by T J Bryan
The Quark came into view. Abel could hardly recognize it as it tumbled in space. Something moving in all three axis was hard to focus upon. How they were to pull this off Abel had no idea. Soon Lennie had pulled the ship within a dangerous ten meters of the tumbling Quark.
Lennie turned and looked at Silvi.
Silvi said in a most un-captain like manner, "You going to bump it Lennie?"
"Yeah," he replied "I'm gonna bump the beast."
Now Abel understood. Lennie was going to stop the tumble by nudging the Quark into a stable flight path. But to do so required consummate indeed insane piloting skills. The pilot had to contact each of the axis of rotation. Contact was hardly the right descriptor. Crash was more like it. But Quark was enormously sturdy and sound after four hundred years of hard use and intense maintenance. Just the same there was a real risk of shattering Quark or even worse a collision resulting in a hull breach on the 1033.
Silvi called out in a voice a bit louder than necessary now that the engines were almost silent. "Mr. Brunner can your raise the Quark?"
Abel heard Buddy call repeatedly for Quark but there was no response.
"She is silent sir," responded Buddy.
Slowly 1033 edged toward the spinning Quark.
Silvi called out, "Prepare for impact. I say again, prepare for impact.
Abel reached for the six point harness that held him in the jump seat and gave it another tug and then a second.
Lennie called out "First impact in five. Five... four... three...two...one...impact." Lennie jerked the control stick just as the port delta wing hit the spinning Quark.
The impact was hard and jolted Abel more than he expected.
"Status Mr. Wong," Silvi called out.
"Minor damage to the port wing. Hull integrity intact."
Before Emmitt could finish a full damage report Lennie called out again, "Impact in Five...four...three...two... one...impact!"
Again Abel felt the ship shudder and again Emmitt called out minor damage with full hull integrity. But this time as Abel looked out the vid screen Quark was tumbling only slightly on one axis. The other two were still making Quark dangerous.
Lennie called out again, "Going for axis X. Impact in five..."
The process continued for half an hour with Lennie calling out impacts. But with each nudge or crash the Quark tumbled less. Emmitt kept reassuring the crew that although the damage was reoccurring the hull was maintaining integrity and all the hits had resulted in a maintenance status which allowed deferral for six months to two years. Abel realized that 1033 was one tough bird. Now his worry focused on Quark. Quark had taken a beating in Lennie's efforts to stabilize her and he wondered if her hull was intact.
Silvi called out. "Mr. Brunner, do you detect a hull breach on Quark. Is she venting?"
"No sir," replied Buddy, "No detectable venting. But she appears damaged."
"Status on the damage Mr. Brunner?"
"Lennie's bumps seem to have stripped off her manoeuvring jectors as well as the main propulsion jectors. No venting, but I doubt she will every fly again."
"Can you see the docking port Mr. Brunner?"
"Yes sir. The docking port looks good."
Abel looked out the bridge screen again and Quark was stable.
"Pilot Karrlson take us to docking position. Mr. Nillson and Mr. Brenner please go to the cargo hold and prepare the docking tunnel. Double check your ship suits for integrity before docking and entering the tube. Chief prepare the doc-in-a-box since you have the most experience with that thing. Helen when we get the Quark folks aboard, and the cargo hold repressureized, I want you to assist Larry and Buddy. Keep the able bodied in the cargo hold. Bring the worst injured here to the doc-in-a-box. It will hold only four, so choose the worst four, ignore the moaning and groaning of those who will not die in the next hour. And you know what to do about those too injured to help."
Helen nodded "Will do."
Chapter Eighteen
Jamon System - Old Mining Dock One - Year 3245. June 26 ET: 12:03
Emergency Medical services met the 1033 as she docked against the old mining dock. Three had died, and three very badly injured. No one of the Quark crew and her passengers was uninjured. The doc-box had stabilized the worst injured and gave only one a grave prognosis. The one with the grave prognosis was the first seat pilot Tom Stopford. The centrifugal force had thrown Tom repeatedly against the bulkhead and when Lennie bumped the Quark into stable flight the bumping and tossing had continued to throw Tom against the bulkhead. Abel doubted Tom would live till tomorrow.
