"And after?" asked Louis.
William smiled. "I expect the Kaitians be quite surprised and devastated by the destruction of their home world. I leave the rest to you. Come back here, or fight them, or do whatever you want with only one condition: the cloak technology must remain secret."
"Very well, Commander," said Nick and started to leave with Louis.
"Oh, one more thing before you go," said William. "You remember that the Kaitian home world has a Strangers base in the star?"
"Now that you mention it," said Louis, trying to sound casual. "I didn't remember it."
"What you have in mind?" said Nick.
"I want to see their reaction as well," said William. "Wait for them and record everything you can."
"Right," said Louis. "You understand that they are a wild card in this war. Hell, for what I understand, they are the wild card in this universe!"
"You're correct again," said William. "That's why we must know everything we can about them. If we survive this war, I believe we will all live long enough to see a war against them."
Louis nodded. "By the way, you asked us to investigate the machines after the war is over? Could there be a link between the Strangers and the sentient machines?"
"Interesting thought," said William. "They are another wild card in the pack, I guess. Keep that thought in mind while you travel around the galaxy."
"Will do," said Louis.
"Good." William smiled, indicating that their meeting was over. "I'll see you before you leave. Have good time in the meantime."
"As you command," said Nick, and the men left William's office to drink heavily at the thought of destroying a star system.
36
"Evasive actions!" yelled Bruce.
"Too late!" shouted Marya.
Bruce could only watch in disbelief as a hundred torpedoes came directly toward them. They'd been sitting ducks after their engines had been disabled by the annoyingly small fighter.
"Abandon ship!" called Bruce. "Abandon ship!"
The bridge crew hurried to escape pods, leaving only Bruce and Marya.
"Admiral," said Marya. "We must leave, too."
"Go ahead," said Bruce. "I'm right behind you."
"No, sir," said Marya firmly. "We go together."
Bruce looked at her and could not tell what she meant by going: dying or going to the escape pod. Or perhaps she meant both.
"Let's go!" said Bruce. They ran to the last escape pod and launched it just seconds before the torpedoes hit the ship.
"It's a sad view," commented Bruce quietly, looking at the exploding Behemoth. It was the last Behemoth of the Coalition; they'd fought well, but the enemy had fought better.
"It's a sad time for us all," said Marya.
"What are we going to do, Admiral?"
Bruce heard despair in her voice and he understood perfectly. The war had taken an ugly turn at the Miccvan home world and he suspected that they would be defeated soon.
It seemed to Bruce that they'd need a miracle to win this war.
"We fight," said Bruce, and hoped that his voice didn't betray his own doubts. "We fight until we win or die."
"Do you die, sir?" asked Marya and immediately regretted it.
"We all die, Marya," said Bruce casually, and didn't show his surprise at hearing her question. He knew that she knew, or suspected, that he was immortal. Or at least would live a very long time.
Marya nodded and didn't pursue the discussion.
Bruce had been honest; he could die right here, right now. But he didn't grow old, nor would he die from any illness.
Bruce made a mental note to tell William about this. If Marya suspected, she was definitely not the only one. Their secret was spreading and he didn't know if it was for better or for worse.
***
"Captain Kould," called the High Priest after the last Behemoth was destroyed. "Excellent work. Continue to the next colony of Godless Others."
"Shouldn't we secure this system first?" asked Kould, even though he knew what the response would be.
"No," said the High Priest, just as Kould had known. "Our priority must be the Godless Others' worlds."
Kould said nothing and ordered his forces to enter hyperspace and continue to the next target.
***
"They left," whispered Marya. She felt tears on her cheeks; she'd been certain she would die here and now.
Bruce was happily surprised; he'd thought he'd die, too. Now he felt his spirits lifting. "They made a mistake to leave us alive, Marya! Contact the others," he said. "Let's gather together and go after them."
"After them, sir?" said Marya. "But how can we go after them?"
"Ah," said Bruce and raised his finger to chide her. "You haven't read your newsletters. The Behemoths were equipped with escape pods that can be combined together to form a functional ship, the equivalent of a small corvette. Weapons and shields included."
"Sorry, sir," said Marya, a little embarrassed; she hadn't read the newsletters for a long time, as they all seemed to be full of entirely irrelevant information. "I'll contact the others right away."
Bruce smiled. He hadn't read the newsletters either, but he knew about the escape pods since it had been originally his idea to design them that way.
But what should I do? wondered Bruce. A small corvette was by no means match for the Kaitians.
"Sir," said Marya after the pods had assembled together. "What should we do now?"
"It's all automatic," said Bruce, and opened a channel to the pods. "You see a small panel above the exit? Hit it twice and it opens. Then just press the button, sit back, and relax. The assembly takes about an hour."
Acknowledgments echoed from the pods and soon the pods started their automatic assembly.
"Incredible," commented Marya after half an hour. "It’s starting to look like real ship."
"Indeed," said Bruce. "The combined know-how of the Coalition has made this possible. There's something from each empire in the Behemoths and that's why they were so successful, even though they were ultimately all destroyed."
"It's no wonder we lost," said Marya. "The enemy is formidable. Much more so than we even thought. More than anyone thought."
