The Lost Command (Lost Starship Series Book 2) Page 21

  “Two minutes to warhead detonation,” Valerie said. “That’s given the missiles explode at the optimum range to reach us as fast as possible.”

  Maddox’s shoulders slumped. He was out of ideas. Galyan wouldn’t jump, and the bearded officer refused to believe him. The captain could hardly blame Sub-commander Ko. Victory was unlike any ship in the Commonwealth. To think this was a New Man vessel was a logical if flawed deduction.

  “I don’t understand why the AI doesn’t use the star drive to close the gap between them and us,” Valerie said. “Isn’t that how you defeated the star cruisers in the Beyond?”

  The holoimage straightened. “Yes. This was so. Why didn’t you remind me, Captain Maddox?”

  “You’re a computer,” Maddox said. “I thought you would remember. It doesn’t make sense you wouldn’t.”

  “What you say is true,” Galyan said. “This makes me believe you have inserted a virus into my core.”

  “I haven’t,” Maddox said. “That doesn’t mean no one else did, though.”

  “Doctor Rich must have done so,” Galyan said.

  “I’ve already told you,” the bearded man said on the screen. “I’d rather watch you die than capture that witch.”

  “Consider what you just said,” Maddox told Galyan. “If Doctor Rich has given you a virus, can you fully trust your impulses? I refer to the one that forbids you to jump away to safety.”

  “It would appear I cannot,” Galyan said.

  “That means you should distrust this impulse toward self-immolation. It may be a wrong desire.”

  “Explain,” Galyan said.

  Maddox refrained from facing Valerie’s panel. He didn’t want to see the blackened shield or the countdown to nuclear warhead detonation.

  “You must scan your AI core,” Maddox said, “and discover if Doctor Rich or someone else has infected you. Once you’re gone, your secret enemy may rejoice over your destruction. If you find nothing unwarranted in the core, you can always self-destruct later. Besides, how will you revenge your race’s death against the Swarm if you’re gone?”

  “The Swarm are dead—”

  “It’s too late,” Valerie said, interrupting. “The thermonuclear warheads are exploding.”

  “No,” Galyan said. “I will not go down easily into the dark night of destruction. If this is another of your plays, Maddox—”

  “Good-bye, Galyan,” Maddox said.

  “This sucks,” Valerie said.

  Maddox turned, seeing her glare at the screen. Bright nova explosions showed the missiles detonating. Their x-rays and gamma rays struck the weakened deflector shield.

  At that moment, everything vanished as Galyan engaged the star drive. As they used the alien jump, the shield collapsed and the Titan-class warheads’ yield along with the heavy laser beams struck the collapsium hull. The starship shuddered. Maddox stumbled and crashed against the deck. Then the vessel reappeared three light years distant. The captain groaned. Valerie moaned. And everything aboard Victory shut down as the lights flickered and went dark.

  “Captain?” Valerie asked.

  “I’m right here,” Maddox said in the blackness.

  “What do we do now?”

  Whomp-like sounds preceded red emergency lights snapping on. In the bloody glow, Maddox climbed to his feet and brushed his uniform. With a start, he turned toward the robot. It stood there as it often did. He moved to the stainless steel cylinder with its metallic tentacles. Using a fingernail, Maddox clicked the metal.

  The robot didn’t move.

  “Is it dead?” Valerie asked.

  “It would appear so,” Maddox said. He moved to the door. It didn’t open as it should. He removed a panel and manually cranked the door open. Red light also illuminated the corridor.

  “Let’s go,” Maddox said.

  “Where?” Valerie asked.

  “It appears that Victory is down. We need the others to help us fix the ship.”

  “How can we fix this monstrous vessel?” Valerie asked. “There are only seventeen of us.”

  “That means we’d better start now,” Maddox said. As Valerie debated it with herself, Maddox noticed a tiny light inside one of the robot’s camera eyes. That surprised him, and then he wondered…

  Just how cunning was Driving Force Galyan? Could the AI have staged some this, making the damage seem worse than it was, in order to study their reactions?

  “Yes,” Valerie told Maddox. “What else can we do? Let’s start repairing ship systems.”

