by Thomas Fay
‘Damn it, John! I’m not going to lose her!’
‘I understand but we need—’
‘I’ve got something!’ Jeni exclaimed.
‘The prison ship?’ Roger D asked, leaning forwards.
‘It’s big, really big, and running at about two per cent light speed.’
‘That’s them. Mason, bring us in alongside and hold her steady.’
A large, bulky ship materialised from the dense particle field. Its eight ion trails glowed brightly, visible from ten thousand kilometres away. It was a UEP Leviathan-class prison ship powered by twin banks of four class C engines. The Helios Ark’s reverse thrusters fired as the ship decelerated and dropped into formation alongside the prison ship.
‘Sir, they’re hailing us,’ Mason said.
‘Ignore it,’ Roger D said.
‘If we don’t respond they’ll assume we’re hostile and request immediate military assistance,’ I said.
‘Jam all frequencies. We need to move quickly.’
I raised an eyebrow as I watched Roger D committing about a dozen felonies. Clearly he would stop at nothing to get Dayna back. I was surprised to find that I would probably do the same for Selize. Something I should have done for Vanessa. No, I realised. There was nothing I could have done for Vanessa. Her fate had been sealed the moment she became a Raptor pilot. The UEP had seen to that.
‘How do we get her out?’ Jeni asked.
‘Mason, can we get a fix on her location?’ Roger D asked. His eyes burned with an inner rage despite the calmness in his voice.
‘Yes, sir. According to the prison ship manifest, Dayna is being held on the upper deck. I have marked her approximate location on the view screen.’
A section of the prison ship was highlighted in orange.
‘Get us closer, Mason.’
‘Yes, sir.’
The Helios Ark was completely dwarfed by the bulk of the compartmented prison ship. It blotted out the distant light of Alpha Centauri’s stars, filtering through the emerald-green particle field around us.
‘They teach you how to extract people in deep space, John?’ Roger D asked.
I grinned despite the seriousness of the situation.
‘I’ve done a few in my time.’
‘Good. Suit up. Mason, keep it steady. The moment we have Dayna, get us out of here.’
‘Yes, sir.’
‘Jeni, I’m going to need the medical bay on standby when we get back. Just in case.’
‘I’ll be ready.’
Roger D and I donned a pair of matching EVA suits. We took a spare suit for Dayna. The airlock cycled behind us and the cargo doors opened to space. The prison ship’s hull was directly in front of us. Constructed of dense metallic alloys, it showed signs of impact damage from its voyages through deep space. Groups of heavily shielded conduits ran along large sections of the exterior, while a series of docking ports punctuated the otherwise monotonous metallic surface that stretched out in all directions. This close, the ship appeared enormous, blocking out everything around us. It reminded me of a training exercise at the Space Navy Academy, where we’d had to navigate the slopes of Olympus Mons on Mars wearing shielded body armour with thruster modules.
‘Lead the way,’ Roger D’s voice said over the coms.
I activated my suit’s thrusters. Luckily, performing deep-space EVAs was like riding a bicycle: something you never forget. Or so I had heard once, never actually having ridden a bicycle in my life.
We floated across the void between the two ships. My EVA boots magnetised and locked onto the hull of the prison ship. The Helios Ark held steady two hundred metres away. Using the shielded conduits running along the outside of the ship as handholds, we manoeuvred across to the docking port closest to the upper level of the prison ship.
‘How do we get in?’ I asked.
Instead of replying, Roger D withdrew a security override module and attached it to the external airlock. While a lunar cypher worked by subverting electronic security devices, the security override module was much simpler than that. It simply blew a hole through any security device. It was most effective when attached to the exterior of a ship or orbital installation. Particularly ones you hadn’t been invited to. Clearly, not all of Roger D’s jobs were strictly legal.
