The Lost Destroyer (Lost Starship Series Book 3) (42 page)

-46-

With his fists clenched, Maddox knelt over Meta. A resilient, plastic-type substance had already auto-sealed the cut in her vacc-suit. He wished the same had happened for the wound in her stomach.

Through her visor, Meta’s eyelids fluttered.

She’s still alive
. “Can you hear me?” Maddox asked.

Her features were drawn and much too white. Lines pulled at her mouth. “Maddox,” she whispered.

“Oran Rva is dead. So is Kane. This place—”

Meta feebly raised an arm and latched onto a vacc-suit sleeve. Weakly, she pressed her fingers against the armored fabric.

“Are you trying to tell me something?” Maddox asked.

“Yes,” she whispered. “Listen.”

“We don’t have much time.” Not that Maddox had any idea what he should do next.

“Bring me…the translator,” Meta whispered.

Maddox looked around. Yes. They must have had a device to speak with the Builder thing controlling the planet-killer. Getting up, Maddox retrieved a box. It was near the center cube. Oran Rva might have set it there.

“That’s it,” Meta whispered. In a few words, she told Maddox what the New Man had done with the box, the translator.

Noticing the looping cord, Maddox slung it over his neck. Another cord dangled from the box that would fit in a comm-slot on his helmet. Maddox plugged it in.

He heard the translator’s words: “I am losing coherence. The virus—”

“Hello,” Maddox said, looking up at the silvery, octopus-shaped machine on the cube.

“You must listen to reason,” the octopus thing told him.

“I will,” Maddox said.

“You will?” it asked.

“Yes.”

“Then why did you insert the Swarm virus into me?”

“That doesn’t matter now,” Maddox said. “Tell me the problem.”

“I will be succinct. I am losing control of the machine. The old intellect is taking over. It has lain dormant longer than I can understand. Soon—”

“Never mind about that,” Maddox said. “How do we stop the doomsday machine?”

“Reference your meaning of doomsday machine.”

“This machine, this ship,” Maddox said.

“I perceive your meaning. There is no solution. No warships in this sector of the galaxy can harm the machine.”

“Do you sense the warships outside?” Maddox asked.

“Yes. They are engaging in a futile attack run. The machine will soon destroy the bulk of them and render the rest harmless.”

“Transfer somewhere else then,” Maddox said.

“How does that change the final outcome of the situation? The scourge will have awakened. It will return here. Then—”

“I have the answer,” Maddox said, seeing it in a flash. “But it will mean sacrificing your life.”

“I am not wedded to existence like a biological life form. I exist to serve my programming. If I cannot control the machine, I must render it harmless. But I have less than three
tarns
to achieve anything. Then, my control will forever disappear, and it will be in control.”

“How long does it take you to transfer?”

“Two tarns,” it said.

“Do you see the local star nearby?” Maddox asked.

“Of course,” it said.

“You must transfer the machine into the center of the star.”

It took three long seconds. Then the thing said, “That is a brilliant solution. Do you wish to eject before I begin?”

“Can we?” Maddox asked. He hadn’t expected to survive this.

“If you can reach an exit in a tarn’s time,” the thing said.

“Are there any escape pods?” Maddox asked.

“The concept is alien to the machine, as it never envisioned defeat or destruction. Go—”

“Give me the nearest exist.”

“I will not, as that will be too far. I can give you the location of a hull breach. The local life forms of this star broke through with an antimatter device. If you can reach there in time—”

“Tell me the route to the nearest breach,” Maddox said.

“Can you commit it to memory?”

“Yes.”

The Builder creation began to explain the torturous route to Maddox.

“That’s not going to work,” Maddox said. “We won’t reach the hull opening in time.”

“I suggest you begin praying to the Deity then and making your peace with Him.”

“Question,” Maddox said. “Can you switch the gravity settings in the corridors?”

“Of course,’ the Builder thing said.

“Make everything weightless.”

“Would that help you escape?”

“Yes,” Maddox said.

The Builder thing paused before saying, “There. It is finished. Now, you must stop communicating with me. I will need to use my last moments to concentrate on control and transfer.”

Maddox stopped talking to the Builder computer. He tore off the translator’s loop and plugin, and realized he was weightless. “Listen to me,” he radioed the others. “This is what we’re going to do…”

***

Maddox gripped Meta’s belt with one hand and propelled them down the corridors with his legs, using his free hand to guide them. She was groggy, going in and out of consciousness.

