The Lost Destroyer (Lost Starship Series Book 3)

by Vaughn Heppner

  “It indicates nothing of the sort,” Dana said. “Frankly, I simply don’t understand your certainty against the professor. You must have other evidence against him. Yes. That must be it.” Dana leaned toward the captain. “What aren’t you telling us about Ludendorff? Why do you distrust him so much? I think it has more to do than simply the backdoor and Villars.”

  Maddox leaned back in his chair as he tapped the table. “That’s a reasonable question. As to the rest, we have all the data we need concerning Ludendorff’s trustworthiness. To me, the critical fact is that he set Per Lomax free.”

  “Ludendorff told you why he did that,” Dana said; “in order to stop the planet-killer from destroying humanity. The scope of his reason trumps your desire of holding Per Lomax prisoner.”

  “I agree that’s what the professor told us,” Maddox said. “But I don’t find myself rushing to believe a liar.”

  “What lies?” Dana snapped.

  “The professor claimed certain New Men told him about the doomsday machine’s activation and destruction of the Wahhabi Homeworld.”

  “Perhaps they did tell him.”

  “How did the New Men achieve this feat?” Maddox asked. “We haven’t found the supposed long-distance communicator. I also doubt the professor’s story about a faction of New Men operating against the Throne World.”

  “But that’s ridiculous,” Dana said. “Every group has factions. Look at us around this table. We’re disagreeing. Besides, I’d like to know what we know about the New Men to make anyone certain the professor is lying about them. The truth is that we know nothing about our enemies.”

  “You’re wrong,” Maddox said. “We know they’re genetic supremacists. That makes me seriously doubt that any New Man would run to Ludendorff for any reason.”

  Dana blinked in apparent wonder. “Now, you’re being inconsistent. First, you said that Ludendorff helped us, which he most certainly did. Then you call him a liar. I’d like to know which side of him you really believe.”

  Maddox smiled. “Why, I believe both sides, Doctor, which is why I have the dilemma. If I awaken Ludendorff, I’m certain he’ll attempt trickery against us in order to regain control of the starship. But I don’t know which way Galyan will go. That makes it a gamble. I don’t think it’s a gamble with Ludendorff, as we know he’ll try to take over.”

  “So despite his help with the disruptor cannon,” Dana said, “you distrust the professor.”

  “I believe Ludendorff has consistently lied to us. He also let Villars loose, the blackest of black marks against the professor’s judgment. Ultimately, despite his help with the cannon, I distrust the man more than I distrust the AI.”

  “Thank you for making that plain,” Dana said, stiffly. “I, too, will make my position plain. I’m on the opposite side of the fence as you.”

  “What about the rest of you?” Maddox asked. “Where do you stand?” He looked to his left at Keith. “Let’s start with you, Second Lieutenant.”

  The ace ran his fingers through his hair. “Giving us the cannon was huge. Letting Per Lomax go…” Keith shook his head. “I have to agree with the captain. Roll the dice with the unknown before you let the bastard who screwed us loose again.”

  “Galyan has also screwed us, as you so delicately put it,” Dana said.

  Keith shrugged. “I’m giving you my ideas, Doctor. You don’t have to like them. Just accept they’re mine.”

  Dana scowled.

  “Lieutenant?” asked Maddox.

  During the discussion, Valerie had been making notations on a tablet. She now studied the tablet, frowning. “Ludendorff is a known quantity. We have to watch him around the clock, and he’s human. Taking the professor down again would be easier than defeating Galyan if the AI turns against us. I don’t trust an alien computer system. I say we wake the professor like the doctor suggests.”

  “I’m with the captain,” Riker said bluntly.

  “You know my views,” Dana said. “Wake the human over trusting Adok technology. For all we know, Ludendorff saved our lives by keeping those systems offline. Trusting Galyan with something Ludendorff shut down, I think that’s madness.” She turned to Meta.

