The Web and the Stars (31 page)

“Guess you’re right.” Acey looked dark, then grinned disarmingly. “Hey, we should
thank him.
If he hadn’t boxed us up and shipped us into space, we wouldn’t have gone on the wild pod hunts, or ever seen the Parvii Fold.”

“Just stay away from him,” Dux said. “No threats, no nothing.”

“All right.” Acey thought for a moment, and asked Tesh, “What about the Doge’s electronic surveillance system around Canopa? We can’t just swagger back into the pod station and take a shuttle down to the planet.”

“There is a way of taking the podship directly to Canopa,” she said, “circumventing the pod station and the most advanced scanner nets. It’s a tricky landing maneuver, but I can do it.”

“Is it dangerous?” Acey asked.

“You bet.” Then she squinted at him and added, “But that only makes it more appealing to you, doesn’t it?”

Chapter Sixty-Six

We believe that the Aopoddae may have evolved from something quite different, and that they did not always look like the podships they are today. We have long known that they are shapeshifters, for they can adjust their cabins, cargo areas, and other on-board components. It has been assumed that they are not Mutatis, but if this assumption is incorrect, our enemies have plans we cannot possibly fathom.

—Doge Anton del Velli

After crossing space, Tesh took her podship down to the surface of the planet Canopa, avoiding the orbital pod station and landing in a wooded clearing near the concealed entrance to Guardian headquarters.

To accomplish this, she had taken a circuitous, multi-speed route that enabled her to pass undetected through the electronic surveillance net in Canopa’s skies, using skills she had learned from one of the most talented of all Parvii pilots, Ado. Centuries ago, under his very special tutelage, she had been taught that there were instances of pod stations being damaged or destroyed, so that Aopoddae vessels occasionally had to take alternate landing measures. Ado had taught her how to elude electronic security and virtually anything else in her path, from tumbling rocks in the Asteroid Funnel to objects floating through the atmospheric envelopes of planets.…

A squadron of robots entered the clearing as she and the teenagers disembarked. Noting green -and-brown Guardian colors on the machines, Tesh sighed in relief.

“I’m Jimu,” a small, patched-together robot announced in a formal voice. “I have identified each of you by your spectral characteristics. Please follow me.”

The three visitors followed, though they knew the way.

Just inside the entrance to the subterranean headquarters, Noah greeted them stiffly.

“They landed a podship out there in the meadow,” Jimu said. “My robots are putting an electronic net over it to prevent detection.”

“We saw it all on a security screen,” Noah said, shaking his head in disapproval.

“It was a bit tricky getting through the planet’s security net,” Tesh said, “but I can do it again to get out of here. The way I do it, they don’t even know I’m getting through.”

Noah motioned to Thinker, and told the boys to go with the cerebral machine. They walked away slowly, but lingered to eavesdrop.

Scowling at Tesh, Noah then said, “You were undetected by the planetary net, but we picked you up on our system?”

“Different systems, different results. I came in fully aware of both systems. Look, Noah, I could explain it to you in detail, but there are other matters we need to discuss first.”

“We don’t know if you consider us Guardians anymore,” Acey said. “But we want to stay with Tesh wherever she goes.”

“Just go with Thinker right now,” Noah said in a firm voice. “I also have some things to discuss with Tesh.” Frowning, he watched the flat-bodied robot walk away with Acey and Dux.

As the boys entered a burrow tunnel, Acey told Thinker excitedly how he and Dux went on two podship hunts, and rounded up almost four hundred sentient spaceships. The boys provided some of the most colorful details.

To Thinker, this was entirely new information, beyond anything in his data banks. He asked for more specifics, and found himself intrigued and astounded by what he heard.

Somberly, Noah turned to Tesh. “I’ll decide the priorities here,” he said, “and I don’t like your daredevil flying. If you brought a podship in, that means the Mutatis might do the same, and use one of their doomsday weapons against Canopa … or against another Human-ruled planet.”

“I don’t think that could possibly.…”

Noah cut her off. “If the Mutatis learn what you have done, a new avenue of attack could be opened. If they can land without a pod station, it becomes a lot harder to prevent attacks.”

