The Lost Starship by Vaughn Heppner

Slowly, the truth dawned on him.
    “You’ve known about my mother for some time,” he said. “In fact, it’s likely you covered her trail in Brisbane.”
    “Likely?” the brigadier asked.
    “You did cover it.”
    She nodded. “Why did we do so?”
    “Because the trail led into the Beyond,” he said. “You wanted time to figure this out. That meant you couldn’t have people going about it half-cocked, giving away the game that you knew.”
    “Good. You’re thinking again. It’s about time.”
    “Where in the Beyond did the trail lead?” Maddox asked.
    “ That we don’t know,” she said.
    “What do you know?”
    “After listening to Lieutenant Noonan’s story, it appears we didn’t prepare well enough. Oh, we have a far larger Fleet, given the level of peace before the invasion. It’s possible our enemy recognized our awareness. In fact, now I believe that is a certainty. We have battled their agents in secret, but they are impossibly clever. Yes, we’ve won a round or two, but they have outmaneuvered us time and again. Their abilities are terrifying. Some of us have begun to wonder if there’s any hope for humanity.”
    “I have two questions,” Maddox said. “Why have you let me run free until now, and why are you telling me this?”
    The brigadier smiled. “I’ve known about you a long time, Captain. I have championed your cause against some who seriously distrust you. We haven’t told you any of this because some among us fear you. Some doubt your loyalty, after yesterday’s story, more than ever. But this should be made clear to you. Until we actually capture a New Man and test his DNA, and then compare it to yours, we can’t know for certain that you have their blood.”
    “But—”
    “Your skin isn’t golden,” the brigadier said. “You have Caucasoid pigmentation and features. Yes, you have some heightened abilities. Does that mean you’re one of them?”
    “It means I ’m a half-breed.”
    “I don’t like the term, Captain.”
    “Nevertheless—”
    “Don’t mistake a possibility for an actuality ,” O’Hara said. “And even if you have half of their genetics, so what? Why does that make such a difference as far as your loyalty goes?”
    Maddox digested her words. “Tell me this then. Why did my mother’s trail lead into the Beyond? What was she running from?”
    “At this point, we simply don’t know. Therefore, you shouldn’t let possibilities bother you.”
    He wanted to grab at this hope. Maybe I’m not part New Man . Then reality, at least as he saw it, resettled in his heart. Yet, what other explanation is there? What has the highest probability? That I’m a half-breed: a genetic experiment that got away from the New Men .
    “You must put this behind you,” the brigadier said. “In reality, your origins don’t matter. It’s who you are now that counts.”
    Yes, who am I? Maddox decided to shelf the probing for the moment. Still, a cynical smile touched his lips as he looked at the brigadier. “On to the second question then,” he said. “Why tell these things now?”
    “My dear boy, isn’t it obvious? Yes, some will think you’re merely being clever, thinking four or five moves ahead of us. You’re telling me this to hide your tracks, taking a gamble with me.”
    Maddox felt his heart go cold. Despite her earlier words, it sounded as if O’Hara believed he really had New Men genetics.
    “ I know you have a good heart and good intentions,” O’Hara said, “but more importantly, so does he.”
    “ He?” asked Maddox. “Who is he ?”
    A secret door slid open, startling Maddox. A large man with a red face and a white uniform stepped into the room.
    “Me,” Lord High Admiral Cook said. “I don’t think you’re a plant or a sleeper. I believe you’re just the man we need to give us an edge against the New Men before they begin their invasion in earnest.”
     

-6-
    Maddox stared at the Lord High Admiral. He hadn’t expected