The captain was unaware of the passage of time. He practiced, grew frustrated and then had another moment of calm.
He called for Galyan and asked for more explanations. The AI gave them, leaving once again as the captain threw himself into practicing.
Finally, Maddox sat cross-legged in the gym with his back ramrod straight. He breathed deeply and evenly and the terrible churning in his stomach had gone away. He recognized the energy within him. It was a coiled mass, much as the Erill had coiled its giant python body. A giant was resting in him. If he didn’t control the mass of energy, it would drive him mad.
Maddox practiced for hours, for days, for far longer than he realized. At last, in a Pilgrim state, he lay down and closed his eyes, and fell asleep.
Galyan immediately appeared. He had been watching for five days now. He did not think the captain understood the passage of time. But it was good to see Maddox sleep. There was something new in the man. That something had come about because he—Galyan—had made a terrible error. He had almost delivered the captain into the hands of dreadfully monstrous aliens.
“I must be more careful,” Galyan told himself. “If I am not careful, I might lose my friends sooner than I realize.”
The incident on the Haunted Planet had begun to disturb Galyan. He had realized a new thing with bitter clarity. His friends—his family—were all too mortal. They would die in fifty years or less. Ludendorff would likely continue, but was the Methuselah Man really his friend? Galyan realized that he would go on and on. But Valerie, Meta, Keith, Riker and Captain Maddox would die in time. He would never be with them again then. They were his best friends. The idea of going through endless existence without his good friends beside him—
The little Adok holoimage shook his head. He had lost his wife. He had lost his world. He could not stand to lose his best friends. He did not want to be alone again. Meta, Valerie, Keith, Riker and Maddox knew him. They were his cherished ones. He wanted them to be with him as long as he existed. To never hear Valerie’s voice again as she encouraged him…
“Please,” Galyan said. “I cannot bear to think about this.”
He hung his head. If Captain Maddox, Meta and Riker had died on the Haunted Planet—
“Thank you, sir,” Galyan said softly to the sleeping Maddox. “Thank you for surviving and keeping my awful grief at bay a few more years. You need help with your new energy. I need help knowing that all of you will pass away much sooner than I will. I have lived more than six thousand years. I want to keep talking to you, helping you, being needed by you—”
Maddox snorted in his sleep, turning his head the other way.
Galyan fell silent. He had almost woken the captain. The man needed his sleep. A human mind had to let its subconscious reorder the brain or the human would go mad. If Maddox had not found the Way of the Pilgrim…
“I helped him,” Galyan whispered.
The little Adok holoimage smiled, although it was a sad smile. What would he do when his friends finally passed away?
“I wish I could stop thinking about this,” Galyan whispered.
He looked around, and he decided that the best thing to do was to keep watching over his friends. He would cherish the moments of life with them. Then, in ages to come, he could play back these cheerful moments and smile once more.
In such a manner, the little Adok watched over Maddox as the captain slept.
-13-
Maddox woke refreshed, and he found it easier entering the Way of the Pilgrim to control his excess energy. That he had been in the gym for days startled and almost broke through the meditative, harmonious state. He thought about it and finally realized it made sense.
With his excess soul energy, he could concentrate harder and longer without exhausting his mental vitality. The unbridled energy was giving him trouble. He had been unable to settle down, to focus his mind enough to truly harness his new verve. But once his verve was harnessed—
Maddox clapped his hands together as he strode for the med center.
Once there, he spoke to the chief medical officer, listening to what they knew about Ludendorff’s condition. Valerie had put him in the stasis tube after smashing the back of his head to knock him unconscious—
“I’m familiar with the event,” Maddox said, but there was no exasperation in his voice. Yes, a part of him wanted the doctor to just get it said, but he harnessed that impatience, throttling it lest it cause him to lash out needlessly.
Every action needed a concrete reason. In this Pilgrim state, he was trying to be mindful of everything he did. Normally, a person did not have enough energy to do this for long. Maddox had more than enough.
