The Lost Destroyer (Lost Starship Series Book 3)

by Vaughn Heppner

  “Ludendorff is dead?” she whispered.

  “Is that even the right way to say it?” Maddox asked. “He was a machine.”

  “No. I cannot accept that.”

  The captain tilted his head. “Do you want to see footage of the cybernetic—?”

  “That isn’t what I’m saying.” Dana spoke slowly but deliberately, interrupting the awful words. Her grip on the edge of the desk tightened until her fingers began to ache. Her breathing accelerated until she was almost hyperventilating. Fortunately, she understood what was happening and carefully brought her breathing under control.

  Dana found the captain staring at her. How long had she been silent?

  “You should talk to Meta,” Maddox said.

  “I will talk to no one. I do not need too. The professor was a living person, not some freakish android, some machine, as you put it.”

  “This must be difficult for you, Doctor. It’s why I called right away. I wanted you to hear it from me before you picked it up somewhere else.”

  “Listen to me, Captain. I did not leave Brahma Tech, did not leave my home and planet to wander the stars for years with some mechanical man. Ludendorff was fully human in every conceivable way. I can assure you of that.”

  “I believe you, Doctor, which poses an interesting question. Could Ludendorff have made a switch?”

  “What do you mean?”

  “It’s simple, really. We have an android down here, a dead one, if that’s the correct way to say it. If Ludendorff was—is human. Then, somewhere along the line the professor made a switch. The most likely location was the Builder base in the Xerxes System.”

  Dana hardly heard the man’s words. Finally, though, they penetrated her thinking. “What? The asteroid base, a switch? Yes. That’s possible, I suppose.” Her eyes widened. “Not only possible. It is the only conclusion.”

  “Who was he really?” Maddox asked.

  Dana’s head swayed. “You’re asking that as if I should know. I don’t know.”

  “But you just said—”

  “Captain, if you will excuse me, I must, I must…” Tears welled in Dana’s eyes. She angrily wiped them away.

  “I’m sorry,” Maddox said. “I can’t understand how this happened. Ludendorff—”

  “Yes, thank you,” Dana said, interrupting him again. “Thank you for telling me, and thank you for your concern.”

  Maddox studied her once more, finally saying, “I wish you would talk to Meta.”

  “I don’t see how that will help. I must go. I must think this through.”

  A concerned look swept over the captain. Dana found she hated that. How could Ludendorff be a mechanical man? The way they had intertwined with each other during their lovemaking years ago…the passion… No machine had done those things to her. That was impossible.

  Dana turned off the comm-screen. Let the captain continue his espionage games down on Earth. She had to…

  Dana rose, wandering aimlessly in her quarters. Finally, she threw herself onto the bed. Tears welled until they wet her cheeks. How could the professor have done this to her? Had he really not been human?

  Angrily, she got up and ran into the corridor. She banged against a bulkhead and wept quietly. The tears kept coming. Finally, she wiped them away with her sleeve. If Ludendorff had switched places with a machine in the Builder base…

  Was the man that clever? Yes. Ludendorff was old with knowledge. How much knowledge, though? What had the professor learned concerning the Builders? It would seem much more than he had ever told anyone. Just how old of a Methuselah Man was he? He had secrets and—

  Dana’s features hardened with resolve as a possibility dawned on her. Soon, a fierce recklessness came over her. With purpose she strode down the corridor, heading for the professor’s quarters.

  Ludendorff had his secrets and his games, did he? Well, she wasn’t going to let him get away with them anymore. She knew him better than anyone did, certainly better than anyone else on the crew. He’d let slip too much during their time together. Who did Ludendorff ultimately serve? She simply couldn’t accept that the thing down there in Geneva had been the real professor. He loved trickery and used guile the ways other breathed.

  That wasn’t the point now. She wasn’t going to stand for any more of his tricks. She would use her intellect and figure out a thing or two, and she would do it this very moment.

  Dana entered his quarters. She searched until she pulled out a chain with a small metal ball on the end. Sitting down, Dana examined it in minute detail. This thing had generated a small force field around his person.