The module cycled and blew the airlock open. Air rushed outside for a few seconds before an internal safety mechanism cut off the airflow to the docking port, preventing any more atmosphere from venting into space. Grasping the sides of the docking port, we squeezed our way inside. A series of red lights were flashing silently inside the narrow corridor. We glided over towards the inner airlock. Sealing the corridor behind us, we waited as the inner airlock cycled open.
Floating through, our boots connected with the deck as the airlock cycled closed behind us and the atmosphere was re-established.
‘That was the easy part,’ Roger D said. ‘Now comes the hard part.’
20.
I took my helmet off. The air inside the prison ship was stale but breathable. We were standing on a metallic landing, supported by regular struts embedded into the sides of the ship’s internal frame. The lighting level was low. It was quiet. Too quiet. I knew that, even with the Helios Ark jamming any outgoing communications, prison ships were in regular contact with UEP deep-space satellite arrays. Failure to check in on a regular basis would be the same as if they had called for help. If a Space Navy patrol showed up then not even the Centaurians would be able to help us. They had no jurisdiction over the UEP prison ship.
‘Which way?’ I asked.
Roger D checked his wrist-mounted display module and pointed to the right.
‘That way. If Mason’s calculations are correct, Dayna should be in one of the cells in section C. Probably number ten.’
‘And if they’re not?’
‘Then we’re going to be here for a while.’
I nodded, realising that Roger D would not leave until he had Dayna. We made our way cautiously down the corridor. Our EVA boots made a soft thudding sound every time we took a step, which I pictured travelling through the ship and alerting every guard on board. The red lights flashing around us were a constant reminder that we could be discovered at any moment. Despite the sheer size of the ship, they would find us eventually.
‘This is it, section C,’ Roger D said, pointing to a large letter on the wall. I nodded, my eyes scanning the corridor for any sign of guards or, worse, automated defences. Roger D located cell number ten.
‘Damn, it’s locked.’
‘Can you use that override device of yours?’
Roger D shook his head.
‘No, it’s too risky. Can you see if there’s a control panel and get this door open?’
‘On it.’
I made my way further down the corridor to a T-junction. Peering around the corner, I relaxed slightly when I saw that it was empty. Locating a control panel, I was about to touch the liquid data screen when an alarm blared throughout the ship.
‘Intruder alert. Unauthorised entry detected. Lockdown initiated.’
That was going to make things difficult. With a full lockdown in effect, it meant the cells could only be opened if the lockdown was cancelled.
‘John, what’s happening?’ Roger D’s voice echoed in my ear via the coms.
‘Full lockdown. I’m going to try to override it. Hang on.’
‘Hurry!’
My fingers hit the liquid data screen with urgent strokes as I scrolled through the menus. An identification icon flashed up as I reached the security override section. I hesitated, realising the only way I was going to override the security lockdown was to use my former security clearance. Assuming it still worked.
‘John, we need to move—now!’
Reluctantly, I input my clearance code. I held my breath. The screen flashed green and the lights throughout the ship dimmed to standby mode. The automated announcement faded into the depths of the cavernous ship.
I m
ade my way back to cell C-10. Roger D was struggling with the door. I inserted my suited hand and helped him pry it open.
‘I’ll keep it open,’ I said. ‘You get Dayna.’
Roger D grasped my suited arm.
‘I won’t forget this.’
‘I know. Now get going before the guards get curious and investigate.’
Roger D entered the cell. It was small, about three metres wide and five deep. Dayna lay on a metallic slab that served as a cot. She was unconscious. Her clothes were those of a star-port labourer. Even in her current state no one would have mistaken her for anything but Centaurian. Marvik had clearly paid someone off to have her brought onto the prison ship without the authorities of Dyson Alpha noticing.
‘Dayna,’ Roger D whispered as he knelt beside her. Removing his EVA suit gloves, he touched her face with his hand. She stirred. Blinking several times, she looked around.
‘Roger? Where am I? What happened?’ she asked.
‘You’re alright but we need to get out of here. Can you stand?’
