The Lost Colony (Lost Starship Series Book 4) (4 page)

Surprise must have been total. The shuttles accelerated from the hammership, passing the tiny single-ships. The crews must not even realize forty-nine needle-shaped craft rushed at the open hangar bay entrances.

Pa Kur stared ahead. The large bay doors began to close. The sub-men on the hammership must finally recognize the threat. With his dark eyes filled with visions of glory, the Fifth-Ranked New Man knew it was too late for them now.

***

Pa Kur landed on a hangar bay deck with a jar. He released the handlebars and pressed a switch. His restraints exploded off him even as the canopy blew into the hangar bay.

As Pa Kur stood, he activated his stealth suit, engaged his enablers and drew a blaster. Around him, other New Men did likewise. Each disappeared from view. The enablers would speed their reflexes and help their muscles move faster than was natural.

Hatches opened in the hangar bay and Royal Marines in battle armor clanked into view. Many of them raised heavy arms, letting their Gatling guns hose exploding bullets at the single-ships. Some of the crafts began to shred into pieces. Other three-man Marine teams carried bigger machine guns.

Pa Kur sneered as he sailed through the air. He’d already vaulted from his craft. As more single-ships were hit, he landed on the deck. Dampers gave the hangar bay pseudo-gravity.

None of the subhumans had noticed him, of course. He wore the best in stealth suits. A glance around showed him forty-seven New Men. Only two of his sept had failed to enter the hammership.

“Open fire,” Pa Kur radioed.

It was pathetically easy. As the Royal Marines destroyed single-ships, blasters opened up. Only a few of the sub-men survived the first withering volley. One or two looked around wildly, no doubt searching for the invisible killers. The next wave of blasters destroyed them too.

The boarding attack for the hammership had begun in earnest.

***

A sept of soldiers from the Throne World wearing stealth suits and enablers captured the hammership in exactly fifty-three minutes.

During most of that time, confusion reigned on the Windsor League vessel. Lights shut down on deck after deck while ventilating systems worked sporadically. During the last ten minutes of the takeover, the subhumans attempted to self-destruct the warship three separate times.

Pa Kur thwarted each try.

Finally, with a Seven, he dropped from vents in the bridge ceiling bulkhead. The bridge crew heard the landing thuds and looked around wildly.

“Where are they, sir?” a woman shouted.

The hammership commander held a pistol, slowly rotating, searching for something. She raised her gun and fired, hitting a panel.

Pa Kur didn’t want the woman accidently hitting an important board. He rushed the captain and hit her in the face. The force of the blow catapulted the captain over her command chair. She twitched on the floor with a broken neck and a crushed face.

The other woman screamed until one of the Seven hand-chopped her neck, breaking it as well.

Soon, Pa Kur controlled the bridge. But he did not attempt to control the ship, not just yet. First, he and his sept would sweep through the vessel, killing all but five of the crewmembers. He would need those five for later.

Strand’s plan included Windsor League captives, but they had to be exactly the right kind. After the final killing was completed here, Pa Kur would escort the remaining New Men on the water moon to the nearest Laumer-Point.

Pa Kur sat in the command chair. He found it to be a good feeling. He did not even mind the dead sub-men littered on the bridge. His Seven would clean up the dead soon enough.

With an exhale and a glitter in his eyes, Pa Kur luxuriated in the moment. He had a starship command and Strand had a hammership, one of the ingredients to the master plan.

The other hammerships in the system would never catch this one in time. Those were six hundred thousand kilometers away and presently headed in the wrong direction.

Soon, word of this New Men attack and victory would spread to the rest of the Grand Fleet. It would continue the psychological process Strand needed to bring about the sub-men’s abject and bitter defeat.

EARTH

-1-

Captain Maddox of Star Watch Intelligence frowned. What was wrong with him? Why did his head feel so woozy?

The last thing he remembered was playing poker with space smugglers. The room had been in Woo Tower, the fanciest casino in Shanghai.

By the breeze on his cheeks, he wasn’t inside now, although a wall loomed to his left. Bottles clinked and women giggled somewhere.

He concentrated to the best of his ability, vaguely spying an open door in the wall. The sounds came from there, although it was dark inside. Should he call for someone to help him?

No. He needed more information first. He needed to think this through.

Why was he out here? Maddox realized he couldn’t remember. What was wrong with his eyes? Everything was fuzzy or blotchy. He looked up. It seemed that stars twinkled in the heavens. It must be night.

Maddox closed his eyes, squeezing them tight. He tried to recall the causation of his predicament. He remembered that he had been nearing the end of a two-week leave. It had been quite some time since his crew had defeated the alien Destroyer. Little had gone to his liking since then, but that wasn’t the issue here.

He sensed motion and started toward it one foot stumbling ahead of the other.

“No,” a voice said, behind and to his immediate left.

