The Lost Command (Lost Starship Series Book 2) Page 23

  “This I have to hear.”

  “It’s no different than what we originally planned,” the Scotsman said. “We grab Professor Ludendorff, bring him to Victory and have the genius repair the super weapons. We turn those on the New Men—bam!” Keith said, clapping his hands. “We destroy five star cruisers.”

  “Oh, sure,” Valerie said, sarcastically. “I should have seen it. We just journey past the star cruisers to Wolf Prime, send down a shuttle and pick up the professor. What was I thinking? That’s as easy as can be.”

  “Not quite as easy as that, love,” Keith said. “But it’s the right idea.”

  Valerie looked around at the others. “Am I missing something? Please, someone tell me what I can’t see.”

  Keith grinned. “Don’t be so hard on yourself, lass. You’re a Fleet officer by training, not a strikefighter pilot.” The small ace thumped his chest. “Among those, I’m the best. I can tell you exactly what to do.”

  Valerie shook her head in apparent disbelief at Maker’s confidence. “Go on then, tell me. I think we’d all like to know.”

  Keith’s smile broadened. “With your permission, Captain?”

  Maddox nodded.

  “It’s obvious we can’t just barge onto Wolf Prime,” Keith said. “We have to use maneuver. It’s like the Wallace Corporation attacks all over again. They had big bombers, you know. Flew straight in, they did.”

  Keith told them about his time during the Tau Ceti Conflict between the powerful Wallace Corporation and the rebellious miners he’d joined.

  “The Wallace mercenaries thought like boxers,” Keith said. “Straight at the chin for a knockdown blow was their idea of strategy. We miners didn’t have the luxury of heavy craft. We had small strikefighters with limited amounts of ordnance. That meant we had to trick ‘em, draw ‘em off so the odds weren’t so lopsided.”

  Keith looked around at the others. Everyone was staring intently at the small man. Even Galyan was engaged with the story.

  “So that’s what we do here,” Keith said. “We have to draw off the star cruisers so we can complete the mission. Victory must show herself, make the New Men excited. They gather their star cruisers with an intent to capture the alien vessel.”

  “What if they attack to destroy?” Galyan asked.

  “Capture or destroy,” Keith said, “it’s the same thing. They come running after your vessel. That’s the trick to draw off the enemy. That allows me and whoever I’m taking to land on Wolf Prime.”

  “The jumpfighters,” Maddox said. “You plan to use one of them.”

  “That’s right, sir.”

  “Ordinary strikefighters can land on planet,” Maddox said. “The jumpfighter looks like a tin can, though. Can you fly it through an Earthlike atmosphere?”

  “Well, not exactly, sir. It would be a matter of using the fold in a cunning way to reach the surface from space. It will be tricky, but I have no doubt I can do it.”

  “Have you practiced something like that before?” Maddox asked.

  “Ah… no, sir, no one has.”

  Valerie groaned, while several other listeners shook their heads.

  “It’s all theoretically possible, though,” Keith said defensively. “I spoke to one of the designers once and asked him about a similar situation. He said a skilled pilot could do it.”

  The chamber grew quiet as people became thoughtful.

  “Could this work?” Galyan asked Maddox.

  The captain tapped his chin. “It would depend on several factors. What’s the range of a jumpfighter? It would have to be able to take the team there and back again.”

  “A long flight with several distance folds…” Keith said quietly. “We could journey from twenty AUs out.”

  “A little less than the distance from Uranus to Earth,” Maddox said.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “I didn’t realize jumpfighters had such range.”

  “We’d have to make several extended folds, sir, or mini-jumps, as you’d probably think of them.”

  “Extended folds are more difficult than regular ones?” Maddox asked.

  “Ah…yes, sir, that’s true.”

  “Meaning, you’re being overoptimistic concerning our range?”

  “That’s one way of saying it, sir. But if you don’t believe you can do something, you’re never going to try, now are you?”

  Maddox often followed a similar philosophy and therefore appreciated Maker’s daring. Still…

  “How many people can a jumpfighter carry?” the captain asked.

