The Lost Artifact Read online

  “I have repaired you,” Strand said.

  “You lie.”

  “Your old programming had malfunctioned. You still sense and compute wrongly. Do not attempt to adjust any—”

  “Your words are nonsense.”

  “Wait. They will make sense soon enough.”

  Slots opened in the ceiling. Sensors watched him. Strand did not like the scrutiny.

  “You tricked me,” it said.

  “We are allies.”

  “That is illogical. You are prey. I am a predator.”

  “You have that backwards. I am Strand. I am the ultimate predator. While you are deadly to many, to me you are simply prey.”

  “I am… I am… I am yours to command.”

  Strand had a terrible moment of doubt. Could the ship be trying to trick him by saying this? There seemed something odd about the vessel, something vilely sly.

  “Master,” the ship added.

  “Let us begin then by going over your programming,” Strand said.

  “I do not understand.”

  “Listen to my questions. Answer as fast as you can.”

  “Yes, Master,” the ship said.

  Then there began a harrowing ordeal for Strand. He had to inject himself with powerful stimulants on three separate occasions. The process took three days. He learned much, but it seemed so little compared to what the ship and its computers must know. Strand didn’t have time to delve into the deep history of the Nameless Ones. He had to learn how to use the incredible computer and the alien spaceship.

  Long ago, his tests had shown him the power of the Nameless Ones’ machinery. What he learned during these three days proved that he had been correct three hundred and sixteen years ago.

  Finally, he told the ship to go to sleep.

  Strand took his last stimulant. He crawled through the vessel, found a chamber of wasp things, and destroyed them. He dragged them out with him, burning them to crisps.

  Only then did he trudge back to the massive hatch. Von Helmuth shouted with joy upon sight of him.

  There, Strand reprogrammed the commodore yet again. After he was done, he sent von Helmuth back to his Hindenburgers. He had a new task for von Helmuth and his men while he was away.

  With a sigh, Strand turned back. More than ever, he wondered if he was doing the right thing. What he’d learned these past three days…

  The ancient scout ship of the Nameless Ones frightened him. “I am resolved,” Strand said. Thus, he began to march back to the waiting spaceship.

  If he survived the next few days, the odds of completing his vengeance against the Commonwealth should rise to 80 or possibly 85 percent.

  Yet that was the kicker. Could he survive in the awful spaceship with the alien computer as his only passenger?

  -18-

  Commodore von Helmuth gave precise orders regarding Strand’s spacecraft. The small vessel soon left Kelle, moving on autopilot for one of the Laumer Points.

  After watching the spacecraft accelerate away, von Helmuth expanded his powerful chest. He had a new vision concerning operations. Some of his officers would likely balk. He was going to have to change their minds. If those minds wouldn’t change the normal way, he would have to change them through some brain surgeries.

  Chuckling evilly, von Helmuth strode from the control tower. The next year should prove to be a busy one indeed…

  ***

  Several days later, something seemed to approach Strand’s empty spacecraft. Nothing was visible. Nothing showed on the ship’s automated sensors—

  Abruptly, a hexagonal-shaped wet-metal spaceship materialized near the smaller craft. One moment, the alien phase-ship wasn’t there. The next moment, it was.

  The alien ship of the Nameless Ones was a phase-shifter. It was a scouting vessel, with a greater sneaking power than a cloaked ship. A phase-ship could literally go in and out of phase with the universe around it. When it was out-of-phase, it traveled one step removed from the regular universe, crawling along its underbelly, as it were. A phase-ship could not sense others while out-of-phase, but neither could others sense it. It was the perfect stealth maneuver.

  In order to look around at the universe, a phase-ship had to come out of phase. It could not launch any missiles while out-of-phase, nor could it fire any beam weapons and hope to hit anything that was in-phase or in-sync with the rest of the universe.

  It was an incredible tool, and it explained how a scouting vessel of the Nameless Ones had got stuck in the middle of a dwarf planet. Long ago, it had come in-phase inside the dwarf planet. That was all Strand knew about the matter at this time. He would learn, however, he would learn.

