by R. L. Wolf
"Where's the flight deck?” asked Colt.
"The flight deck is gone," said Toran. "Get your suit on."
"Where's the pilot?" Colt reached for the plasteel barrier.
"He's gone, don't touch that," yelled Austin. "It won't hold for long, get your suit on."
Garth grabbed Colt, pushed him back toward his seat, and shoved his suit into his hands.
"Guys, I think we are at light speed," said Wes.
"I see it too," said Austin. "The FTL engines ignited right before the explosion and are still running."
"Look," shouted Wes, pointing at the wall of the ship where the plasteel was mounted. "It's pulling out of the wall."
"Hurry, get your helmets on and buckle in," screamed Toran.
The boy's had no more than buckled in when the plasteel sheet gave way, and the remaining air rushed out of the cabin. A mail crate broke free of its tie down and flew past Colt's helmet, missing him by half an inch.
Then the Cabin was silent.
Toran pointed at the Communications Panel on the arm of his suit, and the others activated their com-link.
"Can you guys hear me?” asked Toran.
"I'm here."
"Me too."
"What do we do now?"
"Are we still at light speed?"
"I think we have bigger problems," said Garth, pointing at the ceiling. "The Gun Turret is deployed."
"Why would the pilot do that?"
"Let's look at what we know," said Toran. "The pilot closed the bulkhead doors, deployed the gun turret, and went to FTL before the explosion, why?"
"He did it for us," said Colt. "I think he tried to save us. He knew what was about to happen, and he knew we would need the Gun Turret for something."
"Yeah, I agree," said Austin. "But I don't think the pilot is the one that put us at light speed."
Garth unfastened his harness and pushed himself up to the Gun Turret, and into the seat.
"If the pilot didn't fire the FTL engines, who did?” asked Colt.
"There is a computer in each engine," explained Austin. "They control the engines, but also in an emergency where the flight deck is damaged and they take over. The computer probably decided FTL was our best chance of survival."
"I don't see anything," said Garth.
"I doubt you would," said Austin. "Going to FTL took us away from whatever attacked us. They can't get us at light speed."
"You think it was an attack?” asked Wes.
"I can see where the front of the ship used to be," said Garth.
"How do we shut down the engines?” asked Wes.
"They'll shut down automatically, eventually," said Austin. "The computer will keep us at FTL until it finds a rescue ship or a planet to land on, or it runs out of fuel."
"How smart are these engine computers?” asked Toran.
"Not very," said Austin. "The thought was that if we are sitting still, we aren't moving toward rescue, so the computer will keep us moving until it can't anymore."
"That's dumb," said Colt. "We could be heading out to deep space. Can we shut down the engines?"
"I don't know," replied Austin. "I'm studying Dart ships, not transport ships. There's usually an access panel somewhere on the engine for emergency shutdown."
"Someone would have to go outside," said Wes. "They would be killed when we drop out of FTL.
"Is there any other way?” asked Colt.
"Not that I know of," said Austin.
"Someone will have to go outside," said Colt.
"We already know who has to go," replied Austin.
"No, we'll find another way," shouted Wes.
Colt nodded his head at Austin.
Toran grabbed Colt’s arm. “Wait, we’re not going to do this… Colt? It’s a death sentence if you send him out there.”
Garth held his arms out and blocked Austin. “We can’t do this. We don’t sacrifice our people just to save our skins.”
Austin pushed Garth’s arms away. “Guys, I appreciate what you are doing, but I’m the only one with the training to shut down the engines. Every second we stay at FTL, we are getting further away from rescue. By now we are probably already reaching the edge of the solar system.”
“Just give us a moment, we’ll think of something,” said Wes.
Austin shook his head and smiled, his breath fogging the faceplate of his helmet slightly. “I remember a dream. I think it was a dream. There were five caskets, and our names on the five tombstones. We were someplace dark and lonely, like we are now. I think we all died together in that dark place, I… can’t remember. But, I can change that fate.”
“Brother, if we die, we die together,” insisted Garth.
“Before I was a Merit, something happened,” said Austin. “I was there when Rex became a Gunslinger. It was supposed to be me. I was there first, but…”
“You’re friends held you down from rescuing children from a burning building,” whispered Wes.
“How did you know? I never told you before. I’ve never told anyone before.”
“I don’t know, it’s like I remember a dream,” said Wes.
“Guys, don’t hold me down like my friends did back then, this is my moment,” pleaded Austin.
Garth dropped his arms and his head. “May the Father be with you, little brother.”
“Austin, shut the engines down,” ordered Colt.
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
Adrift
Austin clung to a rung under the engine and pulled open the access panel to the engine computer. The emergency shutdown switch was a simple red handle, designed to be used by the emergency ground crew in the event of a crash.
He activated the Com-radio on his arm. "I found the access panel. It was on the underside of the engine."
"Okay, shut the engine down," said Toran. "We will pull you in as soon as you give us the word."
Austin looked at the safety wire attached to his suit. Toran had refused to accept just letting Austin burn to death when the ship would come out of FTL. The rapid deceleration from FTL would allow the thousands of dust particles in space to collide with any object not treated with the shielding. He would be vaporized.
