Chapter 89

Henry sat in the chair he had sat in so long ago. This was during the days prior to his first trip to the moon. He sat for days trying to force in every possible bit of knowledge so he could have some chance of success. He had learned a great deal and eventually pushed back the boundaries of knowledge but this only showed that there was much more to learn.

The old tug was now travelling at 19,000 light years a day toward the area closest to the Canis Major dwarf galaxy. The Fassoot and possibly other races had crossed over or would one day soon. The beings in that small galaxy had such a long history of kill or be killed that every surviving race was very adapted to survival. The weakest one was the Hossin. They had elected to leave rather than die. The Hossin's simple weapons could easily defeat the Tandra if they had sufficient numbers or the inclination to do so. The Fassoot more than made up for the Hossin's lack of inclination, as did most of the other races.

The Hossin said that every other race in that galaxy was even more warlike than the last. They had weapons that made theirs look almost ineffective in comparison unless they had a great numerical superiority. The weapons and their effects on other races shields were readily described. The range of the weapons the Hossin faced was fantastic even for just their energy beams. Missiles could be fired from any distance but they were not used. Something destroyed the Hossin ships that could not be detected and the enemy ship was not usually detected either. The speed of the various warships was so great that it was not fully documented. Guesstimates were around 26,000 light years per day for the lowest. The highest were fifty percent more. If missiles could be pushed that fast then it was no wonder that they could not be observed.

After another hour of travel Henry asked, "Mom will you and Bennechi slow to a thousand lights. We are going too fast to even detect anything."

"Yes, Captain."

Henry liked the term better than Admiral. Emperor was much worse but 'Henry' was what was liked best. She only used that term on occasion though.

Mom's apparition walked out from the long hallway followed by a beautiful child of six Earth years. She looked like a bit of Mom and a bit like me. The holograms were very well done because of the massive amounts of processing power at the hands of both intelligences. Ever since they came here, they insisted in taking these forms. The only reason I could think that this was done was to make me think I had family while I worked. This usually kept me from taking the worst of chances but I still did gamble.

Bennechi sat in another chair, opened a child's book, and appeared to read it. She reminded me of my other children and I guess that was her intention. Mom just sat at a console and looked out as if her eyes would find what the sensors would not.

I closed my eyes and searched with my mind like I had done before. Mom used the sensors but they had not really improved much in the last few million years. I was looking for indications of high-tech apparatus being used, but I had not found very many clues as to what I should look for specifically.

We continued our travels, based on some vague feelings. When I got hungry Mom and Bennechi sat with me as I ate. They also ate, but I knew it was just a hologram. Another large screen showed me some of my family that had come to chat while I worked or relaxed. None of them would stay long for they knew it would distract me. I kept reminding myself that having one of my wives here would distract me even more.

After the meal we stopped at a system with a still functional transponder. It turned out to be a Tandra base but it was empty. It looked like the defence system was still functioning. One of the overrides functioned. When we quizzed the computer we found that the Tandra had left and the automatic repair units had been told to continue their labours. The same thing could have been done in the Sofas system if energy had been available there.

On a whim I entered the base in person and interfaced with the computer. The connections were brought very close to the long ribbon of computer substrate in the maze. Since I did not make the final connection I did not get the time penalty. This sort of process especially for an uninhabited base really slowed our progress. I had this nagging worry though to go slow and it wasn't just because of Mom and Bennechi's presence.

We found more bases. One was empty and the next two were still in stasis with only a few awake and on duty. Both were in serious decline. A fourth base had a new race of beings using the Tandra equipment. Their shape reminded me of weasels. Their body was two metres long and from the co-opted computer I saw them run on four feet but stand and work on two. A search of the computer's memory showed that the Jann had just moved in with Tandra compliance before they abandoned the base. Their weasel body brought to mind a very quick and efficient fighter but I found that this was not true for the Jann. They were omnivorous and seemed to gain some joy out of working the soil as other races did.

I left the race alone with just their computer now recognizing me. Many such races as this had been found but their numbers and abilities meant that they could not contribute much to the Alliance. This did not mean that they would be excluded. Everybody I thought could gain assistance from the Alliance. I tempered this with the knowledge that some like the Thonas would turn on their friends after gaining enough information.