After EMS had completed it's work and transported the injured to the Collegium Hospital the crew filed out onto the dock. Abel was first to emerge and Silvi last. There on the dock stood the Chairman and four members of the executive committee. The executive committee members looked stunned. The Chairman looked mad.
Abel waited a moment for Silvi, now Captain Karrlson, and the two of them approached the Chairman as the remainder of the crew stayed protectively near the hatch.
Abel and Silvi approached the Chairman, "Victor, May in introduce Captain Silvi Karrlson of the Strategic Area Reconnaissance Frigate 1033. Silvi reached out for the Chairman's hand. The chairman with a look of bewilderment hesitated and then took Silvi's hand shaking it weakly for a moment and then with increasing vigor.
"I don't know what you have been up to Abel, and you too Silvi, but I thank the gods in Valhalla for your work today. Every one of them, and all the other gods of the universe as well." He paused a moment to take in the view of the ship out the plasticene windows that lined the docking berth.
"And I thought the ship was dead. You told me so. I believed you." Victor began to laugh.
...
Jamon System - Chairman's Office - Year 3245. June 26 ET: 18:10
"So your telling me Captain Karrlson that you won't be able to take the ship to Girots for at least six months. That's outrageous. We need relief now. In the past six months we have consumed a third of our comestibles. Were down by 37% in the nutrient tanks and without those tanks we cannot produce food locally. In six months we will be further down. You must go now."
Silvi stood her ground and Able was there to support her. Clearly Victor lacked the respect for Silvi that she had earned with Abel. After all she was young, beautiful, without a Pilot's Guild membership, and in Victor's mind still a silly little girl. However Victor sensed something in Captain Karrlson and chose not to challenge the authority granted her by his old friend the Chief.
Silvi drew a breath, "Now let me repeat honourable Chairman the reasons we must delay our departure. They are as follows. We have no trained astrogator and the lack of one on board will most likely result in the loss of the ship on its' way to or from Girots. Second the 1033 has no capacity to carry any significant food stuffs or essential nutrients on its' return. Its' entire cargo hold is approximately 4,000 square meters. Probably enough food to feed 1000 families for a few months. Third we must prepare for all eventualities. We have no idea what happened to the Bountiful or to Girots system. Now we hope for the best, but The Dark has become a dangerous place and we must be both prepared and fully trained. Two training missions is insufficient for an interstellar voyage out into the void and through the portals."
Abel could see that the Chairman understood fully, but still he resisted. Victor may well understand but he did not 'want' to understand.
Victor looked to Abel for support.
"Victor, Captain Karrlson is right. We cannot rush this voyage. We have sufficient food stuffs to last a year and a half. You told me so last week. Now six months to ensure a successful voyage is prudent, indeed necessary."
The Chairman continued his scowl. "How long to go out and get back?"
Silvi replied, "Without an astrogator we can only estimate the time to Girots and back. An astrogator will provide much more detail as to the route and the time required."
"But you must have some idea?"
"Let m
e respond Victor," said Abel. I spoke with Helen and the historic times for Bountiful were 1,200 hours to our system through three portals and the return from our system to Girots' through two portals was abut 900 hours. In other words if we travelled as did Bountiful we would reach Girots in 68 days. The Return trip would be about 50 days
The Chairman looked at the ceiling and did a calculation. "Good god Abel, you want 120 days to get ready and another 118 or so days to travel there and back. That's all of eight months. We will be down to less than half our food supply by then. You have to go now."
The Chairman slumped down in his ample leatherette covered chair. He ran his hands through his thinning hair. Abel could read defeat in his every gesture. The Chairman began to finger the knotted rope which hung from the edge of his desk.
