"Certainly," Bob said, and they all started walking toward the berth where the ship that Bob and Paula would take to their battle stood waiting.

"By the way, where's Arie?" Sammi asked.

"Ah, our little friend has had his own little enclave built for him in the tracking room, courtesy of the

colonel. He'll be able to listen to the Phinon chatter quite comfortably there. I just left him there a few minutes ago. He was, er, customizing his environment."

" 'Customizing'?" Bob asked.

"Installing a squirrel cage, oh yes," Dykstra said.They arrived at the berth. Emblazoned across the bow of the streakbomber was the name Hyperlight II. "I figured I'd better stick with a winner," Bob told them.

"I can't tell from here," Dykstra said, looking up at the skiff attached to the top of the bigger ship. "Did you also get to name your ship, Paula?""Pops," she said.

"He'd like that," Bob said.

Another klaxon sounded, this one keener and shriller, and it was the signal for the pilots to report to their ships. As if taking it as his cue, Dykstra said, "This time the only words I have for any of you is, 'See you later.' " With that he walked away.

Rick and Paula wandered around to the other side of the ship to say good-bye, and Bob was left with Sammi beside him. Bob found himself at a loss for anything to say, and was actually wondering if this time he was going to get another kiss or maybe just a punch on the shoulder. At least she's here, he thought.

"I have not been fair to you, Robert," Sammi said, and she put her arms loosely upon his shoulders, lightly clasping her hands behind his neck. Reflexively he put his hands around her waist. "We have a lot to talk about when you return."

"Sammi, you don't owe me any explanations, any apologies," Bob said.

"I may owe the entire human race an apology when you get back," she said.

"I'm sure your genanites will work."

"So am I."

"Then I don't understand-" he began, but she put her finger to his lips. Then she pulled him closer and kissed him in a way that put even the hallway encounter to shame.

Rick and Paula had been waiting for them to finish, Bob realized, as his lips broke from Sammi's. Then there were a few hugs and some handshakes, and Sammi and Rick walked out of the docks, and he and Paula watched them go.

"Poke yourself in the eye, Bob?" Paula asked. "They're looking a little moist."

He didn't answer, just turned and walked up the ramp into the Hyperlight II.

Twelve hours after the last of the fleet had departed the docks, Dykstra returned there, and walked slowly across the empty floor. Cane in hand, he headed for the laboratory they'd constructed for him in a corner of the expanse when the alien drive unit had been brought to Luna from the battle at Slingshot. It was still there, or at least parts of it, still clinging to the inside of the crumpled shell. The unit had no more secrets to offer up, but Dykstra wanted to see it again for it reminded him of a time only months yet forever ago when he knew his work meant something.

He knew it was silly, but he still felt guilty about how little "real" work he'd done since returning from Earth. He'd made some progress on the problem of transmitting radio signals FTL from a stationary source outside the Hague Limit, and could probably have had a working model ready to test by now if he'd only been free of the constant interruptions that had come after his return.

But then, they were important interruptions.

And then there was the entire theory of hyperdrive and hyperphysics to work out rigorously. So much of what had so far been accomplished still existed only in his head. He really had to get it down into some more permanent, yet intelligible to ordinary minds, form. For hyperphysics had turned out to be more than just a "few new wrinkles" in Dykstra Field Theory-he could see that now. At the turn of the 20th century, relativity and quantum mechanics had overturned the views of the 19th century, and even Maxwell's work had been modified. To be noted, though, were the objections of that incomprehensible genius Tesla, who thought everyone had gone off on the wrong track. By the turn of the 21st century, Tesla's concerns had been borne out. The work of Kirk, Spencer, and Phipps had turned up anomalies in both electromagnetism and gravitational theory, and it had been left to Dykstra to sort it all out and introduce the new paradigm that would rule physics through the century.

But I never thought I'd have to do it all again at the dawn of the 22nd century, Dykstra thought. Yes, so much work to do. Or that could be done, if there was a point to it.

Upon entering the lab, his gaze turned to the crumpled can that was the shell of the Phinon hyperdrive motor; a motor he now knew was not the product of genius, but of a billion years of evolution. "Lucky for us I figured out your secrets in a few months," he told the motor, but it seemed unimpressed. The lab had been stripped of equipment months ago, a shell now as hollow as the motor itself, and Dykstra stayed there only a few minutes.

Back out on the floor of the docks, he looked across past the rows of empty berths to the few craft that still remained, though they were only shuttles and hoppers for point-to-point trips on the Moon. All of the ships were gone, the closest evidence of the great Exodus from Earth that had taken place much the same way as the desertion of Jupiter had. But this time it was clear that fleeing to other planets was hardly a guarantee of safety. Most ships headed for the Belt, the one place it would take the Phinons a long time to clean out, but also a place where few of the refugees would be able to hold out. It took the right kind of equipment to sustain life on a rock.

As he walked toward the shuttles (for no reason other than that they were there), Dykstra's mind again turned toward work. Since his stay in the hospital, he had confirmed in his mind that his best idea for a super weapon-more like a Doomsday weapon-would work. This was something best characterized as a "Dykstra field Tesla coil" sort of thing which could be made large enough to cause the Hague Limit to expand and contract in resonance with it.

