by Gary Weston
'You all need to be in my airlock together,' Friar told them. 'That way we don't keep wasting the air in this shuttle. Sam. You come over first with the line. Anne. You come over last so you can help the captain.'
'I'm not some senile geriatric,' snapped Jacobs.
'I know that, captain,' said Friar, 'But Sam and Anne are a good twenty years younger and in better physical condition. They're also less nervous about space-walking. Don't argue, Jay Jay. We don't have time.'
'Coming over,' said Clifton. He leaped out of the airlock with his line trailing behind him. He floated gracefully across the divide, landing expertly on his feet in the open airlock. He held on to a safety rail to keep him from floating around.
'Come on, Jay Jay,' Clifton said. 'Pull yourself across on my line.'
'Go,' Lee urged. 'The clock's ticking.'
Jacobs grabbed Clifton's line and pulled himself easily along, weighing nothing in the vacuum of space. He was still going too slow and Lee nervously checked her air-supply gauge which was on the orange warning bar before the red danger bar.
'Faster, captain.'
By the time Jacobs was being helped into the airlock by Clifton, they only had three minutes each of air remaining. Lee dived across so hard she misjudged and was in danger of floating over the shuttle, but Clifton jumped up and grabbed her as Jacobs pulled them both into the airlock. The second they were all inside, Friar closed the airlock and opened the inner airlock door.
'The air and pressure will be ok in about three minutes,' Friar told them. 'Keep your helmets on until then.'
The life-support replaced the air lost when the airlock had been opened and Lee, Clifton and Jacobs took small breaths as they waited, Friar finally giving them the ok to remove their helmets.
'Welcome aboard,' said Friar.
The three joined Friar and buckled themselves in their seats.
'Thanks, Joe,' said Jacobs.
'No sweat. Looks like I'll be captain another day.'
'What about the shuttle? We can repair it,' said Jacobs.
Clifton said, 'It should stay in orbit until the Goliath can collect it. The main thing is we are all alive and well. Take us home, Joe.'
'My pleasure.'
Chapter 32
'This is the faulty unit we built?' Staples asked.
'Keep your voice down,' said Gunther, locking his office door. 'And no. That is the original unit I sabotaged. As you technicians worked on it, I would later undo your efforts so none of you could repair it. I convinced you to build a new unit, knowing that would be impossible, especially as I would tinker with your efforts.'
'You had me fooled. But then I'd never suspect you were conspiring against us.'
'Believe me. I got no satisfaction from what I did. I hope you understand why I did it.'
Staples said, 'I understand why you think you had to do it. You think the mission and those on the Goliath are in danger and that General Loretti not only knows about it, but for some reason, condones it.'
'I believe so, yes.'
'But you haven't warned anyone on the Goliath.'
Gunther shook his head. 'Because I feel certain somebody on the Goliath is in on it, too. I just don't know who.'
'And you are hoping your daughter can find out what's going on?'
Gunther said, 'She's my only hope of getting to the bottom of all this. I could easily play into their hands if I work without solid information.'
'From what I know of the general, that's a big ask for Bridget. Loretti is the ultimate control freak.'
Gunther chuckled and nodded. 'You got that right. And that was the main reason our...relationship was short-lived. We were young and I was in love with her, or so I imagined. She wanted a man and I was available, not to mention very willing. She may be a cold hearted bitch, but man, she's beautiful. But she likes men she can dominate and after what could only be described as an intense and volatile few months, I ended it.'
'You ended it?'
'I can understand that might surprise you. Let's just say that is how I recall it. By then it was too late to terminate the pregnancy. That would have been her preferred option. She was an ambitious colonel at the time and considered Bridget to be an inconvenience. One month after the birth, Bridget was looked after by others then private schools and finally the military academy. Trish had as little to do with her daughter as possible.'
'Bridget could have been adopted.'
'Trish saw Bridget as something she owned and she's not one for giving anything away.'
