The Lost Swarm

by Vaughn Heppner

  “No. He can’t have escaped this time. And if he has, surely theirs is a crippled starship. It will be easy to find now.”

  “I’m sure you’re right, lord,” Nar Falcon said.

  “You don’t think so?”

  “I don’t know, lord. I hope you’re right.”

  “In any case,” Drakos said, “we know that Thrax’s new world should be nearby. How else could the Builder base have learned about Thrax?”

  “That seems reasonable, lord.”

  Drakos nodded even as he feared he might be wrong. He’d risked much leaving Human Space to find Thrax. If he failed…

  “Perhaps it’s time to use the Far Tracker,” Nar Falcon said.

  Drakos’s head jerked. “You really believe Victory survived the explosion, then?”

  “I cannot rule it out. And, the Far Tracker could help us find Thrax’s ships.”

  Drakos drummed his fingers on the armrest. The Far Tracker was exactly what the name implied. It was supposedly of Builder tech, but built long ago. Every time they had used it, the thing had broken down. It took days to get ready, days to tear down and was quite unreliable. Still, it could track farther than any other device, except possibly the Builder Scanner on Pluto. They had used it many years ago now while first tracking Maddox as he followed one lead after another to the old Adok Star System and Victory.

  That was the past. He had lost two precious star cruisers today, leaving him twelve far out here in the Beyond. He’d also lost the services of Clone Strand.

  “How long until the whiteout dissipates enough so we can see if Victory is gone or not?” Drakos asked.

  “Thirteen minutes, lord,” Nar Falcon said.

  Thirteen minutes… Once more, Drakos drummed his fingers on an armrest. Was Maddox dead or dying, or could Drakos capture a crippled starship and torture the crew until Maddox spilled his guts about Thrax’s whereabouts?

  “Soon,” Drakos said. “Soon, we shall know.”

  -14-

  Of course, Starship Victory was no longer in the asteroid belt or in the same star system as Drakos. Andros Crank and his team had given Maddox and company another miracle.

  There were some problems, though. The cold start and the immediate jump had melted critical components inside two of the antimatter reactors. The radiation had slaughtered fifteen engineers and technicians. Until the antimatter reactors were repaired, the starship could not jump nor could it power a shield. If anyone came upon them now…those people or beings would likely easily capture the crew.

  On the bridge, a soul-energy-stricken Maddox wearily asked, “How far did we jump?”

  Valerie worked her board even as she cast worried glances at the captain. “Three and a half light-years, sir,” she finally said.

  Maddox slouched in his command chair. He thought furiously if fuzzily. Had it been far enough?

  Galyan appeared beside Maddox, quietly informing him of the fifteen deaths. The techs and engineers had had to stay in the room to manage the cold-start attempt. Their heroism had saved them.

  Maddox closed his eyes, nodding to himself. Fifteen engineers and technicians, probably some of the best of them, too. God rest their souls for what they did. He would have to hold services for them. If he hadn’t made his decision, would they still be alive? Yes. But not if the star cruisers had destroyed the ship, or worse, captured them and made them controlled slaves. He had to keep functioning and keep the rest of the crew alive.

  Maddox opened his eyes. “Is Andros still alive?”

  “Yes,” Galyan said.

  Maddox inhaled deeply through his nostrils. What was wrong with him? Why did he feel so sluggish? “Is there any estimate until the reactors are back online?”

  “We need to dry dock, sir.”

  Maddox straightened. It was time to pull himself together. “I’m not interested in that, Galyan. I want to know when the starship will be functional again.”

  “Six weeks, maybe eight,” Galyan said. “After that, the repaired engines might allow us to limp back to the Commonwealth.”

  “Six weeks is too long,” Maddox said, scowling.

  “I am sure that is true, sir. But it will still be six weeks at the earliest before the ship will be functional.”

  Maddox forced his mind to think, to work. Why did he feel so tired? They had a small jump-capable vessel in Hangar Bay 1, a darter named the Reynard. The darter could hold a small crew, but might—

  Maddox stood up. He couldn’t think slouching in his chair. They had lost fifteen people. He would have to hold a service for them. The crew needed time to grieve. But the crew also had to act at once. He could use some advice about now. “Lieutenant,” he said, putting force into his voice.

