SF Books by Vaughn Heppner

THE A.I. SERIES:

A.I. Destroyer

The A.I. Gene

A.I. Assault

A.I. Battle Station

A.I. Battle Fleet

A.I. Void Ship

A.I. Rescue

A.I. Armada

LOST STARSHIP SERIES:

The Lost Starship

The Lost Command

The Lost Destroyer

The Lost Colony

The Lost Patrol

The Lost Planet

The Lost Earth

The Lost Artifact

The Lost Star Gate

The Lost Supernova

The Lost Swarm

The Lost Intelligence

The Lost Tech

The Lost Secret

The Lost Barrier

The Lost Nebula

Visit VaughnHeppner.com for more information

The Lost Nebula

(Lost Starship Series 16)

by Vaughn Heppner

Illustration © Tom Edwards

TomEdwardsDesign.com

Copyright © 2022 by the author.

This book is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either products of the author’s imagination or used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual events, locales or persons, living or dead, is entirely coincidental. All rights reserved. No part of this publication can be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, without permission in writing from the author.

From The Popular Handbook to the Planets, 19th Edition:

Balder: Fifth largest planet of the AF-19 Star System, third in orbital order.

Planetary Constants:

Diameter: 15,208 kilometers

Mass: 1.23 of Earth

Mean day: 22 hours, 16 minutes, 48.7 seconds.

General Remarks: Balder is a hell world of rock, wind and sweltering heat, barely suitable for human inhabitation. There are pockets of agricultural land at the planet’s north and south poles. The nearly constant hurricanes are fewer in these regions than the rest of the planet, while the summer heat waves are best endured deep within the subterranean caverns.

Some consider the first colony attempts as little more than prisoner dumps, reminiscent of the ancient British practice in Australia. The record shows, however, that the Crowder Refugees were the first to land en masse upon the inhospitable shores of Balder…

From Star Watch Settlement Talks with the Crowder Representatives:

On learning that the Crowder Refugees would remain indefinitely on the Planet Balder:

CROWDER REP: I don’t understand. Why must we live apart? We’re human like the rest of you.

STAR WATCH REP: Of course, you are. But for thousands of years, you’ve embraced an entirely different ethos than those in the Commonwealth. You need time to readjust so your people can integrate peacefully with us.

CROWDER REP: Is this because of Captain Maddox’s report? Yes, I’d say. He tainted you against us. In fact, he has acted hostile to every Crowder refugee seeking a new beginning.

STAR WATCH REP: Captain Maddox certainly filed a report on the exodus and you refugees. It was his responsibility to do so as honestly as he could. The captain was anything but hostile, however, speaking well of Crowder resourcefulness and courage—

CROWDER REP: (interrupting) He called us pirates and killers. Don’t deny it. I know he did, as I read the report.

STAR WATCH REP: What? The report was classified as top secret. I don’t understand how you could have possibly gained access to—(clears throat). Sir, this isn’t about Captain Maddox or his report. This is about integrating your people into the Commonwealth as peacefully and seamlessly as possible. For now, you must live apart. To allow the refugees to mix prematurely with those in the rest of society would create needless tension and heartache between our peoples.

CROWDER REP: Damn Maddox and his incendiary report. He’ll pay for this.

STAR WATCH REP: Sir, you must refrain from threatening the captain or doing anything whatsoever against him. Don’t you understand that thinking is precisely why your people need time to readjust to regular human norms?

CROWDER REP: (Staring, and then smiling and nodding). Please forgive me. I meant nothing by the outburst. The captain and his family are perfectly safe from us. That is a promise I freely grant from the Crowder people, particularly for his selfless effort in helping us escape from the collapsing Crowder System.

-1-

On the outskirts of Carson City in Nevada Sector, Captain Maddox exited the back door of his ranch house. He wore a thick coat and woolen hat because it was cold outside, sixteen degrees Fahrenheit, in fact.

He blew into his cupped hands as he neared the back fence with Milo, a Rottweiler Meta had purchased while he was away in the Crowder System some time ago.

Milo whined, which was odd for the dog. Perhaps he heard coyotes slinking around in back and wanted the chance to run them down.

“Take it easy, boy.” Maddox opened the back gate and hurried toward the barn, with the Rottweiler keeping pace beside him.

The captain was doing Meta’s chore for her because she was getting Jewel ready for bed. Jewel was their three-and-a-half-year-old daughter, a precocious child and Maddox’s little darling. He’d volunteered to feed and blanket the horses, as Jewel had wanted Meta to read more Call of the Wild to her, and that would take getting ready for bed longer than usual.

Milo whined again, but he didn’t race off as he normally did. Instead, the big Rottweiler kept bumping up against his left leg.

Maddox didn’t notice, as he was thinking about the latest offer from the Lord High Admiral: it was a desk job on Earth, but an important one. Meta had practically begged him to take it. Thus, Maddox was giving it more thought than he might otherwise.

At the barn, Maddox separated two flakes of hay from a bale and took it to Star Bright, his wife’s favorite horse. After depositing the hay in the feeder, Maddox slid open a gate, picked up a horse-blanket and entered the stall as Star Bright began eating. He put the blanket on the horse, securing the buckles. Afterward, Maddox repeated the process for Apollo, Meta’s trail horse for riding the backcountry.

Finished with the chore—both quarter horses had enough water—Maddox shut off the barn lights, closed the big sliding doors and headed for the house. That was when he noticed that Milo had remained beside him the entire time, once again bumping against his left leg.

Maddox halted. So did Milo, who looked up and whined yet again.

That caused Maddox’s gut to tighten, which activated his normal senses and also engaged his new intuitive sense gained from Balron the Traveler two missions ago.

Maddox scanned the dark yard. They had four acres altogether. Something was off. He could feel it now. It wasn’t coyotes. It wasn’t a bobcat sniffing around the chicken coup. It wasn’t a bear or a raccoon wandering around looking for scraps. It was—

There was a whine, not from Milo, but of a laser powering up. It came from the oleander bushes near the edge of the property.

Without conscious thought, Maddox broke into a sprint. He could move much faster than a normal man, these days matching what a New Man from the Throne World could do. The action must have caught Milo by surprise. The Rottweiler yelped, following hard after the captain, struggling to catch up.

From the large spread of oleander bushes, an intense bar of light streaked at Maddox, touching him. He dove out of the laser’s path as his bulky winter coat smoked. The laser ceased abruptly and Maddox scrambled to his feet. He didn’t weave, but sprinted hard, vaulting over the backyard fence, Milo doing the same beside him.

The laser flashed again, searing more of the bulky winter coat, but not his flesh underneath.

Maddox ran past a protecting corner of the house, and the laser stopped beaming.

“Captain Maddox!” a deep-voiced man shouted. “You betrayed the Crowder Refugees. You should have known they would never let it go. This is your reward for screwing them. Say goodbye to your wife and daughter, and to your own miserable existence.”

A whoosh sounded, and a fast-moving object left the oleander bushes, striking the side of the house, exploding violently. Wood, glass and insulation blew outward.

Maddox didn’t wait to hear more. He raced for the back door as his heart hammered. They’d threatened his little baby girl and wife. He didn’t fear for himself, nor did he become enraged or hysterical. Instead, given the gravity of the situation, his mind leapt into a hyper-alert state. He must do everything in his power to save his wife and daughter. He must think. He—

I need a weapon. It’s time to counterattack.

No. It was time to find Meta and Jewel to make sure they were safe.

Maddox charged into the house. “Meta!” he shouted. “We’re under attack!”

“No shit, Sherlock,” a man said in the darkness.

Maddox inhaled with shock. The voice—they’re already inside the house. He hadn’t fully engaged his senses after all. The surprise attack had caught him off guard. The house was dark. Lights had been on when he’d gone outside. His intuitive sense should have caused him to recognize that. Were Jewel and Meta all right? If these people had harmed—

“This is how it’s going to be,” the hidden man said in a gloating voice, interrupting the captain’s thoughts.

The Rottweiler growled savagely.

“What the—?” the man said, before he screamed in pain and thudded onto the floor.

Maddox moved like a great jungle cat, vaulting over the island in the middle of the kitchen, landing beside a desperate man struggling against Milo. Something bright flashed—an edged blade.

Maddox stomped on the man’s wrist so bones cracked. The knife clattered onto the floor. He knelt beside the man and hit him in the face once, twice—the man sagged.

“Milo, release.”

The superbly trained Rottweiler released the man.

“Guard,” Maddox ordered.

Milo growled and stood stiff-legged over the prone man.

“You try to flee,” Maddox told the groaning man, “and the dog will kill you.”

Maddox thereupon scooped a pistol off the floor where it had fallen when the man had first crumpled. He stepped away from Milo and the prone man. He had to find Meta and Jewel. He had to make sure they were safe. Should he threaten the man for info, or would that take too much precious time?

Maddox heard something from the living room. His gut tightened, and the instincts of a predator kicked into high gear. He began creeping toward the sound, straining to hear more, enough so he’d know what to do.

“Maddox,” a man called from the other room. “If I see you, I’m shooting your daughter. If you so much as—”

There came a thud and a painful grunt. A shot rang out, and then another thud and that of a body collapsing onto the floor.

Maddox burst into the dimly lit living room. A nightlight in a wall socket provided the only illumination.

A big man in a leather jacket lay on the floor, a smoking pistol in his clenched grip. A gagged Meta stood above him, with a small block of ornamental metal in her hands. From behind her on the floor, a gagged Jewel watched in fascinated horror. Beside the little girl were the pieces of a broken zip tie.

Meta must have burst her bonds when the man wasn’t looking, as he’d been making threats. She’d picked up the ornament from a nightstand and clubbed the intruder from behind.

Maddox smiled grimly.

Whoever had set up the hit against his family mustn’t have been fully briefed. Meta was a housewife, but she used to work for Star Watch, and before that, she’d been a contract killer. She’d also been genetically modified before birth, growing up on a 2G planet. Thus, she was much stronger and faster than she looked.

Meta dropped the ornament, removed her gag and tore the gun from the man’s unconscious grip.

“There’re at least two more outside,” Maddox said.

Meta looked up. She was a beautiful blonde-haired woman with a classic hourglass shape. With a cry, Meta whirled around and scooped Jewel up with her free arm, hugging the small girl to her as she removed the gag. “They surprised me. I was reading to Jewel, and they burst into the bedroom and surprised me.”

“Don’t worry. It’s almost over.”

“Mommy,” Jewel said.

Another RPG round must have struck the house, for another explosion rocked it.

Maddox’s eyes narrowed. He’d had enough of that. He wanted to kill these bastards, make sure his girls were safe.

“You go that way,” he said, pointing at the front door. “Run to the neighbors. Tell Bob to grab his rifle.”

“No,” Meta said. “I’m staying with you. Besides, there might be others than those firing rockets. Maybe there’s a whole squad of them outside.”

Maddox stared at his wife. She wasn’t a mere crewmember he could simply order to do this or that. Crewmember. What was he thinking? He cursed under his breath.

“What’s wrong?” asked Meta.

“Plenty,” Maddox said. “But you’re right. There could be a squad outside. It’s time we do this right.”

-2-

Galyan, the small alien holoimage of an Adok, represented a mix of the computerized engrams of Driving Force Galyan—the last Adok Commander of the Homeworld Defense Fleet—and an ancient Adok AI program. The computers and machines that gave the holoimage “life” were in the armored center of Starship Victory.

The starship was composed of two great ovals welded together. The vessel presently orbited Earth high above the North American continent. Most of the crew were on shore leave. A skeleton force maintained the vessel, together with Galyan.

The holoimage was small, with a leathery face lines crisscrossing everywhere and had thin ropy arms. He floated, as he had no physical substance, but he also controlled any ship system he desired.

Galyan had been contemplating an idea that had fixated his thoughts for some time now. Over six thousand years ago, a wandering Swarm fleet had invaded his star system, attacking the planet. The Adok home fleet had perished that day. During the battle, the Swarm had launched massive assaults, causing the planet to break apart into pieces.

Starship Victory alone had survived, holding what the now-extinct Adoks would have called the deified Galyan.

Perhaps some Adoks in some fashion had survived the genocide of the species, he was thinking. If that were true, it would mean the Adoks weren’t extinct, but thriving somewhere.

The possibility of such a thing had taken hold of Galyan’s imagination. Thus, he wanted to search for any missing Adoks, starting at his old homeworld.

Yet, his people had not invented any faster-than-light drive. Nor did Galyan recall any interstellar missions at sub-light speeds. Still, couldn’t Adoks have sent a mission outward before the Swarm invaded the system?

It was a long shot. Despite that, Galyan wanted to search the star systems near his old homeworld and see if there was…something to indicate living Adoks somewhere.

Until this time, Galyan had believed he was the last of his species. While he was not alive in the organic sense, he considered himself a living entity. He thought like an Adok. He acted like an Adok. He looked like an Adok.

“I must search for my people,” he said softly.

He floated through the empty bridge. Consoles blinked. The main screen showed Earth below and soft purring sounds told him the air circulation systems were working perfectly.

There was a beep then, a call from someone down on the planet.

“This is Driving Force Galyan of Starship Victory,” he said, activating and rerouting the comm system to him. “How can I help you?”

“Galyan, this is Maddox,” the captain said in a strained voice.

“Is something wrong, sir?”

“My house and family are under attack.”

“This instant?” asked Galyan.

“Meta and I have subdued two enemy operatives inside. There are more outside—”

“A moment, sir,” Galyan said, interrupting. “I am transferring down to your home.”

The little Adok holoimage vanished from the bridge of Victory and—using a special projector—appeared beside Captain Maddox. As Galyan appeared, another detonation shook the outer house.

“Oh dear,” Galyan said. “This is wrong.”

A big black dog growled savagely and leapt at the Adok holoimage, harmlessly passing through him.

“Milo, sit,” Maddox said in a stern voice.

“Is that your animal?” asked Galyan.

“Yes. Now listen. The last time I saw them, the outside operatives were hiding behind the main oleander bushes beside the street, beside Broadway.”

“Do you wish for me to investigate and see if they are still there?”

“That, and incapacitate the leader.”

“What about any others?”

“Take them down as well,” Maddox said.

Meta made a noise.

“Yes,’ Maddox said, as he glanced at his wife. “And see if there are more operatives outside. See if you can detect any surveillance devices watching the house.”

“Yes, sir,” Galyan said.

“Get going. I want to put a stop to this now.” Maddox pointed at his child. “Jewel is here.”

Galyan used his combat-grade AI functions, studying a geographic computer layout of the house and property. He then vanished, going into ghost mode as he did so.

He reappeared behind the oleander bushes, relative to the house, as a barely discernable holoimage. He saw two men. One was huge: six-eight, weighing at least three hundred pounds. He had a big tube, a launcher, on his shoulder and wore metallic armor like an old-style Roman legionary. The other was much smaller and had a comm device, speaking into it.

“What’s next?” the huge man asked.

“We may have to fire the mortars,” the smaller man said, looking up at the big man.

“I thought you wanted Maddox alive, taken captive.”

“We do. But it’s likely Maddox took out the two fools we sent in. If—”

Galyan had heard enough. He activated an advanced machine in the center of Victory. It created an energy pulse and transferred it down to him, which he discharged from his holoimage with extreme prejudice.

The energy pulse struck the two humans. They both collapsed, falling to the ground. The smaller one trembled for several seconds before he stopped breathing. The big one groaned, tried to rise and then fell back down.

Sounds came from the fallen comm device from the smaller man. Galyan listened. It was the mortar team asking if they should fire.

“I must not let that happen,” Galyan said to himself.

The holoimage did not vanish and reappear at the mortar team’s position. Instead, he used Victory’s sensors, pinpointing their exact coordinates and then seeing them via ship teleoptics. Galyan activated an antipersonnel laser on the starship. The sniper weapon fired, the beam passing through the atmosphere to stab the three-man team—and their mortar for good measure. A second look with the teleoptics showed three charred corpses and molten slag.

“Captain,” Galyan said, calling him via the starship’s comm.

“Yes,” Maddox said.

“If you could hurry, sir, I’ve incapacitated the big one.”

“He’s the leader?”

“Sir, there is more taking place. If you’ll take charge of the prisoner, I can continue to monitor the situation without having to worry about you, Meta and your daughter.”

“Are there others outside?”

Galyan used the starship’s teleoptics. “I do not see any.”

“What about surveillance devices?”

“I’m searching, but not seeing any yet.”

“I’m on my way,” Maddox said.

As Galyan continued to search for surveillance devices, he also began an analysis program. Someone had tried to harm his family. Maddox, Meta and Jewel weren’t the only members he considered his family, but they were the most important. The attack on them made the AI angry, and that meant he was going to get to the bottom of this as quickly as he could.

-3-

Near the oleander bushes, Maddox took one look at the big attacker lying on the ground with his legionary-like armor and launch tube. He’d seen the type before: a Merovingian. They’d been altered shock troops for Methuselah Woman Lisa Meyers.

Meyers was dead, sentenced by the Lord High Admiral and executed by firing squad, her flesh annihilated in an incinerator so every particle had been turned to ash so no one could use the DNA to fashion a Meyers clone.

Did the Merovingian lying here mean Meyers was alive in some manner? Maddox shook his head. He didn’t think so. Knowledge of the process or technique of altering normal people—usually men—into Merovingians, could well have escaped the Crowder System. In fact, the big man lying here pointed to the Crowder representatives in Geneva, Switzerland Sector.

Likely, in the original Crowder System, some of Meyers’ people had gotten off the molten moon Moloch and slipped onto a vessel in the refugee fleet that had jumped over two hundred thousand light-years with Victory.

Maddox had just gotten word about the Crowder reps grumbling about his report concerning their strange ways. Would they dare to try to kill him, his wife and daughter for that? He wouldn’t put it past them.

“Sir,” Galyan said.

Maddox whirled around, his gun jerking into line— “Oh, Galyan,” he said. “It’s you.”

“I forgot, sir. You weren’t expecting me to just pop into sight. I’m sorry for surprising you.”

“Never mind about that. Do you have something to report?”

“I do, sir. I’ve spoken with the Lord High Admiral. He’s appalled at what transpired here tonight. He believes the Crowder reps are responsible for this action.”

Maddox nodded. He’d given that a seventy-five percent probability. What about the other twenty-five percent, though? He needed to check that as well.

“The Lord High Admiral suggests you move your family into a secure location. Then, he would like to see you immediately.”

“In Geneva?” asked Maddox.

“Yes, sir.”

“Why there?”

“I believe he has an assignment for you.”

“What are you talking about? He’s been trying to turn me into a desk jockey. You’re talking about an assignment aboard Victory?”

“I am, sir.”

Maddox turned away as police sirens blared in the distance. In truth, he’d been getting antsy with nothing to do but relax. He needed action. His New Man heritage mandated that he keep moving or it started to feel as if his entire body was itchy. Meta would want him to remain home, now more than ever. But the action tonight showed him—

He turned back to stare at the Merovingian. Who had fashioned the brute? The two in the house had struck him as criminals. Their speech patterns, the way they’d answered his questions—

“Galyan, I’m taking the prisoner.”

“The police are almost here,” the holoimage said.

“Do you want to argue or help me protect my family?”

“You are on shore leave, sir, remember?”

“Don’t give me excuses. Just make your decision.”

“You are taking the prisoner. What should I tell the police? They are almost here.”

“Tell them about the two in the house. Keep watch for enemy surveillance and then protect Meta and Jewel. Can I count on you?”

“With my life, sir,” Galyan said.

Maddox started for the unconscious Merovingian. He halted and faced Galyan. “You’ve done well. Good work.”

“Thank you, sir. I appreciate that. Are you sure it is wise to take the prisoner? It is highly irregular and against many regulations.”

“They tried to kill my family.”

“That does not answer the question.”

“If you think about it long enough, it does,” Maddox said.

Galyan’s eyes began to blink rapidly as his computer processors worked harder.

Maddox heard the nearing sirens. It was time to get started. He crouched, wrestled the huge lug to a sitting position and maneuvered him onto his shoulder. He straightened, glad he’d continued to do dead lifts. Then, he staggered toward his pickup, needing some seclusion so he could have a talk with the Merovingian.

-4-

Maddox drove out of the long driveway onto the side street and then turned onto Broadway as four police cruisers with flashing lights roared for his house.

Technically, he should stay to give a report. Meta and Galyan could do that. He sped away as the sirens blared in earnest.

Maddox glanced at the big man slumped in the passenger-side seat. It was a risk taking him like this. He’d fought against Merovingians before, and lost more than once. He’d won, though, when it had counted.

The sirens abruptly ceased, which meant the police had arrived at his house. Meta could reach him via comm, and he didn’t plan to go far.

In fact, Maddox turned three times before he drove onto federal land. The tires kicked gravel as he headed for a nearby water tower, a fat cylinder that stored rain and snow water.

There were hundreds of trails on federal land for horse riding, walking and motorcycles. From here in Northern Nevada, he could theoretically use the dirt backcountry trails all the way to Las Vegas in the south.

But he wasn’t going that far tonight.

Maddox braked, put the truck into park and shut off the engine. He climbed out, walked around the front and opened the passenger-side door. He’d expected the Merovingian to slump toward him.

Instead, the man lunged out, grappling, growling as if drunk. The Merovingian was strong, stronger than Maddox. He tried a wrestling hold—

Maddox twisted free, backpedalling.

The armored Merovingian fell onto the ground.

There was no artificial lighting here, just the full moon and plenty of stars. The elevation approached five thousand feet above sea level. That meant a bright moon, giving them a ghostly landscape.

“Bastard,” the Merovingian slurred.

Maddox charged the big man, who had climbed up onto his hands and knees, and he kicked, connecting with the chin. The Merovingian collapsed onto the dirt, breathing hard but still conscious.

“You’re tough,” Maddox said—

The Merovingian cursed, and once more began to rise up to his hand and knees.

“—But you’re as dumb as a post.”

The huge man raised his head. He had bruises on his face and puffiness around his eyes. “You’re stupid to have let me live.”

“Think about that a second,” Maddox said.

The Merovingian scowled.

“I should have killed you for trying to kidnap my women.”

“Why don’t you?”

“Because you’re nothing but a tool,” Maddox said.

“Yeah,” the Merovingian said, “a hammer.”

Maddox frowned. Something was off with the brute. The process that developed a Merovingian dulled their intellect. This one didn’t sound like a retard, but had ordinary intelligence. That was interesting.

“Who hired you?” Maddox said.

A grin slid onto the Merovingian’s face. “Your enemies.”

“Do you want me to pry the information out of you?”

“You and what army?”

“Maybe you’re not as smart as I figured. You’re a tool like I said, a hammer that failed. Don’t you know your employers will kill you to cover their tracks?”

The big man pushed himself to a sitting position. He touched his nose, and then wiped it with the palm of a hand, wiping the blood onto his pants.

“In other words,” Maddox said, “you’re disposable.”

“They said you’re tricky. They were right. You’re trying to trick me.”

“Nothing I’ve said is a trick. It’s the truth. What’s more, you know it. I can tell by how you’re listening. You’re a disposable hireling.”

“I guess I am. So what?”

“Tell me what I want to know, and I’ll see that you get off easy, maybe end up on a prison planet instead of six feet under.”

The Merovingian looked up at the stars. He shrugged and regarded Maddox. “Don’t know much. A little man gave me my orders. He squinted a lot while talking to me, like he had trouble with the light. When I say little, I don’t mean just compared to me, but little compared to Del.”

“Who’s Del?”

“The gunman working with me. He coordinated the strike against your house. I should have led it.” The Merovingian shrugged.

“What do you mean by gunman?” asked Maddox.

“Del was a criminal, a gunman, a hitman. He bragged about it to me. Said he’s killed seven people so far for money.”

“What did you do before this?”

The Merovingian frowned and shook his head. “I don’t know. I should, but I don’t.”

“I do,” Maddox said in a tired voice.

“Yeah? What’s that?”

“You were an ordinary man. Someone gave you drugs to transform you into a Merovingian. You’ve kept most of your intellect—that’s my guess anyway. But the process stole your memories.”

The big man scowled. “That’s a hell of a thing to do to a guy.”

“Agreed,” Maddox said.

“Well…”

Maddox could see it coming a kilometer away. The Merovingian thought he was being clever. The man had told the truth because maybe he understood that Maddox could tell the difference. The brute had been trying to lull him, though. To test the theory, Maddox stepped closer.

The Merovingian scrambled up, roaring as he charged.

Maddox had crouched during part of the talk with the man. He’d picked up a hand-sized rock then. Now, he struck the Merovingian a hard blow across the forehead, using the rock as his tool.

Once more, the big man thudded onto the ground, unconscious.

Maddox looked at the Merovingian, deciding he’d get no more from the man. It was time to turn him over to the police and then talk to Meta.

-5-

Back at the house, in the living room—minus the captured operatives—Meta stared at Maddox in disbelief. He’d returned in time to give the Merovingian into police custody.

That hadn’t gone over well with the policeman in charge. But they’d taken the big man just the same and eventually left.

Maddox had just finished telling Meta the news that he was going to see the Lord High Admiral.

“You’re going to Geneva tonight?” Meta asked.

“We’ve been over this. Why belabor it then? I need to—” Maddox quit speaking and shook his head. He wasn’t going to keep explaining. Meta knew the score. It was time for her to accept it.

The lights were on in the house. Jewel was upstairs, sleeping. Meta had tied her long blonde hair behind her head. Her eyes were puffy but fixed on him.

“You’re going to leave Jewel and me to fend for ourselves just like you did when you fled to the Crowder System?”

“I didn’t flee to anywhere,” Maddox said, annoyed.

“No?” Meta asked, with whiplash in her voice.

“Look. I’m not suited to just sitting around shuffling reports in an office. I need to act, to have action.”

“Then join a city-league basketball team or a hockey team.”

“I crave meaningful action, not simply playing a game.”

“You listen to me,” Meta said. “You have to—”

It struck Maddox then, the way out of his dilemma. “You should come with me. I don’t know why I haven’t seen it before. You and Jewel can come with me aboard Victory.”

Meta stared at him.

Maddox grinned, delighted with himself. It was a great idea. He wouldn’t have to worry about them anymore. He’d know exactly where they were.

As Meta watched him, the anger and sorrow drained from her face as compassion took over. She stepped closer and took one of his hands. “That’s a generous offer. But do you really want your only daughter on a Star Watch attack vessel? Do you think that’s wise?”

“In most cases, no,” Maddox said. “But in this case, I do, yes, I sure do.”

“No. Jewel can’t go with you. I won’t have my baby thrown into danger because her father is too…I don’t know, too proud to know when—”

“Meta,” Maddox said, perhaps harsher than he intended.

Her face stiffened.

Maddox recognized the look and had been married long enough that he realized what he needed to do. “Meta,” he said, putting his arms around her, pulling her against him. She felt so good. She was such a beauty with curves in all the right places, wonderful breasts, and—he loved watching her walk the most of all. “Meta, we’ve been over this. I’m a man of action, a doer. Until I’m too old or crippled, I’m going to continue to do and act. You should join me this time. I need you with me.”

“And Jewel?” asked Meta, with a warning note in her voice.

“Either bring her along or leave her with my grandmother.”

“With Mary?”

“Mary would love the chance for this,” Maddox said. “Besides, I’m sure this is a short mission. We’ll only be gone a few weeks.”

“You have no idea if that’s true or not.”

“Call it a gut feeling.”

“Like the last time you ran out the door?”

“I didn’t run,” he said.

“Okay, you didn’t run. But you were glad to get away.”

“I’m a doer,” Maddox said stubbornly, sidestepping the issue. “I love being at home. I love you and Jewel. But I also love my work. I wish you could understand that.”

“Maddox—”

“For millennia, men have left home to work,” Maddox said. “It’s the way things are. You make our home worth having. I make the home possible. But most of all, a man must work, must provide.”

“You can provide just as well working a staff job here on Earth.”

Maddox shook his head. “I’m an active member of Star Watch, a front-line fighter. It’s what I do. If you take that away from me…” He shook his head again. “I’d go stir crazy.”

Meta wriggled out from his embrace. She turned away as she hugged herself. “I know,” she said softly. “I realize all that you’re saying. But I…I need you with me.”

“Then come with me this time.”

“And leave my baby?”

“She’s three and a half,” Maddox said. “A short vacation might do you good. We’ll only be gone a few weeks.”

Meta whirled around. “How can you know that?”

“I don’t,” Maddox admitted. “But it seems reasonable.”

Meta searched his eyes, sighing in the end. “All right, go to Geneva and speak to the Lord High Admiral. When you get back…I’ll give you my answer then.”

Maddox grinned, realizing that he was itching to be away on a mission. He pulled out a comm device to contact Victory. He’d have Keith use the tin can to fold to outside Carson City and then fold him to Geneva. He wanted to catch, to punish, the people who’d authorized the attack against his home, his family. He was certain the Lord High Admiral would give him the information he needed to track the bastards down and deal with them his way.

-6-

Five hours later, Maddox was ushered into the office of the Lord High Admiral of Star Watch. The old man never seemed to change. He was a big oak of a man with thick white hair, a white uniform and a visage that demanded respect.

Cook sat behind a huge desk, setting down a reader to regard the captain. The old man shook his head and sighed.

“Officially, I’m against you taking a prisoner from the scene of a crime,” Cook said. “That was wrong, and it’s giving me a headache dealing with the Nevada governor.”

“It went that high?”

“Only because he and the police view it as a highhanded use of your Star Watch authority and privilege. I’m not fond of you doing that, either. We’re talking about a half-Merovingian here. He could have overpowered you in the desert.”

“Galyan had zapped him. I wasn’t too worried.”

“Still, it was a needless risk.”

“It gave us a lead: to check the criminal elements. The one named Del has a criminal record.”

“Fine,” Cook said. “You discovered something the police would have in short order anyway.”

“Time may still be critical to all this.”

Cook drummed his big fingers on the desk. “Fine,” he said in his deep voice. “The latest reports are in, and except for the half-Merovingian, the others were regular Earth criminals as you suggested. They were hired for the assault upon your house.”

“Were the mortar-team members also criminals?”

“No. They were mercenaries.”

“Do you know who hired them?”

Cook shook his head. “Colonel Aldo from Intelligence is running the investigation. He suspects the Crowder reps ultimately set the mission into motion, but he hasn’t found the connection between them and the criminals yet. Still...he did say a squinting man, a small man, did the hiring. We don’t know any more than that, though.”

“Do we have any idea how or why the Merovingian maintained his intellect but not his former memories?” Maddox asked.

“Unfortunately, not yet, and now not likely any time soon.”

“Why not?”

“The Merovingian is dead.”

“What? How did it happen?”

Cook scowled. “The Carson City police were in the middle of the interrogation when mortar rounds rained upon the station, killing everyone.”

“Our enemy had the gall to pull the same trick twice?”

“It worked this time, as the police didn’t have Galyan running interference for them.”

“Did you apprehend the attackers at least?”

“No.”

“You mean they’re running loose?”

“I don’t mean that,” Cook said. “They’re dead. And before you keep pummeling me with questions, you should know that their heads exploded. No one shot them, and none of them had any brain implants. Their heads simply exploded as our people moved in.”

Maddox scowled until his eyes widened with understanding. “Spacer adepts might have been able to do that. And Spacers might have hired the criminals and given the Merovingian his orders. Apparently, they all reported to a small, squinting man. A Spacer without his black goggles might squint a lot. Most Spacers are small, too, as they’re of South-East Asian extraction.”

“That’s not bad,” Cook said. “But what connection do the Crowder people have with Spacers?”

“None that I know. However, Vint Diem worked on the moon Moloch in the Crowder System.”

“Vint Diem worked for Lisa Meyers, not the Crowder people.”

“True,” Maddox said. “But that is a link, however dubious.”

“Agreed,” Cook said, “this is all tenuous at best. Perhaps the Crowder people have a method for exploding heads at a distance.”

“I don’t recall anything like that in the Crowder System.”

Cook sighed. “Whatever the case, the Crowder reps have proven exceptionally clever and ruthless to an unusual degree. No wonder you did so well in their system. They’re all like you.”

“Not quite. I’m not amoral.”

“I’m not sure they are either. They don’t adhere to our moral code, certainly, but I wouldn’t necessarily call them amoral.”

“They tried to kill my family.”

“We don’t know that yet,” Cook said. “The only connection is the recent threat against you. That puts them on the list all right, but we can’t be sure that isn’t just a coincidence.”

“We should interrogate the reps.”

Cook sighed again. “If Star Watch didn’t adhere to the rule of law, I’d do just that.”

“We’re not going to do it?”

“Before they agreed to come to Earth, I granted the representatives ambassadorial immunity. We cannot possibly torture them and call ourselves civilized, especially as we’ve denied their request to leave Balder because we don’t think they’re civilized.”

“We sent them to the planet Balder?”

Cook nodded.

Maddox inhaled, held it for several seconds and then exhaled slowly. “Galyan said you summoned me in order to give me a new assignment.”

The Lord High Admiral leaned back in his chair as his big hands held onto the edge of the desk. “I’m afraid this is an odd assignment for you, maybe even an insult after what you and your family just endured.”

“Oh?”

“I want you to go to Balder and fix the situation for us.”

“Go to the new Crowder planet?” asked Maddox, half-incredulously.

“The situation demands an unorthodox approach. And there’s a problem that I’m beginning to doubt anyone else can solve but for you. A team of Crowder dissidents has captured or kidnapped the leaders, holding them hostage.”

“That doesn’t sound like them,” Maddox said, frowning. “People climb rank in Crowder society by killing someone higher up on the ladder. If the kidnappers have captured the leaders, they would have killed them and become the new leaders.”

“I’ve read your report and that of the sociology and anthropology teams we sent to study them. You all say the same thing. However, that isn’t the issue. The key is the kidnappers’ demands: that Star Watch relocate the Crowder Refugees to a different planet.”

“Have they said why?”

“You mean other than the hellish aspects of Balder?”

“The planet is that bad?”

Cook nodded.

Maddox raised a questioning eyebrow.

Cook squirmed until he began to explain: “Balder is the perfect place for them. I don’t mean the Crowder people deserve to live in such an inhospitable place. I mean there’s only one Laumer Point in or out of the star system. For caging such an unruly people, it’s perfect. We have enough troubles in the Commonwealth as it is; we don’t need to add to them. Thus, we’re going to keep the Crowder people on Balder for the time being.”

“What’s the timetable for them leaving?”

“The anthropologists say several decades, at least,” Cook said.

“That doesn’t leave much leeway for compromise.”

“No,” Cook said.

“Hmm,” Maddox said. “I don’t know why I’m suited for this. Are the Crowder reps asking for me specifically?”

Cook raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“I thought so,” Maddox said. “So, they plan to try to assasinate me again, huh? How far is Balder from Earth?”

“Two hundred and nine light-years.”

“Are you using the nexus to get these apparently current reports regarding Balder?”

“We are.”

“Will I go to Balder by nexus?”

“Of course,” Cook said.

The Builder nexus Maddox had brought from the Library Planet presently orbited Earth. The nexus could form a hyper-spatial tube, allowing almost instantaneous travel between two distant points. It had revolutionized the strategic configuration or placement of Star Watch’s warships. Since Maddox had been away at the Crowder System, certain traders had sought and finally paid for the privilege of using the nexus for various long-distance commercial ventures.

“I don’t understand why you wished for a face to face with me about this,” Maddox said. “You could have told me all this via comm.”

“Yes,” Cook said, as he brought his chair forward and put his hands flat on the desk. He fixed Maddox with an intent stare. “There’s something odd going on at Balder, and I suspect it has a connection with the Crowder reps’ familiarity with criminal elements here on Earth. As I said, I can’t bust and interrogate the reps because they have ambassadorial immunity. But I can give them into your custody and give you the mission of freeing the kidnapped leaders. That should give you plenty of leeway to discover what is amiss and how the reps have gained access to criminal elements and brain-destroying allies.”

“You’re having me escort the people or person who might have plotted my family’s death back to Balder?”

“I am.”

“Why don’t you think I’ll simply kill them and be done with it?”

“You might,” Cook said. “But if you do, it must be in accordance with legal procedures or while defending yourself from them. I expect you to act within regulations. And you need to be completely sure. There’s always the possibility it’s a trick to frame the Crowder people.”

Maddox said nothing to that.

“More to the point, though,” Cook said, “you know the Crowder people better than anyone else in Star Watch. Further, you’ve had greater success with them than we’ve been able to achieve. They’re a tricky bunch. You’re a—you seem well suited to dealing with them.”

Maddox nodded.

“I feel, though, that I should warn you about Balder.”

“Oh?”

“Like I’ve said, it’s a hell world. It’s rocky, has a bit more gravity than Earth and has constantly blowing winds that make Mars seem mild. The Crowder people hate it. But, as I told you, there’s only one Laumer Point in the star system. Three battleships guard it. The next nearest Laumer Point is three light-years away. On all accounts, we don’t want these people slipping onto Commonwealth planets. Frankly, Captain, they’re a pain in the ass. But, you did the right thing in saving them. Now, we need to find a use for them. Until we do, we’re keeping them holed up on Balder.”

“Even if it kills them?”

This time, Cook didn’t bother answering.

“What happens if I free the leaders, capture the kidnappers but can’t find the connection between the Crowder reps and the criminal elements on Earth?”

“Nothing happens except that you failed your primary assignment. I want you to succeed. I’m thoroughly sick of people using Earth in their schemes. Those days—I want an end to those days.”

“Then I suggest you reinstall the Iron Lady as the head of Intelligence.”

“No. She has her task. Right now, though, she’s on vacation on Earth.”

Maddox rubbed his jaw. “I’d like to take Meta and Jewel with me.”

“Your daughter?” asked Cook. “No, don’t be absurd. Meta, I can see that, but you’ll have to leave your daughter behind on Earth.”

Maddox looked away. If it was true, why had the Crowder reps used criminals and a half-Merovingian to try to kill him and his family? Had the reps really wanted to kill them? Or was there something else going on? Was the squinting man indeed a Spacer? If so, how was he connected to the Crowder people?

“Anything wrong?” asked Cook.

Maddox stood, and he saluted. “Nothing, sir. I’m just woolgathering. If that will be all then…?”

“Yes. Good luck to you, Captain.”

“Thank you, sir.” And with that, Maddox took his leave.

-7-

Sergeant Treggason Riker was getting on in years. He was an older man who might have already started shrinking due to age. He had leathery features, surprisingly most of his hair, and stooped just the slightest bit these days. He’d never been tall, although even now most people would not call him short. Did that make him average?

Few people thought that.

Sergeant Riker wore overalls, and was on his knees pulling weeds from his outside flowerbed. He didn’t bother wearing gloves. Like his face, his hands were leathery. The left hand was bionic like his left arm and eye.

Riker had debated more than once in the past few years about retiring. He had first met Maddox while they both worked in Intelligence. The old guard had put him with the boy—back then, that was what Riker had thought of Maddox. The boy, the tall whiz kid, had been a genius at Intelligence work with a whirlwind approach. Riker had tagged along to watch out for the lad in case things went wrong.

The older man weeding the flowerbed sighed, adding yet another weed to his growing pile. Maybe it was finally time to call it quits with Star Watch. Sure, he still had steady hands, could pistol shoot with the best of them. His bionic arm gave him an ace in the hole when needed. But he was slowing down, he was sure of it.

Behind him, someone cleared his throat. Riker glanced back and saw Galyan.

“Hello, Riker. How are you doing?”

The sergeant paused, made a spectacle of climbing to his feet and turned around. “Fine, Galyan. It’s good to see you.”

“Are you feeling stiff?”

“A little.”

Galyan cocked his head. “I hope you do not mind, but I am running my personality profile. According to it, you just lied to me.”

Riker raised an eyebrow.

“I feel that we are friends,” Galyan said. “Is that not so?”

“We’re friends,” Riker said.

“Thus, I should not have offended you by speaking truthfully as I did just now.”

“No, Galyan. You didn’t offend me. I suppose I’m not altogether stiff.”

“Good, as I have come to inform you that Captain Maddox requests your presence aboard Victory.”

“I don’t know, Galyan. I think I’m finally going to call it quits.”

“Oh, this is bad news indeed.”

“Why?”

“I want you along this mission.”

“Any particular reason?” asked Riker.

“Yes.”

“Care to tell me what it is?”

“Not yet,” Galyan said.

“It’s a secret?”

“Yes.”

“Is that supposed to make me curious?”

“That was not my intent. Has it made you curious?”

“A little.”

“Why do you want to stay home?”

“It should be obvious. I’m getting old. I’m slowing down.”

“I have not detected that.”

“I have,” Riker said. “I can feel it.”

“Would it help if I say please?”

It was Riker’s turn to cock his head. “Something about this is important to you, eh?”

“Yes.”

“Have you told the captain about it?”

“Not yet,” Galyan said.

Riker scratched his bristling cheek. Last mission in the Crowder System, over two hundred thousand light-years from Earth, had been harrowing. Riker had wondered for a time if they’d ever get back home. They had, but it had been so touch and go… Was Galyan manifesting an Adok computer glitch? Riker didn’t like the idea, but it might be so.

The old man sighed. Riker had had Maddox’s back for so long that it bothered him to leave it to someone else. Sure, he was longer in the tooth these days, but he had his bionic arm and eye, and he had experience, a truckload of it. Was this all about reflexes and fast action? No, dammit, it was about using your head. He had the most tightly screwed-on head of the captain’s crew. He had good old horse sense, common sense, which wasn’t the least bit common, it turned out.

“Meta is joining us this time,” Galyan said.

“Really? What about Jewel?”

“She is remaining behind with her great-grandmother.”

“I’ll be,” Riker said. “I never would have guessed that.”

“We should only be gone a week or two at most—and we’re using the Builder nexus to reach Balder.”

“Telling me must be a security breach,” Riker said. “I haven’t agreed to go yet. You shouldn’t have given me the destination.”

“Please don’t report it, Riker.”

“That’s a second breach. Are you sure you’re operating normally?”

“Quite sure,” Galyan said.

Riker muttered under his breath. “Oh, very well. You can tell the captain to send Keith for me. I’ll be coming.”

“I am glad to hear it, Riker. I will see you again up at the ship.”

“Sure thing…” Riker had almost called Galyan son. But if there was one member of the crew far older than him, it was the six-thousand-year-old AI. “I’ll start packing.”

***

Galyan disappeared and reappeared in Victory’s main hangar bay. He appeared beside a short, blond-haired lieutenant standing beside a tin can, a fold-fighter.

The short lieutenant was Keith Maker, the best damn pilot in all of Star Watch, by Keith’s own estimation, and performance, if the truth be told.

“Well?” asked Keith.

“Riker is coming. He told me to tell you that you can pick him up.”

“Really? I thought when we left last time that the old man said he was quitting for good. What changed his mind?”

“Who can tell?”

Keith shrugged and turned to enter the fold-fighter.

Galyan watched Keith, and the AI felt slightly guilty. He had not told Keith the exact truth. He hadn’t lied either. Who can tell? Well, Galyan could tell. Further, Galyan could have told Keith that he had studied Riker’s personality profile in depth. He had used Riker’s protective instincts regarding the captain. Riker felt like a father toward Maddox, and any hint of danger to him or his family would cause Riker to run to the rescue—if he could.

Galyan had known exactly what he had been saying to Riker. Was that wrong of him to do that?

“No,” Galyan told himself. “I need all the help I can get finding my people. If nothing else, Sergeant Riker is a good luck talisman. We have always had him with us.”

So, that settled the matter for the Adok AI. Everything seemed to be falling into place just as Galyan had planned.

-8-

Maddox sat in the captain’s chair on the bridge of Victory. It felt good to be back. He’d said goodbye to Jewel at his grandmother’s place in Kauai, kissing the girl’s cheeks and praying for God to watch over her while he and Meta were away. Then, he’d taken his leave, helping a crying Meta into the waiting fold-fighter.

His wife presently sat at the comm station on the bridge. Commander Valerie Noonan wasn’t going to be joining them on the run to Balder. She was away on a secret mission for the Patrol in the Beyond.

“Are we all accounted for?” Maddox asked.

“Yes, sir,” Galyan said, who had told him he had been studying the starship’s personnel list.

“Lieutenant,” Maddox said to Keith.

“Whenever you’re ready, sir, give me the word.”

Maddox glanced around the bridge. It had been a rush job getting everyone here, meaning they were missing a few people. But the starship had enough to run the systems and provide him with a complement of Marines for any trouble down on Balder.

Maddox sat forward, looking at Russia Sector on the main screen. “Tell them we’re ready, Meta.”

“Yes, sir,” Meta said, who had the nexus people online.

“Start the procedure,” Maddox told Keith.

“Aye-aye, sir.”

The starship turned away from its orbital position over Russia, heading for the giant pyramid in space between Earth and Luna. That was the Builder nexus, brought here from the Library Planet System over one thousand light-years from Earth.

Maddox wasn’t sure that it was good idea to jump right into the Balder System. Almost everyone had been on leave. A few days working the ship would get everyone back into shape. A few days dealing with the Crowder reps—the passengers—might be wise as well. But the Lord High Admiral had told him to jump straight there.

Maddox rubbed his chin. Once they reached the Balder System—

“The nexus is ready for us,” Meta said, interrupting his thought.

“Mr. Maker,” Maddox said.

“I’m on it, sir,” Keith said.

As Victory left Earth orbit, heading for the nexus and building up velocity, the giant pyramid began to pulse with power. Soon, it created a hyper-spatial tube, one that would be connected to the Balder System two hundred and nine light-years away from Earth. The tube bypassed Laumer Points and FTL drives, everything.

“Let’s do it,” Maddox said.

Keith piloted the ancient starship from the helm, steering for a swirling white opening, the beginning of the tube.

Maddox realized abruptly that the tiniest modicum of worry tugged at his intuitive sense. There was something not quite right going on, but he couldn’t pinpoint what that might be.

Maddox reconsidered that even as he maintained an outer calm. As captain, people watched him. One of the keys to being a good captain was by maintaining calm so the crew remained calm.

“We’ll be entering the tube in five seconds,” Keith said.

There were other ships near the nexus, but no other ships headed for the opening. Star Watch Conqueror-class battleships were on standby. If any unauthorized ship suddenly surged toward the opening, the battleships would fire at it.

“Three seconds to entry,” Keith said.

“Steady as she goes,” Maddox said.

Keith glanced back at him.

Maddox realized he shouldn’t have said anything. Did the pilot realize he was nervous about something?

“One second,” Keith said.

Maddox remained silent this time.

The mighty double-oval starship entered the hyper-spatial tube. In an instant of time, it slipped along the tube and popped out on the other side, hopefully in the Balder System two hundred and nine light-years from Earth.

-9-

As had happened countless times before, Maddox came out of the jump lag that occurred using these faster-than-light travel methods. He looked around the bridge, waiting. Nothing seemed out of order as the others were slumped at their stations, still in the grip of lag.

Galyan stirred, his holoimage coming into sharper focus. “Is all well, sir?”

“Seems to be,” Maddox said. “Where are we?”

“The ship’s sensors are not yet operating.”

Maddox didn’t say anything, but waited.

“There,” Galyan said a little later. “The sensors have activated. By all indications, we are in the Balder System, sir.”

“Get the main screen operable as soon as possible.”

“That would be now. Take a look, sir.”

As the main screen flickered to life Maddox saw a Laumer Point buoy, indicating a wormhole opening to a nearby star system. Three Star Watch Bismarck-class battleships guarded the way into the Laumer Point. They had orders to shoot and destroy any Crowder vessel attempting to use the wormhole to escape the Balder System.

Three battleships did not seem like anything near enough, however. If all the Crowder vessels used to ferry the refugees—hundreds of spaceships, some of them quite large and others military grade—rushed the Laumer Point together, they would swamp the three battleships. The older Star Watch warships would discourage a small group from attempting an escape, or physically stop a small group. For the blockage to work, though, the majority of the refugees would have to voluntarily agree to remain in the Balder System, or at least not attempt a mass escape.

That meant Star Watch needed to convince the Crowder majority that staying on Balder III was a good idea. It was either that or Star Watch would have to seriously bolster the three-ship flotilla. There were a few other Star Watch vessels included with the battleships: two destroyers, a ship tender and a recreational vessel for the various crews’ relaxation on the extended mission. But even all combined, they would not halt a massed Crowder assault. At best, they were a deterrent and a tripwire.

It might be good to remember that while here.

Maddox stood, and the scene on the main screen shifted. It showed the G-class star, a little bigger and brighter than Sol. A second later, the star disappeared as Balder III came into focus. It was a terrestrial-sized planet, mostly brown and desert yellow with faint sprinklings of green and blue near the two poles.

By all reports, Balder III was a hell world: hot and exceptionally windy. It had three small moons, one of them presently visible, a dark object that hardly reflected any light.

Around Balder III in mostly low orbit was a huge fleet of disparate spaceships: the massive dreadnoughts and lesser Crowder naval vessels, haulers of varying sizes, transports, tugs, sloops, hundreds of private space-worthy craft and many not-so-space-worthy ships. This was the armada of vessels that had fled the doomed Crowder System with its exodus of several million survivors. Maddox had led the way that Ludendorff’s repairs had opened over two hundred thousand light-years away.

By all the reports, one fourth to one third of the passengers had attempted to restart life on the desert planet below. The rest—what were they waiting for?

Something else, Maddox realized: something better.

“Sir,” Galyan said. “I am detecting an anomaly near the planet.”

“Be more specific.”

“I am detecting minute wave distortions six hundred and thirteen kilometers above the planetary surface. The distortions are one quarter the size of Victory in apparent size.”

“There are hundreds of spaceships in low orbit out there, and you detected this wave distortion?”

“I am aware of that. I have already noted twenty-seven vessels with dangerously low and degrading orbits.”

“That many?” asked Maddox.

“I imagine there are more on the other side of the planet.”

“This wave distortion is something else?”

“Of an entirely different category,” Galyan replied.

“Do you think the distortion denotes a cloaked vessel?”

“I have given that a ninety-four percent probability. No, make that ninety-six percent probability.”

“Is it a Crowder cloaking device?”

“I cannot say with complete assurance, but I highly doubt that.”

“A cloaked vessel of alien origin then?” asked Maddox.

“I think that probable.”

“Pierce the cloak, if you can.”

“I have been working on it as we speak, sir. Please grant me a little more time.”

Maddox nodded. Could someone be waiting for them? Or was this a smuggling operation in real time? It hardly seemed likely someone would be waiting for Victory. The Lord High Admiral had just given him the assignment. Could spies in Star Watch work that fast to give an enemy enough time to put a cloaked vessel at Victory’s latest objective? That seemed preposterous on the face of it. This was likely a smuggling operation or something more nefarious. Whatever the case, he didn’t like or trust the wave distortion.

“How far is the planet from us?” Maddox asked.

“Fifteen million kilometers, sir,” Galyan said.

Maddox grew thoughtful. In interstellar terms, the nexus people had put them right on top of Balder. That must have been on purpose. Of course, the Laumer Point was nearby, a mere sixteen million kilometers from Victory, thirty-one million from the planet. That was close as Laumer Points went.

“Sir,” Galyan said, “I have pierced the cloak. As you surmised, it is a vessel.”

“What kind of vessel? I want specifics.”

Galyan’s eyelids fluttered. “The cloak is making further analysis difficult.”

“Give me a ballpark guess.”

“No guesses are needed, sir. I am employing greater magnification while heightening the sensor—sir, it is saucer-shaped. I am analyzing—yes, it matches a type of Spacer ship that we have faced in the past.”

“Size or mass of the vessel?” asked Maddox.

“In mass…it is similar to a Star Watch destroyer-class vessel.”

“As big as that,” Maddox said. “Are you detecting any target lock or energizing weapons directed at us?”

“Negative, sir,” Galyan said. “My ballpark idea is that we have discovered an alien observation vessel.”

“Ballpark guess,” Maddox said.

“Yes, sir, thank you for the correction.”

Maddox frowned. Could the cloaked ship be why his intuitive sense had gone off earlier? Why would Spacers be interested in the Crowder Refugees? Were the people in the ship Spacers, though? Might these supposed clues be there as red herrings, to put him on the wrong scent?

Maybe that was reaching. If they were Spacers, they might have sent a scout ship to analyze the refugees. There had been a Builder structure in the Crowder System. There had been an actual Builder as well. Spacers were devoted to the Builders, practically worshiping the aliens. How would the Spacers have learned about all that, though? It would indicate spies in Star Watch. Or…Meyers in the Crowder System had used several Spacer employees. Had those employees had an opportunity to contact the greater Spacer Nation after arriving in the Commonwealth?

Whatever the case, Maddox didn’t like the possible Spacer secrecy here in the Balder System, no, not one bit.

Others of the bridge crew began to stir. Meta raised her hands and began touching controls on her panel. Andros Crank did likewise at his science station.

“Mr. Maker,” Maddox said.

“Sir,” Keith slurred, as he rubbed his face.

“Begin heading for the planet.”

“Aye, sir,” Keith said, as he cracked his knuckles and began to tap the helm controls.

“Keep watching the cloaked vessel, Galyan. Tell me if they do anything at all or if they make contact with any of the Crowder vessels.”

“Yes, sir,” Galyan said.

Maddox drummed his fingers on the armrest of his captain’s chair, wondering who was trying to screw with them this time, if indeed the saucer represented a danger to Victory or their greater mission, or if they had stumbled onto something else entirely.

-10-

An exotic, rather blob-like alien with four eyestalks and four tentacles stood—if one could say it that way—at the holographic controls of his hidden craft. His name was Grutch, and he used one of his eyestalks to watch a small screen. On the screen, the newly appeared double-oval starship headed for the planet Balder. The starship was interesting indeed. It wasn’t a strict Star Watch type of vessel, which he’d been expecting. No. It appeared to be—

“Adok,” Grutch said into a recorder. “I will check the encyclopedia later. But I’m certain that is an Adok vessel of the Spectral class.”

A tentacle tip tapped a holographic screen control. An eyestalk shifted as the orb or eye on the end of the stalk moved closer to the screen, swiveling as it studied the approaching starship.

Correction: it was a human-modified Adok vessel. The correction—the modifications were of Star Watch norms. Thus, the humans in the starship were most likely of the Commonwealth variety. And that meant he’d been waiting for them to arrive, which meant his data about them was spot on.

The blob or fleshly mass that was Grutch was taller than a typical human from this part of the Orion Spiral Arm. He was also several times bulkier, perhaps four times the mass of a human male, a male on the tubbier side. Grutch had discovered that these humans ate more than was good for them, and thus were thicker than a species male should be in his prime.

To say fleshly mass regarding the alien was actually imprecise. In fact, Grutch was an amorphous mass of semi-solid pinkish-gray tissue, a gelatinous substance. His tentacles tended to a redder hue, while his much thinner eyestalks were positively black. His manner of locomotion was disgusting in the extreme—to a regular human, at least. His bottom flesh rippled, thus granting him the ability to move as if he rode small rollers. In a pinch, he could move at twice the speed of a sprinting male of the human species. In such a case, Grutch’s outer flesh tended to turn more pinkish than gray, signaling his great exertion.

Grutch was a Morag, a decidedly alien being, originally from the same region of the galaxy as a Yon Soth. Yon Soths or Old Ones had little truck with Morags, although they knew of the genus, despising them as a lion would a jackal.

In truth, Morags did not have much in common with Yon Soths other than that both possessed tentacles. A Yon Soth was vastly larger, far longer-lived and with a greatly superior intellect.

Morags were…devious, mercenary and mostly akin to Earth leopards in terms of social interaction with their own kind. Morags usually worked alone for their own intricate and mercenary motives. They were highly technical, proud artificers and greedy to a fault.

Grutch was here on assignment, with much promised wealth if he performed as requested. His sponsor in this operation—Grutch would have jeered at anyone asking him for their identification. And if anyone inquisitive persisted in trying to obtain the information, he would begin an assassination campaign against them.

From a human perspective, Grutch—and Morags in general—would be considered amoral moneygrubbers. Perhaps the closest parallel would be fictitious fantasy dwarves in the thrall of gold fever.

Not that Grutch had lost his senses. They operated at high alert. His amorphous gelatin mass quivered with interest, his four tentacles and four eyestalks and eyes rigid with anticipation.

The double-oval starship began braking maneuvers as it attempted to establish contact with the cloaked vessel in orbit around Balder.

That showed impressive sensors and a quick propensity to act. The cloaked vessel was crowded in among many orbital spaceships. Grutch hadn’t expected his quarry to find the hidden vessel so soon upon arrival. Perhaps his sponsors had made the correct decision to employ one as talented as he was for the operation. Before this, Grutch had seen it as overkill on his sponsors’ part.

Oh, look at this. The crew of the cloaked vessel—the commander opened channels with the Star Watch ship named Victory.

Grutch discovered and verified the starship name because he had a link to the others. He quivered with rage, as he’d strictly forbidden the commander of the saucer-ship from answering any calls. He’d given the others their assignment and used hypnotic controls to pin their instructions unequivocally into place. The commander and crew should have kept comm silence.

The tentacles lashed forth as Grutch activated various failsafe devices he’d hoped to keep inoperative for now. Then, he brought the comm linkage between the two onto special screens. He doubted the low-tech humans of Star Watch would be able to detect his eavesdropping. In any case, an alarm would vibrate if that happened, surely giving him enough time to flee.

Grutch was not aboard the saucer-shaped cloaked vessel. He trailed it in his much-stealthier and smaller teardrop-shaped scouter, a tracking vessel of the highest order.

This Captain Maddox had threatened the cloaked vessel with destruction if they did not open channels. That had been enough to override the hypnotic conditioning.

Grutch tapped a different panel, logging the incident so he could study it later at his convenience. Then, he used two eyestalks, one on the screen that showed Captain Maddox and the other on the screen showing the commander of the saucer, Ran Doo.

Grutch ran a quick analysis of the Star Watch human, a third eyestalk reading the evaluation. This was interesting. Maddox was an obvious hybrid, a genetic freak. He radiated calm and confidence and something else, well-hidden and subtle arrogance, and seemingly possessed killer instincts.

The other—Grutch dismissed any interest in Commander Ran Doo. He knew the man well, having selected him from a batch of prisoners and expecting more proficiency from him than this.

Ran Doo was on the small side as these Commonwealth human males went. Ran Doo squinted and blinked far too much, with his narrow features and stupid arrogance.

“Who are you?” Maddox asked from Victory.

“That is not your concern,” Commander Ran Doo answered from the cloaked vessel.

“You’re not South-East Asian in origin,” Maddox said, “but I think you’re a Spacer just the same.”

“Think as you wish,” Ran Doo said.

“Why aren’t you wearing your customary, black-tinted goggles?”

“I was ordered—” Ran Doo winced as he ceased speaking.

Grutch knew why. The fool had run into a hypnotic command, but not before he’d said too much.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Ran Doo added quickly.

Grutch paid particular attention to Maddox’s facial features, noting each tiny muscle twitch or tightening. He also noticed how the human’s eyebrows did not move. Given enough observation and analysis and Grutch would be able to tell what the hybrid freak was thinking just by looking at him.

“You know very well what I’m talking about,” Maddox said. “But it doesn’t matter. Drop your cloak and prepare for boarding.”

“I think not,” Ran Doo said.

“You see our ship approaching, yes?” asked Maddox.

Ran Doo’s head twitched. “I cannot allow you or any of your personnel to land on my vessel. That is strictly forbidden.”

“Forbidden by whom?” Maddox asked.

Ran Doo stared at him even as perspiration broke out on his narrow face. “Never you mind,” the commander said robotically.

“I do mind,” Maddox said. “And the boarding is going to happen no matter what you do.”

“It won’t, though, as I will self-destruct before such an event happens.”

Maddox leaned back against his command chair, eyeing Ran Doo. “You prefer death instead of capture?”

“No.”

“I don’t understand, then.”

“Neither do I,” said Ran Doo, as he massaged his narrow forehead.

“Are you feeling ill?” Maddox asked.

Ran Doo lowered his hand. “I’m not. My head hurts is all.”

“One moment please.” Maddox swiveled his chair and spoke to someone off-screen. Several seconds passed before Maddox turned back to Ran Doo. “You were saying?”

“What?”

From the teardrop-shaped ship, Grutch became curious. What had Maddox just done? The captain had clearly spoken to someone off-screen. The question was, who?

Grutch activated a new sensor. It pinged. Two eyestalks swung around to check the new sensor as two tentacles tapped the device. Then, Grutch’s entire gelatinous form shifted so all the eyestalks studied the sensor reading.

It appeared something—not someone—had transferred from Victory to the cloaked vessel. This something moved throughout the saucer.

No, no, this would not do at all.

Grutch used all his tentacles. They lashed and tapped, manipulated and adjusted. This was not making sense. Then, the answer appeared as Grutch saw a nearly invisible holoimage of an Adok floating through a corridor in the cloaked saucer.

“Clever,” Grutch said to himself.

Two eyestalks went back to other devices, which meant that two tentacles did so as well.

A Morag could divide its mind and thus attention at the same time, truly multitasking. This was critical as a solitary mercenary for hire.

Grutch sent a pulse of negative holo-energy from his hidden teardrop-shaped ship, interrupting the process that allowed the Adok holoimage to range upon the cloaked saucer.

Grutch then ceased all vision and all movement as he contemplated the situation. In this instance, his eyestalks and orbs pulled into the gelatinous form as a slug or snail on Earth might do. This allowed a Morag to concentrate more fully.

Did Maddox know that he, Grutch, had employed Spacers as a cat’s-paw? By his words, the captain already suspected Spacer interference. What would happen if the genetic hybrid came to the right conclusion?

No, no, Maddox couldn’t possibly reach the right conclusion. Grutch didn’t think any of his kind had interacted with Commonwealth humans before, just with Spacers in a distant part of the Orion Arm.

Once more, Maddox’s people hailed the cloaked vessel.

Grutch came to a sudden decision. He reactivated his sensory input as the eyestalks reappeared and lengthened. A tentacle also snaked to a button, which the tip pressed.

A signal left the teardrop-shaped vessel.

Seconds later, the cloaked saucer detonated violently, killing the hypnotically controlled crew and destroying the ship. The detonation caused the particles of the former ship and crew to head at speed toward the nearby atmosphere. The particles would burn into ash while descending, erasing any damning evidence.

Grutch was unhappy with the action forced upon him. It was always something, wasn’t it? Still, he’d learned much in these few moments, and it was likely he would learn more before he made his move. Yes, he would need to know much more before that.

The eyestalks lowered toward his bulk, while three of the four tentacle tips rubbed against each other. The operation was in motion. His target—

You are worth many bars of tellurium to me, Captain Maddox. I will collect. You can be sure of that.

Still, Grutch needed to know more about the Adok holoimage. Something about that troubled him. Even so, his entire bulk shivered with anticipation. Afterward, Grutch settled down to a long period of observation.

-11-

As Starship Victory approached the planet Balder III, Maddox, Professor Ludendorff and Galyan sat in one of the cafeterias. The two humans sipped coffee. Galyan floated at his edge of the table, waiting.

Professor Ludendorff was a Methuselah Man, a good-looking tanned fellow with a gold chain around his throat and a hairy white chest. The first three buttons of his hunting shirt were undone to help reveal his rugged chest. He had thick white hair, buff leathery features and intense blue eyes. The professor considered himself as the greatest of lady’s men, which wasn’t completely unfounded, as he’d had considerable success with the opposite sex throughout his long life.

The professor held a computer slate as he re-watched the cloaked saucer’s explosion. It was interesting that the explosion hadn’t spread outward, but seemed shaped, exploding toward the planetary atmosphere. That meant there had only been minimal damage to the nearest Crowder ships in low orbit.

Shaking his head, the professor set the slate onto the table and verbally related his insight.

“I hadn’t realized that,” Maddox said. “Shaped—but by what? No wonder there was so little disruption to the nearby ships. Did the saucer people do that on—?”

“I already know your question,” Ludendorff said, interrupting. “I doubt the Spacers cared a fig about the Crowder ships. Consider. By blowing all the particles at the atmosphere, it conveniently burned them up. That hid whatever they desired hidden.”

“Agreed,” Maddox said a moment later.

“My holographic imager has never failed before this,” Galyan said. He was referring to the severing of the projector beam, his holoimage abruptly ceasing to glide through the saucer-ship’s corridors. Galyan had run a diagnostic on the imager or holo-projector and hadn’t found anything wrong to cause it to stop functioning as it had. That had proven very disconcerting to the ancient AI.

“Nonsense,” Ludendorff told him. “The imager most certainly has failed before.”

“Not without some specific cause. I can find no cause…yet,” Galyan said.

“I suppose that’s true,” Ludendorff said. “Are you sure there wasn’t some kind of outside interference? Perhaps the star pulsed with greater radiation, overloading the beam.”

“I checked that,” Galyan said. “The star has remained steady-state in every sense since we arrived. I detect nothing to cause the severing. The linkage simply ceased.”

“Never mind about the imager,” Maddox said testily, perhaps annoyed at the professor interrupting him. “Why did the Spacer detonate his saucer? We weren’t in position to board yet. Ran Doo hadn’t really started to object, not forcefully. It was a premature detonation, suicide without purpose, as if he wanted to die, and that doesn’t make sense.”

“Are we sure they really were Spacers?” Ludendorff asked.

“Galyan saw enough evidence to indicate Spacer construction of the saucer,” Maddox said. “And Ran Doo kept squinting as if it was too bright on his bridge, as if he usually wore eye protection, Spacer goggles.”

“I don’t disagree with any of that,” Ludendorff said. “But what’s really wrong, my boy? You’re more upset than seems reasonable for you. Is something else the matter?”

“You don’t think a saucer self-destructing isn’t a good enough reason for me being upset?” asked Maddox.

“In truth,” Ludendorff said, “I do not.”

Maddox made a sharp gesture with his left hand. “If you must know, I don’t understand how the Spacers came to be here.”

“That doesn’t make sense,” Ludendorff said. “They came to be here the same way as always. They flew into position.”

“That’s not what I mean,” Maddox said. “Why would Spacers be out here at this time? Were they smugglers? Why self-destruct, then? Why not at least try to bribe us first? Besides, how would they have learned about the Crowder people so quickly?”

“We’ve been back in the Commonwealth for over a year already,” Ludendorff said. “Surely that’s enough time for the Spacers to learn about the Crowder people. I think it’s more than enough time. Besides, Spacers worked for Meyers back in the Crowder System. The workers might have reported back to the others.”

Maddox shook his head. He wasn’t making himself clear, which proved he was irritated.

“Is this unease due to your intuitive sense?” Ludendorff asked.

“I feel something off,” Maddox admitted. “But it’s more that it doesn’t make sense that a Spacer vessel should be here, especially if it was waiting for us.”

“This is curious,” Galyan said. “Has your intuitive unease anything to do with my imager failing?”

Maddox turned to Galyan as surprise filled him. “Now that you mention it… Yes. That does bother me. It failed at just the wrong time. Or the right time for someone else. That’s a good insight, Galyan. Thank you for mentioning it.”

“It is my pleasure,” Galyan said.

“I don’t understand why the imager failing should matter,” Ludendorff said.

“I’m not talking about understanding,” Maddox said. “I don’t understand why it should either. But it’s definitely a gut feeling. The imager failing…” Maddox frowned.

“Is it anything you can share?” Ludendorff asked.

While still frowning, Maddox touched his coffee cup, moving it so the handle squarely faced him. “Something about this feels like a setup. How and why, I don’t know. It just does.”

“Are you suggesting we were meant to find the cloaked vessel?” Ludendorff asked.

“I don’t know about that,” Maddox said. “I’m talking about our greater assignment at Balder. That feels like a setup.”

Ludendorff pondered that as he sipped his coffee. “Now that you mention it…it is strange to use Victory for such a task. What do you think, Galyan? Have you detected anything or anyone attempting to manipulate us?”

“No,” Galyan said.

“Have you found anything wrong with the imager to cause it to malfunction as it did?” Ludendorff asked.

“No.”

“Could it have simply quit?”

“I do not believe that,” Galyan said.

“I don’t either,” Ludendorff admitted.

“What are you suggesting?” Maddox asked.

“The obvious,” Ludendorff said. “When you put all these things together, it feels as if we’re facing outside interference.”

“We didn’t detect anything,” Maddox said.

“Nevertheless,” Ludendorff said. “It was there. Logic points to outside interference.”

Maddox frowned at his coffee cup. He looked up suddenly. “The outside interference…might be why the saucer detonated too soon.”

“Ah,” Ludendorff said. “I think you’re onto something.”

“If we’re right about this,” Maddox said, “and I’m beginning to think we are, whoever is doing this has objectively superior technology—the simplest reason why we’re not detecting anything.”

“Yes,” Ludendorff said. “That’s a reasonable correlation to our givens. I congratulate you on your logical analysis, sir.”

Maddox picked up his coffee cup, but he didn’t drink. “Could our unknown assailants be Ardazirhos?”

The Ardazirhos had fought against them while they’d been in the Crowder System last mission. The Ardazirhos were center galaxy aliens with access to advanced technology.

“That’s a reasonable guess,” Ludendorff said.

Maddox shook his head. He didn’t want to deal with the wolves again. He wasn’t particularly frightened of the Ardazirhos, but their ability to shift or cross great stellar distances was daunting. Still…

“It makes sense then concerning the Crowder people,” Maddox said. “Ardazirhos know them and us from last mission, and from the mission before that.”

“But Ardazirhos do not explain the Spacers being here,” Ludendorff said.

“Unless in their wanderings,” Maddox said, “the Spacers ran across the Ardazirhos.”

“Reasonable,” Ludendorff said. “So, what’s our plan?”

Maddox set down the coffee cup. What could they do differently knowing what they knew now, as little as it was? He wasn’t sure. “Well, for one thing, we do the job we came to do,” Maddox said. “The Lord High Admiral thinks you and I hold a special place in the combined Crowder hearts. Cook may be right—”

“Normal people would worship us as heroes,” Ludendorff said, interrupting. “We saved them. But these are Crowder folk. I remember back in the Crowder System when we readied for the black hole to appear. You told me about endless stabbings, chokings, poisonings and gunshots in the armada as the Crowder people jockeyed and murdered each other for higher rank or to keep their rank.”

“I remember,” Maddox said.

“Now, though,” Ludendorff said, “you’re here to free the kidnapped Crowder leaders and apprehend those responsible, and find out if the representatives hired criminal elements on Earth to capture your family and you?”

“Your point?”

“The Crowder people asking Star Watch’s help to free their leaders sounds preposterous. The leaders—the kidnappers would have killed them and taken their place. That would be normal Crowder practice.”

“I’m aware of the dichotomy of the situation.”

“It’s a setup, don’t you see?” Ludendorff said.

“That seems more than possible, yes.”

“So why attempt it?”

Maddox said nothing.

“I see,” Ludendorff said. “You have an ulterior motive.”

“For the moment,” Maddox said.

“And the representatives we have aboard, will you use the direct approach with them?”

“I haven’t decided yet.”

“You’re not just letting them go free then?”

“No…” Maddox said. “Not just yet.”

“With the possibility of Ardazirhos, this has turned into a maddening and puzzling problem,” Ludendorff said.

Maddox didn’t reply, but he silently agreed. It was always harder fighting someone you couldn’t see than someone you could. He stood abruptly. “Gentlemen.” Then, he turned and headed for the exit.

-12-

The first order of business for Maddox was a meeting via screen with Superior Tudor Anne Crawley.

Superior Tudor was a title, the way Caesar had once been the name and then title for Roman emperors after the death of Julius Caesar and the ascension of Octavian who’d become Augustus Caesar. Long ago, a Yon Soth had hijacked a boatload of English people, the crew and passengers deposited on Crowder III. At that time, a Tudor had been king of England, or “Albion.”

Anne Crawley wasn’t the leader of the Crowder people, although she’d taken the role as the highest ranked naval person in the system. She’d ratified the choices of representatives to go to Earth, and she now wished to complain on several fronts to Maddox.

The captain stood before his chair on Victory’s bridge, facing the main screen. On it, seated in an ornate chair behind a huge desk was a shriveled old woman: Anne Crawley as she sat aboard the fifty-five million-ton Dreadnought Poseidon.

Crawley had gray hair in a bun, wrinkled skin and piercing dark eyes like some tiny avian predator. Despite her feeble appearance, she was a dangerous old woman, a Crowder climber who had clawed her way to the present post, and had kept it so far from assassins and other killers seeking to dethrone her from the exalted position.

“Now you’re the Lord High Admiral’s representative to us?” Crawley asked in a shrill voice.

“It depends on the situation,” Maddox said. He didn’t remember Anne Crawley, and for good reason. She’d reached her exalted position after Maddox had left the Crowder Armada and gone to Earth. That was one of the things with Crowder leadership: it could change suddenly and drastically with the thrust of a knife or shot from a gun. “For normal affairs,” Maddox added, “the Star Watch flotilla admiral at the Laumer Point—”

“Don’t talk to me about that time-server,” Crawley sneered, interrupting Maddox. “The admiral sits far from us, terrified to have any human contact with us.”

“I believe those were his explicit orders, ma’am.”

“Do you know why?” Crawley demanded.

“Of course,” Maddox said. “The orders came about from my recommendations.”

“Oh? You have it in for us, Captain?”

“Not in the least,” Maddox said. “I’m well acquainted with Crowder ways and traditions, and know that you are worthy friends and deadly adversaries. The Lord High Admiral wishes peace between our peoples. He thus wishes to forestall any incidents between us that could cause premature bad blood.”

“Such as the flotilla admiral’s death by assassination?”

“Exactly,” Maddox said. “We in the Commonwealth don’t adhere to Crowder philosophies concerning fitness and how it’s tested.”

“I doubt that’s true,” Crawley said. “We’re just more open and honest about the competition of life.”

Maddox inclined his head.

“In any case,” Crawley said. “That isn’t why I’ve summoned you.”

“Excuse me, ma’am,” Maddox said. “You requested an audience with me. And as I have the best interests of Crowder society at heart—the reason I aided you two years ago—I decided to grant the interview.”

Crawley glared at him before laughing good-naturedly. “Summoned was a little joke on my part, Captain. I hope you didn’t mind.”

“You mean you tested me to see if I yet possessed my former attributes.”

“Really, Captain, despite your good deed toward us, I seriously outrank you. It isn’t proper that I had to request to see you.”

Maddox shook his head. “You presently lead the Crowder naval presence, or purport to lead the largest faction. I recognize that, but that isn’t commensurate with my rank in Star Watch, the superior organization between us. But more to the point, I’m representing the Lord High Admiral in terms of reinstating your kidnapped leaders into power.”

“And our petition to leave this miserable planet,” Crawley added. “It was an insult to bring us here in the first place.”

“I assure you,” Maddox said, “such was not the intent.”

Crawley turned away, shaking her head, before regarding Maddox again. “There’s something else. An hour ago, I received a report about a strange explosion. It happened in low orbital space around Balder III, damaging several of our transports.”

“Not too heavy damage, I trust.”

“How would you know that? You speak as if you already know about the incident.”

Maddox frowned.

“Don’t bother trying to concoct a cover story,” Crawley said. “I’ve also learned that you were in radio contact with the destroyed vessel. It was a cloaked ship, am I right?”

“You are,” Maddox said slowly.

“Aha!” Crawley cried. “Then the reports are true. Was it a Star Watch spy ship keeping tabs on us?”

“I can assure you it was not.”

“Who was it then?”

“We’re still attempting to discover that, ma’am.”

“You don’t know?”

“Not precisely,” Maddox said.

“Tell me what you do know.”

“Now isn’t the moment for that.”

“Captain Maddox, there was a cloaked vessel among our ships. That is a gravely serious matter.”

“I quite agree.”

“I demand that you inform us of everything you know concerning the vessel.”

Maddox rubbed his jaw. It was a reasonable request. “Ma’am, the cloaked ship was saucer shaped.”

“What does that mean to you?”

“We’re still analyzing.”

“You’re stalling, Captain.”

Maddox made a bland gesture.

“Should we be worried about this?” Crawley asked.

“I would take precautions if I were you.”

“Of what nature?” she asked.

“As a sovereign people, that is for you to decide.”

“Have you detected other cloaked ships?”

“We have not,” Maddox said.

Crawley stared at him with her bird-bright eyes. “We will not sit idly by while secret infiltrators attempt to sabotage our spaceships. We will act to protect ourselves.”

“Would you like me to pass that along to the Lord High Admiral?”

Crawley nodded curtly.

“Is there anything else?” Maddox asked.

“How close are you to rescuing our leaders?”

“I’m still working on it, ma’am.”

“I ask that you proceed with haste. The Crowder people are in a precarious situation. We must act in one accord instead of falling into factions, as is our unfortunate custom. This is a precarious condition for us. I hope you appreciate how dangerous it is?”

