Vaughn Heppner - The Lost Starship

A distinct hoot sounded from the undergrowth.

Doctor Rich cursed, and her fingers tightened around her weapon. “Mister, grab those guns by the barrels. You were right. He’s coming back. We have to get out of here.”

“Let’s work together,” Maddox suggested. “We’ll kill him.”

“Hurry!” she hissed. “Do it now, or I’m going to kill you. And if you don’t care about your life, think about your friend.”

With a nod of her head, Dana indicated leftward.

Maddox glanced in the direction he’d heard the crashing noise a second ago. A striking woman stepped into view. She had platinum-colored hair pulled into a knot behind her head. She wore bikini furs, showing a voluptuous figure a trifle heavier than Maddox liked. Unfortunately, she had one of Keith Maker’s arms behind his back with her other hand around his mouth.

“Meta is pretty,” Dana said. “She’s also from a heavy G mining world. That means she’s stronger than anyone I know. She can snap your man’s neck like a twig.”

The cavewoman stared with hostility at Maddox. She had Keith’s force blade and gun tucked in her fur shorts. The ace squirmed. She shoved his back arm a little higher, causing him to lift up onto his toes. Yes, she must be strong.

A warning hoot sounded once more.

Because of it, Maddox made his decision of how to play this. He grabbed the two guns by the barrels, his and the New Man’s. Then he hurried toward Meta, with Doctor Dana Rich following. It was clear she didn’t want to be here when the golden-skinned invader returned.

Maddox halted at Doctor Rich’s orders. They must have run a good two kilometers, entering even thicker growth. Then they’d ducked into an area of woven branches overhead, making this spot even gloomier than the surrounding terrain. There were covered holes here. Could this be a storage area or a hideaway for times of trouble?

“Sit,” Dana said, waving his own gun at him. He’d given her both weapons earlier. She carried the long flintlock with a strap around her shoulder.

Maddox sat on damp soil. Yes. This definitely seemed like a hideaway. If the tribes raided each other, a wise leader would have places to regroup if an enemy overran the main compound.

Meta shoved Keith against Maddox so the ace sprawled onto the ground.

“They surprised me,” Keith explained, his mouth finally freed of the woman’s silencing hand.

“Quiet,” Dana told him. “Unless I tell you otherwise, don’t speak.”

Maddox nodded to Keith that it was okay to listen to her in this.

“Meta,” Dana said, holding up the flat gun.

The cavewoman accepted the New Man’s weapon. She inspected it a moment. A grin spread across her wide features. Then Meta faded from view, backing out the entrance, no doubt to stand guard.

Doctor Dana Rich moved to the side, sitting on a tree stump, studying the two of them. She kept the gun trained on Maddox. She lacked a perfect poker face. It was clear she was curious about something.

“Why did you come down onto Loki Prime for me?” she said.

“Does it matter?” Maddox asked.

“Oh yes.”

“Are you that eager to remain on Loki Prime, then?” Maddox asked. “If we’re going to leave, we have to act now.”

“You have a point,” she said. “I obviously wish to leave. The question is can you beat their offer?”

“I doubt they offered you anything,” Maddox said.

“Oh?”

“You’re on the run from them. I think you’ve been hiding the entire time the shuttle has been on the ground. Otherwise, you’d be dead, killed during the missile strike. They would have at least been interrogating you there.”

“I see you like to make guesses,” she said.

Maddox shook his head. “No. It’s not a guess; it’s what happened. The New Man would never bother hunting for you otherwise.”

“You’re spinning a web of suppositions, hoping I’m so eager to get off Loki Prime that I’ll believe anything you tell me.”

“Doctor,” Maddox said. “The New Men have invaded the Oikumene. They have superior starships. Do you know that with three cruiser-class vessels, they annihilated what amounted to a double-strength Star Watch battle group?”

“Did you see the shuttle back there?” Dana asked. “Did you look at its markings? Did you happen to notice what uniform the woman wore who shot down your flitter?”

“I’m afraid I didn’t see her.”

“She wore a Star Watch uniform,” Dana said, as if that ended the discussion.

“That doesn’t surprise me in the least,” Maddox said. “The New Men have secretly infiltrated the Oikumene and slipped people into high places among Commonwealth personnel. We believe they’re genetic supermen. Given their actions to date, we’re in a species battle, and so far, our side is losing.”

Dana no longer seemed as triumphant as a second ago. “Suppose this is the truth,” she said. “Why would that bring you down here?”

“The answer may surprise you. Their technology is decidedly superior to ours, particularly in terms of starships. We need an equalizer, a superior fighting vessel, if we’re going to stop their invasion. According to our records, you were with Professor Ludendorff when he studied the alien sentinel in the shattered star system.”

For the first time, shock crossed her features. “Are you insane? I know Professor Ludendorff was. If I hadn’t—” She shut her mouth, pressing her lips together.

Maddox raised an eyebrow. What did that mean? What had happened during their expedition?

“You want the sentinel?” she asked in a sharp voice.

“Very much so,” Maddox said.

“And you think I’m suicidal enough to go back there?”

“Given the alternative of spending the rest of your life here, yes,” Maddox said.

Dana laughed, shaking her head. “Even if I believed your story—which I don’t—I wouldn’t do as you asked.”

“Then you have two choices left. Rot on Loki Prime or become a genetic experiment for the New Men.”

A hard grin twisted her lips. “I’ll paint you another, mister. If there’s some grand war obliterating worlds, I’ll simply hijack a starship and leave the Oikumene. I’ll head into the Beyond. The universe is full of planets. When faced with an invincible foe, the wise person relocates.”

“What happens to the people who can’t do that?” Maddox asked.

“Am I their guardian?” Dana asked. “No. The ‘people’ as you call them, support the ones who pod-dropped me here. I owe them nothing. Maybe you don’t, but I plan to live a long, long life.”

“Do you think Meta feels the same way about her mining world?” Maddox asked, raising his voice. “If you run from the New Men, her people die. Does she want that?”

Dana cocked her head, as if surprised at his questions. Then a snarl creased her features. Aiming the gun, she said, “Shut up.”

“Why do you think you get to make everyone else’s decisions for them?” Maddox asked.

Dana stood, still aiming the gun at him. “I know what you’re doing. Meta isn’t going to fall for that. It—”

Maddox could see the decision to kill him in her eyes. That she hadn’t already done it meant she wasn’t a hardened killer who could just blow a person away. She had to psyche herself up first.

She was as physically close as she was going to come. Using the palms of his hands, Maddox shoved against the ground, scooting himself closer toward her. Her trigger finger began to tighten. Maddox swept his left foot, connecting with her ankles. He kicked her feet out from under her. She fell hard and her finger yanked the trigger.

A loud boom crashed against Maddox’s ears. The bullet smashed through leaves, thudding against a tree trunk. Then Dana’s back smacked against the ground. She grunted, but she kept hold of the gun.