“Not necessarily destroy,” Maddox said, starting to see the answer. “I simply have to make an opening for it so the Hormagaunt can leave the null region. That would likely dissolve the envelope and allow a Star Watch fleet to replicate our feat and find itself in the null region and near the heavy planet—given that the bridge crews, at least, wore photon suits. A barrage of hellburners could change everything in our favor.”
“That all raises the question,” Ludendorff said. “How do you achieve this miracle of making a way for the Hormagaunt into our universe—and is it wise to do so?”
“We have to land on the heavy planet first. While down there, we have to figure out a means to victory.”
“Meaning the Methuselah Man has to figure it out,” Ludendorff said.
“What else can we do?” Meta asked. “We’ve caught two breaks. Surbus gave us time because he likely wants to leave this horrid place as the professor suggested, and Meyers has launched her team in proximity with our arrival.”
“I realize now that was di-far luck in operation,” Ludendorff said.
“The problem is that we know too little,” Maddox said. “I wonder if we should leave the null region and contact the Lord High Admiral, maybe getting him to use the Builder Scanner on Pluto to find Meyers’s main ships. Attacking them would likely prove a superior strategy to our fumbling around down there.”
“You could be right,” Ludendorff said. “The problem is, we’re already here. Landing on the planet might well be the correct move. I’m also curious. Where exactly do you think Meyers is hiding her ships?”
Maddox shrugged. He had no idea. “What’s the operational range of a QX-Tube?”
“It would depend on how accurate Meyers wished—ah, I see your point. I suspect the tube could have reached out, maybe eight to nine light-years from the Oort cloud region.”
“That’s a lot of territory to search even for the Builder Scanner,” Maddox said.
“Yes. True. Now, look. We’re here, my boy. The clock is ticking. You’d better make your choice soon or we’ll run out of time.”
“I know,” Maddox said. He hated this indecision. He needed more data, more information. “Let’s get a little closer to the planet. We still haven’t found the ring. Before I decide, I want to see if this ring actually exists or not.”
-48-
The shuttle moved steadily toward the great metal planet. During that time, another tube exit appeared in low orbital space. Large fighters flew out, fifty of them. The tube disappeared as the fighters spread out. They didn’t attempt to dive planetward, but maintained their orbital station.
“Meyers must suspect we’re here,” Ludendorff said several minutes later.
“I don’t see any of them searching for us,” Maddox said.
“Why else are they out there?”
Maddox laughed.
“You think that’s a stupid question?” Ludendorff asked huffily.
“I have no idea why they’re there. There must be a dozen possibilities that have nothing to do with us.”
“Maybe,” Ludendorff muttered, “but not likely.”
The shuttle drifted to within 400,000 kilometers of the planet. During that time, the fighters orbited the planet twice. At the beginning of the third pass, bright red lights shined from the surface.
“Damnation!” Ludendorff shouted. “Fusion cannons. Those are giant fusion cannons or I’m not the greatest of the Methuselah Men in existence.”
As they watched, red beams stabbed upward, striking half a dozen fighters. Those hit exploded spectacularly. The surviving fighters began jinking, weaving and spreading even farther apart from each other.
“Can they summon the tube and escape?” Ludendorff wondered aloud.
It didn’t appear as if the fighters could. Twenty minutes after the first ray fired, the last fighter disintegrated under red destruction.
“What a horrid way to die,” Meta said.
“In battle?” asked Ludendorff.
“No, cast adrift in a null region over an ancient construct of a planet. They had nowhere to flee, no place to find safety.”
“Just like us,” Ludendorff said.
“There has to be a better way,” Meta told her husband. “How can we possibly land on the planet? It’s suicide to try.”
“It’s time to maneuver,” Maddox said, as he began tapping the flight controls.
“Are you mad?” Ludendorff asked. “Our energy signature will alert the planetary defenses. A fusion beam will kill us next. Is that what you want?”
“We can’t drift forever,” Maddox said. “That means we have to take a few calculated risks. I haven’t seen the ring yet. I want to know why.”
