The Lost Starship

-26-

The deadly game of tag begun with the Saint Petersburg in Earth orbit and taken to the Loki System now entered its most frustrating phase for Captain Maddox.

With its head start, the Geronimo slipped from the barren star system. For a day—twenty-three hours to be precise—it seemed they had finally shaken off the destroyer. Instead, as the scout neared the next Laumer-Point, the Saint Petersburg entered the same star system. After two hours of active sensor sweeps, the destroyer accelerated hard for the jump point the scout neared.

“Since the mine-attack, our cloaking device no longer functions one hundred percent,” Valerie said. “They must be able to see us.”

Maddox stood in the control room, staring at the lieutenant’s view-screen. The Saint Petersburg aimed at them like an arrow, if six hundred million kilometers away. He hated the New Man over there, and he hoped the commander’s ribs hurt where he’d shot him on Loki Prime.

The scout’s engine worked after a fashion. The gravity generator shook the wounded scout too much when employed. The cloaking device—as the lieutenant suggested was still less than perfect.

“Drop the cloak,” Maddox said.

“What if the destroyer’s crew just guessed right?” Valerie asked. “If we appear now, that will let them know exactly what to look for next time.”

Maddox didn’t think so, but it was possible the lieutenant was right. He put his hands behind his back, squeezing his fingers into fists. This was different than his normal spying mission. Given a situation like this on Earth, he would…

Maddox shook his head. To win this time, he had to accept that his choices could produce defeat. He had to think, and he had to accept responsibility. If Valerie had a better idea than he did, he should use it. Captaining a starship, even a small one like the scout, was an art. It was conceivable he still had much to learn in this area.

“Maintain the cloak,” he said.

Now it was Keith’s turn. “If we remain cloaked, the destroyer is going to catch up,” the pilot said. “We have to move as fast as we can, and we don’t dare use the gravity generator until further repairs have strengthened the scout’s structures.”

“Understood,” said Maddox. “Stay cloaked, but put the fusion thruster online.”

“If we do that,” Valerie said, “they’ll certainly see us.”

“Nevertheless, we will risk it,” Maddox said. “Ensign Maker is correct. They’re heading for us, even if they can’t see us. We must keep as far ahead of them as we can, staying out of missile and beam range.”

Geronimo accelerated. Several hours later, the ship entered the Laumer-Point at speed. Without the destroyer in the new star system—at least for a time—Maddox ordered the lieutenant to let the cloak drop.

During this time, Meta, Valerie, Keith and Sergeant Riker continued to effect repairs the best they could. Doctor Dana Rich stayed locked in her quarters. Meta constantly asked to see her. Maddox refused every request.

The captain’s normal calm deserted him when he was alone in his quarters. He read Professor Ludendorff’s notes again and again, stalking back and forth in his chamber in frustration and then returning to his computer to retype the words, hoping to see something new. He tried old encryptions and finally ran the notes through the computer. Nothing made sense.

“Deeper into the Beyond,” Maddox ordered. “The alien star system is out there, so that’s where we’ll head.”

Always—sometimes just minutes before they jumped—the destroyer appeared in the star system, pinging its sensors off the cloaked scout.

Maddox had Riker read the notes. The sergeant shrugged afterward. The old man had no ideas. Keith read the notes and laughed when asked if he saw a code embedded there. Valerie didn’t laugh, but she didn’t have any ideas, either. Meta pondered the words. She tried hard but came up with nothing.

After the tenth jump, Maddox lay on his bunk, staring at the ceiling. They had just used a small Class 3 wormhole. The destroyer would have to work around, using larger jump points to reach this star system. If the scout proved fast enough, they could leave this system before the Saint Petersburg appeared to resume the chase.

To Maddox’s amazement, they made the jump, a second one too—several days later—and the Saint Petersburg still hadn’t showed up.

“We did it,” Valerie said in the control room. “We’ve shaken the hunter. Now, we can think about a space-dock and extended repairs.”

There were grins all around. Then an alarm rang. Maddox, Keith and Valerie bent over their controls. The lieutenant found it first. She looked up, stricken.

Maddox noticed her features. He sat up, asking, “You found the Saint Petersburg?”

The lieutenant shook her head. “Worse,” she whispered, “it’s much, much worse.” She pointed at her view-screen. “I’m looking at a New Men star cruiser. I’d recognize that triangular shape anywhere. The same model annihilated von Gunther’s fleet. How it found us, I don’t know, but it’s here.”

An icy sensation spread through Maddox’s chest. “I think I know what happened. They’ve widened the search, using more vessels. Maybe they’ve figured out what we’re after or they knew all along. They’re not about to let us reach the alien star system.”

