“Is this a conference of di-fars?” Maddox asked.
The Visionary frowned. “That is no joking matter, Captain. You should show greater reverence.”
“For myself?” he asked.
“No, for the concept of di-far that you imbibed from us. Few understand reality like the highest Spacers. We have learned the deep secrets of the universe. You would do well to heed me, Captain.”
“I’m listening.”
She seemed to study him. “Tell me why you are here.”
“You’re not going to say anything about the last time we met?”
“Events have moved on,” she said. “That is often the case with those like us. I have no use for revenge, if that is what is troubling you.”
“Do you realize the Swarm has invaded Human Space?”
“Of course,” she said.
“Will you join the Grand Alliance?”
“There will be no Grand Alliance.”
“The New Men have refused the Lord High Admiral’s offer?”
“You did not let me finish,” she said. “There will be no Grand Alliance that will be able to halt the Swarm invasion. Humanity’s final hour has arrived.”
“The Spacers will also die?”
“We are leaving this region of the galaxy, Captain. You must realize that.”
“Why interfere, then, with those of us trying to save our miserable hides?”
“Because I fear you are going to attempt an abomination. We suspected Ludendorff would lead you here. That is why we watched and waited.”
“Why would the professor bring me here?” Maddox asked.
The Visionary chuckled. “You seek to learn while you can. You are a monomaniac, Captain. Instead of worrying about a future you won’t have, you should make your peace with the Creator while you can.”
“Why are you here?”
“I have already hinted at the purpose,” the Visionary said. “I am here to stop you.”
Maddox debated with himself. Sometimes, a man had to gamble. That meant putting chips on the table when one couldn’t afford to lose them. One did that in order to entice his opponent to lay down chips. Winning meant gaining those chips.
“We need the Destroyers in order to defeat the Swarm,” Maddox said.
The Visionary leaned forward on her chair. “So, it’s true,” she breathed. “I can hardly believe it. You are di-far indeed to have stumbled upon…Destroyers you said. That would indicate more than one.”
“Two at least,” Maddox said.
“At least,” she breathed. “It’s possible there are more?”
Maddox shrugged.
“More Destroyers,” she said. “I can see why the greed has eaten at your good sense. Do you see yourself as a galactic conqueror, perhaps? The Great Captain Maddox, bringing humanity under his heel.”
“What happened to you?” Maddox asked. “How did you get so off-course? How did the Spacers learn to hate themselves the way they do? Do you wish to see humanity ground under by alien races?”
“You have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“You must indulge in self-hatred to say the things you do. It is the nature of a healthy organism to wish to reproduce its own kind. The human race faces extinction at the hands of the Swarm. We can avert that if we try hard enough.”
“You fool,” she said. “Do you realize that the cure is worse than the disease?”
“No.”
“Exactly,” she said. “That is why I’m here. That is why I strained to see into the future. I can only see dimly, that is true. But I saw you tramping about this dead planet. You seek a thing in order to attempt to slay the Ska.”
“What, pray tell, is a Ska?”
The Visionary made a sign in the air as the guards shifted uneasily.
“The Ska are terrible creatures,” she said in a dreadful whisper. “They are ancient beyond time. That is a saying, of course. Some of us have conjectured that they come from a reality beyond ours. They do not conform to our laws. I do not mean man’s paltry laws and customs, but the laws of physics. They are not made of flesh and blood like everything else living. They are not pure energy, as some would say. That would be senseless. They are not gaseous. They are something else.”
“Spirits?” asked Maddox.
The Visionary shook her head. “That would merely mean that you have no idea what a Ska is. It is not a demon or an angel.”
“Don’t demons and angels come from a different reality?”
“I do not know,” the Visionary admitted. “I have never met a demon or an angel. They are myths.”
“Is the Creator a myth?”
She scowled. “Do not try to confuse the issue. The Ska must remain in the null region. Do not seek to know how I learned of this. I am the Visionary. It is my place to know.”
“Sure,” Maddox said.
“Do not mock me, half-New Man.”
Maddox became quiet. Without being consciously aware of it, he began to judge distances between the various guards. If they were going to kill him, he might as well attack.
“It seems I cannot persuade you,” the Visionary said. “That is unfortunate.”
“Wait,” Maddox said. “Let me see if I understand your position. You’re willing to let the rest of humanity perish, but you don’t want us setting this Ska free? Therefore, you’re going to deny those of us willing to fight the Swarm—”
“Enough!” the Visionary said loudly. “Don’t you understand? You can’t save humanity with purified evil. You must use reason. In this case, the Swarm are too powerful for us. Thus, do as we are doing.”
“Running like wet hens?” Maddox asked.
“Surviving,” she said. “That supplants your vain heroism. What good is this fighting belief if you die in the end?”
“All things die.”
“Why die before your time? Humanity has much potential. Don’t throw it away.”
“How is using the Destroyers throwing it away?”
“The Fishers perished because they made a bargain with evil. They accepted several Ska among them. Because of that, the Nameless Ones moved on.”
“That sounds like a good bargain.”
“Does it indeed?” the Visionary asked. “Do you know what caused the star to become a red giant?”