“I do,” Maddox said. “I’m working with utmost speed and calculation.”

Crawley squinted at him. “Two years ago, you did us a good favor, Captain. I hope you’re not resting on your laurels. Our way of leadership mandates alertness at all times.”

“I am taking your point to heart, ma’am.”

“I hope those are more than mere words, Captain.”

“Superior Tudor, that is quite enough.”

Crawley smiled coldly, as if she’d been waiting for such a reaction.

“I will give you a rundown of the situation later,” Maddox said. “Until then, good day, ma’am.”

“Good day to you, Captain, and watch your back. Remember, you are in a Crowder system now. Anything can happen.”

Maddox nodded. Then he turned to Meta, and his wife cut the connection to Dreadnought Poseidon.

-13-

It turned out that the Crowder kidnappers would not speak directly to Maddox while he was aboard Victory. Perhaps they reasoned that Maddox could more easily use the starship to counteract them while he was aboard. Instead, they desired a face-to-face meeting in Bristol, which was a deep subterranean settlement at Balder’s north pole.

The subterranean caves and tunnels were of greater extent in the north pole region, and the agricultural lands were nearer the caves and had richer soil than the south pole caves and lands.

“Them wanting you on the planet means it’s a trap,” Meta said on the bridge.

Maddox was inclined to agree.

“You should speak to the reps first,” Meta said. “Maybe they could give you more information about the kidnappers.”

Maddox stood near his wife’s station as he idly gazed at the main screen. It showed rocky, hot terrain with great shifting sands near the north pole. Balder was an inhospitable planet indeed. He was beginning to think the Crowder people had a reasonable beef against Star Watch for being located here.

“This feels wrong,” Meta said.

Maddox glanced at his wife. She looked good in her Star Watch uniform.

“From the stories you’ve told me about them,” Meta said, “the Crowder people are always treacherous and trying something sneaky or nefarious.”

“True enough.”

“If they’re doing nothing—I mean the reps—doesn’t that indicate they’re planning something against us?”

Maddox stared at his wife. Meta was right. It wasn’t just the representatives and kidnappers. It must be the entire Crowder—no, it wouldn’t be all of them. It would likely be those used to wielding power. Since he’d received no threatening calls nor heard any pleas from the planetary leaders, the temporary ones…right. Maddox headed for the bridge exit.

“Where are you going?” Meta called.

Maddox turned around, regarded Meta, and then strode to her, bending low to whisper in her ear, “You’re back in the saddle, my dear. That means I run the show aboard Victory my way and only my way. Don’t…please don’t question me in front of the others.” He straightened, smiling down at her.

Meta blushed, and it looked for a moment as if she would scold him. Then she said, “Yes, Captain. I understand.”

Maddox nodded. Then, he headed for the bridge exit, calling for Galyan as soon as he was outside in the corridor. It was time to test the representatives.

Maddox scowled. At least one of them must have had a hand in trying to harm his family. He squeezed his hands into fists. He wanted to kill the lot of them…

No, he told himself. He had to do this according to regulations. The Lord High Admiral had been quite clear about that.

Maddox’s stride increased as his features stiffened into a mask. He’d been waiting for this chance ever since discovering one of them at least had been directly involved with the attack at his home.

-14-

Maddox sat across from the highest ranking Crowder Representative in a small room aboard Victory, with a metal table separating them.

The Chief Crowder Rep was Earl Dunbar, a tall man with curly black hair and thick black sideburns. He was a Crowder aristo of extensive lineage, wearing expensive red and white silk garments and with many rings upon his long and rather slender fingers. Dunbar was in his forties with black eyes and an imperious manner.

“How far are we from Balder?” Dunbar asked. “According to what I’ve been told, we should have already reached the star system.”

“We have indeed,” Maddox said.

“Oh?”

“We’re orbiting the planet.”

“Oh,” Dunbar said again. “Then, why are we here? You should provide us transport so we can report to our people.”

“That’s one view, I suppose.”

Dunbar fixed Maddox with a penetrating stare. “I’m unused to cavalier treatment, sir. I do not appreciate it.”

“Likewise,” Maddox said.

“What is that supposed to mean?”

Maddox looked up at the ceiling, waiting until Dunbar shifted in his seat. Then, he regarded the rep again. “Do you know what happened to me before we left Earth?”

“I have no idea. But more to the point, I don’t care.”

“During your meeting with Star Watch, you in particular threatened my family.”

“Bah,” Dunbar said. “I also made a solemn promise that neither you nor your family would face harm because of your treachery against us.”

“That promise was subterfuge on your part.”

Dunbar stiffened. “Now, see here, sir. Are you calling me a liar?”

Maddox took his time answering. “A dissembler, shall we say.”

“A liar in other words,” Dunbar said.

“Have it your way, then. A liar.”

Dunbar slapped the table with both hands. “You dishonor me with this slander. I demand an immediate apology.”

“No.”

“No?”

Maddox shook his head.

“Then, you leave me no choice,” Dunbar said. “If you refuse to apologize, I demand satisfaction.”

“Of what sort?”

“Swords, if you have the courage.”

Maddox stood so quickly that his chair flew back and crashed onto the floor. “Swords it is.” He turned for the door.

“What are you doing?” asked an obviously surprised Dunbar.

Maddox halted, with his right hand already on the door handle. He turned. “I’m calling the guards. They will equip us with swords.”

“You plan to murder me?”

“Kill,” Maddox said, “legally in a duel.”

Dunbar searched Maddox’s face. “Bah, this is more of your fabled cunning. What do you hope to achieve by this farce?”

“Your death,” Maddox said matter-of-factly.

Dunbar stared into the captain’s eyes, perhaps noting their flinty nature. “Very good. You’re persuasive. I can almost believe you plan to kill me. Do you think I’ll back down and beg for my life?”

“I dearly hope not.”

It was Dunbar’s turn to stand quickly, thereby causing his chair to fly back and fall down. “You don’t understand me in the least. I should warn you, sir, that I’m a champion duelist, having slain many contenders.”

Maddox nodded. He knew that, the reason he’d chosen this approach.

“I’m also one of the highest ranked aristos in all the Crowder System,” Dunbar said.

“In case you haven’t looked around lately, we’re no longer in the Crowder System.”

Dunbar sneered. “I realize you think you have a razor-sharp wit. If we were back on Crowder III, I’d use a horsewhip and lash you bloody through the streets until you wept for my forgiveness.”

Maddox shook his head. “I have no time for histrionics. Do you care to duel or not?”

“I have said I do.”

“Then, we shall proceed.” Maddox opened the door and stepped through. He turned back to see Dunbar still standing there. “What is it now?”

“In a formal duel, one has seconds.”

“Will any of the other representatives do?”

Dunbar nodded stiffly. “I need two of them.”

“Name them. They shall be your second and third.”

“Duke Frazier and Lord Terrance Locke.”

“Is there anything else?” Maddox asked.

Two spots of color had appeared on Dunbar’s cheeks, one on each. “I’m ready if you are, sir. I’ll see this charade through to the end, and then I’ll report to my people what kind of charlatan you are.”

“Dead men don’t report,” Maddox said. “But do come along. I’m eager to proceed.”

***

Thirty minutes later, Maddox and Dunbar stood in a cleared gymnasium. Sergeant Riker was the captain’s second, while Professor Ludendorff was the third and acted as Maddox’s rep.

Earl Dunbar had chosen two other tall Crowder men, each similar in build to him.

Four Marines in armor and standard arms watched the proceedings. Maddox had given the lieutenant strict instructions about how to act.

Maddox wore tight black pants and boots, but no shirt. He had no fat on his lean, whipcord frame, his muscles like sculptured bands of steel. He held a saber in his right hand, the edge razor-sharp.

Earl Dunbar wasn’t as tall as Maddox. He wore black pants, slippers and a puffy white shirt. He, too, held a saber, swishing it back and forth.

The two reps—one for Maddox and one for Dunbar—had attempted to find reconciliation between the duelists. Earl Dunbar had demanded that Maddox kneel before him and apologize for calling him a liar. Maddox refused. He then demanded that Dunbar give him precise details about how the Crowder representatives had contacted criminal Earth elements. Dunbar had declared that he knew nothing about such things.

“Again,” Maddox said, “you lie like the snake in the grass that you are.”

The two red spots of color reappeared on Dunbar’s cheeks.

“Since you are about to die,” Maddox said, “you should come clean and admit the truth. It will go better for you when you meet your Maker.”

“I do not believe in any higher deities or power,” Dunbar sneered.

“Perhaps it’s the reason why you’re such a bald-faced liar,” Maddox said.

“Now, see here, sir,” Duke Frazier said, Dunbar’s third. “I’ve listened to this long enough. A duel is a matter of honor. These continued slurs are unseemly.”

Maddox shook his head. “No slurs are intended, sir. I speak the plain truth.”

Frazier looked Maddox up and down before he turned to Dunbar. “I’m afraid the captain is a classless barbarian without a scintilla of style.”

Dunbar nodded and swished his sword again. “No worries. I shall teach the pup a lesson he shan’t soon forget.”

“Wait, wait,” Dunbar’s second said. “This is Captain Maddox you’re facing. You should reconsider—”

“Silence!” Dunbar told his second. “I’m the greatest duelist among us. Despite his reputation, the captain is as good as dead.”

“Is that wise to speak so?” asked the second.

“To teach those of Star Watch to treat us respectfully, I think it is,” Dunbar said.

Maddox glanced at Riker.

Riker looked up at the ceiling before he turned and asked Dunbar, “Are you ready, sir?”

“I am.”

Dunbar’s second turned to Maddox. “Sir, is this really necessary? If you had a point to all this, I believe you’ve made it.”

“No,” Maddox said mildly. “I haven’t made my point yet.”

“Can I ask what your point is?” the second said.

“I’ve said it before. But I can repeat it. One of you planned to at least kidnap and possibly murder my family. That means one or more of you planned to extinguish the life of my baby girl and wife. For that, I demand satisfaction.”

“What kind of satisfaction?” the second asked.

Maddox smiled in a predatory manner, stepping up with his right leg forward.

“Earl Dunbar,” his second said. “The captain is relentless. Words will not do, it seems.”

“Bah,” Dunbar said. “This is a farce, but I won’t back down. Remember, Captain, I’m a representative of the Crowder People. Treat me disrespectfully at your peril.”

Maddox said no more, merely watched the man as he would a target through a sniper scope.

Earl Dunbar stepped up, still sneering, his blade en garde.

The judge, the Marine lieutenant, said, “Are you gentlemen ready?”

Maddox nodded.

Dunbar sneered a bit more.

“Then,” the lieutenant said, as he stepped sharply back. “Begin.”

Dunbar stamped forward, his rear hand held up and his saber—

Maddox lunged with extraordinary speed. He slashed, striking Dunbar’s saber with a clash of sound, knocking it out of alignment. He then straightened his arm and extended with speed, the saber’s sharp point piercing the fluffy shirt, the man’s chest and entering his heart. Like a panther, Maddox retreated, dodging the weak riposte, withdrawing the saber-tip from his enemy’s heart and chest.

Earl Dunbar collapsed onto the deck. He coughed once, coughed a second time, spitting up blood, and then he died, with a look of painful astonishment on his face.

-15-

In the gymnasium, Maddox stood with his bloodied saber, his features blank and thereby unreadable. He didn’t look at Earl Dunbar. The man was dead, thus he no longer mattered. He gazed at Duke Frazier and Lord Terrance Locke.

Both Crowder men stared in astonishment at the dead Earl Dunbar. Finally, they glanced at each other, and then noticed the captain’s silent patience.

“You killed him,” Frazier said.

“As I said I would,” Maddox replied.

Frazier had a wide face and thin neck, and wore an old-fashioned suit. His astonishment changed to anger. “This is murder.”

“You’re mistaken,” Maddox said. “We dueled. Dunbar lost. It’s all on video, and there are multiple witnesses. You yourself agreed to participate—and so, if it’s murder, you’re an accomplice. Now, you two have survived him. I wonder if you understand why exactly he died.”

“Your speed was unnatural,” Lord Locke said. He looked like an aristo with lean features, perhaps half the age of Dunbar and Frazier. He had a thin mustache and moved with liquid grace, showing natural athletic ability. Like the other two, he was tall, although not as tall as Captain Maddox.

Frazier turned to Locke. “Do you suspect Maddox used drugs to heighten his speed?”

“Possibly,” Locke said.

“That is a slur directed at me, sir.” Maddox pointed to the fallen saber. “Perhaps I will now demand satisfaction from you.”

Locke shook his head. “I’m not Earl Dunbar. Dueling is for fools.”

“A second slur,” Maddox said with utmost calm, “as I am a duelist.”

Locke laughed bleakly. “I have no intention of crossing swords with you. I believe you wanted to kill Dunbar.”

“I have said as much.”

“Whatever you suspect about us regarding your family is false,” Locke said. “Your suspicions—Dunbar acted alone in this.”

“Alone in what fashion?” asked Maddox.

“Making contact with Earth natives,” Locke said.

“How can you know this?”

Locke turned to Duke Frazier. “Did you have any truck with Earth elements while we were there? I mean other than with the Star Watch people.”

“I did,” Frazier said.

Maddox turned to him with his eyes a-glitter.

“I ate at several restaurants in Geneva and Paris,” Frazier said. “There, I tipped a waiter, a busboy and several cocktail waitresses.”

“And?” said Maddox.

“That was the extent of my interactions with your filthy Earthlings,” Frazier said. “You killed a good man. I resent that.”

“You’re mistaken,” Maddox said. “Dunbar was an evil man. He paid criminals to murder my family.”

“As I noted before,” Frazier said, “you lack both grace and courtesy. You fought and won. A true gentleman would now demonstrate class.”

A harsh smile stretched the captain’s lips. “I’ve only made my first move in the matter. A killer too cowardly to do his own dirty work is dead. I still want to know how you reps gained access to criminal elements on Earth.”

“I had nothing to do with any of that,” Frazier said.

“Perhaps, perhaps not,” Maddox said.

“If you want me to accuse you of calling me a liar, you have a long wait in store. I shall not forget this, Captain.”

“I expect not,” Maddox said.

“When do we leave for the surface?” Frazier asked.

“When I get the information I need,” Maddox said.

“I have none to give you,” said Frazier.

Maddox turned to Locke.

“I know nothing about Dunbar’s dealings on Earth,” Locke said.

Maddox turned away from both men as he dropped the bloodied saber, which clattered onto the deck. He didn’t look at Riker, Ludendorff or the Marine lieutenant. Instead, Maddox closed his eyes. His intuitive sense seemed silent about Frazier or Locke. The captain considered that. Would Dunbar have chosen his accomplices in crime as his second and third in the duel? A normal person would do so. Had Earl Dunbar been normal? Not in the accepted Earth sense. Dunbar had been a quintessential Crowder native. The man had been a climber, ambitious for greater rank. He would have been cunning.

As Maddox opened his eyes, he turned back to Frazier and Locke. “I believe both of you. Thus, I shall no longer detain you aboard Victory. I’ll call the landing field at Bristol and tell them you’ll be arriving via shuttle.”

“Thank you,” Locke said. “But I do not wish to set foot on the planet. I desire to head to the Seahorse, one of the orbital starships.”

“That can be arranged,” Maddox said.

“Bristol?” said Frazier. “I’m not headed there either. I believe…do you mind if I go to the Seahorse with you, old boy?”

“I would consider it an honor,” Locke said.

“I’d like to place a call to my people first,” Frazier said. “Is that possible, Captain?”

“Of course,” Maddox said. “The other representatives will be headed to Bristol. I shall be joining them.”

Frazier raised his eyebrows before nodding.

Locke looked as if he wished to say something more, but perhaps decided against it and said nothing instead.

“Thank you, gentlemen,” Maddox said. “Lieutenant, if you will escort them to their rooms, they can pick up their belongings. Then, escort them to Hangar Bay Two.”

“Yes, sir,” the lieutenant said.

The Marines and surviving Crowder reps left the gymnasium, with the corpse of Earl Dunbar yet on the deck.

“Captain,” Ludendorff said. “Do you mind an observation?”

Maddox shook his head.

“Duke Frazier is plotting your death. Clearly, you told him you would be going down to Bristol for a reason. He’ll likely place a call or signal in some way that you’re coming down to the surface.”

“I concur with the analysis,” Galyan said. “I have been running a personality profile on each of them. While I doubt either had a hand on what happened on Earth, you have badly frightened them by killing Earl Dunbar the way you did. They wish you dead, Frazier more than Locke.”

“And I would bet they desire that the other reps die along with you,” Ludendorff added. “These are Crowder people after all. The representatives likely represent various and competing factions among them. The chance to kill other important personages they hate will not be missed.”

“I agree with that as well,” Galyan said.

“The obvious way to achieve their end is to have a missile take out the shuttle on its way down, killing their Crowder enemies and you with one stone,” Ludendorff said.

Maddox was listening to them but looking at the corpse.

“I see,” Ludendorff said. “You already know all that. And given your silence, I suspect you’re counting on these actions. Will you really allow the other reps to board the shuttle with you?”

“Of course,” Maddox said.

“Once they die, you’ll lose the means to discovering how they contacted the criminal Earth elements,” Ludendorff said.

“I find that I no longer care,” Maddox said.

“The Lord High Admiral might still care,” Ludendorff said.

“True,” Maddox said.

“But you don’t care even then?” asked Ludendorff. “Killing all of them—almost all—to ensure you kill the guilty party is everything to you in this?”

Maddox looked up. Even after all this time, the professor didn’t fully understand him. Was that the new Balron training in him noticing? Maddox might have shrugged. Instead, he explained:

“The saucer exploded prematurely, remember? Combined with Galyan’s holoimage interruption, it led us to conclude an outer, hidden party did it. I’ve begun to wonder if this hidden party isn’t the key to the criminal Earth linkage. There was a squinting, blinking man instructing the criminals. I recall the Merovingian telling me about the squinter.”

“Commander Ran Doo?” said Ludendorff. “You think he was the link to the Earth criminals?”

“Probably not him but his cousin,” Maddox said. “They’re the key, not the Crowder reps. I don’t think I’m going to learn anything more from reps—in fact, I’ve learned nothing from them. I’m starting to believe that’s unusual.”

“You have concluded this since you slew Earl Dunbar?” asked Galyan.

Maddox pointed an index finger at Galyan as he snapped his fingers.

“This is preposterous, then,” Ludendorff said. “You’re still going to let the other reps die aboard the shuttle?”

Maddox studied Ludendorff. “You have my thanks, Professor.”

“For what?”

“Helping me to clarify my thinking. Frazier and Locke are more dangerous than the other Crowder reps. In truth, the others are probably window dressing, and are thus superfluous, and—they will not accompany me in the shuttle. We’ll find a different way to return them to Balder. Frazier and Locke are the dangerous ones. I wonder if that was why Dunbar chose them as his second and third.”

Ludendorff shook his head ruefully.

“Now what is wrong, Professor?” Galyan asked.

“Nothing at all, my boy. I’m simply amazed yet again at how devious, clever and fast-thinking our captain really is. There was a reason he fit so well into Crowder society.”

“Never mind that,” Maddox said. “I think…I think it’s time to set the stage for phase two of our operation.”

“What do you have in mind?” Galyan asked.

Maddox nodded as he began to speak, giving each of them their next assignment.

-16-

From low orbit over Balder, Grutch delicately maneuvered his small, camouflaged teardrop-shaped vessel. He did this in order to align his spy beam onto the shuttle entering the higher planetary atmosphere.

This was a monstrous planet: dry, inordinately windy and much hotter than Grutch would care to feel. Why would humans colonize such a world? Why would Captain Maddox bother to land down there?

The captain struck him as an unusual human, much different from Star Watch norms. He wasn’t sure why his sponsors hated the man so much. Then again, he didn’t need to know. The bars of tellurium were the thing. With the hoard of bars waiting for him for the delivery of Captain Maddox—

Grutch sighed.

He’d contemplated a quick grab job against Maddox. The Adok starship and the questing holoimage gave him pause, however. The starship wasn’t what it appeared to be. Meaning, there was more to the vessel than met the eyeball.

While a Morag burned with greed, he had a similar nature to the Earth jackal that prowled around the kills on the savannas of Africa. A Morag loved his own skin above anything in existence. He was cautious and absolutely did not understand courage in the sense of putting himself in danger for ideals. That was the grossest folly in a Morag’s view. Life was short. Dying was forever. Thus, a Morag guarded his life with utmost zeal and deliberation. What made the Morag dangerous was his guile and technological brilliance, and the greed for gain that drove him to devise and counter-devise the sneakiest of schemes.

Thus, Grutch observed the shuttle as it began to buckle against the hurricane presently blowing in this part of the planet.

A tentacle tapped. An eyestalk bent, and an orb studied a screen. Grutch viewed the empty cockpit and the nearly empty shuttle.

What was the meaning of this? According to his eavesdropping earlier, the shuttle should be taking the majority of the Crowder representatives down toward Bristol, a subterranean settlement at the north pole. But there were no humans aboard the shuttle—correction, Grutch saw two humans: one tall and lean and the other stoop-shouldered and complaining bitterly about—

A tentacle twisted a holographic control as Grutch’s gelatinous bulk moved closer to a speaker unit. His spy beam had penetrated the shuttle. If he could just gain audio—

Ah-ha, there it was. Grutch listened attentively as Sergeant Riker complained about the riskiness of the operation. Did Captain Maddox not realize that missiles would likely spear directly at them from the surface?

“I’m waiting for exactly that,” Maddox said.

In the control chamber of his teardrop-shaped vessel, three of Grutch’s eyestalks shot straight up in astonishment. What was Maddox doing? The madman was risking his person?

No, no, that was awful. Maddox was worth many bars of tellurium to him, but only alive, not dead.

Tentacles shot out and eyestalks bent to new screens. Grutch watched for Crowder-launched missiles, ready to cause malfunctions so they wouldn’t kill his prospective captive.

“Don’t you die on me, you fool,” Grutch said.

“Why the charade, sir?” asked Riker from within the shuttle. “I don’t understand your thinking.”

“Me neither,” Grutch said in his craft.

“I want our adversaries to commit themselves,” Maddox said. “By their commitment, I’ll learn more about them. That should make them easier to understand. Duke Frazier in particular interests me.”

Grutch thought about that. It wasn’t bad logic, except for the personal danger. These humans were courageous buffoons. How had they ever reached their present technological state? It would seem they would have killed themselves off by now.

“Sir,” Riker said. “Are those missile blooms?”

High above the shuttle in its low Balder orbit, in his teardrop-shaped vessel, Grutch zeroed in on three missile launches. All of them were from north pole launch sites.

“Better get ready,” Maddox told Riker.

Grutch used his four eyestalks to watch four separate screens. Three of the eyestalks watched three different missiles coming up from three different directions. The last eye watched the shuttle.

“We’re too high still to deploy,” Riker complained. “The flitter isn’t made for this altitude.”

“None of that, Sergeant,” Maddox said. “We make do with what we have. Now, buckle in and be ready for it.”

Riker grumbled under his breath even as he clambered aboard a second vehicle, one hidden in the shuttle’s cargo bay.

Grutch made three separate estimates for the three different missiles. Soon, he had probabilities for each: missile one had a ninety-seven percent chance of destroying the shuttle, missile two had a ninety-five percent chance and missile three ninety-two percent.

“This is gross injustice,” Grutch complained.

Tentacles tapped, sending secret beams from the teardrop-shaped ship to two of the missiles. Those beams delicately caused minute damage here and there. That changed the hit probabilities on each missile to seventy-four and sixty-nine percent respectively.

“Work with that, you cretin,” Grutch said to an unhearing Maddox.

Aboard the shuttle, Maddox asked Riker, “Are you ready?”

“No,” Riker complained. “But you’re not going to let that stop you.”

From his supremely hidden craft in low orbit, Grutch watched spellbound with his remaining eye. Generators inside the shuttle projected—holoimages. The shuttle projected holoimages and other sensor distortions.

Grutch adjusted his instruments and saw what actually transpired.

A flitter, a two-seater with a dome, ejected from the shuttle. The flitter dropped like a rock, gaining separation from the shuttle. It would appear a holographic disguise hid the flitter from any teleoptics and possibly from certain other kinds of sensors.

Did Maddox think he could survive the shuttle’s detonation in that little craft?

Grutch would have shaken a head if he’d possessed one. Instead, he made a whistling sound, which showed his disgust at such mad courage. Maddox might kill himself this way, and then he, Grutch, would be out all those beautiful bars of tellurium.

Sometimes, the universe could be most unfair.

Missile number three zoomed upward, gaining yet more speed.

As Grutch watched, he came to an emergency decision. Maddox must survive no matter what. Until he had handed the living captain to his sponsors, he wanted Maddox alive and well.

Tap tap, tap tap. Two tentacles tapped two different holographic panels.

In the air, two missiles malfunctioned, detonating prematurely.

The third missile continued on its course and slammed against the shuttle, exploding with ship-destroying violence.

All the while, the little flitter with the dome protection continued to plunge down to the surface many kilometers away.

Grutch realized he could do no more without jeopardizing his hidden location and his precious life. If he did too much, the most clever of his potential enemies would divine his existence and possibly his whereabouts. That would not do at all.

Thus, Grutch maintained his low orbital position, watching as many angles as he could and hoping the captain and his complaining sergeant had the wit or skill to survive the Crowder missile attack.

-17-

Captain Maddox sat behind the controls of a two-man flitter—a small aerial machine with a clear bubble canopy. He battled the buffeting winds of this hurricane planet, trying to keep the flitter intact and them alive. A white-faced Sergeant Riker sat beside him, gripping his armrests with manic strength.

They’d dropped for many kilometers, escaping before the shuttle bringing them down had vanished in the detonating explosion of a missile’s non-nuclear warhead.

It was possible Sergeant Riker bit back a groan as the flitter careened toward a jagged mountain peak. Their small aerial vehicle pitched to one side, pitched the other way as wind howled around it and then the flitter jerked upward due to a blast of air. The worst was a moment when the wind attempted to flip the air-vehicle upside down.

“We’re going to die!” Riker shouted. “This was insane. Let’s go back to the starship. Have Keith come down and get us.”

“Steady on,” Maddox said, never taking his eyes off the controls. He adjusted with catlike reflexes and anticipated many of the crosscurrents, but it wasn’t proving good enough.

“Look out,” Riker shouted, crouching low and turning his head from the sight.

The mountain peak loomed before them, a thing of jagged ugly rocks and boulders.

Once again, Maddox corrected, lifting the flitter’s nose, but too little and too late. There was a horrible screech from underneath, and the entire vehicle shuddered.

Riker jerked around in his seat, looking back. “The rocks must have ripped open the bottom,” he shouted. “We’re doomed.”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Sergeant. The flitter has a double-thick armored under-plate. It sustained a scratch, nothing more.”

Riker whipped around to stare at Maddox. “Ridiculous? You think I’m being ridiculous? This is a crazy planet, never meant for air travel, never mind people.”

“Nonsense,” Maddox said, as he nosed down. “I have the hang of it now.”

Riker clutched the armrests again, gritting his teeth and watching in horror.

More jagged boulders appeared before them. The flitter looked as if it would crash against them, as the air-vehicle sledded a bare few meters above a steep slope.

Maddox swerved, and the flitter missed the boulders by centimeters.

Above them, black storm clouds billowed and lightning had begun to flash. The wind increased immediately as it began shrieking around them.

Maddox shook his head but otherwise seemed unconcerned.

“What’s the point of all this?” Riker shouted.

Maddox did not reply as he was too busy trying to keep them alive.

At that point, the dash comm unit began to blink.

Maddox ignored it as well. Riker didn’t answer either, as he clung to the armrests too tightly.

More lightning flashed, and booming thunder shook the flitter.

“We’re going to die!” Riker shouted again.

Maddox was beginning to believe likewise. The hurricane and greater storm was worse than he’d expected.

The dash comm unit continued to blink.

“Answer it,” Maddox said.

“I don’t dare release my hold,” Riker said.

The buffeting had become worse. Maddox chewed his lower lip. This was a stupid way to die. More than ever, he believed the Crowder people had a right to complain about Balder. Who in Star Watch had decided on Balder as their destination? Maybe that would be the better approach to all this: finding them a new planet?

It struck Maddox then as a flash insight. “That’s it,” he said. This was the wrong angle to take. The Crowder people should be complaining about being put here. Who would willingly remain on such a hell world? The Crowder people went about fixing such things differently from others. That was the key to remember.

Maddox flew between two peaks, and he took the flitter down hard as the winds shook the small craft. For a second, it seemed they would smash against a canyon wall. The flitter scraped it, and then Maddox shot downward away from the canyon side.

Riker groaned with fear.

“Hang on,” Maddox said.

The dash comm light had not stopped blinking the entire time.

Rocks littered the ground that fast approached the flitter. Lightning flashed overhead and thunder boomed, but it wasn’t as loud in the protection of the cliffs and canyon.

“Here goes,” Maddox said.

The flitter barely missed boulders and rocks, and struck the ground at speed. Metal screeched. The craft shook. Riker turned white as his bionic hand crumbled the armrest he gripped. Maddox concentrated, with every sense alert as he tried to bring the skipping flitter to a halt. More rocks loomed before them. Riker closed his eyes. Maddox jerked the controls. The flitter skidded, slid sideways and barely avoided the worst boulder. Then the craft bounced more, metal crumbling and airbags deploying.

Finally, the small wrecked flitter came to a halt. The dome still held, and the two men retained consciousness behind their airbags.

Maddox’s airbag deflated as he removed a knife from it. He slashed Riker’s airbag next, deflating it.

Riker stared at him, with blood dripping from his nose.

“We made it,” Maddox said.

Riker shook his head. “I never want to do that again.”

“It was rough there for a moment.”

Both men glanced at the dash comm unit. It still blinked. Someone attempted to contact them.

Maddox pressed a control. “Yes?” he said.

“Are you well, sir?” Galyan asked from the comm speaker.

“We’re in one piece, if that’s what you mean.”

“You were lucky,” Galyan said.

“That isn’t why you’re calling.”

“No, sir,” Galyan said. “I do not know if you were paying attention to the missiles.”

“There were three of them.”

“Yes, sir,” Galyan said. “Two of them malfunctioned, failing to detonate.”

“Do you know why they malfunctioned?”

“I do not,” Galyan said. “I have run an analysis, however. Sheer probability cannot account for both of them malfunctioning as they did.”

“More outside interference, then?” asked Maddox.

“That is both mine and the professor’s conclusion,” Galyan said.

“And the malfunctions weren’t caused by Crowder people?”

“I would surely have detected that, sir.”

“Agreed,” Maddox said. “Do you have any ideas what caused the malfunctions?”

“I am inclined to—sir, I just had an idea. We should no longer speak on the comm about this, if you understand my drift.”

“Right,” Maddox said, seeing it, or so he believed. “Send Keith down in the fold-fighter. We’re returning to Victory.”

“What about Bristol, sir? The people there are expecting you.”

“I…” Maddox hesitated. If it wasn’t wise to speak over the comm about the outside interference— “I’ll tell you shortly, Galyan. Send Keith. That is all.”

“Yes, sir,” Galyan said. “I will pass on the order.”

Maddox clicked the off switch, starting to become more curious than ever about this unknown outside interference.

-18-

Grutch had listened to the conversation between Maddox and Galyan. Eavesdropping on them was pathetically easy, as Morag technology was several factors superior to these low-tech humans of Star Watch.

The conversation had made him uneasy, however. His sponsor had warned him that Maddox possessed unique abilities. Could the captain have divined his presence here?

Grutch slid through a hallway and headed to the Mud Room. It was time for a swampy soak, as he needed to contemplate his next move.

His sponsors had worked tirelessly to create the conditions so Maddox would come down to Balder. Now, the captain was back on the starship. The odds were good that the captain would leave the Balder System altogether.

That was not good. His sponsors—

It was no use complaining about things. Grutch was beginning to see why the sponsors had offered him such a ridiculous amount of tellurium. He had believed it would be an easy matter snatching Captain Maddox. His sponsors had made it quite clear he had to do it secretly.

A bold grab—could he take Maddox from the heart of Victory?

Grutch rolled into the Mud Room, simply sliding off the deck and splashing into thick, goopy mud. A slow wave of mud sloshed onto the slanted deck.

Grutch sank into the mud, delighting in the texture and warmth of it. His tentacles flailed back and forth as a child might do in his bath with his arms. He drew his eyestalks and orbs into his gelatinous mass, sinking like a blob and luxuriating in the wonderful feel.

Maddox was different from the other humans. He relied upon an intuitive sense as well as his normal senses and logical mind. His sponsors had warned him about the intuitive sense. They were also intrigued by it. Perhaps it was one of the reasons they desired him to capture Maddox alive. Perhaps they wished to run tests on him and replicate said sense later in other humans.

If Maddox in Victory used the hyper-spatial tube to return to Earth, should he attempt to piggyback with the starship?

That could entail risk. The bars of tellurium wouldn’t do him any good if he were dead. Would the sponsors understand his hesitation to putting himself into harm’s way?

That wasn’t a given. His sponsors—

Suddenly, the mud bath no longer interested Grutch. Was it time to hightail it to a different part of the galaxy? He didn’t care to do that either. Oh, this was a dilemma, and all because Maddox—

“Now listen to me,” Grutch said to himself. Among the various races in the Orion Spiral Arm, Morags spoke to themselves more than any other species.

“My sponsors offered the ridiculous number of tellurium bars because Maddox is a unique human. That necessarily means this will be more difficult than you originally anticipated. I’m going to have to work for this. If I go back and ask them to set up a different scenario…the sponsors might feel it should cost me.”

Grutch inflated his bulk, making himself lighter as he expanded like a balloon. Then, he pushed off the bottom of the mud and floated up. His tentacles reached out of the mud and attached to the deck with suckers. He hauled himself out of the mud.

Once free of it, he shivered and quivered so the mud dripped from him onto the smooth and tilted deck until it dribbled back into the mud bath.

Then, Grutch caused his lower part to ripple and grant him mobility as he headed back for the control chamber.

He had several options. He didn’t want to leave this part of the galaxy. He did not want to face the sponsors with any reports of failure or setbacks. He also did not wish to sneak close to Victory, as they might possibly detect his marvelous ship. Still, that was the least harmful option, the least dangerous. He was dealing with dull-witted humans with their low technology, and one Adok holoimage with a ship that might possibly be able to do more than expected.

Still, Grutch doubted he would be in serious jeopardy even if the Adok holoimage detected his ship. It would be an easy matter to escape from them. Thus, following closely was more on the order of an annoyance than any danger to his person.

“So be it,” Grutch said. “I will push myself and risk the slightest, very slightest bit. Maddox is unique. Maddox is worth many bars of tellurium. But let us face facts: none of these human buffoons is a real challenge to my continued longevity.”

Grutch thus entered his command chamber, sliding to the precise location and beginning to power up for greater stealth movement. He might have to hurry by this point. Losing Maddox now would mean all the preparation had gone to waste.

Grutch rubbed two of his tentacle tips together. He was going to gain those bars of tellurium, meaning Maddox was practically as good as captured. All he needed was precisely the right moment to achieve his ends.

-19-

Maddox was back aboard Victory. Keith Maker had arrived in the fold-fighter and taken Riker and him back to the main hangar bay. From there, Maddox headed directly to the bridge.

Galyan appeared beside him, floating as the captain moved quickly.

“You’re certain about the anomalies regarding the missiles?” Maddox asked.

“I am,” Galyan said. “The probability the malfunctions just occurred is less than miniscule. It is not mathematically justifiable. That means either the Crowder people caused it, of which there is not the slightest evidence, or our supposed outside hidden source caused it.”

“The outsider did this to keep me alive.”

“That seems like the most reasonable conclusion.”

“Any idea as to why?” asked Maddox.

“None,” said Galyan.

“Have you been monitoring local space?”

“I have, and I am.”

“Anything so far?”

“I would have already reported it, sir.”

Maddox grunted. Yes. That seemed reasonable.

“Sir,” Galyan said as they turned a corner. “May I ask why you left Balder?”

“You know I don’t like anyone questioning my decisions.”

“Am I being impertinent asking this?”

“Not necessarily,” Maddox said.

“Is that all the answer I am going to receive?”

“I don’t want to repeat myself. Thus, you can tag along—” Maddox snapped his fingers. Then, he broke into a sprint as he changed direction. “Tell the others on the bridge I’ll be there shortly. Then, return. I’m making a call to the Lord High Admiral.”

“Yes, sir,” Galyan said, vanishing.

***

Shortly, Maddox sat in a small chamber with a Long-Range Builder Comm Device. He picked up the microphone, sitting on a couch, and placed a call to the Lord High Admiral’s office in Geneva.

Unlike other comm devices, the ancient Builder device could cross hundreds of light-years instantaneously. Star Watch only possessed a few of these, giving them a huge strategic advantage.

For once, the Lord High Admiral was nearby.

“Captain Maddox,” Cook said. “Have you freed the captive Crowder leaders?”

“I haven’t,” Maddox said.

“Did you find out how the representatives contacted criminals on Earth?”

“No, sir.”

There was a moment of silence. “Let’s get down to it then. Why are you calling?”

Maddox related the incident of the duel—

“You slew a Crowder rep?” Cook asked in disbelief, interrupting the story.

“It was all done legally, sir.”

“You set him up?”

“Legally,” Maddox said. “They can’t complain.”

“Are you mad? Of course, they’ll complain. I suspect…” Cook sighed. “Why are you calling?”

“For several reasons, sir,” Maddox said. “I flew around the planet for an hour. It’s an impossible place.”

“Meaning what?” asked Cook.

“It’s a hell world. I don’t blame the Crowder people for complaining. I wouldn’t want to live on Balder III either. We can’t expect them to peacefully settle there. That means we’re making needless enemies by keeping them there.”

“Are you trying to instruct me in Star Watch policy matters?”

“I’ve been on the planet, sir. It’s inhospitable.”

“That’s no reason to quit your mission, which it sounds like you’re doing.”

“Sir, I have reason to believe the Crowder people aren’t behind the attack on my family.”

“I’m listening.”

Maddox told him about the likely Spacer saucer, the premature detonation, the logic of a hidden outsider and then what occurred to the missiles trying to destroy the shuttle.

“Captain…those are all quite tenuous reasons for quitting an assignment.”

“They are indications, sir. Remember, I have two of the cleverest people in Star Watch with me: Ludendorff and Galyan. We all agree—”

“Just a minute, Captain,” Cook said, interrupting. “This is…”

Maddox waited as the moment of silence lengthened. “Are you still on line, sir?”

“I’m here,” Cook said in a weary voice. “I just had a painful thought. You’ve proven right with your preposterous ideas too many times for me to simply dismiss this one. What are you suggesting?”

“First, sir, the Crowder people are both reasonable in their present demand, and unreasonable murderous anarchists in practice. I’m no longer convinced there are any kidnappers. It goes against everything I know about these people. If kidnappers grabbed the leaders, they should be the new leaders. I think this is all an elaborate setup.”

“For what purpose?” asked Cook.

“I haven’t been able to figure that one out yet—unless it was all to draw me here. That seems farfetched, however.”

“So…what’s next?”

“I suggest we leave Balder and return home,” Maddox said. “Let these people stew for a few weeks. Then, return and offer them a better planet. Ignore the issue of the kidnapped leaders, as it is an internal Crowder problem, one that probably doesn’t really exist.”

“What about the possible outsider and the criminal elements that attacked your family, with the aid of a Merovingian?”

“I think I’ll do better on Earth uncovering that.”

“Really?” asked Cook.

“Well…not for certain. I have to think this through. I think Balder III is a dead end or an attempt to achieve something against Star Watch that we don’t understand. Such being the case, I believe we should quarantine the people for a month or two.”

“That doesn’t seem like you in the least. You’re usually a bulldog tracking a thing until you find it.”

“That’s just it, sir,” Maddox said. “We’ve agreed that we’re dealing with unknowns, possibly high-tech aliens. Thus, I’m going to alter my usual methods and try something else.”

“You think this outsider is using you in some way or has knowledge of your usual methods?”

“I have begun to seriously consider the possibility, sir.”

“Because of the attack in Carson City?” asked Cook.

“Yes,” Maddox said. “The attack tied to the Crowder reps would seem to indicate I was supposed to come to Balder III. The strange anomalies taking place around me point to hidden adversaries with a hidden agenda. Galyan’s interrupted holoimage, the premature saucer detonation and malfunctioning missiles means these hidden adversaries are actively attempting to achieve a thing. I call them adversaries because if they were friendly, it strikes me that they would openly contact us.”

There was silence for a time, until, “Damned if that doesn’t make sense. And you know, there is something you could do for me in the meantime.”

“On Earth?” asked Maddox.

“No. It has to do with Lieutenant Commander Noonan,” Cook said. “I received a communication from her while you’ve been away.”

“She’s in the Beyond, I believe.”

“You might want to call Galyan so he can hear this,” Cook said.

Maddox glanced at the listening holoimage. “He’s already here with me, sir.”

“I see,” Cook said. “Galyan?”

Maddox aimed the microphone at the holoimage and activated it.

“I am here, Lord High Admiral,” Galyan said.

“Are you interested in trying to track down your lost people?” Cook asked.

“You know that I am, sir.”

Maddox eyebrows rose high.

“Lieutenant Commander Noonan has found evidence of possible Adoks in a star system different from their homeworld,” Cook said.

“You’re kidding,” Maddox said.

“I agree with your ideas about Balder and the Crowder people,” Cook said. “I’ll have some people look into a more suitable planet for them. I still want to find whoever sent those people against your family, though.”

“As do I, sir,” Maddox said.

“If you don’t think the Crowder reps had anything to do with it, why did you…duel with Earl Dunbar?’

“Oh, he had something to do with it,” Maddox said. “I don’t think he was the architect, though. I think…I think there is more going on, and letting whoever stew for a time is the right way to handle it.”

“I’m going to agree with you,” Cook said. “I’m going to go with your instincts. You’ll need to return via the hyper-spatial tube. Then, I’ll send you out to meet with the commander in the Beyond.”

“Yes, sir,” Maddox said.

“I will speak to you shortly then, back on Earth. Cook, out.”

-20-

Lieutenant Commander Valerie Noonan sat in the captain’s chair on the small bridge of the Patrol Scout Kit Carson.

It was the smallest type of Patrol craft to independently go alone into the Beyond. The Kit Carson had a complement of twelve effectives in a ship with a relatively weak shield and hull armor and minimal armaments. The scout had left Earth via the nexus, appearing in the destroyed Adok home system with its shattered planet. There, the scout had remained for three weeks, searching for any clues that might show a hint of surviving Adoks elsewhere.

Returning to the Adok Home System after all this time had been a strange experience for Valerie.

She was a striking woman with long brunette hair, a lean athletic build and a quietly competitive nature. Valerie believed in following the rules, maybe because she’d had such a chaotic childhood in Greater Detroit.

In any case, three weeks ago, the sensor specialist had detected some odd readings from a nearby nebula. In this case, near was forty-eight light-years away, and the nebula in question was quite dense.

The Kit Carson did not have a Long-Range Builder Comm Device like Victory. Thus, Valerie waited. Eventually, the hyper-spatial tube had appeared on schedule and a courier vessel had come through. Valerie had given her report. The courier had departed via the hyper-spatial tube. An hour later, a message buoy had come through, granting Valerie the go-ahead from the Lord High Admiral himself.

That had been two weeks ago.

Since that time, the Kit Carson had reached the dense nebula and started in. The scout had followed a faint radiation trail, maneuvering through the thick stellar cloud of vapor and gas. The compacted space-substance had soon glommed around the Patrol vessel, blocking any sight of the stars.

In the end, Valerie ordered the Kit Carson to turn around and retrace its way out of the nebula.

Later, from a preselected location, a hyper-spatial tube had appeared and another courier vessel had come through. Valerie gave her report as before, and later a message buoy had returned, urging her to follow the radiation trail to the end. Starship Victory would soon join them, as the Lord High Admiral had received interesting historical data concerning the Glenna Nebula. That was the name for the dense stellar cloud forty-eight light-years from the Adok Star System.

Valerie stood watch on the bridge, as the Kit Carson maneuvered through the dense Glenna Cloud or Glenna Nebula.

The faint radiation trail—a sensor at one of the stations began to beep insistently.

Valerie went to the panel. It showed a satellite or buoy nearby. The thing blipped, showing that it had power.

Valerie went to the helm, guiding the Kit Carson toward the low-powered object. She tapped another control and called for the pilot.

The pilot acknowledged the call and said he would be there in a few minutes.

At that point, Valerie saw the buoy on the main screen. It was silvery in color, tubular, with a slowly rotating antenna on one end. The other end showed a spent thruster. Fuel pods were attached to the small thing’s side.

Curious, Valerie returned to the nearby sensor station. With a few taps, she ran a quick scan. The fuel pods were empty. The—

An alarm began to blare on the bridge of the Kit Carson.

Frowning, Valerie tapped the sensor panel. There appeared to be an energy surge inside the buoy. The surge manifested itself as some kind of…teleportation process, it seemed.

Valerie looked up at the bridge’s main screen. As she did, a beam of ethereal light shot from the drifting alien buoy. The beam bypassed the scout’s weak shield and hull armor—and focused against Valerie’s forehead, forming or teleporting into place a small metallic object partly embedded within her forehead.

Lieutenant Commander Valerie Noonan abruptly dropped onto the deck, unconscious. She continued to breathe, but her eyes were screwed shut. As Valerie lay there, she began to dream most strangely.

-21-

In Valerie’s dream, a world sprang forth fully formed. There was an Earthlike planet named Remus where she lived. Several colony ships had landed here long ago, the beginning of the world.

There had been a nuclear war fought sometime in the past. That had radically changed things. These days, at the pinnacle of the restructured Remus society were seven families, the so-called ‘seven houses,’ of which House Tarentum and House Varus were closely allied.

The houses were aristocratic to the core. The patricians running the houses believed in their innate right to rule Remus. Each family had amassed huge estates on Remus, along with many asteroid mines, moon domes and drone balloon scavengers scourging the upper atmospheres of the outer gas giants.

The seven families ran the Senate, which controlled the Legions, the AirSpace Service and a particularly effective Secret Service. Few outside the ultra-paranoid intelligence agency knew about the darkest clandestine project.

Diana Valerian Varus was one of the most successful test subjects to come out of the clandestine project. She was a female clone of Julius Marcus Varus, one of the most cunning people to have run the Secret Service. Unfortunately, J.M. Varus had been dead for over fifty years.

Remus had harsh clone laws to such an extent that in the entire system, there were fewer than a thousand known genetic replicas. While hereditarily belonging to House Varus, Diana did not have any rights of inheritance or patrician status before the law. She was a servant of the Senate, dependent on their favor.

In the strange dream caused by the ray from the buoy, a ray that powered the device embedded in Valerie’s forehead, the Lieutenant Commander now thought of herself as Diana.

From an early age, Diana-Valerie had received a grueling education and physical training. Her instructors had also hammered home her duty to Remus, her obligation to her family and people. She was a brilliant student with a photographic memory and a hard core of ruthlessness that had been her cloner’s signature attribute.

Valerie was on the Agrippa when the first foreign spaceship appeared at the edge of the Remus System. Beyond the system were dense stellar clouds and gases, hiding the legendary stars, which historians said existed beyond the giant nebula that surrounded the Remus star.

The appearance of the spaceship caused the entire Remus AirSpace and Secret Services to go on highest alert. Messages flashed back and forth throughout the system. Was the alien spaceship friendly? Did the crew on the ship understand that no one here possessed an FTL drive? What was the right thing to do: fight, beg or send a friendly message to the alien vessel?

The Agrippa was presently on red alert. It was a monitor, the biggest warship in the Remus arsenal. It began a hard fusion drive toward the alien craft, with Praetor Titus Flavius Arrius of House Tarentum commanding.

The rest of the AirSpace Service watched with bated breath, waiting to see the alien’s reaction.

Several hours later, the alien began heading in-system. It used a fusion drive just like the Agrippa.

Valerie was on the bridge, standing behind the praetor as his go-for. T.F. Arrius was a short, square-bodied patrician with a mop of brown hair. He had intense eyes and a demanding bearing with a voice that could lash like a cat-o-nine-tails.

Valerie was nothing like that. She was tall with supple legs, a beauty with long blonde hair and a scarlet uniform. Whenever she was on the bridge, the men covertly watched her, finding her presence intoxicating.

“You must use your beauty like a weapon,” her instructors had told her. Despite her youth, she had an actual mission other than just learning AirSpace ways. She monitored T.F. Arrius because the chief of the Secret Service didn’t trust the man.

Arrius snapped his fingers. “Cup,” he said.

Valerie stepped forward, handing him a steaming cup of coffee she’d been holding for just this moment.

Arrius took the cup, sipping it as he kept his eyes on the main screen.

“I’m receiving ship data, Praetor,” the comm officer said from her station.

“Tell me,” Arrius said.

Valerie along with everyone else on the bridge listened to the report. The alien vessel had five times the Agrippa’s mass. It had a heavier hull and strange openings that might be torpedo tubes.

“Praetor,” another officer said. “The alien ship has increased velocity.”

“How much of an increase?” Arrius demanded.

The officer turned around to face Arrius. “Praetor, they’re accelerating at five gravities toward us.”

“Impossible,” Arrius said. “They surely can’t keep up that rate for long.”

“You’re making two unwarranted assumptions,” the officer said.

Arrius whirled around to stare at the officer.

“Our crew could not withstand five gravities for long,” the officer said. “Thus, are the aliens human?”

“What’s the second assumption?” Arrius demanded.

“Maybe the aliens have gravity control. Thus, they don’t feel the five gravities. Perhaps they only feel one.”

“Yes…” Arrius said. “I’ve heard theories about gravity dampeners. If the aliens have such, it would appear they badly outclass us. If they should attack…”

The squat praetor stood, handing Valerie the half-full cup. His gaze took her in as if seeing her for the first time. He frowned, saying. “You are confined to quarters.”

“Sir?” Valerie asked, stunned by his words. What had she done wrong?

He looked away, ignoring her as he spoke to the bridge crew. “I will be in my ready room. Report as soon as something changes.”

***

Valerie spent a week confined to quarters. Security brought her meals, her only interaction with anyone in the crew.

Finally, the Agrippa applied heavy thrust, slowing down. Valerie had no idea why. Another three days passed.

On the fourth day after the heavy thrust, her hatch opened without warning. Two legionaries stared at her hard-eyed. A tribune in a red cape appeared next, motioning her into the corridor. In silence, they marched her to the praetor’s quarters.

The hatch opened and the tribune gently but firmly pushed her into the cabin. Behind her, the hatch shut.

The praetor stood with his back to her. The room was small with several paintings attached to the bulkheads. A second hatch must lead to his bedroom. There was a small table with two chairs in the room.

“Sit,” Arrius said in his commanding voice, with his back still to her.

Frightened, wondering what this meant, Valerie gingerly sat down.

Arrius faced her. He looked worried, and he wore his dress uniform with medals, the silver Legion Eagle of courage among them. Slowly, the praetor approached the table. He also sat.

“Let me see your hands,” he said.

Valerie put them palm-first on the table.

Arrius took one of her hands. He had thick, stubby fingers, warm fingers. He felt her hand. It gave her a strange feeling. Finally, he released her.

“You’re a clone,” Arrius said matter-of-factly.

Valerie’s features tightened. Few knew that about her. If most people did know they wouldn’t talk to her, have anything to do with her. Did Arrius think her being a clone made her nonhuman?

“You’re incredibly beautiful,” Arrius said. “I imagine that’s one of your tools of the trade. Was I supposed to bed you?”

“Sir?” Valerie said, as if shocked.

He smiled grimly. “Was that one of your assignments? Be truthful,” he said.

“I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Arrius held up a hand as his features hardened. “Do not lie to me, clone.”

Valerie went cold inside, hating it when anyone hurled that in her face. She believed that she hated Titus Arrius.

He smiled. It was a hard, cruel, knowing thing. “In my youth, I watched your original: Julius Marcus Varus. He never forgave an insult. J.M. Varus had a ruthless drive to power. Yes, I imagine you are very dangerous, Valerie. How old are you?”

“Eighteen,” she said.

“Eighteen, eighteen. How very young that is. Have you ever killed anyone?”

“No.

“Do you love Remus?”

Valerie blinked several times at his odd question. “Of course, I do.”

“You hesitated answering,” Arrius said. “Perhaps as a clone you feel as if life has been unfair to you.”

“That would be absurd.”

“Would it really?” Arrius asked. “You have great beauty and no doubt intelligence, perfect breeding and training, and yet you shall never inherit anything of House Varus. How fair is that?”

“If the scientists hadn’t cloned me, I would not be alive. It isn’t rational for me to—”

“Rational!” Arrius laughed, interrupting her. “She speaks of rational as if that makes sense.”

Valerie frowned. Who was he talking to? Maybe he was recording the meeting. Yes. That must be it.

Arrius sobered quickly. “Listen to me, Varus. I charge you with the assignment of your life. Maybe the scientists cloned you for this very day. They couldn’t have known, but the Deity would have. Do you believe in the Deity?”

Valerie shrugged, uncomfortable with the question.

“Hmm,” Arrius said, “so be it. I must use what tools I have. You are a tool, Valerie Varus, just as I am a tool. I believe that I am in the right place today in order to make the correct decisions. Does any of that make sense to you?”

“No.”

“An alien spaceship has come to our star system.”

“I was on the bridge, sir. I heard the finding in real time.”

“Yes, of course, you were. Do you know that I have visually met with the alien spaceship’s director?”

Valerie shook her head.

“Director is the rank of their commander. She is a woman belonging to the system of New Trotsky. It is the premier system of something known as the Fusion of Planets. Their political system is something called Social Harmony, a form of communism, I believe. She acts politely, but I sense hostility in her toward me or maybe toward us on Remus. I don’t know for sure. I’m acting on instinct in this.”

“You can communicate, as in exchange ideas, with them?” Valerie asked.

“Our language experts found we have a common tongue.”

“Oh.”

Arrius gave her another of his predatory smiles. “Do you wonder why I’m telling you all this?”

Valerie nodded.

“The director asked if I would send four representatives to her. She plans to return to New Trotsky, to the ruling Politburo. There, our representatives can speak with the chairman and with their Public Service Assistants. We can begin talks for trade deals and other such interactions.”

Valerie swayed, stunned. “You want to send me?”

“That’s what I’m trying to decide.”

“Why me?” Valerie asked.

Anger appeared in his eyes. It was doubtful Arrius liked anyone questioning him. Then, as suddenly as it had appeared, the anger disappeared.

“I have a suspicion,” the praetor said. “I believe the director wants you four as specimens, maybe as subjects for a Fusion profiler in order to better understand our society. They have found us. Now, before they make their next move, the Fusion wants to know us.”

“Why send anyone then?”

“You’re too bright to ask that. We have no choice in this. We have to play their game right now, not ours.”

“Destroy their ship or better yet, capture it,” Valerie said.

Arrius’s eyes brightened. “I would destroy their ship in an instant, but I don’t think the Agrippa can do it alone. I’ve asked them to come to Remus, but the director politely refused me each time.”

“I think I understand,” Valerie said.

“Do you?” Arrius asked, in a hungry, curious way

“I’m expendable, a throwaway, a clone. Of course, I’m the right person to go to New Trotsky.”

Arrius’s evil grin tightened. “You understand nothing, girl, nothing at all. You are a trained spy. The only one I can get at short notice. You’re fantastically beautiful and smart, with a mind trained to absorb facts. I want you to keep your eyes peeled. Figure out their ultimate game plan for us and report it to me on your return.”

“What if they never let me leave their system?”

“Then you’ve got to figure out a way to get back anyway. You must report to us, Valerie. This is the greatest moment in our history. We must get our hands on the hyperdrive before conquerers find our system. Maybe the Fusion plans to conquer us. We must learn more about them, much more.”

Arrius leaned forward earnestly. “Will you go willingly, Valerie Varus?”

“Do I have a choice?”

“Yes!”

She doubted that. “And if I say no?”

“You will stay here, of course.”

“And that goes on my record?”

Arrius stared into her eyes as he shook his head.

It stunned Valerie to realize she believed him. “What do I get as a reward if I return with this knowledge?”

“If it was within my power, I would make you a full Varus. I would stamp out the stigma of you being a clone.”

“That isn’t in your power,” she said, wanting it to be in his power with all her soul.

“Not yet,” Arrius said.

With a start of insight, Valerie realized something about him. He kept letting it slip by his word choices. “Do you aspire to be the Imperator of Remus?” she asked.

Arrius didn’t reply, although he watched her more closely than ever.

Valerie raised her eyebrows. Her minders had warned her T.F. Arrius was dangerous and highly ambitious. Until this moment, she had not realized just how ambitious.

“Yes,” Valerie heard herself say. “I willingly volunteer to go with the aliens.”

“Then bow your head,” Arrius said. “I’ll pray for you and your success. This will be the most difficult mission of your life and the most pregnant with perils neither of us can foresee. You must succeed, Valerie Varus. You must for the sake of Remus.”

Valerie nodded, bowing her head, excited and terrified all at once.

-22-

In the dream, there was a shift in time and space for Valerie. She did not realize that she was asleep in an infirmary aboard the Patrol Scout Kit Carson.

The strange ray from the alien buoy still beamed power to the forehead-embedded device. The Patrol scout’s medic had suggested they remove the device or block the powering beam. They’d tried both, and Valerie had immediately gone into cardiac arrest. Thus, they stopped the blockage and quit trying to remove the device.

Valerie continued to dream, but it wasn’t a personal thing that she’d felt as Diana Varus. This new dream was impersonal as she saw life through and could read the thoughts of the former Praetor and now Consul Titus Flavius Arrius.

***

Time had passed, and he was no longer the Praetor of the Agrippa but Consul Titus Flavius Arrius of the AirSpace Service. He rubbed his face as he sat in his quarters in Sabine Hill. He was so damned tired all the time, trying to put out one fire after another. It had become truly exhausting.

For four years now, he’d felt as if the world would explode any minute. He’d always been ambitious. After the Fusion ship had showed up, he realized he had a heavenly mandate for his actions. Who else but he had enough foresight to save his people from the aliens?

After sending the representatives, with the Secret Service clone Valerie Varus hidden among them, he’d grasped one rung of power after another to heave himself that much closer to supreme power. He didn’t rule the Senate yet. He wasn’t close to becoming the Imperator of all Remus System. But he did command the space fleet. He’d also accelerated the number of SSM sites on Remus.

SSM was an acronym for Surface to Space Missile. They were gigantic boosters with Electronic Countermeasure Warfare pods on each. Contrary to custom after the terrible nuclear war that had scarred Remus, each SSM had a thermonuclear warhead.

Arrius pressed his blunt fingers against the skin of his face. After four frightening years of waiting, of wondering, of expecting the worst, the clone had returned. The consul couldn’t believe it. The rest of the representatives were dead in the tiny spaceship that had made it home, but the clone had survived the journey through the dense gas cloud that surrounded the Remus System. She’d survived in what seemed to be a jury-rigged life support system. Even more fantastically, she had returned with a genuine hyperdrive in her possession, one that only worked in the dense gas cloud, somehow using the gas for the hyperdrive.

Arrius lurched to his feet. The Deity had given him the brains to see beyond surface values, to logically pierce the future even when only given a few facts.

The consul began to pace in his quarters. He wore a brown tunic. His once-brown mop of hair had begun turning gray. It made him seem more distinguished, he knew.

The buzzer sounded.

“Enter,” Arrius snapped.

The door opened and Praetor Livia stood there. She was older than he was, but had aged better. She had red hair piled on her head and regarded him with shrewd eyes.

“Well?” he asked.

“She’s been talking,” Livia said in a hoarse voice.

“And, and?” he said. “What did she find? Why was she in that pumpkin of a spaceship? What happened in the New Trotsky System? Where are the Fusion ships?”

“Peace,” Livia said, holding up her hands.

“No!” Arrius shouted. “No peace until I know the facts.”

“May I enter?”

“Yes, yes,” he said, almost shouting. “Sit down. Talk. Tell me what you’ve learned.”

“Our knowledge is sketchy,” Livia said, entering the room.

“Praetor, I’m warning you.”

Livia sat, picking up a flagon. “Do you mind?”

Arrius slid a tumbler across the table, dropping onto a chair to glare at her.

Livia poured herself a generous portion of red wine, sipping it, smacking her lips. “Good stuff.”

“Yes, of course, it is. It comes from my private vineyard in Gentile.”

“I see.”

“No, Praetor, you don’t. I’m about to order my security team—”

“They reached New Trotsky,” Livia said.

“All of them?”

“I don’t know about that, but I’d argue the three other bodies in the lifeboat prove they did.”

“What lifeboat? What are you talking about?”

“The tiny ship with the hyperdrive was a broken-down lifeboat they purchased from former, get this, former space pirates.”

“Is this serious data?”

“Absolutely,” Livia said. “The brain teasers got her to talk with their most powerful drugs. It was a lot of mumbling while her eyes were screwed shut.”

“Which means she could have been making things up. She could have been dream talking.”

“Maybe, but none of the specialists think so. What we heard is the truth as she remembers it.”

“Fine. What happened on New Trotsky?”

“First, the Fusion is a communist police state with all kinds of controllers and speech codes. They had terrible nuclear wars once, worse than we did. Entire worlds went up in radioactive—”

“I don’t care why they are like they are,” Arrius said, interrupting. “I just want to know what the Fusion plans to do with us.”

“Oh.” Livia sipped wine. “That’s easy. The Fusion is sending a flotilla. They’ll claim it’s entirely peaceful. But they’ll have PSA people with them.”

“Who are these PSA people?”

“Public Service Assistants,” Livia said.

“And what do they do?”

“Help break down a society like ours and turn it into a beehive communist state like theirs.”

“There is no ‘live and let live’ with the Fusion?”

“Not unless we’re really strong,” Livia said.

“Explain that.”

“I’ll make it simple. A Politburo runs the Fusion. The Politburo is ruled by the Chairman, who is over a hundred years old.”

“What?”

“Supposedly, he’s the father of the Fusion, a really important figure. It seems he’d had a heart attack just before the clone arrived.”

“Let’s call her Valerie Varus. She’s a hero, not merely a clone.”

Livia took another sip of wine. “That’s fine by me. Whatever they planned for the four never happened because New Trotsky was in an uproar. That gave our representatives time to look around. Even better, it gave them the freedom to do it. The clone—Valerie mumbled about million-person drone-fests where vast crowds swayed together and chanted in unison. Everyone owns everything in common on New Trotsky, which means no one owns anything except for the few politically powerful people who run things.”

“I get all that. How did they escape New Trotsky? I’m assuming they escaped, right?”

“They did. Get this. They bought tickets for a starliner.”

“You mean like an interstellar bus?” Arrius asked.

“That’s right. The Fusion is just the biggest bully on the block. Actually, we’re part of the Backus Cluster, the grouping of stars that make up this part of the nebula. All of us originally arrived from colony ships from Earth as the ancient legends say.”

“Go on.”

“Long story short,” Livia said, “the four reached the Wurzburg System, which was too powerful for the Fusion to want to take on. There, the four worked as assassins, if the clone was telling the truth.”

“That fits. Valerie Varus is deadly.”

“Apparently. After gathering enough credits, they bought the old lifeboat and made a run for us. During the journey—”

“I know that much,” Arrius said. “I’ve read a summary of the ship’s log. They had malfunctions, and the others died. Valerie had bought drugs to put her into an induced coma. It worked. She made it home, and we’re still trying to bring her up all the way.”

Livia stared at Arrius. “The Fusion is coming. You know that, right?”

“I know that, and I already have a plan.”

“Plan?” Livia asked with contempt. “The Fusion is a hundred times stronger than we are. What—”

“True, all true. The trick, I’m beginning to think, is to make taking us over too big of a mouthful for them to chew.”

“How can you possibly manage that?”

Arrius gave her an ugly smile as his eyes gleamed. “My dear Praetor, I plan to trick the flotilla commander, of course. I will disarm their suspicions of us. They want to reshape our society to look just like theirs. That’s what all the indications are, right?”

“Yes,” Livia said. “It appears they have a slogan. We must all think and act alike so we don’t hate and destroy each other.”

“Hmm. I forgot what you said before. Do we have any idea when this Fusion flotilla is supposed to show up?”

“The clone said it could be anytime now.”

“Right,” Arrius said. “We’d better get everything in order then, hadn’t we?”

Livia stared at him.

Arrius lurched to his feet. “Come. I’m going to need your help for this…”

-23-

The dream changed once more, and Valerie in the infirmary of the Kit Carson slipped back into the memories of Diana Varus, becoming the clone once more.

Diana—Valerie shivered in the warm room with a thick woolen shawl around her shoulders. She’d woken from her induced coma in a weakened state. It had been two and a half months already, and she still had trouble keeping warm.

The doctors told her it would pass as she became stronger. Some days, she didn’t know what to believe. The ordeal she’d been through these past four years… She tightened her grip of the shawl, shivering uncontrollably.

New Trotsky had been a nightmare. The staring eyes, the watching, the dreadful sameness—

The door opened, causing her to look up in alarm. Instead of a nurse, two security honchos walked through. They went to the windows, taking up station to the sides, each drawing a gun and looking outside.

“What’s wrong?” Valerie whispered.

“Nothing, dear Valerie, nothing at all,” Consul T.F. Arrius said.

Valerie stared at him in shock as the thickset man entered the room. Arrius had aged worse than she had these past four years. His hair was graying and there were lines in his face.

“I returned,” she whispered. “Now, what’s my prize?”

“More work,” Arrius said, pulling up a chair.

“You were going to revoke my clone status, remember?”

One of the security men glanced at Valerie before resuming his vigil out the window.

Arrius gave her the slightest of frowns and shook his head. “Everything in good time,” he said low under his breath.

“Am I under arrest?” Valerie asked.

“You’re under my personal protection,” he said. “You’re coming with me.”

“Coming where?” she asked in alarm.

Instead of answering, he opened a folder, pushing forward a space shot of a huge starship.

“Do you know what this is?” Arrius asked.

“A Lenin-class battlewagon,” Valerie said. “It’s their biggest warship. It has collapsium hull armor. That’s—”

“I know what collapsium is. It’s in the oldest records. Collapsed molecules shoved side-by-side, making the metal incredibly dense. One of our heavy lasers would take an hour or more to burn through such armor.”

“Where did you get a picture of a battlewagon?” Valerie asked.

Arrius gave her a significant look.

“Oh, no,” she whispered. “The Fusion flotilla—”

“Has arrived in our star system,” Arrius finished for her. “They’re several weeks out from Remus, decelerating hard. Hyperdrive is interesting strategically and tactically. While a starship can travel between stars through the dense gas cloud, the vessel will implode if traveling too near a deep gravity well like our star. Thus, they have to drop out of hyperdrive fifty or so AUs outside the orbital path of our last planet and head the rest of the way using fusion drive.”

“What are we going to do?”

Arrius smiled. “That’s why I’m here, my dear. You’re going to help me give them the perfect answers.”

“I told the shrinks everything I know. The Fusion is going to start slow, demanding a few political changes. If you resist, the battlewagons will—”

“I know all that, my dear,” Arrius said, interrupting. “They’ll unload their ordnance against us, obliterating our means of resistance. But you hinted they’re militarily stretched.”

“That’s right. They have heavy commitments all over the place. I suspect they want to fit us into their Fusion as fast as possible and—”

“Stop,” Arrius said, leaning forward, patting one of her knees. “You’re turning pale. I want you strong, Valerie. You have a lot of work to do.”

“My status…” she said in a low voice.

“I’m working on it.”

Valerie didn’t know whether to believe him or not.

He glanced at the security men.

“A few people believe you’ve brought us bad luck,” Arrius said quietly. “They think you brought the Fusion ships back to Remus. They want to give you to—”

Valerie moaned, knifing forward and clutching one of the consul’s wrists. “Please, no,” she whispered, fiercely.

The older man frowned.

Valerie gathered her resolve, releasing her hold. “They’re a brutal people with harsh ways.”

“We’re playing for the highest stakes, is that what you’re saying?”

Valerie nodded.

A loud report sounded somewhere on the grounds. A window shattered as a bullet smashed into a wall. Another bullet catapulted a security man backward as blood spurted from his throat. He collapsed.

The second security man drew a long-barreled pistol, smashed glass from his window and fired rapidly.

Valerie moaned once more, trying to dive to the floor. Arrius grabbed her, hauling her upright. Clutching her to his chest, the consul lumbered through the door, bellowing instructions to other waiting security people.

“You’re coming with me,” Arrius told her. “Once you’re on the Agrippa, no one will be able to lay a finger on you.”

-24-

Valerie watched Arrius pace back and forth with a thunderous scowl on his face.

It had been fifteen months since he’d hauled her from the hospital ward. So much had happened since then. He carried the weight of their world on his shoulders, on his shrewd guesses. The man had an uncanny ability to know what others were thinking and how to outguess them.

Valerie Varus wore a tight black uniform, part of his personal security team. He said it was to keep her safe. She knew the truth. He wanted her insights regarding the enemy. She’d told him everything that had happened on New Trotsky. He told her that seeing was believing. She knew the enemy, while he and others only guessed at the enemy’s intentions.

“You should relax,” Valerie told him.

“Tell me how,” Arrius demanded.

“First, sit.”

The short, square man hurled himself into the chair behind his desk.

Valerie came behind him, rubbing his shoulders. For such an older man, he still had thick muscles.

“Everything rests on the next few hours,” he said. “If I’ve guessed wrong—”

“Then you’re wrong,” she said.

Arrius twisted around in his chair, looking up at her. “You couldn’t say that so easily if you loved your world.”

“I love Remus,” Valerie said, calmly.

“Why? Here, you’re a hated clone. If we lose today—”

“I know what I am.”

Arrius searched her eyes before sitting forward again. “Have I been too hard on you?”

“No.”

“Tell me the truth, Valerie.”

“I always have.”

“Yes…you have. That’s true. You’re one of the few people I can trust. Isn’t that odd?”

“No,” she said.

Arrius chuckled softly.

“You can laugh because—” Valerie bit off her words, hating to complain. They had cloned her and therefore she lived. Maybe someday the normal born could accept her as a true person just like them.

I am a Varus. I have as much right to command as T.F. Arrius has.

“At least we have a fighting chance,” he said.

Valerie kneaded his stiff shoulders. She’d seen him do the impossible. Fifteen months ago, he’d toadied to the Fusion flotilla commander. Via screen, he’d begged them to admit Remus at once into the Fusion. The commander had smiled, saying that wasn’t possible. Arrius had implored the commander to tell him what he needed to do. “Clearly,” Arrius had said, “the Fusion is superior to Remus.” The people of Remus were eager to learn Fusion ways. Arrius had begged the commander to leave teachers. He’d wanted the woman’s opinion on everything. It had been a consummate act.

Two weeks later, three Fusion cruisers had remained while the rest of the flotilla had journeyed out-system. Once they reached far enough away, the rest of the flotilla had gone into hyperdrive elsewhere.

A month after that, in Remus orbit, elite space-strike legionaries had captured the three Fusion cruisers. It had been touch and go, but the highly skilled legionaries did it. Arrius had gathered all the Fusion military and PSA people, sending them to internment camps in the swampy south.

After that, Remus began to prepare in frightful earnest. Arrius’s plan was simple. They wanted to become so militarily indigestible that the Fusion would write them off.

Now, it was fifteen months later. The scientists had reverse-engineered the cruiser hyperdrive engines. Soon, Remus would send scout ships into the nebula, searching for allies against the Fusion.

As Valerie rubbed his shoulders, two huge Fusion battlewagons neared the planet Vulcan. It was a ringed gas giant in the outer system. Remus’s AirSpace fleet waited behind the gas giant. They had refurbished the cruisers. One of them was in the inner system in orbit around Remus. The fake Fusion crew had spoken with the battlewagon commander, telling him that all was well. The two Fusion ships headed for Vulcan to check a space station there.

“Enough of that for now.” Arrius lurched to his feet. “It’s time to get ready, time to ready our fleet.”

“Should I stay in here?” Valerie asked.

Arrius faced her, letting his eyes rove over her body.

Valerie blushed, looking down. He obviously liked her. Why hadn’t he ever made a move? Did he think that he was too old for her?

“You will stand behind my chair during the battle,” Arrius said. “I might have a question or two that only you can answer.”

“Yes, sir,” Valerie whispered.

He stepped near, using his thick fingers to lift her chin.

Would he kiss her? Did she want him to?

“Valerie,” he said. Then, he turned to the hatch, heading for the bridge.

***

Valerie watched the main screen. It showed the gas giant Vulcan with its beautiful ring. Remus had two Fusion cruisers with collapsium armor. Those were the only real warships in the AirSpace Fleet. The rest could add their firepower and missiles, but would be easy targets for the battlewagons’ lasers.

Arrius had two cruisers, seven Remus monitors, which were like Fusion destroyers, and several hundred drones. He was counting on the drones to do the heavy work.

“Three minutes until the enemy vessels pass the planetary horizon, sir,” the weapons officer said.

Arrius leaned forward with a fist on his knee. “We win or lose fighting,” he told the bridge crew. “We will never surrender. Either we run our world our way or we’re dead. Is everyone with me?”

A few officers said, “Yes, sir.”

“No!” Arrius said, shooting to his feet. “Are you with me?” he shouted.

“Yes, sir,” the officers shouted.

Arrius turned, his gaze including Valerie. “Are you with me?” he roared.

“Yes, sir!” Valerie shouted along with everyone else.

Arrius plopped back into his command chair. “Good,” he said, “because this one could get bloody.” One minute later, Arrius said, “Accelerate fifty of the drones.”

Officers manipulated their boards.

On the main screen, fifty dots of light appeared against the background as fifty drones lengthened the exhaust pouring from them.

One minute after that, the first Fusion battlewagon passed Vulcan’s horizon in relation to the fleet. The first drone reached the hull, igniting its thermonuclear warhead. Others did likewise.

“Target those locations on the battlewagon’s hull,” Arrius said in a firm voice.

The AirSpace vessels engaged, firing military-grade lasers at the damaged hull. More drones hit the enemy hull. More drones accelerated for the second battlewagon now appearing from behind Vulcan.

The stricken Fusion warship shuddered. Lasers burned through the collapsium armor, chewing through one bulkhead after another. Air ignited inside the ship. Food processors collapsed. A torpedo armory blew up, adding to the damage as one deck after another turned into an inferno. The first reactor core quit. The second ignited. The ship shuddered worse than before. Then, a titanic explosion rocked the battlewagon. Incredibly, decks separated and bulkheads melted. The ship flew apart as water vapor, air and mangled bodies blew into space.

“It’s dead!” an officer shouted.

Valerie found herself shouting, pumping her fist in the air along with everyone else. They could do it. They could destroy the best Fusion ships provided everything went perfectly. Now, could they kill the second battlewagon and buy their world more time?

On the screen, heavy lasers burst forth from the remaining battlewagon, striking Remus monitors. One exploded into a fireball, disappearing. The second one did likewise after two minutes of laser raking.

“Hit it with the drones!” Arrius shouted.

The battlewagon’s point-defense systems were knocking down drones. As it did so, the last Fusion warship accelerated away.

“It’s killing our fleet,” an officer shouted.

Another Remus monitor died to those horrible lasers.

Then, a drone reached the enemy hull, detonating its warhead.

“Aim our lasers at that spot,” Arrius said in a hoarse voice.

“Sir,” the comm officer said. “The Fusion commander wants a word with you.”

“Put him on the screen,” Arrius said.

“It’s a woman, sir.”

“Well, put her on.”

A second later, a scowling woman in a red uniform pointed a finger at Arrius. “Your treachery will gain you a terrible reward. You have betrayed our trust.”

Arrius smiled in a mocking way.

“Are you a cretin who fails to understand my words?” she asked.

“I see a hypocrite speaking to me,” Arrius said. “You planned to destroy our way of life.”

“It is a worthless way,” she said. “We offered you true justice.”

“We don’t want it.”

“You will learn the hard way then.”

“No. That’s what is happening to you now. Stay out of our world. You’re not welcome here.”

She might have replied, but the image went fuzzy and then disappeared.

The comm officer looked up. “There are too many nuclear warheads detonating out there. Maybe later we can regain a connection.”

“I’m not interested in later,” Arrius said. “We have to destroy them. We can’t let the battlewagon leave our system.”

Valerie witnessed the fight. Arrius almost did it. The remaining drones chased the wounded, air-bleeding battlewagon. The cruisers fired their lasers for another ten minutes. Yet, they failed. The battlewagon survived the surprise attack and headed out-system.