As we started to leave the high concentration of stars in the central hub of the galaxy I felt more and more apprehensive. On a beautiful and uninhabited planet that looked ideal for colonization I began to build some probes. The search for invaders was important and to speed it up I needed assistance. Drones would work well but I wanted them to be intelligent. Their high risk job also meant that I was putting computer life at risk and this I didn't like either. From the material of the planet I fabricated some of the relative class but much smaller. I could ride in one but it would be cramped. The Hossin shield went into the construction but the ships had no weapons. The idea was to get as much speed as possible and use them mainly to expand on our ability to detect other traces before we were detected.

One thing I did add was a flat crystalline plate. This would work like the transporters I had developed with Horus and have no power. It was my idea to use them as passive receivers that could work as transmitters if the need arose. The thought was that I could shift from the tug to any of these small ships to use my mental abilities. The transmitters would allow me to quickly move back to Mom if things got hot. This, of course, hinged on her being close enough and syncing her own receiver to the one I wanted to use.

The ships were made with Mom's fabricators and took slightly more than two and a half hours. This gave me time to have crystals shipped from Epsilon Eridani to be processed and incorporated into the hull. Computer substrate was shipped to me ready-made and I just had to place it in the correct position in each of the available dimensions. The large crystal transport helped considerably with its passive effects for the actual computer was not able to assist itself yet.

In three and a half days twenty five of the very small ships were built. One was different and remained on this planet to begin building a small base similar to that on Earth. This time it would be assisted by the other intelligences until it was able to complete more fabricators.

We left at the centre of a sensory globe sixteen light-years across. The twenty-four small ships manoeuvred constantly within the globe at a speed of slightly over 12,000 light-years per day. This allowed them to thoroughly search everything within our volume of space as we continued our slow, cautious advance.

We found more Tandra bases but a great many had been completely destroyed in a manner that suggested a different enemy than we had yet seen. The destruction had occurred roughly a million years in the past. As the stars thinned out we were able to increase our speed.

The family did not feel what I did and were basically happy with what they were being shown. Usually the functional Tandra bases were incorporated into the empire and I would have to leave it up to the computer intelligences to inform them of that fact.

In a way this was like a vacation except for the never-ending search we were doing. Mom even had time to make a few more hulls in her hold and I took a break to install the computers and crystals. The crystals were the most difficult part for I had to take a rough blank made up of many small crystals and merge the boundaries between them so they formed one seamless whole. The crystal then had to be made homogeneous and just the right amount of dopants had to be carefully placed within it. Only three ships were done but they joined three others at our rear to protect us from attack in that quarter.

Twenty-three days after starting this quest I suddenly woke up with a nightmare still running through my brain. We slowed further progress and the ships protecting us slowed too. When I was able to get my fear down I examined the nightmare. I saw a being like a praying mantis with long clutching arms and mandibles that worked horizontally. Their upper body was larger in proportion and the corresponding abdomen was smaller than the insect on Earth. They wanted to descend on a planet and feed until it was cleaned of animal life.

The feelings I had about their numbers made me wonder for it was in the billions and all in one large ship. I could not get the comparative size here but I felt 'large' to be as good as I could get. The Hossin knowledge told me that there were actually three races like this that inhabited their galaxy.

I turned my head and got a heading almost eleven degrees off our course. I felt the distance to be hours away but not many. Mom analysed my mental images but she had nothing to add.

The fear had not lessened very much. This was a good indication that I might not be able to handle this situation. We changed course and this time at right angles to where we had been headed. Our speed had gone up to what the small ships could match and after an hour I took a new bearing. The fear was less. It was also possible to get a probable location.

We changed our course again and I wanted to come at these praying mantis type creatures from the rear if possible. This meant that I had to have a feel for their direction of travel. We left at a speed where we could gather up the ships within an hour. After that we made a dogleg course at our best speed possible. It took twelve hours to get onto this predator's course. An hour and a half later the small ships were released and they spread out in a cone formation. We followed where I thought the ship would be going.

I was very cautious and it took over five hours before we could detect a ship far ahead. It was large but felt small compared to the image in my nightmare. Moments later we found it to be a dreadnaught. This gave me pause for the dreadnaught was the largest ship we had found so far.

Our drone ships spread out more and closed the distance. At seven light years they had not yet been detected or possibly the beings had not thought us worth the effort. What I did fear happened.