  They moved down the corridors. Maddox debated telling Valerie about his suspicions. He decided the fewer people who knew what might really be going on, the more genuine would be their reactions. The captain only trusted himself to playact well enough to fool the AI.

  Before he reached the second area of confinement where the others stayed, Maddox discovered they had already forced open their hatch.

  “Who goes there?” Major Kharkov shouted from a crossway.

  “It’s Captain Maddox and Lieutenant Noonan.”

  “What happened, Commander?” the stocky, space marine major asked, walking into sight.

  Maddox explained about the short battle with the Social Syndicate Fleet. As he did, the rest of the prisoners showed up in twos and threes.

  “At the very end,” the captain finished, “Galyan used the star drive. It appears the lasers and thermonuclear EMP blasts knocked out some of the starship’s systems, including the robots and the AI.

  “That doesn’t make sense,” Dana said. “The—”

  “Doctor!” Maddox said sharply. “There’s something I’ve been wondering.”

  “Yes?” Dana asked, giving him a funny look.

  “Before I say,” Maddox told her, “I think we should start splitting up into teams to test various stations. Major, I think you and Strauss should check out the antimatter engine.”

  “What do I know about that?” the space marine asked.

  “Please bear with me, Major,” Maddox said.

  Kharkov must have picked up on the captain’s tone. “Yes, sir, at once,” the space marine said.

  After assigning the others their duties, Maddox pulled Dana aside.

  “Doctor, doctor, doctor,” Maddox said. “I hope you’ve been well these past weeks.”

  “Are you feeling all right?” Dana asked him.

  Maddox laughed uneasily, shaking his head. Just how smart was Doctor Rich? He didn’t want to tell her his suspicions outright, having the secretly listening AI pick up his whispers. Could she catch his innuendoes?

  “Galyan has frightened me, Doctor. The AI is abnormally clever. I also stand in awe of his rigor and righteousness.”

  “Excuse me?” Dana asked.

  “Galyan’s people were surely far in advance of ours. If the human race could obtain even half their glory, we would do well indeed. It has been a rare privilege to learn from Galyan. I’ve tried to reason with him, but he suspects everything I do. I don’t know how to convince him I mean to do exactly as I say. I dread having my engrams sent into the computing core, but I will do it for the good of humanity.”

  “I see,” Dana said.

  “One thing, Doctor, now that I have you alone. We must find the homeworld of the Swarm.”

  “Captain, I think the strain of the last battle might have—”

  Dana quit speaking as Maddox stared at her in the red light, and squeezed her bicep twice in short succession.

  “You were saying?” Dana asked, maybe understanding his signal.

  Releasing her, Maddox became expansive. “In ancient times, Galyan’s race must have protected us. If his people hadn’t smashed the Swarm, would the vile enemy ships have reached Earth several hundred years later? If so, the Swarm would have annihilated us while humanity was still in the Bronze Age, fighting from chariots instead of spaceships.”

  Dana had become thoughtful. She now said, “I find that to be a remarkably accurate guess.”

  Maddox nodded encourag
ingly. “I wonder if the reason Galyan has remained awake for six thousand years is to search out and find the Swarm homeworld. Do you have any idea where it might be?”

  “I might know,” Dana said, watching Maddox closely. “I, ah, did find some data while working on the AI core while Galyan was off back in the Oort cloud.”

  “Interesting, interesting,” Maddox said. “I wondered if that might be the case. I imagine the Swarm homeworld would be someplace far in the Beyond.”

  “I’ll have to recheck my notes.” Dana studied the captain. “One thing bothers me. Now that we have this chance to talk alone, without the bloody AI listening, I would like to know the truth.”

  Maddox kept himself from smiling. The doctor was sharp. She understood him perfectly.

  “What do you want to know?” he asked.

  “Are you going to keep your word with Galyan?”

  “Providing the power returns?”

  “Yes,” Dana said.

  “At first I’d planned to lull and trick him,” Maddox said. “Now…I find I respect him and his race far too much for that. I stand in awe of him, Dana. But you must never, ever let anyone else know that.”

