***

  “Sir,” Maddox said over the Builder comm microphone. “I have a battle plan.”

  “So do I, son,” Admiral Cook said. “We have to protect the Destroyer as the crew readies the ship systems for battle. The enemy has stolen a march on us, but it’s not over yet. I liked your demonstration of fold-fighters. I’m going to do that again, but on a bigger scale.”

  “The androids will be ready for the fold-fighters this time.”

  “Maybe,” Cook said. “We’re going to find out. Now, listen here, Captain. I have specific instructions about your part in the plan. I don’t want you sniping at their flanks like a wolf. You are to immediately jump back to the Destroyer. Every other starship in the Solar System with a star-drive jump is going to join you there. We’re going to fight this battle as a team. The rest of the warships are heading at top velocity for Earth. But if we lose that Destroyer before it can tangle with the Juggernauts, then we’re going to lose the entire Solar System.”

  “Yes, sir,” Maddox said.

  “Now, son, I’m serious about you heading back. Victory has firepower and good shielding and hull armor. It will be as good as an augmented battleship. I’m going to be out there soon, arriving via fold-fighter. I want your starship in my formation. Do I make myself clear?”

  “Yes, sir,” Maddox said.

  “Then get back upstairs to your bridge,” Cook said. “We know the score. Now, we’re going to discover the outcome.”

  ***

  Victory gathered more data, holding back from jumping directly to the Destroyer. That was per Maddox’s orders.

  “What did Cook say?” Strokes asked on the bridge.

  “That we leave here at the very last minute,” Maddox said calmly. “Until then, we’re to gather data and launch every antimatter missile we have left at them.”

  “Cook said that?” asked Stokes.

  “You don’t believe me?” Maddox asked, knowing that was the wrong question the second he said it.

  Stokes studied the captain. “No,” he finally said.

  Maddox shrugged.

  A few seconds later, Stokes got up from his chair and stood beside the captain. “Do you want me to pull rank on you?” Stokes asked quietly.

  “I wouldn’t advise it,” Maddox said just as quietly.

  “Your people won’t listen to me if I give contrary orders, is that what you’re saying?”

  Maddox did not reply.

  “It’s time for you to obey orders,” Stokes whispered. “I’ll log my words and date and time them. Do you really want that?”

  Maddox eyed the lieutenant colonel, finally nodding. “Yes, sir,” he said. The captain cleared his throat. “There’s been a change in plans. The lieutenant colonel is ordering us back to the Destroyer now.”

  “In violation of the Lord High Admiral’s orders?” asked Valerie from her station.

  “Lieutenant,” Stokes asked her with the lift of an eyebrow in Maddox’s direction, “would I violate orders?”

  Valerie glanced at a stoic Maddox. “Oh,” she said. “I see.”

  “Launch three antimatter missiles first,” Maddox said.

  “Yes, sir,” Valerie replied.

  As she did, Galyan and Andros gathered data on the antimatter warhead-damage to the nine Juggernauts. Soon, three big antimatter missiles launched from the starship, building up velocity as they headed for the Android Fleet.

  “I detect only negligible damage to the second to last Juggernaut’s hull armor,” Galyan said. “It would seem impossible, but the direct antimatter blast did not drop any of the Juggernauts’ shields.”

  “Because of the supermetals in the shield generators?” asked Maddox.

  “In my estimation,” Galyan said, “that would be the correct supposition.”

  Maddox looked at Stokes.

  “If direct antimatter blasts can’t rupture their shields,” Stokes said, “what can?”

  “Now we know why they’re trying to take out the Destroyer first,” Maddox said. “Its main beam can likely smash their shields and roast their hulls. But if there’s no Destroyer around to fire…”

  “I understand,” Stokes said in a hoarse voice. “I take it those ships of the Home Fleet which can are supposed to gather and give battle in order to slow down the Juggernauts to give the Destroyer crew time to shake down the ship.”

  “Yes,” Maddox said flatly.

  Stokes blinked several times, frowned and finally said, “Earth may have just run out of luck.”

