The Lost Colony (Lost Starship Series Book 4) Read online

  Last voyage, Victory had fought silver drones in the strange system. The drones had used the same fusion beams New Men star cruisers employed. The conclusion had been obvious: the New Men had stolen or acquired the Builder weapons by plundering such a place with Strand’s help. The drones could well have been the reason for the system’s terrible reputation.

  “There it is,” Valerie said. “I’ve found the Laumer-Point.”

  Maddox straightened. On the main screen, the wormhole opening appeared near the gas giant’s stratosphere.

  “This is going to be a tight fit, sir,” Valerie said.

  “Is the message beacon ready?” Maddox asked.

  “Aye-aye, sir,” Keith said.

  “Launch it.”

  Valerie cleared her throat.

  “Is something the matter, Lieutenant?” Maddox asked.

  “Shouldn’t we wait to launch the packet, sir?” she asked. “We’re still too far to activate the Laumer-Point.”

  “Of course,” Maddox said.

  Once again, Valerie and Keith traded glances.

  Maddox wanted to pull the cloth back out and wipe the sweat off his forehead. Their actions had begun to irritate him.

  Valerie appeared as if she wanted to add something. Finally, she turned back to her panel.

  Ten minutes later, Keith spoke up, “I’m in range, sir. Should I launch the packet?”

  “Do it,” Maddox said.

  Keith tapped his board. A few seconds later, a small missile left the starship.

  “The gas giant is affecting its trajectory,” Valerie said. “Its—”

  “I have it under control,” Galyan said, who chose this moment to appear.

  The missile had begun to veer off course. Now, it continued straight for the wormhole, zipping into it and disappearing from the main screen.

  “The packet is on its way,” Keith said. “Thanks for the tractor beam, Galyan.”

  “You are welcome,” the holoimage said.

  Maddox swiveled his chair toward the bridge exit so the others couldn’t see him. He pulled out his cloth again, wiping his face. As he completed the turn, he tucked the handkerchief away.

  “How long should we wait, sir?” Keith asked.

  “Two hours will be good,” Maddox said.

  Valerie waited, finally saying, “Should we wait a little farther from the gas giant?”

  “See that it’s done,” Maddox told Keith.

  The message missile would enter the Xerxes System and broadcast to Port Admiral Hayes that Victory was coming through. They didn’t want to surprise the admiral and have him accidently order the flotilla to open fire on the ancient vessel if the flotilla was near the wormhole exit.

  Time passed slowly for Maddox. He felt wretched. Why didn’t his body heal faster as it usually did? He wasn’t used to such prolonged weakness.

  Once again, he shifted his position on the chair, searching for a way to relax without his wound touching the backrest. A little later, his eyelids grew heavy. He fought it for a time. Then—

  “Sir!” Keith said, loudly.

  Maddox’s head snapped up as he opened his eyes. He was disoriented for just a moment. His mouth tasted awful and—

  The captain’s lips firmed. He realized that he’d fallen asleep in the command chair. He felt foolish, like an old man. That bothered him more than he cared to admit.

  Both Valerie and Keith seemed absorbed with their boards. Hadn’t the ace just shouted?

  “You should return to sickbay,” Galyan said.

  “No,” Maddox said.

  “You snored, sir,” the holoimage said.

  Valerie looked up, shaking her head at Galyan.

  Maddox drew a deep breath and realized his joints didn’t ache as much as before. In fact, the flu-like feeling had lessened.

  “The nap refreshed me,” Maddox said in a crisp voice. “Are we ready to jump?”

  “Yes, sir,” Keith said.

  “Let’s do this.”

  “Are you sure, sir?” Valerie asked.

  An angry retort almost left the captain’s mouth. He settled back in the chair and nearly lurched out of it as his wound touched the fabric. A tremor washed through him, and the renewed flu-like feeling almost made him gag.

  Maddox forced himself to sit up slowly and then stand, locking his knees. He was going to force himself to act normally even though he felt off.

  “What are you waiting for, Second Lieutenant?” he asked.

