The Lost Starship

by Vaughn Heppner

  “Agreed,” said Maddox. “That’s why you’ll continue attacking the problem with Meta, Keith and Riker helping you.”

  Both Maddox and Dana glanced at Meta.

  The former two G miner continued to stare forlornly at a distant and unseen point.

  “Meta,” Dana said softly. “Is anything the matter?”

  Slowly, Meta turned her head. She no longer had her hair bound up. It now swept forward, partially hiding her features. From what Maddox could see, her eyes were red-rimmed and puffy.

  “We’re stranded in the void,” Meta said. “We’re fast running out of food. My metabolism runs hotter than ordinary. I’ll starve long before anyone else does.”

  Maddox had wondered the same thing about himself.

  “You can’t give up now,” Dana told her. “We’re closer to winning everything than ever before.”

  Meta made a soft sound. “Do you know how long I’ve been hearing that? Try all of my life. Every time I win, I land in something worse. I thought the prison planet was the height of despair. Wrong. It’s being in a starship that can’t jump, with food and hope quickly dwindling into nothing.”

  “No, no,” Dana said, obviously pumping heartiness into her voice. “We have a window of opportunity. This is the time to use it. You have strength and wits. We can eat for a little while longer. During that time, let’s work like demons and fix what we can. If we fail, well, we can worry about it as our stomachs shrivel into nothing. Until then, I’ll fight with all my strength against the universe. I’m not going to let it beat me. And if it does, well, it will know that it has been in the fight of its life.”

  Meta turned weary eyes onto Doctor Rich. “I realize that’s one of your strengths. You refuse to quit. You’re remorseless and never say die. I’m finally seeing that every victory lands me in a worse position. Can’t you understand how demoralizing that is?”

  “Bah!” Dana said, chopping a hand through the air. “I can’t accept defeatism from you of all people. Do you remember all those monotonous months on Loki Prime? You were the most stalwart Temple Savant of the lot. Your positive attitude was more valuable than your mechanical shrewdness and strength. It’s the person who keeps trying that eventually wins.”

  Meta sighed wistfully.

  Looking away, Maddox realized something he hadn’t suspected before. Dana needed Meta. Maybe the Rouen Colony woman was the only real friend Dana Rich had ever had. The doctor needed someone who believed in her. That was interesting. As their leader, he couldn’t afford to let any of them wallow in despair. Turning back to them, Maddox reached across the table and put a hand over one of Meta’s.

  She looked up sharply, staring at him.

  “I wish you’d come with me,” he said. “There’s something I need to talk to you about.”

  “Where do you want to go?” Meta asked in a lifeless voice.

  “Outside,” he said, removing his hand and standing. For several seconds, he didn’t think she would respond further.

  Finally, with a heave, Meta stood.

  “This way,” he said, motioning with his head. As he headed for the hatch, Captain Maddox didn’t wonder what he was going to do or say. For months, he’d fought to reach the alien starship. Now, the thing was in his possession. That was phenomenal. Not only that, but he’d faced three star cruisers, destroyed one and lived to tell about it. Now, he had to get this relic back to Earth.

  Behind him, Meta closed the hatch.

  Maddox kept walking down the corridor. He used a well-worn path, avoiding any crusted slime. When they stepped on the ancient substance, it put noxious fumes in the air. He walked until they turned a corner and the hatch was out of sight.

  “Where are you headed?” Meta finally asked.

  He heard the difference in her voice. She sounded exasperated instead of hopeless. His present action seemed to have stirred a tiny amount of anger in her. Maybe all wasn’t lost with the beautiful ex-miner. Maddox couldn’t believe it, but he found his heart racing and his palms becoming moist.

  Something about Meta’s voice had driven him to notice her from the beginning. Her face was like a magnet to his eyes. He could be staring off into space and suddenly, he’d realize he was staring at her. He would look away, and soon he would find himself gazing at her sidelong. Not only that, but her shape tantalized him.

  “Captain Maddox,” Meta said, and there was more than a hint of anger in her voice. “I’m not walking any farther until you tell me what this is about.”

  He turned around, facing her. “I don’t understand you,” he said.