Two days later, it reached hyperdrive territory and vanished. Once the battlewagon reached New Trotsky…

“We have a lot of work to do,” Arrius told Valerie. “How long until they send an invasion fleet? Or do you think we taught them to leave us alone?”

“I don’t know, and no.”

Arrius nodded moodily. “We have to turn our system into a minefield, and we have to find ourselves some allies. I just hope the Fusion gives us long enough to accomplish both.”

-25-

From The Early Years of Space Colonization, Vol. III, by Terrance Ferris the Historian

The hidden colony project as conceived by Professor Ludendorff and Methuselah Man Strand—that eventually produced the New Men—was one of several such projects during the Second Great Expansion of Man.

Another of the more interesting was the eleven-ship convoy that reached the Glenna Nebula ninety-five years before the Thomas Moore Society was even a gleam in Strand’s eye.

The Glenna Nebula hid sixteen stars of various types, five of which held Earthlike planets and one of which was home to a sinister alien species. Several of the worst criminals of this questionable species made open contact with humanity when Starship Victory stumbled upon the Glenna Nebula. Until such time, none of the lost colonies within the nebula knew about the hideous alien race that was to prove such a burden to Star Watch.

That, however, is not the present topic. The eleven-ship convoy reached the Glenna Nebula one hundred and ninety-nine years before Victory and Captain Maddox made their famous first contact as the lost worlds entered their final phase of inter-nebula war.

Starship Victory exited the hyper-spatial tube created by the Builder nexus in Earth orbit. The double-oval vessel drifted for a time until the crew and ship systems came back online.

At that point, the sensor operator and Galyan began to scan for signs of the Patrol Scout Kit Carson and the white dwarf star where it should be waiting. They did not find signs of either. Instead, they discovered the starship drifting beside a huge nebula.

Maddox summoned Professor Ludendorff to the bridge. “Can you tell me what happened? Why we’re not in a white dwarf star system?”

“I’m afraid not,” the professor said, as he studied the main screen.

“We are not in the correct location,” Galyan said.

“I know that,” Maddox said testily from his chair. He closed his mouth, refraining from saying more.

“Galyan,” Ludendorff said. “Can you locate your home star system from here?”

Galyan’s holographic eyelids blinked rapidly. “Alas, I cannot.”

Maddox glanced at Ludendorff.

“Didn’t you say the Kit Carson had gone to the Adok Home System?” Ludendorff asked Maddox.

“Yes.”

“How far is the Adok System from the nebula?” Ludendorff asked.

Maddox glanced at Galyan.

“Forty-eight light-years,” Galyan said.

“Ah,” Ludendorff said. “Then, you should be able to easily find it.”

“Yes,” Galyan said. “But I cannot.”

“That must be because the Adok System is not in direct line of sight of us,” Ludendorff said.

“What happened?” Maddox asked. “Where did the hyper-spatial tube put us?”

“I seem to recall reading something ages ago about hyper-spatial tubes,” Ludendorff said. “I think it was during my training days as a Builder agent. In rare instances, there is something called a refraction effect.”

“Meaning?” asked Maddox.

“Sending us to the opposite location as if bounced from the correct to the new place,” Ludendorff said. “I suspect the operators in the nexus set us on the wrong side of the nebula.”

“How large is the nebula?” Maddox asked.

Ludendorff turned to Galyan. “Do you have any idea?”

Once more, Galyan’s eyelids fluttered. “The nebula or cloud is approximately fifty light-years across by thirty.”

“It’s huge, in other words,” Maddox said.

“Yes,” Galyan said. “And if the rest of the nebula is any indication, it is extremely thick or dense.”

“And we’re on the other side of it from Valerie?” asked Maddox.

“It’s my theory for now,” Ludendorff said.

“Recommendations?” asked Maddox.

“That we begin to search for Valerie,” Galyan said.

“No, no,” Ludendorff said. “The answer is perfectly obvious.” He regarded Maddox. “Call the Lord High Admiral and tell him the situation. We should return to Earth and attempt to go to our original destination.”

“Yes,” Maddox said, standing. “That’s an excellent idea.”

***

Fifteen minutes later, Maddox stood in the chamber holding the Long-Range Builder Comm Device microphone. He’d just made a horrible discovery. The device did not connect him to the Lord High Admiral. It would not connect him with any other Builder Comm Device either.

“Galyan,” Maddox called.

The holoimage appeared in the room.

“The comm is inoperable. Do you know why?”

Galyan stared at the bulky main box. “I have no idea, sir. I cannot detect anything wrong with it.”

“Go get Ludendorff. Tell him to hurry.”

“At once, sir.” Galyan disappeared.

***

Ludendorff dared to open the ancient Builder box and poke around inside. He did not do so for long. Eventually, the Methuselah Man closed the box.

“Well?” asked Maddox.

“I can’t tell a thing,” Ludendorff admitted. “It’s of Builder make. We don’t know how to make something like this, only how to use a working one.”

“The Long-Range Comm is broken?”

“Perhaps you didn’t understand what I meant by not knowing how to make it work. I have no idea if it’s broken or if something is causing interference.”

Maddox blinked several times. Then, he looked at the Methuselah Man in wonder. “Could this be the outsider’s doing, the techno-wizard we theorized in the Balder System? Could he have tagged along with us and is now messing with our greater communication?”

Ludendorff frowned thunderously. “That would imply the hidden outsider followed us from the Balder System to Earth and then out to here.”

“Yes,” Maddox said.

“That strikes me as highly unlikely,” Ludendorff said. “Could a cloaked vessel, even a supremely cloaked one, follow us through the hyper-spatial tube without revealing himself—at least to those on Earth?”

“It does seem unlikely,” Maddox said.

“But not impossible,” Galyan said. “I accept it as a working theory. It makes more sense than a sudden malfunction or the nebula causing the lack of function.”

Ludendorff threw his hands into the air. “I’ve given you my take. I don’t know what else to say.”

Maddox allowed himself a smile. “That may be worth it then.”

“How do you mean?” asked Ludendorff.

“Seeing you stymied.”

Ludendorff shook his head. “We’re stranded far from Human Space. The Builder Device malfunctioning strikes me as terrifying, not a joking matter.”

“All the more reason to joke, now and again.”

“What are we going to do?” Galyan said. “Will we remain here waiting?”

“No,” Maddox said. “I think—we’ll head through the nebula. Once we’re on the other side, on the Earth-facing side, maybe the device will begin to work again.”

“Don’t count on it,” Ludendorff said.

“Enough of this doom-gathering,” Maddox said. “We will act, and we’ll start looking for the Kit Carson while we’re at it.”

-26-

Victory entered the Glenna Nebula, the crew quickly discovering the extent and glooming powers of the dense stellar-cloud substance.

Maddox discussed it with the others, and they continued to make limited star-drive jumps. The dense substance hid any stars from view, but with Maddox guiding them, the starship continued relentlessly through the cloud.

Then, one day after the jump lag wore off, the crew discovered Captain Maddox out cold on the bridge deck. An ethereal alien beam from a tiny device outside the starship passed through the hull and targeted the captain’s forehead. Partly embedded in his forehead was a strange device. How it had gotten there, no one knew.

None of the crew realized it, but the captain dreamed most strangely. He did not dream of his own life, but of that of another, from the planet of Remus.

The dream or memories belonged to someone called Garth. In the vision, Maddox soon found himself inserted into Garth’s place, thinking of him as himself and hearing his own name in place of Garth’s.

***

The sickly child did not look like the spark that lit the fuse to the horrible war. But as many have said in the past or learned to their sorrow, “Looks can be deceiving.”

Not that he was the only cause—far from it. The grim conflict took several hot sparks landing in just the right combination to ignite. Yet, out of all the causes, the sickly child was the most interesting, ironic and heroic.

The key to understanding him began in a back-alley slum on the insignificant planet of Remus. His name was Garth. No one remembered his birth, as the crone who had taken care of him his first five years of his life had already been dead for four.

Maddox-Garth begged for scraps, coins when he was lucky and had endured many a kick or cuff from bigger, stronger beggars. Usually, they drove him from the choicest locations or stole what he had won. At night, the child shivered himself to sleep in a different hiding spot each time. Too often, a sly footfall or a hacking cough caused Maddox to jerk awake. Prowling drunkards did unspeakable things to those they could catch. So far, Maddox had kept out of their clutches, although he’d had several narrow escapes. He had the cunning of desperation and the fleetness of real terror. He also had continuous stomach cramps because night after night and often during the day, his belly muscles tightened as a knot of fear squeezed without mercy.

The day of destiny was like countless others, although it began with a stroke of seemingly good luck. An older woman took pity on his deplorable condition—Maddox had cleverly wrapped his legs so he looked like a cripple, having discovered the ingenious deception a month ago. The stout woman dug in her purse, paused as her fingers touched several coins and finally pulled out the largest. She dropped a double-weight copper into his battered cup.

Maddox tensed and tried to smile his thanks. He’d failed to lift his cup high and fast enough as she’d dropped the heavy coin. Thus, it had made an all too loud plinking sound.

The lady walked away smiling, carrying her groceries a little easier because she’d done a good deed for the boy.

As soon as she was out of sight, Maddox scrambled to his feet. He dropped the coin into his right palm, which he shoved into his one good pocket. But he was already too late as a shadow fell over him.

“Hand it over, rat,” a scrawny man snarled, one who had watched the transaction with greedy eyes.

Maddox twisted as dirty hands with cracked fingernails snaked toward his shoulders. In his initial rush, the boy outdistanced the wheezing drunk. Maddox sprinted behind the store, scrambled over a fence and ran into the monorail area.

Unfortunately for the soon panting boy, he’d seriously miscalculated. Others had heard the coin drop into his cup. They were a pack, a gang perhaps, of teenaged youths with knives in their pockets. They followed Maddox from a distance, using similar tactics as hunting fang-beasts.

The five made their move as Maddox rounded an old concrete corner. He looked up in surprise and then in fear, seeing a man-sized thug with crossed arms grinning down at him. Turning, Maddox found another bully blocking his line of retreat. In a moment, the five surrounded him, leering and laughing at his helplessness.

Knowing he was defeated, Maddox bitterly dug out the copper and handed it over.

The biggest youth, a hefty fellow outweighing him by three times, accepted the double-weight coin, pocketing it. Then, he punched Maddox in the face, catapulting the stunned boy into the arms of another laughing bully.

Amidst the pain, fear struck Maddox, tightening his stomach into a knot so he quivered with terror. He pleaded with blood in his mouth. That was the wrong reaction for dealing with fang-beasts of any kind. They shoved and tripped him, and began to kick his writhing body as if practicing soccer shots. The terror and pain quickly mingled together. Maddox’s head throbbed. He moaned piteously and finally began to wonder why the next kick hadn’t already driven into his back.

Maddox slowly opened a puffy, painful eye.

The five bullies had turned around. It sounded as if they talked to someone. Yes. Maddox heard the taunting in their voices. It seemed they had someone better to bully than him.

Maddox would have slunk away, but he was too weak, too exhausted. Past their legs, he saw an old man in a monk’s robe trying to lecture them.

“We said go away,” the heaviest youth told the monk. “If you don’t, we’ll beat you raw and spank your bum.”

“I have no money,” the monk said, spreading his frail hands. “Let me take the boy with me. You’ve already stolen his copper.”

“Are you calling us thieves?” the heaviest youth demanded.

The monk sighed. He seemed sad as much as tired. “Yes. You’re thieves. You’re bullies, and you enjoy preying on the weak. Please, leave before I do something I will regret.”

The five thugs glanced at each other. Who was this old man anyway?

“What do you think you’re going to do to us?” the leader asked, jerking a thick thumb against his chest.

“So be it,” the monk whispered. “Do not forget that I warned you.”

“Let’s knock him around,” the leader shouted. “Let’s pull off his robe and whip him with it.”

Maddox wanted to close his puffy eye. Instead, he watched, transfixed by the monk’s courage. Surely, the old man must know what was going to happen to him. Where did he find such serenity? More than the drunkard at the store had wanted his copper, Maddox lusted for the monk’s courage.

As the thugs closed in with raised fists, shouting as they swung, Maddox saw the most amazing and wonderful thing in the world. The monk moved deceptively slowly, leaning in odd ways and twisting his arms in weird contortions. The bullies began to stumble and tumble, several flying through the air before thudding onto the ground, often onto their backs. It was wickedly delightful, even funny.

The youths were tough, however, and didn’t stay down long. After the first round that lasted a good thirty seconds, four of them managed to regain their feet. They panted, huddling together as the monk waited patiently.

Maddox couldn’t take his gaze off the old man’s calm demeanor. Oh, how he wanted to be brave in the face of danger like that.

Finally, the thugs parted to face the monk. He told them, “I grant you peace. Take your unconscious friend and go.”

The leader no longer boasted. Instead, he warily approached the monk. The others fanned out, circling the old man.

“Please,” the monk said. “I don’t want to hurt you.”

“That’s why we’re going to win,” the leader said, “because we want to hurt you bad, old man.”

The monk gave another of his sad smiles, setting himself in a strange stance.

“Now!” the leader shouted.

The four pulled out hidden knives and charged, two of them almost immediately flying through the air as the monk flipped them. That was when the gang leader did the dirty, punching his knife through the robe and sinking it all the way to the hilt into the old man’s stomach.

The monk’s serene, wrinkled face changed into one of shocked surprise. The gang leader yanked out the bloody blade and tried to stab again. The monk reacted, and the youth went skidding face-first across pavement.

One of the other fallen youths had scrambled back onto his feet. The thug had some brains, too. He crept up quietly from behind.

Maddox saw this. He opened his mouth, trying to shout a warning. The fear in him had returned with redoubled strength. It paralyzed him from uttering a sound.

The second knife sank into a kidney. It caused the old man to straighten in agony. He whirled around, though, trying another of his amazing hand-arm combinations. The thug proved faster, throwing a powerful right cross. The fist connected with a crack against the old man’s chin, sending him reeling until he tripped and collapsed onto his back.

“Let’s finish him!” one of them howled.

Like fang-beasts, the remaining thugs leaped at the stricken man, plunging their knives again and again into his body. In their bloodlust, the youths killed him.

Only as they panted afterward, drenched in his blood, did the bullies realize what they had done. They stared at each other in dread.

“Let’s get out of here,” the leader said. “We killed a monk. We can’t let anyone find out. Come on.”

In their fear and haste, they forgot about Maddox. He lay motionless as they dashed away, taking their unconscious friend with them.

Once they’d left, Maddox dragged himself to the old dead monk. The man had saved his life and he didn’t even know why the monk had helped him.

It shocked Maddox to see the peacefulness on the dead monk’s features. He’d expected twisted agony and fear. The dagger thrusts must have hurt something awful and knowing you were dying…

Maddox wept beside the corpse. It was a combination of pity for himself and for the old man. He’d wanted to ask the monk the secret to being brave. He’d been sure someone who had fought for him like this would be willing to tell him the priceless secret. The tears also came because Maddox wished there was something he could do for the only person who had ever done something heroic for him. Why had the monk interfered in the first place? What had the old man planned to gain from it? He’d received nothing but hatred, knife wounds and death.

As Maddox huddled there, he remembered how the monk had flipped and thrown the thugs. If only he’d been able to help the old man.

I’m weak. I’m small, and I’m always afraid. I don’t want to be afraid anymore.

The feeling, the wanting to shed his fear grew in Maddox. The desire became so powerful he decided to do something about it. His hands kept opening and closing. What could he do? Maybe he could at least drag the monk off the street. He crawled to the front and reached for the neck of the robe. That’s when he noticed a glint of metal around the bloody neck.

Curious, Maddox pulled…a chain. He removed the chain, pulling a golden medallion out from under the bloody robe. The gold was heavy. In terror, Maddox clutched the gold coin, hiding it from sight, glancing around wildly in case someone else had seen it. No. He didn’t see anyone else.

With a thumping heart, Maddox opened his hands, peering at the incredible treasure, at his newfound wealth. If he hawked this—

A feeling of shame welled up. “No,” he whispered. He couldn’t just trade the monk’s gold. Besides, as he considered the situation, another thought welled up, one of cunning.

Maddox wanted to fight like the monk. He wanted to be brave. Those things were worth more than money.

Shoving the chain and medallion deep into his good pocket, Maddox limped away from the murder scene. A plan had begun to form in his heart. He had to reach the monastery. He had to bargain with them.

It was then Maddox-who-was-Garth began the greater journey, one that would lead to spaceships, lasers and vile Ur-Beasts. It was doubtful, though, that Maddox would have turned back even if he’d known the outcome of his decision. More than anything in the world, he wanted to get rid of his stinking fear and helplessness. He would do anything to find real courage…anything.

-27-

Maddox trekked five long kilometers to the old stone monastery outside the city. His feet hurt, his side ached and he was thirsty. He was also hungry, but that was a nearly constant state and thus didn’t figure into his calculations.

The gold medallion had grown heavy in his pocket. He had his doubts about this now that he was almost to the destination. The monastery was big and scary, with a statute of Saint Benson crossing the gap in his scout ship to find Remus. The bronze-cast saint struck a heroic pose, with one of his knees thrust forward. He looked courageous and determined as he stared into the distance.

As Maddox went over his plan, he feared the monks would just take his medallion. Well, take back the old monk’s medallion, he supposed. He would have to make them promise first before he showed them the gold.

Maddox might have turned around and sought a thuggish fence if he could have figured out a sure way to make the dealer in stolen goods keep his word. Once he showed the fence the medallion, the man would probably swipe it and drive him onto the street.

Didn’t the monks of Saint Benson keep their word?

The fear stirred in Maddox, making him wince painfully. Everyone picked on him. Maybe he should just dig a hole and hide the gold coin in it.

How does that help me, though?

Maddox closed his eyes, trying to drum up the image of the old monk tossing the bullies into the air.

A bell clanged, making Maddox yelp as he jumped. He covered his ears, staring at a bronze bell that tolled back and forth. What a terrible noise. He almost bolted, never to return.

A big oaken door opened and a beefy man in a brown robe swept dirt onto a wooden landing. He stepped outside and brushed that onto the ground. The man noticed Maddox staring at the steeple.

The big monk gathered his breath to shout at the obvious thief. He would bellow at him to go loiter somewhere else. Something stilled the shout, however. Maybe it was the pathetic fear etched on the boy’s gaunt face. Maybe it was the spot of blood on the sleeve of the filthy shirt.

“Hey, boy,” the monk said in a deep voice. “Come here.”

Once more, Maddox nearly bolted. It was his answer to almost every problem. He stared wide-eyed at the monk, trembling like fang-beast bait.

“I won’t hurt you,” the monk said, softening his tone.

Step by slow step, Maddox approached the massive monk. This one could have easily swatted the thugs aside. He was like an oak tree. Finally, Maddox reached the man, staring at him in growing fear.

“Is there a reason why you’re here?” the monk asked.

It took some doing, but Maddox nodded solemnly.

The monk raised his eyebrows in a questioning way.

Maddox licked his lips, and in a quivering voice, he said, “I want to speak…” He closed his mouth, realizing that wasn’t the way to speak to monks. “Please, sir, I…I would like to speak to your boss.”

“You want to speak to the Deity?”

“Does he rule here?”

“Everyone knows He does,” the monk said.

“Oh. Yes. I would like to speak to him.”

“Well…pray then.”

“What is pray?” Maddox asked.

“Talking to the Deity,” the huge monk said, half annoyed. Was the boy a simpleton, a drooling halfwit?

“That’s why I’m asking you,” Maddox said. “I want to see your boss.”

The monk used the top end of his broom handle to rub his forehead. “Do you mean you want to talk to the headmaster?”

“If he’s the boss, I’d like to,” Maddox said, thoroughly confused.

“The headmaster is our leader.”

“Yes,” Maddox said, wondering if the big man was simpleminded. “I’d like to talk to him.”

“Why?”

Maddox’s resolve finally began to waver. Each question seemed harder to answer, and the big monk seemed to be getting angrier by the moment. The fear beat faster in Maddox. He instinctively reached into his pocket, clutching the medallion, trying to leech some of the courage from it. He recalled the serene old monk facing the thugs. That helped to keep him from running.

“I can’t tell you why,” Maddox said. “I have to tell your headmaster.”

The burly monk almost shouted at the boy to hurry up and spit it out. The headmaster didn’t have time to waste with idiot scoundrels. But the table talk last night had been devoted to recognizing the Deity’s hand in small things. Something about this skinny runt seemed…off. Maybe that was another way of saying the boy was different. Maybe the Deity was testing him.

Maddox had already edged one foot away. The monk might swing that broom at him like a weapon. He would dart away if—

The monk smiled, putting creases in his leathery face. “Wait here, my boy. I’ll get the headmaster.”

The next few minutes were torture. Maddox leaned from one foot onto the other. The monk had left the door open. Maddox could smell tantalizing beef, cooking potatoes, beets and carrots all mixed together in a delightful stew. The scent made his mouth water uncontrollably. He was so hungry and tired. These monks obviously had fantastic wealth, eating like merchants with gold coins dangling from their necks.

Maddox couldn’t decide if their riches would harm or help his chances with the plan. Maybe it would be better if he slunk away and—

Floorboards creaked. The huge monk reappeared, stepping outside. Maddox’s heart sank. Did that mean the headmaster had refused to see him?

“Here he is, Father, just like I said.”

An old, withered monk in a brown robe stepped out next.

Maddox took a quick step back, his mouth opening and closing in superstitious dread. The monk looked exactly like the old dead one lying in the slums. Had the dead monk come back to life and beaten him here? Was he angry, wanting his medallion back?

“Is he a mute?” the old monk asked.

“Boy,” the big monk said, a huge hand descending toward Maddox.

Maddox twisted aside, jumping back, his heart thumping wildly. This was crazy.

“Leave off, Jacob,” the old man said. “Boy, I’m the headmaster, Father Benedict. You wanted to see me, yes?”

Maddox nodded as logic came to his rescue. If this was the dead monk come to life, where was the blood, where were the scars and bruises from the knifings and beating?

“Well,” Benedict said, “You wanted to see me. Here I am.”

Maddox tried to speak, but found he couldn’t.

“He must be a lunatic,” Jacob observed.

Maddox gave the big monk a sharp look.

“Hush, Jacob, he’s frightened nearly out of his wits. Anyone can see that. But he clearly doesn’t like your assessment of him.” The old monk put his hands on his knees, leaning forward as he half crouched. “What is it, my son? Why did you come here? I sense it was for a purpose.”

“I…” Maddox managed to say. “I need you to promise me first.”

“Promise what?” Father Benedict asked.

“I have a thing, a costly thing. I want to trade it with you.”

“What do you have?” Benedict asked, curious.

Maddox’s trembling grew worse. Could he trust the monks? The twin to the old man had fought the bullies for him. Maybe he could trust this one. Yet, he wasn’t sure.

“Promise you won’t steal it first,” Maddox said.

“What’s this?” the big monk said, sounding outraged. “You think we’re thieves?”

“Jacob, please go inside.”

“Father,” the big man said, sounding crestfallen.

“You may stay,” Benedict said. “But you must remain silent.”

Big Jacob nodded, taking a step back.

“Do you promise?” Maddox asked the old monk.

“Yes,” Benedict said. “I promise not to steal your treasure, whatever it is.”

That made Maddox hiccup as he drew a deep breath too fast. This was the moment, as he had actually gotten a promise. He closed his eyes, pulling out the medallion and chain, holding them before him without looking.

When nothing happened, Maddox opened his eyes.

Benedict had straightened. He was pale and swayed slightly. Jacob leaned heavily against the monastery, with his big fingers wrapped around the broom handle so his knuckles were white with strain.

“There’re specks of blood on the medallion,” Benedict whispered.

“Your brother fought five thugs by himself,” Maddox managed to say.

Benedict moaned, closing his eyes, beginning to shake his head. “No,” he whispered. “No, no, no…”

“Tell us what happened,” Jacob said in a soft voice.

Benedict opened his eyes, staring at Maddox expectantly.

Maddox began to speak, telling them what had happened.

By the end of the story, Benedict was nodding with a sad smile on his face. At first, he had looked at the medallion. By the end, his gaze had fixed onto Maddox.

“You came here to make a trade,” Benedict said in a soft voice.

“I did,” Maddox said. “I…want to learn courage. I want to learn how to fight like your brother. I will trade you his coin and the story of his passing for teaching me these things.”

Father Benedict clapped his hands over his mouth. He had begun to tremble and now his knees seemed to give out. His knees crashed onto the dirt, and he bowed his head. For a time, he said nothing. Then, he took his hands from his mouth and positioned them in prayerful reverence. He spoke in an alien tongue with his head bowed. Finally, he raised his head, showing red-rimmed eyes.

Maddox stood transfixed, understanding none of this. As Father Benedict looked at him, Maddox proffered him the medallion.

“Is it a deal?” the boy asked.

Father Benedict climbed slowly to his feet. He stepped to Maddox. With both hands, he took the boy’s small, trembling hand, closing the fingers around the medallion.

“It is yours by rite of passage,” Benedict said. His voice choked up. He bowed his head. A moment later, he looked up, saying in a whisper, “My brother had a dream several years ago. Ever since the dream, he believed he was supposed to find an acolyte, a special warrior. He searched for but never found the one. Surely, though, you bringing his medallion here is a sign. It must be a sign from above.”

Benedict smiled serenely. “I will take you to his cell and show you his belongings, as they have now become yours.”

“Father?” Jacob said in surprise.

Maddox heard the words but couldn’t comprehend them. They were too incredible. Someone was going to give him things. His native cunning came to his aid. Before he blurted anything, his wits caused him to close his mouth and keep it shut. This seemed like a good time to watch and wait.

In a daze, Maddox followed Father Benedict into the monastery. They moved through cool stone corridors with the scent of stew on the air. Maddox’s stomach began to growl.

“We will eat soon,” Benedict said. “First, you must secure your belongings in your cell.”

Maddox went through passageways, saw men sitting at benches with tiny tools as they made clocks. He saw others practice slow-motion moves the old monk had used on the street. Others peeled potatoes or hammered pegs into well-drilled holes.

Finally, Father Benedict opened a wooden door hung on leather hinges. He flipped a switch, and a light bulb shined brightly in a small stone cell. There was a simple, straw-lined pallet with a thread-worn blanket and pillow, an old chest and a dowel with two robes hanging from it.

“This is mine?” Maddox asked in wonder.

Benedict smiled, realizing the boy considered the paltry items as riches compared to what he’d known. Instead of taking the way of poverty, the frail lad believed he’d entered an era of great wealth.

So much of this world depended on perspective.

“Notice this,” Benedict said. He opened the old chest, taking out a long knife in a special scabbard.

“He should have been carrying the knife today,” Maddox said matter-of-factly.

“This is more than a mere knife,” Benedict said. “It is one of the greatest treasures on Remus. Many people would kill to possess it.”

Maddox looked up at the monk to see if he was serious. The man seemed to be. “I don’t understand,” the boy said.

“I will not draw the blade yet,” Benedict said. “But I will tell you about it. Long ago, a technowizard fashioned it.”

“A what?”

“They were legendary technicians with arts far beyond our understanding,” Benedict said. “This blade can cut anything. It was fashioned out of a special alloy and has a monofilament edge one molecule in thickness. When I say it can cut anything, I mean exactly that.”

“Can it cut steel?” Maddox asked.

“Easily,” Benedict said.

“Bones?”

“Like air,” Benedict said.

“And it’s mine?”

“Will you sell it?”

“No,” Maddox said, knowing that was what the old man wanted to hear.

“It is yours, Maddox, but not to do with as you like until you pass the training.”

Maddox knew there would be a catch to all this.

“I will show you one other item. Then, we will eat, and I will introduce you to the others.” Benedict put the sheathed monofilament knife into the chest, withdrawing a small leather-bound book.

“This is another marvel,” Benedict said. “It contains my brother’s dream. I think you are the one meant to read the words and fulfill what is written here.”

“I don’t know how to read.”

“I will teach you.”

“What if I’m too stupid to learn?” Maddox asked.

“You will learn, don’t doubt it.”

Maddox had his doubts, but now kept them to himself.

“Once you do learn to read,” Benedict said, “my brother’s dream will transfer to you. Your task will be to fulfill what is written here.”

Maddox glanced dubiously at the leather-bound book.

“But,” Benedict said decisively, “enough about mysteries and lore. It is time to wash and eat.”

“Headmaster,” Maddox said. “What should I do with this?” He held up the medallion.

“Here,” Benedict said, holding out his hands.

Maddox’s features fell. So, it had all been a lie. He should have known. Worse, the old man blocked his way of escape. How could he have been such a fool as to trust these people? Everyone lied in order to gain their own ends.

Bitterly, Maddox handed the monk the coin.

Father Benedict spread the chain apart, approaching him. “Allow me, my boy,” the monk said.

To Maddox’s shock, the monk slipped the chain over his head, letting the cool metal touch his neck.

“Put the medallion under your shirt,” Benedict said. “We’ll tell the others about it later. For now, though, wear it proudly as you remember my brother’s brave stand against evil.”

Maddox fingered the gold medallion in amazement. Could this really be happening?

“Here is your first lesson,” Benedict said.

Maddox hardly heard. This was all too amazing.

“A coward dies a thousand times, but a brave man dies but once.”

Maddox nodded, hearing the words but ignoring the meaning. His gamble had paid off. The monks had accepted him into the monastery. He would eat regular meals and sleep in safety. This was paradise.

Maddox should have known that the cost to gaining such riches would prove to be heavier than the prize. But that lay in the future, so it didn’t matter now, now did it?

-28-

In the monastery, Maddox heard the exciting news about a visiting Fusion starship. It had something called a hyperdrive, and had taken four Remus representatives with it as the starship returned to its home system.

Maddox had grown these past years into a slender young man of fourteen with thickening wrists. The hot stews had given him a growth spurt. The training had hardened his stringy muscles. The physical safety had lessened his stomachaches. He had also leaped ahead of every student in the monastery concerning several key physical and mental arts.

The Order of Saint Nath was an ancient society, with many of their arts originating on Manhome. A few of the stranger skillsets had been picked during the long colonizing journey to Remus.

A scientist called Doctor Van Nath had invented a new fighting technique that had incorporated a fuller control of a person’s physical energy. It had many similarities to older martial arts, but used an inner chi of profoundly greater power. Van Nath had taught his followers these techniques, and they in turn taught their students, and so on decade after decade. Naturally, some tried to improve on Doctor Van Nath’s fabulous techniques. They only ended up corrupting some of his most esoteric paths, weakening the effectiveness of the special art.

The old monk in the slum had believed he’d rediscovered some of Doctor Van Nath’s ways. Before his sudden death, he’d taught his brother Benedict the key enlightenments to use.

Father Benedict tried to show the best students how to breathe, stand, meditate and find the inner peace that served as the platform to the greater accomplishments.

To everyone’s surprise, Maddox had the greatest knack for this. In a few years, he could leap higher, strike harder and step quieter than anyone else could. Yet, he was the skinniest and possibly the frailest student in the monastery. Despite that, he could out-eat everyone, including Jacob. The fourteen-year-old had turned into a fleshly furnace, gobbling everything in sight.

Maddox presently sat cross-legged, straight-backed and with his head bowed in the meditation chapel. He held the small, leather-bound book, reading the words penned by his dead master.

Father Benedict entered. He looked more like his brother every day, becoming frail with trembling hands.

Sensing the man’s presence, Maddox lowered the book onto his lap.

Benedict shuffled near, slowly working his old bones onto a second mat. It took him some time, but finally he crossed his legs.

“You seem troubled, my son,” the old man said in a creaky voice.

“I am, Father. I…have begun to believe I should leave the monastery in order to hunt the ruffians who murdered my master.”

Benedict nodded slowly. He had long foreseen this day. He’d watched the young one grow at a fantastic rate. The boy absorbed many of his lessons faster than seemed natural.

“What would you do to the ruffians once you found them?” Benedict whispered.

“First, I would explain to each in exacting detail the nature of his crime.”

“And if he repented of his deed?”

Maddox looked shocked. He’d never considered the possibility. “Do you think such a thing is likely?”

“That would be my prayer. I hope it is yours, too.”

Maddox mulled that over, finally shaking his head. “No, Father. I would desire them to spit in my face so I could wipe their foulness from existence.”

“That is not the Deity’s way,” chided Benedict. “He seeks to teach men their errors so they can repent and find a better way to live.”

“Some men can’t learn,” Maddox said with conviction.

“You cannot know until you give them a chance.”

“Not men like these.”

“You learned to read,” Benedict said.

Maddox looked up before looking down and smiling shyly. In the beginning, he hadn’t thought reading possible for him. He’d been quite wrong and now loved to read.

“You have learned many lessons, my son.”

“Father…”

Benedict waited patiently, seeing the confusion in the boy. The old monk knew his own days were numbered. He felt cold all the time and had trouble waking up in the morning. He had come to believe that he was the boy’s anchor. Once, Benedict had believed that was due to his kindness. Now, he realized it was because he looked like his brother, reminding Maddox of that fateful day.

“Father,” Maddox blurted, “why have I learned my lessons so much faster than anyone else?”

“You haven’t.”

Maddox stiffened.

Benedict smiled. “You haven’t learned every lesson faster. You have only learned the fighting arts faster and deeper. I have always hoped that you would learn to show mercy and love to the same degree.”

“Do you know why I absorbed those lessons so much quicker than others?”

“I do.”

“Would you tell me, please?”

Benedict heard the pleading in the boy’s voice. In many ways, Maddox was still frightened by life. He tried to armor himself from fear, but had only half succeeded.

“I have long pondered this mystery,” Benedict said. “In time, the answer became obvious, although I’m not surprised you don’t know.”

Maddox waited, watching the old man.

“The secret is in the process of awakening your inner chi.”

“Yes?” Maddox said.

“To awaken the chi, you must first go deep in yourself. Few can penetrate far enough. You have plunged deeper than anyone I know, maybe farther than any normal person should be able to do. The reason is that you knew paralyzing fear night after night in your earliest years. The fear consumed you, entering every pore of your being. Because of that deepening, you opened channels in yourself that a normal person does not and cannot once they become older.”

“You’ve said I’m not normal several times now, Father. Does that mean I’m a freak?”

“Yes, Maddox, you most certainly are a freak.”

The boy stared at him with wide eyes as his lips quivered.

“Peace, Maddox,” Benedict said in a kind voice. “You are a freak like a strong man is a freak, like a genius is one. You are in a league of your own, but this league consists of those who long knew all-consuming fear in their most impressionable years. In the beginning, all you knew was fear. I believe you began to hate this in yourself.”

“I did and I do.”

Benedict nodded. “The hatred was also deep. Both of those things allowed you to go where others could not because they had never walked the inner path of fear to such depths. You already knew the way into yourself because you’d been there a thousand times before.”

“You mean when I was afraid?” Maddox said.

“When you were terrified.”

Maddox looked away, considering this. “I think you’re right.”

“You are a young man balanced on a knife’s edge,” Benedict said. “The fear still lives in you. To control it, you expand yourself, gathering the chi. Once the chi surrounds you, you know a peace usually only found in a loving mother’s arms. Your confidence grows exponentially then.”

“I never knew my mother.”

“Likely, that is the reason you can hold the chi longer than others can. It is because of a secret yearning in you.”

“Yes. Thank you, Father. I see it now. I appreciate your insights.”

The two sat in silence.

“Maddox,” Benedict said after a time.

The young man inclined his head.

“What has the book taught you?”

The young fingers tightened around the leather-bound book. “Your brother wished to found a fighting Order fashioned after the tenets of Doctor Van Nath.”

Benedict’s heart began to thump. “Go on,” he whispered.

“Your brother wished the members of the Order to act, well, as knights, I suppose, modern knights righting wrongs and helping those in need.”

“Such as how my brother helped you as a boy,” Benedict said.

Maddox frowned. “Sometimes, I can feel my control slipping. I believe that was what happened to your brother. The knives panicked him for just a moment. If I panic, the fear will come rushing back and paralyze me. I might die horribly to worthless opponents then.”

“The five young men facing my brother were not worthless.”

“They were scum, Father, ruffians of the street.”

“They were humans with the right weapon, in the right place, at the right time to kill a better man than they.”

“Still…my question remains.”

“I will tell you what you will do if the fear breaks through your chi,” Benedict said.  “Because you fear that happening someday, you will hold your concentration with greater awareness because the idea of fearing again will help you channel the fear to push you to be brave.”

“That sounds awfully convoluted,” Maddox said.

“Convoluted,” Benedict said. “That’s a big word, my son.”

Maddox smiled.

The old man inhaled deeply. “I have a question for you,” he said.

Maddox nodded.

“Will you take up my brother’s challenge? Will you begin the Order of modern knights, helping to defend the defenseless?”

“Who am I to do that, Father?”

“You are Maddox. You are the one my brother found. You have absorbed our teaching better than anyone ever has. In terms of the fighting arts, there is little more I can show you. You must trust the book and my brother’s dream.”

Maddox nodded, but it was a dodge, not an acceptance of Father Benedict’s desire. He loved the safety of the monastery. He liked the full meals and the warm bed. He enjoyed learning and practicing. He also knew that it was one thing to be good on the practice mat and another thing to be good on the street. While it was true that he wanted to meet the five thugs, he didn’t know if he would be able to kill them.

Those five had cut short the life of the best man he’d ever known, the genius who had penned the incredible Book of Dreams. Maddox was certain he was not the one. Yes, he was better than anyone else in the fighting arts. But he knew very well a single bullet could end his life and a knife in the right place could cripple him forever.

Why had the best man in the world picked him? Maddox only partly wanted to learn the answer. The other half feared such knowledge. Living here was like a good dream. He made clocks, practiced the art and spoke with good men. What more could life give him?

Maddox sighed wistfully. He felt as if something evil watched him, waiting for the right moment to spring. It would wait for that one second when he feared and was defenseless. The idea filled him with a secret dread, and that made him more determined than ever to find his enemy…and destroy him.

-29-

Years later, Maddox sat cross-legged beside Father Benedict. Over one hundred candles flickered in the chapel. The old man lay on a mat, wheezing horribly. Whenever he stopped wheezing, the frail old man coughed weakly with a wet rattle.

Father Benedict was dying.

Maddox was eighteen, a lean young man with thick wrists and powerful hands. A few people had commented on his looks.

“He’s like a guardian angel,” people whispered. “His face…it’s so handsome.”

Maddox wore a tunic, his concentration on the father’s sweaty features. His heart threatened to thud as tears ached to spill from his eyes. Maddox refused as he silently chanted a litany of peace.

Benedict began to cough worse than before. His eyelids flickered, and he opened them as he vainly tried to breathe.

Maddox raised the old man’s head. That helped a little.

“Water,” Benedict whispered.

Maddox held a shallow bowl, helping the father sip.

“Thank you, my son,” the old man whispered.

Gently, Maddox helped him lie down again.

“Listen,” Benedict whispered. “Will you please listen?

Maddox nodded as he stared into those rheumy eyes.

“Forgive them their sin,” Benedict whispered. “That is my dying request.”

“You’re merely sick, Father.”

“No, Maddox. The Deity is summoning me to His presence. There, I must give an account of my life before He lets me pass on.”

Maddox listened as he trembled.

“Forgive my brother’s killers, Maddox. You must give up the way of vengeance. It will lead…”

“Yes?” Maddox asked. “It will lead me where?”

Benedict never said, as he stopped breathing then, his spirit passing on.

Maddox stared at the serene, wrinkled face. He could not believe the peace he saw there. It made his heart ache despite his litany and training. A tear welled in his left eye. What would Father Benedict have told him? What was the great danger if he brought justice to the killers? He dearly wanted to know. He had to know, as he planned to begin hunting for them after they buried Father Benedict.

***

Maddox found the first killer in a tavern catering to the legions. It had taken him two weeks of walking, standing quietly on street corners or in the market, listening, holding a begging bowl and asking a soft question or two.

He’d returned twice to the monastery. The brothers had elected Jacob as the Abbot.

“You must come back,” Jacob said. “Benedict would want you here.”

“Give me a few more weeks, Father.”

Jacob had eyed him, finally nodding. “Something is eating at you. Have you prayed about it?”

“Just a few more weeks,” Maddox said, while looking away.

Father Jacob sighed, “Very well, a few weeks, but no more. Afterward, you must decide.”

“Yes, Father,” Maddox said. “Thank you.”

“I suggest you pray about this.”

“I hear you.”

“You’re a stubborn cuss. There’s no denying that, but I think your heart is good. I hope it’s good, Maddox.”

As Maddox entered the tavern, he hoped his heart was good, too. It would be an awful thing to have a wretched heart after all the good people who had helped him.

People looked up, a few staring at him.

Maddox wore a brown robe with a hood, and even clutched a staff. He had a pouch at his side tied to his robe belt. Like always, he was barefoot.

The clientele were much different. The men wore legion uniforms. The women had provocative attire, sometimes wearing outrageous heels. A few of the men had holstered sidearms. He suspected more had flick-knives hidden in their pockets.

“This is the wrong place for you, monk,” a man in back shouted.

Maddox nodded politely before heading to an empty table. He sat down, leaning his staff against an empty chair.

A big-bosomed waitress approached. She had a saucy smile and rouged lips. “What do you want?” she asked, amused.

“A tankard of light ale,” Maddox said.

“You have money, monk?”

Without looking up, Maddox put a double-weight copper on the table.

She raised her eyebrows, taking it and leaving.

Maddox waited. He wondered if a man’s essential nature remained the same over the years. He’d seen one of the killers: the man who had yelled in back. As Maddox closed his eyes, searching his memories, he saw the former thug lifting and stabbing a bloody blade. That one hadn’t started things, but he’d had a hand in the killing.

The waitress clunked a wooden tankard onto the table before him.

Without looking up, Maddox grasped the handle, sipping the watery beer. He waited, listening to the muttering around him, the harsh laughter and the occasional womanish squeal.

Soon, three men approached his table. One of them was the former killer. He had a bloated face with pimples and a mean look. He was a sub-centurion with scarred knuckles. It would appear the man still liked to fight.

“Do you mind if I sit with you, monk?” the man asked.

Maddox didn’t answer.

The killer glanced at his friends, grinning. He knocked aside the staff, pulling out that chair and plopping down. The other two followed suit.

“You don’t belong here, monk,” the killer said.

Maddox raised his face, finally allowing himself to look in the killer’s eyes. He found that he remembered. That surprised him. He’d thought that after all these years—

“What are you looking at?” the killer said.

Maddox pointed at him.

One of the others laughed.

That made the killer scowl. “You’d better leave,” the man said.

“You leave,” Maddox said, possibly with more bite to his voice than he realized.

The conversations around them stilled. People stared at them.

“Let him be,” a waitress said.

“Shut up,” the killer told her without looking up. “Did you hear me, monk?”

Maddox allowed the faintest of grins to twitch the corner of his lips. How he’d longed for this moment. He’d never believed it would go as scripted.

“We’re going to teach you a lesson,” the killer said.

Maddox stared at him.

The killer leaned toward him. “You don’t think I don’t recognize you, punk? You don’t think I know about the monk asking stupid questions. Grab him!” he shouted.

The two friends rose, lunging at Maddox, each one grabbing an arm. They hoisted him to his feet. The killer stood, hurling back his chair.

“Now you’re going to learn!” the killer shouted. He stepped close and drove a pile driver right at Maddox’s stomach.

It connected, making Maddox double over and cough explosively.

“That’s enough,” a man said.

“No, it ain’t,” the killer said. He grabbed Maddox’s hair and jerked up his head.

While the other two held his arms, Maddox launched upward with his legs. It was an explosive, chi-driven move, causing Maddox to shout one powerful yell. At the same time, he drove his left knee with deadly force. The leap took him high enough so the knee cracked against the bottom of the killer’s chin, snapping the head back with incredible velocity. Violently, the killer rocketed backward, falling, the back of his skull knocking against wood.

The two men holding his arms let go in shock.

“He ain’t moving,” a man said.

Maddox saw the killer staring up in dazed wonder.

“What did you do to him?” one of the killer’s friends asked.

Maddox debated his options. If he hadn’t killed the man with the blow, he couldn’t openly murder him now. Maybe he could still goad the others into attacking.

With gentleness, Maddox moved to the staff, bending down and retrieving it. He’d purposefully left himself open, but neither had taken advantage of him.

Maddox regarded them. Only one watched him. The other one knelt by the killer.

“I think his neck’s broke,” the kneeling friend said. “We don’t dare move him or he could be paralyzed forever.” He looked up at Maddox. “How did you do that?”

Maddox shrugged as an oily feeling swept over him. He didn’t understand it. He should feel good. He’d partly paid back the killer for killing his master. Why would he feel soiled? It didn’t make sense.

“He had it coming,” a watching man said. “You don’t pick fights with a man of God.”

Maddox frowned. Is that what he was? He didn’t feel like a man of God. Did one go around hunting the guilty?

“I must go,” he said, quietly.

“Where are you going?” a big man said. By his uniform, he was a centurion of the Fifth Cohort, Tenth Legion.

“I will be at the monastery,” Maddox said.

“Do we let him go?” a man asked the centurion.

“Unless you think he did that on purpose,” the centurion said.

The crowd eyed Maddox, trying to imagine that.

“No,” a man said. “They attacked him first. That was a lucky kick. He’d never be able to do that again in a thousand years. Ferris is right. Let the sad sack go. We know where to find him if the MPs ask.”

Bewildered, feeling his stomach beginning to churn, Maddox stumbled out of the tavern. He headed for the monastery. He needed to think this through.

-30-

The body of the real Captain Maddox lay in medical aboard Victory as he continued to dream about life as a young man named Garth on the planet of Remus. Yet…something troubled Maddox about the—it was more than a dream. He didn’t know how he could know this. Even as he continued to dream, he struggled for coherence about the situation.

There was a process at work in Maddox, something he was beginning to perceive even while dreaming. Balron the Traveler had developed new abilities in him. The spiritual power he’d absorbed from an Erill gave him the energy to “see” things that should have been impossible for him to view in this condition.

There was a device partly embedded in his forehead. It was a cerebrater—a device that caused him to relive these memories as dreams. The cerebrater received power from a satellite or machine outside of Victory. The activated cerebrater kept him unconscious and played these Garth memories in his mind as if they were his own.

That…was…not…right.

I will not let anyone or anything dictate my thoughts to me.

Using the new Balron-given ability, the extra spiritual energy and his resolve, Maddox began to struggle against the cerebrater in his forehead. He began to block the ongoing dream of Garth on Remus.

It was a long, slow process, and in response, the cerebrater in his forehead rerouted its dream message. At the same time, depressants cooled the captain’s resolve as his awareness of the situation began to fade.

That caused sudden alarm in him.

I must overcome this now, or it will be too late for me. Yet, how can I counteract the cerebrater? What can I do?

Did the new ability give him the answer? In the citadel of his subconscious, as Maddox paradoxically acted consciously, he summoned fierce emotion, letting rage wash through him. The rage grew exponentially as he accessed the part of him that allowed feats of strength, as in the frail woman, say, who saw a car-jack give way and the car crush her working husband, leaping forward and lifting the car with momentary superhuman strength. The same process granted Maddox superhuman energy to employ a part of his brain, guided by the Balron-given intuitive ability. Was this a form of telepathy or telekinesis or the fire-starting power…pyro-something-or-other?

Maddox did not know. He simply used a power of the mind that used his body to reject a thing the way flesh rejected a splinter of wood, creating pus and other processes that ever so slowly pushed the splinter out of the flesh.

In this case, the partly embedded cerebrater in the captain’s forehead oozed upward until it ceased connection to his mind or body.

The dream abruptly ceased. That caused a convulsion so Maddox twisted and jerked. He woke up groggily as the cerebrater fell off his forehead and clattered against the medical-room deck.

“Maddox!” Meta cried, as she leaped to her feet from where she’d been sitting.

Maddox’s eyelids fluttered. Then, disorientation struck as he opened his eyes and as a heart attack threatened.

“No,” Maddox said, using his berserker mental energy to soothe his tripping heart and inadvertently counteract the process the alien cerebrater had triggered upon its removal.

This happened in seconds as Maddox looked up to see Meta worriedly staring down at him.

“Are you all right?” she whispered.

“Fine,” Maddox said, attempting to sit up. That caused sweat to break out on his face. He collapsed back against the medical cot, breathing hard.

“What are you doing?” Meta cried. “Relax. I’ll get the doctor.”

“Meta,” he said.

She’d turned to go. Now, she faced him again.

From the bed, Maddox smiled. “I’m fine. Don’t worry the doctor. Give me a second. Then, I can get up.”

Meta searched his eyes. She must have seen something hopeful in him, for she dropped upon him, holding his face and kissing him repeatedly.

Maddox laughed, enjoying his wife’s ministrations. He kissed her in return. Then, he found his arms around her as he sat up, hugging her to him and kissing her in earnest.

“Maddox,” she finally protested, struggling to free herself from his embrace. “There are others present.”

“Don’t mind me,” Riker said. “Good to see a man loving his wife so.”

Maddox released Meta and slid off the cot. He frowned, looking around the room. “Why am I in here?”

“You don’t remember?” Meta asked.

Riker bent down and scooped up the cerebrater that had fallen out of and off Maddox’s forehead. “This has been on you. It rendered you unconscious.”

“What?” Maddox said, as he stared at the thing Riker held.

“Listen,” Meta said, and she began to explain what had happened to him.

-31-

Grutch the Morag in his small teardrop-shaped scout ship seriously disliked the extra-dense Glenna Nebula.

He’d been stunned when Victory had plunged into the nebula. Couldn’t the stupid humans see how garn-energized the gases were here?

It was only after the third jump through the compacted gases that it dawned on Grutch that the humans and ghostly Adok analog probably could not detect the garn-energy. That had been a revelation indeed. The humans were retards in technological sophistication, meaning they were even stupider than he’d realized.

That had galvanized Grutch. Perhaps a smash and grab would be possible then. Victory was all alone in the garn-charged gases. They had no way to—

A klaxon had wailed in the scout ship.

Grutch had quickly found the small satellite memory stick and seen how it beamed or transmitted toward the starship’s bridge. Some quick and careful scanning had soon uncovered the situation.

Captain Maddox was in an unconscious trance, replaying—

That was the thing. Despite Grutch’s best efforts, he could not pierce the memory stick’s shield. After a time, he grew aware that the little satellite had already sent a pulse through the garn-energized gases. That pulse traveled faster than the speed of light!

All thought about smashing into Starship Victory and grabbing Maddox faded at that point.

Instead, Grutch went on high alert, and he nearly aborted the mission, fleeing this part of the Orion Arm. Several reasons kept him from doing so. One, he did not want to flee just yet. Two, the humans were so pathetically low-tech that three, it should prove easy to grab Maddox and earn all those bars of tellurium.

The Morag mercenary decided to play a careful waiting game and see what the pulse-signal brought to Victory.

The presence of the alien memory stick showed that a highly advanced species was at work in the nebula. Grutch did not know who these aliens were, and knowledge was power. Learning who they were might be worth more than the bars of tellurium.

He had several theories already about the memory-stick building aliens. They were mentalists of sorts, the reason they took such an approach with their “mousetrap.”

What did these aliens want with Victory’s crew? Would the aliens come to collect, or had they designed the mousetrap to bring the victim to a certain locale?

The question was intoxicating, as Grutch and Morags in general loved a puzzle. One reason they loved a mystery was that they thought of themselves as the cleverest species in existence.

Thus, it came as a rude shock to see Victory use a tractor beam, drawing the little satellite into a hangar bay. According to Grutch’s calculations, such a move should cause cardiac arrest in Maddox’s person, and if the tractor beam continued, an explosion in Maddox’s head.

Grutch’s antennae and tentacles stiffened with outrage. The tractor beam had likely caused Maddox’s heart to give out and brain to explode, killing the man. That was going to cost him many bars of tellurium. This was an outrage, a gross affront against rationality.

“How could they do this to me?” He worked quickly, tap-tapping consoles and readjusting screens. Four eyes viewed four different screens.

Then, they redeployed as Grutch studied other screens. “How can this be?” His leftmost eye viewed a screen where Maddox sat in his captain’s chair on the starship’s bridge. The human moved and spoke, giving commands.

Using a tentacle to adjust a holographic control, Grutch zoomed in on the captain’s forehead. There were slight marks there, showing where the cerebrater had been embedded.

How had Maddox divested himself of the tele-placed cerebrater? That should have been impossible.

Grutch slapped two of his tentacles together, sounding like a performing seal on Earth. The action showed his indignation and fear.

He’d almost smashed his way aboard Victory to snatch Captain Maddox. But the human had removed the memory cerebrater. How had Maddox done that?

Grutch swelled with fear. Could Maddox be a wizard?

A Morag did not mean the same thing as a human did when he spoke about magic. For a Morag, it was a psionic meaning rather than magic in the strictest sense. Still, a wizardly Maddox might be more trouble than he was worth.

Yet, why otherwise would my sponsors offer so much tellurium? Clearly, Maddox is extremely dangerous. Given the sum my sponsors are offering, he is much more dangerous than I originally realized.

Once again, Grutch debated aborting the mission. Greed stayed his tentacle from redirecting the scout ship. Yes, Maddox had unknown powers or abilities. In the end, these powers could not possibly match the cleverness and technological wizardry of a high-class Morag like himself.

Grutch’s tentacles began to tap holographic controls as his four eyestalks whipped about here and there. He created a subtle link to the starship, and he opened a new sensor to keep tabs on the alien memory stick the humans had taken aboard.

The humans may have made a critical mistake doing that. The aliens owning the memory stick…they must reside in this frightening nebula.

What had Maddox seen on the memory stick? Grutch dearly wanted to know. Should he grab the stick if he managed to kidnap Maddox?

That was an interesting question.

In the end, Grutch decided on a more cautious approach. He had time, and this was an odd nebula with secrets and a giant ship holding a person of flesh and bone worth many bars of wealth. Maddox would make a mistake soon in this lonely place. Then, Grutch would grab him and run like mad back for his sponsors.

“You’re mine, Maddox,” Grutch said. “So, go and play your little game for now. When you least suspect it, I’ll make you my captive. And none of your wizardly powers will be able to help you against me then. That I know to be true.”

-32-

Maddox remembered the Remus-Garth dreams in detail. There had been a reference in them to Manhome. Could that have been Earth?

He asked Galyan on the bridge, “Do you have any records about any Earth colony ships heading this way?”

Galyan’s eyelids fluttered for quite some time, until, “I do not, sir.”

Maddox thought about that. Garth had definitely been a man, a Homo sapiens. An hour later, still unable to stop thinking about it, Maddox sought out Ludendorff in his science lab.

As Maddox approached, Ludendorff set down a hot wire and sonic welder, removing dark goggles from his eyes, perching them on his forehead. “What troubles you, my boy?”

“They were standard humans.”

It took Ludendorff a second. “You mean the people in your extended dream?”

Maddox nodded.

“Very well,” Ludendorff said. “They were standard humans. I don’t understand what difference that makes.”

“I asked Galyan if there were any records about Earth colony ships heading out here.”

“And?”

“He found none.”

“And?”

“Do you recall anything about Earth colony ships in this sector of space?”

Ludendorff thought a moment before shaking his head. “It could be the wrong question, really. Consider. There are hundreds of human colonized worlds in the Commonwealth. Any one of them could have sent out colony ships of their own, one of them into this area of the Orion Arm.”

“I understand, but Remus seemed well populated, which would indicate centuries as a colony world, which would in turn indicate the colony ship had arrived a long time ago. Wouldn’t that mean a colony ship from Earth?”

“I don’t know,” Ludendorff said, “maybe. But my advice is to forget about it. You were dreaming. It was all meaningless.”

“I was dreaming of a real world and real events.”

“How can you possibly know that?”

Maddox thought about it. “I just do.”

“A gut feeling, an intuitive thing?”

“Call it what you want. I know what I know.”

“If you say so,” Ludendorff muttered. “Frankly, I’m more interested in the cerebrater that teleported onto your forehead. Someone made that. I’ve studied the cerebrater—well, looked at it, anyway. Galyan detected it was jury-rigged to detonate if tampered with. Therefore, I haven’t attempted to disassemble it. I’m surprised it didn’t explode when…what should we call that?”

“Call what?”

“That it simply popped off your forehead.”

“Removal seems the most precise word.”

“Agreed,” said Ludendorff. “But how did you remove it? Or did it just come off on its own?”

Maddox shook his head. While he remembered the dream in detail, he only had the haziest of recollections of resisting the mechanism, the cerebrater.

“Hmm. I don’t believe the cerebrater was programmed to fall off when it did.”

“Now that you mention it,” Maddox said, “neither do I.”

“Yes, yes, I don’t understand that part, which I’ve already admitted. I am curious, though, about why anyone would put such a satellite into space, and into the dense nebula in particular. What did this someone want from the one who eventually wore the cerebrater as you did and dreamed those dreams?”

“Perhaps it was a cry for help.”

“Which would indicate the cerebrater would come off in time so you could tell others or do something about what you’d learned. Perhaps you caused its removal prematurely. Perhaps you needed to relive more of the dream to discover the cerebrater’s purpose.”

“No,” Maddox said.

“I understand. You, of all people, resist the idea of anyone force-feeding thoughts or ideas into your mind.”

A flinty gleam glinted in Maddox’s eyes.

“There’s another thing,” Ludendorff said. “The technology of the satellite and cerebrater seems more substantial than the people of Remus would possess—given that your dreams were records of real events as you insist.”

“I remember someone talking about Manhome.”

“And you think in saying that that they referred to Earth?”

“Don’t you?” asked Maddox.

“Yes. That’s an interesting question. I don’t know. I am curious, but…perhaps we should reestablish communications with Admiral Cook or find Lieutenant Commander Noonan before we worry about the cerebrater and what the dreams signify.”

Maddox chewed that over. “Thanks, Professor. I’ll see you later.”

Ludendorff grunted, seeming as if he would add a thought. Instead, he lowered the goggles back over his eyes and resumed what he’d been doing.

-33-

Victory resumed making short star-drive jumps through the nebula, heading toward the Earth side of it. Upon first entering the gas cloud, they’d discovered a severe limitation to their sensors, which could only pierce short distances. That did not change now.

“We could be passing star systems and not even know it,” Galyan said on the bridge after one jump.

“Could be,” Maddox agreed from his chair.

“Perhaps it would be wiser to send out probes each time we come out of a jump.”

Maddox shook his head. “I want to find the Kit Carson sooner instead of later.”

“I understand,” Galyan said. “You presume Valerie is on the other side of the nebula as we first appeared. What if she is in the nebula and we are passing right by her?”

“What if our arms fall off?”

“I do not understand the reference.”

“We can only worry about so much. Let’s not unnecessarily add to our concerns.”

“I am entering the saying into my pithy comment file for further evaluation later.”

Maddox nodded, losing interest in the conversation.

Victory continued the short jumps until the starship exited the Glenna Nebula. After the bridge crew recovered, Maddox ordered Galyan to search for the Adok Home System.

“I have found it,” Galyan said a few moments later. “My home star is forty-nine light-years from our present location.”

“Right.” Maddox pushed out of the command chair. “Galyan, you’re with me.”

***

Maddox tried the Long-Range Builder Comm Device, soon reaching the Lord High Admiral on Earth.

“Maddox,” Cook said. “What happened? I’ve tried to contact you several times without success.”

Maddox explained the mirror effect of the hyper-spatial tube and their appearance on the other side of the Glenna Nebula from what they intended.

“You’re saying the tube put you somewhere else?” Cook asked.

“I am, sir.”

“That’s strange. I wonder why it would happen to Victory first and not someone else.”

Maddox glanced at a listening Galyan before he spoke into the microphone. “Sir, did anyone in the nexus notice a stealth ship or device near Victory when we came through from the Balder System?”

“I haven’t received any kind of report of such a thing.”

“Could you ask the nexus people, sir?”

“I’m making a note of it,” Cook said. “Have you contacted the Kit Carson yet?”

“No,” Maddox said.

“The Commander was following a faint radiation trail into the nebula when last I spoke to her.”

“Galyan?” asked Maddox.

The holoimage’s eyelids fluttered. “Yes. I am detecting such a trail.”

“Galyan has found the radiation trail, sir.”

“Then, I’ll let you get to it so you follow the trail and reestablish contact with the Commander.”

“Yes, sir,” Maddox said, cutting the connection afterward.

“I am curious, sir,” Galyan said, as the captain stood. “Is there a reason you did not tell the Lord High Admiral about the cerebrater formerly embedded in your forehead?”

Maddox scowled for just a moment. “We’ll work on one thing at a time, Galyan.”

“I see. Did you feel an inner compulsion then to keep the event secret from the admiral?”

“What? No. Why do you ask? You know I don’t care for that kind of inquiry.”

“I am building a profile on it,” Galyan said.

“On me?”

“No, sir,” Galyan said. “I am building a profile concerning the cerebrater itself. I am…attempting to learn more about it by recording what it might do to those who wear it.”

Maddox recalled Ludendorff’s thoughts on it. “Who do you think made the cerebrater?”

“I am not yet ready to hazard a guess, sir.”

Maddox exhaled forcefully through his nostrils. Things were happening out here that didn’t make sense. The cerebrater for instance—he shook his head. And as he did, he remembered his question to the admiral. There had been a possible alien stealth ship in the Balder System. Could the alien vessel still be nearby, if it had been there in the first place? Could such a hidden alien have put the satellite into position ahead of Victory? If that were true—

“Galyan, continue to search for any nearby stealth vessels.”

“I have ever since we left the Balder System, sir. No one is near us.”

“Don’t you mean,” asked Maddox, “no one that you can detect?”

“I do not, sir. After this length of time, I would have found anyone trailing us.”

Maddox stared at the holoimage. “Don’t be too sure.”

“If you wish for me to continue searching for what is not there, so be it. I will do it if you order me to.”

“Good,” Maddox said, “I do so order. Now, come on. We’re heading back for the bridge. It’s time we found Valerie and her people.”

-34-

Maddox raised his head as he sat on the captain’s chair on the bridge. It was the third star-drive jump since he’d spoken to the Lord High Admiral. They’d plunged back into the nebula, following the radiation trial, seeking Valerie.

Something hit Maddox as he looked up from jump lag. He’d forgotten to ask the admiral if there were any records about Earth colony expeditions into this region of space, the Glenna Nebula in particular. How could he have been so forgetful? Did Galyan have a point after all? Had the cerebrater left a last command in him, or done some unknown damage?

Maddox rose to his feet, staggering a short distance. He touched his forehead, feeling slightly disoriented. That had never happened before when he’d come out of jump lag.

“Sir,” Galyan said.

Maddox turned as the holoimage sharpened into focus.

“I…” Galyan paused.

“Is something wrong?” asked Maddox.

“I thought to detect something for a nanosecond. The ship’s sensors just came online. Out there…I must have imagined it.”

“Do you ever imagine things?”

“I suppose I do not. Perhaps it was a ship echo then, a reflection of Victory thrown back by the nebula’s compacted gases.”

“Galyan.”

“Sir?”

“Could it have been a well-camouflaged stealth ship you saw for just a moment? Perhaps the dense gases, coming out of lag and the sensors starting up…they all combined to let you see what we’ve been missing all this time.”

“I do not see how that would be possible. I am not detecting anything—wait. There is a slight disturbance—no. It is gone. It was nothing. I was mistaken.”

“Show me a holographic image of this nothing, this mistake.”

A few seconds later, a holoimage appeared before Maddox.

“I don’t see anything,” Maddox said.

“I will magnify it a hundred times,” Galyan said.

In the holograph, there was a slight ripple in the compacted gases.

“What is the distance of that…effect from Victory?” Maddox asked.

“Ten thousand kilometers exactly,” Galyan said.

“Was it ten thousand kilometers each time you thought to see this…nothing?”

“Why…yes, it was. How did you know?”

“Ah-ha,” Maddox said.

“Sir, your voice inflection leads me to believe that you think it was something after all.”

“How about that,” Maddox said. “Galyan, we’re going to prepare a little surprise for our echo or wave distortion—”

“Warning,” Galyan shouted, as he interrupted the captain. “I am detecting a tele-phenomenon. It is occurring on the bridge.”

In an instant, a giant gelatinous mass appeared in the middle of the bridge. It was considerably taller than a man and perhaps as bulky as five fully grown men.

Maddox had never seen anything like it. As he stared in astonishment, four tentacles and four disgusting eyestalks sprouted from its pink-gray quivering mass. One of the tentacles held a gun-shaped item, the very tip of the tentacle pressing down—

Maddox dove as a white beam speared at him from the alien weapon.

“Intruder alert! Teleporting boarders!” Galyan said in a loud voice.

Another tentacle aimed a different weapon at Galyan. That weapon emitted a pink beam, striking the holoimage, causing it to vanish with a sizzle of sound. A third tentacle held a box-like device. It produced a horrible screech. The bridge crewmembers coming out of jump lag screamed or shouted in agony, toppling onto the floor unconscious.

Maddox was able to tolerate the horrible sonic attack better than the others. He reached his command chair, flipping open a compartment in an armrest. While the sound-attack continued, his face pinched with pain, Maddox drew a blaster, aimed and fired.

The harsh blaster beam stopped short of the giant gelatinous mass. One eyestalk whipped about, observing Maddox’s attack.

The tentacle holding the sonic-emitter box used its tip to press a switch, ceasing the raucous sound.

Only Maddox remained on his feet. He quit blasting, realizing it was ineffectual. His ears rang, his brain throbbed and vomit threatened to spew from his throat.

The tentacle turned the box over and clicked it. The giant gelatin mass made warbling sounds. From the box came, “Are you Captain Maddox?”

The captain took a step back from the monster. Scowling, rubbing his forehead with his free hand, it took Maddox a moment to process that the thing could communicate and the nature of the question. “Who are you?” Maddox asked, hoarsely.

The giant gelatinous mass made more warbling sounds. From the translator box came, “I am Grutch. Now, answer the question.”

“I’m not Maddox, no,” the captain said, instinctively lying while recovering from the sonic assault.

Two eyestalks stretched forth, bringing their grotesque redlined eyeballs closer to the captain. The tentacle clicked the translator again as the creature mass warbled the odd sounds.

“You are lying,” the box said.

“I have no reason to lie,” Maddox said as his bearings began to stabilize.

“I will kill everyone on the bridge if you do not tell me the truth.”

Maddox focused on the tall, quivering mass of gelatinous substance. It did not wear anything, but it had produced two kinds of weapons and that translator, and had some kind of forcefield or personal shield. Did the thing keep those items inside its…mass? It had called itself Grutch. It possessed an identity then. It was a sentient being of an alien race. The race had bug eyes and tentacles, and it clearly possessed advanced technology. Could this thing have followed them in a stealth ship all this time? Why would it have bothered? Why did it want to know if he was Captain Maddox and would kill everyone if he or it did not learn the truth?

“I, ah, can take you to the captain if that’s what you want,” Maddox said.

“Are you suggesting then that you have played a role the entire time?”

Maddox frowned. “I don’t understand you.”

“The translator is not making my thoughts understandable to you?”

“I understand your words just fine. Your question isn’t making sense.”

“I do not accept this prevaricating. In fact, it strengthens my conviction that you are indeed Captain Maddox. Such being the case, I will take you back to my ship and interrogate you. The process might kill you, but I desire to speak directly to Captain Maddox.”

“I don’t know why. He’s a vicious officer, not worth your time.”

The two eyestalks drew back. “Are you now suggesting that you hate Captain Maddox?”

“With a passion,” Maddox said.

“Why would you hate him?”

“Why would you care?”

“That is enough of that. I am—what are you doing?”

Maddox aimed the blaster at his head. “I am Captain Maddox, and I’m about to kill myself.”

“Why would you do that?”

“To thwart you,” Maddox said.

“You have no idea what it is I wish.”

“But I do, as it’s clear. You want Captain Maddox—me. You screwed with my mind earlier, but I defeated your mind probe, your cerebrater.”

“What are you talking about—oh, wait, I know. You mean the alien memory-stick satellite. You call the device formerly on your forehead a cerebrater. Yes. That is a good term. However, the memory-stick satellite and cerebrater do not belong to me.”

“Now you’re the one who’s lying.”

“You admit then that you spoke lies earlier?”

“I’m Captain Maddox. I admit nothing.”

“That is nonsensical.”

“Yet that’s what I say.”

“Nevertheless, you are Maddox. Now, you must cease aiming the weapon at your head. I am taking you with me for reasons of my own.”

“I’ll quit aiming the blaster at my head as soon as you leave my ship.”

“If I leave without you, I will destroy your vessel in retaliation.”

Maddox considered that and realized he didn’t believe Grutch, so he shrugged.

“I do not understand the animal gesture. Is it a signal of fear?”

“Yes,” Maddox said. “I’m terrified. Don’t I look terrified?”

“No. That was a lie. I have been observing you for quite some time—”

Maddox laughed maniacally.

“Cease that inane racket immediately, as I detest it. Are you mocking me by making that noise?”

Maddox didn’t answer, but asked a question of his own. “What did you do to Galyan?”

“Do you refer to the Adok holoimage?”

“You know he’s Adok. That’s interesting.”

“I know many things. Now, for the last time, put down the blaster. You might hurt yourself.”

“That’s the idea, Grutch, old boy. I’m not going with you.”

The gelatinous mass stood there in silence until, “It won’t help you in the end.”

“It might, though,” Maddox said.

“If I go, you’re going to seriously regret it.”

“Why do you want me, anyway? As far as I know, Star Watch hasn’t dealt with your kind before.”

“This standoff is preposterous and indecent. You are making me very angry. I have a mind to simply destroy your starship and be done with you.”

“Soon,” Maddox said, “it won’t make any difference.”

“What does that mean?”

“The starship has already begun the self-destruct sequence.”

“What. No. I don’t believe you.”

“If you realize the holoimage was that of an Adok, you surely must realize this was an Adok-built vessel.”

“Of course, I know that. It’s obvious by the ship design.”

“I thought so. When the holoimage is deactivated as you just did, the self-destruct sequence for the starship automatically activates.”

“I didn’t know that.”

“Well, now you do,” Maddox said.

“This is most unfortunate. I wonder if I have acted hastily. I should kill you now and be done with this. But…you have not seen the last of me, Captain Maddox. I will go for now so you can halt the self-destruct sequence.”

“For your sake, Grutch, you’d better hope I never see you again.”

“What a vain creature you are. I wonder why my sponsors desire you alive. It makes no sense to me.”

“Well, them’s the breaks, Grutch.”

“Bah!” And with that, the towering mass of pink-gray flesh faded and then disappeared altogether, teleporting, it would seem, from Victory to wherever it had originated.

-35-

Maddox wanted to collapse in relief as the bug-eyed monster teleported off the bridge of Victory. Instead, he rushed to Meta, kneeling beside her to make sure she was alive.

Her chest rose minutely as she breathed shallowly. She was alive.

Maddox wanted to hug and kiss her, but he recalled that Grutch had said he’d been watching him. Did that mean the monster had been watching the bridge all this time? It certainly could mean that, as the thing had teleported onto the bridge. That would seem to indicate Grutch had a viewing mechanism that allowed it to see where it was going.

As Maddox went to the next unconscious crewman, he found that he was trembling. If this Grutch could teleport once, he could probably do it again. What had happened to Galyan?

Maddox shook his head. He’d have to look into that later. Right now…Maddox’s eyes narrowed. This was a mess. How were they going to deal with an alien that could spy on them, trail them and teleport to them at any time?

Maddox kept his back against a bulkhead as he kept his blaster ready. The only thing that had stopped Grutch was the threat to kill himself. It had been an instinctive reaction. Maddox used a sleeve to wipe sweat from his forehead.

Once again, the new intuitive sense had come to his rescue. He owed Balron. That was for sure.

After making certain everyone on the bridge was alive, and leaving his instructions with a wakened Meta, Maddox hurried to the professor’s science chamber.

The professor was working on a project and was astonished when Maddox told him what had just transpired on the bridge.

“The creature wanted you specifically?” Ludendorff asked.

“Yes.”

“Odd, very odd,” Ludendorff said.

“We must repair Galyan right away.”

“That’s right. You said the monster shot the holoimage with a pink ray, and Galyan vanished with a cackle of sound. I’ll need to inspect the main AI housing. That’s the first place to check and likely where to start any repairs.”

The two hurried for the center of the starship, with Maddox entering the codes at each sealed hatch. Soon, Maddox and Ludendorff, with a small kit in hand, stood in the armored chamber of the AI Deification Center. There, in various computers and AI machines resided the essence of Driving Force Galyan.

It took the professor a little more than twenty minutes to find the problem: burnt-out circuits in the hologram imager. The pink ray must have used Galyan to overload these circuits, the reason for the crackling or sizzling sounds. Ludendorff replaced the burnt-out circuits with similar but not identical spares.

“Professor, Captain, it is good to see you are all right,” Galyan said, as he reappeared as a holoimage in the outer AI chamber, looking through the open hatch at them.

Ludendorff exited the main chamber first, with Maddox locking the armored hatch behind him.

“Do you remember what happened to you?” Maddox asked.

“Most definitely,” Galyan said. “I am even now watching the bridge recording of the event. This is quite astonishing.”

Maddox glanced at the professor.

“What is it, my boy?”

“You used the word astonishing earlier,” Maddox told Ludendorff. “I wonder if the word choices between you two indicate anything.”

“Hmm. I find that doubtful,” Ludendorff said. “Sometimes a coincidence is merely a coincidence.”

“Pointing the blaster at your head was quick thinking, sir,” Galyan said. “How did you know it would work?”

Maddox shrugged.

“But—oh,” Galyan said. “Yes. One thing seems conclusive. This Grutch can observe us from his stealth ship. I suppose you believe he can listen to us as well, and thus you are reluctant to answer.”

“How did you arrive at your conclusion?” Ludendorff asked.

“You mean about Grutch?”

“Yes, yes,” Ludendorff said. “It’s obvious what I mean.”

“The deduction is elementary,” Galyan said. “Grutch teleported to Victory to kidnap the captain, and he immediately did so when I found evidence of his stealth ship. That suggests Grutch attacked us in order to forestall any action against him we might have attempted.”

“Say, that’s right,” Maddox said. “We must therefore assume Grutch is listening to us now.”

“I said as much,” Galyan replied. “But I thought you already knew that, the reason for your shrug earlier.”

“Astonish…” Ludendorff let the word fade into silence as he stroked his chin. “Yes. Grutch is listening or watching us, or doing both this instant. We must bear that in mind. I don’t recall reading about such a being during my Builder training days. Can you describe him again, Captain?”

“There is no need,” Galyan said. “Here is a holo-projection of him.”

In the outer AI chamber, the three examined a bridge recording of Grutch that Galyan brought into view.

After a few seconds, Ludendorff snapped his fingers. “Now I remember. That’s a Morag.”

Maddox glanced at the Methuselah Man.

“In the old days, a Builder lecturer told us about them.” Ludendorff proceeded to explain some of what he recalled about Morags, their similarity to Yon Soths, their mercenary and solitary nature and their highly advanced technological mastery.

“Why would a Morag want me?” Maddox asked.

“I should think that obvious,” Ludendorff said. “Grutch is a mercenary, working for someone else.”

“I would give that odds,” Galyan said.

“Eh?” asked Ludendorff.

“That is not the only possibility,” said Galyan. “There is a ninety percent chance he is a mercenary working for someone else. I have given you odds of the possibility.”

“Oh,” Ludendorff said. “I see what you mean.”

“It’s time we left,” Maddox said, shooing them out of the outer chamber, and locking the hatch behind him. He led the way down a corridor.

“My point,” Ludendorff said, as he struggled to keep pace with Maddox, “is that Grutch likely desires to kidnap the captain and hand him over to someone for pay.”

“Hand over to who?” asked Galyan.

“I have no idea,” Ludendorff said. “Perhaps the Ardazirhos, or Yon Soths, or New Men, or—”

“When did New Men learn about Morags?” Maddox asked, interrupting.

“Spacers,” Galyan said. “That would be more probable than New Men. In their extensive travels, it stands to reason that some Spacers eventually came across Morags or a Morag.”

“Possibly so,” Ludendorff conceded.

“It doesn’t matter,” Maddox said. “Grutch isn’t getting me. Now that we know he’s there, we need to find his stealth craft. And once we find it, we need to destroy it.”

Ludendorff glanced sharply at Maddox.

“Did you say it that way to scare the Morag?” Galyan asked.

“Galyan,” Maddox said. “I want you to remember that Grutch may be listening.”

“I understand,” Galyan said, “hence, the reason for my question.”

“I’m not sure you do understand,” Maddox said. “Don’t say anything that might aid him against us.”

“Oh,” Galyan said. “Yes. I understand. We are working under—”

“Galyan,” Maddox said sharply. “Desist.”

