The Lost Star Gate (Lost Starship Series Book 9)

by Vaughn Heppner

  “The old way often takes a long time. We have Draegar 2, or the Lord High Admiral has him. The Bosk overlord is the key to—”

  “You’re not thinking about trying to trap Lord Drakos are you?” Ludendorff asked, interrupting.

  “That’s the ideal outcome…” Maddox said, trailing off.

  “What’s next after that?” Ludendorff asked. “You’re dying to tell me something.”

  “Wouldn’t destroying Lord Drakos’s Bosk connection make you feel better?” Maddox asked. “Through the Bosks, Drakos took much from you.”

  Ludendorff squinted at Maddox. “Are you referring to Dana?”

  “Among other things.”

  “Bah!” Ludendorff said. “Do you suppose a knightly retribution would suddenly cause Dana to fall into my arms again?”

  Maddox nodded.

  “What?” Ludendorff said in a scoffing way. “You think that will work with Dana?”

  “I make no guarantees,” Maddox said. “But I know one thing. If Drakos and the Bosks had hurt Meta the way they hurt Dana, I would do everything in my power to take the Bosks and Drakos apart until they were all dead.”

  “That’s the old way of doing things, Captain.”

  “Yes,” Maddox said. “And in this instance, the old ways are the best ways.”

  “Haven’t you ever heard that he who lives by the sword dies by the sword?”

  “I have, and I accept that. Frankly, I can think of no better way to die than while I’m fighting as hard as I can for what I believe in.”

  Ludendorff regarded the captain. “No,” the professor said after a time. “I’m too tired to do all that. Besides, the Builder stone is too risky, and frankly, Draegar 2 might be too difficult to tackle in the manner you suggest. After I’m fully rested I might consider it.”

  “Time is critical, Professor.”

  “I’m sorry,” Ludendorff said. “The answer is still no.”

  Maddox stared at the professor. Finally, the captain stood, turned and headed for the hatch.

  “I don’t care if my answer upsets you,” Ludendorff shouted.

  Maddox did not respond. Instead, he left the reading room and headed down the corridor. Ludendorff wouldn’t help. That meant he’d have to do this himself.

  -111-

  No one supported Maddox in his idea. Meta pleaded with him not to do this. She even cried, clinging to him.

  “Don’t you love me?” Meta wept in their quarters.

  “Of course I love you,” Maddox said.

  “You’re going to kill yourself for O’Hara. You love her more than you love me.”

  Maddox took Meta in his arms, stroking her head. “Brigadier O’Hara…helped me when I needed it most. I can’t abandon her when she needs help the most.”

  “Oh, you stupid man,” Meta said. “Don’t you even know why you’re doing this?”

  Maddox frowned down at his angry wife.

  “Don’t you know why you always do whatever O’Hara asks you?”

  “She’s my patron in Star Watch,” Maddox said.

  Meta laughed but without any humor. Finally, she turned away. “Fine,” she said. “If you want to throw your life away on a stupid gesture, be my guest.”

  Maddox turned Meta toward him, reached down and took her chin in one of his hands. Gently, he raised her tear-streaked face to his.

  “I love you, darling,” he said softly. “But I’m an Intelligence agent of Star Watch. I have a duty to perform.”

  Meta smiled sadly and sniffled, reaching up and wiping tears from her face. “Oh, Maddox,” she said, and she clung to him. “You’re the tarnished knight.”

  “Have you been talking to Ludendorff?”

  She clung to him even harder. “You’re a warrior. I understand that. But I wish…I wish…”

  “I can do this,” Maddox said. “I know I can.”

  Meta gripped him with strength so fierce it was a challenge to breathe. “If he hurts you in any way, I’ll kill him.”

  “I accept that.” Maddox didn’t tell her, but he was counting on it as his final backup.

  “Why does it always have to be you who does the dangerous task?” she whispered.

  “Meta,” he said, and he stroked her hair as her grip loosened just a little, letting him breathe more easily.

  “All right,” she whispered. “But I’m going to be there.”

  “Good,” Maddox said. “I can think of no one better to be my anchor.” And to kill the bastard if he needs it, he thought to himself.

