Battle On The Marathon

by John Thornton

  With the line that Dietermeyer had connected, we all journeyed across and got onto the outside of the Raven. Looking back, I saw the Jellie ship’s outer hull was far more irregular than I had expected. It was still glowing that irritating purple light, but now it was blotchy and misshapen. Some part of the hull were thirty or forty meters recessed down from other places which jutted outward. I guess I expected it to be a more conventional and smoother surface, like the Jellie’s carapaces were.

  We opened the side hatch, after using the onboard air compressors to remove the atmosphere from the cabin and store it in the compression tanks which ran under the floor. Once inside, I floated over and strapped myself down in the pilot’s seat. The sixteen others seats were arranged in four rows of four seats each with a central aisle. Wanagi took the copilot’s seat. I reviewed the Raven’s systems, and most areas were listed as marginal under their operations status. “Gravity Manipulation” was listed in red as dysfunctional, as was “Atmospheric Aerodynamics.” A red warning light was flashing which read, “Report to Machine Maintenance Immediately.” Thruster fuel levels were at thirty-eight percent. I thumbed the controls and the interior lighting came on, and the atmosphere refilled the cabin. Checking the life support readings again, and linking our communications into the Raven’s systems, I called to my team, “You can open up your armor inside here. An air exchange might do us all good.”

  “Nothing like smelling each other on a mission, right Sergeant?” Dietermeyer joked.

  “I can smell you even with my combat armor on,” Wanagi replied. Her voice had deadly serious tones, but I knew she was teasing him.

  The air was stale, but breathable, and it was good to be out of the helmet for a bit. The displays on the cockpit were showing our position, the Jellie ship’s position, and the Marathon.

  “Jorgenson? Can you still hear me?” I asked.

  “Yes, Sergeant. I have you covered. I see no Jellies anywhere, but if I do I will try to keep them off of you.”

  I checked and the others were already secured in seats, so I said, “MC223, plot me a safe, but fast course to Q-93. This screen shows a lot of debris floating around the Marathon.”

  “Plotting,” MC223 replied. “Course on your display. I agree, the debris concentration around Chicago is less than idea. IAM Lenore has not been able to engage repulsors, or microparticle turrets. Those were some of the first systems destroyed by the initial Jellie landing on the Marathon.”

  “When was that?” Lawrence asked. “No one ever told me.”

  The AI hesitated for just a moment. “You have all been cleared by IAM Lenore for full access clearance. The Jellies exact arrival date is unknown, but the microparticle turrets and repulsors have had significant problems on the exterior of Foreigner’s hull beginning forty-seven years ago.”

  We all sat in stunned silence.

  “So, the Jellies have been here many decades?” I asked.

  “The presence of the Jellie deep-space research vessel was not confirmed until twelve years ago, but it is accurate to….”

  “Research vessel?” Dietermeyer asked in puzzlement. “That thing is a warship, not a science vessel. We have been in battle against alien warriors, not scientists.”

  “I heard it called a research vessel before,” I added. “That did not strike me then, but you are right. We have been fighting battles against military forces.”

  MC223 answered, “The best evidence supports the classification of the Jellie spacecraft as a deep-space research vessel, not a warship. Had it been a warship, the Marathon could easily have been destroyed without the Jellies ever revealing their presence.”

  “It does not matter now,” I said, but in my heart I was troubled. If this was a research vessel, and they knew about Earth’s location, from that Dome 17 probe, then had they already sent military forces to Earth? I pushed out those thoughts and focused on what needed to be done in the immediate future. “We agree the Jellies are enemies, and we will kill them, but first we rescue those sleepers.”

  I locked onto the course which was plotted, and watched as the Raven maneuvered along. The inertia suppression system in the Raven was working, but that only dampened the sensations, and did not eliminate them. Even with the added help from our combat armor, it was a bumpy and jerky ride as we moved toward Chicago and Pod 4.

  As we flew toward Chicago, I set the Raven’s scanner to look for signs of energy use, hoping that I could spot a pocket of survivors. I knew the readings had said few people were alive, but I still hoped to find some of my friends from the militia. They were smart and skilled, and some of them had to still be alive somewhere. Yet, I saw that many parts of the Marathon were registering as dark regarding energy use. A shadowy blue-gray had settled over much of the needle ship, at least via the analysis shown on the displays. I knew that meant those sections were without life-support, atmosphere, gravity manipulation, or even the ship’s main energy flows. Like a medical scan of a recently deceased person, the readings I was getting on the parts of the Marathon we flew over were showing it too was dead, or about to die.

  “MC223, what is the quickest way to disengage that repository?” Lawrence asked. “I sure do not want to get caught over here with just the four of us.”

