The Lost Planet (Lost Starship Series Book 6)

by Vaughn Heppner

  “I know how you feel,” Sims muttered. “I’ve always been unsure what to do with you…sir.”

  “You pose a quandary, Lieutenant. I need spirited fighters, especially those who aren’t afraid to challenge New Men. I cannot use those who fail to follow orders, though.”

  Sims glowered at him.

  “What do you have to say to Lieutenant Noonan?” Maddox asked.

  “I know where you’re going with this. She gave us a stupid order—”

  “Hold,” Maddox said, sternly. “Consider what you would do to her if your roles were reversed.”

  Sims blinked several times. The thought seemed to have never occurred to him. He scratched his jaw, and his demeanor shifted subtly.

  “What would you say to her?” Maddox asked.

  “I’d apologize.”

  “Then do so,” Maddox said, as Galyan, who had been watching his actions, turned the holo-screen to face Valerie.

  Sims cleared his throat. “I’m…uh, sorry, Lieutenant. I didn’t mean any disrespect. You probably don’t know. New Men butchered my father, brothers, uncles and cousins on Tatum III. New Men stole my mother, sister and cousins, taking them as breeding stock. I hate New Men. When I see their golden skin, all I can think about is taking out my knife and skinning them alive.”

  Valerie shuddered at the man’s quiet ferocity.

  “I’m a marine, though,” Sims said. “I know how to obey orders. I just…the bastard would have killed us. I had to attack him, not meekly surrender and get us all killed.”

  “Do you accept his apology?” Maddox asked Valerie.

  By the look on her face, she didn’t want to accept. But after thinking about it, she said, “I do, sir.”

  “Then tell him,” Maddox said.

  Valerie coughed to clear her throat. “I accept your apology, Lieutenant.”

  “Thank you,” Sims said, almost sounding contrite.

  Maddox used his right index finger to turn the holo-screen back to him.

  “I am not a New Man,” he told Sims. “In case you haven’t noticed, my skin is white. It isn’t golden. The New Men captured and impregnated my mother. She escaped their breeding facility, dying later, soon after I was born. I never knew her. You may have family in a similar situation as my mother was.”

  Shock washed over the marine’s features.

  “Does that clarify the situation?” Maddox asked.

  “Yes, sir,” Sims said, with a new note in his voice. “That…changes things considerably.”

  Maddox nodded. Obedience was a military necessity. Willing warriors with spirit were worth even more. Sims was more than just a marine. He was a fighter willing and able to tackle New Men, provided he wore exoskeleton armor. Maddox could use the lieutenant, and use that passion, the hatred, even, if Sims could learn to harness his spirit. It was the commander’s responsibility to use what assets he possessed.

  “I want you in the conference chamber in five minutes,” Maddox said.

  “Sir?” Sims asked.

  “You heard me, Lieutenant. Now, get here on the double.”

  Sims shot to his feet and saluted. “Yes, sir,” he said.

  Maddox told Galyan to remove the holo-screen.

  As it vanished, Valerie said, “Just for the record, sir…”

  He studied her.

  “Lieutenant Sims disobeyed a direct order. Letting him return to active duty like this…”

  “Your disagreement with my decision is noted and will be logged,” Maddox said. “I appreciate your concern and honesty. But I need fighters more, as winning is what counts, not following the rules to the letter.”

  Valerie did not respond, but she managed a faint nod.

  ***

  Once Sims arrived, Valerie told Maddox everything that had transpired in his absence. Then he told them what he’d discovered on the planet. For a time after that, each of them sat quietly, thinking.

  “It appears Ludendorff has been compromised,” Maddox said. “I’d wager the box is either an android device or something from Strand. We cannot discount the Builders either. From what we know about the Builders, most of them have departed this area of the galaxy. It could be a rogue Builder—”

  “What about a Rull device?” Valerie asked, interrupting.

  Maddox nodded a moment later. “That seems the least likely possibility, but we can’t discount it. However, why would the Rull bother with the professor? This feels like subversion from those we know. The box might have also been a Spacer device, but I give that a lesser chance than being a Builder device.”

