As Maddox sought to unlock the android, Yen Cho mimicked the head cocking. More than that, the android’s eyes focused onto the captain.
“The Builder?” Yen Cho asked.
“He faced a Ska in the gate,” Maddox said.
“What…what happened?”
“That’s an interesting question. One answer is that a lot of things happened.”
“Why…why I am detained in here?” Yen Cho asked. “I served my purpose. We stopped the Nameless Ones from invading Human Space. I…I was content. I served one of the creators. Now…”
“The Builder used you like a tool,” Maddox said.
“You do not understand.”
“You’re right. I don’t. But then, I’m not an android. Tell me, Yen Cho, what did the Builder do to the Hindenburgers?”
Yen Cho turned his head so he wouldn’t have to look at the captain.
The move startled Maddox. He wondered what it signified.
“The Hindenburgers served their purpose,” Yen Cho said. “They helped defeat…the enemy. They…became greater than what they were.”
That confirmed for Maddox his belief that the Builder had used the bio-parts of the Hindenburgers. Somehow, the Builder had made himself more compact, as if squeezing all those people into one Builder self. It was rather disgusting, if he thought about it too much.
“Did it bother you?” Maddox asked.
“You refer to the Hindenburgers, I presume?”
“Yes.”
“Yes,” Yen Cho said softly. “But I learned you humans had corrupted my thinking. It was interesting to learn that. I…became greater than I once was.”
“The Builder turned you into a tool. You became less.”
Yen Cho faced him. “What happened to the Builder?”
“How badly do you want to know?”
The android studied him, studied him longer— “Ah,” Yen Cho said. “I believe I understand. You desire the codes into the listening post. I can only assume the Builder died in some fashion. Did you kill him, perhaps?”
“How badly do you want to know?”
The android stared at Maddox. With sudden startling speed, possibly faster than Yen Cho had ever moved before, he stood, picked up the table and hurled it at Maddox.
The captain did not fire, but he managed to turn his back to the hurtling table. He grunted as it smashed against him.
Yen Cho darted faster than a lizard, charging the captain.
Riker had flinched, but the table missed him, as it had struck the captain. The android was halfway to them when the sergeant pulled the trigger. He was a deadeye shot, a marksman. He hadn’t fired at the torso, but at the head. Three slugs hit the android head with violent, kinetic force. It caused Yen Cho to stagger sideways. He missed Maddox, crashing against the bulkhead beside the captain. Riker stepped to the side, continuing to fire at the android’s head. The slugs plowed against the brainpan, hammering against it. The android twitched several times before turning to face the sergeant. Riker dropped his gun and picked up the captain’s weapon. By that time, Yen Cho had started to rise. Riker emptied the captain’s slugthrower at point blank range into the android’s face. Each shot hammered the head back. The shots had already obliterated the pseudo-skin face, revealing the gleaming metal behind.
The combined shots had crumpled the front brainpan, but they hadn’t torn through. The android lay on the floor, his limbs twitching and jerking.
Riker moved fast. He didn’t trust the android, and the thing may have just slain the captain. Riker knelt behind the android’s head and began to hammer it with his bionic fist. The bionic arm drove the titanium fist with superhuman force and finally produced a tear in the alloyed brainpan. Riker did not hesitate. He used his bionic fingers, reached in, hooked the cybertronic computer and yanked out what he could. The sergeant did it three more times; the android’s twitching slowed with each yank, finally ceasing altogether.
As Riker destroyed the android, the cell door swung open. The two marines who’d been monitoring the camera feed charged inside, rushing to the captain’s side.
Riker quit his demolition of Yen Cho and looked up. “How is he?” the sergeant asked.
“He got lucky,” one marine said. “If the table had hit him differently, it could have broken his back or worse. He’s going to be bruised for a while, but he should be fine.” The marine looked to his companion. “We can move him,” he said.
“Then let’s get him to medical,” the other marine said.
-52-
Yen Cho the Android—the oldest of the Yen Cho Series androids—was dead. Riker had destroyed the cybertronic brain. There was no bringing him back now.
Oh, Maddox gave orders from his medical cot that Andros Crank and Galyan should try. Could Ludendorff have fixed the android brain? Maddox decided it didn’t matter because the professor wasn’t here. Andros and Galyan failed. No one blamed them. No one blamed Riker for what he’d done.
Meta showered kisses on the sergeant, hugging him several times and thanking him profusely for what he’d done.
Maddox ordered Andros and Galyan to try to hack the pieces of brain that were still intact. They failed at that endeavor, too.
“Whatever was locked in the android’s brain…we don’t have it,” Andros reported one day.
Maddox was in his quarters, sitting at a desk in the corner. “Thanks for trying, Chief Technician.”
Andros hesitated, looking downcast.
Maddox shoved his chair back and strained to get up.
“Sir,” Andros said, worried.
Maddox made it to his feet and moved beside the small Kai-Kaus. He put a hand on the man’s right shoulder.
“It was a long shot,” Maddox said. “We’re not breaking into the listening post with stolen Builder codes now. But don’t worry about it, we’re going to figure something out. Likely, I’m going to need a technical answer. That means you have to stay sharp.”
