John Maddox Roberts - Space Angel Read online

  That is the phenomenon to which I refer.

  "I cannot tell you much about it, since so little is known. Seemingly without shape or form, it resides in the great empty zone between the last conventional stars and the Core Star. It has been there since intelligent life first developed space travel in the Center area, and it will not let anything approach closer than a hundred light-years to the Core Star. Every scientific probe and military expedition has been destroyed or repulsed. That is the body of knowledge concerning the creature. Theories, of course, are rife concerning its nature and origin. Some hold that it is intelligent, others that it is a forcefield phenomenon, others that it is a device invented by a very early race, possibly one from another galaxy. One guess is as good as another, in the absence of data."

  That is what I wished to know.

  Sphere said no more that day.

  Six

  A few days later, the Space Angel once again emerged from hyper in a strange system. The crew had spent the intervening time getting acquainted with Homer. They found him to be a friendly little creature and a repository of information about the center stars, among which he had been traveling for many thousands of years, collecting the poetry of hundreds of races. His own specialty was heroic verse. Even the Vivers were forced to admire him, if only for his extreme longevity.

  Homer was also a gifted teacher, and Kelly spent many hours with him, absorbing the history and literature that the State schools had not bothered to teach. From the ship's computers, Homer had absorbed the full body of human literature and history. If Kelly survived, he would be a tolerably well-educated man by the end of the voyage.

  They were in the midst of a lesson when the ship's klaxon sounded an alarm. Kelly dashed to his battle

  ill

  station, the assistant's chair in the six-beam cutter installation, which was now located in the navigator's bubble.

  "What's happened, Torwald?" he demanded, dropping into the deep padded chair and strapping himself in.

  "We're under attack," Torwald was calmly testing his controls.

  "We came out of hyper a few minutes ago," Ham shouted from his station at the controls of the depolarizer he and Nancy crewed. "There was a planet nearby, a gas giant the size of Jupiter. We were looking for a more congenial place when the shooting started. A battle station is orbiting the gas giant, but it must've been on the far side when we came out of hyper. Soon as it cleared the horizon, though, it let us have both barrels. Force weapons of some kind. Sphere's deflecting most of it, but we're taking some damage."

  "Why doesn't Sphere jump us into hyper out of here?" Kelly asked, staring through the blister overhead as his hands performed the adjustments Torwald had drilled into him. Space around the ship was ashimmer with brilliant colors.

  "We think Sphere's preoccupied with neutralizing that thing's attacks."

  Finn chimed in from below, "According to my instruments, Sphere's moving us away from the battle station. I hope we're out of range soon."

  Suddenly, Kelly's eyes were dazzled by an especially brilliant display of pyrotechnics and the ship rocked. The damage alarm shrieked through the ship, and the group in the bubble scrambled into their life-support suits.

  "What's the damage?" demanded Ham, securing his helmet.

  "The hull's been ruptured between hold hatches two and three. Everything abaft Hydroponic's been sealed off," the skipper's voice was as calm as if she were reading a bill of lading.

  "Anybody back there?" Torwald asked.

  "No. Everyone's forward."

  Gradually, the colors surrounding them faded. There were no more shocks.

  "We seem to be out of range." The skipper sounded relieved. "Achmed, take Lafayette and Kelly aft and make a damage assessment. Everybody else stand to battle stations until I give further orders."

  Kelly unstrapped himself and made his way down to the lower companionway, then back past Hydroponics to the big bulkhead that separated the forward part of the ship from the hold. There he met Achmed and Lafayette, standing at the emergency lock.

  "We'll have to go through one at a time," the Muslim stated. "I'll go first, then Lafayette, then you, Kelly. Beyond that door we're in vacuum until we can effect repairs. Keep that in mind." Achmed opened the lock hatch and stepped inside. The hatch closed and they heard a hissing as the air was expelled from the interior. Next Lafayette went in, then it was Kelly's turn.

