Timeweb Trilogy Omnibus (59 page)

“What do they see?”

“Woldn teaches it could be the future, the present, or even the past, since Timeweb is linked to time and space.” She paused. “Eons ago, Tulyans such as Eshaz held dominion over podships, before we took control of the sentient vessels away from them. Some Tulyans of today are known to have timeseeing abilities, but not all of them, only a few. Woldn theorizes that this power is linked to the abilities of the podships themselves, and that the capacity of the Tulyans to peer into time is weakening … from the lack of connection to their ancient allies.”

“Regarding the Mutati war schooners, are we seeing them in the future or in the present?” Noah asked. “I assume it’s not the past.”

“They are in the present,” she said flatly.

“How do you know that?”

“I am trained to know,” she said. “There are certain indicators, which I am not at liberty to discuss with you.”

“I’m supposed to trust you, but you keep secrets from me?”

“If I could reveal them, I would.”

“They are Parvii secrets, then, not personal ones?”

“That is correct. But I do not have all the answers, not even close. It is most unusual—unheard of—how we are sharing the Timeweb experience. Perhaps it is because we are working together now, while previously we were at counter purposes. Perhaps I am boosting your power, and you are doing the same for me. We are in turn mutually enhanced by our connection to the podship itself, since we are looking through the eyes of the spacefaring creature.”

She went on to explain that the multiple eyes of the big, whale-like creatures were concealed in its mottled exterior skin, and didn’t look like eyes. But they were, nonetheless.

The two of them grew silent for awhile. As Noah and Tesh focused, the faintly green strands of the web appeared to them, only slightly visible and dancing ever so faintly in cosmic winds.

“We are seeing what is not visible to the naked eye,” Tesh said. “An alternate dimension. Legend holds that it is one of many layers of Timeweb, that it goes deeper and deeper, beyond anything a Parvii has ever seen or experienced.”

“Legends,” Noah said. At his impetus, the image shifted, and he gazed at a miniature Tesh where she still stood inside what she called the sectoid chamber. He zoomed in on her tiny features, saw the classic loveliness of her face, the seductive green eyes.

“There are many ancient legends,” she said. “Perhaps one of them involves what is happening to the galaxy now. If we survive this, I will ask Woldn. He knows all of the old stories.”

“We must return to Canopa and tell the Doge what we have seen,” Noah said. “Sadly, there are bigger enemies than Lorenzo or my sister. I fear a plot against all of humanity.”

The eyes of the miniature woman widened. “Are you crazy? Lorenzo will kill us.”

“I intend to go along. Remember, I am somewhat difficult to kill.”

“Alone? You’d leave me in control of this podship?”

“Yes. Contemplating the worst, I’ve also left Subi Danvar in charge of the Guardians … he understands the possibility that I might never return.”

“Don’t say that!”

“At a time like this, I need to be realistic. My Guardians are important, even critical, but I must give the Mutati threat an even higher priority.” He paused, and added, “You may take the helm now. Just drop me off at the pod station.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” she said.

Without responding, Noah relinquished his mental hold on the craft. He watched Tesh move into position in the sectoid chamber, and heard her utter the ancient
benedictios
of her people, like magic words.

The sentient spacecraft lifted onto the webbing, then came around like a galactic sailboat and pointed back the way they had come, toward Canopa.

With his mind separated from Tesh, Noah wondered if she had penetrated his thoughts moments ago, the inner workings of his mind, especially his intentions. He had been unable to read her thoughts at all, even though they had shared images of the cosmic web, and information from it. He hoped she could not read his mind, because if she could, she would not be pleased with what he intended to do. Noah had omitted certain key details from the plan he had related to her.

With the Merchant Prince Alliance surrounded by Mutati warships, Noah’s ability to remote control podships was not enough. He could only pilot one of the sentient vessels at a time in that manner, while the shapeshifters were poised to load their superweapons into different podships and strike from hundreds of directions at once. To counter that, Noah had to take drastic action.

His podship sped toward Canopa. He just watched, anticipating that he could take control of the vessel away from the Parvii woman again if necessary, even if he was not physically on board it. But it occurred to him now, as it had before, that she might have new ways to block him, more than she had shown him before.

