“Do you mind?”
Walter beamed at him and tried to hand him a tool he didn’t need. “Not at all.”
Rolling his eyes, Felix managed to get it open. Walter looked on enthusiastically from over his shoulder.
What a mess, he thought. He’d be surprised if anything in this ship worked at all.
The Overdrive had already been secured above the standard Slipdrive. That the Overdrive could be connected to and used in conjunction with a Slipdrive was one crucial bit of information that the employees of Nebula Inc had neglected to inform anyone, other than themselves, of. In fact, their employers, The Church of the Holy Lamb, unknown until Felix stepped onto Fever, had suggested that they leave one crucial element out of the data package. It turned out they left out two – the modifications made by Felix after the first meltdown had never been received either.
He closed the access panel. “I’m almost finished here,” he said to Walter. “You can go back and join Crystal, our Gorilla friend and Ram Lambshanks if you want.”
“Are you sure there’s nothing else I can do here?.”
“I think you’ve helped me out enough for one day.”
“Well, its a pleasure sir," Walter said happily, getting to his feet. He rubbed his swollen eye and mumbling something about his old joints, left the room.
Felix made a connection between his AI and the one possessed by the Overdrive. Sending over his password, the Overdrive came on line. All systems, according to the readout displayed under his eyelid, were green. He smiled with satisfaction.
“Tarquin?”
“Here”
“She’s ready to fly.”
◊
Tynan and his squad of borrowed Templars had kept their distance from Felix and his band of merry travelers. They were close enough however, to witness the departure of the two female Shepherds. Tynan sent three of his men to take care of them.
Curiously, after loitering around the wreckage of the Debacherous Weekend for a while, Felix and his friends left, heading for a less salubrious area of the spaceport. Tynan and his men followed at a discrete distance and watched as they gained access to an old freighter, the Hot Tucker. He reported this turn of events to Sammael.
“What are my orders Lord?”
“Return to your ship and prepare it for take off. We will monitor Fever’s departure log and follow this ship as it leaves. There’s no way it can elude our Valkyrie.”
“We could capture them now?” he suggested hopefully.
From under Tynan’s eyelid, he could see Sammael frown. “No. The Shepherds maintain a certain amount of leverage on Fever. The local authorities would no doubt have been warned of our activities by now and I understand there’s already a police presence in the Spaceport. Do not attract attention.”
“Yes Lord.”
Sammael cut the link.
Tynan sighed heavily. “Bollocks.” He’d hoped to get the Overdrive himself and ensure his elevation. Things weren’t working out as he hoped, but then again, he could say that about the whole mission. Perhaps an opportunity he could exploit would present itself. And maybe the Overdrive would fall into his arms and Gabriella would beg him to shag her. Yeah, right.
Somewhat dejectedly, Tynan took his Templars and trudged back to his ship.
◊
Tarquin bought the Hot Tucker’s AG and small maneuvering thrusters on line. The ships ancient AI reported a few basic maintenance drop outs as it wobbled out of its docking cradle.
“We’re up and away," he reported. “That’s something I suppose.” He turned to Logan. “How long have we got?”
“Twenty minutes until Nova burst.”
“Oh joy.”
He asked for and received departure clearance from Fever’s central AI and turned the ship hesitantly towards the spaceport’s exit field. The asteroid’s departure log noted that three ships had requested immediate departure as soon as the freighter lifted from its cradle.
Ram Terry IV trotted into the tiny bridge. He looked up at the two men sitting in the control seats.
“I believe I’ve just made it difficult for anyone to follow us.”
“How so?” asked Logan.
“I’ve instructed Fever’s authorities to deny any departures after ours. Justifiable considering most ships will be unable to reach safe distance in the time left.”
“Most ships?” asked Tarquin. “I don’t know if this one really qualifies as such but we should be able to engage the Overdrive within the next 10 minutes.”
The ship was briefly bathed in a blue glow as it passed through the exit field. Tarquin brought the Ion drive up to full power. Hot Tucker crawled away from the asteroid.
