The Lost Artifact

by Vaughn Heppner

“Any idea who’s inside it?” Valerie asked Galyan.

  “Yes.”

  Valerie waited a second before saying, “Well. Who?”

  “The probability is that it’s an old confederate of the Methuselah Man Strand,” Galyan said.

  Valerie blinked with surprise, and her gut clenched. Methuselah Men and their confederates were notoriously difficult to deal with.

  “You think that because it’s a cloaked vessel?” she asked.

  “And because Captain Maddox had a Strand-like implant in his brain,” Galyan said.

  Valerie slapped an armrest. “Of course. I should have seen that. Good work, Galyan.”

  The little holoimage stood a little straighter. “Thank you, Valerie. It is kind of you to say so.”

  “Open channels with the vessel,” she told Andros.

  Crank hesitated.

  “Is anything the matter?” Valerie asked him.

  “We know he’s there,” Andros said. “He doesn’t know we know he’s there. Why not send a fold-fighter or two near his position before we let him know we know?”

  Valerie’s gut clenched again. She didn’t like the idea of sending Keith anywhere near a Methuselah Man’s confederates. She remembered Ludendorff’s slarn hunter all too well. Keith was a terrific pilot, the best, but this was a cloaked vessel with hidden properties. She was sure of that. She could actually feel that part of it.

  A hunch, Valerie realized. I’m having a hunch.

  Normally, she was a by-the-numbers officer. She wasn’t the kind to have hunches. Now she did. Now, she had to figure out how to play her hunch.

  “Do you still want me to open channels with the cloaked ship?” Andros asked.

  “Give me a second to think about it,” Valerie said.

  Even as she said that, she knew she was being too wishy-washy. A confident starship captain made snap decisions. The others expected that from her.

  Remember, she told herself. Do things your way. You’re not Captain Maddox. So don’t try to be Captain Maddox. Be Lieutenant Noonan.

  What was the right thing to do?

  Valerie knew it as soon as she asked herself. She should use the star drive and jump beside the cloaked vessel. Then, she should use a tractor beam and pull the hidden ship into the hangar bay. The space marines could take the Methuselah Man’s confederates captive. She would put them in the brig for Intelligence people to interrogate later.

  But she couldn’t use the star drive right now. Maddox had gone into a seizure during a fold. He had come out of surgery. She had to give his body time to heal before the starship attempted a jump.

  She frowned. Was that right, though? Wasn’t her first duty to Star Watch and the protection of the people of the Commonwealth?

  Andros cleared his throat.

  Valerie scowled. Why did the Chief Technician think he knew how to do everything? He wasn’t the one having to make the decisions.

  I’m responsible. It’s why I’m a command officer. I have to make the hard choices.

  “We’re going to capture that ship,” she said.

  “You’re going to use the star drive?” Andros asked, sounding surprised.

  “I have to,” she said. “We must capture whoever’s aboard the cloaked vessel. It’s why we came way out here in the first place.”

  “The captain—” Andros said.

  “Would expect me to use the star drive,” Valerie said, interrupting.

  “You cannot do that, Valerie,” Galyan said. “The captain is in critical condition. If you use the star drive—”

  “I already know what will happen,” Valerie snapped. A second later, she said, “I’m sorry, Galyan. We’re all worried about the captain. But we have a duty to perform.”

  Galyan did not look convinced. “I am much older than you, Valerie. It is a terrible thing to give a command that results in the death of those you love. If I were you, I would wait to see what happens.”

  “If I wait, we might lose the cloaked vessel.”

  “It is not presently accelerating,” Galyan said. “We have many hours before it will begin decelerating to enter the Laumer Point.”

  “It might not decelerate to enter it,” Valerie said. “The vessel might zoom in.”

  “That is true,” Galyan admitted.

  Valerie took a deep breath. She should order them to jump to the cloaked vessel. If she first called to see how Maddox was doing—

  The main hatch slid open.

  “Captain on the bridge,” a marine said loudly.