Instead of swearing, Captain Maddox drummed his fingers on the console. He stood and pointed at Valerie. “Map out an escape route—don’t worry where it takes us in relation to the Oikumene. Shoot us through five star systems in quick succession. Oh, and use as many Class 3 wormholes as possible, making sure each Laumer-Point is as near to the next one as possible.”

“Excuse me, sir,” she said. “I’m not sure what you’re driving at.”

“We’re going to try to shake all of them,” Maddox said. “Bam, bam, bam,” he said, clapping his hands each time. “We jump, jump, jump before they appear to get a fix on us. If they have several vessels chasing us, we have to shake them all off.”

“How are they coordinating with each other in the various star systems?” Valerie asked.

There wasn’t a hyper-communications system in existence as far as Maddox knew. Messages traveled as fast as starships could carry them and no faster.

“I wish I knew,” Maddox said. “They’re being clever. That means we have to pull every rabbit out of the hat we can. Now get to work.”

“Where are you going, sir?” the lieutenant asked.

“I have a new argument to present to the doctor,” he said. “Wish me luck.”

“Not this time,” Valerie said.

Maddox was already headed for the hatch. He halted and glanced at her.

“This time, we need something stronger,” Valerie said. “I’m going to pray.”

“Ah,” Maddox said. Then he hurried for the corridor.

Maddox didn’t bother knocking. He simply opened the hatch and stepped through.

Doctor Rich sat up in bed, scanning a reader. She gave him a bored look then went back to reading.

He closed the hatch and locked it. Meta had tried to enter once when he’d done something like this before. He didn’t want that happening again.

Maddox pulled up a chair, sat down and began to wait. After fifteen minutes, he realized Dana Rich would never speak first. Part of him wanted to get up and leave.

Don’t be absurd, he told himself. Winning a stubbornness contest with the doctor means nothing. Gaining the alien sentinel to defeat the New Men is the only measurement of victory.

“I have news,” he said.

He saw the fingers holding the reader tighten slightly. Slowly, she lowered the device to her lap. Maddox had the feeling she’d been waiting anxiously for him to talk. Maybe it had been hard on her to outwait him. If he’d stalled just a little longer…

“I’m reading an interesting chapter,” she said. “So I hope you can get to the point and leave me in peace.”

She’s bluffing. She must desperately want to talk. Even a tough bird like her will crack over time. She’s smart, but she’s not immune to the same defects and needs we all possess.

“Of course,” he said. “I’ll be brief. A star cruiser had taken up the chase.”

“You mean one of the New Men’s special cruisers?” she asked.

“Precisely,” Maddox said.

“And you’ve rushed to tell me this for what reason?”

“I would have thought it obvious.”

“My wits have atrophied since you’ve locked me in,” Dana said. “Why don’t you explain the reason to me?”

“It’s simple enough. The destroyer lost our trail. Now one of the star cruisers has taken up the slack. Possibly, it indicates the New Men’s starship has always been there.”

“Hmm, possibly,” Dana agreed.

“There might be more star cruisers.”

“I wouldn’t doubt it,” she said.

“I believe that proves the New Men’s agents in Star Watch have divined our objective or known it for quite some time.”

“I’m still not following you,” Dana said. “Why tell me any of this?”

“Don’t you see? The New Men must believe that our objective is possible. If it were impossible, why use important cruisers to trail a scout?”

With her brow furrowed, Dana glanced back down at her reader. A smile worked its way onto her mouth as she looked back up. “I can see how you reached your conclusion. That they’re following us doesn’t make the impossible any more feasible. Instead, it proves the New Men are less a menace than you’ve painted them.”

“Why is that?” Maddox asked.

“The sentinel is beyond anyone. So, the New Men are as capable as we are of making misjudgments.”

“What if you’re wrong about this?” he asked.

“I’m not wrong,” Dana said. “Remember, I’ve been to the alien system. You haven’t, and neither have the New Men.”

Maddox watched her. Did she really believe what she said, or was she angling for something he couldn’t see yet?

“Even if you’re right,” he said, “the New Men are closing in on us.”

“Then you must outfox them, Captain. That means you should leave me in peace while you do your job. Please, go. Your insistence wearies me.”

Nodding slowly, Maddox dared to asked, “What happened to you, Doctor? Why are you so bitter?”

“Do you jest?” she asked. “Isn’t it obvious that my bitterness, as you put it, is caused by the powers that spurned my efforts and dropped me onto Loki Prime?”

“One of those powers also rescued you.”

Her dark features hardened. “Go away, Captain Maddox. Your presence annoys me.”