  ***

  It had taken the captain a few mistruths to convince the Lord High Admiral to let him attempt this. Maybe the old man knew they were lies. Maybe Cook wanted O’Hara back on his staff more than he was letting on.

  The point was that Draegar 2 returned to Victory.

  In a sealed chamber, with Sergeant Riker outside watching through a two-way mirror—Riker had sustained a few injuries in his thruster-pack tumble, but they had been relatively minor and had healed by now—Maddox stood with the Builder stone on a stand. Dana Rich was in here with him. Meta stood on the other side of the cell, with an extinguisher in her hands.

  Across from Maddox sat Draegar 2. The bronze-colored Bosk was strapped to a chair. He appeared uncomfortable but kept a dark-eyed gaze latched onto the captain.

  In Maddox’s estimation, the Bosk knew what was going to happen.

  “He looks eager,” Dana said.

  Maddox wasn’t listening. He focused on the Builder stone, felt the stirring of a headache and stepped up to the white polygonal object, grasping the ancient thing with both hands. At first, nothing happened. Then, the captain felt the Wi-Fi-like connection with the object. It was a frightening experience. Ancient tendrils of Builder technology reached inside his mind. It connected with him, and Maddox felt a sudden growing of intelligence and possibilities.

  He saw, in that moment, why he had the headaches. Could he fix those with the Builder stone? Before he could contemplate that, another mind struck his.

  Maddox wanted to look up, but he was physically frozen. He felt the Bosk, Draegar 2, chuckling in his mind. It was an awful feeling.

  You are too bold for your own good, Captain, Draegar 2 said to him mind-to-mind, using the Builder stone as the connection between them. You are a superb Intelligence agent and even a gifted starship captain. But you are no match for me in a mind-to-mind contest. I am so much your mental superior that this is a joke. I knew right away what you were going to do. This “stone” is amazing. It is just the tool I need to expand my reach. I cannot believe you were that stupid to challenge me in an arena where I hold all the cards.

  “Lord Drakos,” Maddox managed to croak.

  Ah, yes, the New Man thinks he controls us Bosks, Draegar 2 said through the mind-link. Is that not a fantastic joke?

  “Drakos does control the Bosks.”

  Only in a few minor ways, Draegar 2 said mind to mind. When Drakos took over from the Master, Strand— The Bosk mind-chuckled. Let us say that we have a little surprise for Lord Drakos.

  From the Bosk’s mind, Maddox caught a glimpse of that surprise.

  Oh no, Captain, the Draegar said. You weren’t supposed to see that. I will have to modify you now. Let’s see, how shall I begin to do this? Oh, I love this stone. It is simply marvelous.

  Maddox fought back with his mind as best as he was able.

  The Draegar parried the mental attempt with startling ease. Oh, no, no, no, Captain. That’s not going to work with me. Let me now demonstrate how to do such a—

  Maddox waited, but nothing bad happened to him. Instead, the Bosk’s presence vanished from his mind. Then an icy sensation broke his mind’s Wi-Fi like connection with the Builder stone.

  It took Maddox several seconds—or so he thought. The captain opened his eyes as his too-hot hands throbbed painfully. He was lying on the floor, and his head…throbbed some, but it wasn’t anything like in the recent past.

  He tried to concentrate, and he saw D
raegar 2 lying on the floor across from him. The man’s tongue was sticking out of his mouth and his head was at the oddest angle.

  Meta stood over the Bosk, opening and closing her hands as she breathed hard.

  Maddox looked around. Dana stood openmouthed and shocked, and she held the extinguisher, with a bit of foam dripping from the nozzle.

  “What happened?” the captain whispered.

  It took Dana a second to look at him and another to engage her mind. “You groaned pitifully,” the doctor said slowly. “The Bosk was smiling too arrogantly. Then, Meta went wild. She rushed the bound man and tore him free of his straps as she twisted and finally broke his neck, killing him.”

  Maddox looked at Meta. She must have throttled Draegar 2. Then, Dana must have grabbed the extinguisher and hosed the Builder stone. That had allowed Maddox to break free of its mental hold. If he’d been linked to the Bosk through the stone when the man had died, that would have killed him, too. A choking death for Draegar 2 had been perfect for Maddox, giving him time to break the connection before it was too late.

