The Lost Earth (Lost Starship Series Book 7)

by Vaughn Heppner

  “You’re alive,” Valerie shouted in amazement.

  “Not if that missile-mine reaches us,” Maddox replied. “I assume you know which one I mean.”

  “Galyan is working on it,” she said with glee. “Is…is Keith with you?”

  “Right here, love,” Keith shouted. “It’s nice to be missed.”

  Valerie blinked on the tiny screen and rubbed her watery eyes. She was smiling hugely.

  Keith glanced at Maddox with a stupidly huge grin on his face as well. “What do you think of that, mate?”

  Maddox nodded. “Get ready for evasive action,” he told Valerie. “The Spacers—”

  “I know they’re here,” she said, still smiling.

  “The Visionary is here, as well,” Maddox said.

  “I know,” Valerie said. “We chased her vessel—”

  “I saw what happened,” Maddox said, interrupting. “I would guess the Spacer ships you targeted were decoy vessels. If the Visionary is here, that means the Spacers have come in strength.”

  It took a second, but Valerie’s smile faded.

  “I suspect the Spacers also beamed a dampening field at us earlier so we couldn’t use the star drive to escape the system,” Maddox said. “None of that matters, however, unless Galyan destroys the missile-mine—”

  Beside him, Keith whooped with delight. A bright flare of light from space showed that Galyan must have just annihilated the offensive missile-mine.

  “We’re going to do this, mate,” Keith shouted.

  “I can hear you just fine, Lieutenant.”

  Keith glanced at Maddox. “Yes, sir,” he said. “I have to say, sir, you’re the slyest starship captain in the fleet.”

  Maddox gave the barest of acknowledgements. He appreciated the pilot’s enthusiasm and cheery outlook. He much preferred that to doom and gloom attitudes. Still, the Visionary was out there, likely hidden on the other side of the planet. How many Spacer ships did she have with her? Would they have the regular Spacer cloaking devices?

  Yes, of course they would. But Starship Victory had Galyan and ancient Adok sensing devices. Maddox had bested the Visionary quite some time ago by bluffing her about a self-destruct switch aboard the starship. He doubted that would work a second time. Besides, it looked as if the Spacer outlook had shifted. The Visionary had tried to reason with him to abandon his quest. Now, it appeared, she wished to obliterate him and the starship in order to stop them from possibly freeing the Ska from the null region.

  “How can we convince the Spacers to join our side against the Swarm?” Maddox asked Ludendorff.

  “Forget it,” the professor said. “They’re fanatics. They lost their collective minds some time ago.”

  “We could use their starships against the Swarm.”

  “The Spacers?” asked Ludendorff. “They hate direct confrontation. They like playing from the shadows. The hidden dagger, the silent ray in the back is more their style. They’ll never risk their ships in a battle if they can find another way. No. Forget about the Spacers. They lack the essential balls for manly battle.”

  “You love battle?” Meta asked from the back area.

  Ludendorff grinned at her. “In terms of balls, my dear, mine are the biggest of all. That is why I have such zest for life. That is how I’ve survived the ages as the other Methuselah Men dropped by the wayside. Do not—”

  “You’ve made your point,” Maddox said. “I would still like to find a way to enlist the Spacers. The Swarm invasion should erase old hatreds.”

  “That’s one of the advantages of running away,” Ludendorff said. “You get to keep your prejudices. The Spacers loath Methuselah Men, don’t you know. They hate having anyone around who knows more than they do. In this instance, I believe that means you as well.”

  “How did they know to make an image of a Fisher?” Maddox asked.

  Before Ludendorff could answer, Keith began high-G maneuvers. The shuttle’s gravity dampeners strained. The small craft shook harder, and the visible atmosphere of the dusty planet slowly moved behind them.

  “Soon,” Keith said between clenched teeth.

  Maddox’s vision became blurry. Even so, he saw his sensor screen. He noted an enemy ship on the edge of the distant planetary horizon. If it tried to beam them…

  Likely, this was going to be close.

