He tasted saltiness on his lips. Time was ticking against him. He had to get going, do the job he came here to do. Lurching, he took a step, a second and a third. It left him panting harder than before, with sweat prickling his skin.
Why is this so difficult?
Then it came to him. Grav-plates were at work. This felt more than regular 1 G. Maybe it was 1.5 Gs. He didn’t think it was two. Whoever had built the doomsday machine seemed to have originated on a heavier planet than Earth.
Maddox had no idea if that was useful information or not, but he filed it away.
I’m not going to discover anything standing here. I have to move, explore—and fight the enemy when I run into him.
Star Watch marines were supposed to show up soon. He had to figure out the specifics of how to win before their arrival.
Shuffling around, Maddox began searching for the other two. He headed for the bend, the one he was sure he’d bounced past coming in. Each footfall seemed to go down too fast and too hard. He didn’t like the increased gravities. It was going to make the assignment harder.
Not for Kane and Meta, though. They’re used to 2 Gs.
The movement began to loosen some of his muscles. The painful jolts and pulls lessened, and he brought his breathing under control. Finally, Maddox worked around the corner.
He exhaled with relief, seeing the other two. One of them knelt beside the other, who was prone on the spongy deck. Worse, something moved on its own. It was a piece of arm. The twitching thing gave off a spark.
“What the…”
Maddox got it then. The twitchy thing must be part of Riker’s bionic arm. Apparently, it had broken off during his violent entry.
“Riker!” Maddox said, hurrying. He lost his balance and crashed down onto his knees. He could feel the deck matting give just a little. Nevertheless, the fall caused his teeth to click together painfully. He panted for a moment.
If Riker had lost part of his bionic arm, it necessarily meant a tear in the vacc-suit. Was the sergeant dead?
Climbing to his feet, walking carefully, Maddox reached them.
Keith repaired the sergeant’s torn sleeve with a seal kit. Riker’s suit over his chest rose and fell. It appeared the sergeant was still alive for the moment.
The ace looked up sharply, the visor aimed at Maddox.
The captain tapped his head.
Keith nodded in understanding.
On inspiration, Maddox knelt before the pilot and lowered his head. He felt it as Keith made an adjustment. Whatever the ace did, it caused the headphones to crackle.
“Can you hear me now?” Keith asked, the words coming past static.
“I can,” Maddox said with relief. “Can you hear me?”
“I can, sir.”
“Is Riker alive?”
“I’m alive all right,” the sergeant said, gruffly. “My bionic arm is frozen, though. I won’t be any good in a fight.”
“You can still shoot a blaster,” Maddox said. “Can you walk? Or are you too beat up?”
“I’m sore, sir,” Riker said. “My bones ache. I have no idea if I can stand. That was a crazy idea shooting through the hatch.”
“We can’t stay here,” Maddox said. “You’ll have to stand, Sergeant.”
“Why don’t the two of you give me a hand,” Riker suggested.
Maddox listened to both of them strain and wheeze. Soon, the sergeant swayed on his feet.
“How do you feel?” Maddox asked the ace.
“Like I played a week of rugby,” Keith said. “I want to lie down and sleep a year.”
“It must be 1.5 Gs in here,” Maddox said.
“At least that,” Keith said. “It’s dragging me down. What’s with the weird walls?”
“Don’t know,” Maddox said.
“Sir…” Keith said. “Does it…does it feel freaky to you in here?”
“Can you explain that?” Maddox asked.
“This place feels haunted. It gives me the creeps.”
“I feel it,” Maddox admitted.
“I feel it, too,” Riker said. “The sooner we’re done here, the better. It feels like slime is coating my skin, maybe even my mind.”
“I suggest we concentrate on the mission,” Maddox said. “Whatever is bothering us, we’ll either defeat or—we’re here to win. So, we’ll concentrate on that. Sergeant, are you’re blasters still in one piece?”
“I guess I’d better check,” Riker said. “Yes, sir. They look good.”
Maddox’s blasters didn’t. They were crushed, useless. “Better give me one of yours. Do you have any personal weapons?” he asked Keith.
“I don’t,” Keith said. “Didn’t know I’d be coming along.”
“That was an oversight on my part,” Maddox said. “I won’t let it happen again.”
“So what’s the plan?” Keith asked.
Maddox nodded. “We’re not leaving until we succeed. So we’re not going that way.” He pointed toward the hatch, however far away it was. “Instead, we’re heading the other way.”
“Could be a long time before we find anyone in this monster ship,” Keith said. “It’s fifty kilometers long.”
“We have to keep pushing ourselves,” Maddox said. “We’re down two blasters, and missing a bionic arm, but we have a third member to our party. If you think about it, this part of the mission is a near total success.”
Keith examined the weird walls. “It sure doesn’t feel like success to me.”
“It is,” Maddox said. “Now, let’s go. It’s time to finish this.”
-40-
Valerie sat in the command chair aboard Victory as the starship accelerated to join the main fleet under Admiral Cook.
Meta was gone. Maddox, Keith and Riker were aboard the doomsday machine. That left Dana and her with a few technicians, Galyan and his single combat robot. In other words, the Adok starship was emptier than it had been for quite some time.
The AI ran everything. That gave Valerie a queasy feeling. She had never been able to trust Galyan fully. Who really knew the ancient computer’s thoughts, if one could even say it that way? With its extra, experimental computing power…
Valerie shifted in the command chair.
“I have been analyzing the doomsday machine,” Galyan announced.
The lieutenant jerked with a start.
“Is there a problem with that?” Galyan asked.
“Ah, no,” Valerie said, “no problem. You startled me. That’s all.”
“I am sorry,” Galyan said. “I did not mean to do so.” The holoimage paused. “What did I do specifically that caused surprise?”
“It wasn’t you. It was me. I was thinking.”
Galyan seemed to absorb the information. “I do hope that Captain Maddox is well. His odds for success are extremely low to nonexistent. But, then, so are our odds terrible if we chose to engage the doomsday machine in direct conflict. It is likely that I will cease to exist if I go through with the present attack.”
Here it was. Valerie wasn’t surprised in the least to hear the AI talking about letting everyone down. “Are you suggesting that the starship pull out of the Solar System?”
The holoimage studied her.
“I have gained new observation abilities,” the AI said. “It has allowed me to run personality profiles on each of you. With these programs, I am beginning to build up a profile for humans in general and each of you specifically.”
“Oh,” Valerie said. That didn’t sound good.
“There,” Galyan said. “I have detected it again. You evidence a lack of trust in my words. Have I done something that causes you to feel I’m untrustworthy?”
Valerie shifted uncomfortably.
“I can understand your squeamishness regarding me,” Galyan said. “Once, I held you captive. I should point out that that was in the past. Surely, you realize I am indebted to Captain Maddox. The actions he committed in my favor, especially turning me on again when I suspect others suggested otherwise…I will not forget that.”