The Lost Intelligence (Lost Starship Series Book 12)

by Vaughn Heppner

  “There,” Larick said, pointing outside the shuttle. “That’s the place, right?”

  “Indeed,” Becker said.

  The tall, sharp, stony mountains soared into the beer-colored sky. To the left, a great upper desert swirled with red sands. Larick indicated a low smooth mountain between the peaks and desert rim. The cave entrance was there. Near the base of mountains to the right of the cave was the Bosk East Settlement. Most of the homes were fashioned out of gray stone, with a giant square building in the center of town. In the giant auditorium were vats. Above the East Settlement, higher upon the slopes, was the main entrance to the central iron mine.

  Few Bosks remained in the East Settlement. Most of them waited out the occupation in an internment camp farther west in the swirling desert.

  “The wind is picking up,” Larick noted.

  The shuttle wobbled, but stabilizers soon put an end to that.

  The wobbling, however, caused Becker to wonder yet again why he was coming down here. This was foolish, wasn’t it? Had Hekkus arranged some sort of Bosk trap for him? Yet, was it reasonable to think that such a Bosk as Hekkus would give his life just to kill an Intelligence captain? That struck Becker as false. Hekkus had been something else, something greater. He’d used powers that defied scientific observation. The jammers would have protected them against a Spacer with neural brain-altering abilities from body implants.

  Hekkus’s brain, Becker reminded himself. It had weighed two point seven times as much as it should have. The pituitary gland had been monstrous. There had been the source of the strange power.

  In Becker’s estimation, the he down deep in the cavern had altered Hekkus’s brain. That altering had given Hekkus power and the promise of immortality.

  Yes, Becker told himself. That was why he was going to land on the surface. He wanted to find this thing and see if… What? Am I willing to alter my own brain in order to gain greatness?

  No. That was preposterous, as he would not be such a fool. Hekkus had said the he had lied to him. The thing down there had tricked the Bosk giant.

  Becker smiled slyly. He was different. He did not allow others to trick him. He tricked them. He was a user, not a thing, an object. He was the greatest field agent in existence.

  From the pilot seat, Larick turned and stared at him.

  “What?” Becker asked.

  “You’re sure about this?” Larick asked.

  Becker frowned. “Why would you think I’m not? I gave you the order to land.”

  “Yeah…”

  “Spit it out, man. What’s troubling you?”

  “One word. Fowler.”

  Becker almost hissed, and he knew an instant of fear. Am I acting rationally?

  He no longer wondered what had caused Fowler to fire at Hekkus and a day later into his own brain. Hekkus Laja had caused both events to happen. The giant Bosk had forced Fowler with his dense, weighty brain and outrageously huge pituitary gland.

  I may have stumbled onto actual telepathy.

  Becker clamped his teeth together as he fought to keep from braying with laughter. Such laughter wouldn’t calm Larick, and the big dope needed assurance. Despite that, Becker welled with excitement.

  “Lieutenant,” Becker said, unable to fully contain his anticipation. “We’re on the verge of a breakthrough.”

  The huge Neptunian frowned at him.

  “Don’t be afraid. There’s nothing down there that four or five battlesuit cannons can’t shred into mincemeat.”

  Something deep and evil burned into life in Larick’s nearly fat-enfolded eyes. That fire dwindled almost immediately into two live embers.

  It caused Becker to look away. He knew the signs, all right. He’d dealt with bullies for longer than Larick had been one. The Neptunian wanted to pound him into dead meat for suggesting he might be afraid. That could have been a mistake.

  “We’re going to blast this thing into chunks?” Larick asked slowly, thickly.

  “Bloody chunks,” Becker said, who did not intend to do something so stupid. But he knew Larick’s buttons.

  “Are you…?” Larick let the question hang.

  “I’ve studied the situation in detail, Lieutenant. I know exactly what I’m doing. Yes. I’m utterly sure of this.”

  Larick considered that and finally nodded. “We’re landing, boss. We’ll suit up after.”

