“Victory,” Maddox said. “Do you copy our approach?”
“Yes, sir,” Valerie said through the comm.
“I think—”
“I’m already on it, sir,” Valerie said. “Regulations under a combat situation demand careful timing. I’m watching you. You’re decelerating hard. Is Keith piloting the shuttle?”
“No,” Maddox said.
“Oh. The maneuvering has his rash style. Given the situation, it’s well done.”
Ludendorff grinned at Maddox. “I’m a Renaissance man, Captain. That means I’m a man of many talents.”
“Ah,” Maddox said. He knew very well what a Renaissance man was.
“Looking good, sir,” Valerie said. “He we go. Four, three, two, one—the shield is down. Bring your shuttlecraft in, sir. We want to get the shield back online as soon as possible.”
***
As Victory lowered its unique electromagnetic shield and the shuttle neared the opening hangar bay door, Per Lomax tapped a panel aboard his experimental single-ship.
There were fourteen other needle-like craft around him in the planet’s icy stratosphere. Per Lomax had seen the first shuttle go by underneath his position. He had registered Kane’s signal and relayed it to the star cruisers in orbit. The big vessels hid from Victory, keeping Wolf Prime between them and the starship.
Not much later, Per Lomax had witnessed strike missiles zooming toward the professor’s hiding location. That was a deception. Now that Kane had kidnapped Ludendorff, the humans would expect an attack on their camp. To forgo the assault would have been a mistake, and these, Per Lomax refused to make.
The critical event had been the second shuttle. From his vantage, Per Lomax had watched it roar into space. The fifteen single-ships under his orders could have attacked the shuttle. They could also have acted as sensor relays to guide strike missiles against the escaping vehicle. The thought had never occurred to the New Man. The shuttle heading for Victory was exactly what he desired to see.
This was a moment of highest exaltation. It may have been the greatest reason for his existence. The second shuttle approached Victory. Per Lomax listened to the enemy’s radio exchange. More importantly, a ground-based station watched the ancient starship’s deflector shield.
Per Lomax’s panel blinked with a green light. It was the signal he’s been waiting for. Victory had dropped her deflector shield, presumably to allow the shuttle to board.
The New Man lay on his stomach in the small control area of the single-ship. He gripped two throttle controls.
The single-ship was a highly experimental craft. The principle that guided its unique locomotion had been stolen from Earth. The antiquated humans were clever at times in areas of technological discovery. It was a strange phenomenon. The Earthmen called their new principle or vehicle a jumpfighter. It could fold space. A single-ship also folded space, but couldn’t do it for as long a distance as the Earth fighter could.
Per Lomax, with Kane’s insight, had developed a cunning tactic they were about to test. The Rouen Colony agent had his uses after all. The man was clever. Kane had Professor Ludendorff, and now the others fled to Victory. They did so at the worst possible moment in what Per Lomax believed would prove to be humanity’s last year of existence.
Per Lomax might have smiled if that had been coded into his genetic makeup. He felt exultation, but his features remained placid. The lower order species grinned and gaped at the slightest emotional whim. Clearly, it interfered with their efficiency.
Tightening his grip around the throttles, Per Lomax signaled his combat team. The moment had come. The Throne World demanded the ancient starship. The vessel would hold new to them but primeval in time, alien technologies. Not only mustn’t the outdated humans ever understand and mass produce such tech, but the New Order must have them.
“Transfer,” Per Lomax said. “Transfer and board the enemy starship.”
He manipulated his throttles. The engine howled at maximum power. The single-ship slid through the stratosphere, coming into direct line of sight with Starship Victory.
A horrible sensation washed through Per Lomax’s prone body. He controlled the shudder of agony. Jumping hurt a superior being much more than the lower order species. That only made sense. He was more refined than the brutes they conquered.
Everything shivered before Per Lomax. His single-ship disappeared from its location in the stratosphere. Around it, the others likewise vanished. In a microsecond of time, the fifteen craft reappeared near the second shuttlecraft.
