by K. D. Mattis
“Admiral, I know you don’t want to hear this, but you and the Explorer are the only chance we have of pushing them back. I don’t know how you’ll do it, but you must get the Explorer operational again and get it back to Earth.”
“I understand, sir, but even if we get the Explorer back, there’s no guarantee we’ll win.”
“We have faith in you. Failure is not an option. Do I make myself clear?”
“Crystal. Admiral Asher out.”
With that, Asher walked off the bridge. She said nothing as she left, but a flock of people followed her. As she walked, she removed the coat of her uniform and passed it to one of the crewmen behind her.
She often forgot about how cold the ship was when she wore her uniform. Asher never minded it before, but with the attack still looming, the chill made the hairs on her arms stand on end, leaving her feeling exposed.
Asher and her staff made their way to engineering. Using every square inch of the engineering section to its maximum potential left little room to walk around. The taller men behind Asher ducked in the narrow halls.
When she reached the main engineering room, Asher noticed the bewildered stares of her crew. The ship’s engineers very seldom saw the admiral.
“Tools,” Asher said to the nearest engineer.
The young man quickly took off his tool belt and handed it to the admiral.
“Thank you.”
Stopping at the main control panel for the ship’s primary engines, Asher began punching in a series of commands. When done, power no longer flowed through the engine. It was safe to work. Asher removed a panel from the wall and crawled into a maintenance shaft of the engine.
With Chief Engineer Reynolds close behind her, Asher crawled through the shaft. Asher felt a little confined in the tight space, but the lack of gravity helped her as she zipped around. She turned, keeping an eye on Reynolds, making sure she didn’t lose him. She knew he spent many long hours in the maintenance shafts and probably wouldn’t get lost, she needed to make sure. Despite not seeing the engines since they departed Earth, Asher remembered her way around like it was her childhood home.
At last, Asher reached the power regulation site. At first glance, everything appeared to be just fine. All the status lights on the equipment shined green. All but the last one. The last status light was completely off.
Reynolds looked at the light. “Sir, that means the power isn’t being fed directly into the conversion chamber.”
She knew he was just trying to be helpful, but Asher couldn’t let it slide. “I designed the engine. I know what the lights mean, Commander.”
Asher removed another panel. From behind the panel, she pulled a glowing cylinder attached to a long tube. When she removed the cylinder from the tube, it stopped glowing.
Working quickly, Asher began to inspect the piece of equipment. Seeing no flaws on the outside, she twisted it, and the cylinder came apart at the center. One side was hollow but allowed the power to pass into the conversion chamber, creating thrust for the ship. The other side of the cylinder showed a tube, an impressive group of wires, and four clear spikes.
With no flaws in the tube and no issues with the wires, Asher looked closely at the four spikes. At first, they appeared to be in good working order.
“Tom, I’m not seeing one in this tool belt. Do you have a set of calipers on you?”
“No, sir.”
Reynolds thought for a second, then pushed off the floor and floated down the narrow shaft. When he returned, he had a set of calipers in his hand.
“Sorry, Admiral. I almost forgot we have a few tool stations in here.”
Asher gave thanks as she grabbed the calipers from Reynolds. She measured the distance each of the spikes sat above their base. Each spike showed a different measurement.
“Look at this,” Asher whispered with a quick jerk of her head. “The sensors are out of alignment. It’s tripping the safety.”
“It’s amazing that something so small could cause such a big problem.”
Asher checked the measurements a second time before rolling the device over in her hands. “Yeah. We’ll have to bolster the supports to make sure it doesn’t happen again.
Using a pair of soft pliers, Asher moved the spike until it was at the same distance as the other three. When it was in place, she carefully tightened it back down. After finishing, she set about putting the power injector assembly back in place.
“Is that it, Admiral?”
A light in the sequence answered Reynolds’s question when it turned green.
Asher smiled. “For this part, yeah, that’s it. We’ll need to check and correct the others.
“You didn’t design this thing with an alien attack in mind?”
“No, no I didn’t.”
“At least we know for the next engine,” Reynolds said.
“I guess we do. There is one more thing we need to do while we’re down here.”
The pair worked together to adjust the remaining sensors. Between the two of them, the sensors quickly straightened and were reinserted into its housing.
When they finished the last one, Asher rushed down the shaft to another area. She stopped in front of a small door that she opened by allowing the computer to scan her right hand and eye.
Asher and Reynolds could stand up in the room beyond. Levers lined the wall before them. As Asher reached for a red lever, Reynolds put his hands up to stop her.
“Admiral, I’m sorry, but isn’t touching any of these levers dangerous?”
Asher smiled and pulled the lever down.
12
Back on the bridge, Asher sat in her seat and contemplated her next moves. They were risky, but she had no other choice.
“Lieutenant Card?”
“Yes, Admiral?”
“Send a message to Central Command. Tell them we’re on the way. Shut off the transceiver as soon as you send it. Accept no transmissions and send none out. Do I make myself clear?”
