"Trying to do just that, General," said Patton.

Looking lethal, the huge hexagonal cylinders continued to glide out of the shadow cloud. The hex ships displayed no lights, windowports, engines, or apparent control systems-no vulnerabilities. The Kutuzov's bridge screens flickered, her systems faltering.

"Shields are losing their integrity, General!" called Tactical Officer Voecks.

"Open fire on those hex things. That's what's causing the problem."

Retargeting, the flagship Juggernaut launched an intense jazer volley, but the jacketed energy beams struck the obsidian cylinders and reflected harmlessly off the angular surfaces.

The Kutuzov's bridge began to shake and rattle as more internal systems failed. Meanwhile the robot ships harassed the CDF vessels. One of Admiral Haroun's Mantas accelerated toward the nearest hex ship, shooting repeated jazer blasts and a fusillade of railgun projectiles. But as it neared the black vessel, the Manta trembled, then began to tumble wildly. The Manta captain transmitted a distress signal. "We've lost control! All systems have gone haywire."

The unfortunate Manta struck the nearest hexagonal cylinder. It crumpled, ricocheted off, and exploded. The fires and shock waves from ignited ekti chambers slammed against the black hull and were absorbed.

Keah seethed. "Now would be a good time for Adar Zan'nh to show up with his warliners." She picked four Remora pilots and sent them an urgent message. "Head out of the system at top speed along the Ildiran inbound vector. Intercept the Solar Navy ships, inform them what's happening-and tell them to haul ass. They're probably planning some fancy arrival parade."

Her green priest clutched his treeling and continued to report. As she listened to the tangled, overlapping transmissions from other ships, Keah heard an increasing edge of panic in the reports. Their weapons seemed to be having no effect whatsoever on the hex vessels.

"Keep firing as long as our systems hold out," she told her crew. "Target the damned bugbot ships-at least we can blow them up."

They fired additional rounds, but even the Kutuzov's weapons began to fail. The targeting was misaligned, and numerous shots misfired. Two more black robot ships were destroyed, but Keah knew she didn't have much time before her entire battle group fell apart.

CHAPTER.

90.

EXXOS.

Walled off and frustrated, Exxos could only watch the battle from within the entropy bubble. The Shana Rei would not let him participate, and so they trapped him-protected him-in his own isolated pocket universe.

Given time, the robots would learn how to manipulate the physical laws of that sub-universe, perhaps even create matter, shape existence to their own desires. The black robots could be gods. They could be masters.

All in due time. First they had to survive the Shana Rei ... and preferably destroy them, along with all sentient life, so they could have the universe to themselves.

At the moment Exxos was more interested in the clash taking place in the Plumas system. That small Roamer settlement should have been an easy target to annihilate, just like Eljiid. Exxos had not expected to find the human military ships there. Nevertheless, he was excited by the opportunity to unleash the destructive power that the Shana Rei alliance could generate.

How he longed to be part of the battle, not just trapped here, but the capricious Shana Rei had kept him apart-either as a hostage, or a distant commander. He wasn't sure which. The creatures of darkness left much to be understood. Their thought patterns were different from anything the black robots had previously encountered, and the Shana Rei were not inclined to explain their rationale.

They had singled him out as leader of the black robots, unique among them, and he accepted the role. Although the robots themselves were identical in their basic structure and programming, each one had personal experiences assimilated over thousands of years. But he could only watch as his comrades soared toward the human battleships in new vessels the Shana Rei had manifested for them. The modified ships should have been sufficient to obliterate an undefended Roamer water-pumping station.

Imagining the potential of their incomprehensible benefactors, Exxos had redesigned the robot attack craft. The Shana Rei were devoid of knowledge about physics, science, engineering, but they could create matter in whatever form they desired, so long as they had a basic pattern. The robots understood the structure of ships, the mechanics of engines and propulsion systems, the layout of electronics, circuitry paths, weapons systems. Exxos convinced the creatures of darkness to create enhanced ships according to new plans.

And now they wouldn't let him fly as part of the attack.

The Shana Rei drained energy from the vacuum and also created huge hexagonal cylinders, traditional shadow ships such as ones they had used in their previous appearance millennia ago. The effort of creation caused them pain; even in his entropy bubble, Exxos could hear the Shana Rei moan and scream. That pain transformed into anger and violence, which they unleashed at Plumas.

With robot battleships in the vanguard, the black hex cylinders loomed forward. The CDF Juggernauts and Manta cruisers struggled to meet the attack, but were unprepared. Exxos listened to the dance of radiofrequency chatter, heard the defiant General declare revenge against the hated black robots. But Exxos understood that revenge went both ways, and he intended to hurt the CDF for all the destruction they had visited on his fellow robots in times past.

