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  Dag turned to Rock. “Listen. Here are my orders.” And he gave them rapid-fire, as time could still be critical to succeeding impressively for the Queen.

  ***

  Dag could feel the nullity of the place as he rode an elevator up to a waiting shuttle parked in a surface hangar. The nullity made it harder to think and even stay awake. Each of them had taken stims, which helped a little. His mouth was drying out, and he was starting to feel nauseated.

  No wonder Surbus had been in a hurry to get underground. The Queen must have secretly injected the Merovingians just before launching through the QX-Tube, as he hadn’t felt this way earlier.

  Soon, the team exited the elevator and hurried to two waiting shuttles. A third of the Merovingians were staying below with Phelps and his people. Everyone else was with Dag. The shuttles would be packed, especially with the former independents coming along. The crazy thing was that he had fewer than one hundred Merovingians with him. This had been a costly assault, although the prize was fantastic.

  They boarded the shuttles. The shuttles took off, Rock flying theirs. The former independents explained how to get aboard the Koniggratz.

  “Come here,” Dag told a medic. “Give me another stim.”

  The man pressed a hypo against Dag, and compressed air hissed.

  Dag moved his jaw from side to side. He hated the null region. No wonder Surbus and the others had wanted to escape. Dag dearly hoped the Queen didn’t want him to stay here.

  With the extra stim taking effect, he breathed a little easier as the shuttles docked in the orbital Koniggratz.

  By the time Dag reached the bridge, he no longer felt nauseated, but his mouth was bone dry. He struggled to concentrate. How had Surbus done it? Had Helga kept secrets from him? He bet so. He was glad he’d killed the traitor. She was like Riker, damned Riker—

  Dag sat perfectly still. His thoughts were deteriorating. He felt himself reverting to Dagobert Dan.

  He rubbed his jaw and looked around until he caught the medic’s eye. The man came near.

  “Another stim,” Dag whispered.

  “Champion, I would caution against—”

  “Just do it,” Dag insisted, interrupting.

  The man pressed the hypo against his arm, injecting him with another shot.

  Soon, the Koniggratz left orbit and headed for the mighty silver ring. The bridge crew was antsy and nervous, and the medic gave one stim shot after another to them. He passed around bottled waters afterward, and the people guzzled like crazy.

  The Koniggratz neared the ring. A shaggy-headed woman from Phelps’ team stepped near Dag as he sat in the captain’s chair. She kept rubbing her runny nose as she coughed into a blood-speckled rag.

  “Are you okay?” Dag asked.

  She shook her head miserably.

  “How did Surbus resist the nullity all those times he went through the ring?” Dag asked.

  She coughed, checked her rag and then closed it. “Surbus was a bastard. He was the toughest among us. Helga was the next toughest. They resisted the null better than others.”

  “How?” demanded Dag.

  The woman shrugged her shoulders and shook her head.

  “Is the ring ready to send us?” Dag asked.

  “Call Phelps,” she said. “You have a direct line.”

  Dag forced himself to his feet, grabbed one of her triceps and caused her to stagger with him to the comm. Soon, Phelps appeared on the screen.

  “We’re ready, Phelps,” the woman said.

  “I see the Koniggratz on the screens down here,” Phelps said. “Head directly at the ring, for the middle, while maintaining your present velocity. The ring will activate as you approach. Stay in the area where you appear in normal space. The way back will activate ten minutes later. Head straight back and then return to the planet.”

  With that, the comm screen went blank.

  Dag released the woman, who rubbed her sore arm. “All right, people,” he said. “Get ready. We’re going through the ring so we can send a message to the Queen. We’re winning, and the Queen will reward us handsomely for giving her the mobile null region.”

  There should have been a cheer, but no one did. They all hated the nullity too much for that.

  Thankfully, Rock headed for the ring, which began to glow as the area in the center swirled ever so slowly.

  Dag practically collapsed in his seat, eager to leave the null region and think normally again back in regular space.

  -61-

  Maddox stood to the side, nodding. He knew the Methuselah Man still had it in him. He just hoped time was on their side.

