The Lost Starship (19 page)

“We have to flee,” he told Dana. “The New Man must have doubled back.”

“Don’t be absurd,” she said. “If he was here, we’d already be dead.”

Maddox looked at her questioningly.

“I’m beyond caring whether I live or die,” she said. “This planet has sucked the joy of life from me.”

Dana Rich
didn’t look defeated as she squinted down the rifle barrel at him, more like icily determined to overcome anything thrown at her.

“On your knees,” she said. “It’s time you answered
some questions.”

A distinct hoot sounded
from the undergrowth.

Doctor
Rich cursed, and her fingers tightened around her weapon. “Mister, grab those guns by the barrels. You were right. He’s coming back. We have to get out of here.”

“
Let’s work together,” Maddox suggested. “We’ll kill him.”

“Hurry!” she hissed. “Do it now
, or I’m going to kill you. And if you don’t care about your life, think about your friend.”

With a nod of her head,
Dana indicated leftward.

Maddox glanced in the direction he’d heard the crashing noise a second ago. A
striking woman stepped into view. She had platinum-colored hair pulled into a knot behind her head. She wore bikini furs, showing a voluptuous figure a trifle heavier than Maddox liked. Unfortunately, she had one of Keith Maker’s arms behind his back with her other hand around his mouth.

“Meta is pretty,” Dana said. “She’s also from a heavy G mining world. That means she’s stronger than anyone I know. She can snap your man’s neck like a twig.”

The cavewoman stared with hostility at Maddox. She had Keith’s force blade and gun tucked in her fur shorts. The ace squirmed. She shoved his back arm a little higher, causing him to lift up onto his toes. Yes, she must be strong.

A
warning hoot sounded once more.

Because of it,
Maddox made his decision of how to play this. He grabbed the two guns by the barrels, his and the New Man’s. Then he hurried toward Meta, with Doctor Dana Rich following. It was clear she didn’t want to be here when the golden-skinned invader returned.

Maddox halted at Doctor Rich’s orders. They must have run a good two kilometers, entering even thicker growth. Then they’d ducked into an area of woven branches overhead, making this spot even gloomier than the surrounding terrain. There were covered holes here. Could this be a storage area or a hideaway for times of trouble?

“Sit,”
Dana said, waving his own gun at him. He’d given her both weapons earlier. She carried the long flintlock with a strap around her shoulder.

Maddox
sat on damp soil. Yes. This definitely seemed like a hideaway. If the tribes raided each other, a wise leader would have places to regroup if an enemy overran the main compound.

Meta shoved Keith against
Maddox so the ace sprawled onto the ground.

“They surprised me,” Keith
explained, his mouth finally freed of the woman’s silencing hand.

“Quiet,” Dana
told him. “Unless I tell you otherwise, don’t speak.”

Maddox nodded to Keith
that it was okay to listen to her in this.

“Meta,” Dana said,
holding up the flat gun.

The cavewoman accepted the New Man’s weapon. She inspected it a moment. A grin spread across her wide features. Then
Meta faded from view, backing out the entrance, no doubt to stand guard.

Doctor Dana Rich
moved to the side, sitting on a tree stump, studying the two of them. She kept the gun trained on Maddox. She lacked a perfect poker face. It was clear she was curious about something.

“Why did you come
down onto Loki Prime for me?” she said.

“Does it matter?” Maddox
asked.

“Oh yes.”

“Are you that eager to remain on Loki Prime, then?” Maddox asked. “If we’re going to leave, we have to act now.”

“You have a point,” she said. “I obviously wis
h to leave. The question is can you beat their offer?”

“I doubt they offered you anything
,” Maddox said.

“Oh
?”

“You’re on the run from them. I think you’ve been hiding the entire time the shuttle has been on the ground. Otherwise, you’d be dead, k
illed during the missile strike. They would have at least been interrogating you there.”

“
I see you like to make guesses,” she said.

Maddox shook his head. “
No. It’s not a guess; it’s what happened. The New Man would never bother hunting for you otherwise.”

“
You’re spinning a web of suppositions, hoping I’m so eager to get off Loki Prime that I’ll believe anything you tell me.”

“Doctor,” Maddox said. “The New Men have invaded the Oikumene. They have superior starships.
Do you know that with three cruiser-class vessels, they annihilated what amounted to a double-strength Star Watch battle group?”