Ludendorff turned to the polarized window. “Yes…that is odd. Where is the ring? It must be on the other side of the planet.”
Maddox engaged the thruster and he maneuvered inward. He kept the shuttle thrusting for eight minutes, abruptly cutting power after that.
Time passed as the heavy metal planet rotated. No new tubes appeared to dump more spacecraft. No fusion cannons rayed, and no rockets lifted from the planet.
At 200,000 kilometers from the planet, Meta cried out as she studied a sensor panel. “Look! That thing is huge. Could it be your ring?”
Maddox leaned toward her sensor screen, nodding. “A little more thrust will give us a better view.”
The shuttle maneuvered to get a better look at what had been hiding on the other side of the planet. There was a ring, a silver-gleaming construct, a giant thing with huge bulky nodes on the rim at various locations.
“Any indication of size?” asked Maddox.
“I’m computing,” Ludendorff said, watching from his sensor panel. “Hmm…I’d say the ring is fifteen hundred kilometers in diameter.
Meta whistled.
“More items are coming into view,” Ludendorff said.
“It’s like a junk heap,” Maddox said a few minutes later.
There were masses of floating cubes, tubes, pyramids, what might have been black sails and planes, giant rods and rocks, so many rocks. The mass of things orbited the giant ring, the likely accelerator. Some of the orbital material floated between the ring and the planet.
“What’s that?” Meta asked. “Beyond the junk heap, it’s all symmetrical and laid out.”
Maddox went to her sensor panel. “Use zoom,” he said.
Meta tapped her board.
On the tiny screen, Maddox saw, “Warships. Those are various kinds of warships.”
“What are you looking at?” Ludendorff said, as he manipulated his panel. “By the stars,” he declared. “You’re right, my boy. I see Spacer saucers, several Star Watch battleships and—do you see the giant oblong vessels?”
Maddox glanced at Meta.
She manipulated her panel. “There,” she said.
“Yes, I see them,” Maddox said.
“Builder vessels,” Ludendorff said. “I haven’t seen one like that…my boy, this is a treasure trove of ancient secrets. If we could restore one of the Builder vessels, why, our technology would leap ahead centuries.”
Maddox was shaking his head. “This makes no sense. Why did—Surbus, I suppose—gather asteroids from the 82 G. Eridani System and icy planetesimals from our Oort cloud? There’re plenty of rocks right here they could have accelerated and shot at the planets.”
“There’s an explanation. You can be sure of that,” Ludendorff said. “Whether anyone but I can figure it out, well, that’s another matter.”
“Speculate as to why,” Maddox said.
“I don’t have enough information to speculate yet,” Ludendorff said.
“Why wouldn’t Meyers have taken a Builder vessel?” Maddox asked. “If it’s as powerful as you say—”
“More,” Ludendorff said.
“Why bother hurling rocks at worlds when she could possess the greatest fleet around?” Maddox asked.
“Ah-ah!” said Ludendorff. “The answer is obvious. It
’s glaring, in fact. I’m surprised you don’t already see it.”
“I’m allowing you the privilege of showcasing your expertise,” Maddox said dryly.
“Mock all you want,” Ludendorff said. “Without me, you would be children in this place, less than children. Knowledge is power.”
“Why can’t Meyers access these ancient wrecks?” Maddox asked.
“I don’t know that they’re wrecks,” Ludendorff said, “but you are correct in that she mustn’t be able to access them. That is the answer, of course. I told you it was obvious.”
Maddox considered the idea and what he was seeing. “The mobile null region is an ancient Builder artifact. Instead of stuffing it with Destroyers, they parked old vehicles here—and a wonder weapon.”
“A terror weapon,” Meta said.
“But there must be protective devices, codes perhaps, in place,” Maddox said. “Meyers or her people figured out how to work the ring, but maybe not much more.”
