by John Walker
“I told them I’d find Thantis for them.”
Hannah laughed. “Bluffing? That’s stupid. You won’t find him. Were you just buying time?”
“Or good will. If we don’t free the ship, we’re going to be captured. What then?”
“I guess we go to jail but I’ve got a better plan.” Hannah grinned. “Put the gun away and hear me out.”
“This better be good…hell, I don’t even know why I’m listening to you. If I wasn’t so desperate…what do you have?”
“Gun?”
Rathe lowered it hesitantly, glaring. “Go.”
“Forget Thantis. This place is gone. Screw the alliance and the Earth soldiers. Let them figure this out.”
“You’re forgetting about the damn docking clamps.” Rathe shook his head. “I mean, I appreciate your sentiment but it’s a little flawed.”
“Easily done. We seal off the hallway to the airlock. Then, we breach both and let the air do the work. Yes, we’ll experience some structural damage and it’s a little risky but we’ll be free to go. Neither the alliance nor the Earth people can chase us because they’ve got bigger problems. I’ll get us out of range and jump to a friendly port.”
“With nothing to show for this trip and damage we have to repair.” Rathe sighed, rubbing his eyes. “But…I can’t argue with you. It’s a better idea than getting arrested but still, I’d hoped to get that Thantis bastard back for screwing us over.”
“Revenge is expensive,” Hannah said. “He’ll get his. Besides, there’s always another score. If you don’t remember that, then you’ve forgotten what it is to be a pirate.”
Rathe paced, unsure exactly whether he wanted to trust her. He wanted to slap the crap out of her still but she made too many good points. She’d always been a pain in the ass and this situation was no different. None of her antics cost them so dearly in the past. Their losses this time numbered too high to count.
If they betrayed the Earth ship, they’d need to keep their head downs for a long time. Every benevolent government would be after them. Plenty of places could harbor them until the heat died down. Until then, they’d have to live off what meager savings they had. At least we don’t have to share as much now…morbid ass thought considering how many people we lost.
“Alright, Hannah. You’re on. Let’s get out of here…if we can.”
“Oh we can,” Hannah said, pacing past him. “If there’s one thing I’ve always been it’s a survivor. Just follow me and I’ll show you how.”
***
Olly got the readings from Marshall and looked them over, his eyes wide. He’d seen a lot and studied all sorts of technology, both in school and out. These devices baffled him. They sent a signal out into the station but he didn’t see the point. What were they communicating with? Nothing replied back. Their broadcasts were one way.
Are they talking to a bomb? A highly complex detonation device? It seems so…unnecessarily convoluted. I mean, an explosive device just has to go boom. Was he so convinced that someone would come along and disarm his work? Maybe so…Maybe it’s worse than we know.
Olly brought up the schematics for the station and skimmed down to how it maintained position around the planetoid. Mining operations took place down below, deep in mine shafts which laced into the ground. Asteroids connected to the facility were also mined though to a much smaller extent.
Orbit was maintained with massive thrusters powered by the pulse reactor where the weird devices were located. Course corrections were made in the control room, not by pilots but trained computer technicians who were qualified to check the automated calculations. Thantis had been one such person to hold that responsibility.
Maybe they’re talking to the computer somehow. Wait!
Olly pulled the signal into his computer and ran it through the universal code. It translated it far slower than he anticipated and it shocked him. He had yet to encounter anything complex enough to give that code a problem. Now, as it displayed the intention of the signal, he realized Thantis had designed this from the ground up to communicate with the devices he was most familiar with.
The computers of the station had been under his control for a long time. He knew them better than anyone probably. So this signal was talking to the station, making minor course corrections so that any failsafe would not be triggered. Olly checked the logical progression of what he intended and sunk in his seat.
Thantis intended to have the station crash into the planetoid. Not only would it destroy the station but the Ulem source as well. It wouldn’t cripple the alliance but the loss would certainly be felt. Economically, they’d get hit but the military programs relying on the mineral would especially feel the pain.
The navigation computer used to interface with the thrusters was locked down, secure from manual or remote access. Thantis had changed all the passwords and erected a special firewall. It felt a bit like what he’d done to the Alliance ship but Clea got through that. Unfortunately, she probably wouldn’t know this system as well as the military ones and he didn’t know it either.
Olly calculated out how long before the facility crashed. Maybe they had enough time to do some trial and error. He gasped. Holy crap! Are you kidding me? He stood up. “Um…captain, we have a serious problem.”
“Explain.”
“Those devices are interfacing with the computer and slowly taking the facility into the planetoid. This guy locked everything down and it’s practically his proprietary system. While I’m not saying it’s unhackable, I’m saying it’s pretty damn close…but even if we could, we only have about ten minutes before it happens.”
“Ten minutes? Are you sure?”
Olly nodded. “Yes, sir. This thing is going down and it seems like the only way we’re going to stop it is to catch the person responsible and make them give us their codes.”
