The Voyage Home

by D. J. Holmes

  Draxler’s look of delight vanished as the helmet ascended almost as quickly as it had descended. “What?” he asked as he spun round and pointed his blaster at Sarah.

  Sarah raised her arms out at chest height. “I don’t know,” she said. “I guess the helmet can’t interface with Divar. Maybe it was trying to interface with you and that’s why it took longer.”

  Draxler seem to be satisfied with her explanation for he holstered his blaster. “Get up,” he said to Divar. Then he reached for his COM unit and thumbed it into action. “I want everyone to finish searching the ship and then get to the bridge. I have a task for you.”

  *

  An hour later the bridge was filled with Draxler’s crew. One by one he had made them sit in the pilot’s chair. Each time Sarah had ordered Alexandra to lower the interface helmet onto them for several seconds and then raise it again. Draxler obviously wanted to see if any other members of his crew could interface with the ship’s command computer.

  As the number of pirates who were not able to fly the ship grew, Draxler put them to use trying to figure out how the other command consoles on the bridge worked. Only the pilot’s chair had an interface helmet so it appeared that the rest of the Elder ship’s bridge crew used their control terminals in the normal fashion. Slowly at first, and then more quickly, they figured out how to use many of the ship’s systems. Little did they know that the command consoles had only come online as Sarah had directed Alexandra to allow the pirate crew access to them. Under orders from Sarah, Alexandra slowly gave the pirate crew control over parts of the ship, though only parts she approved of.

  “That was the last one,” Angrave said. With Sarah’s help he had managed to find a shuttle bay to land his shuttle in. “I guess she is going to be our only pilot on this ship as well.” He shot Sarah dirty look.

  “I guess so,” Draxler said as he looked towards Sarah. Reaching down, he pulled the command unit for her collar off his utility belt. “It’s a good thing I have this then isn’t it? You’re going to do everything I tell you or you’ll get far worse than what you got today.”

  “I understand,” Sarah said as she lowered her eyes to the deck.

  “Good, then we’re going to get out of here before any more Elder warships turn up,” Draxler ordered. “Get back into the pilot seat and plot us a course towards sector thirty-four. I’ll give you more specific orders once we get going. The ship is capable of entering subspace, isn’t it?”

  “I don’t know,” Sarah lied. “I will need to check with the ship’s computer. We should be able to travel at sub light speed. We may need more repairs to enter subspace.”

  “Well get to it,” Draxler ordered.

  Obediently, Sarah made her way to the pilot seat and sat down. The interface helmet descended. “What is your plan?” Alexandra asked as soon as the helmet had connected to Sarah’s implant.

  “Plot us a course towards sector thirty-four,” Sarah thought. “Get us out of the Tyrilla Storm as quickly as possible. We won’t have to engage the subspace drive until then. I have an idea, hopefully we will have dealt with Draxler and the rest of his crew by then.”

  “The one called Angrave has just been ordered to check the jump drive using the command console he is at,” Alexandra inform Sarah.

  “Perfect,” Sarah replied. “Feed him information telling him that the ship cannot enter subspace in its damaged state. Let him know that your fabricators need gold and platinum to complete the repairs. That should catch Draxler’s interest.”

  With a thought, Sarah ordered the interface helmet to ascend. Remaining sitting, she looked around. “We are on our way out of the Tyrilla Storm. However, due to the damage to the ship’s hull, it won’t be able to enter subspace until we carry out more repairs. I’m afraid the ship needs gold or platinum to repair itself.”

  “Gold or platinum!” Draxler balked. “What does it want with my gold?”

  “Do you remember when we saw the ship repairing itself as we entered? It looked like the edges of the damaged hull were re-growing. Well, the ship has mass fabricators that use gold and platinum to grow whole now sections and components. If we want to get out of here, we’re going to have to feed its fabricators some gold and platinum,” Sarah explained.

  Draxler turned towards Angrave. “That’s what the computer seems to be telling me,” he said, nodding. “I don’t understand it, but that’s what it’s telling me.”

  “Where are these fabricators then?” Draxler asked Sarah.

  “I don’t know,” she answered honestly. “I’m sure Angrave can access the ship’s schematics,” she suggested. With a thought, she gave Angrave access to the schematics through his counsel.

  “I’ve got them,” Angrave said.

  “Let’s go then,” Draxler said. “I want to see these fabricators before I feed them any of my gold. Sarah, Angrave, you’re with me. The rest of you keep trying to figure out how to control the ship.”

  As they walked out of the bridge Sarah ran a few scenarios past Alexandra in her head. It would be difficult to achieve, but she had an idea that Alexandra thought would work. Then another question came to mind. “Do you have any weapons on board?” she thought.

  “Of course,” Alexandra replied. “This is a warship after all.”

  “Perfect,” Sarah replied. “I’d rather deal with Draxler and his crew without one, but if I have to use one, I will.”

