Free Consortium of Planets: Alien Test by Jack Wells Page B

working.”
    Looking straight at Beth, Wystl said, “She hasn’t even made a request to shoot me.”
    Before Beth could retort, Dean tried to get the dialog back on track. “Is holding us part of the test?”
    The creature considered her response slowly. Then she smiled. “I can’t give away too much information; it might affect the results of the test. I may tell you more at another time.” She abruptly changed the subject. “Have you amused yourselves with the computer? It can be very entertaining.”
    Without giving them time to answer, the air around Wystl grew darker until she was completely blotted out. The darkness evaporated, revealing the ceiling once again. Wystl and Aydr’n were gone.
    Dean nodded and smiled to himself. As Wystl spoke, he had picked up on some dissension between the aliens and was intrigued by the possibility of using it to his advantage. It was simple psychology: If you shut up and let people talk long enough, sooner or later, they will tell you something that you can use against them. These aliens were no different.
    “L.T., we may be able to play them against one another or we might…”
    Beth finished his sentence. “Gain Wystl’s confidence and use her to get out of here! But what if it’s a trap, Colonel?”
    Dean shrugged. “It’s all we have to go on right now. We’ll modify our plans as things change.” Beth still looked worried, so Dean tried to console her. “If that doesn’t work, we’ll be no worse off than we are now.”
     
    ****
     
    Sit Room:
    Doctor Friedmark got off the phone and began reviewing the new data he had just received from an associate in Moscow. It included a video feed from a Russian probe located in front of the Moonbeam. The doctor watched as the beam flashed with color and electricity against the blackness of space. It was so bright, Friedmark blinked and looked away, but not for long. When he reduced the magnification, the brightness decreased as well, and he was able to focus again.
    An old beat-up satellite floated into view and began to drift slowly past the Beam. About half a kilometer away, the space junk began to veer toward a dark, semicircular gap in the top of the Beam. As it changed direction toward the cavity, the satellite rapidly picked up speed and disappeared into it. Then other pieces of debris of all sizes and shapes began disappearing down the hungry maw. The Beam acted like a giant vacuum cleaner. The angle of the probe showed a clear picture of the Beam’s oval-shaped mouth. The doctor carefully increased the magnification for a close-up and examined the Beam’s circular perimeter as it extended back toward the Moon. He discovered that the colors and lightning were only a thin cover that gave form to an otherwise empty spot in space.
    The doctor looked for Sasha and saw her talking quietly with General Martle. He waved her over and gave her the news. “General, we’ve discovered two things about the Beam. First, the rainbow of colors and flashes of lightning give the appearance of dimension to an artificial void. The other thing is that the void is sucking up matter that comes within about half a kilometer. Looking in the Beam’s mouth is like looking down the barrel of a loaded gun, except nothing fires out – you get pulled in. I’ll observe more of the Moonbeam’s interaction with matter and calculate how much force it can exert. Once I have the data I’ll forward it to your office.”
    Sasha was disappointed that her ideas to confront the alien ray wouldn’t work, but she was glad that they were finally making progress.
    Almost commanding, the doctor went on. “I still want you to take a starfighter and get close enough to run some new tests. Try anything you can think of to get that thing to react. Fire lasers, missiles, and cannons at it and see what happens.”
    Sasha could barely contain her excitement at finally getting to do something. All she had done so far was engage in pointless verbal fencing with