The pulled tape woke Ludendorff. He smacked his lips, groaned and rolled over onto his stomach. That almost caused him to fall off the table. He barely caught himself, swung his legs over the edge, feet to the floor, swaying as he stood. With a grunt, he dropped onto a chair, resting his elbows on the table.
“Was stunning me necessary?” Ludendorff asked in a blurred voice.
“My action speaks for my thoughts,” Maddox said. “By the way, I’m glad you’re alive.”
Ludendorff gave him a baleful scrutiny, finally shaking his head. “I’d forgotten how swiftly you take action. For you, to think a thing is to do it. I won’t forget next time.”
“Professor Ludendorff, I’d like to introduce you to Shu 15, a Spacer Provost Marshal and a Surveyor First Class.”
The Methuselah Man nodded at her.
“Shu—” Maddox said.
“I know who he is,” Shu said. “I suggest you kill him before he kills me.”
Ludendorff inhaled several times. He glanced sidelong at Maddox and then leaned back in his chair.
“This is a predicament,” the professor said. “By your stance and the way you’re displaying the stunner, it suggests you understand something of the nefarious nature of Spacers. It would also seem you understand that neither they nor I have much use for each other.”
“Do you deny that you both consort with androids?” Shu accused. “Do you deny that you both tamper with the basic fabric of humanity?”
“I deny nothing,” Ludendorff said. “Do you deny a murderous passivity in the face of danger? Do you deny that you won’t take proper actions to defend humanity against all alien dangers?”
“You’re evil,” Shu said. “You warp what is good. You mimic life in your insane quest for longevity.”
“You’re jealous of my intellect,” Ludendorff told her. “In fact, you’re so jealous that you attempted to murder me a day ago.”
“That is false,” Shu said. “You did that in an effort to besmirch the Spacer name.”
“Bah!” Ludendorff said. “What gall is this? You—”
“Just a minute,” Maddox said. “I think she has a point with the last allegation.”
Ludendorff blinked as if amazed. “Excuse me? You think I purposefully destroyed my own property in an attempt to shift blame onto the Spacers?”
“Precisely,” Maddox said.
“That’s absurd,” Ludendorff said.
“Professor,” Maddox said. “Let’s forgo needless back and forth as you deny the obvious. Why did the silver drones self-detonate? Because you recognized my threat for what it was. You had remained on the yacht the entire time. I was going to destroy the yacht rather than let you have the advantage of five silver drones.”
“Bah,” Ludendorff said. “Whatever you think I’ve done, I’d at least like my cube back. It’s my property. Or are you a thief?”
“Surely, you recall the alien Destroyer,” Maddox said. “You commandeered my starship back then. You set my prisoner free. I have a long memory for such things. I’m not such a fool as to—”
“Enough,” Ludendorff said. “Your bragging becomes tedious the moment you begin. I always do what I do for the greater good.”
“That’s a patent lie,” Shu said. “You’re an egomaniac like Strand. Neither of you have any qualms about jeopardizing the universe with your wild schemes. I know you, Ludendorff. I know your brain patterns. They are just like your master’s.”
“I have no master,” Ludendorff said.
“He died on the Dyson sphere,” Shu said, “his mind poisoned by his despair.”
“Poisoned by a Swarm virus,” Ludendorff said. “There’s a critical difference.” The professor turned to Maddox. “I’m surprised at you. Why did you confide in her about our adventures on the Dyson sphere?”
“I didn’t,” Maddox said.
“Then how does she know so much?”
“The Visionary saw it,” Maddox said.
Ludendorff rubbed his face as if in pain. “Did the Visionary speak to you?”
“Indeed,” Maddox said. “She named me di-far.”
“Oh dear,” Ludendorff said. “The Visionary initiated you into their bizarre cult of mysticism. Di-far indeed.” The professor shook his head. “The old witch is cunning beyond belief. Have no doubt the Visionary believes all the rot and nonsense she told you. Still, she might have also told you those things in an effort to appeal to your vanity. Have you become puffed up with conceit yet?”
