Cain’s arms started to ache. He saw the skin was bubbled up and down his forearms. Some of the blisters had popped and leaked clear fluid that ran down his fingers, wetting the stretcher’s grips. He flexed his fingers and gripped the stretcher more tightly. It wouldn’t do to drop Ellie.
The main table in the med lab was taken up by Briz as the bots worked on him, trimming the burnt fur away from the wound and using a healing laser to build up the skin. They put Ellie into a chair off to the side, where a second bot applied a pain reliever to her injuries to hold her over until the healing laser could work its magic on her.
“You saved me. You saved my life,” Ellie said flatly, raising a hand painfully to stop Cain from interrupting. “You saved me to impress your Aletha.” Cain hung his head, gently massaging Ellie’s hand, even though the act exacerbated the pain in his arms. She looked at him for a long time. He thought she was finally finished and started to speak, but she stopped him once again. He didn’t know what he was going to say anyway.
“I know,” she consoled him. “I’ve known all along, but I hoped.”
“Can we forget what happened?” he asked.
“Let’s not talk about that right now. Thanks, Cain, for coming after me. If you hadn’t, we’d both be dead.” She nodded toward Briz, still out cold as the bot worked on him.
“I noticed that you rescued Briz first.” She smiled, trying to change the subject. Cain didn’t bite.
“I wanted to save you all. Briz was closest to the hatch, that’s all,” Cain murmured, not looking up. “We lost the Wolfoid, not Stinky, the other one. I don’t even know his name.” Cain started sobbing, letting the pain in his arms drive his anguish.
He’d won everything that he’d joined the SES for, while losing it all at the same time.
And that’s what it’s like being a hero.
Report!
The captain returned to the bridge after checking engineering. A coolant pump and storage tank had blown, overwhelmed by the new levels of power generated to build the larger interdimensional vortex. Some panels were fried and systems had been overloaded, but the actual damage could be repaired. Two maintenance bots were already engaged in replacing destroyed computer terminals. They’d have to fabricate a new pump and tank, but the spaceship was equipped for that.
Crew members, on the other hand, were not so easy to come by, especially their resident genius. The captain wanted to be notified as soon as Briz was awake. He wanted to know he was okay. He wanted to know that Cain and Ellie were okay. He wanted to mourn the loss of Lieutenant Strider, the Wolfoid from the legacy crew. He wanted to believe that the sacrifice was worth it.
“Ensign Peekaless, where are we?”
“Calculations complete, Captain. We are almost on top of the heliosphere for system IC1396. It appears that we have arrived exactly on target. EM drive is nominal. Dark Matter banking has already begun. The system is currently at two percent. Jolly estimates three and a half weeks to maximum capacity as long as we remain in interstellar space,” Pickles reported.
“That’s one relief. Thanks, Ensign. I’ll be in the med lab.” The captain excused himself and walked away, hunched over and looking as if he’d aged a decade in the past twenty minutes.
Master Daksha looked at the people remaining in the Command Center. “Sensors! Full sweep of the star system before us. Planets, life, the usual. Let’s learn what we’re here to learn,” the Tortoid intoned through his vocalization device. “For those who’ve been hurt, this trip is for them.”
The sensor operators reported as they activated their systems in passive mode first, as per the standard operating procedures, the SOP. The passive systems provided an immediate view of the solar system so the operators could better aim their active systems. The radars didn’t work across a broad spectrum, the energy would dissipate to the point that none of it would return to the ship. A narrow beam was the only viable option. The passive sensors were critical in telling the operators where to point the active systems.
Master Daksha swam to the portholes that lined the outside bulkhead side of the command deck. He looked through them as the ship continued to spin, seeing the speck in the distance that was IC1396’s star. They’d be going that way in a while, but there was no rush. Even with his ten years of deep space exploration missions, he’d never accompanied a shuttle crew into the well, into a foreign star’s heliosphere. Finally, he would be the explorer he always envisioned himself to be.
