The Silver Ships
Page 28
As Sheila cleared the crowd, she came face to face with Robert. She smiled at him, and he seized her in a hug that took her breath away. When they separated, she could see he was embarrassed by his actions. She grabbed his face, pulled him close, and said, “I’m happy to see you too.”
* * *
Perhaps it’s wrong to be cheering, considering we lost Jase, Andrea thought. But she decided to mourn later; right now, it felt too damn good to be alive. She broke through the ranks of well-wishers, comming Sheila and Robert to follow, and headed for the bay’s upper-deck, cycling through the airlock and crossing to the starboard bay view deck. If the Captain was going to bring the silver ship aboard, and she was betting creds he would, she wanted a front row seat.
With the pilots safely aboard, Alex directed Julien to orient the ship to present their starboard side to the drifting alien ship. “Can you detect any activity, Julien?”
“Scanning, Captain. There are no external power emissions, but there may be active internal systems.”
Alex studied the mottled, dark silver ship on the screen. He had to decide whether to take it on board, perhaps risking their lives, or leave it behind. That the hot-headed Jase had given his life for its capture was a factor, but it didn’t sway him. In the end, he decided that what they could discover through examination outweighed the risk.
“First Mate,” Alex ordered, “lead a security detail to the starboard bay with environment suits and stun-weapons. We’ll bring the alien ship aboard when you’re ready.”
Tatia saluted and dashed off, comming her team.
Renée, who had been ready to assist Terese with crew emergencies, left Medical to join Alex on the bridge. The central screen was filled with an image of the alien hull. She shook her head in disbelief and linked with Alex.
“Julien,” Alex directed. “You have control. Get me that ship.” He studied the screens as Julien employed the bay’s three tractor beams to capture and draw the craft aboard.
“Julien, signal Captain Manet with rendezvous instructions,” Alex ordered. “I want them picked up as soon as possible. Ensure they have the latest information on events.”
“Proceeding, Captain.”
Alex received the image of a sharp-winged raptor launching itself skyward.
And, once again, Alex received a vid. This one was of an overweight matron in an archaic dress walking away in a huff, her exaggerated rear end swinging to and fro.
* * *
Everyone wanted to watch, and Alex decided he couldn’t object. They were safely leaving the system behind to catch the Outward Bound, and he knew this was a momentous occasion for the entire crew.
The pilots and flight crews crammed the starboard bay’s upper view deck. Chief Peterson nudged Andrea’s elbow and passed her a small flask. The sip of New Terran alcohol, distilled from an imported cactus, burned down her throat. She nudged Sheila’s elbow and passed the flask along.
The alien ship settled to the bay’s deck, a smooth and symmetrical shape. Its silvered nose was marred by the nanites and a dark circle surrounded the warhead’s point of impact.
Julien carefully scanned for any sign of nanites activity and, much to his relief, found none. By design, the nanites had a short life span, but Julien wasn’t about to risk letting loose an uncontrolled, metal-hungry, self-replicating menace aboard the Rêveur.
The bay doors slid closed and the airlock hatch opened, admitting Tatia and the de Long twins. Bright lights illuminated every inch of the bay as they carefully approached the ship.
Alex had Julien relay Tatia’s implant view to the port screen. She had reached the hull and was extending her hand toward it.
Alex was pondering his next move when he saw Étienne’s view shift to a corner of the bay. The twin activated the grav-base of a service ladder and towed it to the ship’s nose. He climbed the ladder and examined the twelve centimeter hole in the center of the missile’s scorched circle.
As they entered the bay, Julien switched the central screen’s view to feeds from Terese’s and Mickey’s implants. The engineer was connecting a vid cable to the bay’s comm console and unrolling it toward the ladder.
Mickey’s deep chuckle came back, along with the image of a man standing proudly atop a hill.
Terese replaced Étienne on the ladder. She ran a small probe over the hull, both the silvered portion and the mottled areas, and examined her reader.
Terese replied with a vid of a child, fumbling a collection of toys from her clumsy grasp.
Alex left the bridge and headed for the bays. He located his three pilots, still dressed in flight suits, intently observing the silver ship’s investigation. Alerted of his approach, Terese, Sheila, and Robert turned to him and snapped to attention. “Squadron Leader Bonnard, Lt. Reynard, and Lt. Dorian,” he greeted them. “It’s good to see you safe.”
“It’s good to be seen, Captain,” Andrea agreed.
“Congratulations to the three of you. I know the loss of Jase hurts, and we’ll remember his sacrifice. What you’ve demonstrated today is that the enemy is vulnerable and can be defeated. You have my personal thanks.” He snapped a salute to the three of them, holding it until they returned it.
