Outside the shuttle, he spotted Victory. The double oval starship grew rapidly as they neared. They would pass the starship in minutes. Behind them and still accelerating were twenty Swarm mines.
“I thought only seven had been active,” Maddox said.
“Apparently, the one woke up more,” Keith said.
Maddox made a few calculations on his board. The first mine would reach the shuttle in fifty minutes. If they didn’t figure out something by then—
“Should I fire at the starship?” Keith asked. “Maybe our laser will activate defensive systems and that will have an effect on the crew.”
“If you do that, the ship might fire back at us.”
“We can’t just sit on our hands,” Keith said. His face was shiny with sweat, his fear obvious.
“We’re not. Ludendorff and Meta are checking Shu.”
Keith looked as if he wanted to ask Maddox something. Before the pilot could drum up the courage, Ludendorff reentered the chamber.
“She’s in a coma,” Ludendorff declared.
“What caused it?” Maddox asked.
The professor shook his head. “Did she say anything before passing out?”
“She screamed.”
Ludendorff scratched his scalp.
“Sir,” Keith said. “The starship is powering up. Look!”
Maddox examined Keith’s board. There was no mistake. The energy readings from Victory spiked.
Keith laughed. “The shield just went online. And the disrupter cannons are activating.”
“Why are you so excited?” Ludendorff asked. “The ship could be getting ready to destroy us.”
“Galyan would never do that,” Keith said.
“It’s just a machine,” Ludendorff said.
“You’re wrong,” Keith said. “Galyan is one of us.”
“Human?” Ludendorff asked. “That’s ludicrous.”
A comm light appeared. Maddox tapped the board.
“Captain Maddox,” Galyan said. “Can you hear me?”
Keith whooped with delight.
“Are you under attack?” Galyan asked in a worried tone.
“We will be soon,” Maddox said. “We’re all glad to hear your voice, by the way. That was Keith cheering.”
“Knowing that pleases me, sir,” Galyan said. “I have spotted what appears to be several Swarm mines on a collision course with your shuttle. Shall I destroy them?”
“At once,” Maddox said. “Then, begin maneuvering to pick us up. We’re tired and we want to come home.”
“I am activating the engines, sir. As I do this, I must inform you that Shu 15 tried to reconfigure my AI codes. I had to defend myself. It is possible that my responses caused a reaction in her.”
Maddox glanced at Ludendorff before saying, “Don’t worry, Galyan. I have that under control.”
“I am relieved to hear that, sir. I am targeting the first mine. Afterward, I will match your heading and velocity.”
Maddox cut communications. When he turned around, Ludendorff’s frown surprised him.
“Galyan could be lying,” the professor said. “He could be saying that in order to get us into his clutches.”
Maddox doubted that. But he did believe the professor’s thinking had become erratic. Several of his Patrol lecturers had spoken about strange crew reactions from what they had called ‘the stress of the Deep Beyond.’ The correct response was calm reassurance.
“Would Galyan have told us about Shu’s attempt if he was trying to lure us into a trap?” Maddox asked in a soothing manner.
“Possibly, to throw us off the scent,” Ludendorff said.
Maddox pretended to consider the professor’s accusation. “Our situation is too dire,” he finally said. “We must board the starship to escape the mines. There is another possibility. Shu really tried to reconfigure the AI codes. Galyan went on the offensive, and that triggered something in her mind that put her in the coma.”
“Do you hear yourself?” the professor asked. “How is such a thing even possible?”
“As you said earlier, Professor, sometimes the universe throws us curves we don’t expect. This time, one of those anomalies went our way. If you were a religious man, I’d tell you to thank the Creator. I plan to.”
The suggestion left the professor blinking.
Maddox expanded his chest. “We have a fighting chance now of figuring out why Shu picked this star system. Even better, our odds have soared that we’ll return home to tell Star Watch about our adventure.”
Once more, Keith laughed with delight.
Ludendorff sagged onto a seat with exhaustion. He nodded a moment later, finally beginning to smile.
***
Several hours later, Maddox sat on his customary chair on Victory’s bridge. The revived crewmembers were at their stations, having already ingested the news about what had happened to them during the hyper-spatial jump. The going consensus was a form of hyper-spatial stress that had attacked their nervous systems. The medical team had already begun to run tests.
Galyan had quietly given the captain a briefing concerning the Spacer’s assault on his AI systems. By then, the Driving Force had eliminated forty-five percent of the approaching Swarm mines. The other mines were still out of range. The AI had also scanned the entire system, finding no other active devices of any kind, including no more of the dense alien ships.
Maddox decided this would be a good time to brainstorm concerning the next move. Patrol protocol called for a meeting with a carefully selected group of officers.
Maddox rubbed the armrests of his chair. It was good to be back on Victory. The gamble using Shu had paid off. Now, they had to figure out what kind of situation Shu had landed them in.
***
Maddox sat at the head of the conference table. He’d summoned Ludendorff, Andros Crank, Valerie, Dana and Meta. He was holding off on Galyan just in case Ludendorff was right about Spacer trickery. Keith remained on the bridge, and Riker was still recovering in sickbay. Shu remained in her so-called coma under careful watch.