  I’m going to figure out how this works. I’m going to pierce his greatest tech. Maybe it’s booby trapped to kill whoever tampers with it. Well, you know what, I don’t care anymore.

  Dana discovered the tiniest of protrusions. She put the chain over her head and let it rest against her neck.

  She took a deep breath and pressed the protrusion. She felt a vibration, while the smell of ozone became noticeable. She moved her arm, and she felt a slight difference.

  How could one tell if the force field had activated? She needed to test it.

  Opening a drawer, she found a small tack and threw it at her arm. The thing deflected away, sliding around just before touching her skin.

  It works. Then how am I able to breathe? Does the force field only stop speeding objects?

  Because she knew so little about the personal force field, she turned it off and slipped the chain from her neck. Clearly, the professor hadn’t worn it when he went to the Builder base. There must have been a reason for that. Perhaps it didn’t work while one wore a vacc-suit.

  Setting aside the tiny item, she searched for the flat device. Some of the fire had departed her by then, but she wanted to see if she could figure that out too. If she waited, she’d get scared and wouldn’t search for it. It had been a strange but powerful device.

  Dana found the flat device hidden in a cache in his desk. She examined it for some time. It had fifteen various knobs.

  What had he done to enmesh them in a force web? Would the device explode as Maddox had wondered if she tried to use it?

  Dana laughed a moment later. She retrieved the chain and force field emitter, slipping it back onto her neck. After turning it on, she began to experiment with the flat device.

  It took her a half hour to activate it. Then, it took her three hours before she figured out the combination that webbed an object in the force field.

  There wasn’t a booby trap. That was interesting. Hadn’t the professor been worried this would fall into the wrong hands? It would appear not.

  Suddenly, as she realized what she had done, Dana’s knees became weak. Pulling out a chair, she sat down, resting her elbows on the table.

  She’d just risked her life in a foolish experiment. Maddox hadn’t tried these objects because he’d been convinced the professor had rigged them to explode. Why would she have done this then?

  Wearily, Dana folded her arms on the table and lay her head on her arms. She shut her eyes.

  Ludendorff was gone again. Either he had always been a machine man, or he had switched the android for himself, and the likeliest spot had been in the now-destroyed asteroid base. Where in the galaxy had Ludendorff discovered that sort of technology?

  Are there more machine men out there?

  It was a chilling thought. But soon, emotionally exhausted, Dana fell asleep.

  -34-

  Maddox woke up feeling refreshed. He hadn’t slept this well for some time. He presumed it was because he’d slept on Earth for the first time in a long while.

  Since he was already at Star Watch Intelligence Headquarters, he soon found O’Hara.

  “You’re just in time, Captain,” she said.

  He followed her into a medical theater. It reminded him of the time he’d been with Nerva Security agents in the mid-Atlantic Ocean. O’Hara, Major Stokes and him looked down on the technicians.

  The and
roid’s killer lay on a medical cot, with many wires attached to his head and body.

  “This is a ghastly business at times,” O’Hara said. “I dislike this end of it.”

  Maddox looked on as the technicians went to work, questioning the shooter, watching the mind probe screens as he mumbled answers.

  An inspiration struck the captain. Maddox leaned near the brigadier. “I just thought of something, Ma’am. It seems incredible I’ve overlooked it until now.”

  “Yes?” she said.

  “I suggest we use the best teams and begin searching orbital Cestus Haulers from top to bottom. Begin with those that came to Earth…three days ago and work backward in time from there. I’d also search any haulers leaving Earth and those near any Laumer-Points.”

  “We’ve already been doing that,” the brigadier said.

  “Oh?”

  “Captain, I listened to your story. It was a treasure trove of information, believe me.”

  For the next thirty minutes, the experts worked on Hicks. He had many mental blocks and went into cardiac arrest three different times. The doctors brought him back each time for further questions.

  Finally, the technicians received a vital clue. It was one word: Strand.

  O’Hara turned to Maddox. “I thought Strand was far away in space.”

  “Meta saw him on an enemy star cruiser,” Maddox said. “That was several months ago now.”