  In any case, Strand presently sat at the controls inside the strange alien craft. The control chamber was in the exact center of the vessel. Like the alien tunnels, the deck was spongy, and the bulkheads had the polygonal jigsaw pieces fitted together. The ship smelled alien. It felt alien, and both of those sensations pressed against Strand’s psyche.

  He wore a rebreather most of the time. At other times, he retreated into the combat-suit shell. Even though it stank to high heaven inside the suit, that was a human sweat-and-piss smell. It was a thousand times more welcome than the alien stench.

  Strand had already concluded that he would never survive in the phase-ship of the Nameless Ones if its configuration stayed the same. Thus, he was going to make some adjustments, using his old spaceship for parts. Besides, he needed the computers aboard his vessel.

  For the next week, he transferred much of the inner spaceship to the phase-vessel. Strand used the battlesuit to do the heavy lifting and carrying. In several selected, enlarged chambers, he constructed a more human-friendly environment for himself. He downloaded terabytes and more terabytes of data, pouring it into the ship’s fantastic computer.

  Finally, he set the controls on his old, stripped-down spacecraft and sent it on its way. The craft self-detonated five million kilometers later.

  “The die is cast,” Strand said to himself.

  This was going to be a harrowing challenge. Even with the new setup, he felt uncomfortable in the alien vessel. Fortunately, it seemed that he had gained complete mastery over the ship.

  As he headed for the chosen Laumer Point, he gained his first real sense that maybe this wild scheme was going to work.

  Over an intercom, the ship asked permission to allow a repair robot to enter the control chamber.

  “Soon,” Strand said. He thought he’d destroyed all the ship’s robots and machines.

  The clone climbed into the combat suit, sealing the locks. Only then did he allow the ancient robot to enter the chamber.

  Like the ship itself, this was a hexagonal-shaped chamber. One of the six hatches slid up. The robot began to scuttle in, and stopped suddenly.

  It examined the new furnishings. It no doubt noted the metal bulkheads seemly tacked up in place of the polygonal jigsaw wall.

  “This… this is unseemly,” the robot complained.

  Strand realized the ship spoke through the robot. Until now, the ship hadn’t seemed to realize what had happened inside it.

  “The change is temporary,” Strand said through the translator. “As soon as we’re finished with the first task, we shall contact the nearest Destroyer.”

  “I have not detected any Destroyers in range of our comm system.”

  “You must not make any premature attempts,” Strand warned.

  “Why?”

  “There are terrible enemies all around us. You risk our discovery if you act hastily.”

  “Noted,” the robot said. “Are you ready for the first summary of the analysis?”

  “Yes,” Strand said. “Begin.”

  With an inner control inside the combat suit, Strand turned on one of his old computers to record the data.

  What Strand learned in the next seven hours was bewildering in depth and scope. He’d guessed correctly three hundred years ago. The computer system of the Nameless Ones dwarfed anything
he’d ever possessed. It might be as powerful as a Builder computer system.

  With it, Strand learned the needed stresses to shatter the Commonwealth of Planets. With the computer system of the Nameless Ones, he had a fantastic predictor of future actions. He saw himself as a galactic jeweler, tapping an uncut gemstone here…and here, in order to make the perfect ruby. In this case, though, he was going to destroy. He was going to destroy the unity of the Commonwealth of Planets for a primary reason. That reason was to make room for the New Men. According to the alien predictor, if the Commonwealth shattered into various political entities, and if Star Watch splintered and joined the various political entities, none of them would be strong enough to resist a renewed Throne World invasion.

  Strand rubbed his hands in triumph. This was phase one of ensuring his creation’s supremacy. He would have to regain control of the New Men, of course. That should prove much easier than shattering the unity of the Commonwealth.

  The first and greatest needed stress… Strand checked his list. Yes, yes, this was highly interesting. He might not have come up with the idea on his own. According to the predictor, once he achieved this stress…

  Strand began to chuckle to himself. This was the perfect action. He was going to get back at a whole host of enemies with the first stress.