  “I’m already considering no ordnance, but extra fuel pods instead,” Keith said. “Then you have to take into account Ludendorff on the return trip, sir. Two people could do it for sure, maybe three if you want to reduce your chances of returning to Victory.”

  “I have a question,” Major Kharkov said.

  “Go ahead,” Maddox said.

  “I want to know how two people on Wolf Prime are going to find the professor,” Kharkov said. “Where would you start looking? What if he’s gone? Given the star cruisers in orbit, we have to assume a fair number of New Men are down on the surface searching for him. I mean, why else are the New Men at Wolf Prime?”

  “Dana,” Maddox asked, “do you have a way to contact Ludendorff?”

  “The same as you,” the doctor said. “Put through a call.”

  “I’m talking about a secret way without alerting listening New Men,” Maddox said. “The major’s right, we need a way to pinpoint Ludendorff quickly.”

  Dana became thoughtful. “I might have a way. It would be a longshot, though. If the New Men are hunting him, the professor will have gone to ground.”

  “What’s left of Fletcher’s fleet will soon be in the Tannish System,” Maddox said. “We’re never going to save them unless we bring Ludendorff back to Victory. We have to risk this.”

  “Saving Star Watch’s Fifth Fleet is a secondary goal,” Galyan said. “We must discover the ancient homeworld of the Swarm. The only reasonable course is to wait for the star cruisers to depart Wolf Prime and then go to the planet.”

  “I don’t agree,” Maddox said. “Why are the New Men at Wolf Prime in such force? Clearly, between their victory over the Fifth Fleet in the Caria 323 System and their future run in the Tannish System to finish the job, they have been raiding outlying star systems. That’s what we learned from Sub-commander Ko of the Social Syndicate Fleet. Five star cruisers could do plenty of damage elsewhere. Yet, they are here. So that’s the other thing. I doubt they’re going to be at Wolf Prime long. It seems they’ll join the rest of the New Men at the Tannish System soon. We have to beat the enemy there to save Admiral Fletcher and his fleet.”

  “I do not agree,” Galyan said.

  “If Ludendorff dies,” Maddox told the holoimage, “there goes your chance of finding the Swarm’s homeworld. Yes, maybe one of us could search the ancient ruins if we stayed on Wolf Prime long enough. Once the New Men destroy the rest of Fifth Fleet, though, they will send a ship or ships back here. Their very numbers here now tells us there’s something important about Wolf Prime, vitally important to the enemy. I doubt any of us will have long enough to find what Ludendorff probably already knows. He’s a genius, remember? We’re just ordinary people.”

  The holoimage stared fixedly at the captain.

  “If the crew wishes to risk themselves in this endeavor, I will agree,” Galyan said. “However, I cannot let you go, Captain Maddox. You are the reason I wish to attempt any of this.”

  “Keeping me here would be a mistake,” Maddox said. “I’m the most suited to finding Ludendorff. It is, in fact, my specialty. This has turned into an Intelligence operation.”

  “With all due respect, sir,” Major Kharkov said, “you will be running a commando operation. That’s space marine territory and that means me.”

  “Hitting a military installation would be a commando op,” Maddox said. “We’re hunting for one individual to bring him in, first having t
o find him. He could be anywhere on the planetary surface. If Dana’s signal doesn’t work, we’ll have to search a vast area. That is a classic Intelligence operation. And that is what I am, an Intelligence operative.”

  Major Kharkov nodded reluctantly.

  “If I don’t go,” the captain told Galyan, “you will not get the professor. That means you will not put my engrams into your core. Your only reasonable hope of teaching me a lesson is having me go to Wolf Prime and returning with the professor.”

  “Who will join you?” Galyan asked.

  “The obvious people,” Maddox said. “Keith will pilot and Doctor Rich will come to help find Ludendorff and then convince him to join us.”

  “I see,” Galyan said.

  “Excellent,” Maddox said. “Now, the next thing…”

  ***

  Three hours later, Starship Victory used its jump, moving in sideways closer to the Wolf System.

