“You know where the Throne World lies?” Meta asked.
“I’ve always known.”
“Then why is the Grand Fleet looking for it?” Meta asked.
“Because he’s never told Star Watch the location of the Throne World,” Maddox said.
Meta absorbed that. “Okay,” she said. “How do you send Strand to the Emperor?”
Ludendorff smiled slyly.
“Do you know his plan?” Meta asked Maddox.
“It’s possible,” the captain said.
“Do you really trust him regarding this?” she asked.
Maddox stared at Ludendorff. The seconds passed. “In this, I’m inclined to agree with his idea.”
“What a ringing endorsement that is,” the professor muttered.
“But you hate the New Men,” Meta told Maddox.
The captain looked away. “Hate is a strong word.”
“An accurate word,” she said.
“The New Men practiced terrible abominations on human worlds,” Ludendorff said. “There is no doubt they have badly misused normal humans. It’s hard to see how any regular human could or would trust the New Men. That being so, the New Men’s original purpose was that of defenders.”
“They’ve done a marvelously bang up job of that,” Meta said sarcastically.
“They deviated from the original plan,” Ludendorff admitted.
Meta snorted in distain.
“But conquering and misusing people is a far cry from exterminating them,” the professor said.
“The New Men did plenty of exterminating,” Meta replied.
“Only on a limited scale,” Ludendorff said.
“What?” Meta shouted.
“Clearly, the New Men and the Commonwealth have grave differences,” Ludendorff said. “There is no doubt about that. Together, we face the existential threat of annihilation at the hands or clackers of the Swarm Imperium. The New Men and the Commonwealth would be stronger together than fighting separately. Surely, you can see that.”
“Maybe…” Meta mumbled. “That doesn’t mean I have to like it.” She turned to Maddox and took hold of his left arm. “How do you propose to capture Strand without anyone else dying? If the New Men are monsters, Strand is the monster builder. I think he’s even more devious than the professor.”
“I dispute your claim,” Ludendorff said. “I am the slyer one between us. And I have an idea or two about the coming confrontation. Would you care to hear my ideas?”
Maddox checked a chronometer. “You’d better hurry, Professor. Strand’s shuttle is due to land in another twenty minutes.”
“We only have a few minutes to prepare then,” Ludendorff said. “Listen carefully…”
***
Strand sat at the controls of his shuttle. The sensor board told him the Juggernauts continued to scan him powerfully. Three separate laser ports tracked his shuttle. At a moment’s notice, the lasers could beam, destroying the shuttle and him.
The Methuselah Man had prepared as quickly as he could. He’d debated bringing Rose with him as a bargaining chip. Instead, he would use her later, as she completed a devious maneuver for him. She was his backup, but not in the immediate future. She was a long-term plan, provided she could escape detection and the star cruiser. To that end, Strand had worked tirelessly during the few moments he had to prepare here.
He sighed, shaking his head. He couldn’t worry about that now. He would have to practice other deceptions to keep out of Ludendorff’s hands. If the Emperor should ever get hold of him—
Strand shuddered. He could never allow that to happen. There was such a treasure trove on this godforsaken planet. He still couldn’t believe this was happening to him. He was Strand, the greatest man alive.
Well, he would have to show the universe the truth of that.
“Yes,” Strand hissed between his teeth. “It’s time for my miracle play.”
***
Maddox stood on a vast roof overlooking acres and acres of rusting machines and sandpits. A small flitter was parked nearby on the roof. That was gratis Sistine la Mort, a flying car from one of the Builder vaults.
Meta sat at the controls, inside the flitter’s bubble dome.
The professor had wanted to join them. The old man had started coughing, and breaking out in a worse sweat than before. Even then, Ludendorff had insisted on coming.
“I have to be there,” the professor had wheezed.
Maddox would have let him, but Ludendorff had fainted. That had been the end of that. Too much else rested on the professor’s shoulders to risk him with Strand in that condition.