The captain nodded as the doctor droned on about Ludendorff. It made the doctor feel important. The man was important. Thus, Maddox was honoring the doctor by letting him explain at length.
Finally, however, Maddox had a med team take Ludendorff out of stasis and set him on a gurney. He had them wheel the “thawing” professor to a different chamber. The team hooked up Ludendorff, giving his body nutrients and stimulation to his flabby muscles.
In theory, stasis meant to freeze a subject and leave him as is. Entropy always entered the picture, though. They lacked the perfect medical tech, and over time, a subject’s muscles withered away. That was over years, however, not the short time Ludendorff had been in stasis.
Maddox left the team to their task, getting something to eat, speaking to several crewmembers and returning two hours later.
The captain’s metabolism was even faster than before the Ska-wounding several years ago. It meant Maddox had to eat more often and also eat more. It would also mean that alcohol would have even less effect on him than previously.
“He’s coming around, sir,” the team leader said.
“Thank you,” Maddox said. “You’re dismissed.”
After they left, Maddox looked around, moved some furniture, picked up an e-reader and sat back against a soft chair. He read, picking a technical journal to peruse. He continued reading as Ludendorff stirred, mumbled a few questions and finally secretly looked around.
The captain could hear the sheets rustle.
Finally, Ludendorff swore.
Maddox lowered the e-reader. “You’re awake?”
The professor eyed him, grunted, frowned and finally twisted around. He put his pillows up against the head rail and sat up in bed.
“How long have I been here?” Ludendorff asked.
Maddox set aside the e-reader, breathing evenly as he studied the professor. There was a slight stiffness to the man’s left cheek, and that eyelid drooped a little. So, despite what the medical people had said, the incident had left some damage.
“I want to file charges against your people,” Ludendorff said.
“Which people?” asked Maddox.
Ludendorff scowled, and he winced. “They left permanent brain damage,” the professor whispered. “I cannot believe this. Do you know what Lieutenant Noonan did to me?”
“Precisely and in exacting detail,” Maddox said. “I commended her for her actions.”
“It’s going to be like that, eh?”
“No. Not like that. I’m disappointed in you—”
“Save it,” Ludendorff said, interrupting. “I’m leaving Victory for good.”
“I know.”
“You do?” asked Ludendorff. “How? And don’t tell me Galyan predicted that was what I would say.”
“I’m taking you home, to Earth. The Lord High Admiral has already agreed to your prison term.”
“What prison? You have no right to put me in prison.”
“You attacked my people. You aided androids. If you weren’t a Methuselah Man, I would recommend death by firing squad.”
Ludendorff stared at Maddox. Soon, he rubbed his chin. “What happened to you, my boy? You’re different. I thought you lacked energy. You’re brimming with it, but there’s something else, too. What is it?”
Maddox shook his head. “Y
ou’re no longer privy to Star Watch information. You’re a known criminal who helped the enemy. It’s out of my hands.”
Ludendorff spoke a single vulgar expletive.
“Your only hope is for some leniency,” Maddox said. “You’re a Methuselah Man. You should outlive your sentence. What was your goal this time, Professor?”
Ludendorff stared at him. It was obvious that wheels were turning in the Methuselah Man’s brain. “This is a setup,” the professor said at last.
Maddox said nothing.
“You’re too eager,” Ludendorff said. “You’re trying to hide it, my boy, but I see right through you.”
Maddox still said nothing.
Ludendorff crossed his arms as he stared up at the ceiling.
Maddox used his newfound Way, relaxing in his chair, breathing evenly, concentrating—
“I can’t believe this,” Ludendorff said. “Look at you. Captain Maddox is mediating. I can see it in your eyes. Is this an oriental version?”
“What?” asked Maddox.
“Asian, Zen Meditation,” Ludendorff declared. “Why are you doing that?”
