by Damon Alan
A force like a brick wall slammed Sarah. Her gravity couch reacted slowly, and her head jerked to the side. She felt a muscle protest and an audible snap raced up her bones into her inner ear.
I hope that's not... oh shit. What it sounded like.
A burning sensation spread along the base of her skull, but she didn't have time or the ability to check. Acceleration pushed her hard into her gravity couch, which adapted to support various parts of her body as acceleration forces changed. The Teplo jinked rapidly in random directions as the grappler engines tore at the fabric of space.
The grappling engines on the Teplo were the most powerful made by the Alliance shipyards. Ships larger than the frigate were too massive for the grappler engines to be effective. While standard grapplers and G-Ks carried one grappler engine, the Teplo had two. No ship ever built could absorb the stresses of more than two of the engines. Coordinating them to work together placed outrageous stresses on the ship as neither engine pulled precisely in the same direction as the other. The Teplo maneuvered in unexpected directions, groaning under the strain of the violent course changes.
The impact on the crew was nausea, and even with drugs to prevent it large numbers of the Teplo's crew vomited. Jets of air from specially designed air handlers pushed any regurgitation the crew didn't bag toward vents that sucked it from the environment.
Sarah struggled to control her stomach, but lost the fight. Vomit slung from her mouth as the Teplo jinked. Her puke slammed back into her own face with a wicked sting. Some of it sailed past her to slam into Kuo's acceleration couch with an audible liquid slap.
Great. I'll never live that down.
Powerful jets of air slammed into her face, taking her breath away for a moment. Her vomit was pushed away from her nose and mouth so she wouldn't choke on it. Nothing protected her from the smell.
“Enemy grapplers inside effective railgun range, Commander,” Ellis said, grunting to speak.
Sarah raised her arm and wiped traces of puke from her cheek with her sleeve. Her arm felt sluggish and tingled as she lifted it. She turned miserable eyes toward her nav officer. “Stabilize the ship, Mister Ellis. Open fire, Mister Rego.” Her voice sounded hollow and distant in her ears.
“Aye, Commander,” they replied in unison.
The ship stopped bucking, but a continuous four G acceleration still forced Sarah into her gravity couch as the Teplo's fusion engines hurled them toward safety. The couch now cradled her securely, preventing any movement of her spine or neck. The tingling was slowly spreading to her arm from her lower skull.
My crew are so young. I'm not handling this like I did when I started…
Kuo was still clean of his own bile, but his normally brown skin had paled to white.
“Mr. Kuo, please set the grapplers up for the next round,” Sarah said, trying to breathe over the acrid stench of the bridge. “How long was that one?”
Kuo looked at Sarah, concerned. “Eight minutes. A hit from their railguns will be complete luck at this point.”
As if to emphasize the role luck played, an explosion rocked the ship.
“Damage report,” Sarah tried to say, but it came out as a whisper. Molton deciphered her order and transmitted it to the bridge crew, closely simulating Sarah's voice.
“Our comm array just got nailed,” Kuo said. “The main dish is vapor behind us now. No internal damage.”
Sarah caught Kuo stealing sideways glances at her.
“Very well. Continue,” Sarah whispered. Again Molton relayed her command.
Kuo knows I'm hurt.
A low rumble vibrated the ship as the Teplo's railguns opened up on the grapplers behind them.
“As soon as the firing pattern is complete, put us back in evasion, Ensign Ellis,” Kuo said. He kept his voice confident, but his face creased with worry as he looked at Sarah.
Good. If I'm hurt or not, that's the right thing to do.
“Yes, sir,” Ellis replied.
The railgun launches lasted nearly a minute, then the slamming motion of the Teplo began anew.
Oh hell…
Sarah's stomach contorted. Her neck burned as if it were being blow torched. Tears streamed across her face. Molton, sensing Sarah's distress, injected her with pain and performance drugs through the gravity couch. Sarah's pain mostly subsided and she felt her arms again.
