“I understand, ma’am.”
“Good. Is there anything else you need?”
“Meta.”
“Yes,” O’Hara said. “She was part of the original crew, wasn’t she? Before you leave the Solar System, Meta will join you. I’ll see to that.”
O’Hara stood and came around the desk. She held out her hand. “This is goodbye, Captain. You will leave my office and head straight into space. You will travel aboard a fast experimental ship to reach the Oort cloud in a few days. Godspeed, Captain. Find Professor Ludendorff, and bring us back Fletcher and his fleet.”
“I’ll do my best, ma’am. You can count on that.”
They shook hands. Then Captain Maddox turned around and headed for the door.
-12-
Captain Valerie Noonan stood in a viewing bay of SWS Battleship Gettysburg. She stared into the void of the Oort cloud.
She was far from Earth, a little over two thousand AUs. Pluto was presently thirty-five AUs out from Earth, a mere step away from the home planet compared to this distance. The crazy thing was that this was the inner Oort cloud, what some called the Hills cloud. One could travel outward for months from here and still be in the Oort cloud.
Out here, the Sun looked like just another star, if brighter than most. Because the Solar System’s planets were so far away, so were the various Laumer-Points leading to nearby systems. That would give the Home Fleet time to deploy if the New Men came for the alien starship. The unique vessel was a little over one hundred thousand kilometers from Gettysburg. The Home Fleet was giving Victory some space. No one wanted the alien AI running the starship to panic and start attacking.
Valerie shook her head.
The fools should have never turned the AI on and off all those times. Doctor Rich had been instrumental in the decision. The first time Valerie heard about the idea, she’d warned the Lord High Admiral against it. She believed the alien artificial intelligence had always been plotting. None of the others had seen the way the tiny holoimage used to watch Captain Maddox when he wasn’t looking on the journey home from the Beyond.
Victory had not only gotten smart again, but belligerent. Now it was caged by the Home Fleet with only the illusion of freedom.
First, the New Men struck. Now, the AI threatens our last big fleet. Star Watch is in real trouble.
Valerie sighed.
She felt herself to be more mature than the young lieutenant who had left well over a year ago with Maddox into the Beyond to find the alien starship. During the last ten months, Valerie had sat with the Lord High Admiral on his Strategy Council. The first few times had been daunting. She’d kept quiet as a mouse, as people said. The Lord High Admiral had finally begun asking her pointed questions in front of the others. Cook had forced her to give her opinions. The surprising thing—no, the amazing thing—was that the old ones on the council had listened to her words. It turned out that she was the expert concerning the New Men, as she’d actually dealt with them in the Beyond.
How can this crazy situation have happened?
Her focus switched from the stars to the clear plastic of the viewing port in front of her. Faintly, she saw her reflection in it.
Valerie was medium-sized, with long brunette hair and a face her friends had told her was beautiful. She played handball all the time, and won almost every match. She was inordinately proud of her captain’s uniform, with the hat presently tucked under her left arm. It hadn’t been all that long ago that she’d graduated from the Space Academy on Earth. Who would have thought the welfare kid from Greater Detroit would have ended up on the Strategy Council giving the leaders of Star Watch advice? It was incredible.
That’s what hard work and determination brought, with maybe a little luck added in. Captain Maddox didn’t believe in following the rules. But Valerie most certainly did. Without rules, people became animals like the gang members in the slums. Of course, the gangs had also been dangerous because of their savage rules, but that was different, wasn’t it?
Valerie lived by a strict and honorable code taught by her father. The regimen at the Space Academy had been easy for her. Getting along with the rich kids who made up most of the cadets had been something else.
Yet I’m the one who made it onto the Strategy Council. I’m the one the Lord High Admiral speaks with when he wants to know the mind of the New Men. Have any of my peers accomplished that?
Valerie knew they hadn’t. Was she proud of what she had done? Oh, yes, she was proud. Two months ago, she had run into Sally Fredrick from Richmond, Virginia. Sally had been a cadet with her in the Space Academy, one who had led others in asking mocking questions about Detroit. Sally had driven home in a sleek Cougar air-car at Christmas and Easter Breaks. She had given other rich-kid cadets rides home in her air-car. Valerie had stayed at the Space Academy over the vacations. There hadn’t been anything in Detroit for her to visit.
