by Max Dane
“But we verified the gravitational distortion ourselves. Once you know the location, it’s relatively easy to prove the point exists.”
“That’s not what I meant; have you considered that the jump point might lead directly into a gas giant or another star? Maybe he thought he could trick us, some kind of desperate play for victory.”
“It’s possible, Micha, but I was there at the end. I saw the man; he was broken. I don’t think the scheming brute was there anymore. At the end he was just a frightened, old man.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“Me, too.”
Chapter 11
Security is mostly a superstition. It does not exist in nature, nor do the children of men as a whole experience it. Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing.
- Helen Keller
The following morning, Finn woke early enough to enjoy a big breakfast. His father had done it, too. ‘Finn, if it’s going to be your last meal, you better make it count.’ Secretly, he thought that going into the dissident system was a mistake, at least going by themselves. With a sizable fleet of League ships, he’d be more than happy to fly right up to their front door and say, ‘Hello’. Going alone and barely armed, was an act of madness. But this whole mission was an exercise in madness. They were following the harvesters into enemy space to find an alien home world. It sounded like a joke the officers might tell at dinner. So he ordered another helping of pancakes and eggs. By now, he guessed that Micha and Julian were already on the bridge, reviewing data, and recounting the ship preparations.
And then it was time.
He finished his coffee and wiped his mouth.
Thanking the server, he set his napkin down and left for the bridge.
“Micha, I’ve already checked the jump routine. The barrier field and EM mask will be operational,” said Julian.
“Check it again, “she said sternly. “Mr. Eton, do you have the defensive maneuver ready to go?”
“Yes, Commander. Just as before, immediately upon arrival, I will activate the pre-programmed defensive stance, dropping us just behind the gravity differential.”
Finn walked onto the bridge in time to hear Eton respond. He took his chair and said, “Very good, Commander, Mr. Eton. Micha, what’s the ship status?”
“Captain, the Athena is holding position at the unmarked jump point. All repairs have been completed, and all departments have checked in. The jump protocol has been reviewed and is complete, including the addition of the Holt Maneuver.”
“The ‘Holt Maneuver’?” he asked, smiling.
“Well, we needed a name for it, and you did come up with it.”
He grinned and turned to look at Julian across the bridge, “And how about the science department, Doctor, is everything ready to go?”
“Yes, Captain, we are ready to begin scanning as soon as we arrive. Our first priority will be to determine where we are. Hopefully, the constellations won’t prove to be too much of a challenge. Once we’ve identified where we are, we’ll begin analysis of the harvester cloud.”
“You sound awfully confident, there will be a cloud there.”
“I think it’s a logical guess, and consistent with the things Dr. Nath said at the end.”
“Very good, Doctor. I want to add that I believe there will be dissident ships there; I have no idea how many or in what condition they might be, so stay alert, everyone. Be ready to move quickly.”
Pausing only for an instant, he glanced once more at Micha, and then said, “Very well then, Mr. Keating, please alert the crew and take us in.”
Keating made the countdown and activated the singularity drive. Light and energy were suddenly bent around them as they were pulled through the rift. The room became nearly black as the typical dizzying side effects set in. Finn felt like the jump was lasting longer than usual, but then he felt the hard jolt back to reality, as they were deposited into normal space. He raised his head, struggling to make out what was on the screen. It was huge.
“Captain, wake up, look!”
It was Eton, yelling from his station and pointing to the screen. Finn rubbed his eyes, “What is it, Mr. Eton?”
“I don’t know; I’m not sure what I’m looking at, Captain.”
Finn shook it off and studied the screen. In front of them, not far from the jump point was a huge flotilla of ships, attached together in convoluted, haphazard places. It was difficult to see any intent or form in the work. They reminded him of emergency boats and debris lashed together in the ocean.
“It’s a giant cluster of ships,” said Julian trying to make sense of his readings. “They appear to be interconnected with makeshift conduits.”
Eton said, “I count more than a hundred, of all different sizes.”
Finn said, “Our position, Mr. Eton, report.”
“We’re just behind the jump point and holding.”
“And the barrier field and EM mask?”
Julian said, “Operating, Sir.”
“Mr. Keating, weapons status.”
“The plasma lance is online.”
“Commander, I want a map of this system. Initiate long range scans now.”
“Yes, Captain.”
As they waited for the sensor information to return, a light at Lieutenant Banton’s console began to flash. “Captain, we have an incoming communication; someone is hailing us.”
He turned to Micha, “How are those scans coming, Commander?”
“We need another few moments.”
He sighed and sat back.
“Very well, Lieutenant, put them on.”
A moment later, from over the comm, he heard a woman’s voice; she sounded frightened. “I don’t know why they aren’t answering, did you set it up properly?”
And then a second voice answered her, “I don’t know; I think so. Everything is broken. It might be working; it might not.”
Finn grimaced, they sounded young.
“I can hear you,” he said, “My name is Captain Finn Holt. Where are you?”
