell me specifically what your people did against it."

  "Everything," said Si Cwan. "Everything… and nothing." He was staring at the screen with what seemed to Calhoun an almost haunted expression.

  "We threw everything we could at it, and not only didn't we slow it down … it didn't even acknowledge us."

  "All right," Calhoun said slowly. "Mr. Kebron, open a hailing frequency, broadest possible band. Let's see if we can talk to it."

  "Talk to it?" Cwan was shaking his head and he turned to Calhoun. "You still don't understand, Captain. Let me make it clear to you. The battle between our forces and the Black Mass was the single most humiliating experience in the history of the Thallonian Empire. My uncle took his own life because he could not stand living with the disgrace … nor was he capable of surviving in a galaxy where the Thallonians were that inferior to another being. All we can reasonably do is leave the Redeemers to their much deserved fate and leave."

>   "Because we don't care about the Redeemers."

  "Correct."

  "And the Fennerians?"

  "They have my sympathies," said Si Cwan, "but they are casualties of war. Such things happen, regrettable as that may be. And in this war, we are at least on the verge of having one of our greatest enemies wiped out by a force that no one and nothing can stop. Let us be satisfied with that and be done with it."

  "And if next time the Black Mass swarms," Shelby said, "it's toward a system or world that we do care about? Understandable, Ambassador, that we have no desire to extend ourselves for the Redeemers. But if twenty, thirty years hence, another world, another system dies because of the Black Mass … and we could have stopped it here, now … then are we not, in some small way, responsible for that as well?"

  "You can't stop it," Si Cwan told her. "The most—the very most—that you will be able to do is get its attention. And if you do that, we may very well all die."

  "No response to the hail on any frequency, Captain," Kebron said. He did not sound surprised.

  Truth to tell, neither was Calhoun. They might have had as much luck trying to strike up a conversation with a comet. "Are you sure this thing is sentient?" It was a general question, aimed at whoever might be in a position to answer.

  "Captain, at the moment I am not entirely sure of anything except that it is moving on its projected course," said Soleta.

  And Si Cwan added, "I wouldn't venture to say what it is at all."

  "All right. Inform the Redeemer vessel that we're going to be arming weapons. Bring shields up, go to red alert."

  "Red alert, aye."

  Within moments the klaxon was sounding throughout the vessel. Everyone was bracing for what promised to be a very daunting proposition. Word was out throughout the ship of just what it was that they were facing, and as screens throughout the ship brought the Black Mass into focus, crewmembers were shaking their heads in astonishment.

  In her quarters, Kalinda looked at the screen mutely. She had heard so many stories about the thing from her brother, but seeing it here, now … it was like having a childhood nightmare suddenly come to life right in front of you.

  Her door chimed. "Come," she said.

  She suspected the identity of the person on the other side of the door, and she was correct. It was Xyon. Immediately she was up and in his arms, and they kissed passionately. "I can't believe," she whispered in between kisses, "that I ever thought you were some sort of arrogant, know-nothing slime."

  "And I can't believe I thought you were a standoffish, self-centered brat," he whispered back.

  They continued to kiss for a moment, and then she broke off and stared at him. "You thought that about me?" she said in surprise.

  "Well … remember," Xyon said, obviously thinking quickly, "you weren't yourself. So the personality I had a problem with … probably wasn't yours anyway."

  She smiled in amusement. "All right. Fine. I'll let you get away with that one." He started to lean forward to bring their lips together once more, but she moved easily away from him and instead went to her computer screen, which was at that point tied in with the other screens throughout the ship. "Have you ever seen anything like this?"

  He walked over and gaped at it. "Looks like a science experiment gone berserk. So that's the dreaded Black Mass, huh."

  She nodded.

  "Grozit.Someone should just dump it in a black hole or something and be done with it. There is one, actually, not too far off the Black Mass' path, as I recall."

  "Sounds good to me. Maybe you should suggest that to your father."

  "He's got plenty of people to suggest options to him. He doesn't need me."

  He paused, and Kalinda looked at him with a raised eyebrow. "Isn't this the point where you're supposed to say, self-pityingly, 'He never needed me?' "

  "You think it's funny?"

  "No. I don't. But I'll tell you what I do think," and she took his hand. "I lost my birth mother and father … and then there was a woman on Montos who I thought was my mother … except all those memories were false. I feel like I have a piece missing out of my life. With all those losses … it makes me all the more aware of how important it is to value something when it's there."

  "Such as a father."

  She nodded. "It's obvious that he's wanted to connect with you. And let's be honest, Xyon … you could have left by now. Your ship is sitting down in the shuttle bay, but it's fully repaired. There's nothing keeping you here."

  "Don't underestimate yourself," said Xyon.

