“What?”
“I am repaying your former help by letting you live. Otherwise, I would have already killed you as a dangerous traitor.”
“Bah!” Ludendorff said. “What nonsense. You’re one of Brigadier O’Hara’s coldblooded hounds. I know your type. You think you know everything. If I—”
Maddox raised the stunner for a third shot.
The professor fell silent.
“You’ve clearly decided to maintain a role of innocence,” Maddox said. “That leaves me with no choice. Good day, Professor.” The captain backed toward the door.
“Wait,” Ludendorff said.
Maddox paused, with the stunner aimed at the man.
“You haven’t told me who killed Sten.”
“That’s true, I haven’t.”
“I see. You want to play it that way, leaving me in the dark. Am I under arrest?”
“Good day, Professor.” Maddox backed away, slipping through the hatch and closing it. “Galyan,” the captain said. “Lock the professor’s hatch, and keep it locked until I say otherwise.”
The lock clicked shut.
“What did he say, sir?” Riker asked.
Maddox stared at the hatch. He had purposely told Ludendorff as little as possible. The man was too bright. The less the professor knew, the less he could use in some devious manner later.
Finally, the captain held the stunner butt-forward to Riker. The sergeant hastily drew Maddox’s gun, and they exchanged weapons.
“The professor claims innocence,” Maddox said.
“Do you think he is?”
“Most certainly not.”
“Could you be wrong, sir?”
“That is what I want to determine. Come with me, Sergeant, and be ready to draw and fire at my command.”
-5-
Maddox located Doctor Dana Rich in the main engine room. Giant cylinders of antimatter cyclers purred smoothly.
“Captain,” Dana said, turning to greet him. Riker remained outside in the annex.
Doctor Rich wore a white lab coat, with her dark hair pulled back into a ponytail. She was older than Maddox and beautiful by any standard, with brown skin and dark eyes. Born on Earth in Bombay, she had emigrated to the Indian Brahma System long ago.
The doctor had a checkered history involved with the Brahman secret service against the Rigel Social Syndicate of a neighboring star system. Dana had been a clone thief, caught by Star Watch and sent down to Loki Prime, the worst of the prison planets. Maddox had rescued her because he’d needed her services. For what she had done to help bring back Victory from the Beyond, Star Watch authorities had pardoned her of all crimes.
She had led the science team in the Oort cloud studying Victory. After the professor, Dana knew more about the ancient starship than anyone else.
“You look troubled,” Dana said.
Maddox gave her a quick rundown of the situation, including the stun shots against the professor.
The doctor listened, her features hardening into an increasingly serious mien. She was a solemn person by nature, driven to excellence and hard work. Maddox believed it bothered her that others considered Ludendorff the cleverest person in existence. Dana wanted the title for herself.
“You stunned him?” Dana asked, as if wanting clarification of a delicious fact.
Maddox nodded.
“I would have liked to see that,” she said, with the ghost of a smile.
Those were rare. Dana appeared to believe she had to save smiles for special occasions, as if she only had a limited supply and had to stretch them for the entirety of her existence.
“I doubt he admitted to any wrongdoing, though,” Dana said.
“What makes you say that?”
“The professor is always right. Haven’t we heard him say that enough times so it’s become a divine fiat?”
Maddox had never heard the professor claim perfection, although, to be fair, Ludendorff had never admitted to being wrong, either.
“I’m curious,” Maddox said. “How were you able to mutiny against Ludendorff in the Adok System?”
“Why ask me that now? It happened a long time ago.”
“Indulge me, Doctor.”
Dana’s features tightened as she became thoughtful.
Many years ago, Ludendorff had led an expedition into the Beyond, searching for a legend. That legend had been Starship Victory, although no one had known the vessel’s name then. All anyone knew—or said they did—was that a lonely alien warship guarded a destroyed star system. It turned out the ancient Swarm had attacked the Adoks over six thousand years ago. The Swarm had advanced at sub-light speed, knowing nothing about Laumer-Points or star drives. The battle had left every planet in the system as shattered rubble, with thousands of drifting, useless space hulks. Ludendorff’s team had found the “lost” star system and witnessed Victory making its rounds through the debris. The professor had wanted to board the ancient warship. Dana had led others in a mutiny, escaping the star system before the ancient vessel could kill them.
“We’re in the middle of an emergency,” Dana said. “If you’ve seen a ghostly vessel—and Per Lomax sought to reach it—we must concentrate on that, not on my past.”
“I’m talking to you about your past precisely because of the ghostly ship,” Maddox said.
“I fail to see the connection.”
“Ludendorff found the ancient Adok System,” Maddox said. “He succeeded where everyone else had failed.”
“We don’t know that’s true. Others likely succeeded in reaching the star system and died to Victory.”
“You’re missing the key element,” Maddox said. “Ludendorff hunted for an ancient alien starship. The ghostly vessel in the ion storm would indicate there’s more than one such ancient craft in existence. The reality of Kane’s silver pyramid—the Nexus—proves other artifacts are sprinkled throughout the galaxy. If anyone should know about ancient vessels, it would be Ludendorff.”
“So why ask about my mutiny?”
“To learn more about Ludendorff,” Maddox said. “I know he fixates on ancient aliens. He was on Wolf Prime studying Swarm relics. What motivates him to do that?”
“Curiosity,” Dana said.
“Why such fixated curiosity over ancient aliens? There are many other things in existence to be curious about.”
Dana tilted her head as if thinking deeply. “You’ve jumped to a conclusion I’m not sure is correct. Why do you believe the ghostly vessel is ancient?”
Maddox had been waiting for the question. “Have you ever heard of such a ship before?”
“No.”
“If the New Men had the ghostly vessel, wouldn’t they have already employed it against Star Watch?”
“That seems reasonable, I suppose.”
“If the Wahhabi Caliphate owned such a ship, they would have used it against the New Men. The same holds true for the Windsor League and the Spacers. That Ludendorff clearly knew about the ship and its appearance in this star system—”
“Wait,” Dana said, sharply. “You’re leaping to far too many unsubstantiated conclusions. I understand the desire to stun the professor, but if this was your reasoning for doing so, I have to say I find it riddled with—”
“Doctor,” Maddox said, interrupting her. “Gorgon helped my prisoner escape. That is an inescapable fact. The jumpfighter left the hangar bay during the height of the magnetic storm. It seems increasingly likely that Per Lomax piloted the craft.”
“That seems obvious to me,” Dana said.
“It’s also obvious that Gorgon did not work alone.”
“I see. That’s what you’re seeking from me. You desire to know the intricacies of my mutiny in order to judge Ludendorff and his closest aides.”
“Correct,” Maddox said.
Dana turned away and folded her arms across her chest. Soon, she shook her head. “I’m not proud of my mutiny. I broke my word to Ludendorff in order to commit it. I found that difficult to do. Stark fear motivated me back then. I was certain we would die. Ludendorff struck me as too reckless. You’re right about his chief aides, though. None of them ever made a move without his leave. If Gorgon helped Per Lomax escape, it was definitely at the professor’s orders.”