Staples said, 'That might explain Loretti, but what's your excuse? You could have been a part of Bridget's life. Sorry. None of my business.'
'That's ok. Loretti used her influence and connections to have a legal order taken out against me forbidding me to have anything to do with Bridget or even be in the same room with her. I only found that out when I visited Bridget's state home when it was her first birthday. It had taken me all that time to track her down. As I held her in my arms, I was arrested and spent a week in jail before being dragged before a judge. I was released on the understanding if I broke the legal order again, not only would it be the end of my career, I would spend time behind bars.'
Staples said, 'I knew the general had a ruthless streak, but I didn't realise she was that ruthless. Are you sure this isn't about simple revenge on her? Payback time?'
'Really? After all these years? I felt great sadness, but that's all. Perhaps deep down I still had feelings for Trish. She gave me the job of running the Base, mostly as a way of keeping me well away from her and Bridget. I'm just hoping there's a spark of real love inside Loretti for Bridget. That would be her weakness and possibly, just possibly, Bridget can find out something useful.'
'Sounds like a long shot. We can but hope. And in the meantime...?'
'We wait.'
Chapter 33
'Disgusting,' said Bridget. 'Will he live?'
Salamandra was on a steel bed, his arms and legs chained to each corner. His body was liberally covered in marks and bruises from the beating by Naylor and tiny pieces of flesh had been crudely carved away from arms and legs and blood still dripped onto the floor. A doctor, a middle aged man with thinning grey hair, administered an injection into Salamandra's arm and scowled at his visitors. 'General Loretti. I have said it before and I'll say it again now. This crude and barbaric method is totally unnecessary. We have drugs that do the job for more efficiently.'
Loretti said, 'True, Doctor Zimmerman. But not so much fun. Now answer the question. Will he live?'
Salamandra's eyes rolled open and he spat out blood as he spoke. 'I intend to live just to annoy you, Loretti. And forget your truth drugs. That's been tried before to no avail. My spirit is too strong for you to break.'
Loretti shrugged. 'It is irrelevant if you talk or not. We already know most of what we need to know. Your people have held on tenaciously but your forces are spread too thinly and are too few in number now. That much we know.'
'Convince yourself of that, Loretti. We have inflicted heavy losses on your army. But feel free to underestimate us. That will ultimately be your downfall.'
This was true and Loretti's bluffing wasn't working on Salamandra. 'All we need are details, to prevent unnecessary loss of life on both sides.'
Salamandra worked a lose tooth free with his tongue and spat it out of his battered lips at Loretti. 'How compassionate of you.'
'Merely efficiency. This war is almost over. We need to rebuild everything again. Once your people join us, of course.'
'You mean when we become subservient to you.'
Loretti went to a neat display rack on a wall, where shiny metallic implements were carefully secured. She selected one with a short hook shaped blade.
'Isn't it only reasonable that the victorious side has dominance over the losers? As the superior race...'
Salamandra snarled, 'There is nothing superior about your people, Loretti.'
Loretti approached the defenceless prisoner and sh
e held the tip of the blade close to Salamandra's right eye. Salamandra didn't flinch.
Loretti said, 'That from a man about to lose a war. Why not do yourself and your people a huge favour and tell them to lay down their weapons.'
Salamandra smiled painfully, showing two gaps where Naylor had pulled out teeth with pliers. 'When will you realise it doesn't matter if I live or die? My people will never be subjugated under your command. Go ahead. Kill me.'
The blade hovered over Salamandra's eyes and Bridget felt sick to her stomach waiting for Loretti to cut out the eyeball. Loretti stood back and began cleaning her fingernails with the blade.
'As tempting as killing you is, it serves my purpose to keep you alive. I'm about to dine, so I'll consider how much pain to inflict on you. Doctor Zimmerman. How long before the painkiller wears off?'
'About twenty-four hours. I've administered a coagulant to reduce the blood loss. Again. He'll probably live. This time.'
Salamandra laughed. 'See, Loretti? I'm practically indestructible. Captain Loretti. Doesn't it make you proud to have such a woman for your mother?'
