The Lost Destroyer (Lost Starship Series Book 3) (18 page)

Drifting slowing, making sure to keep his velocity low, Maddox approached the drifting cocoon. It looked considerably larger than a man, with something bulky sitting on its stomach. Had Ludendorff found his treasure? Was the professor alive? If so, why didn’t the shuttle’s sensors pick anything up? If Ludendorff was dead, who had cocooned him?

There were too many questions. Maddox wondered about another possibility. Every spacefarer feared an inside job, bringing something alien aboard a ship that would burst out aggressively and attack the crew.

“Better slow down,” Keith said in Maddox’s earphones.

With a start, Maddox realized his mind had drifted. That was foolish out here. Rotating his body, using a mirror to guide him, Maddox squeezed his throttle control. More white hydrogen mist sprayed from his nozzles, slowing his momentum.

Soon, the captain eased beside the cocooned body. He ran a hand across the surface. It was slick. Maddox brought out an adhesive pad and line, attaching it to the synthetic fabric. The pad lifted the moment Maddox took his hand away. He tried it again and got the same result.

“Trouble?” Keith radioed.

“The adhesive pad isn’t sticking to the cocoon,” Maddox radioed.

“You might have to push him in then,” Keith said.

“Or tie the line around his body,” Dana interjected.

“I think I’m going to do both just to be safe,” Maddox said.

The captain began the process. He pushed the cocooned body, causing it to drift toward the waiting shuttle. But for every action there was a reaction. The push caused Maddox to go the other way. He adjusted with the throttle-control, using hydrogen mist to stop him and go forward again. By slow degrees, the two traveled closer and closer to the shuttle.

“Maybe you want to speed the process, sir,” Keith radioed.

Maddox frowned. The ace had sounded too carefree just now, maybe even with a forced heartiness.

“Is there a problem?” the captain radioed.

“Oh, no, nothing at all, sir,” Keith said.

Maddox wasn’t fooled. There
was
a problem, but clearly, the others didn’t want to upset his concentration. Therefore, he decided not to worry about it.

Bit by bit, he brought the cocooned professor to the shuttle. Finally, Maddox used the thruster-pack to work onto Ludendorff’s other side. He slowed them to a halt, finding Dana outside the underbelly hatch.

She leaped to help, her tether playing out behind her as she floated closer.

His helmet lamp played over hers, showing nothing but a silver sheen. Together, they raised the cocoon, sliding the unconscious professor through the hatch and into the shuttle.

Soon, the two of them stood in the air-cycler with the cocoon. Oxygen hissed through. Then, cleansing agents sprayed over them, hot air and a final billowing mist. The hatch opened into the main shuttle. Maddox staggered through. He’d hooked the thruster-pack onto its rack already.

With a
click
, the captain twisted off his helmet, turning to Dana as she stepped through.

“What is it?” Maddox asked. “What’s the problem?”

“You’re not going to believe this,” Dana said, as she removed her helmet. Her eyes were wide and staring. “The…” She squeezed her eyelids shut before opening them and saying slowly, “The New Men are in the Xerxes System with us.”

“What? How?”

Dana shook her head.

Maddox scowled. “How doesn’t matter at the moment, does it? They’re here. How many star cruisers?”

“Valerie’s counted four so far.  She said they’re appearing near the Nexus.”

“Appearing? What does that mean? There isn’t a Laumer-Point by the Nexus.”

“I don’t know, Captain. Maybe they have a new star drive as we do with
Victory
. This is horrible.” The doctor stared at Ludendorff. “We have to get out of here. Can you help me move the professor?”

“Have the New Men spotted us?”

“Two star cruisers are heading here.”

Maddox’s eyes narrowed.

“Please, Captain, help me with the professor. I have to see if he’s still alive.”

-18-

Dana wanted to weep. She couldn’t believe this. She hadn’t cried for what seemed like ages now. How could the arrogant Ludendorff bring this out in her? Why had the man gone into the asteroid? What was so damned valuable to risk his life like this?

The captain moved his end of the body effortlessly. The man was impossibly strong. Dana huffed and puffed, straining as they set the cocooned body onto the shuttle’s medical cot.

Keith piloted them through the space debris, trying to get to
Victory
before the shuttle was in firing range of the star cruisers.

Can’t we get some luck for once
, Dana wondered.
Why is it one thing right after another? This really is a cursed star system
.

Maddox stepped back, drawing his gun, standing like a murderous statue waiting to kill.

“What are you doing?” Dana asked.

“Getting ready,” the captain said in a determined voice.

“You’re going to shoot him?”

“What’s on his chest?” the captain asked. “Is it deadly to us?”

Fear surged through Dana. She couldn’t lose the professor again. Turning against him in the Adok System all those years ago had been the hardest thing she had ever done. His reaction against her had left her embittered. She knew that now. If she had to make the decision over again, she would stay with the professor and accept whatever fate had in store for her.

Ludendorff didn’t seem devilish now. He was unlike anyone she knew. Even Maddox with his hybrid nature failed to rise to Ludendorff’s level.

