by Luigi Robles
The footage was cut short as nearby machines approached the scrap drone, but Fain had seen everything he needed to see to make up his mind. He saw a chance, and he was going to take it.
“It looks like they aren’t buying it,” Fain said as he closed his eyes and took a deep breath. “But it doesn’t matter anymore. I know what I have to do. Kya, are you ready?”
“I was born for this. But are you sure?”
“There’s no other way around it. We must do this.”
“Very well. Initiating operation deception. The following alarms will be all me. If anything does happen, I will make sure to let you know.”
When coming up with the plan for how to get everyone out of Sodenia and into the other ESAF ships, Fain decided to name it for what it was. He didn’t want to fool himself; he knew exactly what the actions he and Kya were about to take entailed. Operation deception was simple enough; it consisted of disrupting the other ESAF ships all at once and getting everyone off Sodenia. Though Fain had a feeling that its implementation wouldn’t be simple at all.
Different alarms began to sound on Fain’s command center. As he turned off the aggravating alarm, he noticed on the spherical screen that warning and exclamation signs marked the nine ESAF ships.
“Fain, are you getting this?” August asked through the coms.
“Sitrep.”
“It looks like one of the ships is experiencing loss of gravity,” August said, sounding alarmed. “Two or more of the ships are experiencing a massive loss of oxygen, and at least four of them have no power. We are desperately trying to communicate with them, but it appears that we’ve lost all forms of communication.”
“Is there any sign of the Immortals?” Fain asked. “Kya, Pycca, can you see anything?”
“There’s nothing on-site, but I’m having a hard time working the radar. It’s as if something is blocking it.”
“There’s no sign of the machines, but that doesn’t rule out tampering.”
“OK, we have no time to lose,” Fain said. “We need to address the problem. August, set up away teams; you stay here on the bridge. Pycca, Larissa, do everything you can to help, and take a crew with you. We need to make sure everyone is ready to leave at a moment’s notice.”
Pycca was maneuvering away at the controls at her station, trying to understand what had just happened. She knew it was a deliberate attack on the small Earth fleet’s virtual infrastructure. The question she had yet to answer was, where had it come from? Pycca was so engrossed in the controls that she thought she heard her name being called, but she didn’t care. It wasn’t until Larissa went over and tapped her lightly on the back of her shoulder that she realized the entire bridge was staring at her.
“Sorry,” Larissa said. “August has been calling you.”
“I was…” Pycca said, still trying to make sense of what exactly was happening. “I was…”
“Don’t worry,” August said. “But get ready to leave for the Jones; they are in serious distress over there. They’ve lost their gravity.”
“But we still don’t know what’s happening,” Pycca protested.
“And we will continue not to know unless one of us goes over there,” August said. “Pycca, I’m only saying this because there’s no one more qualified than you.”
None of what was happening was making sense to Pycca. Something was wrong, something was very wrong. Her mind began to fall into a haze, and she began to experience palpitations. Out of all the things that could have happened, this was the thing that was happening… She hated the feeling, and she felt her cheeks flush as the anger began to kick in.
“Larissa, get ready to go to The Constitution,” August said. “Report back as soon as you’re there, and take extra coms with you.”
Without saying another word, Larissa turned around and ran from the bridge.
“This is Captain Bevetola from the ESAF John Paul Jones.” A distress message came in through the bridge’s coms. “Help.” Other voices joined in the transmission. “We are losing oxygen. Can anyone hear us? Sodenia, are you there?”
“Pycca, what are you going to do?” August asked as he took a few steps towards Pycca.
Pycca knew that she had to act, despite the nagging feeling in the back of her mind. There was always a possibility that she could be wrong. That, in fact, she was doing everything right, and these problems could really be caused by the Immortals. Pycca’s inner instincts were screaming.
“How many should I take with me?” Pycca asked.
“As many as you need,” August said.
“Alright, OK,” Pycca said, struggling to say the words.
“As long as you make it back here fast,” August said. “We can’t afford not to have you on board for very long.”
Somehow, August’s words calmed Pycca. Was that what all of this was about? Her feeling about leaving Sodenia and not being there when they really needed her? Or was there really something else? She felt her neck ache and tense as she tried to answer the questions. Stress was making its way through her body. She knew she had to focus; there was too much at stake.
“August,” Pycca said, staring steadily at him. “You’ll be here, right?”
August nodded.
“Take care of him,” Pycca said as she pointed towards the ceiling.
“I will.”
“No, promise me.”
“Pycca, we don’t have time for this.”
“Either you promise me, or I won’t be going anywhere.”
“Listen, I’m not sure if Fain needs any taking care of, but if he needs me, I’ll be right there for him, doing the best I can. I won’t let him down, I promise.”
Pycca nodded twice then turned around and left the bridge, but leaving the bridge wasn’t all that easy. As she exited towards the corridor, she felt as if she was leaving Fain behind. The thought of never seeing Fain again crept into her mind, but she quickly brushed it aside. That specific thought was too painful.
“Patch me through to AS Zerb,” Pycca said as she held her wristband halfway up and waited for a pod.
