by James Palmer
“Identify.”
“Already done, Captain. They’re escape pods.” The captain could almost hear the smile in his voice. “I count ten so far.”
“Good job, Lieutenant Andersen. Any response from the station?”
“Not yet, ma’am, but I’ll keep trying.”
“We’ll call you when we get there,” Harmon said as the shuttle lifted off the deck and slowly moved forward on invisible tracks toward the launch port. The engine’s whine increased as the shuttle hovered a foot above the deck before lurching forward to the open reaches of space.
With years of piloting experience under her belt, Virginia Harmon skillfully maneuvered the shuttle out of Pegasus’ docking bay. The force screen flickered as the small craft passed harmlessly through it. The force screen’s primary function was to keep atmosphere in while keeping the cold vacuum of space outside. They were performing exceptionally well. Despite the nervousness of initiating this new technology into live working conditions, there had been no problems with the force screens to date.
The Pegasus was one of only a small group of starships with this feature on the outer docking bay doors.
“Keep a light on for us,” Harmon told the communication’s officer.
“Will do. Good luck, Captain.”
“Thank you, Mr. Andersen.”
And with that the shuttle was gone, streaking off towards Space Lab and the unknown enemy waiting there.
On the Bridge of the Pegasus, the crew tracked the shuttle’s trajectory to the besieged space station.
The captain piloted a straight and even course, highlighting her impressive piloting skills. On her last posting, aboard the starship Chattahoochee, then Commander Virginia Harmon was lead pilot. Flying both combat and recon missions, she also supervised the pilots under her command. As lead pilot, she scheduled the flight roster, kept schedules up to date, and set training rotation. When her promotion to Captain and the new assignment that went with it came down the pike she had been quite surprised. It was certainly not something she had expected.
Harmon suspected she would be flying missions until the end of her career. Fate apparently agreed with that assessment because once again she was more behind the controls, flying headlong into the unknown.
Andersen monitored her progress intently while trying once again to hail the station.
No luck.
Frustrated, he opened a communication channel to the Engineering section. “Chief Thomas?” he called.
“What now?” Chief Engineer Thomas howled, apparently unhappy with being interrupted while he worked.
Too bad. This was an emergency situation. The chief would talk to Lt. Andersen whether he liked it or not.
“Chief Thomas?” he asked again, more forceful this time.
“I’m a little busy here at the moment, bridge!” he snapped. “What do you want?”
“The captain wanted me to check on your progress with the engines.”
“Tell her to get off my back and let me do my job,” the chief shouted into the comm channel, his booming voice carrying over the din in the engineering section. “I’ll call her when I’m finished.”
“I’ll relay that message as soon as I’m able Chief. Thanks.”
“How’s that?”
“The captain is not aboard at the moment. She and a few others are trying to rescue the survivors on Space Lab.” The Lieutenant’s voice was smooth and even as he relayed this; betraying no hint of the chaos happening on the Bridge.
“What?” The chief questioned. “She’s left the ship during a crisis?”
“Yes she did.”
“Of all the incompetent...”
Lt. Andersen interrupted him mid sentence. “I wouldn’t finish that sentence if I were you, Mr. Thomas.”
“Yeah. Well I guess it’s a good thing I’m a little to busy to finish then.”
Lt. Andersen’s voice cut evenly through the noise of the Engineering section. “I’d love to continue this conversation, Chief,” he said. “But I’m afraid that I’m a little busy here at the moment as well.”
And the connection between the Bridge and Engineering was severed.
On the Bridge, Lt. Andersen smiled despite himself. The chief Engineer was such an insufferable man. Asshole.
Chief Thomas was not an easy individual to get along with. Despite only being aboard ship a few days Andersen had already experienced his first run in with the man. His reputation was certainly well earned.
Placing his personal feelings aside, Lt. Andersen checked the shuttle’s status once again. All systems showed green, on-line, and operating at one hundred percent efficiency, if the computer diagnostics were to be believed. They had no way of knowing what changes, if any, the radiation bursts might have made to the ship’s internal workings.
Checking the chronometer on his console, he felt helpless. Until he heard from the shuttle or received good news from Engineering, there really wasn’t much he could do but wait. The captain and her rescue party would reach the station in a matter of minutes at present speed.
“Wait a minute!”
Several small blips appeared on his monitor. Now that they were in sensor range, the unidentified incoming objects were moving fast toward the sector of space that Space Lab and the Pegasus occupied. The blips moved on a direct path toward the crippled space station.
Their intent was painfully clear to Lt. Andersen.
“Oh my God.” He punched the key for the shuttle’s communication array. “Captain!” he yelled.
“Harmon here. What’s the matter...”
He did not let her finish. “Captain! We have incoming.”
“What? Where?”
Fingers flying over the control board, he ran the entire bridge from the tactical station. All functions had been routed to him by the captain before her departure, essentially placing him in command of the bridge until her return.
A message scrolled up on his screen. Oh no.
“Mr. Andersen, my scope is clear.”
