The Lost Artifact Page 15

  Tears filled the captain’s eyes, and the pain exploded to a heightened level in his head. This time, he felt the wheels turn slowly like giant gears in a vast machine. Something awful was occurring in his mind. It could kill him if he tried to resist.

  With the knowledge of his nearness to death came an opening of the inner eye. In a moment of clarity, Maddox saw opposing forces swirling toward a central point. That point was him— No! The point was Starship Victory.

  With the realization, his sight returned. Although he remained on his hands and knees, Maddox looked up into the woman’s eyes. He realized—

  “You’re a Spacer spy,” Maddox whispered. “You have brain modifications. You did something to Doctor Lister during the operation. She deliberately left the fibers in my brain so at your convenience, you could tamper with them and thus with me.”

  The red-haired woman shook her head, and she looked at him with pity. “I don’t have time to reprogram your mind, Captain. That’s too bad for you. We could have used you. But you’re simply too stubborn. We could have—”

  Those were her last words. A shot rang out from somewhere. Then her head exploded as a heavy slug spattered her skull and sprayed brains everywhere.

  With a sickening thud, her body thumped against the floor.

  Maddox gasped. Pain. He clutched his head, and with a moan, he collapsed unconscious onto the floor.

  -37-

  If Maddox dreamed, he couldn’t remember. He was unconscious for fourteen hours. Finally, he awoke and found himself in medical.

  Sergeant Riker looked up from where he sat. Riker was an old salt in Star Watch Service. The man had been with Maddox for many years already. The sergeant had leathery features, a bionic eye and a bionic left arm. As per orders, Riker was armed.

  “Feeling better?” the sergeant asked in his gruff voice.

  “Not particularly,” Maddox said. “My head hurts and my eyesight is blurry.”

  The captain made to get up and found himself in restraints.

  “What is the meaning of this?” Maddox asked.

  “You were thrashing in your sleep, sir. The doctor didn’t want you falling out of bed.”

  “Undo these straps immediately.”

  “Uh…I’m sorry, sir—”

  “Sergeant—” Maddox said. The captain stopped talking. “Is this because of Doctor Lister?”

  “That’s right, sir. She’s in critical condition. You hit her hard.”

  “Did Valerie order this?” Maddox asked, while thinking fast.

  “That she did, sir.”

  “Tell Valerie to get down here on the double.”

  Riker glanced elsewhere. “I don’t have to, sir. The lieutenant is here.”

  The sergeant backed away as Lieutenant Noonan stepped up to the med-cot. She had a stern cast to her features, looking down at Maddox with a reproving glance.

  “That’s enough, Sergeant,” Valerie said without looking at him. “You’re dismissed.”

  “Riker,” Maddox said. “Valerie is under someone else’s control. Disarm her at once.”

  With the twist of her neck, Valerie gave the sergeant a scathing glance. Instead of the result she wanted, her head swayed back, possibly due to the heavy caliber gun in Riker’s human hand aimed at her.

  “This is ridiculous,” Valerie said. “Put that away and report to Security.”

  “Sit down,” Riker told her.

  “This is mutiny,” Valerie said.

  “This is Starship Victory,” Riker countered. “We’ve been under constant attack throughout the years by all kinds of subtle and hidden enemies. It wouldn’t surprise me to find out you’re an android. We took on Yen Cho, right. Who knows what kind of master plan he’s set up against us?”

  Valerie continued to frown. Her frown wasn’t at Riker anymore. She seemed to frown inwardly at herself.

  “Did someone odd come to see you earlier?” Maddox asked her.

  Valerie swiveled about and stared down at Maddox. “What do you mean?” she asked.

  Maddox calculated quickly. “Step away from my bed,” he said.

  Valerie raised her chin haughtily.

  Before she could do anything else, Riker shoved her with his bionic arm. She catapulted sideways, hitting the far wall with a thump. The sergeant didn’t fiddle with the straps holding Maddox, he ripped them off with his bionic hand.

  Maddox sat up. His head still hurt like blazes, but at least he wasn’t trapped like a beast. He climbed over the cot’s railing and leaned against the bed.