  There were four planets in the star system, a rock world in a Venus orbit, Wolf Prime at the distance of Mars to the Sun, and two large Jovian planets in the far, outer system. The bluish-white F class star had a surface temperature of 7,500 K, making it decidedly hotter than the Sun. The distance of Wolf Prime from the star made the planet an icy world with fierce winter storms.

  So far, the New Men hadn’t reacted to Victory’s presence. Did they wait and watch, or hadn’t they seen the starship yet?

  Maddox hurried through a corridor. He recalled the last time he’d gone against the New Men in person. It had been on Loki Prime, and it had only been for a moment. The individual had been supernaturally quick and cunning. The captain hoped he didn’t have to face any New Men here.

  Sergeant Riker appeared, carrying equipment. The two men entered a hangar bay, heading for the jumpfighter.

  The tin can had a special cradle holding it in the middle. Both the front and back of the rounded can sprouted masses of antenna. There was no viewing port as a regular strikefighter possessed, no wings or tailfins of any kind. This had to be the most unique fighter-craft ever developed.

  A stepladder led up to an open hatch. Maddox eyed both. He wouldn’t be able to walk through the opening, but would have to worm his way inside.

  “Not the best designed craft I’ve ever seen,” Riker commented.

  Maddox faced the sergeant. The man handed him a small case. It held thermal wear and boots for Wolf Prime. Next, the captain accepted a longer, narrower case, slinging the carrying strap over his shoulder. This one held a heavy Khislack .370 with targeting computer, suppressor and extra ammo magazines.

  The two men shook hands. Afterward, Maddox climbed up the ladder, heading for the tiny hatch.

  “Here, let me help,” Dana said from inside.

  Maddox slid up the rifle case. Next, he climbed another two rungs and handed her the smaller suitcase. Finally, he squeezed through the opening. It wasn’t much better inside. Grabbing his cases, he crawled after Dana.

  “I’ve never gone into space flying in something so cramped,” she said over her shoulder. “I hope you’re not claustrophobic.”

  Maddox said nothing as slid his gun case along.

  “The tin can makes my skin crawl,” Dana admitted. “I’m not sure about doing this.”

  “We’ll make it,” Maddox assured her.

  “You might survive the trip. I keep having premonitions. Do you believe in precognition, Captain?”

  “I do not.”

  “I wish you hadn’t picked me to join the expedition,” Dana said.

  “Who should have gone in your place?”

  “No one else,” she said. “I’m the one you need. It’s just…I’ve only felt this way one other time. It was a day before Star Watch captured me to send me down to Loki Prime.”

  The doctor squeezed through another hatch into the flight compartment. There were two acceleration seats, one behind the other, and that just about filled the cabin.

  “I suggest you take the other seat, sir,” Keith told Maddox. “I don’t know if you can fold up those long legs of yours otherwise.”

  “How long is this going to take?” Dana asked.

  “That depends,” Keith said. “Two, maybe three days.”

  “Three days in this cramped compartment,” Dana said.

  “There’s a small cubicle to your left,” Keith said cheerily. “You could squeeze into there and sleep. To your right is the john. You can fit if you go in sideways.”

  “Why is this habitable quarter so tiny?” Dana asked.

  “It’s all about payload, love. This isn’t an endurance fighter, but a fast in-and-out attacker. It’s not really meant to be out for days at a time.”

  “How are we going to fit Ludendorff in here?” Dana asked. “There won’t be enough room.”

  “Aye, it’s going to be cramped coming back,” Keith said. “Now hang on. The AI has given me the signal.”

  Maddox slid into the second seat and buckled in. A shiver of unease crawled up his spine. This was tighter than he’d envisioned. Dana had a valid point. If they had to squeeze another person in here…

  The jumpfighter shuddered. That caused Maddox to sway back and forth.

  “This is a bumpy mother,” Keith said. “But you get used to it.”

  The ace tapped his controls. A huge screen came to life before him. Maddox found that helped, giving the cabin a greater illusion of size.

  Outside the jumpfighter, bay doors slowly opened. The tin can quivered, with the surrounding bulkheads shaking. Keith gave the machine a squirt of power, and the craft shot into space like an amusement park roller coaster.