  As the hatch opening on the hold cycled open, Kelly held his breath. He expected utter devastation: the ship's hull ripped open, the cargo of crystal shattered, the catwalk dangling precariously from its supports or gone altogether. He saw nothing of the sort. Everything seemed normal. That in itself was a sobering concept; it brought home to him what a fragile environment the ship provided, and that even a seemingly trivial bit of damage could turn what had become a secure home to him- into a coffin floating forever in the spaces between the stars.

  He shook off the mood and entered, moving cautiously to where Achmed and Lafayette stood at the aft end of the catwalk. They were staring at something overhead. When Kelly joined them, he could see what held their attention. Near the aft bulkhead, the skin of the ship showed a narrow rent, no more than ten centimeters wide and about two meters long, as if a giant razor had sliced neatly into the ship and then passed on. The end of the slice disappeared beyond the bulkhead separating the hold from the installations in the tail of the ship.

  "That rent goes into the AC dock, Kelly. You go into the dock and check out the damage there while Lafayette and I rig a patch here."

  Kelly edged past the bulkhead and took the ladder to the upper deck, where he pushed the dock hatch open and stepped inside. From the bulkhead, the slit in the skin continued for another three meters and then tapered to nothing. The thick-clustered stars shone through it as a band of malevolent beauty. Whatever had cut the skin had also hit the AC. The tail of the craft showed deep slices through the rear stabilizing vanes and propulsion cones.

  "Achmed, the AC's damaged, and there's more skin rupture in here than in the hold." His voice sounded unfamiliar to him in the helmet.

  "Damn. Does the hole go back as far as the aft bulkhead?"

  "No, it ends about a third of the way there."

  "Well, that's something. I think we can rig a patch. It'll last for a while, but we'll have to put down on a planet for proper repairs before we travel much farther. How bad is the damage to the AC?"

  "I'm no expert, but it looks bad. Some plates cut through completely, and there's damage to the drive." That could be serious. If they were to do any planet-side work, the atmosphere craft would be essential.

  For the next few hours, Kelly was kept busy running for materials while Achmed, Torwald, and K'Stin rigged a patch. Kelly and Lafayette had to wrestle sheets of metal from the supply room, cut them into pieces small enough to pass through the emergency lock, then carry them through the hold, where they were welded into place.

  During the repair work, the skipper cruised the system, looking for a planet suitable to land on for more thorough repairs. Nearer the system's sun, she spotted a likely prospect. Several days were required to reach the planet, and the crew became increasingly nervous as they neared it. The gas giant had been protected by a battle station; this place might be, too.

  Their fears proved groundless. The planet loomed overhead, as seen through the dome of the navigation bubble. Mostly ocean, but two sizable continents visible, and a number of large islands. Most of the landmass was obscured by clouds, but what could be seen was bright green.

  "Where shall we land, Gertie?" Ham asked. "That peninsula on the southeast coast of the northern continent looks like a good spot."

  "There's a tropical storm heading that way. Let's try that big island just south of the equator. Instrument readings show no signs of advanced, technological civilization down there, but let's not take chances. If there is such a culture, an island is the last place it will be. We need a few days without disturbance to carry out repai
rs, and we can't afford a fight with anybody who can match our firepower."

  Finn descended to his navigation room and returned a few minutes later. "I've located a good-sized clearing in the uplands, well away from the ocean."

  "That'll do," the skipper said. "We'll set down there, and work on repairs. Nobody leaves the landing area without permission. All right, everybody, back to your cabins and prepare to land. When we're down, I'll call off work parties. We've got some crucial repairs to make and I don't want to waste any time."

  They filed out. Kelly, for one, was disappointed that they wouldn't be doing any exploring. He suspected that he wasn't alone.

  Kelly and Nancy stood at the top of the ramp.

  Ham, Achmed, and Bert were working the first shift repairing the Angel's hull. The AC would be tended to later, and without it, the skipper had ruled out any exploring.

  "What a waste!" Kelly observed bitterly. "A whole new world, untouched by humans, and we can't so much as set foot on it. Doesn't it make you mad?" He was hoping to elicit some kind of personal revelation from Nancy. Since the day she had revealed something of her childhood, she had withdrawn once more into her untouchable shell when she was alone with him.

