“I must retrieve the key,” Kane said.
“Forget about the key,” Strand said, angrily. “Your last time here on Earth, I helped you defeat Star Watch Intelligence. Now, the Throne World has become ungrateful for all I’ve done. That depresses me. The idea of you retrieving the key for them is outrageous. How could anyone have believed I would give it up?”
“You must comply,” Kane said.
Strand chuckled evilly. “You are a stupid man.”
Kane snarled a reply. A moment later, the pain inducers caused him to writhe on the frame. He did not cry out. Instead, he endured. The New Men knew how to give pain. This was nothing.
“A Rouen Colony stoic, eh?” asked Strand.
Kane opened watery eyes. He had to escape. He must break free. He looked around, studying the room. It was large, filled with esoteric equipment including computers, terminals and spy servers. Five, power armored clones completed the personnel, including the two nearby with the pain wands.
“Out of all the emotions in the universe,” Strand said, “the one I despise most is ingratitude. Have you ever heard of biting the hand that feeds you?”
“I will escape from here, old man.”
“Empty boasts,” Strand said. “I’m surprised at you. But enough of this. You say you want the key?”
“Give it to me.”
“Hmm, you’ve been programmed on a monomaniac setting. Perhaps that accounts for your change in personality. The key is forever lost to you, Kane. Instead, this is a race. Can I extract real information from you before you expire from the treatment? You do realize this is your last day to live, yes?”
Kane struggled against the manacles. The pain inducers stroked him once more. This time, a groan escaped his lips.
“Who won the space battle in ‘C’ Quadrant?” Strand asked.
Kane said nothing.
“Look at me,” Strand said.
Kane opened bleary eyes. Could this be real? Behind Strand, behind the waiting clones, a humanoid moved in a stealth suit. The being was in the same chamber with them. Kane couldn’t actually see anyone, but he recognized the blur and shift of air in the room. It was like the haze on a road on a boiling hot day.
“What is it?” Strand asked. The old man turned around.
As he did, a soft noise began. Each of the clones dropped to the floor, with a bolt of energy burning through armor to strike a heart or braincase. As the last guard clanged onto the floor, dead, Strand groaned in dismay.
A dart stuck in his chest. His withered old hand clutched at it. The old blue eyes burned with intensity just the same.
“A knockout dart,” Strand whispered. Then he, too, slumped onto the floor. He was unconscious, though, not dead.
Kane watched in fascination as the hazy shape moved closer. At last, it flickered, and a tall New Man in a gray stealth suit stood before him. The New Man slipped the helmet from his head.
Kane’s eyed widened in shock. “Oran Rva,” he said. “What are you doing here?”
“Given your previous history,” the New Man said, “I knew you would fail in the ultimate objective. Thus, I decided to use you as a decoy. You played your part well, given your limited abilities. Now, I will take control of the situation. In Earth’s final days, Star Watch Command will discover what it means that I am among them.”
“The Throne World can destroy Earth?”
“Practice patience, and you will see. First, I will sow chaos among those who are about to die.”
“If Earth is doomed, why are we here?”
“You will assist me in a glorious task,” Oran Rva said. “Before that can happen, I will need the old Kane. Now, attend me as you open your mind.”
The New Man spoke code words.
Kane groaned in agony as pain seared his mind. Weights burned away. Sections of his brain opened, and the settings recalibrated to their original points. The Rouen Colony agent realized Oran Rva had used him indeed. Kane understood something else. That the commander had come in person to Earth meant Oran Rva was about to embark on a mission of fantastic scope.
Maybe there’s still a way to recover from my failure.
-27-
Five days after adding the extra computing power to the AI, Maddox listened as Galyan spoke to Dana and him in the science chamber.
The room was bigger than any science lab aboard a Star Watch battleship. There were many familiar tools, though: scanners, scopes, sensors and analyzers. There were also unique Adok devices: sonic stethoscopes, parallax tubes and probability processors. In the past five days, Galyan had built another combat robot. It handled what everyone had come to refer to as the Builder egg.