  “That isn’t surprising. I don’t think you understand anyone.”

  He grinned. He couldn’t help it.

  “You find that amusing, do you?” she asked.

  “You’re beautiful,” he told her.

  Meta shook her head, making her dark hair swish back and forth. “No. You’d better not try any more of your tricks. If you do, I’m going to break an arm.”

  “That’s better than quitting and moping.”

  “Oh, I see,” she said. “You think you can perk me up with your witty ways. Well, it won’t work.”

  Stepping closer, he said, “That’s exactly what I think.”

  She watched him warily and raised her hands as if ready to enter a combat stance.

  Maddox’s grin widened. He had been far too engaged with the quest these past weeks to try something like this. Now…well, why not press this beautiful creature against his chest? More than ever, he found himself wanting to kiss her and have her passionately kiss him back.

  “Don’t try it,” Meta warned.

  Maddox moved in, and Meta thrust a knee at this groin. He blocked with his leg but the crash of her knee against his thigh caused him to stagger back.

  Meta laughed as Maddox regained his balance. “I warned you,” she said, and there was humor in her eyes.

  “You did warn me,” he said. “Yet, that’s why I asked you to come out here.”

  “For me to thrash you?” she asked.

  “No,” he said, “to show you the power of persistence.” He moved at her again. Once more, she thrust a knee at his groin. He slipped to the side so her strike failed to connect. That caused Meta to lose her balance. She stumbled as he moved back, catching her in his embrace. For a moment, Maddox held the stunning woman in his arms. He felt her against him, and he bent his head, kissing her.

  The Rouen Colony woman melted into his embrace. She gripped him, giving him a rib-shifting hug.

  “Are you sure about this, Captain Maddox?” Meta whispered, staring into his eyes.

  He almost lost his breath from her hug. Instead of admitting defeat—she kept squeezing—he hugged her back with his considerable strength. Then, he bent his head again and kissed her longer than before. This time, she returned it as the power of her hug lessened to something tolerable.

  “Meta,” he whispered.

  “Captain Maddox,” she said back.

  He liked the sound of her voice. He liked the feel of her against him even better.

  After a time, he released her. She also let go of him and swept her fingers through her hair.

  He debated telling her not to give up hope. An instinctive part of him realized she might believe he’d done all this just to keep her going. This wasn’t the moment to tell her to keep trying. Maybe this wasn’t a time for words. Sometimes, a person simply needed to be wanted, to belong to another.

  “In the end,” she told him, “we can’t win. You know that, right?”

  Surprised at her words, he raised an eyebrow.

  “That’s why I let you do what you just did,” she said. “It’s only fair that I tell you, Captain. I took a vow long before this. My past won’t allow me the kind of emotional attachment you’re craving.”

  “Me?” asked Maddox.

  Meta nodded sadly. “I am what I am. That can’t ever change. I was an assassin, and I did whatever I had to in order to succeed for my world.”

 
; “What does any of that have to do with this?” he asked.

  “In case you haven’t noticed, I’m not a nice person. I’m a killer with a pretty face. You’re…a unique man. I could learn to like you too much. That won’t do.”

  He frowned at her.

  “I don’t want to be hurt, you see. You’re the kind of man who unintentionally hurts women. I’ve had to armor myself for the things I’ve done. To let a man like you past the armor would destroy me. Of course, I’m already destroyed, but you don’t want to hear about that. None of this matters, though, because we’re doomed to die out here.”

  Maddox scratched his cheek. For a moment, he wondered if his difference from others meant he could never know love as regular people did. Meta was unusual, and she kept herself emotionally separate from others. Is that why she despaired now?

  “You understand what I’m saying, don’t you?” Meta asked.

  Maddox had an inkling of what she wanted to hear. So he shook his head.

  “You’re lying,” Meta said softly. “You think you don’t have to pay the bitter price of your power, your unusual abilities. In this, I see more clearly than you do.”

  Maddox let himself go blank so nothing showed on his face. Meta wasn’t going to be easy, he could see. So be it. What was the right move now? Hmm…yes, he believed he knew.

