***
Daemon sat on the Bridge and helped Shektee figure out where they were. She needed to know their exact coordinates in order to plot and program the jump to Nebular 4. Mac had rigged the targeting sensor from the port turret to read long ranges so they could use it to figure out their location. The process required them to target at least two of the planets in the system by pivoting the ship without changing its location.
The first time took them a little over an hour before they were satisfied they’d done it right. They’d decided the ship was too far from the jump point and had maneuvered closer to it. Shektee was more comfortable piloting now that she’d done it for real. She never trusted skills she learned from other creatures’ memories until she had a chance to use them herself for a while. She’d positioned them in the center of the jump point, or she thought she had. They were still calculating. They had found out the jump point was more an area than a point and the reason ships always left and arrived at the jump point was that most of the jump calculations had already been done by previous ships and was stored in the ship’s navigation program.
Daemon had found that he enjoyed working the calculations. The equations were rather long but he took his time and made sure he had the right reading in each place where a variable was asked for. Shektee had learned the formulas but didn’t think she would ever have use for them again. She doubted she would ever fly another spaceship… but just in case, she would know them.
Sara had called from Engineering to inform them the engines were charged up and ready when they were. She hadn’t mentioned Mac or what had happened; she simply took over as head engineer and preformed his duties as best she could. Sara had decided that once they landed on Nebular 4 she was getting off and never getting on another ship. Her days as a starship crewmember were over. She would get a job working at a shipyard and try to forget this whole run.
Angelica was still sleeping in her cabin, and Nelson and Mystique were making dinner. They had put Mac’s corpse in a body bag and stored it with Jim and Robert in Robert’s cabin. Mac had set the environmental controls in Robert’s cabin to freezing after they’d landed to keep Robert’s corpse from decomposing. Daemon had taken a body bag and collected the pieces of Jim after Mac had shut down the sentry weapon mounts. Daemon hadn’t let anyone leave the ship until he was finished, ashamed of what he’d done.
Stacey was back in the medical chamber where it was maintaining her vital body functions. Nelson was pleased with the improvements to her vitals but he didn’t want to wake her until they were in jump space. Nelson wasn’t sure what he was going to tell her. He would have to tell her who had died but he wasn’t going to explain how they died.
Daemon finished the last of the calculations and gave their location to Shektee. She entered them into the navigation computer, which only took a few minutes to report it had a jump solution. They were ready; all she had to do was hit the go button.
Daemon called over the intercom for everyone to please meet in the Mess Room. He asked Shektee to accompany him. He was going to wake up his sister and escort her to Mess for the meeting. Shektee didn’t say anything, she just removed the harness and walked over to the hatch. Shektee waited in the corridor while Daemon woke Angelica and told her they were ready to jump. She freshened up a bit before going with him.
Sara and Nelson were sitting next to each other and Mystique sat on the opposite side at the other end of the table. They all had a drink in front of them and they all looked up as Daemon stepped into the room. Sara tensed a little when she saw that Shektee was with Daemon and Angelica. Angelica took a seat next to Sara; Shektee sat down next to Mystique. Daemon poured three cups of tea; he gave one to Angelica as he went to sit next to Shektee.
When Daemon set one of the cups of tea in front of her, Shektee turn pale with terror, realizing that not only had she failed to serve her master, her master had just served her.
“Shektee and I finished the calculations and we think we’re ready to jump,” Daemon told them as he sipped his tea.
“Then why haven’t we jumped yet? Is there some other problem?” Sara demanded, anxious to put as much distance as she could between her and Endeavor.
“I think we need to change the plan some and figure out what we’re going to tell people about what happened. The captain and three crewmembers are dead and you have three new passengers. I figure we can still send Shektee away once we get to Nebular 4 and send out a distress signal. But what are we going to tell the people that come to rescue us?” Daemon had been thinking about what his father had taught him about planning any mission. He had told him the small details were the most important ones because they are easy to overlook. Everyone having the same story was an important detail if they got questioned by the authorities.
“We tell them we ran into pirates. That will explain the damage to the ship and the deaths. If you claim to be from one of the fringe worlds, it would explain why you don’t have any records or ID,” Nelson suggested.
“Sounds good, but what planet?” Daemon asked.
“New Sydney, nobody there has paperwork,” Sara suggested.
“What’s New Sydney?” Mystique asked.
“It’s an old prison colony where the Federation sent political dissidents and petty crooks. It’s a water world with a bunch of island clusters. It’s also a major black market base and a center for other clandestine activities. It is outside Federation space and they are known to deal with the Imperium. It could work; they have all kinds of people there. They do have paperwork, though just not anywhere near Federation documents. So not having any shouldn’t raise much suspicion,” Nelson said.
Daemon looked at Angelica and Mystique to see what their reaction to the idea was. They both nodded that it was okay with them. “Okay, we’re from New Sydney. What about the fight?”
The conversation continued for almost an hour as the group worked out every detail of their story. Angelica was tasked with researching the planet New Sydney with Mystique. Nelson and Sara were going to have to give Mac, Jim, and Robert a funeral at sea. Sara hadn’t wanted to be involved but Nelson insisted she be there. Daemon carried the corpses to the airlock before going up to the Bridge. Shektee went straight to the Bridge.
Nelson was just starting his eulogy to the dead when Angelica’s panicked voice came over the intercom. “Daemon, jump now! We have to get out of here now!”
Sara jumped at the panic in Angelica’s voice and started running for Engineering. Daemon yelled at Shektee to jump. He would have initiated the jump himself but only the pilot’s control panel had the necessary functions. Shektee did as she was told while Daemon shifted his attention to what little sensors they had. He didn’t detect anything, at first.
A computerized female voice came over the intercom stating thirty seconds to jump. Sara knew she wasn’t going to make it to Engineering in time but she prayed she didn’t need to. The power plant and jump drives were already set for the jump; everything should go smoothly, but Mac had demanded they both be at the controls during the transition into jump space just in case.
Nelson left the corpses in the airlock and started making his way to Medical. He didn’t have any duties during the jump but he wanted to make sure no power surges damaged the medical chamber while Stacey was in it. He’d planned on pulling her out before the transition but now there wouldn’t be time.
Mystique sat with Angelica and tried to calm her down. She had the luxury of not seeing the future and knowing a battle cruiser was about to exit jump and crash into them. Angelica sat very still, praying they would jump in time.
“Ten seconds to transition.”
Daemon frantically searched the area for any sign of danger. He knew from his link with his sister that they were still in danger but he had no idea from what. Finally, an energy spike registered only a few miles away. He focused every sensor he could on finding out what it was when the bow of a very large ship started to appear in the center of a lightning storm. The ship w
as bearing right for them and there was no way the Neptune could maneuver out of its way in time.
“Transition.”
Daemon felt like he was being electrocuted, energy danced through every muscle in his body. The sensation lasted only a few seconds and then it was gone. He forced himself to relax and settle back into his seat. He understood now why he needed to wear the safety harness—if not for it, his muscle spasms would have thrown him across the Bridge. He looked to see how Shektee was doing and found her staring at him in amazement.
“Daemon, we just crossed the planar barrier. I’m home.”
Daemon didn’t understand at first what she was talking about. How could they cross the barrier? Then an old man in hip waders carrying a fishing pole appeared on the Bridge.
Shektee immediately dropped her gaze to the floor.
Daemon just stared in disbelief.
“What are you doing here?” the ancient spirit asked.
Escape from Endeavor Page 65