The Lost Patrol (42 page)

“No,” Maddox said. “I do not blame you—if I could believe you.”

“Belief changes many things,” Yen Cho agreed.

“This can’t be your original form,” Ludendorff said.

“No,” Yen Cho said. “It isn’t. Humans seek to prolong their species through their children. We androids simply attempt to prolong our lives. Soon—given that the captain frees me—I will have two legs again.”

“Have you gained intelligence over time?” the professor asked.

“Alas,” Yen Cho said. “That is our great barrier. If you must know, I and others like me are seeking ways to advance our intelligence. To date, we haven’t been able to improve on the original Builder brains. At best, we have repaired damage. However, as you implied, we have decreased in intelligence over the millennia. That is very frustrating. Things I could have understood in the early days…”

The android shrugged. “Time passes. Humans grow old. Androids wear out. It ends up being very similar. Entropy is the great enemy of all of us, including the mighty Builders of old.”

“I believe him,” Ludendorff told the captain. “I would make the deal. I realize it isn’t up to me, of course, Captain. Yet, that is my advice.”

Maddox nodded, thinking furiously, realizing he was going to have to make his decision soon.

-75-

It had been fifteen days since Maddox returned to Earth with
Victory
. The captain presently marched down the hall toward the brigadier’s office. He did not do so alone. An elite Marine guard marched ahead of him. Three elite combat-specialist Marines brought up the rear. Two of the Marines wore combat gloves capable of administering devastating shocks.

In the last fifteen days, there had been three attempts on Maddox’s life. One of the attackers had been an android. The others had turned out to be professional hit men of the highest caliber. O’Hara and Maddox both believed those attempts originated from the Spacers.

Fourteen days ago, all Spacer vessels had left the Solar System. Incoming reports told of similar occurrences in nearby star systems. For reasons of their own, the Spacers were leaving. Was this a permanent divorce from the Commonwealth or merely a temporary adjustment? Did the Spacers know something High Command did not or were they running scared?

Fifteen days ago, Maddox had made a trade with Yen Cho. The captain gave the android his freedom for the data files Yen Cho had gulped on the golden pyramid.

Over the past fourteen days, Star Watch had failed to hunt down the renegade android. Yen Cho had gone to ground on Earth and remained hidden.

“Maybe he’s like a vampire,” Ludendorff joked. “Maybe the androids live so long because they go somewhere deep underground and turn themselves off for twenty, thirty or even sixty years. Maybe Yen Cho won’t come up for air again until we’re all dead and gone.”

That was one theory among many. None of the theories kept Mary O’Hara’s hunters from scouring the planet.

The Marines and Maddox entered the outer office. The lead Marine nodded to the brigadier’s secretary.

“Go ahead,” the secretary said.

The Marine rapped on the brigadier’s door.

“It’s open,” O’Hara called. “Come in.”

The Marine opened the door, clicked his heels to the brigadier and waited for Maddox to pass.

The captain entered the office.

The brigadier wore glasses and held a tablet, no doubt going over a report. She indicated a chair. Maddox sat down as the Marine shut the door, leaving him alone with the brigadier.

Mary O’Hara set down the tablet, took off her glasses and pinched the bridge of her nose.

“Have you read any part of the Yen Cho Report?” she asked.

Maddox said he hadn’t.

The Yen Cho Report was what they were calling the gulp download. The specialists hadn’t had any luck deciphering it. Instead, Galyan, the professor and the most scholarly Kai-Kaus were making slow headway understanding what the data meant.

“We’re finally seeing the extent of the Swarm Imperium,” O’Hara said, picking up a clicker. She dimmed the lights and brought up a stellar map of the Orion and Perseus Arms.

“The area in red is the Swarm Imperium,” she said. “If you’ll notice this black dot closer to Human Space…”

The captain nodded.

“That was the location of the Dyson sphere. As you can see with this yellow line, the hyper-spatial tube that left the sphere aimed at the heart of the Imperium. There can be no doubt that Commander Thrax Ti Ix reached the Imperium. Did the Swarm kill him, or accept Thrax and his technologies?”

“What do you—?”

“Hold your question,” O’Hara said. “Let’s regard the Imperium for a moment. First, it isn’t one tenth of our galaxy. It’s more like one sixteenth or one seventeenth. Now, you might think that’s a quibble, but it’s important.”

“It’s not a quibble if the Swarm makes a hyper-spatial tube reaching into Human Space.”