With his help, she managed to first sit up, then to stand up. Roger D helped her into the EVA suit. I kept glancing between them and the empty corridors, half expecting the alarms to flare up again and a squad of guards to appear.
I held the door open for what felt like an eternity. Finally, two suited figures emerged.
‘Let’s go,’ Roger D said.
We quickly retraced our steps to the docking port we’d used to enter the prison ship. Fastening our helmets into place, we cycled the airlock. It seemed like it took forever to open and then close after we moved through. We pushed the external airlock open. Grasping the sides of the docking port, I pulled myself through. The magnets in my EVA boots connected with the hull of the prison ship and I stood up. The Helios Ark maintained its position alongside.
‘Come on,’ I said. ‘We’re almost there.’
Dayna came through next, swaying slightly until her EVA boots clamped onto the hull. Roger D followed close behind.
‘Ready?’ I asked.
‘Lead the way,’ Roger D said.
I was about to cancel the magnetic field holding me down when Mason’s toneless voice spoke over the coms.
‘Sirs, I have detected a ship approaching our location.’
I froze, feeling the cold and emptiness of space wash over me, despite being perfectly comfortable inside my EVA suit. I looked at the emerald-green particle cloud, trying to catch a glimpse of the ship.
‘What do we do?’ Roger D asked.
‘We can’t go back. We need to get to the Helios Ark.’
We cancelled the magnetic field holding us in place and activated our thrusters, propelling ourselves across the vacuum between ships. Just as we reached the hull of the Helios Ark an object materialised from the particle cloud. It was a ship, heading directly for us.
‘John!’ Roger D bellowed.
‘I see it.’
The ship resolved itself into a stiletto-shaped vessel, a Harbinger-class mercenary fighter. Before I even heard the faint crackle of static, I knew who it was.
‘It seems I underestimated you,’ Lars Marvik said over the coms. ‘Where you managed to hide your ship, I can only guess. But now it looks like I have a second chance to finish you all off.’
The weapon turrets on Marvik’s ship began to power up.
21.
I closed my eyes. The telepathic bond that had been created between Selize and me had many incredible capabilities. As I had found, communication across deep space was one of them—normally only possible via a p-wave, or portal wave, which tapped into a subset of the UEP gateway network via dedicated communication arrays to transmit signals without decay or the time lag usually associated with deep-space communications.
Selize.
Yes, John?
Marvik’s here. We need your help.
Now?
Yes, Selize. Now!
I opened my eyes. A dozen ships materialised from the particle field, decelerating around us. Centaurian Banshee-class light fighters: single-seat attack craft powered by fusion particle engines, the Centaurian equivalent to the ion drive. Elegant yet deadly vessels. Just like their pilots.
Into their midst appeared another ship. This one was huge, even larger than the prison ship. A Centaurian command vessel. I was familiar with the specs on all Centaurian vessels but I’d never actually seen a Wraith-class capital ship in real life. This close, it looked capable of waging an interstellar war by itself.
‘This is the Centaurian command ship Gemini Alpha. Lars Marvik, you are charged with committing acts of murder and piracy within our jurisdiction. You are hereby detained pending a formal hearing. Power down your vessel and prepare to be boarded,’ a female voice spoke across all com channels.
Instead of complying, Marvik’s engines powered up. Before anyone could react, his ship vanished into the particle cloud.
A split second later the Banshee-class light fighters’ fusion particle drives ignited and they disappeared after Marvik’s ship. Only the command vessel remained.
‘John Stanton, Roger D and Dayna, return to your vessel and dock with our ship,’ a female voice spoke over the coms. ‘The commander of the Dyson Alpha star port wishes to speak to you.’
‘I guess we’d better do as she says,’ I said.
‘How did you get the commander of the star port to help us?’ Roger D asked.
‘Selize.’
‘Yes, but how did she?’
‘I have no idea but I can’t wait to find out.’
****
The airlock cycled closed with a solid thud and we were back aboard the Helios Ark. I took my helmet off, while Roger D helped Dayna off with hers. Her crystalline eyes looked straight at me. I imagined Selize looking at me through Dayna’s eyes.