Ludendorff cleared his throat.
“You have something to say, Professor?” Maddox asked, opening the meeting.
“I think our next actions are clear,” Ludendorff said. “We desperately need information. Someone should inspect the cracked alien vessel. We need to know what kind of aliens we faced and might possibly face in the near future. Then, we must scan the nearby star systems, searching for signs of life.”
It was surprisingly good to see the professor back to his confident self. Being stranded in the Deep Beyond in a shuttle was a much more horrifying prospect than being in a starship.
“I think our answers lie in Shu,” Doctor Dana Rich said. “From everything the professor has told me, the Spacer must know what to expect out here.”
“There is one other item we must consider,” Ludendorff said. “And it may be the most important of the lot. We must find another Nexus. That seems like the fastest way for us to return home.”
Maddox silently agreed. A one thousand light-year jump was considerably less daunting than double that. They were too far, too soon. He studied the others. “Are there any other suggestions?” he asked.
“Only the most pressing one,” Andros Crank said. “Star Watch sent us out here to search for the Swarm Imperium. We must find it and report back to Earth. So far, we’ve found nothing but old Swarm mines. You said the mines could be five hundred years old,” he told the professor.
“That is correct,” Ludendorff said.
“We know almost nothing about the present Swarm Imperium,” Andros said. “As someone who has lived with the Swarm his entire life, I know they have one imperative—that is to spread in any way they can. If we are near the Imperium, there should be plenty of signs to that effect. So, while we’re doing all these other activities, I implore you, Captain, to keep a careful watch for the Swarm.”
“Good advice,” Maddox said. “Are there any other thoughts?”<
br />
Everyone glanced around at each other, but no one added anything further.
“I will assign duties,” Maddox said. “I don’t want to spend much more time in this star system. But I do agree with the professor. We should study the cracked alien vessel. It would be good to know what kind of beings the Swarm fought. We will also search nearby space for life-signs and for any other Nexuses. The sooner we know where we stand, the sooner we can make plans to rectify our precarious situation.”
-48-
Dana joined the professor on the shuttle heading for the drifting alien vessel. As the shuttle began decelerating, Valerie sent them the latest readings from the starship’s sensors concerning the alien vessel.
The doctor sat at her board, studying the data.
She’d been with Ludendorff for the past year. It had been a busy and frustrating time. She loved Ludendorff. She enjoyed their passion and the long sessions discussing all manner of subjects. Yet, a nagging doubt had been growing in the back of her mind. Dana had begun to believe that Ludendorff was becoming tired of her.
The professor was the opposite of any older man she’d known. Most old men, most old women for that matter, settled into routines. They became predictable. The professor was only predictable in one area. He loved to pontificate about himself. In that, he never grew weary.
The problem was that he didn’t touch her as much as he used to. He no longer confided in her about the little things that upset him. He seemed more distant, as if perhaps he was getting ready to move on. Dana had another suspicion about him, and at its root, it was her fault.
Many years ago in the Adok Star System, she’d led a rebellion against him. She’d mutinied against his authority in order to save her own life. The longer they stayed together, the more she suspected he secretly reviewed that time. It must still sting his ego. Was he going to do something similar to her to get even? Not mutiny, but maybe just up and abandon her?
Dana couldn’t decide on the right course of action to take with him. Part of her wanted to break up first. Part of her wanted to make this good thing last as long as she could. But was it still a good thing, if the professor had become tired of her?
That stung her pride. No one could love like she could. The professor had told her that many times. He loved to brag about how he had taught her to love.
Focus on the present mission, Dana told herself. If nothing else, do your best for Meta and the others. Quit worrying about this.
Dana glanced at Ludendorff. The hooked-nose face was bright with anticipation. Look at him. He seemed ready to hop from foot to foot in sheer delight. This was his great joy—discovering new things. He lived to find, to figure out.
Maybe I should work on giving him challenges. He thinks he knows me. I have to show him new sides to my personality that he doesn’t yet know. I have to reignite our love.
Dana scowled. She shouldn’t have to do that. He should love her for who she was.
“Do you see this?” Ludendorff asked her.
Dana forced a smile as she checked out the image he sent her. It showed tiny drifting particles, long trails of them. They seemed to have originated from the cracks in the alien vessel.
“Strange, very strange,” Ludendorff muttered, as he studied his screen.
Once more, Dana tried to focus on the mission. She loved the old fool, the wonderful and temperamental geezer with a mind like no other. She would never find his equal. Other men would bore her in comparison. Yet, could she endure his slights?
“Dana,” he said sharply.
She looked up at him.
“I asked you to click me the vessel’s radiation levels,” he said.
She nodded, tapping her board.
“What’s wrong with you?” Ludendorff asked.
“Nothing,” she said.
He laughed, which made her bristle.
“Oh, I see,” he said.
“You don’t see anything,” she said.
“But I do. You’re worried again.”
“I’m not,” she said, realizing she spoke that too loudly.
Ludendorff got up with a grunt and approached her. She ignored him. He pulled at her arm, but she shifted it out of his grip.
