Vaughn Heppner - The Lost Starship

Slowly, Maddox stood and his features stiffened. The past weeks had eaten away at his reserve. The endless chase, the running away again— “Use the passive sensors only,” Maddox said. “Keep searching for the comet. Instruct Meta to babysit the cloaking device. We can’t let the destroyer see us this time, not a smidge or wattage of power to give away our location.”

“I’m not sure I can do that, sir. The Saint Petersburg’s crew has gotten better at their craft.”

“True. But you’ve also gotten better, Lieutenant. We’ve both become experts at this cat and mouse game.”

Valerie paused before asking, “Captain, why do you think Doctor Rich still refuses to help us one hundred percent?”

A hard smile pasted itself onto his face. “That’s a good question. I’m about to discover the answer.”

Like a tiger, Maddox stalked out of the control room. Keith lounged against a bulkhead. Jerking a thumb at the open hatch, Maddox said, “I’m done. You can go back.”

A possibly sarcastic reply died on Keith’s lips. He nodded before moving out of the captain’s way.

Maddox hardly noticed. He marched to the doctor’s hatch and swung it open. Letting it stay ajar, he climbed into her quarters.

The doctor was in the middle of doing push-ups and she mustn’t have heard him enter.

“You must decide,” Maddox told her.

Her head swiveled sharply toward him. A brief twitch of her face was the only indication she’d been surprised. The doctor jumped to her feet. Perspiration dotted her brown skin.

He opened his mouth. This was it. He wouldn’t accept anything less than total assistance.

Panting, she held up a hand. “I’ll save you time, Captain. Your sensors haven’t found the equipment because it’s buried too deep under the ice. Ludendorff was a tricky man, and he suffered from a persecution complex. It served him well on most occasions. Ah,” she added, after searching his face. “I take it the New Men are in the system with us.”

Maddox was too angry to reply verbally, nodding instead.

“You’re in something of a dilemma, then,” Dana said. “Therefore, I believe I’ll finally play my strongest card.”

“Meaning what?” he asked in a thick voice.

Dana’s gaze darted behind him.

Maddox could feel the threat to his rear. In a flash of understanding, it struck him what was about to happen. The strain of the monotonous weeks had taken their toll on his concentration. The voyage had been out of his comfort zone. It had told on him, making him reckless and causing him to miss otherwise obvious clues. It appeared as if Doctor Rich had finally outmaneuvered him.

With a twist of his neck, Maddox looked behind. Standing in the hatchway, Meta held a stunner aimed at his back. He expected to see a triumphant smile. Instead, worried concentration marred her beauty.

Meta motioned with the stunner. Maddox raised his hands.

“Oh, I like this, I really do,” Dana told him. “Yes, I find it rewarding to see a difficult task through to completion. Don’t you find that to be the case, Captain?”

He watched her gloat.

“What do you propose?” Maddox asked.

“A new arrangement,” Dana said. “You are hereby demoted to wretched piece of Star Watch scum. I am confining you to these quarters. I, on the other hand, am accepting a promotion to ship’s captain. What do you think?”

Maddox turned, putting his back to Doctor Rich to face Meta. “You know we’re in danger,” he told the Rouen Colony woman. “You’ve seen the New Men hunting us. Humanity desperately needs the sentinel.”

“Please,” Meta told him, “no more talking, Captain.”

Staring into her eyes, Maddox said, “I freed you from the prison planet.”

“I don’t want to do this,” Meta said. “You have to believe me.”

“Then don’t do it,” Maddox said. “Make the right decision.”

As her eyes tightened, Meta pressed the trigger.

The blast struck Maddox in the chest. He strove to remain conscious but felt himself falling… falling…

I’ve just lost control of my ship.

Maddox groaned. His head was pounding. The taste of sand made his mouth incredibly dry. He unglued his eyes, and he realized someone had been shaking him and calling his name.

“Sir, I wish you’d wake up.”

“Riker?” whispered Maddox, with his eyes still closed.

“Ah, that’s good, sir. He’s coming around,” Riker called. “You were out for some time, sir.”

Maddox forced himself to open his eyes. Blurriness made his stomach heave, and he almost threw up.

“Easy, sir, take it easy.”

“Did Dana and Meta put you in here with me?”

“Ha-ha!” Riker laughed. “Not an old hound like me, sir. Not on your life. I think I know what happened. You’re not used to grubbing it, sir. But me, you see, I’m a sergeant. Someone is always telling me to do this or do that. It’s hardened me to privation, it has.”

Maddox rubbed his forehead. “Where’s Doctor Rich? Where’s the scout?”

“I’ll start with the last question first, sir,” Riker said. “The scout has moved beyond the T dwarf and is headed for the thickest clot of the comet field. The lieutenant doesn’t believe anyone over there on the destroyer has seen us yet. I believe Meta is examining the vacc-suits and powerdrill. Once we land, she plans to go outside and dig for Professor Ludendorff’s hidden engines and atomic fuel.”

That didn’t sound right. Meta the traitor was still running free in his ship? “What are you talking about?” Maddox whispered.

“Well, sir,” Riker said. “As I was trying to tell you, I’m an old space hound. I also happen to be a very suspicious man. I’ve been watching. This one old eye sees pretty good, sir.”

“I’m sure that’s true, but would you please get to the point.”

“Sometimes, I even see quicker than a genius. That’s how I spotted the Tojo bodysuit back in France, remember?”

“Yes,” Maddox said wearily. “That was an excellent piece of deduction. Now would you kindly get to the bloody point, Sergeant?”

“Don’t go straining yourself, sir. You’re still weak from the stunner blast. I’m still finding it hard to believe Meta did that. Not that she got the drop on you, but that she actually pulled the trigger. I think we should punish her, but maybe a reward is more in keeping with her latest action.”

Maddox closed his eyes. His sergeant had gained a coup over him. The man wouldn’t go on like this otherwise. Riker liked to boast even as he pretended not to.

“Do you want to hear what happened, sir?” Riker asked.

“I’d be delighted.” Maddox opened his eyes again and found that the blurriness had departed. He lay in Dana’s abandoned room, on her cot.

“Well, sir, I peeked out of my quarters, and I saw Meta and Doctor Rich come out of hers. Meta looked crestfallen. The doctor strutted like a gambler pulling in a hard-won pot. In a beeline, she headed for the control room. Not to put too fine of a point on it, sir, I stepped out of my room. I stunned Meta first. It took a strong blast to bring the lady down. Then I aimed at Doctor Rich. Well, first I blasted the gun in her grip so it clattered onto the deck. She cradled her hand as if she wanted to scream with agony. She didn’t scream though, not her. No, sir, that woman can talk faster than you can run. She told me all sorts of gibberish, threatening and promising all in one breath. It made me smile inside.”

“I can imagine,” Maddox said. He noticed that Riker was smiling openly now.

“I didn’t get fancy. Well, the hand-stunning was a trick shot like you might have done. After that, no sir, no more fancy pants with a dame who had outsmarted Captain Maddox. I knew she was too dangerous for an old codger like me. So I just shot her with the stunner, and I did it again as she lay on the deck, in case she was faking.”