by T J Bryan
Marx knew that it was going to take a very long time to cut through the hatch. The bulkhead separating the cargo bay from the engine room was very thick and made of an incredibly dense metal and carbon compound. It was simply the strongest portion of a SAR. If the engines had been damaged in battle and were streaming plasma that bulkhead was the only thing separating the crew from disaster. The bulkhead was tough. It might well take a full day or more to remove the hatch. That is if it could be removed.
"Brandy, you are still our MS operator. Can we monitor the droid repairs on the forward compartments of the ship from here?"
"Shit!" exclaimed Brandy. "I didn't set up my inter-tab before we left. I can't monitor anything."
Marx said nothing because he had nothing to say. "Will the droids keep working on their own, without direction?"
Brandy replied, "Yes. We are in what is called 'Unmanned Battle Damage Control.' The POO-MS says the ship knows we can't direct repairs so the MS station will go full auto. As to how much can be fixed I really have my doubts. But yes the droids and automata will continue working until the engines fail. And that might be years from now."
Then Brandy had a startled look on her face. "Captain," she said. "The droids, the droid in the engine compartment, it will probably try to repair the bulkhead as we cut into it."
"Explain," said Marx.
"We can't talk to the engine compartment droid, so he is likely to assume that our plasma cutter is some kind of ongoing battle damage like a fire here in the hold. And it is likely to do everything it can to reseal the breach as we cut into the bulkhead."
Tony was already cutting into the hatch in the locations where the hatch hinges were located. But the hinges themselves were inside the flush bulkhead and Tony only had an approximate guess as to their location. If he could cut the hinges then the door would open. Actually it would not open, but rather, due to the pressure differential, the hatch would probably blow open and fly across cargo bay and into one of the mines. Tony was about to mention the danger of the hatch cover when Marx told him to stop cutting.
"Mr. Madsen, we need to think about this for a moment. But first everyone check your O2 bottles. I believe it is time to switch. And Mr. Madsen you are still our environment specialist and I expect you to monitor our O2 and energy pack usage."
"Aye aye, Sir," replied Tony and the crew exchanged O2 bottles.
Marx realized that their collection of O2 bottles would last at least two days, but it was the energy packs that worried him. The cargo hold was cold and getting colder, and while the crew in their ship suits could live without comms and many of the suit functions, they could not live for long on the cold cargo deck without ship suit heaters. With three fully charged energy packs from the dead crew they began a kind of 'buddy breathing' system of energy pack swapping that would keep them from freezing for at least another 12 hours.
Soon the bottles and energy packs were swapped out and the captain addressed Tony Madsen again. "Mr. Madsen place the plasma cutter here against the bulkhead and away from the hatch. See if you can simply open a hole into the engine compartment and get us some air."
"But captain?" said Brandy. As soon as a hole appears the droid will try to seal it."
Marx though to himself, so much for automation. "True Brandy, but let's keep him busy. Everyone pick up a cutter, choose a space far away from the other crew and start cutting into the bulkhead."
Paul Samulson, Tony Madsen, and Brandy Haverson began cutting into the bulkhead. Captain Marx lifted a cutter with his good hand but could not hold it against the wall. Instead he laid it against the deck facing the wall and pulled the actuator.
"Excuse me sir," said Terry Manford. "But plasma cutting is crew's work."
Marx was glad to be relieved of holding the plasma cutter against the bulkhead with his foot. He knew that at any time he might well pass out from the pain in his broken arm.
Now they had four simultaneous cutting efforts on the dense bulkhead. Soon around each cutter head the wall began to glow at first a dull yellow which turned to a red glow and finally a white hot blaze. Even though the cargo hold had been vacd Captain Marx could feel the heat from the cutters radiating into the compartment. If they stood near the wall and near the cutters they just might stave off freezing for at least a few more hours.
The bulkhead was about 35 meters wide and 13 tall. The cutters were about as far from one another as was possible. Tony had even managed to stand on one of the mines and begin cutting high up on the bulkhead.
