“I’ve had some recent experience with EMUs,” Drew said. “If you’ll restore gravity, I’ll go back and check it out.” Barnes hands moved on the control panel and Drew’s ass settled into his seat. His body no longer pressed against the restraining straps.
~ ~ ∞ ~ ~
As Drew headed to the back, Barnes asked Toby to rejoin him at command. Toby sat on the edge of the seat next to him. “Listen, buddy,” Barnes said, “you understand what we’ve been talking about, don’t you?”
“Yeah,” Toby’s eyes filled, and his face contorted.
“None of that, now. I need you to be strong. Somebody has to take care of Letty.”
“B-but, Drew wants to take care of Letty,” Toby said, squeezing his eyes shut to hold back his tears.
Travis smiled. “Just between you and me, I don’t think that’s going to happen. Even if it does, would that be so bad? Besides, you and Letty have something in common. That’s why you need each other.”
“What?”
“The two of you are orphans.”
“Oh . . . yeah. She’s an orphan too. I didn’t think about that.”
“So, things are hard for you both right now. Can I count on you?”
Toby lifted his head and squared his shoulders. “Yes. And when I’m old enough, I’ll marry Letty.”
Barnes tried not to laugh. “Well . . . I wouldn’t count on that. But it makes me feel good to know you’ll be there for her. Come on, let’s go back and work out the details of your plan.”
Barnes would exit the shuttle just before the host ship entered the wormhole. No point discussing what came next, he’d do whatever he needed to. “The moment the ship enters the wormhole,” Barnes said, “Letty should cut the mag-locks. Then just hang back. On the other side, stay in front of the wormhole until the Diak ship moves out of sight. The energy emissions will block their scanners. I’ll wait for a count of one-hundred.”
“Sounds easy enough,” Curtis said, with no attempt to conceal his sarcasm.
Barnes went on. “My guess is, if you come out in Alliance territory, it will be somewhere in the Schwarzschild Cluster. Regardless, as soon as it’s safe, get the hell away from the wormhole and warn the station. They can send a ship to meet you.”
“We could just as easily come out in Diak territory. What do you think our odds are?” Drew asked Barnes.
“Screw the odds. We just need a little luck.”
“Remind me to invite you to our next poker game.” Everyone looked away, including Drew. Barnes was sure he wished he could take back his words.
~ ~ ∞ ~ ~
Barnes repositioned the shuttle to view approaching ships and still maintain cover. He went over the controls with Letty. It’d been a while since she’d flown. The shuttle controls were straightforward, but timing their drop from the Diak ship was critical. Too soon, and they might not have the momentum needed to transverse the wormhole. Thrusters couldn’t be activated inside its tunnel. Too late, and they’d be caught in the Diak’s thruster blast on the other side, or run right up its ass. After her briefing, Letty returned to her seat by Toby.
Barnes would pilot the shuttle through the mag-locking procedure. Drew helped him into the EMU except for the helmet. He needed to be ready to go on a second’s notice. They waited. Drew sat in the navigator’s seat holding the EMU helmet in his lap. The back of the shuttle remained quiet. Toby actually slept.
“You asked about the odds earlier,” Travis said in a low voice. “I figure you guys winding up in Diak territory instead of Alliance space is about seventy-thirty, maybe greater. Whether I close their access to our territory or not, you can bet the ESF has already cut off their return route. At least the armada won’t be able to go home triumphant. It’s not much, but it’s something.”
“If they do get through and can’t get back, they’ll probably settle in and start a new colony on one of our planets,” Drew said. “But, you know, I honestly don’t believe there are any Diak, at least not in biological form. Maybe at one time. Did you see anything resembling a supply ship in the assemblage?”
Barnes shook his head.
“They didn’t find organic material in the debris of the ships we destroyed either,” Drew went on. “I think the Fitz thing was an escape pod after all. The scanners were right; we just didn’t recognize it for that afterward.”
“Maybe. Have you considered what you’ll do if you end up still in the Diak universe?”