“Ah-ha!” declared Ludendorff. “What did we discover on Tortuga? Meyers has been busy modifying people. One part must be in making others smarter. She must desire smarter underlings so they can decode this ancient place. Perhaps she left it in Surbus’s care because Meyers rightly fears to enter or stay in this place for long.”
“Fears to remain in a place of power?” Maddox asked.
“Consider the Hormagaunt,” Ludendorff said primly. “Would you like to stay near it for long periods of time? Perhaps the Hormagaunt is an indication of what lies in and on the planet. Perhaps the ring also has great hidden dangers.”
“Are you saying that Meyers is a child playing with matches?” asked Maddox.
“Playing with matches in a room full of petrol,” Ludendorff replied.
Using Meta’s sensor panel, Maddox examined the giant ring, the masses of cubes, pyramids, tubes, rocks and beyond that the carefully lined up spaceships.
“How does…the ring operator push through an icy planetesimal and then launch it with precision at Earth?” Maddox asked.
“I don’t know,” Ludendorff said. “We’re looking at it from the outside. If we found the control room—”
“Yes!” Maddox said, interrupting. “That’s the key, the control room.” He grew thoughtful. “Do you see the Koniggratz anywhere?”
“I do not,” Ludendorff said. “Ah…did it park with the other vessels? I would think not… How did Surbus capture the battleship?”
Maddox returned to his seat. “The mobile null region is or has more than we expected. Professor, do you think Meyers’s people have photon suits?”
“I have no idea.”
“The planet must protect its people from the greater nullity.”
“That makes sense,” Ludendorff said.
“Maybe that was why the QX-Tube opened in low orbital space: to get the people down to the surface as fast as possible.”
“You could be right, my boy. Does it matter?”
“We have photon suits. We can operate beyond the planet. The planet has defensive rockets and fusion cannons. I think our decision has just been made for us.”
“I don’t understand,” Ludendorff said.
“Our advantage—one of them at least—is the photon suits. Let’s use that advantage and explore where Meyers possibly cannot.”
“Do you mean the ring?” asked Ludendorff.
“The ring,” Maddox said.
“And if the control room on the planet is the key to all this?” asked Ludendorff.
“I have to make a choice and run with it,” Maddox said. “We’re heading for the ring as we bypass the heavy world. Let’s keep as far from the planet as possible.”
“That means it will take longer to reach the ring, as we can’t cut across.”
“No matter,” Maddox said.
“Maybe we should board a Builder vessel instead.”
“Maybe,” Maddox said. “First, I want a close look at the ring to see what we can learn.”
“What can jog my memory, you mean,” Ludendorff said.
“In this instance, I’ll take whatever works. Now, secure yourselves. We’ve dallied long enough. It’s time we did something constructive.”
So saying, the captain turned on the thruster, propelling the tiny shuttle faster through the nullity of the region.
-49-
Dag led the surviving warriors of his Merovingian Corps across the harsh metalscape of the heavy world. The 1.8 gravities dragged at his muscles and the methane winds blasted at his EVA gear, making the journey nearly unbearable.
The center men—four of them—each gripped a pole. They carried a bubble generator, which provided them with heat in an otherwise inhospitable place.
The ground was metal with great humps that showed the top of ancient rivets. It seemed inconceivable to Dag that anyone might build a world as he would a ship, but such seemed the case here. Had the Builders made the planet?
Another torrent of methane wind shrieked against the company of warriors. The men halted, huddling like musk oxen against the elements.
“That way,” Rock said, pointing. The pilot studied a hand-scanner. “I have the faintest of heat signatures. It should indicate a hatch.”
Dag motioned, and the company turned left, heading for the possible hatch to the subterranean world below. He, like the others, hunched his shoulders as he plowed into the wind. None of them looked up into the blackness above. It was too mind-numbing to witness for more than a few seconds at a time.
Despite their training and equipment, the place radiated a debilitating fear. The Queen had said that came from subsonic generators operating against flesh. They needed to locate and destroy the generators.
One warrior halted.
“Tobias is losing it,” another warrior said over a helmet comm.