“Sensors detect several small ships heading your way, Captain. I can’t get an energy emission signal from them at this distance. I can’t give you an accurate count on the ships either.”
The captain’s voice cut through the static caused by the residual radiation, a side effect of the attack. “Scavengers?” she asked.
“Unknown. But from the looks of things I would call that a good guess.”
“Damn! Of all the lousy timing,” she said. “How long do we have, Mr. Andersen?”
“I can’t give you an exact answer.”
“Best estimate.”
“I’d say about two hours, Captain. Probably less. The ships are fast, but not incredibly so. I’m guessing they are very small.”
Silence answered him. He wondered if she was still there or had communications failed again? Since the attack, signal strength rose and fell dramatically and unpredictably. Certainly no one expected the captain’s first day on the job as the ship’s commanding officer would have her and the crew in the middle of a war zone.
Lt. Andersen hoped she up to the task. So far, his new captain had impressed him.
“We’ll see what we can accomplish in that time then, Mr. Andersen,” she answered. “But listen closely. Under no circumstances are you to further engage any hostiles until the Pegasus is under full operational control. Or unless you are left with no other choice. We can not afford to lose that ship or crew. Understand?”
“Yes, ma’am. I’ll arm the weapons and have them at the ready, just in case the ships are here to attack the Pegasus.” He replied even as he punched the desired commands into the ship’s computer system. “Take care, Captain.”
“Mr. Andersen, I need you to maintain control for me until I return.”
“No problem.”
“This is serious, Lieutenant. I need you to take over for me until I arrive. As of this moment I am turning over operational command of the Pegasus to you until further notice.”
; A pause.
Momentarily stunned, Lt. Andersen stammered. “Yes, ma’am. I… I’ll try and take good care of her for you, Captain. Good luck.”
“To us all, Lieutenant. Take care of my ship. I don’t want to have to explain to the brass how I lost her on my first day on the job.”
“Yes, ma’am,” he acknowledged through a tight grin. “We’d hate that.”
“Yes,” she said. “Yes, we would.”
22
Space Lab Science Station
Thick dust and acrid smoke filled the air.
Permeating every square inch of the corridor, and probably beyond, it made movement through the wounded space station difficult at best, impossible in some cases. Dr. James Silver and Ensign Bailey had been climbing across the battered terrain of what had once been the habitat level of Space Lab for about fifteen minutes.
The dust was as hard to breathe as it was to peer through. Neither man would be able to keep their bearings alone under the circumstances. Luckily they had paired up. Unfortunately they still had a few levels to cross to get from their current location the control center. Hopefully the other levels would prove easier to traverse.
They had both been remarkably lucky, as far as things go. The corridor was barely passable, but it was accessible. They had jumped headfirst into Silver’s plan to reach the Operations Center without a lot of planning, but luck had been on their side. There had been no sign of any hostile individuals in their path. Maybe, just maybe, they could get out of this without any additional bloodshed.
For the first time since the unknown space vessel crashed into the Space Lab, Silver allowed himself to believe that everything was going to work out for the best and that all of the people still aboard the station were out of immediate danger.
That was his first mistake.
The whine of an energy blast filled the thick dusty air, the beam easily standing out as a green shaft of light in the thickness of the station’s new dust filled atmosphere. Before he could even think to react to the attack, Dr. Silver found himself rolling down a small mountain of debris as Ensign Bailey slammed into him. They flew over what had once been a bulkhead for the relative safety of being out of the line of fire.
The blast struck the wall just opposite of where they had been standing seconds ago.
More debris fell, dislodged by the blast. Both men shielded their eyes to save them from filling with dust, dirt, and shrapnel. Their rest only lasted the briefest of seconds as Ensign Bailey grabbed the doctor, pushing him into an empty service conduit before quickly following.
The idea seemed a good one at the time. Hide in the conduit where the enemy couldn’t find them and climb the next few levels to safety. A simple enough plan.
Unfortunately, it was mistake number two.
Once inside the conduit pipe, Ensign Bailey immediately realized his drastic miscalculation. The conduit did not go up as expected. Only down. And down was definitely not the direction they were hoping to go.
Both men dropped quickly, falling like rocks toward an unknown bottom at the end of the long, dark tunnel. Sliding along the edge of the tunnel as it twisted and turned ever quickly downward, the doctor realized this might have been fun if the situation upstairs were not so severe. They were out of range from whoever was shooting at them, but definitely not out of danger.
Wondering how far into the station this conduit would take them, James Silver replayed the words of warning his tour guide, Kendra had given him his first day on board. “Stay above level twelve unless absolutely necessary.”
“Great,” he mumbled as he fell. “I’m here less than a day and I’m already disobeying the rules.”
“What was that?” his companion asked.
“Nothing. Just keep moving.”
Continuing their descent for what seemed an eternity, the end finally came. The loud crack of a metal grate flying open signaled the end of the road.
Seconds later the sound of two bodies hitting a hard surface followed.