-41-
Engineering built a decontamination unit outside the bay’s air lock and a medical quarantine station just beyond it for testing. The airlock’s environment was ventilated to space for the immediate future. When Terese exited the landing bay, Renée met her in the airlock and checked her before allowing the air to be evacuated. Then she checked the security team one by one, but no active organic residue was detected.
Meanwhile, the Rêveur and the Outward Bound successfully rendezvoused. Immediately after the five crew members safely entered the lift, Alex sent,
Alex greeted the shuttle’s crew, shaking the hand of each man of as they exited the lift. While he gripped Edouard’s hand a little tighter than was comfortable, the Méridien’s grin indicated he didn’t mind in the least.
Pia ignored the offered handshake, choosing to hug Alex. “I want my hug back since you didn’t die,” she said. When she released him, there were tears in her eyes.
“Pia, the custom is to give a hug, not take one back,” he said, his own voice thick with emotion.
She laughed at him. “You have your customs, Captain, and we have ours, even the new ones.” And as she walked away, she turned her head and threw a cocky grin at the young Captain she’d thought, for many terrifying hours, she’d never see again.
Alex’s next stop was Medical. A second decontamination chamber had been erected in front of the suite. Julien had notified him of the activation of Medical’s sealed environment protocols to prevent air exchange with the ship’s system. He stopped short of the temporary chamber, not wanting to waste time on a decontamination procedure, and sent a query to Terese.
Alex sunk down to the deck as the conversation continued, leaning his head back against the bulkhead and closing his eyes.
* * *
Renée located her Captain outside Medical, resting on the floor of the deck. She waited beside him without comment until Julien signaled the completion of their conversation. “Captain,” she finally said, touching his shoulder, “it’s time for evening meal. I think you should eat and get some rest.”
Alex levered himself up, and they walked to the meal room together. He didn’t realize how hungry he was until dishes were set before him and Renée. He dived in as if he had been starved for days.
Geneviève’s comm was quiet as she mulled Renée’s suggestion.
Renée received the image of a small child, her head lowered.
Those serving the evening meal made additional trips to the food dispensers. Even the Méridiens were taking extra portions. It had been a long, hard day for all. When the last utensil was laid down, the company waited in respectful silence.
Andrea rose up. Implants were signaled to record, including those of the New Terrans. “Today was my first fight,” she began. “But I wasn’t alone. I piloted a Dagger in the company of three brave pilots. We won the fight, but one shipmate did not return. I wish to honor Lt. Jason Willard, who gave his life for all of us.” In memory of Jase, she told the story of the fight against the alien ship—the heartache she’d felt over the loss of the two Daggers, the fight she and Sheila had waged against the alien ship, the long wait for rendezvous with the Rêveur, and the joy of discovering Robert had survived. She paused and her audience waited. “When I enrolled in fighter training on Barren Island, I joined as a foolish young woman who sought adventure. It’s not an adventure when you face death and lose a companion. Today, I returned to the Rêveur, grateful to be alive and humbled by the death of Jase Willard. Your fight,” she said, singling out the Méridiens with her eyes so they knew who she meant, “is now my fight, until we win or die trying.” As she sat back down, the entire crew rose in salute, the Méridiens with crossed arms and bowed heads, the New Terrans clapping and cheering.
When the crew returned to their seats, Alex said to the assembly, “We will miss Jase. Others will follow him before we defeat this enemy. Today was just the first step, but it was a great one. Julien tells me that in over six decades, there is no reco
rd of the destruction of one of these alien ships. Yet, today, this crew, this group of humans, did just that. At this time, we’re headed away from Confederation space. When we know for sure that we aren’t being pursued, we will turn for Libre. I believe we’ll find allies there.” With that, he exited the room for the bridge.
Alex chatted briefly with Julien then sat in companionable silence with Edouard, who had the watch. In the quiet and comfort of his command chair, he closed his eyes and laid his head back.
“You push yourself too hard, Captain. You shouldn’t exhaust yourself so.”
Once inside his cabin, he signaled the door shut and asked her, “Are you planning to tuck me in?”
She ignored his question. Instead, she said, “I am ensuring you go to bed and don’t start working again.”
Alex ignored her comment in return. “The first time I woke without my jacket and boots, I was confused because I couldn’t remember removing them, and I thought I had dreamt your presence. But there was this lingering scent in the morning,” he said as he stepped close to her. “I was in a hurry that first morning and forgot about it.”
Her heart beat faster as Alex entwined his hand in her dark curls. He was close enough that she could feel the warmth of his chest.
“But the next time it happened, I realized I wasn’t imagining it. And the scent in the morning…that wonderful scent was yours.” He leaned close to breathe in the aroma of her hair.