The Lost Colony (Lost Starship Series Book 4)

by Vaughn Heppner

  Maddox stepped outside at street level. Riker had left with the flitter some time ago, leaving Maddox to his own resources.

  The captain didn’t feel like calling the brigadier yet. She must have gone home to bed. It was late in Geneva, well past midnight. The sergeant and he had traveled across a third of the world while staying ahead of the dawn.

  Maddox felt groggy but decided against public transport. He could walk. It might help clear his mind. His internal time made it midmorning, what it would be in Shanghai about now.

  He moved briskly along a sidewalk, replaying the latest events. Who stood behind the Shanghai androids? Was it the same people or beings that had given them the Ludendorff android? That seemed the most likely but it wasn’t conclusive. The most logical answer was the mysterious Builders. They were aliens, having built the silver pyramids and having helped the Adoks six thousand years ago against the Swarm. Starship Victory was an Adok warship, which meant Galyan, the ship’s AI, could have possible Builder connections.

  Why would the Builders put androids in the Spacer embassy? Were the ancient aliens meddling with humanity again? Did the Builders really stand behind the New Men, or was it Strand and Ludendorff, as the facts seemed to indicate so far?

  There were too many puzzles in play. Star Watch needed to know the truth in order to make the best decisions. Clearly, aliens had meddled with humanity in the past, meaning they could be doing the same thing now.

  As his boots struck pavement, Maddox determined to answer the riddle. He loathed the idea of someone pushing humanity like ciphers for mysterious alien goals. Humanity had to be free. He wanted to be free, in control of his own destiny.

  There were at least two wars happening at once. The open war was between humanity versus the New Men. The hidden war was between the android-makers and humanity. The ancient Methuselah Men, Strand and Ludendorff, also had their own agendas—if the professor was still alive, that is.

  While lost in thought, Maddox reached his apartment building three-quarters of an hour later. He tapped in his ID code and entered the main lobby. He paused a moment, inspecting his surroundings. A feeling of unease caused him to stare at various shadows harder than normal.

  After the drugged drink and the android incident, some caution might be in order.

  Maddox clicked open his holster, putting a hand on the gun butt. He rode the elevator that way. Fortunately, it was late and no one else entered the lift. Soon, he sauntered down a corridor, pretending an easy manner but wary just the same. He could spy nothing amiss, finding nothing to validate the unease.

  Reaching his door, he pulled his hand from the knob as if it was hot and stepped back. The unease had just intensified. With his fingertips, he brushed the door jam, running his fingers around the length of the frame. There hadn’t been any forced entry that he could tell. Could someone have used a key?

  He crouched, studying the lock. It didn’t seem that anyone had tampered with it…

  Maddox drew the gun, readied himself and tapped his thumb against the pressure lock. The door clicked open. With a foot, he pushed the door and hopped into the entryway. He stood listening, opening his person for greater feelings of wrongness.

  The furniture was in the right spots. No items were misplaced, nor could he spy foreign objects. Quietly, he closed the door. His instincts told him something was wrong, but he couldn’t see any evidence of that.

  For two minutes, he stood waiting with his gun poised.

  What do I sense?

  Analyzing his senses, he realized it was just a feeling. No one had entered his apartment. If someone were hiding here, he would have detected it by now. Besides, he had countless security systems in place. Some sensors even watched outside despite his being many floors up.

  Before leaving the first time to find Victory, gunmen in an air-van had attempted to ambush him in his apartment.

  With his gun ready, Maddox tiptoed through the rooms. He moved like a great cat, straining his senses, traversing the entire complex, even checking the closets. He didn’t find anything off.

  Could he be overreacting? He didn’t like to think so. He was Captain Maddox. If he were going to start jumping at less than shadows, how would he ever help to defeat the New Men and Strand?

  Muttering under his breath, he reentered the living room, going to a small bar. He clunked the gun onto the countertop and poured himself a whiskey.

