“That sounds like something the professor would tell me.”
“It’s as if the nullity—or maybe the ring, I don’t know—has drained the essence of the ships, stripping them of their binding forces.”
“Come again?” Maddox said.
“The essence that binds atoms, the binding forces,” Meta said. “According to my instruments, we see the wrecked starships, but they’re not really there as we think of matter, or material.”
“If we stepped into one, it would disappear in a puff?”
“I think so,” Meta said.
“Which would explain why Meyers never bothered to grab an ancient Builder vessel,” Maddox said.
“Yes.”
“The Destroyers in the other null region were intact.”
“That’s right,” Meta said. “Maybe it’s the ring draining them. Maybe the Destroyers were made of sterner stuff. They did have neutronium hulls, remember?”
“Why line up all the ships so nicely if they’re useless?” Maddox asked.
Meta laughed wearily.
Maddox glanced at her. “Questions, questions. We always have a thousand questions. I wonder how much Strand really knew about this place and what he deliberately left out.”
“It’s troubling you that we’ve had to rely on Strand, isn’t it?”
Maddox nodded.
“Do you think the professor is telling us all that he knows?” Meta asked.
Maddox snorted. “That’s always the question, isn’t it? I don’t know, Meta. The Hormagaunt troubles me. What happens if we free him, if we can? Will he be like a Ska, thirsting to slaughter billions in some arcane way? I don’t want to be responsible for that. It’s hard enough remembering Alpha Centauri.”
Using a Ludendorff-made weapon—that had come from an ancient Builder memory inserted in the Methuselah Man for such an emergency—Maddox had driven a Ska into one of the Alpha Centauri stars, which had caused the star to explode. Even though doing so had helped them defeat the dread Imperial Swarm Invasion Fleet, the tactic had slain billions in the system, a horrible sacrifice that weighed on Maddox’s soul.
“You’re the di-far,” Meta said, as if that covered every one of his sins.
Maddox became silent. Was he getting tired of all this? He’d been battling Star Watch’s enemies for years on end. He would win, and something else would pop up. Did he have a right to complain, though? This was what he did. This was who he was. Could he call it duty, or was there something else driving and spurring him on?
He grinned faintly. Too much introspection was bad at a time like this. He had friends, family and his crew to consider—
Maddox inhaled deeply. “I hate this place, the null region. It’s…too much, too daunting to the spirit.”
“That means we should try to do this fast. In and out,” Meta said. “The longer we struggle here…”
“Right. That’s an excellent point. Speed aids us—given that we don’t make a terrible miscalculation because of it. We don’t have any more time for dawdling. My gut is telling me to head straight for the ring. That’s the essence of the danger to us: the Accelerator that destroys planets. Perhaps if we could terminate it directly…that would invalidate the reason for the mobile null region’s being.”
Meta looked over at him.
“What?” he asked.
“We always seem to be destroying wondrously ancient technology. Maybe it’s time we started saving more of these fantastic items so we can use them in Star Watch’s defense. Maybe something like this is exactly what Star Watch needs against the Swarm in a hundred years.”
Maddox studied his photon-suited wife. “You know, I think we’re going about this the wrong way. Meyers is the enemy’s center of gravity. We should concentrate on capturing her.”
“Like we did Strand that time?”
“Right,” Maddox said. “Meyers likely knows how to deactivate this place. Instead of fiddling here, we should figure out how to leave the null region so I can contact the Lord High Admiral so he can search for her.”
“That’s just it. How do we leave? This is a shuttle. It’s isn’t Victory.”
Maddox drummed his gloved fingers on a console. How had the Koniggratz left the null region? Was it the same way the fighters had entered, through a QX-Tube. Where was the Koniggratz for that matter? “What are we missing?”
“We’re not missing anything,” Meta answered. “We’re exploring. We’re…Patrol people seeking the unknown. That takes time, trial and error.”
“Strap in, babe. I’m tired of this slow grind. I can feel the nullity clawing at my mind, making me anxious, turning my stomach. These photon suits aren’t going to last forever.”
