Operation Omina

by Roland Starr

  “I’ll be back to speak to you again shortly, Dalus,” Vonner said. He was breathing heavily as he sat down at the control panel, and he cut in the general address communicator, knowing that when he spoke his voice would be heard in every part of the ship. He kept his stun-gun handy as he watched the guard returning slowly to consciousness. “This is Captain Vonner speaking,” he said deliberately. “All crewmen will report to their emergency stations and stand by. Officers will report to the flight control room as soon as possible. Colonel Curran, the present state of emergency is over. I have resumed control of the ship. Report to the flight control room immediately.”

  He sighed heavily as he switched off. With the crew standing at their emergency stations, it would be easy to check them. A roll call and general inspection would indicate if the mutiny was really at an end. He opened a line to the sick bay and heard Adah Morley’s voice in his ear.

  “I heard your general message, Max,” she said. “Is everything all right now?”

  “I hope so,” he replied. “It was a bit tight, but I think I am back in control. I shall want to see you again very soon. I shall hold an inquiry into the mutiny, and we’ll have to take steps to see that the brainwasher cannot be sabotaged.”

  “The nurse responsible for that is under arrest as of this moment,” Adah told him. “You’ll want Bardo reprocessed, won’t you?”

  “As soon as I can get him down to the sick bay. But what effect will all this have upon him? Just before I stunned him, he seemed in the last stages of space madness.”

  “That is what I’m afraid of,” she admitted. “He processed himself with half a dozen cassettes. I think he must have overloaded his mind. There are limits to what the brain can take, and this is the reason there are so many men aboard the ship. If it had been possible to pattern one man with the duties of the entire crew, then there would be only one man aboard. Bardo ought to have thought of that himself. But send him down as soon as you can, and I’ll see that he gets treated.”

  “Thank you, Adah.” Vonner smiled, and some of the tension seeped away.

  “You’d better forget what I told you about being in love with me,” she retorted. “Call me Doc again, won’t you?”

  “Only in front of the men. You’ll have to call me ‘Captain.’ But I like the sound of my name on your lips.”

  “Max!” She spoke almost shyly, and he laughed. “It’s so good to know that you do love me, and that you know it. But you ought to be processed again to erase it. You have your ship to think of.”

  “And I’ve got a lot to do.” He realized the true situation and stiffened a little. “I’ve been processed too many times today,” he said. “I’m carrying out my duties as before, but I’ve got one extra bit of knowledge. I know I’m a man and you’re a woman and that we’re in love. I know what kissing is. You’re not going to take that away from me now, Adah.”

  He broke off as the inspection tunnel doorway suddenly opened and Philo Curran entered the control room at the head of half a dozen men. The big security chief was grinning hugely as he came across to stare at Vonner. Then he looked down at the unconscious Bardo and signaled to two of his men to pick up the man.

  “I’ll be seeing you later, Doc,” Vonner said into the communicator, and closed the line. He grinned at Curran. “Get Bardo down to the sick bay, Philo, and that guard with him. Tell the doc to get to work on them. Leave a strong guard there. I don’t want Bardo getting free again, even if he is reprocessed half a dozen times. Then go around the ship and check up on the entire crew. Emergency alert will exist until the present situation is ended. Takeover, Philo, and do a good job.”

  “You’ll never have to worry about the security of the ship again, Captain,” Curran promised, and escorted his guard out with Bardo and the sentry.

  Vonner watched them go, relief swelling in his chest. But the trouble was far from being at an end. Bardo had changed the ship’s course, and there was still the business of the man’s fears for the ship to be investigated. Max switched on the general address communicator and called for an immediate conference of officers.

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  Vonner looked at the taut faces of the officers assembled before him in the control room. Aaron Marr was looking particularly worried, and Vonner was half afraid to ask his astrogator what was bothering him. Howie Farrell, too, was nervous and tense. Only Dalus Way land looked happy, and that was because his massive engines were still continuing in their usual way. Vonner described the situation as he had gleaned it from Bardo, and then proceeded to question the men.