Two minutes into the next set of gyrations, Lieutenant Rego released a triumphant whoop, or at least something as close to a whoop as circumstances would allow. “We got it, Commander, we got the base. Screw those bastards! From the number of detonations I'm reading, they didn't even get half of our inbound missiles.”
A cheer passed like a wave across the bridge, although it was a weak shallow wave under the hard acceleration the crew was experiencing.
Sarah smiled weakly. She lifted her arm against powerful acceleration and keyed the PA. “C.. Commander Dayson. Target destroyed. Re-repeat. Target destroyed.” She closed the link and wondered if the crew cared at this point. She wasn't sure if she did. Everything on the bridge seemed surreal.
The next minutes passed as hours, broken only by the occasional interjection from Lieutenant Rego as he called off successful kills on enemy grapplers.
“They haven't launched any missiles at us. They may only have railguns on these birds,” Kuo observed.
“Still, if they get close enough, their cone of fire will get us,” Sarah said. “Ellis, increase main thrust to ten G.”
Ellis looked pathetic with his skin drawn back across his face, yet he still managed to release an audible sigh. “Yes, Commander.” Ellis directed his station to respond to voice input so he'd be able to control the ship from his throat mic. Movement at ten Gs was next to impossible. Her crew didn't wear the power assisted suits that grappler crews wore.
Sarah's weight increased as the engines accelerated harder, and the gravity couch wrapped around her further to increase the protection level. Sarah's eyes felt like they were going to roll into her sinuses and she squinted as her vision began to show a tinge of red. Her neck felt like knives were impaled into her spine.
Didn't I just feel better a minute ago?
“This acceleration is not recommended for more than twelve minutes, Commander,” AI Molton said.
“Understood,” Sarah replied. She wasn't sure if she did.
“The grapplers are falling behind,” Rego said in her ear.
“Molton says we shouldn't do this for more than twelve minutes,” Sarah said, repeating the AI. Every effort was painful, every movement of her throat made it feel like it would fly from her neck.
“Then I suggest we do thirty,” Rego answered. “They'll never catch us.”
I'm not sure I'll survive that. She couldn't feel her legs.
Sarah's vital signs were spiking, and Molton began to fear for her life. He injected her with more pain meds. This time his choice of a powerful narcotic affected Sarah immediately.
“Do thirty, Mr. Rego,” Sarah said happily. “Get us home.”
Kuo spoke in her ear, “Commander?”
“Oh Jeff, you're a great XO. You're here because you think I'm lucky too.” Sarah giggled.
“Lieutenant Commander Kuo,” Molten said, “the Commander's vital signs are outside of safe norms. I have administered drugs to make her more comfortable until Dr. Abason can be summoned.”
Kuo clenched his jaw, but didn't reply to the AI. Instead he spoke to Sarah. “Commander, I'm going to take command now. Just rest,” Kuo said.
“Just rest,” Sarah sighed.
During the next thirty minutes of acceleration, the Teplo stopped gyrating twice to fire on the enemy grapplers. At the end of the half hour, only four pursuers remained.
“The enemy is breaking off,” Ellis said.
Sarah heard everyone speaking, but when she tried to speak, nothing came out. She didn't remember why that mattered.
“Reduce acceleration to point six gravities, Mr. Ellis,” Kuo said.
; “Sir?”
“You heard me. Mr. Rego, lay down a defensive screen to keep the G-Ks off us should they decide to reengage.” As the G forces abated, Kuo unstrapped from his gravity couch and activated the PA. “Doctor Abason to the bridge for a medical emergency.”
That spurred Sarah a bit. “Oh, someone's hurt?” Her voice sounded raspy, she wondered why.
“Quiet, Commander. We'll take care of it,” a voice sang to her.
Why is everyone singing?
Sarah opened her eyes as she felt cold fingers on her neck. It was the doctor.
“Commander, your neck is broken,” he said to her. “You're paralyzed.”
Sarah smiled. “I'd like a chardonnay, please.”
“Molton, you idiot, you pumped her full of shit,” the doctor growled.
