The Lost Secret

by Vaughn Heppner

  The little holoimage disappeared.

  Maddox reacted, but it was slower than usual as he recovered from the shock of what just happened.

  In the tiny window of time, Lieutenant Rogers drew a knife from his boot and lunged, the knife flashing for the captain’s throat.

  It was likely that only the captain’s phenomenal reflexes saved his life. He jerked aside, and his right hand came up, knocking the arm and knife out of the way. Then, Maddox backpedalled. Rogers was already shouting, lunging after the captain, slashing.

  Maddox dodged once, twice and then used an ancient tactic, kicking Rogers hard in the balls. The kick lifted the lieutenant up onto his toes as he paled. The knife fell from his nerveless hand and he grunted. A second later, he collapsed onto the deck, clutching his groin as he curled into a fetal position.

  Maddox scooped up the knife. It was a space marine combat blade.

  Rogers groaned from on the floor. “You bastard,” he panted.

  “Are you HMD?”

  “You’re never going to know, big shot. There are more of us, millions more. One of these days, one of us will kill you.”

  “How did you make Galyan disappear?”

  For an answer, Rogers cursed the captain.

  “It doesn’t matter if you tell me or not,” Maddox said. “We’ll find out soon enough—”

  Rogers glared as if concentrating, and he gagged as the stench of own burning flesh grew. A trickle of black smoke rose from an ear. His eyes bulged, and he relaxed, relaxed even more and died.

  Maddox knelt, searching for a pulse. There wasn’t any. He couldn’t believe it. Rogers had been an enemy stowaway after all, meaning that Meta had guessed right.

  Maddox stood as a team of marines sprinted into view. Galyan must have summoned them.

  Maddox pointed at the dead man. “Take him to medical.” It was time to do an autopsy.

  -22-

  Several hours later, Maddox read Doctor Harris’s report. In the addendum, she admitted that much of the information had come from Galyan. From the report, Maddox learned that Patrol Lieutenant Lucas Rogers had two Spacer modifications in him, which meant they were ancient Builder devices. One of them had been a power source located near his heart. The other had been something else, a combination of being able to use transduction—seeing electromagnetic wavelengths—and to affect the wavelengths. He must have scrambled Galyan’s holoimage. The second device had been in his brain near the left ear. Both modifications had melted into slag, the electrical surges and heat from them more than enough to slay Rogers.

  Maddox presently sat in the ship’s conference chamber, with Ludendorff, Meta, Riker and Galyan in attendance.

  “We know how Rogers shorted Galyan’s holoimage,” Maddox said, “with a Spacer implant. Fortunately, the assassin-spy wasn’t able to inflict any permanent damage to Galyan.”

  “I’ve been thinking about that,” Ludendorff said. “It’s questionable Rogers really knew how to use his implant or to use it effectively. He shorted Galyan’s holoimage. I haven’t found any evidence he did anything else with it.”

  “I do,” Meta said. “He must have used the implant to spy on Valerie aboard the Tarrypin. He would come from behind a closed hatch at the worst possible moments. Maybe he was looking through the door with the Spacer device.”

  “We’re going to have to search the darter,” Maddox said. “Rogers spent weeks aboard it. Surely, he didn’t use all his time only as a Spacer Peeping Tom.”

  “Valerie isn’t going to like us combing through her ship,” Meta said.

  “You have to go about it the right way,” Ludendorff said. “I suggest you get her to request for the search. Make it her idea.”

  “Good thinking,” Maddox said. “That will be your task.”

  “Mine?” asked Ludendorff. “Valerie has never trusted me.”

  “Maybe I should do it, sir,” Meta said.

  “Fine, fine,” Maddox said. “Until we make a thorough sweep… I’m not sure what we should assume about all this. We haven’t dealt with Spacers for some time. I thought they’d left Human Space for good.”

  “We have dealt with Vint Diem, in a manner of speaking, at least,” Galyan said.

  “That’s right,” Maddox said. “There is Vint Diem, an ex-Spacer, an adept of great skill. We’ve never figured out who he works for exactly, the New Men, Lisa Meyers—”

  “Maybe he’s a freelancer,” Ludendorff said, interrupting, “a mercenary for hire.”