  At that, she laughed lightly. "Somehow, I don't think I'm the reason. I'm not an idiot, Xyon. You're a … a man of the cosmos. You've been around. Am I supposed to seriously think that you would stay in any one place for any one female?"

  "Why are you so quick to dismiss the notion, out of hand?" he asked. "Why is that concept so unthinkable?"

  "Because I …" She looked down.

  He took the tip of her chin and brought her face up so that he was looking into her eyes. "Because you what?"

  "Because I don't dare think that you might stay for me … want to be with me … because that will get my hopes up and I don't want to be disappointed."

  "Kalinda…"

  And suddenly his head whipped around. He frowned.

  "Did you hear that?"

  "Hear what?"

  He went quickly to the computer, checked the screen. "I was right."

  "Right about what? I don't understand."

  He looked up at her and said, "We're firing on the Black Mass. The battle is joined."

  Xyon wasn't precisely correct in his assessment.

  "Any reaction to the warning shot, Mr. Kebron?"

  "None," said Kebron. "Still no reply on any hailing frequencies."

  "McHenry—?"

  Mark McHenry didn't even need the rest of the question framed. "No deviation from the current path that it's following. The shot across its bow … or whatever you'd call it … hasn't caused it to alter its course."

  "All right," said Calhoun. "Tell the Redeemer vessel to hang back. I want to draw closer and see what happens when we uses phasers directly on it."

  "Nothing will happen," said Si Cwan confidently.

  "You know, Ambassador, you're becoming annoyingly one-note," Calhoun told him.

  "You've trusted me in the past when I've told you about things in Thallonian space," Si Cwan replied. "If you wish to disbelieve me now, or simply desire to find out for yourself, it is of little consequence to me."

  "Awaiting targeting order, Captain," said Kebron.

  "The Redeemers have pulled back."

  "Let's go for broke, Mr. Kebron. Target dead center … or at least what passes for dead center at the moment. And … fire."

  TheExcalibur cut loose with its phasers, firing straight into the heart of the Black Mass.

  "No discernable effect," said Soleta from her scanners.

  Si Cwan made a "told you so" grunt. "See? It's invulnerable."

  "Not necessarily," Soleta corrected him. "We did not hit it."

  "Are you questioning my marksmanship?" asked Kebron. He sounded mildly amused that anyone could conceivably do such a thing.

  "You struck where you aimed. But you did not hit the Black Mass."

  "Impossible."

  "You will find," Si Cwan said with a sanguine air, "that you will use that word a great deal when dealing with the Black Mass."

  "The creature—if such it is," Soleta said, "morphed itself around the shots. It happened so quickly that it would have been undetectable to the eye. It simply sensed the phaser blast, and opened a hole within itself, allowing the shot simply to pass right through. Our weapons might be useful against it … presuming we can get it to stand still."

  "Full phaser spread and photon torpedo array, Mr. Kebron," said Calhoun. "Let's see just how much simultaneous fire power it can handle." Within moments theExcalibur had unleashed a fullblown assault on the Black Mass. And even as the ship cut loose with eve
rything it had, Calhoun was starting to get the uncomfortable feeling that Si Cwan had been right in his relentless declarations as to the Black Mass' invincibility.

  The phasers hammered at it, the photon torpedos slammed through it with their destructive payload. Nothing. Wherever the weaponry was, the Black Mass wasn't. Calhoun couldn't fathom it. Phasers, by definition, moved with the speed of light. Dodging them with such facility should have been an impossibility, for the moment that the Black Mass saw the phaser beam coming at it, the phaser beam was—to all intents and purposes—there.

  And no matter what they did, the Mass continued unswerving on its course.

  "We're receiving a hail," said Kebron.

  Calhoun turned in surprise. "From the Black Mass?"

  "No. From the Redeemers. They want to know if they should join the battle."

  "I don't see any point to it at this time," Calhoun admitted. "So far, we—"

  "Captain!" Soleta said. And there was something in her voice that was about as close to alarm as the Vulcan science officer ever came. "I think we got its attention!"

  This visibly startled Si Cwan. "What? Are you sure? We fired on it twenty years ago with everything we had and it never even noticed us."

  "But you did so while it was eating," Soleta pointed out. "At least that is what you told us. It may be that, while heading for its nourishment, it's more inclined to be aggressive defensively and offensively."

  Shelby moved over to the science station, looking over Soleta's shoulder. "What is it, Lieutenant? What makes you think we got its attention?"

  "Look for yourself. A section of it is splitting off …and coming right for us."

  It was true. A small part of the Black Mass—although small was a relative term, considering that it kept changing in size from one moment to the next—was on a direct intercept course for theExcalibur.

  "And it is moving very quickly," Soleta said.