“Don’t do anything rash.”
“Maybe that’s exactly what I should be doing.”
“Maddox, we’re it. If we fail…Meyers wins. Surbus won’t beat her in the end.”
Maddox exhaled raggedly and flexed his gloved fingers. He needed action. This careful flitting about the null region grated on him. Was that part of his New Man nature? Likely so.
He applied more thrust, giving them greater velocity as the shuttle zeroed toward the giant ring. Soon, now, he was going to have to figure out a way to get into the construct of the ring. It was Builder-made… He glanced at Ludendorff in his suit. He would let the professor rest a little longer because once they reached the ring…who knew when they would have time to rest again?
-51-
Maddox caused the tiny shuttle to rotate and applied thrust, slowing their velocity. During the maneuvers, the professor snorted himself awake.
“Eh, what’s this? You’ve killed us, Maddox. Look. The rims are starting to glow. That must indicate our close proximity to the ring. It’s going to destroy us, maybe with fusion beams.”
Maddox had been concentrating on piloting. He dearly wished Keith were here to do it. This near the ring—approaching 12,000 kilometers—space was filled with junk: rocks, tubes, cubes, the entire ensemble of shapes they had seen earlier. He had to pay careful attention to where they were going. One collision could finish everything. That meant, of course, he had not noticed the rim of the ring.
Maddox looked up at the gigantic ring dominating the floating junkyard. Behind him, he knew, was the heavy world. The professor was right. Areas on the rim glowed, and were glowing more brightly by the second, a hellish red color.
Suits this damned place, Maddox thought.
The redness bled to other parts of the rim until the entire ring glowed with the red-hot color.
“We’re dead,” Ludendorff declared. “You as good as killed us.”
Maddox glanced at the Methuselah Man staring up from his seat through the polarized window at the ring.
“Professor,” Maddox snapped. “Study your sensors. Quit giving up because you’re tired.”
Ludendorff turned his visor at Maddox. “How dare you speak to me like that?”
“Aren’t you tired?” Maddox said, as he observed the middle of the ring. The darkness there had become noticeably lighter, grayer. Now, it began to swirl ever so slowly.
“Of course, I’m tired,” Ludendorff said. “I’m sick and tired of your smug attitude. I’m tired of always having to do the heavy thinking and others taking the credit for winning the day. I’m also—”
“You’re unusually tired,” Maddox said, interrupting. “Are you feeling scared, too?”
“Hell yes, I am. Aren’t you? You’re a fool if you’re not.”
“Exactly. Now, quit slouching like a useless halfwit and get to your sensors. Start helping me figure out what’s going on out there.”
With that, Maddox applied more thrust, slowing the shuttle more and maneuvering to put a fast-spinning cube between the tiny scout and the activating ring. The space between the ring and planet began to churn and swirl faster.
“If we didn’t turn it on,” Meta said, “someone activated it.”
“I assure you that it’s getting ready to destroy us,”
Ludendorff said. Yet he did not say it slouched in his seat, but hunched over his sensor board as he studied the situation.
Maddox eased the shuttle, eased it a little more, parking them behind the much larger cube.
“Confound it, my boy,” Ludendorff complained. “I can’t see the ring now. You’ve blocked us—”
“From its sight,” Maddox said, interrupting. “Yes, I know.”
“Oh. Yes, yes, clever thinking, I suppose. Well, not clever so much as an example of lowbrow cunning. I should have thought of the trick naturally, but—”
“Meta,” Maddox said, “launch a probe.”
“Yes, Captain,” Meta said.
“No, no,” Ludendorff said. “Doing that could give away our position.”
The shuttle shuddered slightly, and a dark object tumbled from the vessel and up over the spinning cube.
“Feed that to my sensor board as well,” Ludendorff said.
Meta manipulated her panel.
The professor grunted as he worked feverishly. Abruptly, he sat back and turned to Maddox. “I’ve solved yet another mystery, my boy. Do you know what it is?”
