Defender Hyperswarm Page 9

  Kyoto gazed at the water trickling from the fountain.

  I’m going on a trip, Wolf. A real adventure, just the kind of thing you’d love. Mudo showed General Adams and Janeesh Glasgow his new toy. He had to do some fast talking to explain how he got the credits to pay for it, and Adams was not happy about being kept in the dark while he built the thing, but in the end, he convinced them to authorize a test flight. I’m going into hyperspace tomorrow— if Mudo’s ship works, that is.

  Mudo’s words drifted through her mind once more: “The Janus is the next step in human space travel. It doesn’t need to create a vortex the way a stargate does. It can open a portal into hyperspace, enter, and then close the portal behind it, thus leaving no dimensional rift for the Manti to come through. If we can enter and depart hyperspace at will, we’ll no longer need to rely on stargate technology. The colonies would be safe, we’ll still be able to travel and communicate swiftly throughout the system—and well beyond it—and most important right now, we’ll be able to fight the Manti on equal terms.

  “I developed the basic design for the hyperdrive nearly a year ago, but a normal navigational computer is too limited to handle the complex transcendental equations needed to travel in hyperspace. That was why I had to resurrect Memory. Only she could possibly navigate the Janus.”

  When Kyoto had looked questioningly at him about the choice of name, Mudo had responded, “Why did I choose the name Janus? Janus was the ancient Roman god of gates and doorways. Rather fitting, I thought, for a ship designed to travel through hyperspace. Janus was depicted as having two faces looking in opposite directions. Logical enough, since one can go through a doorway in either direction. But my Janus has two faces, as well. To us, it presents the face of a starship, but to the Manti, it will seem to be one of their own kind.

  “While the Janus possesses minimal defensive weaponry—most of the ship’s power is needed to maintain the hyperetheric field that allows it to enter and remain in hyperspace—it does have one major protection: camouflage. The Janus gives off an energy signature that’s the same as that of a Manti Lander. With any luck, this camouflage will allow the Janus to travel through hyperspace without attracting the Manti’s attention. And, if it works like I believe it will, imagine the military possibilities.

  “Not only will a test flight prove the effectiveness of my hyperdrive as well as the ship’s Manti camouflage, think of what we’ll be able to learn about our enemy. For the first time since the Manti began their war against humanity, we’ll finally be able to take the conflict to them.”

  Kyoto reached out to let the fountain’s stream trickle over the palm of her hand. The water was warmer than she expected, and the feel of it running over her flesh was soothing.

  “I miss you, Wolf,” she whispered.

  “Wherever Commander Wolfenson is now, I’m sure he misses you just as much.”

  Startled, Kyoto jumped to her feet and drew her sidearm. Until the latest Manti threat was over, she had no intention of going unarmed again. As she brought the handblaster to bear on the intruder, she stopped just before pulling the trigger. Standing before her was Seth Ganymede. She hadn’t recognized him at first because instead of his Outbounder robe, he wore a simple khaki jumpsuit, the kind favored by Cydonia’s working class.

  Kyoto holstered her sidearm, but she remained standing. “What are you doing here?”

  “I apologize for intruding on your privacy, but I need to speak with you.”

  She looked at his forehead and saw there wasn’t even a scab left from where the protester’s rock had struck him earlier. By itself, that wasn’t surprising. Such a minor injury could easily be healed by modern medicine. But the skin wasn’t pink, as it would have been if it had been regenerated, and it didn’t have the tight, waxy look that simskin did. Though Kyoto knew better, it appeared that Ganymede had never been wounded at all.

  “Look, if you’ve come to try to get me to join the Outbounders, I’m really not in the mood for politics right now, okay?”

  “I understand that you have suffered a great personal loss today, in addition to experiencing the shock of a new Manti attack. You have my utmost sympathy.”

  Kyoto wasn’t sure how to respond to this. “Uh… thanks. I don’t mean to be rude, but I’d rather be alone right now, so if you’ll excuse me…”

  She turned to leave, but before she could go, Ganymede reached out and grabbed hold of her wrist.