  “Then, it’s time to make our own luck,” Maddox said. “Helm, get ready to jump to the Destroyer. We’re going to join the rest of the Home Fleet so we take on the Rull Armada.”

  -78-

  Things did not look good for the divided Home Fleet, the Destroyer or Earth.

  Nine Rull Juggernauts build up velocity, straining to reach the Destroyer before the crew powered up all the alien systems. The huge oval-shaped vessels showed greater acceleration than any of their kind had during the First Swarm Invasion. That, too, had to be due to the installed supermetals that improved so many facets of a machine, this time the main engines and thrusters.

  Nine vast warships twenty kilometers in diameter surely held what was left of the androids that used to live in Human Space. At least, that’s what Maddox argued at the fleet conference held aboard the Lord High Admiral’s flagship, SWS Kaiser Wilhelm, a heavily armored Bismarck-class battleship.

  The Lord High Admiral sat at the head of the large conference table. There was a lot of high brass here, commodores, rear admirals and even a fleet admiral, and Georgia Raker from Mississippi III, a water planet known for its prized but deadly ocean fishing.

  The ad hoc fleet had seven battleships of three different classes—the old Bismarck-class being the newest. The fleet also had Starship Victory, two attack cruisers, an older carrier, two ultra-slow monitors and fifteen destroyers.

  There were two ancient battleships without star-drive heading in-system from Jupiter along with nine more cruisers, another carrier, thirteen destroyers and twenty-one corvettes or escorts, but they would arrive a little later.

  Even combined into one fleet, this was too few warships to defeat nine new and supermetals-improved Juggernauts. With the Destroyer at peak efficiency that would be another matter. But this wasn’t a fantasy match. This was hard reality.

  In the ad hoc fleet at the point of battle, the Lord High Admiral would have thirteen capital ships and fifteen smaller vessels. The key, according to Admiral Georgia Raker, were their 43 available fold-fighters and masses of antimatter missiles.

  “We will confuse them with the fold-fighters and missiles,” Raker said. “Then we’ll hit each Juggernaut in turn with combined battleship fire. With the skillful use of fold-fighters, lots of courage and a little luck, we can defeat the Android Fleet.”

  No one else at the conference table seemed to be enthusiastic about her plan, as no one said a word. Finally, several commodores glanced at Maddox.

  “Comments?” asked Cook, also glancing at the captain.

  Maddox did not comment. Unless the Destroyer crew activated the alien killer in time, they were going to lose. Georgia Raker’s idea was as good as any and probably better than most, but it likely wouldn’t win them the fight.

  “There is one thing,” Cook said. “If Captain Maddox is correct about all the secret androids gathering to crew the Juggernauts, if we win this battle, our days of having to worry about hidden androids could be over.”

  “Amen to that,” Georgia Raker said.

  Maddox silently agreed. The androids had been a thorn in Star Watch’s side for far too long. It would be good to finally be rid of them.

  First, the Spacers left us and now, maybe, the androids are leaving, Maddox silently told himself.

  The high brass argued a few finer points in the plan, but in the end, Cook decided to stick with Raker’s operational idea. Maddox added a point near the end of the discussion.

  “You should talk to the android leader, sir,” Maddox said. “Sometimes, I’ve found ways to confound the enemy by doing so.”

  Cook considered the idea. “Are there any objections to that?”

  No one spoke up.

  “Captain,” the Lord High Admiral said. “I believe talking to the enemy at the moment of highest stress is one of your specialties. You will speak for the fleet, for me.”

  “As you wish, sir,” Maddox said. “If it’s all right with you, I’d like to do so from Victory.”

  “That will work,” Cook said.

  The big old man heaved a loud sigh and scanned the assembled brass. “We’ve fought many battles together. We lost a few but have won most of the time. This is definitely a surprise assault. Fortunately, for us, Captain Maddox discovered the plan before the androids, synthetics and Methuselah Woman, Lisa Meyers, could get a lock on victory. I know you had help, Captain. You have the strangest but one of the finest crews in Star Watch. Today, I hope all of us meld to the same degree that Captain Maddox has melded his band of misfits. We’re fighting for Earth. That means we could be fighting to keep the Commonwealth together so humanity can face alien dangers as one, united in survival. The enemy is attempting to splinter humanity into many competing factions. Well, by God’s grace, we’re not going to let that happen.”

