The Lost Command (Lost Starship Series Book 2) (34 page)

Per Lomax arched in agony, reaching back for the knife. Maddox stomped on the New Man’s good hand until he felt bones break. Then, the captain began to kick the bubble helmet, cracking it and finally breaking off a piece. Maddox pulled out the knife and reached into the helmet with it—

“Captain Maddox!” Meta shouted.

He wasn’t listening.

Meta rushed him—she had climbed to her feet. In a bear rush, the Rouen Colony woman grabbed the captain and drove him away from the bleeding New Man.

“Maddox!” she shouted.

He turned his head, staring into her face. She searched his eyes. Finally, she let go.

“Make him your prisoner like you said,” she suggested. “That’s more important than killing him.”

Maddox realized he
had
meant to kill the New Man. He nodded and looked at Per Lomax. The captain half expected to see the golden-skinned adversary aiming a blaster at him. Instead, the lean man was unconscious.

“We did it,” Maddox said. “You and I captured a New Man.”

Meta smiled at him.

She looked so beautiful. Maddox couldn’t believe it. “Meta,” he said. “You’re here. You’re—” The captain hugged her fiercely.

Meta hugged him in turn, whispering, “I’m sorry we fought.”

For an answer, Maddox kissed her. That seemed like a lifetime ago now.

“He is down.”

Maddox reluctantly pulled away from the kiss. Still holding her, Maddox turned his head.

The holoimage of Galyan pointed at Per Lomax.

“Yes,” Maddox said, “the New Man is down.”

“My sensors tell me he’s dying,” Galyan said.

“Then we’d better patch him up,” Maddox said. “He’s more of a prize alive.”

“I have news for you,” Galyan said. “That is why I came. The star cruisers are attacking. Their long-range beams are even now striking our deflector shield.”

-34-

“Which star cruisers are attacking?” Maddox asked.

“The two leaving Wolf Prime’s orbit,” Galyan said.

“Where are the other three?”

“Still accelerating from the outer system jump point.”

“How far away are they from the starship?” Maddox asked.

“They cannot reach me in time, if that’s what you’re asking,” Galyan said.

“Is the deflector shield holding against the two beams?”

“Yes.”

“Can it hold for a while?”

“For quite some time,” Galyan said.

“Then we should attack them,” Maddox said. “Let’s destroy two star cruisers while we can. These New Men must be acting out of desperation.”

“They will have drones to launch,” Galyan warned.

“Probably not enough to hurt
Victory
,” Maddox said. “Engage the star cruisers and destroy them while you have the opportunity.”

“Yes,” Galyan said. “I will do it.” The holoimage vanished from the corridor.

“Give me a hand,” Maddox told Meta. “We have to carry Per Lomax to medical and see if we can save his sorry hide.”

***

“Maddox said what?” Valerie asked Galyan. The holoimage had returned to the bridge, telling the lieutenant the captain’s orders.

“Attack and destroy the two star cruisers,” Galyan told her. “That’s what he said.”

Valerie had asked for clarification as the ancient starship began hard deceleration from its flight from Wolf Prime.

“We have Professor Ludendorff,” Valerie said. “We’ve stopped the New Men’s commando assault, and I presume we’re far enough away from the planet to use the star drive.”

“That is correct,” Galyan said.

“So, what’s the point of attacking two star cruisers?”

“To bring about their destruction,” Galyan said.

“I understand that.” Then, Valerie fell silent. She’d almost told the AI their plan. Galyan knew it, of course, but had become fixated on the idea of finding the Swarm homeworld.

Valerie studied her board. The two star cruisers left Wolf Prime’s orbit. Their beams reached across the distance to strike
Victory.
The powerful rays reddened an area of the deflector shield, but it wasn’t anything serious yet. So far, she didn’t see any of the previous drones the New Men had used before in their first attack.

It was going to take time to get the starship into neutron beam range. Wasn’t the better maneuver to leave the Wolf System altogether and let Ludendorff discover how to activate some of
Victory’s
more exotic weaponry? Why risk the starship now? It was true
Victory
had faced and survived three star cruisers before. The alien vessel was in better repair than it had been over a year ago in the Beyond. Even so, engaging star cruisers was always a risk.