He could make the sun explode that way.

That would hardly help us now though, would it? Still, he could envision some future where detonating stars might be useful for cleaning Phinons out of the surrounding Oort clouds.

Or other humans out of star systems.

Even if we survive the Phinons, can we survive human nature? Still, surviving means that Samantha's genanites will have done their job, so we may never have to face Phinons ever again. Come to think of it, as long as we infect them, even if humanity dies out, at least their "reign of terror" in the galaxy will come to an end. Maybe then some other race will have a chance to inherit the stars. He thought about all those conjectured civilizations (when he was a boy it had been assumed there were millions of them) that might have made it to the stars, only to be cut to pieces just as they were taking their first steps.

The nature of the Phinons had finally explained the Fermi Paradox.

"Paula, it's showtime," Bob said. Without a word she got up from the copilot's seat and went into the middeck. She suited up and then climbed through the special docking ring that allowed passage into the mated skiff. Only after she was in place did she say anything.

"Ready, Lieutenant. Bring us up close."

It had been a quiet flight for the two of them, and probably for most of the pairs in the other streakbombers. The ships had taken a day and a half to fly out and turn back so that they could come up on the lead ships of the Phinon fleet from behind. During the trip, both Bob and Paula had been lost in their own thoughts except for those times when they had to look over the data feeds they were getting from Luna and the observation and tracking ships.

After Jupiter, the Phinon fleet had gradually turned around in a large arc and the ships were now headed toward Earth from high above the ecliptic. Bob and Paula were encountering them less than an astronomical unit from Earth. Bob's streakbomber was one of those ships equipped with the new drive immediately following Dykstra's confrontational meeting with Knoedler. Paula's skiff was powered only by a standard fusion drive-there had not been time to convert the skiffs over. Still, if all went according to plan, her fusion engine would be enough.

"We'll be right alongside our target in three minutes," Bob said. He was looking at the Phinon ship out the bubble, her image shimmering slightly from the effects of the Dykstra shield surrounding the Hyperlight II. The ship was an ugly, evil-looking thing, bulbous with odd curves and sharp projections sticking out. The expeditionary force that had encountered the fleet before it went to Jupiter had found that the Phinons did not fire until fired upon, and would not break ranks no matter what. As Bob pulled alongside, matching velocity only a few hundred meters away from the alien ship, he could almost feel a reflex in his hand trying to reach for the fire button on the weapons array. Yeah, I could kill this one. His shields aren't even up yet. Then what? Only another million plus to go.

"You're on, Paula."

He felt a slight nudge and heard a faint clang as the skiff separated from the Hyperlight II. Slowly, Paula closed with the Phinon ship. She was less than a hundred meters away before the alien vessel turned on its shields. "Well, I really didn't think they'd leave them off the whole time," Paula radioed back. "That would have been too easy."

The Pops continued toward the ship.

Bob switched radio channels for a moment, listening to the Phinon ship-to-ship. They were talking up a storm. I wonder what they're saying, he thought. Too bad the only translator is light-minutes away. She'll be back before Arie could tell me what they're talking about.

"Fine-tuning to Phinon shield frequency now," Paula said, her voice breaking through the Phinon chatter since her frequency had priority.

Bob watched. This was the worst part. There was a shimmering ring around the interface of the two shields as Paula eased the Pops through.

"I'm in!" she said. "How are we coordinated with the others?"

It took Bob thirty seconds to find out. It was important that all the ships perform the Wirasinghe Maneuver near simultaneously lest the Phinons talk to each other. Though the Phinon ships had yet to respond to them, no one, Bob included, thought this would continue once the first biomine was detonated. "Eighty percent of us are in position," Bob told her. "I'm waiting for the coordinating signal. There! Twelve seconds, mark."

Twelve seconds later, like a wasp streaking in for a sting, the Pops dove for the Phinon ship, engine flaring, tractor beams on. It took only seconds to attach, place the mine, then spring back off, engine flaring again.

"Did it, dammit!" Paula cried.

Bob saw three flashes. The first was the blaze from Paula's drive. The second was the explosion of the biomine on the hull of the Phinon ship.

The third was the brilliant glare from the X-ray laser that suddenly lanced up from the Phinon craft and hit the Pops.

"They know our ships are there, oh yes," Hague said. His listening post was getting direct feeds from an observation craft less than a light-minute from the attack, but it still required more than four more minutes for the information to make it to the Moon. With all the Phinon ships communicating at once, it was necessary for the observation craft to pick and choose which to listen to.

Hague was just reporting the gist.

"Well, if there was such a thing as absolute time, I could say our skiffs should be attaching their mines right about now," said some officer Dykstra couldn't pick out down on the floor of the tracking center. He, Rick, and Sammi were watching near Hague's station, from the elevated deck that half circled the room.

But we do have absolute time, now, Dykstra thought. He really did have to get started on a hyperphysics text. Well, maybe I can wait another few hours, when we find out if the Earth is still going to be here.

"I hate this," Sammi said. "I hate this waiting." She was holding onto the rail, hard. Dykstra noticed her

white knuckles.