Per Lomax strove to regain his equilibrium. This was the moment to strike. Victory was the humans’ last hope to avoid extinction. The man who captured the ancient starship would advance high in the New Order. He might even win a post on the Throne World itself.
“Now,” he whispered. Per Lomax twisted a throttle control. His single-ship slid through space, aiming at the open bay door into Victory. Behind him, the other single-ships followed.
It was time to board the enemy starship and destroy everyone who stood in the way of the New Order of Existence.
-31-
“What are those?” Valerie asked, as she studied her sensor board.
“I don’t know,” Galyan said. “I—Warning!” the holoimage shouted. “They carry New Men. I am detecting New Men inside those ships.”
Valerie blinked in astonishment. What could that mean? New Men— “Jumpfighters,” she said. “The enemy has jumpfighters.”
“Warning,” Galyan said. “They are approaching the open bay door. They seek entrance into me.”
“Put up the deflector shield,” Valerie snapped. “There may be more of them coming.”
“Explain—”
“Raise your shield now!” Valerie shouted, as she spun around to glare at the holoimage.
Galyan’s eyelids fluttered. “Yes. That is the correct procedure. I am raising the shield—now.”
Valerie spun back to her board in time to see the hazy deflector shield come back online. Many of the enemy craft were inside the shield. Four of the tiny vessels struck it. The enemy fighters and their crews sizzled and dissipated into their component atoms. That still left eleven of the ships who were behind the protective electromagnetic screen.
“Activate the neutron cannon,” Valerie said. “Burn those ships.”
“Those within the shield?” Galyan asked.
“Do it!” Valerie yelled. “Why are you hesitating? You must act with speed or we’re doomed.”
“I need time to warm up the cannon first,” Galyan said.
“Fire now with whatever you have. Hit them. Destroy them. We can’t let the New Men get aboard you.”
Galyan appeared shocked. Then, the holoimage nodded. “Yes. At once. You are correct. I am aiming the neutron cannon and firing a weakened beam.”
***
Aboard the shuttle, a proximity alert blared into life, the klaxon startling the flight crew. Professor Ludendorff lurched forward, scanning the board.
Dana saw it first. “Look at those. What are they?”
Maddox looked up at the viewing port. Incredibly, he saw needle-shaped craft. They were half the size of the tin can.
“Where did they come from?” Ludendorff asked. “From what I’m seeing, they simply popped into existence.”
“Jumpfighters,” Maddox said, understanding the situation. “The New Men must have some of their own.”
“The New Men?” Ludendorff asked.
Maddox’s thoughts moved fast, connecting ideas. “They’re trying to storm Victory. The New Men are trying to capture the starship.” He turned to Dana. “You wondered why this was so easy. How could we get away from Wolf Prime so effortlessly? The answer is the New Men were watching Victory. They were watching us, too. Once the shield lowered, they made a stab with their jumpfighters.”
“Incredible,” Ludendorff said. “Yes. It’s a brilliant maneuver. I should have foreseen it, especially after your comment about the tin can earlier. This i
s most remarkable.”
“It’s a catastrophe,” Maddox said. “Increase speed. We have to board first.”
“I can’t risk acceleration this close to the—”
Maddox leaned toward Ludendorff and slapped the control panel. The thrusters roared with power, and the shuttle leapt for the hangar bay.
“What are you doing?” Ludendorff shouted. “That is unethical. I’m piloting the craft. This is—”
“—The best idea there is,” Maddox said. “I’m saving our lives and maybe the starship. Valerie!” he said into the comm. “Lieutenant Noonan, can you hear me?”
“Yes, Captain?” she said.
“The New Men are attacking in modified jumpfighters.”
“We know that,” Valerie said. “Galyan has already raised the shield. Four of their craft crashed and burned against it. Eleven are heading for the hangar bay.”
“Close it.”
“We can’t in time.”
“Use the neutron beam on them,” Maddox said.
Even as he spoke, a purple ray fired, and two enemy jumpfighters burned away in a crisp of destructive power.
“There are nine left,” Maddox said.
Ludendorff’s fingers played over the board. “Hang on!” the old man shouted. “This could hurt.”
