by John Foster
“Where do we start?” asked Amal.
“Right here,” said West pointing to the chute door into the signals room. He opened it and heard the two men in conversation. He took out his pistol and readied it. He heard the men excitedly talking, “Yes, they say that the Terran woman told Dragaan what the weapon was and they’re getting ready to use it on the moon base. We’ll be in the Terran system in a few minutes and it’s going to be a joyous victory for us.”
West’s heart sank at this news. He knew he could probably take out these two men but that meant he would have to fight his way to the bridge and he knew even a couple of troopers would slow him down too much to reach the bridge in time. He would have to find another way to get there without rousing the Sovar. He closed the door and sat against the wall and hung his head. He knew that the only way to get there was around the reactor. Amal said the garbage chute went to a utility corridor that went around the reactor and then to run around to the bridge. There was a service hatch into the bridge and they would use that to get in the bridge itself, to take out Dragaan and his crew. Amal said there were only a few men on the bridge and West thought he could seal the door to the outer corridors once Dragaan was out of action. The only trouble was that he would die soon after they had reached the bridge, blistered and burning from the radiation. Theo had told him that in reading the specs of the engine rooms the amount of radiation that was generated was significant and could kill a person in less than an hour. He thought of what would happen if he didn’t stop Dragaan. There were thousands of men and women at the Moon Base that would die if he didn’t act. Then there was the war that would start resulting in thousands if not hundreds of thousands of lives lost in the mad plan of the Sovar. He felt the bump of motion that meant they had come out of a jump and West suspected they were now in the Terran system. He would have to act now. He gulped, his face felt flushed and then he said, “Okay, we’ll go to the bridge through the reactor room. It’s our only real chance to save the people on the moon and ultimately all the lives that would be lost if war breaks out between our races. It’s the only thing we can do. I’m hoping that something Theo told me might give me some clues to work with.”
“What is it? asked Amal.
“Theo had a hunch that the ship responded to only one person in command. Unfortunately, since Dragaan has returned, I can feel or sense what limited control I had is slipping away. I can open doors but not much else. I believe that the vessel’s control is focused primarily in the ship’s interface which is in the bridge area. Whoever is on the bridge directs the ship, so that is where we need to go.”
“But what about Dragaan? Would not the ship stay under his control since as you say your abilities are eroding?”
“That is the question. The way I look at it, either we kill him or battle it out with our minds. We know we can kill him, but I’m afraid I have no idea how to do the latter. Nonetheless, we’re going to have to try one way or the other.”
Amal looked at him with determined eyes and said, “Agreed, we’ll do this together.”
West felt relieved now that they had reached a decision and said, “Let’s go.”
Amal nodded and led the way.
As they moved through the chute, West thought of Madison and regretted he wouldn’t be able to become friends with her again. He sighed. It was too late to do anything now but act.
In a short while they reached the utility corridor and Amal looked back at West and said, “On the other side of this door is the reactor room corridor and it is what you would call, ‘hot.’ We can consider some other action now but not after this door opens.” She looked questioningly at West. “I can go alone and do this by myself,” she said. West gave a grim smile and said, “No, that would be too risky for just one and then we might lose any chance at stopping them. No, this is something we both have to do.”
Up to that moment he had been calm but now felt that draining away. The hair on his neck rose, his breathing came in shallow in ragged gasps as his hand felt heavy and clammy. His whole body shuddered as he reached for the handle knowing it was like touching a coiled viper ready to strike. He could feel the sweat bead on his brow and drop like needle pricks across his eyes. He inhaled sharply, touched the door handle but his fingers refused to obey and dropped away. He gulped air. His mouth open, he raised his arm again, but it shook uncontrollably, and his hand fell away for the second time. A deep breath, defiance welling up from within, and with trembling icy cold fingers he grasped the door handle and twisted it opened. The dull red light in the room beyond greeted him. West pulled his laser pistol, felt his hand tremble, and walked through followed by Amal.
The noise was deafening, and West could hardly hear anything, but the drum beat of the pulsing engines. The corridor they entered was dark but lit with a faint reddish glow. Amal took the lead and she moved quickly into the passageway which was curved and heavily armored, which West guessed housed the reactors.
Amal pressed a button on an HDA that Theo had given her that would signal the crew to arm and start their re-conquest of the ship. The crew rebellion would hopefully catch the enemy napping and even the odds until West was in control of the Cyclops.
The passage was filled with pipes, electrical cables, and conduits that seemed designed to hinder their progress. West took a deep breath, steeled himself, and walked around the various obstacles that cluttered the corridor. Amal moved cautiously but surely to another corridor that would take them away from the reactor space. West could feel the sweat on his face, his shirt clammy, and he trembled and staggered. Amal paused at the next door and tried to open it but her fingers were slipping on the handle. West could tell that the radiation was starting to have an effect on her. He reached around her and turned the lever opening the hatch and they entered the corridor. West’s vision blurred for a moment and he realized grimly that his effort would be a waste if he went blind at the critical moment. He wiped his hand across his forehead and followed after Amal. West shivered and his hand shook uncontrollably. He grabbed his right hand holding the pistol and held it until it stopped shaking. Amal stopped at a hatch and she motioned West to her. West’s peripheral vision narrowed He found this strangely comforting, and hoped it would give him focus. His stomach convulsed, felt waves of violent nausea, and knew he had to move quickly or he would be soon incapacitated.
