The Lost Patrol (19 page)

-31-

Maddox drew his long-barreled gun, having sprinted through the corridors. He didn’t breathe as hard as he would have only several days ago.

He pressed a wall switch and burst through the door into Shu’s chamber.

The small Spacer gasped. She had her back to him, peering up into the air as she sat in a chair. She did not wear her goggles, or much of anything else for that matter. With a lurch, Shu staggered from her chair, moving in an almost blind fashion. Her bare legs bumped against the edge of the bed. She fell onto it with an
oof
, her panties sliding higher than seemed proper. Her hands roved over the covers, latching onto her goggles. She slid them over her eyes, seeming to take a second longer to make sure they were in place. Finally, she twisted around to stare accusingly at the captain, her hands covering her bare breasts.

“Your conduct is shamefully rude,” she said.

Maddox aimed his gun at her, although he was outwardly calm.

“Do you mind turning around while I put on my clothes?” she asked.

“In this instance, yes,” he said. “But by all means, dress.”

She stared at him. It took several seconds, but her demeanor changed. She let her hands fall away from her pert breasts as she stood and cocked an appealing hip at him.

“This is an interesting change, Captain. What would Meta say if she could see us now?”

“No doubt, she would do you bodily harm. I suggest you don your garments. Otherwise, I will have to tell Meta you tried to seduce me.”

“Captain,” Shu purred. She cupped her breasts and made a pouting face, approaching him seductively.

Maddox’s aim never wavered.

Shu neared and tried to reach him. The end of the long gun-barrel poked against her flat belly.

“You don’t need that,” she told him, looking up into his face.

Using the barrel, Maddox prodded her belly, forcing her to back away.

“Put on some clothes, Shu. We can talk then.”

Her hands dropped away from cupping her breasts. “Are you an icicle?”

“Not in the least. Believe me. I’m enjoying the spectacle. I rate you a solid eight and a half. If you removed the goggles and grew out your hair, I suspect you could become a nine.”

“How dare you?”

“Frowning like that lowers your score,” Maddox said. “You do better as a smiling girl.”

With her hands, Shu covered her breasts, retreating to her bed. She donned her Spacer garb, only looking at him after she clicked shut the last clasp.

“The Visionary thought you were a gentleman. I’m afraid I’ll have to tell her you’re a brute.”

“Given that the Visionary sees so much, I doubt that will come as a great surprise to her. At least if Meta barges into the room, she won’t do you any bodily harm. That was a close call.”

“Why are you here? And why are you pointing your gun at me?”

“I have good news. I’m finally taking you out of detention. You can leave your meager belongings. I’ll have a steward collect them and bring them to your new quarters.”

Shu ingested that, finally saying, “That accounts for your presence. Why do you have to point a gun at me, though?”

“It’s a formality, nothing more.”

“You’re lying, Captain.”

“If I am, it no doubt brings equality to our situation, as you’re concealing things from me as well. For instance, what does it mean when you’re staring into the air without your goggles on?”

“It was a religious moment, one that you interrupted.”

“I rather doubt that.”

“You’re too irreligious for your own good, Captain.”

“On the contrary, I am quite pious.”

“And that’s why you like to stare at naked women?”

“No. That is due to my natural appreciation for beauty.”

“Even an eight-and-a-half-rated beauty?”

“That is why my precision is so accurate. I am a beauty expert due to extended study. Do not downplay your eight and a half score by the way. That is a relatively high number.”

“And you call yourself pious. What a mockery you make of spiritualty.”

“I am pious in that I believe in the Creator and try to give Him His due.”

“
Him
, Captain?”

“Precisely,” Maddox said. “But let us return to your so-called religious experience. What did you see without your goggles?”

Shu peered at him angrily until a new expression swept over her. “You’re doing this deliberately. You’re trying to goad me.”

“Why would I do that?”

“I don’t know,” Shu said.

Maddox smiled. “Now it is you who are lying. I have arrived at the belief that removing your goggles helps you ‘see’ radiation or wavelengths better. Maybe removing your garments does that as well. Or perhaps you simply like to sit seminude in your quarters.”

“Forget about all that,” Shu said. “Forget about me. You’re making a terrible mistake doing this. He’s incredibly dangerous, you know?”

