“Have you lost your mind?” Ludendorff asked.
“Give me a better idea,” the captain said.
“You’re going to need your armor before this is through.”
Maddox shrugged.
“At least make one of the marines give you his suit,” Ludendorff said.
“No, it’s my idea,” Maddox said. “Thus, I’ll accept the risks.”
“While that might appear noble,” Ludendorff said, “it is far from the case. You are the captain. You will need your suit. Acting with sentimentality is a fool’s notion.”
Maddox’s eyes narrowed. He wore his uniform and boots, having brought them along in a small pack. He had his long-barreled gun strapped to his side and had reclaimed the monofilament knife from Meta some time ago. The shredder was too big for him to use now other than if he lay down in a prone position and used it like a heavy machine-gun.
“Ready?” Maddox asked Keith.
The ace had been practicing with the remote control unit. He made the exoskeleton suit move in one direction and then another. Using his thumbs, Keith made the suit squat, jump up, twist around, duck and run in place.
“Got it,” Keith said. “This is a piece of cake.”
“That’s preposterous,” Ludendorff said.
“Have you seen me fly before, mate?”
“That’s not the point. This is different.”
“That’s where you’re wrong. There’s no one better at piloting than I am. Besides, I’ve played video games with exactly these sorts of controls and commands.”
Ludendorff shook his head, muttering to himself.
Maddox clapped Keith on the back. He appreciated the man’s confidence and positive spirit. “Proceed when ready,” he said.
Keith looked around, spied a spot and sat there. He crossed his legs so he sat Indian-style and put the remote control unit in his lap. He took a deep breath, twisted his neck so it popped and began to manipulate the controls.
Everyone else had moved back. Maddox’s old armor suit spun to face everyone. Then, it saluted smartly, spun in the direction of the chamber and took off at a sprint.
Maddox leaned against the wall beside Keith so he could look down at the tiny screen. It was difficult for the captain to tell what was going on. The image kept changing constantly. It was rather disorienting.
Keith looked up once, grinning, before concentrating once more.
The marines waited. Meta waited, and Ludendorff paced back and forth.
“Motion,” Keith said. “I think the tank sees me.”
Maddox saw a host of flashing data beside the screen. Keith seemed to comprehend everything at once.
“Get ready, everyone,” Keith said. “It’s going to fire.”
A terrific boom sounded from farther ahead. It was a nearly deafening noise. Maddox watched the screen. He saw the floor from eye level. The exoskeleton suit must be lying down. Something blurred overhead. Another boom sounded. This time, the image remained rigid. At the last moment, the image went high—no doubt due to the jumping suit. On the tiny screen, something blurred underneath.
Each tank round struck a wall, causing another shattering sound and underground shaking.
“Quake rounds,” Sims said, “or something just like quake rounds. The machine might be trying to bring the tunnels down on us.”
“Here goes,” Keith said in a soft voice.
The image on the remote control unit changed faster than before. The suit must be running.
“Okay, mate,” Keith whispered.
His thumbs twitched. He held his breath. A boom sounded, a crashing noise came next and then intense shaking from another quake round. Keith laughed wildly.
“It’s readying a flame thrower!” the ace shouted. “I gotta keep running.”
Maddox saw the squat enemy machine on the tiny screen. It was indeed a tank. Earth tanks looked different. This one was rounder shaped with a narrow cannon like on an ancient Mark III Panzer of World War II.
The exoskeleton armor must have leaped. The barrel was right there on the screen.
“Now,” Keith said. He thrust his right thumb up hard on a control.
The scene vanished. Keith threw himself flat onto the floor and covered his ears. Maddox did likewise. Then, there came an explosion, a monstrous noise. The tunnel shook for what felt like several minutes and finally stopped as dust floated like ashes vomited from a dragon’s throat.
Maddox lifted his hands from his ears. They rang. He stood, and stumbled, disoriented.
Keith was grinning at him from on the floor. “I did it, sir. I took out the tank.”
Maddox wasn’t sure, but it seemed like a good possibility that Keith was right.
“Let’s go see,” Keith said. He climbed to his feet and began staggering down the tunnel.
-58-
Soon, the battle group found a cave-in, with huge pieces of wall and chunks of rock and earth blocking the way.
“Your suit created too big of an explosion,” the professor told Maddox.
Sims must have overheard the comment. The lieutenant clanked near with his faceplate open. “We can move this stuff out of the way.”
“And bring the rest of the underworld upon us?” the professor asked.
Sims glanced at Maddox.
The captain nodded.
The four unsuited people moved out of the way, as the space marines began hefting huge rocks or dragging away sections of wall. Slowly, they cleared the corridor.
Once, the exposed earth above shifted ominously as driblets of dirt showered onto the floor.
“We can’t survive a complete cave-in,” Ludendorff told Maddox.
The captain studied the Methuselah Man. “Out with it. What are you hiding?”
“You’re mistaken that I fear any one particular thing,” Ludendorff said. “This is simply common sense. We may be in over our heads.”
A sardonic smile appeared on the captain’s face.
Ludendorff scowled, beginning to mutter under his breath about pompous young Intelligence officers.