“I have several more tests to perform,” Galyan told them. “First, I should inform you of what my probability processors have discovered in relation to the Builders six thousand years ago.”
“The Adoks knew the Builders?” Dana asked.
“That is an interesting question which I cannot directly answer. No. That isn’t the way to say it. Sometimes my language program has a difficult time translating my native tongue to your bizarre mode of speech.”
“I’ve wondered about that,” Maddox said.
Dana glanced at the captain. He ignored it.
“It is in the nature of the Builder drones and their fusion beams that I have concentrated upon,” Galyan said.
“Wait just a minute,” Dana said. “Did you catch what just happened?” she asked Maddox.
The captain shook his head.
With growing excitement, Dana asked Galyan, “The drone’s red beam is a fusion beam?”
“Exactly,” Galyan said. “The drone fusion beam we witnessed in the Xerxes System was remarkably similar to the planetary fusion ray we used against the Swarm six thousand years ago.”
“Star Watch has been wondering for some time what the New Men’s red ray is,” Dana told the captain. “Galyan knows. It’s a fusion beam.”
“A combination of elements creates the deadly ray,” Galyan explained, “deuterium nuclei fused with tritium nuclei to create helium with a tremendous release of energy, the power of the beam. My probability indicators cause me to reject the notion that the Adoks and Builders independently constructed fusion rays in the same era at two separate locations.”
“Are you suggesting the Builders gave you the tech?” Maddox asked.
“Before I answer that,” Galyan said. “Let me ask you a question. Doesn’t it strike you as odd that a single Adok Star System had the industrial capacity to face a vast Swarm invasion fleet, one that I now believe came from myriads of their worlds?”
“It does,” Maddox said.
“I have concluded the Builders aided my people against the Swarm,” Galyan said.
“Fusion beams and greater industrial capacity,” Dana said. “They are indicators, certainly, but it’s a big leap to say the Builders gave you those things.”
“If I had not remembered the Adok mythic tales, I would agree with your analysis,” Galyan said.
Once more, Dana glanced at the captain. He shrugged. “Very well,” the doctor said. “I’ll bite. What mythic tales are you referring to?”
“The ones I have been able to access since my greater awakening,” Galyan said. “There are legends in Adok history that refer to the mechanical people. They taught gifted Adoks certain technical marvels. There was a rumor in the last years before the Swarm invasion. Some claimed the mechanical people had taught Dark Garrison the secret to the planetary fusion ray.”
“Who’s Dark Garrison?” Dana asked.
“The Adok who invented the planetary fusion ray and also solved the riddle to making surface-based, orbital-reaching space cannons,” Galyan said.
“Why do the legends refer to them as the mechanical people?” Maddox asked.
“Because the star beings were part flesh and part machine,” Galyan said. “The other term was cybernetic organisms.”
“Star beings, star people, the Builders?” Dana asked.
/> “My probability indicators lined up a similar match,” Galyan said. “I have come to believe the Builders secretly aided the Adoks. That is how we had the weapons and sufficient industrial capacity to build a fleet that destroyed the Swarm invaders.”
“Why doesn’t Victory have these fusion rays then?” Maddox asked.
“The planetary cannons were vast,” Galyan said. “The Adoks hadn’t miniaturized them sufficiently to put on a starship.”
Dana rubbed her hands together. “You’re an archeological goldmine. It’s too bad we’re in the middle of a life-and-death struggle. It would be far more interesting to learn about the universe six thousand years ago.”
“I would prefer that myself,” Galyan said. “I have discovered that my original self was a man of peace. We Adoks did not war among ourselves as you humans do. Perhaps that was why we lacked sufficient war-fighting skills. Then again, it may be why our industrial output was so great. We never bled off productivity in useless squabbles among ourselves.”
“You were a race of angels, eh?” Dana asked.
