Vaughn Heppner - The Lost Starship

“Negative,” Maddox said. “Lieutenant, start explaining whatever he needs to hear.”

“How do I know what that is?” she complained.

“He’ll ask you,” Maddox said. Without waiting to hear her compliance, he switched on his panel. The Nerva vessel was on an intercept course with them, although it was still far away. It had clearly launched from Earth sometime after they did. It had the size and shape of a Ventra -class shuttle, the most common workhorse out here.

Through the comm unit, a gravelly-voiced man demanded to speak to the scout’s owner.

Maddox’s fingers flew over the controls. He turned on a voice scrambler, and he kept his video image off, so the other ship wouldn’t see his face. His plate showed a fleshy individual with a fresh scar across his nose.

“This is the SWS Scout Geronimo ,” Maddox said.

“I want to speak to the captain,” Scar Face said.

“Give me a minute,” Maddox said. “I’ll get him.” He muted his end, watching Keith. The ace gingerly began testing switches.

“I still think I should pilot us,” Valerie said in a querulous tone.

“ Lieutenant ,” Maddox said. “When I desire an opinion from you, I’ll ask for it. Otherwise, during a situation, you will immediately follow orders.”

She stiffened, and it appeared as if she couldn’t let it go. “This isn’t a naval operation. It’s an Intelligence venture.”

Maddox swung around to face her. “Don’t be fooled, Lieutenant. During the entirety of this mission, we will be operating under standard Star Watch regulations.”

“Okay. So what’s his rank?” she asked, jerking a thumb at Keith.

“Ensign Maker,” Maddox said.

“Reporting for duty,” Keith said, grinning.

Valerie glowered before she turned away.

Military protocol would become vital later. They attempted to find a super-ship. If the Star Watch were going to beat the New Men, they’d have to run the alien sentinel along proper lines. That meant instilling discipline from the beginning. If they were going to run a combat vessel, they would have to act like a combat crew, no matter how few those crewmembers turned out to be.

“Are you plotting our course?” Maddox asked her.

She hesitated before answering. “Where are we headed?”

“Sir,” he said.

It took her several beats. “Sir,” she added.

“Eventually, we’re going to the Loki System,” Maddox said. “What’s the best route there?”

“That depends on several factors… sir,” she said. “If we use the regular route, sovereign naval personal will question us every jump. Unless we have authorization, I don’t see how they’re going to let us jump into the Loki System.”

The lieutenant was sharp, and she remembered the details he’d given her. Despite the two-ton chip on her shoulder, Valerie struck him as very capable.

Maddox considered her information. Meanwhile, Keith kept pouring over his panel, shooting Valerie questions.

Finally, Maddox took a disc out of his pocket. The Lord High Admiral had given it to him this morning. He slid his disc into a computer slot. After entering his security code, he opened a document, finding the relevant section, speed-reading as much as he could.

The comm-operator in the Nerva shuttle became more insistent.

Maddox checked the time. He’d already stretched how long it should have taken a crewmember to inform the captain of a call. He opened channels again, keeping on the voice-scrambler.

“This is Captain Lewis,” Maddox said. “How can I be of assistance?”

Valerie gave him a questioning glance.

“I don’t think this is no Captain Lewis,” the Nerva operator said. “I’m talking to Captain Maddox of Star Watch Intelligence. Do you know there are suspicious reports about you?”

“Who is this Maddox?” Maddox asked.

“Prepare for boarding,” Scar Face said.

“We have guns,” Maddox said.

“So do we. And we have an armored hull. We’ll destroy your dinky scout.”

With a tap, Maddox checked the nearby area. The closest ship was an SWS destroyer. He kept looking. Ah, he spied a cruiser and then a battleship. Between the various vessels were more shuttles and supply rockets. It was a regular convention of spacecraft out here.

“Attack us, and the SWS Saint Petersburg will retaliate.” Maddox said, talking about the destroyer.

“Call them if you want,” Scar Face said. “Let them impound you, Maddox.”

“I don’t get it,” Valerie said. “Why does he think the destroyer will work against you?”

Maybe he was already out in the cold as Brigadier O’Hara had predicted would happen. Had someone already fabricated a lie about him? If so, was that someone Octavian Nerva or an agent for the New Men? At this point, did it matter whom?

“Let me consider your information,” Maddox said into the comm.

The Nerva operator laughed sourly. “You have less than five minutes. We’ll be rendezvousing with you in that time.”

Maddox turned off his microphone. He studied the threatening shuttle. It had a warfare pod attached under its belly. That meant the shuffle could likely make good on its threat.

“We have to leave now,” Maddox told the others.

“Understood, mate,” Keith said.

“You will refer to me as ‘captain’ or as ‘sir,’” Maddox said.

“Aye-aye, I understand, Captain,” Keith said. “Where are we headed?”

“Lieutenant,” Maddox said, recalling what he’d just read on the Lord High Admiral’s disc. “We’re going to use a Class 3 tramline.”

“Sir,” she said, “the scout is too big for one of those.”

A normal Star Watch commander didn’t like taking unnecessary risks, especially those that might damage his or her vessel. Maddox realized that, so he understood why she would say what she just had.

“Your objection is noted and will go into my log,” Maddox said. He’d have to start a ship’s log now. “Nevertheless,” he said, “we will use a Class 3 tramline. I don’t think the approaching shuttle can enter a class three route, if it even has a Laumer Drive, which I very much doubt.”

Lieutenant Noonan appeared as if she wanted to say more. Finally, she muttered, “Yes, sir.”

The many tramlines or wormholes varied in size. Class 1 was the biggest and could accommodate the largest vessels. Battleships, motherships and some of the bigger cruisers could not enter a Class 2 tramline. Class 3 was even smaller. They were seldom used by anyone but explorers and Patrol people. Wormholes smaller than Class 3 were unusable by anything except for small packets. A ship using a Class 3 tramline could go to some star systems more directly than a battleship, which could only use a Class 1 jump route.

“Do you want the quickest route to Loki, sir?” Valerie asked, as she studied her computer.

“No,” Maddox said. “I want to use the least traveled systems. The fewer records of our passage, the easier it will be to throw off any hunters.”

Many systems parked monitors near the most used jump route. They kept careful record of what ship went where. It was part of what made life safer in the Oikumene compared to the Beyond.

“That will take me more time to calculate,” she said.

“This is your last chance to survive,” the Nerva operator said, interrupting their conversation.

“Let’s go,” Maddox told the other two.

Newly ranked Ensign Maker tapped his screen. The fusion engine vibrated with power, making the bulkheads shake.

“Sorry about that,” Keith said. “But by our friend’s words, it’s time to leave in a hurry. Engaging… now.” Keith tapped the screen again.

It wasn’t a slow acceleration. One moment, the Geronimo was at relative rest. The next, five Gs of force slammed each of them against their cushions and restraints.