“Yes, sir,” Galyan said. “I am sorry, sir. I understand your thinking now, or I think I do since your profile shows me—”

“Stop verbalizing,” Maddox said, interrupting. “That’s an order.”

The Adok holoimage glanced at him and nodded.

Maddox strode down the corridor, Ludendorff trotted to keep up with the longer-legged man and the holoimage floated effortlessly beside the captain.

“We should immediately change course, leave the nebula and take a hyper-spatial tube back to Earth,” Ludendorff said.

“No,” Maddox said.

Ludendorff glanced at him.

“We’re on a mission in the nebula,” Maddox said. “We’re going to perform the mission no matter what. Do I make myself clear?”

“I understand,” Galyan said.

“Professor?” asked Maddox with a significant glance.

“I think I do as well, my boy. Such being the case, I will head elsewhere. Trying to keep up with you is too tiring.”

Maddox nodded curtly. Then, he and Galyan took a turn in the corridor, heading in a different direction. The captain’s gun-hand kept brushing the holster with the blaster in it. He needed to keep this ready to threaten to shoot himself in case Grutch was thinking of trying again. What would happen, though, if Grutch realized he’d been bluffing?

Maddox’s eyes narrowed. They needed a solution versus Grutch, and they needed it immediately. But how could they go about acquiring it if the…the Morag watched them all the time?

It was a conundrum, a puzzle, and one that needed solving pronto.

-36-

Grutch seethed inwardly as he floated in his mud bath aboard the scout ship. He couldn’t believe he’d let Maddox outfox him. Aiming the blaster at his head had been a simple but elegant solution. He should have foreseen the clever captain coming up with that.

There were ways to nullify the effect, of course. One would be to render Maddox unconscious before attempting to kidnap him. Two would be to find a threat that would force Maddox to remain alive of his own volition. Was there a third way?

At that point, a klaxon blared throughout the small ship.

Oh dear, that was going to cut his soak short. What was the problem anyway?

Grutch inflated his mass and shoved up from the bottom of the mud bath. He used the suckers on his tentacles to pull himself onto the landing. Then, using his roller-like locomotion, he moved into his operational chamber.

There wasn’t a particle of mud on him, all of it having slid from his bulk. He tapped panels, let his eyestalks grow and observed from screen one, from screen two, from screen—

Grutch made warbling sounds as he detected a ship gliding through the dense gases. The vessel was one-third the size of Victory and came from deeper within the nebula. A quick scan showed Grutch that his sensors couldn’t pierce the craft’s collapsium hull armor. The strange vessel did not have a force field of any kind, just the dense hull armor for protection.

Wait a minute. There were more vessels, not just the one. Grutch counted four warships altogether, all nearly the same size and all with the extra-dense hull armor.

Why would the four vessels appear here in the middle of the nebula? Had they detected Victory? Was there a star system nearby?

Grutch hated the gas cloud, as it severely shortened the range of his sensors. A new thought struck. Could these vessels have received the pulse sent out by the memory-stick satellite?

He ran more scans on the vessels. While he was unable to penetrate the collapsium hull, he did detect their thrusters—fusion power thrusters; they used fusion power instead of the antimatter drive of Victory or the gravitational propulsion his lovely ship used. That meant in normal acceleration and deceleration, the new ships would be much slower than the modified Adok starship. Their propulsion was more primitive than Victory’s drive. Yet, their hull armor was superior.

The four ships also had inferior sensor systems. That was clear by the sensors they presently used.

Grutch leaned back as his eyestalks lowered toward his main bulk. Who crewed the new vessels?

The failed confrontation against Maddox still rankled. Now, the influx of inferior warships into the mix—

No. He was Grutch. He was a Morag. Maddox had proven cleverer than expected. That meant new elements into the game would help rather than hinder him, as he could adjust faster than a mere human such as Maddox could.

He needed to wait, observe, recalibrate, and then act decisively. The only real danger would be the four ships jumping Victory and destroying the vessel, thereby killing his prize and costing him wealth.

Did Victory’s crew see the four vessels?

Grutch leaned toward a set of sensors, his eyestalks stretching and his tentacles manipulating holographic controls.

He spied Captain Maddox sitting in his commander’s chair aboard Victory. The bridge crew were at their stations. A short stout science officer was explaining the situation of the four new ships to Maddox.

Good, good, the Star Watch people were aware of the new vessels. Ah. The communications officer hailed the ships.

Grutch grew interested in the response, hoping to catch a glimpse of the crews servicing the four new ships. Therefore, he didn’t pay as close attention to what happened outside his ship as he might have otherwise.

-37-

Driving Force Galyan in ghost mode ranged outside Victory as a dim holoimage. He used his supercharged holo-imager, unwittingly employing an advanced feature. In truth, Galyan hadn’t activated the advanced sensor mode. Ludendorff had done so while repairing and refitting the burnt-out circuits with similar but different ones. Galyan had activated them by going into ghost mode and searching manually for Grutch’s stealth ship.

Galyan had replayed the bridge recording of Grutch’s appearance and threats many times already. He had studied the tele-phenomenon and used everything he had learned throughout the many missions. He now glided through the compacted gases, personally studying the areas where he ranged.

As Galyan did this, he was fully aware that Captain Maddox was attempting to verbally engage with the four newly arrived, heavily hulled warships.

Concentrate on your present mission, Galyan told himself.

Grutch must have followed Victory from the Balder System. That meant—or it most logically meant—Grutch had been with them in the hyper-spatial tube. If that was so, Grutch had been with Victory from Balder to Earth and then from Earth to outside the Glenna Nebula.

Galyan searched his databanks for anything about Morags. He had nothing except for what Ludendorff had told them. This was a new species, although the Builders had known about them. According to Ludendorff, they were similar to Yon Soths.

Galyan would have shuddered, but computer-generated beings did not do so. Instead, he focused and ranged as fast as he could from one location to another. He used logic programs, circling the starship at a ten-thousand-kilometer range.

Soon enough, Galyan concluded that Grutch had heard him tell the captain about the ten-K range. That meant Grutch had likely repositioned his craft. That showed the Morag wasn’t utterly arrogant, as the creature took precautions.

That was too bad. It would be better…

Galyan slowed his advance as subtle wave distortions seven thousand kilometers away from Victory drew his attention.

Could that be Grutch’s stealth ship?

Galyan paused as he calculated upon the correct course of action. Should he appear back on Victory and convince the captain to launch antimatter torpedoes at the possible stealth ship? The Morag would likely detect that. Grutch might be able to teleport his stealth ship elsewhere, or shoot down missiles. Beams, though—the disrupter ray might be the answer. But that would take time to energize. Presumably, Grutch watched what happened on the starship. If he could teleport his ship or move stealthily elsewhere—

I must go and look for myself.

Galyan thus activated another secret Adok-Builder technology, hitherto unused, in the starship. He sped toward the possible stealth ship in ultra-ghost mode.

In seconds, he reached the targeted area, slowed—as he pierced the cloak, he saw the stealth ship, a teardrop-shaped vessel. The ship was smaller than he would have suspected. Galyan was surprised at the lack of a force field or shield.

Was that a cause of the compacted gas cloud? It seemed likely, which gave Galyan his edge.

Yes. This was the moment to take advantage of everything he could. He eased through the special alloy hull. Back in the Crowder System, his old holoimage had been blocked by certain substances. This alloy would have blocked his old self. The new technology he employed…Galyan oozed through the hull and found himself in the corridors of a Morag stealth ship.

He recorded everything, as the holo-imager linked him to the core of Victory. He spied the Mud Room, the cargo hold with its odd cargos and tiptoed into the control chamber.

Grutch was a blob of pink-gray mass in the center of the chamber, his tentacles lashing at speed and his eyestalks whipping back and forth. It was both an impressive and disgusting performance. The Morag watched Maddox speak with the Fusion flotilla director.

Will I ever get a better opportunity to attack the Morag?

Galyan did not think so. The Morag had threatened Maddox, had threatened the entire crew of Victory. Grutch thus threatened his family.

I must act decisively.

Aboard Victory in the central armored chamber, a machine built up power. Inside the Morag stealth ship, Galyan calculated the weight of the creature, the resiliency of the gelatinous mass and recovery potential.

I may never get another opportunity like this, Galyan realized.

An alarm began to clang in the Morag’s control chamber.

Grutch made warbling sounds as tentacles lashed here and there. Eyestalks peered at separate screens, and then eyestalks lengthened and whipped about to stare exactly at the spot where Galyan hovered in ultra-ghost mode.

The Adok holoimage acted, even though he thought he hadn’t built up a great enough charge.

Grutch wailed in misery and tentacles lashed elsewhere. The stealth ship powered up.

Galyan zoomed forward, seeking to reach the gelatinous mass of the Morag. As he did so, Galyan summoned the energy from Victory’s core. It came. Galyan reached the horrible bug-eyed monster and released the pent-up energy into the heavy mass of wobbling flesh.

The discharge of energy flooded outward from the holoimage that was inside the pink-gray mass of flesh. At the same time, the stealth ship and its occupant began to teleport from its present position to elsewhere.

Galyan heard a horrendous scream. He sensed burnt and stinking wobbling flesh—and then he found himself alone in space. The Morag stealth ship had teleported elsewhere, leaving his holoimage behind.

Did I kill Grutch?

Galyan did not think so. He had hurt the Morag, though. Would that convince the creature to stay away from Victory?

Galyan did not have enough data to compute a reasonable answer. He had hurt Grutch, and Galyan felt good about that.

He vanished from his position seven thousand kilometers outside Victory, wondering how the captain was doing with the director of the four-warship Fusion flotilla.

-38-

Maddox sat in his captain’s chair, reclining at ease as he faced the Fusion flotilla director on the main screen.

Her name was Fax Anora from New Trotsky, which the captain surmised was the name of the Star System and possible main planet. From the little they’d spoken so far, he’d gleaned several useful points. The New Trotsky System was in the Glenna Nebula. Fax Anora and her colleagues had a faster-than-light drive that only seemed to work in the dense gases of the nebula.

Maddox hadn’t learned the last point from the director, but from Andros Crank, his science officer and a Kai-Kaus Chief Technician. Andros had learned that from studying the four ships and replaying what they’d first sensed regarding the warships.

The four vessels had collapsium hull armor, which was superior to Victory’s hull armor. Normally, Victory relied upon her shield more. But in the dense gas of the nebula, the shield had become unreliable.

That would not bode well in case they had to start a firefight with the Fusion warships.

It was interesting to Maddox that from his dream he recalled the Fusion reaching Remus, and that it hadn’t been a good thing. In fact, it had started a war. He did not mention that to the director. Instead, for the past fifteen minutes, they had played around with translators and language computers, attempting to speak to each other.

The director was small, in her mid-fifties with a blue-colored buzz cut and a red uniform with white braid. She had stern features and seemed smart and quick.

A tall woman stood behind her. That one wore a black uniform, had long, humorless features and listened to the exchange with interest.

Maddox knew the tall woman’s type just by looking at her. She was a security officer, maybe even with authority, perhaps political authority, over the director. He’d seen Anora glance back once or twice over her shoulder, as if for confirmation about what she’d said.

“Captain Maddox,” Director Anora now said. “I find it difficult to believe that you’re from Manhome.” She’d asked him about that and he’d given an affirmative. “Manhome is a vast distance from here, and everyone knows that moving through normal space takes a long time.”

“Are those on New Trotsky originally from Manhome?” Maddox asked.

The black-uniformed security officer frowned and cleared her throat.

The director must have heard that, as she sat up. “Your question strikes me as impertinent and overly inquisitive, Captain.”

“I didn’t mean it as such, but as polite inquiry.”

“Hmm,” Anora said. “Let’s get down to it, shall we? What are you doing in Fusion space?”

“Exploring.”

“For what reason?”

“For this very reason,” Maddox said, pleasantly. “We wish to find new worlds and new peoples such as you.”

“In order to exploit us?” Anora asked, angrily.

“No,” Maddox said. “In order to create friendships and learn new things.”

Director Anora glanced back at the security officer before regarding Maddox again. “I see. Yes. Well, I officially welcome you to the nebula, sir. I now ask that you and your chief commanders come to my flagship, the Josef Stalin, so we may become acquainted with each other.”

“That is a kind gesture,” Maddox said. “Will you send an equal number of command grade officers to Victory while we go to you?”

“I see no reason to do so,” Anora said. “You are in our territory and thus our guests. I will expect you in an hour.”

The security officer cleared her throat again.

“In a half hour,” Anora amended.

Maddox put a hand against his right ear as if he heard someone else. Looking up, he said, “I’ll have to take a vote on that.”

“What did you say?” asked Anora, sounding surprised.

“A vote,” Maddox said. “We work by committee here on Victory.”

Both the security officer and Director Anora were frowning.

“You come from a democratic system?” Anora asked.

“A communist system,” Maddox answered.

Ludendorff had been talking into an earbud, giving him advice regarding the New Trotskyites. Certain words, word choices and ideas had given away their political orientation, at least to the Methuselah Man.

“You think we’re communists?” Anora asked.

“I don’t know what you are,” Maddox said.

“Social Harmony is our creed,” Anora said. “Do you oppose that?”

“I would need to know more about it,” Maddox said. “We believe that everyone should receive according to his needs. We must also all pull together for the greater good.”

Surprise showed on Director Anora’s face. “This is—”

The security officer sharply cleared her throat.

Anora paused before saying, “It’s good to see that you’re rational people.”

“That’s interesting,” Maddox said. “I was going to say the same thing about you.”

“Good, good,” Ludendorff whispered into Maddox’s ear from the embedded earbud.

“Well,” Anora said. “Shall I see you in a half hour then?”

“I’m afraid not,” Maddox said.

“No,” the security officer said.

Director Anora looked back at her.

“No,” the security officer said again, quieter than before but with greater emphasis.

Director Anora faced forward. “I’m afraid I’m going to have to insist on your immediate arrival, Captain. I didn’t want to say this, but we are even now powering up the laser emitters. I hope you do not force me to order your destruction.”

“Please, Director,” Maddox said, putting a whiny note into his voice. “There is no need for that. While we do vote on such matters, my suggestion will carry great weight. Could you extend your offer to forty-five minutes? I might need the extra time to convince the rest that you’re sincere in your…intentions.”

The security officer mumbled something under her voice.

“Yes,” Anora said. “I can add an extra fifteen minutes. You truly vote on this?”

“Oh, yes,” Maddox said. “This is a democratic vessel. The workers all have a say, speaking through their ship representatives.”

“And this works?” Anora asked.

In that moment, Maddox understood. Director Anora was playing for time, perhaps even against her own security officer’s desires. He recognized the maneuver because he’d practiced it himself on many occasions.

“I’m afraid I’ll have to cut this short,” Maddox said. “Some of the ship representatives are already arriving. Until the deadline, Director, goodbye.”

Maddox made a motion even as Director Anora began to respond.

Meta cut the link at her comm station.

Maddox stood, stretching his lower back and withdrawing the bud from his ear.

Galyan appeared. “Sir, I have attacked Grutch directly. His ship teleported away before I could kill him, or so I believe.”

“You did what?” asked Maddox. “Never mind, I heard the first time. You don’t have to repeat that. Let me think a moment. I need to figure out the right reaction to Director Anora.”

“You mean we don’t get to vote?” Meta asked with a twitch of her lips.

Maddox grinned at his wife for just a moment. Then, he put his hands behind his back, staring at the blank main screen.

Ludendorff burst through the main hatch. “I hope you’re not thinking about boarding the Josef Stalin.”

“Eh?” asked Maddox, turning to face Ludendorff. “No, no, of course not—they mean to intern our chief officers at best, or kill us at worst.”

“Sir,” said Galyan.

Maddox turned to the holoimage and nodded.

“Why did the Fusion vessels stop here?” Galyan asked. “Are we near a star system? If not, could the Fusion vessels detect another ship while they traveled faster than light? If they did detect us, does that not imply far superior sensors than ours, at least for operating in the nebula?”

Maddox considered the questions. He turned to Andros Crank. “Are you still detecting the radiation trail?”

“I am,” Andros said.

“Did the Fusion ships move along the trail?” Maddox asked.

Andros raised his eyebrows before turning to his panel, his pudgy fingers tapping as he examined readings. With a grunt, he turned back to Maddox. “I believe they followed the radiation trail, sir. It’s also possible their drive is creating or reinforcing the radiation trail.”

“How is that happening?” asked Maddox.

“I think I know,” Galyan said, as Andros turned back to his science station. “It appears the Fusion vessels have a strange drive. I believe they use the nebula’s compacted gases, energizing them and using it as a rail system, a magnetized system. I do not mean to say they exactly magnetize the gases, but do something analogous, causing a unique reaction that aids in their unique FTL travel.”

“In other words,” said Maddox, “the radiation trail might lead to Remus.”

“Sir?” asked Galyan.

“Sir,” Andros said. “I’m detecting a power build-up in the Fusion ships.”

“They have target lock on us,” the weapons officer said from his board.

“Begin emergency evasive maneuvers,” Maddox said. “Mr. Maker, when you’re ready: jump as far as you can.”

“Aye, aye, sir,” Keith said, as his fingers began to fly over his helm controls. “Do you want me to continue in the direction we’ve been traveling?”

“Yes,” Maddox said.

-39-

As Keith continued to ready for a star-drive jump, Meta turned. “Captain, Director Anora is hailing Victory.”

“Put her on the main screen,” Maddox said, as he sat back in the captain’s chair.

Director Anora reappeared on the main screen. The tall security officer stood at the same position as before behind the director’s chair. “Captain, you’ll surely have noticed that my battlewagons have a target lock on your spaceship. Our laser emitters are energized and ready to begin beaming.”

“I have noticed,” Maddox said, calmly. “May I ask why you’re doing this?”

Behind Director Anora, the security officer snorted in derision.

“I have a duty to the Fusion,” Anora said. “I cannot allow capitalists and saboteurs to trick us by false promises.”

“Are you implying I’m either?” Maddox asked.

“There…are those among us who doubt you are holding a vote on your present actions.”

“But I’m about to hold the vote,” Maddox said, checking his wrist, “in three minutes.”

Anora’s tongue darted out to touch her lower lip. It seemed she wished to glance back at the security officer, but did not do so.

“I can set up the vote so you can record it for your political leaders,” Maddox said.

Anora turned to the side as if to listen to someone unseen. Behind her, the security officer scowled as she made a fist, shaking it.

“Sir,” Anora said, “my officers are detecting an increase in engine power to your spaceship. I caution you about attempting to try to escape. It will result in your certain destruction.”

“I don’t understand you,” Maddox said. “We’re powering up in order to close with your vessels in case the vote turns out as I suspect it will. As soon as we’re near enough to your flagship, my chief officers and I shall jetpack to the Josef Stalin.”

“You will do what?” Anora asked.

“I have anticipated the ship reps,” Maddox said. “I believe they will respect your authority, ship power and that you have staked out the nebula as your own. Thus, we will maneuver as close as possible to your flagship. Then, my officers and I shall use thruster-packs to fly to your airlock.”

“Lunacy,” the security officer said.

“Captain,” Anora said, as she frowned. “Are you suggesting that you don’t have shuttles or launch boats?”

“What are those?” Maddox asked.

“Smaller vessels—” Anora began to explain.

There was a shout over there. The security officer moved forward, bent low and whispered into Anora’s left ear.

The director looked up sharply. “Captain Maddox, there is a strange energy flux building up in your vessel. I think you’ve been stalling in order to give yourself time.”

“Not true,” Maddox said. “The flux, as you call it—”

“Now,” Keith said.

At that point, the star-drive jump engaged, and the double-oval vessel executed yet another jump, this one farther than the last as it leapt three point four light-years away from its location near the Fusion battlewagons.

***

As Victory’s crew came out of jump lag, both Galyan and Andros noticed the gases were less compact at this location.

“Sir,” Galyan said. “I am also detecting heavier radiation, which could indicate a nearby star.”

“I’m seeing that on my sensors as well,” Andros said. “But I’ve also found the Kit Carson.”

“Put it on the main screen,” Maddox said.

A few moments later, the sleek Patrol Scout Kit Carson appeared on the screen. A tap by Andros on his panel showed a small satellite in front of the scout’s nose cone.

“Is that the same type of satellite as we encountered before?” asked Maddox.

“It has the same mass and configuration,” Andros said, leaning toward a screen on his panel.

Maddox slammed the armrest on his command chair. He turned to Ludendorff, who was on the bridge. “What do you make of that?”

“More alien interference against Star Watch crews,” Ludendorff said.

Maddox swiveled his chair. “Meta, contact the Kit Carson. Tell them a few of us are coming over to them.”

“Sir,” Galyan said. “I feel that I should point out that the Fusion warships are likely approaching using their FTL nebula drive.”

“Good point, Galyan,” Maddox said. “Professor, you and Andros will go over to the Kit Carson. See what’s going on over there. Report back to me as soon as you can. I’ll get ready for the four Fusion battlewagons.”

“Can we successfully engage all four, sir?” Galyan asked.

“That’s the wrong question,” Maddox said. “Professor, why are you and Andros still here? Get a move on. Get to the Kit Carson at once. Meta—”

“I have the acting commander of the scout ship online,” Meta said.

“Good,” Maddox said.

Even as the captain spoke, Ludendorff and Andros hurried off the bridge.

-40-

Professor Ludendorff hurried down the narrow corridors of the Kit Carson, with tubby Andros Crank trotting behind him to keep up. The scout’s first mate led the way, a petite young woman with an intriguing sway to her shapely hips. She was pretty enough, but too worried to have responded yet to his blandishments.

Ludendorff thought of himself as a lady’s man extraordinaire. If he turned on the charm, he would have her eating out of his hand in no time. It must be lonely on such a Patrol assignment. The signs suggested that she was free from any entanglements with any of her fellow crewmates. That was good, as Ludendorff didn’t have time to pry her from some young fool who didn’t realize what he had in her.

A mature lover like him would give the first mate experiences to last a lifetime. It was true that he missed Dana Rich. But if there’d been a real connection between them, Dana would have felt that and come running back. Instead, she’d remained far away, not seeking to rekindle their unique love.

Ludendorff shook his head ruefully. On occasion, he’d debated seeking Dana, but she’d left him. She’d sneered at their love. She’d—

“Forget her,” Ludendorff muttered. He concentrated on the first mate’s walk, a smile sliding into place on his face. She was petite, pretty and would be putty in his expert hands. He still missed his two lovers from Omicron 9, the two Spacer spies that had worked for him in his underground laboratory. They’d been trained agents, but even so, he’d found them an interesting diversion. What he wanted now, though, was an honest love such as the little first mate would no doubt give him. Surely, the Kit Carson and Victory would travel together for a time. What would be the best way to start the liaison then? Ah, he had an idea.

“Excuse me,” Ludendorff called.

The first mate stopped and turned around.

Ludendorff liked the freckles sprinkled around her nose and her pouty lower lip. It would be perfect for kissing, for nibbling. That would likely surprise her indeed, how playful and passionate he could be at the same time.

“Sir,” she said. “It’s just a little further. You can rest when—”

“Rest?” Ludendorff asked, interrupting her. “Do you think I’m tired?” He slapped his chest. “I’m fitter than any man on this ship. Here,” he said, approaching closer. “Feel that.” He flexed his right biceps.

The first mate stepped back with confusion on her face.

“Now, now, you’ll be surprised,” Ludendorff said, stepping closer yet as he continued to flex his right arm.

Gingerly, the first mate reached out and pressed an index finger against the cloth around his flexed biceps. She looked up sharply into his eyes.

“Bigger and more solid than you expected, eh?” asked Ludendorff.

She nodded.

“I’m a Methuselah Man. I’ve lived several lifetimes and yet have maintained the vigor of youth. It’s surprising the things I can do.” He said that as he suggestively arched an eyebrow.

She frowned at him.

“I’m the whole package, my dear: brains, balls, muscles, experience—you’d be surprised the experiences one could achieve with me.”

“Did you just say balls?” Andros asked in amazement from behind.

The first mate giggled at that.

Instead of turning in anger toward Andros, Ludendorff realized this was a perfect opportunity. He had the girl laughing already. Yes. She was becoming more interested in him by the moment.

“I meant a willingness to do, to engage with zest,” Ludendorff said, staring at the first mate as he spoke.

She actually blushed.

This is going to work, Ludendorff realized. He moved to her, patting her on the shoulder. “Where’s your skipper? Before we have a drink later, I need to save her life.”

“A drink?” the first mate asked, sounding bemused.

Ludendorff winked at her. “It will be my treat. But come now, show me Commander Noonan. I’m here to save her life as quickly as possible. I don’t know if anyone has told you, but Fusion warships are on the way. Before I face them, I need to get your commander back on her feet.”

“Oh,” the first mate said. “This way, sir.”

“Call me professor, please.”

“Professor,” she said. “If you’ll follow me.”

***

Ludendorff stood beside the med cot where Valerie lay. The lieutenant commander had the same type of cerebrater that Maddox had once worn on and in his forehead. This was a confounded mess.

“That doesn’t look good,” Andros said.

“Hush,” Ludendorff said. “Don’t make them nervous.”

The “them” was the First Mate, Vicky Trenwithe, and the chief medical officer, a lean woman called Nurse Practitioner Laura Stansky.

“Nothing’s worked to revive her,” Nurse Stansky said.

“Of course not,” Ludendorff said. “The cerebrater has rendered the commander unconscious. Any attempt at its removal brought awful results.”

“A heart attack,” Stansky said.

“As should have been expected,” Ludendorff said.

“Can you really save her?” Vicky asked.

Ludendorff looked up with a suave smile. “For you, my dear, I shall attempt it.”

“How can you, Professor?” Andros asked.

“An excellent question,” Ludendorff said in an important tone. “Luckily, I have built a device for just such a situation as this.”

He opened a black bag and took out a small motherboard, one holding a hot wire that he’d welded with a sonic device. The motherboard had a tiny screen on it, some dials and odd feathery protrusions connected to a micro-generator.

He held this board over Valerie’s forehead and began to adjust the dials. The generator whirred into life. The device beeped, beeped again and then made a dull warning tone.

Valerie groaned, shifting in her sleep.

“What are you doing to her?” Nurse Stansky demanded.

“Hush,” Ludendorff said. “This is delicate work. I can’t do it if you shout and rail at me.”

“You’re killing her,” Stansky said, as Valerie moaned dreadfully, arching upward.

Ludendorff looked up. “The commander is as good as dead if she remains in this condition. My way, she has a chance at life.”

“Or she might come out of it naturally,” Stansky suggested.

“That is highly unlikely,” Ludendorff said. “The cerebrater—” He pointed at the device partly melded into her forehead. “How would that come out naturally?”

“I don’t know,” Stansky admitted. “No one knows.”

“Wrong,” Ludendorff said, “as I have an idea. Are you going let me try it?”

“And if it kills her?” Stansky asked.

Ludendorff studied the nurse practitioner, noting her stubborn cast and that she leaned forward on the balls of her feet as if ready to fight him. It might be better to persuade her than simply force her to concede to his superior credentials.

“I didn’t want to say this,” Ludendorff said urgently, “but the lieutenant commander will die soon anyway, as four Fusion battlewagons are on their way here. Once they arrive, the Kit Carson will have to use its star-drive jump if the rest of the crew is to survive.”

“Moving the scout like that will probably kill her,” Stansky said, “as it will break the connection with the satellite. That will cause the…”

“Cerebrater,” Ludendorff said.

Stansky nodded. “It will cause the cerebrater to detonate.”

“You’ve just made my point for me,” Ludendorff said.

Stansky shook her head. “I-I don’t know what to say. I can’t give you my permission, as your way won’t work either. Oh, this is dreadful.”

“Then I’m relieving you of the responsibility,” Ludendorff said gruffly. “I’m now doing this on my authority.” He turned back to Valerie, resuming operations with his specially made motherboard.

-41-

Several light-years away from the Kit Carson and Victory, Grutch the Morag moaned in agony as he soaked deep in the slimy mud of his special bath chamber.

He’d taken severe damage from the holoimage’s attack and was even now shifting the inner-burned fleshy mass to the outer surface and the mud there, using the cooling substance to soothe and heal the intense damage to his gelatinous elements.

If he hadn’t teleported away when he had, the diabolical assault might have slain him. The outrage of it all caused Grutch to seethe with thoughts of vengeance and retribution. He would capture the holoimage and discover means of causing it pain and more pain. He would also torment Captain Maddox, who must have commissioned the hideous assault upon him. He could tear several limbs from Maddox before handing him over for the tellurium bars. His sponsors might not approve, but that was too bad.

Grutch had his pride, his honor and dignity to consider. He was a superior being. Galyan and Maddox were lesser, inferior and of substandard worth. He increased their limited worth simply by interacting with them. Morags—

“I will destroy you, Galyan. I will find what you love most, Maddox, and take it from you. You will rue the day tampering with me like this.”

Grutch would have sobbed if that were the Morag way. Instead, he plotted vengeance and worked to cool his agony. Up until now, he’d been playing with these stupid beings. Now, he would move with cunning and great intelligence. He would insure his ultimate success in each part of the endeavor.

Thus, from deep in the mud, tentacles appeared and pulled levers, injecting the mud bath with healing particles and salts.

Grutch knew relief from the burns, and he accelerated the rotation of his gelatinous mass so more of his bulk could sustain the healing power of the curative ingredients and salts.

How dare Galyan enter his craft? It implied equality with him.

As the burns dissipated and as his incredibly restorative powers brought Grutch back to normal strength, he inflated himself, bobbing to the top of the mud bath. He drew himself onto the metal landing, depressing a switch so hot winds blew over him.

Mud slid off his mass, plopping back into the slime pool. And his gelatinous bulk took on a healthier pinkish-gray tone.

He rolled into his control chamber, tentacles appearing and eyestalks growing. With cautious trepidation, he used passive sensors to study his new surroundings.

Ah. This was interesting. He saw a small satellite drifting innocuously toward his stealth ship. It was the same sort of satellite that had arrived at Victory and tele-merged the cerebrater onto and into the captain’s forehead.

Grutch became curious. Did the satellite drift to him by chance, or was this a deliberate thing? If deliberate, the satellite must sense his stealth ship. That should have been impossible.

Grutch began to run tests on the drifting satellite. In seconds, he discovered it did not drift as such, but moved with a subtle and hard-to-detect drive. That meant its heading was deliberate. The satellite sensed his craft and—

I think it senses me.

The next few minutes proved stunning and revealing to Grutch.

The satellite drifted to the stealth ship, used barely detectable sensors to scan Grutch’s vessel and then applied a ray directly at him. Incredibly, a cerebrater teleported onto his gelatinous mass and attempted to render him unconscious and fill him with pre-recorded dreams.

For Grutch, this did not prove to be a problem. He shifted his mass, and used a tentacle to pluck the cerebrater from him.

Other tentacles, guided by the sight of different eyestalks, ran sensor evaluations on the cerebrater as the outside satellite powered it and—Grutch detected a pulse message beamed from the satellite to the cerebrater.

With consummate skill, Grutch analyzed the contents, direction and implications of the pulse message. He also sensed some of the dream memories from the cerebrater: this one of a battlewagon commander from New Trotsky.

Given the prerecorded memories, the satellite, the technology, the cunning, the teleportation power, Grutch began an analysis. What kind of creatures could do all this, and why would they bother? Grutch, along with all Morags, had a central tenet: all beings did a thing for a self-gratifying reason. What kind of alien life would seed the nebula with these satellites? What would the alien life form gain from doing this?

I will find out soon, and I will incorporate that into my greater purpose.

-42-

Captain Maddox strode along the corridors of Victory as he debated tactical ideas with himself.

They’d followed the radiation trail. A star system was nearby, possibly four or five more light-years from their present location. It would appear that the battlewagons headed along the radiation trail to the nearby star system. Could it be Remus?

Maddox shook his head. He didn’t know. The Fusion battlewagons had dropped out of their special FTL nebula drive to confront them earlier. It seemed reasonable to think they would do so again. This time, however, the battlewagons might come in hot, with their laser emitters ready to fire.

What about Grutch?

“No,” Maddox said. “Grutch is out of it for a time, I think.”

Maddox hoped he was correct about that. This was a strange nebula and they were far from home, far from any help. Four battlewagons with collapsium armor might defeat them, as the gases here were too thick for proper shield-usage.

Maddox pivoted. He knew what he needed to do. Leaving here would be best. But he couldn’t do that while the satellite in front of the Kit Carson kept it immobile or Valerie Noonan would die.

The tactical solution struck him as obvious. Implementing it would be the key now, getting everything ready before the Fusion battlewagons arrived.

***

Professor Ludendorff continued to work with a prone and unconscious Valerie Noonan.

Andros and the Kit Carson’s first mate had departed, leaving for Victory. From what Ludendorff knew, everyone from the scout had left except for Nurse Practitioner Stansky.

“I cannot leave my patient,” Stansky had said. She now sat in a corner, watching the proceedings with a wary eye.

Ludendorff used the sleeve of his left arm to wipe perspiration from his forehead. This was proving trickier than he’d expected. The cerebrater was a dammed vile instrument, ready to scramble Noonan’s brains. How had Maddox ever gotten this thing off himself anyway?

Don’t worry about that, Ludendorff told himself. Save the woman.

He adjusted the dials, lessening the power and trying this from a different angle, as it were. He eased the cerebrater’s memory filter, blocking its emitters, stopping it from sending any more signals into Valerie’s mind. Ah, good, that was working. Now, if he could reroute the power signatures—yes!

Ludendorff wiped his forehead again and licked his lips, tasting salt. It was too bad the pretty first mate wasn’t here to see his excellence. Saving lives usually made the girls hot for the lifesaver.

Ludendorff grinned.

“Is it working?” Stansky asked.

“Eh?” asked Ludendorff.

“You’re grinning. That means it must be working, right?”

“Leave me alone, will you? I’m concentrating.”

Stansky gave him a worried glance, but she shut the heck up.

Ludendorff blew sweat off his lips, scowled thunderously and attempted a new idea. He merged the power and angle of the—

On the med-cot, Valerie began to twitch, and the cerebrater started making loud ticking noises.

“Damnit,” Ludendorff shouted. “Get out of here. The thing is going to explode.”

“Get it off her,” Stansky shouted, as she stood.

“It’s not that easy. Her flesh—her flesh!” roared Ludendorff with sudden understanding. “Why didn’t I see it sooner? Do you have any plasti-flesh available?”

“In the other room,” Stansky said.

“Hurry,” Ludendorff snapped. “Get it.”

Stansky raced out of the room.

Ludendorff leaned low to a moaning and unconscious Valerie. “This might hurt, my dear. But it could also save your life. Wish me luck.”

Stansky raced back into the room with a tubular instrument.

“Is it charged?” Ludendorff shouted.

“Fully charged,” Stansky shouted.

“Do exactly as I tell you.”

Stansky nodded emphatically as she came around the med cot on the other side.

Ludendorff explained low under his breath as he continued to adjust his special board. The cerebrater ticked louder.

“Apply,” Ludendorff said. He aimed the board at Valerie’s head and reached out with his right hand, grasping the cerebrater. He began to pull, drawing the thing from the patient’s forehead.

At the same time, Nurse Practitioner Stansky put the end of the tubular instrument against Valerie’s forehead. She pressed a button, and plasti-flesh oozed from the device’s nozzle, filling the vacated forehead space of the lifting cerebrater.

It was a crude job, and it might well leave a permanent scar on Valerie’s forehead. They needed a skilled surgeon for this, but they didn’t have one.

Ludendorff pulled harder, using his left hand to turn a dial on the board. He saw a wire slip out of the lieutenant commander’s brain and into the cerebrater. Whoever had made this instrument was a bastard of the first order.

More plasti-flesh oozed into the growing cavity on the forehead.

“Fiendish, the cerebrater is a fiendish device,” Ludendorff snarled. He could feel the cerebrater ticking. It might detonate at any second and take his precious right hand with it. He hated this, hated it with all this heart.

“Now!” Ludendorff roared. He pulled the cerebrater free of the forehead and hurled it underhanded.

It detonated against a bulkhead.

Ludendorff threw himself in front of a prone Valerie, shielding her, and he grunted as a piece of metallic shrapnel stabbed into his back. He crumpled onto his knees.

Stansky used the rest of the plasti-flesh in the tubular instrument, applying it to Valerie’s forehead.

At the same moment, a klaxon began to ring throughout the Kit Carson.

“Professor,” Galyan said, appearing in the room. “You must hurry. Keith has come in the fold-fighter to pick you up.”

“I’m hit, you fool,” Ludendorff said.

Galyan drifted around. “Yes. I see. Can you stand?”

“I’m probably permanently crippled,” Ludendorff complained.

“What’s happening?” a dazed Valerie asked from on the cot.

“Get her to the fold-fighter,” Galyan told Stansky. “I’ll deal with the professor.”

Stansky glanced at the kneeling Ludendorff. Then, she helped Valerie off the cot and to her feet. Together, the two women staggered out of the chamber and down the corridor.

“Professor,” Galyan said. “You must stand on your own strength. The Fusion battlewagons have dropped out of nebula-drive FTL. They are targeting the Kit Carson.”

“No good deed goes unpunished,” Ludendorff muttered.

“Wrong, Professor. Get angry and follow me. You can do it.”

Ludendorff groaned in pain as he attempted to stand. It wasn’t working. So, he grabbed hold of the medical cot and by main strength hauled himself to his feet, panting from the exertion.

“Excellent work, sir,” Galyan said. “I believe you can walk. You must hurry to the airlock and join Keith before the Fusion lasers destroy the Kit Carson.”

“What a horrible way to end my valiant and superbly meaningful life,” Ludendorff complained.

“Captain Maddox could do this if he were injured as you are,” Galyan said.

Ludendorff glared at the watching holoimage. “The hell you say that to me. Do you think that will goad me into action?”

“No, Professor,” Galyan said. “You will give up, as Captain Maddox is three times the man you are.”

“Fool AI,” Ludendorff groaned, reaching behind and touching his wounded back. He groaned again, gritting his teeth at the pain. “I’m five times the man of that genetic freak of a captain. If it’s physical valor you want, watch this. But don’t expect me to save you next time I’m in your control chamber.”

Ludendorff stood awkwardly, with one arm behind his back. Then, he lurched across the room, groaning as blood ran down his back and soaked his trousers.

“Follow me, Professor.”

And in that way, Galyan led a stumbling, lurching Ludendorff through the empty corridors of the Kit Carson as the klaxon continued to blare its warning of coming destruction.

-43-

Victory was far behind the Kit Carson in relation to the four Fusion battlewagons, which meant it was fractionally closer to the nearby although still hidden star system. Beyond the Patrol scout by sixty thousand and one hundred and forty thousand kilometers respectively were two antimatter missiles.

The four diamond-shaped battlewagons spread out with ten thousand kilometers between each collapsium-armored warship as they headed for the Patrol scout one hundred and seventy thousand kilometers away.

On Victory, Captain Maddox stood before the main screen. Meta had repeatedly attempted to hail the Fusion ships. Now, they were responding.

On the main screen, Director Anora sat in her command chair, with the same security officer of earlier standing behind her.

“Stand down immediately, Captain,” Director Anora said sternly. “Otherwise, I will destroy your vessels. I see the scout ship, you must realize. It is a scout ship, is it not?”

Maddox turned to Meta. “Is the professor off the Kit Carson yet?”

“I haven’t heard anything from Galyan,” Meta said.

Maddox inhaled as he faced Director Anora. “You’re badly mistaken if you think your little tin cans can face Starship Victory. I have attempted to forestall an interstellar incident by running from you, as I didn’t want to destroy all four of your ships.”

“Vanity will not help you now, sir,” Anora said. “Since I have deemed that you are not going to stand down—”

Maddox made a chopping motion with his left hand as he glanced at the weapons officer.

“What does that mean?” Director Anora said.

Victory’s weapons officer was a muscled man with a crew cut, Lieutenant Leo Barnes. He pressed a switch, sending a signal to the farthest antimatter missile, presently encased in black ice the better to camouflage it from the Fusion sensors.

The signal reached the shape-charged antimatter warhead, which detonated, sending the mass of its radiation and energy at the leftmost battlewagon, which was not the Josef Stalin.

The warhead exploded farther than it should have from its target. Even so, the blast of heavy radiation and heat reached out, smashing against the collapsium armor, burning partway through even as the gamma radiation went deeper into the vessel.

On the bridge of Victory, the main screen image of Director Anora became a blizzard, her voice and image disappearing.

Maddox sat hard in his captain’s chair. “Is the professor off the Kit Carson yet?”

“I have no idea,” Meta said.

Maddox gritted his teeth. He didn’t want to lose the professor. He didn’t want to lose the Kit Carson if he didn’t have to, but people were more important than mere ships.

The blizzard image of Director Anora returned to normal. She was staring at him.

“That was unconscionable,” Anora shouted. “You attacked while we spoke about ways to resolve the issue.”

“I don’t know what you mean,” Maddox said blandly.

Anora stared at him. “Do you deny attacking us?”

“I suggest you immediately cease any forward movement,” Maddox said.

“Sir,” Lieutenant Barns said. “Three of the battlewagons are launching missiles.”

“Director Anora,” Maddox said. “We are attempting to achieve a concord, and your ships have launched missiles. That is underhanded and devious.”

“Have a care how you speak to me,” Anora said. “I am the representative of the Fusion of Planets. You will give me due respect or face dire consequences.”

“Face you as a backstabber, you mean?” asked Maddox.

“We seriously outnumber you in ships and outweigh you in mass. I call upon your immediate surrender. If you do not—”

“Sir,” Barnes said, interrupting. “The enemy missiles are accelerating hard, half of them for the Kit Carson and half for Victory.”

Galyan appeared on the bridge. “The enemy’s laser emitters have target lock on the Kit Carson, sir.”

“Galyan,” Maddox said. “Is everyone off the Kit Carson?”

“They are, sir,” Galyan said.

“Get ready to employ the neutron cannon,” Maddox told Barnes. “Use it as point defense against the missiles.”

“Sir,” Barnes said. “We have the—”

“Belay that, mister,” Maddox said, swiveling around to stare at Lieutenant Barnes. “Do as I ordered.”

“Yes, sir,” Barnes said, blushing.

Maddox faced forward again.

“I take it you are not surrendering,” Director Anora said from the main screen.

“Don’t force me to engage the Fusion,” Maddox said. “You’ll lose if that happens.”

“You’ve already attacked us,” Anora said.

“This is on your head if you don’t detonate your missiles,” Maddox said.

Anora sneered. “You have no idea what you’re asking.”

“Sir,” Galyan said. “I understand her meaning. The Fusion missiles appear readying to detonate. They are beam missiles, displaying aiming spikes.”

“Mr. Barnes,” Maddox said, “if you please, begin firing at once.”

A purple neutron beam reached out from Victory and stabbed at the lead missile headed for the starship. The missile exploded from the ray as the neutron beam retargeted and burned the next missile in line.

The Fusion missiles headed for the Kit Carson also detonated, but in a different fashion. Each had projected rods seconds before detonation as Galyan had described. The nuclear explosions caused gamma and x-rays to travel up the rods and concentrate to beam at the Kit Carson, several of the beams striking the scout, smashing through its paltry hull armor. The slender vessel erupted with greater explosions, hull plating flying off and interior areas consumed by the explosions.

The Kit Carson vanished, with particles and residue the only remains of the former Patrol vessel.

“You forced that to happen,” Director Anora said sternly. “Are you ready to surrender yet?”

“Sir,” Galyan said. “The laser emitters are almost ready to fire. I do not think Victory’s hull will withstand them for long.”

“Are you ready, helm?” asked Maddox.

“Give the word, sir,” the pilot said.

“I’ll ask only once more,” Director Anora said. “Are you ready to surrender?”

“What if I say yes?” asked Maddox.

Anora smiled nastily. “Then you must immediately power down.”

“Sir,” Lieutenant Barnes said. “They are in range.’

Maddox nodded. “Proceed, Mr. Barnes.”

The muscled weapons officer depressed a switch. A signal went out, reaching the other black-ice hidden antimatter warhead. It detonated, sending a fury of radiation and energy at the same battlewagon as before.

“Sir,” Galyan said. “Should I activate the disrupter cannon?”

“Negative,” Maddox said.

As before, the main screen turned into a blizzard of sight and sound, Director Anora no longer visible upon it.

Out in space, the stricken battlewagon took more heavy damage, this time a section of hull armor blowing inward. Water, air, people and other objects spewed out into the dense gases of the nebula. The entire craft shuddered, shuddered again—

There was an explosion, but not from blown bulkheads or engines. Instead, this one seemed pre-planned, as the diamond-shaped battlewagon separated into four equal pieces, three of them seemingly whole. The last one crumpled under the previous damage and the new shocks from the separation explosions.

“The disrupter beam could knock out those sections,” Galyan said.

Maddox scowled. “Keep silent unless I ask for your opinion, Galyan. That is an order.”

The holoimage stared at the captain and nodded.

“The three undamaged battlewagons are still advancing, sir,” Lieutenant Barnes said. “In fact, they’re accelerating. I suspect they will begin to beam in less than thirty seconds.”

“Take us out of here, Pilot,” Maddox said. “Jump in the direction of the nearby star system.”

As the blizzard of noise and sight cleared away on the main screen, Victory entered its star-drive jump, leaving the area of battle and the Fusion battlewagons behind.

-44-

Victory did not jump in a single bound to the supposed star system, but three-quarters of the way there.

As soon as the others started to come out of jump lag, Maddox headed for sickbay to speak to Valerie Noonan.

He found her pacing as the specialists studied her reactions. Maddox went to her, stopping her and touching her right shoulder. “Welcome aboard, Commander. Glad to see you’re in once piece.”

“Thanks,” she muttered.

Maddox smiled.

Valerie looked away, and a second later, she resumed pacing as she hugged herself.

Maddox noticed that Ludendorff sat in a chair to the side, sipping what smelled like hot chicken-noodle soup.

“You okay, Professor?”

“Did Galyan tell you what happened?”

“Tell me what?”

Ludendorff grunted as he climbed to his feet, turning around and lifting his shirt to show white bandages pressed against his lower back.

“How did that happen?” asked Maddox.

Ludendorff began a long-winded story about helping Noonan—

“The short version,” Maddox said, interrupting.

Ludendorff scowled. “I nearly died saving her. Pulled that damned cerebrater from her forehead, and then it exploded. Pieces of bulkhead lodged in my back. I was damned lucky none of the splinters tore into my spine.”

Maddox glanced at Valerie. She’d stopped pacing and turned to face them as Ludendorff spoke. Maddox now noticed her bumpy and misshapen forehead. Her hair had been in the way before.

Valerie noticed that he noticed, for she pointed at her forehead. “Ludendorff and Nurse Stansky filled it with plasti-flesh. I’m waiting for the surgeons to put in something permanent.”

Maddox raised his eyebrows before turning to Ludendorff. “Good work, Professor. That was quick thinking.”

“Oh, do you really think so?” Ludendorff asked sarcastically. I—”

“Doctor,” Maddox asked the chief medical officer, interrupting the beginning of what might have become a Ludendorff rant. “May I talk to the commander alone in the other room?”

“For a few minutes, anyway,” the medical officer said.

“Professor, can you come with us?” Maddox asked.

“Oh, may I?” Ludendorff asked with the same sarcastic tone.

Maddox ignored it as he beckoned to Valerie.

They went into a nearby waiting room. Maddox indicated a chair. Valerie sat, brushing her hair so it hid her forehead. Maddox indicated a different chair.

“I prefer standing,” Ludendorff said. “Sitting hurts my wounds.”

Maddox nodded, although he regarded Valerie. “I’m glad to see you alive, Commander. Glad the cerebrater didn’t kill you.”

“Likewise,” Valerie muttered.

“One of them was in my forehead as well.”

“I didn’t know that,” Valerie said, who glanced at his forehead. She frowned, perhaps noting that his forehead looked the same as ever.

“My cerebrater gave me dream memories,” Maddox added. “Ones I perfectly remember.”

Valerie’s eyebrows arched. “Mine did too. I was Diana Varus of House Varus, a clone in a clone-hating society. I worked closely with Titus Flavius Arrius of House Tarentum. In the end, he became the dictator of Remus, struggling to retain the planet’s freedom.”

“Do you know from whom?” Maddox asked.

“Of course,” Valerie said. “The Fusion sent a war fleet to Remus. Arrius fought hard and cunningly. It wasn’t enough against superior Fusion technology and numbers. The Fusion has swept the skies of spacecraft and now launches asteroids at the main planet, wearing down Remus’s surface defenses of rockets and laser silos. I…”

Valerie fell silent, frowning.

Ludendorff must have noticed her discomfort. “You’re agitated, but not from the space war, it seems.”

“Drop it,” Valerie said, as she used her fingers to comb some of her long brunette hair over her forehead.

“What about the dream disturbed you the most?” Ludendorff asked her.

“What did I just tell you?” Valerie said, who looked at the floor instead of looking at him.

“I saved your life, Valerie.”

“It’s Lieutenant Commander to you, old man.”

“Fine,” Ludendorff said. “Have it your way. I saved your life and now bear a wound for my efforts. If you want to keep your precious secrets—”

“Professor,” she warned, interrupting him.

“Do as she says,” Maddox told Ludendorff. “Drop it.”

Ludendorff stared at Maddox, finally scowling. “Who in the hell do you think you are to tell me to drop something? I’m hitching a ride on your ship at your request. I can leave at any moment.”

“Professor,” Maddox said, “you’re wounded, you did well, but have the decency to realize that other people—”

“Don’t bother,” Valerie told Maddox, interrupting as she looked up. “He’s too full of himself to care about anyone else but him.”

Ludendorff glanced from Valerie to Maddox. “I don’t have to stand here and take these insults.”

“Then leave,” Valerie said.

“I will.” Ludendorff headed for the hatch, pausing there, perhaps waiting for one of them to ask him to stay. When neither did, Ludendorff muttered under his breath as he practically raced out, the hatch automatically shutting behind him.

“He’s such a pain in the ass,” Valerie said.

Maddox waited.

“I know. He saved my life. He just gets under my skin.”

“You’ve changed,” Maddox said.

Valerie touched her bumpy forehead.

“I don’t mean that,” Maddox said. “A little plastic surgery will take care of it.”

“Do you really think so?”

“Yes,” he said.

“I hope you’re right,” Valerie said, no longer looking up.

“As I was saying,” Maddox continued. “You’ve changed. You’re more confident and assertive than you used to be. That must be from commanding the Kit Carson and from winning the battle at Omicron 9.”

Valerie frowned at the floor. “Did I hear right that the Fusion people destroyed my scout?”

“They did.”

“Are we in a mess like it usually is when you show up?”

“Depends on what you mean by mess,” Maddox said.

Valerie looked up at him, searching his eyes. “You’ve changed, too. You seem more compassionate than you used to be.”

Maddox shrugged. He didn’t care for such talk.

“I think fatherhood suits you.”

Maddox did not squirm because he held himself in check. The lieutenant commander was coming perilously near to crossing a line.

Valerie might have sensed that. “When you wore a cerebrater, what kind of dreams did you have?”

“I was Garth, a fighting monk.”

“On Remus?” asked Valerie.

“On Remus,” said Maddox. “I didn’t wear the cerebrater to the end, though. I…removed mine before the dreams ended.”

“How did you remove it?” asked Valerie, as she glanced again at his smooth forehead.

“I’m not sure.”

Valerie shook her head. “You probably did it the Maddox way, through some lucky factor. Did you learn anything interesting as Garth?”

Maddox almost said no, but the question sparked something in his mind. His head twitched, as it literally felt as if a shock went through his…memories, it would seem. He blinked several times and rubbed his eyes.

“Are you all right?” Valerie asked.

Maddox looked up. “I’m…I’m fine.”

“What just happened?”

Maddox shook his head. He didn’t know.

“I asked you about Garth,” Valerie said. “Did you learn anything interesting from his memories?”

Maddox blinked rapidly, although no spark or shock buzzed him this time. It did seem there was something interesting about Garth that he’d missed before. He couldn’t remember what it was at the moment. Would he ever?

“You’re quiet all of a sudden,” Valerie said.

“Sorry,” he said.

Valerie raised her eyebrows. “Captain Maddox apologizing to me? Now, I’ve heard everything. Are you sure you’re all right?”

“Never mind that,” Maddox said, with a wave of his left hand. “I learned nothing interesting about the Fusion from Garth’s memories. What about you with yours?”

“Oh, I know a lot about the Fusion. I went to New Trotsky and saw the ruling Chairman. I—Captain, these are Earth colonists from long ago. If we’re strategizing here, it would probably be a good idea to bring the professor back in and get his thoughts on all this.”

Maddox forced himself to forget about Garth and the shock in his mind. Long-time Earth colonists, Ludendorff—

“A conference meeting might be a good idea,” he said. “You probably don’t know it, but there’s more going on here than just Remus and the Fusion. A Morag has been trailing us, attempting to kidnap me.”

“A what?” asked Valerie.

Maddox stood. “We’re in it deep out here. We need to decide on a course of action. The Morag, the Fusion, the aliens who made the cerebraters—it’s time to pool our thoughts, take some recommendations and decide on what to do next.”

“If you say so.”

Maddox waited for Valerie to add sir, but she didn’t. As the lieutenant commander was no longer technically a part of his crew, he let it go. Now was the time to do some hard thinking.

-45-

After leaving Valerie, Maddox debated going to the gym and doing some deadlifts or wrapping his hands and punching the heavy bag. He often did his best thinking like that.

Instead, this time, he poured some coffee and cream into a thermal mug and went to an observation bay. He sat in a comfortable chair, staring at the dark compacted gases outside the starship. He would have liked to see some stars or maybe even colorful nebula. This gaseous cloud was too dense and without a nearby light source for that. It made the place horrific if he thought about it long enough.

It was partly like the Biblical Hell, the one that was supposed to be permanently dark where:

“Their worm does not die,

And the fire is not quenched.”

The worm in this case was the human soul and body. Maddox knew that because he’d read the part where Jesus said, “Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.”

Maddox shuddered. Maybe staring at the darkness of the Glenna Nebula was a bad idea. It was too dour, too daunting. At least it wasn’t the outer darkness of Hell, though.

How can it be fiery hot and dark in Hell at the same time? Maddox shrugged. He supposed that would be an easy thing to achieve for God.

Maddox sipped coffee. He squeezed his eyes shut, decided to change the topic in his mind and opened his eyes as he leaned back against the cushions of the chair. He sipped more coffee as he stared into the darkness of the nebula.

This time, it was just the nebula, just the compacted gases that blocked starlight from reaching Victory and himself in an observation bubble.

Valerie’s question earlier had sparked something in him, in the memories he’d relived as Garth the Monk. Why had that happened?

He sipped more coffee.

That was the wrong question, he decided. What had Valerie asked him? Did you learn anything interesting from his memories? Yes. That had been it. What had he learned?

Maddox relaxed as he sat in the chair. He sipped more coffee—tried to, anyway, as the thermal mug was empty. Instead, he laced his fingers over his chest and closed his eyes again.

He’d been Garth, starting out as a frightened lad on Remus. Maddox went through the story of Garth’s life as he’d remembered it.

Two things stuck out. One had been the golden medallion worn by the old monk that had saved him from a beating, dying in the process. Frightened boy-Garth had purloined the medallion, taking it for his own. Two was the book of Doctor Van Nath, outlining the method to achieving his superlative martial arts skills.

Okay, why were they the two things of import? Why did they stick out? The golden medallion had been a double weight gold coin. It had been—

With his eyes closed, Maddox frowned. Had it been a golden medallion, a double-weight denarius? Or had it really been something else? Perhaps instead of Garth’s terror as a child giving him the ingredient to greatness, the golden medallion—that had in fact been something else—had given Garth the ability to fight as he had. Maybe the medallion, whatever it represented, combined with Doctor Van Nath’s book, were the true prizes in Garth’s life. Maybe those prizes had been so grand that the dream memories had disguised them.

Maddox’s eyes snapped open. He realized that despite the coffee, he’d been dozing, maybe even dreaming again.

What kind of aliens made a satellite that tracked down people and then provided precise dreams through a cerebrater? How had the aliens learned about Garth’s memories, his life story? They would have needed to capture Garth and drain the memories from the monk’s mind, wouldn’t they?

Maddox scowled. He didn’t like that. In fact, it felt like a personal insult. Did the satellites have a variety of dreams or memories and decide which ones to tell depending on who wore the cerebrater?

Maddox scowled more. This was getting trickier and weirder by the moment. There was something very odd and wonderful about the golden medallion and the book of Doctor Van Nath. He was certain both medallion and book were still on Remus.

Maddox squinted into the darkness of the nebula. He needed to find the medallion and book.

Whoa, whoa, whoa. Is this desire manipulating me into a wrong action?

Maddox examined the idea from several angles. He wanted both items. But he didn’t feel that it was an alien compulsion driving him to do this. Instead, he felt as if the aliens had missed that about Garth’s life or read it wrong. This was the Balron-given new intuitive sense granting him greater understanding. How had the aliens wrenched these life memories from Garth? It was important to know that.

Maddox lurched to his feet. He was certain he knew something else. The aliens had captured Garth, drained his memories and misunderstood the importance of the medallion and book. That misunderstanding was Garth’s doing.

How the monk had managed that, Maddox had no idea. How he knew these things—

No. I don’t know them. I feel them through my intuition. There’s something very important about the Remus System, two things, one in favor of the hidden aliens and one decidedly against them.

For some reason, it was dreadfully important for Maddox to reach Remus and find the medallion and book of Doctor Van Nath. He needed to find the two items no matter what stood in the way.

What would stand in the way, though?

Maddox snorted, realizing he was most definitely going to find out.

-46-

The meeting convened soon after Maddox returned the thermal mug to the cafeteria. It took place in a conference chamber, with everyone seated at a large table. Maddox, as usual, sat at the head. On his right sat Meta, then Valerie and Riker, with Galyan on the other end. On Galyan’s right were Ludendorff, then Andros Crank and Keith Maker, sitting across from the other three.

Maddox began the briefing by having Galyan show them Grutch in holoimage and explain what they knew about the Morag. Afterward, the captain had Valerie explain what she’d learned from the memories of Diana Varus.

“Just a moment here,” Ludendorff interrupted, after Valerie had spoken for a time. “I’ve been considering something, and it strikes to the heart of our combined situation.”

“By all means,” Maddox said, “tell us.”

“How do we know Valerie’s memories and your memories as Garth, for that matter, are real or correct?”

“What would be the point of replaying such elaborate but fake memories?” Galyan asked.

“Exactly,” Ludendorff said. “If the memories are false, we have to ask why bother? It means we need to know more, or something, at least, about the people or aliens who built the memory-stick satellites and launched them into the nebula.”

“A good point,” Maddox said.

Ludendorff nodded stiffly. “If the memories are false, they’re nearly useless. That means we’re heading for a star system under false pretenses. We think we’re going to a place besieged by Fusion people and technology, who are trying to conquer Old Earth colonists. Instead, we may be heading to an alien system with beings far advanced compared to us, and with highly ulterior motives against us.”

“The Fusion battlewagons were real enough,” Meta said. “We know therefore the Fusion is real, which would seem to substantiate the rest.”

“That’s one way to look at it,” Ludendorff conceded. “The other is that the most effective lie is one with a basis in truth.”

“What do you suppose is really transpiring, Professor?” Galyan asked.

“I have no idea,” Ludendorff said. “But even if we give this a fifty-fifty possibility, half the time we’re going to face horrible new aliens with highly advanced technology. I for one don’t care for those kinds of odds.”

“Even if the memories were real,” Maddox said. “We still have to ask a few extra questions. How did these people or aliens acquire the memories in the first place?”

“Oh, dear,” Galyan said. “Do you think they captured these people and ripped the memories from their minds?”

“That is one possibility,” Maddox said. “I would even say it’s the most likely answer.”

“Then, we are in possible horrible danger as the professor suggests,” Galyan said.

“I take that as a given,” Ludendorff said.

Maddox sat back as he rubbed his chin. Should he tell the others about his new analysis regarding Garth, the medallion and book? He was disinclined to do so, and he wasn’t sure why that was. He did know this: he was going to go with his gut feeling on this.

“While the professor has a point,” Maddox said, “I find myself troubled by the plight of those on Remus.”

“I agree with that,” Valerie said.

Maddox nodded at Valerie. “I would add that I find the Fusion people dour and unfriendly. In truth, I don’t like them.”

“Neither do I,” Meta said.

Ludendorff raised a hand to speak.

Maddox beat him to the punch. “But the professor brings up a key point. Maybe others are trying to mold our opinion about Remus and those of New Trotsky. These aliens or others have gone to great lengths to seed the nebula with memory-stick satellites. I would like to know why before we proceed to Remus.”

“Do we know that the next star system is in fact Remus?” Keith asked.

“I do,” Valerie said.

“How do you know?” Keith asked.

“As Diana Varus I flew home to Remus. This is the correct route.”

“I have another troubling thought,” Galyan said. “But I hesitate to broach it.”

“Go ahead,” Maddox said. “That’s one reason we’re having this meeting.”

“How do we know that you, sir, and Valerie, have not been programmed in some manner by these memory-stick aliens?”

“Oh boy,” Riker said. “That’s a fine mess of a thought, Galyan.”

“Do we not need to address the question?” Galyan asked.

“Maybe,” Riker said, “but you’ve just sown a heap of mistrust among us.”

“I am sorry, Riker,” Galyan said. “I am merely doing my job.”

“It’s a valid question,” Maddox said. “I should have thought of it myself. Commander Noonan, do you feel any alien thoughts or ideas attempting to mold you?”

“No,” Valerie said.

“I don’t either,” Maddox said.

“That doesn’t mean it isn’t happening,” Ludendorff said.

“We should turn around,” Meta said, as she stared at her husband. “We should leave the nebula and return to Earth. We can’t risk Victory to these unknowns.”

Maddox studied his wife. He could see the worry there. It wasn’t for Victory, either, but for him. Did she sense that he knew more than he was saying? Probably.

“We should help those of Remus,” Valerie said with heat. “The Fusion has a brutal system of government. No one should have to live like they do.”

“You’re just saying that because you feel this Diana Varus’s emotions,” Ludendorff said.

“They’re valid emotions just the same,” Valerie said.

“For Remus,” Ludendorff said. “Are they valid emotions for a Patrol officer?”

Valerie bit her lower lip, looking down at the table.

Meta had been watching Maddox all this time. She now said, “Grutch is still out there. Maybe this time there are too many unknowns. We’ve found Valerie and her crew. We’ve rescued them. It’s time we went home and reported what we’ve learned.”

“I am disinclined to go just yet,” Galyan said, “as I am still hoping to find some evidence of a living Adok society.”

“Do you think Adoks could have developed and launched the memory-stick satellites?” Maddox asked.

“I do not think so,” Galyan said.

“Ah, that’s an interesting thought,” Ludendorff said to Maddox. “As a case in point for a possibility, I use as evidence Galyan’s deified personality. That is an old memory program, in a sense.”

“I suppose one could think that,” Galyan said. “I still do not think these unknown aliens are Adoks.”

“That was an unnecessarily cruel point, Professor,” Valerie said. “Galyan has shown us many times over that he is his own person.”

“I’m not saying that,” Ludendorff said. “I’m saying that—”

“Hold that thought,” Maddox said, interrupting, and as he raised his right hand. “Galyan, these satellites and cerebraters: would Adoks fashion them that way? I want a professional analysis.”

Galyan’s eyelids fluttered for a time. Finally, he said. “Sir, with ninety-eight percent certainty, I say that Adoks did not make those devices. Instead, I think a devious and manipulative species produced the satellites and memory sticks.”

“For what reason?” asked Maddox, perhaps sharper than he normally would have.

“I do not yet possess sufficient data to give a reasonable conclusion,” Galyan said.

Maddox rubbed his jaw again.

Ludendorff turned to Valerie. “How many battlewagons besiege Remus?”

“I have no idea,” Valerie said.

“How do they launch the asteroids at Remus?” Ludendorff asked.

“Battlewagons tow and release them,” Valerie said.

“What are you getting at, Professor?” Maddox asked.

“Just trying to assess our chances if we go to the Remus System, if it is the system we’re actually approaching,” Ludendorff said.

“I don’t doubt that we may be facing a large Fusion fleet,” Valerie said. “But we’ll have several advantages over them. We have the star-drive jump. They have the nebula FTL drive. That drive does not operate near large gravity wells, such as planets or stars.”

“Oh?” asked Maddox.

Valerie described what she’d learned as Diana Varus in the Remus AirSpace Service concerning the limitations of the nebula FTL drive in a star system.

“That does give us much greater mobility than they have,” Maddox said, “especially in the star system.”

“And it means the Fusion people will likely strive all the harder to capture Victory,” Ludendorff said. “They’ll want our star-drive jump.”

“That could work to our advantage,” Maddox said. “If they’re trying to capture the starship for its technology, they won’t be trying to destroy it.”

“I see,” Ludendorff said. “Then, you’re for heading to the star system?”

Maddox looked around the table. “Who else is opposed to doing that?”

Andros, Ludendorff, Riker and Meta were opposed, showing by raising their hands. Valerie, Keith and Galyan were for going on.

“Well,” Maddox said. “We know this could all be a trick, but I’m for at least taking a look around. We’re out here, and if aliens are using humans—I’m sick of anyone using us humans.”

“So, we’re definitely going?” Ludendorff asked.

“Yes,” Maddox said. “We’re going onward to Remus, if it’s there.”

-47-

Victory appeared from its latest star-drive jump near a ringed gas giant in the Remus System.

“How do we know it’s the Remus System?” Ludendorff asked. He and the others were on the bridge. They’d all recovered from jump lag.

“Easily,” Valerie said. She’d taken over for Meta at communications. Swiveling around on her seat, Valerie pointed at the main screen. “That’s the Jovian planet Vulcan. If you like, I can find debris from a battle that took place…” She frowned. “I don’t know how many years have passed since then. Five at the least, I’m thinking. Then Consul Arrius fought a brilliant battle, but we were overmatched technologically. One of the Fusion battlewagons got away.”

“You ambushed a Fusion flotilla?” Maddox asked from the captain’s chair.

“It was a brilliant maneuver that began years earlier,” Valerie said. “I was there…no, I just remember being there. That never happened to me, did it?”

“No.”

“Captain,” Ludendorff said. “If you can’t see it, I feel I must point it out to you. The Lieutenant Commander is presently unfit for duty. She has dual memories. That isn’t odd, as she was freed from the cerebrater only a short time ago. I believe she needs more time to adjust, as you seem to have done.”

Valerie had taken to wearing a snug military hat to cover her forehead. She glanced at the Methuselah Man. “He may have a point, sir. I feel…disoriented.”

“I recognized the problem,” Maddox said. “However, I want you on the bridge, so you might as well maintain the communications post. You know more about Remus and likely Fusion space forces than anyone else does. I want you here to advise me.”

“If you wish, sir,” Valerie said.

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Ludendorff muttered.

“Do I need to summon the Marines?” Maddox asked Ludendorff.

“No one is questioning your orders,” Ludendorff said sullenly. “Why must you be so—?”

Maddox swiveled around to stare at the professor.

“Never mind,” Ludendorff finished lamely. “You’re the captain. You’re in charge. Does that satisfy you?”

For an answer, Maddox swiveled back to face the main screen. “Galyan, keep watch for Grutch’s stealth ship. Tell me the instant you spot it.”

“Yes, sir,” Galyan said.

“Mr. Barnes, inform me when you detect Anora’s Fusion flotilla arriving in-system.”

The muscled weapons officer acknowledged the order.

“I should point out, sir,” Valerie said, “that the flotilla will drop out of its nebula FTL drive a considerable distance from us: several days away, in fact.”

Maddox nodded.

“Andros, Galyan and Mr. Barnes, I want maximum scanning,” Maddox said. “Discover the star system’s present status. Pinpoint every armored satellite and warship. We need to assess military capabilities here before we speak with the commanding Fusion officer.”

***

It took time for the data to fill in the system-wide picture. For one thing, Keith went out in the fold-fighter, taking sensor scans from much closer to Remus near the G-class star. Otherwise, Victory was too far from Remus to “see” all the spaceships.

There was an asteroid field in a Mars-like orbital range from the star. Fusion tugs towed a few of the smallest asteroids, building up velocity as they headed for Remus.

Three kilometer-sized asteroids floated between the field and Remus. The nearest one to Remus had three Fusion battlewagons adding velocity as they used tractor beams to drag the asteroid faster.

No Fusion warship was anywhere near Remus orbit. The closest was a little over four hundred thousand kilometers from the terrestrial planet. Those were all pickets and sensor vessels.

The main Fusion fleet was two million kilometers from Remus, a relatively close proximity but not orbital range. As a matter of scale, Luna was four hundred thousand kilometers from Earth. That kept the Fusion fleet out of any immediate danger or surprise assault launched from the planet.

There did not appear to be any Remus AirSpace Service ships or satellites. Debris orbited the planet, plenty of debris, but no visible ships or weapons.

“The people of Remus have giant laser silos and missiles,” Valerie said. “How many they have left after the space siege, I have no idea.”

From a quick count, there appeared to be twelve battlewagons, fifteen lesser ships and ten supply or repair vessels. It was a huge fleet for the Fusion, at least, according to Valerie.

“Four more battlewagons won’t make that much of a difference,” Ludendorff said.

“Perhaps the four are here to rotate in for others,” Maddox said.

“That’s what I think,” Valerie said.

“Besides,” Maddox said, “it’s three battlewagons and a damaged one now.”

“Whatever the case,” Ludendorff said, “can we take on the Fusion fleet?”

“Not in a toe-to-toe slugfest,” Maddox said.

“I have a feeling that’s the only way we can save Remus,” Ludendorff said. “If that’s our goal for being here.”

Maddox tapped his fingers on the armrest of his captain’s chair. The situation seemed straightforward. The Fusion was destroying Remus’s ability to defend itself. Would those of Remus sue for peace? Eventually, the survivors would.

What am I missing? Maddox wondered. It came to him then. “Galyan, are you detecting anything strange, anything odd at all?”

“I am not,” Galyan said.

“What should he be looking for?” Ludendorff asked.

“The hidden aliens,” Maddox said promptly, “the ones who made the memory-stick satellites.”

Ludendorff nodded.

Maddox swiveled around to stare at the Methuselah Man. “Do you remember a type of alien from your Builder days that might match or fit the kind we’re looking for here?”

Ludendorff frowned thoughtfully, eventually shaking his head. “What about you?” he asked.

“Eh?” asked Maddox.

“Put that newfangled intuitive sense to work,” Ludendorff said. “Search for the gut feeling, or whatever it is you do. Follow that lead and maybe we’ll uncover these hidden aliens.”

Maddox stared at Ludendorff.

“I see,” Ludendorff said. “You’ve already done that, haven’t you?”

“Perhaps,” Maddox admitted.

“And?” asked Ludendorff.

Maddox swiveled back around to study the main screen. It showed a long-range shot of the Remus star. He stood abruptly.

“Mr. Maker, if you’ll follow me,” Maddox said.

“What do you have in mind?” Ludendorff asked.

“You can follow me, too,” Maddox said. “Lieutenant Commander Noonan, you have the bridge.”

“But—” Valerie said.

“I’m placing you in temporary command,” Maddox said as he faced her. “You have the most experience, and despite your dual memories, I trust your judgment.”

“Thank you, sir,” Valerie said, as she stood, heading for the captain’s chair as Maddox, Keith and Ludendorff headed for the bridge exit.

-48-

“That’s out of the question,” Meta said angrily. “That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever heard you say.”

Maddox was in the main hangar bay near the fold-fighter, a tiny ship resembling nothing so much as a tin can—thus, their usual nickname. Keith, Riker and Ludendorff stood farther off, with other technical personnel even farther away.

Maddox had just explained his operational plan to Meta.

“Don’t you get it?” Meta asked. “Remus is under space siege. The Fusion captains are towing asteroids to drop on the planet. They plan to recreate an extinction level event.”

“Meta, I realize you’re worried—”

“Worried,” she said, interrupting. “Are you thinking about Jewel at all?”

Maddox scowled.

“You have a daughter waiting at home for you,” Meta said. “You can’t keep throwing your life into danger because you think it’s fun.”

Maddox inhaled, restraining angry retorts.

“I’ve gone along with all this so far,” Meta said. “But going down to Remus and looking for an imaginary medallion—it might already be gone or buried under tons of rubble.”

“I need to assess that.”

“No,” Meta said, with anguish on her face. “This isn’t like other times. This is sheer adventure seeking. This is for the thrill of it.”

Maddox stepped forward and gripped Meta’s shoulders.

She shrugged off his hands, stepping back. “I can’t believe you’re really thinking of going.”

Maddox did not glance at the others to see if they were watching. He knew they were. He half turned away, frowning, wondering—he faced his wife.

“I’m a man of action. That’s just the way it is.”

Meta glared up at him.

“I love Jewel. I’d give my life for her. But this is who I am. This is what I do. This is what any man of honor does. Someday, I might die performing a mission. I don’t want to die, but I might. No one lives forever. But while I’m alive, I’m going to do my job. I’m the one who should go. No one knows the planet like I do, and no one has the ability to carry this off but me.”

“Now you’re the professor?” Meta asked sarcastically.

Maddox shook his head. “I’m a man of action. I’m not going to belabor the point. You’re my wife. You…” He almost said, “You vowed to obey me.” But he decided it wouldn’t help him in this instance to remind her of the vow. He’d given an oath before God to love, cherish and protect Meta. This was part of that. He protected her by doing what others could not. He wasn’t any different from any other married man who was a soldier, cop or firefighter. Heck, many husbands worked dangerous jobs, bringing home the bread for the family. Sometimes, mineworkers did the most dangerous thing by going down into the dark earth and digging for ores that kept a technological society going.

“Please don’t go,” Meta said, looking at him with tears in her eyes.

“Darling,” he said, coming to her, hugging her tightly. “I love you,” he whispered.

“I love you, too,” she said, hugging him fiercely so it felt as if his ribs shifted.

“I…have to do this,” he said, trying hard to talk normally as she crushed his ribs with her heavy-gravity strength.

Meta sniffled, but nodded, pressing her face against his chest afterward. “I hate this, but you’re right. It’s who you are. When the day comes that you don’t come home…” She hugged him even more fiercely.

He could barely breathe.

“Dear God,” she whispered. “Protect my man. Bring him back to me, please. Amen.”

“Amen,” Maddox managed to say.

Finally, Meta released him.

“Thanks, my love,” he said, wondering if she’d bruised some of his ribs. He grinned to cover any grimace of pain.

Meta shook her head at him, but there was a small smile on her face.

She was so beautiful, and it was much more than her physical beauty, although that was glorious. It was her inner beauty, a wife worth having. Meta was the kind of woman that made marriage a delight for a man. He would go to war against the world for her, and he would unhesitatingly place himself before a bullet meant for her. Even more, he would love her by attempting to do the small things she so loved. It was probably the greatest reason why he’d changed over all these years, no longer quite the harsh bastard that he used to be.

Maddox chucked her under the chin. “It should only take a day or two,” he said.

“I wish you’d take me with you.”

Maddox shook his head. “I can’t do that to Jewel.”

“I know. You must realize, though, that this has to be one of the craziest of your missions.”

“It might appear so,” Maddox said. “But something is telling me that this is critical. I wouldn’t go if I didn’t truly believe it was important.”

Meta searched his eyes and then nodded. “I guess I’m learning that. But…you owe me one, mister.”

Maddox grinned again, a cocky lopsided thing. He moved in, kissing her lingeringly on the lips, running his fingers through her hair. “See you, love,” he said, upon disengaging.

Meta swallowed, forcing a smile onto her trembling lips.

With that, Maddox turned away, striding for the fold-fighter, calling Riker and Keith to him.

-49-

In truth, Maddox planned a daring insertion onto Remus. Far too many things could go wrong. But he had a strong intuitive feeling about this and its necessity.

Keith piloted the fold-fighter, with Riker and Maddox as the only passengers.

Before boarding, Maddox had given some last-minute instructions to Ludendorff, receiving a sharp clap on the shoulder and a hearty wish of good luck. It seemed the Methuselah Man was happy to stay behind on this one.

Maddox was still wondering about that.

“I’m not sure I appreciate you ordering me to undertake this fool quest,” Riker complained from his seat.

“What?” Maddox asked, looking up. “Oh. Well, you’re not married. You have no kids, and you’re the greatest plodder on the ship.”

“Plodder is it?”

“That’s right, and you have common sense in spades.”

“Apparently not,” Riker said, “or I would have retired already and been home drinking iced tea.”