  “If that’s true,” Maddox said, “if Rogers was like Vint Diem, the man could have worked for anyone.”

  “According to you,” Ludendorff said, “he spouted HMD jargon during your standoff.”

  “That’s the conundrum,” Maddox said. “If he was a Spacer adept like Shu 15 or Vint Diem, or trained to use his Builder implants, it would indicate a highly intelligent person. Such a person wouldn’t have let slip the things Rogers did.”

  “He could have been acting the part of a HMD zealot,” Ludendorff said.

  “Or he could have been one recruited into Vint Diem’s network,” Maddox said. “An expendable man.”

  “I’m not saying Rogers had anything to do with Diem,” Ludendorff said. “My point is we’ve still dealt with Spacers, even if the official body of them has departed for the Deep Beyond.”

  “Is it odd that Rogers had a Builder device that could see all the electromagnetic wavelengths?” Galyan asked. “He would be able to see radio and microwave, infrared and ultraviolet waves—”

  “The ball-of-light creature,” Maddox said, interrupting. “Do you think there’s a connection with Rogers to the alien?”

  “The possibility exists,” Galyan said, “more so because of their proximity in time and that both were on Victory.”

  “You said the creature or alien came from the Library Planet,” Maddox told Ludendorff.

  “Not quite,” Ludendorff said. “I wondered aloud if the alien had anything to do with our goal of reaching the Library Planet.”

  “Well,” Maddox said. “Suppose that’s so. How would the alien have recruited Rogers, gotten him into the Patrol and assigned to the Tarrypin? Wouldn’t that demand more time? Then the alien would have known about our destination before we’d even decided to go?”

  “You are correct,” Galyan said. “The logical and linear flow of events does not compute. That suggests two contradictory things. One, Lucas Rogers had nothing to do with the alien. Two, the alien possesses an amazing ability: to work outside temporal limitations.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?” Ludendorff asked sharply.

  Maddox was startled to see Galyan wink at him.

  “What do you mean by temporal limitations?” Ludendorff demanded. “Did Rogers disrupt some of your logic circuits when he scrambled your holoimage?”

  “No, Professor,” Maddox said. “Galyan made a joke.”

  “What?”

  “Galyan has been practicing his humor,” Maddox said.

  “Is that right?” Ludendorff asked Galyan.

  “Yes, Professor.”

  “Is your comment about temporal limitations a joke?”

  “It was an attempt,” Galyan said. “It would appear that I failed.”

  Ludendorff rubbed his forehead. “Temporal limitations…” He frowned as if in pain. “Temporal limitations…”

  “Is something wrong, Professor?” Meta asked.

  Ludendorff stood, massaging his forehead with both hands. He sat back down, thumping onto his seat and looking up. “You…you might be onto something, Galyan.”

  “It is funny after all?” Galyan asked.

  “No, no joke,” Ludendorff said. “It’s a memory, one I’d long forgotten. I can’t quite remember it, but there’s a legend or a curse or an alien menace like the Erills….” Ludendorff stopped talking, staring and then smiling. “I wish I could remember more, but I can’t.”

  “I’d like to know what you’re suggesting,” Maddox said.

>   “Nothing right now,” Ludendorff said. “Forget I mentioned it.”

  Maddox stared at the Methuselah Man. Stared until Meta cleared her throat. When he looked at his wife, she shook her head minutely. Maddox sighed, forcing himself to say, “Are there any suggestions as to what we should do next?”

  “I agree we should search the darter,” Galyan said. “And I think the professor’s idea that Meta trick Valerie into asking for it—”

  “I’m not going to trick her,” Meta said.

  “What then?” asked Galyan.

  “Help her to see that it would be the right thing to request,” Meta said.

  “What is the difference between that and what I said?” Galyan asked.

  “My way sounds nicer.”

  Galyan’s eyelids fluttered, until he said, “I have logged your statement and will study it further.”

