If Evie had been expecting to find the room littered with evidence of the captain forming some sort of master plan, she would have been disappointed. There were no sheets of paper, connected with twine or string, no screen showing maps of the region of a layout of the station they were headed toward.
Just a very scruffy looking captain who had returned himself to his chair, with his feet resting on the pilot's console while he watched … television? A program Evie didn't recognize played silently on a screen nearby, but if Captain Briggs had been watching it before, it had lost his attention now as he focused in on Evie herself.
Handing over the plate, Evie forced a smile. "Everything okay?" she asked since "What the hell have you been doing up here?" didn't seem appropriate.
The captain shrugged before taking a massive bite out of his food and moaning a happy response. "I've been trying to clear my head," he said, after swallowing his second bite. "Trying to figure out what's next. And what's next after that. How do we avoid detection in this place? How do we decipher alien files to get the information we need? How do we get back home?"
"Oh, is that all," Evie said, as a joke. "Any luck finding answers."
"Maybe. I'm not sure. I'm used to knowing how each of our jobs is going to go before we even set out. The biggest hiccup we've ever had was mislabeling two of our shipments. Which meant that once we got to Mars, Safa, Sprocket and I ended up sorting through nearly seven hundred boxes of old-Earth replica snow globes, to find the one box we had on board of turmeric that one of our regulars had ordered. It was a weird day, but not exactly challenging. Nothing like this." The captain sighed and took another bite. "And soon we'll be at Torque's ship. The clock's counting down faster now than ever."
"Counting down to what?" Evie asked, not sure the captain was even really speaking to her directly so much as expelling some of what he'd been holding inside.
"I wish I knew." The captain looked up, his eyes meeting hers but only for a moment. "My biggest fear is that it's not counting down to anything at all. There won't be a big final battle, a chance to prove ourselves against incredible odds, nothing. Something will blow us out of the sky before we see it coming. Or I'll live long enough to watch all the people I'm supposed to be watching out for extinguished to nothing.
Wanting to reassure him, Evie opened her mouth, but no words came out. There was nothing she could say that wouldn't sound hollow. And no way to promise a happy ending.
With a sigh of her own, Evie sat at Gwynn's station. She'd been holding on to a few thoughts of her own, and this was as good a time as any to put it all out there. "I'm sorry I got you in this mess. You and your crew. I never meant for any of this to happen, I didn't even know it was possible. But I shouldn't have dragged anyone else in without knowing what it was I was headed for. It's my fault we're here, and I know everyone knows that already. But, Captain Briggs, I wanted to make sure you knew I …" Had nothing but regrets? Wished she could turn back the clock? What? "I'm sorry."
"I meant it when I asked you to call me Oliver. Yes, we need a command structure. But I can't believe my authority on my own ship is in any way derived from what we call each other. And when it comes down to it, we all have the same stake in the game now. We're all in this together. Live together …"
"Die together." Evie finished the thought for him.
"I was going to say persevere together."
"Commander Singh! God, I haven't heard that phrase in years. I used to play those games all the time when I was a kid."
"I've been thinking about them a lot."
A sad smile formed on the corners of Evie's mouth. "Simpler times."
"You know you're not the only one to blame for us being here, right? I'd promised my crew some time off, but I wanted this job. So I took it. If I'd said no, you'd probably still be stuck here, but we'd all be back home right now. Safe. Maybe even you could have avoided all of this. A different ship, a different crew trying different tactics to avoid the energy barrier. The results could have been completely different."
"Or I could have minded my own business and saved everyone all of this."
"I can't blame you for what you did. SolTek Industries is your family business, therefore your business. No matter how involved you are. Could I say for sure I wouldn't have done exactly what you did? No. And either way, we're here now. Anyway, thanks for the sandwich. I should probably set an alarm reminding everyone to eat a couple times a day."
"Is there anything I can help with up here? Or anything I can get you? I've been floating around, just seeing who needs me and or if there's some job that needs to be filled.
The captain … Oliver, shook his head. "I'm good. We should be in sensor range of Torque's ship in a few. Once we get a sensor read, I'll start looking through status reports."
"I can do that!" Evie sounded overeager even to herself. "I mean, I can look through whatever reports you've got now, see what's missing then check in with whoever. So when you're ready, it's all there. No time wasted."
Really, she'd probably save Oliver only a few minutes, and she knew it. But the offer was out there now, and it was something.
"Actually, I might take you up on that. I'm getting some energy readings on sensors. It has to be Torque's ship. Confirmation that we're good to go wouldn't be the worst thing—wait. I'm getting a second reading. And a third. Fuck."
"Ships?" Evie asked, striding quickly toward the central console, leaning over Oliver's shoulder to try to see what he'd found. Four different energy signatures had now appeared within range. And unlike Torque's ship which would be forever stuck in the same place, whatever these things were, they were headed right toward them."
Not looking up, Oliver reached over and flipped a switch. "We've got incoming. Lincoln, Gwynn, Torque. I need you on the bridge. Now."