  One thing was for certain, he would not drink from a tainted source again. That had been foolhardy. Messing with his mind—

  Maddox dropped the shot glass. It hit the countertop, spilling amber-colored whiskey. Then the glass rolled until it fell onto the rug.

  By that time, Maddox gripped the pistol again. He aimed it at a flickering image sitting on his sofa. The image was that of a man. It faded from view and then solidified once more.

  For just a second, Maddox’s hackles rose. If this was a ghost—

  He almost fired a bullet through the now solidifying image. The medium-sized man wore a soft blue shirt with black slacks and shoes. The collar of the shirt was open and he wore a gold chain around his neck. The older man was bald, with deeply tanned skin and a prominent hooked nose.

  The man looked up, seeing him. Maddox was sure of it. The intelligence in the eyes shined like twin diamonds with a hard and priceless quality.

  The captain realized that he stared at a ghostly image of Professor Ludendorff.

  -6-

  Maddox blinked several times before rubbing the bridge of his nose. Carefully, he came around the bar, with his gun aimed at the apparition. The thing had all of Ludendorff’s features that had become so familiar during their time aboard the starship. Maddox could see the garments and the gold chain. The captain could also see through the phantom and the sofa behind the image.

  “I’m quite real,” Ludendorff said in his smug voice. “You aren’t imagining this.”

  Maddox had steely nerves, but the voice proved to be too much, particularly because he was alone. The captain’s trigger finger twitched. The gun went off, and a bullet plowed through the ghostly professor, smashing through the sofa and gouging the rug and floor below. Bits of stuffing floated in the air, one particle traveling through the professor.

  The image hadn’t flinched at the gunshot, but it noted the event.

  “Was that truly necessary, Captain?” Ludendorff asked.

  Maddox licked his lips before clamping down on his emotions. He disliked the fact of the discharge and silently reproved himself for overreacting. He had never believed himself superstitious before this. He planned to pass any further tests of this nature from now on.

  “You’re too quiet,” the image of the professor said.

  Maddox cleared his throat, remembering more about Ludendorff.

  The professor was supposed to be the smartest man alive. He had first met the man on Wolf Prime, where the professor had held his own against the invading New Men. Ludendorff had an inordinate curiosity about aliens, the ancient Adoks, the Swarm…and maybe the Builders too.

  “We don’t have much time,” the professor said. “I can’t maintain the holoimage for long.”

  “Holoimage,” Maddox said. “You’re a holoimage?”

  “Of course,” Ludendorff said. “What else could I be?”

  Maddox took a step back, glancing around.

  “I’m quite alone,” the holoimage of Ludendorff said.

  “How are you able to project yourself into my apartment?”

  “It’s a nifty trick, to be sure. But in the end, the technical aspect isn’t as important as my message.”

  “I’m not sure I can agree,” Maddox said.

  “You’re too contrary, sir. Just for once—”

  “For instance,” Maddox said, interrupting the professor. “How do I know you’re Ludendorff? Well, that’s not the right question. You’re not Ludendorff.”

  “Oh, but I am, my boy, I most certainly am. That’s the wonder of the technology.”

 
; “What happened to you at the Nexus?” Maddox asked.

  “Perfect, my boy, just simply splendid,” the professor said. “You have a way of jumping to the right conclusion at the first go. It’s always impressed me.”

  “You’re evading the question.”

  “I assure you, I’m not. Now, listen closely. Our time is limited.”

  “Professor—I mean the image of the professor. Anyone could be projecting a holoimage of you into my apartment.” Maddox snapped his fingers. “Is this Adok technology? Did Dana find something aboard Victory to do this?”

  “I’m surprised at your line of reasoning.”

  “Ah,” Maddox said. “Maybe this is Builder technology.”

  The holoimage clapped its hands but failed to produce any sound. “Now, you’re thinking again. Keep going on that track, my boy.”

  “What happened to you in the Xerxes System?”

  “First, do you believe this is me speaking to you?”

  “I don’t see how,” Maddox said.

  “Nevertheless, how can I convince you this holoimage represents my true thoughts?”