Card looked back at the admiral. Her words seemed so certain, but her hands shook ever so slightly at her side.
“Yes, sir. Sending the message now.”
A moment later, Card turned back to the admiral and nodded. “It’s done.”
“Harris, set a course directly in line with the alien vessel’s trail. I don’t want you to move from their path at all.”
Lieutenant Harris made his fingers dance over his console. Gonzales looked over at him and watched in awe as her training officer made the ship bend to his will.
“Reynolds,” Asher began, “is engineering prepared to activate the main engine?”
“I’m requesting final confirmation, sir. Yes, it looks like we’re good to go.”
“Have them start gearing it up. As soon as it’s ready, I want them to let us know.”
The Explorer filled with a hushed whining sound. A slight trembling joined the noise. Most of the crew found their way to their harnesses without waiting for an order.
The whining erupted into a scream.
“Admiral?” Gonzales asked.
“It’s fine, Ensign.”
As quickly as it started, the screaming and whining left the vessel, replaced by the steady but comforting pulse of the engine.
“Admiral, engineering is giving the go-ahead. We’re cleared to leave,” Reynolds said.
Asher nodded. “Harris, lead us out. Accelerate slowly.”
Lieutenant Harris pulled a lever at his side. The ship jerked forward. The engine hummed louder.
“Admiral, we’re coming up on ten percent.”
“Accelerate.”
Asher saw sweat start beading on Harris’s forehead.
“Fifty percent, Admiral.”
“Accelerate.”
Sweat started to roll down Harris’s forehead and drip of his nose. Asher never saw the pilot of the Explorer look so nervous. If he had something to fear, she knew she did as well.
“Eighty percent maximum safe speed, Admiral.” Harris’s
voice had an edge that Asher didn’t like.
“Accelerate.”
Harris wiped his hands on his uniform before obeying the order. He breathed a sigh of relief.
“Admiral,” the tension in Harris’s voice was almost gone, “one hundred percent of maximum safe speed.”
“Accelerate.”
Harris’s eyes went wide. “I’m sorry, Admiral, but did I not make myself clear? We’re at one hundred percent of maximum safe speed.”
“I gave you an order, pilot. Accelerate. Or do I need to put someone in your chair that will follow orders?”
“She disabled the engine governor, didn’t she?” Gonzales whispered to Harris,
Harris nodded.
Asher looked at her friend. “Robert,” Asher said, breaking protocol, “if there was ever a time for you to trust me, this is it. If you don’t, they will beat us to Earth. If they do that, I don’t know what’s going to happen.”
Harris placed his hand on the lever, but it shook too much.
“Robert, I need you to trust me.”
Harris whipped his hand back, and the ship hurtled forward. Asher watched in awe as the ship climbed above the safe speed limit. Never before had she felt such fear. Never before had she felt such excitement.
Once again, Robert Harris set a human speed record.
“Admiral, the alien ship is directly ahead of us.”
Asher woke from a light nap in her chair.
“How far?”
“They’re millions of kilometers away. No visual yet, but they’re showing on the edge of our scanners.”
Looking at the front of the bridge, Asher saw Ensign Gonzales alone at the helm.
Asher walked up to her. A wreck, the poor woman couldn’t keep her hair from pulling out of its tie as she kept wrinkling her forehead. Her knuckles were white on the controls.
“Ensign, a light hand at the controls works just as well as a strong one.”
Gonzales loosened her grip.
“Ensign, are you capable of flying this ship alone, or do I need to get Harris down here?”
“Yes, sir, I can handle the Explorer.” Her voice gained a sudden boost of confidence. “Lieutenant Harris taught me everything I need to know.”
“Good,” Asher said as she made her way back to her seat, “because I need a steady hand at the wheel. First, ramp the engines down.”
The pilot did as ordered. The persistent background noise quieted. With nothing to slow them down, the Explorer continued at the same speed as before.
“As we approach the alien vessel, get directly behind it.”
“Sir, not to question you, but isn’t that dangerous?”
Asher nodded. “It is if the pilot isn’t incredibly careful. You’ll need to get close enough that there’s no chance of detection, but not so close that our hull is damaged by their engines.”
Gonzales let out a sigh. “It won’t be easy, sir, but I know I can do it.”
Ensign Tran of the tactical team looked up from his console. “Admiral, why would we get so close knowing they’re a lot stronger than we are?”
“Ensign, have you ever served on a submarine?”
“No, sir. I served on a destroyer.”
“Well, there’s a tactic used on subs called riding the baffles. It’s where one submarine rides so closely in the wake of another sub that their scanners can’t pick them up. With any luck, the aliens won’t be able to see our energy signature as long as we stay close.”
Over the next few hours, the Explorer inched closer to the alien vessel until they were mere five hundred meters behind them.
“Would you look at that?” said Lieutenant Commander Holt. “It would be so easy to shoot a few missiles at them from here. We’d probably destroyed before they could even turn around.”
Asher stifled a laugh.