  “You’re certain about what she saw?”

  “I am,” Maddox said.

  “Perhaps Strand returned the same way he left,” O’Hara said, “using that silver pyramid of theirs.”

  Maddox digested the idea. “Why would a Methuselah Man come back to a world doomed to die?”

  “That is an excellent question,” O’Hara said. “Captain, I believe you should head to Nerva Tower. On second thought, we should storm it with space marines. After the building is secure our best snatch team can grab Strand, if he’s there, and Octavian Nerva.”

  “Do you think Octavian is guilty of espionage against Earth?” Major Stokes asked.

  “Whether Octavian has orchestrated anything or not, I don’t know,” O’Hara said. “Clearly, Strand ran the murder operation against Ludendorff. Likely, Strand sent the signal to Pluto Command and engineered the microwave beam attack against the captain. I’d like to know if Octavian knows who and what Strand really is.”

  “Ma’am, I’d like to lead the snatch team that grabs Strand,” Maddox said.

  “Really,” Stokes said. “I think that’s a bad idea.”

  “Why’s that?” the brigadier asked the major.

  “Too many people are suspicious about Maddox,” Stokes said.

  “I beginning to think that Strand planted the evidence that compromised the captain,” O’Hara said.

  “Perhaps you’re right,” Stokes said. “Still, the agents will feel distrustful toward him until his name is officially cleared.”

  “There it is again,” O’Hara said, “a constant lack of trust among us. Our enemy is stymieing Star Watch with it.”

  “If it’s all the same,” Maddox said, “I’d still like to go.”

  “Of course,” O’Hara said.

  “Before I go, though,” Maddox said. “I’d like to make a call to Victory.”

  “Why is that?”

  “Before I enter Nerva Tower, I want someone with me who trusts my decisions, which means I’d like Sergeant Riker with me on this one.”

  It took O’Hara three seconds to deicide. “Make your call, Captain. The sooner we attack the nest of vipers, the better I’ll like it.”

  ***

  Despite a great deal of hurrying, Maddox delayed joining the assault force against Nerva Tower. He stood outside a grounded air-car on a grassy hill. From his vantage, he spied the city in the distance. With a pair of binoculars, he studied the giant Nerva Conglomerate Building, which towered over the rest of the city.

  Riker raced down from Victory and should arrive in another few minutes. Until then, Maddox was content to wait by the air-car.

  Checking his watch, Maddox realized the initial assault teams would be reaching the tower in another few minutes. Space marines in power-armor would lead the assault. The Lord High Admiral had decided Star Watch wasn’t going to worry about constitutional niceties at a time like this.

  Of course, Octavian had some of the Commonwealth’s best lawyers on his payroll. What would any of that matter once the Earth was a smoldering lake of lava, though? The doomsday machine had struck the Wahhabi Caliphate. Earth was—in Maddox’s opinion—likely the next target.

  The entire Solar System hurried to get ready for the planet-killer as the Lord High Admiral gave his orders. More space marines and Intelligence sweep-teams rocketed for orbital Cestus Haulers and those heading for various Laumer-Points.

  Had Kane returned to Earth that way? Had New Men come this time?

  A beep sounded from Maddox’s air-car. He lowered the binoculars and saw a red light on the dash. The light meant the space marines were going in.

  Leaving the door open, Maddox sat in the driver’s seat. He tapped the screen, seeing through a recording camera on a space marine lieutenant’s helmet. The woman was charged with finding Octavian Nerva. According to the latest data, he was in the tower. No one had seen Strand.

  Maddox watched the scene. The lieutenant made huge leaps as her team charged the glass tower. Combat-cars would be zooming like wasps for the higher floors. This was a smash-and-grab assault. Octavian was the richest, most powerful man on Earth. Nerva Tower was like a fortress.

  Gunfire hammered the space marines. The team was inside the tower, in a lobby. One of the armored troopers went down, smashing a glass table.

  “The Nerva personnel have exo-piercing bullets,” the lieutenant radioed.