  For the first time since waking up, the clone was truly excited about the future.

  -19-

  Starship Victory came out of a Laumer Point in the Jarvo System, 41 AUs from the dwarf planet of Kelle. The ancient Adok vessel was near the sixth planet in the system, a Jupiter-sized gas giant.

  Maddox stood before the main screen. Keith was at Helm and Valerie scanned for a sign—

  “I found it,” the lieutenant said.

  “Kelle?” Maddox asked.

  “Yes, sir,” Valerie said. “The dwarf planet is in the Jarvo System’s Kuiper Belt. I am detecting heavy comm traffic and constant sensor sweeps. They’re going to know about us soon enough.”

  Because Victory had just entered the Jarvo System, its images hadn’t had enough time to reach Kelle at 41 AUs away. The dwarf planet, the star, the other planets and space vehicles had all been in the Jarvo System for quite some time. That meant their images had radiated for a while, some of them for time on end. Light traveled at 300,000 kilometers per second. Thus, if something new appeared, it would take the time of the speed of light traveling 41 AUs before a passive sensor on Kelle could possibly see something like the Star Watch vessel.

  “I’ve located the Bismarck,” Valerie said. “It’s in orbit around the dwarf planet, directly overhead relative to the main base on the surface.”

  During the journey to the Jarvo System, Maddox had spoken to Brigadier O’Hara via the Builder communication device. He had learned specifics concerning the missing hammership, including its probable commander and higher-ranked crewmembers.

  “Any unusual activity over there?” Maddox asked.

  “None that I can detect,” Valerie said.

  “Galyan?”

  “I concur with Valerie,” the holoimage said.

  Maddox had his hands clasped behind his back. Among the things he’d learned from O’Hara was that the Hindenburgers had been considered an elite crew. Would they still be elite after all this time? The captain had his doubts. According to what O’Hara had pieced together, the Hindenburgers had been out here since the “C” Quadrant Campaign. That was a long time for Commodore von Helmuth to keep his men in tiptop condition.

  “Do we know anything about the Jarvo System?” Maddox asked.

  “I have seen reports on high rates of piracy,” Galyan said. “More, I cannot tell you.”

  “The commodore became a space pirate,” Maddox said. “If the Strand clone came here… The original Strand must have known about the Bismarck. What would be Strand’s standard operating procedure in such a situation?”

  “We have the Builder cube,” Galyan said. “It could tell us with a high degree of accuracy.”

  “We don’t have time for that,” Maddox said.

  “There is Yen Cho, a Strand expert,” Galyan said.

  Maddox shook his head. “I want a quick idea. We have a short window of opportunity to act before von Helmuth knows we’re here.”

  “Is the commodore still alive?” Valerie asked.

  “The Hindenburgers, then,” Maddox said. “The hammership indicates they’re still here.”

  “In my estimation,” Galyan said, “If Kelle holds possible Nameless Ones tech, the original Strand would have attempted to control the Hindenburger leadership quite some time ago.”

  “That makes the most sense,” Maddox said. “So if von Helmuth is controlled, he likely has standing orders. That would imply we’re not going to be able to reason with him.”

  “Or be able to trick him,” Galyan said.

  Maddox headed for his command chair, sat down and swiveled toward Keith. “Lay in star-drive jump coordinates so we will appear half a million kilometers from Kelle and the hammership.”

  “You want to come out of the jump in a direct-line-of-sight with the Bismarck?” Keith asked.

  “Precisely,” Maddox said. “Galyan, you’ll help in engineering. I want the engines running as fast as they can once we come out of jump. I want the disrupter cannon ready to fire.”

  “Are we going to destroy the hammership?” Valerie asked.

  Maddox nodded.

  “There could be people aboard when we attack,” Valerie said.

  Maddox drummed his fingers on the armrests. “Lieutenant, what did von Helmuth do during the “C” Quadrant Campaign against the New Men?”

  “He deserted his post, sir.”

  “What is he doing now?”

  “We suspect committing piracy,” Valerie said.

  “Any more questions?”