Then everything went silent.
“Doc?”
Dr. Cynthia Morgan faded in and out of consciousness, barely aware of her surroundings. The last thing she remembered was being on Space Lab. Since she could not recall leaving the station, she assumed she was still aboard. Words were being spoken to her, but try as she might, she was either unable to respond.
The pain in her side had been increasing exponentially. She remembered the pain, then oblivion claimed her. She had tried to hold on, to fight off unconsciousness for as long as possible, but it had been a losing battle. The darkness called her name and she had answered its summons.
Although it felt as if an eternity had passed, it had only been about ten minutes.
Lt. Sheron Vandrell sat cross-legged in the smoky ruins of the Operations Center trying desperately to wake the good Doctor. She looked very tired to Dr. Morgan’s barely focused eyes. The heat in the room was unacceptable, bordering on the unbearable. That was probably to blame for the Lieutenant’s exhaustion. First thing in the morning she would have maintenance fix that problem. Her people had enough to deal with without the added inconvenience of poor air conditioning.
That was her last thought before blessed unconsciousness claimed her once again. The darkness gave way to the land of dreams. Dr. Morgan found herself transported to another time, another place, a magical place where anything seemed possible.
Earth.
She was surprised to recognize it. Cynthia Morgan, like most humans, had never stepped foot on the planet of her ancestors. The only thing she knew of Earth was the view from orbit when she looked out her office window.
The dream was the always the same.
Standing barefoot in a field of deep green grass, the stems tickling her toes as she walked, no, as she danced her way across a field of colorful flowers. Poppies flow through the air on a current of brisk wind coming off of the azure blue lake sitting just off in the distance. Birds of all shapes and sizes mimicked her dance just above the ground.
Then he appeared.
Always the same man.
He began as a small speck on the horizon, but moved quickly closer and closer without actually walking. He just moved. Advancing far faster than any man should be able to, suddenly he was there, standing on a hill just a short distance away from her.
She noticed the loose fitting blue shirt, the worn brown leather vest, and the dusty blue jeans. But for all of the crystal-clear details she can identify about his attire, Cynthia was unable to make out the man’s face. She saw it of course, otherwise how would she remember those electric blue eyes? Still, as was often the case in dreams, what one sees was not what one always gets. She looked closely, smiling at him in the same way she knows he was smiling at her. She loved his smile. Even though, for the life of her, she could not see it.
They moved toward one another.
Slowly at first, then faster, ever faster until at last they were running toward one another across the field, miraculously not disturbing a single flower. With agility that she only wished she possessed when awake, Cynthia Morgan leapt through the air, landing safely in his arms. They embraced one another for what seemed an eternity.
As she began losing herself in the satisfying feeling of being in his arms, a new chapter opened on the dream. A voice filtered in from nowhere and everywhere. It was a familiar voice, one she had heard before.
If only she could remember.
The voice was just out of reach as the fullness of her mysterious man’s warm embrace comforted her on a rolling field of vibrant colors on a planet she had never once stepped foot upon.
“Hold on Cyndi,” the voice pleaded. “Don’t give up.”
“J… Jimmy?”
“I’m coming for you, Cyndi. Hold on.”
She reached out for him, but suddenly found herself alone. Her white knight long gone, and with him went all of the exotic birds. The lake dried up, the grass having gone from lush green to a withered brown. Fear washed over Cynth
ia Morgan as the world slowly died around her.
Whatever was happening, it was not under her control. The scientist in her hated the thought of not being in control of any given situation.
“Jimmy?” she called across the barren wasteland that stretched before her as far as the eye could see. “Where are you?”
There was no answer.
Only the revelation that the mystery man whom had peppered her dreams was James Silver. But he was not the man as she knew him today. Not the same man that she had confronted earlier in his quarters. No, this was the James Silver she had known in college on Mars. He had been an intelligent, warm, kind, caring man. She had fallen hard for him back in those golden days, but as with all things it had eventually come to an end.
She hadn’t known about his Silverfox reputation back then either. Apparently, it was a reputation well earned from the rumors she began hearing almost immediately after they started dating. If only she had listened, but she was blinded by love at the time.
The passage of time had dimmed that light in her eyes.
Although, apparently not as dim as she had believed.
She thought she had put it all behind her, but the memories were as vivid today as if she were reliving them all over again. She refused to let anyone ever rip her heart out like James Silver had all those years ago. That pledge had strained many relationships since college, but she would not let herself become vulnerable like that ever again.
But he had changed. Or at least that was how it appeared.
She hoped he had matured.
She could have easily denied his transfer to the station. It was certainly within her purview to select the team she wanted. But something made her accept him anyway. Was it her heart? What had made her open this wound and pour salt in it? Why had she done it? There had to have been a reason.
She considered her options, which were few. There was nowhere to run. The devastation spread across the horizon. She contemplated screaming. Maybe there was someone hiding who would hear her. Then what? She had to find a way off the planet.
Before she could act, time ran out.