“Ah, Tarquin?," said Logan.
“Yes?”
“You might want to bring the ship up to full power. We haven’t got long you know.”
“Shut up. I know. And its going as fast as it can.”
“What? This is it?”
“’Fraid so.”
“Oh shite.”
On the view screens ahead of them, the orange glow from the fast approaching Nova burst blotted out most of the stars. Tarquin angled the ship away from it and asked Ram Terry for their destination.
“Gitane. Its on the way to Novelle New Zealand and we have a Church outpost there.”
“Why don’t we go direct to your homeworld?” asked Logan.
“I suspect we’d get intercepted by the Areopagites. They know that’s where we’d go and will probably have ships already waiting for us.”
“Fair enough.”
Tarquin shrugged and fed Gitane’s co-ordinates into the ships AI. “Whatever. We’re at the 10 kilometer clearance zone now." He looked at the other two. “Ready to make history? I’m bringing the Overdrive on…now.”
Logan looked surprised. “Amazing. Over space looks exactly like real space and I didn’t feel a thing.”
Tarquin rubbed his forehead. “That’s because we’re still in real space you idiot.”
“Oh.”
Felix’s worried face appeared under Tarquin’s eyelid. “We should be far enough away from Fever now Tarq,” he said. “Bring the Overdrive on line.”
Tarquin glared at him. “Felix, we have a problem.”
◊
Gabriella had just resumed her seat on the bridge of Blazing Trumpet when one of her Templars reported the Hot Tucker moving out of her docking bay.
“Well, request clearance to depart you moron.”
The Templar looked scared. “We have Princess. It was denied.”
“Denied?” she almost screamed. “What do you mean denied?”
Looking unsteady on his feet, the Templar swallowed before replying. “Fever’s space authority has denied any departure’s this close to the burst.”
“Well, what the fuck are they doing," she said, pointing at the view of the Hot Tucker on the central display. “Lapping the space port?”
The Templar looked lost. “I don’t know Princess.”
“It was a rhetorical question.”
“Oh.”
“Right,” she said, smiling grimly. “If that’s the way they want to play it.” Swiftly relaying orders to the crew, the 1km long Valkyrie rose on its AG and made the short journey to the exit field.
“Captain, bring the field disruptors on-line.”
“Yes Princess.”
Gabriella settled back into her seat. “Fire.”
The Blazing Trumpet’s bow weapon’s port contained an arsenal of destructive potentiality, including field disruptors, massive plasma cannons and slipmissile batteries. Two field disruptors, each 20 meters in length, sent glowing pulses of energy at the exit field. The field, not designed to withstand disruptors of that magnitude, immediately collapsed. The oxygen filled chamber began to violently empty its contents into the void, sucking small ships, people and the odd AG cart into space.
Fever’s spaceport authority, perhaps preparing for the Nova burst or responding to the hostile action of
the Areopagite’s, began closing the outer Nova doors. The doors, 5 meters thick and made from a complex metallic polycarbonate, had an outer coating designed to reflect the heat from a Nova burst. Unfortunately, the development company had not seen fit to coat the inner surface of the great doors. It melted under a withering barrage from the Blazing Trumpet’s plasma cannons.
Unheard by the three ships intentionally heading for the exit and by other ships and passengers unintentionally taking a jaunt into space, warning sirens starting screaming inside the asteroid as large vacuum seals were put in place.
The Blazing Trumpet sailed serenely through the still glowing jagged space in the asteroid’s shell. Massive Ion engines came on line, swiftly moving towards an intercept with the Hot Tucker. An explosively decompressing body spurted its red contents over the bridge view screen.
Gabriella got out her nail file. “Get a maintenance robot out there and clear that mess off will you?." Sammael, standing at her side, moved to obey.
Dwarfed by the huge Valkyrie, two other ships glided out of the asteroid.
◊
“Eight minutes Felix.”
