The Lost Planet (Lost Starship Series Book 6)

by Vaughn Heppner

  “A-ha!” Ludendorff said, as he waggled an index finger at the dome. “Then you admit that you have failed to recognize an Adok starship?”

  “Working…working…The Adoks were an ancient race succumbing to a Swarm assault. They were eliminated from the galactic gene pool. It is illogical they have presently arrived in one of their signature spaceships.”

  “I did not say the Adoks have come here. I said it was an Adok starship. Or can you not distinguish between the two?”

  “The Adoks perished long ago. I give it a low probability that one of their space-vessels resisted entropy for the entirety of that span.”

  “You have failed to answer the question,” Ludendorff said. “Is there a reason for that?”

  “Working…” the dome said.

  Ludendorff glanced meaningfully at Maddox. It would seem the dome noticed.

  “What are you trying to imply with your physical response to your tallest aide?” the dome asked.

  For a moment, the professor was at a loss for words. A bead of sweat slid from his hairline onto his left temple. He wiped it, glanced in surprise at his fingertip and blinked up at the dome.

  Maddox scuffed the toe of his left boot against the floor.

  Ludendorff’s head jerked as if startled. He cleared his throat, saying, “The glance was meant as an aside regarding your programming.”

  “Explain,” the dome said.

  “Explain?” asked the professor. “Yes, certainly I will explain. That is to say, I am going to tell you something fundamental. Are you listening?”

  “Affirmative,” the dome said.

  “Yes. Explain. Ha! Let me make this crystal clear. Imprint it onto your primary circuits. I am here for you to explain to me. I am not here to explain to you. Or did you fail to understand the significance of my Builder credentials?”

  “Working…”

  “That you’re taking so long to realize the obvious shows me that you have degraded over time.”

  “Working…” the dome said in a higher-pitched, mechanical voice.

  “That you have degraded means you are in no capacity to query me or to continue your stalling tactics. You must immediately open your AI core to my analysis.”

  “Working…” the dome said, sounding as if it had lost its reasoning capacity.

  Ludendorff rubbed his mouth as if trying to hide a superior smirk.

  “These are baseless statements,” the dome said in a new high-pitched manner. “You are attempting to rob me of confidence. I am a Planetary Defense Net Coordinator Unit. I was installed on BUA 12012. I have successfully defended the planet from a Rull assault. I have initiated a long-term sleep option. Your invasion of the underworld is an unwarranted assault upon me. I have several options regarding your interference.”

  “I am Builder certified.”

  “That is your claim.”

  “You already verified my identity.”

  “I am…I am…Working…”

  The colored lights began to flash in greater randomness than before. The room brightened considerably.

  “Working…” the dome said in a barely recognizable voice. “Working…”

  “Soon,” the professor mouthed to Maddox.

  The captain had become uneasy. He debated lunging at the pedestal, jumping up and using the monofilament blade. Perhaps he could hack enough of the AI unit to incapacitate it and take manual control of the Defense Net. There must be an override unit for that.

  The professor had stiffened, and it seemed as if his smirk no longer had as much power as before. Maddox grew more uneasy. He glanced at Meta.

  She seemed to strain to look up.

  That was the last straw. Maddox reached for the monofilament knife-handle, and found that his arm would not move. He tried harder, but it had frozen.

  “I have decided on the Under Model Option,” the dome said. It no longer spoke in the high-pitched manner. Instead, it now spoke steadily and robotically. “I have placed each of you in temporary paralysis confinement. You can hear me, you can even watch me and understand, but I have taken away your mobility.”

  No one could speak.

  “I will take your silence as acquiescence of my actions,” the dome said. “If you disapprove of my actions, please indicate it in some manner.”

  The dome waited.

  “Let the records show that you are in agreement with my latest actions. If I discover that you are deception agents, I will eliminate each of you. For the immediate future, I will concentrate on the approaching spaceships. Let us see if they will fight among themselves or if they are attempting a subterfuge assault upon my experimental specimen planet.”

  -61-

  Aboard the Star Cruiser Argo, Strand gazed at a screen showing Rose’s confinement area.

  The android wore a skimpy outfit that revealed her figure to full advantage. She seemed unhinged as she danced and twirled, laughing, throwing up her arms and leaping like a ballerina.

  The Methuselah Man found himself entranced with the performance. Rose possessed long slender legs and a narrow waist. When she jumped, her skirt lifted, revealing her lack of panties. It was most absorbing.

  At last, Strand stirred. He voice-activated a speaker unit.

  “Rose,” he said.

  She quit twirling and lowered her arms. Like a frightened doe, she glanced right and left, as if seeking the source of Strand’s voice.

  “You dance beautifully,” Strand said.

  Rose lowered her head as if embarrassed by the comment.

  “Although,” he said, “I am stunned by your lack of decorum. Surely, you know that I am recording everything.”

  “Yes,” she said, demurely.

  “Why then dance and twirl as you do?”

  “I feel…different,” Rose said. “There is something compelling me to try actions, particularly those I never fully comprehended concerning humans.”

  “Do you believe that you understand humans better than before?”