“I presume you’re referring to Ludendorff, and I quite agree. But then, so are you.”

“You can’t compare me to a Methuselah Man.”

“The Methuselah Man doesn’t have your abilities. Consider. You have as good as admitted the scramblers don’t hinder your eavesdropping on our communications.”

“Your cautious actions on the bridge already showed me you knew that. I feel I must warn you again. Ludendorff is a danger to everything we hold dear. We cannot let him on
Victory
.”

“Is there a Spacer convoy in the Xerxes System?”

“Of course not,” Shu said. “The admiral chased them away.”

“There is not even
one
cloaked Spacer vessel watching what happens out here?”

“No.”

“This is interesting,” Maddox said. “You mix a strange blend of lying with the truth.”

“Why ask me anything if you’ve already arrived at your own answers?”

“Habit, I suppose.”

It took a moment. Then Shu laughed, shaking her head. “We’re both liars, Captain. The situation is absurd, don’t you think? You can put your gun away. I can’t do anything to you. If you won’t believe me about Ludendorff—”

“Enough,” Maddox said, becoming suspicious at her cheery nature. “You will walk ahead of me.” He holstered the long-barreled gun and drew a stunner from where he’d kept it under his belt. He adjusted the setting.

He showed her the new weapon. “This is to let you know that I won’t hesitate to stun you. I’m not sure you believed that I’d shoot you with a bullet.”

“You’re much too gallant, Captain,” Shu said sarcastically. “Why do you need any weapon at all to deal with me?”

He tapped his chest, indicating her adaptations as the reason for his caution.

“Where are we going?” she asked.

“You already know.”

“I don’t. Please, where are we going?”

“You’ll find out soon enough. Now, if you would please, Provost Marshal, march ahead of me.”

Shu 15 sighed, heading for the open door.

-32-

“This is a mistake,” Shu said on “E” Deck.

They had been walking for a time, the Spacer having become taciturn since leaving the detention center.

Maddox felt a lurch on the deck.

Shu turned around wildly, feeling it too. “Captain, I implore you. Take me back to detention while there’s still time.”

Maddox heard real fear in her voice. She must have realized the lurch meant the luxury yacht had landed inside the hangar bay instead of docking outside.

“My life is in danger,” Shu said. “Ludendorff or one of his people will try to kill me.”

“Do you suspect a revenge killing?”

“The Methuselah Men don’t need a reason. They kill and maim for sport. We Spacers have defended ourselves from them for years, only having become proficient in arms for our own protection.”

“I wish you’d shared more about your culture earlier,” Maddox said. “I could know then whether to have sympathy for the Spacers. As it is, I’m in the dark concerning your people.”

“Everyone knows we’re peaceful.”

“How do you explain the cloaked missiles that attacked the yacht and shuttle?”

“That had nothing to do with Spacers. Someone else put the missiles there.”

“I have my doubts,” Maddox said. “In fact, you’re my chief suspect.”

“I’ve been in detention for some time now. Do you think I can teleport in and out of my room hundreds of light-years at a time?”

“I do not.”

“Then how could I have ambushed the shuttle?”

“Your people could have put the missiles in place, ready to be activated by you.”

Shu stared at him. “If you believe I’m that powerful, I’m surprised I’m still alive. I would think a paranoid individual like yourself would murder someone as powerful as you’re making me out to be.”

“You forget that I’m
di-far
. I dare because I’m a man of decision.”

“Even you can’t stop the Methuselah Man.”

“I’ve stopped you,” Maddox said. “Thus, it is reasonable to suppose I can stop the professor.”

Shu shook her head, moaning to herself. “Leave me while I compose myself to meet my Maker.”

Maddox smiled faintly. “I’m bringing you along for two reasons. One is to protect you from the professor. The other is to protect the professor from you.”

Shu stared at him longer this time. “You have a painfully high regard for yourself. In that way, you are fully New Man.”

“Perhaps you’re right,” Maddox said. “Now, march.”

Reluctantly, Shu did.

***

Maddox brought her to the chamber near the hangar bay, where he’d been when the cloaked missile had destroyed the shuttle. It was a stark room, with several machines holding drinks and others stocked with condiments. Otherwise, tables and chairs filled the chamber.