  “I have a suggestion,” Sergeant Treggason Riker said. He was an old Intelligence hand, supposedly Maddox’s Watson as conceived once by worried Intelligence chiefs. That had been in the early days of Maddox’s career with Star Watch Intelligence. Riker was a rugged individual full of old-fashioned common sense. He had a bionic left eye, hand and arm, and had been wondering for years why he didn’t retire already.

  Maddox nodded for the sergeant to continue.

  “Request Valerie to take her darter outside the starship,” Riker said. “Until we know the Tarrypin is safe, isn’t it unwise to have it in Hangar Bay Four?”

  “That’s an excellent suggestion,” Maddox said. “Meta, you can tell Valerie after your meeting with her.”

  “It might be harder to get her to request we search the Tarrypin if we send her outside as if she’s a leper,” Meta said.

  “Maybe,” Maddox said. “But the safety of my ship comes first, not guarding someone’s feelings. Valerie is a big girl now. The Lord High Admiral recognized it, too, which is why she’s a lieutenant commander and has her own ship.”

  “Yes, sir,” Meta said.

  “Good,” Maddox said, glancing around the table. “Dismissed.”

  -23-

  Valerie sat at the helm of the Tarrypin, following Victory toward a Laumer Point. She was surprised how different it felt than all the other times she’d been in command of the starship or the time she’d commanded the Darter Reynard. This was her ship, her command and all her responsibility.

  For the first time, that she was in charge here really sunk in.

  She laughed, and feeling slightly foolish, she looked around to see if anyone had heard her.

  She was alone in the control cabin.

  The good feeling evaporated soon enough as she recalled her talk with Meta. Lucas Rogers had been a spy for someone, and they’d used the darter to slip him onto Victory. That meant her ridding the Tarrypin of an arrogant Patrol tester had been his plan all along. Rogers had manipulated her through sexual innuendos and sexist behavior. She’d fallen rather easily for his manipulations, too.

  That’s going to stop. I’m going to recognize it when others are trying to manipulate me and foil them.

  She had to toughen up, get a thicker skin. And she had to use her brain more. She was in command. She was responsible for the Tarrypin and everyone aboard.

  Rogers had had two Spacer modifications. Meta had told her he’d likely looked through hatches and bulkheads to watch her. The seemingly random but improbable meetings had been anything but.

  Had Rogers been toying with her the entire time? It seemed likely. Captain Maddox had killed the man. Well, technically, he’d defeated Rogers and Rogers had killed himself.

  Valerie had a good idea why the captain had ordered the Tarrypin into space. Rogers had possessed two Spacer modifications as Shu 15 once had. The Tarrypin was an easier target than Victory, and wasn’t as well guarded either.

  Valerie realized now that Meta had tried to get her to request Galyan and Ludendorff to come aboard and search…for what? For something Rogers might have placed here.

  Sitting at the helm, Valerie shook her head. This was her ship, her problem. She was going to take care of it. If that meant Maddox wasn’t going to let the Tarrypin back into Hangar Bay Number Four, so be it.

  Stubbornness settled into place over her features. She called the first mate to the cabin, telling her to take over. Then, Valerie left and started the search in the science chamber.

  Valerie used a hand-scanner, carefully going over every inch of the chamber. She almost called for Galyan several times. It was an old habit to rely on the AI. But Galyan wasn’t assigned to the Tarrypin, but to Victory.

  After forty-five minutes of searching, Valerie went to the tiny gym. It still lacked a treadmill, but had weights, a wrestling mat and heavy bag. She would start practicing kickboxing with the heavy bag. That would be a good way to condition.

  Later, Valerie called the young ensign, and together, they searched Rogers’ quarters, finding nothing he might have planted.

  Nothing showed up in the science chamber, the gym or the ensign’s quarters. Valerie retired to her quarters and lay on the cot for a half hour. She made herself a strawberry protein shake afterward, savoring it.

  Leaving her quarters, she checked the engine compartments. That took two hours of diligent scanning and testing. She found nothing out of place there either.

  She searched the rear storage bay and found nothing there as well.

  That left the first mate’s quarters—

  And some of the engine cells I can crawl to from a tube.