“Please help us; we need help.”
“I understand; we’re going to help you. Are you in the fleet of ships that has been… lashed together?”
“Yes, please come get us.”
Finn glanced at Micha; her face was strained, her eyes wide. He looked back at the enormous island of ships and junk.
‘What happened here?’ he wondered.
“What’s your name?” he said.
“Madelyn, and my sister is Lexi.”
“How old are you, Madelyn?”
“I’m sixteen, and Lexi is ten.”
“Madelyn, can you tell what happened here?”
“The scourge came and took our homes.”
He nodded to the empty air, “Yes, I know about that. But who put all of these ships here? And how did you get there?”
“The soldiers built it when things got bad at home. They brought us here and said that they were going to get help. They said they would come back, but they didn’t. They didn’t come back; please help us.” She sounded desperate and scared.
“Madelyn, I want you to call me Finn; that’s my name. We are going to get you out of there, but we need some help. Can you tell us where you are, inside there?”
“We’re in the Trumpeting Horse.”
Finn sighed and stared at the mass of ships; interconnected and smashed together as they were, the name of the ship was meaningless.
“How many of you are there?”
“I don’t know; there used to be hundreds, but we haven’t seen many lately.”
“What happened to the rest, Madelyn?”
“The scourge got them.”
Resigned to what they must do, Finn stood up, “Okay, Madelyn, I want you to stay right where you are. We’re going to send a shuttle over to get you. I’m going to put you on hold now, but just for a few minutes while we figure out how to get to you. Stay close to that communic
ator; do you understand?”
“Yes, sir, Mr. Finn.”
Finn signaled Lieutenant Banton, and she quickly muted the comm.
“Are the long range scans complete?” he said to Micha.
“Yes, Captain, but we need to go over there,” she said, clearly distressed.
“On screen.”
“But Finn, we don’t have time- ”
“Commander, you will follow my orders; now put your feelings aside, and put the long-range scan on the screen.”
A top down representation of the solar system revealed the jump point, the Athena just behind it, and the ragtag flotilla nearby in the front. Beyond that, were two earth-like planets, followed at a distance by three gas giants. Most importantly, he didn’t see any enemy ships. From their current position behind the jump point, the flotilla was blocking their view. He needed to see more.
“Mr. Keating, please move us around the flotilla. I want a clear view of the system.”
“Yes, Captain.”
Silently, they slipped from behind the jump, moving gracefully around the mass of ships. As they came around, the planets of this system came into view. He could see the first pair of planets, smaller, obviously colonized, but devastated now; the blue cloud of the harvesters surrounded them. A third cloud engulfed a large moon orbiting the second planet. Far in the distance a ringed gas giant was visible.
‘This system is dead now,’ he thought, but he could imagine a time before, when both planets and that moon were filled with people. It must have been something to see.
He went back to his chair, “We need to get them out of there, but finding them and retrieving them safely will be tricky. Any options?”
Julian raised his hand, “Engineering didn’t use all of the EM transmitters when we installed them on the Athena. I say we take the leftovers and put them on the shuttle.”
“Excellent, Micha, go to engineering and get them started.”
“Yes, Captain,” she said jumping up. Running out the door, she said, “I’ll call you when they’re done.”
“Okay, now Lieutenant Banton, can you pinpoint the location of their signal?”
“I’ve already started, Sir. I need a complete scan of the flotilla.”
“I’m on it,” said Eton.
While the scan was being generated, Finn said, “Julian, has your team begun studying the constellations?”
Julian nodded, “Yes, but it’s going to take some time. If our new friends had access to any astronomical data… ”
“Right! Get Madelyn back on the comm.”
Banton nodded at him.
“Madelyn, are you still there?”
A slight pause and then the tiny voice, “Yes, Mr. Finn, we’re here.”
“Madelyn, we’re modifying a ship to come get you, one that the scourge won’t like. But it’s going to take a little time. While we wait, can you tell me where we are?”
He could hear one of them giggle, probably the younger of them, by the sound. “Boy, he’s dumb. How could he not know where he is?”
“Shut up, Lex, I like him.”
“Duuummmmmmb.”
“Mr. Finn?”
“Yes, I’m here.”
“We’re at Homeworld, the land of the Scion, heir of the ancient ones. But everyone knows that.”
“I’m from far away, Madelyn; do you know the name of your star?”
“Of course, Mr. Finn, it’s called Beel’Za, the Hope of the Scion.”
Finn looked over at Julian and shrugged. Julian was shaking his head.
‘This isn’t working,’ he thought.
Over the comm, he could hear them, “See, he isn’t dumb; he’s a stranger.”
“Mother said not to talk to strangers.”
“Shut up, Lexi!”
“Madelyn, we need your help. Do you have access to any navigation systems or astronomy files?”
“Hmm, let me see.” He could hear her looking around and pushing buttons.
“Lexi, don’t touch that.” Suddenly the signal went out.