“
Did you see the shuttle back there?” Dana asked. “Did you look at its markings? Did you happen to notice what uniform the woman wore who shot down your flitter?”

“I
’m afraid I didn’t see her.”

“She wore a
Star Watch uniform,” Dana said, as if that ended the discussion.

“That doesn’t surprise me in the least,” Maddox said. “T
he New Men have secretly infiltrated the Oikumene and slipped people into high places among Commonwealth personnel. We believe they’re genetic supermen. Given their actions to date, we’re in a species battle, and so far, our side is losing.”

Dana no longer seemed as triumphant as
a second ago. “Suppose this is the truth,” she said. “Why would that bring you down here?”

“
The answer may surprise you. Their technology is decidedly superior to ours, particularly in terms of starships. We need an equalizer, a superior fighting vessel, if we’re going to stop their invasion. According to our records, you were with Professor Ludendorff when he studied the alien sentinel in the shattered star system.”

For the first time, shock crossed her features. “Are you insane? I know Professor Ludendorff was. If I hadn’t—” She
shut her mouth, pressing her lips together.

Maddox raised an eyebrow.
What did that mean? What had happened during their expedition?

“You want the sentinel?” she asked
in a sharp voice.

“
Very much so,” Maddox said.

“And you think I’m suicidal enough to
go back there?”

“Given
the alternative of spending the rest of your life here, yes,” Maddox said.

Dana laughed, shaking her head. “Even if I believed your story—which I don’t—I wouldn’t do as you asked.”

“Then you have two choices left. Rot on Loki Prime or become a genetic experiment for the New Men.”

A hard grin twisted her lips. “I’ll paint you another, mister.
If there’s some grand war obliterating worlds, I’ll simply hijack a starship and leave the Oikumene. I’ll head into the Beyond. The universe is full of planets. When faced with an invincible foe, the wise person relocates.”

“What happens to the people who can’t do that?”
Maddox asked.

“Am I their guardian?” Dana asked. “No. The ‘people’ as you call them, support the ones who
pod-dropped me here. I owe them nothing. Maybe you don’t, but I plan to live a long, long life.”

“Do you think Meta feels the same
way about her mining world?” Maddox asked, raising his voice. “If you run from the New Men, her people die. Does she want that?”

Dana cocked her head, as if surprised at
his questions. Then a snarl creased her features. Aiming the gun, she said, “Shut up.”

“Why do you think you get to make everyone else’s
decisions for them?” Maddox asked.

Dana stood, still aiming the gun
at him. “I know what you’re doing. Meta isn’t going to fall for that. It—”

Maddox could see the decision
to kill him in her eyes. That she hadn’t already done it meant she wasn’t a hardened killer who could just blow a person away. She had to psyche herself up first.

She was as
physically close as she was going to come. Using the palms of his hands, Maddox shoved against the ground, scooting himself closer toward her. Her trigger finger began to tighten. Maddox swept his left foot, connecting with her ankles. He kicked her feet out from under her. She fell hard and her finger yanked the trigger.

A loud
boom
crashed against Maddox’s ears. The bullet smashed through leaves, thudding against a tree trunk. Then Dana’s back smacked against the ground. She grunted, but she kept hold of the gun.

Maddox was already moving, diving at her. Grabbing the gun, he twisted. She yelled painfully, her forefinger wretched
in the trigger guard. She tried to get up. With a twist, Maddox smashed an elbow against her face, making the back of her head slam against the ground.

Maddox t
ore the gun from her weakened grip, spun and aimed at the arch opening into the hideaway.

“Meta!” Dana shouted
from the ground. “Run!”

At the same
instant, Maddox fired, thinking he saw something darker than a shadow as a target.

“You wretch,” Dana said. “If you killed her—”

Since he didn’t hear anything to indicate a hit, Maddox switched tactics. He stood, grabbed Dana by the hair and heaved, lifting her to a standing position. Then he had the gun barrel pressed against her temple, backing away against a tree trunk, using her as a human shield against Meta.

“You’ll never leave this place alive,” Meta said, hidden by the undergrowth. “Let her go.”

“I decline your suggestion,” Maddox shouted. Looking at Keith, Maddox jerked his head to the side.

The pilot
scrambled beside him.

“What now?” Dana asked. “Meta will wait all day to get a shot at you.”

“That means we’re at an impasse,” Maddox whispered into Dana’s ear. “I have a gun. Meta has a gun. Out there, the New Man is plotting to destroy us both. If we wait, we both die.”