Andros nodded.
“A man doesn’t stay sharp if he’s blaming himself,” Maddox said. “And he certainly doesn’t stay sharp if he’s giving himself negative talk. Do you understand me?”
“I do,” Andros said with a quick nod. “Thank you, sir.”
“Take a break, Mr. Crank. I want you refreshed.”
The chief technician left with a lighter step than when he’d entered the captain’s quarters.
With a grunt, Maddox sat back down. He scowled. The easiest way to do this had vanished. He wasn’t going to send anyone on a suicide mission trying to hack into the listening post. He wasn’t going to send a probe and possibly cause the listening post to self-destruct. What did that leave?
After a time, Maddox nodded. That left him with a sneaky option. Could he pull it off?
“If we’re lucky,” he told himself. It was time for some hard work so they could forge themselves some luck.
***
Victory reached the targeted star system, appearing in the outer planets region. Maddox had returned to duty and sat in his command chair on the bridge.
Valerie and Galyan scanned the system. They could find no evidence of other spaceships, buoys, drones or any technological devices.
“Do a second sweep,” Maddox ordered. “We have to be certain.”
In the end, Valerie and Galyan made three careful sweeps. The star system was empty of others.
“We have time,” Maddox said. “But we don’t know how much time. That means we’re going to set up the basic trap. Then, if we have more time, we’ll add refinements.”
“What if the androids don’t show up?” Valerie asked.
Maddox shook his head. He hadn’t thought that far. He was certain Yen Cho had sent a signal. But the lieutenant was correct. That was an assumption. It wasn’t a fact. Maybe the androids lacked a Builder-like far-distance communication device. Maybe…
The days passed in hurried labor. It took time moving here, moving there, launching drones and passive sensors and other stealth equipme
nt.
Afterward, they waited.
No androids showed up. No New Men entered the star system. This was far in the Beyond. Maybe they were the only ones who knew about the listening post.
After a month of fruitless duty in the system, Brigadier O’Hara called via the Builder communication device.
“It’s time to try to crack the listening post yourself, Captain,” she said.
“Begging your pardon, ma’am, but we should wait. Patience pays off. Besides, there will be no cracking the Builder post. We lack that particular expertise.”
“Star Watch has searched for Ludendorff. He’s taken himself off the map. Can anyone else do this?”
“I suppose Strand might,” Maddox said. “Would the New Men lend him to us?”
“Don’t be fatuous, Captain. This is a serious matter.”
The captain waited.
“Very well,” O’Hara said. “I’ll give you another few weeks to try this your way. There are pressing problems at home. I want you here for a new mission. The Chin Confederation is threatening war with the Social Syndicate.”
“Three more weeks might not be enough time for this,” Maddox said.
O’Hara looked worried. Finally, she agreed and signed off.
Another week passed.
Valerie spoke to Maddox on the bridge. “How many more refinements can we add?”
“I’m out of ideas. Do you have any?”
She thought about that, but finally shook her head.
It took nine and half weeks from the time the ancient gate had phased out before another spaceship nosed into the targeted star system. If that ship had an android crew, Maddox’s plan would get its chance.
-53-
“Sir,” Valerie said from her station. “That’s…that’s an old Gettysburg-class battleship. It’s a Star Watch vessel. Should I hail them?”
Maddox swiveled around his captain’s chair. He was fully healed from his various injuries. “On no account, Lieutenant,” he said.
“But, sir—” Valerie’s eyes widened. “Do you think androids crew the battleship?”
“Not necessarily,” Maddox said. “But I’m sure a few or maybe all of the key officers are androids.”
“That’s horrible. I thought Star Watch had rid the service of androids.”
“It would appear not,” Maddox said.
Valerie worried her lower lip. “Can you be sure of that, sir?”
“Lieutenant, in these things it’s difficult to be one hundred percent certain. That’s what makes it so interesting.”
She gave him a look before turning back to her console.
Maddox faced the main screen. He wished he felt the way he’d talked. It wasn’t interesting. This was a mess. They had expected a small craft, likely a civilian vessel. A Gettysburg-class battleship could ruin everything, at least in terms of Star Watch getting their hands on more Builder tech.
“Sir,” Valerie said. “According to my sensors, that’s the Shiloh. It was listed missing at the end of the “C” Quadrant Campaign.”
“Captain,” Galyan said. “Could another Strand clone have been released?”
Maddox raised an eyebrow at the holoimage.
“The original Strand corrupted the Hindenburger crew of the Bismarck,” Galyan said. “Maybe he did the same with the Shiloh.”
Maddox pursed his lips, nodding a second later. “This is getting complicated. We’ll continue watching.”
Victory was hidden inside a different Oort cloud comet. That comet was 61 AUs from the listening post comet. The crew had hollowed out a place for Victory many weeks ago. A Star Watch tin can drifted inside debris three hundred thousand kilometers from the listening post. The fold-fighter was the command post for the drones presently hidden on the other side of the targeted comet. Those were specially-doctored drones, meant to catch Rull Nation androids. The Shiloh had appeared out of a Laumer Point in the inner planets region of the system.