“You’re wrong. It isn’t Asian or Buddhist. I’m using a superior method. But that isn’t important. The subject is you, not me.”
“This is most odd. You’re not tired in the least,” Ludendorff said, the wheels clearly turning in his mind again. He eyed the captain carefully.
Maddox didn’t like that, as he felt like a specimen.
Ludendorff snapped his fingers several times. “You were dead tired last time I saw you. It’s why you didn’t go on the darter mission. Now something has happened to change your state. Yet…as far as I know, this should be impossible. It was the damned Builder light weapon that originally weakened you. The Ska—” The professor shook his head. “Your new state in here implies expanded…soul energy I believe you called it.”
“Professor—”
“Now, now,” Ludendorff said, snapping his fingers again. “This is interesting, fascinating. Galyan!”
“Professor—”
“You called, sir?” Galyan asked, appearing in the chamber.
“No,” Maddox said. “Ludendorff called. Surely, you know that.”
“Oh. Yes, well, I suppose I did,” Galyan said.
“Say,” Maddox said. “You were spying on us. How otherwise did you appear when Ludendorff called? This spying will cease immediately.”
“I know you desire privacy, sir,” Galyan said. “But since the incident—”
“What incident?” asked Ludendorff, interrupting.
The little Adok glanced from the professor to the captain. “Oh, no, sir, I wasn’t supposed to refer to that, was I?”
“No,” Maddox said.
Ludendorff chuckled. “I’m the professor. I’m…” His eyes narrowed. He shook his head a moment later. “No. I don’t believe this is a pre-planned trick. I would see through something like that, and you two would know that. So…what happened to the captain? What are you trying to hide?”
Galyan disappeared from the chamber.
“The meditation is the signpost,” Ludendorff said, undeterred. “Yes, yes, I’m beginning to perceive the situation. In some fashion, you received an influx of energy. This is basic, life stuff energy, not drugs or other stimulated processes I’m witnessing.” The professor tilted his head back, perhaps to aid his thinking. “I’m not seeing it,” he said in a short time later. “By that I mean I cannot understand how one can receive such an influx of energy on a permanent basis.”
“And you’re not going to see,” Maddox said. “So, if you want to waste your time on that, go ahead. I want to know why you collared Valerie and Keith like animals while the three of you were aboard the darter.”
“Slaves,” Ludendorff said. “I collared them like slaves, not animals. The reason was simple indeed. I didn’t want any interruptions as I attempted my plan.”
“I can understand that part. But why the android lookalikes? Why store androids in the darter after the Android War?”
Ludendorff blushed for just a moment. It was hardly any shade of red at all, but it was there.
“I’ve never witnessed that before, Professor. Are you embarrassed by your actions? That would be a new development.”
The Methuselah Man shrugged.
“What could possibly embarrass you?” Maddox said. “Oh!”
Ludendorff glared at him.
“This has nothing to do with Lord Drakos or Commander Thrax,” Maddox said. “This has to do with Methuselah Woman Lisa Meyers.”
There was the barest tightening of Ludendorff’s eyes.
“Do you hate Lisa Meyers? Fear her?” asked Maddox. “Or are you in love with her?”
“Why not all three?” mumbled Ludendorff, “or none of them,” he added. “One thing I do know. The woman did not utter idle threats. She’s coming back, and she’s going to return with trouble.”
“And for that you needed to go to this planet?”
Ludendorff looked away, although he nodded shortly.
“Why do it now?” asked Maddox.
“It was a precaution,” Ludendorff said slowly. “I had to set it in motion. The androids were going with me to a particular place. Meaning I would have left Valerie and Keith in the stasis tubes while I went to this place. I didn’t want to risk your precious crewmembers down there.”
“You had android lookalikes to save Valerie and Keith from any harm?”