He hoped the survivors of the explosion would recover. He really liked the Rabbit, and the human wasn’t too bad either. He felt the loss of Strider, a crew member who’d survived their last problem-plagued cruise, using the old Earth term for a sea voyage. They’d inscribe his name on the plaque that adorned the bulkhead on the command deck below the names of the others who’d lost their lives while serving aboard the Cygnus-12.
Maybe they should call you the Widowmaker, the captain thought sarcastically. Eleven crew lost in three cruises of the Cygnus-12’s career, and this trip had just begun.
The motto of the SES was “the ship is life, save the ship.” And they’d done that, repeatedly. Everyone on board volunteered for the SES because they believed that the risk was worth it. For all humanity, they went to space, to find what was out there and return with knowledge for the betterment of all. And if they could return with word that Earth was there, alive and well, then that would make every death that much more meaningful.
“No more sacrifices, if you please, Cygnus-12,” Daksha told the ship. Pickles looked up from his workstation, only briefly, then returned to parsing the significant amount of information that flowed through the sensors and into the ship.
“Ensign Tandry has discovered something, Commander. She’d like to talk with you,” Pickles passed to the Tortoid, who immediately switched screens on his neural implant.
‘Ensign Tandry, you have something?’ Daksha queried without pause.
‘Yes, Master Daksha. I believe I’ve found a man-made signal. I asked Jolly to search the database, find if the RV Traveler left a signal buoy in this system. He confirmed that the Traveler left buoys, but none within one hundred light years of here,’ she reported breathlessly.
‘What do you recommend, Ensign?’ the commander asked, knowing what he’d do.
‘I request permission to use the active sensor to paint the source, query the signal, and see if we can learn more,’ she offered.
‘Granted and carry on. When do you think you’ll have something?’
‘At least a week, Master Daksha. I have a LOB, a line of bearing, into the system. I estimate the signal is coming from deep within the well. If it’s closer, then we’ll have the information sooner,’ she reported.
‘Thank you, Ensign. Carry on. By the way, what is that hideous noise in your workspace?’ The commander could hear something that didn’t sound right.
‘That’s Mixial. The sensors make a sound that seems to grate on her soul. Is there any way she could go to the med lab, then maybe return to the garden deck?’
‘Yes, she’s free to travel the ship. No fighting with the Rabbits, please. Good work, Ensign.’ Daksha continued to look out the window, watching intently as the solar system spun into view. Who’s out there, he thought to himself. Have we found life?
A Rapid Recovery
When Briz awoke, he shot straight up in bed, knocking the med bot aside. He blinked rapidly as he looked around. “The containment vessel!” he ‘shouted’ through his scorched vocalization device.
“It blew, Briz. Engineering was on fire. Strider was next to it when it went.” Ellie couldn’t continue. The laser continued to work on her legs. Briz was in a bed shoved up against the wall. Cain was getting treated on the main bed. The burns to his arms weren’t horrible and would have healed of their own accord, but with the bot’s assistance, his physical injuries would heal more quickly and with less scarring.
His arms were the least of Cain’s problems, though.
The c
aptain stood outside the small med lab’s hatch, pleased that Briz was awake. He’d been there when Cain made his revelation regarding some girlfriend that he seemed to love more than his wife. Rand wasn’t sure how to handle the situation, but he knew that he couldn’t allow discord among the crew. They had to work together, especially since they were down one valuable crew member, with three more injured. The people would have to step up. They could mourn later. He’d say a few words, launch the Wolfoid’s body into space, and carry on with the mission. Before the crew came aboard, they made their wishes known regarding their remains should they die while serving. Strider wanted to be buried in space, a place he always wanted to be. Most others wished to be returned to Vii, if possible, for a more routine burial.
Rand entered the small lab and worked his way around the equipment, nodding to the three ensigns. He stopped at the end of the Rabbit’s bed as he could get no closer. There was a great bandage wrapped around Briz’s chest. His white fur was dirty, some of it scorched with the ends curled from the intense heat that rolled over him. His whiskers were gone and the hair on his ears was singed. He looked a mess, but the spark had returned to his eyes. That was what the captain wanted to see the most.