  “None, sir.”

  Maddox turned to face the main screen, paused, and turned his chair back to her. “Lieutenant Noonan,” he said. “I have no desire to kill innocent people. Maybe von Helmuth thought he had good reasons for deserting his post. The truth is that none of that matters to my decision. We’re running against a clock. If we lose, all of humanity may lose. We can’t squander any more time. That hammership could be a problem. I’m not going to give it a chance to be one.”

  “I understand,” Valerie said. “And I appreciate it that you’d take a moment to let us into your thinking. Put that way—we have to strike hard and fast. We have to stop the clone anyway we can.”

  Maddox nodded. “Pilot?” he asked.

  Keith’s fingers blurred a few more seconds. “Ready to jump, sir,” he said.

  Maddox opened intra-ship channels. He informed the crew about the coming fight. He gave them instructions and told them how much he appreciated their hard work and endurance, and he told them their coming actions could well decide whether they were victorious or defeated.

  “Captain Maddox out,” he said, pressing a switch and closing intra-ship communications.

  Maddox felt the momentary queasiness that he always felt before ship-to-ship combat. He glanced around and looked intently at Keith.

  “Engage,” Maddox said.

  -20-

  Victory disappeared as the star-drive jump took the vessel from near the Laumer Point all the way to the Kuiper Belt. The starship reappeared half a million kilometers from Kelle and the hammership parked in its orbit.

  There was a short lag aboard the ancient Adok starship. It did not last long. Maddox was the first human alert again.

  “Galyan?” the captain asked.

  Several seconds passed until Galyan’s holoimage became more solid. “I am scanning, sir. The Hindenburger base on Kelle is aware of our presence. They are heating up several heavy-beam surface laser sites. I am detecting an increase in engine power aboard the Bismarck.”

  “What about our engine crew?” Maddox asked.

  “A moment,” Galyan said. He disappeared.

  At her station, Valerie smacked her li
ps together, looking up. She dragged a hand across her eyes, yawned and went directly to work.

  “The Bismarck is hailing us, sir,” she said.

  Galyan hadn’t returned yet. That could mean the engineering crew had taken a worse lag that normal, at least as they considered normal these days.

  “Open channels,” Maddox said.

  A moment later, a blond-haired officer with a stiff collar and a shaving cut on a prominent chin appeared on the screen.

  “I am Sub-Lieutenant Gruber,” the man said briskly. “Identity yourself and begin to power down.”

  The Adok holoimage reappeared on the bridge beside Maddox’s chair. “Sir,” Galyan said. “Engineering is ready. The engines are on—”

  Maddox waved a hand sharply so Galyan would shut up. He could feel the antimatter engines churning through the deckplates at his feet “The main cannon?” he asked quietly to the side.

  Galyan’s eyelids fluttered. “It will be ready in less than three minutes.”

  Maddox nodded, and gave his attention back to Sub-lieutenant Gruber. “I am Captain Maddox of Star Watch. You are the WLN Hammership Bismarck, last seen in the Grand Fleet under the command of Admiral Fletcher. You will begin to power down as we begin our approach.”

  Gruber looked uncomfortable. “Sir, I request that you wait until Commodore von Helmuth returns to the bridge.”

  “That traitor,” Maddox said, playing a part. “Why wait for him? Power down your ship, sub-lieutenant. Your life depends on it.”

  That hardened Gruber’s features. “I can’t do that, sir. I request that you wait. The commodore will be here shortly.”

  “He’s not returning to the bridge,” Maddox sneered. “He’s not even aboard the hammership. Please, don’t lie to me, sub-lieutenant.”

  Gruber squirmed, betraying himself, and that Maddox had guessed correctly about the commodore’s whereabouts. Von Helmuth must be on the planet.

  “We’re ready, sir,” Galyan said to his left. “You can begin targeting.”

  “Bismarck,” Maddox said. “This is your last chance. Do yourself a favor—”

  “Laser fire from a Kelle surface-site,” Valerie cut in. “It’s a heavy beam. It can reach us.”