Bridget didn't feel much pride, but said nothing.
Salamandra said, 'Never mind, Bridget. It doesn't matter. But I wonder what else she's told you. About Spero.'
'Common knowledge,' said Bridget. 'For the last ten years we've been going there to colonise it.'
Salamandra laughed and almost choked on his own blood. 'Is that all you know? Loretti. Don't you even trust your own daughter enough to tell her the truth?'
Loretti dashed to his side, the blade held in a shaking hand close to his jugular vein. 'Silence!'
'Really? But you have tried so hard to make me talk.'
The blade broke the skin on Salamandra's neck, but not enough to do real damage.
'Twenty-four hours, Salamandra. When you can feel pain again, I'll return.'
'I'm sure the pleasure is all yours.'
'It will be,' Loretti hissed. 'Come, captain. I'm hungry.'
Chapter 34
'Not long now,' said Friar. 'Soon be back in the relative comfort of the Goliath.'
Lee said, 'For a moment, I thought we weren't destined to return.'
'Lucky I was around. Captain Jacobs. How are you feeling now?'
Jacobs said, 'Like Anne. Both surprised and delighted to still be around.'
Friar said, 'Anne. As the our principal biologist, what's your opinion of Spero?'
'Apart from taking soil samples to analyse on the Goliath, I was unable to ascertain much about anything. We could hardly see beyond our noses. According to the readouts of the atmosphere, the terraformers have a long way still to go.'
'Why did they stop working?' Friar asked.
'There are only two possibilities I can think of,' replied Lee. 'The unexpected volcanic eruption blocked out the sunlight. The solar panels couldn't recharge the power-packs and they just stopped. Or...No.'
'What?' Jacobs asked.
'I don't want to voice my thoughts. Too scary.'
Clifton said, 'Then I'll do it for you. The terraformers were turned off by Earth.'
'Ridiculous conjecture,' snapped Jacobs.
'I'm not saying that's actually what happened, Jay Jay. But as Anne stated, there are only two possibilities. Not enough sunlight, or turned off deliberately from Earth.'
'That is possible,' said Friar. 'If that happened, it can only mean one thing. Somebody wants the mission to fail.'
'Preposterous!' said Jacobs. 'What would be the reason? We have every nationality, ethnicity and gender on the Goliath. We went to great trouble to ensure no group of people were excluded. The embryos are the same mix. When they are born, we will have a true representative mix of people as we do now. I would not agree to anything else.'
'Hey, Jay Jay. Don't shoot the messenger. It is the only alternative explanation of the terraformers all shutting down at the same time. Forget I said it. Let's just go along with the solar charging theory.'
Jacobs said, 'Oh, don't you worry, Friar,' said Jacobs. 'I intend to do just that. Because, if the alternative is true, it means somebody wants to kill us off. And along with us, the last hope of the human race. No, Friar. That would be too preposterous to contemplate. Excuse me. I need to go and lie down.'
As Jacobs left to rest, Lee said, 'Friar!'
'What?'
'Do you really want to shatter his dreams and hopes?'
Friar said, 'Of course not. But if somebody's out to kill me, I'd like to find out why and more importantly, who.'
Chapter 35
'Is the food to your liking?'
Bridget said, 'Delicious. Sorry I couldn't do it justice. I seem to have lost my appetite. I must say you live well here.'
Loretti left her plate alone and picked up the crystal goblet. Savouring the fine wine, she said, 'My life is on the line every single day. The force field protecting this headquarters has been intensely bombarded and cannot be relied upon. So I think a modicum of comfort is a reasonable part of my compensation.'
'Nobody forces you to do what you do.'
'Only destiny. A word of advice. Never argue with destiny. She'll get you anyway.'
Bridget sipped her wine, knowing quality when she tasted it. 'An interesting philosophy. It occurs to me that I don't know what to call you. At the moment we are relaxed and off duty. Do I call you general, sir or...mother?'