  “What the hell do you think you’re doing?” Kyoto tried to pull free, but Ganymede’s grip was like iron. Kyoto was surprised; he didn’t look that strong.

  “All right, you asked for it!” She’d tried to be nice about this, but after everything that she’d been through today, she wasn’t in the mood to fool around. She reached for her handblaster…

  … and suddenly found herself standing on a barren windswept plain. Terror surged through her, for at first she feared she’d somehow been transported outside of the Aboretum and onto the surface of Mars. Her flightsuit had an emergency O2 supply built in, and she started to reach for the pocket where the breather was kept, but then stopped. The air was too warm for Mars – almost tropical, in fact – and the sky was a hazy yellow instead of pink, the ground gray instead of orange. But most of all, she was breathing normally. The air smelled musty, but otherwise it seemed fine. She could think of only two possibilities. One, she’d gone insane and was hallucinating. Or two, she was no longer on Mars.

  “Where am I?” she said aloud.

  “You mean where are we?”

  She turned and saw that Seth Ganymede was standing next to her. He had released her wrist and now held his hands clasped behind his back.

  “What did you do to me?” Kyoto demanded. “Did you drug me somehow? Or use some kind of gas that produces hallucinations?”

  “Nothing so crude, I assure you. Our physical bodies still stand within the aboretum on Cydonia. But our mental avatars are currently residing inside a computer simulation.”

  Kyoto looked around. “This place seems real enough.” She scuffed her boot on the ground. “Feels real enough, too.”

  “Of course. It’s designed to seem real, but in the end, it’s just cleverly organized data. However, what you are looking at is the image of an actual place. It is a planet called Coireall, one hundred fifteen light years from your star system.”

  There was something odd about the way he’d said “your star system,” but Kyoto was too overwhelmed by the simulated environment around her to give it much thought.

  “It looks deserted,” she said.

  “It is now. But once this spot was the center of a holy shrine that covered one hundred square kilometers and rose a thousand meters into the air. Worshippers from across the galaxy came to visit and pray here. Somewhat like Mecca on Old Earth.”

  Kyoto looked all around but could see nothing but gray rock in all directions.

  “What happened?”

  “The Manti happened.”

  The scenery blurred and reformed. Kyoto and Ganymede now stood on the rim of a vast crater so deep and wide that its outer edges were lost in the distance.

  “This is a world called Olabisi. Once, this was the shore of a sea whose waters were so clear and pure that they were legendary among a hundred different civilizations. But that was before the coming of the Manti.”

  The scene shifted once more. Kyoto and Ganymede now stood upon hard permafrost, while an arctic wind swirled and howled around them. Though she knew this was only a simulation, Kyoto still felt the cold, and she adjusted her flight suit’s temperature controls to keep her warm. Surrounding them were the ruins of an alien city. The buildings had been made from a substance that resembled quartz, and a number of the broken structures hung high in the air, though Kyoto could see no sign of antigrav generators attached to them.

  “And this is Bergelmir. My homeworld.” Ganymede’s tone was matter-of-fact, but there was an underlying sorrow to his words. “Or rather, this is what the Manti left of it
when they were finished.”

  Kyoto took her gaze from the crystalline ruins and turned to Ganymede. “Are you saying you’re an alien?” She wanted to laugh, for the notion was absurd. Aside from the Manti, there had never been evidence of any sentient species inhabiting the galaxy other than humans. But she didn’t laugh. She couldn’t, not after the scenes of desolation that Ganymede had shown her.

  “That is indeed what I am saying,” Ganymede replied. “I represent a collective of races that calls itself the Residuum. After observing your species for the last several years, we have decided the time has come to make contact.”

  After everything else that had happened today, this was too much for Kyoto to deal with. She walked over to a chunk of quartzlike rock and sat down. After a moment, Ganymede walked over and sat beside her.

