by Travis Sande
"I was doing calculations while they were planting the bomb. I would suggest no more than zero-point five percent of our previous maximum velocity." Eilik said. “With the explosion inevitably compromising our hull, any stored RIP energy is a potential threat. The slower we are moving, the less energy there will be.”
“Zero-point five percent?” Yanna exclaimed. “That will leave us almost directly at the destination they have chosen. We need to end this before then to give us a fighting chance at an escape. Derrick is going to be using maneuvering thrusters, that’s enough of a downside as is. I did some calculations myself, I believe we can handle three percent.”
“I have to agree with Yanna.” Derrick spoke up, he shared her concern about an escape utilizing only maneuvering thrusters. “We need every single second we can squeeze out of this to facilitate our escape.”
"Three percent is our target then. How much time do we have?" Lorn asked.
Eilik appeared to shake his head slightly before responding. "The intervals have narrowed to three minutes with the decrease averaging four percent. If this remains consistent, we have fifteen minutes."
"Everyone, get to your stations and secure yourself. We need to prep for impact. I need someone to man Luke's console." Lorn moved into the center of the bridge and began strapping himself into the command chair.
"I'm on it!" Nik yelled as she got up and moved quickly through the bridge to Luke’s station.
"As soon as we are clear of the RIP bubble, I need you to lift the blast shielding so we can orient ourselves and begin scans." Lorn shifted into command mode as he delegated tasks around the crew.
"Got it." Nik said as she secured herself into Luke's seat.
"Ben, as soon as Nik lifts the shields I need you to extend spatial scanners and begin a sweep of the wreckage to ensure we got that thing and there's enough of us left to survive. You will also need to scan our surroundings to see what we are working with." Lorn finished pulling the straps tight, securing himself in.
"Yes, sir." Ben frantically activated his interface.
"Yanna, I need you to prep the spectrometer to scan any moons, planets, or masses of any kind in our vicinity. Odds are our best chance for survival would be to ditch somewhere. If you find nothing around us, I need you working with Ben to assess our damage and mitigate any life-threatening issues as soon as possible." Lorn continued issuing orders.
"Understood." Yanna was already secured in place and had her interface fully active.
"Derrick, power up the maneuvering thrusters, we need to be ready to move the second we are free of the bubble." Lorn entered a few inputs into his console. “Eilik, return power to the aft sections briefly and seal all corridor access points. We need as many barriers between us and that explosion as possible.”
"Twenty percent." Eilik interjected. "Intervals remaining constant. Twelve minutes until we reach three percent velocity."
"Is there any chance this thing still has access to our systems?" Hank said as he looked up at the camera overlooking the bridge.
"Eilik, we are sealed, right?" Lorn said, unsettled by the camera as well.
"Yes, all commands may only exit the bridge, nothing can enter. The cameras have all been deactivated for emergency power conservation mode that I initiated." Eilik went on. “All aft access points have been sealed.”
Derrick started the power cycle of the thrusters to bring them online as he got himself situated in his seat. Securing his harness, he was once again locked into a forward view with only Kim over his left shoulder in his peripheral.
"Sian, I need you up and attending to any injuries that may result from the explosion as soon as Derrick has us stable enough for free movement." Lorn ran over every detail.
"Understood." Sian confirmed.
"Fifteen percent." Eilik once again interrupted. "Interval is now once per minute with a five percent decrease. At this rate our last interval before zero velocity will be in two minutes at five percent speed."
"That will have to work." Lorn said. “You heard him, we are going to be taking a bigger hit than we anticipated. I want everyone at the height of their game for this.”
Derrick noticed one of his thrusters suddenly go offline in the aft section of the ship. "I just lost a thruster." He said, attempting to find the cause. It appeared as if it was destroyed.
"What?" Lorn blurted out.
"I just lost an aft thruster on the starboard side, and now the port side just went down. It must be detecting the energy signature." Derrick’s only thought was that the entity was detecting his efforts and systematically destroying the thrusters.
"We don't need any of those thrusters, let it stay occupied back there. As long as it stays clear of the bridge corridor and forward sections we should be fine." Lorn attempted to dismiss the situation while it remained in the aft sections that were about to be destroyed.
"Ten percent. The next interval will be our window for detonation if everything stays consistent." Eilik informed the crew
Eilik’s words felt surreal to Derrick. The speed in which this day had gone off the rails was disorienting. From waking up and bumping his head to Luke’s death. Now they were about to detonate their vessel. Everything was happening so fast and Derrick found himself searching his interface panel for answers on how they would get out of this. Another two thrusters went offline, and Derrick was slammed back into the moment.
"Everyone prepare for impact, this is it." Lorn yelled, all communications were still going through their flight suits.
"I apologize for the cliché, but I just wanted to thank all of you for the pleasure of serving with you. I just wish Luke could be here with us to see the end." Hank must have been having a similar realization as Derrick as he blurted out an odd sentiment amidst the chaos.
A second of silence overcame the crew as they all took a moment to agree with Hank's feelings. The moment lingered for as long as it could before it was interrupted.
"Derrick how are those thrusters looking?" Lorn asked.
