“Slave the combat equipment to me, love,” Keith said. “I know exactly what to do.”
Valerie glanced at Maddox.
“Do it,” the captain said.
“We don’t want to launch chaff right away,” Keith said. “This is a heat-seeking missile, but I expect radar lock-on from the Saint Petersburg. They should be able to guide the missile to us. We’ll make them think we’re doing something different than what we’re really going to do.”
“What are we doing?” Valerie asked.
“Putting your life into my hands,” Keith said. “It isn’t misplaced.”
Several minutes passed.
“The missiles are closing fast,” Valerie shouted. “They’re Talos Seven class, variant E-3.”
“This is perfect,” Keith said. He slapped a control. “Grab your seats ladies, and gentlemen, sir.”
Maddox watched the lieutenant’s screen. Chaff flittered out from the rear of the scout. Then, Geronimo swiveled, turning one hundred and eighty degrees so they faced the approaching missiles. The ship began to buck and wave as it flew backward.
“Couldn’t do this without the antigravity pods,” Keith muttered. “Hang on, love.”
Despite the missiles’ speed, they swerved around the chaff. It seemed as if the ace had used the silvery particles as a make-shift shield.
Clever, Maddox thought.
“Now I have you,” Keith muttered. He pressed the trigger controls. Shells sped at the two bogeys. One Talos Seven variant E-3 missile disintegrated in midair. A second later, the other exploded, making a black cloud in the air.
“This will get rough!” Keith shouted.
The scout swiveled again, facing forward, and the missile’s air concussion struck the craft. The control room tipped to the side as the scout descended.
“Come on, lass, dance for your daddy-boy.” The ace’s fingers roved over his controls as everything shook.
Maddox had to clench his jaws to stop his teeth from rattling against each other.
Incredibly, Geronimo straightened and the shaking stopped. The scout soon rose to its former height.
Ensign Maker slapped his chest, hooting with delight. “I own you, you crawly mothers. I’m the king of the hill.”
Silently, Maddox agreed with the pilot’s assessment. The man knew his trade.
As Geronimo continued its way around the world, Doctor Rich worked feverishly at her controls. “I never thought I’d get to do this again,” she said in a voice choked with emotion.
The control room was meant for three. With four, it was crowded. So Maddox stood near the hatch, grabbing it during the violent maneuvering. “It’s time,” he said. “Lieutenant, hail Archangel.”
“We’ll never get through the space beacons if we do that,” Valerie told him.
“I said hail them,” Maddox said. “That doesn’t mean I plan to speak with anyone.”
“Sir?” asked Valerie.
Dana looked up from her panel, facing him. “You think there are more New Men aboard the destroyer?”
“Would the New Man commander go down to Loki Prime’s surface if he didn’t have backup on the destroyer?” Maddox asked.
“If I were the destroyer’s commander,” Dana said, “I wouldn’t go onto Loki Prime under any conditions.”
“You also don’t believe you can do anything you want,” Maddox said. “I believe they do. Anyway, that two New Men went down to the surface indicates to me that more stayed up with the Saint Petersburg.”
“Why would that matter to us so that we’re now hailing Archangel?” Valerie asked.
“It isn’t always what we do that matters,” Maddox told the lieutenant. “Sometimes what counts is what the enemy thinks we’re doing. Of course, as Doctor Rich has implied, I’m predicating this on the belief that there are New Men aboard Saint Petersburg.”
“Sir,” Valerie said. “Archangel acknowledges our signal.”
“Send them a random message,” Maddox said. “Use nonsense words.”
Lieutenant Noonan gave him a blank look.
“Recite an old nursery rhythm,” Maddox said. “We know it’s nonsense, but maybe the New Men aboard Saint Petersburg will believe it’s a clever code. I’m sure they’re monitoring our radio. They won’t be able to crack our meaningless message—what they think is a cryptogram—and that might trouble them enough into making a wrong choice.”
Doctor Rich appeared thoughtful as she studied Maddox. Finally, she said, “You’re attempting to use their intelligence against them. You’re a subtle man, Captain.”
“Don’t sing my praises yet,” Maddox said. “Wait until we’ve made it.”
Thirty seconds passed, a minute. The scout continued to shiver as the engines complained.
“The turbulence is stressing the ship’s structures, sir,” Keith said. “I recommend—”
“Sir!” Valerie shouted. “The destroyer has slowed down. It appears to be making a turn.”
“Can you spy the lifting shuttle?” Maddox asked.
“Negative,” Valerie said. “It’s over the horizon in relation to us.”
“Pour it on, Ensign,” Maddox said. “Push it. This is our sole opportunity to break out into space.”
“You guessed right, sir,” Valerie said. “You outfoxed the destroyer’s commander.”
“We’re prolonging our existence,” Maddox said. “That means we get to play phase two.” He glanced at the lieutenant’s board. The destroyer was completing the turn. The commander up there must have decided to pick up the shuttle as fast as he could. Then he would use the Saint Petersburg’s speed to try to catch the scout. Of that, Maddox had little doubt.
Thirty more seconds passed.
“Now,” Maddox said. “Take us through the clouds and head for space, Ensign.”
“Aye-aye, Captain, sir,” Keith said. “I’m going to show these blimey crawlies what we can do.”
Geronimo reached space at a calculated spot. They were in line-of-sight of Archangel, which maintained its distant post near the Class 1 tramline jump-point entrance and the chthonian planet. Loki Prime now shielded them from the destroyer, although that wouldn’t last for long. The bulkheads no longer shuddered, and the scout seemed unhurt from its time in the atmosphere.
“We have clear running ahead of us,” Keith said.
“Engage the cloaking device,” Maddox said.
Valerie complied, although she said, “It won’t work at peak efficiency while the engines are pouring exhaust from our port.”
“The cloak will still make it harder for Archangel to tell what we are,” Maddox said. “We’re not going to give them long to see us, though. Set a course for the Class 3 tramline, Lieutenant. Ensign, we’re going to use the Loki Prime. Take us behind it in relation to Archangel.”
“Won’t that bring us into a line-of-sight with Saint Petersburg?” Valerie asked.
“It will,” Maddox said. “How much battery charge do we have?”
“Fifteen percent,” Valerie said. “The batteries began charging again when I turned on the engines. But—”
“Fifteen percent is less than I like,” Maddox said, interrupting her. “Ensign, give us full power. Open it up. Then, at my command, you will cut power and go to batteries to energize the cloaking device.”
“We can use the cloak with the fusion engines powering them,” Valerie said. “It’s the hot exhaust out of the port that will give us away.”