Reluctantly, he stood. He wanted to know the right words to unlock her heart. It seemed frozen on some bitter memory, some slight she refused to forget. Seeking those words, his mouth moved and his right arm rose as he made a forlorn gesture. Finally, silently admitting defeat once more, Captain Maddox retreated from her quarters.

By a combination of luck and hard work, the Geronimo easily beat the star cruiser to the tramline. Pushing the scout to its limit, they made five jumps in quick succession. They hopped from system to system. On the third jump, they raced away from Nemesis System frigates. The ships demanded identification, launching missiles after the scout refused all requests. Using an unstable wormhole, Geronimo barely slipped away. It saved them from the missiles, and it seemed to lengthen their lead over their adversaries.

Meta and Valerie worked overtime on the struggling engine. Keith helped them, and Sergeant Riker spelled the other two in order to keep an eye on an unflagging Meta. The Rouen Colony woman kept the scout running more than any other two of them combined.

All too often, Maddox sat hunched in his quarters, rereading the professor’s notes over and over. Even when his eyelids drooped, he forced himself to read, to think, to read some more.

The captain shuddered and awoke with a yell. Sweat slicked his face, and his heart pounded. He could only remember pieces of the dream, but it horrified him—a woman on the run had carried him in her womb.

“Mother?” he whispered.

Maddox squeezed his eyes shut. He’d never known his real mother, or his father, for that matter. Who had they been? What kind of people exactly? Would they have been proud of what he was trying to do, or would they have laughed at him?

My father—

Maddox’s head snapped upright. His eyes shined. He grabbed the professor’s notes and began to read for what felt like the one hundred and first time. What if “sun” meant “comet” and “asteroid” meant “star system?” That would mean— He jumped to his feet and turned on the computer. With the notes in one hand, he tapped in the coordinates on the computer and finally deciphered Ludendorff’s record of his visit to the alien star system. An hour later, Maddox had a chart leading into the Beyond. The departure point would be the Nine Whiskey Star System.

He pulled up a star chart and found they were four jumps from there. Afterward, he slumped in his chair with his gaze blurred. Could this be it? Had he truly broken the code that would bring them to the most legendarily haunted region in space?

There’s only one way to find out. He downloaded the information, sending it to Valerie’s computer in the control room. Then he hurried there to tell them the good news.

The next three weeks left the crew exhausted as they worked overtime keeping the scout running. Geronimo had left the Oikumene far behind. They ranged deeper and deeper into unknown territory. The Saint Petersburg and the New Men star cruiser had both shown up again, but the Geronimo had managed to shake them off.

Maddox imagined the New Men spreading a net after each jump the scout made out of their sight. There were only so many routes to choose from. Each enemy starship must head for a different point. Then, the enemy used their sensors in each newly-entered star system to search for the Geronimo.

How are they coordinating the moves between ships in different star systems? That’s what baffled Maddox. The only method he knew was actually sending other ships as messengers. Whatever the New Men were doing, though, was working.

“Do you think they’re letting us run ahead of them on purpose,” Lieutenant Noonan asked one day.

“Maybe,” Maddox admitted.

They sat in the galley, Meta, Valerie and him eating freeze-dried pork chops. The favorite meals were vanishing from the menu selections. Soon, only the skipped meals would remain. After those vanished, there wouldn’t be anything left to eat but dried fruit and nuts.

Maddox cut his pork chop, popping a piece of meat into his mouth, chewing. It lacked salt. He picked up a shaker and added granules.

“That’s no good for you,” Meta said.

“You like your meat without salt?” Maddox asked.

“I’m not like you,” she said. “You eat for pleasure. I eat to sustain myself.”

Maddox indicated himself. “Do I look as if I eat for pleasure?”

Her gaze flickered over him. “I’ve wanted to ask you this for a while,” she said. “Why are you so thin?”

“Lean,” he said. “I’m not thin but lean.”

Meta bristled. “Are you saying I’m fat?”

After examining the full-figured woman in her rating uniform, Maddox shook his head. “Not fat at all,” he said. “I’d call you pleasing, easy on the eyes.”

Meta blushed at this uncharacteristic remark.

Lieutenant Noonan noticed and frowned at Maddox. “Captain, please, we’re eating.”

As if nothing had happened, he cut another slice of pork chop, chewing in silence.

“I want to get back to my point,” Valerie said. “If we’re leading the New Men to the alien star system, maybe we should turn back and try again later. If the enemy gains the sentinel, the New Men will become even more invincible than before.”

Maddox raised his head. He stood, took his plastic dish and paused long enough to tell Valerie, “That’s a brilliant idea, Lieutenant.”

“What did I say?”