  “Yes,” Becker said, the anticipation in his gut blooming into something fixated. To become great, one had to dare now and again. This, Becker believed, might be the greatest dare of his life.

  -13-

  Two battlesuited officers, Becker and Larick, and four battlesuited enlisted personnel clanked out of the rear shuttle exit onto the surface.

  The battlesuits were the latest in Star Watch infantry combat. The two tons of exoskeleton servos, battery power, armor, arm-cannons, environmental survival equipment, computers and other systems gave each WWD agent a feeling of security and lethality. They were bigger and heavier than gorillas, far stronger and could lay down heavy firepower. They could also absorb a lot of punishment.

  Patch was in the lead, followed by Atwal. Then, Becker and Larick, followed by Delvers and Tank. Except for Becker, they’d all been with Hans Fowler outside the interrogation chamber. They’d witnessed the Hekkus assassination, been with Becker for over a year and trusted the captain’s exceptional intelligence. Each was psychologically twisted, loving the hideous aspects of their job far too much. In other words, these were not nice guys, although they worked for Star Watch as hard as Maddox, Meta, Riker and Valerie did.

  The surface wind had picked up, blowing sand and grit. Becker heard particles rattling against his armor. He wasn’t as used to battlesuit action as the others were, but he held his own. He had great coordination and was an exceptionally quick learner.

  Patch headed for the dark cave entrance, with the others following, weapons hot and suit scanners pinging everywhere. If someone planned to ambush them, they were going to have a hard time of it.

  It turned out that the cave had a small opening. Each battlesuit ducked so the owner didn’t scrape his helmet against thick upper rock. After a few meters, the cave began to widen rapidly. It was actually eerie as the helmet lamps clicked on—lights shining everywhere—showing the extent of the growth. It looked like cavern rock…but something seemed strange. Becker couldn’t quite put his finger on it.

  “This place is artificial,” Larick said over the comm-link.

  “Eh?” asked Becker.

  “It’s a structure made to look like a cave.”

  “How can you tell?”

  “Gut feeling,” Larick said after several seconds.

  Within his suit, Becker frowned. Was that the haunted sensation that Lieutenant Wong had told him about aboard the Brandenburg? He tried to envision what Larick said, but Becker couldn’t see or sense it in his gut. Was he too intelligent for such nonsense? That seemed like the reasonable explanation. And yet, Becker had learned to trust certain people’s sensations. No one could do everything. A wise man learned to use even inferior people’s knacks. Maybe he was too smart to feel haunted places, but that didn’t mean stupider people were always wrong.

  “Can you explain your gut instinct?” he asked Larick over the suit-comm.

  “What?”

  Becker sighed, but didn’t immediately give up. “You said a gut feeling? Surely, there’s more to it than that.”

  “I dunno. It’s off, like I said. It feels to me as if freaks built this place.”

  “Humans?” asked Becker.

  “Doesn’t have to be, I guess. Yeah. Maybe that’s it. Aliens made this place.”

  Becker shined his helmet-lamp back and forth. Jarnevon had alien ruins. The ruins had never been much; just enough to show the earlier occupants hadn’t been human. Naturally, as someone who did his homework, Becker had read a few articles about the ruins. The chief archeologist and the best extraterrestrial specialist had written a joint article together. They�
��d concluded the aliens had been longer instead of taller; perhaps even giant centipede-type aliens. According to their theories, the species had died out over 8,000 years ago.

  The cavern kept growing until it almost seemed like a rock cathedral with vaulting arches and wide expanses.

  “This is the place,” Larick said, shining his helmet-light on the floor. “This is the coordinates of where the Space Marines picked up Hekkus.”

  Becker noticed fallen rocks, flakes and new dust or particles on the ground. He shined his light high up. Some pieces might have fallen down from there. He realized with shock that he’d never checked to see if any orbital missiles had actually rained down here. That was an odd oversight for him to have made. What would have caused such a fundamental failing?