  “I know this is quite a surprise for you, but over the years, we’ve learned that the best way to make contact with a new race is by first singling out and approaching specific individuals.”

  “And you chose me.”

  “That’s right.”

  “Why?”

  “Because you’re brave, resilient, and a fast thinker. But more than that, you are a survivor. It is this quality that the Residuum prizes above all other. You see, every race that is a member has survived attack by the Manti. It is the one thing that unites us.”

  “But how is that possible? The Manti are our enemies. They’re from this sector of space. How could they have destroyed so many civilizations so far apart?”

  “The Manti have existed for uncountable millennia,” Ganymede said. He smiled. “If one lives long enough, one tends to get around. But more than this, the Manti are beings natural to hyperspace. To put it simply, hyperspace is smaller than realspace. This is why we can travel great distances in realspace by taking shortcuts through hyperspace. But the principle works both ways. The Manti are able to cross vast distances in our galaxy through hyperspace as well. They can emerge at any point in realspace and attack at will.”

  Ganymede looked up at the ruins floating in the sky and his voice grew softer. “No one knows how many worlds they’ve preyed upon, how many species they’ve eradicated. Thousands, perhaps millions. After all, the galaxy is an awfully big place.”

  Kyoto had no reason to believe Ganymede. After all, this Residuum of his sounded like just the sort of fantasy an Outbounder might concoct. But she did believe him. Not because of his fancy simulations, and not because of the words he spoke. It was the way he looked at up the sky with sadness in his eyes and loss in his voice.

  “You’re not really Seth Ganymede, are you?”

  “No. The real Ganymede is in stasis inside his living unit. Those of us in the Residuum who specialize in first contact believe in getting to know a race well before formally approaching it. So we… borrow the identity of a native, often someone of a certain level of prominence. Not so high as to be under constant scrutiny, but high enough to permit freedom of movement and access to those we might wish to approach first. Ganymede fulfilled those requirements.”

  “You speak about him as if he were merely some sort of tool. But he’s a person, and unless you asked his permission—and somehow I don’t think you did—then you took him captive and hijacked his life. Those hardly seem to be the actions of a race who wish to establish friendly relations.”

  “I assure you, our intentions are benign. But we’ve learned to be cautious when contacting other races. We only approach civilizations that have encountered the Manti and survived. Such people tend to be somewhat skeptical of other aliens, to say the least. The last thing we wish to do is cause further panic in those who have already suffered so much from the Manti’s predations.”

  “If you’re not Ganymede, what’s your real name? And don’t tell me I won’t be able to pronounce it.”

  He chuckled. “Not at all. The name I was given at birth is Hastimukah.”

  “I take it your usual appearance isn’t human, then.”

  “My species is mammalian, as is yours, but we resemble an ancient Earth animal called a mammoth. Are you familiar with it?”

  Kyoto couldn’t help smiling. This just kept getting weirder and weirder. “I’ve seen pictures.” She looked at Ganymede—or rather, at Hastimukah—and tried to imagine his natural appearance, but no matter how hard she tried, she couldn’t do it. “That’s some disguise you’re wearing. Is it a holographic projection of some sort?”

  “No, my body has been altered to appear human. Races that have suffered attack by Manti swarms tend to be xenophobic, so it helps to present a familiar appearance when we make initial contact. When I no longer have need of this form, I shall assume my true aspect once more.”

  Kyoto thought for a moment. “Your story sounds good on the surface, but there’s one thing you said that bothers me. You say this collective of yours—”

  “The Residuum.”

  “You say they only contact races who have battled the Manti and survived.”

  “Yes.”

  “If, as you claim, the Residuum’s intentions are benign, then why not seek out races before they are attacked by the Manti and help them defend themselves?”

  Ganymede paused before answering, as if he were carefully choosing his words.

  “Because those races have not yet proven themselves… worthy.”

  Kyoto frowned. “I don’t like that sound of that.”