“I’ll tell you later if it works.”

With that, Maddox hurried from the galley, gulping down the rest of his pork chop. He tossed the plastic into a disposal unit. After washing his hands, he stopped before Dana Rich’s hatch. Should he just barge right in?

Instead of doing so, he rapped his knuckles against metal. There had to be a better way to do this. This was a starship, for Heaven’s sake. Knocking on metal didn’t make much sense.

“Who is it?” Dana asked in a muffled voice.

“Captain Maddox,” he said.

After a short pause, she said, “Go away.”

He turned the wheel, opened the hatch and failed to spy the doctor.

“Do I have to gas your room?” he asked.

“No,” she said, from the wall beside the hatch. She moved toward her bed, becoming visible, tossing a lamp so it hit her sheets.

She’d been hidden from sight, ready to whack him over the head as he entered her quarters. Warily, Maddox stepped within.

Dana thumped down upon her bed. He pulled up a chair, sitting down.

“I’m weary of our arrangement,” she said. “I’m going stir crazy. In the name of decency, you must change the situation.”

“I have a proposal to make,” Maddox told her.

“I won’t join you in your mad venture. That hasn’t changed.”

“You know we’re nearing the alien star system right? I cracked the professor’s encryption some time ago.”

“So you say,” Dana told him. “When we’re there, you can let me know. Oh, how about this, just before we jump into said system, tell me.”

“Of course,” he said. “Look, this is…” He squinted at her. “Why did you ask me to tell you just before we get there?”

“No particular reason,” she said offhandedly.

“You’re—” He was going to say, “lying,” but decided on greater tact. “I’ll keep your request in mind,” he finished.

She nodded indifferently. “What’s your proposal then?”

“The New Men are following us. Whether they mean to capture the sentinel, I don’t know. Let us suppose you’re right: no one can board the alien vessel. Okay. We’ll use the sentinel to set up an ambush.”

“Meaning what?” she asked.

“We’ll lead the New Men to the alien starship. It’s automated, you say.”

“Correct,” agreed Dana.

“Fine,” he said. “We lead them there and it destroys the hunters for us.”

“How does that help us?” she asked.

“That should be easy to understand. They’re following us, and I don’t think they’ll quit until they have us. This stops them, and it gets rid of one or more of their elite star cruisers. Afterward, we’re free to return home. You get your pardon and I have the honor of destroying however many enemy cruisers the sentinel annihilates.”

Dana studied him, and finally, she laughed. “Nice try, Captain. I almost believed you.”

“Well, whether you believe me or not that’s my plan as of now. We’re almost to the second-to-last star system.”

Doctor Dana Rich expelled a lungful of air. “Are you serious?” she asked. “You’ve actually taken us that far into the Beyond?”

“Correct. Now, what do you want to tell me?”

“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said.

Maddox sat perfectly still. Scout duty was hard work. The ship was too small and they’d rubbed elbows too long. Normal Patrol scout crews were carefully chosen for their abilities to get along and to handle the cramped quarters for extended periods. Maddox doubted any of them were constitutionally suited for the small craft. Thus, he forced himself to sit quietly as he studied the doctor anew, instead of jumping up and pacing.

He envisioned Dana Rich, as she’d been the first few days after she awoke. Since then, the woman had become tenser. More than that, she seemed frightened. But because of her pride, she tried to hide it.

“Fine,” he said abruptly, standing. “If you have nothing else to say—” He started for the hatch.

“Wait,” she whispered.

Maddox turned around.

Doctor Rich stared at her hands. She breathed heavily, causing her breasts to rise and fall rapidly. She was older than either Valerie or Meta, but she was beautiful in an exotic way.

She raised her head, and a tic twitched under her right eye. “You’re a monomaniac, Captain. I can’t believe you’ve brought us so far out into the Beyond. The dangers out there…” She shook her head. “It doesn’t matter. This next jump, well, the one into the alien system, must be done exactly how I say. If you don’t do it like that, we’ll die.”

“Why is that?” Maddox asked.

“Does the scout have a deflector shield?”

“You know it doesn’t,” he said.

“Then the minute you exit the jump point into the alien star system, you and everyone else aboard the Geronimo dies.”

“Because the sentinel will attack us?” asked Maddox.

“Not at all,” Dana said. “The alien star system will do the killing.”

“Can you elaborate?”

Once more, the doctor stared at her hands and began to speak in a low voice. The reason shocked Maddox. Without the good doctor’s insight—if she were right—the alien system would indeed destroy the scout. The question had changed, then. Did they have enough time to get ready to enter the alien system the doctor’s way before the star cruiser or the destroyer found and annihilated them?