  “Every available engineering automacubes has been dispatched, but none of them arrived at Q-93,” the AI responded. “None of those are active anymore. None are linked into any system. I conjecture that they have been destroyed by the Jellies. Without engineering automacube support, the fastest way to disconnect the repository is by severing the locking bolts at these locations.” A diagram appeared on the screen. “Those locations have been transmitted to your combat armor. The locking bolts can be severed by vibration saws. The main energy cables can then be unplugged and separated. After that, Q-93 will again be on its own internal reactor power. That tertiary system is designed to supply more than enough power for all 10,000 cocoons of the repository.”

  “That solves the combat suit energy issue I worried about,” Wanagi said. “We should be able to tap into that suspended animation repository’s reactor to recharge our suits.”

  “Dietermeyer, you and Wanagi will go and cut those locking bolts as quickly as possible. Then get inside the repository. There are two airlocks at the rear of Q-93. Check it for aliens! Do not let any of those Jellies inside. Lawrence, you will need to find as much food, medical supplies, and anything else you can think we will need to make that Jellie ship serviceable for our own needs.”

  “I will need to get in via an external repair station,” Lawrence said. “The plans show there is one about two hundred meters from where you will be docking the Raven. I can get there, and then use one of the side umbilicus egress points to move whatever I can find. Leave that passageway open as long as you can.”

  “Excellent! I will make sure the shuttle is secure to the repository, and ready to move out.”

  “You are on your own now,” Jorgenson communicated. “You are out of my line of sight. Good luck!”

  “Just do not shoot us when we come back. We will be towing a bunch of sleepers!” Dietermeyer reminded her.

  “Lucky them. Will you tell them about it when they wake up?” Jorgenson joked back. “That will be a shocker for them, for sure!”

  I had not really thought much about when those sleepers would awaken, or where. Just another series of questions I shoved off into an unanswered file in my mind.

  As we flew closer to Chicago, I was pleased to see that initial energy readings were coming from the proximal end of that habitat. We did a flyover of Q-93 and it was lit up on the displays in every area. It was functioning, but not too far beyond it, the distal end of the Chicago habitat was sputtering and on the display whole sections of it were winking out.

  I maneuvered the shuttle as close as I could to the end of repository Q-93, and saw where the previous shuttle had docked to it. The Raven was a Class 5 shuttle and far smaller than the one which had been used to initially move the reposi
tory. I thought of Kulm and how he would be doing the mathematical calculations on mass and power ratios. I just looked to see where the docking clamps would fit.

  I hovered near the docking area. “MC223, use all available means to scan this repository. Are there any Jellies present?”

  The artificial intelligence system responded, “No evidence of Jellie presence in Q-93. All its systems are still functional on tertiary settings. It is in virtually the same condition as when docked here.”

  “Excellent. Then we will rescue it. Keep scanning for any signs of the Jellies!” I then fired the thrusters to settle the Raven onto the attachment clamps. Only one of them locked into place.

  “Suits on. I will depressurize the cabin, then we all head out. Call out as you cut each bolt. Before we cut the last bolt, I want Lawrence back inside,” I ordered. “Work fast. We have no idea how close the Jellies are, or how long this habitat will stay intact.”

  “MC223, do you have an access code for that external repair station?” Lawrence asked. I listened briefly as the code was given, but trusted Lawrence to find what was needed.

  We secured our helmets, and depressurized the cabin. Then the soldiers headed out. Using their magnetic boots, they hopped across the surface of the repository, and went about their tasks. I considered suggesting tether lines, but then figured if they needed one, they could attach it themselves. I was not their mother, and it was no one’s first mission.

  I set about securing the docking clamps from the Raven to Q-93. On the Class 5 shuttle the docking clamps were a cohesive part of the landing skids. The left side one had connected properly into the attachment anchor on Q-93. The permalloy buckles had meshed and meshed together. However, Q-93 had been modified to be towed by a larger shuttle, and that meant the other anchors were not in alignment. In fact, the Raven had only two clamps, but the repository had three places where the previous shuttle had attached. Opening a storage compartment in the side of the Raven, I checked for some mechanism to make the modification.

  “First locking bolt cut!” Dietermeyer called out. “There are accommodation ladders to get to these. Should be easy on this side.”

  “Second is severed!” Wanagi called out. “This side is fairly clear. Some debris has crashed here, but I should be able to clear it out. No sign of Jellies.”

  The storage compartment did not have anything that would help me make the connections. Having only one third of the clamps in place was worrisome to me. Not because of weight, but rather because of the movement of the repository’s mass. Pressure forces and inertia could be overcome, but if the repository would become unattached during flight, I feared it would never be recovered.

  “MC223, how do I secure the second and third docking clamps? The alignment with the cleats is off!”

  “There are hawser lines just off of Pod 4 near the bollards,” MC223 instructed. “Those could serve as attachments. They are of braided graphene fibers and while only about thirty percent as strong as the permalloy of the docking clamps, I conjecture they will decrease the risk of disconnection.” A schematic appeared in my helmet display.

