by Ryk Brown
“I think I can see her running lights,” Josh said, pointing out the forward windows. “She must still have battery power.”
Captain Tuplo looked out the window as well. “Yup, that’s her.” He keyed his mic again. “Asa-Cafon, Seiiki. If you can hear me, shut off your running lights. We have your position, so conserve your power for life-support.”
Captain Tuplo and Josh stared out the window at the approaching ship’s lights. Finally, they went out.
“Yes!” Josh exclaimed.
“Asa-Cafon, Seiiki. Your running lights are off, so we know you can hear us. If we’re clear to dock to your port, midship boarding hatch, flash your running lights twice.” Captain Tuplo gazed out the window as the Asa-Cafon’s running lights flashed on and off two times. “Excellent,” the captain said, keying his mic again. “Asa-Cafon, Seiiki. Hang tight. We’ll be there in a few minutes.” The captain looked at Josh. “You up for this?”
“Walk in the park, Cap’n.”
Captain Tuplo looked at Josh, puzzled. He had heard a lot of unusual expressions from the young man over the years, but this was a new one. “That’s good, right?”
CHAPTER EIGHT
Doran Montrose and his wife walked up to the restroom doors at the back of the market. Doran looked back over his shoulder, checking to see if anyone was looking their way, then guided his wife toward the storeroom door.
“What are…”
“Ssh,” Doran cautioned her quietly, pushing her gently away from the restrooms and toward the door to the back. “Quickly.”
They slipped through the door, and were met on the other side by a young man. “This way,” he whispered. They followed him across the storeroom, around several stacks of boxes, and into a back corner on the farside, shielded from view.
As they rounded the corner of the stack of boxes, they spotted Dumar, standing next to two large wine barrels, with a small, wet dog beside him.
“Quickly. Into these barrels,” Dumar said, gesturing for Doran and his wife to step up on the wooden boxes and into the barrels.
Doran and his wife exchanged a confused look. Doran stepped up onto the box and looked inside the barrel. “But, they still have…”
“The contents have been calculated to allow for your body mass,” Dumar explained in hushed tones, “and the wine is warm enough to mask your body heat from the Jung scanners. They are using simple devices. They will see only full barrels of wine.”
“How can you be sure?” Doran asked.
“They did not detect Max,” Dumar replied, pointing at the dog next to him.
Doran’s wife looked afraid, pausing hesitantly after stepping into the warm, burgundy liquid. “How will we breathe?”
“The wine should only come up to your chin, and there are holes in the lids to allow air inside. It will work.”
Doran lowered himself down into the barrel, the wine coming up around his body as he squatted down, until it was lapping at his chin. “And if your calculations are incorrect?”
“Then drink some of the wine,” Dumar replied with a grim smile. “If nothing else, it will make the journey more tolerable.”
Doran’s wife settled down into her barrel as well, slowly allowing the wine to rise up around her body.
“How long must we be in these barrels with the lids closed?” Doran asked.
“At least until we are well clear of the city. Then you may at least crack the lids open to make it easier to tolerate the smell,” Dumar explained.
“How did you manage to get baby Ailsa into one of these?” Doran’s wife wondered.
“In her mother’s arms,” Dumar answered. “And, I injected the child with a mild sedative, so that she would sleep.”
Doran squatted down as Dumar prepared to put the lid in place. The wine crept up over his chin and then lips, forcing him to lean his head back to keep his nose and mouth out of the liquid. “This smells horrible.”
“I said it would work,” Dumar replied flatly as he placed the lid on top of the barrel, sealing Doran inside. “I did not say it would smell good.”
* * *
The Seiiki drifted slowly over the much larger Asa-Cafon, passing over her midship. As she cleared the larger ship’s hull, the Seiiki fired her braking thrusters, stopping her forward motion completely. Several more tiny squirts of thrust sent the smaller vessel downward, her descent stopping a few moments later by opposite thrust.