  Valerie didn’t want to go the engine cells. It would be hot, itchy to her skin and smelly. Maybe it was time to admit defeat—

  Valerie stopped, wondering if this was really a battle. Who was she trying to impress? This was about the safety of the Tarrypin and the safety of the mission.

  Am I being stupid?

  She didn’t like the idea. She finally decided that maybe she was being stubborn, but that that was a good thing. Captain Maddox was the most stubborn man she knew, and he was probably the most effective, too.

  I’m going to beat him at his own game.

  She drank some water, gathered a few extra pieces of equipment and headed for the engine cells.

  At the back of the third cell was a small tube hatch. She removed it, hearing the thrum of the darter’s fusion engine. Swallowing, hardening her determination, Valerie crawled into the tube.

  She didn’t have to crawl far, removing another small hatch. She wriggled through until she stood in a tight maintenance access space, with blinking lights everywhere.

  She took out her hand-scanner and started searching. It was tedious; her skin became itchy and her mouth dry. After a half-hour, she wondered if she was still thinking clearly.

  That was when she removed a covering and stared at a shiny deep-sea blue globe the size of a hardball. That didn’t belong in here. Valerie nearly grabbed it. Before her hand touched the blue globe, she raised the scanner and tested it.

  Nothing. The scanner didn’t show a thing.

  Valerie adjusted the settings, but it didn’t matter. The blue globe was immune to the scanner.

  Valerie took a deep breath. What was the right protocol now?

  I should summon Galyan. If she didn’t want to do that, she could call the first mate or ensign.

  In the end, Valerie did neither. This was her ship, her find and her responsibility. She licked her lips and thought about options.

  Just grab it already.

  Was that her idea? Valerie reached out and panicked at the last second. Snatching her hand back, Valerie whirled around fast, bumping against a bulkhead. She cried out in pain, rubbing her forehead. A premonition caused her to turn back to the blue globe. It rose up silently.

  Valerie moaned in dread.

  A light flashed from the globe, the light shining in Valerie’s left eye. She stood frozen, and then she collapsed.

  The globe hovered over her fallen form, electrical discharges leaving it and striking her forehead. That lasted twenty-t
hree seconds.

  Once the discharges ceased, the globe floated for the tube hatch, exiting the engine cell.

  -24-

  Valerie stirred 57 minutes later, feeling groggy and disoriented. She had no idea where she was or what had happened to her. She opened her eyes, staring up at rows upon rows of blinking indicator lights.

  Why am I here? This is a cell, isn’t it, or the back area of an engine cell?

  She sat up, feeling dizzy, nauseated—she turned her head and vomited. She vomited again, hating the feeling.

  She felt better after that, as the dizziness departed. Sliding away, climbing to her feet, she wondered what she’d been doing in here. She couldn’t remember why she’d come.

  Did I fall asleep? Have I been overworking myself?

  No…She’d come here to find something.

  That’s when she noticed the open covering. Her head began to throb. There was a reason for that—the open cover—a reason she couldn’t remember.

  Her eyes were sore and the dizziness threatened a return. She didn’t want to vomit again.

  Valerie went to the tube, crawled through—

  Why can’t I remember why I came to the cell? What’s wrong with me?

  She replaced the tube hatch and stood, rubbing her forehead, rubbing it.

  Why do I worry so much?

  It hit her then. This was the Darter Tarrypin. It was hers. She was in command. There must have been some kind of problem back here.

  Worried now, Valerie hurried from the third cell to the main engine compartment, studying the sensors. The panic began to evaporate as she realized everything was operating properly. The darter wasn’t about to blow.

  Valerie laughed nervously, and she rubbed her forehead again. She paused and touched her forehead. There was something wrong with it.

  She hurried out of the main engine compartment and went to the restroom chamber. She peered at a mirror, shocked to see a spotted rash on her forehead.

  What had caused that?

  She exited the restroom/shower chamber, bumping into the new ensign, Derrick Magee. He was the opposite of Lucas Rogers. Derrick was painfully young, wore thick glasses and still had a few pimples on his face. He was small and narrow-shouldered, and so far, he’d acted nervously around her. He was also damn smart, particularly with computers, anything electronic.