Noah had never felt entirely comfortable with Tesh, and didn’t think he ever would. She and her people harbored secrets that went far beyond the brief time that he had been formulating his own.

Chapter Eighty-Six

Our universe is in chaos.

—From Eshaz’s timeseer report to the Parviis

To avoid attention, Tesh brought the podship into one of the secondary docking bays of the Canopa pod station, where fewer vessels went and the walkways were not so crowded. As they connected to a berth, Noah saw no sign of the Doge’s Red Berets.

Wearing a khaki tunic and dark, billowing trousers, Noah disembarked and passed through an airlock to the sealed walkway. He waited for Tesh to leave, then strolled to the other side of the pod station, making no attempt to conceal himself. Instead, he marched right up to one of the red-uniformed officers, identified himself, and demanded to see the Doge.

Within seconds, Noah was surrounded by uniformed men. They searched him for weapons and bound his wrists behind his body with electronic cuffs.

As they completed the arrest, Noah was startled to see the Doge Lorenzo del Velli emerge from an unmarked grid-copter just down the platform, leading an entourage that included the blonde Princess Meghina and a Hibbil attaché.

Just then, Francella Watanabe stepped onto the walkway from another vessel, and walked briskly to join the royal entourage. Suddenly she saw her twin brother, and stopped dead in her tracks.

* * * * *

No one noticed the young man in the dark blue cape who stood off to one side, gazing about furtively.

Anton Glavine had a lot on his mind, much more than the personal safety of Tesh Kori. Over the years he had seen Lorenzo del Velli at public appearances, without knowing that this powerful man was his own father. Anton had seen holo-images of his mother as well, Francella Watanabe, and had also been completely unaware of his own connection with her. At the moment, he stood only a few meters away from both of them.

His heart pounded as he watched his parents approach the prisoner.…

* * * * *

“I am going to say something that sounds unbelievable,” Noah said, “but I ask you to hear me out.” He looked at the Doge as he spoke, then at his scowling sister.

“He’s a madman, sir,” one of the soldiers said, keeping hold of Noah by the arm. “A raving maniac. Shall I take him away?”

Lorenzo the Magnificent held up a hand. “Just a moment.” And to Noah, he said, “You have two minutes.”

“I can see far into the galaxy,” Noah said, “into the very heart of the cosmos. Danger lurks out there … Mutatis lying in wait in vessels that look like merchant prince schooners, planning some kind of an attack. They have terrible planet-buster weapons. That’s how they destroyed Earth, Mars, and Plevin Four.”

“Your words fall short of proof,” Lorenzo said. The muscles on his face tightened, smoothing over some of the wrinkles.

“The entire galaxy is interconnected,” Noah said, “in ways I never imagined. Somehow it allows me to travel mentally through deep space.” Leaning close to the Doge, he exclaimed, “I can pilot podships!”

The soldier jerked Noah back and slapped him hard across the face. “See what I mean, Sire? A complete lunatic.”

Flashing his gaze at Francella, Noah said, “Do you think I’m a madman, too, dear sister?”

As if thinking he had a weapon concealed somewhere and that he could still get to it, she slipped behind one of the Red Berets, and peered around the man at her handcuffed brother.

“I have bad news for you, Francella,” Noah said. “I was near death and received a special healing treatment that changed me … it made me immortal.”

With that, the Doge and Francella laughed, as did the uniformed men with them.

“I think he’s rather cute,” Princess Meghina said, stepping forward and passing a hand through Noah’s curly, reddish hair. “I’ll bet I could kill him with love.”

Narrowing his eyes, Noah smiled and said, “I’d have to be crazy to take you up on that offer, Princess. I hear your husband is quite a jealous man.”

“Sometimes he is, and sometimes he isn’t.” She tossed her long blonde hair over one shoulder, and shot a bittersweet smile at the Doge.

Noah knew something about the dynamics here. Meghina and Francella despised one another, and were in competition for the affections of Lorenzo. The Princess was legally married to him and had born his daughters, but she was a famous courtesan, the lover of many noblemen. He had only married her for political reasons, to join the assets of two great houses. Reportedly his true affections were for Francella, but Noah couldn’t understand how anyone could love
her
. Even Lorenzo deserved better.