“I have. Assuming we’re not spotted immediately, we’ll scout around a bit. If no life-saving opportunity presents itself, and I don’t expect it to, I’ll look for a Diak target to ram. Short of that, I’ll open the hatches,” Drew said and shuddered.
Barnes nodded slowly.
“Can I ask you a personal question, Barnes?”
Travis’s response was on target. “About three years ago when we were both still in college. It didn’t last long, and we haven’t seen much of each other since then.”
“Thanks.”
“No problem.” Asshead.
Chapter 35: Catching a Ride
They sat in silence, watching the armada through the shuttle window’s telescopic view. In his head, Drew heard the ticking of a clock. He’d seen a vid of a drama made centuries earlier, restored from an old-fashioned data disk, and he’d been impressed with the use of a ticking clock as a device to mark the passage of time. He’d never heard a ticking clock before, and the sound had stuck with him.
Remarkably, Barnes yawned next to him. “You’re kidding me,” Drew said.
“Sorry, ‘ . . . those who are about to die . . . ’ are bored to— Oh shit, here we go.”
All of the ships in the Diak armada were moving at once in different directions, resembling a bizarre, slow-motion dance. It took several minutes for Drew to detect a pattern.
Barnes spotted it at the same time. “They’re lining up two abreast into battlegroups. The wormhole must be too narrow for whole units to go thorough together. This might take a while. Let’s hope they send a recon unit out ahead of the main body because that’s our only chance.” He raised his voice, “Get ready, everyone.”
“Sure as hell, they’ll spot us,” Drew said, tearing his eyes away from the discordant dance of the Diak ships to look at Barnes.
“If they do, they do,” Barnes said, stoically. “And if they don’t, we’ve got one shot. Miss it, and the only option left is to follow the armada and . . . really . . . what would be the point?”
Drew wanted to admire Barnes’s resigned bearing, but he honestly thought the man was daft.
Twenty minutes later, the Diak vessels were still arranging themselves into neat lines when four gunships broke from the rest, quickly forming a diamond pattern. One in the fore, two side-by-side, and one in the rear, heading straight toward the asteroid shielding the Marigold.
Drew imagined the shuttle being split apart. He could feel himself freezing in open space, his consciousness holding out until the last nano-second—
Barnes tugged at the helmet in Drew’s lap. “Come out of it, man. Change places with Letty, now.”
He relinquished the helmet and rose. Letty stood behind him, ready to take the seat. He went to the back and sat in her still-warm spot next to Toby, and pulled the restraining straps tight. Toby stretched to see over the seatback in front of him, but he was too short.
“They’re coming?” he asked.
Drew nodded and pointed to the skylight. Toby looked up, pushing the hair from his eyes. I should have taken him in for a haircut. Drew laughed at the absurd timing of the thought.
Barnes brought the shuttle as close as he could to the top rim of the asteroid while still hidden behind its bulk. If the Diak ships kept to their current trajectory, they would pass directly over the Marigold.
When the first Diak ship appeared in the skylight, it started a slow roll to its starboard. Drew’s breath caught. Its scanner had detected them, and the ship was moving in position to fire its laser cannon. When the roll
continued out of sight, he realized it was the Marigold turning to acquire position for mooring to the underside of the trailing Diak ship.
From what he’d seen, the enemy ships were barely skimming the top of the asteroid, and the Marigold sat only twenty to thirty meters below. They were within collision distance, right where they wanted to be. Barnes was good, but from this point on they needed more than good; they needed luck he’d spoke of earlier.
“Our proximity alerts!” Drew blurted.
“Disabled.” Barnes barked. “Keep it down.”
Drew bit his lip. “Sorry,” he whispered. The shuttle’s command display would give their position to the nearest centimeter. Barnes wanted no distractions while he concentrated on the job at hand.
Drew watched through the skylight for a sign they were still moving, but their distance to the target was negligible and his view of the asteroids and stars remained fixed. When Nikko sneezed three times in quick succession, Drew almost screamed. And then the shuttle’s thrusters fired and they were moving at a rapid speed. The asteroids flew past them and out of sight. Within seconds they reached empty space. With stars so distant, and without asteroids to mark their passage, there was no longer a sense of movement. Drew squinted to make out tell-tail blinks of light against the blackness.
