Dreadnought (Lost Colonies Trilogy Book 2) (23 page)

-34-

Breaking through the unstable breach was possibly the most daring act of the mission thus far.

After the Stroj vanished, I could have called it quits and headed for home. There was even an argument to be made that I
should
do exactly that because it was more important that I reach Earth and warn her than it was that I hunt down our elusive enemy.

But I didn’t turn tail and run. Instead, I followed my instincts, and plunged my ship into the breach. I watched the universe waver around me with a terrifying flicker.

In what seemed like a brief moment later, we were in a different place. Sometimes after explorers returned, they’d found hours or even days had passed since they’d left. I had no idea yet if time had shifted on us on this occasion.

I told myself it didn’t matter. We were committed now. We’d reached hyperspace once again. Since we weren’t dead yet, I allowed myself to start breathing easily. All around me on the ship’s command deck, people released similar sighs of relief.

We’d taken a dark road, a path that was unknown to us. Most bridges connected two points in the universe, each of which floated near a region of considerable mass. But a large percentage of them led to useless spots, such as dead star systems with suns that had long ago expired. Others led to the center of a swirling dust cloud. A small percentage became useful trade routes between two inhabitable star systems.

The worst of the bridges went to places unknown. No one had ever returned from these, robot or human, and they’d been marked as dead links to nowhere on every existing map.

This bridge had never been mapped at all, to my knowledge. A significant part of our mission was to explore. Perhaps today I’d be able to extend humanity’s knowledge of the cosmos one more single tick. Either that, or I’d killed us all.

“What have we got, Ensign Gelb?” I asked.

The woman I’d called upon looked over her shoulder at me. Suzy Gelb was blonde and wore her hair a fraction longer than was regulation. No one had called her on that infraction yet.

She was Durris’ replacement. The second best astronavigator aboard.

“I don’t know,” she said with a slight European accent. “I’ve never seen anything like this.”

I moved to her side. The map did look strange. Normally, hyperspace was broad and empty. No data would come back, unless there was another ship or dropped probe present.

This time the feedback from our sensors was vastly different. It was reporting large objects in every direction—masses that should have torn our ship apart with gravitational force.

“All engines halt!” I ordered.

The thrumming sound of our drives deepened and faded.

Watching the map, I frowned. The objects surrounding us were swelling as our active sensors reported back contacts from farther and farther away.

“This is so strange,” Ensign Gelb said. “What do we do, Captain? Should we turn and run out?”

“No,” I said. “We’ll wait until the picture is complete.”

“But these masses around us—we’ll be crushed.”

“Yamada,” I called over my shoulder. “Do a full diagnostic on these sensory readings. What are we looking at? Can this be real?”

“I’ve already done that, sir. They check out. We’re surrounded by large formations. Objects the size of stars—it’s almost like we’re
inside
a star.”

Rumbold left the helm and came to look over our table. He’d recovered nicely from his earlier injuries, I noticed. Modern medicine was automated and highly effective.

“Sir, I think I know what we’re looking at,” he said, staring at the looming walls around us. Every second, more was sketched in. The mass of objects surrounding us was nearly complete.

“What is this?” I demanded. “Are we inside some kind of cave between titanic objects?”

“Can’t be,” Rumbold explained. “First of all, if these contacts had mass, they’d generate so much gravitational force they’d tear us apart. They’d also light up and become fusion-driven suns on their own—maybe even a black hole.”

“What are we looking at, then?”

“We’re in a small universe, sir. A pocket. That’s what hyperspace is, you know. A region of space in-between the fabric of normal space. A void between voids. What we’re looking at are the walls of this universe. They’re very close, and if I don’t miss my guess, they’re shifting as we watch.”

Staring at the screen, I touched Ensign Gelb’s shoulder. “Can you program this system to change colors over time? Brighten and darken regions as they shift and fade?”

She worked the controls for a full minute. At last, the effect I wanted began to appear. Not everything was in motion, but there were zones that were receding, while others loomed closer to our ship.

“This is fantastic,” she said. “I think I’ve read about this type of phenomena. It’s rare, but it’s not unknown.”

Rumbold’s big eyes stared. “If this is a small, unstable bridge, it’s very dangerous. Spacers have reported that this type of passage might shrink to cover the exit or the entrance. Then, it might take a thousand years to reveal itself again.”

“Well then,” I said, “we’d better get moving. Yamada, feed us data on the tritium trails, if any.”

Glittering streaks overlaid the map before us. They were faint, but undeniable.

“Our stealthy friends have shown us the path. Follow them. Give us one gravity of acceleration.”

Rumbold licked his lips and returned to his station. Soon, we were underway again.

“Is this wise, sir?” Gelb asked me quietly. “They know this route, we don’t. Perhaps they’ve timed it so we’ll run into a shifting wall of this sub-universe.”

“What could such a wall be made of, anyway?” I asked.