Madison stood facing Dragaan as she told him that the weapon was actually a gravity beam propulsion system. It had not been meant to be a weapon which is why they had been so confused as to why it had not been discussed as such in the Kaa records. Madison said that the force of the beam would be enough to propel a large mass with great force and that it would be incredibly destructive based on the energy calculations that she had found. The purpose of the device was not to destroy but to literally push large objects in space.
Dragaan considered this skeptically and said, “But why did you consider it as a weapon in the first place? Was it not used to destroy a planet in your own system?”
Madison thought over the question and said, “Knowing what we know now, it is apparent that the fifth planet had some cataclysmic event that ruptured it, causing it to blow up. The gravity beam was used by the Kaa to block the resultant debris from hitting the earth and saved it from certain devastation.”
“So, it is not a weapon? How does this projector work?”
“I have duplicated the sequence on my HDA that I had copied from the Kaa records,” said Madison as she took her HDA out from its belt attachment.
Dragaan reached out and snatched the HDA from her and said, “I repeat, how does it work?”
Backing away from Dragaan, Madison continued, “There is a holographic lever somewhere over near the console of the Captain’s chair that, when activated, would start the chain reaction and send the beam toward the target. I would guess that the force projection of the gathered gravity would push a large mass. I’m not sure of how it actually works since there is no way to test it.”
“Ah that is where you are wrong, we are going to test it, and very soon too,” said Dragaan.
He motioned Nika to take Madison to the side while he walked over to the Captain’s chair. He sat down and initiated the sequence that Madison had provided him on her HDA, moving through the actions. A hologram image of controls appeared before him. There were sounds of weapons fire from outside. He stood and demanded an explanation from his security officer who was listening to the various departments responding. “Sir, I’m getting reports that the Terran crew has taken over their section and disarmed our commandoes and is fighting its way to the bridge.”
“Impossible! Seal the bridge.” Dragaan pointed to several of the officers and told them, “Get out there and put this rebellion down and don’t return until you have. Kill all the Terrans you encounter.”
“At once, Commander,” said his chief of security who saluted and took his men off the bridge. There were now Dragaan, Madison, Nika, and three ships’ officers on the bridge.
Madison turned to face Dragaan and said, “You might as well give up, there’s nothing you can do.”
Dragaan sat again and reactivated the controls. He turned to Madison and said with a disdainful eye, “I’m not done yet.” The view screen in front of them flickered and a large white image sharpened and after a moment Madison recognized the Terran Moon. Horrified she asked, “What are you planning?”
Dragaan smiled and turned back to the controls that powered up the system.
The Moon base came into focus and then a targeting reticule appeared to one side. Dragaan centered it on the moon. “You’re mad! You’re going to fire on the Terran Moon base? You’ll kill thousands of people and for what, a demonstration?” Madison yelled at him.
Turning his head, Dragaan smiled at her and said, “Why no it’s not a demonstration it‘s war. And by winning this war, we’ll save our clones who are dying by the thousands as we speak. War was not our first choice, but we’ll risk anything to save our people.” He turned back to his task.
Madison yelled at Dragaan causing him to pause as she screamed, “That beam isn’t a weapon, it’s made to push things not destroy them. It won’t destroy the moon base, it’s meant to move planetary objects and it will move the moon out of orbit and into Terra destroying the planet and the moon.”
Dragaan nodded to Nika who placed a small round pod on the back of Madison’s head that clamped down on her skin and hair. Madison struggled but couldn’t move or speak realizing that the device was paralyzing her higher functions.
Amal and West stood outside the bridge and prepared themselves. Amal pulled her small dart system out and attached it to her wrist and then checked her laser pistol. West could see her through the sweat in his eyes.
“It has to be now or not at all,” said West, his speech somewhat slurred. Amal nodded and opened the lever on the last hatch, and banged against it making it fly open as she stepped out fluidly holding her weapon at chest high level and then West stepped out his pistol wavering at the three crewmen standing behind consoles behind the Captain’s chair in the back of the bridge. Time stood still for a moment as the people on the bridge realized they were under attack. West could see an imposing white-faced figure sitting in the Captain’s chair manipulating the holographic controls looking up at them in surprise. Against the far wall to the left was a dark-haired woman in a Sovar uniform, mouth agape, standing next to Madison who looked at them silently as if frozen.
One of the Officers reached for his sidearm, pulling it up to fire at Amal who whirled and fired striking him in the head flinging him backwards against the wall. The two other crewmen dropped behind consoles and started to fire at Amal and West. West took aim and shot at Dragaan who cursed and rolled off the Captain’s chair while reaching for his own weapon. Nika grabbed Madison and hauled her down behind a cabinet next to the wall pulling her pistol out and crouched over Madison.