“I know. I know. A couple more minutes and I’ll have the problem nailed. Now piss off.” He cut the link with Tarquin.
Behind the small freighter, the Nova burst had almost reached the outer atmosphere of New Jupiter. The inhabitants of the five settlements on the surface had activated their Nova screens and heavy duty fields. The inhabitants of one were very hungry.
The problem with the Overdrive seemed to be its interface with the ancient Slipdrive. Felix made a few last hurried adjustments, closed the panel and prayed.
“Alright, try it now.”
Ironic really. After spending his entire life dismissing religion and belief as the recourse of the weak, he resorted to it when it came to the crunch. Contemplating this dismal thought, he was suddenly struck with a horrible pain in his head and collapsed, unconscious.
On the bridge, Tarquin activated the Overdrive. Immediately, his head was wracked by searing pain. Falling to the floor, he maintained consciousness long enough to watch Logan do the same.
Puzzled, his own brain filled with an intense pain, Ram Terry examined the bodies on the floor. They were still breathing. Reverting to his native language in times of stress, he posed a deep, theological question to the cosmos.
“Baaaaaaaaaa?”
◊
Behind the Hot Tucker, The Areopagite Valkyrie was almost within firing range. Gabriella was about to give the order to fire slipmissiles at the freighter’s engines when it disappeared in a brief, dazzling flash.
“What happened?” she demanded. “If someone tells me they accidentally blew it up, I will not be happy.”
The Captain turned towards her. “I don’t know Princess. It just disappeared.”
“Nospace then.”
“No Princess. Our sensors report no disturbance in the fabric of Nospace.”
“Fuck it,” she said. “They must have used the Overdrive. Thought it was broken.”
“Obviously not,” said Sammael.
“Thanks for that," she replied acidly. “Let me think.”
“Ah, Princess…” The Captain of the Valkyrie approached her chair hesitantly.
“Not now. I’m busy.”
“But Princess…”
“Fuck off will you?” The Captain retreated and looked nervously up at the rear view screens.
Gabriella continued her musing. “Now they won’t go back to Novelle New Zealand. I’m sure Metatron has that place blockaded by now.” She turned to Sammael. “What’s the closest inhabited planet between here and Novelle New Zealand?”
“Gitane, Princess.”
“Right then. Set course and fire up the Slipdrive.”
“I believe the Captain wanted to tell you that the Nova burst is about to hit.”
“What!?”
The two ships following the Valkyrie, seeing their quarry disappear in a flash of light, cut their losses and engaged their Slipdrives. Filling a volume of space stretching almost eight hundred million kilometers in every direction, the Nova burst caught the Valkyrie and swallowed it within an infernal maelstrom of superheated gas and fire.
The Blazing Trumpet disappeared.
Chapter 8
Felix regained consciousness and found his head in a soft lap. Softer hands were stroking his hair. His head, despite the ministrations, felt like someone had hit it with a large and heavy truncheon. Opening his eyes, he looked up at the concerned face of Crystal.
“Are you alright?," she asked gently.
He groaned. “Yeah. Felt better though.” He sat up, rubbing his temples, and found himself still in the engine room.
“What happened?”
Crystal shrugged. “You tell me?”
“Must have made a slight miscalculation in my adjustments. Didn’t quite penetrate the barrier to Overspace, hence the backwash.”
Crystal looked concerned. “Are we going to be alright though?”
Felix took a deep breath and exhaled slowly. “I think so. If the pain was any indication, we have certainly made the transition to Overspace and back out again.” He looked at her curiously.
“How about you? You don’t look like you suffered from the backwash at all.”
She smiled almost shyly. “I didn’t black out and my headache only lasted a few minutes. Ram Terry’s the same. Walter, Bruce and your two mates are still out.”
“Looks like I’ve got some work to do.”
“Before you do, I think you should come and have a look on the bridge.”
“Why?”
“Don’t argue. Just come.”
“Oh, alright.”