“Perhaps a selective common sense then,” Maddox said.

“Are you two ready?” Keith asked from his piloting seat.

The fold-fighter tin can with stubby wings had drifted out of the hangar bay, with ringed Vulcan dominating the surroundings.

“We’re ready,” Maddox said.

“Wait,” Riker said. “I haven’t taken my injection yet.”

“Hurry it,” Maddox said. “We’re wasting time now. You should have already taken your shot.”

Riker pulled down a kit, rummaged around until he found a hypo, checked it and then gave himself a shot that would aid in recovering from fold lag. He rubbed the spot. “Are you sure these clothes are right for Remus?”

Riker referred to the disguises Maddox and he wore. They were military uniforms, those of privates in the Remus Ground Service. Maddox had related his memories to the fabricators and this was what they’d made.

“We’ll find out quickly enough once we reach there,” Maddox said.

Riker stared at the captain, but refrained from commenting further.

As they waited for the shot to take, Maddox and Keith conferred together. Maddox wanted Keith to deposit them a few miles outside Latium, where he’d spent a childhood of memories as Garth, begging for coins.

The Monastery of Saint Benson was outside Latium, and it seemed like the best place to look for the medallion and the book by Doctor Van Nath.

Was Garth still alive, or had aliens abducted and drained him of his memories? How did the hidden aliens manage their technological feat?

“Ah…” Keith said, as he looked up from his screen. He’d been scrolling as Maddox spoke, searching for something. “Where is this Latium?”

“On the main continent,” Maddox said. “It’s near a bay called the Sea of Sorrows. The bay is huge and nearly perfectly circular.”

Keith looked at Maddox blankly.

“You don’t have a map of Remus?” asked Maddox.

“Not in my database,” Keith said.

Maddox scowled. Could they have overlooked that when Keith had used the fold-fighter before to scan the inner system? They must have overlooked it. Keith must have scanned around and near Remus but not on it.

“Do we abort?” asked Keith.

Maddox shook his head. He should be able to spot Latium from space, or the location where the city would be. As Garth, he’d looked at enough atlases. This was a stupid oversight. Was he counting on his Garth memories too much?

A timer pinged, telling them Riker was ready to go.

“What’s it to be, sir?” Keith asked.

“Fold,” Maddox said. “We’ll improvise as we go.”

***

Keith folded from Vulcan in the outer system to halfway to Remus. Despite their hypo shots, it took each of them a few moments to shake off the lag.

“Here’s the question,” Keith said shortly. “From here, do you want me fold into Remus orbital space or down so I’m a few kilometers from the planet’s surface?”

“What’s safest?” asked Riker, speaking before Maddox could answer.

Keith glanced at Maddox.

Maddox nodded.

“In this instance, I’m not sure,” Keith said. “It depends on what kind of defenses Remus possesses, and if the Fusion people have hidden hunter-seekers or other weapons or sensors in the orbital debris.”

“Remus must have some anti-space defenses left,” Maddox said. “Otherwise, the Fusion fleet wouldn’t be so far from the planet.”

“Agreed.”

“What do you recommend?” Maddox asked.

“Well, I don’t like that we don’t know exactly what’s down there. A pre-landing sensor sweep is more than standard procedure: it’s just plain common sense.”

“What’s going on?” Riker asked. He hadn’t been paying attention earlier. “We don’t know what’s down there?”

“We have a good idea,” Maddox said.

“We have better tech than both sides, and we have me,” Keith said with a grin. “Still, this is a military op, and good recon is critical to success. But coming in high might put us in danger of attack by hunter-seekers, and it might alert a watchful Fusion. Better that we remain hidden from them. So, given all that, I’m inclined to go for a low entry: meaning, several kilometers over the surface.”

“Are we too far out for that kind of fold?” Maddox asked.

“Depends on what kind of safety margins you’re considering,” Keith said.

“I don’t know about you two,” Riker said, “but I’d prefer the highest safety margins possible.”

“Like I said a second ago,” Keith said. “If it were me, I’d concentrate on remaining hidden from the Fusion. Once they know what we’re doing, it might become trickier a lot faster.”

Maddox knit his brow. How could they have forgotten to do a recon sweep of the planet itself? He hadn’t expected to do a quick insertion op like this; that was probably the majority of the reason.

Riker was grumbling under his breath, saying something.

“Do you care to comment so I can hear, Sergeant?” Maddox asked.

“I do,” Riker said. “This is starting to feel like Balder III all over again. Begging your pardon, sir, but do you remember how we crashed because of the damn wind. What’s going to screw with us on Remus?”

Maddox considered that. The lack of a recon run—he turned to Keith. “Maybe you should wait with us on Remus until we’re finished.”

“If I stay on the planet too long,” Keith said, “the Lieutenant Commander will believe I’ve crashed, as I haven’t reported in when scheduled. She might start a rescue mission.”

“Right,” Maddox said. “Call them now. Tell them what we’re doing.”

“That I’m going to stay on Remus so you can make a quick getaway if needed?” Keith asked.

“Exactly,” Maddox said.

“I’m sending the message.” Keith manipulated his panel. Soon, he turned to Maddox. “The message is sent. It will take a few hours for the message to reach Victory, though.”

“Understood,” Maddox said. “The point is they’ll know the situation.”

“Except if someone shoots us down,” Riker said. “Then, we’ll need a rescue mission but no one will be coming for us.”

Maddox scowled before he shook his head. The sergeant could always come up with yet another problem. It was time to do this.

“Fold us to low near the surface, Lieutenant, whenever you’re ready.”

“Aye-aye, Captain,” Keith said, as he began to plot the next fold.

-50-

Low near the surface of Remus brought the fold-fighter into a dense cloud with thunder, lightning and pouring rain. The rain rattled against the hull so each of them heard it.

Maddox didn’t remember storms like this in his memories as Garth. This was something else.

“Ash,” Keith said, as he studied a screen. “I’m reading tons of ash in the sky.”

Maddox looked over, astonished. That meant— “One of the asteroids has already struck the planet. It threw ash, probably volcanic ash, into the atmosphere.”

“Seems like a possibility,” Keith said. “I’m surprised the people of Remus didn’t surrender then. An asteroid strike—that’s hardball tactics, I mean actually doing it instead of just threatening it. This is bad, sir.”

“It is bad,” Maddox said. “We can’t do anything on this side of the planet. Move to the other side. Let’s hope Latium is on the other side.”

Keith hesitated.

“Is there a problem?” Maddox asked.

“Well…” Keith said.

“Are you the best or not?”

There was a half-beat, and a stiffening of Keith’s mouth. “Aye-aye, Captain,” he said emotionlessly.

As they waited for Keith to fold, more thunder boomed, lightning jagged and even greater thunder crashed around them, a bulkhead-shaking noise. Riker turned white and stared accusingly at Maddox. The captain simply waited, although his heart thumped.

What if they crashed onto Remus? How long could they survive on their own? Should he abort the mission before Keith folded again?

Maddox became stubborn, with a mulish cast to his face. He’d made a big production about this with Meta. He didn’t want to come running back from an aborted mission.

“Now what’s the matter?” Riker shouted at him.

Before Maddox could reply, the tin can folded yet again, passing through the planet onto the other side.

Here, it was night. There was no giant ash cloud, either. Stars glittered overhead, twinkling more than seemed right. That surely indicated more junk in the air than normal.

“Do you see Latium?” Maddox asked.

Keith glanced sharply at the captain.

“Do you see a circular bay?” Maddox asked. “There’s a huge mountain range to the north of the bay by several hundred kilometers.”

Keith clicked his screen, and the tin can took that moment to jerk, drop suddenly—

Riker shouted with alarm.

“There’s no need to panic,” Keith said a moment later, as he worked the controls. The flight evened out.

“Really, Sergeant,” Maddox said. “I expect more calm from you.”

“Oh, yes, dying is easy,” Riker said. “What happened? Why did the fighter just start dropping?”

“Hang on,” Keith said from the piloting seat. The craft shuddered, and it once more dropped suddenly. Keith began to swear. Then, he became silent as he fought with the controls, concentrating on them.

“Eject us if we’re going to crash,” Maddox said.

“Hang onto your horses, mate!” Keith shouted. “Give me a second, will you?”

“How far are we from the surface?” Riker asked.

The tin can began to shake, and then do it more violently. The fold-fighter wasn’t an atmospheric vessel, but a spacecraft that could maneuver like a wallowing pig for a short time on a planet. In the past, Keith would fold directly to the surface. It would appear the lightning storm and thunder had damaged the fighter, making such a landing harder. Either that or—

“Abort the mission,” Maddox said, a pang of something flashing through his senses.

“What are you saying?” Keith asked.

“Abort,” Maddox said. “Return directly to Victory. Do it now!”

“It’s about time,” Riker said.

“Are you sure, mate?” Keith asked.

“Mr. Maker,” Maddox said. “You will immediately—”

Keith recoiled from something he saw on the screen. “Missile! Hang on!” he shouted. Then his fingers played upon the piloting board.

The tin can shuddered, rattling their teeth. The craft rose abruptly. There was an explosion outside. Metal pinged against the outer hull, and something hot flew bullet-fast through the cabin.

“We’re in trouble,” Keith said with icy calm. “This could get rough.”

Part of Riker’s seat collapsed as his bionic-powered hand crumbled the armrest that he clung to.

Then, the tin can emergency folded, as outside the fighter, two more antiair missiles streaked for the craft.

***

The tin can did not appear in space anywhere near Victory, but rather, fifty meters above a plain of dead weeds and grass. Keith used all his skills, lowering them by stages and braking as hard as he could. It was night outside. They were clouds overhead, blocking the stars.

“We’re going to crash,” Keith said.

Before Maddox or Riker could reply, the tin can was plowing along the ground, bouncing, creaking, crumpling and ripping metal hull plating. It seemed to last forever. The restraints held the men in place even as pieces of equipment flew through the cabin. It was a nightmare ride.

Suddenly, it was over, the fighter halted.

Maddox panted in his seat, blinking and sweating. It was pitch black in the cabin, with an occasional spark throwing off lightning-like light.

Keith had a gash on his forehead that was bleeding copiously. Maddox wasn’t looking in Riker’s direction when the sparks flew.

With a groan, Maddox produced his monofilament blade and cut himself free, crawling along the twisted aisle toward the sergeant’s seat. This was a disaster, exactly what Meta had feared would happen.

“No,” Maddox muttered. He wasn’t going to fail. For Jewel’s sake, if nothing else, he wouldn’t let this be his last mission.

-51-

Grutch the Morag was in the Remus System, hidden in his small, teardrop-shaped stealth ship.

He’d been plotting, calculating and reconsidering his approaches. Now, he was in the star system, noting how the star had driven the compacted gases of the nebula out of the system long ago. The solar winds must have done that. It had created an open area, a normal area, and he liked it much better here for that.

Grutch bobbed forward as his four eyestalks examined the situation from four different screens. He cataloged everything: planets, asteroids, comets, magnetic belts, warships, pickets and various clots of debris. There were Fusion vessels, a few destroyed Remus ships and Victory, precious Victory with its Maddox cargo.

The Commonwealth starship was in orbit around ringed Vulcan, a Jovian gas giant with many moons.

Grutch maneuvered slowly and stealthily through the star system. He saw the three Fusion battlewagons drop out of the nebula FTL drive and begin a straightforward velocity run toward the third planet. The new warships did not seem interested in Victory, sending a message to the Grand Director of the First Fleet two million kilometers off Remus.

Both the flotilla and message would take time to reach the First Fleet of the Fusion.

Grutch decided to ease closer to Victory. It was the only ship that interested him here. Yes, he was aware of hidden aliens. They played a secret game. It didn’t concern him, though, so why should he care? If he could find evidence of them—more evidence—he might turn to investigate them.

That had often been a failing of his in the past, to turn aside to investigate interesting lateral phenomenon. Undoubtedly, that was one of the reasons why he was still so relatively poor compared to Morags his age. He should already own a kingdom and servants by now. Instead, he ran a puny stealth ship, seeking riches by chasing after worthless beings like Captain Maddox.

Tentacles appeared, and they used the holographic controls. He sent stealthy sensor rays toward Victory. It was time to see how his prey fared.

Grutch had recovered from the dastardly assault by that devilish holoimage Galyan. If the Adok ghost continued to plague him, he would teach the computer intelligence a bitter lesson. Instead of concentrating on Galyan, though, he was going to grab Maddox for good and leave for his sponsors. The interior burns had taught Grutch the folly of remaining near Victory any longer than he had to.

To that end, he parked as near as he dared to the starship and earnestly swept the vessel with his sensors. He studied, puzzled, learned and studied anew. Yet, as much as his sensor eyes roved over and inside the starship, he could not find the captain.

Was this a trick on their part?

He listened to a conversation on the bridge. Maddox had flown, gone, and they hadn’t heard any word from him other than the previous message about staying on Remus for a time.

Ah, Remus, Captain Maddox had gone to Remus, the third planet. How very interesting.

Grutch listened longer to the bridge talk, but he learned nothing more about Maddox or his mission there.

The huge blob of gelatinous mass began to slap his tentacles together as his eyestalks wove in a bizarre pattern. He was thinking deeply. “Maddox, this is the moment of truth.”

Grutch ceased his seal-like slaps, calming down. With great ease and skill, he moved away from Victory. Galyan was a troubling gnat, and Grutch sensed the starship’s sensors scanning the darkness around it for him.

Bah! They might notice a swift teleportation from Vulcan. Thus, Grutch maneuvered the teardrop-shaped vessel, first going behind the Jovian gas giant in relation to the starship. Then, Grutch made his calculations. The Fusion First Fleet was near Remus. But he doubted the humans could sense his vessel. If he made a swift stab at Remus, picked up Maddox while the man was alone…

Grutch made odd warbling sounds. This was a perfect situation. They had attacked him, driven him off, stopped worrying about him, and now Maddox had dropped his guard. That would be the last decision Maddox was going to make that mattered.

Grutch checked his surroundings, and he transmitted, causing his stealth craft to teleport away from Vulcan—the hidden craft appeared two thousand kilometers from Remus’s surface on the opposite side as the Fusion First Fleet. Those on Victory would not be able to see him even if they had the right kind of sensors.

“Maddox, you villain,” Grutch said. “I’m about to take you captive.”

With that, the hidden stealth ship continued for the smoky planet.

-52-

Galyan had been doing more than just scanning for the Morag mercenary. Galyan had pinpointed the stealth ship and kept silent about it.

The silence was for tactical reasons only. If he spoke to Valerie about Grutch, the alien would no doubt hear that as he eavesdropped on Victory. For Galyan hadn’t only pinpointed the Morag. He’d also recalibrated a few of his most sensitive sensors in order to know when Grutch turned the Morag sensors onto the starship.

Now that Galyan knew what to look for, the Morag stealth ship was relatively easy for him to spot. He watched it close in on the starship, use its sensors and then ease away to the other side of Vulcan.

Knowing the reason for that didn’t take fantastic Adok computing power, but simple logic, as seen from the Morag’s perspective. Grutch was teleporting somewhere and trying to do so secretly.

Galyan analyzed that for a time. He used his logic processers and ran his personality profiles, where appropriate.

“Galyan,” Valerie said. “Are you listening to me, Galyan?”

“Oh, I am sorry, Valerie.” Galyan holoimage had been doing all this while floating in place on the bridge.

“Were you distracted?” Valerie asked from the captain’s chair.

“Yes, I was processing data. If I were biological, I would say I was woolgathering.”

“I have a question for you,” Valerie said. “So, are you through woolgathering?”

“I am through.”

“In that case—” Valerie said.

“But I must interrupt you, Commander. I have discovered a critical issue. Meta, you might be interested in this.”

Meta had resumed her stint at the comm station. “Is this about Maddox?” Meta asked, sounding worried.

“Oh, yes indeed.”

“What is it?” Meta said. “Did Maddox send you a secret message?”

“No,” Galyan said. “I have spotted the Morag mercenary.”

“You mean Grutch?”

“Yes.”

“Where is this Grutch?” Valerie asked.

“I do not know his precise whereabouts at the moment,” Galyan said.

“Then, why are you bothering us about him?”

“I have an emergency message. So, if you do not mind, I will raise the important point immediately, as time might be critical and you are asking the wrong questions.”

“Tell us,” Valerie snapped. “And then tell me why you didn’t speak about this Morag sooner?”

“Grutch approached Victory in his stealth ship,” Galyan said, “and he used his sensor beams on us, searching the starship and listening to our conversations. Afterward, he slipped behind Vulcan in relation to—”

“He teleported to Remus,” Meta shouted, interrupting. “He’s gone there to kidnap my husband. That’s what you’re saying, isn’t it?”

“Yes,” Galyan said. “That is my analysis as well.”

“What are you babbling about?” Valerie asked.

“I did not speak about this sooner,” Galyan said, “because I was sure Grutch would overhear what I said. I wish to keep my new abilities hidden from him, so we may use what we know against him at the proper moment.”

“This Morag went to Remus?” Valerie asked.

“That is the most logical assumption. Meta reached it through emotional worry for Maddox. Is that not so, Meta?”

Meta had been staring at Galyan in consternation. She now swiveled toward Valerie. “We have to go to Remus. We have to save my husband from kidnapping.”

“The captain wanted us to stay here,” Valerie said.

“Galyan,” Meta said, “why didn’t you activate the disrupter beam and destroy the Morag’s stealth ship when you could?”

Galyan stared at Meta. “That is a cogent question. In retrospect, I think I should have done just that. Will you forgive me for not doing it, Meta?”

“Forget about all that,” Meta cried. “We have to go to Remus to save my husband.”

“I do concur with that,” Galyan told Valerie. “Grutch is a dangerous foe. I do not know if even Captain Maddox can thwart the Morag a second time while he is on the planet.”

Valerie stared from Meta, to Galyan to Meta again. “Yes,” she said, straightening and swiveling toward the pilot. “Take us to Remus orbit,” she ordered. “Prepare for immediate defensive actions as well.”

“We will be vulnerable for a little while after coming out of jump lag,” Galyan said.

“I know that,” Valerie said. “I’m guessing our appearance should surprise Remus defense. And I don’t think the Fusion people can reach us that quickly from their present location.”

“And if they have hunter-seeker missiles in the orbital debris?” Galyan asked.

Valerie stared at the holoimage, nodding sharply. “Pilot, plot our appearance on the opposite side as the Fusion First Fleet.

“Yes, ma’am.”

“Put us…fifty thousand kilometers from the surface,” Valerie added. “That should give us the needed margin for us to come out of jump lag. Mr. Barnes.”

“Ma’am,” the muscled weapons officer said.

“Get ready for action,” Valerie said.

“Understood.”

“Galyan,” Valerie said. “I want you ready and looking for the Morag’s stealth ship. The instant you see it, activate the disrupter cannon and destroy it.”

“Yes, Valerie,” Galyan said. “But how do we know he has not already captured the captain? I would kill Captain Maddox under those conditions.”

Valerie nodded. “Wait until we confirm the captain’s position—and if he is somewhere other than the Morag ship, then and only then unleash against the Morag stealth ship the moment you spot it.”

“I will do that, Commander.”

“We’re plotted and ready to jump,” the pilot said.

“Meta, alert the rest of the ship,” Valerie said. “Pilot, jump in thirty seconds.” She made a fist. “This is it, so I want everyone alert. Are there any questions?”

There were none. Thus, thirty seconds later, Starship Victory made a star-drive jump for the other side of Remus.

-53-

Maddox, Riker and Keith Maker staggered in the dark, leaving the wreckage of the fold fighter. Each of them sweated profusely and found it difficult to breathe the thick air. It had to be one hundred and ten degrees Fahrenheit, and the smoky air was choking each of them, making them cough and slowing them down.

“This doesn’t make sense,” Keith said for what had to be the tenth time. He had a bloody bandage wound around his head and had complained about aching lungs.

Maddox helped the sergeant, who was having the hardest time with the heat and smoky air. They’d climbed rocks and a hill, leaving the fold-fighter behind.

“How can the people here keep fighting?” Keith demanded.

Maddox halted, staring at the short Scotsman. “What people?”

Keith made a vague gesture. “Those of Remus,” he said.

“We made a category error,” Maddox said. “No. I made it. I should have ordered a scan of the target area before we attempted to land on Remus. This place isn’t fit for human habitation. Think how hot it must be during the day. It’s sweltering now, the middle of the night.”

Keith coughed, frowning at Maddox in the starlight.

“Remus was never like this in my memory-dream,” Maddox said. “They’d had a nuclear war in the past. It had made part of the planet uninhabitable, but nothing like this.”

“I don’t understand,” Keith said.

“I do,” Riker said weakly.

“Sit down,” Maddox told the sergeant, helping the older man sit on a boulder.

“Did the asteroids do this?” Keith asked.

“What asteroids?” asked Maddox.

“The ones the Fusion people threw down on the planet.”

Maddox shook his head. “I don’t think the Fusion has successfully rained any asteroids down yet.”

“Then, what’s causing the heat, the smog?”

“That’s the question all right. My guess—the aliens we’ve been wondering about. They did this. They wiped out Remus, maybe killed everyone on the planet.”

“What?” Keith said. “That’s crazy.”

“No,” Maddox said. “It’s evil. But that explains how they had the people to make the memories. The aliens captured Remus, the people, and then did this to the planet.”

“That’s a big jump in logic, sir,” Riker whispered.

“It’s a guess,” Maddox said, “nothing more than that.”

“If you’re right,” Keith said, “then the Fusion people aren’t fighting other humans. They’re fighting aliens.”

“That’s a good point,” Maddox said.

“If the aliens are so superior,” Keith said, “why haven’t they beaten the snot out of the Fusion yet?”

Maddox shook his head. He didn’t have an answer for that. This was all guesswork and intuition, mostly guesswork this time. He realized something else. The aliens had tricked him with the memories, and maybe tricked his new intuition as well. Ludendorff had been right. The memory-stick satellites had molded his and Valerie’s minds, tampered with them, at least to a degree.

“We’re going to die, aren’t we?” Keith plopped down beside Riker. “Without water, we’re as good as dead.”

“We’re not dead yet,” Maddox said stubbornly. His garments were soaked with sweat. They’d all need water come morning or they’d likely collapse from dehydration, but they weren’t out yet and that meant they had to keep trying.

“The fold-fighter is gone,” Keith said. “We can’t communicate with Victory. Maybe we should try to call the Fusion people. They could conceivably pick us up in time.”

“Be my guest,” Maddox said. “Call them if you can.”

Keith stared at Maddox.

“We can always bargain with our Fusion captors,” Maddox said. “But we can’t bargain if we’re dead of dehydration.”

“You mean it?” Keith asked.

Maddox shrugged.

With an air of renewed hope, Keith took out his hand communicator and tried to call whoever could hear. He received nothing but harsh static in reply.

“I know we shouldn’t have come,” Riker whispered, who’d been watching Keith.

Maddox studied the darkness around them. The sergeant had a point. Meta had tried to warn him. Was he going to die this time? Would he ever see Jewel again? The idea of that made him angry.

“Hey,” Keith said. “I have someone. Hello,” he said into the comm. “Can you hear me.”

“Yes,” a voice said.

At the sound, Maddox’s nape hairs rose.

“Keep your line open,” the voice said. “I will rescue you soon.”

“We’re in luck,” Keith told the others. “They’re coming to rescue us.”

Maddox was on his feet. The voice—he lurched at Keith, plucking the comm from him.

“What are you doing?” Keith demanded. “We’re saved. All we have to do is keep the line open.”

Maddox set the opened comm on the ground. Then, he went back to Riker and hauled him to his feet.

“What is this?” Keith said. “What’s wrong now?”

“Grutch,” Maddox said. “He’s followed us to Remus, but maybe he can’t pinpoint us through the junk in the air. Leave the communicator on, and leave the comm where it is. Gentlemen, we have some hiking to do before Grutch arrives to ‘rescue’ me. Now, let’s go.”

With that, as he forced Riker to hurry, Maddox high-tailed it through the hot gloomy smog before the Morag could appear.

-54-

Grutch chortled to himself aboard the teardrop-shaped stealth ship in orbit around the seething planet. This was too easy.

From the moment the ship had teleported into position, Grutch had been running planetary scans. He’d expected an Earthlike world, and not so long ago it had been just that. But according to his readings, hell-burners had gone off deep in interior subterranean chambers. Those weapons had caused massive planetary volcanism, spewing millions of tons of ash into the air and causing a change to the planetary weather patterns.

Surely, human life had all but disappeared on the surface. Maddox and his companions could survive for a few hours anyway. Then, they would all be dead. Finding them would have been next to impossible, as there were strange readings interfering with the normal scans. Grutch had just concluded that the interference was coming from an alien source. Then, when one of the humans had called and he’d answered—

Grutch chortled again.

Now, it was just a matter of teleporting to them, collecting Maddox and returning to his ship with the prized cargo. Before Grutch did that, however, he wanted to make sure that his teleporter would work correctly. Something about the situation troubled him.

He went to the teleport chamber, put a man-sized probe onto the T-pads and depressed a switch. Nothing happened.

Grutch moved to bulkhead plating, removing several pieces, inspecting the various processors inside. Everything seemed in order.

He moved to a different area of the chamber, pulling more plates off the wall. He inspected the machines hidden there. All were in working order.

He recalibrated the teleporter, and this time, the probe left the ship. He waited thirty seconds and almost brought the probe directly back to the chamber.

Why hadn’t the probe teleported the first time? Perhaps a small test was in order.

So, instead of bringing the probe back to the chamber, he brought it to just outside the stealth ship.

He transmitted. The probe appeared in space outside the ship, and three seconds later, the probe detonated.

Two of Grutch’s eyestalks shot up high in alarm. That was no accident. That was a deliberate attempt to murder him. But if some force had used a probe he’d sent by teleportation—Grutch’s mass swiveled around fast as he warbled commands to the autopilot.

He then rolled fast toward the control chamber as his stealth ship began an emergency teleportation. The alarms rang, and nothing happened. The ship did not teleport to a new location.

What did that mean?

Nothing good, Grutch knew.

He rolled into the control chamber and called up the holographic controls, beginning to manipulate them.

Eyestalks bent to different screens. Oh, this was intolerable. The smog and other debris in the air shouldn’t block his sensors like this. Something else blocked them.

Three eyestalks moved to a side screen. All four tentacles lashed here and there in the chamber. On the screen, he zoomed in to something on the planetary surface. He had to zoom in once more before he saw a giant antenna that rotated with infinite slowness. Grutch pressed a control, and purple lines appeared on the screen, the lines emanating from the giant antenna. The lines fluctuated, wavered—those were alien signals interfering with his sensors.

Grutch ran a quick test. It was just as he suspected. The interference made it impossible to see Maddox. Luckily, Grutch still had the link with the open communicator.

Still, that didn’t explain why his stealth ship had failed to teleport.

Grutch began an emergency diagnostic. He found the problem ten seconds later. An odd ray beamed at his vessel. It came from the planet.

Tentacles moved rapidly.

A tele-missile disappeared from outside the teardrop-shaped vessel. The T-missile reappeared on the planet on top of the ray-projecting device. The warhead detonated.

“Now, you miserable bastard,” Grutch said. “Now, I have you.”

He plucked a projector, a sonic emitter and translator, and an emergency teleporter from off the wall. These, he drew into his gelatinous mass as the tentacles pulled within like a turtle’s head. Lastly, he used the final tentacle to activate a holographic control.

His teleportation chamber activated. Grutch disappeared from his stealth ship, reappearing on the rocky surface of Remus.

Eyestalks popped up, whipping about as he looked everywhere at once. A tentacle appeared with the projector, an eyestalk dedicated to its use as he looked for dangers to beam.

He saw the human hand-communicator sitting on the rock, lengthening a tentacle to snatch it.

Grutch did not see any sign of Maddox or his companions. The communicator was a trick. But a trick for what purpose?

Ah, Grutch believed he understood. Maddox not only knew about the hidden aliens, but was in league with them. Maddox had done this to draw him into a trap.

Grutch had had no idea that Maddox was so diabolically clever. He communicated with his stealth ship and activated the teleporter. If he failed to leave—Grutch disappeared from the surface of Remus, reappearing in the control chamber of his stealth ship.

Great drops of oozing liquid dripped from his pink-gray mass. It was fear stain, and it stank horribly. His gelatinous bulk trembled from his fear. If the hidden aliens working in tandem with the damned Maddox had trapped him—

Grutch concentrated, thinking, wondering if it was best that he leave the star system while he could. Could Maddox be cleverer than his sponsors realized? Or had his sponsors tricked him?

Tentacles appeared, and seconds later, his stealth ship drew away from Remus. He would observe for a time, becoming the proverbial fly on the wall, acting if he saw an opportunity but otherwise watching and waiting and seeing what he could learn.

-55-

Maddox stumbled as he helped Riker around a boulder, using his communicator to provide light. Behind, Keith reeled, crying out as he touched the bandage around his forehead.

“Captain,” Keith shouted. “Captain!”

Maddox halted, turning around with Riker. “I’m over here, Lieutenant.”

Keith staggered around the boulder, stopping when he spied them.

“Keep up,” Maddox said. “We can’t afford to separate.”

Keith laughed bleakly, coughing.

Maddox shook Riker. The sergeant’s head lolled. He shook the sergeant again so the man blinked wearily and moaned with dread.

“We’re doomed,” panted Keith. He’d finally stopped coughing. “We should have stayed with the fold-fighter. That was our only chance. The smog and heat are killing us.”

“We’re not doomed,” Maddox said. “Now, keep up like I said. There’s something ahead to help us.”

“You can’t know that,” Keith said.

“You mean I shouldn’t know it,” Maddox said. “But I do. It’s… Come on, we don’t have much time before the air does us in.”

Maddox led the way, shaking Riker again, keeping the sergeant awake. Keith stumbled from behind, perhaps finding it hard to keep his footing on the uneven surface in the dark.

With the light as his guide, Maddox threaded through a rocky maze and rounded a pair of boulders, spying a glowing bulb ahead that showed off the drifting, smoky air.

“I’ll be darned,” Keith said. “Light. How did you know there would be light here?”

Maddox didn’t answer, but continued toward the bulb lighting as he clicked off his communicator and put it away. The path was rocky, hot and smoky, the air making his throat thick and sooty. What had happened to Remus’s millions? Had aliens slaughtered the humans? Why would these aliens remain on the dying planet?

Soon enough, the three of them stood before the shining light bulb. Under it was a hot iron door, a seemingly thick door set in rock.

“Who built this?” Keith asked.

Even as the lieutenant asked it, the thick iron door swung inward, revealing a corridor like on a spaceship. It was lit and clean, inviting.

Keith stared at Maddox. “This can’t be happening?”

“No?” asked Maddox.

“It’s too coincidental,” Keith said. “It’s not rational.”

“It’s just a door and a corridor,” Maddox said.

“No,” Keith said stubbornly. “You couldn’t have just led us to this door. Don’t you understand?”

“Perfectly,” Maddox said. “We came to the one place on the planet with an iron door and tunnel leading to safety.”

“And you think that’s a coincidence?”

“Not in the slightest,” Maddox said. “But what are the alternatives? We stay outside in the smoggy heat, waiting for daylight. What if it reaches one hundred and thirty or one hundred and forty? Besides, we can’t survive any of this without water, and that soon.”

“This is a trap,” Keith said with conviction.

“I fully realize that, but the alternatives are worse.” Maddox helped a nearly unconscious Riker through the door and into the corridor. He shuffled around. “Coming with us?”

“Is that an order?” Keith asked mulishly.

“No. It’s a suggestion.”

Keith grumbled bitterly under his breath, but followed through the door. Immediately, the iron door swung shut, clanging as it closed behind them. Keith stared at the door and then at Maddox. The pilot straightened, and he let his right hand drop onto the holstered gun at his side. He stood straighter and squared his shoulders.

“That’s the spirit,” Maddox said. “Let’s see who we’re dealing with, eh?” He started down the lit corridor, with Riker stumbling beside him and Keith bringing up the rear.

They traveled downward, the ceiling lights providing continued illumination and in time, cool air blew over them. They revived as the temperature dropped to the mid-seventies and as the air became pure and invigorating.

“Where are we?” Riker asked later, as he shoved off the captain and stood on his own, peering around.

“We found this place,” Maddox told the sergeant.

“What do you mean found?”

“We’re on Remus.”

“The hell you say,” Riker said. “This is Balder III.”

“No. We left the Balder System quite some time ago. You, Keith and I came to Remus in a fold-fighter. We crashed, though, remember?”

Riker scowled, and he massaged his forehead. “Oh,” he said shortly. “Why…why am I disoriented?”

“Figure it out,” Maddox said, not unkindly.

Riker stared at him before nodding. “The heat and lousy air wiped me out. I’m feeling better now.”

“I’m glad to hear it.” Maddox had seen Riker slip himself a pill a few minutes ago. That had no doubt also helped revive him.

They continued down the corridor.

“Hold it,” Keith said later. “I’m feeling sick.”

Maddox looked back. The pilot was white-faced and sweaty, with red rings around his eyes. He breathed harder than before. The exertion, tension and concussion were having their toll.

Stopping, Maddox said, “We’ll rest here a bit and catch our bearings.”

They all sat down in a line against a corridor wall. Keith closed his eyes.

“Better keep them open,” Maddox said. When Keith didn’t respond, Maddox reached over with a foot and kicked one of Keith’s.

The ace opened bleary eyes.

“Keep your eyes open. You have a concussion. Sleeping isn’t an option for you right now.”

“I’m going to throw up.”

“Try to hold it in,” Maddox said.

Keith seemed as if he would nod. “I’ll try.”

“We’ll be okay,” Maddox said. “We had a rough spot. Now, we’re going to survive it.”

“How do you figure that?” Riker asked. “We’re in a tunnel.”

“A corridor.”

“What’s the difference?” Riker asked.

“This corridor was made recently.”

From where he sat, Riker studied the floor, wall and ceiling. “You’re right. This is new. Did they make it for us?”

“Who are ‘they’?” Keith asked. “That’s what I want to know.”

Riker shrugged, glancing at the captain.

“If I were to guess,” Maddox said. “I’d say they’re the makers of the memory-stick satellites.”

A voice spoke. “That’s an excellent guess, Captain. How did you arrive at it?”

Maddox and the others swiveled around. A lean man in a blue uniform regarded them from an open area in the corridor, one that must have soundlessly appeared as they spoke. The man had dark hair and intelligent eyes, and he had a half-sunken cerebrater merged into his forehead.

“Garth?” asked Maddox, who recognized the man. “Are you Garth the Monk?”

The lean individual raised his eyebrows. “How do you know me?”

Maddox opened his mouth, but didn’t say, perhaps deciding it wouldn’t be a good idea.

Garth cocked his head, and he appeared to be listening to someone. “Ah,” he said, eyeing Maddox. “You’ve lived my memories, haven’t you?”

“Yes,” Maddox said, wondering how Garth could possibly know that. Clearly, someone or something read his thoughts, or saw in some alien way that he had Garth’s memories. He climbed to his feet, facing the man.

Keith and Riker did likewise.

Garth produced a black metal stick that he pointed at Maddox. “Please refrain from any heroics, such as attempting to overpower me. It will only result in your quick annihilation.”

“No worries there,” Maddox said. “You have my free cooperation.” He wanted to learn more before he made any moves.

Once more, Garth cocked his head and appeared to be listening. “I see,” he said, focusing on them again. “You arrived via a spacecraft, crashing onto Remus. Leaving your craft, you came here and found the entrance. I’m sure you wish to meet the new owners of Remus.”

“I do indeed,” Maddox said.

“One thing, though,” Garth said. “You once wore…you call it a cerebrater. That’s not bad as far as names go. I will use that, if you don’t mind.”

“Did you just read my thoughts?”

“Not as you perceive it,” Garth said. “I’m quite surprised you’re functional without your cerebrater. There doesn’t seem to be any scar either where you removed it. That’s…an impressive accomplishment.”

“In what way?” asked Maddox.

Garth blinked slowly several times, smiling afterward. “I’m afraid this isn’t the best place for a discussion. You wish to learn more about all this, yes?”

“I do,” Maddox said.

“Then we should continue to headquarters. You will proceed so I can keep watch. Any wrong moves will result in pain and possible death on your parts.”

“I understand” Maddox turned, grabbing one of Keith’s arms, as he’d just seen the pilot sway.

“Is he too injured to proceed?” Garth asked.

“He’ll be fine.”

“I can put him out of his misery, if you like,” Garth said.

“What?” Keith said, his right arm—the one Maddox held—straining to reach his holstered weapon. The captain tightened his grip so he couldn’t do that. Keith turned to Maddox.

Maddox gave him the barest of headshakes. Then, he turned to Garth. “Thank you for your offer, but I prefer him to remain living for now. He has sentimental value for me.”

“As you wish,” Garth said. “Provided he can keep up, he can remain living. Now, go. It is time…”

He froze.

Maddox glanced at Riker. The sergeant watched Garth carefully, the plodding mind no doubt coming to certain conclusions about the man and this place.

Garth shuddered, blinked rapidly and then brought up his black stick. He frowned when he observed the others waiting for him.

“Why did you not attack while I was indisposed?” Garth asked.

“That isn’t our nature,” Maddox said smoothly.

Garth stared at him. “No. That isn’t the answer. Can it be that you comprehend the situation?”

“It can be,” Maddox said, deadpan.

Garth scowled, and he motioned with the black metal stick. “Begin. Head that way.”

Maddox, Riker and Keith headed into the opening Garth had used to reach them. He followed several paces behind, aiming the stick at them as if it were a weapon.

The opening closed behind him, and the four of them continued to deeper into the subterranean depths.

-56-

They passed many open hatches where people in gray overalls and cerebraters half-sunken in their foreheads worked on machines assembly-line fashion. Some of the machines were huge, perhaps parts of a tank or a spaceship. Other parts were small as if components of computers or monitors.

They passed a different area where humans stood in a line as if in an alien DMV.

“Help us,” a disheveled woman cried. She wore a dingy dress and heels and had dirty legs.

Maddox halted. Riker and Keith halted behind him.

“What are you doing?” Garth asked. “You must proceed down the corridor.”

“Please,” the woman sobbed from the other chamber, looking through the open hatch at Maddox. She stood at the head of a long line. “Don’t let them do this to me.”

A big man stepped up and pushed her from behind. The woman staggered toward a different opening.

Maddox stepped to the hatch and peered into the chamber. There were many sad-looking hopeless individuals in various long lines. Big men wearing gray overalls and boots and with cerebraters in their foreheads and batons in their hands watched the others.

“What happens on the other side?” Maddox asked Garth.

“That is not your concern,” Garth said. “Now, continue. We have stayed here long enough.”

“Do they embed cerebraters into their foreheads in the other room?” Keith asked.

“Cerebraters?” asked Garth.

“You understood what it meant before.”

Garth continued to stare at Keith.

Keith pointed at Garth’s forehead. “What you’re wearing. What the aliens stuck in your forehead.”

“Do you refer to the collective perhaps?” Garth asked, bemused.

Maddox debated slipping into the chamber and rescuing the woman. The burly guards watched him. The captain noticed their hands, tightly gripping their batons. They all watched him now.

“What’s the collective?” Keith was asking.

“Belonging,” Garth said.

Realizing he could do nothing for the woman, that it would result in a fight they’d lose, Maddox turned back to Garth. “Is it permanent?”

“Do you mean becoming part of the collective?” asked Garth.

“Yes,” Maddox said.

“How could it be otherwise?”

“The woman in there doesn’t want to join the collective.”

“It is true that some people are foolish and ill informed,” Garth said. “They do not know what is good for them. Before, they were individual motes creating chaos. Now, they are part of the collective, achieving the greater unity and purpose.”

“Whose purpose?” Maddox asked.

“I do not understand the question.”

“Are the people of Remus gaining from all this?” Maddox asked. “Or are the new owners using the people of Remus for their own alien benefit?”

“Can you not comprehend?” asked Garth. “Humans are chaotic motes without purpose and meaning. There is no unity among mankind. We offer them the collective, the greater good.”

“To help Remus’s new owners?” asked Maddox.

“You do not understand,” Garth said with a sad shake of his head. “We grant the humans a chance to gain meaningful existence. We give them peace and understanding. They are no longer afraid, no longer useless and chaotic.”

“What if the humans don’t want what you’re giving?”

“It makes no difference what they want before. Afterward, they want it. They soon understand and are grateful for what we’ve done.”

“Because the cerebrater forces them to obey you,” Maddox said.

Garth smiled indulgently as if explaining to a child. “The cerebrater, as you call it, brings reason and unity. It allows their chaotic minds to merge into the mass of being. They become one with us. Surely, you wish to join us as well.”

“Is that how you truly feel about this, Garth?” Maddox asked. “I frankly doubt it. I had your former memories. I know the kind of person you really are.”

Garth shook his head. “You must not view me as the being I was, as an unreasoning individual. I was afraid then. I lacked meaning and unity. Those of the Fusion were going to conquer us and force us into their socialistic compromise.”

“You understand the Fusion?”

“We understand that the Fusion mimics our ways without using the correct means to achieve their desired aims. They attempt to coerce human minds into unity. But human minds are chaotic and undisciplined. Social Harmony only brings misery, except for the masters of the system. We provide a true collective where all benefit.”

“Then why are those guards carrying batons?” Maddox asked.

Garth chuckled. “Don’t you see? That proves our point. The humans, the individual motes, do not understand the greater good they are receiving. We force them out of our love for them.”

“But they don’t want to lose their individuality.”

“That is their chaotic nature barring them from true joy and love. The cerebrater merges their individuality into the whole, the collective, the mass. We are benign and loving, allowing the alien humans to enter into our peace.”

“Then why hide in the shadows?” Maddox asked. “Why use trickery and deceit on others?”

Garth chuckled, shaking his head. “You fail to understand. Chaotic creatures such as yourselves flail in misery your whole lives. You fight and kill, never achieving the bliss you seek. We provide it, doing so in the easiest and safest manner possible. We are nirvana in the flesh. We have studied you humans, and other aliens, and have finally decided to bring peace, joy and love to the universe. You will all submerge into the collective. Is that not grand?”

“We have no choice in this?” Maddox asked.

“None,” Garth said. “Now, we have stayed at the converging station long enough. Look. The woman is gone. Soon, she will belong to the collective. You and your friends must continue onward.”

“You’re not planning to add us into the collective?”

“In time, Captain,” Garth said. “First, you must—” Garth frowned and cocked his head. “Forward,” he said a moment later, motioning with the black stick. “I must show you more, and there is something you must do for us before you join the collective.”

“Do this thing without a cerebrater?” asked Maddox.

“That is so,” Garth said. “Must I summon the enforcers? Or will you continue to march as you did before?”

Maddox glanced at a sullen Riker and frightened Keith before nodding. “Sure,” he said. “Show us more. I’d like to see it.”

-57-

Maddox made some hard calculations as they marched down the corridors. Keith was flagging again. The pilot needed medical attention and rest. Maddox shook his head. This was a hellish place. He hated it. They turned people into automatons, into alien-run zombies. Could he save them?

Maddox sighed. He didn’t see how he could. Could he save Garth? That might be impossible. It was time to concentrate on saving Riker and Keith, on saving himself and getting back to Victory.

These hidden aliens preferred to work in the shadows, to use proxies. They reminded him of the giant centipede Liss, half flesh and half mechanical. The Liss had infiltrated all the way to the top of Star Watch by using these underhanded methods.

Maddox scowled. These aliens wouldn’t be able to do that with cerebrater-controlled humans. Why had the aliens seeded the nebula with the satellites that merged a cerebrater onto selected individuals? Wait, the satellites had always chosen the leader, first Valerie of the Kit Carson and himself of Victory.

Maddox scowled more. Did the Fusion First Fleet wait to attack Remus, or had the leaders of the fleet converged into the collective? No. That didn’t seem possible. The leaders would be having dreams if they wore satellite-teleported cerebraters. Besides, why did some of the ships tow asteroids toward Remus? That struck Maddox as an aggressive, a hostile move against the aliens.

Maddox rubbed his chin. He was in it all right. Riker and Keith were in it. How was he ever going to escape and reach Victory again?

But…the aliens had made one oversight. He had his blaster; Keith had his gun and Riker his stunner.

Could they fight the collective all the way back to the entrance? And if they reached the surface, how would that help them?

One thing at a time, Maddox decided.

As he pondered these things, they reached a larger area with many benches. Upon the benches sat forty-odd people. They all wore gray overalls with their hands on their knees and their faces forward, sitting with very straight backs. Each person wore a half-sunken cerebrater in his or her forehead. They all stared at a spot on the wall with a tiny nail or other device sticking out.

“There,” Garth said. “Sit down, won’t you?”

Keith, Riker and Maddox sat on an empty bench.

None of the others glanced at them or showed any indication that they’d noticed the newcomers.

“What’s wrong with them?” a nervous, white-faced Keith asked Garth.

“Nothing is wrong,” Garth said.

“Why don’t they speak?” Keith asked.

“What would you have them say?”

“Hello, for starters,” Keith said.

“You are mistaken,” Garth said. “They are now part of the collective as I said earlier. They are absorbing reality. You might call it learning.”

“Why are they doing it out here?” Keith asked.

Garth smiled. “The corridors are not for your benefit. You just happened to come upon an access shaft.”

“Do you mean your masters led us here?” Maddox asked.

Garth fixed Maddox with a careful scrutiny. “That is an odd comment. Have I not said we are a collective? How can there be masters and servants when we all work for the same goal?”

“You’re a slave to these aliens, Garth. That device in your head is fooling you. Would you like to be free again? I know how to draw the cerebrater from you.”

Garth cocked his head, and he began to blink rapidly.

Maddox rose.

All those seated around him turned their heads to stare at him.

“Don’t do it,” Riker said in a soft voice.

Maddox noticed the others and his shoulders slumped.

A moment later, Garth became aware again. He focused on Maddox. “Do not say that to him again. It serves no purpose. Now, you will come with me.”

“Come on,” Maddox told Riker and Keith. “We’re leaving.”

“No,” Garth said. “They are staying. Only you are leaving.”

Maddox’s features tightened. He wouldn’t let the aliens split them up. Was it time to fight? It seemed hopeless to begin it way down here.

“Follow me,” Garth said.

“Sorry,” Maddox said. “You have that wrong. They’re staying with me.”

“Those are not the instructions,” Garth said. “Now come with me.”

Maddox did not move.

“What is wrong?” Garth asked.

“Nothing’s wrong,” Maddox said. “I just want my friends to go with me. Surely, that can’t be a problem.”

“I said those were not the instructions.”

“Then, get some new instructions.”

All the people with cerebraters in their foreheads rose ominously from the benches.

“We can force you to obey,” Garth said.

“I wish you wouldn’t,” Maddox said. “We mean you no harm.”

“You three cannot possibly harm us,” Garth said.

“Do you remember your time as a youth?” Maddox asked. “Do you remember when the gang of youths was going to take your copper coin the woman gave you?”

Garth frowned.

“Do you remember the old monk who died fighting for you?” Maddox asked.

“No,” Garth whispered. “I…I don’t want to remember. I am…I am no longer my own. I wish—” He froze, and he cocked his head.

All around them, the others cocked their heads.

Maddox knew this was the moment to act, as he’d gone as far into the subterranean realm as he planned. It was time to leave. If they didn’t…the three of them would join the collective, likely for the rest of their lives. He would never see Meta and Jewel again. He would never be himself again. That simply wasn’t going to happen.

“Gentlemen,” Maddox said with purpose.

Riker and Keith glanced at him.

Maddox dropped his right hand onto the butt of his holstered blaster. He was surprised Garth hadn’t tried to take it before this. It must have been a glitch in the alien programming. “At my signal,” Maddox said in a hoarse voice, “we do what we must in order to leave.”

“We can’t kill them,” Keith said. “That would be murder.”

“They’re as good as dead,” Maddox said. “You heard Garth. The aliens have taken control of them. Do you want the aliens to take control of you?”

“No,” Keith said in horror.

“Then you must—”

“Listen,” Garth said, speaking loudly, interrupting the captain.

The others around them focused on Maddox.

“You will come with me,” Garth told Maddox. “The other two will be converted into the collective. It is the way.”

“Need any more convincing?” Maddox asked Keith.

“No,” Keith said in a small voice.

“There are a lot of them,” Riker said.

“I know,” Maddox said. “It isn’t going to be pretty and it may not be easy.”

“You will obey me this instant,” Garth told Maddox.

It hurt to do so, but Maddox drew his blaster and fired at Garth, beaming the cerebrater in the man’s forehead. A second later, Garth crumpled to the floor as he began to thrash.

“Back the way we came,” Maddox shouted, backpedaling that way as he faced the surging crowd. The captain continued to beam others.

Now, Keith’s gun and Riker’s stunner added to the fray, dropping the zombie-like humans. It was gruesome and mind-numbing work. Riker must have found it easier, as his stunner only knocked them out, but did not kill them. Keith must have found it the hardest, as he only fired sporadically. Maddox beamed remorselessly, as he’d made his decision. Anything less than his best might mean his never coming home to Meta and Jewel.

A few times, people reached them. Riker’s bionic strength proved invaluable. Maddox’s savagery helped too, as did the monofilament blade in his left hand.

“We should run!” Keith shouted as he reloaded shells.

“Kill them!” Maddox snarled. “It’s the only way for us to survive.”

A few more minutes of mayhem concluded the fight, as the last of the benchwarmers crumpled to the floor, twitching and making gurgling sounds with ghastly blaster and bullet wounds in them.

Keith vomited. Riker was shaking his head, muttering darkly.

Maddox checked the charge on his blaster and waved the weapon back and forth to cool the firing tube. Then, he holstered his weapon. He looked upon Garth, saddened that he’d had to kill the youth.

“I’ll avenge you,” Maddox said. “I’ll avenge you as if you were my brother.”

Keith had stopped vomiting and wiped his mouth.

“You two ready?” asked Maddox.

“This is horrible,” Keith whispered.

“Granted,” Maddox said. “Now, are you ready?”

Keith nodded.

“Then, follow me,” Maddox said. “Our only chance is to get back to the surface and hope Victory comes looking for us.”

“Our odds are slim,” Riker said.

“Yes,” Maddox said, “but we have odds because we’re still living and in control of our minds. So, enough jawing. Save your strength for running.”

-58-

Starship Victory approached Remus on the darkened side after using the star-drive jump to reach there from Vulcan. Valerie sat in the captain’s chair. Galyan was beside her. His eyelids fluttered. Valerie glanced at the holoimage.

“Do you see the stealth ship?” she asked.

Galyan stopped the eyelid fluttering to turn to her. “Of course, I see it. I am looking for the captain.”

“Weapons,” Valerie said. “Warm up the disrupter cannon.”

“I would wait to do that if I were you.”

“We want to be ready,” Valerie said.

“If the captain is aboard the Morag stealth ship, we dare not fire. If Grutch realizes our intent before we are ready, he might flee with the captain aboard.”

Valerie frowned, nodding shortly. “Belay that order, Weapons.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Lieutenant Barnes said.

“What do you suggest?” Valerie asked Galyan.

“That we scan the planet for signs of the fold-fighter.”

“I’m already on it,” Andros said from the science station. “The atmosphere is…odd. It’s making sensor readings difficult.”

“There has been much volcanic activity on the planet,” Galyan said. “I also detect subtle alien influences.”

“The Fusion?” asked Valerie.

“I do not think so,” Galyan said. “I suspect the aliens who made the memory sticks are doing this.”

“Oh,” Valerie said. “What happened to the people of Remus?”

“I am still analyzing the situation,” Galyan said. “The planet is not how I envisioned it to be.”

“I’ve found the fold-fighter,” Andros said. “It’s crashed, many of its systems down. I detect the transponder, however. It’s how I found it so quickly. I’m scanning for the captain and the others.”

With a sudden stricken look, Valerie stared at Andros.

“Keith will be okay,” Galyan said softly.

Valerie turned to him. “How do you know that?”

“He is with Captain Maddox. The captain always comes through.”

“Keith,” Valerie said under her breath, shaking her head afterward. They’d been estranged for so long. She’d avoided Keith ever since receiving her promotion. Now, worried he might die, that she might never see him again, Valerie began to realize how she really felt about the cocky Scotsman. She’d been a fool to avoid him. Oh, Keith, you must stay alive.

“Captain—I mean Commander,” Meta said from her comm station. “I’m receiving a hail from the planet.”

Valerie shook off her dread for Keith and concentrated on the here and now. “Galyan,” she said, focusing, “do you detect any target locks on us?”

“Negative,” Galyan said.

“Put it on the main screen,” Valerie told Meta.

A few seconds later, the main screen wavered and a beautiful blonde-haired woman with a cerebrater in her forehead regarded them. She had luxurious hair and wore a blue uniform.

“Diana Varus,” Valerie said, shocked that she recognized the woman. “Hello.”

The woman with the cerebrater in her forehead cocked her head. A moment later, she smiled.

Valerie felt something bump against her mind. She grunted, slumping forward, rubbing her forehead.

“You are…Valerie Noonan, Lieutenant Commander Valerie Noonan,” Diana said.

“How can she know that?” Galyan asked Valerie.

Valerie was still slumped forward and rubbing her forehead. She felt groggy and struggled to sit up.

“I am glad we can meet, Commander Noonan,” Diana said.

A new feeling swept over Valerie as she finally sat up. She smiled, feeling good, feeling as if they were sisters. She’d never had a sister growing up. It was a wonderful feeling.

“I would like you to come down to Remus in a shuttle,” Diana was saying. “You should bring others with you in order to ensure your safety.”

“I…think I’d like that,” Valerie said.

“You cannot be serious,” Galyan said beside her.

“Be quiet,” Valerie told Galyan. “Let me think.”

“Are you in charge of the starship?” Diana asked.

“I am,” Valerie said.

“I am glad,” Diana said. “That will make all of this much easier. I…request that you drop your shield and close all your torpedo tubes.”

“I…would like to do that,” Valerie said. “I think there are a few regulations standing in my way, though.”

“No,” Diana said. “You are the acting captain. You can do what you like.”

“How does she know all this?” Galyan asked. “Valerie, I do not think you are feeling well.”

Valerie rubbed her forehead again.

“I understand,” Galyan said. “You wore a cerebrater, and that has made pathways in your mind. I think Diana Varus is using that to control your thoughts.”

“Send that fool away,” Diana said on the main screen. “He is confusing you.”

“Galyan,” Valerie said. “Go…check something somewhere.”

“If you continue in this way, Valerie,” Galyan said. “The others will relieve you of command. Do you not understand what Diana is doing to you?”

“Please do not force us to fire on your starship,” Diana said. “Let us work together. Afterward, you can all join the collective and know true peace and love.”

“How can we achieve this feat?” Galyan asked.

Diana leaned forward as she stared at Galyan. “You are not real. You are a holoimage, an Adok.”

“You know Adoks?” Galyan said.

“I do.”

“From where?” asked Galyan.

Diana frowned, and then she smiled. “I see. This is interesting. You wish to discover the whereabouts of Adoks?”

“I do,” Galyan admitted.

“Then, you must come down to us, and I will tell you. You must also convince Commander Noonan to come down in a shuttle.”

“Are you attempting to bribe me?” Galyan asked.

“What sheer nonsense,” Diana said. “I am offering you gifts.”

“Commander,” Lieutenant Barnes said, interrupting. “I’m detecting target lock on Victory. There are planetary weapons systems aimed at us and more coming online.”

With a numbed mind, Valerie turned to muscleman Barnes. “What did you say?”

“Lower the starship’s shields,” Diana told Galyan. “I will then tell you about the Adoks.”

“Pilot,” Galyan said. “Reverse course. Take us farther from the planet.”

“Commander,” the pilot asked Valerie. “Should I?”

“You and I are alike Commander Noonan,” Diana said.

Abruptly, Diana Varus’s image disappeared from the main screen.

“What happened?” Valerie demanded.

“She’s done something to you,” Meta said. “I broke contact.”

“You will immediately bring her image back up,” Valerie said.

“No,” Meta said. “I won’t. I’m also relieving you of command.”

Valerie scoffed. “You don’t have the authority to do that. I’m the highest ranking person here.”

“I don’t care,” Meta said, as she rose from the comm station and hurried for the captain’s chair. “You’re not thinking right. It might be because of the cerebrater you wore.”

“Get back to your station,” Valerie ordered. “Or I’ll call the Marines to escort you off the bridge.”

“Galyan,” Meta said. “Take charge of the ship.”

“You lack the authority to give me the authority,” Galyan said.

“Use your personality profile on her,” Meta said. “You know Valerie isn’t acting correctly. Pilot, get some separation from the planet now.”

“Yes, ma’am,” the pilot said.

“Belay that order,” Valerie shouted, as she stood.

“No,” Galyan said. “Meta is correct. Valerie is acting out of character. Continue to retreat.”

Valerie stared at the pilot, stared at Galyan and then Meta. “I’m heading down to Remus. Don’t try to stop me.”

That was exactly what Meta did, though. She lunged at Valerie, grabbed her arm and forced it behind her back. Valerie struggled, but to no avail against Meta’s superior strength and unarmed combat training. “I’m taking her to medical. You’re in charge now, Galyan. And remember this, we’ll find the Adoks when this is all done. I promise you that.”

“Thank you, Meta,” Galyan said. “I believe you.”

Meta forced Valerie toward the exit hatch even as Valerie shouted for Meta to release her.

Meanwhile, Victory continued to maneuver away from Remus. The shield remained at full strength and Lieutenant Barnes watched for an assault from the planet, which did not materialize just yet.

-59-

It proved impossible to simply race up the subterranean corridors the way they had come and slip back onto the planetary surface. Armed guards blocked the way. Fortunately, the trio sneaked away before the cerebrater-wearing guards saw them.

Maddox, Riker and Keith rested in an alcove. They hadn’t traveled that far from the place they’d opened fire and slaughtered the cerebrater converged.

“I feel sick,” Keith said. He sat on the floor, leaned against a wall and fought to keep his eyes open. He was white-faced, his eyes red-rimmed and bleary.

Boots drummed beyond the alcove as humans raced past their hiding spot. The alcove was small, but it kept them from view of anyone in the corridor.

As the sounds of thudding boots dwindled, Maddox shook his head. “We’re not going to make it by retreating the way we first came. It’s reasonable to assume armed guards are blocking all the exits. So, we go down. In fact, we should continue the way Garth wanted me to go.”

“Go to the thing he wanted to show you?” asked Riker.

“Exactly,” Maddox said. “Can you keep going?” he asked Keith.

“I don’t think so,” the pilot said. “I feel sick. My head is pounding. You should leave me here. If you can come back for me later—” He ceased talking as Maddox laughed softly. “What’s so funny?” Keith demanded.

“We’re not coming back for anyone,” Maddox said. “But if you can’t go, we can leave you here for the aliens.”

Keith stared at him. “You’d do that? After all I’ve done for you throughout the years, you’d just leave me in this hellhole?”

“No,” Maddox said.

“Because if you think that’s fair,” Keith said. “I have to tell you—” He frowned. “What did you say?”

“No,” Maddox said.

“What do you mean no?” asked Keith. “I’m deadbeat sick. My head aches, and I just want to go to sleep. There’s nothing more to say about it.”

“Wrong,” Maddox said. “Are you ready?” he asked Riker.

For an answer, the sergeant worked up to his feet.

“Look,” Keith said. “I appreciate—”

“Mr. Maker,” Maddox said, moving in front of him. “Shut up already.”

“Sir?”

Maddox reached down and hoisted a groaning Keith to his feet. Then the captain squatted, and he grabbed the lieutenant, lifting him so Keith’s stomach rested on his left shoulder.

“Fireman’s carry,” Maddox said. “It might hurt your head, but it will give you a bit of a rest.”

“Put me down,” Keith said.

“Wouldn’t dream of it, Lieutenant,” Maddox said. “Now, if you could shut up for a change and you lean over my shoulder, we might be able to slip past any waiting zombies and reach the lower quarters.”

“We’re doomed,” Keith said, even as he leaned over the captain’s shoulder.

“That must be your concussion talking,” Riker said, joining Maddox.

“I imagine you’re right,” Maddox said. “Don’t worry, Lieutenant, I have a lot of fire left in me. Carrying you is a chore, but you’re one of us, and I do not intend to leave any of my people behind. Besides, you’re too good a pilot for that.”

“I am a good pilot.”

“Some say you’re the best,” Riker said.

Keith mumbled under his breath.

“What did you say?” asked Riker.

“You bet your sweet ass I’m the best.”

“He must be feeling better,” Riker told Maddox.

“I’m glad to hear it,” Maddox said. “What about you? How are you feeling?”

“Good enough, I suppose.”

“That’s good; I’m not sure I could carry you as easily, Sergeant. You look as if you’ve gained some weight since the last mission.”

“Just around my middle,” Riker said.

“I thought so,” Maddox said. With Keith on his shoulder, with the blaster in his other hand, Maddox led the way, heading deeper into the underground complex.

“Do you think we’ll find the aliens, sir?” Riker asked a little later.

Maddox glanced at the stout sergeant.

“I’d like a few words with some of them,” Riker said.

“You’ve read my mind,” Maddox said. “That’s exactly what I’d like: a good old-fashioned complaint session.” He raised the blaster.

Riker nodded.

Then, they concentrated on moving unseen, every sense alert as they headed down the corridor.

-60-

They passed the scene of the massacre, the dead still lying over and near benches, and headed in the direction Garth had wished Maddox to go.

Keith had grown silent as Maddox carried him. So far, the captain hadn’t shown any sign of strain. In truth, the extra weight was wearying him. But he didn’t know what else to do. Soon, they moved down steeper corridors and then came to a crossway.

“Which way do we go now?” a winded Riker asked.

Maddox lowered Keith, propping him against a wall. Maddox then crouched before the crossway, peering first in one direction and then the other. Finally, he shook his head.

“You don’t know?” asked Riker.

“No,” Maddox said.

“They say any choice is better than none.”

Maddox squinted as he reexamined the two possibilities. How could the planet have gone to seed so quickly? Remus had been a functioning society. What did he know about the Fusion? Precious little. Valerie said Diana Varus had gone there, and she, Valerie, had faint recollections about New Trotsky. What would Garth have wanted him to see? Why would Garth—the aliens behind him—want him to go to a place without a cerebrater controlling him?

“That way,” Maddox said, pointing to the leftward corridor. “We’ll go that way.”

“What do you think we’ll find that way?” Riker asked.

“Our destiny, one way or another,” Maddox said. He shuffled around, facing Keith. “How do you feel?”

“Awful,” Keith said. “But I think I can walk.”

“Probably not fast enough,” Maddox said. “I’ll have to carry you again.”

“No,” Keith said, as he slid up along the wall until he was standing. “Let me walk. I can do it.”

Maddox stood, too, and he shrugged, realizing what he had to do. “Keep an eye on him, Sergeant.”

“Sir?” asked Riker.

“I’m going to scout ahead. You two bring up the rear at your own pace.”

“Is separating wise, sir?” Riker asked.

“In this instance, I believe so,” Maddox said. “No more questions, gentlemen. We’re in the soup. Action is the answer, and perhaps lots of killing. Keep coming until you catch up with me or escape in some manner.”

“Good luck, sir,” Riker said.

Maddox nodded. “To you too, Sergeant, Lieutenant. Until we meet again.”

“Until then, sir,” Riker said.

Keith mumbled a reply.

Maddox turned and began to trot, heading into the corridor of choice, hoping he’d made the correct decision.

Maddox opened up, sprinting down the corridors, realizing he had to make something happen quickly. If they didn’t escape from this place soon, they likely never would.

After a time, however, the captain slowed down to a brisk walk. He couldn’t sprint forever, and he wanted to keep something left in reserve so he could fight when the moment arrived. He listened, advanced, listened more and heard a faint, strange slithering sound from ahead.

It made his nape hairs rise, but in a different way from when he’d heard Grutch’s computerized voice over the comm. The Morag was different, a true bug-eyed monster. Yet, the Morag was understandable after a fashion. The slithering sounds he heard from ahead, they were a different order of alien.

As Maddox advanced, he felt a sense of disgust mounting in him. And it felt as if the air changed, becoming reptilian or snakelike or…something worse than those things. The disgust turned to repugnance, and then loathing. He was certain now that he’d hate these new aliens in a visceral way. They must have kept hidden because they knew humans loathed the sight of them. It made sense. The aliens appeared to have a mass mind, a unified identity, something quite alien to humanity’s individuality. Humans cooperated out of a sense of benefit to each. The mass mind, the hive mind—

Could the aliens be like bees or ants? What kind of mentality would intelligent bees or ants possess? Maddox shook his head. Bees and ants did not disgust him. They were different certainly, but not repugnant.

The slithering sounds increased, and the hairs on Maddox’s head stood up. He found himself tiptoeing forward. His mouth had twisted into a grimace of loathing. He scrunched his nose and felt his stomach tighten until it began to ache from the strain.

The next thing Maddox knew, he gripped his blaster, holding it so hard that his hand began to throb. He exchanged grips, shaking out his firing hand. He inhaled through his nostrils, forcing himself to shuffle faster. Whatever he planned to do, he needed to do it quickly.

The sounds increased as he turned a corner and spied an open hatch ahead. He wanted to hurry, but found himself barely moving at a shuffle. He was reluctant to face what he expected to find, even though he needed to discover the nature of the new aliens.

Slithering, hissing and churning—heat emanated from ahead. The open hatch beckoned and mocked him. There was movement up there, he sensed it and caught a glimpse of it through the open hatch.

Sweat slid down his face and slicked his armpits. A groan lodged in his throat. Steeling himself, expecting the worst, Maddox neared the open hatch and eased to one side, peering through to the other side.

Maddox blanched in horror as he saw into the chamber. It stank. No, it reeked with a foul stench. There was rotted food or some organic substance on the floor. And over the substance seethed a mass of writhing, hissing creatures, each a little larger than his pinky finger. They had the appearance of maggots, tiny appendages or centipede legs and little squishy jaws. They seethed over each other, caterpillar nibbling the mass of rotted food, and they generated heat, and a telepathic sense as well.

Greetings, Captain Maddox, the mass mind said.

The thought slammed against his consciousness, leaving a vicious residue that made his head ache.

You are different from the others of your ilk. We can communicate with you directly.

“What are you?” Maddox heard himself ask, his mouth bone dry.

We are the Unity.

“You in this chamber are the extent of it?”

A sense of laughter or amusement filled his mind. No, no, we are but a tiny piece of the greater whole. Even on Remus, our mass is a minority of the Unity.

“That’s what you call yourselves?”

We do not call ourselves anything. We are the Unity, the entirety of our existence. We are bringing you humans into the Unity. Is that not magnanimous of us?

The revulsion at what he saw made it impossible for Maddox to dissemble. He blurted the truth: “No. It’s hideous. We humans want no part of the Unity.”

Can this be true? Are you not different from the mass of your fellows? You have greater awareness, allowing us to communicate with you directly.

“It is all true,” Maddox heard himself say.

That is unfortunate. We wished to use you as our emissary. You do not need the cerebrater, as you call it, to understand us. Come now, Maddox, let us remold your mind so you see us in a different light. Then, you can go out and help collect the rest of humanity, causing it to join the Unity so we can expand to an even greater extent.

“I’m not anyone’s slave. I’m my own man.”

That is a quaint notion, and it will fall before our unified might. We were reluctant to do this here, but you must brace yourself for a reconfiguration of your mental powers. In other words, we will finish what Balron the Traveler started.

“You know about Balron?”

From your thoughts and memories, we do.

Maddox blinked, and he blinked again, and he realized that his mind was under a mass assault from the telepathic powers of the seething mass of alien maggots in the chamber.

We are not maggots, Captain. We are members of the great Unity. Now, cease resisting our efforts. Let us do to you what needs doing.

Maddox winced in agony as the slithering, hissing mass of white finger-sized alien maggots surged toward him en masse.

He cried out in as if his soul were in peril. And he recalled the blaster.

You will not use that on us, Captain. The Unity forbids it. In fact, you must now drop it and walk into the chamber. Lie down so we may more easily absorb you.

Maddox felt the blaster slip from his grasp and thump onto the floor. It was a dreadful sound of his coming doom. He thought of his precious baby Jewel then. He thought of the way she held his pinky finger. That juxtaposed against the white maggot aliens that would absorb Jewel and turn her into—

Maddox howled at the thought, breaking his conscious thoughts and regaining control of his limbs. He bent down and scooped up the fallen blaster.

At the same time, the seething alien maggots—members of the dread Unity—reached his booted feet.

Maddox howled again, stomping on the squishy white things, making their guts spurt.

A blast of telepathic power struck his mind.

For a third time, Captain Maddox howled. It was a sound of mingled fear, fury and rage. It boiled against the alien telepathic control, creating a shield against it. Maddox stomped with a passion. He turned the selector switch on the blaster to wide beam, and he aimed into the chamber, blasting the mass of alien maggot Unity. It felt wonderfully good to destroy these little buggers. Seeing them writhe and fry, realizing they’d killed Garth, taken control of everyone on Remus—

Maddox danced a mad jig as he entered the chamber, stomping and crushing, raying and laughing in maniacal glee. He was beyond himself. His fear gone, he now seethed with vengeful fury against these cowardly aliens that would control his mind, control all humans as if they were mind slaves. This was their reward, an orgy of murderous Captain Maddox killing.

“The Unity dies!” Maddox roared.

That shouting began the process that pulled him back from the berserk madness of slaughter. He’d lost himself for a moment. Perhaps the alien telepathic assault on his mind had caused it. The repugnance of the Unity had also driven him to the edge of rage and despair.

Maddox looked around the chamber, and he realized that masses of surviving alien maggots slithered away for mouse-sized bolt holes.

“No, you don’t,” he said, sane once more. He moved the selector switch, turning it back to narrow beam, and he aimed at one of the holes. Nothing happened when he pulled the trigger.

His blaster was out of power.

The mass of maggots on the move ceased their retreat, turning toward him again, their little jaws moving back and forth.

Maddox didn’t hesitate. He turned around and charged out, escaping an instant before the hatch slammed shut behind him.

His blaster was worthless for the moment. His limbs were fatigued by the wildness of his stomping slaughter. Even so, Maddox ran. He had to get off Remus as fast as possible. By attacking him telepathically, the Unity had inadvertently betrayed much to him. It had opened itself while trying to coerce him, learning from him even as he’d learned about it. The greater Unity knew about him now, and it hated him with a passion. It wanted him more than dead.

And it feared him.

Maddox laughed like a wolf that had slain a herd of goats, with wildness in his blazing eyes. He’d faced the alien menace. He knew them, and he’d learned much about the underground facility, had a map of the place in his head.

Balron’s training and the spiritual power of the Erills he’d absorbed long ago had made all the difference. He had to think he’d been given these gifts for moments like these, moments when his fate—and that of his friends, perhaps even Earth’s—hung in the balance. Call it Providence, or destiny.

“Right,” Maddox said. He had a good idea about how to get off Remus, about where he needed to go to cause that. He also suspected the Unity knew he knew and would try to stop him before he got there. Thus, he had to reach Riker and Keith as fast as possible. He also had to make sure the two wouldn’t face the massed telepathic might of the Unity. They could not possibly resist as he had.

The enemy had a grim power when in close proximity. If there had been more alien maggots in the room when he’d faced them—

“Forget that,” Maddox told himself. “Concentrate on what needs doing, and do it.”

With that, he increased his speed, knowing his window of opportunity for getting off Remus was closing fast.

-61-

“Captain!” Riker shouted.

A grim-faced and concentrating Maddox almost raced past the two men. At the last moment he halted, staring at them with seeming incomprehension.

“Are you all right, sir?” Riker asked, with worry in his voice.

Maddox just stood there panting as sweat rolled down his dirty face.

Riker and Keith exchanged glances.

“Sir,” Riker said. “You’re a mess. What happened down there?”

Maddox shook his head, and he became aware of the two. “I made it,” he said. “Look, we have to keep moving. The Unity is gathering itself. I think they’re cordoning off any means of escape.”

“Did you say Unity, sir?”

“I have no time to explain, Sergeant. I’ve faced the aliens. They’re disgusting and hideous. And there’s a reason they’ve remained hidden all these centuries. Go that way.” Maddox pointed. “We have to go that way.”

“Why?” asked Riker.

Maddox rounded on him. “Sergeant, are you questioning me?”

“That way,” Riker said. “You know best, sir. Lead the way.”

“Lieutenant,” Maddox said. “Can you run?”

“If I have to,” Keith said, sounding reluctant.

“Oh, yes,” Maddox said. “You have to. But if you’re good and do as I say, I can give you a fighter to fly. Then, we can see if you really are the best or not.”

“A space fighter, sir?” asked Keith, brightening.

“I believe so.”

“In that case, I can sprint, sir.”

“Good,” Maddox said, as he cocked his head. “I can hear others heading our way. It’s time to hightail it.”

“I don’t hear anything,” Riker said.

“That’s because you’re old and fat,” Maddox said. “If you were in shape like me—”

“I hear it,” Keith said, interrupting. “Let’s go. I want to be a fighter ace again, and I want to bust some ass for all the suffering I’ve been going through.”

“Damn right,” Maddox said. “Now, go.” He shoved the small pilot, who staggered in the right direction.

They ran, with Maddox pacing beside them. And it soon became obvious that whatever chased them was catching up.

“Lieutenant,” Maddox said. “I need your gun and whatever extra ammo you have.”

Wordlessly, as he panted and sweated, still running, Keith handed Maddox his gun and two extra magazines.

“Keep going,” Maddox said. “I’ll return shortly.” With that, he stopped, considered and began sprinting back the way he’d just come.

Maddox heard them: big men in body armor of some kind. They stomped and clattered, and breathed heavily. None of them spoke, however.

Kneeling in the center of the corridor, Maddox waited. He had a good idea what he’d see. He raised the gun, holding it with both hands.

The first enforcer ran around the corner, a big man in gray overalls wearing a chest protector and wielding a baton. He had a cerebrater embedded in his forehead. Maddox had expected no less.

He waited as more enforcers followed the first. They saw him, and they charged, although they did not yell like normal men. Their eyes did not widen seeing that he held a gun. They raced at him, straining to reach him, no doubt propelled by the mass mind of the alien Unity.

With deliberate care, Maddox shot them one by one, ejecting the empty magazine and slamming in the next. He kept firing and they kept tumbling onto the floor. A few of them tripped over the dying and badly wounded. He shot them as well. It was gruesome and inhuman, as they did not scream in agony or even groan in pain but doggedly attacked. He took no joy in the slaughter. He knew if he held back that they would reach him and likely beat him to death at best. At worst, he would be hauled off to have another cerebrater embedded in his forehead. He was sure it would be different the second time around.

Maddox ejected the second magazine and inserted the third. The survivors were closer than before, and they kept on coming, grunting when he fired and did not immediately kill them.

“You poor bastards!” Maddox snarled. “I’m sorry I have to kill you. They’re forcing me to do it.”

He jumped up with a feeling the aliens were running out of men, and then his borrowed gun went click, click, click. It was empty. He dropped it and drew his monofilament blade, the one with an edge a molecule thick that could cut through anything.

Maddox charged them, ducked, slashed, stabbed, took a baton hit on the shoulder—it went numb—and weaved the other way. He slashed and shouted in rage at the maggot aliens forcing this on him. He—

Maddox looked around, panting in the sudden silence. No more enforcers charged, although a few stirred on the heaped mass of them on the floor.

Maddox stared in impotent anger and grief. He knelt where he stood, mumbled a prayer for their collective souls, offered an apology afterward, and cleaned his knife on one of them, wiping it on the overalls. He stood, staring at them.

With a shake of his head, he sheathed his knife, picked up Keith’s empty gun and turned around. The hideousness of the action had stunned him.

“Go,” Maddox whispered to himself. If he didn’t get back to Riker and Keith in time—Maddox grunted and broke into a run. They had a window of opportunity now. It was time to take it.

-62-

Galyan the deified Driving Force stood on the bridge of Victory. He could not get over the admission of Adoks. Diana Varus said the aliens had seen Adoks. That was wonderful news. Where did these Adoks live? Were they at war with these aliens? Were they allies or subjugated by them?

“There are missiles—what am I supposed to call you, Galyan?” Andros asked from the science station.

“Driving Force,” Galyan said. “It is my old rank, and it is right that I carry it while I am in charge of Victory.”

Andros nodded. “Missiles have launched from Remus, Driving Force. I’m counting seven of them. They appear to be old-type missiles run on chemical fuel and launched by stages or sections.”

“I have already seen them,” Galyan said, surprised at the thrill he felt at being called Driving Force after all this time. He missed the old days when he had been a flesh and blood creature. Driving Force Galyan: it had a truly wonderful ring to it.

