Cook sat behind a huge desk, setting down a reader to regard the captain. The old man shook his head and sighed.

  “Officially, I’m against you taking a prisoner from the scene of a crime,” Cook said. “That was wrong, and it’s giving me a headache dealing with the Nevada governor.”

  “It went that high?”

  “Only because he and the police view it as a highhanded use of your Star Watch authority and privilege. I’m not fond of you doing that, either. We’re talking about a half-Merovingian here. He could have overpowered you in the desert.”

  “Galyan had zapped him. I wasn’t too worried.”

  “Still, it was a needless risk.”

  “It gave us a lead: to check the criminal elements. The one named Del has a criminal record.”

  “Fine,” Cook said. “You discovered something the police would have in short order anyway.”

  “Time may still be critical to all this.”

  Cook drummed his big fingers on the desk. “Fine,” he said in his deep voice. “The latest reports are in, and except for the half-Merovingian, the others were regular Earth criminals as you suggested. They were hired for the assault upon your house.”

  “Were the mortar-team members also criminals?”

  “No. They were mercenaries.”

  “Do you know who hired them?”

  Cook shook his head. “Colonel Aldo from Intelligence is running the investigation. He suspects the Crowder reps ultimately set the mission into motion, but he hasn’t found the connection between them and the criminals yet. Still...he did say a squinting man, a small man, did the hiring. We don’t know any more than that, though.”

  “Do we have any idea how or why the Merovingian maintained his intellect but not his former memories?” Maddox asked.

  “Unfortunately, not yet, and now not likely any time soon.”

  “Why not?”

  “The Merovingian is dead.”

  “What? How did it happen?”

  Cook scowled. “The Carson City police were in the middle of the interrogation when mortar rounds rained upon the station, killing everyone.”

  “Our enemy had the gall to pull the same trick twice?”

  “It worked this time, as the police didn’t have Galyan running interference for them.”

  “Did you apprehend the attackers at least?”

  “No.”

  “You mean they’re running loose?”

  “I don’t mean that,” Cook said. “They’re dead. And before you keep pummeling me with questions, you should know that their heads exploded. No one shot them, and none of them had any brain implants. Their heads simply exploded as our people moved in.”

  Maddox scowled until his eyes widened with understanding. “Spacer adepts might have been able to do that. And Spacers might have hired the criminals and given the Merovingian his orders. Apparently, they all reported to a small, squinting man. A Spacer without his black goggles might squint a lot. Most Spacers are small, too, as they’re of South-East Asian extraction.”

  “That’s not bad,” Cook said. “But what connection do the Crowder people have with Spacers?”

  “None that I know. However, Vint Diem worked on the moon Moloch in the Crowder System.”

  “Vint Diem worked for Lisa Meyers, not the Crowder people.”

  “True,” Maddox said. “But that is a link, however dubious.”

  “Agreed,” Cook said, “this is all tenuous at best. Perhaps the Crowder people have a method for exploding heads at a distance.”

  “I don’t recall anything like that in the Crowder System.”

  Cook sighed. “Whatever the case, the Crowder reps have proven exceptionally clever and ruthless to an unusual degree. No wonder you did so well in their system. They’re all like you.”

  “Not quite. I’m not amoral.”

  “I’m not sure they are either. They don’t adhere to our moral code, certainly, but I wouldn’t necessarily call them amoral.”

  “They tried to kill my family.”

  “We don’t know that yet,” Cook said. “The only connection is the recent threat against you. That puts them on the list all right, but we can’t be sure that isn’t just a coincidence.”

  “We should interrogate the reps.”

  Cook sighed again. “If Star Watch didn’t adhere to the rule of law, I’d do just that.”

  “We’re not going to do it?”

  “Before they agreed to come to Earth, I granted the representatives ambassadorial immunity. We cannot possibly torture them and call ourselves civilized, especially as we’ve denied their request to leave Balder because we don’t think they’re civilized.”

  “We sent them to the planet Balder?”