“Now, now,” he said. This time, he used surprising strength. He might be one of the oldest men in existence, but he wasn’t one of the weakest.
Dana allowed him to pull her up. He hugged her and began to rub her back.
“I love you,” he whispered.
“Do you?” she heard herself say.
“Yes, I most certainly do. There is no one I’d rather have with me now. You share my intellect and curiosity. There is no one I spend more time with than you.”
She looked up at him.
He kissed her, holding her even more tightly.
“You’re not getting bored with me?” she whispered.
He laughed again, kissing her with a surprising tenderness. “No, dear Doctor, I am far from bored. Sometimes, you mistake my joy of discovery for boredom with you, but that is not the case. I can love the one just as I love you. I am a man. I must work. It is the essence of my being. Without these joys, I would shrivel up and die.”
She gripped him with fierce resolve, realizing the truth of his words. “I love you,” she whispered.
“Now, my dear, join me as we solve this mystery. Why is the alien vessel so dense with metal? Where does the crew live? I am perplexed, which means I am overjoyed at having something to poke at that I haven’t seen before. Do you know how rare that is?”
“Let’s go to work,” she said.
He kissed her again. Afterward, he gave Keith his final instructions.
***
Dana floated outside the strange craft. She wore an armored vacc suit, heading with the professor toward the largest crack. Each of them wore a thruster pack. Keith remained behind on the shuttle.
It was eerie. The teardrop-shaped vessel still had its basic design, and it had a dark hull. Beyond the ship were visible asteroids. What made this eerie were two critical factors. One, this was a truly alien vessel with a real mystery. Two, they were so very far from Human Space. The ship could hold anything.
What if something still lived in there? Ludendorff had said that was impossible. The sensor readings from Victory agreed with his analysis. Still, Dana wasn’t so sure. It was alien. That meant it might not act according to the accepted rules. It could be different in fundamental ways.
“Do you notice all these specks?” Ludendorff radioed into her helmet.
“I have been for some time,” Dana said. “What are they?”
“Foodstuff,” Ludendorff suggested.
“They’re biological?” she asked.
“That’s what my analyzer suggests.”
“Why haven’t they exploded due to the decompression in the vacuum then?”
“They have a hard outer shell, chitin, I believe.”
“Like an insect’s outer exoskeleton?” Dana asked.
“Yes, I believe that’s right.”
The chitin-covered “foodstuffs” increased in thickness as they neared the cracks.
Dana applied thrust, slowing her momentum. Ludendorff did likewise. The two of them slowly approached the dark hull near a crack.
Finally, Dana activated her magnetic boots and attached herself to the hull. “Shall I collect some of the foodstuffs?”
“No,” Ludendorff said. “It’s risky taking any of this aboard the shuttle. This is a sightseeing tour only.”
Dana quite agreed. This was the wrong time to bring a possible Trojan horse onto the ship.
Clomping along the hull, the two scientists moved toward the crack. Finally, they reached it. Both Dana and Ludendorff clicked on powerful flashlights, shining the light into the crack.
The hull was immensely thick and seemed to go down forever.
“Where are the decks?” Dana asked.
“This is very strange. I’m going into the crack for a better look.”
&nb
sp; “Professor,” Dana said. “That is rash. Please reconsider.”
“We must know more.”
“It would be better to know more,” Dana agreed. “But is it critical to the greater mission?”
“It might be. I should risk a quick journey down.”
“Professor,” Dana said, turning, staring at the masses of floating specks. “What if those chitin-shelled insects aren’t foodstuffs?”
“Oh dear,” he said a second later, shining his light on a nearby mass. “Are you suggesting they’re the crew?”
“I am,” Dana said.
Both of them shined their lamps at the thousands upon thousands, likely tens or even hundreds of thousands of drifting specks.
“They have chitin exoskeletons,” Ludendorff said. “They are bugs, insects.”
“Are they Swarm creatures then?”
“The Swarm creatures we’ve seen in the past are big, like dogs, humans or even cattle,” Ludendorff said. “No. I think these aliens are different from Swarm. I will call them Chitins for now in order to differentiate them from the Swarm. Besides, I seem to recall something the Builder once said about Chitins. Perhaps he meant these creatures.”
“We can’t be certain these are the aliens,” Dana said.
“I think we can, as it would explain why they had such dense vessels. The ship could then have thousands of tiny decks. This is like a mobile ant colony posing as a spaceship. Thus, it has more metal than a human or Swarm ship of the same size would comprise.”
“This is incredible,” Dana said. “How would they think? I mean, could a tiny Chitin have enough brain mass to talk and think like we do?”
“No, I would not think so. Perhaps we’ll find they think as a group, a living brain as it were, made up of tens—even hundreds—of individual Chitins.”
Dana thought that was a wild stretch of imagination. And yet, the more she considered the idea, the more it made sense. A feeling of revulsion began to build in her. The idea of millions of Chitins flying a spaceship, millions of intelligent ants—
“We should head back for the shuttle,” she said in as even a voice as she could manage.
“The Chitins are frightening, aren’t they?” Ludendorff said.
The Lost Patrol Page 27