'An interesting question. General and sir seem too formal for the occasion. But I'm not sure I deserve you calling me mother.'
'Let's compromise. How about I call you Patricia?'
Loretti said, 'Ok. But I'm more comfortable with Trish. Is that ok with you?'
'I can live with it if you can. Hard to believe it took us all these years to get to where we are now.'
'One thing life has taught me is not to have regrets. If I pass on one thing to you, let it be that.'
Bridget said, 'Is that how you managed to dismiss me from your life, by not regretting not having me in your life?'
A pained look crossed Loretti's eyes, but was gone in an instant. 'You turned out ok. Probably a lot better than if I had been an influence on you. And you're a damn fine captain. Now that I helped you with. I had your instructors be particularly tough on you to put fire in your belly. But I showed no favours when it came to your promotions. You earned those.'
'Just doing my duty. But we both know this war is the last one and nobody will win it.'
'True. It does have a certain inevitability about it. I like to think it would have happened with or without me.'
Bridget said, 'I think you shoulder your share of the responsibility.'
'Oh? As I recall, our enemy started this war.'
'We had imposed so many political and economic sanctions on them they either starved or fought. Now we are trying to beat them into submission with the intention of creating an enslaved peoples.'
Loretti said, 'You say that as if it's a bad thing. They're inferior and always have been. It is their fate intertwined with ours. We just happen to be superior.'
'You really believe that, don't you.'
'I have experienced nothing that would ever convince me otherwise. I started life with no privileges and literally fought my way to the top of the military.'
Bridget said, 'And I don't believe your ambition stops at the military.'
Loretti smiled wryly and she averted her eyes. 'Don't you think I would be a far greater president of the western tricor than the one we have now? After all, he's only a man.'
Bridget had heard enough. She stood and walked to the door, paused and looked back at her mother. 'How unfortunate for you that as time runs out, history will never record your rise to fame.'
'Perhaps.'
There came that smile again that disturbed Bridget so.
'Goodnight, Trish.'
'Goodnight, Bridget.'
Chapter 36
Doctor Val Cormack had her "no nonsense" look on as Jacobs, Clifton, Lee and Friar arrived. 'All of you. My surgery
now.'
'If you don't mind Doctor Cormack,' said Jacobs, 'It has been a rather tiring mission and I'll see you first thing in the morning.'
'You will not, Captain Jacobs. On all things medical on this ship, my word is law. And I expect you to lead by example and take the others with you. Go. I'll be along shortly. Anne. I'd like a quick word with you first, please. You three get going.'
The three men knew it was a waste of time arguing with Cormack and set off towards the surgery.
'Yes, Doctor Cormack?' Lee asked.
'You were with the captain when he passed out on Spero?'
'Yes and no.'
Cormack said, 'Which is it? Yes or no?'
'Well. We had carried a power-pack for thirty miles between us to the nearest terraformer. We had swapped the power-packs over and I went inside to get things running so we could drive it back to the shuttle. I called for Jay Jay but he didn't answer. I went outside and found him passed out on the ground.'
'I see. Do you think the fall rendered him unconscious?'
Lee said, 'I've given it plenty of thought in the meantime. His helmet was undamaged and the ground is so covered in thick dust it would be like falling onto a soft pillow.'
'I see. But you had just walked thirty miles carrying a power-pack. Did that prove too much for him at anytime on the walk?'
'We both found it tiring. We couldn't see our hands in front of our faces. For safeties sake we went at a steady pace. We did take several breaks for sips of water.'
Cormack said, 'Wouldn't that mean removing your helmets?'
'Of course. But I had analysed the air and although it wasn't good, it allowed us to take off our helmets for a couple of minutes.'
'Clearly you felt no ill affects from either breathing in the air or the walk. Oh, well. I'll examine him and see what I find.'
'I'll come with you to the surgery.' It was half a mile walk to the surgery and Lee told Cormack about the adventure with the flights through the atmosphere then the space-walk.