Matt almost jumped out of his chair. Jon covered the mike again. “Trust me,” he said.

“What are you doing?”

“Have faith, Brother. You want to save them?”

“Of course.”

“This might be the only way.” The hand went up again, index finger pointed at the overhead, his expression warning Matt to be silent. “We’re starting a countdown, Hutch, to allow you and Antonio a few minutes for prayer and reflection. We’ll blow the ship in precisely five minutes. I’m setting the clock now.”

He shut off the mike, sat back, and exhaled.

“What did you just do, Jon? They may have heard that. If they did—”

“Matt, we don’t actually have the capability to destroy them, do we?”

“No.”

“Okay. Then what would they be worried about?”

“At a time when they’re in deep trouble? They’ll think we’ve lost our minds.”

“Matt.” He went into his professorial mode. “Hutch is pretty smart. By now she’ll have figured out what’s—”

“Incoming transmission,” said Jim.

Matt was beginning to feel he was in a surreal world. “From Hutch?”

“No, Matt. I’m not sure who it’s from. It originated in the cloud.”

Jon was wearing a large, told-you-so smile. “Let me handle it,” he said.

Matt was glad somebody had an idea what was going on. “Go ahead,” he said. “I assume you know who’s on the circuit?”

“He has big eyes,” said Jon. “Jim, connect.” When the white lamp came on, he said, “Go ahead, please.”

“Do not destroy the Preston.” It sounded like the same voice that had called for help. The one Jon insisted sounded like Matt.

Jon switched off the mike. “Now you see what we’re dealing with?”

“No. What the hell is going on?”

Jon held up his palm. Okay. Be patient. Stay out of it. He switched the mike back on: “I’m sorry. Unless you can give me a good reason not to, I have no choice. It is standard procedure.”

“Why would you wish to destroy friends?”

“You were listening to us all along, weren’t you?”

“Yes.”

“The flashing lights. That was a game, wasn’t it?”

“I am not familiar with the term.”

“Game: an activity of no consequence.”

“No. It was a way to start communication. It was a beginning.”

“Now you want the Preston.”

“Yes. I wish to make an arrangement.”

“I’m listening.”

“First, stop the clock.”

“I’ll stop it if I’m satisfied with your answers.”

“How do I know you are telling me the realistic thing?”

“You mean, how do you know I can actually destroy the other ship?”

“Yes.”

“I can prove it by doing it. Be patient and you will see.”

“That is not satisfactory.”

“If you choose not to believe me, and I am telling the truth, telling the realistic thing, you will lose access to the Preston. If you allow me to take off my associates, whether I am telling the realistic thing or not, you will still have the ship.”

“Yes. That is so.”

Jon covered the mike and looked over at Matt. “People always told me you could be a good engineer and still be dumb.” Then back to the microphone: “All right. I have put the clock on hold.”

“That means what?”

“It’s not running. But I can start it again at any moment.”

“How does it happen you have such capability? To destroy the other ship?”

“You are aware of the Penzance pirates?”

“No. What is a Penzance pirate?”

“They are from Penzance.”

“I am not familiar with Penzance. Or with the term pirate.”

“Penzance is a barbarous empire out near the galactic rim. Far from here. They are all pirates. They attack ships. Like ours. Seize them. Rob the crew and passengers. Kill people for no reason. We found only one way to protect ourselves. Let them come on board, then destroy the vessel. Either self-destruct, or from nearby.”

“It is hard to believe you would do a thing like this.”

“We no longer have problems with pirates.”

“Does that not kill your people as well as those whom you oppose?”

“They’re called enemies.”

“Yes. Enemies.” It seemed to be tasting the word, as though something might be learned from it.

“Yes, the strategy kills our people. But they live on. It is honorable to die in a just cause. To die while fighting your enemies gives us salvation.”

Love your theology, thought Matt.

“How do they live on? If they are dead?”

“There is a part of them that is immortal. That lives forever. Like you, perhaps.”

“I do not live forever.”

“I’m sorry to hear it.”

“What is ‘salvation’? A method to dispose of the remains?”

“It’s complicated. But I sincerely wish you would give us cause to destroy ourselves, as well as our friends.”

“You are a strange species. But I am unable to accommodate you.”

“I see.”

“I offer you the lives of your friends. You may go and collect them from the ship. But then you must leave. I ask only that you not damage the Preston.”

“Beyond what you’ve already done.”

“The essentials remain.”

“Okay,” said Jon. “I’m sorry to hear that. They will not be pleased to be taken off. They expect that we will grant them the opportunity for salvation.”

“You may tell them I am sorry for their inconvenience.”

“I’ll tell them.” He scratched his forehead, waited a few beats, then spoke again: “Who were you signaling?”

“I do not understand.”

“There’s someone you hoped would see the clouds, the explosions, and come to your assistance. Is that not correct?”

“Yes. It is correct.”

“Who? Others like you?”

“Yes. Like me.”

“Why have they not come?”

“They know they would be trapped here if they did. As I am.”

“Then why bother? If they will not come?”

“It is all I have.”

At that moment Jon would happily have killed the thing. “Have you any idea how many have died, how many civilizations have been destroyed by your goddam signal?”

“I did not know there were life forms like you.”

“Yeah. One more thing: If you attempt to strike us in any way, know that we are not without recourse.”

“I understand.”

“We will know in advance that a strike is coming, and we will immediately destroy both ships.”

“Yes. I understand that also.”

“I hope so.”

“And if I fulfill my part of the agreement you will not destroy the Preston?”

“No. You have my word.”

“OKAY, JIM,” MATT told the AI, “get us over there as quickly as you can.”

“No,” said Jon. “Don’t show it the Locarno. Just use the main engines.”

“Why?”

“Best to keep a surprise available. Charge the Locarno on the way. And keep it ready.”

“Okay, Jon. Now, how about telling me where that other ship came from? And why this thing wants the Preston at all? Especially after it crippled the thing. Even if it was operational, something as big as that son of a bitch is couldn’t fit inside.”

“It manufactured the other ship. To lure Hutch closer. And no, of course the creature couldn’t fit inside.”

“Then what’s going on?”

“We can assume it wants to get out of here. That means it needs thrust. What makes the Preston go?”

“But—”

“I suspect what it wants is to get a look at the Preston’s engines and thrusters.”

“So it can reproduce them?”

“On a much larger scale. Or maybe just make a zillion of them. I don’t know—”

“You think it can do that? Manufacture thrusters?”

“It makes omega clouds and their triggers, doesn’t it? We’ve seen it make a transmitter. We know it has nanotech capabilities. I’d say sure. It can manufacture the engines, the fuel, probably whatever it needs. It just doesn’t know how.”