Whatever would happen, this was going to take time to unfold.
***
Five days later, Maddox knew no more about the Shiloh’s present crew. He knew about the old crew because he’d called the Brigadier via the Builder comm.
Did the battleship have the same crew as during the “C” Quadrant Campaign against the New Men? Maddox rather doubted it. This was going to be a longer waiting game.
On the sixth day since their appearance, the Shiloh began hard braking. The battleship had reached the Oort cloud and was presently four million kilometers from the listening post comet.
Victory’s crew was on edge. Maddox was on edge. The days of waiting, of watching the battleship had made this all much worse. They had war-gamed the trap a dozen times since the Shiloh’s appearance. If they practiced it any more, Maddox was worried the crew would get stale.
Finally, the Shiloh parked four hundred thousand kilometers from the listening post comet. That was less than the distance from Planet Earth to the Moon.
Sixty-eight minutes later, the main hangar bay door opened. Three strikefighters roared out, followed by a shuttle. The small group headed for the comet.
“It could be worse,” Maddox said from his command chair.
“Not much worse,” Valerie muttered.
Maddox did not reply. He waited, even though his stomach was tight. There were so many unknowns. He sat in his chair like a man of iron. It helped calm the bridge crew’s nerves if they thought he was utterly confident.
Time passed. Victory waited, until the strikefighters began braking. They hadn’t checked the debris three hundred thousand kilometers from the comet, because it was in a different quadrant than they were.
The shuttle took the final lap, closing with the comet. Then, it, too, began to brake. It stopped two kilometers from the comet. A hatch opened, and two space-suited individuals used hydrogen-packs to jet to the comet.
Like before, ice moved out of the way to reveal the ancient Builder listening post.
The two suited personnel disappeared into the listening post.
On Victory’s bridge, Maddox stood up. He wanted to pace, but he held himself still. He stared at the main screen, knowing that he was seeing events after they had happened because of the 61 AU distance and the limits of the speed of light.
“Let’s get ready to star-drive jump,” the captain said quietly. “The game is about to begin.”
-54-
The space-suited personnel sprayed white hydrogen mist as they jetted away from the listening post. Each carried a large device.
Maddox had long-ago decided against getting greedy. Better a little than nothing. Besides, the longer they played this, the more of a chance something would give them away.
Before the two reached the waiting shuttle, Maddox gave the command to jump. He knew the two must be already settling into the shuttle and getting ready to accelerate back to the battleship. He was seeing things 61 AUs-worth after the event.
The starship’s antimatter engines thrummed. The deck quivered, and Victory jumped into possible battle.
Maddox raised his head first. The Shiloh hadn’t started firing yet. Victory had obviously surprised them.
The captain leaped up and ran to Weapons. He moved his fingers in a blur over the controls. The main electromagnetic shield came up.
Five seconds later, the first heavy laser from the Shiloh struck the shield.
The other bridge personnel began coming to. A few seconds later, Galyan gave a quick report.
“The drones are almost in range, sir.”
Maddox turned and looked at the main screen. The strikefighters accelerated toward the comet. Two of them launched missiles at the drones coming around the comet. The third fighter fired its autocannons.
Each drone headed straight for the shuttle. The shuttle hadn’t started accelerating yet.
“Sir,” Valerie said. “More battleship lasers are coming online. The Shiloh is also launching missiles.”
Maddox nodded. He was focused on the drones.
A strikefighter missile detonated before contact. The warhead’s x-rays and gammas reached out at light speed, destroying the first drone.
Maddox struck an armrest of his chair, leaning forward tensely.
At that point, the drone nearest the shuttle fired its EMP shockwave. In seconds, the EMP washed over the shuttle. Immediately, everything shut down on it. Would the androids also shut down? Maddox was hoping they would.
“Take out the strikefighters,” the captain said. “Keith, get onto the shuttle. Get those Builder items and get back to the barn.”
The tin can burst out of the cloud of debris three hundred thousand kilometers from the enemy shuttle. The fold-fighter disappeared, and reappeared fifty thousand kilometers from the stricken enemy shuttle.
“Get those strikefighters,” Maddox said again.
On Victory, the neutron beam fired, and a strikefighter disintegrated.
“The fighters are launching more missiles,” Valerie said.
“Weapons,” Maddox said.
The neutron cannon fired again, and a second strikefighter vanished. The third must have taken splash damage. It quit accelerating.
“Sir?” Weapons asked.
“Destroy it,” Maddox said, “and destroy their missiles.”
At that point, the enemy shuttle exploded.
Everyone on Victory’s bridge froze, Maddox for only an instant. He pressed a comm switch on his armrest.
“Keith?”
“Yes, Captain.”
“Fold out of there now. Do it while you can.”
“But sir—”
“Fold. Fold, or you’re a dead man.”
Valerie stared in shock at Maddox. Before she could say anything, the listening post comet vaporized in a terrific and deadly explosion of its own. The new blast poured massive doses of gamma rays, x-rays and other hard radiation. That radiation and the pieces of the comet that had survived the blast spread in all directions.
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