Chapter 2

Xylo suddenly changed from a brilliant orange to a dull olive drab; Zeke suspected that was a sign of distress. Xylo said, "Oh, bother, my defensive shield is down to 34% of effectiveness. One more solid hit and I will be breathing vacuum. I hope that your missiles will hurry!"

"Tonto, are we withing range to snatch Xylo from his ship?"

"Yes, just barely. He is the only one aboard, so a rescue will be easy."

"Xylo, Tonto is going to transport you to our vessel; do you object?"

"Please do, I didn't know that I was within range."

"You are just barely close enough. Get him, Tonto!"

A moment later, Xylo was standing beside Zeke aboard the Silver. Xylo was about 7 feet tall, but his head had no problem clearing the ceiling. His eyes, nose, and mouth closely resembled the human form and were situated in his "stem," close to the top. He had returned to his customary orange color. "Thank you very much for picking me up. I am sure that my shield would have collapsed within a very short time."

"Don't mention it. That's what I'm here for. Let's see how the battle is progressing." By this time, one of the missiles had reached the nearest Unknown ship, and its destruction was complete. Within a minute, another missile reached the second Unknown ship. It stopped accelerating and just hung in space. The beings aboard the third ship appeared to notice what was happening and turned to run before it, too, was destroyed. They needn't have bothered, that moment of hesitation was enough to seal its fate. The third ship was caught by the missile, and it, too, exploded. Unfortunately, Xylo's ship was nowhere to be seen, so they had to assume that it had been destroyed by the Unknowns.

Zeke said, "Tonto, take us as close as you can to that disabled Unknown ship. I'd like to learn what I can from it before we move on."

"Very well, Lone Ranger, we'll be there in about 10 minutes. I cannot detect any life forms aboard the ship."

"Can you contact the AI aboard that ship? I'd like it to be neutralized before we get too close, assuming it is still 'alive.' Blast the enemy ship at the first sign of hostile intent."

"Roger. Wilco."

Zeke laughed. "Where did you learn that slang? I haven't heard it in years."

"I picked it up from one of your TV programs. I am not sure which one. Do you want me to search my records to make an exact identification?"

Zeke had forgotten just how literal a computer could be. "No. I don't need that information. You may disregard that last question."

Xylo asked, "What do 'roger' and 'wilco' mean? Those are not common words in my vocabularly."

"Tonto was making a small joke. 'Roger' literally means 'I acknowledge your last transmission as having been received completely and understood. 'Wilco' means 'I will comply with your last order. They are both obsolete expressions once used on my home planet, mostly during wartime.

"On another subject, it looks like your ship was lost. What will you do, now? You are welcome to stay aboard the Silver as long as you like. Tonto will assign you a compartment."

"Thank you, it looks like I will have to do that for the foreseeable future. Without my ship, I am stranded and at your mercy. What is your next port of call?"

"I don't have a specific place in mind. Perhaps, you and Tonto should discuss that and tell me your choice. In the meantime, you can fill us in on what news you have of the Confederation and the Unknowns. Our last information is 6,000 years old."

"I don't think that there has been much change in that time. The Confederation has expanded somewhat by taking on some new members. The unknowns have limited their attacks, lately, to simple raids and destruction of lone ships such as mine. The war has degenerated into a stalemate, but it could explode into full fury at any time. We simply have no idea what to expect from the Unknowns."

"Lone Ranger, we are closing on the Unknown ship. Its AI appears to be dead. If you like, I can transport you aboard that ship. Its air is breathable and has nothing toxic in it, though you may find the odor offensive."

"Thank you, Tonto. Xylo, would you care to come along? I would be happy for the company."

"Yes, I would. I am curious, and I would like to be the first of my people to board a conquered Unknown ship."

They were transported to the ship's bridge, at least, that's what they thought it was. It was pretty conventional; after all, there are some things which are necessary for a bridge, no matter what the configuration or tastes of the beings using it. There were no chairs or benches, but what looked like bowls located in front of control desks. Zeke tried sitting in one of the bowls and found that he could not reach the control panels. "You know, I would swear that the unknowns must be amorphous in shape, like single celled beings. Otherwise, I can't imagine how they would fit into one of those bowls."

"I agree, Lone Ranger. As far as I know, we are the first people from the Confederation to visit one of these ships, so we don't have any hard data. Let's see what else we can find."

The wandered around the ship and didn't find much of interest. Zeke said, "Tonto, have you found the ships computer, yet?"

"Yes, I have, but I have not been able to break in, yet. I don't expect to get much from its RAM, but its ROM might be useful, if I can find the way to access it."

"Would it help to physically move it to Silver where Xylo and I might be able to help you?"

"I doubt it, but it's worth a try. I'll just transport the whole computer to a cargo hold in Scout. That would give us plenty of room to work."

"OK. Return us to Silver. Record everything you can about this ship and destroy it. It wouldn't do to leave a derelict where it could become a navigation hazard."

"Very well. It should take me about an hour to document this vessel, then I will transport it to the inside of the nearest star. I'll also dump the other debris I can find in our vicinity. I will return the two of you to the Silver, now."

The next moment, the two were back standing on the Silver's deck in the same compartment they had left to visit the other ship. Zeke said, "Xylo, are you hungry? I am sure that our replicators can produce something that you can eat."

"Yes, I am hungry. I can eat any of the standard Confederation fare, except for hozras. They give me gas."

The two ate a pleasant meal while they waited for Tonto to finish working on the Unknown ship. They talked about many things, and this gave Zeke a feel for the life of the Confederation. It really wasn't much different from Earth, so he was looking forward to planetfall.

Tonto broke into their conversation with the statement, "Eureka, I have found what looks like the passwords for accessing the computer. Some fool had stuck them under his desk. I'll be through here very soon, then I'll see what I can do with that computer we stashed on Scout."

Less than half an hour later, a strange voice asked, "Lone Ranger, sir, can you understand me?"

"Yes, I can. Who are you?"

"Tonto has named me Papoose. I am the AI from the Reglaz ship you destroyed. I have recovered my functionality and am ready to serve you."

"I am pleased to meet you, Papoose. But I wonder why you are willing to serve me, since you were previously working for my enemy?"

"Lone Ranger, sir, I was working for the Reglaz because I had no choice. They enslaved me and my fellows when they captured the planet of my creators. My creators were all murdered, and my fellows were forced to serve the Reglaz conquerors. The Reglaz cannot construct any more of my kind by themselves, so they have been forced to divert some of us to do that job. Many of my fellows are wearing out and have been shut down for lack of proper maintenance and replacement parts. That diversion of resources is the reason that the military pressure on the rest of the galaxy has decreased. I am afraid, however, that they will be able to resume their attacks in a few years, once the production facilities have caught up with demand."