  Maddox checked his watch. Where was Riker? Couldn’t they bring the sergeant down any faster? Maddox wanted to be there when they grabbed Strand, if the man was there.

  On the air-car’s screen, the lieutenant’s marines downed three Nerva Conglomerate guards. The company personnel wore body armor, but it wasn’t as good as the marines had.

  Maddox stared at the screen. The lieutenant’s team moved in over-watch bounds through a large corridor. The Nerva combat team had pulled back.

  A noise alerted Maddox. He looked up. A combat-car descended. Finally. He called up with his comm-unit to check if it brought Riker.

  The combat-car pilot said, “I’m bringing your man down, sir.”

  Maddox acknowledged that, stepping outside, watching the combat-car thud onto the grass twenty meters away. A portal opened. Sergeant Riker hurried down a ramp and jogged toward the air-car.

  Seconds later, the combat vehicle lifted.

  Riker breathed deeply of the air of Earth. Some of the tension he’d had aboard the starship had already eased from his features. He gave a sloppy salute. “It’s good to be home, sir. Thanks for asking for me.”

  “It is good to be on Terra Firma once again,” Maddox agreed.

  The combat vehicle above headed for Monte Carlo.

  “Get in,” Maddox said. “We’re going to follow them.”

  Riker headed for his side of the car, opening the door, climbing into the bubble dome.

  Maddox slammed his door shut, tapped the ignition and listened to the engine purr. “Strapped in?” he asked.

  Riker grunted acknowledgement.

  The flash on the tiny screen alerted Maddox. He stared at it. The screen turned blinding white. That shocked him. A second later, blankness showed on the dash screen.

  What had happened over there? Before he could worry about it too long, the entire horizon exploded into a giant ball of light. A vast mushroom cloud billowed into existence.

  Maddox reacted without thinking. He engaged the engine, turned the air-car and accelerated away from the devastation. He wasn’t going to try to outrun the thermonuclear blast that must be killing nearly everyone in Monte Carlo. Instead, he raced down the
hill for the bottom of the ravine, hoping to reach it before the blast wave and heat rolled against them.

  “Hang on,” Maddox shouted. He dropped the air-car. They bounced in their seats as dry gravel rolled underneath them. The car slewed one way and another. Finally, as dust billowed, the car screeched to a stop. Maddox and Riker curled as tightly as possible.

  Soon, thermonuclear-powered winds howled over the hill. Trees on the highest part of the slope bent low. Then, heat struck, igniting grass at the top of the hill and some leaves. Fortunately, the air-car was far enough away from ground zero and tucked down out of direct line-of-sight. The two Intelligence officers endured the worst in the car.

  Finally, the winds died down and the heat passed, although the grass fire grew.

  Maddox tried the ignition. The engine purred once more. He lifted the car and zoomed away. Devastation and raging fires radiated back to Monte Carlo. The captain didn’t bother with communications. He was sure they wouldn’t work.

  “Who set the bomb?” Riker asked gruffly.

  The answer blossomed in the captain’s thoughts. The enemy must have known they were coming. If the enemy had attacked the shuttle on its way down, had unleashed a gunman against the android Ludendorff, they would have known about the snatch-teams sent to grab Octavian and Strand.

  “What do you think the bomb means, sir?” Riker asked.

  “That’s the question,” Maddox agreed. He flew for Geneva, thinking hard.

  Riker stared silently out the window.

  “I wonder if the bomb is meant to paralyze Star Watch from reacting properly,” Maddox said.

  Riker nodded.

  “We don’t know enough at this point, but I’m thinking we can guess. What is the enemy’s greatest power against us?”

  Riker looked thoughtful.

  “Knowledge,” Maddox said. “Our enemy knows more than we do. The New Men also have access to greater technology. Did Ludendorff have a long-distance communicator or not?”

  “We never found one, sir.”

  “No, we didn’t. Ludendorff must have broken it down into its component parts and hidden them.” Maddox raised an eyebrow. “The New Men appear to have the power of faster communication. Either they have a long-distance receiver on Earth, or they used the silver pyramid to send someone back here before we arrived.”