Is this love? Do I
need
this impossible man?

“I wish you wouldn’t wait there like grim Death,” Dana told Maddox.

“Get on with it, Doctor.”

Dana knew the captain was right to be worried and take precautions. The man was simply doing his job. Still, it was difficult to accept.

But that didn’t matter now, did it? Dana opened a drawer and took out a laser scalpel. Her hands shook as she brought up the instrument. If Ludendorff was dead—

I’m a doctor. It’s time to be professional. I can cry for Ludendorff later
.

The trembling left her hands. Her features hardened. With sure deftness, Dana clicked on the laser and began to cut the silky substance. She had been afraid the synthetic fabric would reflect the laser. It didn’t. That was one for their side.

The doctor slit open the substance, revealing a corpse-colored head and neck. The tiny laser light vanished from the tip of the scalpel. Dana froze, staring at an un-breathing Ludendorff.

“Is he alive?” the captain asked.

That tore Dana out of her shock. “Look at him. He’s dead.”

“Are you sure?” Maddox asked. “Maybe the professor realized what was happening earlier. I wonder if he took Hibernation-7. He has the rubbery look to his skin.”

Dana’s eyelids fluttered and hope surged in her heart. Hibernation-7 was a drastic drug used by Star Watch in space emergencies. If injected into a person before the heart stopped, it retarded cell death for three days. After that time, the metabolism would return to normal and the deterioration of the body would begin.

Dana pulled out a med-scanner, checking the professor’s life signs. Yes! The captain was right. Ludendorff had taken Hibernation-7. She gasped, smiling, relieved at the news.

She picked up the laser scalpel and continued to slice open the cocoon. It revealed a silver oblong object on the professor’s stomach. The sides of the thing were smooth. Using the end of the scalpel, she
clicked
it against the item.

“Metallic,” Maddox noted.

“With no visible means of opening,” Dana said.

“Do you think it’s a container?”

“Don’t you?” she asked.

“I have no idea.”

“Help me take it off him.”

The captain hesitated to give up his watch. Finally, though, he holstered the gun and helped her lift the object off Ludendorff.

It proved heavy, and it almost slipped out of her gasp. Together, the two of them set it to the side.

Dana went back to the death-colored professor and removed the rest of the strange material from him. It was like opening a body bag.

“I’ll begin the revival procedure,” she said.

“No,” Maddox said.

Dana looked up with anger in her eyes.

“He hijacked my starship,” Maddox said. “He endangered the entire crew.”

“The New Men are out there, Captain. He’ll know what to do better than anyone else.”

“For all I know, Ludendorff may help the New Men against us,” Maddox said. “The professor may have summoned them with his ancient comm-device. Or maybe the professor will attempt to regain control of Galyan. No. I’ve had quite enough of Ludendorff’s machinations for some time.”

“What are you suggesting?”

“I’m not suggesting a thing,” Maddox said. “I’m making a decision. We will leave the professor in hibernation for the moment. Once aboard
Victory
, I’ll put him in deep-freeze. I’ll hand him over to Star Watch Intelligence once we get to Earth. The brigadier will know what to do with him.”

“We need his knowledge now.”

Maddox eyed her, with a cool smile hovering on his lips. “We’ll strap him in,” the captain said. “Then, we’ll both see how Keith is doing.”

“I’m going to stay here, if you don’t mind.”

“I most certainly do mind,” the captain said. “You’re coming with me to see Keith.”

“You don’t trust me back here?”

“Of course I trust you,” Maddox said.

Dana lost some of her tension.

“I trust you to act like a lover and think of the professor first,” Maddox said. “That’s why I’m keeping you with me for the moment.”

“I resent that,” Dana said. In her heart, though, the doctor knew the captain was right. Maddox could hardly make any other choice after the things Ludendorff had done.

“Strap him in,” Maddox said. “Then come along. I’m not going to give the professor a second chance to wrest control of the starship from me.”

***

Valerie waited on
Victory’s
bridge, keeping a careful watch on the shuttle working its way out of the asteroidal junk and watching the two star cruisers building velocity in a hurry. The New Men weren’t doing anything to hide their advance. So far, the enemy commander over there hadn’t tried to communicate with her.

“The shuttle cannot accelerate quickly enough to make it in time,” Galyan observed.

Valerie had just about reached the same conclusion.

“We can attack the star cruisers,” Galyan suggested.

Valerie nodded thoughtfully. She would like that. In her estimation, she made a good combat officer. The trouble was that she’d never had an opportunity to show anyone. This could be her chance.

“I’m not sure,” Valerie said quietly.

“The disruptor cannon is fully operational,” Galyan said.

“But the shield is still rebuilding. Plus, I don’t have anyone to help me on the bridge.”

“I can do that.”

“Certainly,” Valerie said. In her heart, though, she wanted a Star Watch-trained officer to help her, not an alien AI.

“Ah,” Galyan said. “I detect another two star cruisers.”

“Approaching us?”