“The shuttle is approaching,” Meta said through an earpiece.
Maddox looked up into the orange-tinted sky. He could see a black dot up there. He wore a rebreather and a crinkly silver suit. He’d buckled his gun-belt over the suit. Instead of his regular long-barreled gun, he’d borrowed a marine’s personal sidearm. The gun was squat like Sergeant Riker’s, firing armor-piercing bullets.
Maddox hoped Riker was doing well. The sergeant was one of the reasons they needed Ludendorff better. The professor had to figure out the antidote to the android box’s poisoning.
The captain looked up again. The dot had grown. Strand’s shuttle was coming down as scheduled.
“I still say we’re too exposed out here,” Meta said through the earpiece.
“No doubt about that,” Maddox replied.
“One missile could take us out.”
“Strand loves his skin too much for him to try that.”
“He’s trapped,” Meta said. “Trapped animals are the most dangerous.”
Maddox shaded his eyes as the shuttle became more visible. In the past, he had read many reports regarding Strand’s behavior. As far as Star Watch Intelligence knew, Strand was much like Ludendorff, but even more self-centered. Strand might be the more brilliant between the two. That was a sobering thought. Still, as long as the Juggernauts kept the shuttle targeted, this should go as planned.
Maddox heard the shuttle humming as it drifted toward the vast rooftop. If Strand wanted to murder them, he could have the star cruiser use a fusion ray or the disrupter beam. Seeing the Argo use a disrupter earlier had been sobering. Couldn’t Star Watch keep anything secret?
With an effort of will, Maddox refrained from resting his gun-hand on the butt of his holstered weapon.
The New Man-style shuttle gently landed on the roof. The seconds passed as its engine stopped humming.
“I don’t like this,” Meta said.
Maddox said nothing, waiting. His heart beat faster as something clacked on the shuttle.
Slowly, a small stairway unfolded under the main hatch. Seconds later, the hatch opened. Out walked the wizened man wearing a rebreather. He walked down the steps, stopped, studied the flitter and Maddox and then proceeded toward the captain.
When Strand was halfway to him, Maddox called out, “Halt.”
Strand stopped.
Maddox raised his right arm.
It took several seconds, but the shuttle groaned and began rising off the roof.
Strand whirled around, watching.
The shuttle lifted higher still.
Strand regarded Maddox. “What are you doing?”
It was impossible to tell if the Methuselah Man sounded worried.
“You are a devious man,” Maddox said. “I’m taking a few precautions.”
“Meaning what?” Strand asked.
“Meaning one of the Juggernauts is using a tractor beam. It will lift the shuttle to space and destroy it.”
“Why would you destroy valuable property?” Strand asked.
“For a host of reasons,” Maddox said. “There, it’s starting to go up faster.”
Both men looked up at the accelerating shuttle.
“Stop it,” Strand said.
“Why?”
Strand seemed pained. “Stop it. Return the shuttle.”
“You still haven’t given me a reas
on.”
“I will now,” Strand said. “The real Strand is still in the shuttle. I am a duplicate copy, an android Strand.”
Maddox drew the gun. “I will have to destroy you then. No hard feelings, I hope.”
“Why destroy me? Even though I am an android, I love life just as much as you.”
“This is another precaution, nothing more and nothing personal.” Maddox aimed the gun—
“Stop!” Strand shouted, while raising his hands. “I lied. I am the real Strand. A fake Strand is in the shuttle.”
“That’s what an android Strand would say to keep alive.”
“You fool,” Strand said. “Can an android do this?” He took out a small knife and made an incision on a finger. He squeezed the finger so that blood oozed out.
“That is a simple ploy for an android to play,” Maddox said. “I am unconvinced you are biological.”
“Don’t you have a scanner?”
“Can I trust such a scanner—?”
An intense laser beam stabbed down from space, striking the shuttle. It endured a second, another—the shuttle exploded in the air.
