“They were standard humans.”

  It took Ludendorff a second. “You mean the people in your extended dream?”

  Maddox nodded.

  “Very well,” Ludendorff said. “They were standard humans. I don’t understand what difference that makes.”

  “I asked Galyan if there were any records about Earth colony ships heading out here.”

  “And?”

  “He found none.”

  “And?”

  “Do you recall anything about Earth colony ships in this sector of space?”

  Ludendorff thought a moment before shaking his head. “It could be the wrong question, really. Consider. There are hundreds of human colonized worlds in the Commonwealth. Any one of them could have sent out colony ships of their own, one of them into this area of the Orion Arm.”

  “I understand, but Remus seemed well populated, which would indicate centuries as a colony world, which would in turn indicate the colony ship had arrived a long time ago. Wouldn’t that mean a colony ship from Earth?”

  “I don’t know,” Ludendorff said, “maybe. But my advice is to forget about it. You were dreaming. It was all meaningless.”

  “I was dreaming of a real world and real events.”

  “How can you possibly know that?”

  Maddox thought about it. “I just do.”

  “A gut feeling, an intuitive thing?”

  “Call it what you want. I know what I know.”

  “If you say so,” Ludendorff muttered. “Frankly, I’m more interested in the cerebrater that teleported onto your forehead. Someone made that. I’ve studied the cerebrater—well, looked at it, anyway. Galyan detected it was jury-rigged to detonate if tampered with. Therefore, I haven’t attempted to disassemble it. I’m surprised it didn’t explode when…what should we call that?”

  “Call what?”

  “That it simply popped off your forehead.”

  “Removal seems the most precise word.”

  “Agreed,” said Ludendorff. “But how did you remove it? Or did it just come off on its own?”

  Maddox shook his head. While he remembered the dream in detail, he only had the haziest of recollections of resisting the mechanism, the cerebrater.

  “Hmm. I don’t believe the cerebrater was programmed to fall off when it did.”

  “Now that you mention it,” Maddox said, “neither do I.”

  “Yes, yes, I don’t understand that part, which I’ve already admitted. I am curious, though, about why anyone would put such a satellite into space, and into the dense nebula in particular. What did this someone want from the one who eventually wore the cerebrater as you did and dreamed those dreams?”

  “Perhaps it was a cry for help.”

  “Which would indicate the cerebrater would come off in time so you could tell others or do something about what you’d learned. Perhaps you caused its removal prematurely. Perhaps you needed to relive more of the dream to discover the cerebrater’s purpose.”

  “No,” Maddox said.

  “I understand. You, of all people, resist the idea of anyone force-feeding thoughts or ideas into your mind.”

  A flinty gleam glinted in Maddox’s eyes.

  “There’s another thing,” Ludendorff said. “The technology of the satellite and cerebrater seems more substantial than the people of Remus would possess—given that your dreams were records of real events as you insist.”

  “I remember someone talking about Manhome.”

  “And you think in saying that that they referred to Earth?”

  “Don’t you?” asked Maddox.

  “Yes. That’s an interesting question. I don’t know. I am curious, but…perhaps we should reestablish communications with Admiral Cook or find Lieutenant Commander Noonan before we worry about the cerebrater and what the dreams signify.”

  Maddox chewed that over. “Thanks, Professor. I’ll see you later.”

  Ludendorff grunted, seeming as if he would add a thought. Instead, he lowered the goggles back over his eyes and resumed what he’d been doing.

  -33-

  Victory resumed making short star-drive jumps through the nebula, heading toward the Earth side of it. Upon first entering the gas cloud, they’d discovered a severe limitation to their sensors, which could only pierce short distances. That did not change now.

  “We could be passing star systems and not even know it,” Galyan said on the bridge after one jump.

  “Could be,” Maddox agreed from his chair.

  “Perhaps it would be wiser to send out probes each time we come out of a jump.”

  Maddox shook his head. “I want to find the Kit Carson sooner instead of later.”

