Maddox debated grabbing the gun anyway and rolling. The voice indicated a person with icy calm. He waited one second, two. Then he said, “The New Man will be back.”
“You mean golden-boy?” the woman asked.
“They consider themselves superior to ordinary humans.”
“Drop your gun,” the woman said, “and don’t try to touch his.”
Maddox listened, trying to pinpoint the woman’s exact position. At the same time, he let his weapon thud onto the soil.
“Straighten up,” she said.
He followed orders.
“Face me,” the woman said.
Maddox found himself staring at a medium-sized woman with brown clothes, a dark ponytail and darker skin. She aimed a flintlock at him, and her hands were perfectly steady.
“Doctor Dana Rich,” Maddox said.
Suspicion flared across her features. “How do you know me?”
“I’ve come to take you off Loki Prime.”
It took a half-beat. Then she said, “You’re the second person to say that today. I want to know why.”
“I’m here because of the golden-skinned man you just saw. His kind is invading the Oikumene.”
“Good. I think I’ll aid them. Your people stuck me on this filthy piece of sod. You think after that I want to help the Commonwealth or the Windsor League?”
“The New Men won’t reward you for long, Dr. Rich.”
“Wrong,” she said. “Before your missiles smashed their shuttle and killed the leader, they offered me more than you possibly could.”
“Oh, right,” said Maddox. “That’s why he killed those people.” He indicated the headless woman prone on the ground. There must be more dead hidden in the undergrowth. “You’re spinning fabrications, Doctor.”
“I don’t care for people calling me a liar.”
“Then don’t lie to me,” Maddox told her.
From the undergrowth in the direction he’d come, Maddox heard a branch snap, leaves rustle and finally a muffled grunt of a pain.
“We have to flee,” he told Dana. “The New Man must have doubled back.”
“Don’t be absurd,” she said. “If he was here, we’d already be dead.”
Maddox looked at her questioningly.
“I’m beyond caring whether I live or die,” she said. “This planet has sucked the joy of life from me.”
Dana Rich didn’t look defeated as she squinted down the rifle barrel at him, more like icily determined to overcome anything thrown at her.
“On your knees,” she said. “It’s time you answered some questions.”
A distinct hoot sounded from the undergrowth.
Doctor Rich cursed, and her fingers tightened around her weapon. “Mister, grab those guns by the barrels. You were right. He’s coming back. We have to get out of here.”
“Let’s work together,” Maddox suggested. “We’ll kill him.”
“Hurry!” she hissed. “Do it now, or I’m going to kill you. And if you don’t care about your life, think about your friend.”
With a nod of her head, Dana indicated leftward.
Maddox glanced in the direction he’d heard the crashing noise a second ago. A striking woman stepped into view. She had platinum-colored hair pulled into a knot behind her head. She wore bikini furs, showing a voluptuous figure a trifle heavier than Maddox liked. Unfortunately, she had one of Keith Maker’s arms behind his back with her other hand around his mouth.
“Meta is pretty,” Dana said. “She’s also from a heavy G mining world. That means she’s stronger than anyone I know. She can snap your man’s neck like a twig.”
The cavewoman stared with hostility at Maddox. She had Keith’s force blade and gun tucked in her fur shorts. The ace squirmed. She shoved his back arm a little higher, causing him to lift up onto his toes. Yes, she must be strong.
A warning hoot sounded once more.
Because of it, Maddox made his decision of how to play this. He grabbed the two guns by the barrels, his and the New Man’s. Then he hurried toward Meta, with Doctor Dana Rich following. It was clear she didn’t want to be here when the golden-skinned invader returned.
-19-
Maddox halted at Doctor Rich’s orders. They must have run a good two kilometers, entering even thicker growth. Then they’d ducked into an area of woven branches overhead, making this spot even gloomier than the surrounding terrain. There were covered holes here. Could this be a storage area or a hideaway for times of trouble?
“Sit,” Dana said, waving his own gun at him. He’d given her both weapons earlier. She carried the long flintlock with a strap around her shoulder.
Maddox sat on damp soil. Yes. This definitely seemed like a hideaway. If the tribes raided each other, a wise leader would have places to regroup if an enemy overran the main compound.
Meta shoved Keith against Maddox so the ace sprawled onto the ground.
“They surprised me,” Keith explained, his mouth finally freed of the woman’s silencing hand.
“Quiet,” Dana told him. “Unless I tell you otherwise, don’t speak.”
Maddox nodded to Keith that it was okay to listen to her in this.
“Meta,” Dana said, holding up the flat gun.
The cavewoman accepted the New Man’s weapon. She inspected it a moment. A grin spread across her wide features. Then Meta faded from view, backing out the entrance, no doubt to stand guard.
Doctor Dana Rich moved to the side, sitting on a tree stump, studying the two of them. She kept the gun trained on Maddox. She lacked a perfect poker face. It was clear she was curious about something.
“Why did you come down onto Loki Prime for me?” she said.
“Does it matter?” Maddox asked.
“Oh yes.”
“Are you that eager to remain on Loki Prime, then?” Maddox asked. “If we’re going to leave, we have to act now.”
“You have a point,” she said. “I obviously wish to leave. The question is can you beat their offer?”
“I doubt they offered you anything,” Maddox said.
“Oh?”
“You’re on the run from them. I think you’ve been hiding the entire time the shuttle has been on the ground. Otherwise, you’d be dead, killed during the missile strike. They would have at least been interrogating you there.”
“I see you like to make guesses,” she said.
Maddox shook his head. “No. It’s not a guess; it’s what happened. The New Man would never bother hunting for you otherwise.”
“You’re spinning a web of suppositions, hoping I’m so eager to get off Loki Prime that I’ll believe anything you tell me.”
“Doctor,” Maddox said. “The New Men have invaded the Oikumene. They have superior starships. Do you know that with three cruiser-class vessels, they annihilated what amounted to a double-strength Star Watch battle group?”
“Did you see the shuttle back there?” Dana asked. “Did you look at its markings? Did you happen to notice what uniform the woman wore who shot down your flitter?”
“I’m afraid I didn’t see her.”
“She wore a Star Watch uniform,” Dana said, as if that ended the discussion.
“That doesn’t surprise me in the least,” Maddox said. “The New Men have secretly infiltrated the Oikumene and slipped people into high places among Commonwealth personnel. We believe they’re genetic supermen. Given their actions to date, we’re in a species battle, and so far, our side is losing.”
Dana no longer seemed as triumphant as a second ago. “Suppose this is the truth,” she said. “Why would that bring you down here?”
“The answer may surprise you. Their technology is decidedly superior to ours, particularly in terms of starships. We need an equalizer, a superior fighting vessel, if we’re going to stop their invasion. According to our records, you were with Professor Ludendorff when he studied the alien sentinel in the shattered star system.”