Dag heard that. He halted, turned and saw Tobias hunched over, his hands on his suited knees as his fingers clawed fiercely at the protective fabric. Should he leave Tobias? The thought tempted Dag, but Tobias had paid his price. Besides, they had already lost over half the company to the rockets and hard landing. Dag couldn’t afford to lose anyone more, not even Tobias. Reacting, Dag reached Tobias, clutching the EVA material protecting the man’s throat.
“Tobias!” Dag roared, clutching so the other couldn’t possibly breathe. “You can’t die down here. That’s beneath you. Fight! Strive! Continue moving.”
The warrior shivered and then Tobias aimed his visor at Dag. Tobias released his knees and held onto Dag’s wrists.
Dag nodded. He had done his good deed for Tobias. The former champion had better remember this. He patted Tobias on an EVA suit shoulder. “You’re with your brothers in arms. You’re going to be all right. Soon, we’ll be in the underground passages spilling blood.”
Tobias grunted his assent.
Dag resumed the lead, but things only got worse. The methane storm shrieked harder, buffeting them and blowing oxygen snow at the company and fogging their visors.
“Link up,” Dag said over a crackling comm. “Hold hands. We mustn’t lose anyone.”
The warriors obeyed as they trudged into the howling whiteness. The cold became excruciating at the edge of the company as the central heating unit vainly tried to protect everyone. Dag called a halt twice, having men switch places so the freezing could warm themselves nearer the center.
“Do you still see the heat signature?” Dag asked Rock.
“Another half kilometer,” Rock said.
They trudged. They struggled, and Dag noticed a slackening of wind. He saw an outcropping ahead, a shelf of metal protecting them from the worst.
“There?” he asked, pointing.
“There,” Rock said. “It’s a workman’s entrance. That was what the Queen told me before leaving.”
“The heat generator isn’t going to last much longer,” Tobias said. He’d managed to worm his way into being a pole carrier in order to be closer to the warmth.
Finally, the company reached the fab
led hatch.
Rock brushed his visor clear, searching for the lock. He found something electronic, put the hand-scanner near and trusted the Queen had given him the correct code.
Something ominous squealed. Yes! The hatch began opening as lights snapped on around them.
Dag plunged ahead, with his lance held before him. He entered a lobby, a cold staging area. Beyond were stairs leading into darkness.
“This is it,” Dag said. “Rock, do you have the schematic?”
“Roger that, Champion,” Rock said.
Dag felt a moment of elation. He had passed the second test. The first had been getting down onto the heavy planet. Now, they had found a way to the subterranean regions. The Queen had given them a blueprint of the general area. Surbus might have installed new safeguards. The control to the Inertialess Accelerator was down here. He had to secure it and shut down the automatic defenses or whatever Surbus had used to launch the rockets.
Did he have enough Merovingians for that? It would depend. If he did, the Queen would soon control the mobile null region once more and she could pummel the Earth into oblivion.
-50-
The photon suits helped the three in the scout shuttle, but it couldn’t stop all the debilitating effects of the nullity. Unsurprisingly, Ludendorff felt it the worst. He grew sleepy and was soon snoring from his seat.
That left Maddox and Meta. He flew. She studied a sensor board. The massive black and gray planet continued to rotate, a bleak world of metal, legend and misery.
The captain skirted the planet, having no idea on the activation range of the defenses. They had closed from 200,000, to 100,000 and finally 50,000 kilometers to the planet.
“The ring is thirty-nine thousand kilometers from the surface,” Meta said. “I imagine some of the debris falls to the planet as meteors.”
“Have you seen any evidence of planetary dents or craters?”
“I haven’t looked. I’ve been studying the spaceships.”
“And…?” asked Maddox.
“They’re dead.”
“You mean powerless?”
“No. More than that,” Meta said. “They lack any power signature of any kind—that’s true. But I’m detecting tremendous deterioration, entropy, if you will, to the…the fabric of the ships.”
The Lost Tech Page 27