The Lost Starship

-16-

Sergeant Treggason Riker, formerly of Star Watch Intelligence, coughed explosively as he gripped a steering oar under his sole armpit. He only had one arm, and he negotiated a dirty dugout canoe as it shot down whitewater rapids. His head wove this way and that as he dodged dipping branches. Going this fast, they acted like slicers.

Riker’s lungs hurt every time he inhaled. He’d contracted Loki Prime spores, what the Scorpions so colorfully had called red rot.

The sergeant hated the prison planet with its foul insects, funguses and infested inmates. Oh yes, he’d had a short discussion with the brigadier back on Earth about the mission. She’d told him Captain Maddox would be on his way to break him out of Loki Prime. O’Hara wanted to use Caius Nerva’s premature death as a path onto yet another preposterous operation.

Why did I ever agree to this? The duel with Caius Nerva—Maddox went too far. I should have just let him…

Riker grunted as a branch slashed his left check. He’d missed seeing it because his bionic eye had short-circuited twelve hours ago. Something in the atmosphere—a lousy spore or germ—had infected who knew what inside the eye. This place devoured technical equipment, rendering it inoperative better than cyber-warriors could dream. No wonder no colonists had committed to settling this hellhole. Or if they had, the unlucky sods were long dead, fertilizing the gloomy abode.

Of course, the penal authorities had taken his bionic arm. Then they’d dropped him from orbit before departing to their cozy quarters. The Scorpions found him several hours later. The beginning of a long and painful initiation into Loki society had begun soon thereafter.

The prisoners, the Scorpions as they called themselves, had flintlocks—wooden barrels firing hard knots of wood. They had primitive huts and a brutal pecking order. The worst offenders were the ones who used poisons, both natural and concocted. Those criminals possessed blow darts and “claws” affixed to their fingers, the tips glistening with killing toxins.

The Scorpions were on the bottom of the giant mountain, the lowest strata of criminals. The little time he’d been with them, Riker had learned they mostly thought of ways to invade higher country. The higher one went here, the less funguses and hot bacterium there was. The Scorpions were too diseased, though, to fight on equal footing against the higher tribes. The lower one went on Loki Prime, the more deadly everything became to human existence.

Yet that’s where Riker went: down. Behind him, Scorpions shrieked their war cries.

Riker glanced back. He saw them, ravaged individuals wearing cloth masks. Many had open sores on their bodies. The masks were wet with foul toxins, helping to keep out things like red rot. The toxins in the mouth-cloths made the wearers high and extra-savage. It was the trade-off for protection.

I would have stayed in their compound, but I think they planned cannibalism. These scoundrels knew I wasn’t one of them. They kept calling me a weasel, a snitch.

Riker dearly wanted to blame Captain Maddox for his fix. The youngster seldom stayed on script with anything. Yet, the captain had great instincts for making the right moves. Brigadier O’Hara had explained that Maddox would be coming for him. The tech boys were putting a bug in him, the safe technical kind. The captain would use a locator to find and retrieve him.

The youngsters will find me if I can stay free long enough. Riker had to believe that. It was the only thing giving him hope to continue.

Behind him, a musket boomed. Something hard and fast slashed leaves inches above Riker’s head. A second musket fired, and a waterspout appeared beside the dugout, splashing his check.

Riker snarled with frustration. He wasn’t going to outdistance them on the river. He had a steering arm. They had paddles, plunging their crafts faster.

I’m too old for these games. My lungs are on fire and I’m tired. I wish I’d stolen a flintlock.

Riker twisted his body to move his steering oar, aiming the dugout for the nearest shore. The whitewater shoved his craft, and he failed to spy a hidden rock in his path. Wood splintered as the dugout struck the river stone. Rushing water shoved hard. It lifted the back end of the boat, catapulting Riker over the rock, hurling him into the air and against the shore. He hit, grunting, with his legs dangling in the water. The raging current began to tug him in.

Making a mewling noise, Riker scrambled, slithering higher. Mud stained his overalls. Branches scratched his face and gray hair. Insects whirled around him. He hated their squishy forms.

“There, boys!” a Scorpion shouted. “The weasel is running onto land. We almost have him.”

Riker’s lips peeled back. His body felt aflame with aches and pains. He wheezed, as his lungs seemed to fill with fluid.

Keep moving. Trust the captain to produce another miracle. He needs me. I know he does. No one else has ever kept him grounded to reality as I do. The man believes he can do anything that he sets his mind to. He’s quite mad.

The sergeant slipped and slid on wet moss. From the river behind him, another flintlock boomed. The wooden pellet slashed his side, ripping the fabric of his overall and spilling blood.

That would stir the insects.

Riker snarled again. He lowered his head and recklessly plunged through the growth. He was so tired, so spent, that it was impossible to think. At this point, it would be good to simply lie down and go to sleep.

They’ll eat your flesh, Treggason. Think about that, my boy.

Riker widened his good eye and wheezed. That proved to be too much. He coughed explosively, spitting red gunk onto nearby fronds. He bent over and continued to cough.

“Hear him, boys! There’s a crawly that can’t run far. I say we cut off his arm and legs and eat his flesh while he’s watching. That’s always good for a few laughs.”

