The Lost Intelligence (Lost Starship Series Book 12)

by Vaughn Heppner

  “How is that possible?” Maddox asked.

  None of them spoke to him directly, but they projected the sense of learning many interesting facts. All he had to do was fly down and join them. They would all cavort together and pinwheel.

  Maddox understood suddenly. The Erills tested concepts, seeing which ones compelled him. They did not fully comprehend humans yet, didn’t know all the buttons that would push a man into foolhardy actions—

  “I want to go home,” Maddox said.

  A vile chorus of noise beckoned him, telling him that he would be a great loser if he didn’t come down at once.

  In his dream, Maddox tore his gaze from the City of Pyramids. He sought Victory in the blaze of stars.

  Abruptly, he zoomed away from the second planet and away from the cries of dismay of the Erills down by the pyramids. He raced toward his body—

  In the science-viewing chamber, Maddox’s head jerked up and his eyes flew open. He gulped and lurched to his feet. The answer to their problems—he knew what he had to do. First, though, he had to convince his wife it was worth the risk.

  -4-

  “What are you saying?” Meta shouted. “That’s madness. You’ve lost your mind.”

  Maddox and Meta were in their quarters, getting ready for sleep. Maddox was taking off his clothes. Meta was already in bed with the covers pulled over most of her. She had a computer slate propped up as she watched one of her favorite shows in bed.

  Maddox removed his last garment and climbed into bed, pulling back the covers. He grinned at the sight of a nude Meta. His wife was stunning. He flipped the covers back onto her as he slid beside her, pressing a leg against one of hers.

  “Listen before you get mad,” he said.

  “It’s too late for that,” she said. “I don’t want to lose you to some fool scheme. You can’t always win. Remember what happened in the Sagittarius Arm against the Yon-Soth?”

  “You saved my life back then. I remember.”

  “It was a freak thing that I managed to do it. You could have easily died there.”

  “I know.” He caressed one of her arms. “But I didn’t.”

  “Who can rescue you this time if something goes wrong? No one. No one can go down to the planet.”

  “I can.”

  “No! You just think you can. Didn’t your dream teach you anything? It was no dream anyway. Somehow, those monsters put you to sleep and teased your consciousness out of your body. They almost destroyed you.”

  “Why haven’t they done that to anyone else then?” Maddox asked.

  “I don’t know. Maybe they have.”

  Maddox shook his head. “I checked. No one in the crew has died while we’ve been here.”

  “Maybe an Erill has possessed one of the crew,” Meta said.

  “We have no evidence of that.”

  “Darling…” Meta stared into his eyes. “This is madness. The Erills are different from physical foes.”

  “I know that better than anyone.”

  “I don’t think you do. You attacked me before when Riker and I took you to the damned planet. The Erill possessed you.”

  “Going there restored me,” Maddox said. “I used the Builder symbol in me to kill the Erill. Surely, I still have the symbol in my subconscious.”

  “You mean you don’t know if you do or not? You just hope?”

  “Calm down,” Maddox said.

  “I can’t!” Meta cried, clinging to him. “I love you too much to let you do this.”

  “I love you, too,” Maddox said, stroking her hair.

  “Then don’t throw your life away on this madness,” Meta begged. “The Erills want to destroy you.”

  “I know, I know,” he said in a soothing voice. Once, he would have just done what needed doing. Marriage had changed him, though, mellowing him a little. He also owed the woman who loved him and had risked everything to become his wife. He was still Captain Maddox, but he had a partner in life now.

  “What’s going on with us anyway?” Meta asked quietly. “We’re aging and the rest of the universe is getting younger?”

  “No, it’s the other way around. The rest of the universe is aging. We’re staying younger.”

  “That’s almost as bad,” she said.

  “Listen, Meta, the Erills, or one Erill, at least, communicated with me while I was in the science chamber. The Erill must have used that to pull my consciousness. I believe the Erills want to devour my consciousness, my soul. I think they’re scared of me.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense at all.”