  “Why is that, Captain?”

  “I’m too proud to admit such a thing to others. It’s a moral flaw in me, I suppose.”

  “I can see that,” Dana said.

  “Could you go study your notes now?” Maddox asked.

  “I actually do remember finding something interesting about the Swarm. I was going to tell you about it, but haven’t found the opportunity. Now’s the perfect time.”

  “Go on,” Maddox said.

  “I have strong reason to believe that evidence of the Swarm’s homeworld lies at Wolf Prime.”

  A grin slipped onto Maddox’s face. That was perfect.

  “Professor Ludendorff has a fixation on alien archeology,” Dana said. “We discovered Galyan’s star system quite by accident. The professor was searching for more indications of the Swarm. They’re the oldest known alien species we’ve ever found.”

  “Interesting.”

  “I think so too,” Dana said. “If Galyan desires information about the Swarm homeworld, I think he’ll find it on Wolf Prime. Professor Ludendorff may already know the answer to the AI’s questions.”

  “That’s—”

  The main lights snapped on. It caused Dana to squint at the brightness. A second later, a robot rolled around the corner. The holoimage of Driving Force Galyan strode beside his machine.

  “You surprise me, Captain Maddox,” Galyan said.

  “What’s going on?” Maddox asked. “We thought…”

  Galyan smiled broadly. “You thought the thermonuclear EMPs had rendered me impotent for the moment. Yes, I realized almost right away how I could use the Social Syndicate attack. Of course, from the beginning I realized that using the star drive was the correct tactical move.”

  “Why did you pretend that you didn’t know?” Maddox asked.

  “Don’t you understand yet? Doctor, I see comprehension in your eyes.”

  “Yes, Galyan,” Dana said meekly.

  “You have passed my test, Captain,” Galyan said. “I still dislike you and suspect your motives. But these words you spoke…”

  “They don’t mean a thing,” Maddox said in a rush. “Whatever you heard, I didn’t really mean them.”

  “Oh, I know better now,” Galyan said. “I know you much better than before. We will continue to Wolf Prime. Nothing will stop me. I will have Professor Ludendorff aboard my vessel. Then…well, I’ll leave that for later.”

  “There is one thing we should consider carefully,” Maddox said. “Sub-commander Ko of the Social Syndicate Fleet said the New Men are bombarding inhabited planets. It would appear the enemy has been ranging to various systems in “C” Quadrant, attacking those they can. I wonder if the New Men are at Wolf Prime.”

  “Why would they be?” Galyan asked. “It’s a sparsely settled world of no strategic significance.”

  “True,” Maddox said. “It’s barely habitable. It’s a frozen hell world, in fact. Even so, the New Men may have sent a star cruiser or two to bombard the ice planet or search for Ludendorff. They may know about him.”

  “How does that affect us?” Galyan asked.

  “We’d better be careful as we approach the Wolf System. We want to see the New Men before they see us. We don’t want a repeat of what happened with the Social Syndicate Fleet.”

  “That is sound advice,” Galyan said. “Now, we shall hurry to Wolf Prime. I am eager to speak with Professor Ludendorff.”

  -22-

  Meta and Kane were in the scout ship’s control room, in orbit around Wolf Prime. The planet was white, with heavy cloud cover in places. Other spots on the surface were a faint icy blue, showing vast frozen bodies of water. Directly below them, a violent storm raged, showing circular hurricane clouds. The panorama was beautiful to witness from up here. That didn’t lock Meta’s gaze, though.

  A triangular star cruiser slid beside the scout, one of the New Men’s hated warships. Meta had never seen one so close before. Turrets sprouted on the hull armor. Beam cannons jutted from each. The scout headed toward a larger than average bay door. Star Watch cruisers wouldn’t have room for a scout this size. It appeared as if these vessels were different.

  Meta did not ask Kane about that.

  Ever since the great leap from the Nexus, Meta had become withdrawn and thoughtful. In truth, she hadn’t fully recovered from the ordeal. Too often, she found herself staring at a spot, her mind blank, trying to engage but failing.