  Cook picked up a glass of water and took several sips. He looked tired but determined. “We’re all expendable, every damn one of us. We have to buy the Destroyer precious time. We have to hurt the Juggernauts so when the awful primary beam opens up, it can smash them into atoms one after another. If that Destroyer beam burns battleships while completing its mission, oh well, we’ll have done our duty and died well.”

  Cook scanned his commanders. “Is there anyone who disagrees with that?”

  No one spoke up.

  “Then, let us resolve to fight harder than we ever had. Let us also bow our heads as we ask the Lord God Almighty to aid human arms.”

  The assembled commanders bowed their heads, including Maddox.

  “Dear Lord God,” Cook said, with his head bowed and eyes closed. “We beg you to help us defeat the androids. We need your help, Lord. We probably don’t deserve it, but we’re asking just the same. Help us to be worthy of your help in the future. This I pray in your glorious name, O Lord God Almighty. Amen.”

  “Amen,” Admiral Georgia Raker said loudly.

  At that point, the meeting was over, and the assembled commanders hurried to get to the hangar bay and back to their ships.

  -79-

  The fold-fighter pilots were ready to lead their fragile tin cans into the thick of the fight. This time, it did not include Keith Maker. The ace was aboard Victory, piloting the heaviest defending vessel in the ad hoc fleet.

  The Android Fleet no longer accelerated, but cruised at high velocity for the Destroyer. No doubt they would turn hard toward Earth once they destroyed the alien super-ship.

  The tiny Human Fleet had started maneuvering toward the enemy. The two competing fleets were like runaway trains barreling at each other. The engagement would not last long as the fleets closed, would be beside each other for seconds, and then the two fleets would be heading away from each other. The engagement would only last as long as the beam weapons were in range and as long as the missiles could catch up to the enemy.

  Maddox was aboard Victory. The Adok starship was in the second line. The first line held the destroyers. The smaller warships would sacrifice themselves, absorbing augmented laser fire from the Juggernauts, acting as shields for the battleships, cruisers, monitors, carrier and Victory. Fold-fighter antimatter missiles would theoretically be helping—but who knew if that would really happen the way Cook had planned?

  “I don’t detect any enemy jamming,” Valerie said nervously from her station.

  Maddox took a deep, worried breath. It was still twenty minutes before any beams could reach the enemy. The Juggernauts had not launched any missiles, nor had Star Watch…yet.

  “Hail them, Lieutenant,” Maddox said, his voice steely calm, belying the deep breath of a moment ago.

  Seconds ticked away as everyone waited. Would the androids—

  “They’re replying, sir,” Valerie said.

  Maddox straightened just a little more as he looked at the main screen.

  Abruptly, a chrome-colored metallic Rull android stared at him. It was just like last time in the Alpha Centauri System, and almost as intimidating. Once, that android had worn clothes and pseudo human-skin. Once, that android had attempted to mimic men and blend into human society. A Builder had fashioned the android long ago for an entirely different purpose than the thing attempted today.

  “Zon Ten?” asked Maddox.

  The smooth chrome-colored head tilted. “Captain Maddox, I presume?”

  “You don’t remember me?”

  “You humans all look alike to me, hominids attempting sentience. Yes. I remember sending you far away. We recorded the event and are already working to duplicate the feat.”

  “How marvelous for you,” Maddox said.

  “Is there a reason you hailed me, Captain?”

  “Why attack and cease your existence, Zon Ten?”

  The Rull android shook his chrome-colored head. “In actuality, this call means that you are begging for a reprieve, Captain. I have studied the files on you. Many consider you cunning. But I realize that desperation motivates this call. Today, Captain, superior firepower and technology will annihilate the weaker side—your side. You are about to lose Earth, Captain. But soon, it will not matter for you, as you will have lost your life. You should not have come back from wherever you went.”

  “The outcome in war is seldom certain,” Maddox said. “You have already freed your leader, Lisa Meyers, by this maneuver. Now, why not take her and leave?”