Pain flared at Maddox’s left elbow. He realized strong fingers dug into his joint and pushed him forward. Someone caused him to stagger out here, apparently directing his path.

Maddox opened his eyes. The fuzziness had departed although the blotchiness remained.

The one gripping his elbow made him turn, propelling him through a door and down a lit corridor. They passed closed doors, ones that lacked handles or latches.

That was interesting if ominous.

Fortunately for Maddox, he possessed a slightly higher core body temperature than regular humans. He was half New Man and half Earthling. He burned off alcohol faster than others did. Because of that—

Alcohol!

Maddox remembered lifting a shot glass and throwing the contents down his throat. He’d held onto his cards as he did so, sitting at a table in a smoky den. He’d been pretending intoxication in order to lull the other players: smugglers, captains of cargo haulers. One could argue his pretense had been unfair deception so they would drop their guard. Perhaps that had been so, but despite being on leave, Maddox had been engaged in a semi-official mission.

For the past three weeks, he’d felt someone trailing him. The sensation had intensified the last four days. He had come to believe Woo Tower was the locus for the spying. Surely, one of the hauler captains at the table had been a link to the person or persons interested in him.

Maddox had lifted the shot glass…right. The waitress had slipped the drink beside his hand, replacing the half-filled whiskey. She had done so in a fervent manner while pretending otherwise. Maddox had taken the drink, knowing it was a reckless gamble. He had been frustrated by the months of inactivity. He remembered the itch of it in his fingertips. In a rash moment—maybe wanting to throw himself into danger—he decided to trust his innate ability to shake off most ill effects. Besides, he’d wanted to know who was trying to drug him by having them make a move afterward, which it appeared someone most certainly had.

It would also appear that the effects of the drink had been stronger than the captain had anticipated. One could argue he had…er,
miscalculated
.

Inwardly, Maddox shrugged. One could make that assertion, surely. He did not believe so himself, at least not yet. Clearly, someone had taken advantage of his dulled state. Likely, the one pushing him down the corridor had a connection with the hidden scrutiny. Now that the hidden person had finally emerged from the shadows, Maddox could react accordingly.

“Where are you taking me?” he asked, letting himself slur more than necessary. His lips weren’t
that
numb.

The other said nothing.

“Are we still in Shanghai?” Maddox asked.

The other increased the pace, making the captain stumble faster.

Maddox could feel his body and mind shaking off the ill effects of the drink. He was tall and slender, with steely muscles and, normally, whipcord reflexes. Tonight, he wore his dress uniform complete with holster. By the lack of weight on his belt, he realized someone had taken his gun. That seemed like an obvious precaution on their part.

The blotchiness finally departed his vision and the corridor came into focus. The walls were metallic like a spaceship. The corridor slanted down, meaning they walked underground by now. The doors were really hatches. Yes. This might actually be a ship.

It was time to confront the other before it became too late.

Without seeming to, Maddox examined the hand on his elbow. The fingers were thick and stubby, and the fingernails gleamed as if lacquered. That seemed odd as tiny, individual hairs sprouted from the back of the hand. No…those weren’t hairs, were they? It seemed…they might be tiny wires sprouting up as an approximation of hair.

Maddox was ready to make several assumptions. Either this was a modified man from a strange world or an android made to imitate a human. Either way, the being would likely think of himself as strong. Thus, this move would come as a surprise maybe even as a shock to the other.

The captain planted his feet and twisted his arm. Instead of ripping his elbow free, greater pain flared. The stubby fingers had tightened their hold, surprising Maddox with their unusual strength.

“You must come with me,” the man said, pushing harder, causing Maddox to stumble forward once more.

The captain glanced back. The squat man or android wore a stylish suit at odds with his girth. Maddox recognized it as a Woo Tower casino uniform. The pusher didn’t seem fat but powerful. The face seemed wider than any norm Maddox knew about, although the man lacked any blemishes. That upped the chances he—it—was an android.

The man glanced up at him before looking away. “This isn’t my preference, believe me,” the man said. “I simply don’t know how else to convince you.”

“Try explaining it to me,” Maddox said.

“I will explain, but not just yet.”

“Do you have a reason for the delay?”

“Yes.”

“Would you care to share it with me?”

“No, as that would invalidate the reason for waiting.”

“Of course,” Maddox said. “That’s logical.”

The man didn’t reply to that.

“Still,” Maddox said, “I’m afraid I insist we stop.”

“You are not in a position to insist. Thus, your statement is illogical, likely driven by emotive needs.”

Maddox twisted back to see if the other grinned or if a shine of delight twinkled in the eyes. The face was impassive, the eyes inert and the pace growing more relentless.

The eyes darted upward to look at him again. Maddox quickly faced forward before their gazes met. He’d just spied something most interesting and didn’t want the other knowing that he—Maddox—knew. It would be the captain’s hole card.