  Meta gave him a pleading look. “I couldn’t help myself,” she said. “The thought of him killing you…”

  Maddox climbed to his feet, testing his limbs. His head felt better than it had for a long time. Had the Bosk done something to help it?

  “I spoiled everything,” Meta said.

  “You’re wrong,” Maddox said. “I was counting on you reacting as you did—if it became necessary. Clearly, it was necessary. The key is that I have a thread of data.”

  “What?”

  “I gained it from his mind. The thread may be enough for what we want.” The captain stepped up to his wife and hugged her. Meta was the greatest. Perhaps as importantly, Maddox now had an idea of how to trap Lord Drakos.

  -112-

  Captain Maddox made his plans. The Lord High Admiral made his.

  Cook spent two restless days and nights agonizing over his decisions. He paced. He ate too much and after the decisions were made, he drank far too much whiskey.

  Responsibility for Star Watch and thus the Commonwealth of Planets weighed heavily on him. Sometimes, he thought about setting down the burden so someone better suited to the task could take it up. He seriously thought about it, and decided he would wait on the outcome of his latest decisions. If either of his choices failed to bring the needed results, Star Watch was going to have its hands full. He couldn’t very well step down then, could he?

  Cook’s plans entailed two different battle fleets of vastly different sizes going in opposite directions. Both fleets received their orders due to the information that the Lord High Admiral had received from Maddox. In fact, without Maddox’s costly won information, neither fleet would have moved.

  One set of orders went out via a Builder communication device Cook kept on his flagship. The other set of orders raced away on a fast courier ship that would use a combination of star drive and Laumer Point jumps.

  After he sobered up from the hard drinking, Cook wondered why it had been so hard to make the decisions. He mentally offered himself this and that reason. In the end, he realized that he sorely missed the brigadier’s common sense wisdom. If Maddox failed to capture Lord Drakos, could he—Cook—ever allow the brigadier to come back to her old job?

  It seemed doubtful. As the Lord High Admiral headed back to Earth, he silently wished the captain Godspeed. If anyone could do it, Maddox was the man.

  “Use a thief to catch a thief,” Cook mumbled to himself as he sat in his study. Or in this instance, use a New Man to catch a New Man.

  Cook shook his head, wondering why Strand and Ludendorff had ever thought it would be a good idea to develop so-called superior men to help protect the rest of the human race. Talk about the hubris of geniuses—those two Methuselah Men had caused more heartache through their meddling than anyone else the admiral knew. A curse on the two of them.

  ***

  Starship Victory left the Sigma Draconis System and headed for the Beyond in the general direction of the Bosk System.

  Four days out from Sigma Draconis, Maddox received a message via his Builder communication device. He was in the special quarters for the device, having been summoned by Galyan.

  “Maddox speaking,” the captain said into the ancient machine.

  “This is the Lord High Admiral speaking,” said a tinny voice. “I thought I should tell you. I’ve sent a battle fleet at the Bosk homeworld.”

  “Sir?” Maddox asked.

  “I have an inkling of your plan,” Cook said. “So I thought you should know about the invasion fleet.”

  “The fleet might ruin everything, sir,” Maddox said.

  “It might,” Cook agreed. “But I’m not letting that hotbed planet of super-spies have any more freedom of action. If you can pull off your caper, that’s fine and dandy. If not—well, I’ll have put a stop to Bosk meddling once and for all.”

  “The real culprits will go free then, sir.”

  “I know you mean the New Men. In twelve days, the Bosk homeworld is going to face an invasion by Star Watch. If the defenders make it too difficult, Admiral Piedmont will burn the planet to the bedrock. If the Bosks are sensible and surrender, the Intelligence teams can begin work on the interrogations.”

  “I doubt those teams will find what you want.”

  “Don’t you think I know that?” Cook asked. “That’s why you’re receiving this call. Do what you can, Captain. I want to tell you—well, do what you can.”

  “Yes, sir,” Maddox said. “Anything else?”

  “Bow your head, son.”

