The Lost Patrol (43 page)

“Who is she?” Maddox asked.

“Please, Captain,” the android said. “You cannot afford to let me be caught. Your life will be forfeit if that happens.”

“That doesn’t answer my question.”

“She belongs to the other side,” the android said.

“The other android side?” Maddox asked.

“I dare not answer that.”

Maddox studied him. Then, the captain pointed out a far window. “Do you see that?”

The android looked where the captain pointed. It was a space window. “I see it.”

“Starship
Victory
is out there. Galyan spotted you some time ago. We’ve been watching you watch us.”

The android’s shoulders slumped. “I’m getting old. I should have spotted the differences in you. What are you going to do now?”

“Keep swimming for a while and go have some wine for lunch.”

“That is not what I mean.”

Maddox looked across the pool at Keith and Valerie where they chattered together. “Do you see them?”

The android said he did.

“I think they’re good for each other,” Maddox said. “What do you think?”

“Captain, this is a senseless conversation. Are you going to report me or not?”

“I am,” Maddox said.

The android grew tense, silently fanning through his options. None of them were good.

“First,” Maddox said, “I’m going to swim several laps around the pool. Then, I’m going to have that glass of wine. Afterward, I’ll have to call Geneva and inform the brigadier about you.”

“Thank you,” the android said. “That will be sufficient.”

“Excellent,” Maddox said. “Until we meet again.”

“Yes, Captain, until then.”

With that said, Captain Maddox leaped from the poolside, once more practicing his backstroke as Meta watched, with a towel over her hand.

The android got up and walked away, realizing the Rouen Colony woman could have shot him at any time. Maybe the human race had a chance after all. Maybe his long years as one of the watchers was finally winding down.

The android put that from his mind as he concentrated on his contingency escape plan.

-77-

Many thousands of light-years away, Commander Thrax Ti Ix clicked his pincers. He was overjoyed. He had passed the tests. The Imperial Family had accepted him as Swarm. Now, he could begin his great mission, finishing what he’d started in the Dyson sphere.

The Time of the Great Migration and the Great Extinction were finally at hand.

The End

To the Reader
: Thanks! I hope you’ve enjoyed
The Lost Patrol
. If you liked the book and would like to see the series continue, please put up some stars and a review. Let new readers know what’s in store for them.

—Vaughn Heppner