  Valerie swiveled in her chair. A chalk-white Maddox supported by Meta slowly stepped onto the bridge. The captain had one arm draped over Meta’s shoulders. One of her strong arms was clasped around his waist. He looked exhausted, his eyes staring and faraway-seeming. Sweat stained his face.

  “Sir,” Valerie said. “You should be in sickbay recovering.”

  Maddox did not give the slightest impression he’d heard her. By slow degrees, Meta maneuvered the captain toward the command chair.

  Valerie’s stomach seethed. She couldn’t give command back to the captain while he was in such a weakened condition. Regulations clearly stated that the captain had to be in sound medical health to resume command. She didn’t want to do it, but Valerie was going to have to send him to sickbay whether he liked that or not. Afterward, she would have to order Victory to jump to the cloaked vessel. But if she did that, with the captain in his present condition, Maddox might well die.

  Valerie didn’t know what to do.

  -21-

  Maddox felt horrible, had felt horrible ever since he’d woken up from surgery. He was weak, disoriented and ready to dry heave whatever was in his stomach onto the deck.

  The implant was gone. Doctor Lister said a nerve fiber or two, or two hundred for all she knew, were still embedded in his gray matter. They might or might not cause him trouble. The implant had powered the fibers. Now, the implant was gone so, theoretically, it couldn’t power those nerve fibers anymore.

  The medical team had fused his skull bone back into place, but according to Lister, a hundred things could go wrong. He should sleep for three or more days, at least, before he considered returning to active duty.

  Now, Maddox slowly worked his way across the bridge. He did not like this look. He clung to Meta, but it was her strength that kept him upright. If she lost hold of him, his arm would slide off her shoulder and he would crash onto the deck.

  He hated being this weak, but there was nothing he could do about it at the moment.

  “Sir,” Valerie said, her features pinched with distaste.

  Maddox knew his lieutenant. He knew what she was going to tell him.

  “Did you…?” he panted.

  “Sir?” Valerie asked.

  “Did you…find the cloaked vessel?” Maddox asked.

  The bridge personnel had been watching his slow and agonizing journey across the deck. Some had been looking away. Now, all of them concentrated on him with amazement.

  “Did Galyan talk to you?” Valerie asked.

  “About the cloaked vessel?” Maddox asked.

  “Yes, sir.”

  “Ah. That means you found it. Good. What is its location?”

  Valerie’s mouth had opened with surprise. She closed it and shook her head. “I don’t understand, sir. If Galyan didn’t tell you about the cloaked vessel, how could you know about it?”

  “Through deduction,” Maddox said. He’d meant to say it in a quick two words. Instead, it had come out slowly, syllable by syllable.

  “Sir?” Valerie asked.

  Maddox tore his gaze from her and painstakingly looked up at the main screen. He saw the green circle around nothing. That green circle slowly moved toward the nearest Laumer Point.

  “Have you contacted the ship yet?” Maddox asked.

  “No, sir,” Andros said from his place.

  “You’ll have to move out of my chair,” Maddox told Valerie.

  Her pinched look tightened. “I’m afraid I
can’t do that, sir,” Valerie said. “You’re in no condition to resume command yet. You should be in sickbay.”

  Meta’s grip tightened around his waist. Maddox wanted to stand under his own power, sweep over to Valerie and yank her out of his chair. Her not instantly moving out of the command chair was intolerable.

  “Where’s Riker?” Maddox asked.

  No one answered him.

  That told Maddox all he needed to know. The others agreed with Valerie. He must look terrible indeed.

  “Let go of me,” he whispered to Meta.

  Meta looked up at him. He could see the concern in her eyes. He could also see that she wasn’t going to let go of him. He could see that no one would back him up.

  For a moment, Maddox breathed through his nostrils, thinking.

  “I suggest you report to sickbay at once, sir,” Valerie said.

  Maddox gave a dry whispery laugh. “You have no idea what’s really going on,” he said in a thin voice. “You think…I don’t know what you think. Strand is in that cloaked ship.”

  Valerie stared at him in astonishment.

