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

“I’m not a dog,” Meta said.

“You are a creature of intoxicating beauty. I admit there is an impulse within me to strip off your garments and test your sexuality. Since I am a superior, I block the impulse as an impure sensation.”

“You don’t like me?” Meta asked.

“Did Kane use you during the journey?”

“I would have killed him if he’d tried.”

“Do you despise him?”

“I want to stick a knife in his heart.”

“Strong emotions of any kind often indicate a fierce longing for procreation.”

“What happened to you people?” Meta asked while in her mental fog. “Why are you so weird?”

“We are superior beings brought to fruition through selective breeding and intense genetic manipulation. We are
Homo Superiors
.”

“You’re freaks.”

“I am detecting a high level of intelligence in you. As impossible as it seems, you seek to evade answering my questions. That is a difficult feat while drugged with
fungoid vigils.
You have chosen an emotion-laden process to attempt to thwart me, in some manner realizing it gives you the highest percentage of success. Perhaps Kane spoke with greater insight than…” Per Lomax continued to speak, but his words no longer made sense.

Meta blinked lazily, swaying where she stood. Soon, the superior injected her again, and memory of the event faded from her mind.

***

Time separated from reality for Meta. She knew mind probing, pain and harsh questions from the teacher. It seemed as if stimuli came in flashing sequences of bright lights. Meta cringed and the flashing intensified. Words boomed like thunder in her brain. Then they hissed as if shifting on a night wind.

The teacher did something to her thinking. It wasn’t right. Meta resisted, and for an instant, she found herself on a spinning table.

She was spread-eagled, her wrists and ankles secured by bands. The spinning disoriented her. Drugs surged through her system. She wore a helmet that sprouted with antenna. Every so often, shocks zapped her skull, making her eyelids flutter.

They’re reprogramming me. I know that’s what they’re doing
.

Meta squeezed her eyes shut. It was so hard to think. Yet, she had a feeling this was her last chance to affect her fate. This had something to do with Captain Maddox or was it Kane?

“We’re not dogs,” Meta whispered.

The spinning increased. The helmet shocks made her twitch in agony. The teacher did this to her. He had a plan, a tricky thing meant to do…something nefarious.

That night in New York City
, Meta thought to herself.
The night Maddox and I fought. That isn’t what really happened. We made love that night, passionate and wild love. I kissed you like this
.

In her mind, Meta strove to burn in the idea of French kissing Captain Maddox. In her thoughts, she grabbed his face and kissed him fiercely.

You told me to do that next time we met so we’d never forget what happened that night. Don’t forget, Captain. Don’t forget
.

Meta screamed afterward as the teacher continued to stratify her mind into the proper sequencing.

***

Like an old-style ground vehicle using stick and clutch, Meta reengaged her mind with time as she walked down an empty corridor aboard the star cruiser.

Meta stopped and raised a hand, examining it in wonder. Then she inspected her clothes. She had boots, pants, a shirt and a jacket. These were Earth garments. Yet, she was aboard an enemy star cruiser.

A hatch opened, and Kane walked into the corridor. Meta expected a taller, thinner man to be with Kane. But the New Man agent was alone.

“What’s going on, Kane?” Meta asked. Her voice startled her. It seemed too slow. Had somebody done something to her?

The big man’s face was impassive, but Meta knew better now. She could read it in his granite eyes. Kane was happy to see her.

“Follow me,” he said.

Without waiting for a confirmation, he spun on his heels and marched down the corridor. Meta had to hurry to keep up with him.

Soon, they entered a hangar bay. She saw the scout ship.

“We’re leaving?” Meta asked.

Kane didn’t answer. Half a minute later, he ducked through the hatch into the scout. She hurried after him.

In less than a minute, they both buckled in. Kane turned on the engine so the deck plates
thrummed
. The scout lifted from the hangar bay and eased out the open door. Below, a white winter world waited for them.

“What happened back there?” Meta asked. She didn’t understand why she could hardly remember anything. There was something about a pyramid. Had she met Kane in Cairo?

As Meta tried to remember, another image interposed over her thoughts. It was a handsome Star Watch officer named Captain Maddox. They had made passionate love in New York City. She wanted to ask Kane about that. Something deep inside her told Meta that would be a bad idea.

“We’re going down to Wolf Prime,” Kane said.

“Oh.”

“We need to find Professor Ludendorff,” Kane added. “Only he can help us against the New Men.”

“We’re fugitives from the New Men?” Meta asked, frowning.

“Yes,” Kane said. “Don’t you remember?”