  “I understand,” Galyan said. “You presume Valerie is on the other side of the nebula as we first appeared. What if she is in the nebula and we are passing right by her?”

  “What if our arms fall off?”

  “I do not understand the reference.”

  “We can only worry about so much. Let’s not unnecessarily add to our concerns.”

  “I am entering the saying into my pithy comment file for further evaluation later.”

  Maddox nodded, losing interest in the conversation.

  Victory continued the short jumps until the starship exited the Glenna Nebula. After the bridge crew recovered, Maddox ordered Galyan to search for the Adok Home System.

  “I have found it,” Galyan said a few moments later. “My home star is forty-nine light-years from our present location.”

  “Right.” Maddox pushed out of the command chair. “Galyan, you’re with me.”

  ***

  Maddox tried the Long-Range Builder Comm Device, soon reaching the Lord High Admiral on Earth.

  “Maddox,” Cook said. “What happened? I’ve tried to contact you several times without success.”

  Maddox explained the mirror effect of the hyper-spatial tube and their appearance on the other side of the Glenna Nebula from what they intended.

  “You’re saying the tube put you somewhere else?” Cook asked.

  “I am, sir.”

  “That’s strange. I wonder why it would happen to Victory first and not someone else.”

  Maddox glanced at a listening Galyan before he spoke into the microphone. “Sir, did anyone in the nexus notice a stealth ship or device near Victory when we came through from the Balder System?”

  “I haven’t received any kind of report of such a thing.”

  “Could you ask the nexus people, sir?”

  “I’m making a note of it,” Cook said. “Have you contacted the Kit Carson yet?”

  “No,” Maddox said.

  “The Commander was following a faint radiation trail into the nebula when last I spoke to her.”

  “Galyan?” asked Maddox.

  The holoimage’s eyelids fluttered. “Yes. I am detecting such a trail.”

  “Galyan has found the radiation trail, sir.”

  “Then, I’ll let you get to it so you follow the trail and reestablish contact with the Commander.”

  “Yes, sir,” Maddox said, cutting the connection afterward.

  “I am curious, sir,” Galyan said, as the captain stood. “Is there a reason you did not tell the Lord High Admiral about the cerebrater formerly embedded in your forehead?”

  Maddox scowled for just a moment. “We’ll work on one thing at a time, Galyan.”

  “I see. Did you feel an inner compulsion then to keep the event secret from the admiral?”

  “What? No. Why do you ask? You know I don’t care for that kind of inquiry.”

  “I am building a profile on it,” Galyan said.

  “On me?”

  “No, sir,” Galyan said. “I am building a profile concerning the cerebrater itself. I am…attempting to learn more about it by recording what it might do to those who wear it.”

  Maddox recalled Ludendorff’s thoughts on it. “Who do you think made the cerebrater?”

  “I am not yet ready to hazard a guess, sir.”

  Maddox exhaled forcefully through his nostrils. Things were happening out here that didn’t make sense. The cerebrater for instance—he shook his head. And as he did, he remembered his question to the admiral. There had been a possible alien stealth ship in the Balder System. Could the alien vessel still be nearby, if it had been there in the first place? Could such a hidden alien have put the satellite into position ahead of Victory? If that were true—

  “Galyan, continue to search for any nearby stealth vessels.”

  “I have ever since we left the Balder System, sir. No one is near us.”

  “Don’t you mean,” asked Maddox, “no one that you can detect?”

  “I do not, sir. After this length of time, I would have found anyone trailing us.”

  Maddox stared at the holoimage. “Don’t be too sure.”

  “If you wish for me to continue searching for what is not there, so be it. I will do it if you order me to.”

  “Good,” Maddox said, “I do so order. Now, come on. We’re heading back for the bridge. It’s time we found Valerie and her people.”

  -34-

  Maddox raised his head as he sat on the captain’s chair on the bridge. It was the third star-drive jump since he’d spoken to the Lord High Admiral. They’d plunged back into the nebula, following the radiation trial, seeking Valerie.