  Meta pursed her lips thoughtfully before smiling at Dana. The Rouen Colony woman patted the doctor’s left hand. “I understand your thinking, and I agree with it to a large degree. I keep thinking about Villars, though.” Meta shook her head. “Because of Villars, I don’t trust Ludendorff anymore. The professor strikes me as unbalanced. I’m sorry to say that, Dana.”

  The doctor nodded stiffly.

  Meta exhaled, looking at Maddox. “I trust you, Captain. I say go with your instincts. They’ve been good so far.”

  “Two of us are strongly opposed to tampering with Galyan,” Dana told Maddox. “If you won’t wake Ludendorff, at least keep the AI at its present level. Upgrading its intelligence or power could be disastrous for us. At least we have the starship now. Don’t lose us the unique vessel at this critical time.”

  “Your concern is noted,” Maddox said. “Are you willing to help us reenergize the offline systems?”

  Dana frowned, finally shaking her head. “I can’t do that in good conscience.”

  “What if your decision dooms Earth?” Maddox asked.

  “What if your decision does?” Dana countered.

  “No,” Meta said, grabbing the doctor’s nearest hand. “We need you with us. We’re a team, remember?” Meta glanced at Valerie. “After all we’ve been through together, we’re a family.”

  The lieutenant nodded in agreement.

  Dana’s frown deepened.

  Meta’s grip strengthened. “I know you love the professor. I sympathize with you loving such an arrogant man. It can be maddening at times, I know. But deep in your heart you know the professor has hidden goals. I remember on Loki Prime when you said…”

  Dana looked up with a stricken look.

  “I won’t say any more about that,” Meta said.

  “Thank you,” Dana said in a soft voice.

  “But we still need your help,” Meta said.

  Gently, the doctor withdrew her hand from Meta’s hold. She studied the tabletop as if that could provide the answer. The doctor shook her head.

  “I can’t believe I’m saying this,” Dana said softly. “But yes, I’ll help. Not because of you,” Dana told Maddox. “But because…” She glanced at Meta. “But because I’m part of the team.”

  “Thank you, Doctor,” Maddox said. “I appreciate your decision.”

  Dana stared him in the eyes. “I hope you remember this the next time we all believe something contrary to what you wish.”

  Maddox nodded sharply, not caring for the idea. He would cross that bridge when the time came. “Let’s decide how we’re going to do this,” the captain said. “Afterward, we’ll take the plunge.”

  -24-

  Dana scratched the back of her head. She lay on her stomach in a narrow computing access tube. Behind her, Meta dragged a carton of the professor’s most delicate tools.

  The analytical devices and instruments in the carton were incredibly complex and advanced. Dana understood some of their functions because of her time with the professor. Galyan had found the carton hidden in a secret stash between Ludendorff’s chamber and the main hangar bay. In spite of the find, they still hadn’t discovered any long-distance communication device.

  As Dana crawled through the tube, she tested key computer connections and tried to decipher some of the offline systems’ functions. Before this, she’d had over a year of training in Adok technology, including the original voyage aboard Victory and later in the Oort cloud with Star Watch help. Working with the professor during the second voyage on Victory had taught her even more.

  I could spend a lifetime doing this and still not know everything about the alien technology.

  It was funny. Her years at Brahma Tech and then her tutelage under the professor in alien archeology had seemingly prepared her for this mome
nt. Her years working with Ludendorff later in space had added to the foundation. Dana doubted anyone else in the Commonwealth could do what she was doing now.

  That brought a bitter smile to Dana’s face as she examined a connection. The others needed her to do the very thing she’d tried to vote down.

  Without me, I doubt Meta could simply “turn on” this part of the computing core. What if Galyan traps us again? What if he kills some of us this time? Will I be responsible for that? Or can I say that I was just following orders?

  A beep sounded from her stress board. That was odd. Dana checked the computing connections. There was no problem there. Hmm, maybe it was the photon line. But why should that be?

  “Meta?” the doctor asked.

  “Yes?” Meta said from behind her in the tube.

  “Could you hand me the little blue box, please, the one with an expanding antenna?”

  “Just a minute,” Meta said. She rummaged in the carton and soon held up a blue device a little larger than her hand. “Is this it?”