  Ludendorff had figured out the location of the ring control room and some of the controls themselves. In the end, they compared to Builder methods as used on the Nexus Pyramids they’d visited before.

  The screen in here was massive, created to Builder scale. It was the same with the control panels. With a few quick taps, Ludendorff found and centered on the Koniggratz as the battleship approached the ring.

  “I haven’t managed to tap into the ring’s automated defenses yet,” Ludendorff said. “Meaning, I can’t attack the ship.”

  “Could we hail them?” Maddox asked.

  “Why would you want to do that?”

  Maddox didn’t have a reason, so he let the question slide.

  “Look!” Meta shouted.

  Both men turned as she pointed at running lights on a different wall. The lights shifted colors as machines began to hum with activity.

  “Ah,” Ludendorff said. “I suggest that’s the planetary control room running the ring, doing so through this control room.”

  Maddox frowned. “Is Surbus leaving so soon after landing?”

  “Maybe the invaders overpowered his people on the planet,” Meta said. “This is his last chance to live.”

  “We don’t know why Surbus is leaving,” Ludendorff said. “What we do know is that the people in the planetary control chamber are cooperating with whoever pilots the Koniggratz.”

  “Yes!” Maddox said. “That’s clear thinking, Professor. Could we stop the Koniggratz from using the ring?”

  Ludendorff stared at the other wall—the lights and machines running through sequences. “Not yet, I’m afraid. I’ve barely figured out to use to the ring’s sensors. It takes time to work out the ancient Builder reasoning. I’m good, but I have my limits, my boy.”

  Maddox started to pace. There was a proper amount of room to do so here. “The Koniggratz returned from normal space and went to the planet. It would seem it is now heading back to regular space. If whoever controls the Koniggratz is attempting to bargain further with Star Watch, that shouldn’t matter to us in the long run.”

  “What about this?” Ludendorff asked. “How would the people on the heavy planet contact Lisa Meyers if her flotilla is in normal space?”

  “There’s no mechanism that can send a message from the null region to normal space?” Maddox asked.

  “We don’t have anything like that,” Ludendorff said. “We have no idea if they do or not.”

  Maddox halted, staring at the huge screen, watching the Koniggratz as it approached the ring. “Professor, maybe you should hurry to the other side and see how they’re opening the way.”

  “No. I’m still working here. I have a system. That system isn’t running like a headless chicken at your whims. Let me do this my way, or it’s never going to get done.”

  Maddox wanted to grab the old sod and shake him good and hard. Ludendorff was so quarrelsome all the time. Just once, he wished the Methuselah Man would do exactly as ordered. Geniuses were such a pain in the ass.

  Thus, they watched as the Koniggratz neared the ring, heading directly for the center of the great metal circle.

  The control-room floor began to shiver, and the Koniggratz slipped out of view as it entered the ring. A great hum began, and the shivering intensified.

  “The marvel is working,” Ludendorff said in awe. “Can you conceive what
’s happening? The ring is opening a way into normal time and space. Imagine if it was shooting an asteroid.”

  “Professor!” shouted Maddox. “Can you strip away the Koniggratz’s inertia as it goes through?”

  “No! Confound it, I already told you. I take it a step at a time. I can’t figure everything out at once. I’m not a demigod. If I try to use my gut with such tech wonders as this, it will only end in disaster. I work fast, but give me a break, my boy. My mind needs time to absorb each lesson.”

  “We’re trying to save the Earth from destruction,” Maddox snapped.

  “Oh…” Ludendorff said. “I see, I see. You feel the pressure of all this. I’d forgotten you’re human and not some metal automaton. Yes, we’re all trying to save the Earth, but you can’t rush something like this. It just isn’t done.”

  They no longer saw the Koniggratz. It had entered the ring, and possibly transported elsewhere.

