Several minutes later, Stokes escorted Maddox into Brigadier Mary O’Hara’s office.
The Iron Lady sat behind a large synthi-wood desk, with her hands folded beside a thick and ancient book. The brigadier of Star Watch Intelligence had gray hair, a matronly image and a reputation for never losing her temper.
“Here he is, Ma’am,” Stokes said. “I found him as delightful as ever. The man stayed in his shuttle like a turtle, eyeing me as if I were the Devil himself come to hang him.”
“Thank you, Major,” O’Hara said, quietly.
Stokes cocked another eyebrow, coming to ramrod attention, giving a perfectly crisp salute.
“None of that now,” O’Hara said. “You did your chore. I’m appreciative of it, I assure you.”
The major turned around.
“There’s something wrong here, quite wrong,” the brigadier told Stokes. “I wanted someone to go that the captain would trust and who could also sniff out trouble. This isn’t over, Major. In fact, I think it has just begun.” O’Hara glanced at Maddox.
The captain nodded.
“See to the postings outside the building, Major. Then ready a combat team.”
Stokes turned back around to face her. “You think someone is going to try to storm the building, Ma’am?”
“I wouldn’t be surprised if our hidden enemy launched an attack on us. I can’t explain it, but there is a nefarious presence on Earth. I’m beginning to wonder if it has something to do with Captain Maddox’s return.”
“Ah,” Stokes said. “I shall redouble my efforts then.”
“That is most appreciated.”
With a final nod, Stokes took his leave, quietly shutting the door behind him.
For a moment, Maddox didn’t know what to do. It was strange. He almost felt like a young lad again, coming home after a year away from his…his…
“Captain,” O’Hara exclaimed. She almost jumped to her feet as she rose. The brigadier came around the desk and gave Maddox an uncharacteristic hug.
He held out his arms, finally patting her back. She was so much smaller than he was.
Abruptly, the brigadier released him, returning to her desk, sitting down and folding her hands back beside the dusty tome. She regarded him solemnly, seeming more like a superior officer.
“Please, Captain, sit down. Tell me what you’ve done with Starship Victory while you’ve been away.”
“Yes,” he said, moving to the chair before her desk. Maddox sat, crossed his legs and began to relate his and the crew’s exploits.
O’Hara didn’t ask questions. She let the captain explain things his own way. Halfway through his talk, a small red light on her desk blinked on. She pressed a switch and the light disappeared. Afterward, the brigadier watched him more closely than he recalled from previous debriefings.
He gave her a look. She chose to ignore it. Maddox filed that away. He spoke at length, trying to include everything of note.
Finally, he came to recent events. “After the microwave-beam attack, Ma’am, I knew the enemy wouldn’t stop there. My instincts told me the space marines in the hovers were the enemy’s next play—at least this round before I spoke with you.”
“The comm-blanketing at the spaceport suggests you’re correct about the marines,” O’Hara said. “But what if you’re wrong?”
“Then I killed innocent men, for which I’m sorry. However, I believe the stakes involved mean I should err on the side of Earth’s survival.”
O’Hara studied him.
Maddox wondered about the red light and the book on her desk that didn’t seem to serve any purpose. The book was positioned so if a recording device were up there in the display case….the recorder wouldn’t show the light coming on because the book would have blocked it.
Maddox found that interesting and telling.
“We’re still making inquiries about the marines,” the brigadier was saying. “The Lord High Admiral didn’t order them there. We know that much, which would seem to substantiate your instincts.” O’Hara touched the book on her desk. “We are to meet with the Lord High Admiral. In fact, he is waiting for us. Are you ready, Captain?”
“I’m surprised,” Maddox said. “I would have thought you had questions for me.”
“Oh, I have questions. Your tale is…miraculous. By your account, the Adok starship is proving successful beyond our wildest fantasies. Ludendorff’s actions since the Battle of the Tannish System…I find them odd. Can he really have done all those things you say? Your discovery about Strand…” The brigadier shook her head. “If true, your discoveries have unpleasant implications concerning the Methuselah People. That personally troubles me, as I’ve taken the preliminary treatments, which you well know.”
“Yes, Ma’am,” the captain said. Her answers seemed strange.
“I’m sure there’s even more you haven’t told me. It’s difficult to absorb so much in such a short amount of time, but—”
O’Hara stood. Maddox followed her example.
“If you’re correct about this doomsday machine…” the brigadier grew quiet. “Come, we must speak with the Lord High Admiral. We’re wasting time with this chitchat.”
The brigadier headed for a secret door, opening it with a wave of her hand. O’Hara led the way down a corridor. Maddox followed close behind. This wasn’t how he’d expected it to go. They should storm Nerva Tower at once and arrest Octavian and whoever Strand had put in his place.
O’Hara turned abruptly, staring up into the captain’s eyes. “Security personnel will be at the meeting.”
Maddox absorbed the information in silence.
“In the past few days we have uncovered evidence that suggests you’re a traitor in the pay of the New Men.”
Slapping his face would have surprised Maddox less. First, there had been Commodore Kinshasa at the Pluto Laumer-Point and now this. “What is the nature of the evidence?” he asked quietly.
“That doesn’t matter at the moment. I should tell you that scanners have checked you while you were in my office. You’re clean, devoid of hidden assassination devices on or in your person. We were advised it would be otherwise.”
Had that been the reason for the red light?
“If I had these devices,” Maddox said, “and you only found I was clean while in your office, why did you risk meeting me by yourself first?”
“Never mind that,” the brigadier said. “It’s time to proceed to the next phase.”
“If you will allow me one more question, Ma’am,” Maddox said.
O’Hara regarded him.
The next words were difficult. This is ridiculous. Just ask her. “Ma’am,” he said, with the slightest catch in his voice. “Do you believe I’m guilty of traitorous intent?”
“Don’t be absurd,” she said in a low voice. “And Captain,” she added, speaking louder. “Our conversations have been recorded throughout.”
Maddox ingested the information.
The brigadier faced forward again, continuing to move down the corridor.
Soon, they entered a large, circular room. Five guards lined the walls. Each of them tracked Maddox with their eyes.
The brigadier indicated Maddox’s chair. After he sat down, she walked around the table, sitting across and slightly to the left of him.
Seconds later, another door opened, and the Lord High Admiral entered. He sat beside O’Hara.
Now, a third door opened. Guards brought Professor Ludendorff into the room. The leathery-faced man with his bald dome and gold chain around his neck looked small beside the marines escorting him into the chamber. To Maddox’s amazement, the professor had magnetic cuffs on his wrists.
Maddox watched as the marines pushed Ludendorff to a location between Cook and him at the table. Then the marines put Ludendorff’s wrists over magnetic receivers embedded in the table. Afterward, the marines left.