“I doubt that’s why Becker chose her,” Mackinder said.

  “You’re exactly wrong,” Maddox said. “It’s clear that Becker is driven to excess by female physical beauty.”

  “That seems hard to believe in a so-called egghead like him,” Mackinder shot back.

  “Wrong again,” Maddox said. “Becker must have fantasized from earliest adolescence about having a beautiful woman like Ro. He’s exactly the sort to go crazy over this.”

  “Enough, enough,” Haig said. “I’m not interested in this sort of talk. We’re going to keep this above board, and I want you to continue, Captain. Tell us what else happened out there.”

  Maddox continued his explanation.

  Both Haig and Mackinder sat there, shocked by it all.

  “So you lost Becker,” Mackinder said.

  “I lost Becker,” Maddox said.

  “Do you realize that it was your fault?” Mackinder said.

  “Yes,” Maddox said, “since I was in charge, I bear the responsibility. That’s why I said I lost Becker.”

  “That means it’s all your fault,” Mackinder shouted at him.

  Maddox looked at Haig.

  Haig merely watched him.

  “Yes, it was my fault,” Maddox said. “Would you care to throw a few body shots at me while you’re at it?”

  “Perhaps,” Mackinder said heatedly. “What would you do then?”

  “Knock you on your ass,” Maddox said.

  “Do you see how disrespectful this half-breed is to us?” Mackinder asked Haig.

  “Please,” Haig said, “that is one degree too far. I refer to your vulgar term of half-breed,” he told Mackinder.

  Only one degree, Maddox thought to himself. He realized both men were Humanity Manifesto Doctrine adherents or sympathizers. Things were going to change in Star Watch under Haig’s watch. Maddox was sure about that.

  “Captain,” Haig said in a prim tone, “you are relieved of field duty and will spend the next few years on Earth, though I’m not sure in what capacity yet,” Haig continued, shaking his head. “You were insubordinate toward me earlier. You went on this reckless mission. You lost one of our prime captives, and—”

  “And I saved my grandmother from a hideous alien death,” Maddox said, “and I figured out how these things happened, and I almost caught the culprits, and I have a way to get them, if you’ll let me.”

  Haig’s eyes burned with outrage. “If I do what?” he said.

  “Sir, I respectfully request that you allow me to take a dozen Conqueror-class battleships with me to the nearby star system. We’ll deal with the Spacers and with whatever else, and we’ll clean this out.”

  “Ha!” Mackinder said. “I bet you’d like that. You’d like us to hand you the plum where you failed miserably.”

  “I didn’t fail,” Maddox said.

  “Oh, and what do you call losing Becker?” Mackinder shot back.

  “I failed in that aspect, yes,” Maddox said. “But did you, the Chief of Intelligence, find out more than I did?”

  “I’ve had enough of this tomfoolery and your smug arrogance.” Mackinder turned to Haig. “The man is so damnably arrogant. I can barely stand it. And he’s only a captain.”

  “A captain who should be the Lord High Admiral,” Maddox heard himself say, even as realized he’d gone too far. He looked away. He should have kept his mouth shut just now.

  “You think you deserve my job?” Haig asked.

  Maddox faced the Lord High Admiral. “You want to relieve me of my field command, all right. That’s your prerogative. I’m telling you, though, that you should go after the Spacers. You should destroy them while you can. There are things taking place that don’t make sense. Add to that that Leviathan and the Spacers are working together. If the Spacers have a backdoor entrance to Earth, what else can they show Leviathan fleets, if ever they unleash?”

  “Hmm,” Haig mused, “that’s a valid point.” Turning to Mackinder, he continued, “General, I want you to join an expedition. You’re going to go to the Barnard’s Star System, and use the hyper-spatial tube to wherever it leads, obliterating everything you find on the other side. You’ll take the battleships and Victory.”

  “Yes, sir,” Mackinder said. “When should I leave?”

  “As soon as you’re ready,” Haig said. “Choose the commanding officer, as you’ll be coordinating with him.”

