The Lost Command (Lost Starship Series Book 2) (24 page)

“Who will join you?” Galyan asked.

“The obvious people,” Maddox said. “Keith will pilot and Doctor Rich will come to help find Ludendorff and then convince him to join us.”

“I see,” Galyan said.

“Excellent,” Maddox said. “Now, the next thing…”

***

Three hours later, Starship
Victory
used its jump, moving in sideways closer to the Wolf System.

There were four planets in the star system, a rock world in a Venus orbit, Wolf Prime at the distance of Mars to the Sun, and two large Jovian planets in the far, outer system. The bluish-white F class star had a surface temperature of 7,500 K, making it decidedly hotter than the Sun. The distance of Wolf Prime from the star made the planet an icy world with fierce winter storms.

So far, the New Men hadn’t reacted to
Victory’s
presence. Did they wait and watch, or hadn’t they seen the starship yet?

Maddox hurried through a corridor. He recalled the last time he’d gone against the New Men in person. It had been on Loki Prime, and it had only been for a moment. The individual had been supernaturally quick and cunning. The captain hoped he didn’t have to face any New Men here.

Sergeant Riker appeared, carrying equipment. The two men entered a hangar bay, heading for the jumpfighter.

The tin can had a special cradle holding it in the middle. Both the front and back of the rounded can sprouted masses of antenna. There was no viewing port as a regular strikefighter possessed, no wings or tailfins of any kind. This had to be the most unique fighter-craft ever developed.

A stepladder led up to an open hatch. Maddox eyed both. He wouldn’t be able to walk through the opening, but would have to worm his way inside.

“Not the best designed craft I’ve ever seen,” Riker commented.

Maddox faced the sergeant. The man handed him a small case. It held thermal wear and boots for Wolf Prime. Next, the captain accepted a longer, narrower case, slinging the carrying strap over his shoulder. This one held a heavy Khislack .370 with targeting computer, suppressor and extra ammo magazines.

The two men shook hands. Afterward, Maddox climbed up the ladder, heading for the tiny hatch.

“Here, let me help,” Dana said from inside.

Maddox slid up the rifle case. Next, he climbed another two rungs and handed her the smaller suitcase. Finally, he squeezed through the opening. It wasn’t much better inside. Grabbing his cases, he crawled after Dana.

“I’ve never gone into space flying in something so cramped,” she said over her shoulder. “I hope you’re not claustrophobic.”

Maddox said nothing as slid his gun case along.

“The tin can makes my skin crawl,” Dana admitted. “I’m not sure about doing this.”

“We’ll make it,” Maddox assured her.

“
You
might survive the trip. I keep having premonitions. Do you believe in precognition, Captain?”

“I do not.”

“I wish you hadn’t picked me to join the expedition,” Dana said.

“Who should have gone in your place?”

“No one else,” she said. “I’m the one you need. It’s just…I’ve only felt this way one other time. It was a day before Star Watch captured me to send me down to Loki Prime.”

The doctor squeezed through another hatch into the flight compartment. There were two acceleration seats, one behind the other, and that just about filled the cabin.

“I suggest you take the other seat, sir,” Keith told Maddox. “I don’t know if you can fold up those long legs of yours otherwise.”

“How long is this going to take?” Dana asked.

“That depends,” Keith said. “Two, maybe three days.”

“Three days in this cramped compartment,” Dana said.

“There’s a small cubicle to your left,” Keith said cheerily. “You could squeeze into there and sleep. To your right is the john. You can fit if you go in sideways.”

“Why is this habitable quarter so tiny?” Dana asked.

“It’s all about payload, love. This isn’t an endurance fighter, but a fast in-and-out attacker. It’s not really meant to be out for days at a time.”

“How are we going to fit Ludendorff in here?” Dana asked. “There won’t be enough room.”

“Aye, it’s going to be cramped coming back,” Keith said. “Now hang on. The AI has given me the signal.”

Maddox slid into the second seat and buckled in. A shiver of unease crawled up his spine. This was tighter than he’d envisioned. Dana had a valid point. If they had to squeeze another person in here…

The jumpfighter shuddered. That caused Maddox to sway back and forth.

“This is a bumpy mother,” Keith said. “But you get used to it.”

The ace tapped his controls. A huge screen came to life before him. Maddox found that helped, giving the cabin a greater illusion of size.