  Something hit Maddox as he looked up from jump lag. He’d forgotten to ask the admiral if there were any records about Earth colony expeditions into this region of space, the Glenna Nebula in particular. How could he have been so forgetful? Did Galyan have a point after all? Had the cerebrater left a last command in him, or done some unknown damage?

  Maddox rose to his feet, staggering a short distance. He touched his forehead, feeling slightly disoriented. That had never happened before when he’d come out of jump lag.

  “Sir,” Galyan said.

  Maddox turned as the holoimage sharpened into focus.

  “I…” Galyan paused.

  “Is something wrong?” asked Maddox.

  “I thought to detect something for a nanosecond. The ship’s sensors just came online. Out there…I must have imagined it.”

  “Do you ever imagine things?”

  “I suppose I do not. Perhaps it was a ship echo then, a reflection of Victory thrown back by the nebula’s compacted gases.”

  “Galyan.”

  “Sir?”

  “Could it have been a well-camouflaged stealth ship you saw for just a moment? Perhaps the dense gases, coming out of lag and the sensors starting up…they all combined to let you see what we’ve been missing all this time.”

  “I do not see how that would be possible. I am not detecting anything—wait. There is a slight disturbance—no. It is gone. It was nothing. I was mistaken.”

  “Show me a holographic image of this nothing, this mistake.”

  A few seconds later, a holoimage appeared before Maddox.

  “I don’t see anything,” Maddox said.

  “I will magnify it a hundred times,” Galyan said.

  In the holograph, there was a slight ripple in the compacted gases.

  “What is the distance of that…effect from Victory?” Maddox asked.

  “Ten thousand kilometers exactly,” Galyan said.

  “Was it ten thousand kilometers each time you thought to see this…nothing?”

  “Why…yes, it was. How did you know?”

  “Ah-ha,” Maddox said.

  “Sir, your voice inflection leads me to believe that you think it was something after all.”

  “How about that,” Maddox said. “Galyan, we’re going to prepare a little surprise for our echo or wave distortion—”

  “Warning,” Galyan shouted, as he interrupted the captain. “I am detecting a tele-phenomenon. It is occurring on the bridge.”

  In an instant, a giant gelatinous mass appeared in the middle of the bridge. It was considerably taller than a man and perhaps as bulky as five fully grown men.

  Maddox had never seen anything like it. As he stared in astonishment, four tentacles and four disgusting eyestalks sprouted from its pink-gray quivering mass. One of the tentacles held a gun-shaped item, the very tip of the tentacle pressing down—

  Maddox dove as a white beam speared at him from the alien weapon.

  “Intruder alert! Teleporting boarders!” Galyan said in a loud voice.

  Another tentacle aimed a different weapon at Galyan. That weapon emitted a pink beam, striking the holoimage, causing it to vanish with a sizzle of sound. A third tentacle held a box-like device. It produced a horrible screech. The bridge crewmembers coming out of jump lag screamed or shouted in agony, toppling onto the floor unconscious.

  Maddox was able to tolerate the horrible sonic attack better than the others. He reached his command chair, flipping open a compartment in an armrest. While the sound-attack continued, his face pinched with pain, Maddox drew a blaster, aimed and fired.

  The harsh blaster beam stopped short of the giant gelatinous mass. One eyestalk whipped about, observing Maddox’s attack.

  The tentacle holding the sonic-emitter box used its tip to press a switch, ceasing the raucous sound.

  Only Maddox remained on his feet. He quit blasting, realizing it was ineffectual. His ears rang, his brain throbbed and vomit threatened to spew from his throat.

  The tentacle turned the box over and clicked it. The giant gelatin mass made warbling sounds. From the box came, “Are you Captain Maddox?”

  The captain took a step back from the monster. Scowling, rubbing his forehead with his free hand, it took Maddox a moment to process that the thing could communicate and the nature of the question. “Who are you?” Maddox asked, hoarsely.

