“Is that true, Becker?” Stokes asked.
“I don’t know, maybe,” Becker grumbled. “The Prime Saa never told me.”
“No,” Stokes said. “I suppose it wouldn’t.” The brigadier regarded Maddox. “Well, what now?”
“I’ve been thinking about that,” Maddox said. “Cook and you are going to have to rehabilitate Star Watch. I’ve learned from Becker that Fletcher and Akon Chom are dead. Now’s the time to set things right.”
“I’ve made a few plans for this day. Believe me, so has the Lord High Admiral.”
“If you mean Cook, I’m glad to hear it,” Maddox said. “There’s a lot of poison left in Star Watch and in a few other star systems. For one thing, you’ll have to hunt down the last, scattered Liss cybers.”
“Will he help with that?” Stokes asked, pointing at Becker.
“No,” Maddox said. “I have a different plan for him.”
“What’s that?” asked Stokes.
Maddox glanced at a restrained Becker before pulling Stokes outside the chamber and leaving the shuttle. He told the brigadier his plan on the tarmac.
“Audacious to the point of madness,” Stokes said. “I approve, though, for the chief reason that it will get Victory far from here. You and Ludendorff…” Stokes shook his head. “There are still going to be a lot of people who have become xenophobic about you two. You saved us again, but few are going to be grateful. I am, though. Never doubt that.”
Maddox nodded.
“Yes, after what happened on the Alexander…Ludendorff’s gassing… A long stint in the Beyond might be a good idea for you. Let people worry about new things before you come back. The Prime Saa suggested Lisa Meyers is getting ready to strike Star Watch?”
Maddox nodded.
“Hmm…” Stokes said. “Yes, I like your thinking. It will solve some key dilemmas if you succeed, and your grandmother deserves the opportunity.”
The brigadier held out his hand. Maddox shook it.
“Good luck,” Stokes said. “I’ll have a darter in orbit for you. You can use it to reach Victory.”
“Thanks, Brigadier,” Maddox said. “Tell Cook I miss him. He should wear that R&D headband all the time. If he does, he should think about reestablishing control over Star Watch.”
“Yes,” Stoke said. “What a perfectly splendid idea.”
“I see. You already thought about that and probably more?”
Stokes shrugged.
Maddox grinned. “Be seeing you, then.”
“I do hope so. And I hope Star Watch regains its bearings now that we’re killing the remnants of the Liss cyber menace.”
“Yeah,” Maddox said, turning, heading back for the shuttle.
EPILOG
In the borrowed darter, Maddox and the others rejoined Victory at a pre-designated location two and a half light-years from Earth.
The first order of business was placing Becker in a stasis tube much as Ludendorff had once enjoyed during the search for Lord Drakos. Once the bigheaded traitor to humanity succumbed to the localized stasis field in the tube, Maddox, Ludendorff, Meta and Riker took off their headbands, feeling a sense of relief.
Maddox showered afterward and found Mary O’Hara, telling his grandmother everything that had happened.
“My dear,” Mary said, her eyes shining. “I’m so proud of you.” She sipped a cup of tea, silently reveling in his exploits. After several more sips, she looked up. “Who has ever had a grandson like you?”
Maddox smiled, surprised at how good her praise felt to him.
“So what happens now?” she asked.
The good feeling evaporated in him as a knot of determination hardened.
“It’s that bad?” Mary asked.
“Worse,” Maddox said cryptically.
“Oh… That must mean it involves the Erills.”
“Yes,” Maddox said, surprised by his grandmother’s astute perception.
“And Becker, too, I suppose,” she said.
“Yes, again,” Maddox said.
Mary sipped her tea, thinking. “Because of what the Prime Saa told you when it bargained for its life?”
His grandmother was sharp. No wonder she had run Star Watch Intelligence for so long.
Maddox nodded.
“Does Meta know about this?” Mary asked.
Maddox hesitated. “Not yet,” he admitted.
“You should tell her, dear. She deserves to know.”
“I’ll tell her,” Maddox said.
“Before or after you do it?” Mary asked.
Maddox remained silent. Maybe he’d told his grandmother too much.
“Oh, dear,” Mary said, getting up, putting a hand on one of his cheeks. “I hope you know what you’re doing?”
The grimness in Maddox intensified. He nodded, saying, “So do I, Grandmother. So do I.”
***
As Victory departed on its secret mission, Brigadier Mike Stokes of Military Intelligence put into operation a plan he’d refined ever since the Montana Incident at the Rehabilitation Center.
First, he and specially preselected and trained Military Intelligence commandos descended on the Toronto R&D Center, cleaning them out of all the experimental headbands. Every member of the commando team donned one as Stokes once again expounded upon their importance.
Then, they struck at five different centers on Earth, one right after another. At each center, Military Intelligence had lost key operatives under mysterious circumstances. Four of the centers possessed a Liss cyber at the beginning of the strike. None did at the end.
The last Liss cyber had taken off in a Political Intelligence black ops shuttle.
Stokes’ people pinpointed the shuttle, taking it out with an antimatter missile.