Two months ago, out here in the Oort cloud, Valerie had run into Sally Fredrick, a comm cadet aboard the SWS Destroyer Bombay. Sally had been in the Gettysburg’s cafeteria. The former Richmond socialite had been her commander’s go-fer, carrying several briefcases and looking more than a little harried doing it.
Valerie had known she shouldn’t do it, but she’d walked up behind Sally and said, “Hello, Cadet.”
Sally had turned around in surprise. “Detroit,” she’d said, smiling, holding out a hand.
The word had stung. Valerie understood it hadn’t been meant as an insult, but she’d taken it that way anyway. In their Space Academy days, Sally had meant it as mockery.
Ignoring the hand, Valerie had nodded, making a point of staring at the cadet patch on Sally’s uniform. Then, Valerie had brushed her captain’s shoulder board. “Good to see you again, Richmond.” Afterward, Valerie had walked away.
Valerie might have felt a greater sense of victory if she hadn’t seen the Lord High Admiral frowning in her direction. How had the old man happened to see that?
Valerie was a captain, which was good. But she had become a staff officer, which was bad. She wanted a line command, her own ship. Would the Lord High Admiral help her get her own ship if he thought she lacked the social graces? Star Watch wanted balanced commanders out in space.
I should have shaken Sally’s hand instead of being so bitter over past wrongs.
Valerie knew she didn’t wish she’d shaken hands for her own good, to be good, but because it might have poisoned the Lord High Admiral just a little bit against her not to have done so.
Captain Noonan frowned as she stared into the void. The Commonwealth was under assault. Star Watch was in terrible jeopardy. Now, the Lord High Admiral and his Strategy Council had come up with a harebrained scheme to try to save the Fifth Fleet heading to the Tannish System.
Valerie had no faith in the mission. A bitter, alien AI, ancient tech, a crazy professor poking around a frigid planet because of extraterrestrial cave etchings and a self-indulgent Intelligence officer were supposed to save the day. No. Valerie didn’t think so.
Instead, Star Watch should gather all the warships it could, wait for the Windsor League main fleet and then go out and do battle with the enemy. Valerie knew the enemy’s star cruisers were good. She’d been there when the New Men had destroyed Admiral von Gunther’s battle group. She—
“Captain,” a man said from behind.
Valerie hadn’t seen or heard the sergeant walk up. She turned with a start, her hand reflexively dropping to where she used to keep a hidden knife to defend herself back in Detroit. Fists, knives, even guns, it didn’t matter. Valerie Noonan didn’t back down to anyone.
“I’m sorry if I startled you, Captain,” the sergeant said.
Valerie scowled, shaking her head. “You did nothing of the kind.”
“Oh,” the sergeant said, at a momentary loss. “Well, if you’ll come this way, sir, the Lord High Admiral is ready to see you.”
Valerie followed the sergeant to the hatch, down several corridors and through a
main thoroughfare. The Gettysburg was huge. The alien starship dwarfed the battleship, however.
The sergeant hurried to another hatch, opening it for Valerie.
“Captain Noonan to see you, sir,” the sergeant said in a loud voice.
Valerie ducked her head as she entered the Lord High Admiral’s private study. Behind her, the sergeant closed the hatch.
“Captain,” Cook said, looking up. “Come, sit down and share a glass of brandy with me.”
Lord High Admiral Cook wore a white uniform. He was large and red-faced, with a thick wave of white hair and a seamed face.
The office contained computer equipment, screens and holo-imagers. Cook sat behind a desk, using his thick fingers to tap a pad. Above the pad rotated a holoimage of an enemy star cruiser.
Valerie sat before the desk.
Abruptly, Cook pushed the pad and holoimage aside. He picked up a decanter and poured brandy into two snifters.
“Please,” he said.
Valerie leaned forward, taking her glass.
