Tachyon Web (21 page)

“
A final test
,” Rak said.

Griffin nodded. “I still had my doubts. But your resolve, First Councillor…that erased them. Return
Excalibur
to us, then build your star drives in secret. Outfit every ship in your fleet. And when the day comes when your people suddenly jump out of our observable reach, I will feel somewhat forgiven for having waited, and for having needed an excuse.”

Rak’s quick insight hit again. “
But on that day, your superiors will know what went on in this room?
”

Griffin shrugged. “So they will. So what?”

“You’ll be up for high treason,” Eric said, impressed.

“That won’t be as bad as being caught in a storm.” Griffin did not need to glance at the picture of his ton. Rak and Eric understood.

The meeting was over. They stood and shook hands. Eric felt like dancing with joy and would have if he hadn’t been so limp with relief. And if not for one other small detail...

“What’s going to happen to me?” he asked.

The General was still a hard man. “You know too much, Tirel. If word leaked out of what went on here, before the Kaulikans could build their drives, I could not guarantee what action The Patrol would take.”

“I won’t tell anybody. None of my friends will either.”

“None of your friends will know what’s happened. First Councillor, have I your word that
Excalibur
will be placed outside in space before Tirel and you can return to the flagship?”

“Yes.”

Eric was aghast. “Are you saying I can’t go home?”

“You can’t,” Griffin said.

Rak touched his arm. “We
will take care of you, son. We owe you so much.
”

He felt profoundly sad, ready to cry and had to struggle to keep back the tears. No more clowning with Strem and Sammy. No more shark hunts off the coast of Baja. No more mountain climbing…“But my parents,” he stuttered. “You can’t just tell them I died.”

“I will meet with them personally,” Griffin promised. “They will be told you’re on a special assignment for The Patrol.”

“But when I don’t come home…”

“They will know that you are safe. I will see to it.”

Eric sniffed, then tried to hide it by chuckling. “But I don’t even speak Kaulikan.”

“You may keep the translator in the shuttle.”

Rak squeezed his arm. “
We were a happy people once, and will be again soon. I believe you will find happiness with us.
”

“I was never really that happy on Earth,’ he admitted. He looked Griffin in the eye. “All right. I’ll go. But what about my friends?”

“They'll think the First Councillor surrendered
Excalibur
.”

“Will they be punished?”

Griffin shook his head. “All of you youngsters helped me to make this difficult decision. I have influence, for now. They will be fine.”

“When the Kaulikans make their first hyper jumps, will The Tachyon Web come down?”

Griffin raised a silver eyebrow. “You are clever, Tirel. It's a shame the academy rejected you.”

“Why
did
they reject me?”

“You sent in your application late.”

“Is that the only reason?”

“Yes.” He added, “The web will probably come down, in time.”

“Would it be possible to say goodbye to my friends?”

“No.”

“How about just over a communication beam?”

“I can’t chance what you might tell them.”

Rak let go of Eric’s arm. “
General, may I speak to my fellow Councillors to tell them to prepare to release
Excalibur
?
”

“Of course.” Griffin adjusted a dial next to the empty globe. “That is the same channel we spoke on earlier?”

“Yes.”

Griffin pointed Rak toward the microphone. “Go ahead, First Councillor.”

Rak leaned over the desk and told his people that the confrontation was over, giving the impression that the Kaulikans had backed down. As he finished speaking, Eric moved to his side and said rather loudly, “Vani, everything is four-A-okay.”

Griffin did not react to the comment. Rak completed his message to his unhappy Councillors and then the General walked them to the door.

“A last piece of advice,” Griffin said. “Our Union is vast but you have seen how we are a claustrophobic race. There are worlds everywhere, even in other galaxies. Find one far away.”

Rak nodded. “
Then we will not meet again?
”

“I very much doubt it.”