  This was getting complicated. He’d been asleep fourteen hours. Did that mean hidden foes had run of Victory for those fourteen hours?

  “You’ll be court-martialed for that,” Valerie told Riker as she sat on the floor.

  “I’ve done worse,” Riker said.

  “Galyan,” Maddox said into the air.

  The holoimage appeared. He glanced at Riker, Maddox and then Valerie.

  “Is this mutiny, Valerie?” Galyan asked her.

  “Yes,” she said. “Summon the marines. Put these two in the brig. If they resist, tell the marines to shoot to kill.”

  “It is as I thought,” Galyan said. “You are not yourself, Valerie. Captain,” the little holoimage said, “what are your orders, sir?”

  “Get Meta,” Maddox said, “and tell Andros to come along. I want to get to the bottom of this as soon as possible.”

  ***

  Fifteen minutes later, Meta and Andros joined the others. Galyan also reappeared.

  “This is a tight fit,” Maddox said. They were all in the same med room. “But for the moment I don’t want anyone else to know what’s going on.”

  He explained what had happened to him with Doctor Lister and the mind-attacking spy fourteen hours ago.

  “I assume you shot her,” Maddox said to Riker.

  “Yes, sir,” the sergeant said. “I felt terrible shooting a woman. It still bothers me. I did it because…there was something badly off about her. It was a gut sense.”

  Riker had dealt with the Ska, although in a different manner than Maddox. Just like the captain, the sergeant wasn’t the same.

  “Has anyone done an autopsy on the woman?” Maddox asked.

  “No,” Galyan said.

  “Did you scan her?” Maddox asked.

  “Valerie gave strict orders that I was to leave the body alone,” the holoimage said.

  “Where is the corpse now?” asked Maddox.

  “In the morgue,” Galyan said.

  “Check it,” Maddox said. “Report back as soon as you confirm it’s still there.”

  Galyan disappeared and reappeared a moment later. “The corpse is gone, Captain.”

  Maddox turned to Valerie. “What did you do with it?”

  “Me?” the frowning lieutenant asked. “Not a thing.”

  “Galyan?” asked Maddox.

  “I cannot assess whether Valerie is telling the truth or not,” the holoimage said.

  “Let’s assume the lieutenant is,” Maddox said, as he studied Valerie. “That means someone else removed the corpse. My guess is that the corpse is gone for good, that it is no longer on the ship.”

  “This hidden someone wanted to hide the woman’s identity?” Riker asked.

  “Exactly,” Maddox said. “But I believe I already know her allegiance; to the Spacers. The red-haired woman likely had Shu-like adaptations, as the Spacers call them.”

  Shu had been a Spacer agent. At first, Shu had worked against Maddox and the crew, but had later chosen to help them escape a terrible fate one thousand light-years from the Commonwealth. Shu had died before the terrible war with the Swarm Invasion Fleet. She had died from sabotage in her prison in South Africa Region. Her adaptations had been tiny Builder devices implanted in her body, powered by a Builder power pack, also inside her body. Shu had been able to disrupt electric systems and practice transduction. She had been able to see electromagnetic radiation and electromagnetic wavelengths and process the d
ata as fast as a computer.

  “What do you think the Spacers want?” Meta asked Maddox.

  “Likely the same thing Yen Cho wants,” the captain replied. “The spy wanted me to kill the android. I think she wanted to kill the competition.”

  “I have a question,” Galyan said.

  Maddox nodded.

  “Could Yen Cho have planted the red-haired agent?” Galyan asked. “He had the woman order you to destroy him. In that way, the android validates his presence here.”

  “That’s not bad, Galyan,” Maddox said. “The answer is that we don’t know. I think you’ll find if you search Doctor Lister that she has a small device in her brain. I don’t think it was a Spacer adaptation or a brain implant like they put in my brain at Smade’s, but a device the Spacer agent could use with electromagnetic modifications.”

  “That should be easy to verify,” Galyan said.

  “What about Valerie?” Meta asked.

  “We can check that easily enough, too,” Maddox said. “Galyan, if you will.”

  “Sir,” the holoimage said. “You are correct. There is a tiny device lodged near Valerie’s brain.”

