by John Walker
Clea smiled sadly. “That’s a planet on the outskirts of our space…a deserted world. If you check the chart, it’s in the opposite direction of Earth.”
“Clever,” Adam said. “That guy’s good.”
“I hope he makes it,” Gray looked at Olly. “You tell me when those engines are ready for us to get the hell out of here, okay?”
“Yes, sir.” Olly put the charging meter up on the main screen.
“Are you okay?” Gray asked Clea and she nodded once. “You don’t have to be here for this. I know you’ve been through a lot.”
“Captain, in the next several minutes, we very well may be dead,” Clea said. “I’d rather do that on the bridge, at my post and not in my bed, hoping.”
“Very well.” Gray motioned for her seat. “Your station, please Vinthari.”
“Thank you, sir.” Clea sat down and leaned back, looking over the reports. She frowned at the energy build up in the engines and shook her head. “This is wrong.”
“What is?” Gray asked.
“The engines…” Clea stood and joined Olly at his terminal. “Bring up the power relay six.”
He tapped his screen and they saw a three dimensional schematic of it. “Indicate energy flow.” Olly did so and they saw a strange pulse on the wave meter. Every ten seconds, something surged. “That’s bad.”
“What is that?” Olly asked. “I’ve never seen anything but regulated power down there before.”
“Whatever happened to the rechargers has them cycling additional energy unevenly. While it will still charge up the engine, we’re relying on a continuous flow so we can do it again any time this year.” Clea picked up her own tablet, her fingers flying over the controls. “This has to be fixed before we jump or we’ll be stuck wherever we show up.”
“Thank God you caught it,” Adam said. “What brought it up?”
“Our top report is from Higgins indicating the rechargers malfunctioned during the microjump. I checked their output and noticed the surge.” Clea glanced at him. “After helping to implement those drives, I know precisely what they are supposed to do and how they do it.”
“Can you fix it from here?” Gray asked.
“No, I’m sending the formula down to engineering now and will guide them through the process on the com. There’s no time to run all the way down there.”
“No, there’s not,” Tim said. “The enemy is now pursuing the Crystal Font. They’re moving around the other side of the planet, out of visual range. A small contingency of the fleet has decided to pursue us.”
“How close are they?”
“Outside extreme range but closing.” Tim shook his head. “Can we get any more speed, Redding?”
“Not without tapping into power we’re storing to jump out of here.”
“We’ll make it,” Clea said. “Believe me, I will ensure we do.”
“What would’ve happened if we tried to jump?” Adam asked.
“Worst case scenario, the ship would’ve exploded,” Clea said. Adam, Tim and Olly all gave her an incredulous look. She cleared her throat. “The more likely scenario involved getting stranded where we emerged.”
“Well, I’m glad there’s a narrow range of possibilities,” Tim snarked.
Gray watched over Clea’s shoulder as she rapidly typed up a mathematical formula for the engineering crew to implement. She hit send then pulled on her headset, connecting with Higgins. Gray tapped into the line so he could listen along, gathering data straight from the source.
“The key to our problem lies in the computer’s ability to regulate the power,” Clea said. “There are multiple possibilities that could be causing this error: the computer code may’ve become corrupted during the microjump, one of the relays may be damaged or the charging devices are producing inconsistent power.”
“I think we can hold off on root cause analysis,” Higgins replied. “What am I doing with this formula?”
“I’ve already decompiled the code,” Clea said. “Insert that data between lines thirty-six hundred and thirty-seven hundred. There’s a solid break there. This new formula I designed will override the others and clean up the power going to the engines. Instead of pulses, the engine will only accept it at a rate I’ve indicated.”
“And you’re sure the rate you’ve created will be correct?” Higgins sounded doubtful and Gray shared some of his concern. However, few people knew the technology aboard the Behemoth as well as Clea.
“I am one hundred percent positive,” Clea replied. “Install the code, Higgins. We’re running out of time to recompile it.”
“God damn son of a…”
Gray ignored Higgins quiet rant and turned to Clea. “Do you think Olly can help get the code back up and operational quickly?”
“Not any faster than I have,” Clea said. “As soon as he puts in the formula, I’ll have it ready to go in less than a minute. I debugged it through a simulation and it returned positive results. Ultimately, we don’t have a choice in the matter, sir. There’s no time for better than my makeshift solution.”
“Enemy fleet is firing at the Crystal Font,” Olly said. “They are on the other side of the system now so we’ve totally lost visual.”
“How’re they doing?” Adam asked. “Any damage?”
“So far, they seem to have survived the initial onslaught. Wait…” Olly paused. “They sent me a message. They’re waiting for us to jump before they leave!”
“God damn it.” Gray slapped his console. “Clea…”
“Higgins is doing his best sir.”
“I’m done!” Higgins shouted. “The code is placed!”
Clea took a look and hit the button to recompile. She remained motionless throughout the process as a percentile bar climbed toward one-hundred. It stalled at sixty, making Gray’s heart jump in his chest then proceeded again up to eighty. By the time it hit a hundred, he thought he would have a heart attack.
“Are we good?” Gray asked, waving his hand as if he might hurry her up.