Lieutenant Noonan sat back and rubbed her chin thoughtfully. The Lord High Admiral had given her a secret set of instructions that would allow her to take control of the starship as its commander. Yet, that would mean supplanting Captain Maddox. Nothing would ever be the same between them if she did that. The Lord High Admiral had told her to give Maddox room. She had done that the entire trip. This last order of his, though…

It’s the wrong order
, Valerie told herself.
I know it is, and it jeopardizes the mission. Do I have the guts to follow my instincts and take command?

Valerie’s fingers tightened against her chin. Her first responsibility was to Star Watch. Yes, they were a team here, almost a family. Yet…

She leaned forward and tapped a control. “Captain Maddox,” she said into the comm.

“Here,” Maddox said.

“Sir…” Valerie hesitated, not certain what she should say.

“Spit it out, Lieutenant,” Maddox said.

Valerie checked her panel. Maddox and Meta carried the unconscious New Man to medical. Before the AI had gone crazy back in the Oort cloud, Star Watch had installed a regular medical station on the ancient vessel.

“Sir,” Valerie said. “I…
respectfully
wish to ask you a question regarding your last order.” She’d grown up a little, Valerie realized. The months on the Lord High Admiral’s Strategy Council had taught her how to properly address a superior officer.

“Ask your question, Lieutenant.”

Valerie felt her face stiffen at the word “lieutenant,” but she would resume her rank as captain after this voyage.

“Lieutenant?” he asked. “Do you have a question?”

“Yes, sir,” she said. “I think— Sir, shouldn’t we engage the star drive? We have Professor Ludendorff. Why risk
Victory
in a battle at this point in the operation?”

“To whittle down the odds for the Tannish System,” Maddox said.

“Keeping
Victory
fully intact seems more important than whittling down odds, sir. Once Ludendorff fixes the exotic weaponry, the starship will be many times more powerful.”

“You’re working on several assumptions,” Maddox said. “We don’t know that Ludendorff can fix anything. We’re hoping he can. But what if he can’t?”

“Then this has all been for nothing, sir.”

“I don’t believe that. We fight one battle at a time. If the New Men have made a miscalculation here, we should exploit it and destroy two of their ships.”

“What miscalculation have they made?” Valerie asked.

“I suspect they’ve just found out they have Lank Meyers, not Professor Ludendorff. Logic on their part would indicate that we have him. Thus, they attack us, hoping to reverse the situation. We’re going to oblige them because we don’t know if we have a joker or a joker who turns into an ace card with Ludendorff.”

Valerie thought about that. Yes, she could see Maddox’s point. But she still didn’t think it was worth risking the only vessel that could save Fletcher’s Fifth Fleet. Without that fleet, Star Watch would be too weak to do much more than sit and wait for the New Men to pick off one Commonwealth star system at a time.

“Thank you, sir,” Valerie said, switching off the connection. She wasn’t going to change Maddox’s mind any time soon. So there was no use trying.

The lieutenant checked her panel. The deflector shield was redder than before and in a larger area.

“Warning!” Galyan said.

“What is it?” Valerie asked.

“Observe on the large screen,” the AI said.

Valerie looked up at the main screen. She saw dark missiles moving at them. Galyan had outlined them in red. Beside the missiles in the void—on the big screen—were green numbers showing distance from the starship. The missiles would be in blast range in another fifteen minutes.

“Where did they come from?” Valerie asked. It wasn’t from Wolf Prime.

“My computations suggest the other New Men launched the stealth missiles when we used the star drive to flee the outer system Laumer-Point.”

“Wait a minute,” Valerie said. “You’re saying the New Men in the three star cruisers must have realized we would double back to Wolf Prime?”

“Correct,” Galyan said.

“So…they launched them, and the missiles underwent massive acceleration while we left, and therefore we couldn’t see them with our sensors.”

“That is an excellent deduction,” Galyan said.

“With these missiles coming,” Valerie said, “we have to flee the attacking star cruisers. You have what you came for: Ludendorff. The professor must know how to find the Swarm homeworld, which is what you really desire. With these missiles coming, our chance of success against the star cruisers has significantly fallen. We should begin accelerating
away
from Wolf Prime so you can engage the star drive. Let’s go somewhere safe so you can start questioning the professor. The starship’s safety is too important to do anything else.”