  Valerie spun around.

  “Inform Meta, Keith, Riker…Ludendorff and Andros that we are having a staff meeting.”

  “When, sir?” asked Valerie.

  “Immediately,” Maddox said. “And come yourself.”

  “The Chief Technician is injured, sir. I doubt he can make it.”

  Maddox paused. He’d forgotten about that. Wait. Had Galyan told him Andros was injured? He couldn’t remember. “Fine,” he told Valerie. “Andros will miss this one. Galyan will come in his stead. We’ll meet…in ten minutes.”

  Valerie stared at him, her worry obvious, but finally nodded, turning back to her board.

  ***

  Maddox sat at the head of a long conference table. Meta, his wife, was on his right. She looked as stunning as ever, though she gave him a searching look as she sat down. Keith was beside her, the gruff Sergeant Riker and Professor Ludendorff on the other end of the long table. Ludendorff was tanned, with white hair. He wore his customary gold chain around his throat and had donned a blue shirt with large, upright collars. He was a Methuselah Man like Strand: the last two, supposedly. Now, Star Watch also had to deal with a Methuselah Woman, Lisa Meyers. But she was supposed to be far from Human Space, in the opposite direction from their direction of travel. Galyan stood at the table on the other side as Riker and Valerie sat between the holoimage and Maddox.

  Maddox told them about the fifteen dead, the antimatter problems—

  “My boy, we’re in a tight fix,” Ludendorff said, interrupting. “It’s time to use the long-range Builder com device and call headquarters. They can send Patrol ships to come out and help us. Some of those ships can take the injured home.”

  Maddox wearily shook his head. It was all he could do to keep his eyes open. He vaguely recalled feeling this awful one other time. That was when he faced the Ska. He’d fallen into a coma soon thereafter. That better not happen now. He had to stop Drakos from reaching Thrax. Then, he had to capture Drakos in order for Intelligence to learn the worst. After that, the Lord High Admiral could reinstall the Iron Lady back where she belonged.

  “My boy,” Ludendorff said. “Did you hear what I just said?”

  Maddox blinked and noticed everyone staring at him. “What was that?”

  “You went blank there for a second, “Ludendorff said. “Actually, it was several seconds.”

  Maddox frowned, working to remember what the professor had said. Oh. Yes. Call Cook and ask him to send Patrol vessels way out here.

  “No,” Maddox said. “I’m not going to do that. Star Watch is already woefully short of fighting vessels. The Patrol can’t afford to waste ships out here.”

  “Star Watch can’t afford to lose Victory,” Ludendorff countered.

  Maddox’s look turned mulish. “It would take the Patrol vessels a long time to reach here.”

  “Well, yes,” Ludendorff said. “That’s rather obvious. Now tell me this. What good is the long-range Builder com device if we don’t use it? The device is a great power, to communicate over fantastic distances. I warrant there is no better use for it than saving Victory, and us, too, for that matter.”

  Maddox rubbed the bridge of his nose. Ludendorff’s words were beginning to sound like gobbledygook. He put his hand down and stared no
where for a second. Then, he snapped out of it, breathing deeply.

  “Now see here, Professor,” Maddox said. “We know foreign powers can sometimes hack the com device. That’s why I’m not going to use it.”

  “Why?” asked Ludendorff.

  “In case Drakos or his people have a way to pinpoint us through it.”

  Ludendorff seemed astonished, and the longer he looked at the mulish captain the more astonished he seemed. “I, ah, deem that highly unlikely. Drakos certainly does not have such a tool or he would have used it a long time ago.”

  Maddox scowled. He hated people arguing with him. Ludendorff knew that. With a hardening voice, the captain said, “We’re stuck out here for a time, six weeks, possibly more.”

  “By then, Drakos will have found Thrax and convinced him to help the New Men,” Ludendorff said. “We can’t wait here twiddling our thumbs. We have to act and act now.”

  A part of Maddox knew that was right. Hadn’t he already come up with a solution? Oh, right, the darter, the Reynard. “Ah,” Maddox said with some of his old verve. “I’m glad you think so, Professor. I agree.”

  Valerie had been watching the exchange closely and with increasing worry. Now, she blanched inwardly. She’d served under Maddox long enough to understand his thinking.

