Escape Velocity (The Black Star Chronicles Book 1)

by E. P. Wyck

  “Oh, you have no idea. You better start talking. Did you sabotage the stasis system?”

  “Why would I?”

  “To further the gendercide agenda. I don’t know, you tell me.”

  “I am not part of the gendercide.”

  “I don’t believe you!”

  “Obviously. Why do you think I didn’t want to talk to you? You think everybody who isn’t you is the gendercide. You can’t be trusted.”

  “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “You don’t know what trusted means. You are stupid.”

  Kali picked the table up and let it slam back down on her stomach. She gagged for air. Eventually, she managed to inhale and regain her breath. “I know what it means. I mean why do you think that?”

  “Look at you. I am on your side, and you’re in here attacking me.”

  “How do I know you’re on my side?”

  “Because I haven’t done anything.”

  “Prove it,” Kali said.

  “If I could I would. I know your types. You’re more Razian than you think. You’d probably get along in here if you didn’t come in with authority and put our Commander out of a job.”

  “Nobody said she is out of a job. She can’t possibly investigate this. She has too many connections to you all. She’s compromised on your behalf. I am not.”

  “Clearly,” The woman said struggling beneath the table. “You mind getting this thing off me?”

  Kali’s rage began to ebb, and she decided to let her up. She rotated the table off her. The woman laid on the floor, sucking in huge gasps of air.

  “You sure know how to get someone’s attention,” she said.

  “I may have had some practice,” Kali said.

  “I’d say,” she said through troubled breaths. “If I didn’t hate you for this I might admire you. That knee to the face was a thing of beauty. I can’t react that fast.”

  “Thanks. I am sorry about that. I am just so frustrated by all of this and everybody seems co-operative but you. You have to understand how guilty you look that way.”

  “Are you saying, I am off the hook?”

  “Not exactly, but I am less concerned about you.”

  “Well, that’s good. I guess,” the woman said with her breathing almost back to normal.

  “So, who would you peg for gendercide?” Kali asked.

  “I’d say probably the newest aboard. Problem is our newest people are all males. I don’t think they’d go that route.”

  “I know. I don’t believe the Commander or Novalie would do it. They’re the only people I’ve really gotten to know. I mean I’ve chatted with some others but not enough to say I know them.”

  “Yeah, I get you. I have a mate in stasis.”

  “Maybe you should have led with that,” Kali said.

  “Probably right. Where is the fun in that, though?”

  “Ok, well stay here. I am not done with you just yet,” Kali said walking out of the room. She headed to Bruce and said, “Is she telling the truth about her mate?”

  “Yes, they've been aboard since before me. I am surprised you didn’t know that,” Bruce said.

  “Why didn’t you say so?”

  “I don’t know. I figured you’d find out.”

  “Bruce, I just completely crossed a line, and it could have been avoided if you mentioned that,” Kali said.

  “My apologies, Commander. It won’t happen again,” Bruce said.

  “I hope not, for the sake of the crew,” Kali said. She started walking away and then said, “Get her to medical and then back with the rest of them.”

  “Yes, Commander,” Bruce said.

  _ _ _

  Kali spent the last several hours on the bridge. She obsessed over the passage of time awaiting her crew to awaken. Finally, the time came, and Kali headed below.

  On her way, she caught up to Royce and his crew who also headed below. “Did you get any rest?” Kali asked.

  “A little, I couldn’t sleep without thinking about the problem of the suspended pods. I think I have a plan, though. We’ll have to see if it works.”

  “What’s your plan?”

  “Well, I need to get a stable platform up there and start working on releasing those pods. I think we could build something. I haven’t worked out all of the details yet, though,” Royce explained.

  “I can get everybody to help if need be. What do you think we’ll need to make it happen?” Kali asked.

  “Well, I know we have some hull repair supplies. They’re heavy, though. I am not sure if we could support that weight with other things we may use. I just know that we could maybe weld that in such a way as to allow us to work up there on a steady plane.”

  “How much do you know about welding?”

  “Enough to know that once I did it, those pods would be ruined and couldn’t fit through the system again.”

  “Well, those people in the pods would be happy to afford a replacement if it meant they lived.”

  “I know I’d gladly pay for one, but I think that is kind of messed up having them pay for their own life like that.”

  “That’s not what I meant. I just meant that the cost is worth it. I am sure they’d agree is probably a better way to say it,” Kali said.

  “I think so,” Royce said as they approached the cargo hold they could hear the echoing of the alarms on the pods, “Just in time.”

  The medical staff waited in the stasis pod storage room. “Thank you for being here,” Kali said to them.

  “We’re happy to help. I am sure this may get a bit complicated dealing with so many who may be disorientated,” a medic said. “We’ve brought clothes and blankets which should keep most people calm.”

  “Good thinking. I am sorry I didn’t think of it,” Kali said.

  “No worries, Commander. You have a lot to think about. I don’t envy you.”

  The first pod started to release its occupant. The medical team checked on her. She seemed fine. They offered her some clothes and moved onto the next pod. Royce’s team did a good job working sequentially. One by one they helped people out of stasis.