  “That or his clone,” Maddox said. “Most likely it’s his clone.”

  “How can you possibly—?” Valerie cleared her throat. “Can I ask how you know that, sir?”

  “I remember from Smade’s Asteroid,” Maddox said. “Strand spoke to me while I was there.”

  “Why didn’t you say anything about this earlier, sir?” Valerie asked.

  Maddox disliked anyone under his command questioning him like this. But he had to convince the others that only he really knew what was going on.

  “Because I only remembered seeing Strand once I went under for the operation,” he said.

  “Ah…say what?” Valerie asked.

  Maddox was getting frustrated, but he couldn’t afford that. He was too weak as it was. If he let frustration sap any more of his limited strength, he’d pass out.

  “How did Captain Maddox know about the cloaked vessel?” Galyan asked Valerie.

  “Say…that’s right,” Andros said. “How did you know, sir?”

  “Because I spoke to Strand while on the asteroid base,” Maddox said. “I know his ways. He uses cloaked vessels—” The captain suddenly stopped talking.

  “What else?” Valerie asked. “You were going to add something else.”

  “The brain implant was only part of Strand’s plan,” Maddox said. “The key was first getting me to go undercover to the asteroid on an Intelligence mission.”

  “I don’t understand,” Valerie said

  “I don’t know all the parameters,” Maddox said. “But this clone of Strand’s has a piece of Builder equipment. It allows him to predict people’s actions.”

  “Go on,” Valerie said.

  That peeved Maddox, but he swept that aside. He had to concentrate on the task.

  “Strand’s clone set up the conditions so Victory would come to the Tristano System,” the captain said. “Strand was able to do that because his Builder computer has a remarkable ability to correctly predicate many things. One of those was that I would go in undercover to first investigate the happenings on Smade’s Asteroid. Strand wanted me there—”

  “I get all that,” Valerie said, maybe frustrated by his slow speech. “Strand’s clone wanted you there so he could put an implant in your brain just like he did to his former New Men crew.”

  “Wrong,” Maddox said.

  “But you just said—”

  “Valerie,” Maddox said, and he almost swayed out of Meta’s grasp as his knees badly sagged just then.

  “Move aside,” Meta said, surging toward the captain’s chair, dragging Maddox with her.

  Valerie darted out of the chair because she could tell Meta was going to throw her out and because Maddox really needed to sit somewhere before he collapsed.

  Meta gently deposited the captain onto the command chair. He slumped back, gasping, turning whiter than ever.

  Valerie chewed her lower lip. She’d never seen Maddox like this, and it upset her.

  “Hang on,” Maddox mumbled. He’d meant to say it under his breath to himself, but he could see that Valerie, Meta and maybe even Galyan had overheard that.

  “Listen,” Maddox said. He pulled himself upright, took several steadying breaths and almost puked. He felt worse, not better. He wasn’t sure how much longer he could hold onto consciousness.

  “Strand’s used advanced hypnosis on me,” Maddox said slowly. “That was the point. I’m…I’m supposed to do something for him back on Earth.”

  “What’s that?” Valerie asked.

  “I can’t quite remember,” Maddox said. “The clone is destabilizing the Commonwealth. That’s his mission. I don’t know why that’s what he wants, but I know I’m right.”

  “Sir, in your condition—”

  “Listen,” Maddox said, and his voice broke at the strain.

  “I’m listening,” Valerie whispered, feeling terrible for Maddox.

  “We can’t let the clone escape,” Maddox whispered.

  “I agree with you, sir. I’m afraid I’m going to have to order a star-drive jump—”

  “No,” Maddox whispered. “That’s a bad idea.”

  “I’m going to have you board a shuttle first—”

  “Strand is counting on that,” Maddox said, interrupting.

  “What do you mean?”

  “He’s predicated all this. Don’t you see?”

  Valerie shook her head. “That’s impossible.”

  With an effort, Maddox raised a hand and swept it side to side. Then he focused on the bridge crew.

  “Weapons,” Maddox said.

  “Sir,” the man said.