“I do not grok the reference,” Galyan said. “In attempting to understanding humans better, I have read through your major religious tomes, particularly the monotheistic ones. Your angels fought a war in heaven, one of them becoming the Devil. How does that refer to peace-loving Adoks?”
“We’re not here to debate theology,” Maddox said, “but to get ready to face the doomsday machine. Now you’ve told us your news. I want to know about the egg. Do you have any idea what it holds?”
“I have one last experiment to try,” Galyan said. “It is a chancy affair, but theoretically possible. I do not want to say just yet what I expect to find.”
“What does it matter if you say or not?” Dana asked.
“I would ask that you indulge me in this.”
Maddox shrugged. “No problem, Galyan. When are you going to conduct your test?”
“Now,” the holoimage said. “Could you please step outside?”
“I’d like to watch,” Dana said.
“It would be too dangerous for you.”
“I’ll risk it just the same,” the doctor said.
“I cannot allow that,” the holoimage told her. “Please, step outside and allow me this last test. The danger is likely in a direction you could not conceive. I do not want to explain now. In another hour, it is possible I will know what the egg contains.”
“Very well,” Dana said reluctantly.
Dana and Maddox exited the chamber, standing in the corridor as they waited.
Finally, Galyan appeared outside with them. “It is as I feared. You may come back in.”
The two followed Galyan through the hatch into the science chamber. The metallic Builder egg lay on a table, surrounded by dark clamps. A device above it aimed a pointed apparatus at the egg. The Adok robot waited motionlessly in a corner.
“This is inside the egg, waiting,” Galyan said.
A new holoimage appeared before them. It showed a tightly curled creature with shiny metal parts, an insect’s carapace and hundreds of tiny legs like a centipede.
“What is that?” Maddox asked with disgust.
“I believe it is a computer virus installer,” Galyan said.
“Is that a Swarm creature?” Dana asked.
“Yes and no,” Galyan told her.
“What kind of answer is that?”
“A precise one,” Galyan said. “Yes, in its original form, I believe the creature belonged to the Swarm. No, in this modified form, it is no longer wholly a Swarm creature, but partly a Builder construct.”
“It’s a Swarm cyborg?” Maddox asked in disbelief.
“That is closer to the truth,” Galyan admitted. “But it is no longer a Swarm creature at all, in my opinion. It is a Builder construct, using the Swarm animal as the base form. The cybernetic additions are pure Builder. That would imply this is a Builder virus attacker.”
Maddox stared at the shiny egg. His thoughts were in turmoil. “First,” the captain said. “Is the creature—whatever it is—alive?”
“I have not detected any blood flow,” Galyan said. “But I have detected energy storage.”
“Batteries?” asked Maddox.
“An apt enough term,” Galyan said.
“If the energy flowed,” Dana asked, “would the biological matter perform as needed?”
“That is unknown,” Galyan said.
“What do you suspect?” the doctor asked.
“Given that the professor brought it with him at great expense to himself,” Galyan said, “I am inclined to believe the bio-parts will function as needed.”
“What is its function?” Maddox asked.
“That should be obvious,” Galyan said. “It is a mobile virus attacker. The function is to arrive at an enemy computer system, attach itself to it and insert the virus.”
“An ancient virus?” Maddox asked.
“Not necessarily,” Galyan said. “The construct in the egg is less than five hundred years old in human time units.”
Maddox frowned severely. Had the Builders been alive five hundred years ago?
“You must be thinking the same thing I am,” Dana told the captain. “The professor must have planned to bring the egg onto the doomsday machine.”
“To give the ancient planet-killer a computer virus,” Maddox said softly.
“I am in agreement with your assessment,” Galyan said.
“This is astonishing,” Dana said. “A living Swarm organism combined with Builder cybernetics. Who were the Builders? Did they help the Swarm?”
“By no means,” Galyan said. “Everything I remember points to Builder aid against the Swarm in the Adok Star System.”
“Why did the Builders die out?” Dana asked. “Do you know?”