  “Amazing,” Andros said. “How did you know all this, Captain?”

  “I didn’t,” Maddox said. “It was a guess. There may be another Spacer agent or more on the ship. We will have to proceed slowly. First, though, I want all the stray fibers removed from my brain. I do not want any more handles for Spacer or other agents to use against me.”

  “Such removal could prove difficult,” Galyan said.

  “Nevertheless,” Maddox said. “I believe it is imperative before we proceed.”

  “What do we do with Valerie in the meantime?” Riker asked.

  “We’ll have her device removed first, before my surgery,” Maddox said. “Now, listen. This is how we’re going to do this…”

  -38-

  Valerie came to in the med center with a splitting headache. Worse, she found Maddox, Riker, Meta, Andros Crank and Galyan encircling her med-cot, staring down at her expectantly.

  It hit the lieutenant, then. Maddox had guessed right about a device in her head.

  “Sir,” Valerie said. She tried to moisten a much too dry mouth and realized her bottom lip had cracked.

  “Just a minute,” Meta said. She left the cot and returned with a glass of water. Helping Valerie sit up, Meta held the water cup for her.

  The water tasted good, seeming to sink into her flesh like water in a desert. Valerie drained the cup, gasping afterward.

  “Another one?” Meta asked.

  Valerie nodded even as she sensed the captain’s impatience. The lieutenant gulped down the second glass of water, but she declined a third, despite how much as she wanted it.

  “I guess you’re waiting to know what I remember,” Valerie said.

  “Indeed,” Maddox said.

  Valerie sat up so the others didn’t seem like gang members casing the wounded victim.

  “Let me see,” Valerie said. “There was a…a warrant officer. He told me there was trouble in computing. The chief needed a decision on a faulty processor, and he had asked for me to hurry. I should have checked over the comm, but I didn’t. Anyway, once I got to computing, the warrant officer turned on me. The man used a stunner, a small handheld device. I collapsed and couldn’t move, and it was hard to hear. I remember a woman showing up and pressing an implement against the back of my head. She must have inserted the device.”

  “What did the woman look like?” Maddox asked.

  “I didn’t get a good look at her, or if I did, I don’t remember. She had soft hands, long red hair—”

  “That’s all I need to hear,” Maddox said, interrupting. “Red hair, it was obviously the same agent. What was the warrant officer’s name?”

  “Uh…” Valerie said. “Warrant Officer Smalls, Ted Smalls.”

  “Galyan,” Maddox snapped. “Where is the warrant officer presently?”

  “A moment, sir,” Galyan said, as his eyelids fluttered. The holoimage’s eyes widened suddenly. “Ted Smalls is dead in his quarters, sir.”

  “Go there at once,” Maddox told Galyan. “Determine what killed him. Return as soon as you find out.”

  Galyan disappeared and reappeared almost instantly. “There is a tiny puncture wound in his head, sir. I doubt it was self-inflicted. There is more. The corpse is rank. Is that the correct word?”

  “He smells bad?” Maddox asked.

  “That is so,” Galyan said. “I believe Warrant Officer Smalls has been dead for many days.”

  Maddox inhaled sharply through his nostrils. “I no longer think the red-haired woman was a Spacer agent. I’m beginning to suspect androids using Spacer equipment. We’re going to have resort to the old methods to flush out the remaining androids. It seems doubtful there are too many of them aboard. If there were, they would have tried to take over by now.

  “Galyan,” Maddox said. “Is Yen Cho still alive?”

  “Is that a trick question, sir?” Galyan asked. “In a strict sense, is the android a living being?”

  “Is Yen Cho presently functional?” Maddox amended.

  Once more, Galyan’s eyelids fluttered. “Yes, sir. Yen Cho is still in the brig under guard.”

  “We’ll leave him there for now,” Maddox said. He turned to Valerie. “How are you feeling?”

  “My head hurts like Hell, but otherwise, I’m okay.”

  “You’ll rest,” Maddox said. “Meta, you’re going to stay and guard her.”

  Meta’s eyes flashed. “You just want me out of the way for whatever you’re planning.”

