Vaughn Heppner - The Lost Starship

“We’ll never get through the space beacons if we do that,” Valerie told him.

“I said hail them,” Maddox said. “That doesn’t mean I plan to speak with anyone.”

“Sir?” asked Valerie.

Dana looked up from her panel, facing him. “You think there are more New Men aboard the destroyer?”

“Would the New Man commander go down to Loki Prime’s surface if he didn’t have backup on the destroyer?” Maddox asked.

“If I were the destroyer’s commander,” Dana said, “I wouldn’t go onto Loki Prime under any conditions.”

“You also don’t believe you can do anything you want,” Maddox said. “I believe they do. Anyway, that two New Men went down to the surface indicates to me that more stayed up with the Saint Petersburg .”

“Why would that matter to us so that we’re now hailing Archangel ?” Valerie asked.

“It isn’t always what we do that matters,” Maddox told the lieutenant. “Sometimes what counts is what the enemy thinks we’re doing. Of course, as Doctor Rich has implied, I’m predicating this on the belief that there are New Men aboard Saint Petersburg. ”

“Sir,” Valerie said. “ Archangel acknowledges our signal.”

“Send them a random message,” Maddox said. “Use nonsense words.”

Lieutenant Noonan gave him a blank look.

“Recite an old nursery rhythm,” Maddox said. “We know it’s nonsense, but maybe the New Men aboard Saint Petersburg will believe it’s a clever code. I’m sure they’re monitoring our radio. They won’t be able to crack our meaningless message—what they think is a cryptogram—and that might trouble them enough into making a wrong choice.”

Doctor Rich appeared thoughtful as she studied Maddox. Finally, she said, “You’re attempting to use their intelligence against them. You’re a subtle man, Captain.”

“Don’t sing my praises yet,” Maddox said. “Wait until we’ve made it.”

Thirty seconds passed, a minute. The scout continued to shiver as the engines complained.

“The turbulence is stressing the ship’s structures, sir,” Keith said. “I recommend—”

“Sir!” Valerie shouted. “The destroyer has slowed down. It appears to be making a turn.”

“Can you spy the lifting shuttle?” Maddox asked.

“Negative,” Valerie said. “It’s over the horizon in relation to us.”

“Pour it on, Ensign,” Maddox said. “Push it. This is our sole opportunity to break out into space.”

“You guessed right, sir,” Valerie said. “You outfoxed the destroyer’s commander.”

“We’re prolonging our existence,” Maddox said. “That means we get to play phase two.” He glanced at the lieutenant’s board. The destroyer was completing the turn. The commander up there must have decided to pick up the shuttle as fast as he could. Then he would use the Saint Petersburg’s speed to try to catch the scout. Of that, Maddox had little doubt.

Thirty more seconds passed.

“Now,” Maddox said. “Take us through the clouds and head for space, Ensign.”

“Aye-aye, Captain, sir,” Keith said. “I’m going to show these blimey crawlies what we can do.”

Geronimo reached space at a calculated spot. They were in line-of-sight of Archangel , which maintained its distant post near the Class 1 tramline jump-point entrance and the chthonian planet. Loki Prime now shielded them from the destroyer, although that wouldn’t last for long. The bulkheads no longer shuddered, and the scout seemed unhurt from its time in the atmosphere.

“We have clear running ahead of us,” Keith said.

“Engage the cloaking device,” Maddox said.

Valerie complied, although she said, “It won’t work at peak efficiency while the engines are pouring exhaust from our port.”

“The cloak will still make it harder for Archangel to tell what we are,” Maddox said. “We’re not going to give them long to see us, though. Set a course for the Class 3 tramline, Lieutenant. Ensign, we’re going to use the Loki Prime. Take us behind it in relation to Archangel .”

“Won’t that bring us into a line-of-sight with Saint Petersburg ?” Valerie asked.

“It will,” Maddox said. “How much battery charge do we have?”

“Fifteen percent,” Valerie said. “The batteries began charging again when I turned on the engines. But—”

“Fifteen percent is less than I like,” Maddox said, interrupting her. “Ensign, give us full power. Open it up. Then, at my command, you will cut power and go to batteries to energize the cloaking device.”

“We can use the cloak with the fusion engines powering them,” Valerie said. “It’s the hot exhaust out of the port that will give us away.”

“This close to the destroyer,” Maddox said, “we’ll stick to battery power. They might be able to detect the fusion engines.”

“We’ll barely be crawling through space,” Valerie pointed out.

“Yes, while cloaked,” Maddox said, “and hidden from Archangel and Saint Petersburg both.”

“That will allow the destroyer to tell the monitor’s commander whatever he wants,” Valerie said.

“Exactly,” Maddox said. “We want a quiet playing field. If two of us try to tell the monitor our varying stories, Archangel’s commander might put the drone field onto combat alert.”

“He might do it anyway,” Valerie said. “In fact, I’d say that’s his most probable course.”

Maddox took his time answering. His lungs felt bubbly, which he took to mean the lowlander spores continued to mutate. His immune system was likely stronger than Keith’s or the sergeant’s, but it wasn’t tougher than the planet’s bacterium. Soon, now, he’d have to go through the robo-doctor.

Finally, he said, “All life is a risk, Lieutenant. We have to play the hand we’re dealt, not the one we’d like.”

The engines began to strain as they headed out of Low Loki Prime Orbit at full throttle. Keith had already aimed the ship toward the distant Class 3 tramline.

“Now,” Maddox ordered. “Cut the engines and coast.”

Using Loki Prime as a shield, they hid from the distant monitor. The Star Watch commander out there might link to the space beacons, but at this point, it was unlikely the scout would show on their sensors either. As he’d said, all life was a risk.

With passive sensors, the lieutenant’s screen showed the shuttle entering the destroyer’s docking bay.

“In less than twenty-one hours,” Valerie said, “the one satellite-beacon is going to make its report to the monitor. Then it won’t matter what the destroyer has explained to Archangel’s commander.”

Maddox heard the lieutenant, and he silently agreed with her. Heaviness pulled at his eyelids. He forced them wider. He had plenty to do still. For one thing, he needed to get Meta settled. Then, he had to decide how he was going to convince Doctor Rich to join the expedition to the finish.

Sometime later, Meta stretched out on a bunk staring up at a bulkhead. It had been a long time since she’d been able to lie down without worrying about Temple Savants sneaking up on her to attempt rape or worse. That had been the official name of their tribe.

Life on Loki Prime had been a nightmare, one she’d endured for four awful years. She could still hardly believe this was happening.

It had been several hours since she’d boarded the SWS Scout Geronimo . Captain Maddox had installed her in these quarters, telling her the anklet would give her increasingly stronger shocks if she set foot outside the compartment. He had changed the rules of his agreement, confining her here. Meta had expected nothing less.