Meta pulled the captain aside. “You don’t seem to trust the professor anymore,” she whispered. “Do you really think someone has altered his mind?”
“It’s one of my chief suspicions,” Maddox admitted quietly.
Meta searched his face. “What do you think we’ll find down here?”
“Whatever it is, I’m not sure Ludendorff wants us to find it.”
“That doesn’t answer the question.”
It was Maddox’s turn to study Meta. Something clicked in his mind. He held her, kissing her deeply.
Meta smiled up at him. “Not that I don’t like it, but what was that for?”
“For the pure pleasure of kissing you,” Maddox said.
“We’ve broken through,” Sims shouted from down the hall.
“Let’s go,” Maddox said.
Meta grabbed an arm, pulling him back. “What do you think is hidden down there?”
“A Builder or highly advanced androids,” Maddox said.
“A Builder,” Meta said, sounding worried.
“I give that the lowest possibility. I have begun to wonder if a Rull creature penetrated Sind’s defenses.”
“I don’t understand.”
“From what we’ve seen, the pieces don’t match the whole,” Maddox said. “How can rather primitive Vendels keep Juggernauts at bay? Why would androids need help breaking into these subterranean vaults?” The captain shook his head. “I suspect a power or powerful entity lies in the depths. But what kind of entity and why remain in hiding on a broken planet?”
“Does Ludendorff feel that way?”
“The professor remains an enigma. He helps us, but he has ulterior motives. Sometimes, I get the feeling he knows what he is doing. At other times, I believe subconscious impulses drive him. The most likely explanation for the impulses is latent Builder compulsions buried so deeply that no one has been able to see them. Of course, we must also suspec
t the box found in the incinerator unit aboard Victory.”
“Should I watch him?” Meta asked.
“Always,” Maddox said. “Now let’s go. Time is no longer on our side.”
Meta gripped his left arm a little longer. Finally, the Rouen Colony woman let go and the two hurried after the others.
***
They reached a huge blasted smoking tank. Inside, they found bloody fleshy chunks.
“That wasn’t an android,” Maddox said.
“There’s no telling what drove it,” Sims said.
“Professor?” the captain asked. “Do you have a theory?”
Ludendorff shrugged moodily.
“You hardly looked at the remains,” Maddox said.
“I don’t want to,” Ludendorff said grumpily.
Meta and the captain exchanged glances. Maddox shrugged. She appeared thoughtful, and he noticed her peering at the professor more often.
The Methuselah Man studied his folded notes for a time. He went to each opening as the marines cleared away enough rubble.
After the marines had cleared the last opening, Ludendorff asked, “Is that it?”
“As far as I can tell,” Sims said.
Ludendorff checked his notes again and began shaking his head. “There should be another entrance. I count five but there should be six.”
“What should we be looking for?” the lieutenant asked.
“I found something,” the corporal said. “I don’t know why I didn’t spot it earlier.”
Sims and Ludendorff turned to look at the scout.
“Under our feet,” the corporal said. “It’s a hidden hatch. There must have been too much junk in the way for me to spot it before with my sensors.”
Under the lieutenant’s direction, the marines cleared away more rubble.
“I don’t see anything,” the lieutenant said.
“Something is under the floor,” the corporal said.
“Fine,” Sims said. He knelt with his exoskeleton suit and began to smash at the floor with an armor-gloved fist. He smashed like a comic-book superhero, but nothing happened.
“The floor is tougher than it looks,” Sims said.
“Keep at it,” the professor said. “I think that is what we want.”
Sims looked up at the captain. Maddox nodded.
The lieutenant pounded at the floor. Suddenly, lines appeared along the floor. He smashed more. The lines became cracks and finally the floor between the cracks turned into rubble. The lieutenant clawed away at the mess until he reached metal.
“I suggest greater care,” Ludendorff shouted.
Sims didn’t look to the captain this time. He scraped at the metal until he revealed its outline. This floor hatch was bigger than the last one.
“If we open this,” Sims said, “are we going to find more fighting machines?”
The corporal stepped near, using his sensors. “Whatever is under us seems to be empty.”
Sims finished exposing the floor hatch. This one had a junction box on it.
Ludendorff climbed down to the hatch, brushed away grit and dust and used needle-like tools. Something on the box clicked. The professor tenderly removed a covering. He found a complex pad with strange symbols on it.
“I must think,” Ludendorff said. On his hands and knees, he studied the symbols. He remained like that for three minutes.
“What’s the problem?” Maddox asked from above.
“Shhh,” Ludendorff said. “Don’t break my concentration.”
Maddox retreated, waiting with the others.
Finally, Ludendorff began to tap the pad experimentally. He became surer a few tries later. Then, his fingers began blurring as if he had done this a hundred times.
The hatch clanked. Ludendorff laughed. He straightened and pulled, opening the hatch.
Maddox came forward to see what Ludendorff had found. A ladder led straight down. The circular shaft seemed to be made of plastic. It glowed, and a strange hum came from farther down.
“Do you know what’s causing the hum?” Maddox asked the professor.