Outside the jumpfighter, bay doors slowly opened. The tin can quivered, with the surrounding bulkheads shaking. Keith gave the machine a squirt of power, and the craft shot into space like an amusement park roller coaster.

“You don’t get claustrophobic?” Maddox asked Keith.

“No, sir,” the pilot said. “In a strikefighter—excuse me, a jumpfighter—I feel as if I’m floating in space. It feels as if I have all the room in the universe.”

Maddox’s headphones crackled into life. Each of them wore a pair. A mechanical voice came online.

“You must return to the starship,” Galyan said.

Maddox turned on his chest microphone. “What’s wrong?”

“My sensors have just picked up enemy pulses,” Galyan said. “I give it an eighty percent probability that the New Men know I am here. It is more than possible they have discovered you too.”

Keith turned around, looking over his backrest at Maddox.

The captain needed all of three seconds to think about it. “Jump,” Maddox told the pilot.

“Technically, it’s using a fold, not jumping,” Keith said, “and it will take me time to warm up the equipment.”

“Then get started,” Maddox said.

“Captain,” Galyan said through the headphones. “You must return to the ship.”

“Negative,” Maddox said. “If the New Men see you already, good. I doubt they will have noticed a mote like us. If you accelerate, the heat signature will hide the jumpfighter. Stick to the plan. Head for the outer system Laumer-Point. Make them race after you.”

“And if you’re wrong and they’ve already spotted you?” Galyan asked.

“The laws of probability suggest I’m right. Nothing is guaranteed in this life, though. We’re going to have to find out the hard way. Maddox out.”

The captain shut off his microphone and headgear.

A moment later, the jumpfighter’s main engine roared with power.

“How long is it going to sound like that?” Dana shouted.

“Most of the trip,” Keith shouted back, giving her the thumbs up. “But don’t worry, love, you’ll get used to it.” The ace turned back to his controls and engaged the tin can.

-24-

The jumpfighter built up velocity for the next half hour.

Maddox endured the G forces in relative comfort. His acceleration seat was made for it. Dana kept moving around. When he saw her face, the captain could tell she was suffering.

“Climb into the cubicle,” Maddox told her.

“No!” she shouted. “It helps being able to see the screen. I’d start screaming if I shoved myself into the cubicle. And once I start doing that, I don’t know how quickly I’d be able to stop.”

“I thought we were going to use the folds,” Maddox shouted at Keith.

“What’s that, sir?” Keith asked.

Maddox turned on his microphone, repeating the thought through the ace’s headphones.

“Well, sir,” Keith said, “I’m waiting for data on the enemy. We’re still far out, as you know. It’s going to be hours before we see how the enemy reacts to his knowledge about
Victory
being out here. Frankly, sir, I don’t think they spotted us. We’re too small in the tin can.”

Keith referred to the time lag of sensor data. If the enemy saw them many AUs distant, it took time—the speed light could travel—for the information to get from point A to point B.

“Don’t forget that the New Men have fantastic sensors,” Maddox said. “They showed us that out in the Beyond over a year ago.”

“That’s one theory, sir. But I’ve never subscribed to it. Time lag means their using sensors before in the Beyond—light years distant, mind you—just wouldn’t have been scientifically possible. I think they used deductive reasoning to follow us. Well, that and their greater ship speed.”

“We’re going to have to land on Wolf Prime,” Maddox said. “All this velocity—”

“I’ll need speed to play with, sir, on the other end,” Keith shot back. “That’s about the only thing we’re going to have against them.”

“You can’t outfly a star cruiser.”

“I know that, sir. But I will need speed to maneuver. That and the folds will allow me to run circles around one of their starships.”

Could that be true? Maddox was beginning to think the ace was too overconfident by several factors. The captain settled in just the same, enduring.

It was hours before any of them spoke again.

“Look at that,” Keith said, pointing up at the screen.

The jumpfighter’s screen showed Wolf Prime as a white ball. Orbiting it were small red triangles—the star cruisers. One by one, the red triangles left the snow world, heading into space.

“Let’s see their trajectory,” Keith said, tapping his controls.

Dotted red lines moved away from the triangles, heading in the direction the star cruisers aimed. The lines speared across the system, finally reaching the known region of the Laumer-Point by a Jovian world.

“They’re chasing
Victory
,” Keith said, “trying to reach the Laumer-Point before Galyan does.”

“Show us our starship,” Maddox said.