  Dana looked back. “Yes, but be careful, please. It’s delicate.”

  “Oh. Yes, Doctor.” With exaggerated care, Meta handed it up.

  Dana accepted the device, knowing it was a one-of-a-kind. The professor had made it, of course. Likely, the little blue box contained technologies Commonwealth scientists hadn’t even invented yet. That was something Dana hadn’t told the others.

  The professor often invented tech those in Human Space still strove to understand. What did that say about Ludendorff? He was much more complicated and mysterious than anyone else knew.

  In truth, Maddox might have been right keeping Ludendorff under. Dana had no doubt the professor had more ploys to play. Why had she kept the knowledge to herself?

  The others are my family, but Ludendorff was my lover. Maybe…No. Don’t go there, Dana. Forget about him. What the two of you had happened a long time ago.

  A parameter reading shot up on her device. That shocked Dana. She made adjustments and tried it again. The reading caused the doctor to suck in her breath.

  “Is something wrong?” Meta asked from behind.

  Dana hesitated answering. She would have liked to search this on her own. What surprised her most was that her hands shook. The shaking caused her to drop the blue device, which clattered onto the tubular flooring.

  “Did it break?” Meta asked in a hush.

  “What? Oh. No,” Dana said. “I think it’s fine.”

  “What’s wrong?” Meta asked. “Something’s troubling you.”

  “I, ah, found a false connection. I hadn’t expected that.”

  Meta was quiet for a time.

  She knows I’m lying. I don’t want to lie. But this is too amazing. I wonder if even Ludendorff knew about this.

  “You can trust me, Dana,” Meta said.

  As the doctor lay in the access tube, she closed her eyes. Meta loved Maddox. Likely, the former assassin would do just about anything for the captain. Why was it so wrong then for Dana to do things for her lover?

  To drown out the turmoil in her heart, Dana focused on the device. The photon connection proved the idea she’d just had. She adjusted the device, following the “line” on the tiny screen. As she did, Dana witnessed a sudden red blossoming.

  The breath went out of the doctor. The shaking of her hands worsened. Dana gripped the blue box so it wouldn’t fall again. Her chest constricted. What should I do about this?

  “Here,” Dana said hoarsely, handing the delicate device to Meta without looking back.

  “I have it,” Meta said. “You can let go.”

  “Oh. Yes, of course.” Dana forced to her fingers to release.

  Meta put the blue device into the carton. Then, the former assassin cleared her throat. “Dana, something is definitely wrong. I’d like you to tell me what it is.”

  Dana frowned. For a moment, she almost hated Meta. Then, the doctor shook her head. That was the wrong emotion to have.

  What should I do? I wish I knew exactly what the photon link means.

  A cold smile stretched Dana’s lips. She’d just tried to lie to herself. She knew what the photon link meant all right. But no one else would know about this if she kept the knowledge to herself.

  “I don’t want to tell you what I’ve just found,” Dana said, finding the words difficult to speak.

  “Why not?” Meta asked.

  “Because this is even worse than just turning on a few computing systems the professor kept shut off.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean? Wait. I think I understand. You found more Adok computing power.”

  “Maybe,” Dana said, admitting it aloud and knowing that nothing might ever be the same for the human race because of it. She was reminded once again just how sharp the former assassin could be.

  “Are you one hundred percent sure about the find?” Meta asked.

  “Hand me the device again. I want to double-check this.”

  Silently, Meta handed back the blue box.

  Dana pulled out the antenna and began the delicate task. After fifteen minutes of testing, she summoned Galyan.

  The holoimage appeared in the access tube, half his “body” showing, the rest seemingly embedded in the upper bulkhead.

  “A moment,” Galyan said. Then the holoimage crouched beside them. “How can I help?” he asked.

  Dana had a short conversation with the AI, showing Galyan her findings.

  “How very odd,” Galyan said. “Yes, over there. Scratch the floor at that point.”

  Dana crawled until she reached the point Galyan had indicated. She scratched the floor, which only hurt the tips of her fingers. Since Ludendorff’s antics in the Builder base, she had started biting her fingernails down too far again.