  “You don’t get claustrophobic?” Maddox asked Keith.

  “No, sir,” the pilot said. “In a strikefighter—excuse me, a jumpfighter—I feel as if I’m floating in space. It feels as if I have all the room in the universe.”

  Maddox’s headphones crackled into life. Each of them wore a pair. A mechanical voice came online.

  “You must return to the starship,” Galyan said.

  Maddox turned on his chest microphone. “What’s wrong?”

  “My sensors have just picked up enemy pulses,” Galyan said. “I give it an eighty percent probability that the New Men know I am here. It is more than possible they have discovered you too.”

  Keith turned around, looking over his backrest at Maddox.

  The captain needed all of three seconds to think about it. “Jump,” Maddox told the pilot.

  “Technically, it’s using a fold, not jumping,” Keith said, “and it will take me time to warm up the equipment.”

  “Then get started,” Maddox said.

  “Captain,” Galyan said through the headphones. “You must return to the ship.”

  “Negative,” Maddox said. “If the New Men see you already, good. I doubt they will have noticed a mote like us. If you accelerate, the heat signature will hide the jumpfighter. Stick to the plan. Head for the outer system Laumer-Point. Make them race after you.”

  “And if you’re wrong and they’ve already spotted you?” Galyan asked.

  “The laws of probability suggest I’m right. Nothing is guaranteed in this life, though. We’re going to have to find out the hard way. Maddox out.”

  The captain shut off his microphone and headgear.

  A moment later, the jumpfighter’s main engine roared with power.

  “How long is it going to sound like that?” Dana shouted.

  “Most of the trip,” Keith shouted back, giving her the thumbs up. “But don’t worry, love, you’ll get used to it.” The ace turned back to his controls and engaged the tin can.

  -24-

  The jumpfighter built up velocity for the next half hour.

  Maddox endured the G forces in relative comfort. His acceleration seat was made for it. Dana kept moving around. When he saw her face, the captain could tell she was suffering.

  “Climb into the cubicle,” Maddox told her.

  “No!” she shouted. “It helps being able to see the screen.
I’d start screaming if I shoved myself into the cubicle. And once I start doing that, I don’t know how quickly I’d be able to stop.”

  “I thought we were going to use the folds,” Maddox shouted at Keith.

  “What’s that, sir?” Keith asked.

  Maddox turned on his microphone, repeating the thought through the ace’s headphones.

  “Well, sir,” Keith said, “I’m waiting for data on the enemy. We’re still far out, as you know. It’s going to be hours before we see how the enemy reacts to his knowledge about Victory being out here. Frankly, sir, I don’t think they spotted us. We’re too small in the tin can.”

  Keith referred to the time lag of sensor data. If the enemy saw them many AUs distant, it took time—the speed light could travel—for the information to get from point A to point B.

  “Don’t forget that the New Men have fantastic sensors,” Maddox said. “They showed us that out in the Beyond over a year ago.”

  “That’s one theory, sir. But I’ve never subscribed to it. Time lag means their using sensors before in the Beyond—light years distant, mind you—just wouldn’t have been scientifically possible. I think they used deductive reasoning to follow us. Well, that and their greater ship speed.”

  “We’re going to have to land on Wolf Prime,” Maddox said. “All this velocity—”

  “I’ll need speed to play with, sir, on the other end,” Keith shot back. “That’s about the only thing we’re going to have against them.”

  “You can’t outfly a star cruiser.”

  “I know that, sir. But I will need speed to maneuver. That and the folds will allow me to run circles around one of their starships.”

  Could that be true? Maddox was beginning to think the ace was too overconfident by several factors. The captain settled in just the same, enduring.

  It was hours before any of them spoke again.

  “Look at that,” Keith said, pointing up at the screen.

  The jumpfighter’s screen showed Wolf Prime as a white ball. Orbiting it were small red triangles—the star cruisers. One by one, the red triangles left the snow world, heading into space.

  “Let’s see their trajectory,” Keith said, tapping his controls.