  “They don’t want me to go down there intact.”

  “You mean with your body?”

  “Exactly,” Maddox said.

  “How do you know that?”

  It was a good question, maybe a critical one. Maddox tried to explain. “During the dream, I sensed their fear. What they did was a preemptive attack against me.”

  Meta’s head moved back as she stared at him. “You realize these things are devils, right? They’re cunning. They want to trick you. This is a ploy. They’re desperate to get you down there.”

  “As my consciousness, yes, or as my spirit alone,” Maddox said. “I felt their fear, Meta. You don’t understand. I know the smell of fear. The Erills…” Maddox shook his head, wondering if he should tell her the rest. “Look, the Erills know how to fix Galyan. We need the little Adok fixed so he can talk. We have to know our enemy, the one in the Lolis II that did this to Galyan. Until we know more…”

  “What’s your plan, your entire plan?”

  Maddox had wanted to keep certain parts secret. But he owed her the truth. “I’m going to use a darter and jump there, avoiding the lurker missiles. In the darter, I plan to go down to the City of Pyramids.”

  “Alone?” she said.

  “I have the power to kill Erills. I have the energy one gave me. I can hear their cries in my head. They have the means to fix Galyan.”

  “You don’t truly know that.”

  He thought about that, finally admitting. “It’s a risk, sure. But it’s better than doing nothing. Meta, something bad is going on with Star Watch. Fletcher isn’t fully right in the head. We’ve worked for so long to save the Commonwealth—”

  “Darling,” she said. “I know that you…” Meta closed her eyes. “You never listen to me.”

  “That’s not true.”

  “Why does it always have to be you taking these grave risks?”

  “Because I’m the di-far,” he said. “Who else is going to do it?”

  Tears filmed in her eyes as she opened them. “Don’t you see? Fletcher sent you out here so you would destroy yourself doing something just like this.”

  “That was his mistake. Listen, Meta, I think whatever knocked out Galyan wanted the AI dead. That someone also destroyed the Lolis II rather than let us know what was in the cargo bays. That must be their weak point: our learning what was in there.”

  “But darling, Erills? You want to go down onto a planet full of Erills? You say the Dyson Sphere Builder gave you the symbol back then. He was trying to kill you back then. Why would he give you an Erill-killing power while he was trying to murder you?”

  Maddox frowned. That was a good question. The answer struck him hard.

  “What is it?” Meta demanded.

  “The Dyson Sphere Builder must have been able to see into the future. The Builders had finally found a way to counteract the Erills. He gave me the symbol because he hated the Erills more than he hated me.”

  “I’m no scientist,” Meta said, while searching his eyes, “but even I can see the holes in your argument. The Builder couldn’t have known you would come here. That’s just a guess, a wild one, at that. And if the Builders could slay Erills, why didn’t they do that way back when? Why didn’t they eliminate the terrible threat for good? And this special inner weapon in you…why didn’t it show up against the Ska in the Alpha Centauri System?”

  “I don’t have all the answers, but
I do know I can face the Erills and win.”

  Meta’s shoulders slumped as she wilted against him. “Fine,” she whispered, defeated. “You do your thing. You want to die the hero…who am I to resist that?”

  “I want your blessing, Meta.”

  “Oh, darling,” she wept. “I love you. I want you to live. You have to promise me you’ll be careful.”

  “I promise.”

  She stared at him. “Do it and come back to me.”

  “I will,” Maddox told her in his most confident voice. If I can, he added silently, hoping he knew what he was doing.

  -5-

  No one else wanted Maddox to go either. That was clear. Riker, Valerie and even Keith told him it was a suicide mission. If Maddox were someone else, he might have started to doubt himself.

  Yes, the Erills were devilish spirit entities. According to the one he’d slain over two years ago now, they were from a different dimension, and had slaughtered the aliens that had created the opening to let them into this dimension. But none of the other crewmembers had slain an Erill. None of them had grown stronger because of the fight. Maddox was starting to wonder if he subconsciously hoped to slay and feast upon a second Erill, giving him even greater vitality.