Gray turned to Adam. “Tell Hoffner now. They need to get that guy.” He turned to Clea. “Get with Olly and look into this computer code. Find out what you can do and if you can get through this guy’s security. Let’s move, everyone. Once again, we don’t have time for mistakes so let’s keep things tight and by the numbers.”
You’re telling me. Olly thought as he sent the information over to Clea’s tablet. Let’s hope she has more ingenuity than me. Man, I’d love for one mission to not be a serious of time limits intersecting. That’d be swell.
***
Gray leaned back in his seat and forced himself to relax, ignoring the threat of a headache building behind his eyes. The part of their mission he thought would be the most difficult, they’d managed but taking back the facility now proved the more challenging. He believed they’d take it back with relative ease but now, everyone on board was at risk.
“Adam, we should evacuate the station just in case,” Gray said. “Let’s get shuttles moving now.”
“Sir, we can’t get all those people off there in ten minutes,” Adam said. “And the pirates locked down all the escape pods.”
“We have another problem,” Timothy said. “It looks like our pirate friends have decided they don’t really want to help us.”
“What do you mean?” Gray asked. “What did you find?”
“Just an energy build up and some motion on the scanners.” Timothy took a moment to dial something in. “Yes, I think they’re trying to break free of the docking clamps.”
“Are they insane?” Adam asked. “They’ll kill themselves!”
“If we’re lucky, they’ll be the only ones,” Timothy said. “There are only a few things they could even try and none of them are particularly safe. Speeding off with their engines might work—they could tear the wall out with them but I’m thinking they might be trying to blow the airlock.”
“Why do you say that?” Adam asked.
“Because there’s a safety beacon going off in that section stating one of the seals is giving out. I doubt that we’re seeing wear and tear settling in right now.”
“That would be just perf
ect,” Gray muttered. “These guys…first they want to help then they turn tail and run?”
Adam shrugged. “They’re criminals. I’m not sure what you expected of them.”
“I don’t know…some more integrity I guess.” Gray sighed. “Okay, so we can’t rely on them…not that they were going to be much help anyway. Let’s just focus on the task at hand. Clea, do you have anything?”
“No, sir.” Clea replied. “The security this man installed is frankly genius. It’s elegant and simple, making it difficult to interface with. Worse, he’s cut it off from the other computers on board so we can’t even get any help. I have little confidence in taking him into custody either.”
“Why?” Adam asked.
“Because if he’s zealous enough to kill all these people, I doubt he’ll break in the short time we have to get the information from him.”
“What about detaching the devices?” Gray asked. “Or destroying them?”
“The metal casing he used is pretty tough,” Olly said. “And worse than that, we don’t know how many there are. From what I can tell, they’re all broadcasting the same signal. They’re probably all failsafes…oh, and I have worse news.”
“You’re just a bundle of joy, Oliver,” Adam grumbled.
“I know…but…anyway, he tampered with the reactor. When that thing hits the ground, it’ll blow…and think about this. We’ve used alliance reactors to blow up enemy vessels. That thing is five times as big. It’ll be catastrophic.”
“Great…Okay, let’s hope he’s got a switch on him or something.” Gray tapped his communicator and patched in to Hoffner. “Listen up, Captain. I don’t want to put too much pressure on you but you have to find this guy now or everyone on that station and probably us too will be dead.”
“Yeah, we kind of figured,” Hoffner replied. “We’re on it, sir. I’ll report back soon.”
***
Jordan’s eyes nearly bulged from his head when Rathe and Hannah entered the bridge. The fact that the woman was still alive shocked him but when she moved over to the helm and took control, he thought he had to be hallucinating. Grabbing Rathe, he dragged him aside and spoke in a hushed tone.
“What the hell is going on?”
“She had a great idea,” Rathe whispered back. “I had to take her up on it.”
“So let me get this straight: you’re completely insane, right? This lady has caused us no end of grief, man! What could she have possibly told you that makes this okay? Seriously, it better be good or I might consider a mutiny.”
“Relax!” Rathe lifted his hands to placate him. “Look, she’s got a plan to get us out of here and considering what she’s managed to survive already, I think we need to take her up on the offer.”
Jordan watched as Hannah tapped into the computer, her fingers flying over the touch screen. She leaned to the navigation station and did some work there as well then walked over to the engineering console. There, she pulled some manual release which Jordan had never seen before. Somewhere in the ship, they heard a loud boom.
“Um…” Jordan looked at Rathe. “What the hell was that?”
“She’s blowing the airlock where we’re docked,” Rathe said. “To get us out of here.”
“That will kill us!”
“No,” Hannah replied. “I sealed off that corridor. Yeah, we won’t be able to go down there until we dry dock and repair but combine that with a little thrust and we’ll be out of here in no time.”
“Some of our men are still on the station!” Jordan cried. “We should at least give them some time to get back!”
“You can join them,” Hannah said, “but we’re not waiting for anyone. If we don’t go now, the Earth ship or the Alliance cruiser will block us in. We have to go. Now.”
“That’s messed up.” Jordan shook his head. “I do not agree with this.”