Captain Marx's arm was throbbing with pain. Whatever drugs the ship suit was equipped with were exhausted. He remembered the old saw about the one armed paper hanger but in this case he thought it applied to the droid on the far side of the bulkhead. The droid must be racing from hole to hole patching the leak from the engine bay to the cargo hold. Being a droid he could probably keep it up for as long as the ship had power.
After an hour the plasma cutter energy packs needed replacement and recharging, but after swapping packs they kept cutting. After three swaps and just about the time they needed to swap O2 bottles Tony Madsen's cutter broke through and as it did so molten metal flew into the cargo bay as air rushed in. Moments later the air flow stopped as the droid patched the hole, but then Brandy blew open a hole at the same time and Paul's cutter did the same. Again molten metal flew and then shortly thereafter the hole was sealed. But the sealant was simply sticky vac tape and the droid was too busy to apply a permanent fix with metal plates and welding. The sticky tape patches were vaporized in an instant by the continuous cutting. Moments later all four plasma cutters had cut holes in the bulkhead and air came streaming into the cargo hold. In another two hours they had increased the size of the holes to about the size of a fist. Tony Madsen checked his inter-tab. The air pressure was low but suitable for breathing as long as one did not run a marathon and the temperature was still cold but not freezing.
"I think I can take off my rebreather hood?" said Tony.
Captain Marx nodded approval. Tony pulled the hood tab and it collapsed back into his suit. For a moment he held his breath and then inhaled. He immediately began coughing. The plasma cutters had filled the cargo hold with ozone and carbon dust, but he was coughing. There was enough air to cough and therefore enough to breathe. Soon he stopped coughing and motioned that the air was breathable. As he tried to speak his breath condensed, but the cold the frigid air was not so cold as to be dangerous to the lungs.
Moments later the four crew and the captain were free of their O2 bottles. They continued to enlarge the bulkhead holes and as the size of the holes grew to be about the size of a soccer ball, Marx had Paul stop cutting and let the bulkhead hole cool. About fifteen minutes later the white hot plating around the hole had cooled and Captain Marx stepped forward and thrust his good arm through the hole. He held it there for about a minute and then the hatch opened. The droid had recognized the Greayson ship suit and responded as it had been programmed to do. It simply saved the crew by opening the hatch. Marx though to himself, so much for automation.
Chapter Ninety Two
Wu Holgata Station - Greenland - Year 3247 December 8 ET 01:22
Greenland had docked at Holgata Station to unload additional pre-fab building supplies for the Holgata Station. Unloading the supplies would take three days and then Greenland would depart with the SAR Olrun for Timmon's Rock and onward toward Eleos.
Helen was greeted by Area Commander Toni Hamilton at one of the four docking ports on the small station orbiting around one of Wu's moons. The basic elements of the station were complete but living on the station was as Toni called it 'rough camping'. Greenland's construction materials would change much of that since in her cargo hold were elements for crew quarters, living areas, a larger command station, and the other elements needed for OCN crews to find a respite from constant patrols. In addition Greenland brought a large supply of mines.
Toni stepped forward and grasped Helen's hand. "Welcome back Helen. How d
o you like Holgata Station."
Helen looked about and laughed. "Well," she said, "I think you need an interior decorator. I know one in the Habitat but I suspect he won't approve of the color scheme."
"Come," said Toni. "Olrun has just docked and I am anxious to greet her new captain."
The walk to the Olrun at the dock was a short one and as they opened the hatch and entered the dock platform Captain Nieve Vilulf entered. Nieve upon seeing the Area Commander saluted and Toni returned her salute. Helen simply stood there. Helen like Abel had little use for what was becoming OCN formality.
