PART ONE-CHAPTER THREE

The Urgayan flagship, the Radiant Shadow, out-warped from the hyper-void at Mau. Unexpectedly, the space around it was not benign; it had arrived in the middle of battle. About twenty small felimorph transports were battling more than thirty other vessels that were shaped like dark oblate spheroids that had one rippled fin along the entire length. It was a battle that was fierce by any standards, and the felimorphs were clearly outgunned and on the defensive.

"See, I told you there would be trouble," said General Chensig to Rig. "To be unarmed is to invite destruction! Fortunately, we are partially cloaked, so they have not seen us. They are not cloaked at all. What are your orders?"

Rig paused for a moment to reflect on the predicament that Jan had found herself in at Betelgeuse Station. If they did not fight, many felimorphs would die; however, even justified violence would accelerate the accumulation of bad karma and would further solidify the aggressive tendencies of their enemy. He sighed as he commanded, "Destroy the enemy, but we must be careful. And remember, though we have hyperdrive mode two, it is not yet perfected and is only safe to use in spurts!"

The Radiant Shadow changed from its standard wedge-shape into its wing-shaped battle mode. This motion exposed and activated all of its restored torpedo launchers and energy projectors. There was a pause as all weapons systems were armed, then the ship vanished entirely from sight as it moved in to attack.

General Chensig ordered a change of course. He wanted to maximize the effect of their surprise attack. The Radiant Shadow moved away from the battlefield momentarily; then it turned onto a course that would encounter the most enemy in one sweep through the battlefield. The first four dark vessels were crippled by a combination of PREXL and IHD beams. The Radiant Shadow performed a quick maneuver to avoid a felimorph ship; then it blasted fourteen more enemy ships. As the fourteenth exploded, the Urgayan flagship plunged though the debris cloud and relentlessly pursued and crippled the remaining seven along its path of attack.

"The rest are in-warping...they are fleeing in random directions!" warned General Chensig.

"And the felimorphs have just destroyed all those that were left," commented Rig. "Let the others go; we are needed here!"

* * *

"Now that's a ridiculous sight!" sighed Jan as the Tangent slowed near Vulture One. "Three antique, obsolete fighters to guard a deadly battleship. It's ludicrous and ineffective."

"They're supposed to send a Darter Station, but they were apparently having problems reprogramming one to protect a stationary position," said Devon as he referred to the defense stations that moved rapidly and randomly in such a manner that they formed an invisible shield around South Columbia.

"Jan, are you having any luck yet?" he asked expectantly.

"No! I can sit down at the control console, but I cannot make anything happen. There's a new matrix, and I'm sure that I am supposed to alter the fifth dimensional virtual controller. I hope I can resolve the problem before Rig gets back from Mau."

Jan paused to look at the mainscreen again. Nothing had changed; Vulture One was still there, hanging over Brewster's planet, guarded by three tiny manned fighters. She blinked; then she suddenly looked to the side to stare at a dark sphere that was girdled by a glowing toroidal ring. A Darter station had joined them. It was the first one Jan had ever seen, for they were almost never stationary. It was about half as large as Vulture One. Though it was also heavily-armed, it was not a starship and could not leave the star system. However, by synchronizing with other Darter stations in a transmatter receiver-transmitter network, it could move anywhere in the South Columbia area nearly instantaneously.

"That's the signal now," acknowledged Devon. "We are to go over to Vulture One."

Jan noticed that the air smelled stale as she and Devon stepped from the transmatter chamber. The corridor looked normal; however, when they rounded a bend, it merged into a chamber that could be described as anything but 'normal'. It was the Tactical chamber, a huge hemispherical room in the geometric center of the ship. As they entered the chamber, Jan could see all the personnel stations around the perimeter wall and the commander's station in its perch halfway up the wall; however, everything had a ghostly quality to it. When they stepped into the chamber, there was a sensation very much like stepping out into the vacuum of space. There were many pieces of hardware and a lot of people in the Tactical chamber, but beyond a distance of about two meters everything became semi-transparent (to the eyes), so that one could see clearly out into space in all directions around the ship. Brewster's planet, the three fighters, the Tangent, and the Darter station: they were all there, superimposed over a star-filled background.