She helped him to his feet and led the way to the bridge. They passed the prone forms of Walter and Derek in the cargo bay. Crystal had found some soft packing material and placed it under their heads.
Arriving in the bridge, they found Ram Terry perched atop one of the command chairs. He was looking out at something on the display screen and didn’t notice Felix and Crystal’s entrance. Logan and Tarquin, also with packing material for pillows, were starting to stir on the floor.
“Your Raminess. He’s here," said Crystal.
Ram Terry started at the sound of her voice and looked around.
“Crystal.” He breathed with relief. “You startled me.”
“What are you looking at?” asked Felix.
The ruler of the Church of the Holy Lamb got down off the chair before replying. “I think you should have a look for yourself.”
The display console was set in such a way as to be only visible from one of the two command seats. Felix moved into a position where he could see it. His mouth opened in disbelief.
The screen, quite literally, was filled with stars.
◊
“So what are you trying to tell us Felix?," asked Logan.
They had gathered in the cargo bay, which although cramped, was the only space on the ship large enough to accommodate them all.
Felix looked elated, surprised and slightly confused. “Well, it seems the Overdrive had an unexpected side effect, something we never encountered in the test phase.”
“Yeah, come on, out with it,” said an impatient Tarquin. His head was still pounding.
“We didn’t get to Gitane as expected…”
“Really," said Logan dryly.
“…we jumped, almost instantaneously I might add, to the centre of the galaxy. Hence the reason for all the stars.” He smiled at the others. The others looked suitably impressed.
“I may be a little slower than you others, but doesn’t that put us in a bit of a predicament?," asked Walter.
Felix’s smile faltered. One of the major problems with intellectuals is that they rarely stop to consider the implications of their genius. Felix was no different.
“But don’t you understand?” he pleaded. “This is unprecedented in the history of humankind. To be able to travel instantaneously ov
er thousands of light years is amazing. It will revolutionize space travel in a way that the Overdrive never could.”
“Look Felix,” said Logan impatiently. “Bollocks to that. Can you get us back to Gitane or not?”
“I suppose so, he said hesitantly. “I think I remember all the modifications I made, but don’t you guys want to have a look around first. Honestly, we’re the first people, excuse me your Raminess…”
“You’re excused”
“To have made it to the centre of the galaxy. Imagine that. We can check out the local stars. Even try and find evidence of intelligent extraterrestrials.”
“Sorry to rain on your parade,” said Tarquin. “But the life support on this ship can only sustain us for another 6 hours."
Felix looked crestfallen. “Bugger.”
Crystal gave him a hug and planted a full kiss on his lips. “Never mind sweet. We can find some nice planet with a beach next time we come here.”
Felix perked up slightly and looked guiltily around at the others. “Well, I suppose I should go and make those repairs.”
“That’s probably a good idea," said Logan.
“I’ll come with you," said Crystal. Felix nodded and headed off for the engine room, Crystal trailing in his wake.
Tarquin made his excuses and headed back to the bridge.
“Anyone hungry?,” asked Bruce, already ferreting through the packaged meals.
“I’m keen for a vegetarian” said Ram Terry.
Bruce turned and eyed the sheep with an evil grin. “Really? I was trying to find you a lamb curry.”
◊
Fifty thousand kilometers from Gitane, a pinprick of light, outshining any nearby stars including Gitane’s sun, winked into existence, rapidly expanding to encompass a roughly circular space with a diameter of well over a kilometer. The light faded to reveal the grey nothingness of Nospace. A large ship slowly slid out of the hole, limping away from the fracture in reality. As its huge Ion drive nozzles passed through the rupture, the hole closed behind it.
The Areopagite Valkyrie, Blazing Trumpet, had suffered from its encounter with the Nova burst. Numerous scorch marks had scored its hull and gases were still venting from punctures not yet sealed by fields. Various sensors had been melted down to their stumps and it was missing a landing strut.
Overdrive Page 20