At that point, several Political Intelligence sub-commanders got in touch with each other and decided on joint action, putting the late Akon Chom’s kill scheme into operation.
Unfortunately, for the sub-commanders, a specific condition of that kill scheme had been the Prime Saa’s victory. Despite that, PI hit squads raced throughout Earth, attempting a fast liquidation of politically questionable Star Watch officers and parliamentary members.
The first wave of assassinations succeeded in sixty-one percent of the strikes. They failed, however, with three key persons: Admiral Byron of the Battle of the Gomez System fame, Fighter Commander Anson whose men had faced the Android Fleet several years ago and Space Marine Commandant of Earth, Ransom Ekkers.
Under Stokes’ guidance, the three survivors agreed to help Military Intelligence against a rogue Political Intelligence Division.
Four days of bitter undercover fighting and a later two days of Space Marines burning out the last PI holdouts brought Earth under Stokes’ temporary authority, who claimed to operate under the name of Lord High Admiral Cook and ultimately the Parliament in Stockholm that represented the Commonwealth of Planets.
The Moon under Lunar Command was a different matter. They sided with Nostradamus, apparently not realizing he no longer existed. It appeared, though, that a single Liss cyber had survived in a different area of the Moon and had begun giving orders.
Fighter Commander Anson’s people made Earth a MI stronghold. Admiral Bryon with Stokes’s and Space Marine help won over all but three fleet vessels. Byron then began a siege of the Moon that lasted long enough for Star Watch’s Grand Fleet to reunite.
By that point, Cook returned to the Solar System, receiving a hero’s welcome from those on the Board of Admiralty and certainly from the masses who watched the Tri-V stations.
Under Cook’s command, a quick but savage campaign of nine days left the Moon a smoking ruin, but ended the last Liss cyber in the Solar System.
From there, after absorbing the bitter lessons learned, Star Watch initiated an anti-Liss cyber campaign throughout the Commonwealth.
The next few months brought a few stiff fights in several systems, always ending in the destruction of any Liss cyber and an abnormal num
ber of slain Bosks.
The final confrontation took place on Jarnevon. It resulted in three days of planetary bombardment, a ninety percent obliteration of the Bosk race and a horrific tunnel operation. The Space Marines involved hated it, but it officially ended the Liss cyber menace.
Had any Liss cybers escaped the vicious hunt?
Stokes wouldn’t swear to it. An unofficial hunt was still in progress, and it would not end for two more years. But that was the future.
For now, Cook was tentatively back in the harness as he and the Board of Admiralty searched for ways to heal the wounds caused by the latest alien attempt against humanity.
Once again, the aliens had failed. Once again, Star Watch had ultimately done its duty, protecting the human race from enslavement and destruction.
***
During this time, Victory headed for the Erill System far out in the Beyond.
Maddox didn’t heed his grandmother’s advice and didn’t tell Meta his plan, at least not right away. It took three months and four days for the starship to reach the outer Erill System. Meta must have figured it out by then, or maybe Mary told her. Maybe both women had been doing a lot of thinking.
Meta caught up with Maddox in a corridor as he and Ludendorff headed for the Stasis Chamber where they kept Becker.
“Can I have a word with you?” Meta asked.
“Not now,” Maddox said. “We’re busy.”
“Oh, no, you’re not,” Meta said, with hands on hips as she blocked his path. “You’d better speak to me this minute.”
Maddox studied his wife, sighed and glanced at Ludendorff.
“Women,” Ludendorff muttered. “Can’t live with them and can’t live without them. It’s a conundrum if there ever was one.”
Meta whirled around to face him. “Don’t you start with me, Professor.”
The white-haired Methuselah Man held up his hands, backing away. He called out to Maddox, “Go ahead, my boy. I’ll wait.”
Maddox took one of Meta’s hands, pulling her from Ludendorff, taking her down the corridor to talk. He explained what he hoped to accomplish and why he hadn’t told her before this.
Meta stared at him as if he was crazy and then as if she was going to punch him. Before she did, her lower lip trembled, and her eyes started to moisten.
Maddox actually felt a little guilty about that. It might have been a first for him. “I suppose I should have told you sooner,” he mumbled.
“You think?” Meta whispered, as she dabbed her eyes with a sleeve. “I knew you had planned something dangerous—but this. Darling, it’s insane.”
Maddox shook his head. “The Prime Saa believed he could do it.”
“Did he really? You’re certain he wasn’t telling you that so…?” Meta waved her hands. “At the end, the Prime Saa must have known you’d kill him no matter what. Thus, he told you this to get even with you.”
“I admit it’s a possibility.”
Meta hiccupped as if she’d been crying for hours. “Oh, darling,” she said, rushing into his arms. She crushed him with a hug that would have broken a lesser man’s back.
Maddox merely grunted.
Meta stared up into his eyes. “For once, you should listen to reason. This is too extreme, too wild. You don’t even know if some of your ideas will work or not. You need more data.”
“How will I get it?”
“I have no idea,” she scoffed. “You can’t just rush down to the City of Pyramids and hope the crazy plan works.” Meta shook her head. Her gorgeous face was tear-stained face. “If you’re wrong, you could be dooming our universe to a mass Erill invasion. How does that help any of us?”