  “You want me to test you?” Maddox asked.

  “It seems like the quickest way to gain your trust.”

  Maddox studied the smug holoimage. The thing had Ludendorff’s manner down pat. Even so… “Who did you take with you from the Brahma System years ago?”

  “You’re referring to Dr. Dana Rich, of course,” Ludendorff said. “Is she well?”

  “No. She’s devastated by your disappearance.”

  The holoimage frowned. “I’ve recently learned that someone put a Ludendorff android onto Victory in my place. Did the creature do anything…vile to poor Dana?”

  “Your android tried to take over all of Star Watch,” Maddox said.

  The holoimage blinked several times. “Did it indeed? How did it… No, you won’t tell me that. It would be restricted information. That means…” The holoimage looked away as if thinking. “Ah, it must have spoken about the Gilgamesh Covent to the Lord High Admiral. Am I right?”

  The holoimage was spot on, but Maddox wasn’t going to tell it that. Maybe this was the reason for its appearance, to pump him for top-secret information.

  The captain did say, “A gunman assassinated you before you could complete your deception.”

  “Oh,” the holoimage said. “Did you witness the event?”

  Maddox nodded.

  The holoimage rubbed its chin. “Captain, let us quit this game. It’s proving too long and tedious. Do you believe me—?”

  “Professor, I believe it’s impossible for you to communicate like this…unless the real Ludendorff is somewhere nearby.”

  “No. I’m in the Xerxes System.”

  Maddox raised his eyebrows. “Then this becomes doubly impossible. Are you suggesting you are communicating with me across many light-years of distance?”

  “No, no,” the holoimage said. “That would be preposterous as you’ve suggested.”

  “Then what is this?”

  “My engrams were imprinted—”

  “Like Galyan?” Maddox asked.

  “Yes. That’s it. I think like the real professor. He sent me. He sent the androids earlier in Shanghai to guide you to him. You should have trusted the androids, Captain. Destroying them wasted time and it was foolish.”

  Abruptly, Maddox holstered his pistol. On unsteady legs, he staggered to a chair and sat down.

  “You authored the androids?” Maddox asked.

  “I have just said as much,” the holoimage told him. “Captain, do you believe this is me?”

  Maddox shrugged. Then, he straightened just as abruptly as he had sat down. “Yes! It’s you, Professor. Only you would try such a harebrained scheme.”

  The captain had decided it was time to hear the holoimage’s plan. This back and forth wasn’t going to produce any worthwhile results.

  “Good, good, you always were a fast read, my boy. I suspect you realize this isn’t me exactly, but a nearly perfect duplicate. I sent it from the Xerxes System because I’m physically trapped by automated Builder machines of advanced complexity.”

  “Star Watch sent a flotilla to clear out the Xerxes System,” Maddox said.

  “Did they now? That’s interesting. For their sakes, maybe even for mine—the real Ludendorff, I mean—I hope they’re successful. Clearly, it has taken time for the androids and holoimage projector to travel to Earth. You have no idea of the process involved.”

  “Why don’t you explain it to me?”

  “Lack of time prohibits me, my boy. I need you to help me at once. I’m physically trapped and I doubt any Star Watch flotilla will know enough to free me from confinement. In fact, I doubt they will survive the surprises in store for them.”

  “You’re obviously suggesting I take Victory to the Xerxes System to free you.”

  “Of course,” the holoimage said. “What other vessel could succeed?”

  “A Star Watch fleet—”

  “Yes, yes, of course a fleet could annihilate every drone and pulverize each booby-trapped asteroid, but I doubt the Lord High Admiral would send such a fleet to the Xerxes System at this time. Strategy dictates his next move. He must send a massed fleet to “C” Quadrant. He must liberate captured Commonwealth planets. As he does so, he will of course be searching for the Throne World. To win the war, Star Watch has to take the fight to the enemy and occupy the New Men’s homeworld.”

  “What are the Throne World’s coordinates?” Maddox asked. “Surely, you know.”