“The Nameless Ones caused it.”
“You have seen the mural. It is false. The Ska among the Fishers caused the destruction. But the Ska multiplied, growing and expanding. This part of the galaxy became barren until finally the Ska rejoined the Nameless Ones as they burned through planets and civilizations.”
“We’re going to destroy the Ska in the null region.”
“You fool. No one can destroy them.”
“They’re immortal?”
The Visionary looked away.
“Do they age?” Maddox asked.
“The way stars age,” she answered.
“Stars burn out. Maybe there’s a way to cause a Ska to burn out.”
“It is a vain hope.”
“How can you know that?”
She faced him again. “Because I am the Visionary,” she said.
“I am Captain Maddox.”
She shook her head as if in disbelief.
At that point, Maddox struck. He leaped sideways, punching the nearest guard. Maddox’s fist went through the guard—the holographic image. He fell onto the floor, surprised.
With an oath, Maddox leaped up. The Visionary glared at him.
“It doesn’t matter,” she told him. “The guards outside are real enough. Goodbye, Captain Maddox. It is too bad you are so stubborn.”
Maddox rushed the machine on the tripod. He half expected his hand to pass through it. Instead, he whacked his hand against it, nearly spraining his wrist.
The Spacers attending the machine, the guards and the Visionary all flickered and winked out. At the same instant, the interior dome went dark. The machine shut down, and the membrane over the opening disappeared. That
allowed the planet’s atmosphere to come rushing in.
It did so while Maddox stood alone in the dark, his rebreather helmet somewhere behind him on the floor.
-22-
Maddox held his breath, turned and dropped to his hands and knees. He fumbled around until he reached the rebreather. Working with haste, he slipped it onto his head and inhaled deeply. The good air revived him.
Maddox wondered why the outside guards hadn’t charged in already. Maybe the Visionary had been lying about them. Maybe the guards waited out there to gun him down.
The captain gathered himself, and charged through the opening. He halted in surprise.
Wearing skin-suits and rebreather helmets, Sergeant Riker, Keith and Meta stood over obviously dead Spacers. Each of the spacesuits had burn or bullet holes in it.
“Maddox!” Meta cried over the rebreather comm. She rushed him, giving him a powerful hug.
Maddox grinned inside his rebreather. “I’m okay,” he said.
Meta didn’t respond.
Maddox used his chin to turn on the comm. “I’m fine, I’m fine,” he said. “How did you find me?”
“I showed them the way,” Ludendorff said.
Maddox turned around. The professor in his skin-suit and rebreather stood near a large stone block with strange designs on it.
“We have to get out of here,” Maddox said. “The Spacers are here. I just spoke to the Visionary.”
“In there?” Ludendorff asked, pointing at the dome.
“She used a projector,” Maddox said. “I think they’re in orbit around the planet. Maybe they can summon the missile-mines. Maybe they used a dampening field to keep us from using the star drive earlier. Whatever the case, we have to contact Victory and let them know the danger.”
“Our communication with the ship is jammed down here,” Keith announced. “Is this a trap?”
“Right,” Maddox said. “Professor, can you lead us out of here?”
“Yes,” Ludendorff said decisively. “Follow me.”
***
Lieutenant Noonan was on Victory’s bridge with Galyan beside her.
She did not like this star system or planet. She had not liked the strange places they’d passed to get here. She deeply distrusted the professor. She dearly hated Keith being down there on the planet.
“I have detected a ship,” Galyan told her.
“Where?” she asked.
“It is on the edge of the planet’s horizon in relation to us. It is almost as if the ship is daring us to chase it.”
Valerie moved to the command chair, sitting down. “Can you contact the landing party?”
“Negative, Valerie,” Galyan said. “Oh, no.”
“What now?” she asked.
“Some of the missile-mines out there are turning toward us.”
“Great,” Valerie said. “That’s Murphy’s Law in action.”
“Whatever can go wrong will at the worst possible moment?” Galyan asked.
“That’s right.”
“Who’s out there at the edge of the horizon challenging us?”
“Would you like me to guess?” Galyan asked.
“Of course,” Valerie said. “We need all the edges we can get.”
“I doubt they are New Men. It is not their style. I doubt—”
“Just tell me who you think it is. Don’t belabor the issue.”
“Spacers,” Galyan said. “This is their style.”
“Great,” Valerie said. “Spacers have tricky toys. You’re right. This does stink like them. Galyan, how low can we take Victory?”
“I presume you mean without destroying the ship.”
Valerie rolled her eyes. “Yes, yes. That’s what I mean.”
“I would calculate—I see a shuttle attempting to gain escape velocity.”
“Just one?”
“Yes, Valerie. It is the original shuttle. Wait. I detect the second one. It was delayed. Now, it is also building up velocity.”
“I want to talk to them.”
Galyan’s eyelids fluttered. “I have established communication with Captain Maddox.”
“Put him on,” Valerie said.
The main screen split into two parts, one showing space and the planet, the other showing Captain Maddox staring at her.
“There are Spacers here,” Maddox said.
“Galyan already deciphered that,” Valerie said.
“They’re going to try to stop us.”