  “Sir,” Mackinder stood, raised his chin at Maddox and lumbered out of the room.

  Haig stared at Maddox. “You’re grounded as of now. If you try to leave Earth, it will go worse for you.”

  “I understand,” Maddox said.

  As the last syllable left the captain’s mouth, AI Galyan appeared in the Lord High Admiral’s office.

  Haig sat up in surprise.

  Maddox raised an eyebrow. He hadn’t expected this.

  “Sir,” Galyan told Haig, “you are making a grave mistake.”

  “What in blazes is this?” Haig shouted.

  “I am Driving Force Galyan of Starship Victory, the deified Adok AI.”

  “I know very well who you are,” Haig said. “Were you spying on us? Were you listening in at the captain’s consent?”

  “No, sir,” Galyan said, “at my consent. I must tell you, sir, that I am an independent alien nation. I have one ship. It is Victory. It will go nowhere under anyone except Captain Maddox.”

  “What are you saying,” Haig said, “that you won’t obey me?”

  “No, sir, we are allies only,” Galyan said. “This is not a matter of obedience but of cooperation.”

  Maddox had never seen Galyan so ferocious. The little AI fairly bristled with rage.

  “Do you understand what Captain Maddox has achieved?” Galyan said. “He woke up first on Victory. He saved us from whatever Becker had done. Becker is horribly dangerous. Is it not interesting to you that Becker did not take Meta? Meta is clearly the most beautiful woman on the starship, but Becker did not take her.”

  “What’s your point?” Haig said.

  “Becker fears Captain Maddox, at least to a degree,” Galyan said. “That may be critical in the days to come.”

  Haig glared at Maddox. “When did you concoct this stupid ploy?”

  “I assure you it is not any ploy of mine, sir,” Maddox said.

  “So you say,” Haig replied. “Your assurances mean nothing to me.”

  Maddox sat straighter as his face flushed. That was one insult too many.

  “Do you call him a liar, Lord Admiral?” Galyan said. “Yes, Captain Maddox lies to aliens as the need presents itself. But to those who are in authority, as you are, rightfully so, Captain Maddox does not lie.”

  “You expect me to believe this AI?” Haig asked Maddox.

  “You are addressing me, sir,” Galyan said. “I will not help and I will not give the information you need unless Captain Maddox goes along on the mission.”

  Haig’s jaws worked for a time as his mouth opened and closed. He scowled thunderously until his brow smoothed out. He must have been thinking.

  “Are you saying Maddox must be in charge of the expedition?” Haig said.

  “No, sir,” Galyan said, “but he must have an independent command and act as a Patrol scout for whoever you send.”

  Haig turned away. A second later, he got up and walked to the window. The old Lord High Admiral used to tower over that window as he looked out. Haig almost seemed like a child in comparison. He was so much smaller than Cook had been.

  Haig turned around. “I do not like anyone dictating to me. But you are an alien and you have an alien ship that we have used. What if I were to say to you, Galyan, that I am going to destroy Victory unless you follow my orders?”

  “I would say, sir, that that is a grave mistake,” Galyan said. “It would also be beneath contempt. I have done much with my starship to help Star Watch. The least you could do is throw me a few bones.”

  “A few bones?” Haig asked.

  Galyan turned to Maddox. “Is that not the correct idiom, sir?”

  Maddox didn’t say anything. He merely peered straight ahead.

  “Captain,” Haig said, “I do not know how it is that you gain such loyalty from such diverse individuals as Cook, as this AI entity, and others. But clearly you do. And on further reflection, you have done startlingly well compared to how any of the rest of us did in Star Watch figuring this out. Very well, I may have been hasty. Sir, I must add again, I do not like you, but you are an effective officer. Therefore, you will have this independent command and join the expedition. Does that satisfy you? Oh, let me see.” Haig snapped his fingers. “Driving Force, Galyan?”

  “It does, Lord High Admiral,” Galyan said. “I thank you most profusely. And if in my passion I spoke too hastily, I apologize for that.”

  “I accept that,” Haig said. “I can see, Captain, that I will have to deal with you in a different manner than I had expected.”