  The captain squared his shoulders. “Let me ask you a question.”

  “Yes?” she asked.

  “If we’re doomed, as you say, why not strive with every fiber in you to defeat the night? Why go quietly down to death? Let’s fight oblivion together. Let’s fight to live longer and do more than simply quit. If you admit defeat, the game is already up. If you strive, well, who knows, maybe we’ll produce another wonder.”

  Meta turned away.

  Maddox waited. He’d made his attempt for now. He had time, and he had a hunter’s patience. He wanted her, and he was going to get her.

  “Yes,” Meta said, looking up. “Let’s try. What do we have to lose?”

  Won one and lost one, with the opportunity to continue the game. That’s not bad for playing a hunch.

  Maddox verbally agreed with Meta. Then they returned to the starship’s wardroom.

  -39-

  Two days later on the bridge, Lieutenant Noonan sat back in frustration. She had spent the last forty-eight hours trying to figure out how to use some of the instrument panels in order to scan the nearest star systems.

  Captain Maddox used a thin metal rod to press tentacle-slot controls. He had become more cautious since accidentally locking them in here and draining the atmosphere a day ago. At the last moment, he’d figured out how to reverse what he’d done.

  “Sir,” Valerie said.

  Maddox looked up. His features had become even gaunter than usual, with the beginning of circles around his eyes.

  “We have to be realistic,” Valerie said. “I’m not going to figure out these instruments before our food runs out. Sure, we can keep going as we starve, but I don’t think we’ll use our wits very well by that point.”

  “Defeatism isn’t going to solve the problem,” he said in an irritated voice.

  “I’m not admitting defeat,” Valerie told him. “I’m saying we’re going about this the wrong way.”

  “I’d be delighted to hear your suggestion for a more productive avenue.”

  “You’re not going to like it,” she said.

  “That doesn’t matter. If it works, at this point, that’s all that counts.”

  “I agree with you there,” Valerie said. “In my opinion, we have to reactivate the AI. It can communicate with you and it can make the ship do what it wants. Given our limited window of opportunity, I don’t see any other way than semi-reactivating the AI and using it like a rider uses the reins on a horse.”

  Maddox frowned. “You want to give control of the vessel back to the AI?” he asked.

  “First, we have to dumb it down,” Valerie said. “Or, we have to change its coding so it listens to our orders instead of thinking it can make the commands.”

  Maddox snorted. “That would be immeasurably more difficult than learning how to use the ship’s sensors ourselves.”

  “Maybe you’re right if you mean for someone like me,” Valerie said, “but not for Doctor Rich. She could figure out how to do what I’m suggesting”

  “That’s preposterous,” Maddox said.

  “I have to disagree with you, sir. There’s something uncanny about Dana. She has a sixth sense about these things. As you’ve said before, she’s a genius.”

  Maddox flipped his thin control rod into the air, catching it. “Do you trust her?” he asked suddenly.

  “Dana? Of course, I trust her. She doesn’t want to die any more than you do.”

  “That’s not what I mean. Can we trust her to stick with the team, with following my orders? What’s your gut feeling?”

  “I don’t know,” Valerie admitted. “That’s a good question. She has issues. That’s for sure.”

  “Has she said anything to you about her past?” Maddox asked.

  “No,” Valerie said. “If you want to know that you should ask Meta.”

  “I think not,” Maddox said.

  “Even if we can’t fully trust Dana, we should still try it my way,” Valerie said. “The present way…isn’t going to work for us.”

  Maddox put his hands behind his back and began to pace. He was quiet for a time. Finally, he said, “We have the starship. We just don’t know how to run it. Soon, we’re out of food. Even if we can jump, we’re going to need a margin for error, food to last for a time. Yes, you’re right, Lieutenant. We must shake the dice one more time. You must talk with Meta and sound her out about Dana. I’ll go see the doctor and find out what she thinks about reactivating the AI.”

  ***

  Captain Maddox spoke with Doctor Rich. They wandered through the mammoth engine area. Fortunately, the star cruisers’ rays hadn’t touched the antimatter cylinders.