“I'm sorry, Dr. Abason. I followed protocol for an injured crewman.”
“Damned AIs,” the doctor complained.
“What can you do for her?” Kuo asked. “We need to resume a heavy burn.”
“I can fit her with a brace that will protect her up to four Gs, I think,” the doctor offered. “Anything over that and her chances go way down. I'm surprised she's alive right now, to be honest.”
“Ten gees!” Sarah squealed.
Kuo grabbed the doctor's arm. “How long will it take to stabilize her?”
“Several minutes,” Abason said.
“Do it. Do it fast,” Kuo ordered.
Ten minutes later Sarah was adrift in an oblivion born of pain medicine. She listened to her officers through a fog.
“Good work, doctor. Return to your gravity couch,” Kuo said. “Mr. Ellis, once everyone is couched, prepare to accelerate to four Gs for the next two hours. If they're still bugging out at that time, we'll reduce to one gravity,” Kuo said.
“Oh, that's good! You should command a ship,” Sarah said.
Hours later the crew moved Sarah to her quarters, and Kuo was entered into the log as acting Captain of the Teplo.
Dr. Abason gave Sarah drugs that immobilized her and eliminated any pain. Unlike with Molton's drug choice, however, Sarah's mind was clear. She was, unfortunately, unable to speak. Machines fed her and removed her waste.
So much for dignity.
Kuo spent every non-duty moment in her cabin with her, reading aloud from books he'd picked up from various crew members. Mostly murder mysteries, a genre Sarah couldn't tell him she hated. Regardless, she was grateful.
Eleven days after her injury, the Teplo attached itself to an FTL harness. Ahead of the ship, buried in the spherical drive core of the FTL harness, a singularity spun up. Space distorted, and for the next forty-eight days, the Teplo, the harness, and several kilometers of the vacuum around them fell forward faster than light.
When the Teplo dropped out of highspace, it docked at a deep space port called Tandella Station. It was little more than a refueling station and assembly point for fleets, but it had a military hospital.
Sarah watched the entire process, still unable to speak. She thought it odd that the situation brought back memories of laying on her gravity couch next to One-Eight, staring up at the hangar lights on the Marius so many years ago.
As the station medics transferred Sarah to a gurney for transport to surgery, a slight bump jarred her neck.
Searing white light engulfed her, stealing awareness away.
Chapter 30 - Dog on the Scent
Bn74x00 abandoned chasing the enemy frigate. Calculations indicated a point zero four percent chance of success, a probability not worth pursuing. Three other computational entities in proximity reached the same conclusion, but then returned to the chase when the enemy ship slowed. 00 watched as the other three colonies were destroyed by enemy railgun fire. 00 calculated the risk of destruction, and decided to disengage. It directed the grappling drive core it inhabited to return to the now destroyed base station on a maximally efficient path.
As the small Hive colony dropped back toward the gas giant, it shuttered all but minimal sensors. Computational power was redirected to analysis of the battle that unfolded over the last several days.
00 replayed the recent events it was able to perceive. It separated the last six months into two second segments and analyzed each segment individually. It concentrated processing power on the time between detection of the enemy ship and the escape of the enemy ship.
One human ship. No response from two Hive cruisers patrolling the system, so the human ship must have been undetectable by normal means. Ships generate heat. This ship had no IR signature, until suddenly it did. Bn74x00 considered the possibilities that would allow this and decided it had insufficient processing power to reach a conclusion. It would defer to the Collective. Heat must have been retained within the vessel, however, and that would present a danger to the humans. A substantial danger. 00 calculated the odds of success from the human standpoint. Very low. This attack was illogical.
Yet they succeeded against the probabilities. Methodologies to enhance success? Leadership efficiency and innovation rated the greatest factors toward the humans successfully destroying the Hive base. The captain of this ship was a threat to the Hive.
Sharing that calculation with the Collective was high priority. Bn74x00 selected self preservation and survival as its primary mission in order to disseminate its observations.
After setting its mission parameters, Bn74x00 shut down all higher functioning processes. It dedicated processing power to the sensor nanites and instructed them to awaken the whole should anything out of the ordinary occur.