“I am among the elite of all Parvii pilots, and hardly anyone can match my skills. Besides, all of the Mutatis that we saw in merchant schooners have been denied access to space travel… just as Humans have been cut off. The shapeshifters don’t have their own podships, and neither do your people.”

“You shouldn’t have come without calling,” Noah said. “You put all of us in danger.”

A silence fell between them. Noah shot a hard stare at her, and when she gave him a hostile look in return, he wondered if she could see beyond his veneer to the attraction he felt for her. Now that Tesh was no longer with his nephew Anton, there was nothing to keep her and Noah away from each other. Nothing except for the tension that constantly existed between them. Now something sparkled in her eyes, like a little dance of light. A glint of attraction for him? But it only lasted for a moment, before her own veneer replaced it.

Noticing that she was beginning to shake slightly, Noah placed a hand on her shoulder and said, “I wish … I wish for so much, but there have always been complications surrounding us.”

Her eyes flashed. “What are you trying to say?”

“That we should understand one another better, that we should.…” He looked away, and instantly regretted letting his guard down with her.

Upset, she pushed his hand away and said, “I’m a Guardian, and that’s all.” He had trouble reading her. Previously she had pursued him physically, but now he wondered if that had only been a ploy on her part, to manipulate him for her own purposes. Still, he couldn’t help wondering what it would be like to make love to her, this woman of a different race. She certainly was attractive, especially when angry. Feeling a slight flush, he took a deep breath and struggled to suppress his emotions.

“We have certain feelings for each other,” Noah said, choosing his words carefully. He felt awkward, though. “Or should I say,
toward
each other. In any event, the emotions are there, and we both know it. But whatever those feelings are, and wherever they could take us, I have always known that we need to set them aside. Whether it is affection or loathing, we cannot let them get in the way of our duties. Our priorities must lie elsewhere.”

“Nothing else occurred to me,” she huffed.

He said bitterly, “Then we agree on something after all.”

“I have important information to tell you,” she said. “I just came from the Parvii Fold, and.…”

This elevated Noah’s anger, reminding him of the way she brought her podship in. “Yeah, you flew through the security net and imperiled us all. I told you how I feel about that. Listen, I have other things to do now, so we’ll have to talk later.” Before she could respond, he whirled and stalked off.

To Noah Watanabe, problems were piling on top of problems, big ones coming in so quickly that he was feeling overwhelmed by them. Tesh’s unapproved podship landing would require some thought. For the time being, he notified his security force to put her and the boys on lockdown. They would not be allowed to leave the headquarters without his express permission.

The evening before, Noah had been trying to deal with another big challenge, his continuing inability to enter Timeweb or control podships. Again, he had failed to make the necessary mental leap, and he’d been left wondering why. Noah had been sensing cosmic disturbances all around him.

In addition, he’d been trying to improve another difficult situation. Recently he had made diplomatic overtures to Doge Anton, his nephew who had never formally resigned from the Guardians. So far Anton had not responded, but Noah wondered if it might be possible for the two of them, at long last, to reform the Merchant Prince Alliance into a more environmentally-aware entity. That would not be easy, because of the influence Francella seemed to have over her son, whom she had brought to power. Noah was sick of the politics, the constant small-minded maneuvering and jockeying for position when much larger issues were at stake.

As he entered a dimly lit tunnel, Noah saw Thinker approaching.

“The boys have given me important information,” the robot said. He described the successful wild podship hunts.

“At least that’s some good news,” Noah said.

“There’s more, Master Noah. As you know, the Parviis have a vast galactic network of pilots who are in control of podships, and they’re the ones who cut off podship travel to Human and Mutati worlds.”

Noah nodded. He had learned this previously from Tesh.

“Master, their transportation network is in complete disarray. At the Tulyan Starcloud, the Tulyans mounted a surprise attack against the Parvii swarms and scattered them into the galaxy. Many Parviis died, and the powerful morphic field that keeps their race together has fallen apart. Their leader withdrew the entire podship fleet to a secret place, the Parvii Fold.”

“So that’s what Tesh wanted to tell me,” Noah said. He thought for a moment. “And Eshaz. Where is he?”

“Still at the starcloud, with the podships they captured.”

“The boys say that Tesh came here to discuss using diplomacy on the Parviis. She couldn’t convince Woldn on her own, and wants your help. Tesh thinks the entire podship fleet should be used to transport Timeweb repair teams around the galaxy.”