  -24-

  Through the main shuttle window, Maddox spied Victory in space above them. The ancient Adok starship was composed of two large oval sections. The disruptor cannon quit firing just then.

  Maddox checked his sensor screen. For the moment, no Spacer ships were in direct line-of-sight of Victory, unless, of course, the Spacers had cloaked ships watching them.

  With the yellow planet below them, Keith began braking as the starship—as home—grew larger and larger. A big hangar-bay door should be opening about now.

  “It looks like we’re going to get aboard, sir,” the pilot said.

  Galyan the holoimage appeared in the cockpit. “Welcome back, Captain.”

  “It’s good to be back,” Maddox replied.

  “I launched probes earlier, sir,” the AI said. “Seconds ago, enemy fire destroyed them on the other side of the planetary horizon. Before the probes disintegrated, I saw the Spacers. There are six of the saucer-shaped vessels, sir. Each is approximately three-quarters the size of one of Victory’s ovals.”

  “Excellent work, Galyan,” the captain said.

  The little holoimage puffed up his chest. “Thank you, sir. I appreciate that. Do you have any orders?”

  “Are you trying to suggest I launch antimatter missiles at the Spacer concentration?”

  “That seems like a tactically sound idea,” Galyan said.

  “I have a possible solution,” Ludendorff said.

  “Why didn’t you speak up sooner?” Maddox asked.

  Ludendorff lightly kicked a large backpack strapped near his feet. “I recovered something critical Strand left behind on the planet two hundred years ago. We were never able to go back down and get it.”

  Maddox glanced at the backpack. That sounded suspicious. “What did you find?” he asked.

  “Several items, actually,” the Methuselah Man said. “One of them…I prefer to test it before I make grandiose promises. May I use my old laboratory?”

  Maddox thought briefly before nodding.

  Ludendorff rubbed his hands in obvious anticipation.

  “What should I tell Valerie?” Galyan asked Maddox.

  “Are we in immediate danger?” Maddox asked.

  “The missile-mines could begin targeting us at any moment,” Galyan said. “I also believe the six Spacer ships are grouping together in order to attack Victory as one.”

  Maddox turned to Keith. “Can you get us aboard any faster?”

  Keith glanced at him before he punched it, the shuttle picking up speed as it zoomed for the now apparent open hangar-bay door.

  ***

  Maddox refrained from moving his head for just a moment. He breathed heavily, his body pounding from the half-crash-landing Keith had just achieved.

  “We’re here,” the pilot announced.

  Around them, the dented shuttle groaned metallically. A vent hissed before falling silent.

  “That was the worst landing I’ve ever survived,” Ludendorff declared.

  “The captain wanted us inside faster,” Keith said. “So that’s what I did.”

  Maddox unbuckled. “I appreciate that,” he told Keith. “Speed is of the essence. A few bruised muscles are a small price to pay.”

  “That’s what I say,” Keith said.

  Maddox had unbuckled. Meta soon followed. The others did so more slowly and gingerly.

  “Get to work, Professor,” Maddox told the man. “Give me your option.”

  “My head is still ringing,” the Methuselah Man complained. “But I’ll do what I can.”

  “I’m not interested in your trying,” Maddox said. “I want success. No one pays us to come
in second.”

  With that, the captain headed for the hatch. His muscles ached and he felt strained. That had been a horrible landing. It was amazing they were all in one piece. But he’d wanted speed, and that’s what he’d gotten.

  Jumping to the hangar deck, Maddox saw personnel racing to the smoking and dented shuttle. He didn’t have time for niceties. The Visionary was concocting a new shift in her overall plan. He wanted to be on the bridge, implementing a plan of his own before she could beat him to the punch.

  Maddox forced himself to begin running. His muscles were tight. A man called him. Maddox didn’t bother acknowledging the salutation. He forced himself to run faster, letting his muscles loosen by the action of contracting and relaxing over and over again. In moments, Maddox flashed through a hatch, hitting a corridor at speed. His long legs pumped now as he ate up the distance. He breathed hard with his arms swinging in rhythm. At this point, Maddox began to sprint at full speed, his toes barely touching the deck. He was glad to have made it off the planet and definitely glad to be out of those narrow tunnels. He never wanted to crawl in an ancient ruin again.

