The Lost Starship

-11-

The control room was small with three seats facing instrument panels. One was for the pilot, and one controlled weapons and navigation. The last panel controlled everything else.

“No,” Maddox said, as Valerie slid into the pilot’s seat. “That’s why we have him along.”

Without a word, she moved to the weapons/navigation position.

Keith Maker plopped onto the pilot’s seat. After buckling in, he examined his controls. “Just to let you know, I’ve never flown one of these before. Maybe Valerie should pilot us until I have a chance to familiarize myself with the ship in detail.”

“Negative,” Maddox said. “Lieutenant, start explaining whatever he needs to hear.”

“How do I know what that is?” she complained.

“He’ll ask you,” Maddox said. Without waiting to hear her compliance, he switched on his panel. The Nerva vessel was on an intercept course with them, although it was still far away. It had clearly launched from Earth sometime after they did. It had the size and shape of a Ventra-class shuttle, the most common workhorse out here.

Through the comm unit, a gravelly-voiced man demanded to speak to the scout’s owner.

Maddox’s fingers flew over the controls. He turned on a voice scrambler, and he kept his video image off, so the other ship wouldn’t see his face. His plate showed a fleshy individual with a fresh scar across his nose.

“This is the SWS Scout Geronimo,” Maddox said.

“I want to speak to the captain,” Scar Face said.

“Give me a minute,” Maddox said. “I’ll get him.” He muted his end, watching Keith. The ace gingerly began testing switches.

“I still think I should pilot us,” Valerie said in a querulous tone.

“Lieutenant,” Maddox said. “When I desire an opinion from you, I’ll ask for it. Otherwise, during a situation, you will immediately follow orders.”

She stiffened, and it appeared as if she couldn’t let it go. “This isn’t a naval operation. It’s an Intelligence venture.”

Maddox swung around to face her. “Don’t be fooled, Lieutenant. During the entirety of this mission, we will be operating under standard Star Watch regulations.”

“Okay. So what’s his rank?” she asked, jerking a thumb at Keith.

“Ensign Maker,” Maddox said.

“Reporting for duty,” Keith said, grinning.

Valerie glowered before she turned away.

Military protocol would become vital later. They attempted to find a super-ship. If the Star Watch were going to beat the New Men, they’d have to run the alien sentinel along proper lines. That meant instilling discipline from the beginning. If they were going to run a combat vessel, they would have to act like a combat crew, no matter how few those crewmembers turned out to be.

“Are you plotting our course?” Maddox asked her.

She hesitated before answering. “Where are we headed?”

“Sir,” he said.

It took her several beats. “Sir,” she added.

“Eventually, we’re going to the Loki System,” Maddox said. “What’s the best route there?”

“That depends on several factors… sir,” she said. “If we use the regular route, sovereign naval personal will question us every jump. Unless we have authorization, I don’t see how they’re going to let us jump into the Loki System.”

The lieutenant was sharp, and she remembered the details he’d given her. Despite the two-ton chip on her shoulder, Valerie struck him as very capable.

Maddox considered her information. Meanwhile, Keith kept pouring over his panel, shooting Valerie questions.

Finally, Maddox took a disc out of his pocket. The Lord High Admiral had given it to him this morning. He slid his disc into a computer slot. After entering his security code, he opened a document, finding the relevant section, speed-reading as much as he could.

The comm-operator in the Nerva shuttle became more insistent.

Maddox checked the time. He’d already stretched how long it should have taken a crewmember to inform the captain of a call. He opened channels again, keeping on the voice-scrambler.

“This is Captain Lewis,” Maddox said. “How can I be of assistance?”

Valerie gave him a questioning glance.

“I don’t think this is no Captain Lewis,” the Nerva operator said. “I’m talking to Captain Maddox of Star Watch Intelligence. Do you know there are suspicious reports about you?”

“Who is this Maddox?” Maddox asked.

“Prepare for boarding,” Scar Face said.

“We have guns,” Maddox said.

“So do we. And we have an armored hull. We’ll destroy your dinky scout.”

With a tap, Maddox checked the nearby area. The closest ship was an SWS destroyer. He kept looking. Ah, he spied a cruiser and then a battleship. Between the various vessels were more shuttles and supply rockets. It was a regular convention of spacecraft out here.

“Attack us, and the SWS Saint Petersburg will retaliate.” Maddox said, talking about the destroyer.

“Call them if you want,” Scar Face said. “Let them impound you, Maddox.”

“I don’t get it,” Valerie said. “Why does he think the destroyer will work against you?”

Maybe he was already out in the cold as Brigadier O’Hara had predicted would happen. Had someone already fabricated a lie about him? If so, was that someone Octavian Nerva or an agent for the New Men? At this point, did it matter whom?

“Let me consider your information,” Maddox said into the comm.

The Nerva operator laughed sourly. “You have less than five minutes. We’ll be rendezvousing with you in that time.”

Maddox turned off his microphone. He studied the threatening shuttle. It had a warfare pod attached under its belly. That meant the shuffle could likely make good on its threat.

“We have to leave now,” Maddox told the others.

“Understood, mate,” Keith said.