"You're right," said Bruce. "A lesson for the next time."
"Next time, sir?" asked Marya. "What next time?"
"The next war, of course," he said.
Marya nodded and wondered how he could even think of the next war when they were very much losing the current one.
And why think of war at all?
The pods had nearly finished the assembly. Bruce entered his personal code to finalize the assembly and to give him the command of the new ship.
"The assembly is ready," said Bruce to the crew. "We now have a fully functional corvette. I will open the walls now. Everyone, stand away from the walls."
He pressed a button and the internal walls from the pods moved away and formed an additional external armor made of metamaterial that also gave the ship a very effective stealth layer, making the ship nearly invisible to sensors. When the walls moved, a large open space was left where the crew stood to see all others around them.
"Marya," said Bruce and gave her a pad. "Here are the crew assignments. Distribute them to the crew; there's something for everyone."
"Yes, sir," she said and looked at the pad. "Most of the tasks are weapons controllers."
"That's right," said Bruce. "We have weapons that will be a surprise to the enemy. They won't expect that much firepower from a small corvette like this."
Marya nodded and went to assign the tasks to the crew.
***
Bruce decided not go after the Kaitian forces, but instead to disrupt the Kaitian supply lines.
He hoped to slow their advance and give the other Coalition time to reinforce, at least a little.
Their first stop was the Miccvan home world, which the Kaitians used as one of their main supply depots. They would also get a glimpse of
how the Kaitians had been treating the Miccvans after they conquered their home world.
"Surprisingly few ships," said Marya.
"Hmm . . ." wondered Bruce. "Should we wait for the supply ships?"
"I don't know, sir," said Marya. "The wait could be long."
Bruce didn't dwell on the decision.
"We strike now," he said, "and wait afterwards. And let's contact the Miccvans on the planet, see if we can help them to organize an effective resistance."
"I like that idea." Marya smiled.
The others nearby had, of course, listened intently to what Bruce and Marya had discussed. Bruce was certain he heard whispers that relayed his decision to the crew.
"Are you ready?" he asked, raising his voice.
"Yes, sir!" said all.
"Then ahead!" said Bruce. "Maximum speed!"
As the makeshift corvette increased speed, its stealth effect diminished and the Kaitian scanners locked on to them.
"Fire at will!" commanded Bruce. The guns pointing forward fired upon the nearest Kaitian frigate.
"Turn and fire!" he said, and the corvette made a quick turn to port as all starboard guns fired simultaneously to the enemy frigate. It reminded Bruce of the ancient sea battles with sailing ships that fired full broadsides to the enemy ship.
The frigate didn't have a chance and it exploded.
"Quick!" ordered Bruce. "To the debris field and full stop!"
Marya understood immediately that they went there to hide.
They were well-hidden; the remaining Kaitian ships, two frigates and a corvette, rushed past them trying to find them.
Bruce smiled. "Did I remember to tell you that we have five stealth torpedoes on board?"
"No, sir." Marya smiled at the thought of the torpedoes. "You didn't remember."
"Well," said Bruce, smiling, "no harm done. I'm telling you now"
"I assume you want to use them now," said Marya.
"Yes, and I give you the pleasure of guiding them to their targets," he said.
"Thank you, sir," said Marya, not exactly knowing what kind of pleasure to expect.
But it was a pleasure, as she discovered. She put on the glasses that displayed the image from the torpedoes' bow, alongside a display with all the relevant information of the torpedo and the target. It was like being a torpedo herself in empty space.
She guided all three torpedoes simultaneously and took extra care to hit all targets at the same moment.
"Yes!" she shouted, excited as all targets exploded.
The crew had watched torpedoes from their own screens and Marya's excitement had been shared with the crew.
"Good work, Commander," said Bruce, and tapped her shoulder.
"Now, let's go and see what the Kaitians have in their supply depot. And contact the Miccvans on the planet."
"Yes, Admiral," said Marya smiling. It had been a great pleasure to guide the torpedoes in their targets.
37
Nick and Louis passed the Mehar home world and it left them speechless.
The Kaitians had totally obliterated the planet; they saw no life signs anywhere in the system. They saw no Kaitians, either, but that was not a surprise since there'd be no reason to watch a dead world.
"Analyze the planet," said Nick to Aileen. "What have they used?"
Aileen had already started the analysis when they entered the system.
"I have done it," said Aileen.
"The planet was attacked in three waves. And I must emphasize that the planet itself was attacked, not the people or installations of the Mehar Empire on the planet."
Nick and Louis glanced each other; that didn't sound good.
"The first wave was to send asteroids to the oceans," she said. "You see the impact craters here."
Five locations were highlighted on the planet map.
"The asteroids created tsunamis over a kilometer in height and they destroyed everything on all coasts and far inland. The second wave was to destroy the major population centers, forests, and other flora with orbital weapons. And, finally, the third wave was to send asteroids to the continents; you see the impact craters on the map."
Louis shook his head in disbelief. "Even if the attacks hadn't killed everyone, the winter that has started will kill everything."