  “Okay,” Maddox said hoarsely. “The battleship made it out. Could you figure out how to—”

  Ludendorff turned from the panel he studied to aim his visor at the captain. “Will you listen to me for once? I’ve told you what I have to do and how I must do it. You want me to save the day. I understand. I’m working hard. But if you’re going to push, push, push—”

  “Professor!” shouted Meta.

  Ludendorff stopped talking and turned her way.

  “Professor,” Meta said in a softer tone, walking toward him with her arms outstretched. “We’re all under great stress, you and Maddox most of all. You two must work together, though. You beat the Prime Saa last mission by working together.” She turned to Maddox. “Please, Captain, Methuselah Man Ludendorff is a rare genius, but he’s also just a man.”

  “You’re right,” Maddox said, taking the hint. It was easier when it came from his wife. “You have my apologies, Professor. You work your end of this, and I’ll work mine. It’s just…I feel as if time is running out for us. The Koniggratz leaving means something bad. We need—no, you do your part and I’ll try to do mine.”

  Meta reached the Methuselah Man, and she hugged him, even though they both wore bulky photon suits.

  “Yes, yes,” Ludendorff said in a sleepy voice as he patted Meta’s back. “You’re right, my dear. I didn’t mean to snap at you, my boy. And I accept your apology, especially as they’re as rare as a dodo bird.”

  Maddox muttered something under his breath. Then he asked, “How can I help you?

  Ludendorff stared at him. “You just did. Yes. Let me think. If we follow the pattern here…” And Ludendorff went back to studying the latest panel, seeing if he could decipher more of the ancient Builder controls.

  -62-

  Dag laughed as the Koniggratz entered normal space. He saw stars on the screen. The stars looked so glorious, so righteous and friendly. He breathed deeply, and he could no longer feel the presence of the nullity. He clapped his hands and laughed again.

  The bridge crew reacted in a similar way. There were smiles, chuckling and radiating good will.

  Dag stood, and he didn’t want to think about heading back into the null region. But the truth was they only had ten minutes to do this.

  “Anything out there that can attack us?” asked Dag.

  “Nothing that I can see,” the sensor person said, a woman from Surbus’s people, a techie with ugly scars on her face.

  Rock piloted the Koniggratz, rotating the ex-Star Watch battleship and slowing their velocity.

  Dag strode to the comm officer, a Merovingian, one of the smaller warriors.

  “Are you set for broadcasting?” Dag asked.

  “Yes, Champion. Whenever you’re ready—speak into the screen here, if you would.”

  Dag stood before the screen. He yanked out a comb and combed his hair, putting it away and squaring his shoulders. He nodded.

  The comm operator pressed a switch. “You’re on,” he said.

  “Most Royal Queen,” Dag said. “We have achieved our goal. The planet is ours—yours. We await your glorious presence so you may have the honor of smashing your foes. Nothing stands in our way. It—I have been victorious. Dag the Champion, out.”

  He turned to the comm operator.

  The warrior clicked a switch. “I’ll set that on a loop, which will play as long as the Koniggratz is out here.”

  “Can Star Watch pick that up?” Dag asked.

  “Uh…of course. I mean yes sir.”

  “It doesn’t matter.” Dag wanted to say more, but he didn’t know what else to say. He turned away and walked back to the captain’s chair. The screen showed the stars, the wondrous stars that showed normality, the universe meant for humans and other life forms. The null region—it was not meant for humans. It was a hell place, a nightmare that devoured one’s soul and mentality.

  The good feeling was draining away. Dag understood better why Surbus had attempted what he had. If the Queen promoted him, made him master of the null region—Dag shuddered. That would be a horror. He would refuse such a task.

  “It’s almost time, Champion,” Rock said from the helm.

  “Yes,” Dag said, the good cheer gone from his voice. He sat down, and he almost wanted to tell Rock that they would not be going back.

  “Too bad we couldn’t stay out here longer,” a warrior said.

  Several of the bridge personnel glanced at Dag.

  “Shut your mouth,” Dag said a second later. “We’re going back. We’re the Queen’s elite. She’ll expect us to be waiting in orbit for her.”

  “We have to stay on the Koniggratz?” a warrior asked.