Despite the broken ribs, Keith practiced zero-G maneuvering like a monkey. The ace shot ahead of them. Riker did his best to keep up.

So far, they hadn’t run into any more bio-robots.

“Even if we get outside,” Rider said, “won’t we get sucked into the transfer node?”

“You ask the cheeriest questions,” Maddox said. “I have no idea. First, we have to get out of the doomsday machine. Then, we can listen to you croak despair.”

One thing helped Maddox remember the route. The feeling of evil had departed. Was that due to the Builder octopus?

As the captain gained speed, negotiating the intersections with cool concentration, he thought about the ancient machine. Who had built it? Did it even belong to this galaxy? Clearly, it destroyed planets. Why, though? What had been the reasoning behind the decision to make something like that?

We’ll probably never know. Oran Rva might have told us, but he’s dead. What about the other New Men, do they know?

“I see stars,” Keith radioed from ahead.

“Is the breach big enough for us?” Maddox asked.

“Oh yeah it is, mate. It’s the loveliest exit I’ve ever seen in my life. I never thought we were going to be able to do it, sir.”

“We’re not done yet,” Riker grumbled.

“No, not yet,” Maddox said. He didn’t want to think about Meta. She hadn’t said anything for some time. Was she dying?

You can’t think about that yet. Get everyone out of here first.

Then, Maddox saw stars. There was a breach through the neutroium hull. He couldn’t believe it.

“It’s not an opening,” Keith radioed. “There’s hard…something like clear plastic, I think. It sealed the opening.”

Maddox drew his blaster. Then, he holstered it. As best he could, he slowed his momentum. Soon, he reached Keith by the jagged breach and its seal. Putting the blaster nozzle a centimeter from the clear substance, he began to burn it. Maddox worked fast. He had no idea how much time they had left.

Finally, he burned a circle, creating a man-sized hole. Anchoring himself, he shoved the substance with his shoulder. The clear plastic-like stuff popped out into space, tumbling away. Some ship atmosphere blew out, but not as hard as the captain would have expected.

“Now,” Maddox said. He pushed Meta through the opening, joining her outside a second later.

Soon, Keith and Riker floated with them. They had each shoved as hard as they could off the hull. They drifted a few meters a second away from the ancient, pitted neutroium. It wouldn’t be far enough, though, when the ionic storm appeared for transfer.

The giant craft slowly began to rotate. At first, none of them was aware of what happened.

“Do you sense that?” Keith asked.

“What?” Maddox asked.

Keith told them about the hull drawing away from them.

Maddox watched the pitted neutroium. The bad feelings had begun again. Was the ancient intelligence waking up for good and engaging the fear machines?

Then, the giant doomsday machine began to move away from them faster and faster.

“There,” Keith said. “I see the exhaust.”

Maddox saw it too, a hot plume. The exhaust stopped suddenly as the giant craft rotated again.

“Why’s it doing that?” Keith asked.

“I think I know why,” Maddox said. “The Builder is making sure the exhaust doesn’t kill or radiate us. Now, the port should spew exhaust again.”

Ten seconds later, it did just that. The plume extended as the planet-killer increased separation from them. Soon, Maddox could no longer see the machine, just its hot exhaust. Quicker than he would have expected, the plume shrank until it was no brighter than a star.

At that point, the magnetic storm appeared, growing rapidly to its regular planet-circumference. Maddox spied purple flashes of lightning. None of the bolts threatened to reach this far. Even so, increasingly heavy static made it difficult to communicate with each other.

“I’m still alive,” Riker grumbled. “Now, we can suffocate once we run out of air.”

“Yes,” Maddox said. “But that’s better than starving to death, right?”

“Are you serious, sir?” Riker asked.

“Not in the slightest,” Maddox said. “I have no intention of dying, not after we’ve won the greatest victory in human history.”

“How do you plan on getting us out of here, sir?”

“At the moment, I have no idea. But until I’m out of air, I’m not giving up.”

***

On
Victory’s
bridge, Galyan said, “Look. The doomsday machine is transferring.”

“Do you know to where?” Valerie asked.