"You know it won't work," said Austin. "The envelope will collapse in 3.2 seconds. You can't pull me back inside before I'm hit with space dust at 186,000 miles per second."
Austin unfastened the wire and pushed it away.
"What are you doing?" screamed Wes. "We can at least try."
"I'm shutting the engine down now," said Austin, pulling the handle. He braced for the ship to fall out of FTL. Nothing happened. The ship remained at light speed, and the engine continued to vibrate under his hand. "Something's wrong. The engine won't shut down."
"Half the ship has been blown away, I'm surprised anything is still working," said Toran.
"The Daraians made this ship," said Austin. "This model is a mule. It can take a lot of damage."
“Okay, you tried, come back inside,” said Wes. “We’ll think of something else.”
"I have an idea. There's another panel on the side of the hull. I think it's an engine release."
"Can you jettison the engine at FTL?” asked Toran.
"You can on a Dart ship. I'm guessing a transport is the same," replied Austin.
"Will the other engine shut down too?" asked Colt.
"No, but the FTL envelope will fall out of balance and the field will collapse." Austin positioned himself over the release panel and opened it. This handle was different; it had to be twisted several times. He grabbed the handle.
"I'm ready guys," said Austin.
"Austin, wait," said Colt.
Colt stood at the port window trying to see Austin outside against the hull, but the angle wouldn't allow it.
"Colt, it's okay, you made the right decision," said Austin. "I'm the only one that would have known where to look for this access panel."
"There has to be another way," cried Wes. "This isn't right, we can’t do t
his."
"I love you guys, Goodbye."
Austin positioned his feet against the hull for leverage and pulled the handle, then twisted it to the right three times. The engine didn't detach. The ship vibrated slightly as the FTL envelope collapsed. The first traces of super-heated dust particles shot past.
"What did I do wrong?"
The orange glow of the engine began to fade. Austin watched the engine cool.
"Of course! The engine had to shut down before it could jettison. Oh my gosh, I didn't know that. I did have time to get back inside, but it’s too late now."
He pushed off with his legs, grabbed the edge of the engine, and flipped himself inside the engine housing. The engine clamps released, and a small explosion pushed the massive engine away from the ship. The engine hit normal space as he pushed his back against the curved interior wall of the housing and braced with his feet. He pushed as hard as he could to hold himself in place. Dust particles streamed past the engine. The engine was protecting him from the deadly shower of dust.
The engine tumbled, and the open end of the engine housing became partially exposed to the barrage of particles. He scrambled to rotate himself to the opposite wall for protection.
"Hey guys," Austin tried calling out. "Can you hear me?"
He glanced at the place on the arm of his suit where the radio was supposed to be. The radio was gone. A dust particle must have hit and ripped the radio away.
The tracer shower of dust particles slowed and finally stopped. Austin didn't dare stick his head out to look around. Just because he couldn't see the burning streaks anymore didn't mean they weren't there.
"I'll slow down in a couple of centuries, the impacts are still hitting the engine and slowly bleeding off speed, but what do I do now?”
There wasn’t much room on the eighteen-inch ledge around the inside of the engine housing. He twisted around the best he could to see inside the engine. A wire grill covered the engine’s interior. He ran his hand along the slightly curved housing cover.
"This covers the engine interior. If I can get this off I can crawl into the engine, it would be safer in there."
The cover he was looking at was the access to where the crew would crawl in during ground maintenance to access the engine interior. He pulled the covering loose and wiggled into the small space.
"Okay... Inventory... Check my supplies."
He checked the suit read-outs and the pockets. There were three days of oxygen in the suit, and thirty more oxygen pellets stored in one pocket.
"So I'm good for ninety days. One of these storage pockets must have protein pills, but what about water?"
He looked at the straw inside his helmet.
"Oh, Yeah, I am the water... gross... I won't think about what water I'm drinking."
He rolled over onto his back to be more comfortable.
"I'll be safe here for a while."
He turned his head and saw the transport ship. The engine was matching inertia with the transport.
"I'm here, I'm here, come back. Please come back, I'm right here."
The stress was too much for his mind, and he lay his head down and fell asleep. He dreamed he was back home on Corvus in his kitchen, and his mother was making lunch. She laid the sandwich in front of him. The crust was cut off the way he liked. His mother walked to the door of their small apartment and opened the door—there was nothing beyond the door but blackness.
"No, don't go out there, you'll die."
Austin started awake, his eyes burned. Something was wrong. He was so cold. He lifted his arm and looked at the oxygen panel on his arm. The indicator was red. He had used all his oxygen.
"Air...I need air."
He pulled out another oxygen pellet and dropped it into the oxygen feed. The air warmed and he felt better.
"Three months, I'm going to lay here dying for three months. Ancestors, help me."
He reached for his helmet release, it would be so easy, just remove the helmet and it would be over. He started to pull at the helmet latch.
"Are you certain you want to do that, son," said a voice.
He bent his head and looked up. A man knelt outside the front of the engine looking in through the exhaust vents. The man was a Gunslinger, dressed as the ancient Gunslingers once dressed hundreds of years ago. The Gunslinger was smiling at him.