  “Launch two antimatter missiles at the present cloaked ship coordinates,” the captain said.

  “Sir,” Valerie said. “I’m still the acting captain. I have not yet—”

  “Sergeant of marines,” Maddox said in a whispery voice.

  A bulky space marine sergeant hurried up. The tough-looking marine gave his total attention to Maddox.

  “Escort the lieutenant to her quarters,” Maddox whispered.

  “You can’t do that,” Valerie protested. “By regulations, that would be mutiny. I’m the acting authority on the starship.”

  The space marine looked indecisive.

  “Carry out your orders,” Maddox told the marine. Then, the captain deliberately turned his chair so he no longer looked at the sergeant.

  “Please, captain,” Valerie said. “I hate to—”

  Maddox raised a hand and slowly snapped his fingers.

  Taking a deep breath, the space marine approached Valerie. “If you’ll come with me, Lieutenant.”

  Valerie debated physically punching the marine, realized the futility of that and—her shoulders slumped. Maybe she should have given command back to Maddox. In the end, he always got his way. This was against the book, though. She was right in doing what she had. And yet, she had lost to Maddox once again.

  Valerie wanted to tell Maddox that he was in deep trouble, but she couldn’t get the words out. She’d never seen him like this. Couldn’t the others tell that he wasn’t fit right now to command a starship?

  Feeling keenly slighted and extremely embarrassed, Lieutenant Noonan left the bridge under armed escort.

  -22-

  Maddox might have felt bad for what he’d just done, but he was too tired to focus on more than one thing at a time. He did not have the energy to keep arguing with the lieutenant. He also knew she would never willingly go. He had to do this right. He had to break the Builder computer’s ability to predict his actions.

  “Weapons,” Maddox whispered. “Are those missiles underway?”

  “Ah…not yet, sir,” the weapons officer said.

  Maddox could feel the chills hitting him now. He was even sicker than he realized.

  “Sir,” Galyan said. “Might I offer a suggestion?”

  It took Maddox time to notice the holo
image. “Yes?” Maddox asked.

  “Would it be better to load a fold-fighter with the missiles, have the fighter jump near the cloaked vessel, launch the missiles and—?”

  “Yes,” Maddox said. “That is better. Weapons—I mean Communications, get me the deck officer presently in charge of the hangar bay.”

  It took ten seconds. In that time, Maddox dozed off. Meta jostled his arm. He raised his head, looked at her in surprise and needed time to figure out where he was.

  “Sir,” Galyan said. “You really do not seem well. You have just been in a difficult surgery—”

  “Galyan,” Maddox whispered. “Do you know what I’m doing?”

  “I do not understand the question, Captain.”

  “I know what’s going on, what’s really going on. I know how dangerous the clone is, how deadly his cloaked vessel and computer is. Valerie is a good officer. But…”

  Maddox felt Meta shake his elbow. It took longer this time, but he looked up at her. What was going on? Why was he nodding off each time?

  Maddox cleared his throat. He didn’t know how much longer he could do this. They were listening to him because everyone was used to obeying his commands. But if he dozed off again, Valerie would soon be back in the chair. He had to make sure Strand died. The clone was more deadly than anyone realized.

  With anyone else in command, the clone might be able to talk his way out of death. Maddox wasn’t going to let that be a possibility.

  “Launch two fold-fighters,” Maddox whispered. “Each should have an antimatter missile. We must stop the clone now.”

  The comm officer looked up. “The fighters will launch in fifteen minutes, sir.”

  Maddox acknowledged the words, wondering why it would take so long. Then, he realized that wasn’t long at all. Since they were not in a state of war, the antimatter missiles were in a special set of lockers. The warhead would have to be fitted to the missile, and after that—well, the process took time.

  He didn’t think the clone knew what was going on yet. Just how clever was the Builder computer?

  Maddox had a feeling it was much more clever than anyone realized, maybe even the clone.

  The captain sat back. He refused to shiver. Why was it so cold in here? He forced his eyes open and waited. He could do this. For the sake of the Commonwealth, he’d better.