Meta’s frown deepened. Yes. That’s right. They had just escaped by killing several New Men. She looked at her hands. There wasn’t any blood. After she killed, as she had a baron once, she pretended to see blood on her hands. Why didn’t she see any blood now?

Is Kane lying to me? Why would he do that? Isn’t Kane my friend?

“Meta, do you remember? We just escaped and are fleeing down onto Wolf Prime.”

Meta nodded. She could play along with this until she recalled events better.

Kane pursed his lips and his features hardened. “I’ll do the talking once we reach the surface. You simply back up whatever I say.”

“Of course,” Meta said.

Kane hesitated, looking as if he wanted to say more. Then he tapped the controls. With a lurch, the scout headed down toward the winter planet.

-23-

“This is a disaster,” Galyan said. The holoimage stared at the main screen.

Silently, Maddox agreed. He hadn’t expected the New Men to block their advance. The number of star cruisers orbiting Wolf Prime…
Victory’s
sensors showed five of the deadly vessels.

For the past two weeks, Galyan had used tramlines together with star drive jumps. The alien vessel burned through the Commonwealth faster than any spaceship Maddox knew about. With the star drive,
Victory
could jump beside Laumer-Points instead of using velocity to travel there the old-fashioned way. The only negative was the number of times everyone endured Jump Lag. In a normal run, there were longer periods of rest.

Fortunately, Maddox had convinced Galyan to use the star drive to enter the Wolf System from the side instead of coming in at a Laumer-Point. They’d wanted to see any enemy before the enemy saw them.

Space was vast and ships were miniscule—less than tiny motes in comparison to the void—making dedicated searches difficult unless one scanned in specific spots.
Victory’s
sensors had picked out the star cruisers in orbit around the ice world. Had the New Men spotted the ancient starship in return? Galyan’s sensors said no. Last time in the Beyond, however, the New Men had shown an uncanny ability to track the
Geronimo
and then
Victory
. It would be rash to believe the enemy wasn’t even now pondering why the ancient starship approached Wolf Prime.

“
Victory
cannot defeat five star cruisers,” Galyan said. “The game is up, Captain. We have lost.”

“Hang on,” Maddox said. “Is that how you acted during your battle against the Swarm?”

“That was different.”

Maddox drummed his fingers on a console. “The star cruisers are a problem, I grant you. But they’re not an insolvable one.”

“I am the galaxy’s premier tactician,” Galyan said, “and I tell you there is no combination of maneuvers that will allow
Victory
to annihilate five vessels of such magnitude.”

“There’s an ancient Earth saying,” Maddox told the AI, “maybe as old as your ship. ‘There’s more than one way to skin a cat.’”

“I do not perceive your meaning.”

Maddox drummed his fingers harder against the console. How should he go about this? Was there a way to win? Five star cruisers…he had to tell the AI something, so he’d better start talking.

“Driving Force Galyan, this is an apparent impasse. You are also a splendid tactician. I would like to use the idea of another ancient saying to see if we Earthlings can come up with a plan.”

“What is the saying?” Galyan asked.

“Two heads are better than one.”

“You wish to speak with your crew?”

“Exactly,” Maddox said.

“I will agree to the meeting on one condition.”

“Yes?”

“If we make an attempt and you actually reach Wolf Prime,” Galyan said, “you must search for the archeological clues on the surface for the whereabouts of the Swarm’s ancient homeworld.”

“I am honor bound to do so,” Maddox said. “That means I will attempt it with all my strength and cunning.”

“It is fortunate for you that I have taken your measure,” Galyan said. “Otherwise, I would believe you are lying to me.”

Maddox said nothing.

“Yes,” Galyan said. “You will go to your crew, and I will join you.”

***

The crew sat against the walls of the chamber, sixteen people having spent endless weeks in here. Their three-month margin had almost run out. Maddox could imagine what it must have smelled like before the AI allowed them to shower and clean their uniforms and sleeping gear.

The captain stood as he explained the situation. It would have been better if Galyan wasn’t watching, with three of his robots in attendance. But, the AI was here, listening to every word. Thus, Maddox had adjusted his words accordingly.

“You’re absolutely sure there are five star cruisers?” Valerie asked.

Maddox nodded.

“We couldn’t take on
three
star cruisers in the Beyond,” the lieutenant said. “Five is out of the question.”

“We did take on three,” Second Lieutenant Maker told her. “We even destroyed one of them, remember?”

“And almost lost
Victory
in return,” Valerie said. “You’re not seriously suggesting there is some way we can destroy five star cruisers?”

“I certainly am, love,” Keith said.

“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 to 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.”