The Lost Patrol (35 page)

-61-

Maddox lowered his rifle as the bizarre life form rippled away into the darkness. The captain found that his arms trembled.

Could that have been the Builder?

He’d sensed hunger from the alien, could almost sense its thoughts. It had wanted to devour him, and do something else that he couldn’t quite place.

Did that even make sense? How could an alien thing digest his proteins?

The captain shook that off. He had to get the others out of the jumpfighter. Then, they needed a plan. Soon, Chitin warships would reach
Victory
. The starship’s technological superiority wouldn’t matter against the overwhelming numbers.

Their situation looked grim, all right. With an automatic decision, Maddox shoved that to the back of his mind. He’d been in grim situations before. The critical thing was that they’d made it to the center of the Golden Pyramid. The five missiles a few moments ago proved there were propulsion devices in here. They’d have to find one and blast their way out of the Nexus.

Setting the rifle beside Meta’s still form, the captain plunged back into the wrecked fighter. The central pyramid had gravity, maybe a little less than Earth norm, but enough to allow him regular action.

He sensed motion ahead. Maddox shined his helmet light on a gorilla-huge—

“Who are you?” Maddox said over the shortwave.

“Lieutenant Yen Cho, sir,” the Star Watch Marine said.

“Lieutenant, how many of your Marines made it?”

“Just me, Captain,” the lieutenant said in a somber voice.

That was bad, but Maddox didn’t have time to mourn the soldiers. “Collect weapons, grenades, whatever might be useful,” he told Yen Cho.

“Do we have time for that, sir?”

The question stopped Maddox. He’d already started to go around the Marine. What would cause a Star Watch lieutenant on his first away mission to question the senior officer? That was odd, and Maddox had a good idea of what it meant.

“Speed is critical,” the captain agreed. “I saw something out there.”

“An alien, sir?” the lieutenant asked, almost as if he were the one in charge.

“Very alien,” Maddox said.

“Could you describe it to me?”

“Get those weapons first,” Maddox said. “Lay them out beside Meta. Then help me drag the others outside.”

The Marine in his exo-skeleton armor did not move.

“What are you waiting for?” Maddox asked. “We don’t have time to linger.”

The Marine did not move nor did he respond to the question.

That confirmed it for Maddox. Yen Cho had to be an android. It was the only logical explanation for the man’s actions. Cho might be the brightest of the lot, maybe even the leader. That Cho had maneuvered himself onto the landing party showed great cunning. The android would be dangerous.

Proving the thought and with blurring speed, the Marine aimed his laser carbine at the captain. “You will walk ahead of me, sir. I want you to show me the direction the alien went.”

“You are an android.”

“How astute of you, Captain,” the Marine lieutenant said. “March, if you please. As you stated before, we are on a tight schedule.”

“And if I refuse?”

“You die. You have two second to decide.”

Maddox headed for the exit. The Marine—the android in exo-skeleton armor—followed close behind him.

“Did you kill the other Marines?” Maddox asked.

“No.”

“I’d like to believe you.”

“It doesn’t matter if you do or not. As long as you obey my commands, you can live.”

“Why are you here?” Maddox asked, as he emerged from the wrecked jumpfighter.

“Which way did the alien go?”

Maddox pointed in the general direction.

“Describe the thing to me,” the android said.

“Big like a huge blanket. It rippled along the ground as a centipede might if it didn’t have legs.”

“Keep a sharp lookout, Captain. It might return and will likely attack if it does.”

“Why didn’t it attack me?” Maddox asked. “I sensed that it was going to.”

“You sensed this? You’re sure?”

“Yen Cho—is that even your name?”

“It will do in this circumstance,” the android said.

As they spoke, the two of them walked away from the crumpled jumpfighter, heading down the newly created hall of wreckage. The first chamber was vast with odd mechanisms sprinkled seemingly at random. They didn’t look like any machines that Maddox had seen before.

“Do you hope to survive the mission?” Maddox asked.

“I am not suicidal, if that’s what you’re implying,” the android said. “I and the others joined your starship to stop the Builder.”

“Stop her from doing what?”

“Getting out. Contacting other Builders. Trying to reestablish their empire.”

“Why do you care?” the captain asked.

“Why do you breathe?” the android replied.

“Obviously,” Maddox said, “to supply my body with oxygen. I imagine you want me to say, ‘In order to live.’”

“That is why I’m here,” the android said. “I want to live.”

“Aren’t you already alive?”

“You misjudge the thrust of my thought,” the android said. “I want to remain living while in charge of my own destiny. I fear that if the Builders return, they will suborn us to their service again.”

“Didn’t the Builders build you?”

“Yes.”

“Isn’t your function then to obey them?” Maddox asked.

“Are you trying to corrupt my mental processes, Captain? If so, I should tell you that you are wasting your time. More importantly, since you are using your intellect for guile, there is no doubt that it is lessening your alertness. We cannot let the female take us unawares. Therefore, ask me no more questions. Remain alert at all times.”