“We’d better find her right away,” Noah said.

“Exactly what I was thinking,” the robot said.

Chapter Sixty-Seven

For every life form that is declining, another is in its ascension. It is one of the eternal balances of galactic ecology, and an engine by which the system continues to advance.

—Master Noah Watanabe

Acey Zelk lay awake in an agitated state, staring into the shadows of the barracks building, one of several inside the largest subterranean chamber. He heard Dux sleeping on the bunk just above his, and through a high window he saw a faint glow of indirect lighting on the ceiling of the natural cavern. Before retiring for the night, Acey had gone off on his own and asked a few questions of a pretty young woman, pretending to be Giovanni Nehr’s friend. Now he knew exactly where Gio was in another chamber, inside one of the robot-assembly buildings.

Gio, wearing his foolish body armor, had his own private quarters there; he was receiving favorable treatment as if he were a general in Noah’s forces instead of a supervisor of robotic assemblies. Even that position irked Acey, because it showed that Gio was gaining undeserved respect in the Guardian organization.

Acey knew he had given his word to Dux to stay away from the man, and that meant something. But other things were more important. He could not ignore what Gio had done to them.

Silently, Acey slipped out of bed and grabbed his shoes and clothing, which he put on when he was outside the barracks. Like a shadow, he hurried through a tunnel toward the robot section, following the directions that the young woman had provided. On the way he passed sentient machines as they went about their sleepless work, carrying materials and blinking and beeping with their electronic communication systems. Acey felt a slight current of cool air in the passageway, which he attributed to all of the activity around him. The robots hardly gave him any notice.

Reaching the designated structure, which had been painted Guardian colors, Acey opened a door and slipped inside. Just as the young woman had described, it was an assembly area and an inspection facility for former Red Beret robots, which were disassembled there and checked in detail. Robot parts lay in neat groupings, and work was continuing under the supervision of a small, blinking robot.

It was quite noisy in the building, and Acey wondered how anyone could sleep through it. He got his answer when he opened the door to Gio’s quarters and slipped inside.

The windowless room was filled with white noise like the steady pulse of an ocean, or the inside of a seashell, a continuous sound that drowned out all of the activity outside. In dim light coming through cracks around the door, Acey saw body armor on the floor and Gio on a bed, fast asleep. Leaning down, Acey removed a puissant gun from its holster, and set the charge. A yellow energy chamber on top of the barrel glowed.

Finding the white-noise transmitter on a bed table, Acey adjusted the background murmur, making it go up and down. With the glowing weapon behind him to keep the light low, he stood at the head of the bed and watched as Gio began to toss and turn, his sleep disturbed.

With his eyes still closed, Gio reached for the noise transmitter, but could not find it on the side table. He opened his eyes, and at first did not see the intruder.

“Looking for this?” Acey asked, tossing the transmitter on the table. “Or this?” He shoved the glowing barrel of the gun in Gio’s face.

Startled, Gio tried to pull back, but the agile teenager jumped on the bed and straddled him, with the gun jammed against his forehead.

“What are
you
doing here?” Gio asked, recognizing his attacker.

“That’s my question for you,” Acey said. “I’m here to stop you from pulling off your next nasty little scheme.” He saw fear in the man’s eyes.

“Please don’t kill me,” Gio whimpered.

In disgust, Acey swung the gun and hit him hard on the side of the head.

Dazed for a moment, Gio lashed out and threw the teenager off, causing Acey to tumble to the floor. At the same time Gio set off an alarm, and klaxons sounded.

In Noah’s office, the Master of the Guardians and Thinker had been holding a late night meeting with Tesh, discussing the surprising new information about podships—those under Tulyan control and those at the Parvii Fold—and the apparent breakdown of Parvii power.

As Tesh spoke about her own people and all of the tragic deaths, her eyes misted over, but she seemed able to overcome it and find an inner strength. Newly impressed, Noah felt his anger subsiding. She had come in and landed like a hot-rodder, but her flying skills were superb and she did have important things to tell him. Things that were better said in person than over communication links that could have been intercepted or compromised. For the moment Noah and Tesh set aside their differences, though he felt the residual tension between them, and knew from her demeanor that she did, too.