  How could he defeat the Visionary and the missile-mines out there? This was one of the times he would like to simply jump out of danger. He couldn’t do that if they had an enemy star-drive dampener aimed at them. If he tried to engage the Spacers in combat, they could simply stay ahead of him around the planet, using the alien missile-mines to eventually destroy Victory. Of course, the Spacers might use all six ships to attack the ancient Adok vessel.

  The conclusion was obvious. He had to buy Ludendorff time, hoping the Methuselah Man had found something useful on the surface that could change the present equation.

  -25-

  Maddox sat in the captain’s chair as he tried to control his rapid breathing. He used a towel, blotting his forehead, before stuffing the towel beside his right thigh on the chair.

  Valerie had hailed the Spacers, offering to surrender.

  The Visionary now appeared on the bridge’s main screen. The old woman wore her goggles and sat in a throne-like chair. Around her, Spacer techs worked at their stations.

  “Have I heard correctly?” the Visionary asked in her hoarse voice. “You wish to surrender Victory to me?”

  “This is painful for me to say,” Maddox admitted.

  The Visionary appeared to study him. After a time, she pulled the polar bear fur a little tighter around her throat.

  “I do not believe you, Captain. I doubt you would ever knowingly surrender your starship. Last time I demanded such, you threated to detonate your vessel in order to keep it out of our grasp.”

  Maddox spread his hands. “I see and have finally accepted the situation, Visionary. You have a jump dampener aimed at my ship. I don’t know how you can keep it targeted on us, but you…” He turned to Valerie.

  The lieutenant muted the connection.

  “I should have already thought of it,” Maddox said. “There has to be a cloaked ship in our line-of-sight. It must be doing the dampening. You have to find it.”

  “If it’s dampening our star drive,” Valerie said, “maybe it can dampen our sensors as well.”

  “Galyan,” Maddox said. “Work on that.”

  “Yes, sir,” the holoimage said.

  Maddox nodded.

  Valerie pressed a switch.

  “This is quite nefarious of you, Captain,” the Visionary said. “Offering to surrender to me indeed. Obviously, you are attempting to buy yourself time. The questions is, time to do what?”

  “How can I convince you that my offer is genuine?” Maddox asked.

  “Lower your shields,” the Visionary said promptly.

  “Gladly,” Maddox said, “once you give me your personal assurances that you will accept our surrender.”

  “I give you that assurance now,” she said.

  “And you will let us live?” he asked.

  “Prisoners have no rights.”

  “I am…requesting those rights,” Maddox said. “They are part of my condition for our surrender.”

  “I demand unconditional surrender,” the Visionary declared.

  “Come now,” Maddox chided. “When I finally surrender, you shall gain Victory and all that entails. The Adok starship will surely give you new technologies useful for your extended journey as the Spacers seek a new home.”

  “That is an interesting proposal,” she admitted.

  Galyan gestured Valerie. The lieutenant hesitated, and then muted the main screen again.

  “Sir,” Galyan said. “I have been running personality profiles and probabilities. The Visionary knows you are stalling.”

  “She already said that,” Maddox said.

  “She is letting you stall because she is attempting to…pull the wool over your eyes, sir.”

  Maddox considered that. “How?” he asked.

  “I do not know,” Galyan said. “But my conclusion fits with what I know concerning the Visionary’s personality. My point is this, sir. You are taking a risk by stalling. Perhaps our better option would be direct conflict before the Visionary can complete whatever she is attempting.”

  “Put her back on,” Maddox said.

  “Captain, I do not care for this continued rudeness,” the Visionary said as Galyan unmuted her connection. “I am the Spacer Visionary. Mere starship captains do not cut me off in mid-speech.”

  “You have my abject apology, Ma’am,” Maddox said. “I have a zealous crew, each trying to outdo the other. It can make for a tedious—”

  “Captain,” the Visionary said in a silky voice. “Do you not think I know when someone is attempting to snow me?”