“Our top scientists are debating the possibility,” O’Hara said. “Before we delve into that, let’s consider what we know about the Swarm. They travel at sub-light speeds. Their nearest point to the Commonwealth is two thousand and twenty-seven light-years away. Given their regular mode of travel, that is centuries away from us.”

“But…” Maddox said.

O’Hara pinched the bridge of her nose again, nodding shortly. “But Commander Thrax Ti Ix journeyed into the Imperium. But Commander Thrax might or might not have star drive technology like
Victory
. But what happens if the Swarm defeats the Chitins and overruns the golden pyramid? Those are all frightening possibilities.”

“So we’re back where we started,” Maddox said.

“Hardly that,” O’Hara said. “We know the Swarm is real because our greatest Patrol team has seen them. We know the extent of their Interstellar Imperium because of Yen Cho’s data gulp. We know where the Swarm are not. All those are highly informative pieces of data.”

“What does that mean regarding a final assault upon the New Men?”

O’Hara made a soft noise. “The question doesn’t stop there, I’m afraid. There are multiple problems. I can sum them up in one sentence. Humanity is splintered into seemingly endless factions. We have the Commonwealth, the Windsor League, the Spacers, the Independent Worlds, the New Men and hidden androids with who knows what kind of objectives. Worse than that, each political entity suffers from constant infighting and politicking. Take the Commonwealth for instance. Even in High Command there are warring factions pushing for one idea or its competing opposite. In the Planetary Congress it gets worse.”

“Stop and take a breath, Ma’am,” Maddox said, noting the slight breathlessness that betrayed her anxiety.

O’Hara nodded, but her rest only lasted a moment. “I’ve read your report on the Chitin-Swarm War. I find it appalling and demoralizing. Either side would annihilate Star Watch in a head-to-head battle. Either insect side would sweep the floor with all of humanity even if we were all fighting together.”

“Don’t be too sure about that.”

“Captain, hundreds of thousands—possibly millions—of Chitin warships would eventually wear down any human fleet.”

“If that fleet was stupid enough to hammer it out with the Chitins, you’d be right,” Maddox said. “Hit and run tactics could eventually whittle down—”

“Hit and run?” O’Hara asked in disbelief. “That would take years, more like decades and maybe even a century. In other words, using time we don’t have.”

Maddox said nothing.

O’Hara plucked at the clicker, soon shaking her head. “Look at the size of the Swarm Imperium. The Chitin Empire is miniscule compared to it. The fact of the Chitin-Swarm War has led our experts to suspect other conflicts as well. It appears our galaxy seethes with wars fought in numbers that stagger the imagination.”

Maddox studied the Iron Lady. She seemed tired, worn down by the relentless events these past few years. The New Men had seemed daunting, but they were easy compared to the Swarm, given that the Swarm found a way to reach Human Space and start a war.

“There’s something you’re not taking into account,” Maddox said.

“I could use a pep talk. Go ahead.”

“We found the Swarm, the Swarm didn’t find us. That gives us an advantage.”

“For now,” the brigadier said.

“Right,” Maddox said. “That means we have to grab the opportunity and use it. The Swarm Imperium has its own problems. It’s involved in a staggering war with the Chitins. Maybe it’s waging other wars as well, as you’ve said. It would also seem the Swarm has no idea how to form alliances with other aliens.”

“We can’t even form alliances with modified humans,” O’Hara said. “So we have no room to speak.”

“I most profoundly disagree,” Maddox said. “Star Watch has achieved strategic victories several times already due to its alliance with an ancient Adok starship. Let me remind you that the Adok starship is an ancient vessel, run by an alien intelligence. We have met a Builder and a Builder android. To at least some degree, we convinced the Builder to give us a chance.”

“You did that,” O’Hara said.

“Galyan helped me,” Maddox said.

“What is your point, Captain?”

“It’s simple really,” Maddox said. “Vast numbers of an appalling nature are one of the key Swarm advantages. They follow a predictable pattern, never varying even six thousand years later. We know with reasonable certainty what the Swarm will do in any given encounter. Humanity has its own advantages too, quite different from the Swarm. We can adapt. We can think outside the box. We can shift our strategy and try something completely different. Although we splinter among ourselves, it has forced us to learn how to get along with those we don’t like. That means we are capable of forming alliances with others, possibly even with aliens.”

“You make it sound as if we have a fighting chance,” O’Hara said.

“We won’t if we try to beat the Swarm at their strongest point. We have to use other methods to win.”

