Vaughn Heppner - The Lost Starship

“Nonsense, Sergeant. I didn’t come all this way to have you die on me. Besides, I need what lies in your skull.”

“I’m not very lucid, sir. My thinking is off. The last one is returning. Count on it.”

“I’ve already told you I’ll keep that in mind. Now stand up. There’s a good fellow. Lean your weight on me.”

“How did you make it down here, sir?”

“I have my flitter,” Maddox said.

“I heard it earlier.”

“Good. Now concentrate. Yes, keep walking.”

Riker swam in and out of consciousness. A raging fever made him desperately cold. He would have crashed to the ground many times, but Maddox kept him up. Riker couldn’t believe this was happening. He wanted to weep with relief, but he would never do that before the captain. He wouldn’t give Maddox the pleasure.

“I have red rot in my lungs, sir.”

Maddox said nothing.

With a final supreme effort, Riker opened his eye. The last Scorpion stood before them. He aimed his flintlock at Maddox.

“Drop your gun,” the man said.

“Is that barrel made of wood?” Maddox asked.

“Drop it!” the Scorpion shouted. Oil slicked his skin in most places. Some of it looked dry, though. That was bad luck for the criminal.

Maddox pitched his gun onto the ground.

“That’s good,” the Scorpion said, grinning. He only had a few teeth left, and they were green. “Now, tell me who you are?”

“I’m with Intelligence,” Maddox said, “Star Watch. I’m on Loki Prime looking for Doctor Dana Rich. Have you heard of her?”

The Scorpion cawed with laughter. “Of course I’ve heard of that bitch. She’s two tribes up on the mountain.”

“Ah,” Maddox said.

The Scorpion cocked his head. The rag over his face was almost dry. Riker knew the man needed to re-soak it. “You don’t know what that means,” the Scorpion said. “Up the mountain. Did you just drop onto the surface?”

“In a manner of speaking, I did,” Maddox said. “Now listen here, my good fellow. If you’re interested in a reward, you’ll tell me all you can about Dana Rich and her tribe.”

“No,” the Scorpion said. “I’m the one making the deals. You’re—” The man cocked his head again, and he glanced around before staring at Maddox. “Do you hear that hum?”

“I do in fact,” Maddox said.

“What is it?”

“My taxi out of here,” Maddox said.

“You’d better explain that to me.”

As Riker watched, he saw the flitter glide into position behind the man.

“Look behind you,” Maddox suggested.

The Scorpion did.

“You see now that I have the ability to reward you,” Maddox said.

In disbelief, with tears in his eyes, the Scorpion stared at the captain. “That’s your air-car up there?”

“Indeed.”

As a tear slid down his face, the Scorpion grinned. “Do you know what a ransom is?”

“I’m aware of the concept,” Maddox said.

“Good. Because you’re going to communicate with your driver and tell him to land right here.”

Maddox shook his head.

“Do you want to die?” the Scorpion shouted, his cloth fluttering before his lips.

“You misunderstand,” Maddox said. “I wasn’t shaking my head for your benefit, but for the driver’s.”

“What?” the Scorpion asked, his forehead furrowed.

On the nose of the flitter, Riker saw a slot move out of the way. A barrel poked out.

“Go ahead,” Maddox told the criminal. “Take a look behind you. I’m sure you’ll find this of interest.”

Once more, the Scorpion glanced back. That’s when a heavy slung from the flitter’s weapon blew apart his chest. The bloody remains toppled onto the soil.

“I should have listened to you, Sergeant,” Maddox said. “The man did indeed double back. Now we’re going to have to get Doctor Rich with only a minimum of information to guide us. I’d planned to chase the convict down and interrogate him.”

The captain said more, but Riker didn’t hear the rest as he slipped into blessed unconsciousness.

Maddox opened the flitter’s emergency kit. It had a small diagnostic compu-doctor, a round device a little heavier than his fist. The captain pressed it against the sergeant’s chest.

The medikit flashed red—not a good sign. Then, it injected Riker with various antibiotics and painkillers. Afterward, it gave a medical readout on a tiny screen.

Maddox examined the report, slowly climbing to his feet afterward.

“How bad is it?” Keith asked.

“We have to get him up to Geronimo or he’ll die.”

“So…?”

Maddox took several steps away from the prone sergeant, thinking hard. Riker had a fever and debilitating funguses or spores mutating in his body. Geronimo had a larger and more advanced medikit than the one here. It might save the sergeant—if they left immediately. The longer he waited, the less chance Riker had for survival.

Maddox seethed inwardly, although nothing showed on his face. Sergeant Riker was a good man, if too tepid on too many occasions. Still, the sergeant was good with a gun, resourceful when it counted and levelheaded. Yet Maddox couldn’t fly him up this instant. He had to find Doctor Rich first. The space beacon was ticking, and soon it wouldn’t matter what happened. They had to leave the Loki System, sooner being better than later.

Maddox didn’t want to admit it to himself, but he was going to have to risk Riker’s life. He owed the sergeant his, but— Is this how I repay him?

It had been a poor idea to send Riker to Loki Prime. O’Hara must have believed she was protecting the sergeant from Octavian Nerva. If the sergeant had remained on Earth, Nerva’s hitmen would have slain Riker in retaliation for Caius Nerva’s death.

“Sir,” Keith said, sounding worried. “He’s moaning.”

Maddox stroke back to Riker. He bent on one knee, putting a hand on the man’s shoulder. It radiated heat.

Riker opened a bleary eye. Slowly, he moistened his dry lips. “Doctor Rich… she’s higher on the mountain, sir. She’s tough. Stronger tribes live higher.”

“Ah,” Maddox said. “I think I understand. Lower on Loki Prime is swampier, meaning worse spores.”

“Right,” Riker whispered. “And, sir—”

“I’m listening, Sergeant.”

“They’re… excellent woodsmen. If not, they die.” Riker tried to say more. His eye closed before he could speak. Shivering, he collapsed back into unconsciousness.

“What’s that mean?” Keith asked. “What he said.”

Maddox stood, and he tapped his chin with a forefinger. He raised his head, examining the trees and the gloomy light. He listened to the nearby river churn. Closer to them, insects hummed. He kept slapping his skin, killing them. The bugs were bigger here, more insistent than the mosquitoes on Earth. Fortunately, both Ensign Maker and he had taken shots before leaving the scout. Riker likely had, too, before ejection, but nothing helped against worse spores in the lowlands.

“What are we going to do, sir?” Keith asked.

Maddox turned around. He couldn’t abandon Sergeant Riker to his fate and he couldn’t let Doctor Rich slip through his fingers. In times like this, Maddox had found a bold front achieved the best results. He was dealing with the worst scoundrels of the Oikumene. The higher tribes of criminals were the tougher ones. That would also mean smarter. They had nothing to lose. No, that was wrong. One could always die. His flitter and weapons represented incredible wealth to these people.

Yes, yes, he would have to use their avarice against them. Greed blinded people. Scam-artists used greed against normal individuals. They offered the victim riches and ended up fleecing them instead.