“Those orbitals mean business,” Keith said with a low whistle.
“None of the missiles were directed at us,” Maddox said.
“If they were, it was piss poor targeting.”
“In answer to your question,” Maddox said. “The orbitals search for high tech, demolishing it. If we didn’t have our clearance, we’d already be dead.”
Keith engaged the flitter’s controls, sliding toward the missile strike.
“The conditions here are not favorable for creating high technology in the first place,” Maddox said. “Secondly, the strike came during our time on the planet. Is that a coincidence?”
“Wouldn’t bet the farm on it, Captain,” Keith said.
“Neither would I. In my line of work, there are few coincidences.”
“So let’s say the natives didn’t build a high-tech toy the orbital programs objected to,” Keith said. “What else would they launch at?”
A grim feeling spread across Maddox’s chest. The Saint Petersburg had come to Loki Prime. Back in Earth orbit, the destroyer had failed to beam down a Nerva drone fired at the scout. Immediately upon Keith’s destruction of the offending drone, the destroyer’s comm officer had demanded the Geronimo stay where it was. Maddox had refused, and the destroyer fired a laser at them. Now the same destroyer was at Loki Prime. Orbitals watching for high technology had just barraged the area he—Maddox—was heading to. Why did the missiles hit there? What was there they would attack?
“Doctor Dana Rich,” Maddox said.
“What’s that, sir?”
“The Saint Petersburg must have sent down a landing party to grab Dana Rich. Remember, in Glasgow a sniper fired at us?”
“I hadn’t run so fast for a long time,” Keith said. “I remember the crawly piece of slime, all right.”
“How did the sniper know ahead of time to be there in Glasgow?” Maddox asked. “Someone else must have the Lord High Admiral’s list. You were on the list. And Dana Rich is on it, and she’s partway up the mountain. That’s why the missiles slammed down there.”
“Do you think she’s dead?” Keith asked. “Do you think they’re trying to murder her, whoever they are?”
“There’s only one way to find out,” Maddox said. “You see the smoke? That’s where we’re going—now.”
In retrospect, Maddox realized he should have reasoned things out a little more carefully. Maybe his need for speed blunted his judgment. Maybe the lowland spores attacking his immune system dulled his thinking. In any regard, he flew straight into an ambush.
Keith Maker glided low over the treetops, nearing the black smoke. Flames appeared ahead, licking skyward. Maddox checked his gun before holstering it. Leaning back, he saw that Sergeant Riker slept fitfully. Small spumes of red trickled from the sergeant’s nose. That wasn’t blood. It would have been better if it had been. What had Riker said, red rot? That was an apt name.
“For the love of Pete!” Keith shouted. “Will you look at that, matey. I mean Captain, sir.”
Maddox saw it, and worry erupted in spades. A Star Watch shuttle—correction, a smoking wreck of a shuttle—had been blown onto its side. The vehicle had gaping holes and crumpled areas. It would never lift off again. The dead were strewn around it, many of them missing limbs, some in Star Watch uniforms, some not.
Huts crackled with flames, and people crawled or dragged themselves in the outer area of the tree-blasted ground. Some looked up at them. A few of those shook their fists. One woman raised a flintlock. A puff of smoke a second later indicated she shot at them.
What the—
Maddox froze, unwilling to believe what he saw. One of the dead on the ground was unlike the others. In life, he would have been taller than the average human. That wasn’t what made Maddox’s gut twist. It was the color of the skin—golden. A New Man lay dead on the ground down there.
Questions flooded Maddox’s brain. How had the invader gotten here? The likeliest explanation was aboard a Saint Petersburg shuttle. If there was one invader, couldn’t that mean there were more? Did the New Men command the Star Watch destroyer? If so, how had they maneuvered that? Maddox wondered if they should land beside the New Man. He could take a sample, a slice of skin or clot up some blood on a rag. Later, he could test the DNA. Then, finally, he could learn if he was part New Man.
“Blimey!” Keith shouted. He banked away hard, turning from the burning village.
That threw Maddox against the flitter’s canopy. He heard heavy gunfire from below. The flitter shuttered. Something starred the bubble on the pilot’s side.
“What’s happening?” Maddox shouted, who couldn’t see because of his lousy angle.
“A woman’s firing at us,” Keith said. “I think she hit our underbelly.”
“Firing a musket?”
“A heavy repeater, mate! Now for the love of Saint Francis, shut your yapper, Captain, sir. I’m taking us down for a controlled crash, and I’m going to need all my concentration to do it.”
-18-
The flitter bucked like a wild horse. Maddox clung to his harness and managed to look back at Riker. The sergeant flew in disorder, banging his head, smashing his shins.
“This is it!” Keith shouted.
Maddox looked ahead again. A huge tree filled his view. They were going to crash head on. At the last second, Keith turned them sideways, dodging death as metal screeched. They must have shaved the underbelly of the flitter against tree bark. Clunking sounds emitted from the engine. Smoke poured from the panel.
“Come on, you filthy pimp,” Keith said. “Keep it going just a little longer. You won’t regret it, I promise.”
The pilot dodged another tree and slowed the flyer. Then branches blurred around them, striking the bubble canopy. The tough dome held, and finally, the Tau Ceti strikefighter-ace brought them down against a giant crackly bush.
Keith brayed with triumphant laughter, and he stabbed a button. The canopy slid open, letting in the planet’s jungle smells.
“I did it, sir. We’re down in one piece.”
Feelings of disaster pulsed through Maddox’s heart. Oh, they were down all right, on Loki Prime, the prison planet no one had ever escaped.
You’re still alive, Maddox told himself. The scout is up there. Let’s not quit until you’re coughing up your final bit of blood.
“Excellent work, Ensign,” Maddox said. “I’m doubling your salary.”
“You mean doubling my share of the prize money, sir.”
“That’s right. Now give me a hand. We have to move the sergeant.”
The smile drained from Keith’s round face. Realization of their predicament spread across his features.
“We just crash-landed on Loki Prime,” the ensign said. “There’s a woman with an automatic rifle down there. Do you think the people from the shuttle came to this place to arrest you?”
“No such luck, I’m afraid,” Maddox said. “Now help me with him.”
“Why?” Keith asked. “He’s probably better off where he is. We can’t dart around if he’s weighing us down.”
A harsh rebuke died on Maddox’s lips. The ace had a point. He could hear people coming.
“It’s time for a strategic retreat,” Maddox said. “Grab a pack and follow me.”
The two rummaged in back. Maddox avoided looking at the unconscious sergeant. It wasn’t fair leaving him like this, but Maker was right, the sergeant would be safer in the flitter.
“I’ll return,” Maddox whispered. Then he jumped out of the flitter and faded into the undergrowth. Keith followed hard on his heels.