“I don’t know about conceit,” Maddox said. “But I have managed to hold the representatives of two distinct Builders.”
Neither the Methuselah Man nor the Spacer responded to that.
Soon, Ludendorff said, “You have a dilemma, Captain. You have to decide whom you trust. I’ve helped you in the past. The Spacers have done nothing to gain your faith. Now, they suddenly seek to use you for their own ends but purr in your ear that they’re altruistic. It’s all rot and nonsense.”
“Listen to Ludendorff trying to use his golden tongue,” Shu said. “Yet when has Ludendorff ever done anything for someone else? He never lifts a hand unless he has an ulterior motive.”
“You give me false choices,” Maddox told them. “In fact, I distrust both of you, although to varying degrees. The professor has helped me in the past even as he followed his own agenda. What makes him so dangerous is his genius and long experience.”
“You’re making me blush,” Ludendorff muttered.
“While you,” Maddox told Shu, “have these Builder articles in you. I don’t know how to tame those. Clearly, you lied about the scramblers hindering you. I’m hoping Ludendorff has a way to dampen your inner devices. Frankly, I’m counting on both of you to check each other. I’m also hoping to act as a balance so the one doesn’t kill the other.”
“I’ll say this,” Ludendorff told Maddox. “I appreciate your frankness. When do we begin?”
“We already have.”
“Ah. We’re headed for the Nexus?”
Maddox checked a chronometer. “We should arrive in a little less than two hours. Then, we’re going to venture outside and see if we can reproduce Kane’s feat mixed with that of last voyage’s hyper-spatial tube. This tube will hopefully go to a different place, though.”
“The two of us will attempt this feat?” Ludendorff asked, indicating Shu.
“Yes,” Maddox said.
Ludendorff grew thoughtful while Shu remained motionless and expressionless.
Maddox wondered how he was going to keep the two of them from killing each other and at the same time achieve his objective. The next few hours would likely prove the most challenging of his life.
-33-
Keith kept glancing over his shoulder at the intense Spacer. She sat on a bench, leaning against the bulkhead, with a vacc suit helmet in her arm.
Shu wore a vacc suit with various pieces of equipment hooked in place. She finally turned toward him, smiling faintly. It made her features radiantly sexy.
Keith grinned at her.
“Lieutenant,” Maddox said sharply, who sat beside him in front.
“No problem, mate,” Keith said, checking his board.
The pilot flew a shuttle from Victory. The mighty starship was behind them by several thousand kilometers. In the distance loomed several asteroids. Beyond them shined a bright silver object. It was still too far away to see the distinctive pyramidal shape.
Keith wondered about that. The Builders liked to use pyramids. Hadn’t Valerie said before that the ancient Egyptians had copied the alien visitors? That was crazy, really. It meant some of those wacky theories about space aliens in the distant past were true. Who would have thought it?
Keith studied the piloting board. The captain had told him to be on the lookout for surprises. Back on Victory, Galyan also scanned relentlessly.
The small shuttle chamber held him, the captain, Meta, the professor and beautiful Shu 15. The others planned to go inside the pyramid. Keith would s
tay out here in the shuttle, ready to race back to Victory.
Keith looked back at Shu. “I’m Lieutenant Keith Maker,” he said.
The little Spacer smiled at him.
“Nice,” he said.
Meta turned to stare at him.
Keith felt the Rouen Colony woman’s scrutiny. He shoved the feeling down as he told Shu, “I mean your smile is nice. It really lights up your face.”
“Thank you,” Shu said with warmth.
“I’m a straightforward bloke,” Keith said. “I say what I mean.”
“Yes, clearly,” Shu said.
“Lieutenant,” Maddox said.
“No problem, mate,” Keith said, turning forward again.
Maddox cleared his throat.
“Uh, sir,” Keith corrected himself.
Maddox nodded imperceptibly.