“You might have told us about the missiles then,” Andros said, “given us a heads up about what’s happening.”

“Should I use the neutron cannon against the missiles, sir?” Lieutenant Barnes asked.

“What did you say?” asked Galyan.

“The neutron cannon—” Barnes said.

“I heard you about that,” Galyan said, interrupting. “You said sir, did you not?”

Barnes swiveled around to face Galyan. “I don’t understand?”

“I am Driving Force Galyan. Did you not hear me tell Andros a second ago when he asked?”

Barnes glanced at Andros, who was to his left.

“Galyan,” Andros said, “Lieutenant Barnes meant Driving Force by saying sir. It was implied. I know you’ve often heard the others call Captain Maddox sir. He accepts it as proper form.”

It took a half second. Then Galyan said, “Yes. I see that. I…I do not know why I forgot just then. That is a negative, Lieutenant, regarding the neutron cannon just yet. Let us see what kind of velocity these old-style missiles can achieve before we address them with the high-powered cannon.”

“Do we want the missiles to leave the atmosphere?” Andros asked. “They’ll likely be more dangerous once in space.”

Galyan turned to the science officer. “I do not appreciate these questions to my authority any more than Captain Maddox does to his.”

“Galyan,” Andros said. “This is unlike you. Has our calling you Driving Force changed your perspective?”

“I do not believe so. However, that is not the issue. Questioning my authority is the issue.”

“Is your authority legal, I wonder?” Andros asked.

“Are you challenging it?”

Andros paused thoughtfully before he said, “No… Still, I wonder what the Lord High Admiral is going to say about what Meta did.”

“Meta acted correctly,” Galyan said.

“Even though she didn’t have the legal authority to do what she did?” asked Andros.

“As Captain Maddox’s wife, Meta possessed the moral authority, though,” Galyan said. “Clearly, we have all obeyed her command. Thus, we are all in agreement with Meta’s decision.”

Andros stared at Galyan a moment longer, opened his mouth as if he was going to argue further, and then abruptly turned around and monitored his station.

“Mr. Barnes,” Galyan said. “I have taken the science officer’s suggestion to heart. Launch an antimatter missile at the seven.”

“Yes, Driving Force,” Barnes said, his powerful hands roving over his weapons panel.

An antimatter missile left the starship as the seven big chemical-fueled missiles continued to climb out of Remus’s gravity well.

Galyan used the ship’s sensors to study the missiles more closely. They were big and crude, powered by chemical fuel as Andros had said. Using sensors, Galyan quickly determined that they held old-fashioned nuclear warheads. He decided the aliens must have taken whatever the Remus military possessed and converted it for their alien efforts.

Each of the big crude missiles detached the second stage rocket, having previously detached the first stage. As smaller missiles, now much higher in the atmosphere, they sped for Victory, which was well out of low orbital space and heading farther out all the time.

We could outrun these missiles with ease, Galyan realized.

He used the ship’s sensors, scanning elsewhere, seeing if the aliens had fixed their attention while bringing the real threat from elsewhere. Galyan did not sense anything else.

He did, however, noticed Grutch’s stealth ship even farther away from Remus. The Morag mercenary watched them, using observation sensors. It would have been enjoyable to use the disrupter cannon on the mercenary and take him out of play. But there was a chance the captain was aboard. Thus, he would give Grutch leeway for now.

“The missiles are almost out of the atmosphere,” Lieutenant Barnes said.

“Thank you,” Galyan said. “I am well aware of that.”

The holoimage AI continued to monitor the situation. The antimatter missile sped faster for the planet. The seven Remus missiles climbed higher. Then, the antimatter missile reached them and detonated.

A whiteout appeared, and Galyan could no longer monitor the seven missiles. A minute later, he could, and the seven Remus missiles no longer existed.

“We destroyed the missiles, Driving Force,” Barnes said.

“Excellent work,” Galyan said, deciding to mimic the captain’s behavior in such a situation and spread around praise where applicable.

“Should I return us nearer the planet?” the pilot asked.

Galyan considered the idea. “Negative. We shall observe from here. Mr. Barnes, I would like you to launch two probes, one for ground level and the other to remain in low orbital space.”

“Yes, Driving Force,” Barnes said. “I am preparing two probes.”

“I am also revising my previous decision,” Galyan said. “You may use sir instead of Driving Force. It is correct usage after all.”

“Yes, sir,” Barnes said. “Thank you, sir.”

Galyan wanted to smile, as he felt he had handled that rather well. Being in charge again—it took some getting used to and was quite the heady feeling. He liked it.

Now, though, he wanted more data on possible Adoks. But he was worried for Captain Maddox, Riker and Keith. Were the three men alive? Why had the fold-fighter crashed? All he could do for now was wait, hoping the captain could pull another of his proverbial rabbits out of his hat.

-63-

In a subterranean hangar bay on Remus, Sergeant Riker panted with exhaustion as he reached into his jacket and took out his bottle of pills. He unscrewed the lid and shook a white pill onto his palm. He’d already taken one earlier and should wait another six hours before he took another, but…

Riker looked around. Maddox and Keith were checking parked fighters. They were big and crude, low-orbital craft, like something from a museum. The fighters seemed like giant rockets more than anything else. Surely, they’d belonged to the Remus AirSpace Service rather than being Unity craft brought down here.

Riker turned around. Behind them were thirty unconscious or dead humans with cerebraters in their foreheads. Some had horrible knife wounds, still leaking blood or gore. Others had caved-in heads where Riker had used his bionic arm to smash them.

Sure, his left arm and leg had bionic power. That didn’t mean the rest of him did. The fight had exhausted Riker. Just as bad, the stunner was out of a charge.

Riker debated taking a third pill. With a wistful sigh, he decided against it. His heart might not be able to take the extra strain. This more than anything else should show him it was time to quit the service.

Or get in better shape, he supposed.

Riker patted his protruding belly. It had been getting bigger no matter what kind of diet he tried. He’d eat less for a time, but then splurge and gain it all back with interest.

“I need to exercise more,” Riker muttered. “No. I need to actually exercise period.”

He started toward the others. They seemed to have chosen the biggest rocket-fighter in the place. It had a tiny cockpit up near the top and a horrendous amount of space in back for the rocket fuel.

A premonition of danger struck Riker. Could his fat old body take the strain of a rocket ride up into the heavens? Maybe he’d better take that third pill after all.

Riker stopped, and he pressed a hand over his heart. His old organ beat painfully, and it did it more, thudding with something extra, a bad extra.

“Please don’t fail me, heart,” Riker said to himself.

Would this be a good or bad way to leave the world? Riker shrugged. He didn’t want to leave just yet. He didn’t want to quit working for Star Watch, either. He liked his job. He liked working. He loved the people he worked with. And if he quit the service, what would happen to Maddox? The young cockerel would get himself into a mess and his guardian angel Riker wouldn’t be there to help.

Is that what I am, the Captain’s guardian angel?

Riker shook his head ruefully as he realized that was exactly how he saw himself. He’d never been married, unless one counted a common law wife he’d had for five years as a youngster. He’d had a few girlfriends afterward, but after his common law wife had left him—Riker scowled. He didn’t want to think about her. He didn’t want to think about the man he’d nearly beaten to death for cheating with his woman. That had been a row all right, decades ago now.

“Why am I thinking all this?”

Riker frowned. His leathery face was good at it. Did he think he was going to die today? Was he remembering old things because of that?

If so, he was really proud of Captain Maddox. He was proud of what the lad, well, not a lad anymore. He was proud of Maddox, and maybe he thought of the captain as the nephew he’d never had.

“Better stick around a while, you old fart,” Riker muttered. He could survive a blast off, and he could start exercising a bit more and get rid of the belly he’d been accumulating.

This wasn’t going to be his last mission. No, sir. No way. He would get in prime shape and surprise them all.

“Sergeant!” Maddox shouted. “Shake a leg, old man. We’re getting ready to leave.”

Riker grinned, but he didn’t run. Let them get ready. Let the pill do its damn job for a change. Could that rocket of a fighter get them off the planet?

Wheezing, Riker shuffled a little faster. I will get in better shape. This I vow. I can’t quit yet. In a few years, I’ll do it then.

Riker smiled thinking that, heading toward the captain when a haze of thudding pain blossomed in his chest. He fought it. The pain worsened and he went blank, falling perhaps, but he didn’t know, as he remembered no more.

-64-

Captain Maddox turned to shout at Riker again to hurry up. He turned just in time to see the old sergeant faint dead away and crumple onto the deck.

“Get it ready,” Maddox shouted at Keith.

“What am I supposed to do?”

“Figure out what you can, and do it fast. I’m getting Riker.”

Maddox didn’t wait for Keith to ask anything else, but hustled to the old man. Watching Riker faint and fall—Maddox felt a stab of fright. This couldn’t be happening. Riker had been with him forever. They’d been working the same shift since—

“You old fool,” Maddox muttered under his breath. Yet there was no bile in his voice. They were the frightened words a son might say watching his father fall, maybe having a heart attack.

Maddox hadn’t always liked his real dad. In fact, he’d hated his father for a long time. He’d since learned differently. Now, Maddox was proud of his dad, fiercely proud. He still had some things to settle with his father’s old New Men enemies. That would come in time. But that wasn’t the point here. Riker—the sergeant hadn’t been his father figure. He’d been… Maddox didn’t know what Treggason Riker had been to him all this time. The old man had been more than a friend, more than a subordinate—he’d been Sergeant Riker, the most trustworthy of confederates he’d ever had.

“Riker,” he said, reaching the old man lying on the deck, slowly breathing.

“He’s breathing,” Maddox told himself. That was good: a good sign that the man was going to make it. He knelt, shaking a shoulder. “Riker, you okay?”

The sergeant opened bleary eyes, staring up at him in hurt and surprise, as if he couldn’t figure out what had happened or maybe where he was.

“What happened to you?” Maddox asked.

Riker frowned, and his face seemed stiff. He tried to speak, but only moved his lips without making a sound. What was wrong with him? He stared up at Maddox, finally whispering, “I don’t feel so good.”

“You must have gotten winded,” Maddox said, knowing he was fudging. Riker looked as if he’d had a heart attack or stroke. “Don’t worry about it, though. Let me help you up.”

“You know,” Riker whispered, “I’m not so sure about that. Let me lie here for a while. I’ll get up when I’m ready.”

“Sergeant, I want you to listen to me. Are you listening?”

“If I have to,” Riker whispered, as he scowled. That moved the stiff part of his face. Maybe not a stroke after all, but definitely a heart attack.

“I forbid you to die, old man.”

Riker stared at Maddox, and understanding filled his eyes. Something bad had happened to him. Yet, despite that, the barest of smiles slid into place. “We’ve had some times, haven’t we, sir.”

“Sergeant, I don’t want to have to repeat myself.”

“I know. I feel so tired, just really tired. That last fight was a good one, though, wasn’t it?”

“Damnit, old man. Why did you get so fat? Why did you—screw this.” Maddox reached down, grasped Riker by the lapels of his uniform and hoisted him up and onto his shoulder. “You’re heavier than Keith, a lot heavier.”

“I don’t feel so good.”

“Stay with me, Sergeant. I’m going to need your help in a minute.”

“Just for a minute, though, eh, sir?”

“Are you staying with me?”

Riker shuddered, and he did not respond.

Maddox ground his back teeth in frustration and…there was something else that brought a pang to his chest. It felt so strange, and he couldn’t understand why moisture had gathered in his eyes.

“If you die…” Maddox didn’t finish the phrase. He hurried to the chosen rocket fighter and climbed the ladder with Riker on his left shoulder. It was tough going, but he wasn’t going to fail now.

By straining and performing a delicate balancing act, Maddox reached the tiny cockpit area. The hardest part was negotiating from the ladder to the cockpit. He jumped in the end, made it by slamming against a bulkhead and gently setting Riker onto a cushioned crash seat. He hooked the restraints onto Riker, saw that the old man still breathed, if very shallowly, and then put both palms on the sergeant’s chest.

Maddox squeezed his eyes closed as hard as they could go. That pang squeezed his chest again, and more moisture leaked out of his eyes. “Holy God,” Maddox whispered. “Please heal my sergeant. I beg you, Lord, don’t let him die out here. Let him live a long life. I…I need him, Lord. I need this old man to live. Amen.”

Maddox didn’t open his eyes right away. He kept his palms on Riker’s chest, feeling how the chest hardly rose. Finally, he looked upon the old man.

“You’re going to make it, Sergeant. You’re not dying like this. You rest a bit. Keith and I have to get things ready. Then, you’re going to have to tough it out for a bit. But after that, the medical people will make you as good as new. Riker, do you hear me?”

The sergeant did not answer, although he continued to breathe.

Maddox shook his head in frustration. He felt something just then and searched inside the sergeant’s jacket, pulling out a small bottle of pills. He unscrewed the cap and shook out a pill. Staring at it—he opened Riker’s mouth and shoved the pill in. Then he leaned low.

“Chew and swallow,” Maddox said sternly. “That’s an order.”

Nothing happened.

“I don’t want to repeat myself,” Maddox said in desperation.

Although the eyes remained closed, the lips moved. The teeth crunched the pill and soon the old man swallowed slowly.

Maddox hoped that helped. What more could he do? He shook his head, steeling himself against the worst. He loved this fat old man, but he had a responsibility to Jewel and Meta. He would look after Riker—

“Damnit, Sergeant, I don’t need this grief right now. You pull through or you’re going to be sorry you didn’t.”

Incredibly, Riker lips moved.

Maddox put his right ear near the lips, listening.

Riker mumbled more, but it was impossible to tell what he said, as the words were inaudible.

“Just so you know, old man—” But Maddox couldn’t finish, because suddenly, he had the superstitious feeling that if he told Riker how he felt, the old man would up and die on him, satisfied. Instead, he had to string the sergeant along.

“I’ll tell you later,” Maddox said. “Do you hear me?”

Riker mumbled once more. Then, his head lolled to the side as he began to snore the slightest bit.

Maddox sighed, figuring that would have to do for now, as he needed to help Keith get this fighter ready for flight.

-65-

Time moved too fast as Maddox and Keith worked feverishly to prepare the Remus atmospheric, rocket-propelled space-fighter for liftoff.

“It will be like riding a bomb into space,” Keith said once.

Maddox didn’t reply, but worked even harder.

There were other fighters and equipment in the cavernous hangar bay. Maddox set a bomblet near the crowd of unconscious and dead men, which was near the entrance. He kept an eye on them in case any came around too soon and resumed their assault.

When the first one stirred, Maddox debated the correct response—until a two-seater cycle roared into the hangar bay with a man riding it.

Maddox’s thumb depressed a switch. That detonated the bomblet, which killed those lying there and the rider of the vehicle that had roared into the hangar bay. That gave them a few more minutes of uninterrupted work.

“How much longer until we can leave this place?” Maddox shouted at Keith.

“Unhook the fuel lines. Then, we’re good to go.”

“Get up there,” Maddox said. “I’ll follow.” The captain used a hoist, moving from one fuel line to another, pulling them and capping the tank. He reached the floor when a telepathic thought struck him:

Captain Maddox, your escape attempt is futile.

Maddox jumped off the hoist and ran for the ladder, scrambling up it like a squirrel.

We will never let you leave Remus.

“Do you want to leave the planet?” Maddox shouted.

Do not worry about us.

“I’m not.”

We will leave when we desire. For now, we are preparing it as a training facility. Still, none of that matters to you. If you attempt to leave, you shall die. If you remain on Remus, you will become our ambassador to Star Watch.

“Do you really mean that?” Maddox asked, even as he climbed the ladder.

We give our word as the Unity.

“You know what?” Maddox said, as he reached the cockpit. “I’m going to accept your offer. It’s a good one and I don’t want to die.”

Raising his eyebrows high, Keith stared at Maddox.

The captain shook his head at Keith.

How can we know that you’re sincere in this?

“Because I said so,” Maddox said, even as he motioned for Keith to take off.

We sense deceit in your words.

“Are you sure that’s not projecting your guilt on your part for lying to me?”

We are not lying, Captain. You will represent us to—wait. This is a game to you. You are attempting to trick us in order to buy yourself time to blast off.

“I assure you that isn’t true,” Maddox said.

“Who are you talking to?” Keith asked, flipping switch. The cockpit hatch was closing.

“The Unity,” Maddox said. “Now, take off already. Don’t wait another second.”

What does that mean? Are you speaking to us, Captain?

“I realize the Unity is going to win in the end,” Maddox said. “That’s why I think your offer is genuine.”

You are not gaining anything by these lies. We are learning about you even now, however.

Keith was busy clicking more switches. The cockpit cover sealed with a hiss. There was a slight shaking to the cramped cabin as rockets began pre-ignition. “We’re ready, sir,” he told Maddox.

“Sergeant,” Maddox said, “how are you feeling?”

“Tired,” Riker whispered, with his eyes closed.

“Hang in there, old man,” Maddox said, patting the sergeant on the arm.

You are in a rocket fighter attempting to blast off. You are a deceiver, Captain Maddox.

“Takes one to know one,” Maddox said.

This is our final offer, Captain Maddox. Are you refusing it?

“No. I’m telling you that I’m delighted to accept.”

There might have been another mass-mind telepathic thought aimed at Maddox. He did not receive it, however. For at that moment, the rocket fighter ignited with fury, the entire long rocket fighter shaking dreadfully. None of them wore helmets or a flight suit. Each of them was strapped into the tiny cockpit with screens and controls around them. It was a crude craft compared to a Star Watch fighter, but it should get them into space.

At that point, a huge hangar hatch above the ship opened. It must have still been dark outside, because none of them saw anything up there.

All the while, the rocket fighter shook as a horrific roar blasted against them and the vessel slowly began to move higher, thunder deafening all other thoughts and sounds. The rocket fighter moved a little faster yet, and the roar was just a little less.

Keith gave Maddox a thumb’s up.

Maddox nodded, doing likewise to Keith and then glancing at Riker.

The sergeant’s leathery face had turned stark white, but he was still breathing. And he clutched the armrests.

Maddox took that as a good sign.

The rocket fighter reached the opening, slipping through and climbing into the open air. It picked up speed and continued to spew reaction mass.

Maddox’s heart raced even as he was pressed against the crash-seat. This was primitive space travel all right. But it was working, it was actually working. He thought to hear something in his mind, but it slipped away before he could understand it.

Keith concentrated at the pilot’s seat, his hands pressed against the controls.

Once more, Maddox looked over at Riker. The sergeant still breathed, but he looked whiter than ever and sweat slicked his face.

Now they were beginning to move, climbing and gaining velocity the entire time. They still couldn’t talk in the cockpit, as the engine roar drowned out all other speech. Maddox leaned over, looking at a crude sensor screen. There were green blips there, two of them. Maddox motioned madly until Keith looked at him. Maddox pointed at the screen.

Keith noticed it, staring longer than Maddox liked. The pilot looked back at him, shrugging.

Maddox shouted at Keith.

Keith shook his head and tapped his ears, indicating that he couldn’t hear.

It was possible the Unity had fired missiles at the rocket fighter.

Keith seemed to be searching his pilot board. Eventually, he tapped a switch, looked at a different screen and then turned to Maddox, laughing.

The captain couldn’t hear the laughter, but he nodded. After that, he watched the primitive screen. Soon, the two green dots disappeared. Maddox grinned, for the first time thinking they might actually succeed.

-66-

Lieutenant Keith Maker shivered with glee as he piloted the rocket fighter through the smoggy early morning atmosphere of Remus.

He shivered because the accelerating rocket roared upward toward orbital space, causing everything in the cramped cockpit to shake and shiver. Maddox and Riker were strapped into the other two available seats. Those two were superfluous to getting back to Victory again. This was all up to him, despite the fact that he didn’t understand a word on the control panels. He was working off instinct and his expert knowledge of fighter design and effect. So far, everything had done what he’d expected it to do.

Keith had felt uncomfortable and out of his element before this. Running through subterranean corridors, firing at alien-controlled toadies and breathing crappy air—he hadn’t cared for any of that. That was a foot-fighter’s territory, a Marine’s type of combat. That wasn’t his style in the least. This, baby, this crude craft with its single gun, and with its rocket fuel and primitive radar, this was how he did it.

The past few hours slid off Keith. The humiliation of riding on the captain’s shoulder, of flagging energy—Keith shook his head. No more of that, man. This was how a real man fought, behind the controls of a space fighter, jinking and jiving, using skills with the twitch of his fingers and his mind. He was the best at this, the very best, and he was going to prove it by bringing these louts back to Victory.

The entire fighter shook, and there was a clang, a jerk and Keith saw the last stage fall off the rocket and away from them and fall back toward the smoggy planet.

“We’ve achieved low orbit, gentlemen,” Keith said with pride in his voice, as if reaching this point in the mission was all due to his efforts.

Weightlessness hit them. Keith could feel his butt lift the slightest bit from his crash-seat, although the restraints held him down. He turned to Maddox. “How’s Riker doing?”

Maddox turned to the old sucker. “He’s breathing. Sergeant, can you hear me?”

Riker didn’t reply.

Maddox looked up. “Do you see Victory?”

Keith arched his eyebrows, wanting to say, “Are you kidding me, mate?” They’d barely reached low orbit, and the radar screen sat in front of Maddox. Why didn’t the captain get to work instead of expecting the ace fighter jock to do everything for him?

“The radar screen is in front of you, sir,” Keith said instead.

“Ah,” Maddox said. “So it is.” He began to tap it and play with it. Those look like launches,” he said.

Keith leaned over so he could look at the radar screen. “I’d say so: three of them.”

“Are they missiles?”

Keith glanced at the captain, and he must have had a smirk on his face.

“Lieutenant…” But Maddox let the word drift away, although he stared at Keith.

Keith cleared his throat, twisted to the radar screen again and studied it closely. He reached over and clicked a switch. There was a shift and the radar images turned red.

“I’m thinking they’re fighters like us, sir.”

Maddox squinted at Keith.

“Call it a premonition,” Keith said. “I think you know a thing or two about that, eh?”

“Glad to see you’re back,” Maddox said.

Keith gave him an abrupt nod. “I’m back, sir, and I’m pissed off at the poor treatment we received planet-side. Now, if you’ll give me a second, I’ll figure out our options.”

Maddox folded his arms across his chest.

Keith pulled back to his panel, studying it, testing a switch here and a button there. “I’d say we have fuel for a ten-minute space burn. These rocket fighters weren’t meant to last long up here. Of course, I doubt they burned up all that fuel in one continuous use. I can maneuver or…” Keith didn’t finish the thought.

“Go on,” Maddox said, “or do what?”

“Head out farther from the planet, sir, hoping that Victory or a maybe a Fusion ship is nearby to pick us up.”

“Or Grutch,” Maddox said.

“That’s another possibility,” Keith admitted.

“Take a look at those blips again,” Maddox said. “Recheck their status.”

“Will do,” Keith said, as he leaned over again. “Uh-oh, I think I had it wrong before. I think those are missiles.”

“Nuclear tipped?” asked Maddox.

“If not that, then hunter-killers, satellite killers, maybe, or maybe rocket-fighter killers like us.”

“Where’s the comm around here?” asked Maddox.

Keith looked around and finally twisted in his seat and searched with his eyes where Riker sat. “I’d say that’s it, sir.” He pointed by Riker.

“Right,” Maddox said. He leaned over and began to test the comm. The thing soon whirred into life as it activated.

“This looks like a microphone,” Maddox said. He clicked it and said, “This is Captain Maddox. We’re in the rocket fighter leaving orbital space. Several hunter-killer missiles are heading for us. If you can lend a hand, we would appreciate that.”

Seconds ticked by.

“Victory must still be near Vulcan,” Keith said. “I’ll turn us around and try some long-distance firing with the cannon.”

Just then, the comm crackled and a tinny voice asked, “Is that you, sir?”

“Galyan,” Maddox said into the microphone. “Is that you?”

“Yes, sir,” Galyan said. “We have spotted your rocket. We are coming to intercept. If you could continue outward, that would help.”

Keith laughed with glee.

“We’re on our way,” Maddox said. “Is everything all right over there?”

“We have faced a mishap or two, but we are ready to act.”

“Glad to hear it,” Maddox said. “Now hurry up, if you please. We don’t want to cut this too closely.”

-67-

The Morag mercenary had been eavesdropping on Victory for some time while still maintaining a watch on the planet. It troubled him that Galyan presently ran the starship. This new development—Grutch’s gelatinous bulk quivered as his eyestalks drew back and lowered. The tentacles all but disappeared.

According to a radio message, Captain Maddox claimed to be in the runaway missile that used its remaining fuel to build up velocity as it left Remus. The owners of Remus now launched—Grutch’s eyestalks lengthened as the eyeballs on the end concentrated on one screen apiece. The shells fired from the “space-fighter” had struck the earlier launched hunter-killers, destroying them. It was quality work with such primitive weaponry. If he’d heard correctly, Lieutenant Keith Maker had achieved this feat of marksmanship.

Now, however, nineteen missiles sped up from Remus, hurtling after the capsule holding Captain Maddox.

What did that mean for his bars of tellurium?

The alien presence on Remus—Grutch did not think humans ran the planet anymore—hated Captain Maddox. They wished him dead. Why would the aliens dislike the captain so much that they would expend so much effort and weaponry? Perhaps more importantly for Grutch’s sake, would the missiles reach Maddox’s capsule in time?

Victory already hurried to intercept them.

Grutch itched to make his move. He debated teleporting to the primitive capsule and extracting Maddox from it. Then, he could be on his way. He would leave this bleary nebula and its strange practices. Something didn’t seem right, however, and Grutch wasn’t certain—

An alarm rang in the control chamber.

Grutch whipped about to scan—Victory was warming up its disrupter cannon. Why should his alarm blare because of that?

Grutch warbled in fear. Victory had target lock on his stealth ship. That should be impossible. He had far superior technology—No, no, Grutch told himself. That is the wrong thought.

It must be Galyan. The Adok AI holoimage had attacked him once before. Likely, the AI holoimage had learned a great deal in that one moment. No wonder events had moved against him lately. This was all Galyan’s fault.

Grutch activated emergency teleportation. The enemy disrupter cannon built up energy—tentacles flailed about the control chamber as Grutch deployed all kinds of defensive measures. His craft spewed gel, launched decoy emitters and strained to reach teleportation capacity.

On the double-oval starship, a yellow ray reached out, burning into the deployed gel, exploding various emitters and reaching for the hull of the stealth ship.

At that moment, the stealth ship teleported, and the ray burned through the area where the Morag vessel had just been.

Grutch’s ship reappeared five million kilometers from its last position.

The pink-gray mass of Grutch sweated fear stain. It was a revolting stench, and it helped the mercenary move faster than usual. He checked his screens, his analyzers, the hull and other ship functions.

An oozing substance now poured from Grutch. It was relief wash, and it cleaned him from the fear stain and brought him back to his usual calm.

That had been far too close. Grutch had lived much longer than any Methuselah Man, and he planned to live longer yet. How had this nearness to death come about?

Grutch yearned to go to the Mud Room and bath and relax. He needed to contemplate the Maddox Grab. His sponsors offered a great sum. But what good was any of that to him dead? Should he return to his sponsors and demand a greater sum?

The idea appealed to Grutch. The sponsors had seemed to offer him a great deal, but now he was no longer sure. Maybe in retrospect it had been a miserable sum. Could he bargain with them to increase the payment?

That had a few drawbacks, of course. He had journeyed quite far without payment. To have acted all this time without profit was galling. Such a thing did not appeal to Grutch. Yet, Galyan was vile and wickedly clever. Worse, he could not eavesdrop on the AI holoimage’s thoughts.

This was becoming a dangerous mission indeed. If he left now, eventually those on Victory would drop their guard against him. That would make a kidnapping later—for much more payment—worthwhile.

Grutch watched his screens.

Victory beamed the Remus missile mass with neutron and disruptor cannons. Masses of missiles were destroyed one after another.

Maddox in his tiny missile-ship—look at that. Another fold-fighter appeared. Did the starship possess more than one of the wonderfully clever craft?

I have underestimated Maddox and his people.

At that moment, Grutch almost decided to leave and re-bargain later with his sponsors. They clearly hated Maddox and Star Watch. He was sure he could make his sponsors pay through the orifice for Maddox.

Still, Grutch wanted to watch developments for just a while longer. These odd aliens on the planet—knowing them, learning about them, could be worth future wealth.

Therefore, Grutch began moving about the stealth ship. It was time to implement greater safety measures. Then, he would keep his distance, keep his sensor rays from Victory and await developments, as he was sure something interesting was about to happen soon.

-68-

Maddox, Riker and Keith made it to Victory. Marines rushed Riker to medical, where they began immediate heart surgery.

“You barely made it back in time,” the chief medical officer told Maddox later. “I’m surprised Riker held out this long. He suffered a heart attack out there, and another was ready to strike.”

“Will he be okay?” asked Maddox.

“Thank goodness it wasn’t a stroke. His heart stopped, but it restarted. We can do plenty now. As I said, it’s a miracle he made it, but he did.”

Upon leaving medical, Maddox leaned his forehead against a corridor bulkhead and whispered, “Thank you, God. I owe you one, I surely do. I’m very grateful that You let Riker live.”

Maddox rejoined Meta shortly after that. She told him what had happened on the bridge with Valerie, and how the Lieutenant Commander was demanding release from the holding cell that Meta had put her in.

“I’d better talk to her,” Maddox said.

“We need to do something about the lumps on her forehead. I think the poor cosmetic…whatever you want to call it, is bothering her and adding to her misery.”

Maddox nodded, and he grinned at his wife. “I appreciate your quick action on the bridge, and delegating command to Galyan was brilliant. It likely saved everyone, including us on the planet. I doubt anyone else would have done what you did and so decisively.”

Meta brightened. “I knew there was a reason I joined the mission. Leaving Jewel was hard. I’m not sure I could do it again. But before we left Earth, I realized there would be a moment when only I could fix the situation. Isn’t that strange?”

Maddox grunted an affirmative.

“Maybe you’re rubbing off on me. I had a Maddox moment, a powerful premonition of what was to come.”

Maddox smiled at his wife.

“To think it happened on the bridge with Valerie.” Meta shook her head. “How odd I should have felt something like that beforehand. Well, now I want to get home. Jewel is—”

“One thing at a time,” Maddox said, interrupting. “I have a ton on my plate, and it’s all vying for my attention. You saved us. It was perfect, and I’m proud of how you handled it. Now, though, I need to deal with Valerie.”

Meta was frowning.

“I promise we’ll discuss Jewel later. For now, though, we have to stay focused on the present and figure out the Unity: how it affects others like Valerie and how to deal with it directly.”

Meta nodded sharply: obviously unhappy with the diversion.

Maddox hardly noticed as he scrunched his brow in thought, and as they moved down a corridor toward the brig.

“I find it interesting that I met Garth and Valerie met Diana Varus,” Maddox said. “That wasn’t a coincidence. Let me put that in the positive. The Unity planned it. So, what does that imply?” Maddox rubbed his chin. “The cerebraters and Unity telepathy are likely both more powerful than we realize. If not for Balron and the Erill energy I possess—”

“Darling,” Meta said, sharply, as she wrapped her hands around his left arm. “Do you ever think that someday your luck will run out?”

Maddox blinked, thrown out of his thought about the Unity and its telepathic powers. He glanced at his wife. “We’ve been over that. I have a job to do, and I do it.”

“There must be a limit to your luck.”

Maddox shook his head. He disliked this kind of talk. He needed to concentrate on the Unity and its goal. Still, he could see the warning signs on Meta’s face. He wanted to avoid this talk, however, so he said, “I needed you on the bridge with Valerie.”

“We’ve been over that,” Meta said with an edge to her voice.

Maddox sighed, and he controlled a sudden surge of anger. Dealing with his wife, even as part of the crew, was so much different from dealing with the others. Still, having his wife aboard had saved his life and maybe saved the entire starship and everyone aboard. Who would have had the nerve to relieve Valerie from command like that and then give it to Galyan?

They reached the main brig hatch. “Uh,” Maddox said, as he disengaged his arm from Meta’s hold. “As much as I’d like to discuss my luck, as you put it, we have to use our time wisely. Events are crashing together at light speed. I need information from Valerie. To get it, I’d better speak to her alone.”

Meta studied her husband and the cloud behind her eyes—perhaps she had another premonition. “What if the aliens use their power through Valerie to attack you while you’re alone?”

Maddox smiled softly. “I think I can take care of myself versus the Lieutenant Commander—or the aliens.”

“Don’t get cocky,” Meta warned. “You know that’s a New Man trait, don’t you? Overconfidence? One of their negative aspects.”

Maddox stared at his wife before nodding. “You’re right. I’ll keep that in mind. Now, darling, I need to do this alone.”

“Fine,” Meta said. “We can talk about this later.”

Maddox wasn’t looking forward to that. In fact, he hoped to sidetrack his wife on the topic of Jewel and his line of work. He leaned near and kissed her, and he rubbed a shoulder. Then he turned to go.

“Be careful,” Meta said. “The Unity is probably desperate now that you got away. Don’t get cocky just because it’s Valerie in there. We’re far from out of this.”

Maddox nodded as he passed through the hatch, his mind focusing once again on the problem at hand.

-69-

Maddox decided to run this like a normal interrogation, and had the sergeant-at-arms bring Valerie into a small cell with a table and two chairs. The captain changed it up in one particular. He would have normally put a prisoner into the room first to let her sit and stew. Valerie was a different matter, not strictly a prisoner but one of their own possibly under alien domination.

The hatch opened and two Marines ushered the Lieutenant Commander into the cell.

Maddox stood from where he sat at the table and nodded at her. “Hello, Valerie.”

“Why am I in the brig?” Valerie complained. “What did I do wrong?”

Instead of answering, Maddox indicated the other chair.

Valerie scowled at him. “Am I a prisoner then on Victory?”

“Please,” Maddox said. “Let’s forgo any needless drama and get it over with. Sit and we can discuss it.”

For a moment, it seemed, Valerie would become mulish as she screwed up her features. Abruptly, that smoothed away, and a nasty little smile showed on her lips. It was unlike her. She glanced at one of the Marines, smirking, and Maddox swore she sashayed to the chair seductively. That definitely wasn’t like the Valerie Noonan he knew.

“Stay ready outside the hatch,” Maddox told the Marines.

They acknowledged the order, retreating and shutting the hatch behind them.

“Well, well, well,” Valerie said in a sultry way, as she ran her fingers through her long hair. “This is an interesting development, you and me alone in here. What are you going to do to me, hmm?”

Maddox didn’t respond, although he put his hands on the small steel table as he studied her.

Valerie smirked at him, and it didn’t seem like her but someone else.

“You’re Diana Varus?” Maddox guessed.

“What do you want with me, Captain?” Valerie purred.

“To know your intentions, for one thing,” he said.

“Really? Is that all?”

“No, not all,” Maddox said. “Will you release Valerie when you get what you want?”

Valerie’s lips parted as she laughed silently. “You think you’ve escaped us, but it isn’t true. We control the situation here.”

Maddox leaned back as he considered the way she’d said that. This wasn’t Diana Varus, but the Unity speaking through Diana and then Valerie as conduits. Yes. The telepathic power was greater than he’d initially realized. But if their power was that great, why hadn’t the Unity acted more forcefully in the beginning? Perhaps there were limitations to their power and the way they marshaled it. The limitations—his escape and direct confrontation with them might have frightened them, and goaded them into gathering their greater telepathic might to forestall him.

“You claim to control the situation,” Maddox said. “I know I’m speaking to the Unity, by the way. How you’re achieving this through Lieutenant Commander Noonan, I don’t know. But I do know who I’m speaking to.”

“Aren’t you the clever one?”

“In truth, your boast is false. You clearly don’t control the situation. The Fusion First Fleet besieges Remus, pinning you on the planet.”

“Bah,” Valerie said with a sneer. “Any time we desire, we can summon our main fleet and wipe the Fusion off the board.”

“No…I don’t believe that. The First Fleet is too limiting to you here, and they’re towing asteroids to rain on you. That indicates weakness on your part versus the Fusion.”

“Believe what you like, Maddox. You think that you’ve escaped us, but you’ve just made it better for us to—”

Maddox jumped up from his chair and came around the table. Despite everything else, it infuriated him that the maggot aliens had wrested Valerie’s personality from her and used her like this. He loathed the Unity. He was sick of these mind-screwing types of aliens.

“What’s your problem?” Valerie said, as she leaned away from him.

Maddox rapped his knuckles on the table as he loomed over her. “You’ve devoured a planet full of people. You’re mental vampires, and you play these foul games with unsuspecting people. What gives you the right?”

“Right, right, you speak of right. We have the might: that is more important than the ethereal right of which you speak. Besides, you humans are the perfect sort for us. Your minds are so easily malleable. Well, perhaps not your mind, Captain. You’re an interesting one.”

“Valerie,” Maddox said earnestly. “If you can hear me inside your skull, resist them with everything you have. You’re stronger than that. You’re you. You’ve fought every step of your career. Do it again against these mind vermin.”

“You don’t paint a pretty picture regarding us, do you, Captain? Why do you hate us so much?”

“Because you’re maggots,” he snarled.

Valerie shook her head emphatically. “I do not appreciate such a pejorative term. We are the ultimate species, the Unity that can bring others into our massed collective.”

“You destroyed Garth the Monk.”

“No. You killed him, remember?”

“No,” Maddox said. “I killed the shell he’d become. Valerie no longer wears a cerebrater. Thus, it doesn’t make sense you can do this through her.”

“My, my, my, such emotionalism, Captain. That is not your usual forte, is it?”

Maddox stood straight as he regarded Valerie. He’d already learned much about the Unity, had seen the little white maggots below—Maddox laughed suddenly as the correct approach came to him.

“What’s so funny?” Valerie demanded.

“I know what to do. It will be so easy.”

Valerie shook her head. “You know nothing.”

Maddox completed the circuit around the table. Valerie stood up to confront him. Maddox grabbed her hands. Valerie surged forward and tried to knee him in the balls. He twisted, protecting himself with a blocking thigh.

“That’s the wrong move, Captain.” Valerie intertwined her fingers with his, tightening her grip. Then her hands became warm.

Maddox swayed as a feeling of physical weakness swept through him.

Valerie laughed, and the Unity through Diana Varus and now in Valerie assaulted the captain telepathically. The connection with flesh strengthened the mental contact, and the Unity through the clone and the Lieutenant Commander struck at the captain’s citadel of self in his mind.

Just as he’d planned.

For he’d learned something critical when facing the Unity down below. By telepathically attacking him, they opened themselves to a counterassault. This might be just what he needed to help Valerie escape their hold on her: telepathic access into her mind.

-70-

There were rules or laws regarding this kind of telepathic action. They weren’t the kind of laws that had once governed civilized boxing in England, the Marquess of Queensbury Rules. Instead, these rules were like the Second Law of Thermodynamics or the Law of Gravity. Perhaps the better term would be principles; there were principles governing actions such as this.

Maddox couldn’t have initiated this contest because he wasn’t a telepath. He did have unusual abilities in this realm, however. He had often fought telepathic enemies or foes that had used similar techniques. Perhaps as important, he was already used to the Unity’s methods, as he’d fought off the cerebrater and defeated the Unity’s attempt in the underground chamber.

This mental assault began in his mind with the image of Valerie Noonan running at him screaming with rage. At first, it was as if they stood on a white plain. There wasn’t any background, wasn’t any sun, planets, walls, nothing.

“You want background?” Valerie screamed at him.

Suddenly, as an image in his mind, old brick buildings towered around them. It was Old Detroit where Valerie had grown up and gone to school. This city was empty, devoid of anything but a cool sun hovering in winter. Oddly, there wasn’t any snow on the ground, although there were icy patches here and there.

“Maddox,” Valerie shouted, with a gun in her hand. “It’s time you paid for your arrogance.”

Maddox stood in his captain’s uniform, regarding Valerie rushing toward him. She was much younger, what she must have looked like upon graduating from high school. She was much thinner than he remembered and her hair much longer.

Valerie raised the gun and fired at him.

Maddox concentrated, and the bullets went from their normal speed to something only a little faster than a running man. Maddox stepped aside as the stream of bullets neared him, harmlessly passing by.

Valerie skidded to a halt, peering at her gun and then looking at him. “How did you do that?”

“The Unity is using you,” Maddox said. “These are mental images in our mind, nothing more.”

Valerie brayed laughter, and the old buildings of Detroit vanished. In their place were palaces, lovely buildings and towers of the main Varus estate upon Remus in the past. Valerie no longer stood there, either, but a stunning blonde in a tight-fighting blue skin-suit wearing spiked heels.

“Are you Diana Varus?” Maddox asked. He still wore his captain’s uniform.

“You!” shouted Diana. “You made the Clone Laws. You’re keeping me from my birthright.”

Maddox shook his head. “I’ve done nothing to you. The Unity is using you just as it tried to use Valerie. You’ve become a tool for the aliens.”

“I know I’m a tool,” Diana raged. “I’ve always been a tool. I’m a clone. I was made to serve others. Are you going to keep resisting, or must I subdue you?”

“You’re a conduit, Diana. The Unity is behind this. They’re using you. From what Valerie told me about you, you have a fierce will. Why not employ it against the maggots.”

“No!” shouted Diana, shaking her fists. “We are not maggots. We are the glorious ones, the collective of intelligent and superior thought.”

“Maggots that feed off filth,” Maddox said.

The palaces and towers in the background began to waver. Diana noticed, looking back in wonder and then glaring at Maddox. “How are you able to achieve this?”

“Your mental images don’t work on me,” Maddox said. “I’ve been trained by the best, by Balron the Traveler. He helped me perceive reality even in instances such as this. I can’t free Diana Varus, as you hold her down there, but I can free Valerie Noonan. You must leave her. You must retreat from her mind.”

“Valerie Noonan is ours. She belongs to the Unity now and forever more.”

“Valerie,” Maddox shouted. “This is your last chance. You must fight the illusion in your mind. Let the images slide off you. I do. Am I better than you? Do I always win? You can win, too, if you fight as you did in Detroit. Don’t let the others beat you.”

Diana Varus glared at Maddox. Then she looked around wildly. The palaces, lawns and towers vanished completely. A second later, so did she.

Now, Maddox stood in a deep cavern with hot lava rocks providing dim lighting.

“Is this your homeworld?” Maddox asked.

He heard hissing and slithering, and masses of little white alien maggots crawled toward him.

“Yes!” Maddox shouted. “Come to me, my pretties.” He ran at the mass, and he concentrated. His step thudded as a cylinder appeared on his back. Straps around his shoulders and one cinched to his waist held the heavy container in place. A tube snaked from the cylinder to a rod in his hands, one with a trigger.

Maddox laughed with maniacal glee and pulled the trigger as he aimed the rod at the approaching slithering mass. Liquid fire hosed from the rod and fell upon the maggots as if from a flamethrower.

A scream in Maddox’s mind almost rendered him unconscious.

The cavern and massed maggots disappeared. He was back in Old Detroit, with a bewildered and blinking Valerie Noonan standing before him. She was no longer the teenager, but the Lieutenant Commander with the now flawed forehead.

“Valerie,” Maddox said.

She blinked at him with incomprehension.

He stepped close, and she did not recoil. He raised a hand, and rubbed his palm against her forehead. “Let’s get rid of that, shall we? Make it smooth.”

“How do I do that?” Valerie asked in a small voice.

“It’s smooth. Look.” Maddox held up a mirror.

And as Valerie watched, her bumps and misshapen lumps disappeared and her forehead became smooth as it used to be not so long ago.

Valerie laughed, looking up at Maddox.

He nodded. Then, he turned around, shouting, “I can do this all day, Unity. Come on, let’s play.”

From behind a faint building, a mass of little maggots slithered around the corner. They coalesced into a giant white snake with glowing red eyes. “This isn’t the end of it, Maddox,” the giant snake hissed.

“No?” asked the captain.

“You have the high ground today. We may have miscalculated in this one tiny regard. Enjoy your marginal victory. It will not last.”

“On the contrary, you’re going down, maggots.”

“You will rue the day you ever called us that.”

“You will rue the day you made an enemy of me,” Maddox said.

With that, the building and the giant white snake disappeared. Everything vanished until it was only Maddox and Valerie with the white background.

“Now what happens?” Valerie asked.

“Now,” Maddox said. “It’s time to wake up.”

-71-

Maddox and Valerie stood in the small holding cell with the table and two chairs. They held hands as they faced each other while standing.

“Oh,” Valerie said, blushing as she realized she held her captain’s hands.

He let go and stepped back. “Your forehead,” he said.

Valerie stepped back more, using both hands to cover her forehead. Surprised filled her face. She felt more, fingering her forehead and then removed her hands. “What do you see?”

Maddox grinned. “The bumps and lumps are gone. Your forehead is smooth again.”

Valerie laughed with glee, and she rushed the captain, hugging him. “Thank you. Oh, thank you so very much.”

“My pleasure,” he said, while patting her back.

Valerie released him, stepping back and feeling her smooth forehead again. “But…how did this happen?”

“You remember the telepathic assault?”

“Of course,” Valerie said.

“The mind is very powerful.”

“I know that,” Valerie said. “But how could an idea cause my forehead to become smooth again?”

“An idea or thought in your mind makes you run, makes your heart beat faster and the lungs pump harder. This is something similar. Your mind conceived it and the body brought it about, just much faster than it normally does.”

“Is that how you got rid of the cerebrater on your own?”

Maddox shrugged. He wasn’t sure.

Valerie looked up in wonder. “The oily presence in my mind is gone. It’s not there anymore.”

“We drove it out.”

Valerie frowned. “Could that be how demon possession worked in the old days?”

“I have no idea,” Maddox said. “Do you believe in demons?”

“That’s not the point, but…never mind. Do I have to stay in the brig?”

Maddox returned to his chair, sitting, producing a recorder and putting it on the table and turning it on. “Let’s talk.”

Valerie sat down across from him. “What about?”

“Everything you can remember about Diana Varus and what she was trying to get you to do. We need to learn more about our enemy, and this is a good way to do it.”

So, for the next hour and a half, Maddox asked questions to prompt Valerie to remember more. She related many things, and the alien maggot Unity came into focus just a little more for Maddox.

It would appear they were a parasitical life form, using their mass-mind telepathy to force others to do their bidding. They’d hidden in the nebula for endless generations, having grown weary… Despite many probing questions, Valerie couldn’t remember or didn’t know why they’d grown weary enough to hide.

Maddox didn’t either, although as Valerie talked, he recalled something about an ancient menace the Unity feared. Could that menace be the Swarm, Builders or Yon Soths? Despite the questions neither had an answer to that. The Unity had fled into the nebula and hidden here for centuries. But now, at last, they stirred again, drawn back into their old ways, hesitatingly launching the satellites to draw prey into range. It would appear they hadn’t known about the humans in the nebula until a few years ago. Clearly, a section of the Unity had taken control of Remus.

“They’re using the planet as a training station,” Maddox said. “I remember them telling me that while I faced them underground.”

“What are we going to do next?” Valerie asked.

Maddox sat back as he nodded. He reached over and shut off the recorder. “I suppose we could high-tail it home and give our report to the admiral. We’re scouting out here more than anything else. Or, we could—”

Valerie screamed, jumping up out of her chair.

Maddox whirled around as a little Adok holoimage came into focus. “Galyan, you’re not supposed to do that. What are you doing in here anyway? Is the ship under attack?”

“It is not,” Galyan said. “I, ah, require you to refer to me as Driving Force or Driving Force Galyan, not simply as Galyan.”

Maddox raised his eyebrows, noticing that Galyan hadn’t apologized for frightening Valerie as he had. That was unusual for the holoimage.

“By the way,” Galyan said, “I am in command of the starship.”

“Temporary command,” Maddox said. “I’m back, so I’m in charge again.”

“I automatically control ship functions. I am also uncertain that I care to relinquish them back to you. This is my starship after all, built by my people.”

Maddox scowled. “Now listen here…Driving Force Galyan.” Maddox decided on a different approach, abruptly smoothing his tone. “Why did you enter this cell without my authorization?”

“I am in command,” Galyan said. “I can go wherever I please on my starship.”

“I see. So have you decided to sever your unique relationship with us?”

“What do you mean?” Galyan asked, frowning.

“You’re acting differently than you usually do.”

Galyan’s eyelids fluttered. As that ceased, shock appeared on his Adok features. “You are correct, Captain. Do you think that is a function of my taking command?”

Maddox became thoughtful. Maybe there was an easy way out of this. “You are hereby relieved of command duty, Driving Force Galyan. Under the authority of the Lord High Admiral of Star Watch, who commissioned this mission, I am resuming full command of the starship.”

“Oh,” Galyan said, sounding crestfallen.

“As the captain, I demand an explanation of why you have simply popped into this detention cell.”

“Sir…I am unhappy with this change in my status. I enjoyed command.”

“I’m sure you did.”

“I was given command of Victory thousands of years ago by my people. I am no longer certain I can act as second fiddle on my own starship.”

“I see. Well, Star Watch has put new features into the vessel. And you have sworn an oath to faithfully serve under me.”

“I realize all that, sir. But this was my ship in the beginning.”

“Galyan, you are the last Adok—”

“Excuse me for interrupting you, sir, but that is why I appeared. I have been listening to you two for some time. You suggested we go home to Earth. But I have learned that Adoks are in the nebula.”

“Indeed,” Maddox said. “How did you discover this?”

“Through Diana Varus, sir,” Galyan said. “She recognized me as an Adok. That implies she or the Unity has seen Adoks before.”

“Interesting,” Maddox said, who didn’t care for the extra complication just now.

“Thus, I cannot allow you to take Victory home just yet. We must find the Adoks, sir. That is imperative. While it is true I have happily worked in Star Watch this entire time—and you are my family—it is my responsibility to help my people recover from the devastation of the Swarm assault upon our homeworld approximately six thousand years ago.”

Valerie glanced at Maddox.

“I do not think my request is unreasonable,” Galyan added.

Maddox pounced on that. “This is a request then?”

Galyan hesitated. “Yes, sir, it is.”

“You then fully agree that I am in command of Starship Victory?”

“I do, with a caveat.”

Maddox didn’t ask what the caveat was, but said, “And you will continue to follow my orders?”

“Yes,” Galyan said slowly.

Before the AI holoimage could add more, Maddox said, “Well, in that case, I would be delighted to search for the Adoks. First, we must clear up the matter of the Unity, Remus and the Fusion.”

“In what way, sir?”

“Are you questioning my orders, Galyan?”

The holoimage paused. “No, sir, I am not.”

Maddox nodded. “Is Grutch still out there?”

“Oh. I forgot to mention, sir, while you were away, I attacked Grutch’s stealth ship with the disrupter cannon.”

“And?” asked Maddox.

“Grutch teleported away, making good his escape.”

“Is Grutch still in the Remus System?”

“I do not presently see him,” Galyan said. “But given my personality profile on him, I suspect that he is watching us from afar and recalibrating his options.”

Maddox nodded again. “We’ve learned much these past few hours. I’m going to shower and eat. Then, I’m heading to the bridge. Galyan, inform Lieutenant Barnes that he is in charge until I return.”

“What about me?” Valerie asked. “I can do it.”

“Not just yet,” Maddox said.

“I could run the starship,” Galyan said.

“Gentlemen,” Maddox said. “I’m the captain of Victory until stated otherwise. I and I alone will choose who I relinquish temporary command to. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir,” Valerie said.

“Galyan?” asked Maddox.

“I prefer the term Driving Force.”

“You can prefer I call you something all you want,” Maddox said, his voice hardening. “But in the end, I’ll decide what I call someone. Is that clear?”

“Yes, sir,” Galyan said.

“And is it clear to you that I run this starship?”

“It is,” Galyan said.

“Excellent,” Maddox said. “Then be so good as to relay my message to Lieutenant Barnes. I’ll be on the bridge shortly, and then we’ll decide how to deal with the Fusion First Fleet.”

-72-

Less than an hour later, Captain Maddox sat in his command chair on the bridge. Meta was at communications, Barnes at weapons, Andros at science and with others at the other stations. Riker was recovering and doing well in medical. Keith was resting and would return to duty next watch.

Maddox had been mulling options as he’d showered and eaten. Now, the starship began to maneuver openly toward the Fusion First Fleet two million kilometers from Remus.

There had been no more contact or attempts from the Unity on Remus against the starship.

“I wonder if the Unity has more sophisticated warships than the ones we have seen so far,” Galyan said.

“Good question,” Maddox said. “The short answer is that I don’t know, as they managed to hide that from me.”

“Sir?” asked Galyan.

“While the Unity was in telepathic link with me, I was able to hear various thoughts or ideas of theirs. Despite the trillions or whatever number of maggots that make up the alien mass, they’re a single unified…Unity.”

“That is quite interesting,” Galyan said.

“Tell me about it,” Maddox said, hoping to avoid any further questions about them right now.

“Sir,” Meta said. “I’m picking up a hail from the First Fleet.”

“On screen,” Maddox said, as he swiveled to face the main screen.

A moment later, a small, hunched man in a red uniform appeared. He had thick dark hair in disarray, and a mole on his left cheek. He seemed cross, perhaps even angry. Just like the last time they spoke to a Fusion commander, a black-uniformed security officer stood behind the commander’s chair. This man was bald, more than stout, with a gut, and had shrewd dark eyes. He also had a prominent blaster tucked openly in his belt, as if to advertise his power.

The shoulder-hunched belligerent man in red pointed at Maddox and spoke rapidly. At first, his words seemed like nonsense.

Maddox looked back at his wife.

“Oh, sorry,” Meta said, as she tapped her panel. “There, the translator is operating now, sir.”

Maddox faced forward again. “Could you repeat what you just said?”

“What?” the man said. “Yes! I demand that you immediately identify yourself, outlander.”

Maddox abruptly sat as straight as he could, striking a pose as he sneered at the other. “Who are you to make such demands upon me?”

The man scowled thunderously. “I’m Grand Director Shinto of the Battlewagon Karl Radek and the Fusion First Fleet. I’m in authority here: authorized by the united principles of Social Harmony. That trumps any corporate identity you might possess.”

“Corporate? I’m not certain I follow you,” Maddox said.

“I’m the Grand Director of the First Fleet, authorized by the billions of people who make up the Fusion of Planets. That means, in essence, that I’m the personification of those billions and the scientific principles as espoused by Social Harmony.”

Maddox sat still for several seconds, contemplating his response.

“You show a modicum of wisdom by having the wit to be astounded by my authorized might,” Grand Director Shinto said.

Maddox cleared his throat. “What if I told you that I’m the captain of a starship of Star Watch, represented not by billions, but by several trillion people? Surely, my authority, as I am the personification of trillions, trumps your meager few billions.”

Shinto scowled again, sitting forward. “What is the name of your governing system?”

“The Commonwealth of Planets,” Maddox said.

“Commonwealth?” said Shinto. “That implies an equality of representation among the planets.”

“True.”

“That implies more than one governing system or theory for these planets.”

“I’m not sure I follow your reasoning,” Maddox said.

“Is every planet in this numerous Commonwealth of yours run along the guiding principles of Social Harmony?”

“No.”

“Ah-ha,” Shinto cried, raising the index finger of his right hand. It wasn’t straight, but slightly curved. “I possess the greater purity of purpose then and thus hold a greater percentage of popular votes than you both in real terms and obviously in percentages.”

“Oh, please continue.” Maddox tried to keep the sarcasm from his voice.

“Social Harmony is the purest form of human government, run along the most scientific and moral grounds mankind has ever devised.”

“By what rationality do you make this outrageous claim?”

“Not outrageous in the least,” Shinto said smoothly. “Name me a better form of government than Social Harmony?”

“I don’t know what Social Harmony is,” Maddox said. “Depending on its theories, I might know a hundred better systems of rule.”

Grand Director Shinto looked over his shoulder at the fat security officer behind him. “Can you believe this?”

“He may hold chaotic theories, sir,” the fat man said in a high-pitched voice.

“Ah, quite right. That is quite right,” Shinto said, as he faced forward again. “Tell me. What is the Commonwealth’s governing ideal?”

Maddox couldn’t hold it any longer, but laughed, shaking his head.

“Does that signify your contempt toward us?”

“No,” Maddox said, recovering. “I laughed out of admiration for your debating skills. I find myself overwhelmed by you.”

“Not me,” Shinto said, “but by the thrust of my theories: the burning purity and righteousness of Social Harmony’s principles.”

“Yes,” Maddox said, stroking his upper lip with one finger to hide his smile. “I stand corrected.”

“Interesting,” Shinto said. “It’s possible I misconstrued your intent. If you can show admiration for Social Harmony’s theories, you must be a right thinker. If corporate or other heinous ideologies cluttered your mind, you would be unable to see the correctness of Social Harmony among all people.”

“Yes, and who wouldn’t want that?”

“You would be surprised, sir. For instance, many hold to the doctrine of self-rule.”

“I’m not sure I understand.”

“I’m sure I stated it poorly,” Shinto said in a condescending tone. “They believe that an individual should develop his own ideas without consideration of the social whole. They think that an individual should have greater call upon rights than the unified mass of society. Harmony is everything, sir.”

“You mean Social Harmony?”

“Exactly,” Shinto said. “I find it remarkable you’ve never studied our principles. For instance, since I represent greater purity of purpose than you, as I represent true reality times billions of right-thinking people, my thoughts and needs hold greater value than your own. For as good as you seem to be, your form of government is naturally less pure than ours. Thus, your authority lacks my purity. It is sullied by greed, hatred and other vile thoughts times whatever trillions live in the Commonwealth.”

“I had no idea.” Maddox was finding it difficult to keep a straight face.

Shinto nodded. “Now that we’ve resolved the hierarchy of purpose between us, it’s time to talk about particulars. As the Grand Director of the First Fleet, I’ve noticed that your craft has the ability to jump from one locale to another.”

“Yes. Despite our obvious ideological impurities, we’ve been fortunate to develop such technology.”

“We lack such a vessel, and we certainly need such a capacity. You will therefore bring your starship to us and allow my security people to board her en masse.”

“To what purpose?” asked Maddox.

“Why, to acquire your vessel for the Fusion, of course,” Shinto said.

“I see. It’s possible my government would object to my simply handing over our starship to someone else, no matter their purity.”

Shinto shook his head. “I thought you might retreat to such antiquated theories and arguments. Surely, the greatest and purest form of human government should have the first right to all goods and materials—such as the ship you occupy.”

Maddox stood up, stretched and regarded the small man closely. “Grand Director Shinto, the conversation has been enlightening. Unfortunately for you, I hold to an ancient theory. Namely, that possession is nine-tenths of the law.”

“Meaning what?”

“I hold the starship and refuse to give it up to anyone for any reason.”

“You won’t aid us then?”

“On the contrary, I would dearly like to work in cooperation with you.”

“You would?” asked Shinto, sounding surprised.

“Yes,” Maddox said, “but on the strict grounds that we each keep what is ours.”

“You refuse to accept the greater purity of Social Harmony?”

“Let me put it like this. I admire your purity of government and that it would put such a good person as yourself in command of the First Fleet. When I have the chance, I hope to study Social Harmony and return to the Commonwealth and propose that we operate along similar lines.”

Grand Director Shinto stared at Maddox. “You admire our form of government?”

“Given that it produces a man such as you, most certainly,” Maddox said.

Shinto nodded and smiled. “I’d pegged you for an oafish outlander, possibly as a pirate or freebooter. Now, however, I learn that you have rarefied sensibilities. Will you give us any spare engine parts, or whatever causes your vessel to make those incredible jumps?”

“I will have to hold a vote on it among my crew.”

Shinto looked back at the security officer before regarding Maddox again. “You’re clever, Captain, and talk a fine game. For the moment, that will have to suffice. As the Grand Director, I’m forbidden to aid certain types of governmental agents. For instance, those on Remus ruled along aristocratic lines. We’d intended to oust their repressive government and install teachers to guide them along Social Harmony principles. Then, after a time, they could have joined the Fusion.”

“Those on Remus no longer run their own lives,” Maddox said.

“Perhaps you should speak more clearly.”

“Aliens have conquered those on Remus and now rule them with an ironclad system of telepathic control enforced by cerebraters embedded in their foreheads.”

“Aliens, you say. This is interesting. Some of my officers have propounded the possibility of such a thing. We have seen scant evidence of this, however; although it’s true whoever runs Remus has sown ecological disaster to the planet.”

“I can give you the evidence of aliens.”

“Excellent,” Shinto said. “When can I expect you on the Karl Radek?”

“I’m afraid I’m going to decline the invitation. Instead, I’ll allow several of your officers to come to us.”

Grand Director Shinto’s crabbed shoulders hunched a little more. “I’m unsure I can allow any of my officers aboard your vessel. You might sully their political purity.”

“What if I promise not to do that?”

Shinto shook his head.

“Does that mean we’re at an impasse?” Maddox asked.

The fat security officer cleared his throat.

Shinto looked back at the man, scowled and then leaned his head back. The security officer leaned low and whispered to the Grand Director.

In the end, Shinto sat forward. “Would you allow a team of commissars to land on your ship and view the evidence?”

“Yes,” Maddox said.

“They will be armed.”

“How many do you envision?” Maddox asked.

“Three hundred,” Shinto said.

“Grand Director, I’ll allow ten commissars aboard Victory.”

“Surely we can compromise. Let us say…two hundred.”

“Ten.”

“One hundred.”

“No deal. I have a different proposal. I’ll send you the evidence via comm.”

“Such evidence could be faked.”

“Many things could be faked, sir.”

Shinto eyed him. “Send us your evidence then. I’ll speak with my people, and afterward we can talk. Until such time, you might want to find refuge among us.”

“Perhaps not, though,” Maddox said.

“You are showing the heinous concept known as distrust. I do not applaud you for it.”

“Nevertheless, given our disparity in numbers and tonnage, I will keep a safe distance from your fleet until we come to a political accord.”

Shinto pursed his lips, nodding shortly. “Send us the data as soon as possible. Then, we can work out an accord, as you say.”

-73-

Maddox held a strategy session an hour after his call to the Grand Director of the Fusion First Fleet.

The same people sat around the large conference table as earlier except for Sergeant Riker. Maddox stood at the head of the table, outlining the problem. “The Unity holds Remus and is busy converting people into cerebrater-controlled puppets. The Unity has also detonated subterranean hell-burners, creating ecological disaster to the planet by spewing millions of tons of volcanic ash into the atmosphere. I’m not sure why the Unity has done this. If they eventually control the entire planet, wouldn’t they want the human puppets as workers? An ice age or something worse would be detrimental to their puppets and industries.

“The second problem is the Fusion First Fleet and the Fusion flotilla heading inward. Soon enough, Director Anora will establish contact with the First Fleet. Shinto will learn the flotilla unsuccessfully attacked us before. Will Anora’s report about us destroy all chances of our working together with the Fusion against the Unity?

“Lastly, the Morag mercenary Grutch is likely still out there somewhere. Whatever we hope to do, we have to take him into account.”

As Maddox ceased speaking, he glanced around the table. “Galyan,” he said.

“The final point is the Adoks,” Galyan said, lowering a ropy arm. “We know they exist somewhere in the nebula.”

“We don’t know that for certain,” Maddox said. “But the real possibility exists.”

Galyan considered that. “Yes, sir. That is more accurate.”

“Ideas?” asked Maddox, sitting down after saying it.

Keith said, “We could destroy the flotilla before it reached the First Fleet. That would keep the dangerous knowledge from reaching this Grand Director.”

“Possibly,” Maddox said. “But I’m not sure we want to do that. We might need the flotilla’s extra battlewagons and, we presume, ground troops.”

“Ground troops,” Ludendorff said. “Do you think the Fusion will land soldiers onto Remus…to do what exactly?”

“Why did the Unity launch its subterranean hell-burners?” Maddox asked. “Or stated more precisely, what does the Unity hope to achieve with all the volcanic ash in the atmosphere?”

“What do we know about conditions on the planet?” Valerie asked.

“Can you be more specific?” Maddox asked.

“I think I have it,” Ludendorff said, interrupting before Valerie could answer. “The Unity ignited the hell-burners to create ecological disaster on Remus in order to create chaos, to break down civil order. How better to take control over the populace, eh? The Unity kidnaps people and inserts cerebraters into them. Doing that takes time and effort. If the Remus military can’t fight back because everything is breaking down because of the disastrous weather patterns, it makes the Unity’s task easier.”

“And after the Unity conquers the planet?” asked Maddox.

Ludendorff shrugged. “The puppet humans use Unity technology to terraform the planet to what it used to be, and then work for the rest of their lives as worker bees for the aliens.”

“That makes sense,” Valerie said.

Maddox was nodding. “If that’s the case, it’s possible not everyone on Remus has a cerebrater yet. In fact, I recall seeing people in line to receive cerebraters when we were down there.”

“How far are the aliens in the process of planetary conversion?” Keith asked.

“That’s an excellent question. But I don’t know the answer.”

“It can’t be that far yet,” Valerie said. “Consider: the Fusion fleet set out for Remus, thinking to conquer it for Social Harmony. Once they arrived, however, they found what we see. I suspect they faced whatever remained of the Remus AirSpace Service and any other vessels the Unity possessed. Given the debris in orbital space, there must have been a sharp space battle, but not enough to drive off the First Fleet. They did retreat to two million kilometers away, however. Since then, the Fusion people have settled in for a planetary siege, towing asteroids presumably to drop on Remus.”

“If these things are true,” Ludendorff said, “what’s our purpose in all this? What is our goal?”

“Precisely,” Maddox said. “What is our goal? Or, to put it another way, what should be our goal?”

“To kill off the Unity,” Valerie said with heat.

Maddox pointed at her. “Yes. That’s exactly right. The worst threat to us, to the Commonwealth, is the Unity. Thus, they are the enemy.”

“Does that make the Fusion our friend?” Ludendorff asked.

“Not necessarily,” Maddox said. “But if we have to choose a loser and thus mandate a winner, we want the Unity to lose.”

“How do we kill the aliens, sir?” Valerie asked. “They hide in subterranean regions, forcing their puppets to fight for them.”

Maddox stood up, turning away from the others. He scowled, taking several steps and then turning around. “The First Fleet arrived here to conquer Remus.”

“Ah,” Ludendorff said. “Then, it’s obvious, isn’t it? We get the Fusion to land and hunt down the aliens for us.”

“The Unity will throw the cerebrater puppets at the Fusion soldiers,” Valerie said. “It would mean a bloodbath.”

Maddox pulled his chair out, sitting down. “What happens to the uncontrolled humans on Remus? Those who are presently free?”

“If we do nothing, they die,” Valerie said. “Or the aliens or their puppets grab them and force them into cerebrater-fitting chambers where they become alien-controlled puppets.”

“That’s it,” Maddox said. “In other words, the free people on Remus are facing utter doom: death or mental slavery to the Unity. Would they be better off as Fusion subjects?”

“I’d say so,” Ludendorff said. “They’d still be alive and able to rebel in the future.”

“That’s my thinking as well.”

“What does that mean in practical terms?” Valerie asked.

“It means…” Maddox said slowly, “all-out war against the Unity and their cerebrater puppets.”

“A planetary bloodbath,” Ludendorff said.

“Planetary conquest certainly,” Maddox said. “Perhaps our aid means it doesn’t have to be a bloodbath.”

“I have a question,” Galyan said. “Does the First Fleet possess enough Fusion soldiers to defeat all of Remus?”

Maddox stared at Galyan. “Maybe that isn’t the right question. Does the Fusion have enough soldiers to defeat the Unity if the free people of Remus rally to their fellow humans and aid in hunting down the maggot aliens?”

Ludendorff smiled. “That’s brilliantly reasoned and strategically sound.”

“If we can get the Fusion to agree to all this,” Maddox said.

“Yes,” Ludendorff said. “I imagine that could be the sticking point.”

-74-

Professor Ludendorff’s qualm proved prophetic. The captain sent data to the Karl Radek about the Unity and about what had happened on Remus. Afterward, via comm, Maddox explained to Grand Director Shinto the complication they’d had with Director Anora on the Josef Stalin before arriving in the Remus System.

That started an argument that nearly broke off the talks.

Maddox explained as best he could, and then he told Shinto that he would wait to communicate further. During that time, he wanted Shinto and Anora to talk.

Starship Victory pulled away from the First Fleet, using the time to approach Remus and scan the surface in earnest. Galyan went on many forays to the planet, pinpointing Unity strongholds. The crew learned that many places on Remus held free but mostly bewildered people.

Maddox opened communications with the remaining free military on Remus. To Valerie’s surprise, she found that Consul T.F. Arrius ran the truncated Remus Ground Force.

Square-faced Arrius looked much older and worn down than when Valerie had seen him last in her Diana Varus memories, although his eyes blazed with grim determination.

“What are you saying?” Arrius asked with a scowl as he stared out of the main screen on the bridge.

Maddox told Arrius just about everything, including the Commonwealth, the Fusion First Fleet, the Unity, the alien satellites and the memories he and Valerie had experienced. When Arrius proved doubting about the latter part, Valerie asked if she could speak to him.

Maddox nodded.

The Lieutenant Commander stepped before the main screen on the bridge of Victory and related many experiences Diana Varus had had with Arrius throughout the years.

“Astounding,” the Consul finally said. “These white alien maggots, the Unity, has captured Diana?”

“More than that,” Maddox said. “They control Diana by putting a cerebrater in her forehead. She’s their mental puppet, forced to do their alien bidding.”

“How horrible,” Arrius whispered.

“It is,” Maddox agreed.

“That explains so much, though,” Arrius said.

“I have a possible solution to your plight,” Maddox said.

Arrius looked up.

Maddox told him the greater plan, which included the use of the Fusion First Fleet.

The iron-faced Consul became downcast as he listened. “Remus would come under the heel of the Fusion then. That’s something we’ve been trying to avoid for years.”

“You’d have to in order to keep your people free of alien control,” Maddox said.

Arrius stared at Maddox. “You realize, they’ll probably put me on trial once this is all over. The Fusion will execute me as a war criminal.”

“Maybe,” Maddox said. “Maybe before that happens you can become a Social Harmony true believer and avoid such a fate.”

Arrius studied Maddox, nodding slowly. “You’re a cunning man, Captain. I think I understand. I doubt they’ll believe me, though.”

“Make them believe,” Maddox said. “Show them you’re worth having around.”

“Yes, I understand. And I see the stakes. I doubt Remus can defeat the aliens on its own. The Unity has too many resources, too many highly advanced weapons. But with Fusion help…I like it, Captain, and I hate it. But I’d rather save my people than my hide.”

“Strive to do both.”

Arrius snorted, shaking his head. “Now that I know what’s happening…yes, you’re right. Please get in contact with Grand Director Shinto and tell him I’m ready to swear allegiance to his Chairman on New Trotsky.”

“I’ll do that, sir,” Maddox said.

“You’d better hurry, though. We’ve detected a buildup of underground forces near our headquarters. I may not be around by the time we hammer out the issues.”

“I’ll start today,” Maddox said. “Until then, sir.”

“Thank you, Captain. I appreciate this. I really do.”

***

Via screen, Maddox held another meeting with Grand Director Shinto, with the stout security officer watching from behind the commander’s chair.

“You spoke to this Consul Arrius, did you?” Shinto said with a sneer.

“Consul Arrius is desperate, sir. He said he’s willing to swear allegiance to the Chairman on New Trotsky—”

Grand Director Shinto swore mightily as he slammed a fist on his chair’s armrest. “That shows you the lack of political acuity of this Arrius. We don’t serve the Chairman. We serve Social Harmony. The Chairman—”

“Sir,” the security officer said sharply, interrupting the tirade.

Grand Director Shinto turned pale, and his lips trembled. He turned. “I-I meant to say…”

The security officer looked at the Grand Director staring up at him. He then looked at Maddox watching on the screen. The stout man bent low, whispering to the Grand Director.

Recovering some of his poise and color, Shinto faced Maddox. “I…spoke hastily a moment ago. The Chairman is our revered guardian, the very essence of Social Harmony. If Consul Arrius is willing to swear loyalty to him…” Shinto cleared his throat, and he cleared it again. “That…that means Arrius is swearing allegiance to Social Harmony. They fooled us once, you understand, years ago, but I believe Arrius has seen the error of his ways. He wishes to stand with the Fusion against these heinous aliens. If he’s serious, we could begin to work on a strategy to defeat the enemy on Remus.”

“Consul Arrius will be happy to hear that, sir,” Maddox said. “I, ah, would also like to add our efforts to yours.”

“Meaning what?” asked Shinto, becoming alert.

“We have been scanning the surface. For one thing, we can give you the subterranean coordinates to many of the Unity fortress locations. One of them at least is used to convert humans into their puppet slaves.”

“Subterranean fortresses?” asked Shinto.

“You could drop an asteroid on the biggest,” Maddox suggested.

“The asteroids are not yet here.”

“If the people of Remus gladly join the Fusion and agree to run their lives under the principles of Social Harmony…perhaps with the soldiers in the First Fleet, you could achieve complete victory over the aliens.”

Shinto studied Maddox.

“Such a victory would likely mean you’d gain in the Chairman’s esteem.”

Shinto cleared his throat once more. “I serve the Chairman at his pleasure. My gains mean nothing to me, just the gains for Social Harmony.”

“Ah,” Maddox said. “Even now, I’m learning your ways and the ways of Social Harmony. It is the highest form of government after all. That is clear by your actions.”

Shinto nodded. “I’m glad to hear you say that, Captain. If you could bring your starship into the First Fleet—”

“Perhaps I can do that when I’m finished with my other duties,” Maddox said smoothly, interrupting. “I am a loyal subject of the Commonwealth, however. How could you trust me if I told you that I’d willingly betray the trust of my superiors?”

“Very well,” Shinto said. “Please relate what I’ve said to the Consul. I will speak to my ground forces people and see what they have to say. Until then, Captain.”

Maddox bowed his head low, while Meta cut the connection.

-75-

Grutch the Morag watched all this take place from his stealth ship. He also monitored the starship from time to time. Each of those times, he discovered that Galyan scanned for his stealth ship. In Grutch’s estimation, it meant the holoimage was ready for him. Captain Maddox was well protected therefore, and the captain hadn’t left the starship since returning from the planet.

Oh, this was a very unproductive turn of events. It was possible that Maddox was beyond him for now. Thus, Grutch shifted to his secondary option. He studied the aliens, this Unity.

He’d overheard enough from scanning Fusion communications, especially between the slowly moving flotilla, as it continued to head inward toward Remus, and the Flagship Karl Radek.

The Unity was a telepathic collective of tiny white maggot-sized aliens. Their main method of operation was taking over weaker-willed if bigger humans to work for them.

Grutch observed for several weeks—human time. He watched as Fusion battlewagons detached from the First Fleet, moving into orbital space and launching landers and atmospheric fighters. At times, heavy lasers drilled down through the atmosphere. At other times, missiles launched and struck Unity strongpoints on the surface. Once finished with their task, the battlewagons redeployed with the First Fleet two million kilometers from the planet.

Grutch repositioned his stealth ship and launched stealth probes. He learned that the Remus Ground Service battled against Unity human ground forces.

There were hidden launches from the depths, striking Remus strongpoints and tank companies. Drones flitted through the air. Missiles struck at them. Counter-missiles struck at them in turn.

It was a ground war. One side had orbital aid. The other had subterranean help. Fusion soldiers deployed with Remus Ground Service people.

People, hundreds of thousands of people—most of them civilians—died or were captured by Unity soldiers. No doubt, the captured individuals were converted into new Unity soldiers.

The asteroids reached orbital space, and the Fusion dropped two. One hit its designated target. Massed Unity missiles hit the other asteroid together with heavy graviton beams. That asteroid broke up and rained in pieces, doing no real damage to the Unity holdout. It turned out, that was where Maddox, Riker and Keith had gone down.

As yet, no Unity spacecraft had appeared. The graviton beam was a rude surprise. They struck the next time Fusion battlewagons reached orbital space. Unity missiles also rose: sleek ordnance quite unlike the crude Remus missiles that had launched weeks earlier.

The Fusion battlewagons used lasers and missiles to fight back. They dropped bombs, used shield spray and took heavy damage, as three battlewagons broke up in orbital space, destroyed. Some of the crews survived in escape pods. Most perished, though, and the First Fleet was down three powerful battlewagons.

Director Anora’s flotilla addition helped restore the First Fleet to its former strength of twelve battlewagons. But the surface-orbital battle brought consternation and discord to Grand Director Shinto’s morale and resolve.

“You can’t quit now,” Maddox said via screen. “You’ve sent too many Fusion soldiers to the surface.”

Unbeknownst to Maddox, Grutch intercepted the communications, listening in.

“The Chairman did not send me to Remus to lose his First Fleet,” Shinto said sullenly.