  I got to my feet, with the magnetic boots securing me in place. Bounding along, I made it to the edge of where the repository met the reconstructed hanger bay which was now Pod 4. The huge external doors of the hanger bay had been retracted, and indeed the bollards were there. My mind told me that those large columns were to have one day been vertical when the habitat made planetfall and the hawsers would be used for anything needing a strong cable to be secured to the exterior hull. The image of a sailing ship on an ocean came into my mind, sort-of a mixture of so many of the stories Mister Fisher had us read. Then I began to cry, as I realized that Chicago, and all of the Marathon would never make planetfall, and these hawsers and bollards would soon just be junk floating in space. Shaking my head, I activated the coiled hawser and the graphene cable unrolled easily. The Marathon’s energy still flowed into those winches.

  “MC223? How much line will I need?”

  “You have extracted a sufficient quantity,” the AI replied. “Your vibration saw will easily cut the graphene cable near the winch. Then bring it back to the Raven for attachment.”

  My right glove’s vibration saw did cut through the hawser and I then returned to the nearest cleat. In the meanwhile, Dietermeyer and Wanagi had informed me that they had cut through several more of the locking bolts.

  Taking the length of graphene cable, I set it against the Raven’s skid and then hit the manual clamp for that skid. The clamp bit down onto the graphene cable and secured it. I then wrapped the long end around and made a proper knot. When force was applied, that knot would just pull into itself and tighten. Taking the other end, I passed it down and around the second anchor cleat, and hit the switch for that clamp to close. It was not a tight fit, but the coil I made would not slip loose from that clamp. At the third anchor cleat I made a knot similar to the one on the Raven’s skid. There was not a way to tighten it all up, but the single official docking clamp now had a backup system to keep the Raven secured to Q-93.

  “Ready to cut the last locking bolt!” Wanagi called out. “Is Lawrence finished?”

  “I just passed into the repository through that umbilicus with the last load of supplies. Sergeant, I raided every ESRC close by and got us all several weeks’ worth of suspended animation food, a substantial amount of medical supplies, and found a permalloy sprayer and three tanks of liquid permalloy. Oh, there were four unused suspended animation cocoons in a locker just outside here, past a GAGS. I brought them into the repository as well. I grabbed everything I could find. Spare parts are essential, right?”

  “Right!” I replied. “Dietermeyer, get inside the repository. Wanagi, cut that bolt and get yourself inside as well. Then, I will haul Q-93 away.”

  “Right Skipper!” Dietermeyer called back to me.

  “Bolt will be sheared in five, four, three, two, one!” Wanagi called, her voice triumphant. “Heading to the airlock now.”

  I climbed quickly inside the Raven, and shut the hatch. Strapping myself into the pilot’s seat, I said, “MC223, confirm we are detached. Show me the status of the airlocks, and the position of my people.”

  The display showed the rectangular deck plans for the repository, with three glowing blue dots indicating where the soldiers were. Lawrence was inside the repository, Dietermeyer was inside the airlock and it was cycling. Wanagi was heading toward the other airlock.

  “Sergeant Kalju! I just reached the airlock, and the controls here have been crushed. They show active power, but no way to access the controls. The control pad’s interface is really messed up.”

  I looked at the display and saw it would take her a few minutes to hustle over to the other airlock.

  “MC223, cycle that airlock for Wanagi.”

  “The airlock is cycling,” MC223 replied.

  “No, it is not!” Wanagi stated. “The colors are flashing, but the lock is not working.”

  “The exterior door of the airlock is open,” MC223 stated.

  “Sergeant! It is not open! MC223, it is not open! The door is still sealed. The colors are just flashing on the controls, but the door did not open.”

  “Wanagi, get to the other airlock!” I ordered.

  “Heading there now.”

  “Proximity alert!” MC223 announced. “Jellies approaching from outside of the Chicago hull.”

  Another display turned on and showed a panoramic view of that location. The Jellies were marked in purple dots, and a swarm of them were indeed heading toward us.

  “I have my airlock open and waiting!” Dietermeyer called out. “Hurry Wanagi!”

  From the pace she was making, I saw that the Jellies would be upon us quicker than she would make it to the airlock.

  “Wanagi, anchor yourself to the hull somewhere right now. I am moving this repository out of here!”

  “Magnetics locked, physically secured! Get us out of here!” Wanagi replied.

&
nbsp; MC223 showed me a visual display of Wanagi’s position. She was wedged into a crevasse between several large ducts and struts. She was facing outward. My readouts showed her magnetic boots were on maximum, and she looked about as secure as I could hope.

  I hit the thrusters with a tap.

  A vibration shuddered through the Raven, and that was translated by my combat armor as some weird groaning sound. The cockpit displays showed that the repository was moving out from Pod 4.

  “Wanagi? Are you in place?” I asked.

  “Yes, Sergeant! There is a lot of debris being cast off of the repository as we are moving. Nothing big enough to do damage, but lots of space junk floating about out here.”

  “Sergeant Kalju? I swept the interior of the repository, and no signs of Jellies. We are in the clear!” Lawrence added.