“The Koniggratz,” Maddox said.
“What?” Ludendorff said, sounding crestfallen. “Why, that’s right. How did you know? You couldn’t possibly know.”
“I’ve been wondering how ships—and asteroids, for that matter—enter the null region and leave it. The obvious conclusion was via the ring.”
“In this instance, a lucky guess and data reveal the same thing,” Ludendorff said. “The Koniggratz is coming through the ring. That would presuppose it exited the null region earlier. That probably means it went into normal space-time to attempt further negotiations with Star Watch.”
“Is Surbus on the Koniggratz?” Meta asked.
“We could hail them and find out,” Maddox said archly.
“That’s not funny,” Ludendorff said.
Maddox stared at the spinning cube blocking them from the ring. Conceivably, they could send a message through the probe. Surbus or his people would soon spot the probe and likely figure out the rest. How wise was it to contact Surbus, given he was on the Koniggratz?
Maddox reached up and twisted his helmet, unlocking it from the suit. He pulled off the helmet and rubbed the left side of his nose. It had been itchy for some time.
Without the full photon suit protecting him, he felt the power of the null region like a slap to the face. It made him groggy.
“You’re not seriously considering hailing the battleship” the professor said.
“Meta,” Maddox said, “trade me places.”
He got up, and she sat at flight controls.
“If the battleship destroys the cube, slide us over there,” Maddox told Meta, indicating a mass of tubes and pyramids to the left. “If you’re good, you can put us in the junk and shut everything down and hide.”
“Why do this?” Ludendorff demanded.
“I call it the Monkey Wrench Effect,” Maddox said.
“Eh?” asked Ludendorff.
“I’m throwing a monkey wrench into the works,” Maddox said. “Now, shut up, Professor. Leave misdirection and chaos to the professional.”
“I’m ready,” Meta told him.
“You’re insane,” Ludendorff said. “We have a golden chance to observe them, and you want to play the hero. I resent you taking me down to death with you. You have irrational suicidal tendencies that come out at the worst possible times.”
Maddox positioned himself before a comm screen. Was this a stupid idea? No. He didn’t think so. There were several players in this, and—
“Hello, Koniggratz,” Maddox said. “This is…a friend wishing to warn you.”
He waited, waited…
A light on the comm board turned green. The screen wavered, and a second later, Surbus in all his Bosk glory appeared on the tiny screen.
“Who is this?” Surbus said. He squinted. “You! Maddox, Captain Maddox. What do you want with me? How in the hell did you get here?”
“Meyers has launched an assault upon our world,” Maddox said. “I wonder now if she timed it while you were out trying to make a deal with Star Watch.”
“You’re truly in the mobile null region?” Surbus asked.
“Did you hear what I just said?”
Surbus turned to the side and barked orders to someone off-screen.
A wave of weakness hit Maddox then. With the weakness came a surge of fear. He did not like it, and frankly, was not that used to being afraid.
It’s the null region. It’s screwing with my morale.
He clicked a switch, cutting the connection with Surbus. Donning the helmet, twisting it back into place, he told Meta, “Get us into the maze. Do it now. Surbus isn’t going to wait for long.”
“The battleship’s disruptor cannon is coming online,” Ludendorff said, as he studied his sensor board. “I told you this was a stupid stunt. But would you listen to me, listen to reason? Oh, no. Not you. Not the great Captain Maddox.”
“Quit whining,” Maddox said crossly. “We’ve thrown the monkey wrench. Now, we need to survive it.”
-52-
The spinning cube blew apart, pieces flying from it. The disruptor beam from the Koniggratz flashed past the destroyed cube, burning into the darkness.
The shuttle was no longer behind the former cube, but had slid into the nearby mass of tubes and pyramids, each of them larger than the shuttle. Meta had already shut down the thruster and engine, putting the little vessel on battery life-support.
Ludendorff was hunched over his sensors, only using passive ones so he wouldn’t give away their position.