  “The most important thing at this time is the main drive,” he said, his eyes singling out Wayland’s face. “Have you adjusted the alterations that Bardo carried out, Dalus?”

  “All taken care of, Captain.” Wayland smiled thinly. “It was touch and go, but a miss is as good as a mile, and I’ve been over all the circuits with a detector and can report with confidence that everything in my department is back to normal.”

  “That’s more than I can say,” Aaron Marr commented thinly.

  “I’m coming to you now, Aaron.” Vonner nodded slowly. “I know you’ve got a load of grief for us. Tell us the exact position, and what steps you’re taking to revert the situation to normal.”

  “I’ve got my men checking the computers, Captain. They’re in a mess. Bardo altered the programs, and I shall have to take them all down to see if they correspond with the data sheets. It’s going to take me a long, long time. But my work of redesigning the patterns depends upon the information Howie got in that last emergency signal. If it was a course change, then it will complicate matters still further.” Marr shook his head gravely, for only he knew the exact position, and he didn’t like the picture he was getting.

  “What about it, Howie?” Vonner demanded. He regarded the communications man as he awaited a reply.

  “It was a course change, Captain,” Farrell reported, “and it called for a five-minute directional boost. Activation time was four hours ago.” He glanced down at his watch and nodded seriously. “Four hours and twenty minutes,” he amended.

  “You can feed the data into your computer and add the time lag,” Vonner said. “That will give you a new sequence. If Marr can put the computers straight, then we should have very little trouble.”

  “May I come in here, Captain?” Quillon Reid demanded. He had been sitting quietly at the far end of the table. Now he leaned forward and stared at each face in turn before letting his whole attention center upon the captain.

  “What’s on your mind, Quill?” Vonner demanded. “Have you anything to say about this particular situation as it affects our astrogation?”

  “It might touch indirectly upon it, Captain,” the chief scientist said patiently. “To put matters right, you’ve got to understand what Bardo was trying to do.”

  “I know what he was trying to do.” It was Vonner’s turn to show patience. “He was scared by some calculations he had made, and he thought we had no chance of pulling out of Omina’s orbit after we went in. But I found he contradicted himself. He went on to say that he feared we wouldn’t go into orbit, that we would find the gravitational pull too great and would burn up in the atmosphere. I’m inclined to believe that Bardo was suffering mind sickness at the time. None of the readings so far has given any indication there’s that kind of trouble awaiting us.”

  “Bardo talked to me a lot in the time that he held control of the ship,” Reid went on. “He was sincere in his convictions, although I must agree with you, Captain, that he wasn’t very rational at times. I think he was motivated by sickness-space madness — and he was only concerned with heading the ship back to Earth. An analysis of what he said points to that. He processed himself with the cassettes of every officer present, and overloaded his mind to such an extent that his real fears and the fancied ones could not be separated.”

  “What’s the point, Quillon?” Aaron Marr demanded.

  “The point is: whatever Bardo did to the c
omputers was with the intention of turning the ship around.” Reid grimaced as he stared at the men about him. “Perhaps it might help you to know what to look for in the way of changes in the patterns.”

  “There is a simpler way of finding out what we want to know,” Wayland said. “The men are working on it right now. They’re having to go to the memory banks of the computers and retrace everything to the time when Bardo took over the ship. All input data will be recorded, and it will be a matter of checking item by item.”

  “How long is that going to take?” Vonner demanded.

  “Too long,” Farrell cut in. “I suggest you cut the engines, Captain, until we have this matter under control. We must be many millions of miles off course now, and each minute is adding to the problem.”

  “If we cut speed, we’re going to create some new problems,” Marr said.

  “But of a lesser degree, surely,” Vonner interjected.

  “I agree with that,” Reid remarked. “The fact that we’ll arrive in orbit late does not matter as much as arriving in the correct place.”