“Aye, aye, sir.” Keith manipulated his board.

The ancient alien vessel appeared as a blue triangle. A dotted blue line moved from it toward the outer system Laumer-Point. According to the scale of Keith’s projection, the New Men had four times as far to go to reach the Laumer-Point as Galyan did.

“The New Men must know about
Victory’s
star jump drive,” Dana said. “Why are they trying to do this? They can’t be that foolish.”

“
Maybe
they know about the drive,” Maddox said.

“Not maybe,” Dana argued. “They wouldn’t all be racing for the Laumer-Point unless
Victory
were important. That means they understand what they saw. Yet, if that’s true, they must know our starship can simply jump away at any time.”

“Maybe they’re hoping the ancient vessel had a star drive malfunction,” Maddox said.

Dana didn’t respond to that as she continued to crane her neck to look at the screen.

“Time to use a fold,” Keith said.

The ace reached up, opening a small compartment overhead. He took a hypo and pressed it against his right arm, injecting himself.

“What did you just do?” Dana asked.

“Gave myself a Baxter-Locke shot, love.”

“I can see you gave yourself something.”

“Then why did you ask?”

Dana looked perturbed. “A shot of
what
?” she asked.

“I just said. It’s called a Baxter-Locke shot. Helps against fold sickness.”

“You mean Jump Lag,” she said.

“I suppose it would work for that, too,” the ace admitted.

“Well, give me a shot.”

“Can’t do that, love. I don’t have many doses left. It’s hyper-expensive, don’t you know. It’s strictly a jumpfighter item.”

“Do you hear him?” Dana asked Maddox.

“It’s experimental,” Keith added. “We don’t know yet if the dosage has any long-term aftereffects.”

“I don’t care about that,” Dana said. “I’m not sitting here and enduring Jump Lag if I don’t have to.”

“You do have to,” Maddox told her.

“What?” Dana asked.

“He’s our ticket to doing this right,” Maddox said. “Whatever helps him fly this tin can will remain strictly for him for as long as it lasts.”

“You’re only saying that because you can endure Jump Lag better than the rest of us,” Dana said. “If you weren’t half New Man—” the doctor realized her mistake too late, but closed her mouth just the same.

Keith turned around, staring at Maddox. A second later, the pilot faced forward again.

“I’m sorry,” Dana told Maddox. “I didn’t mean to say that. It just slipped out.”

“You’re half New Man?” Keith asked over the headphones.

“That’s a presumption,” Maddox said.

“I didn’t know that,” Keith said, sounding worried.

Maddox looked away and closed his eyes. He’d been dreading this moment ever since he learned about the possibility.

“Tell him your story,” Dana said. To Keith, she said, “The captain doesn’t know what he is, but being part New Man is one of the possible options.”

“What story?” Keith asked. “I’d like to know.”

Maddox nodded, opening his eyes. He never should have told Dana, but what was done was done. He explained to Keith his origins, how his mother had escaped from the Beyond, with him in her womb.

“I have some physical differences,” Maddox said. “I have a slightly higher core temperature. Alcohol doesn’t make me drunk.”

Keith swore under his breath, adding, “So you can’t know the urge, can you?”

Maddox chose to ignore the comment. “I have faster reflexes, and I’m stronger than average. Remember, though, Meta is denser and stronger than a normal person, and she has nothing to do with the New Men. Maybe my mother came from a similar world to the Rouen Colony.”

“That’s a story, all right,” Keith said.

The jumpfighter continued on its course.

A half minute later, Keith said, “Well, you’re still one of us, sir. That’s how I see it. Even if you have their bastard blood—I don’t mean it like that, sir. It’s just…they’re nuking worlds, practicing genocide. The New Men are evil, is what I think.”

“I agree with you,” Maddox said. “But we can chitchat about this later. Now, it’s time to start moving in. The star cruisers are chasing
Victory
. We have to make our first move.”

“Aye,” Keith said, “that’s true. So I want you to hang on. It’s about to get crazy.”

The ace adjusted his controls. The engine whined with greater power. The noise became worse than before, climbing higher and higher, penetrating their protective headphones. Dana opened her mouth. Maddox tried the same thing, and he found it helped a little. Then the noise began to beat against his skull.

In that moment, the entire craft shuddered. Maddox’s teeth rattled, and it felt as if they plunged down a yawning hole. They fell faster and faster. Above the blast of engine power, Maddox could have sworn he heard Dana scream in agony.