The Seiiki’s aft cargo ramp began to swing downward, as the ship thrust, yet again, to begin a gentle translation backward toward the port side of the Asa-Cafon’s midsection. Her cargo ramp passed its normal position, continuing to swing until it was hanging down at a forty-five-degree angle.
As the Seiiki continued to back toward the Asa-Cafon, a large docking collar began to extend from the back of her cargo bay, reaching its full extension only a few seconds before it made contact with the Asa-Cafon’s hull.
Marcus stood at the forward end of the Seiiki’s cargo bay, sealed up inside his pressure suit, his hands against the hatch of the docking apparatus. The ship rocked, as a metallic clank translated through the Seiiki’s hull. The sudden motion nearly knocked Marcus off his feet.
“Contact,” Josh announced over Marcus’s helmet comms.
“No shit,” Dalen commented back.
Marcus worked the controls beside the docking apparatus hatch. “Docking collar has a good lock. I’m pressurizing the seal now.” After a few seconds, a red light on the panel turned green. “I’ve got a good seal, and the tunnel is pressurized. Permission to pop the inner hatch, Cap’n.”
“Pop it and get the first group aboard,” the captain instructed over the comms.
“Poppin’ inner hatch.”
“Dalen, Neli,” the captain continued. “Remember, do not open those hatches until the ones at the other end of those corridors are closed and locked. It’s your own asses you’re protecting. Just remember that.”
Marcus pulled open the hatch on the docking apparatus and moved inside. “I’m in the boarding tunnel. Making my way to their outer hatch.”
“Marcus, are you carrying?” Captain Tuplo asked.
“You bet your ass I am.”
“If those passengers panic, don’t be afraid to use that thing to keep them under control.”
“Don’t you worry none about that, Cap’n. I’m quick on the trigger.”
“Just don’t shoot any holes in my ship. I can’t afford to fix them unless we finish this job.”
Marcus reached the hull of the Asa-Cafon, and pressed the control panel for the outer hatch. The hatch sank into the hull, then slowly slid to one side, revealing a small airlock. Marcus could see the face of a young man looking through the porthole in the middle of the Asa-Cafon’s inner hatch. “Come on, kid,” he said, gesturing to the young man to open the hatch. “Don’t be shy.”
The young man in the window shook his head, refusing to open the hatch.
“What the hell is wrong with this guy?”
“What’s going on down there?” Captain Tuplo asked over the comms.
“This idiot won’t open the hatch,” Marcus replied.
“He probably isn’t sure if the airlock is pressurized,” the captain surmised.
“Well what the fuck does he think I’m doin’ in here?”
“Is your visor still down?”
“Oops.” Marcus raised his visor to show the nervous young man that it was safe to open up. A moment later, the hatch began to slide open, more slowly than he expected.
“I don’t think they have any power left,” Marcus said. “They’re cranking their hatch open manually.”
“Copy that.”
“Thank God you’re here!” the young man exclaimed from the other side.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah. Save the pleasantries, kid. The sooner you get your first group aboard, the sooner we can get back for the rest of you.”
“You don’t know how happy we are that you came!”
“That’s real nice. You
can buy me a beer later. Now let’s get movin’.”
Marcus turned and headed back down the boarding tunnel toward the Seiiki. He stepped through the hatch at the end, into what little space remained in the cargo bay, which was mostly filled with the docking apparatus they had installed for the mission. “Come on, people! We ain’t got all day!” he chided as he turned around to face the passengers coming down the boarding tunnel toward him. “First twenty-five to port, second twenty-five to starboard! Head aft along the sides and up the ladders! Then forward through the hatch and into the corridor! Last man closes the hatch behind him! If you don’t, you won’t be let into the main compartment!”
Marcus stood there, repeating his instructions as the passengers moved out of the docking apparatus, filed along its sides to the aft end of the cargo bay, and ascended the ladders to the catwalk above. Once they reached the catwalk, they did as instructed and stepped through the aft hatches into the corridors.