Just like any military or organized structure, the ESAF Corps of Engineers also had tiers. It started at EIT, Engineer-in-Training, and continued to IE, Intermediate Engineer; Engineer; Senior Engineer; SM, Specialist/Management; and AS, Advanced Specialist. Of course, at the head of all of them was Chief Master Engineer Pycca Evans. She wondered for a second if she even deserved that title.
“Chief Evans, come in.”
“Zerb,” Pycca said as she jumped in the pod and told it where to go. She was headed straight for the docks. “I need you to get a team of engineers to come with us to the Jones. Their gravity machines have failed.”
“Their gravity machines failed? All of their gravity machines?”
“Yes, all of them.”
“How can that be?”
“I don’t know, but that’s what we’re going to find out. Bring long-range coms equipment with you as well. Meet me at the docks as soon as you can.”
“OK, see you there. Zerb out.”
When Pycca reached the docks, she was stunned to see so many ESAF personnel lining up behind the shuttles, ready to leave. There had to be close to one hundred of them. Anvelins were everywhere, delivering gear and supplies to the departing crew. She quickly got off the pod and walked towards a group that was running towards one of the shuttles.
“Lieutenant,” Pycca yelled at the group.
The lieutenant in the group veered away and turned towards Pycca. He slowed down once he neared. Lieutenant Marius, from what Pycca read on his badge, was already dripping sweat. That must mean he had been running for a while, but why run? Why not just take a pod? Was it because the corridors were already full?
“Ms. Evans,” Marius said as he stood up straight in front of Pycca and saluted.
“At ease,” Pycca said, quickly dismissing the gesture. “What are your orders? And where are you coming from?”
“My group and I are to render
assistance to the ESAF Intrepid. According to my CO, they are in extreme distress.”
“What’s your duty on board Sodenia?”
“This time around it’s to organize and help deliver the cargo if needed.”
So, Marius and his group had come from across the docks? That would explain them running instead of trying to use the pods to get here. Maybe there weren’t close to one hundred people at the docks after all, Pycca thought as doubt crept in.
“That’s all. As you were.”
“Ms. Evans,” Marius said as he saluted.
Pycca returned the gesture, and Marius turned around and resumed running. Pycca then began walking at a brisk pace towards the shuttles that were ready to depart. It wasn’t long before she saw Zerb and the group of engineers. They were already putting on their spacesuits. Some struggled, and others made it look easy by coming out of the closets already suited up. Pycca wasted no time with pleasantries and went straight into one of the closets provided by the Anvelins.
By her estimate, it only took her two minutes tops to change into her spacesuit. She grabbed the provided helmet and went outside. She saw that most of her peers had their spacesuits on, apart from two: Chey and Tom.
“I’m thoroughly disappointed in both of you,” Pycca said as she went to help Chey put on the last parts of her suit. The rest of the group followed and began to help Tom. She looked around for the first time, trying to recognize who Zerb had picked to go with them. It took her more time than expected to recognize the somewhat familiar faces. Had she been spending so much time away from the engineering corps? When it came to rank, right underneath Pycca there was Zerb, then Rad, Bico and Zu; underneath them were Chey and Tom. “How can you not figure out how to put a spacesuit on?”
“These suits are different from the ones we practiced with before coming on board Sodenia,” Chey said as her cheeks began to turn pink.
“Not a good excuse,” Pycca said as she finished helping her into the suit. “And you guys aren’t exempt from the disappointment.” Pycca turned and looked at the rest of the group.
“Well, we thought that they didn’t need help,” Rad said, halfway shrugging.
“Bad answer,” Pycca said. “You don’t feel, and you don’t think of anyone else but yourself. If it hasn’t been expressed to you, ask.”
Rad simply nodded.
“Are we ready to go?” Pycca asked. “Are our tools already on board? Do we have long-range coms?”
“Yes, yes and yes,” Zerb said. “The pilot is already inside; the shuttle is hot and ready to go.”
“Let’s not waste any more time,” Pycca said as she entered the shuttle.
Pycca and the rest of the engineers made it to the Jones in less than five minutes, though it took another five minutes to communicate through the Jones’s outer analog communication system. As soon as they entered the ship, they saw that, in fact, gravity was non-existent. A group of Jones personnel was already in the docks, waiting to greet Pycca. They didn’t have their helmets on, meaning that at least life support was working properly.
“Looks like we won’t be needing our helmets,” Pycca said as she took hers off and got up from her seat. “But still bring it with you. Just attach it to one of your rear hip attachment hooks.” She demonstrated as she walked towards the exit door. “We’ll go straight to the gravity rooms; we’ll worry about the communication later.”
“I vaguely remember this ship having nine gravity rooms,” Zerb said as he too got up from his seat. “Which room do you want to go to first?”
“To the nearest one,” Pycca said as she grabbed one of the bags of tools. “There are two near the dock; we should split up. Chey and Tom, you’re coming with me. Zerb, take Rad, Bico and Zu.”
“You got it,” Zerb said as the shuttle door opened.