Silvi interjected, "Honourable Chairman even if we left early there is nothing we can do to alleviate the food shortage. The 1033 is simply too small. We carry a crew complement of only nine and have no real storage capacity at all. Besides an untrained crew invites disaster, and the lack of an astrogator ensures that disaster. We cannot go until the crew is fully trained and we have an astrogator. But please keep this in mind the 1033 is a warship and she is fast. We can be at Girots in 300 hours or 12 days. With good astrogation we might do it in 9 or 10 days. The return would take perhaps 300 hours or 13 days. If we assume a day or two to talk to Girots and establish their status we can be back here at the dock in 20 days after leaving Girots. 35 days round trip at most. At that point you will have a full status and you will be able to take appropriate action."
"But still we will have no food and the clock is ticking." The Chairman leaned forward holding his head, his elbows on the table. He ran his hands through his thin hair over and over.
Abel drew a breath. "Victor I have a plan."
Victor looked up.
"Bountiful may only be damaged or incapacitated. Once there we can asses her condition and with our resources, including what we have from the ghost fleet, we can return with the parts needed to repair her. On the other hand if she is damaged beyond repair I have a further suggestion, but it will require your full support and it will not be easy."
"Go ahead Abel, I'm listening." Abel noted Victor did not address him as Chief but as 'Abel' as an old friend would rather than as a subordinate.
"Out in the zone we have two intact armed Greayson freighters. Unity probably considered them of no danger and put them last on the schedule to be destroyed. I have talked with both Helen and Emmitt and they think that we can recommission one or eventually both of those ships."
Abel paused a moment to let the impact of his proposal sink in.
"You mean you can get a freighter, a real freighter up and running and take it to Girots?"
Abel responded, "The short answer is yes."
Victors's eyebrows descended over his intense eyes. "And the long answer is?"
"It will take crews we don't have. And crews require training. And at this point while I think we understand a Grayson SAR frigate, we simply know nothing about the intact freighter. It's there, vac-d, without a command comp, and most critically without a crew."
"How long to get a crew and get that thing up and running?"
"I we have your full support Victor, and no Pilot's Guild crap, then six months, five at the least."
Victor frowned. "But in the meantime we can send Silvi and her people out and see what's happening in Girots?"
Abel responded, "Yes. After we have an astrogator for 1033 and we feel the crew is fully trained. That's six months. Then thirty days later we will know what's happening. If Bountiful cannot fly we will have our own freighter ready thirty days later if all goes well. Then perhaps 45 days later we will have our needed supplies here on our loading dock. The freighter is about 20% slower than the frigate. Remember she is an armed Greayson freighter intended for supporting the fleet in time of war. She is rugged and very fast for a freighter. But I need a crew. A trained crew and a capable ship."
Victor took his gaze off Abel and stared momentarily at Silvi. Then he looked down at his wooden antique desk. Abel saw victor gripping the edge of the desk. His knuckles were white. After a long pause Victor looked up "Well, as the ancient wise man said, 'Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a very persistent one.' Go ahead with your plan."
Abel looked hard at Victor, "And no crap Victor. No crap."
"Yes," Victor replied. "There will be no crap even if I have to shoot the Guild myself."
After meeting with the Chairman Silvi returned to 1033 to assist with further maintenance. The previous night Abel and Emmitt had agreed to start the major large component deferred maintenance repairs, beginning with a series of fusion engine items that appeared to involve some heavy lifting and complex adjustments. Emmitt informed Abel that the work could only be performed with the automation facilities of the ship and that they might well take all night.
Abel stopped in at the ES office for a moment before returning to the 1033 and discussed a few matters with Captain Winton who had assumed Abel's day to day duties of Chief of ES. Abel was dressed in his officer's blues and cap. But these familiar clothes were beginning to feel unfamiliar as he became more comfortable with the Greayson ship suits.