Riker made a fist, and rage washed through him. He had more sense than Captain Maddox, though. Fighting the gang one to six would lead to his quick defeat. He had to keep running. He had to spin this out for as long as he could.

The sergeant began to walk, easing past branches and over-stepping rotted wood that would have made enough noise to give him away. Refusing to cough, he made grunting sounds as his chest heaved. Let them earn his flesh. Let them become infested with lowlander spores to make them puke.

Soon, pain and effort merged into a confused blur. With everything in him, Riker tried to concentrate. For a second, he halted and looked up. He could have sworn he just heard the hum of a flitter.

Captain Maddox?

No. He must have started to hallucinate. Riker turned back. He could hear the others beating the bushes for him. They were angry.

The sergeant managed a painful smile. A slimy substance had already begun to attach to his teeth. Given time, the gunk would rot them right out of his gums. Using a forefinger, he wiped away slime, brushing the substance on a leaf. He kept moving, but now he staggered.

“Do you hear that?” a Scorpion shouted.

Riker shivered. The red rot had taken hold. He must have a higher fever than before.

“He’s close, boys. I can feel it in my gut. Do you hear my stomach rumble with desire?”

Scorpions laughed, sounding more like hyenas than men.

Now Riker ran. It was like that of a wounded moose plunging into the forest. Behind him, a chorus of shouts and wild whoops told him they had found his trail again.

Once again, the flitter sound filled Riker with wild hope. Had he run long enough to give the captain time?

Sergeant Riker silently jeered himself as a hopeless romantic. He must believe in impossible causes just as the captain did. The young officer had infected him with his insane optimism. They had worked together for a year. It had been the most eventful time of Riker’s life. He was sorry to die on this Godforsaken planet. Without him as a tether to reality, Captain Maddox would take matters too far and kill himself in the line of duty.

“Run, Weasel!” a Scorpion shouted.

Riker glanced back. He saw a native in a loincloth, with a wet rag over his face like an old-time Western outlaw. The man carried a long-barreled flintlock in one hand. He had a pack on his back, while oil glistened on his skin. The oil helped to keep vile lowlander spores off his body.

The man knelt, raised the flintlock and let the hammer fall.

Time seemed to slow down for Sergeant Riker. The striking of flint against the pan produced an explosion of gunpowder. Where on this plant had they found the needed substances?

It didn’t matter. A hard knot of wood struck Riker’s back. It pitched him forward off his feet, so he crashed face-first against the soil. Pain made him writhe on the ground. He tried to get up, but failed. His limbs were refusing to move.

The snap and crunch of branches told him Scorpions approached. He heard their mocking laughter. No, no, he couldn’t let them feast on his flesh.

“Maddox,” he wheezed. “Can you hear me?”

“He’s praying,” a Scorpion said.

“Let’s drag him to that rock. We can use it to hack off his legs easier.”

“Are we going to eat him here?”

“I’m not dragging his carcass upstream.”

“Sheds will be angry with you.”

“What are you saying? You want to carry him?”

“No.”

“So why are you talking about Sheds?”

“You know why. Don’t pretend you don’t.”

Riker had almost lost consciousness. He knew about Sheds too. The man was huge and strong, and he ruled the Scorpions with savage brutality. The others feared his wrath. The chief had a grim garden of planted people festering with horrible diseases. Sheds liked to wander through his garden, taunting the inmates of his own private hell.

“Should we carry this crawly back then?”

No one spoke.

“Or should we eat him here?”

Again no one spoke.

“Hey, you,” a Scorpion said, prodding Riker in the side. “Can you walk?”

Riker tried to stand, but slid back onto his stomach.

“We’ll eat him,” the same Scorpion said. “Blue, you and Fetch drag him to the rock. I’m going to do the hacking.”

Riker didn’t fight as they dragged his body over the damp ground. They used his legs. He was trying to drum up enough strength to make a last fight of it. The wooden pellet in his back kept leeching the last of his willpower, though.

I never thought it would end like this. I wonder what happened to Captain Maddox. Why did I hear the hum of a flitter? I suppose I’ll never know.

“Here we go,” a Scorpion said. “Prop him up.”

Men grabbed Riker’s torso. They heaved, and Riker’s back exploded with pain as they laid him on the rock.

His good eye opened, and he struck with everything he had, punching a Scorpion in the gut. It ended up being little more than a shove. The native stumbled back, though.

“That’s going to cost you,” the biggest Scorpion said. He held a long branch with a sharp obsidian edge. They were individual stones wedged into the wood.

“I’d think twice before you use that,” a well-modulated voice said.

Riker couldn’t believe it. That sounded exactly like Captain Maddox. The man had the attitude down perfectly.

“Who are you?” a Scorpion asked.

Riker could feel the tension build around him. Six Scorpions stood by the rock. No. The rearward man slipped away into the brush. Then another bled off. Riker wanted to warn Maddox. Was it really the captain?

“If those men don’t return,” Maddox said. “I’m shooting you first.”

“With what?” the biggest Scorpion asked. “Oh. Hey! That’s a regular gun. You never made that on Loki.”