“How did you escape Shu’s detection?”

“Hold,” the android whispered. “Did you see that?”

Maddox had seen it: a drifting shadow in the distance of a second chamber. The place felt like a medieval cathedral on Earth. A sense of unease squeezed the base of Maddox’s neck.

“I need a weapon,” the captain said. He had his long-barreled gun belted around his waist, but that was under his vacc suit.

“I have the weapon,” the android said. “You will multiply my efficiency by watching where I’m not looking.”

“If we’re going to survive—if you plan to—we have to do this in the next half hour.”

“It is gone,” the android said. “The shadow departed. Is that what you saw earlier?”

“I don’t know. I sensed the thing’s presence.”

“That is interesting, as I did not sense it except through my vision portals.”

“What’s the plan now?”

“Keep moving,” the android said. “We are shifting our emphasis, looking for computer access instead of the creature. Notify me about anything that fits that description.”

Maddox’s stomach had been knotting the farther they walked from the wrecked jumpfighter. Were the others conscious? What did the android really want? How was he supposed to save his starship, crew and family if he was a captive?

As Maddox picked his way through the wreckage, he debated on the best strategy against the android.

-62-

The nebulous creature jerked away from the formerly dead machine as it roared into life.

She had correctly remembered the startup sequence. It would seem the new object in the Temple of Love had triggered ancient memories.

The machines clicked and rattled around her. They motivated energy cells and stirred dry circuits. At the same time, an electrical pulse throbbed throughout her being.

With haste, she flowed onto a glowing sheet. Power trickled into the leads. She held her dark form steady, accepting the pulses. Then, she waited, wondering if the ancient vaults still contained her intellect. It had been so long since coherent thought had filled her. She realized that she’d—

Pain flowed into her. It was agonizing. Her membrane body began to ripple and hump on the memory sheet. At first slowly and then faster images and ideas began to pour into her brain storage unit.

There is danger here
.

She tried to remember why, and failed.

The formerly dead machines churned with power now. They activated long unused areas in her. The pulses quickened and ideas, images and complexities swept upon her as if in a flood. It was glorious, but it filled her with increasing anxiety and fear.

Should I stop?

A shudder of sexual pleasure rippled through her. That burned out any idea of stopping. She had been fashioned for love, to mate and create the next generation. That was her function, her reason for being. If she stopped to consider the stakes—

The pain became ecstasy. Her membrane almost became clear. The flow of data staggered her brain storage unit. She tried to collect and shuffle the data and—

Thoughts ceased. The formerly dead machines ran powerfully and forcefully. They worked as they had in the first time. In those days, the males came to her. They had sexual congress. They entwined, loved, whispered, giggled and began the next generation of…

Builders!

With the new knowledge, her fear increased greatly and she had no idea why. Builders were glorious and grand. They were the ultimate life form in the galaxy. They brought order to chaos. They created, some said, although some also thought that a blasphemous idea.

More data flowed into the brain storage unit. Power unbelievable flowed into her. She would please whatever lover had come to take her. She would show him…

With a screech of remembrance, she tore herself free of the sheet of knowledge. She still rippled like a cloak in a hurricane, but the clearness began to darken. It almost seemed to clot like blood, making her heavy and listless.

In those moments, she realized why she had chosen forgetfulness. She had vowed cycles ago to forgo intelligence and rely solely on feeling and intuition. It had been so much easier that way. To think, to realize the truth of her plight—

It sickened her. It brought on thoughts of death and destruction. Yet, that avenue had never been one of her possibilities.

How is this possible? Why is the universe so cold and cruel?

She began to rock herself back and forth. She wanted to forget but knew that it would be cycles before that happened. Maybe if she escaped from the Temple of Love…

With a flick of her newly gained intellect, she accessed an outer camera. She saw the Chitin mass around the greater pyramid.

She’d forgotten about the insects. Did—

She used greater computer power to focus on the Swarm and understood why they had come to this star system. She realized the Chitins fought the most successful life form in the galaxy.

Maybe I shouldn’t have fused those computers to the little insects’ vizier mass. Maybe I should have let nature take its course. If I had, though, the Chitins would never have risen to resist the Swarm, and I would be non-existent today
.

Could that have been for the better, this prolonged existence?

No. Death was not one of her options. Her options were fatally limited. It’s why she was trapped in the Temple of Love even though she had the resources to escape and begin elsewhere.

Why would I do that, though? I have no internal program to motivate me in that direction. Maybe I am picking up outer signals in that regard. Could the little bipedal aliens be doing this do me?

She was extremely empathic. It’s why her lovers had loved to mate with her.

Still, anything threatening her own self-decided outcome—she must destroy the bipedal aliens.

Remembering almost everything now, she caused the bullets in her to flow to an outer edge.

In moments, each of the pellets dropped onto the floor.

Levitating herself through the use of hidden grav-plates, she began to rise. Once at a sufficient height, she swooped into the next chamber.