He looked forward. Barnes stood, his helmet attached. Barnes must have already moored the Marigold to the Diak gunship, though he’d felt no telling jolt. Letty moved into the vacated captain’s chair. Drew closed his eyes and held his breath, anticipating the blast that would turn the shuttle and its passengers into fragments, forever expanding across the cosmos.
~ ~ ∞ ~ ~
Travis checked his helmet to make sure it was sealed properly and made his way to the back of the shuttle. I’ll be dead soon. Okay, that’s weird! If it weren’t for Letty and the boy, I’d aim the shuttle at the Blanchett ring and take the other three with me for company. Especially Drew . . . Jesus, that man is worthless. If Letty hooks up with him, at least I won’t have to know.
As he passed, he reached across Drew to pat Toby on the head and give him a gloved thumbs-up. The boy offered a teary-eyed thumbs-up in return. Travis avoided looking at Drew, afraid if he did he’d smash him in the face. He avoided exchanging looks with Curtis and Nikko as well. He’d always heard that everyone dies alone. He could attest to the truth of the adage. He’d never felt so alone.
Once aft, he took a last look up the aisle before toggling the extend seal switch that would turn the back of the shuttle into an airlock. The environmental screen unfolded from its casing, following tracks set into the deck and upper bulkhead. Once fully extended, its seals engaged. The light on the control blinked green as the cabin depressurized. He pulled the drop seat from its niche and sat, waiting for Letty to signal when the edge distortion of a wormhole came into view. This was the part he’d dreaded the most . . . the waiting. If Letty didn’t spot the distortion in time, he would go through with them and their plan would fail. The armada would cross into Alliance territory. At least he’d live a bit longer. Worse, if her timing was off and he exited into the wormhole tunnel, the plan would fail and he’d have given his life for nothing.
Then there was also the possibility the Diak point ship would drop back and exchange places with the rearguard. It was a tactic he’d learned in training to keep pilots alert and apportion the higher risk of the point position. If the ships didn’t stay true to their current positions, the shuttle team would all die together. Drew thought there were no pilots. But in the skirmish behind Spud, Barnes practiced eye noticed a slight difference in skill levels between attackers. The Diak may not be biological, but they weren’t fully automated either. Something was physically piloting each ship.
As he fought to calm his nerves, Travis stared at the airlock control light. When it was time to go, Letty’s signal was to toggle it from green to red and back. It occurred to him, if he got the signal and things turned to shit after he’d exited the shuttle, he might outlive Cutter. He smiled. There’s an up-side after all.
~ ~ ∞ ~ ~
Toby was visibly shaking. Drew undid their straps and pulled Toby onto his lap, extending his restraint to hold both of them. Toby stopped shaking and snuggled into Drew’s arms. Drew held him tight, grimacing at his tangy, musty odor. Apparently no one had bothered to see that the boy washed occasionally. Letty was no more experienced in caring for a child than he was. Still, one of them should have thought to make sure the boy bathed. Hell, has he even cleaned his teeth since he returned to Dark Landing? A little late now.
All four adults watched for the characteristic edge distortion. Curtis and Nikko took forward starboard and forward port, and Drew the skylight. Letty, having the least restricted view, scanned the expanse of space before them. She should spot the wormhole first. The Diak ships had formed up so tightly that, hanging from the rear gunship, they couldn’t see the bellies of the ships ahead of them.
Drew spotted it first. “Letty . . . ”
“Got it!” Her hand hovered above the control panel.
~ ~ ∞ ~ ~
Barnes watched as the Go light turned red then back to green. Without hesitation, he pushed the hatch release and slipped into space. For a moment, his stomach dropped and he imagined the sensation of falling. It quickly passed.
He spotted the distortion about a kilometer ahead and below his position. As he watched, the four enemy ships disappeared into the wormhole with the little Marigold attached to the rearguard like a cosmic barnacle.
“You’ve gotta get this right. Release now, baby.” he whispered into his helmet, knowing Letty couldn’t hear him.