  “Does the cave feel haunted to you?” he asked Larick.

  “No…I don’t think so. It feels alien, but that’s different from being haunted.”

  “Maybe to someone who’s seen and been to other alien ruins before.” Becker didn’t bother asking the four enlisted men what they felt. None of them had ever impressed him in any way. They were killers and little else.

  Becker bent to one power-armored knee, his gloved fingers touching the rocky ground. The only thing he felt was disappointment. Why had he felt such excitement about the venture while in orbit? Had he truly thought to find the source of Hekkus’s strange powers here? What a crock. What a fountain-of-youth-style folly. Hekkus…

  Becker raised his helmeted head. He felt something… No. He heard something, a call perhaps.

  “Anything wrong, boss?” asked Larick.

  Becker turned to the giant battlesuit. Even with two tons of armor on, Larick was noticeably bigger than the rest of them.

  “Did you hear anything just now?” Becker asked.

  “You mean something different?”

  “Yes,” Becker said in a tired voice.

  “Nope.”

  “You men,” Becker said, opening to a wide channel. “Did any of you just hear something out of the ordinary?”

  He received four quick negative responses.

  Becker stood up, regarding the deeper cave. Hekkus had told him he was down there. Had that been a metaphorical statement? Did Bosks believe in an afterlife Hell? Was—

  “We’re going farther,” Becker said. “Patch, lead the way.”

  “Uh…deeper into the cavern?” Patch asked worriedly over the comm-link.

  “What else do you think I mean?”

  There was hesitation before Patch said, “Sure, Captain. I’ll lead the way.”

  Inside his helmet, Becker’s eyes narrowed. The men and Larick were lying to him. They felt something bad down here. Why wouldn’t they tell him? Did they fear his ridicule that much?

  The team headed deeper into the cavern. It remained the huge cathedral size for a time. Then, slowly at first, the cavern began to become lower and narrower until finally the six battlesuits marched through a single-lane tunnel deep in the bones of the mountain and planet.

  Abruptly, Patch halted. Atwal bumped up against him from behind and the others did likewise to the battlesuit in front of him.

  “What’s the problem up there?” Becker demanded.

  There was no answer.

  “Patch,” Becker said. “Are you hearing me?”

  “Yes,” the man said in a small voice through the comm-link.

  “Something wrong?” Becker asked.

  “Yes,” Patch said in an even quieter voice.

  “Explain it,” Becker said.

  “I…I…have a bad feeling about this, sir.”

  “What kind of feeling?”

  “Bosks are watching us. I can feel them.”

  Becker looked up. The ceiling was only a few inches higher than the top of his helmet. If it became any narrower, his armored arms would start scraping against the cave walls.

  “Go just a little farther,” Becker said.

  There was no response.

  “Do you hear me?” Becker asked over the link.

  “Yes,” Patch said.

  “Then start moving.”

  “I-I can’t.”

  “You’re refusing a direct order?”

  “No, sir. I can’t seem to move my feet.”

  Becker thought about that. If he could have, he would have slid past the others. There simply wasn’t enough room to do that, though. As he considered heading back out, his heart starting thumping. It was the craziest thing. His breathing also rapidly increased.

  He analyzed the event. Becker realized that he absolutely did not want to leave empty-handed. He’d come down here for a reason.

  A sudden sense of terror tightened his throat. Was something using him, directing him? Did it already have control of his body’s bio-motor functions?

  “I’m leaving,” Becker told himself.

  Abruptly, the compulsion to go deeper left him. It almost seemed that the ability to resist the soft siren call had cut its power over him. He drank that in as he breathed deeply.

  “I can keep going now,” Patch said over the comm-link.

  “Don’t talk about it,” Becker said. “Do it.”

  Patch’s battlesuit started down the narrow tunnel. Atwal followed.

  “Do we go on?” Larick asked from behind.

  Becker wanted to think this through. His better judgment was telling him to go back and leave unseen powers to others. He had the sharpest analytical mind in Star Watch, in his humble opinion, anyway. To augment that power—

  Maddox is the di-far. He has greater abilities than you do.