When Marcus noticed the passengers bunching up, he waved his hands for them to stop. “Hold up! Hold up! Everyone hold on while we cycle the first group in!” Marcus turned away from the passengers momentarily. “That’s twenty-five per side. I’m waiting on you guys.”
“I’ve got a good lock on the aft hatch,” Neli reported over comms. “I’m letting my first group in.”
“Talk to me, Dalen,” Marcus called.
“I still show the hatch on my side as open!”
“Starboard side!” Marcus yelled. “Close your aft hatch!”
Passengers from the Asa-Cafon continued to push forward in the boarding tunnel, despite the fact that the line had stopped moving.
“I said to hold up, God damn it!”
“I’ve got it!” Dalen reported. “I’ve got a good lock. I’m letting my side in.”
“Port corridor is ready for more passengers,” Neli reported.
“Port side!” Marcus yelled. “Open your hatch and get inside the corridor. Twenty-fifth one in closes the hatch! And don’t forget!”
Josh stared at the Seiiki’s sensor display, as Captain Tuplo switched between the various cameras inside the Seiiki’s cargo bay and corridors, keeping an eye on the activity elsewhere in his ship.
“Neli,” the captain called over his comm-set. “Get to the main compartment and tell those people to move up into the upper compartment to make room for the next group. We’ve got to keep this thing running smoothly.”
“Right away, Captain.”
“How are we looking, Josh?” the captain asked, as he watched Neli on the monitor.
“So far, so good. No ships in the area, and our docking seals are holding up.”
“Marcus, as soon as those hatches close, you drop your visor, close the Asa-Cafon’s hatch, and disconnect,” the captain instructed.
“I can squeeze maybe ten more along either side of the docking apparatus, Cap’n,” Marcus offered.
“Bad idea,” Captain Tuplo objected. “That thing is sealed up with our inner cargo hatch ring using nothing more than temp-bond and prayers. You said so yourself, remember?”
“It’ll hold ‘till we get the ramp up and locked, Cap’n. Just don’t go jerkin’ us ‘round too much before I get the boarding tunnel retracted and the ramp closed.”
“It’s your call, Marcus. You installed the damned thing.”
“I got it, Cap’n,” Marcus replied. “Just don’t let that little shit use anymore than one percent on the translation thrusters until my say so.”
Captain Tuplo looked at Josh. “I’m sure it was a term of endearment.”
Josh rolled his eyes.
Neli made her way past the passengers crowded around the entrance to the main passenger compartment, pushing her way in between them as she yelled instructions at the top of her lungs. “Everyone! Move to the upper level and strap in! If there are no seats, sit on the floor! When you run out of room up there, sit on the platform or the steps! No one takes a seat down here, until every centimeter of space up there is filled with bodies!”
Marcus counted off the twenty-fifth passenger for each side as they came out of the boarding tunnel. “You and you,” he commanded, grabbing them by the arms. “As soon as you get inside those hatches up there, you close and lock them.”
“Then they’ll let us in?” one of the two passengers surmised.
“Negative. You all will ride back in the corridor.”
“Is it safe?”
“Safer than stayin’ here,” Marcus said. “Don’t worry, it’s a short trip. Just don’t forget to close those hatches.”
Marcus released the two passengers, allowing them to continue aft along either side of the docking apparatus.
“We’re standing room only, Cap’n,” Neli reported over comms.
“Ten more, down here!” Marcus ordered.
“What about the forward corridors?” the captain asked.
“Five per side, and that’s it until the next trip!” Marcus added.
“Forward corridor as well. Port side is full up, I’m telling ya!” Neli replied.
Marcus yelled over the heads of the passengers in the boarding tunnel, trying to get the attention of the crewman in the Asa-Cafon’s hatch at the other end. “That’s all! That’s all we can fit! We’ll get the rest on the next trip!”
“We’re full up to starboard, too, Cap’n!” Dalen reported.
“That’s it, Marcus,” the captain said. “Get your last ones aboard and close it up!”