“Captain,” said Lieutenant Banton, “I’ve lost them.”
“Keep trying, Lieutenant. Mr. Eton, how’s that scan coming?”
“I’m putting it up now, Sir.”
A three dimensional model of the flotilla appeared on the main screen.
“Captain, the red dots indicate active power sources, and the yellow dot indicates the last position of their signal.”
Finn studied the giant hulking collection; there weren’t very many red dots left.
‘Environmental and air handling units would have failed everywhere but those few places by now. It must be getting cold and stale in there.’
He shook his head, “I’m surprised that thing is holding together.”
“Mr. Eton,” said Finn, “Give us a fly-by of that thing. Maybe it will help.”
Eton nodded and took the Athena in a circle around the hobbled behemoth. From every angle it remained a confusing scene. On closer inspection, it looked as if some parts were breaking apart already, holding in place by only the tiniest bits of debris. And as they rounded the back, they saw it, another harvester cloud, wafting up and away. It was smaller than the clouds surrounding the planets, but it was there.
“Julian, do you see it?”
“Yes, I see it. The harvesters have almost certainly mined the whole thing. Even docking with it could prove catastrophic to the whole structure.”
“Maybe we can cut our way in,” he said.
“We have to assume everything they have will be thoroughly contaminated, maybe even them.”
“I know.”
Suddenly, Micha called from engineering, “Captain, they still have the transmitters, and they’re attaching them to the shuttle now. We should be ready to go in about forty minutes.”
“Very good, Commander.”
Julian stepped away from the science station, “Finn, I don’t know where we are, but judging from the odd perspective of the stars, we must be quite distant from Orion’s Arm and the League. We desperately need the navigation data that must surely be somewhere in those ships. It should be a priority, perhaps even more so than the rescue mission.”
Finn understood his point. Endangering the mission to rescue colonists, and dissidents at that, was not a logical tradeoff. But they were children, and they were alone and facing such horror. Resolutely he turned back to the screen, and solemnly he said, “I understand, Doctor, but we have to try for both. We have to try.”
“Very well, I’ll have my team begin work on creating a sterilization field on an airlock. After retrieving them, our shuttle should dock, not return to the bay, and allow all of its occupants to disembark through the de-contamination unit. It should work, if we leave everything behind: the shuttle, any hardware, and even their clothes. And I recommend sacrificing the shuttle as well.”
“That hurts; we’ll be down to just one.”
Julian shrugged.
Finn called Micha in engineering, “Commander, come to the bridge and bring a mission team of two with you.”
“Yes, Captain, right away.”
A short while later, Micha came through the doorway with two men wearing environmental suits. Finn noticed that she was wearing one too. “Captain, this is Mr. Nathan Hale and Mr. Jacob Amador. They are trained specialists in rescue operations as well as on-board electronics. They’ve volunteered for this one.”
Finn stood up and shook their hands, “Thank you, gentlemen, this is going to be tricky, so I wanted to go over the details. Also, Commander, I see that you intend to go as well?”
“Yes, Sir.”
He didn’t like it, but there would be nothing he could say to dissuade her; that part was clear. And judging from her previous reaction, simply ordering her to stay might sever her from him forever. She was a fine officer; she deserved a chance. So, he paused for only a moment, before he nodded, “Very well, then let’s begin.”
A short while later, the shuttlecraft pulled up and
out of the landing bay. Micha sat in the pilot’s chair with Amador next to her. Hale was at the navigation station, monitoring sensor readings.
“I’m surprised; this shuttle is much bigger than our old ones on the Ajax.”
“Back at the shipyard,” said Amador, pointing to the back, “they told us we had to be ready to transport research hardware. So instead of several small vehicles, we have two very large ones. I could park one of the Ajax’s kites back there, and still have room to carry a dozen soldiers.”
“Well the size hasn’t affected the maneuverability at all; Mr. Hale, point me to the last known position of the children.”
“Yes, Commander.” On her heads-up display, a yellow dot appeared, highlighted against the actual flotilla. “Thanks, I’ve got it.”
She took the shuttle to the top, taking up position outside a medium-sized hull embedded in the upper, middle of the whole structure.
“Look there, on the side,” she said, “the Trumpeting Horse.”
“We need to find a way in, one that won’t compromise the pressure inside,” said Amador.
She nodded and moved the shuttle slowly around the side and over the top, but still no portal presented itself. Frustrated, she sighed and turned off the thrusters. There was no airlock on the visible exterior, and the part of the hull that was held in the interior of the flotilla, was totally obscured by the adjacent ships.
“We might have to do this the hard way,” he said, studying the bottom of the ship.
“I agree; it might be possible that the hull could be cut open, there at the bottom,” she said, pointing at a fatigued spot. “If we’re lucky, decompression might be contained in just the localized area, maybe even just a few rooms.”
“Then again,” he said, “it might decompress the whole ship, but I think it’s the best that we can do.”