Strand threw himself flat on the roof, using his hands to cover the back of his head. Maddox also flattened. Luckily, the shuttle had already flown too high for the blast to harm them. One piece of metal rained down, striking the roof and bouncing over an edge, disappearing from sight. Smoke drifted apart where the shuttle had been.
Strand climbed to his feet, dusting the front of his suit.
Maddox did likewise. He still kept the gun aimed at Strand, or the android of Strand.
“Now what happens?” Strand asked.
“Take off your clothes,” Maddox said.
“There are toxins in the air. I dare not do that.”
“Nevertheless,” Maddox said. “You will disrobe or die.”
“I insist you treat me with dignity. I am the great Methuselah Man. I helped create you. I—” Strand stopped speaking.
The bubble canopy rose from the flitter. Meta stood up. “Maddox, what are you doing?”
The captain was never sure what came over him. One moment, he spoke with Strand. The next, when he heard the Methuselah Man boast about creating the New Men, a black rage washed over him. Maddox had never felt like this before.
The little prick standing smugly was the reason New Men had kidnaped and raped his mother.
Strand backed up fast. Maddox reached for him. Strand tried to slap away the reaching hands. At the last second, Maddox saw a prickly needle in the Methuselah Man’s slapping hand.
Maddox shifted so the hand passed him. Then, Maddox used the gun butt to stroke Strand’s face. It made the wizened man stagger.
With great deliberation, Maddox holstered his gun. He then gripped Strand’s garment with one hand and slapped the man’s face back and forth with the other. He continued to slap Strand, the blows hitting harder and harder.
Finally, Meta dragged Maddox away from Strand.
“You’re killing him,” she whispered. “We need him, remember?”
Strand slumped onto the rooftop. Blood flowed from his nose. It oozed from his cut lips and dripped from the places Strand was now missing teeth.
Maddox came to himself at that point. He was panting, not with exertion but with hatred against the Methuselah Man. He hardly recognized the emotion.
“If you speak about being my creator again, little man,” Maddox said. “I will kill you.”
From where he lay dazed on the rooftop, Strand stared in shock at Maddox. There was no hatred in the Methuselah Man’s eyes, simply fear.
Maddox waited for the schemer to gloat in some manner. When that no longer seemed like it would happen, Maddox went to Strand.
The Methuselah Man cringed.
Maddox turned Strand over and stabbed a needle into his neck. If this was the real Methuselah Man—
Strand relaxed as the knockout drug began to take effect. It was the wizened schemer in the flesh. They had captured the real Methuselah Man.
-75-
“You should come with us,” Meta said several hours later.
They had returned to the vaults with Strand. It was so different flying in the subterranean realm than slogging through it. At one point, Maddox had seen the bedraggled war party trudging back to the city.
Maddox shook his head as he disengaged from Meta. Two of the jumpfighters contained the marines and the others, including Ludendorff and the captive Strand.
The wizened Methuselah Man had hardly spoken a word since his beating. He did tell them about the stealth ship at the edge of the star system.
The jumpfighters also contained the ancient Builder long-range scanner. They had torn it apart to fit in the two jumpfighters.
“It’s over,” Meta pleaded. “Let’s just go home.”
“Not yet,” Maddox said. “We have to free the star cruiser from Sistine la Mort’s threat. We want Argo where we can bargain with the crew. Strand will have to order the New Men to depart the system. I want him on Victory when he gives the order.”
“But why stay behind? It doesn’t make sense.”
“I have my reasons,” Maddox said. The captain hugged and kissed her. Meta hungrily kissed him back.
“If you die out here…” She stopped speaking as her voice cracked.
“I have no intention of dying. But I want you safe, my love.”
Meta’s eyes brightened. “You should tell me you love me more often.”
Maddox nodded, kissed her again and slowly disengaged. “I’ll see you in a day or two…love.”
Meta squeezed his hands, finally releasing him and heading toward a jumpfighter.