  “Well, let’s see what we have.” Vonner straightened his back. “We’re heading in the wrong direction at this moment, and there’s no way of setting up a correction course until the alterations that Bardo made to the computers have been erased. How long is it going to take you to check, Aaron?”

  “Two hours,” the astrogator replied without hesitation. “Perhaps a little longer.”

  “Then I suggest we cut the main drive until we’ve thrashed this out. What do you say, Chief?”

  “Okay, if it will help!” Wayland glanced around the table. “Anyone have anything to add?” He paused, but there was no reply. Then he looked at Vonner. “If you’ll record the order, I’ll attend to it right away, Skipper.”

  “I’ll do that.” Vonner got to his feet, his movement indicating that the conference was over. He faced Marr. “I shall expect reports as soon as you’re in a position to make them, Aaron.”

  “I’ll keep on the ball, Captain,” the astrogator replied.

  “Before you break up this talk — ” it was Reid again, and the scientist was troubled — “I must report that Bardo said among other things, that he had taken steps to stop the command from being wrested from him, but that in the event of it happening, he had carried out certain measures to insure that the ship would not reach Omina.”

  “Did he give any indication of what he meant?” Vonner demanded.

  “No. He said so many things that I had to concentrate upon the more important. But I have a feeling that he’s booby-trapped some of the controls, and when they’re used we’ll find more trouble in our laps.”

  “He did a neat job with that remote-control detonator,” Wayland said. “If I hadn’t taken the teeth out of it before you jumped him, Skipper, we would have had to push the ship the rest of the way. You’ve got Bardo in a safe place now, haven’t you?”

  “He’s being well taken care of,” Vonner said, nodding. “But we can’t pass this threat off lightly. I’ve got to insist upon a thorough check being made on every piece of equipment in the ship. We can limit the essential area of the search by concentrating upon the sequences necessary for swinging into orbit. Dalus, that’s up to you. But before you get moving, just answer me one question. Is it possible that Bardo rigged up something that can’t be traced?”

  “Not if I have the time to carry out a complete check with the micro-detectors,” the chief engineer replied briskly. “But when I say time, I really mean time. It can’t be done in a few minutes, or even a few hours. We can risk cutting the main drive, and that should give us a respite. But I’ll need to be very thorough about everything else.”

  “Well, get to it and see what you can do,” Vonner ordered. “It has to be done, and as efficiently as possible. I’m relying on you to get us into Omina orbit in one piece.”

  They began to get up from the table, and Vonner watched them depart. He called to Reid before the scientist left the room: “Quill, I need a moment of your time.”

  Reid came back to him, grave of face and deliberate of manner. At forty, he was one of the oldest men aboard, and for two years he had been recording and interpreting the data received about Omina. He knew more about what was awaiting them than any other two men, and Vonner wanted reassurance.

  “Sit down, Quill. This is just as important as what has gone before. What readings are you getting now? Do they confirm all the hopes you had earlier?”

  “I’m quite certain that we’ll find an atmosphere comparable to Earth, Captain, and there is evidence of vegetation and animal presence. We are still a long way off, and in a couple of days I’ll really be able to tell you something. But at this moment I’m quite confident that nothing will go wrong. Bardo was out of his mind with his fears. I would stake my reputation on that.”

  “Thanks, Quill. I know I can rely upon your judgment. That will be all for now.”

  The scientist departed, and Vonner got to his feet and began to pace the floor. He looked at the forward scanner screen and saw that the picture of Omina now clung to the extreme edge of the screen, showing that they were seriously off course.

  The communicator was activated, and he turned toward the controls, opening the line. Dalus Wayland spoke to him.

  “I’m ready to cut the main drive, Captain, if you’d care to record the order,” the chief engineer said.

  “Is there any danger that Bardo interfered with this phase of the engines, Dalus?” Vonner could not prevent an edge of fear from coming into his mind.