Maddox shook his head.
“You can’t shoulder every burden,” Meta said. “You should ask the Emperor or your uncle Golden Ural if this is a wise maneuver.”
“If I told them about this, they might become greedy for the Ur-Builder tech.”
“You know I love you,” Meta said, softening. She put her hands on his face. “I support whatever you do. I’ll even support you in this. But I don’t think you’ve really thought this one through. Becker’s downfall delights you too much. And the Erill problem—I can see how desperately you wish to fix it. Maybe you more than anyone else know the perils of keeping the Erills caged on Estar. You’ve spoken and fought with the Erills. You’ve personally felt their horrible evil. But your plan, or yours and Ludendorff’s plan will only have a slight possibility of success.”
Maddox didn’t tell her that Ludendorff had given him a one in four chance of pulling this off. Yet, he was the di-far. He could do this. He’d beaten worse odds.
“My love, I beg you, reconsider what you’re doing.” Meta kissed him, releasing him.
Maddox took her hands, squeezing hard, and he realized that he’d changed his mind. He realized that Meta knew him too well. He’d loved the idea of sending Becker into the Erill dimension, possessed by all the Erills of the City of Pyramids and transferred back to their original dimension by the ancient Ur-Builder tech that had brought them. Becker would have learned the Erills’ and Ur-Builders’ secrets through his possession and then—
Maddox shook his head. It had been a desperate plan. Maybe it was time to throttle back on wildness and play the odds a little more.
“I have to tell Ludendorff.”
Meta nodded. “Thank you, my love. Thank you so very much.” She smiled. “I’m going to our room. Will you be joining me?”
Maddox grinned. “Soon,” he said.
She smiled coyly, turning, sauntering away, likely knowing he watched her until she turned a corner and disappeared from view.
Maddox had been watching his gorgeous wife. He sighed, thinking, and then headed for Ludendorff.
The Methuselah Man observed him approach. “Oh,” Ludendorff said, perhaps seeing something on Maddox’s face. “That’s quite interesting indeed. I didn’t think such a thing was possible. But it appears that Meta talked you out of it.”
Maddox frowned, and he touched his forehead. “You know, I’m beginning to wonder if the Prime Saa implanted the idea in me at the end.”
“You mean worked a dominating thought past your headband and Erill-enhanced stubbornness?”
“That’s right,” Maddox said.
Ludendorff rubbed his chin. “No… I don’t believe it could dominate you. Otherwise, it would have tried harder in order to survive. But maybe it could push an idea you already had. The knowledge it imparted concerning Becker and the suggestion that implied rattled around in your mind until you were ready to give it a go. Maybe it did that to me, too.”
“I have to think about this one,” Maddox said. “Meta is right. We need more data about the Ur-Builder machines, particularly the dimensional opening one.”
“And where would we get such data?”
“I don’t know yet,” Maddox said. He shook his head. “Maybe we just dodged more than a bullet but an antimatter explosion of a threat. Maybe we just saved the universe from a sinister peril that we were unknowingly about to unleash.”
“Could be, could be,” Ludendorff said. “Well, if that’s out, what’s next for us?”
Maddox considered that until he snapped his fingers. “Jarnevon—it’s time to head for Jarnevon.”
“So, we’re leaving Becker on ice?”
“For now,” Maddox said. “Maybe we can use him on Jarnevon.” The captain knew nothing about the brutal anti-Liss cyber campaign going on at the Bosk Homeworld at present.
“I’d have to know your plan, my boy, before I could agree to that,” Ludendorff said.
Maddox eyed the Methuselah Man, shrugging. “It has to do with finding a Draegar and fixing the Iron Lady. It’s time to really work on getting her back in the saddle. I’m tired of others using my grandmother.”
“Hmm, I find that to be a questionable scheme.”
Maddox stepped near and clapped Ludendorff on a shoulder. “I’ll tell you more about it tomorrow. Right now…” Maddox l
ooked down the corridor. “I have a date with Meta.” He smiled hugely. “What a woman, what a wife. What did I ever do to deserve her?”
“Do you want the truth, my boy?”
“Eh? What’s that?” Maddox asked, glancing at Ludendorff.
“You didn’t do a thing to deserve her,” Ludendorff said. “She’s a gift, a rare gift to an egocentric captain filled with delusions of grandeur, and perhaps with a modicum of ability.”
“She’s a gift, all right.” Maddox touched his forehead with two fingers and made a ragged salute. “Be seeing you, Professor.” With that, Maddox headed back the way he’d come, beginning to hurry for his room.
Ludendorff watched him go, a rueful smile on his leathery face. Maybe the Methuselah Man was thinking about Dana. Maybe he wondered if he should head back to Brahma and try again. Maybe…
THE END
From the Author: Thanks Reader! I hope you’ve enjoyed THE LOST INTELLIGENCE. If you liked the book and would like to see the story continue, please put up some stars and a review to support the series. Let me know what you would like Captain Maddox and the crew to challenge next!
-VH
The Lost Intelligence (Lost Starship Series Book 12) Page 36