“Missile-mines are pointing at us. Galyan has caught glimpses of someone at the edge of the planetary horizon.”
“That’s them,” Maddox said. “Your first priority is to save the ship. The second—”
“I’m saving you,” Valerie said.
“Oh, oh,” Galyan said. “Look on the screen, Valerie. Two Spacer ships have left the safety of the planetary horizon and are heading for the shuttle.”
“Oh no you don’t,” Valerie said. “Galyan, ready the disruptor cannon.”
“The Spacers are hailing us,” Galyan said.
Valerie hesitated a moment. “Put them on,” she said.
The Visionary appeared on a half-screen. “Lieutenant Noonan, I presume,” the old woman said.
“Harm the shuttles and I’ll blow your ships away,” Valerie said.
“My,” the Visionary responded. “You say that so elegantly. I have a counterproposal. I am going to destroy Starship Victory.”
“Fire, Galyan,” Valerie said. “Destroy the nearest Spacer craft.”
The antimatter engine purred with power. The great disruptor beam struck. A second later, the neutron beam followed. The seconds lengthened.
The first Spacer craft’s shield glowed red, brown—the intensity of the disruptor beam hammered the shield with ferocious power. The shield turned black and collapsed altogether. The hull proved as weak as paper. The twin beams smashed through—the Spacer craft exploded, showering hull and bulkheads everywhere. Some of the debris peppered the second Spacer’s shield. The second starship had stopped heading toward Victory. The vessel appeared to possess the uncanny Spacer ability of changing its direction of travel as if the laws of physics didn’t apply to it. The ship accelerated all-out for the protection of the planetary horizon.
Valerie had hunched forward on the command chair, scowling thunderously. “Why did they charge out at us like that? The Visionary has to know that her ships can’t resist the disruptor beam for long. If they had more vessels—six or more—they could have possibly engaged us without some of them dying.” She shook her head. “The attack doesn’t make sense.” Valerie sat up. “I don’t like this. The Visionary is no fool.”
“Valerie,” Galyan said. “Four surface-to-space missiles are climbing fast from the planet. They appear to be Spacer missiles, and they are targeting the shuttles.”
“Destroy them!” Valerie shouted.
“Targeting,” Galyan said.
“Did the Spacer ships make a suicidal attack in order to try to cover the missile launch?” Valerie muttered.
At that point, the twin beams stabbed down toward the climbing missiles. The missile hit by the disruptor beam exploded. A second later, the neutron beam destroyed its missile. At that point, one of remaining missiles detonated. The nuclear explosion powered aiming rods on the nosecone. Those rods beamed gamma and X-rays at the lower shuttle.
It blew up in a blast of red light.
Valerie internalized her groan of dismay as a sick feeling swept through her.
“That was Captain Maddox’s original shuttle,” Galyan said. The Adok holoimage stared at the fleeing Spacer ship. The vessel had almost crossed the planetary horizon to make it onto the other side.
“We must destroy that ship,” Galyan said in a strange voice.
“Belay that,” Valerie said. “Prepare to go lower into orbit, Galyan. We’re not going to lose anyone else. We’re going to retrieve the surviving shuttle.”
Before the last surface-to-space missile could detonate, the disru
pter cannon rayed again, destroying it. The Spacers must have placed launchers down there some time ago.
“Spacers,” Galyan said in his altered voice. “Why would they do this?”
“I have no idea,” Valerie said, heartbroken at the thought that Lieutenant Maker might have bought the farm. She should have told Keith that she loved him. Why did she always wait when it came to such things? Now, she was going to pay a bitter price for the rest of her life.
“Valerie,” Galyan said. “The last shuttle is hailing us. Should I put the speaker on the screen?”
Valerie hesitated. She didn’t want to know the worst.
At that point, Galyan gave her a renewed warning. One of the missile-mines out in space had begun a hard burn planet-ward. But instead of heading for Starship Victory, the missile-mine headed for the last shuttle.
-23-
As Keith Maker piloted the last shuttle for orbital space, he turned to Maddox in astonishment. “It’s a good thing you relayed your message through the other shuttle and had everyone travel in here. But how did you know the Spacers would use surface missiles against us?”
Maddox shrugged from his seat. He hadn’t known. But he’d believed the rest of them would have a better chance of reaching Victory if one of the shuttles acted as a decoy. The trick had been in making the decoy seem like the real deal, and making their shuttle act as a decoy. In that, he’d guessed correctly.
“Do you see the approaching missile-mine?” Ludendorff asked behind them.
The professor was strapped to the seat in front of the shuttle’s weapon board. It was to the side of Maddox and Keith. Ludendorff indicated the missile-mine straining for the planet’s atmosphere.
Maddox tapped his board.
“This could get rough,” Keith said as his teeth rattled.
The shuttle shook as it roared for space. The pilot ejected chaff and a decoy emitter. That wasn’t going to make a difference with the size of the warhead in the approaching missile. Old habits died hard, Maddox supposed.
The captain tapped his board again. The screen in front of him wavered until Lieutenant Noonan regarded him.
“We’re coming up, Lieutenant,” Maddox said.
The Lost Earth (Lost Starship Series Book 7) Page 9