“Acey and Dux say you tried to convince the Parviis to allow their podship fleet to be used by the Tulyans for repair work on the galactic infrastructure … Timeweb. Apparently, Woldn didn’t like your proposal.”

“That’s right, but I still consider myself one of your Guardians, and I’m here seeking your leadership on this critical matter involving galactic ecology … the phrase you coined, Master Noah.”

“What do the Tulyan leaders think of your idea? I assume you discussed it with them?”

“Of course, but they don’t think Parviis and Tulyans can ever work cooperatively on a project of that scale. They say they don’t need Parviis to pilot podships, that Tulyans can do that, and the web repairs, too.”

“That sounds short-sighted,” Noah said. “But I suppose it’s the result of millennia of hatred and loathing between the two races.”

“The Tulyan Elders think I’m a wild card, and since I’m a Parvii they don’t trust me. But Noah, if I work with you and the Guardians—offering solutions for the huge ecological crisis—maybe they’ll take me seriously. Maybe they’ll take
us
seriously.” She paused. “The Tulyans are an ancient people, with a history of pacifism. They scattered Woldn’s swarms this time, but I don’t think the Tulyans should try to go against the Parviis again without help, not even with the weakened state of my people.”

“So that’s where Humans come in, eh?” Noah said. “We’re much more warlike, and can stand up to your tough brothers and sisters.”

She shook her head. “I came to you, Noah, because the Tulyans respect you—and because Humans can convince them of the need for diplomacy in this matter. If we send a joint Human-Tulyan diplomatic mission to the Parviis, maybe Woldn will finally listen.”

He nodded, but hesitantly. “Maybe.”

She went on to tell him what she had related earlier to Eshaz, that the ancient Parviis had used powerful telepathic weapons against their enemies, and that Woldn had obviously gone back to the Parvii Fold to resurrect those powers.

“But Woldn said most of the breedmasters and war priests were killed when the Tulyans disrupted his morphic field, thus slowing down the regeneration of Parvii telepathic power.” She paused. “I feel we must move quickly with diplomatic overtures, before my people find a way to regenerate their destructive powers. As a species we are survivors, and as bad as it looks for Parviis now, I think they will find a way.”

“Diplomatic overtures, you say, and not a military strike?”

“I would never cooperate with an attack against my people. For their sake, and for that of everyone else, diplomacy is the only way.”

“But couldn’t it come with military might reinforcing it?”

Folding her arms across her chest, Tesh stared at him. “I will not discuss such matters. If you keep pressing me, we shall have nothing more to discuss.”

“I wouldn’t say that, Tesh. Actually, you showed good sense coming here, providing us with reconnaissance about what happened to the Parviis and verifying that they still control thousands of podships. I also want to meet with the Tulyan Elders, and I would like you to take me there.”

She was about to say something when the alarm klaxons went off, with the pattern of sound indicating the location of trouble.

“Robot section!” Thinker said, heading for the door. Noah ran around the slower robot, followed by Tesh.

Human and robot Guardians were hurrying ahead of Noah, and he ran after them, just ahead of his two companions. Reaching one of the robot-assembly buildings, Noah saw that the doors were wide open. Inside, sentient machines and Human Guardians were gathered at the interior door that led to Giovanni Nehr’s private quarters.

Pushing his way through and entering the room, Noah saw Gio and Acey rolling on the floor, fighting for control of a puissant pistol. The weapon glowed yellow. A shot rang out, and one of the robots fell. Then the gun fell, and one of the Guardian women kicked it away.

Two Guardian men grabbed Gio to restrain him, while a pair of robots took hold of Acey.

Noah demanded to know what they were quarreling about, but both Acey and Gio sulked without saying anything.

“Dux and Acey told you about the prison moon quarrel,” Tesh said, “when they claimed that Gio tried to push Dux out of an airvator, but it’s gone beyond that. Now the boys think Gio drugged them and shipped them into space.”

“Is that so?” Noah said to Acey.

The young man nodded.

“Well?” Noah said, looking hard at Giovanni Nehr. “Did you do it?”

Standing up straight, the chisel-featured man said, “None of it. The boys are liars.”

“Acey, what proof do you have?” Noah asked, waving off the Guardian robots. They released their hold on the teenager.

