Maddox adjusted the flight path. He kept Victory in visual range, training a teleoptic device on the starship. Valerie and he had agreed beforehand to keep communications between them at a minimum. It was possible that Builder drones could home in on a comm-signal.
The shuttle passed a smaller asteroid, this one ten kilometers in diameter. The object lacked any craters or other space impact marks. That was odd.
“Does that asteroid have any dust?” Maddox asked.
“Eh?” Ludendorff asked. “What’s that?”
“The asteroid outside, the one we’re passing, does it have any surface dust?”
The professor shrugged.
Meta used the warfare pod’s targeting device to scan the asteroid. “No dust, Captain,” she said.
Given the professor’s reaction concerning the metal on an asteroid, Maddox had a hunch. “What’s the asteroid’s composition?”
“Don’t use any active sensors,” Ludendorff warned.
“So what’s the asteroid made of?” Maddox asked the professor. “What do your passive sensors say?”
Ludendorff hesitated before saying, “The asteroid is composed of granite and basalt rock.”
“There are no metals on or in the asteroid?”
The professor sighed. “No, Captain. That’s how I knew the metal Meta detected a few minutes was something other than asteroidal ore. None of these rocks has any metallic ores or minerals.”
“Why didn’t you simply tell us from the beginning? Why try to hide everything?”
“Habit, I suppose,” Ludendorff said.
Maddox thought about that as he piloted the shuttle to the asteroid with metal. Earlier, Dana had admitted Ludendorff was a Methuselah Man. The common attribute each of the Methuselah People possessed was a calcification of character. Ludendorff was highly secretive. Maybe the professor could no longer help himself in that regard.
For a time, no one spoke. The stars blazed in the background as the shuttle passed various meteors and boulders. Behind them, the starship continued to dwindle in size. Maddox wondered on the extent of the asteroid belt. How much energy had the Builders expended to construct such a field. Why had they gone to such lengths to do it? Who were the Builders? Did the New Men really use Builder technology? If so, did the tech trump everything else?
Maddox was inclined to believe otherwise. In the Battle of the Tannish System, Adok technology had defeated Builder tech, given the New Men used it.
“Look,” Meta said, pointing out the window. “There it is.”
Maddox stared where she pointed. The targeted asteroid was much larger than the others were. “Do we have any specs on it?” he asked.
“Diameter, fifty kilometers,” the professor said.
“Do you see the metal yet?”
“Negative,” Ludendorff said.
“No,” Meta added, as she studied her weapons pod scanner.
“Ah, this is interesting,” the professor said, watching his board. “The asteroid is spinning on its axis.”
Maddox’s hackles rose. “Meta, have you seen any other spinning asteroids?”
“I have not,” she said.
“What are you implying?” the professor asked.
“That’s not half as important as what you’re not telling us,” Maddox said. “Why is the asteroid spinning, and why aren’t any of the others doing that?”
“I have no idea,” Ludendorff said.
“Professor, please, you must have some idea.”
“Well…maybe a small thought,” Ludendorff admitted.
Maddox waited to hear it.
Ludendorff appeared as if he wanted to stall. Finally, he grunted softly, saying, “I think the asteroid was the launch point for the drone we destroyed.”
That seemed highly significant to Maddox. “Are there more drones inside?”
“That’s a good question,” the professor said. “I don’t think so.”
“But you don’t know for certain?”
“Not for certain,” Ludendorff agreed. “Yet, as you suggested earlier, I wouldn’t have boarded the shuttle if I believed we were going to run into another Builder drone.”
Maddox maneuvered closer until the rotation became visible to the naked eye. At that point, the professor projected the sensor data onto the flight screen. Every rotation showed a metal circular area, the exit to a Builder launch tube, as the professor named it. The door was closed, and no extraneous junk lay on the asteroid’s surface.
“Do you still think we should land?” Maddox asked.
The professor studied a still-shot of the portal. The curved lines in the door made it seem the Builder hatch would dilate open.