The robot ships hammered the CDF shields with unexpectedly powerful weapons, draining the energy reserves of the human vessels. They were reckless; they took risks and inflicted great damage. The robots targeted one Manta with their bombardment until its shields failed and the engines exploded. And they continued, relentless in their goal....

A rippling inkblot appeared inside his entropy bubble, hovering before him with a staring singular eye. "This must end soon."

"It will. Look at our success so far."

The CDF released weapons in a flurry against the robots, but they did not know how to deal with the Shana Rei. Their very proximity to the black hexagon ships caused significant disruption in the human vessels. Electrical and mechanical systems began to fail, and they lost control. A Manta cruiser careened into one of the giant hexagons, but left no mark on the black hull.

The Shana Rei had overwhelming power-that much was obvious-yet even as they moved toward the Plumas moon, the creatures of darkness were desperate to withdraw and fold themselves back into the fabric of space.

Just a little longer.

Exxos possessed a database of all the worlds and races that needed to be destroyed. The Shana Rei claimed that some minds were a brighter fire than others; some thoughts hacked like sharp blades, while others were mere annoyances. The Ildiran thism was among the worst, as was the worldforest mind with its green priest telink network. Exxos would gladly destroy it all. Removing this human infestation at Plumas, as well as the CDF battleships, were just small steps toward that goal.

From inside the entropy bubble, the Shana Rei said in its pulsing voice, "Victory here will silence a few small whispers, but what drove us from our void is a far more powerful enemy-an intelligence that has only begun to awaken."

CHAPTER.

91.

ZOE ALAKIS.

Tom Rom was late.

If any other employee missed a scheduled return to Pergamus, Zoe Alakis would have been annoyed. But Tom Rom was never late, and that made her worried.

He was an independent man. She had no chains on him, nor did he want any. His loyalty to her was a bond that could not be broken by the pull of two opposing black holes, and even Zoe didn't know how she had earned such devotion. He was also diligent and should have been back from his trip to the Ildiran sanctuary domes four days ago.

His last contact had been from Ulio, where he'd stopped to refuel and resupply, and he had added a code phrase to his message to let her know he would make a brief trip to Vaconda, as he had many times before.

But he should have been back days ago.

Zoe contemplated sending out searchers to trace his route from Ulio, but if Tom Rom didn't want to be found, no one would ever track him. What if he was hurt? Or lost? If it would help, she might even leave her sterile dome and go after him herself. Only for him. But that would be a last resort.

Her concerned thoughts were interrupted by a message from Orbiting Research Sphere 12-Dr. Hannig's lab. The scientist looked worried, and his bristly white hair had a distinct sparkle of perspiration. "Ms. Alakis, we've had a ... slight problem."

Zoe's eyes hardened. With the dangerous work on Pergamus, there was no such thing as a "slight" problem. She even momentarily forgot about Tom Rom. "What sort of slight problem?"

His chuckle held an undertone of anxiety, so she knew not to believe his dismissive attitude. "It's probably just an administrative error. Nothing to worry about, but I wanted to let you know."

Her expression turned icy, her voice even colder. "Details, please." She leaned closer so she could watch his face.

"As you requested for the library, Ms. Alakis, we finished our work with Tamborr's Dementia, isolated the virus, purified it, and stored it in capsules. One of our notebooks states that we had twelve vials, but our final inventory lists only eleven. We've double-checked it, and I just wanted you to know there was an accounting error in our original submission."

"An accounting error." Zoe didn't even try to hide her skepticism. "Your team has never had accounting errors."

Dr. Hannig chuckled again, that awkward nervous titter. "There's always a first time. I've reprimanded my team and will launch a full investigation. When cleaning up the lab, we did find the twelfth vial, but it was empty."

"You mean it was spilled."

"No, of course not!" Hannig sounded more nervous now. "Absolutely not. I'm positive."

Zoe frowned and thought, Meaning, "I don't think so."

In its natural state, according to Hannig's report, Tamborr's Dementia was very difficult to contract, but Hannig's work had isolated and concentrated the virus. If that vial had spilled, every member of the research team would be infected now. The symptoms would manifest within a few days.

Dr. Hannig's words petered out, and he fell silent, staring at her on the screen, as if hoping. Zoe stared back without responding. Rules were rules, considering the extreme hazards of their work. There could be no room for flexibility, no possibility for compassion. Another example of why she refused to befriend her researchers.

Hannig's voice came out as a hoarse whisper. "Please!"

She made up her mind. "Dr. Hannig, I want to thank you and your team for your years of service. We have copies of your documentation, as well as an archival sample of the Tamborr virus, which we'll seal away in the Pergamus library. Your work will not be lost."