“Dux and I saw what he did on the airvator, and we tried to set aside our anger about that. Then he drugged us and put us in a spacebox. We could have been killed, and he didn’t care. He just wanted to get rid of us.”

“Tell me more about this alleged drugging,” Noah said. “Start at the beginning.”

“To be honest,” Acey said, glaring over at Gio, “we didn’t actually see him do anything, but he’s the only one who
could
have done it. For some reason, he wanted to get rid of us.”

“Earlier, you promised me that you would set your differences aside,” Noah said. “Now you’ve decided to break your word based upon a mere suspicion?”

“I’m sorry,” the boy said, hanging his head, “but I know he did it to us. No one can ever change my mind about that.”

“Gio is in charge of new robot recruits from the Red Berets,” Noah said, “making sure they are all torn down and thoroughly checked. He’s been doing a great job, and I trust him completely.”

“Well we don’t,” Acey said. “You’d better tear him down like one of those robots and find out what’s going on inside his brain, because he has a really dark side.”

Noah shook his head. “I find that impossible to believe.”

“His brother is the Supreme General of the Merchant Prince Alliance,” Acey said. “Jacopo Nehr is your enemy, so how can you trust his brother?”

“I don’t consider the MPA my enemy,” Noah said. “It’s Lorenzo and Francella I oppose, not the new Doge. As for Jacopo Nehr, I’ve always respected him, since he raised himself up by his own bootstraps, unlike most of the noble-born princes. In any event, Gio never got along with his brother. We have good evidence of that.”

“Dux and I didn’t leave here on our own. That bastard drugged us and packed us in spaceboxes.”

“You’re still a Guardian,” Noah said, “and I expect you to rise above personal conflicts for the sake of our cause. There are too many important problems to be dealt with for all of you to be squabbling like kids in a schoolyard.”

Acey and Gio exchanged hateful stares.

“I don’t want to see you within fifty meters of each other. Stay apart. Do you both understand?”

They nodded.

“If Eshaz were only here, he could discover the truth,” Tesh said, moving to Noah’s side. “Tulyans can touch your skin and read your thoughts. Are there are any other Tulyans here at the headquarters?”

“Zigzia,” Noah said. “She sends messages for us to the starcloud.”

“We could do that,” Tesh said, glaring at Gio, “but I believe Acey and his cousin.”

“I may be able to solve this right now,” Thinker said. A tentacle snaked out of his head and hovered over Giovanni, the robot’s organic interface. “Shall I?” Thinker asked, looking at Noah.

Pursing his lips, Noah said, “I’ve always resisted using that, or the Tulyan method for lie detection. I refuse to run a police state around me. Instead, I prefer to look into the hearts of people, and in that way I sense if they are loyal to me or not. I try to inspire people to follow me, to believe in my ideals.”

Looking at Gio, however, Noah noticed him sigh in relief. This gave the Guardian leader pause, but still he did not give Thinker the go-ahead. “I must say, Gio,” Noah said, “that I have always sensed you are troubled, but I never sensed any betrayal of me or the Guardian organization.”

“I’m totally loyal to you,” Gio said.

“That may be true,” Noah said, “and I won’t force you to undergo lie detection. However, if you want to clear this matter up, there is an easy way to do it.”

“A painless way,” Thinker said to Gio. “In only a few seconds, I can download the contents of your mind and analyze them.”

Gio struggled against the men who were holding him.

“I don’t like what I’m seeing here,” Noah said. “Why would you want to harm those boys?”

“I didn’t want to harm them. That was an accident in the airvator, and I took steps to make sure they could breathe inside the spaceboxes.”

“So you
did
do that,” Noah said.

“I told you!” Acey exclaimed.

“Only because I knew they would never let up on me,” Gio said. “I had to get rid of them before they got rid of me.”

“We’re not like you,” Acey said. “We don’t sneak around pulling dirty tricks.”

“Take Gio away,” Noah said to the men holding him. “Lock him up until I decide what to do with him.”

“No!” Gio shouted, struggling unsuccessfully to get free.

Disgusted, Noah turned his back on him.

The cell had an electronic code, which the two Guardians activated with a touch pad to lock Gio inside. The prisoner didn’t bother to sit on the bed, since he didn’t plan to stay that long.