  "I've seen lots of new worlds, Kelly, some of them never explored before. You get used to it. And the skipper's right. It just looks like an Earth jungle. It could be something completely different. That stuff that looks like grass could be carnivorous, for instance. Flowers could spray poison gas in your face. Animals could dig camouflaged pits for you to step in. I've seen such things on colonized worlds. This place is an unknown quantity."

  "We could send the Vivers out to look around. They're not afraid of anything."

  "They wouldn't risk themselves without a pressing reason. Besides, the skipper can't order them out just to satisfy our curiosity. And, they're afraid of everything until it's proven harmless; then they keep an eye on it, just in case."

  "Those two worry about their survival so much, I wonder why they don't die of anxiety." Kelly laughed at his own joke. It struck him that it had been a long time since he'd last laughed.

  "What's the joke?" came a voice behind them. Lafayette stepped out onto the gangway platform. He was looking surly this morning. The last few weeks, even Kelly had noticed that the long voyage and the strain of uncertainty were telling on Lafayette.

  "Kelly made an observation concerning the Vivers," Nancy answered blandly. Kelly looked at her.

  Did he detect a glint of complicity in her eye? He decided that he didn't. She always looked like that.

  "A lot of good those two lobsters have done us so far," Lafayette commented. "Teddy's been as much help, and even Homer at least breaks up the monotony."

  "I'm going back to the comm room," Nancy announced, obviously not wishing to be around Lafayette in this mood. He didn't seem to notice when she left.

  "Hey, Kelly, what do you say we go have a look around? This ship's about to drive me into a permanent Whoopee Drive dream."

  "I don't know," said Kelly, doubtfully. "The skipper said—"

  "Who cares what she said! She's not human, anyway. What's she going to do, kick us off the ship? Chances are, we'll never get back from this crazy trip whatever we do."

  "Well, suit yourself, but I'm staying here," said Kelly, although he really wanted to go.

  "Stay here, then!" Lafayette yelled. He stalked down the ramp and onto the ground, not even pausing to make a speech appropriate to being the first human to set foot on a new world. He crossed the clearing and disappeared into the jungle. Kelly waited for him to return, and after an hour had passed, he began to grow alarmed. When he could wait no longer, he headed for the bridge, where the skipper was going over some drawings with Ham, Torwald, and Michelle. She looked up as he entered, frowned when she caught his worried expression.

  "What's the matter?" she asked.

  "Lafayette's left the ship," he said.

  "What?" She jumped out of her chair, ran to Kelly and grabbed him by the shoulders. "When?"

  "A little over an hour ago. He—"

  "Over an hour ago?" Her wrath mounted by the second. "Why did you wait so long to tell me, you landsman?" The deadly insult warned Kelly that he was in deep trouble. With trepidation, he explained what had happened.

  "Why didn't you stop him?"

  "It was his neck, wasn't it? He knew your orders."

  "You should've stopped him."

  "How, Skipper?"

  "You could've punched him out," said Torwald. "You've done that before."

  "We're wasting time," said the skipper. "Torwald, fetch the gear you'll need for a ground expedition. Send the Vivers out first to scout for his trail. Send Homer, too. He can see and sense things we can't. Take everybody who isn't needed to repair the AC. When that's fixed, it'll be a lot easier looking. Michelle, I hate to send you along, but he's liable to need immediate medical care when he's found. If he's found. Get going. You stay here," she said, pointing at Kelly. When the others had gone, she thrust her face within an inch of Kelly's. She had to stretch to do it. He had been growing.

  "Listen, you. When you serve in a ship, you think of the ship first, last, and always. Your temper and feelings don't count. That boy has been at the breaking point for weeks, and it was your job to look out for him, whatever differences you two have had in the past. You've let a shipmate down, you've forced the rest of the crew to endanger their lives, and you've endangered the ship. Those are three unforgivable sins. Now, against my better judgment, I'm going to give you a chance to redeem yourself. You're going out with that party. If Lafayette doesn't come back with them, I don't want to see you back, either." She turned and strode through the hatch, leaving Kelly pale and shaken, alone on the bridge.

  The Vivers and Homer returned from the jungle within an hour.