"Fuck, fuck, fuck. I have no idea what we're dealing with here. Our sensors weren't built for any of this. They've probably seen us coming for a while now, all while we've been headed straight toward their fleet. We've got another now, coming up faster than the rest."
"Can we outrun them?"
"We sure as shit better hope so." With a few deft commands into the helm, the Lexiconis' direction shifted, slowly at first then faster until they were completely turned around.
"What's going on?" Gwynn asked a few seconds later as the others made it to the bridge. Silently, Evie stepped back for the rightful crew to take their places. Even Sprocket and Safa had showed up, despite not being asked for, leaving the remaining space cramped.
The sensor display sprang to life on one of the empty screens overhead, showing the incoming red dots moving inch by inch, closer to the Lexiconis' location. The distance between them was growing rather than shrinking, but one last dot had passed the others and was continuing to bridge the distance. "We hadn't even made it to sensor range of Torque's ship yet when we picked up these guys headed our way."
"Are they the same ships as the one that found us before?" Safa asked.
"I have no idea. Does it matter? Unless it's a rescue party, I'm not all that interested in finding out."
As Lincoln took his seat he quickly signed something to Oliver, making Evie regret only ever focusing on verbal languages in her studies. She knew that while the numbers of people requiring sign language on Earth were dwindling, there was still a large and fluent community. It had always been a someday thing for her. Yet another regret she may not have time to remedy.
As soon as Lincoln had control of the helm, the ship sped up, his skills pushing it further and faster. But would it be fast enough?
"Where are we going?" Sprocket asked Evie's own question aloud.
"Somewhere new. Away from our pursuers and unfortunately away from our target as well. But there's no point going backward or toward the spot where we arrived. Wherever's left, that's where we're going."
"May I see the compositional reading we're getting," Torque asked, surprising Evie. Both he and Linna were standing on the stairs below the bridge,
out of the way but refusing to be entirely excluded. Oliver had been right when he'd said they were all in this together now. "I did not see your ship before, but can tell you if these are the same vessels that destroyed my home."
Sprocket handed Evie a portascreen for her to pass on to Torque, not sure which option would be worse—a new threat, or one they already knew was very bad news?
"It's them," Torque said quickly. "The slower vessels are likely scouts sent back to the wreckage of our ship. They would have corrected course when they saw evidence of a new ship. The other is a destroyer of some kind, a warship. Small, but powerful. I would suggest departing quickly."
"That's the plan, I promise," Oliver said. "But that destroyer of theirs is moving faster than we can go even when we're at our best. They're going to catch us, and we don’t have anything to fire back with.”
"If we power down again, will they lose us on sensors?" Sprocket asked.
"Perhaps," Torque said. "But they'll still know right where to find us. If they show up anyway, we'll be out of time."
"Then we need another option," Oliver said, his tone holding none of the uncertainty that Evie had heard earlier. "I hired you guys because you're the best, now show me why. We can't afford for them to catch us, so how do we convince them to turn around?"
"Play dead?" Safa said. "Whether they’re curious about who we are or looking to raid our ship for anything they can use, if they think the ship was destroyed, they probably won't come looking."
"I was looking for something a little more solid than probably, but it's a start."
"So we need to give off enough energy to look like an explosion to their sensors," Sprocket said, before turning to Torque. "How well can they see us here? How good does it need to be?"
"From this distance, so long as the energy output is correct they should be unable tell what happened. But I am not as convinced as your Safa that it will be enough to deter them. Your ship is unlikely different from anything they have encountered in the void. Your technology is more simplistic, but different. Nothing else your size can move within the void, and that makes you valuable. Even debris could show them something new, how to kill faster and more efficiently."
"Then we'll need to prolong the explosion." Safa’s eyes lit up. "It doesn't matter if they think we're destroyed or not. All we need to do is overload their sensors long enough that we can escape out of their sensor range."
"And do you have something that can do that?" Oliver asked, looking more concerned at the idea than relieved to have an option.
"I'm looking through the ship's inventory now. I'm going to have to burn through a lot of our fuel. And it's going to cost us the shuttle."
"I am not sure how I feel about any of this," Torque said in a stage whisper to Evie as Safa rambled through her list of requirements. "She is so small for someone so destructive."
Evie kept her mouth shut. From the sounds of it, Safa was going to need a few highly valuable items to orchestrate their big escape, but if it kept Evie from having to come face to face with anything called a destroyer, she was all for it.
Chapter Eighteen – Torque
Toroque'que Yeern had always considered himself to be a lucky man. His family life growing up had been simple, but never wanting. He’d worked hard in school, but had been intelligent enough that his work only bolstered what would have been good grades with little effort. One of the teacher’s he’d impressed in his youth had been friends with exactly the person who awarded internships in the company Toroque'que had long admired, getting him in the front door. Then his boss had shared his sense of humor, and he’d been promoted quickly. Luck and hard work, luck, and hard work. Both had been his lifelong companions.
Until he’d met Theryna. That had been all luck. Lucky to be in the right place on a day when she’d been in the right mood to chat with a stranger in the office cafeteria. Lucky she’d agreed to marry him. Lucky that she had lived with him for years, putting up with his moods and distractions without realizing she could do far better. Lucky when she had given him a son.