"Me, too," Rick said. "Arie, are any of them talking about using weapons?" Because of his relationship with the savant, Rick was the one designated to interface between Hague and the High Command officers.

"Oh no," he answered. "No, no, not at all. No one has fired on them. They're unconcerned. Yes, unconcerned, oh yes."

"Bet they won't be when the first mine goes off," Rick said.

* * * "Paula! Paula! Paula!" Bob screamed into the comm. His hands played over the weapons board. He had the lasers at full and the weapons array ready to deal destruction. He could see the Pops. She was tumbling but still in one piece-the skiff's Dykstra shields had held against the laser strike.

Mostly held.

"Still breathing," Paula said, though it sounded to Bob like she was out of breath. "Shields held. Still tuned . . . slipped right through their . . . sonavabitchen . . . shields. Engine's dead . . . though.""I'll get them!" Bob said and his hand reached to fire. And stopped.I can't. Dammit! I can't. They need to be infected and . . . Shit! Instead he maneuvered the Hyperlight II between the skiff and the Phinon ship. They hadn't fired again, not since the one shot at Paula. But this way, Bob's ship would shadow Paula's in case they did resume firing.

Even then, he couldn't shoot back.

"Paula, what kind of shape are you in?"

"Rick never . . . had any . . . complaints."

"Shit. What's your physical condition, I mean." Still, he couldn't help smiling at her grit.

"I just took a . . . blow to my tummy when . . . the laser hit. Knocked the . . . wind out."

"Okay. I'm going to lock the skiff to my bow with the docking tractor. Think you can stand two gees for

a while?""Yes."Slowly, slowly, Bob brought the Hyperlight II close to the tumbling skiff. He kept one eye on his rear monitor, praying that the Phinon ship behind him would continue its docile ways. "Turn off your shields, Paula." She did. The docking tractor consisted of two collimated but independent beams. Bob's ship's computer rapidly figured out how to use them to slow the tumbling of the Pops.

"Great. You're stabilized. Put your shields back up and tune to mine."

There was a delay. "Paula?"

"Damn things won't go back on."

* * * "The mines have gone off, oh yes," Hague reported. "Confirmed. Thirty-eight of the skiffs were able to get their mines in place and detonated," came another announcement over the PA."Oh no, oh no. The spiders are mad, oh yes. Going to attack now, oh yes. Oh no.""Reports of X-ray laser fire coming from multiple sites.""I hate this," Sammi said.

"I'm getting a report that some of the other Phinon ships are firing," Bob told Paula. "But if I'm going to save you, I have to drop my shields for a few seconds and let you in. Stand by.""Can I be valiant and suggest you leave me behind?""Sure. Ain't going to do it, though. I'm closing at one meter per second. Ready. Set. Shields down!" It would take six seconds. He counted them in his head. He was up to four the second time when the ship turned the shields back on at the proper instant.BAM! A Phinon missile slammed into the Hyperlight II on the port side.

"Shee-it! Where did that come from? Paula, you okay?"

"Yes. And damn lucky. Let's cut a trail, Bob. Now."

"Have to get the skiff secured first. Looks like that missile came from one of the ships back in the pack.

Don't see any more incoming. Our Phinon still hasn't done anything. Okay, we're mated. Two gees till we're safe," he said, running the drive up even as he was speaking. "We'll get you back aboard once we're a safe distance away."

"Are there any reports yet about Phinon ships turning aside?" Paula asked, an extra hint of strain in her voice. Two gees after being hurt was no picnic. "Not yet," Bob told her. "Then there is no safe distance away." * * *

"Arie, are the bugs working? Are they talking about it? What's going on?" Sammi finally burst out. Dykstra put his hand on her shoulder. "They may not say anything, Samantha," he said. "The unaffected ones in each ship might simply stand frozen while they watch the others die. We didn't have another Phinon handy to watch at your demonstration."

"I know, Chris. I'm sorry. It's just . . ." "I know," he said.

* * * "Bob? I lied. I'm not in good shape at all." They'd only been pulling two gees for a matter of minutes. "What?" Bob responded. "Dammit, Paula, you're already a goddamn hero. Are you trying for martyr, too?" Bob reduced the acceleration to one gravity. "How is that? Can you hold out?"

"Much better. Thanks. And only time will tell. But just how far away from the fleet do we have to be before you'll feel safe?" The other side of the galaxy comes to mind, he thought. "The cross-section of the armada is about the same as the diameter of Luna's orbit. They seem to adjust it based on the size of the system they're attacking. I was hoping we could be a full diameter away, but if you're in that bad shape, we could risk an EVA now. And are you going to be able to come over, or do I have to go and get you? Be honest this time!"

"You'll have to come get me," she said a few moments later. "But I can stand a gee for a couple hours. I think. Any more reports you can fill me in on?"

"There was sporadic laser fire and missile release when the mines were set off. We lost at least ten ships, the monitoring crew says. Hasn't been-"

"Screw that shit!" Paula snapped back. "I set that mine off more than fifteen minutes ago. Half that crew should be bean bag chairs by now. Have any of the ships turned away?"