For a time, Keith concentrated on the journey. One tiny place in his mind kept thinking of things to say to Shu, though. And he kept wondering if she watched him. He’d heard her sexy voice. She seemed to have recognized his alpha nature. The comment about her nice smile had clearly pleased her. Women ate up remarks like that.
Finally, he couldn’t resist it any longer. He turned his head to find her smiling at him.
“Too bad we haven’t run into each other sooner,” he said.
“I agree,” Shu said. “You seem…”
He glanced back at her, turning further.
“Skilled,” she said, maybe with extra meaning in her voice.
“I am skilled, lass,” he said. “I’m—”
“Heading straight for that asteroid,” Maddox said.
Keith whipped forward, ready to make a quick correction. There was empty void before them. He realized the shuttle was right on course, and that Maddox had said what he did to hinder the conversation.
“No worries—sir,” Keith said.
He made a small correction, replaying their conversation in his head. Did she mean skilled in bed? He’d known a few girls, but he wasn’t a Romeo.
Keith turned back toward her. He needed to say something witty now.
“Captain Maddox,” Ludendorff said. “Why did you insist on bringing a sex-starved pilot with us?”
The words left Keith frozen, staring at Shu with his mouth hanging agape.
“You must be joking,” Shu said. “The pilot is hardly starved. He must be a tiger in bed.”
“Enough,” Maddox said.
Keith was grinning ear-to-ear as he faced forward. That PUA book really knew its subject matter. It had turned him into an alpha man, into a wolf-like lover women could no longer resist. He wasn’t sure what phrase had exactly done that. It must have been the comment on her smile and the way he boldly looked back at her despite the captain’s displeasure with it.
She can sense my dominance, Keith thought. At the same moment, he realized what it was. He was the pilot running a shuttle. In this, he was the very best. No one could compete against him in this environment, not even the captain. That must have translated into how he held himself, how he spoke to her.
Keith squared his shoulders as a sense of power filled him. He was setting up, readying the woman for his swoop. She would no doubt melt when he pressed her against him later.
The idea turned into a fantasy, one he envisioned with greater intensity.
“Lieutenant Maker,” Maddox said.
Keith snapped out of his daydream. He noticed their velocity was too high. The silver object had grown considerably, to the point where he could see the various sides.
“You said fast, sir,” Keith said in a matter-of-fact voice.
“Adjust,” Maddox told him.
“Aye-aye, sir,” Keith said, manipulating the controls. He threw a quick glance over his shoulder, adding, “This could get bumpy for a second.”
Shu nodded knowingly, seeming to tell him in that nod that he would take perfect care of her.
Keith grinned wider still as the shuttle began to decelerate.
Soon, he forgot about the beauty behind him. Keith began to remember the importance of the mission as the vast silver pyramid grew in size. It was amazing, the thing slowly spinning in place. He’d seen it before, of course, but never this close while in a shuttle. Last voyage, a hyper-spatial tube had appeared beside the pyramid, sucking the starship into it, transporting them one-thousand light years.
The ancient Builders had erected these throughout the Orion Arm. Just how old was the pyramid anyway? Older than anything constructed on Earth, that was certain.
The monument’s age awed the lieutenant. It caused him to gape, but it didn’t shake his flying skills or cause him to forget the task at hand. The Spacer had that effect, but not an alien building.
Keith braked harder but more smoothly. “Where do you want me to park, sir?”
“Any suggestions?” Maddox asked the two passengers.
Ludendorff was busy studying the Nexus.
Shu had a far-off look to her features. “I’m…sensing over there, Captain,” she said, pointing out the window.
“Come here and show me,” Maddox said.
The Spacer unhooked her harness and walked to the piloting area. She put a seemingly careless hand on Keith’s shoulder.
The lieutenant was intensely aware of her hand. She touched him. He felt a sexual thrill begin in his groin and head to his stomach. This would be a delicious bedmate.
Keith glanced up at her.
She must have sensed his alpha stare. She spoke to the captain but found time to glance at him and smile sexily.