“I have to check it now, sir,” Clea replied. “It’ll be a moment.”
“We don’t have a moment!” Tim called back. “Enemy is approaching extreme range for weapons!”
Clea worked quickly but did not respond to the others. She brought up the system and performed a diagnostic check. A moment later, Higgins received the signal and did his check, backing up her opinion. An energy blast flew past the ship, narrowly missing. Olly called out the proximity as less than one hundred kilometers.
“Aren’t they accurate,” Adam turned to Redding. “What will evasive do to us?”
“Slow us down, sir,” Redding replied. “I’m on as full a sprint as I can without compromising the integrity of the ship.”
“Clea, they are going to make any jump pointless soon,” Gray said. “I appreciate your risk analysis but we really need to make some headway on this trip. Now!”
“Readings are normal,” Clea replied. “All systems read functional…the new formula is doing its job. Engines are only accepting the proper amount of energy. It worked.”
“Thank God!” Adam turned to Olly. “Are we ready to go?”
“Engines show they are full up.” Olly nodded. “I’d say we can punch it.”
“Agatha,” Gray said, “send a final message to the Crystal Font. Tell them we’re jumping out and Godspeed. We’ll see them again…one way or another.”
Agatha sent it as a tight beam text message, typing swiftly. “Message away, sir!”
An explosion brightened the other side of the planet, a massive surge of light which made the world between them into a silhouette. Gray scowled but gestured to Redding. “Get us out of here. Now.”
Redding nodded once, slapping the controls to initiate the jump. Another series of beams nearly collided with them, one sizzling the shields. The strange weightlessness fell over them and a moment later, the ship faded from existence, leaving behind the system and the enemy fleet.
Gray found himself l
ost, stuck in a foggy dream. He saw a field of grass fading into a blue sky horizon. Off to the right, mountains climbed toward the heavens and on the left, a distant sea licked the shore. Wind caressed his ears, drowning out any sounds or distractions around him.
All at once, the ship reappeared and his senses instantly returned, causing a flash of pain in his skull. Gray stumbled backward and flopped into his seat, pressing his fingers tightly to his forehead. “That wasn’t pleasant at all…” he muttered, “anyone know what happened?”
“Normal jump, sir,” Clea replied. “All systems report operational. Engines are charging and should be prepared in thirty minutes.”
“Good…” Gray leaned forward, his elbows on his knees. “We made it…”
“Again,” Adam added. “These close calls are getting a little old.”
“Space combat isn’t cut and dry,” Clea answered. “It can be unpredictable…just as most major battles. Right, Captain?”
Gray nodded. “Mostly true, yes. But I wouldn’t mind a straightforward engagement…or even a mission to be what we assume. Redding, let’s hold position here until we’re ready to go. Have all departments report in. Olly, did you get any readings just before we hopped out? Was that explosion the Crystal Font?”
“I’m not able to tell, sir.” Olly shook his head. “I’m afraid we left right when I might’ve gotten something back. Whatever it was made quite the wave though. The energy readings were enormous.”
“Might not have been an explosion,” Clea said. “It could’ve been an emergency jump.”
“That was a pretty spectacular display for a jump…” Adam smirked. “Not…that I really know what a jump looks like…per se.”
“There you have it.” Gray looked around and took a deep breath. “You’ve all done outstanding work here. Every one of you vastly exceeded my expectations. We’re all alive because of your quick thinking, skillful execution of your duties and hard work. I commend you all. Thank you.”
Redding, Tim and Olly each stood, turned and saluted. Gray and Adam stood and returned the gesture. They remained for a good minute before relaxing and returning to their stations. Their successful escape meant a great deal to the alliance and to Earth. All the technology they saved, and the lives accompanying it was a powerful victory, even if they lost the facility that housed both.
Gray thought about the various losses, the multiple alliance ships in particular. Those men and women gave their lives protecting that place. Each of them suffered the ultimate sacrifice. It honored the Behemoth to be able to carry on for them, to give their end a meaning. Had they lost their own people on the surface or been destroyed, the defeat would’ve left the alliance staggering.
Protocol Seven didn’t work the way they’d hoped but Olly already found some ways to improve upon it. With the help of the alliance technicians, they may find the necessary breakthrough to employ it. Combined with all the other discoveries, Gray hoped they would develop a new advantage to overcome their foes.
Earth command would have a great deal to say when they returned home. Their work proved exemplary and they returned relatively undamaged. The others took the brunt but their improved understanding of the enemy, and help from Kale’s Crystal Font, meant they were able to come back in operational order.
Kale may’ve been a new Anthar for the Alliance but he knew his stuff. Without him, Gray figured they may not have come away unscathed or at all for that matter. Superior tactics saved them. It dawned on him that with such a vast fleet, the enemy could not employ brilliant commanders to each. That was a stunning oversight to take advantage of.
Maybe dramatic technology wouldn’t win the day. Advances in their overall designs and weapons would help but didn’t necessarily represent the silver bullet to end the war. Tactics, ingenuity, free will and self preservation, those seemed to be the values to stand upon for victory. So far, humanity survived multiple engagements with these invaders and each time came from raw desire.