“Easy there, cowboy. Don’t forget that the last time we faced off against them they almost destroyed us.”
After hearing the Explorer was less than an hour away from having Earth within visual range, Asher ordered all hands to battle stations.
Harris, back at his post on the bridge, turned to the admiral and gave the announcement everyone waited for.
“Admiral, we’re within range of Earth.”
13
Asher’s breathing quickened.
She knew they’d engage in another battle with the ship. While the Explorer still lived to fight, it bore the scars of the previous battle as a reminder of the alien vessel’s power.
“Gibbs,” Asher said, just louder than a whisper.
The commander stood.
“Get to the docking bay. I want the Guardian and Protector ready to fly.”
The commander nodded and ran off the bridge, boots pounding.
Asher saw a blue line growing closer every second.
Ensign Tran glared at the viewport. “What’s their plan?”
No one answered.
Both ships slowed to a crawl.
“Admiral, I’m picking up a transmission,” Card said.
“For us?”
“No, sir. I think it’s for the aliens.”
“Play it.”
The radio crackled to life. In several languages, including English, a calm voice said, “Unknown vessel, please identify yourself and provide your place of origin.”
Asher looked to the tactical team on her left. She planned to tell them to be prepared for anything, but just seeing them seated with straight backs, she knew they already were.
When the alien vessel didn’t respond, the voice repeated it several more times and in several more languages.
Out of nowhere, the message cut short. Asher turned to Card.
“I’m trying to figure out what just happened, sir. It doesn’t look like it was intentional.”
“Then what happened?”
On the port side of the alien vessel, a large chunk of debris flew past.
“We’re trying to figure out what that was,” said a member of the scanning team.
Asher and Lieutenant Harris looked at each other as if confirming what they both thought they saw.
“Don’t bother,” said Harris. “That was New International Space Station.”
Suddenly, the alien vessel shot forward and veered off to the right, leaving the Explorer to see the full extent of their attack on the space station.
“Just like the Tianjin,” Ensign Tran said.
Asher sprang to her feet. “Get Protector and Guardian in the air! I don’t care how they do it, but tell them to keep the vessel distracted.”
From the top of the Explorer, the two smaller ships pulled away. They fired on the aliens as they sped past, one on each side of the enemy craft
“Tactical, fire at will! If you see an opportunity, take it.”
Holt and Tran went at the attack like animals.
“Admiral!” a member of the sensor team shouted out. “I’m detecting a large surge of energy near the back of their ship. We’re not sure what it is, but we shouldn’t stick around to find out.”
“Then we won’t,” Asher said. “Harris, get us out of here.”
The pilot nodded, letting his fingers dance on the controls. The ship jerked side to side, but didn’t pull away.
“Harris. Get us out of here.”
His voice was low. “I can, but they’ll target us again. I’ve got to wait for the right moment.”
“Robert…”
“Please, Admiral. Trust me now.”
Asher forced herself to sit. Fumbling for the belt of her harness, she secured herself to her seat and prepared for the worst.
A piercing bright light flooded the command bridge.
“Harris!”
“Not yet!”
The light grew brighter, and the Explorer started to shimmy a little.
“Now,” Harris said as he hit a few more buttons, sending them shooting ahead of the alien vessel.
A tidal wave of white energy shot out the back of the enemy ship.
“Harris, get us away from here,” Asher said.
“With pleasure.”
The Explorer jumped a considerable distance away from the enemy, but it wasn’t far enough to save them from the threat of the enemy’s weapons.
Out of nowhere, the Guardian dashed between the Explorer and its attacker. Missile after missile fired off, precisely targeting the weapons ports.
Two of the six ports went dark.
The remaining four weapons fired at the Guardian. Large pieces of the hull fell away, as if sliced with a carving knife.
The alien vessel plowed into the Guardian. The impact caused a flurry of sparks and sent the Guardian hurtling off to the side, the lights fading away, one by one.
Asher’s face flushed. She forced deep breaths through her lungs. Her father taught her long ago that she should never react to any situation with anger. As tempting as it was for her to do, she wouldn’t go against that advice.
“Harris, turn the ship around.”
“I’m sorry, sir. Head toward them?”
“That’s exactly what I want.”
Harris turned the Explorer in a wide arc and thrust forward toward the enemy.
Asher didn’t take her eyes from the front of the vessel.
“Sir! They’re preparing to fire!”
Four of the six weapon ports glowed.
“Tactical, fire. Concentrate on two of the four remaining ports. I want you to knock them out.”
Speeding toward the enemy ship, the Explorer showed no sign of stopping. The alien ship, charging its weapons, would not back down. From a safe distance, the Protector did its best to draw enemy fire, but it wasn’t doing any damage.
The energy weapons pulsed. Harris jerked controls to the side and prayed for the best.
With a bright explosion, one of the four enemy weapons disappeared. The other three bit into Explorer’s hull.
On the bridge, two members of the sensor team, moving between stations, flew into the walls. The ship shook violently as it left small pieces flying through space.