“No, coming into existence by the Nexus.”

“Is there a special jump gate there?” Valerie wondered.

“I have not detected one.”

“Maybe there’s another Nexus in New Men-controlled territory. Somehow, they learned we were here and used the silver pyramids to reach us.”

“How would that be possible?”

“Didn’t you hear?” Valerie asked. “The professor has a distance communicator, another ancient relic. The New Men have a few too. Or maybe the Builder drones alerted the enemy, and the New Men decided to send a few star cruisers over.”

“Your possibilities are logical,” Galyan said. “Yet, given the star cruisers have just made a tremendous jump, wouldn’t that mean the enemy crews would be tired now? That should give us a temporary advantage.”

“There is that.” Valerie snapped her fingers. “I should have thought of this sooner. Galyan, ready the neutron cannon.”

“We’re attacking?”

“No. We’re going to start blowing away excess debris in the shuttle’s path. At the moment, Keith has to ease through the junk, slowing down to avoid rocks and gravel. I plan to give him a clear path so the shuttle can accelerate to us on the double.”

Galyan stood perfectly still before saying, “That is an optimum plan. I congratulate you, Lieutenant.”

“Thank you,” Valerie said. “Let’s hope Captain Maddox feels the same way.”

***

Maddox sat in the shuttle’s control chamber, watching the passive sensor. The two star cruisers were increasing velocity. Their craft would be in red beam range soon.

Outside the asteroid maze,
Victory’s
neutron beam smashed rubble into fine particles. The ace threaded through the debris on their side, taking more chances than Maddox thought wise. The alternative was worse, though, so he kept his mouth shut.

“Maybe we could make a deal with the New Men,” Dana suggested.

Maddox knew that was her love for Ludendorff speaking. There would be no deals with the New Men. If these were the “good” ones the professor had spoken about before, why were they bearing down on them so hard? No. These were the regular New Men, invaders without quarter. There was only one way to fight them, no-holds-barred.

Keith sat back and swiveled to face Maddox. “We’re not going to make it like this, sir,” the ace declared.

“Suggestions?” Maddox asked.

“Increase acceleration as we roll the dice.”

“With what breaks through our hull and ricochets around inside?” the captain asked.

“That’s right.”

Maddox only needed to debate the idea a moment. The other alternative was to wait for the star cruisers to destroy them once the enemy got in range. “Do it,” the captain said.

“No,” Dana said. “That doesn’t make sense to take needless risks. We’re so close to our ship.”

“It’s a bitter choice, I realize,” Maddox said. “But we’re out of options.”

“We can’t keep attempting hazardous selections like this,” Dana said. “One of these times, the risks are going to catch up with us.”

“These are the New Men we’re dealing with,” Maddox said. “We’re forced into one hazardous venture after another because we’re playing to win, not come in second to them.”

“We’re humanity’s last hope against the planet-killer,” Dana said. “Ludendorff is our only hope against stopping it. We can’t afford to die just yet.”

“Negative,” Maddox said. “There’s always more than one way to win, even for humanity. Or haven’t you ever heard of the test they gave a chimpanzee?”

Dana stared at him.

“In an intelligence study,” Maddox said, “scientists once gave an imprisoned chimpanzee fifteen ways to escape. The ape found the sixteenth.”

“That doesn’t prove anything out here,” Dana said in exasperation.

“Go,” Maddox told Keith. Afterward, the captain put his helmet back on.

“Someone should look after the professor,” Dana said.

Maddox studied her, finally nodding. “Go,” he said.

“Now you trust me?” Dana asked in a bitter tone.

“Would you tell if I shouldn’t?”

Dana peered at him thoughtfully. “After all we’ve been through, yes, I would tell you if you shouldn’t.”

“I believe you,” Maddox said, although he wasn’t really sure he did.

His words made the doctor smile sadly. She locked her helmet to the vacc-suit, got up and hurried from the chamber.

“Here we go,” Keith said, while increasing velocity. “We’re playing craps in space.”

The shuttle continued to dodge and weave through the debris, but more pebbles struck the hull. Then a fist-sized rock bounced off the armor, leaving a large dent outside. More debris struck, one plowing through the hull armor. It shattered a water line in a secondary compartment. Moisture sprayed into the sudden vacuum. Hatches sealed. The line froze and the shuttle continued through the mass.

“I don’t know, Captain,” Keith said. “This isn’t looking good for us.”

“Where’s the optimist I’ve come to know?” Maddox asked.

“He’s struggling to break free of his pessimism, sir.”

“Faster,” Maddox said.

Keith bit his lower lip as he obeyed orders. The shuttle jinked one way and then another. The gravity dampeners purred at maximum. A larger boulder tumbled toward them. Keith couldn’t avoid it altogether. The tons of stone smashed one of the stubby wings and shredded open that side. The shuttle began to tumble end over end.

Maddox hoped the doctor had made it to medical and strapped herself down in time.

The ace struggled to right the craft. He might have won the contest. He was the master ace after all, but the craft plowed against another massive object, and they began to spin.