  “I understand how it might seem overly harsh, but as I said before, the Residuum is a collective of survivors. In order to remain strong, we are only interested in permitting races to join that have demonstrated the strength, the cunning, and the tenacity to defeat the Manti. Look at this.”

  Hastimukah made no move, but the image surrounding them shifted once more. They still appeared to be sitting upon quartz rocks, but now they seemed to be floating in deep space. Kyoto felt an instant of panic, but then she reminded herself that this was just some kind of technologically advanced illusion. She didn’t need a vacc suit to survive here.

  Approaching from galactic west came a vast convoy of starships—all sizes, all shapes, from great gleaming behemoths to beat-up junkers that looked barely spaceworthy. There were thousands of vessels, all traveling in tight formation, all heading in the same direction.

  “This is the Residuum,” Hastimukah said with pride.

  As Kyoto watched the seemingly endless procession of starships, understanding came to her. “You don’t live on planets anymore, do you? You live on your ships.”

  “Yes. Most of our homeworlds were laid waste by the Manti. But even if they hadn’t been, we still would have chosen to live as we do. We live in tens of thousands of mobile fortresses, and there is no force in the galaxy that can threaten us now.”

  “An interesting solution,” Kyoto said. “You’ve chosen to both hide and run from the Manti.”

  Hastimukah bristled. “We are well equipped to fight when we have to. The Residuum excels in all forms of survival, including self-defense.”

  “Maybe so,” Kyoto said. “But how does it do when it comes to living?”

  Hastimukah didn’t have a response to this.

  “You can turn off the show,” Kyoto said. “I’ve seen enough.”

  Again, Hastimukah gave no indication of doing anything, but the simulation vanished, and they were once more in the arboretum. Hastimukah still had hold of Kyoto’s wrist, and now he released her.

  “Why did you approach me?” she asked. “Why now? And what do you want from us?”

  “I chose you because it was you who defeated the last swarm. Yes, I know that the entire struggle was hardly a solo effort, but in the end it was you who helped Memory drive the moon into the Earth, destroying the bulk of the last swarm. And my choice was validated again today when you destroyed the stargate rather than allow more Manti to come through. You demonstrated the prime qualities of a potential member of the Residuum: you will do whatever it takes, without hesitation, to stop your foe and ensure the safety of those you have
sworn to defend.

  “As for why now, your race is at a critical juncture in its development. Will you expand outward into the galaxy or will you remain bound to your home star system? We wish to show you that it is possible to become galactic citizens and still remain safe. As for what we want, long-term we would like to see humanity become a valued member race of the Residuum. Short-term, after contacting you, we had hoped to begin a dialogue with both GSA officials and the Council of Seven. But that may not be possible now.”

  Kyoto frowned. “Why not?”

  “Because the Manti have returned to attack the human race again, and the ultimate survival of your people is once more in question.”

  “That’s right. I almost forgot. Your little galactic club has room only for those who are deemed ‘worthy.’ And if this latest swarm wipes us out, then we hardly qualify, do we?”

  Hastimukah said nothing.

  “And since we have to prove ourselves to you, my guess is that the Residuum isn’t going to step in to help us put down this new swarm.”

  Again, Hastimukah didn’t reply.

  “That’s what I thought. So if that’s the case, then why bother contacting us at all? Why didn’t you just hold back and wait to see how events played out?”

  “Because I believe that you have proven yourselves worthy, even if others in the Residuum are still withholding judgment. I wished you to be aware of the stakes this time. Not only are you fighting for the survival of your race, Commander, you are fighting for its future.”

  CHAPTER

  ELEVEN

  “And then he left?” General Adams asked.

  Kyoto nodded.

  “Did he depart via matter transmitter or some equally exotic method?” Dr. Mudo asked. “Did he grow wings and fly away? Or perhaps simply vanish in a puff of smoke?”

  “Don’t be snide, Gerhard.” Memory’s voice came from all three of their personal comlinks, giving her words a strange echoing quality. “Voice stress analysis indicates that she’s telling the truth.”