Maddox gauged his options given the new facts. His choices had grown less than he’d believed. Clearly, the man marched him to a place of restraint, one that would limit the captain’s options even further.

Just as Maddox readied himself to make another attempt at escape, the man halted, jerking the captain to an abrupt stop.

Voices drifted up the corridor. Did the man not like that?

Maddox inhaled, getting ready to shout for help.

“No,” the squat man said. With amazing arm-strength, he threw Maddox against the wall while keeping hold of the elbow.

The captain smashed against the hard surface, his face whipping against steel.

The man ran forward, pushing a stunned Maddox, who almost tripped as his feet shuffled faster. Then it became too much. The captain did trip, beginning to fall, but the man easily held him up. That indicated greater than normal mass as well as power.

There was a faint click behind the captain. A hatch slid up in front of him. The man pushed the captain into the chamber. It was a stainless steel kitchen with pots, pans and knives magnetized to the walls. With Maddox ahead of him, the man hurried down an aisle.

This isn’t a spaceship. It’s
—

Maddox realized this must be a hotel or a casino’s underground kitchen area. They must still be in Shanghai, maybe even close to Woo Tower.

The man headed for a pair of swinging doors. He was detouring around the voices. That seemed obvious.

Maddox did not inhale this time. The man seemed attentive, able to catalog the signs. The captain practiced deception, seemingly keeping himself in the exact stunned state as seconds ago.

Then, Maddox’s right arm whipped out in a lighting move. He ripped a knife from the wall, twisted in the man’s grip and stabbed with force. He expected the weapon to sink past the man’s ribs. Instead, the tip of the blade sank two inches before snapping off in Maddox’s hand. It left a small piece of steel lodged in the man’s flesh.

The man did not cry out, although his eyes shined angrily. The fingers of his left hand tightened their grip.

At the pain, Maddox’s air expelled from his lungs. It might have dropped him to his knees. With iron determination, as he attempted to ignore the agony, the captain slashed. Using the broken edge of the knife, he tried to blind his opponent.

The man was faster than humanly possible. He ducked his head so Maddox slashed at the skull. The blade cut through pseudo-flesh, sparking against a titanium plate underneath.

The creature was clearly an android.

Maddox realized the knife would not help him. The android was too strong, too fast and too well armored against a kitchen utensil. He let go of the handle even as he realized this.

The blade began to drop. The android’s head rose and Maddox grabbed at his service pistol tucked in the android’s belt—he’d seen the gun earlier, his hole card.

The android must have spied the move at the last second. It released the bruised elbow and leaped back. Perhaps its logic centers reasoned it could move away faster than Maddox could grab the gun. If so, the AI running the android had not calculated for the captain’s phenomenal speed.

The android jumped back and Maddox raised his pistol, using his thumb to click off the safety.

“It’s time we talked,” Maddox said, finding it difficult to speak due to his throbbing left elbow.

The android froze. Maybe its logic centers had overloaded at this failure.

Maddox backed up several steps, increasing the distance between them. That would allow him fractionally more time to fire if the android unexpectedly attacked.

The android’s face twitched with annoyance. That indicated an expensive AI processor. The user had bought the best, it would seem.

“You are making a mistake,” the creature said.

“Apparently,” the captain said.

“You must come with me at once.”

“I might do that. First, you must tell me where we would go?”

“This is not germane at the moment.”

“I most heartily disagree.”

The android’s face twitched again. “I do not represent personal harm to you, Captain Maddox. I assure you of this.”

“That’s a relief. You can’t imagine my—”

“But I must insist that you lower the gun and continue with me,” the android said, interrupting.

“And if I refuse?” Maddox asked.

“I will have to take the weapon from you.”

“What’s stopping you?”

“Is it not obvious?”

“I’m afraid not.”

“In the ensuing struggle,” the android said, “I could injure you. My protocols do not allow that.”

Maddox studied the creature, the long gash on its head that didn’t bleed. “You want me alive and unharmed, is that what you’re saying?”

“I have already stated as such.”

“Who would I see if I agreed to your proposal?”

“It is supposed to be a surprise. Please, lower the pistol and come with me. Time is pressing.”

Maddox took several more steps away and raised the pistol so the barrel poked up against his own throat.

“What are you doing?” the android asked, sounding worried.

“I’ve decided to commit suicide.”

The android blinked excessively as if the processors threatened to overload.

“Unless,” Maddox said, cocking an eyebrow.

“Yes?”

“You tell me who sent you and where you plan to take me.”

“Are you attempting to coerce me?”

“Maybe.”

The android’s features hardened. “I will not succumb to coercion.”

“Yet you expect that I will?”

“Yes. You are…” The android paused.

“I am what?”

“Please, Captain, this is unseemly. I must return with you in my company. This is urgent, most urgent. You cannot conceive of the honor I am doing you.”