Keith had to swallow a laugh of amazement. This woman wanted him. She oozed sexual need. The PUA book almost felt like magic. He hadn’t expected it to work this marvelously.
“Do you see the area?” Maddox asked sharply.
“Sir?” Keith asked.
“Point it out again,” Maddox told the Spacer.
Shu leaned against Keith and she pointed down on his screen. “Can you bring us there?” she asked, turning her face so their lips were a mere few inches apart.
“I can indeed,” Keith said in a raspy reply. He smelled her breath, and felt that he was practically kissing her.
She pushed against his shoulder as she straightened, heading back for her bench.
Keith would have turned around to watch her walk back, but Maddox stared at him. The captain’s face was like ice.
“Uh, heading there, mate, um, captain sir.”
Maddox appeared to want to say something. Whatever it was, he seemed to think better of it and merely nodded.
Keith kept thinking of the Spacer’s touch and the taste of her breath. He wanted to strip her naked and—
His fingers roved over the piloting board as he made quick adjustments.
The shuttle slowed even more, drifting toward the area Shu had shown him. Soon, the shuttle was less than a kilometer from the Nexus. The silver pyramid dwarfed the craft. It would have dwarfed Starship Victory. The alien construct was vast.
Maddox rose, taking his helmet. “Remain alert,” he said.
“Aye-aye, sir,” Keith said. “Good luck, sir.”
Maddox nodded.
“Good luck, Shu,” he added.
She faced him, smiling, and said in an impossibly sexual way, “Thank you, Lieutenant. I know you mean it.”
“I do,” he said.
Ludendorff made a sound that Keith couldn’t recognize.
“I won’t forget,” she said.
“Good,” Keith said, boldly staring at her, letting her realize that he was willing to do anything with her.
She turned away as if embarrassed by his masculinity.
The others filed out. Maddox paused by the hatch, staring at him.
“Sir?” Keith asked.
Maddox shook his head before heading out as well, closing the hatch behind him.
Keith grinned, laughing to himself. This was better than he could have dreamed. He was close to having his wish, a wild romance with a stunning beauty. He could
hardly wait for the next step in his hunt.
-34-
Maddox sat in a thruster cradle. The others were each in similar vehicles. He followed Ludendorff and Shu, the two of them several hundred meters from each other and him.
The approach to the pyramid reminded Maddox of the alien Destroyer. The vast silver wall did not have the same feeling of evil as the Destroyer had emitted. It did have a sense of grandeur, though, a feeling of incredible age.
Why didn’t planets give off the same feeling? What was it about a constructed thing that gave off such sensations? Was it all in his mind?
The captain didn’t believe that. Something of the essence of the maker oozed from the object. It must have something to do with the age of the thing and the power it held. The Destroyer had contained terrible power to annihilate. The pyramid also possessed incredible power.
Maddox had qualms about this. He didn’t know how to keep Ludendorff from murdering Shu or vice versa. He was counting on the grandeur of the event to forestall some of that. He also wondered if they didn’t both need each other in order to accomplish the task.
Yet, Shu’s Builder abilities might trump everything right now. He should have taken the time to figure out what Ludendorff’s cube did. What was the professor thinking? The Methuselah Man was undoubtedly scheming madly. Maybe the Spacer was doing likewise.
Was the professor right about the Spacers? Did they believe they were the chosen ones? He could well believe it. And yet, the New Men also thought that about themselves. Maybe that was a uniquely human trait. Maybe every human believed he was a chosen individual.
His headphones crackled. “Maddox,” he heard. That sounded like Meta.
He adjusted his cradle, turning it around. Meta sprayed hydrogen gas, increasing velocity to catch up with him. Soon, her cradle moved parallel with him. She waved. He waved back.
“I don’t like this,” she radioed, her words difficult to make out.
“Are you thinking about your time with Kane?” he asked.
“Yes. This brings back painful memories. This place terrifies me.” She paused before adding, “We don’t belong here.”
The Lost Patrol Page 19