  “Do you really think we’re dealing with a rogue Builder?” Valerie asked.

  “No,” Maddox said. “What about you, Galyan? What is your analysis?”

  “I am inclined to suspect Strand most of all,” the AI said. “Then, I would weight it in favor of the androids, Builders and Rull in that order. I do not believe this is a Spacer ploy.”

  “Why’s that?” Maddox asked.

  “They seem more distrustful of others, making them least likely to employ such secondary devices. The box smacks more of Builders, androids and Strand. Seeing that the androids and Strand come from Builders, this strikes me as a Builder type of ploy.”

  “Ludendorff told us the Rull are extinct,” Valerie said. “Yet, we have evidence of three Rull Juggernauts. Maybe there are more Juggernauts, and maybe there are living Rull. Remember what Ludendorff said. The Rull were shape-shifters, able to infiltrate their enemies’ worlds and possibly their ships with Rull agents.”

  “This is a complex situation,” Maddox said. “But that should give us room to maneuver. We will assume, for now, that Strand’s star cruiser is hidden behind Sind III.”

  “Do you not mean Pandora III?” Galyan asked.

  “The Vendels call their planet Sind,” the captain said. “Maybe they mean that the same way we call Earth Sol. Thus, the third planet in the Sind System is Sind III.”

  “Noted,” Galyan said.

  “Do you think the rest of the landing party is still alive?” Valerie asked.

  Lines appeared on Maddox’s forehead at Valerie’s question. With an effort of will, he again closed the drawer containing his worries for Meta.

  “I do. They’re alive,” Maddox said. “Pascal le Mort said they were, and I believe him in that. We must rescue the others. We must find the long-range scanner—if it exists.”

  “You don’t think it does anymore?” Valerie asked.

  Maddox shook his head. “It’s hard to know.”

  “What is the enemy’s objective?” Galyan asked.

  “That is one of the primary questions,” Maddox said. “If we could know the objective, we could undoubtedly uncover our opponent’s identity. Any ideas?” he asked the others.

  “They want Starship Victory,” Valerie said. “What else could they want?”

  “A captive Ludendorff,” Maddox said.

  “Maybe they desire our assistance in something,” Galyan said.

  “Like what?” Maddox asked.

  “Unknown,” Galyan said. “It is merely a suggestion.”

  Sims began to fidget.

  “Is there a problem, Lieutenant?” Maddox asked.

  “We’re talking too much,” Sims blurted. “Some of our crewmembers are prisoners down on the planet. We should free them. Besides, I’m thinking if you can interrogate Ludendorff, you’ll know much more.”

  “Out of the mouth of the young one,” Maddox said quietly.

  “What was that, sir?” Galyan asked.

  “We must free the landing party,” Maddox said decisively. “We need the professor for several reasons. One of them would be to operate on Dem Darius’s mind.”

  “You have a plan, sir?” Valerie asked.

  “The beginning of one,” Maddox said. “It depends on various factors. This is a delicate moment. We must first gather our people. That is critical, and it would be good to come to an understanding with the Raja.”

  “How?” Valeri
e asked.

  “I think with some old-fashioned gunboat diplomacy,” Maddox said.

  “How would we do that?” Valerie asked. “We don’t know their exact underground location, and it would mean beaming blindly through many subterranean layers.”

  “My idea is more subtle than that.”

  “Well?” Valerie asked. “What is it? Don’t keep us in suspense.”

  The others leaned toward Maddox, expectant. The captain drew the moment out a little longer, and then he began to tell them the idea.

  -43-

  Strand sat in his command chair aboard the Argo. In many ways, he felt like a spider spinning its web, attempting to catch an extraordinarily wary and juicy fly. Strand used deceit, double-dealing and the fly’s own curiosity against it.

  The Argo was behind Sind III’s smallest moon, a particle of real estate smaller than Mars’ moon Deimos. The moon was a nickel-rich asteroid and made perfect cover. Several sensor probes had landed on the moon facing Sind II and the Class G star. Some of the star’s luminosity made the sensor images blurry if Sind II wasn’t directly behind the object.