A very tall, slender man approached. He was wearing the distinctive blue and black uniform of the Columbian Defense Forces. When he spoke, Jan realized that 'he' was a 'she'.

"Sorry if you don't recognize me," she said apologetically; "it is I, Teressa Lindsay. I decided to become masculinized; it will make it easier to carry for me to carry out this assignment as captain of Vulture One. I have always wanted to take this step, and I am happy with it and never intend to revert back. Some of us take longer to decide that we are transgendered," she said as she looked toward Devon.

"I've been like this since I was sixteen," replied Devon. "I can't really recall how I used to look. Welcome to your new reality, Teressa."

Teressa nodded and then continued without pause, "I also want to thank you for the upgrade to the 36th harmonic. If we could just complete the inst...."

Jan gasped, "Oh, no!", as the chamber suddenly grew hazy. It was happening again, for the first time in years. It was a vision! She tried unsuccessfully to suppress it; however, this time it was different. It was not one of her annoying visions, but a true psychic experience: an urgent plea for help!

"Jan, are you okay?" asked Devon.

"We have to go!" she replied urgently; then she commanded, "Teressa, please prepare for departure and battle. There's a ship under attack! I have to fix the matrix; we can be there within an hour using mode 36!"

The Vulture One had several control consoles. Jan raced to the nearest one. She sat down and switched it on as she placed the headband into place. Urgency was driving her on. When she found herself in the surrealistic adjustment scene, she did not know what to do. 'Jan, you have to know. Polira, Tara, if only you could help me now. Please, we have to save that ship!'

Without quite knowing why, Jan began to rearrange the scene. She inverted a vase and then turned it inside out. She added a third sword that had never been in the scene before to two crossed swords over a coat of arms. A box was turned into a ball, then she made so many changes in rapid succession that she was not sure that she could keep track of them. Jan tore the headband from her head, not waiting for the scene to dissolve in the normal manner, typed coordinates into the console, and then yelled, "Go!" as she turned to face Teressa.

Teressa had always heard that Jan did unusual things, but she had never seen her in action. Awestruck, she faced the navigation station, but could barely utter, "Do it!"

"I think I skipped the proper exit sequence," uttered Jan weakly as she stumbled toward Teressa; then she passed out. Devon, already rushing toward her, managed to soften her fall to the deck. Jan had never allowed her mind to re-orient itself after being submerged in the matrix.

Some unseen person constrained her as she jerked to consciousness. She wrestled to free herself, but the grip would not relax. Jan closed her eyes and then opened them again. Either way, it was the same disorienting scene. It was not reality; she was back in the matrix. 'Relax, Jan!' she told herself. 'Just relax and exit naturally.'

Once the interface had been switched off, Jan was back on the tactical deck of Vulture One, seated at a control console. Devon was at her side.

"I wondered who was holding on," Jan commented.

"With some pain," he added as he showed her red marks on his left forearm. "You're quite strong, and I don't have all the strength that I used to have."

Jan looked at Devon expectantly.

"It works!" he said, almost shouting.

Jan took a moment to look at the space around them. The normal universe was gone, but the featureless blackness of the hyper-void was also gone. A reverse warp of bright blue flashes of energy constantly appeared, swept by in a rainbow of colors, and turned red as they receded into the distance. She turned her gaze from fore to aft and back again. There was an unanswered question in her mind, but she was unable to break the hypnotic hold of the spectacle.

"We are still analyzing it," commented Devon. " As far as we can tell, we are travelling on the 36th harmonic wave that overlays the warp-field. The interregulator 'sees' the universe for only a fractional portion of the usual amount of time.

"Jan!" he yelled as he nudged her. "Don't let it absorb your thoughts."

"Sorry," she apologized as she shook her head, as if she were trying to clear her mind. "It does work, doesn't it. But it may not be enough; we may be too late anyway! How long until arrival?"

"We out-warp in less than two minutes," explained Teressa. "I'm taking a big risk on this venture and am trusting your instincts, so can you give us a hint of what is going on?"