“You will refer to me as ‘captain’ or as ‘sir,’” Maddox said.

“Aye-aye, I understand, Captain,” Keith said. “Where are we headed?”

“Lieutenant,” Maddox said, recalling what he’d just read on the Lord High Admiral’s disc. “We’re going to use a Class 3 tramline.”

“Sir,” she said, “the scout is too big for one of those.”

A normal Star Watch commander didn’t like taking unnecessary risks, especially those that might damage his or her vessel. Maddox realized that, so he understood why she would say what she just had.

“Your objection is noted and will go into my log,” Maddox said. He’d have to start a ship’s log now. “Nevertheless,” he said, “we will use a Class 3 tramline. I don’t think the approaching shuttle can enter a class three route, if it even has a Laumer Drive, which I very much doubt.”

Lieutenant Noonan appeared as if she wanted to say more. Finally, she muttered, “Yes, sir.”

The many tramlines or wormholes varied in size. Class 1 was the biggest and could accommodate the largest vessels. Battleships, motherships and some of the bigger cruisers could not enter a Class 2 tramline. Class 3 was even smaller. They were seldom used by anyone but explorers and Patrol people. Wormholes smaller than Class 3 were unusable by anything except for small packets. A ship using a Class 3 tramline could go to some star systems more directly than a battleship, which could only use a Class 1 jump route.

“Do you want the quickest route to Loki, sir?” Valerie asked, as she studied her computer.

“No,” Maddox said. “I want to use the least traveled systems. The fewer records of our passage, the easier it will be to throw off any hunters.”

Many systems parked monitors near the most used jump route. They kept careful record of what ship went where. It was part of what made life safer in the Oikumene compared to the Beyond.

“That will take me more time to calculate,” she said.

“This is your last chance to survive,” the Nerva operator said, interrupting their conversation.

“Let’s go,” Maddox told the other two.

Newly ranked Ensign Maker tapped his screen. The fusion engine vibrated with power, making the bulkheads shake.

“Sorry about that,” Keith said. “But by our friend’s words, it’s time to leave in a hurry. Engaging… now.” Keith tapped the screen again.

It wasn’t a slow acceleration. One moment, the Geronimo was at relative rest. The next, five Gs of force slammed each of them against their cushions and restraints.

Lieutenant Noonan’s head snapped back against the upper rest of her chair. She lay there, panting.

The force of the acceleration caused Maddox to lose his breath. It was all he could do to blink.

For Ensign Keith Maker, this was obviously a delight. With five Gs of acceleration, the small man shouted with joy.

“We’re on a rocket ride tonight, my love!” Keith sang in an off-key voice. “From Orion to the Pleiades, we’ll shoot into the galaxy of star delight. Oh, fire the works, sweetie, plunge us into the whirlpool of moonbeam divine.”

At last, Maddox sucked down air. “Turn on the antigravity pods.”

Keith kept singing.

“Ensign Maker!” Maddox shouted.

“Yes, sir,” Keith said, glancing his way.

“This isn’t a strikefighter. We have antigravity dampeners. Use them.”

“Oh,” Keith said, “my mistake, mate, I mean, Captain, sir.”

“Check your records for the nearest tramlines,” Maddox told Valerie.

“Ah. Found it,” Keith said. He tapped a control. Immediately, the pressing Gs lessened to something more bearable.

“Oh no,” Valerie whispered.

“What’s wrong?” Maddox asked her.

“Sir,” she said. “The Nerva craft has launched a missile. It’s heading straight for our scout. He means to destroy us.”

As Geronimo kept accelerating, Maddox opened channels with the Nerva shuttle. “You know traffic control has seen that,” he said. “Your missile’s signature has become huge.”

“Ain’t that a shame,” the Nerva operator said. “And do you know what happens next?”

“The destroyer or the cruiser will target your missile and beam it down,” Maddox said.

“I call that step one,” the operator said.

Maddox understood then. Step two would be an investigation all the way around. The destroyer would act, boarding both ships as a matter of protocol. Those in the shuttle might already have assurances by Nerva that he would free them from captivity. What would happen to the mission, though, if he—Maddox—found himself impounded with the shuttle? No. He had to survive and escape now.

“Captain,” Valerie said. “The missile is bearing down on us. It’s accelerating at fifteen gravities, three times faster than we’re going.”

“I heard that,” the operator said.

“How much time until the missile reaches us?” Maddox asked.

“Give me a second,” Valerie said.

“You should have already computed it.”

“I know! I’m not used to running navigating, weapons and radar all at once.”

“You’d better start, Lieutenant.”

“I know!” she shouted. “Sir!”

The Nerva operator chuckled. “Time’s running out for you, Captain Maddox.”

“Thirty seconds,” Valerie said. “Thirty seconds to impact.”

“What’s the shuttle doing?” Maddox asked. “And why isn’t the destroyer knocking the missile down for us?”

“I’ll tell you what I’m doing,” the operator said. “I’m dropping back down to Earth. See you around—never.”

The comm clicked off.

“Twenty seconds to impact,” Valerie said. “Captain, why hasn’t the destroyer beamed the missile down? I don’t understand their delay.”