  “Meyers is not our leader,” Zon Ten said coldly. “She possesses a Builder inside the Glorious Kent. Soon, she, too, will be in our custody. We will awaken the Builder, augmenting him with supermetals, and a new era will begin as androids truly begin to multiply and fill the universe.”

  “A lofty goal,” Maddox said.

  “Yes,” Zon Ten agreed.

  “But I would submit to you that Lisa Meyers does control the Rull androids. She does so through the synthetics she sent you.”

  “You pathetic human,” Zon Ten said. “We obviously know about the synthetics. They no longer serve her, but us.”

  Maddox shook his head, chuckling.

  “What is that noise?” Zon Ten said. “I find it annoying.”

  “I bet you do,” Maddox said.

  “Explain your foolish statement.”

  Maddox looked up as he dried an eye, as if he’d been laughing hard for some time. “Boy, oh, boy, has Doctor Meyers thrown you over a barrel, and you’re too dull-witted to see it. I used to think androids were logical, maybe even cunning. Now, I see how wrong I was.”

  “That is not an explanation,” Zon Ten said. “You are attempting to goad me. Know, Captain, that you will fail in that.”

  “Sure I will,” Maddox said. “And do you know where Lisa Meyers is now?”

  Zon Ten stared at him.

  “She’s gone to the Supermetals Planet. She’s raiding it for ores. She’s going to revive the Builder on her own and tell him whatever story puts her in the best light. You can believe she’s double-crossing you. What a fool you are.”

  “If you are correct about her actions, we will hunt down the Methuselah Woman—”

  “No you won’t, you tin-plated fool,” Maddox said, interrupting. “She’ll be long gone by then. You’re a sucker doing her dirty work. Why hasn’t she folded to join you in the risk of war?”

  “There is no risk today. You are as good as dead.”

  “I can prove my allegation,” Maddox said.

  Zon Ten studied him coldly, finally asking, “How?”

  By an act of will, Maddox kept from licking his lips. This was the critical moment. “Call her. Demand that she identify her present location. If she’s at the Supermetals Planet, you’ll know that she’s double-crossing you.”

  The chrome-colored android stared at Maddox, possibly running computations. Abruptly, the screen went blank.

  “Patch me through to Cook,” Maddox snapped.

  A second later, the Lord High Admiral appeared on the main screen. The big old man sat in his command chair aboard the Kaiser Wilhelm.

  “What did that gobbledygook gain us?” Cook asked.

  “Possibly a moment’s inattention on Zon Ten’s part toward us,” Maddox said. “Will that matter? I have no idea, sir. I’m just stirring the pot the only way I know how. Maybe it will produce something bigger. The key is to go with it and see what the flow produces.”

  “Opportunism run amok,” Cook muttered. “Well…it’s seems to have brought you luck in the past. Let’s hope it helps somehow today.”

  “Sir, if you’re going to start missiling them with fold-fighters, this is the moment to begin.”

  Cook eyed the captain, but then nodded sharply and motioned to someone off screen.

  The connection went blank.

  Lieutenant Colonel Stokes chuckled softly while shaking his head. “You’re a peach, Captain, a true peach.”

  “Put out that stimstick,” Maddox said.

  Stokes raised his eyebrows as the two locked stares. Finally, the lieutenant colonel plucked the smoldering stimstick from his mouth and mashed it against the sole of one of his shoes, dropping the crushed butt onto the floor. “Happy?” asked Stokes.

  Instead of answering, Maddox stood and went to Valerie, wondering when the shooting would start.

  -80-

  It turned out that the shooting was about to commence. The Lord High Admiral gave Fighter Commander Anson permission to proceed.

  With that, the first five fold-fighters made the short hop, each of them appearing at the forward sides of the Android Fleet. Five big antimatter missiles dropped from five underbelly clamps. Five big boosters burned hot, sending the missiles at the Juggernauts.

  The androids weren’t sleeping, though. Hot beams lashed out, annihilating the missiles, burning the warheads before they could ignite. The beams failed to catch the fold-escaping tin cans, however.