A new image leapt into view on the screen. It was that of a magnetic storm out beyond Mars’ orbital path. The storm looked just like the one he’d seen weeks ago. Long strands of purple lighting flickered from it.
“Do you notice the greater darkness within the storm?” Galyan asked.
“I do,” Maddox said softly.
Then it appeared—the giant, teardrop-shaped doomsday machine.
“Do you see the jumpfighter?” Maddox asked.
“How could I?” Galyan said. “The jumpfighter just left Earth orbit. I need more time to see what just happened out there.”
Yes, of course. Maddox waited. They all did as the minutes passed away.
“There,” the AI said. “I have spotted the jumpfighter. I will highlight it for you.”
A red circle appeared, but Maddox couldn’t see any dot of a jumpfighter within the circle that was in the ion storm. The red circle touched the hull of the doomsday machine, though. That was cutting it mighty fine to appear practically on the planet-killer’s outer skin. Was there was a reason for making such a risky jump?
“Are you sure the jumpfighter is there?” the captain asked.
“Utterly certain,” Galyan said.
“Do you find it odd the jumpfighter appeared so close to the machine’s hull?”
“It does not seem odd at all,” Galyan said. “I suspect the jumpfighter appeared so near for a reason. The likeliest explanation is that it needed to appear close enough so it didn’t trigger the planet-killer’s defensive mechanisms.”
“Right,” Maddox said. That made sense. The ancient destroyer must have an inner zone where it would annihilate anything that got so close. Then, there must be an even nearer area where it would assume something that close was friendly. But that would call for tight jump control to get within the safe zone. Who but a New Man could pilot like that over such a long distance?
“What’s the enemy jumpfighter doing now?” Maddox asked.
“I can give you a computer-generated approximation,” Galyan said. “But know that it will not be one hundred percent accurate. The ion storm is interfering with the clarity of my long-range scanners.”
“Yes, do it,” Maddox said, without hesitation. “Show me a computer-generated graphic.”
The stars and the magnetic storm disappeared from the screen. In its place was a realistic computer graphic of the giant vessel with its neutroium hull.
“I am using my probability processors to guide me in this,” Galyan said.
Maddox nodded absently.
The hull looked smooth. Then, a jumpfighter appeared. It looked just like the one Maddox had used to journey to Wolf Prime with Dana and Keith. The jumpfighter maneuvered expertly, gliding beside the ancient wrecking machine. A port opened on the jumpfighter. The people inside must have used the latest experimental drug to hinder Jump Lag to be able to exit the jumpfighter so quickly. Three people in vacc-suits and maneuver packs left the tiny craft. How could they survive in the ion storm? It must be more Builder tech that allowed it. The visors were silver-colored, hiding the people’s features. A trail of hydrogen spray spewed from the thruster-packs.
Soon, the three, suited voyagers landed on the neutroium hull. The disjointed way they walked indicated that they used magnetic boots—boots that worked in the magnetic storm!
“Why doesn’t the planet-killer destroy them?” Valerie said.
“I cannot answer that,” Galyan said. “Perhaps the original builders did not envision anyone appearing so close near the hull. The others out there must have understood the particular design feature. Ah, this is difficult, but I am sensing a faint signal from one of them. It comes from a small object that the prime person carries.”
“Two questions,” Maddox said. “How can you sense all this through the ion storm? And how can you tell which one is the prime person?”
“My sensors are vastly superior now, able to pierce the magnetic interference,” Galyan said. “I sense the prime individual from the manner of his locomotion. Due to my heightened senses, it is an easy thing to decipher.”
Maddox and Valerie traded glances.
“The magnetic storm is beginning to dissipate,” Valerie said.
“The lieutenant is correct,” Galyan said. “The ionic particles are vanishing into the portal. This will aid me in my analysis. Ah, let me correct the image into a truer picture.”
The main screen wavered. Now, the neutroium hull showed pitted marks, obvious wear and tear.
“Is that a hatch in the machine’s hull?” Maddox asked.
“You are correct,” Galyan said. “The three walk to the closed hatch.”
“I can’t believe we’re seeing something so detailed that is happening well beyond Mars’ orbital path,” Valerie said.
“Starship Victory is an Adok marvel,” Galyan said with pride. “Now that I am beginning to operate at maximum efficacy, you will soon become used to greater things than this.”
“I’m glad to hear it,” Valerie said.
Maddox wondered if the AI caught the sarcasm. The AI likely would learn about it in time. If we have more time to live that is.
“No,” Valerie said.
Maddox’s throat tightened. The hatch on the neutroium hull slid open. The three space-suited people entered the doomsday machine. After the last one vanished within, the hatch slid shut.
For several seconds, no one said a word.
“At least we know it’s possible to enter the doomsday machine,” Maddox said, softy.
“Fat lot of good that does us,” Valerie said. “You said Ludendorff had a key. I imagine so did they out there. But we’re left hanging to rot out here without one.”
“Ah,” Galyan said. “A key—that is most interesting. Yes, I suppose that was the wave frequencies I detected a moment ago.”
“Explain that,” Maddox said.
“There is little to tell,” Galyan said. “I picked up signals. They were faint, as I said. Soon after the wave sequence emitted, the hatch opened.”
“Could you duplicate those signals?” Maddox asked.
“They were a complicated series of hard-to-reach frequencies—”
“Can you do it?” Maddox asked.
Galyan glanced at him. “It would take time to build such an emitter. You would have to take the device along with you to the vessel.”
“How long would it take you build this emitter?” the captain asked.
“Two, maybe three days,” Galyan said.
Valerie swore softly under her breath.
Maddox began to pace. Because a pilot had bought a jumpfighter to precisely the right spot, three people had entered the doomsday machine. Could one of those people have been Meta? Hopefully, he would know more in an hour. Star Watch raced smash-and-grab teams to the selected Cestus hauler. Soon, everyone on that ship would enter interrogation. Someone there might have seen Meta.
“The planet-killer is accelerating,” Valerie said. “It’s headed in-system.”
“Given its trajectory what’s its probable destination?” Maddox asked. Would it attack Mars first or head straight for Earth? Just maybe, they could sacrifice Mars in order to gain time for Galyan to construct the emitter. But if—
“It looks as if the machine is heading for Earth,” Valerie said. “It’s going to bypass Mars, which is quite a ways out from the machine’s initial appearance point.”
“I wish I could remember the range of its beam,” Maddox said. “I wasn’t paying attention to that when Ludendorff showed me his recording. How long do we have until it begins the attack sequence?”
“Star Watch battleships and heavy cruisers are already leaving Earth orbit,” Valerie said. “According to their headings, they appear to be on an intercept course with the machine.” The lieutenant shook her head. “It’s too bad the Home Fleet doesn’t already have the ten battleships coming in from Pluto. The readings from that thing—the doomsday machine has vastly more mass than our combined Home Fleet, sir.”