“Match velocities with the asteroid,” Ludendorff said.
“You haven’t answered my question,” Maddox said. “Do you want to land?”
“I want a better view of the portal before I decide.”
“Professor, maybe it’s time we chose our goal for this flight. Treasure hunting seems like a waste of effort and resources. We have to reach the Nexus.” Maddox frowned. “Well, I don’t even know why that’s important. We’ve reached the asteroid field. You said the planet-killer used to be here. What exactly are you looking for? Another key to the doomsday device?”
“What you call treasure hunting, I call searching for clues.” Ludendorff paused, as if he’d said too much. “It is imperative we land.”
“Because…?” Maddox asked.
“This might give us a clue to the planet-killer,” Ludendorff said.
Maddox studied the professor, finally turning to his board. He eased them closer and began to circle the rocky object as it rotated. The captain circled the rock faster and faster until the smooth surface looked as if it was standing still below them.
“We can’t walk on the surface,” Meta said. “I’ve checked the asteroid’s mass. It’s infinitesimal compared to the rotation. If we attempt to walk on the surface, we’ll fly off into space.”
“I have no intention of walking on the surface,” the professor said. “I want you to ease down until you’re over the portal. We’ll broaden the shuttle’s gravity dampener to include the portal. Then, we can go down and examine the opening from an underbelly access hatch.”
“Sounds tricky,” Maddox said. “I’d want Keith piloting and Dana along for insurance before we attempted that.”
“Fortunately,” the professor said, “you have the best of both worlds in me. I know what to do.” The man stood. “If you please, Captain.”
Maddox allowed the professor to take his place in the pilot’s seat.
Ludendorff lowered the craft with consummate skill. Gently, the shuttle bumped against the surface, with the portal directly underneath the small vehicle.
The professor looked up. His eyes shined, and a weird smile stretched his lips. “Finally,” he breathed, “after all this time.” He rubbed his gloved hands together.
Abruptly, Ludendorff stood, heading for the hatch in his awkward penguin shuffle. “Leave the controls. I’ve set them.”
Maddox glanced at Meta.
“You’d better follow him,” she whispered. “If he’s going to find treasure, maybe you should grab our share.”
“Right,” Maddox said, heading for the locker room.
The professor climbed down a ladder as Maddox rushed past him. The captain raced to the locker area, flinging open an access panel. As quickly as possible, Maddox donned a vacc-suit. His stomach tightened. Trying to rush this could lead to a deadly mistake later. He slowed down even though he didn’t want to. What was the professor’s problem?
Finally, Maddox screwed a bubble helmet into place. He lumbered out of the locker room, reached the ladder and climbed down. Soon, he reached the air cycler. The professor had already gone ahead of him.
Maddox chinned on his short-way radio. “Professor,” he said.
There was no answer.
Entering the air cycler, Maddox pressed a button. The section rotated as air hissed o
ut. In seconds, the cycler clicked into its new setting. Maddox exited, moving down a short corridor. The professor crouched over an open hatch in vacuum.
Maddox joined him, looking down at the Builder portal embedded in the asteroid several meters below.
“Professor,” Maddox radioed.
Ludendorff looked up at him. The man’s eyes shined even more weirdly than before. “I’m here,” the professor said. “I can hardly believe it.”
“Why does it matter? The portal is shut.”
With a gloved hand, the professor unsealed a pouch on his vacc-suit. He took out a small device, aimed it at the portal and pressed a button.
To Maddox’s astonishment, the ancient portal began to dilate open.
“Ahhh,” the professor said. “It worked. Did you see that? It worked.”
“Captain,” Meta radioed.
“What is it?” Maddox asked her.
“Victory just sent us a message,” Meta said. “There’s another Builder drone. It’s heading straight for us.”
Maddox stared at Ludendorff. “Did you hear that?” he asked the professor.
Ludendorff gave him a crazy grin. Then, the man looked down at the open launch tube. Bright lights came on inside.
