Escape to the Stars!

by Glenn L Erickson

  Chapter 7: Sabotage

  “Commander! Major Miles has taken over control of the Reactor Control room and begun to destabilize the station’s reactor!” The urgent announcement over the station intercom startled the Commander just as he was about to fall into bed after another exhausting day.

  Fumbling for the key, the Commander asked “Where are the duty reactor operators now?”

  “They are trying to get into the Auxiliary Reactor control room. Cameras inside both of the control rooms are dead. We have had no response to any attempts to communicate with the main reactor control room.”

  Thinking quickly, the Commander ordered “Send Security to all hatchways leading to Reactor Control and cut in the transfers to the auxiliary control room. Have the Senior Reactor Supervisor meet me at Aux Reactor Control”

  “Yes Sir!”

  The Commander dressed quickly while reviewing the relevant emergency procedures for remote Reactor Shut-Down. You couldn’t just flip a switch or open a breaker; the intense energies confined in the cores of such reactors had to be bled-off slowly as they were powered-down. If the controls for the cooling systems were upset or the confinement fields were destabilized, the result could result in a small thermonuclear event that would largely destroy the entire station. Even if that was avoided, the damage to the reactor could take too long to repair, allowing the station to drift out of its stable orbit in Lagrange 5 and be pulled hopelessly towards the Earth or the Moon.

  Striding to the Auxiliary Reactor Control room, the Commander was met by the Senior Reactor Supervisor and a pair of senior operators. They were trying to gain entry but the flushed face of the SRS told him that more trouble was afoot. Stepping back to allow the Commander at the pad, he gestured towards it and said “Someone has cut power to the pad. If we don’t find a way to restore power, we’ll have to force our way in”

  Turning to the intercom set into the bulkhead near the hatch, the Commander barked “Damage Control crews to Auxiliary Reactor Control! This is not a drill!” He heard the computer echoing his command in all circuits. A moment went by before a click was heard, followed by “Damage Control; Aye-Aye sir!”

  It took the DC crew nearly 20 minutes to un-bolt the hatch into Auxiliary Control. Stepping into the darkened space, the Commander flipped the toggles for the lights, only to be greeted with darkness.

  “I’m sorry Commander. There will be no lights in Aux Control, now or ever again!” A familiar voice sounded from an overhead speaker.

  The darkness hiding his dismay, the Commander realized that he was facing not only loss of control over the reactor; he was facing the loss of the entire station. The voice he had heard confirmed that his second-in-command was the one in Reactor Control. He sagged as he realized that, even if he resolved the situation, his friend was finished.

  He’d had the unfortunate duty to inform the man that he had been passed over for command of the Lagrange 4 station and was facing forced retirement. The man hadn’t responded well to the news but no hint of this treachery was evident in his history.

  The Commander moved over to the Senior Reactor Engineer that had joined him in the control room and whispered loudly in the man’s ear “Get control of this situation NOW!”

  Startled at the ferocity in the Commander’s tone, the man stuttered “Aye-Aye Sir!” and turned to issue orders to the other techs in his department. The lights came on within a few minutes as someone replaced the damaged breakers. What greeted them was smashed controls and shredded wiring. As they assessed the damage, a chuckle sounded from the speaker again.

  “I told you Commander, you cannot thwart me now! I have the only functioning set of reactor controls, and no one knows them better than I do. Say goodbye to humanity’s chances of escape!” The speaker went silent. The Commander hadn’t failed to note the shrilling of a cooling system failure alarm in the background.

  Waving the Security Chief to him, the Commander ordered the Senior Reactor Engineer “Start replacing the damaged controls from the spares stored aboard for the ship. I seem to remember that they were supposed to be the same style so that the ship’s reactor operators would find them familiar. Commandeer any personnel or support you need!”

  “Aye-Aye Sir!” The SRE hurried out of the control room, trailed by two operators while several techs began removing damaged panels and wiring. Pulling the Security Chief into a corner, he whispered “I want options on how to neutralize this situation!”

  The Security Chief was a hardened veteran of many space station posts. He’d had to deal with drunks, thugs, con men and thieves over the years, but had never had to deal with the threat of the destruction of an entire station and nearly twenty-thousand people. He knew that there was nothing written to cover this situation. It would take some fast and creative thinking. Looking at the Commander he said quietly “Give me a little while to huddle with my people and the heads of Damage-Control and Reactor Operations. I should have some recommendations for you shortly.”

  Nodding curtly, the Commander stepped back and the Security Chief hurried away. He turned to the intercom and toggled a switch reserved for emergencies. “Attention: all personnel! This is Commander Lansing. All personnel not actually working to resolve our current emergency will report to their evacuation stations!” He released the toggle and turned back to watch as the techs were listing the damages on a pad, knowing that the SRE was receiving that list as it was being created. Leaving the men to their work, he headed to the main Reactor Control room to try and talk some sense into his now-former second-in-command.

  He arrived to find armed security people blocking all access to the areas around the control room. They parted silently to let him pass and he strode up to the intercom mounted near the only access to the room. Pressing the TALK button, he said quietly, “Charlie; It’s me, David.”

  Silence was the only response at first. The Commander tried to picture his friend of nearly thirty years on the other side of the door. He wondered what had driven him to this extreme. He was also wondering how he was going to defuse this situation.

  “I’m sorry Dave, but I can’t go back to Earth now, now that I’ve failed to make Commander. This project has been my life! No one has worked harder to promote it. I deserved the command of Lagrange four!”