Maddox paced in the small area behind the seats. He wore his photon helmet, though his nose itched again.
“Why don’t you sit down,” Ludendorff complained. “Your endless pacing will give us away.”
Maddox looked up before he put his gloved hands behind his back and continued to pace. “Don’t be ridiculous.” Yet, the professor had a point, of sorts. The space here was too small for all this walking. Three steps and he had to turn around and restart the process. But the motion lubricated his mind, his thoughts, and he needed some help right about now.
“Tarnation!” Ludendorff said. “The Koniggratz is firing again.”
Several minutes passed as the Koniggratz discharged the disruptor cannon three more times. After it stopped firing, the comm light began to blink.
Maddox halted and stared at it.
Ludendorff looked up. “I hope you’re not going to answer that.”
“Not this time,” Maddox said softly.
“Their shots seem random,” Meta said. “I don’t think they’ve spotted us.”
Another beam flashed, this one striking a pyramid, one much closer than the other times. Pieces blew from the construct, one of them spinning near the still shuttle, but missing nonetheless.
“A monkey wrench,” Ludendorff complained. “I wish Galyan were here to catalog your suicidal bravado. He’s keeping a psychological profile on you. Did you know that?”
“Of course he knows that, Professor,” Meta said. “Why don’t you relax and let the captain think.”
“Thinking is what got us into this mess,” Ludendorff said. “Or was it listening to his gut. That may have worked in normal times, but not here in the null region.”
Yet another beam flashed from the Koniggratz, but this one was farther away than before.
“Probing,” Meta said. “Surbus is probing for us.”
“Naturally, he’s probing,” Ludendorff said. “He has all the time he needs.”
“Untrue,” Maddox said. “His random shots prove he doesn’t know what to do. If he had time and was thinking clearly, he would launch probes, many of them. How long can Surbus and his crew remain in the null region?”
“You mean away from the heavy planet,” Ludendorff said.
Maddox nodded.
“Hmm….” Ludendorff said. “That’s accordin
g to your theory that we have the advantage of the photon suits.”
Maddox did not reply. He had stopped pacing for a moment. Now, he resumed. He was waiting for the firing to stop.
Seconds turned into minutes.
Finally, Meta said, “It’s been ten minutes since their last shot. I wonder if the Koniggratz is still out there.”
Ludendorff studied his sensor board. “I don’t see them, but the battleship could be hiding behind debris until we show ourselves.”
Maddox halted with his helmeted head bent in thought. He looked up and turned to the others. “I have an idea.”
“We charge the Koniggratz in a suicidal rush?” asked Ludendorff.
“No,” Maddox said. “I use a thruster-pack and head to the ring. I’ll look for a way—”
“No!” Meta said. “That would be madness. We either all go or all stay.”
“Do you know how long it would take to cross the distance by thruster-pack?” Ludendorff asked. “We’re still too far from the ring for such shenanigans.”
Maddox relented, and they waited. Half an hour passed.
“Ah, I see the Koniggratz,” Ludendorff said. “It’s approaching planetary orbit. I imagine Surbus has left sensors and mines behind. We dare not attempt approaching the ring now.”
“Wrong,” Maddox said. “We have the photon suits. Surbus has to go down to the planet for safety. The planet must provide protection from the nullity. Otherwise, staying in the null region would have been insanity for them, and Surbus has shown he is not insane.”
“The nullity won’t hurt sensors or mines as much as people,” Ludendorff said.
“Still,” Maddox said. “This is our opportunity. We take it, or we go home.”
“And how do we go home?” Ludendorff asked.
“Exactly,” Maddox said. “We don’t. So, we forge ahead. It’s all we have left.”
-53-
Dag led his company of Merovingians, having taken a huge elevator down two kilometers under the surface. The Queen’s schematics had proven highly accurate. Surbus had not changed or added anything to the subterranean defenses, at least not so far. Nor had they come across human defenders. The great subterranean world seemed empty of the Queen’s former people.
The Lost Tech Page 28