  One thing guided him in this. He knew the Erills feared him. He suspected that was why they’d tried to lure his consciousness alone. Could that have been a feint on their part, though, as Meta suggested? He didn’t believe it for a second. Besides, he needed Galyan. He needed to know what had attacked the holoimage while aboard the Lolis II. Something was messing with Star Watch from within.

  Maddox climbed aboard the Darter-class scout ship Reynard. It had fold or jump capabilities like a jumpfighter and yet still had star-drive jump like a larger vessel. What it did not have was a Laumer Drive. Thus, by itself, the experimental ship could not use wormholes unless it joined with a ship that could.

  The vessel was seven times larger than a jumpfighter but lacked true hull armor, although it did have a special polymer skin. It also lacked any shield generator. This was a scout vessel, relying on its stealth, fold and star-drive jump capabilities to survive.

  The darter looked like a giant space bomber, with a delta-type wing, a giant triangle in the back. It had a few 20-millimeter autocannons and several antimissiles. The Reynard had traveled to the second planet before and made it back again. Now, it was time for the second trip.

  Maddox settled himself in the pilot’s seat and began activating the engine. Soon enough, the darter rose from the deck in Hangar Bay 1 and headed for the open outer door.

  “Sir,” Valerie said through the comm board. “The nearest lurker missiles must have sensed you. They’re already turning in your direction.”

  That seemed weird. He wasn’t even outside the ship yet. Did that mean some sort of intelligence guided the lurker missiles?

  “Did you hear me, sir?” asked Valerie.

  “Roger that,” Maddox said, as he made adjustments. The darter moved through the open bay door into space. “I’m getting ready to jump…now.”

  Maddox activated the systems—he’d preset the coordinates—and felt the shift as his head jerked back—he raised his head shortly, feeling something wet under his nose. He used his left wrist to wipe there and stared at blood. Had something gone wrong with the jump?

  Maddox activated sensors and started looking around with them. No lurker missiles had zeroed in on him. He’d jumped close enough to the atmosphere to avoid that. No glowing balls—Erills—headed up from the sandy surface toward him.

  Maddox clicked his comm board. “Valerie? Can you hear me?” He waited, waiting longer, wiping away all the blood under his nose. There had only been a little of it.

  “This is Valerie, sir. I hear you. Is everything all right?”

  He told her it was, omitting the nosebleed. He’d done something a little off, but it surely hadn’t been enough to jeopardize the mission.

  Maddox used the repulsors, beginning a slow descent through the atmosphere. He did not feel any spiritual-entity assaults. So far, so good. He watched the scanners and looked out the polarized window. The sandy red and yellow planet spread out below. He used thrust to circle the planet, reaching an area over the City of Pyramids half an hour later.

  He still couldn’t detect any Erill activity.

  Maddox took a deep breath, activated the emergency landing program just in case something happened to him, and began a slow descent.

  As he did, winds howled, using sand particles to strike the vessel. He would have liked Keith to pilot, but no one else could face the Erills. That meant if he crashed, no one was coming to get him. For once, Maddox took extra precautions. He’d promised Meta he would be as safe as he could. He’d meant that.

  Three quarters of an hour later, the pyramids appeared visibly massive. He’d almost reached the surface, and still, no Erills had rushed up to mess with him. Maybe they really did fear him. Maybe they were looking for the perfect opportunity to attack.

  A new thought struck. The Erills might fear him, but they hated their confinement to the second planet. They yearned to leave and roam the universe at large. Maybe they thought they could trick or out-bargain him. Maybe the real attack would only come once they realized he would never willingly let them leave.

  Maddox cocked his head, waiting for some alien thought to pop up, some communication by the devilish Erills.