  Maddox spread his hands once more.

  The old woman cocked her head as if listening to someone unseen. She sat straighter afterward. Even though she wore goggles, it seemed as if she stared at Maddox triumphantly.

  “I am detecting an energy spike on the planetary surface,” Galyan said. “I shall—Captain Maddox. We must take emergency procedures.”

  “Surrender, Captain,” the Visionary said gleefully on the screen. “I have targeted your starship with a planetary Fisher defense cannon. If you do not immediately lower your shields, I will unleash a torrent of energy against you. By the time the cannon finishes firing, Starship Victory will be gone.”

  “What planetary cannon?” Maddox asked.

  “This is your final warning,” the Visionary said. “I cannot allow you any more time for maneuvers. Either you accept my offer or you and your crew are dead.”

  “I have it,” Galyan said. “I am using a split-screen. Please, observe the left half.”

  The main screen split into two sides. On one, the Visionary continued to grin gleefully. On the other, fresh sand and tumbled rocks lay below a vast metallic cannon that continued to rise, presumably, into firing position. The barrel of the cannon seethed with orange-colored energy that bubbled like an ancient broth.

  “What is that?” Maddox asked.

  “It is the weapon that drove off the ancient Destroyers,” the Visionary said. “Imagine what I’m saying. Those cannons defeated a Destroyer’s neutroium hull. There used to be more of them. One is enough to destroy your starship. You have ten seconds, Captain. What will it be? Oblivion? Or will you finally enter the Spacer service?”

  -26-

  “You can’t surrender,” Valerie told Maddox. “We have to go down fighting. We have to save the human race.”

  “So…” the Visionary said. “Your original offer of surrender was false, as I suspected. I realized you were a liar, Captain, but it hurts me to see that you are such a bald-faced scoundrel.”

  Maddox stared at the goggle-clad old woman. It galled him that she’d outwitted him. Could he surrender? Could he truly—

  “I surrender,” Maddox said.

  “Lower your shields and shut down your antimatter engine,” the Visionary said.

  “It will take us a few moments to do that,” Maddox said.

  “Y
ou are stalling, Captain. The ten seconds have already passed. It has been almost twenty seconds now. Lower your shield and shut down your antimatter engine. That is the only way you can save your lives.”

  “Lower the shields,” Maddox said.

  “But, sir,” Valerie complained.

  “Do it, Lieutenant.”

  “I…I don’t think I can, sir.”

  “Then you are relieved of duty. Galyan, you will lower the shields.”

  The Adok holoimage stared at Maddox. Finally, glumly, he nodded. “The shields are lowered, sir,” Galyan said.

  Maddox faced the Visionary. “There you are. Send over whatever shuttles you wish. Victory is yours.”

  The Visionary laughed scornfully. “Do you think I’m that witless? Do you believe lowering your shields convinces me? You can raise them in an instant. Power-down your antimatter engine, Captain. You must do it now or the planetary cannon fires.”

  Maddox stared at the Visionary. He turned to Valerie. He—

  Even though she had been relieved, the lieutenant noticed a blinking green light on her board. She tapped it.

  Maddox stood up with his features twisted with anger. “I told you to obey me,” he said in a loud voice. Maddox stalked to Valerie’s station.

  He reached her, seeing Ludendorff speaking urgently on a tiny comm screen. Maddox continued to glare as he put a hand on Valerie’s shoulder.

  She looked up at him, blinking twice, signaling him.

  “I am the captain of this vessel,” Maddox declared. “I have grown infinitely weary of working with you—”

  “Sir,” Galyan shouted. “The planetary cannon is firing.”

  “Shields up,” Maddox said. His pretense dropped as he moved back to his chair. He sat down, looking at the main screen.

  An orange roiling blob of something sped upward at them from the surface.

  “Evasive action,” Maddox said in an even voice.

  Keith manipulated his panel. The great starship began to move.

  “Galyan,” Maddox said, “what is that?”

  “Unknown, sir,” the AI said.

  “Fire at it,” Maddox said.