Maddox looked up just in time. He grabbed his board and tightened his muscles. A terrific jolt shook the shuttlecraft. Metal screeched and air hissed somewhere. The vessel had a leak.
Checking the screen, Maddox saw a smashed enemy jumpfighter tumbling end over end, the one Ludendorff had just rammed.
“Make that eight of them left,” Ludendorff said.
Maddox nodded. That had been well done. The shuttle was ahead of the rest of the jumpfighters. “Prepare for landing, professor. Get us down in one piece.”
“Right,” Ludendorff said.
“What are you thinking?” Dana asked Maddox.
Maddox didn’t have time to answer. He was thinking fast, deciding what they had to do. Right, take the greatest risks up front.
The captain switched on the shuttle’s intercom. “Listen to me carefully. Enemy jumpfighters have appeared behind us. We’re inside the starship’s deflector shield, but so are eight enemy jumpfighters. They’re going to disgorge New Men onto the starship. I don’t know how many. I want everyone to get a weapon. We’re going to have to fight. We need to kill the New Men. If they gain control of Victory…We can’t let that happen. Any questions so far?”
“The New Men are landing in the hangar bay with us?” Keith asked.
“Yes,” Maddox said. “Don your frost mask and goggles. Once off the shuttle, we’re going to dash through an area with little atmosphere. At best, we’re going to have fifteen seconds to get into a safe part of the ship. So you’re going to have to run fast.”
“Cunning bastards,” Keith said. “That’s a righteous way to use a jumpfighter, there’s no denying it.”
Maddox silently agreed. How many New Men did each of those jumpfighters hold? The tin can had been cramped, with hardly any space for passengers. Likely, it would be the same way for the enemy.
Eight needle-shaped craft zoomed for the hangar bay. That meant at least eight, maybe sixteen New Men. How many people did the good guys have?
There was Major Kharkov and four of his space marines. Galyan had five fighting robots. Ten soldiers so far. If he included Meta—no. He couldn’t trust her just yet. Someone would have to watch her. He’d let Keith do that. In a space battle, Keith was a wizard. In a ground fight, the ace might become a liability. The trappers could probably fight. Anyone who faced slarns on a regular basis would know how to handle the terror of battle. Still, the trappers weren’t organized soldiers.
Counting himself, Valerie and Riker made thirteen soldiers. Adding in the slarn trappers—seven out of the fifteen shuttle passengers—made twenty people against eight or sixteen New Men. Those were horrible odds. He remembered seeing the New Men in action on Loki Prime and in the war footage from Odin.
How good were the robots, and what did it mean that Galyan controlled the ship? That might be their margin for victory.
There was another problem. Once they fought for control of the vessel, what if the star cruisers showed up? The starship would have to jump elsewhere.
“Lieutenant,” Maddox said.
“Yes, sir.”
“Tell Galyan he has to jump.”
“He won’t do it so near a gravitational body like Wolf Prime,” Valerie said.
“What? That’s nonsense.”
“Maybe you believe so, sir, but Galyan feels otherwise.”
“I speak facts, not beliefs,” the AI said through the comm.
“Okay,” Maddox said. The shuttle was coming in fast. He had less than a minute left. “This is what you need to do, Galyan. Are you listening.”
“Affirmative.”
“Head away from Wolf Prime,” Maddox said. “Go at full velocity. As soon as you can, jump out of here. Get away from the star cruisers.”
“Affirmative. We will move away from the planet and engage the star drive at the first opportunity.”
“Can you patch me through to Major Kharkov?”
“My robots can take care of the situation,” Galyan said.
“I hope you’re right,” Maddox said. “But what if you’re wrong? Wouldn’t you like some backup?”
“How can I trust you?”
“Galyan, we’ve been in this together for a long time. You have to start believing Star Watch means you no harm. The New Men aren’t going to give you any choices.”
“That is logical,” Galyan said. “They are smarter than you and will no doubt disable me. Then, it is possible they will figure out the weapons systems you could not. Yes, I will release Major Kharkov and allow him his weaponry. You must give me your word, Captain Maddox, that you will give me full control of my vessel if during combat you gain certain advantages over me.”