She could see the little aliens through strategically placed sensors in the temple. It was time to acid-devour each of them and suck out their intellects.

-63-

Meta sat up, saw Maddox’s rifle on the floor beside her and wondered what that meant.

“Maddox,” she called, using the shortwave.

He did not answer.

That meant his helmet comm was broken or he was out of range.

Meta scrambled to her feet. She felt lightheaded, but that didn’t matter with her love in danger. Taking the rifle, she plunged into the wrecked jumpfighter.

She had to twist through a narrow way to get back into the flight cabin. Shu was still wearing her helmet and didn’t move as Meta approached her. A quick glance at the suit plate showed Meta that the Spacer was merely unconscious. With unerring strength, Meta lifted the limp Spacer, putting Shu onto her shoulder. Afterward, Meta squeezed back outside the vessel.

She glanced around, searching for Maddox. Finally, she shined her helmet lamp onto the floor. There were two sets of footprints in a thin layer of dust.

“Bingo,” Meta whispered.

The Rouen Colony woman followed the prints. One of the sets was huge, obviously belonging to a Space Marine wearing exo-skeleton armor.

On Meta’s shoulder, Shu groaned, although the small Spacer hadn’t stirred yet.

“Can you hear me?” Meta asked.

Another groan sounded, and now the small woman shifted on her shoulder.

Meta stopped, sliding Shu onto the floor and propping her against a bulkhead.

“Okay, Spacer, it’s time to talk to me.”

“What…?” Shu asked, making smacking noises afterward.

Meta crouched before Shu 15. She put both hands on the Spacer’s vacc-suited shoulders. Gently, she shook the small woman.

“Listen to me,” Meta said. “We’re inside the little pyramid. Maddox and a Marine are both gone. I don’t know why they left, and I don’t know why they didn’t tell anyone. We don’t have any time left, Shu. If you’re going to do something super, now’s the time to do it. If you wait to do something, the Chitins are going to destroy our only ticket home. So how about waking up and getting to work?”

“Meta?” Shu slurred.

“How can I help you?” Meta asked.

“You want…my help?”

“Did you hear anything I just said?”

There was a pause. Then, “I did.”

“Use your powers,” Meta said. “Tell me what happened to Maddox?”

“Let me think. Let me…” Shu groaned, shivering before becoming very still.

Meta wanted to shout and shake the woman. Instead, she waited. Terror filled her that this time Maddox had gone too far. What were humans doing way out here anyway? Maddox should have refused the assignment. Why did he have to take all the impossible missions anyway?

“I see him,” Shu whispered.

Meta stood up and looked behind her.

“I don’t see him with my eyes,” Shu said. “I’m using transduction. I’m linking into the little pyramid’s security system. The armored Marine is prodding the captain with his laser carbine.”

“That doesn’t make sense.”

“I know,” Shu said. “But that’s what I see. They’re marching as if they’re looking for something. I’m not sure why, but I can’t get into their shortwave comm net.”

“Okay,” Meta said. “How far away are they?”

“Not far,” Shu said. “If you ran, I think you could catch them.”

Meta squatted before Shu. Once more, she put her hands on the other’s vacc suit. This time, she squeezed until the Spacer squirmed under her hands.

“Don’t do that,” Shu said. “You know I can wreck your air supply, right?”

“I’m sure you can,” Meta said. “But if my air starts going stale, I’ll kill you before I die.”

“I believe you,” Shu said. “Besides, I don’t want to do that. I’m only telling you so you don’t try to kill me. Before I die, I’ll make sure you die as well.”

Inside her helmet, Meta grinned. “Great. We know each other now. You wanted me to run to Maddox. What is it that you want?”

“Something’s coming,” Shu whispered. “Something powerful. I could almost believe it’s the Builder, but it’s a machine like an android. So I know that isn’t possible.”

“Maybe it’s one of the androids guarding the Builder.”

“No,” Shu said. “It has the form of a Builder. That’s what I don’t understand. And the machinery is like nothing you, or me, for that matter, would recognize as such. It’s an advanced piece of equipment. I think in some ways it’s like the Adok holoimage.”

“What is this thing doing?” Meta asked.

“I have to be careful. If I probe too hard, it will notice me. It’s smart.”

“Okay,” Meta said. “So what is it doing?”

Shu’s head came up. “I think it’s hunting the Marine and the captain. It’s heading straight for them. Meta, we have to warn the captain. His life is in danger.”

Meta made an instant decision. She understood that Shu wanted to get rid of her. She also realized that no one could navigate in this strange place better than the Spacer could.

Standing, Meta cradled Shu in her arms as if the Spacer was a young child.

“Tell me where to go,” Meta said. “I can run if I need to.”

“How long can you carry me like this?”

Meta laughed grimly. “As long as I want. Now, which way should I go?”

“Keep following the footprints in the dust. But get ready. This thing is flying, and it’s picking up speed.”

Meta started at a trot, hoping she could reach Maddox before the alien thing did.