“No,” Maddox said. “It’s too risky to cut it too fine. We don’t know how quickly New Men recover from Jump Lag—quicker than us, you once said. Maybe they brought computer systems with them that recover faster than ours do from jump. We have to fade away now and reach our next tramline in secret.”
Valerie stood, moving from piloting to her controls.
Maddox shifted as well, calling Keith on the ship’s intercom.
“Will they try to follow us all the way to the alien star system?” Valerie asked.
“That would be bad,” Maddox said. “How is the cloaking device responding?”
“Do you hear the clicking noise?”
Maddox listened. He could hear it, and he told Valerie so.
“The cloaking device is straining, sir. I don’t know how long our jury-rigging is going to work. We need a dockyard and a major overhaul. The mine hurt us, sir, worse than I think you want to admit.”
“It’s not how good our ship is but if we can beat the other fellow across the finish line.”
The clicking noises increased.
Maddox swore under his breath. The hatch opened and the sleepy-eyed ace entered. “Explain the situation to him, Lieutenant. Keep us cloaked at all costs. Ensign, at your judgment, engage the gravity generator to build our velocity.”
Keith paused, rubbing his eyes, taking his time digesting the order. Finally, he said, “I’m not sure the scout can withstand more of that kind of stress, Captain, sir.”
“I imagine we’re going to find out,” Maddox told him.
“The cloaking device, sir—” Valerie said.
“I’ll tell Meta to keep it operational,” Maddox said.
“Do you know which Laumer-Point I’m supposed to aim us toward once we jump into the next system?” Valerie asked.
Unfortunately, Maddox did not. A prolonged reading of Professor Ludendorff’s notes had convinced him the text was encrypted. Dana might understand the script, but so far, Maddox knew he didn’t.
“I’m off to see if I can answer your question,” Maddox said.
“You’re going to wake Doctor Rich?” Valerie asked.
“Precisely,” Maddox answered. “Wish me luck on convincing her to stay with us to the end.”
“Luck,” Valerie said.
Maddox exited the control room.
Sitting on a chair, the captain waited with his legs crossed as Doctor Rich slowly regained consciousness.
Maddox had time to ponder his situation. Down on the prison planet, what had the appearance of the New Men truly meant? He kept replaying the incident on Loki Prime. The golden-skinned invader had dodged his gunshots. That was incredible. Only by anticipating the man had Maddox been able to shoot him to the ground. Could a regular man have done as well as him?
That’s what I’m really asking, isn’t it? Am I a normal man, or do I have their blood in me? Was my mother a breeder for the New Men? Suppose she was. What does that mean for me?
The idea of genetically altering humans was repugnant to most people. Making replicas such as clones also made people uneasy. The Clone Laws were there to halt the practice, and yet some rich folk on Earth bought clones from planets outside the Commonwealth.
Did the New Men have feelings of racial superiority? Back before interstellar travel, Earth had fought world wars concerning such matters. The Eugenics War of the Twentieth Century had destroyed the nation attempting to fashion a master race. Had that horror now come to the Oikumene? If he and his crew failed to acquire the alien sentinel, would the Star Watch go down in defeat against the invincible cruisers?
Maddox scowled. The New Man on Loki had fired into the undergrowth, unerringly hitting his targets. That had been uncanny. The man’s running speed was faster than Maddox could have sprinted. He also happened to know that he ran much faster than others could.
Maybe this is my mission in life. I’m alive to halt a monstrous racial war. Yes, I drugged Doctor Rich. I did it to keep her out of the way for a time. The mine almost finished us. We had to fix the scout before the destroyer came and demolished us. The Saint Petersburg may annihilate us anyway. I drugged the doctor because it’s harder for one person to resist others mentally when they’re on their own. According to Valerie, Meta has come closer to our way of thinking. We need her.
On the table, Dana smacked her lips. Even though her eyes remained closed, she reached up and began to rub her face.
Even more than Meta, Maddox thought, we need this unpredictable woman. Without her, the operation is likely doomed to failure. How can I convince her to help us? Do I dare try to trick her? Maybe it’s better to lay my cards face-up. What will sway Dana Rich? What should I base my appeal on? You’re supposed to be a smart operator, Captain. What would appeal to me if I were in her shoes?
Yes. That was the question. Know yourself and you could know others.
“What… what happened to me?” Dana whispered in a dry voice.
Maddox held his breath. Here we go. Then, he stood and approached her with a glass of water.
Dana struggled to a sitting position. Although noticing it at first, she ignored the tumbler in his hand. First glancing around, she asked, “How long have I been here?”
He gave her the number in days.
Gingerly, Dana touched the back of her head. She gave him a suspicious glance as he explained how she’d been knocked unconscious and into a coma.
When he finished, she said, “I haven’t been in a coma. The signs are wrong. The truth is you drugged me.”
“The robo-doctor gave you medicine,” Maddox said.
“You know what I mean. By your decision, you put me under. I want to know why you did it.”
“Here,” Maddox said, pushing the water forward.
He could see in her eyes that she wanted to slap the glass away. Finally, she snatched the tumbler, spilling liquid. He wondered if she would fling it in his face. No. She sipped. Finally, she drank the glass dry. Then, she let the container slide from her fingers to bounce off the deck.
“What’s the situation with the scout?” she asked. “The engine sounds different.”
Ignoring the glass, he told her about their repairs, and how the Saint Petersburg was in the same star system with them.
Her eyes darted from side to side thoughtfully. When her orbs came to a rest, she said, “Okay. The destroyer is hunting us. Isn’t that what you’re saying?”
“It is,” Maddox agreed.
“I could have helped with the repairs,” Dana said. “I can do more than Meta.”
“I believe you. The thing is, Doctor, it’s easier to trust Meta than to trust you.”
Her eyes widened until understanding fired in her pupils. “Oh, I see. You’re trying to win her over to your cause. With me out of the way, you could persuade her more easily. Yes. I understand now.”
“And?” Maddox said.
“What do you mean, ‘and?’”
“Aren’t you going to tell me that my trickery won’t work?”
“I don’t engage in useless comments,” Dana said. “Of course your skullduggery could work. It’s a common enough tactic, building camaraderie under extreme conditions. Meta hungers for friends. She’s a lonely person.”
“You aren’t?”
Dana smiled as a predator might. “If I thought about it, I might have time for loneliness. Your trouble, Captain, is that you ponder things too much. You’re much more transparent than you realize.”
“Oh?”
“How is it that your people chose you to try to beat the New Men?” she asked.
Tension bubbled in his chest. “Could you explain your statement?” he asked.