“According to my calculations, it appears to be heading into the core of the Sun.”

“Are you kidding?”

“No. I am being factual.”

Valerie wanted to howl with laughter. “Could Maddox have convinced the planet-killer to commit suicide?”

“I give that a high probability,” Galyan said. “Ah, this is remarkable. I will record the event.”

***

As had happened many times before, a portal appeared in the magnetic storm. Unlike others of its kind, this portal was highly unstable due to the target. Nevertheless, the great doomsday machine shot into the portal and disappeared.

A second later, the primordial planet-killer transferred into the core of the Sun.

The G2V spectral-class yellow dwarf—a ball of hot plasma—had a mass 330,000 times that of Earth. While the surface of the Sun was a mere 5,800 Kelvin, the core had an infernal temperature of 15,700,000 Kelvin.

The core, with a density 150 times that of water, extended outward from the center to twenty to twenty-five percent of the solar radius. That was the only region of the Sun that produced an appreciable amount of thermal energy through fusion. That happened to be a proton-proton chain reaction, which turned hydrogen into helium.

The neutroium armor was massively denser than the surrounding plasma. The doomsday machine slid through the Sun’s core, withstanding the heat and thermonuclear fusion far longer than seemed possible. The traveling distance was simply too far, however, especially at the planet-killer’s present velocity.

In the end, the core’s fantastic heat and energy output blasted through the neutroium. The ancient machine with its terrible secrets disappeared into the hot plasma, adding its molecules to the nuclear fusion reaction. The deadly menace to the Commonwealth, to all of humanity, had become a smear of atoms.

Long before the doomsday machine’s alien intelligence perished, the Sun caused the unstable portal to collapse. That left the magnetic storm on the other side of the transfer point.

-47-

On
Victory’s
bridge, Valerie continued to watch the main screen even after the doomsday machine’s disappearance. The lieutenant observed the transfer point inside the magnetic storm. Unlike previous times, this one closed suddenly before the ionic particles drained away.

“I can hardly believe we’ve won,” Valerie said. “It’s fantastic. But the magnetic storm isn’t going anywhere soon. We have to save our friends before it drifts toward them or their air runs out.”

“A sterling suggestion,” Galyan said. The holoimage stiffened then.

“What’s wrong?”

“My incredibly refined sensors are detecting a cloaked vessel.”

“What?” Valerie asked. “Where is it?”

Galyan paused before saying, “The vessel is approaching the drifting survivors.”

The lieutenant glanced at the holoimage. “Can you tell what kind of cloaked vessel it is?”

“I am attempting to do just—yes, I recognize the type. It is a star cruiser.

“The vessel belongs to the New Men?” Valerie asked in disbelief.

“That is the most logical conclusion. I wonder if they wish to capture the survivors.”

“Of course they do,” Valerie said. “It’s time to engage the star drive
now
. We have to rescue our friends.”

“Affirmative,” Galyan said. “I suggest you communicate with the Lord High Admiral and tell him what I am about to do.”

“Roger,” Valerie said, as she manipulated her board.

***

Victory
used its star drive, transferring from the Home Fleet onto the other side of the planet-sized magnetic storm between Mars and Earth.

As soon as Valerie recovered from Jump Lag, she launched an automated shuttle. It headed toward the people drifting in space. The lieutenant hadn’t been able to make a radio connection with them yet due to the nearby ion storm, but she continued to try.

Finally, Galyan reappeared on the bridge. The AI always seemed the hardest hit by Jump Lag.

“Do you still see the cloaked vessel?” Valerie asked.

“I do not.”

“Is it gone?”

“I see them, Valerie. They deviated from their course, although the star cruiser is still heading for the survivors. Now, it is doing so from a different direction. They are practicing guile for a reason.”

“We should open channels with them.”

“This near the storm?” Galyan asked. “I do not believe you will prove successful in the endeavor. Instead, I will give them a neutron beam shot across the bow. That will undoubtedly gain their attention in the quickest manner possible.”

“Good idea,” Valerie said.

The lieutenant continued trying for a radio connection, first with the survivors and then with the star cruiser.

Finally, after warming up the neutron cannon, Galyan fired a purple beam into space. It was twenty thousand kilometers from the drifting survivors and five hundred kilometers from the cloaked vessel.