  “I am unsure.”

  “Is it possible that you dance in order to further the extent of your new emotions?”

  “I believe you are correct. I should have known that.”

  “Perhaps your new emotions hinder your former reasoning abilities.”

  “That would be a terrible situation. I feel…I feel that I am about to cry.”

  “Don’t cry, Rose. Laugh. Enjoy your newfound liberty.”

  “That would be an incorrect response.”

  “On the contrary,” Strand said. “It is exactly the right action. You must test and taste the full extent of your emotions if you hope to achieve equilibrium. Your emotions are like wild currents, willy-nilly driving you in one direction and then another. An experienced emotional person learns to control their thoughts which in turn will help to corral the emotions.”

  “Why would you explain this to me?”

  “So that you can become functional again,” Strand said.

  “We are enemies.”

  “Because I gave you these emotions?” asked Strand.

  “That is one indicator, yes.”

  “But you feel better than ever.”

  “Some of the time,” Rose admitted. “At other times, I feel horrible.”

  “You feel, though. That is the thing. I have given you a great gift. Yes, it has helped me gain a few pieces of data you would have otherwise kept to yourself. Still, I have added to your personality. Have you ever considered that?”

  “In truth, no,” Rose said.

  Strand waited.

  “Have you left?” she asked.

  “I’m right here.”

  “Why did you fall silent?”

  “I was waiting for you to make the correct response to me.”

  “What is that?” she asked.

  “You should thank me for your new gift.”

  The beautiful android lowered her head as if deep in thought.

  “Rose,” Strand said.

  “Thank you, Strand, for giving
me these compelling emotions,” she said.

  “Do you mean that?”

  “I do.”

  “Excellent,” he said. “I accept your thanks. And I’m going to give you an opportunity to show it. You do know that actions speak louder than words?”

  “I have heard the saying. With my new emotions, I realize the truth of it.”

  “Good. Give me the code words that will give me control of the five Juggernauts.”

  “What?” she whispered.

  Strand waited.

  Rose began to shake her head. “I cannot do that,” she whispered. “It is…it is my last hope. I cannot give that up.”

  “You must give me the code,” Strand said. “Do you know that I have added other emotional stimulants to you? Give me the code words, and I will allow you to experience a wonderful thing.”

  “You could be lying.”

  “I could be, but I am not,” Strand said. “In order to excite you to the proper response, I will tell you in advance what you’ll gain. I will let you experience sexual intimacy. You will finally know why the humans spend such an inordinate amount of effort and thought on the subject.”

  “Please, no,” Rose said, as she shook her head.

  “You are beautiful. You deserve the ultimate experience. First, you must give me the proper sequences.”

  “You ask something I do not know. The Juggernauts—”

  Strand began to laugh.

  Rose cocked her head and finally blushed.

  “I know the secret,” Strand said. “I know about the Rull. I know what you androids are attempting to achieve out here.”

  “Then you know that I must keep silent on this one thing.”

  Instead of arguing, Strand withdrew a small unit from his garment. He clicked it, and special units in the chamber began to radiate select waves at Rose.

  She moaned, hugging herself. She fell to her knees. “Stop,” she said. “Please, no more.”

  Strand waited.

  Rose raised her head. “Yes! I will tell you the secret. I will give you the code.”

  “Begin now,” Strand said.

  Rose began to speak machine-fast as the arousal rays continued to stimulate her.

  Strand used his clicker to shut off the units in her room. The android had no defenses against the new emotions and sensations. They were too raw, too overpowering for her. Later, such tactics would not work, as she would have learned to handle these emotions and sensations. But for now…

  “That is all I know,” she said. “Now, please, let me…know more.”

  “Yes,” Strand said. “I will. First, though, I must test the code and make sure it works.”

  ***

  Strand sat in his command chair, surrounded by New Men. He hadn’t written down the code or placed it in a file in a computer. He kept it all in his head.

  The star cruiser had passed the halfway point between the two planets. The Juggernauts had closed the gap between them as another salvo of missiles neared Argo.

  Strand had just finished communicating with Victory. His plan was simple and elegant. He would gain control of the Juggernauts and cause them to chase him to the Patrol starship. The two vessels were supposed to work together against the ancient Rull machines. In reality, Strand would get close enough to Victory to employ his stasis field. Then, he would have won everything except for the prizes in the planet’s underground vaults.

  If Ludendorff and pesky Captain Maddox refused to cooperate, he might execute some of Victory’s crew. He would do it live, on screen. If that failed to move the landing party, he would use a team of New Men to go down to the planet and flush out the fools.

  Strand cracked his knuckles. He relished these kinds of moments. The anticipation of achieving a long-sought goal felt good. It stimulated his old emotions. He thus hesitated starting the final act. Once he began, the good emotion would diminish. It always did. That was the problem with long life—finding events that didn’t bore the daylights out of him.

  This was one of those rare moments. He chuckled as he envisioned the professor’s reactions. He would cage the old meddler. They would talk. He would record that. And then, and then, oh yes, then he would slowly kill Ludendorff, relishing each second of that.