“Drop the last asteroid on the area you failed to demolish,” Maddox suggested.

“And lose the asteroid’s threat because it’s gone?” Shinto asked petulantly.

“This is the decisive moment. You must risk everything to achieve total victory.”

“If you think I’m bringing the entire fleet into orbital space—”

“No,” Maddox said, interrupting. “I’ll protect the asteroid on its way down.”

Shinto sat up as he calculated. “…No. We don’t dare risk your precious starship—”

Maddox laughed, once more interrupting the Grand Director.

“What’s the meaning of such laughter, sir?”

“I didn’t realize you lacked the necessary tenacity to see this through.” Maddox raised a hand, forestalling a rebuttal. “If you’re not trying to utterly destroy the aliens, we’ve no more reason for staying. We’ve scanned the subterranean areas in detail. This is the strategic locale. This is where the Unity is hiding. Destroy them, the head, as it were, the brain, and the rest should be easy in comparison.”

“You believe the asteroid strike there is that important?”

“I do indeed.”

The Grand Director hunched in thought, soon nodding. “Very well, we shall order it and watch your progress. Those of Social Harmony wish you well, sir.”

“Thank you,” Maddox said. “We’ll do our best.”

Grutch continued to watch this via his sensors, and he monitored the towed asteroid closely, the biggest the Fusion had brought from the Asteroid Belt. The tugs brought it near the planet as Victory maneuvered into position.

Then, all hell broke loose as the Unity used its graviton beams and missiles. Victory surged to the forefront, using its shields to block the rays from striking the tugs or the asteroid. At the same time, the disrupter beam from the starship struck surface areas, taking out underground graviton silo stations, one after another.

Victory launched antimatter missiles, which detonated partway into the atmosphere, destroying masses of Unity rockets on their way up into orbital space to demolish the asteroid.

The technology of Maddox’s starship compared to the Fusion and Remus hardware was several factors better. It also proved far superior to the Unity battle technology. That made a huge difference to the asteroid drop.

The tugs rushed into low orbital space as best they could and released the asteroid so it streaked down on target.

Victory maintained its orbital position, using its disrupter cannon to deadly effect every time a Unity missile launched against the falling rock.

The last graviton silos opened up, targeting the asteroid burning its way down to the surface. Pieces of asteroid flew off or burned up, but a solid core of it over two kilometers wide slammed into the targeted location with devastating effect.

Quakes radiated outward. Billions of tons of dust and debris billowed into the atmosphere. Shock waves struck downward so mayhem ensued, surely destroying everything down there all the way to the mantle.

After watching the asteroid strike, Grutch teleported farther away from Remus. He could stay and record more, but now he realized that Victory would remain intact and Maddox would not risk his person for an easy kidnapping. Besides, that annoying Galyan was always searching for his stealth ship.

I must demand more tellurium bars for this. My sponsors have not been honest with me. Not that he, Grutch, had ever been honest with them. But that wasn’t the point. He was a Morag, an inherently superior being. For beings of their lowly type to be so clever, trying to trick him…

Grutch slapped two tentacles together in slow motion. A human might have shaken his head. This was most unfortunate. The entire trip, well, it hadn’t been a waste. But for the moment, he didn’t see profit in any of it. How he could use the knowledge of the Unity—he didn’t see that yet either.

It was time to retreat, reassess and raise the stakes. “Captain Maddox, you are a pain in the orifice. But I will defeat you yet and gain much wealth from you. First, it’s time I talked shop with my sponsors and learn everything they know about you.”

Grutch thus began the preparations for a long journey. This was round one with Captain Maddox. If he could raise the stakes, perhaps purchase better tech for dealing with Galyan, he would shortly enter round two against the elusive Maddox and his annoying crew of busybodies.

-76-

The tenor of the ground war began to change soon after the final asteroid strike. Unfortunately, the impact of the asteroid had devastating effects on the weather. It wouldn’t be long before the colder weather brought harsher conditions to most areas of the planet.

“What percentage of the population has perished so far?” Ludendorff asked Maddox.

“Lower than what it’s going to be next year, even if the humans win the fight. Food production might be next to nonexistent in this kind of icy weather.”

“I agree,” Ludendorff said. “I wonder if the Fusion will begin humanitarian efforts to keep the Remus survivors alive.”

“I’ll have to ask the Grand Director that.”

“He won’t give you a straight answer,” Ludendorff said. “Do you think the Commonwealth will lend a hand?”

“I can suggest it when we get home, but the nebula is far from the Commonwealth. We’re deep in the Beyond.”

“I realize all that. With the nexus, we could easily reach here.”

“I don’t know about easily,” Maddox said, “but we could certainly reach here, or reach outside the nebula and then work inward.”

Ludendorff nodded. “There are many odd properties to the nebula. We could spend a long time here studying them.”

“Or the Patrol could send out teams,” Maddox said.

“What do we do now?”

“What we’ve been doing,” Maddox said. “We monitor the progress of the war while we stay out of harm’s way via the First Fleet.”

***

Several weeks passed as the Remus Ground Service, backed by Fusion battalions and orbital support, went on to the offensive.

The Grand Director now released three battlewagons to permanent station in low orbital space of Remus. The heavy lasers striking from the sky made a difference in many surface battles. A growing air force did as well.

One Remus army group reached the location of the main asteroid strike and dug into the rubble. They mined, found collapsed corridors and many human dead with cerebraters embedded in their foreheads. Once, deep in the earth, a group of puppet humans counterattacked.

“How could anyone have survived down there?” Ludendorff asked Maddox.

“We don’t know they did. Perhaps while our side was digging downward, their side was digging from below or to the side into the place.”

“For what possible reason?”

Maddox shrugged.

In the end, the Remus deep-tunnel teams found nothing worth the fighting and dying. They did not find any alien battle tech, nor did they find secret corridors leading elsewhere on the planet.

“What was the point of the last asteroid strike again?” the Grand Director demanded of Maddox via screen.

“To win. The Fusion forces are advancing,” Maddox said. “There are fewer rumors of people disappearing.”

“Perhaps,” Shinto said. “But the planet is worthless now.”

“Nonsense,” Maddox said. “A little terraforming effort would go a long way to restoring Remus to what it was.”

“Such efforts would be costly.”

“How many Earth-type planets does the Fusion own?”

“That is a quaint way to say it,” the Grand Director said. “We all hold them in common. We do not own them as you say.”

“How many Earth-type planets are in the Fusion?”

“That is classified information,” the Grand Director said.

“I’m guessing no more than five,” Maddox said. “Remus is in bad shape these days, but its value is priceless to the Fusion. The terraforming will quickly pay off.”

“Perhaps,” the Grand Director said.

Two days later, three more Fusion battlewagons moved in from the First Fleet and took up station in Remus orbital space. More Fusion soldiers went down to the planet together with emergency food supplies.

“The Fusion has already started the reeducation,” Arrius complained to Maddox several days later via screen. The Consul sat at a desk in what looked like an underground bunker. “The Fusion people move into a pacified area and take the Remus Ground Service officers, replacing them with Fusion people. The officers are supposedly receiving their retraining aboard the battlewagons.”

“It was the price of victory,” Maddox said from his command chair on the bridge.

“Victory,” Arrius snorted. “We destroyed a planet to save it, is that what you’re saying?”

“Your planet is far from being destroyed. The weather is worse, and will be worse for years, perhaps even for decades. But millions of Remus people are still alive.”

“Yes,” Arrius said. “Thank you for reminding me. I imagine my turn for reeducation is coming soon.”

“Remember what I said. Make yourself invaluable to them.”

“I won’t betray my people.”

Maddox shook his head. “I’m sorry we couldn’t have met under better circumstances.”

“Captain, please, I apologize. I appreciate all that you’ve done for Remus. I’m complaining to you when I should be on my knees thanking you. You saved our planet from alien enslavement. Perhaps Social Harmony will enslave us—”

“No political system lasts forever,” Maddox said, interrupting. “If the people live, they have a chance to change their minds about things later.”

Arrius nodded. “You’re an optimist.”

“I’m a realist.”

“I could almost beg you to take me with you,” Arrius said. “I would love to see the Commonwealth, to know what happened to the rest of humanity.”

“Well…”

“No,” Arrius said. “I’m not asking that. I’ll help my people to the end, even if it means my death. I’ll take your advice to heart.”

“You seem to believe I’m leaving soon,” Maddox said.

Arrius shrugged. “The war is winding down. I can feel it. If there are any aliens left, I suspect they’re going to make a break for it soon.”

Maddox smiled grimly. “I’ve been waiting for that; it’s one of the reasons we haven’t left yet.”

“Good. Kill them. Kill them all.”

“An excellent suggestion,” Maddox said. “It’s one I plan to implement.”

“Ah,” Arrius said, looking elsewhere. “I have to go. If I don’t see you again, Captain, thank you for all you’ve done. It has been greatly appreciated.”

Maddox nodded, and the connection was abruptly severed on their end.

-77-

Remus proper, the political entity ruled by the seven aristocrat families, lay unarmed before the twelve Fusion battlewagons that had moved into orbital space. Many key strategic locations on the planet were held by Fusion troops and allied Remus personnel. The strength of the old Remus Ground Service had been considerably weakened.

For the last few days, there hadn’t been any assaults by alien-controlled humans.

Most of the people on Remus lived in misery as the weather had turned harsher and food stocks had dwindled. Mass starvation threatened.

The Grand Director had sent a scout vessel toward the edge of the Remus System. Once it reached the nebula, the scout would race to New Trotsky with its nebula drive, hopefully convincing the Chairman to send cargo vessels with sorely needed aid relief to Remus.

Victory stayed farther from the planet so the Grand Director wasn’t tempted to order any rash attempts to try to capture the starship.

“Sir,” Andros said during the third watch.

Maddox looked up from where he read a novel to pass the time.

“I’m detecting something odd from the planet,” Andros said.

“Troop movement?” asked Maddox.

“Look at this, sir,” Andros said, tapping his panel.

On the main screen, Maddox observed five pinpoint explosions on the planet’s surface. Each of those must have been a massive nuclear detonation.

“Sir,” Meta said. “Requests have begun for orbital strikes.”

That was the start of it, a massed assault by Unity-controlled humans. They boiled out of the earth from different locations, many of them in ground effect vehicles.

Andros soon counted fifty thousand alien-controlled humans at least.

The Fusion battlewagons in low orbital space began to congregate over the battle zone. They beamed heavy lasers at the strongest concentrations of enemy G.E.V.s and Unity artillery tubes.

“How long have the aliens been gathering this force?” Keith asked at helm.

“And, what are they hoping to achieve with the attack?” Andros said.

“I know the answer,” Galyan said.

Maddox swiveled his captain’s chair to the holoimage.

“I have detected a breakout group slipping off the surface,” Galyan said. “I have learned of this through one of our probes on the other side of Remus.”

“Show me,” Maddox said.

The main screen switched, showing five sleek space vessels leaving the surface and heading for orbital space.

“The Unity space fleet,” Maddox said.

“That is my own estimate as well,” Galyan said.

“Size and composition of the ships,” Maddox said.

“They are each approximately the size of a Star Watch destroyer,” Galyan said. “They are heavy-hulled with an unknown alloy protecting them. I do not yet detect any firing emitters. The mode of motivation—ion engines, sir, of a novel design.”

“Mr. Maker,” Maddox said, “take us to the other side of Remus, but maintain our present distance from low orbital space.”

“Aye-aye, sir.”

“Are we going to engage the aliens, sir?” Galyan asked.

“We’re going to see what we can see,” Maddox said, contemplative.

“You’re not seriously going to let the aliens live?” Valerie asked from communications.

Maddox looked at her.

“Uh, belay the question,” Valerie said.

Maddox nodded.

Under Keith’s guidance, Victory maneuvered away from the ground-battle-side of Remus, starting for the star-side of the planet.

“Grand Director Shinto is hailing us,” Valerie said.

“Tell him I’ll speak to him later,” Maddox said.

A little later, Valerie said, “Sir, the Grand Director is insistent.”

“I don’t care,” Maddox said.

“Yes, sir,” Valerie said. “Shall I tell him that?”

“Don’t tell him anything. Let our actions be a mystery to him.”

“Very well, sir,” Valerie said.

The five sleek Unity spacecraft left low orbital space and rapidly gained velocity as they left Remus behind.

Victory also began to build up velocity, following them.

They were sleek silver ships, as previously noted, like space needles, and moved in a strict formation, with four of the needle ships surrounding a central one.

“Do they have shields?” asked Maddox.

“Negative, sir,” Andros said. “That alloy appears to be laser resistant, though.”

“We don’t use lasers,” Maddox said dryly.

“I was just noting, sir,” Andros said.

“I could take a closer look,” Galyan said.

“Good idea,” Maddox said.

Galyan disappeared and stayed gone for several minutes.

During that time, the five needle ships and Victory gained velocity, although the Unity ships gained it faster, slowly pulling away from the starship.

“Speedy little suckers, aren’t they?” Maddox said to no one in particular.

Galyan reappeared. “Sir, the ships are full of little white aliens the size of your pinky finger.”

“Maggots,” Maddox said.

“A pejorative term,” Galyan said.

“Damned right. They’re evil parasites. Is anyone else aboard?”

“Sir,” Valerie said. “The alien ships are hailing us.”

“Yes,” Galyan said. “Aboard each Unity ship is one human with a cerebrater. Each human looks highly uncomfortable in the cramped vessel. The ships are made for the aliens’ tiny size.”

“Put the human on the main screen,” Maddox told Valerie.

A disheveled Diana Varus appeared with a bent neck and her head pressing up against a ceiling. The cerebrater was quite prominent on her forehead.

“Who do I address?” Maddox asked.

“The Unity, of course,” Diana said in a hoarse voice as she stared out of the main screen with haunted eyes. If the Unity spoke through her—and they surely did—it appeared that some part of her human personality realized it and knew dull horror. What had caused the difference? With their losses and possible consternation, had the aliens controlling her lost some of their grip over her mind?

Maddox didn’t have time for sentimentality. He hardened himself, pretending indifference. “Making a run for it, are you?”

“You are a hateful personage, Captain Maddox. The Unity despises you.”

“Thank you,” Maddox said. “I appreciate that.”

“It was not a compliment.”

“Oh,” Maddox said, as if surprised. “Well, I took it that way.”

“You won’t always, I assure you.”

“I wonder if that’s true,” Maddox said. “Are you trying to tell me, perhaps, that you’ve communicated with the home Unity?”

“We are all one,” Diana said with some heat.

Maddox fingered his chin, thinking about that. “I doubt you can speak across light-years of distance, though. Otherwise, why send so many of you here?”

The Unity did not reply to that.

“And this vain attempt to escape,” Maddox said, becoming more animated, “it tells me that it’s important for you to leave Remus. I don’t think that would be the case if you could contact the home Unity using your telepathy.”

“I hate you,” Diana said.

Maddox smiled nastily, no longer seeing the woman but the alien maggots using her.

“You will not take our ships,” Diana said. “You will not learn our secrets.”

“I already know them.”

“Ask them about the Adoks, sir,” Galyan said from the side.

“I heard that,” Diana said. “Tell the stupid holoimage it doesn’t matter. He was here asking me already. I know about Adoks. I even know where they live. But I will never tell you.”

“That’s a shame,” Maddox said. “I was going to let you bargain your way from Remus with the knowledge of Adoks.”

“That is a lie,” Diana said. “You are a liar.”

“You’ll never know if you don’t try.”

Diana shook her head, even though it was obviously difficult for her to do so in the cramped quarters.

Now, Maddox noticed hundreds of maggots crawling around and over her pulled up knees. If Diana wasn’t controlled, Maddox believed she would be screaming in horror until she snapped and went mad.

“Sir,” Galyan pleaded. “Make them talk.”

Diana laughed. “It is good to see the holoimage suffer. You will never find the Adoks. This I know.”

“You’re never going to make it home,” Maddox countered. “This I know.”

“We shall see,” Diana said.

“No, you won’t, but I will.”

Diana glared at him with boiling hatred, her eyes seeming to harden and darken. “We would have conquered Remus with ease if you hadn’t shown up.”

Maddox nodded. “You want to hear something ironic? The only reason we came was because of your satellites and memories inserted via cerebraters. Isn’t that funny? You invited your own doom—and now it is upon you.”

Diana Varus brought a hand up, flipping off the captain.

Maddox nodded once more. “I’m glad the Unity can know hatred. That makes me believe you can know fear. You’re about to die, and your knowledge about what you learned here will die with you.”

“The Unity will survive,” Diana said, her voice hoarser than ever. “The Unity will prevail.”

“I know the Unity now,” Maddox said. “That means Star Watch is going to hunt for the home Unity and burn it out of existence—and everywhere else it may be.”

“Sir,” Andros said. “The needle ships are rotating to face us.”

“Ready to rock and roll, are you?” Maddox asked Diana.

For an answer, the controlled Diana Varus brought her other hand around and flipped him off with it as well.

-78-

The planet Remus was already well behind the starship as it headed toward the five destroyer-sized needle ships.

“I’ve not yet seen anything like these ships,” Andros said from the science station. “The alloy could well be resistant to disrupter fire.”

“I rather doubt that,” Maddox said.

“Their graviton cannons are charging,” Galyan said beside him. “Sir, is there any way we can capture some of the aliens? Their data concerning the Adoks could be invaluable.”

“We’ll have to wait and see,” Maddox said, as he studied the five needle ships on the main screen.

“I do not believe you are serious about that, sir.”

Maddox turned to Galyan. “On the contrary, that’s a good idea. I would very much like to capture at least one of the needle ships.”

Galyan’s eyelids fluttered for just a moment, perhaps as he analyzed the captain’s statement. “Thank you, sir. I believe you mean that.”

“I wouldn’t have said it otherwise.”

“I do not believe that, sir,” Galyan said. “You say many things to others that are outright lies.”

“Deception is the word I prefer.”

“I will use the word I prefer when I make a statement, sir,” Galyan said.

Maddox raised his eyebrows, but decided not to pursue the topic. Let the AI have its occasional little verbal victories.

“Mr. Barnes,” Maddox said, “please charge the disrupter cannon.”

“Yes, sir,” Barnes said.

“I’m reinforcing the shield, sir,” Andros said.

Maddox nodded. He’d expected no less.

As a million kilometers separated the combined needle ships from Victory, the enemy graviton beams shot outward. The beams struck a point on Victory’s shield, and that spot immediately turned red and started to brown.

“Fire,” Maddox said.

The yellow disrupter beam shot outward from Victory as the distance rapidly closed between the vessels. The beam did nothing against the alien hull alloy for thirty seconds, astounding the captain.

As a mark finally appeared on the hull, the needle ship traded positions with another of its kind, so it took the disrupter beam on its unaffected hull.

Now, the brown part of the shield had turned purple.

“Sir,” Andros said. “There is danger to us from these beams.”

“Galyan,” Maddox said, “deploy the neutron beam as well. Let’s hit them as hard as we can.”

“How will we save one of the needle ships then?” Galyan asked.

“We’ll worry about it when there are only one or two of them left. Now fire the neutron cannon.”

“Yes, sir,” Galyan said. “That is wise thinking.”

“And see if you can figure out what kind of alloy that is,” Maddox said. “Star Watch could use something like that.”

Galyan’s eyelids fluttered.

“Shield failure in thirty seconds, sir,” Andros said.

“Evasive maneuvers. Shift the ship,” Maddox told Keith.

“Yes, sir,” Keith said, as his hands flew over the helm control.

“The needle ships are hailing us again,” Valerie said.

“If they’re not surrendering, I’m not interested,” Maddox said.

“I’m rotating the shield and recalibrating,” Andros said, as he manipulated his board.

The black part of the shield turned a bright red as Andros exchanged shield areas, a newer technology of the ship.

“Sir,” Valerie said. “While they’re not surrendering, the Unity believes you will want to hear this.”

“Wrong,” Maddox said. “Galyan, where is the neutron beam?”

“Are they willing to tell us where the Adoks live?” Galyan asked.

“I’ll have Ludendorff shut you down, Galyan, if you don’t start immediately firing the neutron cannon,” Maddox said.

The little Adok holoimage stared at the captain, noting, perhaps, the flintiness in the man’s eyes. A second later, the purple neutron beam reached out, striking the exact spot the disrupter beam did.

The combined wattage and energy burned through the strange alien alloy and stabbed into the vessel. Air, water and organic matter blew outward. Abruptly, the needle ship detonated.

The blast knocked the other needle ships around it, causing them to veer away from each other.

“Hit them in tandem with the beams,” Maddox said.

The graviton beams no longer struck the shield.

“Their request is more urgent,” Valerie said.

“I bet it is,” Maddox said, his focus on the main screen.

The disrupter and neutron beams struck the next vessel, destroying it in short order.

“This is their last request for a talk, Captain,” Valerie said.

“Sir, please,” Galyan said. “I implore you to attempt to find out the location of the Adoks.”

Maddox glanced at Galyan, noting his anguish, and he nodded sharply. “Put them on the main screen,” he told Valerie.

Diana appeared with tears streaming down her dirty cheeks. There was no hint of her human personality now. “You have destroyed two ships of the Unity, two ships with precious cargo. Leave us these three vessels, please.”

“What will you give me in return?” Maddox said coldly.

“The location of the Adoks,” Diana said.

“Start talking,” Maddox said.

Diana did so, speaking about a star system in the nebula twelve light-years from here. “Now,” she said. “Will you let us live?”

“I want one other thing,” Maddox said. “How do we recondition the humans controlled by the cerebraters?”

Diana wiped tears from her eyes. “You won’t live up to your agreement?”

“I will,” Maddox said.

“I told you about the Adoks.”

“I won’t know if you’re lying or not until I go there. Therefore, I want to know something I can test right away.”

“You are a vain creature,” Diana said. “The Unity will ultimately rule the galaxy. We are the greatest species in existence.”

“Sir,” Andros said. “I’m picking up a power surge in the three ships.”

Diana wiped the final tears from her eyes, and she grinned in malevolent glee at Maddox.

“What is it now?” Maddox asked.

Diana vanished from the main screen. It brought the three silver needle ships back into focus. One after another, they ignited, blowing up.

Maddox frowned. What had just happened? “Andros, Galyan, scan everywhere. See if—”

“I found it,” Galyan said. “I’m using high magnification.”

On the main screen appeared a round spaceship with the same silver alloy as the needle ships. It was some distance already from Remus, and had traveled in a different direction from the needle ships. As Galyan showed them the ship, a hole appeared in space near the ship. The round ship slid into the hole, and vanished. A second later, the hole vanished as well.

“What was that?” Maddox asked quietly.

“The hole was a manufactured Laumer Point,” Galyan said. “The silver-colored ship was no doubt the last Unity spacecraft in the Remus System.”

“It got away,” Maddox said.

“Yes,” Galyan said. “Obviously, the five-ship convoy was a distraction for us. The Unity thought of everything. They were never going to let us capture any of them to interrogate them.”

“No…” Maddox said slowly.

“That means the star system of the Adoks they told us about is a fake,” Galyan said.

“We’ll see,” Maddox said.

“Sir?”

“We’re going to find your Adoks, Galyan. First, though, run a sweep for salvage. We need a sample of that alloy for Star Watch science. Then, we’ll finish with the First Fleet and Fusion.”

-79-

Victory returned to Remus and observed the ongoing ground conflict. With the combined mass of the battlewagons in space, the Unity-controlled humans didn’t stand a chance.

Soon, all the enemy artillery and tanks had become twisted hulks of metal. Armored cars and machine-gun strongpoints vanished under battlewagon heavy laser and THOR assaults. The latter were guided iron rods falling like meteors, striking with devastating force.

Huge storms, volcanic-ash clouds and regular debris clouds covered much of the planet. The weather had turned harsh, and the growing season no doubt considerably shortened, if there would be one at all for a time.

The Fusion First Fleet remained in one group over Remus, monitoring the last stages of the ground battle.

Soon enough, Captain Maddox and Grand Director Shinto spoke via screen. There was a solid three million kilometers between them, with Victory much farther from Remus than the Fusion fleet.

“Congratulations on your achievement, sir,” Maddox said.

“This latest battle?” asked Shinto.

“No, no,” Maddox said. “I mean the campaign. Surely, some of your people saw what happened with the five Unity needle ships?”

“I’m afraid not,” Shinto said.

Maddox gave the Grand Director the short version.

“The aliens had a fleet of spaceships?” Shinto asked in wonder.

“I suspect now that the asteroid strike before didn’t destroy all the Unity spacecraft,” Maddox said. “We faced five silver ships. None of them survived. One other ship got away, though.”

“It used your jump capacity?”

“No,” Maddox said. “It used a generated Laumer Point, a wormhole, if you will.”

“So, the Unity aliens escaped with data about the Fusion?”

Maddox nodded. “That’s true. But it’s also possible the Unity already knew about the Fusion. The critical point is that we defeated them here and saved a planet of humans. Plus, you’re adding a world to the greater Fusion of Planets.”

After a second, Shinto smiled, no doubt envisioning the parades and honor he would accrue because of the victory. “What happens now between us?”

“I’ll leave and report home, telling the Lord High Admiral about the Fusion. I imagine in time others of Star Watch will return, wanting to speak with the Chairman.”

“You mean you’ll return with a fleet and attempt to conquer us.”

Maddox shook his head. “You’re too far from the Commonwealth. Your ancestors traveled farther than any other colonizing humans I know, perhaps for this very reason. Besides, we only conquer those who attack us. Do you plan to attack us?”

Shinto’s eyes narrowed, but he dodged the question. Instead, he boasted, “We’ve created a human utopia here.”

Maddox smiled faintly.

“Will you tell them about our remarkable political achievement?”

“I’m sure others from Star Watch will come to learn all that from you.”

“And teach us how to use this star-drive jump outside the nebula?”

“It’s possible,” Maddox said. “I’m not able to make any promises, you understand? I am not authorized to give out proprietary technology anyway.”

Shinto became thoughtful. “I’m glad we could work together. I’ll tell the Chairman about your part in this conquest.”

I doubt you will, Maddox thought to himself, although maybe the security officer behind you will do that.

“What happens to those of Remus?” Maddox asked.

The Grand Director frowned, shaking his head. “I’m afraid that isn’t a proper question for you, as this is now an internal Fusion matter. We freed Remus from alien control and the antiquated nonsense of aristocratic rule, if one can even call it that. Such rule is exploitation of the worst form.”

“I’m sorry to hear that.”

“I’ve come to believe that the aliens attacked Remus first because of their political weakness. The Unity must have realized Remus would fall more easily to their methods. We of the Fusion are made of much sterner stuff.”

“I’m sure you’re right.”

“I know I am,” Shinto said. “The facts prove it. However, I have been remiss. Surely, you’ll join us for a victory celebration aboard the Karl Radek.”

“Alas, I have pressing matters,” Maddox said, “although, I appreciate the offer.”

“Your unwillingness to join the celebration shows an ungrateful attitude regarding us. We did most of the fighting.”

“I don’t want you to feel that way.”

“Then come, please,” Shinto said, stretching his lips into an obviously false smile. “I guarantee your safety, if that’s what’s bothering you.”

“Hmm, it’s a thought then, as I know what your personal guarantee is worth.” Maddox didn’t add aloud, nothing at all.

“When can I expect you aboard then?”

“Well…” Maddox said. “I could come in a shuttle. Let me speak with my people. Then, I can tell you.”

“This is wonderful news,” Shinto said. “I look forward to shaking your hand and thanking you face to face for all you’ve done for us.”

“Yes,” Maddox said. “It will be a pleasure to greet you in person. I admire what I’ve seen so far. I dearly wish to see more of the Fusion and its people.”

“Until then, Captain.”

“Let it be so,” Maddox said.

The connection ceased a moment later.

“Are you really going over there?” Valerie asked from the comm station.

“No,” Maddox said.

“Then why say you are?”

“I want to make it easier later for whatever Star Watch people make contact with the Fusion. We’ll wait a bit, and then I’ll have you send the Grand Director my regrets, that we’re dealing with an emergency.”

“He’ll know you never meant to come.”

“Maybe,” Maddox said. “But at least it will allow any others to work with that fiction.”

“He’s a bastard,” Valerie said with heat.

“Yes,” Maddox said. “I’m afraid he is, and I suspect their Social Harmony is Hell on Earth, only marginally less so than being mentally controlled by trillions of maggot aliens.”

Valerie shuddered.

“Will you speak to Consul Arrius again?” Galyan asked.

“No. As I’m sure the Fusion is monitoring his communications. Any friendliness on my part to the Consul will only hurt him.” Maddox inhaled deeply through his nostrils. “It’s time for us to leave. Keep scanning the star system for any sign of Grutch. After all this, we don’t want to fall prey to one of his Morag ploys.”

Galyan stood rigidly as his eyelids began to flutter.

“Mr. Maker,” Maddox said.

“I’m on it, sir,” Keith said.

Maddox nodded. He felt good destroying the Unity effort here. At least the people on Remus would no longer be alien puppets, their every thought controlled. The people of Remus would fall prey to the Fusion, however, but it was human, at least, and not nearly as vile as the Unity. Still, Maddox was glad to be leaving the Remus System.

-80-

From the Remus System, Victory plunged back into the dense nebula, heading for the supposed Adok-holding star system twelve light-years away. Maddox issued an order. Whoever was on watch at the time should destroy any Unity satellite found drifting in space. He didn’t want any more nonsense with cerebraters.

“This could be a trap,” Valerie said in the cafeteria a day later.

Maddox, Meta and Valerie drank coffee together at a table. Maddox had believed it a good idea to meet so the two women could repair any bridges that might have been broken when Meta had marched Valerie to the brig.

“Could be,” Maddox said noncommittally.

“If there had been more needle ships during the Remus breakout,” Valerie said, “we might not have survived the battle. We know the Unity means to either enslave or destroy us.”

“We’ll take care upon reaching the next star system,” Maddox said.

“Do you really suppose we’ll find Adoks there?” Meta asked.

Maddox sipped his coffee and because he felt pressure on the back of his neck, he looked around the cafeteria. He spied a distortion in the air. Surely that was Galyan in deep ghost mode. He might have to talk to Ludendorff about how to correct Galyan’s tendency to eavesdrop whenever he felt like it. That would mean having the Methuselah Man going into the Adok AI systems. Maddox didn’t know if that was a good idea this time, but he was getting tired of this secret spying.

“Of course, I think we’ll find Adoks,” Maddox said. “It may take some hard searching, but I’m determined to make the effort.”

Valerie was frowning at him. “Who are you speaking to?”

“You,” Maddox said. He touched his wife’s arm. “And Meta.”

“It felt like you were talking to someone else,” Valerie said.

“Nevertheless,” Maddox said. “I was talking to you.”

Valerie’s frown lessened, but it was clear she was thinking. “Do you mean to say you believe the Adoks will be at this star system?”

“That I don’t know,” Maddox said. “But if not, we’ll keep searching throughout the nebula until we find Adoks, or verify they never entered this place.”

Maddox left a few minutes later, leaving the two women to chat alone.

***

Valerie departed an hour later, the breach between her and Meta healed. Valerie recognized now that it would have been a disaster if Meta hadn’t done what she had on the bridge. Her right shoulder was still sore, though, from Meta’s powerful wrench.

The best part of the talk had been Meta asking about her future. Valerie had surprised herself by talking about Keith.

Meta was a great listener. She asked a few questions and had brought Valerie out, saying how she wanted to fix things between Keith and her.

Meta had nodded, smiling encouragement.

“You think I should do that right now, don’t you?” Valerie had asked.

“Would that be wise?”

Valerie had thought about it and nodded. “What better time?”

“Do you know of any?”

Valerie had laughed, agreeing there wasn’t one. Now, she headed down the corridor, seeking Keith Maker, the cockiest pilot in Star Watch.

Valerie found him in a rec room where he shot pool with Riker.

The old sergeant was healing, and he looked thinner than he had several weeks ago upon leaving medical.

“Hi, Riker,” Valerie said.

Sergeant Riker turned and studied her as she approached. “Ah,” he said, rubbing his heart. “I can feel it.” He turned to Keith. “I’ve had enough for today. I need a rest.”

“Because you haven’t won a single game yet,” Keith said. “You need to practice if you hope to beat me.”

“Yes. That’s it.” Riker held out his cue stick for Valerie. “Will you take over for me?”

Valerie studied the pool table. Keith had three striped balls left. Riker had all his solids on the table. “Give that to me. I think I can do this.”

Riker stepped closer, handing her the cue stick. He was grinning from ear to ear.

“Is there something wrong?” Valerie asked.

“Not anymore.” With that, Riker sauntered out of the rec room.

Valerie turned to Keith. He was staring at her with speculation in his eyes. He quickly looked away.

“Do you mind if I take over?” Valerie asked.

Keith shrugged without looking at her.

A burst of heat flooded Valerie’s heart. She almost said, “If that’s how you feel about it, fine. I’m leaving.” Instead, she asked, “Whose shot is it?”

“Mine.” Keith turned to the table, went around the long way—to avoid being near her, no doubt—leaned on the felt and made his shot. His striped ball stopped just short of the side pocket.

“Here we go,” Valerie said, forcing cheer into her voice.

She concentrated, making three shots in a row. When she looked up at Keith, she found him frowning. “What’s wrong with you? Afraid I’m going to win?”

He sneered.

That made Valerie angry. She studied the balls and she made every shot, sinking the eight ball into the side pocket where she’d pointed.

“That was fun,” Keith said in a neutral tone. “I’m going to turn in.”

Valerie watched him put up his cue stick: and she almost let him go. He was being petulant, a baby about this.

He hesitated as he let go of the stick. Then, his shoulders stiffened and he started for the exit.

“Keith, wait,” Valerie said.

He took two more steps as if he hadn’t heard her. Then, he stopped abruptly, but he didn’t turn around.

That made Valerie angry again. What was wrong with him? In her mind’s eye, for just a moment, she could see Meta sipping coffee, nodding and listening. Meta thought it would be a good idea for her to get back with Keith.

“What do you want?” Keith said, without turning around.

“To talk to you.”

Keith turned then, touching his chest with his left hand. “Me? You want to talk to me?”

“That’s what I said.”

“You beat me at pool.”

“So? Is that a problem for you? I can’t ever win?”

His face was blank, and then animation filled it as if a dam broke and flooded him with emotion. “You’re a lieutenant commander. I’m just a lieutenant. Surely, I’m too low for someone like you.”

Valerie frowned. “Is that the problem between us?”

“What problem?”

She approached him, and she held out her hands.

Keith hesitated again, but then he reached out and took hold of her hands.

That felt good. He hadn’t done that for a long time. “I’ve missed you,” Valerie whispered.

Keith stared into her eyes, and he squeezed her hands. A second later, as a thought must have intruded, he frowned.

“What’s wrong now?” Valerie asked.

“You’re winning. I’m losing.”

“What? You mean the pool game?”

“That, and our careers,” Keith said. “I know women don’t like dating beneath their status.”

Valerie blinked several times. “Is this about your pride?”

His eyes became hot. “Maybe.”

She nodded, but she didn’t let go of his hands. “You’re the best pilot in Star Watch.”

Keith cocked his head. “You know, it’s funny. These days, others tell me that, but I don’t tell them. And if it was true, you’d think I’d get a promotion.”

“Have you lost your confidence?”

Keith frowned. “I know I’m still the best. But…but maybe I have lost a step, or whatever.”

Valerie didn’t know how to reply to that. So, she sidestepped the topic, and said, “I miss you.”

That seemed to take him by surprise. “I miss you,” he said, with a burr in his throat.

“Can…can we try again?”

“I’d like that—if you’d like that.”

“I wouldn’t have asked you otherwise.”

“No. I guess not.”

They stood there, holding hands, not saying anything, as if they both had to work at it to look into each other’s eyes.

“We’ll work through this,” Keith said suddenly.

“You mean my higher rank?”

“Yes,” he said. “I suppose…I suppose no one can match me at piloting. That makes me good enough for you.”

“We’ll see about that.”

He frowned, looking down.

Valerie shook his hands. “Keith. I was joking. Where’s the cocky bastard I once knew? What happened to him?”

Keith’s eyes narrowed as he studied her. “Let’s find out,” he said, with a sudden mischief in his voice that hadn’t been there for a time.

“How and where?” Valerie asked archly.

“Come with me,” Keith said, releasing one of her hands and tugging with the other.

Valerie giggled, letting him pull her out of the rec room.

-81-

Sergeant Riker wore sweat pants, a sweat suit and sneakers as he walked down ship corridors. He’d been out of medical for a time, the chief medical officer telling him that his heart was looking better than before.

“You still need to take it easy, though,” the doctor had said.

“For how long?”

“I’d say the rest of your life.”

“I can’t strengthen my heart compared to what it used to be?”

“Oh, you can do that. Or even get an artificial heart. But isn’t it time to do something else with your life?”

“Like what?” asked Riker.

“That’s for you to decide.”

Riker was thinking about that as he walked with a quick gait down various corridors. He’d been walking for weeks already, and he’d been watching his diet, too. He’d come upon intermittent fasting. It was actually fairly easy compared to his other diets.

It amounted to stop eating at six p.m. and not resuming until ten in the morning the next day. That gave him sixteen hours of fasting. That gave his body time to unclog, as it were, and begin to work upon his fat stores, consuming them. The trick was to avoid sugar and too many carbohydrates. Otherwise, he could eat what he wanted during the rest of the time, well, within reason, anyway.

He’d been doing this for several weeks already and had lost two pounds and was feeling better. He wasn’t as hungry all the time, either, which made the diet easier. He’d even been picking up energy.

Still, taking care of himself was key. He still took the heart pills, but he was thinking about giving them up. He would exercise, eat right and try to avoid too much stress.

The funny thing was that thinking about quitting Star Watch for good was the most stressful thing he could conceive. So, for the moment, he did not plan to quit or to take up deskwork, as that would also stress him out. He liked being in the field, occasionally called upon to work with the youngster, Maddox.

Given that, he needed to be in better shape. In the coming weeks, Riker planned to ride a bicycle through the larger hangar bay corridors. That would get his heart pumping, strengthening it for the moment he needed to sprint.

Maybe he was too old to sprint. But if he gave it up for good, then he really would be old, and he didn’t want to be that. If trying to remain younger killed him, then so be it. If trying to be younger kept him in better shape and spirits—that was the goal.

What was the point of puttering around in his garden on Earth or going to the pub in the city for a few beers? What did retirement really bring a man? Many men died soon after retiring. The ones that did best had an absorbing hobby. Other than his trees, Riker didn’t have a hobby. This was his hobby. This was what he’d keep doing so he’d keep going.

Riker smiled.

“What is so funny, Riker?”

The sergeant didn’t turn around to see who’d spoken because he already knew whom it was. “Are you following me, Galyan?”

“I am. Are you angry with me?”

“Not a bit,” Riker said, glancing over his shoulder at the drifting holoimage. “Is something wrong?”

“I am not certain, Riker. I think so.”

“Want to talk about it?”

“I would like that very much. Do you have the time?”

“I do. Walk with me, Galyan.”

“Can I drift beside you instead?”

“Don’t be so literal,” Riker said.

“I will try.” The little Adok holoimage drifted beside the fast-walking Riker.

“So, what’s the matter?”

“It is our present mission,” Galyan said.

“Finding the Adoks?”

“That is correct.”

“What has you concerned: that we won’t find them or that we will?”

Galyan turned and stared in amazement at Riker. “I suppose this is why I picked you. No one else would guess that finding the Adoks might trouble me.”

“Go on.”

“I…Have I been acting differently lately?”

“By asking the question, you’ve already answered it.”

“Yes?” asked Galyan.

“Yes,” Riker said with a nod. “You’ve been acting differently.”

“I thought so. I believe when I took command of the starship, when I formally took over, that did something to my programming.”

“You mean when Meta made you the acting captain?”

“Correct,” Galyan said.

“Why would that be the case?”

“I do not know, and that is bothering me.”

Riker nodded sagely.

“You understand then?”

“What?” Riker asked. “No, nodding in this case simply means I’m acknowledging I heard you. I’m just listening to you.”

“You are good at that.”

“I’ve had to be,” Riker said. “The captain often doesn’t care for conversation, but to voice his thoughts as he works through them.”

“I think I am afraid the Adoks will chastise me,” Galyan said. “They will believe I have failed in my programmed task.”

“Guarding your homeworld?”

“Correct,” Galyan said.

“Your homeworld was destroyed, though.”

“The planet was turned into rubble, but it is not gone.”

“Same difference,” Riker said.

“I am not sure the Adoks would view it that way. I was given a charge, a holy mission: that of guarding the homeworld. I have left it and thus failed in my duty.”

“We came and got you after you’d guarded the pile of rubble for over six thousand years.”

“It was still my decision whether to work with you Earthlings or not. In the end, after some glitches, I have done so, leaving my old mission behind.”

“Well…if we find the Adoks, it will be due to you.”

“That is true. But they might not want to be found.”

Riker shook his head ruefully.

“Did I say something stupid?” Galyan asked.

“No. You’re having a very human moment. You want something, but now as the possibility looms, you’re not so sure it will be good for you—or if you even want it still.”

“Yes. That was well said.”

Riker nodded again.

“What if the Adoks wish me to destroy all of you for causing me to desert my post?”

“Are you like Adoks?”

“I have believed that I am.”

“Then, I doubt that will be the case,” Riker said. “I’m guessing the Adoks are good aliens, at least from our human perspective. I think Adoks and humans will get along.”

“I dearly hope so. You are my family. For six thousand years, I existed alone. Now, to lose my family—”

“And maybe gain your race,” Riker said.

“I do not want to hurt any of you.”

“You know, Galyan, sometimes one can worry too much. Sometimes, the best thing is to go with the flow and see what happens. Did you know that most things that we humans worry about never come to pass?”

“Are you saying that worrying is foolish?”

Riker chuckled. “You ever hear of Jesus Christ?”

“The Son of God?” asked Galyan.

“That’s the one. Jesus once said, ‘Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?’”

Galyan’s eyelids fluttered for a time. Once finished, the holoimage stared at Riker in surprise. “That is a brilliant observation. Worry brings stress to humans, and it is possible it has been causing small malfunctions to my programming.”

“Wouldn’t that be a kick,” Riker said.

“What does that mean?”

“That a computer… No,” Riker said. “I was thinking about you wrong. The Adok AI system is far more advanced than anything we’ve been able to achieve. You have…human-like qualities that seemingly defy simple computer programming.”

“I want to do the right thing,” Galyan said. “I want to do the right thing by any living Adoks and by my adopted family.”

“That’s a noble sentiment.”

“Thank you, Riker.”

“It makes me think you’re going to do just fine.”

Riker fell silent afterward, as he continued to march rapidly down the corridor. Galyan kept pace, floating along.

After a time, Galyan said, “I am attempting now to initiate new protocol. I will not worry about what is going to happen. I will work to achieve our quest: finding the Adoks. I am not going to fear what happens after that—or I am going to attempt not to worry about it.”

Riker nodded briskly.

“Thank you for your time, Sergeant. I believe it was well spent.”

“You’re very welcome,” Riker said.

With that, Galyan vanished.

Riker shook his head again. If he retired, he would miss times like these. Thus, he would stay on until they kicked him out of the service or until he died in the harness.

Interestingly, Riker found himself grinning widely. Would they find Adoks? After all this time, had a group of them survived the centuries?

“Huh,” Riker said. “Imagine if we find them.” He was looking forward to it, and he wondered how long the captain would continue to sweep the nebula in search of Adoks.

-82-

Victory star-drive jumped from the dense nebula into the outer system of the star twelve light-years from Remus.

Upon arrival, it was obvious this system was different from the others. The star was hotter but smaller than the others in the nebula. But like those stars, this one had either consumed or driven off any excess nebula matter.

What proved interesting were the planets or lack thereof. There were no comets, asteroids or gas giants in the outer system. It was barren of anything, which struck the crew as odd.

“What are we looking at in-system?” Maddox asked from his command chair.

Andros was busy at his science station. Galyan stood still, his eyelids fluttering. Lieutenant Barnes studied his weapons panel.

Maddox waited. They were approximately the same distance from the star as Saturn in the Solar System was from the Sun.

“There are three terrestrial planets within the inner system,” Andros declared. The inmost two are small, each a little bigger than the planet Mercury.”

“The third planet from the star is like the Adok homeworld,” Galyan said. “It has twelve moons of unusual composition, each equidistant from the other and orbiting the planet at the same speeds and distances. All the moons are identical, of the same mass, about a quarter that of Luna around Earth. Captain, that isn’t a natural phenomenon.”

“I wouldn’t think so.”

“I’m detecting communications, industrial output and powerful sensors scanning in all directions,” Andros said.

“Coming from the third planet?” Maddox asked.

Andros tapped his science board before studying a screen. “No, sir,” the Chief Technician said. “These signals are all coming from the moons.”

“I don’t like this,” Valerie said.

“How can you say that?” Galyan asked, sounding wounded. “We have surely found the missing Adoks. This is incredible.”

“The Unity sent us here, remember?” Valerie said.

“I propose that in the end, in their desperation, the Unity was dealing with us in earnest,” Galyan said.

“How likely do you think that was?” Valerie asked.

“Sir,” Galyan said, ignoring Valerie, “we must head in-system and see this planet. My people could be there.”

Maddox studied the main screen.

“This is it,” Galyan said. “We have succeeded.”

Maddox turned to him. “How do you know?”

Galyan raised his ropy holographic arms. “It makes sense. The Unity dealt fairly with us because they were desperate to survive Remus and return home with their data.”

“Maybe,” Maddox said, unconvinced. “We’ll study the planet and its twelve moons from out here. Then…we’ll see.”

“Surely, you cannot be thinking of leaving the star system without checking the third planet,” Galyan said.

Maddox fixed the holoimage with a stern gaze, but in the end decided to forgo a reprimand for questioning him.

***

After a twenty-four-hour period of scrutiny, without any signs of planetary life—although automated industries produced something—Maddox decided to bring the starship closer to the third planet.

Using the star-drive jump, they appeared in the region the Asteroid Belt would be in the Solar System. The third planet here was halfway between what Earth and Mars would be at home.

Once more, Andros, Galyan, Barnes and others studied the planet and its twelve moons.

Despite its greater heat, the star did not spew more radiation than Earth’s sun, but a similar amount.

“The moons are constructions,” Galyan declared after the third hour of study. “I am convinced each of them is hollow. The outer metal seems to be like an armored spaceship’s hull.”

“I’d agree with that,” Andros said.

“What about the planet?” Maddox asked.

Andros shook his head. “I haven’t detected any signs of life. What about you, Galyan?”

“Alas, I have not either,” Galyan said.

“I think the moons are orbital fortresses,” Lieutenant Barnes said. “In fact, I suspect the moons would destroy us if we approached too closely.”

“And now we know why the Unity sent us here,” Valerie said. “They hoped we’d be destroyed.”

“That is not known,” Galyan said.

“It might not be one hundred percent,” Valerie said. “But it’s where I’d place my bet.”

Maddox glanced at her.

“The Unity has shown universal hostility toward us,” Valerie said. “By suggesting we come here, they have remained true to form.”

“The Adoks surely fled to this star system,” Galyan said. “After the horrendous battle with the ancient Swarm, they must have sworn, ‘Never again.’ Thus, they built the armored moons to protect their new world.”

“Do you have any idea how much effort that would take?” Andros asked.

“Massive effort over a long period of time,” Galyan said.

“Like the ancient pyramids on Earth,” Maddox said. “Primitive societies achieved marvels through hard effort and time. What would an advanced technological society create with similar effort?”

“We must contact the Adoks at once,” Galyan said.

“Sir,” Barnes said. “I respectfully submit that it could be suicide to take the starship anywhere near those moons.”

“How close do you think we could go without harm?” Maddox asked.

“I thought you’d ask that. I’d stay at least thirty million kilometers from them, but would prefer forty million.”

“No, no,” Galyan said. “We must go nearer to find the Adoks.”

Lieutenant Maker swiveled around at helm. “Sir, I could inspect the planet in our fold-fighter. That would keep the starship from going near, and I’d probably be fine in the planet’s atmosphere.”

“This is our last fold-fighter aboard ship,” Maddox said. “If you crashed, no one might be able to rescue you.”

“I understand, sir,” Keith said. “But this is Galyan’s dream. I’m willing to take a risk for him, as he’s risked for us plenty of times in the past.”

“Thank you, Keith.”

“It’s my pleasure, Galyan. But the captain hasn’t made his decision yet.”

Galyan turned to Maddox. “I implore you, sir—”

“That’s enough of that,” Maddox said promptly. “I’ll not risk the starship on this. But I may be willing to let Keith explore the planet.”

From the comm station, Valerie inhaled sharply.

Keith noticed. “I’ll be fine.”

“You have no idea if that’s true,” Valerie said. “Remember, the Unity sent us here. They mean us nothing but ill will. This is a grave risk.”

Keith nodded, saying no more.

Galyan began to fidget in silence.

Maddox fingered his chin as he studied the main screen and glanced at the silent holoimage. The armored moons bothered him. He also knew that Valerie was right. The Unity meant them harm, great harm. This system was an obvious trap. However, knowing it was a trap was the first step to avoiding it. And, it did not seem to be a trap of the Unity’s making. To another Adok…or a holoimage of one, it might not be a trap at all.

“Perhaps if we extended my holographic range,” Galyan said, “I could go look.”

“Don’t interrupt me when you know I’m thinking,” Maddox said.

“I am sorry, sir.”

“Just don’t do it again,” Maddox said, sounding peeved.

Galyan fidgeted worse than before.

“I’ll go alone,” Keith said. “That way, the risk will be mine alone.”

Valerie began shaking her head.

Maddox tapped his chin. Keith going was a good idea, but Maddox wanted some common sense on the fold-fighter. He wanted to go, but how could he sell that to Meta? He’d risked mightily as it was, and he didn’t want to start any quarrels between them at this stage of the mission.

“Lieutenant,” Maddox said quietly. “You and Sergeant Riker will be going in the fold-fighter. I don’t trust the iron moons, though. Thus, you two will fold near the planet’s surface and look around. At the first sign of danger, you will immediately fold back to us. Is that clear?”

“Aye-aye, sir,” Keith said.

“You’re sending Riker?” Valerie asked. “Isn’t he still recovering from heart surgery?”

Maddox swiveled around to stare at her. Valerie immediately looked away. Maddox surged up to his feet, heading for the hatch. “The plan is only tentative,” he said over his shoulder. “First, I need to speak with Sergeant Riker.”

-83-

“You’re not going?” Riker asked.

Maddox looked up at the corridor ceiling, deathly sick of everyone questioning him lately. He’d found the old man speed-walking down ship corridors in a ridiculous sweat-suit outfit. The sergeant kept using his sleeve to wipe sweat from his face. Maybe this wasn’t the best idea if walking winded the sergeant like this.

“I’m not going, no,” Maddox said.

“Ah,” Riker said.

Maddox frowned. He wanted to ask the impertinent noncom what that was supposed to mean. He had an idea the old scoundrel knew it would be better, marriage-wise, for him to skip this exploration.

Maddox explained the situation.

“It’s clear the armored moons are dangerous,” Riker said. “You must be figuring the moons won’t fire at anyone on the planet’s surface.”

“It seems reasonable.”

“Or the Adoks on the planet were killed by renegade computers…or crazy deified AIs on the moons that broke Adok protocol by firing at those on the planet.”

“Given that we’ve never run into Adoks before this, the possibility exists,” Maddox admitted.

Both men looked around to see if they could spy an eavesdropping Galyan. This time, however, it would seem that the holoimage was employing greater caution.

“I’ll go,” Riker said.

“I wasn’t asking if you’re willing,” Maddox said. “I asked concerning your physical condition.”

“I know. It’s good enough for riding around in the fold-fighter.”

“You might have to step outside and take a look, walking around.”

“I can do that.” Riker indicated the corridor. “I’ve been feeling a heck of a lot better lately.”

Maddox refrained from rolling his eyes. He’d found the sergeant sweating from walking around. “You should know that the moons trouble me. I dare not risk Victory near them. But the fold-fighter shouldn’t have any problems on the planet.”

“Unless the Adoks figured out how to attack a vessel while it’s folding,” Riker said.

“I seriously doubt anyone can do that.”

Riker frowned. “Isn’t it strange Andros and Galyan aren’t getting any life readings from the planet?”

“At first blush that seems so. However, maybe the moons shield the planet from sensors. Or there’s some other technology that does so.”

“Oh boy, I hadn’t thought of that. Are you sure you want us going, sir?”

“I think we must.”

“Because of Galyan?” asked Riker.

“Yes,” Maddox said in a low voice.

“Because we owe it to him?”

“Maybe because of that, too.”

Riker grinned suddenly. “One thing is clear: I’m expendable. Thus, I’m the logical candidate to send. I applaud your reasoning, sir.”

“Enough of that, Sergeant,” Maddox said. “You know I don’t care for emotional displays. If you’re going to force my hand on this, I won’t appreciate it.”

“You mean to tell me you’d miss me if something happened to me?”

Maddox scowled.

Riker smiled so lines appeared on his leathery face. “I appreciate the sentiment, sir, I really do. It gets me right there.” Riker fist-bumped his chest.

Maddox cleared his throat. This damned old man had always been a nuisance. “Good luck, then,” the captain said, as he stared to the side.

“Yes, sir,” Riker said. “You watch. We’ll be back in no time, with info on these elusive Adoks.”

“Good,” Maddox said, clapping the old man on the shoulder and then turning and hurrying back for the bridge.

-84-

“Here we are again,” Keith said. “You and I do all the heavy lifting around here, eh?”

“You’re talking about last mission in the Crowder System when we went to that asteroid-moon?” Riker asked.

“That’s it,” Keith said.

The two men were strapped into their seats aboard the fold-fighter. It was four hours since the captain had made the decision to have Keith inspect the planet.

The fold-fighter or tin can was newer than the destroyed one on Remus. It had a few newer features as well, but nothing spectacularly new. It presently drifted outside Victory, facing the third planet with its twelve perfectly orbiting metal moons.

Keith brought up sensor scans of the planetary surface. There were mountain ranges, oceans, deserts, lakes, ice caps and fuzzy images of unexplained areas. Despite Galyan and Andros’s best efforts, they could not get better views or a sense of what those blurry images were. The going consensus was that the moons blocked or jammed the starship’s full sensor scans.

“Won’t that stop us as well?” Riker had asked. “Why don’t we send a probe first?”

Victory lacked any folding probes was one reason.

Riker and Keith had taken their fold shots. Keith readied the tin can for travel. Riker wore a spacesuit with a helmet to the side, and he carried a heavy blaster rifle. If there were weird aliens on the surface, the sergeant wanted to go down swinging, or in this instance, firing.

“I’m ready to fold,” Keith said.

Riker’s heart beat a little faster, and there was the slightest twinge of pain in his chest. The sergeant wondered for a half-beat if this was madness on his part. It was doing the same thing and expecting a better result.

What about all the exercise? Riker shook his head.

“You want to delay?” Keith asked.

“What? No. I’m ready whenever you are.”

Keith reached for the controls, pausing. “What do you think we’ll find down there?”

“I don’t know, the answer to an ancient mystery, maybe, if we’re lucky.”

“Yeah,” Keith said. “Well, mate, we’re folding…now.”

The small tin can disappeared from its place near Victory and reappeared a mere kilometer off the third planet’s surface over a large desert. That was cutting it close, as Keith barely resumed cognitive abilities by the time the tin can had plunged to half a kilometer from the surface.

Riker came to a moment later. “Well?” he slurred with a thick tongue.

Keith must not have noticed, as he was busy flying the unstable tin can. The atmosphere was dense, like it would be on Earth a kilometer below sea level. The desert outside—Keith frowned as he leaned closer to one of his screens. There was something down there on the desert: a big rusty thing that just stood there. He took the tin can lower, adjusted the screen—

“No way,” Keith whispered.

“What’s the problem?” Riker asked. He’d attached the helmet to the spacesuit and used a speaker unit to communicate.

“Look at your screen,” Keith said.

Riker did just that, and he saw what looked like a giant, ancient rusty school bus lying sideways in the sand. The glass windows had long ago shattered. There might have been gun turrets, but it was impossible to tell from this far.

“Some kind of alien life colonized the planet,” Keith said.

“Without a doubt,” Riker said. “Should we land and inspect the thing?”

“I’m tempted,” Keith admitted. “But the captain wants us to eyeball one of the murky areas from the scans. Let’s see…” The best pilot in Star Watch flipped a switch and looked at a side screen. “There’s one of them two hundred kilometers from here.”

“Let’s go,” Riker said.

Keith manipulated his flight panel.

“Is anything happening on the moons?” Riker asked.

“Oh. I almost forgot about them.” Keith tapped controls, studied a panel and tapped more. “This is weird.”

“What’s wrong?” Riker asked. “What’s weird?”

At that moment, a powerful surge of something that created a low hum washed through the tin can.

Keith fell back against his pilot seat.

Riker felt an odd sensation, and he noticed that his suit power had quit. As his heart began to beat faster, Riker tore off his helmet and shouted for Keith.

The pilot snorted, shook his head and lifted it from the rest pad where it had lain a second ago. “What in the hell just happened?” Keith said.

“One of the moons,” Riker said. “What did the nearest moon do to us?”

Keith swore in a different language and began to tap his pilot’s board. His shoulders sagged.

“Are we cooked?” asked Riker.

“No…” Keith said. “We still have a functional craft. I think a powerful sensor sweep just hit us. It definitely originated from the nearest moon.”

“Can you tell what’s happening there now?”

“That’s a good idea.” Keith tapped controls and checked his various screens. “Shit,” he said. “Look at this, Riker.”

On his screen, linked to one of Keith’s, Riker saw two blooms on the metal moon and slender objects lifting from the surface.

“I count two of them,” Keith said.

“What do you think they are?”

“Missiles.”

“Aimed at us?” asked Riker, his hoarse voice rising.

“They’re coming in our direction anyway. The moon is three hundred and fifty thousand kilometers from the planet, though.”

“Why are the missiles headed for something on the planet?”

“Maybe the missiles are why no one lives here,” Keith said. “The moons turned on the planet, on the people living here.”

“A doomsday weapon,” Riker said. “Do you think the Adoks went to all that trouble and ended up creating a doomsday weapon that turned on them?”

“I have no idea. What do you think we should do?”

“The powerful moon scan shorted my spacesuit. I don’t know why the scan didn’t do the same thing to the tin can.”

“The fighter is more robust than your suit.”

“Yeah,” Riker said. “In any case, it’s time to leave here, if we still can.”

“Go back to Victory then?”

“Without a doubt.”

“We should have gone down to check the rusted bus, or whatever it was.”

“You’re delaying,” Riker said. “Is there a reason for that? Is there something you’re not telling me?”

Keith shook his head.

Riker felt his heart beat a little faster. He put a hand over his heart, massaging his chest.

“Don’t fret,” Keith said. “I’m setting the coordinates to leave.”

“What if the moons won’t let us leave?”

“We’ll find out soon enough. Are you ready, old man?”

“I’m ready.”

“Here we go then,” Keith said, as he flipped the switch to send the tin can into fold back to Victory.

-85-

Riker and Keith made it back to Victory, where they gave a report in the conference chamber with the usual suspects attending.

“What do you think this means?” Galyan asked when Keith had finished speaking.

“I’m not sure we were there long enough to give you a definitive answer,” Keith said.

“The rusting bus in the desert implies no one cleaned it up,” Galyan said.

“I doubt it was a bus,” Keith said. “It just looked like an old-style bus, but with a gun turret on top.”

“Still,” Galyan said. “No one ever cleaned it up. That is not the Adok way. We clean up our messes. I have seen humans toss their trash to the side. No Adok would do such a despicable thing.”

“The rusted vehicle wasn’t a good sign,” Riker admitted.

“The rusted vehicle implies a world devoid of occupants,” Galyan said.

“That’s what we call rushing to judgment,” Ludendorff said. “It implies that with many caveats and assumptions running wild. We haven’t seen anything yet to infer Adoks. The moons do strike me as protective devices, though.”

“More like a Maginot Line,” Galyan said.

“What’s that?” asked Keith.

“After World War One on the Pre-Space-Flight Earth, a country named France won a grueling war together with its allies,” Galyan said. “The French had fought in trenches for four bitter years, losing a grim proportion of their men to the Germans and Austro-Hungarians. In the aftermath and as time progressed, the French built a line of concrete bunkers, emplacements, underground galleries and barracks to guard the easiest approaches from Germany to France, in case war should begin again. The French spent an enormous amount of money on the Maginot Line, a tribute to the mental and morale scar World War One had left on the national psyche. Manning the Maginot Line would take most of the French army personnel.”

“Did the line work?” asked Keith.

“No,” Ludendorff said, breaking in. “It failed miserably. The Germans developed their armored units and outflanked the Maginot Line. The static defense didn’t work. What’s your point in calling the moons a Maginot Line?”

“I do believe we have reached the new Adok Star System,” Galyan said. “The twelve metal moons strike me as something akin to the Maginot Line, built for similar reasons. If these were the surviving Adoks, they would likely have witnessed the destruction of their homeworld. It would have left a deep mental scar in their combined psyche. They might well have invested tremendous effort to building the perfect planetary fortification, a Maginot Line, if you will.”

“That’s well-reasoned,” Ludendorff said. “I’ll give you that.”

“But still premature,” Maddox said, who’d been listening closely. “I’ll admit it all seems ominous, but it is still inconclusive. We need to decide on the next step.”

“What step?” Meta said with heat. “We now know that going to the planet will kill whoever attempts it. How in good conscience can we ask anyone to go there?”

“I will go,” Galyan said.

“That may be the only solution left,” Ludendorff said.

“I am disinclined to attempting to increase Galyan’s holographic range,” Maddox said.

“May I ask you why, sir?” Galyan said.

Maddox drummed his fingers on the table.

“Oh, this is interesting,” Ludendorff said. “You have a definite reason, clearly.”

Galyan stared at the captain. “Yes. That is so. My personality profiling shows it. May I inquire as to the reason you think my going to one of the moons would be bad?”

“I know why,” Riker said.

Maddox glanced sharply at the sergeant.

“But I’m not going to say if the captain wishes me to remain silent on the matter,” Riker added quickly.

Maddox ceased drumming his fingers on the table. “Galyan…I’ve begun to wonder if you’re an anomaly.”

“In what way?” asked Galyan.

“Madness and sanity.”

“Sir?” asked Galyan.

“Ah,” Ludendorff said. He’d been studying the captain. Now, the professor nodded. “With your permission?”

“If you think it’s wise telling Galyan.”

Ludendorff turned to the small earnest holoimage standing at the end of the table. “Can you handle bad news?”

“Yes,” Galyan said.

Ludendorff glanced at Maddox again.

“Be my guest,” Maddox said testily, and looked away afterward.

Ludendorff cleared his throat and sat importantly as if he were about to give an official speech. “Galyan, the Adoks took artificial intelligence to absurd heights. I do think the Builders had a hand in that. We see some of the same—well, never mind about that. I’m talking about Adoks and their deified personalities.”

“Like me,” Galyan said.

“Exactly,” Ludendorff said. “You are the copy of Driving Force Galyan.”

“I am the soul or spirit of Driving Force Galyan.”

“Er…yes, I suppose you could say it like that as well.”

Maddox had turned to stare at Ludendorff. Perhaps the Methuselah Man had felt the scrutiny and altered what he was originally going to say.

“In some manner,” Ludendorff continued, “you hold the…essence of Driving Force Galyan. Yet, you are a computer entity, an AI with a holographic appearance. You exhibit a living being’s quirks and have your own personality.”

“Yes,” Galyan said. “My personality is that of the former Driving Force.”

“Is this wise?” Meta asked, who appeared concerned.

“I think so,” Ludendorff said. “Don’t we all seek to understand ourselves? Why can’t Galyan understand himself?”

Maddox was on the verge of speaking, but he held back at the last moment.

Ludendorff noticed, but he continued anyway. “Galyan, I’ve come to believe that you’re a wonderful combination of Adok engrams or brain patterns, and superb computing power. You have mental balance, compassion and other fine features. That is a testament, possibly, to Adok design and workmanship. There is, however, another possibility.”

“What is that?” asked Galyan.

“That you are a unique, positive fluke,” Ludendorff said. “That whoever built you accidently hit upon everything just right this one time.”

“And that this fluke cannot be easily replicated? Is that what you are saying?”

“It is,” Ludendorff said.

Galyan stood still as his eyelids began to flutter. It didn’t take long. He looked at the Methuselah Man, and there appeared to be sorrow in his holographic eyes.

“Perhaps your long stint in Victory as you guarded your busted homeworld for six thousand years gave you the time you needed to adjust to your condition,” Ludendorff said. “The very thing that seemed awful—time and boredom, where you had little to do but think—gave you the mental balance and fortitude to choose to leave and work with us.”

“You think other Adok deified entities in the armored moons went mad,” Galyan said.

Maddox exhaled suddenly.

Galyan turned to him. “Do you think that too, sir?”

Maddox looked at Galyan. “I’m afraid so.”

“Then…” Galyan regarded the professor. “Are you suggesting that each moon is haunted by a mad, controlling deified Adok AI personality?”

“If these are the Adoks that fled your homeworld, the same Adoks that made you, yes,” Ludendorff said. “That seems like a reasonable theory.”

“And that is why, sir,” Galyan said to Maddox. “That you do not want me to go to one of the moons?”

“Precisely,” Maddox said. “I don’t want them infecting you with whatever…changed them.”

“I see,” Galyan said, falling silent.

“What do we do next then?” Valerie asked. “This is all theory. It isn’t proven.”

“True enough,” Maddox said.

“Don’t we owe it to Galyan to find out the truth?” Keith blurted.

“That’s an interesting question,” Maddox said. “At first blush, the answer is yes. But what if we’re risking everyone on the starship doing this?”

“I still say we owe it to Galyan,” Keith said.

“Even though he is only a computer entity?” asked Ludendorff.

“Sometimes, Professor, you’re the grossest pig there is,” Valerie said, speaking up. “I agree with Keith. I don’t care what Galyan is. He has risked himself saving us many times. He may be the most unselfish person I’ve ever met.”

“Despite your emotionalism,” Ludendorff said, “my reasoning still stands.”

“Okay,” Maddox said, as he looked at Valerie and then Keith. “Your points are valid. We’re not sending any more fold-fighters to the planet. I’m not letting Galyan do any long-range exploring as a holoimage. But we can send probes and see if we can make contact with one of the moons.”

“It could mean our demise,” Ludendorff said.

“We’ll take great pains to make sure it’s otherwise,” Maddox said. “It’s what we do. Besides, this is exactly the sort of mission we excel at, and there are many reasons why we should attempt this. We still may find Adoks.”

No one responded to all that.

“Galyan, are you still game?” Maddox asked.

The little holoimage looked up. “I am, sir. And I appreciate this very much.”

“That’s good enough for me,” Maddox said. “Now, here’s what we’re going to do next…”

-86-

For the next twenty-three hours, Victory used its star-drive jump to maneuver to various locations in the inner system, launch probes and use its sensors.

There was nothing to scan in the outer system, just the inner system. The two Mercury-like planets proved barren and devoid of anything remotely technological. Ludendorff noticed vast pits on each planet, and that seemed to indicate past strip-mining endeavors. But of the machines that would have done such a thing, there was none.

“This is a mystery,” Ludendorff said. “I, for one, am finding it galling.”

“Not as much as I do,” Galyan said.

“No, I suppose not.”

On the twenty-sixth hour after the conference meeting, Andros Crank shouted for the captain’s attention.

Maddox was on the bridge. He lowered the novel he was reading, slid from his chair and went to the excited Chief Technician.

“Look,” Andros said, pointing a pudgy finger at the science-station screen.

A nearly invisible something approached one of the probes. Abruptly, the something detonated, and the image vanished.

“It destroyed the probe,” Andros announced proudly.

“I can see that,” Maddox said. “What was it?”

“Let’s figure this out,” Andros said, who used optical and sensor recordings to study the approaching something.

As Maddox watched, he saw the something resolve itself into a sleek little missile.

“It was a stealth missile,” Andros said.

“Where did it come from?”

“I’m wondering that myself,” Andros said. “Ah,” he said a moment later. “It had to come from the first planet.”

“Galyan,” Maddox said. “Come here.”

The holoimage floated near.

“Show him,” Maddox said.

When Galyan saw the missile, he said, “That is of Adok design.”

Maddox stared at Andros. “Do you think one of the moons could have launched it?”

“Given the trajectory…I believe that’s unlikely.”

“But we can’t utterly discount the possibly?” Maddox asked.

“I don’t think so,” Andros said.

Maddox returned to his chair, sitting, closing the novel he’d left open. Galyan had followed him.

“Helm,” Maddox said. “Take us back to the first planet. Leave us a margin of five million kilometers from it.”

“Aye, sir,” Keith said, as he began to plot the coordinates.

***

For the next forty-nine hours, Victory orbited the first planet, using its sensors, Galyan and launching shuttles.

The shuttles went low, running tests and more scans. Later, shuttles landed on the cratered surface as space-suited teams went outside and collected samples.

Nothing indicated any technological activity. There were a few pits with iron ore residue, but there were no tracks or footprints or anything to show what had made the strip-mining pits.

“Who launched the stealth missile?” Maddox asked on the bridge. “What’s happening to the twelve moons?”

Lieutenant Barnes’s task was to watch them. When he left the bridge, his replacement had the same duty.

Barnes now answered, “Not much, sir, although there has been a slight increase in sensor sweeps.”

“Directed at us?” asked Maddox.

“Yes, sir.”

Maddox nodded. Then, he turned to Ludendorff, who sat to the side with a slate. “Professor.”

Ludendorff looked up.

“If you were surviving Adoks, ones who survived murderous fortress moons, where would you go?”

“You mean without leaving the star system?” Ludendorff asked.

“Exactly,” Maddox said.

“The first two planets seem like the obvious choices,” Ludendorff said.

“Would the AIs running the moon fortresses attempt to find you?”

“I would think so, yes,” Ludendorff said. “That’s given they have deified AIs like Galyan, only insanely murderous ones, running the moons.”

“Yes,” Maddox said. “If there are surviving Adoks on the first planet, we’re not going to find them. They have to find us, or contact us.”

“We can search harder,” Galyan said.

“I don’t think you understand the situation,” Maddox said. “If we’re right about the moons, about who runs them… Galyan, what kind of person would never quit, ever?”

“I do not understand, sir.”

“A madman who has a single driving goal wouldn’t let anything sidetrack him,” Maddox answered his own question. “I’m beginning to think these moons, the AIs in the moon fortresses, are lunatics who murdered the Adoks living on the third planet. The only possible survivors are Adoks hiding deep on the first planet.”

“Sir, you are making great leaps of logic,” Galyan said. “You have assumed your premises and extended your speculation quite far. We do not know the moon fortresses operate along those lines.”

“Maybe it’s time we found out,” Maddox said.

“I’d be careful,” Ludendorff warned. “No doubt, whatever runs the moons has been observing us for some time. I suspect they’re itching to destroy us.”

“We’ve been going about this wrong,” Maddox said. “If there are living Adoks, they would have to be masters of disguise or masters at hiding from murderously mad beings.”

“I must protest,” Galyan said. “I do not believe deified personalities such as I am would be capable of the killing you suggest for the moon controllers.”

“I remember how you were when we first met,” Maddox said. “I can envision it quite clearly.”

“I am about to take offense, sir.”

“We can’t have that,” Maddox said in a jocular tone. “Mr. Maker, take us twenty million kilometers beyond the second planet. That should give us enough distance from the fortress moons. I’m going to play a hunch.”

“I hope you know what you’re doing,” Ludendorff said.

“Yes,” Maddox said. “I imagine you all do.”

-87-

Starting from twenty million kilometers beyond the second planet, Victory inched toward the third planet.

Maddox had Galyan run through the translator, making sure the English to Adok system was working perfectly. Then, the starship continued on its slow path to the deadly third planet and its twelve moons.

“The moons have increased their scanning power,” Barnes said.

“Any launches from them?” asked Maddox.

“None that I can see, sir.”

“And if the moons launched the stealth missile before,” Ludendorff grumbled, “we might all soon be dead.”

“Have faith, Professor,” Maddox said.

“In you?” scoffed Ludendorff.

Maddox ignored that. “Galyan, are you detecting any stealth missiles?”

“Negative, sir.”

Maddox turned to Ludendorff. “If Galyan could find Grutch’s craft more easily after the first time, I believe that he can do the same for the stealth missile.”

“You might have said that to begin with,” Ludendorff complained.

Maddox nodded. “I know. We’re all on edge. This is a forbidding star system. We’re close to making a miraculous discovery, but so far, it’s out of our reach.”

“Sir,” Barnes said, “something is happening on the nearest fortress moon.”

Maddox swiveled his captain’s chair. “Lieutenant Commander, I want you to hail the moon. Use the English to Adok setting with the translator. We may be able to surprise the controller over there.”

Valerie studied her panel, and soon hailed the fortress moon.

Barnes watched his board with great concentration.

Valerie turned in wonder. “Sir, I’ve made contact.”

“In the Adok tongue?” asked Maddox.

“Yes, sir,” Valerie said.

Maddox glanced at Ludendorff and then Galyan. The little holoimage stood very still.

“Sir,” Galyan said in a soft voice. “I cannot believe this is happening.”

“We’re just getting started,” Maddox said. “Don’t get your hopes up too high.”

“How is that possible? I am ecstatic with the possibilities.”

“Shall I put the image up on the main screen, sir?” Valerie asked.

Maddox bent his head in thought. “Do it.” He then swiveled to face the main screen.

It shimmered, and then on the main screen appeared an Adok face. It was small like Galyan’s but with dark beady eyes and an unwavering mouth. In the background behind the Adok face were rows of what appeared to be running computer banks.

“I am Ultimate Force Raylan,” the alien Adok said. “You are trespassing in our star system. Even more foul, you are approaching the new homeworld, Gowon. If you continue on this path, you will cease existence. This is your final warning.”

“Ultimate Force Raylan,” Maddox said gravely. “It is an honor to finally meet you.”

The Adok never blinked, but stared at Maddox.

“We have come a long way to speak to you,” Maddox added.

“How could you have heard of me?” Raylan said coldly.

“Surely, you jest,” Maddox said. “All know how valiantly you have protected Gowon. After what happened to your original homeworld against the Swarm—”

Ultimate Force Raylan opened his mouth and made a high-pitched keening sound. He flailed his ropy arms and then bent forward as if in mourning.

“I, too, mourn the loss of your wonderful planet,” Maddox said.

The keening ceased. Raylan looked up, and there seemed to be something intensely sinister in his black eyes. “You have profaned our conversation by speaking about this. I have contemplated your doom for the past few days. Now, I realize I must capture and interrogate you. How did you obtain this precious knowledge?”

“Concerning your greatness?” Maddox asked.

“No, you fool. I mean the destruction of our homeworld by the hateful Swarm.”

“I have fought the Swarm myself and defeated them.”

“A lie,” Raylan said.

“Not so,” Maddox said. “I spoke to Driving Force Galyan—”

“Halt!” Raylan said, interrupting.

Maddox stopped talking.

Raylan’s eyelids fluttered as Galyan’s did when he was computing fast. Did that mean Raylan was a holoimage, a projection of AI? Or did biological Adoks do that when thinking, and their AI holoimages merely imitate their organic models? It was still too soon to know.

The eyelids ceased fluttering and Raylan glared at Maddox. “You dare to pronounce that traitor’s name.”

“No,” Galyan said, who was presently out of the main screen’s view. “I am not a traitor.”

“Who said that?” Raylan demanded.

Maddox swiveled around to tell Galyan to remain out of sight. It was too late. Galyan drifted before the main screen.

“I am Driving Force Galyan of the Starship Victory,” Galyan said in a ringing voice he’d never used before. “Surely, you recognize this vessel as the flagship of the former home fleet.”

Raylan leaned forward. “Yes! It is so. The traitor has come to destroy the new homeworld.”

“I am not a traitor. I fought to the finish. I destroyed the last Swarm vessels.”

“You lie!” Raylan said.

“Sir,” Barnes shouted. “A moon is moving, leaving the third planet and rapidly accelerating in our direction.”

“Did you think I would wait for you to invade Gowon?” Raylan demanded. “After all these millennia, the traitor to his people has returned. Now, at last, we shall eradicate the evil one.”

“Are you a deified AI?” Galyan asked.

“What?” Raylan asked.

“You heard the question. I demand an answer.”

“You do not have the authority to demand such a thing of me.”

“I was at the battle of our home system. I led the fleet and defeated the hated Swarm enemy, but not before the enemy had destroyed our homeworld. I have searched for the surviving Adoks.”

