“What’s the situation?” Calazar asked tensely. “Is the ship all right? How far into JEVEX have they penetrated?”
“They’ve got problems,” VISAR said after a short delay. “Give me a few more seconds. This is going to need some fast footwork.”
On the Command Deck of the Shapieron, a familiar voice that had not been heard for several days spoke suddenly to break the silence that had fallen with despair. “Say, you’re in a bit of a mess here. Sit tight. I’ll handle this.”
Eesyan’s jaw dropped in disbelief. Garuth looked up speechlessly from where he had sunk down into a chair at one of the empty crew stations. Around them a score of other dazed Ganymeans had heard it too, but didn’t believe it, either. “vIsAR?” Eesyan whispered, as if half fearing an aural hallucination. “ZORAC, was that vrsAE?”
“It’s busy,” zoRAc’s voice answered. “Don’t ask me what’s happened, but yes it was. Something deactivated the self-checking functions, and I’ve switched off the jamming routine. We’re through to Thurien.”
While ZORAC was speaking, VISAR decoded the access passwords into .JEVEX’s diagnostic subsystem, erased a set of data that it found there, substituted new data of its own, and reset the alarm indicators. Inside the Jevienese Defense Sector Five control center, a display screen changed to announce a false alarm caused by a malfunctioning remote communications relay. Far off in space, the two destroyers turned away to return to their stations and resume
routine patrolling. Already VISAR was pouring volumes of information into JEVEX that it had not time to explain, not even to ZORAC. At the same time it broke its way into JEVEX’s communications subsystem and gained control of the open channel to Earth.
A voice that Verikoff recognized as VISAR’s spoke suddenly in the communications room in Sverenssen’s house. “Okay, we’ve done it. If Vic Hunt and the others are there somewhere, you can bring them in to watch what happens next. I can edit them out of the datastream to Jevlen on a one-way basis. Get off the line now as quick as you can.”
Somehow Verikoff kept his astonishment from showing. Behind him Hunt and the others had heard and were slowly moving in through the door, too astounded to say anything. Broghuilio, obviously unaware of them, was still staring dumbstruck from one of the screens. Verikoff pulled himself together and reacted swiftly. “You have one hour to give your reply, Broghuillo,” he said. “And hear this-if one of those ships at Thurien makes so much as anything that even looks like a hostile move, we will attack under an order that will be irrevocable once issued. You have one hour.”
Nothing changed on the screen, but VISAR announced, “Okay, you’re off the air.” At once a bewildered Verikoff was assailed by congratulations and back-slapping from all sides. Pacey and Benson were watching incredulously from the doorway, while just inside the room Sobroskin slipped his automatic surreptitiously back inside his jacket.
Another screen came to life to show the Command Deck of the Shapieron as VISAR continued to integrate the communications functions of JEVEX that it was taking over into its own network. A few seconds later another screen brought the view from the Government Center in Thurios. It had to be the most bizarre computer hookup ever, Hunt thought as his eyes jumped from side to side to take it all in. Caidwell, Heller, and Danchekker were physically in Alaska, yet he was seeing them through a link that extended from Connecticut to a Jevlenese star light-years away, back to the Shapieron and from there to a second star, and from Gistar back to the perceptron at McClusky.
“You . . . apparently believe in cutting things close,” Eesyan said from the Shapieron, still looking distinctly shaken.
“You worry too much,” Caidwell told him, addressing a point
offscreen. “We know how to manage a business.” He shifted his gaze to look straight out of the screen in Connecticut. “How’d it go? Is everybody okay? Where’s Sverenssen?”
“We had a change of plans,” Hunt replied. “I’ll tell you about it later. Everybody’s fine here.”
On the screen that showed the Jevienese War Room, Broghuilio had demanded a report from JEVEX on its current surveillance intercepts from Earth. JEVEX responded by producing accounts of Earth’s leaders meeting secretly to agree on details of a combined attack on Jevien. That was already historical, JEVEX declared in answer to questions from a completely stunned Broghuilio. Currently the plans for the assault were complete, and preparations were well advanced. JEVEX’s latest intercept was a briefing from the senior officers of the joint Terran command staff, which it proceeded to replay. Broghuilio grew more perplexed and more flustered as he listened.