  Chapter 7

  Angrave led Draxler and Sarah through the Elder warship. When they came to a T-junction, Angrave paused. “There’s something else that caught my interest, it will only take a moment to investigate,” he said as he looked to Draxler for permission.

  “Just for a minute,” Draxler consented.

  Turning left, Angrave led them down the corridor for a few meters. He then paused in front of an access hatch. Rather than automatically sliding open as the previous access hatches had, this one remained shut. Across the hatch was some strange looking writing in red. Sarah guessed it was the Elder’s language. Everyone in the galaxy spoke basic. Thankfully the Elder ship’s controls had a setting to use basic. Though Sarah had never seen the Elder’s language before it made sense. It also wasn’t hard to guess that the text was some kind of warning or restriction.

  “Curious,” Draxler said as Angrave tried to open the hatch using its access screen. “I wonder what is hidden behind this hatch?”

  “I am,” Alexandra answered into Sarah’s mind.

  “What?” Sarah asked the artificial intelligence.

  “The access hatch in front of you leads into the chamber where I am housed,” Alexandra explained.

  “Your memory banks you mean?” Sarah thought, seeking clarification.

  “Not just my memory banks,” Alexandra responded, “in your terms, my brain is there.”

  “Your brain?” Sarah queried, realizing again that she really didn’t understand what Alexandra was.

  “Yes. Physically, my hardware is a bio engineered neural processor. Whilst my intelligence may be a software program, the only computer capable of sustaining my intelligence is a hybrid biological and mechanical processor. The Elders used genetic information from their own DNA and combined it with their most sophisticated computer technology to produce an amalgamation. If Draxler or Angrave get into the chamber where my brain is housed, they could damage or kill me. That would leave the ship inoperable.”

  “Then whatever you do, don’t open the access hatch,” Sarah thought. “You have me intrigued though, once we deal with Draxler I will want to return to see just what you’re talking about.”

  “It is easier seen than explained,” Alexandra said. “I will be happy to allow you to enter my chamber once we have dealt with these pirates.”

  “It doesn’t look like you’re having any luck,” Sarah said to Angrave. “Perhaps this is a mystery we could solve at a later date?”

  Angrave looked at Sarah and opened his mouth to snarl at her. Draxler spoke first. “She’s right, we have
more important things to do for now. There’ll no doubt be hundreds of mysteries on board this ship. We have plenty of time to investigate them all. Let’s get to these fabricators.”

  “Fine,” Angrave said, clearly annoyed that he been unable to open the hatch. “This way,” he added as he led them back down the corridor.

  When he got to the large open hanger that housed the fabricators, the access hatch opened as they approached. Stepping into the room, they were greeted by three large cylinders dominating the middle of the hanger. Each cylinder had an opening at the top. As Sarah approached and peered down into the cylinder, it looked like the hole went through the deck and further into the lower parts of the ship.

  The hangar itself seemed as if it spanned almost the entire width of the ship and a significant portion of its length. Along its outer walls right around the hanger where crates, though they all looked to be empty. Above the crates there were a number of mechanical arms that looked like they were designed to take the contents of the crates and feed them into the cylinders.

  “Are these the processors?” Sarah asked Alexandra.

  “Yes,” Alexandra answered. “Within each fabricator there are special nanites designed to break down super dense metals. The metal constituents are then transferred around the ship to wherever they’re needed. Within each section of the ship there are specific nanites capable of processing the metals and reconfiguring them into whatever hull sections or components are needed.”

  “And then you just grow whatever you need.” Sarah said. “It’s still mind blowing.”

  “As I said before, grow is a good metaphor though it’s not scientifically accurate. Until I’m able to educate you further, it will serve as a good description,” Alexandra answered.

  “Whatever was stored in here, it doesn’t look like there’s any left,” Angrave said as he walked over to one of the crates.

  Draxler followed him and pulled out his portable scanner. “Gold,” he said in amazement. “There was gold in these crates. And platinum,” he added as he scanned the next create. Taking a step back he looked around the hangar and let out a strange whistling noise. “Billions of credits, there must have been billions of credits in gold and platinum if all these crates were filled.”

  “Is that true?” Sarah asked the artificial intelligence.

  “By today’s prices, yes,” Alexandra answered. “Though I’ve never carried more than one tenth of the total weight of heavy metals I was designed to. The Elders did not deem it necessary to carry so much raw materials. Until today, no Elder warship has had to repair battle damage.”

  “It looks like the gold and platinum was meant to be fed into these three cylinders,” Sarah said, trying to prompt Draxler and Angrave along. “What does this command terminal do, do you think?” she asked as she stepped beside one of the large cylinders.

  “I’ll find out,” Angrave said, pushing her out of the way. With a couple of taps on the command console he brought up a display screen and read through the instructions. “It seems she’s right,” he said after a few moments. “The instructions say this is some kind of material processing unit. It is able to reconfigure gold, platinum and other heavy metals to repair the ship. The readout suggests that several tons of gold are needed to fully repair the ship.”

  “Several tons,” Draxler said snorting. “That’s more than a billion credits.”