  Maddox nodded, stunned at what had just happened. He was still angry at the insults, but now wasn’t the moment to deal with them.

  “Now get out of here before I change my mind,” Haig said.

  Maddox stood and gave a perfect salute, pivoted and marched out of the office. Thanks to Galyan, he still had his captain’s chair aboard Victory. Now he was going to exploit this chance for all it was worth.

  -34-

  Becker awoke by degrees. His head throbbed, and there was something wet on his lips. Without opening his eyes, he touched the wetness with his tongue, and tasted coppery substance…like blood.

  Blood!

  His eyes snapped open. Everything around him was blurry as disorientation gripped him. He didn’t know where he was, what had happened to him…

  Slow down. Think this through.

  By degrees, he pieced together what had happened. He had awoken from hibernation stasis on the starship. Oh, right! He’d gone through a hyper-spatial tube, a one-way or preset route. He’d strengthened his mind against it in case going through brought anything like jump lag. Whatever the journey had done to him suggested that he wasn’t immune to its ill effects. That was what caused this disorientation, right?

  Looking around, Becker realized he lay on a cot, in a small wardroom. The vibration and background hum meant he was aboard a space vessel. A blanket covered him. On impulse, he raised the blanket. He was stark naked underneath. What in blazes? Someone had removed his clothes.

  The mystery deepened. He needed to remember everything. He had to work to understand.

  The blood, he’d start with that. The reasonable explanation for it—

  Becker touched his nose, gingerly feeling crusted nostrils. He picked at the edges, pulling away scabbing. Blood from his nose had dripped onto his lips. How much bleeding had taken place? He noticed his right arm, a medikit attached to it. Ah. There was a blood transfusion packet attached to the medikit. He must have bled a lot, enough that whoever had given him a transfusion.

  Who would have done all that?

  In a moment of realization, he recalled his three lovelies, his chosen ones. They must have done all this, including removing his clothes.

  Becker cleared his throat, ready to call out. A hatch opened before he could shout. Had they been monitoring him? One of the three—Becker named her Honey right there.

  “Honey, what happened to me?”

  “Becker,” she said, with concern shining in her blue eyes, “you were hurt, out. We’ve been taking care of the situation since then.” Honey rushed near and began fussing over him. “Oh.” She detached a hand communicator from the belt of her uniform, clicked it on and said, “Becker is still hurt. I need help.”

  Almost immediately, the other two showed up as the hatch opened again. Like Honey, they wore regulation Patrol uniforms. They hurried near, checked the medikit, brought him food, and fussed over his nose and head.

  Becker loved the thorough solicitousness. No one had ever treated him like this before. Certainly not three beautiful ladies like this. Yes, yes, right, he had set their mind to love and adoration for him.

  One lifted the blanket to look at him and giggled, quickly lowering the blanket.

  Becker felt deeply ashamed and embarrassed. Did she giggle at seeing his lack of family jewels?

  “Why did you take my clothes off earlier?” he said harsher than he’d intended.

  All three stopped and stared at each other and then at him.

  “You were injured, Becker,” Honey finally said. “We had to make sure you were all right. Clearly, you have sustained terrible injuries. We are awfully sorry for you.”

  Honey was a beautiful blonde with an intense smile added to her blue eyes. Becker loved her. He loved all three, but he loved Honey most. Her concern and sadness for him was heartbreaking.

  “I know about the injury,” he said gravely. “I’ll soon enter rehabilitation and have it…healed.”

  The three looked incredulous, as if they didn’t believe him or believe it possible.

  “It’s true,” he said. “I can heal myself.”

  Now they looked grave, glancing at each other with worry and maybe even dread for his sanity.

  “I’m not insane,” he said. “I have abilities, mental abilities. It’s why…”

  “Yes, Becker,” Honey said.

  He’d almost said, “It’s why my head is so huge.” But he didn’t want to say that. He didn’t want to do or say anything that might affect their love and adoration for him.