‘Are you alright?’ Roger D asked, his voice barely above a whisper. He held Dayna close.
‘Yes … but whatever they injected me with is still in my system. I … can’t sense anyone. It’s so …’
‘I know. It’s strange for me too,’ Roger D said. ‘It will wear off.’
Jeni ran into the docking bay.
‘Dayna, are you alright?’ she asked.
‘I’m okay. Once the inhibitor wears off, I’ll be even better.’
‘Do you remember what happened?’ I asked.
‘Only vaguely. I was walking back to the dock when someone grabbed me. They injected me with what must have been the inhibitor. I blacked out. When I awoke, I was inside a small room. The inhibitor made it difficult for me to focus and I drifted in and out of consciousness. It hurt.’
Roger D slammed his fist against the side of the airlock.
‘Damn Marvik! He’s going to pay for this.’
I put my hand on his shoulder.
‘He will.’
Roger D calmed down slightly. He led Dayna out of the docking bay into the main cabin and helped her to sit on the couch.
‘Will you be alright?’ he asked.
‘Yes. Go, the commander is waiting for us. The Centaurians aboard the ship will be able to help me.’
Roger D, Jeni and I made our way to the main deck. We were greeted by Mason Turk as we took our seats.
‘I still can’t believe you managed to extract Dayna from a UEP prison ship,’ Jeni said.
‘John came through. He managed to disable the alarm and open Dayna’s cell,’ Roger D said.
Jeni’s eyes narrowed as she looked at me. I knew what she was thinking. He’s still working for the Space Navy. I had to move quickly to reassure her.
‘I got lucky. The prison ships are old and a lot of the systems are antiquated by modern-day standards. The UEP relies on the fact that no one would be stupid enough to attack one of them, rather than actually upgrading them.’
‘Don’t be modest, John. You’re clearly an asset to this crew and I want you with us on a full-time basis.’
That took me by surprise. Despite all the things I’d achieved during my S
pace Navy career, I felt slightly humbled by the trust these people were placing in me.
‘I … of course, I accept. Thank you.’
‘Don’t mention it. Now, we’ve got an appointment with the star-port commander. Best not keep her waiting.’
The Helios Ark’s manoeuvring thrusters fired, propelling us towards the Centaurian command ship.
22.
The Gemini Alpha command vessel was even more impressive from the inside. Sweeping angles and curves dominated its vaulted interiors. Shimmering holographic projections blossomed throughout. While the Space Navy utilised more mundane tactile interfaces, the Centaurians had a preference for holographic controls and displays. The whole ship was clearly alien in design yet felt strangely familiar. It was as if a part of me recognised the Centaurian elements.
The five of us were escorted to the control room. Three Centaurians stood at the helm. At least a dozen others operated the ship’s various functions. I had never seen so many Centaurians together. The effect was quite overwhelming as each one reminded me of Selize, with their amethyst-coloured skin and crystalline cat’s eyes. One of the Centaurians at the helm, a strikingly beautiful older woman wearing formal garb of Centaurian origin, addressed us.
‘I am Commander Alyssia of the Dyson Alpha star port.’
‘Roger D, captain of the Helios Ark free-merchant vessel. My pilot, Dayna; this is our systems specialist, Mason Turk; medic and life support, Jeni Nix; and John Stanton, our … ah, mechanic.’
Commander Alyssia glanced at each of us in turn. Her gaze came to rest upon me. I shifted slightly as her crystalline eyes stared directly at me.
‘So you’re the one,’ she finally said.
‘Excuse me, Commander?’ I asked, surprised.
‘I’m not in the habit of mobilising a full strike force to rescue a single independent vessel but my daughter absolutely insisted I had to save you.’
‘Your daughter?’
‘Yes. Selize,’ Commander Alyssia said. Then she smiled. ‘From what I’ve observed through our shared bond, you’re certainly a match for my daughter.’