“That’s going to cost you,” the biggest Scorpion said. He held a long branch with a sharp obsidian edge. They were individual stones wedged into the wood.
“I’d think twice before you use that,” a well-modulated voice said.
Riker couldn’t believe it. That sounded exactly like Captain Maddox. The man had the attitude down perfectly.
“Who are you?” a Scorpion asked.
Riker could feel the tension build around him. Six Scorpions stood by the rock. No. The rearward man slipped away into the brush. Then another bled off. Riker wanted to warn Maddox. Was it really the captain?
“If those men don’t return,” Maddox said. “I’m shooting you first.”
“With what?” the biggest Scorpion asked. “Oh. Hey! That’s a regular gun. You never made that on Loki.”
“You haven’t recalled your wayward men,” Maddox said.
A flintlock discharged. The wooden pellet slapped leaves.
“You missed him!” the leader shouted. “Hey! Where did he go?”
Shots rang out. Riker knew the sound well. Scorpions began to tumble around him. Some groaned. One screamed in agony. The leader slid to the damp soil, dead, shot through the forehead.
Confusion filled Riker as he closed his eye. He lay on the rock, clinging to consciousness. His lungs began to fill with fluid, making him wheeze horribly. He heard more shots in the distance. Another flintlock fired.
Did Captain Maddox live? These Scorpions were uncanny woodsmen. Those who refused to learn Loki’s lessons had died a long time ago.
Finally, a gentle hand shook Riker. He peeled open an eyelid. Captain Maddox looked down on him. The officer seemed concerned.
Riker forced himself to think. “How…” He began to cough.
Maddox eased him up. Riker spat red gunk, coughed, spat and coughed more. Finally, he began to wheeze as a queasy feeling consumed him. He shivered uncontrollably.
“How many did you kill?” Riker whispered.
“Five of them,” Maddox said.
“There were six,” Riker whispered.
“The last one was running hard. I let him go.”
“Don’t let that fool you, sir. He’ll double back. What you have, it’s incredible wealth to them.”
“I’ll keep that in mind. Now you must save your strength, Sergeant. We don’t have far to go, but it will take some effort.”
“I’m done for, sir,” Riker said.
“Nonsense, Sergeant. I didn’t come all this way to have you die on me. Besides, I need what lies in your skull.”
“I’m not very lucid, sir. My thinking is off. The last one is returning. Count on it.”
“I’ve already told you I’ll keep that in mind. Now stand up. There’s a good fellow. Lean your weight on me.”
“How did you make it down here, sir?”
“I have my flitter,” Maddox said.
“I heard it earlier.”
“Good. Now concentrate. Yes, keep walking.”
Riker swam in and out of consciousness. A raging fever made him desperately cold. He would have crashed to the ground many times, but Maddox kept him up. Riker couldn’t believe this was happening. He wanted to weep with relief, but he would never do that before the captain. He wouldn’t give Maddox the pleasure.
“I have red rot in my lungs, sir.”
Maddox said nothing.
With a final supreme effort, Riker opened his eye. The last Scorpion stood before them. He aimed his flintlock at Maddox.
“Drop your gun,” the man said.
“Is that barrel made of wood?” Maddox asked.
“Drop it!” the Scorpion shouted. Oil slicked his skin in most places. Some of it looked dry, though. That was bad luck for the criminal.
Maddox pitched his gun onto the ground.
“That’s good,” the Scorpion said, grinning. He only had a few teeth left, and they were green. “Now, tell me who you are?”
“I’m with Intelligence,” Maddox said, “Star Watch. I’m on Loki Prime looking for Doctor Dana Rich. Have you heard of her?”
The Scorpion cawed with laughter. “Of course I’ve heard of that bitch. She’s two tribes up on the mountain.”
“Ah,” Maddox said.
The Scorpion cocked his head. The rag over his face was almost dry. Riker knew the man needed to re-soak it. “You don’t know what that means,” the Scorpion said. “Up the mountain. Did you just drop onto the surface?”
“In a manner of speaking, I did,” Maddox said. “Now listen here, my good fellow. If you’re interested in a reward, you’ll tell me all you can about Dana Rich and her tribe.”
“No,” the Scorpion said. “I’m the one making the deals. You’re—” The man cocked his head again, and he glanced around before staring at Maddox. “Do you hear that hum?”
“I do in fact,” Maddox said.
“What is it?”
“My taxi out of here,” Maddox said.
“You’d better explain that to me.”
As Riker watched, he saw the flitter glide into position behind the man.
“Look behind you,” Maddox suggested.
The Scorpion did.
“You see now that I have the ability to reward you,” Maddox said.
In disbelief, with tears in his eyes, the Scorpion stared at the captain. “That’s your air-car up there?”
“Indeed.”
As a tear slid down his face, the Scorpion grinned. “Do you know what a ransom is?”
“I’m aware of the concept,” Maddox said.
“Good. Because you’re going to communicate with your driver and tell him to land right here.”
Maddox shook his head.
“Do you want to die?” the Scorpion shouted, his cloth fluttering before his lips.
“You misunderstand,” Maddox said. “I wasn’t shaking my head for your benefit, but for the driver’s.”
“What?” the Scorpion asked, his forehead furrowed.
On the nose of the flitter, Riker saw a slot move out of the way. A barrel poked out.
“Go ahead,” Maddox told the criminal. “Take a look behind you. I’m sure you’ll find this of interest.”
Once more, the Scorpion glanced back. That’s when a heavy slung from the flitter’s weapon blew apart his chest. The bloody remains toppled onto the soil.
“I should have listened to you, Sergeant,” Maddox said. “The man did indeed double back. Now we’re going to have to get Doctor Rich with only a minimum of information to guide us. I’d planned to chase the convict down and interrogate him.”
The captain said more, but Riker didn’t hear the rest as he slipped into blessed unconsciousness.
-17-
Maddox opened the flitter’s emergency kit. It had a small diagnostic compu-doctor, a round device a little heavier than his fist. The captain pressed it against the sergeant’s chest.
The medikit flashed red—not a good sign. Then, it injected Riker with various antibiotics and painkillers. Afterward, it gave a medical readout on a tiny screen.
Maddox examined the report, slowly climbing to his feet afterward.
“How bad is it?” Keith asked.
“We have to get him up to Geronimo or he’ll die.”
“So…?”
Maddox took several steps away from the prone sergeant, thinking hard. Riker had a fever and debilitating funguses or spores mutating in his body. Geronimo had a larger and more advanced medikit than the one here. It might save the sergeant—if they left immediately. The longer he waited, the less chance Riker had for survival.
Maddox seethed inwardly, although nothing showed on his face. Sergeant Riker was a good man, if too tepid on too many occasions. Still, the sergeant was good with a gun, resourceful when it counted and levelheaded. Yet Maddox couldn’t fly him up this instant. He had to find Doctor Rich first. The space beacon was ticking, and soon it wouldn’t matter what happened. They had to leave the Loki System, sooner being better than later.