Galyan’s eyelids fluttered, which meant the AI was in deep thought. For a pregnant second, the holoimage looked up and studied the main screen. Then, Galyan said, “You are correct. I am reversing course. We must flee from Wolf Prime.”

***

Maddox felt a
bump
in the starship as they carried Per Lomax through a corridor. The captain didn’t dwell on it, though. Soon, Meta and he entered medical.

Dana was already there. She sat on a med-station, finishing what must have been an examination of her broken ankle.

“Where should we put him?” Maddox asked the doctor.

“Use that bed,” Dana said, indicating one with restraints.

Meta and Maddox did so, depositing the New Man on it. They engaged the leg and arm restraints, imprisoning the unconscious enemy soldier.

Dana hobbled beside the station on her crutches. She eyed him critically. “He’s badly cut up.”

Maddox nodded in agreement.

Balancing on her good foot, Dana began tapping the med-station’s controls.

“You can’t see it,” Maddox said, “but I stabbed him in a kidney, too.”

“Which now makes my task harder,” Dana said. “Not that I’m blaming you. It is better he dies than to have gained control of the ship. But it would be a coup capturing a living New Man.”

“Yes,” Maddox said, staring down at the barely breathing, golden-skinned captive.

Maddox realized Dana could take a sample from the New Man, testing his DNA. That would tell the captain if he had some of their genetics. Maddox wanted to order the doctor to do so immediately. The need to know burned in him. Maddox hoped with everything he had that he had nothing to do with the New Men.

Stepping back, enjoying the feel of Meta’s shoulder against him, Maddox watched the doctor. He also watched the automated medical station begin to work on the New Man.

“He has a higher core temperature than a normal human,” Dana said, studying the readings.

“How much higher?” Maddox asked.

“More than you,” Dana said.

I’m a half-breed
, the captain thought.
Maybe that means I’m only half as good as he is
.

An intercom came on. All three of them looked up.

“Prepare for jump,” Valerie said.

“What?” Maddox asked. “We should be attacking the enemy cruisers, not jumping anywhere.”

There was no answer.

Maddox adjusted his headgear. It was on. Valerie should be able to hear him. “Lieutenant,” he said.

That’s when the star drive engaged, ending the conversation before it could begin.

***

Kane should have been elated. He had captured the fabled Professor Ludendorff, plucking him from the enemy’s midst. Now, he was about to receive a commendation for his splendid performance.

Someone other than Per Lomax would give him the award, however. Per Lomax’s assault against
Victory
had obviously failed. The ancient starship had escaped from the Wolf System. Did that mean Per Lomax was dead?

Kane waited in solitude, in a minimalist room aboard a star cruiser, with his hands on his knees. He analyzed his unease and realized it concerned Meta. She should have fought to join him aboard the shuttle. Instead, she had remained with Captain Maddox.

The door opened and a golden-skinned dominant regarded Kane with cold eyes.

“You abducted the wrong person,” the dominant said.

Kane almost told the dominant, “No,” which would have been a mistake. “I took Professor Ludendorff,” he said evenly.

“He was an imposter,” the dominant said. “His name was Lank Meyers.”

Kane kept his face impassive, a difficult task under the other’s stern gaze.

“Meyers slew our commander with deadly spores, dying in the process. It is possible you knew this would happen.”

“I did not know,” Kane said.

“That is a mere technicality, if true,” the dominant said. “The critical point is that you failed in your assigned task.”

Coldness tightened around Kane’s heart. He debated launching himself at the dominant, forcing the other to kill him. Swiftly, Kane decided that life equaled hope. He would not attack the other.

“You will be punished for your failure,” the dominant said.

Kane opened his mouth to argue. Quietly, he closed his mouth, realizing the futility of such an endeavor.

“Come,” the dominant said.

Kane hesitated.

The dominant’s eyes tightened.

Sighing, Kane rose. He would endure the punishment, hoping they would need him again at a later date. Without a word and without any resistance, Kane followed the dominant into the corridor, heading for a pain booth.

***

Maddox sat alone with Valerie in a conference chamber. He sat at the head of the table, and she was on his left, fidgeting with a cup of coffee.

At the captain’s request, Galyan left them alone. Maddox was aware of the video setup in the starship and knew the AI likely eavesdropped on them. He could have used a scrambler so Galyan couldn’t listen, but decided against it. The AI trusted him after a fashion. Why dabble with that now?