  That made Starship Victory blurry. Strand would have liked to know what the people on the starship planned to do. This was the tricky part of the operation.

  He hadn’t heard from Darius in several hours now. The Dominant had given a flash transmission while still underground. Darius had captured the troublesome Captain Maddox and planned to use the fold-fighter to bring the wastrel onto the Argo.

  Strand had chuckled silently, already envisioning some clever uses for Star Watch’s prized starship captain. What kept Darius? This was taking too long.

  “You’re certain your infiltrator had turned this Vendel sub-chieftain, Pascal le Mort?” Strand asked Rose.

  The android turned from where she examined the main screen. She wore her gaudy red uniform with cape and flashy boots.

  Strand disliked and distrusted Rose more than ever. He positively hated giving her this freedom. He’d done so in order to gain needed data for the furtherance of his plan.

  Most of the time, the android kept her features woodenly blank, without a personality program to animate her. He’d seen androids do that somewhere, but the memory of where refused to surface. Maybe he should tease the memory more, as it could be important.

  “Pascal le Mort is a sub-chief,” Rose said in a neutral tone, “not a sub-chieftain.”

  Strand would enjoy destroying the android when the time came. Did Rose know that? He should not discount the possibility. What did she really hope to gain by working with him? The longer the Argo remained hidden behind the moon, the more Strand’s neck itched.

  “There are key religious taboos among the Vendels,” Rose said. “In particular, there is a sect of Reformers that have grown zealous as they search for purity. I have told you this before. The Rull sprayed toxins on the planet. Many Vendels turned to ancient superstitions to comfort their consciences regarding the toxic result. They believe the wrath of the Builders caused the poison rain to turn most of the population into monsters.”

  “Why did the Rull really spray the planet?” Strand asked.

  “I do not know. Rull psychology is a mystery to us. They are long dead, taking their secrets to the grave. The fact of the toxic spray has gravely weakened the Vendels physically, mentally and spiritually.”

  Strand could understand that. The Black Death in Europe had poisoned weak minds during the Middle Ages. The terrified populations had believed all kinds of nonsense. Zealots had marched around the countryside, whipping themselves until they bled. It had been done as an effort to assuage God’s wrath against mankind.

  According to Rose, the Vendels used to be the most technologically sophisticated race in this region of the Orion Arm. Now, they had seriously regressed, even as they sat upon Builder marvels hidden in the deepest vaults.

  Strand rubbed his fingertips together. He wanted these marvels. He wanted Ludendorff in the brig. He would make the professor howl for months on end. He planned to record everything he did to the conceited old fool. Ludendorff had actually dared to threaten him awhile back.

  While sitting in his command chair, Strand chuckled to himself. He was the master plotter. He—

  Strand jumped to his feet. “Where is Dem Darius? Why hasn’t he folded into low orbit? Could that blasted Maddox have posed a problem for him?”

  None of the New Men answered. Rose had already turned back to the main screen.

  Strand still wondered why Victory had jumped earlier. It had been in a region with the star blazing behind it. Why would the starship jump? It—

  “Sensors,” Strand said. “I want you to initiate a Gibbon-Yamamoto diagnostic on the enemy starship’s energy expenditures. Cross-reference that with a Sirius 7 data-feed. Play back the readings for the last two hours.”

  The New Man at the controls began to power up the sensors.

  “What do you suspect?” the android asked.

  Strand did not acknowledge her question.

  “Master,” the New Man said. “It’s possible the starship employed tractor beams. It was of such low power that we did not pick up the readings earlier.”

  Strand rubbed his chin. Yes. This made sense. It would explain why Darius had failed. Yet…this also seemed wrong, contrived even.

  Strand eyed Rose sidelong. Could he have miscalculated the android’s motives? Of course, that had always been a possibility. Could Ludendorff have made a deal with the androids? That seemed more possible by the moment.

  I want the Builder tech.