  In truth, and he knew this, even though he shied from thinking it, he didn’t want to break the locks in their minds. Setting a human mind on permanent love was difficult. He was still figuring this all out. Certain stimuli could shock a lock out of its setting. He didn’t want to check their mental states right now. His mind hurt, his nose ached, and he’d lost blood. He needed to recover before he tried any more telepathy.

  Perhaps these stark ideas helped him recall all of it, the situation. He remembered that they had traveled down a tube for 200.08 light years, landing wherever here was.

  Becker cleared his throat. He needed to get them back on task instead of thinking too much about him and these “impossible” statements he’d made.

  “What’s the present situation, ladies? I mean in terms of our—darter and location.”

  The two looked at Honey.

  Honey nodded. “We came through the hyper-spatial tube into the Paran System. It’s full of stellar debris, gas and rubble. As far as we can determine, someone destroyed all the major planets, the reason for the debris and rubble. There’s a giant red star. We’re twenty AUs from it. Some Spacers might be here with us in the system, but we haven’t found any evidence of them.”

  “Where are we exactly?” Becker asked.

  “You mean the darter?” Honey asked.

  “Yes.”

  “We found a large asteroid,” Honey said. “We eased the darter inside a great cavern, landing. Then we went out and set up passive sensors on the other side of the asteroid. That was to watch for Spacers.”

  “That’s excellent work, ladies,” Becker said, and he meant it.

  They beamed with delight at his praise.

  Becker wanted to laugh. This was how it should be. He’d always wanted this. Why was everyone against him using his mental abilities? Maybe envy ruled their thoughts. He scowled thinking that.

  “Becker,” Honey said, “you look upset” She stepped near and touched a cheek.

  Becker’s chin trembled as he strove to hold back tears. Why Honey’s touch should do that now, he didn’t know. Her touch made him remember that he looked hideous. His chin, nose, eyes and brow were all crunched into a third of his massive face.

  He would reshape himself to be as handsome as his women were beautiful. He’d use the pituitary gland and other powers to rebuild his body into a Herculean physique so he could easily carry his head. His body would match his massiveness brain, intellect and growing mental powers. Before any of that, though, he needed to heal the horrible wound the Prime Saa had done to him through Liss pincers.

  A terrible sense of urgency welled up in Becker. He wanted to be better now. That meant—

  “I’m hungry. I need to eat a ton of food and rest afterward. Ladies, can I count on you to take care of things while I’m sleeping?”

  “Oh, yes, Becker. Yes, yes.” They surrounded him and proclaimed their devotion, telling him they were willing to do anything he asked.

  “Now, now, settle down, ladies. Settle down,” Becker said, grinning hugely. “I love your love, and I love you, and you, and you.” He pointed at each of them in turn.

  In that moment, Becker realized it had been wise of him to leave Meta behind. He would have kept worrying about Maddox hunting him—

  Becker shoved the thought aside. He wasn’t going to worry about Maddox right now. This was the life. Even if he was stuck in the darter deep in this asteroid for the rest of his time, as long as the food and the oxygen remained—and if he could heal himself quickly enough—he could take advantage of the situation. He could do what he should be doing.

  “Listen, ladies…” Becker gave them his instructions.

  Each went to her assigned duties, although Honey was the last to leave the wardroom. She leaned over and kissed him on the forehead.

  Becker barely restrained himself from grabbing and hugging her. But he had to restrain himself. He didn’t want to have to repair any lock in her mind that might question certain commands or actions. So far, everything seemed operative in them. Could he dare take time alone to gorge on food, strengthening himself with the needed calories for healing?

  He was going to find out.

  Honey waved goodbye and left the small wardroom, the hatch closing behind her.

  It was fortunate that Valerie Noonan had stocked the darter for the mission. Becker could afford to splurge. He ate a hearty meal and slept afterward. When he awoke, he ate again and slept again. His brain no longer hurt. It had been a day and a half since they arrived in the star system. He’d sufficiently recovered from the tube journey.

  “Have you spotted any Spacer activity?” Becker asked Honey when she came to check on him.