"Your brothers need you, young Gunslinger," said the man.
"I'm not a Gunslinger," said Austin. "I'm a Merit."
"Is that so?" answered the ancient Gunslinger.
"I was almost a Gunslinger, once," said Austin. "But, I failed."
"Well then, if this trail is too difficult for you, I'll leave you be," said the ancient Gunslinger, standing and starting to walk away.
"Wait, don't leave me here," pleaded Austin. "The trail isn't too hard, but I'm scared, and I'm alone. I need my brothers."
"Look," said the ancient Gunslinger, holding his arm out.
Austin looked where the ancient Gunslinger was pointing. Another ship was next to the damaged transport ship. It was a Raider ship. The Raiders that had attacked must have caught up with the damaged transport ship.
"Say my name," demanded the ancient Gunslinger.
Austin didn't know why he said what he said, but he answered the man.
"Jon Black," said Austin.
"I will permit you to help your brothers one last time," said Jon Black. “Close your eyes now, and stay quiet. You will know when it's time to come out."
Austin closed his eyes and waited. He had almost fallen asleep again when the engine shuttered, something had grabbed the engine and was pulling it. Austin couldn't resist the temptation and opened his eyes and peeked out the exhaust vents; a crane was pulling the engine into the Raider ship.
"Of course, the Raiders came to collect the salvage. This engine would be valuable on the black market."
The crane set the engine down in a cargo bay. Austin could hear someone talking.
"This'll bring a pretty nickel," said a voice.
"This ain't nuthin," said another. "Those boys we got trussed up is the real treasure."
"Got that right," the first man said. "That little one is a purty one. We'll get top price for that little snippet."
"The big one will fetch a price on a mining colony," said a female voice. "I know some that will pay good for a big muscled boy like that."
"What the Captain gonna do with the mean one?" asked one of the men."
"That one gonna go to the fight rings," answered the woman.
"And the fish?” asked the man.
"Ah, it ain't worth spit," said a man. "Captain will just sell it for a delicacy, it'll end up on someone's table."
"They don't know I'm in here."
"Come on, get this tied down, there more salvage to get picked up," ordered another voice.
Austin waited until he didn't hear the Raiders anymore. He slowly sat up and peeked out into the cargo bay. An older Dart ship sat in a corner of the bay among stacks of old ship parts. He unfastened his helmet and quickly refastened it. The air in the bay was foul and smelled like grease, rotted food, and death. The Raiders obviously didn't take very good care of the carbon scrubbers.
He carefully wiggled out of the engine compartment and drew his gun from the holster slung around his chest and shoulders. Austin smiled, he felt like a real Gunslinger dressed in the spacesuit. The Gunslingers were originally called Gun Slingers, because of the way they had to wear their guns for easy retrieval while in space. Many people thought the Gunslingers were born of the cowboy era, but that wasn't true. It was the age of common space travel that had given birth to Gun Slingers. Austin shook his head; he needed to concentrate.
They were probably at the edge of the solar system. The Ava Rom had been two hours from the planet, and then another fifteen or twenty minutes at FTL. The Marshal must know something was wrong and would be looking by now. But, he wouldn’t know where to look. Austin scanned the cargo bay. There were several doors,
and he decided one was as good as the next. He ran to one door and heard voices coming towards him.
"Okay, maybe a different door would be better."
He turned and headed along the wall to another door and tried that one, the corridor beyond was empty. He jumped through the hatch and closed the door behind him. Austin grinned.
"Now this is what I needed!"
The corridor was lined with spacesuits hanging on hooks. Austin grabbed the arm of one of the suits and pushed back a small panel covered by the fabric—the emergency beacon. His beacon was damaged, but this would work. He ran along the corridor pulling the emergency beacon on every suit. Now he needed to find somewhere else to be. If the flight crew was monitoring their controls, they would see the emergency beacons. It would only take a few seconds for them to realize they were coming from their own ship.
The end of the corridor had two hatches, and he kept to the right. He knew what he was looking for next. The ship was probably similar to any other cargo ship, and shouldn’t be too hard to find. He didn't have hands-on experience with cargo ships, but he had watched enough movies.
"My plan is based on movies, this is awesome."
Austin followed the corridor to a ladder. He could hear footsteps running behind him, and jumped on the ladder, slid down, and found himself in one of the engine rooms.
"This is working out nicely."
He grabbed a wrench and looked around for anything that looked vulnerable. A panel of fuses looked like a good candidate, and he started smashing the fuses with the wrench. He didn't notice any apparent changes to the ship, but then, they weren't moving, and all he was trying to do was make sure it stayed that way.
"Hey you, what are you doing?" yelled a voice.
Austin looked up at the man. The man recoiled back in terror. Austin didn't hesitate and shot the man in the chest.
"Time to be somewhere else."
Austin jumped over the man's body and climbed back up the ladder. He could hear the sound of voices yelling and moving his direction. He ran down to the end of the corridor, jumped through a narrow hatch, and stopped. He pushed the hatch until it was almost shut then drew his gun and fired several times at the center of the opposite wall.