  The broken combat robots and skeletal pincer-creatures no longer littered the deck here. Keith and Riker had cleared them away a day ago.

  Dana nodded as Maddox explained the situation to her. “I’ve come to a similar conclusion,” she said. “We have to open the stopper just enough to let the genie’s intellect come out but not its power.”

  “Do you think it can be done?”

  “Oh, certainly it can,” Dana said. “That isn’t the question.”

  “What is?”

  “Whether or not I can do it,” she said. “Then, we must broach the heart of the matter of what’s really troubling you.”

  “I didn’t know there was something else,” Maddox said.

  Dana smiled. Her teeth seemed so much whiter than any of theirs because her skin was darker. “Now, you’re lying to me. It’s something I notice you do easily and do quite well, I might add.”

  “I wouldn’t call it lying, specifically,” he said.

  “I realize you wouldn’t,” Dana said. “You’re in Star Watch Intelligence. In the end, you’re a spymaster more than you’re a starship captain. Disinformation—lying—is your stock in trade.”

  “Why the sudden flattery?” Maddox asked, dryly.

  Dana nodded. “I suppose it’s my turn to make a confession. I understand you’d like to know whether I’m trustworthy or not for the long haul back home.”

  Maddox wondered if Valerie had already talked to Meta about this, and if the Rouen Colony miner had come to the doctor.

  “How much do you know about my past?” Dana asked.

  “Could you be more specific?”

  “You know I went on an expedition with Professor Ludendorff. What do you know about me after that?”

  “Simply that you were a clone thief,” Maddox said. He figured why let her know what he already knew from the Star Watch Intelligence files.

  “Your vaunted Star Watch didn’t give you any more specifics than that?” she asked.

  Of course, they h
ad, but his instincts led him to hedge his bets. “Nothing more than that you once engaged in espionage against the Social Syndicate of the Rigel System. I also know you’re a computer expert.”

  “Much more than a mere expert,” Dana said. “I excel with any form of electrical system or device.”

  “I’ll willingly grant you that. According to your dossier, you were the heart of the attack against the ruling syndic. How and why you made these attacks—” Maddox shook his head. “You’re right. My brief concerning you was too light, with too many unanswered questions.”

  “It’s as I suspected.” Dana compressed her lips together before asking, “What do you know about the Rigel Social Syndicate?”

  “Very little,” Maddox admitted. “I know they’re part of the Commonwealth of Planets, if troublesome members.”

  The Commonwealth was a loose, large union of sovereign systems with the Star Watch as its protective and space-enforcement arm. A few of the systems, such as the Rigel Social Syndicate, only gave nominal allegiance.

  “The Social Syndicate controls several star systems,” Dana said. “Their navy keenly patrols its various tramlines. They also happen to quarrel incessantly with Brahma.”

  Dana studied her hands before looking up. “I was born in Bombay, India on Earth, but at an early age I emigrated to Brahma. As the name indicates, former inhabitants of India colonized the Brahma System. Our planetary religion is an accelerated form of Hinduism. That’s unimportant to my story, as I’m an agnostic.” The doctor shrugged. “I believe something made all this—the universe, I mean—but I have no idea who or what combination of super-powered beings did it.”

  “Fair enough,” Maddox said.

  “The social contract, as preached by the syndic and his cronies, has little appeal to those of Brahma,” Dana said. “Our planet engages in high tech production and sales. We’re a single star system with perhaps three hundred million inhabitants. The Social Syndicate dwarfs us in territory and population. In these sorts of things, it doesn’t pay to be weak or small.”

  “No,” Maddox said.

  “Still,” Dana said, “we had a solid navy and fought with zeal. From time to time, however, syndicate raiders slipped into our system, kidnapping men and women for various rich people’s sex objects. Sometimes there were acts of technological piracy as well. It grew worse several years ago, and our hegemon—the name of our ruler—decided it was time for more vigorous defensive action. The Star Watch had failed to act decisively enough, no doubt wishing to keep the peace with the syndic. Instead of embroiling our systems in war and possibly bringing a Star Watch blockage on us and killing trade, we decided the Social Syndicate needed a civil war to split it apart.”