"It's my mom and dad," began Jan in a hurried tone. "It was a cry for help in a vision. They're on a starliner, the Amber Star, that's being pursued by several enemy ships. They only have limited hyperdrive and a failing null-detection field! We may be too late...."

"Let's hope we are in time. Coming up on return to normal hyper-void!" announced Devon, as the space around them turned absolutely black. "Out-warp in one minute!" he added.

A star-filled background twisted into place around Vulture One as it returned to normal space. The ship seemed to be alone, and with its force shields and null-detection fields activated, even it was not visible.

"Passive telemetry shows nothing out of the ordinary," informed Devon. "On that basis, we can't tell if anything unusual is happening in this vicinity."

"There's nothing to do!" Jan protested in frustration. "They don't have any time, and we can't find them!"

"Yes, we can," Teressa assured her. "This is not an ordinary ship, this a Vulture battle cruiser. True, we are not accompanied by the other five Vultures, but we nevertheless have powerful resources.

"This was only supposed to be a training voyage, but it is going to be real from now on. So, my crew," she commanded, "begin intense hyperspacial scan and prepare for battle!"

Scores of changing colored grids and telemetry patterns overlaid the black full-view star-filled background. Vulture One unrelentingly penetrated deeper and deeper into interstellar space. The signals were so strong that all but the heaviest null-detection fields would be overcome. Scarcely anything would be missed. The dangerous operation marked the position of Vulture One like a beacon, making it an easy target for lethal weapons.

"About twenty-nine positives in that direction," announced Devon as he pointed toward the left side of the deck. "They are all less than half a light-year away. All are in motion except this faint object here, which is most likely the Amber Star, being pursued by the others. The configuration of all the other vessels seems to be non-standard."

"They've all stopped," noted Jan. "They know we are here!"

"Torpedoes en route!" shouted Devon, as he pointed at tiny signals that separated from the detected ships. They are coming at us...impact in less than thirty-five minutes. I'd call that a very safe margin. They must not know our range very well!"

"First," began Teressa, "we will test our weapons. We have twelve arrays of SHNEF projectors and ten arrays of IHD projectors, but everything is out of range. Bring up the two primaries! We don't have any torpedoes; therefore, we have to make sure what we do have works. HLE projector stations: target the two closest torpedoes and eliminate them!"

Part of the Vulture One super-structure, normally excluded from the global view from within Tactical chamber, reappeared momentarily as the two hyper-light projectors unfolded from the side of the ship. They were surrounded by force shield generators that would protect the occupants of the ship from their lethal radiation. Once all the apparatus had snapped into place, all of Vulture One again disappeared from view. Then the ship was repositioned to aim the powerful weapons. Without any delay, the deck vibrated twice as two pulses left the projectors and sped toward their targets far faster than any starship. The pulses themselves were invisible, but surrounding halos echoed back across the field of view. Because the pulses moved at hyper-light velocities, the halos gave the illusion of reversed direction as they travelled toward Vulture One.

'Hurry! We have to get there in time!' urged Jan mentally, as she waited for the pulses to make contact.

"One torpedo destroyed, and another torpedo veering off course," informed Devon.

"Let's go!" urged Jan as she felt a sinking feeling come over her. She would now learn of her parents' fate, and once again she would confront this persistent enemy that she had previously encountered on Betelgeuse Station.

"We'll drop a telemetry ballast for them to target; then we'll in-warp over to them. In mode 36 hyperdrive, we'll be there long before the torpedoes reach this coordinate," explained Teressa.

"On a non-intercept course with those torpedoes, I hope," urged Devon.

Vulture One out-warped at the predetermined coordinate, supposedly almost in the midst of the alien ships, but opposite the in direction from that from which they had just come. A burst of signals issued from the ship as a series of intensive telemetry scans were begun; then another ballast was dropped as the ship moved toward the Amber Star.

Devon took a position near the entrance to the Tactical chamber, while Jan paced in the hallway beyond the entrance. They could safely watch from there without getting in anyone's way. Personnel of the Columbian Defense Force would now carry out the tasks for which they had been extensively trained.