  At that point, rougher winds struck the darter. The vessel wobbled, self-stabilized and moved lower yet. Maddox’s jaw dropped because he finally realized how mighty the pyramids really were. His darter sailed past one. He was like a tiny bird flying past a great mountain. The pyramid was bigger than the ones in space the Builders had constructed. This was amazing. How many millions of tons of stone did this single pyramid contain? It was staggering. The entire city—

  Maddox nodded, manually bringing the darter lower yet. Yellow sands swirled around the great pyramids. Did the structures hold androids like ones on a different planet once had? He doubted it. Did the pyramids contain advanced technology that caused temporal distortions?

  You are correct on the last score.

  “Who said that?” asked Maddox aloud.

  Nothing answered him, although a premonition struck. Maddox twisted around and started in shock.

  A glowing ball of energy pulsated behind him. It was visible—at least, visible to his eyes.

  Did Maddox see with physical eyes, or with spiritually enlightened ones?

  “Who are you?” Maddox asked.

  Land the darter, Captain. We will talk then.

  Maddox searched his heart. He didn’t sense the Builder symbol in him. Could he have used it up in the last fight? He didn’t even know the name of the Erill he’d slain.

  Maddox shook his head, concentrating upon landing. The glowing-ball Erill was behind him, but—focusing, Maddox brought the darter down between three great pyramids. The darter was like a flea compared to them. The winds couldn’t wobble the vessel as easily now because of the protective mountains of stone.

  “Easy does it,” Maddox told himself.

  With a thud, and a bump that rocked him, Maddox landed the darter on the second planet. He still didn’t have a name for it. He needed to call it something.

  Maddox’s eyes got big as he stared out of the port window. Glowing balls, hundreds of them, began oozing out of the three pyramids.

  Something vile chuckled in his mind.

  Maddox knew fear, terror even—and he started to tremble. “No,” the captain whispered. He started his special breathing, concentrating on that alone. In and out—relax—in and out—let yourself go limp.

  Look, the Erill said. We’re all coming to you. Can you defeat all of us combined, Captain?

  Maddox wasn’t going to fret about the possibility. He was the di-far. He was going to save Star Watch and the Commonwealth through it. He was going to restore his friend Galyan or die trying.

  The last will be easy for you, the Eri
ll told him.

  Another glowing ball oozed through the hull and entered the darter’s cabin. Others followed, and they began forming a wall of Erills behind him.

  Maddox unbuckled and stood, putting a hand on his holstered blaster.

  That won’t help you any.

  Maddox closed his eyes, concentrating on the Way of the Pilgrim. After he gained total calm, Maddox said without opening his eyes, “If this is it, a combined attack against me that fails, I’m leaving. If I leave like this, I’m never coming back. So, make up your minds, because I’m opening my eyes now.”

  -6-

  A single glowing ball the size of a clenched fist hovered in the center of the darter piloting cabin. The other Erills had left, fast, too.

  “That’s better,” Maddox said.

  Can you really defend yourself against me, Captain? I do not sense the power in you.

  “Give it a try then. Let’s see what happens.”

  No. I’m content to wait, at least for the moment. You do realize what happens if you lack the power, though?

  “You told me earlier you can help me. Is that true or not?”

  It depends on what you mean by help.

  “I want to repair Galyan. Do you know anything about that?”

  I know far more than you realize. But this Galyan—you mean the defied Adok AI?

  Maddox nodded.

  The floating ball moved up and down, and it pulsated. I believe I have an answer for you. If you will follow me—

  “Follow you outside?” asked Maddox.

  Of course.

  “What are you called?”

  I am an Erill. You know that.

  “Do you have a specific name?”

  You can refer to me as Sargon if you like.

  “Where are you planning to guide me, Sargon?”

  Inside the Pyramid of Viewing.

  “And what will I see?”

  That depends on your strength of will, on your imagination. You may be too dense or dull-witted to use the Viewer. You may ask for my assistance, and I do not know what you would be willing to give for it.