  “Ah, shouldn’t you sit down, sir?” Keith asked.

  Maddox reached into his jacket, putting his hand on the cloth. He squeezed it so a knuckle popped. Then, he removed the hand without extracting the handkerchief. Only then did he sit down.

  “Maneuvering for the Xerxes System entry,” Keith said.

  On the main screen, the wormhole expanded. So did the massive, atmospheric-swirling gas giant.

  “Planetary gravity has begun to affect our flight path,” Valerie said. “The gravity dampeners are at thirty percent. Thirty-three. Thirty-five. We’re skimming the outer surface.”

  “No problem, love,” Keith said.

  The wormhole entrance grew larger yet.

  Maddox gripped the armrests. He wasn’t looking forward to this.

  “Three, two, one…” Keith said. “We’re entering the Laumer-Point.”

  Starship Victory fell into the wormhole, zipping a little over three light-years in less than two seconds, popping out on the other side in the Xerxes System.

  ***

  Maddox raised his head. The others were still in the grip of Jump Lag. Galyan did nothing. The AI was always the worst affected.

  To the captain’s surprise, he no longer sweated. In fact, the ache in his joints had abated and he felt…good.

  Maddox flexed his right hand and moved the shoulder near the wound. That tugged at the wounded flesh and sent a spike of pain there. He winced. It throbbed for a moment but it was more bearable now.

  The others began to revive. Ten minutes later, Galyan solidified.

  “The sensors are rebooting,” Valerie said.

  “Initiate scan,” Maddox said. “Any messages yet?”

  “No, sir,” Valerie said.

  “Do you see the packet?”

  “I do, sir. It’s right where it should be.”

  “Are there any messages in its files?” Maddox asked.

  Valerie tapped her board. “No, sir, nothing.”

  “Galyan?” Maddox asked.

  The holoimage shook his head. “I haven’t received any signals, sir.”

  Keith adjusted his controls.

  Maddox studied the main screen. The Xerxes System had several planets and a tight, manufactured asteroid belt. Deep within that collection of rocks, asteroids and hidden drone bases was the Nexus, a silver pyramid with an incredible power to send a starship over one hundred light-years in a single super-jump.

  “No message buoys?” Maddox asked.

  “Nothing,” Keith said. The ace turned around. “Could the system be empty of ships, sir?”

  “Galyan, take us toward the asteroid belt while remaining at full alert. Scan for anything unusual. Port Admiral Hayes went from Earth directly to the Xerxes System. He should be here. Maybe he’s on the other side of the star.”

  “Maybe,” Keith said, “unless Builder drones took him out.”

  “I doubt that,” Valerie said. “Admiral Hayes was to proceed with utmost caution. I studied his record when I used to work for the Lord High Admiral. Hayes would be the last person to let others take him by surprise.”

  “Any sign of a space battle?” Maddox asked.

  “Negative,” Galyan said.

  “His flotilla can’t just have disappeared,” Valerie said.

  “We have yet another mystery,” the ace said.

  “Keep scanning,” Maddox said. “Galyan, I want the disruptor cannon ready.”

  “Affirmative,” the AI said.

  The starship headed for the asteroid be
lt, the shields at full power and the main armaments primed for firing.

  Four hours later, Valerie shook her head. “Sir, there’s no sign of silver drones, no sign of New Men star cruisers and absolutely no sign of Port Admiral Hayes. This star system is empty.”

  “I’m open to suggestions,” Maddox said.

  Valerie swiveled around to face him. “Sir, we must approach the Nexus. But I urge extreme caution. This doesn’t make sense but the silver pyramid strikes me as the most likely reason for whatever has gone wrong.”

  “Unless weapons-portals appeared and sent missiles at the Port Admiral’s flotilla,” Keith said.

  “Show me the debris,” Valerie said. “Show me the radiation signatures. There hasn’t been a battle here since we fought the drones.”

  “Did Hayes leave the system?” Keith asked.

  “That seems like the only explanation,” Maddox said.

  “Why would he leave?” the ace asked.