"I am now in position" announced Teressa as she seated herself in the commander's station. "Initiating full alert and battle stations! Attention everyone, this is not a drill! This is war! Undeclared war, yes, but real war. It has been so long since we've been at war that there may not even be a legal precedent for our action, but we will worry that problem later.

"Defense Troopers, let's see if all the simulations have prepared us for real battle!"

"All enemy ships marked in red," announced a woman in the distance as she referred to the virtual display that surrounded the Tactical chamber.

"The Amber Star has stopped. It is damaged and all its systems are failing," yelled an unseen man.

"Starting the next intensive scan sequence," informed someone else. "The Amber Star is no longer cloaked. Enemy ships moving in to attack. Three torpedoes have been launched."

"They are ignoring us, but we won't ignore them. Target the torpedoes and that closing ship," ordered Teressa.

Vulture One turned to position the hyper-light projectors. The projectors were aimed; then the deck vibrated as the massive weapons were fired. The process was rapidly repeated three more times. Telemeters registered total destruction for all four targets.

"Put us between them and the Amber Star; then we can move in to attempt a rescue. The computer is trying to establish communications, but without any luck so far. If they had an operational transmatter, we could start the rescue now, but we will have to go in manually!" said Teressa forcefully.

"Jan...Devon, I would suggest that you leave at once for Subtransport Bay 5. There you'll find a servotug that can be used as a rescue vehicle. I can't spare anyone, so you're the rescue team. There's a tram station just outside the Tactical Chamber."

Vulture One in-warped and then out-warped within seconds as Jan and Devon rode a tram toward the Subtransport Bay. The Amber Star was less than two hundred thousand kilometers distant. Vulture One was now closer to the starliner than were any other vessels, but several enemy ships were closing rapidly. In preparation for battle at much closer ranks, all the short range SHNEF and IHD projectors and shield busters were brought on line.

Jan and Devon could see the servotug through observation windows. It was a long cylinder with rounded ends and several folded robot arms and other projections coming from its side at the control end. On its hull in several places was the old Columbian emblem along with the designator 'V1-5'. The airless cylindrical Subtransport Bay was just large enough to hold the vehicle. It was held in place away from the sides of the bay by three docking rods at each end. The docking rods protruded from the sides of the bay and meshed with tractor groves in the sides of the servotug. The tractor grooves could rotate and could thus allow the servotug to rotate around its longitudinal axis to line up with the airlock.

Jan stepped hurriedly onto the indented control panel that was built around the airlock door. Activated, the entire assembly slowly but smoothly extended into the bay until it mated with the airlock of the servotug. Once inside, they were surprised to see that the interior of the servotug was only slightly dusty-looking after having sat unused for three centuries.

"This a certainly different," said Devon as he seated himself in the left-hand chair behind main control panel. "These controls are old-looking, and this is a real window, not a mainscreen," he added as he reached over the controls and gently tapped the window.

Jan sat back into her chair as she studied the controls; then she pressed one button that caused the servotug to come to life. The apparent window was replaced by a mainscreen display. "These central controls are the same as a land tram," she said as she sat down. "Look, everything is ready: guidance, telemetry, propulsion, shields, robot arms, cutting assemblies...even medium power energy projectors. We're armed. Severing connections with Vulture One," Jan announced as the external docking airlock and the docking rods were retracted; then the outer doors opened.

"You may now exit," said the voice of Teressa. "But you will be within our shields, so park and hold your position!"

"The V1-5 is leaving Vulture One," announced Jan as she turned on the penetration field that would allow them to pass through the force lock. The superstructure of Vulture One was visible just outside the lock, but the null-detection field caused most of the ship more than a few meters away to become invisible. After Jan began the parking sequence, the V1-5 turned and moved toward a parking slot on the hull of Vulture One. The servotug came to rest with a light bump.

"I can't take any more delays," complained Jan. "I don't know which is worse: finding out what's happened to my parents, or going to war against these creatures, who can't be defeated."

"Why can't they be defeated?" asked Devon in a puzzled tone. "They don't seem too sophisticated; we could easily destroy all those ships out there. I don't understand?"