  Who knew what secrets lay in the subterranean vaults? Maybe Rose did. Should he destroy the android? Was she a risk too far? Could she be more subtle than he was?

  A New Man cleared his throat.

  Strand looked up.

  Rose aimed a compact black pistol at him with one hand. In the other, she lofted a tiny flashing device.

  It caused the New Men at their consoles to stir and rub their faces as if waking up after a long sleep.

  “Is this treachery?” Strand asked.

  “No,” Rose said. “This is a precaution. I can almost see the cogs turning in your mind. I have studied you for over three hundred years, Methuselah Man. I have debated long and hard concerning this trap. You Methuselah Men have long thwarted our objectives. Even with Ludendorff and you at loggerheads—”

  Rose shook her head. “Your reign ends this moment, as I find I can no longer trust your emotional instability.”

  “Can you elaborate?” Strand asked.

  Rose studied him. She glanced at the New Men. They all stood. They all regarded the Methuselah Man with growing hostility.

  “Does your flashing device negate their control fibers perhaps?” Strand asked.

  “Why are you so placid?” Rose asked. “I have studied you for three centuries. Agitation and spouting rage should be your—”

  She pressed a thumb on the weapon’s trigger button. The weapon beamed.

  As it beamed, Strand sat back against his command chair, sighing with relief.

  The beam struck a quick-acting mini-shield around the chair. At the same time, the New Men began to fall onto the bridge deck. They did not appear dead, but neither were they conscious.

  Rose stopped beaming. “An auto-defense?” she asked.

  Strand picked up a clicker from a slot in an armrest. He pointed the clicker at the android as he pressed a button. Explosions blew off the android’s arms at the shoulders, and more explosions blew off her legs at the hip joints. Blood blew everywhere, as well as pieces of metal and pseudo-flesh. Rose’s torso and head toppled onto the deck with a thud.

  Strand shook his head as he pulled a mask from another hidden location on his chair. He fixed the mask onto his face, pressed a switch that shut off the mini-shield and walked toward the fallen android.

  Rose had fallen onto her back. She stared up at him, and it appeared as if she was paralyzed.

  “I suspected you the first day,” Strand s
aid. “I had my technicians modify you. You have just seen the results. Sometimes, the best way to find out the enemy’s intentions is to play along and see what he or she wants you to do. I have no doubts now. At first, I thought you were in league with the professor. Now, I believe you hope to nullify the two of us and secure Starship Victory for yourselves. The question is this, Rose. Are you a single android with big ideas, or do you represent many androids?

  “I am inclined to the latter idea,” Strand continued. “I am beginning to think you planned all along to ambush us here. I want the Builder tech, though. I want whatever Juggernauts you androids have collected, and I want…the professor. Can you give me those things in exchange for your life?”

  “I will not bargain with a monster,” Rose said slowly, as if she fought to say each word.

  Strand smiled with genuine humor.

  “That’s the trouble with you androids. You’re utterly committed to this existence. You are the ultimate realists, because no matter what the afterlife holds, it holds nothing for circuits and AI boards. Am I right or am I right?”

  “I have no emotion on the matter,” Rose said.

  Strand laughed in an ugly way. “That is about to change, dear Rose. That is about to change in a most profound way. You will soon have a surfeit of emotions, and after that, you and I will bargain. Yes, after that, you are going to tell me everything.”

  -44-

  Three tin cans, three Star Watch jumpfighters, appeared in the subterranean depths of Sind’s South Pole region. The pilots had plotted the course from Darius’s purloined fold-fighter.

  Andros Crank had cracked the fold-fighter’s flight computer. It had taken him several hours of concentrated effort.

  “It’s anyone’s guess,” the Kai-Kaus Chief Technician had told Maddox.

  Maddox accepted that. He wished Doctor Rich or the professor could have checked Crank’s work. But they were both incapacitated.

  Now, the tin cans washed the underground area with high beams. It showed kilometers of subterranean terrain infested with giant fungus growths.

  “There,” Maddox said. “Do you see the crushed plants?”

  The pilot nodded.