The Lost Swarm

by Vaughn Heppner

  “Say, wasn’t I naked in there?” asked Keith.

  “So?”

  “Pull him out. We’ll strip him like he did me.”

  They did just that, pushing a naked Ludendorff into the tube afterward.

  “Now we wake him,” Valerie said.

  “Let’s do it.”

  They used a stimulant from a medical bag. Both of them knew a stimulant might harm a man with a concussion. Neither said anything, maybe believing that if they kept quiet, it wouldn’t bother them later if the Methuselah Man suffered. After injecting the stim, they sealed the tube.

  Valerie stood on one side, Keith on the other. They opened a comlink and kept a flow of fresh air going. In time, Ludendorff’s eyelids fluttered. He winced several times as if his head hurt, and his left eyelid drooped.

  Valerie wouldn’t have admitted it to anyone, but she felt guilty. If she’d induced brain damage… It was one thing dreaming about revenge, and another actually taking it. Did Maddox or Ludendorff feel guilty after taking revenge? She’d have to ask the captain. Probably he’d just reprimand her for asking.

  “How did I get here?” Ludendorff asked in a slurred voice, the left side of his mouth stiff.

  Valerie bit her lower lip, unable to answer.

  “You played foul with the wrong people, mate,” Keith said. “You’re not supposed to do that to your friends. We thought we could trust you.”

  Ludendorff examined the inner stasis tube. He kept wincing as his eyes moved. “Who gave me the concussion?” he slurred.

  Valerie hesitated before saying, “I did.”

  Ludendorff tried to glare at her, but he kept wincing and frowning, and finally looked away. “You damaged my brain, Valerie.”

  “Them’s the breaks,” she forced herself to say.

  “Are you really that tough? Or are you simply trying to pretend you aren’t ashamed?”

  “Can it,” she said, reverting to Greater Detroit slum lingo. “You played the game and got burned. Don’t blame that on me.”

  “But I do.”

  “Whatever,” she said. “I have a few questions for you. You can answer them or not. I hardly care anymore.”

  Keith signaled her.

  She shrugged.

  “Answer truthfully,” Keith said in a rush, “and we’ll let you go.”

  Valerie rolled her eyes. The professor wasn’t going buy that.

  “I accept your offer,” the professor said.

  Valerie eyed the lying coot. Did he think they would believe him? Then, she remembered what Maddox had once told her. When someone wanted a thing badly enough, it was easier for the person to believe the lie that promised the thing. It was easier because the person wanted the lie to be true.

  “Start talking,” Valerie said.

  “And you swear to release me if I do?” Ludendorff asked.

  Valerie forced herself to nod.

  “I swear,” Keith said.

  “On your mother’s grave?” asked Ludendorff.

  “On her grave,” Keith said.

  “And you, Lieutenant?” the professor asked Valerie.

  “Talk or not,” she said.

  “I’m going to hold you to your word,” Ludendorff told Keith.

  “I swore, didn’t I?” the ace said.

  “Indeed, you did,” Ludendorff said. “Lying will bring grim retribution.”

  “Like you’re one to talk about that,” Valerie sneered.

  Ludendorff looked away as he winced, and this time he crouched in the tube as if in pain. When that stopped, he said, “I could use a glass of water. My mouth is terribly dry.”

  “When you get out,” Valerie said. “Now start talking or I’m starting the stasis process.”

  Ludendorff took a deep breath, composing himself as he put his hands on his chest. “I found the androids at the end of the last war,” he said with a faraway look in his eyes. “I reported some of them, but kept a stash for myself. I wondered when they might become useful.”

  “So you stored them on Victory?” Valerie demanded.

  “No. If you can believe it, I stored them here in the darter, in the equipment chamber. I didn’t think anyone would look.”

  “You expect me to believe that?” Valerie asked.

  “Believe or not, I’m telling the truth.”

  “Does it matter how he got inert androids on board?” Keith asked her.

  “Were they inert?” she asked Ludendorff.

