Dax filed it all away. He would join the insertion team to Earth, which would use the phase-ship from Leviathan. Venna would learn to use the Phantasma Synth Crystals, and through them assassinate the Lord High Admiral and a few choice others in Star Watch.

  Dax grinned, revealing titanium teeth. This was proceeding to plan, to Enigmach’s plan and to Dax’s secret own. The Spacer Intelligence Arm was a grim reminder that humans were supremely opportunistic and ruthless in using each other. That knowledge might come in handy someday.

  Venna paused in the tank.

  Everyone in the chamber grew still.

  Then, after a moment, Venna moved normally and the training continued.

  -4-

  Driving Force Galyan floated through the lonely corridors of Starship Victory as a holographic image from his projector in the armored center of the vessel.

  Victory was in Mid-Earth Orbit, along with a myriad of other Star Watch vessels. Each had a skeleton maintenance crew and was full of weapons and energy. They were part of the reserve fleet Star Watch kept near Earth so it could jump to any point in the Commonwealth through the Builder Nexus nearby. Maddox had brought that Nexus from the Library Planet some time ago. It was now between Earth and the Moon and could create a hyper-spatial tube to just about anywhere in a radius of several thousand light-years. Victory had been in the reserves for over a year, ever since it had come back from its latest mission, one that had led into Underspace.

  Throughout that time, Galyan had wandered the corridors or stood at viewing ports, though he didn’t need to stand there. He could automatically use all the ship’s sensors, as they were linked to him. It was his ship after all. Even with all the modifications, by design it was an ancient Adok vessel, one he had loaned to Star Watch.

  Galyan was a holoimage of an alien Adok, a small humanoid with ropy arms and stringy fingers. He was a deified AI. That meant his copied engrams of the living Galyan from six thousand years ago had been impressed upon the ship’s main AI core. Driving Force was his military title from his days as a living Adok.

  With a powerful ship sensor, Galyan watched Captain Maddox water skiing on Lake Tahoe near his home in Nevada Sector. Maddox was with Meta his wife, his daughter Jewel, and with Keith and Valerie.

  That was nice.

  Despite Galyan’s being an AI, a deified AI, he had emotions after a fashion. He yearned to project himself in ghost form and listen to what the others were saying. That would be against the captain’s regulations, however.

  Oh, look, Valerie was laughing as she shouted at Meta to slow the boat. Maddox had fallen off his skis into the water. It was good to see Valerie laugh. She was far too serious most of the time. Where she and Keith back together again? When had that happened?

  Galyan did not sigh because despite his emotions he was a holoimage, not physically real. He did feel a little guilty. Not only wasn’t he supposed to go down there in ghost form, the captain didn’t like him spying on them.

  They should have invited me. I am here, alone with nothing to do. Do they not know I get lonely?

  Galyan made a face. His face had many lines in it, and they became more pronounced when he scowled like this. He not only possessed emotions after a fashion but had self-awareness.

  How could a computer entity like him feel lonely? Why, he could play millions of computer games. He could check any record about anything he wanted. He shouldn’t feel emotions like living, breathing people. He did not have glands that secreted biological agents into his body. Once, long ago, he’d had genuine emotions. What he was feeling…

  Galyan turned away and continued to float through the empty ship corridors. As he did, he worked on old problems, soon finding himself thinking about the Glenna Nebula that held other Adok deified AIs like him. Unfortunately, those AIs had gone mad. Victory had barely shown up in time to save the last living Adoks left in the universe. The mad AIs had been trying to eliminate them.

  Galyan had been instrumental in saving the last of his people. Yet, because the living Adoks had learned terror of deified AIs, they shunned him.

  Why will the living Adoks not accept me? Do they not realize I am different from those others?

  Galyan frowned. He did not like the whiny note he heard in his thoughts. That was unbecoming. He should be grateful for what he had, not pine for what he lacked. Gratitude helped one find peace.