“The good news is you can be indignant and free,” Hannah said, “instead of in prison. You can complain at me all you like then.”
Hannah took the helm again and ignited the maneuvering thrusters. An alarm went off and the computer issued a warning that the docking clamps were still engaged. The ship began to shake and Jordan took his seat and put on his safety belt. Part of him felt compelled to pray. He didn’t feel confident they’d survive this ploy.
“Okay, I’m ready to initiate the blast,” Hannah said. “Everyone better hold on tight.”
“Blast?” Rathe sat beside Jordan and belted in. “What do you mean?”
“I’ve pumped an excessive amount of oxygen into that corridor then sealed it up. I’ve also disengaged every safety protocol installed in the airlock. When I pop them both, the force plus our thrust should break us free.”
“Free from this mortal coil,” Jordan muttered. Still, he couldn’t argue that Hannah was resourceful, even cunning. The risks she was willing to take made him nervous though. Plus, she easily abandoned a bunch of their colleagues and shipmates. He knew full well that if he and Rathe hadn’t made it back before her, she’d be leaving them there too.
He always considered her to be a talented person but he never knew just how little regard she held for any of them. When she came aboard, her credentials were staggering and Rathe expressed concern about someone so good being available…or a criminal for that matter. Now, Jordan understood. She didn’t get along with people and when her true colors showed, they were not pleasant.
“Five seconds,” Hannah said. She glanced back at them with a smile. “Here’s where we separate the boys from the women. If you’ve got prayers, say ‘em. Cause this is going to be one hell of a ride.”
Jordan complied, praying to whatever higher power he could think of to let him live. Of course, considering the things he’d done with his life, he doubted anyone would listen. Trying gave him a little peace but only superficially. Deep down he knew he’d been a terrible person and whatever happened, he likely deserved.
Then again, people like Hannah had incredible luck. He might be able to take advantage of it and survive this ordeal. Hope tickled his heart as the last couple seconds ticked away. Hannah hit a button. The entire ship trembled and shook as something exploded down below. Jordan yelped just as the ship began to drift away from the station.
“She did it!” Rathe yelled. “Holy crap, good job!”
“We’re not out of this yet,” Hannah said. “Setting a course away from this place. Engaging thrusters…”
They began to move, powering away from the facility. Jordan wondered fleetingly about the damage done to the station. Would it impact the people left behind? The civilians? It didn’t matter. Whatever Thantis had in mind for them would be fatal anyway. Maybe breaching the hull would grant them a swifter death.
He took a quick tally of how many people were on board the ship. Seven pirates were spread throughout the vessel. Seven out of so many. Their crew had been totally decimated. Acquiring another one would take months if not longer but Hannah’s message came back to him loud and clear.
At least you’re alive and free. Jordan could work with that. Prison didn’t sound good and those marines weren’t taking any crap. Fleeing, despite how it felt leaving behind his crew mates, was the only real option. I’ll find a way to live with it but sorry boys. You’d have done the same.
He spent the next several minutes trying to convince himself that was true.
Chapter 11
Olly focused intently on the signal of the sabotage, working closely with Clea to find a way to reverse it. Something was missing from their part of the puzzle, a key or legend which would express how the computer took the information and processed it. They made some guesses but none of them mattered since they couldn’t take control.
The tech officer from the Aguna Spear wasn’t much help. He didn’t understand the computer techniques as well as Clea so they let him get back to his duties pretty fast. Olly’s mind started to wander to alternatives, ideas which might stop the station from moving but none of them seemed plausible.
Clea hummed beside him, eyes narrow as she read something on the screen. Olly understood quite a bit of kielan but whatever the text was on the screen, he couldn’t make it out. He turned his attention to another bit of his work. He wanted to penetrate the shielding around one of the devices, hoping that a glimpse of the inner workings would get them further along.
Part of him felt like Captain Hoffner was wasting his time looking for Thantis. What would he possibly have to say? If he was so crazy as to want to kill all those people, he wouldn’t just fold under a little pressure. And they didn’t have time for much. Maybe if he had a device with the last piece of the puzzle, the code to control the various signal emitters…but if not, they were done.
“I’ve analyzed the signal,” Clea said. “I’m afraid you were right about missing a piece. We can emulate what it’s saying but it’s so singular, so simple that there’s no room for interpretation. Technically, there’s no reversal either. All these are doing are reinforcing the course corrections but from what I’ve gathered, they’re sequentially programmed in. Even if all those devices were jettisoned, it would get to the end eventually.”
“I don’t know what’s inside them either,” Olly said. “For all we know, if we tried to remove them, they’d blow up…or worse, start a different signal to another computer. That’s all we need.”
“So far, we’re under the impression that all the devices are transmitting the exact same signal,” Clea said. “Can we put them on the screen and compare them? Side by side, maybe there’s some discrepancy we can exploit.”
“I’ve checked a couple of them,” Olly replied, then paused. “Wait a moment…”
“What? What’ve you thought of?”