  “Enough that they posed no danger to the starship, but not enough to stay hidden if someone poked around in the equipment room,” Ludendorff said.

  “They would have killed whoever found them?” Valerie asked.

  “Rendered them unconscious and alerted me,” Ludendorff corrected.

  “So, if you hadn’t joined the darter crew, Riker, Keith and I would be dead?” Valerie asked.

  “I did join. That’s the point. I felt responsible to join.”

  “That’s the only reason you came?” demanded Valerie.

  “No.”

  Valerie stared at him.

  Ludendorff made that pathetic twisting move as he winced, and the left side of his face twitched. When it stopped, he said, “I am more seriously injured than I thought. You must not put me in stasis sleep.”

  “Better keep talking then,” Valerie said.

  Ludendorff composed himself again, staring upward. “I used the androids, I admit. I would have deactivated them after the journey and let you go back to your duties.”

  She didn’t believe that. “Is there another Builder base out here?”

  “Not quite that,” Ludendorff said, “but a planet I recalled with a few choice tools I need on it.”

  “Where is this planet?”

  “You don’t hope to strip me of all my secrets, do you?”

  “Give me the coordinates,” Valerie said.

  Ludendorff glanced at her before staring upward again. “The planet has no bearing on the Thrax Dilemma. I wanted the tools for…for other reasons.”

  “Like what, Professor?”

  He shook his head. “I cannot tell you.”

  “Then, I’m not letting you out of here,” Valerie said.

  Ludendorff sighed. “You’re not going to anyway. I know you’re lying about that.”

  “Hey, mate,” Keith said. “I swore to let you out.”

  “You’ll do anything to please Valerie in the hope she will let you into her pants,” Ludendorff said. “Your swearing was meaningless.”

  “Of all the gall,” Keith told Valerie.

  “How could you be so heartless toward us?” Valerie demanded. “Putting collars on us, switching us with lookalike androids? We’re your crewmates. We’ve been to hell and back together. Don’t you have any loyalty?”

  “I do not care for your lectures,” Ludendorff said. “Either free me or put me into stasis and give me permanent brain damage. It’s your choice and it will be on your conscience for the rest of your life.”

  Valerie studied the old trickster. Would it be on her conscience? He might be right about that. But at least she would be alive to have a conscience. For all she knew, Ludendorff meant to murder her. His assurances meant nothing.

  She moved to the controls.

  “I won’t forget this outrage and your heartlessness,” Ludendorff said.

  “You might,” she said, “depending on the extent of your brain damage. Maybe you’ll have no memory of this at all.”

  Ludendorff turned away from her.

  Valerie had a good idea why. She’d just seen fear in his eyes, and as she worked the stasis controls, she wondered if that look would come back to haunt her in the coming days.

  -18-

  The darter drifted three and half light-years from the Mira A and B Binary System. Valerie sat at the sensor controls while Keith was at the piloting position.

  They had rid the Reynard of androids, eaten, stowed Ludendorff in a stasis tube and shut the equipment hatch. Now, they needed to determine the
ir present location and decide on their next course of action.

  To that end, Valerie used the sensors, known stars—

  “I have it,” she said. “We’re more than a few jumps from Victory’s last known location. If we follow standard jump procedures, we should be back there in a week, maybe a little sooner.”

  Keith nodded noncommittally.

  “You don’t think that’s a good idea?” asked Valerie.

  “I keep wondering about Ludendorff’s planet. Maybe we should take a look while we’re out here.”

  “Really?”

  “You don’t agree?”

  “First, where is the planet?”

  “Uh… I’m not sure.”

  “Me neither,” Valerie said. “So how long will it take us to hunt through the nearby star systems?”

  “A few weeks,”

  “Right. That brings me to point two. We have important data regarding Thrax’s possible colony world.”

  “We just saw a missile base, no colony world.”

  “Wrong,” Valerie said. “We saw an attack saucer, a working missile installation and six star cruisers. Drakos is hunting for Thrax. It looks like the New Man has found him.”