"Neither do I," replied Jan in a lecturing tone, "but remember: her Holiness warned that they are not like any other adversary we have ever encountered. They do not surrender, and they do not give up. By some means inherent in their nature, they apparently frustrated all attempts by even the Lords of Creation to eradicate them."

"It still does not make any...." said Devon as Teressa interrupted him.

"The Amber Star is in range. Depart through the tunnel ahead of you through the shield."

The servotug poised for a moment after leaving the hull, then telemetry marked the exit through the shield. A moment later, Jan and Devon were on their way. The Amber Star was a clear image in their telemetry, which meant that its null-detection field was inoperative. Jan adjusted the magnification of the mainscreen. The Amber Star was visible, but there was not enough light for clear detail in the visual range. They were in interstellar space, where there was just not enough illumination.

"Turning on floodlights," said Devon as the V1-5 moved steadily closer. "Oh, that doesn't look good. Blast marks and holes all over the hull!"

"There have to be survivors!" Jan yelled as she switched on a telemetry scan. "Thank the Lord, I'm picking up life signs, but I'm also picking up images of many recently-killed people," she sighed, as her voice trailed off. "One hundred twenty nine survivors and sixty seven unaccounted for."

The V1-5 circled the Amber Star twice; then it moved toward the section of the other ship that had suffered the least amount of damage. The servotug stopped as it came alongside marked primary number two, but no docking maneuvers were begun. Instead, a communications pod extended from the side of the servotug until it touched the hull of the Amber Star. The pod was designed to link up with internal ship's communications.

"Hello, can you hear us?" asked Devon. "This is the Columbian servotug V1-5. We've come to rescue you!"

"Hello, V1-5, it is so nice to hear a friendly voice," replied a woman. "I am Captain Louise Martin. When we saw you coming, we thought it was all over for us."

"We are going to dock at airlock number twelve," announced Jan. "Can everyone get there? There are still many enemy ships, so we have to get you back to Vulture at once!"

"We can all get there, even though some will have to be carried," replied Captain Martin. "Did you say you have a Vulture battle cruiser? Are you in the correct time frame?"

"We are not from the past," Jan assured her. "We are now docking."

Jan greeted and directed the oncoming survivors, while Devon stayed at the controls. The children came first and then the elderly came next. Jan's parents were not among them, but they would never have included themselves with the elderly. Her heart beat more rapid with anticipation, and she began to hyperventilate. A hundred more people came, followed by the Amber Star's crew. Captain Martin stepped through the lock, carrying with her the main recorder of the Amber Star. When she shut the inner lock of the other ship behind her, Jan thought her heart was going to stop.

"No more?" she asked weakly.

"All the rest of the passengers and crew were lost due to explosive decompression. There was nothing we could do to help them," Captain Martin said sadly.

'How can I leave them behind? But I can't linger; I have to get all these people to safety.' Jan did not say anything. She closed the airlock doors and led Captain Martin to a place where she could sit. The servotug was crowded, but all the survivors were on board. Silently, Jan sifted through the crowd to the control room. She did not talk even to Devon; she could only shake her head in dismay.

The crossing back to Vulture One was tense and sad. A battle was underway, as unseen energy beams crisscrossed space around them. Jan was still upset that it was too late to do anything for her parents. Once the V1-5 had passed through the shield of Vulture One, as it was about to reenter its docking bay, Jan paused to recite the mantra of passage to the other shore. Beams from two projectors in the side of the battleship destroyed the Amber Star. This would prevent the enemy from looting those who had died.

'This enemy exacts too heavy a toll. Sure we rescued a lot of people, but I want mom and dad back. I want revenge, but I'm bound not too seek vengeance. It's not fair! When we get back to Columbia, Rig will be back from Mau. I need him now! I can hardly wait to depart for the Mother-World,' thought Jan as the servotug entered the bay and positioned itself to meet the docking rods. She silently cried.