Maddox glanced over the man’s shoulder. A vast hollowed out area appeared inside the asteroid.
“We have to get out of here,” Meta radioed.
“Professor,” Maddox said. “We have to leave.”
Instead of responding, Ludendorff began to climb down the underbelly hatch, clearly intending to enter the launch tube.
“Professor!” Maddox shouted. “Didn’t you hear Meta? Another silver drone is heading toward us. We have to leave.”
Ludendorff paused long enough to look up at Maddox. A strange, fixed smile was his only answer.
“I’ll leave you,” Maddox said.
The professor began climbing down again.
“You loony bastard,” Maddox said. Throwing himself onto his stomach, the captain grabbed protrusions on the professor’s vacc-suit. With a surge of strength, Maddox hauled Ludendorff off the ladder.
The professor shouted, reaching up.
Maddox strained, employing his considerable hybrid strength. Ludendorff’s gloved hands clamped onto Maddox’s wrists, trying to pry off the captain’s grip.
“I’m going down,” the professor said harshly. “You don’t understand what’s at stake.”
Maddox heaved, pulling the professor up. “Meta!” he shouted. “Lift off, lift off. Get us off the surface.”
“No!” the professor said. “Don’t do it.”
“Are you mad?” Maddox panted.
The two men struggled, Ludendorff trying to pry himself free, Maddox hanging on, attempting to drag the other up into the craft. Around them, the shuttle shuddered.
“No,” Ludendorff said. “I’ve waited longer than you can you imagine to get here. Let go of me.”
Maddox saved his breath for the struggle. What had happened to the professor? Why did the man risk his life for this? It didn’t make sense.
Slowly, the shuttle lifted, gaining greater separation by the second.
“Look!” Maddox yelled. “We’re too high now. You have to come back inside.”
Through his bubble helmet, Ludendorff looked down. The portal receded from view, as did the hollow, lit interior. More of the asteroid’s surface appeared.
The professor released Maddox’s wrists, digging into a pouch on his vacc-suit. Ludendorff came up with a shock rod.
“We’re too high,” Maddox said.
The professor slapped the shock rod against Maddox’s left wrist. Power crackled, some of it buzzing through the suit.
Maddox’s hand opened involuntarily.
Ludendorff slapped the other wrist. The professor fell free for several meters and should have floated once out of the gravity dampener’s range.
Maddox watched in amazement, his wrists throbbing. What was Ludendorff thinking?
The professor pulled something else out of a vacc-pouch. A second later, what might have been a Builder tractor beam caught him, guiding Ludendorff down into the open launch tube.
All the while, the shuttle lifted, taking Maddox farther away from the professor.
-15-
Second Lieutenant Keith Maker piloted Victory. Valerie and Dana were asleep. The old sergeant was the only other person on the bridge with Keith. Galyan had departed to warm up the disruptor cannon.
“Did you see that, mate?” Keith asked Riker. “The professor went AWOL on them so he could zip into the asteroid.”
Riker stared at the main screen with Keith. It showed a close up of the shuttle and Builder asteroid base. In the farther distance was a bright speck: the coming drone. A thousand rocks floated between the shuttle and drone.
“Why would Ludendorff do that?” Keith asked.
Riker shook his head, clearly having no idea.
“Something’s not right,” Keith said. “But I can fix it.” He manipulated his board, increasing the starship’s velocity.
A warning beep came from another panel. Keith glanced there. “You want to see what that is, mate?”
Riker sat down at the sensor board. “It’s another drone,” the sergeant said in a gravelly voice.
“That’s just great,” Keith said. “Where is it?”
The sergeant read the coordinates off his panel.
“Ah,” Keith said, adjusting his board. Another bright speck appeared forty degrees away from the first one.
“Victory,” Meta said over the comm-line.
“Victory here,” Keith answered.
“Where is the drone? Our sensors haven’t picked it up yet.”
“There are two drones heading your way, love.”