  “That’s what I’m saying. We didn’t see any new colony world. That’s what we were sent out to find.”

  “Keith, we have to get back to Victory. Our information is too important for us to screw around looking for a Ludendorff-derived planet.”

  “You think he was lying about a special planet?”

  “We know Ludendorff was lying about some of what he said. Does that include his planet? I don’t have the slightest idea, but I’m not going to waste time figuring it out.”

  Keith scrunched his brow and finally nodded. “We head back to Victory?”

  “On the double,” Valerie added.

  “We’ve been out a little over three weeks. Repairs on Victory were supposed to take six weeks, at best. What’s the rush?”

  “Andros Crank will be in charge of repairs by now, and he’s the Keith Maker of chief technicians.”

  “You mean a miracle maker,” Keith said, grinning.

  Valerie grinned back.

  Keith stood, paused, it seemed, and then stepped up to her, holding out a hand.

  “What’s going on?” she asked, looking up.

  “Give me your hand.”

  “Why?”

  “Why do you think? We need to celebrate our victory while we have a chance.”

  Valerie stared at him longer. “Do you think that’s a good idea?”

  “Of course,” Keith said, reaching down, taking one of her hands, pulling Valerie to her feet. “Hey, darling,” he said, putting his hands on her shoulders.

  “Keith. We’re all alone.”

  “Don’t I know it?” he asked, leaning into her for a kiss.

  She turned her head so his lips met her cheek. Her heart raced, and as he tried again— “Don’t,” she said, pushing him away.

  “None of that now, lass,” he said, pulling himself back in. He tried for another kiss.

  “Wait,” she said, turning her head once more.

  He frowned. “Why should we wait? We’re here. We’re alone, and you’re beautiful. I’ve missed you, Valerie. We’ve drifted apart. Now, it’s time to rekindle our love.”

  “By doing it?” she asked.

  “If you want to,” he said, his eyes bright.

  “I’m not sure we should even be doing this.”

  “Why?” he asked, not liking the whine in his tone. “Did Riker talk to you about me?”

  “Sergeant Riker? Why would he do that?”

  “No reason,” Keith said evasively.

  “Did he talk to you about me?”

  Keith didn’t answer. This was too frustrating. He had his hands on her. He wanted her. Surely, she wanted him. Why did Valerie always have to worry about everything? It was one of the things that had gotten in their way in the past.

  “Let’s wait,” she suggested.

  He stared at her, and his hands tightened around her shoulders. “We’ve waited long enough,” he said, almost angry.

  “Keith…don’t you want me to want it, too?”

  “Of course.”

  “Then give me time.”

  “How much time?” he demanded.

  “Pressuring me isn’t going to work. It’s just going to make me angry.”

  He released her. He thought about it, getting even angrier, and headed for the hatch.

  “Where are you going?” she asked.

  “To my quarters,” he snapped. “Tell me when you want me to pilot us to wherever.”

  “Keith. Wait.”

  He turned around.

  “This is why we should wait. There’s just the two of us. This isn’t some love boat or porno movie. This is two Star Watch officers with an incredibly important mission. The fate of humanity might well be hanging in the balance.”

  “The fate of humanity doesn’t drive me crazy by its nearness like you do.”

  “I’m not trying to lead you on. You know that.”

  He nodded. “I know.” He looked up into her eyes. “I want you, Valerie. You’re beautiful. I…I really like you.”

  There it was. He liked her. Did Keith love her? Was it more than just her body? She wasn’t sure, and she believed what she’d just told him. They couldn’t mess around with this. The mission was more important than sex, and maybe in this case, more important than love.

  She nodded. “I’ll call you to pilot.”

  He waited, maybe hoping to hear more. He knew women liked strong men, forceful men, but he couldn’t just throw himself on her. He also didn’t want to act like a spoiled kid. She looked so beautiful, though. What was wrong with Riker? Why did the sergeant think a man had to marry a woman before taking her to bed? A man had to test the goods, first, make sure everything worked and meshed. Not that Riker would agree with such thinking.