“What methods?” O’Hara asked.

Maddox slapped the table. “That, Brigadier, lies in the future. I suggest we should first organize our home affairs. We must unite humanity—”

“Yes,” O’Hara said. “We all agree with that. But how do we go about it? And if we can’t convince the Spacers and the New Men to unite with us, what do you suggest then?”

“I don’t know yet,” Maddox said. “We’ve just discovered our great problem. Fortunately, knowing what’s wrong is half the battle toward solving it. We have our goals now.”

“Just a minute,” O’Hara said. “What about the Builders and their Nexuses?”

“Ma’am, the Builders and Nexuses are tactical problems. We are talking about the overall strategy. We can see what needs doing: uniting our side, gaining powerful allies and making sure the Swarm cannot use hyper-spatial tubes to reach Human Space.”

“What allies?” O’Hara said.

Maddox gave a faint nod. “Maybe the Chitins, for one.”

“How do we communicate with them?”

“I have no idea.”

O’Hara put both hands on the desk, staring at her prize agent. “You’re right. The fight isn’t over. We finally know our great enemy and the extent of their Imperium. We have a head start against them. We’re going to have to solve several problems at once. The existence of Commander Thrax Ti Ix mandates it.”

“True,” Maddox said.

“First, we need to understand the rest of the Yen Cho Report. The last time we tried to retrieve Builder data we lost it. This time, who knows what we’re going to find. It could give us another advantage, something like disrupter cannons or hyper-spatial tubes.”

“Ma’am, this is all very exciting. But I’m going to request a rest for me and my crew. I imagine we’re going to enter the fire again very soon. I want to do it with refreshed people.”

“What about the assassination attempts on your person?”

“Not to worry, Ma’am. I have a plan.”

O’Hara studied him, finally reaching across her desk to hold one of his hands. “I’m glad you’re back…Captain. Every time you leave… Well, yes, take your rest. If anyone has earned it, it’s you. We can talk again soon.”

Maddox squeezed her hand and stood up. He headed for the door, trying to decide where he was going to take Meta to dinner tonight. He would take her dancing later and find a romantic location for a midnight walk. He wanted to spend an entire evening staring into Meta’s eyes…

-76-

Shu 15 sat deep underground in an old abandoned gold mine in a place once known as South Africa. Without the air-conditioning, it would have been hot way down here. Instead, it was comfortably cool.

Shu sat inside a spacious chamber at a rather large table. Antique papers created several neat piles.

She took the next paper from the nearest pile. A quick study showed her it was an intercepted message from one Spacer cargo hauler to another.

Shu underlined a sentence in red. She put a one at the end of the sentence and flipped the paper, scribbling a one on the back and circling it. Then, she began to write what the coded Spacer message meant.

Once finished with that, she flipped the paper to the front and continued to read. That was the only coded reference she could detect in the message.

Shu slapped the paper onto her completed pile and reached for another.

A lock rattled.

Shu swiveled around, waiting. Was it lunchtime already? That didn’t seem right. She wasn’t hungry yet.

The heavy door swung open and a brisk older lady stepped within.

“You can wait outside,” the older woman said.

The Marine closed the door but didn’t lock it.

“Hello, Shu. I’m Brigadier Mary O’Hara of—”

“Star Watch Intelligence,” Shu finished. “I know who you are. Would you like to have a seat?”

O’Hara nodded, walking across the chamber and sitting down in a chair across from Shu.

The two looked at each other.

“How long do you plan to keep me down here?” Shu asked.

“That depends on you. If you tire of the arrangement, you can submit to surgery. Afterward, we can give you a normal office in a city somewhere. As it is, we can’t risk having you near electronic devices. You might have changed your mind, or you might change it sometime in the future and alert your former colleagues.”

“I’m not a traitor to the Spacers.”

“I would never suggest otherwise,” O’Hara said.

“You just did.”

“An ill choice of words, I’m afraid.”

Shu shook her head. “I understand what you’re thinking. It’s wrong, though. I wouldn’t do any of this if I believed I was betraying the Spacers. I think of myself as the most loyal Spacer of all. I want to help my people see the truth. I don’t think they can do that under the present leadership.”

O’Hara became thoughtful.

“I’ll stay down here,” Shu said. “I earned my adaptations. I’m proud of them and of my work with them. I could never part with them, not even to save my life.”

“What about the compulsions the Visionary added with the adaptations?” O’Hara asked.