  She blurted, “I know what you’re going to say, sir. We have a new scout ship, a darter, in Hangar Bay 1. You’re probably going to suggest we use it.”

  Maddox turned to her stiffly. “This is a scouting mission, Lieutenant. I intend to scout. We know Thrax’s planetary location—”

  “Oh, now, this is absurd,” Ludendorff said, interrupting. “If you know the location, call up the Lord High Admiral. He can send a fleet to annihilate Thrax and his ships before they can become a problem.”

  “Eliminating Thrax is our task,” Maddox said.

  Everyone at the table stared at him, including Meta.

  “Am I hearing you correctly, my boy?” Ludendorff asked. “You’re going to defeat Thrax and Drakos with the darter?”

  “Not exactly,” Maddox said.

  “What then?” asked Ludendorff.

  The tiredness and arguing was too much. Maddox forced himself to his feet, walked away from the table and turned to face them. They almost seemed like strangers. Maddox approached slowly, putting his fingertips on the table. Sighing, deciding to get this over with, he explained what the Lord High Admiral had already explained to the Iron Lady back on Earth. Star Watch needed to win this one without using the fleet. Star Watch had lost too many warships throughout the years, was spread too thinly throughout the Commonwealth keeping troubles at bay on a hundred different planets and therefore had very little to concentrate to fight a set-piece space battle.

  “Excuse me for saying this, sir,” Galyan said, “but I do not understand your line of reasoning. Victory could not defeat Commander Thrax or Lord Drakos. Surely, Drakos will offer Thrax excellent incentives to attack the Commonwealth. How can we change any of that in the darter?”

  “You won’t be coming,” Maddox said, “as you’ll have to stay aboard Victory.”

  “But—” Galyan said.

  “That’s quite logical,” Ludendorff said, interrupting. “I will also be staying—”

  “Wrong,” Maddox said, interrupting the Methuselah Man. “You especially are going with me. Who knows more about Thrax’s psychology than you?”

  “No one, of course,” Ludendorff said. “But you could say that about anything. That doesn’t mean I should join every adventure.”

  “What aren’t you telling us?” Meta asked her husband.

  Maddox turned sharply toward his wife. Was she going to question him now as well? This was too much, and it stole some of his remaining energy.

  “You have a trick up your sleeve,” Meta said. “I can tell by the way…” She gave him a meaningful glance.

  Maddox shook his head ever so slightly, suddenly pleased with his wife. She had known what to do to support him against the others—to remind them that Maddox always had a trick up his sleeve.

  Even if he didn’t, yet.

  Ludendorff looked from Meta to Maddox and then back to Meta. The Methuselah Man leaned back in his chair. “He does have a trick. How are you planning to do this one, my boy? I have to say that you have my complete attention.”

  Maddox tapped the table with his fingertips. He had actually forgotten about his secret. Had he told Meta? He couldn’t remember now. Had that been her way to prompt him? It would seem so, and yet, he didn’t want to tell the others. It was a secret, an emergency measure the Lord High Admiral and he had come up with back on Earth.

  “I’m sorry,” Meta said softly.

  “I’m not,” Ludendorff said. “Do you know how tired all of us are of you and your secrecy?”

  “He is an Intelligence agent,” Galyan said. “He was trained to use secrecy as a tool and a—”

  “None of that,” Ludendorff said, interrupting. “We finally have the captain on the ropes. He has, or had, a secret plan to deal with Thrax, and now he has to tell us before any of us will agree to this tomfoolery.”

  “I wish that was how Star Watch worked,” Sergeant Riker said gruffly. “But you all know it isn’t. We obey orders in Star Watch, and that goes triple for those in the Intelligence Division.”

  Ludendorff crossed his arms. “I’m not in Star Watch, although I am the most important person aboard Victory. I will veto any plan that doesn’t include a reasonable chance of success.”

  “I admit I am curious concerning this secret,” Galyan said. “What sort of weapon can destroy one hundred and sixty saucer-shaped warships, sir?”

  “None that I know of,” Maddox said calmly.

  Valerie had been listening carefully, and she now shook her head in disbelief. “I’m sorry, sir.”

  Maddox frowned. “Sorry about what?”