The universe blurred before Maddox. The screen became a smear. A second later, the stars reappeared on the screen. Maddox’s gut twisted. He clamped his teeth together, refusing to vomit. By slow degrees, the feeling of sickness departed. The engine no longer whined with its former intensity and the noise no longer beat into his skull. He had a headache, though, and his mouth tasted dry.

“We did it,” Keith said. “It wasn’t bad, was it?”

Maddox didn’t answer. Neither did Dana.

“It takes some getting used to,” Keith said. He checked his instruments. “We’re a quarter of the way closer.”

“We have to do that three more times?” Dana asked.

“Don’t worry, love. You’ll recover faster than you can believe.”

Maddox wasn’t so sure about that. It seemed worse in a jumpfighter. Maybe the cramped space had something to do with it. Maybe being closer to the fold/jump source did it. Whatever the case, he understood the need for the Baxter-Locke shot. A jumpfighter pilot couldn’t keep taking that and do his job.

The hours passed, and the data coming from the star cruisers was newer because they were sustainably closer than before. Now, however, it took longer to receive telemetry data from
Victory
as it raced away from them
.

Dana shifted for what must have been the one hundredth time. She looked up, saying, “Do you mind if we switch places for a bit? I need to stretch my legs.”

“Oh,” Maddox said. “Yes, of course.” He got up, twisting around her, sitting on the floor beside his seat. He brought up his knees, hunching into an uncomfortable position.

Maddox was the captain, and the crew’s well-being was his responsibility. That meant he didn’t always take the best accommodations. This idea didn’t come naturally to Maddox. He was used to having the best. The mission was first, though. Maybe he should stay down here a while to give Dana a more thorough break.

Finally, Keith said, “It’s time.”

“Go,” Maddox said.

The ace didn’t reach up for another hypo. The first shot must still be percolating through him. Keith tapped controls and the engine began revving with power.

Maddox bent his head, resting his forehead against his knees. He closed his eyes and endured, hating every second of this.

***

The jumpfighter with its precious, three-person cargo made successive leaps toward Wolf Prime, using its fold power. As the tin can did so, the star cruisers rapidly built up velocity, gaining on
Victory
.

“This is incredible,” Maddox said later, sitting in his seat once again.

They had been in the jumpfighter for a day and a half already. Dana slept in the cubicle, with her feet sticking out.

“A star cruiser is like your X72 Peregrine,” Keith said.

“I was thinking the same thing,” Maddox said. “The Peregrine is all engines, though. It doesn’t have armaments or a shield, or an armored hull, for that matter.”

“No wonder the New Men are destroying our fleets,” Keith said. “They outfight and outrun all our ships, and they outthink us, too. Sir, do you believe the Commonwealth really has a long-term chance against the New Men?”

“Of course,” Maddox said.

“Hear me out, sir. I’ve had a long time to think about this the past month.”

Maddox understood. He’d had a lot of time to think alone while on
Victory’s
bridge. They must have all been doing some serious thinking lately.

“The New Men are better than us,” Keith said. “That’s clear. Suppose by some miracle we win the war because we drive them out of the Commonwealth. What’s to stop them from renewing the war in another ten years?”

“Your implications are clear,” Maddox said. “We have to find their homeworld or worlds and defeat them for good.”

“Then what happens?” Keith asked.

Maddox grew quiet.

“Let me put it out in the open, sir. Suppose we defeat the New Men and stomp on their homeworld. We disarm them. Maybe we even say they can’t live on their homeworld anymore. So the New Men emigrate. They wait thirty years, slowly supplanting us everywhere, taking over place after place because they’re better than the rest of us at everything.”

“What are you suggesting?” Maddox asked.

“I’m not suggesting anything, sir. I’m saying we can’t compete against them on even terms. If regular humanity is going to survive, don’t we have to wipe out the New Men altogether?”

“Are you talking about genocide?” Maddox asked.

“It’s either that, sir, or we tell ‘em they can’t have children with each other. They can only marry regular humans. We dilute their superiority before they become our conquerors.”

“You pose a hard question,” Maddox said.

“Aye, I grant you that, sir. It’s obvious we’re not going to commit genocide, as that’s a horrible evil. But that brings me to a terrible conclusion. Are we in a war we can’t win?”

“I don’t believe that.”