“Doctor Rich was working with me on
Victory
. I took the Amber-Clayton psyche test.”

“I’ve read the results,” O’Hara said.

“Doctor Rich had begun the deprogramming.”

“Shu,” O’Hara said, sitting forward. “I don’t think it’s going to work like that. The programming is on a fundamentally deeper level. It’s not strictly psychological, but electrical. If you want to be free from the compulsions, you’re going to have to remove the adaptations.”

“I don’t accept that. I think most of it
is
psychological. I would appreciate it if Dana could continue my deprogramming.”

“What if Doctor Rich is otherwise engaged?”

Shu shook her head. “I won’t work with anyone else.”

O’Hara seemed to make a mental notation of that.

“I realize you want to use me as an Intelligence asset,” Shu said. “That’s a mistake. I would be better used as a reformer. You should let me go and allow me to sway other Spacers to accept the truth of our origin.”

“Maybe in time,” O’Hara murmured.

Shu frowned. “You’re using my hope like a carrot. I do not appreciate that. I consider it ill-willed.”

O’Hara’s lips tightened. She leaned closer toward Shu, and there was menace in her bearing. “You showed ill-will toward my—”

“Yes?” Shu asked.

“Toward my best agent,” O’Hara said quickly.

Shu sat silently, soon nodding. “I’m beginning to understand. This is revenge for my working against Maddox. He wouldn’t have succeeded without me. Have you thought of that?”

“I have,” O’Hara said. “I have also considered how you almost derailed the mission several times.”

“Your…
best agent
helped me to see the truth. I’m grateful for that. But none of that matters, Brigadier. I’ve been out there. I’ve seen what’s waiting for humanity. We must all work together. The Spacers are part of the human race. Release me and let me bring my people into the greater fold of Star Watch.”

O’Hara looked away. “I believe you’re in earnest when you say that. But the risks and your compulsions…let’s try this my way for a time.” She faced the Spacer. “If over time you cooperate fully and it seems we’re no closer to winning the Spacers to our cause…then we’ll try it your way.”

“I hope you’re being genuine in that, Brigadier.”

“I am,” O’Hara said.

Shu studied the head of Star Watch Intelligence. Finally, she stood and held out her hand.

O’Hara rose and the two women shook hands.

“I’d better get back to work,” Shu said. “I have the feeling we don’t have much time left. More than anything, I want to save my people.”

“Yes,” O’Hara said. “It is time for all of us to work while it’s still daylight. The night may close on all of us, all too suddenly.”

The brigadier rapped on the door, soon departing.

Shu sat back down at the table, reaching for another paper.

***

Strand was in his cabin aboard his star cruiser when the long-range communicator began to buzz.

The Methuselah Man stared at the ancient device. Few knew that he had one of these. There were very few of them in existence. He’d attempted during the past few years to learn how to eavesdrop on others making interstellar calls. To date, he’d had one success: the ability to pinpoint the direction of the messages. Unfortunately, he had neither learned how to narrow down the originating star system or the targeted system. But that was all right. He had time.

His communicator buzzed again.

Strand rose from his chair. He’d been sitting at his worktable, developing a special handgun.

Reluctantly, he approached the ancient unit. Could the caller use this against him? If he accepted the message, would that help a person pinpoint his location?

Strand stepped to a panel, tapping it. The bridge crew did not spot any vessels, cloaked or otherwise in the star system.

Once more, the long-distance communicator buzzed. Almost as if compelled against his will, Strand lifted the microphone, depressing a switch.

“Who is this?” Strand said into the mic.

A familiar chuckle came out of the speaker.

“Ludendorff?” Strand asked in disbelief.

“Nice try, old boy,” the professor said.

“What are you talking about?”

The chuckle sounded again, this time with a hint of menace. “Do you suppose I don’t know who caused the Xerxes Nexus to explode?”

“What is this?” Strand asked, trying to sound surprised and outraged all at once. “The Xerxes Nexus is gone? What did you do to it?”

“It appears I played into your hands this time,” the professor said. “But I survived the trap. I thought I’d call you and let you know. I knew you had a communicator. And I’m pretty certain you didn’t think I knew. Well, I’m letting you know you were wrong. I’m doing it to piss you off, get under your skin. Am I getting under your skin yet, old boy?”

“I had nothing to do with the Xerxes Nexus,” Strand said.