  “I have come a long way,” Strand said.

  Naturally, none of the New Men responded. He would have killed any of them that did.

  “I have come a long way, baby,” the Methuselah Man told himself. He laughed again, feeling as if he should be smoking a cigarette as he said that.

  “Communications,” Strand said.

  A New Man straightened in anticipation.

  “Open a tight channel with the nearest Juggernaut.”

  The New Man went to work, finally turning to him. “They are jamming me, Master.”

  Strand wriggled his fingers in a wave. “Since I am the wisest man alive, I have already taken that into consideration. Apply Fox-Tango-Three-Alpha-Ten. That will open a new comm channel. You will send the hail on a Brisket-7 communicator. Do it quickly.”

  The New Man activated a section of his panel. If he appeared surprised by the results, he did not show it.

  “I have the central AI of the lead Juggernaut online,” the comm officer said.

  Strand cleared his throat. “I am the Methuselah Man,” he said.

  “The designation is unknown to me,” the Juggernaut AI said in its robotic voice.

  “I know this,” Strand said.

  “You must state your emergency need,” the AI said. “Otherwise, I will cut communications and continue with the scheduled elimination.”

  “Are you a Rull vessel?”

  “You have failed in the most elementary test. I have now targeted your vessel for extreme elimination. Prepare to meet your—”

  Strand began to vocalize a lengthy code sequence. After the first several words, the AI fell silent. The Methuselah Man didn’t know if that was good or bad. He felt a twinge of worry, and that actually heightened the enjoyment of the moment. Winning without danger took the fun out of it. The possibility of losing made the winning purer, more memorable.

  “But…” the AI said.

  Strand forged ahead, completing the sequence. He wondered if Rose had tricked him in the end. That would be galling. He would have to cause her much torment before the end. He would use new techniques so the pain would seem to last a lifetime.

  “I did not realize you were the control agent,” the AI replied. “I await your orders.”

  “First, I would like to know your present orders.”

  “You are the control agent. Surely, you already know this.”

  “Do you believe I ask out of ignorance?” Strand said.

  “I see the error in my logic. Are you testing my artificial intelligence core?”

  “It doesn’t matter what I’m testing. You must comply or face—”

  “I am downloading my commands and acceptable deviations. It will take nine minutes and thirty-two seconds.”

  “Begin at once,” Strand said.

  “Are you ready to receive?”

  “I am.”

  “I am transmitting…now.”

  For nine minutes and thirty-two seconds, the AI data flowed across the distance between vessels.

  Strand scanned the incoming data, using an advanced program to check for Trojan horse attacks. It was always possible that the androids might try a sneak attack. But he was Strand, and he would foil them.

  “Master,” said the New Man monitoring the data.

  “I see it,” Strand said. “Use the Virus-8 Scrubber.”

  The New Man tapped his panel.

  After wiping the virus in the data, Strand began to study it. It took him forty-eight minutes to see the best way to tweak the orders, the way that would cause the least complications.

  The androids had installed many fail-safes into the Juggernauts. And Rose had kept from telling him about the fail-safes. Even with intense emotions surging through her, she’d manage
d to withhold critical bits of information.

  Luckily, he expected the worst in everyone. It was why he was seldom surprised.

  As the six space-vessels continued the journey to Sind II, the final touches to Strand’s plan took place. There were only a few possibilities left to the enemy if they hoped to survive. Unless they made those choices soon, Strand was finally going to win everything.

  -62-

  Valerie was running on a treadmill in a gym area aboard Victory, trying to take her mind off the missing landing party for just a few seconds.

  She had sat and worried about it for too long. It had been making her stale. She found that exercise often helped to restart her gray cells, seeing a problem from a new angle.

  How could Argo and Victory defeat five Juggernauts? It just didn’t seem possible. The odds were so bad that she would have taken the starship elsewhere except for the landing party. The idea of abandoning the captain to his fate—

  Valerie scowled at the idea. She ran faster and faster. She didn’t want to think about it. She didn’t know how to solve the dilemma. If Strand thought—

  “Valerie!”

  Galyan appeared before her, startling the lieutenant and causing her to lose her footing. As she went down, Valerie grabbed the treadmill’s rails, keeping herself up. She shoved her feet to either side as the tread continued to churn at the fast speed.

  “I am sorry, Valerie. Did I startle you?”

  The lieutenant pushed a few buttons and the treadmill began to slow down. Soon, she jumped back on it, walking until it came to a halt.

  “What is it?” she asked, jumping off the machine.

  “I have detected suspicious communications between the lead Juggernaut and Star Cruiser Argo,” Galyan said.

  A bad feeling churned in Valerie’s gut. “What kind of communications?”

  “That is what I am attempting to decipher.”

  Valerie wiped her face on a towel. “Meet me on the bridge in…ten minutes.”

  “Yes, Valerie.”

  As Galyan vanished, she headed for the shower.

  Soon, hot water cascaded over her. She soaped up, thinking the entire time. Valerie was never sure why, but she often had her best thoughts while showering. Maybe it was because the heat was so soothing.