  Eventually, they started to escort people to a holding area a few decks up. They would receive food, and after everyone had arrived they would get a back brief about what happened.

  Kali witnessed members of the research crew coming out of stasis and the burden weighing her shoulders down lessened little by little until they had all exited stasis alive and well. She saw Ryn emerge several minutes ago and knew if he made it the expedition would continue successfully.

  With everyone out of stasis, the medical and security teams directed the last of the crew to make their way to the holding area for a meal. Everybody followed the instructions with little questions about why they woke up there.

  “Commander, that is the last of them. We’re going to observe in the holding area,” said a medic.

  “Sounds good. I am following them up too. I need to talk with them,” Kali said.

  _ _ _

  Kali walked into the crowded room. Many of the crew sat eating their first meal in months. Only a few of them took notice of her presence.

  “Kali,” Ryn said, “it is so good to see you.”

  “Hi, Ryn. How was stasis?”

  “Fine. What is going on?”

  “I am about to explain it to everyone. I think it’d be best if I only did it once. You doing ok?”

  “Yes. Why?”

  “I am just worried. You’ll find out why in a minute,” Kali said. She made her way to a central location of the room and said, “I need everybody’s attention. You don’t have to stop eating, but I need to tell you all something.”

  People repositioned their chairs, and the chatter settled down. She looked around. She had barely seen the members of the Dawnbreaker crew before they entered stasis. To them, she held no authority. She had not earned their respect over the past seven months.

  “For those who are unfamiliar with me, I am Kali, dau
ghter of the Triumvir Genevieve. She sent me here on orders to safeguard this research crew,” Kali paused motioning to the members of Ryn’s crew.

  “Unfortunately, I may have failed. A member of the Dawnbreaker crew died in an accident. When we went to awaken a replacement, we couldn’t operate the stasis system.”

  “You’re just going to tell us someone died and not say who, or how?” some said.

  “I am sorry, you’re right. It was a member of the electrical team. They were found in the fitness center. They dropped some weights on their face. I am sorry. Philip has been cared for and I am sorry for their loss.”

  “He was murdered,” a man said. He stood up, and he said, “I know it. I dreamt it. I don’t know how, or why but I did.”

  “What do you mean you dreamt it? I had the same dream,” said another man. Several others started nodding and agreeing they all had the same dream.

  “Wait, are all of you saying you had the same dream?” Kali asked.

  They responded with variations of yes and nods of their heads. Kali then said, “If you had this dream, please stand up.” She watched as every male, regardless of class, stood up.

  “Oh!” she gasped. “Bruce, I think we have a bigger problem than we first thought.”

  “I’d say, Commander,” Bruce said.

  “Commander?” a woman said. “Where is Commander Aleksandra. Why isn’t she here?”

  “That’s a good question. I was working on getting to that. She had to relinquish command. She gave it to me. She…”

  The woman cut Kali off and said, “That is ridiculous and you know it. Why isn’t she here, did you kill her?”

  “No, she’s alive and well. Ask Bruce.”

  “It’s true. Aleksandra gave Kali command on her own volition and Kali didn’t even want it. She’s done a good job so far. We wouldn’t have made this far without her. You’d be wise to take her lead,” Bruce said.

  “Thank you, Bruce,” Kali said, “The reason I took command is because the stasis system is inoperative and it is rigged to explode or kill every male occupant in the event it is tampered with. I believe the plan was for the system to kill all of the males at once.”

  “I kept hearing this voice, like a dream, saying we wouldn’t take another breath. It is still repeating through my head. I thought you didn’t have dreams in stasis.”

  “I’ve heard another say the same thing,” Kali said. “Do all of you who are standing have the same issue?”

  They nodded, some said yes instead. “I thought I was going crazy,” one of them said.

  “Please take your seats,” Kali said. She waited for them to settle before she continued. “It looks like we will need to save finding out who did this until after we’ve freed the rest of the crew. I believe they’re still in danger.”

  “Why not just free them like you did us?” someone asked.

  “Because we can’t reach them. They’re suspended. Your pods were all at floor level. We can’t fly there because the space is too tight. We’re going to need everyone’s help to build something to reach them.”

  “I am in.”

  “Me too!”

  “I am not letting my crew die, count me in too!”

  The crew continued to rally behind the idea of going to help their friends. Kali waited, hoping they’d settle. She finally said, “Please quiet down. I have to say one more thing.”

  “Well, hurry up. We have to get to work.”

  “I need to sequester all of the females. I can’t be sure someone didn’t exit stasis and do this. I am sorry. I know you’re not expecting this, but I can’t risk it,” Kali said.

  “You’ve got to be kidding me.”

  “Nope, I am not doing it.”

  “You can’t make me.”

  “I refuse.”

  “I need you to listen,” Kali said waiting for them to calm down. “You must do this. First, it is for your safety. I don’t know if any of the males aboard who weren’t in stasis might choose to take retribution against you. Second, I can’t release the others yet so it’d be unfair to them to let you roam free.”