Everything that hadn’t been secured to the floor, including the large twenty-two-ton forklift, was floating in zero-g. The Jones personnel had a sort of cord with an expandable sphere at one end and a quickdraw. The sphere cord allowed them to attach themselves to the rails on the floor, thus keeping them from floating around, and it looked like they had brought extra.
“Chief Master Engineer Evans, I’m—” the Jones’s lieutenant junior grade managed to say before Pycca cut him off.
“Where are your gravity rooms here?”
“We have nine of them on the John Paul Jones, which—” the lieutenant junior grade managed before being interrupted once again by Pycca.
“The nearest ones.”
“Well, there are three accessible from the dock.”
“Where?”
“They are marked by yellow doors,” the lieutenant junior grade said as he pointed in three opposite directions around the dock.
“Change of plans,” Pycca said as she reached for one of the handles of the shuttle with her right hand. “Zerb and Rad, you go east; Zu, Bico and Tom, go north; Chey and I will go west. Wear the sphere cords if you want.”
Holding the shuttle’s handle, Pycca lifted herself up until her body was perpendicular to the shuttle. Since her body was weightless, it was an easy feat. She then moved her feet towards the handle, bending her body and knees.
“Wait,” Chey said, sounding alarmed. “Am I supposed to do that too?”
Pycca didn’t answer; she instead focused on what she was attempting to do.
“No,” Zerb said. “But I’d suggest that we get going. Put on your sphere cords.”
She scanned for the clearest path towards the west gravity room and spring launched herself towards it. She kept her eyes on the path, successfully avoiding floating objects and using some to keep her course and add momentum.
Her plan worked; she got to the yellow door handle within a minute. Without losing any time, she whipped her badge through the entry slot, but a red light flashed at the top of the door, and it did not open. She tried a few more times only for the same thing to happen.
“What in blazes is going on here?” Pycca said with frustration as she took out a small high-speed driver to undo the badge entry slot. “I don’t have time for any of this.”
Even with her specialized tools, it took her a while to remove the cap of the card slider. She dug through the wires and spliced them with wires of her own that were attached to a manual code entry device. She punched in her chief engineering code, 3375869708-PE, and the door reluctantly began to open. Not wasting any time, she pulled out the manual code entry device, yanking half the wires with it, and entered the room.
The door began to close behind her, and she rolled her eyes and decided not to bother with it.
“Of course the door is going to close behind me. Chey is going to have to figure out how to get in herself.”
Once inside, Pycca made her way to the nearest gravity core in the room. She secured herself to the gravity core using a magnetic tether from her tool bag. Said tether was meant to be used with the tool bag itself, but at this point, Pycca couldn’t care less. She began operating the functions screen on the gravity core, thought it seemed as if the core had only one message for her:
Access Denied
She let out a clear and frustrating sigh as she reached for her tool bag, but she stopped reaching as her wristband vibrated. She turned it to face her; it was an incoming call from Fain Jegga. Her heart dropped to the bottom of her stomach as quickly as if gravity had suddenly been restored.
She felt the need to take her wristband off and smash it against the nearest wall. She didn’t want to answer, because deep down she knew what the call would be about; she had always known.
“Dammit, Fain, you’re really going to have me go through this?” she muttered in defeat.
She pressed the side of the band to answer the call, though she didn’t say a word.
“Pycca? Fain asked.
Pycca’s chest hurt at the sound of his voice.
“Fain…” Pycca said.
“I’m guessing you’ve figured it out.”
“Deep down, I’ve
always known, but I just hoped, I hoped with everything in me that I’d be wrong. This is just too much.”
“Pycca—”
“No, you can’t. You promised. You promised me.”
“And I’m keeping my promise. It’s not a sacrifice or a one-way trip; I’m doing this in order to win.”
“Will it be just you? Everyone else is chasing unicorns thanks to Kya?”
“Kya and August knew about it, but he’s staying behind.”
“Shit,” Pycca said between gritted teeth.
“I have to go. I have to do this. If I could have you with me and still win, I’d do that in a heartbeat. But the thing is that I’m not sure what will happen, and worrying about if it’s going to happen or not might make it not happen.”
“So, you’re going without knowing if you have a chance? Are you fucking kidding me? Why go at all? Just stay here; we’ll face this together.”
“No. I’m going there to take my chance. I’m doing what I think I should do, what everything in Sodenia has been pointing at this whole time. If it could be any other way, I would take it. But it’s what I’ve chosen to do, to try and keep all of you safe.”
Pycca began to feel tears running down her cheeks.
“And just when I was beginning to think that I would get to have a normal life, to get married like people used to, to have a family and grow old alongside someone I love. Here comes the galaxy once again and takes that all away from me.”
“I feel the same way,” Fain said.
“Then why not face it together?”
“Because above all else, I want what you’ve described, and I want to experience those things with you. I just need you to trust me on this one, and I will do everything that’s necessary to make that happen. Remember, I intend to keep my promise.”
Pycca didn’t say anything, but she felt the sincerity in Fain’s voice.
“For now, I need you to head back to Earth,” Fain said as his voice cracked. “Take both of the gates with you, form a perimeter with the entire ESAF fleet and wait for my return.”
“Fain, do you realize what you’re telling me? You’re asking me to wait for you.”