Then, in one horrible moment, all Toroque'que’s luck had run out.
He had thought the day his home had been brought into the void had been the worst of his life. The days that followed were more horrible by far.
The weeks that followed had been easier, but only because there was no further to fall, no matter how many more of his friends and colleagues had perished. He had seen the darkest of days and had come out the other side.
And it was looking more and more like this would be Toroque'que’s last unlucky day. And his last day in this realm before rejoining Theryna and Ton.
Within minutes, the Hshazir would be within visual range, and Toroque'que's life would be finished.
He wished to close his eyes and reflect on a life well-enjoyed. But the humans refused to stop trying.
They had assembled … something. Even calling this device assembled seemed like a stretch. To Toroque'que it looked like a strange assortment of fluids, connected with random pieces from throughout the ship, all shoved into the small shuttle.
There was a plan, but Toroque'que and Linna were not a part of it.
At least now Toroque'que would die knowing his new companion's name. The two of them had spent many days together, always feeling alone but not so alone as they could have been.
Dying alone had always seemed to be one of the bleakest fates in the universe.
"Ready?" the captain shouted from across the cargo hold as Safa ran from the shuttle for the last time, finally empty handed.
There was no answer, the two of them already running from the airlock to where Toroque'que was waiting to shut the door, signaling to the bridge at the same time as the airlock light flashed red.
The shuttle was sucked out into the void moments later, all according to plan. "It's done," Toroque'que said, turning to the others, who were still breathing heavily, barely managing to stay standing. Most of the humans on board had been going non-stop since they came up with a plan, no one ever once stopping to acknowledge how unlikely any of this was to work at all. Instead, they each did their part, occasionally suggesting changes but mostly acting as though they were all different pieces to one larger machine.
Together, he returned to the bridge with the ship's captain and its tiny scientist, taking a place near the back of the room rather than his usual spot on the stairs, wanting to see what happened next. Linna waited by the stairs as well. Neither Sprocket or Gwynn had returned yet, and when they did this would be a tight squeeze, but perhaps there was room for all of them in this place, if they learned to make room for one another.
"Anything yet?" Captain Oliver asked of the silent pilot. The other man shook his head, the human way of saying no. Toroque'que was picking up these things as quickly as he could, determined to learn and understand.
"Shouldn't it have started yet?" the captain asked of Safa.
"It'll work." She sounded so sure of herself. So very confident in a thing she had only created minutes ago, with no warning at all. But Toroque'que appreciated her confidence. Safa's concise way of speaking usually made her the easiest to understand.
"There!" Evie jumped up from where she'd been seated a moment before, crouched so small that Toroque'que hadn't noticed she was back on the bridge as well.
The sensor display had flared to life, bright waves of energy filling the screen like the light of the Ermis Festival, emanating from the spot where they'd dropped the shuttle. Within a minute, the entire screen burned too bright to make out anything at all.
"Go," Safa said. "As soon as it eats through the shuttle, the reaction will die out and they'll see exactly where we're headed.
"I'm picking up …" Sprocket's voice faltered. "I'm getting energy readings like the one that brought us here. Near the shuttle."
"A response to the energy surge?" Safa wondered, but no one answered. Lincoln had already started the Lexiconis moving, taking the ship along with him in a burst of speed that
Sprocket had been preparing for down below. The Lexiconis needed to get as far from this area as possible as quickly as they can. Far enough away that these ships could not follow, while also praying they weren't headed straight toward wherever this race was situated within the dark space.
Nobody spoke as the ship sailed into the black, and Toroque'que finally allowed himself to close his eyes.
It had been a good life. Toroque'que had done the best he could, and he'd found true happiness.
It had been a good life and he would see Theryna soon.
It had been a good life.
They flew onward together, not speaking as minutes ticked by like heartbeats, perhaps the final ones any of them would have.
Silence and waiting, together and apart as well, all lost in their own thoughts and hopes for the future.
Until Safa hiccupped and the tiny, usually innocuous sound making everyone jump.
Nervous laughter filled the room, a warm and friendly sound that pulled Toroque'que back into the present.
The noise around him grew, the laughter of so many combining into one. Toroque'que had met many species before, but none who had laughter that sounded so much like the Hailm. And even Toroque'que had to laugh. Perhaps his luck was beginning to return. They would survive for now.
Maybe this option was more fun than meditating and waiting for death to come. It was not the way of the Hailm, but Toroque'que was among humans now. Among friends. And if his time was to come here in this dark space anyway, there was value in dying among friends.
But it was perhaps possible that today would not be the day that happened.
More darkness stretched out around the ship, and once again the Lexiconis and her crew were alone. Together.
"Is anyone else hungry?" Evie asked. "I could make us some dinner."
Food. Yes. So far Toroque'que had never met a species who did not bond with others through eating. To mourn. To mark the passing of time. To celebrate.
If his hosts wished to celebrate, Toroque'que was inclined to join them.
Into the Void (Beyond Humanity Book 1) Page 14