Vaughn Heppner - The Lost Starship

“Whatever,” Maddox whispered. “The point is the AI has a death wish. Maybe that has fixated its thinking. We have to…” the captain didn’t finish his thought, but he gave them a long, meaningful glance.

“I understand,” Dana said, with her eyes wide and staring.

Valerie figured that maybe she did too. Clearly, they had to hijack the starship from the AI. But they couldn’t do it too soon, or the New Men’s star cruisers would destroy Victory .

“Does that make sense?” Maddox asked.

“It does,” Dana said.

“I have to go back and talk the AI into a jump attack,” Maddox said. “That means we have to repair the neutron charger and the star drive.”

“How much time do we have?” Dana asked.

“He said one hour.”

“You do know that what you suggest is impossible for us to accomplish?” Dana said.

“I don’t know anything of the kind,” the captain said. “We’re rolling the dice for everything and looking for snake eyes. Now, let’s go to work.”

Valerie saw the doctor and Meta stare with disbelief at the captain. That wasn’t going to help. “Yes, sir,” Valerie said. “We’re going to do our best or die trying, Captain.”

Maddox grinned at her. “The Lord High Admiral picked the right navigator when he sent you, Lieutenant. It has been my distinct pleasure serving with you.”

Valerie saluted. “The pleasure has been all mine, sir.” She stepped up and thrust out her hand. He gripped it, shaking.

Then, Captain Maddox solemnly shook each of their hands. “If I don’t see you again—” He looked down, staring at the floor. Looking back up, his smile seemed forced. “Humanity doesn’t know it, but they’re counting on us. I’ve seen what this starship can do. With it, the Commonwealth has a chance. Star Watch might well defend our homes and go on to attack the New Men and end their menace forever. First, though, we have to win here. I know each of you will do your best, and then go beyond that to do what must be done for victory.” He took a deep breath before adding, “Speechmaking time is over. Now, it’s time for action.”

With that, Captain Maddox spun around and walked away. After three steps, he lowered his head and took off sprinting.

Valerie felt a lump in her throat. She nodded to herself. This hour was why she’d pushed through her suffering in Greater Detroit to win a spot in the Space Academy. This moment was why she’d climbed into the escape pod and survived the New Men when all her comrades had died in battle in the Pan System.

A robot on treads wheeled into sight. It was an ugly thing and stopped short. With a mechanical tentacle, it beckoned them.

Valerie swallowed and turned to the others. “We have a job to do. Doctor. You’d better use your intellect for all it’s worth. Our lives and the lives of humanity back home are resting on it.”

Dana stared at her. “No pressure, Lieutenant?”

“Wrong,” Valerie said. “All the pressure in the galaxy is on you now. I’m wondering if you have what it takes to surmount it.”

Doctor Rich’s eyes seemed to burn for a moment. Then she nodded, beginning to head for the robot. “We shall shortly find out,” Dana said.

Captain Maddox reentered the bridge. The holoimage had vanished. With a shrug, Maddox went to his former station and studied the screen. The red giant looked bigger. That meant the ship continued to head toward it.

A crackle of sound caused Maddox to turn. The holoimage solidified into existence. It still looked hazy and indistinct although it maintained a humanoid shape. Maddox wondered what the aliens had looked like. Did they have tentacles or had they been manlike?

“I am disappointed with you, Captain,” the holoimage said.

Maddox kept his features even. He wondered if the AI measured his heart rate and other telltale signs. The captain had training in that area, having used biofeedback to keep himself calmer than others could do in these situations.

“I ran back here as fast as I could,” Maddox said.

“Do not try your subterfuge tactics on me. I have already implied that I know about your plan.”

“Could you be more specific?” Maddox asked.

“I don’t need to be.”

“I agree that this is your ship,” Maddox said. “We are guests here, beholden to you. We will follow whatever rules you decide to enforce.”

“You are quibbling,” the holoimage said. “Stop it at once.”

“If I have offended you, I am sorry.”

“ Captain ,” the holoimage warned.

Maddox decided to wait.

“You huddled together with your crewmembers,” the holoimage finally said. “You whispered so my sensors couldn’t pick up what you told your people. My probability factors indicate you plotted munity against me.”

“Ah,” Maddox said, acting as if he was relieved. “I realize now what happened. There’s been a terrible misunderstanding. I whispered because…”

“Yes. You did so why?”

“It’s rather embarrassing to tell you in particular,” Maddox said, hanging his head.

“This isn’t the time for your games, Captain. Speak to me at once. Admit that you’re plotting against me.”

“It’s not what you think. You see, I’ve had difficulty with my crew. At times, they’ve flouted my authority. This is my first stint in a warship as a captain. Surely, you recall my troubles with them. Your mind probe earlier should have picked that up.”

“Yes,” the holoimage admitted. “I do recall something of the sort.”

“What adds to my embarrassment is that you’re the greatest starship commander in history. You do realize that, don’t you?”

“I do indeed,” the holoimage said.

“You’re making this hard for me.” Maddox looked stricken as he blurted, “Don’t you realize I wish to look good in your presence? This is my final battle, my reason for existence. I can help humanity by doing as much damage to the antilife New Men as I can. That means my crew needs to excel. I don’t want them to embarrass me in front of you.”

The holoimage froze. When it moved again, it said, “You may not believe this, but I had not considered that.”

“Then let me tell you again,” Maddox said, “I feel awful if my whispering has offended you. Ever since learning who you are, I’ve strained to impress you.”

“Interesting,” the holoimage said. “Perhaps I’ve misjudged your species. You have more refinement than I believed you capable of having. You can recognize greatness in others. Even among my people, that was a rare quality.”

“Please, Commander, let my crew aid you in repairing the starship. We can help fix the neutron charger, any shield generator and star drive damage, and AI memory cores as you would like.”

“Memory cores?” the holoimage asked, sounding suspicious again. “Why there?”

“I’ve begun to suspect you might be missing some of your tactical programs.”

“How dare you say that?” the holoimage said. “What possibility makes you pronounce such a baseless thing?”

“Why, logical deduction proves this must be the case. You are the greatest starship commander in history. That is the first given. Yet the cruisers managed to inflict damage onto Victory . What’s even worse is that I suspect they hurt you more than you hurt them. The only conceivable reason for this is that your AI has fallen below its optimum operating levels.”

“I see,” the holoimage said. “Interesting. I cannot fault your reasoning. Yes, I should have swatted the cruisers out of existence. Originally, I concluded the lack of the disrupter ray or the gyro destabilizer was the cause for my failure to annihilate. Now, I sense it may be a less than optimal computing function. Hmm, I have detected a malfunction or two in my cognitive capacity, blockages in thought.”