  The giant gelatinous mass made more warbling sounds. From the translator box came, “I am Grutch. Now, answer the question.”

  “I’m not Maddox, no,” the captain said, instinctively lying while recovering from the sonic assault.

  Two eyestalks stretched forth, bringing their grotesque redlined eyeballs closer to the captain. The tentacle clicked the translator again as the creature mass warbled the odd sounds.

  “You are lying,” the box said.

  “I have no reason to lie,” Maddox said as his bearings began to stabilize.

  “I will kill everyone on the bridge if you do not tell me the truth.”

  Maddox focused on the tall, quivering mass of gelatinous substance. It did not wear anything, but it had produced two kinds of weapons and that translator, and had some kind of forcefield or personal shield. Did the thing keep those items inside its…mass? It had called itself Grutch. It possessed an identity then. It was a sentient being of an alien race. The race had bug eyes and tentacles, and it clearly possessed advanced technology. Could this thing have followed them in a stealth ship all this time? Why would it have bothered? Why did it want to know if he was Captain Maddox and would kill everyone if he or it did not learn the truth?

  “I, ah, can take you to the captain if that’s what you want,” Maddox said.

  “Are you suggesting then that you have played a role the entire time?”

  Maddox frowned. “I don’t understand you.”

  “The translator is not making my thoughts understandable to you?”

  “I understand your words just fine. Your question isn’t making sense.”

  “I do not accept this prevaricating. In fact, it strengthens my conviction that you are indeed Captain Maddox. Such being the case, I will take you back to my ship and interrogate you. The process might kill you, but I desire to speak directly to Captain Maddox.”

  “I don’t know why. He’s a vicious officer, not worth your time.”

  The two eyestalks drew back. “Are you now suggesting that you hate Captain Maddox?”

  “With a passion,” Maddox said.

  “Why would you hate him?”

  “Why would you care?”

  “That is enough of that. I am—what are you doing?”

  Maddox aimed the blaster at his head. “I am Captain Maddox, and I’m about to kill myself.”

  “Why would you do that?”

  “To thwart you,” Maddox said.

  “You have no idea what it is I wish.”

  “But I do, as it’s clear. You want Captain Maddox—me. You screwed with my mind earlier, but I defeated your mind probe, your cerebrater.”

  “What are you talking about—oh, wait, I know. You mean the alien memory-stick satellite. You call the device formerly on your forehead a cerebrater. Yes. That is a good term. However, the memory-stick satellite and cerebrater do not belong to me.”

  “Now you’re the one who’s lying.”

  “You admit then that you spoke lies earlier?”

  “I’m Captain Maddox. I admit nothing.”

  “That is nonsensical.”

  “Yet that’s what I say.”

  “Nevertheless, you are Maddox. Now, you must cease aiming the weapon at your head. I am taking you with me for reasons of my own.”

  “I’ll quit aiming the blaster at my head as soon as you leave my ship.”

  “If I leave without you, I will destroy your vessel in retaliation.”

  Maddox considered that and realized he didn’t believe Grutch, so he shrugged.

  “I do not understand the animal gesture. Is it a signal of fear?”

  “Yes,” Maddox said. “I’m terrified. Don’t I look terrified?”

  “No. That was a lie. I have been observing you for quite some time—”

  Maddox laughed maniacally.

  “Cease that inane racket immediately, as I detest it. Are you mocking me by making that noise?”

  Maddox didn’t answer, but asked a question of his own. “What did you do to Galyan?”

  “Do you refer to the Adok holoimage?”

  “You know he’s Adok. That’s interesting.”

  “I know many things. Now, for the last time, put down the blaster. You might hurt yourself.”

  “That’s the idea, Grutch, old boy. I’m not going with you.”

  The gelatinous mass stood there in silence until, “It won’t help you in the end.”

  “It might, though,” Maddox said.