  Cook nodded.

  Maddox inhaled, held it for several seconds and then exhaled slowly. “Galyan said you summoned me in order to give me a new assignment.”

  The Lord High Admiral leaned back in his chair as his big hands held onto the edge of the desk. “I’m afraid this is an odd assignment for you, maybe even an insult after what you and your family just endured.”

  “Oh?”

  “I want you to go to Balder and fix the situation for us.”

  “Go to the new Crowder planet?” asked Maddox, half-incredulously.

  “The situation demands an unorthodox approach. And there’s a problem that I’m beginning to doubt anyone else can solve but for you. A team of Crowder dissidents has captured or kidnapped the leaders, holding them hostage.”

  “That doesn’t sound like them,” Maddox said, frowning. “People climb rank in Crowder society by killing someone higher up on the ladder. If the kidnappers have captured the leaders, they would have killed them and become the new leaders.”

  “I’ve read your report and that of the sociology and anthropology teams we sent to study them. You all say the same thing. However, that isn’t the issue. The key is the kidnappers’ demands: that Star Watch relocate the Crowder Refugees to a different planet.”

  “Have they said why?”

  “You mean other than the hellish aspects of Balder?”

  “The planet is that bad?”

  Cook nodded.

  Maddox raised a questioning eyebrow.

  Cook squirmed until he began to explain: “Balder is the perfect place for them. I don’t mean the Crowder people deserve to live in such an inhospitable place. I mean there’s only one Laumer Point in or out of the star system. For caging such an unruly people, it’s perfect. We have enough troubles in the Commonwealth as it is; we don’t need to add to them. Thus, we’re going to keep the Crowder people on Balder for the time being.”

  “What’s the timetable for them leaving?”

  “The anthropologists say several decades, at least,” Cook said.

  “That doesn’t leave much leeway for compromise.”

  “No,” Cook said.

  “Hmm,” Maddox said. “I don’t know why I’m suited for this. Are the Crowder reps asking for me specifically?”

  Cook raised his eyebrows in surprise.

  “I thought so,” Maddox said. “So, they plan to try to assasinate me again, huh? How far is Balder from Earth?”

  “Two hundred and nine light-years.”

  “Are you using the nexus to get these apparently current reports regarding Balder?”

  “We are.”

  “Will I go to Balder by nexus?”

  “Of course,” Cook said.

  The Builder nexus Maddox had brought from the Library Planet presently orbited Earth. The nexus could form a hyper-spatial tube, allowing almost instantaneous travel between two distant points. It had revolutionized the strategic configuration or placement of Star Watch’s warships. Since Maddox had been away at the Crowder System, certain traders had sought and finally paid for the privilege of using the nexus for various long-distance commercial ventures.

  “I don’t understand why you wished for a face to face with me about this,” Maddox said. “You could have told me all this via comm.”

  “Yes,” Cook said, as he brought his chair forward and put his hands flat on the desk. He fixed Maddox with an intent stare. “There’s something odd going on at Balder, and I suspect it has a connection with the Crowder reps’ familiarity with criminal elements here on Earth. As I said, I can’t bust and interrogate the reps because they have ambassadorial immunity. But I can give them into your custody and give you the mission of freeing the kidnapped leaders. That should give you plenty of leeway to discover what is amiss and how the reps have gained access to criminal elements and brain-destroying allies.”

  “You’re having me escort the people or person who might have plotted my family’s death back to Balder?”

  “I am.”

  “Why don’t you think I’ll simply kill them and be done with it?”

  “You might,” Cook said. “But if you do, it must be in accordance with legal procedures or while defending yourself from them. I expect you to act within regulations. And you need to be completely sure. There’s always the possibility it’s a trick to frame the Crowder people.”

  Maddox said nothing to that.

  “More to the point, though,” Cook said, “you know the Crowder people better than anyone else in Star Watch. Further, you’ve had greater success with them than we’ve been able to achieve. They’re a tricky bunch. You’re a—you seem well suited to dealing with them.”