At 22:10 Abel decided on a long walk back to 1033. As much as he had come to love the ship and it's crew he still occasionally needed a long walk to clear his head and think about ways to improve the schedule. He walked along Parson's Path and stopped briefly in Nelson's Park. While pausing at the Monument to the blow-out of 2332 he realized that the discovery of the vac suits had occurred only 36 days ago, and that in perhaps six months they would know the fate of their community as it faced the grim prospects of starvation and cold. Abel fell into a reverie thinking about his life in the Commonwealth, and all that he had achieved, and all that he had lost. There were few people in the park and as the last couple left to return to their home Abel realized that it was well past midnight.
As he exited the Habitat and passed the Watch Station, Officer Dayna English sat in the watch room reviewing 'paperwork' on her desk. As Abel passed she waved and then returned to her inter-tab. The Public Dock was very quiet and Abel noticed the empty berth where Quark had lain. We are gong to need to replace Quark he thought and SAR's aren't designed to move rocks. At the lift from the Public Dock to the Old Mining Dock he paused a moment to take in the entire Public Doc. The once mostly empty dock now was full of equipment taken from the Greayson Fleet and awaiting inventory and shipment to its' eventual point of use. Sixteen fusion engines were lined up in a row next to cartons, boxes, and crates of items Abel could not recognize.
Abel punched the lift actuator and rose the two decks to the Old Mining Dock. The dock was quiet and it was almost 01:30. He walked briskly through the cold toward 1033 and activated the hatch combination and the door slid open. Even at this time of night the cargo hold was brightly illuminated. He entered 1033 and instinctively turned to make sure that the hatch had closed and the hatch seal light above the door went from yellow to green. Old habits die hard he thought, but making sure always made him feel more secure for himself and his crew.
As Abel turned he heard metal on metal groaning sound coming from the aft hatch that led to the engine room. Maintenance he though, but he decided to just take a look to ensure all was well. The engine room hatch was closed and its' tell-tale light was green indicating both a clean seal and a safe environment beyond. Abel felt tired, but thought it might be interesting to observe the maintenance procedure.
Abel hit the hatch actuator and the door opened to reveal the tight engine room and apart from some odd sounds the room seemed empty and peaceful. Abel turned to return to the hold and the bridge.
It appeared as if from nowhere. Tall, metallic, and very threatening. A meter tall and half as wide with what must have been ten segmented tentacles each holding a tool or a weapon advanced on Abel. The droid paused a moment to evaluate Abel and then one tentacle rose with a plasma weld
er. The welder began to glow and spark as the droid lunged at Abel. Abel just managed to dodge the welder and as he did so his officer's cap fell. Before the cap reached the ground the droid struck it with the plasma welder and the cap burst into flames. The smoke alarm claxon began to sound. Abel pulled back further into the engine compartment as the droid moved toward him There was no room to hide as Able scurried toward the last fusion engine in the compartment. The droid advanced and three of the other tentacles began to whirl about and Abel realized that if her were struck by any one of those articulated arms moving with speed and precision he might well be killed.
Abel found himself pressed up against the control panel of the fusion engine. The droid advanced within a half meter and paused. Abel thought if that thing hits me, or tries to use the plasma welder, it might well damage the fusion engine and then the ship and half the station might well be lost. Abel was about to do the only thing he could think of and that was to lunge and try to dodge around the droid. But he had seen the speed at which the droid moved and reacted and knew the prospects for success were low. Abel thought to wait until the droid made a move and then he would lunge. The droid moved a few centimetres closer and two of the free tentacles reached for Abel's neck. Time to try something desperate he thought.
And the droid froze. Silvi appeared standing behind the droid.
"What the hell was that?" asked Abel.
Silvi had a frown on her face as she replied, "It thinks your a boarder, perhaps the enemy or a pirate trying to destroy the ship."
"What?"
"Abel, you just entered a maintenance area in a most critical compartment of 1033 and the droid knows your not crew. Therefore you must be up to no good."
"But I am crew."
Silvi laughed. "Yes, but you not wearing a Greayson ship suit. Without that suit the droid assumed you were up to evil. You clearly do not belong here. Or so it thought in it's tiny mind. In any event as I arrived it assumed all was under control."