A moment later, Valerie gasped. The enemy commander over there must have received the neutron-beam message loud and clear.

A star cruiser appeared on the main screen as it dropped its cloak.

“You were right about it being there,” the lieutenant said.

“Did you doubt me?” Galyan asked.

“Maybe just a little,” Valerie admitted.

“What is this?” Galyan said. “I am detecting life forms. The New Men are ejecting them from the star cruiser.”

“Who are they?” Valerie asked.

“I have no idea.”

The lieutenant monitored the shuttle. It had already begun to brake, slowing down as it inched toward the doomsday machine survivors.

“The star cruiser is reengaging its cloak,” Galyan said.

Valerie looked up at the main screen. The star cruiser vanished from regular sensor sight.

“They are in for a surprise,” Galyan said, “as I am not through with them” The AI fired the neutron cannon a second time. A purple beam struck near the enemy vessel. The craft shimmered for a moment, reappearing before going invisible again.

“Does the enemy commander think I cannot target him?” Galyan asked.

“How come I’m not detecting a shield?” Valerie asked.

“Because the star cruiser does not have one up,” Galyan said. “I do not think they could maintain the cloak if they raised a powerful shield.”

“That gives them something of a dilemma.”

“Yes,” Galyan said. “My next shot will strike the star cruiser and end this farce.”

As if understanding their perilous situation, Valerie’s comm-screen came alive. The magnetic storm behind
Victory
made the image fuzzy. Even so, the lieutenant recognized the Methuselah Man on the screen. It was Strand.

His wizened features stared balefully at her. Finally, Strand smiled, although the warmth didn’t reach his eyes.

“Is this Starship
Victory
?” Strand asked.

“You know it is,” Valerie told him.

“I have given you a peace offering,” Strand said. “Accept it, and let us depart in peace. Otherwise, I will kill the two Patrol officers and your Captain Maddox.”

“What two Patrol officers?” Valerie asked.

“Commander Kris Guderian and Lieutenant Betty Artemis,” Strand said. “I ejected them from my vessel. They have gained new insights under my brief tutelage. I rescued them from disaster in the Karachi System. You may not know it yet, but the doomsday machine struck there before coming to the Solar System.”

“Why would you have rescued them?” Valerie asked.

“I have my reasons for doing so,” Strand said. “It should be sufficient for you that I’m returning them to Star Watch.”

“Sorry,” Valerie said, who didn’t feel sorry at all. “I can’t let your star cruiser leave. I’m placing you under arrest.”

“If you are serious,” Strand said, “then your Captain Maddox dies. My vessel has targeted the survivors. I will kill them before you are able to destroy my augmented star cruiser. Are you willing for that to happen, hmm?”

Valerie licked her lips. This Strand was a bastard. “What do you think, Galyan?” she whispered.

“We have won the engagement with the doomsday machine,” the AI said. “There will be time enough for Strand and his secret star cruiser. Let us rescue our friends.”

“Rescue our family,” Valerie said.

“You are correct,” Galyan said.

“If I agree to your terms,” Valerie said, peering at Strand again, “where will you go?”

“That is no concern of yours,” Strand said.

“I think it is. You’re in our Solar System, our home territory.”

“If that is the problem, know that I will leave the Solar System within the hour.”

“There isn’t a Laumer-Point that close,” Valerie said.

“Nevertheless,” Strand said, “I will leave. What is it to be, Lieutenant? You must choose quickly.”

“How do you know my rank?”

Strand smiled. “I know far more than you could possibly realize.”

“Why have you sided with the New Men?” Valerie asked.

Strand continued to smile.

Valerie loathed the man. “Go,” she said, thickly. “But if you’ve harmed the Patrol officers—”

“Please,” Strand said. “Do not threaten me. It will gain you nothing but my enmity. You truly do not want that.”

Valerie tried to think of a good retort, but failed. Maybe she was too worried about the others. “Go,” she said, “while you are able.”

Strand nodded in a mocking way. Then, the Methuselah Man cut the connection. Once more, the star cruiser faded from visible view.

“Should I warm up my disruptor cannon?” Galyan asked.

“No,” Valerie said. “That risks Maddox and the others’ lives. I don’t think we could destroy the star cruiser before he kills those drifting in their vacc-suits. Besides, as you said, we’ve already won this round.”