“Done,” Maddox said.
“I will begin acceleration as soon as you have boarded,” Galyan said.
“Good,” Maddox said. “You’re making the right choice.” He unbuckled from his seat.
“What are you doing now?” Ludendorff asked.
“I’ll be right back,” Maddox said, as he raced to the hatch.
He’d already begun to take the measure of Professor Ludendorff. The man was brilliant, of that Maddox had no doubt. Who had ever tricked the New Men? Maddox didn’t know of anybody else. However, in his opinion, the professor thought too highly of himself. Because of what Maddox had done, the shuttle zoomed far too fast for the hangar bay. Victory loomed before them. They didn’t dare slow down, though. The New Men would beat them inside then, and that would be a disaster.
“Captain,” Ludendorff called. “We have seconds left before we reach Victory. I demand that you take a seat.”
Maddox ignored the professor. With a twist of the handle, he opened the interior hatch separating the two compartments and shouted, “Second Lieutenant, get your butt in here on the double. I mean now.”
Keith Maker ripped off his restraints and rushed up the aisle. “I don’t know what took you so long to see the light, sir.”
“Run!” Maddox shouted.
Keith must have understood. The small Scotsman sprinted and dove through the hatch, trusting Maddox. The captain didn’t fail. He caught the young ace and hauled him upright in the control cabin.
“Move aside!” Maddox told Ludendorff.
“What?” the professor said. “Why would I—”
The old man had no more time to argue. Maddox reached Ludendorff and popped off the man’s buckles.
“Now see here,” Ludendorff began.
Maddox lifted the older man effortlessly from the pilot’s chair. In three swift strides, he shoved Ludendorff into a vacant seat.
“Buckle in,” he said. Without waiting to see if the professor listened or not, Maddox resumed his former spot and snapped his own buckles together.
At that moment, the shuttle zoomed through the hangar bay opening much too fast.
Keith laughed wildly. “This is what I like, a little challenge. You don’t even give me time to familiarize myself with the controls.”
As the ace spoke, his fingers roved over the piloting board. “Where do you want me to set her down, Captain?”
“By the regular hatch,” Maddox said. “We want to get off the shuttle and into the ship as fast as we can. There isn’t much, if any, atmosphere left in the hangar bay, and we’re going to run through it.”
“Aye-aye, sir,” Keith said. “Hang on, please.”
Keith Maker took control of the shuttle and spun it on a dime, as the saying went. He squirted thruster power three times. The hauler responded to his touch, braking inside the hangar bay instead of crashing against bulkheads. With consummate skill, the ace set the shuttle down gentle as a feather twenty meters from a hatch into the living quarters.
“Amazing,” Dana said.
“Easy as can be, love,” Keith said, grinning, “if you’re me, that is. Sir,” he asked Maddox, “why did you give me so much time to study the controls? I want a true test one of these days.”
Maddox grinned back at the ace. Maybe even the Second Lieutenant realized he’d just practiced a miracle. Who but Keith Maker could have landed the nearly out-of-control boat in exactly the right spot?
“I’m sorry, Professor,” Maddox told Ludendorff. It was time to move. The captain had already unbuckled, heading for the compartment hatch. “Keith is the best pilot in the Commonwealth. I hope you can understand.”
Ludendorff scowled, looking pissed.
“Second Lieutenant,” Maddox said, “I want you to get ready. You’re going to stay on the shuttle and attack the enemy jumpfighters as they land. You’re the bowling ball, and they’re the pins.”
“Yes, sir,” Keith said. “I get it.”
“You may not survive the battle,” Maddox said.
“I’m not worried, sir.”
“First, we’re getting off the shuttle, though.”
“Good luck, Captain,” Keith said. “You’d better hurry.”
Opening the interior hatch, shouting at the others in the second compartment, Maddox rushed to Dana next and manhandled her onto her feet. “Go, Professor. Move it.”
The Lost Command (Lost Starship Series Book 2) Page 31