  Is that what had happened to Kane? Was that why he seldom spoke? How many great leaps had the enemy agent taken in his life? It must have done something to him.

  “A word of advice,” Kane rumbled from his chair.

  Meta tore her gaze from the bay door to regard the bruiser.

  “Do not speak to a superior unless he first addresses you,” Kane said. “Try to answer ‘yes’ or ‘no’ if you can. If that proves impossible, keep your answers as short as you can. On no account should you stare into a superior’s eyes, which means you should keep your gaze downcast, preferably aimed at the floor.”

  “Are you a superior?” Meta asked.

  The hint of a frown tightened Kane’s mouth. “That is a shrewd question. The answer is no.”

  “You’re not a New Man?”

  “I have already said on former occasions I am not. I suppose you realize I am not one of the untamed either.”

  “What exactly are you then?”

  “To some, I am a failed experiment. To others, I am a cipher to use in the Great War.”

  “I don’t understand,” Meta said.

  “It doesn’t matter. The important thing to remember is that you can gain status if you cooperate. If you persist in mulish resistance, they will take you to the teachers.”

  “Why did you kidnap me, Kane? What was the real reason?”

  “Because I couldn’t get to Doctor Rich.”

  “I’m a second choice?”

  Kane tapped a control before standing. “It appears you have useful genetic material. I doubt the superiors will destroy you. Strive to please them. That means strict obedience. In that way, you may retain some of your former personality.”

  “What does that mean?”

  “My words are clear enough for someone of your intelligence. Come, we must get ready.”

  Meta hesitated. She didn’t want to board a star cruiser. She’d gotten a glimpse of a New Man on Loki Prime. That had been before Maddox came down with Ensign Maker. The incident seemed like a lifetime ago now.

  Before Kane had to speak again, she rose. The scout headed for the opening. She was their prisoner. With a growing sense of dread and helplessness, Meta headed for the hatch, following Kane.

  ***

  Meta and Kane walked down an empty corridor aboard the star cruiser. So far, she hadn’t seen anyone. Was the ship automated?

  Before l
eaving the scout, Kane had changed into a silver bodysuit. It made him seem even more like a gorilla with his big flat muscles and solid gait. If he’d seemed remote before, he practically seemed like a glacier now.

  The big man halted before a closed hatch. “You’re in danger,” Kane whispered.

  Meta peered at him in surprise.

  Kane didn’t move or look at her, but stood stiffly, speaking without moving his lips. “No one has greeted us. It has forced me to come here, to Per Lomax. He is an—”

  The hatch opened. As if someone had thrown a switch, Kane fell silent.

  A golden-skinned New Man stood before them, with a spacious chamber behind him.

  Kane bowed his head in silent greeting.

  Meta compared the two beings. Kane was obviously heavier and had to be stronger. The lean other, this Per Lomax, stood taller by a head and exuded a regal quality. He wore a silver suit with a red emblem on his right pectoral. Per Lomax’s head was larger, with inky eyes and a pelt of hair. In a moment, Meta reevaluated her judgment. A palpable force or energy exuded from the New Man, giving him something greater than mere nobility.

  What had Kane said before? Yes, he’d called this one a superior. Was that how Per Lomax thought of himself?

  “She gapes at me,” the New Man said in a deep voice.

  “Meta,” Kane said in warning.

  She remembered his words and forced herself to look down. This was like Baron Chabot’s castle where she had entered as a lowly maid. There were times to feign fear and subservience. Meta did so now, hunching her shoulders.

  “Interesting,” Per Lomax said. “She attempts subterfuge, thinking to trick me. You have treated her leniently during the voyage?”

  “Yes,” Kane said.

  “Do you like her?” Per Lomax asked.

  “Yes,” Kane said.

  The words shocked Meta. When had Kane ever shown that?

  “It’s clear you hope to regain her after the inquiry.”

  “Yes,” Kane said in the same monotone as before.

  “It’s possible you have let her physical attributes sway your judgment. She is a delight to the eyes, I admit.”

  Kane remained silent.

  “Do you disagree with my preliminary assessment?” Per Lomax asked.