  Even though he had been sentient far longer than the deified AIs in the Glenna Nebula, he had not gone mad. Had his very loneliness all those thousands of years kept his circuits sane? He had guarded the shattered Adok homeworld for six thousand years, missing his lost wife and friends all the while.

  What strange thoughts these were. He had gone over all this before. Why should he bother with the same old thoughts yet again?

  Galyan smiled sadly. “I am what I am,” he said aloud. Besides, most people worried about the same things for years upon years, seldom changing. Did that mean he was in a rut?

  Galyan’s eyelids flickered as a ship alarm activated. He concentrated on an exotic sensor that Professor Ludendorff had modified some time ago. This was strange. Galyan noted a bizarre blip.

  He focused on the sensor and concentrated on an area of space a little beyond Mid-Earth Orbit. That was weird. Nothing was there now. The blip had vanished.

  Galyan switched to visual teleoptics, scanning the same area. There was still nothing.

  Then why did I sense that, or the sensor produce a ping? Was it a glitch? Was it some kind of ghost image?

  Galyan ran through his memories, searching for a similar event. This was interesting. He found a match of sorts, well, not a match but a similarity. The blip resembled the glimmer or sputter of a phase unit.

  Victory had used a phase device last mission, though it had not survived the journey. With the device, they had entered Underspace

  Hmm. Did the blip have anything to do with Underspace or a phase ship?

  Galyan checked old logs and ran through hundreds of thousands of pieces of data. Could that have been a cloaked vessel instead of a phase unit? Who might use a cloaked ship here? Methuselah Man Strand had in the past.

  Galyan checked records. As far as he knew, Strand was still on the Throne World of the New Men.

  If it was not a cloaked ship, what could I have sensed?

  Galyan tried a different sensor Professor Ludendorff and he had developed for Victory.

  It didn’t show anything, but Galyan detected a faint pulse of the same nature by the other exotic sensor. This time, the blip was closer to Earth than before. As before, the blip disappeared.

  Galyan analyzed the two blips. If Captain Maddox had demanded an explanation, Galyan would give this the highest probability: that what the sensors had witnessed was a discharge of energy from a faulty phase unit. No other explanation came close to what the data showed.

  The blips had been in different places. Did that indicate a trajectory by a phase ship?

  Galyan waited, waited, expanding the width of his search—he detected another faint blip. This one came from Low-Earth Orbit. Given the time between blips and how long it had taken for the first two blips… The third blip matched given a constant speed by this supposed phase ship.

  With growing excitement, Galyan mapped out the three points, mentally drawing a line along them, conjecturing where whatever caused the blips had originated. This was interesting. The line went back to a nearby Laumer Point that connected to the Barnard’s Star System.

  Had an alien stealth vessel or alien phase ship arrived through the Laumer Point?

  Understanding the importance of his find, Galyan used Victory’s entire array of sensors. He didn’t pick up any trace or ion trails.

  Ah! He detected another blip with the original exotic sensor. Matching this blip with the other three, it was obvious a ship with a faulty phase unit headed for Earth.

  Four blips like this was too many for a computer glitch or error. He had sensed something.

  What do I do about this? What is my responsibility?

  Should he tell Captain Maddox? Should he inform Star Watch? He knew Maddox would not appreciate an interruption. Thus—

  I will use regular channels. I will follow procedure.

  It was then Galyan realized it was good to be doing something. This was much better than moping about as he aimlessly wandered the ship corridors.

  He contacted a satellite sensor operator, gave his information and listened to the acknowledgment.

  To make sure, Galyan eavesdropped with the starship’s electronic warfare gear. The operator passed the information along. Soon, the entire Earth Defense Net scanned for cloaked vessels. They did not spot anything. Galyan would have been surprised if they had. He had told the operator this was a phase ship, not a cloaked vessel. Unfortunately, those of Earth had never dealt with phase ships before. Should he correct them?

  As Galyan debated the idea, he did not find any more faint blips. Could the phase ship have entered the planetary mass?

