Vaughn Heppner - The Lost Starship

“Meta, I’ll get straight to the point. I’d like your impressions about the New Men.”

His direction surprised her. “I’m not sure I know what you mean?” she said.

“You watched them in person. You observed the way they moved and talked. What did you think about them?”

Meta hadn’t expected this. Usually, a man would strike up a casual conversation, trying to get to know her so he could make his moves. Maddox struck her as all business. Did he think she didn’t know what he thought about her in his heart?

“I want your impressions because the Star Watch has scant information about the New Men,” Maddox explained. “The invaders seem to have penetrated deep into the Commonwealth government, and yet we’ve never caught one of their operatives.”

“Too bad you couldn’t capture the destroyer then. It’s full of people who have fraternized with New Men.”

I doubt that’s the case,” Maddox said. “I suspect the invaders have compartmentalized life aboard the destroyer. But that’s neither here nor there. What were your impressions about them?”

If this is what it took to lull the captain, so be it. “The New Men are decisive,” Meta said. “They act without hesitation, as if they know exactly what they’re doing at all times. A Temple Savant tried to assassinate one.”

“Who?” Maddox asked.

She explained the tribal name and told him what had happened upon the shuttle’s landing. Since Maddox kept asking, she told him about the five-person charge and execution by the other New Man, and she detailed how the invader had called them “beasts.”

“Interesting and telling about their attitude concerning regular people,” Maddox said. “Now give me your take.”

“Could you be more specific?” Meta asked.

“You’ve given me raw data. I want your assessment of them. What do you feel here?” Maddox asked, tapping his chest.

“Haven’t thought too about it much,” she admitted. Unconsciously sticking out her lower lip, Meta began to ponder the captain’s question. She shrugged shortly. “They’re tough, really tough, and they struck me as men who will do anything to succeed. A lot of people think they have what it takes to win.” She shook her head. “Most people are wrong. They have scruples. Things they would never do. Most people get scared too. Those two—they didn’t have any problem torturing, killing, whatever they needed. Yes. Now that I’m thinking about it, they treated us as something lower. They acted superior—arrogantly, but without the stupidity most arrogant people have.”

“You’ve had a lot of contact with arrogant people?” Maddox asked.

“You mean besides on Loki Prime?” she asked.

Maddox nodded.

“You’d better believe it. Starting with the foremen on the Rouen Colony—” Meta stopped talking. How much should she give away concerning her past? Despite his youth, the captain was clever. He didn’t need to know too much about her.

“You were saying?” Maddox prodded.

Meta shrugged.

Maddox seemed to shift tactics. It was a subtle thing, but observable to with someone of her training.

“Aren’t you grateful that I took you off Loki Prime?” he asked.

“Of course I am.” She smiled again to show him just how grateful.

“Then help me with this. I’m trying to stop the worst menace to ever hit the Commonwealth.”

“So you keep telling us.”

“Why would I lie to you?” Maddox asked.

“Since I know so little about you,” she said, “I have no idea. I can think of plenty of reasons, though.”

“Don’t you trust your instincts?” Maddox asked.

Meta most certainly did. She had become an excellent judge of character. In her line of work, it had been critical. She nodded.

“What do your instincts tell you about me?” Maddox asked.

She frowned, wondering where the man was trying to take this.

Maddox crossed his arms, leaning against a bulkhead, waiting.

“You’re sure of yourself,” Meta said. “Is that what you want to hear?” All men were egotists, so she knew that he did.

He said nothing, just grinned at her.

That upset her enough that she wanted to give him a rude gesture and tell him a Rouen Colony curse. Instead, she studied the lean man. There couldn’t be an ounce of fat on his frame. Did he have denser muscles just as she did? How could he have beaten her in hand-to-hand combat before? She remembered his strength but more his speed. Some of his determination leaked through his eyes, she noticed. This one would go through a force screen by sheer willpower to get to his prize. She reconsidered his actions on Loki Prime. He had faced overwhelming obstacles and had overcome them all.

“You have a purpose,” she said. “No. You’re driven.” Her eyebrows rose in surprise. “Something haunts you.”

The grin remained, but the force drained from it. For a moment, Maddox seemed uncomfortable. Then the discomfort vanished, as if rejected by the owner.

“Why are you asking me about yourself?” she said.

“You’ve had the rare privilege of meeting the New Men and surviving to tell of it. Lieutenant Noonan did likewise, facing them as part of a Star Watch battle group. Three enemy cruisers annihilated the substantially larger Star Watch force.”

“Why should I care?” Meta asked.

“What if the New Man spoke truthfully down there?” Maddox said. “What if they think of regular humans as beasts? Not only that, but they have the firepower to take us down and then wipe us out as a species.”

“Why would they ‘wipe us out?’ What’s their gain in that?”

“Don’t know,” Maddox said. “I simply find it curious that once the New Men conquer a star system, no one hears anything from the captured planets again. What are the invaders doing to the population that they want to hide?”

“You think these New Men are exterminating the populations?” Meta asked.

“I think these highly dangerous invaders have far too many advantages over my tribe—the Star Watch. I think we need an equalizer, especially if my guesses about them are correct. Think about that for a minute. If I’m right about them, that could impact you personally much sooner than you’d like.”

“You’re trying to scare me,” Meta said. “Okay, I’m shaking. So, why don’t you get to your point?”

“You don’t scare easily, and that might be bad for you.”

“I don’t know how,” Meta said.

“Suppose you’re getting ready to drink a cup of poison,” Maddox said, “and someone tells you about it. All you do is shrug. You’re not afraid of poison. Well, after drinking the cup, you die. In that instance, it would have been wise to be frightened of the cup.”

“I already told you I was scared.”

“Here’s my point. We need your strength, Meta, your mechanical skills. I want you to join us of your own free will and convince Doctor Rich to do the same thing.”

“To find this ancient starship you talked about?” she asked.

“Exactly,” he said. “I’m not hiding my intentions.”

Really? Then down there on the planet why did you look at me the way you did? Yes, you are hiding some of your intentions, Captain.

“I haven’t convinced you,” he said. “Therefore, you should think about this: You owe me your life, Meta.”

She bristled.

“I took you off Loki Prime,” he said.

“As part of our deal,” she said. “You got off too.”

“It doesn’t matter why I did it. No one was ever going to free you from a lifetime of horror down there. I did. Me, gallant Captain Maddox. Now, you need to pay me back by helping this mission succeed.”

She scowled. Did he really only want her help getting the lost ship?