Vaughn Heppner - The Lost Starship

“If we do that,” Valerie said, “they’ll certainly see us.”

“Nevertheless, we will risk it,” Maddox said. “Ensign Maker is correct. They’re heading for us, even if they can’t see us. We must keep as far ahead of them as we can, staying out of missile and beam range.”

Geronimo accelerated. Several hours later, the ship entered the Laumer-Point at speed. Without the destroyer in the new star system—at least for a time—Maddox ordered the lieutenant to let the cloak drop.

During this time, Meta, Valerie, Keith and Sergeant Riker continued to effect repairs the best they could. Doctor Dana Rich stayed locked in her quarters. Meta constantly asked to see her. Maddox refused every request.

The captain’s normal calm deserted him when he was alone in his quarters. He read Professor Ludendorff’s notes again and again, stalking back and forth in his chamber in frustration and then returning to his computer to retype the words, hoping to see something new. He tried old encryptions and finally ran the notes through the computer. Nothing made sense.

“Deeper into the Beyond,” Maddox ordered. “The alien star system is out there, so that’s where we’ll head.”

Always—sometimes just minutes before they jumped—the destroyer appeared in the star system, pinging its sensors off the cloaked scout.

Maddox had Riker read the notes. The sergeant shrugged afterward. The old man had no ideas. Keith read the notes and laughed when asked if he saw a code embedded there. Valerie didn’t laugh, but she didn’t have any ideas, either. Meta pondered the words. She tried hard but came up with nothing.

After the tenth jump, Maddox lay on his bunk, staring at the ceiling. They had just used a small Class 3 wormhole. The destroyer would have to work around, using larger jump points to reach this star system. If the scout proved fast enough, they could leave this system before the Saint Petersburg appeared to resume the chase.

To Maddox’s amazement, they made the jump, a second one too—several days later—and the Saint Petersburg still hadn’t showed up.

“We did it,” Valerie said in the control room. “We’ve shaken the hunter. Now, we can think about a space-dock and extended repairs.”

There were grins all around. Then an alarm rang. Maddox, Keith and Valerie bent over their controls. The lieutenant found it first. She looked up, stricken.

Maddox noticed her features. He sat up, asking, “You found the Saint Petersburg ?”

The lieutenant shook her head. “Worse,” she whispered, “it’s much, much worse.” She pointed at her view-screen. “I’m looking at a New Men star cruiser. I’d recognize that triangular shape anywhere. The same model annihilated von Gunther’s fleet. How it found us, I don’t know, but it’s here.”

An icy sensation spread through Maddox’s chest. “I think I know what happened. They’ve widened the search, using more vessels. Maybe they’ve figured out what we’re after or they knew all along. They’re not about to let us reach the alien star system.”

Instead of swearing, Captain Maddox drummed his fingers on the console. He stood and pointed at Valerie. “Map out an escape route—don’t worry where it takes us in relation to the Oikumene. Shoot us through five star systems in quick succession. Oh, and use as many Class 3 wormholes as possible, making sure each Laumer-Point is as near to the next one as possible.”

“Excuse me, sir,” she said. “I’m not sure what you’re driving at.”

“We’re going to try to shake all of them,” Maddox said. “Bam, bam, bam,” he said, clapping his hands each time. “We jump, jump, jump before they appear to get a fix on us. If they have several vessels chasing us, we have to shake them all off.”

“How are they coordinating with each other in the various star systems?” Valerie asked.

There wasn’t a hyper-communications system in existence as far as Maddox knew. Messages traveled as fast as starships could carry them and no faster.

“I wish I knew,” Maddox said. “They’re being clever. That means we have to pull every rabbit out of the hat we can. Now get to work.”

“Where are you going, sir?” the lieutenant asked.

“I have a new argument to present to the doctor,” he said. “Wish me luck.”

“Not this time,” Valerie said.

Maddox was already headed for the hatch. He halted and glanced at her.

“This time, we need something stronger,” Valerie said. “I’m going to pray.”

“Ah,” Maddox said. Then he hurried for the corridor.

Maddox didn’t bother knocking. He simply opened the hatch and stepped through.

Doctor Rich sat up in bed, scanning a reader. She gave him a bored look then went back to reading.

He closed the hatch and locked it. Meta had tried to enter once when he’d done something like this before. He didn’t want that happening again.

Maddox pulled up a chair, sat down and began to wait. After fifteen minutes, he realized Dana Rich would never speak first. Part of him wanted to get up and leave.

Don’t be absurd , he told himself. Winning a stubbornness contest with the doctor means nothing. Gaining the alien sentinel to defeat the New Men is the only measurement of victory .

“I have news,” he said.

He saw the fingers holding the reader tighten slightly. Slowly, she lowered the device to her lap. Maddox had the feeling she’d been waiting anxiously for him to talk. Maybe it had been hard on her to outwait him. If he’d stalled just a little longer…

“I’m reading an interesting chapter,” she said. “So I hope you can get to the point and leave me in peace.”

She’s bluffing. She must desperately want to talk. Even a tough bird like her will crack over time. She’s smart, but she’s not immune to the same defects and needs we all possess .

“Of course,” he said. “I’ll be brief. A star cruiser had taken up the chase.”

“You mean one of the New Men’s special cruisers?” she asked.

“Precisely,” Maddox said.

“And you’ve rushed to tell me this for what reason?”

“I would have thought it obvious.”

“My wits have atrophied since you’ve locked me in,” Dana said. “Why don’t you explain the reason to me?”

“It’s simple enough. The destroyer lost our trail. Now one of the star cruisers has taken up the slack. Possibly, it indicates the New Men’s starship has always been there.”

“Hmm, possibly,” Dana agreed.

“There might be more star cruisers.”

“I wouldn’t doubt it,” she said.

“I believe that proves the New Men’s agents in Star Watch have divined our objective or known it for quite some time.”

“I’m still not following you,” Dana said. “Why tell me any of this?”

“Don’t you see? The New Men must believe that our objective is possible. If it were impossible, why use important cruisers to trail a scout?”

With her brow furrowed, Dana glanced back down at her reader. A smile worked its way onto her mouth as she looked back up. “I can see how you reached your conclusion. That they’re following us doesn’t make the impossible any more feasible. Instead, it proves the New Men are less a menace than you’ve painted them.”

“Why is that?” Maddox asked.

“The sentinel is beyond anyone. So, the New Men are as capable as we are of making misjudgments.”

“What if you’re wrong about this?” he asked.

“I’m not wrong,” Dana said. “Remember, I’ve been to the alien system. You haven’t, and neither have the New Men.”

Maddox watched her. Did she really believe what she said, or was she angling for something he couldn’t see yet?