“How about a little lie detector test?” Francella asked. With a sudden movement, she grabbed a puissant handgun from the holster of an officer and pointed it at her brother. The bright yellow energy chamber on top of the barrel glowed as she activated it, showing it was ready to fire.

“Go ahead and shoot,” Noah said.

A soldier ripped open Noah’s tunic, revealing that he wore no body armor.

“Mother, don’t!” someone shouted. All eyes turned toward the young man in the blue cape and liripipe hat, who had gone unnoticed until now. He raised his hands in a halting gesture.

Two soldiers tackled him, knocking him to the deck.

Francella hesitated, and looked closely at Anton.

Noah could only imagine what his loathsome sister was thinking. She had never gazed upon her son before, not even when he was a newborn. But she might be noticing something familiar in him now, wondering if he could be the one she had left with foster parents. For a fleeting moment, Noah thought he detected a mother’s love on Francella’s face. Then she turned to stone, and ordered the soldiers to place Anton under arrest.

Coolly, Francella looked back at Noah.

“I don’t think you should shoot him,” Princess Meghina said, stepping between the brother and sister. “After all, he is a nobleman’s son, and deserves a fair trial.”

Francella’s eyes turned feral. She shoved Meghina aside and fired a bright yellow charge at Noah’s chest, ripping through flesh and searing a ragged, bloody hole. He fell back on the walkway, shuddered, and stopped moving. The electronic handcuffs sparked, and lifeless hands flopped loose.

Meghina and Anton cried out, as did several travelers who had gathered to see what was going on. One of them quipped facetiously, “You don’t want
her
mad at you.”

Francella glared in that direction, then looked down at her brother, with fascination burning in her eyes. An officer knelt to check the victim’s carotid artery, and announced, “He’s dead. Shot straight through the heart.”

Slipping the gun back into the officer’s holster, Francella said, “Just tidying up a little family business.”

Doge Lorenzo grunted in amusement, then pointed down and exclaimed, “Look! He moved!”

On the walkway, Noah felt his own body regenerating, and the intense, burning pain of the chest wound fading. His cellular structure repaired itself more quickly than before, fusing bones and organs together and sealing the injury with new skin, while leaving blood on his clothing. In less than a minute, he rose to his feet and smiled stiffly at his sister. He still had nasty, bright red scars on his chest, but they were changing with each passing moment.

With a squeal, Francella stumbled backward, as if she had just seen the devil incarnate.

“I guess he passed his lie detector test,” Princess Meghina said. “Bravo!”

“For your own good, you’d better listen to me,” Noah said, stepping toward the Doge. “We need to set our differences aside and work together on this.” The pain of the wound was already gone, lingering only as an unpleasant memory.

Reluctant to touch Noah, the soldiers did not attempt to intervene. Everyone stared in disbelief as the scars on his bare chest continued to smooth over and fade.

In his bloody, ragged tunic, Noah stood face to face with Lorenzo, and said to him, “I want you to send nehrcom messages to every planet in the Alliance. Tell them to fit every pod station with customized sensors to detect arriving podships, and guns to blow them out of space the instant they appear. This needs to be done fast!”

Noah glanced over at the Doge’s Hibbil attaché, who had been attempting to conceal himself in a forest of much larger onlookers. “I understand there are Hibbil machines … hibbamatics … used for entertainment in every royal court. Can those machines be set to manufacture what we need, in a hurry?”

The Royal Attaché shot an uneasy glance at Lorenzo, but received no response from him.

“I think he can arrange it,” Noah said to the Doge. “Have the sensors set to blast every podship to oblivion. Don’t let anyone disembark, and don’t let them off-load any ships—especially not any merchant schooners. The Mutatis have planet-busting bombs aboard them.”

“This is preposterous!” Lorenzo said. “I will do no such thing. The Merchant Prince Alliance needs the podships; we can’t destroy them. If the Mutatis have a scheme, we must deal with it in a different manner.”

“There is no other way!” Noah shouted.

“The podships are living creatures,” Lorenzo said. “If we start killing them, they will signal their brethren, and they will no longer serve our transportation needs.” He stared with wild fascination as Noah’s body continued to heal itself, eliminating the scars.