"I have lost six, but we are online. It is making its way down the crew quarters as we speak. Just lost the seventh thruster, starboard side, crew quarters." Derrick reported.
"Get ready to detonate, Hank." Lorn’s voice was becoming increasingly tense as the seconds ticked by.
Everyone hung on Eilik's words, awaiting the final announcement. Tension built as the silence echoed through the bridge. No one dare speak for fear of cutting off Eilik. Suddenly, he spoke. "Nine percent." He said.
"Nine?" Lorn said with shock.
"Jesus Christ!!" Hank said. "I almost detonated."
"What do you mean, nine?" Derrick said. "This thing is eating our thrusters, we don't have all day."
"Power thrusters down, now." Lorn commanded.
Derrick immediately shut down all the thrusters. Starting and stopping the thrusters was the most intensive part of their use. Derrick was concerned for their reliability if he was forced to restart them soon. The residual heat from the previous firing could cause problems.
"Thrusters offline, this is dangerous sir. This isn't like flicking a light on and off, we are talking about nuclear fission here." Derrick said.
"I understand that, Derrick. You lost seven thrusters in under two minutes. If we are sitting here for six more minutes before detonation you would have nothing left. We can at least make them harder to find." Lorn made his point clear.
"Yes, sir." Derrick said. He knew the commander was right, there was no other option given the circumstances. "There's just no way for me to exhaust the heat through open space vents with the blast shields down. We may blow a few thrusters when I ignite them again."
"You will have to make whatever is left, work." Lorn said. "How long does thruster start-up take?"
"Three minutes ideally but it can be expedited if necessary. Thrusters are operational after two minutes, once again that adds stress. Given the residual heat in there I would recommend waiting the three minutes for a full ignition." Der
rick did his best to be optimistic without asking too much of the thrusters.
"Eight percent" Eilik said. "Intervals are remaining constant at one minute per percent of decrease."
"They must have a more gradual slowing procedure once they are near the destination." Yanna continued. “I wish we could study how they are able to have such control.” Yanna spoke, admiring the capabilities of whatever had gripped them.
"That would make sense, slowing in five percent increments must be leaving a substantial energy burst in our wake. Our ship is designed for it and I calculated three percent as our maximum. Perhaps once they are within friendly space they must limit their wake bursts to one percent of total velocity." Eilik seemed just as intrigued as Yanna.
"When we reach six percent, I want you to start those engines." Lorn told Derrick.
"Got it." Derrick agreed. He knew it was the safest option to get the thrusters operational while mitigating as much damage as possible.
Eilik spoke up again to update their velocity. “Seven percent.”
"Is everyone aware of their role once we detonate? Let's use this additional time to mentally prepare. Call back to me your role." Lorn didn’t want to waste a moment of their time. Every second felt valuable.
"Stabilize and navigate the ship." Derrick yelled back his role.
"Utilize spectrometer to scan any spatial body in our surroundings, otherwise assist Ben in diagnosing and mending any issues with the ship." Yanna followed suit.
Nik spoke up next as they continued through the crew. "I am lowering the blast shields the second the RIP bubble collapses. I will also assist Ben with any repairs"
"Bring the spatial sensors online and scan our surroundings to assess the fate of our captor and the state of our ship." Ben called out.
"Diagnose and treat any injuries sustained." Sian’s voice was the calmest in the group. It was as if she was immune to the stress.
"I am going to detonate the bomb at three percent and then hang on." Hank was last in line as he finished the tally.
"Good." Lorn calmly stated with confidence. "We can handle this."
"Six percent." Eilik signalled the moment to begin thruster start up sequence.
"Derrick." Lorn called out.
"On it." Derrick began firing the thrusters. There was a small grid of thrusters on his panel, seven of which remained dark. Thrusters all began to light up as power returned. A small bar would slowly fill beside them as they came online. The simplicity of the interface seemed to mock the sincerity of the situation. "It looks like it didn't progress any further, only seven remain offline."
Lorn was abrupt in response. “Good.” He said with no hesitation.
"Eight, it's progressing into the galley." Derrick said. "We should be fine as long as we get to three percent within the three minutes. Engines will be fully prepped."
"Five percent." Eilik's translator became the robotic countdown to their potential demise.
Derrick looked over his shoulder at Kim, her eyes were closed, and she was stoic as she faced directly ahead. He realized that she hadn't been given a specific role in their impending explosion. She must feel helpless, he thought. He decided to break her statue-like trance to make use of her abilities.
"Kim" Derrick called to her on a direct channel to her suit.
"Yes, Derrick?" She said as her eyes opened and she turned his direction.
"Four percent." Eilik briefly interrupted.
"What was that breathing exercise again, I can't get my heart rate down. I feel overwhelmed." Derrick said.
"Take deep breaths in through your nose and exhale through your mouth. Derrick, you are the most capable pilot to ever take the helm of any vehicle. Don't underestimate yourself, I have complete faith in your abilities, so should you." Kim took the time to reassure him once more.
Derrick had approached her to comfort her and, as she often did, she found a way to calm him. He took a deep breath in through his nose and let go of it. "Thank you, Kim." Derrick responded in a way he had become most accustomed to.