  Maddox nodded.

  “I feel, though, that I should warn you about Balder.”

  “Oh?”

  “Like I’ve said, it’s a hell world. It’s rocky, has a bit more gravity than Earth and has constantly blowing winds that make Mars seem mild. The Crowder people hate it. But, as I told you, there’s only one Laumer Point in the star system. Three battleships guard it. The next nearest Laumer Point is three light-years away. On all accounts, we don’t want these people slipping onto Commonwealth planets. Frankly, Captain, they’re a pain in the ass. But, you did the right thing in saving them. Now, we need to find a use for them. Until we do, we’re keeping them holed up on Balder.”

  “Even if it kills them?”

  This time, Cook didn’t bother answering.

  “What happens if I free the leaders, capture the kidnappers but can’t find the connection between the Crowder reps and the criminal elements on Earth?”

  “Nothing happens except that you failed your primary assignment. I want you to succeed. I’m thoroughly sick of people using Earth in their schemes. Those days—I want an end to those days.”

  “Then I suggest you reinstall the Iron Lady as the head of Intelligence.”

  “No. She has her task. Right now, though, she’s on vacation on Earth.”

  Maddox rubbed his jaw. “I’d like to take Meta and Jewel with me.”

  “Your daughter?” asked Cook. “No, don’t be absurd. Meta, I can see that, but you’ll have to leave your daughter behind on Earth.”

  Maddox looked away. If it was true, why had the Crowder reps used criminals and a half-Merovingian to try to kill him and his family? Had the reps really wanted to kill them? Or was there something else going on? Was the squinting man indeed a Spacer? If so, how was he connected to the Crowder people?

  “Anything wrong?” asked Cook.

  Maddox stood, and he saluted. “Nothing, sir. I’m just woolgathering. If that will be all then…?”

  “Yes. Good luck to you, Captain.”

  “Thank you, sir.” And with that, Maddox took his leave.

  -7-

  Sergeant Treggason Riker was getting on in years. He was an older man who might have already started shrinking due to age. He had leathery features, surprisingly most of his hair, and stooped just the slightest bit these days. He’d never been tall, although even now most people would not call him short. Did that make him average?

  Few people thought that.

  Sergeant Riker wore overalls, and was on his knees pulling weeds from his outside flowerbed. He didn’t bother wearing gloves. Like his face, his hands were leathery. The left hand was bionic like his left arm and eye.

  Riker had debated more than once in the past few years about retiring. He had first met Maddox while they both worked in Intelligence. The old guard had put him with the boy—back then, that was Riker had thought of Maddox. The boy, the tall whiz kid, had been a genius at Intelligence work with a whirlwind approach. Riker had tagged along to watch out for the lad in case things went wrong.

  The older man weeding the flowerbed sighed, adding yet another weed to his growing pile. Maybe it was finally time to call it quits with Star Watch. Sure, he still had steady hands, could pistol shoot with the best of them. His bionic arm gave him an ace in the hole when needed. But he was slowing down, he was sure of it.

  Behind him, someone cleared his throat. Riker glanced back and saw Galyan.

  “Hello, Riker. How are you doing?”

  The sergeant paused, made a spectacle of climbing to his feet and turned around. “Fine, Galyan. It’s good to see you.”

  “Are you feeling stiff?”

  “A little.”

  Galyan cocked his head. “I hope you do not mind, but I am running my personality profile. According to it, you just lied to me.”

  Riker raised an eyebrow.

  “I feel that we are friends,” Galyan said. “Is that not so?”

  “We’re friends,” Riker said.

  “Thus, I should not have offended you by speaking truthfully as I did just now.”

  “No, Galyan. You didn’t offend me. I suppose I’m not altogether stiff.”

  “Good, as I have come to inform you that Captain Maddox requests your presence aboard Victory.”

  “I don’t know, Galyan. I think I’m finally going to call it quits.”

  “Oh, this is bad news indeed.”

  “Why?”