One of the officers fired at West who wavered and then tripped saving himself from the plasma beam that passed by his head. West struggled to see, his face hot, and the sweat clouding his vision with stinging drops of pain. West calmed, rose to his knee firing his laser at the officer who rolled away and up on his feet firing back at West and then Amal who slammed into a cabinet as she backed up causing her to drop her weapon as she fell. The officer seeing her slump jumped up and aimed at Amal who jerked to the side as the plasma beam hit her left shoulder searing it. The force knocked her back against the wall again and she lost consciousness. Dragaan backed up behind the Captain’s chair firing calmly at West pinning him down as the other officer ducked and moved to the side trying to flank the Terran. West could see that Dragaan, moving around the chair, had gotten back into it and was restarting the firing sequence. West fired at him but the beam was deflected by a panel from a view screen but he noticed the other officer was approaching from his side and fired in that direction which prompted the man to duck and then pop up firing but in a slightly different angle that missed West. The officer realizing his mistake turned towards West who leveled his pistol at the man and pulled the trigger. It clicked and the man who had thrown up his arms to shield himself leveled his own pistol and aimed it at West and with a grim smile started to pull the trigger. A dart appeared in his forehead and he fell forward driving the little spear through his head with the point sticking out the back. West blinked and then threw down the weapon and reached for Amal’s pistol. Amal strung another spear and pulled back on the string with her teeth and aimed it at Nika who had raised up to fire but had hit her head on the cabinet causing her to drop her gun. Madison lay still on the floor, still frozen. Groggily Nika raised up her head and seeing Amal with her darts, raised her hands above her head in surrender as she lay on the floor.
Dragaan fired at West while he struggled to activate the gravity projection, “Too late Terran, you’re too late,” he growled.
West fired striking Dragaan in the torso burning through to the armor below causing him to jerk and turn in his chair. Dragaan twisted in agony but reached for the lever to activate the beam, and said, “Then so be it. In a few moments, your people and planet will cease to be,” and with that he pressed the button. The view screen flashed, and the ship started to vibrate and the engines powered up.
West knew the moment had arrived where he had to stop Dragaan and wrest control of the ship from him or all would be lost. Too weak to physically remove the Sovar Commander, he had his force of will that he hoped would be enough to cancel Dragaan’s orders. He could feel drops of sweat run down his forehead and nose, falling to the floor. Surprised, he found his body had slumped to his knees, his hand rose like a distant specter to his forehead as he turned his mind to focus on turning off the gravity controls. The pitch of noise from the force generators whined louder and louder and then as he struggled with the merging of his mind with the ships, he could feel a slight sensation of an intelligent awareness as he had when he had first touched the amber spires in the square where they had landed the Paradig. As his body slowly failed, West concentrated, his whole being in a mental cloud as he sought to control the gravity beam.
He could feel a faint response from the ship. His vision gone, his only sense was his hearing and the whine of the engines started to ease. West could feel his control slowly gaining as the radiation racked his body, causing his organs to fail one by one. In the increasingly fuzzy space of thought that he had left, West felt another mind frantically touching and probing the mental interface with the ship’s controls and realized that Dragaan was fighting him for command of the ship. West’s face felt a moment of coolness as it touched the floor of the bridge, his body no longer his to command. The only thing left was the little window of thought that wrestled with Dragaan and the ship’s interface. After a moment of elation, West could feel he was losing the gains he’d won as Dragaan began to understand the mental tug of war that was at work.
West could feel the ship’s interface probing his mind as if judging what was happening. The images t
hat the interface shot through his mind were unintelligible and incredibly alien but there was a sense of disquiet from the ship about what was happening. West realized that the blue circle image that he had first seen in the tunnel of the Gobi Desert, in what seemed so long ago, was a repeated icon that the interface continually returned to as it probed his mind with increasingly frenetic energy. West could feel Dragaan was pushing him out of the struggle for control of the gravity beam. At the same time, there was a sense that the ship was trying to understand the conflict between the two competing men. West could sense Dragaan’s single minded grasping to initiate the gravity beam process and overwhelm the ship’s organic mind to bend it to his purposes. In his mind’s eye, West could feel the gravity beam powering up, the multiple engines feeding the projector to send the moon into earth, and causing the death of billions of people and creatures. The engines were now screaming and to West it sounded like they were far away. He could feel in his mind that Amal, wounded and not in line of sight with Dragaan was unable to move but was able to guard the female Sovar Officer that had been Madison’s interrogator. The ship’s intellect was allowing Dragaan to power up and project the beam.
In the back of West’s mind, he saw the blue circle on the passageway wall in the Gobi Desert and pictured it destroyed by the beam projection. And with that one thought it was as if a curtain had lifted and the lights had gone on as the ship cut Dragaan off from the interface and enhanced West’s efforts to shut down the gravity beam projector. There was one overriding message that was being repeated by the ship’s intellect, blue planet, blue planet. The engines abruptly cut power and the ship shuddered from the power down.