Far ahead of the dreadnaught and running a parallel course were three more similar dreadnaughts. Their speed was only 500 lights. this worried me for they should go at 1,000 if constructed like the Tandra ships. One of our ships left our group and sped far ahead to reconnoitre. In twelve minutes I found the reason for the slow speed. This was a convoy with a colony ship protected in the centre of a group of escorts. None of the escorts were smaller than a dreadnaught. The colony ship was the biggest construction I had ever seen. The length looked to be 1,100 kilometres and had a large bulge in the centre that had a diameter of 900 kilometres. I could not even hazard a guess of what the weight would be but the gravity field gave rough readings of a planet larger than Mars.

The drone changed course all the time and it was good that it did for beams of destruction now came from many different ships. Some of the ships were so far ahead of the drone that they were not detectable. I had no recourse now and slowed our own advance and sent the drone scurrying away to safety. The fire was becoming more accurate and I drove the ship through a star at a slow speed. Fire hit the star now but after fifty bolts it stopped. The star itself was now very unstable but the drone stayed hidden.

The fire and accuracy told me that the mantis ships had exceptional sensors and firepower. The casual way they treated the drone also told me that they didn't consider it much of a threat.

A small ship did appear, probably from one of the dreadnaughts accompanying the colony ship. The procession had never even slowed and the only real notice other than the shooting was the presence of this destroyer. I had the drone play hide 'n seek in the star. We found out a considerable amount about the sensors used against us. This game was kept up for three hours and I was afraid that the destroyer would just leave and rejoin the mass movement of ships. Mom moved closer to this confrontation but the drones moved closer still.

"Mom, I plan on seeing what I can about that ship. If I can sneak as close as possible I can reach out and give it a good shaking. I may be able to keep it occupied enough to find something out. I want you to come in while I am shaking it and take me back in. The shaking can then be continued as I drive the ship away from its fleet."

"Henry that is too dangerous. You can't get close enough without it detecting you. The sensors are many times better than ours. We don't even know what speed those ships are capable of. The power used on the colony ship is much more than Bennechi and I use at our maximum speed. I am sure that the dreadnaughts could put out much more than similar sized Tandra vessel because the energy signatures are so similar."

I said, "Actually the sneaking up was not what I was going to do. I would rather it was going to come to me. I can hide in the next system and the drone flees the star it is in for the next. If this ship follows then I can grab it as it passes. We can assess its acceleration and speed at this time."

"Henry that ship is over eight hundred metres long. It appears to have a mass much greater than a cruiser though. Even if it failed to notice you, your ability to push it may not be enough to stay in the lead."

"We have to try something. That fleet is so strong that I doubt if anything could stop or even hinder it. One day it will come on our empire and I will have to watch entire planets perish. You read the information the Hossin gathered. This is much too important."

Mom called in reinforcements and now my wives started to argue with me. This was a risky venture, I admitted, but it had to be done now to understand what we were facing.

I gave my orders anyway and approached the target star from its shadow. I was happy to find that this was a dead system. I took one small drone and hid in a ring of loose rock orbiting a gas giant. The drone in the other system was luring the ship away then made a run for it in this direction using the star to shield it.

When the ship accelerated in pursuit, I was amazed at the power it had for its size. Soon it was beginning to gain because we could not expect it to follow if we left it in the dust. It had a lot of mass but soon it would be able to almost match what the drone was currently putting out.

When the ship was close I put a tube on it then two more. I used no chokes this time and the ship was flung back and forth very energetically. My small ship accelerated out of the system while the swings continued. We were now making as much headway as the ship had shown when it had pursued the drone. I tried to be much more though for if I slackened off we might find out nothing. My mind was entirely on the ships movements and the most effort was used to drive us further away from the fleet.

With the Thonas I was able to try to interface with their computer at the same time but now it was important to concentrate on gaining as much distance as possible. Moving a destroyer like this while shaking it was not that hard but the thrust and ultimately the speed I needed was.

The only good thing, other than capturing the tiger was that we had not been shot at either. We were going at roughly 3,300 lights and Mom came to us. I was picked up and even in the hold I continued to shake the mantis ship. Our speed now increased because I didn't need to propel my own ship.

We fled the mantis fleet, taking an entire day to work especially hard at putting some distance between us. I was very tired from all the shaking. I tried to cut their hull like I had with the Hossin and found it even tougher. We studied this thoroughly for we could learn a considerable amount about the material and the shield. An hour in one spot was enough to make one hole through a thin section. Three such holes allowed us to break off a portion so it could be examined. Mom used her tractors to drag it into our hold.

