The Lost Starship

-13-

Lieutenant Noonan hesitated before the cargo bay hatch. She could hear Captain Maddox working on his flitter.

Four busy days ago, they had escaped down the Class 3 tramline, fleeing the attacking destroyer. Since then, she’d pored over the scout’s manuals, soaking up information, checking everything she could think of about the Geronimo. By her review, the ship was in excellent condition. She wondered if the captain had been as thorough in his examination of the craft. In her opinion, he cut too many corners. A good ship’s commander followed the procedures. Regulations were there to ensure a properly run vessel.

Valerie tugged her uniform straight, swung open the hatch and ducked through.

Theoretically, the cargo bay was the largest area in the ship. All kinds of stacked and secured containers in here meant that Maddox only had a little room for his flyer. The machine looked bigger than she remembered. Probably, that was a matter of perspective.

Litter lay strewn about the craft: the rear seat in sections, metal panels and pads. The captain ducked out of sight. He stood inside the flitter. A second later, an unseen drill whirred with sound.

Valerie eyed the pieces on the floor. What was the captain doing now? She wished he wasn’t so secretive. He kept everything to himself, telling them what to do at the last minute. She liked more information and a heads up so she could do a task well, not just a rush-job.

The drill whirred longer. Then hammering sounds started from the back. A moment later, metal screeched against metal. There was further drilling and an oath of what might have been frustration from Maddox.

Finally, the captain reappeared in the canopy area, with an electric drill in his hand. He had removed the clear bubble.

“Lieutenant,” Maddox said. “Can I help you?”

“Uh… sir, we’re approaching the next Laumer-Point. It will take us into Remington Three, which connects with the Loki System.”

“Excellent.”

She nodded and finally blurted, “What are you doing, sir?”

He raised an eyebrow. “Enlarging the flitter’s carrying capacity,” he said.

“May I ask why, sir?”

“I plan to take the ensign with me down onto the prison planet.”

“I see.”

“Excellent,” Maddox said. “Now, if you’ll excuse me…”

Valerie held her spot.

Maddox didn’t move as he watched her.

He should let us know what he expects. He should do that well before an operation so we can prepare.

The captain set down the drill. “What’s on your mind, Lieutenant?”

“Sir,” she said, coming to attention, looking up at the ceiling so she wouldn’t have to keep staring into his eyes. “I request permission to speak freely.”

“By all means, please do so.”

“Thank you, sir. I, uh, do not want to presume upon your authority. You are the senior officer. Yet, as the second-in-command, it is my duty to address the issue. Article 12, Section 3 demands I speak up.”

He waited.

Valerie’s shoulder muscles tightened. “Sir, you broke regulations when you struck Ensign Maker two days ago.”

Maddox still said nothing.

“Regulations forbid striking a fellow officer except in cases of self-defense,” she said.

“Technically, I struck the bottle out of his hand.”

“With a baton, sir,” she said. “The glass cut him. It might have taken out an eye.”

Maddox became quiet again.

That caused Valerie’s stomach to squirm. She would have preferred anger. Unable to take the silence, more words squeezed out of her. “I-I know some people believe I’m a stickler for the rules. Those are their words, not mine. My point, sir, is that the regulations protect all of us. Without them, what are we?”

Nothing changed about Maddox, but he seemed to come to a decision. “You have character, Lieutenant. I appreciate that. It’s likely we view our roles from divergent positions. One of the reasons Lord High Admiral Cook and Brigadier O’Hara chose me for this assignment was my ability to adjust as needed. For many situations, we won’t have a rulebook addressing the exact problem. In others, the rules stand in the way. In compensation, we have our judgment. I used mine in tackling the delicate situation with Ensign Maker.”

“Yes, sir,” she said, and she made ready with her next argument.

Maddox spoke again. “I’m going to finish up here,” he said. “It will take me a few hours more. In time, we’ll have a briefing in the wardroom.”

Realizing he was dismissing her, Valerie saluted. She wanted to dig deeper. Without rules, chaos reigned. Anyone could see that was true. But she knew how to follow orders. She turned and headed for the hatch.

Twelve hours later, Valerie sat in the wardroom with Ensign Maker. The ship hurdled through Remington Three toward the next Laumer-Point, which would take them into the Loki System.

The two of them waited on Captain Maddox. Keith’s lip was healing quickly, but the back of his right hand still looked bad. How dare the captain strike the man or the bottle he had been holding? An inch the other way and Maddox might have broken bones.

The hatch opened, and the captain ducked through. He looked striking in his uniform and cap, and he wore a regulation sidearm.

Valerie stood at attention while Keith kept sitting. The captain waited. Belatedly, the pilot rose to his feet, although he didn’t come to full attention. The man lacked military manners.

“Please,” Maddox said. “Sit down.”

Keith practically dropped into his chair. Valerie sat with decorum, putting her folded hands on the table. She knew that bad manners drove out good, and she was determined that wouldn’t happen to her.

Maddox strode to the head of the table, sitting, regarding them. “I’ll make this brief. Until we reach the alien sentinel, entering the Loki System is going to be the most dangerous aspect of our mission. As you know, no one has ever managed to escape off Loki Prime. There’s a reason for that. An SWS monitor guards the main jump point while heavily armed orbitals watch the surface for any technological activity. If they detect a problem, they launch missiles onto the planet. Because of its thick cloud cover, lasers can’t penetrate from space to the surface. A few of the orbitals do have laser cannons, though. Those are for shuttles or other vehicles attempting to land on the surface or trying to leave.