The Lord High Admiral leaned back in his chair, swirling the brandy, sniffing it appreciatively. Then, he took a sip. The old man watched her and finally raised an eyebrow.
“Oh,” Valerie said. She swirled her snifter and made ready to sip.
“I forgot,” Cook said in his heavy voice. “You don’t drink.”
“Not usually, sir, no.”
“But you were about to take a sip anyway?”
“I was, sir. Is that bad?” she added.
“I don’t know,” Cook said. “Maybe.”
Valerie blushed.
“No, no, that won’t do, Captain. You shouldn’t be embarrassed. I don’t need toadies and lickspittles. I want officers who can follow orders and stand by their principles, telling me facts straight from the heart.”
“Yes, sir,” Valerie said.
“That means even if you disagree with me about this mission, and have told me so to my face, and yet still I order you to go, that you should hold to your convictions.”
“I’ll remember that, sir.”
“I want you aboard the Victory for several reasons. I trust you, Captain. You are regulation Star Watch to the core. I like that. You also speak your mind. Well, most of the time, you do. You were there from the beginning with the alien starship. You also have a powerful desire to win no matter what the odds. Humanity is going to need that. I also think that Captain Maddox is going to need your help.”
“Sir?” Valerie asked.
“I doubt Maddox realizes the need yet. Space marines are joining the expedition and other carefully selected Star Watch technicians. Maddox is an Intelligence officer, a good one. No, he’s a maverick. He gets results, though. That doesn’t mean he knows how to truly run a starship. You have to help him—even if you don’t like him.”
Cook stared at her.
After a moment, Valerie fidgeted in her chair.
“Do I make myself clear?” the old man asked.
“Yes, sir,” Valerie said. “Even though Maddox uses high-handed methods and ignores the regulations most of the time, you want me to make sure the space marines obey his orders.”
“I want everyone to follow Maddox’s orders.”
“What if his orders are wrong, sir?” Valerie asked. “What if Maddox does something so outlandish it jeopardizes the mission?”
Lord High Admiral Cook swirled his brandy again then clunked the glass onto the desk without sipping. He opened a drawer and took out a sealed envelope. With his big fingers, the old man slid it across the desk.
“You will open this only as a last resort,” Cook said. “In your opinion, Captain Maddox will have gone over the edge.”
Valerie was shocked. “Do you anticipate him doing so, sir?”
“That is an interesting question,” Cook said. “I have found to my surprise and delight that you often ask those kinds of questions. On this mission, you are my hole card, Captain. I don’t want to have to use my hole card. But if Maddox goes too far—and this is a matter of judgment—then you had better damn well unseal the envelope and read the orders in it.”
“These orders will elevate me to command of the starship?”
Cook stared her in the eyes. “Yes,” he said.
A powerful emotion surged through Valerie. It warmed her and made her smile. “I won’t let you down, sir.”
“I want you to listen to me, Valerie.”
She leaned toward him.
“Maddox is cunning. I trust him to do incredible deeds. Yet sometimes, such a man oversteps his bounds. I think you will know when that moment is if you keep in mind that victory over the New Men trumps everything else.”
“Meaning what, sir?”
“That if Maddox’s unorthodox behavior will bring us victory, you must let him proceed as he plans. I realize you do not have faith in this venture. I understand your reasons. This is a long shot. I’m afraid the latest setback in Caria 323 puts us in this spot. The Wahhabi sheiks simply can’t see reason. The Spacers are terrified of losing their home ships, and the Windsor League has divided leadership on the correct course of action. This is a mad gamble, and Captain Maddox is the right man to undertake it.”
“Are you warning me against unsealing these orders?” Valerie asked.
“No,” Cook said. “I’m telling you something that might be the most difficult thing in your life. You must use good judgment.”
Valerie found herself blushing for a second time. “You think I lack that, sir?”
“You hold grudges, Captain. I think we both know that.”
“Yes, sir, I suppose I do.”
“Don’t let a grudge stand in the way. Use your best judgment. I’m not giving you these sealed orders lightly. It might be the worst decision I’ve ever made. I can only bring myself to do this because I’ve learned to trust you.”