"Always." Kim said. Kim briefly turned away from Derrick and then suddenly returned her gaze to him. "It's gone!" She said in a loud voice.
"What's gone?" Derrick asked.
"What?" Kim asked.
"You said, it's gone." Derrick explained his question.
"No, I didn't" Kim's face turned to concern.
The moment was interrupted by the commander before they could elaborate on what had just happened. "Get ready, here we go. Hank it's on you. Eilik give the word. Derrick, are we good on thrusters?"
Derrick did a quick sweep of their thruster compliment. "Yes, we have lost 13, but nothing beyond the galley."
The next few moments were filled with silent anticipation. Derrick looked down and closed his eyes. Taking a long deep, slow breath in through his nose, he exhaled as he raised his head. Opening his eyes and peering out under his eyebrows, he focused intently on the controls. He was ready.
"Three percent.” Eilik called out the final interval in their journey.
“Detonate!” Lorn yelled.
Hank sent the message through his CCD. A second later there was a small jolt. This must have been the improvised explosive that Ben and Yanna had made. Almost immediately following the small jolt there was a massive eruption that punched Derrick in the back. The ship was sent spinning and Derrick was fighting against the tremendous g-force to remain conscious.
"We are free of the RIP bubble." Eilik's voice broke through the chaos and grounded Derrick back into the situation.
"Blast shields lowering." Nik shouted from behind Derrick.
The shielding covering all the viewers rapidly descended, revealing whirling blur of stars and what appeared to be a planet. Derrick reached out for the controls and began doing everything he could to struggle against the spin. Derrick could see a massive burst of energy dispersing in all directions around them as the ship spun out of control.
"Reports!" Lorn shouted.
"Spatial sensors online. Scanning the debris field now. There are two obvious masses near us, only a few thousand kilometers away. Perhaps a planet and maybe a moon. I can't be completely sure until we have stabilized somewhat." Ben jumped into action immediately.
"I am bringing the spectrometer online to scan the two masses, I will also require the ship to be stable before I can get an accurate reading." Yanna’s voice came through.
"I think Hank is unconscious!" Nik yelled with concern.
"Hank, Hank!" Sian was yelling to Hank over the open channel. "You have to get us under control before I can have a look at him, Derrick!"
"I'm trying!" Derrick yelled as he fought with all his might to reverse their tumble. The maneuvering thrusters were weak and limited the speed in which he could correct their spin. "I would give anything for some solid fuel rockets right now to fight this. I am stabilizing now, we are just hampered by the limited thrust."
"We are tumbling toward the larger mass quite rapidly, Derrick." Ben highlighted their dire situation.
"Forward the spatial sensors to my navigation panel, please." Derrick wanted to have a better sense of what was happening around them.
"What is going on with Hank?" Lorn asked.
"He appears to be unconscious, I do not believe it is related to the g-force. Derrick has already begun stabilizing and he should have regained consciousness. I fear that he may have suffered an injury from the initial explosion. I will need to assess him once we are stable." Sian did her best to diagnose Hank’s state from afar.
"Status, Derrick." Lorn turned his attention back to their uncontrolled descent.
"We are tumbling into the gravity pull of the larger planetary object and its moon. We should be stable within a few seconds." The whirl of stars and the planet began to slow as Derrick regained control of the ship.
"I think I could make it to Hank now." Sian said as she started to unbuckle herself from her seat.
"Do it." Lorn said. "Yanna, I need that repor
t on the planet and moon."
"Targeting now." Yanna yelled.
"What do you have for me, Ben?" Lorn continued.
"It looks like nothing over four meters in diameter survived the blast. I will have to run some calculations to decipher how much mass we are missing to discern how much debris exists and if it potentially includes the other vessel." Ben went over the results of his initial scan.
Derrick brought the ship under control as the viewer finally stopped spinning and centered on the planet they were approaching.
"The planet is slightly more hostile than the moon. If you are planning on setting us down somewhere, I would suggest the moon." Yanna finally got the spectrometer online and reported the results she was seeing.
"The odds of us being thrown free from a random open space RIP conclusion within a few thousand kilometers of a planet and its moon as astronomical." Eilik said in the background.
"Kim, you haven't said anything." Derrick said as he swung around to look at her and make sure she was alright.
"I am here, I am okay." She answered his call.
"Hank may have a broken neck from the initial impact but he is alive. Do we know if the infirmary survived the explosion?" Sian said.
"Yanna, get over and help Ben with his calculations." Lorn barked.
"It looks like we have the bridge corridor still intact, including the infirmary." Ben said. "The corridor appears to be open to space though. There's no way for you to access it. The main galley access door has been destroyed."
"I will have to make do with what we have." Sian ran to a panel on the bridge and retrieved an emergency medical kit.
"We are trapped in the gravity of this planet; our orbit is decaying. I don't have sufficient thrust to correct it. There's no way I can get us to that moon." Derrick struggled against the force of the giant planet, but it was futile. The maneuvering thrusters simply weren’t going to be enough to escape.
"The planet will have to suffice." Lorn said. "Can you stabilize Hank for a crash landing?"