“Galyan,” Maddox called.

Nothing happened.

“Oh,” the captain said. He reached into a pocket, pressing a button on his special unit. “Galyan,” he said, trying again.

“There you are,” the holoimage said upon appearing.

Maddox glanced at Shu before whispering to the holoimage. A moment later, Galyan disappeared.

“You’re going to extremely tedious lengths to thwart a minor ability on my part,” Shu said.

“Attention to detail is another characteristic of New Men,” Maddox said coldly.

“Ah. I see my remark earlier stung. That is interesting.”

Maddox sat across from Shu, resting the stunner on his lap. A few moments later, he tapped a device on his wrist, and they continued waiting.

Finally, the door swished open and a medium-sized man in a yellow shirt and black slacks and shoes waltzed in. He wore a gold chain around a wrinkly neck. He was older, bald and had deeply tanned skin, with a prominent hooked nose and eyes that shined like diamonds.

Professor Ludendorff stopped short. There was commotion behind him outside in the corridor. He turned around.

Maddox saw Meta with several security Marines holding up three beefy men who had tried to follow the professor into the room.

“Don’t worry, Professor,” Maddox said. “This is strictly a routine measure.”

Ludendorff glanced at Maddox. Then, he spied Shu. The old man moved fast, thrusting a hand inside his shirt. Before he could complete whatever it was that he was trying to do, Maddox fired the stunner.

A blot of force knocked the Methuselah Man onto the floor, his feet in the chamber and his head and torso in the hall.

Maddox spun fast, training the stunner on Shu.

The Spacer had been rising from her seat. A twitch of her head allowed her to see the captain. Slowly, she sat back down, carefully putting her hands on her knees.

In the meantime, Meta collected the professor, carrying him to a table and laying him on it. The door had swished shut behind her.

“His security detail is angry,” Meta said.

“Put them in detention,” Maddox told her. “Remember. Treat them as extremely dangerous. The professor wouldn’t trust them with his safety otherwise.”

Meta nodded, hurrying out the door to the Marines and their three captives.

“Well done, Captain,” Shu said. “I see you do recognize Ludendorff’s deadliness. I suggest you kill him now while you’re able.”

Maddox said nothing as he adjusted his stunner. Then, he went to Ludendorff, reaching under his shirt. He felt a small cube tapped to the man’s torso. With a twist, Maddox tore it free, pocketing it. Afterward, the captain moved away from both of them. He wanted to be able to watch them both at the same time.

The pulled tape woke Ludendorff. He smacked his lips, groaned and rolled over onto his stomach. That almost caused him to fall off the table. He barely caught himself, swung his legs over the edge, feet to the floor, swaying as he stood. With a grunt, he dropped onto a chair, resting his elbows on the table.

“Was stunning me necessary?” Ludendorff asked in a blurred voice.

“My action speaks for my thoughts,” Maddox said. “By the way, I’m glad you’re alive.”

Ludendorff gave him a baleful scrutiny, finally shaking his head. “I’d forgotten how swiftly you take action. For you, to think a thing is to do it. I won’t forget next time.”

“Professor Ludendorff, I’d like to introduce you to Shu 15, a Spacer Provost Marshal and a Surveyor First Class.”

The Methuselah Man nodded at her.

“Shu—” Maddox said.

“I know who he is,” Shu said. “I suggest you kill him before he kills me.”

Ludendorff inhaled several times. He glanced sidelong at Maddox and then leaned back in his chair.

“This is a predicament,” the professor said. “By your stance and the way you’re displaying the stunner, it suggests you understand something of the nefarious nature of Spacers. It would also seem you understand that neither they nor I have much use for each other.”

“Do you deny that you both consort with androids?” Shu accused. “Do you deny that you both tamper with the basic fabric of humanity?”

“I deny nothing,” Ludendorff said. “Do you deny a murderous passivity in the face of danger? Do you deny that you won’t take proper actions to defend humanity against all alien dangers?”

“You’re evil,” Shu said. “You warp what is good. You mimic life in your insane quest for longevity.”

“You’re jealous of my intellect,” Ludendorff told her. “In fact, you’re so jealous that you attempted to murder me a day ago.”