  “That’s preposterous,” Maddox said, although it was the truth. “I can’t trust anyone else to keep Valerie alive. Galyan will check on you every fifteen minutes. I want to find the android impersonating Ted Smalls. He may have already switched identities.”

  “Do you believe the possibly hidden android is working with Yen Cho?” Galyan asked.

  “I have no idea,” Maddox said. “Now, listen. Here’s what we’re doing next.”

  -39-

  Maddox waited on the bridge as Victory’s crew, one after another, went through a thorough medical scan. Armed marines stood everywhere, watching, waiting for an interior sneak attack.

  None happened.

  After four and half hours of med scanning, a doctor informed the captain that everyone checked out. There was no hidden android aboard ship.

  Maddox sat in the captain’s chair, contemplating the information. It was wrong. There had to be at least one android aboard the starship. How could he have been wrong about that?

  The captain pressed the intercom button on his armrest. “Doctor,” he asked. “Are you absolutely sure you’ve checked everyone?”

  “I haven’t checked you out, sir, or Riker, Meta or—just a minute, sir. One of my aides wishes to tell me something.”

  Maddox sat back. Riker, Meta or him. That was preposterous. He hadn’t made love to an android. He knew his Meta. That could only leave Riker. Yet, he was certain the sergeant couldn’t possibly—

  “Sir,” the doctor said over the comm.

  “Yes,” Maddox said.

  “There is one other person we didn’t check. The mercenary pilot…what’s her name?”

  “Finlay,” Maddox whispered. Could he have brought an android onto the starship by mistake?

  “Thank you, Doctor,” the captain said. “I’ll take it from here.”

  Maddox clicked off the comm, stood and beckoned the holoimage. “Where’s Finlay?” he quietly asked Galyan.

  The holoimage’s eyelids fluttered, searching. “I can’t find her, sir.”

  “Look everywhere,” Maddox said. “She can’t have gotten off the starship that easily.”

  Galyan accessed the video feeds throughout the ship, but came up empty. He made two sweeps to make sure, but nothing changed.

  Maddox put his hands behind his back and began to pace. Normally, he did not do so on the bridge.
He stopped as he noticed the bridge personnel glancing sidelong at him. When he was visibly nervous, it made the crew nervous. He stopped pacing and bent his head in thought. There had to be a logical explanation for this.

  If Finlay had been an android, or possibly a Spacer spy… No. That didn’t hold water. Before using her to help him infiltrate onto the asteroid, he’d checked out Finlay himself. She was exactly what she had advertised herself to be: a mercenary pilot with contacts inside Smade’s Asteroid. Maddox had been quite thorough with her.

  Yet, Finlay had disappeared—

  Maddox snapped his fingers. He turned to Galyan, noting the holoimage watching him. The captain returned to his chair, sitting on its edge.

  The androids or Spacers had made the switch on Smade’s Asteroid. The enemy must have recognized him and understood his ploy. Enemy agents had likely killed the real Finlay in order to set an imposter in her place. That would mean he had brought an enemy agent aboard ship.

  It would seem…the agent had impersonated Warrant Officer Ted Smalls. Smalls had been a man and he’d already been dead when Valerie had seen his imposter. That meant the imposter—

  “Is an android,” Maddox said.

  The old legend of the Rull was that they had been an alien race that could impersonate humans. In reality, on Sind II, they had learned that the Android Nation were the Rull. The androids made exact look-alikes to impersonate chosen people.

  It would seem this Finlay had been able to look like Ted Smalls, a man, but similar in height to the mercenary pilot. Logically, then, Finlay hadn’t been a Spacer, a human, but an android that could switch identities almost at will by replacing his or her face with a replica and modifying their body, possibly with a kit.

  Maddox’s eyes narrowed. He felt as if he had almost solved the puzzle. Finlay had turned into Ted Smalls. The android had then become Finlay again and gone to the briefing. But…if the android knew her cover had been blown, she would attempt to escape off the starship. She would not make the attempt as Finlay, but as—

  Maddox snapped his fingers again. He stood and faced Galyan. “Check the hangar bay. Check for any unusual activity by any person. In particular, look for someone trying to leave the ship.”