“Cain!” Captain Rand said, more loudly than intended. Cain sat up, wincing as the med bot gripped him more tightly to keep the laser focused. “I just want to say thank you for jumping into the fire. I have to say--” He looked pointedly at Ellie, who intently returned his look. “I don’t care about your motivations. All I know is that your actions saved two crew members who survived the rupture. Your selfless actions--and you could have easily died in there with them--made the difference today. We save the ship and then we save the crew. But sometimes you have to save the crew first as without them, how can we save the ship? We need one crew, working together. That’s for the good of all, for the good of the ship. When the bots release you, I need you back at your posts, see what needs repaired, and let’s make sure we have our priorities correct. I know you’ll be in pain and should probably be in bed recovering, but that’s not who we are when we’re out here. We’re heading into the well soon and while we transit the system, activities will be minimal and you can take it easy. On a different note, I thought you’d like to know that we’ve detected a signal that’s not natural.”
“Intelligent life?” Cain asked.
“Could be. Master Daksha wants to explore, get a closer look, as do we all. He’s never been within the heliosphere of a foreign star, although he’s been on more missions than the rest of us. He’s eager. I am too, and since this is the best ship in the fleet, we need it operating like it can when we head into the well, since we have no idea what we’ll encounter. In the interim, we’re banking dark matter and fixing the damage in engineering. I’d like you at your posts to assist as soon as the bots let you go,” he repeated to the three ensigns.
The captain excused himself and headed back to the command deck. Briz was first to speak.
“Can I go?” he asked the med bot.
“Yes,” it replied simply. The bots were programmed with advanced intelligence, but they weren’t intelligent. They only worked within defined medical parameters. The bot should have informed Briz as soon as he was able to leave, but then again, maybe the captain had loosened the limitations within the med lab programming. He was the captain and it was his ship. He had the authority to do whatever needed to be done.
Briz struggled to get down. Cain and Ellie watched helplessly, as they were both held in place by the med bots. The Rabbit slid off the bed sideways, using Cain’s bed in the middle of the small room to catch himself before he fell over. Once he had his big feet on the deck, he took a few tentative steps, then continued with more confidence through the hatch and down the corridor. He stopped, came back, and leaned into the doorway.
“Thanks, Cain, for saving my life. I don’t know how I can pay you back, but know that I’ll try. It’s the Rabbit way.” He held up a bandaged front hand to stop Cain from saying anything. Briz wasn’t good at social interactions, even with his friends. “See you soon, Ellie, and thank you for working with me in engineering. It’s just us now.” His big ears drooped as he turned and shuffled away.
Leaving Cain and Ellie alone.
“It’s just us now,” she stated, repeating Briz’s last words. Cain didn’t know if she meant it in more than one way.
“I’m sorry,” was all he could manage. The bot continued working the laser back and forth over the burned skin on one arm. The gentle whirring of the bot’s gears seemed loud in the silence.
A green light appeared on the equipment next to Ellie, and the small bot moved away from her. It started on Cain’s other arm. Ellie took that as her pass to leave.
She stood, gasping at the pain as she exercised the new skin on her legs. “I better get another uniform,” she said to herself as she looked at what remained of her current jumpsuit. She laughed awkwardly, but her eyes twinkled. She squeezed in beside the bot and leaned toward Cain. He tried to look away, but she held his cheek in her hand and pulled his head closer.
“No matter what else,” she whispered, “it’s just us out here. No matter any other thoughts in our minds, any other desires in our hearts, it’s just us, and you risked your life for me. I won’t ever forget…” She hesitated, then brushed her lips against his cheek, kissing his eyes first, then kissing him fully, as lovers do. “I won’t ever forget that you carried Briz out first,” she said as she kissed him once more with a grin, then limped from the med lab.
“I don’t deserve her either. I don’t deserve either of them,” Cain said to himself as he remained alone with the bots, his arms held in their firm but gentle grasp as they conducted the initial skin repairs. He exhaled and inhaled deeply. He had no idea what to do.