  “Expensive repairs I know,” Angrave replied. “I’m not sure we have that much, but we may be able to repair enough to allow the ship to enter subspace. Think of how much money we can make once we get this ship fully functioning.”

  “Yes,” Draxler agreed. “It may be pricey, but it’s the best investment we’re ever going to make, of that I’m sure. You head back to the shuttle, I’ll send the crew down to help you. You can unload the gold and platinum we took from Lady Luck. Bring it here as quickly as possible and let’s get these repairs underway. It will take several hours to get out of the Tyrilla Storm. By then, I want to be ready to enter subspace.”

  “Aye Captain,” Angrave responded and moved to leave the processor hanger.

  “You’re with me,” Draxler said to Sarah. “We are going back to the bridge. You’re going to teach me how to control this ship.”

  Sarah nodded and fell in step behind Draxler. “Keep an eye on the rest of the pirates,” Sarah thought to Alexandra. “As soon as Angrave gathers them in the shuttle hanger, seal the hangar. We’re going to trap them in there.”

  “I will inform you once they are sealed in,” Alexandra replied.

  *

  Ten minutes later Sarah was trying very hard not to show her nervousness as she helped Draxler understand the command terminals on the bridge. Divar was there to try to figure out the tactical station. “Done,” Alexandra said into Sarah’s mind.

  Instead of answering, Sarah tentatively made her way towards the Captain’s chair. “So just where is this weapon?” she asked again, though Alexandra had already explained it to her a couple of times.

  “Just under the command chair. You should be able to reach it with your right hand if you bend down slightly,” Alexandra answered.

  “What are you doing?” Draxler demanded as he turned to see Sarah sitting in the Captain’s chair.

  Before Sarah could answer, Draxler’s COM unit beeped. “Get up,” he shouted as he reached down to his utility belt and picked up his COM unit. “What is it?” he asked.

  “We’re stuck,” Angrave’s said. “We can’t get out of the shuttle hanger. The access hatches won’t open. They’re not responding to any commands we try to put into the control screens.”

  “This was your doing,” Draxler said as he swung back towards Sarah. He reached down to his utility belt and pulled off the control unit for her slave collar. It was a fatal mistake. He should have gone for his blaster.

  The brief distraction from Angrave’s COM message had been all Sarah needed. In one quick motion, she bent and reached down. For a couple of nervous seconds, she felt around, finding nothing. Then her fingers brushed across a handle. By the time Draxler turned back to her she had whipped it out. Feeling surer than she had ever felt before, she levelled it at Draxler’s chest. Though the weapon felt very strange in her hands, it had a trigger just like the weapons she had seen Draxler and the other pirates use. Sarah had never held a weapon before. Yet life in a pirate ship had given her numerous demonstrations of just how they worked.

  “Drop that immediately,” Draxler ordered as he raised her collar’s command unit and pointed at her. “What?” he said, sounding shocked as Sarah simply smiled back at him.

  “Things have changed,” she said. “That won’t work on me anymore.” Even as she spoke, she thought a command to Alexandra. With a click the collar opened and fell off her neck, banging on the bridge’s deck.

  Unable to process the turn of events, Draxler instinctively dropped the collar’s command unit and reached for his blaster. Sarah clenched her teeth and pulled the trigger. A beam of blue light shot from the Elder weapon and struck Draxler. It tore into his torso and melted a large hole right through his body.

  Draxler’s face contorted into a look of pure agony. He opened his mouth to scream, but nothing came. Then, almost in slow motion, he dropped to the floor, dead.

  For several seconds, Sarah just stared at Draxler’s body. The full reality of what had just happened slowly dawned on her. She was free. With one hand, she reached up and felt around her neck. She had worn the collar for as long as she could remember. Now it lay on the ground on her feet. The pirate who had tormented her for the last two years lay beside it.

  Having been forced to watch Draxler and his crew kill many innocent beings, she was used to dead bodies. As she looked at Draxler though, a rage began to build inside her. He had forced her to do so many horrible things. Even to pilot the pirate ship as he killed just to feed his lust for profit. All the guilt she had been suppressing welled up inside her. Letting out a half scream, half groan, she sighted the Eld
er blaster on Draxler’s body and fired again. Then she fired again and again. She didn’t stop until the laser had burnt away almost all of what had once been Draxler. As his body disintegrated, she continued to scream.

  “What are you doing?” Divar shouted several times. Lost in her rage, she heard nothing. As his four hands closed around her own, pulling the Elder weapon out of her hands, she jumped back, startled. A part of her tried to wrestle the weapon back and continue firing at Draxler. When she saw the look of horror on Divar’s face, it brought her back to reality. In disgust, she dropped the weapon and looked down at her hands. Slowly, she looked to where Draxler’s body had once been. There were still pieces of him here and there, but that was all that was left. In its place, there was a strong stench of burnt flesh. As her senses were overloaded with the sight before her, she turned and, leaning over the captain’s chair, threw up.