"That's correct," said Aileen. "The impacts raised dust and other particles to the planet's atmosphere--it will take decades before skies are clear again. The Mehar are gone. And likely every other species on the planet is gone, too."
Nick sighed, but said nothing. It was almost too much to understand that the entire planet had been destroyed. But even that paled against what they were going to do.
"Let's move on," said Nick. "Direct route to the Kaitian home world. Let's go and end this war."
"Right," said Louis. "Better them than us."
"You're right," said Nick. "After what we just saw, you're absolutely right."
***
"Approaching the Kaitian border," said Aileen. "There are lot of surveillance stations in the systems along the border."
"Interesting," said Nick. "Why would they want to set up surveillance stations at their borders? Now, when they're already at war?"
"Perhaps all, or almost all, of their forces are away," commented Louis, "and they want to know in advance if anyone happens to approach their territories."
"That is most likely the explanation," said Aileen. "And it means that we may not encounter any enemies en route."
"That's good for us," said Nick. "But let's be careful regardless."
"Of course, Counselor," said Aileen.
They entered Kaitian space in silence and traveled toward the Kaitian home world. They encountered not a single Kaitian ship.
***
"There it is," said Nick, looking at the Kaitian star directly in front of them.
"What about the Strangers?" asked Louis.
"They're not yet here," said Aileen. "If they are still working to their schedule, they will arrive in three days."
"Plenty of time to get in position," said Nick. "Are you ready to deploy the weapon?"
"Yes, Counselor," said Aileen.
"Then let's move close to the star," said Louis, "and do it."
Nick noticed that Louis was acting somehow oddly, not himself at all. And he knew why he sounded odd--he was thinking the same thing as Nick, about the magnitude of the act they were about to do.
"Is this the right thing to do?" asked Louis. He'd asked that question of himself countless times even though he, selfishly, thought it was better the Kaitians than themselves.
"Is there any right thing to do in the first place?" asked Nick. "I mean, right for us isn't right for the Kaitians. And right for Kaitians isn't right for us. Who will be the judge?"
Louis made a snort. "The Strangers?"
"Ha!" laughed Nick. "Maybe they are!"
Louis laughed, too, and then suddenly got serious. "What if they are?"
Nick pondered the question. "I don't like that idea. It gives me the shivers.”
"For me, too," said Louis.
"May I add a comment, Counselors?" said Aileen.
"Of course," said Nick.
"Louis raised very interesting thought," said Aileen. "Something that no one has raised before. But it opens totally new trains of thought. To say that the Strangers would be some kind of judges would imply that the Strangers are really, in the pure meaning of the word, strangers."
"What do you mean?" asked Nick.
"Strangers to our universe," said Aileen. "Outsiders. Something that has come from someplace else."
"Wow," said Louis. "Where did that come from?"
"From the dictionary," said Aileen. "A person who is not a member of the family, group, community, or the like, as a visitor or guest."
Nick and Louis looked at each other.
"I got the shivers again," said Louis after a moment. "Think about it, Nick."
Nick smiled. "We must investigate it further.
We might find something interesting."
Louis laughed. "I'm sure of it. How close can we get to the Strangers, Aileen?"
"Close enough," she said. "Our cloak is perfect."
"All right, then," said Nick. "Let's prepare for the show."
***
"Any moment now," said Nick to himself. They'd set up the weapon within the star, where it waited for the signal to start a chain reaction that would ignite the star to nova.
The theoretical model indicated that the reaction would be quick and there was no way to stop the reaction once it started.
"There," whispered Louis. "The Strangers."
The super-cruiser entered normal space with a black flash. The men watched the Strangers' cruiser and felt fear.
"Why am I feeling this?" asked Nick.
"We are much closer than last time," said Louis, and his voice nearly broke. He made no effort to wipe the tears from his cheeks.
"My tears are falling. My mind burns and fear consumes. My torment in hell," he whispered.
Tears were falling on Nick's cheeks, too, and his knees were shaking. Nothing had prepared them for this.
Time slowed as they watched the cruiser approaching and then passing them in silence.
In addition to fear, the men felt despair and great loss, almost as if life was draining from them and not just their own lives. The life, the entire existence, of the universe was there and they were losing it and couldn't do anything about it.
"Nick," whispered Louis, almost losing his mind.
Aileen watched the men and monitored everything. It was great data, something entirely new about the Strangers, which was not surprising considering that no one had ever been so close to Strangers.
Except perhaps the Kaitians.
Aileen wondered whether they felt like Nick and Louis near the Strangers.
In an instant, once the Stranger cruiser disappeared within the star, all the feelings passed and the men felt normal again.
Or as normal as they could feel after the experience.
Louis shook his head, trying to get rid of the memories of feelings. But it didn't work.
"Ready?" asked Nick, both shocked and cold. "Let's end this."
"All is ready, and I wait your command, Counselor," said Aileen.
Nick looked at Louis. He nodded, without hesitation.
"Do it," said Nick.
***
Nick imagined a signal traveling from the ship to the sun and expected to see immediate results.
But nothing happened. He started to think that the device didn't work. He was opening his mouth to ask about it when Aileen said, "The first flares should start any second now."