~
“Tuck,” he heard over his com link. A rush of oxygen coursed through his lungs. Munix was sitting on her knees above him. He got to his feet and floated in the water-filled room. She fell back, but into his arms. She pointed to the metal tank. “You must turn off your suit, wait for my power to dissipate, carry me through the EMP shield, turn yours back on, open the tank.”
Her eyes flickered just as Catalpa’s had.
“Wait?” He shook her. “What’s wrong? What do I fix?”
“Plug me in.”
The EMP field gave no noticeable sensation that he passed through. He waited until he was next to the tank before he turned on his suit. Hundreds of wires and tubes led out from the tank.
He opened it revealing…her brain. The orange gel in which it sat did not mix with the water that had filled the room. He still wasn’t sure what she was, but once he opened the lid he saw the problem. A large syringe fastened to her brain joined a series of cables forming a complicated plug. He searched for the receptor to the plug. Though the room was relatively intact there was a lot of junk floating around. After sifting through broken glass and shards of metal he found the receptor, but it was smashed.
Time is running out Tuck. Think!
He fumbled the two ends in his hands.
Lord, I just wanted an honorable death. I don’t understand you most of the time, but…‘Plug me in,’ he remembered. He turned the suit off again to walk through the EMP field and pulled the plug to Munix who was still on the ground. He ran his fingers along her face then rolled her over. There! On the small of her back was a thick rubberized seal. She must have been in the middle of repairs from…that stupid general. He stuck his hand in to feel around. Since he could not see he shut his eyes to visualize what he felt. There were many mechanical parts. He moved his fingers over a slender tube-a terminal point to part of her chassis perhaps, a series of micro gears that probably helped articulate other internal parts and there was some sort of warm unit that surprised him. Yes, this was it. This was the receptor. He rubbed his finger around it until he was certain it would fit.
The plug fit perfectly. Within a second Munix was awake and moving.
Immediately, he felt the ship move. The water in the room hid the sudden burst of g-forces pushing on his body. Slowly, he, Avers and Munix slid to the back of the room. All the unsettled debris floated towards him too. The rest accumulated along the floor beneath him.
“I’ve gotten us moving now,” Avers advised. “I won’t be able to carry you up.”
Tuck nodded. The cord connecting her to her brain was shorter than
He reached for his battery, but just as he was about to disconnect it Munix spoke, “Thank you Tuck. Many blessings…”
With the battery out the speakers in his helmet cut off. Avers had been out for too long. He jammed the battery into her suit.
She awoke with a large gasp of air.
“We go together. When I run low on oxygen give me the battery. When you run low I’ll give it back.”
Avers nodded.
~
He woke up lying on the floor in the control room. Pepla was at his side. Munix told him that she had been able to connect to V, her brain, and then control the ship. She confirmed that they had in fact descended almost 1,000 feet under water. An unknown source of fuel had been deposited into her reserves. Only later had she discovered that the professor, working independently of Tuck and Co., had been confined to the cargo bay where he chanced upon a large shipment of mustang vapors. Realizing his limited ability to escape he did the only thing he knew to do; fiddle with the cargo. He ended up connecting the mustang vapors to the near empty fuel tank. This in turn provided V with the much needed fuel to ascend from the deep and take to the skies.
The control room housed the surviving passengers who sat in the semi-comfortable chairs talking about their days to come.
“What’s the plan now?” Pepla asked Avers.
“We’re going home. To Mars.”
“Through space?”
“Won’t we decompress?” The professor asked.
“Only part of the ship was damaged,” Tuck said. “The rest is sealed tight. V inspected it.”
“Mars,” Pepla said gazing through the window, “is it anything like Earth?”
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The Miserable Planet #4 Page 8