  “Of course, I know—” The holoimage blinked repeatedly. “The professor must have anticipated your question, the sly devil. The real professor did not impart the Throne World’s coordinates to me. I believe Ludendorff has the highest survivability quotient in the galaxy. I’m sure he will give you the coordinates once you free him from captivity. In a word, the knowledge you seek is a carrot to help goad you to action.”

  “It makes perfect sense that the engrams of the professor should boast about Ludendorff’s greatness,” Maddox said quietly. “Tell me something, Professor, why use coercive androids to drug me and take me to the Lin Ru?”

  “Secrecy, for one thing,” the holoimage said.

  “The sting in Woo Tower had the feel of a kidnapping mission.”

  “You were quite safe, Captain, I assure you. Each android allowed you to destroy it rather than harm you. Surely, you realize each of them could have easily incapacitated you.”

  “I have a knot on the back of my head that says otherwise.”

  “Could you explain that?”

  Maddox told the holoimage how the first android had slammed against him, propelling him hard against a refrigerator.

  “Ah, that’s perfectly understandable and explainable,” the holoimage said. “The android miscalculated. It must have been trying to disarm you lest you hurt yourself.”

  “Of course,” Maddox said drily.

  The holoimage hunched forward. “I know you think you’re very clever, Captain. And in many ways, your intellect matches mine, at least in the areas of security. But I am your mental superior in a host of avenues. You need me. Star Watch needs me. Do you know that Strand is a Methuselah Man, one of the originals just like me?”

  “I’ve learned that, yes.”

  “You have? Oh, splendid, splendid, this is better than I realized. Strand will defeat Star Watch if you give him enough time.”

  “The Throne World seems to think otherwise.”

  “They’re wrong, my boy. Star Watch needs me to help them find the Throne World, but more importantly, to capture Strand. I used to work with him, and then I let him go his own way when we disagreed. Now, I realize that was my greatest error. I have struggled these past months to make the supreme effort. Now, I need you to trust me enough to come and get me. Strand is free and I’m not. That could mean the end of regular humanity. I believe that would be one of the greatest catastrophes possible. It’s much too soon to rely on hum
an survival with a genetically narrowed, mutated species.”

  “You mean the New Men?”

  “My boy, you have no idea of the real danger. I cannot tell you yet, but the New Men have a terrible Achilles heel. They need regular humanity; will need them for generations to come.”

  “I’m tired of these oblique hints,” Maddox said. “What is their Achilles heel?”

  “You must hurry to the Xerxes System with Victory and enter the Nexus. I’m inside at 12-3-BB. Can you remember that?”

  “I already have,” Maddox said, “but I don’t know what your coordinates mean.”

  “You will at the right time. Hurry, Captain, I don’t think I can remain lucid for many more months. I’m counting on you to reach me in time. If you fail, I doubt for humanity’s future. I hope I’ve convinced you of the seriousness of the mission.”

  “No, I believe the opposite. I—”

  The holoimage began to fade.

  “Professor, you have to tell me more.”

  “I see I’m going to need emotive reasoning. Very well, do this one thing for me, Captain. Ask Dana, ‘When will we see the New Hindu Kish again?’ She’ll understand the reference. Then, maybe, you’ll know that I’m telling you the truth. Good-bye, Captain, and Godspeed. I look forward to your arrival.”

  A moment later, the holoimage was gone, the bullet hole in the sofa the only reminder that it had been there.

  -7-

  Sergeant Riker grumbled. He flew the flitter through the darkness, his eyes heavy with the need for sleep. Fifteen minutes ago, the captain had woken him from blessed slumber just after he’d finally nodded off after the long drive across Asia.

  For insurance, and following his secret orders, Riker had called the brigadier’s office before heading to the flitter. The Iron Lady hadn’t been in. She was at home sleeping, as any normal person should be doing this time of night. Major Stokes had been on call.

  “The captain is fit for duty, Sergeant,” Stokes had assured him. “The doctor gave him a pass. Is there any particular reason you’re calling me?”