  He decided to scan the Earth’s vast array of news channels. If anything untoward or strange happened, he would contact Captain Maddox about his findings. Two oddities would be enough to engage the captain’s interest.

  One interesting thing to all this was that the anticipation of action drove off some of Galyan’s loneliness.

  I need to be doing things. That is the key to existence.

  Galyan could hardly wait until the next mission. He wanted his humans to return to the starship so he could interact with them.

  When will we go on another mission?

  After a time, Galyan decided to continue working on the problem of the mad, deified Adok AIs in the Glenna Nebula. Perhaps he could solve the dilemma, understanding why they had gone mad. He would do that so he could forestall it ever happening to him. He did not want to attack what he loved. No. That would be awful.

  -5-

  Venna the Spy sauntered down a summer sidewalk of midtown Lyon in France Sector. Streetlights provided illumination since the sun had already set. She wore a tight red skirt with heels that accentuated her legs and ass, along with a daringly low-cut blouse that showed off her wonderful cleavage. Her hair was up, and she wore dark sunglasses and carried a small, glittering purse.

  As Venna walked, many men turned in admiration. A few whistled. One catcalled.

  The faintest of smiles appeared on Venna’s painted lips. She was on a mission but couldn’t quite recall how she had gotten to Earth. There was a faint memory…

  Venna shrugged. If she needed to, she could press a device in the purse. Then she would be able to leave Earth.

  Venna couldn’t quite remember the methods of arrival or departure. Apparently, it was important she not know. She understood that she was a spy, and on a desperate mission dear to her heart.

  Venna looked up at the stars, as she was between streetlights and it was a cloudless night. She pinpointed a star she thought of as Thebes.

  When she finished the mission, she would go to Thebes to find her betrothed. They would go hawking in the mountains. They would each have a large hawk. They would chase the great hares of the high plains and maybe go after some of the red foxes.

  The smile disappeared. Venna shook her head. She could think about that later. For now—she put something extra in the way her hips moved and added to the languid motion of her body.

  Men certainly noticed, more than before. At this, Venna was the best in the Orion Spiral Arm.

  If needed, she had an extra device, a red necklace. If she put it on and switched the necklace to active, men’s lusts would increase tenfold. They would become putty in her hands, ready to fight to the death to possess her. Men were so gullible in this regard, so predictable.

  Venna doubted she would need the necklace. She had used it on New Men, who were different from these easily duped Earthmen. She knew her skills, her alluring power. No one on Earth was like her. She would use her gifts, her charms, and her spite because she hated the horrible Lord High Admiral Cook.

  Years ago, Cook had ordered warships against the planet Thebes. He had sent butchers from Star Watch down to the surface. Marines with pulse rifles had beamed down her family. She had barely escaped the massacre. Venna remembered the incident as if it happened yesterday. She’d hid in the barn under the old, overturned boat. She had seen such wicked things. Those with Star Watch insignia had chased down her father, mother and brothers. With their pulse rifles, the marines shattered their knees first so they would fall. Then the cruel marines beamed their arms so they were helpless. Her father, mother and brothers died in such a vile manner.

  Lord High Admiral Cook—Venna could see him in her memories. Cook had been laughing, nodding and pointing during the wretched massacre. He hadn’t been old then, although he’d been big with his oaken, steady features.

  How had such a monster ever achieved his exalted status in Star Watch? That was beyond Venna’s comprehension.

  None of that mattered tonight. She wasn’t going to think about hawking with her beloved. She was not going to think about Thebes or about her lost family.

  “I miss them,” Venna whispered, almost on the verge of tears.

  Did the heartfelt words trigger something in her? An overriding compulsion forced the memories from her. She wanted to think about her family, about Cook. She couldn’t see his features anymore.

  Was that important? It must be. And yet—

  “Cook!” Venna snarled, her extreme beauty twisted with rage.