  “Maybe someone forced him to,” Valerie said.

  Maddox regarded the holoimage. “You haven’t suggested anything, Galyan. Do you have an opinion?”

  “I do,” Galyan said. “The port admiral’s disappearance would suggest someone has readied the Xerxes System for us. The Ludendorff AI desired you here, as did the Shanghai androids.”

  “Maybe Ludendorff is really stuck in the Nexus,” Maddox said.

  “I give that a thirty-five percent probability.”

  “What is the greatest probability?” Maddox asked.

  “That our hidden enemy wishes to capture you,” Galyan said.

  “Why?” Maddox asked.

  “I have insufficient data to say.”

  “How will they make the attempt?” Maddox asked.

  “That seems clear,” Galyan said. “They will attempt it as you personally enter the Nexus to rescue Professor Ludendorff.”

  “I agree,” Maddox said. “Well, then, let’s get started.”

  “Sir?” Valerie asked.

  “Let’s head to the Nexus as you suggested,” Maddox said. “We need to see their next move if we’re going to use it to help us solve the mystery.”

  -27-

  Starship Victory spent the next day accelerating toward the Nexus’ known location. As the asteroids neared, the ancient vessel decelerated.

  On the bridge, Valerie threw her hands into the air. “This doesn’t make any sense. Wouldn’t the port admiral have left a message buoy or sent one of his ships back home? He knows how important knowledge is to Star Watch.”

  “You worry too much,” Keith said.

  They were alone on the bridge, the captain having told them several hours ago he was going to exercise.

  “And you don’t worry enough,” Valerie shot back. “I’ve never understood your carefree attitude. You know how harsh the universe is. Your brother’s strikefighter death—”

  “Leave my brother out of it, thank you.”

  Valerie turned from Keith, fiddling with her controls. She hated it when she shot her mouth off. Why couldn’t she learn to think before speaking? Her dad used to tell her to use her noggin before yapping, tapping a finger against her head while he said it.

  “Look,” she said. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean—”

  “It’s nothing,” Keith said.

  “No. It is. You—”

  “Lieutenant,” Keith said, sharply.

  Her teeth clicked together, and she held herself rigidly.

  The small ace frowned as he studied his board. He began shaking his head. “I…I don’t like talking about my brother. I miss him, you know.”

  Valerie nodded. She missed her dad.

  “He was the good one,” Keith said. “I’ve always been the troublemaker. It runs in my blood. I like to have fun. I like to race along the edge so I feel alive. He didn’t have to do it that way. He could read books, be normal…”

  “You must love working for the captain then,” Valerie said.

  “That I do,” Keith said, grinning. “The man has style.”

  “I bet he’s sleeping, not exercising.”

  “Are you kidding,” Keith said. “Don’t you know you and me would be howling like mad dogs if we took a shot like that? I’ve seen laser poisoning before during the Tau Ceti Conflict. It’s ugly. The captain—I can’t believe he’s even on his feet. He’s a superman.”

  Valerie snorted. “That makes two people who think so, you and the captain.”

  “Aye, me and the captain, two lonely people—”

  “Lonely!” Valerie exclaimed. “You think the captain is lonely?”

  “Oh, I do, love, I most certainly do. The man believes he’s an island, maybe because he’s had to be. He’s hard. I admit that. But he’s good, none better, if you ask me. Yes, I love serving on Victory. Let the good times roll, I say.”

  “What do you think happened to the port admiral?”

  Keith stared at the main screen. “This is a haunted star system. We know that, right?”

  “No.”

  Keith grinned. “Oh, aye, you know, but you want a steely world without ghosts. You want everything in its place because Detroit showed you what happens when civilization takes a vacation.”

  Valerie stared at Keith, surprised at his sudden insightfulness. “I think you’re right. I want order because of all the disorder I faced while growing up.”

  She checked her board. At the very edge of the asteroid field floated a medium-sized rock. Beyond it by several hundred kilometers was another, and another, and tens of thousands more just like it.

  “Better call the captain,” she said. “Victory is about to enter the minefield.”