He started counting backward from one hundred and pressed the controls of his propulsion jets. As he closed in on his target, he searched for the device that he knew had to be there. All technology followed the same evolutionary pattern: it became smaller. Since the Diak enjoyed more advanced technology, he expected their infusers to be smaller than the K.U.’s twenty-by-twenty-foot standard. He’d traveled through wormholes hundreds of times in ships of all sizes, but he’d never seen one from his current vantage point. It was massive. The edge distortion was much wider than it appeared from the observation port of a ship.
At the outer edge, he thought he detected the narrow ring. He didn’t see it as much as envisage it. The inner edge of the distortion feathered into the hole, but the outer edge seemed blunted by comparison, as if it was pushing up against something—an optical illusion. The ring kept the tunnel from collapsing in on itself, not from expanding outward. He blinked rapidly to clear his vision, but the wormhole grew in size the closer he came. It was hard to see any detail beyond the distortion itself. He cut his propulsion jets, slowing his approach, and scanned the ring on its right side from the twelve to six o’clock positions, then began a reverse scan back to the top. Out of the corner of his eye he caught an inconsistency on the left at about seven o’clock.
There it was. Sure enough, it was smaller by half than the K.U. versions. The cube was camouflaged against the blackness of space, with the tiniest pinpoint of light twinkling from its center to imitate a distant star. It blended perfectly with the genuine objects. Forgetting his countdown, he strained to keep it in view, afraid to look away in case it disappeared into the backdrop.
As he approached, the wormhole grew larger still. To see even a small portion of the ring now he would need to crane his neck. He focused on the infuser. Instead of his normal reaction at the wonder of a bridge to another world, he’d beheld only a hole imbued with evil. He wanted to turn and run, but there was no place to go but forward.
Chapter 36: Bad Turn
ETOC Secretary Rostenkowski, MCTT Lt. Commander William, and ESF Rear Admiral Sullivan, were joined in the Security HQ conference room by Travis Barnes’s replacement, Makayla Liu, TSF next in command. The head of the Earth Defense Counsel, Sir James Hawking-Barstow, led the meeting over a live feed.
“We should close it while we have the chance,” Sullivan
said.
“I agree,” William nodded.
“I don’t,” Rostenkowski voiced her opposition. “We should be prepared to close it on a second’s notice, but for now, it’s our only access to Diak territory.”
“As I said,” Sir James put an end to the dispute, “the Counsel is equally split and still debating the decision. And it’s for the Earth Defense Counsel and only the EDC to decide. For the short term, the question before you is the advisability of sending probes to try and locate their bridge into our territory.”
“I’m sorry,” Lt. Commander William cut in. “Shouldn’t collapsing the wormhole be an Alliance decision, not just Earth’s?”
“Perhaps, but it’s in Earth’s possession, and we’re commandeering final judgment as to its disposition,” Sir James said.
“Earth has displayed an exceptional talent for commandeering.” It was the first time TSF Liu had spoken. The other four, having forgotten she was even in the room, frowned at the intrusion and ignored her.
Sir James went on. “Lt. Commander William, are you making a formal complaint on behalf of the MCTT?”
William hummed his retreat. “No. As far as I’m aware, there is no MCTT. I’m in command of a rogue group that illegally commandeered,” his whiskers rippled in a weak smile, “MCTT property.”
“And we’re thankful you did,” Rostenkowski said.
“So,” Sir James reminded them, “the probes?”
Except for Liu, the group nodded in unison. Sullivan spoke for them. “Since one of the Diak ships escaped through their wormhole ahead of the Marigold, they know we’re in control of it now. Sending probes won’t provide them more information.” Sullivan paused; no one had mentioned the Marigold to that point. “My guess is your Counsel thinks the Diak will take one of two possible actions: cease their attacks and stay at home since they no longer have a return route, or send a larger force to take back their bridge. I’m in the camp that believes they have another return route. They managed to shield that wormhole from our patrols, but it couldn’t have been there long. They knew we’d discover it eventually. It’s too close to a heavily trafficked station. Yet their original plan included attacking us from within by spreading the nanoid virus across the aligned planets—a long-term strategy.”
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