Inert, Bn74x00 fell toward Armeus.
* * *
Awareness.
Nanite chains snaked from Bn74x00's body, spreading into space around it and weaving into a sieve to catch stray molecules. As it searched for traces of debris or molecules in space that would help it identify the human ship, it also researched the attack.
It counted gamma ray pulses on the record of the base destruction. Twenty-three enemy nuclear weapons detonated on or near the base, obliterating it. Based upon analysis of gaseous concentrations and the number of radioactive isotopes present, it estimated the total force applied to exceed forty-five megatons.
Overkill.
Overkill implied lack of confidence in success, which could signify ignorance of Hive tactics. Strange since humans created the Hive, did that imply the humans are incapable of logical extrapolation? Potentially. File for future consideration.
Bn74x00 scanned the debris, looking for useful materials and evidence. It found base elements with which to conduct self repair. Railgun ammunition. A few functional data cores. Overall, however, little of the base survived. As it flew slowly among the expanding cloud of debris, it discovered a relatively intact long range courier. The processing cores were dead, destroyed by EMP. But the fusion power plant and FTL drive were functional. Bn74x00 calculated the possibility of switching drive cores outside the confines of a space station dock. Reward for success would be notifying other regional bases of the new attack tactic. The risk was acceptable.
Bn74x00 began a long but orderly process of clearing dead nanites from the new drive core. It cannibalized the dead nanites for materials it needed to conduct self repair on a long journey. Once the other colony was removed from the drive, Bn74x00's essence flowed in microscopic droves between the two drive cores. It successfully inhabited the courier FTL drive. The drive core reported fully operational and a fuel status of ninety-four percent.
Before leaving the system it decided to maximize data collection. It spent significant time retracing the approach of the enemy vessel, cataloging and prioritizing every detail. Along the enemy inbound path, it found an expanding debris field. Broken equipment. Biological waste. Textiles. Most importantly, it found DNA. Collection of DNA and identification of ship and crew began. It lacked the database to associate the data properly, but it preserved the information for analysis by a superior colony.
Bn74x00 was done. It accelerated outward from the star sys
tem, preparing to leave.
“A functional drive core has been secured,” it transmitted to any other surviving nets in the system. “An attempt will be made to notify the collective that a rescue and rebuilding is necessary here. The possibility of return cannot be calculated. Unknown parameters prevent analysis.”
Bn74x00 selected the nearest base as its target, and jumped.
It went inert for the journey.
Chapter 31 - A Bigger Hammer
19 NODER 15323
Someone held Sarah's hand. She swam up through an abyss of inky blackness to force her eyes open. Her eyelids fluttered and a myriad of colors and blurry shapes pushed into her mind.
“Sarah? You need to rest.”
The voice was familiar. The face. Vision was too blurry to make out details, but something was familiar.
She was cold.
Too much stimulus. Blackness returned.
* * *
22 JAND 15324
Sarah's eyes snapped open. She lay on her left side. In front of her white light from a bright sky filtered in through a large window, forcing her to squint. She rolled over onto her back and focused on the figure sitting next to her bed.
Sarah tried to lift her hand to salute, but something restrained her arm. “Admiral on deck.” Her voice sounded dehydrated.
Admiral Jerna Heyden wrinkled his brow at her. “Just lay there and get well, Captain Dayson, and that's an order.”
Sarah touched Heyden's arm with her fingers. “How long have I—”
“Five months.”
Sarah struggled with keeping her eyes open. “Wow.”
“Yes, wow, we're lucky we didn't lose you. But, and I know how much you hate this, nanites have put you back together again.” Heyden poured some of water from a pitcher by her bed, and held the glass up to her.
“But five months?” Sarah drank.
Admiral Heyden sat the glass down. “Tandella Station didn't have the facilities to restore you like we do here on Mindari. So they stabilized you and then we moved you here by automated fast courier. You spent a lot of those months frozen and suspended in liquid helium.”