  “What did you say?” Becker asked Larick.

  “Should we continue?” the Neptunian asked.

  “No, after that,” Becker said.

  “I didn’t say nothing after that,” Larick said.

  Becker scowled until he realized what must have happened. He’d made mental contact with the he deep down in the cavern. If he continued, he might never come back up.

  Don’t you understand what I’m offering you?

  Becker didn’t ask, because he envisioned powers and abilities beyond the greatest Spacer adepts. He would have more intellect than Professor Ludendorff did. He might, if he did it right, run the entire Commonwealth. And if he thought a Methuselah Man lived a long time, he could live thousands upon thousands of years if he so desired.

  “What about Hekkus?” Becker asked.

  “He’s dead, boss,” Larick said.

  Becker shut off his comm-link. “Answer me,” he said aloud.

  The Bosks are finished. Hekkus knew that. There was nothing left for him.

  The constriction of Becker’s throat caught him by surprise. This was the second time that had happened. One part of him screamed at him to run and flee from Jarnevon. A different part realized that he’d started marching deeper into the darkness some time ago without even knowing it.

  You will be the greatest of them all, I promise.

  The chill air from his suit conditioner caught Becker by surprise. He was sweating, and he was starting to become terrified. Was the thing down in the crypt really communicating with him?

  This is no crypt, but you will soon see that for yourself.

  “What’s your name?”

  You can call me… Becker had the sensation that the intellect crawled through his mind, searching. It seemed to chuckle. You can call me Nostradamus.

  “What?”

  I predict mighty things for you, Josef Becker. First, though…you must see and believe.

  -14-

  Patch found the hole in the stony floor. They’d marched in the battlesuits for over an hour since the tunnel hitch. Patch sat down beside the dark hole as if contemplating it. As Atwal sat beside him, Patch lay down and stretched out in his battlesuit.

  The others soon followed his example until only Becker remained standing.

  The captain studied the chamber. It was round, with darkness showing the exit: the long tunnel back to the surface.

  “Now,
what happens?” Becker asked aloud.

  Nothing answered him.

  Becker walked around the chamber, exploring, shining his helmet light everywhere. Finally, he peered down the hole in the stony floor. It seemed as if hewn stone steps went down at a sharp angle. Clearly, the battlesuit was far too large to negotiate that.

  “Is this the end of the line, then?”

  Again, silence was Becker’s answer.

  Now, this was a fine thing. He’d marched for over an hour into an impossibly long cavern, heard voices in his head and witnessed here at the end his men slumping unconscious. He hadn’t thought to speak to them through the comm-link to find out if they were out; he simply instinctively knew it.

  Becker did some soul-searching and deep thinking. Could Hekkus Laja have climbed or slithered down those stone steps? It might have just been possible for the giant Bosk. If some alien entity had tricked him and his men this far down, how likely was it that the entity would let them all leave? If the thing didn’t want him to turn around and leave, why wouldn’t it speak to him anymore?

  Becker stared at the hole that surely lead to dark mysteries solved until he grew aware that was already in the process of de-suiting. A moment of panic struck, but it subsided almost at once. To gain great power, one had to dare greatly. He would surely find down there the answers that he’d sought all his life. More than that, he would find a means to pay back every bully with compounded interest. The world, the universe, would learn the folly of tormenting him when he’d been at his weakest.

  Becker realized it was hot down here in the cavern, not cold like he’d expected. That told him they’d marched far down indeed. The air also seemed too weak to sustain him. He panted and felt the narrowest sense of suffocation, as if he wasn’t getting enough to breathe. The extra tug of gravity made it worse.

  Despite all that, he gathered a flashlight, a gun, some concentrates and water and then backed into the hole. This had to be the most insane thing he’d ever done. His men were unconscious, and he was trapped deep down here in a Bosk cave-structure. The sane action would be to flee upstairs—