  Maddox did just that.

  “I beseech thee, Lord God,” Cook said over the Builder comm device, “grant Captain Maddox success against Lord Drakos and the Strand operatives. Amen.”

  “Thank you, sir,” Maddox said.

  “You’ll show me your thanks by succeeding. Cook out.”

  Once the call ended, Maddox stared at the bulky device. This was cutting it too fine. He needed more time to lure Drakos into a trap.

  Okay… He would have to send the message sooner, and hope that Drakos raced to his doom. Likely, the message would alert the New Man that something was wrong. But Cook had his reasons for sending the fleet.

  “I’m doing what I can, ma’am,” Maddox said quietly. “But this time, I don’t know if it’s going to be enough.”

  -113-

  Maddox and the crew of Victory made their plans, using the captain’s glimpse into Draegar 2’s mind.

  The starship did not go the Bosk homeworld, it went to a heavy moon orbiting a gas giant at the same relative distance as the Asteroid Belt orbits the Sun.

  The Balak System was 9.4 light-years from the Bosk homeworld and at the edge of the Beyond. The heavy moon, a water moon, held a small colony of Middle-Eastern settlers. The moon was a bleak place with constant sandstorms, but it had rich veins of heavy metals.

  The gas giant caused the small bodies of water on the moon to have fantastically high and low tides. Storms swirled most artistically across the gas giant’s face as seen from the moon’s surface.

  Maddox, Riker, Meta and several space marines used a shuttle to land on the moon. Victory remained in orbit around the gas giant, staying hidden on the other side.

  The team went to the city of Aleppo, a mining community with the busiest spaceport on the moon. It was a rough and ready place where everyone went armed, all with knives, some with guns. Part of Aleppo had an area called Bosk Town as some places on Earth used to have a China Town.

  The natives of Aleppo wouldn’t allow Bosks to live anywhere else on the moon. The Bosks looked down at what they considered weakling Balaks, while the moon natives thought of the Bosks as lunatic ruffians.

  The mining corporations hired Bosks to work the deepest and most dangerous mines, and they paid incredibly low wages to boot. Fortunately, for the corporation stockholders, any Bosk having made it to Balak considered himself a lucky man, and the money he earned deep
mining was an unbelievable boon to him. For the Bosk workers, the mining town was paradise compared to the Bosk homeworld.

  Having little practice having personal money, the Bosk miners proved easy marks for casino and cathouse owners. The few poker and slot machine winners among the Bosks made the rest crazy to emulate the lucky ones. And the idea of paying a woman for sex—this was the most wonderful world in the galaxy according to the Bosk miners.

  Maddox, Riker, Meta and the handful of marines waited near the spaceport. Word had gone out from a noted casino owned by a Bosk crime lord. That man was the front for the New Men. That crime lord no longer lived, however, but was buried six feet under the desert sands.

  Maddox had convinced the Bosk crime lord to make the call. Afterward, the crime lord died because he’d made a break for it.

  The captain could not allow that. Unfortunately, two of the crime lord’s crew had seen the act. Maddox, Riker and Meta and the marines had shot their way out of a vicious casino ambush. One of the marines had died. Worse, there was an uproar at the casino. Fortunately, the Aleppo police had gone in with riot gear, closing the place down and putting the town under interdict. That meant no calls went out of the city.

  Maddox had implemented all the moves he’d seen in Draegar 2’s mind. The Bosk casino-owner had been the capping touch. It had all turned sour because of two hidden men, however.

  “Sir,” a marine said, the one sitting at the comm in their rented room.

  Maddox had been lying on a bed. He jumped up, nodding.

  “Galyan spotted a decelerating star cruiser as it’s approaching the gas giant,” the marine said.

  “Why did it take the holoimage so long to see the star cruiser?” Maddox asked.

  “I asked that, too, sir,” the marine said. “Galyan suggested the star cruiser was traveling cloaked before he spotted it.”

  “It could be one of Strand’s old star cruisers,” Maddox said.

  “Yes, sir,” the marine said. “That’s also what Galyan said.”

  Maddox looked at the others as he rubbed his hands in anticipation. “The plan is working,” he said.