  “We didn’t do anything.”

  “How could we have done something, even if we wanted to?”

  “I don’t know. I have just noticed that right now. Things aren’t what they seem. I am sorry if you find this inconvenient or irksome or whatever. I need you to cooperate. Your cooperation will help the ship get back to normal quicker.”

  Silence and some nodding heads told Kali all she needed to know. They’d support her. How long they’d entertain this, she didn’t know, but for now, she had their support.

  Chapter 29

  Kali and several leaders of the Dawnbreaker gathered on the bridge to discuss the saving of the crew who remained in stasis.

  “That’s just not going to work,” Royce said.

  “What do you know?” said Michael.

  “I know that I was able to get you out of stasis, along with a lot of others. I think you should trust me. We need a stable, emphasis on stable, platform,” Royce said.

  “You think I don’t get that?” Michael said.

  “Enough!” Kali said. “We are wasting time. Those people need to be out in under 20 hours, and they have an eight-hour cool down time. We have less than 12 hours to figure this out.”

  “This would be really easy if we could access some of the supplies we had stored with the cargo hauler,” Ryn said.

  “We can’t use that, try something useful,” Michael said.

  “Let's keep it civil!” Kali reminded.

  “Ok. So, I want to build a base that we can keep building up, almost like a pyramid. Except we build flat along the wall here.” Royce pointed on the schematic to the end of the stasis storage room opposite of the entrance. “This way we can get up and down from the pods and allow the occupants to get out safely.”

  “Why not just weld something up there and call it good?” someone said.

  “I’ve already thought of that. Two reasons. First, it would ruin the pod, and second, it may not be something we can do in time,” Royce said.

  “Who cares about ruining the pods? I wouldn’t trust them after this anyway.”

  “I agree. I say we ruin them if we need to so long as the people get out safe.”

  “Who knows how to weld?” Royce asked. “I know I do, and I think maybe a few other people aboard do. That is not enough people to get done what I need to do before I have to start releasing the pods.”

  “I think we should use the pods to our advantage. Like you said, make stairs. We unhook them and stack them to the right height,” Ryn said.

  “That’s…” Royce thought, “brilliant. It could work. They’re the right height. We’d have to stack and re-stack them as we move, but I think it’d work. My main concern is a platform for when they come out of stasis.”

  “We weld everything up once their power feeds are cut. We’ll have eight hours to do it,” Ryn said.

  “I think that is a good plan. Who agrees?” Royce asked. Several people in the room agreed, and he said, “Commander, what do you think?”

  “Let's make that happen,” Kali said sending most of the people on the bridge off to start working.

  Kali, Ryn, and Royce worked together on plans to construct the platform while Royce’s team worked with other members of the crew to disassemble the pods.

  “So, if we have these pods configured like this,” Ryn said illustrating his idea, “and stack these here we should be able to build a sturdy platform and access each pod easily.”

  “That’s pretty good. Are you sure you didn’t miss a calling as an architect or engineer?” Royce asked.

  “I am sure I may have, but I love what I do. I am just hoping to get those people out safely,” Ryn said.

  “So, are we all set then?” asked Kali.

  “I think so,” Ryn said

  The three of them headed to the stasis room. Ryn said, “So every one of the males had these mysterious dreams?”
>
  “As far as I have been able to tell,” Kali said, “everyone I have talked with said they did.”

  “What would they have to do in order to get that into our heads. I almost feel like I had a new experience while I was in there. I just can’t shake it,” Ryn said.

  “I am not sure,” Royce said, “I didn’t think it was even possible. I mean to my knowledge it isn’t supposed to be.”

  “Ryn, would you be able to identify the voice of whoever said that if you heard it again?” Kali asked.

  “Absolutely,” Ryn said, “it is burned into my memory.”

  “So, I’ve been recording all of the female voices aboard. Once we get a chance, I want you to listen to them,” Kali said.

  “I’ll do it as soon as we can. I want to find out who tried to kill me and everybody else on this ship,” Ryn said.

  “That’s good to hear. I don’t know who else I can trust here. I am sure most people are trustworthy, but I just don’t know everyone well enough,” Kali said.

  “I know what you mean,” Royce said. They entered the stasis storage. As instructed, they found everyone hard at work. “That’s what I am talking about!”

  “Wow, they’ve really come together. I guess they really care about getting those people out safe,” Kali said.

  “That’s their family. Maybe not by blood, but by battle. They’ll always want to keep them safe,” Ryn said. “Shared hardships will do that to you.”

  “I see. Well, let’s get to it,” Kali said.

  _ _ _

  After almost three hours of work, they finally managed to build a platform capable of accessing the bottom row of suspended pods. They’d need another two hours to complete building access to all of the pods.

  Everybody took shifts and kept working as long as they could. Kali continued to encourage them. She never took a break. As much as she orchestrated everything she also took orders and helped as she could.

  Eventually, every level of pods became reachable. Royce started working on the lower levels of pods as soon as they could reach them. Kali insisted he prioritized getting the pods disconnected from power.