  "His trail was clear for nearly a kilometer," K'Stin reported, "then it disappeared. The remains of a snare were found where his tracks ended. No sign of blood, no tracks leading away."

  "It is my opinion," said Homer, "that the locals have spirited him away through the trees, and the Vivers and I are not arboreal."

  "See anything else?" the skipper asked.

  "Heavy jungle," said K'Stin, "many animals, large and small. Some predators, nothing to trouble a Viver, but you soft ones will have to be careful. Also found some big stone buildings about five kilometers from here, but there was a lot of jungle growth on them, so they are probably uninhabited."

  "All right, then," the skipper said. "First task: check out those buildings. Look for signs of life—intelligent life. Keep in regular contact with the ship and take no unnecessary chances. Get going."

  The party was equipped for a long hike through difficult terrain, without arm- and leg-armor, just body armor and puncture-proof coveralls. Everyone wore belted laser handguns and machetes; Ham and Torwald carried forcebea'm rifles in addition. The Vivers were, as usual, walking arsenals. They crossed the clearing and within moments the jungle had swallowed them up.

  In spite of their serious mission, the Earthmen stared with fascination at their exotic surroundings: one tree with a spirally fluted trunk sprouting a crown of feathery blue leaves fifty meters from the ground, another bristling with long spikes, vines that crept along the ground, and others looping from one treetop to another; and everywhere there were flowers. Some were so tiny that clusters of hundreds of blooms made a mass no bigger than a fingertip, others so large that a single petal measured two paces across.

  They walked into wave after wave of odor, from the most delicate of perfumes to the rankest stenches. Every plant in the jungle seemed to call attention to itself, with outlandish form, outrageous color, inescapable aroma, or a combination of all three. Animals were apparent in equal profusion and variety. Some were small, many-legged insect equivalents; scaly creatures, some legless, that appeared to be reptiles; furry beasts of all sizes that might have been mammals. There were no birds or anything with feathers, but many species of the other thre
e types flew. The air was alive with flying insects, and big creatures with translucent wings chased the bugs. At one point a little thing, vaguely reptiloid, with wings landed on Kelly's shoulder and studied his face through jewellike, golden eyes.

  To Kelly's relief, the little dragon flapped silently away after a few moments of careful contemplation.

  The relatively open forest near the clearing soon gave way to dense undergrowth and the Vivers, in the lead as usual, began plying their sword-length machetes. Their arms rose and fell mechanically, shearing through tough, woody vines as easily as if they were daisy stalks. A kilometer of such growth would have taken standard humans all day to cut through. The Vivers covered that distance in a little less than an hour.

  The stifling humidity soon had the standard humans' bodies streaming with sweat, despite the sophisticated air-circulation systems implanted in their coveralls. Sweat squished in their boots and ran from their sleeves into their gloves. Even the light body armor began to chafe and their packs to weigh heavily. The Vivers, of course, seemed perfectly comfortable, as did Homer, who burbled away, composing complex verses in some language or other. The standard humans were relieved when K'Stin called a halt.

  The party had halted along the edge of a slowly moving stream about twenty meters across. The water was murky and looked ominous. Occasionally, the surface was marked with a chain of V's as something large and swift swam just below the surface. B'Shant plucked a large blossom and tossed it into the water. Immediately, the surface was disturbed as something shot toward the flower. The searchers received the impression of a scaly snout amid a spray of water—the blossom was gone. A few seconds later, it reemerged as ragged fragments, spat out in disappointment by the hungry reptiloid.

  "I, for one, don't care to dispute right of passage with those things," Finn admitted.

  "There is no problem," K'Stin said. "Get ready to cross." Without waiting for a reply, he barked an order to B'Shant. The other Viver picked three more of the big flowers and tossed them into the water about twenty meters downstream. Three heads appeared almost simultaneously to snatch the blooms. This time, though, the Vivers shot them as soon as their heads appeared above the surface. The beams, set for cutting action, sliced deep, filling the water with dark-blue blood. As the dead creatures thrashed in nervous reaction, dozens of wakes converged upon them. In seconds, the water was churned into spray as carnivores battled one another for possession of this bounty.