“I wonder what he was doing in the Solar System.”

“Trying to get control of the doomsday machine would be my guess.”

“How?” Galyan asked.

“I have no idea,’ Valerie said. “Frankly, I’m not interested right now. We should head for the shuttle. It possible some of them could need medical attention.”

***

In space, Maddox eased Meta through the open shuttle bay. Gently, he floated her toward the emergency medical cot.

“I’m in the control room,” Keith radioed.

“Give me a few more minutes,” Maddox said.

“Aye, Captain,” Keith said.

Maddox hated this feeling of helplessness. He was safe, the doomsday machine was gone, but Meta could be failing. He increased speed.

Finally, Maddox pushed Meta onto the cot. Behind him, Riker sealed the hatch.

“I’m pumping atmosphere into the chamber,” Riker radioed.

Maddox nodded, waiting impatiently.

“Okay,” the sergeant said.

Maddox peeled off Meta’s vacc-suit. When he saw the blood, his hands began to tremble.

If ever I needed my calm, now’s the time. Don’t think of it as Meta
.

Such was the captain’s concentration, that his hands stopped trembling. He hooked Meta to the cot and began fastening the life-support systems onto her.

Finally, he radioed Keith. “I’m done. Let’s head for the starship.”

“Aye-aye, Captain, easy does it.”

The gravity generators came online. Then, the shuttle accelerated for the starship looming in the near distance.

***

An hour and a half later, Dana came out of the medical station aboard
Victory
.

Maddox looked up from where he had been pacing.

The doctor smiled. “She’s going to be all right. She’s lost a lot of blood, but I’ve given her enough transfusions to last until we reach Earth.” Dana paused. “She’s asking for you.”

Maddox headed for the hatch.

Dana stopped him by grabbing a forearm. “Captain, she’s been through a lot. Don’t excite her too much.”

“I understand,” he said. “And doctor?”

Dana raised her eyebrows.

“Thank you for everything you’ve done.”

Dana nodded.

Maddox glanced at the hatch, and it seemed he would hurry through it. Instead, he paused, looking at Dana again.

“If it’s any consolation,” Maddox said, “I think he’s still alive.”

Dana didn’t ask whom he meant.

“I don’t know how Ludendorff did it,” Maddox said. “But if anyone could have made a switch like that during a battle in the Xerxes System, it would be the professor.”

“I think you’re right,” Dana said, softly. “I wonder, though, if I’ll ever see him again.”

“Do you have any doubt?”

Dana stared at Maddox. “Right now, I’m filled with endless doubts.” She smiled sadly. “Go see Meta. We can worry about those things later.”

Maddox looked as if he would say more. Then, he headed for the hatch, going through, closing it behind him.

Meta lay on a medical cot, with tubes hooked to her. She looked pale and withdrawn. Then, she turned her head, seeing him. The smile—

Maddox grinned back in turn, striding to her and taking one of her hands. He bent down and kissed her. Her lips were chilly.

“How are you feeling?” Maddox asked.

“Tired,” she whispered.

“You have to quit leaving me like that,” he said.

“I know.” Her features clouded. “What happened to Kane?”

Maddox frowned for just a moment. He never should have made the promise. Yet, Kane had saved their lives by sacrificing his. He had to tell Meta. Was this the wrong moment?

“What is it?” Meta asked. “Did you kill him?”

Maddox shook his head. “No. Kane…Kane told me to tell you something.”

“He did?”

This was hard, but Maddox said, “Kane saved our lives.”

“You’re kidding? How?”

The captain told Meta what had happened. He told her how he’d captured Kane with the professor’s web-field generator. The captain also explained how Kane had escaped from the shackles and armored vacc-suit.

“He sacrificed himself,” Maddox said. “He purposely took Oran Rva’s blade into his body in order to hold the enemy down long enough for me to kill the New Man.”

“Amazing,” Meta said.

“It reminds me of an old saying,” Maddox said.

“What’s that?”

“Greater love has no man than this, that he lays down his life for another.”

“That’s beautiful,” Meta said. “Who said that?”

“An ancient carpenter named Jesus,” Maddox said.

Meta stared into the captain’s eyes.

That’s when Maddox realized he would fulfill his promise. “Meta,” he said. “Kane had a message for you. He said he did those things because…because he loved you.”