Webdancers Read Free Page B

most ancient of all. It is almost as if the Supreme Being got it right in the very beginning with the various races and star systems he spawned, but only then. Thereafter, under pressure from countless directions, things declined, and continued that way until the entire cosmic engine started to run out of steam. Scientists describe it as entropy on a huge scale, with energy systems winding down and life forms eventually returning to the soil and cosmic dust. But I have a different, less scientific, way of putting it: Sentient life forms have a way of making selfish decisions and mucking things up.
    —Master Noah Watanabe, speech to the seventh Guardian graduating class
    Horrendous. Ghastly.
    Onboard the flagship, Noah and Anton conferred. Tesh stood with them, having temporarily left the sectoid chamber. They all faced one of the viewing windows in the large passenger compartment, staring in shock at the impediment to the fleet’s forward progress.
    A short while ago, when they first entered the narrowing funnel, there had been the expected hurtling, luminous white stones that Tesh and the other pilots had been forced to negotiate. Then the rolling, oncoming stones had ceased altogether, and an unexpected obstacle had presented itself to the fleet. As a result, all the way back up the funnel the entire Liberator podship fleet came to an abrupt halt, and floated freely in the frozen vacuum, unable to proceed any further.
    Noah grimaced at the sight ahead of Webdancer . Like an immense cork, the way forward was blocked by immense clusters of tiny, horribly mutilated and frozen Parvii bodies, all clumped together to form a grisly barrier.
    Tears streamed down Tesh’s cheeks. “I saw bodies floating the last time I was here, but got past them.” She paused. “When we first entered the funnel this time, I wondered why there were no bodies. Now I know.”
    “We must reach the Parvii Fold,” Anton said, staring out the window. “Everything depends on us capturing the rest of the podships.”
    “It’s obvious what we have to do,” Noah said. He put a reassuring hand on Tesh’s shoulder. “I’m sorry, but we need to open fire and blast our way through.”
    Her eyes looked tortured and red.
    “But will we find anything on the other side?” Anton asked.
    “I think so,” she said, wiping her eyes. “Woldn must have created this barrier in order to protect himself, and the others who remain with him.” She scowled at the mention of the Parvii leader, the Eye of the Swarm.
    Moments later, six Liberator podships opened the gun ports on their sides and commenced fire on the horrific barricade. In the fiery onslaught of white-hot projectiles, Parvii flesh melted away, revealing a dark tunnel beyond.…
    * * * * *
    Doge Anton sent two podships ahead into the darkness to scout for further hazards or traps. One of the vessels was piloted by Eshaz. His passenger compartment thronged with Human fighters and Tulyan pilots, along with Acey Zelk and Dux Hannah., a pair of young Humans who were friends of Eshaz.
    Anton’s wife, General Nirella, had considered off-loading the pilots onto other vessels, but the Tulyans resisted, saying their telekinetic mindlink powers could be of added value against any Parviis they encountered. Even though the combined telepathic power was much weaker away from the Tulyan Starcloud, it was at least another dimension that might be useful in battle, and the Parviis had shown themselves to be susceptible to it.
    “If we get through this, we can call ourselves men,” Dux said. He and his cousin—still teenagers—sat on one of the extruded organic benches. The reptilian Tulyans towered around them on the hard seats.
    “Don’t get all terrified,” Acey said, with a smirk on his wide face. “If you go hysterical when I’m needed for a crisis, I’m going to have to let you go.”
    Dux gave him a less-than-good-natured shove. Acey always considered himself the braver of the pair, but Dux