Another beep sounded from Riker’s board.
Keith glanced at the man. The sergeant nodded, holding up three fingers.
“Correction,” Keith said. “Make that three drones heading for your shuttle.”
“Three?” Meta asked. “Are you sure?”
“Wouldn’t have said it otherwise,” Keith told her.
“Can you take them out?”
“You know I can. It will be a cinch with the disruptor cannon.”
Riker waved frantically for Keith’s attention.
“Yes?” Keith asked the sergeant.
“There’s a problem,” Riker growled. “Villars has broken out of confinement. I don’t know how he’s done it, but the man is in the main control room for the disruptor cannon.”
“Why does that matter to us?” Keith asked.
“Because Villars has convinced Galyan to power down the weapon,” Riker said.
Keith thought for a second. “Do you think you can dig Villars out of the control chamber?”
“I’d say it’s thirty-seventy on doing that,” Riker said.
“A seventy percent chance is good,” Keith said.
“Not when that’s my chance of failure,” Riker said.
“Oh,” Keith said. He thought a moment before leaning forward, opening channels again with the shuttle. “Meta, it looks like we have a problem.”
***
Maddox strode into the shuttle’s control room in time to hear Keith explain the situation. The captain was still stunned by Ludendorff’s action. The shuttle no longer circled the asteroid, but headed for Victory. The professor should be safe in the asteroid for as long as his air lasted. The same couldn’t be said for them in this little craft.
Maddox sat down at the piloting controls. “Patch me through to Villars,” he said into the comm.
“Yes, sir,” Keith said. “There. He can hear you, Captain.”
“Villars,” Maddox said.
“Hey, boy,” the slarn hunter said through the comm. “You got yourself a situation, have you?”
“We all have a situation,” Maddox said. “Three Builder drones are heading for us.”
“I heard that. My, my, my, but it seems you want the disruptor cannon o
nline, is that it?”
“The professor is trapped in an asteroid.”
“Treachery, eh, boy?” Villars asked. “You picked a bad time for it.”
“The professor went mad,” Maddox said. “He left us voluntarily.”
“That’s the stupidest lie you could have told me, boy.”
Maddox stared at the comm. How had Villars gotten out of his quarters? Did the slarn hunter have secret access to Galyan?
“I’ll tell you what,” Villars said. “You give me your woman, and I’ll let you use the cannon.”
“Do you want the professor to die?” Maddox asked.
“That ain’t going to happen any time soon, trust me.”
“Is Ludendorff magic, then?”
“Maybe that’s right,” Villars said. “One thing you got to remember, he’s five times the man you are.”
“Keith,” Maddox said.
“Here, sir,” Keith said.
“Take the psycho offline,” Maddox said.
“Done, sir,” Keith said.
“Okay,” Maddox said. “We’re going to have to do this the old-fashioned way with the neutron cannon. You said three drones are coming?”
“Yes, sir,” Keith said. “They’re each building up velocity.”
“You take them out while we come home to the barn.”
“I’ll do exactly that, sir,” Keith said.
“I know you will,” Maddox said, hoping the ace hadn’t lost his touch.
***
Victory increased velocity as the shuttle picked up speed, heading for the starship. The three drones grew from specks to lozenge shapes.
“If I had the disruptor cannon, I could start firing already,” Keith said. “The neutron beam is a short-range weapon.”
“If mice were men,” Riker said.
The ace glanced at the old man. “What’s that mean?”
“Use what you have instead of wishing for the moon.”
“Aye,” Keith said. “That’s a fair statement. Now, I need to concentrate. Moving this mammoth through these asteroids is going to take some concentration.”
The next ten minutes proved interesting, and showed yet again that Keith Maker was the best pilot among them. He made the massive ship seem like a responsive strikefighter. During that time, he slowed enough and matched velocities to allow the shuttle through the hangar bay doors. Then, he approached Ludendorff’s asteroid.
The Lost Destroyer (Lost Starship Series Book 3) Page 13