  “I want you along this mission.”

  “Any particular reason?” asked Riker.

  “Yes.”

  “Care to tell me what it is?”

  “Not yet,” Galyan said.

  “It’s a secret?”

  “Yes.”

  “Is that supposed to make me curious?”

  “That was not my intent. Has it made you curious?”

  “A little.”

  “Why do you want to stay home?”

  “It should be obvious. I’m getting old. I’m slowing down.”

  “I have not detected that.”

  “I have,” Riker said. “I can feel it.”

  “Would it help if I say please?”

  It was Riker’s turn to cock his head. “Something about this is important to you, eh?”

  “Yes.”

  “Have you told the captain about it?”

  “Not yet,” Galyan said.

  Riker scratched his bristling cheek. Last mission in the Crowder System, over two hundred thousand light-years from Earth, had been harrowing. Riker had wondered for a time if they’d ever get back home. They had, but it had been so touch and go… Was Galyan manifesting an Adok computer glitch? Riker didn’t like the idea, but it might be so.

  The old man sighed. Riker had had Maddox’s back for so long that it bothered him to leave it to someone else. Sure, he was longer in the tooth these days, but he had his bionic arm and eye, and he had experience, a truckload of it. Was this all about reflexes and fast action? No, dammit, it was about using your head. He had the most tightly screwed-on head of the captain’s crew. He had good old horse sense, common sense, which wasn’t the least bit common, it turned out.

  “Meta is joining us this time,” Galyan said.

  “Really? What about Jewel?”

  “She is remaining behind with her great-grandmother.”

  “I’ll be,” Riker said. “I never would have guessed that.”

  “We should only be gone a week or two at most—and we’re using the Builder nexus to reach Balder.”

  “Telling me must be a security breach,” Riker said. “I haven’t agreed to go yet. You shouldn’t have given me the destination.”

  “Please don’t report it, Riker.”

  “That’s a second breach. Are you sure you’re operating normally?”

  “Quite sure,” Galyan said.

  Riker muttered under his breath. “Oh, very well. You can tell the captain to send Keith for me. I’ll be coming.”

  “I am glad to hear it, Riker. I will see you again up at the ship.”

  “Sure thing…” Riker had almost called Galyan son. But if there was one member of the crew far older than him, it was the six-thousand-year-old AI. “I’ll start packing.”

  ***

  Galyan disappeared and reappeared in Victory’s main hangar bay. He appeared beside a short, blond-haired lieutenant standing beside a tin can, a fold-fighter.

  The short lieutenant was Keith Maker, the best damn pilot in all of Star Watch, by Keith’s own estimation, and performance, if the truth be told.

  “Well?” asked Keith.

  “Riker is coming. He told me to tell you that you can pick him up.”

  “Really? I thought when we left last time that the old man said he was quitting for good. What changed his mind?”

  “Who can tell?”

  Keith shrugged and turned to enter the fold-fighter.

  Galyan watched Keith, and the AI felt slightly guilty. He had not told Keith the exact truth. He hadn’t lied either. Who can tell? Well, Galyan could tell. Further, Galyan could have told Keith that he had studied Riker’s personality profile in depth. He had used Riker’s protective instincts regarding the captain. Riker felt like a father toward Maddox, and any hint of danger to him or his family would cause Riker to run to the rescue—if he could.

  Galyan had known exactly what he had been saying to Riker. Was that wrong of him to do that?

  “No,” Galyan told himself. “I need all the help I can get finding my people. If nothing else, Sergeant Riker is a good luck talisman. We have always had him with us.”

  So, that settled the matter for the Adok AI. Everything seemed to be falling into place just as Galyan had planned.

  -8-

  Maddox sat in the captain’s chair on the bridge of Victory. It felt good to be back. He’d said goodbye to Jewel at his grandmother’s place in Kauai, kissing the girl’s cheeks and praying for God to watch over her while he and Meta were away. Then, he’d taken his leave, helping a crying Meta into the waiting fold-fighter.