“Come on, people, squeeze in there! All the way back!” Marcus yelled. He reached in and helped a young boy and his mother through the hatch, then looked down the boarding tunnel. At the opposite end, the Asa-Cafon’s crew was having trouble holding back the rest of the passengers to close their hatch.
“No!” one of the passengers trying to get past the crewman cried out. “You’ve got to take me with you!”
“Get your ass back inside!” Marcus demanded.
“I can pay you!”
“Sorry, pal! You’ll have to wait for…”
“There’s no way…” The man overpowered the crewman and charged down the boarding tunnel, three more panicked passengers following behind him.
Marcus drew his weapon, pressing the charge button as it slid clear of his holster. The man continued to charge forward, determined to get past him. Marcus stepped inside the boarding tunnel and punched the charging man directly in the nose, knocking him off his feet.
The man fell to the ground, but quickly scrambled back to his feet, only to find the fully charged energy pistol pointed at his forehead. At the other end of the arm holding it, was Marcus, with a big smile on his scruffy face.
“Get your ass back in there,” Marcus ordered in a menacing tone, “or so help me I’ll burn a hole in your head and giggle about it later.”
Two of the Asa-Cafon’s crew charged into the tunnel, grabbing the other men and dragging them back into the ship. The young man who had originally been overpowered came into the tunnel next, accompanied by another, more burly, crewman.
“Go, we’ve got this!” the burly one yelled as he grabbed the man kneeling at the end of Marcus’s weapon and dragged him back to the Asa-Cafon.
Marcus watched as the two crewmen dragged the passenger back through the hatch. “Get that hatch closed!” he instructed as he stepped back through the hatch behind him, and into the Seiiki’s cargo bay. “We’ll be back in half an hour, max!”
“We’ll be here!” the crewman replied as they began cranking the hatch closed.
Marcus closed his hatch as well, then watched through the hatch portal until the Asa-Cafon’s outer hatch was closed and mated back up with the seams of her hull. “Breaking docking seal,” he announced over his helmet comms as he deactivated the docking ring locks on the far end of the boarding tunnel.
The sound of rushing air filled the room, as the pressure inside the boarding tunnel escaped into space. Several of the passengers crowded around the docking apparatus screamed out in fear, thinking the carg
o bay was losing pressure.
“Clean disconnect,” Marcus added. “Retracting the boarding tunnel.” As he holstered his weapon again, he looked down at the young boy standing in front of his mother to his left. “That’s what happens when you don’t do as you’re told.”
“Thrusting away, one percent only,” Josh announced as he fired the Seiiki’s docking thrusters to push away from the Asa-Cafon. “You wanna call up the return jump series?”
Captain Tuplo stared at the monitor, transfixed by the expressions of absolute terror on the faces of his passengers. He could not imagine what they had been through. The loss of power. The frigid temperatures. All the while, not knowing if anyone was going to come to their rescue, or even worse, that they would freeze to death, trillions of kilometers away from their homes.
Connor Tuplo knew that he had been in a horrific crash. But he had no memory of it. Not before, not during, and not after. His only memories were from the moment he had awakened in the hospital, six months later. All he knew of the crash was what he had read in the reports, and the pictures he had seen of the wreckage. He didn’t even remember his life before the crash. That too was now just a collection of facts from his personnel file. Facts he had committed to memory in order to feel somewhat normal…as he imagined everyone else felt. Everyone who remembered their past.
The faces. He wondered if the faces of his passengers had been the same, fear and panic, the kind that only comes with the knowledge that certain death is inevitable.
Connor had been told the accident was not his fault. Some part, some tiny part deep within the ship he had been flying, had failed at exactly the wrong moment. He had even been given compensation for his pain and suffering… Enough to buy the Seiiki, and learn how to fly all over again. But that hadn’t brought back the lives that had been lost. The lives that he had been responsible for as the pilot that day. It hadn’t even brought back his life…only a superficial facsimile of it.