A terrible thought struck Maddox. Just how deep did Nerva’s bribery go? Could the Methuselah Man have corrupted a Star Watch destroyer crew near Earth orbit? Did the New Men back Octavian Nerva? Maybe the industrialist fronted for the New Men secret service.

Maddox had no doubt the brigadier had been monitoring the situation the entire time. Likely, the other side was burning agents to do what they did. Yet if the Lord High Admiral was correct, humanity would never have a chance at survival if they didn’t acquire the alien sentinel.

“I’ll show you how we used to take care of missiles,” Keith said. “Get ready, Lieutenant.” The pilot cut acceleration. Then, he rotated the scout so the cannons aimed at the missile.

“I see it,” Maddox whispered. He meant a visual contact. The missile’s long exhaust made it a bright object, and it headed straight for them.

“Engage the cannons,” Keith said.

Lieutenant Noonan shook her head. “The missile is using advanced ECM. I can’t get a targeting lock on it.”

“Switch the guns over to me, love,” Keith said.

She didn’t hesitate, but tapped a screen.

“Yes, you little crawly, come to poppa.” Ensign Maker tapped a control. Each time a cannon fired, the scout trembled slightly.

Maddox watched his screen for what seemed like an interminably long time until finally, a bloom appeared.

“Bingo,” Keith said. “The boggy is eliminated.”

Maddox studied his panel. He couldn’t believe it, but the ace was right.

“Good work, Ensign,” Valerie said. “I’m never going to doubt you again.”

“Thank you, thank you,” Keith said. “All donations to my party fund will be appreciated.” He began tapping the panel.

The scout rotated once again. “I’m going to use five dampened Gs, mates, we’re about to accelerate.”

“This is SWS Destroyer Saint Petersburg calling SWS Geronimo,” a woman said. “Respond Geronimo.”

“Have you plotted our course yet, Lieutenant?” Maddox asked, ignoring the new message.

Valerie waited a beat before saying, “I’m working on it, Captain.”

“The sooner I have that the better,” he said.

“Yes, sir,” she said.

“Will the destroyer laser us if we don’t comply with their orders?” Keith asked.

“I plan to prolong the procedure,” Maddox said. “By the way, you have my congratulations on expert firing. That was well done.”

“Thank you, sir,” Keith said.

Maddox went back to his instruments, talking to the destroyer’s comm officer.

“I’m going to have to report you for firing weapons in Earth orbit without proper authorization,” the destroyer’s comm officer said.

“Do what you must,” Maddox said. He had no doubts now that someone had compromised the destroyer commander. The rot was definitely deeper than he expected.

“You will desist from accelerating,” the comm officer said. “My captain wants me to inform you, he will be shooting out your engines otherwise.”

“Tramline in three minutes,” Valerie said.

“Class three?” Maddox asked.

“Yes, sir,” she said, “although, it will be a roundabout way to our destination.”

“At least it will get us out of this mess,” he said.

“It will, at that, sir,” Valerie said.

“Do you copy my last message, Geronimo?” the destroyer officer asked.

Maddox began an argument with her. As he started to work himself into a supposed rant, Lieutenant Noonan shouted: “Get ready for jump!”

The Laumer-Point was invisible to human eyes. Even so, an opening to a small wormhole appeared several kilometers from the accelerating Geronimo.

“This is SWS Saint Petersburg,” the destroyer comm officer said. “We have our main laser locked onto you. You must immediately shut down the scout’s Laumer Drive or we won’t be responsible for your destruction when our beam takes out your engine.”

Keith’s fingers flew over his controls. “Expelling chaff and an emitter,” he said. “Get ready.” He tapped controls. Even with the dampeners, massive acceleration struck. The scout fairly leaped away.

At the same time, loud beeps emanated from Valerie’s panel. The destroyer had lock-on. A beam flashed, and it would have hit but for Keith’s fast actions in changing their estimated position.

“They’re retargeting!” Valerie shouted.

Another beam flashed. It stabbed into the chaff, annihilating the emitter.

“I knew they’d fall for it,” Keith whooped with delight. “Now, hang on. I’m going to hit the entrance faster than I should.”

“SWS Geronimo, comply with our orders. You must remain in the Solar System or face destruction.”

Maddox leaned low to the microphone. “Yes, Saint Petersburg, we agree. We’re shutting down our drive now.”

“Clever,” Keith said. “That should give us the seconds we need.”

“Geronimo,” the destroyer comm officer said, “your engine is still online. You must comply with our orders or face immediate destruction.”

“We’re shutting down now,” Maddox told her.

“This will be a little tricky,” Keith said, as he squinted at his controls. “We could miss the opening. According to procedures, we should do this gently.”

Despite the ship’s velocity, Keith flew them perfectly. The SWS Scout Geronimo entered the wormhole. That broke the targeting lock from Saint Petersburg. At the same time, a laser flashed. Since it lacked mass, the beam swept past the wormhole opening, missing the Geronimo. Because the scout had mass, it entered the wormhole and left the Solar System, heading along the tramline for the New Panama System.