She shook her head. “I don’t know. If they ever figured it out in Earth’s past, they aren’t teaching us about it now in the Academy.”

“Right,” I said, looking as unconcerned as I could manage under the circumstances. “Steady on, we’ll follow them to the exit long before these walls converge.”

“If you say so, Captain.”

“I do.”

I left Gelb to ponder her navigating table. When I returned to my seat, I found Zye was standing there beside it, waiting.

“How is she?” Zye asked.

“Who? Durris’ replacement? Ensign Gelb is doing her job, I guess. She’s new, but she studied under his direction for months. She should work out until his neck heals.”

Zye was staring at Gelb. I got the definite feeling she didn’t approve of her.

“Is there a problem, Zye?” I asked.

“No Captain. Not yet.”

Zye returned to her station. I considered saying something, but I held my tongue. She was paranoid, that’s all. Arguing with her about it would only inflame her suspicions even more.

We followed the tritium trail for a solid day. Believing my crew had the matter well in hand, and with strict orders to wake me if anything went wrong, I ordered a watch change and left the deck.

After a quick meal, I headed for my cabin. There, I found someone was already inside waiting for me.

“Zye?” I asked in the darkened room. “I need to get some rest. This isn’t the time or the place—”

“I’m not Zye, Captain,” Ensign Gelb murmured softly. She stepped out of the shadows and tilted her head coyly.

“How did you get in here?” I asked. “I didn’t give you my code.”

She laughed gently. “Lots of people have it. There are universal codes as well, used by the cabin stewards.”

“Right… well, how can I accommodate you?” I asked pointlessly.

“Could you close the door, Captain?”

I was acutely aware of her. She seemed even more attractive in my cabin than she had in formal settings. She was quite different when compared to other women I’d been acquainted with. She had a Nordic face with naturally sleepy eyes, an impressive chest and swelling hips. She wore her uniform cinched up tightly—and that hair. It was very feminine. I could see now why she’d gotten away with it. No one had the heart to order her to cut it.

“You still haven’t told me—” I began sternly, but then she reached up with her hands and touched the releases on her uniform.

As her clothing was tightly wrapped around her person in the first place, it sprang loose easily when she touched the releases. She stood comfortably before me, nude and smiling.

My jaw dropped in surprise, then I heard footsteps out in the passages. She nodded toward the door, and I leapt up to close it.

It wouldn’t do at all to have this woman spotted in my cabin. The worst case was that Zye was lurking out there. I wouldn’t have been surprised at all if she was.

I had to give it to Zye, she’d read the signs, while I hadn’t. She’d suspected from the start this young officer had designs upon me. I’d missed that somehow.

“Ensign Gelb…”

“Call me Suzy,” she said smoothly.

“Ensign Gelb,” I repeated. “I must protest. This behavior is entirely inappropriate.”

She stopped her advance and pouted.

My eyes ran over her, up and down twice, despite my attempts to be professional.

“You don’t like me?” she sulked. “I thought you were interested after the way you touched me at the navigational table.”

Ensign Gelb was very attractive and aggressive. I could see how she’d gained her reputation. Even Yamada had asked about her… how could I have missed her interest so utterly?

“It’s not that I don’t like you—it’s that barely know you!”

“I felt certain that you’d given me a clear signal, and I’ve heard stories about your conquests.”

Huffy now, she pulled up her clothes and fought to get them to stretch back over her body. The clothes were not winning this fight.  Two tiny clasps of elastic, slipping from her fingers, shot over her shoulders and fell down her back.

“Let me help you,” I said, stepping forward.

I attempted to lift a strap and stretch it over her back, but she shifted and my hand ran up along her ribs instead.

She squirmed. “You’re tickling me!” she said. “You did that on purpose, didn’t you? Is that how you want things to go? Does everything have to appear accidental? Is that it?”

She was close, warm and vibrant. I looked into her eyes. Our lips were almost touching. I realized I was losing control of my actions. The temptation she represented was too great.

But I saw something there, in her eyes. Something I would never have suspected until that moment.

Once, a year earlier, I’d stared into the robotic eyes of an imitation of Chloe. That woman, like this one, had been ravishingly beautiful.

But the eyes—they hadn’t been right. The human eye was too complex to mimic. Every capillary, every tiny discoloration of the iris—humans looked their most human when you looked into their eyes up close.

To cover my shock, I kissed Ensign Susan Gelb.

But I knew, without any sense of doubt, that she was a Stroj agent.

-35-

Stroj mimics had become infinitely more sophisticated since the first crude robots they’d planted among us. Nano-fiber musculature was now used over polymer bones in the newer models. These materials were difficult to detect without a full body-scan. They also served to give the Stroj a more human appearance.

This creature, Suzy, was a pinnacle achievement. I realized the engineers that had abandoned our ship must have been of a similar technological level.