Toni was struck at the youth of Nieve, but then again almost the entire OCN, even its' senior captains were in their early twenties. OM Marx, Abel, Emmitt, and Helen were about the only senior officers of any age. She recalled someone saying that if we don't end this war, this war will end us. And now we fight this war with teens and youngsters and we do so in ancient ships that we can hardly comprehend.
"Come Nieve and Helen, let's go to my office just off the command station."
Moments later they entered the tiny crowded command station and its' even smaller Area Commander's office. The AC's office was separated from the command station by a clear plasticene wall allowing Toni to watch operations including the weapons and defence stations. Stanley Haverson, the Chairman's son sat at the weapons station and Lars Ulf manned defence. A narrow table with four chairs and several vid screens showing status of different elements of Wu system was all there was to see in the office. Toni sat as did Nieve and Helen. Helen found the steel chair welded to the floor uncomfortable and cold. The station lacked any creature comforts even a soft padded chair.
One vid screen listed the OCN and Wu Station assets in system. The Wu Revenue Cutter Wu's Advance, the Destructor Ragnarök, the Crusher New Kára, and the SARs Goll, Skuld, and Brynhildr were all in system but disbursed across the system positioned for potential attack. The SAR Eir was on patrol of the knot line to New Carthago and the Rota had recently returned to Jamon for leave and crew rotation. Greenland and Olrun were also listed as docked at Holgata. On a small shelf behind Toni's seat sat the Q Ball with a motion detector and vid camera to catch any messages.
"I would offer you coffee or tea, but we don't have any." Tony said with a smile. "Helen, did you bring an Urn to heat water with you?"
Helen laughed, "I don't really know but we do have several crates labelled coffee and tea. It would be a shame to bring coffee and tea all this way and no way to heat water."
Helen paused a moment. "Here is the manifest. Let me ping it to your inter-tab."
Moments later Helen and Toni were reviewing the supplies carried aboard Greenland. The list was extensive and some of the supplies were intended for Wu station but would be unloaded here at Holgata in order for Greenland to proceed with minimal delay. Supplies could be ferried across to Wu at a later date.
Toni was about to ask of the new mine designs when her inter-tab chimed. At the same time the defence specialist Lars Ulf sitting in the next room called out, "Incoming. Unknown Ship. Far Spec portal. I repeat..."
Nieve immediately stood excused herself and rushed back to her ship. Within three minutes Olrun had cast off seeking the relative safety of open space.
Lars continued, "She's moving fast. Seems she came out of the tunnel at 40% SOL. I though that was impossible. Blasted right through our mines. Didn't even set one off. She is labelled U1 on the vid."
Toni looked at Helen. "No need to undock Greenland quite yet. If the ship were a dumbbell Lars would have told us. Let's wait a moment. Meanwhile I need to dispatch Olrun to a pre-designated position in case of attack. It's good to have another SAR even if green."
Toni stepped into the cramped command station and Helen followed. The vid screen was focused on the entry portal from Far Spec.
Lars Ulf spoke, "Incoming is an unknown ship of unknown design. The energy signature indicates anti-matter propulsion."
The last known use of anti-matter for propulsion had been Unity with it displacement drive and its' attendant and very real risks. But the incoming ship lacked the mass to be a Unity ship.
"Hail U1 Mr. Ulf. Ask its' Intentions."
"Mr. Haverson, notify Wu Station of the entry and have them prepare their revenue cutter for interception and inspection."
Toni turned and looked at her status board. Skuld was the closest to the entry portal. "Notify Skuld of the entry." Notifying Skuld was a formality since they had undoubtedly spotted the entry even before Holgata Station. However it pays to be safe Toni thought. "Tell Olrun to head for the moon Lol and await further orders unless our visitor proves hostile."
Toni asked, "Where is U1 headed?"
Lars replied, "She is making a run at the planet Wu, but at the speed she is traveling that cannot be her destination."
Odd thought Toni. "And Wu station?"
"Wu station is on the far side of Wu at this time. Whatever U1 is, it is going much too fast. It will pass by Wu in about 43 minutes."