“Now, the Lord High Admiral has provided me with security clearance codes for the orbitals. I doubt any other ship has arrived from Earth to program a new security system into place. Even so, this is going to be tricky, and it could take expert flying. Any questions so far?”

“I have one,” Keith said, raising his hand.

“Go ahead.”

“Are we taking the scout down onto the surface?”

“Negative,” Maddox said. “We’ll use the flitter.”

“Your speedster isn’t rated for vacuum flight, sir,” Valerie said. “I looked it up on the ship’s computer.”

“This is a modified flitter,” Maddox told her.

“While you’re on the surface, what are my duties here, sir?” Valerie asked.

“To wait by the controls for my signal,” Maddox said. “It’s unlikely, but you may have to enter the atmosphere to pick us up.”

“May I ask why you think that, sir?” she said.

“How far I can climb out of the atmosphere will depend on the weight of my passengers.”

“Do you expect any danger while on the planet, sir?”

“Considerable danger,” Maddox said. “Murderers, rapists and other criminals are all serving life sentences on Loki Prime. The flitter will represent their only chance of escape. We don’t know the conditions down there, but I expect trouble.”

“I checked the regulations, sir,” Valerie said. “I found that it’s forbidden to take firearms down onto the planet.”

Maddox scrutinized her. “You do realize that we’re headed to Loki Prime in order to break people out of a prison planet? Technically, that’s unlawful. I’m proceeding upon the direct orders of Lord High Admiral Cook. One could argue that he has no right to order me into a seemingly lawless action. Yet, he has because of the enemy’s infiltration into our organizations. You do see that, yes?”

“I-I suppose so, sir,” Valerie stammered.

“Your answer is evasive,” Maddox said. “As an officer that follows the regulations, is it yes, or is it no?”

Valerie tried to squirm away from answering. “The Lord High Admiral is trying to save us,” she said.

“By breaking the law?” asked Maddox.

Valerie opened her mouth to answer but found that she didn’t know what to say.

“Lieutenant,” Maddox said, “I believe you’re now experiencing a common failing among all of us. To wit, that our theories have a terrible tendency to crash against reality. In such an instance, one should employ judgment to make a calculated choice. The trouble is that, at times, your judgment will fail you, just as it has me in several instances. Then you must dust yourself off and begin anew, attempting to learn from the experience.”

“Are these new procedures, sir?”

“We can speak about procedures later,” Maddox said. “Right now, we shall concentrate on the mission. The rescue of Doctor Dana Rich takes priority. Without her, it’s doubtful we can reach the alien star system or have any real chance of gaining entrance onto the sentinel. Here is the last known picture of her.”

Maddox aimed a hand-unit at a wall. A photo appeared of a dark-haired woman. The hair shined with conditioner and reached well beyond her shoulders. She had dark eyes and a deep brown complexion, giving her an exotic appearance. Her smile indicated cynicism, while her brow showed high intelligence.

“She has an Indian and Cherokee background,” Maddox said.

“I thought Cherokees were Indians,” Keith said.

“Not that kind,” Maddox said. “I mean a citizen of India.”

“Doctor Rich was born on Earth?” Valerie asked.

“Yes, in Bombay,” Maddox said. “She hasn’t been to Earth for over twenty years, however. She emigrated to Brahma.”

“How old is she?” Valerie asked.

“The file didn’t say. She’s highly intelligent, capable and considered very dangerous. She’s a clone thief, having broken into Rigel’s Social Syndicate highest-level holding cells.”

“They must have been important clones,” Valerie said.

“Of the ruling syndic himself,” Maddox said. “He and his cronies control the Social Syndicate.”

Valerie shook her head. She’d never heard of them.

“It doesn’t matter now,” the captain said. “I have a locator—”

Valerie laughed. “I don’t see how this will be difficult, then. Oh. Please excuse my interruption, sir.”

“Finish your thought, Lieutenant.”

Valerie fidgeted before saying, “Can’t you fix Doctor Rich’s location, fly down, spray the area with a knockout gas and pick up her inert form?”

“I’m afraid not,” Maddox said.

Valerie glanced at Keith before turning back to Maddox. “Am I missing something, sir?”

“As I was going to say,” Maddox told her, “I have a locator to help me find Sergeant Riker. He’s my assistant in Star Watch Intelligence. He has already been sent to Loki Prime with the task of finding the good doctor. After picking him up, I hope to proceed quickly on the ground to her.”

“Your sergeant, sir?” Valerie asked.

“Yes. He’s a good man.”

“Brave, too,” she said. “He agreed to drop alone onto the prison planet?”

“No. He was sentenced to Loki Prime for killing Caius Nerva, Octavian Nerva’s heir.”

“Why would your sergeant kill the heir to the richest man on Earth?” Valerie asked.

“I’m sure he’ll enjoy telling you the story, provided we make it back alive.” Maddox checked a chronometer. “We have forty minutes until we reach the jump point. This time, we’ll use our cloaking device and go in with silent running. We must be ready for any eventuality.”

He eyed them before picking up the clicker, bringing up another picture. This one had a timetable on it. “Let’s go over our operational details,” Maddox said.

They did for some time. As the captain neared the conclusion, and despite her reluctance to do so, Valerie found herself impressed with him. Maddox made excellent plans.

Soon, the captain stood. “That’s it, then. We’re about to make history—the first to break anyone out from the deadliest prison planet in the Commonwealth.”