“I think so,” Ludendorff said. “The exoskeleton suits will not function beyond this point. It’s an anti-android system. It might be dangerous to anyone who tries to go down. I believe I can continue forward. Possibly you can also, Captain. I doubt anyone else will be able to advance.”
“Explain that,” Maddox said.
Ludendorff rubbed his lips together. He took a pedantic stance as if he stood before a classroom of students.
“Do you recall the voyages of Odysseus?” the professor asked.
“Are you talking about the hero of the Trojan War, the one who invented the Trojan horse?” Maddox asked.
“One and the same,” the professor said. “He was the crafty Greek warrior. I often think of him as my patron saint, as it were. After the great victory, he left Troy and tried to reach home. The gods had other ideas, and he had many strange adventures. One of them consisted of the sirens. The sirens lounged on sea rocks and sang such lovely songs that no man could listen to them and remain sane. He would leap overboard trying to reach them. The sea would dash him on the treacherous rocks and the man would die.
“As I’m sure you know, Odysseus had to hear the sirens sing. He was too curious, you see. That is the failing of all super-intelligent people.”
“People such as you,” Maddox said blandly.
“Precisely,” Ludendorff said, failing to catch the sarcasm. “Legend had it that if a man ever heard the sirens sing without killing himself, the sirens would kill themselves.
“Well, Odysseus had his men—the rowers—plug their ears with beeswax. Before that, they tied Odysseus to the mast. The men rowed past the sirens. They sang their enchanted songs, and Odysseus raved, desperately trying to free himself to dive overboard and swim to the faithless singers. In the end, his ship passed them. Odysseus returned to his senses, and the sirens committed suicide.”
“That is interesting,” Maddox said. “What does it have to do with this entranceway? You can’t be suggesting sirens are waiting for us.”
“In a manner of speaking, that is exactly what I’m saying.”
“The armor won’t work and the men will go mad.” Maddox said. “It’s up to Meta, then.”
“No, no,” Ludendorff said, exasperated. “Man or woman, it doesn’t matter. I believe an old Builder process will hinder anyone without a fantastically powerful intellect from going farther. I can do it. You might, Captain. I doubt anyone else here is that strong willed and mentally capable.”
“What lies beyond the sirens?” Maddox said.
“The process that cracks the vaults of the ages, my boy. We’re almost there. I’m going. What about you?”
Meta had come up behind Maddox. She whispered, “Don’t trust him. This sounds like a cock and bull story. I’m sure we can all go.”
Maddox had his doubts. The professor knew he would test this. “Explain how these modern sirens will work?”
“It’s a mental attack,” Ludendorff said. “You will relive your worst nightmares. Few people can come to grips with that. I know how to defeat it, though.”
“Tell us how.”
An odd look came over the professor. “I cannot,” Ludendorff said. “I don’t know why I cannot, but my lips are sealed concerning the method.”
“Could it be one of the old Builder impulses driving you?” Maddox asked.
Ludendorff shrugged uneasily, appearing to dislike the idea.
“Very well,” Maddox said. “We’ll test your theory.”
“I am stating fact not theory,” Ludendorff said.
“Good enough,” Maddox said. “We will test your fact and proceed. If you’re correct, you and I shall go deeper while the others stand watch.”
“I’m going to go with you,” Meta said. “While I don’t claim to be a genius like some people, I’m just as stubborn as the next person.”
“You may think you are,” Ludendorff said.
“But I assure you that you are not as stubborn as either the captain or I.”
“We’ll see,” Meta said.
Ludendorff studied her before nodding. “Yes. I suppose we will at that.”
-59-
The professor proved correct regarding the exoskeleton armor. It failed to function as soon as the marine scaled the metal rungs.
Several marines with steel cables hauled the incapacitated armor-suited scout back up.
“The professor is right,” Maddox told Sims. “You can’t follow in your suits.”
The lieutenant’s faceplate was open. His blocky features were set in a stern mask. “What do you—what are your orders, sir?”
“This could be a dead end,” Maddox said. “We don’t know what’s down there. Maybe it will kill us.”
Sims stared at the captain.
“I want you to hold this position,” Maddox said. “If the Vendels reach here, and it looks like they’re going to overpower you—”
“That will mean we’ve run out of ammo,” Sims said.
Maddox nodded. “In that case, you should shed your power-suits and follow us.”
“That doesn’t sound like an order.”
“What else would you suggest?”
“You’re asking my opinion, sir?”
Maddox waited.
Sims’s gaze fell. “We could charge the Vendels in our suits, using exoskeleton strength and armor as our weapons.”
“I will leave that to your discretion, Lieutenant. While a glorious battle death no doubt appeals to you, my suggestion is to survive to fight another day. That would mean shedding your armor and coming down.”
“What about the professor’s sirens?”
“Approaching death can wonderfully concentrate one’s mind. It may be the impetus you need to storm past the mental projections—if they indeed exist. But, hopefully, it will not come down to that. I suspect I will win through and defeat what is on the other side before the Vendels reach you.”
Sims’s lips spread into a rugged smile. “If you’ll permit me, sir, I have to say, you have balls of brass. It’s been a pleasure serving with you, sir.”
The Lost Planet (Lost Starship Series Book 6) Page 32