The Lost Starship

-43-

Captain Maddox felt uncomfortable striding down the hall toward Brigadier O’Hara’s office. He was back in Geneva on Earth. It still seemed unreal. To have traveled so far and risked his life on an uncanny mission, and then to be home again in familiar surroundings— Have I changed? Have I lost something? Why do I feel different?

He couldn’t define it to himself. The hall seemed to press inward, crowding him. Maybe he had acquired Ensign Maker’s disease. The ace loved flying in space. The Scotsman didn’t seem alive unless he was gripping flight controls, attempting an impossible maneuver.

I had a deck under my feet. I commanded a starship. Is that what I want to do with the rest of my life?

Maybe he was simply feeling post-mission depression. It would leave him soon enough. He would fully decompress, rest, gain strength and soon be ready for his next assignment.

A nagging doubt lingered. Captain Maddox wondered if only a line command on a starship could scratch a new itch. The New Men gathered. Humanity had to stand together and defeat the menace, or they would succumb one by one as Odin, Horace and Parthia had fallen.

He reached the secretary’s desk. The man informed him the brigadier was waiting.

“Go ahead,” the secretary said.

Maddox opened the door. The Iron Lady was hunched over her synthi-wood desk, scribbling something.

“Please, sit,” she said, without looking up.

Maddox moved to a chair before her desk, settling himself. He’d done this many times before. Yet, now it felt different, almost surreal. He glanced at the glass case of model starships. The feeling of unreality bit again. The room seemed to shrink, along with Brigadier O’Hara.

He concentrated on her. Her gray hair remained perfectly in place. No doubt she used hairspray. Her veined hand scratched a stylus on a pad. Abruptly, she set down the stylus and looked up at him. Her eyes were bright and alive. They seemed to swell her stature. She no longer seemed small and cramped, but an energetic spider queen busy capturing traitorous flies and enemy agents.

“Captain Maddox,” she said. “You have returned. I congratulate you on a successful mission. Well done.”

“Excuse me, ma’am,” Maddox said. “But that seems horribly anticlimactic for an operation that might have possibly just saved humanity from the New Men.”

She stared at him before saying, “Your flair for the melodramatic hasn’t changed a bit, I see. Still, I suppose you have a point. I imagine you’ll want the Lord High Admiral to enter, bend on his knee, grasp your hand and weep his thanks.”

“That would be more in keeping with my exploit, yes, ma’am,” Maddox said, grinning.

Brigadier O’Hara pursed her lips. “I would be happy to oblige you, Captain. Unfortunately, my thoughts and those of the Lord High Admiral are too dark for such joy. We have the alien wreck you brought back. I’ve read the reports. It’s falling apart even as the experts study it.”

“Yet, the wreck, as you put it, is brimming with alien technologies,” Maddox said. “The improved deflector screen can withstand the New Men’s beams better than Star Watch shields can. Even better, the alien neutron beam can punch holes through the enemy’s deflectors. According to the AI, the starship possesses even more powerful weapon systems. The ancient vessel is a bonanza of technologies. It has a new star drive that bypasses tramlines.”

“We’re going to need every one of those weapons if we’re to stay ahead of the New Men,” O’Hara said.

Maddox grew more alert. “There’s bad news, I take it.”

“Yes, Captain. The New Men have been busy while you were away. This is strictly confidential. They have sent envoys to the Wahhabi Caliphate. Certain factions in the caliphate’s court want to ally with the New Men. Others counsel a wait and see attitude, if there should be open war. They’re considering neutrality.”

“Are they mad?” Maddox asked. “The New Men are simply using divide and rule tactics to try to pick us off one by one.”

“You are astute as always, Captain. The news is even worse, I’m afraid. Certain Commonwealth systems are also considering neutrality. Chief among them is Rigel’s Social Syndicate.”

“Don’t they understand their very lives are at stake?”

“This is an interesting point,” the brigadier said. “Do you have proof for such a statement?”

Maddox frowned. “I’m not sure I understand you.”

“Captain, as I’ve said, the New Men have sent spies and envoys to many worlds. They speak soothing words, hoping to divide humanity, perhaps even gain allies among us. News of the Pan System Battle has made some people cautious toward antagonizing powerful enemies. We need proof as to what’s happened on Odin, Horace and Parthia.”

“With the new systems in Victory—”

“Ah,” O’Hara said. “You can duplicate them in our ships?”

“Me? Certainly not, ma’am. I’m not an engineer.”

“Reverse engineering a system takes time, Captain. Duplicating it takes even longer. We have to build new starships. Unfortunately, building an ordinary battleship normally takes three years. That’s with systems everyone knows how to construct. How long will it take our shipyards to build alien weaponry that works?”

“Maybe you should repair Victory and use her as she is in battle.”

“We are exploring all options,” O’Hara said. The brigadier closed her mouth and set her hands on the desk. Lines appeared in her forehead. She smoothed those away and smiled sadly.

“I’m sorry,” the Iron Lady said. “You don’t deserve to hear my gloom. You have accomplished an amazing feat, Captain Maddox. I’m proud of you. With the alien starship in our hands, we have a chance against the New Men. We have hope. You’ve given us that. One way or another, it is going to be a monumental struggle. The New Men have exposed some of their prime assets among us in trying to destroy you when you left and then when you returned with your prize. Still, we have heavy work ahead of us. Your debriefing might take longer than you like. We have to know everything you can remember about them. We must find weak points that we can exploit.”

“I’ll do what I can, ma’am.”

“I know you will, Captain. I have faith in your abilities. After the debriefing, you will leave on another dangerous mission.”

“I’m not sure I’m ready to hear about it, ma’am.”

“No,” she said. “I suppose not.”

“You know,” Maddox said. “I do have a suggestion about the starship.”

“Yes?”

“You must find and recruit Professor Ludendorff. Most likely, he can tease useful information from Victory that no one else could.”

“I’ll keep your suggestion in mind. Do you happen to know where we can find the professor?”

Maddox studied the brigadier. The way she asked that… “I have no idea,” he said.

“Hmm… well, never mind. We’ll concentrate on your debriefing. Before you go, Captain, the Lord High Admiral would like a word with you.”

He nodded.

Brigadier O’Hara stood. She was a small woman. She came around the desk. Maddox stood to his feet. She held out her hand and shook his.

“Well done, Captain. I’m proud of you and very glad you made it back in one piece. Don’t ever repeat this to anyone, but sending you on this hopeless mission has given me many sleepless nights. I didn’t truly think you could do it.”

She squeezed his fingers. Then, she released his hand and straightened her tunic. She almost seemed embarrassed. Heading to a hidden door, pressing a switch, she caused it to open. “Go down the hall and to your left. The Lord High Admiral is waiting.”

Maddox blinked several times. A tightening of his chest made it impossible for him to speak. Instead, he inclined his head and then marched into the corridor. Behind him, the door shut softly.