Maddox watched her go. He could stare at her for hours. And the sway of her butt just now—
Abruptly, he turned away. It didn’t surprise him to see the holoimage of Sistine la Mort studying him.
“Why didn’t you tell her?” the holoimage asked.
Maddox said nothing.
“You may not survive the coming few days,” the holoimage added.
Maddox shrugged. He was a man of his word. He was also making sure the holoimage kept its bargain. So far, it had. But if Ludendorff was right, they needed the star cruiser too.
“Come with me,” the holoimage said.
Maddox did not glance back as the two jumpfighters powered up. A pilot and a navigator remained in the last jumpfighter. They had orders to stay in the machine until the captain returned, if he ever did.
As Maddox exited the large underground hangar bay, the two jumpfighters began to hum. They were about to jump or fold to Starship Victory waiting near Sind I, which was painfully close to the system star.
***
Several hours later, Maddox stood in a chamber before a large two-way mirror. He studied the Vendel prisoner.
The animal handler had changed in subtle and in obvious ways. He no longer cringed. The bloody robes had been replaced, and he was no longer disheveled. His features seemed calm, although he frowned thoughtfully often.
A hatch opened in the room. The holoimage of Sistine la Mort entered. The Vendel stepped back, and fear washed over him. He seemed more like the animal handler again.
Sistine la Mort began to speak in the Vendel tongue. The animal handler listened as she spoke at length.
Maddox did not have his translator, so he had no idea what she was saying.
Finally, the Vendel began to speak to the holoimage. By the inflection, he was asking her questions.
Maddox watched everything.
In time, Sistine la Mort raised a hand. She made holoimages appear. It seemed like a storybook lesson of the old destruction of Sind. It showed Juggernauts. It showed planetary defense weapons. It showed drones spraying the toxins.
The former animal handler watched the process with absorption, drinking in the details.
The holoimage taught the Vendel, and he seemed to grow in stature during the lesson.
Later, the holoimage led the Vendel to the bizarre
room. On his own accord, the Vendel lay in the educator. The dishes glowed, and Sistine la Mort speeded the learning process.
Through it all, Maddox watched. More than anything, he hoped this worked. If it didn’t…he shook his head, preferring not to dwell on the alternative.
***
Thirty-five hours after the two jumpfighters left, Maddox climbed into the flitter. On the other side of the flyer, the former Vendel prisoner climbed in beside him.
The alien wore flowing blue robes with a metal band around his head. It had a sunburst symbol in front. He had something akin to a briefcase. It contained various marvels. As the Vendel adjusted himself, one of the billowing sleeves slid back. It revealed a wrist holster and a small powerful gun strapped there.
The Vendel noticed Maddox noticing.
The former prisoner clicked a translator-box strapped to his throat. “Do not fear, Captain. I have no plans of vengeance against you. I have begun to understand your reasons for doing what you did. If it’s any comfort, I believe your coming has aided my people. Maybe this is our last chance to regain our glory.”
“You’re taking a great risk doing this,” Maddox said.
“I know. But I must attempt it. I owe it to my people. We must become a beacon of hope in this part of the Orion Arm. We must stand against the Rull…against the androids that plot to become our masters. Vendels and humans should stand together against this menace.”
Maddox nodded, and began a preflight check. “Ready?” he asked.
The Vendel gripped the sides of his seat. “Yes. I’m eager to witness this marvel as well.”
Maddox manipulated the controls. The bubble dome slid into place. The flitter lifted, and the flyer slid through the darkness of the subterranean realm, heading for the last Vendel city.
***
The flight was brief, and the outer defenses of the city boiled with activity as the flitter lowered toward the broad pavement of the underground entrance.
Cannons aimed at the flyer. Vendel soldiers rushed forward, throwing themselves behind various defensive spots. The great gate to the city swung closed with a boom.
The Lost Planet (Lost Starship Series Book 6) Page 41