“Fine,” Dana
told him. “We’ll join forces for the moment. What do we need to do?”

“What can we do?” Maddox asked. “My only transport up is the flitter. One of the
Saint Petersburg’s
people shot the bottom of the craft.”

“That’s easy enough,” Dana said. “We fix the flitter
so we can fly out of here.”

“You have
such tools?”

“I bet the shuttle does,” Dana said.
“We’ll take theirs.”

“That means defeating the New Man and his remaining people. At least one of them has a repeater. It’s possible another shuttle is on its way down.”

As he spoke, Maddox heard quiet footfalls behind his tree. He understood that Dana knew Meta would try to rescue her. The doctor had kept him talking, likely to direct Meta. Now, the cavewoman would try to take him out from behind. This also meant Dana’s agreement to work together was a lie. It was time to change the power dynamics.

First lifting his gun, Maddox
brought it down hard against Dana’s skull. It was a risk. He didn’t want to give her a concussion, but he wasn’t sure Keith would be able to guard her. Besides, that would mean giving his gun to Keith, and he needed it against Meta.

Dana crumpled face-first onto the ground.

The movement behind the tree stopped. Maddox waited, listening. Then he heard the faintest of footfalls again. A branch made a soft creak.

Because he didn’t know what else to do,
Maddox decided to use the oldest trick in a gunfight. Slipping his force-blade from Dana’s inert form, he tossed it into the heavy undergrowth. He put it where he hoped was in front of Meta.

The handle of the force blade struck leaves. A gunshot rang out—Meta firing at it.

Maddox entered the undergrowth from the other side of the tree. He smashed past leaves and branches, and he reached Meta as she whirled around to face him. Another shot rang out. The round slammed into the soil.

Not wanting to kill her, Maddox refrained from shooting her in the stomach. Instead, he pistol-whipped her, using the bottom of his handle to strike her across the jaw
in a right cross.

At that moment,
it was obvious that Meta was from a heavy G mining world. The blow would have dropped most people. It barely caused her head to move. She must have strong neck muscles. With his left hand, Maddox punched her bare stomach. It was rock solid, like hitting a tree. She didn’t even grunt.

Meta head-butted
him, and if her forehead had connected with his nose, the fight would have been over. Maddox twisted his head aside in time. She staggered against him with her body. He let go of his gun and grabbed the wrist of her gun hand. She brought the flat weapon up anyway, just slower than otherwise. Her strength amazed him.

Fortunately,
Maddox knew many forms of unarmed combat. Maybe Meta did too, but the blow to her jaw with the butt of his pistol might have dazed her just a little. With an intricate and fast move, he twisted her arm. He kicked her nearest foot, and he flipped her. She was denser than she looked.

Even so, she struck the ground with her back. Maddox stepped against her side as he held up her arm. He gripped her wrist with both hands and twisted hard enough so she let go of the gun. She groaned too, her first indication of pain.

Before she could recover, Maddox had the flat gun. He aimed it at her as he squatted and retrieved his own. Then he indicated that she proceed him into the hideaway.

Sullenly, rubbing her right wrist, Meta did as ordered
, climbing to her feet and pushing through bushes. She gave a small cry of dismay as she saw Dana lying on the ground. The cavewoman knelt beside her, checking to see if the doctor was okay.

“Here,” Maddox said. He gave Keith the flat pistol. “Check the ground back there. I dropped my force blade.”

“Jolly good, Captain,” Keith said. He headed there and paused. “I’m surprised you beat that viper. She’s strong.”

Maddox kept his gaze fixed on Meta.

With a shrug, Keith headed past the tree through the bushes.

On the ground,
Dana groaned as her eyelids flickered open. With Meta’s help, she sat up. Maddox noticed Meta squeezing Dana’s arm as if signaling her. The doctor glanced slowly at Meta and then looked up at Maddox.

Pain swam in Dana’s eyes, anger and surprise. “Who are you?” she asked.

“Captain Maddox of Star Watch Intelligence,” he said.

“How did you defeat Meta?
” the doctor asked. “You don’t look strong enough.”

“
Don’t let that fool you,” Meta said. “He’s tougher than he looks.”

Despite the circumstances, Maddox found the cavewoman’s voice intoxicatingly rich and sweet.

“Interesting,” Dana said.