There was enough time in mid swing to try to find out want I could about the inhabitants and their computer. It was a foregone conclusion that we were being followed by some of the dreadnaughts and we had to hurry. I kept some mental fingers ready to stabilise the structure in my mind but as yet there was no attempt to attack me in this manner.

The computer would give me the most data and I worked to get inside. There seemed to be very good defences in my path. This told me that they had been attacked using this method before. I thought momentarily that our entire fleet had no such protection in place. We were all vulnerable to this kind of attack. Our population of AIs worked with me to try to break into the computer. Some choices didn't seem right and I avoided those areas when I remembered all the traps the Hossin had.

We started to get data from some portions but this was all suspect for if races did rape a computer, disinformation would be what they want spread. The attack on the computer continued as I shook the ship with an intensity that I hoped would incapacitate the beings onboard. I did not believe that I had killed them because I could feel anger but no clear thoughts.

Fourteen hours later we gained access through the sensor circuits. In the process we found that their computer construction was quite different from the Tandra variety. All the data had to funnel through me and then it was sent off to others to process. It was just too much work to do so now.

More of the ship had been pruned and we worked to get a larger sampling of their suite of sensors. The ones in our hold now were very different than we had ever seen before. I thought in passing, that some of them must delve into the other two dimensions. Perhaps later I would use my own eyes to look at a working ship through a transparent construct.

The bits of information on the computer would take weeks to straighten out. What I did find was that they called themselves the Misto. The Hossin had told us about this race. They were not the highest in technological matters, but they were some of the most voracious. The Hossin had very little information on them but it did dovetail with my nightmare. They would not only eat all animal life but would then eat their young between worlds. Again I worried why this was the case when a fabricator could be used to make any food imaginable.

I did not worry now about this ship for I found that they had snacked over the years on Tandra colonies after they worked to throw off the ineffectual defences.

The Misto ship was now shaken with a vengeance and I could feel a lessening of hate but still no fear. The energy from the higher dimensions was now opened wide and with the shaking I felt that we were getting some place. Holes were made through the ship and then continued until it hit the far wall. Energy was stabbed in at an angle through the wall and punctured bulkheads that were not designed to handle even a portion of what I was handing out.

The only place that was spared was the computer and that was in the centre of the ship. When the hate seemed to fall to zero I rested a bit and kept the shaking only to what I had done before. The shield generators had been hit and put out of commission making the rest of the job easier. Weapon emplacements had been hit in one area of the Misto ship. The area in the centre was then punctured many times. When the ship was stopped, Mom got in very close. This was the first rest I had in over a day.

Mom's tractors reached out and pried and twisted the punctured material to make a large hole. There was no response from the ship as yet but I waited now to counter any reply. Small combat drones now went out and entered the ship. Once a beachhead was made, construction units went in along with other drones to gather information.

Mom's new shield was temporal in nature and once the outer hull was breached she sank into the ship. I did not get out of my chair even though I wanted to get into a battle suit and see things for myself.

The drones did finally find the Misto and saw how they fit the dimensions of their ship very well for they were four metres tall and must have massed at least half a tonne. They wore a natural armour covering their bodies and a few samples were taken. A place for storing eggs was found and some of the drones made an effort to take a few dozen without killing them. Very few were alive in any case for they could not take the acceleration I put them under.

The drones soon made it to the computer room and worked their way in. The automatic defences were still active and none of them survived. I worked harder on the computer trying to find a way to capture it. Many more hours passed and then some probes were eventually allowed in. They in turn took out all the weapons. The effort continued outside the computer till there was no free or living Misto on the ship. Mom and I used the energy I controlled to cut the ship up into smaller pieces.

Soon the computer was severed from the mass. Weapons, engines, and many other features were examined. We found that a disproportionate amount of the weight was in the computer but I could not see why. One day I was sure we would have to face these same weapons when we could not protect ourselves from them. The recently awoken Tandra colonies would not stand a chance. The course the colony ship was taking would bring them to those worlds in just twelve more days.

We took samples of everything we thought we could use along with some that I thought were useless. We changed course and soon dropped the ship and all it contained into the fiery heart of a large star. I was hoping to hide our tracks and any pursuer would continue on thinking we had not stopped.