  There was a short pause as he seemed to shift gears. “Besides, with Janet and the children dead now, I’ve no one left to go home to.”

  The Commander empathized with Charlie. He had seen how his family’s death had affected him. They had been best friends since their academy days. Charlie’s family had been aboard an early-model Climber when the escape hatch blew accidentally.

  He also had to acknowledge the unfairness of Charlie being passed-over for command. He too felt that the man that had been selected to command Lagrange Four was only there because he had supported an influential man on the Shipyard’s Board of Directors.

  “Just let us in Charlie. It’s not too late to restore the cooling system and save the reactor.” The silence was longer this time. “Please Charlie! I know that you have faced some disappointments and were devastated by Janet’s death, but why does any of that justify this? There are a lot of people on this station Charlie. Did any of them do something to you to deserve death?”

  After an agonizing pause, he heard the speaker come on. “I have no future Dave. When I started this, I knew there would be no turning back.” The speaker popped and then the voice went on. “I was a good officer Dave! I deserved that promotion! I worked hard to earn command of Lagrange 4. But I was passed-over for some political appointee because I didn’t kiss some Senator’s perfumed back-side or didn’t play the game the right way.”

  He seemed to pause to catch his breath, or to organize his thoughts before he went on. “If this project can’t reflect the best ideals of humanity, if politics still rules us even at this juncture, then maybe humanity doesn’t deserve to survive! Maybe we are just too
primitive to merit survival! Have you considered that David? Why should a primitive and violent race like mankind be allowed to reach for the stars? Why should we be allowed to spread like a disease throughout the galaxy?”

  Letting him rant to gain some insight into his mental condition, The Commander glanced around to gauge the reactions of the people listening in. All were concerned or frightened by the tirade they were hearing. He couldn’t blame them; they were facing certain death at the hands of a man they had trusted. And, they were depending on him to resolve the situation.

  The Security Chief sidled up to the Commander and touched his arm. The Commander leaned towards him, unwilling to leave the area in case he heard an opening or possibility of negotiation from Charlie.

  “I have polled the other Department Heads and they have a few solutions, but none will allow us to regain control in time.” Hesitating, the Chief then added “I have a suggestion, but only you can authorize it.” He faltered.

  Raising an eyebrow, the Commander encouraged him to continue. Sighing, the Chief said “If we vent the room to space, and then restore the pressure. Anyone in the control room will become unconscious long enough for us to force the hatch. We will need some time though to set it up.” Nodding towards the locked hatch, he added “You will need to keep him distracted to allow us the time.”

  It only took a moment to approve the action. He nodded and the chief dashed off, a group of techs and security people trailing along in his wake. Bracing himself for the deception, the Commander turned back to the speaker to hear Charlie ask a question.

  The Commander looked at the group and whispered “What did he just ask?” One of those standing nearby answered “He just asked if you were still there.”

  Nodding his thanks, the Commander turned to the intercom and toggled it. “Yes Charlie. I’m still here. I’ve been thinking about what you have been saying. I can see your reasons for some things, but I still don’t understand how you being passed-over as reason enough to kill everyone on the station and set the program back fifty years.”

  Releasing the toggle, he waited for Charlie’s response. The silence stretched out agonizingly. Hoping he had scored a point or two, the Commander keyed the toggle again and asked “Is there anything you want to tell the entire station Charlie? I can arrange for you to tell them why you want to kill them all. Many of them have served with us since we were stationed here. We’ve eaten with them and watched their families grow up. We have seen their children marry and start families. Do you want to tell them why you suddenly have the sole authority to determine their fate?”

  There was no response. He hoped that it was a sign that he was getting through. After he felt he has allowed enough time elapse, he keyed the toggle and added quietly “Maybe the shrinks that evaluate us for command positions detected this possibility on your part and that was why you were passed over. Think about it Charlie; would you want you in charge, knowing that it would only take something as small as a missed promotion to send them over the brink?”

  The Security Chief was hurrying towards him when the Commander heard the hatch behind him hiss and start to open. Holding up a palm to the Chief, who nodded and slipped out of sight, the Commander turned to face the slowly-opening hatch. As the heavy hatch clicked against the bulkhead and latched, the Commander saw Charlie slumped against the opposite bulkhead, staring listlessly at his hands folded in his lap.

  Stepping through, the Commander seated himself beside his friend and reached over to put an arm around his shoulders. Charlie erupted into heart-wrenching sobs and fell over into the Commander’s lap, curled up into a fetal-position. The Commander just held him and then nodded to the Security Chief as he peeked around the hatch opening. “Secure the compartment and then bring in the Reactor operators and check on the reactor’s status Chief. And locate the duty staff.” He said quietly.

  Nodding, the Chief pulled his head back and several security officers dashed into the control room, followed closely by the Reactor Chief. It was only a short time later that the Reactor Chief approached him and said quietly, “The reactor is stable Commander. He must have restored the controls before letting us in.”

  Nodding his thanks, he slowly got up and helped Charlie to his feet. Head hung in shame, Charlie allowed himself to be escorted from the area. Waving help aside, the Commander slowly walked with his friend to the medical section. There, he conferred with the doctor and had Charlie sedated and restrained.

  Back in his office, he received reports on the status of the repairs to the Aux Reactor Control room and on the status of the reactor itself. The good news was the reactor and the station had survived. The sad news was his friend of thirty years was ruined. Thirty years of faithful service, a shining career, trashed by an emotional reaction. Shaking his head in sorrow, the Commander closed his door and stood staring into space with his hands clasped behind his back.