“That would have been a side effect, but that wasn’t my primary reason for what I did. I think you realize that. I wouldn’t have trusted those two to do what needed doing. The precaution, the setting in motion of a safeguard, is not going to happen now. I’m not going to tell you where the planet is and what I planned to do upon landing. I tried and failed, and got my head bashed in for my efforts. If you want to lock me up for that, go ahead, my boy. See if I care if you all turn to ashes without me.”
Maddox stood and headed for the hatch.
“Where are you going?” Ludendorff asked.
Maddox stopped at the hatch and regarded the professor. He smiled in a predatory way, then he went through the hatch, sealing it behind him.
It was time to keep Ludendorff on ice, as the old saying went. The professor wasn’t going to talk. Fine. Maddox would keep the Methuselah Man in solitary confinement until the professor was ready to answer any question he asked the man.
-14-
“This is highly irregular, sir,” Mary O’Hara said.
The Lord High Admiral hardly noticed that she had spoken. A shift of his head, a glance of his eyes, and then the old man of Star Watch continued to brood as he stared out of one of the shuttle’s windows.
The two of them sat side by side in a passenger compartment of a larger class shuttle. The stars blazed outside, and then there was a cold dark circular blot.
Mary had the window seat. She used it now as she peered out at dark Pluto. It was a dwarf planet in the Kuiper Belt, the largest and second most massive in the Solar System. The dwarf planet was primarily composed of ice and rock and had one-third Luna’s volume and one-sixth its mass.
Pluto had one great distinction. It housed the Builder Scanner that Maddox had brought back from Sind II many years ago already. Three Bismarck-class battleships guarded Pluto, along with several disrupter cannon satellites and other surface defenses, making it a strongpoint in the Solar System.
The Lord High Admiral had journeyed from Earth in the Sargon, using the Conqueror-class battleship’s star-drive jump. With its new heavy metal components, the Sargon could likely take on and defeat the three Bismarck-class battleships, even though the Sargon only had fifty percent greater mass than one of the older battleships.
The Sargon was behind them now as the shuttle continued for Pluto.
It was funny in a way. Maddox had brought the Builder Scanner back home in order to give Star Watch an edge against any invading Imperial Swarm. The scanner had proven instrumental in the two Swarm Wa
rs.
As a long-range Builder com device could do with sound, the scanner could record sensor images from far beyond what seemed reasonable or even conceivable. It could, in fact, scan hundreds of light-years away. The technicians running the scanner had complained about power drains recently. The scanner seemed to be reaching the present limit of its sensor abilities as it reached out to the Mira Binary System over three hundred light-years from Earth.
It was funny because Star Watch was once again using the Builder Scanner against Swarm creatures, some of the same Swarm creatures that had originally invaded Human Space.
“Oh,” O’Hara said, as the shuttle shifted sharply, heading down.
The dark surface of Pluto seemed to rush up. Down there, giant hangar bay doors would be opening. O’Hara had never been on Pluto before. She couldn’t believe that Cook was still seeking her advice. The old man wasn’t letting her be by herself, though. He had more security than ever guarding the two of them. She had become his personal advisor despite the rays that had once caused voices to sound in her head.
The voices had not spoken since then, and no one knew why.
Mary wiped an emotional tear from her eye. It felt so good to be useful again. That had been the worst part about the imprisonment. She wanted to work. She wanted to do. Now, she was doing, and she was going to see what her…what her dear Captain Maddox was going up against this time.
***
The shuttle landed, and the surface bay doors closed. The Lord High Admiral’s party walked across a hangar bay and entered a great lift. The lift sped down many kilometers.
The Builder Scanner was one of the greatest pieces of alien technology that Star Watch owned. The lift stopped, and the party passed several checkpoints. Finally, a colonel with dark hair and stooped shoulders led them into a situation room.
The Lord High Admiral sat at a huge table, with screens high in the middle hanging down from the ceiling. Mary sat two chairs down from the admiral in order to give him some elbow room. The security people moved against the walls.
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