  “I don’t think he would have picked the main drive. He would need that to get out of here,” Way land retorted.

  “But we’d have to cut the main drive to come into orbit,” Vonner protested.

  “Well, we’ve got to take a chance, Skipper. If you want to cut our speed, I’ll have to kill the main drive.”

  “Okay.” Vonner was aware that sweat beaded his forehead. “I’ll record the order now, and we’d better stand by for trouble, just in case.”

  “If the main drive is booby-trapped, then it won’t matter about anything. We’ll be the brightest star in the sky for a couple of seconds.” Wayland laughed boisterously, and Vonner wondered where the man got his nerve.

  “Stand by, Dalus,” he said. “Your order will be coming through now.” He turned to the control computer and fed in the necessary information. There was a tightening in his chest as anticipation grabbed him, and he waited out the seconds until the order was put into operation. There would be no perceptible change unless the main drive had been tampered with, and only the dials on his console would show that the engines had been cut. Red lights glowed and buzzers operated.

  Nothing else happened, and after a minute he began to relax. Then Wayland came through on the communicator again, and there was relief in the man’s tone.

  “Seems to be okay, Captain. Anything else now.”

  “That’ll be more than enough for now, Dalus,” he retorted. “I’ll be in touch with you later.”

  Wayland laughed and closed the line, and Vonner sighed heavily and wiped his forehead. Now there were other things to do, and it was essential that he make a round of the ship himself, to show himself to the crew and to see what had been done in the way of returning everything to normal. He also wanted to see Adah Morley and to check upon Ed Bardo.

  Vonner was replaced by the duty officer and started his rounds. He met with Philo Curran, and the security chief reported that the situation was completely under control. The crew was one hundred percent behind them again. The brainwasher had been busy, and Ed Bardo had been processed and was sleeping in the security ward. Curran grinned tautly as he studied Vonner’s face.

  “It’s been quite an exercise, Captain,” he said. “Your report is going to raise a few eyebrows back on Earth. What I’d like to know is what really started this off.”

  “I don’t know that myself yet, Philo. As soon as this emergency is over, I shall hold an inquiry. I want to kno
w how he could get the superintendent of nurses enough interested in him to induce her to sabotage the brainwasher.”

  “I’d like to hear his story, Captain.” Curran laughed and shook his head. “But we seem to be out of the woods now.”

  “I’m not too sure of that.” Vonner shook his head. “We’ve traveled too far since that emergency signal came through, and I’ve recently learned that Bardo might have sabotaged some of the machinery aboard to prevent us from getting into orbit around Omina. Wayland is checking everything. We’ve stopped the main drive, but we can’t lose much velocity, and I daren’t throw the reverse drive switch.”

  “It’s still a bit tense, then.” Curran shook his head. “Bardo certainly had things worked out his way, didn’t he?”

  “I don’t think I shall reinstate him even if he has a complete recovery,” Vonner said. “What do you make of Lieutenant Hanton?”

  “A good steady man, Captain.”

  “And what about Bardo? Do we keep him penned up until we return to Earth?”

  “I don’t know. Let me sleep on that one, Philo.”

  Curran nodded and went on his way, and Vonner walked slowly along the main corridor until he reached the sickbay. He paused at the door of the doctor’s room, and his face lost some of its hard expression as he thought of the woman.

  Adah Morley was in her office working over her reports when Vonner stuck his head around the door. She smiled eagerly when she saw him and got to her feet, her movements quick and cat-like. Vonner watched her with interest, aware now of her tall, slender figure and the beauty of her face.

  “Captain, I’m glad to see you,” the woman said softly. “Have you everything under control now?”

  “Yes, Adah, and no small thanks to you for your part in it.”

  “I was only doing my duty, Captain,” she murmured.

  “Call me Max,” he commanded. “It sounds so wonderful coming from you.”

  “But we’re both on duty, Captain,” she pointed out. “Have you come to take another dose of processing? You’re not quite adjusted to your duty cassette.”