Everyone in the Tactical chamber watched in silence as Vulture One moved slowly through the vast field of wreckage. All the enemy ships had been destroyed. They had been surprisingly fragile. A large section of an oblate spheriod hull with its single fin drifted by. The fin, wider than it had first appeared, had windows, airlocks, and various telemeters. The fins contained the aliens' quarters. Alien slimy remains were also detected, but they were judged to be too biologically contaminated for handling. However, a few non-biological components of the debris were collected, sterilized, and stored for later examination.

* * *

The Tangent was almost ready for departure, as Jan led a group of parents down a seldom-travelled corridor. They and their children would accompany Jan and Rig and others to the Mother-World. Included in the group were two of Aiu's daughters: Princess Kaitri and Princess Salima, as well as Princess Draget of the canimorphs.

"This will be the play room," she pointed out as they passed through a door that had not been opened in a long time. "It has variable gravity and lots of netting. When I was young, we used to refer to this as the 'monkey' room.

"Now we we'll go farther down the corridor, where I will show your quarters. While not spacious, they are very...."

* * *

Weeks of preparation were over; the Tangent was ready for departure. Jan and Rig stood outside the connecting airlock as the passengers said their farewells and boarded the ship. At that moment, Aiu's son, Prince Rhubar, heir elect, was boarding along with his harem--all of whom he referred to as spouse--and with many of their kittens. Upon his return, he would have to marry one of them as part of the ceremony of being installed as King of the felimorphs. He was not happy with these future restrictions that would be imposed on his love life.

"We're here," said Dr. Bradford as she led her new husband on board. "I sure hope that number four is my lucky number," she added, referring to the fact that she had previously been married three different times. Ever since she had treated Jan's wounds from her encounter at Betelgeuse Station, she had insisted on coming.

Within minutes there were only five of them waiting to board: Jan, Tendzin, Gianna, Karenna, and Temarpa. A moment later Jan was the only one who had not boarded. She faced Devon and Robberta and Teressa Lindsay for a final goodbye.

"This memory trace contains the instructions for reviving the other four Vultures, along with our flight plans and a description of the enemy," said Jan as she handed the cartridge to Teressa.

"Thank you; I can use all the help I can get, especially with these creatures. They decompose and can't be handled when they die. Maybe we'll be lucky enough to capture one alive."

"Maybe!" replied Jan hopefully.

Robberta stepped up to her mother as Teressa walked away. "I wish you would reconsider, mother," urged Robberta. "You should take the vow now, as head of the Franklin family."

"I can't think about it!" protested Jan. "Give the post to my older brother Darrell."

"We held a family council and voted for you. Please reconsider," Robberta added.

"No, and I have to go now!"

"Just a moment, mother," added Robberta. "I have someone here I want you to meet."

Upon a hand signal from Robberta, a very old and wrinkled-looking man slowly approached them.

"Mother, this is my associate, Dr. Edward Warner. Dr. Warner is very old," informed Robberta.

"I am over four hundred years old," he added, "and I suffer from at least eight or nine fatal conditions."

"Remember how he looks now," explained Robberta. "We are on the verge of the greatest medical breakthrough of all time. For the first time, we should be able to program the body to enforce its own genetic standard. This means resisting aging, most mutations, oxygen damage, radiation damage, free radicals, and defects. When you return, mother, he should be a young man again, and he should stay that way for up to two thousand years."

"I am part of my own laboratory test group," explained Dr. Warner. "There are several hundred of us. We will all be dead soon, so we have nothing to lose."

"I will look forward to it," smiled Jan as she entered the connecting airlock. 'Of course, that drug will be useless for me! There is no long life in my future.'

The Tangent departed from Perimeter Station II, but it was not yet time to in-warp. It was an hour's trip to Perimeter Station III, a military station. As they parked near the station, a servotug approached carrying a cylindrical object. It was the cluster of torpedoes. Jan was exceedingly nervous during the final moments of the transfer, for the rearming of the Tangent was not a happy experience. The torpedo bay door opened and accepted the cluster from the servotug. Twenty seconds later the weapons panel showed that the cluster was in place: eight torpedoes were ready to be armed and fired. As soon as the servotug cleared the vicinity, the Tangent in-warped to the hyper-void, first to mode one and then to mode two. The Tangent was taking them far beyond the furthest trips ever travelled by mankind.