“I know your fingerprints. I know your ways. You’re doomed, Strand. The old days are passing. I just thought I’d let you know. But before this is over, I’m going to cage you and present you to… Hmmm, who would you hate the most? Yes, I know. I’m going to catch you and give you to the Emperor. You’ll end your days on the Throne World, a prisoner of the people you thought to enslave.”

Strand silently fumed. He hated making idle threats. So he listened, certain Ludendorff had made a strategic error with this call. If he had been in Ludendorff’s place, he would have stayed low until he could spring a surprise. The professor was losing his touch. It was good to know, even if the slippery bastard had escaped such a carefully laid trap as the Nexus.

“I’ll see you soon, Strand.”

“When you do,” Strand said, unable to help himself, “you’re going to wish you hadn’t.”

The click on the line told him the professor had already hung up.

Slowly, carefully, Strand put the microphone back. He returned to his desk, but the work had lost its savor. He had been so certain. Damn Ludendorff and his smug ways. He was going to kill the professor one of these days. It was imperative he do so.

Snarling quietly, the wizened Strand hunched over his worktable, forcing himself to continue modifying the tiny raygun.

***

The android formerly known as Yen Cho strolled along the promenade of the most expensive luxury habitat in Earth orbit.

His new legs worked fine, although not as well as his original pair. He had spent some harrowing days escaping Star Watch Intelligence. The Earthlings were getting better all the time. They still could not compete with him, though. He knew the humans too well.

The android moved to the vast middle pool area and lay on a recliner, pretending to read a tablet. This was a special pool in a low gravity spot in the habitat. The humans could make incredible dives because of the low gravity, their velocity much less than it would have been on Earth.

He set down the tablet, watching a skilled diver. The lean man wore a dark swimsuit. He had no fat, and steely muscles. It was Captain Maddox, of course.

The pool here wrapped around the middle of the low gravity area like a bracelet around a woman’s wrist. The habitat rotated on its axis, giving it pseudo-gravity just as if a kid swung a bucket of water around and around.

A skilled diver could use that, and Captain Maddox did. He flew off his diving board, heading to another one on the other side of the low gravity center.

Ah, the captain bounced off that board, gaining velocity as he headed for another. The man was showing off.

On the walkway around the circular band of a pool were many watchers. The android saw Keith Maker and Valerie. They both wore swimsuits. Yen Cho spied the beautiful Meta in her stunning bikini. Even Sergeant Riker lay on a recliner, reading a gardening magazine. Yen Cho did not see Dana or the professor, which didn’t surprise him.

The android looked up at Maddox. The captain bounced off the fourth diving board, and changed his trajectory as he did. Maddox dove for the water, zipping into it and creating almost no splash. The low gravity had a lot to do with that, but so did the captain’s skill.

The android watched Maddox surface. The captain waved to Meta, beckoning her to join him in the pool.

The android doubted she would do that. Meta did not like water. Her time on Loki Prime had much to do with that. At least, that’s what her profile said.

The android slid off the recliner. He began to walk marginally faster. There was a woman down the way…he didn’t like the way her head moved. It indicated something to him.

Meta reluctantly moved to the side of the pool as Maddox swam to her.

The android could hear the captain.

“The water’s warm,” Maddox said. “You should come in.”

“Maybe later,” Meta said.

The android knew that was an evasion. Maybe the captain did too. Maddox jumped away from her, beginning to do the backstroke.

The android moved just a little faster as the woman with the odd head movement raised her arm. She pretended to point at someone. Then, she moved the arm, aligning a pointing finger at the swimming captain.

“Excuse me,” the former Yen Cho said.

The woman’s head twitched to stare at him. It took her a second. “Why are you here?” she asked.

The android reached out, took her hand, and let a shock of primal energy jolt into her.

The woman—she was an android too—stiffened. She seemed shocked and tried to form words. That was impossible now.

Yen Cho laid her on the recliner. “Sleep,” he said.

Her head moved oddly one last time. She tried to look at him, but failed. Her eyes closed and she began to simulate rhythmic breathing.

He would have to come back in an hour and appear to help her. In reality, he would take her to a disposal unit.

The android became thoughtful. One of his newest purposes was protecting Captain Maddox. His group had decided that Maddox was an asset in helping them keep their freedom. His action aboard Victory in the Chitin-Swarm System and the captain’s willingness to let him go afterward in exchange for critical data helped them reach that conclusion.

“Yen Cho?” Maddox asked softly.

The android turned in surprise to find the captain at the edge of the pool, with his arms on the side of the pool and water dripping from his hair.