  She halted and worked to conceal her rage. Once accomplished, she hurried to the largest nightclub in Lyon. She attempted to pay the entrance fee. The man on guard waved her through.

  “Have a good time, babe,” he said.

  Venna gave him a saucy smile as she passed. Soon she was on the dance floor, dancing with this man, that man, accepting one drink and accepting another.

  Venna had taken an alcohol inhibitor earlier so she wouldn’t become drunk. She used the ladies’ room a few times to rid herself of the excess liquids passing through her body.

  She danced with seeming abandon and provocative movements. As she did, she studied the men with a logic that escaped her conscious mind. She was using the hypnotic, Spacer-induced unconscious mind. Finally, she sensed a candidate, one with possible hyper-energy, a tall, athletic man, a Berber with a gold chain around his throat. She didn’t know how she knew this about him, but she felt knew she should confirm this.

  Venna pulled a tiny device from her purse, aimed it at the swarthy Berber and pressed a switch. The indicator flashed green, a match. He possessed the needed energy.

  Now began the easy art of his seduction. Venna bumped into him as if by accident. He appraised her with his dark eyes. She spoke shyly, asking his forgiveness. He grinned.

  Venna didn’t need to use her red necklace, which would have activated his deepest lust. That was good because the necklace’s process could have caused interruptions later.

  Venna soon laughed as their fingers touched. They danced, and he plied her with drink. She laughed more and whispered in his ear. By the end of the evening, they left the nightclub and climbed into in a taxi, flying to his apartment.

  “Will you come in?” he said.

  “Yes,” she said.

  Venna had already picked up an ornate wooden box the length of a computer keyboard. The wooden box was heavier than it looked.

  He cocked his head when she brought it with them.

  “You’ll enjoy this,” she said.

  Sure,” he said, “I’m sure I will.”

  They rode a turbo lift to his floor, moved down a corridor and went up into his apartment. There he began his art of seduction, taking off pieces of her clothing, and then his.

  “Wait,” she said, “I can make this more alluring for you.”

  “Oh?” he said, his eyes shining with anticipation.

  She went to the wooden box, picked it up and set it on a nightstand. She raised the cover. Within were two inert crystals half the size of his fist. Each had a rocky texture.

  “Take one,” Venna said.

  He picked up the nearest and hefted it in his hand. “It’s heavy,” he said.

  “Isn’t it though? Now repeat after me.”

  “Come on, babe. We don’t need these rocks. Let’s just get to it. Hop into bed, why don’t you?”

  “Oh, we will get to it,” Venna smiled so seductively that his eyes widened and brightened. He nodded. She spoke. He repeated the odd litany she told him to say. Each held up a Phantasma Synth Crystal. Suddenly, both the rocky texture crystals glowed.

  “Touch your crystal to mine,” Venna said breathlessly.

  Surprised but willing, he moved his crystal toward hers.

  Venna’s secret training took over, the training she’d received in the tank of a special operative ship in the Spacer Third Fleet.

  The crystals touched and flared with greater light, although hers dimmed immediately. The glow from his crystal bled out and spread to his hands. He grunted as the glow shot along hit arms to his chest. He looked at her with alarm. He might have tried to shout. Instead, the vibrant, energetic sacrifice grew rigid. He toppled and thudded frozen onto the floor.

  Venna realized that she was laughing, as she continued to chant an ancient litany created long ago by the Aetharian shamans who had fashioned these horrid crystals.

  Now began a grim process as Venna, through the crystals, used the man’s etheric energy, a process that literally consumed his bodily form as it killed him.

  -6-

  The Berber who had joined Venna in his apartment was a shriveled husk, weighing a tenth of what he had. He did not resemble a human but rather a charred length of wood. All but one tooth had been crisped. That one gleamed in his stick-like remains. Above him, a ghostly shape shimmered, composed of seemingly shifting patterns.

  Venna held both Phantasma Synth Crystals as if her life depended on them, which it did. If she set down the crystals, the energetic ghost thing would devour her.