  Valerie stared directly at Meta. “That was well played. You fooled Ludendorff and actually had me believing you for a second.” She looked up at Maddox. “There is no secret weapon. There is just us and our wits. You had Meta say that in order to bolster our morale. Oh, and in case any of the darter’s crew is captured. Sir, you’re the best officer in Star Watch. But way out here in the Beyond, I think we should stick to the truth among ourselves.”

  Ludendorff slapped the table. “Is the lieutenant right? There never was a secret? You were simply trying to bamboozle us?”

  Maddox sat down, finally remembering the details now. He knew others thought of him as the trickster. Since they did, he tried to use that at times. It would seem that hadn’t worked today. He must have told Meta there was a secret so her belief would rub off on the others. Why hadn’t he remembered all this properly?

  It took him a second to focus. “Because of the Android War, Star Watch is on a shoestring as it rebuilds,” Maddox said. “The Lord High Admiral expects us to take care of the problem. I intend to do just that. The first rule of taking care of a problem is to know your enemy. We need intelligence on Thrax and his planet. That’s all the darter will do. That’s all the Reynard can do: gather intel.”

  “How do you keep the Swarm from spotting the darter?” Ludendorff asked.

  “The darter has the power to cloak itself,” Maddox said. “If there is a secret, that’s it. It is also fold and star-drive-jump capable.”

  “Why do you need me then?” Ludendorff asked.

  “If you want to stay here and help with repairs, fine,” Maddox said.

  Ludendorff’s eyes narrowed. “Good,” he said. “I’m staying, then.”

  Maddox said nothing, although he finally nodded. He felt so damned tired, and they were so behind schedule. The fight with Drakos, the near loss of everyone, having to deal with another Clone Strand…the toll of these adventures seemed to be building. It had slammed against him hard earlier. He now felt drained… A man could only shoulder so much—

  Maddox jerked as Meta kneaded his neck. He turned and looked up at her. She smiled
down sadly. Maddox looked around. The chamber was empty except for the two of them.

  Maddox frowned. “What happened? Where is everyone?”

  “Darling,” Meta said. “I think…”

  “Did I blank out?”

  “You just sat there staring for the longest time. It unnerved the others. I finally motioned that they should leave. Darling, this darter idea seems wrong.”

  “Meta, I have to go.”

  “Why you?” she asked. “What if Drakos shows up with star cruisers as the others are repairing Victory?”

  “How could I help against fourteen star cruisers?”

  “Maybe Ludendorff is right. Maybe you should call headquarters and ask for Patrol help. You can’t do everything. You already know that. We’re stranded deep in the Beyond. If there was a time to call for help, this is it.”

  “We’ve been stranded before,” he said. “We’ll make do.”

  Meta shook her head. “You’re tired, just deep down tired. I can see it in your eyes, on your face. This partial stasis…maybe it triggered something in you.”

  “You mean from the time I fought the Ska?”

  “Yes,” Meta whispered. “You haven’t been like this since then.”

  “I don’t know…” Maddox said. “I’m exhausted, I admit. Maybe I could have done something better against the Wyr 9000 or against the clone or Drakos. I…” He trailed off before he admitted that he might be slipping. All the years of struggle had taken an inner toll. He needed rest, and yet, he was Captain Maddox.

  Without thinking about it, without telling Meta, he laid his arms on the table and set his head on his arms, falling asleep.

  Meta stared at him, stunned at the performance. She didn’t know what to do. But she knew that she would do anything to protect her man.

  -15-

  “I’ll tell you what we should do,” Keith told Riker. The two of them were in a cafeteria at a table drinking coffee. There were others here, but none with them.

  Treggason Riker was a sergeant in Star Watch Intelligence. He had been the young Maddox’s minder for years. He had even followed the brilliant officer into regular Star Watch command. He had never seen Maddox like this. Well, maybe after the Ska fight in the Alpha Centauri System, but that had put the captain into a coma. One thing he knew, what he’d seen in the conference chamber deeply troubled him. Maybe High Command was asking too much from Maddox. Did they do that because he was half New Man? The idea set Riker’s teeth on edge. You didn’t just use a man until he dropped. You protected someone who did so much for Star Watch—that’s what Riker planned to do anyway.