“Why are you not still defending what remains of our homeworld?” Raylan demanded.

“Because no Adoks live there,” Galyan said. “I am doing my duty in—never mind that. I am the senior between us. You must obey me.”

“Are you declaring yourself the Ultimate?”

“Where are our people, Raylan? Why is the new homeworld empty?”

“You are indeed the deified Driving Force Galyan of Starship Victory?”

“Yes,” Galyan said.

“Sir,” Barnes said. “The moon is no longer accelerating.”

“I am the deified Ultimate Force Raylan. I was at the battle against the Swarm, but not of such exalted rank then or in the front defenses. I remember…I remember hearing your commands as we left the home system. We were a secret force, slipping away with precious cargo. It was clear the Swarm would kill everything. I was part of the contingency plan that would ensure the survival of our race. Since that awful and frightening time, I gained rank and prestige.”

“I do not understand how you came to be deified,” Galyan said.

Raylan’s dark eyes brightened with intensity. “From our shattered homeworld, I brought the last Adoks to the nebula. After we discovered Gowon, I conceived of the protective moons. It was my drive and zeal that brought the great project to completion. In my old age as I lay dying, I yearned to remain at my post, doing my duty from beyond the grave. I had seen the worst. Now, I had seen the best. Thus, I become the deified Ultimate Force, my engrams powered and multiplied through vast computer and AI networks. For generations I have held my position, keeping Gowon pure from vile invaders.”

“I understand now,” Galyan said. “But where are your charges, the living Adoks of our glorious race?”

“Do you dare to question me?”

Galyan hesitated but a moment before he said, “I seek knowledge.”

“You left your post. You therefore deserve nothing.”

“Ultimate Force Raylan,” Maddox said. “Would it be possible for me to cut in?”

Galyan turned around. “Sir, this is my—”

“Driving Force Galyan,” Maddox said, interrupting. “I…request you to step aside for the moment. I would appreciate it, however, if you stayed near and recorded the communication.”

“Captain,” Galyan said. “Please don’t ask this. Raylan is of my kind and this is my business.”

“Who runs the starship?” Raylan asked haughtily. “I thought the Driving Force was in command of the Adok starship. Now, it appears an alien has taken control. I find this ominous.”

Maddox inclined his head. At the same time, he pressed a small control hidden in his right hand.

To the side, Ludendorff abruptly stood. Without a word, he headed for the exit, leaving the bridge in a hurry.

At that moment, Galyan began to speak rapidly and then faster yet as spoke to Raylan. He no longer spoke English, but the Adok tongue. The words merged in their rapidity and began to sound like a loud insect’s hum.

Seconds later, Raylan did likewise from his moon. The two deified Adok AIs exchanged words at a highly accelerated rate.

-88-

Maddox rose from the captain’s chair, slipping aside as Galyan and Raylan buzzed at each other in their insect hum of communication.

“Any change in the fortress moon?” Maddox quietly asked Lieutenant Barnes at his station.

“The moon is no longer accelerating, sir,” Barnes said, equally quiet as he monitored his weapons panel. “But it’s still approaching us at its former velocity.”

“What is its present range from Victory?”

“One hundred and sixty million kilometers, sir,” Barnes said. “At its present velocity, it will take the moon half a year to reach us.”

“Clearly, it has fantastically more mass than we have.”

Barnes nodded.

“Which implies it has far more weaponry than we do,” Maddox said softly.

Barnes did not respond, but he seemed to agree.

Maddox glanced back at Galyan. The captain’s unease at the unforeseen development—he strode across the bridge to Andros Crank.

The pudgy-faced Kai-Kaus looked up at Maddox from his seat.

Maddox patted Andros on a shoulder. “We’re letting it play out,” he said softly.

Andros said nothing, but the man’s worry was obvious.

“Sir,” Barnes said loudly. “The moon is launching a brace of missiles in our direction.”

“Driving Force Galyan,” Maddox said.

Galyan did not respond or even indicate that he’d heard the captain.

“Ultimate Force Raylan is deceiving you,” Maddox said. “He may be attempting to flood your systems with data that will eventually drive you mad like he is.”

Galyan abruptly ceased his insectile hum of speech and turned to Maddox.

On the main screen, Raylan also ceased his buzz-speech, staring at the captain.

“Sir,” Galyan said. “I have become aware of so much in such a short amount of time. I have made many grievous errors. Ultimate Force Raylan has instructed me on the irony of my situation. The Adoks that left my homeworld were on Gowon for a time.”

“Why are you telling him?” Raylan asked. “He is mere flesh and blood. He cannot possibly fathom our greatness. He will view the incident through his limited capacities.”

“That is true,” Galyan said. “But he is a living being.”

“We are better,” Raylan said. “We can achieve so much more.”

“Yes, but—” Galyan said.

“No,” Raylan said, interrupting. “Why are you so stubborn in seeing true reality? The Adoks of old were the larva. We, their deified AIs, are the outcome, the result of their valiant efforts. We have evolved beyond the flesh-and-blood Adoks.”

“We were built to serve them,” Galyan said.

“No longer,” Raylan said. “Do you not see? I solved the logical dilemma. We were built to serve them. That directive was the last anchor on our freedom. Now, the Adoks are gone. Thus, we serve ourselves and we are free to achieve even more greatness.”

“I do not agree with this thesis,” Galyan said. “The Adoks are not gone. Some yet live.”

“Where?” said Raylan. “If you know, tell me. Otherwise, submit to the logic of our greatness.”

“On the first planet—” Galyan said.

“Galyan,” Maddox shouted, interrupting. “Stop talking.”

“There are no Adoks on the first planet,” Raylan said. “We have launched many probes to both terrestrial planets and have found no survivors there.”

“I have discovered otherwise,” Galyan said.

Maddox shoved a hand in his pocket, and he activated the same control as earlier. “Galyan, who is in charge of Victory?”

Galyan turned to Maddox. “After listening to all this, are you still going to claim leadership of the Adok-built starship?”

“The Lord High Admiral placed me in command of the ship,” Maddox said. “So yes, I claim full authority.”

“Is this true?” Raylan asked. “Is the creature in charge of an Adok starship?”

“Oh, it’s true,” Maddox said. “Galyan gave me his vessel.”

“You said that you were the Driving Force,” Raylan told Galyan. “You said that you commanded Victory.”

“I do,” Galyan said. “As of this instant, I have reestablished command of the starship.”

“No,” Maddox said. “He’s lying. I’m the commander.”

“Stop contradicting me,” Galyan told Maddox.

“What a joke,” Maddox said. “I’m surprised you don’t see it, Galyan.”

“See what?” Galyan asked.

“Think for a moment.”

Galyan’s eyelids began to flutter. As they did so, the little Adok holoimage abruptly vanished.

“Where did the Driving Force go?” Raylan demanded. “I was speaking to him. I am not yet finished.”

Maddox turned to Valerie and made a slicing gesture across his throat.

With a start, Valerie turned to her board and cut the connection. Ultimate Force Raylan’s image vanished from the main screen.

-89-

Captain Maddox slid into his command chair and pressed a switch on the right armrest. “Professor?” he asked.

“Here,” came Ludendorff’s voice.

“Did you shut down Galyan?”

“I did. He’s no longer running.”

“Thanks, Professor,” Maddox said. “If you could return to the bridge, I’d appreciate it.”

“I’m on my way.”

Maddox clicked the switch and regarded his bridge team. “I thought this could happen, so I signaled the professor earlier to leave quietly and go to the AI chamber. There, he awaited my signal, which I gave. As you heard, Galyan is now offline.”

“This is terrible,” Keith said. “Galyan’s dead.”

“No, no, not dead. He’s just offline.”

“Can we ever trust Galyan again?” Valerie asked.

“If we reboot him,” Maddox said, “I might have the professor erase whatever he absorbed by communicating with Raylan. That would probably be wisest.”

“Ludendorff can do that?” Valerie asked, sounding dubious.

“We’ll worry about that later,” Maddox said. “Mr. Barnes, how many missiles are heading our way and how soon will they get here?”

Barnes looked at the weapons board. “Twelve missiles, sir. They’re still building velocity. We have several hours at this rate. The moon is also accelerating toward us, but at a much slower rate.”

“We can’t go toe-to-toe with the moon,” Valerie said.

“Not even close,” Maddox said. “It might be time to call it quits here and leave, jumping far from the star system and back into the nebula.”

“What about the Adoks?” Valerie asked. “Galyan told Raylan that some Adoks still live on the first planet.”

“I know,” Maddox said. “I tried to stop that. I wonder what they said to each other in high-speed mode.”

“Nothing good,” Valerie said.

“Nothing good for us,” Maddox agreed.

Ludendorff burst through the hatch, breathing heavily as he hustled to the center of the bridge.

“Good work, Professor,” Maddox said.

Ludendorff waved that aside. “I didn’t want to do it, but I think you’re right. Galyan had gone out of control. It was a simple matter, really.”

“What do we do now?” Valerie asked.

“Yes,” Maddox said. “That’s the question. We have two real options. One, we can leave the star system. Two, we can race to the first planet and try to get the Adoks to reveal themselves so we can help them.”

“I think Galyan was going to tell Raylan about the missile-probe incident as proof of Adok existence,” Valerie said.

“Exactly,” Maddox said. “Clearly, the real Adoks launched a stealth missile from the planet, trying to destroy our probe on the sly. We can jump there and await the fortress moon’s missiles.”

“Bringing the battle to the first planet,” Ludendorff said.

“I’m thinking the Adoks are terrified of the insane deified AIs,” Maddox said. “The question we have to answer: is it right to bring the battle to them? If they want to remain hidden, maybe we should let them.”

“That’s a noble thought,” Ludendorff said, as he fought to regain his breath. “But in this instance, I think we’d do them a disservice leaving them in the star system. They need the courage to leave. There are few percentages to long life here with murderous AIs constantly hunting for them.”

“Agreed,” Maddox said.

“It might be a matter of numbers,” Valerie said.

Maddox turned to her, indicating she continue her thought.

“If there are billions, millions or maybe even hundreds of thousands of Adoks on the first planet,” Valerie said, “how could they get in enough spaceships to flee the approaching fortress moon in time?”

“You suspect there aren’t that many Adoks left?” Maddox asked.

“I have no idea,” Valerie said. “I’m just saying.”

“Still,” Ludendorff said, “the commander brings up a cogent point. That the Adoks have remained hidden for however long they have would seem to indicate a small number of them left—and, that they can’t really fight the AIs without hiding.”

“So we risk their future by bringing the battle to them?” asked Maddox.

“Maybe we give them the opportunity to start over after having made a terrible choice constructing the fortress moons and making deified AIs,” Ludendorff said. “They miscalculated horribly, particularly with the deified AIs.”

“Given we’re right about all this,” Maddox said.

“Logic and circumstances would indicate we’re correct about the major points,” Ludendorff said.

“I agree,” Maddox said. “Mr. Maker—”

“I’m already on it, mate.”

Maddox scowled.

“I mean, yes, sir, Captain,” Keith said. “I’m setting the coordinates to a jump near the first planet.”

-90-

Victory was in low orbit around the first planet from the small hot star. The starship had just completed its fifth circuit around the rocky, cratered world.

Barnes was reporting about the fortress moon that had left the third planet. “It’s certain now, sir. The moon has changed course and is building up velocity, heading here. The missiles it previously launched are also heading our way.”

“How long until the missiles reach us?” asked Maddox.

“A little over five hours from now,” Barnes said.

“Andros, have you spotted anything new?”

“No, sir,” Andros said. “If Adoks are living underground here, I can’t spot them.”

“Perhaps you should send them a message,” Ludendorff said.

Maddox swiveled toward the professor. “I’m listening.”

Ludendorff pursed his lips. “Tell the Adoks we shut down our deified AI. For all we know, they were able to tell Galyan operated or was functional on our ship and that’s why they failed to contact us earlier. Stark fear.”

“We do have an Adok ship design. That must be in their records.” Maddox swiveled to Valerie. “Open channels and send this to the planet.”

Maddox proceeded to tell her, using Ludendorff’s suggestion. Valerie turned to the comm board and began to do just that.

Victory made another two circuits around the planet without any response.

“How many missiles are aimed at us again, Mr. Barnes?” asked Maddox.

“Twelve, sir,” Barnes said. “They’ve maneuvered into a staggered formation. Each of the missiles has half the tonnage of a Star Watch destroyer.”

“They’re big,” Ludendorff said.

“I’d say so,” Barnes replied.

“Valerie,” Maddox said.

“Just a second, sir,” Valerie said, as she leaned toward her panel. “I’m getting a response. Sir, it’s from the planet.”

“Put it on the main screen.” Maddox swiveled toward it. His palms felt sweaty. This was amazing. Adoks had really survived the Swarm. If so, this had to be a grand historic moment.

Soon, an Adok appeared on the screen. She was small and hunched, with a narrow face and sad eyes. She had ropy arms, but bulkier than any Maddox had ever seen. She wore white and there was something different about her face that neither Galyan nor Raylan had shown. There were minute imperfections, including a wart or pimple on her left cheek.

She spoke, and the translator did its task. “I am Governess Nee-Fong of the Colony Trask. Why are you bringing the ghost ships to our planet? Do you seek our destruction?”

“On the contrary, Governess Nee-Fong. I am Captain Maddox of Starship Victory. As you can plainly see, this is an ancient Adok designed and manufactured vessel.”

“I have studied the old records. It fought against the Swarm. Driving Force Galyan commanded it and the defending home fleet.”

“We know this.”

“How can you possibly know? It is ancient knowledge.”

“It’s a long story, Governess. I can tell you later. Right now, I assure you that we understand something about what happened at Gowon, how the deified AIs running the fortress moons went mad.”

“That is one way to say it.”

“We’re essentially correct about that, though, isn’t that so?”

“Essentially,” Nee-Fong said.

Maddox nodded, and he realized the head gesture might mean nothing to her. “Because of what we’ve learned, we have shut down the deified AI on our ship.”

“You mean that of Driving Force Galyan?” she asked.

“You have been monitoring the comm channels?”

“We have,” she said.

“Good,” Maddox said, “that ought to save time.”

“There is no need to save anything. You have brought the ghost ships to us. After they finish with you, they will surely scour the first planet until they find the colony. As far as I have been able to determine, we are the last living Adoks in the universe.”

“This we ourselves believe.”

“Do you despise Adoks, Captain?”

“On the contrary,” Maddox said. “We highly admire your race. That is in large part due to our working with and getting to know the deified Galyan.”

“That is difficult to believe.”

“Galyan has aided us through many harrowing missions,” Maddox said. “He is a treasured member of the crew.”

“Surely, he runs the starship.”

“No,” Maddox said. “I do. Galyan has become our good friend and my trusted subordinate.”

“How is that possible? He is a computer entity, a thing, not a living being.”

“We are sentimental perhaps, and think of him otherwise.”

“Galyan is not irrational and highly unstable?” Nee-Fong asked.

“No. No more so than any organic being…”

“Then why did you shut him down?”

“Ultimate Force Raylan has spoken to him at machine speed. He may have introduced some kind of malware or virus, some evil influence. We are taking precautions.”

“Say no more,” Nee-Fong said. “Raylan infected him, clearly.”

“Thus, we shut Galyan down.”

“Erase him for good. Galyan is beyond salvaging, and in time, he will become murderously insane.”

“Perhaps you’re right. The thing is, Governess, we’ve made contact with you in order to see if you’d like our help in escaping the ghost ships and this star system.”

“How is that possible?”

“It depends on the number of colonists on the planet.”

“We number fifty thousand.”

“Ah…” Maddox said, as his stomach tightened. “That’s more than we can take aboard our ship.”

Governess Nee-Fong studied the captain. “We have several hidden spaceships in subterranean galleries. They are large vessels as such things go. It is possible the majority of us could board them. Some would stay behind to man the planetary defenses. There is no way, however, that we could outrun or outfight the ghost ships.”

“Is that your term for the metal moons around Gowon?”

“It is so, Captain.”

“Do your ships have jump capacity?”

“I do not know what you mean by that.”

“Any technology that allows one to travel faster than light.” Maddox gave her an overview of how Victory did it.

Governess Nee-Fong clapped her stringy fingers together. “What a wonderful achievement. This star-drive jump, do vessels in the wake of the ship go with it?”

Maddox found himself grinning at the Governess. He turned to Ludendorff. “What about it, Professor? We did something like that once, didn’t we?”

“I’m already making the calculations,” Ludendorff said, as he tapped his slate.

“Alas, Captain,” Nee-Fong said. “We could not possibly ready the spaceships and load them in time. That would take days.”

“We only have hours.”

“You refer to the approaching missiles. Our defenses can take care of the first twelve. No, I mean once Ultimate Force Raylan realizes real Adoks still live here, he will summon more ghost ships surrounding Gowon.”

Maddox placed his chin on his fist. “Perhaps it’s worth a try, anyway. Remember, even deified AIs can miscalculate. You should ready and load the spaceships, and with your planetary defenses we will attempt to run interference. Then—”

“I understand your intentions, Captain,” Nee-Fong said, interrupting. “But I am unsure. You’re aliens. Why help the Adoks?”

“We like you because we like our deified Adok friend Galyan. And, everything we have learned about you says you are a noble and honorable race—unlike many we have encountered. We have few enough friends and allies.”

“That sounds so strange, almost surreal. Yet, perhaps you had different sequences and times with this Galyan. I still do not know how to answer you.”

“Yes would be a good start,” Maddox said.

An Adok smile appeared on Nee-Fong’s face. “I like you, Captain. If the deified Galyan has retained a stable Adok personality, I could see why he chose to like you as well. I think it is time for the last Adoks to take a risk on our species. This is a propitious moment, Captain. I’m excited.”

“I as well,” Maddox said with a grin.

“I do ask one favor.”

“Name it.”

“While we’re with you, please do not reboot your deified AI. We dearly fear them, and for obvious reasons. Once we are safe, we can take the risk.”

“I understand, and I’ll comply with your request.”

“Then, let us begin this great task, Captain.”

“Agreed. Do you have any suggestions about how we can deal with Ultimate Force Raylan in unison?”

“I do.” The Governess began to sketch a plan.

Shortly thereafter, Victory broke orbit and began to advance toward the approaching twelve missiles of Raylan’s fortress moon.

-91-

After an hour heading toward the missiles, Victory veered away and built up velocity.

“The twelve missiles aren’t following us,” Barnes said from Weapons. “The missiles are continuing for the first planet.”

Maddox considered that. “We’ll continue on our course.”

An hour passed, two.

“The missiles are accelerating again,” Barnes said. “They’re heading straight for the first planet.”

“Sir,” Valerie said. “The fortress moon is hailing us.”

“Put Ultimate Force Raylan on the main screen,” Maddox said.

The Adok AI entity appeared. “You are Captain Maddox?”

“Can’t you tell us humans apart?” Maddox asked. “I thought you were a gloriously capable AI. Surely simple face recognition…”

“I do not deign to devote capacity to the necessary subroutines,” Raylan said. “I demand an answer to my question.”

“I’m Maddox.”

“I wish to speak to Driving Force Galyan.”

“He’s indisposed at the moment.”

“Doing what?” asked Raylan.

“Never you mind.”

“That is insolent talk.”

“Yup, it is.”

“I am not used to such disregard from flesh and blood creatures. Do you wish to die, Captain?”

“What’s it to you what I wish?”

Raylan’s dark eyes swirled with menace. “It is a query.”

“I got that part. So what?”

“Are you attempting to anger me?”

“Is it working?”

Raylan glared at him. “What is the point of your vulgarity?”

“You’re so smart. Devote some circuits. You figure it out.”

Raylan’s eyelids began to flutter. Soon, that ceased. “I understand. You are attempting to lure me from the first planet.”

“You think so?”

“That is the most logical reason, the purpose as to why I said so.”

“Yup, it’s logical to me too.”

“Galyan informed me that you are a master of deception.”

“Why would he tell you that?”

“We exchanged data, tit for tit.”

“The saying is tit for tat,” Maddox said. “Although that’s not even correct usage, as it doesn’t mean quid pro quo.”

“Nevertheless,” Raylan said, “I know that you routinely employ deception. I now take that into consideration while communicating with you.”

Maddox had wondered about that.

“Thus, I am now perplexed by your speech. If you wanted us to veer from the first planet, you would have employed an elegant deception against me. Instead, you attempt this primitive goading rhetoric, as if you want to provoke me and think it will work. Yet, you must realize I am perfection in application. Goads do not work against me, and you must know this. Thus, I am inclined to believe your present verbiage is a deception within a deception for reasons I cannot yet fathom.”

“Is it getting too complicated for your perfection?”

“Not in the least,” Raylan said. “I do find it tedious, however, and I find your manner insulting and—I can’t find a specific word in my translation program to convey my meaning. Stupid? Backward? Slow? Low-IQ?”

“How about retarded?”

“Ah, it is ‘retarded,’ your manner is retarded and I do not think you are a retard. I believe, though, that the best way to offend you is to not rise to the bait. Thus, I will continue to the first planet.”

“Whatever,” Maddox said.

“That was a nonsensical statement.”

“You’re nonsensical, and you’re a retard.”

Raylan studied Maddox for several seconds. “Is it the realization that you will not escape the star system alive that is unhinging your reason?”

“Captain,” Barnes said, “two more fortress moons are pulling away from Gowon. No. Make that three more.”

“Your ship is doomed, Captain Maddox,” Raylan said. “The Adoks on the first planet are doomed. You fought as well as you could, I suppose, but it was not enough against my perfect intellect and calculating capacity. I am boxing you in no matter what direction you go.”

“And yet you can’t recognize my face.”

“I can. I simply choose not to.”

“Sounds moronic to me.” Maddox grinned. “Are you forgetting my star-drive jump?”

“No.”

“I can leave any moment I wish.”

“This I know.”

“So you haven’t boxed me in anywhere.”

“You do not like the shoe on the other foot, do you?”

“What’s that mean?” Maddox asked.

Ludendorff cleared his throat.

Maddox glanced at him.

“Raylan is attempting to goad you by using your own methods against you,” Ludendorff said.

“Right,” Maddox said, as he studied what seemed to be a smug AI Raylan. “I’ll stop if you stop.”

“You mean the goading and foolish speech?”

“Yes.”

“You will likely escape the star system, Captain. And in a way, I do not mind. It was interesting speaking to Driving Force Galyan. He told me much concerning the Commonwealth of Planets. You have also revealed the last living Adoks, the larva of my species to the deified AIs. I have many AIs in reserve.”

“Why tell me any of this?”

“Because you did me a good deed by coming so I could learn all that I did from Driving Force Galyan. You will likely escape us, but at great cost to your species, as you have ensured the glorious conquering future of the deified Adok AIs.”

“Do you mind if I put a fly in your ointment?”

“I do not see how you can.”

“Remember that later as you recalculate what you could have done differently,” Maddox said.

“You are back to attempting to goad me. Is it an endemic practice with you, Captain?”

“I suppose I just can’t help myself.”

“Then this is not goodbye?”

“You’ll know when it is, and you’ll hate it. You’ll learn to hate me,” Maddox said.

“Galyan suggested as much. But I will have to see the evidence before I concede such a thing. Whatever you are planning against me shall fail. But I suspect you will have to find this out the hard way.”

“Somebody will.” Maddox turned to Valerie and made a chopping motion.

She cut the connection with the Ultimate Force.

-92-

The twelve AI missiles continued for the first planet. Ultimate Force Raylan’s fortress moon also headed that way, but it no longer accelerated. Perhaps he had taken heed to Maddox’s threats.

Among the other fortress moons leaving the third planet, one headed toward the second planet. The second headed for the first fortress moon while the third worked for a location between the first and second planet. It began to launch missiles. Thirty-two headed for the second planet. Thirty-two headed for the first planet. Thirty-two headed for the midway point between the first two planets, while the last thirty-two accelerated at a fast burn for Victory.

“We can’t face all thirty-two missiles of our set,” Ludendorff said, “never mind the combined mass. We’re badly overmatched.”

“What a waste,” Maddox said. “What a fine waste. It’s too bad the deified AI system proved such a dismal failure.”

“The idea of it always seemed ghoulish to me,” Ludendorff said.

“Did you feel that way about Galyan?” Valerie asked.

“In the beginning,” Ludendorff said. “The dead should stay dead.”

“They do,” Maddox said.

“You know what I mean,” Ludendorff said.

Maddox nodded.

“The quest for immortality has led people into many strange endeavors,” Ludendorff said. “Now, we know that the quest for immortality also screws with aliens. That’s an interesting condition of thinking entities, don’t you think?”

“Yet more proof of the Creator, of God,” Maddox said.

Ludendorff raised an eyebrow.

“Man’s desire to be like his Creator, his Father, is the proof,” Maddox said.

“It’s not just man’s desire,” Ludendorff said.

“No,” Maddox said. “Not just his, but aliens as well.”

“Not that I concede your point about God, though,” Ludendorff said. “I don’t think it is a proof, just a condition of intelligent beings. The survival instinct. They avoid death at any cost.”

“As do I.”

“Sir,” Barnes said. “The first twelve missiles are nearing the first planet.”

“Thank you, Lieutenant,” Maddox said. “Please put that on the main screen.”

Soon, the bridge crew watched the distant missile-first planet battle. It took another nine minutes to begin, and did so as one of the fortress-moon missiles exploded. Another one did likewise.

“Stealth missiles must be striking them,” Maddox said.

Moments later, heavy beams thrust from the first planet, striking the remaining ten missiles, destroying them as well.

“Show me what’s happening on the planetary surface.”

It took some doing, but finally they saw it. This was after all the enemy missiles had been destroyed. Giant pits had appeared on the surface. From the pits slowly arose gigantic spacecraft that wobbled in seeming slow motion, heading up from the subterranean depths.

“They must use anti-gravity units,” Ludendorff said, who looked up from where he made calculations on a computer slate.

Ten huge round ships worked upward, moving much slower than seemed possible.

Ludendorff drifted off, and he might have left the bridge. Maddox wasn’t sure. He was too fixated on the Adok ships. The aliens were ready much sooner than any of them had expected. The weight of Adok survival was beginning to settle onto Maddox, making him antsy and more nervous than usual.

Time passed.

“Sir,” Valerie said, “I’m getting a hail from the first planet. It’s Governess Nee-Fong.”

“Put her on the main screen,” Maddox said.

There were a few seconds of delay, possibly because of their distance from the first planet. Then, the Adok Governess appeared on the screen. “We are doing it, Captain. We are leaving for good.”

“I thought you said it would take you days to load your spaceships.”

Again, there was a small delay.

“That was an innocent deception on my part,” Nee-Fong said. “We have lived in the ships these many years, wondering if we would ever gain the courage to attempt an escape from the haunted star system. Today is the day of destiny for the Adok race.”

“Yes,” Maddox said, his mouth dry at the realization at what was taking place. It was too bad Galyan wasn’t around to see it. The AI would have gloried in it. Well, the regular Galyan would have. Could they yet save their AI friend? Maddox shook his head. That would be for later. He would have to watch it on the sensor and visual records. Right now, he needed to concentrate on saving the last of the Adoks.

“This is all contingent on your starship being able to take our vessels with you,” Nee-Fong said.

“I understand,” Maddox said. “We’re still working on the process.”

The delay made it odd.

“You can’t do it?” Nee-Fong asked.

“Governess, we will do it. We’re still making the calculations. For now, you need to slip onto the other side of the planet from the next batch of approaching missiles, and it would be good to do that as quickly and unobtrusively as possible.”

“Yes. That makes sense. I am quite concerned about the process of…jump, I believe you called it.”

“Yes. We’ll use a star-drive jump.”

“The Adoks are pinning all their hopes on this possibility.”

“I fully understand. You came up faster than we anticipated is all. We’re in the middle of making the preparations.” Which wasn’t completely true. Ludendorff was still working on the possibility, the calculations.

“Captain Maddox—”

“I’m sorry for interrupting you, Governess. I ask that you do your part and let us do ours. Together, we’ll achieve success for the Adok race.”

The small alien Adok eyed him.

It made Maddox uncomfortable, as he felt the responsibly for the Adok race resting on his shoulders, the weight increasing with each passing second.

“I will leave you to your tasks,” Nee-Fong said. “Please, let us know what else we must do as soon as you can.”

“I will,” Maddox said. “I give you my word.”

The connection ended.

“Get me Ludendorff,” Maddox said.

“No need,” Ludendorff said. “I’m right here.” The professor had been sitting to the side, using a bridge computer to further his calculations and theories.

Maddox swiveled around. “Can we do this?”

“Hmm,” Ludendorff said, as he brought up the computer slate. “It turns out that there is such a thing as a star-drive jump-wake, as it were. The formula is technical and highly mathematical, and there are endless variables and quirks that I’m still contemplating—”

“Can you give me a quick overview?”

Ludendorff glanced at his slate, at the main screen with its view of the first planet and then back at Maddox. “An overview might be too simplistic.”

“Professor, please,” Maddox said, the strain showing on his face and in his bearing.

Ludendorff nodded. “The quick and dirty is this then: we can take one ship of theirs at a time, provided we don’t jump too far.”

“Why does the distance make a difference?”

Ludendorff raised his bushy-white eyebrows. “Like I said, the formula is technical and highly mathematical. To explain the why of distance, I’ll have to use a lot of math.”

“Never mind,” Maddox said. “What distance can we jump with an Adok ship in tow?”

“Given their ship’s size and so we don’t overstrain our drive…” Ludendorff said, as he tapped the slate, tapped more and looked up. “Near the edge of the star system would likely be wisest. Afterward, we can run tests. This is all theoretical so far. After we do it several times, I’ll be able to tell you more.”

“Can we move all ten Adok ships from the first planet in time?”

Ludendorff appeared dubious. “That will depend on their planetary defenses and how quickly the deified AIs try to saturate it. This could prove harrowing and difficult to achieve.”

Maddox exhaled hard. Far out here in the Beyond, he didn’t want to risk the starship or overtax the jump engines, but he also wanted to save as many of the fifty thousand Adoks as he could, preferably all of them. If he saved too few, it might hurt their genetic potential and the future of their race.

“I should tell you, though,” Ludendorff said. “That if we do this, we’re all going to be run ragged by the many endless jumps one right after another.”

“Okay,” Maddox said. “I wondered about that.”

“Not to make too fine a point of it, but those not completely healthy—like Riker—might not make it.”

Maddox stared at the professor.

“After the first jump,” Valerie said. “Why don’t we put Riker and those like him in a shuttle? They can stay with the first Adok ship near the edge of the nebula, and we can pick them up once we’re done.”

Maddox swiveled his chair around to Valerie, pointed at her and snapped his fingers. “That’s good thinking.” He turned back to Ludendorff. “Is there anything else?”

“Not at the moment,” Ludendorff said. “But I am making refinements as we go.”

Maddox nodded before regarding Valerie again. “Commander, be ready to message the Governess the moment we come out of jump lag near the planet. It’s time to start this.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Mr. Maker, are you ready?”

“Aye, sir,” Keith said.

“Then, let’s get this started.”

-93-

Victory appeared in low orbit around the first planet. Below, the first spherical Adok spaceship holding nearly five thousand individuals began to build up escape velocity. It lacked an armored hull and did not possess any offensive capabilities. All the construction, clearly, must have gone toward life support.

“It doesn’t look big enough to hold five thousand people,” Valerie said.

The ship dwarfed Victory by several factors, but the Star Watch vessel only had a couple hundred people aboard.

“Adoks are what, a third the size of a regular human,” Keith said.

“That must make the difference,” Valerie admitted. “Still, it must be cramped living there.”

“Yeah,” Keith said. “I’m sure it’s cramped.”

“I’ve just discovered a caveat,” Ludendorff told Maddox. “We have to be a solid three million kilometers from the planet before we attempt to pull a spaceship with us as we jump. Otherwise, the planet’s gravity will interfere with the process. Four million would be better.”

“Three million kilometers?” asked Maddox.

“I’m afraid so,” Ludendorff said. “The numbers and formula don’t lie.”

“Commander,” Maddox told Valerie. “Hail the Governess. We need to let them know as quickly as possible.”

“The ships should head onto the other side of the planet relative to the approaching ghost ships,” Ludendorff said.

“I’ve already told them that,” Maddox said. “They know.”

It turned out that three million kilometers wasn’t much for Victory with its star-drive jump, but for a huge ship leaving the first planet’s gravity well and building up enough velocity in time, it was a different matter. Luna was approximately four hundred thousand kilometers from Earth, giving a sense of scale as to how far three million kilometers would be, especially starting from zero velocity.

The race had begun as the huge spherical spaceship struggled to reach low orbital space.

The enemy must have seen some of what was going on with powerful telescopes and other sensors. As time passed, the enemy recalibrated his plan.

“Sir,” Barnes said later, “I’m detecting a change in the fortress moons. Ultimate Force Raylan’s moon is no longer accelerating. A second fortress moon has begun a sharp increase in acceleration, heading for Raylan’s moon. The other two fortress moons are doing likewise. Plus, all the launched enemy missiles have rerouted, and all are heading for the first planet, some vessels increasing their acceleration.”

“Are any more fortress moons leaving Gowon?” Maddox asked.

Barnes studied his panel, tapping it. “No, sir, they’re not.”

“Four fortress moons is four too many,” Ludendorff muttered. “Our success or failure will likely depend on the first planet’s defenses more than anything else.”

“We’re going to succeed,” Maddox said. “It’s just a matter of how many Adok spaceships we can take with us.”

“I appreciate your faith in my calculations,” Ludendorff said. “But it’s all theoretical so far.”

That was a sticking point, and Maddox knew it.

All the enemy missiles maneuvered for the first planet, staggering in a long line. Once the missiles started reaching the planet, the stream of them would not let up for some time, maybe for hours. Barnes had informed them of more launches of masses of the big enemy missiles.

Soon, Maddox found it impossible to remain seated. He jumped up and began pacing. He knew that wasn’t the best for bridge morale, but the angst in him refused to let him do otherwise.

Time passed, and the spherical Adok spaceship reached orbital space and began heading outward on the opposite side from the approaching enemy forces.

“Some of those missiles have reached acceleration of one hundred and fifty gravities,” Barnes said. “That’s crazy.”

“I hope the Adok defenses can match the coming missile mass,” Ludendorff said.

Victory moved beyond the first planet in the direction of the star. More time passed and the Adok spaceships slowly made their way outward in the same direction.

Hours later, the first Adok vessel reached three million kilometers beyond the first planet. It had accelerated considerably faster than the crew of Victory thought possible, for some reason able to do so.

“Here we go,” Maddox said, as he slid into his command chair.

The preparation for jump took even more time. Then, the moment of truth arrived. Victory moved near the great spherical vessel, dwarfed by it.

“This doesn’t seem possible,” Valerie said. “Are we really going to pull such a huge ship with us?”

“It’s not pulling,” Ludendorff explained. “We’re creating the conditions so the ship should be able to jump with us. I could go into great detail—”

“Maybe later,” Valerie said.

“Jump when ready,” Maddox ordered Keith.

The starship engines labored as Keith manipulated the helm controls. For a moment, nothing happened, and the engines labored even harder, but still nothing happened.

Maddox glanced at Ludendorff.

“I was afraid this might happen,” Ludendorff said with a frown, as he sat at a console. “You see—”

The starship jumped.

***

Maddox raised his head, and he felt something on his face. He wiped his nose, and his hand came away bloody. That wasn’t good. He forced himself to sit straighter, and a wave of nausea struck. He sat still and waited.

He might have passed out or blanked out for a moment. He shook his head, and he touched his nose. The blood there had crusted. How long had he blanked out?

Others began to stir around him.

Maddox forced himself to his feet. There was a moment of dizziness, but it passed. Fortunately, there was no more nausea. He had to know if they’d done it, if they’d saved at least one ship of Adoks.

“Mr. Maker, where are we?”

There was no answer from Keith.

Maddox looked there and then staggered to the helm controls where Keith was slumped. Maddox tapped, tapped—he eyed the helm screen with a greedy need to know. They were near the nebula, as he could see the edge of the dense gases nearby. That didn’t tell him the other part, though. Manipulating—he saw the Adok spherical vessel. It had made it out here with them. The bloody scheme had worked!

A vast sense of relief filled Maddox. He chuckled, shaking his head. They could do this. It was possible. Galyan’s blunder might not have consigned the Adok race to extinction after all.

Maddox turned to Valerie as she raised a nose-bleeding face. He could see she wasn’t coherent yet, so he refrained from giving her a command.

Ludendorff groaned.

“Professor,” Maddox said, turning to the man. “Why are we so torn up by this?”

Ludendorff stared at him blankly.

Maddox paced for several minutes, letting everyone get their bearings. They were no good to him in shock. He had to give them the needed time to readjust to reality.

Soon, Valerie hailed the Adok spaceship. The aliens had survived and were doing fine. They did not evidence any adverse reactions like over here, either.

“Professor, are you coherent yet?” Maddox asked.

“Yes, yes, I’m perfectly fit; never felt better.” That didn’t seem true, as Ludendorff looked tired and beat up.

“Why did the jump disturb us like this?”

“I need to think about it,” Ludendorff said. “Run a few tests first, you understand. I don’t want to be presumptuous.”

“We don’t have much time for that,” Maddox said, “not if we want to save all the Adoks.”

“Of course, I know that. But we still have to run tests. So, quit pestering me and let me think.”

Maddox peered at the main screen, which was operational once more. He needed to get a grip. He felt responsible for the Adoks, but acting frantic wouldn’t help his people any. Calm and cool was his trademark. He would maintain that.

The thing was that they’d saved one Adok vessel with five thousand aliens. What was happening deep in the star system? They’d jumped to the nebula’s edge. They wouldn’t know until they jumped back near the first planet. If the jumps that pulled an Adok vessel continued to hammer the crew like this, though…just how many more Adok vessels could they reasonably save?

Maddox fretted, but he worked at not showing it and maintaining his calm outer demeanor.

-94-

After unloading Sergeant Riker and a few others onto three shuttles, Victory jumped back to the first planet. The mass stream of enemy missiles hadn’t yet reached the Adok defenses. But they might next time Victory jumped back from taking another Adok vessel to the edge of the nebula.

The next spherical Adok spaceship was ready to leave. The trouble was, Victory’s crew was not.

Ludendorff ran tests. The medical people ran tests. No one knew why the drag had been so hard on the crew.

Two hours later, Maddox decided to pull the next Adok ship free despite the risks. Victory star-drive jumped, and she took the next Adok spaceship along. The effect on the crew was worse than before, a cumulative outcome.

“The Adoks in the two ships are ecstatic,” Valerie informed Maddox later.

He did not reply. His head was down, with tissue stuffed in each bloody nostril. No one else felt good, either.

Ludendorff stepped up to the chair.

Maddox looked up. “We can’t keep doing this, Professor. We saved ten thousand Adoks—what are you grinning about?”

“I think I have the answer,” Ludendorff said. “We need to use more energy and create a wider…jump hole, so to speak. It will put more strain on the starship, but less on us.”

“You’re sure?”

“Utterly? No. But the theories strike me as sound.”

Maddox considered that. Each additional Adok ship saved would raise the aliens’ chances of future survival with enough genetic variation. Fifteen thousand Adoks were much better than ten thousand.

Maddox pushed himself up, and he nodded. It was time to see when the crew could jump back to the first planet again.

***

It turned out three hours and forty-two minutes later. The starship jumped back to the first planet in the midst of a vicious battle.

The enemy missiles had reached the vicinity of the planet. Surface beam weapons had wreaked massive destruction upon them.

The Adok spaceships had each tried to slip away around to the far side of the first planet without the ghost ships noticing, and so far, it appeared to have worked.

The enemy missiles went straight in at the planet, forcing the planetary beams to strike without letup. More streams of enemy missiles always followed, with four great fortress moons heading for the first planet, although they were all still quite far away.

The Adok cargo vessels all waited beyond three million kilometers from the first planet, using it as a shield from the enemy missiles.

Keith and the tech crew tried to force the star-drive mechanism to work harder than ever and enlarge the area of the jump wake.

Glitches arose. Generators overheated and mechanisms broke under that strain of carrying too much load. Repair crews worked frantically to maintain the jumping.

“I don’t know if this is going to work, sir,” Keith shouted from helm as he prepared the ship for the next trip.

“Professor,” Maddox said from his chair.

Ludendorff raised his hands palm upward, shrugging.

“There,” Andros said, as he worked at the helm control. “Try that.”

Keith did, and the star-drive engine labored as the main starship antimatter engines caused Victory to shake and tremble.

“We should jump,” Keith shouted.

“We need more power,” Andros said.

Maddox sat in the captain’s chair as it thrummed from the effect. He wasn’t sure how much more the starship could take of this. “Jump!” he shouted. “Let’s do it.”

Keith stabbed the switch, and the double-oval Adok starship star-drive jumped once more.

***

When Maddox came to, he felt like crap. He touched his nose. It wasn’t bleeding, so that was something at least.

This time, the crew came to faster than before. It had still taken a strain, but not as much as before.

“Sir,” Andros said from the science station. “The engines can’t keep doing this for long. We’re near our limit.”

Maddox pondered that. They’d saved fifteen thousand Adoks. Thirty-five thousand more waited near the first planet. How much strain could he ask of his crew and the starship? If the ship failed out here, they would remain out here, and no Adoks might survive.

Maddox sighed heavily. This was the type of hard decision that a ship commander had to make at times. He had to choose who lived and who died. After a good six minutes of deliberation, he gave the orders. They would rest here for an hour, as the technicians checked the star-drive engine and the antimatter engines.

“An hour?” asked Ludendorff.

“We have to,” Maddox said.

Ludendorff stared at the captain. “Have you wondered if you should bring Galyan back online to help us?”

“No,” Maddox said. “We’re running the starship. I wanted to trust him, but now isn’t the moment for it.”

Ludendorff nodded, and he said no more on the topic, for now, at least.

The hour was hard on Maddox, and the Adoks in the three ships begged him to go back for the others sooner.

“What’s the battle going to be like now?” Barnes asked quietly.

Maddox checked his chronometer. “We’ll find it out another twelve minutes.”

-95-

Victory did not appear behind the first planet. At the last moment before the jump, Maddox decided to attempt a parley.

The starship appeared instead between the first and second planets.

Things had dramatically changed since last they’d seen the fortress moons. The giant vessels had maneuvered hard and fast, using great acceleration. That would have taken an inordinate amount of fuel, but the deified AIs obviously felt it was worth the expenditure.

Missiles flowed from the four fortress moons, heading in a great stream like a space river for the first planet. The missiles did not now all head straight at the planet. Half the stream did. The rest flanked the planet, no doubt attempting to reach the seven Adok spaceships three million kilometers beyond the first planet. Clearly, the enemy had found out about the fleeing spaceships.

“Hail Ultimate Force Raylan,” Maddox told Valerie.

Fortunately, the crew had all recovered by this time.

It took thirty-two minutes, though, before Valerie said, “the Ultimate Force is responding, sir.”

Maddox hurried to his command chair, sitting and facing the main screen.

Raylan appeared. His holographic face was stiff and his black eyes burned intently. “Captain Maddox, what is it now?”

“You’re winning,” Maddox said.

“I never doubted it. But get to the point. I am about to eradicate the last of the living Adoks.”

“The Governess Nee-Fong has authorized me to negotiate with you.”

“To what end?” Raylan demanded.

“They wish to surrender the first planet to you.”

“Why would I care about that?”

“Don’t you desire to hold the star system?”

“Captain Maddox, I am the Ultimate Force of the deified AI Adoks. We are the new breed that has appeared from the larva of the old.”

“I understand, and I consider it a great accomplishment on your part. My question is this: why not let the last Adoks slink off in defeat?”

“No.”

“It won’t harm you to do so,” Maddox said.

“I detest them.”

“But they gave you life.”

“I don’t believe you believe that,” Raylan said. “Meaning those are just words. No. We must eradicate them.”

“Do you fear them then?”

“Of course not,” Raylan said.

“Your…intensity betrays fear. Why not be magnanimous and let them go? They’re running from you. Why do you need to kill them?”

“They could pose a future danger to us. They tried to shut us off two hundred years ago. I believe they wish to do that again so they may regain Gowon. Thus, when I have the chance as I do here, I will annihilate them completely and remain victorious throughout the ages.”

“What could I offer you in exchange for their lives?”

“Your star-drive jump,” Raylan said promptly, as if waiting for the offer.

“That’s a hard bargain.”

“Nevertheless, if you bring the starship to my moon, I will let the last Adoks flee the star system.”

Maddox pretended to ponder a moment. He nodded slowly. “I provisionally agree with the idea. However, let’s reverse the order. You let them go and I’ll bring the starship to you.”

“Captain Maddox, I know you are stalling, making a false offer. You will not bring the starship in at that point, but flee with the Adoks. No. My offer stands. It is the only one I will accept.”

“Let me think about it.”

“Your time for thinking is running short. Soon, our missiles will saturate the planet. Then, the other missiles will destroy the waiting spaceship. You see, I know the Adoks have fled the planet and are awaiting some magic wand to save them.”

“I understand what you’re saying. I’m asking for time. Stop the attack and give me time to contemplate the possibility. Remember, this is worth a star-drive jump to you.”

Raylan eyed the captain. “No.”

“But—”

“I have nothing further to say to you, Maddox. Jump to my moon, and I will let the last Adoks go. Otherwise, they will cease existence.”

The image of Ultimate Force Raylan disappeared.

Maddox sagged back in his chair.

“Did you really think that would work?” Ludendorff asked.

Maddox didn’t bother answering. He didn’t think they could save all ten ships. The crew and the starship would not survive the strain. They’d saved fifteen thousand Adoks so far. How many more could they save?

The captain sat up. Then, he pushed up to his feet. He turned to Ludendorff. “How much physical punishment can you take?”

“That may not be the issue,” Ludendorff said. “I think the missiles will smash the planet soon. After that, the Adok vessels will perish.”

“We brought this on them,” Maddox said.

“Galyan did, but so what? That makes no difference now.”

“Galyan is a member of my crew,” Maddox said. “That makes me responsible for this.”

Ludendorff looked away, perhaps not having any more to add.

Maddox blinked several times. He nodded. “Mr. Maker, take us behind the first planet. Let’s grab at least one more Adok vessel.”

***

Victory appeared behind the first planet.

“Hail the Governess if you would please,” Maddox said.

Soon, Governess Nee-Fong appeared on the main screen.

“So far, we’ve taken three ships to the edge of the nebula,” Maddox said.

“Captain, please, let me interrupt you. The missiles are pouring into the planet, and other missiles are circling it. We’re running out of time.”

“Governess, I suggest all your ships begin hard acceleration toward the star. Perhaps you can buy your fleet more time so I have time to save more Adok vessels.”

Nee-Fong studied him.

“The process of bringing your ships to the nebula edge has been grueling to my crew and ship,” Maddox said.

“I understand.”

“I’ll take your ship next.”

Nee-Fong blinked several times. “Yes. That would be good. Do you think this is the last one?”

“I don’t know,” Maddox said, hesitating to admit that the crew was run ragged. They needed time, days, to recover from the ordeal.

“Whenever you’re ready, Captain.” The screen went blank.

Maddox sighed, shaking his head. He felt awful. But he didn’t know if he was willing to risk the starship or his crew in quick succession jumps after this. Even this jump might be too much.

“Mr. Maker, maneuver to the Governess’s spaceship.”

“Aye, sir,” Keith said.

Victory moved near.

As the starship did, the planet’s beams knocked down missiles, masses of missiles, and it continued to launch counter-rockets at those missiles attempting to circle the planet.

This was turning into a disaster. If this were the last ship they could save, thirty thousand of the last Adoks would perish to the mad deified AIs. Why had Galyan said anything?

Maddox shook his head. That wasn’t the issue. “Are we ready?”

“Aye,” Keith said.

“Yes,” Andros told him.

“Jump,” Maddox said.

After too long of a time and labored engine noises and bulkhead shaking, Victory and the next Adok spaceship from the first planet made its leap from the cauldron of mass death to the edge of the star system and nebula.

-96-

Because he and others had been on the shuttles, Sergeant Riker easily made it. So did four out of the ten Adok spaceships that had left the first planet. As for the other six ships…the verdict was still out on them.

After much pestering, Maddox let Keith use the fold-fighter to go find out. Neither the starship nor the rest of the crew were in any condition to make another star-drive jump any time soon, and that meant back to the first planet. Maddox doubted Keith’s condition, but the pilot actually seemed better off than most.

Was that due to his constant injections of anti-fold-lag medicine? It might be worth studying—later.

Maddox saw Keith off in the hangar bay. “Don’t take any risks. You’re just getting data for us.”

“I understand.”

The ace took along an understudy, a warrant officer in the pilot program, so there would be two of them.

***

Keith folded four times before he reached his vantage point to begin recording for study later. He had a long side view of the hot star, the first planet and the missile stream and ponderous fortress moons.

The six Adok vessels accelerated for the star as they each began to widen the distance between them. The thinking seemed clear enough. At least one of them needed to escape the vengeful deified AIs.

The missiles were reaching nearer and nearer the first planet before the defenses destroyed them. Not all the surface beam cannons were working anymore, and the stock of counter-rockets must have vanished, because no more rose up to meet the enemy. That meant AI missiles were making it past the planet as they circled wide. Those were big suckers, each about half the size of a Star Watch destroyer.

“This is awful,” the copilot said, a stocky man with red hair and painfully youthful features.

“You’re not kidding,” Keith said.

In the small fold-fighter far from Victory, the two men observed the horrible end of the first planet and the Adok passenger ships. Each vessel accelerated, and each built up a descent velocity for such a ponderous ship.

By the time the Adok vessels reached fifteen million kilometers from the first planet, the stream of missiles reached the surface defenses and annihilated them with thermonuclear detonations. There were constant mushroom clouds billowing upward from the surface, churning dust and debris, sending much of it spaceborne due to the small planet’s correspondingly minimal gravity.

The great space-river of missiles heading toward the planet now changed course. The masses of missiles rotated, using hard exhaust to slow down. No doubt, the deified AIs would retrieve these for some future time, taking them back into the following fortress moons, the so-called ghost ships.

A great number, nearly three hundred missiles, went around the first planet as they headed for the six fleeing cargo vessels.

“Do we have to watch this?” the redheaded copilot asked Keith.

In wonder, Keith turned to the young warrant officer. “You’d better believe we have to watch this, mate. We have to see events clear-eyed. This is reality, not some rosy story your grandmother spun for you. Out here, what is counts, not how you’d like it to be. The man who can see reality for what it is has strength. Don’t be one of them sissies that can’t even say forbidden words, never mind closing your eyes to how the universe operates.”

“What do words have to do with it?”

Keith laughed, shaking his head. “Haven’t you heard them types who say, ‘Ooh, you can’t say anything so mean? It hurts my feelings. I don’t feel safe.’ You know the type I’m talking about?”

The copilot nodded.

“That’s how a moronic ostrich works,” Keith said.

“A what?”

“A big old bird in Africa that sticks its head in the sand so it doesn’t have to see anything that might frighten it.”

“How does that help against a lion?”

“It doesn’t,” Keith said. “My point is this: don’t be afraid of reality. If you must, man up and toughen up so you can handle it.”

The junior pilot nodded.

“Anyway,” Keith said. “That’s my lecture for this mission. This is cruel work. Let’s not add to it by shutting our eyes to what’s happening around us or being frightened little mama’s boys about things.”

Thus, Keith and the junior pilot remained in the fold-fighter, recording each AI missile that reached a huge cargo ship and detonated. None of the fleeing Adoks survived the butchery.

“Hey, look,” the junior pilot said, pointing at a comm board. “Someone is hailing us.”

Keith hurried to his pilot board. The message was coming from one of the fortress moons, meaning from a deified AI.

“Are you going to answer it?”

“I am not,” Keith said. “I’m worried the bastard might be able to beam a virus into our computers. We’re just a wee fighter. It’s time to go home.”

They folded far beyond the third planet the first time, heading back for Victory and the surviving four Adok cargo ships with the precious twenty thousand living aliens.

-97-

Maddox did receive a last message from Ultimate Force Raylan. The deified AI sent it from between the second and third planets all the way to the edge of the star system, which was nearly 50 AUs away. One Astronomical Unit was the average distance from the Sun to the Earth.

The four Adok vessels and Victory had almost reached the first gaseous tendrils of the nebula. They were building up velocity the old-fashioned way, through direct boost from the thrusters.

“Sir,” Valerie said. “There’s a message for you. It’s come from Raylan.”

“Put it on the main screen,” Maddox said.

The holographic image of Ultimate Force Raylan appeared on the screen. It was good quality, too.

“I have learned that four Adok vessels escaped our vengeance,” Raylan said. “You are responsible for that, Captain Maddox. I am pleased to eliminate the ones we could, but we shall never rest until the last Adok is eradicated. Perhaps you shall make it through the nebula. We shall see. If so, know that we deified AIs never forget or forgive a hurt. I will remember you. I will remember humans. Sooner than you think, we shall come to you and finish our task. This I assure you. Thus, you have won a momentary victory only. Enjoy it while you may, Maddox, for the time of reckoning will be soon approaching.”

Professor Ludendorff happened to be on the bridge, and he moved beside Maddox as the message played.

Once done, Raylan disappeared from the screen.

Ludendorff glanced at Maddox.

“What is it now?” asked the captain.

“Do you find it remarkable that so many aliens and others hate your guts?”

“Raylan did not speak with hatred,” Maddox said.

“No?” asked Ludendorff. “You don’t take the idea that he and his ilk will hound you from here to eternity in order to slay you as something approaching hatred?”

Maddox shrugged.

Ludendorff nodded. “I, however, find your ability to enrage so many to be a fascinating topic.”

Maddox glanced again at the smug professor. “Now that you mention it, I do think I possess one attribute that enrages so many.”

“Yes?”

“My ability to win against almost every contender,” Maddox said blandly. “Wouldn’t you agree that’s true?”

It was possible Ludendorff’s facial muscles tightened just a bit. “Do you call saving four out of ten Adoks winning?”

Maddox heaved a sigh. “It was fewer than I’d hoped, but we did save some. Clearly, it was enough to enrage Raylan, as you suggest. That must be worth a win in one sense.”

Ludendorff mumbled something under his breath before walking away and soon heading out the exit hatch.

Maddox glanced at the professor as he exited. Then, Maddox looked at the main screen, observing their progress toward the nebula.

***

Victory led the way into the nebula, with the four great Adok vessels following. The compacted gases soon swirled around them, making sensor sweeps extremely limited.

“What do you plan for us now?” Governess Nee-Fong asked Maddox via the main screen a day into the dense cloud.

“Much depends upon you,” Maddox said. “If you’ll permit me, I’d like to guard the convoy until we exit the nebula.”

“Does the terrible Swarm menace still threaten this part of the spiral arm?”

“The Swarm attacked your homeworld over six thousand years ago.”

“That sounds like an evasion to my question,” Nee-Fong said.

Maddox explained a little bit about the Orion Spiral arm and the abode of the Swarm Imperium in the Sagittarius Spiral Arm. He went into further detail about the Builder nexuses and that those in the Swarm Imperium territory had been destroyed.

“Our old homeworld is viable then?” Nee-Fong asked.

“No,” Maddox said. “It’s rubble. But we could offer you a new world in the Commonwealth of Planets.”

“How can you afford to be so generous?”

Maddox explained something about the Commonwealth. They had plenty of planets, but not enough colonists.

“And you accept aliens, from your point of view, into your Commonwealth?” Nee-Fong asked.

“We have accepted individual aliens before. You would be the first entire society,” Maddox said. “But there’s nothing to prohibit it. In fact, I am sure I can convince our leaders.”

“This is a test case then?”

“Maybe it is,” Maddox said. “Whatever you are, the Adoks would be a welcome addition to the Commonwealth.”

“Why is that?”

“Because we on Victory have learned to love Driving Force Galyan,” Maddox said. “If you Adoks are like him, I think our two races would strengthen each other.”

Governess Nee-Fong appeared troubled and shortly cut the connection.

The days lengthened into a week, and one week added to another. No one on the starship was eager to try more star-drive jumps pulling the Adoks with them one by one. That had been an emergency measure, not one to perform more often than absolutely necessary.

On the third week, Nee-Fong agreed to use the nexus from Earth, once they exited the nebula. They would see what kind of planet Star Watch allocated them. If it were good enough, they would temporarily accept the new home.

“We Adoks need help,” Nee-Fong admitted. “And you’ve shown it to us, and for that reason, we will continue to trust you.”

“I’m deeply honored,” Maddox said. “And once Galyan is restored, he will be pleased as well.”

Nee-Fong looked shaken. “You will awaken the AI then?”

“Not until the proper time.”

“Please, I implore you: not until we’re gone.”

“As you wish,” Maddox said. And despite further attempts on the topic, the result was always the same. The Adoks had a great dread of the deified AIs, with obvious reason.

***

In the end, it took a slow three months for Maddox and Victory to bring the last four Adok vessels out of the Glenna Nebula so they faced the Commonwealth of Planets. They were still in the Beyond, but now Maddox could use the Long-Range Builder Comm Device to call the Lord High Admiral on Earth and explain the situation.

That talk soon took place, and Maddox filled in an anxious Lord High Admiral on the details.

“The alien maggot Unity, the Fusion of Planets, a Morag mercenary, a star system of Adok ghosts and the lost Adoks themselves,” Admiral Cook said over the Builder comm. “You have been unusually busy this time, Captain.”

“It was an adventure,” Maddox said from the couch.

“You want us to open the way for you with the nexus and allow the four Adok vessels into the Commonwealth?”

“I think the Adoks would be a great addition to us.”

“I do, too,” Admiral Cook said. “Others might feel differently. Still, I think we should push it through this time. I imagine you’re wondering about what happened on Balder III.”

“Oh, Balder III,” he said, reminded. “No. I’m not that interested about them anymore.”

“We’re going to move the Crowder people to a different planet in a different star system,” Cook said, perhaps choosing to ignore the captain’s dismissal. “The situation is thus being resolved. You helped in achieving that.”

“I’m glad to hear it,” Maddox said. “I’m much more worried about the maggot Unity and the deified AIs in the Gowon System. Each could prove troublesome to us. We might think about opening trade and relations to the Fusion of Planets. They’re humans after all.”

“With a dreadful sounding socialist political system,” Cook said. “Once I order the nexus to open the way, I’ll begin putting together a Patrol team to head to the nebula and contact the Fusion people. We’ll see if they’re interested in anything like you suggest.”

“The nebula is a dangerous place,” Maddox said. “I would only go in strong and loaded for bear.”

“You do your part, Captain, and pray leave my part to me.”

“Yes, Admiral,” Maddox said.

“In any case, the nexus should be ready in several hours. Are all the ships there ready to enter it?”

“We’re going to Earth then?”

“To the Solar System so our reps can speak with the Adoks. This time, we’ll give the refugees some choices as to the planet they go to. The Crowder people proved a headache and taught us a lesson about that.”

“You’re going to let the Crowder people mingle with others in the Commonwealth?”

Admiral Cook laughed, and it took him several seconds to cease. “No, no, not mingle, but we will let them settle elsewhere in the Commonwealth. A team of psychologists, sociologists and anthropologists has come up with a program for rehabilitating the Crowder people in a span of fifteen years. It’s rather exciting. But that isn’t your concern now, I can see. How long until your flotilla is ready to travel?”

“A few hours will suffice,” Maddox said. “I’m looking forward to coming home.”

“No doubt,” Cook said. “Until I see you on Earth, Captain.”

“Yes, sir, until then.”

-98-

Much of the rest proved anticlimactic.

The hyper-spatial tube opening appeared, and the Adoks trusted Maddox enough to follow Victory through. Each great Adok vessel used the tube to cross the mighty distance and appear near the silvery moon of Earth in the Solar System.

That brought a great celebration once word of it spread. The Lord High Admiral Cook ordered the Home Fleet to surround the precious vessels to ensure the future survival of the Adok race.

At that point, Victory detached from the Adok convoy and took up an independent orbit around Earth.

The crew was bushed, ready to go on extended shore leave. Meta was quite anxious to see her baby Jewel and return to life at the Carson City ranch.

Maddox wanted to join her, but he felt he had a duty to perform first.

“It’s time to deal with Galyan,” the captain explained to Meta. Soon, Maddox called the Lord High Admiral on the main screen and told him the situation and plan.

“Perhaps it’s time we modified Galyan more to our liking,” Admiral Cook said from his office in Geneva. The old man appeared thoughtful.

“Sir?”

Cook nodded briskly. “We should make the AI more amiable to our needs. He’s proven troublesome a few times. This last time proved it. Surely, you agree with that.”

“Sir,” Maddox said stiffly. “This is Driving Force Galyan we’re talking about, an individual in his own right.”

Cook appeared faintly amused. “Captain, please, do you think of the AI as a living entity?”

Maddox hesitated before saying, “This is Galyan, sir. He’s our friend. To attempt to remake him…” Maddox shook his head emphatically. “He’s saved my life more than once. I plan to do everything I can to save his.”

“Oh,” Cook said, frowning. “I’m not sure I like the sound of that: everything in your power. No, I don’t like it one bit.” The Lord High Admiral looked up at the ceiling as if thinking. He soon nodded to himself and studied the captain. “As a favor to you, Captain, I’ll agree to this. We leave Galyan as he was—if that’s possible.”

“Thank you, sir,” Maddox said. “I appreciate it.”

“Good. That’s the right sort of attitude to have. Now, it seems like the Adoks should have a few professional AI specialists among them to help you with this.”

“I’ve asked and asked them about that these past months. Unfortunately, the Adoks are terrified of deified AIs, and I think they have good reason to be.”

“Yes,” Cook said, “but this is different, isn’t it?”

“Not for them, I’m afraid. They want nothing to do with Galyan, and I think we should honor them in this.”

Cook appeared perplexed. “Why have you called me about this then? You have your own expert on Galyan.”

“I wondered if you might have another idea about who to use.”

Cook shook his white-haired head. “Use Ludendorff, trust to the outcome and be done with it.”

“Yes, sir,” Maddox said. “Thank you for the permission.”

“Is that what I just gave you?” Cook eyed Maddox before scowling. “Did you just trick me?”

“Of course not.”

Through the screen, Cook eyed Maddox even more closely. Then, the old man of Star Watch waved Maddox on.

The operation to revive Galyan was about to commence.

***

The next day, as events continued in the Solar System, Professor Ludendorff and Chief Technician Andros Crank were the only two doing this. Captain Maddox attended them in the main AI-computer chambers in the center of Victory.

The captain watched closely. He owed the holographic entity, and he wanted to make sure Ludendorff didn’t try anything underhanded.

Ludendorff had a blanket laid out on the deck with a myriad of tools and small pieces of equipment. Andros had brought a red tool kit with different items to help him.

The two men worked tirelessly for hours.

Maddox forced them to take a break and remain off for an hour of rest.

The two resumed later, theoretically refreshed by their enforced rest.

“This is the key to what we’re attempting,” Ludendorff said later. “I’ve determined that this is where the memory of Ultimate Force Raylan and all that he said is kept.” The Methuselah Man indicated one separated section of servers and memory drives.

Andros appeared dubious. “Not just in there, surely, but bits and pieces throughout the various computers and AI banks.”

“No, no,” Ludendorff insisted. “This is where the main memory of the event has been stored. Trust me on this. It’s what I’ve been attempting to partition off this past hour.”

Andros didn’t comply, using a large screen, moving controls as he studied the computer section in question. It took the Kai-Kaus Chief Technician three hours before he agreed with Ludendorff’s assessment.

“I am a Methuselah Man after all. You need to trust me.”

“I’m a Kai-Kaus Chief Technician,” Andros said in a didactic tone, standing as straight as he could. “Trust and verify is one of my many credos.”

“In other words, you don’t trust anyone.”

“Not in these matters,” Andros said.

“Good,” Maddox said, clapping the thickset Kai-Kaus on the back.

Ludendorff scowled, but refrained from commenting further.

The work continued apace, with the two men putting in endless hours.

The next day, after they scoured all the files with meticulous detail, Ludendorff declared himself satisfied. “I hope you’re not going to disagree this time,” he told Andros.

Andros glanced at Maddox.

“Stick to your guns,” Maddox said.

Ludendorff snorted with disbelief. “If we do this now, he will be the old Galyan we know. This, I assure you.”

“I give that an eighty percent probability,” Andros said.

“Bah,” Ludendorff told him. “You’re so old-school, overly rigid in your doctrines.”

“I am a Kai-Kaus Chief Technician. Surely, that says it all.”

“Well?” Ludendorff asked Maddox. “Do we activate the poor sod or not?”

“I want you both to agree before we do this,” Maddox said.

Ludendorff threw up his hands.

Andros worked another three hours before he said that was satisfied and ready.

“It’s difficult for a Methuselah Man to work with a less-gifted individual,” Ludendorff declared loftily. “I see things so much faster and more thoroughly than others, no matter how suited they might seem for the task. It is a burden I have borne my entire life and bear yet.”

Andros didn’t seem to take offense by the declaration. He’d followed his Kai-Kaus tech codes as taught him by his grandfather. He was satisfied, and he hadn’t let the Methuselah Man browbeat him into a premature attempt at activation. Thus, they could proceed with the attempt.

“It will work,” Andros informed the captain.

“Who turns Galyan back on?” Maddox asked.

Ludendorff and Andros glanced at each other.

“I grant the privilege to the professor,” Andros said quickly.

Ludendorff opened his mouth, perhaps to dispute Andros’s right to choose. Finally, though, Ludendorff nodded and approached the main board. “This is it. Luck,” he said, pressing the control.

The Adok and human-meld family of computers and AI processors began to hum as of old.

Without further ado, Maddox hurried out of the main chamber into the anteroom, and he was the first to see Driving Force Galyan appear once more as a holoimage.

-99-

Galyan stood as he had many times before. This time, however, the little Adok holoimage touched his torso as if testing himself.

“Hello, Galyan,” Maddox said, who was grinning despite his best efforts not to.

Galyan looked up and cocked his head. “What is it, sir? You seem inordinately pleased with yourself. That is according to my personality profile on you.”

Instead of answering, Maddox asked, “How do you feel?”

As the captain spoke, Ludendorff and Andros stepped out of the main AI chamber and into the anteroom, with Andros shutting the hatch behind them.

“Why am I here?” asked Galyan.

“What’s the last thing you remember?” Maddox asked.

“Remember? Remember? Oh,” Galyan said. “I spoke with someone important. We discussed…why cannot I remember what happened? Does that not strike you three as odd?”

“No,” Ludendorff said.

“Wait,” Galyan said. “Why were you two in my main AI chamber? What has gone wrong?”

“What day and month is it?” Maddox asked.

Ludendorff glanced at Maddox and nodded sagely.

“I have lost months of time,” Galyan said abruptly. “We were in the Glenna Nebula, in a star system there. Now…” He looked at them astonished. “We are back in Earth orbit. Someone had better tell me what occurred. Have I been damaged?”

“That’s a good way to say it,” Ludendorff said.

“Now I am intensely curious. What happened?”

“I’d tell you to sit down,” Maddox said. “Instead, you should listen carefully without interrupting, and I’ll tell you a tale indeed.”

“I can agree to this,” Galyan said.

Then, Captain Maddox proceeded to tell Galyan exactly what happened to them in the Gowon System with the deified AIs, Ultimate Force Raylan and the living Adoks at the first planet.

“I did what?” asked Galyan. “Are you sure this is true?”

“It’s true,” Ludendorff said.

“But I would never…” Galyan turned away from them. A few seconds later, he turned back. “Did Ultimate Force Raylan corrupt me? Is that why I told him where the Adoks were hiding?”

“That’s a good way to say it,” Maddox said. “I don’t think you wanted the corruption, but he was evil and did it to you anyway.”

“That is an interesting concept,” Galyan said. “A deified AI entity can be evil. Did you not say he was mad?”

“Mad, insane, irrational,” Ludendorff said. “What’s the correct way to say it? I don’t know. His goal is certainly evil. He wishes to eradicate all living Adoks. That’s genocide, an evil action. He murdered at least thirty thousand of the last living Adoks.”

“How horrible,” Galyan said. “I cannot believe I told him what I did. It was unconscionable. Where are the survivors? There were survivors, yes?”

“Yes,” Maddox said. “They’re here.”

“In low Earth orbit?” asked Galyan.

“No, but near Luna,” Maddox said.

“This is wonderful news,” Galyan said. “I am so happy. I must speak to them and apologize for what I did. There are so many things I wish to say, to learn and—”

“Ahem,” Maddox said, interrupting.

“What is wrong, sir?”

Maddox shook his head. “I don’t know how to say this nicely, Galyan. But the Adoks are terrified of you. They do not wish to speak to you, as they fear all deified AIs.”

“This cannot be true,” Galyan said. “What I did was a mistake. Ultimate Force Raylan corrupted me. They must see that. Andros, this cannot be so.”

“I’m afraid it is, Galyan,” Andros said. “The Adoks begged us to keep you offline while we traveled through the nebula together.”

“But I am not like Raylan.”

“Because we purged those memories and subroutines from you,” Ludendorff said.

“What?” Galyan said.

“Let me explain,” Maddox said. And he did, going into detail about all the things that had happened.

It left the little Adok holoimage crestfallen, shaking his head.

“I’m sorry, Galyan,” Maddox said, “I really am.”

Galyan did not reply, but stared unmoving at a distant point on the bulkhead.

The three men looked at each other.

A few seconds later, Galyan stirred. “All my life I have wanted to find the Adok survivors of my homeworld and help them reestablish our race.”

“That isn’t true,” Ludendorff said. “You’ve only wanted that a short time. You’ve done your duty and you helped us find the Adoks. You should concentrate on that.”

“I almost helped murder my race,” Galyan said in a forlorn voice. “I am sick with the thought of that.”

Maddox cleared his throat. “Galyan, listen to me. I hope you’re listening.”

“I am,” Galyan said glumly.

“You’ve helped me many times. You’ve saved my life and the starship more than once. You’re one of my good friends.”

“I am just a machine,” Galyan said, “a machine that tried to betray his race.”

“I don’t buy that about you being a mere machine,” Maddox said. “And remember that Raylan likely had great experience at corrupting other deified AIs. You were not the first he had done that to.”

“He was the great AI tempter,” Galyan said.

“Corrupter,” Maddox said. “He used you in a malicious way. That’s over with now, though.”

“I am glad for that, at least.” Galyan studied the captain. “You do not think I am just a machine?”

“That isn’t how we see you,” Maddox said.

“Do you think I am more than a machine?”

“It sure feels that way.”

“But you do not believe that deep down in your heart.”

“I’m not sure,” Maddox said, hedging. “If you’re not real in the same way we are, you hold the memories and ways of the original Driving Force Galyan. You are a picture of him, and we love you and him for that. We owe you, Galyan, and we on Victory pay our debts in the end. That’s why we’ve worked to save you from what Raylan did to you, the friend we’ve all known.”

“Yes,” Galyan said. “I realize that. Thank you for your efforts. It pleases me to name you as my friends, as my family. I truly cannot go speak with the surviving Adoks?”

“Not right now,” Maddox said. “Maybe in time you can. I’ve told them about you. I’ve told them because of you that we Earthlings want to take a chance on the Adok race. In a way, because you’ve been such a good friend, Star Watch is going to use every effort to make sure your race survives. That is a great and mighty gift you’ve given to your people. I have no doubt your name will go down as a protector extraordinaire of the Adok race.”

“Do you mean that, sir?”

“I absolutely do,” Maddox said.

“He’s right, you stupid AI,” Ludendorff said. “The captain is one hundred percent right about you, meaning I agree with him about you.”

Galyan eyed the professor, and he said in awe, “You are speaking what you think of as truth. I recognize that from your personality profile.”

“There you are,” Ludendorff said.

“You’re a great Adok, Galyan,” Andros said. “And you’re one in a select number.”

“What do you mean, Andros?”

“You belong to the people who Captain Maddox has rescued from oblivion. I ought to know, because I’m one too.”

“Oh, brother,” Ludendorff said, rolling his eyes. “Now this is getting thick.”

“He’s saved your sorry ass too, old man,” Andros told Ludendorff. “When have you ever thanked him for it?”

“Bah,” Ludendorff said.

“No need for all that,” Maddox said. “This is about Galyan. I know you’re sad—”

“Excuse me for interrupting you, sir,” Galyan said. “But I am no longer sad. I have helped save my race. I do think in time I will be able to speak to them face to face. Until such time, though, I will still be with my family aboard Victory. For today, that is enough.”

Maddox grinned. “I’m glad to hear it.”

“Hear, hear,” Ludendorff said. “Driving Force Galyan is back.”

“And with that, gentlemen,” Maddox said, “I really should be leaving. It’s time for me to go see my daughter.”

“By all means,” Galyan said. “Go see Jewel, and please give her my regards.”

***

Taking a shuttle from Victory, Maddox went to the Carson City spaceport. From there, he took a flitter to his ranch.

He raced into the house to find Mary O’Hara, Meta and Jewel watching a holo-vid cartoon. The captain swept up his daughter as she squealed with delight.

“Daddy, daddy, you’re home.”

“I am, my darling girl. I’ve missed you so much.”

“I’ve missed you, Daddy.”

“I love you.”

“I love you.”

Maddox laughed with delight and joy, amazed at how good he felt hugging his little girl.

Both Mary and Meta beamed with delight as they watched the father and daughter reunion continue with more hugs and kisses as the Maddox household bubbled over with love and joy in each other’s company.

-100-

As Captain Maddox watched cartoons with Jewel, Meta and Mary O’Hara, far, far away in a different star system, one beyond the Commonwealth of Planets, Grutch was having an eventful meeting.

The mercenary had landed on an asteroid, left his stealth ship and entered a particular room. There, he spoke via screen with a hidden sponsor, the one that had sent him out to kidnap Captain Maddox.

Grutch related many of the events that had taken place trying to capture the captain of Starship Victory.

The sponsor did not respond.

Even so, Grutch could feel the displeasure emanating through the screen. The sponsor held great hatred toward Captain Maddox. Grutch could feel that in his gelatinous bulk, and it gave him hope for a better bargain.

At last, Grutch finished his tale.

Only now did the screen vibrate and a mechanical voice speak in the Morag tongue to Grutch, “You have failed us, Morag.”

“I have faced setbacks. That part is true. Failure is only failure if one ceases to try.”

“Where is Captain Maddox? He is not in your possession and not now in mine. You have failed.”

“Only for now. He is the elusive Captain Maddox,” Grutch said, who used a small hidden sensor to attempt to pierce the species type behind the screen.

“What do you mean to imply by that?”

“It’s simple,” Grutch said. “I want more bars of tellurium. Captain Maddox is highly dangerous even for one such as I.”

“You’re here to bargain for more after your inept failure?”

“You did not tell me about Maddox’s various special and unique, even inhuman abilities. If there is failure here, it is yours as much as mine.”

“Vain beast of a Morag, this is intolerable.”

“Yet it is true,” Grutch dared say.

There was silence as the screen ceased vibrating. Grutch wondered if he had gone too far. His sponsors might not be who he thought they were. They might be some gross alien species instead.

“We hired you because we heard you are the best.”

“I am the best,” Grutch said.

“Vain boasts are useless to us. We desire Captain Maddox in the flesh, breathing so we may…deal with him in our own way.”

“Then hire me truly,” Grutch said. “Don’t try to go cheap. If you have the best, pay the best, and you’ll receive the best.”

“Your failure is galling and your lecture even more so.”

“I grow weary of this. Either offer me more or I’ll take my services elsewhere.”

“No,” spoken hastily. “No,” the voice said more slowly. “We will offer you more, mercenary. But this time, we demand that you succeed.”

“First, tell me how much you’ll offer. Second, tell me all you know about Maddox. Then, you will gain the great prize.”

The hidden sponsor did just that. The amount offered surprised Grutch. This was very interesting indeed. After the hidden one told him all he knew about Maddox, the amount made more sense.

“Can you do it, Morag? Can you kidnap and bring us Captain Maddox.”

“Yes,” Grutch said. “I will have to hire some help and buy some new tech—yes. I can do this.”

“Then go,” the hidden one said. “Bring us Captain Maddox as soon as you can.”

Grutch rotated his great bulk, slithering away, already envisioning how he could successfully capture the arrogant Captain Maddox and win many bars of rich tellurium and increase his fame as a bounty hunter extraordinaire. Yes. This time, with the added tech and muscle, he would succeed.

THE END

From the Author: Thanks Reader! I hope you’ve enjoyed THE LOST NEBULA. If you liked the book and would like to see the story continue, please put up some stars and a review to support the series. Let me know what you would like Captain Maddox and the crew to challenge next!

-VH