So Griffin really wasn’t such a bad guy, after all, Eric thought. Eric couldn’t resist. He slapped the General on the back and laughed. “Hell, you haven’t seen the last of me.”

EPILOGUE

Once they were back aboard the flagship, Rak excused himself. He had to speak to his fellow Councillors. Eric could well understand his haste. Eric would have enjoyed seeing their faces when they learned the truth. But Rak did not invite him to tag along and it appeared his part in these large matters was over. He was disappointed. In spite of the dozen nervous breakdowns he’d suffered during the last couple of days, he had enjoyed playing the big cheese.

A Kaulikan guard was waiting in the docking bay to escort him to his new quarters. Translator in hand, Eric asked to be taken to an observational window instead. He had not seen
Excalibur
on his return trip in the shuttle and it was clearly no longer in the flagship bay. As the old freighter had been so quickly removed into space, Vani might not have had a chance to reach Strem. The possibility was disquieting.

Before leaving for The Patrol battle cruiser, Eric had given Vani four slips of paper, each containing a different message. He had anticipated that after everything was said and done, Griffin would try to keep him from his friends. The messages relayed four separate conclusions to the whole scenario: The Kaulikans got cheated and his new forwarding address was Mercury; the Kaulikans got cheated and now he was one of them; the Kaulikans got what they deserved and he was still heading for Mercury; the Kaulikans got what they deserved and he hoped Vani didn’t get tired of him. He had placed the brightest possibility last because immediately after the vaporization of the factory, it had seemed the least likely. He had taught Vani the English words: one two, three, four. When he had said four-A-okay in the General’s quarters, she had known to deliver the last message to Strem
immediately
. The fourth message had also contained a note that Strem could respond to.

Eric’s escort led him to a small dimly lit room whose one wall, from floor to ceiling, was a clear window looking out into space. Primitive telescopes that employed curved lenses to gather and magnify light were available for use. After assuring him that he would be waiting nearby, the guard left the room.

For the first time in a long time, Eric found himself alone. Off to the far left of the window was the nova, still beautiful with its many hued halos, yet somehow less impressive to him. It was not logical, but he couldn’t help feeling that he had defeated the volatile star. He remembered Rak’s comment in the shuttle. The First Councillor had imagined that the sun had grown tired with its children’s wicked ways, like an impatient parent. Well, Eric had never taken parental punishment easily and it gave him a deep satisfaction to have pulled a fast one on this Big Daddy. Even with their huge fleet, the Kaulikan race had stood only a slim chance of life. Now their survival was practically certain.

As to his own future...he had to know about those messages.

Turning toward darker regions Eric noted a faint cluster of silver slithers floating between the stars. He reached for a telescope and adjusted the focus, peering in the eyepiece. The Patrol Fleet had yet to activate their hyper drives. The reason was clear to the eye. A mercuric dot was leaving Griffin’s command vessel for a dull gray stubby cylinder that floated nearby; no doubt a ferry being sent over to remove
Excalibur
’s crew. The General apparently did not trust his friends at the freighter’s helm.

“So long, guys,” he said, feeling a stab of loneliness. “We had a hell of a vacation.”

A warm hand touched the side of his face. “
Eric.
”

It was Vani, wearing an uncertain smile. They moved away from the window and sat on a nearby couch, the translator resting between them. Hopefully, the thing would keep working until he could learn the language.

“
I spoke to Rak in the Council Chamber
,” Vani said, her eyes shining. “
He said that you have given us a new life.
”

“Nice of him to give me all the credit.”

She leaned forward, clasped his hands. “
When can we be at Lira?
”

“With the instructions you received, your people could probably outfit the flagship with the necessary drives in a few months. Of course, it will take longer to prepare every ship in the fleet, but once your engineers and technicians get the hang of the technology, it won’t be long. You probably won’t even end up at Lira. Somewhere else might be better, far away. Distance won’t matter anymore.”