The panicked researchers gathered around Hannig on the screen, shouting. "At least wait a few days, see if we show any symptoms! You've got to be sure. You can't just-"

"Protocol is protocol," she said. "You all signed on to it. You've known from the very beginning."

"But it's just a damned counting mistake!" one of the scientists cried.

"We have to be sure. Thank you for understanding."

Zoe muted the voice pickup, because she had no interest in hearing desperate excuses or pleas. From her desk, she initiated a full decontamination protocol for ORS 12.

Hannig would know how much time he had. The magnetic charge at the heart of the station would take fifteen minutes to build up enough energy for the gamma-ray burst, which would release five times the amount of energy needed to destroy any known virus or bacteria. Just to be sure.

She supposed Hannig would try to rip apart the control systems to access the central magnetic canister, but he couldn't possibly do it in time. If he was an honorable man, he would accept his situation and not further damage the ORS. The station would be put back to good use after she sent her teams to clean up and repair all of the systems.

She watched her screen, saw the power buildup in the ORS core. She blocked the comm screen, even though Dr. Hannig repeatedly sent requests for communication.

The gamma-ray burst ended that, vaporizing all organic matter inside the sphere, down to every individual cell and the smallest virus. Afterward, the ORS would be subjected to twenty-four hours of thermal decontamination to cook away any remnants. And after that, the hatches would be opened to vent the station to space, leaving the chambers in hard vacuum with temperatures near absolute zero. That should be sufficient to make it a safe environment for the next team in the ORS.

Fortunately, because all of her research groups were isolated, no one else even needed to know about the disaster.

She called up her files to review the applications of other scientists who might be candidates for the new research team. She scanned down the names, read their specialties and accomplishments. Hannig would be difficult to replace, she knew, but she would have plenty of time to find someone. Her cleanup crew would take a week to scour and then reequip ORS 12 for further research anyway.

Zoe closed the file on Dr. Hannig and his team. Her attorneys would handle closing out their employment, releasing insurance payments for the designated beneficiaries. They had excuses to make, false stories to file, loose ends to tie up. They were used to it by now.

Tom Rom returned that afternoon.

With a suddenly gladdened heart, she watched the images transmitted from her picket line scouts as his ship streaked in toward Pergamus. Her eyes sparkled, and her pulse quickened just to know he was all right, but his ship looked more battered than usual.

"What took you so long?" she cried. "I was worried."

"Unforeseen difficulties. My ship was damaged on Vaconda, and I needed a few days to fix it up. It'll require a full overhaul and cleaning, engine upgrades, resupply, and spare parts replacement, but my repairs were good enough to get me home."

"What happened? Tell me."

"It's a long story. Nothing to concern yourself about. I am fine. I managed to obtain the records from Kuivahr, as well as intact samples of the Ramah brain parasite you asked for-and, of course, the shipment of prisdiamonds. That was what caused me a little trouble."

Zoe didn't care about prisdiamonds. She had never been concerned with budgets or resources, because she always had enough to pay for whatever she wanted. After worrying about him for days, Zoe now needed to see Tom Rom, face-to-face, just like two normal people, and listen to the harrowing adventures he'd had on her behalf. "Land your ship. Our teams can make the necessary repairs while you go through the decontamination stages to see me."

Staring at her from the screen, Tom Rom looked tired but not weak; his posture remained so straight that she wondered if he ever bent his shoulders. "If I cycle through decon, that'll be a twelve-hour delay. I'd like to see you very much, but there's an urgent matter you should know about."

"How urgent?" Zoe tried to hide her disappointment.

"I intercepted a message as I flew past Rhejak, and word is spreading through the green priest network. There's a deadly plague sweeping through a Roamer space city."

Now Zoe perked up. "A new plague? Or something we've seen before?"

She saw an unusual shine in his dark eyes. "Nothing any human has ever seen, Zoe." He described the disease carried by the Klikiss, which had killed off an entire unknown race, and now had adapted to infect humans.

Zoe caught her breath listening to this. "We've got to have it for the library."

"I already plotted a course. The Roamers quarantined their entire city, and they will all be dead shortly. I need to get there as soon as possible."

As much as she longed to see him, as much as she wanted his strength and his presence next to her-to ease the loneliness that was always there inside her cold, clean dome-Zoe wanted that alien plague more.

"Go. Bring me a sample of that virus and any records the Roamers might have left behind."

No one else would have seen the flicker of a smile on his emotionless face, but she knew Tom Rom all too well. "I'll do that, Zoe," he said. "For you."

CHAPTER.