  “Maybe we could meet her on the planet, deep underground in the control room,” Rock said.

  “Yes,” Dag said. “The control room is the critical place. We will hold it for the Queen until she comes down.”

  Visible relief showed on the bridge personnel. Clearly, everyone hated the nullity.

  The minutes ticked by too fast.

  “There,” said Rock. “I see the opening.”

  Dag almost could not give the command. He sat in the captain’s chair, frozen.

  “Champion?” asked Rock. “Should I go in?”

  “Yes,” Dag said hoarsely. “Take us into the null region.”

  Rock manipulated his board, and the Koniggratz headed for the opening, soon disappearing from normal space—the ex-Star Watch battleship reappeared back in the null region as it came through the Inertialess Accelerator. The battleship aimed for the huge planet.

  Dag sagged in his seat. The ill effects of the nullity struck him immediately. He opened his mouth and gasped for air. How had Surbus and Helga taken it as well as they had? Surbus must have been one tough son of a bitch.

  Am I any less tough? Dag asked himself. He hardened his resolve. Yes, it was difficult to think. He felt like shit. He understood the idea of ripping out his eyes to escape this place. But he was Dag the Champion. He would prove himself tougher than Surbus.

  “Increase velocity,” Dag told Rock. “Get to the planet.”

  “Roger that, Champion.”

  The Koniggratz left the great silver ring, heading for the dark metal planet.

  Maddox is out here somewhere, Dag realized. Should he try to find the bastard? Dag shook his head. Let the Queen worry about Maddox. He’d given her the planet, the null region. He’d given her the dream weapon that would pulverize the Earth into smithereens. What more could she want from him?

  -63-

  Inside the control chamber in the Accelerator, Maddox watched the Koniggratz on the big screen as it left the ring and headed back to the heavy planet.

  He didn’t say anything to Ludendorff about it, as the Methuselah Man was busy working on something. He didn’t notify Meta, either. She was keeping watch of Ludendorff, making sure he didn’t collapse or simply quit in frustration.

  They wouldn’t be able to stay here indefinitely. If nothing else, they would have to go back to the shuttle to eat and use the facilities. Fortunately, the control
chamber was a mere twenty-one kilometers along the corridors to the hangar bay that held the scout shuttle. That wasn’t so bad at one-third Earth normal gravity.

  Time passed. The Koniggratz approached the heavy planet and took up orbital station. Soon, two shuttles left the battleship, heading down to the surface. Maddox noted it was the same area of the planet that they’d left earlier. That was important, he was sure of it.

  Twenty-some odd minutes after the Koniggratz shuttles disappeared into a subterranean hangar bay, a QX-Tube appeared. The exit was in low orbital space.

  Maddox was hunched over the screen controls. By some trial and error, he’d managed to figure out how to use the zoom function and how to recalibrate where the sensor looked. He tapped the controls, using zoom.

  A huge hauler exited the tube, along with familiar vessels he’d seen before.

  “Tortuga,” Maddox said. There were the spaceships that had eluded them at Tortuga, including ex-Star Watch military vessels. Here was direct evidence of Lisa Meyers.

  Maddox felt a hand on his suited shoulder and turned to see his wife staring at the massive screen.

  “It’s Meyers, isn’t it?” Meta asked.

  “I think so.”

  Soon, quite soon, in fact, multitudes of shuttles left the hauler and other vessels. They headed for the surface, a veritable herd of shuttles and landers descending en masse.

  “No one likes the nullity,” Meta said.

  “One good nuke or antimatter bomb,” Maddox said wistfully. “If I could slip our shuttle near and deposit the nuke there—boom, we would end their space-traveling capability.”

  “Some people must have remained behind on the ships.”

  “Would you want to stay in orbit in the nullity, without a photon suit?”

  Meta shuddered. “The ships must be on automated defense, or the planet could protect them.”

  “Probably so,” Maddox said. “Look at that, Meta. Meyers is so near, and we can’t do a damn thing about it.”

  “You think Meyers went down to the planet?”