“That is false,” Shu said. “You did that in an effort to besmirch the Spacer name.”

“Bah!” Ludendorff said. “What gall is this? You—”

“Just a minute,” Maddox said. “I think she has a point with the last allegation.”

Ludendorff blinked as if amazed. “Excuse me? You think I purposefully destroyed my own property in an attempt to shift blame onto the Spacers?”

“Precisely,” Maddox said.

“That’s absurd,” Ludendorff said.

“Professor,” Maddox said. “Let’s forgo needless back and forth as you deny the obvious. Why did the silver drones self-detonate? Because you recognized my threat for what it was. You had remained on the yacht the entire time. I was going to destroy the yacht rather than let you have the advantage of five silver drones.”

“Bah,” Ludendorff said. “Whatever you think I’ve done, I’d at least like my cube back. It’s my property. Or are you a thief?”

“Surely, you recall the alien Destroyer,” Maddox said. “You commandeered my starship back then. You set my prisoner free. I have a long memory for such things. I’m not such a fool as to—”

“Enough,” Ludendorff said. “Your bragging becomes tedious the moment you begin. I always do what I do for the greater good.”

“That’s a patent lie,” Shu said. “You’re an egomaniac like Strand. Neither of you have any qualms about jeopardizing the universe with your wild schemes. I know you, Ludendorff. I know your brain patterns. They are just like your master’s.”

“I have no master,” Ludendorff said.

“He died on the Dyson sphere,” Shu said, “his mind poisoned by his despair.”

“Poisoned by a Swarm virus,” Ludendorff said. “There’s a critical difference.” The professor turned to Maddox. “I’m surprised at you. Why did you confide in her about our adventures on the Dyson sphere?”

“I didn’t,” Maddox said.

“Then how does she know so much?”

“The Visionary saw it,” Maddox said.

Ludendorff rubbed his face as if in pain. “Did the Visionary speak to you?”

“Indeed,” Maddox said. “She named me
di-far.
”

“Oh dear,” Ludendorff said. “The Visionary initiated you into their bizarre cult of mysticism.
Di-far
indeed.” The professor shook his head. “The old witch is cunning beyond belief. Have no doubt the Visionary believes all the rot and nonsense she told you. Still, she might have also told you those things in an effort to appeal to your vanity. Have you become puffed up with conceit yet?”

“I don’t know about conceit,” Maddox said. “But I have managed to hold the representatives of two distinct Builders.”

Neither the Methuselah Man nor the Spacer responded to that.

Soon, Ludendorff said, “You have a dilemma, Captain. You have to decide whom you trust. I’ve helped you in the past. The Spacers have done nothing to gain your faith. Now, they suddenly seek to use you for their own ends but purr in your ear that they’re altruistic. It’s all rot and nonsense.”

“Listen to Ludendorff trying to use his golden tongue,” Shu said. “Yet when has Ludendorff ever done anything for someone else? He never lifts a hand unless he has an ulterior motive.”

“You give me false choices,” Maddox told them. “In fact, I distrust both of you, although to varying degrees. The professor has helped me in the past even as he followed his own agenda. What makes him so dangerous is his genius and long experience.”

“You’re making me blush,” Ludendorff muttered.

“While you,” Maddox told Shu, “have these Builder articles in you. I don’t know how to tame those. Clearly, you lied about the scramblers hindering you. I’m hoping Ludendorff has a way to dampen your inner devices. Frankly, I’m counting on both of you to check each other. I’m also hoping to act as a balance so the one doesn’t kill the other.”

“I’ll say this,” Ludendorff told Maddox. “I appreciate your frankness. When do we begin?”

“We already have.”

“Ah. We’re headed for the Nexus?”

Maddox checked a chronometer. “We should arrive in a little less than two hours. Then, we’re going to venture outside and see if we can reproduce Kane’s feat mixed with that of last voyage’s hyper-spatial tube. This tube will hopefully go to a different place, though.”

“The two of us will attempt this feat?” Ludendorff asked, indicating Shu.

“Yes,” Maddox said.

Ludendorff grew thoughtful while Shu remained motionless and expressionless.

Maddox wondered how he was going to keep the two of them from killing each other and at the same time achieve his objective. The next few hours would likely prove the most challenging of his life.