“Is that a reasonable question?” Galyan asked. “Their space pyramid yet exists. Their drones exist. Could it be that the Builders also still exist?”
“How did the professor know about the egg?” Maddox asked. “How did he know the egg would be in the Builder base? Ludendorff claimed to have never been in the Xerxes System before. I bet that was another of his many lies.”
“We must wake him up,” Dana said imploringly. “We must discover the truth.”
Maddox laughed dryly. “I have the opposite feeling. More than ever, we have to keep him under. Star Watch Command has to make the decisions regarding the man, not us.”
“Star Watch Command may not have time for those decisions,” Dana said. “What if the doomsday machine beats us to Earth? We have to be ready to attack it the moment we arrive in the Solar System.”
Maddox pondered the idea. There could be some validity to the doctor’s idea. “Galyan,” Maddox said. “Do you have any memories of a doomsday machine?”
“Negative,” the AI said.
“Is there anything more you can tell us about the Builders?” Maddox asked.
“I would like to,” Galyan said. “But I have told you the extent of my beliefs concerning them.”
Maddox nodded. “What we need is the professor’s long-distance communicator. I’d like to warn Earth with it.”
“Wake him up and ask for it,” Dana suggested.
Maddox refused to relent, so they continued to travel with haste.
-28-
A little over seventy-three light-years away in the Karachi System—a signatory to the Commonwealth Treaty—Commander Kris Guderian studied Osprey’s sensors from her spot on the bridge.
She might not have noticed a strange phenomenon but for two factors. One, as a Patrol officer, she was trained to note anomalies no matter how minute. The present incongruity was tiny. But Kris was wound tight, had been ever since witnessing the destruction of Al Salam in the New Arabia System. That was the second reason. The death of the Wahhabi Caliphate Home Fleet had shaken her to the core.
Kris fiddled with the sensor controls, scanning the Karachi System, observing everything she could. She had written detaile
d reports about her journey, working particularly hard on the conclusions, as that’s what most of the higher commanders read.
Too much of Kris’s mind wrestled with a discovery she’d found during the frigate’s breakneck race to Earth. Many Star Watch officers didn’t believe her report about the doomsday machine. Oh, they filed it in the proper locations, but their mannerisms told Kris all she needed to know. The officers thought she’d been out in the Beyond too long. She kept telling herself it didn’t bother her, which was a lie. Yes, the truth was going to come out soon enough about the doomsday machine as it destroyed Commonwealth planets. But how could any responsible officer shrug about something like that? To that end, Kris pushed Osprey as hard as the frigate could go. She needed to get back to High Command on Earth to warn them. Star Watch had to come up with a solution against the planet-killer, and that could take time.
How do you defeat a neutroium-hulled monster? Kris had been thinking about it day and night. It was driving her batty. Lieutenant Artemis was sick of discussing the subject with her. The rest of the crew had turned fatalistic and dispirited. Her people repeatedly watched the video of the planetary destruction of Al Salam.
Osprey presently dashed for the system’s third and loneliest Laumer-Point. Kris had refueled once already during the trip. The frigate decelerated and accelerated at combat levels. The constantly heavy Gs and jumps had worn down everyone. There had been more arguments lately. One fight had been so bitter that four crewmembers had come to blows. That almost never happened aboard a Patrol vessel, certainly not on the Osprey.
At the moment, the main sensor scanned Karachi 7. It was a gas giant, a monster three times Jupiter’s mass. A burst of hard radiation spewed like a geyser up from the planet at uneven intervals. Kris witnessed a big gusher that reached farther into space than normal.
To the commander’s amazement, some of the radiation hit blockage. Kris found that odd. Her sensors indicated that nothing was there to block radiation. She ran through a computer analysis. The blockage actually formed a distinct shape.
The commander tapped her board, trying to get a sense of the shape. The hard radiation showed…a cloaked vessel, the radiation outlined a hidden spaceship.
The Lost Destroyer (Lost Starship Series Book 3) Page 24