Her hands, so soft and feminine a moment before, became like polymer claws. Her right hand grabbed onto my uniform, jerking me back toward her. Her left snaked around my neck and pulled me toward her mouth.

I decided to play along and stopped resisting. If we could capture this thing alive, we could study it. Accordingly, I kissed her back. Then I activated my implant and called for security.

I was surprised when my message failed to transmit. It was jammed. People often used jammers for privacy when in their sleeping quarters. I’d never used one as I needed to be in touch with my crew at a moment’s notice. But Suzy must have turned one on for our little engagement—I was on my own.

With her body locked around me like a python, she planted her mouth aggressively on mine. She pushed her bare breasts against me, and I could feel the sheer strength of her artificial muscles as she struggled with me. Was she as strong as I was? Possibly. Her muscles flexed and bulged with effort.

The door opened behind us then. I would have closed it, but the Stroj had me in a death grip. Her hands weren’t caressing, they were wound up tightly in my hair. Her lips weren’t just kissing me, they were applying suction, and her tongue wormed its way into my mouth.

My hands came up to push her away, but she quickly gripped my wrist, guiding me to handle her full breasts. They felt as real as any I’d ever had the privilege to touch. In fact, they felt so real that I lost myself for a moment.

“I see that I’m interrupting,” Zye’s voice said behind me in a cold tone. “Excuse me, Captain.”

Embarrassed, I considered calling out to her, but passed on the idea. I would handle this particular monster on my own.

Biting down hard, I crushed the cyborg’s tongue. She recoiled and spat blood.

“Don’t do that again,” she slurred, “or I’ll kill you instantly.”

“Isn’t that your intention?” I asked. I was glad to learn that a Stroj could feel something in the way of pain. The Stroj were known to disconnect such nerve circuits, finding them distracting in combat.

“Don’t worry, I’ll get around to killing you,” she said, smiling with perfect, blood-stained teeth. “But I’m going to have sex with you, first.”

“Ah, I understand. You’ve been conditioned to like sex, haven’t you? How better to play the role of seductress and get people to give you the assignment you want, the code to the captain’s cabin, or whatever else you need.”

“That’s right,” she said, “I do enjoy it, and you shouldn’t complain. Isn’t this way better than a foul death full of nothing but pain? At least you’ll get some pleasure first.”

I considered it. If I did give in to the creature’s demands, I would be buying time. I could use a little time to think—if one
could
think clearly while making love to a killer cyborg.

My arms came up as if to embrace her. She smiled and seemed genuinely pleased. How many others had she strangled while she entwined her tight body with theirs?

“Wait a second,” I said, putting up a hand. “You’re the one who broke Durris’ neck, weren’t you? I saw you at the navigational table at that moment, even though it wasn’t your shift.”

She flashed me a grin. “I had to get closer. One step closer to you. Now, are you going to let all this go to waste?” She ran her hands over her own taut body.

I let my eyes appreciate her once more and moved in. She let me put my hands on her, and we stepped toward my bunk. As we moved to sit down upon it, I made my move, lying on my side in just the right spot.

When on the command deck, I generally didn’t wear my power-sword. I left it in my cabin instead. But where to place it? Reasoning long ago that the most likely location I’d require use of it was when I was lying on my bunk, I’d placed it between the mattress and the lip of the bed that surrounded the padding.

With a natural move, I settled back and put my hand on the bed, as if to support myself as I leaned back on pillows. I maintained eye-contact with Suzy the entire time.

The lustful she-creature came down on top of me. She didn’t weigh much, no more than what any young woman weighed, but her strong hands never left my body.

Deciding I didn’t want to tip her off, I let her push me down flat on the bed. She ripped at my clothes, and soon I was exposed. She moved sinuously, and I found myself enjoying the experience. I almost forgot that I was in mortal danger.

With an effort of will, I forced myself to act. I felt somewhat guilty doing it. I knew this creature wasn’t a normal human girl. Her flesh was like rubber and her mind was an evil, twisted thing. I had to remind myself that she was going to kill me when her physical lust was satisfied.

Before I could entertain second thoughts, I skewered her with a flick of my wrist. The sword rose in my hand I drove it into her arching back all at once.

She made a hissing sound, and she clenched down on me. I felt a terrific pain. She wasn’t dying, however. She was transfixed on my sword, but her hands were still free, groping for my throat.

I had no choice. I switched on the sword, and a jolt of power electrocuted the monster that was trying to kill me even in her death throes.

Fortunately, I hadn’t slid the selector to the continuous “on” position, but simply pressed the activating stud long enough to cause the sword to ignite briefly.

Even so, there were enough conductive materials in the Stroj to cause me to get a jolt as well. My mind blanked.

We were still coupled, even though the monster was stone dead.

I was aware of vomiting and passing out. My thumb slipped away from the switch on the hilt, and the full weight of the creature slumped over me on my bunk.