‘Lutheann, where are you?’ he asked in his thought voice, hoping the ‘cat might have sage advice for him.
‘We are waiting for someone to open the hatch so we can return to the garden deck. Our untimely removal earlier prevented the recovery of those awful devices you would have us wear,’ she said, friction riding her tone as she wanted to be angry, but didn’t want to further incite the humans. Cain smiled to himself. The punishment continued and hopefully the lesson was learned.
‘Stinky! Is there any way you can let those furry miscreants back onto the garden deck? I think they are waiting at the hatch at the steps on radial ninety,’ Cain asked his friend.
‘Sure. I have absolutely nothing better to do than to cater to the whims of those two criminals,’ the Wolfoid replied sarcastically. They both laughed as Leaper requested permission to leave the command deck, committing to help Cain.
The ‘cats were waiting impatiently when Stinky arrived. They didn’t acknowledge his presence as he joined them. They were ready to go through. Hillcats and Wolfoids had a long history of close cooperation as well as an ongoing interspecies rivalry. Dogs and cats. Genetics mandated a certain level of friction between them.
‘Well?’ Carnesto asked.
‘I know you hate it on board the ship, but couldn’t you at least try not to make everyone miserable?’ he pleaded with them.
‘We’re ‘cats. Is that really what you expect from us?’ Carnesto countered.
‘It is what I expect, Hillcat or no. This is a big ship and at the same time, this is a really small ship. I don’t think anyone’s ever been airlocked, but I think you two could be first, for the good of all humanity.’ Leaper opened the hatch. Lutheann and Carnesto looked at him defiantly, unsure of his sincerity.
“Four, three, two, one,” he counted down aloud, pulling his bracelet away when he reached zero. The ‘cats jumped through as the hatch started sliding shut. Leaper had already turned and was walking away, indifferent to whether the ‘cats went through or not.
Cain listened to the entire exchange between the Wolfoid and the ‘cats. He knew that it wasn’t supposed to be like this, suspecting that he wasn’t bonded as humans and ‘cats had bonded over the c
enturies. ‘I really need you not to be an ass, Lutheann,’ he told her, unsure of what else he wanted to say.
‘You want to know what to do next?’ she asked, sounding compassionate. ‘Keep on keeping on. You have work to do. You fill an important position on this ship. You are respected by your teammates, by the whole crew for that matter. Stop sulking and walk with your head held high. Take a lesson from the Hillcats. Don’t be bothered by the minutiae. And when they let you go from that horrid place, bring us some food!’
Cain looked at a spot on the bulkhead as he contemplated Lutheann’s words.
‘Please,’ she added as an afterthought.
I guess that’s a start, he told himself. When the bots finished, he looked at the fresh pink skin on his arms. No hair remained, and he wondered if it might grow back at some point. He flexed his arms, getting the feel of the tight, new skin. It didn’t hurt, maybe because the med bots had injected him with something. His jumpsuit was dirty, but it wasn’t burned like Ellie’s or Briz’s.
He’d still shower and change when he returned to his workspace. There was nothing like feeling clean when reporting to work in sewage central.
Into the Well
It took ten days before Briz was comfortable with the repairs to the engineering section. He and Jolly determined that a simple doubling of the wall thickness would provide the necessary strength to prevent a future rupture. But, to keep the internal dimensions identical, the reinforced tank wall took more space than available. So that meant modifications to neighboring systems and structures. That took the most time as they engineered the flow rates in lesser systems to prevent a cascade of failures during the next ISE activation.
The captain visited engineering often. His eyes kept getting drawn to the workstation where Lieutenant Strider had worked. Ellie removed the chair as if no one had ever worked there, but they all remembered. The Wolfoid’s ceremony was a brief event, taking ten minutes as they sent his body into the void of interstellar space. The sound of the cycling airlock represented the end of the ceremony. The final step was engraving his name on the command deck plate below the other ten names.
Cygnus Rising: Humanity Returns to Space (Cygnus Space Opera Book 1) Page 16