  ***

  Maddox had indeed gone to his quarters to sleep. He lay in bed, having slept for several hours. Now, he debated taking a pain pill. The wound was healing, but much slower than it should, in his opinion.

  “Captain,” the intercom said.

  He swept back the covers and sat up gingerly.

  “Captain.”

  “I’m coming, I’m coming,” he said. Finally, he reached the intercom, clicking it. “Yes?”

  “We’re entering the asteroid belt, sir. We should be near the Nexus is three hours.”

  “Thank you,” he said. “I’ll be there shortly.”

  He pulled back the bandage, studying the angry-red skin around the burn. He swung his arm, testing the wound.

  “Ah…” he said, pressing the bandage back into place. He dressed, drank some water and strode through the corridors.

  Was Ludendorff waiting in the Nexus for him? The idea of leaving the ship and heading to the silver pyramid with Meta appealed to him on one level. He wondered how wise it would be, though.

  Soon, he found himself by Meta’s hatch. He knocked and she shouted for him to enter.

  Meta combed her hair before a mirror.

  “We’re entering the asteroid belt,” he said.

  “You’re wondering just how well I remember my time with Kane, aren’t you?” she said finally

  He nodded.

  “Too bad Dana isn’t here to help me replay the memories,” she said.

  “We’ll find her once we get back to Earth,” Maddox said.

  “What’s in the dome down in the Mid-Atlantic? I can’t stop thinking about it.”

  “I’m more concerned about what’s in the Nexus. The professor said he’s at 12-3-BB, whatever that means.”

  “Maybe once we’re inside it will make sense.”

  Maddox looked away. He was tired of this cat and mouse game. It struck him as Strand’s play. Would Strand trap him in the Nexus, or…?

  “If star cruisers appear, Galyan will destroy them piecemeal,” the captain said.

  “You still think this is about capturing Victory?”

  “What else could it be?” he asked.

  Meta shrugged.

  “Let’s go.”

  She rose, coming to him, beginning to hug him until he groaned painfully. She jerked back.

  “I
’m sorry,” she said. “I forgot about your wound. Are you—?”

  “I’m fine,” Maddox said, turning to go.

  “It’s okay to be injured,” she said. “You don’t have to be perfect all the time.”

  He nodded without turning back to her.

  “What is it, Maddox? Something more is troubling you.”

  She was right. But the problem was that it hovered just out of sight in his mind. It was as if all the pieces were there, spinning and rolling, and he couldn’t put them together. If he could jam them in the right sequence, he was certain he would know the game.

  The captain flexed his gun hand. He wanted to grapple against the hidden foe. This padding around in the dark was starting to get to him.

  It must be the laser burn. It will heal. I just have to give it time.

  “Wait,” she said.

  Maddox waited by the hatch.

  “Okay,” she said, slipping a compact weapon into her pocket.

  They left her room and hurried down the corridor.

  “Captain,” Galyan said, appearing beside them.

  Maddox nodded.

  “I’ve detected an anomaly near the Nexus.”

  “Yes,” Maddox said under his breath. Then, he broke into a sprint for the bridge.

  ***

  On the bridge, Maddox stood before the main screen. Meta had hurried to engineering. “What am I seeing?” he asked.

  The holoimage of Driving Force Galyan stood beside the captain. The image turned to look up at Maddox.

  The vast asteroid field surrounded the ancient structure of the Nexus. The Builder pyramid was massive, much bigger than Victory and larger even than the hugest containership used by the transport corporations.

  Beside the pyramid by three hundred kilometers was swirling space, a stellar whirlpool of silvery complexion.

  “Meta never said anything about this with her journey with Kane,” Maddox muttered.

  “We never saw anything like this last voyage, either,” Keith added. “It just appeared several minutes ago.”

  “What is it?” Maddox asked.

  “Unknown,” Galyan said.

  “What’s causing it?”

  “I am picking up strange signals from the Nexus,” Galyan said. “It is possible the pyramid is causing the…anomaly.”

  “Is there matter in it?” Maddox asked.