Many things about the ship and Misto were explained but the majority of the information was still locked up in the computer. Soon Mom was able to interface directly with enough safeguards to make us all happy. This required that the computer open its hatch. The information now came many times quicker this way. It still took hours to get all the information the ship had to offer. The interface and the differences in hardware were the bottle-necks. I had one more job to do when all this was completed. The total amount of data was many times less than what a Tandra computer would have and most of the information was common knowledge to the Misto. We found very little sensitive information or information on how the majority of their technology functioned.

"You can't Henry. There is no reason to anyway. We have all of the information from the computer."

"I want a backdoor and this will be the only way to get it. There's no way I will be able to do this again because of all the data the Misto have sent back. I am surprised they did not just rig the ship and computer to self-destruct when it was found that it could not escape."

"That is what I am talking about. The computer can still self-destruct. We have no readings on what is in the crystal that is controlling the computer. I got all the data but much is not even in the computer."

"Mom I am going in. If you think it is still going to explode search for power storage units and put switching gear on them that you personally control."

I did go across the short distance to the computer with only an environmental suit. It was much easier to see this way. With my special eye I was able to see that the computer went much more fully into the five dimensions than anyone other than ours did. The arrangement inside was different too and I made special note about the matter transmitter. Mom's worked in this environment but none so far worked in the maze beyond.

The wall though to the maze was a different matter. Even when I twisted more than my sight and body into the remaining two dimensions I could not get through this barrier. This was another secret that would have to be shared. The only reason that this obstruction would be here was because other races must be able to do as I do and walk the maze. This was seen as a way of attack and the Misto had developed a way to prevent this from happening.

I worked on the barrier with some help from Mom. I could not even think of what it could be. Nothing that I knew of could stand in my way. An idea popped into my head and I used a probe to convey the idea to Mom. Communications out of or into a computer were difficult. For some reason the maze had to be different.

"I think this shield is composed of more than five dimensions. That is why I cannot breach it. The crystals in me are five dimensional constructs."

Mom replied quickly through a small probe, "That is impossible there are only five dimensions. It may have something to do with the other two universes."

I listened to her reply and it made sense but my supposition had just as much validity even if I had no scientific facts yet. The barrier was now my enemy and I concentrated very intently on it. I was now like an ordinary man trying to see into the fourth dimension in a way. I worked to twist differently than what I was doing before. I was just too tired now and went back to have a rest.

"Mom, drag the computer with us. There is much more to learn from it. I am going to sleep."

I slept much longer than usual and when I got up I found a good meal waiting for me. Mom, Bennechi and now Ingrid sat across from me in holographic form. I greeted each and listened to their grievances. They were still angry at what I had done. It was an act of war now and the Misto were not beings that you wanted to have pissed off at you.

I smiled at each of my family and pointed out the course the colony ship was heading and then read the information gathered from the Misto computer. Ships had come earlier and just planned which way the conquest of this galaxy was going to take. The information showed that all the planets were very easy to conquer. There was no weapon that was able to give them a problem yet. "In weeks they will start on the colonies we found. If we evacuate they will be able to rundown the ships that leave. They will not only find our enemies but our allies and ones not even asked yet to join the Alliance."

Ingrid said, "They are not coming our way now. I think we should just take our time and find out what we need. It will be many thousands of years before they reach us."

"That is true but it means that we have to either evacuate bases very quickly or let the inhabitants die. If we do evacuate they will just send out more ships to find planets to feed off and go there instead. So far only I have been able to fight them. When I die there may be no other to carry on. We still have some elements of surprise on our side. If we fight them the way others have, we will just loose because they will learn to respond to our tactics."

I ate my meal while they countered my argument but Mom had to admit at my urging that in all of Tandra's history, nobody had ever had my abilities.

I was soon back at the shield in the computer room trying to come to a new understanding of its nature. A small possibility did come to me and I used small crystals to push into the wall. I tried to warp the wall and push as well as using very pure crystals but nothing happened beyond the crystals being crushed.

The matter transmitter came to mind and I took it out of its position and placed the ring of crystals against the wall. Mom worked through the Misto computer to power it up. Another crystal was passed through and disappeared. The problem was that we did not know where it went. A small portable transmitter was sent through and it too disappeared but we were not able to find any of the signals it should be making. The distance the matter transmitter functioned at was very short, even compared to what the signals from the device could do.

A stronger transmitter was sent through with the same results. This problem required a lot more thought. The first thing was to investigate this matter transmitter. When I could see no difference, one of ours was brought and the same thing happened.