“You haven’t recalled your wayward men,” Maddox said.

A flintlock discharged. The wooden pellet slapped leaves.

“You missed him!” the leader shouted. “Hey! Where did he go?”

Shots rang out. Riker knew the sound well. Scorpions began to tumble around him. Some groaned. One screamed in agony. The leader slid to the damp soil, dead, shot through the forehead.

Confusion filled Riker as he closed his eye. He lay on the rock, clinging to consciousness. His lungs began to fill with fluid, making him wheeze horribly. He heard more shots in the distance. Another flintlock fired.

Did Captain Maddox live? These Scorpions were uncanny woodsmen. Those who refused to learn Loki’s lessons had died a long time ago.

Finally, a gentle hand shook Riker. He peeled open an eyelid. Captain Maddox looked down on him. The officer seemed concerned.

Riker forced himself to think. “How…” He began to cough.

Maddox eased him up. Riker spat red gunk, coughed, spat and coughed more. Finally, he began to wheeze as a queasy feeling consumed him. He shivered uncontrollably.

“How many did you kill?” Riker whispered.

“Five of them,” Maddox said.

“There were six,” Riker whispered.

“The last one was running hard. I let him go.”

“Don’t let that fool you, sir. He’ll double back. What you have, it’s incredible wealth to them.”

“I’ll keep that in mind. Now you must save your strength, Sergeant. We don’t have far to go, but it will take some effort.”

“I’m done for, sir,” Riker said.

“Nonsense, Sergeant. I didn’t come all this way to have you die on me. Besides, I need what lies in your skull.”

“I’m not very lucid, sir. My thinking is off. The last one is returning. Count on it.”

“I’ve already told you I’ll keep that in mind. Now stand up. There’s a good fellow. Lean your weight on me.”

“How did you make it down here, sir?”

“I have my flitter,” Maddox said.

“I heard it earlier.”

“Good. Now concentrate. Yes, keep walking.”

Riker swam in and out of consciousness. A raging fever made him desperately cold. He would have crashed to the ground many times, but Maddox kept him up. Riker couldn’t believe this was happening. He wanted to weep with relief, but he would never do that before the captain. He wouldn’t give Maddox the pleasure.

“I have red rot in my lungs, sir.”

Maddox said nothing.

With a final supreme effort, Riker opened his eye. The last Scorpion stood before them. He aimed his flintlock at Maddox.

“Drop your gun,” the man said.

“Is that barrel made of wood?” Maddox asked.

“Drop it!” the Scorpion shouted. Oil slicked his skin in most places. Some of it looked dry, though. That was bad luck for the criminal.

Maddox pitched his gun onto the ground.

“That’s good,” the Scorpion said, grinning. He only had a few teeth left, and they were green. “Now, tell me who you are?”

“I’m with Intelligence,” Maddox said, “Star Watch. I’m on Loki Prime looking for Doctor Dana Rich. Have you heard of her?”

The Scorpion cawed with laughter. “Of course I’ve heard of that bitch. She’s two tribes up on the mountain.”

“Ah,” Maddox said.

The Scorpion cocked his head. The rag over his face was almost dry. Riker knew the man needed to re-soak it. “You don’t know what that means,” the Scorpion said. “Up the mountain. Did you just drop onto the surface?”

“In a manner of speaking, I did,” Maddox said. “Now listen here, my good fellow. If you’re interested in a reward, you’ll tell me all you can about Dana Rich and her tribe.”

“No,” the Scorpion said. “I’m the one making the deals. You’re—” The man cocked his head again, and he glanced around before staring at Maddox. “Do you hear that hum?”

“I do in fact,” Maddox said.

“What is it?”

“My taxi out of here,” Maddox said.

“You’d better explain that to me.”

As Riker watched, he saw the flitter glide into position behind the man.

“Look behind you,” Maddox suggested.

The Scorpion did.

“You see now that I have the ability to reward you,” Maddox said.

In disbelief, with tears in his eyes, the Scorpion stared at the captain. “That’s your air-car up there?”

“Indeed.”

As a tear slid down his face, the Scorpion grinned. “Do you know what a ransom is?”

“I’m aware of the concept,” Maddox said.

“Good. Because you’re going to communicate with your driver and tell him to land right here.”

Maddox shook his head.

“Do you want to die?” the Scorpion shouted, his cloth fluttering before his lips.

“You misunderstand,” Maddox said. “I wasn’t shaking my head for your benefit, but for the driver’s.”

“What?” the Scorpion asked, his forehead furrowed.

On the nose of the flitter, Riker saw a slot move out of the way. A barrel poked out.

“Go ahead,” Maddox told the criminal. “Take a look behind you. I’m sure you’ll find this of interest.”

Once more, the Scorpion glanced back. That’s when a heavy slung from the flitter’s weapon blew apart his chest. The bloody remains toppled onto the soil.

“I should have listened to you, Sergeant,” Maddox said. “The man did indeed double back. Now we’re going to have to get Doctor Rich with only a minimum of information to guide us. I’d planned to chase the convict down and interrogate him.”

The captain said more, but Riker didn’t hear the rest as he slipped into blessed unconsciousness.