  “I’ll see you in a bit,” Valerie said, turning back to her sensors.

  She had dismissed him. Keith scowled. Maybe he should chase someone easier. Not many were as easy on the eyes, though.

  He thought of several cutting remarks, but said, “Good idea, lass.” Then, he exited the control room.

  -19-

  The next few days proved uncomfortable for Valerie and Keith. They even had a loud argument, and Keith stormed off in a temper, locking the hatch to his quarters.

  Valerie had scanned the nearby star systems, found two Earthlike planets, and wondered why Thrax hadn’t led his bugs there instead of to the Mira Binary System.

  She felt bad about the argument and wondered if her guilty conscience about putting a possibly brain-injured Ludendorff into stasis had put her on edge. Also, she didn’t like Keith’s tone. He seemed angrier than she’d ever seen him. Would he become irrational?

  As she sat at sensors, continuing to study nearby space, it occurred to her that Ludendorff might have conditioned Keith in some way. It wasn’t likely, but it was possible. Would the Methuselah Man have foreseen his capture and placement in stasis?

  Ludendorff was arrogant, but he was damn smart and often farseeing.

  Valerie got up, went down the corridor and tested the equipment room hatch. It was closed. She opened the hatch and checked on Ludendorff. The controls said he was still in stasis. She checked the destroyed androids. No one had moved them.

  She stepped thoughtfully out of the chamber and locked the hatch behind her, entering a security code that only she would know. It was a simple precaution. She usually trusted Keith not to do anything stupid…but when she got angry enough, she could do stupid things. Well…she hadn’t, but she could think vengeful thoughts. Was Keith like that? She didn’t think so, but why not take the precaution? If he complained about the locked hatch, then she would know that she’d done the right thing.

  Several hours passed, and it was time to jump.

  “Keith to bridge,” she said.

  He showed up a few minu
tes later, looking flushed. Now what was wrong with him? “You wanted me?”

  “Are you okay?” she asked.

  He stared at her, and finally shook his head. “No. I’m not okay.”

  “I didn’t mean to sound so angry when we talked before.”

  “Don’t let it bother you, lass.”

  “But it does,” she said. “We’re friends. We were boyfriend and girlfriend for a while.”

  “Yeah, but not now,” he said, striding to his piloting seat.

  “Is that all that’s bothering you?”

  He slouched in the pilot seat, which wasn’t like him. He tapped the piloting board and suddenly turned toward her.

  “Can I make a confession?” he asked.

  Valerie didn’t like the sound of that. She nodded even as she put a hand in a pocket, feeling Ludendorff’s black little weapon there.

  “I’m having strange thoughts,” Keith said.

  “Like?”

  “Freeing Ludendorff, for one.”

  She nodded, wondering if this was conditioning or just a pissed off young man.

  “I tried the hatch to the stasis chamber,” Keith said. “It was locked.”

  “I did that.”

  “So I figured. You don’t trust me anymore?”

  “Should I, with your strange thoughts?”

  He shook his head. “I’m beginning to think not. I wonder if the professor tampered with my mind. Not in a big way, but these thoughts—it’s not like me, Valerie.”

  “I agree. That’s why I took precautions.”

  He swallowed, and he balled his fingers into fists. “I hate this. I want to be with you. But Ludendorff—why does the captain keep him around?”

  “I’ve been thinking about that. Ludendorff is like high-octane fuel. He’s great at what he does, but he needs an expert driver in the vehicle he’s propelling.”

  “Huh?”

  “Ludendorff and Maddox are well matched. Maybe they even balance each other. With us, the professor just sees easy marks. We’re good at what we do—”

  “I’m the best.”

  Valerie nodded. “I’m not so bad myself.” And she couldn’t believe it, but that made her blush. She wasn’t used to bragging. It made her uncomfortable. “My point is,” she finally said, “we’re not enough counterweight to stop Ludendorff from his rogue actions. We stopped him this time, and that’s critical. But we have to keep him in stasis, and I have to keep an eye on you.”