“You know you’ll never decipher the professor’s notes,” she said. “You lack the brainpower. Thus, this mission is doomed to failure.”
“I don’t understand why you’re aiding the New Men, Doctor.”
“I’m not aiding them. I already told you once. I hate the Commonwealth of Planets and think even less of the Windsor League and the Wahhabi Caliphate. Let the New Men make a clean sweep of it. In time, I’m going to get a starship of my own. Then, I’m heading far, far away, Captain. So you see, your threat of heading even deeper into the Beyond is no threat at all, but a boon for my plans. By all means, take us far away from your precious Commonwealth and its oh so high and mighty Star Watch. Good riddance to them all.”
Silently, Maddox admitted defeat. “Very well, you’ve convinced me. Let me help you to your new quarters.”
“I can walk on my own,” she said. With that, she struggled off the robo-doctor and limped for the hatch.
Maddox followed, knowing he’d have to keep a sharp eye on her, or despite his best efforts, she would hijack the vessel.
-26-
The deadly game of tag begun with the Saint Petersburg in Earth orbit and taken to the Loki System now entered its most frustrating phase for Captain Maddox.
With its head start, the Geronimo slipped from the barren star system. For a day—twenty-three hours to be precise—it seemed they had finally shaken off the destroyer. Instead, as the scout neared the next Laumer-Point, the Saint Petersburg entered the same star system. After two hours of active sensor sweeps, the destroyer accelerated hard for the jump point the scout neared.
“Since the mine-attack, our cloaking device no longer functions one hundred percent,” Valerie said. “They must be able to see us.”
Maddox stood in the control room, staring at the lieutenant’s view-screen. The Saint Petersburg aimed at them like an arrow, if six hundred million kilometers away. He hated the New Man over there, and he hoped the commander’s ribs hurt where he’d shot him on Loki Prime.
The scout’s engine worked after a fashion. The gravity generator shook the wounded scout too much when employed. The cloaking device—as the lieutenant suggested was still less than perfect.
“Drop the cloak,” Maddox said.
“What if the destroyer’s crew just guessed right?” Valerie asked. “If we appear now, that will let them know exactly what to look for next time.”
Maddox didn’t think so, but it was possible the lieutenant was right. He put his hands behind his back, squeezing his fingers into fists. This was different than his normal spying mission. Given a situation like this on Earth, he would…
Maddox shook his head. To win this time, he had to accept that his choices could produce defeat. He had to think, and he had to accept responsibility. If Valerie had a better idea than he did, he should use it. Captaining a starship, even a small one like the scout, was an art. It was conceivable he still had much to learn in this area.
“Maintain the cloak,” he said.
Now it was Keith’s turn. “If we remain cloaked, the destroyer is going to catch up,” the pilot said. “We have to move as fast as we can, and we don’t dare use the gravity generator until further repairs have strengthened the scout’s structures.”
“Understood,” said Maddox. “Stay cloaked, but put the fusion thruster online.”
“If we do that,” Valerie said, “they’ll certainly see us.”
“Nevertheless, we will risk it,” Maddox said. “Ensign Maker is correct. They’re heading for us, even if they can’t see us. We must keep as far ahead of them as we can, staying out of missile and beam range.”
Geronimo accelerated. Several hours later, the ship entered the Laumer-Point at speed. Without the destroyer in the new star system—at least for a time—Maddox ordered the lieutenant to let the cloak drop.
During this time, Meta, Valerie, Keith and Sergeant Riker continued to effect repairs the best they could. Doctor Dana Rich stayed locked in her quarters. Meta constantly asked to see her. Maddox refused every request.
The captain’s normal calm deserted him when he was alone in his quarters. He read Professor Ludendorff’s notes again and again, stalking back and forth in his chamber in frustration and then returning to his computer to retype the words, hoping to see something new. He tried old encryptions and finally ran the notes through the computer. Nothing made sense.
“Deeper into the Beyond,” Maddox ordered. “The alien star system is out there, so that’s where we’ll head.”
Always—sometimes just minutes before they jumped—the destroyer appeared in the star system, pinging its sensors off the cloaked scout.
Maddox had Riker read the notes. The sergeant shrugged afterward. The old man had no ideas. Keith read the notes and laughed when asked if he saw a code embedded there. Valerie didn’t laugh, but she didn’t have any ideas, either. Meta pondered the words. She tried hard but came up with nothing.
After the tenth jump, Maddox lay on his bunk, staring at the ceiling. They had just used a small Class 3 wormhole. The destroyer would have to work around, using larger jump points to reach this star system. If the scout proved fast enough, they could leave this system before the Saint Petersburg appeared to resume the chase.
To Maddox’s amazement, they made the jump, a second one too—several days later—and the Saint Petersburg still hadn’t showed up.
“We did it,” Valerie said in the control room. “We’ve shaken the hunter. Now, we can think about a space-dock and extended repairs.”
There were grins all around. Then an alarm rang. Maddox, Keith and Valerie bent over their controls. The lieutenant found it first. She looked up, stricken.
Maddox noticed her features. He sat up, asking, “You found the Saint Petersburg?”
The lieutenant shook her head. “Worse,” she whispered, “it’s much, much worse.” She pointed at her view-screen. “I’m looking at a New Men star cruiser. I’d recognize that triangular shape anywhere. The same model annihilated von Gunther’s fleet. How it found us, I don’t know, but it’s here.”
An icy sensation spread through Maddox’s chest. “I think I know what happened. They’ve widened the search, using more vessels. Maybe they’ve figured out what we’re after or they knew all along. They’re not about to let us reach the alien star system.”
Instead of swearing, Captain Maddox drummed his fingers on the console. He stood and pointed at Valerie. “Map out an escape route—don’t worry where it takes us in relation to the Oikumene. Shoot us through five star systems in quick succession. Oh, and use as many Class 3 wormholes as possible, making sure each Laumer-Point is as near to the next one as possible.”
“Excuse me, sir,” she said. “I’m not sure what you’re driving at.”
“We’re going to try to shake all of them,” Maddox said. “Bam, bam, bam,” he said, clapping his hands each time. “We jump, jump, jump before they appear to get a fix on us. If they have several vessels chasing us, we have to shake them all off.”
“How are they coordinating with each other in the various star systems?” Valerie asked.
There wasn’t a hyper-communications system in existence as far as Maddox knew. Messages traveled as fast as starships could carry them and no faster.
“I wish I knew,” Maddox said. “They’re being clever. That means we have to pull every rabbit out of the hat we can. Now get to work.”