Vani was happy, but her uncertainty remained. “
You say ‘you’ not ‘we’. Are you not coming with us?
”

Eric took his hands back, folding them together on his lap, staring at the floor. He was afraid to ask about the notes. “I have no choice.”

His answer distressed her. “
But is this not a choice you would make?
”

He felt ashamed of his self-centeredness. He turned to her. “Yes, it is. I love your people. I love…that I’ve been given the opportunity to stay here with you. But...I don’t know.”

“
What?
”

He laughed, once, embarrassed. “Vani, we met under unusual circumstances. Strem and I were stumbling around, lost. We intended to use you. We lied to you. Why, you didn’t even know that I was an alien.” Boy that sounded weird. “What I’m trying to say is that I like you, but I’m not one of you. I don’t even have white hair.”

“
You have beautiful hair.
”

“My eyes are funny.”

“
You have beautiful eyes.
”

“Vani…”

“
Eric.
” She took his hands again. “
I have watched you. Everything you did to help us you did because you thought we were a people as good as your people.
”

“Right.”

“
Then why do you not think you are as good as we?
”

She had a point there. “I guess I don’t want you to feel you have to stay my friend now that the excitement is over.” He added hastily, “If you don’t want to, that is.”

She laughed. “
You are my new job! When I spoke to Rak in the Council Chamber, he said it was my responsibility to help you adjust to our society.
” She patted his arm. “
I would rather take care of you than take care of a fruit tree.
”

He decided he would be a fool to argue with her further. “Vani,” he said reluctantly, “I don’t suppose you got a chance to give the notes to Strem?”

She laughed again, mimicking his code words in English, “Four-A-okay?”

“You got to him?”

She nodded, pulling a paper from her pants pocket. “
Yes. And he returned the note to me after writing on the back.
”

Eric plucked the paper from her hand, unable to restrain himself. On the one side, in his own handwriting, was the message:

Strem,

If you get this note it means, no matter what you are told otherwise, the Kaulikans got the graviton and hyper drives, and that I have been exiled aboard their fleet. If this is now the case, I believe The Tachyon Web will eventually come down. Let’s set up a rendezvous point, say the third planet from Lira – the Kaulikans’ original destination. I’ll be there every spring break, until we meet again.

Eric

PS – The above information must be kept secret.

He turned the paper over and read:

Eric,

They're getting ready to tow us out of here. Got to write fast. I’m glad you got Griffin to choke. What the hell, I guess there is plenty of room for everybody. If you got the goods on the drives, have the Kaulikans build you your own private starship. Next spring break, or the one after that – whenever – sounds fine with me.

Strem

PS – Give Green Eyes a big juicy kiss for me.

Eric calmly folded the note and put it away. Then he burst out laughing. Strem's suggestion was in keeping with his own ideas. After all, Rak owed him one. Before the Kaulikans finished outfitting their fleet for supralight travel, they could whip up a small cruiser for him; nothing fancy, just something that could get him where he wanted to go, like the other side of the universe.

“
Good news?
” Vani asked.

“Vani, once you…once we get settled on our new world, how would a trip sound?”

“
Is this Strem's idea?
”

“Sort of.”

She was interested. “
To where?
”

He looked out of the window at the soft glowing body of The Milky Way. “I've always wanted to see the center of the galaxy.”

She nodded. “
So have I.
”

“Great, that will be our first stop.” He sat up with a start. The stars in the vicinity of The Patrol ships had begun to ripple and blur. Griffin was readying his cruisers for a hyper jump. Eric hurried to the telescope and was in time to catch a close-up view of the Earth Fleet, and
Excalibur
, as they bent space inside itself and blinked out of sight into another dimension. This time he experienced no stab of loneliness nor did he even feel the need to say goodbye once more. He would see his friends again. It was written in the stars.

“
Did Strem say anything else?
” Vani asked, leaning into his side. Eric put his arm around her. He owed it to Strem to fulfill his last request.

“As a matter of fact, he did.”