Reports filtered up from the various departments, detailing the state of the ship. Some reported minor damage from the various maneuvers, others had injuries which were being tended to in the various triage and sickbays. All around, they came away fairly clean. Nothing they encountered would be missed in routine maintenance.
Damage caused by the microjump concerned Gray. They would definitely perform a full diagnostic of the system to determine what went wrong and how to correct the problem. Such a tactic seemed to be part and parcel to the alliance handbook. He didn’t want to be hamstrung by losing a tool at his disposal.
Perhaps Clea would be able to help. Poor Clea. The situation with her sister made his heart hurt. Now that they had a moment to take a breath, he wanted to speak to her in private, to see if she needed to talk before they returned to Earth. They’d jump in near Saturn and have hours of flight time before arriving home.
Once they all had some downtime and got underway, Gray knew he’d have an opportunity to speak and relax. Everyone on board deserved some R&R, especially the soldiers and pilots who pulled double duty and risked their lives throughout the operation. He hoped the council wouldn’t send them immediately back out on another mission. They needed at least a couple days.
If for no other reason, they needed to work out the glitch from the engines. While that may not take long, Gray knew it would give the majority of the personnel the time they needed to take a deep breath. It may not be much but considering all they’d been through, it would be worth it.
He sure wouldn’t balk at a decent meal and a night’s rest.
Epilogue
Clea approached Gray’s cabin and knocked on the door. She stood tall in her uniform, hands clasped behind her back as she waited to be summoned. Once they jumped back to Earth space, key personnel retired to their quarters to clean up and eat. After a shower, she felt like a new woman but the process wouldn’t be complete without a reasonable rest period.
“Come in,” Gray called and she stepped inside. He sat at the table with a cup of coffee, peering down at an old book. She stood in front of his table, head held high. “Sit down, Clea. This isn’t a formal summons.”
She relaxed a little and sat across from him, in the same chair she’d occupied dozens of times while they played chess.
“I read your assessment of Vora,” Gray said. “The conversation you had…I just…I wanted to say I’m sorry.”
“Thank you, Captain.” Clea bit the inside her cheek to maintain a neutral expression. She nearly cried in the shower but fought it back. If she wouldn’t do it alone, she sure didn’t plan to do so in front of Gray, regardless of how gentle he might be. “It was…an unfortunate circumstance, one I will have a hard time explaining to my family.”
Gray smiled but it seemed to be a sad one. “Clea…you don’t have to lock your feeling away. You’ve got them and this situation sure warrants your ability to let them go.”
“It won’t help, Gray. Vora made her decision and now she has to live with it…for so long as the alliance allows her to.” Clea turned away, looking out the porthole at the stars. “I didn’t think anyone I personally knew had the capacity to turn on their own people. The revelation has caused me more pain than I can relate.”
“I understand…such things are never pleasant. Our own history has a number of such incidents and they never go over well. They have far reaching ramifications which may not be realized for weeks, months or even years.” Gray sipped his drink. “But I hope you’re not doubting anything as a result of this.”
“If anything, my resolve has been strengthened,” Clea replied. “This enemy corrupted my sister with their violent, horrifying ideology. I refuse to be broken because she lost her way. I refuse.”
“Good.” Gray leaned forward and patted her arm. “You’re a stunning officer and a woman of integrity. Never forget it.”
“I will not.” Clea finally managed a thin smile then directed them back to business. “Vora has already turned over evidence about our opponents, al
l her research data which led her to that dangerous turn of heart. The data has been backed up and secured. The other technicians are being questioned but so far it looks like none of them had anything to do with my…with the traitor.”
“Understood.” Gray nodded. “What’s your assessment of the Crystal Font? Do you think they were destroyed?”
“Personally, I don’t believe it,” Clea replied. “And I’m not just wishful thinking. Kale proved to be a solid, intelligent officer. I’m certain he thought of something…that he escaped.”
“I hope you’re right.”
“After this mission, I’m willing to go on some faith.” Clea settled into her chair and relaxed. “The ground mission pushed me farther than I thought possible. Not only physically either. Those marines are amazing and I feel they are dramatically underestimated.”
“Often. Most individual soldiers are. Their feats are pretty incredible and only a few of them were even hurt.”
“Cuts, bruises, a couple of minor fractures but otherwise, they returned unscathed. Captain Hoffner picked the right men for the job.”
“That’s why he’s here.” Gray sipped again. “I suppose you’ll get your promotion now.”
Clea nodded, looking down at her hands. “Before, when we were about to leave we talked about the type of officer I’ve become.”
“I remember.”
“I feel much more confident. Not only in my abilities but my decision making…my ability to work with others and inspire them. I’ve learned a lot from you, but quite a bit from Captain Hoffner as well. I saw him do things which astounded me…feats of heroics for his people. He was the last one off the planet and the the first to dive into action. I admire him a great deal.”
“There are few finer people to look up to,” Gray said. “I’ve always liked William. He’s a straight shooter who tells you what he’s thinking. It’s one of the reasons I was okay with you hitting the surface with them. I knew you’d be in a good hands.”
“I appreciate it. So when I receive my promotion, I will take it with honor now…and not doubt.”