  “Meta,” Dana said, as she crawled forward out of the way. “Can you scratch the floor here for me?”

  “Yes,” Meta said, crawling to the location. “What am I looking for?”

  “A small indent and—” Galyan said.

  “I think I found it,” Meta said, interrupting the holoimage. “There’s a tiny lip of metal in the indent.” She pulled the lip, and almost magically, a heretofore-invisible outline of a hatch appeared. Meta shined a light on it. “Where does it lead? To another computing chamber?”

  “Let’s find out,” Dana said. “If you’ll move aside, I’ll open it and go down first.”

  “I can do that,” Meta said. “I’m more expendable.”

  “There aren’t any traps, are there, Galyan?” Dana asked.

  “I do not know,” the holoimage said, as if surprised. “This access tube hatch is not in my memories. Wouldn’t you say that is odd?”

  “I’m not saying anything more,” Dana said. “Now Meta, please, slide over. I’m going down first.”

  Reluctantly, the Rouen Colony woman slid out of the way.

  Dana had managed to twist around so she faced the hatch, with Meta watching her from the other side. The doctor turned the lip of metal like a key. A harsh metallic sound occurred as the hatch slid open revealing another access tube. This one went down.

  The doctor squeezed through the narrow opening, crawling down on closely spaced rungs. She crunched over old crusted Swarm slime. Dana remembered it from the first time they’d boarded the ancient starship. Once—six thousand years ago—Swam warriors had ranged throughout Victory. In the Oort cloud, Star Watch personnel had cleaned out all the crusted slime and Swarm skeletons. Since no one had found this secret hatch before, it was still filthy with ancient debris.

  The air in the chamber smelled bad, and Dana began to sneeze from the Swarm dust.

  “What’s that crunching noise?” Meta called down.

  Dana told her about the crusted slime.

  “I don’t like this,” Meta said. “We should call the captain.”

  “Not yet,” Dana said. “This is my find. I want to see what’s here first.”

  “Is this safe?” Meta asked Galyan.

 
; “I do not know,” the holoimage said from behind. “I would go ahead of you both and check, but I find that I cannot. My probability analyzer shows some troubling data. I suggest we pull back and rethink the venture.”

  “No,” Dana said, with the same stubbornness she’d used on her father when he’d told her to come home from college.

  Soon, Dana reached another access hatch. There were furious scratch marks and gouges in the metal. Were those from Swarm warriors six thousand years ago? It seemed the most reasonable explanation. Had the warriors failed to gain entry into the inner sanctum of wherever this hatch led?

  The scratches together with the crusted slime reminded Dana yet again of the starship’s incredible age. A feeling of awe and excitement welled within the doctor. She was beginning to feel glad she’d checked this out.

  For the next two minutes, Dana tried to open the hatch. She finally admitted defeat.

  “Let me try,” Meta said.

  “I doubt sheer strength will do it,” the doctor said. “But go ahead if you’d like.”

  Meta squeezed past the doctor. The stronger woman hunched over the hatch. Dana watched as she shined a light past Meta’s back.

  “Ah,” Meta said. “I finally have a grip. Watch out.”

  “I’m ready,” Dana said, climbing up just a bit.

  Meta gripped something and heaved. A creak of tortured metal and a grinding sound produced several reactions. One of them was a small metal “finger” that popped out of the bulkhead and hissed horribly.

  “Meta, look out!” the doctor shouted.

  Meta whirled around, staring at the tiny tube with her shiny face.

  The “finger” of metal hissed a little more and then sputtered out.

  “Whatever that is stinks,” Meta said.

  “What was that?” Dana asked Galyan.

  “An anti-Swarm spray ejector,” the holoimage replied. “I believe the tanks that fed the tube are empty. Perhaps the spray slew the Swarm warriors that made it down this far. It is good for you two that the tanks are drained. Otherwise, I would have had the unhappy task of informing the captain the two of you were dead.”

  A ball of fear knotted in Dana’s stomach. Had they come that close to death?