Toni looked up at her status board the Destructor Ragnarök was in orbit high above Wu station, but the other ships were dispersed in a pre-planned pattern awaiting a Megra attack. U1 was moving so fast that none of the dispersed ships had any hope of catching it, unless it began to decelerate. But at its' current speed even if it began to decelerate now it would still pass the planet at a very high speed."
The only portal which lay in U1's direction of flight was the portal to Tarn and that made no sense given that the Tarn Portal was an entry portal from the Tarn system. It was useless as an exit.
Lars continued to hail U1 but with no response. Soon U1 passed the planet and became visible to Ragnarök as it rushed by toward the Tarn portal. Ragnarök had climbed above the polar icecap of the uninhabitable planet and relayed pictures of the ship as it passed. Moments later it hit the Tarn portal and disappeared.
Toni looked at Helen. They were both stunned. Portals were one way passages created by gravity well anomalies, and while not understood, the laws of physics were clear. Passage through a tunnel in the wrong direction was impossible. Nomi had explained that the exit side of a tunnel simply did not exist in this universe. It existed at the end of a tunnel passage but only if you were in the tunnel, but otherwise it was not there.
"She's gone," said Lars shaking his head.
Helen looked at Toni and said, "Well, I'm going to have to talk to Nomi about this. She probably has an explanation but since I am 'slow witted' I wont understand."
Toni and Helen returned to her office and Toni reached for her code book. Codes for the Q Ball were kept on hard copy and only one book existed. Keeping the codes on an inter-tab was simply too great a risk.
Soon Toni found five codes that would work. 231-Unidentified Alien, 302-fly by, 109-no attack, 304-gone, 545-Tarn. The entire sequence of five codes would take twenty hours to transmit. The fabricators had attached to the Q Ball tiny actuators to spin the ball and transmitted the message. Toni needed only to key in the five codes into the actuator which she did in less than thirty seconds.
"I have an object in orbit around Wu," called out Lars. "Small, in fact quite small but it was placed in orbit by U1. It's transmitting a beacon."
Toni turned and walked to Lars weapons station. "What does the beacon say?"
Lars put the beacon transmission on speaker but all that they heard was babble. A confusing overlapping of what must be multiple messages.
Lars listened closely, "Sounds like multiple sub carriers. Give me a moment and I'll see if I can separate them."
Lars worked his keyboard intently and after about two minutes one channel became clear but it was unintelligible. A guttural voice with prominent sibilants was heard. Lars listened a moment, "Let me try another sub carrier."
Moments later another voice was heard and this one no more intelligible that the first. The voice seemed to be nothing more that a sequence of high pitched hissing noises with an undertone that sounded like a muffled kettle drum.
&
nbsp; "I'll try another."
Then another voice unintelligible to the crew was heard. The accent was odd and the wording so old as to be ancient. But the voice was human.
Toni listened carefully to the speaker.
"Styfecung Warian Wîfgâl tôhwon fær. Sîe wær. Hitti fylgan or Megrað mærût healm. Spryttanêow êow. Warian."
"What the ..." Toni found herself saying. "Is that all there is?"
"Yes," replied Lars. It keeps repeating the message over and over.
"Play it again," said Helen. Helen listened closely and then asked for it again and again.
Toni was almost at the point of dismissing the message as gibberish, but for the speed of U1 and its' impossible departure she continued to pay attention.
Helen who had been sitting stood. "It's English."
"What?" replied Toni.
"It is English. Old English. Very old English. Let's write it down phonetically and try to translate with the EG. This will probably take a while."
Two hours later and after many false starts they had a basic message from U1.
The message read, 'Land Owners. Warning. Evil comes. Hitti drive Megra away. Beware. Warning.'
All Toni could think was thanks for the warning, but it was just a bit too late.
Helen continued. "Toni this is very significant. Forget for a moment that the warning came late, but think about what the ability to provide a warning means."