“You don’t trust Captain Maddox, sir?”
Cook hesitated before saying, “I do, to a point.”
“Is there something you’re not telling me, sir?”
The Lord High Admiral stared at her. It seemed as if he wanted to say something. Finally, the old man shook his head.
Valerie felt as if something vitally important had just been left unsaid. She wondered what it could be.
“Listen to me, Captain. You must win. You must find Professor Ludendorff and rescue the Fifth Fleet. We’re on the edge of a dark abyss. I think the Commonwealth is like a man swinging his arms, his feet balanced there on the edge as he sways back and forth. A wrong gust of wind will pitch us down into the abyss. There will be no climbing out of that hole.
“I pray the Lord has mercy on my soul if I’ve given you sealed orders that cause us to lose.” Cook’s gaze became stern. “Captain, is my faith in you sound? Tell me now if I’m wrong.”
Valerie stared at the old man. It finally dawned on her the incredible pressure he was setting on her shoulders.
I’m the kid from the slums. The New Men are the gangs trying to stop me from achieving my dream. Dad taught me to fight through no matter what.
“No, Lord High Admiral, you have chosen correctly. I will serve Star Watch with all my heart, soul and mind, so help me God.”
Cook nodded, saying, “For all our sakes, I hope you’re right.” The old admiral stood, and he saluted Captain Noonan.
Valerie stood and saluted back.
“Dismissed,” Cook said.
Without another word, Valerie left the study.
-13-
Lord High Admiral Cook stared at the hatch after Noonan had left. He poured himself a greater amount of brandy, but let it sit on the desk.
The sealed orders were wrong. He felt that in his gut. The trouble was Captain Maddox. The man might be half New Man. O’Hara gave that a high probability. No one knew for certain, though. That was the problem.
The Iron Lady believed in Captain Maddox. She would have disagreed with the sealed orders. She trusted Maddox. The Lord High Admiral did too—up to a point, as
he’d told Valerie.
He’s not totally one of us. He might be one of them. Can we trust him entirely?
Without Maddox, Star Watch would have never acquired the alien starship. Yet, the starship hadn’t given them any new technologies. Might the New Men have known that?
The enemy was too smart for ordinary mortals. The New Men’s plans were wheels within wheels. Just when Star Watch thought they had finally tricked the New Men, it turned out to be to the enemy’s advantage after all.
The truth is we need someone like Maddox who can match the enemy. Valerie Noonan has heart, she loves Earth and she’s one hundred percent loyal, but she’s a frail reed for humanity’s hopes to rely on.
Cook picked up the snifter, sitting like that for some time. Noonan was a possible failsafe. The Lord High Admiral had put another one onboard the alien starship. Well, if the team could even get aboard the bloody vessel.
Who are the New Men? Why do they hate us so desperately? Can we defend ourselves against a superior species?
There were too many questions and so few answers.
Mechanically, Cook drank the brandy as if it was water. It felt warm going down.
I just hope I haven’t made a terrible mistake. I want to trust Maddox, but he might be one of them. Yet, I don’t know who else can do this. Who else will have the slightest chance of success?
Cook rose from his desk, putting his hands behind his back. Maybe it was time to pray. Humanity had only this slender opportunity, the barest of threads.
If Star Watch didn’t turn things around soon, it was going to be too late.
Cook resumed his place behind the desk. He should give the team every chance for success he could. Yes, he would send them several tin cans. The best pilot in the program had belonged to the original team. If humanity was rolling the dice of Fate, he should give Maddox every chance possible.
Wearily, Cook turned on his intercom, giving the needed orders to see it done.
-14-
Captain Maddox shot through the Solar System aboard the X72 Peregrine, an experimental, high-speed racer. The vessel passed Pluto before O’Hara spoke to him again concerning Meta. Thirty-four AUs away meant time delays made it impossible to hold a two-way conversation. A light-speed message took many hours to travel that far.
The Lost Command (Lost Starship Series Book 2) Page 13